power. But the most remarkable passage to this purpose, is that awful representation of a future judgment, which we have in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, where the reason assigned for dismissing the wicked into everlasting punishment is their want of feeling and compassion for the distress of their fellow men. But mark how the Judge of all addresses the righteous: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." Blessed indeed are the merciful; for we see they shall not only obtain mercy when they come to be judged, but inherit a kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Need anything more be said to persuade us to put on bowels of mercy and compassion toward our fellow-creatures? Need any other motive be urged to induce us to lay aside all enmity and malice, and every purpose of revenge; and to obey the great Gospel command of loving our neighbour as ourselves?

Do the quarrelsome, the cruel, the hard-hearted, and the oppressive, demand yet further proof that their temper and conduct are directly opposite to the spirit of the Gospel? Do they yet refuse to set about mending their hearts, and to treat their brethren of mankind not as enemies, but as friends; not as brute beasts, or as things without feeling, but as

creatures possessed of the same nature, and standing in the same relation to the Creator and Redeemer of the world with themselves? Let such, if any such there are, remember what Christ hath so frequently and so expressly declared to be a necessary qualification of his disciples, without which they cannot obtain favour with him, nor mercy at the hand of God; namely, to be meek and lowly in heart, charitable and compassionate, kind and merciful; let them look well to the consequence of persisting in a denial in, their practice, of the Lord who bought them ;-which consequence is, that they can have no part or portion in his mercies, and so must be miserable for ever; for there is no pardon, no sanctification, no salvation, but through Jesus Christ alone.

God grant that this truth may be deeply impressed upon our hearts, and that henceforth we may live together like brethren, doing good, and shewing mercy to one another; that so, by the Divine blessing upon our endeavours to attain to this most important Christian virtue, we may become fit objects of that mercy of God, of which the best of us stand so much in need. Amen.

89

SERMON VII.

ON PURITY OF HEART.

MATTH. V. 8.

Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.

In this beatitude there is an evident allusion to the ancient ritual of the Jews. The tabernacle, and afterwards the temple of Jerusalem, contained the symbols of God's presence, to which it was forbidden by the Levitical law, and considered impious, that any unclean person should be permitted to approach. No one who had contracted any defilement in his person or garments, could be admitted to be so much as a spectator of the solemn service at the altar, till cleansed from that defilement; nor was his purification complete, till an offering was made for him by the priest. The Christian law also requires cleanness, or purity; but as the privilege for which it qualifies is of a much higher nature than admission to behold the symbols of the Divine presence, namely, communion with God, and a sense of his favour here, and seeing him face to face hereafter, as the angels

do in heaven, so it is in itself much more excellent than that of the dress or person; it is moral, not ceremonial purity; "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God."

These words naturally lead us to inquire, in the first place, in what does purity of heart consist? and, secondly, what is the nature of that privilege to which it procures admission?

First then, let us inquire, what it is that constitutes purity of heart. And we may answer, in general, that it is a delicate and quick sense of right and wrong, comprehending an intense love of the one, and a thorough detestation of the other, together with such command over the affections and appetites of our nature, as prevents their carrying us, in any instance, beyond the bounds prescribed by the law of our duty. Our passions and desires are the sources or springs from which all our actions flow. If the former are impure, the latter must also be polluted;-if the former are indulged without restraint, or placed on improper objects, the latter must necessarily be sinful and perverse. In order, therefore, to such purity of heart as will ensure innocence and uprightness of conduct, a strict and habitual guard must be maintained over the mind and imagination; there must be a sedulous and unremitting care and attention to exclude every evil thought, to check the first emotions of every corrupt passion, and to correct and rectify, without delay, every tendency or inclination we may feel towards any thing that is sinful; in short, conscience

must be kept constantly awake,-reason must do her duty, and especially, the precepts of our great Lord and Master, which relate to the government of the heart, must be held in constant remembrance.

But, what this purity is will best appear from considering its effects;-first, on our religious sentiments and services;-and secondly, on our intercourse with the world.

The religion of the man, who is pure in heart, is simple; its chief features being a sincere love of God, confidence in his mercy through a Redeemer, and an earnest desire to be freed from every remainder of corruption; that so his whole character may be brought to as near a conformity as possible to the Divine image. What God is, and what are his perfections, and the wonderful and adorable displays of them, which on all hands, and every moment, offer themselves to his notice; and especially the glorious manifestation of the Divine mercy in Jesus Christ, for the deliverance and restoration of fallen man; these being the great objects of his faith, are to him the most delightful subjects of pious meditation. His religion is not a matter of words, or of system, but of the heart; and his chief concern is how, by the influences of the Holy Spirit, and a diligent use of the means afforded him, he may render it an acceptable offering to a pure and holy God: and for the attainment of this end, the Scriptures are his rule, the example of his Saviour his pattern, and strength from on high, his confidence.