haps a kinsman of St. Paul, Rom. xvi. 21; Not a few honourable Greek men and women of Berea; Acts xvii. 12; Dionysius, the Areopagite, ibid. 34; Damaris, probably a woman of consequence, from being specified by name. with Dionysius, ibid.; Aquila, from his occupation as tent-maker (Acts xviii. 3), and from having a church in his house (Rom. xvi. 5), was probably in easy circumstances; Crispus, chief ruler of the synagogue, Acts xviii. 8; His household, ibid.; Justus had a house close to the synagogue, consequently in a conspicuous place, ibid. 7; Apollos, "an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures ;" ibid. 42; Mnason, of Cyprus, in whose house the disciples lodged, Acts xxi. 16; Ananias, who restored Paul to sight, had "a good report of all the Jews," Acts xxii. 12; Paul's sister's son, no doubt, like his uncle, in easy circumstances, Acts xxiii. 16; Agrippa, the king, almost persuaded to be a Christian, Acts xxvi. 28; Aristobulus had a household, Rom. xxvi. 10; Herodian, Paul's kinsman, ibid. 11; Narcissus had a household, ibid.; Lucius and Sosipater, Paul's kinsmen, ibid. 21; Gaius, Paul's and John's host, Rom. xvi. 23, and 3d Epist. John 5; Erastus, chamberlain of the city, Rom. xvi. 23; Chloe had a house, 1 Cor. i. 11; Stephanas, the same, ibid. 16, and xvi. 15; Fortunatus and Achaicus, who, with Stephanas, supplied Paul with money, 1 Cor. xvi. 17; "Saints of Caesar's household," i. e. courtiers, Philipp. iv. 22; Luke, "the beloved physician," Coloss. iv. 14; Disciples, having servants, i. c. slaves, 1 Timothy vi. 2; Onesiphorus, who had a house, and refreshed Paul, 1 Timothy i. 16; Zenas, the lawyer, Titus iii. 13; Philemon, a rich man, Epist. passim; Apphia, probably his wife, Phil. i. 2; Archippus, Epaphras, Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Lucas, Philemon's friends, ibid. 2, 23, 24; The elect lady, 2d Epist. John 1; Her children, ibid; Her elect sis

ter and her children, ibid. 13; Christ sat down with many publicans, Matt. ix. 10, Mark ii. 15, and passim; He was called the "friend of publicans, a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber," i. e. a friend of rich and luxurious men, Matt. xi. 19; He directs his apostles to provide no gold, silver, nor brass, a superfluous command if they were very poor, ibid. x. 9; The same with respect to the seventy disciples, Luke x. 4; He alludes to their having servants (slaves) ploughing, Luke xvii. 7. Some (e. g. Iscariot) of the disciples said the alabaster ointment might have been sold and given to the poor. As they did not express a wish for it to be given to themselves, they could not have reckoned themselves as poor, Mark xiv. 5, John xii. 5; The disciples "sold their possessions and goods," Acts ii. 45; Some were wealthier than others, and ministered according to their ability, Acts xi. 29; They had books to the value of 50,000 pieces of silver, Acts xix. 19; Paul declares he had "coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel," Acts xx. 33; apparently implying that the disciples had wealth to be coveted. They went to law with each other; no doubt about property, 1 Cor. vi. 6.

A.

FAMILY SERMONS.-No. CCVIII. Romans xi. 22.-Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell severity, but towards thee goodness, if thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

THE whole Bible is designed to shew us the justice and the mercy of God; his displeasure against the sinners, and his favour to the righteous. This great truth is exhibited to us in various ways: it is foretold in prophecies; it is illustrated by examples; it is declared in express promises and threatenings. The rejection of the apostate spirits from heaven, and the unchangeable bliss

of those who kept their first estate, teach us in an impressive manner this almighty goodness and severity. The same Divine attributes appear also conspicuously in the creation and fall of man; who was placed in paradise, happy in the favour of God, and surrounded with whatever could prove the goodness of his bountiful Creator, but who, when he broke the command of that infinitely good and powerful Being, fell under his just displeasure, and incurred the awful penalty due to his transgressions; from which, no way of escape would have been open, had not he, against whom he had sinned, devised, through the incarnation and death of his beloved Son, a plan of grace and reconciliation, by which the transgressor might be pardoned and accepted, in full accordance no less with the justice than the mercy of his offended Creator. We might proceed throughout the sacred volume to point out the exhibition of these two attributes, always in unison with each other, and both affording the strongest proof of the excellence and perfection of the character of God. The history of the Jews, in particular, which occupies a large portion of the sacred page, is the most remarkable illustration upon record of the course of his providence, both as respects his severity and his goodness. Oftentimes he delivered them but they rebelled against him, and then his anger fell upon them, till they repented and turned again to him; when his mercy was ever prompt to pardon their transgressions, and to relieve their necessities. His goodness delivered them out of Egypt; his just severity punished them in the wilderness: his goodness brought them into an inheritance flowing with milk and honey; his severity banished them, for their rebellion and idolatry, into the land of their enemies his goodness filled their cup with blessings; oftentimes it spared them amidst their provocations; it gave them line upon line, and precept upon precept; but

when all proved unavailing for their amendment; when they despised his long suffering, and continued to break his commandments, he poured out the vials of his displeasure upon them; and as their privileges had been great beyond example, great beyond example was their punishment. "It shall come to pass," said Jehovah to them, "that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nought."

