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could entangle him. He confounded them at one time with his words; at another by his silence. Wisdom dwelt upon his lips, and manifested itself in his whole life.

His goodness also remains in your memory.-Oh, what goodness filled his soul, when, having, as the Son of God, left the bosom of his Father to tabernacle with men, he repeated these words; "But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straightened till it be accomplished!" Under the Law, the priests to be fully qualified for their office, were thrice baptized, or sprinkled; first with water, then with oil; and, finally, with blood. He had already been baptized with water, by John, in the river Jordan. He had also been baptized with oil, by the descent of the Holy Ghost anointing him with "the oil of gladness." There still remained the baptism of blood; but it was to be blood of a very different kind to that with which the Levitical priests were sprinkled: it was to be with his own most precious blood. But such was the goodness which filled his soul, such his desire to make sinners like us eternally happy, that, so far from shrinking from this baptism, he was "straightened till it was accomplished"—till "by his own offering, he had obtained eternal redemption for us." My beloved friends, there is an ineffable pleasure in beholding the munificent bounty of the Lord Jesus Christ; in dwelling upon that part of his history which leads us to say, with the prophet, "How great is his goodness! how great is his beauty!"

There are, however, other graces yet to admire: such as His holiness.-Follow him into whatever society you may; trace his steps in his public ministry, or in his private intercourse with his disciples; you ever see them the "Holy" Jesus, the "Lamb of God, without spot and without blemish," "harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." That which you see in Him, at His coming you will feel in yourselves. Those graces which you have often admired, but which you have been deeply convinced you were far from possessing, will then dwell in you, in all their beauty. Your spirit will be meek and lowly: the loftiness of pride, the obliquities of envy, the bitterness of selfishness, will have passed away. Your soul will be like a sea of glass,—solid, transparent purity; never ruffled, never disturbed, never defiled; but like the spirit of Jesus, when in perfect meekness he said, "Not my will, but thine, be done." Your mind also will in its measure be like His, full of wisdom; and your heart as His heart,

full of love and goodness, expanding with delightful complacency and perfect benevolence through the regions of boundless space.

Ah! my friends, there are happy seasons in a Christian's life, in which the sin that is in him is laid asleep, and in which the new nature, active by the power of the Holy Ghost, realizes in a degree what St. John says; "He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in hirn." A coal from the altar has touched his lips, and his spirit burns with a portion of seraphic love.When the Saviour comes, this will be your never-varying state. Love will be your constant inmate; love in unceasing exercise, without abatement and without alloy.- How delightful will this be! When we would refresh ourselves with a subject of holy pleasure, we fix upon the love of Christ; we survey "its breadth, its length, and depth, and height;" we think of him as he is described, with a love "which passeth knowledge." Such, in your measure, will your state be when "He appears;" your love will have no bounds.

Like him, also, you will be holy. That crystal stream, which flows from the throne of God and the Lamb, has filled your souls with perfect purity. Or, rather, the Sun of Righteousness, now appearing in his meridian splendor, has shined upon you. His glorious rays have entered the inner man, and have transformed you into his likeness. You are completely renewed in knowledge and true holiness.

Such, my beloved brethren, are some of the objects of desire to his friends in the Saviour's Advent. There are others which I must postpone till a future season. In the interim, let that which has been spoken lead us to inquire, Are we the friends of Jesus? For it is of the privileges of his friends I have been speaking.— "We," says the apostle, referring to the true followers of Christ, "have our conversation in heaven; from whence, also, we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." This is our expectation: we are waiting for his appearing: for there is a union between us; we are one with Christ; we are united to him by a living faith.

Are you then the friends of Jesus? They cannot be more accurately described than in this chapter: "We are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, who rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." What things were gain to me, these I counted loss for Christ: yea, doubtless, and I count

all things loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dross, that I may win Christ, and be found in him; not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith cf Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Are you such characters? We speak of having his glorious Advent in view. Beloved friends, be honest to yourselves: do you count all things loss for him? Do not deceive yourselves. If you have any doubt, adopt the course of the first mernbers of the Philippian church. You observe among them two remarkable characters; one of them earnestly asking the Apostles, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" the other frequenting a place"where prayer was wont to be made." This is the course to become the friends of Christ: not receiving the mysteries of his religion in a self-confident spirit, as if your own wisdom were sufficient for your guidance; but meekly consulting the Sacred volume, and in earnest prayer saying with the devout Patriarch, "What I know not teach thou me."

