the holiness of his character, the righteousness of his government, and the truth of his word, When he brought in the flood of waters upon the world of the ungodly: when he destroyed the wicked cities of the plain by fire and brimstone out of heaven; when he caused the earth to open, and to swallow up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram-what glorious manifestations did these aweful events exhibit of his holy hatred of sin, and of the irresistible strength of his arm? What is the language which the Almighty himself employs, when predicting the overthrow of the Egyptians in the Red Sea. I will get me honour upon Pharaoh and upon all his host *. What is the language which Moses employs in celebrating this tremendous display of divine vengeance? Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy, And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee; thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders ?†

But further, let it be remembered, that in order to glorify the Name of God, it is requisite, not only that his infinite perfections be

* Exodus, xiv. 17.

+ Exodus, xv. 6, 7, 11.

manifested, but that they be manifested in full harmony and agreement with each other. To exalt one of his great attributes at the expense of another, would be not to augment, but to diminish his glory. Should his mercy, for instance, be dispensed in such a manner, as to make it appear that he was less than perfectly holy, just, and true, his character, instead of being magnified, would be rendered less glorious. God must be infinite in all his attributes. One must not be restrained by another. One must not entrench upon another. All must agree together. All must

be exercised together without interference or disorder. And, in proportion as this harmony of the divine perfections is more conspicuously displayed, the Name of God appears more glorious,

II. I proceed to shew how God's Name is glorified by the sufferings and death of Christ. The death of Christ was shameful and accursed: for cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree*, His sufferings before his death were multiplied and excessive. He suffered both in body and in soul; by the hand of man, and by the hand of God. Not only were the malice and fury of the Jews and Romans combined against him; not only were the powers of darkness.

Gal. iii. 13.

let loose upon him; but it also pleased the Lord to bruise him, and to afflict him in the day of his fierce anger. No sorrow was ever like his sorrow. But how was the Name of God glorified in his sorrow? How were the infinite perfections of the Godhead manifested in the aweful spectacle which Gethsemane and Calvary exhibited? Had Jesus been a sinner, the divine justice and holiness might have been displayed in the sufferings which he endured. God might have been glorified in executing upon him the punishment which he had incurred. But Jesus was not a sinner: he had done no sin; neither was guile found in his mouth. The prince of this world had no part in him. Though he suffered more than any other man ever suffered; yet, unlike to all the rest of mankind, he deserved not to have suffered at all. How then was God glorified in his sufferings. We should have thought that it would have redounded more to the glory of God to have interposed in his behalf; to have rescued him from danger; to have poured vengeance on his adversaries.

Shall we remove this difficulty, by saying, that he suffered for others; that he endured the wrath of God, and the pains of the cross, not for his own sins, but for the sins of the world? But how was God glorified by such a

substitution? We will allow that his mercy towards sinners might be shewn in admitting another to suffer in their stead: but what shall we say of his holiness! Would not this perfection suffer loss by such an exchange, and appear less glorious? Would God's holy hatred of sin be displayed so clearly in the temporary sufferings, however great, of one righteous individual, as in the everlasting misery and destruction of a whole world of sinners? Would the former spectacle have afforded an exhibition equally aweful with the latter, of the holiness of God's character, and of the righteousness of his moral government? Consider with yourselves, my brethren: bring home the question to your own experience. Behold, on the one hand, an innocent man undergoing all the agonies which Jesus underwent. Contemplate, on the other, millions of wretched spirits plunged into that lake of torment, where the worm never dieth, and the fire is never quenched. Which sight affects you most? In which is the holy character of God most clearly seen? Does not the latter confessedly fill you with the greatest dread of sin, and with the most aweful thoughts of the divine perfections? How then can God be glorified in the vicarious sufferings of Christ for sinners, when those sufferings display his glorious attributes less clearly, than the sufferings of

sinners in their own persons would display them? With what truth could Jesus represent his death as conducive to the divine glory? To solve this difficulty, another consideration must be added. What was the What was the person of this sufferer? Who was this Son of Man, of whose sufferings we are speaking? In all our apprehensions of suffering, the station and dignity of the sufferer are circumstances of no inconsiderable importance. The same degree. of suffering, when undergone by a person of rank and eminence, appears to us far greater, and excites our pity far more, than when undergone by a person of inferior condition. Suffering royalty is an object, which calls forth our deepest commiseration. Again, the more exalted a person's rank may be, the more striking is any disgrace which may befal him; the more exemplary any punishment which may be inflicted on him. Should the son of a king be brought to expiate by his life the crimes which he had committed, far different would be the sensations occasioned by such a spectacle, than if it were a subject only, who was condemned to die. The station of the criminal would impress on all beholders the most aweful conviction of the inflexible justice of his father, and of the honour which he put his law. Apply these remarks to the case before us. What was the dignity of Jesus?

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