tion? Heb. i. 14. He is likewise the head sceptre of universal government; and, instead of angels, though they are not in the same of being surrounded by insulting men, he is near relation to him as the sinners whom he now encircled by adoring angels. Therefore has redeemed with his blood; for he took not they rejoice with joy unspeakable, expecting on him their nature. There was no redemp-soon to see him as he is, and to be with him tion appointed for the angels who kept not for ever, according to the gracicus promise their first habitation. But the confirmation he has made them, and the tenor of his preof those who continue in holiness and happi- vailing intercession for them. ness, is in and through him, "For all things both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, are gathered together in one (ava

bered among the children of God, and his lot | his presence is with them in their secret reis among the saints!" Wisdom, v. 1—5.

tirements, and in their public assemblies, according to his promise. He hears and answers their prayers, he revives their spirits, he renews their strength; he gives them reason to say, that a day in his courts is better than a thousand of the world's days. Such are their expectations, and such, in the exercise of faith, is their experience. They worship him whom the angels worship; and they know, that, unworthy and defective as they are, their worship is no less acceptable to him, than that of the angels in glory, by virtue of their relation to him, who is Lord both of angels and men.

3. We may well admire the condescension of this great King, who humbleth himself even to notice the worship of heaven, that he should look upon the worship of sinful men with acceptance, and permit such worms as we are to take his holy name upon our polluted lips. If we know ourselves, we must be conscious of such defects and defilement attending our best services, as are sufficient to affect us with shame and humiliation. What wanderings of imagination, what risings of evil thoughts, what unavoidable though unhallowed workings of self-complacence, mingle with our prayers and praises, 4. Hence we may infer the necessity of and disturb us in our secret retirements, in that change of heart, which the scripture exthe public assembly, and even at the table of presses by a new birth, a new life, a new the Lord! I hope we know enough of this, to creation, and other representations, which be sensible that we need forgiveness, not only denote it can be effected only by divine for our positive transgressions of his will, but power. Till we are the subjects of this opefor our sincerest, warmest, and most enlarged ration, we are incapable of enjoying, or even attempts to render him the glory due to his of seeing the kingdom of God, John iii. 3. name! Yet we are incompetent and partial Though to outward appearance the congrejudges of ourselves; we know but little of the gation before me seem all to be serious and evil of our own hearts, and have but a slight attentive, as if engaged in the same design, sense of the malignity of that evil which is and animated with the same desire and hope, within our observation. But the Lord searches he to whom our hearts are known, doubtless the heart and the reins; to him all things are observes a great difference. Some of you, naked, without covering, open, without con- though custom, or a regard to your conneccealment, Heb. iv. 13. He understandeth tions, brings you hither, yet must be sensible our thoughts afar of, and beholdeth us exactly that this is not your chosen ground, and that as we are. Our dislike of sin is proportion- these are not the subjects which give you able to our attainments in holiness, which are pleasure. We preach Christ Jesus and him exceedingly short of the standard. But he is crucified-Christ Jesus the Lord. The Lord infinitely holy, and therefore evil is unspeak- sees, though I cannot, the indisposition ably hateful to him. How vile and abominable of your hearts towards him. You are soon therefore must our sins appear in his view! weary and uneasy; and you wish to throw Indeed, if he were strict to mark what is the blame of your uneasiness upon the amiss, we could not stand a moment before preacher. You regard his method, his manhim, nor would it be agreeable to his majesty ner, his expressions, with no friendly intenand purity to accept any services or prayers tion, in hopes of noticing something that may at our hands, if we presumed to offer them in seem to justify your dislike; and a sermon, not our own name. But now there is an atone- very long in itself, is to you very tedious. ment provided, and a way of access to a We wish well to your souls, we study to find throne of grace, sprinkled with the blood out acceptable words; for though we dare not which speaketh better things than the blood trifle with or flatter you, we are unwilling to of Abel. Now that we have an Advocate, give you just offence. But if you will be Intercessor, and High-Priest to bear the ini- faithful to yourselves, you may perceive that quity of our holy things, we are accepted in it is not so much the length or the manner, the Beloved. Now the great and holy God as the subject of our sermons, that disgusts vouchsafes to admit such sinners into com- you. You would, perhaps, hear with more. munion with himself. He invites us to draw attention and patience, did we speak less of near with boldness; and because of ourselves him whom the angels worship. There are we know not how to pray as we ought, (Rom. assemblies more suited to your taste, and viii. 26,) he favours us with the influence of there are public speakers to whom you can his Holy Spirit. It is a great instance of the probably afford a willing ear, for a much. power of faith, that, remembering what we longer time than we detain you; because. have been, and feeling what we are, and there you are at home. You are of the having some right apprehension of him with world, and you love the world. The amusewhom we have to do, we are enabled to ap-ments, the business, the converse, and the. proach him with confidence, and to open our hearts to him with greater liberty than we can use to our dearest earthly friends. His people know, by many infallible proofs, that

customs of the world, suit your inclination. But here you are not, if I may so speak, in your proper element: and yet it may be,. there are persons in the same seat with you.

