circumstances, and the consequences of the restoration of man, mutually support and confirm each other. To this our Lord himself bears a decided testimony in the book of Revelation, saying, To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Now the same Revelation testifies of the glorified saints, that they overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of his testimony-that is, by faith in his blood shed, THE FULFILMENT; and by faith in the word of his testimony, THE PROMISE; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. But when man was overcome by unbelief, so that he yielded to the temptation of satan, and transgressed, the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live for ever...so he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubims, and a flaming sword, to keep the way of the tree of life. Now consider the language of the first of the prophets (Moses) relative to the Fall of man and its consequences; and then consider the language of the last of the prophets (the beloved disciple, St. John) relative to the restoration of man, and its consequences; and mark their admirable agreement. Man (saith Moses, speaking by the Holy Ghost) fell, over

come by unbelief, and was in consequence excluded from the tree of life. Man (saith the Apostle, speaking by the same Holy Ghost), restored overcomes by faith, and in consequence shall be admitted to eat of the tree of life,nay, more; is declared to have a right thereto for it is written, Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have RIGHT to the tree of life. And this is the testimony of Christ himself; I, Jesus, have sent mine angel, to testify these things unto you in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. To which he joins his invitation; And the Spirit and the bride say, Come; and let him that heareth, say Come; and let him that is athirst, come; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.

My brethren, hearken to the invitation of the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. Draw near to the table that he hath spread; but draw near with faith: so shall ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Lamb of God, the true passover; and have everlasting life. This is his solemn, his repeated declaration : As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. The same word that spake to our first parents, saying, In the day ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die; that same word speaketh unto us, Verily, verily

I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. They, disobeying the command given to them, drew nigh in unbelief, and ate that which was forbidden, and so surely died, according to the word which was spoken. Let us, obeying the command given to us, draw nigh in faith, and eat that which is freely given; and so shall we surely live, according to the word spoken, Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Draw nigh in faith, looking unto Jesus Christ: he is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

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SERMON XX.

2 COR. iii. 18.

But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

WHEN the Everlasting Son of God was manifested, his birth was pointed out by a star in the East, the forerunner and harbinger of an everlasting day; and his appearance among men was marked, and celebrated as the dayspring from on high: for his life in the flesh was the morning of that glorious day with which a God of light hath enlightened the spiritual darkness of a world that lieth in wickedness. Accordingly, when our Lord first entered on his ministry, the Evangelist testified, Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Esaias the prophet; The people which sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in the region and shadow

of death light is sprung up. But the dawn of this morning hath long passed away, and the Sun of Righteousness hath risen with healing on his wings; and he now shines forth in all his glory. But we see Jesus, saith the Apostle, crowned with glory and honour. He is the Object of our faith, even as he is also the Author and the Finisher of it. For as, in the natural world, the light of the sun is not an object only; but is itself the mean whereby we behold, not only the light, but all other objects: so it is in the spiritual world: the Sun of Righteousness must supply that light whereby to behold heavenly things. We can behold Him only with his own light; even as we can only behold the natural sun with the light that itself supplies. The language of Scripture on various occasions enforces this fact, and maintains the analogy throughout in a very striking and remarkable manner. With thee, saith the Psalmist, is the fountain of life, and IN THY LIGHT shall we see light and he prays, O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me.

We cannot behold the natural light except it shine; but though it shine, we cannot behold it if our eyes are blinded. He who created the light, created the eye to behold the light: yet the eye possesses not that power in itself: it is only by means of the very light itself, that