Spirit of wisdom, he considered the darkened sun, the quaking earth, and the rending rocks, as the witness of heaven to the sufferer's innocence and dignity. The God of nature would not have signalized by such miracles the death of a criminal, an impostor, or an or dinary personage. The sun was eclipsed because he who forms the light was passing into the land of dark. ness; the vail of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom, to shew that a spiritual guide had now appeared to abolish the carnal ordinances of a preparatory dispensation, and to call us to a purer worship, a brighter creed, and a nobler temple; the earth quakes, and the rocks are rent, to testify that the crucified Saviour was one whom all the inhabitants of the world should fear, and the graves were opened because the keys of death were now committed to its conqueror.

Fix your attention, Christians, on these wonders, and give glory to him whom all the host of heaven worships; draw near to him in spiritual homage, and beseech him to melt your hearts in holy tenderness, and to form you to newness of life. No prejudices can be too gross for him to dissipate, no hearts too obdurate for him to mollify, no characters too depraved for him to renovate, and no despair too horrible for him to change into a lively hope.

But the Centurion was led to this testimony also by the behaviour of the sufferer. If he went at the head of the armed band by whom our Lord was apprehend◄ ed, he would witness the majesty of his look and voice, and the meekness and fortitude with which he resigned himself to their hands. If he was in the hall during the trial, he would behold the mild dignity of his de meanour amidst false accusations, and cruel abuse. His patience on the cross, so different from the sullen hardi. hood of the stubborn criminal, and the affected con

tempt of philosophic pride, his forgiveness of his ene mies, his gracious assurance of admission to heaven made to the penitent thief, the signal change wrought on that man, and the earnestness with which he implored his mercy, the confidence with which he committed his soul into his Father's hands, and the loud cry with which this was expressed, so different from the feeble and broken accents of the dying, convinced him that he was the Holy One of God.

Christians, contemplate these graces till you are formed to the likeness of his death, till patience is perfected in you, till every malignant passion is extirpated from your hearts, till you learn to live and to die in faith. May the review of them at this solemn season be blessed for changing you into his image, and may you de part from that table more imbued with his Spirit, and more devoted to his will,

After the Service:

How admirably does this testimony accord with that borne to a suffering Redeemer by the prophets ! Isaiah, looking to the man of sorrows, calls him, " Immanuel, God with us ;" Jeremiah styles him whom you see numbered with transgressors, "The Lord our righteousness;" he who is smitten by the sword of justice, you are assured by Zechariah, is the Man who is Jehovah's fellow; to the sacrifice that bleeds on the altar, the Baptist points as the Lamb of God; and Thomas, beholding his pierced hands and side, cries out, in what has been, I trust, the language of your hearts, "My Lord and my God."

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Does your faith see nothing in the death of Christ

to call forth from you this testimony? Behold the ene◄ mies he vanquishes. The powers of darkness crowded around the cross; they thought that victory now would more than repair the shame of every former repulse, would blast the favourite plans of heaven, and seal the ruin of man; and, under these impressions, they made a most furious assault on the Captain of our salvation ; but their temptations were repelled, and these hosts were driven back in terror and despair. "In the greatness of thine excellency, thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee," and the captives whom thou hast rescued shall declare thy mighty deeds. Let this victory animate you to a bold resistance to every temp tation, and to unshaken confidence in your Saviour's aid.

Behold a reason for the exclamation of the Centurion in the blessings which the dying Saviour purchases. Peace with God, tranquillity of conscience, deliverance from the wrath to come, redemption from the power of the grave, grace here and glory hereafter, were obtained by his sufferings. And surely there must be infinite merit in these sufferings, which could procure such blessings for such multitudes. These blessings are the portion of your choice, and these are the pledges of redeeming love; with such blessings you must not repine at any misfortune which leaves your all untouched, nor envy the superior wealth and honour of worldly men, which are but passing shadows.

Behold another reason for this exclamation in the virtues of the sufferer. Think of his love, and you will feel that in enduring for the sake of his enemies, a death marked with all the anguish which men and devils, nay, incensed omnipotence could inflict, it was worthy of the heart of the Son of God. Never was there re signation like that, which, during such a season of suf

fering, maintained entire acquiescence in the will of heaven. That mercy, which, amidst the sorrows of death blessed and saved others, proclaims him the Lord of all grace, and that faith which retained its trust in the God who had forsaken him, and resigned his spirit to him who had afflicted it with such grief, shows him to be its Author and Finisher. Jesus is the brightest pattern of the graces of religion, as well as the generous dispenser of its blessings. In his virtues there are no weaknesses to check our admira tion, and no affectation to excite our disgust, but there is a purity and a splendour which show that the Spirit rested on him without measure, and that he is the express image of the invisible God. In imitation of your Saviour do good to them that injure you, minister, amidst your own griefs, to the comfort of your friends, keep from the scene of misfortune, the bed of sickness, and the house of mourning, every word, and look, and feeling, which savours of impatience and unkindness; and be strong in faith, for in proportion to its vigour will be your pious activity in life, and your triumph in death.

We feel impelled to this exclamation when we consider the moral wonders which the cross hath produced. In contemplating it as the instrument by which idolatry was overthrown, and the world vanquished, the cavils of the scribes silenced, and the sophistry of the schools confounded, persecution defeated in all its plans, and knowledge and virtue spread over the nations, we must acknowledge Christ crucified as the wisdom of God and the power of God. The cross hath many enemies yet to subdue, and vast regions to Christianize; but we doubt not its energy, and may every communion show your increasing experience of its sanctifying power, and every

year bring to us from distant regions new details of the wonders it hath wrought.

I call you, Christians, to honour the Son by the reverence of your hearts, the praises of your lips, and the obedience of your lives. His enemies are employing every art, and straining every nerve to render his name odious, and you must feel this as a powerful motive to increase your efforts in declaring his glory. Resist every opinion which detracts from the splendour of this title, and from our Lord's peculiar claim to it. When truth is misrepresented by some, and opposed by others, bear your testimony to it as the wisdom which comes from above, and when piety is reviled and trampled on, confess it as the fruit of the Spirit, and as the perfection of beauty.

Let us be solicitous that the views and the spirit of this Centurion may be diffused among our soldiers; and if the grace of God could make him a confessor of Jesus, let us not suppose that the profanity too common in armies is invincible. They want many of the advantages of instruction and worship which we enjoy ; but the Spirit of God can employ a variety of incident's to strike them with seriousness, can persuade them to ímitate the character, and to magnify the name of Jesus, and can "establish them in every good word and work." Let soldiers who are pious adorn their profession by sobriety, and kindness, and unremitted attention to their duty, and let them show by their courage in the day of danger, their patience under hardships, and their unshaken fidelity amidst every temptation to desertion and tumult, that the religious soldier is most worthy of trust.

Let your conduct be always such that those who see you will acknowledge that you are the children of God, and glorify your Father in you. And in your.