The eye is never satisfied without seeing them; it always craves something new. But here is the grandest object that ever eyes beheld. Do men eagerly desire to see extraordinary persons? here is the most glorious person that ever was seen. The queen of Sheba came a great way to see Solomon; "but a greater than Solomon is here." When a king or an emperor appears in public, crowds are anxious to behold him. Here is the King of kings, the King of the World. At the assizes, every one wishes to see the judge. Here is the great Judge of quick and dead, from whose sacred lips each of us shall receive our sentence. Generals and admirals, who have had great success in war, are commonly objects of peculiar regard. Here is the Conqueror of the world, of sin, of hell, who led captivity captive, and bought our freedom with his blood.Here is an Orator, whose words not only move the living, but raise the dead. Here is a Physician, who has cured millions of dying souls, and never failed in a single case. In a word, Behold your SAVIOUR!

It is the look of faith that is chiefly intended. Faith is Christ is described by various names, according to the various names of Christ. When Christ is represented as a foundation, then faith is resting upon him. If he be compared to food, then faith is eating and drinking. When he is called a gift, then faith is receiving him. If he is a refuge, faith is flying to him. When he is represented as calling sinners, then faith is hearing him and coming to him and here where Christ is represented as a glorious object, faith is beholding him.

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It is represented in the same manner by our Lord himself, John iii. 14. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." When the Jews were dying by the bite of serpents, they were cured merely by looking at the brazen serpent; so, whoever is ready to perish in his sins, let him look to Jesus, and he shall be saved.

Looking is an act of the mind: it supposes some knowledge of Christ, which is elsewhere called seeing the Son, and joined with believing on him. It supposes a conviction of the need of Christ; looking to Jesus is the act of him

who wants to be saved. It supposes that the soul despairs of finding help from any other quarter; it is looking from every thing else in order to believe in him. It supposes a persuasion of his ability to save, to save to the uttermost; and it includes some humble degree of hope, that looking to him will not be in vain.

Those who thus behold Christ by faith will also behold him with affection. With what eyes, think you, did they look at Christ, who had been healed and helped by him? The sick, the blind, the lame, the dead, who had felt his miraculous power in their recovery? With eyes, melting in tears of gratitude, would they gaze on their kind benefactor, their great deliverer. Ó with what joy and love, should saved sinners behold the dear Redeemer! Yea, it will be the heaven of heaven thus to behold him for ever.

APPLICATION. And now, having considered what a great and glorious object Jesus Christ is, and what regard we ought to pay him, let us ask the question, Have we complied with this easy, pleasant, reasonable command in the text? Have we in the attention, with faith, with affection, beheld this dear Lamb of God? Ah, Sirs, are not some of your hearts fixed on very different objects ;your worldly gain, the gaieties of the world, the base lusts of the flesh? Are not these your favourite objects; O consider this, you that forget God. What can all these do for you? Even now they satisfy not. But what will they do for you in a dying hour? O be persuaded to look to Jesus. How else will you look death in the face? how else will you dare to look the neglected Saviour in the face, when you see him on his throne of judgment? What will all the world think of you, when you shall be pointed out before them, and it shall be proclaimed-" Here is a man that never thought it worth his while to look at Jesus?" Will not all heaven say, "Let him be damned? If he even was not worth a look, let him be banished from it for ever?" O sinner, if O sinner, if you would have Jesus look upon you then, look upon him now; and if you know not how to do it, pray him to teach you, and ask of him "eye-salve that thou mayest see.

Are any here, who wish that their sins may be taken away? Their sins are many, and lie heavy on their con

sciences, and they can find no relief. "Behold the Lamb of God;" he only taketh away sin. Perhaps you have been looking elsewhere. You have been looking to yourself, your own goodness, your honesty, your church-goings, prayers, and sacraments. Are these Saviours?

Were these appointed of God to take away sin? They are good things in their places, but very bad things to be put in the place of Christ. Away with them all in point of dependence, and for the purpose of acceptance. With holy Paul you must count them all loss and dung, that you may win Christ and be found in him. Look to nothing but Jesus; for only he taketh away the sin of the world.

