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SACRAMENTAL ADDRESSES 
 
 AXD 
 
 SERMONS. 
 
SACRAMENTAL 
 
 ADDRESSES 
 
 AND 
 
 MEDITATIONS, 
 
 WITH 
 
 A FEW SERMONS INTERSPERSED. 
 
 Br THE 
 
 REV. HENRY^BELFRAGE, 
 
 MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IX FALKIRK. 
 
 VOL. IL 
 ^tcotCtf tuition. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 PRINTED FOR VVAUGH & INNES, EDINBURGH: 
 
 AND SOLD BY 
 
 CHALMEBS & COLLINS, GLASGOW; J. RANKINE, AND T. 
 JOHNSTON, FALKIRK; J. FINLAY, NEWCASTLE; OGLE, 
 DUNCAN & CO. AND W. BAYNES & SON, LONDON. 
 
 18^22. 
 
Printtd hy Balfour and Clarke, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
THZOLOGIC. 
 
 PREF 
 
 The favourable reception given to the Sacramen- 
 tal Addresses AND Meditations, published by 
 the Author some years ago, has encouraged him 
 to prepare a Second Volume, and to offer it to the 
 Public. It was his wish to frame these now present- 
 ed insucha way as to fit them for the general edifica- 
 tion of Christians, as well as to direct and to impress 
 them in the observance of the Lord's Supper; and 
 for tlvs purpose, he hascnla'ged mnny of them, by 
 adding various explanatory remarks and practical 
 exhortations. He has taken a wide range of topics, 
 not only to give variety to the work, but to lead his 
 readers to trace the connexion of the death of Christ 
 with the other articles of our religion, and to bring 
 the pious feelings and resolutions which are excited 
 by them to the Communion Table. 
 
 The Sermons which are interspersed, will be 
 found, he hopes, to accord with the spirit of the 
 work, and to have some tendency to promote its 
 great object. 
 
,% VI PREFACE. 
 
 Remembering the gracious promise of the Sa- 
 viour with regard to the Comforter, — " He shall 
 glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shew it 
 unto you," it is his earnest prayer that the Holy 
 Ghost may exhibit the beauties of Christ's charac- 
 ter, and the wonders of his death to every reader — 
 may form in them the spirit, and impart to them 
 the blessings of the cross: And if these Meditations 
 are blessed for leading any to the knowledge of 
 Christ crucified, as the wisdom of God, and the 
 power of God, for animating languid piety, com- 
 forting those that mourn, and promoting holy obe- 
 dience, he will rejoice in the day of the Lord that 
 he has not laboured in vain. 
 
 Falkikk, Dec. 1, 1S?1. 
 
SUBJECTS OF THE ADDRESSES AND SERMONS. 
 
 .ADDRESS 
 
 
 Page 
 
 1. The God of Bethel, 
 
 Genesis xxxi. 13. 
 
 1 
 
 2. Ruth's Choice, 
 
 Ruth i. 16, 17. 
 
 7 
 
 3. Christ's engaging to be a sacrifice 
 
 
 
 for us, ... 
 
 Psalm xl. 6, 7, 8. 
 
 15 
 
 4s David's lamentation over Jonathan, 
 
 2 Samuel i. 26. 
 
 21 
 
 5. The love of Christ preferred to the 
 
 
 
 best earthly comforts, 
 
 Song i. 4. 
 
 28 
 
 SERM. I. The first promise illustrated. Genesis iii. 15. 37 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 6. The first promise applied, . Genesis iii. J 5. 54- 
 
 7. The harmony of mercy and justice 
 
 in our redemption, . Psalm Ixxxv. 10. 58 
 
 8. The Ministry of our Lord, Luke iv. 18, 19. 66 
 
 9. Christ's kingly glory ridiculed, John xix. 5. . 73 
 
 10. The place of our Lord's crucifixion, John xix. 17, 18. 80 
 
 11. The dividing of our Lord's gar- 
 
 ments, . . . John xix. 23, 24. 86 
 
 SERM. 11. Our Lord forsaken by his 
 
 Father, . . Matthew xxvii. 46. 93 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 
 
 12. The desertion of Christ applied, 
 
 Matthew xxvii. 46. 
 
 109 
 
 13. The resurrection at the death of Jesus 
 
 ;, Matt, xxvii, 52, 53. 
 
 113 
 
 1 4. Christ's legacy of peace. 
 
 John xiv. 27 
 
 121 
 
 15. Glory to the righteous. 
 
 Isaiah xxiv. 16. 
 
 128 
 
 16. The plant of renown, 
 
 Ezekiel xxxiv. 29. 
 
 135 
 
 17. Christ wounded in the house of his 
 
 
 
 friends, 
 
 Zechariah xiii. 6 
 
 142 
 
 18. The bread of life, 
 
 John vi. 34. 
 
 150 
 
VUi SUBJECTS OF THE ADDRESSES AND SERMONS. 
 
 Page 
 
 SERM. III. The birth of Christ an- 
 
 
 
 nouncecl, 
 
 Luke ii. 10, 11. 
 
 158 
 
 19. The birth of Christ improved, 
 
 Lukeii. 10, 11. 
 
 173 
 
 20. The end of Christ's coming. 
 
 John X. 10. 
 
 177 
 
 21. The evidences of communion, 
 
 Acts iv. 13. 
 
 184 
 
 22. The water of life, 
 
 John vii. 37. 
 
 191 
 
 23. God's love commended, 
 
 Komans v. 7, 8. 
 
 2 GO 
 
 24-. The earthquake at Christ's death, 
 
 IMatthew xxvii. 51. 
 
 209 
 
 25. The Centurion's testimony. 
 
 Mark xv. 39. 
 
 215 
 
 26. Christ's side pierced, 
 
 John xix. 31. 
 
 224 
 
 SERM. IV". The conference during the 
 
 Transfiguration, Luke ix. 30, 31. 231 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 27. The death of Christ worthy of all 
 
 honour, . . Luke ix. 30, 31. 251 
 
 28. Christ's weeping at the grave of 
 
 Lazarus, . . John xi. 35. 255 
 
 29. Christ's weeping over Jerusalem, I^uke xix. 41, 42. 263 
 
 30. Christ's exercise in his agony, Hebrews v. 7. 272 
 
 31. Living to Christ, . . Philippians ii 21. 281 
 
 32. The Prince's presence with his 
 
 church, . . Ezekiel xlvi. 10. 287 
 
 SERjM. V. The ascension notified. 
 
 John XX. ] 7. 295 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 
 33. Mary's privilege at the sepulchre, 
 
 Jo.xx.11,12,16,17.312 
 
 34. The wonders of adopting love, 
 
 1 John iii. 1. 316 
 
 35. Love to an unseen Saviour, 
 
 1 Peter i. 8. 324 
 
 36. Rejoicing in Christ, 
 
 1 Peter i. 8. 332 
 
 37. Christ's last prayer, 
 
 Luke xxiii. 46. 341 
 
 38. The seeking of Christ encouraged, 
 
 Matthew xxviii. 5. 348 
 
 39. Christ a deliverer from the wrath to 
 
 
 come, . . 
 
 1 Thess. i. 10; 355 
 
 40. The apostolic benediction. 
 
 2 Corinth, xiii. 14. 362 
 
 SERM. VI. Unitarianism a perversion 
 
 
 of the gospel. 
 
 Galatians i. 7. 369 
 
 SACRAMENTAL 
 
SACRAMENTAL 
 ADDRESSES AND MEDITATIONS. 
 
 ADDRESS I 
 
 GENESIS XXXL 13. 
 
 •* I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, 
 and where thou vowedst a vow unto me : now arise, get thee out 
 from tliis land, and return unto the laud of thy kindred." 
 
 Jriow amazing is it that Jehovah should speak thus of 
 any spot of this earth ? The heavens are his with all 
 their host, the earth in all its glory is only his footstool, 
 yet he describes himself as the God of Bethel. The 
 spot thus honoured, was neither adorned by that pomp 
 of kings, nor signalised by those trophies of war which 
 attract to particular scenes the curiosity, or the venera- 
 tion of men, but was wild and solitary, yet Jehovah 
 viewed it with delight, as the place where he had ma., 
 nifested his glory to a heart that loved him, and speaks 
 of it in a manner which sweetly indicates this compla- 
 cency, and points out his readiness to favour his people 
 in all ages and places with similar communications. 
 
 There is no place too wild and lonely to be the scene 
 of fellowship with God ; nay, the more bleak and se- 
 questered it is, the more does he manifest his goodness 
 in exciting in it religious joy. It was the consciousness 
 
 VOL. II. B 
 
 i 
 
2 ADDRESS I. 
 
 ©f this which made the Psalmist say, " Whither shall 
 I go from thy Spirit, or flee from thy presence ; if I 
 ascend into heaven, lo, thou art there : If I make my 
 bed in hell thou art also there, and if I take the wings 
 of the morning, and dwell in the outermost parts of the 
 sea, even there should thy right hand lead me, and thy 
 riaht hand shall hold me." While John was in Patmos, 
 
 o 
 
 an outcast from society, and far from the friends and 
 the work he loved, he was in the Spirit on the Lord's 
 day, and had the brightest prospects of the triumphs 
 of the Gospel, and of the glory of the Lamb opened to 
 his view. 
 
 And if God holds communion with his/people in such 
 places, they have much more reason to expect it in the 
 ordinances where his name is recorded, and his pre- 
 sence is promised. It is on this account that he is 
 called the God of Sion, because in its various rites of 
 vporship his glory is displayed, and his grace is impart- 
 ed. In the preaching of his word he sends forth his 
 light and his truth ; in the sacrament of baptism he 
 pours out his spirit and his blessing, and in the Lord's 
 Supper, the bread and the wine are the communion of 
 his body and blood. It is with the graces of his peo- 
 ple that he holds fellowship — to their faith he unveils 
 his glory — to their love he displays his beauty — to their 
 gratitude he unfolds his blessings, and to their hope he 
 reveals the destined inheritance. You are now longing 
 for communion with God, and saying, *' Oh, when 
 wilt thou come unto me," and I trust he will visit you 
 with his sweet mercy, and cause you to say, " We be- 
 hold his glory full of grace and truth." 
 
 In the vision at Bethel, there was a scene exhibited 
 which suggests the most interesting meditations at the 
 communion table. A ladder was seen reaching from 
 earth to heaven, and Jehovah stood at the top of it. 
 
ADDRESS I. 3 
 
 This was an emblem of that restoration of our inter- 
 course with God, which has been effected by the medi- 
 ation of Christ. We by nature are enemies to God, la- 
 bour under the effects of his displeasure, and have rea- 
 son to fear more tremendous consequences of it in a fu- 
 ture world ; and no intelligence can be so delightful as 
 this, that we have peace with God through our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. He now speaks to us with the voice of 
 love, and welcomes our return to Him with a father's 
 smile. Our condition is very different from that of 
 heathens, who were left in the most distracting uncer- 
 tainty on this point, and were rendered miserable amidst 
 their costliest oblations, by their fears that their rites 
 and their sacrifices were vain, for we can joy in God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now 
 received the reconciliation. The believer in the atone- 
 ment may regard the character of God under the soft* 
 est images of tenderness and peace, and can rejoice that 
 at his throne he hath no condemnation to fear, and that 
 in his darkest cloud there is no bolt to destroy. Such 
 contemplations have excited the liveliest gratitude to 
 Him who submitted so promptly to be " made a curse 
 for us," and with such sacred feelings may your hearts 
 now glow to the generous Mediator between God and 
 man. And it becomes you to cherish fervid gratitude 
 to that God who devoted the Son of his love to suffer 
 and to die, to save you from destruction. This love is 
 infinite ; this gift is unspeakable, and they claim our 
 everlasting wonder and praise. 
 
 Such were the views which Jacob had at Bethel, and 
 such are the objects which are more fully presented to 
 you in the cross. Now God says to you, " I am the 
 God of Calvary, where Jesus suffered for sins, the just 
 for the unjust, that he might bring you to God," and 
 let your faith and love, your gratitude and joy, now re- 
 B 2 
 
4 ADDRESS I. 
 
 ply, " O Lord I will praise ; thee, though thou wast an- 
 gry with me, thine anger is turned' away, and thou com- 
 fortest me. B.?bold, God is my salvation, I will trust 
 and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength 
 and my song, an4 he also is become my salvation." 
 
 After Ihe Service. 
 
 It was at Bethel that Jacob took the stone which had 
 been his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured 
 oil on the top of it ; and it was here that he vowed a 
 vow, saying, " If God will be with me, and will keep 
 me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat 
 and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my fa- 
 ther's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 
 and this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's 
 house, and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely 
 give the tenth unto thee." This memorial was simple, 
 but God regarded it with delight, as the expression of 
 grateful homage, and this vow was recorded in his book 
 of remembrance. It is not of a splendid temple, or of 
 a magnificent ceremony that God thus speaks, but of a 
 rude and lowly pillar, and of a vow made in utter soli- 
 tude. Superstition hath boasted of the majesty of the 
 columns it has reared to his name, and of the subli- 
 mity of the hymns it hath sung in his praise ; but to all 
 its structures He prefers the rudest pillar which grati- 
 tude erects, and on which the tear of repentance falls, 
 and to all its pealing anthems, the holy wish, and the 
 virtuous purpose of the renovated heart. 
 
 Ye young disciples, let this be the vow you now make 
 at his table, that your heart shall be his. The sweet- 
 est sound which can rise from earth to heaven is the 
 vow of early piety : " He is my God, and I will exalt 
 him, my father's God, and I will prepare him a babi- 
 
ADDRESS I. 5 
 
 tation." The witness and the record of this vow are 
 on high, and you^will be reminded of it hereafter to 
 your shattfevor to your joy ;--rtb your shame, if it is for- 
 gotten and violaled-«to ypirr joy, if you have kept the 
 faith. 
 
 Ye who are in middle life, devote to him your active- 
 days. Others at this period are devoting the prime <Jf' 
 their faculties to worldly wealth, and to worldly ambi- 
 tion ; but we trust you are now dedicating, and will 
 hereafter direct yours to the service of God. Piety will 
 lighten all your cares, guide all your steps, and sanctify 
 all your engagements. 
 
 And let ag^rdi^cipleakKteyote to God what may re- 
 main of li^jQpd is rCow/r&ihinding you of the solem- 
 nities of your early days, and of the purposes which 
 you formed in them, and which he hatl kept you from 
 disregarding, and while he does so, consecrate the even- 
 ing of life to the remembrance of his name, and the de- 
 claring of his works ; yea, this day make your vow for 
 eternity, and ere you rise from that table, let this be your 
 resolution: ''I will extol thee my God, O king; everyday 
 will I do it, and I will bless thy name for ever and ever." 
 It becomes you to show both to God and to the world, 
 that instead of finding reason to complain of his dispen- 
 sations, or to become languid in his service, you feel 
 yourselves more strongly bound than ever to keep hit 
 commandments and to abide in his love. 
 
 You are now on the blink of the grave, and it be- 
 comes you to set up your stone of memorial on that 
 spot, and to inscribe on it the affecting expression of 
 gratitude, '' Hitherto hath the Lord helped." And 
 you may be assured, that the God who hath blessed 
 by his mercy all the former periods of your life, wili 
 not leave you comfortless now. He will refresh yon, 
 when weary, with the dew of your youth, and with the 
 first fruits of paradise. 
 
6 
 
 ADDRESS I. 
 
 To all of you God is saying, " Arise, get thee out 
 of this land, and return to the land of thy kindred." 
 While you remain in the world, let your affections be 
 set on things above; and when the hour of your de- 
 parture shall arrive, go without reluctance and without 
 disnriay to thehouse of your father. This world is a 
 strange land to you ; you have another spirit than that 
 of its children, and you regard its follies with con- 
 tempt, and its pollutions with abhorrence. Its fairest 
 attractions have lost their power over your hearts ; for 
 you have seen and felt their vanity, and you have 
 found in the scenes which seemed most innocent and 
 safe, temptations perilous to your virtue, and sorrows 
 which wounded your hearts. But the better country 
 is the land of your kindred, and your best friends are 
 there. If you have friends on earth who are unwilling 
 to part with you, and with regard to whom it is pain- 
 ful to you to think that your death will be to them a 
 grievous loss, reflect that you have friends in heaven 
 longing for your arrival, that the Friend whom you 
 value supremely, is praying that you may be with him 
 to behold his glory, and that your helpless and sorrow- 
 ing relatives will find in him strength and consolation 
 which no human heart or hand could ever have yielded. 
 
 In that land of your kindred no absence shall inter- 
 iiipt your intercourse, nor shall it ever be embittered 
 by any evil passion, or by any disastrous incident. The 
 spirits of the just will acknowledge you as their bre- 
 thren, and the friends whose departure made this world 
 to 5'ou a dreary land, under whose burdens they can 
 no longer assist you, and from whose evils they can 
 no longer protect you, shall meet you in heaven in per- 
 fect love, and feel in their first embrace the blessed as- 
 surance, " we shall never part more." And the time 
 will come when your dead bodies shall arise, and, un- 
 ited again to their spirits, shall dwell for ever in that 
 
ADDRESS II. 
 
 land of the living where every countenance is that of a 
 friend, where every song is salvation, and where every 
 feeling is pure and happy. 
 
 ADDRESS II. 
 
 RUTH i. 16, 17. 
 
 *' Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following af- 
 ter thee ; for whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodg- 
 est, I will lodge ; thy peojile shall be my people, and thy God 
 my God : Where thou diest will 1 die, and there will I be 
 buried : the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death 
 part thee and me." 
 
 These words express the choice you have made, and 
 the holy purposes which you have formed, and which 
 you are now to renew in partaking of the symbols of 
 the body and the blood of the Lord. Ruth had been 
 made acquainted with the character and laws of the 
 God of Israel, during her connexion with the son of 
 Naomi ; and though she had no prospect but that of 
 poverty in a strange land, she determined to live and 
 to die among the true worshippers of Jehovah. Her 
 resolution breathes the spirit of " an Israelite indeed," 
 and the choice she here expresses is marked by vari- 
 ous characters which may assist you in examining the 
 nature of your attachment to religion, and may ani- 
 mate you to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart. 
 This choice is full and unlimited. The God of Is- 
 rael is the object of her choice, as the Lord whom she 
 was willing to serve, and the God v/hose blessing could 
 alone render her happy. His people she chooses as 
 her companions, and in every path which they tread 
 she resolves to accompany them. And have you made 
 B 4 
 
8 ' ADDRESS II. 
 
 »n unreserved choice of Jesus and his ways ? If we 
 nre willing to take the Lord for our portion, but will 
 not submit to Him as our Sovereign ; if we are dis- 
 posed to associate only with those of the saints who 
 are high in station, and if there are parts of duty which 
 we cannot be brought to practise without the utmost 
 reluctance, and which we avail ourselves of every pre- 
 text to shun, we are strangers to the sprit of genuine 
 piety. Whatever bears the traces of God's image it 
 loves, and to all that is stamped with his authority it 
 bows. 
 
 There are some objects and scenes in religion which 
 may appear more attracting than others ; but there is 
 none which the pious heart does not love, there is no 
 service which it seeks to avoid, and no requirement 
 which it wishes expunged or mitigated. And are you 
 now saying *^ Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 
 To me thy whole will is sacred and dear. Whatever it 
 calls me to perform, I will attempt, and whatever it 
 requires me to suffer, I will bear. There is something 
 peculiarly delightful to a pious mind in obeying the se- 
 verest requirements of religion,^ from the consciousness 
 which is felt of our thus proving the power of our 
 attachment to those whom we love above all, and from 
 that divine strength and comfort which is always pro- 
 portioned to the difficulties of our condition and duty. 
 
 This choice is affectionate. The language of Ruth 
 is not that of carelessness, or of dissimulation, but we 
 see in it all the eagerness and fervour of holy love. 
 And the choice which the pious soul makes of religion 
 is not like that of the formalist, who yields to it only 
 bodily service, and who feels, amidst his professions of 
 complacency, that it is an irksome task ; but it is the 
 dictate of enlightened and supreme affection. It is an 
 indignity to religion to take hold of it with an averted 
 
ADDRESS II. V 
 
 look, or with a reluctant sigh. The pious soul has seen 
 (he divine excellence and beauty in such a light as fills 
 it with rapturous admiration, and to possess the image 
 of such a being appears the brightest glory of its na- 
 ture, and to have an interest in his regard seems the 
 summit of its happiness, both for time and for eterni- 
 ty. The pious soul sees something to charm it in tl e 
 meanest dwellings of the good, for God is there ; in 
 their most dreary and rugged paths, for the way of 
 the Lord is strength to the upright ; and in their death, 
 however agonizing, for the latter end of the perfect 
 man is peace. 
 
 This choice was determined. ''I am a stranger," 
 as if she had said, " to the covenants of promise ; but 
 though God should slay me, yet will I trust in him. 
 I am an alien to the commonwealth of Israel ; but 
 though they should frown upon me, I will cleave to 
 them. The journey may be tedious and exhausting, 
 through want of necessary support, and from the diffi- 
 culties and the djeariness of the path ; yet I will ac- 
 company them. Thy habitation may be poor and com- 
 fortless, yet it shall be my rest ,* and though thy grave 
 shall be far from the burying place of my fathers, in 
 it shall my body be laid. I have considered the mat* 
 ter in every form, and I cannot leave thee." 
 
 Is your choice of religion as determined? If it is 
 made in any other spirit than this, it will not abide the 
 jest of the scorner, the solicitation of corrupt passions, 
 nor the afflictions of the Gospel. The jest of the scor- 
 ner will make you ashamed to avow it, or to act up to 
 it ; the sophistry of vice will strengthen the impres* 
 sions which made you hesitate; and under the re- 
 proach of Christ, you will go back, and walk no more 
 'With him. If it is made under the influence of the 
 spirit of power and of love, none of these things will 
 b5 
 
10 / ADDRESS II. 
 
 move you ; and as your Saviour undertook your cause, 
 and fulfilled all his engagements, with a firmness which 
 no threats could shake, and a constancy which no ago- 
 nies could subdue, let the same mind be in you which 
 was also in him, and add to your faith fortitude. 
 
 This choice is final. It is made for life. Its spirit 
 h this, " I may be solicited to serve other gods, but 
 this God is my God for ever. Nature may raise a 
 sigh for mine own people, and my father's house, but 
 the joys of religious fellowship I will not forego ; and 
 even when thine eyes are closed, and I am left alone, 
 I will neither quit the land nor the worship of Israel ; 
 I will die in thy hope, and I will sleep in thy grave." 
 
 The choice we make of God and his ways is not for 
 a season. Some are serious only in the time of afflic- 
 tion ; they will then solicit the counsels and prayers of 
 the pious, and declare their purpose to be holy ; but 
 returning health effaces these impressions, and they 
 consider them as a weakness of which they may be 
 ashamed. The enthusiast, whose affections are kindled 
 into a fierce and momentary blaze, makes loud profes- 
 sions, and urges his plans with great vehemence, but 
 he soon falls away. But the pious man stands fast in 
 the Lord, and there is not a scene of his life, nor a 
 moment of his being, in which he would consider him- 
 self safe without the influence, or happy without the 
 comforts of religion. He will have no other Saviour 
 than Jesus, and no other course than moral goodness; 
 and his language is, '< till I die I will not remove mine 
 integrity from me ; my righteousness I hold fast, and 
 I will not let it go ; my heart shall not reproach me so 
 lon^g as I shall live." The God of Israel may leave 
 him to walk in darkness, yet will he wait on him ; hrg 
 people may be neglected and contemned by ungod- 
 ly men, yet will not he abandon them ; if they are scat- 
 
ADDRESS II. 11 
 
 tered over deserts and mountains, he will wander with 
 them ; if they lodge in dens and caves of the earth, 
 there will he abide; they may be buried in places 
 deemed infamous by the world, yet there would he 
 rather be laid to share the repose of the just, than in 
 the most splendid receptacles of triumphant villany. 
 
 This choice of Ruth was made in spite of many dis- 
 couragements. Her mother-in-law set before her all 
 the difficulties she might expect, and she saw the widow 
 of her husband's brother so influenced by the prospect 
 as to abide in Moab ; yet was her purpose unshaken. 
 You may perhaps have friends who are averse from 
 religion, and neighbours disposed to ridicule rather than 
 to follow your piety; yet you must now say with Peter's 
 zeal, " though all men should forsake thee, yet will 
 not I." Beware lest you say it with the presumption 
 which led him to disregard all admonition, and to brave 
 temptation, but express it with a humble dependence 
 on that grace which can confirm you to the end, and 
 with an affectionate sense of your peculiar obligations 
 to that Redeemer who loved you, and gave himself for 
 you. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 To her purpose Ruth adds a very solemn oath, to 
 convince Naomi how firmly she was resolved to adhere 
 to her, and to strengthen the pious resolutions of her 
 own soul. Whatever might occur to disgust her in 
 Judea, and whatever alluring messages might be sent 
 to her to induce her to return to Moab, this would be 
 her answer, " 1 have opened my mouth to the Lord, 
 and I cannot go back." You have now been pledging 
 yourselves by the most sacred vows to serve your Re- 
 deeiBCF, and are, I trust, disposed to say, like the 
 B 6 
 
J2 , ADDRESS II. 
 
 Psalmist, " I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I 
 will keep thy righteous judgments." The recollection 
 ©f these vows will furnish you with an additional argn- 
 ment in answer to the solicitations of temptation, and 
 they will be regarded by you as a restraint from folly, 
 and as a motive to pious exertion, which the best re- 
 quire in the present state. 
 
 Ruth might be afraid that after the attractions of the 
 land of Israel were no longer new to her, her affections 
 might revert to her native country, to the scenes where 
 her childhood sported, and her youth rejoiced, and 
 where the objects were which first interested the heart. 
 There is something in the abode where our infancy was 
 cherished, and in the spot where the gay hours of 
 early life were spent, which makes the heart to long 
 for them though we are separated from them by 
 thousands of miles, and though scores of years have 
 elapsed since we quitted them. But the recollection 
 of these vows would make Ruth bless God that he had 
 brought her from a land of idols, and when she thought 
 of her country, to bewail the gross darkness which co- 
 vered it. If we are conscious that there are quarters 
 where we are especially in danger from the influence 
 of temptation, it will be wise to form a solemn purpose 
 of peculiar watchfulness there; and if there are duties 
 from which our hearts shrink, we must resolve to make 
 every effort to discharge them fully. Dreadful is that 
 hour in which conscience presents to us the vows we 
 have violated, and they cannot be beheld without shame 
 and consternation. At this moment your hearts are 
 wrung with the recollection of your broken vows, which 
 in the moments of sacred rapture you thought would 
 ■ever be infringed, and you are now trembling at the 
 idea, which to you is most painful, that you may by 
 the power of temptation be induced to disregard those 
 
ADDRESS IT. 15 
 
 you have now made, to the dishonour of God, nnd to 
 the detriment and peril of your souls ; but commit 
 yourselves to your Saviour's care, and while you do 
 80, watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. 
 
 Let me call upon you to maintain the choice you 
 have made, and have this day avowed. ** O my soul, 
 ihou hast said unto the Lord, thou art my Lord,'' and 
 no expression of my lips, no wish of my heart, and no 
 action of my life, shall ever utter a different language. 
 Beware of every thing which will make the sincerity 
 of your choice of religion questionable. Engage not 
 in the pursuits of the world with that devotedness to 
 them which is incompatible with any of the claims of 
 your holy profession : and let not the men of the world 
 be your favourite associates. Say not, I make them 
 so to do them good, for instead of benefiting them, 
 they may contaminate you, they can have no kindred 
 feelings with you, and the young and the simple may 
 employ your example to encourage themselves in inti- 
 macies which will involve them in ruin. 
 
 Often call to your remembrance the examples of 
 this choice, and of fidelity to it, which have been set 
 before you. Ruth was bound to Moab by many ties, 
 yet she breaks through them all, and says, *' I am the 
 Lord's." Moab might abhor her as a traitress to her 
 country, and from the grave of her fathers she heard a 
 Toice to which the ear of nature never can be closed ; 
 yet all this could not shake her purpose to live and die 
 with the worshippers of the true God. Think of Moses, 
 who saw more to charm him in the trials of Israel than 
 in the pleasures of Egypt, and in the reproach of 
 Christ, than in the crown of Pharaoh. Nor was this a 
 transient emotion of piety, for these impressions re- 
 mained unchanged amidst all the perils of the wilder- 
 wess, and all the ingratitude and peiverseness of the 
 
; 
 14 ADDRESS II. 
 
 Jews; and even while the displeasure of his God ex- 
 cluded him from Canaan, he blessed him that he was 
 not shut out from heaven, and died in the land of 
 Moab, in calm submission and joyful hope. Think of 
 Paul, who counted all his privileges and distinctions 
 loss for Christ, and who maintained this pious deter- 
 mination amidst unparalleled trials of his constancy, 
 both as to number, severity, and duration. In prisons 
 and stripes, in threats and abuse, in hunger and naked- 
 ness, at the bar and on the scaffold, he could say, 
 '* none of these things move me." Think of the pious 
 friends who exhorted you to make this choice, who from 
 the bed of death recommended it to you, and who hav- 
 ing lived by the faith of the Son of God, and followed 
 him in the graces of his character, left the world with 
 such prospects, that you felt disposed to say, " let us 
 go also, that we may die with them." Now we desire 
 that every one of you do shew the same zeal and pa- 
 tience in supporting the credit, in fulfilling the duties, 
 and in surmounting the difficulties, of your holy pro- 
 fession. 
 
 Consider the advantages which will result from your 
 adherence to this choice ; you shall have the Ruler of 
 the world for your friend, the God of all grace for your 
 portion, the Father of glory for your reward, and God 
 blessed for ever, for your felicity. Compared with such 
 privileges the treasures of the world are emptiness, and 
 the honours of princes vanity. You shall have the ex- 
 cellent of the earth for your brethren and your friends, 
 your comforters and your guides. In walking with 
 them, you shall be led in the path oflife, and in dying 
 with them, you shall share in the happiness which the 
 voice of the Spirit thus declares, '* Blessed are the dead 
 that die in the Lord, they rest from their labours, and 
 their works follow tjiem." To be buried with them, is to 
 
ADDRESS III. 15 
 
 sleep in Jesus as they do, nor shall death part you 
 long. It will take you to the spirits of just men made 
 perfect, and in a few years it will re-unite in glory 
 those whom it had separated. Death parts, but it 
 unites also; and there is more joy in the union, than 
 there was sorrow in the separation. In a short time 
 your soul shall be associated with those whose fervid 
 devotion so often roused your languid piety, whose kind 
 solicitude for your welfare secured your confidence, and 
 stimulated your improvement ; whose gentleness and 
 candour taught you to be mild and charitable; and 
 whose lofty and joyful hopes carried so frequently your 
 hearts to heaven. Nor is this all, for the resurrection 
 of the just shall be your resurrection, their mercy in 
 judgment shall be your mercy, their home your home, 
 their glory your glory, their worship your worship, and 
 their felicity your felicity. Amen. 
 
 ADDRESS III. 
 
 PSALM XL. 6, 7, 8. 
 
 *' Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire: mine ears ha£t thou 
 opened : burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. 
 Then said I, lo, 1 come : in the volume of the book it is writ- 
 ten of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God : yea, thy law is 
 within my heart." 
 
 Sacrifices were originally of divine institution, and 
 were intended to answer the most important purposes. 
 The sinner was taught by them the malignity and the 
 desert of his sin, and they directed his views to that great 
 oblation which, in the fulness of time, should for ever 
 perfect them that are sanctified. Often had conscious 
 giult trembled, and faith lifted up its head by their 
 
l5 ADDRESS III. 
 
 side, and the fire descending from heaven and consum- 
 ing the victim, shewed that the offering was accepted, 
 and that the contrite spirit might hope in God. But 
 the period was now come when the blood of bullocks, 
 of lambs, and of goats, should cease to flow from his 
 altar, and when every eye should be turned from the 
 temple and its rites, to the cross on Calvary. Long 
 had Jehovah beheld them with abhorrence substituted 
 in the place of devout affection, and of the moral vir- 
 tues, and abused, to encourage the hope of impunity in 
 sin ; but now the anger of the Lord was to burst forth 
 against these hypocrites in the subversion of their civil 
 and religious institutions, and the Messiah was to ap- 
 pear to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself; and 
 to present an offering which, while it established the 
 hope of forgiveness, should exhibit the most engaging 
 pattern of piety and love, of meekness and constancy 
 in suffering, whose influence should be felt in all the 
 scenes of time, and whose efficacy should be extolled 
 through all the ages of eternity. Jesus, knowing that 
 such were the views and plans of his Father, and glo- 
 rying in being chosen and called by him to offer such 
 a sacrifice, says, " mine ears hast thou opened." Like 
 the Jewish servants, he took such delight in his Mas- 
 ter's work, that he pledges himself never to lay aside 
 the form of a servant till he had accomplished the task 
 assigned him. The Jewish servant who loved his 
 master, and would not go out free, had only one ear 
 l)ored, because he had only to labour for him, and was 
 to be subjected to no suffering ; but Jesus had to en- 
 dure the penalty, as well as to obey the precept of the 
 law. This was necessary to fulfil all righteousness, as 
 well as to complete the redemption of his people. 
 There was nought in all its curses that could extinguish, 
 «r eyen check his generous ardour, nor was there one 
 
ADDRESS III. 17 
 
 of its precepts which he counted it iiksome or degrad- 
 ing for him to obey. 
 
 Havingjsaid to his Father, " Here am I, send me ;" 
 this accepted pledge Jesus was willing to redeem. 
 " Then said f, lo^ I come." This language points out 
 the promptitude and seasonableness of his interposition 
 for man. It was not postponed for a single instant be- 
 yond the destined period, and never did he discover 
 the least symptom of hesitation. He came when long 
 experience had demonstrated the utter insufficiency of 
 every other oblation, and of every other hope, when 
 superstition had ransacked all its stores for a suitable 
 victim, and when philosophy had laboured in vain to 
 devise an effectual expedient to dispel the guilty feara 
 of man, and to renovate the moral and religious cha- 
 racter of society. Jesus came, and no other ; for no 
 other was equal to the task. Of all the myriads of 
 angels there was none that attempted it. We find not 
 in Scripture the least intimation of any effort they ever 
 made fur the relief of those who were once their corn- 
 panions, and what they could not do for them, they 
 could not accomplish for man. Jesus speaks as if he 
 wished all the angels in heaven to mark his cheerful 
 obedience to confirm them in suVjection to God, and 
 because in his coming there is matter for everlasting 
 wonder. Be astonished, my soul, that he should come 
 when so few were disposed to welcome him, and on a 
 service so arduous and so painful. Rejoice, ye com- 
 passionate angels, he cries, who are sighing over the 
 miseries of wretched mortals, I come to redeem tlie 
 lost; and we cannot hear him utter this language w;ih- 
 out saying, '^ Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is 
 he that cometh in the name of the Lord to save us." 
 
 The Messiah declares, " In the volume of the book 
 it is written of me," " I know all the predictions it has 
 
18 ADDRESS III. 
 
 Uttered, and I am come to fulfil them ; all the hopes it 
 has inspired, and will now realize them; and all the 
 sufferings it has marked out for me, and I, will endure 
 them." He was willing not merely to assume its bright 
 characters of a Prince and a Conqueror, but even the 
 humblest of its titles ; and submitted with cheerfulness 
 to the task of a servant, and to the pangs of a sufferer. 
 To be, and do, and suffer, what prophecy had marked 
 out, and love anticipated, was his highest wish. He 
 delighted to do God's will, and this pleasure was felt 
 not merely in the distant prospect of obedience, but 
 when he was actually engaged in it, and in the midst 
 of his severest toils and dying agonies. How affectionate 
 is the claim which he makes, *^ O my God !" and 
 much did this tend to animate every exertion, and to 
 alleviate all his pains. It was thus that he obtained for 
 you the privilege of employing the language of appro- 
 priating faith, and taught us that the most acceptable 
 season in which this can be made is when the heart is 
 animated by holy zeal, and we are most active in our ap- 
 pointed duties. He adds, " and thy law is within my 
 heart." Nothing could make him swerve from it, or keep 
 it for a single moment from his view. In his soul there 
 were no evil principles to oppose it, every affection ac- 
 corded with its dictates, and its rectitude had the fullest 
 approbation of his judgment, and the highest complacen- 
 cy of his heart. Can you say, in his spirit, ** O how love 
 I thy law !" Yea even the curse of the law entered into his 
 soul in all the wrath which you deserved ; and to this 
 he was wiUing to submit to redeem you from it. I 
 trust. Christians, that you now feel a glowing impres- 
 sion of your Saviour's grace. O magnify his name for 
 what he undertook, and for what he did for you ; and 
 while you observe his dying command, may he seal this 
 covenant with you, " I will put my laws in their minds. 
 
ADDRESS III. 19 
 
 and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them 
 a God; and they shall be to me a people." 
 
 Afler the Service. 
 
 Be grateful. Christians, for the generous love of your 
 Saviour. It is common with men, when other means 
 of relieving the wretched have been found vain, to say, 
 " It is idle for me to attempt it ;" but the insufficiency 
 of other methods of saving us, led to the expression of 
 his determination to accomplish the mighty task, in 
 which he shall shine with unrivalled glory for ever. 
 Had he been coming to an admiring world, and to uni- 
 versal sway, his promptitude would not have been so 
 surprising ; but he came to all the gloom of sorrow, and 
 to all the bitterness of death, and to redeem those who 
 deserved no pity, and who are insensible of what they 
 owe to him till his grace makes them feel it. Beware 
 of every false hope. If those ancient oblations were 
 rejected as utterly insufficient to expiate the least sin, 
 none of your sufferings or services can merit aught at 
 the hand of God. You have now laid all your attain- 
 ments at the Saviour's feet, but take heed lest, when the 
 swell of devotional feeling has subsided, you be induced 
 to put confidence in your own acquirements. Live in 
 those humble impressions of j'our own character and 
 conduct, which the contemplation of the cross awakens, 
 and in which, from the bed of death, you will view the 
 throne of judgment rising before you. Remember the 
 assurances of fidelity you have now given to your Lord ; 
 he has drawn you to himself with the cords of love, 
 and let there not be among you one backslider in 
 heart. He died in your cause, and you should die in 
 his service. Jesus is a master who bears to his servants 
 all a father's love, and ** his yoke is easy, and his bur* 
 
ftO ADDRESS HI. 
 
 den is light." When he requires of you any service, 
 you must engage in it with alacrity ; when he imposes 
 any cross, you must glory in tribulation ; when he de- 
 mands any of j'our comforts, your grasp must be in- 
 stantly unloosed ; and when he calls you to heaven, 
 you must not permit any worldly interest to retard you, 
 nor any of the terrors of death to influence you to 
 shrink. 
 
 Be well acquainted with all that is said in the vo- 
 lume of his book respecting your Lord. If the minu- 
 test particulars in the lives of those whose exploits, or 
 whose crimes, have made them famous in the world, 
 are recorded with care, and read with attention, you 
 can never feel indifferent to aught that God hath made 
 known respecting Him who is the brightness of glory. 
 Every sacramental solemnity should increase your 
 knowledge of the glor'es of his cross,- and every afflic- 
 tion you experience of the fellowship of his sufferings. 
 In looking into these things, you mingle in the studies 
 of angels. Let it be your delight to do the will of God, 
 and never let your countenance, j'our manner, or your 
 language, indicate that you deem any of his command- 
 ments grievous. See how the dutiful and affectionate 
 child delights to fulfil a father's pleasure, and what a 
 happiness it feels in receiving his commands, and think 
 how the will of God is done in heaven. The angels 
 would be ashamed to have one cold feeling, or one un- 
 occupied mom.ent ; and it must be with surprise and 
 horror that they witness our lukewarmness and indo- 
 lence. Reflect on your Master's holy ardour, and pray 
 for an increasing measure of it. When the sluggard 
 tells you how agreeable the rest of indolence is, and 
 when the wicked boast that they never were happy till 
 they had shaken off the restraints of religion, consi- 
 der that their satisfactions will soon end in remorse 
 
ApDRESS IV. 21 
 
 and torture, and that the joy of the Lord is your 
 strength. The only grief of a good man in duty is, 
 that he cannot perform it better. 
 
 And let God's law be within your hearts in the strong 
 affection which you bear to it, and in the subjection of 
 all your thoughts and feelings to its influence. Let 
 your wishes, your recollections, and purposes, be as 
 fully regulated by its dictates, as the most open actions 
 of your lives. The law of God in your heart will keep 
 the world from its throne, and sin from having domi- 
 nion over you. Let not the senseless jargon in which 
 some inconsiderate zealots for the doctrines of grace 
 disparage good works, lead you to imagine that the 
 Gospel has abrogated the moral law, or generates any 
 hostility to it. It never can pass away, and a good 
 man cannot desire its subversion. It is the rule of 
 duty on earth, the standard of perfection in heaven, 
 and the transcript of Jehovah's moral excellence. It 
 is magnified in all Christ's offices, it is the inseparable 
 associate of the Gospel, and it will be the test in our 
 final judgment. 
 
 ADDRESS IV. 
 
 2 SAMUEL I. 26. 
 
 *' I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant 
 ha.* thou been unto me ; tliy love to me was wonderful, pasaici; 
 the love of women. 
 
 The lamentation of David over the death of his 
 friend Jonathan, is marked by exquisite pathos. The 
 excellencies of his character,and the circumstances of 
 his fate, are exhibited with a skill which calls forth all 
 the power of fancy, and with a generous sensibility 
 
22 ADDRESS IV. 
 
 which melts the heart. David forgets all the envy 
 and violence of the father, and can think of nothing 
 but the worth and friendship of the son. The excel- 
 lencies of a friend never strike the heart so much as 
 when the sad conclusion is forced upon us, that we 
 shall see his face no more, and the enjoyments of 
 friendship seem most delightful when we feel that they 
 are gone never to return. David mourns that a man 
 so excellent should perish in the prime of his days, and 
 that so brave a soldier should fall before his enemies ; 
 but his heart bleeds at the thought, that a friend in 
 whom he had promised himself so much happiness was 
 snatched from him, and would never again heighten 
 his joys, sooth his cares, or share his perils. He fond- 
 ly remembers the sweetness of his manners, the gene- 
 rosity of his character, the ardour of his attachment, 
 and his unwearied solicitude for his interest, and 
 speaks as if he thought that there was not in all his 
 country, nor in all his family, a heart that loved him 
 like the heart of Jonathan. 
 
 Christians, you are now contemplating the death of 
 a Friend, of whose love the kindness of Jonathan was 
 but a faint shadow, and who died while contending 
 with you renernies, but who died more than a conquer- 
 or. You are sorrowing, and why do ye mourn ? If 
 it is at the insults of his enemies, the tortures of the 
 cross, or the severity of his agony, Jesus thus address- 
 es you, " Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves." 
 It is not for the tear of sympathy, but of contrition, 
 that I now call. Sorrow for those sins which I died 
 to expiate, and let the contemplation of my sufferings 
 excite in you all the regrets, and lead you to all the 
 amendment of true repentance. 
 
 How dear and how interesting is the relation in 
 which Jesus stands to you ! He is not ashamed to 
 
ADDRESS IV. 23 
 
 call you brethren, and he will not be offended with the 
 affection and pious confidence which is now looking to 
 him, and calling him *' my Brother." You are mem- 
 bers of the same family. One is your Father, even 
 God, and you have one spirit with him. He now sur- 
 veys 3^ou sitting at his table in obedience to his com- 
 mand, and in love to his name, and says before angels 
 and archangels, " Behold my mother and my brethren, 
 for he that doth the will of my Father who is in hea- 
 ven, the same is my brother, my sister, and mother." 
 He hath the majesty of a sovereign, the righteousness 
 of a judge, and the splendour of a conqueror; but he 
 hath also the heart of a brother ; and from him you 
 may expect all the kind attentions, and all the steady- 
 affection which this relation demands. 
 
 Jesus is indeed very pleasant to his people in the 
 beauties of his character, the endearments of his love, 
 and the blessings of his grace. The time spent in his 
 society is the happiest of your life : your fears are dis- 
 pelled by the assurances of his care, and your sorrows 
 relieved in pouring out your complaint to him. His 
 glory gives a charm to his condescension, which en- 
 raptures the soul, and by the amplitude of his stores 
 he is able to fulfil every purpose of his own heart, and 
 to gratify every wish of ours. You feel that for one 
 smile of his countenance, one expression of his love, 
 and one token of his kindness, you could renounce the 
 world were it all your own. Friendship hath no plea- 
 sure so delightful, and life no joy so sweet. 
 
 His love to you was wonderful. Heaven cannot 
 shew more of its wonders than the cross ; for there 
 they are displayed in the arduousness of his conflict, 
 the extremity of his sufferings, and the vileness of his 
 shame. The sun is darkened to attest how love veiled 
 his glory, the rocks rend to proclaim its power, and 
 1 
 
84 ADDRESS IV. 
 
 the graves open to shew that his affection survives the 
 disruption of every earthly tie, and will triumph in the 
 resurreclion of the just. 
 
 But his love to you is v/onderful. David knew not 
 whether Jonathan still loved him. His attachment 
 may have perished amid the overwhelming scenes of 
 eternity, and though it did exist, he was not aware of 
 any benefit which it could yield, or any form in which 
 it could be displayed. But we know that Jesus in hea- 
 ven is as affectionate and compassionate as ever, and 
 his wondrous love may be seen there in the fervour 
 and the constancy of his intercession, in the extent and 
 the value of his preparations for your happiness, and 
 in the condescension and the tenderness of his care. 
 
 And what created love can be compared with his } 
 The utmost height to which human affection goes, 
 is to share its possessions with the object beloved. 
 *< What is thy petition," said Ahasuerus to his queen, 
 «* and what is thy request, and it shall be granted thee 
 '* to the half of the kingdom :" But the love of Jesus 
 raises its objects to the right hand of the Majesty on 
 high. The utmost depth to which human affection 
 goes is to the dust of death for its object. •' Greater 
 love hath no man than this, that a man should 
 lay down his life for his friend." But Jesus died un- 
 der the curse, and for his enemies. The utmost ex- 
 tent of human affeclion is to sacrifice friends and coun- 
 try for the sake of its object, and to go with him to 
 distant climes, in the idea that by his side we shall find 
 a home. But what is this to that tender mercy which 
 Jesus spreads over all his works, and to that grace 
 which made him come from the bosom of his Father 
 to dwell with mortals ? The utmost length of human 
 affection is life. Death is the close of human friend- 
 ship, as well as of human glory. The tear of love can 
 
ADDRESS IV. 25 
 
 no more melt the cold heart, than the pomp of the 
 world can elevate the humbled clay ; but the mercy of 
 the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on them 
 that fear him. 
 
 The strongest of all human attachments has been 
 supposed to be that of a mother to her child. *^ Can 
 a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not 
 have compassion on the son of her womb ! yea, she may 
 forget, but I will not forget thee, I have graven thee 
 on the palms of my hands, and thy walls are continu* 
 ally before me." There is an allusion here to a custom 
 among the JewF, who used to mark on their hands a 
 picture or representation of Jerusalem, to shew their 
 zeal, and to cherish their affection for it^ and it beauti- 
 fully points out how the saints are ever before their Sa- 
 viour as objects of care and love, a care and love com- 
 pared with which, human vigilance seems heedless, and 
 human affection cold. And now. Christians, it is our wish 
 that you may taste that the Lord is gracious, and that 
 his love shed abroad in your heart, and blessing the 
 exercise of a communion table, may render this service 
 the earnest of heaven. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 Let not the sorrow of penitence be h'mited to this 
 service, but let it mingle fear and caution with the ex- 
 ultation and the mirth of prosperity ; let it sanctify your 
 grief in the day of worldly calamity, let it induce you 
 to watch against the temptations by which your hearts 
 have been enticed, and animate you to greater activity 
 in holiness. 
 
 Maintain that confidence in Jesus which he so justly 
 claims, and have no fellowship with those who are hos^ 
 
 VOL. II. c 
 
20 ADDRESS IV. 
 
 tile to his interests, and indifferent to his glory. Let 
 there not be reason to say ^hat your professions of kind- 
 ness have been those of treachery like Joab, when he 
 said to Amasa, " Art thou in health, my brother," and 
 while he kissed him, smote him under the fifth rib, and 
 shed out his bowels to the ground ; but shew that your 
 heart is as affectionate as your words, by the careful 
 avoidance of every sin, and by the uniform support of 
 all that is pious in principle and feeling. I call on 
 you to walk in the light of his countenance, and assure 
 you that it will be by your own fault if ever your inter- 
 course with Jesus is interrupted, or embittered by his 
 language of upbraiding, or his frowns of displeasure. 
 
 Be ashamed of the defects of your love to him. There 
 is much about your love to amaze us, but it is not that 
 it is so ardent, so elevated, and so potent, but that it 
 is so cold, so unsteady, and so inoperative. You see 
 the degree of the miser's love to his gold in his haggard 
 look, his excessive toil, his vigilant care, and his bread 
 of carefulness. We see the degree of the ambitious 
 man's love to false glory in the sacrifices which he has 
 made, and in the scars which he bears ; but the conduct 
 of too many of the disciples of Jesus shews with what 
 reluctance they yield up what is dear, endure what is 
 painful, or perform what is arduous for his sake. Place 
 your hearts directly under the influence of his cross, that 
 his dying love may raise every affection to its highest 
 pitch, and fix them all on him, and with him may they 
 remain unalienated to eternity. Devote to his love all 
 the faculties of the soul, all the thoughts of the mind, 
 all the feelings of the heart, all the vigour of the 
 strength, and all the purposes and efforts of the life. 
 Employ in his service every talent you possess, and 
 every moment that you live. Serve him in every place, 
 in every company, and in every condition. Beware of 
 
ADDRESS tV. 27 
 
 seeking to conciliate the good will of the wicked and 
 the profane, by the least symptom of acquiescence in 
 their statements and plans, and never lose sight of that 
 fidelity to your master which you have this day pledge 
 ed. Honour your Lord by the courtesies of brother- 
 ly kindness in the intercourse of life, by employing the 
 gains of prosperity in works of piety and mercy, by a 
 calm and humble temper and manners in every season, 
 and in every species of calamity, by melting seriousness 
 and godly fear in his worship, and by patient suffering 
 and elevated hope in your last hour. 
 
 And as David did not think that he had given a suf- 
 ficient testimony of his friendship to Jonathan in this 
 lamentation, but sought out, patronized, and protected 
 his children for his sake, so your regard to Jesus must 
 be shewn in kindness to his disciples, because they be- 
 long to him, and bear his image. Some of them re- 
 quire your counsel, others your sympathy, and others 
 your alms, and all of them your prayers. And shall 
 not you be willing to distribute, and ready to commu- 
 nicate? It is a delightful thought that Jesus will accept 
 that beneficence as if it had supplied his own wants, and 
 that sympathy as if it had alleviated his own woes. 
 
 Let not the presumption of the heart flatter you with 
 the idea that the friends whom you love will always be 
 spared to you. The heart which has so often been de- 
 lighted with their society, must mourn their departure, 
 and they may be taken from you not in the way that is 
 common to man, or by a disease in which it may be in 
 your power to minister to their comfort, but in battle, 
 or at sea, or by fatal accidents. If called to such a trial 
 of your faith and patience as this, imagine not that 
 these circumstances of their departure, are in themselves 
 indications of God's hatred of them or of you. Re* 
 member how Jonathan died, and David mourned, and 
 c2 
 
58 
 
 ADDRESS V. 
 
 say, *' It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good 
 in his sight." A stern philosophy laboured to repress, 
 and to extinguish the feelings, but the religion you 
 profess guides and controls them, gives comfort when 
 they are most severely wounded, and renders their agi- 
 tation a mean of amending the heart. 
 
 Let your temper and manners be such as will make 
 your own departure be regretted by those who may sur- 
 vive you ; and it is only the suavity, the kindness, and 
 the integrity of a benevolent and honest heart, which 
 will secure you a place in the remembrance of the good. 
 When the tongue of eloquence is silent, or the thoughts 
 of the man of research perish, not a heart bleeds, and 
 not a tear falls ; but when the face is changed where 
 benignity smiled, and when the heart is cold where 
 compassion glowed, such a sorrow is excited as shews, 
 that while splendid talents may excite admiration, gen. 
 tleness and humanity alone awaken love, and it is love 
 alone that mourns at the grav€. *< Put on therefore as 
 the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, 
 kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness and long suf- 
 fering ;" thus your life will be felt as a blessing, and 
 your death as a loss ; and thus will you pass from the 
 regrets of friends to the kindest welcome of the spirits of 
 the just, and of Him whose love is the bliss of heaven. 
 
 ADDRESS V. 
 
 SONGS i. 4. 
 
 " We will remember thy love more than wine." 
 
 In these words the Church expresses her delight in 
 communion with Christ, and her determination to re- 
 member his love more than the sweetest and most va- 
 
ADDRESS V. 'ZU 
 
 lued of created enjoyments. Such is the purpose of 
 every devout communicant, and nothing can be more 
 reasonable than this preference. It may serve to con- 
 firm you in this pious resoUition, and to strengthen 
 your religious affections to point out to you that no 
 earthly good deserves to occupy the same place with the 
 love of Christ in the recollections of your memory, the 
 estimation of your minds, and the delight of your 
 hearts. 
 
 It is the love of Christ which gives to earthly com- 
 forts all their sweetness. The worldly man delights in 
 them from the gratification which they yield to his ap- 
 petites and passions ; and such is his caprice, and so un- 
 satisfactory does he find them, that he quickly turns 
 with disgust from that which he sought with eagerness. 
 But it is the love of Christ enjoyed in these, which makes 
 the pious experience in the meanest dwelling, and 
 the scantiest fare, more delight than the wicked have in 
 the highest prosperity. Could this ingredient be ex- 
 tracted from their comforts, they would he\ themselves 
 wretched though feasted at the table, and clothed from 
 the wardrobe of princes. That love of Jesus which gives 
 verdure to the palms, and splendour to the crowns on 
 high, sweetens the righteous man's morsel, and blesses 
 his gains. Acknowledge to him at his table, how much 
 he hath done to make you happy on earth, as wtII as 
 in heaven. He has rendered you grateful and content- 
 ed in circumstances where others, uninfluenced by reli- 
 gion, would have exhibited the worst excesses of impa- 
 tience. It is thus that he preserves you from envyin^ 
 the superior advantages of others, and proves by your 
 happiness in the humblest condition, that " a little that 
 a righteous man hath, is better than the riches of many 
 wicked." 
 
so ADDRESS V. 
 
 The love of Christ can make the pious happy in the 
 want of these comforts. Worldly men, when reduced 
 to poverty, or bereft of friends, or brought by disease to 
 the brink of the grave, abandon themselves to despond- 
 ency, but in these circumstances the saints feel that their 
 happiness is safe, and that their chief good is untouched. 
 The prophet could rejoice in the God of his salvation, 
 though every cluster was gone from the vineyard, eve- 
 ry stalk from the field, and every sheep from the past- 
 ures. Behold the primitive Christians suffering the 
 sorest calamities : persecution prepares for them the in- 
 struments of death, famine sweeps away their stores 
 with the besom of destruction, and disease chastens 
 them with strong pain, yet in all these things they were 
 more than conquerors, through him that loved them. 
 They are represented not merely as supporting and 
 surviving the shock of such united calamities, but as 
 unhurt by their fury, defying their power, and triumph- 
 ing gloriously over them all. The love of Christ can 
 bring the peace of heaven into the worst troubles of the 
 world, can cheer when earthly joys are failing, aad 
 bless when they perish. 
 
 Let your devout acknowledgments be now made to 
 your Saviour, who in situations where your happiness 
 was supposed to be ruined, kept it uninjured, and who, 
 when you were deprived of that from which you had 
 derived much consolation, fulfilled his kind assurance, 
 " I will not leave you comfortless, I will come unto 
 you ;" and let this preserve you from disquieting fears 
 as to the future, for " my God shall supply all your 
 need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.** 
 The love of Christ can and does yield much better 
 comforts than any of an earthly kind. A worldly man 
 has no idea of a happiness superior to what the world 
 yields him, and for no other has he a relish. He 
 
ADDRESS Y. 
 
 3^1 
 
 sometimes boasts that he is too rational to be pufFed 
 up with the deceits of enthusiasm, and that he cares for 
 no happiness but what gratifies his senses ; but ye have 
 been renewed in the spirit of your mind, and you know 
 that there are better blessings than the world can be- 
 stow. Ye know that no earthly enjoyment can be com- 
 pared with the hidden manna, and the wine of the king- 
 dom. It is on the image of your Saviour, the favour 
 of your God, and the grace of his Spirit, that your 
 hearts are set, and to minds occupied with these, the 
 joys and honours of the world seem empty and gro- 
 velling. Yooir love abounds in all knowledge and 
 judgment, and you have been taught to approve the 
 things that are more excellent ; and were Jesus now to 
 say to you, '^ Ask what I shall give you,'' you would 
 not solicit riches, or honour, or long life, or vengeance 
 on your enemies, but your request would be, that his 
 love might be more strongly felt in your hearts. Such 
 is the petition which best becomes his table, and which 
 he delights to hear, and to answer there, and the more 
 fully it is answered, the more devout will be your ex* 
 ercise, and the more abundant your joy. And the 
 love of Christ will continue when the comforts of this 
 world have passed away for ever. These earthly com- 
 forts are not designed for a long continuance with you. 
 At death they shall take their leave of you, and as you 
 give them a last look, you will rejoice in hope of seeing 
 the Lord's goodness in the land of the living. They 
 may alleviate bodily pain, and excite the gratitude 
 of the heart, and this is the utmost limit of their in- 
 fluence ; but the love of Christ has unstinged death, 
 prepared a quiet resting place for the body, and open- 
 ed heaven for the souls of believers. It shall enlighten 
 them there by a sun which shall never go down, re- 
 fresh them by a river of life always flowing, and adorpi 
 c 4 
 
S2 ADDRESS V. 
 
 them with a crown that never fades away. It hath 
 prepared for them the robes of kings, the work of an- 
 gels, and the hfe of God. It shall through eternity 
 maintain their felicity, and delight in it. Now, if amidst 
 all the honours of the world above, the love of Christ 
 shall still have the pre-eminence, if amidst all the va- 
 riety of their pleasures it shall still be their chief joy, 
 and if amid all the themes of their praise, it shall still 
 be the burden of their song, we surely should remem« 
 ber it more than all below the sun. 
 
 Christians, we trust these are your impressions, and 
 that he who searcheth the heart, finds this holy resolu- 
 tion formed there, and expressed to him in this pious as- 
 piration, '* If I forget thee, O my Saviour, let my right 
 hand forget its cunning, and let my tongue cleave to 
 the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not thy love to my 
 chief joy." You are now observing an ordinance in 
 which Christ's love is seen most strikingly in his shed 
 blood, and felt most powerfully in the fellowship of his 
 sufferings ; and may you be blessed with his favour, 
 and thus adore him, " Because thy loving kindness is 
 better than life, my lips shall praise thee^" 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 Treasure the excellencies of the love of Christ in 
 your memories with peculiar care. Worldly men are 
 careful to preserve a lively and accurate recollection of 
 the objects which have gratified them, of the promises, 
 which have excited their hopes, and of the methods by 
 which they have triumphed over their opponents ; but 
 the good man would wish if it were possible to banish 
 every trace of what is vain and trivial from his me- 
 mory, and to occupy it completely with the displays of 
 the love of Jesus. Study those displays with care, re 
 
ADDRESS V. 
 
 view them with frequency, hsten with eager attention 
 to every discourse which may expand your ideas of it, 
 or which may deepen its impression, and avoid every 
 thing which may weaken its hold of your memory and 
 of your heart. Let this be the purpose which you now 
 form : " Whatever I may forget, thy love, O Lord 
 Jesus, shall be remembered, and whatever may claim 
 the chief place in my memory, this alone shall have it. 
 Present comforts may render me less anxious to call 
 back those that are gone; but while I rejoice in what 
 thou bestowest, and in thy gifts to my soul this day, I 
 will never forget what thou hast done. In the decline 
 of nature, memory may lose many of its recollections ; 
 but it shall not be with the consent of my will;^ if it 
 forgets aught that I have known, or received from thee." 
 Contemplate the excellencies of this love with, more 
 frequency and delight than any other objects* De- 
 vote large portions of your time to meditation on this 
 topic, and exclude every thing which may distract your 
 attention ; yea, even in seasons when other things have 
 just claims on your notice, let your Saviour's love min- 
 gle itself with your views and purposes. This will nei- 
 ther impede nor distract you in any duty or engage- 
 ment, and it will preserve you from the anxieties by 
 which worldly men are harassed, and from the tempta- 
 tions before which they fall. Never let this spirituali- 
 ty be exhibited in any ostentatious form, for this will 
 be employed to render your profession ridiculous, and 
 will be considered as giving plausibility to the charge 
 of hypocrisy against you. Let the beauties of creation 
 lead you to Him of whose glory they are but shadows, 
 and the events of providence to Him who worketh all 
 things according to the counsel of his will. Let the 
 truths of Scripture guide you to Him whose glory it 
 unfolds^ and whose will it declares; and when you 
 
34 
 
 ADDRESS V. 
 
 muse on the worth and the afFection of a departed 
 friend, let faith look to the Saviour exercising unwea- 
 ried care over his own, and loving them for ever, and 
 say, « The Lord lives, blessed be my rock, and let 
 the God of my salvation be exalted." " We will think 
 of thy loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of thy 
 temple, in the midst of our worldly cares and trou- 
 bles, in the midst of our best enjoyments, in the midst 
 of the sorrows of death, and in the midst of the won- 
 ders of heaven," 
 
 Let me call on you also, to make him every suitable 
 return of afFection. Without love to Jesus, his love 
 will neither be remembered nor thought on ; for wha 
 feels any anxiety about meditating on that which is to 
 him a matter of indifference. It is love that strength- 
 ens the recollections of the memory, and maintains un- 
 wearied the views of meditation. And then only is 
 his love remembered suitably to its value, when we can 
 say, " We love him, because he first loved us." Can 
 we contemplate love so ardent with indifference, love 
 so faithful and constant with a heart wavering and 
 treacherous, love making such sacrifices, and bestowing 
 such blessings, without a wish to present to him our 
 all, and love shining in the whole course of his media- 
 tion, and yet deem it sufficient to yield him the worship 
 of an hour, or the thought of a moment ? You con- 
 demn such conduct as unreasonable, and you feel that 
 it would be most shameful and base; and though 
 such a part could be acted with safety, we trust that 
 you shudder at the idea of being guilty of it. Ever 
 act as becomes those who have said, '^ Whom have I 
 in heaven but thee, and there is none on earth whom I 
 desire besides thee?" and let this be your impression 
 through all the scenes of time, which you will feel 
 
ADDRESS V, 35 
 
 through all tha ages of eternity, that " Christ is all in 
 all." 
 
 I exhort you further, to give every suitable expres* 
 sion of your high sense of your Redeemer's love. In 
 your praises mentioii the loving kidness of the Lord ; 
 and let these be the books which you delight to read 
 in which his name is magnified. Let your conversa* 
 tion be religious and heavenly, and in order to its being 
 listened to with attention and respect, let it never be 
 mixed with the language of party, or any thing that 
 indicates a censorious temper. There is little to in- 
 struct, and less to edify, in controversial discussions. 
 Let us speak the truth in love, and when we are call* 
 cd on to express our disapprobation of what is vicious^ 
 let us do it in a manner which may enhance in our own 
 estimation, and in that of others, the beauties of holi- 
 ness. Embrace every opportunity of attending on that 
 ordinance where Christ's love is commemorated, and 
 shew that this exercise of communicating tends to raise 
 his disciples to higher degrees of elevation above the 
 world, and of zeal in holiness ; and be assured that the 
 eommunion table is never deserted but where love hath 
 become cold, and that it is a strong indication that other 
 obligations are also disregarded. And remember that 
 Jesus hath said, " By this shall all men know that ye 
 are my disciples, if ye have love one to another;" and 
 " if ye love me, keep my commandments." Such are 
 the evidences of saintship fixed by Jesus himself, who 
 hath , not left this to be done by the wisdom of the 
 world, by bigotry in its rancour, or presumption in its 
 vain conceit ; and such is the test to which he will ap* 
 peal when he shall judge the world in righteousness. 
 
 I hope that it is the purpose of all of you without 
 exception thus to remember Christ's love. There never 
 w^a a saint who dissented from this resolution, or who 
 
 ca 
 
3^ ADDRESS V. 
 
 felt disposed to censure it as extravagant or impracti- 
 cable. It has been the resolution of early piety to 
 which the world is opening, and of aged piety, to which 
 it is closing, of the religious in prosperity, when all 
 is smiling, and in adversity, when all is dark and 
 dismal. It is the resolution not only of the soul that 
 is happy in the sense of this love, but of the soul that 
 sighs, " O that I knew where I might find him." It 
 was the resolution of the pious and the good who once 
 filled the places which you now occupy, and it will be 
 the purpose of those who shall shew forth the death of. 
 Christ when you are gathered to your fathers. Now. 
 let these be the purposes with which you leave this 
 scene of holy fellowship, that whatever labour it may 
 cost you, that however few may think, and fee], and 
 act as you do ; and that whatever opposition you may. 
 meet with, your thoughts and your affections, your 
 praises and prayers, your life and death, shall be de- 
 voted to him that loved you, and washed you from, 
 your sins in his own blood* 
 
SERMON I. 
 
 SERMON I, 
 
 The Fir si Promise Illustrated, 
 
 GENESIS III. 15. 
 
 I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between 
 thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt 
 bruise his heel. 
 
 A criminal's receiving his doom is as solemn a scene 
 as we can witness on earth. The judge, the culprit, 
 the crime, and the sentence, all excite the strongest 
 emotion, and command the fixed attention of every 
 heart. The judge, venerable for years and experience; 
 the criminal, quaking for fear, and overwhelmed with 
 bitter reflections ; the crime, demanding the heaviest 
 punishment in its enormity, and in its fatal conse- 
 quences to the safety of men's persons or property, 
 suggest meditations deeply interesting, and, for a sea- 
 son, completely engross the mind. 
 
 In our text a judgment is presented incomparably 
 more grand and impressive than any ever beheld in 
 courts of justice. Here the Judge is the Eternal God, 
 the One Lawgiver, who is able both to save and to 
 destroy : the criminals are the devil, who tempted our 
 first parents to sin, and our unhappy progenitors, filled 
 with shame and terror on account of their fall ; the 
 crime was the first that ever was committed on our 
 
38 SERMON r. 
 
 globe, and the source of all evil, natural and moral ; 
 and the doom contains certain degradation, discomfi- 
 ture, and ruin to Satan ; and the discipline of labour 
 and sorrow, the abasement of mortality and corrup- 
 tion, and the hope of victory and salvation, to the des- 
 cendants of Adam. Such a scene, realized by faith, 
 will seem tremendous as the great and solemn day of 
 the Lord ; but its pledge of mercy to our race may 
 induce us to mingle gratitude with our awe, and to re- 
 joice that their sentence displays a tender commisera- 
 tion to which they had no claim, and is fraught with 
 such rich grace as secures the redemption of its ob- 
 jects for ever. 
 
 It should make us feel peculiar interest in this scene, 
 that with these offenders we fell, and that the Saviour 
 in whom they are called to hope, is revealed to us as 
 the object of our trust, and the Redeemer from guilt 
 and misery of all who come unto God by him. Our 
 text is a part of the tempter's doom ; and while God 
 denounces in %urative language the shame and 
 wretchedness now to befal him, he gives, in a threaten- 
 ing to him, a glorious promise of deliverance to man. 
 from the bondage of Satan, and from the evils of the 
 fall. 
 
 In discoursing on this passage, I shall call your at* 
 t€ntion to the combatants ; to the enmity which produc- 
 ed the contest, and to its effects on both parties as here 
 stated; and shall then point out the peculiar claims 
 which this promise has to our most serious regard. 
 
 I. The combatants are the serpent and his seed> 
 and the woman and her seed. The serpent and his 
 seed are ranged on the one side* Many theories have 
 been formed respecting the serpent and its agency 
 in the fall. Some have insisted that the whole scene 
 3 
 
SERMON I. SO 
 
 is an allegory, and have represented this interpretation 
 as the only mode of protecting it from impious ridi- 
 cule ; but this scheme cannot be reconciled with those 
 references which are made to the events here describ- 
 ed in other places of Scripture as real incidents ; and 
 is a way of escaping from difficulties which deprives 
 the sacred narratives of their most interesting cha- 
 racters. 
 
 The opinion which seems to coincide most exactly 
 with the whole of the passage, is that which represents 
 the devil as entering into a serpent, and carrying on 
 his temptation by it as his instrument ; and this vehi- 
 cle he chose as being least likely to excite the suspi- 
 cion of Eve, and best adapted to engage her attention. 
 By the seed of the serpent, we are to understand not 
 merely the evil spirits ranged under the banner of the 
 prince of the devils, but wicked men, in whose hearts 
 he reigns, who are influenced by his spirit, and led 
 captive by him at his will. Our Lord represents this 
 to have been the case in a most dreadful extent with 
 the Jews, in the falsehood and cruelty to which they 
 were addicted. There are countries and eras in which 
 some vicious excesses seem exploded j but this arises 
 from the circumstances in which men are placed ; and 
 evils as oflfensive to God, and as ruinous to their peace, 
 abound, against which no voice is lifted, and for which 
 no regret is felt. And how numerous is the serpent's 
 seed ! The whole world lieth in wickedness. In every 
 circle their venom flows, from every quarter their 
 hissings are heard, and in every path they lurk to 
 sting. 
 
 The seed of the woman is the combatant on the 
 other side. This expression cannot here represent all 
 the descendants of Eve, for many of them belong to 
 the family of Satan, and Hve and die under his power; 
 
40 
 
 SERMON I, 
 
 but the great Messiah is thus designated, because he 
 was th? most eminent of her offspring, in whom hu- 
 man nature appears in more than its pristine glories. 
 His coming was desired for ages, as the Man of God's 
 right hand ; while he dwelt among us, this was the 
 exclamation to which his mighty works gave rise, 
 *' What manner of man is this, that even the winds 
 and the sea obey him !" and now in his exalted state, 
 he appears as the Son of Man in the midst of the 
 throne. In him all the graces shine by which that 
 nature can be adorned, and he is its chi^f benefactor, 
 and its brightest ornament. It was not so much the 
 glory of the Man Christ Jesus that the storm was- 
 calmed by his rebuke, and diseases cured by his touch, 
 as that devotion never languished in his heart, that 
 benevolence was never chilled amidst unparalleled 
 suffering from the cruelty of " his own," and that he 
 always did the things that pleased his Father. 7'his 
 expression may likewise point out the peculiarity of his 
 descent. His extraction being reckoned from the 
 woman, may intimate that he should be born of a 
 virgin ; and that in his birth the divine power and sove- 
 reignty should be signally manifested. At the mys- 
 tery of the incarnation, Socinians may stumble, and 
 infidels may scoff, but before it angels bend in adoring 
 wonder; and the wisest and best of men exclaim, 
 " To us a child is born, and to us a son is given, and 
 his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the 
 Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince 
 of Peace." 
 
 The genuine members of the church may be includ- 
 ed also under this expression. They are born of the 
 Spirit, they bear his image; and however small their 
 number has yet been, they shall be like the " drops 
 of dew from the womb of the morning." Such has 
 
SERMOX I. 41 
 
 been the consoling hope of good men in times of great 
 moral degeneracy; and had they their wish, every 
 heart would be his throne, every voice would call him 
 blessed, every character would exhibit his virtues, 
 every talent would be appropriated to his cause, and 
 the whole earth would be filled with his glory. 
 
 II. Let us now consider the enmity betwixt these 
 parties. 
 . 1. In nature there is the most direct antipathy be- 
 twixt them. Though once a holy and benevolent 
 being, the devil is now so completely depraved, that 
 hatred of God, and malignity to his offspring, are his 
 ruling principles; impurity and falsehood are his only 
 delight, and the spread of corruption and misery is his 
 only triumph. With regard to human beings under 
 his influence, it is certain that " the carnal mind is 
 enmity against God," and that this is manifested in 
 the excesses of impiety and rebellion where it is not 
 repressed by the dictates of conscience, or the dread 
 of shame. But the seed of the woman is the Holy 
 One and the Just, faithfulness is the girdle of his 
 loins, and benevolence is the glory of his character. 
 Love to God, and love to man, were the great princi- 
 ples by which he was animated and guided in all his 
 ways. And with regard to his people, in so far as they 
 are sanctified, they think and feel as our Lord did. 
 It is his piety which breathes in the fervour of their 
 devotions, his heavenly mindedness which soars in 
 the elevation of their wishes, his resignation which 
 quiets the he^f t in the most painful bereavements, and 
 his beneficence which bestows in their alms, and 
 weeps in their sympathy. 
 
 2. But there is also an opposition in their plans. The 
 object of Satan is to mar the beauty, to destroy the 
 order, and to ruin the happiness of God's creatures. 
 
42 SERMON I. 
 
 and thus to deprive him of that glory which they were 
 formed to yield ; and he is not restrained in these at- 
 tempts by any emotions of pity or terror. Every 
 failure in his plans seems only to inflame his animosity, 
 and his wrath is greatest when he knows that ** his 
 time is but short." Prompted by hatred of God and 
 man, because our nature is more favoured of heaven 
 than his, and devised with all the subtlety which craft 
 and experience can give, his plans are intended to 
 render the schemes of grace to our fallen world abor- 
 tive. To keep in ruin the race whose innocence and 
 happiness he subverted, is the object of them all. But 
 the plan of the Messiah is to glorify God by magnify* 
 ing his law, expiating sin, and restoring his fallen off- 
 spring to his image and favour. This plan, framed in 
 infinite wisdom and love, no opposition on the part of 
 the devil can make him abandon as impracticable, and 
 no resistance by us can induce him to relinquish it in 
 disgust. It is a plan which has given rise to all that 
 is great or beneficial in any human projects, and 
 which teaches us to abhor the base and sordid schemes 
 of worldly ambition. 
 
 3. I may add, that there is a direct hostility in their 
 operations. The devil is incessantly employed in deeds 
 of rebellion against God, and in inducing men to com- 
 mit sin by corrupting their moral principles, overpow- 
 eiing the remonstrances of reason and conscience, in- 
 flaming their passions, and rousing their appetites to 
 fury by his allurements and promises. To impede the 
 progress of truth and virtue, to deepen, the gloom of 
 ignorance, to aggravate the miseries of remorse, and 
 to hurry his victims to despair and ruin, is his own la- 
 bour, and that in which he employs his wretched 
 slaves. But how different is the employment of our 
 Lord. He was occupied while on earth in fulfilling 
 
SERMON I. 43 
 
 all righteousness, and he employs the high powers 
 with which he is nowentrusted,Ho diffuse the knowledge 
 and the love of God, to comfort the penitent, to unite 
 men in that charity which is the bond of perfectness, 
 and establish every institution among them which may 
 ameliorate their present condition, or prepare them for 
 eternity. It is our Lord's aim to guide men to the 
 pure worship of God, to teach us the only mode of 
 pardon and acceptance, to promote our moral improve- 
 ment, to destroy the evil passions from which conten- 
 tions flow, and to bless the families of the earth with 
 the comforts of peace, and with the joys of salvation ; 
 but Satan labours to debase the service of Jehovah by 
 superstitious rites, to deceive the soul with false hopes 
 of mercy, to relax the obligations of morality, to infu- 
 riate the heart for rapine and murder, to aggravate our 
 miseries by exciting discontent and impatience, and to 
 involve us in utter and irremediable destruction. 
 
 Before I leave this part of the subject, it is proper 
 for me to notice the origin of this enmity. Jehovah 
 declares that he will put enmity betwixt the parties. 
 With regard to Satan, God can only be said to produce 
 it by leaving him and his seed to the influence of their 
 own corruption, and by those measures which he pur- 
 sues for the salvation of mankind, which, while they 
 call forth the admiration and the joy of benevolent an- 
 gels, fill devils with envy and rage. With regard to 
 the woman, this enmity was produced immediately af- 
 ter the fall, against the evil spirit by whose seduction 
 she had been betrayed into such a dreadful crime. As 
 to our blessed Saviour, aversion from Satan, his spirit 
 and works, was produced in his human nature at its 
 formation, and it was publicly manifested when he was 
 called to go forth and destroy the works of the devil. 
 And with regard to the members of his church, it is put 
 
44 SERMON I, 
 
 into their hearts when they are turned from the power 
 of Satan to God, when they are made acquainted with 
 his true character and aims, and when they are inspir- 
 ed with abhorrence of all sin, and with the love of ho- 
 liness. 
 
 This is not an enmity which admits of reconcile- 
 ment, or which may be mitigated on either side, for 
 it is impossible that our Lord should ever become less 
 vehement in his hostility to Satan ; and though the 
 grace of God could form this enemy of all righteous^ 
 ness to the love of it, it will never be employed for 
 that purpose. There are seasons when this enmity 
 may be less apparent than at others ; but, in this case, 
 the parties are like armies in ambush, preparing for an 
 open and violent assault. 
 
 III. I proceed now to call your attention to the re- 
 sult of this enmity. 
 
 1. It is stated that the Messiah shall bruise the 
 serpent's head. For a long time Satan appeared the 
 undisturbed master of the field. Gross darkness co- 
 vered the nations, and even in Judea, ignorance and 
 wickedness prevailed, notwithstanding all the privileges 
 which were there enjoj^ed. There were seasons in 
 which some sinners were reclaimed, but so hopeless 
 seemed his overthrow, and man's release, that the 
 question was asked with feelings bordering on despair, 
 *f Shall the prey be taken from the mighty?" This 
 long subjugation of the world to the influence of the 
 devil was permitted, that his overthrow might be more 
 signal, and that the approach of our Great Deliverer 
 might be more eagerly desired as our only help. 
 
