gone to Heaven to take possession of an immortal inheritance he has gone in our name; and it is his promise that where he is there shall we be also. Let it be our concern then, to grow in a conformity to him in all things, drinking more deeply into his spirit, as we advance, and bringing forth fruit more abundantly to his praise. But if the Spirit of Christ be not in us, be assured we are none of his, whatever shining qualities we may possess, or whatever hopes we may entertain.

Oh let us not be deceived, with the Bible, that great fountain of light, in our hands. God and not man will judge us; and the judgment He will pronounce, will be final and decisive. And let us bear in mind that He will judge us, not as we judge one another,-by what passes without, but by what passes within. He has his eye directly fixed upon our hearts, and sees most perfectly every latent thought, and spring of action there. Shall we not then cry with David-" Search me, O Lord, and know me, try my reins, and my heart, and see if there be any evil way in me, and lead me in the way which is everlasting."

Let all those who are convinced that they have not the Spirit of Christ awake to a conviction of their sinfulness and danger. Remember that there is no neutral ground here. If you are not for Christ, you are against him; if you gather not with him, you scatter abroad. If you are not numbered with his friends, he will certainly reckon you among his enemies. And can it be safe for you to remain in such circumstances? Can you dethrone Omnipotence, or successfully oppose the

mandate of the Eternal? Your only safety is in yielding at once to his authority, and becoming the humble and obedient disciples of the Lord Jesus. Only let the Spirit of Christ be in you, and He will own you as his when you meet him in the character of a judge.

SERMON XIII.

DARKNESS SURROUNDING GOD'S RIGHTEOUS

THRONE.

PSALMS, XCVII., 2.

"Clouds and darkness are round about Him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.”

This psalm is commonly supposed to have been written by David, on his restoration to the throne of Israel, from which he had been driven, for a time, by the rebellion of his son Absalom. The mysterious and distressing circumstances attending this portion of his history, and the evident interposition of the hand of the Almighty, prepared him to look deep into the ways of God, and to adore the administration of his providence. He was brought to realize that God's hand was more immediately or remotely concerned in every event; that in things great and things small, in things above our comprehension as in those which are level to it, in things which contradict our wishes no less than those which accord with them, God acts with unerring wisdom and with the most perfect rectitude.

The psalm begins thus-"The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about him;

righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." By clouds and darkness round about God, we are to understand, the mysteries in which his being, attributes and ways are involved. Clouds and darkness obscure those objects which they surround. They prevent a clear and satisfying vision. Any thing hidden behind a cloud, or seen through a dark and obstructing medium, must be seen and known imperfectly. It is often even painful to contemplate objects thus obscured by intervening obstacles. And is not this, to a certain degree, verified, when we contemplate the being and attributes of God, as proclaimed by his works or by his word? Many truths respecting them are too obvious to be denied; and yet so far are they above our comprehension, that clouds and darkness may be said to rest upon them. In many cases, the more we push our inquiries, the more does the darkness thicken upon us; and it is well if we do not sometimes conclude our researches by doubts dishonourable to God, and injurious to the cause of religion and virtue.

But what is to be done? Shall we give over thinking upon God, because we cannot comprehend Him? Shall we renounce the truth of his being, and the certainty of his moral government, because we find things in both which are to us unresolvable? Or shall we abide by the declaration of the Psalmistthat "clouds and darkness are around about Him, while righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne?"

Two propositions are here asserted, both of them

unquestionably true, and both of the deepest importance. Let us consider them separately.

I. The Psalmist asserts that "clouds and darkness are round about God,"-a truth which we cannot but admit, if we reflect a moment upon his being and attributes.

That there is a God, a Being of infinite wisdom, power and goodness, every object around us proclaims. These heavens and this earth assure us that they must have had a cause, and a cause adequate to their existence, and to the intelligence and design which they every where display. So glorious a structure we are certain could never have been the result of chance, or a blind unmeaning necessity. As soon could we persuade ourselves that a book was written or a house builded by chance, as that the world had such an origin.

But when we have satisfied ourselves that God is, and that He is the glorious author of every thing we behold, we have ascended to the highest step to which our reason will carry us. The moment we begin to ask how God exists, or whence the foundation of his being, the subject rises above our sight-clouds and darkness rest upon it.

We say indeed that God must have existed from eternity; and that he must have existed without any antecedent cause of his existence; for if there ever was a time when God did not exist, and exist as the first cause of all things, there never would have been a time, in which he could have existed;-there never would have been any first cause, nor effects flow ing from it, unless the first and most perfect of all