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You well recollect how, in that solemn moment he prayed, even for his murderers "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."

And whilst in the case of Saul, we may observe, that it was made most manifest in the hour of his death, that he had not the fear of God before his eyes, it was made most manifest to all those who surrounded our Saviour as he hung upon the cross, that he was indeed the Son of God; and this confession was wrung from those who were appointed to carry the execution into effect, this confession was wrung from their lips-" Doubtless this man was the Son of God." And the crowds who had come from Jerusalem to be present on that occasion, returned apparently overwhelmed, many of them, with the consciousness of the enormity of that deed of which they had been guilty, in crucifying him who had been proved to be guiltless, and blameless, yea and righteous, both before God and man.

Perhaps it may be considered, that in the event that has now been passed for nearly two thousand years, we can by comparison have little concern; but oh, my brethren, may it not be said, that these solemn scenes are in a manner re-enacted even to this day? Are there not those who crucify to themselves afresh the Son of God, who do despite to the Son of God, and count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing? All this wickedness may be, and alas is, wrought over again in the hearts of the children of men, even unto this hour; and there are none, who when they come conscientiously and strictly to examine themselves, as to the manner in which they have been, and in which they are, affected by the consideration of the death of Christ, but must be ready to plead guilty to not having thought of that event as they ought to have thought of it, to not having been influenced by it in their conduct as they ought to have been influenced by it; and therefore they have contracted a measure of the same enormous guilt which belongs unto those who actually were guilty of shedding the Saviour's blood. If our Saviour were to deal with us as we deserve, for the manner in which we have treated the momentous and solemn subject of his death-for the manner in which we have regarded all those promises of God which rest on that event as their foundation-for that thoughtlessness of mind with which we have treated that event- for that slighting of him which we have manifested-oh, who is there that can escape?

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But we turn to the second part of the subject, and that is, TO DRAW AN ILLUSTRATION FROM THE CASE OF SAUL, AND THE VENGEANCE OF HIS DEATH-IN CONSEQUENCE OF HIS HAVING BEEN THE LORD'S ANOINTED -THE VENGEANCE THAT WAS IMPRECATED BY DAVID. We need not dwell upon these circumstances: it may be fairly admitted that the language David is poetical where he prays, that there may be neither dew nor rain upon the mountains of Gilboa; " Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offerings." And we may, therefore, at once turn to the striking, but all-important contrast which may be obtained as it respects the death of Christ. Had they been dealt with according to their deservings, the vengeance would have come on those who were guilty of our Saviour's death, and that without remedy. And had we been thus judged ourselves, we may add, we should long since have been cut off, or left without any hope towards God. But what is it that the Scriptures teach concerning the effects of the blood of Christ? That it speaketh better things than the blood of Abel; instead of crying aloud that there should be neither dew, nor rain, nor fields of offering on those who had been guilty of

shedding it, and on those who had treated it with disregard, it cries for the very opposite. I need not remind you, that the "dew," and the "rain," are constantly used in Holy Writ, as well known emblems of the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, with which the hearts of the children of men are visited, in consequence of that sacrifice of atonement which Christ had offered, and the merit of which brings down these blessings upon the sinful children of men. Yes, the death of Christ we know procured that grace of the Holy Spirit-that grace which our Saviour was ever speaking of, as the great and principal blessing under the dispensation of the New Testament-that grace, the presence of the Holy Spirit in his Church, and of which he was giving while he lived, repeated promises, promises which when he had ascended up unto his Father, to enter, as the Scripture speaketh, into Heaven, with his own blood for us, has fulfilled to the very letter. Let us turn to the consideration of the fact, that by our Saviour's precious death, grace may be thus obtained for us. Our hearts are like the ground, when it is not visited by the dew and the rain of heaven; they are hard, they are unfruitful; they are barren of all that is good; and we deserve to be left to perish in such a state of barrenness; but we may look to the blood of Christ and may venture to hope, that the inestimable gift of the Holy Spirit shall be given unto us. David says, "Let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offering:" we might have been left without an opportunity of offering ourselves unto God, and our services, to be accepted by him. As we have said, according to our deservings we should have been left to serve sin, and to have nothing but shame as our portion; but through the virtue that there is in the precious blood of Christ, a way is opened for man to present or offer himself unto God; to offer his body, soul, and spirit, a reasonable sacrifice unto God, holy and acceptable. Yes, an opportunity is given to return to a state of obedience, and consequently to a state of happiness. Man can never be happy while he is serving sin, while he is serving his lusts and pleasures, never can be happy till he returns from the error of his ways, and takes again upon him the yoke of his God, and yields himself up to him, to serve him in righteousness and in true holiness. The privilege of doing this-for it is a privilege has been obtained, we repeat it, by the blood of Christ, who obtained it for us at the hands of our God.

