ciple I have laid down to the subject before us, as possibly to open the way, under the blessing of God, for repose and satisfaction as to the practical bearings of the doctrine. I say, under the blessing of God, because it is only by the influences of his Holy Spirit, that we can think those things that be good. It appears to me to be impossible that we should understand aright the importance of this subject, if we examine it merely by our natural reason. It is eminently a thing of the Spirit of God, which, after all our efforts, will appear as foolishness unto us, unless it be spiritually discerned'.

The great moral change, then, of which our Lord chiefly speaks in the conversation connected with my text, and which is repeatedly inculcated throughout the Scriptures, I consider to be the commencement of sanctification, the incipient principle of that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord: it is a spiritual frame or temper in the mind of fallen man, imparted by the Holy Spirit; the infusion of a new life into the heart, before dead in trespasses and sins. It is not a change of the essence of the soul, or the conferring of any new faculties, but a change in the direction and use of those faculties which sin had corrupted; the re-impressing on man that holy image of God,

11 Cor. ii. 14.

2 Ephes. ii. 1.

which he lost by the original transgression. When, therefore, the graces and duties which are the inseparable effects of this change, begin to appear, even in the smallest measure, we hope that the transformation under review is commenced: when they attain some consistency, we say, in the judgment of charity, that it has actually taken place; and, as it shows itself in growing sanctification, we hesitate not on the question of the real operation of the Holy Spirit in the change of heart, but transfer our solicitude to the permanency and abundant fruits of the blessing.

Such is the nature of that initial sanctification, on which I purpose to enlarge more particularly. Nor will any material difficulty present itself to us while we dwell upon it, from the more striking circumstances which attended it in the case of the first Christian converts. It will be immediately understood, that this conversion must have been more observable where all the previous habits had been idolatrous or superstitious, and where the hatred to the Christian name at once separated the disciple of Christ from his family and friends. But it will : at the same time be recollected, that the broad and leading characteristics of conversion must be always the same. To restore a fallen sinner to the real love and service of God, is ever a work of infinite power. Pride, worldli

ness, hardness of heart, selfishness, independence of spirit, vanity, anger, revenge, malice, covetousness, sensuality, contempt of God, neglect of the soul and eternity, a death in sin; these various evils, though they may not, for the most part, manifest themselves in effects equally injurious to society, and revolting to natural conscience, are yet essentially the same in a merely nominal Christian, and in one altogether out of the pale of the Christian faith: whilst humility, hatred of sin, separation from the world, tenderness of conscience, contrition, disinterestedness, modesty, forgiveness of injuries, purity, regard for the soul, repentance, faith, meekness, temperance, are substantially the same evidences of a change of heart now, as they were in the days of the Apostles.

It is the more necessary to insist on this point, in consequence of the ease with which we are too apt to lose sight of the high and distinctive character and effects of the spiritual life of the soul, in a period of outward tranquillity like the present. The world and the church are now intermingled. The general name of Christian, the ordinary admission of the chief truths of religion, and the more gradual steps by which the transition from a state of sin to a state of spirituality and love to God,-vast as that transition is, commonly takes place, expose us to considerable danger. We forget the

real religion of the heart.

We mistake the

form for the power of godliness. The spirituality of true devotion fades from our view in the indistinctness of the prospect. Its vividness and strong outlines disappear; a confused and tame image fills the eye; and decency of conduct, benevolence of disposition, attention to the outward duties of religion, and a reputation for piety, seduce us at times to forget, what must accompany and animate the whole, the abiding influence of the Holy Spirit; and the fruits of that influence, a real love of holiness, an entire separation from the evils of the world, a genuine delight in Christ Jesus, a glorying in the reproach of his cross, and an ardent contemplation of heaven.

After these preparatory remarks, our way is open to the more full consideration of the supreme importance of the change itself; which will appear from reviewing the energetic description given of it in Scripture, the place it holds in the system of Christianity, and its inseparable connexion with the other doctrines of the Gospel.

The various images employed to describe this change in the Holy Scriptures, are eminently calculated to exalt our ideas of its magnitude. Let us contemplate these descriptions in their grand outlines. If the general and en tire change of the whole soul is regarded, it is

described as a new birth, a new creature, a being awakened from sleep, a coming to oneself, and a being quickened from death and the grave. It is even compared to the light and order and beauty educed from the original chaos by the Divine command, and to the resurrection effected by the exceeding greatness of God's power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead. If the governing principle is viewed, it is described as a change of mind, a law inscribed on the heart, a light shining into the soul, an epistle of Christ written by the Spirit of God. If the universal effects of this change are considered, it is represented as a conversion or turning from sin to God, a transformation by the renewing of the mind, a participation of a divine nature, and a conformity to the image of Christ and of God; it is the wax yielding to the seal, or the metal receiving the impress of the mould. If the more particular consequences of incipient sanctification are exhibited, then the Christian is washed from uncleanness; puts off the old and defiled man, and puts on the new; appears in a wedding garment; casts away the works of darkness, and clothes himself with the armour of light; is crucified to sin; assumes the yoke of his Saviour, and offers himself a living sacrifice to his service. If, again, the course on which he enters is especially regarded, he then becomes a mer