ones imaginable are laid! My remarks, at this moment, are specially addressed to Christian professors. You have made a profession of the name of Christ. I am not now asking to what particular section of the visible church you belong. I am asking a more important question than that Are you holding the head, from whom the whole body must ever be complete? Why is it that you profess the name of Christ? How came you to do it? Was it after you had passed the strait gate? Have you passed that gate at all? This spiritual change of heart-this illuminating influence from the Spirit of God is the foundation-principle of all experimental and personal religion. Every part of it is different from a system of mere morality, which thousands in the present world think quite sufficient for all purposes; or to give their morality a little more sanction from the gospel, the same individuals are sometimes found, contriving in some way or other to put Christ into the system, not however as the exclusive foundation of a sinner's hope, but as somewhat necessary to make up for their admitted deficiences. But what after all is a transaction of this kind? If you trace it out, it is neither more nor less than personal righteousness-the very worst foundation on which any guilty sinner can be supposed to build!—In fact it is building on himself, at the criminal expense of a rejected Christ! Is not that the individual whom the language of the text would select, and distinctly proclaim in the hearing of every one, that the light that is in him is palpable darkness? It is thus, that whatever men may take up as professedly their first principles, if they come short of deep and genuine repentance-faith in a crucified Saviour-justification by his imputed righteousness-all is dark, and all is delusive! Or however

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individuals may be capable of talking of religious thingsif their hearts warm not with love to Christ, and are ready to glory only in his cross, where, I ask, are the first principles-the elementary workmanship within the heart likely to stand in the day of the judgment of all flesh? Professors need often to examine their hearts. If first principles are wanting, every thing useful is wanting; or if a profession be the whole of our religion; although it is true, we may maintain an appearance, yet the vitality of the gospel, and the essence of Christianity are certainly absent. Let me here direct your attention to an important distinction; and what will add to its importance—it has been laid down by our Saviour himself. "A man," says he, "who builds his house upon the sand is foolish, but the man who builds upon a rock is wise." The wisdom of the one and the folly of the other is found in the day of a storm. The descending rain and the heavy tempest demolish the one house, whilst the other, by being founded on a rock, maintains its wonted position, and outlives the blast. The point of the similitude is apparent.-It shows us the condition of the sinner who builds for eternity on himself and out of Christ; or the safety of him who embraces such a rock for a shelter. Are we instructed by the similitude? The lesson of its teaching is this—that we seek to ascertain for ourselves, whether the light that is in us be darkness? And we now proceed to shew

II. The true characteristics of such a condition, where the supposition of the text is realized-" How great is that darkness!"

The darkness spoken of in the text is not a natural darkness, neither properly speaking is it an intellectual, but rather spiritual darkness; and the greatness of it may be illustrated by remarking,

1. That a darkened mind is liable to make an erroneous choice. Take an individual who is literally blind, and place him in the midst of a thousand objects, one only of which thousand may be beneficial for him to possess and enjoy,the enquiry is this, is he likely to pick out of the surrounding mass the only one calculated to do him good? By chance he might, so to speak; but are there not nearly a thousand chances against it; and are we not likely to say in such a case, how great was his darkness that thus prevented him from being blessed? But it is even worse, if we speak of blindness in a spiritual sense, for if our pretended or assumed light be darkness in religious affairs, the consequence is positive and certain that we make a wrong choice. The danger is not so much in our possessing a feeble light, as in our possessing a wrong light-wrong in its kind, and wrong in its object. There were those in the days of Christ whom he reproved for their misconceptions of his character, and of what was right.-"Ye seek me," said he to those who were gratified with the display of his miracles, and who had feasted themselves on his miraculous provision, "Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles" in their proper aspect, and as the evidence of my Divinity, "but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled." Here they may have possessed light enough to lead them to see that Jesus of Nazareth was some uncommon character or some superior prophet, but he was not apprehended as the Son of God, nor followed for the sake of the purity of his doctrine. And what do we see in the present day? Take the world as the field of your observation, and what do you see? There are those, whose understanding has as yet never been enlightened by the rays of supernatural vision, making choice of those things which concern the

present world only. The light which they possess carries them no further than this; and as the light that is in them is darkness, the greatness of that darkness is seen by the choice which is made of the present world, in preference to the interests of eternity. And if we still keep looking around us, and contemplate another, and another group of character, some perhaps possessing a degree of intellectual light, and amongst whom altogether there may have been distributed a diversity of gifts-yet their light too is little better than darkness, and proved to be darkness by the choice which it leads to of any thing and every thing in preference to the favour of God. When thus the understanding is blind to spiritual things altogether, the darkness must verily be great. Is it not fitting to characterize it as gross darkness? The faculty of perception is there, but it grasps not and rests not on the things that are proper; and as it must continue to feel after something, the choice which individuals, up to the amount of many thousands are making, is a choice pernicious to the best interests of the soul! Oh, then, if the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness in its effects!

2. By reason of a darkened understanding, the other faculties of the mind are perverted, and so are the affections.

What, for example, must be the state of the judgment, where the understanding is a faculty so beclouded? Is it not likely to take the side of those very things which it ought to reject? And just so with the remaining faculties of our mental constitution. Individuals may suppose what they please of themselves, or may be ready to pride themselves on the strength of an arrogated superiority; but it

is a fact notwithstanding, that since the fall, every moral power we possess has sustained an eclipse! And let us for a moment look at the state of the affections. To prove to you that when the light that is in any is darkness, that darkness must be great, especially in reference to spiritual and eternal things; is your love, I would ask, placed upon God? and your love, you know, is a part of the train of your affections. May we further be permitted to speak of your desires? And suppose we enquire, whether in such a state your desires are heavenward? Now you cannot but acknowledge that in a state of unconversion, your love is not with God and your desires are not in heaven. He was a converted man who said, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and in the earth, there is none that I desire beside thee;" so that here it is equally plain again, that the light that was in such an one was the light of the Spirit. But look a second time at the reverse of this-mark well the characteristics of such a condition.-One universal confusion and spiritual disorder has covered the inner man, where the light of the Spirit has not penetrated! All is chaos. within; and that which ought to constitute the directing faculty, is unable to direct, or to enlighten the soul in its way to a happy eternity. These remarks of course apply with full force to the state of those, whose attention, from one year's end to another is never directed to the subjects of the gospel, and who live in utter forgetfulness of God and of their own responsibility. No emblem can properly represent the greatness of their darkness; whilst the danger of the case is seriously aggravated by their supposing that they have light! They have light enough it is true to know their own temporal interests, and light enough to enable them wisely to pursue those interests; but what,