But we shall proceed a little further in this illustration, to shew the excellence of the blood-shedding of Christ. To whom was it first to be made known that the Holy Spirit was to be vouchsafed unto the children of men? It was to be made known in that very place, in that very city, and among those very people, who because they had not known him had crucified the Lord of Glory. So wonderfully better are these things which the blood of Christ speaketh, than the blood of Abel, or than the blood of Saul. And we may gather encouragement from this fact, that it was at Jerusalem that the glad tidings of the forgiveness of sins, and of the spirit of promise, were first to be made known. Surely, if they of Jerusalem-if many of the very priests who had been foremost in stirring up the people to ask that Christ might be crucified, if many of these very priests received the dew and the rain of heaven-if many of these very persons were enabled to offer themselves up to God to be his servants for ever, through the merit of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, there are none but may hope that they also, approaching God in the same way, shall also be kept, shall be visited with that grace of the Holy Spirit, and shall be privileged to be numbered among the servants and the children of God.

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It remains, beloved, after having given this illustration of the passage, and these important truths, that we remind you of one or two events more. have said, that the offer of this grace was first made at Jerusalem: let me remind you of what the effect has been, and what the effect is, wherever this grace of God has been received in vain. You know that there were many of the Jewish nation who when Christ crucified was preached to them, when they were besought to be reconciled unto God, yet held out and persevered in their sins; you know that there were those who thus filled up the measure of their iniquities—and what is the present state of that whole people as a people, with the fewest possible exceptions? Neither dew, nor rain, nor fields of offering, are to be found among them as it respects God they seem in an awful state of barrenness and of distance from him, the wrath of God rests upon them as a people. We look indeed, and we believe upon Scriptural grounds, for the day, when that curse which has laid upon them ever since they rejected and crucified the Saviour, that curse shall be removed, and that they shall be restored: but what a lesson does their history read to all who have an eye to peruse it, or an ear to listen to it? How does it solemnly impress on us all, that it is a fearful thing to trifle with the grace of God? Oh, let us beseech you, as the Apostle besought the Corinthians, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain, but while it is called to-day, while it is now the accepted time, seek through that grace the influences of the Holy Spirit, that you may consecrate yourselves to the service of God, lest upon you, also, the wrath of God shall be poured out, and you shall be left in a state of utter barrenness, as it respects any real good.

Let us see also the language of encouragement, which may be very lawfully drawn from the contrast which we have thus been endeavouring to make. Those who have in a measure partaken of that grace of which we have spoken, yet still feel themselves, through the sin still dwelling in them, as land that is without dew and rain, they feel themselves without ability to serve God, they feel themselves, though they acknowledge they are willing to do it, yet unable to offer themselves unto God; and they therefore feel themselves wretched, and depressed, and cast down. Now, beloved, what shall we say? Shall we yield to this despondency? With feelings, such as these are calculated to encourage in us, shall we look merely at our guilt? Shall we not rather look again at the precious death of Christ ?-shall we not look again at the testimony of Holy Writ -at His blood, speaking better things than the blood of Abel, or, as we have ventured to draw the contrast from the passage, than the blood of Saul? Shall we not again place our hope in that his precious death, and have hope--a confident hope-a lively hope-towards God? Over and against all our demerits, which are neither few nor small, but on the contrary, many and exceeding greatover and against all those demerits let us again this day set anew the amplitude, the largeness, the boundless extent of the merits of the death of Christ? What ever enormity there may be in our guilt which we confess, it cannot be so great as the merit which there is in the sacrifice and the death of Christ to atone for that enormity of guilt. The blood of Christ is still able to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and to present us without spot before God. Oh, let us again place ourselves on this one foundation of hope towards God, and learn humbly to .ook up for renewed communications of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and then let us anew present ourselves to him, no more to serve sin, but to yield up ourselves— our bodies, our souls, all that we have, and all that we are, by the help of his grace -to be employed henceforth and for ever more, to the shewing forth of his glory.

ESTATI

THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

46

REV. H. MELVILL, A. M.

ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, MARCH 16, 1834.

Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."-2 CORINTHIANS, iv. 10.