 In the fulness of tim.e the Messiah appeared in our 
 nature, and, in the character of the Captain of Salva- 
 tion, entered the field. Severe were the blows which 
 were given to the serpent during the temptations in 
 
SERMON I. 45 
 
 the wilderness. After being foiled in these assaults, 
 Satan rallied his forces, but it was only to receive a 
 more shameful defeat than before. In the doctrines 
 preached by our Lord, errors, prejudices, and delu- 
 sions, sanctioned by the authority of the scribes, and 
 by the traditions of the fathers, were exposed, and in 
 the expulsion of devils from bodies of which they had 
 taken possession, a pledge was given of the complete 
 subversion of his kingdom. Even then Satan feared 
 his cause was hopeless, and thus addressed Him : " ^^'e 
 know thee who thou art, the holy one of God ; art thou 
 come to torment us before the time ?" But it was on 
 the cross that the fatal blow was given. It was then that 
 the most furious assault which the powers of hell could 
 make was made, and repulsed to their eternal confu- 
 sion. Even then, while the ferocious multitude beheld 
 nothing but a butt for their scoffs, and a victim of their 
 malice, he spoiled principalities and powers, and made 
 a shew of them openly, triumphing over them on his 
 cross. Then that guilt was expiated on which alone 
 the devil could call for our condemnation, a right to 
 eternal life was purchased for those whom he was la- 
 bouring to plunge into the same misery with himself, 
 that grace was obtained which shall beautify the soul 
 with salvation, and that spirit of power and love in 
 which they shall be more than conquerors. 
 
 He bruises the serpent's head when he subverts the 
 dominion of Satan in the hearts of his elect, and when 
 he forms there those holy principles which his arts can- 
 not ensnare, nor his threats subdue. He does it also 
 in the victories which he gives them over temptation. 
 Some of these temptations are managed with peculiar 
 subtility, and urged with great vehemence, but this on- 
 ly serves to display the strength which is made perfect 
 
46 SERMON r. 
 
 in their weakness, and the last act of the departing 
 saint is trampling on this serpent. 
 
 He shall bruise the serpent's head, when, in the lat- 
 ter days, he shall make truth and virtue, freedom and 
 happiness, universally to prevail, when the various sys- 
 tems of religious imposture shall be broken in pieces, 
 and when a world liberated from the bondage of cor- 
 ruption, shall thus address the tyrant that enslaved 
 them : — " How art thou brought down to the dust that 
 didst deceive the nations !" And he will do this at 
 that day when death and Satan shall be cast into the 
 lake of fire, and when the full measure of his punish- 
 ment shall be allotted to him, and it shall be aggravat- 
 ed by the curses of those whom he has ensnared. The 
 sentence will be executed by the hand that smote him 
 on Calvary, and his fury shall crush him to the lowest 
 hell. 
 
 The expression, bruising his head, intimates that 
 this attack should be fatal. Naturalists say that the 
 serpent's poison is lodged in its head, and that a bruise 
 here is death to that animal. And thus fatal shall be 
 the stroke which Satan shall receive from Jesus by the 
 rod of his strength. He may struggle violently, but 
 this is like the convulsive agony that precedes dissolu- 
 tion, and shall only more rapidly exhaust his remaining 
 strength, and more largely augment his anguish and 
 shame. 
 
 I only observe farther, on this part of the subject, 
 that this exploit is appropriated to the Captain of Sal- 
 vation, and to him alone the glory of it is due. His 
 feet are like to fine brass, as if they burned in a fur- 
 nace, and when he is resolved to crush, it is equally 
 impossible to evade or to resist him. 
 
 2. Let us consider how the Captain of Salvation should 
 suffer in this conflict. When we hear of any glorious 
 
SERMON r. 47 
 
 achievement of the champion of our cause, our first soli- 
 citude is about his safety. If he falls in battle, the victory 
 is turned into mourning, and the high sounding cymbals 
 give place to the voice of them that weep. If he is wounded, 
 the hearts of multitudes watch by his couch; and when 
 he is restored to the sight and service of a grateful coun- 
 try, it is then that the triumph is felt and celebrated. 
 And can we be indifferent to tKs fate ofthe Captain of 
 Salvation? His heel was to be bruised. This expres- 
 sion finely accords with the figure in the text. As the 
 eerpent wounds the heel that crushes him, so Satan 
 would afflict his conqueror, and this prediction was ful- 
 filled in his exile in infancy, in the hardships of his 
 youth, in the poverty that abridged his comforts, in 
 the reproaches which assailed his name, in the violence 
 which resisted his efforts, in the crucifixion of his bo- 
 dy, and in the terrors and sorrows of his soul. In all 
 these modes Satan exerted his power to discourage and 
 to overwhelm him ; but his efforts reached only to his 
 human nature, and the bruises which it received were 
 soon completely cured. On the third day he came 
 forth from the tomb, travelling in the greatness of his 
 strength, and shining in the brightness of his glory; 
 and now the Son of Man stands on the right hand of 
 God, and while he beholds the serpent writhing under 
 the effects of his wound, he exults in the power of an 
 endless life. 
 
 But the expression intimates also the sufferings of 
 his people. Satan attempts by poverty to render them 
 discentented, unjust, and envious, b}'- the reproach and 
 ill usage of the world to lead them to malignity and 
 revenge, by pain and sickness to produce fretfulness 
 or despondence, to make them miserable by the hor- 
 rors of remorse, and the forebodings of slavish fear, 
 and to detain their bodies in the grave if their souls 
 
4S SERMON I. 
 
 should be translated to glory ; but his influence shall 
 be only for a season. It is not in his power to touch 
 the vitals of the new creature, and " their light and 
 momentary afflictions shall work for them an exceed- 
 ing and an eternal weight of glory." Their souls, when 
 received to heaven, shall exhibit no spot of depravity, 
 and when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, 
 and this mortal shall put on immortality, no trace shall 
 remain of the disease that wasted the beauty, or the 
 putrefaction that dissolved the structure of the body. 
 In the frame which is fashioned hke to Christ's glo- 
 rious body, redeemed man shall appear the perfection 
 of beauty, and the remembrance of the sorrows of 
 earth shall only serve to enhance the blessedness of 
 heaven, and to heighten their gratitude to Him, who 
 has brought them safely to glory, through the scene of 
 conflict, and the vale of death. 
 
 IV. Let us now attend to the peculiar excellencies of 
 this promise. There is a great degree of pleasure felt by 
 many in contemplating the relics of former ages, and that 
 pleasure is proportioned to their scarcity, and to the dis- 
 tance of the period to which they belong. We regard 
 them with peculiar interest, if their state of preserva- 
 tion is such as to shew how completely they have re- 
 sisted the caprice or violence of men, and the corrod- 
 ing influence of time. 
 
 Much pleasure also is felt in reviewing the earliest 
 discoveries of science, and the commencement of these 
 inventions in the useful and ornamental arts which 
 have contributed so much to the benefit of society. 
 The memory of the fathers in the sciences, and in the 
 arts, is cherished with great veneration ; and, in cele- 
 brating every name which, in the course of ages has 
 added improvement to these, fame pays a new tribute 
 to their industry and their genius. If such is the case. 
 
SERMON I. 49 
 
 tnis promise has peculiar claims on our attention. It 
 is one of the few things which remain of the first age 
 of the world. While thousands of incidents are sunk 
 in oblivion ; while it is impossible to say where Eden 
 stood, or where Adam slumbers, this promise, which 
 was the grand consolation of his life, is preserved. It 
 is not presented to us in such a mixed form as that it 
 is difficult for us to separate the spurious parts from the 
 genuine, but pure and complete, as when it issued from 
 the lips of Jehovah. It is a promise almost as old as 
 that sun which gladdens the nations. It is the com- 
 mencement of the gospel, the first dawn of hope to 
 guilty mortals, and the first message of grace to man. 
 It is the only revelation of mercy which the world en* 
 joyed for several hundred years, and was all that the 
 penitent had then to look to amid the horrors of guilt, 
 and that the pious had to grasp in the gloom and the 
 perils of the last hour. It has been the salvation of 
 thousands, and the triumph of the righteous in all ge- 
 nerations. 
 
 How admirable is the grace of this promise. The 
 blessings it exhibits are not suspended on any condi- 
 tions which must be performed by us ere the triumph 
 could be gained, but a Conqueror is revealed whose 
 mighty agency should achieve the victory, and who 
 should bear all the glory. The grace of it will appear 
 still more striking if we consider that it was not made 
 to offenders bewailing their crimes, and pleading for 
 mercy at their Maker's feet, but to criminals attempt- 
 ing to hide themselves from his presence, and so ut- 
 terly void of all true penitence, that they apologise for 
 their sin by throwing the blame of it on others, nay, 
 even on the God who had formed Eve to be man's 
 companion. In such circumstances nought could be 
 
 VOL. ir. D 
 
s6 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 expected but wrath without mixture, and yet mercy re* 
 joices over judgment. 
 
 It is a promise contained in the serpent's curse. Our 
 first parents heard the serpent's sentence, and it must 
 have been with trepidation and horror. They were 
 anticipating a doom still more severe. In pity to their 
 anguish, God gave th^m this promise to support their 
 hearts, and to mitigate their sentence when it should 
 be pronounced. The unexpectedness of it would make 
 it to them like life from the dead. The sorest punish* 
 ment which can be inflicted on the malignant and the 
 envious, is the happiness of those whom they have in- 
 jured, their recovery from the misery into which they 
 had plunged them, and the avenging of their wrongs 
 on those who have oppressed them ; and in this pro- 
 mise it is intimated that the evils brought on man 
 should be removed ; that the Captain of Salvation 
 would take vengeance on his spoiler, and would in our 
 nature trample him in the dust. 
 
 It was a most seasonable promise. It is while mi- 
 sery is most acute, and while the heart is most op- 
 pressed with horror and despair, that the voice of mercy 
 is most delightful ; and such was the condition of our 
 first parents. The happiness they once enjoyed must 
 have rendered their present reflections most agonising, 
 and in the blackness of despair the morning star arose. 
 
 The kindness of God in this promise appears also in 
 his not intimating the precise time of its accomplish- 
 ment. Had they been told that it was not to be ac- 
 complished till four thousand years had elapsed, and 
 that sin and misery would overspread the world and 
 keep it so long in bondage, their joy would have been 
 damped, and they would have looked forward to it 
 with a feeble hope, and with a languid gratitude. But 
 
SERMON I. 51 
 
 they are permitted to anticipate the approach of their 
 Champion, and to exult in the certainty of his con- 
 quests ; and the delay of his coming was not made 
 known to them till they were prepared to bear it. 
 
 It is probable that this promise was the means of con- 
 version to our first parents. Had God only spoken to 
 them in wrath, those harsh suspicions of the divine 
 character which the devil had infused would have been 
 confirmed, and their hearts would have been hardened 
 in enmity against him. Despair is a state of mind where 
 all is gloomy and horrible. It admits of no soft emo- 
 tions of soul in reference to the being it considers as 
 vindictive and inexorable. Our first parents knew Je- 
 hovah's goodness to the innocent, but till this promise 
 was made, they knew not that he could be merciful to 
 the guilty. In it there was such a display of the di- 
 vine compassion as melted their hearts, and the hope 
 which it inspired could not be exercised without in- 
 creasing their love. Then their first tears were shed, 
 and they were not tears of penitence merely, but of 
 gratitude and affection. A divine influence accompa- 
 nied this promise, explaining its grace, and inclining 
 them to embrace it ; and thus a life was formed be- 
 yond the power of Satan to destroy, a nobler life than 
 that which was lost, a life to be perfected not on earth 
 but in heaven. 
 
 It is my last remark, on this part of the subject, 
 that this promise was confirmed by sacrifice, and by 
 the first sacrifice. Soon after this promise was made, 
 a sacrifice was offered, for to Adam and his wife did 
 the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 
 These animals had not been killed for food, but must 
 have been slain by divine appointment, to typify that 
 great oblation by which the Messiah should take away 
 the sin of the world. In the death of these victims 
 D 2 
 
52 SERMON I. 
 
 there was a lively representation to their faith of him 
 who through death should destroy him that had the 
 power of death, that is the devil. The first blood that 
 was shed flowed in sacrifice, and the first death which 
 was endured was a type of that decease by which it is 
 abolished. While offering these victims on the altar, 
 and while they wept in penitence as they contemplated 
 the doom which they deserved, they rejoiced in the 
 hope of that sacrifice which should be the propitiation 
 for sin, that cross which should be the conquest of the 
 gates of hell, that dissolution which should be the 
 plague of death, and that resurrection which should be 
 the destruction of the grave. 
 
 In concluding this discourse, I call on good men to 
 bless their God for the light which succeeding revela- 
 tions have shed over this promise ; and let them re- 
 joice that this predicted victory is gained. Instead of 
 looking forward with anxiety and fear, ye look back 
 with exultation, and say, ** O sing unto the Lord a 
 new song, for he hath done marvellous things ; his 
 right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the vic- 
 tory." Let the victory of your Lord encourage you 
 in your conflict. You struggle with a conquered foe; 
 and the trial of your faith shall be found to praise, ho- 
 nour, and glory hereafter. Ever consider sin as your 
 worst enemy, and neither cherish it nor spare it in any 
 form which it may assume. Despair not of the final 
 triumph of righteousness either in the world or in your- 
 selves. Soon shall it be said to you, *' come and put 
 your feet on the necks of these enemies ;" and you shall 
 do it with the song of exultation : " Thanks be unto 
 God who giveth us the victory, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord." And in the day when you shall judge an- 
 gels, the Redeemer will be glorified in his seed ; and 
 while you celebrate his victories, and the remembrance 
 
SERMON I. 53 
 
 of your own rises within you, you will look to Jesus, 
 and say, " through him we did valiantly, he did tread 
 down our enemies under us." 
 
 Let unconverted men submit themselves to God. 
 Though all the evil spirits in hell are combined with 
 you against the Saviour, ye can neither have impunity 
 nor success. Think of the baseness of enmity to him 
 who is the best friend of our race, and no feelings can 
 attend it but those of bitter disappointment and guilty 
 fear. What madness is it to be in league with the 
 destroyer of our race, and to be opponents of our only 
 Saviour. Can he who bruised the head of the serpent 
 be unable to crush his brood ? Except you repent, you 
 must perish; and if you would shudder at the thought 
 of being cast into a dungeon full of venomous serpents, 
 can you think with unconcern of being consigned to 
 everlasting fire with the devil and his angels.'* Will 
 you prefer being crushed with Satan to being saved 
 with the redeemed ? If you wish for salvation, you 
 must accept it in the mode which God hath appoint- 
 ed, even by faith in him who is the way, the truth, and 
 the life. Submit to God without reserve, and without 
 delay; fix your hopes on the great Redemer, and 
 yield yourselves to him for every service which he re- 
 quires, and for every conflict to which he leads you, 
 saying, display thy banner, and we will fight ; shew 
 us thy way, and we will follow ; put forth thy strength 
 in us, and we will conquer; live in us, and we shall 
 never die ; and make us perfect, and we will sin no 
 more. *' Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as 
 though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in 
 Christ's stead be ye reconciled to God." 
 
 I only add, that no service can be more reasonable» 
 and none accords more with the better feelings of the 
 heart than that in which the children of God are now 
 d3 
 
54s ADDRESS VI. 
 
 to engage. How eager are men to keep in remem- 
 brance the achievements of their warriors. Their poets 
 celebrate their exploits with all the power of genius, 
 and lofty pillars are raised to tell to distant ages their 
 mighty deeds ; and if victories which extend the power 
 and commerce of a country, or vindicate its rights and 
 honour, be thus celebrated, shall that combat be forgot- 
 ten which was fought for our life and salvation ? I call 
 on you who feel that you cannot forget it, and who are 
 the sincere friends of truth and holiness, to wash your 
 hands in innocence, and to approach God's altar that 
 you may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and 
 tell of all his wondrous works. Who is on the Lord's 
 side, let him come forward ; and '^ Lift up your heads, 
 O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, 
 that the King of glory may come in. But who is this 
 King of glory ? The Lord, strong and mighty; the 
 Lord, rr.ighty in battle.'* *' Let God arise, and let his 
 enemies be scattered ; and let them that love him be 
 as the sun when he goeth forth in his might." 
 
 ADDRESS VL 
 
 The Jirst Promise Applied. 
 
 Christians, you are now assembled to commemo- 
 rate the fulfilment of this ancient promise, and the 
 achievement of this mighty victory. The ignorant and 
 the profane have classed it with the dark sayings by 
 which the crafty sport with the curiosity of their fellow 
 creatures ; but we behold God performing the mercy 
 
ADDRESS VI. 35 
 
 promised to the fathers, and remembering this early 
 pledge of salvation. No lapse of time could efface it 
 from his remembrance, and no event could make him 
 change his purpose. Satan, from the long period which 
 had elapsed, and from the ease with which he had baf- 
 fled the most formidable opponents of his power, might 
 imagine that he had no discomfiture to dread, and that 
 Jesus of Nazareth should be another victim to his 
 fury; but behold how he treads him in his anger, 
 and tramples him in his fury. The victory was de- 
 layed that it might be more decisive, and the struggle 
 was protracted_, that the graces of the Messiah might be 
 more fully displayed, and that the power of the adver- 
 sary might be utterly destroyed. In no period of the 
 ancient dispensation was the hope of the Saviour's ap- 
 pearance lost. It was cherished and strengthened by 
 succeeding predictions from age to age ; and the pious 
 beheld it typified in their various sacrifices ; and in 
 those splendid victories, in which the carnal saw no- 
 thing but the valour of their warriors, and the glory of 
 their country, they beheld preludes of the manifesta- 
 tion of the Son of God to destroy the works of the 
 devil. 
 
 Ye are not called like them to hope for his coming, 
 or to anticipate Satan's defeat. " The voice of rejoic- 
 ing and salvation is now in the tabernacles of the right- 
 eous," for the right hand of the Lord hath done va- 
 liantly, and through the death which you now comme- 
 morate, hath vanquished and spoiled the prince of this 
 world and all his hosts. And *' Who is this that co- 
 meth from £dom, with dyed garments from Bozrah ? 
 this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the 
 greatness of his strength ? I that speak in righteous- 
 ness, mighty to save." 
 
 While you contemplate this appearance, and listen 
 D 4 
 
5& ADDRESS Vf. 
 
 to this answer, let this be your language, " we wiM 
 keep thy word, we will trust in thy power, and we will 
 follow thy standard." You behold his heel bruised, 
 and remembering that he was wounded in fighting your 
 battles, and bruised as the chastisement of your peace, 
 you will regard his sufferings with melting interest ; 
 and I beseech you to yield to him the admiration, gra- 
 titude, and love, which his generous and triumphant 
 exertions for you demand. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 " I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart, 
 I will shew forth all thy marvellous works." Such is 
 the assurance you have now given him, and let no 
 worldly perplexity or engagement ever induce you to 
 forget it. Shew yourselves his genuine disciples by a 
 determined opposition to error and vice, even when 
 they appear in the most plausible forms, and are sup- 
 ported by men of note in the world. You can see 
 nought in them, even when most artfully disguised, 
 but what dishonours God, and ruins the soul. They 
 may call your scruples and objections antiquated pre- 
 judices ; but the specious title of modern liberality is 
 often employed as a cover for what is impious in opi- 
 nion, and licentious in morals. How truly honourable 
 is it to be associated with the few who have not defiled 
 their garments, and who shall walk with Christ in 
 white, for they are counted by him worthy ! 
 
 Cultivate the graces by which you will contend with 
 success against your spiritual enemies. Faith will 
 shew you the Saviour ready to help you in the hour of 
 need ; love will make you abhor every thing that is 
 offensive to him ; patience will incline you to suffer to 
 any degree, and for any period, rather than yield ; 
 
ADDRESS VI. 51 
 
 meekness will enable you to repress those angry and 
 vindictive feelings, which so often hurry men into 
 crimes ; fear will teach you to walk circumspectly ; 
 temperance will dispose you to resist all the entice- 
 ments of sinners ; and hope will encourage you in all 
 your difBculties by the expectations which it inspires 
 of their happy termination. 
 
 Be careful to aid the tempted. By a single hint you 
 may confirm in integrity the man who is templed to 
 fraud or falsehood ; strengthen the sober purpose of 
 him who is solicited to intemperance ; cheer the heart 
 that is drooping in despondence, and liberate those 
 who are oppressed by the devil. These are valuable 
 offices of Christian charity ; and by the communion of 
 this day, you have given a new pledge that you will 
 perform them. " They helped every man his neigh- 
 bour, and every man said to his brother, be of good 
 courage." Now God has prepared your table in the 
 presence of your enemies, they have been eyeing you 
 with envy, and will seek for a fit opportunity of annoy- 
 ing you. Watch, therefore, and pray that you enter 
 not into temptation. Soon shall you reach that scene 
 of peace where they shall molest you no more, and 
 where you shall celebrate the Saviour's victories in a 
 paradise into which the serpent can never enter, and 
 where sin and sorrow are never known. '* To hira 
 that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life^ 
 which grows in the midst of the paradise of God*'* 
 
 j^& 
 
^8 ADDRESS VII. 
 
 ADDRESS VII. 
 
 PSALM LXXXV, 10. 
 
 " Mercy and truth are met together ; righteousness and peace 
 have kissed each other." 
 
 Though these words may be applied to the conduct 
 of Jehovah to the Jews after the captivity in Babylon, 
 when he had glorified his justice in their sufferings, 
 and was now manifesting his former loving- kindness, 
 it is obvious from the loftiness and energy of the pas- 
 sage, that the Psalmist's mind was directed to a scene 
 incomparably more grand and interesting. He antici- 
 pates the redemption of man from sin and wrath ; and 
 the wondrous display of mercy and justice, truth and 
 peace, in that stupendous transaction, in united lustre 
 and perfect harmony. To such meditations you are 
 now called, and may you pursue them under the guid- 
 ance of the spirit of wisdom and piety. 
 
 In the study of the divine excellencies a pious mind 
 finds its purest and sublimest enjoyment ; the Bible 
 furnishes us with ample assistance in it, and opens our 
 way through difficulties in which reason would have 
 been lost in perplexity. In viewing the divine charac- 
 ter man cannot avoid considering it in reference to his 
 own, and has often felt the most painful anxieties as to 
 the manner in which Jehovah would act to him as a 
 sinner. While the goodness spread over the creation 
 might excite a feeble hope of mercy, the judgments 
 which God executes on the guilty were adapted to le- 
 press that hope, and to awaken in the mind the most 
 awful forebodings. How delightful is it to hear that 
 justice hath obtained satisfaction to all its claims on us^ 
 
ADDRESS VIT. 59 
 
 and that Jehovah can, without the least prejudice to 
 his truth, " shew the exceeding riches of his grace in 
 his kindness to us through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 In the state and circumstances of men, there was 
 somewhat which called for the exercise of various at- 
 tributes. Man is a sinner, and justice pleads that the 
 wages of sin is death ; and truth urges the threatenincr 
 that " the soul that sinneth shall die." But man is 
 unhappy at present, andif this threatening is executed, 
 jie must be still more miserable ; and at the view of 
 wretchedness so dreadful and so hopeless, the bowels 
 of mercy were troubled. That compassion which hath 
 no pleasure in the death of the wicked, longed for the 
 return of the offender ; but how his guilt could be ex- 
 piated, or his repentance accepted, no wisdom but that 
 of an infinite understanding could determine. History 
 records various instances of painful perplexities into 
 which judges and kings have been thrown, by the cir- 
 cumstances which called for the punishment of a cri- 
 minal, and those which pleaded with them to spare 
 him, and the expedients to which they have had re- 
 course to reconcile the exercise of clemency with the 
 honour of the law, and the safety of the community. 
 In these we behold pity struggling with principles stern 
 and unyielding, the one viewing the criminal as an 
 unhappy being, of the same blood with ourselves, the 
 other as an offender richly meriting an awful doom ; 
 yet this can give us no adequate idea of the light in 
 which man appeared to thie great God, as a creature 
 and as a sinner ; though in the divine mind there 
 never could be hesitation or uncertainty as to the course 
 to be pursued. 
 
 But could created wisdom discover no method for 
 reconciling these claims ? Some have imagined that 
 God might pardon sinners from the abundance of his ' 
 D 6 
 
^^ ADDRESS Vri. 
 
 grace without regarding the demands of justice; and 
 have stated that if it is the glory of a man to pass by 
 a transgression, it is impious to deny this to the Su- 
 preme Being. But how absurd is it to make the con- 
 duct of a private individual liable to error, a model for 
 the procedure of the King Eternal ! To act in this man- 
 ner would make the claims of his law nugatory, en- 
 courage the rebellion of his subjects, expunge from his 
 name its most splendid titles, and tarnish his glory as 
 the just Governor of the world. The sages of the 
 heathen world had their attention turned to this sub- 
 ject for ages, yet after all their speculations, the ques- 
 tion was asked with as much anxiety as ever, " Where- 
 with shall I come before the Lord }" As for the 
 schemes of modern infidels, with whatever confidence 
 they are brought forward, they are equally offensive to 
 the enlightened mind, and as unsatisfactory to the 
 trembling heart. Oh ! that man, conscious of his own 
 inability to devise a method, or to make an effort for 
 his own redemption, would welcome that revelation 
 which discloses the manifold wisdom of God, and 
 which causes hope to shine in the scene of despair, 
 and salvation to bless where all was lost. 
 
 Rejoice, Christians, that in the mediation of your 
 Saviour these attributes are glorified. In his sufferings 
 the justice of God is fully vindicated, and obtains satis- 
 faction to all its claims in a victim so noble, and so vo- 
 luntary. Rather than God's law should be degraded, 
 his only begotten Son descends to answer its claims ; 
 and not the least abatement is either solicited or made. 
 While justice continues to punish the transgressor, we 
 are certain its demands are unanswered ; but when the 
 sword of Jehovah returned to its scabbard, and our 
 Surety was taken from prison and from judgment, we 
 know that " the Lord is well pleased for his righteous* 
 
ADDRESS VII. 61 
 
 ness sake, and that he hath magnified the law and 
 made it honourable." Truth found in the Surety, all 
 its threats executed, and all its pledges redeemed. All 
 the wrath denounced against the vessels of mercy was 
 inflicted on this Sufferer, and all the prefigurations of 
 redemption were completely realized. Mercy r\o\r 
 flows without restraint. It is gratified in the bestowal 
 of the best gift of heaven; it relieves where it pitied, 
 and saves what was lost. If the pleasure of the good 
 in acts of mercy, and the lustre of their beneficence is 
 heightened in proportion to the severity of the distress 
 relieved, what must be the delight of the Father of 
 mercies, and what the glory of his compassion, in de- 
 livering millions from the lowest hell ! Mercy, like 
 the good father, welcomes the returning prodigal ; and 
 to those who would state his follies as a reason why no 
 favour should be shown to him, can make this answer, 
 " Let us rejoice and be glad, for this my son was dead 
 and is alive again, he was lost and is found." 
 
 Peace reconciles the world. Its overtures of recon- 
 ciliation can now be made to the sinner, and the olive 
 branch taken from the cross is lifted up among the na- 
 tions. The rainbow appears in the clouds the symbol 
 of peace, and the pledge of safety ; and the trembling 
 sinner is assured that " God is just, while he justifies 
 the ungodly who believe in Jesus." 
 
 You are now, I trust, adoring the wisdom of God 
 which shines in this harmony. In this scheme of re- 
 demption you see what God alone could contrive, and 
 in this work what God alone could accomplish. Let 
 it be your prayer with Moses, " I beseech thee shew 
 me thy glory ;" and at the communion table may he 
 do for you what he did for him while he abode in the 
 cleft of the rock. He now proclaims his name, " The 
 Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suflfeir* 
 
62 ADDRESS VII. 
 
 ing, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniqui* 
 ty, transgression, and sin, keeping mercy for thousands, 
 and that will by no means clear the guilty." You hear 
 that name proclaimed with those mingled feelings of 
 reverence and love, of pious confidence and holy awe 
 which it demands ; for you know that the vengeance 
 which it threatens was inflicted on your Surety, and 
 that the mercy which it displays will reign to your eter- 
 nal life. " We adore, O God, the justice and the 
 judgment which are the habitation of thy throne, while 
 we rejoice in the mercy and the truth which go before 
 thy face." 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 Rejoice, Christians, that the harmony which has 
 been thus established shall never be interrupted. We 
 often find that when the opposite claims of men at va- 
 riance have been adjusted, and a reconciliation esta- 
 blished, which it is hoped will be permanent, some oc- 
 currence renews the hostility, and renders all that 
 was done before unavailing. But there was nothing 
 which had a tendency to mar this harmony which was 
 not foreseen by Jehovah, and which he could not con- 
 trol and over-rule. No caprice can make him dissatis- 
 fied with this arrangement, for he is of one mind, and 
 who can turn him? What can justice demand after such 
 precious blood, or mercy ask in addition to so great a 
 salvation ? The sins into which good men fall cannot 
 subvert this harmony, for it is impossible for them, 
 with their principles and habits, to live under the power 
 of iniquity. " He that is born of God sinneth not ;" 
 he doth not sin habitually, for his seed remaineth in 
 him. Mercy will for ever rejoice in the happiness of 
 those for whose misery her soul was grieved; Justice 
 
ADDRESS VII. 03 
 
 in the salvation of those who aie made the righteous- 
 ness of God in Christ Jesus ; peace in the friendship 
 that is sealed by the blood of the everlasting covenant, 
 and truth in the homage which experience will thus 
 address to her : ** We know with all our heart, and 
 with all our soul, that not one good thing hath failed 
 of all the good things which the Lord our God hath 
 spoken concerning us." 
 
 In this harmony the other attributes of God are ex- 
 hibited in their brightest glory. The sovereignty of 
 God is most apparent in it^ for no such meeting took 
 place after the ruin of angels. Peace took not a single 
 step to bring back those exiles from outer darkness ; 
 nor did mercy ever heave one sigh over their wretch- 
 edness. And it is only for some of our race that mer- 
 cy struggled, and for some of them only that justice is 
 satisfied. It exhibits Jehovah also as wonderful in 
 counsel : and this is surely the language of your hearts 
 in contemplating this scene, " How excellent is thy 
 loving kindness, O God." Man's happiness springs 
 from the Saviour's agony, and by the most atrocious 
 crime that ever was committed, the expiation of sin is 
 effected. As to the holiness of God, it is most evident 
 in the motives which this scene presents to avoid what 
 is evil, and to follow what is good, and which rouse in 
 the highest degree our gratitude and fear. 
 
 Trust, Christians, in these perfections of j'our God. 
 His justice will deny you nothing which Jesus hath 
 purchased for you, and he will shew that he delights in 
 mercy, by exceeding all your wishes. In every dark 
 dispensation you must believe that his paths are mercy 
 and truth. '' Although thou sayest thou dost not see 
 him, yet judgment is before him, therefore trust thou 
 in him." Whatever charges are brought against you, 
 and at whatever bar you may be called to stand; this 
 
^4 
 
 ADDRESS VII. 
 
 is your comfort, " It is God that justifieth ; who is he 
 that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather 
 that is risen again." In all the perplexities of your 
 lot, the wisdom of God will direct you ; and he that 
 walketh uprightly, walketh surely. When opposite 
 claims are made on you, and when opposite courses are 
 suggested to you, he will lead you in the paths of right- 
 eousness for his name's sake. He will make you find 
 advantage to your soul in outward misfortune, pleasure 
 in weeping for sin, respect in humility, spiritual vigour 
 in dying daily, communion in solitude, and usefulness 
 on earth in a conversation in heaven. " I will lead 
 the blind in ways they know not, and in paths they 
 have not trode ; I will make darkness light before 
 them, and crooked things straight." When your 
 hearts are overwhelmed with perplexity, you see to 
 what Counsellor you can apply for direction ; and while 
 he brands with folly the wisdom of the world, he can 
 make the heart of the simple to understand knowledge, 
 and ordain strength from the mouth of babes. Let the 
 views you have now taken confirm your faith in your 
 religion, and strengthen your attachment to it. It is 
 the only system which shews these perfections in har- 
 mony in Jehovah's conduct to sinners. The enemies 
 of the gospel can find no way of avoiding the difficulty 
 but by denying the punitive justice of God, and pal- 
 liating the malignity of sin, as if man could be saved 
 to God's dishonour ; but ye know, that while man is 
 saved, Jehovah is glorified in the highest. *' Sing, O 
 ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it; shout, ye 
 lower parts of the earth, break forth into singing, ye 
 mountains, and forests, and every tree that is therein, 
 for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified him- 
 self in Israel." 
 Let the justice of God be honoured by you as well 
 
ADDRESS VII. 65 
 
 as his mercy. God has glorified it in the agonies and 
 the blood of his own Son, and he calls on you to con- 
 template it with reverence and adoration. You may 
 study its most tremendous threatenings^ and mark its 
 most destructive displays without slavish dread. While 
 these are hateful to the wicked, ye can glory in them ; 
 and you cannot cherish the wish that one of these de- 
 nunciations had been suppressed, or that one of these 
 judgments had not been executed. The sceptre ot 
 righteousness is stretched out, that you may touch it 
 in humble confidence, and adore him as a just God 
 and a Saviour. 
 
 Let these excellencies be united in your temper and 
 conduct. It is this union which forms the peculiar 
 beauty of the Christian character. Mercy will soften 
 the sternness of justice, and justice will keep mercy 
 from giving away that to which others may have a 
 claim, and preserve it from that indiscriminate indul- 
 gence by which indolence and vice are encouraged. 
 Our Lord places judgment, mercy, and fidelity toge- 
 ther, and represents them as the weightier matters of 
 the law. Be willing to make sacrifices to maintain 
 peace, and to restore it where it hath been broken, and 
 be faithful to your vows to God, and to your promises 
 to men. How opposite is the character of him who 
 swears to his own hurt and changeth not, to him who 
 violates his promises in every fit of caprice, in every 
 change of circumstances, and at every suggestion of 
 advisers. 
 
 Finai/t/, Endeavour to persuade all to whom you 
 have access, to comply with this method of salvation, 
 and point out to them, for this purpose, what an aggra- 
 vation it will be to their misery that all the movements 
 of mercy could not soften them, that they would not 
 be awed by all the terrors of justice, nor won by all 
 
66 ADDRESS VIII. 
 
 i 
 
 the overtures of peace. When I turn'my eyes from 
 your happy condition, to whose eternal Hfe grace is 
 reigning through righteousness, and contemplate the 
 vessels of wrath fitting themselves for destruction, the 
 thought strikes me. Perhaps peace is now addressing 
 to them its last invitation, and mercy is shedding over 
 them its last tear. May the disobedient be turned to 
 the wisdom of the just, and may the injurious obtain 
 salvation ; and may you, ye disciples of Jesus, know 
 in your happy experience, that " the mercy of the 
 Lord is to everlasting on them that fear him, and his 
 righteousness to their children's children, even to such 
 as keep his covenant, and obey his commandments." 
 
 ADDRESS VIII. 
 
 LUKE IV. 18, 19. 
 
 " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed 
 me to preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the 
 broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recover- 
 ing of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised ; to 
 preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 
 
 These words were read by our Lord from the pro- 
 phecies of Isaiah in the synagogue of Nazareth. To 
 this passage he was directed by the Holy Spirit, as pe- 
 culiarly descriptive of his office and character. It was 
 read by him in a manner so full of majesty and grace, 
 that the deepest impression was made on the assembly. 
 The language he now employs must not be considered 
 as the exaggerated description of an ardent imagina- 
 
ADDRESS VIII. 67 
 
 tion, and as requiring such limitations as are necessary 
 in explaining the bold and lofty figures of the Eastern 
 style, for all that is here predicted he hath in the full- 
 est sense realized. 
 
 Our Lord was anointed to preach glad tidings to 
 the poor, and consider how, in the course of his minis- 
 try, he fulfilled this end of his mission. Among the 
 multitudes who crowded to hear him publishing salva- 
 tion, we seldom read of the scribes or the rulers ming- 
 ling. They either regarded him with scorn, or perse- 
 cuted him with implacable malignity ; but the com- 
 mon people heard him gladly, and to them he made 
 known the way of salvation in the most interesting 
 manner. Instead of lessons fraught with foolish tra- 
 ditions, or worship consisting of empty forms, and a 
 morality in which the heart had no place, his discour- 
 ses were fraught with the purest and most attractive 
 wisdom, and the law was explained by him in all its 
 spirituality, and in all its extent. 
 
 To the poor was the gospel preached by his apostles, 
 and it is chiefly among them that it is received in eve- 
 ry age. Prosperity and grandeur cherish those proud 
 and selfish dispositions which 'induce men to turn 
 away with disgust from the humbling doctrines and 
 spiritual nature of religion ; while the poor find in 
 them a sweet solace under all the evils of their condi- 
 tion, and an effectual preservative from that spirit of 
 envy and discontent, which is the worst curse of po- 
 verty, and from every deed of fraud and injustice. 
 
 How different, in this view, does our Lord appear 
 from the teachers of the heathen world. They went 
 not out to " the high ways and hedges, to the poor, 
 the maimed, the halt, and the blind," but they declaim- 
 ed in groves, in halls, and in temples, on topics in 
 which the greater part of mankind could feel no inte- 
 
68 ADDRESS VIII. 
 
 rest, and from which they could derive little advan- 
 tage ; but Jesus had compassion on the multitude, and 
 wherever he saw them, addressed to them the words 
 of eternal life, with a condescension which regarded 
 their abject condition with pity, and a patience which 
 all their prejudices could not exhaust. 
 
 You profess that j^ou have received the gospel, but 
 it becomes you to examine yourselves if you have sub- 
 mitted to that method of salvation which it exhibits ; 
 if you are willing to yield your whole hearts to its in- 
 fluence, and if you possess that poverty of spirit on 
 which Christ pronounces his first blessing. 
 
 Jesus also was anointed to heal the broken-hearted. 
 Behold him comforting the widow of Nain, and restor- 
 ing her only son to her ; displaying in the house of 
 mourning at Bethany the most soothing pity, and 
 cheering the drooping hearts of the penitent with the 
 assurance of forgiveness. And this is the charge 
 which he gives to his servants, " Comfort the feeble 
 minded ;" and his blood is the balm which is poured 
 into their wounds. On the workings of the contrite 
 heart the Saviour looks with compassion, the tears 
 which it prompts he puts into his bottle, and for the 
 sighs which it heaves his ear is open. Some have glo- 
 ried in the hearts which they have broken, but Jesus 
 triumphs in those which he hath healed. Ye mourners 
 in Zion, listen to the words in which Jesus invites you 
 to approach him : " Come unto me, all ye that labour 
 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." When 
 Hannah prayed before the Lord with sighs and groans 
 which could not be uttered, Eli, in a rash and cruel 
 manner, charged her with intoxication ; and she an- 
 swered him, " I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit, I 
 have neither drunk wine nor strong drink, but have 
 poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine 
 
ADDRESS VIII. 69 
 
 handmaid for a daughter of Belial ; for out of the 
 abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken 
 hitherto/* But never did Jesus send away the child 
 of sorrow from his throne or his table with harsh up- 
 braidings. " He delivers our eyes from tears, our 
 souls from death, and our feet from falling.'* 
 
 Christ was anointed to preach deliverance to the 
 captives, and to set at liberty them that are bruised. 
 It has been remarked by expositors, that there is an 
 allusion here to the state of some captives in the East 
 who were cast into prison, deprived of their sight, and 
 loaded with heavy chains. And so deep was the dun- 
 geon in which guilty sinners were lying, so weighty 
 the chains of their wicked habits and passions, and so 
 powerful and stern their oppressor, that our release 
 seemed hopeless. But when Jesus comes and says to 
 the prisoners, *^ Go forth," their doors open, their 
 chains fall off, their keeper is confounded, and they 
 arise and follow their Saviour ; he hath freed multi- 
 tudes from the power of avarice and sensuality, malig- 
 nant prejudice and black despair. And such is the in- 
 fluence of his religion, that wherever it comes in its 
 power, it checks injustice and oppression in every form, 
 and prompts every act of condescension and kindness. 
 He hath made you free from the law of sin and death, 
 and ye are come to celebrate his grace and power, who 
 took you from the fearful pit^ and the miry clay ; and 
 I call on you to reflect how poor he became that he 
 might gladden you with these good tidings ; that his 
 soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death, that he 
 might heal the broken-hearted ; and that he was bound 
 with cords, and nailed to the cross, that he might ob- 
 tain fur you the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 
70 ADDRESS VIII. 
 
 After the Service, 
 
 The Lord Jesus was anointed to preach recovering of 
 sight to the blind. In the days of his personal minis- 
 try he opened the eyes of several blind persons, and 
 by the power of his grace, he did and still does open 
 the eyes of the understanding. How great was the 
 joy felt by those whose eyes Christ opened, when they 
 beheld the sun walking in brightness, the fields cover- 
 ed with verdure, the little hills rejoicing on every side, 
 and the varied results of human skill and industry ; 
 but it cannot be compared to their rapture to whom 
 Jesus makes known grace in its riches, salvation in 
 its blessings, holiness in its excellence, and heaven in 
 its glory. Blessed are your eyes for they see, and 
 your ears for they hear. When you contrast the ig- 
 norance, the doubts, and the errors under which you 
 once laboured, with that light and truth with which 
 you have been favoured, you must feel the liveliest 
 gratitude to Him who hath shined into your heart, and 
 a pleasure which human wisdom can never inspire. 
 
 The eyes which the Saviour's power opened he per- 
 mitted the hand of death to close, but the soul which 
 he has enlightened shall pass at death into a state 
 where its knowledge and its bliss shall be perfect. 
 
 Our Lord was anointed also to proclaim the accept- 
 able year of the Lord. There is an obvious allusion 
 here 4o the year of Jubilee. At the return of every 
 fiftieth year, the bond-servant was restored to the 
 rights and blessings of freedom, and the inheritances 
 which any had been obliged to part with were then 
 recovered. This was an emblem of that redemption 
 which is proclaimed by the Gospel to the slaves 
 of corruption, of the return of the prodigal to his 
 
ADDRESS VIII. 71 
 
 Father's house, and of the call of the children of 
 wrath to an inheritance which fadeth not away. Blessed 
 are the people that know the joyful sound. There are 
 some who despise this year of the Lord, and who 
 boast that an age of reason is commencing, which will 
 be the most auspicious the world has ever enjoyed. 
 But the aim of such men is to banish every feeling and 
 every rite adapted to purify or elevate our nature, to 
 subvert every institution essential to the order and the 
 peace of society, and to extinguish every hope that 
 cheers the bed of sickness, or brightens the gloom of 
 the grave. This result of infidelity is not mere spe- 
 culation. It has been seen in projects and in deeds 
 which will never be forgotten. They will be remem- 
 bered to repress the presumption of daring impiety, 
 to expose the falsehood of its pretexts, and to shew 
 that all that is valuable in social life must stand or fall 
 with the institutions of the Gospel. 
 
 After this review of the Saviour's ministry, you feel, 
 I trust, a stronger impression of his excellence and 
 grace. The instructors and the deliverers of men can- 
 not be compared to this Prophet and Saviour, either 
 in the importance of the blessings which they bestow- 
 ed, or the manner in which they are communicated. 
 " Unto you that believe he is precious." And while 
 the thoughtless and the profane say to him, " Depart 
 from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways," 
 ye will glory in him, as eyes to the blind, and feet to 
 the lame, the friend of the oppressed, and the father of 
 the poor ; the blessings of those ready to perish for 
 ever shall come upon him, and to him every knee 
 shall bow. 
 
 Happy are ye on whom the beneficent objects 
 of the Saviour's ministry have been accomplished. 
 Let such cherish the sentiment of the Psalmist, 
 
 1 
 
72 ADDRESS VIII. 
 
 " The law of thy mouth is better to me than thou* 
 sands of gold and silver." He may suffer you to feel 
 some pangs of grief and fear, to teach you a continued 
 reliance on his sacrifice, and a holy sobriety and cau- 
 tion in your whole conduct. He hath freed you from 
 chains whose iron entered into your souls, and hath 
 disposed you to submit to the mild and salutary dis- 
 cipline of religion. Under the impulse and the guid- 
 ance of the pious, and the kind affections you walk 
 at liberty. He hath filled you with the light of the 
 knowledge of his glory, and given you the certain hope 
 of a blessed eternity. Wherever you cast your eyes, 
 you behold in his efforts for^'-our happiness, motives of 
 gratitude and grounds of rejoicing. 
 
 Let me call on you, in your various situations, to 
 the imitation of those offices of the Saviour, in as far 
 as it is competent for you. Beware of treating the 
 poor with neglect or scorn in religious assemblies, or 
 in the intercourse of life, but exert yourselves to pro- 
 mote their instruction and comfort. The institutions 
 which have been formed for promoting wisdom and 
 piety among the poor, have, by the Bibles and treatises 
 which they have distributed, and by the instruction 
 which they have imparted to the young, formed many, 
 in the lower classes, to the best principles and habits, 
 who would otherwisehave perished for lack of knowledge. 
 Let the broken-hearted, instead of being dragged to 
 scenes of gaiety, or subjected to reproach and abuse, be 
 treated with tenderness, and led to the Saviour, who 
 comforts them that are cast down. In the spirit of our 
 Lord, labour *' to loose the bands of wickedness, to un- 
 do the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and 
 to break every yoke." The exertions which have been 
 made for the abolition of slavery, and the efforts of 
 the humane, to deliver unfortunate debtors from pri«. 
 
ADDRESS VIII. 73 
 
 son, and to restore them to their famUies, their labours, 
 and their place in society, are noble testimonies of the 
 power of the Gospel. Your charity is sometimes so- 
 licited by persons who have lost their sight by disease, 
 or by accident, and to it they have peculiar claims. 
 And most deserving of the support of Christians, are 
 the institutions where the indigent blind obtain lodg- 
 ing and food, where the gloom of their condition is 
 brightened by the employment to which they are led 
 by a beneficent ingenuity, and by the cheering lessons 
 of Christian instruction. 
 
 In a word, value the Gospel as you ought ; maintain 
 a conversation that becomes it, and pray for the an- 
 nouncing of this year of the Lord to those who are sit- 
 ting in darkness, and in the region of the shadow of 
 death. The sound of this trumpet drowns the cla- 
 mours of guilt, soothes the troubled spirit, and raises 
 the sinking heart to ecstacy. '' How beautiful on the 
 mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tid- 
 ings, that publishes peace, that bringeth good tidings of 
 good, that publisheth salvation." 
 
 ADDRESS IX. 
 
 JOHX XIX. 5. 
 
 ♦' Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the 
 purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, behold the man !" 
 
 It is seldom that the dying criminal is made the ob- 
 ject of derision, or that the execution of the sentence of 
 the law has been associated with aught that is ludi- 
 
 VOL. II. E 
 
7 i ADDRESS IX. 
 
 crous. The dignity of justice would be degraded by 
 such low arts, and feelings excited in the spectators di- 
 rectly opposite to those of compassion for the sufferer 
 and horror at his crime. But in our Lord's last suffer- 
 ings^ he was subjected to various insults. Unawed by 
 the mild majesty of his look, and regardless of the 
 powerful evidence of his innocence, they heaped upon 
 him every indignity which their insolence and barbari- 
 ty could suggest. Among other insults, they platted a 
 crovvn of thorns, and placed it on his head, and put on 
 him a purple robe. This was done in impious deri- 
 sion of his claims to royalty, and thus was he insulted 
 whom God had set king on his holy hill of Zion, and 
 to whom every knee should bow. The large thorns 
 in this crown pierced our Lord's temples, and were 
 driven deeper into his flesh by the blows with which 
 they smote him, yet neither indignity nor pain excited 
 the least impatience, or produced a single complaint. 
 There are some to whom insult is more intolerable 
 than injury ; and it is so to those who have been ac- 
 customed to marks of respect, and who are conscious 
 that the}' deserve different treatment ; but though our 
 Lord had received the homage of angels, and was en- 
 titled to the highest estimation of mortals, yet did he 
 bear their scorn in silence, for the magnanimity which 
 endured the cross could despise the shame. 
 
 It was a part of the curse denounced against man 
 after the fall, " Cursed is the ground for thy sake, 
 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ;" 
 and his head is pierced with thorns, who is made a 
 curse for us to redeem us from the curse of the law. 
 This indignity and pain our Lord endured, because the 
 crown had fallen from our heads which the Creator had 
 placed on it, and because the robe of innocence was 
 rent in pieces in which he had arrayed us. Bright was 
 
ADDRESS IX. 75 
 
 that crown, and fair was that robe ; there was nought 
 in paradise which could equal them in splendour and 
 beauty, yet by one act of dreadful infatuation, they 
 were madly thrown away, and the lord of the work of 
 God's hands became the slave of sin, and the object of 
 the curse. 
 
 Jesus wore this crown and this robs lo expiate the 
 guilt of our rebellion against God, and that he might 
 win your aflfectionate homage, and purchase for you 
 the garments of salvation and the crown of glory. He 
 might have left you to the shame and the misery which 
 were the consequence of j^our yielding to the sugges- 
 tions of the devil, and reserved his favours for angels 
 who never offended him ; but he gloried to repair the 
 breaches of many generations, and to save those who 
 were children of wrath. It was thus that he ob- 
 tained for you the wedding garment you now wear, 
 and the crown of righteousness laid up for you in 
 heaven. With this crown and robe on him, Pilate 
 brings him forth to the people^ in order to melt their 
 hearts in pity, and while the blood was trickling down 
 from his temples, and exquisite pain was felt by him 
 in his back and shoulders, which had been torn by the 
 scourge, he cries, " Behold the man." Look at him 
 and say if you can desire that he should suffer more. 
 How relentless must their malice have been which this 
 could not satiate, and which would not say it is enou^yh 
 till he expired on the cross. 
 
 Nothing gives a more shocking view of the heart of 
 the infidel than the fact, that this call of Pilate has been 
 made the watchword of the scoffer, and the title of 
 books filled with impious sarcasm. Depraved must be 
 that understanding, and black must be that heart, which 
 can select such a motto for its profanity, and look to 
 a suffering Saviour only to revile him. The spread of 
 E 2 
 
76 ADDRESS IX, 
 
 such blasphemy is like the pestilence walking in dark- 
 ness. The virulence of infidelity has been excited to 
 a great degree, by the wide diffusion of the Redeem- 
 er's name, but it shall not be in her power to pluck one 
 jewel from his crown, to expunge one article from our 
 creed, or to pervert one real disciple. 
 
 Let us turn our thoughts from such children of the 
 wicked one, to the hearts that are bleeding with sor- 
 row and love, and to such I say, " Behold the man." 
 Behold the man, in whom more of God is to be seen 
 than in any angel or human being, for in him dwells 
 all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ; who passed by 
 the nature of angels and took hold of yours ; and in 
 whom humanity appears more bright and lovely than 
 it did in paradise. Excellencies which the first Adam 
 could not exhibit, adorn the second, and constitute in 
 their exercise a part of that obedience by which you 
 are made righteous. 
 
 Behold the man of sorrows whom grief attended in 
 every step of his course, and in every moment of his 
 life, and whom it covered with its darkest gloom, and 
 tore with its sharpest pangs in the garden and on the 
 cross. Now Christians, you cannot surely see him 
 thus set forth before you, without wonder at his con- 
 descension and gratitude for his love. Let the souls 
 whom he has blessed and saved, strew their garments 
 in his way, and crown him in adoring homage. O let 
 there not be reason to say, that his enemies were more 
 eager to dishonour than we are to exalt him. Let your 
 blessings rest where malignity and insolence fixed this 
 crown, and let every eye look to him with ardent love 
 and eager expectation. 
 
ADDRESS IX. 77 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 Rejoice, Christians, that a very different crown and 
 robe are now worn by your Lord. He hath a crown 
 of purest gold, whose lustre is never tarnished, and to 
 which the mightiest of his enemies shall be constrained 
 to bow. His raiment is white as the light, and '-' all 
 his garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, out of 
 the ivory palaces." It is said, after Mordecai's triumph 
 over the craft and malice of Haman, " that he went out 
 from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue 
 and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a gar- 
 ment of fine linen and purple, and the city of Shushan 
 rejoiced and was glad, and the Jews had light, and 
 gladness, and joy, and honour." And we have much 
 more reason to rejoice in his exaltation who was aba- 
 sed for our sake, and who is enthroned for our salva- 
 tion. The Lord "reigneth, let the earth rejoice in the 
 advantages it derives from the diffusion of his religion, 
 the virtues of his disciples, and the gifts of his liberali- 
 ty ; and let the church be glad that he is head over all 
 things for the advancement of her interests, and that 
 the condescension and indulgence which he displayed 
 on earth, it is his delight to manifest in a higher 
 sphere. 
 
 Think what this exaltation of your Lord claims from 
 you. It is this, that you should serve him in holi- 
 ness and righteousness all the days of your lives. You 
 feel, I trust, that you can refuse nothing to such a 
 master, and that you can withold nothing from such 
 a friend. Let his love reign in your hearts, and let 
 his life be manifest in yours. 
 
 Beware of expecting honour from men. Your Saviour 
 
78 ADDRESS IX. 
 
 was thus treated, to teach you to bear in silence the 
 scorn of cruel pride, and if your Lord was crowned 
 with thorns, you have no reason to complain that they 
 are strewn in your path, or planted in your pillow. Be 
 thankful that they are so tew, and that the pain they 
 give you is not more severe. Turn not aside from 
 the path of duty on account of them, for " thy shoes 
 shall be iron and brass, and take for a covering to 
 your heads, that hope of salvation which no thorn can 
 pierce. 
 
 Look not with envy on any worldly glory. Amid 
 the multitude of rose leaves, you see not the thorns, 
 but the wearer feels them, and you behold the purple 
 robe, but you see not the lacerated heart beneath it. It 
 would check that envy and discontent, by which the 
 poor make themselves miserable, were they to reflect 
 on the miseries which find a way to the house of feast- 
 ing, and to the scene of triumph, and that the prospe- 
 rous may have thoughts more vexing, and nights more 
 sleepless than theirs. 
 
 Let me call on 3'ou to continue looking unto Jesus. 
 Amid the scorn of the wicked, a pious regard to Jesus 
 will make you despise their abuse. Their scorn is no 
 proof that the object of it is contemptible, nor is their 
 censure any evidence that the act which they condemn 
 is wicked. Be less solicitous about what the world will 
 think of yuu, and more eager to shew yourselves ap- 
 proved to God. 
 
 When you are forced to view characters that are dis- 
 graceful to human nature, look to him who was its 
 fairest ornament. When your hearts are disgusted and 
 shocked by the impieties of the profane, the excesses 
 of the sensual, and the cruelties of the malignant, con- 
 sider him who was so eminent in devotion, in purity, 
 
ADDRESS IX. 70 
 
 and in beneficence, and you will feel a complacency, 
 which is both improving and delightful. 
 
 In pressing on to perfection, behold the man " who 
 was altogether lovely." Put ye on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and labour till your last moment, that you may 
 be conformed to his image. You must hate the crown of 
 pride, and the garment that is spotted by the flesh, and 
 be able to say with Job, " I put on righteousness, and 
 it clothed me, and my judgment was as a robe and a 
 diadem." And in the hour of death may you see the 
 heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the 
 right hand of God. In that hour when the failing 
 eye can scarcely discern the face of friendship any 
 longer, and when every worldly scene is vanishing 
 from the view, it must be truly delightful to have a 
 faith which can see our Lord in his beauty, and behold 
 the better country as not afar off but near. 
 
 In the day of judgment, when every eye shall see 
 the Son of Man in his glory, it will not be through the 
 tears of regret and dismay, that you shall behold him, 
 but with eyes spaikling with triumphant gladness. 
 And in the world of glory, every eye shall be fixed on 
 him as the perfection of beauty and as the fountain of 
 life. In that world there is a crown reserved for 
 you which fadeth not away, and vvhich is attended by 
 no anxieties and fears. " He that overcometh, the 
 same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not 
 blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will con- 
 fess his name before my Father and before his angels." 
 He will delight to honour all to whom he is precious, 
 and to give the garments of praise for the sackcloth of 
 holy grief. 
 
 Now let this be your purpose, before you leave this 
 spot, " I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God 
 E 4 
 
80 ADDRESS X, 
 
 of ipy salvation;'' and this is the parting injunction of 
 your Saviour, an injunction, whose influence must make 
 every effort seem easy, and lessen the terrors of every 
 peril. *' Be thou faithful to the death, and 1 will give 
 thee a crown of life." 
 
 ADDRESS X. 
 
 «» And he, bearing his cross, went forth into a place, called The 
 Place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha ; where 
 they crucified him." 
 
 The place where eminent men have died is generally 
 marked with care. Almost every man is anxious to 
 discover the precise spot where they drew their last 
 breath, and took their final leave of the world. The 
 interest which we feel in such places is always propor- 
 tioned to the celebrity of their characters, to the cause 
 in which they were engaged, and to the share which 
 we have in the consequences of their struggles. How 
 sacred is the spot where the martyr died, and where 
 bis last testimony was given to the cause of truth, and 
 to the rights of conscience ! No man of principle and 
 feeling can behold it without catching new ardour in 
 defence of religious liberty, a livelier gratitude for our 
 tranquil state, and a stronger abhorrence of that proud 
 and cruel intolerance, which condemns and punishes 
 opposition to its views and wishes as the worst of crimes. 
 Christians, we now lead you to the spot where Jesus 
 
ADDRESS X. 81 
 
 was crucified. It was the hill Golgotha, or the place 
 of skulls. Many malefactors had been sacrificed there 
 to the justice of their countr3^ There would be a di- 
 versity in the crimes for which they suffered, yet this 
 variety was of itself a mournful proof of the extent of 
 human depravity, and the power of malignant and co- 
 vetous passions. Some of them might die in peniten- 
 tial sorrow, and others in sullen obduracy, but their 
 life was demanded by the laws which they had violat- 
 ed. But how different is the victim that now bleeds. 
 It is the Lamb without spot and blemish that is now 
 sacrificed to the justice of God. And shall the righteous 
 be as the wicked ? In this case, *' he that knew no sin 
 was made sin for us." The Lord laid on him, with his 
 own full, free, and generous consent, the iniquities of 
 us all, that we might be justified by his blood. The 
 place selected for our Lord's death, was not a spot hal- 
 lowed by the symbols of God's presence, by the wor- 
 ship of the pious, or by their translation to glory ; but 
 gloomy, by the tokens of the divine vengeance, and 
 by the horrible despair and terrors of the wicked. No,^r" 
 was the death which he underwent easy and tranquilr 
 but a death appropriated to the worst criminals, and 
 attended with lingering and exquisite pain. And all 
 this was done, because to him our guilt was imputed, 
 and he was treated as we deserved. 
 
 Here the trophies of death lay scattered around. 
 The king of terrors seemed to expose here, in trium- 
 phant exultation, the bodies which he had broken and 
 disfigured ; and no place could be better suited to sig- 
 nalize the victory of the Prince of life, and to give the 
 decisive blow to the last enemy. It was not merely in 
 his territories, but in the heart and strength of his em- 
 pire, that he was assaulted and vanquished. Some of 
 these victims of death might maintain a longer s'.ru^^ 
 £5 
 
f£ ADDRESS X. 
 
 gle with him than others, but all had fallen. Here 
 bones were heaped on bones, and dust on dust, the 
 poor remains of what was once the seat of intelligence 
 and comeliness ; yet here Jesus abolished death, expi- 
 ated sin, by which it had entered into the world, and 
 purchased a nobler life than that which was forfeited. 
 
 The Jewish sacrifices were offered in the temple, but 
 this oblation was not to be limited like theirs to a sin- 
 gle people, but was to be a propitiation for the sins of 
 the world. " Jesus, that he m;ght sanctify the people 
 with his blooJ, sutfere.i without the gates of Jerusa* 
 lem." The blessings of Christ's death are not limited 
 by years, situation, or circumstances, by human bigotry 
 or by human prejudice, but extend, wide as the expand- 
 ed love of the generous sufferer, to infanc\' and to age, 
 to the poor and to the rich, to the civilized and to the 
 savage, to islands and continents, to rival sects, and to 
 the chief of sinners. It is strange that men should 
 have taken delight in the idea of the exclusion of any 
 of their fellow creatures from the virtue of the cross, and 
 imagine that thev were honourinor the God, whose be- 
 nevolence is infinite, by the anathemas of their own ma- 
 lignity. This is the view of the death of our Lord, 
 which Caiaphas was directed to deliver, though he un- 
 derstood not the import of his prediction, and would 
 ROt have relished it if he had. He prophesied, " that 
 Jesus should die net for that nation only, but to gather 
 together in one, the children of God that were scatter- 
 ed abroad. 
 
 It was, that multitudes might feast their eyes with 
 the spectacle, that the Son of Man was crucified on this 
 elevated spot. And he submitted to it, to show that 
 far you he was not ashamed to suffer, and that he 
 wishes all the ends of the earth to look to him and to 
 be saved. When Isaac ascended the mount, he was 
 
 1 
 
ADDRESS X. 93 
 
 not a-ivare of the intention of his father, nor of the fate 
 that aiFaited him, bat Jesus knew this perfectly, and it 
 was this which made him go up, not merely with resig- 
 nation but with alacrity. '•' And I, if I be lifted up 
 from the earth, will draw all men unto me." 
 
 To him I trust you are now looking. Your hearts 
 are at the spot where he suffers, and it has been by 
 the cords of his love, and by the attractions of his cross, 
 that you have been drawn and will be kept there. 
 
 After the Service, 
 
 The Apostle's exhortation to the Hebrews, from the 
 view which be had given them of the place where 
 Christ suffered, was this, " Let us, therefor^, go out to 
 him without the camp bearing his reproach." Well 
 might he call the Hebrev/s to renounce the rites and 
 ceremonies which Christ had abrogated, to rise superior 
 to that foolish bigotry which made them doat on a 
 temple which he would not honour with the noblest 
 act of his priesthood, and to cultivate a liberality of 
 spirit, worthy of the disciples of a Master whose death 
 was so extensive in its object and influence. The 
 apostle considered that it would be a glorious proof of 
 the benevolence and power of the Gospel, were they 
 to lay aside their long cherished prejudices, and to 
 walk in enlightened candour and love to all. It was to 
 no mortal leader, however famous, that he called them 
 to go out, but to Christ, to whom it is good to draw 
 near, and to whom it is our safety to cleave. They 
 might be calumniated for acting in this manner ; but 
 how animating is the thought " it is his reproach," and 
 the Spirit of God and of glory will rest upon you. 
 
 Let it be your care to separate yourselves from the 
 follies, and the pollutions of the world, their loose max^ 
 k6 
 
S4t ADDRESS X. 
 
 ims, and their pernicious ways. Shew that ye are not 
 of the world, even as Christ was not of it. Regulate 
 not your creed by their maimed and perverted Chris- 
 tianity, nor your conduct by their low standard of mo- 
 rals, but bs valiant for the truth as it is in Jesus, and 
 for that pure and undefiled religion, which keeps a man 
 unspotted from the world. Put away every childish 
 thing, every superstitious idea, and all the tendencies 
 of the spirit of this world, and seeing ye have profess- 
 ed yourselves this day to be strangers and pilgrinis 
 on the earth, ''pass the time of your sojourning here 
 in fear." The pilgrim, intent on his journey, doth not 
 set his heart on any object by which he passes, and it 
 is not in the hut where he reposes for a night that he 
 finds a home ; and let your conversation be in heaven. 
 The disappointments, and troubles, and alarms of the 
 world, which are so painful to you, are sent with this 
 message of mercy to prevent those attachments to 
 earthly things, which would be your ruin ; " Arise, 
 depart ye, this is not your rest, for it is polluted." Can 
 you consider it as a hardship to quit any object or 
 scene when Jesus thus addresses you, " Come with me 
 from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon, 
 from the lions' dens and the mountains of leopards." 
 The world may reproach you as austere and precise, 
 but Christ will own you as his peculiar people. Let 
 every visit which you pay to the church-yard remind 
 you of Go;gotha. When we attend the funerals of our 
 friends, we often see bones and skulls scatteied by the 
 sides cf the grave. How solemn are the meditations 
 which are excited by thus seeing the remains of bodies 
 which we have often beheld fiesh and comely with 
 health and vigour; and how painful are the feelings 
 which are awakened in some, in beholding the skulls 
 and bones of those who were the desires of their hearts. 
 
- ADDRESS X. 85 
 
 and in being thus forced to reflect, that soon their 
 skulls shall be as naked, and hideous, and senseless, as 
 these, that their ashes shall be treated with as little 
 ceremony, and that nnourners shall be at their grave for 
 another but not for them. But Jesus went to the place 
 of skulls, and though he was not buried there, he died 
 there, and his death gives us an ample security that 
 the body shall be raised from the ruins of the grave 
 to glory and immortality. 
 
 Vv^hen we think on the millions of men that have 
 died on this earth, we may call it the place of skulls. 
 It is the land of the dying and of the dead. How 
 much of the earth on which we tread once teemed with 
 life. If there was a region on this earth where death 
 could not seize, what multitudes would flock to it, and 
 what sacrifices would be made to obtain the poorest 
 place of residence in it ; but of every spot in this globe 
 it may be said, '' What man is he that liveth here 
 and shall not see death, and who shall deliver his soul 
 from the power of the grave ?" But there is a land 
 of the living en high, where there is no more death, 
 where man is no more dust, and his body shall be no 
 more vile, where it is clothed with eternal life, and 
 where the ensigns of mortality are for ever unknown. 
 To that land let your hearts rise, advance daily nearer 
 to it in your holy attainments ; and if ye have tasted 
 this day that the Lord is gracious, it is a pledge that 
 you shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of 
 the living. 
 
 Consider your life as a passage to the grave, and re- 
 member that you must go to it, like your Lord, bearing 
 your cross. It belongs to your God to appoint your 
 particular cross, and every man hath his own burden. 
 Some, by the death of the young, who were the hope 
 of their familiep, are made to say, " I shall go down to 
 
86 ADDRESS xr. 
 
 the grave to my son mourning;" others by the miscon- 
 duct of their friends, are filled with the contempt of the 
 proud ; some, by the straits and anxieties of poverty, 
 find their life made bitter ; and others, whose worldly 
 circumstances are prosperous, are unhappy by fear and 
 melancholy. But consider that your cross will render 
 the grave miore welcome, where the wicked cease from 
 troubling, and where the weary are at rest. Jesus 
 suffered, being tried, that he might know how to suc- 
 cour the afilicted, and his strength shall be made per- 
 fect in your weakness. Jesus was led to Golgotha by 
 cruel hands, but he himself will lead you gently; and 
 the feeble and the staggering, the timid and the sickly, 
 he will encourage, uphold, and animate. You shall 
 carry your cross to the grave, and leave it there for 
 ever, and while in it the flesh rests in hope, your spi- 
 rits shall soar to the Zion above, " where they shall 
 obtain joy and gladness,^ and sorrow and sighing shall 
 flee away." 
 
 ADDRESS XI. 
 
 JOHN XIX. 23, 24w 
 
 " Then the soldiers, when they liad crucified Jesus, took hia 
 garments, (and made four parts, to every soldier a part,) and also 
 his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top 
 throughout They said therefore among themselves, let us not 
 rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be ; that the Scripture 
 might be fulfilled, which saith. They parted my raiment among 
 them, and for my vesture they did cast lots." 
 
 It was usual to distribute the garments of crucified 
 persons among the soldiers who were employed in the 
 
ADDRESS XI. 87 
 
 crucifixion, and it was wisely ordered tljat this should 
 be done to those of our Lord. Had any remarkable 
 interposition of Providence secured them to his friends, 
 it might have been supposed that there was something 
 sacred about them, and they might have been regarded 
 with a superstitious veneration. We know how the 
 church of Rome hath honoured supposed fragments of 
 these garments, and ascribed miraculous virtues to 
 these fancied relics ; and to guard his disciples from 
 such folly, tiiey were left to the will of the four soldiers 
 by whom he was crucified. Your Saviour hath left 
 real memorials of himself in the records of his doctrine, 
 in the graces of his character, and in the fruits of his 
 spirit, and these you cannot too highly prize. You 
 have felt their virtue in the victories which they have 
 enabled you to gain over temptation, in the moral health 
 which they have imparted, and in the hopes which 
 they have inspired. 
 
 This circumstance suggests the most important les- 
 sons to you. Hereby a very remarkable prophecy in 
 the 22d Psalm was accomplished. It was the omni- 
 science of God alone which could enable David, nearly 
 eleven hundred years before it, to foretel that the 
 Messiah should die by a mode of execution not practis- 
 ed in Judea, and that lots should be cast for his gar- 
 ments, a circumstance depending on the humour of the 
 men that crucified him. Prophecy never stooped to say 
 what would be done with the robes of Herod, or the im- 
 perial purple of the Cesars, when they were no more, but 
 it describes minutely the fate of the garments of the meek 
 and lowly Jesus. This was done, that in the fulfil- 
 ment of this prediction, an argument for the divinity of 
 our religion might be presented, obvious to every capa- 
 city, and satisfactory to every candid mind. How seri- 
 ous and important is our hope for eternity, and, blessed 
 
S8 ADDRESS XI. 
 
 be God ! it rests on the Rock of ages, and amidst the 
 craft of infidel sophistry, and the scorn and abuse of 
 the profane, it continues to purify and to bless the souls 
 of the faithful. 
 
 Contemplate the humiliation of your Redeemer. He 
 who covers the heavens with clouds, and clothes the 
 fields with verdure, is stript of his garments, and sees 
 them become the prey of the men of violence ; and this 
 indignity he endured with the same meekness and pa- 
 tience with which he bore the other insults which at- 
 tended his crucifixion. No insult cowld provoke him 
 to wrath, and no cruelty impel him to a single expres- 
 sion or deed of revenge. It was by thus humbling 
 himself to the death of the cross, that he obtained for 
 you the best robe, that righteousness which covers all 
 your sins, which secures your acceptance with the 
 Judge of all, which delivers you from all the misgivings 
 and tremors of guilt, and calls you to the brightest 
 hopes of heaven and eternity. 
 
 The outer robe of Jesus was divided into four parts, 
 and be thankful that the merits of his righteous- 
 ness are extensively applied, and that their efficacy is 
 felt, and their blessings are enjoyed in every quarter 
 of the globe, in every variety of character, and in every 
 diversity of condition. 
 
 These soldiers cast lots to whom his vest should be- 
 long, but his garment of salvation is brought within the 
 view and the reach of all, and it is unto all, and upon 
 all them that believe. Have you received this right- 
 eousness, and can you say, that, when conscious of the 
 utter insufficiency of your own righteousness to save 
 you from guilt and misery, and when you were hope- 
 less and wretched, Jesus passed by you, and looked 
 upon you, and spread his skirt over you, and covered 
 you ; that he sware unto you and entered into cove-* 
 
ADDRESS XI. 89 
 
 nant with you, and you became his. That time of 
 love, and that triumph of mercy, you can never forget, 
 and I trust it is with adoring gratitude and fervid af- 
 fection that you are now come to confess him as the 
 J^ord your righteousness. The wedding garment which 
 you have on is of his providing, as well as the feast it- 
 self, and the smell of that garment is " like the smell 
 of a field which the Lord hath blessed." 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 Rejoice, Christians, that Christ hath obtained for 
 you the garments of holiness; and of the church, as ar- 
 rayed in these, the Psalmist thus speaks : '^ The king's 
 daughter is all glorious within, and her clothing is of 
 wrought gold." How poor seems the gorgeous ap* 
 parel of king's houses, and the soft raim.ent of hypo- 
 crisy and worldly complaisance, when compared with 
 this. The graces of the Spirit operating in the heart, 
 and displayed in the exercises of worship, in the duties 
 of life, and in the commerce of the world, form that 
 moral beauty which God loves, and constitute the- true 
 excellence of man, not specious and transient, but solid 
 and lasting. 
 
 Jesus hath sanctified the mean attire which his poor 
 saints wear. It is not from inattention to your inte- 
 rests, or indifference to your comfort, that he allots 
 you so scanty a portion of the world's advantages, but 
 to keep you from vain glory, and to make you seek 
 your happiness and your honour in better distinctions. 
 The beggar may bless God for the rags that cover him, 
 for they are more than he deserves, and more than 
 was left to the crucified Saviour. 
 
 By this circumstance of his sufferings, Jesus hath 
 
90 ADDRESS Xr. 
 
 sanctified to his people the violence of persecutors, 
 which has often stripped the righteous of their gar- 
 ments, and left them to perish in the cold. Medita- 
 tion on the lot of Christ, will in such a condition work 
 patience, and those of them whose backs are uncover- 
 ed for the tormentor's lash, should remember that 
 Christ was not only stripped for the scourge, but also 
 for crucifixion. 
 
 Hereby our Lord has taught his people not to be 
 solicitous about finery of apparel or costly array, but 
 to adorn themselves with good works, and to be cloth- 
 ed with humility. There is a singulaiity in garb 
 which some affect, which is so far from indicating hu- 
 mility, that it is the result of pride and obstinacy, and 
 Christians are not to render themselves ridiculous by 
 such austerity ; but it is unworthy of them to be con- 
 formed to fashions improper and unsuitable, and to 
 copy these with the eagerness and the solicitude of the 
 children of vanity. 
 
 Our Lord hath taught us, by this circumstance, 
 that lesson which he so often inculcated, to feed the 
 hungry, and to clothe the naked. You may give a 
 part of your own garments, or those of your children, 
 to one needy object, and a part to another. It is un- 
 becoming, Christians, to have heaps of unnecessary rai- 
 ment stored up, while the poor are walking in rags 
 around them. Job says, " If I have seen any perish 
 for want of clothing, or any poor without covering ; 
 if his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not 
 warmed with the fleece of my sheep, then let mine 
 arm be broken from the bone." The coats and gar- 
 ments which Dorcas made for the poor, were shewn by 
 the widows to Peter, in the chamber where her re- 
 mains were lying, and it was not the attire of vanity, 
 but of beneficence. Poor children are peculiar objects 
 
ADDRESS XI. 91 
 
 of compassion, and by pointing out to the young in 
 your families, how different their attire is from that of 
 many httie boys and girls around them, you will effec- 
 tually ,check their discontent, melt their hearts in pity, 
 and teach them to relieve their indigent fellow crea- 
 tures, in the most prudent and useful manner. 
 
 Our Lord has thus taught us to look forward to the 
 period when our garments shall be parted, and when 
 of all the apparel we may possess, nothing shall be al- 
 lotted to us but a shroud, which corruption will soon 
 destroy as well as the flesh it covers. How vain is 
 all the pomp of this world, when its favourites, who 
 were clothed in purple and scarlet, and fared sump- 
 tuously every day, must leave their wardrobe to the 
 moth, and their carcasses to the worm. O that friends, 
 when they are dividing the garments of dead relations, 
 would recollect the parting of those of a crucified Sa- 
 viour, and anticipate the period when in their winding 
 sheet alone, they shall lie down in the grave ! 
 
 Did these soldiers say of our Lord's seamless coat, 
 *' Let us not rend it," and shall not we be solicitous to 
 maintain the unity of the church ? Too long has it 
 been torn by the corruptions of the loose, the novelties 
 of the restless, and the violence of thejieadstrong. It 
 is the will of Christ that there should be no schism in 
 his body and that the unity of the Spirit should be 
 kept in the bond of peace; and the ordinance of the 
 Lord's supper is admirably adapted to expand our be- 
 nevolent affections, and to destroy these prejudices 
 and envyings by vvhich the harmony of the church is 
 broken. Arise from that table to walk in love, and to 
 exemplify that happy union of purity and candour, of 
 zeal and forbearance, which will adorn your profession, 
 and conciliate the fierce and the contracted to the spi- 
 rit of the Gospel. 
 
92 ADDRESS XI. 
 
 And rejoice that Christ hath procured for you the 
 robes of glory, to be worn for ever in that state in 
 which inward fehcity is associated with external splen- 
 dour. He himself hath been arrayed in all the ma- 
 jesty and brightness which heaven can bestow, and 
 for his sake, white robes shall be given to every one 
 of you ; his own hand shall clothe you with these, and 
 in them you shall worship and rejoice in his presence 
 for ever. 
 
SERMON 11. ^3 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 Christ forsaken hy his Father. 
 
 MATT. XXVII. 46. 
 
 " And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, 
 saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ? that is to say, INIy God, my 
 God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" 
 
 The language and conduct of eminent persons, 
 under extraordinary and protracted sufferings, are an 
 object of general curiosity. We are eager to know if 
 they maintained in the hour of trial, the character which 
 they supported through life, and if those principles, 
 whose power they had strongly asserted, yielded them 
 any consolation in their last agony. It is with such 
 views that the death-bed of a sain t has been anxiously 
 watched, and that the martyr has been followed to the 
 scaffold by those who wished to judge of religion by 
 the influence which it exerted amidst the horrors of 
 the scene. Every feature of his countenance is 
 marked, every expression ^which he utters is re- 
 membered, and if they display the meekness, forti- 
 tude, and charity, which were apparent in his life, the 
 conclusion is felt to be irresistible, that his heart is sin- 
 cere, and that his religion is divine. 
 
 It is impossible for one who has read the history of 
 our Lord's life, not to feel a strong desire to know in 
 what manner and in what spirit he died ,• and Pro- 
 
94 SERMON ir. 
 
 yidence hath amply gratified this wish, and hath, in the 
 sacred records, exhibited him leaving the world in cir- 
 cumstances which called forth such a bright display of 
 various excellencies as give him stronger claims to our 
 regard, our confidence, and our imitation. And this 
 is done, not in the language of imagination, but in the 
 simple statement of facts, whose importance required 
 no colouring to give them power over the heart. 
 
 The Evangelists take us to the foot of the cross, and 
 tell us all he said, and leave us from these expressions 
 to conceive what he felt. How admirably was his 
 conduct in suffering suited to his whole life ! In his 
 praying for the pardon of his murderers, we see that 
 generosity operating, which had loaded his bitterest 
 enemies with favours. In his committing his mother 
 to the care of John, we see that filial piety which had 
 ministered to Mary in all her sorrows, and in the sal- 
 vation of the penitent thief, we behold the mercy which 
 deliorhled to seek and to save the lost. In the text we 
 have the fourth expression uttered by our Lord on the 
 cross, and it is only a cold-hearted critic who could 
 suggest or discuss the question, whether this complaint 
 was consistent with the magnanimity and the patience 
 for which he was distinguished. At this time he was 
 enduring a degree of anguish never felt by him but 
 ©nee before in his agony in the garden ; and the lan- 
 guage in which he expresses his feelings is not that of 
 passion or distrust, but of a heart utterly bereft of con- 
 solation, and of faith cleaving to Him who had with- 
 drawn it. Never had patience such a trial, nor faith 
 such a triumph. The sacred historian, by mentioning 
 this circumstance, leads us to the bitterness of his 
 death, and calls our attention from the blackness of the 
 day, and the torture of the cross, to the darkness of 
 his soul, and to the struggles of his heart. May the 
 
SEHMON II. 95 
 
 Holy spirit enlighten our minds in the knowledge of 
 this mystery of suffering and of love, and excite in us 
 the wonder, the gratitude, and the awe which it claims. 
 Cheered as we are on this day by a light from heaven, 
 and invited to meet with God at his table, it is fit that 
 we think on the sorrows to which we owe this privilege, 
 and all our hopes of being ever with the Lord. 
 
