your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."

III. THE CHRISTIAN'S PRIVILEGE, which is expressed in these words, "And be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you."

The hope of the Christian, as above described, is not the result of a heated imagination, or of a mind sprung from its proper balance by the force of fanaticism: he has a reason, or rather many well-founded reasons for it.

One reason is, Christ died for his sins, rose again for his justification, and ever liveth to make intercession for him. This blessed truth is plainly declared in the word of God. And having Christ for our Redeemer, Savior, and Advocate, we may well entertain hope of final success.

Another reason of the hope that the Christian feels, is founded in the ever-faithful promises of God to his children. These promises, while they extend to the Church, collectively, in all ages and countries, come home to the case of each true believer, in every variety of circumstances, with as much force and efficacy, as if they were all designed for his exclusive benefit. And they are yea and amen in Christ: "For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God by us." That is, they are made in reference to the mediation of the Son of God; they are true in themselves, and will all be faithfully verified to such as truly believe in HIM. We have already tested many of these promises, and not one has failed. For example, Jesus says, "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." This is one of the plainest, strongest, sweetest promises in the Bible; and it is among the first to be tested. The moment a sinner begins to repent and try to believe on the Savior, he needs just such a promise; for the question immediately arises

rest."

and we know with what force it is urged upon us by Satan-will God hear and answer me? how can he save such a sinner as I am? I deserve nothing but endless banishment and everlasting burnings. Yet when we came to Christ, and threw our naked, helpless souls upon him, with all our guilt and misery, he did not cast us out-did not reject us. No, he accepted us graciously, and loved us freely, and gave us peace in believing, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Again: the blessed Savior says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you How often have we labored in vain to relieve our hearts of an intolerable load of anguish, till we came to Jesus and found rest to our souls. Thousands and millions of his people have cast their care upon Him who careth for them, and found relief-have rolled their burden upon him and found rest. Now let it be remembered, that Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; and having fulfilled such promises as we have had occasion to plead, he will verify to the faithful soul all the "exceeding great and precious promises" of the Gospel, and that to the end; for all these promises are made by the God of truth, sealed by the blood of his Son, and applied by his Holy Spirit.

Another reason of the Christian's hope is found in the testimony of dying saints, both in ancient and modern times. Infidels, with all their self-confidence in life, generally betray an awful misgiving in death; and many of them in view of the future, as revealed in that solemn hour, renounce their principles, being afraid to walk into the presence of their insulted Judge. But with Bible Christians, the case is exactly opposite. Though some of them may have occasion to regret their delinquency in practice, no one of them has ever been known, in his last moments, to abandon his principles. Every experimental Christian is armed with courage not his own-it is derived from faith in Jesus Christ. He feels in his heart the love of God,

Men

which is sweeter than life and stronger than death. For him death has no sting, and the grave has no terror. of natural firmness of mind, tempered with principles of. philosophy, may evince a degree of calmness under a calamity which they cannot avert; but this bears no comparison with the triumph of faith in the dying Christian. Many men of nervous habits through life, are filled with peace and joy when dying in the faith of Christ. Even timid females, who have not natural courage sufficient to bear them through a dark room of their own habitation in health, are known to pass fearlessly through the gate of death, in obedience to the call of their Savior. Many of our pious friends, with whom we once lived, and talked, and worshiped, have passed over the valley made dark by the shadow of death, and having gained the heavenly rest, are waiting our arrival. While some of these were resigned and peaceful, others were exceeding joyful in prospect of the eternal state. We could, if necessary, name some by whom we stood when they were covered with the cold sweat of death, and longed to depart, that they might be with Jesus, which is far better than life with all its pleasTheir last faltering accents were spent in praising God; and when the power of articulation had entirely failed, they raised their hands, already cold in death, and waved them in peaceful triumph over the last enemy, and, with a heavenly smile, slept in Jesus. So may it be with us, and so we trust it will be.

ures.

These are some of the reasons of the hope that is in us; and we should be always ready to give an answer to every man who interrogates us on the subject. If he take the ground of an objector, we should be so armed with the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit as to ward off the attack, and "put to silence the ignorance of foolish men." Or, if the inquirer desires to know the way of life, and asks for information, we should be ready to

answer from experience, and give a reason of the hope that is in us. And in order that we may be always ready to answer every man, so as to benefit him and promote our own welfare, we must live as becometh the Gospel, growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, with a conscience void of offense toward God and man, and striving daily for the witness of the Spirit, that we are the children of God.

In the exercise of this Christian privilege, to give every man an answer concerning the hope that is in us, we must not forget to do it" with meekness and fear;" that is, with humility on account of our unworthiness, and fear, or a proper sense of weakness and responsibility. No confidence that we may have in the correctness of our principles, or the goodness of our cause, should ever betray us into the indiscretion of answering wittily, pertly, or in the spirit of self-confidence, but with that seriousness and lowliness which the importance of the subject requires. If there is any subject within the range of human thought on which men and women should speak guardedly, it is that of the work of God's Spirit upon their hearts. It is true that Christians may and ought to be cheerful, but there is no room here for levity, or recklessness. We allow there are extremes both ways: while some are too self-confident in the exercise of their gifts, and too forward in making their professions on all occasions, others are too timid for their own enjoyment, or the good of their brethren. Both extremes should be avoided. Of the two, however, the latter is far less dangerous than the former: it is better to say too little than too much. We have known many of those timid Christians, who were so much afraid of professing more than they could live up to, that they scarcely dared to make any direct profession of religion in the form of words, though their daily practice showed to all around them that they had Christ in them, the hope of glory.

Many of these we have observed closely to the end of life, and found that their last days were their best days. God was better to them than all their fears. The clouds which had so long obscured their moral sky gradually disappeared, and, in the evening of life, they enjoyed the calm sunlight of God's reconciled countenance. For the benefit of all sincere Christians, and especially those who answer "with meekness and fear," we conclude with the beautiful and highly encouraging words at the end of the Epistle General of Jude: "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."

SERMON IV.

BY REV. L. L. HAMLINE, D. D.,

ONE OF THE BISHOPS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

CHRISTIAN ANGER.

"Be ye angry and sin not," Eph. iv, 26.

ANGER is commonly reckoned among the vices; and so seldom, since the fall, is it worthy of a different classification, that the inspired writings mostly fall in with the usage. Hence it is written, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, be put away from you." Yet the text represents anger as of possible innocence and propriety, not only prescribing it a limit, but also affording it a license; from which the inference is legitimate, that the passion is not evil in itself, but becomes so by the unwarranted forms, or occasions of it.

If this is questioned, we have only to observe how oppositely the vices are treated in this same chapter,