Here then we see, how, and wherein, we are to look upon God, so that we may abide his glory, and be comforted in the light of the knowledge of his glory. We must not look upon him in his own immediate brightness and essence,―nor by our bold curiosities pry into the secrets of his unrevealed glory, for he is a consuming fire, an invisible, an unapproachable light; we may see "his back-parts," in the proclaiming of his mercy; and we may see "the horns" or bright beams "of his hands," in the publishing of his law: but yet all this was under a cloud, or under the hiding of his power; "His face no man can see, and live." We must not look upon him only in ourselves. Though we might, at first, have seen him in our own nature,— for we were created after his image in righteousness and true holiness, yet now that image is utterly obliterated, and we have by nature the image only of Satan and the old Adam in us. We must not look upon him only in Mount Sinai, in his law, lest the fire devour us, and the dart strike us through: we can find nothing of him there but rigor, inexorableness, wrath, and vengeance; but we must acquaint ourselves with him in his Son, we must know him, and whom he hath sent together; there is no fellowship with the Father, except it be with the Son too.

We may have the knowledge of his hand, that is, of his works and of his punishments, without Christ: but we can not have the knowledge of his bosom, that is, of his counsels, and of his compassions; nor the knowledge of his image, that is, of his holiness, grace, and righteousness; nor the knowledge of his presence, that is, of his comforts here, and his glory hereafter, but only in and by Christ. We may know God in the world, for in the creation is manifest "that which may be known of him;" namely, his eternal power and Godhead. But this is a barren and fruitless knowledge, which will not keep down unrighteousness; for," the wise men of the world when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, but became vain in their imaginations," and held that truth of him which was made known of him in the creation, in unrighteousness. We may know him in his law too; and that in exceeding great glory; "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand and there was the hiding of his power." But this is a

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killing knowledge, a knowledge which makes us fly from God, and hide ourselves out of his presence, and fight against him as our sorest enemy, and come short of his glory: therefore the law is called "a fiery law," or a fire of law," to show not only the original thereof, for it was spoken out of the midst of the fire; but the nature and operation of it too, which of itself is to heap fire and curses upon the soul; and therefore it is called the ministration of death!

But now, to know the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, is both a fruitful and a comfortable knowledge. We know the pattern we must walk by; we know the life we must live by; we know the treasure we must be supplied by; we know whom we have believed; we know whom we may be bold with in all straits and distresses; we know God in Christ full of love, full of compassion, full of ears to hear us, full of tongues to coinmune with us, full of hands to fight for us, full of eyes to watch over us, full of power to preserve us, full of grace to transform us, full of fidelity to keep covenant with us, full of wisdom to conduct us, full of redemption to save us, full of glory to reward Let us, therefore, put ourselves into this rock that God's goodness may pass before us; that he may communicate the mysteries of his kingdom, and of his glory unto us; that by him our persons may be accepted, our prayers admitted, our services regarded, our acquaintance and fellowship with the Lord increased by that blessed Spirit, which is from them both shed abroad in his gospel upon us.

us.

Which is Christ in you the hope of glory.-Col. i. 27.

THE relative which has riches, not mystery, for its antecedent. For the apostle had been, in the foregoing verses, celebrating the riches, or the abundance of this gospel mystery; and now he adds, by way of explanation, which riches, or abundance is Christ himself, whose indwelling in you produces the hope of eternal glory. Here, then, two points arise for consideration; 1. That Christ himself is that treasure of spiritual riches which is offered to us in the gospel. 2. That Christ confers these treasures upon us, as far as he is in us; for thus is he the hope of glory.

First, There can be no necessity for our taking much trouble to prove that we have in Christ the hidden treasures of all the spiritual goods which are offered us in the gospel. For in the third chapter of Eph. verse 8, they are spoken of under the title of the unsearchable riches of Christ. And in Col. ii. 3, the apostle distinctly asserts, that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ. The reason of this is evident; namely, because Christ is the head of the Church; and from the head, as from a fountain, all spiritual life and motion in the inferior members are derived. Nor do we only derive every indwelling grace from Christ, but also the grace of Divine acceptance into life eternal, as far as we are reckoned in Christ the Head, and are found clothed with the garment of his perfect righteousness. In Christ, therefore, all our riches are laid up; in Christ is all our hope of glory.

