clines him to seek for them. By the one he excites holy desires, by the other he leads him to express them. The Spirit of grace reveals God in Christ; the Spirit of supplication applies to this God for an interest in his mercy. Thus genuine contrition and repentance are gradually formed in the heart. But still this is done in the use of the various means which God has appointed; in the employment of which the penitent is constantly taught to entreat the assistance of the Holy Ghost. There is one particular method by which God is pleased to produce this entire conversion of heart, of so high importance, that it may require a distinct consideration.

II. THE CHIEF MEANS BY WHICH REPENTANCE IS PRODUCED-And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced.

Repentance, generally speaking, springs from a view of a crucified Saviour. When the Spirit of grace shall be poured on the unbelieving nation of Israel, it is said in the text they will look upon their Messiah whom they pierced and slew; and this sight will be the means of producing deep contrition and sorrow for their sins, and especially for that sin which their ancestors committed, and to which they have ever since been, in a measure, consenting, the crucifixion of

the Lord of glory. In like manner, every true penitent, when he is brought to humble supplication before the throne of God, discovers this astonishing object, and looks unto Him whom he likewise has by his sins crucified afresh. And thus he learns true repentance and brokenness of heart.

Before we consider what this sight is, we must observe that the express quotation of the Evangelist fixes the meaning of the words as prophetical of Christ. St. John, after relating the mournful events of our Lord's passion, states that one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side; and then adds, For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled-They shall look on him whom they pierced. Here he evidently quotes the words of the text, and applies them to our blessed Saviour. 66 And indeed," says a pious and learned Prelate," they cannot possibly be understood of any other person in the world; for none could speak these words but one who was both God and man. That he was God is plain from the former part of the verse, where he saith, I will pour upon the house of David, &c. the Spirit of grace; for it is acknowledged by all that the Spirit of grace is not at the disposal of any creature, but that it is only in the power of God to bestow it upon us. And therefore he that here promiseth to pour out his Spirit upon his church, could be no other

than God himself. And then that he was man too appears from the next words, And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. For if he had not been man, he would not have been capable of being pierced by them. And therefore he that spake these words could be no other than Christ himself*."

The view of this crucified Redeemer, which is spoken of in my text, cannot be understood as a bodily sight with the eye of sense, but as a spiritual and rational contemplation of him by the eye of penitence and faith. Thus, in the Prophet Isaiah, the Saviour speaks of faith under a similar figure, Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth. Our Lord also, when on earth. said, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so shall the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Apostle, also, reminds the Galatians, that Jesus Christ had been evidently set forth before their eyes, crucified among them. And he exhorts the Hebrews to consider the Apostle and High Priest of their profession; and to run with patience the race set before them, looking unto Jesus. In all these passages an act of the mind is described which is fixed upon Christ crucified, and

* Bishop Beveridge's Sermons, vol. vi. page 4, edit. 1712.

which brings that affecting object, and places it, as it were, before our view.

And surely there is no object wHICH IN IT

SELF SHOULD SO POWERFULLY ATTRACT OUR NO

TICE. Go, penitent, to the Garden of Gethsemane and the hill of Calvary, and see if any sorrow was like unto the sorrow of the dying Saviour. View the surrounding multitude. Mark how they mock the holy Sufferer. Observe the blessed Jesus as he is suspended on the accursed tree. Place yourself under the cross with the weeping Mary. The sun is darkened, the rocks are rent, the graves are opened, the vail of the temple is rent in twain. The Son of God expires. At this moment the soldier draws nearThe Saviour is dead already-Still he transpierces him in wanton indignity with his spear. Look, and look again, at the dreadful scene.

But if the very circumstances of the spectacle should fix our attention, still MORE SHOULD

WE BE MOVED WHEN WE REFLECT ON THE DI

VINE DIGNITY OF THE SUFFERER. It is no mere man whom we see suspended on the cross. It is the Lord of glory; it is the Prince of life; it is the King of kings; it is he who was with God and who was God; the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person; God manifest in the flesh. Now, if royalty, ignominiously debased, if incarnate Deity suffering as a malefactor, can move your soul to com

Be filled

Such a spec

punction, look on this dreadful scene. with astonishment at the sight. tacle was never before exhibited. The Son of the Most High suffers, the Author of life dies, the Holy One of God is accursed, Omnipotence bows: its head, and gives up the ghost.

It

But this is not all. You and I, my brethren, HAVE HAD A SHARE IN THIS DEATH. was not so much the soldier who pierced Christ, as our sins. God laid on him the iniquity of us all. This is the true cause of the Saviour's death. He was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. If it had not been for our iniquities, the Father would not have delivered him up to the malice of the Jews. So that, though the sin of those Jews is not in the least lessened by this consideration, still we are to regard them, so far as we are concerned, only as instruments in the hand of Divine Justice. The real primary cause of the Redeemer's sorrows, was sin, our sins, our iniquities. These were the nails, the thorns, the spear which pierced our Lord. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. "In the ordinary course of justice," observes Bishop Andrews, "when a party is put to death, we say, and say truly, that the executioner cannot be said to be the cause of his death, nor the sheriff by whose commandment he does it, nor yet the judge by whose sentence, nor the jury by whose verdict,