have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (James iii. 2; Rom. iii. 10; v. 12; 1 John i. 8.) It is useless to deny it. We have all sinned many

sins!

Reader, do you doubt the truth of these words? Then go and examine the law of God, as expounded by the Son of God Himself. Read with attention the fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. See how the commandments of God apply to our words as well as to our actions, and to our thoughts and motives, as well as to our words. Know that "the Lord seeth not as man seeth man looketh at the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh at the heart." In His sight the very "thought of foolishness is sin." (1 Sam. xvi. 7; Prov. xxiv. 9.)

And now turn to the history of your own life, and try it by the standard of this holy law. Think of the days of your childhood, and all your waywardness, and selfishness, and evil tempers, and perversity, and backwardness to that which is good.—Remember the days of your youth,-your self-will, your pride, your worldly inclinations, your impatience of control, your longing after forbidden things.-Call to mind your conduct since you came to man's estate, and the many departures from the right way, of which you have been guilty every year. Surely in the face of your life's history, you will not stand up and say, "I have not sinned!"

And then turn to the history of your own heart. Consider how many evil things have gone through it, of which the world knows nothing at all.-Remember the thousands of sinful imaginations, and corrupt ideas,

which your heart has entertained, even while your outward conduct has been correct, moral, and respectable. -Think of the vile thoughts, and deceitful intentions, and false motives, and malicious, envious, spiteful feelings, which have walked up and down in your inward man, while those nearest to you never dreamed or guessed what was going on.-Surely in the face of your heart's history, you will not stand up and say, "I have not sinned!

Reader, once more I ask you, Do you doubt what I am saying? Do you doubt whether you have sinned many sins? Then go and examine the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. Read the concluding portion of that chapter, which describes the proceedings of the judgment day. Note carefully the grounds on which the wicked, at the left hand, are condemned to everlasting fire. No mention is made of great open acts of wickedness which they have committed. They are not charged with having murdered, or stolen, or borne false witness, or committed adultery. They are condemned for sins of omission! The mere fact that they have left undone things which they ought to have done, is sufficient to ruin their souls for ever. In short, a man's sins of omission alone are enough to sink him into hell!

And now look at yourself by the light of this wonderful passage of Scripture. Try to remember the countless things you have left undone, which you might have done, and have left unsaid, that you might have said. The acts of self-denying kindness, which you might have performed, but have neglected,-how many

they are! The good you might have done, and the happiness you might have caused, at very little trouble to yourself,—how vast is the amount of it! Surely, in the face of our Lord's teaching about sins of omission, you will not stand up and say, "I have not sinned!"

Reader, once more I ask, Do you doubt the truth of what I am saying? I think it quite possible that you do. I know something of man's exceeding blindness to his own natural state. Listen to me once more, whilst I ply your conscience with another argument. Oh! that God may open your eyes, and show you what

are!

you

Sit down, and take pen and paper, and count up the sins that you have probably sinned, since you first knew good from evil. Sit down, I say, and make a sum. Grant for a moment that there have been, on an average, fifteen hours in every twenty-four during which you have been awake, and an active and accountable being. -Grant for a moment that in each one of these fifteen hours you have sinned only two sins.-Surely you will not say that this is an unfair supposition. Remember, we may sin against God in thought, word, or deed. I repeat, it cannot be thought an extreme thing to suppose that in each waking hour you have, in thought, or word, or deed, sinned two sins. And now add up the sins of your life, and see to what sum they will amount.

At the rate of fifteen waking hours in a day, you have sinned every day thirty sins!-At the rate of seven days in a week, you have sinned two hundred and ten sins every week!-At the rate of four weeks in every month, you have sinned eight hundred and forty sins

every month!-At the rate of twelve months in every year, you have sinned ten thousand and eighty sins every year!-And, in short, not to go further with the calculation, every ten years of your life you have sinned,

at the lowest computation, more than ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND SINS!

Reader, I do beseech you to look calmly at this sum. I defy you to disprove its correctness. I ask you, on the contrary, whether I have not entirely understated your case? I appeal to you, as an honest person, whether it be not true, that many an hour, and many a day in your life, you have sinned incessantly? I ask you confidently, whether the sum would not be far more correct, if the total number of your sins was multiplied ten-fold?-Oh! cease from your self-righteousness. Lay aside this proud affectation of "not being so very bad," in which you are trying to wrap yourself up. Be bold enough to confess the truth. Listen not to that Old Liar, the devil. Surely in the face of that damning sum which I have just cast up, you will not dare to deny that " "you have many sins."

I leave this part of my subject here, and pass on. I sadly fear that many a reader will run his eye over what I have been saying, and remain unconvinced and unmoved. I have learned by mournful experience that the last thing a man finds out and understands, is his own state in the sight of God. Well saith the Holy Ghost that we are all by nature "blind," and "deaf," and "dumb," and "asleep," and "beside ourselves," and "dead!" Nothing, nothing, nothing will ever convince man of sin but the power of the Holy Ghost.

Show him hell, and he will not flee from it. Show him heaven, and he will not seek it. warnings, and yet he will not stir. and yet he will remain hard. must come down and do the work.

Silence him with Prick his conscience, Power from on high

To show man what

he really is, needs the Holy Spirit of God.

Reader, if you have any feeling of your own sinfulness, you ought to thank God for it. That very sense of weakness, wickedness, and corruption, which perhaps makes you uncomfortable, is in reality a token for good, and a cause for praise. The first step towards being really good, is to feel bad. The first preparation for heaven, is to know that we deserve nothing but hell. Before we can be counted righteous we must know ourselves to be miserable sinners. Before we can have inward happiness and peace with God, we must learn to be ashamed and confounded because of our manifold transgressions. Before we can rejoice in a well-grounded hope, we must be taught to say, "Unclean! Unclean! God be merciful to me a sinner."

Reader, if you love your soul, beware of checking and stifling this inward feeling of your own sinfulness. I beseech you, by the mercies of God, do not trample on it, do not crush it, do not take it by the throat and refuse to give it your attention. Beware of taking the advice of worldly men about it. Treat it not as a case of low-spirits, disordered health, or anything of the kind. Beware of listening to the devil's counsel about it. Do not try to drown it in drink and revelling. Do not try to drive over it with horses, and dogs, and carriages, and field-sports. Do not try to purge it away