other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved?"? Brethren; you who cannot answer affirmatively to these questions must bear with me whilst I faithfully and affectionately tell you, that the birth of a Saviour is not yet a blessing to you! For unless you are waiting for his salvation, ye cannot rejoice at his coming. Unless you believe in his name to the saving of your souls, and prove the sincerity of your faith by keeping his commandments, surely I must say unto you, after the manner of Peter unto Simon the sorcerer, 'You have neither part nor lot in this matter; for your heart is not right in the sight of God!' Would you then desire truly to rejoice in this glorious event which we now commemorate-the birth of "a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord?" Pray ye the God of all the earth that ye may have grace to receive him,grace to believe in him,-grace to become like him; for to as many as receive him giveth he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name!' O be O be ye faithful and humble followers of Jesus, so shall you rejoice in him here on earth, and find glory through him in a future state!

6

But though it be presumptuous to rejoice in Christ before we have tasted his salvation, yet how great is the sinner's encouragement to come unto him for salvation! O ye that labour and

are heavy laden, come unto this great and glorious Redeemer, and he will give you rest!' O ye who are groaning under a load of guilt-sinking in a sea of wrath-perishing under the power of sin-come unto "The mighty God, The everlasting Father," and he will give you life! Sinners; dying, condemned sinners! come ye unto him whose name is "Wonderful;" come ye unto the transgressor's "Counsellor;" and his word is solemnly pledged that 'in no wise will he cast you out!' And behold the government is upon his shoulder,' and help is laid upon him that is mighty; "wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him!"

DISCOURSE IX.

ON THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST.

[FOR GOOD-FRIDAY.]*

JOHN xix. 30.

It is finished.

FOLLOWING the praise-worthy example of the most ancient Christian churches, our venerable Establishment continues the observance of various feasts and fasts, in commemoration of the great events in the life and passion of our adorable Saviour. At Christmas, our revered church calls upon its members to rejoice in the birth of a Saviour, "Christ the Lord." At the season called Epiphany, we are incited to a review of the blessings vouchsafed to us, Gentiles, in the manifestation of Christ. On Ash-Wednesday, the beginning of the season of humiliation called Lent, we are specially called upon to abase our

* This discourse, though intended for Good-Friday, is sufficiently appropriate for the Sunday preceding, or indeed for any time during Lent.

selves before God, abhorring ourselves,' like pious Job, and repenting in dust and ashes.' During the forty days of Lent, generally, we are admonished by the church to a continued abstinence from our usual worldly enjoyments and ordinary indulgencies, so that mortifying, after the manner of our Lord, the deeds of the body, we may live. During the days of Passion-weekthe latter part of Lent-we are led by the offices of our church, as you find in the Prayer-book, to meditate upon the progress of our Lord's astonishing sufferings, in order to deepen our sense of obligation to so gracious a Redeemer, and to augment our abhorrence of sin, which, from its deeply abominable nature, required so precious a sacrifice. Lastly, on Good-Friday-the conclusion of Lent-to the momentous events of which our text has an expressive reference, we are directed to the consideration of the consummation of the Saviour's abasement and sufferings, when "he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

Then, when all things that had been prophesied concerning Christ were accomplished,when the law had been for once fulfilled, and a spotless righteousness wrought out,-when a holy and perfect example had been given for man to look to and imitate,-when "a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction

for the sins of the whole world" had been offered and completed, and when all the works necessary for man's redemption had been fully accomplished, then, could the Saviour of the world, as he hung upon the torturing cross, consistently declare, with his dying breath, the emphatic truth,—“IT IS FINISHED!

But we proceed to illustrate these various particulars, as distinct heads of discourse, in their order;

1. Our Lord could truly say "It is finished,”because all things that had been prophesied concerning him were accomplished.

The great subject in dispute among the Jews, both in the time of our Lord and down to the present day, was, Whether Jesus were the Christ. Had they, however, with a humble, teachable disposition, examined the prophets and compared their descriptions of the Messiah with the life of "the Son of Man," they would have found abundant proof that he was the promised Messiah. For they must have seen, not only that his history in every particular accords with prophecy, but also, that all things that were predicted concerning him were accurately fulfilled.

Now since the fulfilment of prophecy, as to the life and death of Christ, is the very ground-work upon which the evidence of our faith is built,—