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This gospel is still further adapted to man as a polluted being. And we bring the broad and sweeping charge against human nature as a whole that it is in this state of pollution. We acknowledge that there is a vast disparity as it relates to the exterior man. We know there may be the consistency of friendship, the ardor of patriotism, and the firmness of inflexible principle, even where the gospel has not found its way; and individuals who admit this truth, bring it as a charge that we have underrated the condition of mankind, and, therefore, the gospel is not necessary for them. We admit that there are in the character of man some appearances more favorable than others: we admit there are some species of excellence to be found where the gospel has not worked its way. But let us come to the point-on what are we to form our estimate of the moral character of man? Upon principle and motive. Upon that which we designate principle depends the moral virtue of every action, and the moral quality of every mind. Where this principle is wanting, there the character is reduced to one mass of moral depravity: where this principle exists, there is, undoubtedly, a substratum of moral excellence. And when we proceed to the examination, we shall find, that though there may be amiable dispositions, generous feelings, and firm friendships, there is a total destitution of moral principle, in the scriptural sense of the word; for that principle is, supreme love to God, evincing itself in all its appropriate forms. Bring forth, therefore, the most flattering specimen of human nature that your imagination can paint, or your experience can produce, whether in Christian or heathen lands; if the love of God has not actuated it, if the fear of God has not restrained it, if a regard to the Divine authority has not influenced it, then, notwithstanding the attractions with which the man is invested, we are compelled to reduce him to his own naked deformity, and to say, he is "a child of wrath even as others." Weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, he is found wanting: measured by the rule of right and wrong, he comes short of what regeneration and pardon imply and the decis ions of the last day will award the unhappy outcast his destiny amongst those who had lived without repentance, and died without hope.

And is this the condition of man, as man, under all the varied forms of his existence? And has the sin-sick angel of death breathed on the vast family of man? And are they all spiritually dead? It is true. And how are they to be made alive again? The past history of the world is only a mournful record of the triumphs of sin, over every barrier that civilization or philosophy has interposed. But "the glorious gospel" comes in to our aid; and, at the very moment that it reveals to us an all-efficacious atonement through faith, by which sin

may be pardoned, it exhibits a benign agent who can enlighten what is dark, and cleanse what is impure, and elevate what is earthly, and carry the very light of heaven into the inert mass of this world's cor ruption. And this benign agent will communicate himself to the most unworthy supplicant that implores its aid, not only with the sovereignty of a prince, but with the generosity of a friend. So that no man is doomed to live the slave of sin contrary to his will. Wherever he is, this gospel comes to his aid. Living under a dispensation of mercy, however reduced he may be by the recklessness of his evil propensities, the gospel meets him on the very ground to which he is reduced, raises his prostrate spirit, and impresses upon it the long-lost lineaments of heaven.

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It is "the glorious gospel" because it is adapted to man, as a miserable being. Misery and guilt are linked to each other in an unbroken chain; and no man can be the voluntary slave of sin, without, in a proportionate degree, being the victim of wretchedness. To prove this, I need not exhibit to you the many-colored woes which obtain in this lower world; I need not point out to you the pestilence impregnating the air with poison, and war drenching its sword in blood; I need not take you down to those haunts where the victims of want retire to die; I will take you where some of you may be reluctant to go; I will take you into the interior of an unpardoned sinner's heart, and there you will find misery personified before your view. He has a consciencea conscience that appears to slumber- and he may even imagine that it is dead. But it is active all the while with minute attention it notices every action of his life; it chronicles every thought, and waits only the favorable moment to read the black catalogue aloud, to the confusion of the sinner and the astonishment of the world. Awakening, by some unexpected incident in the history of his life, his conscience is like rousing the hungry lion in his lair: no power can resist its force, no attempts can mitigate its rage. O, the horrors of an accusing conscience! There are some evils which you may escape by going into company; there are others which you may avoid by going into solitude: but the guilty wretch passes into company, and his guilty conscience dashes the untasted cup of pleasure from his trembling lips: he goes into solitude, and, as a spirit, it passes before him, and "the hair of his flesh stands up." O man, whoever thou art, whose conscience is unappeased by the blood of sprinkling, peace of mind thou canst not enjoy:

"The dreadful syllables-death, hell, and sin-
Tho' whispered, plainly tell what works within;
That conscience there performs its faithful part,
And writes a doomsday sentence on your heart."

And how is this conscience to be appeased? Will philosophy avail? Will scepticism avail? Will pleasure avail? Miserable comforters are they all; a guilty conscience, like the barbed arrow in the panting sides of the wounded deer, adheres to him wherever he goes, and every attempt to eradicate the fatal shaft only lacerates the wound the more. Am I addressing such a being this evening; and do you ask, with anxious, palpitating breast, "How shall I escape the wrath to come?" O, I rejoice that I stand before you with "the glorious gospel of the blessed God." That very atonement that satisfied the claims of justice, will satisfy the claims of conscience; that very blood that expiated the guilt of sin, will allay the throbbings of an anxious mind. Here is the balm, the vital and all-healing balm, that alone can reach the emergency of your case; all else is but moral empyricism, that mocks the misery it proposes to alleviate, and deepens the wound it proposes to heal. Come to the Cross; come, and by faith apply the precious blood of sprinkling, and you will have peace within and peace above, “a tranquil conscience and a smiling God;" a peace which, built on a firm foundation, and supported by principle, cannot be shaken by aught that time can develope, or eternity conceal; a peace which, like the unruffled surface of the lake on a calm summer's evening, is not only tranquil, but reflects on its bosom the very tranquillity of the skies. O, could I but persuade you to come and allay the throbbings of your mind, by the application of this precious blood; then you would feel the truth of the declaration, that it is "the glorious gospel of the blessed God."

