away. There is a strict bond of union between Christ and the foul, which death itself cannot disfolve; yea, "there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus." If the foul cannot keep faft hold of Chrift, Chrift will keep fast hold of it: "I know my sheep, (fays Jefus), and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life, and they fhall never perifh; neither fhall any man pluck them out of my hand," John, X. 27. 28. If the hand of faith be weak, he can ftrengthen it; and the Spirit of God does not faint nor grow weary. The term of the union between Chrift and believers is during life eternal.Let us,

HI. INQUIRE what we may behold in the Father's giving this gift. Much, much indeed, may we here behold, that merits our attention, admiration, gratitude, and love. But at prefent, time only permits me fimply to mention a particular or two.

If

1. In this gift we may fee our own needs. our neceffity had not been very great and urgent indeed, God would not have given his own Son to be a witness, leader, and commander to us; had not our misery been great, and also beyond the power of men and angels to deliver from it, God would not have provided and given fuch a ranfom for us. This at once fhews our misery to have been so great, that none but Jefus could deliver us from going down to the pit. The divine excellence and infinite value of the remedy, clearly demonstrate the abfolute neceffity on our part of fuch a cure.

What

2. In this gift we may see infinite love. but love, love eternal, and boundlefs grace, could have induced God the Father to have given his own well-beloved Sen, even to die in the room of

fuch creatures as we are? Instead of merit, we had the very greatest demerit; and God was under no obligations to give us fuch a gift; his own love then was the fource. In the gift itself, we have the greateft difplay of love ever made to any of the creatures of God; the greatness of it the heart cannot conceive, nor the tongue exprefs; the greatness of it will through eternity excite the admiration, gratitude, and love, of angels and men.

3. In this gift, we have to contemplate a glorious defign of doing good to finners. All the gifts of God are intended for our good; but as this is the greateft of them all, yea, infinitely greater than them all taken together, fo the good evidently intended by it is alfo exceeding great; yea, it bears a proportion to the infinite value of the gift itfelf. When we confider the divine dignity of the perfon fent, and his near relation to the Father, when we confider the greatnefs of the work his Father gave him to do, and the tremendously dreadful fufferings which he appointed him to endure, we may at once conclude, that the good thereby intended for finners was fo great, as to be worthy of the wisdom and goodness of the perfon who fent. him, and worthy also of the Son of God to accomplifh. This was nothing else than eternal life: Jefus, "the Captain of our falvation, was made perfect through fufferings, that he might bring. many fons to glory."

IV. LET us now conclude with a practical im

provement..

My friends, when God makes offer of this gift: to you, flight it not, but receive it gratefully; accept of Chrift, as he is offered in the gofpel. When. Christ on the cross faw his mother standing by the difciple whom he loved, he faid unto her; " Woman, behold thy Son !" then to the disciple, "Be

hold

hold thy mother!" and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. So does God addrefs you, faying to each of us, Behold my Son Chrift, and take him home into your hearts.-For motives to this, confider, Wherever he

1. That Chrift is a leading gift.

comes, he never comes alone, he brings a train of bleffings along with him, even all the bleffings of the everlasting covenant; for in him all the promises are yea and amen. Receive him, and ye fhall have a complete and everlasting righteousness with him, reconciliation and peace with God, pardon of fin, fonship to God, an inheritance among them that are fanctified, and, finally, a right to all things. If ye receive him, all things are yours: "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things prefent, or things to come; all are yours and ye are Chrift's, and Chrift is God's," I Cor. iii. 2.1.-23.

2. He is a foul-satisfying gift, in the enjoyment of which your fouls may reft. Are you not feeking fatisfaction, and purfuing after happiness ? but "why do you feek the living among the dead?" Why do you fuck the dry breafts of the world, and the impure fountains of your own lufts,. that cannot fatisfy? Ifa. lv. 2. Nothing but an infinite good can fatisfy the defires of the human foul; and here it is. Here in Chrift, like Habakkuk, you may find a fource of joy and strength, when all other comforts fail. As nothing but the mother's breast can fatisfy the hungry infant, fo nothing but Chrift can fatisfy your fouls aright: "Whofoever drinketh of the water (faith Jesus) that I fhall give him, fhall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of living water, fpringing up into everlasting life," John, iv. 14.

3. He gave himself to the death, that he might be a gift fuitable to your neceffities. He is that bread that the Father gave from heaven; bread that was ground between the mill-ftones, and baken in the oven of God's wrath, that he might be bread to you.

4. Do ye not need, pofitively need him? Can you be happy without a pardon, peace with God, a righteoufnefs. and an everlafting inheritance? Now, there is no poffible way of obtaining these, but by him. O! my fellow-finners, how can ye live or die without him? Sure your own necefsities have a loud cry to you not to flight him; your fouls, pining away in fin, cry, O flight not a Saviour! your fouls, truly fick, cry, O flight not the phyfician!

5. Confider, he is in your offer; you may have him if you will: "The Spirit and the bride fay, Come; and let him that heareth, fay, Come; and let him that is athirst come; and whofoever will, let him take the water of life freely." You fee there is nothing to hinder your receiving of him; for the Father is willing to give his Son to you, the Son is willing to give himself, the Spirit is willing: "All thingsare ready, come ye to the marriage." Nay, it is not merely a simple offer, but a command: "This is the command of God, that ye believe on his Son." Therefore, under the pain of God's eternal displeasure, accept of him: "He that believeth fhall be faved, he that believeth not fhall be damned."

6. Confider, he will not always be in your offer. When once the Mafter hath rifen up, and shut the doors, ye may knock in vain, there will be no more Thus ye may be taken from the offer, or it from you; now, then, is the accepted time, and now is the day of falvation.

entrance.

Laftly, Confider, if ye receive him not, ye are

loft

loft for ever; and then it will be more tolerable for them that never heard of him, than for you:

"If he that defpifed Mofes' law died without mercy, under two or three witneffes, of how much forer punishment, fuppofe ye, fhall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was fanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite under the Spirit of God?" For we know him that hath said, "Vengeance belongeth unto me, and I will repay, faith the Lord," Heb. x. 28.-30.

My fellow-finners, will ye now take this gift from heaven? I am fure there would not need to be fo much work to make you receive a gift that is not worthy once to be named with this: If ye will not take it, what have you to fay for yourfelves? Perhaps the reafons why fome will not receive this gift may be eafily found out; as,

1. Some will not, because they need it not; like Efau, in another cafe, they may be ready to fay, "I have enough, my brother, keep that thou haft unto thyself," Gen. xxxiii. 9. Alas! many are full, are rich, and reign as kings without Chrift; but, O! would to God they were rich, and did reign. Such perfons only reign like Saul, when God departed from him. Sure am I, that if there be a foul under heaven needs Chrift, it is fuch a perfon. They who, like the Laodiceans, are rich and increafed with goods, and have need of nothing, and know not that they are wretched, and miferable, and poor, blind, and naked, O how much need had they to listen to the counfel of Jefus, and buy of him gold tried in the fire, that they may be rich; for what have ye without Christ, but has God's curfe in it? all your gifts are curfed to you, Mal. ii. 2. "I will even," fays God, "fend