obey and the supreme interest which we have in doing his pleasure. His right to dispose of us cannot be denied. The rectitude of his pleasure cannot be questioned. At the same

time, on him our all depends. How indispensable is it therefore, that we act in all things in such a manner as to secure his favour, and in this, the only possible manner, to obtain his blessing.

On the contrary, what madness must it be to forget, disobey, and provoke him. Think what it is to be found fighting against God.' Hast thou,' says Jehovah to Job, an arm like God; or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Then I will confess unto thee, that thine own right hand can save thee.' What evil is not to be expected from his anger. What terrible proofs have been given of its dreadful efficacy, in his ancient dispensations to the Antediluvians, to Sodom and Gomorrah, to the Egyptians, and to the Israelites, both in the Wilderness, and the Land of Canaan. What awful specimens are even now continually seen of his displeasure against this polluted world, in the ravages of the storm, the earthquake, and the volcano, and the more extensive evils of pestilence and famine!

5. How miserable must be the condition of those who have no interest in the favour of God.

God is the source of all the good which is found, or will ever be found in the universe. Every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above; and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' Wherever then he refuses to give, it is certain that no enjoyment can be found. How dreadful of course, how solitary, how friendless, how forlorn must the situation of a creature be, if he were banished for ever from the presence, favour, and love of God. Were the sun, as the heathen supposed, an intelligent being, capable of being pleased and displeased, and of communicating and withholding his light and warmth at pleasure; how lonely, dark and wretched, would be the condition of men, if he should withdraw his beams from this world, and permit them never more to shine; of men consigned to everlasting night, and everlasting winter; who should yet live, in this cold and dreary solitude, and know and feel their wretched condition: while at the same time they also knew that other favoured and happy beings, in all other re

spects resembling themselves, were in full possession of the life-giving influence, and cheering splendour of this glorious luminary. God is the Sun of the intelligent and immortal world. Wherever he shines, there is light, and peace, and hope, and joy: wherever he withdraws his beams, all is darkJess and desolation for ever.

On this subject I am apprehensive, that Christians do not meditate nor converse, nor Ministers preach, so frequently and so fervently as their interest and their duty plainly require. The Apostles have dwelt often and extensively on the prospects, the joys, and the glories of heaven. In this respect they are obviously patterns to all succeeding preachers. Christians are in the Scriptures often invited to meditate on heavenly things; and presented with the most sublime, alluring and delightful objects of a heavenly nature, to engage them in such meditations. They are directed also to set their affections on things above;' commanded to have their conversation in heaven, and not on the earth;' and reminded, that in a humble and figurative sense, they are already come to the New Jerusalem,' and to the glorious beings by whom it is inhabited, by entering the Church of God in the present world. All these precepts they are bound implicitly to obey.

When we approach the table of Christ, we are by the strongest motives compelled to remember, that the exalted end of his Mediation was to open this happy world for the reception of his followers; an end, purchased with tears and blood. This end is the most illustrious and delightful, of which we can form a conception; and the means by which it has been accomplished are the most sublime display of infinite good-will which the universe has ever beheld.

When Christians approach the table of their communion, they approach it to commemorate their Saviour. What do they commemorate? His life, and death, and resurrection, and exaltation; a life of humiliation, suffering and sorrow; a death of shame and agony, a resurrection to endless life, an exaltation to infinite glory. Whither has he gone? To heaven. Whither are they going? To the same happy world. In my Father's house,' said this Divine Person, as he was advancing near to the grave, are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and re

ceive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.' Can Christians then fail to look often to that delightful world where their Saviour dwells, and where they are all finally to be assembled in his presence? Will not the remembrance of the fulness of joy, the pleasures which flow for ever in this region of immortality, awaken in the most ardent manner their admiration, their love, their gratitude and their praise to Him, who formed it in the beginning; who stored it with glory, life and joy; who ascended the cross, that he might open its everlasting doors for their admission to its infinite blessings.

