duty, without treating God as a liar. Be not startled at this strong expression: there is more impeachment of God's veracity, in our doubts and fears, than we suspect or exactly intend. And, if we really do not at all intend to make God a liar, by indulging them in spite of his promise, it is high time for us to acquaint ourselves more intimately with His faithfulness and sincerity.

Now, however familiar we may be with the scriptural assurances, that "God cannot lie," that "it is impossible for God to lie," we certainly do not believe nor understand them well, if we doubt either our own warrant or welcome to believe the promise of eternal life, for ourselves. Our believing the truth of it in the case of others, does not meet its claims upon us for the promise is just as much addressed to us, as to any other person whatever. "The promise is unto you, and to your children," said Peter, on the day of Pentecost, to the very murderers of the Lord of glory and, as they were both permitted and commanded to embrace it, nothing, certainly, can exempt or exclude us from the obligation to do so. Whatever, therefore, may be our reason for not venturing to believe the promise for ourselves; and whatever we may intend by indulging fear and hesitation, the whole process of our unbelief is, virtually, an attempt to make God a liar. I know, and readily grant, that we do not intend to insult or malign God. "I wot, that through ignorance, we have done it." But however ignorance may palliate this sin, ignorance cannot excuse it; because we have ample means of knowing it to be " ceeding sinful." For, what saith the Scriptures? Nothing less than this, "he that believeth not God hath made him a liar." Why?" Because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son." What is it? "THIS is the record—that God hath given unto us eternal life; and this life is in His Son." Now, what can we say to this view of the matter? In vain we fix upon the word "us," in the record, and say, that John is speaking of himself and his converts; for the text is not the record concerning them; but "the record

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God gave of his Son." It is not, therefore, against the disbelief of their salvation, that John argues thus solemnly and awfully. So far, indeed, as God bore witness of the fact of their salvation, the disbelief of his testimony, even on that point, would be highly criminal. That, however, is not the grand point. The free gift of eternal life in his Son, is the grand point in the record; and that is not believed as it is given, nor for the purpose it is given, whilst we believe it for others, and not for ourselves. We do right to put great faith in it, as it bears upon others; but we do wrong to doubt its gracious bearings on ourselves: for, however many we may include in the word "us," we virtually impeach the veracity of God, if we exclude ourselves. He has not said that we are excluded, nor has he done any thing to us which indicates exclusion. His promise of eternal life through Christ, comes before us just as unfettered and full, as before any man or woman in the world. It could not be made more personal to us than it is, but by the insertion of our names in the record: and that would only create confusion. For, to say nothing of the unmanageable bulk of a record which should register all names, and, thus, could not be consulted in a lifetime; who could distinguish his own name from thousands exactly like it? How much more simple and satisfactory is the "Faithful saying-that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners?" That designates us better than our names; because it defines our character and condition. Instead, therefore, of putting, as we are prone to do, the questiondoes the "us" of the Divine Record include us; we ought to mark with gratitude and wonder, that it does not exclude us and instead of asking, is the promise of eternal life intended for us, we ought to rejoice that there is nothing to the contrary said or insinuated in any part of the Bible. Now, this is really the way and form in which the promise of salvation is brought before us, by the God of salvation, "who cannot lie." He does not forbid us to believe it in our own case. He does not say that we are exceptions VOL. II.- 3