THE Apostle has just been giving a surprising description, both of the trials and supports experienced by himself and other preachers of the Gospel: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." He thus makes an array of contrasts, setting what God had permitted in suffering, to bear side by side with what God communicated in assistance: and in our text he may be said to sum up these contrasts; he gathers the varieties of trials into one phrase, and the supports into another. The "bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus," is his general description of suffering; the manifestation in our body of the life of the Lord Jesus," is his general description of succour and you cannot fail to observe, that he does not so much represent the succour afforded, in order that there might be support under the suffering, as the suffering permitted, in order to give occasion for the display of the succour. He bore about in his body Christ's dying, in order, and with the intent, that Christ's living might be manifested in his body: so that he clearly exhibits himself as a kind of tablet, on which were to be graven the characters of suffering and affliction, these characters serving as an alphabet in which the world might read the life of the Mediator.

And we would observe, before advancing to a more thorough investigation of the subject, that there is something beautifully emphatic in the idea, that it is the life of Jesus that is manifested in the Christian. Century after century hath rolled away, and He who won to himself, by agony and death, the lordship of this lower creation, hath not visibly interfered with the administration of its concerns. For aught that the infidel can see, the sceptre of the earth is not wielded by Him whom Christians designate "King of kings and Lord of lords:" and whether it be a truth, or whether it be a delusion, that the crucified Nazarene came up from his grave and ascended into heaven, he can find nothing of token or evidence, that authority hath been given him, or, if given, is exercised. And we are not prepared to contend, that the demonstrations of Christ's life, are of that vivid and overpowering description, which force themselves on the attention of common observers. There is nothing of the like witness circulating about us of the life of the Mediator, as there is of the existence of God. We can meet the atheist on the splendid platform of this visible creation, and we can go with him into the scrutiny of the curious and costly secrets of nature; we can point to magnificent developements, characterized

with infinite power, and to exquisite contrivances marked by infinite wisdom and if the lovely things and the marvellous, the sublime things and the delicate, which thus pass under review, move not the godless man to confess and recognize the existence of Deity, we have at least the satisfaction of knowing, that we carry with us the great mass of our fellows, in pronouncing on him a verdict of wilful and infatuated ignorance. But if I desire to convince the sceptic that Jesus lives, I cannot pursue the same course as when proving to the atheist that God exists. The time, indeed, will come, when what is called sensible proof shall be given, when every eye shall gaze on the Son of Man seated on the clouds and summoning to judgment. We know that Christ shall yet do more than sit behind a mysterious and impenetrable veil, directing, indeed, though seemingly unconcerned, the vast machinery of human affairs. Coming personally, not in the whirlwind, not in the famine, not in the battle train, in which he came to visit the race who had rejected and crucified him, but in the body, in which he once trod this globe, which was torn by the nails, and crowned with the thorns, Jesus shall appear as a monarch, and, sweeping the scene clear of the rebellious and the apostate, shall set up his dominion over the provinces of a renovated creation. Then shall there go out a demonstration, against which it will not be possible for infidelity to set itself, that He who died on Calvary, has been living at the right hand of God, superintending the painful march of the faith which he founded.

Now we are free to own, that since, under the present dispensation, there are no visible exhibitions of the kingship of Christ, it is not easy, if the authority of Scripture be questioned, to bring forward satisfactory proof that Jesus is alive. There is a sense in which the deist has over us something of greater advantage than the atheist: the one wants matter of fact to convince him that Christ lives-the other wants matter of fact to convince him that God exists; but, beyond all question, the matter of fact which goes to the establishing the existence of God, is of somewhat a broader, firmer, and more palpable character than that which establishes the life of the Saviour. Yet, on the other hand, we are not ready to admit the total absence of direct, positive, practical witness. If I cannot appeal to such exhibitions of sovereignty as shall hereafter be displayed, when Christ returns to this earth, are there no tokens that the grave could not hold him, and that the heavens have received him?

We thus bring you to the statement of our text (for St. Paul is explicit on the fact) that there is such a thing as the manifestation of the life of the Redeemer. It was possible enough, that the malice and fury of inveterate persecutors might wear down to the wreck of its vigour the body of the Apostle. Torture might exhaust itself in wasting the limb and tearing the nerve, and famine might draw the fire from the eye, and long imprisonment wear away the elasticity of the spirit, and lingering pain almost strip of its covering the framework of bone and sinew; but, whilst he thus bore about in his body the dying of the Lord Jesus, bore it so about that he was as one who lived for the Cross, he could feel and affirm that there were such continued and mighty miracles in his being sustained and kept up in the battle with principalities and powers, that, if challenged to prove that his Lord was risen, that his Lord was alive, he could point to the shattered and almost broken-down tabernacle, and answer triumphantly, the life also of Jesus, as well as the death, was made manifest in that his body.

We think, that we thus give you a fair statement of the scope of our text.

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