SERMON to his dishonour, so they be not light, or wanton, or scurrilous, or such like.

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7. This crying here is general, and our praises of God must be so too; all that is without me, and "all that is within me, praise his holy name:" all the powers of my soul, superior and inferior, all the organs of my body, all the instruments of my life and living, my estate and means, all to concur in giving praise to God, in celebrating the mercies, the humilities, the condescensions, the out-goings and incomings, of my Redeemer.

Thus we have the key and tune of blessing God and Christ devoutly, confidently, publicly, unanimously, orderly, cheerfully, and universally, with all our faculties and powers. Let us now hear the song of praise, "Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he," &c. And that we may sing in tune, let us know our parts.

Three parts there are in it as in other songs, bassus, tenor, and altus-the bass, the tenor, and the treble. "Hosanna to the Son of David ;" there is the bass, the deepest and lowest note, the humanity of Christ in filio David, being "the Son of David:" the bass sings that, that is low indeed for him, we can go no lower. "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord;" there is the tenor or middle part, he and the name of the Lord joined together, God and man united-that is a note higher than the first, the Mediator between God and man; God in the highest, Son of David in the lowest; the middle note then follows. And Hosanna in altissimis, the altus or treble, the highest note of all: we can reach no higher, strain we never so high.

We begin low, that is the way to reach high; "Hosanna to the Son of David:" yet as low as it is, it is hard to hit, hard to reach the meaning of it. Hosanna, a hard note, so interpreters have found it.

St. Augustine will have it an interjection only, to express rejoicing, like that 'I IIaîav among the Greeks, or Io triumphe among the Latins. The truth is, it is an expression and voice of joy and gladness, though no interjection: an expression used by the Jews at the Feast of Tabernacles, a joyful acclamation, enough to authorize common and received expressions of joy, though it may be the hat use them do not

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perfectly understand them; especially joy inexpressible (such SERMON as ours should be for the "Son of David's" coming) may be allowed to express itself as it can, or as it does in other rejoicings, when it can do no better.

Some interpret it redemption; others, an hymn, or praise; others, grace; others, glory; others, boughs "to the Son of David:" all yet concur in this, that it is a joyful wish for prosperity to Christ, under the title of "the Son of David:" grace, redemption, praise, and glory, psalms and hymns, and all the other outward expressions of thanks, respect, and joy be given to Him who now comes to "restore the kingdom of his father David." Nothing too much to be given to the Messiah, for him they always mean by "the Son of David :" no inward or outward joy enough for the coming of our Redeemer.

But though "Hosanna" mean all these several renderings, yet the construction is no more than, Salvum fac, or salve obsecro, "Save, we beseech thee," like our Vivat Rex, "God save the King." "Save the Son of David, we beseech thee,' and save us by "the Son of David." For both it is: a prayer to God to preserve and prosper him, that he may have good luck with his honour, and ride on; and a prayer to God to save and deliver us by and through him, or to him to do it; Salva obsecro, O fili David, (O fili for filio.) "Save us, we pray thee, O Son of David."

By this time you understand "Hosanna" to be both a prayer and a thanksgiving, a short collect and a hymn both, an expression of rejoicing for Christ's coming, with a prayer that it may come happy both to him and us. Thus you have it in Psalm cxviii. 24, 25, whence this seems either to be taken or to relate. "This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it;" there is the voice of rejoicing: then follows "Help me now, O Lord; O Lord, send us now prosperity:" the prayer upon it.

It is an easy observation hence, that our rejoicings are to consist in prayers and praises, in hymns and collects; no true Hosannas to Christ, no true blessing him but so; no keeping Christmas or any feast without them. To spend a day in idleness, or good cheer, is not to keep holiday to

SERMON keep Christmas is not to fill our mouths with meat, but our

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lips with prayers and praises; not to sit down and play, but to kneel down and pray; not to rest from work and labour, but, by some holy rest and retirement from temporal labour, to labour so to enter into eternal rest. The business of a "holiday" is holy business; "Hosanna" business of Christmas, Christ's coming so to be solemnized with solemn prayers, and praises, and thanksgivings.

And there is more than so in this "Hosanna." It was the close of certain prayers and litanies used by the Jewish synagogues; like our Libera nos Domine, our "Good Lord deliver us," in our litanies. They first reckoned up the names of God; God, Lord, King of kings, &c., and to each, "Hosanna;" then his attributes, his mercy, truth, &c., to each, "Hosanna;" then what they desired, both in public and private, and for each, "Hosanna." All resound "Hosanna," all echo out "Hosanna,”-save, and help, and prosper us. It is no new thing, it seems, or of popish original, to use public litanies and liturgies; it is but what the Church of God has ever had in use; the way, from the beginning, it always served him in. The very petitions of the Lord's Prayer are taken out of the Jewish "Sedar," or CommonPrayer Book; and if Christ himself, who wanted neither words nor spirit to pray, thought fit yet notwithstanding to make use of received expressions and ancient forms, I conceive not why any that profess him should think themselves wiser than their Master, and reject old and accustomed forms of prayers and praise. Yet, indeed, we cannot well expect they should keep a form, that will not keep a day to bless him for his coming. We that resolve of this, may be resolved of the other, that no way like the old to do it in.