 In this discourse I shall call your attention to the im- 
 portant circumstances connected with this complaint; to 
 its import; and to the reasons^hy our Lord expressed it. 
 
 L Your attention is first called to the time al 
 which our Lord uttered this complaint. It was about 
 the ninth hour, or three o'clock in the afternoon. Our 
 Lord had been nearly six hours suspended on the 
 cross, and the darkness which covered all the land had 
 lasted nearly three. During all that time he had en- 
 dured the bereavement of v;hich he now complains, 
 and had borne it in silence. It was not when the first 
 sensation of horror arose in his heart that he uttered 
 it. There have been many instances in which men 
 have been so stunned by the stroke of calamity, that a 
 considerable time has elapsed ere they came to a full 
 consciousness of their situation ; but no faculty in our 
 Lord was for one moment suspended. Every power of 
 his nature was, during the whole scene, alive in pecu- 
 liar sensibility to the feeling of pain. How soon is 
 human patience exhausted, and how long seems the 
 shortest period of agony to the sufferer ! but Jesus opefts 
 not his mouth till the appointed moment, and thus hath 
 taught us that a querulous temper in affliction ill be- 
 comes any of his followers, and that we ought to for* 
 bear the open expression of our anguish till the dis- 
 closure is required for some salutary end. We often 
 see, that when men have borne suffering foj a certain 
 period, the mind becomes so far reconciled to it as to 
 
96 SERMON ir. 
 
 feel it much more tolerable than it was at first; but 
 such was the nature of our Lord's mental anguish^ that 
 it probably increased in severity, and it was now at its 
 highest pitch when he uttered these words. 
 
 2. We are called on to notice the manner in which 
 this complaint was made ; *' He cried with a loud 
 voice." It is common for men in extreme anguish to 
 signify their pain in this manner. Nature feels some 
 relief from the disclosure, and from the hope that it 
 will excite pity in those around. But our Lord thus 
 cried not from any wish for human sympathy, but be- 
 cause it was adapted to make a deep and salutary im- 
 pression on the minds of the Jews. They had heard 
 from the lips of the crucified, complaints of the severity 
 of their sentence, of the cruelty of men, and of the slow- 
 ness of the approach of death ; but this was a complaint 
 which proceeded from no lips but those of Jesus. 
 They saw in it the sufferer raising his views from 
 earth, and from friends and foes on it, to the God 
 whom he had served, and who had been his chief 
 joy. They had often heard him speaking consolation 
 to the afflicted, now his voice mourns as it had ne- 
 ver done before, because his heart was breaking with 
 grief never equalled. 
 
 3. This complaint was expressed in the language of 
 Scripture. Our Lord took these words from the 22d 
 Psalm. Prophecy had intimated that these words 
 would be spoken by the Messiah, and in employing 
 them he fufilled what David had foretold. To him 
 the word of God was precious, and it had a peculiar 
 sweetness to his taste. Thus he recommends it to 
 us to study the Scriptures, and to apply them to our<- 
 selves where they are adapted to our character and cir- 
 cumstances. How sweet is it to express our thanks- 
 givings in the language of Scripture, and our grief in 
 
SERMON 11. §7 
 
 its lamentations; and with great propriety is the 22(1 
 Psflim sung so frequently at the commemoration of 
 Christ's death, since part of it was employed by him to 
 express his sorrow during his crucifixion. 
 
 But our Lord employed this passage also, to show the 
 Jews, that by applying to himself the language of pro- 
 phecy respecting the Messiah, he still adhered to his 
 claims to this character, and that he would not be in- 
 timidated from the open avowal of it by any torture 
 which they could inflict. It was his dying testimony 
 to the divinity of his mission, and when they read that 
 Psalm, and remembered this circumstance, some of 
 them were probably pierced to the heart in remorse and 
 shame, for a deed which they had committed in strong 
 delusion. 
 
 4. It was the only complaint which our Lord 
 made. His language, ^' I thirst," was uttered in ful- 
 filment of prophecy, and from no hope of relief; for 
 when tlie vinegar was given him, and he had tasted 
 thereof, he would not drink. He did not complain of 
 any other circumstance in his sufferings. He did not 
 cast his eye on the spot where he and his disciples had 
 taken sweet counsel, and where they had promised 
 eternal fidelity to him, and say, " Why have ye for- 
 saken me ?" He did not look down to the Jewish po- 
 pulace, who had so lately followed him with their 
 hosannahs, and who had often urged him to accept of 
 the throne and sceptre of Judah, and say, " Why have 
 ye forsaken me?" He did not look to the angels 
 who had received a charge to keep him in all his ways, 
 and one of whom had strengthened him in his agony, 
 and say, *' Why have ye forsaken me ?" No, Their 
 absence gave him no pang, in comparison with that of 
 his Father. With the light of his Father's counten- 
 ance, he could bear unmoved the frowns of men, the 
 TOL. II. p 
 
^. SERMON II. 
 
 pains of death, and the rage of hell ; hut without it# 
 his heart must have been broken, though every human 
 being had applauded him, though life had poured all 
 its comforts around him, and though the powers of 
 darkness had given him no molestation. 
 
 Our Lord did not repeat this complaint. In the 
 garden he prayed thrice in the same words, that the 
 cup might pass from him, but this complaint he did 
 not renew. It was in itself an intimation that his 
 anguish had now reached its extremity, and quickly 
 was it succeeded by the shout of triumph, and by the 
 surrender of his spirit into the hands of his Father. 
 In a few moments the cloud was dispelled, and he 
 sunk to rest in his Father's bosom. 
 
 5. It is a complaint accompanied by the language 
 and the feelings of strong affection and unshaken faith. 
 Many of the complaints of men contain the harshest 
 reflections on the character and the procedure of the 
 Almighty, and plainly indicate that they have no 
 trust in his mercy, and no love to his name, and 
 that they imagine that he has acted to them, not 
 as a Father, but as a tyrant. But the suffering Re- 
 deemer claims Jehovah as his God, speaks as one 
 conscious of unabated love to him, and repeats the 
 daim, to show that whatever he might still have to 
 endure, he would look up to him for his final rest 
 and reward. There are in this complaint two ex- 
 pressions of appropriating faith for one of agonizing 
 nature, and thus we see faiih triumphant amidst the 
 depression of humanity* Never was faith so tried, 
 and never was faith so glorious. Thrice did he raise 
 his cry to Jehovah on the cross, and in all these ad- 
 dresses faith and love employ their strongest and most 
 tender expressions, occupy the chief place, and utter 
 th« first word in them all This claim is made to 
 
SERMON II. 99 
 
 precede the complaint, to show that it was not the 
 language of impatience or upbraiding, but of affection 
 lamenting the absence of the Father, before whom he 
 had from eternity rejoiced, yet eager to magnify the 
 God who was humbling him to the dust. The faith 
 of Job has been deservedly extolled, who amidst the 
 ruin of his outward comforts, and while the poison of 
 Jehovah's arrows was drinking up his spirit, could say, 
 « Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him," yet it 
 is unworthy to be compared with that maintained by 
 our Lord while the Almighty was afflicting him in the 
 day of his fierce anger. 
 
 II. Let us now consider the import of this complaint. 
 On this topic many opinions have been stated which 
 do not accord with the views of Scripture respecting the 
 person and the atonement of Christ. Some have em- 
 ployed such language in accounting for it, as seems to 
 convey the idea that the union betwixt the divine and 
 the human nature in his person was dissolved, for they 
 talk of the divinity withdrawing, that the humanity 
 might suffer. But no separation betwixt them took 
 place ; for if it had, the sufferings of the human nature 
 would have wanted that efficacy for our redemption, 
 which they derive from the divine, nor could it, if left 
 to itself, have sustained, for one instant, the heat of 
 this great anger. Others have imagined that our Lord 
 was at this time separated from the love of his Father, 
 but that was impossible. If from the love of God 
 nought can separate any pious soul, he could not be an 
 outcast from his heart, who always did the things that 
 pleased him. At that moment he was fulfilling his 
 Father's pleasure, and glorifying him in the highest. 
 Others have asserted, that no more is expressed by the 
 complaint, than our Lord's grief at being delivered to 
 the power of his enemies, and left so long to their ragej, 
 r8 
 
J 00 SERMON If. 
 
 and they adduce some texts where the phrase forsaken 
 of God, hath this sense. But if this was all his grief, 
 why did he not utter this complaint when he was first 
 left in the hands of his enemies ? It is absurd to sup- 
 pose that he would lament this now, when in a few 
 moments he was to be released from all the eifects of 
 their malice. It suggests a very low idea of our Lord's 
 fortitude, to suppose that he would complain so bitterly 
 even of the worst that men or devils could do. If hu- 
 man fortitude hath borne in silence torture of body as 
 severe for hours, or broken it with no language but 
 that of hope and triumph, shall we imagine that our 
 divine Master was less intrepid in spirit, or less sted- 
 fast in patience ? But I proceed to state what appears 
 to me to be its true meaning. 
 
 1. This complaint intimates that our Lord was 
 now utterly bereft of the consolations and joys of his 
 Father's presence. The happiness which the gracious 
 presence of God imparts, is asserted, by all who have 
 ever enjoyed it, to be unequalled in power and sweetness. 
 Good men have felt its comforts so delighting their 
 soul in] suffering, that their pain was forgotten, and 
 the scene of trouble has seemed as the gate of heaven. 
 Cheered by this, the affectionate heart has rejoiced in 
 the spot which friendship used to bless with its kind- 
 est endearments, and hath felt no blank, though re- 
 minded by the loneliness of the scene, that lover and 
 friend had left them never to return. The pious man 
 bath sung on the couch of sickness, " the Lord Jeho- 
 vah is my strength and my song, and he also is be- 
 come my salvation." From the smoke and flames of 
 the stake, a voice has been heard which hath chang- 
 ed the horror of the spectators into wonder, " his left 
 hand is under my head, and his right hand doth era- 
 brace me." But to Jesus Christ thej joys of the Fa-. 
 
SERMON II. 101. 
 
 ther's presence must have been imparted in a higher 
 degree, in consequence of his nearer relation to him, his 
 brighter excellence of character, and because with him 
 they could not be abused, as they too often are, by the 
 best of men. To a heart like his, not vitiated by any 
 earthly tendency, nor distracted by any principle seek- 
 ing to itself a more agreeable indulgence, these joys 
 must have been supremely dear. The influence which 
 they had on our Lord may be seen in the ardour of his 
 public ministry, and in his nights so often devoted to 
 solitary prayer, when his Father's love blessing his soul, 
 filled it with a rapture which drove sleep, languor, and 
 weariness, from the bodily frame. Had these joys re- 
 mained with him, he would have felt no gloominess of 
 mind in the darkness, and no fear from all the efforts 
 of earth or hell. 
 
 These joys were withdrawn from our Lord during 
 his crucifixion, and not one gleam remained. In the 
 toils and troubles of his life they had been his solace ; 
 amidst want and reproach, and the desertion of his 
 attendants, they had supported his mind ; but now the 
 chief stay of his heart is gone. A few days before his 
 crucifixion, he had enjoyed the most blissful manifes- 
 tations of his Father's love on the mount of transfigu- 
 ration, and the remembrance of this must have given 
 additional horror to this hour of darkness. Instead of 
 the bright sun and the white cloud of Tabor, he beheld 
 the devouring fire and the black tempests of Sinai. 
 
 The feelings of Adam when driven from Paradise, 
 and of the angels when expelled from heaven, could 
 not be so painful as those of our Lord. Their depra- 
 vity and enmity to God deadened their sense of the 
 sweetness of that communion with Jehovah which they 
 had lost ; but while our Lord's heart was fully alive to 
 all the bliss which the divine presence imparts, he is 
 r 3 
 
102 SERMON II. 
 
 bereft of it, and mourns the loss of it as the most dread- 
 ful berea vement he ever had experienced. And why 
 was our Lord thus forsaken? It was to expiate the guilt 
 of our apostacy from God, and to save us from everlast- 
 ing destruction from his presence. This was the method 
 which God devised for bringing back his banished chil- 
 dren into his presence. It is by this desertion of our 
 Lord, that we are brought nigh to God, that we are 
 made to walk with him, that he can lift upon us the 
 light of his countenance, and that we can cherish the 
 hope of rising to his presence,' " where there is fulness 
 of joy, and to his right hand, where there are pleasures 
 ever more." O ! let us think by what a sacrifice Christ 
 obtained for us this happiness, and that he counted no- 
 thing too valuable to be relinquished to bring us to 
 God. 
 
 2. The complaint intimates, that our Lord was now 
 suffering the severest inflictions of his Father's anger. 
 Some writers have represented this as impossible, and 
 have reprobated this idea in strong language. They have 
 asked, could the righteous Lord, who loves righteous- 
 ness, and who beholds the upright with a pleasant coun- 
 tenance, be wroth with one so entirely devoted to his 
 service, and so eminent in all that is pious and bene- 
 volent ? To this objection, it is a sufficient answer, that 
 our Lord had voluntarily assumed the character of the 
 substitute of the sinner, and had engaged to suffer all 
 the wrath which he deserved. And as the desert of 
 sin is not merely exclusion from the presence of God, 
 but includes the positive effects of his anger, men could 
 not be saved, unless Jesus had borne, for them, the 
 indignation of the Lord. Nor was there any injustice 
 in this substitution. It was the fruit of our Lord's volun- 
 tary choice. He had a right, in every view, to dis- 
 pose of his life and comforts as he pleased, and they 
 
SERMON ir. 103 
 
 for whom he thus suffers, are his by the closest ties. 
 Thus has our Lord shewn a generosity with which no 
 sacrifice ever made by friendship, or patriotism, can be 
 compared, and we know how it has been rewarded, in 
 the joy which was set before him. And thus has God 
 manifested a love to the world which will be admired 
 through eternity, " for herein is love, not that we loved 
 God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the 
 propitiation for our sins." 
 
 But who can describe the fierceness of that wrath 
 which was now overwhelming the soul of our Redeem* 
 cr ! We have seen what effects have been produced 
 by the impressions of God's anger in those whose con* 
 sciences have been awakened. It has made the most 
 audacious to quake, and those to whom the world of- 
 fered all its allurements, to choose strangling and death 
 rather than life. But in those cases the justice of God 
 came with demands of satisfaction for the sins of one 
 individual, while from Christ it required reparation for 
 the transgressions of a great multitude, which no man 
 can number. " It was exacted of him, and he an- 
 swered," not a pang was abated, and not a stroke was 
 spared. The arm which had so long supported him 
 was now raised to bruise him, and the voice which 
 bore such honourable testimony to him now speaks 
 only in the curse. Jehovah's fierce anger lies hard up« 
 on him, and at a time when he was subjected to bo- 
 dily pain of the most exquisite kind, and to all the 
 fiery darts of the powers of darkness ; even then did 
 divine justice inflict upon him wrath to the uttermost, 
 and thus brought in everlasting righteousness. These 
 are strong expressions, but they are not stronger than 
 those which the Spirit of God has employed, which re- 
 present him as " made a curse, as smitten of God and 
 r 4 
 
104 SERMON IT. 
 
 afflicted," and tell us that " God spared not his own 
 Son, but delivered him up for us all." 
 
 And why was this wrath endured? ** He was wound- 
 ed for our transgressions, he was bruised for our ini- 
 quities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, 
 and by his stripes we are healed.'* For our sins he 
 had become legally answerable, and thus suffered for 
 them, the just for the unjust. Thus a more striking 
 demonstration was given of the evil of sin, and of Je- 
 hovah's determination to maintain the honour of his 
 law, than will be exhibited in the conflagration of the 
 world, the perdition of devils, or the vengeance of 
 eternal fire. You are convinced, I trust, that it is " ex- 
 ceedingly sinful," and feel more resolved to hate it by 
 the pangs of Jesus than by all the threatenings of hell. 
 III. I proceed now, in the third place, to slate the 
 reasons why our Lord made this complaint. It was not 
 because he was ignorant why this was done, nor was it 
 from impatience, fretting at his sufferings, as neither 
 consistent with his Father's justice nor kindness. He 
 was at no loss to reconcile them with both, and he who 
 was led as a Inmb to the slaughter, maintained that 
 meek spirit throughout the whole period of suffering. 
 
 Nor are we to suppose, as some have done, that the 
 soul of Our Redeemer was now overwhelmed with so 
 much sorrow and astonishment, as to overpower and 
 cover the distinct sense of the reason of his sufferings, 
 at least in some measure and degree. This is a sup- 
 position which degrades the sufferer, and is inconsist- 
 ent with that possession of his soul in patience for which 
 he was distinguished. 
 
 But our Lord made this complaint under the impulse 
 of nature and of piety. There is a tendency felt by 
 every human creature in calamity to pour out his sorrows 
 to a superior being. It is not the result of education. 
 
SERMON II. 105 
 
 for it is to be seen in those whom no kind monitor has 
 taught the duty and the pleasure of devotion ; and it is 
 only suppressed by those principles of atheistical philo- 
 sophy, and those habits of living without God in the 
 world, which extinguish every impression of a Deity in 
 the heart. Now, as Jesus was a partaker of our flesh 
 and blood, and of all the feelings attached by our Maker 
 to our nature, he obeyed in this lamentation the great 
 law of humanity. 
 
 But it was especially dictated by piety. While others 
 are satisfied with declaring their griefs to their fellow- 
 creatures, the pious soul pours out its complaint to 
 the Lord, and finds that the act of devotion calms the 
 troubled spirit. God calls us to raise our cry to him 
 in sorrow, and he ever listens to it in tender compas- 
 sion. Our Saviour maintained silence no longer, lest 
 it might be thought that his mental agony had now 
 sunk him in despondence. The enemy of souls who 
 had tried to persuade him to presumption in the wiU 
 derness, attempted now to drive him to despair; but no 
 efforts which he could employ were able in any moment 
 of his suffering to shake his hope in God. 
 
 Our Lord also made this complaint to shew us the 
 extremity of his sufferings, and to teach us to regard 
 the wrath of his Father as the principal part of them. 
 External objects generally strike us more than any other. 
 We are so much under the influence of our senses, and 
 so little do we commune with our hearts, that although 
 we know from our own experience that there are emo- 
 tions of soul more painful than torture of body, yet 
 when we visit a sufferer, our. attention is generally en- 
 grossed by his disease, and we seldom think of the fear 
 which may be distracting his heart, or of the pangs of 
 affection shrinking from a separation from all it holds 
 dear in the world. In reading the narrative of our 
 f5 
 
105 SERMON n. 
 
 Lord's sufferings, sympathy might have dwelt on what 
 was done to his body by the thorns and the nails, the 
 scourge and the spear; but he has taught us by this 
 complaint that there were pangs in his heart, dreadful 
 beyond all that bodily torture can inflict, or any hu- 
 man being can feel. They act in a way opposite to 
 this design of our Lord, who expatiate with all the 
 melting language of pathetic eloquence on the torture 
 of his body, while they maintain a total silence on all 
 that he endured from his Father. Beyond all concep- 
 tion must that sorrow have been which made a heart 
 like his thus to mourn, and thus to lay open the bitter- 
 ness which it alone knew. 
 
 Finally, He made this complaint for the encourage- 
 ment and the direction of his people. Thus he hath 
 taught them not to regard the horrors of desertion as 
 any token of perdition, but as the salutary discipline 
 of a father, by which he corrects the follies of his 
 children, and teaches them repentance and godly fear. 
 He hath thus instructed them to look for his sym- 
 pathy when they go mourning without the sun. He 
 marks every sigh that rises after an absent God, and 
 every look that follows his departure, and he hath a 
 fellow-feeling with the desolate. It is from this com- 
 plaint that we learn to lament the absence of God more 
 than any outward c:^.!nmity, to dread it more than the 
 rod of sickness or the scourge of tongues, and to main- 
 tain and to express faith and love unimpaired by the 
 pressure of suffering and the dark suggestions of the 
 tempter. Thus we learn to cleave to the Lord, what- 
 ever his dealings with us may be, to believe that his 
 heart is melting while his voice speaks roughly, that 
 the sun is behind the dark cloud, that bright gleams of 
 comfort shall soon issue from the quarter from which 
 the storm is now pouiing down, and that he will call us 
 3 
 
SERMON II. 107 
 
 from the shadow of death to walk in the light of his 
 countenance, and to rejoice in the kindness of his 
 love. 
 
 In concluding this discourse, let me call on the dis- 
 ciples of Jesus to meditate on the blessings which have 
 been procured for them by this desertion of their Lord. 
 It hath saved you from the penal effects of God's wrath 
 in this world. You shall not find tlie vengeance of 
 God in any trial, nor his curse in any rebuke. It hath 
 saved you from that sentence, ** Depart from me, ye 
 cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and 
 his angels," from that darkness which the light of 
 God's countenance shall never brighten, from that 
 weeping and wailing which the voice of pity shall 
 never assuage. It has obtained for you the comforts 
 of the Divine presence in this world, in as great a 
 measure as infinite wisdom and goodness judge meet, 
 and secured your admission to that place where God 
 is seen as he is. It is the presence of God which 
 makes that land a land of light, that paradise a scene 
 of beauty, that worship the perfect expression of duty 
 and rapture, and that a house a home. 
 
 How strongly does this subject call on you to the 
 admiration of your Saviour's love, and to the comme- 
 moration of it at his table ! It is not by the pains of 
 his body, the reproaches of his name, or the poverty 
 of his life, that he has been trying to interest your 
 hearts ; but by the waters which came into his soul, 
 and by his deadly sorrow. You feel, I trust, that gra- 
 titude swelling in your breasts, which love so generous 
 demands, and an utter abhorrence of sin, which could 
 only be expiated by the breaking of his heart. Let 
 your whole life be a testimony of your deep sense of 
 what you owe him, and see that you thus devote your* 
 selves to him at his table. Your heart and your flesh 
 f6 
 
10$ SERMON ir. 
 
 are cr^'ing out for the living God. Let the desertion 
 of your Saviour be the argument which you employ, 
 and let it be with your eyes turned to the cross that 
 you pray, " O when wilt thou come unto me ? Ye 
 who have met with God on former solemnities, may 
 now plead his promise, " I will see you again, and your 
 hearts shall rejoice." And let those who are perplex- 
 ed and bewildered, who are complaining that the Lord 
 hath forsaken them, and that their God hath forgotten 
 them, reflect that Jesus is acquainted with all their se- 
 cret conflicts, and in tender pity stretches forth his 
 hand to guide them to his Father. May God be mer- 
 ciful to you, and bless you, and cause his face to shine 
 upon you. 
 
 This subject suggests much useful instruction re- 
 specting death. Judge not harshly of those who die 
 in anxieties and fears. Some of the good have died 
 with but a trembling hope, and others go not beyond 
 the tranquillity of a humble dependence. Their earn- 
 est pleadings with the God of grace, and that peniten- 
 tial abasement and modest reliance with which they 
 cast themselves at the feet of Jesus, saying, " I will 
 perish here," are precious evidences of the life of God. 
 And in looking fsrvvard to your own departure, be not 
 unduly solicitous about the joys of a full assurance, but 
 believe that if your last hour be dark like your Lord's, 
 he will come and receive you to himself. Gloomy is 
 that vale, but there is a hand which leads you through 
 it, though you feel not its pressure, and there is an eye 
 that watches over you though you may be unconscious 
 of its glance. 
 
 To the unconverted, I would say, the absence of 
 God is so far from being a terror to you, that it is your 
 wish. You say to him, «' Depart from us, for we de- 
 sire not the knowledge of thy ways." And were God 
 
SERMON IT. 109 
 
 to abandon you, comfort and substance, friends, health, 
 and life would leave you, for it is his visitation that 
 preserves your spirits. But the time is coming when 
 he must cast you off for ever. And if Jesus groaned 
 under his Father's wrath, can your hands endure, or 
 your heart be strong, when a fire is kindled in his 
 anger which shall burn to the lowest hell ? When God 
 casts you off, no place in the vast universe can receive 
 you but the pit of destruction. In hell, God is only 
 heard in his thunder, seen in his frown, and felt in his 
 stroke. We beseech you then to be reconciled unto God. 
 Come away from your follies and sins, your false hopes 
 and vain dreams, and stretch out your hands unto God, 
 and he will receive you, and v/ill be a Father to you, 
 and your God for ever and ever. May the solemn 
 theme of this day be blessed for awakening you to re- 
 flection, and for leading you to the Saviour ; and may 
 you feel as serious and anxious now about salvation and 
 eternity, as you will do when hfe is closing, and the 
 warning voice from the pulpit shall be succeeded by 
 the angel's oath, that there shall be time no longer. 
 
 ADDRESS XII. 
 
 The Desertion of Christ Applied, 
 
 Frequent are the complaints of dereliction which 
 may be heard from the world around us. One com-i 
 plains that his wealth has departed from him, and 
 that poverty hath come upon him like an armed man. 
 
110 ADDRESS XII. 
 
 Another laments the loss of health, and says, " he will 
 cut me off with pining sickness, from day even to 
 night wilt thou make an end of me;" while another 
 mourns that his father and his mother have forsaken 
 him, and that '' lover and friend are put far from him, 
 and his acquaintance into darkness." We hear those 
 lamentations with pity, and sigh over the uncertainty 
 of all earthly blessings. But how different are the 
 feelings with which we ought to listen to our Lord's 
 complaint of desertion ; for the anguish which it indi- 
 cates far exceeds all other sorrow in severity and hor- 
 ror, and it was for our sake and in our stead that it 
 was endured. 
 
 Meditate, my Christian brethren, on the principle 
 which prompted our Lord to submit to this anguish. 
 It was love, and you may judge of the strength and 
 the generosity of that love, by the joy which was re- 
 linquished, and by the pangs which were endured. The 
 loving kindness of God is better than life, and the 
 sense of it Jesus consented to forego for a season. The 
 anger of God, which is worse than death, he was will- 
 ing to endure, in order to restore the wretched outcast 
 to his Father's house. Had it not been for this love^ 
 that cross would never have been endured, that com- 
 plaint would never have been uttered, and that heart 
 would never have been broken. I trust there is not 
 one at that table unimpressed by this love, nor one 
 that does not wish to feel it more strongly and fully. 
 If you would have this wish gratified, keep the eye of 
 your faith fixed on the suffering Redeemer, and on the 
 anguish that is swelling in his heart, and implore a 
 greater degree of divine illumination. There is nought 
 respecting Christ, which the Holy Ghost shews with 
 more delight to the hearts of the disciples, than his ex- 
 piatory sufferings and matchless love. In his light 
 
ADDRESS Xir. Ill 
 
 yon will see more to astonish and melt you in this 
 scene than ever. " I have been young," said David, 
 ** and now am old, yet have I never seen the righteous 
 man forsaken." " Israel hath not been forsaken, nor 
 Judah of his God, though the land be filled with sin 
 against the Holy One of Israel ;" yet here the Holy 
 Redeemer groans, and bleeds, and dies, without an ex- 
 pression of sympathy from earth, or a look of love from 
 heaven. Admire that love which all the sorrows of 
 his heart could not enfeeble, and which you now be- 
 hold shining in glory amidst all the darkness of his de- 
 sertion, and mingling its animating power with all the 
 sad emotions of his soul. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 I exhort you who are now happy in the presence of 
 God, to walk humbly with him. If you are tempted to 
 be proud because of the abundance of your revelations, 
 think on the darkness which was spread over the Sa- 
 viour's soul, and this will repress all the emotions of 
 self-complacency, and fill you with that adoring wonder 
 and gratitude which, while it abases you in your own 
 eyes, will exalt you in his. To those who are now la- 
 menting that the Comforter who could have relieved 
 their soul, is far away, I would say, it becomes not you 
 to use this language. Why hast thou forsaken me, for 
 " your iniquities have separated betwixt you and your 
 God, and have provoked him to withdraw himself, and 
 to withhold good things from you." Abandon the fol- 
 lies which have brought on you this misery, and pray 
 for his return in earnest desire and in humble hope. 
 Let the weeping eye be raised to him, and the hands 
 
112 ADDRESS XII. 
 
 which hang down be lifted to him, and he will surely, 
 visit you. 
 
 Let the gracious presence of God be carefully im- 
 proved. Fear not affliction, for by the candle of the 
 Lord you shall walk safely through the darkness. Let 
 this encourage you in duty, that the joy of the Lord 
 shall be your strength ; and let it dispose you to com- 
 miserate the deserted, and to labour to revive their 
 hope in God. Let it render you superior to the vain 
 delights of a present world. Compared with the Joys 
 of God's presence, or the horrors of his absence, what 
 are its smiles ? or what are its frowns ? Thus you 
 may recommend religion to others, and tell them how 
 happy it makes you. When you return from the 
 mount, where you have been with God, let your faces 
 shine with the lustre of gentleness and charity. 
 
 Adhere steadily and affectionately to your God, and 
 never forget the solemn pledges which you have this 
 day made to your Redeemer, of obedience to all hi» 
 laws. Think it not enough that you abstain from 
 gross acts of injustice or sensuality, for religion is 
 dishonoured by slothful habits in its professors, by 
 their embarrassments arising from their living beyond 
 their income, by foolish talking, a censorious temper, 
 and a niggardly spirit. Remember that purity is the 
 best ornament of youth, and patience the best prop of 
 age ; that equity is the credit of the master, and fidelity 
 that of the servant ; that contentment is the wealth of 
 the poor, and humility the glory of the prosperous ; 
 and that this is the bliss of a family when its cha* 
 racter is « The Lord is there." 
 
 And now in parting with you, I would adddress to 
 you that animating promise of God, with which you 
 may welcome any solitude, any duty, and any tribula- 
 tion, " My presence shall go with you, and I will 
 
ADDRESS Xlir. 113 
 
 give you rest." Strength and life, peace and joy, 
 grace and glory, are in his presence. This, O Chris- 
 tian, shall be the name, which to the praise of his 
 grace you shall wear for ever, " Sought out and not 
 forsaken." Your support in affliction, your deliverance 
 from trouble, your recovery from backsliding, and your 
 safety in death, shall evince its truth, and it shall shine 
 on your vesture for ever in that world where the Lord 
 shall be your everlasting light, and your God your 
 glory. Amen. 
 
 ADDRESS XIIL 
 
 MATTH. XXVII. 52 y 63. 
 
 *« And the graves were opened, and many bodies of saints 
 which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, 
 and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." 
 
 Death terminates the power of man. Affection or 
 vanity may deck the sepulchre with the ensigns of 
 glory or dominion, art may check the progress of cor- 
 ruption on the body, and genius give the brightest 
 lustre to the name, but to deliver from the grave is a 
 work too mighty for the power of creatures to accom- 
 plish. When kings die, the chambers of the dead are 
 opened, the coffins where sleep the mighty of former 
 ages are exposed to the view of the curious, and a 
 place is prepared beside them to which the recent 
 victim of death is conveyed with solemn pomp, but 
 the dead are not stirred up for them to meet them 
 at their coming. In barbarous ages the funerals of 
 
11 4j address XIII. 
 
 princes and warriors have been solemnized with rites 
 of blood ; numbers of captives have been sacrificed at 
 their tombs, and the ceremonies of mournincr which 
 
 o 
 
 should have softened the heart, have been closed with 
 deeds of horrid cruelty. 
 
 But how different is the influence of the death of 
 Christ ! When he gave up the ghost multitudes were 
 quickened who were mouldering in their graves. To 
 this wondrous event your attention is now turned. Ye 
 are strangers, we trust, to the incredulity which says. 
 How could these things be ? and to the indifference 
 which says, What are they to us ? Providence intend- 
 ed them to honour the death of his Son, and to confirm 
 our hopes that this mortal shall put on immortality? 
 
 Those who were raised were probably persons who 
 had known our Lord, and whose relatives and ac- 
 quaintance, living in Jerusalem, felt assured when 
 they saw them that there was no deception in this 
 scene. They were holy persons, and, on account 
 of their eminence in piety, were made the subjects of 
 this astonishing miracle. God sometimes employs in 
 the present state, wicked men as the messengers of his 
 will, but there is no instance in Scripture which war- 
 rants us to suppose that he will call them from the 
 abodes of darkness to declare his wonders. 
 
 They were many in number. This made the mira- 
 cle more striking, and increased the evidence of it. 
 Raised by the same power, sent on the same errand, 
 and to the same place, how tender would be their in- 
 terest in each other, and how solemn their united tes- 
 timony ! Had a few been sent from the tomb to bear 
 witness to the power of Jesus, the rulers might have 
 tried various plans to discredit or suppress their testi- 
 mony, but the voice of many speaking with the majes- 
 
ADDRESS Xlll. 115 
 
 ty of immortals, must have filled them with consterna- 
 tion. 
 
 How pleasing is the view given of their state while 
 in the grave, — '* They slept." Released from their la- 
 bours and sorrows, and insensible to the bustle and dis- 
 traction of this vain world, they had entered into rest. 
 By their removal before the crucifixion of our Lord, 
 they had been spared those pangs which his surviving 
 friends felt when they saw him passing through the 
 scene of suffering. 
 
 From this sleep of death they arose. In great earth- 
 quakes the bodies of the living are swallowed up, but 
 this earthquake at the death of Jesus opened the gate 
 of their tombs, and said to these prisoners, " Go forth." 
 Sometimes the bodies of the dead have been torn from 
 their graves by barbarous men, whose cruelty could 
 not be satiated by the abuse of the living, but it is 
 imconscious dust that is moved from its place. But 
 though the bodies of these saints were putrid and de- 
 cayed, they were endowed with life, soundness and 
 vigour. 
 
 These saints abode among the monuments till our 
 Lord rose, when they went into the city, and bore their 
 testimony to his glory, and to the powers of the world 
 to come, and this they did to many. It is not likely 
 that they remained long on earth, or that they return- 
 ed to their graves ; but from their fellowship with 
 Christ in his resurrection, we may suppose that when 
 he was received up into glory they ascended with him 
 to heaven. Some may imagine that they would have 
 been peculiarly fitted for declaring the salvation of 
 Christ among the Gentiles, but it was more for the 
 glory of God, and for the encouragement of man, that 
 this should be done by persons encompassed with in- 
 firmities, and liable to mortality. 
 
116 ADDRESS xnr. 
 
 ' But let your meditations turn to the glorious things- 
 which were intimated by the surprising event. It was 
 a convincing token of Christ's complete victory over 
 death. This was an enemy to whom all had been 
 constrained to bow. The ingenuity of man could de- 
 vise no way of escape, nor could his power oppose to 
 him any effectual resistance. It was one great end of 
 our Lord's appearance to destroy this enemy, and what 
 friend of man will not bless him for the generous at» 
 tempt ? To accomplish this design, he assumed our na- 
 ture, and lived and died, that by his obedience and 
 death he might expiate the guilt which made us hable. 
 to everlasting misery, and procure for us eternal feli* 
 city in soul and body. Behold as evidences that this 
 object has been gained, these saints, rising from their 
 graves, their souls perfect in holiness united to bodies 
 incorruptible, and proclaiming with tongues framed for 
 the high praises of God, " That the plague of death 
 and the destruction of the grave was come.'* It was 
 by them that song was first raised which hath so often 
 expressed the gratitude and the joy of Christians, and 
 how interesting does it seem while sung by persons 
 ransomed from the grave, around the cross and tomb 
 of him who died and rose a conqueror, '" O death, 
 where is thy sting, O grave, where is thy victory!" 
 The keys of hell and of death were now put into the 
 Mediator's hands, and his first employment of them 
 was the release of these saints. Light arose on the 
 land of darkness, and the tree of life hath ever since 
 flourished in its borders. When Samson died, thou- 
 sands of the Philistines perished with him, and those 
 whom he slew at his death were more than those whom 
 he had slain in his life ; but when Jesus died, many 
 were made alive. His stripes are our health, his con- 
 flicts our victory, and his death our life. That Savi.» 
 
ADDRESS XIII. 1J7 
 
 our who thus signalized his death, will, I trust, distin- 
 guish the commemoration of it this day by the mani- 
 festation of his gracious energy in every heart at his 
 table. We look not for it in the graves around us, but 
 in our hearts, and their hope of it shall not be disap- 
 pointed, who are now saying with pious desire, " O 
 let my soul live and it shall praise thee." 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 The resurrection of these saints was a powerful means 
 of conviction afforded to the Jews. When we think 
 on their disregard of the ministry and the miracles of 
 our Lord, we are ready to suppose that God would have 
 finally abandoned them. But instead of doing this, 
 at the very time when his blood had been shed by 
 their wicked hands, God sent these messengers from 
 the tombs that they might look on him whom they had 
 pierced, and mourn. " Ye denied the Holy One and 
 the Just," did they say, " and desired a murderer to be 
 granted unto you, and killed the Prince of Life whom 
 God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are wit- 
 nesses." It was the generosity which dictated his prayer 
 for his murderers, which sent them these monitors, 
 and ordered Apostles to follow them, saying, " Unto 
 you God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to 
 bless you by turning every one of you away from your 
 iniquities." 
 
 Behold, Christians, grace much more abounding where 
 sin abounded, and call to your remembrance the man- 
 ner in which God waited to be gracious to you. Many 
 were the means of conviction which you slighted ; and 
 when he might justly have given you over to a repro- 
 bate mind, he still strove with you, till at length your 
 
Xl8 ADDRESS XIII. 
 
 soul was won. O let a deep regret for the time you 
 have lost, animate you to double your diligence in the 
 service of God, and encourage you to persevere in your 
 efforts to reclaim the most stubborn from sin and folly. 
 But the resurrection of these saints was also a pledge 
 of that spiritual vivification which was to be effected 
 by the Gospel. At this period the nations of the world 
 were sunk in spiritual death. So vain had former ef- 
 forts been to restore them, that it was with almost no 
 hope that the question was asked, " Can these dry 
 bones live }" When Jesus was suspended on the cross, 
 and cast his eyes over the nations, and beheld them 
 dead in trespasses and sins, he lifted up his voice and 
 cried, " Come from the four winds, O breath of the 
 Lord, and blow on these slain that they may live." 
 That cry, " Father the hour is come," was thus an* 
 swered, " The hour cometh, and now is, wherein the 
 dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they 
 that hear shall live." By the ministry of the Apostles 
 multitudes passed from death to life, the hideous work* 
 ings of moral depravity were succeeded by the beau- 
 ties of holiness, the excess of riot by strict temperance 
 and cheerful self-denial, and the horrible forebodings 
 of condemnation and misery, by the lively hope of mer- 
 cy and felicity. I trust you have experienced his 
 quickening power. These saints were made alive at 
 the same time, and by the same means, and the life 
 they had was the same in degree ; but ye were quick- 
 enfed at different periods, and by various methods, and 
 in some the spiritual life is more vigorous than in 
 others. These saints had their life from Christ on the 
 cross, you have it from Christ on the throne. Let 
 those in whom the spiritual life is vigorous have their 
 devotion elevated, their faith stedfast, and their love 
 feiTcnt ; and let not those who are feeble and languid 
 
ADDRESS XIII. 119 
 
 say, '^ Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost/' but 
 let them say, *' Wilt thou not revive us again that our 
 hearts may rejoice in thee ?" If his quickening power 
 remained with him in the last and lowest depth of his 
 humiliation, you cannot suppose that his hand is now 
 shortened that it cannot save. 
 
 But, let me add, that the event you have been con- 
 templating was a pledge of the blessed resurrection of 
 the just. The few instances of a resurrection which 
 had already occured, could not be expected to preclude 
 all anxiety and doubt on a point so momentous. The 
 heart might be ready to suggest that a resurrection 
 may be the privilege of a chosen few ; but multitudes, 
 and I among the rest, may be doomed never to return 
 from the dust. But behold this large company of saints 
 arising, and rejoice in hope that he shall quicken your 
 mortal bodies. When our Saviour was expiring on 
 the cross, he cast his eyes over the sepulchres of Jeru* 
 salem where the saints slept on whom his power wag 
 now to operate, and said, ** Thy dead men shall live, 
 together with my dead body shall they arise ; awake 
 and sing ye that dwell in the dust, for your dew is as 
 the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth her 
 dead." I call on you to rejoice in the hope of an event 
 which so many examples render credible. You have 
 seen the tree which was cut down sprouting again, and 
 marked the influence of the spring over the grass and 
 humble flowers of the turf which is spread over the 
 grave, and even these things teach you that the bones 
 of the dead shall flourish as an herb, and that their 
 darkness shall be as the noon-day. 
 
 How soothing is the view which you may take of 
 your departed friends— they are saints asleep in Je< 
 sus. Ye have carried them to their graves, but God 
 shall bring them from them, and they shall meet yo« 
 
120 ADDRESS XIII. 
 
 with countenances bright with the lustre of immorta- 
 lity^ yet bearing the wonted expression of love. 
 
 Be not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Let 
 the h"ps which he has opened shew forth his praise, 
 and the heart which he hath quickened suggest a good 
 matter concerning him. Think of the courage with 
 which these saints went into the city, where our Lord's 
 enemies, whose hands were still reeking with his blood, 
 bore the sway, and be not afraid to confess your Lord. 
 While the tongues of the living were reviling his Son, 
 God brought from the house of silence witnesses to his 
 glory. Let your prayers be pure, fervent, and charit- 
 able, like the prayers of the saints, your faith active, 
 and your patience stedfast like theirs. 
 
 Approve yourselves the children of the resurrection. 
 When your friends have served their generation, and 
 are fallen asleep, rejoice in the hopes of what Christ 
 will do for them. While you mourn that one so ami- 
 able and useful now dwells in the dust, and mark the 
 stillness of the peaceful grave, there is a voice which 
 mingles with your lamentations, and says, " Our 
 friend Lazarus sleepeih, and I go to awake him out 
 of his sleep." Approve yourselves the children of the 
 resurrection, by the calmness with which you contem- 
 plate the traces of mortality in your nature. When the 
 pale countenance, the freezing blood, and the tremb- 
 ling limbs, indicate that the winter of your life is come, 
 rejoice in hope of that spring which shall make all 
 things new. As becometh the children of the resur- 
 rection, die in the faith. These beds are beds of dust, 
 but the flesh rests there in hope. The Holy City is 
 before you, let your prayers and praises enter it 
 and let them tell what you wish to be and shall be 
 there. The thought now impresses you, How much 
 will I have to say to the praise of my Saviour on high 
 
ADDRESS XIV. 121 
 
 My comforts I will ascribe to his bounty, my honours 
 I will lay at his feet, and on his head the blessings of 
 my soul shall be for ever coming. The chief of sinners 
 saved by grace shall with most wonder and joy sing, 
 " Salvation to our God that sits on the throne, an4 to 
 the Lamb.*' Now may the Lord establish your hearts 
 unblameable in holiness till the coming of our Lord Je« 
 sus Christ with all his saints. Amen. 
 
 ADDRESS XIV. 
 
 JOHN XIV. 27. 
 
 " Peace I leave with you, my peace 1 give unto you : not as the 
 world giveth, give 1 unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, 
 neither let it be afraid." 
 
 In these words, the affectionate solicitude of our Sa- 
 viour for the happiness of his disciples is most beauti- 
 fully expressed. His dying gift, and his parting coun- 
 sel, have been the consolation of Christians in every 
 age, and often have they rendered the communion ser- 
 vice a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. 
 And when you are now assembled to commemorate his 
 death, may he come and stand in the midst of you, 
 and say, " Peace be unto you." May he breathe on you, 
 and say, '' Receive ye the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Meditate, Christians, on the nature and extent of that 
 peace with which the Lord Jesus blessed his followers. 
 He left his disciples in peace with God. He was now 
 about to make peace by the blood of his cross, and by 
 
 VOL. II. ft 
 
1S2 ADDRESS XIV. 
 
 the power of bis grace he had brought his disciples in- 
 to a state of reconciliation with God, taught them to 
 look up with confidence to him as a Father, and left 
 them entrusted to his care, and assured of his pity. 
 And you have peace with God through our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ, and in his friendship you have a defence 
 and a felicity which bids defiance to all the malice of 
 €arth and hell. Instead of trembling at his flaming 
 sword, his vindictive frown, and his destructive curse, 
 you touch his golden sceptre, feel the sense of his fa- 
 vour, and rejoice in his promises of mercy. 
 
 Jesus gave to his disciples peace of conscience. He 
 was now about to offer up that sacrifice which should 
 furnish them with a reply to all its charges, and open 
 to them a refuge in all its alarms, and had directed 
 them to that purity of heart, and that rectitude of con- 
 duct, which should secure to them its joyful testimony. 
 And in every age his blood purifies the conscience from 
 dead works, and his grace forms to that excellence the 
 fruit of which is quietness and assurance for ever. He 
 inspires such a hope of mercy and acceptance at the 
 bar of the Judge of all, as fortifies the mind against 
 all the surmises and censures of wickedness and malig- 
 nity. 
 
 He left them also in harmony with each other. With 
 them he had maintained the peace of charity and kind 
 affection in spite of all their provocations, . and had 
 taught them the meekness that is slow to wrath, the 
 gentleness which conciliates prejudice, and the love 
 which endureth all things. And by the wisdom which 
 comes from above, which is pure and peaceable, gentle 
 and easy to be entreated, and full of mercy, he gives one 
 heart to his followers in all ages, and makes the socie- 
 ty of his genuine disciples, existing amidst the conten- 
 
ADDRESS XIV. IQ3 
 
 tions and strifes of the world, to exhibit to the view a 
 quiet retreat in a howling wilderness. 
 
 But Jesus left to his disciples also that comfort of 
 the Spirit which had cheered his mind under every af- 
 flicting incident, and under every dark anticipation; 
 and the joy of the Holy Ghost is his gift to you. There 
 are some whose tempers are so selfish and malignant, 
 that their pleasures are marred if others have a part in 
 them ; and then only are they satisfied when they par- 
 take of their enjoyments amid the terrors and the mi- 
 sery of their dependants ; but the liberal heart of the 
 Lord Jesus deviseth liberal things. He has no glory 
 too high, and no joy too blissful for his people to share. 
 It is his wish that his joy may remain in you, and that 
 your joy might be full. 
 
 Meditate on the value of the blessing of peace, 
 whose importance is attested by the eternal counsels 
 of Jehovah respecting it, by the agonies of the Man of 
 sorrows which obtained it for you, by the wishes of the 
 best on earth, and by the intercession of the Redeemer 
 in heaven. And how delightful is it to consider it as 
 the peace of the Saviour, and with the utmost proprie- 
 ty does he call it his, since it is the purchase of his 
 blood, the fruit of his Spirit, the result of his lessons, 
 the answer of his prayers, and the joy of his heart. 
 
 It is an interesting circumstance in this passage, that 
 the language of our Lord conveys the idea of a testa- 
 mentary grant, and this suggests that our Saviour's feel- 
 ings in the view of death were all directed to the inte- 
 rest and the happiness of his people. It is by their 
 latter will that men express their affection to those who 
 survive them, and it is by the value of their gift. in 
 proportion to their circumstances, that a judgment is 
 formed of the strength of their regard. And in this 
 last gift of our Lord, you see that he loved his own to 
 g2 
 
1^4 ADnnEss xiv. 
 
 the end, and that he lived and died with you on his 
 heart 
 
 This circumstance suggests also that this peace is 
 peculiar. It is to those connected with him by blood 
 or friendship that a testator bequeaths his possessions, 
 and those who receive this peace are such as are ani- 
 mated by Christ's spirit. It is not merely to the emi- 
 nent in grace or utility that it is left, but to those who 
 are feeble, helpless, and depressed like the bruised reed. 
 The meek shall delight themselves in the abundance of 
 peace, and as this peace is ample in itself, it is not li- 
 mited to a few as its possessors, for " He creates the 
 fruit of the lips peace, peace to him that is afar off, and 
 to him that is nigh/' and " as many as walk according 
 to his law, peace shall be on them and mercy, and on 
 all the Israel of God." I may also mention that this lan« 
 guage intimates that this peace is unmerited. Testa- 
 mentary gifts are generally mere expressions of regard, 
 and are seldom the return of favours or services re- 
 ceived from the legatees ; and you feel that you had 
 no claim to this peace. Instead of the sweet sunshine, 
 and the soft dew, you deserved the horrible tempest of 
 snares, fire and brimstone. Do you delight to consider 
 this peace as the result of grace, and is this a reflection 
 which increases your present enjoyment in it, and which 
 will heighten even your bliss above, that it is bestowed 
 on one who deserved nought but " indignation and 
 wrath, tribulation and anguish ?" This is a spirit well 
 adapted to the place you now occupy, and none else be- 
 comes you. 
 
 And as a testament is of no force while the testator 
 liveth, for he hath power to revoke, or to modify it as 
 he pleases, but after his death it is unalterable ; our 
 Lord by his death ratified the everlasting covenant, 
 and the sacramental cup is the pledge of this bequest. 
 
ADDRESS XIV. 125 
 
 sealed in his blood. In this light you are now called 
 upon to regard it, and to rejoice in it as the security of 
 your happiness, the life of your peace, and the bulwark 
 of your safety. 
 
 After the Service, 
 
 Meditate, Christians, on the excellencies of this peace. 
 The peace of the world rests on no basis but the ex- 
 pectations of a presumptuous hope, the false conclusions 
 of ignorance and error, the suggestions of flattery, and 
 the deceits of Satan ; but this peace is founded on the 
 merits of Christ's atonement, and on the sufficiency of 
 his grace. The peace which the world gives lies in the 
 gratification of the lower principles of our nature, which 
 never impart the delight yielded by those of a nobler 
 description ; but the peace of religion results from the ' 
 exercise of the mind that was in Christ, and hath in it 
 much of the pleasure which flows at the right hand of 
 God. The peace of the world is often a mere shew. 
 Those who have been admired for their gaiety, and 
 whose bursts of mirth have made the inconsiderate ima- 
 gine that they were perfectly happy, have acknowledged 
 that even in these moments they could have exchanged 
 situations with the poorest of human beings who was 
 reconciled to God ; but the peace of the good man rules 
 in his heart, and in the severest distress shews itself 
 in the meekness and serenity of the whole deportment. 
 The peace of the world lulls men into a forgetfulness 
 of God, and a disregard of their duties, and so en- 
 feebles the mind, that in the hour of calamity it is dis- 
 tracted with fear; but this peace animates to every 
 holy exercise, and so fortifies the heart, that it can sus- 
 tain the evils of persecution and the terrors of death, 
 g3 
 
126 ADDRESS XIV. 
 
 And the peace of the world is transient. The very 
 passions which give them enjoyment make them mi- 
 serable ! When their head presses their pillow they feel 
 its thorns ; but the peace of the Gospel is sure, for all 
 the virtue of the cross, and all the kindness of his heart, 
 are pledged for its permanence, who died for your sal- 
 vation, and who lives for your happiness. 
 
 It will be gratifying and useful to you to reflect how 
 your Saviour's peace differs from that of the world as 
 to the mode of its bestowal. The peace of the world 
 is given merely in expression or wish. Happiness it 
 is not in their power to bestow. It is only the God 
 who formed the heart who can make it happy. But 
 Christ is the God of peace, and when he speaks it is 
 done. The peace of the world is often spoken insin- 
 cerely. The glowing language, and the kind looks of 
 friendship are too often the instruments of deceit, but 
 Ciirist is full of grace and truth, and he is the faithful 
 witness. The world speaks peace from selfish views, 
 and in expectation of a return superior, or at least equal 
 to what it promises, but the happiness of his people is 
 the Saviour's aim. The world speaks peace to those to 
 whom God says there is none, and assures its votaries of 
 safety in courses against which the threatnings of 
 God denounce his vengeance ; but Jesus speaks peace 
 only to the humble, the penitent, and the holy. 
 
 Be grateful to the Saviour for this peace, and be so- 
 licitous that all your friends and connections may pos- 
 sess it, and if when you die you leave them in posses- 
 sion of it, they are happy though it may be their lot to 
 be poor, and without this, all the distinctions of wealth 
 and grandeur will be but splendid wretchedness. Be- 
 ware of disturbing the harmony of civil or religious so- 
 ciety by the workings of pride, anger, or envy. " Fol- 
 low after the things which make for peace, and things 
 
ADDRESS XIV. 127 
 
 whereby one may edify another." And " let not your 
 hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." Let 
 no anticipation of evil trouble you. Let them dread 
 the approach of the tempest, or sink under its fury, 
 who have no hiding place from the wind, and no cov- 
 ert from the storm, but it would be most unreasonable 
 in those to do so to whom God hath said, that " He 
 will hide them in his pavilion in the day of evil, and 
 set their feet upon a rock." Your fears are vain as the 
 terrors with which superstition haunts the minds of 
 children, and the calamities which you dread, are like 
 the spectres which visit their fancy, the creatures of 
 imagination, and incapable of doing you any real in- 
 jury. Uneasiness and fear will dishonour your Lord, 
 by exhibiting his kind assurance as delusive, or as in- 
 sufficient to yield you tranquillity, and it may dis- 
 courage those who are favourably disposed to what is 
 pious. These anxieties and forebodings will impede 
 your progress in holiness, and keep you in wretched 
 and degrading bondage. *' Be careful then for no- 
 thing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication 
 with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known 
 unto God, and the peace of God which passeth all un- 
 derstanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through 
 .Christ Jesus." When you are afflicted and tossed with 
 tempests, and not comforted, instead of fruitless repin- 
 ing and paralyzing fear, implore his help, and he will 
 arise and rebuke the winds, and say to the sea, " peace, 
 be still, and there will be a great calm." The winds 
 and the sea in the world of nature are subject to his 
 controul, and so are also the passions of the heart, and 
 the tumults of the people. Now the Lord of peace him- 
 self give you peace always, and by all means. Amen. 
 G 4 
 
128 ADDRESS XV. 
 
 ADDRESS XV. 
 
 ISAIAH XXIV. 16. 
 
 " From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, 
 even glory to the righteous." 
 
 These words beautifully express the homage you are 
 now to pay to your Redeemer, and the claims which 
 he hath to it. The communion table is a place where 
 every feehng should be sacred to the honour of your 
 Liord and Saviour, and where your hearts should utter 
 in love and zeal those feelings and purposes which are 
 to be discovered in the service and the virtues of your 
 future conduct. 
 
 The person to whom your homage is required, is the 
 Righteous One. This expression points out the puri- 
 ty and rectitude of our Lord's nature and character. 
 In his spirit there vras no gnile, and in his conduct he 
 was not merely harmless, but beneficent, in a manner 
 and to a degree never seen on earth before. Repelling 
 all the power of a corrupting world, he laboured to sanc- 
 tify men, and while himself the victim of injustice, he 
 procured for them the blessings of salvation. In hu- 
 man characters justice often appears with a sternness 
 which gives it the semblance of haughtiness and cruel- 
 ty ; but in Jesus it is accompanied with a pitying heart, 
 and with a bountiful hand. You feel, I trust, this 
 view of his character, allaying the fears excited by the 
 consciousness of your own unworthiness, and he wishes 
 you to shew that you believe it by meeting him at his 
 table with a lively hope. 
 
ADDRESS xv; 129 
 
 This expression points out also the merits of his obc« 
 dience. By obeying the precepts, and enduring the 
 penalty of the law in our stead, he hath formed a right- 
 eousness which defends those to whom it is imputed 
 from every charge, and entitles them to every blessing. 
 '' The Lord our Righteousness," is the title by which 
 he is made known to us, and regarding him in this 
 light, our hearts are filled with hope and peace. Were 
 we merely to consider him as righteous, the conscious- 
 ness of guilt would make our hearts to quake ; we 
 would see nought in this character but purity to abhor, 
 and justice to punish us ; but in regarding him as " Je- 
 sus Christ the righteous," we behold in him a surety 
 to answer every claim, and an advocate faithful and 
 prevalent. 
 
 But the Lord Jesus receives this character on ac- 
 count of the rectitude of his administration. In all the 
 acts of his government, his sceptre is a sceptre of right- 
 eousness. There are events which seem to us to 
 darken his administration. Impiety rages, which one 
 stroke of his rod could crush, and virtue is depressed 
 and calumniated, which by the word of his power he 
 could make to flourish exceedingly ; but let us remem- 
 ber, that goodness must be tried to display its energy, 
 and to enhance its rewards, and that when the workers 
 of iniquity are most confident and outrageous, he will 
 more signally manifest his glory in checking their vio- 
 lence, and exposing their presumption. At the con- 
 summation of all things, when Jesus shall unfold his 
 plans to minds purified from every selfish bias, this 
 shall be the opinion which shall be expressed with re- 
 gard to them, '* Great and marvellous are thy works. 
 Lord God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, O 
 thou King of saints." 
 
 History tells us of some, whose integrity, firm amidst 
 g5 
 
130 ADDRESS XV. 
 
 every trial, secured them the appellation of " the just." 
 With this epithet their names have come down to pos- 
 terity ; but while we abhor the thought of erasing one 
 letter from the epitaph of the illustrious dead, we must 
 assert that no claims to this character can be likened 
 to his, whose righteousness is the salvation of millions, 
 and shines through heaven, earth, and hell. 
 
 Is this a view of Christ's character on which you 
 love to meditate, and is it in this that you wish to re- 
 semble him ? " Little children, let no man deceive 
 you ; he that doth righteousness is righteous, even as 
 he is righteous. 
 
 But what is the homage which is required from you, 
 and which the good delight to pay ? It is to ascribe 
 glory to him, the glory of supreme and unbounded per- 
 fection as the true God, and the glory of his successful 
 undertakings as Mediator — of the conquests he has 
 made, the graces he has displayed, and the blessings 
 he has bestowed. If the discoveries of men of science 
 are celebrated in the most eloquent language which ad- 
 miring genius can employ ; if the warrior lives in the 
 statue, the pillar, and the record that commemorates 
 his victories — shall the memory of our Lord perish, or 
 the song of his worth wax feeble ? " Let the people 
 praise thee, O God, , let all the people praise thee." 
 Heaven regards his excellence as its fairest ornament, 
 the wailings of hell declare how the mighty fell before 
 him, and his abode on earth was the greatest honour 
 ever conferred on it, and brought back to it more than 
 the charms of innocence. Let this, O Christians, be 
 now the language of your hearts. " I will magnify 
 that power by which the legions of darkness were van- 
 quished, that love which saved me by the sacrifice of 
 himself, and that zeal and courage which opened the 
 
ADDRESS XV. 1^^ 
 
 way of peace to man through all the honors of the 
 curse.'* 
 
 But this language intimates your wish that his glo- 
 ry may be displayed. You desire that he may dis- 
 play his glory as the light of the world, by exposing 
 to contempt its errors and superstitions, and leading 
 men to grace and truth ; as a High Priest, by sub- 
 verting every vain hope of salvation, and making his 
 cross the object of undivided trust and universal exul- 
 tation ; as a King, by crushing his rivals, and putting 
 his laws into every heart ; as the Lord the Healer, by 
 binding up the broken-hearted ; and as the Prince of 
 Peace, by hushing into perpetual silence the noise of 
 war and discord. It is, I trust, the great wish of your 
 hearts at this moment, that he may display his glory 
 in this assembly by clothing his priests with salvation, 
 supplying the wants of the poor in spirit, filling with 
 righteousness those who are hungering and thirsting 
 after it, encouraging the trembling penitent with the 
 hope of mercy, and giving to the mourner everlasting 
 consolation. It is your wish that the loftiness of man 
 may be bowed down, and the Lord alone exalted this 
 day, and that his beauty may attract the admiration of 
 every eye, and his grace the confidence of every heart. 
 " Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen 
 and amen." 
 
 AfLerthe Service. 
 
 It was tlie earnest wish of the Old Testament saints 
 that glory might be conferred on the Messiah ; that, 
 after the termination of his course, the Father might 
 welcome him to heaven, and assign him the highest 
 place and the brightest crown there, and that angels 
 
 G 6 
 
132 ADDRESS XT. 
 
 and archangels might sing forth the honour of his 
 name. It belongs to us to rejoice that all this is done, 
 but we see not yet all things put under him. And you 
 wish him to have the glory of reigning without a rival 
 in every clime, and in every heart, and that every hour 
 may bring fresh accessions to his standard, and new 
 honours to his name. Such wishes are delightful to 
 your Saviour, for he considers them as an evidence of 
 the lofty and generous character of your piety, and he 
 will fulfil them to his own glory, and to the happiness 
 of his church. 
 
 To encourage your hope that this shall be the case, 
 consider what hath been done in that period of the 
 gospel dispensation under which we live. From the 
 wilds of America, from the Hottentots, who have been 
 considered as the lowest of our race in capacity, from 
 the oppressed slave who has found in Jesus a friend 
 and a comforter, and from regions in the East where 
 the propagation of the Gospel was deemed impractica- 
 ble, this song has been heard, and the most cheering 
 testimonies to the power of religion have been brought ; 
 and we know ** that, even from the rising of the sun 
 to the going down of the same, the name of Christ 
 shall be great among the Gentiles, and that in every 
 place incense shall be offered to it, and a pure offering.' 
 
 How different is this song of praise from the cry of 
 the idolaters in the days of Elijah, " O Baal, hear us l" 
 from that of the infuriated multitude at Ephesus in the 
 days of Paul, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians ?" 
 and from the shouts which rend the air amid the im- 
 pure and bloody ceremonies of heathen nations in the 
 present day ? This tribute is a reasonable service, and 
 strengthens the love of excellence in those that pay, 
 and in those who hear it. Too long have we heard 
 from distant regions the afflicting accounts of the igno- 
 
ADDRESS xr. 133 
 
 ranee, degradation, and wretchedness of human be- 
 ings ; but now we learn from time to time the benig- 
 nant influence of the Gospel on their virtue and hap- 
 piness, and are stimulated by their gratitude to magni- 
 fy the Saviour, and to walk in his ways, I call on you 
 to be ashamed of the cold and feeble manner in which 
 you have too often sung the Redeemer's praise, and I 
 trust the resolution is now kindling in your souls, " I 
 will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart, and I 
 will glorify thy name for evermore." This fervour 
 may be called enthusiasm, but it is such enthusiasm as 
 swells the notes of the blessed. How delightful is it 
 to mark the harmony with which Christians unite in 
 celebrating the Saviour's excellence ! Their depen- 
 dence rests on the same righteousness, and their love 
 terminates on the same worth. No selfish cry 
 seeks its own superiority, no party attachment shouts 
 for the honour of its leader ; but piety, soaring over 
 every lower object, fixes on Jesus, and in his glory and 
 joy finds its own. The multitude with one voice de- 
 manded that our Lord should be crucified, and dread- 
 ful was that cry which burst from so many lips, " Away 
 with him, away with him ; crucify him, crucify him." 
 But the Christian world, with one heart, and one song, 
 proclaims the Saviour's worth — calls on all around to 
 honour him, and devotes to him every talent. *' Hal- 
 leluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigns." 
 
 Never become languid in the Saviour's praise. Men 
 are soon disgusted with their most favourite objects of 
 admiration, and the heart, eager for novelty, seeks 
 some other character to celebrate ; but this theme is 
 inexhaustible, the love of Jesus can satisfy all the 
 wishes of the soul ; and the farther you advance in 
 wisdom and holiness, the stronger will be your im- 
 pressions of his excellence, and the greater your delight 
 
134! ADDRESS XV. 
 
 ill his praise. Were good men at liberty to vary their 
 subject of praise, they would say, " None but this/' 
 
 Remember that your lives must proclaim the glory 
 of the righteous, as well as your voices. Let your strict 
 integrity, your regard to truth, justice, and equity, in 
 all your transactions, honour the Master you serve, and 
 the doctrines you believe. The homage of a virtuous 
 life is the noblest tribute you can offer to him. With- 
 out this good conduct, the songs of Zion, and the forms 
 of worship, will only be the evidences of your hypocri- 
 sy. " Whosoever doth not righteousness is not of 
 God, neither he that loveth not his brother." 
 
 Let the prospect of the Saviour's increasing renown 
 comfort you when your hearts are pained by the blas- 
 phemies of his enemies. From foreign nations impi- 
 ous books have been imported into our country, and 
 productions of a similar cast have been sent from Bri- 
 tain to them; but while we abhor the dreadful guilt of 
 such writers, and sigh over the madness of those whom 
 they deceive, we know that before Christ's rising glory 
 his enemies shall either bow to him or perish. When 
 you die, others shall take up this song, and rejoice. 
 Christians, that though the grave cannot praise your 
 Lord, heaven shall ; though death cannot celebrate 
 him, immortals can ; though they that go down to the 
 dust cannot hope for his truth, they that rise to para- 
 dise " wait for the adoption, viz. the redemption of 
 their bodies," and anticipate Messiah's universal tri- 
 umph. Have you heard your children cry, '* Hosan- 
 nah to the Son of David," in a manner which made 
 you think that their hearts were influenced by his love ? 
 they will sing " glory to the Righteous" when you are 
 gone ; and in thus honouring the Redeemer, they will 
 shed lustre over your memory, and these songs from 
 the uttermost ends of the earth shall be heard in hea* 
 
ADDRESS XVI. 135 
 
 ven, and shall add another note to its anthems, and 
 new glories to Messiah's reign. ** O Lord, our Lord, 
 how excellent is thy name in all the earth." 
 
 ADDRESS XVI. 
 
 EZEK. xxxiv. 29. 
 
 " I will raise up for them a plant of renown.'* 
 
 The figurative representations of the Saviour's cha- 
 racter and work are frequent subjects of meditation 
 to Christians, and convey the truths of the gospel with 
 much sweetness and power to the heart. You are now 
 to consider him as the Plant of Renown, and while I 
 set before you some of the excellencies for which he is 
 so justly celebrated, may the Spirit so enlighten and 
 impress you, that all those pious feelings may be ex- 
 cited, and all that holy pleasure experienced, which will 
 render the communion service acceptable to your Sa- 
 viour, and delightful to you. 
 
 This Plant is renowned for its beauty. The beauty 
 with which the God of nature hath adorned many of 
 the productions of the earth is wonderful. It is not 
 merely on a slight inspection that they charm; but the 
 more minute the examination is, and the more enlight- 
 ened and correct the taste, the admiration which they 
 excite is always heightened. " Consider the lilies of 
 the field how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they 
 spin, and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his 
 glory was not arrayed like one of these." But the love- 
 
1S6 ADDRESS xn. 
 
 liest production of nature is only a faint emblem of 
 him who is possessed of all divine excellence, and all 
 moral worth, and in whom the greatness which ex- 
 cites admiration is united with the tenderness which 
 wins our love. Jesus is the the image of the invisible 
 God, fairer than the children of men, more bright in 
 excellence than angels, and for ever unrivalled in all that 
 charms the heart. And while the beauty of the fairest 
 plant quickly passes away, and while in the midst of 
 its glory it droops and dies, this Plant cannot lose 
 aught of its freshness, or any of its tints. 
 
 To see the beauty of the Lord in his sanctuary was 
 the supreme desire of David, and for this he was will- 
 ing to turn away his eyes from all the world's attrac- 
 tions ; and such I trust is your great wish. You feel 
 that the forms of worship, the society of your brethren, 
 and the labours of ministers, however suitable and fer- 
 vent, could not compensate for his absence. The 
 sight of Jesus in his excellence will produce a humbling 
 sense of your own vileness ; but so far from damping 
 the ardour of your desire, this will strengthen it ; for 
 you are as solicitous to advance in repentance and hu- 
 mility, as in any of the other graces of the Spirit. 
 
 This Plant is renowned for its fruitfulness. Beauty 
 and fruitfulness are not always associated in plants ; 
 nay, those which are most beautiful are generally least 
 distinguished for utility ; but this plant is as deserved- 
 ly celebrated for the value and abundance of its pro- 
 duce, as for its beauty. It is impossible to enumerate 
 all its fruits ; for every blessing by which the soul can 
 be enlightened, sanctified, or comforted, is derived from 
 it. The knowledge which is Hfe eternal, the peace that 
 calms the conscience, the purity which renovates the 
 heart, the comfort which gives thanks in affliction, and 
 the hope that triumphs in death, are from the Lord 
 
ADDRESS XVI. 1S7 
 
 Jesus ; yea, from him proceeds all the felicity and per- 
 fection of the paradise above. 
 
 Every plant has its own peculiar fruit. We expect 
 not grapes from the apple, nor figs from the vine ; but 
 this Plant bears twelve manner of fruits, and yields all 
 that is necessary for the purity and happiness of the 
 soul. It is long ere some plants bear fruit ; the ex- 
 pectation excited by their goodly blossoms is often dis- 
 appointed ; and when they have yielded their increase, 
 it is not till a subsequent season that we can expect 
 aught from them again ; but the Tree of Life yields 
 its fruit every month, and at all seasons it imparts its 
 blessings. Never does a true penitent go away from 
 it empty, and thousands may put forth their hands at 
 the same moment, and share of its produce. You*fere 
 now in a scene where Jesus hath often dispensed his 
 blessings, and if you have come to it with a strong sense 
 of your spiritual necessities, and with an earnest desire 
 that he who can alone supply them may bestow on you 
 what you so much require, he will load you with his 
 benefits, and cause you to retire from it, saying, " Out 
 of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace." 
 This plant is renowned for its virtues. There are 
 some plants which are in high request for their medi- 
 cinal qualities; and it should call forth our gratitude to 
 the Creator that he hath provided so amply remedies 
 for the evils by which the body is afflicted, and teaches 
 men to know and apply them. But no plant can be 
 likened in virtue to the *' Balm of Gilead," and it af- 
 fords a remedy for all the plagues of the heart. Rag- 
 ing corruption is quelled by its influence, and the an- 
 guish of a guilty conscience is healed. It is like the 
 tree which Moses was commanded to cast into the wa- 
 ters of Marah, which rendered them wholesome and 
 sweet. It makes the severest afflictions light, and 
 
138 ADDRESS XVI. 
 
 <^eath, which the worldly man dreads as his curse, to 
 be welcomed with gratitude. 
 
 Superstition hath attributed many wonderful virtues 
 to the fancied relics of the cross ; but the efficacy of 
 this plant in curing the moral diseases of the human 
 heart is incontrovertible ; and one touch of it by the 
 hand of faith will bring from it a remedy for the worst 
 maladies of the soul. Implore the Saviour to impart 
 to you at his table that divine influence which will heal 
 those plagues of the heart, which are so offensive to 
 him, and so painful to you, and that he may strength- 
 en those gracious principles which seem ready to die. 
 
 This Plant is renowned for its fragrance. So conde- 
 scending is the providence of God, and so rich is his 
 goodness, that he ministers delight to all our senses, and 
 hath given to various plants a deMghtful odour. We 
 read of the smell of Lebanon, and in the East, such is 
 the profusion of odoriferous plants in some places, that 
 the air is scented by them for a great space around. 
 But the fragrance of the most favoured spot is not to 
 be compared to that of the Plant of Renown. Every 
 virtue of Christ's character, and every promise of his 
 word ; every precept of his law, and every rite of his 
 worship ; every act of his mediation, and every bless- 
 ing of his grace— is to the good like ointment poured 
 forth. " His lips are like lilies dropping sweet smell- 
 ing myrrh ; all his garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and 
 cassia, and his death was a sacrifice of a sweet smelling 
 savour unto God.*' It hath made the loathsome dun- 
 geon pleasant, and overcome the noisomeness of the 
 grave. 
 
 When Jacob appeared before his father in the good' 
 ly raiment of his brother Esau, Isaac blessed him, and 
 said, " The smell of my son is as the smell of a field 
 which the Lord hath blessed." You now appear before 
 
ADDRESS XVI. ISQ 
 
 God, clad in the righteousness, and animated by the 
 Spirit of his Son, and for his sake God will accept you 
 with your sweet savour, and receive all your gifts. 
 When the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard send* 
 eth forth the smell thereof. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 This Plant is renowned for its shadow. Shade was 
 of much consequence in the East, where a scorching 
 sun exhausted the strength and spirits ; and one of the 
 most soothing images by which consolation in sorrow 
 was exhibited, was that of the shadow of an expanded 
 tree, or of a great rock in a weary land. And such is 
 the shadow of this Plant of Renown, that the fainting 
 are revived by it, and the drooping soul is cheered- 
 To you Jesus is now addressing his kind assurances of 
 peace and safety, the expression of which gratifies his 
 benevolence, and the fulfilment of which shall shew 
 the power of his might and the tenderness of his com- 
 passion ; and I trust the consolation you are now ex- 
 periencing in his presence, is leading you to adopt the 
 language of the church, " As the apple-tree among 
 the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the 
 sons. I am sitting under his shadow with great de- 
 light, and bis fruit is sweet to my taste." The poor 
 find here the rest of contentment, and sickness and 
 sorrow that of patience and acquiescence. Here the 
 persecuted find a place of refuge from the evils of the 
 world, and the tempted a retreat from their spiritual 
 enemies. Here age finds repose after the fatigues of 
 life, and the dying obtain a peace which the terrors of 
 the last hour cannot shake. It is here where the flesh 
 rests in hope, and where dying saints enter into the 
 joy of their Lord. " I will abide in thy tabernacle 
 for ever, and I will trust in the covert of thy branches.'* 
 
140 ADDRESS XVI. 
 
 / You have now probably some anxious thoughts as to 
 your future lot, and it would be foolish to expect that 
 all your remaining days will be easy and prosperous; 
 but no storm shall find you without a shelter, and in 
 no calamity can you be utterly desolate. Jesus can 
 supply all your wants, he can support you in every 
 trouble, and make you as happy in the day of adversi- 
 ty as ever you were in your most prosperous seasons. 
 This plant is renowned also for its permanence. 
 Plants most noted for beauty are seldom durable. That 
 delicacy of form and colour which makes them so charm- 
 ing, renders them less able to resist the bufFetings of 
 the rude blast, and by successive production the vigour 
 of the fruitful tree is exhaused. Trees which, in for* 
 mer ages, were the glory of forests, and the shelter of 
 the brave, are now to be traced only in the rotten 
 stump, or are buried under heaps of moss or clay. But 
 the Plant of Renown can suffer no injury from the 
 violence of enemies, and there is in it no principle of 
 decay. To Jesus belongs the power of an endless life. 
 The rough blast of persecution hath beat upon it, and 
 the axe hath been lifted to cut it down, yet it remains 
 unhurt. Christianity hath seen mighty empires sink 
 in ruin, and generation after generation going down to 
 the dust, yet its life and its virtues are unimpaired. 
 *' I saw, in the visions of mine head, a tree in the midst 
 of the earth, the height thereof reached to heaven, and 
 the sight thereof to the end of the earth, the leaves 
 thereof were fair, and its fruit much, and in it Vi^as meat 
 for all; the beasts of the field had shadow under it, 
 and the fowls of heaven dwelt in its boughs ; and be- 
 hold a watcher, and a holy one came down from hea- 
 ven, and cried. Hew down the tree, and cut off his 
 branches ; shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit ; 
 let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls 
 
ADDRESS XVI. 141 
 
 from its branches." Such is the mandate which hath 
 often been issued against earthly potentate; but the 
 Plant of Renown hath Omnipotence for its defence, 
 and eternity for its duration. 
 
 Contemplate the verdure and beauty of this Plant 
 with increasing wonder and delight, and trace with in- 
 tense interest its eventful history from the fields of 
 Bethlehem, where it first arose to human view, to Cal- 
 vary, where it was cut down — from the garden of Jo- 
 seph, where it sprung up on the third day—- to Mount 
 Olivet, where it was conveyed to heaven, where it is 
 the ornament and felicity of the paradise of God. Look 
 not with desire on the forbidden fruit of sin. Never 
 forget the dreadful moment in which, when *' Eve saw 
 that the tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, 
 and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of 
 the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband, 
 and he did eat." If any gratification is forbidden by 
 your Maker, if it is likely to prove dangerous to your 
 innocence, or if it may be hurtful to others, you must 
 abstain from it, and let your self-denial be determined 
 and cheerful. Apply this plant habitually to all the 
 maladies of your souls, and think not when the pain is 
 mitigated, or the wound cleansed, that the cure is com- 
 pleted. You must improve its influence till perfect 
 love hath cast out every fear, till you are wholly freed 
 from the oppressing and defiling influence of the body 
 of death, and till you stand complete in all the will of 
 God. 
 
 Beware of seeking comfort under any other shadow. 
 Wicked men flee for consolation to sinful indulgences 
 or worldly pursuits, and their sorrow is forgotten, and 
 the heart is hardened ; but continue ye in Christ's word, 
 and his promised sympathy will sooth your hearts to 
 rest. And indulge no fear as to its permanence, for 
 
142 ADDRESS xvir. 
 
 the power that raised up this Plant can and will protect 
 it. The superstitions which men have tried to graft 
 on it shall be torn away ; but this is far from being an 
 injury to it, or an omen of its destruction. You are 
 rooted in him, and it becomes you to bring forth abun- 
 dantly the fruits of righteousness. How animating is 
 his language, " Herein is my Father glorified in that ye 
 bring forth much fruit, so shall ye also be my disciples." 
 The glory of God is the end of your redemption as 
 well as of 'your creation, to conform you to Christ's 
 active and suffering virtues is the object of all reli- 
 gious institutions, and " if you have been planted in 
 the likeness of his death, you shall be planted also in 
 the likeness of his resurrection." 
 
 ADDRESS XVII.' 
 
 ZECH. XHI. 6. 
 
 <' And one shall say vmto him, what are these wounds in thine 
 hands ? Then he shall answer, those with which I was woundet' 
 in the house of my friends." 
 
 This question is expressive of surprise, and of affec- 
 tionate concern. That one so inoffensive and so be- 
 neficent as the Son of Man, one so detached from the 
 tumults and strifes of the world, so meek in his spirit, 
 and so gentle in his manners, should be thus treated, 
 may well excite our astonishment. We behold around 
 us many instances of the unworthy treatment of the 
 good, but it might be supposed that excellence such as 
 
ADDRESS XVII, 14S 
 
 that of our Lord would have conciliated, or at least 
 awed the most profligate and audacious. 
 
 When we consider that it is not a stranger who is 
 thus abused, but our best friend and benefactor, we feel 
 solicitous to be acquainted with the cause of such treat- 
 ment, and are ready to say, " As the Lord liveth, the 
 man that hath done this thing shall surely die." 
 
