his own glorified body. And he too is the sole Judge of the world; who shall pronounce by his own authority the irreversible sentence by which we must be either admitted into everlasting bliss, or doomed to eternal punishment. Thus, with respect to inan, he is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End; the Author of all his blessings present, or in prospect; the great Object of his veneration, hope, and love. In all things he has the pre-eminence, and in him all fulness dwells for the creation, the government, the protection, the salvation of men.

Let it not be thought that while we attribute this pre-eminence, this fulness to Christ, we derogate from the honour and glory which belong to the Father; for it must be remembered that it is the will of the Father that, "all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father." It pleased the Father that "in him should all fulness dwell." "The Father judgeth no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son;" yet in the end all these offices of our Redeemer shall promote the Father's glory. This was the final aim and object of Christ; and it was his prayer, while on earth, "Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify Thee." The mediatorial kingdom is entrusted to Him for this very purpose, "till he shall have subdued all his enemies under his feet;" till he shall have repaired the ruin made by sin in his Father's dominions, and restored the creature to the capacity of fulfilling the end of his creation, and of reflecting glory upon the God who made him. When this is accomplished, "then cometh the end when he shall deliver up the kingdom," the office and government which he received as Mediator, to God, even the Father: and "then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." The œconomy of Grace shall be superseded; the Godhead itself, the Trinity in Unity, become the immediate dispenser of blessings, and resume the empire of the worlds. When we entertain the fear that we may derogate from the

Father's honour by ascribing so much power and glory to Christ, we do not sufficiently reflect on the union and identity of their nature. Suppose that an earthly monarch were to entrust the charge of some distant and rebellious province to his son, that he were to commit the government into his hands, and invest him with all the dignity and authority of the crown: this transfer of the regal prerogative would not necessarily detract from the father's greatness: it might tend to its support and extension; the province might afterwards be restored to it sovereign, freed from disloyalty, augmented in its revenues, more efficient in its resources, a support to the empire, and an ornament to the crown. Could it be said, that in this case the honour paid to the son detracted from the father's glory? Or rather, would there not be a perfect identity of the interests of the father and the son? In the mediatorial kingdom of Christ there is this identity. The union is mysterious indeed, and incomprehensible, but altogether complete and perfect; so that the Son is truly one with the Father, and the honour paid to the Son is virtually paid to the Father himself. It is according to his will, in conformity to his appointment, and tending to his glory.

But further, if we honour the Father without the Son, lest otherwise we should derogate from the glory of the Father, is there no presumption, no danger nor guilt, in thus rejecting the counsel of God, and taking upon us to be wise "above" and against "what is written?" Has he not himself given us a dispensation, according to which, "it has pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell" in the Son, and that pardon and life should be administered only through him! If such be the character of the revelation which he has afforded, it is surely our first duty to honour him in his appointed way, and thankfully to receive his salvation. The system of redemption is grounded on our character as sinners. Had we continued innocent as at first created, we might perhaps have worshipped God, without the

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intervention of a Mediator; and the time will come when the Son having put all enemies under his feet, will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, that God may be all in all. But till that day shall arrive we live under a dispensation in which the Son is exhibited to us as the great object of love and adoration. He is our Creator-our Redeemer-our Sanctifierour Governor-and our Judge; and to rebel against his authority, even under pretence of honouring the Father, may be considered as rebellion against the Father himself; for the only mode in which man can honour God, must be his obedience to his will; and when that will is plainly revealed, we must obey it, whatever it may be, without hesitation, dispute, or murmuring. The Jews had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge; arising from partial views and unwarranted conceptions of the Divine nature and character. This zeal dictated their opposition to Christ. They put him to death, because "being a man,” he said “that God was his Father;" thus "making himself equal with God." But they are held up as an awful example of the danger of rejecting the counsel of God, even through zeal for his attributes; and their house is left unto them desolate, till the day when they shall bow to the authority of Christ, and say, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord."

This, my brethren, is not a subject of merely speculative theology: it is calculated to promote feelings the most essential both to our encouragement and to our progress in holiness.

1. It should lead us to adore that God who, with such unspeakable love, has provided for us a full, perfect, and sufficient atonement; not withholding his only Son, but giving him up for us all. Herein, indeed, was love-infinite love, such as could only have dwelt in the Divine nature, that in order to save us from destruction God "spared not his own Son." Let none think that in our view of this plan of redemption the Father is represented as stern and unforgiving, and the Son alone as mild and gracious; the Father as rig

orously just, while the Son yearns over us with compassion; the Father full of wrath, which the Son dies to appease: for the Scriptures every where represent each of these Divine Persons as concurring in the grand scheme of our redemption; as having devised and carried it on, from first to last, in concert with each other. As there is unity of nature, so is there an unity of will and disposition. In both, the love, the mercy, the compassion are equal. It was the Father who gave us so great and glorious a Saviour: it was his "will" which Christ came "to do" when, the inefficacy of all other expiation being declared, he laid aside his glory, and quitted the right hand of Majesty in the heavens, to shroud his Godhead in a veil of flesh, to dwell with rebels in a world of sin and misery; and at length to die by their hands, that he might remove the heavy curse which lay upon them, and redeem them to God by his blood. Then said he, "Lo, I come: in the volume of the Book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God.”

Let us then adore him, when we contemplate the greatness and glory of our Redeemer, and the various offices which he fulfils, and the innumerable benefits which are derived to us from this unspeakable gift. We know comparatively little of God, but as we behold him in Christ: here his character shines forth most conspicuously. Angels strive to improve their knowledge of Jehovah by the contemplation of his love in our redemption; and shall not we adore him, who have all the benefit of this his inestimable love? While we enjoy the cheering influences of the sun, should we forget who fixed his orb in the firmament, and clothed him with light and glory, and bade his bright and vivifying rays shine forth on every planet within his system? And shall we be insensible to the goodness of him who bade the Sun of righteousness arise on this benighted world, with healing in his beams? No! let our praises continually ascend through Jesus Christ to the Throne of the Most High; and while we daily advance in our knowledge of the blessings contained in the Covenant

of Grace, let us adore the wisdom which contrived it, and the love which gave us a Saviour so entirely suited to our necessities, and so "able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God through him."

2. Nor let the tribute of gratitude, of holy praise, and love be withheld from him who assumed so many offices in our behalf. What tongue of men or of augels can fully tell, what imagination can justly conceive, what heart can worthily feel the extent of our obligations to that Gracious Being, who, though by him all things were created, and though he was our natural Sovereign and Lord, yet, for our sakes, emptied himself of all his glory, assumed our nature, dwelt among us, became our instructor and example, and suffered an ignominious death on the cross for our sins; and who, rising from the dead, ascended into his native heavens in the character of our Intercessor and Advocate; that having atoned for our offences he might plead that atonement for us with the Father, and be the Agent from first to last in bringing his redeemed to glory.

Do we not owe to him, my brethren, our dearest hopes, our every enjoyment, the very life of our souls? Can any sacrifice for his sake be too great; any obedience be more than his due? Christ demands and deserves our hearts. Infinite have been his favours; unparalleled his love: and since all we possess has proceeded from him, he expects that in return we should devote it to him. He will not be satisfied with a cold form of worship. He requires our best affections and our highest confidence. "He that loveth father or mother, more than me is not worthy of me." If a a man prefer even his own life, so as to renounce Him and his Gospel for the sake of it, he is not a true disciple: for the deliberate preference of any earthly object is in fact a dishonour to him. We are, indeed, seldom required to prove our attachment to Christ by the actual voluntary surrender of any beloved relative; but we are most justly expected to testify our love by a conscientious obedience to all his precepts. We are to attend