"but I must decrease." It is reasonable, and I am sincerely willing it should be so: and the apostle expresses his earnest expectation and hope, that Christ should be magnified in his body, whether by life or death. This affords,

1. A subject of examination. Do we pray at all? for some cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God. And do we pray for Christ? To consult our own ease, comfort, and happiness, and not the honour of Christ, in our prayers, is to ask amiss, that we may consume it on our lusts; or, as the prophet expresses it, "setting the stumbling-block of our iniquity before our faces, and coming to inquire of the Lord."

2. This subject suggests a source of comfort to those that belong to Christ. Not only Christ himself prays for them, but they are interested in the prayers of all the godly, like a merchant who has an interest in many ships richly freighted, and one or other of them is daily arriving.

3. A source of instruction to all, as to our duty and interest, and the transcendant glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. As all our prayers should be directed to him, and through him, so they should centre in him; nor should we forget, that He who is the subject of our prayers should also be the subject of our praises. Thus it is added in my text, "Daily shall he be praised." It ought to be so on earth, as it is so in heaven.

of priests is given to the children of God,) who not only offered sacrifices for themselves, but for the people. If we have the genuine spirit of Christianity, which is a spirit of philanthropy and benevolence, we shall make others' wants our own; and when it goes well with us, remember, as Pharaoh's butler was desired to do to Joseph, those that are in affliction and distress. Do we want, then, to know what it is to pray for Christ? It is to pray for the members of Christ, who, on account of the nearness of their relation, are called Christ in Scripture; and of whom he may say, as he does of his Father, "I and they are one."

5. To pray for Christ is to pray for his second coming. The pious Jews did so for his first coming: "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether." And we read of those that looked for redemption in Jerusalem; and no doubt but that which was the object of their hope, was also the subject of their prayers. Thus we should pray for his second coming, not merely on our account, and for our personal honour and advancement,for that would be praying for ourselves, and not for him,but on his account; because he will then appear in his glory and majesty, make a rich display of all his perfections, be the joy of his friends, and the terror of his enemies. The canon of Scripture concludes with such a prayer: "Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus."

6. and lastly. Every prayer that we put up, whether for temporal or spiritual blessings, should be, in a sense, praying for Christ. His glory should be the end that we aim at, that others might be led to glorify him, and we become more capable of it. If we pray for the things of this. world, it should be that we may improve them for Christ; if for those of a more sacred nature, still the honour of Christ should be interwoven with our requests, and uppermost in our desires. If self gains the ascendancy in our prayers, it will both destroy their excellence, and hinder their success. "He must increase," says John the Baptist,

"but I must decrease." It is reasonable, and I am sincerely willing it should be so: and the apostle expresses his earnest expectation and hope, that Christ should be magnified in his body, whether by life or death. This affords,

1. A subject of examination. Do we pray at all? for some cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God. And do we pray for Christ? To consult our own ease, comfort, and happiness, and not the honour of Christ, in our prayers, is to ask amiss, that we may consume it on our lusts; or, as the prophet expresses it, "setting the stumbling-block of our iniquity before our faces, and coming to inquire of the Lord."

2. This subject suggests a source of comfort to those that belong to Christ. Not only Christ himself prays for them, but they are interested in the prayers of all the godly, like a merchant who has an interest in many ships richly freighted, and one or other of them is daily arriving.

3. A source of instruction to all, as to our duty and interest, and the transcendant glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. As all our prayers should be directed to him, and through him, so they should centre in him; nor should we forget, that He who is the subject of our prayers should also be the subject of our praises. Thus it is added in my text, Daily shall he be praised." It ought to be so on earth, as it is so in heaven.

66

subjection; in a word, being called to be a saint, he would, in every thing, act up to his character, spread the savour of religion whilst he lives, and leave a sweet savour of it behind him when he dies. But more particularly this character may be considered,

1. As it respects mankind in general and then the righteous man is a lover of truth and justice, a person of strict uprightness and integrity, an enemy to fraud and deceit, extortion and oppression. He does justice to the character, reputation, and professions of others; would rather suffer violence than offer it; and be a loser himself, than let his neighbour be a loser by him. You may see this character beautifully delineated in the 15th Psalm.

2. As it respects ourselves: and then it supposes a principle of righteousness implanted; or, in other words, that we are partakers of that grace which the Teacher sent from heaven represents as "a well of water springing up unto everlasting life." In this sense the righteous man is a regenerate man, one that is born of God; has the divine life infused into him, and the Divine image stamped upon his soul. If he commit sin, he cannot delight in it. He may fall into particular acts of wickedness, but not into a continued course of it; and though the principles of all iniquity remain in him, yet no iniquity has the supreme dominion over him; he is no dissembler either with God or man, but feels the power of that religion which he professes, so that he can make the same solemn appeal as Job did,-“ Lord, thou knowest that I am not wicked;" that is, he was no hypocrite, but a just and upright man, who made the law of God the rule, and the glory of God the end of his actions. Through the sanctifying influence of the Spirit, his heart was right with God, and sound in his statutes.

3. As it respects the great God. Before him a very different righteousness from either of the former is required, even the perfect righteousness of our Redeemer and Saviour, which is the only righteousness that will be of any avail