raise a new and fair creation from the ruins of the fall. And who would compare the security and deadness that reigns in the unrenewed soulthe stillness of that night of spiritual darkness which the light of truth has never visited the degradation of that spiritual bondage that has extinguished even the desire to be free-who would compare such a state with the generous strife in which the believer is engaged, even while the conflict lasts, and in which he shall finally be more than a conqueror ! Nor are those exercises of mind which arise from a view of personal unworthiness and deficiency entirely of a painful nature. Having been taught to aspire to a high standard of excellence-having been brought to feel their guilt and helplessness-the servants of Christ cannot indeed indulge in that self-complacency which is the result of insensibility and ignorance. But when you hear the language of complaint poured forth by the people of God on account of imperfections which no human eye can detect "My soul cleaveth to the dust;" when you see the tear of penitence, or hear the voice of prayer, in reference to sins of which none but themselves know the nature and aggravations" Cleanse thou me from secret faults;" when you observe them bowed down in deep self-abasement before the Majesty of heaven—“I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes;" when you listen to the sigh of holy expectation, breathed after blessings, which, having been taught to value, they long to attain "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may behold the beauty of the Lord, and enquire in his temple;" O think not that, in such a frame of mind, they are unhappy. These are the aspirings of the heaven-born soul to the excellency of its nature. There is a calm and hallowed blessedness enjoyed, which they would not forego for all that the world calls good. And mark the end. This is the gray and sombre twilight-the morning of the celestial day which is soon to shed the full effulgence of its noon-tide glory on the soul.

He

3d, Christ's yoke, too, is easy and his burden light, because his presence is promised to be with his servants to make it easy and light. does not leave them to carry the burden alone. "My presence shall go with thee." There is far more force in this consideration than they can allow, who, engrossed with the objects of sense, can realise nothing that they do not see. Faith, brethren, gives evidence and reality to things not seen. Did it not comfort the hearts of the disciples, when, tossed upon the waters of the Sea of Galilee during a dark and tempestuous night, they recognised their Master, and heard his voice saying unto them, "Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid?" Did it not support and enliven the spirit of the martyr Stephen, when, amid his cruel sufferings, "he beheld the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." And as truly as Christ was pre

sent with his people then, he is present with his people now. It is not a subtle, indefinable, cheerless influence of which they are the subjects. It is Christ himself that is with them. "Lo I am with you always."

The knowledge of an earthly friend being with us, is sweet and sustaining. If the way of duty involve difficulty and self-denial, his presence and counsel are encouraging and comforting. But in bearing the yoke of Christ, the believer's satisfaction is immeasurably greater than this. He enjoys the conscious presence of his Saviour and God. Christ is with his people as they advance on their journey, cheering them by his approval, as they wear the badge of subjection to Him, and carry the burden He has imposed. They see him not indeed with the bodily eye, but he is visible to the eye of their faith. His rod and staff comfort them. The accents of his tender and directing voice, fall upon their inward ear. The consciousness of his presence mingles with the secret feelings, and guides the purposes, and calms the perturbations of their souls. And if, brethren, the sympathy of human friendship, even when it cannot relieve, and the voice of human counsel, even when it can give forth only a feeble and hesitating utterance, has often shed a ray of light along some dark and intricate passage of man's earthly sojourningshall not the consciousness of His presence enlighten and cheer the bosom of his servants?

4th, Let it be further remarked, that this yoke ever becomes easier, and this burden lighter, as the Christian continues to bear it. It is related of a slave in ancient times, of great sagacity and wisdom, that upon the different burdens being allotted to himself and his companions in setting out upon a journey, he chose to carry the provisions of the party, which others were unwilling to do; for, although the burden was heavier at first, he foresaw that it would be diminished in weight at each successive stage. The same wise choice would have been made by him, had he been assured upon testimony he could trust, that by the communication of new strength in the course of his journey, the burden which remained in itself the same, would become lighter in his perception in consequence of his greater power to bear it, until its pressure totally disappeared. It is this latter supposition that illustrates the case before us. There is nothing analogous to the subtraction of any part of the burden which Christ prescribes. His yoke and burden are ever the same. There is no change of the nature, no abatement of the spirituality and extent of his requirements. Nor will habit in this case ever reconcile the natural mind to what is distasteful. Habit of external duty may make an inveterate formalist, never a devout believer. But, whatever to his own servants is of the nature of a burden in the obedience Christ enjoins, is so wholly in consequence of their

spiritual weakness and deficiency. In heaven, all is indeed allegiance and love. But there is no self-denial there. No yoke is worn by the saints there. No burden is borne by the angels there. Nothing that indicates restraint or endurance appears there. And, as the pilgrim advances in his journey and approaches his home-as his will becomes one with the will of his master-as the inward man is renewed day by day-the conscious weight of the burden gradually diminishes, until he arrive at the point when it disappears-when the yoke and the burden are converted into the ornament and the crown.

