from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works-who believed his Gospel, received the seed, and brought forth the fruit thereof-who enlisted under his banner, fought in his name, and conquered by his blood; and now he has come to receive them to himself, that they may be with him in the place which he has prepared for them that they may behold his glory, be made like him, and reign with him for ever and ever: but all whose names are not found written in the book of life, are filled with horror and dismay at the sight of the Judge; for they behold in him the person, whom, by their sins, they pierced a thousand and a thousand times, when he lay upon the altar as the Lamb of God; but now he is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, with power to rend and tear in pieces, and there is none to deliver. In their anguish, they cry to rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from his wrath. But it is all in vain. Rocks and mountains are all dissolving into liquid fire before the throne, and Him that sits upon it. Every one's conscience is his own accuser- -the guilt of each is apparent to all. They broke the law of God, and refused to believe in the name of his only-begotten Son; and now they are condemned to death everlasting. This decision stands ratified for ever, there being no higher court to which they might take an appeal. And there is no more sacrifice for sin. The awful sentence comes from the mouth of the Judge eternal: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels;" and forthwith legions of mighty angels seize, bind, and cast them into the lake with death and hell, far beyond the reach of hope-where "their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." God save us from such an awful doom! The tares-the thorns and briersbeing thus disposed of, the wheat-the children of lightappear before the Judge, who, smiling, says to them, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And all the angels say, "Amen, alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth-let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor unto him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his bride has made herself ready." Now they ascend to the mansions prepared for them, in the city of the New Jerusalem. They enter into the presence chamber of the Father of the universe, and the bride-the Church-is presented before him without spot or blemish, and the eternal union is consummated in the presence of all the angels of God. Christ is admired and glorified in his saints, and they are all glorified with him. Arrayed in garments clean and white, with palms in their hands, and crowns upon their heads, they sit down with Christ upon his throne, as he has overcome and sat down with the Father upon his throne; and they shall reign for ever and ever; for of his kingdom there shall be no end. And they need no light of the sun, nor of the moon; for the glory of God and the Lamb is the light of the city. And there is no night there, neither is there any more sorrow, nor crying; for the former things are passed away. SERMON XXVII. BY REV. HENRY WHITEMAN. FREEDOM FROM SIN. "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life," Romans vi, 22. "As being free from righteousness is the finished character of a sinner, so being made free from sin is the finished character of a genuine Christian," Dr. A. Clarke. I. SINCE THE FALL, EVERY DESCENDANT OF ADAM IS HEIR TO A SINFUL NATURE. 1. By sinful nature, we mean a natural tendency to sina nature which, if left without the restraints of grace, will produce evil, only evil, and that continually. The origin of this evil nature is thus given, "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die;" "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise; she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave, - also, unto her husband with her, and he did eat." It is, also, further set forth by the apostle : “ Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." So fatal was the act of eating of the forbidden fruit, that man's entire being felt the shock of passion's wide control, in opposition to meek submission to the will of his Creator. Both the divine favor, and the divine image were lost, while man, degraded and overwhelmed with shame, was exiled from his native home, and doomed to obtain means of sustenance by cultivating the ground, which was cursed for his sake. He had walked erect in the garden, breathed celestial air, feasted upon unforbidden fruit, held converse face to face with his Creator, nor had known fear, or guilt, or shame, until that fatal hour in which he violated the divine precept. Bearing the image of God, himself the representative of the entire race of man, he bore the fearful responsibility of bequeathing to earth immortality, and a race of godlike possessors; or, of bringing upon the earth a curse, divorcing its inhabitants from God, and exposing them to the pains of eternal death. Soon and easily was the fatal deed performed, but vast and eternal the consequences which followed, both to himself and his countless seed. 2. So great was man's fall, and so heavy the curse which descended upon him, that, in addition to his depraved nature, his life became encompassed with ten thousand ills; and this inscription was written upon his brow, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." Man, who, in his creation, was designed to have dominion over the works of God, himself became the slave of sin-the servant of Satan. Being sold under sin, and led captive by Satan at his will, he wandered far from God, by wicked works, and, under the impulses of his own native depravity, was hurried away, from the only source of happiness, into the regions of despair. Like some lone planet, driven from its orbit by a strange convulsion in nature, wandering in space without the controlling influence of its proper sun, until drawn into destructive contact with some distant planet, man, deprived of the favor and image of God, ceased to revolve around the "Sun of righteousness," and, being impelled by the gravitating influence of his own native depravity, was carried so far from God, and so near to perdition, that there was no eye to pity-no arm that could save, until God laid help upon One who is mighty to save, and strong to deliver. 3. Since Adam, as the representative of the entire race of man, committed a sin which produced depravity, this has become the order of nature; so that man, when he propagates his species, not only propagates the body and mind, but depravity, also, as a part of his being. It has diffused itself through all the moral faculties of the soul, and has descended, by ordinary generation, through all the race, and will continue to adhere to his nature until the last generation of man has appeared. So greatly has his moral nature become corrupted, that "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but "Lord, we are vile-conceived in sin, Soon as we draw our infant breath, But we are defiled in every part." Thus all 4. So great is man's depravity, that "he has no power to do good works, which are pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing him, that he may have a good will, and working with him when he has that good will." By the fall, he is so perfectly disrobed of his original strength, or ability to do good, that he has no power to save himself from the influence and control of sin. Grace alone can deliver him from the power of Satan, restore him to the favor and image of God, and qualify him for a residence in heaven. Nor has man this grace in deposit, to use or abuse at pleasure; but while a manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal, this grace is given by the Spirit as man's necessities require, and as his faith claims and appropriates. 5. Extensive as is the depravity of every son and |