ing void the law of God?" 3. The objection under consideration lies with equal force against the divine declaration, that the "earth shall yet be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." No such event has ever yet taken place. What should we think of the Christian, who, for this reason, should affirm that such an event never will take place? The question before us, is, not what Christians have attained, but what God has promised. REMARKS. 1. The reader is now prepared to determine the fact, where the weight of evidence lies, in respect to the momentous question, Is perfection in holiness attainable in this life? On the one hand, we have a long array of divine declarations in respect to the provisions of the gospel and the design of the redemption of Christ. We have also a similar array of "exceeding great and precious promises," the meaning of which cannot easily be misapprehended by the honest inquirer after truth. In addition to all these, we have the express commands of Scripture addressed to us as Christians, together with the prayer of Christ, and of inspired men, who spake and prayed as they were "moved by the Holy Ghost," all bearing upon this one point. On the other hand, we have a small number of passages, a careful analysis of which, clearly shows to have no relevancy to the subject whatever,— passages, the most important of which, such, for example, as Rom. vii., Gal. v. 17, Phil. iii. 12, and 1 John i. 8, have long since been given up as proof texts upon this subject, by many, who deny the doctrine maintained in these discourses. Under such circumstances, how is it possible for us to doubt, not only where the weight of evidence, but where the truth, lies? 2. Here, also, I may be permitted to allude to the manifest carelessness with which the Church generally has made up her judgment upon the doctrine under consideration, and to the necessity of a careful and prayerful re-examination of the whole subject. In reading the works of the ablest divines upon this subject, I have been forcibly struck with their manner of treating it, as indicating the fact, that their opinions were formed, and their proof texts selected, almost at random, without reference to fundamental principles. How else can we account, for example, for the strange phenomenon, that a declaration, which Job made with exclusive reference to himself, has been so universally cited, as proof that the man who embraces the views maintained in these discourses is not only deceived, but shows himself, by the sentiment which he has embraced, to be perverse. How else can we account for the general adoption of the maxim, as if it were a revealed truth, that, if a man should become entirely sanctified, he would be taken directly to heaven, and not be permitted to live on earth a moment. Sin, or at least some degree of it, is regarded as an essential element of Christian character, as a life preserver, notwithstanding the divine declaration, that "he that would love life and see good days, must refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile," and that implicit obedience to all God's commandments is the only surety for long life? 3. Permit me, in conclusion, to allude to the state of mind necessary to a correct investigation of this subject. It is a supreme and ardent desire after holiness, and a knowledge of the means of attaining it. "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." Without this state of mind, we are unprepared, not only for this, but for every inquiry in respect to the Scriptures. Reader, is this your state? Is the inquiry after the way of holiness the great and absorbing inquiry of your heart? "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled." DISCOURSE IV. THE NEW COVENANT. "Behold the day is come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people; and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, a new covenant, he hath made the first old."-Heb. viii. 8—13. "And to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant."—Heb. xii. 24. The great difficulty which a vast majority of Christians feel, in respect to holy living, is the want of the constant presence and influence of a filial, affectionate, confiding and obedient spirit |