The illustration of this subject were incomplete did I omit to observe, finally, That Christ's yoke is easy, and his burden light, in comparison with that which must otherwise be borne. It is an alternative, brethren, which Christ here proposes to you-if you bear not mine, you bear a heavier burden. Comparatively to that under which you must sink, and languish, and die, my yoke is easy, and my burden light. He casts his compassionate eye upon a world enslaved by sin, and darkened by sorrow. He sees the children of men weary and heavy laden with a burden that oppresses and crushes them to the dust. Not one among them all is free. They are wearing the iron yoke of a cruel oppressor. They are bound with the chains of a hopeless captivity. All, without exception, are condemned. Some are the slaves of filthy lucre; some are the victims of lust; some are the votaries of intemperance; and some are the prisoners of sloth. Some he beholds heedlessly and carelessly wearing the badge of their degrading servitude. Some making a few slight and fruitless efforts to be free, but soon sinking deeper into the dungeon of the conqueror. The blessed Jesus sees many a bosom pierced with disappointment without a remedy, many a wound where there is no balm to heal, many a heart broken with bereavement and sorrow without a cure. He beholds men, whatever may be their variety of condition, at one in this-that they are under the yoke of the god of this world, whose bondage is hard and relentless, and whose wages is death. And listen to his gracious voice: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath appointed me to preach deliverance to the captives, to set at liberty them that are bound." In comparison, therefore, to the cruel servitude in which sinners are held, Christ's yoke is deliverance, his burden is liberty.

Exult not, therefore, sinners, in your imagined freedom! Do you really affect to pity the restraint to which they submit, who have taken upon them the yoke of Christ? Ah! how misplaced your pity. Did you know the truth, you would weep for yourselves. They are the freemen, you are the slaves. You have sin as your sovereign master, Satan as your uncontrolled tyrant; they have sin as their vanquished enemy,

and Christ as their gracious King. You have a weight of sorrow to bear for which you can find little alleviation, and no comforter; they have a solace for every grief, and a balm for every wound. You carry about with you a load of unpardoned guilt, which is ever accumulating till it press you down into hell; they bear a burden of conscious infirmity, which is gradually diminishing till it disappear in heaven. And will you not, O sinner, cast your heavy burden upon Christ? Will you still go on to bear it, regardless of His call? You need rest-will you not take the rest He gives? It is his voice that speaks to you-will you not believe him when he tells you tidings delightful to a weary sinner's ears, that his yoke and burden, far other than that under which you now groan, is easy and light.

You

And to you, believers, the subject speaks the language of encouragement, and tells you why so little comfort is enjoyed even by you. have indeed made the good choice, the choice enjoined by Christ, approved by God, which gladdens the heart of angels. You have heard the voice of Christ, have taken his yoke upon you, and have received in some good measure the willing mind, the moral power to bear it. Even in the self-denial and self-abasement which it implies, you know something of the blessedness of those who sorrow after a godly sort. Christ is with you to lighten the burden and to cheer the way. Time, which renders all other burdens more oppressive, is relieving you of the weight of yours. And you have been delivered from a bondage, in comparison of which your yoke is liberty. Still, Christian brethren, you are not completely happy. In this world, perhaps, this may never be. This is the time to bear the cross, heaven is the place to wear the crown. But you will be the happier on the way, the more thoroughly you are imbued with the spirit of Jesus. You know he will be nothing to you unless he is everything. Make him your all in all. Revere him, love him, trust in him

ness.

as your friend. Seek him, and you will find him to be your guide and your comforter. Receive him, and follow him into the beauties of holiHe imparts not his pure joy to the soul that shuts him out from its confidence. If Christ is to become the source of happiness at all, the whole soul must be yielded to his love.

SERMON XXV.

RELIGIOUS DIVISIONS.

(Preached at the opening of the Free Synod of Perth, 16th April 1844)

BY THE REV. ANDREW GRAY, PERTH.

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on carth? I tell you, nay; but rather division."LUKE xii. 51.

MY BRETHREN, here is surely a startling declaration. Can there have been any mistake in regarding Christianity as the religion of peace? Division! Is division the proper fruit of our holy faith? What is the meaning of this? The text seems to combat a wrong idea; and the error it assails consists in supposing that Christ came to give peace on earth. "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, nay; but rather divison." And these words are spoken by the Prince of Peace. Yea, Jesus also says, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." (Matt. x. 34.) "I am come to send fire on the earth :-from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and the daughterin-law against the mother-in-law." (Luke xii. 49, 52, 53.) Such was the marvellous language of Him concerning whose advent the seraphic anthem had proclaimed, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men!" Were the angels deceived? We must look into this mystery. Our Lord tells us in the text what his mission is to do; and it is clear, from what he says, that the truth upon that point is more complex and extensive than is sometimes imagined. An inquiry into the whole truth regarding it will be a fitting commencement of the discussion of our present subject.

I. Let us inquire, then, into the Scripture doctrine with regard to the effects or consequences of the mission of Christ.

Christ's mission into our world has two sets of effects. There are its effects upon the Christian believer, and its effects upon human society.