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oblation of himself once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world* ;" and that this " offering of Christ once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and that there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone t."

Finally, though we shall unhesitatingly state to you, that "the condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith, and calling upon God;"-that "we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will;"-and that "we are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings; and that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome

* Communion Service. + Article XXXI.

doctrine, and very full of comfort* ;"—yet shall we endeavour perpetually to urge upon your notice, that "Good Works are the fruits of Faith, and follow after justification; and that albeit they cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgments, yet are they pleasant and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith; insomuch that, by them, a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a tree discerned by the fruit t.

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Thus shall we aim and labor, in humble dependance on Divine grace, to take heed unto ourselves and unto the doctrine. One particular, however, mentioned by the Apostle, remains yet to be noticed.

3. Continue in them.

Alas! even in the early stages of Christianity, there were those who deserted the standard of the Cross, after having ranged themselves under its banner; and of whose return to the Saviour and to the Church, we find nothing recorded in Holy Scripture. St. John informs us of certain

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disciples of our Lord, who, offended at his assertion,-No man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father-went back, and walked no more with Him. And St. Paul also tells us of some, who had forsaken him, having loved this present world; and of others, who, having put away faith and a good conscience, concerning faith had made shipwreck.

Would to God that apostasy had been confined to the days of the Apostles and to the primitive Church! But, oh! how many in all ages of the world, and in our own, have departed from the simplicity of the Gospel; and though they once took heed unto themselves and unto the doctrine, they have not continued in them.

How awful the condition of such a character! He set out for the kingdom of God, but afterwards looked back. In order to flatter the vanity, and obtain the patronage of the rich or the noble, he became more conformed to the world, and, taking less heed to himself, took also less heed to his doctrine. Once, he was a follower of the meek and lowly Saviour, but, at length,

being lifted up with pride, he fell into the condemnation of the devil. Once, every thing was made subservient to the advancement of his Master's glory and the salvation of his flock; but now, alas! every thing-not excepting his public ministryis made to bend to the promotion of his own secular interests.

By unhallowed means, he seeks to gratify the taste, rather than alarm the fears, of the careless audience; and proclaims peace to the rich worldling, contrary to the word of God and the dictates of his own conscience. Perhaps, he succeeds in attaining his object;-enjoys emolument and dignity, as the reward of his iniquity, or rather possesses, without enjoying them. The remembrance of his apostasy imbitters all his pleasures, and makes him tremble at the thought of that day, when he must stand before Him, who has declared, Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

How different the feelings and prospects of that man, who, taught by Divine grace to take heed unto himself and unto the doctrine, has been also enabled by that grace, to continue in them! Stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, he knows that his labor is not in vain in the Lord. His faithful ministry has perhaps excited the opposition of the formal and the careless; and his holy life provoked the sneer of the profane and the profligate. He has possibly suffered the loss of wealth and honor for Christ's sake, or has gained them with a good conscience, enjoyed them with a grateful heart, and used them for the welfare of others.

Ah, what are the sensations of such a man, when about to exchange the labors of time for the glories of eternity! You witness his deep self-abasement under a sense of his own unworthinesss, but you witness also his firm reliance on the sacrifice and advocacy of his Redeemer. Hearken to his expiring accents! He, whose public ministry and private life

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