grace at all. In hell no doubt they grow in knowledge but never in grace. Their growth in knowledge constitutes hell. They know more and more of God and his law and their own guilt, and the more they know the more wretched they are. They have more and more experience of God's wrath, but they never learn piety from it.

3. It is not evidence that a person grows in grace, because he thinks he is doing so. A person may be favorably impressed with regard to his progress in religion, when it is evident to others that he is not only making no progress, but is in fact declining. An individual who is growing worse is not ordinarily sensible of the fact. It is common for both impenitent sinners and those who are pious to think they are growing better, when they are no better. This is so, from the nature of the mind, as any one who will attend to the philosophy of the mind can see. If a person is growing worse, his conscience will become more and more seared, and his mind more and more dark, as he stifles conscience and resists light. Then he think he is growing better, just because he has less and less sense of sin, and while his conscience continues to sleep, he may continue under a fatal delusion.

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It is manifest that where a professor gets the idea that he is growing rapidly in grace, it is a suspicious circumstance. the best of reasons. To grow better implies a more clear and distinct knowledge of the breadth of God's law, and a growing sense of the sinfulness of sin. But the more clear an individual's views become of the standard, the lower will be the estimate which he forms of himself, because the clearer will be his views of the distance at which he still is from that pure and perfect standard of holiness to which God requires him to conform all his conduct. If he compares himself with a low standard, he will think he is doing pretty well. This is the reason why there is such a difference in people's views of their own state, and of the state of the church. They compare themselves and the state of the churches with different standards. Hence, when one complains of the church, and thinks his brethren are cold, another thinks it censorious, and thinks it strange that the other should find so much fault with the church, when they appear to him to be doing pretty well. The reason why he does not think the church is cold is that he is cold himself, and he does not feel his own state because he does not judge by the right standard, for he does not look at his life in the light of God's holy law. If a man shuts his eyes, he does not see the defilement on his person, and may think he is clean while to all around he appears to be loathsome. I have

always observed this to be true, that when persons are making, in reality, the most rapid advances in holiness, they have the 1 most debasing views of themselves, and the humblest sense of their state. I do not mean, that those who understand the subject, and who know what are evidences of growth in grace, may not by reasoning or by comparing their present with their former views, feelings, and character, come to the conclusion that they are growing in grace. But that, if they should determine simply by their present views of what they are, and what God requires, if they should not reason on the subject, they would come to the conclusion that they were growing worse and worse. Individuals who were making rapid progress have often felt so, because they saw more and more clearly the standard with which they are to compare themselves. But yet, if they understand well what growth in grace is, and what are the evidences of it, when they set themselves down to reason about the matter, they may become convinced that they are growing in grace, although at the same time they will feel more and more humbled under a sense of their sins.

III. I will mention some things that are evidences of growth in grace.

I. When an individual finds he has more singleness of heart and more purity of motive in his conduct, it is evidence that he is growing in grace. I will explain what I mean. Even religious men are apt to be influenced in their conduct by a variety of motives, and some of them may be merely selfish. These motives together make up the complex whole that influences the individual to do a certain act. For instance, suppose a man is asked to give money to build a church in some particular place. He may have a variety of reasons for doing it. He may wish to see a more respectable house there on some account, or it may be so located that if built it will increase the value of his property, or he wishes to be thought liberal, or it may be an object with him to obtain the favor of that church and people. All or any of these may have some influence in determining his mind, and still, after all, a motive of greater weight than the whole may be a desire to save souls and to build up the kingdom of God. Here it is easy to see that some of the considerations which make up the complex whole, are selfish, and so far are wrong and wicked. Now sinners are only selfish in all that they do. And when men are converted, although their leading object then is to glorify God and save souls, yet when they are young in the Christian life, and weak in religion, ignorance and the force of habit will still keep them

more or less under the influence of private considerations, and they will be exceedingly apt to perform right things from wrong motives. To grow in grace is to grow in purity of motive, more and more to exclude selfish reasons, and to act more exclusively from a regard to the glory of God.

You that are here can tell whether from year to year your motives are more single, more pure, more free from selfishness. How is it? Are you growing more and more free from selfishness? Do you act more with a single reference to God's glory, leaving self more and more out of view?

2. An individual who grows in grace is more and more actuated by principle, and less and less by emotion or feeling. I do not mean that such a person has less feeling, but that he acts less under the influence of feeling or emotion. He does things less because he feels so, and more because it is RIGHT. By principle I do not mean a seed, or sprout or root, or any thing created and put into the soul. It is all nonsense to talk about such kind of holiness, or such a principle as that. By principle in contradistinction from feeling or emotion, I mean a controlling determination in the mind to do right.

