s a mere matter of obligation, without
reverence, without awe, without wonder, without love. Nor let us fall
into the sin of those who complained that they have nothing to gather
but the manna, wearying of God's gifts.

But let us come in faith and hope, and let us say to ourselves, May
this be the beginning to us of everlasting bliss! May these be the
first-fruits of that banquet which is to last for ever and ever; ever
new, ever transporting, inexhaustible, in the city of our God!

[1] Easter.

[2] Deut. xxxii. 13; xxxiii. 13-15.

[3] Gen. xxi. 10.

[4] Matt. xi. 19. Luke vii. 34.

[5] Gen. xiv. 18.

[6] 1 Cor. x. 20.

[7] Ezek. xlvii. 12.

[8] Rev. xxii. 2.

[9] Hos. ii. 21-23.

[10] Joel iii. 18.

[11] Amos ix. 13.

[12] Isa. xxv. 6; lxii. 8, 9, lxv. 13.

[13] Jer. xxxi. 12-14.

[14] Zech. ix. 17.

[15] Mal. i. 11.

[16] Ps. xxiii. 5; xxvi. 6; xxxvi. 7-9; xliii. 3, 4, lxv. 4; lxiii. 6-8.

[17] Prov. ix. 1-5.

[18] Isa. lv. 1.

[19] Cant. ii. 13; iv. 6; v. 1

SERMON XIII.

Love of Religion, a New Nature.

"_If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with
Him._"--Romans vi. 8.

To be dead with Christ, is to hate and turn from sin; and to live with
Him, is to have our hearts and minds turned towards God and Heaven. To
be dead to sin, is to feel a disgust at it. We know what is meant by
disgust. Take, for instance, the case of a sick man, when food of a
certain kind is presented to him,--and there is no doubt what is meant
by disgust. Consider how certain scents, which are too sweet or too
strong, or certain tastes, affect certain persons under certain
circumstances, or always,--and you will be at no loss to determine what
is meant by disgust at sin, or deadness to sin. On the other hand,
consider how pleasant a meal is to the hungry, or some enlivening odour
to the faint, how refreshing the air is to the languid, or the brook to
the weary and thirsty,--and you will understand the sort of feeling
which is implied in being alive with Christ, alive to religion, alive
to the thought of heaven. Our animal powers cannot exist in all
atmospheres; certain airs are poisonous, others life-giving. So is it
with spirits and souls: an unrenewed spirit could not live in heaven,
he would die; an Angel could not live in hell. The natural man cannot
live in heavenly company, and the angelic soul would pine and waste
away in the company of sinners, unless God'