SERMON XXXIV.

The necessity of regeneration no matter of wonder.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.—JoHN iii: 7.

Ir will be the object of this discourse to show that it is no marvellous thing that sinners must be born again.

If there is any cause of wonder in this, it must arise from the fact, that sinners now love God so well, that it appears strange and marvellous, that they should need to love him any better.

It has sometimes been said that sinners would not be happy, if taken to heaven without a change of heart. My object will be to prove the truth of this declaration. This may be done, by ascertaining the nature of the happiness of heaven, and that in which the sinner now delights.

What then is heaven?

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1. It is a holy place-a place of spotless purity. There is no sin there. There shall in no wise enter into the new Jerusalem, any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie." The son of man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them that do iniquity.

2. Heaven is a place of ineffable glory.

It is the place where God in a special manner manifests himself. It is represented by the apostle John under the figure of a most beautiful and magnificent city. There is no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And it hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it; for the glory of the Lord doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

3. The inhabitants of heaven are holy.

There is an innumerable company of angels, and of the spirits of just men made perfect. There are Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs and prophets, and apostles, and all the saints who have finished their earthly pilgrimage, now made perfect in the image of their Saviour-clothed in white robes and palms in their hands. And there too is God the Judge of all, and Jesus the Mediator of the new

covenant.

4. The employments of heaven are holy.

Angels and glorified saints are constantly employed in the service of God. "They serve him day and night in his temple." "I beheld, -and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." "The four and twenty elders fell down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy

pleasure they are, and were created." In such employments, the happiness of heaven consists.

Now are sinners prepared, without a change of heart to enter upon the holy employments and enjoyments of the heavenly state? Are they conformed in the temper of their hearts to the character of God? Do they delight in his service? Is it their meat and drink to do his will? What saith the scripture? "The wickedness of man is great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually." "The hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil." "The carnal mind is enmity against God." "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned."

In what do wicked men delight? "They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty that we should serve him, and what profit shall we have if we pray unto him?”

But let me appeal directly to the consciences of my impenitent hearers. What are the employments in which you delight? Do you delight in the service of God? Do you love to study his character, and to contemplate his perfections? Do you love to search the scriptures, and to offer up prayer and praise to your great creator? Do you love to converse on the things of the kingdom of God, to labor to promote the interests of Zion? What employment would you prefer,

if you could have your heart's desire? And what company do you choose? The disciples of Christ? Or those who take no interest in the things of religion? Do you esteem the saints, the excellent of the earth, in whom is all you delight ?—Or are the precious sons of Zion, who are comparable to fine gold, esteemed by you as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter? Is there any thing in heaven suited to your present taste? Suppose heaven were now opened on your view, and you were permitted to look in. What would you see there to attract your hearts? Or suppose that this night your souls should be released from their clay tenements, and should be conducted by some guardian angel into the immediate presence of God and the Lamb. Suppose you should see the saints, clothed in white robes, surrounding the Redeemer's throne, and crying, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty;—Would you not be ready to exclaim, is this heaven?-Is this that place of happiness of which I have so often heard? There is nothing here which suits my taste. My companions are not here. There are no employments here such as I delight in. I cannot live here. Let me go back to earth whence I After such a sight, you would forever despair of entering heaven without a great change of heart. I ask you now my impenitent hearers, are you not convinced that with your present feelings, you could not be happy in heaven? Marvel not then, that Christ has said unto you, ye must be born again.

came.

This subject furnishes a criterion by which to test our hopes of heaven.

All men hope to go to heaven when they die. But all have not a well grounded hope. Hope implies the

desire and expectation of some future good. To be well grounded, there must be a correspondence between the state of the heart, and the object of hope.

Do you hope to go to heaven simply because it is a place of happiness? If this is all, you have no good reason to hope. The wicked as well as the righteous desire to be happy. Do you see any thing in heaven suited to make you happy?

Do you hope to go to heaven because it is a refuge from the ills of time, and from the pains of hell? If this is all, you have no reason to hope. It is true, heaven may be endeared to the saints, as a refuge from the miseries of the present and the future world; but this is not a distinguishing characteristic of the Christian hope.

Again-Do you hope to go to heaven, on account of the company which is there? Do you desire to join the society of angels, and of the spirits of just men made perfect? If so, your hope is well founded. Heaven is yours. But be not too hasty. If you really desire to join the society of heaven, you will delight in the society of God's people now. You will feel a peculiar attachment to the saints. You will esteem them the excellent of the earth. Is it so? Are they your chosen companions?

Again-Do you hope to go to heaven because Christ is there? If so your hope is well founded. This was the hope of Paul. He had a desire to depart and be with Christ. But be not too hasty. If you really desire to dwell with Christ in his kingdom, one thing is true. You love him now. He is precious to you, and you count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus you Lord. If you