another." Can you believe he should inspire men-men not at once, but in different times to give a general tone to the book which is communicated for human instruction, that should lead the most honest and the most devoted of his creatures to do that which he says he will never suffer to be done, give his glory to another? For that glory is given to the Lord Jesus by this construction of the Bible; that is, both the Bible itself and that passage in Isaiah is falsified. Oh, how much more 'natural, nay, I have said, ❘ how necessary to come to the conclusion, that what his people universally did he intented all men to do, that they "should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father!" Besides this external evidence, which is so abundant to the satisfaction of the Christian, I must not con- | clude this discourse without adverting briefly to another species of evidence, which is, at least to my mind, as satisfactory. The apostle John adverts to it when he says, "He that believeth on the Son of GOD hath the witness in himself." The witness is not the person but the thing, the record, the testimony. He has the testimony in himself; that is, in his own experience; his own experience without looking to any external proof whatever, demonstrating, that Jesus is divine; or in other words, that the record of God has given us eternal life, and this alone is in his Son. I should say the believer is thus convinced of the Deity of the Saviour, by finding a divine suitableness in that truth, first, to his own necessity. and then to the attributes of GOD. To his own necessities, for he has no other ground for hoping for the forgiveness of his Maker but through the divine atonement. Can he look for forgiveness from his own merit or exertions, when he is sinning every hour of his life? Can he look for divine forgiveness from his own efforts to recover himself from the fall alone? If he is left to himself he will wander and will be further and further from his God. He is spiritually dead, and nothing but a divine power, given through the Saviour, communicates life. Does he expect forgiveness from the universal benevolence of the Divine Being? He sees there are objections which absolutely forbid hope that way; and, therefore, he is ready to despair; and if there is no atonement made for his transgressions, the believer positively sees eternity spread out in interminable sorrow, and knows not whence he can gather one solitary hope for eternity. But let him know this precious truth, that Jesus is divine, and eternity at once brightens in its aspect; his spirit glances with delight to that eternity to which he is hastening. If Jesus be divine, there is a suitableness in the whole doctrine of the Gospel to his wants; it tells him there is free forgiveness, and as such is suitable to his wants, for he could never merit it himself; it tells him there is divine aid in the whole spiritual warfare and he wants it, for he knows he is weak; it tells him Gop abhors sin for which Christ died, and he wants that salutary threat to deter him from transgressing. Again he sees there is in Christ the pledge of an everlasting love, which animates him with hope. Even to the end he wants it for the conflict, for it is often arduous, and therefore to his own necessities Christ Jesus, the divine Saviour, is suitable and all sufficient. The divine wisdom itself could not have suggested a plan more glorious to the Divine Being, than this which is in fact suggested; and if it is suitable to him, it is of course suitable to the attributes of Gop. There all his attributes most gloriously harmonize, and there is seen the wisdom and the power of GoD, as well as the great manifestation of justice and his love. a Saviour, and such a Saviour as this is the Saviour that suits his needs. Oh, when his agitated spirit has been tossed by such storms of conscience as have turned up every other true anchor of hope, there is one anchor that holds fast that agitated bosom, and, blessed be God, will hold it fast till that bright and calm morningdawn, when no wave of trouble shall ever break over our perfect and our endless repose. Jesus Christ, a divine Saviour, is that on which the weakest and the most unworthy may rest with infinite content-a hope which will bear examination and endure through all vicissitudes--a hope which shows to the believer that Jesus is a suitable and all-sufficient Saviour. He is overwhelmed with a load of guilt, and But we must not wonder, brethren, in that guilt he can safely say that though I must not dwell on this point Christ has borne all away by a sacrias I had intended, we must not won- fice of infinite value. A being sinful der that this weight of evidence should as he is he can come and repose his not destroy the scepticism which exists sorrow and his guilt in the bosom of in this world. I will content myself a GOD, who is paternal and friendly with pointing out the cause, without to him because reconciled in Christ. enlarging upon it. The cause is this, The believer is exposed to many a that the hostility to the truth of our struggle and temptation. How blessed Lord's Deity is one which existed to know that Christ, who has been previously to examination, and is such tempted, likewise, loves him and bears that no weight of moral evidence can with him, and pleads his cause before overthrow it. It partly exists in the GOD, and can give him the grace of prejudice of the understanding res- the Holy Spirit, and will give it, and pecting the mysteriousness and the so