But the most awful instance of the righteous severity of God, towards this his once favoured people, is that to which the Apostle alludes, in the chapter from which our text is taken; namely, his rejection of them on account of their rejection of Christ. They were too apt to think that the promises made to their forefathers secured to them the favour of God, whatever might be their conduct: they trusted to outward privileges; they were proud of their temple and their priesthood,-of a long line of prophets, whose warnings they had despised,-of a pious ancestry, whose names they disgraced,-of an Almighty Lawgiver, whose statutes they disobeyed. At length they crowned all their transgressions by crucifying the Lord of life and glory, and rejecting the only true sacrifice for sin. Then came upon them destruction to the uttermost: their civil polity was dissolved; their temple, their priesthood, and their law of ceremonies were set aside: they were no longer entitled to the name of a church or people; the Gentiles, whom they despised, were received into the place which they had occupied; and a new church was gathered out of every nation, consisting of all the faithful in Christ Jesus, of all who should acknowledge the only Name given under heaven by which men can be saved, and who, as penitent sinners, should place their dependence on his death and merits alone for pardon and acceptance with God.

But it is not to the case of the Jews only that the Apostle confines his argument; he shews that it applies to all to whom the mercy of the Gospel should be offered: for as our privilege is great in being introduced to this unspeakable this unspeakable blessing, so is our danger great if we neglect it. The goodness which opened to us this infinite treasury of benefits will, in our instance, as in that of the Jews, give place to severity if we do not "continue in that goodness;" that is, if we do not avail ourselves of it, and act in compliance with it; if we forget the medium through which we obtain the benefit, or neglect to live to the glory of Him who bestowed it.

With this practical application to our own case, let us first contemplate the two attributes of God mentioned in the text; namely, his goodness and his severity; and then the issue upon which the exhibition of them depends,-namely, on our either "falling" or "continuing in his goodness.'

First, then, the text sets before us two conspicuous attributes of God; his goodness and his severity; both of which have a most powerful bearing upon our present and eternal interests.

1. His goodness. God cannot be otherwise than good; he is perfectly happy in himself, and wills the happiness of all his creatures. No evil or unamiable motive can affect any of his proceedings; for even his inflictions of punishment, on account of sin, tend to the real welfare of his creation. In all his proceedings towards mankind he "commends his love towards us." The very heathen, St. Paul teaches, were not left without ample proof of it, "in that he did good and gave them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with joy and gladness;" but how much more does his own revealed word attest it, especially when we remember that the benefits bestowed upon us are conferred, not upon meritorious and grateful beings, but upon offenders against him, who de

serve only his wrath and condemnation. For his goodness shewed itself surpassingly in that infinite plan of mercy, to accomplish which the Son of God took upon him our nature, and suffered pain, contempt, and a cruel death for our transgressions. And this goodness still continues to be exercised towards us, in the promised gift of the Holy Spirit to renew our hearts; in the intercession of Christ in heaven on our behalf; in the promises made to us, the warnings bestowed upon us, the hopes held out to us; in the long suffering and mercy which we every moment experience; and in the joys and consolations which will be our lot, in proportion as we are walking humbly with our God. Truly do the Scriptures testify that the Lord is good and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon him.

Above all, "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God;" "herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

2. But another attribute of God is mentioned in the text; namely, his severity; that is, his truth and justice in operation for the punishment of sin; for though the word severity is not perhaps any where else applied in the Scriptures to the infinite Source of Benevolence, yet all that is said of his displeasure against sin, and his justice in inflicting punishment for it, amounts to a severity fearful beyond expression. For who shall stand when God is angry; and angry most justly has he cause to be against the whole race of mankind. The sinner, when suffering eternally the fearful retribution due to his offences, will never be able to allege that the most severe displeasure of his Creator was inconsistent either with his justice or his goodness; for his own heart will be his accuser, and his sins will appear before him in their deepest aggravations, and with all

their tremendous consequences. The Scriptures forcibly set before us this just severity of God, in order that we may flee from it. They do not buoy us up with false hopes of escape, while we live a life of disobedience to his commandments: they tell us plainly, that his wrath is revealed against all unrighteousness; and that the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. "Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear so is thy wrath."