from its universality. He does not even caution us against believing it too readily or too firmly. And God says nothing about risk or presumption, in our venturing to appropriate the promise. Consider this mass of fact! We are not debarred, nor forbidden, nor warned, nor cautioned against the application of the glad tidings to ourselves. There is nothing in all the letter or spirit of the Gospel, which says or indicates, that you or I have no right to take the comfort of its glad tidings. And, shall we say, what God does not say? Shall we set up our clamorous suspicions, against both his holy silence and his solemn command? Whoever would act this part toward any promise we had laid before them. we should feel that we were treated as liars. And do we not treat God so, when we treat, as not intended for us, a promise which is as openly, and freely, and urgently laid before us, as it is before any one? The will of God is not more clearly set before the angels in heaven, than the good will of God is set before us on earth; nor have we any more reason to doubt if his promises are intended for us, than angels to doubt if his commands are intended for them. Gabriel would not be more inexcusable were he to dispute a divine command, than you are when you doubt a divine promise. God is as sincere in giving us Gospel, as in giving angels law." When He brought his only begotten Son into the world, He said, "Let all the angels of God worship him." They all did. But, what would you have thought, had any one of them doubted the application of the command to himself, and thus not ventured to honour the Son? Remember!" all men" are commanded to "honour the Son, even as they honour the Father:" and to "honour the Son," is, to "believe upon Him unto life everlasting," as well as to believe Him to be the Son of God. Accordingly, the command to believe in Him for salvation, is as universal and unqualified as the command to worship Him. Both are equally duties, because they are equally commanded; and equally privileges, because they are equally permitted.

Let us, however, not get confused on this subject, by having too many points before us. It will be most useful, at present, to keep to the single point-that God cannot lie against the promise of eternal life; and, therefore, we must be guilty of treating him as a liar, if we, for ourselves, do not embrace that promise. Now, believing it for others, is not doing our duty to it, nor to its Author, however many others we may include in the "us" of His record. We do not get nor keep clear of the guilt of impeaching the truth of God, by believing His record to be perfectly true, in the case of countless millions and myriads of mankind. This is, indeed, believing a great deal more than some do; and it is quite enough to exempt us from being classed with wanton or wilful unbelievers. But still, it is nothing to the point. We are commanded to believe on Christ for our own salvation: and this point is neither touched nor attempted, however much we believe about the salvation of however many. It is right to believe much on this subject-but this is not the subject, to which God demands and invites our personal faith. That, He demands for Christ; and for Christ as a Saviour: and the claim is founded upon the fact, that Christ is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him, because His blood cleansed from all sin. Thus it is Christ, in His allsufficiency to save us, as well as others, that is the grand object of faith and, therefore, the more we believe His sufficiency to save others, the more criminal and inexcusable is the disbelief of it in our own case. For, the sober fact is, we have no reason for applying the truth of the Saviour's all-sufficiency to others, which is not equally valid and good for applying it to ourselves.

This assertion will, I am fully aware, seem any thing but sober fact. At first sight, it may not appear at all true. You could start and establish, as you think, strong arguments against its probability Well; still I repeat it : you cannot prove that any one has any warrant to believe God's record for himself, which you have not Proving that

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thousands are better than yourself, is, indeed, a weighty matter; but it is nothing to the point, so long as "the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." Besides, what they are better than you, is not their warrant for believing the Gospel nor the reason of their welcome to hope in Christ. "What!" you say, 'have not those who are very penitent, and those who are very pious, more warrant than I have? Are they not the very characters to whom the promises are made? How, then, could I, who am so unlike them, both in character and heart, be as much warranted to hope in Christ as they are?" All this is plausible; but it is not a fair way of putting their case, or your own. What you admire in them, is all the effect of believing the Gospel. They were neither pious nor penitent, before they began to apply to Christ. Ask any of them, whether they had any thing to go on, at first, but God's free invitation? They are, indeed, now under the wing of special promises; but they set out for the cross, under the wing of the very call which the Gospel addresses to you. And, even now, were it not for the truth of God's invitation to sinners, just as sinners, they would soon become as much afraid as you are.

Now you cannot that say, you are not invited; and therefore, you ought not to suspect that you are unwarranted If you will indulge this suspicion, upon your head will be the guilt of charging God with falsehood. And, what else —what less-is implied, if you think that his word is not to be depended on, in your case? I know well, that is not what you intend or mean, by not venturing to take God at His word but I know also, that there is nothing else to be got until we take His word. And what else, or better, could we have? "God cannot lie!" If He could, nothing else He could do or give, to encourage hope, could be depended on. A God who could break His word, could break through any plan, purpose, or decree. If His written invitation and promise cannot be safely depended on, I would not depend on the truth of the Gospel, if ten thou