In endeavouring to illustrate the meaning of the words before me, I shall, contrary to the sense in which they are generally and literally understood, shew that they do not, nay cannot, be applicable to any one of Adam's fallen race. There are two prominent features in the portion of scripture submitted for our instruction. First, the character described, "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright ;” secondly, the mind is carried forward to the end of such a man, and the effect produced, “ peace.”

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The character here alluded to by the psalmist David is no less a person than the God-Man Mediator, for he and he alone must be considered as a perfect and upright man; he was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, neither was guile found in his mouth. To consider these words as applicable to any one member of Christ's mystical body, abstractedly considered, would be a contradiction of scripture; because we read that there is none righteous, no not one; and that there is not a just man that doeth good and sinneth not. Whoever therefore perverts the meaning of the sacred text, either wilfully or ignorantly, be he who he may, is guilty of robbery, is guilty of insulting Jehovah.

The attention of the church is particularly directed to this subject: "Mark the perfect man." The apostle James in his 1st c. 17th v. has these words, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Now the church of Christ has bestowed upon her many good gifts in this time state, but they are not perfect; for if they were, how often would she be at ease taking up her rest here. But our gracious covenant head has wisely ordered in his infinite wisdom, that there should be a portion of alloy; that there should be a something to draw off the mind from all sublunary and earthly things, and to fix the affections on things that are above. It is not here meant to be understood that what the Lord in covenant love and mercy bestows upon his dear people, throughout their journey in this vale of tears, is not in itself good-by no means; for his gifts and callings are without repentance on his part: "he is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent." Neither are those gifts repented of by those on whom he is pleased to bestow them. The apostle's meaning I apprehend, when speaking of a good gift, must imply the Lord Jesus Christ; for he was the Father's gift to the church, and not only a good gift but a perfect gift. Yes, he was perfect God and perfect Man, perfect in every sense of the word; upright as Jehovah's self, for he was Jehovah's fellow. Hence the patriarchs, prophets, and holy apostles of old, always had an eye to the Lord Jesus; were always beholding in him as God-Man Mediator, the perfection of beauty; and the church is directed now to mark him, her gracious covenant head and surety, as the perfect man, and to behold him as upright.

Another blessed idea, which may the Lord the eternal Spirit bless to his dear people is, that she views herself perfect in him, upright

in him, comely in him; though black as hell in herself, yet comely through the comeliness which is put upon her, by virtue of that grace union which subsists between Jesus and his bride. The apostle Paul sums it up beautifully in these words," ye are complete in him." Col. ii. 10.

text,

But we come now to the second proposition in the words of the "the end of that man is peace.' I know the construction that is put upon these words by many of the present day; I know the character that these and other words of a similar import are applied to, and thought peculiarly suitable; but because they have no bands in their death, neither are they plagued like other men, a false conclusion is drawn from the end of such; they are held up as worthy of imitation, and encouragement is given to the notion of perfection in the flesh.

No doubt the psalmist David had a faith's view of the sufferings of Jesus on the cross, and saw that peace which the death of Jesus procured for all his people. It is this, it may be presumed, he calls the attention of the church to: "the end of that man is peace." But was the death of Jesus in itself considered a peaceful end? Oh! no. Was it in the silent chamber surrounded by weeping and condoling friends; and was there not one that stood by to wipe away the clammy dew of death from his sacred forehead? No. On the contrary, it was a tragical end; but yet it was peace,-peace to all his blood redeemed,-peace to the guilty conscience when manifestly made known by God the Holy Ghost that Jesus died for me. Reader, let

us pay a visit to mount Calvary; let you and I meet at the foot of the cross: can we gaze on the agonizing pangs of the Saviour, and not feel our hearts melt? Can we view the sacred side which was pierced, and from whence flowed blood and water, and not exclaim, "we are verily guilty concerning our brother !"

"The soldier pierced his side 'tis true;

But we have pierced him through and through."

A death the most excruciating, an end so ignominious was the end of Jesus; yet it was " peace." And how beautifully does the apostle express himself in these words, " he hath made peace by the blood

of his cross.

If we go no further than the mere letter of the word, where shall we find a perfect man? To what quarter are we to look for an upright character, even among the children of God? Does not every day's experience bitterly testify our many imperfections, our many short comings ? I am not here speaking of externals; I take it for granted that every one who names the name of Christ in sincerity and in truth, departs from iniquity. I am well aware of the objections raised by the enemies of the cross of Christ against the doctrines of free grace; and of the stigma cast upon the disciples of Jesus who dare be bold in their Master's cause, and who through the operation of the eternal Spirit are mighty in the scriptures.

But the dear children of the Lord are perfect and upright only as viewed in their glorious covenant head, and elder brother, the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul in writing to the Hebrews, xii. 14. exhorts them "to follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." Now we have a great deal of talk and parade in the present day about personal holiness: I suppose they mean that the old Adam nature is to be made holy-it is synonimous with perfection in the flesh. The great apostle of the gentiles must have been of a quite opposite way of thinking to the modern apostles of our day: I apprehend in the words I have quoted, he was directing the eyes of the Hebrew converts to his great Lord and Master. In following the Lord Jesus they follow peace, he is the Prince of Peace, Isa. ix. 6. and in following holiness they must follow Jesus, for he is our sanctification; and there is not, I contend, any holiness apart from him, whatever men may say upon the subject. But the end of that man has brought peace, and does bring peace to all who are interested in the death, the life, and the sufferings of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

