their future Messiah by being incorporated into the Jewish church by circumcision, and subjection to the Mosaic ritual.

When our Lord appeared, the Jews, moreover, had lost almost all conception of a spiritual Messiah, were lifted up with pride of their descent and privileges, and filled with contempt for the Gentiles.

So profound was the mystery, that St. Peter required a vision to be vouchsafed to him to convince him of the truth; and then had to defend himself for " going in unto the uncircumcised." And the strong prejudice of the converts to the christian faith from among the Jews, threw almost all the infant churches into confusion till the period of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the desolation of their polity.

The designs of Almighty God in allowing this mystery to be hidden for nearly two thousand, or rather for four thousand years, must be left in a great measure to the depths of his counsels. It was probably, in part, to prepare the world for the advent of Christ; to excite more general expectation; to disprove all the vain pretensions of human power, wisdom, and civilization; to bless mankind and lead them to the knowledge of the true God; to magnify the grace of Christ when the mystery should be thrown open, and to prove that the Gospel in its universal character, was no new design, but had been kept in the mind of God from eternity, and was the grand purpose of all his dispensations.

For the rest, let us restrain our curiosity. God's will is the highest reason. Let us the more magnify him, that, after" winking" for so many ages at " the Acts xvii. times" of heathen" ignorance," he now "commands 30, 31. all men everywhere to repent." Let us bless God that at length the mystery is revealed.

This was done gradually. It began to be thrown open by the song of angels at the birth of Christ. It was carried on by the visit of the Magi under the guidance of the star; by the prophetic hymn of Simeon; by the reception of the Syrophoenician suppliant; and the commendation of the centurion's faith. At last, at the day of Pentecost, and by the preaching of the apostles subsequently, "with the Isa. xxv. 7. Holy Ghost sent down from heaven," "the veil spread over all nations," was removed; and the mystery hidden from ages and generations was made known to the saints, and by them announced to the world.

May it be known to us, valued, received, acted upon! None but the saints duly appreciate it. To others it is a mystery still. May we be of the number of those to whom it is communicated internally and spiritually, in all its extent and ultimate consequences to ourselves, and to the whole race of mankind!

LECTURE XII.

CHRIST THE HOPE OF GLORY-ST. PAUL'S METHOD OF PREACHING THIS MYSTERY-HIS LABORIOUS MINISTRY RACAPITULATION OF THE FIRST CHAPTER.

COL. i. 27-29.

We now come to the fifth additional argument of our apostle to confirm the Colossians in the faith against the false teachers. The matter of the mystery thus made known was no less than this, that Christ," the image of the invisible God," the Creator and Conservator of all worlds, "the head of the church," was set before them in the Gospel; yea, was dwelling in their hearts, as the hope of glory.

27. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory.

This is by no means a subordinate argument like those which preceded and which follow it. We have here the entire scope of the Epistle, and of the Gospel itself compressed into a brief sentence. This is of the same import as the other expressions to which I referred in an early lecture; "Christ is all and in all;" and, " ye are complete in him." It corresponds, also, with the solemn denunciation which conveys negatively, as we have seen, the whole of the apostle's design, "Not holding the head."

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What the Colossians had to do, and what we have to do, is to reject all vain speculations which would separate us from Christ the head of his church; and to cling to him, and him only, as the hope of glory.

Man by nature has no hope. He is a sinner; a lost creature; under the condemnation of God's holy law, and " alienated and an enemy in his n.ind by wicked works." In this state there is no hope for man in himself; no hope in angels or archangels; no hope in Jewish ceremonies or heathen inventions, nor in any human devices for appeasing the just wrath of God, for atoning for past sins, or for changing the bent of his mind, and preparing him for the love of God here and the enjoyment of him hereafter.

Christ is the only hope of glory to a lost world. He came down from heaven to earth to reconcile man to his offended Maker by the sacrifice of the cross; he redeemed us by his blood; in him we have the forgiveness of sins; by him all that believe have a hope of glory kindled in their hearts by the Holy Ghost given unto them.

To feel our state by nature is, then, the first step in religion. Here revelation begins. Man is guilty, sinful; "without hope and without God in the world." The whole Bible proceeds on this great truth, the fall and apostacy of man,-when this is perceived and acknowledged everything else will follow.

For Christ is then proposed in all his fulness of

grace to the awåkened mind. Pardon and reconciliation are first poured upon the soul. Then adoption, the indwelling of Christ by the Holy Spirit, love to God and man, and strength for suffering, are imparted gradually in the use of the due means of instruction and grace.

Especially, Christ, the only atonement for sin, is discerned by the eye of faith, as the way of pardon and justification before the dread tribunal of God.

When he is relied upon in these views, then a hope of glory, at first faint, but gradually becoming firmer and firmer, springs up in the heart of the penitent. Christ dwells in him by his Spirit. Christ is within him; in his will, in his affections, in his whole soul, as the Lord of conscience, and the master and guide of his understanding, judgment, motives, love. "That Christ may dwell," saith our Eph. iii. 17. apostle, "in your hearts by faith." "If any man John xiv. love me," saith our Saviour, "he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him."

Thus Christ is the believer's hope of glory, both as to his merits imputed to him, and as to his presence abiding in the soul, sanctifying him and giving him the anticipation and earnest of the glorious" inheritance of the saints in light."

Well may our apostle speak of the riches of the glory, or the glorious riches of this mystery-especially as made known in or among the Gentiles without distinction of tribe, nation, or tongue. For there

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