way is open to the cross. Go to the cross. Thou hast heard he is a Savior; he can save to the uttermost; lay hold of that Savior. What is faith in Christ? It is a reliance upon Christ, a firm reliance upon your Savior. It is like a man ready to drown-throw him a shilling rope and a thousand pounds bank note—which would he choose? We have heard of some who have preferred this world to Christ; but throw a drowning man a shilling rope and a thousand pounds; will he argue, "Oh! I wonder if this rope be strong enough, I wonder if it is twisted the right way?" no, the man says, "I am drowning, and unless I get get hold of the rope, I shall be lost." So it is with thee, my poor fellow-sinner. I have not many moments to speak to thee, and therefore I show thee a plain illustration; I tell thee, thou must, by the hand of faith, get hold of the Savior, and cling to the Savior, and then, sure as God's Word, thy debt is paid, thy soul is saved and thou art justified. I tell you, there is a way to the cross; I tell you there are blessings clustered in the cross; I tell you there is a Savior hanging on that cross; and what is his language? "Look unto me"-"look unto me"-"look unto me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth." "Oh! but," says the sinner, "you do not know my case; I was the child of pious parents; when upon earth they prayed with me, and laid their hands upon my head, and cried to God to save me; but their hoary heads are in the grave; they are dead and gone to God, and I am not saved; do you think there is salvation for me?" I tell you there is there is mercy for you. Jesus is "able to save to the uttermost." Christ crucified can bring you into the peace and favor of God in this world, and take you to reign with God for ever.

Now I will just give you a specimen- a sample of God's ability to save. You have looked at the cross, and you have looked at the Savior; now look at one side of the cross, and see what is there. There is another being crucified with the Savior; look at him, a poor wretch, who is deemed unfit for this world, who has been taunting the Savior, and saying to him, "If thou be the Christ, save thyself and us." But see; Jesus has turned and looked upon him, and that sight has broken his heart, and he has looked at Christ with the eye of faith, and through the prickly thorns streaming with blood, and he has said, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Can he save him? can he save him? Will he save him? will he save him? Here is a poor wretch, perhaps, who never prayed in his life before, and just as his tongue is cleaving to the roof of his mouth in the agonies of dissolution, and his life-blood is gurgling from his hands and feet, he cries, "Lord, remember me."

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Will he save him? What does he say? He said nothing to the multitudes that were shouting around the cross; he said nothing to the scoffs of the scorner; no, the scoffs of the scorner he noticed not, the shouts of the multitude he regarded not. But here is a penitent whispering in his ear the cry for mercy, and that he hears, and he says, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with me in paradise." And that day, before six o'clock at night, Christ took the spirit of the thief up to heaven; and it is there this morning, as a sample of God's ability to save. Oh! go to thy Savior, gaze upon thy Savior. While you see him taking the spirit of the thief up to paradise with him, say, on account of his love, on account of his mercy, am determined not to know any thing, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."

"I

save you in this life For, blessed be God,

save you in death, and save you for ever. there is an eternal home with him; and if you once put your feet within the threshold of heaven's gate, you may go to its pearly battlements and cry, "Farewell, tempting devil! farewell, sin and sorrow, I am far from the world, and far from your reach." Lord! save us all for evermore in Christ.

SERMON V.

CHRIST'S CHURCH.

BY REV. T. RAFFLES, D. D., L. L. D.

"And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."-MATTHEW xvi. 18.

PERHAPS there is no passage of Holy Scripture that has furnished more abundant materials for controversy than this. There are no less than six modes, for instance, of interpreting the word "rock;" and each of these modes of interpretation can boast its great name, and claim for its sanction some acknowledged masters in Israel; whilst the nature and constitution of the "Church," which our Lord declares he "will build upon that rock," has been, from time immemorial, and is at this present moment, matter of furious controversy and warm debate. With this controversy, however, we purpose not to intermeddle; we have neither time nor inclination for this; but we shall simply endeav

or, by Divine help, to give you a plain and practical, and, I trust, intelligent exposition of the passage.

With the occasion of it, you are, doubtless, perfectly familiar. When our Lord "came into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi," the sacred historian tells us he began to inquire of his disciples what were the opinions which men entertained and expressed concerning him. The general impression is, that he went thither for the sake of retirement and instructive conversation with his disciples; but whatever might have been his immediate motive, he certainly did most effectually improve his residence there for that purpose. He opened the conversation, which he there held with them, by the important question, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" What is the general opinion which men entertain and express concerning me?

Many propose a similar question concerning themselves from motives of vanity and of overweening self-conceit, in the hope of hearing in reply something that will minister to their pride, and prove as grateful incense offered at the shrine of their self-esteem. But of such a motive as this, the Redeemer was incapable; and the question he thus proposed to the disciples, was for their sakes, rather than his own,that from their answer he might take occasion more aptly and impressively to "expound to them the things concerning himself: " his mysterious nature, his mediatorial character, and his spiritual kingdom.