 The answer which our Lord gives to the question, 
 leads you to meditations fitted to wring your hearts 
 with penitential anguish, and to fill your faces with 
 shame. Beware, in the sad review which you are now 
 to take, of directing your indignation chiefly at the 
 misconduct of others, and of flattering yourselves with 
 the vain conceit that of you the Son of Man hath little 
 reason to complain ; but looking on him whom you have 
 pierced, mourn bitterly, as one lamenteth for an only 
 son. 
 
 Christ was wounded in the house of his friends, 
 when he was so basely treated by his own disciples. 
 One of them betrayed him into the hands of his ene- 
 mies. That a member of his family, a constant asso- 
 ciate, and one who had received from him so many 
 marks of kindness, should act so treacherous a part, 
 deeply affected the heart of our Lord. " It was not 
 an enemy that reproached me, or I could have borne it, 
 but it was thou mine acquaintance ; we took sweet 
 counsel and went to the house of God." He was aware 
 of the use which the pharisees and scribes would make 
 of this circumstance, to support their virulent calumnies 
 against him, and to excite such prejudices against his 
 apostles, as might impede their success, and endanger 
 their lives in promoting his cause. 
 
 But the rest of the disciples acted a part which, 
 though by no means so wicked as that of Judas, was 
 faulty in itself, and painful to the heart of their Mas- 
 
144 AixDREss xvir. 
 
 ter. When he was apprehended, they all forsook him 
 and fled. Though Jesus wished not to subject them 
 to suffering or death, and though he did not desire their 
 aid to rescue him from the violence of his enemies, it 
 would have been consolatary to him to have seen them 
 discover in the face of those that persecuted him, their 
 strong attachment to him, and exhibit an example of 
 fortitude in his cause, to animate the resolution, and 
 maintain the firmness of his future disciples. It must 
 have strengthened the insolent contempt which his 
 enemies felt for the friends of his cause, when they saw 
 them thus abandoning it in the first hour of its jeopar- 
 dy ; and it must have grieved our Lord to witness such 
 cowardice, and such a want of confidence in that pro- 
 tecting care which they had so often experienced. 
 
 Peter also denied him. He who had drawn his 
 sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, by his threefold 
 denial of Christ thrice pierced his heart. Under the 
 impulse of sudden fear he disregards his Master's so- 
 lemn warnings, and his own repeated pledges, and de- 
 clared with curses, " I know not the man." To be 
 disowned by our friends in the day of our calamity is 
 felt by the good as a great aggravation of affliction, 
 and the look which Christ gave to Peter intimated, 
 that while he forgave him, he considered his conduct 
 as perfidious and cruel. 
 
 Christians you ought now to call to your remem- 
 brance the instances, in which, from the dread of the 
 ridicule and abuse of the profane, you have withheld 
 from the cause and the friends of religion your coun- 
 tenance «nd support ; you are ashamed to meet your 
 Lord after such treachery, and on account of it he 
 might justly disown you, but he permits you to ex- 
 press your regret for your unworthy conduct, and to 
 
 4 
 
ADDRESS XVII. 145 
 
 implore his grace to render you more zealous and sted- 
 fast in future. 
 
 But our Lord was wounded in the house of his 
 friends when he was crucified in Jerusalem, the house 
 of his professed friends. The nation of Israel is of- 
 ten styled in Scripture the chosen people of God ; to 
 the Jews were committed his oracles and ordinances, 
 and he had bestowed on them many peculiar blessings. 
 To them the Messiah was promised as the glory of his 
 people Israel, and ardently was his appearance expect- 
 ed, and yet, when " he came to his own, his own re- 
 ceived him not." As he did not assume the character 
 of a temporal prince and conqueror, and did not deli- 
 ver them from the Roman yoke, they despised and re- 
 jected him ; and notwithstanding the purity of his doc- 
 trine, the splendour of his miracles, and the beneficence 
 of his life, they crucified and slew him with wicked 
 hands. The peculiar people of God denied the Holy 
 One and the Just, and killed the Prince of Life. The 
 Roman Governor who condemned him, was the tool 
 of their malice, and the Roman soldiers who crucified 
 him, were but the instruments of their cruelty. *' They 
 were instant with loud voices that he should be cruci- 
 fied." 
 
 This is the scene which you are now contemplating ; 
 and how admirable is that wisdom and grace of God 
 which hath so ordered it, that by those sufferings, by 
 which the Jews gratified their envy and their malice, 
 the salvation of men was obtained ? While the Jews 
 point to our Lord's wounds as tokens of their vengeance 
 and their triumph, we will look to them and say, '* He 
 was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for 
 our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon 
 him, and by his stripes we are healed." He now calls 
 you, in melting remembrance and lively faith, to trace 
 
 VOL. II. H 
 
146 ADDRESS xvir. 
 
 the variety and the severity of his sufferings ; and, 
 while you contemplate this most affecting spectacle, 
 consider the share which your offences had in producing 
 them, and by what pangs the pardon and acceptance 
 in which you now rejoice, were procured. Let your 
 hearts be filled with love and sorrow while you behold 
 his body broken for you, and his blood shed for re- 
 mission of sins to many, and for remission of sins to 
 you. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 In a different sense from these already stated, 
 Christ has been wounded in the house of his friends ; 
 and the mention of it may strengthen your godly sor- 
 row, and produce a salutary caution. He is wounded 
 in the house of his friends by the immoral conduct of 
 his disciples. When a professor of religion indulges 
 in intemperance, is fraudulent in his dealings, com- 
 mits lewdness, neglects the interests of his family, or 
 fills them with terror by his violence and tyranny, the 
 cause of the gospel receives a deep stab. The profane 
 exclaim, " this is the end of their solemn looks, their 
 long prayers, and their sacramental vows; these saints 
 are all knaves in heart, and their form of godliness 
 is only a cloak for their deceit and rapacity ; you will 
 meet with more upright and honourable conduct in a 
 heathen who knows not Christianity, or in an infidel 
 who abhors it, than in its most zealous friends." Such 
 horrid speeches, and the actions which give occasion to 
 them, make rivers of water to flow from the eyes of 
 the fearers of God, and Jesus cannot behold them un- 
 moved. He complains of his followers who act an 
 immoral part in the language employed by those whose 
 patience has been severely tried, and whose hearts 
 
ADDRESS XVII. 147 
 
 Iiave been broken by the ingratitude, folly, and wicked- 
 ness of those from whom they expected very different 
 conduct. He knows the fatal influence which the 
 slanders of the scorner, supported by such immorality, 
 have in preventing many from attaching themselves 
 to religion, who had become favourably disposed to it, 
 and that they excite in the hearts of the young, pre- 
 judices against Christianity which the most powerful 
 arguments and the most exemplary virtue cannot 
 vanquish. The profligate conduct of some who bear 
 the Christian name, has injured it much in the estima* 
 tion of heathen nations. The brutality, the avarice, 
 and the fraud of some who have visited their shores, 
 have made them execrate the gospel as a system of 
 deceit and cruelty, and dread its entrance among 
 them as they would the raging of the pestilence. If 
 you talk to them of the blessings which Christianity 
 brings in its train, they will point to their burning 
 villages, and their desolated fields, and say, ** Such 
 are the fruits of our connexion with Christians." 
 
 Your consciences are now charging you with the of-r 
 fences by which you have grieved the spirit of Jesus, 
 and given occasion to the adversaries of the Lord to 
 blaspheme ; and how bitter are such recollections in a 
 scene where they are contrasted with his unwearied 
 kindness! Banish them not from your hearts, but let 
 them remain as constant monitors against sin, and as 
 powerful excitements to you to adorn the doctrine of 
 God 3'our Saviour in all things. 
 
 But Christ also is wounded in the house of his 
 friends by their strifes and schisms. It is mournful 
 to think for what frivolous reasons Christians have 
 separated from each other, what malignant passions 
 they cherish, and what abusive language they apply to 
 those whom they ought to love as brethren. The 
 
148 ADDRESS XVII. 
 
 more frivolous the grounds of dispute and division are, 
 the more violent is the manner in which the schismatic 
 contends for his own views, for it is thus that he hopes 
 to magnify his cause to his own conscience, and in the 
 public estimation. To such disgraceful scenes the in- 
 fidel points, as unanswerable arguments against the 
 spirit of Christianity ; he talks of the mildness and for- 
 bearance, and candour of philosophy, but says that 
 the temper formed by the gospel is censorious and 
 malignant, and that it is owing entirely to the restraints 
 of law that rival sects do not attempt the extermina- 
 tion of each other by persecution and murder. 
 
 Dissensions among Christians are grieving to our 
 Lord. A father could not behold his children abusing 
 and striking each other with indifference, and Jesus 
 views with deep concern the evil tempers of men thus 
 striving to defeat that influence of his meekness and 
 love, by which he labours to unite them in the bond 
 of peace, and exhibiting his religion, fraught as it is 
 with mild wisdom, and glowing with fervid charity, as 
 the source of envy, slander, and contention. Were 
 Christians to think on this as they ought, we should 
 not see so many new sects and rival parties formed. 
 The schismatic, who causes divisions to gratify his 
 own vanity, and to avenge himself for the slights 
 which have been put on him, and who dignifies his 
 bigotry and rancour with the holiest names, is regard- 
 ed by the Saviour as a foe to his glory, and to his 
 peace, as aiding infidelity in her assaults on the gos- 
 pel, whetting her sword and poisoning her arrow. Let 
 me exhort you to follow peace with all men, and by 
 speaking the truth in love, and acting with uniform 
 integrity and gentleness, you will extinguish the pre- 
 judices of those who differ from you, and contribute to 
 diffuse that forbearance and catholic love whose infla- 
 
ADDRESS XVII. 149 
 
 ence will one" day unite the Christian world, and thus 
 fulfil the earnest prayers of its Lord. 
 
 Before I dismiss you, I may state what you will 
 feel as consolatory to your hearts, that Jesus is wound- 
 ed in the house of his friends by his sympathy with 
 them in their sorrows and persecutions. When Saul 
 was on his way to Damascus, with the most cruel de- 
 signs against the followers of our Lord, he addressed 
 him in these memorable words, " I am Jesus whom 
 thou persecutest." The good man who has been shut 
 up in a dungeon for the cause of truth, and whom no 
 voice or look of compassion ever reaches, has felt his 
 Lord with him in his dark abode, and that he remem- 
 bered his bonds as bound with him. The martyr in 
 his agonies may hear from the spectators only taunts 
 and curses, but the heart of Jesus glows with admira- 
 tion of his fortitude, and melts with compassion for his 
 sufferings. 
 
 But in all our afflictions he is afflicted. In the good, 
 who labour under the anxieties and privations of po- 
 verty, or whose hearts bleed from unmerited calumnj^, 
 or the disappointment of some generous purpose, or 
 who, from the loss of friends, pine in gloomy solitude, 
 he feels a tender interest, and will by the riches of 
 his grace, the joys of his presence, and the tokens of 
 his approbation, comfort such mourners. Let this 
 mercy of the Lord Jesus influence you to bear your 
 sorrows with becoming fortitude, and to exemplify to 
 each other that sympathy and kindness by which your 
 sufferings will be alleviated, and your hearts knit to 
 one another, and by which the Spirit of Christ will be 
 
 glorified, and his law fulfilled. 
 h3 
 
150 ADDRESS XVIII. 
 
 ADDRESS XVIII. 
 
 JOHN VI. 39. 
 *' Lord, evermore gi\re us this bread." 
 
 Whatever was the object of the Jews in this re- 
 quest, and whatever was the spirit in which it was 
 presented, it is a most suitable prayer for a devout 
 communicant. It aptly expresses the pious wishes of 
 his heart, and Jesus delights to answer it at his table. 
 This is the place where he will satisfy the poor of Zion 
 with bread. The prayers of the proud, the hypocriti- 
 cal, and the carnal, he will reject with abhorrence ; but 
 to the imploring voice of the humble and the penitent, 
 he will bend his ear in mercy. In his house " there 
 is bread enough and to spare," and in his heart com- 
 passions flow. 
 
 The bread of which our Lord speaks may represent 
 his doctrines. We read of Wisdom's bread ; and 
 Hezekiah says of divine truths, " O Lord, by these 
 things men live, and in all these things is the life of 
 my soul.'* The doctrines of Christ sanctify, invigorate, 
 and delight the faculties of the soul, and it is for want 
 of knowledge that a people are destroyed. And by this 
 bread the blessings of Christ's salvation are exhibited, 
 the acceptance in which the soul is safe, that grace by 
 which the saint acts, and that comfort in which the 
 heart is at rest. 
 
 This is bread which comes from the land of Im- 
 manuel, and which is provided for man by Jehovah 
 himself; it is the true bread, of whose excellent 
 
ADDRESS XViri. 151 
 
 qualities the manna, and all the other supports of 
 existence are but shadows, and the bread of life, which 
 blesses natural, supports spiritual, and nourishes to 
 eternal life. It is bread whose nutritive qualities can 
 never fail, which is as much within the reach of the 
 poor as of the rich, which sweetens the meanest fare 
 of the cottager, and whose place cannot be supplied by 
 any of the luxuries of the palace; it is ever delicious to 
 the palate, and on it the soul shall live for ever. 
 
 It is only in some countries that the bread fruit tree 
 will flourish, or that the " corn of wheat*' will grow, 
 but this bread is destined for salvation to the ends of 
 the earth. What is deemed delicious in one country 
 as an article of food, is often loathed in another ; but 
 Christ is the common support and stay of his saints 
 throughout the world : •* They all eat of the same 
 spiritual meat, and they all partake of the same spiri- 
 tual drink.'* There are seasons when bread is of no 
 avail for the support of natural life, when the stomach 
 can neither receive nor digest it ; but this bread is 
 suited to the necessities of the soul at all periods. In 
 the agonies of death faith improves and appfies his 
 grace as much as in the duties of life. Other bread 
 can only satisfy hunger. It will not avail a man that 
 he is supplied with bread in abundance, if no water is 
 allowed for his thirst ; but in Christ Jesus every want 
 of the soul may find a supply, every charge an answer, 
 every pious wish its fulfilment, and every sorrow con* 
 solation. 
 
 It is by a laborious process that the fruits of the 
 earth are turned into bread for our nourishment, and 
 ere we could partake of salvation, Christ must become 
 incarnate, and suffer, and die. He did sweat great 
 drops of blood in his tremendous agony, that we might 
 obtain strong consolation ; and he was suspended on 
 H 4 
 
152 ADDRESS XVIII. 
 
 the accursed tree, as the worst of criminals, that we 
 might receive '' the blessing from the Lord, and right- 
 eousness from the God of our salvation." This is 
 bread which has from age to age been the sustenance 
 of good men, and which is still exhibited in as great 
 abundance as ever. It comes from an inexhaustible 
 store, and " his mercy is from generation to genera- 
 tion upon them that fear him.'* The manna fell only 
 while the Israehtes were in the wilderness, and in no 
 after extremity did they obtain again such a supply 
 from heaven ; but of the bread which the first Chris- 
 tians did eat with gladness and singleness of heart, we 
 are invited to partake ; and, till the end of all things, 
 Jesus will spread his table, and say to the children of 
 his love, " Eat ye that which is good, and let your 
 soul delight itself in fatness." 
 
 The language of your profession is, " Lord, ever 
 more give us this bread :" but do you feel that it is 
 absolutely necessary to your spiritual support and hap- 
 piness ? Bread is the staff of life ; yet, necessary as 
 it is, a substitute may be found for it sufficient for the 
 support of existence ; but without the doctrines of 
 Christ there is no wisdom, and without his blessings 
 there is no happiness. What are the speculations of 
 vain deceit to a starving soul ? *^ It is as when a 
 hungry man dreameth, and behold he eateth ; and he 
 awaketh, and his soul hath appetite." And how poor 
 is the enjoyment which the world can give. Solomon 
 assembled around him all that the world calls delight- 
 ful ; he withheld not his heart from any joy ; yet all 
 was found to be vanity and vexation of spirit. Many 
 are in the sight of God truly wise to whom philosophy 
 never taught one of her lessons, and many of the poor 
 of this world hath the grace of God made truly happy. 
 Christ was their wisdom and their joy. Are these 
 
ADDRESS XVIII, 153 
 
 your impressions, and do you now feel that without 
 Jesus Christ there would be nothing around you but 
 darkness, and nothing in you but despair ! 
 
 Do you feel an eager desire for this bread ? Hun- 
 ger is a very strong appetite, and is often employed to 
 point out vehemence of desire after any object, and 
 most urgent is the cry of the starving man for relief. 
 Now, the consciousness of our misery as sinners, and 
 a persuasion of the happiness of those who " are par- 
 takers of Christ," will produce the most eager wishes, 
 and the most importunate cries for his mercy. Are 
 these the requests of your hearts at this moment? " O 
 send forth thy light and thy truth — visit me with thy 
 salvation — satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we 
 may rejoice and be glad in thee all our days." Such 
 desires shall be granted, and I trust that this shall be 
 the case in this ordinance, for the Saviour hath said 
 " that he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hun- 
 gry soul with goodness." Have your desires been par- 
 tial and transient, or have they been habitual ? Have 
 you sought the grace of Christ, not merely when your 
 consciences were tortured with guilt, or when sickness 
 brought death and judgment to view, but have you felt 
 it as impossible to live in comfort without it as to die 
 in safety ? Is your submission to him, as your teach- 
 er, such that no tenet of his offends, and no mandate 
 disgusts you ? 
 
 The hypocrite may utter his prayers with affected 
 fervour, but this differs as much from the earnestness 
 of genuine piety as the glare of the meteor from the 
 steady effulgence of the sun, or the gilded dross from 
 the solid gold. Should it be suggested to any of you, 
 for the trial of your faith, *' It is not meet to take the 
 children's bread, and to cast it to the dogs, let this be 
 your answer, ^' Truth, Lord, I am a dog, yet the dogs 
 H 5 
 
154 ADDRESS xvnr. 
 
 cat of the crumbs that fall from their master's table." 
 Then will he feed you with the finest of the wheat, and 
 satisfy you with honey from the rock. 
 
 After the Service, 
 
 Christ, your Saviour, is the appointed dispenser of 
 this bread. It was to Joseph that Pharaoh committed 
 the distribution of the corn that was in his garners, and 
 when the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried 
 to Pharaoh for bread, and he said to all the Egyptians, 
 " Go to Joseph, and what he saith unto you, do." 
 " And it hath pleased the Father that in Christ should 
 all fulness dwell, that from his fulness we might receive 
 grace for grace." It is said that Joseph opened the 
 storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; but this bread 
 is the gift of Jesus. He has full authority to dispense 
 it in what measure, and at what season he pleases ; and 
 such is his benevolence and compassion, that he will 
 drive no suppliant sternly away. " What parent is 
 there who, if a son ask bread, will give him a stone?" 
 and if this is most unlikely with men, it is impossible 
 with him who is full of compassion. The communion 
 table is a place where Jesus receives our homage, and 
 distributes his blessings with a sweetness and a libera- 
 lity which accords with his dying love. You came to 
 it to solicit further measures of wisdom and grace from 
 him, and to encourage you to present to him such re- 
 quests, I repeat to you his own words, *' If any man 
 Jack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all li- 
 berally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." 
 He will neither upbraid you with your unworthiness, 
 nor with the largeness and frequency of your petitions. 
 You have felt your souls gratified, I trust, in eating 
 4. 
 
 JS^^j,^ 
 
ADDRESS XVIIL 155 
 
 this bread. There are many things which are tempt- 
 ing to the eye and to the palate, but which are un- 
 wholesome and poisonous, but the blessings of religion 
 fulfil every hope and every promise, and those of them 
 which wear in our apprehension a forbidding aspect, 
 are found to yield the sweetest enjoyment. 
 
 The bread of life is the glory of this feast. It is the 
 communion of the body of Christ. It revives the 
 strength of the exhausted, and comforts the hearts of 
 the dying. Many things relished in youth become 
 insipid in age ; but this bread is the support of man in 
 his decline, and it is in it alone that he can then find 
 pleasure. Were all the wisdom, or the wealth of the 
 world presented to you in place of the grace and the 
 salvation of your Lord, you would despise them as 
 husks, and say of this bread, " It is meat indeed." 
 
 Be gratefal for the share you have obtained of it. 
 Let the thanks of the poor for the meat that perisheth 
 make you ashamed of your scanty gratitude for the 
 bread of life. The Lord is now saying to you as he 
 did to Elijah, " Arise, and eat ; and he looked, and 
 behold there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse 
 of water at his head, and he did eat and drink, and 
 laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord 
 came again the second time, and touched him, and 
 said, Arise, and eat, because the journey is too great 
 for thee ; and he arose, and did eat and drink, and 
 went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty 
 nights, to Horeb the mount of God." You have a 
 toilsome pilgrimage before you, and it is with this 
 bread that you must renew your strength. 
 
 You do not imagine that your partaking of this bread 
 of life is to be confined to this ordinance, for your wish 
 is, «' Lord, evermore give us this bread." There ar& 
 varieties of food adapted for the different periods of 
 
156 ADDRESS xviir. 
 
 human life. Milk is provided for babes, and strong 
 meat for grown-up men ; but this bread is the only- 
 nourishment of the soul. The wisdom of Christ is the 
 best guide of youth, and his grace is the best support 
 of age. How sad would be the case of a man who, 
 though plentifully fed this day, should be doomed af- 
 terwards to famish with hunger ! His daily bread must 
 be given him, or life will be destroyed : so there must 
 be a daily supply of the Spirit of Christ, renewed illu- 
 mination, and increasing strength. 
 
 There is no condition which the believer can antici- 
 pate in which this bread shall be unnecessary, none in 
 which his own wisdom can direct his way, or his own 
 strength sustain his burden. Yea, this is the bread 
 which you desire to eat in the kingdom of God, and 
 this is the heaven for which you long, even that state 
 in which " the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne 
 shall feed you, and lead you to living fountains of wa- 
 ter." Jesus is the life of all the service, and of all the 
 happiness of the blessed. They are ever fervent in 
 praise, ever active in contemplation, ever lively in en- 
 joyment, and ever melting in tenderness, and this is 
 owing to the continued influence of the Lord Jesus ; ' 
 without which praise would sink, contemplation would 
 flag, enjoyment would languish, and charity would fail. 
 The saints in heaven will feel their dependence on 
 Christ through eternity, and glory to express it to his 
 honour. 
 
 Let the Redeemer's kind attention to your wants in- 
 cline you to deal your bread to the hungry. This cha- 
 rity is mentioned by Isaiah as one of the characters of 
 a fast which the Lord hath chosen, and it certainly be- 
 comes us to consider the case of the poor while we ob- 
 serve this feast of love. The grace commemorated in 
 
 J 
 
ADDRESS XVIII. 157 
 
 it should give a new impulse to our beneficence every 
 time we observe it. And it is not merely alms to the 
 poor which you are required to impart, as God hath 
 prospered you, but instruction to the ignorant, coun- 
 sel to the perplexed, warning to the simple, and com- 
 fort to the mourner. ** Cast thy bread on the wa- 
 ters, and thou shalt find it after many days." Though 
 it is not given with any sordid view, it shall be restor- 
 ed in the requital of the grateful, in the mental enjoy- 
 ment which results from every act of humanity, and in 
 his gracious rewards, who will not forget your laboui- 
 of love. 
 
I5S SERMON III. 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 The Saviour's Birth announced, 
 LUKE ii. 10, 11. 
 
 <* And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, 1 bring 
 you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people : for 
 unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, who is 
 Christ the Lord." 
 
 It was a common device in ancient times to repre- 
 sent the birth of eminent persons as distinguished by 
 various prodigies. In the poetry of such periods, and 
 even in the fragments of their histories which have been 
 transmitted to us, there is in the account of the early 
 days of men of renown a strange mixture of truth with 
 fable. This practice was prompted by the hope that 
 the authority of the legislator would be established, the 
 wisdom of the sage consecrated, and the glory of the 
 conqueror heightened in the estimation of the world by 
 the presages of future distinction which were spread 
 around their cradle. In the ages of ignorance and 
 superstition, there was no fable too gross for imposture 
 to circulate, or for credulity to swallow. The systems 
 of idolatry were fraught with such absurdities, that no 
 interference of their deities could be censured as de- 
 grading, or denied as impossible. 
 
 How different is the case with the sacred narrative 
 of the birth of Christ. The incidents which it details 
 are completely consistent with the most enlightened 
 ideas of the perfections of the Almighty, and the rela- 
 tion of them is stamped with the most evident charac- 
 
 W-^M^-^. 
 
SERMON III. 159 
 
 ters of truth. They took place in a manner too public 
 for the introduction of an imposture, and in an age too 
 enlightened to admit of the circulation of any fabricated 
 tale of wonders. 
 
 We are told, in the preceding part of this chapter, 
 that, when Mary brought forth her first-born son, *' she 
 wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a 
 manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." 
 Thus cold, inhospitable, and contemptuous was his re- 
 ception, whose birth was so great a blessing to the 
 world. But while earth was silent, and men were care- 
 less, the air was illuminated by the glory of the Lord, 
 " the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of 
 God shouted for joy." An angel is sent to announce 
 the joyful event to shepherds watching their flocks, and 
 the text is the message which he brought. It is with- 
 out controversy the most important intelligence that 
 ever was conveyed to the ear of man, and tidings at 
 which the world kindles into rapture, appear despicable 
 when compared with it. It is deeply interesting to the 
 whole human race, and will continue to bless when vic- 
 tories are forgotten, and their memorials are dust. 
 This message is brought to us by mortals like our- 
 selves, but though the mode of communication is more 
 humble, it is more interesting, as delivered by creatures 
 requiring to the same extent as we do the grace 
 and power of the Saviour, and often we trust animated 
 by the experience of his mercy. The belief of this 
 message will diffuse through this assembly the most de- 
 lightful feelings, and, embracing the infant Saviour with 
 the arms of our faith, and glorying in the cross of a dy- 
 ing Redeemer, our souls will be sanctified and blessed 
 in the exercises of Christian devotion, and, like the 
 shepherds, we will return glorifying and praising God 
 for all the things which we have heard and seen. 
 
160 SERMON HI. 
 
 The text calls our attention to the messenger, to the 
 message, to its character, and to the persons to whom 
 it was addressed, and for whom it is intended. 
 
 I. The messenger was the angel of the Lord. It 
 was an honour to the highest angel to bear this mes- 
 sage, and to do homage to the infant Saviour. To 
 minister to the Son of Man, and to the heirs of salva- 
 tion, i's the series of services by which angels are ap- 
 pointed to testify to the glory of God, and to their 
 own honour, how different their spirit is from that 
 pride, jealousy, and envy, by which their companions 
 fell into condemnation. Thus also Providence hath 
 taught us, that, however meanly a carnal mind may 
 think of such an employment, it is the highest honour 
 for persons in the most elevated stations, and of the 
 brightest powers, to communicate to their fellow-crea* 
 tures the knowledge of salvation, and that in such a 
 duty the ministers of the gospel should *' be instant in 
 season and out of season.'* 
 
 It is delightful to mark the compassion of this mes- 
 senger. The vain and the haughty enjoy the embar- 
 rassment and terror which their greatness excites in 
 their inferiors, but this angel soothes the fear of the 
 shepherds by the kindest language, and wished to in- 
 spire them with the idea, that, though he was a mes- 
 senger from heaven, he was their guardian and their 
 friend. 
 
 His benevolence also claims our notice. Had he 
 been sent to the dungeons where fallen angels are re- 
 served to judgment, to say to them that for them a Sa- 
 viour was provided, his promptitude would not have 
 been so surprising ; but it is for man alone that mercy 
 is destined, and yet he delights to proclaim the incar- 
 nation of him who '* took not on him the nature of an- 
 gels, but the seed of Abraham." 
 
SERMON III. 161 
 
 This messenger appears very solicitous that his mes- 
 sage should be attended to, and he deemed it worthy 
 of the highest admiration. Into the mysteries of grace, 
 which were now opening, he looked with eager inte- 
 rest, and he could not bear that human beings, for 
 whom this salvation was provided, should remain care- 
 less. Here is a subject worthy of the study of the no- 
 blest faculties ; and, while the pride of science, and the 
 spirit of the world, turn away from it with disdain, let 
 us rejoice that, in contemplating it with adojing woni 
 der, our feelings are akin to those of angels and of 
 archangels, and our exercise is the employment of hea* 
 ven. 
 
 II. Let us now consider the message itself. 
 
 1. It announces a most important event. A Sa- 
 viour is born. The name Saviour is, of all titles, the 
 most eminent in benevolence and true glory. It has 
 been sometimes applied by venal flatterers to those 
 whom they wished to idolize ; but this prostitution of 
 it should only strengthen our admiration of those who 
 are entitled to it by their generous deeds. It has been 
 applied by the grateful to their deliverers from tempo- 
 ral calamity or destruction. The man who has been 
 rescued by another from a watery grave calls him, in 
 the transports of his gratitude, " his saviour," and na- 
 tions apply this title to the man by whom their foes 
 have been scattered, and their chains broken ; but there 
 is one only who has a full claim to this appellation, 
 and to him it shall be ascribed through eternity. 
 
 Jesus is a Saviour from the guilt of sin, which he put 
 away by the sacrifice on the cross-— from its power, 
 which he subdues by the energy of his grace — from its 
 pollution, which he washes away in his own blood— 
 and from its punishment, which he endured in our 
 stead. He saves us from the tyranny of Satan, whose, 
 
162 SERMON III. 
 
 empire he subverted, and whose works he destroyed— 
 delivers us from the world, whose evils he converts in- 
 to means of improvement; and he hath deprived death 
 of its power to do us any real injury, or to detain us 
 for ever in its dark abode. He saves us from the ven- 
 geance of eternal fire. But in this title it is intimated 
 that he bestows upon us the blessings which are op- 
 posed to these evils. He raises us to the possession of 
 a divine righteousness, a holy nature, and a glorious 
 liberty — gives us the Spirit of peace — places us under 
 the gracious care of the Most High— and calls us to 
 an inheritance in heaven. 
 
 Now, this Saviour did not come to our earth in the 
 full maturity of our nature, or enter at once on his 
 great work, but made his first appearance in it as an 
 infant. To human view little was to be expected from 
 a babe born in circumstances so obscure and neglected. 
 The sanguine imaginations of parents have anticipated, 
 in the opening talents of their children, that they will 
 be the ornament of their family, and the benefactors of 
 their country, and have felt all the mortification which 
 disappointment and ridicule could produce; but in this 
 babe, lying in the manger, angels beheld, with prophe- 
 tic eye, the conqueror of hell, the peace-maker betwixt 
 heaven and earth, the healer of the nations, the im- 
 prover of the moral world, the propitiation for sin, and 
 the destroyer of death. Even now they hail him as 
 the Captain of salvation, and apply to him a name 
 which he values above every name. 
 
 2. But let us consider the names by which the Saviour 
 is described. He is called Christ the Lord. The first 
 of these intimates his appointment to this office. When 
 a man, from the impulse of humanity, interposes in 
 behalf of a fellow-creature sinking under calamity, the 
 generous promptitude with which he rushes forward to 
 
SERMON III. 165 
 
 do it heightens our praise of the compassionate deed ; 
 but when a malefactor is about to suffer the punish- 
 ment of his crime, the interposition of another in his 
 behalf must be sanctioned by the magistrate or judge, 
 and requires, in order to its efficacy, the offer of an ade- 
 quate satisfaction in his room. Man was the victim of 
 divine justice, and that victim it would not relinquish 
 unless another was provided and substituted in his 
 stead. Now Jesus came cheerfully forward to occupy 
 our place. " I will give thee for salvation to the ends 
 of the earth," was the Father's appointment ; " I will 
 go in thy name to save," was the Son's consent ; and 
 *' blessed is he that cometh in the power of the Lord 
 as a Saviour," is the welcome with which he should be 
 received. 
 
 But this name points out his qualifications for this 
 office. The Spirit was given him without measure. 
 He was endowed with all the wisdom which was requi- 
 site for shewing the path of life, the benevolence which 
 was necessary for his labours of love, that faith, pa- 
 tience, and courage by which he might endure the cross 
 and despise the shame, and that power by which he 
 wrought the astonishing miracles by which his mission 
 was confirmed, the wretched were blessed, and his foes 
 subdued. We observe with regret an important office 
 in the hands of one not qualified for it, and while we 
 may give him credit for good intentions, we condemn 
 his rashness and presumption in undertaking what he 
 hath neither wisdom nor vigour to execute; but in con- 
 templating the character of Christ, we behold our eter- 
 nal interests committed to Him who is wonderful in 
 counsel, and excellent in working. 
 
 But he is also the Lord. The task of salvation is 
 arduous, and by far too great for created power to ac- 
 compHsh ; but let us not imagine that Jesus will fail in 
 
It)4< SERMON IN. 
 
 the attempt, or that he will relinquish it as impractica'- 
 ble. Omnipotence shall aid his efforts^ and infinite 
 wisdom shall form his plans, and direct his steps. 
 When he is the agent, doubt of his success is impious, 
 and despair of salvation is madness. Let the foes who 
 oppose him be ever so numerous and potent, the Savi- 
 our is the Almighty ; and let the number to be saved 
 be ever so vast, he is able to redeem them all. That 
 babe, whose face is wet with a mother's tears of grief 
 and pity, is the Lord's anointed. Feeble and helpless 
 as he is, he is one with Him, with whom is everlasting 
 strength; and though in circumstances apparently for- 
 lorn, is honoured by angels as God over all blessed for 
 ever. The divinity of Christ is here exhibited as con- 
 nected with the riches of his grace, and with the bless- 
 ings of salvation ; and this stamps a peculiar baseness 
 on the conduct of those who " deny the Lord that 
 bought us," and labour to degrade that generous friend 
 who brought the power of the Highest to our relief, 
 and came from the majesty of the throne to the shame 
 of the cross. 
 
 The expression points out also that dominion with 
 which Jesus is invested for the successful application of 
 the blessings of salvation, and that subjection which 
 his redeemed will gladly yield to him. This shall be 
 the high reward of his generous love, and in this way 
 the adoring gratitude of his people shall express their 
 obligations by worshipping him as Lord of all. 
 
 3. The message states the time of his birth. The 
 particular day on which our Lord was born was doubt- 
 less exactly known to the apostles ; yet they have not 
 given us, either in the gospels, or in their epistles, such 
 information as to the precise period, as that we can fix 
 it with certainty. Providence hath in much wisdom left 
 us in this uncertainty, that this day might not be de-* 
 
SERMON in. 165 
 
 graded in its return by the ceremonies of superstition. 
 The primitive Christians were not accustomed to reckon 
 time as we do, from the birth of Christ, but by the 
 dates used in the Roman empire. It was not till the 
 sixth century that the event recorded in the text was 
 employed for this purpose, and then the pride of Rome 
 was humbled before the babe of Bethlehem, in the com- 
 mencement of a practice which has for many centuries 
 marked the course of ages, and which will continue to 
 do so till there shall be time no longer. It is with the 
 fact itself that we are chiefly concerned, and not with 
 the precise day on which it happened. It is a striking 
 circumstance, that on the very day on which Christ was 
 born, his birth was announced, and that an angel was 
 sent to proclaim that the word was made flesh. Thus 
 the shepherds had it in their power to ascertain the 
 truth of this statement, to encourage the hearts of Jo- 
 seph and Mary amidst the neglect and unkindness 
 which they were experiencing, and to glorify God for 
 performing the mercy promised to the fathers, and re- 
 membering his holy covenant. 
 
 It is a common cavil among the opponents of the 
 gospel, ** If Jesus came for such benevolent purposes, 
 why did not he appear at an earlier period ?" But to 
 this it may be replied, that the benefits of his salva- 
 tion were enjoyed for ages before it was actually ac- 
 complished, and that the period of our Lord's incarna- 
 tion was one in which the state of the world seemed 
 most loudly to call for the Saviour's appearance, and 
 in which his fulfilment of his task was likely to be most 
 honourable to his power and grace. This was the day 
 for which the pious had long waited, and for which 
 providence had for ages been preparing the way, and 
 blessed be God we can sing, " Unto us a child is born, 
 and to us a Son is given." 
 
166 SERMON III. 
 
 4. In this message the place is mentioned where 
 this event happened. This was the city of David, a 
 plat;e chosen of God, and foretold in ancient prophecy. 
 It was not an honour destined for any of the palaces 
 of Jerusalem, hut for a place which was then sunk in 
 obscurity ; yet so unconscious were the inhabitants of 
 Bethlehem of the glory now shed over it, that none of 
 their hamlets was opened to receive him. David's 
 Son and David's Lord honours his city by making it 
 the scene of his first appearance, and this was admir- 
 ably suited to the humiliation of his after-life. It was 
 not from the bed of down that he rose, or from the pa- 
 lace that he issued forth to his course of labour and of 
 suffering, but his toils at Nazareth accorded with the 
 manger at Bethlehem, and his death on Calvary was a 
 suitable close to both. 
 
 Famous cities have contended for the honour of 
 being the birth place of eminent men. Seven cities 
 claimed this as their noblest distinction, that Homer, 
 the greatest of poets, had been born within their walls. 
 This has been considered as an honour which no pro- 
 fusion of wealth, and no display of magnificence can 
 equal. But while the particular place where some 
 eminent men were born cannot be determined, God 
 has been pleased to mark out the spot which was the 
 birth-place of Jesus, not that superstition may adorn 
 it with its pillars and its images, but that enlightened 
 piety may observe the faithfulness of God manifested, 
 and the condescension of the Messiah displayed. 
 
 III. Let us, in the 3d place, attend to the character 
 of this message. It is styled good tidings of great joy. 
 
 After the observations which have been made on 
 the excellence and work of the Saviour, whose birth it 
 announces, it will not be necessary to enlarge on this 
 part of the subject ; but a few remarks may be proper 
 
SERMON III. 167 
 
 to show with what justice this message may be thus 
 designated. 
 
 Consider its certainty. Where intelligence is highly 
 important or pleasing, we feel the greater anxiety re- 
 specting its truth ; and if there are any circumstances 
 which tend to discredit it, we are unhappy till these 
 are fully examined and set aside. But '* this is a 
 faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." 
 In its truth we may rest with perfect complacency ; 
 for it is attested by the character of the God from whom 
 it proceeds, the history of him whose grace it details, 
 and the experience of those to whom it has been the 
 power of God to salvation. You know that its truth 
 has been assailed, and with as much fury as if it had 
 been a delusion hostile to the virtue and the happi- 
 ness of mankind, but those efforts of its foes have only 
 tended to stimulate the zeal of its friends, and led to 
 the more full exhibition of its divine authority in their 
 arguments, and of its benignant influence in their 
 lives. 
 
 Consider its suitableness. Much of the interest of 
 any communication depends on its being adapted to 
 the circumstances of those to whom it is addressed, 
 and a blessing appears doubly valuable to those who 
 feel themselves miserable without it. And who that 
 has paid the least attention to the moral condition 
 and prospects of man can question the suitableness of 
 this message to his lost estate .^ It is not a proclama- 
 tion of rest to the happy, but to the wretched ; it an- 
 nounces not righteousness to the innocent, but to the 
 guilty ; and it does not offer deliverance to those who 
 are safe, but to those who are perishing. 
 
 Let us also consider that the blessings which it an- 
 nounces are lasting in their duration. This is a cir- 
 
16*8 SERMON III. 
 
 cumstance which stamps, I had almost said, insigni- 
 ficance, on the most joyous communications of a worldly 
 kind, that the advantages which they disclose either 
 perish in the using, or may be tom from us by violence, 
 or must be finally relinquished in death j but the bles- 
 sings of redemption are abiding in their nature, they 
 are maintained in our possession by their gracious 
 giver, and it is in death that he perfects his salvation 
 in the soul. Eternity shall be filled with the enjoy- 
 ment of its blessings, and occupied in the celebration 
 of its glory. 
 
 Consider also its influence, and how it improves and 
 blesses the soul where it is received. Who can tell 
 how many hearts it has formed to goodness, and how 
 many seasons it has filled with the voice of rejoicing ! 
 The faith of it has dissolved the enchantments of 
 worldly pleasure, and scattered the gloom of sad adver- 
 sity, called into operation every energy which can im- 
 prove the character, and made the last hour the hour 
 not merely of peace but of triumph. It is of its influ- 
 ence that ancient prophecy speaks in language so beau- 
 tiful and so pleasing. ** The wilderness and the so- 
 litary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall 
 rejoice and blossom as the rose, the eyes of the blind 
 shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be un- 
 stopped, the lame man shall leap as an hart, and the 
 tongue of the dumb shall sing." 
 
 Philosophy hath sometimes boasted that she has 
 discovered a remedy for the miseries (Jf man, and that 
 her precepts point out to him the means by which his 
 nature will be refined and ennobled ; but there are 
 few who have had it in their power to try their 
 efficacy, and of those who have done so, all have 
 felt, and some have been candid enough to confess 
 their insufficiency; but the gospel is the grand res- 
 
SERMON III. 169 
 
 torative. It shall raise the man who believes it to 
 the participation of a divine nature. No evil can 
 resist its energy, and no obstacle can successfully 
 oppose its transforming power. 
 
 IV. It only remains that we consider to whom this 
 message was addressed, and for whom it was intended. 
 Human sagacity would have imagined that, in order 
 to secure respect and circulation to this message, it 
 must be made known to men of power and influence, 
 to the scribes of Jerusalem, or the sages of the heathen 
 world ; but, to show by whom this dispensation of grace 
 would be received and valued, and how little it re- 
 quires the aid of worldly wealth, rank, or wisdom 
 to its support and propagation, it is addressed to 
 shepherds, and by them it is heard with transport. 
 And often hath the faith of the gospel blessed the 
 occupations of pastoral life, and while it has been 
 excluded from the palaces of the great, and the 
 academies of the learned, it has been gladly welcomed 
 into the peasant's cottage. 
 
 But though first made known to them, the angel 
 intimated that this message was intended for all peo- 
 ple. The voice of heivenly wisdom had not hitherto 
 been heard beyond the precincts of Judea, but now 
 the Apostles were to go forth and to announce in 
 cities and villages throughout the bounds of the 
 Roman empire, and among various savage tribes, the 
 birth of the Saviour, and this was the charge given to 
 them and to their successors, " Go, preach the gospel 
 to every creature." We may lament that this man- 
 date has been so little attended to since the first ages 
 of the church, and that while commercial enterprise 
 and adventurous speculation have navigated the most 
 perilous seas, and explored the most frightful deserts. 
 Christians have shown so little solicitude to make 
 VOL. II. I 
 
170 SERMON III. 
 
 known to the perishing heathen the way of salvation. 
 A more zealous spirit is now awakened, and its object 
 is to make the Saviour known in his glory, his bless- 
 ings, and his laws. Its efforts are increasing from 
 year to year^ and spreading from land to land; and by 
 the wisdom of its plans, and the activity of its opera- 
 tions, it is evident that it is guided and strengthened 
 from on high, and it will proceed in its glorious career 
 till the Saviour is known and received, and loved 
 and served in every region of the earth. 
 
 It may be said also that these glad tidings are for 
 all people ; because from the birth of the Saviour 
 the nations were to derive the most important ad- 
 vantages. For the sake of those who are to be en- 
 lightened, sanctified, and saved, destructive judg- 
 ments are suspended or mitigated, and the means of 
 improvement are bestowed in the greatest profusion. 
 At the birth of Jesus a religion was introduced which 
 has contributed in a very great degree to the reforma- 
 tion of the nations. Who that contrasts the present 
 State of Europe with its condition before the appear- 
 ance of the gospel, can forbear exclaiming, " What 
 hath God wrought !" How wonderful is the change as 
 to knowledge and to morals ! The fooleries of supersti- 
 tion have given place to a reasonable service, and the 
 sophistry of the schools to true wisdom ; errors and 
 prejudices have been exploded ; the horrid abomina- 
 tions of heathenism have been swept away ; the 
 ferocity of war has been mitigated ; domestic life 
 is characterised by gentleness and kindness, instead of 
 absolute power and stern severity ; and every institu- 
 tion which can alleviate or remove human wretched- 
 ness is formed. The gospel has done more to ame- 
 liorate even the temporal condition of men than all 
 political or scientific institutions. 
 
SERMON III. 171 
 
 I may add, that some in all nations shall be for 
 ever blessed in this Saviour. He came not to select 
 his followers from the tribes of Jacob, but from the 
 Gentile nations ; and from that moment to this, per- 
 sons have been going from various quarters of the 
 world into the kingdom of God. The Apostle John, 
 who beheld in vision the consummation of the New 
 dispensation, thus describes its issue : " I beheld and 
 lo a great multitude which no man could number, from 
 all nations, and people, and kindred, and tongues, 
 stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, and 
 cried with a loud voice, salvation to our God, that sits 
 on the throne, and to the Lamb." What a delightful 
 prospect ; and how animating is it to the heart of every 
 man who adores his Saviour, and who loves his species I 
 Chr'stianity breathes nothing of the malignity of na- 
 tional prejudice, or of the exclusive spirit of a rancor- 
 ous bigotry. Its spirit is that of unlimited benevolence, 
 and its employment is to do good to all. O that those 
 who are disgusted with it as disfigured by the trappings 
 of superstition, and breathing the fury of intolerance, 
 would turn their eyes to it as it appears over the 
 plains of Bethlehem, pure and benign as the angel 
 who proclaimed it, and announcing peace on earth, 
 and good will to men. 
 
 Before I conclude this discourse, let me call on persons 
 in the different periods and conditions of life, to per- 
 form the duties which they are taught by this scene. 
 Let the young learn humility and meekness from the 
 Babe of Bethlehem, and let them not judge of the im« 
 portance of objects by the pomp of this world, which 
 often spreads a profusion of verdure round what is 
 useless or poisonous ; but by their religious and moral 
 utility. Let those in superior stations learn to con- 
 descend to them of low degree, and in imitation of 
 I S 
 
3 72 SERMON iir. 
 
 this angel, to be solicitous for the spiritual welfare and 
 the true happiness of their inferiors. Let those who 
 occupy the humbler walks of life imitate the patient in- 
 dustry of those shepherds, and rejoice that God de- 
 lights to bless the scene of honest labour with the 
 messages of his grace. And let the aged who are soon 
 to leave this world, rejoice in the Saviour's entrance 
 into it, which blesses the departure of the good with 
 peace. 
 
 Let the disciples of Jesus cherish a high esteem for 
 the gospel, and let them show this by their regular at- 
 tendance on the preaching of it, and by their cheerful 
 support of its institutions, by enlightened zeal for its 
 purity, and by a conversation which will recommend 
 it. Be solicitous for its universal diffusion ; and for 
 this purpose it is not enough that you devote your 
 prayers and your gifts ; you must exhibit an attracting 
 picture of the beauty and the power of religion in your 
 conduct. Beware of every thing which may excite a 
 prejudice against Christ's cause. One deed of severity, 
 and one instance of rash censure or gross intemperance, 
 will make your zeal odious. Be sober, candid, and 
 merciful. 
 
 Embrace with joy the opportunity now presented of 
 testifying the interest which you feel in these good 
 tidings, and the gratitude which you cherish to this 
 Saviour. Look to the infant Saviour in the manger, 
 and offer him your gold, frankincense, and myrrh, 
 your grateful praise, your glowing affection, and your 
 penitential sorrow. Look to the suffering Saviour on 
 the cross, and rejoice in the sweet smelling savour of 
 his great sacrifice. And look to him exalted on the 
 throne a Prince and a Saviour, and bow your knee in 
 the name of Jesus, and confess that he is Lord, to the 
 glory of God the Father. 
 
ADDRESS XIX. 173 
 
 But there are some who disregard the message ot 
 salvation ; and we wish them to remember that they 
 reject the counsel of God against their own souls. 
 The time is coming when Christ shall appear in 
 another form, and for another purpose, when *' he 
 shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 
 in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them who obey 
 not the gospel.'* The universal wail of the ungodly 
 shall announce their utter despair, and the voice of the 
 archangel shall summon them to that bar from which 
 they shall go away into everlasting punishment.—- 
 Choose then betwixt the message of mercy, and the 
 sentence of destruction. Christ must be your Saviour 
 or your Destroyer. Listen now to the calls of the 
 gospel, accept the salvation which is offered to you, 
 and yield yourselves to the influence of holiness. Thus 
 shall Christ be formed in you, angels on high will re- 
 joice over you, the church oh earth will acknowledge 
 you as the redeemed of the Lord, and in you Jesus 
 shall be glorified both now and for ever. 
 
 ADDRESS XIX. 
 
 The Birth of Christ Improved. 
 
 When Moses, of old, was laid in the ark of bulrushes, 
 by the brink of the Nile, the daughter of Pharaoh sent 
 her maid servant to fetch it, and when she saw the child, 
 she had compassion on it and made provision for its safe- 
 ty and support. Such were the circumstances of tlie 
 infancy of him who was to be the deliverer of Israel from 
 i3 
 
] 74 ADDRESS XIX. 
 
 slavery, and to be celebrated in after ages as the wisest 
 of legislators, and the mildest of men. On that heJp- 
 Jess babe humanity hath often looked with strong in- 
 terest, and blessed the compassion which, in spite of 
 tyrannical jealousy, and national prejudice, cherish^ 
 ed him in her bosom. But the angel of the Lord has 
 called you to contemplate a scene more interesting, 
 and a babe more worthy of your attention, for he is 
 the destined Saviour of the world. Pharaoh's daughter 
 gave the Jewish child a name from what she had done 
 for him. She called him Moses, because she had 
 drawn him out of the water ; but the name of this 
 babe is Jesus, for he shall save his people from their 
 sins. This is a name dear to every heart, and cele- 
 brated in every song of the redeemed. 
 
 You have come to the manger to see the infant 
 Saviour, and you are ready to envy the superior 
 privilege of the shepherds ; but though sense and 
 faith were united in their exercise, your situation 
 hath higher advantages than theirs. They saw the 
 work of salvation in its commencement, but you 
 have heard the triumphant shout, <' It is finished." 
 They saw the bright and morning star rising, but you 
 behold around you the brightness of meridian day. 
 The darkness of heathenism is scattered, and the light 
 of truth and grace is spreading over the moral world. 
 Tbey saw the branch springing from the root of Jesse 
 feeble and tender; but you behold it a vast tree, 
 whose expanded branches afford the most refreshing 
 shadow, and the most delicious fruit. They heard the 
 first notes of the joyful sound ; but to you it has come 
 with all the words of eternal life, and yoii have re- 
 ceived it. Let your hearts rejoice in the Saviour 
 thus announced, and thus before you, and hear with 
 pious raptures how he addresses you, " I am the Lord 
 
ADDRESS XIX. 175 
 
 thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. Fear 
 not, I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by 
 my name, and thou art mine." " Therefore with 
 joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salva- 
 tion." 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 " Now we believe not because of thy saying, for we 
 have heard him ourselves, and know that this is in- 
 deed the Christ, the Saviour of the world ; and to the 
 only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty both 
 now and for ever." Sweet to the Saviour is this 
 language when it is dictated by faith and love. The 
 language which you can employ about the Saviour is 
 very different from that which angels must adopt. 
 They say, " To you is born 9 Saviour ;" but you can 
 say, «' The Saviour is born to us." They proclaim the 
 blessings of redemption, but you share them. ** Be* 
 hold God is my salvation, I will trust and not be 
 afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my 
 song, and he also is become my salvation." Had I 
 their harps, Jesus would still be the theme of my 
 praise; did I possess their powers, they should all ba 
 occupied in the service of so good a master ; and was 
 their wisdom mine, it would still be my determination 
 to know nothing save Jesus Christ and him crucified. 
 
 Imitate angels in their benevolence, generosity, and 
 holy zeal. Malice, envy, and activity in wickedness, 
 are the characters of devils ; but good angels rejoice 
 when the Saviour is honoured, and when man is 
 happy. Never look with an evil eye at the prosperity 
 of another, but rejoice with them that do rejoice, and 
 feel happy in carrying to them any pleasing intelligence. 
 i4 
 
176 ADDRESS XIX. 
 
 You may be sometimes called to go with sorrowful 
 tidings to others ; and in discharging the trying office 
 with prudence and sympathy, endeavour to mingle 
 with them the consoling messages of the gospel. 
 The incidents of the day, and the trifling talk of levity 
 and folly will be as misuitable to them as songs to a 
 heavy heart, but the word of salvation in its grace and 
 power, will be as cold waters to a thirsty soul. Let 
 these good tidings be your own comfort in every time 
 of need. Amidst the terrors of guilt think of the 
 Almighty Saviour. In the midst of affliction repair 
 to him as the hope of Israel and the Saviour in the 
 time of trouble. In your anxieties about the eternal 
 welfare of your friends, remember the common salva- 
 tion, and the extent and riches of Christ's power and 
 grace. In the ruin of your earthly comforts look up 
 to him in whom is all your felicity, and when death 
 comes, let your lips close with the Saviour's praise, 
 and the last throb of your heart rise with the joy of his 
 salvation. 
 
 Let the moral virtues be esteemed and practised by 
 you as they ought. A holy life is with him the most 
 valued homage. Honour his religion and cause by the 
 purity of your manners, the meekness of your spirits, 
 the stedfaslness of your faith, and the usefulness of 
 your lives. The everlasting kingdom of your Lord 
 and Saviour is before you, and this is the way by 
 which you shall enter into it abundantly. In that 
 kingdom salvation shall be your crown, and the great 
 God your Saviour shall be your glory. Now is your 
 salvation nearer than when you first believed. Ad- 
 vance in your journey to it With a more lively hope 
 than ever ; and may grace and peace be with you from 
 God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour. Amen. 
 
ADDRESS XX. 177 
 
 ADDRESS XX. 
 
 JOHN X. 10. 
 
 ♦» I am come that they might have life, and that they might 
 have it more abundantly." 
 
 What an interesting view of the object of our Lord's 
 coming is this ! It was not the end of his coming to 
 inflict on us the punishment which we deserved, and 
 to consign us to the horrors of the second death. 
 Though this had been its object, none could have ac- 
 cused him of injustice, and none could have repelled 
 his hand. But he came to procure for us spiritual and 
 eternal life by the death of the cross, to raise us from 
 a state of condemnation to peace with God, and not 
 only to remove the pollution of our souls, and the mi- 
 series of our hearts, but to adorn them with the graces 
 of his image, and to fill them with the joys of his Spi- 
 rit. It is a most striking phrase which is here em- 
 ployed to represent the excellence of his salvation, and 
 it points out for your present meditation the privileges 
 of redemption, as far surpassing all that man possessed 
 before the fall. 
 
 The righteousness which the saints possess far tran- 
 scends that of Adam in innocence, which was only the 
 righteousness of a creature, which could not of itself 
 merit the blessedness of heaven, and which was liable 
 to change. But the righteousness of Christ is divine ; 
 it entitles to glory, and it is everlasting. Our first pa- 
 1 5 
 
/ 
 178 ADDRESS XX. 
 
 rents in innocence were excelled by angels in the bright- 
 ness of their powers, the fervour of their affections, and 
 the sublimity of their worship ; yet so conscious are 
 they of their inferiority to the *' Lord our Righteous- 
 ness," that in his presence they cover their faces with 
 their wings, and celebrate the worth of the Lamb that 
 was slain, while not a harp is silent throughout all their 
 orders, and not a thought questions his unrivalled 
 glory. 
 
 The covenant made with you is far more excellent 
 than the one made with x-Vdam. The covenant of 
 works was made immediately with Adam, but the co- 
 venant of grace was made with Christ as the head and 
 mediator of his people. The promises of the covenant 
 of works were conditional, but those of the covenant of 
 grace are free. In the covenant of works, the divine 
 pity and compassion could not be exhibited, but the 
 covenant of grace displays the tender mercies of our 
 God. The covenant of works contained no security 
 for the continuance of Adam in innocence, and it held 
 out neither comfort nor hope to the guilty ; but tlie co- 
 venant of grace is a refuge for the miserable, and in 
 the use of the appointed means of watchfulness and 
 prayer, it provides for the perseverance in holiness of 
 all who are brought within its bond. God will not 
 abandon them, and he will not suffer them to turn 
 away from him. In this covenant Jehovah glories as 
 displaying his wisdom and his love ; it is the study 
 and delight of good men while they live, and they have 
 spent their last breath in expressing the confidence and 
 the hope which it had inspired. How delightful have 
 been the views which good men have had of it at the 
 communion table, while they beheld it ratified in the 
 blood of the cross, and it is my earnest wish that you 
 may now be influenced to say of it, " It is all my sal- 
 
ADDRESS XX. 179 
 
 vation, and it is all my desire." This covenant is the 
 ark in which the pious are secure when the Hoods 
 swell, and in which they are kept in perfect peace, while 
 the hearts of worldly men are failing them for fear in 
 seasons of private calamity, or public disaster. 
 
 The grace formed in Christians is superior to that 
 possessed by Adam. He was created in the image of 
 God ; and though this image, as restored in regenera- 
 tion, is not completed till the hour of death, it is dis- 
 tinguished by excellencies not to be found in the cha- 
 racter of the first man ; and when it reaches its des- 
 tined perfection, the new creature shall be filled with 
 all the fulness of God. The Spirit of Christ dwelt not 
 in Adam. In a paradise where every tree flourished 
 good for food, or pleasant to the eye, that faith could 
 not operate which rejoices in God in the gloomiest 
 scene of want and desolation. In the state of perfect 
 innocence there could be no place for the repentance 
 which is to God a pleasing sacrifice; and, amidst per- 
 fect felicity, the fortitude and patience could not be 
 displayed which glory in tribulation. Had Adam re- 
 tained his integrity, the absence of all misery would 
 have precluded those exertions of sympath}'- and bene- 
 ficence which are so good and so acceptable in the sight 
 of God our Saviour. In the scene of unmingled kind- 
 ness, there could be no call foi that forbearance and 
 forgiveness which must be so often exercised in a world 
 where offences so frequently come, and in which the 
 generous power of the Christian temper is so strikingly 
 manifested in repressing the fiercest impulse of nature. 
 
 We read of a river that went out of Eden to water 
 the garden, but there that living water did not flow 
 which sanctifies the polluted, and quickens the dead 
 There was the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but 
 man was prohibited to touch it ; and the tree of life^ 
 
186 
 
 ADDRESS XX. 
 
 which was guarded from his approach. But you are 
 invited to draw near to Him in whom are hid all the 
 treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and who is the 
 bestower of grace and glory. 
 
 Like the prodigal son, who had returned to his fa- 
 ther's house, ye feel a gratitude and a joy beyond that 
 of the elder brother who had never left it; and while 
 your gracious parent clothes you with the best robe, 
 and satisfies you as with marrow and fatness, angels 
 will not complain of your reception, or envy your feli- 
 city, but will magnify the Lord with you. 
 
 After the Servic^. 
 
 The enjoyments of the redeemed are also superior 
 to^ those of Adam in innocence. Were we to suppose 
 that good men were only raised by Christ to the en- 
 joyments with which Adam was blessed, the remem- 
 brance of the guilt and misery which preceded them 
 must give them a sweetness which could not be felt by 
 one to whom sin and sorrow were unknown. In walk- 
 ing with God, he could not feel that degree of delight 
 of which you are conscious at a communion table, when 
 you remember that you were once afar off, and were 
 brought nigh by the blood of Jesus. In partaking of 
 the pleasures of paradise, he could not be conscious of 
 that exquisite gratitude which you feel while you are in 
 the garden of your beloved, and eating his pleasant 
 fruit; when you remember your wanderings in the land 
 of drought, and of the shadow of death. No flower 
 of paradise could charm the eye, or the smell, like the 
 Rose of Sharon ; and no dominion over the works of 
 God, and no homage paid by man to the Deity, as 
 
ADDRESS XX. 181 
 
 '<tlie priest of nature," can be compared to that royal 
 priesthood to which redemption advances you. 
 
 There will be many things in the heaven of the re- 
 deemed which could not have been found in that of 
 innocent Adam. The heaven of Adam would have 
 wanted the memorials of the Lamb's sufferings, the 
 song of his worth, and the participation of his glory. 
 The Lamb in the midst of the throne, as it had been 
 slain, is the most interesting object in heaven to a re- 
 deemed sinner ; the song of the Lamb is the sweetest 
 of its anthems ; and the marriage supper of the Lamb 
 is the most delightful of its enjoyments. To these ob- 
 jects let your hearts now rise, and let them give a hea- 
 venly tendency to all your future conduct. 
 
 Christians, you are here presented with an answer 
 to this question which has long perplexed the reflecting 
 mind, " why such an event as the fall of man was per- 
 mitted to take place under the government of a holy 
 and benevolent Being ?" God suffered man to fall, be- 
 cause he had determined by the mediation of his Son 
 to raise the objects of his mercj' to a nobler excellence, 
 and to a sublimer felicity. We are told that, at the 
 erection of the second temple, many of the fathers who 
 had seen the first, wept sore, because it was so inferior 
 to it in magnificence and glory ; but when we contem- 
 plate the building of mercy, we may rejoice in its being 
 in all respects superior to that which was reared when 
 man was made upright. How lofty are its towers, and 
 how beautiful its palaces ! This is my rest for ever; 
 I will walk round it now in holy admiration, mark it 
 with rapture, advancing to its destined consummation, 
 and hope to join in the shout with which its head-stone 
 will be brought forth, " Grace, grace unto it." 
 
 Your Lord gloried in avowing that it was the object 
 of his coming to give this life. The conqueror who 
 
182 ADDRESS XX. 
 
 comes to pillage and to subjugate a country, hath no 
 reason to boast of this, for no glory can arise from the 
 tears of the oppressed, the desolation of the flourishing, 
 and the slaughter of the helpless ; but Jesus came to 
 loose the bands of wickedness, to bless the miserable, 
 and to save the lost. He felt the greatest complacency 
 in this object. He knew that, in order to our accep- 
 tance, purity, and salvation, he must be forsaken of 
 God, and crucified as a malefactor, and that, ere the 
 blessings of the new covenant could be imparted to us, 
 he must encounter the united rage of earth and hell ; 
 but he saw the bright glories which would arise from 
 his cross to God, and the high felicity which would re- 
 sult from it to man, and, in the prospect of it, was eager 
 to advance, and willing to die. This coming of your 
 Lord deserves your most cordial welcome. When he 
 rode into Jerusalem, the multitude spread their gar- 
 ments, and strewed branches of trees in the way, and 
 shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David ; and this is a 
 pattern for you to copy. Let us spread in his way all 
 our talents and all our attainments, and let our bless- 
 ings rest on his head. 
 
 Let your labours in Christ's service be abundant. 
 Satisfy not yourselves with a partial victory over cor- 
 ruption, with a scanty donation to the cause of piety 
 and charity, when it is in the power of your hand to 
 give more, with a hasty visit to the house of mourning, 
 and with a few feeble efforts to promote the interests of 
 your Redeemer's kingdom, or a formal observance of 
 the exercises of devotion. Crucify the flesh with its 
 affections and lusts, do good to all as you have oppor- 
 tunity, bear one another's burdens, be zealous support- 
 ers of every plan for enlightening and for improving 
 society, and fervent in spirit serving the Lord. 
 
 Envy not the men of the world, when their corn, and 
 
ADDRESS XX. ISS 
 
 their wine, and their oil, abound. In the fulness of their 
 sufficiency they are in straits. When surrounded with 
 what others deem all the materials of happiness, they 
 feel that something is wanting, the attainment of which 
 they consider as essential to their fame or their plea- 
 sure, and they can carry nothing hence. The hand 
 that counted its thousands of gold and silver shall in 
 death be as empty as that of the beggar, and the pam- 
 pered glutton shall only be the fuller repast for the 
 worm. But in your portion ye feel a joy suited to its 
 extent, vahie, and security. " All things are yours, 
 for ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." 
 
 Rejoice that Christ will still come in the influences 
 of his grace to quicken and to save. There are many 
 objects of his mercy who are to rise into being in the 
 different ages of the world, with regard to whom Je- 
 sus feels, '' them also must I bring in," sanctify, and 
 save; and ye may exult in the blessed hope of his se- 
 cond coming, when he will swallow up death in vic- 
 tory. In changing your vile bodies, and fashioning 
 them like to his own glorious body, he will give them 
 a beauty and a splendour, a vigour and activity, capa- 
 cities for service and enjoyment which they never pos- 
 sessed here. Then will Jesus feel the joy which was 
 set before him, consummated, when he is glorified in 
 the perfect excellence and felicity of his saints, and is 
 admired in all them that believe. 
 
184' ADDRESS XXt. 
 
 ADDRESS XXI. 
 
 ACTS IV. 13. 
 
 " They took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus." 
 
 Such was the impression produced on the Jewish 
 council by the behaviour of Peter and John before them. 
 They had expected that the majesty of the court would 
 awe them into silence, that, if they did speak, they 
 would be easily put to confusion by their threats and 
 cavils, and that their defence would be the feeble and 
 hesitating apology of perplexity and fear. But they 
 beheld in them a courage which proceeded from the 
 spirit of power, an energy which struck their conscien- 
 ces, and a wisdom with which their craft and subtlety 
 were unable to contend. They saw in them those qua- 
 lities which they had so often dreaded and envied in 
 their Master, that they shone with his light, and plead- 
 ed with his zeal. It had been the privilege of these 
 disciples to be for a considerable time the associates of 
 Jesus ; and such were the lessons which he had given 
 them respecting truth and dut}'^, and all divine and 
 heavenly objects ; and such were the graces which he 
 had displayed before them, that their views must have 
 been very different from those of carnal men : the path 
 which they pursued was far from the course of this 
 world, and the temper that influenced them was quite 
 opposite to its spirit. Such was the result of their be- 
 ing with Jesus. 
 
ADDRESS XXI. 185 
 
 But this is the privilege of good men in all ages. 
 We cannot indeed be with him in the way in which his 
 companions on earth were, but saints are with him 
 when he condescends to visit them, and to maintain 
 fellowship with them. There are various promises of 
 the word of God in which good men are taught to ex- 
 pect, and to prepare for his gracious presence. " If any 
 man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father 
 will love him, and we will come to him, and make our 
 abode with him." " Where two or three are gathered 
 together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.'* 
 It is not the number, but the piety of his worshippers 
 which attracts his presence. 
 
 The offices which Jesus sustains, suggest arguments 
 to prove the reality of this fellowship. He is their 
 friend, and he will visit them with the proofs- of his 
 care and regard ; he is their counsellor, and he will di- 
 rect their steps ; and he is their physician, and he will 
 bind up their wounds. To him is committed the care 
 of their interests, the supply of their wants, and the cul- 
 ture of their graces ; and this requires his presence and 
 continued influence. And the experience of good men 
 in various scenes attests the reality of this privilege. 
 In the scene of danger and suffering, he hath been with 
 them to support their courage, and to ensure their safe- 
 ty ; in the season of temptation, he has enabled them 
 to avoid its snares, and to lesist its assaults ; in the 
 hour of solitude, they have felt that they were not alone, 
 for Jesus was with them ; on the bed of sickness, they 
 have enjoyed his soothing pity and effectual support, 
 and in the ordinances of his grace, they have seen the 
 beauty of the Lord, while they inquired in his temple. 
 
 In the ordinance of the Lord's Supper he is peculiar* 
 ly present with his disciples. It is at such a scene that 
 <f he brings them into his banqueting house, and that 
 
186 ADDRESS XXI. 
 
 Lis banner over them is love." Ye know this from 
 your past, and, may I add, from your present experience; 
 and if this is the case, you feel how love burns, how 
 hope is animated, how griefs and fears are forgotten, 
 and how joy abounds in his presence. You have felt 
 pleasure in the society of the wise who could instruct 
 you, the good who could sooth you, and the friends 
 who loved you ; but communion with Jesus now, can 
 be equalled and exceeded only by the bliss of heaven. 
 There are evils which human sympathy cannot allevi- 
 ate, and difficulties in which earthly wisdom cannot 
 guide; but Jesus can make darkness light before us, 
 and comfort against grief on every side. 
 
 The Scriptures record many delightful testimonies 
 to the reality and sweetness of communion with Jesus, 
 and these testimonies are not the language of the weak 
 and the credulous, of persons of strong imaginations and 
 ardent tempers ; but of men the most remote from any 
 thing like folly or presumption. The object which they 
 had in view, in detailing their high privilege, was not to 
 gratify their own vanity, or to secure their dominion over 
 the faith of others, by teaching them to regard them as 
 the special favourites of heaven ; but to honour the grace 
 of Jesus, and to encourage others to seek the happiness 
 
 of piety. 
 
 It belongs to your Lord to determine the place where 
 his presence is to be enjoyed, the season of this fellov/- 
 ship, and the degree in which his saints shall be con- 
 scious of it. Wherever the place is, they may be as- 
 sured that none of its confusions shall be permitted to 
 disturb their tranquillity, and that its miseries shall not 
 drive him away. If they are with him but for a mo- 
 ment, they feel that it becomes not them to complain, 
 who deserved the blackness of darkness for ever, and 
 who hope to spend eternity in his immediate presence. 
 
ADDRESS XXI. 187 
 
 Nay, you ought not to repine that you behold him 
 darkly as through a glass, and hear but a few whispers 
 of his voice ; for even of this you are unworthy ; and 
 that world is before you, wh^re you shall see as you are 
 seen, and know him even as you are known. 
 
 You have heard the solemn injunction, " prepare to 
 meet thy God, O Israel," and I trust that those who 
 are now favoured with his presence, are exciting every 
 faculty of their souls, and every affection of their hearts, 
 to magnify his name ; and let those who long for his 
 arrival, but to whom he hath not yet appeared, observe 
 the indications of his approach. '* It is the voice of 
 my beloved, behold he cometh." I am certain there is 
 not one that knows how to value and improve this pri- 
 vilege, but will say with Jacob, " I will not let thee go, 
 except thou bless me." 
 
 Aftev the Service* 
 
 Now what is the temper and conduct by which you 
 will make it manifest that you have been with Jesus } 
 It is well known how ready we are to imbibe the spirit, 
 and to adopt the manners of those to whom we are 
 strongly attached, and with whom we frequently asso- 
 ciate. Even where the imitation was not intended, we 
 slide into it insensibly. Now intercourse with the Sa- 
 viour produces conformity to his image; and as the 
 man who has been handling perfumes will carry a fra- 
 grant scent with him wherever he goes, so he who has 
 been with his Lord, will manifest the savour of his 
 name inevery place. 
 
 Superiority to the world will evince your communion 
 with Jesus. Such beauties are seen in the Saviour's 
 character, that the eye which has been gazing on themj 
 
188 ADDRESS XXI. 
 
 turns with disgust from the world's attractions. Good 
 men discern such a value in his salvation, that the pos- 
 session of it forms the grand object of their pursuit ; 
 and such a certainty and preciousness do they perceive 
 in his promises, that the most flattering prospects of 
 the world appear to them as idle dreams. In order to 
 learn this superiority to the world, we need not repair 
 to the schools of heathen philosophy, or to the cells of 
 monkery to get our minds perverted, or our hearts dead- 
 ened by the unnatural apathy of the one, or the gloomy 
 austerities of the other ; but let us go to the feet of 
 Jesus, I call on you who are now with him, to seek 
 more earnestly the things which are above, and to shew 
 that his voice has closed your ears to the world's flat- 
 teries, and his glory your eyes to its vain shew. 
 
 Tenderness of conscience and circumspection of con- 
 duct, will also make it evident that you have been with 
 Jesus. In communion with him you have the liveli- 
 est impressions of the purity of his nature, and such 
 seems the importance of his favour, and such the 
 beauty of his unspotted rectitude, that it becomes 
 the most earnest wish of his people, to avoid every 
 thing which would displease him. Indulgences which 
 seem to others excusable, you must carefully shun ; and 
 omissions which to others appear to be without blame, 
 you must avoid as indications of ingratitude to Christ, 
 and indifference to your duty. This moral delicacy 
 and caution are quite different from the scrupulosity of 
 hypocrites. They are scrupulous only in matters of 
 t/ivial moment, and their austerity is accompanied with 
 bitter reflections on those who are less reserved than 
 they are ; but the circumspection and self-denial of the 
 pious, is always accompanied with mildness and liberal- 
 ity in their judgment of others. See that you abstain 
 frpm every appearance of evil. How soon does the 
 
ADDRESS XXI. 189 
 
 canker which has smitten one leaf spread over the 
 whole plant ! " Happy is the man that feareth alway." 
 
 Humility will shew that you have been with Jesus. 
 It has been often asserted that the idea of communion 
 with the Deity, tends to pufF men up with pride; but 
 the vision of the Saviour's glory, must produce an af- 
 fecting impression of our own vileness ; and the recep- 
 tion of his favours will make us feel more strongly how 
 unworthy we are. Does Jesus visit a heart so corrupt- 
 ed, and shall that heart be haughty ? When v/e behold 
 good men meek and lowly in circumstances where 
 others would be haughty and insolent ; when we see 
 them rejoicing ^in the attainments of others, although 
 they throw theirs into the shade ; when their deport- 
 ment in prosperity proves that they speak the truth, 
 when they say, ** I am not worthy of the least of thy 
 mercies ;" and when their behaviour in adversity shews 
 that they feel the necessity of God's chastening rod, 
 and welcome it as a blessing, we feel that they have 
 learned from the presence and the example of Jesus, to 
 walk humbly with their God. " Be clothed with hu- 
 mility." 
 
 Kindness and charity result from fellowship with the 
 Saviour. The scenes which are then reviewed, and 
 the blessings which are bestowed, excite the liveliest 
 impressions of his love to men ; and the heart, affected 
 with his grace, must melt in compassion and charity, 
 and the various efforts of beneficence required by 
 the miseries of our fellow- creatures, appear a reason- 
 able and delightful service. When we see a good man 
 visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, 
 protecting the helpless and the oppressed, enlightening 
 the ignorant, and comforting the mourner, we are con- 
 vinced that his is a heart which the love of Christ hath 
 touched. I call on you, Christians, to do good and to 
 
190 ADDRESS XXr. 
 
 communicate, and let the devotions of this scene be 
 followed by your alms. The hour will come when the 
 pursuits of ambition will be deplored, and when the gains 
 of avarice will be felt as a load on the heart ; but your 
 works of love, which have been a blessing to others, 
 ivill awaken sweet reflections in your own souls. I 
 shall only add, that by boldness in the cause of Jesus, 
 it will be manifest that you have been with him. Such 
 is the impression which is produced of his excellence; 
 and so generous and stedfast was his love, that you feel 
 that to desert him would be the greatest baseness and 
 folly, and that you are bound to employ every talent 
 which you possess, for his glory. You have marked 
 the interest which Jesus takes in his, cause, and his 
 power to support it, and must be sensible that the op- 
 position of its enemies is but the puny effort of impo- 
 tent malignity. You have heard him express his appro- 
 bation of the zeal you may have already shewn, and seen 
 him pointing to the rewards prepared for the faithful on 
 high, and such circumstances as these will surely make 
 you valiant for the truth, and induce you to hold fast 
 the profession of your faith without wavering. 
 
 Consider how honourable it is to the Saviour when 
 his spirit is seen operating in his followers ; and if these 
 qualities be so amiable in his disciples, what must they 
 be in their great original ! If the mild lustre produced 
 by the moon walking in her biightness on the calm 
 surface of the ocean raises our admiration of the splen- 
 dour of the planet which God hath appointed to rule 
 the night ; if we trace with delight the features and 
 virtues of excellent parents in their children, the graces 
 of his followers should remind us of him whose image 
 they bear, and call forth our homage to him who is 
 the brightness of the Father's glory. And it will be 
 most honourable to yourselves to be thus characterized 
 
 4 
 
ADDRESS XXI] 
 
 191 
 
 as the disiciples and companions of him who is the 
 Holy One. Beware of bringing the least stain on your 
 high vocation, and " let your light so shine before men, 
 that others seeing your good works, may glorify your 
 Father who is heaven. And rejoice in hope of that 
 state where you shall be for ever with the Lord, and 
 where perfect communion shall produce a perfect resem- 
 blance betwixt you, and where you shall be like him, 
 for you shall see him as he is. With such a hope, 
 how pleasant is the way of holiness, and how bright is 
 the vale of death ! 
 
 ADDRESS XXII. 
 
 JOHN VII. 37. 
 
 " In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and 
 cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and 
 drink." 
 
 Our Lord improved, with admirable propriety, the 
 various objects and occurrences which presented them- 
 selves before him, for the purposes of religious and 
 moral instruction. His mind was constantly intent 
 on the great objects of his mission, and his wisdom 
 led him to discern the most favourable seasons, and 
 to choose the fittest methods for the advancement of 
 these. There have been seme who, from a zeal nei- 
 ther guided by delicacy nor prudence, have introdu- 
 ced serious topics after incidents by no means adapted 
 to prepare the mind to receive them with advantage. 
 
192 ADDRESS XXII. 
 
 Dislike or laughter have thus been excited at truths 
 which, if brought forward with more propriety, might 
 have charmed the careless, and silenced the scornful. 
 Nor is the mischief confined to the moment ; for when- 
 ever the scene is recollected, piety appears in a most 
 degrading association, and the heart turns away from 
 it in disgust. But in our Saviour's history, grace and 
 truth are beautifully combined, and the lessons of reli- 
 gion were always exhibited where they were likely to be 
 most clearly understood, and most readily received. 
 
 On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, the high 
 priest went in solemn procession to the pool of Siloam, 
 drew from it some water in a golden vessel, and re- 
 turning to the temple poured it out before the Lord. 
 It was at the close of this ceremony when the wor- 
 shippers had been praying for the latter rain, and 
 some of them had been imploring the Most High to 
 bestow the spirit and the blessings of the Messiah's 
 kingdom, that Jesus invited them to come and share 
 of the riches of his grace. 
 
 The last day of the feast of tabernacles was called 
 the great day of it, not on account of the sacrifice of- 
 fered on it ; for while several bullocks were to be slain 
 on the other days, the law required on the eighth and 
 last no more than one; but the learned have told us 
 that it was a tradition among the Jews, that while 
 other nations had an interest in the other oblations, 
 this one offering was restricted to Israel. On this day 
 they viewed themselves admitted to intimate fellow- 
 ship with God, as distinguished by him as his peculiar 
 people ; and they supposed that, like an earthly prince 
 who delights far more in a small collation with his 
 chief favourite, that they may have an opportunity of 
 some familiar converse, than in a vast promiscuous en- 
 tertainment, God felt special complacency in this inter- 
 
ADDRESS XXII. 195 
 
 course with them, and bestowed in it his most valuable 
 blessings. These ideas of God's peculiar interest in 
 them, produced a rapturous joy which they were ac- 
 customed to express in all the outward tokens of tri- 
 umphant exultation, and thus did this day come to be 
 regarded as the happiest and best part of the festival. 
 From such vain and bigoted conceits our Lord calls 
 them to the spirit of goodness, and to the fellowship 
 of the gospel. 
 
