heightened when we have any connection with its ob ject. If it is the excellence of a relative with whom nature hath made us one, of a benefactor who hath ho noured us with his notice, or of a friend whom we dear. ly love, we view it with exultation. Often hath the virtuous conduct of such a connection gladdened the aged amid the gloom and languor of solitude and in firmity.

But the excellencies of your Saviour are superior to all that man ever possessed, or fancy ever sketched. The pages of Scripture, and the songs of the blessed, are filled with his praise, who is the image of the invi sible God. His character is adorned by all the beau ties of holiness, his goodness is unwearied in blessing, and his heart, though he is on the summit of glory and felicity, is touched with a feeling of our infirmities and sorrows. Your minds have been taught to approve the things which are more excellent, you contemplate these qualities of your Lord with a high degree of pleasure; and when the consciousness of your own depravity, and of the wickedness which prevails around you, fills you with horror, you feel, in looking unto Jesus, as a man does in turning from an object loathsome with disease, to one blooming in health and beauty. Your interest in Jesus heightens your delight, for his wisdom is pledged for your guidance, and his power for your support: to his purity you are destined to be conformed; and in his goodness and mercy you can trust for the supply of every want, and the relief of every sorrow.

Ye ought to rejoice too in the wonders which he hath wrought for you. Deliverance from great evils, and this accomplished in a mannner which displays the courage or skill of the deliverer in a striking light, are celebrated with rapturous joy. When David was re◄

turning from the slaughter of the Philistines, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music; and they answered one another as they played, "Saul hath slain his thou sands, and David his ten thousands." But we must, with a much higher joy, contemplate him who hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, from the tyranny of Satan, from the bondage of corruption, and from the wrath to come, not merely by putting his life in jeo pardy, but by the sacrifice of himself in a manner marked by peculiar agony.

The rapture felt by delivered nations is generally most vivid at first, while the remembrance of the miseries under which they groaned is most poignant. In the course of years the interest decays, or is supplanted by some new incident. But though so many hundred years have elapsed since our redemption was effected, it is as much adapted to excite joy as when it was achieved. Its importance cannot sink in the lapse of time. The ordi nance of the Lord's Supper sets forth Christ before our eyes evidently crucified; and such is the power of faith that it brings objects most distant from the past as well as from the future, and exhibits them before us in their most powerful attractions. I may add, that the application of this redemption to you is but of yester day, and feeling, as you do at this moment, the effica cy of his redeeming blood, you are ready to exclaim, "Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it, break forth into singing ye mountains, O forest, and every tree that is therein, for the Lord hath redeemed Ja cob, and glorified himself in Israel."

The relations which your Lord sustains to you call for your joy. A peculiar pleasure is felt in a near relation to objects whose excellent qualities can render

it honourable or advantageous; and high must be the joy which is felt in union to Him who is the first and the last in relations so intimate and tender. He is the husband of his church; and delightful is the tenderness of his regard, your community of interest with him, and the indissoluble nature of this relation. He is the "friend that sticketh closer than a brother;" and ye have, I trust, the pleasing consciousness of his fidelity to your interests, and his tender sympathy in all your woes. He is your advocate with the Father, who is ever attentive to your concerns, and ever solicitous for your welfare; and while he beholds all things under his sway, he disdains not to plead the cause of the poor and the needy. He is the everlasting Father, and how sweet is it to mark his care, and to enjoy his liberality; to receive the testimonies of his approbation, and to feel in that kind embrace with which he welcomes us back from our wanderings, that he is pacified to us for all that we have done.

On topics so delightful as these let your thoughts now dwell. "My meditation of him shall be sweet, and I will be glad in the Lord. Eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart. Rejoice in the Lord ye righteous, and again I say rejoice."

After the Service.

"Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord." In communion with Jesus a joy is felt which no earthly advantage can yield, and which no worldly evil can impair. It is only the man who tastes that the Lord is gracious who can form any idea of the tenderness of his language, or the kindness of his smile. In his presence the good man would find no gloom in

a prison, no loneliness in a desert, and no terrors in death. The vows and engagements you have made to your Lord in this service, will give the faithful joy on reflection. It is said that "all Israel sware to the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, with trumpets and cornets, and all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire." The consciousness of sincerity in this service, of that divine influence by which we were stirred up to magnify and bless him, and of God's acceptance of our homage, must be highly pleasing. Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than the wicked have in the time when their corn and wine abound."

Some of you perhaps are saying, "Oh, that I could rejoice in these views of Christ; but when I attempt it, the grand and awful representations of him in Scripture rush into my mind, and fill me with dismay." But in these representations a strong faith can discern reasons for joy. He is the King of kings; but he is also the Prince of peace. He is the mighty God; but he is able to save to the uttermost. His vesture is dipt in blood; but it is the blood of your enemies. And when he speaks to you in threatenings, it is to warn you of dangers of which you are unconscious, and to induce you to abide in the refuge in which he hath placed you.

Rejoice in your Lord's offices. His teaching discloses the wonders of God's love, brightens the dark ways of Providence, and makes the benighted mind to know wisdom. Rejoice in his sacrifice, for it is the triumph of his love, the conquest of your enemies, and the price of your salvation. And rejoice in his reign, for his yoke is easy, his sceptre is a sceptre of righteousness, and his throne is a throne of grace.

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Rejoice in the promises which he has made to you. The most part of mankind feel more joy in hope than in possession; place before them a good which they deem valuable, and let the promise of it be worthy of their trust, and they will feel a joy in the anticipation which will make the most arduous efforts for its attainment seem light. And when you think on the exceeding great and precious promises which your Saviour hath sealed with his blood, you will rejoice exceedingly. In these promises your comfort and safety are secured in death and judgment. These are events, the idea of which saddens the gayest hours of the wicked, and against these terrors presumption and infidelity furnish a poor defence. Jesus promises you a peace in death which the king of terrors cannot shake, and a triumph in judgment amidst the utter confusion of ungodly men. He promises you a happiness on high through eternity, in which you shall find gratification to all your wishes, and the glorious result of all that your Lord did for you on earth and in heaven.

How noble are the qualities of your joy! Some have felt it to such a degree that they could not express it. This is the case with various emotions. Silence on such occasions, is a far more striking and certain indication of the vehemence of the emotion than the strongest language which the lips can employ. But no language can convey a full idea of its power and sweetThe compass of human language is wonderful. It can present the most splendid scenes of earthly pomp and enterprise before the imagination, with all the liveliness and strength of reality; but it cannot exhibit in its due extent the peace which passeth understanding, and the joy with which the stranger doth not intermeddle. It is only the language of heaven which will

ness.