And to you, believer, also, we still say, "Behold the Lamb of God." This must be your daily business as long as you live. And nothing can be so useful. Have you

a hard heart? look to him, and it will melt. " They shall look upon me whom they pierced, and mourn." Are you cast down and full of fears?" they looked to him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed." Say with Jonah in the whale's belly, "I will look again."Would you obtain genuine humility? A sight of Christ must effect it. Job and Isaiah got it by a view of the glory of Christ. Would you entertain a constant hatred of sin? Behold the Lamb of God, bleeding for it on the cross. Would you be truly holy? Behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus, and you shall be transformed into the same image from glory to glory. Would you be bold for God, and constant in his cause? Behold the patient Lamb of God, who has left us an example that we should walk in his steps. Thus, Christians, persist in looking to Jesus daily by faith, till death shall shift the scene, and change faith into sight. Then shall you see him as he is; no longer "through a glass darkly, but face to face ;" nor shall you evermore need the exhortation in the text"Behold the Lamb of God."

SERMON XXIX.

THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL.

Acts ix. 11. Behold, he prayeth!

THER HE grace of God was never more gloriously displayed, than in the Conversion of St. Paul. Speaking of it himself, he says, "The grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant;" and "In me, Jesus Christ shewed forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." The change that was wrought in him was so sudden and remarkable, that the disciples of Christ at Damascus were afraid it was not real. To remove their suspicions, our Lord assures Ananias, their minister, that he was certainly a changed man; for, Behold, he prayeth! As if he had said, "You need not be afraid of him now. He was a bad man, but now he is a new man. He breathed out threatenings and slaughter, but now he breatheth out prayers and supplications. Behold, he prayeth !”'

As Paul's praying is here mentioned by Jesus Christ as a proof of his Conversion, we shall take occasion from these words to shew, that

A praying person is a gracious person.

This important truth will appear with the stronger evidence by considering the history of Paul's conversion, as recorded in this chapter.

Paul was the son of Jewish parents; but being born in the city of Tarsus, was entitled to the privileges of a Roman citizen. He was brought up to the business of a tentmaker: for it was the laudable custom of the Jews, however rich, to teach their children some trade. He had, however, a good education, and was sent to Jerusalem, where he studied the Jewish religion under the care of Gamaliel, a learned doctor of the law. He also joined the sect of the Pharisees, who were in great esteem at that time for their apparent piety and zeal. But he unhappily imbibed their self-righteous notions, their bigotry, and their bitter hatred of Jesus Christ and his followers. Paul,

probably, had opportunity to hear the discourses and see the miracles of Jesus, but they made no saving impressions on his mind; on the contrary, he became the implacable enemy of his followers. With all his profession of religion, he was a proud man, depending on his own goodness for salvation, and therefore not at all disposed to relish the humbling, self-denying religion of Christ, nor to join himself with the despised Nazarenes. Yea, such were his prejudices, that he became "a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious.'

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The first we read of him in the book of the Acts is, that he assisted at the cruel murder of Stephen, the first Christian martyr; for he took care of the clothes of those who stoned him, and thereby shewed his approbation of the bloody deed. After this, he was very active in the persecution. He made "havock of the church, entering into every house, and dragging away women as well as men, committed them to jail," that they might be put to death. He "imprisoned, beat, and punished," all the believers he could find in any of the synagogues; and, “being exceedingly mad" against the Christians, he obliged many of them to take refuge from his fury, by flying to distant places. Not content with this, he applied to the High Priest for authority to extend his persecution to the city of Damascus, which was 160 miles off. On this cruel expedition he set out, "breathing threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord."

Who would have ever thought that this man should become a Christian, a preacher, an apostle, a martyr? Was there any thing in him that could entitle him to the favour of God? Some have supposed so, in order to lessen the free, sovereign grace of God in his conversion. They tell us he was sincere in his way, had "virtuous habits," and therefore had a previous disposition to receive the Gospel. Nothing can be more false. He tells us himself he was "the chief of sinners;" he was "in the flesh," "he went about to establish his own righteousness, not submitting himself to the righteousness of God." Surely here was nothing to recommend him to mercy; but every thing that might provoke the Almighty to destroy him for ever. But" God's ways are not as man's ways, nor his thoughts