In contemplating an end at once so ignominious, so tragic, so appalling, and yet fraught with such peaceful effects, the believer in Jesus marks him as the perfect man, beholds him as the upright: yea, he is now become the chiefest among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely. My dear christian brethren, whoever you may be, or however you may be concealed in this vale of tears, may the eternal Spirit, the divine testifier of Jesus, lead you into all truth; may he give you to read the sacred volume with enlightened and spiritual eyes; you will then see and behold that the sum and substance of the bible is Jesus, and him alone: and you will be enabled also to see, believe, and rejoice, that all things written concerning him have had their accomplishment in the person of our adorable Lord; in that the bitter pangs he bore, the agony and bloody sweat in Gethsemane's garden, have produced an eternal and everlasting peace to all the ransomed of the Lord; finally, that this peace was eternally ratified and sealed by the shedding of his precious blood on calvary, and by his glorious resurrection and ascension into glory: and, for ever blessed be his dear name, he ever liveth to make intercession for us.

Covenant and gracious Lord, grant me, and all thy beloved and blood-bought people, to know more of thyself in thy blessed relationship; to follow thee who art the peace of thy dear children; to follow thee in the regeneration; to follow thee without the camp of the professing world, bearing thy reproach, and to count it greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. I cannot close these remarks without praying, that the holy and eternal Spirit will be pleased to bless them to the comforting and to the lifting up of many poor pilgrims to Zion, and to the directing of the eyes of their faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, who was and who is the end of the law for righteousness unto every one that believeth. And to God the Father for his love, to God the

Son for his sacrifice, and to God the Holy Ghost for his teachings and grace, three divine persons in one undivided Jehovah, shall be all the praise, honour, and glory, now and for ever, Amen.

* I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Rev. ii. 2, 3, 4.

As in the first creation, God separated the light from the darkness, and made the one day, and the other night; so in effectual calling, he separates his elect people from others, as light from darkness. While he leaves one portion of the world buried in their own obscurity, he makes the other children of light; while the one are left in darkness, the others are enlightened by his grace; while the one are left in a state of enmity to him, the others are "made willing in the day of his power" to become his friends; while the one remains shut up in unbelief, the others receive the grace of faith; or, to put it in God's own words, "this people have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my praise." Isaiah xliii. 21.

Indeed, it is sometimes very difficult to discern who are, and who are not of the Lord's people; for as when the children of Israel left Egypt, it is said, "a mixed multitude went up also with them," Exod. xii. 38. so a mixed multitude are now joined with the true Israel of God in the visible church. But the true church of God consists of the spiritual Israel alone, and however they may be scattered over the face of the earth, these constitute the mystic body of Christ, and who are chosen to this high privilege by the Father, and in due time are called by the Holy Spirit.

Now it was to some of these persons, congregated together in the city of Ephesus, that Christ directs his servant John to write certain things; and he first directs him to tell these persons that he knew their works; that is, their good works; for as no evil ones are mentioned, it may be inferred that none were laid to their charge. Christ, as he is God, knows all things, and knows all the works of his people, and the springs, and the principles, and the ends, and the views of them; and whether they are done in obedience to him, and spring from love to him, and are performed in his strength, and by his grace, and are directed to his glory: and unless works are thus done, they do not deserve the name of good works; for though they may be beneficial to men, and procure for those who do them a good name among men, yet, as our church says in her 13th article, not being done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin." But the Lord puts his people

upon good works, and gives them the will and the power to perform them, from a principle of love and gratitude to him, in faith, and to his glory; and he is not unmindful of works thus done, but regards them with satisfaction as the fruits of his own grace; yea, and any good work of mercy shewn to his suffering people, he takes it as if done to himself: "Inasmuch (says he) as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matt. xxv. 40.

But it was not only the good works of his people at Ephesus that the Lord knew and approved of, as the fruit of his own grace in them; but he tells them that he knew their patience. He had himself bestowed this grace on them, and saw its growth with satisfaction. He saw their patience under God's afflictive dispensations; for "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth, for their profit, that they may be partakers of his holiness." Heb. xii. 6. He saw their patience under the reproaches and persecutions of men, for their profession of the gospel, and for their blameless lives; for as the apostle says, "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution." 2 Tim. iii. 12. Yea, he had planted in them the grace of patience, and viewed the exercise of it in them with great satisfaction.

But it was not only their works and patience which Christ saw and approved of in his people at Ephesus, as the fruits of his own grace in them; but their circumspect walk amidst the profligate inhabitants of that great city, and that "they could not bear them that were evil." They could not bear those that were corrupt in their principles and their practice; who led immoral lives, and held erroneous doctrines; they could not hold communion with them, but withdrew from them. And it is one very distinguishing mark by which the Lord's predestinated people may be known, that they are separated from the men of the world by effectual callings that he gives them grace to forsake the vanities, the pleasures, and the profits of the world, and the company of the men of it, to enjoy communion with him. As Abraham was called out of his country, from his kindred and his father's house; so the Lord calls his people to give up the society of their former companions, and to have no fellowship with ungodly men, but to shun their company, for "evil communications corrupt good manners." "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Cor. vi. 17.

And what more did Christ see and approve of in his people at Ephesus? Why, that "they had tried them which said they were apostles, and were not, and had found them liars." They did not receive them as the Lord's ministers who were not called, and sent, and commissioned by him. They did not take their word for it, nor receive implicitly as gospel, what they taught, but tried them; they tried their doctrines by the only sure test, the word of God, and found