more deeply than ever, what he confessed through life in so unfeigned a manner, that he was in himself nothing but a most guilty and unworthy sinner.

If, however, any difficulty remains, it is more than sufficient to say, that it is our duty to resolve such cases into the unerring wisdom and good pleasure of God. We know nothing. Our concern, both as to ourselves and others, is to be dumb and not open our mouths 5 at what God does. Happy, infinitely happy is it for us to know, that all things work together for good to them that love God, and that no temptation will take us but what is common to man; but that God is faithful, who will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that be able to bear it. we may

Of the glory which follows, and swallows up all these temporary sufferings, I need not speak.

NOTE M, Page 546.

In unreserved converse with a friend, and looking forward to the possibility of a funeral sermon being preached on his death, he actually intimated that this passage would furnish the proper text for the occasion; dwelling on the word indoni, as implying mercy through a propitiation; and the words TapTway as signifying emphatically, the sinner.

say, In a proper sense total,' because it is never intended to deny that there may be much that is amiable, respectable, useful, and what is sometimes, though perhaps improperly, called morally good, in fallen man. We deny only the existence of that which is spiritually good, good before God; in short, the love of God. As to this, no terms can well be too strong. The language of one of our Homilies is, "Instead of the image of God, he was now become the image of the deyil, instead of the citizen of heaven, he was become the bond-slave of hell,

5 Psalm xxxix. 8.

Rom. viii. 28; 1 Cor. x. 13.

having in himself no one part of his former purity and cleanness, but being altogether spotted and defiled, insomuch that now he seemed to be nothing else but a lump of sin." Sermon of the Nativity.

NOTE O, Page 550.

many

The points may be seen detailed in "the Remarks on the Refutation," second edition, pp. 720, 721. And yet the odium of all Calvin's system, and of that of who are "Calvino calviniores," is cast, not only on this venerable man, but on numbers who stop far short of him on the Calvinistic points, yea, who entirely disapprove of them!

It would be an act of injustice in me, as I am thus objecting to some parts of Calvin's system of theology, not to add, that his Commentary on the Scriptures is an eminently judicious and practical work. After two centuries and half it remains pre-eminent in all the grand characteristics of a sound and perspicuous and holy exposition of the Sacred Book.

I cannot avoid observing further, before I quit this topic, that whatever opinion may be formed of the doctrines termed Calvinistic, I trust every reader will allow that they were, in the revered individual before us, the motive and source of all holiness of life-not merely consistent with holiness, but productive of it and directly leading to it and that, in particular, they were united in his mind with such habitual personal humility, that, when he was agitated, as we have seen, by high inflammatory fever in his last sickness, and had doubts of his own spiritual safety, he overcame these doubts, not by any reference to the supposed purposes of God, but by the plain promises of the Gospel, and the general encouragements of fervent prayer. Let me assure the reader that these are the feelings and this the conduct of the clergy generally who hold these sentiments, of which they conceive. them to be the proper fruit. fruit. A most respectable and laborious parish minister who has been preaching them during a long life, wrote to me just before the death of our late beloved friend, and expressed himself thus-" It is doubtful whether the venerable man be on this side Jordan. Hope and fear make me sometimes long to be my

self safely landed on the other." My friend alludes to death as separating us from heaven, as the river Jordan did the Israelites from the promised land; but I quote it as a proof of that ordinary state of genuine humility which the doctrines of grace produce.

NOTE P, Page 552.

Precisely in the spirit of our XVIIth Article, and especially of the last paragraph of it. That remarkable Article, in fact, states far more explicitly the doctrines now so much objected to, than any sermons or writings of those who are accused of Calvinism, commonly do; whilst to the cautions contained in it, these clergy most cordially and deliberately agree, and frame all their public instructions accordingly.

NOTE Q, Page 556.

The revered and beloved names of Cecil, the two Milners, Newton, Robinson, Venn, Buchanan, instantly occur to my own mind, as having been personally acquainted with them. Similar examples will be supplied by every reader's recollection.

NOTE R, Page 559.

The effects of these great qualities are observable in every part of our deceased friend's writings. They are full of thought, full of" the seeds of things," as was said of Lord Bacon's works. The ore dug up from the mine, is not unalloyed indeed, but it is rich and copious, and well worthy of the process necessary to bring it into use. Take as an instance, "the Remarks," which, in the second edition, I venture to call one of the first theological treatises of the day: it is pregnant with valuable matter, not merely on the questions directly discussed, but on almost every topic of doctrinal and practical divinity.

NOTE S, Page 560.

He was accustomed frequently to mention the grace of God to himself, as an encouragement to attempt the

conversion of the most obdurate. Once in particular, when preaching in behalf of the Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews, and answering an objection raised against it from the prejudices and hardness of heart of that people, he stopped in his discourse, and with eyes lifted up to heaven and streaming with tears, said, "When I remember, my brethren, how hard and obstinate a heart I carried within this breast for nearly forty years; and that, nevertheless, the Lord brought me at length to address Jesus in the words of Thomas, My Lord and my God; I cannot possibly despair of any human being, whether Jew or Gentile."

Containing Hints for promoting a Revival of Religion, from a Discourse taken down in short hand, on Rom. xv. 29; "I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ."

It will be necessary first to give some extracts to show what our venerable friend meant by the Gospel of Christ; this may be gathered from the following sentences:

We

"The Gospel means glad tidings, good news. live in a day when many things are said about those who preach the Gospel and those who do not preach the Gospel; and much is said in reproach of those who make this distinction, and some fear this reproach and wish to have no distinction.

"But there is one road to heaven, and but one; and he who directs a man to this road, preaches the Gospel;. and he who does not, does not preach the Gospel.

"You would distinguish between him who told you the right road to a town, and him who told you the wrong Yet you might come back if you mistook and went to a wrong town; but if you mistake the way to heaven, you cannot come back; you are lost for ever.

one.

"The question is, What must I do to be saved? He that answers that question aright, preaches the Gos

pel, though he may mistake on inferior points; and he who does not answer that question aright, does not preach the Gospel, whatever else he may preach.

"Man is the creature and accountable subject of Almighty God, and he will at last be called to account at God's tribunal for all he has said and done in this world. The rule of that judgment will be, as far as regards professed Christians, that holy law which commands us to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves. And the sentence is, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them'. If If you have not thus continued in all things, you stand before God, as a robber, or as he who has otherwise broken the laws, does in respect of his country: you forfeit the protection of God's law, and are exposed to its curse. As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.-The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness3.

"This, you will say, is not the Gospel. No, it is not: but you cannot recommend a medicine to those who feel no need of it. This makes way for the Gospel: The Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe 4.

"It is appointed unto men once to die 5.-In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Man fell in Adam. We are conceived in sin, and are by nature children of wrath. We break God's laws by actual sin; we are children of disobedience. Thus we are lost, ruined, undone, without strength, without any thing. He that never learnt this, must learn it, either by believing God's testimony now, or by suffering hereafter what God threatens.

"Now appears the revelation of mercy. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. In this revelation of mercy is