This gospel is adapted to man as an immortal being. That it be so, I need not now pause to prove; our sense of right and wrong, our insuppressible forebodings, the apparent disorders that obtain in the moral government of the universe, all combine to fasten on our minds the truth that we shall be called to a final and definite account — "Apart from which consideration," (to use the language of the finest orator of his day,) "our life is a shadow, our very existence itself is a riddle, and the mysterious events that obtain in the world around us, are as incoherent as the leaves which are scattered by the wind."

But what relief can be afforded to the inquiry-whether it be prompted by the moody spirit of unhallowed scepticism, or the trembling anxiety of unsatisfied conscience Is this soul of mine immortal, or does it die with the body? Is this eye, before which the wide domain of nature lies spread in beautiful perspective, to be for ever quenched in darkness? Is this spirit, that seems like the master spirit of this lower world, that can penetrate the profoundest with the keenness of intuition, and embody the loftiest in the colors of a vivid

imagination, to sink into gloom and annihilation, and to be, notwithstanding all its mental appliances, as though it never had been? To lull these anxious inquiries - inquiries suggested by the loftiest mind that ever descended on this orb, and to which they found no satisfac tory reply — we return an unhesitating answer: "the glorious gospel of the blessed God." There we learn that our soul is as immortal as the source from whence it came: that it may change the mode of its existence, but that its existence can never close; that it will pass through the valley of the shadow of death, but only to enter its mag nificent residence, where it will find objects corresponding to its nature, and commensurate with its duration; and that which pours such a food on the eternal destination of man, and not only points out heaven, but bestows the boon, must be "the glorious gospel of the blessed God."

It is so, in the last place, because it is adapted to man as an imgs tent being. For vast and important as are the blessings to wiei I have adverted, if they were bestowed on conditions with when Be could not possibly comply, the exhibition would only serve to tuck our misery and enhance our despair; we should only be in the predicament of the wretch of antiquity, who was suspended over a ruumiy surat, which, when he attempted to partake of it, rushed frou uit, aut w him more wretched than before. The blessing to wet I have adverted, are not more exalted in their nature that free at tum dumper sal; they are without money and without price: aud to be rituout money and without price is all that is required on your part but mine, in order to receive them as the express gift of Leaves. W our first parents were expelled from Paradise, there was a mug wil a flaming sword placed to guard the entrance to that Parative, bus w prevent their return. But here is no angel. I rocal the ergronds there is an angel; but instead of an angel of justice with we fou ing sword, it is the angel of mercy; and a voice

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The reign of sin and misery is not to exist eternally on this lower world; it is to be brought to a close. Standing on the mount of Scripture prophecy, and looking down the vale of time, we contemplate a scene such as earth never saw; such as angels stoop down to see. The language of beauty and blessedness is employed to depict, as with the colors of heaven, this unearthly scene. The effects of the Savior's death will flow down the tide of eternity, will increase with the increasing gratitude of successive generations, and be prolonged, even after it has been hymned over the habitations of this lower world. But what is to produce this change? Will philosophy and civilization accomplish it? The experiment has been tried: for four thousand years philosophy had its reign; and it is a well-attested fact, that, at the time in which philosophy shone with its greatest splendor, in which philosophers themselves were men of the highest repute, and when it was the pride of kings and emperors to patronize them, and raise them to honor - at that very time men were sunk in the depth of moral degradation; sable night spread her canopy over this darkened world, under which the most detestable rights were perpetrated in rapid succession. A by-stander might say, " Philosophy, it is true, instructed their minds, and civilization reformed their manners;" but there is nothing that can stop the course of that infernal pit, the pestilence of which continually rises before our view, and produces all monstrous things. But the gospel will come into our view, and achieve all that, in the praises of which poets sung and martyrs bled. O, what visions of glory-you who love the Savior, and desire now to encircle his brow with mediatorial glory — what visions of glory rise before our view! In the prospect of those scenes we discover the truth: eternal truth, which has so long labored through the darkness of an eclipse, shall shine forth in its own splendor; and men will acquire a knowledge of subjects, equally important in their nature, and imperishable in their duration. "Holiness" - consisting in the supreme love of God, and of conformity to his image will be written on the very bridles of the horses, and mingle with the commerce of the nations. The heart of man -now a fountain from which all fetid streams are perpetually pouring forth will then give birth to all that is holy in principle, and bland in disposition. The breath of heaven has originated more enlightened systems of civil government than any the world ever discovered. Then, indeed, philosophy shall refine the minds, and civilization reform the manners of mankind: but, above all, the gospel, under its plastic influence, shall mould this world into such a scene of moral beauty, that the Deity shall again look on it with complacency, and pronounce that all is very good. The love of the Savior shall warm every heart,