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ence of that temporary suffering which bowed Him down to the grave in anguish? What then will be the misery, what the woe, what the inconceivable wretchedness, which must befall them, who will not come unto him that they may have life, who turned away from the Lamb of God; and from all the unfathomable mercies of his salvation; and who, when the hour of their unbelief and impenitence shall reach its awful close, having no union with Him who is, in his people, a well of water, springing up into everlasting life, will then be separated from Him, without hope, and that for ever?

If He said, "I thirst," when He had borne the wrath of God for a few hours, what will be their state, who must grapple with it for ever? But, I will not dwell on this dreadful subject. Only consider, my dear hearers, who are thus neglecting Christ, what anguish God's own Son must have borne, when the sins of men were only imputed unto Him. Only consider, what that man deserves to feel, who hath not only

merited eternal pain, but who hath despised the remedy, that God gave him, in the blood of Christ, for the salvation of his soul. Consider this; and may the Holy Ghost bless it, to an earnest desire for Jesus Christ, and for the life eternal, that is by faith in his name!

3. Did Jesus thirst upon the cross, to bring in an everlasting righteousness? Blessed then are they, that do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.

If you are thus desiring, your Heavenly Father will not deal with you, as the Jews dealt with the Saviour, He will not give you gall, instead of bread, nor vinegar, instead of water. Come to Him: "buy wine and milk, without money, and without price." You may be brought into much trouble, to make you still more earnestly desire the blood of Jesus Christ. But when your souls gasp, like a parched land, and are as far from self-refreshment, as a man

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can be from drawing water out of the flint, then shall the fountain of salvation in Christ be opened to you; that you may drink and live for ever. Mercy indeed, to a convinced sinner, seems oftentimes as remote, as rivers from a rock of stone: and perhaps few come near to mercy, who do not at first think themselves far from it. When the Israelites cried, "We are ready to perish with thirst; then they stood upon the very ground where rivers were to run for their refreshment, their strength, and their comfort, in the wilderness. The thirsty soul, panting for Christ and his salvation, shall assuredly have them both, for they are inseparable, whatever difficulties may appear to interpose. "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them; I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the vallies, I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land

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springs of water. I will give drink to my people my chosen." God will not strike the rock of his justice, and your hearts together, ye who have begun to feel your perishing need of Jesus; but the rod of his mercy shall touch the rock, even a crucified Saviour for you; and you shall drink, and live for ever.

SERMON VII.

THE CONSUMMATION.

JOHN XIX. 30.

JESUS SAID, IT IS FINISHED.

In that last prayer, which the Saviour of sinners offered up to God for his disciples, and his Church, to the end of time, He said, "I have glorified Thee upon the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." That assertion, made by the faithful and true Witness, was spoken with reference to his active obedience, now drawing to a close; and the instructions now communicated to those given Him out of the world; as well as in anticipation of the mediatorial sufferings,

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