and the infinite-between the holy and the polluted -bringing together the Creator and the creaturethe offended Judge and the sinful criminal-removing the gulf interposed between them, and as a daysman laying his hand upon both. In this way we may pray to the Saviour himself;-but the highest exercise of this grace is, when prayer is directed to the glorious Majesty on whose right hand the Saviour sits— Christ himself interceding for us, and the Spirit of Christ making intercession within us, with groanings that cannot be uttered. In the same manner also, in the holy ordinance which you this day observe, while it is specially to be observed in remembrance of Christ, it is to be observed as a seal of the New Testament in his blood, shed for the remission of our sins. And I trust that not a few of you, in receiving the outward symbols, enjoy communion with the Father himself, through his Son, and by his Spirit ;-that the outward signs call up to the eye of faith the realities within that holy place, whither our forerunner has entered ;—and that you have an anchor of hope within the veil. And your purpose is, that, having received the symbols of that sacrifice which was accomplished in your behalf, your whole life shall henceforth be presented as an offering to God, well pleasing and acceptable through Jesus Christ.

Towards this object, let me exhort you, in concluding, to direct your attention habitually to Christ upon his throne, exalted, in the character, and for the ends, explained in our text. His great work, as described in the preceding part of the verse before us, is to build up a temple to the Lord—that is, to establish a spirit

ual kingdom, dedicated to the service of the Most High-the figure, in the present instance, being derived from the building of the temple by the Jews. Had sin never entered into the world, the whole human family would have risen up a spiritual house to the Lord. By the introduction of iniquity the fabric has been shattered to its foundations-its altars profaned its shrines defaced. But as, after the destruction of the temple of Solomon, a new edifice was reared, of which the glory was greater than of the first, so, out of the polluted materials of the stupendous ruin caused by sin, a new and holy structure is to arise, to be built on the foundation cemented by the blood, and to be filled by the Spirit, of the Lord Jesus. Christ is at once the foundation stone, elect, precious-and he it is who builds it up; and his hands shall also finish it, bringing forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying grace grace unto it. The earth itself has often been compared to a temple, and the rocks and withdrawing valleys have been described as the holy of holies of the edifice. The conception is elevating, and the features of simple majesty that the earth exhibits, are indeed such as would lead to the idea that the Almighty had consecrated and set it apart for his own worship. But when we consider the fires that have been kindled to strange gods, and the horrid rites that have been celebrated in the most sacred of the recesses of nature, we may, indeed, by the external appearance of the mighty structure, be compelled to look upon it as a temple, but it must be with the mingled feelings of pity and indignation with which we regard a temple that has been profaned. But

with the sure word of prophecy in our hand, we may with confidence look forward to the time when the world may be compared to a temple-not in its external configuration merely-not in the dark depth of its wooded valleys-nor in the pinnacled height of its rocky cliffs-but in this-that the great Being who formed it by the voice of his omnipotent word, and consecrated it by the shedding of his own blood, shall make his power to be acknowledged in every part of it, and receive universal homage as the priest upon his throne. And then cometh the end, when the objects of the mediatorial reign shall have been accomplished-when all that oppose themselves to the purposes of divine grace shall have been vanquishedwhen the number of the elect shall have been completed-and when the kingdom will be delivered up to God, even the Father. The government will no longer be conducted through the instrumentality of intermediate agencies-the glories of the Divinity shall be disclosed-and God shall be all in all.

SERMON VII.

PART FIRST.

TRUST IN GOD-THE TRUE BLESSEDNESS.

"O Lord of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee!"—
Ps. lxxxiv. 12.

IN the book of Psalms, we have the record of the experiences of the believer, and the utterance of his feelings in almost every variety of interesting circumstances, and upon subjects of all others the most important. There is not a systematic enunciation of doctrinal truth, or a regular and arranged collection of precepts of conduct; but we have, in a much more interesting form, the substance of Christian doctrine, and duty, and privilege, brought forward—as suggested by the Holy Spirit, according to the peculiarities of the situation and character of the sacred writer. Thus, in the verse before us, we have not the mere statement of the truth, that the man who puts his trust in the Lord is blessed; we have it confirmed by the personal experience of the Psalmist himself; and it is breathed forth with all the sympathetic power that can be given to it by a heart overflowing with gratitude to God, and with holy zeal for his glory in the filial affiance of the children of men. All

that had befallen him in the course of his eventful life, all that he had witnessed in the ways of divine providence, and all that had been revealed in the law of the Lord, convinced him that they only were blessed, who placed their confidence in God; and the goodness of the Lord which he individually had tasted-in the fulfilment of the promises, in the holy peace which he enjoyed, in the deliverances which were effected for him, and in the hopes set before him— together with the persuasion that these blessings were unto all, and upon all them that believed-led him, in accents of exulting gratitude and fervent zeal, to exclaim, "O Lord of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee !"

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It was by the influence of the Holy Spirit that the Psalmist was enabled to put his trust in God; it was in the gracious provisions of the new covenant that he experienced the blessedness of this holy reliance; and it was by the divine inspiration that he was taught to make this record of his rejoicing convictions, that others might be brought to exercise the same faith, and be glad in his delight. It is to be observed, that the truth contained in these words is not directly addressed to mankind. It is for their benefit that the truth has been recorded; but in the first instance it was addressed to God. We have here the exercise of a soul in communion with God, and in this exercise we have the most convincing evidence of the doctrine revealed. The declaration is made to God himself, as the natural expression of adoration, and thankfulness, and joy; and, it is made to him, because he alone could bestow upon others that filial