to the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory; that as all power was given unto thee, fo every tongue might confess thy fupremacy in heaven, in earth, and under the earth.

BUT how, O bleffed Saviour, didft thou afcend? While they beheld, thou wert taken up-so taken up, as that the act was thine own, the power of that act only thine. Thou who defcendedst wert the fame who didft afcend, ftill and ever the Mafter of thine actions. Thou didft lay down thine own life-thou didst raise up thine own body-thou didst carry up thy glorified nature, and didft place it in heaven. The angels attended thee, they did not aid thee-thou didst not stand in need of a fiery chariot, to waft thee to thy glory. As thou didst exalt thyfelf, thou wilt hereafter exalt thy faithful people. Thou shalt change this vile body, that it may be made like unto thy glorious body, according to the

mighty working, whereby thou art able to fubdue all things to thyself.

As, after thy refurrection, thou madeft choice of thofe eyes, whom thou wouldft bless with the fight of thee, manifefting thyself to five hundred at once, but avoiding the prefence of thine enemies and murderers: fo in thine afcenfion, thou didst select a sufficient number of witneffes, to atteft thy miraculous reception into thy kingdom. They only beheld thine exaltation, who had shared thy ftate of deep humility. Still doft thou deal thus with thy fervants, O LORD, and we rejoice in the condition. If we will converfe with thee in thy lowly eftate on earth, partaking of the afflictions of the gospel, we fhall in thine own time be made happy by the fight and participation of thy glory.

WHAT a fight was this of joyful asfurance, of fpiritual confolation! Behold the Saviour of mankind rifing infenfibly

fenfibly from mount Olivet, taking leave of his admiring difciples with gracious looks, with uplifted hands, with heavenly benedictions! O how unwillingly did their eager eyes recede from so bleffed an object! How unwelcome was that cloud, which interpofed itself between them and their Master, leaving behind it a glorious fplendour, as the bright track of his afcenfion! With what geftures, what exclamations of attentive wonder did these transported beholders follow thee their triumphant Saviour, as if they would have looked through that cloud, which hid thee from them, to the empyreal heaven!

Bur oh what tongue of the highest Archangel can exprefs the welcome of thee, the LORD omnipotent, into those bleffed regions of immortality! GOD afcended with a fhout, and the LORD with the found of the trumpet. If, when he brought his only begotten Son into the world,

world, he faid, "Let all the angels
"worship him," much more now, that
he ascends on high, and hath led capti-
vity captive, hath he given him a name
which is above every name, that at the
name of JESUS every knee fhould bow.
If the heavenly hoft rejoiced at the mo-
ment of his birth, on his entrance into
that state of humiliation and infirmity,
with what congratulations did they re-
ceive the Conqueror of hell and death,
returning from the complete atchieve-
ment of man's redemption?
"Lift up

your heads, O ye gates, even lift them

up, ye everlasting doors-and the "KING OF GLORY fhall come in." Thousand thoufands miniftered unto him, ten thousand times ten thousand ftood before him. "Worthy is the LAMB, "that was flain, to receive power, and "riches, and wisdom, and ftrength, and "honour, and glory, and blessing. Bless

ing, and honour, and glory, and power,

be

"beunto Him that fitteth upon the throne, "and to the Lamb, for ever and ever.'

AND why do we not join the celestial choir? Why are we not filled with tranfports of holy joy, to behold our human nature thus affociated with the divine, to fee the SON OF MAN exalted above all the powers of Heaven, adored by Angels and Archangels, crowned with inexpreffible and eternal majesty?

Lo, for our fakes, thou, the forerunner and captain of our falvation, art entered into thy glory, and preparest the way for thy fervants. How ftudiously fhould we follow thee in faith and love, in humility and long-fuffering-how ardently should we afpire after the manfions of blifs! Oh teach us to follow thee in the conflict, that we may partake of thy triumph, and may fit down with thee on thy glorious throne.

AMONG the multitude of angels who witnessed thine ascension, some are commiffioned