the Holy Ghost? have I the Spirit of Christ dwelling in me? have I ever sought this gift, and earnestly implored of God to bestow it on me? have I, in the course of my whole life, so much as felt any solicitude about it?" Let this whole assembly put these questions to themselves; and then let them see in what a perilous state they are, and with what a disposition of mind they ought to come to the further con sideration of this all-important subject. Indeed, indeed, I must declare, from Almighty God, that, whatever any man may think of his attainments or his virtues, he is not a Christian truly, if his soul be not a temple of the Holy Ghost. He may have many amiable qualities, but he does not belong to Christ: nor can he ever dwell with Christ in the eternal world, if Christ do not dwell in him, and abide with him, in this world.

Whence the necessity for this heavenly gift arises will be opened in our next. But I must, in the mean time, warn all, that the subject is a matter of life and death. It is not to be listened to with mere curiosity, but as a point which at our peril we must understand, and at our peril must experience. If it is of importance whether we belong to Christ or not, it is of

importance to ascertain whether we have this evidence of our belonging to him: for the declaration of God is unquestionable, and his decision is irreversible; nor is there any exception whatever made: "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." He may be in a high and dignified station; but he is not therefore Christ's. He may be greatly distinguished for the variety and extent of his intellectual attainments; but he is not therefore Christ's. He may be looked up to as a pattern of moral excellence and virtue; but neither will that be any decisive evidence of his belonging to Christ. Whoever, or whatever he may be, if he have not the Holy Ghost abiding in him, he is none of Christ's. He may now make light of this truth; he may explain it away; he may "puff at it" (as the Scripture speaks) with contemptuous indignation; but he shall find it true to his cost. me, however, hope that the minds of all shall "be opened, as Lydia's was, to attend to what shall be spoken;" and that "the word being received with meekness as an engrafted word, shall prove as effectual, as it is able, to save your souls."

Let

Psa. x. 5.

+ Acts xvi. 14.

James i. 21.

But, whilst I would impress on all a sense of the absolute and indispensable necessity which exists for our possessing this heavenly gift, I must not close my subject without declaring, for the comfort of my audience, the willingness of Almighty God to bestow it upon all without exception. He has told us, that if an earthly parent will not refuse bread to his famished child, much less will he refuse his Holy Spirit unto them that ask him.* Nor let any be discouraged on account of their unworthiness. A more unworthy character can scarcely be conceived than that of the Samaritan woman, whose guilt, it should seem, was not a little aggravated by refusing to our Lord a draught of water; yet to her did he say, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." Let all of us then come thirsting for this water of life. Nor let any erroneous presumption be harboured in our minds, as though there were nothing peculiar in this gift; but let every one of us seek it, yea, seek it earnestly, "with strong crying and tears," that so we

* Luke xi. 13.

† John iv. 10, 14.

may be heard and answered, and "the Saviour be magnified in the midst of us," and "our souls be saved in the great day of the Lord Jesus."+

* Acts xix. 17.

+ 1 Cor. v. 5.

SERMON II.

ROMANS VIII. 9.

If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

THE Jewish religion, by the express command of its Divine Author, would not admit of any relaxation of its principles, or any departure from its established ordinances. Not only did it prohibit any connexion with idolaters, but it forbade even the mention of the name of any false god. In all its appointments, it formed so broad a line of separation between the Jews and the rest of the world, that it was considered by the Gentiles as inspiring its followers with an utter hatred of all the human race. The New Testament has, to a certain degree, shared amongst the heathen the same universal antipathy, and upon the same grounds. If the religion of the Lord Jesus would have admitted of any union with idolatry, he would have been readily