Nor would it be of consequence, whether it were granted or denied; a mere man surveying us invisibly, now and then, could impart to us no spiritual blessing But if our great High-Priest be, indeed, in the most exalted sense, the Son of God, who is "passed through" * these lower heavens, and is" made higher than the heavens,' having" ascended up fur above all heavens, that he might fill all things," (according to the passage' which we heard explained this morning) and, if

all power be given unto him, in heaven and in earth," then, my brethren, your faith stands upon a firm foundation. He who, when he was upon earth, as to his humanity, could speak of himself as being in heaven;" can as easily grant you the presence of his Divinity, now his human nature is in the world above.

65

Let the extent of his regard to his church, be al. so remembered. In his last prayer with his disciples, he prayed not alone for thein who were present, but for all who should believe through their word. And he ever liveth, to make intercession for all them, who come unto God by him.” In

*Dieleluthota lous oupanous. Heb. iv. 14. vii, 26, Eph, iv. 9, 10.

+ By brother West, of Wantage.

Entugchanein uper auton. Heb. viii. 25. Mr. Belsham, a professed advocate of rational religion, supposes that the writers of the New-Testament themselves, annexed no very distinct idea to the phrase of Christ's making intercession, because Entugchanein. he observes, expresses any interference of one person for or against another. It is true, that in the Epistle to the Romans, Paul mentions Christ's making intercession FOR us, viii. 34; and Elijah's making intercession AGAINST Israel xi 2. And he uses this same verb, but with different prepositions, in both places. But can any ambiguity arise from employing one word, with prepositions of opposite import, to denote opposite things; Will not the things thus opposed rather illustrate cach other? Entugchanein uper, is to plead for, and Entugokaneir

every age hath his church been the object of his gracious regard: and he has fulfilled the promise which he made in the days of Zechariah, "Lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith Jehovah. And many nations shall be join ed unto Jehovah, in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah God of Hosts hath sent me unto thee "-To the primitive church under all the pagan persecutions, was this promise fulfilled; to the Waldenses and Albigenses in the darkest times of Popery; to the first reformers from Anti-christian error, and to their faithful successors; whether conformist or non-conformist; in this Island, on the continent of Europe, or in the wilds of North-America. And at this day, wherever two or three assemble in his name, at Birmingham or at Bristol, in London or at Edinburgh, in Old Holland or in New Holland, at Mudnabatty, or at Otaheite, at the Cape of Good Hope or in Kentucky, there may our distant brethren, as well as ourselves, expect our glorious Lord to fulfil his word, I will come unto you.

The express promises he has made, of which the text is one, and we have recited several others, forbid us to doubt of the bestowment of this invaluable blessing. Jesus is the "faithful and true Witness; the same yesterday, to-day and for

KATA, to plead against: the latter phrase is repeatedly used in the Maccabees, to express the act of complaining against, bringing an accusation against, makıng complaint against a person or persons 1. Mac. viii. 32. x, 61. 63. xi. 25. And as this is the part of a prosecutor or accuser, so the former is the part of an advocate, patron, or intercesThe Jews have adopted the two Greek terms Par akietos, an advocate, used 1 John, ii 1. and Kategoros, an accuser, used Rev. xii. 10. and employ both in the Chaldee paraphrase of Job. xxxiii. 23. " an Angel is prepared, one advocate among a thousand accusers See Outram de Sa crificiis, Lib. II Chap. VII.

ever. In him all the promises of God are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.' -He assured his servant Paul, in a season of peculiar difficulty, "My grace is sufficient for thee;" and the grace which could suffice for him, who accounted himself the chief of sinners, and less than the least of saints, is sufficient for us also. His strength is display ed to the greatest advantage in our weakness. O remember how it was lately displayed in the weakness, the extreme weakness of your dear dying Pastor, on whom the power of Christ so visibly rested. When his heart and flesh were failing, how did he rejoice in God his Saviour, as the strength of his heart, and his portion for ever! And is there a mourner present, so feeble, so disconsolate, so bereaved of every created source of bliss, as that this grace will not suffice for her support? Or will he, who kept his word with such "punctilious veracity" to the Husband, forget his promise to the Widow and the Fatherless? Assuredly he will not.

Remember, my brethren, the readiness of the Redeemer to hear and answer prayer.-Though Paul besought him thrice upon one subject, before he received an immediate reply, the promise was fulfilled even before it was pronounced; he, like one who lived long before him, and like myriads who have since made trial of the same resource, was "strengthened with strength in his soul," before the Saviour expressly declared, "My strength is made perfect in weakness." Continue therefore instant in prayer. Remember the apparent rebuffs encountered at first by the woman of Canaan, and how amply her faith was answered at last. Did not Jesus inculcate this maxim, "that men ought always to pray, and not to faint ;" and spake a parable to illustrate and enforce that duty? Rich blessings, I trust, are still in reserve for you, in answer to the many fervent petitions, which

с

your dear Pastor offered up on your behalf, from the time of his first acquaintance with this Church, and during better than nine years,* wherein he has more fully undertaken the oversight of you in the Lord. May you yourselves pray without ceas ing, and plead with the Lord his own exceeding great and precious promises, which will be found to contain blessings fully proportioned to all your necessities.

It was doubtless in consequence of many comfortable evidences that God has a number of spiritual worshippers among you, that my dear brother was encouraged to expect this declaration would be certainly fulfilled in your present circumstances. But though I gladly indulge a similar confidence, yet neither I, whose personal knowledge of you, is very confined, nor he, whose acquain tance was much more intimate and general, could answer for every professor among you. From what has taken place in all the large congregations I have known, I am afraid last the hopes of your Pastor may be disappointed, as to some individuals, whom he never suspected, but whose future apostacy will indicate the superficial nature of their present profession, and ensure them a final portion with hypocrites and unbelievers. Greatly shall I rejoice, if not one such character should ever be found among you; but to render the consolation in the text more certain in its personal application, I must exhort you to examine and prove your own selves, and to give all diligence to make your cal ling and election sure. Unless you are such of whom God disapproves, Christ is in you, the hope of glory; he dwells in your hearts by faith, and you begin to be conformed to his lovely image. You account mental nearness to God the chief good. You value communion with him above all the world. Is not this the case, my brethren? I trust you can say with the Psalmist, Whom have *He was ordained, August, 1790,

Lin heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. Fear not, that the Lord will frustrate the desires his own Spirit has excited, or abandon that soul, whose wishes centre wholly in himself.

In the mean while, to increase the intenseness of your desires after the presence of Christ, let us proceed to consider

2. The magnitude of the promise.

Has Christ said, "I will come unto you?" and have you been told to-night that his presence can make up every loss? Well may you credit the assertion, if you consider what is intended by the promise in the text.

It imports that he will manifest to you his glory. And O how delightful the sight! Lord!" said Jude, "how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us and not unto the world?" This exclamation might denote partial ignorance, as well as grateful surprise but the secret was in great measure explained, when the Spirit was poured out from on high. Then Paul observed," God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ:" so that while others have " their understandings darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance which is in them, because of the blindness (or rather the callousness,*) of their hearts; we all, with open face, beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord."

If the Lord grant you his special presence, you will not only realize his essential and mediatorial glory, but be cheered also with a lively sense of his

*Diaten porosin tes kardias auton. Eph. iv. 18. Porosis concretio quæ in calum fit. In sacris literis porasis kardias qum cocccalluit. Scapula. Robertson.