Pagina-afbeeldingen
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COURSE OF SERMONS.

SERMON I.

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT.

CHRIST'S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.

MATTHEW xxi. 1-11.--And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, much people that were come to the feast, took branches of palm-trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, 'Hosannah; blessed is the king of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord. Then sent Jesus two of his disciples, and saith unto them, 'Go your way into the village over against you; and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt tied with her, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him unto me. And if any man say, "Why do ye loose him," thus shall ye say unto him, "Because the Lord hath need of him ;" and straightway he will send him hither. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went their way, and did as Jesus commanded them, and found the colt even as he had said unto them, tied by the door without, in a place where two ways met. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them, The Lord hath need of him, and they let them go. And they brought the ass and the colt to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they sat Jesus thereon. And as they went, a very great multitude spread their garments in the way: others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way: and cried, saying, Hosannah to the Son of David; Hosannah in the highest! blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord.' And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, 'Who is this?' And the multitude said, 'This is Jesus, the prophet, of Nazareth of Galilee.'

[Text taken from the Gospel of the Day; harmonized with Mark xi. and Luke xix.]

THIS triumphant entry of our Saviour into Jerusalem was so totally different from every action of his humble life, that there must have existed some very urgent reasons for it. Let us attentively review the leading circumstances of this history,

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that we may thereby derive that practical instruction, which it was intended to convey.

I. First: May we not here observe a wonderful instance of Christ's prescience, even in the minutest matters? 1. You shall find a colt: 2, on which no man ever sat: 3, bound: 4, bound with its mother: 5, in a place where two ways meet; 6, as you enter into the village: 7, the owners of which shall, at first, seem unwilling that you should unbind it: 8, but when they hear the Lord hath need of it,' they will suffer it to be led away.

Such an exact knowledge had Christ of persons, and of actions; nay even of the circumstances of actions! Our Blessed Lord thus takes every opportunity to convince his disciples, that nothing was hidden from him; and even in his humility, he gives proof of his inherent divinity. For it belongeth to God alone, thus minutely to specify what was absent; and thus to dispose and bend the hearts of men into the homage of a cheerful consent.

II. Secondly: Let us learn a lesson both of active and passive obedience, from the messengers of Christ, and from those to whom the message was transmitted. There are many occasions, on which zeal in the cause of religion may expose us to unwelcome and humiliating suspicions; as the disciples were likely (for aught they knew) to pass for robbers: but the servants of Christ must unreservedly obey his orders, however opposite to the opinions and fashions of the world: and in so doing, let us feel a stedfast persuasion, that he who sends us on a divine message, will be sure to impart success to it: he will order every circumstance for our real good; and give us continual experience of his fore-knowledge, truth, and love. The other branch of obedience consists in readily and cheerfully resigning whatever we possess, if the Lord require it. He has a right to dispose of us and ours, for the purpose of his own glory, as he sees best. To some of us Christ says, Thou hast ample treasures; the Lord hath need of them: my poorer disciples demand relief. To another, Thou hast many evil pas. sions: the Lord hath need of them: they disgrace my gospel: they must be sacrificed to my displeasure.' Nor hath Christ need of ours only, but also of ourselves. He sometimes bids us to take up our cross: but, at the same time, he animates our courage, by himself advancing (as in the Scripture before us)

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