practice of whose inhabitants might more strictly accord with their obligations, and where the love manifested to them by a dying Saviour be followed by a grateful and affectionate compliance with his will, and devotion to his service? And to what cause may we ascribe this lamentable want of genuine godliness visible among us? To what but to the neglect of the influence of the Holy Spirit? It is the power of the Spirit alone, my brethren, which can produce in us conformity to the will of God and the mind of Christ. " My people," says the Psalmist, "shall be willing in the day of my power." "He will teach us his ways," says Isaiah; "and we shall walk in his paths." Such are the declarations of God, and the state of the world around us will be found to illustrate and confirm them. It is those alone who, from day to day, and hour to hour, cast themselves upon the Divine power thus pledged to "work in them to will and to do of his good pleasure," who present us with the few bright spots, the Oases which meet and refresh us in the wilderness of life; who are at once the ornament and the joy of society, that "salt of the earth" which serves to keep it from unmixed and irremediable corruption.

But, my brethren, it is necessary that we should turn to the consideration of some of the CONCLUSIONS Which may be drawn from these observations.

1. In the first place, then, let the text teach us not to confound the results of our natural powers with the fruits of the Spirit. It is possible, as we have seen, to arrive at a speculative belief in Scripture by the mere exercise of our natural faculties. You may, therefore, thus believe and un

derstand, without being under the influence of the Holy Spirit; or, in other words, without being taught of God, and sanctified by his grace. You may believe in the doctrine of repentance without repenting-in that of conversion, without being converted-in that of the atonement, without being cleansed by the blood of Christ from your sins. Religion has its seat in the heart; and, if it really dwell there, it will lead infallibly to the renovation of the temper, the conversation, and the life. "By its fruits ye shall know it;" and happy shall I be, if any individual should, under the blessing of God, be rescued by these humble reasonings from a state of delusion as to his own circumstances, which might have issued in the unutterable and interminable misery of his soul. The doctrine of Divine influence is often charged with ministering to enthusiasm ; and, doubtless, it has been sometimes so abused. But here is a safeguard against an enthusiastic use of it. If you would ensure to yourselves the help of the Spirit, seek not for a revelation of any truths in addition to those of Scripture, for none shall be given. Seek not for sensible movements on the body or mind, for these are not promised to you. But seek for "the fruits of the Spirit," in a renewed heart and a holy life. These, these are the only genuine proofs that the soul has been impregnated with the seed of eternal life; that the Holy Ghost has effectually enabled us to receive Jesus as our Lord; and that we are thus made alive to God, through faith that is in him.

2. But, secondly, let the text teach us the transcendent importance of seeking habitually and devoutly the presence and influence of the Spirit of God.-

You lament over your own deficiencies in prayer and reading, in acting and suffering, in temper and practice. Is not a neglect of the Spirit of God the cause which, like a secret canker, is withering every noble and holy quality of your mind? Observe the strength and the breadth of the declaration in the text: "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." Here is no exemption for men of "a peculiar cast," of more than ordinary talents, or in the most advantageous circumstances. "No man" can practically and savingly receive Jesus as his Teacher, his Atonement, and his Ruler, who does not earnestly seek from God the illuminating and sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost. Learning is valuable for its own ends; but here is an object evidently beyond its reach. The exertion of our natural powers is proper and necessary, but they cannot discharge the office of the Spirit of God. What, then, remains for the man in earnest about salvation, but to set himself anxiously, and in the name of his Redeemer, to obtain this sacred aid? Pray for the Spirit, that ye may "walk in the Spirit ;" that ye may "bring forth the fruits of the Spirit." "Grieve not the Spirit" of the Most High God, by a life opposed to his purifying, solemnizing, and sanctifying influence. Strive rather to invite him to the soul, by presenting, as his habitation, a heart conscious of its wants and diseases; a heart penitent and contrite, seeking to be washed in the blood of atonement, and filled with desires after holiness and heaven, which he alone can satisfy. Adopt the simple but expressive language of the Psalmist,

Thou hast said unto me, seek ye my face: my

heart hath said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek."

3. The third and last lesson which I would inculcate from the text is that expressly conveyed in its own words, "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost." This, then, is one of the distinct influences of the Holy Spirit, to lead us to Jesus as “our Lord." And had it not been my object to call your attention to a particular subject, this is the chief topic to which the text would almost necessarily have called us. But let nothing, my brethren, lead us wholly to pass over a subject of such high interest and vital importance, that, without a due regard to it, the clearest conceptions of doctrine and the strongest efforts for improvement are of little substantial value. Christ is said, in one place, to be the "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption of his creatures." In another, He is said to be "the end of the law for righteousness to them that believe." In other words, the law and every other part of the economy of religion is one vast apparatus, designed to conduct us to the faith, and the love, and the presence of the Redeemer. "He shall take," says our Lord himself, speaking of the Holy Spirit, "of mine, and shall show it unto you." Here then, as to ourselves, is one great object of the ministration of the Spirit. If he does not lead us to "say Jesus is the Lord," to acknowledge him practically and spiritually, as our Redeemer, our Saviour, our Teacher, our Example,-the whole of Scripture is, as to us, a dead letter, and we have "received the grace of God in vain." Those, therefore, are perhaps to be considered as, after all, the greatest enthusiasts, who pretend to the pos

session of the Spirit, without feeling the love, or treading in the steps, of the Saviour of the world. Can the sun shine upon us without a ray of light beaming upon our path? Neither can the Spirit act upon us while we receive not "Jesus" as our "Lord;" while we are uninfluenced by his love, while we yield him a reluctant service, while the "same mind is not in us which was also in him." How truly does the language of the Prophet apply to individuals in that state! "He feedeth upon ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside." Feed no longer, my brethren, on these "ashes" of a dead and worthless religion; escape from the ruinous delusions of a "deceived heart." Approach your Saviour for pardon, for light, for life, for a title to heaven, and a qualification for its enjoyments. Implore of him the gift of the Holy Ghost, that you may call him "Lord" now; and that, at the last day, he may acknowledge you as his own,-may seat you upon his throne, and may say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."