Delivered in Grove Chapel, Camberwell, Sunday Morning, Nov. 19, 1848, BY THE REV. JOSEPH IRONS.

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Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."-Psalm lxxxv. 10.

WHEN an assemblage of august personages is witnessed, those who witness such assemblies naturally conclude that some great matter of business is going forward, that something important is to be negociated, that something which concerns the public is about to be transacted, and, consequently, all are eager to inquire why they have met, all are eager to ask who this personage is, and who that personage is, who are met; and if their names are announced, probably the very mention of some of them will thrill through the spectators' ears with delight. I pray God that it may be so with you this morning. The personages who are referred to in my text, are personages from the upper world. They are personages of ancient date. They are personages of inimitable character. They are personages of a glorious description. Mercy; what would become of man without it? Truth; in a world which is full of falsehood, and full of all the miseries which began by the devil telling a lie, and our first parents believing it. Truth coming down to avenge it. Righteousness; in a world where nothing but guilt and depravity, impurity, corruption, and rebellion against God is found. Peace; after war had been proclaimed in heaven, and the apostate angels hurled out; after that war had been renewed in Eden's garden, and had ruined Adam and all his posterity-peace too has come down from heaven. And are such mighty personages met without some important object in view? Oh, no; and I trust the Holy Ghost will reveal to us this morning the grand purpose of the Published in Weekly Numbers, Id., and Monthly Parts, price 5d.

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epeated meetings of these Divine attributes, and give us to discover clearly our own personal interest therein.

But, let us mark the peculiarity of the phraseology here employed, before we go further. They are not crowded together as one meeting, though they constitute it; but a separation is made. "Mercy and truth"-they have "met together.' Then, as a distinct, I was going to say, conclave, "righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Why, that seems to be something like a double wedlock, something like a double marriage, something like a double description of the harmony, the union, the unity of all the Divine attributes and perfections. And there is some grand object in view, which we shall presently have to attempt to unfold.

I know that modern divinity does not quite like this sort of meetings, that modern divinity would like to meet with Mercy very well, without Truth; and, consequently, Truth, in many instances, is excluded from her companionship. I know, also, that not a few would like to have Peace without Righteousness; but they will never be gratified in the accomplishment of their wishes and desires. If you will have mercy, it shall be in accordance with truth; if you will have peace, it shall be accordance with righteousness. You may have them married if you please allow me the familiarity of the phrase-mercy and truth one. Righteousness and peace so fond, so closely united, so affectionate, so endeared, as to " 'kiss each other." Mark the expressions; and when you have dwelt a little upon them, let us make the inquiry about the meeting-place, and then we will enter upon the object of their meeting together. Oh, may the Holy Ghost give me power from on high, to speak of this august and wonderful assemblage f personages, if I may so personify these Divine attributes, so as to glorify each and all of them; then to set forth the holy meeting-place, where mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace associate in harmony, and bind our souls to the spot, never, never to quit it; and, then, unfold to us the object contemplated by Deity, and accomplished by these personages, interesting, eternally interesting, to every awakened sinner that would be right for eternity.

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I. But, first of all, we will say a little about the wonderful personages met the wonderful companions. Mercy stooping down to man's misery. The advocacy of truth insisting that mercy shall not be displayed, but in perfect accordance with God's truth. Righteousness revealed, and proclaimed of a Divine character-"Divine righteousness." And peace eternally settled between God and His Church; and this on the ground of the harmony of all the Divine perfections. I hope my hearers will be earnestly engaged in prayer for the Spirit from above, whilst I attempt to touch upon this soul-subduing subject. I feel that it is holy ground I am treading upon. I feel that they are holy things of which I have to speak; and I would not indulge even in a phrase that might border upon lightness, as said the apostle concerning it, "When I, therefore, was thus minded," to preach a yea-andamen gospel," did I use lightness?" God forbid. And let us, with all gravity and all earnestness, and yet I trust with all cheerfulness, glance at the things I have just named, one by one. Mercy, a Divine attribute, stooping from heaven to man's misery.

