that he might bear the sins of many, and purge the conscience from dead works, to serve the living God." Nor " is it possible, that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin; but we are sanctified through the offering of Jesus Christ, once for all."

He is the Ruler of the world. The government is on his shoulders, and shall never end. By his wisdom and power in the administration of affairs, good is brought out of evil, and order out of confusion. The rage of the heathen, and the vain imaginations of the people, are made to subserve his glory, and the happiness of his chosen. No weapon formed against Zion can prosper, for he carrieth the counsels of the wicked headlong-breaketh their arrows, and turneth them back, ashamed and confounded. A thousand tongues may be whetted for lies-a thousand volumes of error may be sent abroad-a thousand hands may be raised to oppose the progress of truth-but all will be overruled for the wider diffusion of the spirit of piety, for the more effectual overthrow of opposition, and for the firmer establishment of the kingdom that shall comprehend all the kingdoms of the world.

Now who can measure that grace which relieves a world of immortal beings from a mass of ignorance, that otherwise must have placed them beyond the reach of hope? Who can measure that grace which rescues a world of rebels from the grasp of a violated law, by pouring forth the blood of the Son of God to meet its demands, and carrying him from the tomb to the right-hand of the throne, to make continual intercession And who can measure the grace that interposes to obviate every assault of earth or hell, on the subjects of redeeming mercy-confounding every evil machination, and crowning the head, bound like the bulrush, with victory and honor for ever?-Surely, in the language of the apostle, “We need to be strengthened with might in the inner man, according to the riches of his glory, that we may be able to comprehend what is the breadth and length and depth and height of this love of Christ. "It is high as heaven, what canst thou do! deeper than hell, what canst thou know?" Consider,

III. The extent of these riches. And here we may contemplate them, both in their duration, and the numbers who share them.

1. In their duration. All other riches perish with the using; and the gratifications they procure are no sooner enjoyed than gone for ever.

But the riches of Christ are eternal. Though they take hold on this world, they flow onward through everlasting ages. Here, they secure the presence of God, and the pleasures of hope; they protect the soul from a thousand dangers--carry it in safety through many a long and gloomy storm-inspire unconquerable fortitude under trials-give peace and composure in the darkest scenes, and fill the mind with well-founded anticipations of future happiness. But hereafter, faith will be absorbed in vision, and hope lost in actual enjoyment. The believer shall find a mansion provided for him in his Father's house-an inheritance that no power can pluck from his hand, a kingdom that never shall be moved. And who can read of the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens--the holy city, whence sin and sorrow shall be for ever banished-and of the seraphic employments of the redeemed about the throne, and not acknowledge that the "riches" by which the whole is procured, are "unsearchable !" But,

2. Vast numbers will share these blessings. "A multitude that no man can number" will stand on Mount Zion, having palms in their hands, and tuning their harps to the praise of redeeming mercy. And it is not from one favored spot on this wide world—it is not from some one distinguished community, nor from a single generation--but from all nations, tongues, and kindreds under heaven, that the great congregation is made up. There will be found the Scythian and the barbarian, the bond and the free; there will the learned and the unlearned, the rich and the poor, the high and the low, the mighty and the feeble, sit down together at the same banquet of love!

Think not that the blood of Jesus is insufficient to wash away the sins of so many. A world might wash in that fountain, and be clean. Nor is it the crimson stains of a Manasseh, nor the filthiness of a Mary Magdalen, nor the persecuting spirit of a Saul of Tarsus, that can resist the efficacy of that blood. "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” "Whosoever will, let him come." It is not the amount of guilt that may have been accumulated-it is not the deadliness of the wounds that sin may have inflicted, nor is it the late period to which repentance may have been already deferred, that can bar us from a share in the riches of Christ, if we are now ready to accept them. No, it is nothing but our own reluctance to be indebted to those riches, that can deprive us of any blessing that atoning blood hath purchased, and free grace offered.

Where then is the sinner who feels himself more unworthy and helldeserving than any other? Where the sinner who, under the crushing weight of recollections of the past, looks on the future as one wide field of darkness and despair?-let him look unto Jesus! The question shall not be asked him, "What have you done?" nor" where have you been?" But crying, "Lord, save or I perish,”--he shall have it said to him, "Fear not, it is my Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Are not the riches of such love past finding out?-O the unsearchable grace that proposed the recovery of a world lying in wickedness! Consider,

IV. The manner of their communication to the soul. Strange it is, but not the less true, that there is a universal reluctance on the part of mankind to accept of blessings that have cost so much in their purchase, and are yet so freely offered. The gospel finds men everywhere "dead in trespasses and sins;" and " He who is the chief among ten thousand" is, to their eye, like "a root out of dry ground, without form or comeliness."

