being religious, but is not really so within: who has the form of godliness, but is without the power of it; who calls himself the servant of Christ, "while his inward parts are very wickedness." Such characters, we may fear, are not uncommon in the world. At church they are outwardly godly and devout: but follow them home into their families, and see what marks of godliness you can find there. Is religion their business throughout the week, as well as their professed employment on the Sunday? Does it bring forth in them good fruit? Does it improve their tempers, amend their dispositions, or moderate their desires after worldly things? Does it lead them to deny themselves, to mortify their pride, to subdue their selfishness, to crucify the flesh? No. In all these respects they are no better than the openly irreligious. Will such persons then abide the day of Christ's coming? Will they stand when he appeareth? Alas! They may now flatter themselves that they shall endure that awful judgment; but their deceitful hopes will soon expire. The books will be opened, and the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed. Then shall the false professors of religion be detected and exposed. Their unmortified lusts, their unsubdued pride, their

worldly spirit, their allowed secret wickedness, shall be produced against them. Their whole character shall be made known to men and angels, and they shall be condemned by the general voice of all, as hypocrites and unbelievers, to whom shall be weeping and wailing for ever.

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Look next to another character; to the man who is self-righteous, and trusts to his own merits and strength, who talks of the goodness of his heart; says that he has done no harm; and in proud self-sufficiency "blesses himself," that he is not as other men are." If,' he secretly whispers to himself, If I have some failings, yet they are 'but few and are abundantly overbalanced by many pleasing and useful qualities. My • intentions are sincere and upright. My con⚫ science lays nothing to my charge. Surely I need not fear to stand before Christ in judgment.' Such is now the presumptuous language of his soul. But will such be his language in the day of which we are speaking? Will he think and speak thus, when he shall really stand before Christ at his appearing? Far otherwise. He will be covered with shame and confusion. His mouth will be stopped. For the book of the law will be opened, the spiritual and holy law

His

of God; and tried by this rule the deficiency of his fancied merit will be fully seen. conduct, which he thought so praise-worthy, will be found in numberless instances, to have been sinful: nay, in those very instances in which it seemed to be most amiable, it will appear to have proceeded from selfish motives, and so to be defiled with sin. His heart, which he thought so good, will be shown to have been a fountain of all uncleanness, "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked," utterly without humility, without faith in Jesus Christ, without love to GOD and man, and filled with pride and selfishness, and evil passions. Exposed, confounded, self-convicted, where shall he hide his guilty head? whither shall he flee from his heart-searching Judge? how shall he escape the dreadful sentence, "Depart from me, thou worker of iniquity!"

But perhaps, my brethren, you begin to think that we are carrying things too far. You are ready to say, that according to this way of judging, we condemn all mankind; that not one is left, who shall abide the day of Christ's coming, and shall stand, when he appeareth. But it is not so. There is another character to be described; the humble, penitent, believing Christian; a charac

ter widely differing from every other, which has been drawn, and easily to be distinguished from them all. He is not an open, nor an impenitent sinner. Whatever he may have formerly been, however deeply enslaved to sin, he is now a new creature in Christ Jesus. By the grace of the gospel he has been brought to repent of his sins, to condemn himself on their account, and to forsake the practice of them. He is not a worldly man. From a principle of conscience, and a sense of duty, he is attentive indeed to his worldly calling, and diligently performs the work committed to him. But his heart is not in these things. Defeat his worldly schemes; yet his hopes are not disappointed, for they are fixed on things above. Take away his worldly goods; yet his treasure is not touched; for that is placed in heaven. He lives not to the world, not to himself, but to GOD. He is not an hypocrite. He does not wear a mask in the sight of man; nor under the cloak of a godly profession does he hide an ungodly heart. He is "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." His religion is not merely on the outside. His heart indeed, is far from being perfect. Much remaining corruption still dwells within. But he watches, prays, and strives against it. Were it in his power, he would

be holy even as GOD is holy. That he still continues so unholy is a matter of most serious grief to him: while, amidst all his lamentations and complaints, the power of religion really gains ground in the heart, and shows its influence there, by purifying his affections, regulating his desires, improving his tempers, and by enabling him, in every part of his conduct, to bring forth much fruit unto holiness. He is not self-right eous, nor trusts to his own merits and strength. On the contrary, he has renounced himself. He has been too deeply convinced of his own guilt and weakness to rely, even for a single moment, on any thing in himself. His dependence is solely on the mercy of GOD in Jesus Christ. It is Christ's righteousness, and not his own, in which he hopes to be found. It is the blood of Christ, to which he looks for the cleansing of his soul. It is the grace of Christ, and the supply of his Spirit, by which he hopes to withstand the enemies of his salvation, and to endure unto the end. His prayer, his constant prayer is, "GOD, be merciful to me a sinner." "Lord, save me, I perish." His declaration is, "In the Lord have I righteousness and strength.' By the grace of God, I am what I am."

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Such is the real Christian. Such, my brethren, is the man, "who will abide the