wonderful manner over-ruling their evil conduct for future good to themselves. Thus Jesus was despised, rejected, and sold; and he was actually slain. But he arose and ascended. The man of sorrows took possession of the throne of glory; and not for himself only. His honour is the source of happiness to those who were once his enemies, and rebellious against him. For the sake of such he lived and died. For their sakes he lives and reigns. He fought, conquered, and triumphed over their enemies. As their representative, he received gifts to bestow upon them such gifts as their necessities re

pleased to stand in to them, and from the value and dignity of his engagements on their behalf: such gifts as he alone could communicate, and which alone could restore them to the favour of God, and revive his image in their hearts; so as to make it suitable to his holiness and truth, for the Lord God to return to his polluted temples, and to dwell in them and among them.

who think themselves happy to hear what | subsistence, honour, and comfort; God in a you hear with indifference or disgust. If you knew your state as a sinner, your need of a Saviour, and the excellency and glory of the Saviour whom we preach to you, you likewise would be pleased; and a preacher of very moderate powers would fix your attention, and gain your esteem, if he preached this gospel. But what ideas do you form of a future state? Surely you cannot suppose, that in the eternal world you will meet with any of the poor expedients you have recourse to now, for filling up your time, which otherwise would hang heavy upon your hands. To attempt a detail of the round of vanities which constitute a worldly life, would be un-quired, derived from the relation he was suitable to the dignity of the pulpit. Let it suffice, that death will remove you from them all. If they are now necessary to what you account your happiness, must you not of course be miserable without them? If you believe you shall_exist hereafter, do you not desire heaven? But such a heaven as the word of God describes could not afford you happiness, unless your mind be previously changed and disposed to relish it. Neither the employment nor the company of heaven would be pleasing to you. It is a state where all the inhabitants unite in admiring and adoring him who died upon the cross. If this subject is displeasing to you here, it would be much more so there. Heaven itself would be a hell to an unhumbled, an unholy soul. Consider this seriously, while there is time to seek his face; and tremble at the thoughts of being cut off by death in your present state, insensible as you are of who he is, and what he has done for sinners. May he enlighten your understanding, and enable you to see the things pertaining to your true peace, before they are for ever hidden from your eyes!

SERMON XXIX.

GIFTS RECEIVED FOR THE REBELLIOUS.

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. -Psalm lxviii. 18.

WHEN Joseph exchanged a prison for the chief honour and government of Egypt, (Gen. xlv. 4, 5,) the advantage of his exaltation was felt by those who little deserved it. His brethren hated, and had conspired to kill him. And though he was preserved from death, they were permitted to sell him for a bondservant. He owed his servitude, imprisonment, and sufferings to them; and they were afterwards indebted to him for their lives,

I observed, in a former discourse, that this psalm and the twenty-fourth were probably composed and first published on the memorable occasion, when David, having obtained the victory over his numerous enemies, and settled his kingdom in peace, removed the ark, which till then had no fixed residence, into Zion. The apostle's application of this passage, (Eph. iv. 8,) authorises us to consider that transaction as typical of our Lord's ascension. Jesus is the true ark. The holy law of God was in his heart; his obedience unto death was fully commensurate to the demands of the law, (Rom. iii. 25,) as the mercy-seat, or propitiation, which covered the ark, was exactly equal to its dimensions. He who had thus obeyed on earth, ascended on high, the everlasting gates unfolded, and he entered into the holy place not made with hands, there to appear in the presence of God for us, Heb. ix. 24. In this state he is highly exalted upon the throne of glory, and administers all power in heaven and in earth, From hence is the honour, safety, and hap piness of those who believe in him. They have nothing to plead for themselves. But unworthy as they are, he is not ashamedto own them; and he assures them,, that all he did, and that all he has received, so far as. they are capable of sharing in it, is for them. The clauses, as they lie in the text, suggest a convenient method for our meditations, and will lead me briefly to consider four points

His ascension-his victories-the gifts he received for men-and the great end for which he bestows them.