there is a power that is not his unlikelihood of the doctrine, and no own, which shall bear him, if not unpositive testimony, no weight of evi- harmed, at least safe through all, and dence, as to the fact, can alter that | make him more than conqueror. The mysteriousness; it partly consists of believer is sorrowful in this world of a prejudice of the heart that no weight sorrow. But how consolatory to know of evidence can touch; and so scep- there is one perfectly acquainted with ticism still continues, to the ruin of his affairs, that despises not the meanthose unhappy persons who, through est of his sighs, and ever loves him, the prejudice of their understanding, watches over him, and if he does not and through the perverseness of their at once remove his sorrows he at hearts, scorn that only Mediator be- least subordinates them. The believer tween GoD and man-the only means is joyful; he has many, many a blessby which the sinner can be recovered ing; his heart bounds with delight. to his happiness. And I ask you, brethren, what is it But the Christian can trust in such that makes that buoyant spirit bear up among so many vexations which would otherwise depress it? What is it that can give that joy and animation to the believer as he walks through this world of trouble? Nay more, when his delighted spirit glances through eternity, what is it, I ask you, which gives him such an air of triumph in anticipating all its wonders? It is because his blessed Master has secured for him all that is good here, and all that is glorious hereafter; it is because he sees the impress of divine love on the least of those blessings which he enjoys daily, and every one of which, even the meanest, is the pledge that the mercy will never be exhausted, of a GOD perfectly suitable to his wants. But this is not all. The believer will come to die, do his hopes not forsake him then? It is an hour often of trial, he is weak in body, and he is weak in mind, and with diminished strength of mind and body he has to wrestle with pain. Friends may pity him, may love, may venerate, but they cannot relieve him; and then oh eternity comes very near, and the life is passed in rapid review by him; conscience becomes now more than usually sensitive, and every where sin, sin, only sin, meets his glance, and he finds an effect in all enough to weigh down his spirit beneath the grave. And where can he then have hope-where can he then have peace? A few more hours and a sentence irreversible will be passed, and that sentence by a Being infinitely holy; and the thought must be solemn, can the believer meet it can he now have peace? Go sit beside the death-bed of the experienced saint; mark him, and see whether his peace is still retained. Learn there *that faith can triumph over fear-the merit of Christ is enough to sustain his spirit then the presence of Christ can lighten every pain-the hope of being with him can make him surmount beforehand, and swallow up in victory, as it were, the death which is anticipated. And as he could through his life say, "To me to live is Christ;" he can, in the hour when he needs it most, repeat, “To die is gain.” So the believer finds that Christ is allsufficient to him in all those different emergencies when he needs his aid the most. In conclusion, the Lord Jesus is thus an all-sufficient Saviour, and more and more perceptibly, so as your way is glorious. Then I earnestly desire for you and myself that he may be such to us. May he be to us a being who bears away our guilt! May we find victory in temptation, through the grace which he supplies! May we have our sorrows consoled by his presence as the presence of a friend! May we have our joy sanctified and enhanced by being all resigned to him; and when you and I each press, in succession, the pillow of death, may we find the presence of our Saviour is even then to us, dear brethren, enough to carry us through the struggles of the death-bed. But, if we would have these blessings of Christ in death and in life, we must know him-we must be familiar with his glory-we must think often-we must meditate much-we must entreat the Spirit of God to enlighten us more and more-the apostle's words must sound often to our consciences "the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." We must remember he himself has said, "Abide in me:" we must walk with him as a friend; you must daily,-hourly, as you commence the business of each day, remember you go forth to that business with Christ by your side; his eye is watching you-his arm is beckoning you forward; it is he who sustains you: you must have recourse to him in prayer. Abide in Christ, then you will experience all those blessings which Christ can, and unquestionably will, bestow. Amen. A Sermon, DELIVERED BY THE REV. S. ROBINS, AT THE ASYLUM FOR FEMALE ORPHANS, WESTMINSTER ROAD, DECEMBER 9, 1832. Acts, xvii. 11.