still under the curse of the law? the victims of sin, and the children of death?

curse.

By the sacrifice of our great High Priest, and by the blood of Christ, (for without blood is there no remission) are we redeemed from the But not only for our sakes, did he offer himself up on the cross, but in our stead; not only hath he washed our sins in his blood, but "he bore them in his own body on the tree." ૯૮ He who knew no sin," became sin for our salvation; he was made a curse for us, " he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities," not by the malice of his human enemies, but by the vengeance of the Almighty. The hand of God was heavy upon him.

Could the human imagination calculate the punishment due to the sins of countless ages, could it view the accumulation of anguish, and concentration of divine vengeance bursting on the head of an innocent victim, then, and not till then, can it comprehend what were the sufferings of our blessed Saviour on the cross; then could we conceive the torture of his soul during his agony in the garden, then could we express the horrors and dismay of those tremendous moments, which spoke through the mouth even of the incarnate Word," My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!"

Such, then, was the price of our redemption; so did Christ redeem us from the curse of the law," being made a curse for us."

Wonderful indeed will this sacrifice appear, when in one comprehensive view we consider its relation to ages past, present, and to come! So that the human intellect can scarcely fathom its depth, or comprehend its vast extent; not less wonderful will it appear, when we quit this comprehensive view, and descend to its individual influence. Let it ever be remembered, that for every soul among us the Saviour of the world died, as much, as if he had died for him alone. The salvation of each individual was as much purchased by his blood, as if the single victim had bled for his single soul. Let each among us, cast his thoughts upon himself, and ask, how he has deserved this love; and with what affection he has received, and with what gratitude acknowledged, this mighty deliverance from sin and death.

With what careless indifference do we too often view his sufferings for us; to what vain delusions and empty pleasures do we sacrifice those agonies, which he underwent to purchase our redemption; renewing, not commemorating, his shame, and “ crucifying the Saviour of the world afresh," a victim to our rebellious passions. "He that doth not take up his cross and fol

low me, is not worthy of me." He who cannot consent to sacrifice a few momentary gratifications, a few transitory pleasures, to the commands of his Saviour, is not worthy of him. He who is not a partaker of its discipline and selfdenial here, cannot in reason expect to be a partaker of its glories hereafter.

Where then the great Captain of our salvation has led the way, it is our duty, as well as our privilege, to follow. Upon that high altar on which the Redeemer offered himself up a sacrifice for us, a curse for our guilt, a propitiation for our offences, let us also offer a holy, pure, and reasonable oblation of gratitude, adoration, and obedience. At the foot of the cross, let us also with sorrow and shame sacrifice every guilty passion, every sensual and rebellious appetite; let them be buried for ever with the old man, but let us arise in holy faith to a life of righteousness, as the redeemed of his blood, as heirs of that life and immortality which he hath purchased for us. So "that when Christ who is our life shall appear, we also may appear with him in glory."

SERMON V.

1 CORINTHIANS XV. 12.

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection from the dead?

It might reasonably be expected, that the promulgation of an article of faith so novel in its nature, so strange in its effects, so tremendous in its consequences, as that of the resurrection of the dead, should encounter the resistance and opposition, which would naturally arise in the minds of those who were ill calculated for the reception of any religious truth, much more of this, the most sublime and awful doctrine of the Christian dispensation.

The sophistry and the pride of man took the alarm, and marshalled themselves in array against the word and the power of God. The one, delighting ever, rather in the detection of error, than in the possession of truth, could not but employ itself in raising objections, which unas

sisted and alone, it could never resolve; the other, could but ill support the entrance of a doctrine, to whose origin human reason could not interpose the slightest claim.

In proof of this assertion, let us for a moment turn our eyes from that opulent and luxurious city, to whose converted inhabitants the words of my text are directed, and behold the great Apostle in a nobler scene, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, addressing himself no longer to the obstinacy of Jewish prejudice, or the ignorance of Asiatic superstition, but to the pride of Athenian literature, to the power of Greek philosophy. Within the walls of that ancient and illustrious city, were assembled those who gave law to the moral and intellectual world; within her schools were concentrated the rich stores of information gathered from every age and country. She was still the emporium of science; the Academy still flourished, and in her groves philosophy still maintained her ancient sway. It was to this city, it was to the disciples and followers of those great masters of human reason, whose writings have challenged the admiration of every age, and are themselves, if duly weighed, considered, and studied, both in their excellencies and defects, the very avenue and portico to Christianity; it was to them that the great Apostle proclaimed aloud the resur