The very word "mercy," seems to have respect to its antithesis, "misery." And if you will observe for a moment, what the misery of

man is under the fall, I think you will be constrained to admit that nothing but sovereign grace can stoop low enough to reach him. Only glance at the declaration, "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die," and then see its accomplishment; the character of that death which ensued upon the rebellion of our first parents, which is so appalling and awful as to have left its victims without a single particle of spiritual life, without the capacity to muster, cherish, or exercise a spiritual thought, without an excellency that can, by possibility, commend itself to God—enslaved, corrupt, polluted, and vile, under sentence of death, accursed of God, the very ground accursed for man's sake, and, consequently, "death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." What a mercy then to be saved from sin and misery!

Now the great matter of regret with me, respecting modern divinity, is, that men do not believe the real state of mankind. If they did, I am sure they would be glad to embrace the glorious principles of the everlasting gospel. But no; though God hath declared that "death passed upon all men for that all have sinned," and describes man under the fall, in his exterior, as covered with wounds, bruises, and putrifying sores, and in his interior as every imagination and thought of his heart only evil continually; yet man, in the pride and rebellion of his heart, will cling to the false notion that there is still something left in him, much as he is fallen from his orignal dignity; that there is something within him that he may improve, that he may turn to good account, that there is something within him that, if well manufactured, or remanufactured, by himself, may after all please God and make a Christian of him. Now, so long as that false notion is harboured in the breast of an individual, Christ will never be loved or trusted, nor will the salvation that is in him be received and embraced. But when we come to view what misery is brought forth, consequent upon sin; when we cast our eyes around and look at the wickednesses that are abroad in the earth, the want of principle, the swearing, the lying, and Sabbath-breaking, the "breaking out, and blood touching blood," as saith the language of Scripture-when we glance at the awful evils which sin has created, prisons, hospitals, gibbets, and banishments-when we glance at the tremendous scene of ruin and distress, of want, of poverty and dishonesty, and every kind of evil which vain mortals have brought upon each other, until they almost live like wild beasts, devouring one another, well may we exclaim, "What misery hath sin brought upon man!" And if we pass over the field of mankind, and turn within our own dirt-hut, our own earth-built tabernacle, and see what is there, and watch on any one day the rising corruptions, the abominable lusts, the daring evils, the hardness of heart, the unbelieving, the utter helplessness and rebellion against God: Oh! beloved if I went on with the catalogue, I might appear as if I had blotted out the whole map of creation, and covered with an awful sable hue the very picture and character of man. But this I cannot do beyond the matter of fact. Then is not mercy wanted? Surely nothing but mercy can touch the eondition of man. And when I think of mercy being first on the list of these wonderful companions met together-mercy, first upon the list-if I might personate mercy in the character of a dove, I should gaze at her fluttering upon the throne as though the foremost of the perfections, to descend on earth to man, stretching forth her balmy wings, bedewed with atoning blood, eager to pierce the ethereal void, and light on the victims of the fall in the depths of their misery.

But while mercy comes down, and mercy would forgive, and mercy would bring to the feet of Jesus and the mercy-seat, forth steps the advocacy of truth with this solemn proclamation, "I will by no means clear the guilty." Mercy, what wilt thou do now? Mercy, how wilt thou find the way to man now? The advocacy of truth again asserts, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die," and "all have sinned." Mercy, how canst thou give life, whilst Divine truth advocates its honour upon the earth, refuses to be falsified, and insists upon the glories of Divine truth being maintained and sustained inviolate? This must be accomplished, as we shall show by-and-bye, when we come to speak of the medium. Suffer me to repeat here that they come not to quarrel, that they are come not to oppose each other, to prevent mercy being exercised, or truth vindicated; but they meet that mercy may be exercised— they meet in order to unite. This we shall have to say a little about on the third feature of our discourse. There is infinite, abounding, sovereign mercy stooping to the ruin and misery of fallen man. There is inflexible truth, as the advocate of all the honours of the Deity, coming forth and insisting upon the satisfying of the glorious attributes of the Godhead, in order to the display of mercy. Then forth comes righteousness, and righteousness would urge the violation, the tarnishing, the destruction of everything like it in man, and insist as an attribute of Deity that the righteousness of which God can approve and accept, must be perfect, sinless, Divine, immutable, just as the prophet Isaiah was directed to describe, when he speaks of the righteousness of the creature in the character of garments, "They all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up:" but, saith the Lord, "My salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished." Righteousness demands this. And here I would apprize the proud Pharisee, if there be one present this morningthough I do not think people of that description are very fond of coming within these walls-that if he means to get to heaven by righteousness of his own, the righteousness of the creature, it must be perfect, sinless, without spot; that it must be such as God Himself. can find no fault with, that it must be such as will last for ever, and not like that which is as "the morning cloud and the early dew,' that passeth away; not like the filthy rags that Paul told us he was so glad to get rid of, but just such as the Lord told His disciples of, when He said, "Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Here is a wonderful and glorious companion then! A Divine, spotless, unsullied righteousness.

