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his holy name upon our polluted lips; but then, if we have a proportionable sense of his unbounded goodness and grace, every difficulty is overruled; and we feel a liberty of drawing near to him, though with reverence, yet with the confidence of children when they speak to an affectionate parent.

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A person may be meek, though in an elevated situation of life; but Jesus was likewise lowly. There was nothing in his external appearance to intimidate the poor and the miserable from coming to him. He was lowly or humble. Custom, which fixes the force and acceptation of words, will not readily allow us to speak of humility as applicable to the great God. Yet it is said, "He "humbleth himself to behold the things that are "in heaven and in earth."* Humility, in strictness of speech, is, an attribute of magnanimity; an indifference to the little distinctions by which weak and vulgar minds are affected. In the view of the "high and holy One who inhabiteth eternity," all distinctions that can obtain among creatures vanish; and he humbles himself no less to notice the worship of an angel, than the fall of a sparrow to the ground. But we more usually express this idea by the term condescension. Such was the mind that was in Christ. It belonged to his dignity, as Lord of all, to look with an equal eye upon all his creatures. None could recommend themselves to him by their rank, wealth, or abilities, the gifts of his own bounty; none were excluded from his regard, by the want of those things which are in estimation among men. And, to stain the pride of human glory, he was pleased to assume a humble state. Though he "was rich, he made himself poor,"§ for the sake

Psal. cxiii. 6. † Isa. lvii, 15. † Phil. ii. 5.

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§ 2 Cor. viii. 9.

of those whom he came into the world to save. In this respect he teaches us by his example. "He took upon him the form of a servant, a poor and obscure man, to abase our pride, to cure us of selfishness, and to reconcile us to the cross.

The happy effect of his instructions upon those who receive them, is "rest to their souls." This has been spoken to before; but, as it is repeated in the text, I shall not entirely pass it over here. He gives rest to our souls,-By restoring us to our proper state of dependence upon God; a state of reconciliation and peace, and deliverance from guilt and fear; a state of subjection; for till our wills are truly subjected to the will of God, we can have no rest,-By showing us the vanity of the world, and thereby putting an end to our wearisome desires and pursuits after things uncertain, frequently unattainable, always unsatisfying,--By a communication of sublimer pleasures and hopes than the present state of things can possibly afford,-And, lastly, by furnishing us with those aids, motives, and encouragements, which make our duty desirable, practicable, and pleasant.

How truly then may it be said, that "his yoke " is easy, and his burden light!" such a burden as wings are to a bird, raising the soul above the low and groveling attachments to which it was once confined. They only can rightly judge of the value of this rest who are capable of contrasting it with the distractions and miseries, the remorse and forebodings, of those who live without God in the world.

But we are all, by profession, his scholars. Ought we not seriously to inquire, what we have

* Phil. ii. 7.

actually learned from him? Surely the proud, the haughty, the voluptuous, and the worldly, though they have heard of his name, and may have attended on his institutions, have not hitherto sat at his feet, or drank of his spirit. It requires no long train of examination to determine whether you have entered into his rest, or not; or, if you have not yet attained it, whether you are seeking it in the ways of his appointment. It is a rest for the soul, it is a spiritual blessing, and therefore does not necessarily depend upon external circumstances. Without this rest, you must be restless and comfortless in a palace. If you have it, you may be, at least comparatively, happy in a dungeon. To-day, if not before to-day, while it is called to day, hear his voice; and while he says to you by his word, "Come unto me, and learn of 66 me," let your hearts answer, "Behold we come "unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God."*

* Jer. iii. 22.

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PART II.

SERMON XVI.

THE LAMB OF GOD, THE GREAT ATONEMENT.

JOHN, i. 29.

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!

"GREAT and marvellous are the works of the "Lord God Almighty!" We live in the midst of them; and the little impression they make upon us, sufficiently proves our depravity. He is great in the very smallest; and there is not a plant, flower, or insect, but bears the signature of infinite wisdom and power. How sensibly then should we be affected by the consideration of the whole, if sin had not blinded our understandings, and hardened our hearts! In the beginning, when all was dark, unformed, and waste, his powerful word produced light, life, beauty, and order. He commanded the sun to shine, and the planets to roll. The immensity of creation is far beyond the reach of our conceptions. The innumerable stars, the worlds, which, however large in themselves, are, from their remoteness, but barely visible to us, are of little more immediate and known use, than to enlarge our idea of the greatness of their Au

thor. Small, indeed, is the knowledge we have of our own system; but we know enough to render our indifference inexcusable. The glory of the sun must strike every eye; and in this enlightened age, there are few persons but have some ideas of the magnitude of the planets, and the rapidity and regularity of their motions. Farther, the rich variety which adorns this lower creation, the dependence and relation of the several parts, and their general subserviency to the accommodation of man, the principal inhabitant, together with the preservation of individuals, and the continuance of every species of animals, are subjects not above the reach of common capacities, and which afford almost endless and infinite scope for reflection and admiration. But the bulk of mankind regard them not. The vicissitudes of day and night, and of the revolving seasons, are to them matters of course, as if they followed each other without either cause or design. And though the philosophers, who professedly attach themselves to the study of the works of nature, are overwhelmed by the traces of a wisdom and arrangement which they are unable to comprehend; yet few of them are led to reverential thoughts of God, by their boasted knowledge of his creatures. Thus men "live without God in. "the world," though they "live, and move, and "have their being in him," and are incessantly surrounded by the most striking proofs of his presence and energy. Perhaps an earthquake, or a hurricane, by awakening their fears, may force upon their minds a conviction of his power over them, and excite an occasional momentary application to him; but when they think the danger over, they relapse into their former stupidity.

What can engage the attention, or soften the obduracy of such creatures? Behold, one wonder

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