pulses, than this "great humility," and this inestimable mercy of our Redeemer. The serious contemplation of these will give rise to sentiments of love and amazement, which may be expressed in the devout and feeling language of the Psalmist, "Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

This, then, is a subject to which the collect directs our meditations, with peculiar propriety; as tending to draw from us a spontaneous tribute. It is calculated to allure us to our duty; it acts upon the more generous feeling of love and gratitude: through them it should awaken all our energies, and incite us to devote ourselves," with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind," to the service of our lowly, yet all-glorious Saviour.

It should bring us to the Church, not as cold and reluctant worshippers; it should animate our hearts to joy and hope, as the rising sun cheers the feathered songsters; it should rouse us, as though we heard the exulting voice of the Prophet, " Arise! shine! for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee*." Rejoice in the " bright ness of his rising'." Rejoice! divested of

the works of darkness, and clothed in the armour of light.

Considerations such as these, were we always to frame our resolutions and actions entirely upon the principles of right reason, or, in other words, of Religion, would alone actuate the follower of a gracious Redeemer. But unhappily, such is the corruption and perverseness of man, that comparatively few are to be found, upon whom thèse better sources of obedience have sufficient influence. It becomes necessary not to rely entirely upon the more generous inducement of love. To command man's obedience it is too often requisite, that his interest, nay, his fears, should be addressed and roused. It is necessary that we should set before him the great and awful Scriptural truth, that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing, therefore," continues the Apostle," the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”.

In conformity with this necessity of addressing men's fears, a sublime and natural transition is made, from the mention of the

■ 2 Cor. v. 10, 11.

first advent of our Lord in the flesh, to an allusion to his second advent, in glory and in judgment.

We pray for grace "to cast off the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now, in the time of this mortal life, in which our Saviour came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and dead, we may rise to the life immortal."

Of what momentous interests is the Christian here reminded! of what awful consequences, materially depending upon his conduct in this life!

From the meek and lowly Jesus, who took upon him the "form of a servant," and came to visit us "in great humility," his imagination is turned, to contemplate that august and all-powerful Saviour, who " reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost;" through whom only sins can be forgiven, and by whom every sinner must be judged".

Here, to the inducements, " to cast off the works of darkness, and to put upon us the armour of light," which arise from the consideration of our Saviour's infinite mercy and

goodness," in visiting us in great humility;" to these are superadded the hope of everlasting happiness, the fear of never-ending misery.. Let every sinner remember, let him seriously reflect upon the undeniable fact that the day will come-is every hour drawing near, when the last trumpet shall sound to summon the quick, and dead; and to proclaim the Advent of the Almighty, the universal judge.

"He cometh, indeed! But how changed! how different his appearance from what it was! How shall we be able to conceive of it as it deserves, to raise our thoughts from the voice of the tender babe in the manger, bewailing our sins that brought him thither, to the voice of the Son of God, from which the heavens and the earth shall fly away, and no place be found for them any more for ever! yet so it is. Behold, he who came in swaddling clothes, cometh with clouds. He who came to preach the day of salvation, cometh again to proclaim the day of vengeance. He who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, leads his ten thousands to the prey, as the lion of the tribe of Judah. He who cried not, nor lifted up his voice against his enemies upon earth, thunders with the glorious voice of his excellency against them from heaven. He

who never broke a bruised reed, rules the nations with a rod of iron, and breaks them in pieces like a potter's vessel. He who quenched not the smoking flax, extinguishes the great lights of the world; darkens the sun, and turns the moon into blood; commands the stars from their stations, and the dead from their graves; shakes the powers of heaven, and the foundations of the earth, and all hearts that are not fixed on him"."

What a fearful scene is here presented to our imagination! Let it not be regarded with indifference! Rather exhort one another, and take up the words of the Apostle, which the Church sets before us in the Epistle for this day. "Now it is high time to awake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer, than when we believed. The night is far spent the day is at hand; let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."

The night is far spent; the day, the great and terrible day of the Lord is at hand, and we know not how nearly it may be at hand. To all of us indeed it may be said, it is "even at the doors." This life of trial, and temptation is wearing away apace? The time during