DISCOURSE V.

FULL REDEMPTION IN CHRIST.

"Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."-Heb. vii. 25.

"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst: but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."-John iv. 14.

In remarking upon these passages, the attention of the reader is invited to a consideration of the following propositions, which it will be my object to illustrate and establish.

I. Christ presents himself to us as a Saviour in this sense, that he is both able and willing to meet fully every real demand of our being; in other words, perfectly to supply all our real necessities.

II. We will notice some of the demands of our nature, which Christ pledges himself to meet.

III. Illustrate the nature of faith in Christ as such a Saviour.

IV. I will endeavor to show that the object of Christ, in all his dispensations toward his people,

is to induce in them the exercise of this implicit faith towards him.

V. That it is only when this implicit faith is exercised towards Christ, that he can accomplish in us all that he has promised.

VI. That Christians honor Christ most highly, when and only when they rely upon him, for an entire fulfilment in them of all that he has promised.

I. Christ presents himself to us as a Saviour, in this sense, that he is both able and willing to meet fully every real demand of our being; in other words, perfectly to supply all our real necessities. The truth of this proposition, I argue—

"He is

1. From the fact that it is positively promised in the text, and elsewhere in the Bible. able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him." Whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, i. e., all his real necessities shall be perfectly supplied. Phil. iv. 19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Ps. lxxxiv. 11. "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Rom. viii. 32. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,

how shall he not with him also freely give us all things."

2. On this condition only, can Christ claim to be unto us the object of supreme regard. If there was any real demand of our nature, which he was unable or unwilling to meet, for the supply of that demand, we should look to some other source.

3. Christ is infinite in power and love; and therefore must be both able and willing thus to "supply our need.”

II. We will now consider some of the demands of our being, which Christ pledges himself to meet. All the real demands of our nature are comprehended in these two a state of perfect moral purity and blessedness. That these may be possessed in all their fulness, the following special demands must be met.

1. As sinners, we need pardon. Till we are conscious that God has forgiven our sins, and fully restored us to his favor, a state of well-being is, with us, an absolute impossibility. To meet this demand, Christ presents himself to us, as our “advocate with the Father," and as the "propitiation for our sins." "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." "And not only so, but we also joy in God, through

our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."

2. Another demand of our nature is, entire deliverance from the power of sin, into a state of conscious, perfect moral rectitude. In every condition, actual and conceivable, this is a changeless demand of our being. Until it is met, and perfectly met, the want of it will, of necessity, render our minds "like the troubled sea." To meet this demand, Christ presents himself as able and willing to "redeem us from all iniquity," and render us "perfect and complete in all the will of God."

3. Another demand of our nature is, conscious security against all the temptations to sin, from the "world, the flesh, and the devil." To meet this demand, the Saviour pledges himself that "he will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able, but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it." He presents us with the armor of righteousness, assuring us that, if we will "put on the whole armor of God," we shall be "able to stand against all the wiles of the devil."

4. Another fundamental demand of our being, is a love of knowledge. In view of this demand, Christ holds before our minds the declaration of eternal love, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus

whom he hath sent," and then presents himself to us, as able and willing, through his Spirit, to communicate this knowledge to us.

5. To a state of perfect well-being, the friendship and favor of other minds is an indispensable requisite. To supply this want of our being, he holds before us the divine declaration, "I will dwell in them and walk in them;" "And will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." He then lifts our contemplation to the eternal throne, and pledges himself to introduce us to an endless and blissful association with the pure spirits that are congregated there.

6. We have also certain demands through our physical constitution, which need to be met. To meet these, Christ stands ready to do for us the following things-1. To render us perfectly contented with our circumstances, whatever they may be. 2. To render us in the highest sense blessed, in what infinite love actually confers upon us. The saint who could sit down to her meal, which consisted barely of a cup of water and a few dry crusts of bread, and lift her heart to heaven with the exclamation, "All this, Lord, and Jesus, too," hardly needed another ingredient to her cup of blessedness, to cause it to overflow. 3. To bestow upon us all that will be to us, in our cir