tory of this great Apostle and of the early church, and as affording a strong testimony to the truth and power of the Christian religion; but the anxiety of the Apostle to know what God would have him to do, is a common, a never-failing, characteristic of true religion in every age, and as such deserves our serious consideration. We, like Saul of Tarsus, must each one of us solemnly inquire, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" and this with an earnest desire, first, to know the will of God, and, secondly, to do it. We shall endeavour to illustrate the operation of this two-fold desire, with a view to shew when it may be considered as sincere, and, as such, indicative of true repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

I. First, then, there must be an earnest desire to know God's will.-Faith, love, obedience, and every good fruit, are grounded on scriptural knowledge: we must know in whom we believe, what he requires of us, what he has promised to the obedient, what he has threatened against the disobedient. Now we may judge whether we really feel this desire to know God's will, by examining whether we are willing to surrender our own will to it-whether we are using the appointed means for coming to a knowledge of it-and whether we are making

use of this knowledge with a practical reference to our own particular circumstances.

1. The first token, then, of our sincerity in wishing to know the will of God, is a willingness to surrender our own will to it, so far as it is known. This was strikingly displayed in the case of the Apostle. His own will had been strongly bent towards his favourite object of extirpating Christianity; he was pursuing his journey with alacrity, charged with a commission from the high priest for that purpose; but now he renounces his own plans and projects, and, like his great Master, the wish of his soul is, "Not my will, but thine, be done." "I am willing," as though he had said, "to abandon my own schemes, and my most fondly cherished opinions. I ask not what would be most agreeable to myself, or what would be most applauded by my fellow-creatures; but what thou, O Lord-thou, who art my Creator, and hast a claim to my fullest obedience; thou, O Saviour, whom ignorantly I have persecutedwouldst have me to do. Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. Command me what thou wilt; for thy commands must be holy, just, and good. Thou are infinitely wise, and canst not mistake; thou art supremely good; and what thou willest must be best for the happiness of thy creatures. It is thine to command; be it mine to listen and to obey."

2. A second token of our sincerity in wishing to know the will of God, is our diligent use of the means which he has provided for our coming to an understanding of it. The means in the Apostle's instance were, to repair to a particular place, where an instructor was divinely appointed to receive him, and to tell him what he should do. To have asked the question in the text, and not to have availed himself of the means of information pointed out in reply to his petition, would have shewn great hypocrisy and contempt for the command of God. Yet such is the conduct of many who esteem themselves to be Christians: they pray daily, "Thy will be done;" but they seek not to know what God demands; especially, they consult not the Scriptures, which are the record of his will; or, if they peruse them, it is only perhaps for the sake of form or amusement, without any serious desire of learning what he requires. Too many persons follow the dictates of their own fancy, or the current opinions of the world around them, instead of "inquiring at the mouth of the Lord." Now, this is quite inconsistent with a sincere use of the petition in the text. The chamberlain of Ethiopia, wishing to know the will of God, diligently perused the Scriptures, and entreated Philip to explain them to him. Cornelius was not contented indolently What is it, Lord?" but in compliance

to say,

with the answer to his inquiry, he sent immediately to Joppa for the Apostle Peter, and summoned his kinsmen and friends reverently to hear "what was commanded of God." We have not, indeed, in the present age, the same special and miraculous manifestations of God's will, because they are no longer necessary, since we have his revealed word, and various assistant means of religious edification and instruction. If we diligently use these, with humble prayer for the guidance of his Holy Spirit, we shall not go far, and, above all, not fatally, astray. The page of Revelation plainly declares what is God's will-not, indeed, all those mysteries of his secret counsels which our curiosity might wish to fathom, but all that concerns ourselves, so far as is necessary to be known by us for our present or eternal welfare; especially our duties and obligations towards God; the way to obtain the pardon of our sins through faith in the atonement of the Saviour; the virtues and graces which become our holy profession; and the rewards and punishments reserved for the righteous and the wicked in the unseen and eternal world. In that sacred page we are instructed in various branches of that will; different parts of it being at different times more particularly specified, but all combining in one consistent whole. Thus it is said, "This is the will of God, that ye believe

on Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent;" and again," This is the will of God, even your sanctification;" and again, "In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus;" and again, "What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God;"-all of which are comprised by our Saviour in the two golden precepts of loving God with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves. In an especial manner is unfolded to us that part of God's will which relates to us as sinners: thus faith in the Saviour is spoken of as the will of God in the first of the texts just quoted; holiness, in the second; and in numerous other passages, repentance, contrition for sin, prayer, humility, and all other particulars comprehended in the Christian life.

3. But it is not a mere general inquiry into points of Christian doctrine or duty that is sufficient to shew that we are in earnest in wishing to know the will of God, unless also we apply the investigation to our own particular case. The inquiry of St. Paul was strictly personal: "What wilt thou have me to do?" And similar is the language of every sincere penitent: he hears the word of God speaking to his own heart, pointing out his own sins, urging upon him his own duties. Every discourse he listens to seems to say, "I have a message from God