Secondly, But inasmuch as it is too clear and evident, that all men are not made partakers of these riches; therefore, the apostle adds how Christ is made the treasure of riches of salvation to men; by what means they have in Christ their hope of glory; namely, as far as he dwells in them, so far they have the hope of glory. But Christ is said to be, or to dwell in any man, when he, by the Holy Spirit exciting faith in the heart, attains to a true knowledge of him, and a living trust flowing from that knowledge. He, therefore, who truly believes all the doctrines concerning the natures, and the union of the natures, and the peculiar offices of Christ; his being, for instance, very God and very man, the Mediator and Redeemer of the human race, and the other points which are revealed in the Word; who, by the inspiration of the same Spirit, is fully persuaded that Christ is to him as he is in himself, that is, his God, his Mediator, his Redeemer and Saviour; the man, I say, who implicitly believes these things, dwells in Christ, and Christ in him, and by the operation of his Spirit and of faith, receives all the riches of Christ. Upon this ground, Christ himself plainly declares, in John xv. that when separated from him we are dead as to spiritual life; I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. He that abideth not in me, is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. But now, we abide in Christ when bound to him by faith and the Spirit. The uses of this are these:

1. Since so long as Christ is not in us we can not be partakers of his spiritual blessings; let us labor, by faith in him, to induce him to take up his abode with us: for, as Cyprian truly says, "It is by faith, and not by personal contact, we are united to Christ in this life."

2. Since we can have no hope of obtaining glory, either in ourselves, or in angels, or saints, or any where out of Christ alone; much less let us look for it in our own works. It is an excellent remark of Gerson, in a poem,

"Seek not the robe of works:-by blood

And by pollution stained, they will but bring
Confusion too and shame of face."

Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God.—John i. 35, 36.

HE means, of course, singly and preeminently "The Lamb," for the disciples also are called lambs. Behold I send you as lambs in the midst of wolves. They too are called light: Ye are the light of the world: but in a different sense. He of whom it is said, That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world: So too the Lamb, singly and preeminently, alone without spot and without sin: not, whose spots have been washed away; but in whom never was spot. For that John should say of the Lord, Behold a Lamb of God; was John himself not a lamb? was he not a holy man? was he not the friend of the Bridegroom? Therefore of him singly saith John, This is the Lamb of God; because singly by this Lamb's blood alone could men be redeemed.

My brethren, if we acknowledge the price with which we were redeemed to be the blood of the Lamb, what are they that celebrate to-day a festivity of the blood of I know not what woman, and how ungrateful are they! A golden ear-ring, say they, was torn from the woman's ear, and the blood ran, and the gold was placed in a pair of scales, and the blood outweighed by much. If a woman's blood was of such weight as to turn the scale when weighed against gold, how weighty must be the blood of the Lamb, by whom the world was made, to turn the scale when weighed

against the world! And truly that spirit, whoever he was, that he might depress the weight, was propitiated with blood. The unclean spirits knew that Jesus Christ was coming, they had heard it from angels, they had heard it out of the prophets, and they looked for his coming. For if they did not look for it, wherefore did they cry, What have we to do with thee? Art thou come before the time to destroy us? We know who thou art, the Holy One of God. They knew that he was coming, but they did not know the time. But what have you heard in the Psalm concerning Jerusalem ? For thy servants have taken pleasure in her stones, and will pity the dust thereof. Thou shalt arise, saith he, and have pity upon Zion, for the time is come that thou have pity upon her. When the time was come for God to have pity, then came the Lamb. What kind of Lamb, whom wolves fear! What kind of Lamb is that, who when slain slew a lion! For the devil is called a lion going about and roaring, seeking whom he may devour. By the blood of the Lamb the lion was overcome. Such are the spectacles of the Christians. And what is more, they yonder, with the eyes of flesh, see vanity; we, with the eyes of the heart, truth. Think not, brethren, that the Lord our God hath dismissed us without spectacles; for if there are no spectacles, wherefore are ye come together to-day? Lo, what we said, ye saw, and cried out. Ye would not have cried out unless ye had seen. This is a mighty spectacle to behold throughout the whole world :—the lion overcome by the blood of the Lamb; the members of Christ plucked from the teeth of lions, and joined to the body of Christ.