us check our immoderate indulgence in them, by ascending in heart and mind to that heavenly country, where is reserved for the servants of God, a happiness which eye hath not seen, which ear hath not heard, and of which the heart of man cannot conceive. Let us constantly remember, that (to use the expressive language of our liturgy) "we are set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that, by reason of the frailty of our nature, we cannot always stand upright." Let our dependence, therefore, be placed upon that grace, without which we can do nothing. In the language of the liturgy, let us beseech God to grant us such a measure of his grace, that we, running the way of his commandments, may obtain his promises, and be made partakers of his heavenly treasures. "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit," let us pass the time of our probation on earth in "serving the Lord." Then, though, when we have done all, we shall be unprofitable servants, yet we have the unchanging promise of our gracious God, that, through the merits of our all-prevailing Mediator, an entrance shall be administered unto us, into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

SERMON XXII.

CHRIST RIDING INTO JERUSALEM.

ST. MATTHEW Xxxi. 10, 11.

And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

AND, my brethren, were strangers to us and to our religion to appear on this day, for the first time, among us, and to witness the general burst of joy which marks this festive day, and to hear that it was called forth in commemoration of the birth of some celebrated personage, his would be the inquiry which was excited by the advent of Christ to Jerusalem, Who is this! And ours would be the answer of the multitude who accompanied him, of the admiring thousands who hung upon the words that proceeded out of his mouth, of the celestial harbingers of his birth, This is Jesus, the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee-the Teacher sent from God, who spake as never man spake-the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord..

The individual who comes forward as the Guide and Instructor of mankind, must expect his pretensions to be strictly scrutinized, and his character and qualifications to be brought to the ordeal of severe investigation. Who is this? is a question which not merely idle curiosity, but sober reflection, will prompt. And when the subjects on which

this personage professes to cast the light of truth, respect not physical, intellectual, or political, but religious knowledge-not the evanescent life that now is, not the transitory concerns of the world, but the never-ending existence, the enduring scenes beyond the grave-the claims which he advances to our confidence and submission become infinitely exalted in importance.

Never was the solemn attention of the world called to a personage so interesting as he whose birth we this day commemorate, Jesus, the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. In the fulfilment of predictions which, shining with the increasing lustre of ages, had from the beginning marked him as the desire of all nations, and the hope of his chosen people Israel, he appeared, to accomplish the stupendous object from which cherubim and seraphim would have shrunk-to take away sin, to make atonement for transgression, to bring in everlasting righteousness: he appeared, to perform what had hitherto baffled the mightiest efforts of the human intellect, to unbar the prison-house of the grave, and to open the mansions of the eternal world.

And surely every one who reflects that he possesses a spiritual and immortal nature, must instantly feel the earnest and deeply-solicitous desire that a personage, whose errand is so benignant, whose designs of mercy are of such infinite moment, may evidence those qualifications and exhibit those testimonies which would irresistably prove that God is with him.

Let us then with humility and reverence investigate the personal character of him who, as at this time, appeared as the divine Messenger of the Father, the powers which he exercised, and the offices

which he came to execute, and we shall see abundant cause to adore him as the Teacher sent from God-the way, the truth, and the life-the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.

1. The personal character of Jesus Christ.

In one who should claim a divine mission, who should profess to reform the world and to establish a system of religious and moral truth; we should expect to behold exemplified the exalted virtues which he inculcates: Example adorning and enforcing precept, would alone give authority to his instructions, and excite our admiration and our confidence.

In the character of Jesus Christ the expectations of the most scrupulous are fully gratified. The precepts and the spirit of the religion, which he inculcated were of the most pure and exalted nature; and this spirit shone forth most resplendently in his character; these precepts, in their uttermost purity and strictness, he uniformly illustrated and enforced in the tenour of his life.

He inculcated humility, meekness, and lowliness, as the most exalted virtues that can adorn the human character. Of these virtues we behold him a perfect model. Born in a manger, and cradling with the beasts of the stall, the example of humility which ushered him into the world, marked every period of his life, and shone forth most illustriously in its close. Wandering without a place to lay his head; not disdaining the society of the refuse of the people, of publicans and sinners, when his object was to administer to. their spiritual wants; choosing for his companions, for the friends of his bosom and the heralds of his instructions to the world, those emphatically styled, in the language

contempt, the fishermen of Galilee; wishing her the favour of the great nor the splendid gifts of the wealthy, but going about among the children of poverty and affliction, that he might bind up the broken-hearted and comfort those that mourn; when the great work of atonement for man's transgression was to be effected, not shrinking from the agony and infamy of the cross, the punishment of the vilest malefactors; where, among the most perfect of the sons of men, was there one who displayed humility like thine, Saviour of the world? Though thou wast the brightness of the Father's glory, the only-begotten Son who shared the throne of universal dominion, thou didst humble thyself to a life of the deepest suffering, and to a death of agony and infamy.

Jesus Christ inculcated purity, self-denial, and the most active benevolence; and he exhibited in his character and life what his instructions enforced deceit was not in his tongue, neither was guile found in his mouth. He took up the cross of self-denial, and it sunk him to the grave. In doing good, in relieving the diseased bodies,. in saving the guilty souls of men, his heart was unceasingly occupied, his life unceasingly engaged.

He inculcated that perfection of virtue, the forgiveness of injuries; and though persecution assailed him-though his sacred person received the vilest indignities-though by wicked hands he was crucified and slain; prayers were the only reproaches which he poured forth on his murderers "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do."

There was not a virtue which can adorn or exalt the human character, which can claim for it admi