very divines think every man who reads their books ought to believe them; but if God send a letter of message and testimony to "every creature under heaven," they begin to dispute, whether every one who reads it, or hears of it, ought to believe it. OUGHT TO BELIEVE IT? Why, is the gospel true? If the gospel be true, it ought to be believed. It will perhaps be objected that the dispute about the obligation of sinners to discharge these gospel duties is not founded on any uncertainty in the gospel, but upon the inability of sinners themselves. But even this is indefensible. Men can believe one another. They can believe ancient and foreign historians. They can believe the testimonies of their favorite controversial divines,-why cannot they believe the testimony of God? The only reason is, they do not like it. Such a reason can never prove that a sinner ought not to believe the gospel, unless it can be proved that no man ought to believe a truth that he does not like. The truth of the case is, that no man can disbelieve the gospel but with the very same powers with which he could believe it, if he liked it.

Under the phrase believing the gospel, I wish to comprehend every act of homage, obedience, and devotedness to Christ as Mediator and Savior. As every sinner is accountable to Christ, Christ must have claims on every sinner for which he will reckon with them. The claims which Christ has on sinners are claims for their obedience to his call, compliance with his invitations, and cordial reception of a "saying worthy of all acceptation, that he came to the world to save sinners;" and all these are claims founded on his great atonement.

There are very few pastors who do not find in their congregations an awful number living and, alas! dying under an apprehension of this kind, that religious duties are not binding on them, since they are not actually members of churches, or decided Christians. This is the reason why such multitudes neglect the Lord's supper, family and private devotions, conscientious attendance on the means of grace on the days of the week,

&c. They think that they may do these things if they please, or let them alone if they please, but they have no conviction that they ought to "take the yoke," and be bound to them. Hence they think that many worldly and sinful compliances are perfectly allowable in their case, which would be inexcusable in the case of religious men. Now this pestilential sentiment is one of the first born of the theology that I am combating. A sinner very naturally thinks that if Christ has done nothing for him as a Savior, he can owe him no duties under that character. To the sinner it is precisely the same as if the gospel had left him without a Savior, and therefore he must be free from gospel duties. Afterward, if he be persuaded that Jesus Christ died for him, he thinks that religious duties are binding on him, and he begins to attend to them. The supporters of this theology avow the correctness of these impressions in their sermons, and sanction it in the sacredness of religious conversation. The argument generally employed by them is, that religious duties ought not to be done irreligiously. This is true, but supplies no reason for abstinence from religious duties. Our Savior reproved the Jews for the manner in which they read the Old Testament, but he never exhorted them not to read at all. Paul reproved the Corinthians for the manner in which they celebrated the supper of the Lord, but he never hints that they ought not to celebrate the supper. It was the doctrine of Paul that every man living ought to live to Christ. "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them.”

V. Christ himself will condemn in judgment every rejecter of the gospel, because he did not believe that He died for him.

This is the doctrine of the following passages. "He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not, is condemned already, BECAUSE he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of * See Chap viii. p 209.

God." "He that believeth not shall be damned." "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that OBEY NOT the gospel of Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." John iii; 18. Mark xvi; 16. 2 Thess. i; 7-11..

The whole of the xxvth chapter of Matthew proves that men will be judged by Christ in the last day, and judged according to their conduct towards him. Christ will not condemn sinners for not believing that he died for them, if the real truth be that he never had died for them. In the language of the Judge there will be nothing like the sentiment-"I adjudge thee to hell because I never died for thee.”

Christ, in the course of his ministry "upbraided the cities because they repented not." They who refused to come to the marriage feast were blamed, and condemned, and destroyed. To these very rejecters it had been said, "all things are now ready," which they must have understood as "ready for you." They never doubted whether the master meant them or not. Eventually they perished, not because no provision had been made for them in the supper, but because they deliberately refused to partake of it. Mat. xxii, 2-10. Luke

iv, 16-24.

"Bring these mine enemies which would not that I should rule over them, and slay them before me.' Luke xix, 27. Did Christ really and verily propose to reign over them? Did he indeed offer himself before "they would not have him?" Might they have had him over them as their saving king? Here they are charged with a serious crime. Their crime is an opposition to his authority, a rejection of his mediatorial power; that is, an unwillingness to be governed and controlled on the principles of the atonement. They would not be saved by an atonement, therefore they are destroyed.

The Word, which is the formula to be used in the last judgment, declares that a "sorer punishment" shall befal the rejecters of the atonement, than those to whom it has not been published and offered. Their sorer punishment is founded on their crimes, because they have trodden under foot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith they were sanctified, expiated, or atoned, an unholy thing. These men were bound to receive the Son of God as their atoning sacrifice; and for not receiving him in this character, they are punished. All the rules of eternal Truth and Justice forbid that they should be punished for not receiving Christ as the Lamb of atonement for them, if the actual fact, and the real case be, that he never made an atonement for them. Judas shall not be condemned in that day, because he did not believe that Christ died for Peter-nor will any sinner be condemned because he did not believe that Christ had died for others; but because he did not believe that Christ "loved him, and gave himself for him."

VI. The greatest pains of a sinner in hell will arise from the consciousness that he rejected a Savior who had died for him.

"This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light." It is not that no light had been provided for them, or that no atonement had been made for them. This passage lays the blame at the sinner's door, and it is there that it ought to be. The sinner's conscience, in the day of final decision, will blame him in nothing, but that for which Christ condemns him. The Son of God will not blame the sinner for what it was impossible to avoid, he will not blame him for not being an angel, he will not blame him for not making an atonement for his sin; but He will blame him for sinning wilfully, for loving darkness, for neglecting so great salvation, for not believing the testimony of his gospel.

The day of judgment will declare the truth of the case between the sinner and Christ. The divine pur

poses as to the extent of the atonement will be then unravelled, the grand problem will be solved. Follow the condemned rejecter of the gospel to the everlasting fire. Amid all his wailings and lamentations, no such sentiments as these escape his awakened conscience"Well, it turns out, after all the offers and invitations of the gospel, that I was never atoned for; Christ, it is now clear, never died for me If I had believed him to be my Savior, I should have believed what, as is now proved, was not true. Yet, I am here in torments, because I did not believe what the upshot proves to be a positive untruth." Oh, NO, NO! The language of the sinner will be "I destroyed myself." "I have no cloak for my sin." "I would have none of his ways." "I loved darkness rather than light; here I find my condemnation-not in God-not in the atonementbut in MYSELF; it is here the worm that dieth not, finds all its venom.'

VII. The exhibition of Christ to every sinner as having died for him, is the most powerful motive to personal and universal holiness.

1. It will make God appear more amiable in his estimation. Without this exhibition he has narrow, contracted, and suspicious thoughts of God; as if he were capricious, arbitrary, and partial. But the God who "loved the world," must be amiable and lovely. The Jehovah who will have all men to be saved, is no respecter of persons. The high and lofty One who swears, "As I live, I will not the death of a sinner," must be worthy of all love.

2. It will sweeten common mercies to him. At t present he thinks his mercies have no connection with the death of Christ, and consequently he feels no gratitude to Christ for them. He regards them as some “uncovenanted" largesses thrown about him unaccountably. The gospel teaches him to see "the image and superscription" of "CHRIST CRUCIFED" around every mercy; and then every mercy has new charms for himit is more dear and precious, more sweet and lovely in