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sentence. Observe the period, it is at the last day. The concise manner in which the day of judgment is mentioned in the Scriptures is very remarkable. Our Saviour here speaks of that day, without entering into any particular description. So likewise does St. Paul, in several places. Referring to Onisiphorous, he prays, "The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day;"* and nothing else will be worth finding then! So also when speaking of his own departure, he observes, Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."+ Observe the dignity of the Son of God at that time,-" And then will I profess unto them." Who will make this profession?—the Saviour. Who is to pronounce their dreadful doom?-the Saviour. To whom will the disappointed professors look in vain for recognition and relief?-to the Saviour. And whose decision shall fix their everlasting destiny?—the decision of the Saviour. Tell us no more that this is to be done by a mere mortal—a peccable man! The work is too mighty; the undertaking too responsible; the issue too momentous and overwhelming, to be decided by a man that may be misled and deceived! Who would commit his immortal destiny to the award of a creature like himself? Pure and righteous as his intention may be, the eternal doom of one soul is too awful to be affixed by him: it must be the judgment of God.

Further. Observe the nature of the profession itself: "I never knew you." This word according to its general import, when applied to Christ, means much more than may be at first supposed. It is as much as to say, "I never approved of you." And dreadful will such a

* 2 Tim. i. 18.

+2 Tim. iv. 8.

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denial be! To be disowned by one whose friendship and smile we desire on earth is truly painful; but awful must it be to be rejected by Him for ever, "to whom all judgment is committed." And with respect to the persons here mentioned, our imagination is incapable of forming an idea of the extremity of the anguish which it must yield. "I never knew you," though your zeal was great, and your gifts splendid all was outside show; "the spirit of adoption" was never your's! It, therefore, follows, Depart from me." I speculate not on the fearful nature of exclusion from the presence of the Son of God at last; suffice it to observe, that every thing terrible and overwhelming is included in this sentence. If the joy of the redeemed before the throne consists in the beatific vision of the face of God and the Lamb, the punishment of the lost soul will consist much in separation from that view. Oh, my beloved brethren, will this intolerable doom be your's? Yes, perhaps, it will be the everlasting portion of some! Dreadful anticipation! The Lord grant, in infinite mercy it may not be realized!

"I love to meet among them now,
Before thy gracious feet to bow,
Though vilest of them all :

But can I bear the piercing thought----
What if my name should be left out,
When thou for them shall call!"

Finally. Observe the designation given to these unhappy men. He who shall pronounce their doom, calls them "workers of iniquity." What! these workers of miracles, the workers of iniquity! So the Son of God declares. The deeds here recorded have been frequently done by wicked men. Balaam prophesied, while "he loved the wages of unrighteousness." Saul was among the prophets at the very time he was meditating the murder of

David. Judas Iscariot was found casting out evil spirits, while he himself was "a devil.” Numbers, both in ancient and modern times, have pretended to the exercise of miraculous gifts, while they have been evidently living "without God in the world." Oh, let us remember, that while "man looketh at the outward appearance, the Lord looketh at the heart." Nothing will pass with Him but the renovation of the soul. Motive and design are of essential importance in the Christian life. If we are found serving other masters, while we profess to be serving Him,—if there be falsehood in our professions, and hypocrisy in our worship,-nothing can save us in the last day from the dreadful rejection we have now contemplated. Trust not, then, to external privilege, to a death-bed repentance, or to deeds of benevolence, admirable as they may be; but "look for the mercy of God unto eternal life." Amen.

LECTURE XLIII.

MATTHEW vii. 24, 25.

"THEREFORE WHOSOEVER HEARETH THESE SAYINGS OF MINE, AND DOETH THEM, I WILL LIKEN HIM UNTO A WISE MAN, WHICH BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON A ROCK : AND THE RAIN DESCENDED, AND THE FLOODS CAME, AND THE WINDS BLEW, AND BEAT UPON THAT HOUSE; AND IT FELL NOT: FOR IT WAS FOUNDED UPON A ROCK."

THE Saviour now proceeds to make an application immediately to his hearers, as to the practice of these divine truths which He had delivered to them. Doubtless the multitude had listened with much attention "to the gracious words" which He had now uttered, and He therefore embraced the opportunity, probably the most favourable that ever occurred during his personal ministry, to press home to their conscience the cardinal truth, “that not the hearers of the word are justified, but the doers of it." To render this truth permanent in their minds, and influential in their conduct, He illustrates it by a striking parable, which shows, on the one hand, the wisdom and safety of its adoption, and, on the other, the disastrous

and ruinous consequences in which its rejection and neglect would inevitably issue. And as the circumstances upon which the parable was constructed were well known to the inhabitants of Judea, where the sudden and impetuous torrent from the mountain's side frequently spread devastation around, it was likely to arrest their attention and affect their hearts.

The two verses which I have now to consider, present us with the wise builder, in contrast with the foolish one, whose ultimate and irrecoverable destruction is to form the subject of our next discourse. Indulge me, therefore, with your willing attention, while I endeavour to illustrate

THE SAYINGS TO WHICH THE SAVIOUR REFERS,THE UNIVERSAL OBEDIENCE THEY REQUIRE, THE DISPOSITIONS OF MIND NECESSARY TO THEIR PRACTICE, AND THE HAPPINESS OF THE HEARER OF THE GOSPEL WHO OBSERVES TO DO THEM.

I. THE SAYINGS TO WHICH THE SAVIOUR REFERS. The particle," therefore," shows us that the whole passage is an inference drawn from preceding statements, and which forms the conclusion to which they lead. Doubtless by the expression, "these sayings of mine," we are to understand, in the first signification, the whole of the sermon which had now been delivered. It would, however, be a transgression of the spirit of the passage, if we were to consider the happiness promised to the practical hearer of these divine truths, exclusively ensured by a regard to these only. Every word of God is good; and the doctrines and duties of the whole volume of revelation are to be embraced without partiality and guile. It would surely be a dangerous supposition, to imagine no obligation to rest on the professed disciples of Christ to practice any