SERMON XXII.

THE BEARING OF THE INCARNATION ON THE DOCTRINES AND ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH.

ST. MATT. Xxviii. 20.

"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

THESE most comforting words were, as you all know, spoken by the Blessed Jesus! by Him who was indeed "the Amen," the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; who is the I Am, without beginning, and without end, from everlasting to everlasting. He came to men, and went away from men, and is come to men; and yet He was here when He came, nor did He depart when He went away, and He is come to them to whom He said, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." He is in and with His sacraments, for He is Light and Life; He is in and with His preachers, and His priests, for He is the almighty Prophet, and the great High Priest. He is in and with all the faithful, for He is "all and in all," and His Church is the fulness of Him which filleth all in all. He is our King for ever, for He

is set down in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and is the Head over all things to His spouse. He has put all things under His feet; all but His elect, whom He takes into His own body, whom He makes kings and priests unto God and the Father, with whom He is ever present, according to His own most comfortable promise and assurance.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, let us comfort one another with these words, which present to us Jesus in His offices ministerial, priestly, and regal, ever abiding with us, and in us. Let us endeavour, by the aid of Scripture, and our own natural sense of the fitness of things,

1stly, To view these three characters of our Lord and our God, with reference especially to His abiding presence with His Church.

2ndly, To see how this same doctrine of the Divine presence should affect our estimate of those Gospel mysteries and external ceremonials of worship, which are more immediately connected with His prophetic, priestly, and regal offices, in the hope that we may feel reassured in ourselves, and, by God's grace, impress it upon the hearts of Christ's little ones, and the weaker brethren, that the wellordering and present glory, not to say vitality, of the visible Church, and of its members, flow directly from, and are sustained by these, and that, in proportion as they are lost sight of, or, more sad still, are turned into a stone of stumbling or rock of

offence, there will surely be found amongst us irreverence and want of unity.

And, first, for the prophetic or ministerial office of Jesus Christ.

We are all doubtless aware that the office of prophet was not confined to the prediction of future events, but had for its province to instruct the people, and interpret the law of God. And the reason of this is obvious. Whenever a prophet was made the bearer of a message from the King of kings, and, as a seer, was to foretell things to come; when there was revealed to him the awful consequences of transgression, then to warn and to exhort to a timely repentance would be the part not only of stern duty and fidelity to the Most Highest, but also of affectionate patriotism. "To cry aloud, to spare not, to lift up his voice like a trumpet, to show the people of God their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins," was the command given to the evangelical prophet, Isaiah, when it was needful to rouse the fears of a disobedient nation, and to recal it to repentance.

So, again, our Blessed Lord, in bearing testimony to the high character of His forerunner, after replying to his memorable question, asked under temporary misgiving, and faint-heartedness, "Art thou He that should come ?" cried aloud before the multitude, 'Verily I say unto you, of those which are born of woman, there hath not arisen a greater prophet than John the Baptist." And, again, when our Lord was beset by cavilling priests and elders, and had reduced them to a dilemma, by asking "the baptism of John, whence was it?" they dared not say, for

they feared the people, for all held John as a prophet. Now, St. John had little about him, as a matter of fact, which characterized a seer as such, but was strictly a teacher, and minister of baptism. What he foretold was contained in few words, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" and all else was but intended to prepare the hearts of his countrymen for the great consummation, the Messiah's Advent. His voice, generally, was as the sound of a trumpet to alarm, while he proclaimed, "Now is the axe laid unto the root of the trees: every tree, therefore, which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Repent ye, for the kingdom

of heaven is at hand."

To the Baptist succeeded our Blessed Lord as a Prophet and Teacher. For God, by the mouth of His servant Moses, had long before signified of His so coming: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words into his mouth. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which He shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." And we collect from the speeches of St. Peter and St. Stephen, that it was Jesus of whom the lawgiver spake.

Next, passing from the law to the prophets, we read: "The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek." taught of the Lord." parable." And the

"All Thy people shall be "I will open my mouth in a Gospels abound in like pas"Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God." "He went throughout every city and village preaching, and shewing the glad tidings of the

sages:

Y

kingdom of God."

villages teaching."

"He went round about all the "He taught in their synagogues,

"The "All

and preached in the synagogues of Galilee." poor have the Gospel preached unto them." these things spake Jesus unto the multitudes in parables." And more than forty such might be adduced as illustrative of the prophetic character of the Messiah as a Teacher. The tones of His voice indeed were as a trumpet, not of brass, but of silver, and He came to do what John could not. He came to repair the bruised reed, to heal the broken heart, to say to the waves and storms of the troubled mind, be still." He gave confidence to the affrighted, and hope to the desponding. He said to the leprous soul, "thy faith hath saved" thee, "be thou clean." Of the frail woman that was a sinner, "Verily, I say unto thee, her sins are forgiven, for she loved much." Still He laid not aside the very proclamation of John, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," even while He announced that faith in Himself was salvation, and that love was the consummation of the power of grace. He retained a baptism of water unto repentance. He added thereunto the ineffable name, and blood, and Spirit.

And this His doctrine and manner of preaching, brethren, is never to pass away. Blessed are your ears which hear Him saying still, "Lo, I am with you even unto the end of the world ;" I taught, I preached, I died, and rose again, I ascended up where I was before, but not until I had spoken unto my chosen, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth go ye, therefore, and disciple all nations;