stantly rankling in the bosom of man-they dry up all the fountains of joy, and hurry man on in a road strewed with thorns and covered with brambles, in which he meets with repeated and perpetual difficulties. Disgusted and weary with life, he turns from one creature to another, seeking rest and finding none. Disappointed with the world, to get rid of its cares, he flies to amusements and intemperance, which aggravate his miseries and increase his calamities. In him the truth of God is exemplified, who says, There is no peace to the wicked, for they are like the troubled sea which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

4. Diseases of the body divest it of all its comeliness and beauty. O what ravages and devastations disease has made upon the fairest forms of earth. Mark its course; see in its advances how it turns that cheek pale, blushing with the beauty of the rose in all its freshness; how it quenches the fire in that eye, sparkling with the brightest lustre; how it has bereft that countenance of all the animation, with which it was lit up; and how it turns the fairest forms, animated with life, into a lump of obscene earth. And such are the ravages of sin upon the soul. It divests it of the moral image and likeness of God, and strips it of every grace and virtue which rendered it lovely in his sight. In the sight of God, nothing is so beautiful as holiness, and nothing so loathsome as sin.

5. Diseases of the body destroy its appetite, so that, if the most sumptuous feast was set before the sick man, he would have no relish for any part of it. Sin also destroys the appetite of the soul, in so much that it has no relish for the gospel feast, or for any part of it. While this sickness prevails, we have no heart to engage in the service of God-we feel no inclination to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling-we have no desire to enjoy communion with God--we cannot bear the thought of any, religious exertion-even the ordinary means of grace are frequently neglected -the Bible and prayer, and Sabbaths and sermons, are shunned; for the sinner has no heart to enjoy them. They are to the sinner as so many idle tales, or so many lifeless forms, from which he turns away with weariness and disgust.

6. Diseases of the body, if not removed, increase till they become incurable, and terminate in death. Some diseases baffle the skill of the ablest physicians, and defy the power of all medicines. Sin, which is the disease of the soul, is certainly mortal, if Christ, the great Physician, does not interpose. Death was originally the penalty affixed to the divine law, to keep man from sinning. God said to Adam, In the day thou eatest of the forbidden fruit, thou shalt surely die-and from the moment of his transgression he was brought under the dominion of death; and although he had a long reprieve, he at length returned to the dust from whence he came. same God has declared, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. These words have been spoken by a God of truth, that cannot lie. As assuredly as the sentence of death has been executed upon the body

The

of the transgressors, just so surely will the sentence of death be executed upon the souls of the finally impenitent. O fellow-sinner, reflect that you are already under the sentence of death, and that the wrath of God abides upon you. You are bound with those chains, and held by those cords, which will finally drag your soul down to hell. Do you not tremble under these appalling representations? This is indeed a miserable state; but it would be far more so, if there was no remedy. Blessed be God, there is a balm in Gilead; there is a Physician who can cure all your moral maladies, and restore your soul to health. This is no less than Jesus, the Son of God. II. We observe, in the second place, That Jesus Christ is the great physician of the soul.

1. Jesus Christ is our Physician by the Father's appointment. God beheld the human family languishing under the malady of sin, and was moved by his benevolence to send them a deliverer. God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believed in him might not perish, but have everlasting life. Hence, Jesus Christ was appointed of the Father to be the chief agent in the redemption of the world. Hence he declared, I am come in my Father's name. I proceed forth, and came from God; neither came I of myself, but the Father sent me. By the call and appointment of God, he entered upon his public ministry, and became the Teacher and Saviour of the world. He received no authority from man, nor aid from earthly potentates; but spoke and acted in the name and by the authority of God-the divinity of his mission was not admitted merely on the grounds of his own assertions; it was established by various and evident proofs. John the Baptist, who was a burning and shining light, and whom all the Jews regarded as a prophet, pointed him out as the greatest of the divine messengers to the world. The light of John only shone till this sun of righteousness arose, and filled the land with his brightness. God himself confirmed the mission of Jesus, by the miracles, and signs, and wonders, which he wrought by him-with bis own almighty hand he sealed the authority of his messenger. The tone in which our Lord delivered his discourses, astonished the multitude; for he taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes. They perceived that he spoke as one fully conscious of divine authority. Nicodemus was persuaded that no one but a Teacher sent from God could do the works that he did. The apostles believed, on the ground of what they saw and heard, that he came from God, and was clothed with divine power and authority. His resurrection from the dead, his glorious ascension at the right hand of God, his miraculous gifts which he communicated to the apostles, the accomplishment of his predictions in the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews, and the early triumphs. of the gospel, completed the evidence of the divine appointment and mission of Jesus Christ to be the Saviour and Redeemer of the world.

2. Jesus Christ is our physician by divine qualifications. When he first commenced his public ministry, he opened it by declaring, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good things to the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. In such language did Jesus commence his public ministry, and in him are these divine predictions accomplished. In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, for it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and of his fulness have we all received, and grace for grace. The divine fulness which dwells in Christ, by whom the spiritual wants of mankind are supplied, was originally communicated to him from the Father, as clearly stated by the apostle. It is by the gift of the Holy Spirit without measure, that Jesus Christ is thus enabled to supply these numerous and multiplied wants. My God, says the apostle, shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. All the blessings of the gospel are divine favors, flowing from a divine source, through a divinely appointed medium, are superior to what can be derived from creatures, and designed to produce the divine image in man, and issue in the glory of God.