To enhance all these views and affections, let them remember also, that in the same wonderful manner he redeemed them from the deplorable character of sin, and the miseries of perdition. That Divine Spirit, who renews them in righteousness, and true holiness, unto every good work,' entered upon this benevolent office, only in consequence of the mediation of Christ. But for this mediation, no child of Adam would ever have been renewed. Sin unmingled, unrestrained, and endless, would have prevailed throughout all the nations of men, and all the ages of time. The way to heaven would have been unknown. The only path from this world would have gone down to the chambers of death.

In how interesting a manner then is heaven now brought before our eyes, as the end of the great sacrifice of the Cross. Here Christ dies again, in a figure pre-eminently affecting; and shows us his broken body and bleeding wounds, as the price which he paid to procure for us an inheritance in the kingdom prepared for his followers before the foundation of the world. No other hand could have opened the gates of life. No other atonement could have expiated our sins. No other means could have procured the sanctification of our souls by the Spirit of grace, and thus fitted us to enjoy the blessings of heaven, and made them blessings to us. But for him, the best of men would have gone down to the world of woe. By him, every good man will be raised to the glory which he had with the Father before the world was.'

289

SERMON XVIII.

CREATION.

THE ANGELS.

FOR BY HIM WERE ALL THINGS CREATED, THAT ARE IN HEAVEN, AND THAT ARE IN EARTH, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, WHETHER THEY BE THRONES, OR DOMINIONS, OR PRINCIPALITIES, OR POWERS: ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM, AND FOR HIM.

IN

COL. I. 16.

my last Discourse, I began the examination of the Works of God, with some considerations on the Heavens. I shall now pursue the same subject, in several observations concerning those beings who were originally inhabitants of the highest heavens.

As all our knowledge concerning this subject is derived from the Scriptures, I shall confine myself in this discussion to the information which they communicate; reserving such views as Reason has been able to form of it, to the Discourse which I propose to devote to a consideration of the existence and character of Fallen Angels.

In the text it is asserted, that Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, and Powers,' names which are fairly supposed to denote different orders of the Angelic host, ånd to indicate, in the words of St. Paul, things in heaven;' were created by Jesus Christ, for his own use and purposes. Among other things conveyed to us by this assertion, the following Doctrine is evidently one:

THAT THE ANGELS ARE A PART OF THE CREATION OF GOD.

It is a fact worthy of observation, that the Scriptures teach us scarcely any thing concerning any of the worlds included under the general name of heavens, except the supreme heaven. The reason is, I think, not difficult to be divined. With other heavenly worlds we have no direct concern. Whatever knowledge therefore we might be supposed to attain about them, or their inhabitants, would be a mere gratification of curiosity, and incapable of being directed to any valuable end. Under the influence of this powerful principle, we should in all probability have been led away by such communications, if they had been made, from those things which we need and ought to know. Few affections of the human mind have more influence over its conduct than curiosity. Well directed, and carefully kept within proper bounds, it is eminently profitable to man, by prompting him unceasingly to useful inquiries and improvement in knowledge; but when suffered to wander without restraint, it conducts to mere gratification, and defrauds the soul of real good.

But with the heaven of heavens, we have a continual and most important concern. This glorious and delightful world is the place, to which all our ultimate views are directed by our Maker; the home to which he invites us to look, as our final rest from every trouble; and the final seat of all the enjoyment, which we are capable of attaining. With its inhabitants we shall, if we are wise, become familiarly acquainted, and intimately united; and shall live in the midst of them, through ages which cannot end. Of this world therefore, and those who dwell in it, we need information, various and extensive. Accordingly, God has in the Scriptures, to a considerable extent, opened heaven to our view; and furnished us, in many particulars, with an account of the happy beings who inhabit it; of the rank or station which they hold in his great kingdom, the attributes of which they are possessed, and the employments to which they are devoted.

Under these three heads, I propose to consider them at the present time. To an audience possessed of so many advantages for estimating the comparative importance of subjects of contemplation, and particularly the comparative worth of intelligent beings, it is reasonably hoped, that a subject of such