I repeat it, then, who shall undertake to say that such persons are not in Christ?

Far be it from me, beloved brethren, to pronounce any such sentence: at the same time, allow me, with the freedom and sincerity of a faithful instructor, to acknowledge plainly, that my text and discourse this morning are peculiarly intended for the cases of persons who are apt to talk and think of themselves in this way. St. Paul, in another place, exhorts the Corinthian converts to" examine themselves whether they be in the faith;" which, in fact, is the same thing as to examine themselves whether they be in Christ. Now, in regard to those who are hardened in their wicked courses, who are drinking in iniquity like water, I conceive such characters can lay no great stress on their baptism and Christian name; they cannot seriously think that they can be in Christ to any saving purpose: and in general they will allow that they must become new creatures, or, at least, must in a degree repent of their evil ways, before the name of Christian or the baptism of their childhood can do them any essential good. It is, then, the decorous professor of Christianity; the man whose faith is orthodox, whose temper is

amiable, and whose conduct in his intercourse with his fellow-creatures is in general irreproachablethis is the man whose attention I would excite to a salutary suspicion and a self-examination. God forbid that I should pretend, as I before observed, to pronounce on his case! yet I must say, I think he may have all the aforementioned qualifications, and not be in Christ: there may be in him much to value and to commend, yet still there may not be the new creature of the Scriptures: he may possess many specious virtues, may be useful in the sphere in which he is called to act, may even give his body to be burned, and yet at bottom may be found as "sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal."

To be in Christ, then, implies something more than the mere name of a Christian and a compliance with certain forms and ceremonies. Even a strict observance of many moral and indispensable duties does not constitute a man to be in Christ. And it is the more necessary to make this matter clear, because there is but too much reason to fear that many may continue to suppose themselves to be in Christ, merely on account of these things, and for having been baptized in his name, and having always belonged to a sound and orthodox church.

If these things are so; if we now understand, negatively, what it is not to be in Christ; if it be true that for a man to be in Christ implies something more than a mere nominal profession of Christianity; I would hope that the serious part of this congregation are at this moment considering what are the positive, the indispensable requisites, which must be found in every one who has any pretensions to be in Christ. And I would further hope, that this consideration will carry each person's thoughts a little beyond mere speculation in a matter of so much consequence—that is, that it will lead him to reflect, whether he himself is actually possessed of those requisites; or whether he has not hitherto been content with that dead faith of which St. James speaks; whether he has not rested in a barren, speculative, unproductive belief of the Gospel, which, as it has no connection with the character of the new creature in this world, will assuredly deceive a man at last in his hopes and expectations of a blessed immortality.

I miss my aim, brethren, if every word I make use of does not pave the way to a thorough understanding of the nature of the great qualification we have in view-viz. of a man's being in Christ.

And for this purpose I now put you in mind, that the invitations of the Gospel to sinners are always of this sort; "Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The truly penitent sinner listens to the Divine Saviour's calls, closes in with his invitations, and is delighted with the Gospel message of peace and reconciliation. Our Heavenly Father is revealed to us as never desiring the death of any sinner, but " rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live;" and therefore one would think that the most guilty and most heinous sinners would be the most forward to flee from the wrath to come; and that these, being implicated in the greatest danger, would be the most disposed to profit by the gracious proffers of pardon and peace. But we are ever to remember, that though it is a truth worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came to save lost sinners, and to deliver them from the dreadful punishment and heavy burden of sin; and, moreover, that "his yoke is easy, and his burden light;"-nevertheless, it is not merely the being a sinner, a guilty, miserable sinner; neither is it the magnitude of a man's sins, nor the magnitude of the burden of his sins, nor yet the number of his

sins, which qualifies him for the redemption of Christ: it is the man's being uneasy under the burden, and therefore disposed to fly to the proffered refuge. Hardened sinners may carry about with them a great load of sin, without being materially affected thereby. It is when the conscience is awakened and become tender; it is when the eyes of the spiritual understanding are enlightened by a view of the Divine holiness; it is when a penitential sorrow for sin has laid hold of the heart-it is then that sin becomes truly heavy and burdensome. It is this very circumstance, of the pressure of the burden being felt by the sinner, which induces him to apply the remedies of the Gospel to his own case. Perhaps many times before he has said on his knees, in the Communion service, the "burden of sin is intolerable," and all this with little or no meaning. But in the case of a true penitent it is not so: the man is not merely afraid of punishment for sin, but he is afflicted also because he is a sinner: he grieves because he has offended his Maker and best Benefactor. His penitence is sincere; but scarcely dares he exercise faith and reliance on Christ. He has left off delighting in evil, and is learning to do