tences, they will gain influence. They are not to be reproached in their general characters, or to be denounced as the enemies of God; but their arrogance and uncharitableness must be met and resisted. Public opinion, aided by the grace of God, must cure them of this flagrant sin, that their virtues may not be tarnished, or the comfort and edification of men injuriously affected. That public opinion will do this, we humbly trust in God. Let it then be our effort to cherish for ourselves a deep sense of our own responsibility; and, as we expect to appear before the bar of Jesus Christ, let us inquire diligently for his truth, and follow without the fear of man whatever light may be imparted to us. The same privilege, which we claim for ourselves, let us cheerfully concede to others. The time is rapidly approaching when we must give account of the talents committed to our trust. God grant that we may be prepared to render this account with joy and not with grief.

SERMON II.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN SAINTS AND SINNERS.

2 CORINTHIANS XIII. 5.

KNOW YE NOT YOUR OWN SELVES, HOW THAT JESUS CHRIST IS IN YOU, EXCEPT YE BE REPROBATES?

THE spirit of party was not excluded even from the primitive church. Paul was exposed to the influence of those who, in the true spirit of heresy, endeavored to excite jealousies and divisions among Christians, to pour dishonor upon his name, and to advance their own selfish purposes by bringing him into discredit. This spirit he rebuked and resisted both in his epistles to the Corinthians and in that to the Galatians. The argument of which our text is a part, goes directly to establish his own apostolical authority, in opposition to the abuse which had been thrown upon his character by a false teacher. He directs the Corinthians to look into their own hearts, and to the state of the church of which they were members. If they could find within themselves the evidence of Christian character, then they ought to acknowledge him as a true minister of Christ; and if they could discover spiritual gifts among themselves, then also his apostolical character was established; for he had been the instrument of bringing the truth to their minds and hearts, and through him had their spiritual gifts been conferred. If they were destitute of Christian character

and of spiritual gifts, then they were reprobates, not, as has often been supposed, foreordained from eternity to destruction, but they were not Christians, inasmuch as they were unable to prove their Christian character by the proper test. In this case, though destitute of the proof of his apostolical character which their virtues would afford, yet he would establish this by inflicting upon them miraculous punishment for their great guilt in abusing their religious privileges. Yet he would rather appear himself as a reprobate, that is, without the proof of his divine commission which their punishment would afford, could the same fact be established by their Christian virtues.

In this scripture the apostle clearly implies this truth; that those whom he addressed were either Christians or not; converted or unconverted; saints or sinners. May not the same truth be asserted with respect to every individual to whom the gospel is preached? Are there any at the present day, any here in the house of God, of whom it may be asserted with truth, that they are neither saints nor sinners ?

These questions indicate the course of the remarks which may be expected in the following discourse. But before I enter upon my subject, I would request you to bear in mind, that it is no part of my present purpose to give you the means of judging other men's characters, or to direct your thoughts to the religious state of those with whom you are connected in life. The views which are to be given, if they shall have any value, will be valuable principally as incitements to a deep and thorough selfexamination. They will be offered for the purpose of bringing each individual to a solemn pause, to a serious examination of his own character. We design to direct the thoughts inward, that every man may see the state of his own soul; to aid the cause of a humble, but efficient piety, not to awaken the restless spirit of an ever busy curiosity, or to promote uncharitableness.

It should further be remarked in this place, that the descriptions often given of saints and sinners are such, as to produce a state of mind extremely unfavorable to a correct decision of the questions here proposed. The saint is too often represented as all pure, as having no resemblance in character to the gross materials which make up the mass of human society, as a kind of celestial being, who condescends to remain awhile on earth, but who has very little sympathy with anything here below, and almost thinks himself degraded by being obliged to mingle with men in their common pursuits. On the other hand, the sinner is pictured in colors as revolting as the imagination can supply; as a fiend-like being, who has just issued forth from the abodes of misery and guilt; as having nothing of kindness, or even of the semblance of virtue in his character; as meditating nothing but evil, and carrying his malignity up to the very throne of God; as in the workings of a depraved heart desiring to banish virtue from the universe, and to hurl even God himself from his throne. Two classes of men thus broadly distinguished are not found on earth. The good man is not an angel; he is imperfect, and but partially conformed to the perfect will of God. The sinner is not usually a devil, divested of all that is kind in human sympathy, and filled only with malignant passions, which are seeking with restless perseverance to overturn every virtuous sentiment, and to spread the contagion of vice through society. Thus to represent mankind is to destroy the efficacy of the means of spiritual restoration and improvement. In ordinary cases the sinner never can be made to believe that such a picture accurately represents his character, and he ought not so to believe; for his conscience teaches him differently. Of course those representations which are intended to alarm him by showing him his extreme danger are powerless; for they awaken no conviction of guilt, they touch not the real character, and move not the heart. On the other hand, if the man

who honestly embraces the truth, and endeavors to obey it, imagines his character to correspond in all respects to the representations given, he is deceived. He at once embraces artificial and unsound distinctions with regard to the nature of virtue and vice, supposing what would be a vice in the unconverted, to be in himself no vice at all; and thus loses the motives to an ever wakeful diligence, deceives himself, and is in great danger of neglecting to improve the means of religious advancement. Moreover, such representations are calculated to check the benevolent sympathies of human nature; to produce in one class spiritual pride, and in the other jealousy and animosity; to prevent that salutary influence, which God designs that the good should ever exert in the world; and to retard the diffusion of light and virtue among men.

Nor should the distinction between the converted and unconverted be made to consist in any artificial and peculiar state of feeling, experienced at any particular period of life. The processes by which different individuals are brought to possess the Christian spirit are very various, and are not to be set down in precise terms invented to suit the feelings of particular persons, or classes of persons. The operation of religious principles produces the same general result, but is confined to no precise mode. He who has long neglected the counsels of God may be brought to reflection by the terrors of the Lord, and the commencement of religious feeling in him may be accompanied with strong and violent emotion; the whole soul may be shaken, and all its faculties clouded with grief approaching to despair. Another may be first moved by the exhibitions of the love of God, overwhelmed with a sense of Divine goodness, and drawn along as by the cords of a man toward the completeness of the Christian character. The mind of a third may be excited to religious attention by striking dispensations of Providence, or by the forcible exhibition of divine truth; and another may, without being