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Secondly, Such being the goodness and the severity of God, and our present and eternal interest being deeply involved in the exercise of the one or the other of these attributes towards us, it is most important that we should inquire how we may escape the one, and enjoy the benefits of the other. Now the text supplies us with a very impressive illustration of this point, and which we should each endeavour to apply to our own circumstances. Behold," says the Apostle, "the goodness and severity of God; on them which fell severity, but towards thee goodness, if thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." From the spirit of this passage, we learn that God willeth not the death of a sinner; that his goodness is prompt to benefit us; that he bears long with us; that if we continue in his goodness, if we despise not the riches of his grace, but lay hold of his offered mercy in Christ Jesus, and walk in the way of his commandments, he will not take from us his loving-kindness; he will fulfil towards us all the promises of bis word, as he did to the Israelites, pardoning our sins, guiding us through the present evil world, as he did them through the wilderness

CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 292.

of Sinai, delivering us spiritually, as he did them literally, from every enemy, and translating us at length to that blessed and eternal inheritance of which the promised land of Canaan was but a feeble type; but that if we fall from him, if we continue disobedient to his laws, and refuse to embrace the salvation freely offered to us in Christ Jesus, he will visit us with the severity of his anger, and "cut us off" for ever from his presence. Such was his conduct towards his once favoured people. He revealed himself to them; he gave them his laws; he forgave their offences, he defended them with his Almighty arm, he fed them with bread from heaven: they were ignorant, and he sent his prophets to instruct them; they were guilty, and he revealed the means of pardon for their transgressions: he made them his own peculiar people, nothing in short was wanting on his part that could shew his goodness towards them. But what, in return, was their condact towards him? Let us ask our own hearts what has been ours, and this will furnish the answer. did not make that just and grateful return which his goodness deserved; they disobeyed him; they broke his laws; they were ever prone to wander from him, and to seek for happiness in pursuits which they knew he had forbidden. They indeed kept up the outward forms of devotion to his service; they worshipped in his temple, and boasted of their privileges as his people; but their hearts went after their idols; and, to complete their transgressions, after slighting and persecuting his servants whom he sent to urge them to repentance, they rejected and crucified his beloved Son, thus spurning the very means of pardon which he had devised for human transgression.

They

This was the issue upon which their lot depended: this it was which drew down the severity of God upon them, and caused him to cut them off from his covenant. It

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was not merely that they had been transgressors against his law, but that they obstinately persisted in their transgression; that they refused to turn to him, and rejected the only means of pardon and reconciliation. And this is still the issue with regard to ourselves. We, like them, have experienced the goodness of God, but like them we have not made the requital which it deserved; yet mercy is still offered to us: his just severity is suspended; the way of peace continues open; we are invited to turn to him, and a promise is given to us of entering into his rest. But if, like the Jews, we despise or neglect these overtures of God's mercy, can it be otherwise than that we should be visited with his anger? May he not most justly address us, as he did his disobedient people of old; "What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take down the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down; and I will lay it waste it shall not be pruned nor digged, but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it." He did this to the Jews as a nation; and may he not justly display the same severity individually to us, inflicting upon us his judgments temporal and eternal for our sins; blotting us out from his covenant, and leaving us to that worst of enemies, our own corrupt heart, unrestrained by the grace of his Holy Spirit? This is the very lesson which the Apostle inculcates upon us in the text and the preceding verses. It was because of unbelief, he says, that the Jews were rejected: the natural branches were broken off, and we Gentiles, as a wild olive tree, were grafted in and became partakers of the root and fatness of the olive-tree. But it is

only by faith, he adds, that we stand: we ought not, therefore, to be highminded, but to fear; for it is not the general purpose of God's mercy towards the Gentiles that can be of any avail to us individually: even among his ancient people all were not Israel who were of Israel; and so now, all are not Christians in truth who are such in name, or by baptism and profession. God requires the obedience of the heart, true faith in Christ, and a sincere dedication of ourselves to his service. In vain we trust in any religious ceremonies or outward privileges; the Jews had once the exclusive enjoyment of these; yet they fell and were cut off. "If therefore," says the Apostle, "God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest also he spare not thee." "These things happened to them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come: wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." The mercy of God is indeed infinite; the atonement of Christ is all-sufficient; and his Holy Spirit is denied to none who ask him: but let us ever remember, that the issue on which our final interest in his mercies depends, is in our "continuing in his goodness:" if we fall from him, we must expect his severity; but if we cleave to him with full purpose of heart, he will grant unto us pardon and peace and eternal life. Amen.

Tothe Editorofthe Christian Observer.

YOUR correspondent W. M. (p. 78.) does not appear to me to give a direct answer to the objection urged against God's especial providence. "If," he says, "a man can fabricate a machine which will continue in motion without further attention to it, cannot God do the same?" He alleges reasons to weaken the force of this objection; but he does not shew that the two cases are not