tion, the Lord and his glorious advent. But I may not imitate their example, in separating and dividing the work of Christ, which, as I observed, is all necessary to the manifestation of grace; nor the work of the Spirit, which is also complete in the application to our souls of the completed work of Christ, both of his humiliation and his exaltation. But this I make free to declare, that there is no preaching of the resurrection of Christ; and from thence I perceive it cometh that there is no vigour in the soldiers of Christ, who are like soldiers in the hospital, rather than soldiers in the field; men at ease, not men at arms.

Such, dearly beloved brethren, is a poor, a very poor, yet according to my gift a faithful, representation of the infinitely pregnant mystery which has been disclosing since the Fall of man, and shall to eternity disclose, the most glorious of all the attributes and works of God. As concerneth the Father, the righteous, just, and holy Father, how great grace doth it bespeak in his bosom, to pity rebels, to forgive the resistance of his own creatures, to give his Son, his onlybegotten and well-beloved Son, for the sake of the guilty! Of which most gracious act to comprehend the greatness passeth all finite minds, and to feel the kindred emotion of it is reserved for the pure and more perfect condition of the life to come, when we shall know as we are known, and be perfected in love. But, with our present blemished and blotted minds, we have no lively sense of the holiness which had been wounded, of the justice which called for satisfaction, of the entire and all-pervading horror wherewith the Divine nature abhorreth sin. What grace in the

Father, to meditate, to originate, and to perfect the scheme of salvation by his Son! Then what grace in the almighty and all-creating Son, the co-eternal, co-essential Word, to take the form of accursed, miserable, mortal man, and for ever to wed human nature to the fellowship of the Divine; to empty himself of his Divinity, and in every act to be very man, very sinful man, though he had done no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; that he might make reconciliation for those wretched, abject creatures, who knew not of his infinite love, deserved it not, cared not for it, trampled it under foot, and crucified the Lord of glory! What grace in the Holy Spirit, to bring this perfect life, this all-meritorious death of the Saviour, into contact with our lustful, ungodly, devilish nature; to quicken life in the stony heart, and nurse it in the corrupt flesh of man; to apply, point by point, the power of grace to the power of nature; to bring the strength and beauty of Christ into contact with the strength and deformity of Satan; thus to withstand, thus to struggle with, and thus to vanquish, thus to deliver, thus to beautify, and thus to glorify every sinner for whom Christ died, and whom the Father had given unto Christ! What grace! oh, what riches of grace! dear brethren, are not exhibited to us in this work of redemption, in the word of this Gospel which is preached unto you! This is what the Apostle blessed the Ephesian church withal; this is what I bless you withal every Sabbath day. This is what you have in the church of Christ. This is your second nature: I should say, this is your redemption from nature. This is your second gift from God; the endowment and

the principle of a better being than Adam ever possessed; the beginning and the accomplishment of a better nature than that of angels or archangels; the endowment of a more glorious condition than that possessed by any other creature of God. I hardly know in what language to speak of the exaltation to which this gift lifteth the sons of men aloft, above principalities and powers, and the various orders of the heavenly host; for we are fellowheirs with Christ, partakers of his throne, and coheirs of his kingdom. I cannot express myself; I lose myself in the sublimity and infinitude of the revelations of God. Yet this, which the heart cannot conceive, and the tongue of man cannot utter, nor the comprehension of man measure in any one of its chambers, is that which I this day offer unto you, the church of Christ, the saints of God which are of this congregation, the faithful in Christ Jesus. I offer it without price: otherwise grace were not free. I offer it without work: otherwise grace were no more grace. I present it as God's gift unto his elect children, which they will lay up in their hearts. I present it unto all; and woe be to him who heapeth infinite wrath upon himself by rejecting this infinite gift of God by Christ Jesus our Lord!

I exhort you, therefore, dear brethren, in order that you may be partakers of the fulness of this grace and power, to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, and to receive him as he is freely offered unto you of your heavenly Father. Doubt not that God, who hath given you Christ Jesus, will with him freely give you all things. All things necessary to life and godliness are included in this gift of Christ. That work of the

Divine grace which was manifested in the Incarnation of Christ, reacheth onward to the redemption of all the elect, and shall be consummated in their glory and honour, and the redemption of the purchased possession, with all the other mysteries of power which shall be manifested in the day of the coming of the Lord. Therefore, ye, who are the saints of God and faithful in Christ Jesus, should assure your hearts before him, and not be afraid with any amazement. We should rest in our love, and rejoice in our hope; we should behold the magnitude, and be filled with the treasures of his grace. It is his own work in us, and he will perfect it until the day of redemption. His grace will be sufficient for us, and his strength will be perfected in our weakness. Ye see, dear brethren, what plenty, what all-sufficiency, you have in Christ; and out of him what poverty and misery. Betake yourselves to him with all confidence; flee unto him as the ark of salvation; and put your trust under the shadow of his wings until the evil days be over-past. Thus do, and you shall find rest for yourselves: thus do not, and you shall be like a wave of the sea, driven of the winds and tossed. Hear ye the word of the Lord Jesus: "Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

SERMON VI.

CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING THE SUBSISTENCE OF GOD, AND THE SUBSISTENCE OF THE CREATURE, DERIVED FROM REFLECTING UPON THE INCARNATION.

JOHN i. 18.

No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

WHILE meditating the above sermons on the Incarnation, various thoughts connected with this great subject, have stirred on my mind, touching its relations unto other great subjects; and I have been led to perceive distinctly, how the incarnation of the Son of God is the ground and basis of all real knowledge with respect to the Godhead, is the ground and basis of all worship of the Godhead by the creature, and of the creature's own eternal being and blessedness. I perceive, moreover, through the light cast upon these subjects by the Incarnation, how a creation out of God, and yet worshipping God, is not possible without the knowledge of God in three persons subsisting, which, if it can be speculatively attained by the reason, is a truth realised only by the Incarnation. Now, it is my desire to point out some of these high relations of the subject, which God [Y] a