after it had been perpetrated. This part of my inquiry will bring us into close quarters with the soul, and nothing but a closeness of examination will at all teach us how it stands affected towards Christ. Have you ever been led by the spirit to prove your own selves, upon a point so seriously concerning you as this? and the point is, the influence that Christ's love has had upon your affections. Now to what extent have you individually been influenced?-to love the world a little less, to sacrifice a little less to its unreasonable and tyrannical requirements, to appear oftener in these courts of the Lord, and to treat the things of GOD with more reverence and regard-Is this the sum of your religion, the amount of your Christianity-Is this to have Christ's! throne in the affections? Ah, brethren, the world cannot be so modified as to meet the divine statutes, we must be dead to it, it must be crucified; and not until this death shall be accomplished will Christ be all or in all. I would, brethren, that we had the same heart for Christ, that we read was in that holy man, John of Alexandria, who, having distributed all his possessions to the poor-as indeed he was wont to do with his yearly revenues in his best health-thanked GOD, he had nothing left but his Lord and Master Christ, to whom he could now fly, with free and unentangled wings, to enjoy with him, unfading and everlasting riches. AT SAINT JAMES, CLERKENWELL, SUNDAY EVENING, Sept. 8, 1833. Jeremiah, viii. 20.-" The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." THESE words, my brethren, were spoken by the prophet Jeremiah in reference to the close of the day of grace to his wretched countrymen. In the former part of the chapter he had been pleading with them in the name of the Lord, with respect to their sinfulness, and showed them their foolish and shameless impenitence. "Why then is this people of Jerusalem," he says, "slidden back by a perpetnal backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return." "No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle." "Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush." This was their hardened state of rebellion. And Jeremiah proceeds to forewarn them, by the spirit of prophecy, of the grievous judgments of the Lord, which were about to be executed upon them,-" In the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord, I will surely consume them, saith the Lord." "For behold I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord." When the tender-hearted Jeremiah perceived this threatened judgment of GOD, although he fully knew the perverseness of his countrymen, yet was he overcome with the tenderest sorrow, and bewailed over their unhappy condition.-" When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me." "For the hurt of my daughter, am I hurt: I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me." And that which seemed to distress him most was the thought that the day of grace was to them for ever gone by; the warning of the Almighty had been disregarded, and that mercy which had been pressed upon them again and again had been still refused and despised; now all opportunities were gone, the door of access was shut, grace was withdrawn, the harvest was past, the summer was ended, and they were not saved. "Oh, that my head were waters," goes on the prophet to exclaim," and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." May the Lord grant us all grace to profit by their example, and to apply to that Physician who possesses a sufficient supply of that healing balm which is able to recover the health of our souls before it is said of us, as it was of them, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Although these words, my brethren, were spoken altogether in a figurative sense, yet at the present season of the year they seem to come home to us with peculiar force, and to unfold with greater beauty and in richer abundance, than at other times, the important spiritual lessons and instructions which the spirit that suggested them intended they should convey. May the same spirit bring them home to our hearts at this time with power and demonstration. “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." This is the season, my brethren, when, of all others, our hearts ought more especially to be raised in holy gratitude to GOD, the author and bestower of every good gift; for upon what part of this earth could we lately look where we did not perceive the riches of his bounty? In hope did the husbandman commit the seed into the bosom of the earth, and by the almighty power and gracious goodness of GOD that seed has been made fruitful, and receiving the early and the latter rain has been nourished and brought to maturity. The fields, which so lately laughed and sung with a luxuriant produce, have made glad the heart of man because of the abundance which they have yielded for his necessary maintenance. The trees of the garden too have offered their grateful offering, and every plant has contributed to the support and comfort of man: and all join, with their silent but powerful appeal, in calling on us to praise and glorify GOD. But has it never occurred to any of you how backward men are to acknowledge these gifts? The increase