Thus Jesus Christ, acting under the influence of divine authority, and in the exercise of divine power, is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him. None need fear his power, or distrust his ability to save them, for all power is given to him in heaven and earth. The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses from all sin; and this blood is as efficacious now as it ever was. Seeing, then, that we have such a great and able physician, let every soul diseased with sin apply to him without delay; for his excellencies are indescribable.

III. This leads us to observe, in the third place, that He excels all other physicians.

1. He excels all other physicians in knowledge. Physicians are ignorant, in a great measure, of the origin and nature of diseases, of the constitution and frame of man, and also of the properties and qualities of medicine. And, not unfrequently, patients are compelled to languish and die, for the want of an able and skilful physician, who is acquainted with the nature of his diseases. But not so with Jesus Christ-this great physician of souls. He knows what is in man, and is perfectly acquainted with the constitution, disorders, and all the circumstances of his patient. He also knows what will heal him and restore him to moral health. He is acquainted with the nature and efficacy of his medicine, and knows at what particular time to administer it, in order to render it efficacious in healing.

2. He excels all other physicians in power. Ordinary physicians, even when they know their patients' disorder, habit of body, and

nervous disposition, are often unable to heal them. Some diseases are incurable, and some others, perhaps, are of too long standing to be healed. But Jesus Christ is invested with power, as well as clothed with knowledge. He is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him. Although your sins are as scarlet, he can make them white as wool; although they be red like crimson, he can make them like snow. The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses from all sin. No disease so inveterate, but what he can cure it; no malady of so long standing, but what he can heal it. Yes,

"His doctrine is almighty love;
There is virtue in his name,

To turn a raven to a dove,

A lion to a lamb."

3. He exceeds all other physicians, in his compassion and tenderness. In order that he might enter the more readily into the sensibilities of his patients, he had condescended to be clothed with a body like our own. That he might be a merciful and faithful high priest, and have compassion on the ignorant, and them that are out of the way, he has been tempted in all points, as we are, yet without sin. He knows the weakness of our frames, the strength of our passions, and the power of temptations over us ; and having himself been encompassed with the same infirmities, he is admirably qualified to sympathize with us in all the various stages of our diseases.

"He knows what sore temptations mean,

For he has felt the same."

So tender and sympathetic is this divine Saviour, that a bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench; neither will upbraid or reproach those with their past misdeeds, who seek to be cured by him, but will heal all their maladies, and forgive and forget all their follies. And after they are restored to moral soundness, he will not be ashamed to call them brethren, and to own them before the Father and the holy angels; and, finally, welcome them into the society of the blessed.

4. He excels all other physicians, in being always at hand when wanted. It is not unfrequently the case that physicians are at so great a distance, that they cannot be brought to the patient till it is too late. But not so with this heavenly physician; he is always at hand. Wheresoever, said he, two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst. And, indeed, were we to take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, behold his presence and his power would be there to heal us. We have not got to ascend up to heaven to bring him down, nor to descend into the deep to bring him up, for the healing power of his

word is nigh us, even in our own mouths and in our own hearts. We have no distance of space to traverse to call this physician; it only requires an effort of the soul to call him to our aid. Whenever, and wherever the soul resigns itself to the holy requisitions of the gospel, then and there he imparts the balm of consolation to the wounded heart.

5. He excels all other physicians in love and generosity. Selflove, and the desire of gain, prompt the great body of the physicians to all their labors. But not so with the Lord Jesus Christ. Benevolence was the moving cause which animated the Saviour when he entered upon the glorious work of redemption, and it is the same heavenly principle which still animates him in the prosecution of the work. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend. But the love of Christ far excelled this; he loved us while we were his enemies, and died for us to redeem us from all iniquity He became poor, that he might impart to us of his riches; he voluntarily submitted to degradation, that he might clothe us with honor; he submitted to a painful and ignominious death, that we might wear a crown of life; in one word, he yielded up his soul to the suffering of inexpressible agonies, and his body to death for the benefit of his patients. He has endured all these sufferings and privations, and imparts all these honors and benefits, without the hope of reward or desire of gain. O, what unbounded benevolence is here displayed! O, what unparalleled goodness is here exhibited! Be astonished at it, O ye heavens, and be amazed, O earth.

"For love like this, let rocks and hills,

Their lasting silence break;

And all harmonious human tongues
Their Saviour's praises speak."

IV. Let us consider, in the fourth place, what Jesus Christ prescribes. In pursuing the figurative language of our text, we observe, first of all, that an emetic must be taken. We must be made so excessively sick of sin, that we shall loathe and abhor it, and cast it off. So long as our sinful appetites remain, and we take pleasure in unrighteousness, all efforts at reformation will be unsuccessful. We must be brought to perceive that sin is exceedingly sinful, and that it is highly offensive to God, and to all holy beings; that it is destructive and pernicious in its consequences, and, if persisted in, will prove the bane of our happiness and the ruin of our souls. We must be willing, from our very hearts, to renounce every sinful and vicious practice, and to turn from them with horror and disgust. In the anguish and bitterness of our souls, animated by the divine promises, we must seek for the healing efficacy of the gospel, and never give over the struggle till we obtain the balm of life. We must seek it by faith, by prayer, and in the use of all the means of grace. We must not merely seek, but