refused to hear. When the Almighty stretched out his benevolent hand, the Roman governor refused its acceptance. Instead of bidding the Apostle to retire from his presence, he should have entreated him to stay; he should have solicited his advice, and closely followed the counsel of his lips. "My Spirit shall not always strive with man," says the Almighty, and Felix was an evidence of the truth of the declaration. That his heart became harder than ever, appears evident from his treatment of the venerable apostle; for instead of granting him his liberty, he was callous to every plea of justice and of mercy; he added ingratitude to the list of his offences, and, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, after he retired from office, he left Paul bound, subject to the tyranny of Pontius Festus.

To conclude. The conviction of sin, the knowledge that we have offended God, unless that knowledge separates us from transgression, is not conversion. Felix trembled, and still he retained his attachment to sinful pleasures, and for aught recorded to the contrary, perished in them.

When, through the influence of divine grace, we feel sensible of our aberrations from the path of duty, let us cherish these impressions; let us listen to the voice of God within us, and be determined to follow Christ. When Jehovah knocks at the door of our hearts, let us immediately admit him. How improper, how unwise, to put off the concern of our salvation until to-morrow, when to morrow, as it respects us, may never arrive! Tell me not, that after you have accomplished such and such an object, you will then think of God-eternity-your souls! Tell me not, to go away for this time, and at a more convenient season you will send for me! I ask you, my beloved parishioners, is not the concerns of your souls of paramount importance? Is it not the business for which you should live, the object you should wish to secure?

Eternal happiness is now offered to you all; close in, I beseech you, with the offers of divine love. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, and call ye upon him while he is near."

SERMON VII.

"What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."-MARK, x. 51, 52.

GRATITUDE to the Almighty is an unequivocal evidence of the existence of divine grace in the mind. It secures to the possessor the approbation of the Almighty, and commands the reverence and respect of the reflecting and judicious. The bosoms of those happy spirits who surround the throne of God are warmed by its inspiration, and their happiness is increased by the exercise of that virtue. Resolutions of obedience, founded on a principle so pure, will in general prove permanent, acquiring fresh strength as the Christian advances in the divine life; while declarations of affection, extorted from us by fear, will only obtain a transient existence in the mind; continuing no longer than the cause which first excited the alarm.

The more deeply the believer reflects upon those circumstances which first awakened in his soul the heavenly emotion of gratitude, the greater will be his inclination to fulfil its important duties. His first impressions of religion, if suffered to grow cold and languid by his neglect, will always be excited to action, and obtain fresh ardour, by recurring to that cause and calling to mind those peculiar providences by which they were produced. Instead of

SERMON VI.

"As he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and a judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time, when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee."- Acтs, xxiv. 25.

THE subject before us presents us with an evidence of the powers of conscience, and also of the force of Divine truth. It shows us that there are seasons in which all the barriers that we can raise against the appeals of conviction will give way, and fall prostrate before the majesty and omnipotence of virtue; that the principles of right and wrong are so deeply impressed upon our minds by the Author of our existence, that it is impossible to resist their influence, or to withstand their power; and that every man who violates the laws of God, and acts in opposition to the principles of moral rectitude, will feel the pains of self-condemnation, and tremble at his departure from equity and truth.

Though it is a truth established upon the basis of Scripture, that we can do nothing good without Divine assistance, still it is equally true, that, provided we will listen to the warning voice of conscience, and supplicate Jehovah for the ability to do what is right, our better principle will be invigorated by his grace, and we shall be enabled to - comply with every moral precept. It is trusting to our own imaginary strength, which involves us in sin. Resolutions of a virtuous description, made in reliance upon divine aid, and solicited and sought in earnest and sincere

prayer, will always prove effectual; while determinations of amendment, made upon the presumption of our own powers, will prove abortive, and leave us exposed to failure upon every recurrence of temptation.

Had Felix listened to the convictions of his conscience; had he entreated the Almighty to assist him in subduing his corruptions, he would have succeeded; but as he banished the convictions of his mind to a more convenient season, his love of sin obtained the ascendancy, and with his eyes open, in opposition to the warning voice of God within him, he fell a martyr to transgression, and died as he had lived, the violater of God's holy laws.

In the elucidation of the subject before us, we will consider, first, the points of doctrine insisted upon by Paul; secondly, the penetrating effects to which his appeals gave rise; thirdly, the fatal consequences arising from the suppression of our convictions. First, we are to consider the points of doctrine insisted upon by Paul.

With the character of Felix, the Apostle was, no doubt, fully acquainted. His manner of life, and the habits in which he indulged, were too open to escape detection; and as he had sent for Paul, to hear him explain the peculiar features of the Christian religion, the Apostle conceived it an imperative duty to deal faithfully with the Roman governor, and to bring home to his conscience, the awful account he would have to render the Almighty for his conduct.

Felix, it is to be observed, had taken advantage of his elevated rank in society, to commit an act of violence upon the rights and privileges of a fellow creature; and in consequence of the power he possessed, and the impossibility of being called to an account by man for his violation of moral precept, had induced Drusilla to leave her husband, to sacrifice every principle of female chastity, and to live in habits of adultery with himself.

In the presence then of Felix and his wretched associate Drusilla, Paul brought forward the morality of the gospel. He held up the mirror to their view, in order that they

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continuing forgetful of that Being, to whose paternal goodness he confesses himself obligated, his inclination to love and respect him will be increased, and, under all the vicissitudes of life, he will look up with adoring confidence to that God," who hath delivered his soul from death, his eyes from tears, and his feet from falling."

Through the weakness of our nature, and the perverseness of our tempers and dispositions, we may sometimes act as if the remembrance of past mercies was obliterated from our minds; but the moment in which the cloud of depravity and corruption is pierced by the light of conviction; the moment in which the believer, aroused from his slumbers by the Holy Spirit, considers the weight of his obligations to heaven; that moment his bosom will feel that godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto life, and grace will discover its existence in the soul by those warm effusions of gratitude and love, of which it is always productive. The recollection of that continued mercy he has enjoyed in the season of his wanderings from the path of duty, will act with all its force upon his mind; and, awakened by a sense of gratitude, the united powers of his soul will fall prostrate at the footstool of a compassionate, sin-pardoning Jehovah.

If the enjoyment of one mercy excited in our hearts a wish to be grateful and obedient, the astonishing repetition of those mercies we are daily receiving, must certainly increase that disposition. The Christian, therefore, when communing with his own heart; when retired from the view of mortals, he is engaged in the examination of himself, and inquiring into the extent of those returns he makes to heaven for the mercies he enjoys, must discover, unless blinded by self-love, so much cause for lamentation, so much reason for humility and sorrow, that his mind, oppressed with the weight of obligation to his Redeemer, will constrain him to exclaim, "O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and goodness of God!" "He hath not dealt with me according to my sins, nor rewarded me according