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SERMON IX.

IF YE CONTINUE.

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THE character of our divine Creator is thus described, With Him there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning!' A very opposite description suits his fallen creature. He is spoken of as "starting aside like a deceitful bow!" At the same time, we must remember that the great object of a christian's life is a kingdom which cannot be moved. 'Wherefore," said the Apostle Paul, in summing up the subject of the twelfth chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews, and in a manner the whole Epistle, "Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear." I would have you observe the description of this kingdom. "It cannot be moved." And as the kingdom itself is, so accordingly will be the

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faith that receives, apprehends, or takes hold of that kingdom; so will be the hope that is is fixed upon it, and patiently but ardently look s forward to it. Well, therefore, does the description given of that faith and hope in the portion of Scripture before us, agree with the description of the kingdom itself. "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.' "Faith," we are indeed tok, "is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is, therefore, the substance of that kingdom which is hoped for, the evidence of that kingdom which is not seen. By faith and hope the child of God, even while on earth, realizes to himself, and so receives the kingdom of heaven. In the first part of the Epistle to the Colossians, St. Paul assures them that he gives thanks to God for them, and ceases not to pray for them, since he has heard of their faith in Christ Jesus, and their love to all the holy brethren. He openly rejoices in their steadfastness, their consistency, their fruitfulness, and he prays and desires that they may be filled with the knowledge of God's holy will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that they may increase in the knowledge of God; that they may be strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. He

gives thanks to the Father who hath made them meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered them from the power of darkness, and hath translated them into the kingdom of His dear Son. And then, in speaking of the kingdom of that blessed Son of God, he is led to speak of Christ Himself, to set forth in some manner the glorious perfections of Him who is the image of the invisible God; by whom the Father hath reconciled all things unto Himself. But here he stops to remind them and himself what they once were, alienated and enemies in their minds by wicked works, though now reconciled; yes, reconciled in the body of the flesh of Christ through death, reconciled by Christ, in order that He might present them to the Father holy, unblameable, and irreprovable in His sight. He adds, "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled." Wise and holy words" If ye continue." It is as if he said to them, Pardon is your's, privileges are your's, the gospel is your's, fruitfulness, advancement, blessedness, faith, hope, salvation, heaven itself, the inheritance of the glorious kingdom is your's, all things are your's, if ye continue,—continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. But, why dwell, you may say, on these words, "If ye continue." Do you not seem to doubt His faith

fulness who has promised? surely, He will not fail those who are His?-No, most surely, he will not but are you his? He knows not the shadow of a change; even though we believe not, He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself; He will perfect what He hath begun. This, however, is not the question to which I call your attention, but whether He will perfect that which is begun in you. The weakest work begun with Him, the slowest advancement carried on with Him, He will bring to perfection. But answer to yourselves and answer to the Lord, whether, you are in earnest with Him, whether your purpose is an honest purpose to God, whether you desire to serve Him truly all the days of your life. If you are a child of God, all is well; but, Are you a child of God? Before I go further, I must speak very plainly on this point. It is most desirable that every christian should have the witness. in himself that he is a child of God. Before, therefore, you take to yourself, as your own, the rich promises and glorious encouragements of the word of God, look to yourselves and the doctrine you hold. Before you begin to admire the goodly stones of the superstructure, look well to the foundation, and see that it be grounded and settled on Christ the Rock of Ages. The building begun without Him is the house without foundations, the house built upon the sand;

it must come down, and the prouder its height, the statelier its elevation, the greater must be its fall. We know that St. Paul says plainly to the Philippians, "I am confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ;"* that he says to the Thessalonians, "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it." It would grieve me to my soul to make the heart of the righteous sad, whom God hath not made. sad, and more especially would it grieve me to do this, by corrupting the word of truth, by despoiling the glorious gospel of the grace of God, even the free, unsought, and undeserved grace of God, of its freeness. I would say with St. Paul, "By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves;" and I would add with St. Peter (for both speak by the same Spirit), "By the power of God ye are kept, through faith, unto salvation. I would shew you from His holy Word, that the Lord our God doeth what He will with His own, and that "whom He did foreknow, he did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren ; moreover, that whom He did predestinate, them also He called, and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He + 1 Thess. v. 24.

* Phil. i. 6.

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