throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple: above it ftood the feraphims: each one had fix wings: with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and faid, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole ⚫ earth is full of his glory! And the posts of the • door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the houfe was filled with smoke. Then faid I, Wo is me; for I am undone, because I am a man of un

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clean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have feen the King, the • Lord of hofts!' See alfo Job xlii. 5, 6. 'I have ⚫ heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye feeth thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in duft and ashes.' Let us endeavour, therefore, to be truly and inwardly humble. Let us remember the grace of redemption, what guilty criminals we were, before unmerited mercy and fovereign love found out a way for our recovery. Happy they, where humility arifes from a real exercise of foul! How difficult, how rare a thing, is true humility? How eafy is it to use modest and fubmiffive expreffions, compared to attaining a truly humble and mortified state of mind? May almighty God, by his power, make us humble; and do thou, O bleffed Jefus caft down every high thought, and lofty i'magination, that exalteth itself against thee.'

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3. In the last place; if you desire to see the glory of God, be fervent in preparatory prayer if there is any bleffing that requires importunity and wrestling with God, furely this high and happy privilege of

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communion with him in his house must be of that kind. And, I think, we are warranted to fay, that, in the divine government, there are fome bleffings that require more importunity than others. See a remarkable paffage, Mark ix. 28, 29. And when he was come into the house, his difciples afked him 'privately, why could not we caft him out? and he faid unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fafting.' If fome devils were fo obftinate in their poffeffion, that the fame degree of faith and fervour, which prevailed over others, could not caft them out, muft not the fame thing hold, from analogy, with respect to other mercies? And how juftly are indifferent, luke-warm worshippers denied that bleffing which they fo lightly efteem? Let me therefore, earnestly, beseech every ferious perfon not to reftrain prayer before God, but to repeat, and urge the plea, that he would be graciously present with us; that he would pour down his Spirit from on high, and make us to know, to our happy experience, that a day in his courts is better than a thoufand; and that it is better to be door-keepers in the houfe of God, than to dwell in ⚫ the tents of wickednefs."

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SERMON III.

The glory of Chrift in his humiliation.

ISAIAH lxiii. 1. fecond claufe.

-This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his ftrength?

MY

Y brethren, all the works of God are great and marvellous, worthy of the attention and admiration of his rational creatures. The contemplation of what is now revealed of him, is the noblest employment of which we are capable in this world: and the more clear and enlarged contemplation of him fhall be our employment and happiness in the world above. But of all the works of God, there is none in which his perfections are fo fignally displayed, as in the redemption of an elect world through Jefus Chrift. All other views of his glory are faint and fading in comparison of this. However much we are called to adore the power and wisdom of Creation, or the goodness and bounty of Providence, our praises are extremely defective, if we omit that new fong which he hath put into our mouths,

even praise to our God for his unspeakable gift. Redeeming love, my brethren, is the immediate object of our attention in the holy ordinance of the Lord's fupper. Here is a fymbolical representation of it, that faith may be ftrengthened by the aid of fenfe. I hope, therefore, it will not be improper, by way of preparation for it, to take a view of the glory of our Redeemer's character, whofe fufferings we are now to commemorate. As falvation is an agreeable found, fo the name of a Saviour is a delightful name to every believer. I may therefore fafely prefume upon the attention of all fuch at least, while I endeavour to fet him before you, as he is reprefented in the frong and forcible language of the text, Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his appare!, travelling in the greatness of his ftrength? Such a theme will be the moft proper introduction to the work of this day; that, as we are to commemorate Christ's sufferings as an extraordinary event, he is here spoken of, and his appearance inquired into, in words of aftonishment and admiration: Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah! this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his ftrength! I shall not spend time in affigning the reasons why interpreters generally apply these words to Chrift, but only observe, that, on this suppofition, they contain a mixed representation of glory and fuffering, of ftrength and abafement, which is the very substance and meaning of a Saviour on the crofs.

Agreeably to this, the fingle point I have in view, in the prefent difcourfe, is, through divine affistance, to point out to you, in what respects the glory of our Redeemer was apparent even in his fufferings, and fhone through even the dark cloud that covered him in his humiliation, or in the language of the text, how he might be faid, to travel in the greatness of his ftrength: and then I fhall make fome practical improvement of what may be faid.

I. I am to point out to you, in what refpects the glory of our Redeemer was apparent even in his fufferings, and fhone through even the dark cloud that covered him in his humiliation. As the love of God to man, in providing redemption for him, was inconceiveable, fo the mean which he employed, in accomplishing this great work, was equally aftonishing. That his eternal and well-beloved Son fhould veil his divine glory, clothe himself with human flesh, subject himself to a life of pain and fuffering, and at laft make his foul an offering for fin upon a crofs. This, as it was not after the manner of men, nor bore upon it any of the marks of human wifdom, as it was defigned, and doth tend, to abafe the pride of man, and exalt the grace of God; fo it is with difficulty that man can be brought to an approbation of it. The cross of Chrift was to the Jews a 'ftumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishnefs.' It is therefore proper, that when we are to commemorate the incarnation and death of our Redeemer, we fhould attend to these evidences of his divine glory that still appeared even in his loweft abafement. By

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