 Though we cannot use these words as an invitation 
 to the communion table, they suggest many medita- 
 tions which rray be useful to Christians in the Lord's 
 supper ; and we, on good grounds, consider the com- 
 memoration of Christ's death as the most important 
 service of the present solemnity. It is for this that 
 other acts of worship are preparatory; and it is in 
 this ordinance that the noblest actings of grace are 
 exhibited, and our friendship with Christ is most de- 
 lightfully sealed. 
 
 But who are the persons whom our Lord invites to 
 partake of the blessings of his grace ? They are such 
 as thirst for happiness. This is the object of universal 
 desire and pursuit, for wherever we cast our eyes, we 
 see proofs of the existence and operation of this princi- 
 ple, and find reason to lament its improper direction. 
 Some seek it in the acquisition of wealth, others in the 
 career of ambition ; some in the indulgence of appe- 
 tite, and others in curious inquiries, or in vain specu- 
 lation. Men thus low in their views, and thus carnal 
 in their taste, have no relish for the blessings, and no 
 capacity for the exercise of religion, and are regardless 
 of these amidst their eager solicitude for earthly things. 
 Butthough the object of ardent pursuit should be attain- 
 ed, the heart is still unsatisfied, and, after a sad series 
 of disappointed hopes, it sinks under the consciousness 
 
 VOL. II. K 
 
194 ADDRESS XXII. 
 
 that all is vanity. Now to such wanderers Christ di- 
 rects his pitying counsel ; and, while he blames their 
 folly, calls them to the fountain of life and joy 
 
 Christians, ye were once engaged in following vanity, 
 and you would have persisted in it unless divine grace 
 had shewed you your folly, and taught you where to 
 find rest. It was thus that Jesus qualified you for ob- 
 serving this ordinance, by elevating your desires, puri- 
 fying your taste, and imbuing you with the spirit of 
 devotion. 
 
 But this invitation of our Lord is addressed to those 
 who are earnestly desirous of the blessings of salvation, 
 who have been convinced of their guilt, corruption, and 
 misery, and whose eyes are directed to the cross of Je- 
 sus as the only quarter where relief can be obtained. 
 Have you felt the wish that the voice of pardon would 
 still your accusing consciences, and that the power of 
 divine grace would subdue your evil passions ? Would 
 you esteem it a favour worthy of your perpetual grati- 
 tude, were you to obtain one glimpse of hope, one drop 
 from the fountain of mercy, one moment of holy peace ? 
 The water of life can alone moisten the parched throat, 
 and can alone cool the burning heart. Jesus only can 
 teach the despairing soul to hope, and enable the slave 
 of corruption to break his chains, and to become free. 
 
 In Jesus Christ every thing is to be found that is 
 necessary for the soul's happiness and salvation. Here 
 there is instruction by which the dark and perverted 
 mind is taught to know and to love the truth — right- 
 eousness which answers every charge, and entitles to 
 every blessing — sanctification which forms in the soul 
 the temper of heaven — consolation which quiets every 
 alarm, and heals every wound — and redemption, which 
 liberates every faculty of the soul from the thraldom 
 
ADDRESS xxir. 195 
 
 of sin^ and every member of the body from the power 
 of the grave. 
 
 The way to this fountain of life is open. Springs 
 famed for their salubrious qualicies are often situated in 
 places which it is very difficult to approach ; but to this 
 fountain there is a path so plain that the simple will 
 not err, if the desire of his heart is directed to the Sa- 
 viour. It is described clearly in the Bible ; and it has 
 been trode by thousands. '' Being justified by faith, 
 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 by whom also we have access into that grace in which 
 believers stand." 
 
 Have you, my friends, made application to Christ 
 by faith for salvation ? Unless this has been the case, 
 you have no right to approach his table. Have you 
 turned away from every false hope, and are you will- 
 ing to receive him in his whole character as a Savi- 
 our ? Have you been persuaded of the all-sufficiency of 
 his grace, and are you determined that you will never 
 solicit pardon but at his feet ? This is the language 
 of the truly humble and contrite, *' Though not a drop 
 of the water of life should be vouchsafed to me, and 
 though I should suffer most painfully from tormenting 
 thirst, yet I will never seek relief any where else. I 
 wilLcrytohim for mercy while utterance remains, and 
 when my tongue, failing for thirst, can articulate the 
 language of supplication no longer, my looks, and sighs, 
 and tears, will shew that this is the strongest wish of 
 my heart. Lord save me, I perish." Such desires 
 have been awakened by the holy Spirit, such purposes 
 are animated by his grace, and for you his living water 
 is prepared. He will make you drink of the rivers of 
 his pleasures, and bless you with some measure of his 
 own felicity. 
 
 k2 
 
196 ADDRESS XXII. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 Application to Christ by faith for his blessings is 
 followed by the sweetest satisfaction. The pleasure 
 felt by the thirsty traveller in the refreshing draught, 
 for which he has journeyed through clouds of dust, 
 and over burning sands, is an emblem of their felicity, 
 who having believed enter into rest. As it will not be 
 with a single draught that this traveller will be satis- 
 fied, so grace will be importunate for further mea- 
 sures of light, holiness, and comfort ; and Jesus invites 
 us to drink abundantly. And while other streams are 
 dried up, this fountain ever flows, and is ever full. 
 The more of Christ's Spirit you receive, you will be 
 the more holy; and your happiness will increase ac- 
 cording as you share in the joys of his salvation. Let 
 not the penitent hesitate to approach this fountain, and 
 let not his hand tremble as it lifts the cup of salvation 
 to his lips. You can see no indication in his counte- 
 nance that you are unwelcome, and hear nothing from 
 him to shake your confidence in his gracious promise, 
 '* Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." 
 Never was a penitent excluded from his house, and 
 never was a humble suppliant sent empty away. 
 
 Some of you perhaps have not found the joy in be- 
 lieving which you had anticipated } but this is owing 
 to the weakness of your faith, or to your having dis- 
 pleased him by some presumption in your hopes, or 
 some selfishness in your v.ishes. He intends to try 
 your submission to his will, and your patience under 
 disappointments ; and if you suffer with meekness, and 
 pray without ceasing, he will bless you with the peace 
 that passeth understanding. 
 
 The circumstances connected with this invitation 
 present to you the most interesting views of our Lord's 
 
ADDRESS XXII. 1 97 
 
 character, and many practical counsels. It shows us 
 the patience and generosity of our Lord in a most 
 striking light. He had told the Jews that in a little 
 he would go to him that sent him. Instead of im- 
 ploring his continuance, they said with the most virulent 
 scorn, " Will he go to the dispersed Jews among the 
 Gentiles, and try to gain them to his party, or will he 
 teach the Gentiles?" These things they deemed in- 
 compatible with the character of Messiah, and the last 
 expedient of a sini^ing impostor. And how does our 
 Lord answer this insolent taunt ? The only reply he 
 makes to it is, to invite them more fuliy, and to press 
 them more earnestly to receive his salvation. Let us 
 learn from this conduct to reflect with wonder and 
 gratitude on his long-suffering to us, and to persist in 
 our efforts to convince and to reclaim the wicked in 
 spite of all their stubbornness, and though we should 
 receive from them the most abusive treatment. *' Con- 
 sider him who endured the contradiction of sinners 
 against himself, lest ye be wearied, and faint in your 
 minds." 
 
 This invitation was delivered with great boldness. 
 He stood on some high place in the temple, where he 
 might be seen by all around. Though the officers 
 were at hand who were commissioned to seize him, 
 though the Pharisees and Scribes were in an adjacent 
 chamber plotting his destruction, and though many of 
 the people were prejudiced against him, he did not 
 skulk in a secret corner, but stood in the view of all, 
 undaunted in the cause, and confiding in the protection 
 of his Father. And let none of you, from the dread of 
 the ridicule of the world, or the sarcasms of the scoffer, 
 be afraid to testify your adherence to Christ. Let us 
 not hesitate to confess him before men, who was so 
 courageous in instructing and saving us. 
 k3 
 
198 ADDRESS xxir. 
 
 It was delivered with great earnestness. He lifted 
 up his voice in such a manner that the surrounding 
 multitude might hear him. Jesus saw them sunk in 
 ignorance and depravit}' ; the prejudices which induced 
 many to turn away from his counsel ; the strong de- 
 lusions by which their false guides had infatuated 
 them, and the misery to which they were hurrying ; 
 and he spoke to them in a tone and manner adapted 
 to engage their attention and to win their hearts. And 
 let this induce you to cherish and to express an ardent 
 and affectionate zeal for the spiritual good of others, 
 and while you " remember your affliction and misery, 
 the wormwood and the gall," you will feel increasing 
 energy in urging their approach to the wells of salva« 
 tion. 
 
 It was a most extensive invitation. He excepts not 
 the men who came to seize him, nor those who were 
 bent on his ruin. The hand of mercy can reach its 
 object in the lowest depth of distress, and in the utmost 
 extremity of guilt. Such is the liberality of Christ's 
 heart, and such is the power of his grace, that he 
 makes the sinner welcome to approach him from the 
 ends of the earth, and from the brink of hell. Let 
 him come, though he is thechief of sinners, and though 
 he has grown old in iniquity. Let him come and bring 
 multitudes with him; and if none will accompany him, 
 let him draw near alone, and though the whole world 
 should call on him to keep back. Let him come al- 
 though he has nothing to recommend him to my notice, 
 for the water of life flows, not for those that deserve, 
 but for those that need it Let him approach with 
 enlarged expectations, and let him be assured that he 
 cannot come too frequently. Keep this circumstance 
 in remembrance, to give extension to all your offices 
 of charity, to teach you to resist the error of those who 
 
ADDRESS XXII. 199 
 
 would limit the calls of the gospel, to support your 
 own hope in Christ when God is writing bitter things 
 against you, and to enable you to repress in others 
 every suggestion of despair. 
 
 It is a striking circumstance in this invitation, that 
 it was delivered at the close of a great religious solem- 
 nity. For several days the Jews had been observing 
 one of their solemn feasts, and the people were now 
 about to retire from the temple, and some of them 
 were to go to distant parts of the country, where they 
 might never see or hear our Lord any more. He had 
 already preached salvation to them on some of the 
 preceding days, yet he cannot think of parting with 
 them till he had called them in a most liberal and 
 earnest manner to take the water of life. An offer of 
 mercy is Christ's farewell. These were his parting 
 words, and we trust that they were spirit and life to 
 some. 
 
 When our solemnities are closing, and the worship- 
 pers are going away and shall not all meet again in 
 one assembly till they appear together in judgment, 
 the ministers of religion should part with them as our 
 Lord did, and speak to them as if we saw them on 
 their death-beds, or were addressing them from our 
 own. Let them carry the offers of mercy to their 
 houses, to their business, and to their last hour. You 
 should retire from the temple as if you were going into 
 eternity, and feel as if the last cry of mercy had reached 
 your ears, and as if the light of life had shed on you 
 its parting gleam. To some of you this may be the 
 last communion, in a few days the rage of disease may 
 dry up your strength, and your soul, thirsting for 
 Jesus, may cry " Hear me speedily, O Lord, my 
 spirit faileth." His grace shall not fail you in time 
 ©f need. He will form you to a tranquil patience 
 k4 
 
200 ADDRESS XXIII. 
 
 and to a joyful hope; and when your appointed course 
 of suffering is ended, he will conduct you to your eter- 
 nal rest, " where the Lamb that is in the midst of the 
 throne shall feed you, and lead you to living fountains 
 of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from your 
 eyes." Amen. 
 
 ADDRESS XXIII. 
 
 ROMANS V. 7, 8. 
 
 " Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perad venture 
 for a good man some would even dare to die. But God com- 
 mendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, 
 Christ died for us." 
 
 In these words the Apostle is supposed to allude to 
 a distinction of characters which the Jews were accus- 
 tomed to make. They used to represent society as 
 consisting of the righteous, who rigidly regulated their 
 conduct by the letter of the law ; the good, who made 
 themselves beloved by their beneficence; and the atro- 
 ciously wicked, who were the disgrace and the pest of 
 the nation. This language and classification of theirs 
 Paul employs to illustrate the wondrous love of God 
 in the sacrifice of his Son. His own soul was filled 
 with the most fervid impressions of his love, and he 
 was solicitous to produce such impressions in the minds 
 of others. May those who lead your devotions now 
 speak to you with such light and warmth, and may the 
 love of God be shed abroad in your hearts by the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 The Apostle states that scarcely for a righteous 
 man will one die. Strict justice commands our respect 
 i 
 
ADDRESS XXIII. 201 
 
 and our confidence; but if it is not associated with 
 other qualities of a milder and more beneficent cast, it 
 is not so likely to engage our affection. We know 
 that such a man will do us no injury ; but it is not from 
 him that we expect any self-denial to relieve, or any 
 exertion to oblige us. Such a man is not deemed 
 entitled to any costly sacrifice from us, or to any pain- 
 ful effort for his happiness. To respect his rights as 
 he does ours, and to render to him his due, is con- 
 sidered as fulfilling all his claims. It may happen 
 that a man distinguished for integrity and justice in a 
 high station, and whose administration of the law has 
 been of signal advantage to a country, may be so 
 venerated, that some, under the impulse of such feel- 
 ings, may be willing at any risk to save him from the 
 hand of violence, and to put their lives in jeopardy 
 for his security ; but in every state of society selfish- 
 ness has been so powerful as to render such displays 
 of public spirit very uncommon. 
 
 With regard to the good, the Apostle speaks with 
 much more confidence. It requires a strong effort to 
 brave death, but gratitude for a good man's kindness, 
 and a wish to spare so useful a member to the com- 
 munity, may induce some to lay down their lives to 
 preserve his. It is beneficence which is most likely 
 to be honoured with this willing sacrifice. Power may 
 compel, and wealth may bribe the victim which is 
 substituted for them, but beneficence leads it to the 
 altar, and binds it with cords of love. There have 
 been instances in which persons have ascended the 
 scaffold for another, or rushed forward to receive the 
 murderous weapon aimed at another's breast, but it 
 was for the friend whom they loved as their own 
 souls, for the master who had acted to them as a fa- 
 ther, for the instructor who had reclaimed them from 
 K 5 
 
202 ADDRESS XXIII. 
 
 error and iniquity, for the patron who had loaded them 
 with favours, or for the patriot whose death might 
 quench the light of Israel. History records some ex- 
 amples of this substitution, and amidst the numberless 
 proofs which it exhibits of the fury of the malignant 
 passions, it is delightful to contemplate such instances 
 of the power of gratitude and of the kind affections. 
 Paul, in this epistle, speaks of some " who had for his 
 life laid down their own necks." 
 
 But who will die for sinners, to save the thief, the 
 traitor, or the murderer, from an infamous death ? 
 Unless there are favourable circumstances in their 
 case, they are left to their doom without a wish for 
 their pardon ; and though their punishment may be 
 regretted by their companions in iniquity, they will 
 purchase their own safety, if it is necessary, by giving 
 evidence against their partners in crime. The more 
 hoi}'' a man is, the stronger are his impressions of the 
 wickedness of the sinner ; and he would not aid the 
 escape, nor take the place of a criminal in whom he 
 sees something to excite his pity, but more to deserve 
 his abhorrence. But herein " God commendeth his 
 love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, 
 Christ died for us." 
 
 That your minds may be more strongly aifected 
 with this love, consider who it is that is sent to die 
 for us. The more exalted in rank, and the more ex- 
 cellent in character the person is who is sent by ano- 
 ther to promote our interest, we are the more impress- 
 ed with his regard. We are especially struck with it 
 if he is one nearly related to our benefactor, and high 
 in his esteem. In applying these remarks to this topic, 
 you will see how they enhance the love of God. He 
 who was sent to be the propitiation for our sins was 
 the Son of God, equal in dignity and perfection to 
 
ADDRESS xxiir. 203 
 
 himself. He is the Wisdom of God, the Holy One 
 and the Just, and the Almighty. In him the happi- 
 ness of Jehovah centres, and none is his by a tie so 
 near, by a love so strong, or by a devotedness so per- 
 fect. Angels who had witnessed the endearing inter- 
 course betwixt the Father and the Son, must have 
 been amazed at seeing him abased whom they were 
 commanded to worship, him afflicted by Jehovah who 
 was daily his delight, and when they contrasted the 
 bosom of the Father, and the throne of the Highest, 
 with the poverty of the manger, and the agony of the 
 cross. 
 
 Consider farther the death to which God delivered 
 him. It is only temporal death which is endured for 
 the righteous and the good ; its agonies are soon over, 
 and in such a case it is sweetened by all the pleasing 
 reflections which generous conduct inspires, and by 
 the deep interest of admiration and sympathy which 
 it excites in the spectators. Besides, it is the inevit- 
 able law that man must die, and to these substitutes 
 for the righteous and the good, death must have come 
 in a few years at most. It was but anticipating an 
 event which must have soon happened, and relinquish- 
 ing only a few j^ears of existence which might have 
 been years of little enjoyment and of much trouble. 
 But the death of Christ was marked by peculiar in- 
 famy, exquisite pain, and lingering anguish. Besides, 
 death was to him not the result of necessity of na- 
 ture but of choice; and so far was he from being 
 soothed by the pity of the spectators, that they pass- 
 ed by the cross in bitter derision. There were also 
 sufferings in his soul, the severity of which it is im- 
 possible for us to conceive. And when we think that 
 God was the inflicter of this anguish, that by him the 
 k6 
 
204- ADrtRESS xxrif. 
 
 stroke was given, and the curse was executed, we can- 
 not but exclaim, ** Herein is love." 
 
 Consider also the character of those for whom this 
 was done. The persons for whom others have died, 
 had some claims to this sacrifice, in their rectitude 
 and beneficence, but sinners are the objects of deserv- 
 ed abliorrence. They are not to be viewed merely as 
 wretched, but as criminal. They are not criminals 
 who are chargeable with only one transgression, or 
 who are bewailing their wickedness, and casting them- 
 selves on the Judge's mercy, but offenders who have 
 committed innumerable crimes, and who are obstinate 
 in their trespasses, and glory in their shame. This 
 is a mournful but just account of human nature, and 
 you feel that it is so. Sovereign grace selects its objects 
 from among persons of this description; and those set 
 apart for salvation are not thus distinguished because 
 their crimes are fewer or less atrocious than those of 
 others, but because thus it seemed good in God's sight. 
 Now for such sinners Christ died ; he became "legally 
 answerable" for their sins, and suffered, the just for 
 the unjust, that he might bring us to God. That 
 heart bleeds not for the innocent but for the wicked, 
 and it is broken not for the worthy, but for the chief 
 of sinners. 
 
 The doctrine of our Lord's substitution, and of the 
 vicarious nature of his sufferings, is plainly taught in 
 this passage. The dying for the righteous and the 
 good, is not dying merely for their benefit, but in their 
 stead ; and Christ's dying for us must have the same 
 meaning. He endured the doom to which we were 
 liable, and which must have overwhelmed us if he had 
 not interposed in our behalf. The King of glory is 
 crucified for the rebellious. By this sacrifice the sin- 
 ner is not only saved from wrath, but formed to gra- 
 
ADDRESS XXni. 
 
 205 
 
 titude, contrition, and obedience; and what no severity 
 of punishment could have effected, is accomplished by 
 the blood of the cross. Thus Jehovah testified in the 
 strongest manner his detestation of sin, and thus he 
 obtained that satisfaction to his justice, and that hon- 
 our to his law, which the personal sufferings of the 
 offenders, though protracted to eternity, could never 
 have yielded. 
 
 Now, Christians, what are your views of this love ? 
 Are you saying, *' How excellent is thy loving-kindness, 
 O God !" and is this the sentiment which is influenc- 
 ing all your feelings, and prompting all your worship, 
 " God is love ?" Have you come to the table of your 
 Lord, confessing that your character is such as this 
 passage describes, and pleading " God be merciful to 
 me a sinner ?" If this is the case, he will visit you with 
 his abundant grace; and while you behold in Christ's 
 broken body and shed blood his matchless love, may 
 you feel resolved, to live to him, and to die to him. 
 
 After the Service, 
 
 Hath God thus given up kis Son to death for you ? 
 hesitate not to resign your dearest comforts to him. 
 They were his gift, and they have often been forfeited 
 by your unworthy conduct. You should reflect that 
 they might have been demanded sooner, and that it is 
 your duty to bless him for the opportunity of showing 
 the impression which his love hath made, and the in- 
 fluence which it hath upon you. It is at the cross of 
 Jesus that the reluctance of nature is most readily and 
 completely overcome. It was the virtue of the cross 
 which enabled that mother to lay her child in its coffin 
 without a murmur, and to assent to the expressions of 
 
205 ADDRESS XXIII. 
 
 resignation used by the pious beside her in prayer. It 
 is this that strengthens the good man to say to those 
 whose vvailings are disturbinghis last moments, "What 
 mean ye to weep and to break mine heart, I am ready 
 to die at the commandment of the Lord Jesus." Had 
 you been required, I ought to have been wilhng to sur- 
 render you, and when I am called away it becomes you 
 to rejoice because I go to the Father. 
 
 Let not the corruptions of your hearts be spared. 
 It was for their destruction that Christ hath done and 
 suffered so much, and if you cherish them, you labour 
 to frustrate the end of his death, and to destroy the 
 happiness of your own souls. How urgent are Jehovah's 
 calls to abstain from fleshly lusts ! and what he requires 
 is not the laceration of the flesh, the bowing of the head, 
 or monastic seclusion from the affairs of life, but the 
 rending of the heart, the humiliation of the soul, and 
 the careful avoidance of the follies and sins of the 
 world. Self-indulgence may urge many powerful pleas, 
 and may paint the hardships of self-denial in very ter- 
 rifying colours ; but the faith of that statement of the 
 Apostle will guard you from yielding to its influence : 
 ** If ye live after the flesh ye shall die, but if ye through 
 the Spirit do mortify the deedsofihebody, ye shall live." 
 
 Lay all that you are and have at the feet of Je- 
 sus. Lay your souls and bodies there, that he may 
 employ their powers in his service. Place your pos- 
 sessions there, that he may be honoured with your 
 substance ; your burdens, that he may bear them for 
 you ; your duties, that he may present them with ac- 
 ceptance ; your attainments, that in them he may be 
 honoured ; and your hopes, that he may destroy them 
 if presumptuous, and fulfil them if it will be glorifying 
 to him and safe for you. And I call upon you to 
 place your sick and dying friends before him, that he 
 
ADDRESS XXIII. 20? 
 
 may do with them what seemeth good in his siglit, 
 and there let your last prayer be made, your last pang 
 be felt, and your last breath be drawn. This is the 
 prelude to your casting your crowns at his feet. There 
 is not a gem in that crown which is not his. This, O 
 my Redeemer, is thy heaven, thy bliss, and thy glory. 
 It is thine in purchase and bestowal, and mine in pos- 
 session. 
 
 Maintain a strict regard to integrity and justice. 
 Without these principles society would be a scene of 
 misery, where the simple and the helpless would be 
 the dupes of the fradulent, and the victims of the op- 
 pressor. Nothing has a more unhappy influence in 
 strengthening the prejudices of worldly men against 
 religion, than the appearance of fraud or dishonesty 
 in any of its professors ; and they are eager to represent 
 the forms of piety, and zeal for its diffusion, as instru- 
 ments of deceit, or as intended as a compensation for 
 moral delinquencies. To justice add goodness, which 
 is one of the most beautiful fruits of piety, and one of 
 the great instruments which are destined for the heal- 
 ing of the nations. Without it how soon would the 
 solitary sufferer sink under his burden, and the child 
 of prosperity loathe his lonely pleasures ! Without it 
 justice would want its best support, and devotion its 
 best ally. It makes us feel the rights, the sorrows, 
 and the miseries of our brethren as our own ; and, pu- 
 rified from every tincture of pride and envy, it will 
 characterize the redeemed of the Lord for ever. 
 
 And when you think on what God did in love and 
 pity for the salvation of sinners, you will feel your- 
 selves impelled to use every effort in your power to 
 enlighten and reclaim the wicked around you. It is 
 not by Pharisaic haughtiness that they will be inclined 
 to the love of excellence ; and though severity may be 
 
 5 
 
^08 ADDRESS XXIII. 
 
 necessary to check their excesses, yet this is not the 
 most effectual means for their reformation. It is by 
 instruction and counsel, expressed in the tone of com- 
 passion and kindness, that you will gain their atten- 
 tion. What a noble moral experiment has been made 
 in someof our prisons, and how gratifying has been 
 its result ! The most audacious criminals have melt- 
 ed in penitence, and the scene of idleness, profligacy, 
 and impiety, is now enlivened by cheerful labour, cha- 
 racterized by decency, and blessed by devotion. O 
 let us not deem any too vile for our pity, or too aban- 
 doned for our efforts to convert them from the error of 
 their ways. 
 
 Let the remembrance of what you were when this 
 love beheld you in your low estate, and the conscious- 
 ness of what you still are, repress every rising of pride 
 and vain glory. Ye were not only unworthy of this 
 wondrous interposition in your behalf, but are without 
 a claim in yourselves to any of the blessings with which 
 it has loaded you. Arise then from the communion 
 table to walk humbly with your God, as well as to do 
 justly, and to love mercy. There is no disposition 
 more becoming in a Christian, and none which is a 
 greater ornament to religion. It will incline you to 
 that condescension to others which is so amiable in the 
 sight of men, and to that patience under adverse dis- 
 pensations which is of great price in the estimation of 
 heaven. It will preserve justice from every act of ri- 
 gour, and goodness from being puffed up by the praise 
 of the world, or chilled by the ingratitude of the thank- 
 less. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs are the 
 privileges of the church on earth, and of the redeemed 
 in heaven. 
 
ADDRESS XXIV. 209 
 
 ADDRESS XXIV. 
 
 MATTH. XXVII. 51. 
 
 '• And the earth did quake, and the rocks rent." 
 
 The deaths of some persons who have made a great 
 figure in the world have been represented as attended 
 Avith wonderful prodigies. Nature has been exhibited 
 as attesting by tempests and inundations, her interest 
 in the warrior's fall, and showing by the strife of ele- 
 ments the influence of such events on the moral world. 
 But it is easy to perceive in such narratives the art of 
 a venal flatterer, inventing what might aggrandize the 
 event; or the simplicity of ignorance magnifying an 
 uncommon incident into something supernatural. The 
 swell of the language proves the labour and design of 
 the poet and the historian to give exalted ideas of the 
 scene, and to produce in the minds of strangers and of 
 posterity, the deepest interest in the fate of their fa- 
 vourite heroes. 
 
 How different is the statement which we have in 
 Scripture of the wonders which were exhibited at the 
 death of Christ ! These were grand beyond all that 
 imagination had ever arrayed round the warrior's bier, 
 and they are related with that brevity and simplicity 
 which strike us as the characters of truth. What 
 human genius would have represented in long and 
 pompous descriptions, the Evangelists relate in a few 
 words, and leave it to the majesty of the scene to 
 fill the soul with astonishment and awe. 
 
 In contemplating the quaking of the earth, and 
 the rending of the rocks when Jesus died, you be- 
 hold the importance of that event attested which you 
 
210 ADDRESS XXIV. 
 
 are now commemorating. It is an event whose influ- 
 ence is spread over all the ways of God, over all 
 places of his dominion, and over all the ages of eter- 
 nity; and while its power to save was proclaimed by 
 all the orders of the blessed, and its power to destroy 
 felt by all the legions of devils, Jehovah intended by 
 this convulsion of nature to direct to it, and to fix on 
 it, the solemn contemplation of all human beings. 
 These were not signs given by nature that all was 
 lost, but stupendous indications that the power of 
 darkness was broken, and that the creature made 
 subject to vanity should be released and renovated. 
 The death of Christ is to you a cause of triumph, 
 and that deserves not the name of a Christian assem- 
 bly, or a Christian heart, where it is forgotten ; but 
 while you glory in the cross, you are taught by this in- 
 cident to mingle with your exultation a holy awe. 
 
 Let me call on you. Christians, to adore the power 
 of your God, as displayed in this earthquake. It is 
 he who shakes the earth out of its place, and the 
 pillars thereof tremble, who overturns the mountains, 
 and seals up the stars. Yet think not of him with the 
 slavish dread which forgets or disbelieves his goodness 
 amidst the thunders of his power, for he will bind up 
 the bruised reed, and keep in perfect peace the heart 
 that trusts in him. Remembering your Saviour's 
 death, you can sing in every convulsion of nature, and 
 in every shgck of adversity, *' God is our refuge and 
 our strength, therefore will not we fear though the 
 earth be removed, and though the mountains be car- 
 ried into the midst of the sea." It is a peculiarity of 
 this sign at the death of Christ, that its tokens remain 
 to this day. The darkness passed away before the 
 returning sun, the vail of the temple perished in the 
 flames which consumed that edifice, and the graves 
 
ADDRESS XXIV. 211 
 
 were soon closed on other inhabitants ; but the fissures 
 of those rocks which are still visible, are of such a form 
 and size as attest that they must have been produced 
 in some awful convulsion. These rents have been 
 often contemplated with the eye of curiosity, and su- 
 perstition hath debased a scene where the Lord " made 
 bare his holy arm ;" but let it be your exercise to re- 
 flect on it with pious wonder, and to search out the 
 various truths, and changes, and warnings which it 
 was intended to indicate. 
 
 This quaking of the earth, and this rending of the 
 rocks, were an awful rebuke to the stupidity and ob- 
 duracy of the Jews. We are ready to imagine that 
 the humility and beneficence of our Lord would have 
 softened prejudice and enmity into love ; but the 
 stronger his claims were to their afFe<i:tion, the more 
 fiercely did they persecute him, and the more power- 
 fully his sufferings pleaded for their pity, the more 
 vehement was their malice, and the more barbarous 
 their insults. While the most atrocious criminal is 
 pitied by the spectators, when he undergoes the sen- 
 tence of the law, nought was heard around the cross of 
 our Lord but the language of bitter derision. The 
 supplications of the dying criminal are accompanied 
 in their ascent to heaven by the ejaculations of mul- 
 titudes ; but the prayers of Jesus were turned to his 
 shame, and the taunts of the base scoffer were the 
 only return which was made to his groans. Now, as 
 if inanimate nature had been endowed with more sen- 
 sibility than these men, the earth quaked and the rocks 
 were rent. 
 
 Christians, you are ashamed and grieved on account 
 of the hardness of your hearts, and ye are praying 
 earnestly for a tender and melting spirit. Your com- 
 plaints and supplications are a proof that you are not 
 
212 ADDRESS XXIV. 
 
 Utter strangers to pious feeling ; but, conscious of its 
 weakness, and dreading his rebukes, beseech him to 
 touch your hearts with that influence of the cross 
 which softens and purifies. Look to that quaking 
 earth and to these rending rocks, and behold a pledge 
 of that energy which shall surround his table with 
 broken and contrite spirits. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 This earthquake was an indication of the utter aboli- 
 tion of the Jewish state and system. The perpetuity 
 of these was the dearest hope of the Jews, and they 
 had seen the injuries done to them by the Romans 
 with indignation and horror. They flattered them- 
 selves that Messiah would quickly appear to drive 
 these oppressors from their land, and to make Jerusa- 
 lem a praise in the earth. It was the idea that our 
 Lord was an enemy to their state and system, which 
 exasperated them against him, and they thought that 
 his death would establish Judah as in the days of old. 
 But at that hour the glory departed from their temple, 
 and there was a voice which cried in the rending of 
 these rocks, " The kingdom of Gcd is taken from you 
 and given to a nation that shall bear the fruit thereof." 
 The oblation on the cross had rendered their sacrifices 
 unnecessary, their carnal ordinances were to be suc- 
 ceeded by a more simple homage, their bells and trum- 
 pets by the word of salvation, and their covenant of 
 peculiarity was now utterly disannulled. In vain did 
 they try to uphold what God had doomed to fall. At 
 the appointed moment it tumbled down, and its blind 
 and furious votaries were crushed in its ruins. 
 
 There is a time predicted when the Jews shall, by 
 
ADDRESS XXIV. 215 
 
 subjection to Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, be 
 relieved from the curse which has been lying on them 
 for ages. They shall come not to the smoke of in- 
 cense, the blood of bulls and goats, narrow prejudices, 
 and burdensome ceremonies, but to the power of pray- 
 er, and to the blood of the Lamb, to expanded chari- 
 ty, and to the easy yoke of evangelical obedience.— 
 Anticipate this long expected event as a bright triumph 
 to your Lord, and as life from the dead to the Gentile 
 world. 
 
 The earthquake was a pledge of the changes which 
 v/ere to be introduced into the Gentile world by the 
 Gospel. It was a most solemn assurance, that every 
 system of doctrine, polity, or worship, which stood in 
 its way, should be broken in pieces. No Pagan temple 
 could resist his fury who had ploughed Zion like a 
 field, no city of defence could withstand his power who 
 had laid Jerusalem in ruins, and no crowd of foes 
 can abide before him who has made the solemn as- 
 sembly as the high places of the forest. 
 
 The rending of these rocks intimated that the water 
 of life was now to flow among the heathen, to refresh 
 fainting multitudes, to wash away the pollutions of the 
 nations, and to make the desert to blossom. How de- 
 lightful is it to behold Jehovah making life to flow from 
 the death of the cross, and bringing everlasting righte- 
 ousness from the scene of blood ! Here we see that 
 though the hearts of Gentile sinners might be ever so 
 hardened, his grace should make them yield. Hearts 
 sunk in sensuality have been inclined to self-denial, 
 men, shameless and audacious in sin, have wept and 
 trembled in godly sorrow, and sottish idolators have 
 been led in enlightened piety to the throne of grace. 
 
 Rejoice, my friends, in the better state of things, 
 which has succeeded the Jewish polity, and pray for 
 
214 ADDRESS XXIV. 
 
 its universal extension. Happy are ye in the liberty 
 with which Christ hath made you free, and in the light 
 which he hath spread around you. In beholding our 
 country so improved by culture, and so enriched by 
 commerce, we think with wonder, that where the corn 
 now waves, was once a heath or a forest, and that ci- 
 ties, the seats of trade or science, occupy the place 
 where wild beasts roamed. But the gospel has pro- 
 duced a change far more important and blissful. Reli- 
 gion spreads her treasures of wisdom, and her institu. 
 tions of piety and mercy over the scene of ignorance, 
 vice, and misery, and her power is felt, and her wor- 
 ship is rising in districts which had been for ages de- 
 voted to superstition. Beware of doubting the univer- 
 sal prevalence of this religion on account of the ene- 
 mies that oppose its progress, for '' every valley shall 
 be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be laid 
 low, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and 
 all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord 
 hath spoken it." Let the purity, the liberality, and the 
 zeal of your conduct be suited to the privileges you 
 enjoy, and to the hope of your calling. The question, 
 what do ye more than others ? suggests the obligation 
 of superior activity on your part in the service of your 
 Redeemer. I hope you feel it, and will be zealous in 
 good works. 
 
 Rejoice that Christ died thus, that he might ob- 
 tain for you a peaceful end. When the wicked man 
 dies, the heavens reveal his iniquity, and the earth 
 rises up against him. Often have the ungodly been 
 seen quaking in every limb, their faces covered with 
 blackness, and their breasts heaving with agony. 
 But the good man dies in peace, the earth opens, but 
 it is to give him a place of rest in her bosom; the 
 hearts of his friends are torn with grief, but there is a 
 
ADDRESS XXV. 215 
 
 Comforter whose office it is to bind them up. And 
 when the heavens and the enrth shall flee away from 
 the face of Him that sits on the throne ; and when the 
 creation, which was convulsed at the purchase of re- 
 demption, shall be dissolved at its consummation, ye 
 shall stand unshaken on the Rock of Ages, and reign 
 with Christ for ever in a kingdom that cannot»be mov- 
 ed. Amen. 
 
 ADDRESS XXV. 
 
 MARK XV. 39. 
 
 *' And when the Centurion, who stood over against him, saw 
 that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, ' Truly this 
 man was the Son of God.' " 
 
 When we read or hear of any remarkable event, our 
 curiosity is excited to know what impression it pro- 
 duced on the spectators, whether it awakened astonish- 
 ment or fear, or anger or joy; and how these feelings 
 were manifested. Such a desire hath been strongly- 
 felt with regard to the crucifixion of our Lord, and Pro- 
 vidence hath gratified it by recording among other par- 
 ticulars, the memorable confession of the Roman Cen- 
 turion. 
 
 It appears that this man was first impressed with 
 the belief of our Lord's innocence, and that, in the 
 course of the solemn scene, he was made to feel the 
 strongest convictions of his divine excellence and glory. 
 The Jews had sought to stone Jesus, for saying that 
 God was his Father. Peter, who had made this good 
 confession, '* Thou art the Christ the Son of the living 
 
2l6 ADDRESS XXV. 
 
 God," had with oaths and curses averred *« I know not 
 the man." On his declaring himself the Christ, the Son 
 of the Blessed before the council, the high priest rent 
 his clothes, saying, " he hath spoken blasphemy ;" but 
 behold from the lips of a soldier and of a heathen, an 
 ample testimony is brought to this momentous truth. 
 It may confirm your faith, and direct and animate 
 your profession, to consider the characters which mark 
 this testimony. It is the second instance of a person 
 of this rank and office doing homage to Christ. The 
 former honoured him, by expressing his confidence in 
 his power to heal his sick servant without coming near 
 him ; and Jesus declared, in the language of admira- 
 tion, *• I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel," 
 but this man glorified him when he was humbled to 
 the death of the cross ; and though no approbation 
 was expressed in the hearing of mortals, its insertion 
 in the word of God is a proof of the estimation with 
 which this testimony was regarded in heaven. Let us 
 learn from it the feelings with which we ought to con- 
 template a crucified Saviour, and the homage that is 
 due to him at the cross. 
 
 The centurion's testimony, though short, is full and 
 comprehensive. From his residence in Judea, it is ob- 
 vious that he must have heard of the Messiah, and of 
 his divine character. He was aware that the sufferer had 
 claimed the title of the Son of God, and he here con- 
 fesses its justice. He acknowledges him as the Son of 
 God, who had suffered and died in our nature ; and as 
 such a Being could not suffer for any fault of his own, 
 or against his will, he felt that his crucifixion must 
 have been endured to obtain some important ends. 
 These ends were, we trust, unfolded to him, by that 
 Spirit who will teach the meek his way, and guide the 
 ingenuous mind into all truth. 
 
ADDRESS XXV. 21? 
 
 This testimony is expressed with great energy. It 
 is not like the language of mere pity and hope, m which 
 spectators speak of the characters of the dying ; but it 
 is the opinion of one who beheld in our Lord, not only 
 the purity of innocence, but the majesty of divinity. 
 There is nought of conjecture or hesitancy about it ; it 
 is the language of certain and entire persuasion. 
 
 Its abruptness is most worthy of notice. It is obvious- 
 ly the language of nature under strong excitement, and 
 is not liable to the least suspicion of art or affectation. 
 He does not preface it by any representation of its ob- 
 ject or justice; but, persuaded that every eye, and every 
 thought around him, were directed to the cross where 
 his were fixed, he breaks out at once in this devout 
 exclamation. 
 
 Consider its boldness. . It was made in opposition to 
 the populace who had derided Christ's claim, and to the 
 court which had condemned him for maintaining it. It 
 might subject him to the disapprobation and contempt 
 of his companions in command, who would be ready to 
 imagine that he ought to have manifested more firm- 
 ness of mind, and greater sternness of m.anner on this 
 occasion ; and he was aware that it would be most of- 
 fensive to the leading men among the Jews, who would 
 make the most unfavourable representation of his con- 
 duct to his superiors, and thus might not only impede 
 his promotion, but occasion the loss of his office, nay of 
 his life; yet he expresses with all the courage of a holy 
 zeal, the impressions of his heart. 
 
 This is not the testimony of an associate of our 
 Lord's, whose language might be viewed with suspicion 
 as that of a partizan, but of a stranger, all whose preju- 
 dices were directed against Christ, and his pretensions, 
 till they were swept away by the overpowering evidence 
 of his innocence and dignity, presented in this scene. 
 
 VOL. II, L 
 
21 S ADDRESS XXV. 
 
 It is a circumstance well worthy of our notice, that 
 in this testimony he was joined by the Roman soldiers 
 under his command at the cross. These hardy veter- 
 ans, inured to scenes of peril and blood, and accustom- 
 ed to regard the Jews with scorn and hatred, and who 
 had mocked and abused our Lord, when he was placed 
 in their power, were now filled with awe, and declare 
 his greatness whom they had seen expiring in anguish 
 and shame. 
 
 This testimony strikingly accords with those paid to 
 Jesus at the two most remarkable periods of his life, 
 his baptism, and his transfiguration. The voice came 
 not from the excellent glory, but it proceeded from 
 the lips and heart of a man under the influence of the 
 Eternal Spirit. Heavenly wisdom spoke by this man, 
 and its words were in his tongue. And in paying this 
 testimony he could have no motives but the purest and 
 the best. He had no interest to serve by it ; nor can it 
 be said that he wished to gratify his vanity, by an af- 
 fectation of feeling for the sufferer ; for this was quite un- 
 suitable to what was deemed becoming in a soldier. It 
 was prompted by a wish to do justice to injured in- 
 nocence, and to insulted majesty, and to lead his revil- 
 ers and murderers to repentance for their conduct. 
 
 But what led the centurion to this memorable con- 
 fession ? He was led to it by the wonders which at- 
 tended the death of Christ. It was a notion common 
 among the heathen, that remarkable appearances often 
 accompanied the death of those who were dear to the 
 gods, and this opinion might excite his attention to the 
 import of these prodigies ; but, beholding them sur- 
 passing so far every thing that he had read in the re- 
 cords of history, or in the fables of superstition respect- 
 ing the end of men of eminence, and guided by the 
 
ADDRESS XXV. 219 
 
 Spirit of wisdom, he considered the darkened sun, 
 the quaking earth, and the rending rocks, as the wit- 
 ness of heaven to the sufferer's innocence and dignity. 
 The God of nature would not have signahzed by such 
 miracles the death of a criminal, an impostor, or an or- 
 dinary personage. The sun was eclipsed because he 
 who forms the light was passing into the land of dark- 
 ness ; the vail of the temple was rent in twain from top 
 to bottom, to shew that a spiritual guide had now ap- 
 peared to abolish the carnal ordinances of a prepara- 
 tory dispensation, and to call us to a purer worship, a 
 brighter creed, and a nobler temple ; the earth quakes, 
 and the rocks are rent, to testify that the crucified Sa- 
 viour was one whom all the inhabitants of the world 
 should fear, and the graves were opened because the 
 keys of death were now committed to its conqueror. 
 
 Fix your attention, Christians, on these wonders, 
 and give glory to him whom all the host of heaven 
 worships ; draw near to him in spiritual homage, and 
 beseech him to melt your hearts in holy tendsrnessj 
 and to form you to newness of life. No prejudices can 
 be too gross for him to dissipate, no hearts too obdu- 
 rate for him to mollify, no characters too depraved for 
 him to renovate, and no despair too horrible for him to 
 change into n lively hope. 
 
 But the Centurion was led to this testimony also by 
 the behaviour of the sufferer. If he went at the head 
 of the armed band by whom our Lord was apprehend- 
 ed, he would witness the majesty of his look and voice, 
 and the meekness and fortitude with which he resigned 
 himself to their hands. If he was in the hall during 
 the trial, he would behold the mild dignity of his de- 
 meanour amidst false accusations, and cruel abuse. His 
 patience on the cross, so different from the sullen hardi* 
 hood of the stubborn criminal, and the affected cofij, 
 L 2 
 
220 ADDRESS XXV. 
 
 tempt of philosophic pride, his forgiveness of his ene- 
 mies, his gracious assurance of admission to heaven 
 made to the penitent thief, the signal change wrought 
 on that man, and the earnestness with which he im- 
 plored his mercy, the confidence with which he com- 
 mitted his soul into his Father's hands, and the loud 
 cry with which this was expressed, so different from 
 the feeble and broken accents of the dying, convinced 
 him that he was the Holy One of God. 
 
 Christians, contemplate these graces till you are 
 formed to the likeness of his death, till patience is per- 
 fected in you, till every malignant passion is extirpated 
 from your hearts, till you learn to live and to die in faith. 
 May the review of them at this solemn season be bless- 
 ed for changing you into his image, and may you de- 
 part from that table more imbued with his Spirit, 
 and more devoted to his will. 
 
 Jflcr the Service. 
 
 How admirably does this testimony accord with 
 that borne to a siiffering Redeemer by the prophets ! 
 Isaiah, looking to the man of sorrows, calls him, " Im- 
 raanuel, God with us;" Jeremiah styles him whom you 
 see numbered with transgressors, *' The Lord our 
 righteousness;" he who is. smitten by the sword of 
 justice, you are assured by Zechariah, is the Man who 
 is Jehovah's fellow; to the sacrifice that bleeds on the 
 altar, the Baptist points as the Lamb of God ; and 
 Thomas, beholding his pierced hands and side, cries 
 out, in what has been, I trust, the language of your 
 hearts, '^ My Lord and my God." 
 
 Does your faith see nothing in the death of Christ 
 
ADDRESS XXV. 22l 
 
 10 call forth from you this testimony ? Behold the ene- 
 mies he vanquishes. The powers of darkness crowded 
 around the cross ; they thought that victory now would 
 more than repair the shame of every former repulse, 
 would blast the favourite plans of heaven, and seal the 
 ruin of man ; and, under these impressions, they made 
 a most furious assault on the Captain of our salvation ; 
 but their temptations were repelled, and these hosts 
 were driven back in terror and despair. " In the great- 
 ness of thine excellency, thou hast overthrown them 
 that rose up against thee," and the captives whom thou 
 hast rescued shall declare thy mighty deeds. Let this 
 victory animate you to a bold resistance to every temp- 
 tation, and to unshaken confidence in your Saviour's 
 aid. 
 
 Behold a reason for the exclamation of the Centurion 
 in the blessings which the dying Saviour purchases. 
 Peace with God, tranquillity of conscience, deliverance 
 from the wrath to come, redemption from tlie power of 
 the grave, grace here and glory hereafter, were obtain- 
 ed by his sufferings. And surely there must be infinite 
 merit in these sufferings, which could procure such bless- 
 ings for such multitudes. These blessings are the por- 
 tion of your choice, and these are the pledges of re- 
 deeming love ; with such blessings you must not repine 
 at any misfortune which leaves your all untouched, nor 
 envy the superior wealth and honour of worldly men, 
 which are but passing shadows. 
 
 Behold another reason for this exclamation in the 
 virtues of the sufferer. Think of his love, and you will 
 feel that in enduring for the sake of his enemies, a death 
 marked with all the anguish which men and devils, nay, 
 incensed omnipotence could inflict, it was worthy of 
 the heart of the Son of God. Never was there re- 
 signation like that, which, during such a season of suf- 
 l3 
 
222 ADDRESS XXV. 
 
 fering, maintained entire acquiescence in the will of 
 heaven. That mercy, which, amidst the sorrows of 
 death blessed and saved others, proclaims him the 
 Lord of all grace, and that faith which retained its 
 trust in the God who had forsaken him, and resigned 
 his spirit to him who had afflicted it with such grief, 
 shows him to be its Author and Finisher. Jesus is 
 the brightest pattern of the graces of religion, as well 
 as the generous dispenser of its blessings. In his 
 virtues there are no weaknesses to check our admira- 
 tion, and no affectation to excite our disgust, but there 
 is a purity and a splendour which show that the Spirit 
 rested on him without measure, and that he is the 
 express image of the invisible God. In imitation of 
 your Saviour do good to them that injure you, minister, 
 amidst your own griefs, to the comfort of your friends, 
 keep from the scene of misfortune, the bed of sickness, 
 and the house of mourning, every word, and look, and 
 feeling, which savours of impatience and unkindness ; 
 and be strong in faith, for in proportion to its vigour 
 will be your pious activity in life, and your triumph in 
 death. 
 
 We feel impelled to this exclamation when we con- 
 sider the moral wonders which the cross hath produced. 
 In contemplating it as the instrument by which idolatry 
 was overthrown, and the world vanquished, the cavils of 
 the scribes silenced, and the sophistry of the schools 
 confounded, persecution defeated in all its plans, and 
 knowledge and virtue spread over the nations, we must 
 acknowledge Christ crucified as the wisdom of God and 
 the power of God. The cross hath many enemies yet to 
 subdue, and vast regions to Christianize ; but we doubt 
 not its energy, and may every communion show your 
 increasing experience of its sanctifying power, and every 
 
ADDRESS XXV. 225 
 
 year bring to us from distant regions new details of 
 the wonders it hath wrought. 
 
 1 call you, Christians, to honour the Son by the re- 
 verence of your hearts, the praises of your lips, and 
 the obedience of your lives. His enemies are employ- 
 ing every art, and straining every nerve to render his 
 name odious, and you must feel this as a powerful 
 motive to increase your efforts in declaring his glory. 
 Resist every opinion which detracts from the splendour 
 of this title, and from our Lord's peculiar claim to it. 
 When truth is misrepresented by some, and opposed 
 by others, bear your testimony to it as the wisdom 
 which comes from above, and when piety is reviled 
 and trampled on, confess it as the fruit of the Spirit, 
 and as the perfection of beauty. 
 
 Let us be solicitous that the views and the spirit of 
 this Centurion may be diffused among our soldiers ; 
 and if the grace of God could make him a confessor of 
 Jesus, let us not suppose that the profanity too com- 
 mon in armies is invincible. They want many of the 
 advantages of instruction and worship which we enjoy ; 
 but the Spirit of God can employ a variety of incidents 
 to strike them with seriousness, can persuade them to 
 imitate the character, and to magnify the name of 
 Jesus, and can " establish them in every good word 
 and work." Let soldiers who are pious adorn their 
 profession by sobriety, and kindness, and unremitted 
 attention to their duty, and let them show by their 
 courage in the day of danger, their patience under 
 hardships, and their unshaken fidelity amidst every 
 temptation to desertion and tumult, that the religious 
 soldier is most worthy of trust. 
 
 Let your conduct be always such that those who 
 see you will acknowledge that you are the children of 
 God, and [glorify your Father in you. And in your 
 
 L 4 
 
224 ADDRESS XXVI. 
 
 decline, when the rays of light, few and feeble, the 
 keepers of the house trembling, the loosening of the 
 silver cord, the chiilness of your blood, and the languor 
 of your spirits, shall indicate that your connection with 
 the world is dissolving, let the exercise of your faith, 
 hope, and love, be such as will evirce that you are 
 heirs of heaven. Then, while survivors shall say as 
 you have departed, '' Blessed are the dead who die in 
 the Lord," Jesus will acknowledge you as his in the 
 other world, and present you to his Father as the 
 children whom he hath given him, and whom he hatb 
 formed to righteousnesso 
 
 ADDRESS XXVL 
 
 JOHN XIX. 34, 
 
 " But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forth- 
 with came there out blood and water." 
 
 The bodies of the dead are generally treated with 
 all suitable care and respect. Surviving friends linger 
 by their side in pensive tenderness. With decent 
 usages they are attired for the coffin, and prepared for 
 the grave ; and the place of their repose is guarded with 
 watchful care. The most savage natures seldom do an 
 indignity even to the corse of an enemy, and no injury 
 which a man may have done to others during his life, 
 is thought to justify the abuse of his remains by any 
 human being. 
 
 How different was the case with the body of our 
 Lord ? Ere it was committed to the care of his friends 
 
ADDRESS XXVI. 225 
 
 one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and 
 blood and water issued from the wound. This horrid 
 outrage was committed by the soldier without any au- 
 thority from his superiors, and was designed to gratify 
 his own barbarous humour, or the malignity of the 
 Jews ; but the most important ends were accomplished 
 by it under the direction of an overruling Providence. 
 If what is called by the Evangelist " water," was the 
 fluid which surrounds the heait, the certainty of our 
 Lord's death is demonstiated ; for, to a person alive, 
 such a wound must have been fatal. On the fact of our 
 Lord's death the salvation of man depends; for if the 
 Messiah did not die, our guilt is yet uncxpiated, the 
 justice of God is still unappeased, and the penalty of 
 the law is still to be endured. The death of Christ is 
 the life of your hope, the price of your redemption, 
 and the source of your courage in the prospect of dis- 
 solution. If it was water in the literal sense of the 
 term, it was a miraculous testimony to the glory of the 
 sufferer, and to the acceptance of his sacrifice, and was 
 worthy of being recorded with all that solemnity and 
 precision which mark the narrative of the Apostle 
 John, and of being numbered with the prodigies which 
 signalized the Saviour's death. It is remarkable that 
 while John passes over in silence the external wonders 
 which attended the crucifixion, he expatiates on this, 
 and appears solicitous that his testimony to it should 
 be credited. It was a display of power far more glori- 
 ous than that which, in the days of old, brought water 
 from the flinty rock, and points out the death of Christ as 
 an abundant and perpetual source of spiritual blessings. 
 Meditate, Christians, on that which was represented 
 by this stream of blood and water. It is the justifying 
 ntierit and the sanctifying grace of the blessed Jesu«, . 
 and you know that both are absolutely necessary.^ 
 1^5 
 
226 ADDRESS XXVI. 
 
 Man was guilty, liable to the divine vengeance, and 
 utterly unable to give satisfaction for the least of his 
 offences. In vain shall men surround God's altar with 
 floods of tears or with streams of blood, for it is not 
 possible that these can take away sin. Of what avail 
 are the criminal's professions of sorrow, or his offers 
 of his most valuable possessions, to stop the procedure 
 of publicjustice against him ; and can we suppose that 
 they will appease the wrath of the Judge of all ? If 
 repentance cannot bring back to the prodigal the health 
 he has lost, and the money he has squandered in his 
 excesses, it is foolish to imagine that it can regain the 
 peace he has forfeited, and avert the doom he has in- 
 curred. But behold the Saviour dies, his blood is shed 
 for remission of sins unto many, and all that trust in 
 it have peace with God. Such is the efficacy of this 
 atonement, that the most aggravated offences may be 
 forgiven for its sake, and the most powerful of all 
 motives to holiness are those which it suggests. Do 
 your hopes of pardon rest on the sacrifice of Christ > 
 I trust this is your answer, " I have fixed my confi- 
 dence there, and I will never withdraw it." 
 
 But man also was polluted, his nature and Hfe were 
 depraved, and how shall this be removed ? It is in 
 rain to attempt it by palliating human depravity, or 
 talking in swelling language of the dignity of our na- 
 ture. The softening epithets applied to many vices 
 prove only the low state of moral perception and feel- 
 ing in those who employ them. The wisdom of this 
 world is foolishness with God, its splendid donations, 
 the parade of vain glory, and the exploits which it 
 celebrates as the noblest display of courage and pa- 
 triotism, are often the triumph of pride, cruelty, and 
 revenge. It is the sanctifying grace of Christ which 
 aloiie can renovate our nature^ destroy its evil propen- 
 
ADDRESS XXVI. 227 
 
 sities, and form in it those principles and affections in 
 the exercise of which we become assimilated to the 
 divine image, and rise to the destined perfection of our 
 being. Have you, Christians, experienced this sancti- 
 fying grace ? If this is the case you will be shocked 
 at the criminaHty of many things which you once re- 
 garded with indifference, your moral feelings will be 
 quick and powerful, your low attainments in virtue 
 will fill you with grief and shame, and your object in 
 attending on the Lord's Supper will be to derive new 
 influence from his death, in the advancement of his 
 glory, and in the fulfilment of his will. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 Contemplate with suitable emotions the amazing 
 scene before you. The heart of the dead Saviour is 
 to you a fountain of life. That heart is now laid open, 
 it is the last discovery which is made of it before it is 
 committed to the tomb, and you see that it is full of 
 grace and truth. Often had it melted, and sorrowed, 
 and groaned for you, now it weeps and bleeds, and 
 still it is for you. Let your minds be filled with won- 
 der at his grace, who, having loved his own in the 
 world, loved them to the end, and made even his 
 breathless body to suggest to you the lessons and the 
 blessings of grace and consolation. The cross of Christ 
 was a tree of life, and its healing balm drops without 
 ceasing. 
 
 Your indignation is glowing against this ruflSan 
 soldier: direct it against the evil passions of your own 
 hearts. You have wounded Christ in the house of his 
 friends, by your folly and carnality, and there are 
 aggravations in your conduct which are not to be 
 found in that of this man. You are conscious of Christ'* 
 I. 6 
 
22S ADDRESS XXtl. 
 
 innocence and dignity, which he was not ; you have" 
 received proofs of regard which he did not, and have 
 given pledges of serving him which he never made. 
 Let such thoughts humble yon. Look to him whom 
 you have pierced, and mourn for him. Say not, " I 
 cannot look to him, for I am unable to bear the frown 
 of anger and abhorrence with which he must survey a 
 wretch like me ;" but you forget that " he waits to be 
 gracious, and takes pleasure in them that hope in his 
 mercy." When we turn our eyes to one whom we 
 have injured, we may find him implacable. There 
 may be something in his face which tells us more de- 
 cidedly than can be done by words, that he can never 
 forgive us ; but when the penitent soul looks to Jesus, 
 there is a mildness and a pi^ty in his countenance 
 which assures us that all is forgiven, and that it is his 
 glory and his delight to save us. O generous Re- 
 deemer, it shall be my delight to love thee and to 
 serve thee, and my grief while I live that I have 
 offended thee so often, and hated thee so long. There 
 is no frown on his face, and on his lips no sentence 
 of exclusion from his presence and mercy. It is less 
 injurious to him to question his Almighty power, than 
 to distrust the riches of his grace, or the tenderness of 
 his compassion. 
 
 Implore clearer discoveries of the sufficiency and 
 iwerit of the sacrifice of your Lord, and beseech him 
 to give you a pledge that peace has been made by the 
 blood of the cross, in his saying to you, " I am paci- 
 fied to you for ail that ye have done." O how delight- 
 ful is it to bear the Father, whom we have offended, 
 declaring himself reconciled to us, and the greatest 
 and best of beings assuring us that he will be our God 
 for ever } What a privilege is it to be thus warranted 
 to hope that peace shall attend us in all the circum^ 
 
ADDRESS XXVI. 220 
 
 Stances of our lot, to calm our minds in the storm of 
 affliction, to sustain us in meek composure in our in- 
 tercourse with unreasonable men, and to fortify us 
 against the terrors of judgment ? 
 
 Implore increasing measures of sanctifying grace, 
 and beseech him to fulfil to you his gracious promise, 
 " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye 
 shall be clean from all your fikhiness, and from all 
 your idols will I cleanse }ou," and arise from this 
 solemn scene to carry into practice the virtuous resolu- 
 tions which you have now formed. Let young dis- 
 ciples beware of every thing which tends to lessen 
 the sensibility of conscience, or to taint purity of man- 
 ners, and let them uniformly maintain the self-denial 
 and the circumspection of prudence and sobriety. Let 
 those in middle life take heed lest at any time their 
 hearts are overcharged with surfeiting and drunken- 
 ness, and the cares of this life ; and let not the fail- 
 ing eye of age look back with favour on any of the 
 pollutions of this world, or its declining days be made 
 miserable by what is especially in them a foolish so- 
 licitude. 
 
 Trust in God, that whatever evil men may be per- 
 mitted to do to you or to yours, it shall be mace sub- 
 servient to his glory, to your own good, and to that of 
 others. The stroke which endangers your health, the 
 calumny which blackens your name, the artifice which 
 alienates your friends, and the injustice which wrests 
 your property from you, shall yield to you and to 
 others the peaceable fruits of righteousness, if you 
 suffer like Christians. And, remembering what the 
 body of your Lord was subject to in death and after it, 
 fret not because yours must be wasted and broken by 
 disease, and at last covered with worms and clods of 
 dust. Let it be your desire that while it remains un- 
 
SdO ADDRESS XXVI. 
 
 burled^ the sight of it may suggest to your family the 
 canity of every earthly confidence, and the necessity of 
 immediate preparation for eternity, and that in its 
 •offin, and in its grave, your flesh may rest in hope 
 that this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and that 
 what was sown in dishonour shall be raised in glory. 
 Amen. 
 
SERMON IV. 231 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 The Conference during the Transfiguration, 
 LUKE ix. 30, 31. 
 
 *• And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Mo- 
 ses and Elias, who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease, 
 ■which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." 
 
 Though the life of our Saviour on earth was a se- 
 ries of humiliation, there were some occasions in which 
 he was declared to be the Son of God with power.— 
 There were periods when the heart of the Man of Sor- 
 rows swelled with joy unspeakable, and when the ap- 
 probation of his Father spread over him a celestial glory. 
 Thus Christ was animated for severer conflicts, light is 
 shed over his mysterious abasement, the heart that 
 loves him is gladdened by such bright interruptions 
 in the succession of his sorrows, and suffering excel- 
 lence is encouraged to hope for the support of his fa- 
 vour, and for the honour of his testimony. The trans- 
 figuration of our Lord has always been considered as 
 the most splendid occurrence in his life. In that scene 
 the church on earth, and the church in heaven met in 
 their representatives, to do honour to the common head 
 and lord of both. Often hath pious meditation ascend- 
 ed the holy mount to contemplate this wondrous scene, 
 and come down from it saying, " We beheld his glory, 
 the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of 
 grace and truth." The pomp which was at that time 
 displayed in courts, passed away as a vain shew, but 
 1 
 
252 SERMON IV, 
 
 this incident lives in the hearts of the faithful, and its 
 splendour shines for evi r in the majesty on high. 
 
 The EvangeHst tells us that the scene of the transfi- 
 guration was a mountain. So far removed was Jesus 
 from the desire of vain glory, that while in his cruci- 
 fixion he was put to open shame, his glory was display- 
 ed on a solitary mountain, and before three chosen 
 friends. They were permitted to witness it, that they 
 might give a sufficient attestation to its truth ; and they 
 only were allowed to behold if, in accordance with the 
 unostentatious character of the whole transaction. This 
 manifestation of his Father's complacency was pro- 
 mised to our Lord, cind the time fixed for it was come, 
 yet he solicits it by earnest and affectionate prayer, and 
 while he prayed he was transfigured. We must not 
 suppose, from the expressions here employed, that the 
 glory was hmited to our Lord's body. As his mental 
 agony showed itself in his sweat of blood, so his mental 
 rapture was apparent in the brightness of his counten- 
 ance; and in addition to this, a splendour was spread 
 over his body which irradiated not only his face but 
 his garments. This was a pledge of the glory that 
 awaited him at the right hand of God, and in which 
 he was seen by John while he was in Patmos ; who 
 describes it in the loftiest terms which language could 
 furnish, and tells us that while he sunk under his over- 
 powering majesty, he spoke to him with a compassion 
 and gentleness which shewed him that his love was 
 unchanged. 
 
 While the Saviour was thus invested with heavenly 
 splendour, Moses and Elias appeared in glory, and 
 talked with him. The re-appearance of the dead in 
 this world, forms a part of the vulgar belief in all ages. 
 The arts of imposture, and the terrors of superstition, 
 have influenced the fancies of some to such a degree, 
 that they have imagined they saw the forms of the dead 
 
SERMON IV. 23* 
 
 before thenrij and heard from their lips various counsels 
 and warnings. Independent of the circumstances which 
 shew that such scenes are a delusion, the communica- 
 tions supposed to be made in them are either so trifling 
 in themselves, or so Hmited in their object, that it can- 
 not be beh'eved by an enlightened mind that Jehovah 
 would call the departed from their dread abode for such 
 a purpose. Such a mind will never admit, that one 
 would be despatched either from heaven or from hell, 
 merely to excite idle terror, or to gratify vain curio- 
 sity. But how different is the case with the appear- 
 ance of the two men mentioned in the text ! The rea- 
 lity of their appearance is unquestionable, and the ob- 
 ject of it was in all respects worthy of the wisdom and 
 love of God. Trie persons who appeared on this occa- 
 sion to do honour to our Lord were most illustrious, 
 and the event about which they talked was the most 
 important in the whole economy of Providence, and is 
 the object of vivid interest and saving trust from age 
 to age. We are this day to commemorate that event, 
 respecting which Moses and Elias conversed with our 
 Lord on the Mount, to whose glory they delight to de- 
 vote all their powers, and to whose merit they refer all 
 their bliss, and all their glory. May the Holy Ghost 
 enlarge our views of this grand theme, and excite every 
 pious affection to the highest degree which our present 
 state admits, so that there may not be one heait that 
 wanders from the cross of Christ, nor a feeling that 
 flags in our homage of wonder and love. 
 
 In this discourse I shall fiist direct your attention to 
 the account given of the persons who conversed with 
 our Lord, and then to the subject of their conference. 
 
 L — 1. The persons who conversed with our Lord 
 were two men. It may be thought that two angels 
 would have rendered the scene more splendid, but there 
 was a peculiar propriety in employing men. Angels. 
 
234 SERMON IV. 
 
 have not that relation to the Lord Jesus, nor that in- 
 terest in his work which men have. He is oin: brother 
 and Saviour, but not theirs. The death of Christ, about 
 which they came to converse, is the study of angels, 
 but it is the redemption of man. The sight of angels 
 could not have yielded such encouragement as that of 
 men. Angels in their splendour could inspire no hope 
 of glory in the breast of guilty mortals, but men thus 
 honoured, suggests the blessed idea that to it the chil- 
 dren of the dust may aspire. Christ, associating with 
 angels, could excite no hope of our intercourse with 
 him in heaven ; but when he is seen conversing with 
 glorified saints, the expectation is strengthened that we 
 shall walk with him in white. Let us mark this as a 
 high honour conferred on our nature, and let us not 
 degrade that which he hath thus dignified, by taking it 
 to the mountains of vanity, or the tents of sin. 
 
 2. They were men of high eminence under the for- 
 mer dispensation. Moses was highly venerated by the 
 Jews on account of the sacrifices which he made for 
 Israel, and the deliverance from bondage which he was 
 raised up to accomplish, as the framer of their political 
 and religious institutions, and as their guide through 
 the wilderness to the promised land. Elijah was fa- 
 mous for his undaunted zeal against idolatry, and wick- 
 edness in high places, his eminent sanctity, his power 
 with God, and his splendid translation to heaven. Now 
 these two appeared to do homage to Jesus, as the head 
 of that system of grace and truth of which they were 
 the harbingers ; and as representatives of the law and 
 the prophets, they came to resign their authority to 
 him. Nothing could be better adapted to impress the 
 disciples with the superior dignity of their Master, than 
 his being thus attended by the most venerated charac- 
 ters of the former dispensation. They beheld Moses 
 
SERMON IV. 235 
 
 putting his rod into his hands, and Elijah spreading 
 over In'm his mantle, the harp of David devoted to his 
 praise, and the Spirit of prophecy charged with his 
 wonders. 
 
 The remarks which have now been made, were in- 
 tended to point out the wisdom of Providence, in se- 
 lecting only Moses and Elias from the multitude around 
 the throne, for this service ; and it is a curiosity as un- 
 profitable as it is presumptuous, which leads any to in- 
 quire into the claims which others had to be thus em- 
 ployed. The wisdom of the choice was apparent to all 
 the saints in heaven ; and in that land of perfect light 
 and love, there is no vanity that exults in peculiar dis- 
 tinction, and no envy to fret at the superior honours 
 of another. 
 
 3. We are told that these visitants appeared in glory. 
 They came from heaven, and though their honour and 
 felicity there were very high, they felt no reluctance to 
 descend to this mountain. They were not called to re- 
 linquish their splendour, or to cover it with a veil, as 
 our Lord is said to have *' emptied himself," when he 
 appeared in our world. The glory which invested them 
 must have been very great, since it was visible amidst 
 the brightness spread around our Lord. The more 
 splendid their appearance was, it was the more honour- 
 able to him to whom they did obeisance. It is a strik- 
 ing circumstance, that nought is said of the splendour 
 of the heavenly messengers who ministered to our 
 Lord in sorrow, while those who came to give him 
 pledges of his glory, or to call him forth to it, are des- 
 cribed as having countenances like lightning, and rai- 
 ment white as snow. The lustre in which Moses and 
 Elias appeared, was the glory of their exalted nature, 
 and was heightened by the reflection of Christ'* 
 splendour. They appeared in human form, but it 
 
itS6 SERMON IV. 
 
 was in that form, adorned with the kistre, and filled 
 with the power of immortality. We know that the 
 body of Elijah was translated to heaven, and though 
 that of Moses was buried by God himself, it might be 
 raised in glory at this season, and for this appearance. 
 If this was the case, it would appear most encouraging 
 to the Saviour's hope, that God would not leave his soul 
 in a state of separation from the body, and that he 
 would not suffer his Holy One to see corruption. Both 
 are represented as conversing with the man Christ Je- 
 sus, and both were visible to the eyes of the disciples. 
 
 4. They talked with Jesus. It is not said that 
 they talked with one another. They had come toge- 
 ther to this scene, and though there was much in what 
 they had seen and enjoyed, about which they might 
 have " taken sweet counsel ;" and though their sensi- 
 bility to heavenly things was undiminished, it was with 
 Jesus, and what concerned him, that their attention was 
 occupied. Nor is it said that they talked with the dis- 
 ciples. They descended, not to hold intercourse with 
 them, but with their master. Though they had for 
 ages, enjoyed fellowship with him as God, this was, 
 perhaps, the first time in which they were associated 
 with him as a man. Long had their voices been em- 
 ployed in his praise, now they converse with him ; and 
 while the expression conveys the idea of familiar inter- 
 course, it must have been marked on their part with re- 
 verence, affection, and delight. For this conference 
 they were amply qualified, and they would retire from 
 it with new ardour, in the resolution and wish, " My 
 mouth shall speak the praises of the Lord, and let all 
 flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever." 
 
 n. Let us now attend to the subject of their con- 
 ference. It was the decease which he should accom- 
 plish at Jerusalem. 
 
SERMON IV. 237 
 
 The term by which the death of our Lord is here 
 represented, is very remarkable. It is not one com- 
 monly employed to express either death in general, or 
 that of Jesus, but one which signifies departure. It has 
 been supposed by some, that in this term there is an 
 allusion to the ancient ceremony of the scapegoat. On 
 that goat the priest was to lay his hands, and to con- 
 fess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, 
 putting them on the head of the goat, and to send him 
 away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness.— 
 This rite has been represented by the infidel scoffer, in 
 his ignorance and audacity, as one of the ridiculous 
 mummeries of a gross and childish superstition ; but it 
 was an appointment of divine wisdom, and it directed 
 the attention of the pious, for ages, to that eventful 
 hour, when Jesus, that he might sanctify the people 
 with his blood, suffered without the gates of Jerusalem. 
 But this is a term which is applied to the children of 
 Israel going forth from Eg3'pt ; to it there is an allu- 
 sion in the text, and betwixt it and the death of Jesus, 
 it is easy to trace many striking points of resemblance. 
 Then the Israelites quitted a scene of hard service, and 
 aggravated misery, and when Jesus died, he closed a 
 life embittered by toil, soirow, and persecution, and 
 exchanged the labours of a servant for the throne of 
 glory. The departure of Israel was signalized by the 
 destruction of their haughty and cruel oppressors, and 
 they triumphed gloriously, where their enemies expect- 
 ed to have crushed them without mercy. And we 
 know that in the death of Jesus he spoiled principali- 
 ties and powers, destroyed death, and him that had the 
 power of it, and made a shew of them openly, triumph- 
 ing over them on the cross. But let it be carefully re- 
 membered, that whatever anxieties and fears the Is- 
 raelites felt at this period, they were subjected to no 
 
238 SERMON IV. 
 
 suflFering ; whereas the departure of Jesus was marked 
 hy the most exquisite anguish, corporal and mental, by 
 the torture of his body, and by the breaking of his 
 heart. 
 
 With regard to this decease, the Evangelist tells us 
 that Christ should accomplish it; an expression which 
 strongly points out the necessity of his death. It was ne- 
 cessary to fulfil the purposes of his Father, and his own 
 engagements, and for the consummation of his work* 
 Had he not died, all his previous labours, and victories, 
 and sufferings, would have been unavailing as to the 
 expiation of sin, or the subversion of Satan's king- 
 dom. Had he not died, the excellencies of his life, 
 however splendid, would have been, as to any efficacy 
 on our salvation, only a bright show. But the obliga- 
 tion which our Lord was under to suffer and die, 
 was the result of his own consent, and this consent 
 was never either revoked or regretted. The verb 
 rendered " accomplished" is active, and implies that in 
 completing our salvation all the powers of his nature 
 would be put forth. He knew every obstacle he would 
 have to surmount, and every enemy that would oppose 
 his progress; that the sympathy of friendship would 
 be denied him, and the smiles of his Father withheld 
 from him during the dreadful scene, yet did he say " I 
 have a baptism to be baptised with, and how am I 
 straitened till it be accomplished. 
 
 But the Evangelist specifies the place where this 
 event should happen. Though the principal events 
 of our Lord's life happened in places at some distance 
 from Jerusalem, there were many reasons why he 
 should die there. The impression which his suffer- 
 ings were to produce on the spectators, the importance 
 attached to his death, and the consequences to be de- 
 duced from it, in the propagation of his religion over 
 
SERMON IV. 259 
 
 the world, required that it should take place, not in a 
 solitary, but a public scene, that its certainty might 
 appear indisputable. It was here that the council 
 held its meetings by which he was to be condemned. 
 It was in this place also that the sacrifices were offer- 
 ed up, and the rites performed by which it was pre- 
 figured, and it was most fit that the decease should 
 be accomplished here, in which they were all realized 
 and superseded. I only add on this part of the sub- 
 ject, that as the murder of our Lord was to be the 
 consummation of that course of wickedness which wa« 
 to bring destruction on Judea, it was most fit that it 
 should take place in the capital of the country, and at 
 a time when the people were assembled in it from 
 all corners of the land. At Jerusalem a cross was 
 erected far more interesting than its splendid temple, 
 and events took place on it, of which the most magni- 
 ficent ceremonies that were ever performed within its 
 walls were only shadows. 
 
 Having made these explanatory remarks on the 
 language here employed, let us now consider the cir- 
 cumstances in the death of Christ about which they 
 spoke. Here we are not left to mere conjecture, for, 
 from the subsequent statements of the Evangelists, 
 and Apostles, and from the accounts given us of the 
 worship of the blessed in heaven, we learn some of 
 the particulars of this conference. 
 
 i. They spake of the moral glory which Jesus 
 should exhibit in his departure. Great was the glory 
 of Moses in the going forth from Egypt. I refer not 
 to the plagues which he inflicted, but to the boldness 
 with which he braved the frowns and threats of power ; 
 his generous attachment to the cause of Israel, his un- 
 shaken faith amid the most perplexing circumstances, 
 and his prompt obedience to the will of God, when his 
 
$40 SERMON IV. 
 
 orders led him to advance where safety could only be 
 obtained by a miracle. But far superior to this was 
 the glory shed round a crucified Saviour. I speak not 
 of the power by which the heavens were clothed in 
 blackness, the rocks were rent, and the dead were 
 raised ; but of that moral glory which is the veneration 
 of the wise and the splendour of heaven, which time 
 cannot deface, nor the dissolution of the world destroy 
 
 The love of excellence was a principle of peculiar 
 strength in the heart of Jesus, from the perfect purity 
 of his nature, and his exquisite preception of its beauty. 
 Every opportunity of exercising the graces of the 
 Spirit in life he had gludly embraced, but a scene 
 was before him in which they were to be manifested 
 in a lustre more bright than ever. It was to this 
 scene that Moses and Elias now led the views of 
 the Holy One of God. They told him that on the 
 cross he would exert a courage, by which the powers 
 of darkness would be not meitly resisted but trampled 
 down, a faith which all the horrors of the curse could 
 not shake, a patience which would remain mild and 
 silent amidst unexampled agony, and a love to a lost 
 world of sinners, whiclj even they could not fathom with 
 their improved faculties, and though they had studied 
 it so long in the light of glory. Now nothing could 
 be more animating to the heart of our Lord than 
 this, and nothing better a(iapted to excite him to 
 endure the cross, despising the shame, than the 
 view of a conflict issuing in such a victory, and de- 
 gradation gilded with such snleiuiour. 
 
 2. They spoke of the important ends to be gain- 
 ed by his death. It reconciles the mind to labours 
 and sufferings, when we are assured that valuable 
 ends will be gained by them. i'here is an uncer- 
 tainty which attends all human expectations, for un- 
 
SERMON rv. 241 
 
 foreseen events may occasion disappoint ment, and 
 subject us to the mortifying reflection, that we have 
 laboured and suffered in vain. Yet, in spite of this 
 uncertainty, hope stimulates to activity and patience. 
 With regard to the ends to be gained by our Lord's 
 death, there could be no risk of failure, and Moses 
 and Elias would exhibit these to his mind in all their 
 certainty and magnitude. 
 
 Let me specify some of these ends. They talked 
 cf the glory which should result from his death to all 
 the divine perfections. The glory of his Father was 
 the dearest of all objects to the heart of Christ ; to 
 attain it, he deemed no effort too arduous, and no suf* 
 fering too severe; and to him Moses and Elias repre- 
 sented the justice of God honoured in the fulfilment 
 of all its claims, and in exacting all its due, though 
 his only Son was its victim; and his love displayed, 
 in giving the Son of his bosom to suffer ali that we 
 deserved, and to purchase for us a higher felicity thai^ 
 was lost by the fall. It was the prospect of this glory 
 to God in the highest, mingled with peace on earth, 
 and good will to men, v.'hich called forth the praises 
 of angels over the fields of Bethlehem, and it was this 
 which occupied and ^animated the conference on the 
 Mount. 
 
 The expiation to be made for sin was another end. 
 Sin was most hateful to his pure heart, its malig- 
 nant influence he saw in all its extent; and it was most 
 delightful to him to think that the guilt which had 
 spread disorder and desolation over the works of God, 
 and plunged a world of intelligent beings in ruin, was 
 now to be put away, even though this was to be done 
 by the sacrifice of himself. 
 