I. His ascension-"Thou hast ascended on high."-God formed man originally for himself, and gave him an answerable capacity, so that no inferior good can satisfy and

while he is the servant, the slave of corruption. He is not always, and in every sense, a willing captive. Conscience sometimes remonstrates, fills him with fears and forebodings, which make him struggle to be free. And there are many sins, which, besides being offences against the law of God, are directly contrary to the sinner's present interest and welfare; and would be so upon his own plan, and if he was wholly his own master, and had no account to render of his

ness, or drunkenness, need not be told from the pulpit, that the courses they pursue are injurious to their health, their business, or

fill his mind. Man was likewise, by the con- consider, "death is swallowed up in vicstitution and will of his Maker, immortal, tory." Man by nature is a captive, in a state provided he persevered in obedience. But of confinement and bondage, from which he sin degraded and ruined him, shut the gates cannot escape by any address or effort of his of paradise and the gates of heaven against own. him. Man destroyed himself; but wisdom He is a captive to sin: a sinful state is a and mercy interposed for his recovery. A state of bondage; and this, notwithstanding promise was given of the seed of the woman, the sinner is a willing captive, speaks swellwho should bruise the serpent's head, defeating words of vanity, and boasts of liberty, his policy, destroy his power, and repair the mischiefs he had introduced by sin. Messiah fulfilled this promise. And when he had finished all that was appointed for him on earth, as the second Adam, the head and representative of his people, he ascended on high, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. As an illustrious proof to the universe, that God is reconciled; that there is forgiveness with him for sinners who implore his mercy; one in our nature, and on our behalf, has taken possession of the king-conduct. Persons enslaved to habits of lewddom. The series of texts in this part of the Oratorio recalls this subject frequently to our thoughts; nor can we think of it too often. It is the foundation of our hopes, the source of our sublimest joys, and the sufficient the only sufficient answer to all the ggestions by which guilt, fear, unbelief, and Satan, fight against our peace. Surrounded as we are with enemies and difficulties, we plead against every accusation and threatening, that our Head is in heaven; we have an advocate with the Father, a High-Priest upon the throne, who, because he ever liveth to make intercession, is able to save to the uttermost. This is all our plea, nor do we desire any other. His ascension on high, is a sure pledge that his servants shall follow him, John xii. 26. And even at present, by faith they ascend and are seated with him in the heavenly places, Eph. ii. 6. They behold invisibles with the eye of their mind; they realize the glorious scene, from which they are separated by the vail of flesh and blood. They know that, even now, day and night, day without night, myriads of golden harps and happy voices resound his praise. The Babe of Bethlehem, the Man who once hung dead and forsaken upon the cross, is now the Lord of glory. In the thought of his glory they greatly rejoice, because they love him, and because they expect shortly to be with him.

stance, their reputation, and their peace. They know it and feel it, without a monitor. There are seasons, when the ill consequences they bring upon themselves, make them sick of the drudgery, and excite some efforts to wards a reform. But in vain. The next return of temptation bears down all their resolutions like a torrent, and, after every attempt to amend, they usually become worse than before. For none can escape, unless the Son makes them free. His grace can overcome the most obstinate habits of licentiousness, and implant the contrary habits of purity and temperance. But they who are not delivered by him must die in their chains.

III. The gifts he received for men"Thou hast received gifts, even for the rebellious." To bestow gifts upon the miserable is bounty; but to bestow them upon rebels, is grace. The greatness of the gifts contrasted with the characters of those whe receive them, displays the exceeding riches of the Redeemer's grace. He came to save. not the unhappy only, but the ungodly. He gives pardon, peace, and eternal life, to his enemies; whose minds are so entirely alienated from him, that until he makes them willing in the day of his power, their minds are determined against accepting any II. His victories "Thou hast led cap- favour from him. They live long in contivity captive." The expression is emphati- tempt of the law and authority of God; and cal. He has conquered and triumphed over though justly obnoxious to his displeasure, all the powers which held us in captivity, so while left to themselves, they despise and that captivity itself is taken captive. The reject the proposals of his mercy. If they spirit and force of it is destroyed; and his sometimes acknowledge themselves to be people, when released by him, and walking sinners, they still presume that they are able in his ways, have no more to apprehend from to procure his favour by their own performthose whose captives they were, than a con- ances. They strangely imagine they have a queror has to fear from a prisoner in chains. sufficient ground of hope, so long as it apThe energy of the phrase is not unlike that pears to themselves that they are not altoof the apostle, which we are hereafter together so bad as others. And when, by the