And then they told him—"Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets;" for there was a controversy respecting him at that day, as well as now. Some regarded him as an impostor and a deceiver of the people; some said, "He hath a devil, and is mad," and marvelled that such multitudes should flock to hear him; some even dared to affirm, that he was in league with the powers of darkness, and wrought his stupendous miracles by Satanic agency.

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And this appears to me to be that very "sin against the Holy Ghost" which shall never be forgiven, "neither in this world, nor in that which is to come -to ascribe to infernal influence those mighty works which he wrought by the immediate agency of the Spirit of God; for immediately after the utterance of this blasphemy, "He casteth out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils," our Lord pronounced these tremendous words, "Verily, I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation;" and it is added-" Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit."

But among those who entertained better opinions, a general impres sion was, that he was John the Baptist, or one of the ancient prophets risen from the dead. And when they thus told him the various opinions men entertained respecting him, he added, "But whom say ye that I am?" What is your opinion? And Peter, always prompt, ever ardent, instantly responded, "Thou art the Christ" the Messiah, the Anointed-" the Son of the living God." Now it was in reply to Peter, and as suggested by his answer, that our Lord gave utterance to the memorable announcement of the text: "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

There are two things, to which our attention is demanded in the text; first, the edifice of which the Redeemer speaks-the "Church," and, secondly, the relation in which he himself stands to that edifice: "my Church." "Upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

I. First, the edifice of which the Redeemer speaks-the Church"my Church." What does he mean by his Church?

Not any material building, of whatever form or dimensions, however costly the materials of which it is composed, however approved the style of architecture in which it is constructed, however vast the proportions by which it is distinguished, however exquisite the skill with which it is wrought, however gorgeous the ceremonial, however appropriate the rites by which it is consecrated. Though there may be the long-drawn aisle, and the fretted vault, and the pealing anthem, and the measured chant-all this does not constitute a church, according to the New Testament acceptation of the term, nor, assuredly, in the sense in which our Lord is to be understood in the passage before us. Nor are we to understand by it any building of humbler kind, or of worse materials, or of inferior workmanship.

No mere collection of material things, then, whether stone, or clay, or wood, is a church, in the scriptural acceptation of the word. Custom has, indeed, so applied the term to such edifices, that there are multitudes who affix to it no other idea; but not a solitary instance of such an application of the term occurs in the whole compass of the sacred volume. But very few passages will suffice to show, that where the word "church" is used, whether by Christ or by his apostles, persons, and not things, are intended by it. Thus, in that wellknown passage, which has been so notoriously perverted from its right meaning, referring to the exercise of Christian discipline, our Lord says "If he "that is, the offending brother" if he will not

of one or

hear thee," when thou hast told his fault in the presence two others, (taken with him as witnesses by the offended party,) then "tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." To suppose that our Lord meant, in this case, any material edifice, such as a chapel or a church, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, were, you know, an utter absurdity; for, then must bricks and stones be endowed with intelligence, and have ears to hear, and tongues to speak.

But if by the word "church" persons are meant, the question is, who are the persons that thus compose the church, and under what circumstances do they so compose it? The literal meaning of the word "church" is an assembly; but every assembly is not a church. The tumultuous mob gathered together in the streets of Ephesus, of which we read in the Acts, and of whom it is said, the greater part knew not wherefore they were congregated—that is termed an assembly, and the word translated "church" is employed to express it; but that is not a church.

The circumstances under which persons constitute a church, are twofold. To express the first, I will use the language employed by one of the thirty-nine articles of the Church of England-for I cannot find language, to my apprehension, better fitted for the purpose: "A church," saith the article, " is a congregation of faithful men,” (mark you that,) "in which congregation the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments be duly ministered, according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things which are requisite unto the same." This is the first sense in which the word "church" is to be understood. Every assembly of professing Christians, associated or convened for the purposes of religious worship, the celebration of the divine ordinances, the maintenance or administration of Christian discipline, or the enjoyment of Christian communion, in any of its acts or forms, in one place, is a church. The external circumstances, under which such an association or society exists, may be various, but they in no wise, and in no degree affect its essential character. It may be large, or it may be small; it may be rich, or it may be poor; it may be learned, or it may be illiterate; there may be many such societies, or more than one, or only one, in a village, in a hamlet, in a town, in a city, in a district, but each and every one, as the case may be, is a church. The Church at Jerusalem was so large that three thousand were added to it in a single day; whilst we read in the New Testament of churches so small that they could meet in a private house. Such a church there was in the house of Priscilla and Aquila, and in the house of Nymphas ; whilst, when more churches than one existed in a district, we do not find that