ceremonies of the old law, the purity of its morals, or the conditions of the new covenant, which was to offer "reconciliation for iniquity," and to accomplish the redemption of the world, by the mediation and atonement of Christ, was nearly in direct opposition to all this. Repentance, therefore, was the necessary and universal duty required of every one, who would embrace the glad tidings of salvation, that were now about to be proclaimed to the world.

But it is of importance to remark, that the word Repentance, in the original, and as used by the holy Baptist, is of more extensive import than our English term; and, indeed, it is not easy to fix on any two words, beyond the class of parti cles, the one selected from an ancient, and the other from a modern language, that shall, in all respects, precisely agree. Thus, the word in Greek, which we translate "repentance," means not only the forsaking of sin, with sorrow and contrition for having committed it; but, also, simply, "a change of mind:" which, with regard to the understanding, will apply to our principles and opinions; and, if it respects the heart, it will regulate the appetites, passions, and desires. Now, we may readily suppose, that, among the multitudes, who thronged to

the baptism of John, there were many good men, who lived, for the most part, agreeably to the light that was vouchsafed them; or who, at least were not roused to Repentance by the stings of conscience, nor the habitual commission of crimes: but all were now called on to renounce error for truth;to exchange the silly prejudices of the times for solid convictions of duty; to renounce the darkness of ignorance and superstition, and to open their eyes to the glorious light of the Gospel of Christ. It was in this enlarged sense, that the call to repentance applied, with singular propriety, to all mankind; and this will likewise enable us to explain, very satisfactorily, a remarkable expression of our blessed Lord; who, on a memorable occasion, said to the Scribes and Pharisees, "Likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, who need no repentance;" that is, persons who, like many professed Christians at present, need no such radical change of principles and conduct, as wilful sinners do;persons who are in the right path, though they sometimes deviate from it; or who may, and ought, to advance in it with less loitering, and more alacrity;-persons whose faith is sound,

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though it may not be sufficiently fruitful in good works; and who have little more to do, than to improve what is already good, and to avoid, with increasing vigilance and constancy, whatever they know to be evil. It is in this qualified manner, also, that we must understand the declaration of our heavenly Redeemer in the house of Matthew, when the Pharisees wondered that he should eat with publicans and sinners" I am not come to call the righteous," said he, "but sinners to repentance."

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With respect to the singular dress of the holy Baptist, the restriction of his ordinary food to locusts and wild honey,—and the observance of other austerities, we may remark that his office, as the precursor of the Messiah, was altogether extraordinary and new. It had no precedent, and, from the nature of things, it can never have a parallel. Though, therefore, his appearance and manner of life,—his rigid sanctity, his abstemiousness, and retirement from the world, were the fulfilment of prophecy, and furnished an example, that was admirably adapted to rouse the thoughtless, slumbering sinner, to stimulate the curious, and to impress the great body of the people with the deepest sense of his zeal and sincerity; yet the same rigorous observances,

and the same painful privations, can never be expected as duties of us; because we can never fill a similar situation: and therefore the venerable Baptist did not require them of any of his followers. He knew that the great scene of man's virtues, as well as the extensive field of his trials, efforts, and temptations must be in society and though John came "neither eating bread, nor drinking wine;" yet we are told, that our holy Redeemer came "both eating and drinking;" that is, sharing with freedom, but with unspotted innocence, in the ordinary intercourses of the world.

John, therefore, invited none to put on the mantle of camel's hair, which was a species of sackcloth,-to give up their daily bread for locusts and wild honey, or to lead a life of seclusion, like him, in the wilderness. On the contrary, when he addressed the soldiers and publicans, two orders of men that were particularly odious to the Jews, he recognised the lawfulness, if not the necessity of both, and only admonished them of their respective duties. To the former he said, "Do violence to no man, neither accusé any falsely; and be content with your wages." The latter were warned of their crying sins of avarice and extortion by his saying to them,

"Exact no more than that which is appointed you."

But though we are not called on to practise the austerities of the holy Baptist; yet let us never forget, that there is a wholesome measure of self-denial, and of occasional abstraction from the world, which becomes the duty of every disciple of Christ,-as favorable to thought and meditation, as essentially necessary to spiritual improvement, and as indispensably required of us, for the purposes of prayer, of self-examination, and of holy communion with our heavenly Father. This seems to be the more necessary in our day especially, when pleasure, with all the pomps and vanities of the world" are sought after with unprecedented, and often ruinous avidity.

We come now to an important event in the history of the holy Baptist's short ministry, when Jesus went from Galilee to Bethabara beyond Jordan "to be baptised of him." That divine person, whom he con templated with such reverence and humility, that he deemed himself unworthy to "unloose the latchet of his shoes," or rather, the tie of his sandals, now comes to his baptism. But John, in the true spirit of humi lity, said, "I have need to be baptised of thee