—“ These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." And yet there were seasons when the heart of the apostle was cheered with better omens of success; there were spots of a kindlier soil whither his Master sent him to labour, and everlasting life, with the hope that an abundant harvest should be gathered in. Berea appears to have been such a place. The people were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they were more candid, more ingenuous, more open to conviction. They were not willing, on the one hand, to condemn the preacher unheard; nor would they, on the other hand, refuse to ascertain by their own research, on what foundation his statements rested. THE difficulties with which the mi- | was imputed to him that his "much nistry of St. Paul was encompassed, learning had made him mad." arose, I think, not so much from the severity of his labours, or the wideness of the field over which they were extended, as from the perversity and waywardness of those to whose benefit they were directed; the hard-where he might scatter the seed of ness of heart which he encountered on every side; and the prejudices, partly national, partly personal, with which the minds of his hearers were fenced in. There were few who listened to the new and unaccustomed doctrines which he brought to their ears: and of those who listened there were fewer still who were willing to give time, and thought, to the examination of the important subjects which were presented to them. In Thessalonica he was charged with being one of those who, having "turned the world upside down, were come thither also, to do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar." In the metropolis of Greece, the city of learning, and luxury, he was called "a babbler, a setter forth of strange gods." When, with all simplicity and faithfulness, he spoke of Jesus, and the resurrection, by some he was disregarded, and to others he became a mark for mockery to point at. And when, upon another occasion, he brought the resources of human learning, and the cogency of powerful argument to bear upon the subject of his preaching, it The text, which describes the conduct of the Bereans, suggest two distinct points to our consideration. First, The duty of searching the Scriptures. Secondly, The special application of that duty, in bringing doctrines which are promulgated to an unerring test. Either of these topics is sufficient to open before us a wide field of inquiry. Let the second be for the present postponed; when we are next permitted to meet in this place we may speak of the word of GOD as the measure of truth to which all public, and private teaching must be referred. adding to the number of the witnesses who shall come from the remote places of the earth, to the confusion, and condemnation of those, whose fuller knowledge, and mightier op improved. To participate in giving the blessing to others while we refuse to appropriate it also to ourselves, is as though the adventurous traveller, plunging into a deep, dark cavern, should place in another's hand the torch, on which his own safety, and his own life depended; and should take his separate way, heedless of the unseen danger which he might encounter, the subterranean river on the one hand, or the precipitous abyss on the other. The madness of such a one would be sense and reason compared with the insane folly of those who, while they minister the word of GOD to the heathen, suffer not its rays to fall upon their own dark path. That which we take as our subject homes. By the very act in which we for to day, The duty of searching the participate, we are sealing a testiScriptures, is indeed one which mi-mony against ourselves; and we are nisters of the gospel have need to bring very earnestly, very fully, and very frequently before their people, for it is a duty which is, I fear, at present, greatly neglected, and the importance of which is far more ge-portunities were not proportionally nerally underrated than would seem to consist with the spread, and increase of religious inquiry. These are indeed the days of very wide, and very plausible profession, but what the stream has gained in superficial extent, it has probably lost in volume, and depth. There are many with whom the Bible is an ordinary topic, with respect to whom, it is yet to be feared that they make it but little the subject of closet search, and secret meditation. The age is emphatically one which loves excitement, and this is suffered to have a preponderating influence, in the estimate of the comparative value of spiritual things. Hence the public means of grace which minister somewhat to the gratification of taste and feeling are sought with eagerness; while those of a more private character, which the Lord hath appointed for the strengthening of souls, "the small rain upon the tender herb," are suffered too much to fall into disuse, and are placed far below their due rank in the scale of Christian ordinances. Much praiseworthy zeal is expended in societies which have undertaken the business of enlightening the gentile world; but is it not to be feared that while we are engaged, some in making, some in hearing speeches on the subject of sending the Bible to the heathen; and while we are contributing our money and our influence to the promotion of so blessed an object, we may be suffering the page of God's life giving word to remain unread in our own We may think lightly, brethren, of the duty of searching the Scriptures, but it was not so with our pious ancestors. During the days of bitter persecution, when the reading of the Bible was a forbidden thing, those were faithful servants of Jesus Christ who would brave the extremity of danger, and go unshrinking to the scaffold and the stake, rather than have the word of GOD, or the little fragment of that word which they might possess, wrenched from their grasp; who rather than resign that which was the joy, and the comfort, and strength of their souls, were willing to wear the crown of martyrdom, and that their emancipated spirits should rise to heaven in the chariot of flame. And when the capriciousness of royal tyranny permitted the unhindered reading of God's word, |