Indeed it is not a mere sigh that the occasion calls for ; nor is it a few heartless acknowledgments that will suffice : the very best of us has need to smite on his breast with anguish of heart, and to cry from his inmost soul, God be merciful to me a sinner ! Nothing less than this will in any respect answer the demands of our offended God : it is the broken and contrite spirit alone which he will not despise. O let us seek to humble ourselves aright ! Let us implore help from God, who alone can take away the heart of stone, and give us a heart of flesh : let us look to Jesus our ascended Saviour, who is exalted to give repentance as well as remission of sins ; and let us entreat of him so to discover to us the enormity of our guilt, that we may mourn and be in bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.
In the next place, if such be our guilt and helpless- ness, let us not only humble ourselves for it, but seek for the remission of our sins in Jesus' blood. O, thanks be to God ! " there is a fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness :" there is a Saviour, " whose blood will cleanse from all sin," and " who is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him." He has made reconciliation for us through the blood of his cross ; and through his sacrifice and intercession we may yet find acceptance with our offended God. In his righteousness we may be clothed ; and, arrayed in that, we shall stand before God " without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, yea, holy, and without blemish." We do indeed, in the first place, urge the necessity of repentance : but no man must rest in his repentance, however deep it may be : the offender, under the law, not only confessed his sins over his sacrifice, but laid them upon the head of the victim. So must we do ; we must transfer all our sins to the head of our Great Sacrifice ; and he, like the scape- goat, will carry them all away to the land of oblivion.
Lastly : Let us seek to be renewed in our hearts by the influence of the Holy Spirit. He is justly called in our Catechism, " the Sanctifier of all the elect people of God." It is he who must " give us
250 1 CORINTHIANS, X. 15. [l975.
both to will and to do ;" and if we set ourselves in earnest to " work out our salvation with fear and trembling," we need not fear but that he will help our infirmities, and his grace shall be sufficient for us. Polluted as we are, we should yet be sanctified throughout in body, soul, and spirit, if only we would plead in earnest for his renewing influence : and, helpless as we are, we should yet be strengthened with might by his agency in our inward man, and be enabled to do all things through his gracious commu- nications.
This is the true use of Christian principles. To acknowledge the extent of our fall, is of no use, unless we seek for a recovery through the sacrifice of our Redeemer, and through the influence of the Eternal Spirit. Let us but apply these remedies ; and all aversion to see the depth of our guilt and misery will vanish instantly. We shall be in no fear of being too much depressed by a sense of our sin ; but shall rather desire to know the full extent of our malady, that God may be the more glorified in our restoration to health. And if indeed we are disposed to implore help from God, then may we profitably sum up our requests in the words of that truly scriptural Collect, " Grant to us. Lord, we beseech thee, the Spirit to think, and do always such things as be rightful ; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may, by thee, be enabled to live according to thy will, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen^"