Nor is there any manifestation of his glory, or demonstration of his authority, that can urge home his claims on the heart with overpowering effect. He may heal the sick, and raise the dead, and command the stormy elements to repose; nay more, he may yield his life amid the convulsions of sympathizing nature, and pour forth his compassion on his enemies in the agonies of death-and all will not prevail over the obduracy of the heart-all will not bend the stubborn will to the acknowledgment of his claims. Thousands witnessed this awful scene, and yielded to no relentings. Millions have heard again and again the story of Calvary's bleeding sufferer, and even though they may have dropped a passing tear, the next moment has stifled their sensibilities, and hurried them down the stream of earthly cares and vanities.

What then can render the riches of Christ availing? I answer,

1. The sovereign purpose and grace of God. Much as may have been objected against the sovereignty of Divine grace, there is no doctrine taught in Scripture more clearly, none that is more rational, nor, to the devout spirit, more comforting. It is indeed, when justly understood, the strong pillar on which the convinced sinner leans, and directs the eye of hope towards heaven. While a willing captive of Satan, an enemy of God, and a child of disobedience-whence shall holy dispositions arise? Whence those mighty motives come, that shall overwhelm the opposition of the soul, and reduce its rebellious powers into sweet submission? Can human effort extract good from evil, light from darkness, or love from hatred? No, brethren and unless the purpose of God be formed, and his mighty power exerted, there is no hope of the salvation of a single sinner.

And then, if this power be put forth, who shall determine to what extent? Who shall say what proportion shall be made willing, and what proportion shall be left to themselves? Has man wisdom enough to decide such a question? Or, had he wisdom, has he benevolence enough? Men please themselves, with the imagination, that had they the power, they would render all beings happy-but no dream of the night was ever more empty than this. Do such men actually contribute to the happiness

of their fellow-men in proportion to their power?

O let me not fall into the hands of men, but into the hands of God! With all his sovereignty, God is holy-he is good-he can do no wrong; but man, vain man, invested with this prerogative, would prove but an almighty tyrant, treading on the necks of his fellows, and scattering everywhere firebrands, arrows, and death. Of little worth are the dreaming speculations of men, concerning what is right for a God of infinite benevolence to do! Of little value are those reasonings by which man would prove God arbitrary and unjust, if he "have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and compassion on whom he will have compassion."

No! the only hope that any man will ever cease from rebellion against his Maker, lies in that sovereign purpose of God, by which some are "chosen from before the foundation of the world to be holy, and without blame before him in love." These counsels are "unsearchable" indeed; and equally unsearchable are the "riches of Christ," in which they originate. These "riches" are rendered availing,

2. By the operations of the Holy Spirit. "Ye must be born again. "That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit." If the "love of God be shed abroad" in any heart, it is "by the Holy Ghost." If any "abound in hope," it is " by the power of the Holy Ghost." If any are "washed and sanctified," it is "by the Spirit of our God." And if God says of any man, “ my Spirit shall no longer strive with him," he is sealed over to destruction.

But how operates the Holy Spirit? Christ answers, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." His mode of operation is unsearchable-it lies without the range of legitimate inquiry, and baffles every effort of the mightiest human intellect. It is enough for us to know the fact-to throw ourselves into the arms of the Divine influence, to obey the com

mand, "Quench not the Spirit," and to "rejoice evermore," that however unsearchable the riches of Christ, they are infallibly secured to all that are "born again."

They are rendered availing,

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3. By faith and repentance. "He that believeth shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned." Repent, and your sins shall be blotted out." These are the fixed and unalterable terms of salvation. And yet, to the eye of proud, unenlightened reason, there seems no special adaptedness in them to the end to be secured. Faith in Christ forms no equivalent for the transgression of God's law; repentance can make no satisfaction for sin. Nay, they were not appointed for such an end. The only equivalent is found in the blood of the Son of God. "He has magnified the law, and made it honorable ;" and God now says to the sinner-repent-believe-doing this, you acknowledge your impotencyyour absolute dependence—the purity and perfection of the law you have broken, and the justice with which you might be thrust down to hell--and also, that if saved at all, you are saved by grace alone. Acknowledgments like these honor God, abase the sinner, and furnish overwhelming testimony to the evils of transgression, and the value of holiness.