 I must mention farther, the salvation to be gain- 
 ed by his death for miUions of human beings. Thisi 
 
 VOL. II. M 
 
242 SERMON IV. 
 
 had, from eternity, been the great object to which 
 his benevolent heart pointed ; and his generous soli- 
 citude to accomplish it was heightened by what he 
 had seen of the criminality and wretchedness of men. 
 He saw that by his death he would save the lost, and 
 that the objects of his mercy would be exalted by it to 
 eternal glory and bliss. They would share the splen- 
 dour shed round these visitants, and the joy with 
 which their hearts were swelling. To his generous 
 heart this was a most cheering prospect, and made 
 him welcome the death which should be for them the 
 purchase of heaven. 
 
 2. We may consider them as speaking of the in- 
 fluence of his death. The hope that by any effort or 
 loss of ours, the improvement and comfort of others 
 will be promoted, will make a good man submit to 
 it without a murmur. These men of God had felt 
 the power of this consideration in their perils and con- 
 flicts, and this was an idea which gave a strong im- 
 pulse to the mind of our Lord, that his dying love 
 should be the animating principle of every virtue. 
 Never was there an event to which morality owes so 
 much, or which has such a cheering power over the 
 ills of life, as the death of Jesus. It was gratifying to 
 Moses and Elias to mark the influence of their labours, 
 and every instance of their power which is made known 
 to them, is to them a new pleasure ; but how httle is all 
 that has been accomplished by them, when compared 
 with that event v/hich hath perfected for ever them 
 that are sanctified ! It has been employed by the wise 
 and good in all ages, to give efficacy to every warning 
 against sin, and to every moral exhortation ; and it is 
 the grand means which the Holy Ghost uses in excit- 
 ing and maintaining all the religious feelings in the 
 heart. None can number the feuds it has extinguished. 
 
SERMON IV. 245 
 
 the plans of mercy it has suggested, the charities it 
 has prompted, and the mortifications to vvhicli it hath 
 reconciled the heart. Who can tell how often it hath 
 kindled the glow of devotion, and repressed the risings 
 of pride, how many cottages of poverty it hath adorn- 
 ed with calm integrity, how many houses of mourning 
 it hath filled with strong consolation, how many dun* 
 geons of misery it hath brightened, and how often it 
 hath shed peace and hope over the bed of sickness 
 and death? And this influence it hath not in one 
 country, or period, but throughout all regions and all 
 ages. Nay, they might present before him its in- 
 fluence in heaven, and tell him with what interest it 
 was anticipated there, that it animated all its services, 
 and heightened all its bliss, that there is not a song on 
 high, of which it is not the grand theme, nor a spirit 
 there which will not feel its power for ever. 
 
 4. They spoke of the rewards which should be 
 conferred on him for his obedience to the death. 
 They knew the glory which was its appointed reward, 
 for they had seen the honours preparing for his name, 
 and the throne and the sceptre which were destined for 
 him. They could tell him, that though he should be 
 loaded with a reproach, a name above every name would 
 be his; that though he was to agonize in deadly sorrow, 
 fulness of joy and pleasures everlasting awaited him at 
 the right hand of God; that though an infuriated po- 
 pulace might reject and insult him, heaven would re- 
 sound with blessings of gratitude and songs of praise, 
 in honour of his worth and mercy; and that though 
 men might doom him to a cross, anddeath might enclose 
 him in the grave, the Spirit of holiness would raise 
 him in triumph, and the Lord of all say to him, ** Sit 
 thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies 
 thy footstool. They knew those circumstances in his 
 M2 
 
244 SERMON IV. 
 
 sufferings, the apprehension and the endurance of 
 which would be most trying to his courage and pa- 
 tience, and they pointed out in the glory which was to 
 follow what they deemed sufficient to counteract their 
 influence. 
 
 In these statements, Jesus heard not the voicb of 
 flattery, or the language of hope, conjecturing a result 
 favourable to its wishes, but the assurances of persons 
 from the spot which was to be the scene of his reward, 
 whose eyes had beheld the dazzling splendour of his 
 crown, and whose ears had listened to the mandate of 
 Jehovah requiring for him universal praise. 
 
 Let me now state shortly, some of the reasons why 
 this theme was chosen for conference on the Mount. 
 
 1. It was done to animate and invigorate the Son 
 of man for the scene before him. We have shown 
 already how well these views of his death were adapted 
 for this purpose; but it may be asked, was this neces- 
 sary ? To this it may be answered, that though they 
 could suggest nothing as to his decease which his mind 
 did not already know, yet the testimony of two such 
 characters must have confirmed his hopes and antici* 
 pations ; and the recollection of what they said would 
 be useful to him in repelling the dark suggestions by 
 which Satan attempted to discourage and distract him. 
 Every man has felt, that while the fears of others in- 
 crease his apprehensions, the confidence of others con- 
 firms his trust, and that his hopes are encouraged by 
 their expectations. 
 
 But as the soul of Jesus increased in wisdom, it is 
 not unreasonable to suppose that these heavenly raes- 
 scno-ers might enlarge his views of the results of his 
 death, while they expatiated in ail the light and power 
 of celestial eloquence on this topic. Inspirited by it,- 
 he goes forward in his momentous career, and perse- 
 
SERMON IV. 245 
 
 vcred till he had finished transgression^ and brought 
 in everlasting righteousness. 
 
 2. We may find another reason for the choice of 
 tliis topic, in its peculiar importance. Men sometimes 
 attach importance to events from their ignorance, and 
 count things great and admirable which, to another, 
 whose information is more extensive, appear quite tri- 
 vial. But these glorified saints had the most ample 
 opportunities of knowing the ways of God, and they 
 could not err in pointing out redemption as the chief. 
 In their own life and death they found nothing that 
 had a claim to exclude it. They saw thai the most 
 splendid events under the old dispensation prepared 
 its way, that in this centre all the lines of evangelical 
 truth meet, and that on this foundation all the hopes of 
 the redeemed rest. They had marked every feature of 
 the divine character illustrated by it, and the blessings 
 bestowed from the throne of grace, and the multitudes 
 admitted into heaven on its account. They had seen 
 all the angels of heaven engaged in the study of it, and 
 at every step of their progress bursting forth in new 
 expressions of wonder and praise. They knew that the 
 events which were to take place under the Christian dis- 
 pensation, even the grandest which prophecy foretells, 
 or history records, the fall of empires, the subversion 
 of systems of imposture, and the most valuable dis- 
 coveries in art and science, would be directed for the ex- 
 tension of its influence ; and that even judgment in all 
 its solemnities, would be the acquittal of those who 
 were justified by his blood, and the condemnation of 
 those who were the enemies of the cross of Christ. 
 
 3. They talked of this subject for the sake of the 
 disciples. They felt no jealousy on account of the 
 office to which they had been chosen, and no envy 
 
 m3 
 
246 SERMON IV. 
 
 on account of the fame that awaited them ; but were 
 solicitous that they might approve themselves the en- 
 lightened and zealous servants of such a Master, and 
 that they might glory in his cross. We know not 
 what part of .this conference they did not hear, but it 
 it is plain that they heard somewhat of it, and that their 
 eagerness to retain the company of Moses and Elias, 
 arose not merely from what they saw, but from what 
 fell from their lips. Such was the power of their carnal 
 prejudices, that these views of Christ's death had not 
 at first a due influence over them, but after they were 
 enlightened by the Holy Ghost, they appeared to 
 them most glorious and delightful. Who can tell 
 what influence they had in deepening the repentance of 
 Peter, and what support they gave to the heart of John 
 while he stood by the cross ? We know that they were 
 animated by them in the preaching of the gospel, and 
 in suffering for its sake. It is pleasing to mark the in- 
 terest which they felt in the conduct and labours of our 
 Lord's apostles, and the idea is not to be despised as a 
 vain fancy, th^it the blessed on high watch with earnest 
 attention the progress of righteousness and truth in the 
 world, and the struggles and triumphs of their friends. 
 4. They did it for the benefit of the Church in 
 all ages. Thus we are taught to set the highest value 
 on it, and to judge that if there was nought in glory 
 which they would prefer to it as the subject of contem- 
 plation, we ought to suffer nought on earth to detach us 
 from it ; and that to all the contempt cast on it by 
 impious scorn, and to all the cavils urged against it by 
 infidel sophistry, we may oppose the admiration which 
 it excites in heaven, and the testimony borne to it by 
 messengers from on high, who were incapable of utter- 
 ing what was erroneous, or of admiring what was in* 
 
SERMON IV. 24iy 
 
 significant. They did it to teach us how much of our 
 discourse it should engross, and with what delight we 
 should talk of it in our interviews with our friends. 
 This theme would solemnize, improve, and bless social 
 intercourse. By their conduct we are excited to tlie 
 commemoration of it in the ordinance of the Lord's 
 Supper, and are encouraged to shew forth his death till 
 he come. In this ordinance we feel an interest in the 
 death of Christ, from the comfort which it yields to us 
 in fear and sorrow, from the revival it imparts to our 
 graces, and the repression it gives to our corruptions, 
 which they cannot experience in the regions of perfect 
 purity and bhss. We know the fellowship of his suf- 
 ferings, and are blessed with the communion of his 
 body and blood. And thus also, we are taught to bear 
 about with us in the body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, 
 to act under its influence, and to labour to promote it ; 
 to feel its impulse in every duty, to listen to its admo- r 
 
 nitions \u every scene, and to exhibit it as the most 
 effectual means of renovating the worst characters, and 
 of perfecting the best. 
 
 I shall conclude the discourse with some reflections 
 and counsels, suggested by the subject. 
 
 How clear is the light which this subject sheds over 
 the certainty, the employments, and the pleasures of a 
 future state ? Blessed be God, we are not left to form our 
 ideas of futurity from the wild and sensual fables of hea- 
 thenism, nor from the deductions of reason, which are li- 
 mited and unsatisfactory, but from the discoveries made 
 by him with whom are the words of eternal life. In 
 this scene we behold departed saints in the possession 
 of all the powers of soul and body in a state of perfec- 
 tion, capable of every service, and blessed with their 
 Saviour's joy. These are pledges of the glory of the 
 M 4 
 
248 SERMON IV. 
 
 righteous, and in them you see what you shall be in 
 due time. There you shall talk with Jesus, and ad- 
 dress to his ear that anthem of your gratitude, " Thou 
 art worthy, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us 
 to God by thy blood," and his communications shall 
 fill your minds with rapturous wonder. With such a 
 hope we can brave the gloom of death, and the putre- 
 faction of the grave, and may we live and die under its 
 soothing and elevating influence. 
 
 This subject calls on you to cultivate religious con- 
 versation. But what is religious conversation ? It 
 lies not in disputes and controversies about doctrines 
 and rites, in boasting of our spiritual attainments, in 
 inveighing against the faults of others, in depreciating 
 one preacher, and in exalting another, but in talking of 
 the divine excellencies, the atoning death, the holy law, 
 and the final judgment of our Lord. And when we be- 
 hold such conversation thus sanctioned, v^e may despise 
 the insolent impiety which calls it the cant of hypocrisy. 
 Widely different it is from the prattle of the giddy, and 
 the sallies of the jocose. It is not adapted, like them, 
 to kill time, but to improve it. It keeps not eternity 
 out of view, but prepares for it. When our conversa- 
 tion is reviewed, we shall blush that so little of it was 
 occupied with this topic. I may remark that by the 
 select nature of the conference on the Mount, you are 
 taught to introduce it in proper places and seasons, 
 and that such communications are better adapted to 
 the family circle, and to the intercourse of friendship, 
 than to the promiscuous assembly, or the house of 
 mirth. 
 
 Let Christians live more under the influence of this 
 death than ever. Die more to sin in an increasing ab- 
 horrence of it, in a more zealous opposition to every 
 
SERMON IV. 24^ 
 
 evil in the world, and in the church, and in more ac- 
 tive efforts to subdue every corrupt propensity. Live 
 above the world, in contempt of its vanities and follies, 
 in avoiding its pollutions, and in superiority to its 
 frowns and persecutions. Let there be more of the 
 forgiving spirit in which Christ died, in your dealings 
 with your enemies, more of his patience in your bear-i 
 ing afflictions, more of his faith in your seasons of dark- 
 ness, and more of his beneficence in your employment 
 of what has been committed to your trust. Let it re- 
 press every desire of vain glory and self-indulgence in 
 youth ; let the active and the busy learn to make an in- 
 terest in that salvation which Christ died to accomplish 
 their great concern ; and let the fainting heart lean on 
 the cross of Jesus. 
 
 Let good men prepare for their departure. Imagine 
 not that thoughts of dying suit only the scene of afflic- 
 tion and peril, for Jesus in his glory on the Mount had- 
 his mind turned to his decease. Think of it, ye who 
 are now in the bright morn of youth. In the church- 
 yard beside you, the worm is feeding on cheeks v.-here 
 health and hope lately glowed. Ye who are prosperous, 
 look down from the summit on which you stand, and 
 you will see graves opening for you. And to all of 
 you I say, " What good thou findest in thine hands 
 to do, do it with all thy might, for there is no work, 
 nor device, nor wisdom, nor knowledge, in the grave> 
 whither thou goest." 
 
 Finalhjy Let me call on the disciples of Jesus, with 
 kindred feelings to those of Moses and Elias, to com- 
 memorate their Saviour's decease. Approach his ta- 
 ble with strong impressions of the value of his death, 
 with a glowing sense of his dying love, recognizing it 
 as the only ground of your hope, and as the theme of 
 
 M 5 
 
25Q SERMON IT. 
 
 your study, and wonder, and praise, for eternity, sur- 
 rendering your whole heart, and devoting the whole of 
 life to its influence. On such communicants he will 
 look with complacency, and to them he will say, <' I 
 died for you." We cannot come to that table in per* 
 feet holiness, as Moses and Elias descended to the 
 Mount, for the body of death still cleaves to us ; but 
 we will go to it hungering and thirsting after right* 
 eousness, and saying, " O let not the Lord our God 
 be angry, if we, who are but dust and ashes, take it 
 upon us to speak to the Lord of glory.'.' Let us come 
 in that godly sorrow, which is in his sight a pleasing 
 sacrifice ; in that faith which is the evidence of things 
 not seen ; in that love which values one word of his 
 lips, and one ray from his countenance, more than all 
 the riches and pleasures of the world ; and with the 
 ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in his 
 sight of great price; and may we see, O Jesus, thy 
 power and thy glory as thy people have seen them in 
 thy holy place. 
 
 Let those who never approach the Lord's table 
 consider that, were their conduct general, the death of 
 Christ might sink into oblivion on earth. What must 
 spirits in glory think of your neglect ? and what must 
 they feel when they see the death of Christ underva- 
 lued in the world where he suffered, and by the crea- 
 tures whom he died to save ? Nay, it is a more strik- 
 ing idea still, what does Jesus himself think of your 
 conduct ? he is your final judge, and by him your dis- 
 regard of his last injunction, and your insensibility to 
 his dying love, shall be marked with abhorrence, and 
 exposed in a way that shall cover you with confusion. 
 By the guilt you incur by such neglect, by the benefits 
 you lose, and by the punishment to which you expose 
 
ADDRESS XXVII. 251 
 
 yourselves, I would urge you to wash your souls in his 
 blood, to put away the evil of your doings, and to re- 
 ceive the grace of his Spirit, that you may be qualified 
 for approaching his altar, and for shewing forth the 
 wonders of his redeeming love. 
 
 ADDRESS XXVIL 
 
 The Death of Chri&i worthy of all honour. 
 
 The Apostle John was blessed with a view of the 
 homage paid in heaven to the exalted Saviour, which 
 was admirably adapted to revive the interest and to 
 unfold the import of the scene you have been contem- 
 plating. It is paid in the high praises of God, not by 
 a select few, but by all the blessed ; and not in the 
 transport of a temporary excitement, but with a rap- 
 ture and a vigour which shall not decay through eter- 
 nity. " I beheld, and I heard the voice of many an- 
 gels round about the throne, and of the living crea- 
 tures, and the elders, and the number of them was ten 
 thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thou- 
 sands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb 
 that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wis- 
 dom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and bless- 
 ing." There was not a spirit in glory that did not join 
 in this tribute. It is a tribute which traces the virtue 
 of the cross in all the splendours of the throne, and in it 
 every faculty of praise is put forth to the highest. Never 
 was a tribute so deserved, and, compared with it, the 
 m6 
 
252 ADDRESS XXVII. 
 
 acclamations of armies, and cities, and nations, are less 
 than nothing and vanity. It is excelled only by the 
 tribute paid him by the voice which proclaimed from 
 the excellent glory, *' This is my beloved Son in whom 
 L am well pleased, hear ye him." 
 
 You feel yourselves impelled to pay him your tri- 
 bute, and are, I trust, now saying, *' God forbid that 
 I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." And wherever you turn your attention you 
 will find ample reason for this triumph in his death. It 
 was the subject of the councils of Jehovah from ever- 
 lasting, and eternity to come will be filled with its glo- 
 rious results. If you look to heaven, you behold what 
 it hath purchased ; and if j^ou turn your eye to the fire 
 that shall never be quenched, you see from what it hath 
 saved you. In the church you find the death of Christ 
 the subject of its praise, the topic of its preaching, the 
 theme of its conference, and the plea of all its prayers; 
 and in your own hearts you feel that it is the source of 
 your peace, and the basis of your hopes. By it the 
 covenant of grace was sealed, and the law magnified. 
 From this death your life springs, and before its power 
 the darkest fears of guilt pass away. With your 
 thoughts thus occupied, and your feelings thus excited, 
 may you now partake of the symbols of his broken 
 body and shed blood ; and may you feel such an inte- 
 rest in his death, and such influence from it, as that 
 you will be able to say, " I am crucified with Christ, 
 he loved me, and he gave himself for me." All the 
 glorified saints, were they present in this assembly, 
 could not supply to us, O our Redeemer, the want of 
 thy presence; and we desire to be enlightened, sancti- 
 fied, and blessed, by the brightness of thy face, and by 
 thy voice of wisdom and love. 
 
ADDRESS XXVII. tSS 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 The scene of communicating, like the conference en 
 the Mount, is soon over, but its influence on you wilT, 
 we hope, be permanent. Moses and Eh'as left the 
 mount of transfiguration for heaven, you quit the com- 
 munion table to mingle with the world, and to meet 
 with difficulties and temptations, sorrows and death. 
 But in the decease of your Lord you will find strength 
 for difficulties, an answer to temptations, a balm for 
 sorrow, a refuge in fears, and a hope for dissolution. 
 
 Let your gratitude to your Redeemer be more fer- 
 vent and lively. When you are reminded by any cir- 
 cumstance of a great favour which you have received, 
 and when some new mark of a benefactor's kindness 
 is bestowed, you feel your hearts glowing with grati- 
 tude. You have now been reminded of that death by 
 which you are saved, and have been satisfied with the 
 goodness of your Lord's house; and will you not adore 
 and bless him? It is possible to overrate a favour re- 
 ceived from men, but who can value redemption as he 
 ought ? Improve this decease for strengthening pious 
 affection, for increasing spiritual comfort, and for ex- 
 citement to a holy practice. Never does Christ ap- 
 pear so amiable as in his dying love, nor sin so hate- 
 ful as in his bruises and wounds. Never does holi- 
 ness seem so excellent as in his obedience to death ; 
 and never is pain felt so easy, and affliction so light, 
 as when we contemplate his agony. It will be a 
 happy result of this service if it is evident to your- 
 selves and others that you know, and love, and serve 
 Jesus more. 
 
 Speak of this decease in your families, and let this 
 
1t54i ADDRESS XXVIl. 
 
 be the great argument by which you endeavour to gain 
 the hearts of your children to the Redeemer, and the 
 source to which 3'ou direct the members of your house- 
 hold for patience and comfort under all domestic trials. 
 Speak of it when you visit the afflicted, and point out 
 the resignation which it teaches, and the peace which 
 it yields. Exhibit to those who are tempted to des- 
 pair,'the riches of its merit, and the efficacy of its power; 
 and let this be the chief means which you employ to 
 prepare and to fortify the dying for their departure. 
 The gloom of death can only be brightened by the 
 beam that shines from Calvary. And do not complain 
 that you must quit any scene of ease or enjoyment for 
 this service. Abasement for Jesus is honour, labour 
 for him is pleasure, and loss for him is gain. 
 
 Anticipate your own departure, and be thankful for 
 every monitor which reminds you that you must soon 
 go home. Doat not on objects which you are so soon 
 to leave ; fret not at difficulties which will soon be over ; 
 and complain not of burdens which you shall so soon 
 lay down. Act as those who belong to another world, 
 and let your conversation be in heaven. Rejoice in 
 the friends, but above all, in the Saviour you have 
 there. You shall soon behold his face in righteous- 
 ness. Now you address him in praise and prayer, and 
 your accents are low and feeble, and often do you at- 
 tempt to lift your hearts to him in sighs and groans 
 which cannot be uttered ; but then you shall talk with 
 him in the song of Moses and the Lamb, and in the 
 kindest and sweetest intercourse of friendship read his 
 heart, and lay open to him your own. When you quit 
 this world, it will not be like Israel leaving Egypt for 
 the wilderness, but like Christ departing for paradise; 
 and the sentence with which you are now dismissed 
 
ADDRESS XXVIII. 255 
 
 from his table will be that with which he sends you 
 away from earth, *' Go in peace." 
 
 ADDRESS XXVIII. 
 
 JOHN XI. 35. 
 
 " Jesus wept." 
 
 What a memorable circumstance in the history of 
 our Lord ! With great propriety have those who divid- 
 ed the New Testament into verses made a single verse 
 of this, that the reader may pause and wonder at the 
 tenderness of the Saviour's compassion. On this verse 
 the mourner loves to meditate, many a tear has fallen 
 over it, and many a blessing has been invoked on that 
 head and heart from which these melting symptoms of 
 pity came. This view of our Saviour's tenderness is 
 well adapted to encourage his timid and sorrowful dis- 
 ciples to approach to him at his table, and to implore 
 his mercy and grace ; and it is in this ordinance that 
 he delights to manifest the kindness and the power of 
 his sympathy in healing the broken in heart, and in 
 binding up their wounds. 
 
 These tears of Jesus proceeded from the genuine grief 
 of a kind and melting heart. There are some who 
 have tears at command, and who can weep bitterly 
 when their hearts are very little affected ; but, that 
 Jesus was deeply moved, is evident from his groan- 
 ing in spirit, and it was mental emotion that filled his 
 eyes with tears. The heart which no danger could 
 intimidate was feelingly alive to the impressions of 
 pity J and though he experienced more than any one 
 
 3 
 
256 ADDRESS XXVIII. 
 
 ever did of that ungrateful and injurious treatment 
 which has so often soured the generous and feeling 
 breast, he beheld the miserable with unabated interest, 
 and relieved them with undiminished liberality. 
 
 These tears were copious. This is plain from the 
 remark which was made by some of the spectators, 
 ** Behold how he loved him." They saw in his tears 
 an attachment to the dead uncommonly tender, and 
 therefore it could not be a slight or feeble expression 
 of sorrow. Joy shed few gleams over his countenance, 
 and the Man of Sorrows was to be known by the tokens 
 of grief. At the same time we must not suppose that 
 there was aught that was excessive, or any indication 
 of outrageous passion in our Lord's sorrow. It unfits 
 him for no part of his duty ; the heart that is throb- 
 bing with strong emotion is possessed in patience, and 
 while his eyes run down with water, he waits for the 
 salvation of God. 
 
 In this sorrow of our Lord there was no ostentation. 
 Nothing is more disgusting than parade in grief; but 
 it must be remarked, that, to assume and to maintain 
 the appearance of unconcern in the scene of mourning, 
 may be hurtful and offensive to those whom our sym- 
 pathy might sooth, is an indignity to the memory of 
 the departed, and a contempt of those lessons of mor- 
 tality which both wisdom and piety require that we 
 should feel. It was necessary that our Lord's grief 
 should be manifested for the comfort of the mourners, 
 and for the trial of the hearts of the spectators ; but 
 beyond this he had no wish to exhibit his sorrow. The 
 affectation and vain glory which court applause for any 
 quality whatever, were utter strangers to his meek and 
 lowly mind. 
 
 How amiable was Jesus in this sorrow ! Philosophy 
 delights to exhibit its sages, and war its heroes, as supe-* 
 
ADDRESS XXVIII. 2.57 
 
 rior to all the softer passions, and slern and unmoved 
 amidst the agitation of others ; but the Gospel repre- 
 sents him who is the wisdom of God, and the power 
 of God, as possessing all the gentler dispositions, and 
 as bearing to the scene of sorrovv a kind and melting 
 heart. Such a character deserves to be loved in the 
 highest degree, and the more it is studied the more 
 amiable it appears. 
 
 But let 3'our meditations be turned to the causes of 
 these tears. He wept from friendship to Lazarus. 
 The various and endearing expressions of this man's 
 regard crowded on his mind, and could not but deeply 
 afiectso grateful a heart. He thought of the agony 
 through which Lazarus had passed, and of the pangs 
 he had felt at not seeing him ere he died. Such 
 thoughts as these might pass through the mind of La- 
 zarus in his illness : " If Christ were here he would 
 relieve me if it was for my good, and with him by my 
 side, I could die in peace. My beloved sisters, it is 
 his hand which I wish to close these eyes, and to his 
 care I desire to commend you in my last hour." But 
 Lazarus dies while the Comforter is far away; and 
 Jesus felt that the face which used to meet him with 
 smiles was now pale and ghastly, that dark and dismal 
 was the mansion where friendship spread his couch and 
 prepared his table, and that the companion who lean- 
 ed on his bosom now lay cold and senseless in his 
 tomb. 
 
 Our Lord might weep also when he thought of the 
 scenes to which he was to return. His resurrection 
 would be a blessing to his sisters, but it would bring 
 him back to a world of sorrow and danger, where the 
 malice of his enemies would seek to destroy him, and 
 where he must be subjected to many anxieties and 
 fears. He knew that he had again to pass through 
 
2(50 
 
 ADDRESS XXVIir. 
 
 ruir.s of that nature which he had assumed, and t^ 
 which, amidst all its degradation, his soul cleaved, and 
 over the perdition of those who would not come to 
 him that they might have hfe. 
 
 And now, my brethren, let me ask, into what frame 
 of mind have these contemplations brought you ? Are 
 your hearts melting, and your tears mingling with his ; 
 and are you now following him from the grave where 
 he wept, that you might be soothed by his sympathy; 
 to the cross where he died, that you might be washed 
 in his blood ; that you may know him in the virtues 
 of his character, and in the fellowship of his sufferings ? 
 Then over you the Saviour will rejoice, and his comj- 
 fofts will delight your :souls. 
 
 AJler the Service. 
 
 Christians, j^ou feel, I trust, the claims which the 
 Saviour in tears has to your admiration and love. Our 
 hearts esteem the man whom we behold weeping with 
 the mourner, especially if we know him to be one of a 
 great and beneficent character ; and shall we not re- 
 gard him with every sentiment of wonder and affec- 
 tion, who^ though he was in tlie form of God, entered 
 so deeply into the woes of suffering humanity ? Ten- 
 derness of heart is always amiable, but it appears espe- 
 cially so in one whose situation is superior to that of 
 the sufferer, or v/ho has severer woes of his own to bear. 
 And when the Lord from heaven, when the victim of 
 the curse weeps for us, we must feel disposed to siiy, 
 " How precious is thy grace ! I am ashamed of the 
 coldness of my love, nor can I think of the selfish spi- 
 rit of the world, or of the enmity of the carnal mind 
 
ADDIlESS xxviir. 261 
 
 «i;ainst thee without indfgnation. Here is a heart 
 tliat would love thee in the highest degree, and which 
 thy tears and thy sufferings have won." Thy heart is 
 accepted ; but while his condescension should fill thee 
 with grateful wonder, remember the solemn responsi- 
 bility under which this surrender has brought thee. 
 The heart, thus devoted, can never be withdrawn from 
 him without involving thee in tlie guilt of the basest 
 treachery. O keep it " with all diligence^ for out of 
 it are the issues of life or of death." 
 
 Trust in your Saviour's compassion in the hour of 
 sorrow. You cannot accost him in the same form, nor 
 receive his sympath}'' in the same way with the friends 
 of Lazarus j but we knov/ that in all our affliction he 
 is afflicted. Let not the assurance of his sympathy be 
 treated as a vain delusion. It is no idle tale which I 
 hear from the lips of that orphan, " I went to weep at 
 my father's grave, and I looked for some to pit}'- me, 
 but there was none, and for comforters, but I found 
 none. All was motionless around me save the waving 
 of the grass, and all was silence save the howling of 
 the wind. No father's voice spoke to me from the 
 dust; but I heard a voice, and by its kindness and its 
 power I knew it to be that of Jesus. It promised me 
 the pity, the love, and the care of an Almighty Friend; 
 it inspired me with fortitude, and animated me with 
 hope. I felt his arm supporting me, I sunk into his 
 bosom, and he soothed my heart to rest." 
 
 Cultivate sympathy, and be ready to manifest it to 
 the children of sorrow. It is painful to think how lit- 
 tle of the Saviour's spirit is to be seen among the visi-i 
 tants of the house of mourning. The bereaved parents, 
 the helpless orphan, and the broken-hearted widow, 
 have too often been surrounded by those vvlio had 
 rjought of sorrow but its garb, and have listened in vain 
 
262 ADDRESS XXVIII, 
 
 for one sentiment of piety, or one counsel of religious 
 comfort. Foolish talk and political details too often 
 occupy the place which should be devoted to the words 
 of eternal life. Let us do every thing in our power to 
 correct such flagrant improprieties, and labour to sup- 
 port the weak, and to comfort the wounded mind. 
 How soothing to the sufferer is the language and the 
 manner which says, " I cannot remove your pains, but 
 I will make them as easy as I can by the ministrations 
 of love. I cannot bring back the friends you have lost, 
 but I will be a friend in their place." Were the spirit 
 of sympathy prevalent in a church, it would resemble 
 the sensitive plant, every twig of which vibrates if a 
 leaf is touched ; or the natural body, where all the mem- 
 bers suffer if one is injured. Sympathy with others 
 will prevent your brooding too painfully over your own 
 troubles ; and to you it must be the most powerful of 
 all motives to this duty, that he who hath taught you 
 «)ntentment by his privations, zeal by his labours, and 
 devotion by his prayers, hath called you to weep with 
 the mourner by his tears. 
 
 What a happy day to your Lord will that of the re- 
 surrection be ! Then the friends whom he gave up to 
 death with a sigh will rise to die no more, and those 
 with whom he wept will be more happy than ever they 
 were sad. Then the bodies of good men will appear 
 more comely than our nature did even in the period 
 of innocence, and the crown of life shall be placed on 
 the head which once lay so low in the dust. They 
 shall be engaged in the noblest services, and called to 
 the best enjoyments. 
 
 How delightful to Jesus will be the astonishment and 
 rapture with which pious friends will meet each other, 
 and the pleasure with which they will listen to his as<. 
 sarance from his throne, that their union shall be eter- 
 
ADDRESS XXIX. 
 
 nal ! In the very spot where friends parted they shall 
 meet again in joy more sweet than the sorrow was bit- 
 ter, and the place of weeping shall be the scene of exul- 
 tation. Let your decaying hopes feel the reviving influ- 
 ence of your Lord's promise ; and while nature mourns 
 over the disorder and the desolation which are spread 
 over the fairest of her works, rejoice in hope of the new 
 heavens and the new earth, where righteousness, har- 
 mony, and love, shall flourish for ever.^ 
 
 ADDRESS XXIX. 
 
 xuKE XIX. 41, 42. 
 
 ** And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wejrt 
 over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy 
 day, the things which belong unto thy peace, but now are they hid 
 from thine eyes." 
 
 Many are the bright examples of patriotism which 
 «re exhibited in the history of nations. The warrior 
 who has secured the liberty, or extended the power of 
 his country by his skill and valour ; the legislator, 
 who has established its rights, and promoted its pros- 
 perity, by his wise regulations ; and the beneficent, who 
 have founded institutions for the relief of the helpless 
 and the wretched among its inhabitants, are remem- 
 bered with lively gratitude from age to age. That 
 they lived, not to themselves, but to their country, is 
 the tribute paid to their name when they die, and it is 
 preserved with care as a sacred memorial of national 
 gratitude, and as an animating motive to others to de« 
 
S64 ADI>RESS XXIX. 
 
 vote their talents and labours to the general good. 
 Some have made great exertions for the public welfare 
 amidst ungrateful and injurious treatment from their 
 country, and on this account are extolled with loftier 
 praise. 
 
 But how much superior was the display of patriotism 
 made by our Lord when he wept over Jerusalem, and 
 uttered, in the most pathetic language, the bitter re- 
 gret of his compassionate heart. The services which 
 he had rendered to the Jews, were far beyond all ever 
 derived from mortals ; his motives in these were of 
 the purest and noblest description, and they were per- 
 formed in circumstances which would have roused the 
 meekest to anger, and hurried on the most forgiving 
 to revenge ; yet did he mourn over the lost sheep of 
 the house of Israel, who had rejected all the offers of 
 his grace. 
 
 The heart loves to meditate on those scenes in our 
 Lord's life in which he appears in the tenderness of 
 his mercy. Had we merely seen him scattering the 
 treasures of wisdom, or exercising a controul over the 
 elements, we should have regarded him Vv'ith admira- 
 tion ; but we would have v/ished for some direct indica- 
 tions of the compassion of his heart. While power 
 may astonish, and majesty may awe, it is goodness 
 which encourages, and generosity that wins. To a 
 creature conscious of guilt, and oppressed with sorrow, 
 the mercy of Jesus is the most interesting of all his 
 excellencies; and it is to the tenderness of his heart 
 that we look in all the sad and trying incidents in our 
 lot. Men may err as to the objects, the expression, 
 and the degree of their compassion, but the pity of 
 Jesus was guided by perfect wisdom ; and while it 
 sheds the sweetest grace over his own character, it 
 most powerfully calls forth all those forms of charity 
 
APDRESSXXIX. 265 
 
 in every age, which are so lovely and so useful amidst 
 the evils of this mortal state. 
 
 The scene you are now contemplating presents the 
 second instance which is recorded of our Lord's weep- 
 ing, and it gives us a higher view of his character than 
 the first. To weep for the sorrows of an enemy is a 
 superior degree of generosity to that which weeps over 
 those of a friend. To mourn in sympathy is so com- 
 mon, that he who refuses to mingle his tears with sor- 
 rowing connections is thought of with surprise and 
 aversion ; but to weep for the calamity of a foe is so 
 rare, that when we behold Jesus thus affected, we are 
 constrained to say, *' Is this the manner of men, O 
 Lord God !" 
 
 How interesting is the spot to which pious medita- 
 tion is now leading you ! On it every Christian tra- 
 veller has paused, and indulged the tender reflections 
 which it awakens. Writers of taste and genius have 
 referred to this scene as a most beautiful example of 
 moral greatness in character, and genuine pathos in 
 description ; often have the ministers of religion point- 
 ed to it to give effect to their calls to repentance and 
 mercy, and many have blessed the hour when their 
 views were led to it, and have marked it as the time 
 when they first felt the grace of Jesus. It is my 
 earnest wish that while your attention is fixed on it, 
 you may be powerfully impressed with the generosity 
 of our Lord's character, that you may experience the 
 kindness of his love, that you may put on, as " the 
 elect of God, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness 
 of mind, meekness, and long suffering," and in your 
 final salvation and perfect likeness to himself, may 
 Jesus for ever triumph. 
 
 The heart of Jesus was at this time melted by the 
 prospect of the impending ruin oi Jerusalem, and there 
 
 VOL. II. N 
 
^66 ADDRESS xxrx. 
 
 are various circumstances which render this compassion 
 in a peculiar degree wonderful. He was now advancing 
 with unusual glory to Jerusalem,and was surrounded by 
 the multitude, shouting for joy. In the scene of tri- 
 umph, the man whom the people delight to honour, tes- 
 tifies by his looks the gratification which hefeels, and it is 
 evident that he considers it as the proudest day of his 
 life; but in this joyous procession Jesus weeps. In the 
 brightest seasons of his life he still appears as the Man 
 of Sorrows. He knew that these transports of the 
 people would soon be succeeded by v^ry opposite 
 feelings ; and he would have preferred the pious homage 
 of one devout heart to all the acclamations of the 
 world, and to all the glory of its kingdoms. 
 
 The Jews liad been frequently and solemnly warned 
 of the misery which was coming upon them, but they 
 despised ever}' admonition ; they killed the prophets, 
 and stoned those who were sent to them. In such 
 circumstances, others would have said that they were 
 about to receive the due reward of their deeds, and 
 that they deserved no pity, for they hardened their 
 necks, and refused to return ; but Jesus mourns over 
 the fatal delusion which made them refuse his counsel ; 
 *' Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and 
 Israel had walked in my ways, I should soon have 
 subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against 
 their adversaries!" Their contempt of his warnings 
 was afflicting to the Saviour, as defeating his generous 
 efforts, and as an aggravation of their guilt and doom. 
 Our Lord was soon to suffer, and had before his 
 eyes all the horrors of his agony, and all the anguish 
 of his crucifixion, and yet he sheds no tear for himself. 
 Many are so engrossed by their own woes that they 
 cannot bestow a thought upon the sorrows of others, 
 and in the prospect of any severe calamity, they can- 
 
ADDRESS XXIX. 267 
 
 not turn away their eye from the quarter from which 
 the blow is to come which is to lay their hopes and 
 comforts in the dust, but Jesus looks beyond his cross and 
 his grave, to the utter desolation of the holy city ; nay, 
 when he was led out to suffer, he said to the com- 
 passionate women who were bewailing his fate, ** weep 
 not for me, but weep for yourselves." 
 
 I may add, that the people over whom he mourns, 
 were in a few hours to reject him with one accord, to 
 demand his crucifixion, and to put him to a cruel and 
 ignominious death ; yet, instead of wishing that God 
 would avenge him on his murderers, he weeps over 
 their delusion, and prays that they might be forgiven. 
 
 There are some places of Scripture in which we 
 meet with displays of generous feeling which bear some 
 resemblance to this. When Abraham looked to Sodom, 
 and heard Jehovah's purpose to destroy it, he poured 
 out his soul in importunate intercession for its preser- 
 vation, and six times did he present the only plea 
 which he could suggest for mercy. How wonderful is 
 the condecension of Jehovah, and how amiable is the 
 earnestness of the patriarch in that scene ! But he had 
 DO indignity nor persecution before him in that place by 
 which his generous ardour was tried, and over which 
 it triumphed. When David left Jerusalem, he went up 
 by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went 
 up, with his feet covered, and his head bare. Among 
 these tears there might be some of pity, for the miseries 
 which civil war was preparing for his capitol and coun- 
 try ; but they were chiefly tears of regret for the com- 
 forts which he had been forced to leave, and of anguish 
 that his darling son had acted as a rebel and a traitor. 
 But the tears of our Lord were those of pure benevo- 
 lence and commiseration. 
 
 Christians, I trust that the view you have taken of 
 14 2 
 
^66 ADDRESS xxrx. 
 
 are various circumstances which render this compassion 
 in a peculiar degree wonderful. He was now advancing 
 with unusual glory to Jerusalem, and was surrounded by 
 the multitude, shouting for joy. In the scene of tri- 
 umph, the man whom the people delight to honour, tes- 
 tifies by his looks the gratification which hefeels, and it is 
 evident that he considers it as the proudest day of his 
 life; but in this joyous procession Jesus weeps. In the 
 brightest seasons of his life he still appears as the Man 
 of Sorrows. He knew that these transports of the 
 people would soon be succeeded by v^ry opposite 
 feelings ; and he would have preferred the pious homage 
 of one devout heart to all the acclamations of the 
 world, and to all the glory of its kingdoms. 
 
 The Jews had been frequently and solemnly warned 
 of the misery which was coming upon them, but they 
 despised every admonition ; they killed the prophets, 
 and stoned those who were sent to them. In such 
 circumstances, others would have said that they were 
 about to receive the due reward of their deeds, and 
 that they deserved no pity, for they hardened their 
 necks, and refused to return ; but Jesus mourns over 
 the fatal delusion which made them refuse his counsel ; 
 " Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and 
 Israel had walked in my ways, I should soon have 
 subdued their enemies, and turned m}^ hand against 
 their adversaries !" Their contempt of his warnings 
 was afflicting to the Saviour, as defeating his generous 
 efforts, and as an aggravation of their guilt and doom. 
 Our Lord was soon to suffer, and had before his 
 eyes all the horrors of his agony, and all the anguish 
 of his crucifixion, and yet he sheds no tear for himself. 
 Many are so engrossed by their own woes that they 
 cannot bestow a thought upon the sorrows of others, 
 and in the prospect of any severe calamity, they can- 
 
ADDRESS XXIX. 267 
 
 not turn away their eye from the quarter from which 
 the blow is to come which is to lay their hopes and 
 comforts inthe dust, but Jesus looks beyond hiscross and 
 his grave, to the utter desolation of the holy city ; nay, 
 when he was led out to suffer, he said to the com- 
 passionate women who were bewailing his fate, *' weep 
 not for me, but weep for yourselves." 
 
 I may add, that the people over whom he mourns, 
 were in a few hours to reject him with one accord, to 
 demand his crucifixion, and to put him to a cruel and 
 ignominious death ; yet, instead of wishing that God 
 would avenge him on his murderers, he weeps over 
 their delusion, and prays that they might be forgiven. 
 
 There are some places of Scripture in which we 
 meet with displays of generous feeling which bear some 
 resemblance to this. When Abraham looked to Sodom, 
 and heard Jehovah's purpose to destroy it, he poured 
 out his soul in importunate intercession for its preser- 
 vation, and six times did he present the only pica 
 which he could suggest for mercy. How wonderful is 
 the condecension of Jehovah, and how amiable is the 
 earnestness of the patriarch in that scene ! But he had 
 no indignity nor persecution before him in that place by 
 which his generous ardour was tried, and over which 
 it triumphed. When David left Jerusalem, he went up 
 by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went 
 up, with his feet covered, and his head bare. Among 
 these tears there might be some of pity, for the miseries 
 which civil war was preparing for his capitol and coun- 
 try ; but they were chiefly tears of regret for the com- 
 forts which he had been forced to leave, and of anguish 
 that his darling son had acted as a rebel and a traitor. 
 But the tears of our Lord were those of pure benevo- 
 lence and commiseration. 
 
 Christians, I trust that the view you have taken of 
 N 2 
 
^€8 ADDRESS XXIX. 
 
 the amazing compassion of the Lord Jesus, has increas- 
 ed your admiration of his mercy, and strengthened 
 your trust in the riches of his grace. And when you 
 advance to his cross, and see that he who wept for his 
 enemies, laid down his Hfe for them, you will feel that 
 his love is incomparable. It shall be told, O merciful 
 Redeemer, to the honour of thy grace, from age to age, 
 and as the most powerful motive to persuade to the 
 forgiveness of injuries, that thy tears were shed for 
 those who were to insult thy sufferings, and that thy 
 blood was poured forth for the salvation of those who 
 in heart and conduct were enemies to God. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 I call on you. Christians, to be grateful to the 
 Saviour, for his mercy to you. His grace was ex- 
 ceedingly abundant to you, in wisdom and faith. Had 
 you died in your state of blindness and delusion, 
 you must have been lost without remedy; but he 
 brought you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 
 He shewed you the path of life, justified you by his 
 grace, and made you heirs of glory. Study with more 
 diligence than ever the things which belong to your 
 eternal peace. If nought in the world can damp the 
 ardour of scientific inquiry, shall your desire for hea- 
 venly wisdom wax cold ? The more extensive this 
 knowledge is, the more holy and happy will it render 
 you. While your faculties are vigorous, and your op- 
 portunities ample, follow after wisdom, and let there 
 not be reason, amidst the confinement and the decays 
 of age, for sad reflection on your indolence and folly. 
 Jesus will mark with delight your spiritual attain- 
 ments. He hath pleasure in the prosperity of his 
 servants ; views with benevolent satisfaction the happ "* 
 
ADDRESS XXIX. 2(39 
 
 ness you feel in communion with him at his tabic ; 
 and it is the day of the gladness of his heart, in which 
 he fills his disciples with the graces of his spirit, and 
 with the joys of his salvation. Ke surveys with delight 
 every step you take in the way to heaven, and his joy 
 will be full when he presents you faultless before the 
 presence of his glory, and when no remaining infirmity, 
 and no decline in piety, shall ever mar his complacency 
 in you. " He will rest in his love, he will rejoice over 
 3'ou with singing." 
 
 How astonishing is it, that the Lord Jesus in his 
 glory still looks on perishing sinners with compassion ! 
 His glory now is very different from that short-lived 
 triumph which marked his entrance into Jerusalem, 
 which was so soon succeeded by the hour of darkness, 
 and which so quickly led him to the scene of blood. 
 He is at the right hand of the Majesty on high, yet 
 even there, amidst all the gladness which arises from 
 the countenance of his Father, and from the happiness 
 of his redeemed, his heart melts in pity for the victims 
 of Satan ; and by the methods which he employs for 
 their salvation, he shows that he hath no pleasure ni 
 the death of the wicked. When he surveys the fulness 
 of joy prepared for his people, and to which his grace 
 hath brought so many of them, and when he thinks on 
 those who scorn all the offers of this happiness, and by 
 obstinacy in sin are fitting themselves for destruction, 
 he may be viewed as saying, " Oh that there were such 
 an heart in them that they would fear me, and keep all 
 my commandments always, that it might be well with 
 them, and with their children for ever." 
 
 In the spirit of your Lord, take a lively interest in 
 the welfare of your country. Some, under the influ- 
 ence of a spurious philosophy, reprobate all such at- 
 tachments as inconsistent with general benevolence. 
 n3 
 
270 ADDRESS XXIX. 
 
 But though the name of patriotism hath often been 
 abused, to encourage envy andjdishke, injustice and 
 cruelty to other nations ; and though we are bound to 
 love all whom God has made of the same blood with 
 ourselves, a peculiar attachment is due to the land of 
 our fathers' sepulchres, to a people with whom we are 
 connected by so many interesting associations, and to 
 scenes so rich in the memorials of the care of Provi- 
 dence. 
 
 Others, under the influence of malignant discontent, 
 sicken at their country's glory, rejoice in its calamities, 
 and are eager to depreciate its institutions. And what 
 hath their country done to them, to incite them to such 
 conduct ? Were it true that it had treated them with 
 nnkindness, it would still be their duty to pray for its 
 welfare, and to deprecate its ruin. Show your attach- 
 ment to your country by the zealous support of law, 
 of order, and of the public peace ; by your readiness 
 to make every sacrifice which may be required to alle- 
 viate any general calamity, and by labouring to pro- 
 mote that Christian knowledge, principle and virtue, 
 which can alone insure the stability and the happiness 
 of nations. 
 
 Regard not the calamities of your enemies with de- 
 light, but with a sincere, tender, and active compas- 
 sion. If the heart that hated you is bleeding with 
 sorrow, you will act hke your Lord in binding it up, 
 and you will find a pleasure in this effort of mercy 
 which revenge never gave. When you see those who 
 have injured you hurrying to destruction, instead of 
 pleasing yourselves with the thought that Providence 
 will thus avenge you, labour to arrest their progress, 
 and show that you are solicitous for their amendment, 
 and not for their ruin. 
 
 Say not of the wicked, that they do not deserve your 
 
ADDRESS XXIX. 271 
 
 commiseration. Human creatures abusing such powers 
 as God has bestowed on them to his dishonour, and to 
 their own misery, are objects which claim our strong- 
 est compassion. Ah, how few tears are slied over their 
 present infatuation, and their approaching ruin ! It is 
 strange that it should have been deemed by any a 
 mark of superior orthodoxy, and of eminent sanctity, 
 to address to them no call of mercy, and to leave them 
 to perish without an effort to save them. Instruct them 
 in meekness and patience, beseech them in the bowels 
 of Jesus Christ, and warn them with tears to flee from 
 the wrath to come. You may thus gain them to wis- 
 dom, and if you succeed, your triumph will be blissful, 
 and if you do not, you shall in nowise lose your re- 
 -ward. Such opportunities of pious utility will soon be 
 at an end. Their next trespass may provoke God to 
 seal their doom, and though he should still wait to be 
 gracious, the time is short ; life is but a day ; sweet is 
 its morn, and bright its noon, but the shadows of the 
 evening will soon be stretched out, and the night comes 
 in which no man can work. What anguish will you 
 feel when you hear of the death of a transgressor, if 
 he has departed without warning from 3'ou ! It is an 
 act of benevolence to them, and of fidelity to your 
 Master, to exhort them to apply their hearts to wisdom, 
 and to beseech them not to receive the grace of God in 
 vain ; and this will animate and cheer your own efforts 
 in the study and the practice of that true religion which 
 is the light of life, and the whole of man. 
 
 You will depart, I trust, from this scene, with feel- 
 ings of compassion for the Jews, who are groanino- 
 under the misery, in the anticipation of which our 
 Lord wept, and disposed to support the plans of those 
 v;ho in wisdom and mercy are labouring to turn away 
 unbelief from Israel. Of all the pious charities of the 
 
 N 4i 
 
^72 ADDRESS XXX. 
 
 age, this will not be the least acceptable to the Saviour. 
 How great will be his delight when he shall see their 
 eyes opening to the knowledge of the gospel, and their 
 hearts glowing with Christian love ! and if his Spirk 
 animates you, that joy shall be yours. 
 
 ADDRESS XXX. 
 
 HEB. V. 7. 
 
 <« Who, in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up pray* 
 ers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto him that 
 was able to save him from death, and was heard, in that he fear- 
 ed/' 
 
 Oun Lord's days on earth were characterized by 
 devotion. His miracles were preceded, his sermons 
 were followed, his labours were lightened, and his 
 sufferings were soothed by prayer. But there were 
 some occasions in which he poured out his soul to 
 God with peculiar earnestness. This was the case 
 in his agony, and to that scene the Apostle here re- 
 fers. 
 
 In that scene our Lord offered up prayers and sup- 
 plications. The word rendered prayers signifies de- 
 precations of evil ; and the term suppliant is applied 
 to those who fall down at the feet of the persons they 
 address, and take hold of their knees while they be- 
 seech them to be favourable to them. 
 
 Our Lord's prayers were offered at this memorable 
 
ADDRESS XXX. 
 
 273 
 
 period with strong crying and tears. When Jesus was 
 brought before men, and suffered from their hands, he 
 was silent ; but when God entered into judgment with 
 him, his cries were vehement ; and though they were 
 heard by no human ear, they rose before tlie throne of 
 the Highest. The expression intimates earnest desire, 
 and urgent entreaty. 
 
 The Evangelists do not mention the tears which our 
 Lord shed in his agony; but this affecting circumstance 
 the Apostle has recorded, as he noted a memorable 
 saying of Christ's, which is not to be found in any of 
 the Gospels, " It is more blessed to give than to re- 
 ceive/' This is the third and last instance of his 
 weeping recorded in Scripture, and his tears at this 
 time were tears of agony, flowing from a breaking 
 heart. No torture which men could inflict could make 
 him thus weep and cry. He wept and cried under the 
 pressure of his Father's rod, to save you from the 
 place of weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, 
 and to procure for the children of sorrow that best of 
 all consolations, " God shall wipe awa^ all tears from 
 your eyes.'* 
 
 These cries our Lord addressed to him that was 
 able to save him from death. He now felt the power 
 of God in punishing ; yet while the thunders of that 
 power were roaring around him, he thinks of its 
 strength to save. He believed that the power of his 
 Father could embolden him against the mightiest host, 
 support him under the weightiest burden, and raise 
 him from the lowest degradation. 
 
 But what did your Lord solicit in these prayers, and 
 how was he heard ? He prayed that if it was possible 
 the cup might pass from him. This cup contained all 
 the anguish of a violent death, and all the curses of 
 the broken law ; it was put into his bauds as the 
 ii5 
 
274 ADDRESS XXX. 
 
 sinners* substitute, and he was called on to wring 
 out the dregs of it and drink them. From a task 
 so dreadful, his innocent human nature seemed to 
 shrink. Human nature ever recoils from pain and 
 suffering, and can only be brought to welcome it 
 by a superior influence. If it had been otherwise 
 with him, it has been remarked, he could not have 
 been said to have suffered, for nothing is suffering, 
 or can be penal to us, but what is grievous to 
 nature. This prayer indicated, not the sinking of 
 his fortitude, or the decay of his love, but the ex- 
 tremity of his anguish, and the truth of his hu- 
 manity. 
 
 And how was he heard in this prayer ? It was not 
 a prayer totally declining suffering. *' Thinkest thou," 
 said he to Peter, when he reproved the rashness which 
 led him to draw the sword in his defence, " that I 
 cannot now pray to my Father, and he would present- 
 ly give me more than twelve legions of angels, but 
 how then shall the Scripture be fulfilled, that thus it 
 must be." But as this prayer was an expression of the 
 horror of nature at the idea of suffering, it was answer- 
 ed in his heart's being fortified against its terrors, and 
 in that being rendered welcome which was the object 
 of aversion. So immediate and complete was the an- 
 swer, that with the next breath he adds, " neverthe- 
 less, not my will but thine be done." 
 
 Ye are now reflecting on what must have been your 
 fate had this cup passed from your Lord, and that 
 thought will increase your gratitude to him who saved 
 you by a method so agonizing to himself, and whose 
 love to you was stronger than death. 
 
 Christ also deprecated the sinking of his human 
 nature in the conflict. He saw that he had to con- 
 tend with an infuriated populace, with crafty and 
 
 3 
 
ADDRESS XXX. 1^75 
 
 violent priests, and with the powers of darkness, ir- 
 ritated to the utmost by their past defeats, and deter- 
 mined to put forth all their strength to destroy him. 
 But he had to bear also the fury of incensed Omni- 
 potence. Affected with the tremendous prospect, and 
 knowing the consequences of failure to his own glory, 
 and to the salvation of men, he cried, " Save me, O 
 God, for the waters are come into my soul." Hold 
 up these hands till I have dashed thine enemies in 
 pieces ; sustain this heart till I have made peace be- 
 twixt God and man, and let my blood flow till sin is 
 washed away. 
 
 He was answered in this prayer, for there appeared 
 an angel from heaven to strengthen him. That angel 
 came to dry up his tears, to brighten his prospects, 
 and to invigorate his heart. Instead of sinking in the 
 struggle, he was more 4han a conqueror ; and our nature 
 appears with a glory which shall be sought for in vain 
 in the courage of the hero, or the fortitude of the mar- 
 tyr. And shall not you raise the voice of rejoicing 
 and salvation ? "^ The right hand of the Lord is ex- 
 alted, the right hand of the Lord doth valiantly." 
 
 But our Saviour deprecated also> continuance under 
 the power of death. It has been remarked, that the 
 phrase to save from death signifies either preservation 
 from an evil of which a man is in danger, or deliver- 
 ance from one into which he has fallen. The idea of 
 continuing under the power of death is horrible to na- 
 ture. That the grave shall be our perpetual abode, 
 and corruption and dust the end of man, are fears 
 which have harassed human beings in all ages ; and 
 perhaps such thoughts as these might be thrown into 
 our Lord's mind by the tempter ; " From the weight 
 which crushes thee to the dust of death, what hand 
 shall relieve thee i' To rot with criminals may be thy 
 N 6 
 
276 
 
 ADDRESS XXX. 
 
 fate as well as to die with them, and the scofF uttered 
 at thy cross may be repeated by those who pass by thy 
 grave^ " He saved others, himself he cannot save." 
 In opposition to such suggestions, Jesus lifted up his 
 voice to him v/ho quickens the dead, and calls the 
 things which be not, as though they were. And re- 
 joice that he was heard in this prayer. He was assured 
 of being taken from prison and from judgment, and of 
 being raised to a life not clouded by infirmity and suf-. 
 fering as before, but uniformly glorious and blissful ; a 
 life to be spent in the enjoyment of his well-earned 
 triumphs, and in the benevolent application of the pro 
 mised salvation. 
 
 The apostle remarks, that he was heard in that ha 
 feared. Reverence for God's majesty and justice, sub- 
 mission to his will, and zeal for his glory, were the 
 principles which dictated and guided our Lord's pray- 
 ers, and rendered them the delight of his Father. 
 
 Christians, you have been listening to your Lord's 
 prayers ; and if ye are not dead to the eloquence of de- 
 votion in its most melting form, your hearts must be 
 strongly impressed. You have reason to be ashamed 
 that they are not more affected. When you hear the 
 shriek of woe your heart shudders, and, in the place of 
 weeping, the tear starts into your eyes ; and can any 
 of you see the Saviour's tears, and hear his cries un- 
 moved ? These cries and tears were expressions of an- 
 guish which you deserved to suffer. He utters these 
 strong cries, because he bears your griefs ; and his face 
 is wet with tears, because he carries your sorrows. Let 
 gratitude, repentance, and love, unite their influence in 
 your hearts, in offering to him a suitable sacrifice at 
 his table, that in receiving it he may see of the travail 
 of his soul, and be satisfied. 
 
ADDRESS XXX. 277 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 When Hezekiah received the message from God by 
 the prophet, *' Set thine house in order, for thou shalt 
 die and not hve," he turned his face to the wall, and 
 prayed to the Lord, and wept sore. The approach of 
 death has made the mighty cowards, and watered the 
 bed of state with tears. Eminent as he was for piety, 
 he shuddered at the thought of death. But the pros- 
 pect which made your Redeemer offer up strong crying 
 with tears was much more dismal than hi^. To He- 
 zekiah death was to come in the form of disease, as the 
 common lot of mortals, as the instrument of hap- 
 piness, and amid all the alleviations which power or 
 wealth could impart ; but to Jesus it came loaded with 
 all the vengeance of the curse, and amidst the agony 
 and shame of the cross. Hezekiah's prayer was an- 
 swered in the addition of fifteen years to his life, and 
 that of our Lord in length of days for ever and ever. 
 You have seen him crushed by anguish, behold him 
 now in paradise, the region of delight ; on the throne, 
 the seat of empire ; and in his Father's bosom, the 
 place of infinite tenderness and everlasting rest. He 
 remembers every circumstance in the scene of sorrow, 
 and that heightens his enjoyment. Eternity opens be- 
 fore him a boundless prospect of glory and felicity. 
 
 There are some at the communion table to whom Je- 
 sus is now saying, " Why weepest thou ?'* When the 
 king of Persia said to Nehemiah, " Why is thy coun- 
 tenance sad ?" he was sore afraid. Haughty and un- 
 feeling despotism deems the face of sorrow a reproach 
 to its power ; but Jesus asks the cause of your tears that 
 he may remove it. You say that it is conscious guilt 
 
278 ADDRESS XXX. 
 
 that troubles you^ but if you have been washing his feet 
 with your tears, to you he saith, " Thy sins are for- 
 given thee ; go in peace." Let those who are hap- 
 py in their Saviour maintain a holy caution. Beware 
 of forming too flattering expectations of human life. 
 From the mount of communion you behold all around 
 you bright with sunshine, but the clouds will return. 
 Afflictions will try your patience, and temptations your 
 faith Disappointments will try your spirituality of 
 mind, and desertion your hope in God, and I call on 
 you to prepare for these. Our Lord's days on earth 
 were not days of ease and indulgence, and can you ex- 
 pect yours to be so ? 
 
 Pray without ceasing, and pray as Jesus did. Think 
 how Jacob wept, and made supplication at Bethel, and 
 how as a prince he had power with God, and prevail- 
 ed. Let yours be the effectual, fervent prayer of the 
 righteous man, which availeth much. Guard against 
 every thing which may deprive you of the seasons, or 
 indispose you for the duty of prayer. And despair not 
 of an ansv/er to prayer, for " in due season ye shall 
 reap if ye faint not." You have an advocate with the 
 Father, who will enforce your petitions, and if his 
 prayers were prevalent on earth, they cannot fail in 
 heaven. This is the character which God gives his 
 people, " my suppliants j" and beware lest, by your ne- 
 glect of prayer, or your carelessness in it, you forfeit 
 your claim to this appellation. 
 
 Rejoice that in the heavenly state Jesus " still re- 
 members his tears, his agonies, and cries," and though 
 no friend on earth should remain to join his voice with 
 your prayer, or to mingle his tears vvith yours, you can 
 look up to one in heaven who is touched with the feel- 
 ing of your infirmities, and " who suffered, being 
 
ADDRESS XXX, £79 
 
 tempted, that he might know how to succour them that 
 are tempted." He dehghts to wipe the streaming eye, 
 and to still the quaking heart. Confide in him in the 
 worst season. In the midnight hour consider that God 
 dwells in the thick darkness, and in the wildest tumults 
 of the storm, that his way is in the whirlwind, and 
 that he sits on the floods. And shew that the scenes 
 of sorrow through which you have passed have taught 
 you promptitude in mercy. You have been in the 
 house of mourning, let the widow see that you know 
 her heart, and the orphan that his loss is yours. 
 Have you had affliction on your bodies, or temptations 
 in your souls, let the sick and the tempted have as much 
 as possible of your care. In studying the sympathy 
 of our Lord, you must labour not only to catch its 
 tones of tenderness, and its looks of pity, but to imi- 
 tate its gifts and deeds of mercy. 
 
 Live in the fear of God. Did Jesus fear, and shall 
 we have none ? The frivolous and the giddy see no- 
 thing attracting in this principle. They say there can 
 be no beauty in the sadness of the countenance, and no 
 pleasure in the tremour of the heart ; but it gives to the 
 manner all the grace of modesty, and to the soul a calm 
 and solid satisfaction. Its aspect is grave, and when 
 it looks on folly it is with a frown, but its heart is true. 
 Fear in Jesus was not attended with the misgivings of 
 unbelief and of conscious guilt : though he took on 
 him the form of a servant, he had not the spirit of a 
 slave; and the temper of a son was apparent in all the 
 tasks which he performed, and in all the sufferings 
 which he bore. Cultivate this filial fear, and in reli- 
 gious worship it will keep you from levity and formali- 
 ty, in your recreations from folly and excess, and in 
 the business of the world from every fraud. In com-* 
 
280 ADDRESS XXX. 
 
 pany it will preserve you from that fear of man vvhich 
 suffers profanity to go on unchecked, and from thatfri- 
 vohty which will degrade your profession. In adver- 
 sity it Vv'ill render you still, and in prosperity it will 
 make you dependent on God, and humble to man. 
 
 Beware of forming harsh conclusions about the piety 
 of those who are afraid of death. It is not every saint 
 who can defy the last enemy. When death stands by 
 thy bed-side, lays his cold hand on thine, and or- 
 ders thee to come away, thou wilt then find what a se- 
 rious thing it is to die. But cry to God, and from his 
 throne strength will come to the bed of languishing, and 
 a ray shall descend on the dark vale. He will remove, 
 or at least mitigate your terrors. You are saved from 
 sin, from the world, and from hell already, and to this 
 list of deliverances salvation from death shall be added. 
 Take heed lest by folly, or negligence, or any criminal 
 act, you call up remorse to aggravate the horrors of 
 the last hour. Give all diligence, by the constant ex- 
 ercise of every Christian grace, to make your calling 
 and your election sure, and *^ so there shall be admi- 
 nistered to you an abundant entrance into the everlast- 
 ing kingdom of your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
 Then you will have no calamity to weep over, no evil to 
 dread, and no want to be supplied. The sentence 
 which shall answer all your prayers, terminate all your 
 sorrows, and reward all your services, shall then be 
 pronounced on you, and shall call you as good and 
 faithful servants to share in you;; Saviour's rest. 
 
ADDBESS XXXI. 2S1 
 
 ADDRESS XXXI. 
 
 PHIL. I. 21. 
 
 " To me to live is Christ." 
 
 In these few words, the piety which is formed and 
 animated by the spirit of the gospel, is expressed in a 
 most apt and striking manner. Though this profession 
 was made to men, it was uttered under the most so- 
 lemn impressions of his presence who searches all 
 hearts ; and the apostle might appeal to his conduct 
 as furnishing the fullest evidence that it was not the 
 boast of hypocrisy. To him life was valuable, from 
 the opportunities which it afforded for advancing the 
 cause, and exemplifying the spirit of his Master; and 
 in every theme, and in every labour, Christ v;as all. 
 
 He states this not in the spirit of vain glory, but 
 that the disciples might see that he enjoined no devot- 
 edness to the Redeemer which it was not his wish and 
 his study to maintain. There were many things pe- 
 culiar in the pious attainments of Paul, yet the language 
 which he here employs may be considered as descrip- 
 tive of the character and aim of every disciple of Jesus, 
 and there is not one whose supreme desire it is not to 
 live and die to the Lord. 
 
 The grace of Christ is the principle of the believer's 
 life. It is this that quickens the dead soul, which 
 maintains the spiritual life, animates all its graces with 
 vigour, and guards it from the influence by which it 
 might be enfeebled or destroyed. The permanence and 
 
282 ADDRESS XXXI. 
 
 the prosperity of this life depend not on any efforts 
 which we can make, or on any watchfulness which we 
 can exercise, but on his influence who " worketh in us 
 to will and to do of his good pleasure." This influence 
 he imparts in the use of appointed means, and to wait 
 on him in these is felt by the saint as his duty and his 
 pleasure. " O Lord, by these things men live, and in 
 all these things is the life of my spirit." 
 
 The example of Christ is the pattern of the believ- 
 er's life. While others follow the multitude, or those 
 whom influence or talent have raised to eminence, the 
 determination of the good man is this, *' Lord, I will 
 follow thee whithersoever thou goest." Never was ex- 
 cellence so bright and so lovely seen on earth as when 
 Jesus was there ; and among all the blessed on high, 
 there are no graces which shine with such lustre, or 
 which have been tried with such temptations and sor- 
 rows, as his. Do you make the example of Christ the 
 subject of your frequent study, and do you feel, at 
 every examination of it, stronger regret that you have 
 so little of his spirit, and more eager desires to walk as 
 he 'did ? May the services of this day have a trans- 
 forming influence on you, and when you shall see him 
 as he is, you shall have all your wishes, and all your 
 aims fulfilled in being completely like him. 
 
 The service of Christ is the work of the believer's 
 life. His saints are they who do his commandments, 
 hearkening to the voice of his word. They feel that 
 he has a claim to every talent, and to every moment; 
 and so far from supposing it possible that they can 
 serve both God and mammon, or wishing that it were 
 so, they yield their homage only to a Master in hea- 
 ven, and abhor the thought of murmuring at any man- 
 date of his will, or any place or degree of labour. O 
 Lord Jesus, none that knows thee will call thee a hard 
 
ADDRESS XXXI, 28S 
 
 master. I am never so happy as when acting for 
 thee, and so easy is the yoke that it is my delight to 
 carry it. 
 
 The glory of Christ is the ohject of the good man's 
 Hfe. Redeemed for this purpose, he seeks the advance- 
 ment of it in the knowledge of his will, and the obedi* 
 ence of his laws, the magnifying of his name, and the 
 extension of his kingdom. This is the object which he 
 hath in view in all his pursuits, and unless this is gain- 
 ed, no success nor applause will gratify him. O Lord, 
 I will glorify thee in poverty by contentment, in pros- 
 perity by beneficence, in adversity by patience and 
 hope, in thy ordinances by spiritual worship, and in 
 the duties of obedience by dependence not on them but 
 on thee. 
 
 The presence of Christ is the happiness of the be- 
 liever's life. In communion with him the pious affec- 
 tions are gratified, the sweetest consolation is imparted, 
 and the most painful doubts and anxieties are removed. 
 With him our interests are safe, and our salvation is 
 sure. Is it true, with regard to you, that you cannot 
 be happy but where Jesus is ? In looking back on 
 your past life, what you once deemed scenes of enjoy- 
 ment appear like a vain dream, but the seasons which 
 you have spent with Jesus seem to you like the days 
 of heaven. The bliss of heaven is in his love, and its 
 light in the brightness of his countenance. 
 
 Some of you perhaps are now saying, in the despon- 
 dency of your hearts, *^ Happy are they who can use 
 Paul's language, but I am so feeble, so cold, and so 
 stupid, that I am either a stranger to spiritual life en- 
 tirely, or it is about to give up the ghost. Instead of 
 the language of exultation, I have been praying since I 
 came to this place, ' My soul cleaveth to the dust, 
 quicken thou me according to thy word.' I can see 
 
284 ADDRESS XXXII. 
 
 nought of the life of Christ in me, and nought can be 
 discovered in the examination of my spiritual charac- 
 ter but gross deficiencies, and coldness, and languor, in 
 every moral effort/* But I see the humility of Christ 
 in your abasement, and his faith in your keeping the 
 way of holiness, in spite of all discouragements. In 
 your present conflict, your enemies are trying you as 
 they tried him, and his victory secures yours. And 
 the bread and the water of life are now set before you, 
 which revive the languid, and encourage the despond- 
 ing, while they establish the vigorous, and enhance the 
 joys of the happy. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 You have been mourning at the communion table 
 over your sluggishness in the service of Christ, the 
 small measure of conformity to his image which you 
 have attained, and the dead works by which you have 
 dishonoured him, and injured the best interests of your 
 souls ; let your future conduct shew that you have felt 
 this deeply, and that you are resolved to serve him in 
 holiness and in righteousness before him all the days 
 of your lives. Let that glorious object which is now 
 set before you, '^ the dying love of your Redeemer/' 
 be ever present to your view, and never let it lose its 
 power over your hearts. In that death the graces of 
 the Saviour were most triumphantly displayed ; it was 
 the noblest test of his submission as the Father's ser- 
 vant ; by its influence all genuine obedience is animat- 
 ed, and to its bitter sorrow every enjoyment even through 
 eternity shall be traced. " Always bear about with 
 you in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, and let 
 the hfe of Jesus be manifest in your mortal bodies/' 
 
ADDRESS xxxir. 285 
 
 Let the spirit of his death, and the energy of his life, 
 give sobriety to youth, and cheerfulness to age, probi- 
 t}' in business, and devotion in solitude, zeal in duty, 
 and hope in death. 
 
 Consider how Christ lived, and still lives for you. 
 While he was on earth, every purpose which he form- 
 ed, and every emotion which he feJt, every act which 
 he did, and every pang which he suffered, were devot- 
 ed to your salvation ; and in heaven it is said that he 
 ever liveth to make intercession for us, as if that was 
 his chief object in his exalted state. He not only 
 pleads the cause of his people, and prepares for their 
 reception, but for them he reigns, and for them he 
 triumphs. Let the faith of these truths excite you to 
 greater exertions in his service, and in every scene to 
 which he calls you, let this be your first inquiry, 
 *' What can I do for my Saviour here ?'* The men of 
 the world, according to their various tempers and in- 
 clinations, live for different objects. To some pleasure 
 is the sole charm of life, to others wealth is its chief 
 good, and to others pomp is its only glory ; but let it 
 be your care to shew that you have not received the 
 spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God, and that the 
 favour and the image, the honour and the service of 
 Christ, are all your salvation, and all your desire. *' I 
 am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, 
 but Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I now live 
 in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who 
 loved me, and gave himself for me." 
 
 And to you to die shall be gain. Death shall tran- 
 slate you from a scene where disappointment blasts 
 many a fair hope, and where your brightest joys are 
 torn from yo:: in th^e moments of ecstacy, where cor- 
 ruption wars against the soul, and grace often strugo 
 
286 ADDRESS XXXI. 
 
 gles for existence, to a world of perfection and felicity. 
 How dreadful is the loss of worldly men in death! 
 Not only is every earthly advantage, every carnal plea- 
 sure, and every flattering hope, talcen from them, but 
 every opportunity of grace, and every possibility of 
 salvation. These are succeeded by utter despair, and 
 by misery that shall never end. But in death you 
 relinquish nothing from which it is not for your advan- 
 tage to be separated, and to go to heaven, though by 
 the most agonizing mode of dying, is far better than 
 to continue here. 
 
 In that world, you will still feel, " To me to live is 
 Christ." Eternal life is in his Son. There the Lamb 
 leads, and the redeemed follow. He commands, and 
 they obey. The Lamb is in the midst of the throne, 
 and they sing forth the honour of his name, and make 
 his praise glorious. The Lamb dwells among them, 
 and they are happy. Christ is in every movement of 
 the heart, and in every act of homage — in every feel- 
 ing of enjoyment, and in every song of praise — in every 
 review of the past, and in every prospect of the future. 
 
 Your translation to that world may be a loss to your 
 friends, and to society. To your friends it brings 
 with it the loss of your prudent counsel, your watchful 
 care, your improving conversation, and agreeable fellow- 
 ship ; but it can be made up by him who is the Hus- 
 band of the widow, and the Father of the fatherless. 
 To society it will bring with it the loss of your in- 
 jfluence, and exertions for the public good, but God can 
 supply it by raising up others more active, and more 
 successful in promoting the righteousness which esta- 
 blishes a church, and which exalteth a nation. With 
 God is the residue of the Spirit, and in his hand are 
 the hearts of all. And now I dismiss you with your 
 
ADt)RESS XXXII. 287 
 
 Saviour's blessing, to his grace I commend you, and 
 under his care I leave you. " The grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen," 
 
 ADDRESS XXXII. 
 
 EZEK. XLVI. lO. 
 
 •' And the Prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall 
 go in ; and when they go forth, shall go forth." 
 
 These words refer literally to the rulers of the Jews 
 mingling with them in the services of the sanctuary. 
 In the house of prayer, the rich and the poor meet to- 
 gether ; and rulers should consider that they are as de- 
 pendent on God as the meanest of their people, and that 
 association with them in religious ordinances is the best 
 security for the protection of the prince, and for the al- 
 legiance of the subject. But this passage may be view- 
 ed as pointing out to us that presence of the Lord Je- 
 sus Christ in the worship of the sanctuary, without 
 which it will yield us little pleasure or advantage. How 
 gracious and encouraging is the promise of his presence, 
 " Where two or three are met together in my name, 
 there am I in the midst of them !" 
 
 " The Prince," is a title frequently given to our Lord 
 in Scripture, and we require to be reminded of it, that 
 we may give him the glory which is due to his name. 
 By the Father's appointment he is invested with regal 
 dignity ; and what has been said of some earthly prin- 
 ces by lips of flattery, is true in its fullest sense of him, 
 " that he reigns in the hearts of his people." Wisdom 
 
288 ADDRESS xxxri. 
 
 and justice, power and grace, shine in all his adminis* 
 tration. He is clothed with majesty, and girt about 
 with might : eternal life is at his disposal, and the keys 
 of hell and of death are in his hand. In the praise of 
 earthly princes genius employs all its powers, but in the 
 praise of Messiah, your Prince, his voice is heard whose 
 testimony is as much superior in glory to human ap- 
 plause, as his wisdom and pu^-ity transcend that of err- 
 ing mortals. " To the Son he saith. Thy throne, O 
 God, is for ever and ever ; a sceptre of righteousness 
 is the sceptre of thy kingdom." 
 
 We see not yet all things put under him, but we know 
 that his kingdom shall rule over all. Already have the 
 darkness and the abominations of heathenism passed 
 away in many regions before him, and the time hastens 
 on when the proudest of his rivals shall be humbled 
 in the dust, and every tongue confess that he is Lord. 
 Earth, so long a scene of slaughter and confusion, shall, 
 through his influence, be formed into the abode of har- 
 mony and love, and bless him as the Prince of peace. 
 Hell, filled by those " who would not have him to 
 reign over them," shall proclaim the guilt and folly of 
 his despisers, while heaven, shining in his glory, and 
 resounding with his triumphs, shall raise from all its 
 borders the homage of adoring gratitude and love, 
 *' My Lord and my God." 
 
 But this Prince is in the midst of his people. This 
 is a common representation of our Lord's station. It 
 was typified in paradise by the tree of life in the midst 
 of the garden ; under the law, by the tabernacle of the 
 congregation, which was placed in the middle of the 
 camp, and by the mercy-seat, which stood between 
 the cherubims in the temple. In heaven he is the 
 Lamb in the midst of the throne ; and, to point out 
 his constant inspection and vigilant care in the church 
 
ADDRESS xxxir. 289 
 
 on earthj he is said to walk in the midst of the seven 
 golden candlesticks. " Cry out, and shout, thou inha- 
 bitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in 
 the midst of thee." 
 
 This expression intimates that he is visible to all. 
 He is not described as surrounded by a few who en- 
 gross his attentions, while those at a distance can 
 catch only a partial glimpse of him, but as encircled 
 by all ,* and from every part of the circle he is beheld 
 and admired. The beauty of the Lord, ye timid and 
 dejected souls, is displayed for you ; and if your eyes 
 do not behold it so clearly as others, it is because cor- 
 ruption hath spread its films over them. Implore him 
 to impart to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation 
 in the knowledge of him; and if you can say that it is 
 your supreme desire to have your hearts filled with 
 his love, and captivated by his beauty, you shall " see 
 his goings, even the steps of majesty of your God, and 
 your king in the sanctuary." 
 
 Christ also is in the midst of his people, as accessi- 
 ble to all. Earthly princes are accessible only to a 
 ieWi and to approach them requires much influence, 
 and a compliance with many rules and precautions ; 
 but Jesus saith, " Sing and rejoice, O daughter of 
 Zion, for lo I come, and I will dwell in the midst of 
 thee." The feeblest voice may whisper its complaints 
 into his ear, the trembling hand may touch the hem 
 of his garment, and the eye of sorrow may drop its 
 tear upon his feet. Every suppliant may put his peti- 
 tion into his hand, and receive an answer directly from 
 himself. Little children may come to him with their 
 hosannahs, and the aged and the helpless with their 
 many infirmities. In this circle 1 see attention sitting 
 at his feet, entreaty stretching out its hands, affection 
 walking by his side, faith leaning on his arm, and obe- 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
290 ADDRESS XXXII. 
 
 dience treading in his steps. Say not, " Who shall 
 ascend up to heaven, to bring Christ down from above ? 
 or who shall descend into the deep, to bring him up 
 from below ? for the word is nigh thee, and Christ in 
 that word." 
 
 But Christ, as in the midst of his people, is ready to 
 perform for them every necessary oflSce. He is at 
 hand to supply the wants of the indigent, and to 
 lighten the burdens of the sorrowful ; to strengthen 
 the weak hands, to revive the spirits of the humble, 
 and to bind up the hearts of the contrite. He is in his 
 church like a father in his family, to receive their tes- 
 timonies of confidence and affection, and to teach and 
 warn them in all wisdom. And he is there as a prince 
 in his court, receiving the homage of his courtiers, and 
 distributing his favours among them. History records 
 that a heathen emperor sighed over a day as lost, 
 because on it he had conferred no favour. While we 
 admire the generosity which awakened this regret, we 
 can rejoice that, in the administration of him who is 
 exalted a Prince and a Saviour, not a moment is lest 
 to mercy. 
 
