will stand a pure form of love and wisdom, goodness and truth-a celestial angelic mind, the likeness of his God and Saviour and thus be fully fatisfied. It been aiming at, laboring for,

is the state he has anxiously defiring; and now, having obtained it, he is fatisfied, easy, and happy.

But, thirdly, Why is such an one fatisfied?

First, His highest wish, his most exalted expectations, are now accomplished. Love to the Lord, and goodness, were his very life; and he could not be fully fatisfied until he wholly dwelt in the beams of that divine love, without an intervening cloud.

Methinks I hear every good man and woman now present, faying, 'I am resigned and content'ed to stay here, to dwell in this body so long as I ' can be useful to mankind; so long as I can contri'bute any thing to their happiness; so long as the • Lord fees good for me to stay;-but I shall never 'be fully fatisfied until I awake in the likeness of my God-until all my darkness, error, evil, and impи'rity, be removed, and I become a pure form of 'love and charity, wisdom and truth; until every ' intervening cloud be removed, and I am internally ' and externally filled and furrounded with the Di'vine beams of the Lord's love and wisdom. • shall not be fatisfied 'till I am (like all the angels in heaven) nothing but love, wisdom, and use.'

But, fecondly, Such an one will then be fatisfied, as, being in the likeness of the Lord; because then he will be in eternal conjunction with him, dwell

for

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for ever in his immediate prefence, and be completely filled with all heavenly and divine beatitudes from him; for becoming a pure form of love, wisdom, and use, the felicities thereof will be for ever enjoyed, and eternally increase. The good man will be at home, in his own element, among his own friends, and in the prefence of that blessed and adorable Lord God and Saviour, who is the only object of his highest love, delight, and happiness.

Having thus explained to you the import of these blessed words; let us now apply them to our own minds.

Can you ferioufly and truly adopt the first part of them? AS FOR ME, I WILL behold thy face in < righteousness. Whatever others do, or fay, or • however they may live, I will for my part look up to the Lord in faith and confidence, for every < blessing and mercy; but I will do this in righteousness. While I believe on him, and expect every good from him, I will live a righteous, ' upright, pious life.

Let us remember that we can never behold the face of Jehovah, either in this world or the next, if it be not in righteousness. For fo far as we love him, and do his will, so far we TURN ourselves to the Lord; and fo far we behold his face. And the more we are principled in love, truth, and goodness, the more fully will our minds be turned to the Lord; the more glorious will he appear to usand the more happy shall we be.

But,

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THE GOOD MAN'S RIGHTEOUSNESS.

But, secondly, Do you wish to awake in his likeness? Is it your one interrupted and ardent defire, to appear like your Lord, when called into the eternal world? Do you think, if you then awake in his likeness, pure forms of love and wisdom, holy angelic minds, you shall be fatisfied? Is this your highest wish, the happiness you want; namely, to be like your Lord? If so, my christian friends, I am fure you bear some resemblance, some fimilitude, of him Now. You are men and women of love, charity, goodness; your internal man delights in righteoufnefs-your external life is good and you are going forward in that renewal of the mind, that Spiritual and divine regeneration, which can alone transform you into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ, your God and Saviour. If this be the cafe with you (and I hope it is) then you will in a little time behold the Lord indeed; you will fee him as he is be fatisfied, and happy in his prefence-and in that fatisfaction and happiness, will you remain for ever and ever. While the wicked and ungodly will awake in the likeness of those infernals, with whom they have here associated, and cannot so much as bear to behold the divine beams of love and wisdom from the glorified humanity of the Lord-you will awake in his likeness, behold those divine beams, and live in them for ever-and be glorified, celestial, happy angels, in the kingdom of our God and Saviour. To whom be glory and dominion for ever.

Amen.

SERMON

SERMON XVII.

THE LOVE OF THE LORD JESUS,

AS

MANIFESTED IN OUR PARDON AND PURIFICATION.

1

REV. i. 5, 6.

Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever! Amen.

THE words we have now read have been,

and still are, frequently made use of to confirm, not only universal redemption; but calvinism-juftification by faith alone-a plurality of persons in the trinity-and several other sentiments. And, indeed, if we separate one part of the word from another, and consider it in its unconnected and merely literal sense, we may make it speak almost just what we please.

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please. But this is not the way to form right judgment. If we would know the word aright, we muft confider it in its regular feries-its own divine connection-be acquainted with the corresponding figures used to express spiritual things and endeavor to enter into the true spiritual meaning of it. By fo doing, we shall come to a true knowledge of the facred pages, and free our minds from error and false doctrine; especially if we look to the Lord for illumination, and search after truth from the love of it. The words of our text are replete with instruction and confolation to the real christian mind; and we will now endeavor to open them in the following order

First, It will be expedient to confider the import of these words" Unto him that hath loved us."

Secondly, What is meant by “his washing us from “ our fins in his own blood."

Thirdly, What we are to understand by being " made kings and priests unto God, and his "father." And,

Fourthly, A word or two as to that glory and dominion which are due to the Lord.

And, first, We are to consider the import of these words" Him that hath loved us."

This is a fubject so extensive, fo boundless in its own nature, that all language fails in the defcription of it. The personage here spoken of, is, we know,

no