be fulfilled, when his murderers shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. To crown every other proof of divinity, he rose from the grave, and ascended into heaven. Can any man consider these things, and not cry out with the centurion, "Truly, this was the Son of GOD?"+ But we have higher witness than that of man; the voice of God himself proclaimed from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him."* There is still another light in which our LORD JESUS CHRIST is revealed to us; there is another character in which he commands all our veneration, gratitude, and love. Though he was born in a stable, and laid in a manger, a choir of angels attended to proclaim his birth; and they did it in these consoling words, "behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day a Saviour, which is CHRIST the LORD." The holy child JESUS shall not only be the best of men, a teacher sent from GoD, nay, the Son of GOD himself; great and glorious as these characters. are, they offer no hope to sinful man;-but he + Matt. xxvii. 54. * Matt. xvii. 5. Luke ii. 10, 11. 46 shall be a SAVIOUR. He shall die for our sins; he shall reconcile us to GOD; he shall take away the handwriting that is against us, nailing it to his cross; he shall bring life and immortality to light; he shall guide us by his spirit, and after death he shall receive us into glory. These are, indeed, glad tidings to every son of fallen Adam; and cold and insensible must that heart be, which does not join in the triumphant song of the angels, Glory to GoD in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men."* This, my brethren, is the great, the distinguishing doctrine of the Gospel; this is the corner-stone of christianity. "Behold the Lamb of GOD, who taketh away the sin of the world;' put all your trust in him; look unto him and be saved, all ye ends of the earth. "As in Adam all die, so in CHRIST shall all be made alive. CHRIST is risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep." The great Captain of our salvation has overcome death, and opened to us the gate of everlasting life. He has showed us the way to heaven; he will lead us to eternal glory. But let us not forget that these glorious promises are made only to the faithful servants of * Luke ii. 14. CHRIST. Let us not forget that when our Saviour redeemed the world, he did it to purchase to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. He has told us that we must take up the cross and follow him. He has shown us the path of life, and promised to assist our humble endeavours by his holy spirit; but he has told us, that strait is the gate, and narrow the way, and that we must exert our utmost powers to enter into it. It shall be my endeavour, by the blessing of GOD, to explain to you the particular duties which we are commanded to perform, and to enforce them by the example of our blessed Saviour, as pointed out to us in the New Testament; at present I will only mention the following awful consideration, which I earnestly wish to impress most strongly on the minds of all who hear me. Though Christianity holds out the most comfortable hopes of assistance to the weak, consolation to the afflicted, and pardon to the penitent; it offers no hope while we continue in any known or habitual sin. Repentance, faith, and obedience, are the indispensable conditions of the Christian covenant. We must believe in the Son of GOD, who alone is able to save; not trusting in our own merits, but in his manifold and great mercies; but we must add to our faith, virtue; and by patient continuance in well-doing, we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Be not deceived, but attend to the words of St. Paul. "The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelling, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have told you in time past, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of GoD."* O terrible voice of most just judgment, which shall be pronounced on all obstinate sinners; "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared or the devil and his angels."+ But they who are CHRIST's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts: they walk religiously in good works by the assistance of his grace; and when they have finished the work which he gave them to do, they will know that their labour has not been in vain. Their LORD will return from a far country, to demand an account of the talents he had entrusted to their Gal. v. 19, 21. + Matt. xxv. 41, |