There, in commemoration of our deliverance from the bondage of death, let us celebrate the offering of the true Paschal Lamb. "And thus, shall ye eat it;" with "the loins of your minds girded with truth;" the "staff" of faith in your hands; and 'your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Ye shall eat it with solemnity, and holy joy; for "it is the Lord's Passover." With faith and obedience, apply its blood to your spirits, and have in remembrance, your wonderful deliverance from death; and when the chosen Son of God shall appear in judgment upon a rebellious and impenitent world, you shall be saved from the sorrows which will come upon the disobedient; and be taken to that land of perpetual rest and delight, which the Father hath given for you, to the "Captain of your salvation," as the reward of his sufferings, victories, and triumphs.

SERMON III.

SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.

COLOSSIANS, ii. 10.

"And ye are complete in him."

IT is natural to look back upon the wonderful events, some of

them sorrowful, and some of them joyful, which we have lately commemorated. Indeed, the Church does not yet cease from her special joy on account of the resurrection of her Lord; but still dwells upon it with exultance and delight. As we behold our adorable Master "dying for our sins and rising again for our justification," and in these, his acts, are reminded of his character, his instructions and offices, I know not a passage of holy writ, more suitable for our contemplation, than this of St. Paul to the Colossians: "Ye are complete in him."

Let us, first, consider, to whom these words are addressed. They are contained in an epistle to the members of an eminent Church, which was gathered by Epaphras at Colosse. These "saints and faithful brethren" had embraced, with a lively and steady zeal, the religion of Christ, and had conformed themselves, with distinguished exactness, to his institutions and requirements. It appears, that by baptism they had been regularly incorporated into the Church of the Redeemer; for the Apostle observes of them, that they were "buried with him in baptism, wherein, also, they were risen with him, through the faith of the operation of God." They were, also, with exemplary fidelity, lovers and cherishers of the doctrines, sacraments,

and discipline of the Church; for, says the zealous Paul to them, "Though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ." As might be expected of a people, who were thus established in their principles, and regular in their conduct, it appears that these Colossians were renewed in their lives; for the gospel had brought forth its "fruit in them," and, though there was room, as among the best men there ever will be, for Apostolic cautions and exhortations, yet, it is evident from the epistle, that they had abounded in those distinguishing Christian graces, "faith, hope, and charity." To persons of this description, were the words in the text addressed; and, in them, without doubt, to the sincere disciples of the Redeemer, the true members of his Church, in every age, and every place. To all such, his ambassadors are authorized to say, "Ye are complete in him."

Let us, in the second place, consider in what this completeness consists. Were I to go about to set it before you in all its extent, it would require a volume rather than a discourse. A volume, did I say? Alas! and who should write it? For to a conception of the fulness that is in Christ Jesus, all finite powers are utterly inadequate. It is well styled by an inspired penman, "the unsearchable riches of Christ." All that we can do is, to contemplate it in some of its obvious and most interesting particulars.

Knowledge is the foundation of all religion, and all excellency. Without it there can be no elevated character in man; no wisdom nor satisfaction in his management of life; no reasonableness in his service to his Creator; no basis to his faith, nor certainty in his hopes; no sunshine of joy upon his soul; no pleasantness nor safety in his path. In this fundamental particular we are "complete" in Christ Jesus; for in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In Christ are wrapped up all the counsels and purposes of God. In him are placed the fountains of all truth. From him proceed all sure instructions; and there is no rest for the inquiries of the soul,

till it is brought humbly to his feet. He is appointed as the sun of the intellectual firmament. When he appears, there is light; we see our path; and order and beauty are discernible in everything around us. Where he shines not, all is confusion and darkness. Ah, were we not familiarized to his shining, with what transports of joy, with what exclamations of gratitude, should we hail his beams!

In this article of knowledge, where else, than under the instructions of Christ, shall we find man "complete?" Shall we find him so under the guidance of nature? Alas! look at the savage. In many things, how nearly allied to the brute; and, upon the subjects of religion and salvation, how ignorant, even of his ignorance, and of the importance of truth! Shall we find him "complete" under the light of science and refinement? Look at the philosopher. How restless, how perplexed, how dubious! At the end of his labours, and height of his attainments, still asking anxiously, "What is truth?" The Christian need never look back with envy upon the world, as if pure instruction could be found in any of its resources. It is overspread with ignorance. Men, out of the Church of God, have been everywhere enveloped with darkness, and a prey to delusions. The highest point of wisdom attained by the wisest of their number, was expressed in the just and humbling adage, "This only do I know, that I know nothing." On this account it was that St. Paul was anxious to guard the Christians at Colosse, by a sense of their completeness in Christ, against being beguiled with the enticing words and flattering opinions of philosophical teachers, by whom they were surrounded. "Beware," says he, "lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and ye are complete in him."

In Christ Jesus resides the fulness of the supreme intelligence. We can have no better, we can need no other instructor. He is the word and wisdom of God. All the will, and purposes, and counsels of the Almighty, are committed unto him. And

the renewed mind, which hath been brought into union with him, and surrendered itself entirely to the guidance of his hand, and instructions of his voice, finds itself translated into regions of pure and divine truth; which present on all sides innumerable bright, and safe, and delightful paths; and, in every part of which is seen the glory, is felt the presence of the invisible Deity. In these regions, the soul of the diligent can never be destitute of its proper knowledge. What is there, O Christian! of becoming knowledge relating to thy being, thy business, or thy destiny, which Christ, thy instructor, hath not communicated? What is there, concerning thy God, or the universe, or truth, or holiness, of which it is certain that the knowledge would be beneficial to thee, that thy adorable Master hath not revealed? What is there concerning the ways of life, of peace, and salvation, which it behooves thee to know, that he, who is the way, the truth, and the life, hath not explained? And how great is thy felicity, how great thy security, in quaffing thy knowledge from streams, whose source is the fount fast by the throne of God; from streams, from which, if thou drinkest purely, thou canst never imbibe anything that can savour of error, or prove injurious to thy soul's health; from streams, to the source of which, all higher orders of intelligence repair, for the draughts that inspire them with heavenly wisdom, and which are perpetually visited and blessed by the Holy Spirit of God! On the brinks of these streams, who that abides, can long be ignorant of what is good, or what the Lord his God requireth of him? These instructions, which are set open to us in Christ Jesus, are full and certain; full, in that they are adequate to all our necessities; and certain, in that he is the wisdom of God. Yea, we may go further and add, that they furnish means for our perpetual increase in knowledge and advancement in goodness. They are unfathomable, they are exhaustless. We may say of the wisdom they contain, as an apostle hath said of the love that hath made them accessible to us, it "passeth knowledge."

But, further; true knowledge will make us acquainted with