The two converts to whom I referred afforded a delightful encouragement, that none thus seeking the Lord shall seek in vain. Few natural characters seem more opposite than those of Lydia and the Jailor: the one, a mild and gentle female; the other, a man whose office had increased his natural obduracy. If, however, you examine their history, you will see that the Lord freely imparted his grace to each; and when that grace had been received, or when they were made partakers of faith in the Lord Jesus, there was a great similarity between them: both publicly professed the name of Christ, and both courteously received the Apostles. Oh then, do you profit by their history, that you may be found among the friends of Christ at his coming. Your own interest invites you. You must be sensible, that in your best state you have a weak body, and a very imperfect spirit. What a blessing, then, to have this weak body changed into a glorious body, and this naturally sinful soul conformed to the mind of the Son of God! This is a privilege indeed! If then, you have hitherto pursued another course, take this for your motto in the present year: "Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." Let us, my friends, commence the year together. In the prospect of that blessed day, I know nothing that would more increase my delight, than that

we should be associates by the way, and finally sit down together in the same kingdom.

And you, my christian brethren, who are among the true friends of Jesus, let me entreat you to dwell more upon this blessed hope. You now complain of a weak body, and of a disordered soul. It shall not always be thus. He, whose word is truth itself, has given us a promise that "he will come again, and receive us unto himself." Wait, then, this glad event; anticipate his coming; meet Him on the way, by the lively actings of faith, and by fervent and frequent prayer. It is sweet to turn to the place from whence he comes. The very lifting up of your hearts to heaven will detach you more and more from carth; will enable you to see the world in its proper light, as a passing pageant only important in this view, that they who inhabit it have been bought by the precious blood of Christ, and are now invited to partake of its unsearchable riches.

Let his coming also affect you in this manner; that, as the great difference between your present body and the body you will then have, is this; that your body will then be more free to serve him, and possess a spirit like his, perfectly pure and holy, now seek more of his likeness. Present to him your body, soul, and spirit, as a resonable service. This is the happy life, to be coming nearer to Jesus; nearer to him in more simple reliance upon his merits, by partaking more of his image, and by a more willing devotedness to his service. Could I express my desires you in one word, they would be summed up in the name of JESUS-that you may be sprinkled with the blood, arrayed with the righteousness, filled with the Spirit, armed with the mind, conformed to the image, raised by the power, and finally cast your crowns before the throne, of the once crucified Jesus. To this ever to be adored Saviour, in union with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be all glory and honor and wisdom and power ascribed, now and forever more! Amen.

for

SERMON IV.

THE KING OF GLORY.

By the Rt. Rev. GEORGE HORNE, D. D.,
Bishop of Norwich.

REVELATIONS, i. 7.

Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him; and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, amen.

If any thing can lead men to repentance, and turn the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of that Just One, the wisdom which maketh wise unto salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus, it must be the united considerations of his mercy and justice: his infinite mercy during the day of grace, when all sins, that can be repented of, are forgiven unto men; his inexorable justice at the day of retribution, when he shall infallibly render unto every man according as his works shall be. And perhaps there is no better method of stirring up our wills to procure an interest, or of discovering the interest we already possess in the love of Christ, than by viewing in their proper colors the terrors of his judgment, as they will show themselves to the astonished world at that awful hour of his second Advent; when the mark put upon false principles and evil actions shall drop off, and all things be estimated by the measures of Christianity, and the standard of the Gospel of Jesus.

The words of the divine and well-beloved John now read are, it is presumed, not improper for this purpose, as they evidently fall in with the design of our Church at this season, and speak the same language with her Advent services-"Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him; and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

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