of their ambition". Let all seek to know what a gloriously rich inheritance0 they are even now permitted to enjoy; and, having by faith gained access into this grace, let them stand in it, and rejoice in hope of the glory of Godp.]
•» ver. 13, 14. ° Eph. i. 18. p Rom. v. 2.
Phil. iii. 18, 19. Many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ : whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.
NOTWITHSTANDING the utter extinction of vital godliness from the heart of man, through the introduction of sin into the world, there remain within him some principles of goodness, weakened indeed, but still operative and lively. Among these we may notice humanity and compassion, which often work in the breasts of the unregenerate, so as even to shame those who are endued with a principle of true religion. There is, however, one essential difference between this disposition as it is exercised by uncon- verted men, and the same as cultivated by the godly : in the former, it extends no further than to the tem- poral condition of mankind ; but in the latter, it terminates chiefly on their spiritual and eternal state. Hence we frequently see both Prophets and Apostles expressing with tears their concern for the souls of those around them. In the passage before us, St. Paul was filled with the tenderest emotions of pity, while he beheld the state of many in the Christian Church, whose character and end he most pathetically describes.
In illustrating his statement, we shall consider, I. The lamentable state of some professors —
St. James speaks of a principle that is " earthly