That teaches us to pray the Messiah that Christ may reign, that his kingdom may prosper and be enlarged; that we ourselves may be of it, and prosper in it; that we may have redemption and salvation, grace and glory; sing hymns and songs of praise to him, both in his kingdom here upon earth, and in his kingdom in heaven. This the way of entertaining him at his coming, to entertain ourselves, and time, in blessing him for his goodness, and desiring of his blessing.

And yet, besides, there is as much faith as devotion to be

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here learned from the multitude, in this "Hosanna." There SERMON is an acknowledgment of his office, that he was Messiah. They, it seems, believed it. I suspect they that love not to have a day to mind them of his becoming "the Son of David," of his nativity, do scarce believe it. If they thought his coming real, we should have some real doings at it; they would be as busy in it as the best. Were filio David well grounded in us, did we really believe him "the Son of David," we would also become the sons of David, who was a man of prayer and praise,-sons of praise, sing Hosannas as fast as any. It is only want of faith that hinders works; we believe not in him as we should, whatever we talk, else we would do to him as we should, accept all his comings, even upon our knees, at least with all thankfulness, and such devotion as time and place required of us.

And, 2, we would raise our voices a note higher, add Benedictus to Hosanna: "Blessed is he that cometh," &c. Bless God, and bless him, and bless his coming, and bless his goodness, and bless his power, and bless his fulness, and bless his work, and bless his purpose; desire God to bless him, and man to bless him, and also bless ourselves in him; for no less than all these is in the words.

"Blessed," first, "be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;" "blessed be the Lord God of Israel," that "he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up a mighty salvation for us in the house of his servant David." So old Zachary, S. Luke i. 68, 69. Blessed be God the Father, for the Son; God the Father, for the Son of David's coming to us.

Blessed, 2, be the Son; blessed be he that cometh, blessed be our Lord Jesus Christ for his coming; for to him is blessing due, that he would vouchsafe to come and bless: bless the Father for sending, the Son for coming; blessing to them both for thus blessing us.

Blessed, 3, be his coming, all his comings; his coming in the flesh, his coming in the Spirit, his coming in humility, his coming in glory. His coming in the flesh, that is a blessing coming for us, whereby all other blessings come unto us; his coming in the Spirit, or by his grace, a blessed coming too, and still daily coming; his coming in glory,

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SERMON that may be a blessed coming to us too, if we bless him duly for his other comings: if we truly and devoutly rejoice at his first and second coming, no doubt but we shall also triumph at his last. That he cometh, came, and will come unto the end, is blessed news; we therefore with these multitudes so bless him for it.

Blessed, 4, be his goodness, and that is evident enough in his coming to us: bless him for that he would be so good to come, when all good was going from us, when we ourselves were gone away from him, ran away as far as well we could, that he would come after us.

Blessed, 5, be his power and authority, for "in the name of the Lord" he comes, not in his own name, but in the John v. 43. Father's that sent him; confess, acknowledge, submit to his power and authority, that is the true way to bless him.

Col. ii. 9.
Rom. ix. 5.

Blessed, 6, be his greatness and fulness of blessing; blessed be his blessedness, for he is full of blessings; in him all fulness is and dwells. "God blessed for ever." Let us make this acknowledgment of him, profess and proclaim it as they do here call him, the ever blessed.

Blessed, 7, be all his works, actions, and passions, the works of our redemption, justification, sanctification, glorification, which all come to us only through his Name and merits. Attribute we all to him and to his Name: "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name be the praise" and glory of all these great and wonderful things.

Blessed, lastly, be all his purposes and intentions towards. us. He came to reveal his Father's will unto us; bless him for that; bless we should all such that make known unto us the will of God. Beati pedes evangelizantium, "Blessed be the feet of the ministers of the Gospel," much more this great Archbishop of our souls that sends them. He came to John viii. glorify the Father, to teach us to do so; bless him for that. He came to save and deliver us from all kinds of evil, however we wilfully thrust daily into it some or other; bless him for that; say all good of him, that wishes and works all good to us but, which is only truly to bless, further we all purposes what we can, and help them forward, that he and we may be glorified by the hand.

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For this blessing is not merely a form of words; we must,