Men often contend that these terms are unreasonable, and that their own works of righteousness are of sufficient value, and ought to be acceptable to God. But if men were justified by their works, would they not naturally regard those works as an equivalent for transgression ? Would they not have more occasion than now, to say, "the law of God is nothing-though we have broken it, we can repair the injury-though we have dishonored God, we can yet honor him again, and blot out the past, and secure salvation, as if we had never sinned?" But let a principle like this be admitted, and the love of God would at once be broken down, his government would be prostrated at the feet of rebels, and universal misery would be the result. Yet carnal reason strongly inclines to this method of justification, and nothing is more common than to hear it affirmed, that God is more honored by the good works of the sinner, than by any measure of penitence and faith.

Here then, behold the unsearchableness of the riches of Christ. Notwithstanding the decisions of darkened reason, God declares that salvation shall be obtained only by that faith and repentance, which possess no virtue that will counterbalance the evils of transgression. Nothing in the shape of an equivalent is demanded of the sinner. He has only to believe the testimony of God; to cover himself with the robe of righteousness prepared for him; to confess, "I am a sinful man, O Lord,”—and submit to the decision of infinite wisdom and mercy on his character and future condition.

From such a state of mind, there will flow a systematic and thorough obedience to the will of God. Indeed, there is nothing that has such power as this principle of faith, to subdue the whole soul to God's authority-nothing like it, to subdue the opposition of the heart, to inspire zeal for the conversion of the world, and excite effort for the accomplishment of all God's purposes.

Such are the riches of Christ, in their communication to the soul; and are they not unsearchable?

REFLECTIONS.

1. If such are the riches of Christ, how great the folly of those who set them at naught?

Behold a treasure, vast as infinity, durable as eternity-freely offered to the acceptance of a ruined world! Behold a salvation from all evilassured protection through life, firm support in death, unfading glory beyond the grave! All that Almighty power can do-all that infinite wisdom can devise-all that boundless compassion can proffer to man for his happiness, is pledged to every sinner who shall, in penitence, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ! And yet,

By the multitude of mankind, all this is despised. Why? Because sordid attachments to earth must be broken-giddy pleasures must be abandoned-mammon must be sacrificed, and the smiles of God's enemies must be dispensed with! Yes! for the favor of the world (vanity and vexation of spirit, at its best estate), the love of God must be relinquished, and every just hope of heaven renounced!

And yet, O sinner! what enjoy you, even of this world, more than the believer? Are you rich? But many a child of God, dependent on cold charity, enjoys the world better than you do. Are you taking your fill of pleasure? But the Christian, weeping beneath his own crushing afflictions, looks on you with pity, and would sooner die a thousand deaths than change conditions with you. He has a share in the "unsearchable riches of Christ;" his treasures and joys are held in reversion in a better world; and even now, he has frequent earnests of them, that afford unspeakable delight amid life's chequered scenes. But when he shall reach his home, and sit down in his Father's house-when he shall look back on the toils and the discipline of this world, and then forward to the ever increasing bliss of eternity, think you he will regret the loss of your short-lived enjoyments? Sometimes Christians are pronounced fools; but where folly or where wisdom lies in the case before us, let the disclosures of the unsearchable riches of Christ determine.

2. If such are the riches of Christ, how groundless the apprehensions of some, that they are insufficient to meet the wants of all who may desire them.

His fulness is infinite; and "whosoever will,” may 66 come and take the water of life freely." Whoever is willing to "break off his sins by righteousness," and to serve God with humility, will find no want of readiness in Christ to receive him. "Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world!" His "blood cleanseth from all sin,”—not the least only, but the greatest. Only come to him, as diseased sinners, and he will make you whole,-as hungry and thirsty, and he will fill you with good things, as hell-deserving sinners, and he will raise you to thrones of glory. Lose no time on the inquiry, "how may I qualify myself to be accepted ?" No other qualification is demanded, than that conviction of personal vileness that shall lead you to cast yourself at his feet, and commit your soul, for time and eternity, to his disposal. This is faithand to this, eternal life is pledged by the immutable truth of God.

Come then, fellow-sinner-yield yourself into the hands of Christand he will provide for you--he will guide you-he will defend youhe will give you a share in those riches that shall survive the ruins of the great burning day.