 How pleasing is the assurance that he will go in 
 with his people when they go in ! Were the Lord Je- 
 sus present merely as a spectator, the idea of this would 
 fill you with terror, for you know that your perform- 
 ance of religious duties is very different from what it 
 ought to be. But he is with you to aid your devotions 
 by his influence, to check the motions of corruption, to 
 enliven the religious affections, to purify your services, 
 and to present them to his Father. 
 
 When you go in to public praise, he is there to in- 
 spire the heart with pious ardour, and in public prayer 
 he is there to excite holy desires, and to fill your 
 mouths with arguments. He goes with you to the 
 
ADDRESS XXXII. 291 
 
 bearing of the word, to make it the power of God to 
 your salvation. He goes with his saints to the place 
 of baptism, to take in his arms the little children there 
 presented to him, and " to pour his Spirit on his peo- 
 ple's seed, and his blessing on their offspring." You 
 have felt him present with you, I trust, when you were 
 examining yourselves, pointing out to you the heaven- 
 ly origin and tendency of your governing principles, 
 fortifying you against the harsh conclusions of a jealous 
 and desponding spirit, and making your deeds mani- 
 fest that they have been wrought in God. 
 
 And now, when you have come in to the Lord's sup- 
 per, he is along with you to record your vows, to re- 
 ceive your homage, and to make it the communion of 
 his body and blood. 1/et the consciousness of his pre- 
 sence stir you up to perform the duties of this day in 
 a manner becoming those who are acting under his eye. 
 How solemn, and yet how delightful is this place, 
 which he fills with glory, and blesses with peace ! 
 
 Afler the Service. 
 
 The Redeemer assures you that he will go forth with 
 you when you go out. It is a great mistake to ima- 
 gine that we only require his presence when we en- 
 gage in religious ordinances. It is most needful that 
 he should be with us when we retire from them, to 
 keep the " evil one" from catching away the good 
 which has been wrought, to maintain the fervour of 
 devotion, and to enable us to act suitably to our pro- 
 fession. You have been hearing his word, he will go 
 forth with you to incline you to obey it. You have 
 been shewing forth the Lord's death ; he will go forth 
 with you to enable you to exhibit the moral influence 
 o2 
 
292 ADDRESS xxxir. 
 
 of his cross. The saints of God feel many anxieties 
 lest their feet should slide as they descend from the • 
 mount, and their profession be disgraced by their fol- 
 ]y ; but he will go down with you, who is able to keep 
 you from falling. Amid the pleasures of religious fel- 
 lowship, it is painful to think of the evils of the world, 
 and of the malice of the wicked. You are quitting the 
 harbour for the troubled sea, but he is with you who 
 rules in the raging of the ocean ; and in the very hour 
 when the idea of being left by him to destruction is 
 filling you with horror, he will come to you walking on 
 the waves, and dissipate your fears. He will go forth 
 with you to mark whether your conduct corresponds 
 with your profession, if 3'our resolutions are kept, and 
 your vows are fulfilled. The eyes of your brethren 
 are on you, and you feel a desire to maintain their re- 
 spect and their confidence ; but there is an eye also 
 upon you which follows you where human inspection 
 cannot penetrate, and marks every wish, and every 
 thought. " Study to show thyself approved unto God." 
 Be zealous for the glory of your Prince's name, the 
 rights of his throne, and the obligations of his law. 
 Active and steady goodness is the best allegiance to 
 your Prince and Saviour. Be regular in your at- 
 tendance on religious ordinances. Shall the presence 
 of Christ ever become less attractive to you ? He 
 notes every instance of neglect of his worship, and will 
 call you to an account for it ; and if the excuses of 
 many are so frivolous that they cannot offer them to 
 their own consciences without shame and fear, how 
 shall they present them to him " who is greater than 
 our hearts, and who knows all things }" 
 
 Be conscientious in your observance of all private 
 ordinances ; and rejoice that Jesus goes with the pious 
 to the closet of prayer to animate their devotion ; to the 
 
ADDRESS xxxir. SQS 
 
 scene of meditation, that he may elevate and tranquil- 
 lize the soul i and to the secret corner, where the Bible 
 is read, to open the understanding, and to sanctify the 
 heart by his truth. The shepherd boy reading his 
 Bible on the mountain's side, and the peasant shut 
 out from many of the sources of knowledge, have of- 
 ten shewn how *' the entrance of God's word gives 
 light, and makes the simple wise." He will be with 
 you in your domestic worship, to shew his love to a 
 pious family, to bless the habitations of the just, and to 
 point them out to attending angels as an image of 
 heaven. 
 
 Let the consciousness of Christ's being v/iih you 
 keep you from every thing offensive in his sight. 
 *' Hear, O my people, and I will testify to thee ; there 
 shall be no strange God in the midst of thee." Shall 
 we provoke the Lord to jealousy by our evil passions, 
 or shall hypocrisy compass him about with lies ? If 
 this is the case, he will leave us wiih the marks of his 
 abhorrence, or if he stays, it will be to take vengeance 
 on our inventions. 
 
 Beware of going to any scene where you cannot ex- 
 pect him to go in with you. None can ask his Lord 
 to go with him to the scene of licentious amusement ; 
 and no tokens of the Saviour's presence are to be seen 
 in the laughter of folly, and the dissolute excess which 
 is worse than mad. It is impossible for a good man 
 lx> go to such scenes without injury to sobriety and to 
 seriousness, and when he adds to this the encourag- 
 ment which the wicked take from such conduct to scoff 
 at the restraints and the enjoyments of religion, he will 
 turn away from every enticement to dissipation. But 
 be of good comfort, Christians; your Lord will go 
 with you wherever you go at his call. When he calls 
 o3 
 
294 ADDRESS XXXII. 
 
 you into the scene of trial, he will go with you to for- 
 tify your virtue, and he will go out with you from it 
 to teach you to walk circunaspectly. He will go in 
 with you to the furnace of affliction, that your expe- 
 rience there may belike that of the three children in 
 Babylon. The astonished monarch said, '' Lo, I see 
 four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and 
 they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like 
 the Son of God." And he will go forth with you to 
 heighten the joy, and to secure the fruit of deliver- 
 ance. He will go with you to the house of mourning 
 to give the oil of joy, and he will go forth with you, 
 that in your path, darkened by the shadows of death, 
 you may walk in the light of his countenance. 
 
 The time is coming when you must go forth 
 from the world by a path dark and dismal. Your dear 
 companions in all your former dangers and sorrows 
 cannot then go with you. But you shall not depart 
 alone : he will take you by the hand, and be your 
 guide through death. And he will go in with you to 
 heaven. Are you terrified at the idea of going to God 
 the judge of all ? He will go with you to present you to 
 his Father as the subjects of his kingdom, and the 
 friends of his heart; and his presence will open to you 
 all the mansions of rest, and all the fountains of joy. 
 Amen. 
 
SERMON V. 295 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 The Ascension notified. 
 
 JOHiT XX. 17. 
 
 «♦ Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not ; for I am not yet as- 
 cended to my Father : but go to my brethren, and say unto them, 
 I ascend unto my Father and your Father, end to my God and your 
 God." 
 
 The narrative of which these words form a part, is 
 uncommonly beautiful and affecting. The events which 
 it relates are highly important, and the impressions 
 which it describes are the genuine movements of the 
 purest feelings. It teaches the most valuable lessons 
 in a style whose sweet simplicity affords a fine contrast 
 to the laboured rant and puerile embellishments of 
 false taste, and touches without effort or parade every 
 principle of sensibility in the heart. 
 
 Mary had come to our Saviour's tomb to pay the 
 last tribute of respect to his sacred body. She wished 
 to behold him whom she had seen so barbarously treat- 
 ed, reposing in that quiet mansion where the wicked 
 cease from troubling, and to mourn by his side whose 
 friendship and whose mercy had been the honour and 
 the happiness of her life. To her great surprise she 
 found the tomb empty, and immediately communicat- 
 ed the intelligence to Peter and John. When they 
 were convinced, by inspecting the tomb, that the body 
 ^vas not there, they went away to their own home ; but 
 g4. 
 
296 SERMON V. 
 
 Mary could not quit this scene. Dreading that her 
 Saviour's body had been taken away to be subjected 
 to some new indignity, she wept bitterly. The sight 
 of the two angels in white sitting in the sepulchre, 
 could not assuage her sorrow ; and no appearance, 
 however splendid, could divert her mind from the sub- 
 ject which completely engrossed her feelings. A ge- 
 nerous heart may, during deep sorrow, heave a sigh for 
 the misery which it passes by, but it sees nought in the 
 scene of prosperity or pomp to which its emotions can 
 be assimilated. Our Lord knew the sincerity and the 
 bitterness of her grief, and, with a considerate kind- 
 ness, would not suffer her to continue long a prey to 
 distracting solicitude. The manner in which he made 
 himself known to her, beautifully exhibits his wisdom 
 and love. Jesus asked her, " Why weepest thou ? 
 whom seekest thou ?" She, supposing him to be the 
 gardener, said, " If thou hast borne him hence, tell 
 me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him 
 away." She thought she would convey the body to 
 some place where she would have the melancholy sa- 
 tisfaction of knowing that it slept unmolested. Though 
 our Lord was pleased with that affection to him which 
 this purpose expressed, he could not keep her longer in 
 anxiety and suspense, but in a tone which her ear and 
 her heart instantly recognized, said to her, '' Mary." 
 It is impossible to describe her astonishment and rap- 
 ture at this blessed moment. She could only say, 
 " Rabboni.'* Her heart was so full that she could not 
 utter another syllable, but kneeled down to embrace 
 his feet, to give vent to a joy that was unspeakable. 
 At that moment Jesus addressed to her the words of 
 the text ; in which he taught her to prefer the com- 
 fort of her brethren, and obedience to his will, to tht? 
 indulgence of her own feelings. 
 
SERMON V. 297 
 
 In this discourse, I shall direct your attention to 
 the check which Christ gave to Mary's expressions of 
 affection and joy ; to the view which is here presented 
 of his ascension ; and to the notice of this which he 
 ordered her to convey to the disciples. 
 
 I. It appears difficult to account for this prohibi- 
 tion, *' Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to 
 my Father." Had it been the homage of an impure 
 and hypocritical heart, it would not have been sur- 
 prising that it was rejected by our Lord; but he knew 
 the soul of Mary was pure and devout, and yet he per- 
 mits not the most respectful testimony which it could 
 give of its feelings. He who gave his cheek to the 
 kiss of Judas, would not permit Mary to touch his 
 feet. 8ome have supposed that this prohibition was 
 intended to shew that the familiarity which had mark- 
 ed his intercourse with his followers, was no longer to 
 be admitted. The condescension which might become 
 the Man of Sorrows, accorded not with the dignity to 
 which he was now advancing. But it seems more 
 probable that our Saviour acted thus, because he 
 wished not that time occupied in paying her homage 
 to him which was so strongly required for the advan- 
 tage of her brethren. She imagined that he was now 
 withdrawing from the world; but he tells her that this 
 would not be the case for some time, and that she 
 would have sufficient opportunity hereafter to express 
 her regard. The perplexities of the disciples required 
 immediate relief; and her first duty was to impart to 
 them the glad tidings of his resurrection and unabated 
 love. 
 
 How strongly does this circumstance teach us to 
 
 prefer the spiritual welfare of our brethren to our own 
 
 gratification ! We must not refuse lo quit the happiest 
 
 scene of religious enjoyment, when Christ ceills us to 
 
 o5 
 
298 SERMON V. 
 
 comfort the feeble minded^ or be unwilling to leave the 
 place where the word and spirit of Christ are shedding 
 light and gladness around us, to visit the bewildered 
 and the desponding. Nor is this a hard saying, for 
 there is a great pleasure in benevolent exertion ; and 
 did we think, in the moments of pious delight, 
 on the mournful state of those who are sinking in 
 despair, we would be ready to relieve them by every 
 possible effort. The sacrifices made by such benevo- 
 lence the Redeemer can compensate by a communion 
 more blissful than any we have relinquished. The 
 worldling would treat with scorn the proposal to leave 
 the scene of gaiety to minister to the poor and the 
 wretched ; but the grace of God inclines the pious to 
 relinquish pleasures far higher and nobler at the call 
 of duty. And he certainly deserves such a sacrifice as 
 this from us, " Who, though he was rich, for our sakes 
 became poor, that we through his poverty might be 
 made rich." The great moral lesson taught us by this 
 part of the text, is set before us by Paul, in the be- 
 ginning of the 15th chapter of the Epistle to the 
 Romans: ''We then that are strong, ought to bear 
 the infirmities of the weak, and not to please our- 
 selves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for 
 his good to edification, for even Christ pleased not 
 himself." 
 
 II. Let us now consider the view here given by 
 our Lord of his ascension. 
 
 His language intimates its certainty; for of it he 
 had the fullest assurance. It was not like the splen- 
 did visions by which the hopes of the ambitious are 
 so often raised and disappointed, nor like the vain ex- 
 pectations by which many in the humblest scenes are 
 deluded. There never was a human heart superior 
 to every vain hope but his own. In his prospects he 
 
 5 
 
SERMON V. 299 
 
 was guided by the designs and by the promises of his 
 Father, and by the unerring suggestions of that Spirit 
 whichwas given him without measure, and whose influ- 
 ence was unremitted. He knew also that he had merit- 
 ed, by his obedience and sufferings, the glory which 
 was set before him ; and such was his conviction of 
 the justice and truth of his Father, that he was con- 
 fident it could not be withheld. 
 
 Mark with what simplicity Christ speaks of his 
 ascension. When men make mention of any triumph 
 that is before them, they commonly expatiate on those 
 circumstances of glory by which it shall be distinguish- 
 ed, but Christ merely states the fact. He might have 
 described the cloud which was to be his chariot, — the 
 thousands of angels who should accompany him, — the 
 captives he should drag behind him, — and the crown, 
 the throne, and the name which were prepared for 
 him ; but he passes by all these, and speaks only of 
 the Eternal Father, in whose society and approbation 
 he would find his heaven. 
 
 At the same time there is a striking majesty in his 
 language, *^ I ascend ;" and who is there that can op- 
 pose it ? Shall the jealousy of the Romans, and of 
 those perverse Jews, who persecuted him under the 
 pretext of his aiming at temporal sovereignty, attempt 
 it ? He was crucified in weakness, but he shall now 
 live and reign through the power of God. Shall the 
 principalities and powers whom he so lately spoiled, 
 and over whom he triumphed on the cross, prevent it? 
 *' He will tread them in his anger, and trample them 
 in his fury." Shall he who loosed the pains of death, 
 and called him forth from the grave, close against him 
 the gates of heaven ? He hears his voice of welcome, 
 *' Sit thou at my right hand " Shall the air be less 
 subject to his control than the sea, which became a 
 06 
 
500 SERMON V. 
 
 pavement for his feet, or the winds, which sunk into 
 quietness at his command ? 
 
 The mode of expression suggests that it would not 
 be iong delayed. His father was calling him to him- 
 self, and our interest required that he should enter 
 within the veil. He had important reasons, on his 
 own account, why he should thus depart; and it is 
 with reference to these that he said to his disciples, 
 that if they loved him they would rejoice because he 
 went to the Father. If their love to him had been as 
 enlightened, pure, and generous as it ought to have 
 been, his exaltation would have delighted them, even 
 though it deprived them of his society. 
 
 On this part of the subject, our attention must be 
 fixed on the view which our Lord gives of him to 
 whom he was to ascend. He was to ascend to rule 
 and bless the angels who had ministered to him in his 
 humble state, to receive their tribute of worship and 
 admiration, and to hear his worth proclaimed through- 
 out all their various orders, triumphing in his exalta- 
 tion, and happy in his bliss. He was to ascend to 
 the spirits of the just, who had been admitted to hea- 
 ven, through the anticipated virtue of his sacrifice, 
 who should cast their crowns at his feet, and ascribe 
 to him the praise of all their salvation ; but to this 
 our Lord does not advert, for it was the idea of going 
 to his Father, which engrossed his mind ; to that 
 Being whose Son he was from eternity, who was 
 his God as he was man, and whom in this capacity 
 he worshipped and served. It was most delightful 
 to our Lord, to think that his Father and his God, 
 whose absence he so lately mourned, and " who had 
 bruised him, and put him to grief," would now render 
 him, by his countenance, most blessed for ever ; that 
 he to whom he had commended his spirit would re- 
 
SERMON V. 501 
 
 ceive him in soul and body to glory, and that he to 
 whose honour he had lived and died, would now " glo- 
 rify him with his own self, with that glory which he 
 had with him before the world was." The most bless- 
 ed and glorious object which our Lord beheld in hea- 
 ven, was his Father's arms expanded to embrace him. 
 When Christ descended to our earth, he came to scorn, 
 to want, and to persecution ; but he ascended to all 
 the endearments of a Father's love, and to all the re- 
 wards which his God could confer. 
 
 But our Lord tells us that the Being to whom he 
 was to ascend, was the God and Father of his people 
 also. He is their Father by adopting grace, and 
 their God through that covenant which was ratified 
 in his blood. It gave our Lord the sweetest delight 
 to think that he was going to one so nearly allied, and 
 so graciously disposed to his people, who, instead of 
 disliking or thwarting his proposals for their happiness, 
 would approve and promote them. How remote was 
 our Saviour's heart from every principle of selfishness 
 or jealousy ! The benevolence which glowed with 
 such warmth in his heart through life, which animat- 
 ed all he said and did, and which many waters could 
 not quench, burned with equal warmth since his re- 
 surrection, and displayed its influence in his prospects 
 of glory. It was necessary that our Saviour should 
 state this, to show the interest which his church has 
 in his exaltation, and that our rejoicing in it may be 
 more abundant. 
 
 III. Let us now, in the third place, consider the 
 notice of his ascension, which Christ ordered Mary to 
 convey to the disciples. 
 
 1. It was a message of forgiveness. The dis- 
 ciples had acted a most unworthy part to the Lord 
 Jesus. They had disregarded their obligations to 
 
302 SERMON V. 
 
 him as a benefactor, their duty to him as a master, and 
 their fidelity to him as a friend. Men find it most 
 difficult to forgive the neglect or treachery which they 
 meet with from friends, in the day of their distress. 
 Had I been thus treated, do they say, in the day of 
 my prosperity, I could have borne it, but to leave me 
 overwhelmed and helpless in the time of trouble, can 
 never be pardoned. I expected from them the sym- 
 pathy and aid of friendship, but I found not even the 
 pity of common humanity. If such persons are res- 
 tored to affluence and honour, they speak with bitter 
 indignation of the baseness of their former friends, and 
 will kindle into rage at the most guarded proposal of 
 a reconciliation. But the ways and thoughts of Jesus 
 are very different from ours. He does not send Mary 
 to tell them that the Saviour, whom they so wickedly 
 abandoned, was now lifting up his head above his ene- 
 mies, and would punish their treachery as it deserved, 
 and that as they had found how kindly he could act as 
 a friend, they should now feel his severity as an enemy. 
 Instead of such a message, which they deserved, by 
 calling them his brethren, and by describing his 
 Father and his God as theirs, he intimates to them 
 that no unfavourable sentiment respecting them ex- 
 isted in his mind ; that his death, which had so shock- 
 ed them, had obtained the forgiveness of all their of- 
 fences ; that he would not upbraid them with what 
 was past, and that it should never call up on his face 
 a single frown. 
 
 We cannot think of this generosity, without ex- 
 claiming, '^ Who is a God like unto thee, that par- 
 doneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of 
 the remnant of his heritage ? he retaineth not his 
 anger for ever, for he delighteth in mercy." Ye 
 trembling souls, whom the remembrance of broken 
 
SERMON V. 303 
 
 VOWS, and of shameful perfidy to your best friend, is 
 now filling with terror, be of good comfort, for to you 
 he is now saying, " The Lord hath put away thy sin, 
 be not afraid, thou shalt not die." 
 
 We are taught by this conduct of the Lord Jesus, 
 not to expose ourselves to be again deceived by the 
 treacherous, for this would be an act of folly inconsist- 
 ent with the duty which we owe to ourselves and to 
 society, but to repress all desire of revenge ; and when 
 friends have acted with unkindness to us, through the 
 misrepresentations and influence of others, to receive 
 them, on their repentance, into our confidence, and to 
 render them good for evil. 
 
 2. It was a message of affection. The disciples 
 might be ready to imagine, that though his generosity 
 would lead him to pardon their misconduct, he could 
 not esteem and love them as he had done before. 
 They knew how common it was for men, while they 
 professed to forgive ill usage, to resolve, and to say 
 that they would not forget it. They might be afraid 
 also, that he would cease to remember them in his 
 advancement, and that the glory to which he was rising 
 might excite impressions unfavourable to persons so 
 poor as they were ; but the connexion which our Lord 
 in this message describes as existing betwixt them, was 
 calculated to impress them more strongly with the 
 stability of his love than the most solemn protestations 
 could have done. His attachment to them was not 
 founded on their good qualities, nor could it be des- 
 troyed by their forsaking him. " Having loved his 
 own that were in the world, he loved them to the end." 
 
 In this message we may view him as checking in 
 them the idea that he might be unmindful, or asham- 
 ed of them in heaven. This was impossible, for in 
 his Father he should see their Father, and in his 
 
SOi SERMON V. 
 
 God their God. Love softens the dazzling splendours 
 of the Mediator's throne, guides all its measures, and 
 blesses all its subjects. Let the pious who are sinking 
 under a consciousness of their unworthiness, who are 
 saying, ** O that thou wert as my brother, I would lead 
 thee, and bring thee into my mother's house ; I would 
 put forth my best efforts to honour thee, his left hand 
 should be under my head, and his right hand should 
 embrace me ; but I have forfeited his love, and I 
 am certain from his coldness, and I must say right- 
 eous severity, that I have lost all share in his re- 
 gard ;" — hear how he calls them his sisters and his 
 brethren. From his throne he surveys you assembled 
 this day to obey his dying command, and to devote 
 yourselves to him, and hears you saying to him as 
 the sons of Jacob did to Joseph, '' Forgive, we pray 
 thee now, the trespass of thy brethren and their 
 sin, for they did unto thee evil," and like that gener- 
 ous man he will comfort you, and speak kindly to 
 you. This is the language in which he will address 
 the mourner in Zion : '' For a small moment have 
 I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather 
 thee, in a little wrath I have hid my face from thee 
 for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I 
 have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." 
 He was in all things made like unto his brethren, 
 that he might be a merciful high priest. 
 
 3. It was a message of consolation. It was not 
 only calculated to relieve that anxiety and distress 
 which the consciousness of guilt, and the apprehension 
 of our Saviour's displeasure must have excited, but it 
 was fitted to dissipate the sorrow which had over- 
 whelmed them on our Lord's account. Unworthy as 
 their conduct had been, they sincerely loved their 
 Master j and the shame and the suffering to which 
 
SERMON V. 305 
 
 they saw him subjected, filled them with the deepest 
 sorrow. They heard of his crucifixion with horror, 
 and their hearts hngered about his grave as the re- 
 ceptacle of a ISfaster whom they revered, and of a 
 friend whom they loved above every human being, 
 and has innocence so unspotted perished thus in- 
 famously ? Has mercy tender hke his, sunk before 
 its barbarous foes ? Are the lips which dropped with 
 wisdom now sealed up for ever; and is he whom dis- 
 ease and death obeyed, now seeing corruption in the 
 sepulchre ? Amidst such mournful and terrifying 
 thoughts, this message assures them that their master 
 is ahve. They had seen him led away by his enemies, 
 and conducted before an unrighteous judge; but they 
 are told that now he is going to his Father and to his 
 God. They imagined that he was still an inhabitant 
 of the tomb, but he was now on his way to the regions 
 of immortality ; and so far from being still, as they 
 thought, the prey of his enemies, he had arisen and 
 scattered them. They dwelt in grief and indignation 
 on the cruelty with which men had treated him : but 
 he leads their view to the goodness which his Father 
 had laid up for him, and which he was now about to 
 possess. 
 
 The restoration of a friend to health, to honour, and 
 to prosperity, is very gratifying to the heart, and will 
 make those that love him to rejoice, and to give thanks 
 even while they labour under personal sorrow, from 
 which they have no hope of relief; and much more 
 delightful was it to his disciples, to hear of the exalta- 
 tion of such a friend as Christ, especially when they 
 reflected that it was for their sakes that he was afflicted 
 and oppressed, and that his glorification is the pledge 
 of theirs. 
 
 4'. It was a message of caution. Great is the force 
 
306 SERMON V. 
 
 of early prejudices. The idea of a temporal Messiah 
 had been long cherished among the Jews. It pervad- 
 ed all ranks, and was instilled with care into the mind 
 of their children. It supported their hearts amidst 
 their national calamities; and their present galling sub- 
 jection to the yoke of Rome, was mitigated by the hope 
 that their chains should be broken by the ** Salvation 
 of Israel." The disciples of Christ had imbibed this 
 idea. They imagined that Jesus of Nazareth was the 
 destined restorer of the departed glories of their coun- 
 try ; and all the poverty of his circumstances, and all 
 the spirituality of his discourses and conduct, did not 
 rectify their misconceptions. Every display which he 
 gave of his miraculous powers, and every proof which 
 was afforded of the admiration and attachment of the 
 multitude, served to confirm these impressions. In this 
 state of mind our Saviour's unresisting submission to the 
 violence of his enemies mortified and confounded them, 
 and disappointed ambition mingled its tears with those 
 which sorrow and affection shed round his tomb. " We 
 trusted, said they, that it had been he which should 
 have redeemed Israel." Now their Master well knew 
 that these ideas would return with full force to their 
 minds when they heard of his resurrection ; that they 
 would view it as a sign from heaven, to summon the 
 nation to his standard, and as a pledge of his subdu- 
 ing the world before him. To prevent opinions from 
 being cherished so carnal and so fallacious, he sends 
 this message to inform them that he was about to as- 
 cend to heaven. Instead of collecting armies, and pur- 
 suing the work of devastation and slaughter ; instead 
 of gratifying the pride and the revenge of the Jews, 
 by subduing the heathen under them ; instead of shew- 
 ing them waving banners, cities in flames, and garments 
 rolled in blood, he tells them that he was going to be 
 
SERMON V. S07 
 
 head over all things to the church, to order *' repent- 
 ance and remission of sins to be preached in his name 
 to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem ;" to unite men 
 of opposite habits and tempers in harmony and friend- 
 ship ; and by the virtues of his cross to draw the Gen- 
 tiles to the obedience of faith. He was going to a 
 place, and to a scene, where the objects of human am- 
 bition are seen divested of that glare which dazzles 
 the eyes of weak mortals^ and where God is all in all. 
 
 Let us learn from this message, to check all low 
 and carnal views of religious objects, and to remember 
 that the gospel kingdom is not of this world. Had 
 this been attended to, its discipline would never have 
 been enforced by penal statutes, nor would the observ- 
 ance of its rights have been made the passport to of- 
 fices of emolument and distinction. Beneficence is the 
 use which Christianity makes of power, and the pur- 
 pose for which she employs wealth is charity. The 
 fear of God is her grand restraint, the meek and quiet 
 spirit her only ornament, the winning of souls her only 
 conquest, and the approbation of her Lord her only 
 crown. 
 
 5. It was a message most encouraging to their 
 faith and hope. They had been assured by their 
 Master, that if he went away he would send the 
 Comforter to them ; that in his Father's house there 
 were many mansions, and that he would prepare a 
 place for them, where they should abide with him 
 for ever. Now, nothing could be better adapted to 
 recal these assurances to their minds, and to strength- 
 en their faith in them than this message? It showed 
 that he was still mindful of his promises to them, and 
 that their happiness was still the great object of his 
 wishes. 
 
 Besides, as all things were to be delivered to him. 
 
308 SERMON V. 
 
 by his Father, he was able to supply them with 
 every thing that was necessary for the discharge of 
 their duty. They might have to oppose the pre- 
 judices of the multitude, the cavils of the disputer, 
 and the contempt of the proud, to sacrifice their 
 nearest connexions, to relinquish every secular ad- 
 vantage, and to resist even unto blood ; but they had 
 a friend in heaven whose grace would be sufficient for 
 them, and whose strength would be perfected in their 
 weakness. 
 
 This intelligence was fitted also to confirm their 
 faith in the acceptance of his sacrifice by the Father, 
 and to shew them with what confidence they might 
 rely on it, and with what reason they might recom- 
 mend it to the dependence of others. Since by his 
 own blood he hath entered into the holy place, it is 
 a proof that he hath obtained eternal redemption for 
 us, and that in calling the guilty to trust in that blood, 
 we call them to a hope which shall never make them 
 ashamed. 
 
 This intelligence held out to them the hope of 
 reunion with him. If he considered himself as their 
 brother, he would not suffer them to be for ever se- 
 parated from him. They had heard him pray that 
 they might share his glory before his passion ; and 
 he would not neglect to urge this afterwards. They 
 had shared his poverty and toils; and having suffered 
 with him they must also reign with him. I may add, 
 that it was fitted to maintain their confidence in his in- 
 tercession. A. brother could not be cold in pleading 
 for his brethren, nor could a father listen to an interces- 
 sor so beloved in behalf of objects so dear with indif- 
 ference. To those who have such important interests 
 in dependence in the court of heaven, who have so 
 many charges to be answered, so many wants to be 
 
SERMON V. 309 
 
 supplied, and so many services to be accepted, it must 
 be most delightful to be assured that they have an 
 Advocate with the Father, to whose heart all that per- 
 tains to them is dear, and who is in all respects entitled 
 to our unlimited trust. 
 
 Such is the effect which this message should have 
 upon us ; and instead of listening to it with a wavering 
 faith or a languid hope, let this be our language, " Lord, 
 Jesus, I trust thee for earth and for heaven. My eter- 
 nal all I leave in thy hands, without a feeling of dis- 
 trust. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again to a livelj^ 
 hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the 
 dead." 
 
 Christians, this subject to which your attention has 
 been directed, suggests matter for self-examination in 
 all its parts. Are you willing to sacrifice any enjoyment 
 at the call of Jesus, to do good to your brethren ? or 
 do you think, that since life hath so few pleasures, you 
 ought not to be required to relinquish any of them ? 
 The will of Jesus is dearer to a genuine disciple than his 
 own comfort. Do you love Christ as a Brother, and 
 Jehovah as his God and his Father as well as your 
 own ? Are your hearts in heaven, where Jesus is ? 
 Have you felt the influence of his ascension subduing 
 your carnal inclinations; and is there no worldly object 
 which you would prefer to spiritual blessings in hea- 
 venly places ? Happy are they who have the witness 
 in themselves that such is the case. They are fit for 
 the table of the Lord here, and will be prepared for the 
 inheritance of the saints in light. 
 
 This subject also directs us as to the views with 
 which we should observe the Lord's Supper. He who 
 sent this message to the disciples, commands us to 
 call you to eat of his bread, and to drink of the wine 
 
310 SERMON V. 
 
 which he hath mingled. He who intimates his ascen- 
 sion in language so gracious, announces his presence 
 in this place in expressions as affectionate : *' I am 
 come into my garden, my sister, my spouse. I have 
 gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my 
 honey comb with my honey. I have drunk my wine 
 with my milk ; eat, O friends, drink, yea drink abun- 
 dantly, O beloved !" Let this invitation be heard with 
 that joy which it is so fitted to excite, and with that 
 reverence and humility which suitable views of Christ's 
 character and of your own must inspire. What you 
 have heard of your Lord's ascension, will shew you that 
 his death must have been to God a sacrifice of a sweet 
 smelling savour, and thus will animate you in glorying 
 in his cross. Jesus on the cross and on the throne, 
 is equally precious to them that believe. He is our 
 Saviour, and friend, and brother in both. Let us be- 
 seech him to give us the blessings of his presence. 
 " He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, 
 he it is that loveth me, and my Father will love him, 
 and we will come to him, and make our abode with 
 him." He will not forbid us to touch him. He wishes 
 you to cleave to him with pious attachment, and to 
 saj', " I will not let thee go except thou bless me." 
 His ascension was distinguished- by his magnificence; 
 and much has the church been benefited by the gifts 
 which he then bestowed; but his stores are inexhausti- 
 ble, and in all ages he is known as the giver of grace 
 and glory, and the communion table is the chosen 
 scene of his favours. 
 
 The subject is also fitted to animate good men to 
 duty, and to reconcile them to death. The precepts 
 of religion are your Father's will : in Christ's example 
 you have a most engaging pattern of obedience, and 
 this is the right way to the mansions of rest. And 
 
SERMON V. Sll 
 
 say not, were I to ascend as Christ did, a removal to 
 heaven would be to me no way terrible, but a death- 
 bed has agonies, temptations, and sacrifices, which I 
 tremble to think of, and the grave is the abode of 
 darkness and corruption. But the keys of hell and of 
 death are in the hands of your Lord. He can support 
 the failing heart, and give beauty and immortahty to 
 the mouldering clay. And the Redeemer authorises 
 you to use his language in the text ; often has it 
 formed a part of the dying Christian's farewell to his 
 friends; and often have triumphant faith and love held 
 forth their prospects in these words. 
 
 Finally y This subject is terrible to the ungodly. 
 Ye are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, 
 and ye will not relinquish the enjoyments of sin for 
 the sobriety and purity of religion. Ye follow sinful 
 pleasure as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth 
 not that it is for its life. Ye are not the brethren of 
 Jesus, for " ye are of your father the devil, and his 
 works ye do." Jesus is gone to heaven to reign till 
 all his enemies are made his footstool ; and he who 
 mercifully binds up the broken heart of afflicted piety, 
 shall dash the stubborn rebel in pieces. Think on the 
 dreadful prospect which death opens to you. Evil 
 spirits shall surround your death- bed, waiting till your 
 last breath warrants them to drag you away to the 
 place of endless torment. The wicked in hell shall 
 see Jesus too high for their contempt to reach, and too 
 happy for their curses to injure him. Submit then, 
 to the yoke, and accept of the off'ered salvation of 
 Christ ; and may his Spirit incline you to renounce 
 every sin, to follow his steps, and to have your con- 
 versation ill heaven. Amen. 
 
312 ADDRESS XXXIII. 
 
 ADDRESS XXXIII. 
 
 Mari/'s Privilege at the Sepulchre. 
 
 It is no uncommon thing to see a mourner weeping 
 at a grave. It is there that nature asserts its power 
 over the heart, and there friendship, taking its last 
 farewell, drops the tear that flows from the meltings 
 of love and sorrow. But what an interesting mourner 
 is now presented to your view ! Mary stands at the 
 tomb of Jesus, and weeps ; she stoops down to look at 
 the place where her Lord had been laid, and beholds 
 in it two angels in white. This garb was emblemati- 
 cal of their purity ; and as this was the colour of gar- 
 ments worn in scenes, and on days of rejoicing, it was 
 an intimation that the Saviour had triumphed, and 
 that what had made angels so happy was no cause of 
 alarm or despair to her. 
 
 How instructive was the posture of these angels ! 
 The one was at the head, and the other at the feet, 
 where the body of Jesus had lain. Angels had minis- 
 tered to our Lord at the commencement of his course 
 jn Bethlehem, and at the consummation of all things 
 they shall attend him in their glory. They minister 
 to Christ the head, but they disdain not to befriend 
 the obscurest member of his body. The head is as 
 the most fine gold, and the feet are clay, yet they mi- 
 nister to both. 
 
 But, like the cherubim stationed on each end of the 
 mercy-seat, this position of the angels might intimate 
 that through Christ alone we have peace with God, 
 
ADDRESS XXXHI. 31$ 
 
 and access into that grace in which believers stand. 
 After man had fallen he was driven from paradise, and 
 the Lord placed at the east of the garden of Eden 
 cherubim, and a flaming sword, which turned every- 
 way, to guard the path to the tree of life. But when 
 man was redeemed by the obedience of the second 
 Adam, angels were placed in the tomb with the olive 
 branch in their hands, and the voice of welcome in 
 their mouths, " Come, see the place where the Lord 
 Jay." None of the guards or of the enemies of our 
 Lord durst enter the tomb, but pious affection is in- 
 vited to contemplate the trophies of his victory, and 
 the place of his rest. While thus emploj'ed, ye are 
 animated to sing, '* The Lord lives, blessed be my 
 rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted." 
 Mary was in too dark and perplexed a state to un- 
 derstand such intimations, and she refused to be 
 comforted till Jesus at once shed light, peace, and joy 
 over her mind by a single word. And to you he saith, 
 " Fear not, I have redeemed thee, I have called thee 
 by my name ; thou art mine." Your name he will 
 confess before his Father, and it shall never be blotted 
 from the book of life. Mary, on recognizing his voice» 
 turned herself, and said unto him, '^ Rabboni, that is. 
 Master." The rapture which she felt was mingled 
 with holy awe ; and she thought it more becoming to 
 express the homage she owed him than her transport. 
 And are you addressing him in such language as this, 
 " Thou great Apostle of our profession, I will keep thy 
 sayings in my heart, and take thy statutes as my he- 
 ritage for ever. I will glory in th}' gospel as the per- 
 fection of wisdom, and bear my testimony to it as all 
 my salvation. My gracious Lord, I am thy servant ; 
 fill me with holy ardour in thy service, and enable me 
 to glorify thee with my body and spirit, which are 
 
 VOL. II. p 
 
314 ADDRESS XXXIII. 
 
 thine." He listens with complacency to such lan- 
 guage, and will speak peace to your hearts in return. 
 
 Jfler ike Service. 
 
 The act with which Mary accompanied this address 
 calls for your imitation. You are allowed not only to 
 touch the Saviour by the hand of faith and love, but 
 to lean on him ; and this is permitted not merely for a 
 moment, but during the whole of your pilgrimage. 
 " Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness lean- 
 ing upon her beloved?" How safe and how happy is 
 the soul while it leans on the Saviour ! 
 
 Be ready to communicate for the benefit of others 
 your delightful views of your ascended Lord. Mary 
 came and told the disciples that she had seen the 
 Lord, and that he had spoken these things to her. 
 Your Christian experience may give a devout tendency 
 to the affections and pursuits of your friends, and may 
 be of great use to those who are walking in darkness. 
 It may revive that hope which seems to be giving' up 
 the ghost, and bring back that joy which they imagined 
 would never return ; it may encourage the dying to 
 trust in the Saviour's mercy, and make the scoffer 
 know assuredly that God hath made that Jesus whom 
 they oppose Lord of all. 
 
 Let your garments be always white, and keep your- 
 selves unspotted from the world. Think it not enough 
 to avoid what, in the judgment of the world, would be 
 a blemish to the character, but every thing which the 
 voice of conscience, and the word of God, warn you to 
 shun. Imitate the angels in their ministrations. Give 
 to Jesus, who is the head of the body, the church, the 
 
ADDRESS XXXIII. 315 
 
 glory that is due, and on him let the blessings of your 
 hearts come. And condescend to them of low degree. 
 Angels came into the dark abode of death to minister 
 to him ; and you must not refuse to go into the mean 
 dwelling of sick povert)'', nor count yourselves degrad- 
 ed in joining the humble mourners who carry the poor 
 saint to his grave. The meaner the place is where 
 charity ministers, the more lovely does she appear in 
 his eyes whose spirit she breathes. 
 
 How animating is this scene in the prospect of 
 death ! The presence of the angels in white in the 
 sepulchre attests that its nature is changed. If we 
 view it by the eye of faith, we will perceive kindness 
 in its summons, mercy in its stroke, and a home of 
 peace and rest in its dark abode. When you think of 
 the body in the grave corrupting in its shroud, antici- 
 pate the time when angels shall come, and call it forth 
 to immortality. Think not that you are too mean and 
 obscure to hope for a resurrection, for '^ of all that the 
 Father hath given him he shall lose nothing, but shall 
 raise it up at the last day." Then angels shall de- 
 scend with the trump of God in their hands, and where- 
 ever the dead are lying, they shall hear its sound, and 
 shall come forth. And when the dead in Christ arise, 
 '* they shall be caught up to the clouds to meet the 
 Lord in the air, and so shall we be for ever with the 
 Lord." 
 
 P2 
 
SlB ADDRESS XXXI Y. 
 
 ADDRESS XXXIV. 
 
 1 JOHK III. 1. 
 
 " Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upoa 
 us, that we should be called the son^ of God." 
 
 Christi an s, you are now in your Father's house, and 
 arc about to partake of the children's bread, and it be- 
 comes you to reflect with devout wonder, and with fer- 
 vid gratitude, on the kindness of God to you in re- 
 ceiving you into his family. I trust it is your wish to 
 contemplate this marvellous grace in the humble and 
 affectionate spirit of the disciple whom Jesus loved. 
 
 How wonderful does this adopting love appear, when 
 j'ou consider your state and character by nature ! We 
 had lost the image, and rebelled against the authority 
 of the Being that formed us, connected ourselves with 
 the family of the devil, and were the slaves of cor- 
 ruption, and the children of wrath. That such crea- 
 tures should be rescued from destruction was great 
 love, but that God should make them his children is 
 grace that passeth knowledge. You see how unwilling 
 men are to take those into their families whom they 
 consider as beneath them in station, or unworthy of 
 them in character ; but behold God raises the outcast 
 from the fearful pit of guilt and wretchedness to a 
 place in his house, and makes the language of enmity, 
 terror, and despair, to be succeeded by the cry, *< Ab- 
 ba, Father." 
 
 This love will appear wonderful, if we consider the 
 glory of him who adopts. How vast is the distance 
 
ADDRESS XXXIV. 317 
 
 betwixt Jehovah and the higliest creatures, betwixt the 
 infinite and eternal God, and beings finite, derived, 
 and dependent ! He needed not our services for his 
 glory and happiness, for he could have formed by one 
 effort of his power beings nobler in nature and quali- 
 ties than men, and have placed them round his throne ; 
 yet did he look with pity on the sinner lying in his 
 blood ; and while he never uttered one expression of 
 mercy to fallen angels, addressed to us this language, 
 " I will be a Father to you," " Seemeth it," saidD a- 
 vid, " a small matter to be son-in-law to a king, see- 
 ing I am but a poor man, and lightly esteemed ;" but 
 the most splendid alliance which mortals can form, is 
 not once to be compared with that which connects the 
 children of the dust with the Lord of all. 
 
 This love will appear most wonderful, if you consi- 
 der the manner in which this privilege was procured. 
 Infinite wisdom could alone devise a method for con- 
 ferring it consistently with the glory of his character, 
 and the demands of his law for vengeance on us ; and 
 the plan it formed was this: that the son of God should 
 assume the likeness of sinful flesh, and the form of a 
 servant, endure the curse which we deserved, and pur- 
 chase every blessing which could render us holy or 
 happy. Sweet, O Christian, is your Father's pity, but 
 not one gleam of it visited your suffering Lord. Your 
 afflictions are a Father's corrections, but the sufferings 
 of Christ were the vindictive strokes of incensed Om- 
 nipotence. Your glorious liberty was obtained by his 
 being bound as a criminal, and nailed to the cross; 
 and he was a homeless wanderer that you might dwell 
 in the house of the Lord for ever. Men, in their folly 
 and caprice, may give what is of great value for the 
 attainment of a trivial object ; but when he, who is in- 
 finitely wise and just, sent forth his Son, born of a wo- 
 p3 
 
318 ADDRESS XXXIV. 
 
 man, and made under the law, that we might receive 
 the adoption of children, we may rest assured that this 
 interposition was worthy of his character, and that the 
 end accomplished by it shall be to the praise of the 
 glory of his grace. Behold the value of this blessing 
 in these agonizing sorrows, and in that broken heart 
 of your gracious Saviour, and admire the generosity of 
 his love, who, so far from regarding your adoption with 
 jealousy, or scorning you as a dishonour to his Father's 
 house, suffered " in the body of his flesh through death, 
 to present you holy, and unblameable, and unreprove- 
 able in his sight." 
 
 The privileges of this relation render this adopting 
 love wonderful. Angels share with you in your name, 
 but you have privileges which they cannot possess. 
 Your adoption connects you with the Lord Jesus by 
 ties more close than those by which he is connected 
 with angels. God is yours in a fuller sense than he is 
 theirs. You have a place in the covenant which they 
 cannot occupy, feelings at the communion table which 
 they cannot participate, and a song of praise which they 
 cannot sing. It is true that they have no experience 
 of your sorrows, but they know not the comforts of that 
 mercy which heals the broken-hearted, nor the reno- 
 vating power of repentance unto life. There is not a 
 blessing in the great salvation which he will deny you, 
 nor a moment of your being which is not marked by 
 his bounty. "If children, then heirs; heirs of God, 
 and joint heirs with Christ." 
 
 How wonderful does this love appear in the manner 
 in which adoption is bestowed. Glorious and blissful 
 as this privilege is, ye were unwilling to receive it, and 
 were altogether unqualified for its duties and enjoy- 
 ments ; but by his Spirit God conquered your aver- 
 sion, effaced from you the image of Satan, and formed 
 
ADDRESS XXXIV. ol9 
 
 you to goodness, righteousness, and truth. He im- 
 planted in you that love and reverence, that trust and 
 joy, that zeal and benevolence, which characterize his 
 family. These are graces by which God is honoured, 
 and you are blessed ; and he formed them not in a heart 
 that was innocent and uncorrupted, but in one which 
 was alienated from the life of God, bent on the viola- 
 tion of his law, and prone to malice and envy. This 
 blessed change taught you to appreciate the value of 
 Jehovah's smile, to find enjoyment in duties and scenes 
 which to carnal men are irksome and gloomy, and to 
 look forward to eternity for a home. 
 
 And is not the perpetuity of this blessing astonish- 
 ing ? There have been instances in which a father has 
 been induced to disinherit a prodigal son, whom nei- 
 ther kindness, nor menaces, nor corrections could re- 
 claim from utter profligacy, and to expel him from his 
 house and presence ; and you now tremble at the 
 thought that your unworthy conduct may provoke God 
 to cast you off for ever. There were morning stars 
 which fell from the firmament, and sons of God who 
 were cast out of heaven, but such events shall not again 
 occur. The grace of God shall keep you from the ex- 
 cesses of the reprobate, his corrections shall reclaim 
 you from your wanderings, and in his ordinances he 
 shall confirm you in every holy tendency. You are 
 now saying, '* Bless me, even me also, O my father ;" 
 and if you ask this for his sake, who was made a curse 
 for you, and in that meek and lowly spirit which would 
 be thankful for the crumbs which fell from his table, it 
 will be granted, for your Father delights in mercy. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 It was a memorable answer Vv'hich the kings of Mi- 
 dian delivered to Gideon, when he asked what man- 
 p 4 
 
320 ADDRESS XXXIV. 
 
 ner of men they were whom they slew at Tabor, " As 
 thou art so were they, each one resembled the chil- 
 dren of a king." There was a majesty in their form 
 and manner which shed lustre over the obscurity of 
 their condition. And such is the testimony borne to 
 the saints of God even by the consciences of their ene- 
 mies ; for, reluctant as they are to admit their worth, 
 they are compelled to acknowledge it by the force of 
 their convictions, and to declare that God is in them. 
 This acknowledgment they make, though it con- 
 demns the cruelty with which they treated them, and 
 though it must be accompanied with the severest cen- 
 sure of their own misconduct by their own hearts. It 
 is made in circumstances too serious for deceit or 
 mockery, and when the suspicion of its being dictated 
 by any sinister purpose is obviously inadmissible. 
 
 But what are the characters of the children of the 
 King of heaven, by which you ought to manifest that 
 you belong to that family ? Purity is the first which 
 I shall mention. " God is holy in all his ways;" and 
 their hearts, sanctified by the grace of God, are pure 
 in their wishes, affections, and purposes ; and their 
 lives, guarded by the controul, and animated by the 
 influence of religion, are consistent and exemplary. 
 As obedient children, let every part of your Father's 
 will be duly regarded by you, and abstain from all ap- 
 pearance of evil. The sanctity of manners which you 
 maintain may becailqd hypocritical preciseness, or su- 
 perstitious austerity ; but " wisdom is justified of her 
 children." 
 
 Benevolence is another feature in their character. 
 God is the Father of mercies ; and was their power 
 equal to their wishes, they would make every house of 
 mourning to rejoice. God hath given them a melting 
 heart ; and their happiness lies not in amassing wealth. 
 
ADDRESS XXXIV. 321 
 
 but in doing good and communicating. While the 
 wicked, by their malice and revenge, shew that they 
 are the children of their father the devil, who was a 
 murderer from the beginning, *' love your enemies, 
 do good to them that hate you, that ye may be the 
 children of your father who is in heaven, who maketh 
 his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendetli 
 rain on the just and on the unjust." 
 
 They resemble the children of a king in majesty. 
 Though many of them are poor and despised in the 
 world, their is such a superiority in their spirit and 
 views to the base and sordid, as proves that they are 
 born from above. Shew, that while your religion in- 
 clines you to be meek, and patient, and humble, yet in 
 these virtues there is nought that is abject, cringing, 
 or dastardly. That is a noble mind which poverty 
 cannot crush, and oppression cannot awe, and which 
 maintains the calm dignity of wisdom, integrity, and 
 fortitude, in the most adverse circumstances-. 
 
 And they are like the children of a king in influ- 
 ence. Such is their power with God, that their prayers 
 are of much avail ; in the world, that they are the cha- 
 liots and horsemen of Israel; and over their own hearts, 
 that, instead of being the sport of passion, they rule 
 over their own spirits. Your influence with God, O 
 Christian, is greatest when your own unworthiness is 
 most deeply felt. He will deny you nothing which 
 his grace in you solicits, or which your happiness re- 
 quires. 
 
 Remember whose image and superscription you once 
 bore. It was the image of the earthly Adam, nay, the 
 likeness of the devil, for his spirit and works were 
 yours. But let your whole soul magnify his name, 
 who stripped oflf" ** the old man which is corrupt ac- 
 cording to the deceitful lusts, and put on you the new- 
 P 5 
 
S22 ADDRESS XXXIV. 
 
 man, which, after God, is created in righteousness and 
 true holiness." 
 
 Think not that the transports which you now feel are 
 a sufficient tribute to his adopting love, for it claims 
 your eternal admiration and praise. Cast not away 
 in your future days your wonder on trifles ; but mani- 
 fest the superior wisdom to which religion hath led 
 you, by despising all that excites the idle curiosity, or 
 the short-lived admiration of the giddy and the car- 
 nal, and contemplating with increasing interest scenes 
 which the songs of heaven call great and marvellous. 
 Beware of pride and vain-glory. To consider what 
 you have been, and what you ought to be, will tend 
 much to promote humility. Advance daily in resem- 
 blance to God. Let the ministers of religion be able 
 to bear you this testimony, that you are epistles of 
 Christ, transcripts of his doctrine, character, and law, 
 and to rejoice in you as partakers of a divine nature. 
 To see you the sons of God without rebuke is their 
 earnest wish now, and shall be their joy and crown 
 hereafter. 
 
 Grow in love and reverence to your heavenly Father. 
 Listen to the voice of the Redeemer from his cross. 
 *' O love the Lord all ye his saints.'' Shall such a 
 Father have the lowest of our reverence, or the cold- 
 est of our love? Love your elder brother more, for 
 you have not yet given him all your heart; and be this 
 moment, and for the future, more entirely his. And 
 remember, that it is by the conformity of his people 
 to his image, that Christ is most highly honoured as 
 the first-born among many brethren. See that you 
 love one another with a pure heart fervently. Ye 
 are one in your Father's heart, in the care of the Re- 
 deemer, and in the unity of the Spirit ; and never let 
 pride or envy alienate you from each other. Like 
 
ADDRESS XXXIV. 323 
 
 members of one family, take the deepest interest in 
 the welfare of your brethren, behold their sorrows with 
 a brother's pity, and seek their improvement with a 
 brother's sohcitude. 
 
 Turn away your eyes from beholding vanity. There 
 is not an object in the worldly man's possession which 
 deserves your envy, even though that passion might 
 be indulged with innocence ; and, with such a goodly 
 heritage as yours, it is most sinful to repine that aught 
 is withheld, and foolish to be influenced by the denial 
 of it, to attach to it a value which it does not possess. 
 Ye are now to arise, and to pursue your journey 
 through the wilderness ; but rejoice that you are going 
 home, and that your Father is with you. You have 
 seen a child travelling by a father's side, and you 
 know how he soothes and animates him by the voice 
 of kindness and hope when he is impatient and lan- 
 guid, how he points his eyes to the lofty spires or green 
 hills of the place to which he is going, and how he aids 
 him in climbing the mountain, or passing through the 
 mire. And '' they that wait on the Lord shall renev/ 
 their strength ;. they shall mount up with wings like 
 eagles, they shall run and not weary, they shall walk 
 and not faint." 
 
 Be of good comfort in the prospect of old age. Then 
 the body of man no more resembles the bloom and 
 strength of youth, than the nakedness of the tree in 
 Avinter does its luxuriance in the spring; but the beau- 
 ties of holiness are then as bright as ever. In the old 
 man stooping to the grave, you see the prelude of death 
 and of immortality. 
 
 And be of good comfort in the hour of death, It is 
 
 to your best friends that you are going ; and this is the 
 
 language in which you can speak of your departure ; 
 
 and selfish and impious is the sorrow which would 
 
 v6 
 
524 
 
 ADDRESS XXXV. 
 
 murmur at your removal, " I go to my Father's house, 
 and to my Saviour's joy." What you were, conscience 
 will often remind you ; what you now are, it is the 
 work of gratitude to tell ; but what you shall be, faith 
 can only anticipate in part. This is the sum of your 
 happiness, but who can tell all that it contains ? " So 
 shall we be for ever with the Lord." This is the hope 
 that enraptures your heart, " As for me I will be- 
 hold thy face in righteousness, and when I awake I 
 shall be satisfied with thy likeness.'' Perhaps some of 
 you are ready to say, *' O Lord, let me behold thy 
 face in mercy, but to see thee in righteousness can be 
 no joyous hope to me;" but you shall see his justice 
 cordially assenting to your happiness, and prepared to 
 allot and to maintain your inheritance in g\ory. In 
 the grave corruption shall disfigure you ; no trace of 
 what you now are shall be left in the consuming flesh, 
 and in the crumbling bones; but Christ shall fashion 
 your vile bodies like to his own glorious bod}', and you 
 shall reign with him in life for ever. Amen. 
 
 ADDRESS XXXV. 
 
 1 PETER I. 8. 
 
 '« Whom having not seen, ye love." 
 
 We are so much accustomed to the influence of sen- 
 sible objects, that some rashly conclude that it is im- 
 possible to love one whom we have never seen, and are 
 disposed to class affection to an invisible Saviour among 
 the reveries of enthusiasm. But there are other modes 
 
ADDRESS XXXV. 325 
 
 of exhibiting the worth of an object as striking as its 
 actual presence. It is not so much the external form 
 of an object which excites regard, as the amiable qua- 
 lities which it indicates. It is the benignity which 
 softens the features, the sympathy which moistens the 
 eye, and the wisdom which flows from the lips, by 
 which our hearts are touched ; and a most vivid im- 
 pression of those qualities may be produced on those 
 who have never seen their possessors, by the state- 
 ments of those who have been associated with them. 
 
 When we go into the house of affliction, and are told 
 of one whose liberality has supplied their wants, and 
 whose skilful exertions have redeemed their lives from 
 destruction, we do not remain cold and indifferent at 
 the recital, because we have not seen the generous vi- 
 sitant. Our hearts swell at once with admiration of 
 his goodness, and join in the blessings which are in- 
 voked on him by those who were ready to perish. 
 When we survey the pillars which have been reared to 
 commemorate the brave who have won the liberty, or 
 the memorials of the genius which has adorned the li- 
 terature of our country, we feel a degree of attachment 
 to such characters as strong as ever was felt by any 
 among whom they lived. The prejudices of party, and 
 the surmises of envy, which so often darken the lustre 
 of living merit, seldom spread a shade over the illus- 
 trious dead. And shall it be deemed impo;ssible for us 
 to love the Lord Jesus Christ, of the excellencies of 
 whose character we have such an affecting record in 
 the sacred history, written'by men who saw his glory ? 
 They thus describe the object which they had in view 
 in these details, ** These things which we have seen 
 and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have 
 fellowship with us, that your hearts may glow with 
 feelings akin to ours." 
 
326 ADDRESS XXXV. 
 
 I may add, that there are testimonies of regard to 
 our interests, which may excite strong affection, though 
 we have never seen the benefactor from whom they 
 proceed. It is not even necessary that he live in the 
 same country, or the same age with us. It is enough 
 that we behold in his bounty a picture of his heart. 
 We feel it as a circumstance which strengthens our 
 attachment to a distant benefactor, that, surrounded 
 by objects calling for his kindness, he honoured us 
 with the pledges of his regard. 
 
 The father who dies while his child is too young to 
 recognize him, and who, before he departs, leaves his 
 counsels for his direction, makes every provision in 
 his power for his comfort, and orders a vahiable pledge 
 of his regard to be given to him when he arrives at 
 maturity, is thought of by that son with affectionate 
 veneration. These counsels strike him as if he heard 
 them from a father's lips, and that pledge affects him 
 as if he received it from a father's hand. And are 
 not we surrounded with the tokens of our Saviour's 
 regard to our interests.'* The ordinances of religion 
 are stored with his blessings, and the earth is full of 
 his mercy. 
 
 I trust I can appeal to you. Christians, and say, 
 " Him having not seen, ye love." His excellence is 
 such as to claim your best affection. History exhibits 
 many estimable characters, fancy hath drawn many 
 striking pictures of eminent worth, and heaven con- 
 tains many bright angels and saints, made perfect ; 
 but in all things Christ hath the pre-eminence. As a 
 divine Being he possesses all the brightness of the 
 Father's glory, all the wisdom of an infinite under- 
 standing, all the might of omnipotence, all the beauty 
 of underived excellence, and all the benignity of 
 everlasting love. As man, how amiable is he in the 
 
ADDRESS XXXV. 32? 
 
 beneficence of his life, the humility of his spirit, and 
 the gentleness of his manners, in the condescension 
 which counted no abasement too low, and in the 
 patience which deemed no suffering too severe for the 
 happiness of the wretched ! And as Mediator, he 
 possesses every excellence to merit the Father's con- 
 fidence, to consummate the plans of mercy, and to 
 claim the sinner's trust. 
 
 In eminent characters among men, there is gene- 
 rally one excellence for which they are distinguished ; 
 and when you examine their other qualities you find 
 them by no means superior to those of others; but 
 the various excellencies of Jesus shine with the fullest 
 glory. 
 
 In men, we do not expect to find a combination 
 of opposite excellencies. The hardiness of the bold 
 and the determined, is seldom associated with the 
 gentleness and softness of the mild and the tender- 
 hearted ; but in Jesus the beauty of holiness is 
 mingled with candour and pity, the brightest ma- 
 jesty with the softest meekness, and the strictest 
 justice with the richest grace. In the brightest hu- 
 man characters there is some defect ; but in the Sun 
 of Righteousness there is no spot, in the pearl of great 
 price there is no flaw, and in the rose of Sharon 
 there is no thorn. 
 
 Many characters strike only at first. The gloss of 
 novelty gives a power of attraction to many things 
 which have no solid worth, and the language of dis- 
 appointment and disgust soon succeeds that of wonder 
 and ecstacy ; but the more Jesus is known the more 
 he is loved. In the praise of other characters we 
 suppose that flattery is often mingled ; but, amidst all 
 that is said of Jesus, the heart is still conscious of the 
 
328 ADDRESS XXXV. 
 
 inadequacy of the description, and that the theme sur- 
 passes the power of language. 
 
 Now, Christians, what think ye of the Saviour ? 
 An unsanctified mind cannot conceive his glory, and 
 it cannot be the delight of a carnal heart. Once you 
 saw no form nor comeliness in him, but your eyes 
 were opened, and j'our hearts were purified by his 
 Spirit; and since that happy change, you have been 
 convinced that his excellence is supreme and match- 
 less, and you feel that in studying, admiring, and imi- 
 tating it, you could find your eternal felicity. 
 
 But in what Christ hath done for you, he also claims 
 your love ; and it is the consideration of what he hath 
 done for us, which encourao-es us to cling to him as 
 our friend. And let it not be said that this is a 
 selfish principle ; for it is the benefactor's heart which 
 love regards ; and it is the kindness of the Saviour, 
 apparent in what he did, and in what he gives, which 
 engages our aiFection. Meditate on the glory and feli- 
 city from which he descended, on the humiliation to 
 which he stooped, and the anguish to which he submit- 
 ted for you. Meditate on the melting sympathy of his, 
 heart, and the unwearied earnestness of his prayers; ort 
 redemption by his blood, sanctification and comfort 
 by his Spirit, victory by his grace, and eternal life 
 by his righteousness, and you will feel how muck 
 you owe him. And when you consider this kind- 
 ness as manifested to creatures who deserved nought 
 but abhorrence and indigrmtion, it will heighten 
 your grateful wonder. I trust your hearts are now 
 magnifying him as the best of beings, and as the only 
 Saviour. Memory, O blessed Jesus, will select thy 
 goodness for its tenderest recollection, and gratitude, 
 thy favours for its sweetest theme. The most valued 
 
ADDRESS XXXV. 3^9 
 
 ot my friends shall be placed at thy feet, and the 
 throne of my heart shall be occupied by thee for 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 When I think on tlie baseness of the human heart, 
 I am astonished that Jesus should ask its love, and do 
 so much to gain it. He is the object of supreme af- 
 fection to all the angels in heaven, yet doth he cast 
 his eye on human beings, and say to them, *' give me 
 thine heart." Fix your eyes on a suffering Redeemer, 
 and tell me why that heart groans, and why it is 
 broken ? It is to win yours. Our love cannot add 
 to his happiness, but he requires it because it con- 
 stitutes our own, Happy is he who is now saying, 
 " I will love thee, O Lord, my strength ;" and blessed 
 shall he be who is attempting to say it, though with a 
 trembling heart, and with a faultering tongue, for " the 
 bruised reed he will not break, and the smoking flax 
 he will not quench, till he bring forth judgment unto 
 victory." The communion table is a place for re- 
 animating languid affection, as well as for strengthen- 
 ing weak faith. Here the fire of heaven descends, not 
 to destroy, but to fill the cold and dark heart with love 
 and gladness. That fire has come down, and is con- 
 suming your corruptions and your fears, and making 
 your hearts right in the sight of God. 
 
 Express your love to him in the language of adora- 
 tion and praise. To the most splendid crown which 
 the earth could present to him he prefers the blessings 
 of those who are ready to perish. Sacrifice every cor- 
 ruption before him, consecrate to him every talent, and 
 devote to him every moment. 
 
SSO ADDRESS XXXV. 
 
 Remember the words of your Saviour, " If ye love 
 me, keep my commandments." Let your love be dis- 
 played in the cheerfulness of your obedience, and in 
 your compliance with those precepts which seem the 
 hardest sayings to flesh and blood. And let your 
 obedience be constant. Love is not a principle which 
 operates in occasional bursts of rapture, which are suc- 
 ceeded by long periods of languor and indolence ; but 
 it acts with a steady influence on the heart and con- 
 duct. 
 
 Manifest your attachment to Jesus by love to the 
 brethren. How is it that we shew our attachment to 
 a friend who is gone ? It is by kindness to his con- 
 nections, by aiding them, if they are helpless, guiding 
 them by our advice, and redressing their wrongs, if 
 they are oppressed. And it is by similar acts to the 
 disciples, that we must show our love to their Master 
 and ours. This is the grand distinction of Christian 
 beneficence, that it is done for the sake of Jesus. It 
 is love to Christ which has prompted those efforts of 
 mercy by which so much misery has been removed, 
 and so much happiness imparted. It hath raised up 
 fathers for the orphan, provided an asylum for the 
 outcast, brightened the gloom of the prisoner, and 
 furnished the means of instruction to those " who 
 were perishing for lack of knowledge." And what 
 motive can be so animating to such conduct as this ? 
 " In as much as ye did it to one of the least of these 
 my brethren, ye did it unto me." Consider the case 
 of the poor, and be willing to distribute, and ready to 
 communicate. The portion which is sent from your 
 meals to poor neighbours, and the clothing which 
 you give them, will be no loss to you, and will be a 
 great comfort to them. 
 
 Adhere stedfastly and zealously to the cause of 
 
ADDRESS XXXV. 331 
 
 your Saviour. The contempt which is cast on those 
 whom we love, and the injuries which are done to 
 them, often affect us more than if we ourselves were 
 their objects. When they are respected and flourish- 
 ing, the heart swells with exultation; and it tends to 
 reconcile us to neglect and to hardships that they are 
 happy. Thus you must feel with regard to your Sa- 
 viour. Let it be your prayer that every heart may 
 love him supremely, that every pursuit may point to 
 his glory, and that every tongue may proclaim his 
 praise. With Christ on the throne, the pious man 
 can welcome the dust, and is contented to be nothing 
 where his Lord is all. In opposition to the blasphemy 
 which profanes his name, the heresy which depreciates 
 his merits, the pride which scorns his grace, and the 
 enmity which impedes the spread of truth and virtue, 
 praise ye the Lord, glory in his cross, and labour to 
 promote the knowledge and the practice of religion. 
 
 Let young disciples beware lest their love wax cold. 
 You think this is impossible, but it has been the case 
 with too many. Shall the kindness of your youth* 
 and the love of your espousals be all that can be said 
 of your religion when you come to die ? Let it be 
 followed by the uniform piety of every future period ; 
 and let there never be reason to complain of you that 
 you have not realized the promise of your early days, 
 and that " you have left your first love." Let those 
 in middle life beware of the love of the world. Let 
 not its cares overcharge the heart, or impede its de- 
 vout movements, and let not its intercourse unfit you 
 for those exercises which are so necessary to cherish 
 holy feeling. And let the aged be lively and ardent 
 in pious affection. It is truly delightful to see the 
 dim eye glistening at the praise of Jesus, and the 
 failing heart swelling with the fervour of devotion. 
 
352 ADDRESS XXXVI. 
 
 Finalli/f Carry the love of Christ with you wherever 
 you go. In prosperity it will melt the heart and open 
 the hand; in the scene of strife and debate, it will 
 maintain a generous forbearance, and prompt a soft 
 answer; in the season of affliction, it will make you 
 patient and thankful, and lift the thoughts from the 
 pain that is suffered, and the property that is lost, to 
 Jesus as the soul's rest and portion ; in the house of 
 mourning, it will elevate the affections from the corse 
 inclosed in its coffin, or corrupting in its grave, to a 
 living Redeemer on high ; and in the hour of death, 
 it will lessen the pang with which you separate from 
 all that is dear to you on earth, and make you willing 
 to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. 
 This will be the grand principle which will actuate 
 the blessed when repentance shall weep, patience shall 
 suffer, and faith and hope shall anticipate no more. 
 And when you shall see your Lord as he is, your 
 love to him shall attain a strength, and a tenderness 
 more suited than what it at present has, to the worth,, 
 and the kindness of the Lamb that was slain. " Let. 
 us go on to perfection." 
 
 ADDRESS XXX VI. 
 
 1 PETER I. 8. 
 
 " In whom, though no^y ye see him not, yet believing, ye re- 
 joice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 
 
 How various are the feelings of which our blessed 
 Saviour is the object ! The emotions excited by any 
 human being must be very limited, from the narrow- 
 
ADDRESS XXXVI. 333 
 
 ness of his powers, and the imperfections which adhere 
 to his best qualities ; but such are the excellencies, 
 and such is the influence of our Redeemer, that to him 
 every principal of the renovated heart is directed, and 
 finds in him an appropriate object. The man who is 
 the object of our dread we can seldom regard with 
 confidence and hope ; and from the friend whom we 
 love as our own souls, our bitterest vexations some- 
 times arise. Gratitude to an earthly benefactor is 
 often attended with painful sensations arising from the 
 inferiority which is connected with the receipt of favours, 
 and from our inability to make a suitable return. But 
 dependence on Christ is that state of mind in which 
 the saint enjoys the most pleasing tranquillity ; that 
 majesty of his which excites so much awe, confirms his 
 trust in a power before which all created might is less 
 than nothing, and love to his name, is attended with 
 joy unspeakable and full of glory. If there is a pang 
 felt in the exercise of this love, it is because it is so 
 inadequate to its glorious object, and so far beneath 
 what the good man would wish it to be. 
 
 I trust that I may thus address you, " ye are the 
 circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and re- 
 joice in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the 
 flesh." 
 
 Christians rejoice in the excellencies of their Savi- 
 our. Excellence produces joy in a virtuous mind, even 
 where its display yields no personal advantage. The 
 integrity which no prospect of gain can pervert^ and no 
 dread of loss can shake, the charity which opens its 
 hand with wisdom, the purity which is superior to all 
 the fascinations of sinful pleasure, and the fortitude 
 which glories in tribulation, are contemplated with de- 
 light by the good, whether they are exhibited in real 
 Jife, or in the page of history. This delight is always 
 
334 ADDRESS XXXVI. 
 
 heightened when we have any connection with its ob- 
 ject. If it is the excellence of a relative with whom 
 nature hath made us one, of a benefactor who hath ho- 
 noured us with his notice, or of a friend whom we dear- 
 ly love, we view it with exultation. Often hath the 
 virtuous conduct of such a connection gladdened the 
 aged amid the gloom and languor of solitude and in- 
 firmity. 
 
 But the excellencies of your Saviour are superior to 
 all that man ever possessed, or fancy ever sketched. 
 The pages of Scripture, and the songs of the blessed, 
 are filled with his praise, who is the image of the invi- 
 sible God. His character is adorned by all the beau- 
 ties of holiness, his goodness is unwearied in blessing, 
 and his heart, though he is on the summit of glory and 
 felicity, is touched with a feeling of our infirmities and 
 sorrows. Your minds have been taught to approve the 
 things which are more excellent; you contemplate these 
 qualities of your Lord with a high degree of plea- 
 sure ; and when the consciousness of your own depra- 
 vity, and of the wickedness which prevails around you, 
 fills you with horror, you feel, in looking unto Jesus, 
 as a man does in turning from an object loathsome 
 with disease, to one blooming in health and beauty. 
 Your interest in Jesus heightens your delight; for his 
 wisdom is pledged for your guidance, and his power for 
 your support : to his purity you are destined to be 
 conformed ; and in his goodness and mercy you can 
 trust for the supply of every want, and the relief of 
 crery sorrow. 
 
 Ye ought to rejoice too in the wonders which he hath 
 wrought for you. Deliverance from great evils, and 
 this accomplished in a manner which displays the 
 courage or skill of the deliverer in a striking light, are 
 celebrated with rapturous joy. When David was re- 
 
ADDRESS xxxyi. 3ii5 
 
 turning from the slaughter of the Philistines, the wo- 
 men came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and 
 dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and 
 with instruments of music ; and they answered one 
 another as they played, *' Saul hath slain his thou- 
 sands, and David his ten thousands." But we must, 
 with a much higher joy, contemplate him who hath re- 
 deemed us from the curse of the law, from the tyranny 
 of Satan, from the bondage of corruption, and from the 
 wrath to come, not merely by putting his life in jeo- 
 pardy, but by the sacrifice of himself in a manner 
 marked by peculiar agony. 
 
 The rapture felt by delivered nations is generally most 
 vivid at first, while the remembrance of the miseries un- 
 der which they groaned is most poignant. In the course 
 of years the interest decays, or is supplanted by some 
 new incident. But though so many hundred years have 
 elapsed since our redemption was effected, it is as much 
 adapted to excite joy as when it was achieved. Its im- 
 portance cannot sink in the lapse of time. The ordi- 
 nance of the Lord's Supper sets forth Christ before our 
 eyes evidently crucified ; and such is the power of faith 
 that it brings objects most distant from the past as 
 well as from the future, and exhibits them before us in 
 their most powerful attractions. I may add, that the 
 application of this redemption to you is but of yester- 
 day, and feeling, as you do^at this moment, the eflica- 
 cy of his redeeming blood, you are ready to exclaim, 
 " Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it, break 
 forth into singing ye mountains, O forest, and every 
 tree that is therein, for the Lord hath redeemed Ja- 
 cob, and glorified himself in Israel." 
 
 The relations which your Lord sustains to you call 
 for your joy. A peculiar pleasure is felt in a near re- 
 lation to objects whose excellent qualities can render 
 1 
 
I 
 
 S86 ADDRESS XXXVI. 
 
 it honourable or advantageous ; and high must be the 
 joy which is felt in union to Him who is the first and 
 the last in relations so intimate and tender. He is the 
 husband of his church ; and delightful is the tenderness 
 of his regard, your community of interest with hirn» 
 and the indissoluble nature of this relation. He is the 
 " friend that sticketh closer than a brother ;" and ye 
 have, I trust, the pleasing consciousness of his fidelity 
 to your interests, and his tender sympathy in all your 
 woes. He is your advocate with the Father, who is 
 ever attentive to your concerns, and ever solicitous for 
 your welfare ; and while he beholds all things under his 
 sway, he disdains not to plead the cause of the poor and 
 the needy. He is the everlasting Father, and how 
 sweet is it to mark his care, and to enjoy his liberality ; 
 to receive the testimonies of his approbation, and to 
 feel in that kind embrace with which he welcomes us 
 back from our wanderings, that he is pacified to us for 
 all that we have done ! 
 
 On topics so delightful as these let your thoughts 
 now dwell. " My meditation of him shall be sweet, 
 and I will be glad in the Lord. Eat thy bread with 
 joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart. Rejoice 
 in the Lord ye righteous, and again I say rejoice.*' 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 *' Then were the disciples glad when they saw the 
 Lord." In communion with Jesus a joy is felt which 
 no earthly advantage can yield, and which no worldly 
 evil can impair. It is only the man who tastes that 
 the Lord is gracious who can form any idea of the 
 tenderness of his language, or the kindness of his smile. 
 In his presence the good man would find no gloom in 
 
ADDRESS xxxvr. 53? 
 
 a prison, no loneliness in a desert, and no terrors in 
 death. The vows and engagements you have made 
 to your Lord in this service, will give the faithful joy 
 on reflection. It is said that " all Israel sware to the 
 Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, with trum« 
 pets and cornets, and all Judah rejoiced at the oath, 
 for they had sworn with all their heart, an<l sought 
 him with their whole desire." The consciousness of 
 sincerity in this service, of that divine influence by 
 which we were stirred up to magnify and bless him, 
 and of God's acceptance of our homage, must be highly 
 pleasing. '* Thou hast put gladness in my heart more 
 than the wicked have in the time when their corn and 
 ■wine abound.'* 
 
 Some of you perhaps are saying, '' Oh, that I could 
 rejoice in these views of Christ ; but when I attempt 
 it, the grand and awful representations of him in 
 Scripture rush into my mind, and fill me with dismay." 
 But in these representations a strong faith can discern 
 reasons for joy. He is the King of kings ; but he is 
 also the Prince of peace. He is the mighty God ; but 
 he is able to save to the uttermost. His vesture is 
 dipt in blood; but it is the blood of your enemies. And 
 when he speaks to you in threatenings, it is to warn 
 you of dangers of which you are unconscious, and to 
 induce you to abide in the refuge in which he hath 
 placed you. 
 
 Rejoice in your Lord's offices. His teaching dis- 
 closes the wonders of God's love, brightens the dark 
 ways of Providence, and makes the benighted mind 
 to know wisdom. Rejoice in his sacrifice, for it is the 
 triumph of his love, the conquest of your enemies, and 
 the price of your salvation. And rejoice in his reign, 
 for his yoke is easy, his sceptre is a sceptre of righteous- 
 ness, and his throne is a throne of grace. 
 VOL. H, Q 
 
5SS ADDRESS XXXVI, 
 
 Rejoice in the promises which he has made to you. 
 The most part of mankind feel more joy in hope than 
 in possession ; place before them a good which they 
 deem valuable, and let the promise of it be worthy of 
 their trust, and they will feel a joy in the anticipation 
 which will make the most arduous efforts for its attain- 
 ment seem light. And when you think on the ex- 
 ceeding great and precious promises which your Sa« 
 viour hath sealed with his blood, you will rejoice ex- 
 ceedingly. In these promises your comfort and safety 
 are secured in death and judgment. These are events, 
 the idea of which saddens the gayest hours of the wick- 
 ed, and against these terrors presumption and infideli- 
 ty furnish a poor defence. Jesus promises you a peace 
 in death whieh the king of terrors cannot shake, and a 
 triumph in judgment amidst the utter confusion of un- 
 godly men. He promises you a happiness on high 
 through eternity, in which you shall find gratification 
 to all your wishes, and the glorious result of all that 
 your Lord did for you on earth and in heaven. 
 
 How noble are the qualities of your joy ! Some have 
 felt it to such a degree that they could not express it. 
 This is the case with various emotions. Silence on 
 such occasions is a far more striking and certain indi- 
 cation of the vehemence of the emotion than the strong, 
 est language which the lips can employ. But no lan- 
 guage can convey a full idea of its power and sweet- 
 ness. The compass of human language is wonderful. 
 It can present the most splendid scenes of earthly pomp 
 and enterprise before the imagination, with all the live- 
 liness and strength of reality; but it cannot exhibit in 
 its due extent the peace which passeth understanding, 
 and the Joy with which the stranger doth not inter- 
 meddle. It is only the lauguage of heaven which will 
 
ADDRESS XXXVI. 230 
 
 be adequate to describe what the presence of Christ in« 
 spires, and what the spiritually-minded feel. 
 
 Your joy is glorious in its nature. I will not com- 
 pare it with the joy of the wicked man in sin, which is 
 vile and detestable ; nor with that of the worldling in 
 his indulgencies, which is mean and grovelling. But 
 compare it with the joy which is felt in the acquisition 
 of knowledge, or the endearments of friendship, and^ 
 behold its superiority. It does not arise from the mere 
 workings of natural feeling in the heart, but is the fruit 
 of the Divine Spirit,— it is akin to the delight in God 
 which is felt by angels and archangels. 
 
 How glorious is the influence of this joy \ Carnal joy 
 often discovers itself in excesses of folly, it so softens 
 the heart as to unfit it for any effort of self-denial, or 
 any exertion that is laborious and troublesome, and 
 renders it peculiarly susceptible of the influence of 
 temptations to pride and sensuality. But this joy 
 makes the heart contemn every carnal allurement, and 
 gives it such vigour and such courage, that it will wel- 
 come the most difficult duty, and sustain the severest 
 trial. 
 
