love flowed spontaneously and unceasingly. Having fixed His heart upon our ruined race, He removed from the world the ponderous weight of eternal wrath, and revealed the way of salvation, through faith in His precious blood. He has disclosed the mind of God, and opened the resources of His boundless grace to all the human family. His language is, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else."* He who dwells in light ineffable, reaches forth the sceptre of peace and happiness to rebel man. Ye nations of the earth, bow with sacred awe before Him whose frown dries up the waters, whose beck uproots the pillars of the earth. What is man, but dust and ashes? a complicated mass of corruptible matter-an enemy to himself and to his Creator. Amazing mystery! the insulted One proclaims forgiveness; the immaculate One offers * Isaiah xlv. 22. purity to our defiled nature! He who is the Fountain of life and happiness, riches and honour, is pleased to confer upon abject poverty, misery, and death, all the blessings of "eternal life;" aye, to "exalt a worm to God." And shall we refuse to present our feeble tribute of praise? Shall creatures of a meaner race fill the air with their harmonious strains to the great Benefactor of all, and man, rational and immortal man, remain dumb, deaf, and blind, to the blessings of His providence Awake! ye dormant faculties of the soul, ye deep springs of the heart; join in concert with the seraphs before the throne; and chant the praises of the great I AM; for He is almighty in power, infinite in goodness, boundless in wisdom, mercy, and love. But, although the Gospel of Christ is designed to raise us into the enjoyment of the blessings of the "new and and better covenant," to prepare our souls for the "inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation;"* be assured, the Divine Being will only accept those who are willing to submit to the influence of His grace and Spirit; who feel their deeply polluted state by nature, and have recourse to the atoning and sanctifying blood of Christ for mercy and salvation. His blood is the sinner's only plea. How glorious, transcendently glorious, is the thought, "Through His blood there is forgiveness of sins," be they ever so numerous and aggravated. All our hope of heaven comes through this sacred channel, which should fill our hearts with gratitude and joy. What infinite obligations we are under to the Lord Jesus Christ, for the ample provision He has made in His sacred Word, for poor, offending sinners. Here is a never failing source of happiness to all who will seek their happiness therein. His hands are full of blessings, ever ready and willing to dispense them to those who implore His grace. * 1 Peter i. 4. and The more acutely we feel our vileness, absolute dependence upon Christ, the more liberal will be the bestowment of His mercy to us. Humility and sincerity never fail to attract His attention and special regard. "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. When the soul loathes and abhors itself and sin, and beholds the excellency of Christ, and the blessings of the Gospel of peace, so as to implicitly and exclusively rely upon His atoning sacrifice for mercy, is made a partaker of the grace which brings salvation, faith realizes the forgiveness of sins, and the Spirit testifies to his soul, that "God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven him." "Exults His rising soul, Disburdened of its load, * Isaiah Ivii. 15. Peace is the immediate result of justification. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ."* No longer does the "carnal mind," which is "enmity against God," predominate; but his soul partakes of the Divine nature, and he is anxious to be "filled with all the fullness of God." Hence he rises above the influence of the world-aspires after higher objects-objects more in accordance with the change which has been wrought. Unto him "Christ is precious:" infinitely more valuable than gold or pearls. The riches and pleasures of the present world are but insignificant things in his estimation, when brought into competition with the "excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord." His language is "All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood." The more he contemplates the hallowed Cross, the more he is enamoured with it, and would * Romans v. 1. |