Young converts are seldom actuated at first so much by principle, but are borne along by the tide of their feelings, and unless they feel deeply, it is sometimes difficult to get them to act as they ought. But if they grow in grace, they will learn to go forward, and obey the commandments of God, whatever their feelings may be. Young converts are apt to imagine that all religion consists in emotion or feeling, and that whatever regard a man may have to the authority of God, however much regard he may have to what is right, still his conduct is not acceptable unless it be done under the full tide of emotion. He will therefore often wait till these emotions first exist in his mind, before he addresses himself to the performance of duty. But converts should know that the way to call emotion or feeling into exercise, is to engage, from principle, in the performance of duty. And that whenever a man engages in the performance of duty, from a regard to the authority of God, he may expect, in this way, to call into exercise those feelings for which young converts are so apt to wait. A growing regard to the authority of God, a strengthening of the purpose of obedience, a more firm and constant adherence to what is right, and to what God requires because it is right, at once constitutes, and is an evidence of, growth in grace.

3. Another important evidence of growth in grace is more love to God. By this I do not mean that there will be in all

cases a conscious increase of emotions of love to God. But that there will be a strengthening of real attachment to God's character and government. This may be illustrated by the operation of a growing attachment to our country, or to our families. Very young persons are apt to have but little love for their country. But as they grow older, and have more experience, if the government is good, their attachment to it increases, until in the decline of life you will see an aged patriot with his crutch and his gun, ready to turn out and hobble to the field of battle, to repel the invaders of his country's peace. I do not mean by this that increasing love to God leads individuals to use carnal weapons, in either building up or defending his government.But that if they are true friends to God, the longer they live under his government, the more confidence they have in him, and the more attachment to him. And this increased attachment will evince itself in a growing veneration for all the institutions of religion, for the Sabbath, and for all the commands of God.

It is true, where there is a growth in principle, there is commonly a proportionate increase of feeling. But this is not always so. There may be various causes for the mind's exercising less of felt emotion, while it actually increases in the strength of holy principle. But let there be no mistake on this subject. I have said that by principle I mean a regard to what is right, and a fixed determination to do that which is duty. Let no one say, therefore, while he neglects his duty, and his heart is cold, that he is growing in principle, although he has less feeling than others. To grow in principle is to grow in obedience. And it is in vain for a man who neglects his duty, to profess to be grow ing in grace.

4. Another evidence of growth in grace is when a person increases in love to men as well as love to God. Growing Christians show by their lives that they become continually more and more inclined to do good to men. Their hearts become more and more enlarged in benevolence to all men. Young converts are apt to be chiefly influenced by a special and partial regard to individuals, their relations, or their former companions or neighbors. But as they grow in grace these circumstances makeless and less difference in their feelings, towards their friends and towards others. Their hearts expand, they have more and more feeling for the heathen, and for all the world. As they increase in piety, they feel more and more a desire that the world should be converted to God. They have more and more heart-breaking agony at the dreadful state of men in their sins. And their views and affections rise and expand, until they

feel, like God, their bowels of compassion yearn for all men that they might repent and be saved.

Beloved does it appear so to you? Is this your state of mind? Are you more and more weighed down with the idea that men are going to hell? And have you greater and greater desires that the world should be converted to God?

5. Those who grow in grace feel more and more self-loathing. They have greater humility and self-abasement. I suppose the saints will increase in this to all eternity. I see nothing in this inconsistent with the happiness of heaven. It seems to me that

to all eternity as the ages roll round, the saints will feel constantly, more and more, how much they deserve to be sent to hell for their wickedness. As they see the development of God's government, and the displays of his infinite goodness, they will be more and more impelled to exclaim, "O how wicked I was, what an infinite wretch, how much I deserve to lie in hell rather than to be in heaven." It is so here in this world. Growing Christians more and more loathe themselves, and wonder how God could have spared such wretches. Job, when he was in darkness, justified himself throughout. He declared that his prayer was pure, and that he did not deserve these calamities. And God had said he was a perfect and an upright man. He did not mean that Job was perfectly sinless, for it was not true that he was perfect in this sense. But God meant to say, he was sincere. This is the meaning of the word perfect here. And it is generally the meaning of it in the Bible He meant to say that Job was honest in religion. Job remained in this darkness, and all the while justifying himself, for a long time, but by and by he had clear views of God, and all his self-justification was gone, and he cried out, I have heard of thee by hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Such deep selfabasement was the natural result of clear views of God.

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So it was with Isaiah. I have been confounded when I have heard some persons talk of their purity, and of being entirely pure from their sins, and of being perfect. They must have vastly different views of themselves from what Job and Isaiah hád. What did Isaiah see? He says, I saw the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings, with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, HoLY, HOLY, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." What was the effect of a view of