sacrifice, the labour of his sufferings, his very passion itself. Let us then consider the SIGHT and the SATISFACTION referred to in this part of my text. With regard to the first, our Lord HAS SEEN of the travail of his soul.

From the beginning he BEHELD IN CONTEMPLATION all the fruits of his sufferings; this was the joy which was set before him. He viewed from far the effects of his incarnation. He saw God glorified, the law magnified, sin condemned, sinners rescued, hell confounded-A thousand years are with the Lord as one day.

During THE VARIOUS DISPENSATIONS PRECEDING HIS ACTUAL COMING IN THE FLESH, he saw the effects of the sacrifice which he had engaged to make. From the fall of Adam to the very hour when our Lord endured the agony of the cross, every faithful servant of God was saved by the virtue of the destined redemption. Christ was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Abel was saved by faith in his future atonement. Enoch and Noah were rescued by the same redemption. Abraham rejoiced to see the Saviour's day. The typical economy of Moses was the shadow and pattern of heavenly things. David triumphed in his future seed. Isaiah saw his glory. All the patriarchs and prophets and saints of God, from the primeval promise to the crucifixion, were first-fruits of our Lord's death; the anticipation of the future glorious trophies of the Captain of our Salvation.

But it was ON THE CROSS ITSELF that the Lord Christ saw with one unerring view the full and splendid results of his undertaking. The text may perhaps be more expressly intended to convey this idea. He shall see of the travail of his soul; he shall, when in the midst of that agony which is to purchase a lost world, see in prospect the glorious victories of his grace, the triumphs of his Gospel,

the salvation of sinners. Yes, in the depth of his grief and woe, amidst the ignominy of his death, the pressure of the divine wrath on his soul, the exultation of the priests, and the efforts of the powers of darkness, he beheld the train of humble converts whom his sufferings should deliver and save; and animated by the view, he fainted not nor was discouraged during the dreadful conflict.

After his ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN, however, the prospect of the salvation of men began to be realized in a more ample manner. Then the Spirit was poured out, thousands were converted, the Gospel was preached throughout the world, churches were established, and multitudes of every nation were added to the Lord.

Throughout the SUCCEEDING AGES OF THE CHURCH the Saviour has still continued to behold the fruits of his travail. Wherever the Gospel has been carried or revived, wherever sinners have received its message, wherever pardon has been granted or holiness produced, wherever even one penitent believer has reached the glories of heaven, the eternal Lord of the church has marked the event. Nothing has escaped the diligent eye of the compassionate Redeemer, as nothing has been effected but by his power.

But not only has our Lord already seen of the travail of his soul, but HE STILL DOES SEE of it. His arm is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. In the present day the same doctrine of his atoning sacrifice, applied to the heart by the same Spirit, is attended with the same effects. The Saviour sees in every quarter of his church, the numbers who repent, believe, and obey the Gospel. He beholds all the effects of the preaching of his cross. When men begin, by his grace, to listen to his invitations, to approach his footstool, to forsake sin, to leave the

world, to renounce themselves, and to run the heavenly race, the Redeemer sees every step of the process. And as each humble follower of his cross departs in peace and reaches the realms of glory, a new joy is felt, a new triumph of his grace is achieved, a new fruit and effect of his sufferings obtained.

But the Saviour SHALL SEE HEREAFTER in a still more ample measure this glorious sight. At present little comparatively has been done. The enemies of the Cross are often permitted to prevail. Satan reigns by temptation and lusts, by superstition, infidelity, and false religions. An immense majority of the whole race of mankind is still covered by worse than Egyptian darkness. Paganism and Mohammedanism hang their dark, impenetrable cloud over the fairest portions of the globe. But the Mediator has all things in his hands. The kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ. Thousands yet unborn shall become his subjects. His people shall be willing in the day of his power. He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. Fit instruments shall be raised up to propagate his truth in all lands. The ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. And when all the elect are at length brought to eternal glory, then, and not till then, will the solemn engagement to the Messiah in my text be fully accomplished, and he will see in the most comprehensive sense of the travail of his soul.

And with what feelings will he behold the sight? HE SHALL BE SATISFIED. How sublime is the thought! The redemption of sinners will satisfy and fill the mind of the holy Saviour. Intense and unutterable as were his griefs, he shall look back on them with pleasure, when he views the consequences of them in the eternal salvation of men. We know

that in proportion to the extent and purity of the mind must be the excellency of the object which can satisfy it. Thus a corrupt and debased person is pleased with an object which would disgust a mind which is holy and elevated. A narrow and uninformed intellect reposes with delight on a topic, which an enlarged and cultivated understanding contemns. Even amidst the truly religious, the knowledge and feelings of a young and inexperienced Christian are gratified with that which the aged and matured Christian considers as trifling or inadequate. If we rise from our own fallen race to the spirits in glory, and proceed to the consideration of angelic powers and capacities, we are lost in the thought. We are unable to represent to ourselves the design which could fully satiate and engage these exalted beings. What then must be the object which can satisfy the Eternal Saviour, the incomprehensible Word, the Only begotten of the Father! Between the capacities of the most contracted human understanding, and that of the loftiest archangel before the throne of God, there are, though we may be unable to ascertain them, some measures of proportion, because they are both finite. But between the mind of the highest archangel and that of the Eternal Son of God, there is no proportion, no common term, no mean of comparison. Finite and infinite are severed by an impassable barrier. What then must be the object on which the blessed Redeemer can rest with plenary delight; what the scheme which can satisfy the eternal mind? And when we learn, as we have learned, that the pardon and recovery of us sinners is this object, what exalted ideas must it give us of the value and glory of redemption ! We are apt to speak of this stupendous mercy in general and superficial language; but when we catch a glimpse of heaven, and view the adorable Redeemer as contemplating this design,

revolving it with ineffable complacency, and filling all his mind with its endless consequences; when we behold this object absorbing his regard, satisfying his wishes, and adding to his joys, we shall begin to estimate it somewhat more according to its real importance.

But we are not merely to consider the salvation of sinners as satisfying the Saviour, but as satisfying him AFTER ALL THE PRECEDING ANGUISH OF HIS SUFFERINGS. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and seeing it shall, notwithstanding that travail, be satisfied. What an inexpressible dignity does this consideration confer on the redemption of man! Even in human affairs an object, in order to satisfy the mind, must repay the previous labour and anxiety and expense which the attaining of it has occasioned. If a design has cost us but little, a small measure of success will afford us pleasure. But if immense pain and suffering and privation and solicitude have been incurred in the execution of a particular project, we cannot be satisfied without a proportionate success. Thus the merchantman, after the toil and expense of his search, is satisfied only when he discovers a pearl of great price. Thus the physician, after intense application and care, expects and desires the complete recovery of the patient. Thus the parent, after the tenderness and instruction and prayers and tears which a beloved child has occasioned him, is only fully satiated by its future obedience and piety. To estimate, then, the satisfaction of our Lord in seeing the effects of his sufferings, we must recall what has already been remarked of the extent of them. We must reflect on the infinite condescension of the Saviour in becoming man, in order to endure them. We must consider how little a part of them we are able to comprehend. And then we must endeavour to raise our minds, to the grandeur of the success