bowed under the sense of sin before the cross of Christ, if they are washed by his blood and sanctified by his Spirit, they already catch a distant glimpse at least of the Throne where the Saviour of sinners divides the honours and glories of the Godhead, and soon they shall be seated at his feet for ever and ever.

I will conclude by pressing two additional observations upon the attention of my hearers.

1. In the first place, if such are the glories of the one state we have been contemplating, and such the miseries of the other, what thanks are due to that Redeemer who has, of his own unmerited mercy, and by the sacrifice of his own life, rescued us from the anguish of perdition, and thrown open to us the gates of the mansion of God!-Yes, my brethren, if any one of those we loved the best, and who has paid the debt of nature, is not now reserved in chains for the anguish of the last day; if, in reply to the question, Your parent, your child, your husband, your wife, where are they?' we may venture confidently to answer, In the porch of heaven, and only awaiting the judgment of the great day to establish them in all its beatitudes;' it is to be ascribed, first and last, and altogether, to the compassionate love of Him who said, "whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." O may the songs of our praise and gratitude ascend to the throne of the most high God, and of his Son Jesus Christ! May our devotion and affection to the Saviour of sinners assume something of a shape and character commensurate with his mercy! Awake, our sluggish hearts, awake! and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, prompt and impel us to surrender every faculty and gift of soul and body, as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to that Lord who has bought us with the price of his own blood.

2. And, finally, remember, that very shortly-who shall say how shortly?-the question we are to-day VOL. II.

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putting about others, will be put about ourselves. Another generation shall soon arise, who will ask, with regard to you and to me, "Your fathers, where are they?" And, my brethren, if we die as we are now living, what would be the answer suggested by Scripture to this all-important question? Are we "meet" for that holy" inheritance?" Are we prepared for the world where nothing that is impure can enter? Are we familiar with the themes in which its happy spirits delight? Are their occupations already our choice? And would heaven, if we were suddenly admitted to it, be, as it ought to be, rather another stage of the same existence, than a new mode of being, demanding a total transformation of all our habits of feeling and acting? Soon, my brethren, our children, or our other connexions, shall stand over our tombs. Soon they will water some new heap of earth, or fabric of stone, with their tears. Soon you and I shall live only in the memory and hearts of our successors. O let us labour to bequeath to them the satisfaction of sorrowing not as those without hope; of being able to regard us as among the spirits of the just; of contemplating us, by the eye of faith, as admitted to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, and drinking the cup of his joys in the kingdom of glory. The last sand is sinking in the glass of some of us, and in all cases death beats at the door. "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly;" save us from the last enemy; and, as we sink to the grave, let our sorrowing survivors hear a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, blessed are the dead that die in the Lord; even so, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours."

SERMON IV.

ST. JOHN'S DISCOVERY OF HIS LORD.

JOHN xxi. 4—7.

But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord.

INCONSISTENCY prevails to such an extent in the conduct of fallen and sinful man, that it is rarely either safe or charitable to regard any one action as a decisive sample and specimen of the general character. On the contrary, the particular act furnishes, in many instances, an exception, and even a contrast, to the general habits. It is like an accidental cloud in a sky which is commonly clear and bright, or like a spot of verdure in the midst of a cheerless and unprofitable desert.

But of the Lord and Saviour of the world it is said, that He is "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.' In his pure and consistent character, every single act is, in the strictest sense, a specimen of the whole; and may therefore serve as a guide to the general dealings to be expected at his hands. In this way, every movement of goodness, of forbearance, and of tenderness,

is properly regarded as an additional pledge that he will be always good, and long-suffering, and tender. His past interferences of mercy become the tokens of his future compassion; each action the image of a thousand actions; and, the history of any one of his faithful soldiers and servants, the history, to a great extent at least, of every member of his large and happy family.

It is chiefly with a view to consider the interesting and pathetic passage which I have now read to you, in its general bearing on the character of our blessed Redeemer, and on the expectations which may be entertained of him by his creatures, that I have selected it for our examination to-day; and may it please God to prosper our endeavour to understand it, and to apply it to our practical improvement.

Let us consider the several incidents of the story in the order in which they arise in the text.

I. And here, in the first place, I would direct your attention to THE AFFECTIONATE INTEREST which appears to have been FELT BY OUR LORD IN THE MINUTEST WANTS OF HIS DISCIPLES." Jesus," it is stated in the text, "saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat ?""

It is difficult for us, my Christian brethren, with our limited knowledge of the actual condition even of those most intimately connected with us, to approach to the slightest conception of a Being before whom all the wants of all his creatures are spread like the very simplest map before the eye of the examiner. And, yet, such is the knowledge possessed by our Lord of the circumstances of his creatures: "He knew what was in man;" "the Lord knoweth them that are his :" "he calleth them all by their name." He had watched the approaches of the great enemy to Peter, when the Apostle was wholly unconscious of them: "Simon,

Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat." He saw the same Apostle, when plunged in the depths and darkness of the dungeon, and sent his angel to deliver him. And, in the present instance, he beheld the disciples standing dejected upon the shores of the sea, and came in person to cheer and assist them.

But it is my wish, on the present occasion, to call your attention, not so much to the capacity, as to the disposition of our Lord to bless, and to bless even those who might seem the least to deserve mercy at his hands. Observe the tenderness of his address on the occasion before us: "Children, have ye any meat?" On whom is it that he here bestows the honourable and endearing title of his children?' On men, let it be remembered, who, whatever might have been their former fidelity and attachment, had, within only a few days, forsaken him and fled; had deserted him in the hour of his utmost need; had abandoned him on the very cross to which he had been nailed for their own eternal deliverance. On these poor, frail, and inconsistent creatures, because he perceives in them "the root of the matter"-contrition, lowliness, and love to him, a willing spirit and a warm heart-he bestows this high and delightful appellation. Here, then, my Christian brethren, I beg you to call to mind the truth stated in the opening of this discourse,-that one act of the Saviour is to be regarded as a sample or specimen of the whole;-and how powerful is the consolation supplied by the text! If such be the uniformity of our Lord's character, then, it is not only to the disciples, as they lingered disappointed and desolate on the shore, that he addresses this language of compassion, but he addresses questions of a similar import to all those who faithfully serve him: "Children, have you" what you need or desire? Have you supplies for the body and the soul? Have you strength, and peace, and joy? Have you a humble hope that your sins are pardoned,