of the earth is a blessing which men are so much accustomed to receive, that too often they scarcely regard it in that light at all; when the land has been prepared and the seed sown, the produce is looked on as a matter of course, if not even as a matter of right. Often, indeed, my brethren, has my heart been sad in listening to the observations made by the thoughtless on the subject, and oftener in marking the utter ingratitude and the forgetfulness of God's kind providence, in those who were most dependent on his bounty and had the best opportunities of watching it. At such times, the words of the Almighty, by his prophet Isaiah, have forced themselves upon me,—“The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider." Now, although such ingratitude is chargeable upon, alas, too many, yet there are some, taught by GOD's own spirit, whose hearts are full of love to Him for his great goodness in providing for their wants, and for his kind and protecting care over them; when they view their own guilt and worthlessness and contemplate the bounties of a gracious Father, and his compassionate goodness in caring for their bodies, they are subdued into a holy gratitude and love. At such a season as the present, when the fruits of the earth have been gathered into the garners, such holy men feel a load of gratitude to Almighty God, and are deeply sensible of his bounty, and raise their hearts and their voices to speak his praise. But, my brethren, GoD is not only mindful of our bodies, but he is more mindful of our souls. The bread, which he daily bestows on us and which he daily permits us to ask of him, while it fills our bodies, is a pledge to us that He has also food for our souls ready to be conferred upon us. Our souls can no more spiritually live and prosper without being fed by GOD, than can our frail bodies be supported without our common sustenance. And what is that bread which he has provided and is ready to give for the health and the nourishment of men's souls? Hear the declarations of his own blessed word upon this subject," Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." "This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." Yes, my brethren, this is the rich seed which God has provided for our souls, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Guilty and polluted as we all are, how can we be saved? Dead in trespasses and sins, how are our souls to receive life? Multiplied as are our transgressions, how is it possible to obtain pardon? Alienated from GoD by wicked works, what way can be devised for our reconciliation? These, my brethren, are questions which men might, despondingly and despairingly, have asked; they are questions which all his boasted wisdom and fancied acquirements could have never answered, but a full reply to each of them is most graciously given in one short sentence, by Jesus Christ, —“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life." Having borne our iniquities and the chastisement of our peace, having made his soul an offering for sin, he became the bread of life to the souls of believers. In coming unto Him with a heart which he himself has made penitent, and with a lively faith which he has also imparted, and relying on the merits of his death and righteousness for pardon, and trusting in Him for every blessing and every grace, they spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood, and feel to their happy experience that he is the true bread of life. Their souls are quickened by his life-giving power; they die unto sin, but are made alive unto GOD; they see their sinfulness, they desire to be delivered from it; they feel its dominion over their hearts, they are anxious to be set at liberty; they perceive the loveliness of a conformity to God's law, and it is their first and most ardent wish to be so renewed in the spirit of their minds as to be made partakers of his holiness. | My brethren, let me ask each of you, has ever such a change as this passed upon you? Your hearts are naturally estranged from GOD and opposed to his law; you have not only no desire to please Him, but you are by nature leagued against Him; your passions claim indulgence, your evil tempers strive for the mastery, satan holds you his captive, and an ungodly world seeks and obtains the division of your heart. Now have those whom I now address been ever raised from this death of sin? Have you ever experienced the converting influence of the Holy Ghost upon your souls? Have you ever been born again-born of the Spirit? Being convinced of sin, have you been led to cry out for mercy? Have you been brought in deep humility to the cross of Christ for pardon and for peace? Has the love of Christ been shed abroad in your hearts? Has His power crucified sin within you, and have you been raised by grace to newness of life? Oh, my brethren, these are important questions-questions which I pray every one among you may put to his own conscience as in the sight of GOD. If you cannot return a satisfactory reply, then will you not be able to comprehend what is meant by Christ when he says, "I am the bread of life." But the souls of believers require not only to be once quickened by the bread which comes down from heaven, but to be fed and nourished by