will stand a pure form of love and wisdom, goodness and truth-a celeftial angelic mind, the likeness of his God and Saviour-and thus be fully fatisfied. It is the ftate he has been aiming at, laboring for, anxiously defiring; and now, having obtained it, he is fatisfied, eafy, and happy.

But, thirdly, Why is such an one satisfied? .

First, His highest wish, his most exalted expectations, are now accomplished. Love to the Lord, and goodness, were his very life; and he could not be fully fatisfied until he wholly dwelt in the beams of that divine love, without an intervening cloud. Methinks I hear every good man and woman now prefent, faying, I am refigned and contented to stay here, to dwell in this body fo long as I ' can be useful to mankind; fo long as I can contri'bute any thing to their happiness; so long as the • Lord fees good for me to stay ;-but I shall never be fully fatisfied until I awake in the likeness of my 'God-until all my darkness, error, evil, and impurity, be removed, and I become a pure form of ⚫ love and charity, wisdom and truth; until every 'intervening cloud be removed, and I am internally ' and externally filled and furrounded with the Di

vine beams of the Lord's love and wisdom. I 'fhall not be fatisfied 'till I am (like all the angels in heaven) nothing but love, wisdom, and use.'

But, fecondly, Such an one will then be fatisfied, as, being in the likeness of the Lord; because then he will be in eternal conjunction with him, dwell

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for ever in his immediate prefence, and be completely filled with all heavenly and divine beatitudes from him; for becoming a pure form of love, wisdom, and ufe, the felicities thereof will be for ever enjoyed, and eternally increase. The good man will be at home, in his own element, among his own friends, and in the prefence of that bleffed and adorable Lord God and Saviour, who is the only object of his highest love, delight, and happiness.

Having thus explained to you the import of thefe bleffed words; let us now apply them to our own minds.

Can you feriously and truly adopt the first part of them? As FOR ME, I WILL behold thy face in righteousness. Whatever others do, or fay, or however they may live, I will for my part look up < to the Lord in faith and confidence, for every 'bleffing and mercy; but I will do this in righte⚫ oufnefs. While I believe on him, and expect every good from him, I will live a righteous, upright, pious life.'

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Let us remember that we can never behold the face of Jehovah, either in this world or the next, if it be not in righteousness. For fo far as we love him, and do his will, fo far we TURN ourselves to the Lord; and fo far we behold his face. And the more we are principled in love, truth, and goodnefs, the more fully will our minds be turned to the Lord; the more glorious will he appear to usand the more happy fhall we be.

But,

240 THE GOOD MAN'S RIGHTEOUSNESS.

But, fecondly, Do you wish to awake in his likeness? Is it your one interrupted and ardent defire, to appear like your Lord, when called into the eternal world? Do you think, if you then awake in his likeness, pure forms of love and wisdom, holy angelic minds, you fhall be fatisfied? Is this your highest wish, the happiness you want; namely, to be like your Lord? If fo, my chriftian friends, I am fure you bear fome resemblance, fome fimilitude, of him Now. You are men and women of love, charity, goodness; your internal man delights in righteousness-your external life is good and you are going forward in that renewal of the mind, that Spiritual and divine regeneration, which can alone transform you into the image and likeness of the Lord Jefus Chrift, your God and Saviour. If this be the cafe with you (and I hope it is) then you will in a little time behold the Lord indeed; you will fee him as he is-be fatisfied, and happy in his prefence and in that fatisfaction and happiness, will you remain for ever and ever. While the wicked and ungodly will awake in the likeness of thofe infernals, with whom they have here affociated, and cannot fo much as bear to behold the divine beams of love and wifdom from the glorified humanity of the Lord-you will awake in his likeness, behold those divine beams, and live in them for ever-and be glorified, celeftial, happy angels, in the kingdom of our God and Saviour. To whom be glory and dominion for ever. Amen.

SERMON

SERMON XVII.

THE LOVE OF THE LORD JESUS,

AS

MANIFESTED IN OUR PARDON AND PURIFICATION.

REV. i. 5, 6.

Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever! Amen.

THE words we have now read have been, and still are, frequently made ufe of to confirm, not only universal redemption; but calvinism—justification by faith alone-a plurality of perfons in the trinity-and several other fentiments. And, indeed, if we separate one part of the word from another, and confider it in its unconnected and merely literal fense, we may make it speak almost just what we please.

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please. But this is not the way to form right judgment. If we would know the word aright, we must confider it in its regular feries-its own divine connection-be acquainted with the correfponding figures used to exprefs fpiritual things—and endeavor to enter into the true fpiritual meaning of it. By fo doing, we shall come to a true knowledge of the facred pages, and free our minds from error and false doctrine; efpecially if we look to the Lord for illumination, and search after truth from the love of it. The words of our text are replete with inftruction and confolation to the real christian mind; and we will now endeavor to open them in the following order

Firft, It will be expedient to confider the import of these words" Unto him that hath loved us." "his washing us from

Secondly, What is meant by

"our fins in his own blood."

Thirdly, What we are to understand by being "made kings and priests unto God, and his father." And,

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Fourthly, A word or two as to that glory and dominion which are due to the Lord.

And, firft, We are to confider the import of thefe words-" Him that hath loved us."

This is a fubject fo extenfive, fo boundless in its own nature, that all language fails in the defcription of it. The perfonage here spoken of, is, we know,

no