that God is holy, as well as wise, in all his dispensations?

Are we the subjects of this mercy? and does it produce its effects? Does a sense of guilt invade the conscience? "The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." There is infinitely more glory in the sacrifice on Calvary, than there is demerit in hell itself.

Sunday Morning, March 13, 1831.

SERMON XLVII.

CHRIST ESSENTIAL LIFE-HIS CHURCH LIVING IN HIM.

Because I live, ye shall live also.-JOHN XIV. 19.

In the sixteenth verse, our Lord says, “and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." Seventeenth-" even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Eighteenth-" I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." They were happier in his personal absence, having the Comforter with them, than they were in his personal presence. Christ, in his Spirit, is what we stand in need of; this will raise us above all the snares of prosperity and adversity. Nineteenth-"Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me." Seen by faith here below; seen in glory by them for

ever and if so, this is a consequence following from the cause stated in the words of the text, "because I live, ye shall live also."

These words were uttered by One who is ESSENTIAL LIFE; and this is the first thing to be considered. The Saviour lives from eternity to eternity; finite being cannot be essential life. The Saviour says, "I am the resurrection and the life." The resurrection, because essential life. Essential life must inhabit eternity; it is infinitely beyond the reach of change, or any approach to it, with him "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Essential life inhabits infinite space, and in all its attributes it inhabits every monade. Essential life involves in it every possible perfection, but not so finite being; that presents a perfect contrast. Finite being, however modified, whether in angelic or human natures, ever had, and ever will have in it, the seeds of dissolution; and nothing but the ceaseless energy of God can prevent the consequences which would flow from that principle of dissolution. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men; the light of reason flows from him, but, in an especial manner, he is the light and the life of his Church. The attributes of essential life are peculiarly interesting to

us, as they involve our welfare in time and eternity. 1

1

The folly of denying the deity of Christ is extreme; so great, that did we not know the fact, we could scarcely credit it. Socinians call themselves rational Christians, but their creed is as unphilosophical as it is false; it is contrary to the nature of things, and involves in it a total ignorance of the real dependence of man,-indeed, of all finite being upon Deity. True religion only consists in absolute ceaseless dependence upon Deity; emanating from the bosom of the Saviour himself to the bosoms of all his family.

Secondly: ESSENTIAL LIFE ASSUMED OUR

NATURE AND TOOK IT INTO INTIMATE UNION

WITH ITself. This was necessary to raise man from the ruins of the fall. Nothing could have separated humanity from the first Adam but essential life. In the womb of the virgin he presents us with a contrast to his brethren; we are wholly destitute of the image of God from the first period of our being; behold essential life taking our nature into union with itself, in the earliest period of its existence; the humanity of the Saviour then bore the

1 Among others, Mr. Howels enumerated purity and bliss as the attributes of essential life.

image of the living God. Essential life threw sin to the distance of infinity and eternity from the humanity of the Saviour, in the womb of the virgin. The contrast is striking in us,-at the earliest period of our being, we are sinful; and sin gradually developes itself in exclusive selfishness :-all the sin which was ever committed springs from exclusive selfishness :-but the Saviour increased in wisdom, and in stature, and in favour with God and man.

Consider, also, what he did while here below; all he did emanated from his essential lifehence all his graces: nor think that they had less of excellence and beauty in them on that account; it increased their excellence. Mankind attach merit to something, because it is achieved by themselves; but surely it does not detract from the merit of a good work, to say it emanates from God; all merit must come from God.

The Saviour in his humanity was as much the creation of essential life as we are; see religion in all its glory in the person of the Saviour, and, at the same time, see all the sources whence that religion flowed. Thoughtless sinner! let me, before I pass on, ask you a question:-if the humanity of the Saviour was dependent upon his essential Deity, upon whom, if you are saved, must your salva