it day by day. Alas, without it soon would they languish and die; for as the body cannot subsist without a constant supply of food, no more can the soul without daily and hourly and momentarily receiving of the living bread. So numerous are the temptations which beset us, so fallen and corrupt is our nature, and so deceitful and wicked are our hearts, that, if not constantly supplied and upheld by the Lord's grace, believers would soon stumble and fall. When attacked by all the cunning craftiness and malicious attempts of satan, their strength would fail them; when beset by trials and dangers and afflictions, their faith would yield; when smiled upon by the sunshine of prosperity, their hearts would be lifted up with self-confidence and pride, and their love of Christ would wax cold; and when surrounded by the thick clouds of sorrow and adversity, their lamp of hope would burn dimly and their souls would be enveloped in darkness and in gloom. What real Christian has not felt this to be the casehas not experienced in himself the truth of these statements? Has he not felt that the spiritual life which Christ's spirit implanted in his soul has been weak and ready to die? But, blessed be GOD, a remedy for all this is provided in the Gospel of Christ. A constant supply of his grace is graciously vouchsafed, by which the believer's faith is confirmed, their love increased, their hopes established, and their weakness made strong; so that, fed by the bread of life, they grow in spiritual life and increase in all the fulness of the grace of GoD and in all the fruits of his Spirit. Thus, my brethren, is the goodness of GOD manifested to mankind in amply providing for the support and maintenance both of the corruptible body and the undying soul. Daily food hunger; and he that believeth in me shall never thirst." "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,” that is, he that trusts in Christ's atonement for sin, and has his sins washed away in his blood, and his heart renewed and sanctified by His Spirit, him up at the last day." And his affecting complaint is, that men will not come unto Him that they may have life. Moreover, a variety of means of grace is afforded us. He has blessed us with the revelation of his own will, and put it into our hands; he has given us the ministry of his word— public worship and public teaching; he has given us sacraments of his own for each is graciously prepared and most lovingly offered. But, oh, lamentable to reflect, while that which supports the former is anxiously sought after and engages many a thoughtful hour, and enhances much laborious exertion, that which is equally necessary for the life of the latter," hath eternal life: and I will raise and of as much more importance, as eternity is to time, is neglected and despised. There is a time appointed by GoD for bestowing both these kinds of food, and for man to appropriate to himself these gifts of mercy. There are the appointed weeks of harvest when the fruits of the earth are cut down and gathered into the barn; and if, through any unaccountable infatuation, the husband- | man were to waste the time in the appointment, and other high privipursuit of pleasure and the enjoy-leges which no nations on earth ment of worldly folly until the summer being ended, the wintry storms and snow should destroy the produce of the earth, what would be the direful consequence, my brethren ?-would it not be well merited starvation and death? Now this is the very case supposed in the text, or rather it is what actually happened to the Jewish nation in reference to their temporal kingdom; and it is what will most assuredly befall each of us who now neglects to lay hold of Christ's great salvation. The Jews had their day of grace, their blessings, their privileges, their mercies. They had their warnings, their threatenings, their most affectionate entreaties; but the time of harvest was allowed to go by, the season of summer to pass away, and they were not saved. My brethren, now is our spiritual harvest-now is the bread of life within our reach, yea, it is most lovingly, most affectionately pressed upon us. He, who is the living bread itself, says, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest." "He that cometh to me shall never possess like our own. This is the abundant harvest of spiritual food which the Lord has vouchsafed to us, my brethren; and now is the summer for gathering in the harvest, now is the time for coming to Jesus that we may have life-for going to that fountain open for sin and all uncleanness to wash our guilty and polluted souls, and to be made white in the blood of the Lamb; now is the time of refreshing from the spirit of all grace,-of having our hearts renewed, of having our nature sanctified; now is the time to receive the spirit of adoption, to be made one with Christ and Christ with us, to dwell in Christ and Christ in us, and to live upon Christ spiritually. And still further to encourage us, it is added by the Saviour himself, “ Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." "In no wise"-however polluted, however sinful, however guilty," Him that cometh unto me,” for pardon, cometh to be born again of the Spirit, cometh to be made a partaker of his righteousness—“ Him |