A

O God, is for ever and ever: the feptre of thy kingdom is a right fceptre. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and ales, and cafia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. What warmth of affection is here! How do the expreffions glow with love and gratitude! How dif ferent to the cold jingle which paffes for preaching the Gospel in our times. How would the Saints, in early ages, have pitied, if not defpifed, the cold haranguers, the chriftless declaimers, who now infult the Lord of Glory, by fetting up a chain of pretty, useless words, inftead of Him who redeemed us! hufks, instead of the bread of life; tinfel, instead of gold; and yielding fand, inflead of the Rock of Ages.

I don't wonder that the Song of Solomon is quite out of date, and treated with contempt, by all fuch as are ftrangers to him who is the chief fubject thereof. Indeed the cold enquiry was then, What is thy beloved more than another beloved ?—-And, with the fame apathy and indif. ference, will men enquire now; the man of trade, or honour, or pleasure; the proud philofopher, the dry reafoner, the carnal profeffor, or, in a word, any one, who either knows not the Saviour, or feels no need of him. But the warm-hearted believer can answer with a heavenly pathos, My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefeft among ten thousand. His head is the most fine gold; bis locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves, washed with milk, and fitly fet: His cheeks are as a bed of Spices, as faweet flowers: his lips like lillies, dropping fweetSmelling myrrh: His hands are as gold rings set with the beryt

*Pfalm xlv. 1-8.

beryl; his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires: His legs are as pillars of marble, fet upon fockets of fine gold; his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars: His mouth is most faveet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerufalem †. Sach is the pathetic language of the Bride of the Lamb. But what a confufed medley of words, and what unmeaning jargon is all this in the ears of a stranger to the bleeding Cross? In this refpect, what a difference be tween the feeling preacher and the cold declaimer! One speaks like the real mother of the living child, with warmth and affection; but the other only like the pretended mother, who was perfectly indifferent whether the child was flain or kept alive, and therefore coldly faid, Let it neither be mine nor thine, but let it be divided ‡.

9. Now will be the day of the Son of Man, the Lord from heaven; the true Light will fhine forth, and all fhall love him, and admire him. Now will the exhortation be fully verified,-Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for it becometh the just to be thankful ||. O yes, every knee shall bow, and every tongue fhall confefs him to be Lord to the glory of the Father. This will abforbe all envy, all malice and difcord, all hatred and guile, feeing self and fin are happily lost in the fountain open for fin and uncleanness; while all are filled with love and joy unspeakable.

Such will be that blessed time, and fuch the happy changes which will mark out that glorious day of Ema

nuel's

+ Song v. 10---16,

Kings iii. 26.

Pf. xxxiii. 1.

nuel's power. So far the Oracles of God will bear us out, and I fee nothing herein absurd or inconfiftent with the nature or attributes of the Deity; nothing that can flacken the reins of morality-nothing that can countenance fin-that can open the flood-gates of ungodliness, or excite any one to act out of their place or station; but, on the contrary, if the honour of God, if the love of Jefus, have any motives, any influences-if the happiness of ourselves, or our fellow-creatures, can avail any thing, then, furely, here they look us full in the face, and, with the fmiles of Heaven, call upon us to labour after that Mind and Spirit which has been fet forth in the course of these Sermons; and especially in this laft. No, this doctrine breathes,-Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and good-will to mankind!

SERMON

SERMON X.

The Glory of Chrift feen by all.

MATH. vi.-13.

For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever and ever.

I

AM now come to confider that blessed period when the

Sun of righteousness fhall fhine in fuch luftre, as hath yet never been feen; and when his glory fhall fill all lands when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God, and of his Christ, for ever; feeing he will take unto himself his great power, and will reign. For the Gentiles will come to his light, and kings to the brightness of his rifing *. The grand fpoiler being under restraint, and the courfe of Nature happily reftored to its original beauty, harmony, and order,— thefe, like so many harbingers, will usher in the glory of the Lord. Therefore, I apprehend, this divine prayer, from which the text is taken, to be, in its different petitions, like so many steps to that glorious event. We address Jehovah as the parent and author of all good, and defire that his glorious name may be had in reverence by

all. To that bleffed end, we pray, that the kingdom of grace may come in such wise, that his will may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. To Him we feek for daily fuftenance, both of foul and body; and also that our iniquity may be forgiven us, and all mankind; fo that we may love God with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves. In like manner that we may not be led into, or left, in any temptations, trials, or difficulties; but that we may be compleatly delivered from every evil of body or mind. Being thus raifed up, fuftained, pardoned, and accepted, we juftly afcribe the Kingdom, Power, and Glory, unto the LORD; and this Kingdom is not a creature of a day, but, being founded in grace, it shall terminate in endless glory, unfolding its brightness ages without end. Therefore this divine doxology is very properly brought in here, in the close, and reverently ascribed to its Divine Author; to whom it juftly belongs.-I fhall now attend to this glorious fubject, by confidering,

I. The Nature and Progrefs of this Kingdom.

II. This Kingdom, Power, and Glory, is the Lord's. 1. It is a spiritual kingdom, and, therefore, hath nothing to do with the power and craft of this world, seeing it is not of a corruptible nature; nor is founded, or preferved, by the fchemes and ftratagems of men; for its leading characters are, joy and peace in believing-loving and obeying the heavenly Sovereign-who will take unto himself his great power, and will reign. It is true, it includes the world, and every thing in it; but every earthly confideration fhall be reduced to its juft ftate and place, and brought into an entire obedience to the Son

of