 It detracts much from the value of any object when 
 it is transient in its nature ; and such is the character 
 of all carnal joy. " The triumphing of the wicked is 
 short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a mo- 
 ment." It does not even last till death, for the most 
 frivolous incident will mar it, and continued indulgence 
 produces disgust. But though the joy of the saint may 
 not possess at all times the same degree of vigour, he 
 is at no time left comfortless. Wonderful is the power 
 of that joy, which the winter of adversity cannot wi- 
 ther, nor the evil days of age destroy. And your joy 
 shall be eternal as its object. It is the beginning of 
 
Sid ADDRESS XZXTt. 
 
 the felicity which will be felt when the glory of Imma- 
 miel shall be seen by you unveiled, when in the city of 
 the living God, you shall bear a part in the song of the 
 Lamb, when your love shall be purified from every fear, 
 and your bliss be placed beyond the reach of change or 
 termination. 
 
 Beware of every thing which may tend to mar yoar 
 joy. Guard against unbelief, for this will impede your 
 joy, by questioning the excellence of its object, or your 
 interest in it; and against a worldly spirit, for this will 
 make you disrelish things spiritual and heavenly. Ne- 
 glect no duty, for every such omission will give rise to 
 many painful reflections ; and never yield to tempta- 
 tion to sin, for this will fill you with remorse and fear. 
 Shew to all around that religion is not as the wicked 
 assert, a series of gloom and sadness, of outward auste* 
 rities, and inward struggles, mingled only with a few 
 bursts of enthusiastic ecstacy, but that it makes you 
 happy in all circumstances. Invite them to taste and 
 see that God is good, and while in trying whether the 
 wicked are happy they incur much guilt, and may re- 
 ceive much injury, in going with you they will enter 
 into rest. 
 
 Arise from this ordinance, and go oh your way re- 
 joicing, as the Ethiopian convert did, when " baptized 
 into Christ;" and labour to comfort others with these 
 consolations with which you are comforted of God. 
 '* Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and 
 send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared, 
 for this day is holy unto our Lord ; neither be ye sor- 
 ry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Rejoice 
 evermore." 
 
ADDRESS XZXVll. 541 
 
 ADDRESS XXXVIL 
 
 LUKE xxiir. 46. 
 
 •• And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said. Father, 
 into thy hands I commend my spirit ; and, having said thus, h* 
 gave up the ghost." 
 
 Such were the last words which our Lord uttered, 
 and such was the last act which he performed on the 
 cross. You now behold a life marked by all that ig 
 excellent and useful, closed in a manner worthy of such 
 a course. The sun setting in a sky adorned with clouds 
 beautiful in form and colour, is an object which it is 
 pleasing to contemplate ; the warrior expiring in the 
 field of blood, deeply interests the ardent mind of the 
 brave ; and the saints rejoicing in hope in their last 
 hour, are beheld with wonder and love by the pious. 
 But here we behold the Son of Righteousness setting, 
 whose glory covers the heavens, the Conqueror of the 
 powers of darkness sinking into rest in the arms of 
 victory, and the King of Saints, shewing by his example, 
 how good men should die. 
 
 Our Lord commended his spirit into his Father's 
 hand, and gave up the ghost to complete the sacrifice 
 which he was offering for sin. Death was the penalty 
 threatened in the law, and which the Surety of man 
 must endure. Jesus knew that his last moment was 
 now come, and as he had offered to his Father all the 
 previous parts of his sufferings, he now presented to 
 bim their solemn close. On the altar of God the sa- 
 a 3 
 
542 ADDRESS XXXYII. 
 
 crifice had bled, and there it dies. Were a respite from 
 death offered to the most part of men after they liave 
 endured severe agony for hours, it would be gladly ac- 
 cepted. The last shock is more frightful to nature than 
 all the previous gloom, pain, and anxiety of a sick- 
 bed ; but that generous love which brought Christ ta 
 this hour sustained him to its close, and no considera- 
 tion could induce him to come down from the cross, 
 and leave his work unfinished. 
 
 Christ commended his spirit into his Father's hands, 
 that he might make it happy with himself during its 
 separation from the body, and re-unite both parts of 
 his nature in the resurrection. The idea of the sepa- 
 ration of soul and body is painful to nature, and the 
 struggles arising from their appetites and corrupt ten- 
 dencies, which weaken the attachment of the spirits of 
 good men to their bodies, could not operate on the soul 
 of our Lord. But this was his hope, " Thou wilt not 
 leave my soul in a state of separation from the body, 
 neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corrup- 
 tion. Thou wilt shew me the path of life. In thy pre- 
 sence there is fulness of joy, and at thy right hand there 
 are pleasures evermore." He believed that his spirit 
 would rest in the bosom of that Father, the power of 
 whose anger he had now felt, and that his descent into 
 Joseph's sepulchre would be the conquest of the grave. 
 He trusted that his spirit would return to a body pow- 
 erful, incorruptible, and immortal. His soul and body 
 had hitherto been companions in pain and toil, but 
 hereafter they would be associated in rest and joy. All 
 the perfections of God warranted this hope. His just- 
 ice was to receive an answer to its last demand in the 
 separation of soul and body, and it would require their 
 re-union, which the power of Jehovah could easily ef- 
 fect. And to a Son so dear, and so worthy, what could 
 
ADDRESS XXXVII. S4S 
 
 the Father of mercies refuse ! He had assured him of 
 this in a variety of promises ; and Jesus knew that non« 
 of his words could pass away. 
 
 But our Lord commended his spirit into his Father's 
 hands, as an example to his people. The soul is the 
 chief care of the good in dying. They can leave the 
 body to friends and neighbours to give it a decent bu- 
 rial ; their worldly possessions they resign to those who 
 shall succeed them; and with regard to relatives, however 
 helpless, they hope that the kindness of the humane, 
 and the care of Providence, will plead for the fatherless, 
 but they fee! many anxieties about the immortal spirit. 
 They see guilt on it more than sufficient to crush it in- 
 to the lowest hell ; evil spirits they know are meeting 
 and plotting to drag it down to destruction ; and though 
 good angels care for their souls, j^et heaven is not 
 theirs, and they can procure admission to none. But 
 rejoice that Christ hath secured your reception to glory, 
 and there is nought that is stern, or repulsive, in the 
 voice or countenance of the Lord of that place; he will 
 receive the spirit to the highest blessings of his love, 
 and to employment which, of itself, would constitute a 
 heaven. Your Lord hath authorised you to expect this 
 welcome, and to express your hope of it in his own lan- 
 guage. Many good men have used these words when 
 they were dying, and are now blessing him in heaven 
 for that everlasting consolation, and that good hope 
 with which they inspired them in their last hour. And 
 to thy honour, O blessed Jesus, we will now say, that 
 all that is pleasing in life thou affordestand heightenest, 
 and that in thee, we will trust for comfort and safety, 
 and victory in death. 
 
 Is Jesus precious to you, Christians, in these views of 
 his death ? If we love the man whose influence secures 
 us a safe passage through difficulties and dangers, we 
 d 4 
 
54f^» ADDRESS XXXVII. 
 
 ought certainly to yield the best affections of our hearts 
 to him who hath made death a translation to a Father 
 and to a home. What are you willing to give up to 
 him who for your sakes yielded up the ghost? Can you 
 «ay, I will rerK)uiice every thing but the grace he hath 
 given me ? The dearest connexion^, and the most 
 valued possession shall be surrendered at his call. 
 What th;nk ye of his atoning death ? To this question 
 I hope you can thus reply : So much do I value it, that 
 I have fixed on it my dependence for eternity. I glory 
 in it for the redemption it obtained, for the peace which 
 it made, and for the graces which it displayed. It is 
 the common centre of faith, love, and joy to Christians 
 on earth, and of admiration and triumph to spirits in 
 glory. And while you now commemorate that death, 
 may the Eternal Father, to whom it was an offering 
 and a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour, accept, 
 strengthen, and maintain your delight and your confi-. 
 dence in the cross of his Son, 
 
 Jfler the Service, 
 
 It is worthy of notice, that the language in which 
 Christ commended his soul into his Father's hands was 
 that of David, whose Son, and whose Lord he was ; 
 and thus he hath recommended to us the petitions of 
 good men, which are recorded in Scripture, to be used 
 in devotion, and especially in the supplications of the 
 dying. Were I to complain of any want in the narra- 
 tives of the last hours of some good men, it would be 
 of the language of Scripture. These words of eternal 
 Jife must have a sweetness and power to the heart of 
 the man that utters them, and of those that hear them, 
 which none of the expressions of human wisdom or 
 
ADDRESS XXXVIT. 345 
 
 genius can possess. In using the language of Scrip- 
 ture, let your application of it be judicious and suitable, 
 and let it be done with the reverence which is due 
 to that word which God hath magnified above all his 
 name. 
 
 It is also worthy of our attention, that our Lord did 
 this with a loud voice. His expressions of relation to 
 God had been derided by his enemies ; but, to shew that 
 he had made no claim to which he was not fully entit- 
 led, he committed his soul to his Father with a voice 
 which might reach the surrounding multitude, and 
 strike insolence and cruelty dumb. The eternal Fa- 
 ther heard him with approbation and delight, and a 
 voice from the excellent glory reached the heart of the 
 expiring sufferer, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I 
 am well pleased." 
 
 It is very remarkable that our Lord, in using these 
 words of David, begins them in a manner which shews 
 his affection to God, and employs the term " Father," 
 which is not to be found in the verse of the Psalm to 
 which he refers. His father's wrath had overwhelmed 
 him with anguish, and in him he had seen an avenging 
 Judge, yet he calls him by this most endearing name, 
 and commits the spirit which he had tried so severely 
 into his hands. We find it difficult, in the hour of 
 God's anger against us, to address him in the language 
 of hope and love, and imagine that the frowns of his 
 face, and the blows of his rod, are intended to repress 
 it; but Christ's affection to his Father could not be 
 shaken by all the horrors of Calvary. Satan laboured 
 to suggest to him many hard thoughts of God, but they 
 were expelled instantly from that heart in which piety 
 had the undivided throne, and which looked for its rest, 
 rev/ards and bliss, in God alone, and in him for ever. . 
 In the spirit of your Lord, call Jehovah your Father,, 
 
346 ADDRESS XXXVII. 
 
 even when he speaks roughly to you, and demands 
 from you your dearest comforts, and say, " Though 
 he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 
 
 No sooner had our Lord uttered these words than 
 he gave up the ghost. Man, in dying, obeys the law 
 of his nature, and the spirit, thus required of him, he 
 can no longer retain : but Christ had power to lay down 
 his life. Death was in him an act of sovereignty, and 
 not the sinking of exhausted nature. The loudness of 
 his last cry shewed the strength of the vital principle. 
 It was not necessary that life should be protracted any 
 longer, for every prediction about his sufferings had 
 been fulfilled, and it only remained for him to lay it 
 down for us, and this he did with generous prompt!^ 
 tude at the appointed moment. 
 
 O ye, from whom life must be torn as it were by 
 violence, and who testify your reluctance to die by your 
 sobs, and cries, and vows, behold Jesus yielding it up 
 while he had power to retain it, and you will feel 
 ashamed to struggle. And let those who are tempted 
 to take away their own lives, in the agony of disap* 
 pointed passion, or utter despair, look to Jesus endur-* 
 ing the cross, and their gloom will be scattered, and 
 their fatal purposes repressed. 
 
 Keep your hearts with all diligence, for with no con* 
 iidence can you commend to God when you are dying, 
 a spirit which anger has inflamed, unchastity has de* 
 filed, or avarice hath engrossed ? Let meekness keep 
 them in perfect peace, let temperance guard them from 
 every sensual desire, and charity influence them with 
 every feeling of kindness. When anger rises, check it 
 by thinking on the long suffering of your Lord ; when 
 corruption is excited, repress it by crucifying the flesh ; 
 and when the world solicits, look from it to the grave 
 and to heaven. 
 
 3 
 
ADDRESS xxxvir. 347 
 
 Be frequent in prayer. It was a fiivourlte exercise 
 of your Lord, and with it his life was closed. Many 
 have begun to pray at the approach of death. It hath 
 wrung prayers from the lips of the proudest blasphemer ; 
 but we must give ourselves to prayer through life, if 
 we wish to call on God with comfort when we die. 
 Nothing will strengthen for duty, dispose for felicity, 
 or prepare for affliction like prayer. 
 
 " Commit the keeping of your souls to God in well 
 doing, as to a faithful Creator." An indolent, selfish 
 devotion, which consults only its own indulgence, or 
 which yields nothing but good words, and fair speeches, 
 is an abomination in his sight. While your lips utter 
 the voice of prayer, and your hearts feel the emotions of 
 affectionate confidence, be active in good works. If 
 the wicked are so eager and determined in the service 
 of Satan, it will be most disgraceful to you, if you be- 
 come languid and careless in the work of the Lord. 
 
 Anticipate death with the feelings which become 
 Christians. How easy is that bed of death which hath 
 the gracious promise of Jesus for its pillow, and how 
 happy is the man to whom the grave is the house of a 
 Father ! And if Jesus said, " Father, into thy hands I 
 commend my spirit," amidst the severest agony of body 
 and mind, you cannot pretend that you are in circum- 
 stances in which you cannot express it. Your last 
 throb, your last look, and your last words, are due, not 
 to relatives, however valuable. The last throb of your 
 hearts should be produced by love to Christ, and by a 
 desire to be with him ; your last look must be to his 
 cross, and your last words should be, " Lord Jesus, re- 
 ceive my spirit." 
 
 Finally^ Meditate on those prayers which he ad- 
 dresses to his Father in your behalf, " Holy Father, 
 keep through thine own name, those whom thoa hast - 
 q6 
 
348 
 
 ADDRESS XXXVIII. 
 
 given me." With such a protector none can harm you. 
 " t will pray the Father, and he will give you another 
 Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." 
 With such a companion to soothe, and cheer you, you 
 need fear no evil. And this is the language in which 
 he pleads for your admission to heaven, " Father, I will 
 that they whom thou hast given me, may be with me 
 where I am." O blessed hope! Its influence shall 
 make solitude pleasing, and death desirable. " And 
 now I commend you to God, and to the word of his 
 grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an 
 inheritance among them that are sanctified." 
 
 ADDRESS XXXVIII. 
 
 MATTH. XXVIII. 5. 
 
 <* And the angel answered, and said unto the woman, Fear 
 aot ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.'* 
 
 These are the words with which the angel calmed 
 the minds of the pious women who had come to pay 
 the last offices of respect to our Lord's body. When 
 they beheld the consternation of the keepers, the glory 
 of the heavenly messenger, and the tomb of Jesus 
 open, they were filled with anxiety and dismay. While 
 the Roman guards were left to the gloomy sug- 
 gestions of their own minds, the angel addressed these 
 disciples in language kind and animating ; and the view 
 
ADDRESS xxxviir. 349 
 
 which he gives of their exercise, and the encouragement 
 which he suggests to them, are admirably adapted for 
 the instruction and comfort of the devout communicant. 
 
 These persons sought our Lord with affection. The 
 love which we bear to our friends express itself in a 
 variety of ways, after their departure. We mourn be- 
 side their dust, feel a melancholy pleasure in the tender 
 recollections which that spot cherishes, and anticipate 
 the time when the same turf or stone shall cover us. 
 These pious women came to our Saviour's tomb with 
 costly spices and ointments, after the custom of the 
 east, to anoint his body, and to scatter over the se- 
 pulchre. Their thoughts, their affection, and their 
 happiness, had gone down with him to the grave; and 
 the corse of their dearest friend had more power to 
 attract them than all that the land of the living con- 
 tained. 
 
 Christians, you seek not a dead, but a living Saviour. 
 You seek him not in the house of silence, but in the 
 temple which he fills with his glory. You have not 
 come to cast a last look on his countenance, once so 
 amiable, but now so ghastly, or to anoint him with 
 spices, but to beseech him to cause his face to shine 
 upon you, and to receive " an unction from the Holy 
 One.'* You are influenced by pious attachment, I 
 trust, in thus seeking him, and when you meet him, 
 and hold him by the feet, or grasp the hem of his gar- 
 ment, you will be able to say, " Lord, thou knowest all 
 things, thou knowest that I love thee." 
 
 Courage was conspicuous in the conduct of these dis- 
 ciples. They knew that the followers of our Lord 
 were at that time the objects of suspicion, and had 
 reason to dread the malice and power of his enemies, 
 yet this did not deter them from shewing a deep in- 
 terest in his fate. They knew also that the tomb was 
 
350 ADDRESS xxxvirr. 
 
 vsurrounded by Roman soldiers, and it was probable, 
 that instead of being allowed to pay their tribute of 
 affection unmolested, they would be repulsed with 
 rudeness and barbarity. Besides, the morning was 
 only beginning to dawn, and they were much less 
 likely to meet with protection from the ill-usage of the 
 base, than if the day had been advanced. I may add, 
 that there is something in the sight of a dead body, 
 and of the interior of a sepulchre, which awakens feel- 
 ings of horror ; yet attachment raised them superior 
 to these causes of fear, and steeled their hearts with 
 courage. 
 
 You have not such dangers to brave in your duty ; 
 but there are many things which require you to arm 
 yourselves with their mind. The corruptions of the 
 heart will throw obstacles in your way ; and some have 
 had to break through the opposition of friends and 
 relatives in seeking Jesus, in places against which they 
 were irritated by the bigotry and prejudice, or in duties 
 which impiety led them to contemn. Your spiritual 
 enemies will try to seduce your hearts from the Sa- 
 viour, by their allurements ; and if these do not suc- 
 ceed, they will bring former sins to remembrance, to 
 fill you with terror ; they will suggest to your minds 
 such thoughts as will harass or shock you, and alarm 
 you with the idea of your eating and drinking damna- 
 tion to yourselves ; but none of these things must move 
 you, and you must go on in the strength of the Lord 
 God. 
 
 How zealous were these disciples ! Many in their 
 situation would have thought that they had sufficiently 
 proved their zeal, by witnessing his crucifixion, where 
 none of the apostles were present save John; that 
 Joseph and Nicodemus had done the body of our Lord 
 all necessary honour ; and that, if more was requisite^ 
 
ADDRESS XXXVIII. Sit 
 
 the disciples should come forward and shew their re- 
 pentance for their base desertion. But instead of 
 reasoning in this manner, they procured a large quan- 
 tity of spices and ointments, and instead of waiting till 
 the disciples came to accompany them, or till they were 
 apprised that they might go forward in safety, when 
 the Sabbath was ended, they set out with eagerness on 
 this labour of love. 
 
 In this spirit you must seek the honour of your Lord, 
 Imagine it not an excuse for sloth on your part, that 
 others are careless. Shall your Master's honour lie in 
 the dust, because those who should raise it put not 
 forth their hands, and because those who should plead 
 for it are silent ? This is an opportunity for you to 
 show that you have another spirit in you, and that you 
 are determined to follow the Lord fully. 
 
 You cannot imagine that sufficient honours are done 
 to his name, or that sufficient efforts are made in his 
 cause. That name is exalted above all blessing and 
 praise, and that cause deserves the utmost energies of 
 every creature. Think not that amidst the acclama- 
 tions of thousands, your hosannahs will be dispensed 
 with, and that amidst the gold of the wealthy in his 
 treasury he will not look for your mite, for he will 
 make inquiry after the offering of the poor, and regard 
 the sigh of the feeble minded. 
 
 These disciples sought him with sorrow. Memory 
 was employed in setting before them the excellencies 
 of the friend they had lost, and the sufferings in which 
 he had expired, and, forgetting his promises of his re- 
 surrection, they said in the despondency of their hearts, 
 ** I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land 
 of the living." They had spent a mournful Sabbath ; 
 and during the two dreadful nights which had passed 
 since Jesus died, they had watered their couch with 
 
3S2 ADDRESS xxxviir. 
 
 tlieir tears. This sorrow was permitted to overwhelm 
 them, that their meeting with our Saviour after his 
 resurrection might be more exquisitely tender and 
 pleasing. 
 
 You have not their causes of sorrow ; but you have 
 reason to mourn that you are so unprepared to meet 
 him, that you are seeking him so coldly, and that your 
 past conduct has been such as to suggest the most 
 painful fears that Jesus will not draw near you. Godly 
 sorrow is as pleasing to Christ as the rapture of angels-; 
 and at his table he will relieve the heart that is op- 
 pressed with this grief. If ye have come to his table 
 with this sorrow ye shall return with peace. To feal 
 his hand wiping away our tears, to hear his voice as- 
 suring us of forgiveness, and to find his comforts glad- 
 dening our souls, must yield a pleasure which can only 
 be exceeded in the acquittal of judgment, and in the 
 blessedness of heaven. 
 
 A/lcr the Service. 
 
 Christians, your affectionate inquiries after your 
 Lord are marked in heaven. Jesus knows the true 
 character and motives of his worshippers. The men 
 of the world may suppose that your services are but 
 an empty form, and that your hearts are as much 
 strangers to the feelings of devotion as theirs ; but you 
 can appeal from censure so uncharitable and so pre- 
 sumptuous, to him who searches the heart, and say> 
 " with my soul have I desired thee in the night season, 
 and with my spirit within me I have sought thee early." 
 He knows your secret struggles with corrupt principles, 
 your devout wishes and holy purposes, and he will aid 
 you in mortifying the deeds of the body, and cherisii 
 every virtuous emotion* 
 
ADDRESS XXXVIII. S5S 
 
 But consider that your languid feelings, and your 
 backsliding in heart must be known to him also, and 
 the intimation of this will cover you with confusion. 
 Happy is he to whom the Redeemer is not called to 
 say, " when thou wast on the bed of sloth, and in the 
 scene of folly, I saw thee ;" and more happy still is he 
 whom he can address thus, " when thou wast at my 
 cross washing thy robes in my blood, and when thou 
 wast in the scene of active duty, I beheld thee." En- 
 thusiasts may mistake the phantom which is formed by 
 their own fancy for a messenger from heaven ; but the 
 pious are under no delusion when they say, ** God 
 Almighty met with me, and blessed me.'* 
 
 Ye who have been seeking Jesus who was crucified, 
 have rto cause for fear. What is it that terrifies you in 
 the exercises of the sanctuary ? Is it the glory to 
 which Jesus is now raised ? His heart is the same on 
 the throne as on the cross. The mercy which shed so 
 sweet a lustre round the cross, is now one of the bright 
 ornaments of his throne. Is it the opposition of your 
 enemies that alarms you ? They were vanquished 
 when your Lord was crucified ; and by the blood of 
 the Lamb you shall be more than conquerors. Is it 
 the consciousness of guilt that troubles you ? He will 
 not punish you for that for which he bled and died. 
 Are you afraid that the folly, and the inconstancy of 
 your hearts, will induce him to abandon you ? Such 
 fears show that you are jealous of yourselves ; but there 
 is virtue in the cross to enlighten you in all wisdom, 
 and to confirm you in all goodness. Do you fear that 
 the gloom on your spirits, in consequence of afflicting 
 dispensations, will unfit you for his service } " Tha 
 way of the Lord is strength to the upright." And do 
 the terrors of death and judgment agitate you ? Behold 
 in Jesus, who was crucified, a hope for the one, wJiich 
 
S54. ADDRESS XXXVIII. 
 
 /shall not make you ashamed, and a plea for the otlier^ 
 which shall not fail you. 
 
 Meditate on the assurances with which the Scripture 
 abounds of God's care and mercy to them that seek 
 him. " The meek shall eat, and be satisfied; they 
 shall praise the Lord that seek him ; your hearts shall 
 live for ever. They that seek the Lord shall want no- 
 thing that is good." I do not say that you shall want 
 nothing which you deem good ; for fancy is often mis- 
 led, and the humours of the heart are foolish and way- 
 ward ; but you shall be denied nothing which God sees 
 to be necessary to your welfare. 
 
 If, as I trust is the case, you have met with the Sa« 
 viour whom you sought at his table, consider that this 
 is a privilege of which you are altogether unworthy, 
 and provoke him not to leave you by a presumptuous 
 and wandering heart. If other objects solicit you to 
 pursue them, let it be seen that you are too happy with, 
 your Lord to seek for felicity any where else. Christ's 
 approbation is your crown, his law is your delight, and 
 his smile is your felicit3\ 
 
 Long for heaven, where your Lord and you shall 
 never be separated, and where you shall see him as he 
 is. In vain shall death forbid your approach to Jesus, 
 for in that flesh which worms shall destroy you shall 
 see God. In vain shall the accuser of the brethren de- 
 mand your condemnation, for in spile of all his charges 
 he shall see the mercy of the Lord Jesus adjudging 
 you to eternal life. And in vain shall the workers of 
 iniquity try to prevent your separation from them, for 
 it shall be effected by love directed by infinite wisdom, 
 and armed by almighty power. 
 
 If there be any before me whose hearts are now 
 complaining, " I sought Jesus, but I found him not,'* 
 I would say to them, let your inquiries be more hum- 
 
ADDRESS XXXIX. t55 
 
 ble, affectionate, and earnest, than they have been, and 
 the promise of God will be verified : " Ye shall seek 
 me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your 
 hearts." The termination of the solemnity may be 
 more happy to you than its commencement. And 
 however long he may delay his meeting with you, " it 
 is good for a man both to wait and quietly to hope for 
 the salvation of the Lord." 
 
 ADDRESS XXXIX. 
 
 1 THE8S. I 10. 
 
 «« And to wait for his Son from heaven whom he raised from 
 Ae dead, even Jesus who delivered us from the wrath to come." 
 
 These Christians at Thessalonica, were striking evi- 
 dences of the moral power of the gospel. They had 
 been turned by it from the gross notions, the carnal 
 superstitions, and the gloomy forebodings of idolatry, 
 to the service of the living God, to that atonement by 
 which guilt is expiated, and to a patient waiting for 
 the second coming of our Lord. And I trust that by 
 the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus ye have been 
 brought from the corruption, misery, and peril, of a 
 state of nature, to the feelings, the sanctity, and the 
 hopes of Christians. 
 
 Let your meditations be turned to the wrath to 
 which you were exposed, that your gratitude may be 
 heightened to your great deliverer. There are some 
 who, led away by the flatteries of a deceitful heart, or 
 by extravagant views of the divine mercy, reprobate the 
 
SSS ADDRESS XXXIX* 
 
 idea of God's avenging justice, and stigmatise the re- 
 presentations which are given of it for the most salu- 
 tary purposes, as the forebodings of a gloomy enthu- 
 siasm which loves to excite horror and alarm. But 
 their views of the indulgence and indiscriminate mercy 
 of the Deity are in direct opposition to his justice and 
 purity, and are most pernicious in their influence. If, 
 in the present scene, which was never intended for the 
 full display of divine justice, we see the prosperous vil- 
 lain often covered with infamy, and wretched by re- 
 morse, and guilty nations made the tormentors of each 
 other, what must be the case in a future state when- 
 the mystery of God shall be finished, and " he shall 
 plentifully reward the proud doer ?'' Revelation leads 
 us to the side of the pit of destruction, clears away the 
 smoke which issues from it, and gives us a glimpse of 
 those who are dwelling with devouring fire, that we 
 may gladly embrace the salvation which it offers. 
 
 HoJV dreadful is the thought that this misery shall 
 never come to aii end ! The chains of darkness are never 
 unloosed, the devouring VForm never dies, and the 
 smoke of torment ascends up for ever and ever* In 
 this world we are visited by few calamities for the re- 
 moval of which we may not hope. The world may do 
 justice to the reputation which calumny has blasted, 
 health may restore its bloom to the faded cheek, and 
 reconciliation renew the intercourse of interrupted 
 friendship ; but while the ages of eternity are rolling, 
 there will still be wrath to come. 
 
 None of you, I trust, is saying in his heart, " wliy 
 are such dreadful contemplations presented to us ? if 
 they must be uttered in a Christian assembly, let them 
 be addressed to those only who are enemies to God." 
 The more vivid your impressions of the damnation of 
 hell are, the more fervent will be your love to the Sa« 
 
ADDRESS XXXIX. WT 
 
 viour, the more serious and solemn will your spirit be; 
 and the more rapturous will be your joy in those bless- 
 ings of salvation to which God, in the riches of his 
 grace, hath brought you. 
 
 From this wrath Jesus delivered you. Actuated by 
 the strongest pity, when he saw our utter wretchedness, 
 and the impossibility of relief coming from any hand 
 but his own, he engaged to rescue us by devoting 
 himself to «11 the anguish of the curse. He assumed 
 cur nature, and closed a life of sorrow, which yet was 
 distinguished by every moral beauty, by the death of 
 the cross. Why did the blood stream from every pore 
 of his prostrate body in the garden ? and what made 
 his soul exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ? It 
 would be to dishonour his fortitude, and to degrade his 
 love, to say that this arose from the mere dread of 
 death, which feeble mortals have often defied, or from 
 the ingratitude and cowardice of the disciples, which 
 he foresaw, and generously pardoned ; it was his Fa- 
 ther's hand which bruised him, and put him to grief. 
 What opened these lips in complaint on the cross 
 which were sacred to the language of patient submis- 
 sion ? it was because on him were laid the iniquities of 
 us all. Thus was he made a curse for us, *' that being 
 justified by his blood, we may be saved from wrath 
 through him." 
 
 O what gratitude do you owe to this Deliverer ! Yoh 
 are grateful to the man by whose skilful attentions your 
 life is rescued from the grave to which disease was 
 hurrying you ; but he is only the instrument of the di- 
 vine beneficence, and relieves you without detriment to 
 himself. The man who delivers a nation from bond- 
 age, or from peril, is celebrated in its annals from age 
 toa^e; but we cannot compare this deliverance, or 
 the sacrifice of ease, or of life by which it has been at- 
 
558 ADDRESS XXXIX. 
 
 tained, to our redemption from utter ruin in soul and 
 in body for ever ; and to those agonizing sorrows by 
 which it hath been accomplished, and which are now 
 to be exhibited in expressive sj^mbols. We must know 
 the power of God's anger, and the intensity of Christ's 
 sufferings, ere we can understand the value of this de* 
 liverance, or the love which achieved it. 
 
 As a guilty sinner I deserved the pains of hell; and 
 when my conscience was awakened, I felt its remorse 
 and despair working within me ; and I thought, if the 
 beginning of sorrows is so overwhelming, what must 
 wrath to the uttermost be ? In this dreadful stale I 
 sought the Lord Jesus, and he heard me, he washed 
 me from all my sins, and delivered me from all my 
 fears ; and instead of drinking of the wine of the wrath 
 of God from the cup of his indignation, and being tor^ 
 mented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the 
 Lamb, the children's bread, and the wine of the king* 
 dom are mine : — " I will praise thee, O Lord, with my 
 whole heart, I will glorify thy name for ever more, for 
 great is thy mercy to me, and thou hast delivered my 
 soul from the lowest hell." 
 
 After the Service, 
 
 Christians, the resurrection of your Lord from the 
 dead, is a proof that the purchase of your deliverance 
 from wrath is completed. If the price of your redemp- 
 tion had not been paid, your Surety would not have 
 been taken from prison and from judgment. But to 
 shew that every demand had been answered to the full, 
 he was raised from the dead by the glory of the Fa- 
 ther. His Father brought him from the grave, and 
 received him to glory, not in obscurity and silence, 
 
ADDRESS XXXIX. $59 
 
 wliich might have excited the suspicion that the elect 
 were " scarcely saved," but with the splendour and 
 applause of a triumphant conq\ieror. Come see the 
 place where the Lord lay, and behold in that empty 
 grave a pledge that the prison of hell shall never en* 
 close you ; and in these opening heavens, and in that 
 enthroning of 3^our Redeemer, an assurance is given 
 that eternal glory shall be yours. " Ye were by na- 
 ture the children of wrath, even as others ; but God 
 who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he 
 loved you, even when you were dead in sins, quickened 
 you together with Christ, and hath raised us up toge- 
 ther, and made us sit together in heavenly places with 
 Christ Jesus." And your Lord will come from hea- 
 ven, publicly to announce your deliverance, and to 
 put you in full possession of it. The resurrection make* 
 this certain ; for it was the first stage of his exaltation, 
 and secures all the rest. It was the solemn fixing of 
 the seal of heaven to his commission to judge the world. 
 As he gave the first, so shall he give the final blow to 
 death and sin ; '^ and your conversation is in heaven 
 from whence you look for the Saviour.'' Could you wish 
 a judge more indulgent than him who is touched with 
 the feelings of your infirmities, one better acquainted 
 with your circumstances than your advocate with the 
 Father, or one more able to befriend you than the Al- 
 mighty Saviour ? To you the majesty of the judge shall 
 be softened by the compassion of a Saviour ; and unre- 
 lenting justice to the wicked, cannot indispose him for 
 the language of love, and the exercise of mercy to you. 
 When you shall hear the doom of the wicked, and see 
 them led away into everlasting punishment without a 
 mouth being opened to plead for them, or a hand 
 stretched forth to stay their doom, he shall call you to 
 eternal rest and glory. He thinks it not enough to 
 
S^oO ADDRESS XXXIX. 
 
 jiave you from misery, but to raise you to fulness of 
 joy, and to pleasures evermore. 
 
 Now for this coming of your Lord you must wait. 
 You know his coming is certain ; but it is delayed for 
 (he wisest reasons, and you must believe that he will 
 appear at the period fixed by infinite wisdom and love. 
 Wait for his approach in the patient discharge of the 
 duties which prepare for it. Wait for it not in the in- 
 dolent posture of the sluggard, neither slumber to be- 
 guile the time ; but " kt your loins be always girt, and 
 your lamps burning." Your Lord dclaj's his coming 
 to give you time to finish your course, and it will re- 
 quire every moment that is allotted you, to shew the 
 necessary diligence, " that you may be found of him 
 in peace, without spot and blameless." To draw back 
 h to draw back to perdition, but to hold on must be 
 your interest, whatever it may cost you, for " he that 
 endureth to the end shall be saved." 
 
 Fret not that you have no hope of release from pre- 
 sent evils. Poverty may oppress you in spite of all 
 your efforts to better your circumstances, and from the 
 furnace of affliction no way of escape may be opened ; 
 but the prison of hell shall not close upon you, and ye 
 shall not fall into the avenging hands of the living 
 God. 
 
 Stand in awe and sin not. Indulgence in sin will 
 be the basest ingratitude to your deliverer ; and God 
 maj,r punish it by giving you up to such terrors as will 
 liiake you the most miserable of all men. I know not 
 a more certain evidence that a man has no interest 
 in this deliverance, than his fancying himself released 
 by it from all need of moral circumspection. The Lord 
 is at hand, be ye therefore sober, and watch unto pray- 
 er. Soon shall you have it to say, the next morn- 
 ing which shall dawn upon me, shall be that in which 
 
ADORESS XXXIX. S6l 
 
 my Lord shall be revealed from heaven, the next voice 
 to which these ears will listen shall be the midnirrht 
 cry, " behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet 
 him ;" and the next words which I shall speak shall be 
 my account of myself to God. In that hour, O my 
 deliverer, befriend me, or I shall be undone ; and he 
 will befriend you, for to them that look for him he 
 comes to save. The trump of God shall sound, but 
 it will be to announce that your redemption draweth 
 nigh ; the chariots of God will come shining in splen- 
 dour, but it will be as instruments of deliverance ; the 
 great white throne will be set, but it will be to you a 
 throne of grace ; and heaven and earth shall pass away, 
 but the Saviour will fix you as a seal upon his arm, and 
 keiep you in perfect peace. 
 
 It often happens that the objects of worldly expecta 
 tion, when they arrive, produce feelings of disappoint- 
 ment; but how different are the feelings with which 
 your Lord will be welcomed ? " This is our God, we 
 have waited for him, and he will save us ; this is the 
 Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad and re- 
 joice in his salvation." O why my soul art thou so cold 
 in thy wishes, so languid in thy efforts, and so sluggish 
 in thy preparations for that day ? I have said, would 
 to God it were morning, yet light hath brought me no 
 healing in its wings. I have waited for the return of 
 friends ; but their altered looks and conduct have told 
 me that they were estranged ; but in my Lord, when he 
 comes, I must be happy, for his power and love are 
 eternal. " Wherefore, gird up the loins of your minds, 
 and be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that 
 shall be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 VOL. Ji R 
 
562 ADDRESS XL. 
 
 ADDRESS XL. 
 
 2 COIUNTHIANS XIII. 14. 
 
 *' The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and 
 the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen." 
 
 The fulfilment of this benediction would render your 
 present service truly delightful. It would give eleva- 
 tion to your mindsj fervour to your worship, and glad- 
 ness to your hearts. You are accustomed to hear it 
 repeated at the close of public worship ; and when I 
 now express this wish at the commencement of your 
 present solemn act of Christian homage, may the love 
 of God be shed abroad in your hearts, the grace of 
 Christ be exceedingly abundant to you, and the Spirit 
 of devotion and peace descend upon you. 
 
 In this benediction, you behold the doctrine of the 
 Trinity established. If this doctrine had been an in- 
 vention of men, and if it had rested on no other sup- 
 port than the curious speculations of Gentile Philoso- 
 phers, or the vain traditions of the Jews, the Apostle 
 would not have employed language so obviously calcu- 
 lated to form the belief of it in the minds of Chris- 
 tians. It is impossible to reconcile the notion that our 
 Lord is a mere creature, and that the Spirit is only an 
 attribute or quality of Deity, with this benediction, 
 for the most important personal acts are here ascribed 
 to the Holy Ghost ; and the grace of Christ is solicited 
 for Christians even before the love of God. In the 
 liord's Supper you profess a devout regard and adhe- 
 
ADDRESS XL. SoS 
 
 rence to this doctrine, to the support of which you were 
 pledged in your baptism. Let not curiosity approach 
 it with its presumptuous inquiries^ nor unhumbled 
 reason with its vain explanations ; but let prayer draw 
 near to it with ardent requests for the spirit of wisdom ; 
 fai.th, with entire submission to the divine testimony ; 
 admiration, with its loftiest wonder; and reverence, 
 with adoring awe. Never let Unitarian blasphemy, or 
 infidel scorn make you ashamed of a doctrine which 
 God hath interwoven with every article of our faith, 
 every rite of our worship, every expectation of our 
 hearts, and every revelation of eternit)^ 
 
 In this benediction you behold the interest which 
 each of the persons in the Godhead takes in your sal- 
 vation. Each has his peculiar office in the promotion 
 of it ; betwixt them there is the most perfect harmony 
 of co-operation ; and in the result of the whole, a 
 three-one God shall be all in all. They ought to re- 
 ceive from us equal homage of gratitude and trust ; and 
 in the worship of good men on earth, and of the just 
 made perfect in heaven, you are led to this by the most 
 striking examples. And how strange is it that such 
 worship should have been stigmatized as idolatry, by 
 any who profess to bow to the authority of Scripture ? 
 But there is as little argument in their reasonings to 
 convince our judgment, as there is of piety in their ad- 
 dresses to the Deit}' to touch our hearts. 
 
 The specimens of Unitarian piety given us in the 
 hymns and prayers published by writers of that party, 
 suggest no favourable view of the influence of their 
 system ; and by a heart influenced by the spirit of 
 Christ, they will be read with no complacency. That 
 admiration of the Saviour which diffuses over sacred 
 poetry its noblest charms, breathes not in a single line, 
 and the glories of his cross, and the agency of his Spirit, 
 r2 
 
36-4 
 
 ADDRESS XL. 
 
 are overlooked with contemptuous neglect, and senti- 
 n-ents and feelings incompatible with them are direct- 
 ly avowed. 
 
 Amidst all the defects of the English Liturgy, its 
 evangelical tenets and spirit must be admitted ; and its 
 devout and glowing addresses to the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost, are a proof that its framers were 
 aware of the interest Christians have in this doctrine, 
 and that they were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. 
 There are ceremonies in the worship of that Church 
 which savour of superstition ; but it is only just to say 
 of its Litany, that it is rich in the doctrines of Christ, 
 and glows with the spirit of the gospel ; and in its sup- 
 plications for mercy from each of the Persons in the 
 Godhead, and its ascriptions of glory to each, the pious 
 and the faithful in all denominations will cheerfully ac- 
 cord. 
 
 But you may behold also in this benediction the 
 rich and glorious portion of true Christians. The de- 
 lights of divine love, the supporters of the grace of 
 Christ, and the influences of the Holy Ghost are yours. 
 The love of God gives joy in every ordinance, makes 
 every dispensation of Providence acceptable, and ele- 
 vates and strengthens human friendship. By the grace 
 of Christ duty is made easy, trouble light, temptation is 
 repelled, and death is overcome. By the influences of 
 the Spirit bad passions are not suffered to make the saint 
 wicked, nor gloomy feelings to render him miserable ; 
 and by it the holiness that adorns, the peace that tran- 
 quillizes, and the communion which blesses the soul, 
 are maintained and perfected. 
 
 A. good man may be poor ; but with these blessings 
 the evils of poverty will be borne with cheerfulness. 
 He may be scorned and abused by the world, but God 
 is his friend. Men may withhold their aid from him 
 
ADDRESS XL. 365 
 
 in diflSculties ; nay, may do what they can to aggravate 
 his afflictions, but the power of Chiist shall rest on 
 him. Men may separate him from their company, and 
 cast out his name as evil for the Son of Man's sake; 
 but the communion of the Holy Ghost is a refuge in 
 which the gloom of solitude is forgotten, and the terrors 
 of persecution cannot be felt. 
 
 We trust. Christians, that you now feel the most 
 eager desires after these spiritual blessings; and if 
 you ask them in the name of Jesus, and in reliance 
 on his death and intercession, " grace shall be to you, 
 and peace from him who is, and was, and is to come, 
 from the seven spirits which are before the throne, and 
 from the faithful witness, the first begotten from the 
 dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth." May 
 you now have fellowship with the Father in his love, 
 with the Son in his grace, and with the Spirit in his 
 fruits and consolations. 
 
 After the Service. 
 
 *' Truly, O Christians, the lines are fallen to you in 
 pleasant places, and you have a goodly heritage.'* 
 Yours is a heritage of which no vicissitude can deprive 
 you, which shall yield you daily new stores of consola- 
 tion, and blessedness, and whose riches are inex- 
 haustible. When you think how unworthy you are of 
 such a heritage, and what a different portion you once 
 madly sought, it will fill you with devout wonder, that 
 God should have " made an everlasting covenant with 
 you, even the sure mercies of David." Shew in your 
 temper and conduct the moral influence of this benedic 
 tion. Let the love of God excite you to be zealous for 
 his glory, resigned to his will, fearful of offending him, 
 R S 
 
366 ADDRESS XL. 
 
 and solicitous to please him. Let the grace of Christ 
 retider you active in duty, firm and vigorous in resist- 
 ing temptation, and let it repress all confideacein your- 
 selves ; and beware of grieving the Holy Spirit of God, 
 by the vanity of your thoughts, or the carnality of your 
 hearts, or by any fellowship with the works of darkness. 
 You will find, I trust, in this interest of the Holy 
 Trinity in your welfare, your motives and obliga- 
 tions to all holy obedience strengthened, and will 
 show, in your persevering resistance to every tempta- 
 tion to indolence and apostacy, its power over the con- 
 science, and the moral impulse which it gives to the 
 heart. 
 
 Let this benediction excite and direct you to fre- 
 quent and affectionate prayer for those who are over 
 you in the Lord. " I beseech you, brethren, for the 
 sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the love of the 
 Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers 
 to God for me." The more your minister shares in 
 the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the fellowship 
 of the Spirit, the more will you be improved and com- 
 forted by his labours. 
 
 I call on you also to solicit these blessings in be- 
 half of your fellow worshippers. The wishes of Chris- 
 tian benevolence thus expressed will animate you to 
 all the duties of charity. You will not envy, or defame, 
 or injure the man to whom you wish the love of God ; 
 you will not refuse your support to those for whom 
 you solicit the grace of Christ ; nor will you scorn the 
 society of a brother, because be is poorer and less in- 
 telligent than yourself, for whom you ask the com- 
 munion of the Holy Ghost. Do you wish one another- 
 the love of God .'' it is a call on you to brotherly kind- 
 ness in all its forms. Do you wish one another the 
 grace of Christ ? it calls you to help every man his 
 
ADDRESS XL. 367 
 
 neighbour, and to say to him be of good courafre. Do 
 you wish one another the fellowship of the Holy Ghost > 
 it impels you to say to them, " Come hear ye that 
 fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my 
 soul." " Come, O ye house of Jacob, and let us walk 
 in the light of the Lord." 
 
 With this benediction friends may solemnize their 
 farewell ; parents may thus conclude their parting 
 counsels to their children, who are about to leave their 
 dwelling; and the dying may thus express their last 
 wishes for the prosperity of those who shall survive 
 them. In such circumstances, almost every heart feels 
 the deepest anxiety for the welfare of those from whom 
 it is about to be separated, and a consciousness that 
 this only can be secured by the counsels and the pro- 
 tection of the Almighty. In uttering this benediction 
 with the spirit and the voice of piety, a sense of reli- 
 gion may be awakened, and the most favourable im- 
 pressions of divine things will be associated with all 
 their recollections of the melting scene. Enjoying the 
 love of God, the grace of Christ, and the fellowship of 
 the Spirit, they will not deplore the want of the coun- 
 sels of a friend, the kindness of a husband, or the care 
 of a father. Let the worldling desire that pleasure may 
 give enchantment to every scene, that wealth and riches 
 may be in their house, and that they may be crowned 
 with glory and honour ; in this benediction you will find 
 wishes to be expressed by you, more suited to your 
 character, and much more adapted to make those whom 
 you love happy. 
 
 Study this benediction with more attention than 
 ever. It will lead you to the most interesting views 
 of the divine character, and of the privileges of Chris- 
 tians. In it I see the essence of the gospel, and the 
 R 4 
 
36s ADDRESS XL. 
 
 whole course of redeeming mercy. It should be in- 
 scribed on the table of every heart. 
 
 Be careful to show your regard for it in your con- 
 duct. Leave not the house of God unless imperious 
 necessity require your departure till it is pronounced, 
 and join in this part of the service of the church 
 with all solemnity. There have been instances in 
 which the minister's voice has been lost while pro- 
 nouncing it, in the noise made by those who were 
 rushing out of the sanctuary ; and others have been oc- 
 cupied at that solemn moment in preparing for their 
 departure, or for the expression of civility and respect 
 to their fellow- worshippers. Such behaviour is a proof 
 of a vain and worldly mind, of thoughtlessness, and 
 of irreverence. Be it your care to stand in stillness 
 and awe till it is finished, and to accompany it with 
 the earnest wish, " Bless me, even me, also, O my 
 Father !" 
 
 Finally, Look forward to the larger measure of those 
 blessings which you shall receive in the heavenly state. 
 There you shall dwell in love ; there the grace of Christ 
 shall reign in your eternal life ; and there the Spirit of 
 glory and of God shall rest on you. With this pros- 
 pect before you, it becomes you to be patient, sted- 
 fast, and active in the service of God ; since such 
 shall be the issue of your labours, and such your por^^ 
 tion for ever. 
 
SERMON vr. S69 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 Unitarianism a Perversion of the Gospel 
 
 GAL. I. T. 
 " There be some that would pervert the Gospel of Christ." 
 
 The Galatians had embraced the gospel with the 
 warmest affection. They regarded the preachers of it 
 with high veneration, and delighted in its doctrines as 
 the greatest and most interesting truths which they 
 had ever contemplated. But these transports were 
 not of long duration. When the charm of novelty 
 was gone, they became indifferent to that which had 
 interested them so strongly, and- were disposed to 
 adopt very opposite schemes, which were recommend- 
 ed to them by plausible language and insinuating arts^. 
 Saeh versatility of temper, and such instability in 
 principle, were unworthy of them as men, and dis- 
 graceful to them as Christians. The apostle was fill- 
 ed with shame and grief on account of their folly, and 
 with a holy displeasure at their fickleness and infatu- 
 ation, and resolved to write to them to convince and 
 to reclaim them. He knew that, though this was one 
 of the most necessary and useful offices of friendship, 
 it is often attributed to prejudice and hostility by those 
 who are too proud to be blamed, and who imagine that 
 they only are their friends who are disposed to sup- 
 port them in every thing. In order to shew that he 
 had the tenderest solicitude for their welfare, he be- 
 R 5 
 
370 SERMON VI. 
 
 gins his epistle with the usual expressions of benevo- 
 lent regard. When these were finished, he expresses 
 how much he was astonished and shocked at their be- 
 ing so soon removed into another gospel ; and, in the 
 most solemn manner, invokes the vengeance of hea- 
 ven on all who should preach any other tenets than 
 the doctrines of the grace of God. He considered the 
 Galatians as deluded by ungodly and artful men, and 
 labours to exhibit their seducers in their true colours, 
 and to give faithful warning against their schemes. 
 
 In every age the church has been troubled with 
 such perverters of the gospel, and against them her 
 ministers must maintain " the faith of Jesus." The 
 Socinian heresy, under the title of Unitarianism, has 
 been disseminated of late with great keenness ; and 
 though we are far from supposing that it will be re- 
 ceived by many, and though we know that you are es- 
 tablished in the present truth, yet it may tend to ex- 
 cite and to strengthen your gratitude and your zeal, 
 to shew that this scheme is false and pernicious, and 
 that it is opposite to all that is most valuable in the 
 gospel, and pious in Christian feeling. 
 
 Let us consider, in ihe^rst place, how the promo- 
 ters of this scheme pervert the gospel of Christ. 
 
 1. They wrest the plainest and most direct state- 
 ments of the gospel. The Deity, and the atonement 
 of Christ, are so clearly stated in Scripture, that the 
 opponents of these doctrines, in order to evade the 
 arguments drawn from such passages, have had re- 
 course to every subtilty and artifice of criticism, by 
 which such texts might be made to bear a diflferent 
 sense. In opposition to the testimony of the best ma- 
 nuscripts, they have asserted that some texts are in- 
 terpolations, and have insisted on expunging passages 
 from the sacred record which they found it impossible 
 
SERMON VI. 371 
 
 to bend to their views. In other cases, they suggest 
 such changes in the reading, or in the construction, as 
 may render them less hostile to their creed, or may 
 neutralize their testimony altogether. At other times, 
 they explain texts in a sense most remote from their 
 obvious meaning, regardless how low and frivolous 
 their explication may be, if the obnoxious doctrine is 
 kept away; and by having recourse to the convenient 
 supposition of eastern metaphor, many of the brightest 
 testimonies of Scripture are represented as flights of 
 imagination, which are utterly inadmissible in sober 
 argument. In proof of these assertions, I may state 
 their expunging the first and second chapters of the 
 gospel by Matthew, and their representing the per- 
 sonal qualities and acts ascribed to the Holy Ghost as 
 the language of figure. 
 
 Out of many passages which might be adduced 
 to shew how they torture the plainest texts into a 
 meaning quite opposite to the scope of the passage, 
 I shall select the following : — In the beginning of 
 the second chapter of the epistle to the Phiiippians, 
 in order to recommend humility, Paul states the 
 amazing condescension of our Lord, *' who, being in 
 the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal 
 with God, but made himself of no reputation, and 
 took upon him the form of a seivant, and was made 
 in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as 
 a man, humbled himself, and became obedient unto 
 death, even the death of the cross/' The meaning 
 of this passage, Socinians have asserted to be, that 
 Christ did not grasp at divine honours, or seize 
 them as his prey, which is a sense not only un- 
 authorised by the phrase, but directly opposite to 
 the argument of the Apostle. For what humility 
 would there have been in a mere creature, not aim- 
 s. 6 
 
372 SERMON VI. 
 
 ing at equality with the Most High, or declining that 
 to tha twhich he had no title. 
 
 I may refer also to that text in the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews, " Thy throne, O God, is for ever and 
 ever," which some of them insist should be rendered 
 " God is thy throne for ever," though it is con- 
 trary to the idiom of the Greek language, and de- 
 grades the Deity into a symbol of authority. I 
 shall only mention, as another instance of this per- 
 version, their representing the devout exclamation 
 of Thomas, " My Lord and my God," as the lan- 
 guage of unmeaning surprise, like what is common 
 in the world, when any thing striking is heard or 
 seen. But such language would have been censur- 
 ed, not applauded, by, his Lord, and to attribute it 
 to this disciple, is insulting to his feelings, as well 
 as his character. Had the advocates of our Lord's 
 Deity supported it by such criticisms, the bitterest 
 sarcasms would have been employed to expose their 
 ignorance and presumption. I will only say, that 
 these passages may well be relied on, since this is all 
 that can be brought to invalidate their testimony, and 
 that a claim to critical ingenuity, can with no propriety 
 be made by any who can avail themselves of such pre- 
 texts as these. 
 
 The same remarks may be applied to the methods 
 by which they attempt to set aside the plainest state- 
 ments of our Lord's vicarious sufferings, and repre- 
 sent that death as intended only for an example of 
 patience and courage^ which was endured in our room 
 and stead, as the punishment of our crimes, and as- 
 the ransom of our souls. 
 
 2. They explain away its brightest principles. 
 They boast that they have restored Christianity to 
 its primitive simplicity, and describe its peculiar doc»> 
 
SERMON VI. 37s 
 
 trines as the dogmas of scholastic theology, which, in 
 the times of ignorance, were received with supersti- 
 tious veneration. They assert that they have purified 
 the temple of God from the idols, the rubbish, and 
 the fantastic ornaments which disgrace it; that by 
 the lights which they have opened, they have dis- 
 pelled its gloom : that by the candour and charity 
 which they have so successfully inculcated, the noise 
 of disputation will soon cease around it, and that 
 Jews and Mahometans, finding no objects of worship 
 but such as they have served in their mosques and 
 their synagogues, will bring into it their honour and 
 their glory. If we examine these audacious preten- 
 sions, we will find that what they exclude from the 
 gospel is all that can recommend it as a ground of 
 hope to sinners, and that the doctrines which offend 
 their pride of reason shine with divine wisdom. 
 
 It is the brightest glory of Christianity, that it 
 represents God *' as so loving the world that he gave 
 his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on 
 him might not perish, but have everlasting life." But 
 how low and feeble is the idea of divine love which this 
 language conveys, if we must understand it of the ap- 
 pointment of a mere man to inform us that God will 
 save us on our repentance and amendment? Consider 
 this gift as that of his Eternal Son, to suffer and to die 
 for us, and how great seems his goodness ! 
 
 The atonement for sin which oiu- Lord made in his 
 death, and his victory over the powers of darkness, are 
 splendid parts of the gospel, and have filled the minds 
 of the pious with gratitude and wonder, from age to 
 age. But how different are their views of the cross of 
 Christ, who assert that no atonement was necessary ; 
 that Jesus died as the mere victim of human violence ; 
 that there was no more virtue in his death than in that 
 
374> SERMON VI. 
 
 of a martyr; and that so far from taking vengeance on 
 the evil spirits by whom man had been deceived and 
 ruined, no such beings exist, and that their agency and 
 their powers are only the fictions of superstitious fear, 
 or of ignorance, misconceiving the language of personi- 
 fication ? 
 
 The operations of the Holy Spirit in renewing 
 and sanctifying the souls of men, are parts of the 
 Christian system in which God appears as the source 
 of holiness, and as the gracious restorer of human 
 nature. Goodness appears the child of his care ; and 
 feeble man rises by supernatural aid to higher and 
 more varied excellence than what was lost by the 
 fall. But the Socinian represents the regeneration of 
 man as only a strong figure, expressing that reforma- 
 tion which he can accomplish by his own energy ; these 
 cheering descriptions of the Spirit's abode and influ- 
 ence in the heart, as only the strong colouring of ori- 
 ental imagery, applied to the emotions of virtue ; and 
 the impressions of aid and consolation from him as the 
 conceit of enthusiasm. 
 
 The intercession of our Lord in heaven, is a doc- 
 trine truly delightful. To think of a friend in heaven 
 so watchful over our interests, so desirous for a re- 
 union with us, and possessing such sources of aid and 
 comfort for our benefit, is of all contemplations the 
 most cheering to the heart, and the most animating to 
 devotion. But the Unitarian tells us that where Christ 
 now is, and how he is employed, it is presumption to 
 say. How many of our sorrows must be unknown to 
 him, if he is only a man ; and the intercession of a 
 mere creature could not be entitled to such high con- 
 sideration above that of other saints. From these ex- 
 amples, we are warranted in saying, that if Unitarian- 
 ism be Christianity, it is Christianity divested of its 
 
SERMON VI. 375 
 
 distinguishing characters. It is like a body from 
 which the soul hath fled ; like a fountain from which 
 the water of life is gone ; like a temple from which the 
 glory is departed. 
 
 3. They pervert the gospel, in the vile misrepre- 
 sentations which they give of its distinguishing doc- 
 trines. It is no difficult matter to make the best 
 character, and the best principles odious, by arraying 
 them in a hideous and disgusting garb. Heretics 
 have employed this artifice, and have exhibited the 
 doctrines of the evangelical school, not as they are 
 held and explained by its disciples, but as they are 
 distorted by their crafty and disingenuous opponents. 
 To candour and integrity every disputant should pay 
 the most sacred regard ; the statements of men's 
 sentiments in speech, or in writing, are entitled to as 
 fair a construction as their actions ; and it is a display 
 of ingenuity the most base as well as the most perni- 
 cious, to blacken what is excellent, or to varnish what 
 is odious. 
 
 In general. Unitarians represent the evangelical 
 scheme as irrational. They talk of its doctrines as 
 the reveries of scholastic dreamers, which were vener- 
 ated in the cells of monkery, and maintained by the 
 anathemas and persecutions of the dark ages, but 
 which are now exploded by the power of reason and 
 the progress of science. Thus do they speak of doc- 
 trines which men of the noblest faculties have delight- 
 ed to contemplate, and gloried to avow, and in which 
 reason finds nothing inconsistent with its enlightened 
 dictates, but matter for its loftiest contemplation. 
 
 The doctrine of the Trinity, they represent as an 
 avowal that there are three Gods, in defiance of the 
 most express declarations that these three are one. 
 The Deity of Christ, and the honours which we pay 
 
 5 5 
 
376 SERMON VI. 
 
 him, they charge with idolatry ; and the mystery oi 
 the incarnation they deride as a fable. But the wor- 
 ship of Christ is the service of heaven ; and the forma- 
 tion of our Lord's human nature, was the noblest of 
 Jehovah's works. They assert that in the doctrine 
 of the atonement we exhibit God as unjust, in punish- 
 ing the innocent for the guilty, and as a gloomy and 
 vindictive tyrant, whom it is impossible to love; but 
 the voluntary substitution of Christ in our room, was 
 the highest homage which could be paid to divine 
 justice ; and it is at the cross of his Son that mercy 
 displays its brightest splendours. 
 
 The justification of the sinner by grace, which they 
 accuse as unfriendly to morality, and as flattering the 
 carnal hope that the vilest indulgences may now be 
 practised with impunity, magnifies the law, and binds 
 all who obtain it, more strongly than ever to holy 
 obedience. The eternal perdition of the wicked, they 
 reprobate as a horrid doctrine, which none can main- 
 tain but the slaves of prejudice and malignity, while, 
 it prompts to the most salutary efforts of beneficence, 
 and operates now, and may operate for ever, in guard- 
 ing the allegiance of the various orders of intelligent 
 creatures throughout the universe to the Lord of alL 
 I am aware that the denial of the eternity of future 
 punishment is not peculiar to this sect, and that it is 
 rejected by some who are not friendly to their other 
 tenets ; but it is evident that in attacking this opinion 
 they have recourse to modes of explaining Scripture 
 adopted by Socinians, and which, if applied to other 
 parts of the gospel, will lead them to reject these also '^ 
 and it is foolish to expect that they will not, in many 
 cases, be thus employed. 
 
 4. They labour to subvert its noblest influence* 
 What are the noblest emotions of the human hearti 
 
SERMON YI. 377 
 
 They are veneration of his majesty who is Lord of 
 all ; admiration of his beauty and excellence, who is 
 the image of the invisible God ; delight in his pre- 
 sence who is full of grace and truth ; gratitude for the 
 blessings of the cross ; astonishment at the wonders of 
 Christ's dying love ; affectionate reliance on his mercy; 
 a humble sense of our own unworthiness ; and bene- 
 volent devotedness to the best interests of our brethren. 
 Such is the spirit which actuates the celestial worship- 
 pers, which swell their song of the worth of the Lamb, 
 and which prompts them to cast their crowns at his 
 feet. No affection to country, to friends, or to kindred, 
 can be compared to such principles. In the excellence 
 of their object, and in the splendour of their influence, 
 they far surpass them ; and when patriotism and na- 
 tural affection are extinguished in the heart, these will 
 glow with unabated warmth, and will constitute the 
 temper of heaven. 
 
 It is evident that our gratitude for a deliverance, and 
 our attachment to a deliverer, will be proportioned to 
 the ideas we have formed of the dreadfulness of that 
 state from which he rescued us, the humiliations and 
 sufferings to which he submitted for our sake, and the 
 generous motives which influenced his interposition. 
 These things the evangelical scheme represents in the 
 way most adapted to melt our hearts ; but Unitarians 
 look with no favour on such emotions. They repre- 
 sent Jesus as possessing no excellence of character, but 
 what may be attained by the patient efforts of any 
 sincere and stedfast lover of virtue ; and as suffering 
 no agonies for us but what a righteous man, falling be- 
 fore the wicked, might feel. They speak of the evil of 
 sin in terms which indicate very slight impressions of 
 its malignity, and scoff at the assertion that any sacri- 
 fice was necessary for its expiatioo. It seems their 
 
378 SERMON VI. 
 
 object to cherish man's confidence in himself, and to 
 brand the language of self-abasement as the whining 
 of hypocrisy. The noblest actings of faith and love 
 triumphing in Christ they view with no complacency ; 
 and when they have judged it prudent to express their 
 opinion respecting them, they have called them the ef- 
 fusions of passion or of frenzy, which the compassion- 
 ate will regard with pity, and the wise with contempt. 
 How feeble is the idea v/hich their system inspires of 
 the generosity of our Lord, and of the necessity of his 
 interposition ; and slight must be the penitence which 
 their mutilated views of our obligations and demerit 
 can produce. 
 
 What are the feelings which have prompted the sa- 
 crifice of the martyr ? They have been the strong im- 
 pression of the divine excellence of his Master, the re- 
 membrance of his dying agony, and the hope of being 
 brought by him out of great tribulations, and joined 
 with those <* who have washed their robes, and made 
 them white in the blood of the Lamb." And what is 
 it that supports good men under their afflictions, and 
 enables them, not merejy with sweet composure, but 
 with joyful hope, to resign their spirits to the Lord Je- 
 sus ? It is their " knowing whom they have believed, 
 and their persuasion that he is able to keep that which 
 they have committed to him against that day.'* 
 
 What are the feelings which have suggested those 
 institutions of mercy which have blessed so many thou- 
 sands of the unhappy, and which have animated the 
 benevolent to endure toils and pangs in searching out 
 and in relieving the miserable } They are those which 
 the cross of Christ has inspired. It is well known that 
 it was the principles of the gospel which animated the 
 beneficence, and soothed the affliction of Howard ; and 
 that this was the grand motive which influenced mul- 
 
SERMON VI. 379 
 
 titudes whose memories are blessed in their labours of 
 love, that they knew " the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 — how, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he 
 became poor, that we through his poverty might be 
 made rich." But those who believe not in our Lord's 
 Deity cannot feel the power of such a motive, and on 
 them its glory is lost. Take them to the contempla- 
 tion of those dimensions of Christ's love, in the view of 
 which Paul was filled with astonishment and rapture, 
 and they can see no elevation in its height, no con- 
 descension in its depth, and nothing in its breadth or 
 its length which a creature may not comprehend, nay 
 equal. With their views of the sufficiency of reason, 
 and of the depravity of man, we cannot expect from 
 them those efforts to enlighten and convert the hea- 
 then in which the benevolence of the gospel finds its 
 brightest triumphs. I may state, that love to our foes, 
 forgiving the injuries they have done us, and over- 
 coming their evil with good, which are universally ad- 
 mitted to be the most difficult efforts of virtue, are most 
 powerfully taught and enforced by the meekness of the 
 Lamb of God — by his prayer on the cross for the sal- 
 vation of those whom he could have destroyed, and by 
 his dying for enemies; and that to degrade him is to 
 lessen the influence and the glory of his matchless ge- 
 nerosity. There is no quality which they attribute 
 more confidently to themselves than charity, and yet 
 it is a charity feeble in its motive, low in its object, 
 and partial in its operation, ft is a charity which is 
 shewn in extenuating the errors of men, and not in 
 efforts to rescue them from the bondage of corruption, 
 and to bring them to entire and prompt submission to 
 the Saviour. 
 
 5. This scheme opposes the giand end of the gos- 
 pel. The grand end of the gospel is thus stated by the 
 r6 
 
380 SERMON vr. 
 
 apostle Paul : ** The weapons of our warfare are mighty 
 through God, to the pulling down of strong holds, cast- 
 ing down imaginations, and every high thing that ex- 
 alts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing 
 into captivity everj' thought to the obedience of Christ." 
 It labours to expose, in the most striking light, the 
 depravity and wretchedness of man, and his utter ina- 
 bility to do aught for his own recovery ; to exhibit the 
 power and grace of Christ as the great agents of sal- 
 vation, and to represent the Lord Jesus as all in all. 
 But how opposite is the end which Unitarianism pro- 
 poses ! It palliates human depravity, and represents 
 nothing else as necessary for deliverance from wrath, 
 and the enjoyment of heaven, than repentance for the 
 past, and amendment for the future. It exhibits Je- 
 sus as doing nought for our salvation but preaching a 
 future state, and setting us an example in his conduct 
 of the virtues by which a happy immortality may be 
 attained. In the one system, we see Christ bearing 
 the glory, but in the other, man wears the crown as 
 the reward of his own efforts. In the one we see the 
 crown cast at the feet of the Lord Jesus, as an acknow- 
 ledgment that to him alone the honour of salvation be-* 
 longs, but in the other, man is taught to glory in his 
 Maker's presence. In the one, we see an object pursu- 
 ed worthy of the wisdom, the benevolence, and the 
 grace of God ; but in the other, the most magnificent 
 language is employed to describe the achievements of 
 a creature. In the one, we behold a splendid series of 
 types, sacrifices, and predictions, to prepare for the 
 coming of the Lord, to finish transgression, and to 
 bring in everlasting righteousness ; in the other, that 
 series is employed as the harbinger of one who eomes 
 for no other purpose than to make known to man what 
 he. must do for himself. In the gospel scheme, we be- 
 
SERMON VI. 381 
 
 hold the mystery of God finished in the solemnities of 
 judgment, in which Jesus will display the omniscience 
 of an infinite understanding, and the majesty of Al- 
 mighty power ; but in the Unitarian scheme, we see it 
 terminated in no display of qualities by Jesus Christ 
 beyond what perfect humanity possesses, and in the 
 execution of no office for which a mere creature is not 
 fully competent. In [this scheme, judgment appears 
 no demonstration of the Deity, and no triumph of the 
 grace of the Judge ; nay, its solemnities seem intend- 
 ed to display the merits of the creature, and to signa- 
 lize a sentence which is soon to be revoked in the re- 
 lease of the wicked from misery. In the gospel scheme, 
 grace and glory are held up as the main object ; but 
 in the other, human merit, and the felicity which it 
 procures. In the first, Jesus appears as the sun around 
 which all the planets revolve, in whose light they shine, 
 and to which they all do obeisance ; but in the other, 
 he appears as a star which arose only in these last 
 days, and which, after yielding a partial light, now pur- 
 sues its path in a region where its influence cannot eX' 
 tend to us, and which shall move only in a subordinate 
 sphere in the firmament of glory : in the former, the 
 Lord Jesus is exhibited as the object of supreme ado- 
 ration in heaven, and as the Lamb in the midst of the 
 throne as it had been slain ; in the latter, he is repre- 
 sented as possessing no nature but one lower than the 
 angelic ; and his suflTerings are stated as having no claim 
 to influence or remembrance above those of martyrs ; 
 but no martyrdom however distinguished by patience, 
 courage, or charity, is celebrated in the songs of heaven, 
 these are all devoted to the sacrifice of Jesus ; and 
 great as the services of angels have been in their minis- 
 try to the good, salvation is ascribed to none but to 
 <jod and to the Lamb. 
 
382 SERMON VI. 
 
 From this review it is evident that the Unitarian 
 scheme is in direct hostility to the faith once delivered 
 to the saints; and I shall now, in the second place, set 
 before you some of the reflections and counsels which 
 this subject suggests. 
 
 Since such is the character of this scheme, it must 
 be viewed with dislike by every man who loves the 
 truth as it is in Jesus. It has been fitly styled 
 '* Deism in disguise." The deist is an open enemy, 
 He professes not a respect for the gospel which he 
 does not feel. He comes forth against the friends of 
 Christianity, and challenges them to the combat. He 
 declares that he anticipates the utter subversion of the 
 Christian religion ; and though we have seen the car- 
 nage, misery, and crimes to which infidelity led in the 
 day of its power, he exults in the idea that the fall of 
 priestcraft and of superstition, as he terms the gospel 
 and its ordinances, is at hand. But the Unitarian is 
 an enemy who generally wears the mask of friendship; 
 and while he accosts the opponents of his scheme in 
 smooth language, as Joab did Abner, it is that he may 
 put them off their guard, and that he may more cer- 
 tainly give a deadly blow. There are times and places 
 in which some of them have given vent to a scurrility 
 which ill accords with their high pretensions to mode- 
 ration and candour. Whether this proceeds from the 
 increasing zeal of the party, from their construing the 
 liberality which swept away the dormant statutes 
 against them from our code, into an approbation of 
 their tenets ; from a wish to gratify the too prevalent 
 relish for invective ; or from exasperation at the expo- 
 sure of their arts, it is too obvious to be denied, and 
 must disgust all the mild and sober disciples of that 
 school. The friends of the gospel must " not render 
 railing for railing," but maintain its doctrines in its 
 
 1 
 
SERMON VI. 383 
 
 meek and holy spirit. Though the cause of Christ 
 requires not the wrath of man in any of its forms, yet 
 kikewarmness in it is most criminal. You could not 
 regard with indifference attempts which were made to 
 depreciate the merit, and to lower the character of a 
 friend to whom you felt yourselves deeply indebted, 
 and there can be no friend who should be so dear to us 
 as the Lord Jesus, or whose honour should be so sa. 
 cred to us as his. 
 
 The doom denounced against such false teachers is 
 dreadful ; and when we consider the evidence which 
 they resist, and the grace which they abuse, into an 
 argument for our Lord's degradation, we are not sur- 
 prised that they are represented as " bringing on them- 
 selves swift destruction." Wiiat will it avail them that 
 they were extolled by men vain in their imaginations 
 for their acuteness and liberality, when the enemies of 
 Christ shall be clothed with shame, while upon his head 
 the crown shall flourish. They shall see the majesty 
 of Jehovah in him whom they described as a person of 
 our own order, feel the power of the Highest in his 
 arm, and the wrath of the God of judgment in his 
 frown. The gospel which they have preverted shall 
 be the rule of judgment, and the Saviour whom they 
 have dishonoured shall be their judge. Then it will 
 be found that the judgment which they have laboured 
 to strip of almost all its solemnity, to reconcile it with 
 their notion of the simple humanity of the Judge, is 
 tremendous beyond any idea ever formed of it ; and 
 that the miseries of hell, which they represented as the 
 correction of a Father intended only to reclaim, are the 
 vengeance of incensed Omnipotence, which will never 
 relent, and which can never spare. 
 
 Let us pray for such persons, that God may now 
 give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the 
 
384- SERMON VI. 
 
 truth. Even their hearts, though steeled by the most 
 powerful prejudices, he can raelt and subdue. Could 
 we persuade such persons to listen, we would say to 
 them, " Kiss ye the son, lest he be angry, and ye pe- 
 rish from the way." Let the pride of error be levelled 
 before the cross of Christ, and its blasphemies be suc- 
 ceeded by the language of praise. It is seldom that 
 we hear of the conversion of such persons. They are 
 too wise and good, too satisfied and happy in them- 
 selves to feel their need of him " who is made to us 
 wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption," 
 to solicit his grace, or to place on it any reliance ; yet 
 of some in these circumstances it is true that they have 
 been converted from the error of their ways, and from 
 them have been heard the loudest ascriptions of glory 
 to God their Saviour. Nothing can exceed the ab- 
 horrence which they feel of the tenets and spirit of 
 their former creed, and the gratitude which swells in 
 their hearts to Him in whom the blasphemer hath 
 found mercy. 
 
 Let us guard against the tempers and the habits 
 which lead to such errors. Let not any imagine that, 
 by their education and religious connections, they are 
 safe ; for some who have been trained in the strictest 
 principles of Calvinism have imbibed them. The 
 pride of reason is offended at the mysteries of the gos- 
 pel. A system which represents man as so utterly de- 
 praved and helpless that Almighty power alone can 
 save him, and which requires the same submission 
 from the learned and the refined as from the poor and 
 the simple, will be regarded with disgust by the vain 
 and the haughty. The love of novelty often leads to 
 the adoption of errors. Superficial thinkers are soon 
 disgusted with what is familiar ; and they are easily 
 allured to listen to any thing which promises to excite 
 
SERMON VI. 
 
 385 
 
 and to gratify their curiosity. Such persons are " hke 
 children tossed to and fro, and carried about by every 
 wind of doctrine." Men also have been led to the 
 adoption of such errors by a wish to be distinguished 
 for learning and acuteness, and by a superiority to po- 
 pular views and prejudices. It is supposed by some 
 to be a proof of a feeble mind to be satisfied with the 
 creed of the vulgar, and that the farther a man's opi- 
 nions recede from it, the more evidence does he give 
 of the vigour and the independence of his mind. It is 
 to work on this temper that Unitarians labour to swell 
 the catalogue of their adherents with every name of 
 eminence in the literary or religious world ; and though 
 no party declaims so much against deference to hu- 
 man authority, none has boasted so much of the learn- 
 ing and worth of its advocates, or has availed itself of 
 such pretexts to question the sincerity of distinguish- 
 ed friends of the gospel. 
 
 Partial views of the character of God, and slight 
 views of the evil of sin, have led men to these errors ; 
 for he who believes not the infinite evil of sin, will 
 perceive no necessity for the crucifixion of the Lord of 
 glory to expiate it, and he who considers the Deity as 
 all mercy, will imagine no satisfaction to be requisite to 
 his justice. Beware, then, of leaning to your own un- 
 derstandings. '* Ask for the old paths, and the good 
 way." Remember that God declares, after the bright- 
 est character of his mercy ever heard by mortals, his 
 strict and inflexible justice, and that talents far no- 
 bler, erudition more extensive, and inquiries more ela- 
 borate, have been consecrated to the honour of the 
 Lord Jesus, than ever were employed to degrade him. 
 
 Let the genuine disciples of Jesus bless God that 
 they have been preserved from such fatal delusions. 
 " By grace ye stand." Never forget what you felt 
 S 
 
€580 SERMON VI. 
 
 when under the honors of conviction. No merit of 
 any creature could then have engaged the feeblest of 
 your hopes, and no mercy of theirs could then have 
 imparted to you the smallest consolation. And, in a 
 dying hour, you will find that eternity can only be 
 welcomed, and death overcome, by a spirit which re- 
 lies on an almighty Saviour. On Him piety rests its 
 last hope, to him it raises its last prayer, to him it bears 
 its last testimony, and with him it leaves all that is 
 dear to it on earth and all its salvation for ever. Be 
 thankful for the able and zealous advocates whom 
 God raises up for the defence of the gospel, and to 
 expose the presumptuous boasts, and the crafty cavils 
 of its enemies; and by the study of their writings, and 
 of the oracles of God, be ready to give a reason of the 
 hope that is in you. Do its adversaries prepare them- 
 selves to pervert the gospel, and shall not you give all 
 diligence to maintain it uncorrupted } To perplex the 
 simple,andto silence the ignorant, are nogreat triumphs; 
 yet by these the adversaries of the gospel try to pro- 
 mote their cause. Recommend your principles by the 
 superior purity and usefulness of your lives. While 
 they boast of their candour and charity, let it be your 
 care to practise them ; and while they associate your 
 tenets with the blindness, the sourness, and the fury 
 of false zeal, exhibit them in connection with a pleas- 
 ing gentleness, and with a persuasive wisdom. The doc- 
 trines of the gospel never appear to such advantage as 
 in their moral influence, and their fitness for preparing 
 us for the purity, the worship, and the love of heaven. 
 Carefully improve every observance of the Lord's sup- 
 per for confirming your faith in the great principles 
 of Christianity. It is there that you " perceive the 
 love of God towards you, in that he laid down his life 
 for vou." It is there that you shew forth the Lord's 
 
 3 
 
SEinioN VI. S87 
 
 death, that you see " the steps of majesty, of your 
 God and your King," that you taste that the Lord is 
 gracious, and that you dedicate yourselves to his ser- 
 vice. If you observe it with the devout affections and 
 wishes which become you, such displays of his power 
 and grace and glory will open on your minds as will 
 call forth the loftiest homage of evangelical devotion. 
 
 Finally^ Let the unbelieving and the impenitent 
 consider, that whatever they profess, they will be 
 found despisers and rejecters of the Saviour. Your 
 creed may be sound, but your hearts are corrupt. You 
 may call Christ, Lord, Lord ; but not doing the things 
 which he says, he will scorn your hypocritical flattery, 
 and will lead you forth with those who have been his 
 open enemies. The eyes of the opposers of the truth 
 shall then be opened ; but your wicked habits shall re- 
 main unchanged. You shall find, in the worm that 
 never dies, and in the fire that shall never be quench- 
 ed, that the wrath of the Lamb is insupportable, and 
 that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the 
 living God. 
 
 But say not in despair, How can I be saved ? It is 
 the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, which is appoint- 
 ed to cleanse the soul, and this is the invitation which 
 he addresses to you, " Look unto me, and be ye saved, 
 for I am God, and besides me there is none else." O 
 give him the glory that is due to his name, by entire 
 trust, genuine contrition, and cordial submission ; and 
 ye shall have the witness in yourselves that he is God 
 in the pardon which he grants, the change he produ- 
 ces, and the salvation which he bestows. Amen. 
 
 PINIS. 
 
 Printed by Balfour and Clarke, 
 Edinburgh, 
 

 Date Due 
 
 
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