ness.

such blasphemy is like the pestilence walking in darkThe virulence of infidelity has been excited to a great degree, by the wide diffusion of the Redeemer's name, but it will not be in her power to pluck one jewel from his crown, to expunge one article from our creed, or to pervert one real disciple.

Let us turn our thoughts from such children of the wicked one, to the hearts that are bleeding with sor row and love, and to such I say, "Behold the man,” Behold the man, in whom more of God is to be seen than in any angel or human being, for in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; who passed by the nature of angels and took hold of yours; and in whom, humanity appears more bright and lovely than it did in paradise. Excellencies which the first Adam could not exhibit, adorn the second, and constitute in their exercise a part of that obedience by which you are made righteous.

cross.

Behold the man of sorrows whom grief attended in every step of his course, and in every moment of his life, and whom it covered with its darkest gloom, and tore with its sharpest pangs in the garden and on the Now Christians, you cannot surely see him thus set forth before you, without wonder at his condescension and gratitude for his love. Let the souls whom he has blessed and saved, strew their garments in his way, and crown him in adoring homage. O let there not be reason to say, that his enemies were more eager to dishonour than we are to exalt him. Let your blessings rest where malignity and insolence fixed this crown, and let every eye look to him with ardent love and eager expectation,

After the Service.

different crown and

He hath a crown

REJOICE, Christians, that a very robe are now worn by your Lord. of purest gold, whose lustre is never tarnished, and to which the mightiest of his enemies shall be constrained to bow. His raiment is white as the light, and "all his garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces." It is said, after Mordecai's triumph over the craft and malice of Haman, that "he went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple, and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad, and the Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour." And we have much. more reason to rejoice in his exaltation who was abased for our sake, and who is enthroned for our salvation. The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice in the advantages it derives from the diffusion of his religion, the virtues of his disciples, and the gifts of his liberality; and let the church be glad that he is head over all things for the advancement of her interests, and that the condescension and indulgence which he displayed on earth, it is his delight to manifest in a higher sphere.

Think what this exaltation of your Lord claims from you. It is this, that you should serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of your lives. You feel, I trust, that you can refuse nothing to such a master, and that you can withhold nothing from such a friend. Let his love reign in your hearts, and let his life be manifest in yours.

Beware of expecting honour from men. Your Saviour

was thus treated, to teach you to bear in silence the scorn of cruel pride, and if your Lord was crowned with thorns, you have no reason to complain that they are strewn in your path, or planted in your pillow. Be thankful that they are so few, and that the pain they give you is not more severe. Turn not aside from the path of duty on account of them, for "thy shoes shall be iron and brass," and take for a covering to your heads, that hope of salvation which no thorn can pierce.

Look not with envy on any worldly glory. Amid the multitude of rose leaves, you see not the thorns, but the wearer feels them, and you behold the purple robe, but you see not the lacerated heart beneath it. It would check that envy and discontent, by which the poor make themselves miserable, were they to reflect on the miseries which find a way to the house of feasting, and to the scene of triumph, and that the prosperous may have thoughts more vexing, and nights more sleepless than theirs.

Let me call on you to continue looking unto Jesus. Amid the scorn of the wicked a pious regard to Jesus will make you despise their abuse. Their scorn is no proof that the object of it is contemptible, nor is their censure any evidence that the act which they condemn is wicked. Be less solicitous about what the world will think of you, and more eager to shew yourselves approved to God.

When you are forced to view characters that are disgraceful to human nature, look to him who was its fairest ornament. When your hearts are disgusted and shocked by the impieties of the profane, the excesses of the sensual, and the cruelties of the malignant, consider him who was so eminent in devotion, in purity,

and in beneficence, and you will feel a complacency, which is both improving and delightful.

In pressing on to perfection, behold the man" who was altogether lovely." Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and labour till your last moment, that you may be conformed to his image. You must hate the crown of pride, and the garment that is spotted by the flesh, and be able to say with Job, "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me, and my judgment was as a robe and a diadem." And in the hour of death may you see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. In that hour when the failing eye can scarcely discern the face of friendship any longer, and when every worldly scene is vanishing from the view, it must be truly delightful to have a faith which can see our Lord in his heauty, and behold the better country as not afar off but near,

In the day of judgment, when every eye shall see the Son of Man in his glory, it will not be through the tears of regret and dismay, that you shall behold him, but with eyes sparkling with triumphant gladness. And in the world of glory, every eye shall be fixed on him as the perfection of beauty and as the fountain of life. In that world there is a crown reserved for you which fadeth not away, and which is attended by no anxieties and fears. "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels." He will delight to honour all to whom he is precious, and to give the garments of praise for the sackcloth of holy grief.

Now let this be your purpose, before you leave this spot, "I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God

of my salvation ;" and this is the parting injunction of your Saviour, an injunction, whose influence must make every effort seem easy, and lessen the terrors of every peril. "Be thou faithful to the death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

ADDRESS X.

JOHN XIX. 17, 18,

"And he, bearing his cross, went forth to a place, called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him.”

THE place where eminent men have died is generally marked with care. Almost every man is anxious to discover the precise spot where they drew their last breath, and took their final leave of the world. The interest which we feel in such places is always proportioned to the celebrity of their characters, to the cause in which they were engaged, and to the share which we have in the consequences of their struggles. How sacred is the spot where the martyr died, and where his last testimony was given to the cause of truth, and to the rights of conscience. No man of principle and feeling can behold it without catching new ardour in defence of religious liberty, a livelier gratitude for our tranquil state, and a stronger abhorrence of that proud and cruel intolerance, which condemns and punishes opposition to its views as the worst of crimes.

Christians, we now lead you to the spot where Jesus