truth; and to have on the breastplate of righteousness, and our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace" then shall we "in nothing be terrified by our adversaries; which will be to them an evident token of perdition, but unto us of salvation, and that of God." Then also may we, with the Apostle, esteem it a gift and privilege, “in behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake." The season of suffering will be short-the happiness and glory which shall follow it will be eternal. When the God of our salvation is revealed, it will be to the confusion of his enemies and ours; but it will be to our unutterable joy. He will acknowledge us as his good and faithful servants; he will completely transform us into his image— "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." No clouds will in that glorious day intercept the beams of the Sun of Righteousness. We shall know by blessed experience that he is the truth; for he will not only fulfil, but will surpass our largest expectations.

To Him, therefore, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, be ascribed, &c.

JESUS CHRIST

THE

TRUE GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE.

1 JOHN, v. 20, 21.

"We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true; and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

THE Soul which retains some consciousness of its high original, and aspires to regain primeval rectitude, must ever feel an ardent longing after truth. Such a soul will rejoice to hear of One who is not only capable of imparting this benefit, but came on earth for the express purpose of revealing to us " the only true God,” whom to know is "life eternal." John, xvii. 3.

The Apostle, in the words before us, presents to us this most gracious Instructor and Deliverer-the Son of God, who both makes known to us his heavenly Father, and also secures to us the enjoyment of his favour. St. John does not speak of what he had heard from others, but of what he and his brethren had themselves experienced. "We know (he says) that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding that we may

know him that is true;" asserting that he not merely is capable of bestowing, but that he actually has bestowed, that knowledge. This was a subject respecting which the sacred writer could not be mistaken. He well remembered his original state of blindness and ignorance. He had felt the beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining in upon his soul. He had received "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. iv. 6), and could testify to its transforming efficacy. Others could support that testimony, both by declaring what they witnessed of the grace bestowed upon this favoured disciple of Jesus, and that of which they had been themselves partakers.

Here, then, my brethren, we have additional answers to the inquiries which I have already urged you to make -What is Truth? and Where is Truth? Here, also, we have another witness that "the truth is in Jesus," and that he is both able and willing to declare it to us. Having in two former discourses endeavoured to excite you to search for truth in this, the only right direction, I am desirous now to prosecute the subject, by shewing what is truth, in opposition to the doctrines of Arians and Socinians, who deny the deity and atonement of our Lord and Saviour.

The error which I am anxious to expose is peculiarly dangerous, because it subverts the very foundation of our hope it takes away the only assurance we can have that our sins are pardoned, and a way opened for our restoration to the Divine favour.

:

If Christ be not God, as well as man, then he cannot be a saviour; for salvation is not a work which even

the highest creature can accomplish. Unless his nature, and consequently his merits, are infinite, he can neither make an infinite satisfaction for sin, nor procure for us eternal blessedness. The subject, therefore, to which I would now call your thoughts is one in which we are all most deeply interested. We are all sinners, both by nature and by practice, and as such have become exposed to endless ruin. The Apostle truly affirms, in the verse preceding my text, "We know that the whole world lieth in wickedness." It did so till the Son of God came to establish a righteous kingdom in the hearts of men. He has begun to establish it, and the work is proceeding; but, alas! we see only the dawn of that glorious day when it shall be completed. In the hope of becoming, in his hand, a humble instrument to carry on that work, I shall endeavour to set forth the instruction contained in the words before us.

I. The Apostle declares, "We know that the Son of God is come." Let us begin by inquiring what the Scriptures teach us by this title, "the Son of God." It is a title which, in an inferior sense, is given to others besides our blessed Saviour. Thus, we read (Gen. vi. 4) of the sons of God taking wives of the daughters of men; which, I apprehend, must be understood of the intermarriage of the descendants of Seth with Cain's unholy offspring. In the book of Job, the elect angels appear to be called by this name. "There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord." At the creation of this world the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Our Evangelist says, in a former chapter, "Be

hold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (1 John, iii. 1). As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name (John, i. 12). We are admitted to this blessed relation by virtue of our union with Christ, to whom the dignity more especially and absolutely belongs. He is not merely called the Son, but the only Son of God," the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John, i. 14). This title is given to him (as respects his human nature) for several reasons: 1. His miraculous conception. To his virgin mother the angel said, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke, i. 35). 2. His miraculous resurrection is another reason for giving him this title. So Paul argued with the Jews at Antioch (Acts, xiii.) : "We declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." In like manner he described the Gospel, in the opening of his epistle to the Romans, as "concerning his Son Jesus Christ, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. i. 3, 4). 3. But there is a yet stronger reason for ascribing to him this high dignity. As man, he was the