THE PRECIOUSNESS OF THE SOUL'S REDEMPTION. "For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth forever.”—Psalm xlix. 8. THE carelessness of mankind at large, on the familiar subjects of death and eternity, is equally surprising and alarming;-surprising, because the world dwindles to a point in comparison with the immensity of worlds around us; and all its joys and sorrows, when weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, are lighter than vanity;-alarming, because earth alone is the theatre on which preparation is made for unseen worlds; and neglect of that preparation is followed by consequences, at once fearful and irreparable. The whole structure of the divine administration under which we live is framed with reference to man's salvation; the instructions of the Bible, the teachings of natural religion, the dispensations of Providence, the monitions of conscience, and the ordinances of the Gospel, are all intended to purify and elevate his affections, and fit him for scenes of perfect happiness and transcendent glory. When this gracious intention of heaven is forgotten, and these means of spiritual improvement are perverted, to the hardening of the heart, it is to the last degree alarming.

Nor can the fact of "the carelessness of mankind at large" be questioned. The observation of every day demonstrates it. Who seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? Who denies sleep to his eyes and slumber to his eyelids, that he may secure the Great Salvation? Are not men everywhere mad upon

their idols so that when God looketh down from heaven, he is constrained to say, "they are all gone out of the way—there is none that doeth good, no not one!"

Never let it be forgotten that "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force;"-that whosoever will enter the strait gate must strive, even to agony ;—that whosoever will win the crown must bear the cross;-and whoever will gain the victory, must fight the battle with principalities and powers. Eternal life is the prize to be won; hard conflict, involving self-denial and heroic devotion to God, alone secures it.

What more surprising and alarming then, to one who calmly surveys, with an eye of faith, the character and certain destiny of sinful man, than the prevailing indifference on the momentous question-What shall be done for the redemption of the deathless spirit?

The soul's redemption is the subject before us. As presented in the text, it naturally divides itself into four parts, viz:

I. The object; II. The nature; III. The quality; and IV. The closing up of this redemption.

I. The object, of this redemption. It is the redemption of the Soul. The soul is that spiritual and immortal principle in man, which distinguishes him from the beast. This is the primary import of the term. Sometimes it is used by the inspired writers in a secondary, or figurative sense; as when the Psalmist declares the eye of the Lord to be upon them that fear him,-"to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine;" and when he speaks of the enemy as "persecuting his soul to take it, and treading down his life upon the earth." Reference is here clearly had to animal life. This figurative use of the term is justified by the fact, that whenever the soul leaves the body, animal life becomes extinct. The co-existence of the immortal principle with the body, is essential to human life.

Still, the soul and animal life, are not to be identified. "Fear not them," saith Christ, "which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul." The death of the body forbids not at all the continued existence of the immortal principle. Though united, they are distinct; and when separated, each follows the laws impressed on it by the Great Creator, the one bursting forth into a boundless sphere of activity, the other returning to the dust whence it was taken.

It has been thought by some, that the term is used in its secondary or figurative sense, in the text; and it must be confessed, that the connexion in which it stands, favors, though it does not establish, this construction.

To show the vanity of trusting in wealth, and boasting of the multitude of riches, the Psalmist says, "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him;" "that he should still live forever, and not see cor

ruption." This is a complete argument, proving the insufficiency of any amount of gold to prevent death. Our text is thrown in between the two parts of this argument as parenthetical, and unconnected with it; nay, as a thing entirely distinct from it. Contemplating the certain triumph of death over the body, the mind of David seems to repose for a moment on the fact, that there is a redemption for the Soul, which may be secured if laid hold of in season, though the animal life perish, without a possibility of ransom. It is as if he had said: "Man that is born of woman is of few days.' Die he must. Dust shall return to dust. No wealth can bribe, no prayers can move, no eloquence can divert the king of terrors. But the Soul, which is in the body, may be rescued from the death which threatens to involve it, and this redemption is precious." It will be noticed that the last clause of the verse sustains, and even requires, this mode of interpretation. For the body, though reduced to its original elements, shall rise again, and be re-moulded and adapted to the tenantry of the immortal spirit. And if by "the redemption of the soul," were meant the resurrection of the body, then it would not be true that "it ceaseth forever" for the body shall live again and flourish in immortal youth. This, therefore, could not have been the psalmist's meaning. But, when he said, "The redemption of the soul is precious, and it ceaseth forever," he had his mind fixed on the immaterial and incorruptible Spirit-which, however associated with matter, is not dependent on matter, and often displays more vigor of conception, more force of reasoning and more strength of affection, while the body is emaciated by disease and grappling with death, than at any other period of its earthly existence. Its consciousness shall never cease. Its understanding shall forever enlarge. Its power of voluntary action can never be taken away. Its recollections will never die. The energies of reason will never languish. Conscience will be ever enthroned amid its kindred faculties, and the affections will gather strength while eternity endures. Such is the Soul, whose Redemption is precious, and at death, ceaseth forever! We are to consider,

II. The nature of this redemption.--It delivers man from the curse of God's holy law; and, whatever of guilt, shame, or suffering, is included in that curse, is removed from him, whenever his redemption is completed.

