men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truths?" Verily " He delightethin mercy;" and "judgment," on whom- soever it is exercised, " is his strange work," to which he is utterly averse.]
2. How bitter will be the reflections of all who
perish in their sins !
[If there be one ingredient in the cup of a damned soul more bitter than another, it is this ; " My God and Saviour would have saved me, but I would not accept of his salvation1. I would not come to him that I might have life u. I pray you, beloved, treasure not up for yourselves such bitterness as this : but improve the present opportunity of obtaining mercy, for the day of grace once lost, is lost for ever. This, Brethren, is the accepted time : the Lord grant that it may prove unto every one of you the day of salvation x."
s 1 Tim. ii. 4. 4 Matt, xxiii. 37.
u John v. 40. x 2 Cor. vi. 2.
Isai. xliv. 1 — 5. Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen : Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee ; Fear not, O Jacob my servant ; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour toater upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground ; I ivill pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring : and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's ; and another shall call him- self by the name of Jacob ; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
THERE is a striking analogy between the things which take place in the natural and in the moral world. As, in addition to the genial warmth of the sun, the showers are necessary to promote the pro- gress of vegetation, so, in addition to the rising of the Sun of Righteousness upon us, the influences of the Holy Spirit are necessary, to soften our hearts, to water the seed that has been sown in them, and to produce in us those "fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God." In this the office of the Holy Spirit consists. By his