said to be possessed with a devil, in whom there is found the union of these four several things a clear and distinct knowledge of God, and of the divine mission of his Son; wickedness of heart; deep despair of pardon; and bitter hatred against the God of mercy, because he is also the God of justice. The demoniacs had all these. There was clear knowledge-I know thee who thou art'; there was great wickedness-thou unclean spirit, thou wicked spirit, was the language of our Lord; there was deep despair-art thou come to torment us before our time? there was bitter hatred what have we to do with thee? These four qualities of the mind may still be frequently found together; and wherever they so exist-there the power of an evil spirit may be said to prevail. The reading or the experience of many must have made them acquainted with some, who have the brilliance of knowledge with the coldness of vice. It is with some men now, as it was with these demoniacs. men so resolve to persevere in evil, that neither the knowledge of God, nor the fear of His justice, nor the hope of His mercy, restrains them: but because they will not resign the wickedness they desire, their conscience reproaches them with their ingratitude, and folly, though they try in vain to check it. They endeavour in vain to overpower the stinging remonstrances of this inward monitor. When, therefore, they think upon God, they may exclaim "I know thee who thou art"-when the voice of God is heard within them, its language is

Some

the same as that of Christ to the possessed, thou unclean spirit, thou wicked spirit.

Hitherto, it may be said, their wickedness is that of the corruption of our nature, rebelling against the light of Christian knowledge; but now the peculiar influence of the evil spirit begins. When the man will not put away sin, and when his conscience affords him no rest, then he begins to despair, and then he goes on to hatred and contempt-till his reason is weakened, and his hopes of happiness are destroyed. He feels his misery; yet he cannot repent. He turns away from the light, and when he reflects upon the Saviour of the world, his only bitter cry of agony can be, "Art "Thou come to torment me?" "What have I to "do with Thee ?" And whoever, on examining his own heart, shall discover these four thingsclear knowledge-wilful and persevering sin-deep despair of pardon-and bitter hatred against God, is in danger of dying under the power of the evil spirit. He has need to adopt the language of the poor woman of Canaan-Lord help me, have mercy, have mercy upon me. Read your own hearts, examine what you discover there. If you find there the knowledge of God, united with unrepented, unforsaken sin, beware lest you sink deeper into impenitence, into the snares of the devil, despair of pardon, and hatred of God. Pray to God that you may forsake evil, lest the heart be hardened

-and you become the slave of vice, the hater of the God of mercy, the victim of pride, and despair.

If you know God, pray that you may obey Him. If you have indulged in evil, pray that you may put it away: go not on from sin to sin, till you become like the miserable beings we have considered-sorrowing, but not repenting, despairing of mercy, yet never forsaking sin.

I was to conclude, with the anticipations of the Scripture, respecting the final overthrow of evil, when Christ, the head of the universal Church, shall give up the kingdom of the Mediator, to the Father Almighty. Your time, however, does not allow me to enter at length upon this interesting subject-or, I could relate the manner in which the Son of God shall overthrow all the remaining power of evil spirits, and restore the rebellious province of this earth to the holy empire of His Father. The day shall come, when good shall prevail over evil, and when all the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ. The blood of the atonement shall not have been shed in vain. The dominion of evil may prevail for a season, but the government of the world shall be upon His shoulder, who is the bruiser of the serpent's head, and His name shall be called, the Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God". Remember the powerful metaphor of the prophet-He shall see of the. travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied 13. As a woman in travail crieth out in her pangs, when she is

12 Isaiah ix. 8.

13 Ib. liii. 11.

to be delivered, but soon forgetteth her sorrows for joy that a man is born into the world-so shall he see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied. He shall forget the agony of the garden of Gethsemane, the sufferings of the cross, the desolation of his spirit, and the pangs of his death and He shall rejoice to bring His sons unto glory. He shall rejoice to conquer all the power of Satan, to become the head of the universal Church, and then to be the Mediator no more, when all His sons are presented, without spot or blemish, at the throne of God hereafter. It remains with ourselves, whether we will accept the mercy of God, and become one of that number. The best of us have need to pray to God that we may have power and strength to conquer evil,-—and none, I am sure, will refuse to pray, when we think upon what we know, and reflect upon what we are.

SERMON XVII.

THE MEANING AND OBJECT OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD.

MATTHEW XVI. 27, 28. and xvii. part of 1-5..

The Son of man shall come in the glory of His FatherVerily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom.

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, and James, and John, into an high mountain, and was transfigured before them-His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light-and behold, there appeared Moses and Elias talking with Him. Then answered Peter and said, Lord, it is good for us to be here—let us make here three tabernacles-and behold a voice out of the cloud-this is my beloved Son, hear Him.

I HAVE Selected the subject of the transfiguration of Christ for our consideration this morning, because there is no one subject in the whole of the sacred Scriptures, which contains such abundant matter for our serious, and most solemn, and in