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Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

THE

ACTION SERMON.

HE bare repetition of these words is fufficient to convince every hearer how well they are fuited to the defign of our prefent meeting, Redeeming love is certainly the most delightful of all themes to every real chriftian. It is the immediate and direct object of our contemplation in the Lord's fupper. This ordinance was inftituted to keep up the remembrance of the fufferings and death of Chrift, which was the great and finishing proof of his love. How then can you attend on it in a more becoming and dutiful, a more pleafant and defireable, or a more happy and useful frame of fpirit, than when your hearts are filled with a fenfe of the love of Chrift, and you find yourfelves difpofed to join, with a mixture. of joy and wonder, in the doxology of the apostle John, in the text, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood?

The author of this book is fometimes ftyled the disciple whom Jesus loved. Since, therefore, it pleafed his mafter to diftinguish him by the tenderness of particular friendship, it is no wonder that we find fo much of the delightVOL. I.

Xx

ful affection of love in his writings. In the beginning of this chapter, he gives an account of the general fubject and defign of the book of Revelation, the manner in which the discoveries contained in it were made to him, and his fidelity in teftifying them to others. Then follows the apoftolic falutation to the feven churches in Afia, which is a folemn benediction, in name of all the perfons of the adorable Trinity: "Grace be to you, and peace, from "him which is, and which was, and which is to come;" (that is, from God the Father, the ancient of days, immutable and eternal); "and from the feven fpirits which "are before his throne;" (not to detain you with a critical account of this phrafe, it means the Holy Ghoft, single in his perfon, but multiplied in his gifts; the variety, fullness, and perfection of which, are denoted by this form of expreffion); "and from Jefus Chrift, who is the "faithful witness, and the firft-begotten from the dead, " and the Prince of the kings of the earth." To him, you fee, he gives three illuftrious characters.

1. The faithful witness, who came from above, and revealed the whole will of God for our falvation; who be ing the eternal truth, might be abfolutely depended on in the account he was by the apoftle to communicate, of the great events of Providence towards his church and people. 2. The first begotten from the dead, declared to be the Son of God with power, by his glorious refurrection and triumph over the king of terrors. And, 3. The Prince of the kings of the earth; that is, the Lord of nature, to whom every prince and potentate must be subject, and to the ends of whofe Providence, and the increafe of whofe kingdom, all their schemes of policy and conqueft fhall at laft be fubfervient. He then, with great proprie ty, having mentioned the name, and given a fhort view of the character' of his bleffed Lord, lays hold of the op portunity to exprefs his own and every other finner's obligation to him in this fublime afcription, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

To enter upon the confideration of the love of Chrift in its full extent, in its fource, its expreffions, and its effects, even thofe that are fuggefted in the text, would

far exceed the bounds of a fingle difcourfe. What I propofe, therefore, at this time, in order to prepare your minds and my own, for the folemn action before us, is only to collect into one view fome of the great and general characters of the love of Chrift, which are moft proper. to excite our gratitude and praife; and then to make fome practical improvement of it for your inftruction and direction.

I. First, then, let us endeavor to point out fome of the great and general characters of the love of Chrift. In this I fhall take care to confine myself to fuch views as are given of it in the holy fcriptures. And every character given of it there, we are both entitled and obliged to attend to, and improve.

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1. First of all, then, you may observe, that it is an everlasting love. It took its rife in the eternal counfels of Heaven. This is a character given of the love of God to his people, Jer. xxxi. 3. "Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness "have I drawn thee." This expreffion is often used with a double view, to fhew, on the one hand, its early, its original fource, and on the other, its perpetual ftability, and endless duration. Pfal. ciii. 17. "But the mercy of "the Lord is from everlasting to everlafting upon them "that fear him; and his righteoufnefs unto children's "children." Ifa. liv. 7, 8. "For a fmall moment have "I forfaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather "thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a "moment; but with everlafting kindness will I have

mercy on thee, faith the Lord thy Redeemer." Having cited thefe paffages of the Old Teftament, I muft juftify the application of them, by obferving that all the covenant-mercies of God to man, in our prefent fallen flate, are to be referred to the love of Chrift, as their price, their fource, and their fum. This is plain from innumerable paffages of fcripture: Eph. i. 4, 5." According as "he hath chofen us in him, before the foundation of the "world, that we fhould be holy, and without blame before "him in love: having predeftinated us unto the adoption