Take one other view of this word. The righteous are just, upright and holy. The character of the Deity is to be vindicated-the righteousness of God in Himself. I conceive this may go further, and point us more especially to that inherent holiness, integrity, uprightness, and justness, which constitute the very essence of Deity. So that whilst mercy, as an attribute, and truth, as an attribute, descend from heaven, and meet together, righteousness, as an attribute of God, vindicates His purity and glory. And yet with all this, down comes peace to meet along with them, and strict, immutable, perfect, self-existent righteousness becomes so familiar, so intimate, and enamoured, as we shall by-and-bye attempt to explain, with the peace of God, and the God of peace, that they are said to "kiss each other."

Now, I could not find an expression that to me appeared better to

suit such a meeting as this, than "two-fold marriage," a close oneness between mercy and truth and as close and effectual a union and nuptial bond between righteousness and peace. I cannot quit this last point without another observation; that the peace, of which we speak, is that which is eternally ratified and settled between God and His Church, and on the behalf of His Church, never to be destroyed. I hear of some persons who ignorantly talk about "making their peace with God," and especially when afflictions invade them, and they are laid on beds of languishing and not likely to recover, they begin to talk of "making their peace with God." Paganism! passing through the Popish mould, painted in a Protestant colour! We should despise and abhor all such silly trash as that! I like the peace which looks down from heaventhe peace which is already made—the peace which is eternally settled. When there is peace settled between nations, there are what are termed the "preliminaries of peace." And if I might be allowed to state what the preliminaries of this peace were, I should say, they were nothing less than the bringing to Jehovah all the glory due to His name, the paying to Jehovah all the debt contracted by His Church, and the subduing, before Jehovah, of every rebellious feeling against God in His Church, according to the passage cited in my prayer, "The bringing of every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

Now this is the eternal peace which is recognised by these companions, and which shall give to the Lord, as the Psalmist says, "the glory due to His name;" it is the peace which shall give to Jehovah the full payment of all demands, perfect obedience, and full satisfaction of Divine justice. Nor is this enough; for though the sinner's debt may be paid, and the entire revenue of praise and glory brought to Jehovah's name, if you leave him to himself he refuses to be at peace with God: if you leave him to himself he refuses to bow to the sceptre of King Jesus; as long as you leave him to himself and his own proudwill, the language of his heart and his life will be, "I will not have this man to reign over me." What more is to be done? Just that for which we cited the passage this moment, "Every thought brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." Listen to this:-a peace settled eternally in heaven for the Church, and accomplished in the Church by subduing the sinner's heart. Never imagine that a peace between God and a poor ruined sinner is effected by mutual compromises. It is no such thing. Never imagine, for a moment, that a sinner promises a great deal, whether he performs it or not, and that God concedes a good deal of His law and justice. No such thing, my brethren. This is Paganism. It is not Christianity. Christianity demands that the glory due to His name shall be rendered to the last mite, and that the sinner's heart shall be subdued to own the Prince of Peace as his rightful sovereign.

II.-Let us pass on, in the second place, to notice the holy meetingplace of this wonderful company. Righteousness, peace, mercy and truth were met together. You know when God condescended to meet Moses and send him on his mission for the deliverance of the children of Israel, that He told him that the place whereon he stood was holy ground, because God had condescended to speak to him there. But what must we say of the holy ground whereon these Divine attributes meet? My hearers, there is but one meeting-place where they were ever seen together, and that is in the Person of our beloved Christ. They all meet in the Person of Christ, andnowhere else. He being the