1. He is redeemed from the guilt, or power of sin. By nature, he is a child of disobedience, and a child of wrath. Carnally minded, he is at enmity with God. Though he possess traits of character that endear him to his friends, and command the respect of all who know him, yet there is no love of God dwelling in his heart, and no submission to Divine authority, and no cheerful yielding to the discipline of Providence; but on the contrary, he throws off from him the restraints of divine Law, triumphs

over conscience, and stands forth, a rebel confessed, against the Divine administration.

The Glory of God, though it ravishes heaven, is alien from his thoughts. His eye discerns no beauty in the Chief of Ten Thousand. The songs of the upper world have no music for his ear. His hand takes no strong hold on enterprises of God-like benevolence; his heart beats responsive to no calls of duty, which promise Him not personal and immediate advantage; nor does his spirit soar on high, to participate the pleasures of the Holy. Whether he eat or drink, sleep or wake, labor or rest, cultivate his mind or neglect it, his object is self gratification, not the smile of Jesus, nor the approbation of God.

In a word, sin has entire dominion over him; not perhaps in its most hateful forms, but in the form best suited to his views of personal interest. He cares not what law of God he breaks, if he may but enjoy impunity; nor does he care how much dishonor he throws on God, if self-gratification may be secured. Self is the idol of his heart, worshipped not less complacently and perseveringly than impiously.

Redemption breaks down this unhallowed dominion of sin, delivers the soul from bondage and sets it at liberty, enlarges its vision, elevates its aims, diffuses through it the warmth of celestial fire, brings it into communion with the spirits of just men made perfect, and with God himself, and says to it authoritatively, “Go, and sin no more."

2. He is redeemed from the shame of sin. Is there not degradation and shame in wearing the yoke of a Master, hurled from heaven, and scathed by the lightnings of God's wrath? in turning away from the Glory ineffable, and plunging into the deeps of the pollution of selfishness?

It cannot be denied. And this degradation of the sinner is voluntary. His course of life, his companions, and pleasures, are those of his own choice-forced upon him by no power on earth or in heaven, outside himself.

I do not mean to say, that he is always flagitionsly wicked; nor that shame always attaches to him in the eyes of his fellow man.. It is not so. Many seeming virtues may adorn his intercourse with the world, and earth's honors may cluster thick about him. But, I do mean to say, that every sinner would riot in indulgence, but for restraints laid upon him by superior Power, and that it is no purity of his heart, that holds him back from the lowest depths of debasement.

"As face answereth to face in water, so does the heart of man to man." Circumstances of education, social disposition, conventional laws, and surrounding religious influences, operate both kindly and powerfully, oftentimes, to control the waywardness of the heart, while the governing principle remains the same as in the votary of vicious indulgence, who glories in his shame.

You have heard the knave boast of his frauds, and the drunkard of his excesses; the spendthrift of his extravagance, and the miser of his hoardings; the profane man of his blasphemies, the licentious man of his debaucheries, the angry man of his violences, and the infidel of his contempt for the Bible and its Author. And have you not in all this, an illustration of the shamelessness of sin!

Redemption stops these evil boastings. It turns man's eye to the source of all true glory, and constrains him to love the Lord with all the heart, to serve him with all humility and boldness, and to rejoice in him as the perfection of beauty. It cleanses him from pollution, creates his heart anew, clothes him in the white robe of the Saviour's righteousness, and fires him with heaven's devotion.

3. He is redeemed from the sufferings consequent on sin, in

the future world.

Even here, his deliverance begins, and advances, amid tears, and prayers, and bitter self-condemnation; but it is perfected only, when this mortal puts on immortality.

Sin and sorrow are inseparable companions. The tie that binds. them together is not always clearly seen, because the eye is blinded. But that tie is strong as Heaven's decree. Grace alone can break it; nor is it ever broken by Grace itself, further than the power of sin is crushed.

The suffering consequent on sin in this world is light, in comparison with that which follows it, in the world to come. Here every cloud is tinged with light, and every gloom is penetrated by hope; the bitter and the sweet mingle; the sad and the cheerful blend their colors on the same cheek. It is not a world of judgment, but of trial; not of despair, but of mercy. The inflictions of justice, are reserved for the future. Armed with truth and power, what heart can endure, what hand be strong, in the day when they fall!

You remember the consternation of Adam, when he but heard the voice of the Lord God, inquiring, "Where art thou?" Only conscience had then arraigned him. Sentence had not proceeded against him. But fain would he have hid himself behind the trees of the garden, or have plunged into the recesses of the earth, to escape the eye that had ever before filled him with delight. Keen was the anguish of that hour, when the terrors of the Almighty encircled him, and the miseries of the future crowded on his vision!

You remember too, the fear and trembling that seized the host of Israel, when Jehovah came down upon Sinai, and darkness covered the mount, and mighty thunderings rolled around it, and the voice of the trumpet, exceeding loud, forbade the approach of man or beast, while the eternal law of righteousness was announced. Even the holiest and most favored man of all the tribes was constrained to say-"I exceedingly fear and quake."