"of children by Jefus Chrift to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." Eph. iii. 11. "According "to the eternal purpose which he purpofed in Chrift Jefus "our Lord." For this reafon it is, amongst others, that Chrift is called, Rev. xiii. 8. "the Lamb flain from the "foundation of the world."

I confefs, my brethren, we are but ill able to understand, or at least to measure, the import of this truth, that the love of Chrift to finners, or of God in him, was from eternity. All our conceptions are foon loft, and fwallowed up, in what is infinite and boundlefs. But furely it affords matter for the deepeft and humbleft adoration, as well as for the highest gratitude and joy. Does it not afford matter for adoring wonder, that the plan for redeeming loft finners, and reftoring them to the obedience and enjoyment of God, was the object of the divine purpose from eternity? It appears to be a very confpicuous part, or rather perhaps we are warranted to fay, from the fcripture revelation, that it is the chief part of our Creator's will, to which every other part of his providence is subordinate and fubfervient. Accordingly, in the very paf fage where my text lies, the Redeemer fays, ver. 8." I "am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, "faith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is "to come, the Almighty." Does not this lead us to contemplate the glory of an infinite God, as it fhines in this everlasting love? Does it not alfo afford matter of grati tude to the believing foul, while he confiders every vessel of mercy as concerned in this eternal purpose ?

I am fenfible my brethren, there may be an abuse and perverfion of the doctrine of election, if we think of it as independent of its fruits, and apply it fo as to produce either fecurity or defpair. But I defpife the wisdom of thofe perfons who would conceal this truth as dangerous, which it hath pleafed God diftin&tly to reveal. It is the root which produceth the plant; but it is the plant which discovers the root. It is the fountain which produceth the ftreams; but the ftreams lead us to the fountain. Muft not the finner who by faith has laid hold on a crucified Saviour, and given credit to the word of God in a preach

ed gofpel, confider, with admiration, his name written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world? What delight will it give him! What honor does it reflect upon him, at the fame time that it deftroys the very foundation of arrogance and pride? This is the firit, and yet it is but one of many parts of the doctrine o falvation, which at once exalts and abases us; railes our hopes, and forbids us to glory; clothes us with infinite honor, and yet difcovers us to be less than nothing: fo that we may fay with the apostle Paul, after a view of the fame fubject, Rom. xi. 33. "O the depth of the riches "both of the wifdom and knowledge of God! how un"fearchable are his judgments, and his ways paft finding "out!" This leads me to obferve,

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2. That the love of Chrift is free and unmerited love. This is a circumftance that is fcarcely ever feparated from the account given of the love of Chrift in fcripture. It may be founded even on the infinite difproportion between uncreated excellence and created weakness: Pfal. vii. 4. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and "the fon of man, that thou vifiteft him?" Pfal. cxliv. 3. "Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him? 66 or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?” Nay, as if this were a truth of the utinoft moment, we have it repeated a third time in almoft the fame words; Job vii. 17. "What is man that thou fhouldft magnify him? "and that thou shouldft fet thine heart upon him?" But this is not all, nor indeed the main thing to be attended to; for the love of Chrift hath for its object those who were in actual rebellion against God, tranfgreffors of his holy law, and liable to the ftroke of his juftice. It was not only to exalt those who were low, or to fupply those who were needy, that Chrift came, but to deliver those who were appointed to death: John iii. 16. "God fo loved the "world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofo"ever believeth on him, fhould not perifh, but have everlafting life." Rom. v. 8. "But God commendeth his "love towards us, in that while we were yet finners, Chrift "died for us." Eph. ii. 4, 5. "But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even

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