blemished sacrifice of himself. The law he has fulfilled, by his perfect obedience. The sinner he transforms, by his sanctifying spirit.-In a word; he hath both presented us with a clear discovery of good things to come, and administered to us an abundant entrance into the final enjoyment of them. Whenever, therefore, we bless God for the cir cling seasons, and revolving day; let us adore, thankfully adore him, for the more precious appearance of the sun of righteousness, and his glorious gospel; without which, we should have been groping, even to this hour, in spiritual darkness, and the shadow of death: without which, we must have wandered in a maze of inextricable uncertainties; and have "stumbled upon the dark "mountains" of error, till we fell into the bottomless pit of perdition. Without that grand enlivening principle, what were this earth but a lifeless mass? A rude lump of inactive matter? The trees could never break forth into leaves, nor the plants spring up into flowers. We should no more behold the meadows mantled over with green, nor the vallies standing thick with corn: or, to speak in the beautiful language of a prophet; No longer would the fig-tree blossom, nor fruit be in the vine: the labour of the olive would fail, and the fields could yield no meat: the flocks must be cut off from the fold, and there would be no herd in the stalls.-The sun darts its beams among all the vegetable tribes; and paints the spring, and enriches the autumn. This pierces to the roots of the vineyard and the orchard; and sets afloat those fermenting juices, which at length burst into floods of wine, or bend the boughs with a mellow load.-Nor are its favours confined to the upper regions, but distributed unto the deep * Hab. iii. 17. est recesses of creation. It penetrates the beds of metal, and finds its way to the place of the sapphires. It tinctures the seeds of gold, that are ripening into ore; and throws a brilliancy into the water of the diamond, that is hardening on its rock. In short, the beneficial agency of this magnificent luminary is inexpressible. It beautifies. and impregnates universal nature. "There is "nothing bid from the heat thereof." Just in the same manner were the rational world dead in trespasses and sins, without the reviving energy of Jesus Christ. He is the "resurrection "and the life" the overflowing fountain of the one, and the all-powerful cause of the other. The second Adam is a quickening spirit, and all his saints live through him. He shines upon their affections; and they shoot forth into heavenly graces, and abound in the fruits of righteousness. Faith unfeigned, and love undissembled, those noblest productions of the renewed nature, are the effects of his operation on the mind. Not so much as one divine disposition could spread itself, not one christian habit unfold and flourish, without the kindly influences of his grace. As there is no fruitfulness, so likewise no cheerfulness, without the sun.-When that auspicious sovereign of the day diffuses the mildness of his morning splendor, he creates an universal festival. Millions of glittering insects awake into existence, and bask in his rays. The birds start from their slumbers, and pour their delighted souls in harmony. The flocks, with bleating accents, hail the welcome blessing. The vallies ring with rural music; the hills echo back the artless strains. All that is vocal joins in the general choir; all that has breath exults in the cheering influence. "The sun, which is as the great soul of the universe, "and produces all the necessaries of life, has a particular "influence in cheering the mind of man, and making the "heart glad." Spect, vol. v. No. 387. Whereas, was that radiant orb extinguished, a tre mendous gloom would ensue, and horror insup portable, Nay, let it only be eclipsed for a few minutes, and all nature assumes an air of sadness." The heavens are wrapt in sables, and put on a kind of mourning. The most sprightly animals' hang down their dejected heads. The songsters of the grove are struck dumb. Howling beasts' roam abroad for prey: ominous birds come forth and screech: the heart of man fails, or a sudden' pang seizes the foreboding mind.-So, when Christ hides away his face; when faith loses sight of that consolation of Israel, how gloomy are the prospects of the soul! Our God seems to be a consuming fire, and our sins cry loudly for vengeance. The thoughts bleed inwardly; the Christian walks heavily. All without is irksome; all within is disconsolate.-Lift up then, most gracious Jesus, thou nobler dayspring from on high! O lift up the light of thy countenance upon thy people f Reveal the fulness of thy mediatorial sufficiency, make clear our title to this great Salvation; and thereby impart What nothing earthly gives, or can destroy, The soul's calm sunshine, and the heartfelt joy. In one instance more, let me pursue the similitude. The sun, I observe, pours his lustre all around, to every distance, and in every direction. Profusely liberal of his gifts, he illuminates and cheers all the ends of the earth, and the whole compass of the skies. The east reddens with his rising radiance; and the western hills are gilded with his streaming splendors. The chilly regions of the north are cherished by his genial warmth; while the southern tracts glow with his fire.Thus are the influences of the sun of righteousness diffusive and unconfined. The generations of * Pope's Eth. Ep. old felt them, and generations yet unborn will rejoice in them. The merits of his precious death extended to the first, and will be propagated to the last ages of mankind.-May they, ere long, visit the remotest climates, and darkest corners of the earth! Command thy gospel, blessed Jesus, thy everlasting gospel, to take the wings of the morning, and travel with yonder sun. Let it fly upon strong pinions among every people, nation, and language: that, where the heat scorches, and the cold freezes, thou mayst be known, confessed, and adored! That strangers to thy name, and enemies to thy doctrine, may be enlightened with the knowledge, and won to the love, of thy truth! O may that best of æras come, that wished-for period advance, when all the ends of the world shall remember themselves, and be turned unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations worship before him! From the heavens we retire to the earth.-Here the drops of dew, like so many liquid crystalst, sparkle upon the eye. How brilliant and unsullied is their lustre! How little inferior to the proud stone which irradiates a monarch's crown! They want nothing but solidity and permaneucy to equal them with the finest treasures of the jeweller's casket. Here, it must be confessed, they are greatly deficient; short-lived ornaments, possessed of little more than a momentary radiance. The sun, that lights them up, will soon melt them into air, or exhale them into vapours. Within another hour, we may "look for their place, and "they shall be away."-O! may every good resolution of mine, and of my flocks; may our united breathings after God not be like these transient decorations of the morning, but like the substantial glory of the growing day! The one Psal. xxii. 27. Now morn, her rosy steps in th' eastern clime shines more and more, with augmented splendors; while the other, having glittered gaily for a few moments, disappear and are lost. How sensibly has this dew refreshed the vegetable kingdoms! The fervent heat of yesterday's sun had almost parched the face and exhausted the sweets of nature. But what a sovereign restorative are these cooling distillations of the night! How they gladden and invigorate the languishing herbs! Sprinkled with these reviving drops, their verdure deepens, their bloom is new flushed; their fragrance, faint or intermitted, becomes potent and copious.-Thus does the ever blessed Spirit revive the drooping troubled conscience of a sinner. When that almighty Comforter sheds his sweet influence on the soul, displays the all-sufficient sacrifice of a divine Redeemer; and "witnesses with our spirit," that we are interested in the Saviour, and by this means are children of God; then what a pleasing change ensues! Former anxieties are remembered no more. Every uneasy apprehension vanishes. Soothing hopes and delightful expectations succeed. The countenance drops its dejected mien; the eyes brighten with a lively cheerfulness; while the lips. express the heartfelt satisfaction in the language of thanksgiving and the voice of melody.-In this sense, merciful God, be as the dew unto Israel! "Pour upon them the continual dew of thy bless"ing." And O! let not my fleece be dry, while heavenly benediction descends upon all around. Who can number these pearly drops? drops? They hang on every hedge, they twinkle from every spray, and adorn the whole herbage of the field. Not a blade of grass, not a single leaf, but wears the watery pendants. So vast is the profusion, that it baffles the arithmetician's art.-Here let the benevolent mind contemplate and admire that emphatical scripture, which, from this elegant similitude, describes the increase of the Messiah's |