Jesus Christ, and him crucified; and, God forbid, said he, that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world, Gal. vi. 14.

Here, then, is a sure and tried foundation, whereon may safely rest the immortal hopes of every penitent sinner; one on which the most diffident Believer may venture confidently to build for eternity; a Foundation too, "wide as the world," which has for ages, on its adamantine Base, supported the whole Fabric of the Church of the First-born; and which, established by two immutable things, wherein it was impossible for God to lie, when all other foundations are crumbled into oblivion,

vion, or swept away by the windy storm and tempest, shall remain for ever, to the praise of the glory of his grace,—a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation, Isa. xxviii. 16.

Here, too, has the eternal Mercy of God, who is not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance, erected a Barrier, firm and high, between his ransomed creatures, and that abyss of perdition to which they are exposed;-a Barrier, which neither earth nor hell can destroy, and which none can pass but in opposition to the Holy Ghost, and in contempt, either open or virtual, of the Promises and Threatenings,- of the Love, -and of the Blood,-of God.

The

The simplicity of the means appointed for the attainment of the Gospel Salvation, is scarcely less wonderful than the Salvation itself: He that BELIEVETH shall be saved; BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou [penitent Sinner] shalt be saved. In this, the exceeding grace of God shines with pre-eminent lustre; for, in what other way, but that of faith, could a sinner, perishing in his sins, and without strength, avail himself of the Divine Mercy? and how could he be saved, even in this way, were not the faith itself, through which he is saved, the gift of God? Thus both the end and the means are of God: For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

K

God: not of Works, lest any man should boast, Ephes. ii. 8, 9.

Surely it is impossible to contemplate the sublime and awful operations of the Love of God, as exhibited in the economy of Redemption, without feeling the full force of that most piercing question: How shall we escape, if we neglect so great saltion? How inexpressibly miserable, then, must be the condition of those, who wilfully and perseveringly reject the salvation of God; who, vainly puffed up by their fleshly minds, despise the riches of his grace, madly trample under foot the blood of the Covenant, and deny the Lord that bought them. How soon will every refuge of lies fail them; and then, alas! the conviction

viction may come too late, and attended by circumstances too horrible for reflection, that other foundation can no man lay than that is laid; and that there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins; but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries, Heb. x. 26, 27.

THE END.