true land of Canaan, the glory of all lands, they flight; all his tender calls are of little weight to them, the price with which they were ranfomed and bought is flighted, and they let the day of jubilee pafs over, and fo fall into the fad eftate of Jerufalem, over which our Saviour weeping faid, "O that thou hadft known in this thy day the things that make for thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes."

On the other hand, many embrace the gracious opportunity, and while it is called to-day, lay hold on everlasting life. It is our Saviour who has the honour to let the foul hear, "Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of falvation!" O that he would preach it to all here, and give you chearfully and joyfully to betake yourselves now to the fanctuary and hiding place of his wounds, that when the night comes, when no man can work, ye may be safe in the refuge, and accepted for fons and daughters of the Lord Almighty.

The day and year of grace is now come, the gofpel is now preached, falvation is now fet before you, all things are ready, let your hearts also be ready, and enter in by Jefus, fo fhall ye experience all his tender mercies and loving kindnefs. Let your eyes be fastened on him, and your ears attend to the gracious words that proceed out of his mouth, hear all he fays, and abide with him; he is your friend and Saviour, he is the riches of your poor fouls, he can preach deliverance to you in your captivity, he can open your eyes and anoint them with his tears and blood, that beft of eye-falve, he can heal your broken hearts, and comfort you in all afflicting times. Get an infight into his wounds and ftripes, learn to prize their healing, and to them bring every disease, and pain, and grief, till you are entered into your Lord's joy. Sit down at his feet, like Mary, and O! hear what he will fay concerning you. Attend

upon

upon him and he will preach to you, he will be your minifter, and fecretly manifeft to you his love and grace; he will fet you at liberty from all trials, and find a way for you to efcape in all temptations, and be your prefent help in the time of trouble. I have proved him and found him thus to me, and I heartily recommend you to him, that you alfo may be his witneffes, and rejoice in your good Minister and Lord, who is only worthy to receive bleffing, and honour, and glory for ever. Amen.

DISCOURSE

DISCOURSE XXIX.

THE GREAT SACRIFICE.

HEB. ix. 26.

Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away fin by the facrifice of himself.

THE

HE antients differed very much about the author of this epiftle, and though the most believed it to be. St. Paul's, yet there are others who think it was wrote by Barnabas, and fome few by St. Luke.

Moft of the chriftian churches receive it as the work of the former, but whoever was the writer, it is certain that we have not a more bleffed part of the holy fcriptures than this, and which is, as it were, a key to the whole Mofaical difpenfation.

Whoever reads it, muft fee that the intent of the whole is, if poffible, to remove what ftumbled and offended the Jews in the perfon of our Saviour, and to prove out of the law and the prophets, and alfo out of the Pfalms, that the Meffiah fhould be God Almighty, that he should become man and die for his people, and by invincible arguments out of the Old Teftament, is proved that all the facrifices, offerings, priesthood, laws and worship, ordained from the times of Mofes, were all but fhadows of Jefus Chrift, and the great facrifice of his own body offered once for all.

This is the aim of the whole epiftle, and the language of the author throughout, betrays an earneft defire of the falvation of the Hebrews, or Jews, to whom it is dedicated; and alfo the Holy Ghost intends thereby to give us light into the offering of the Lamb of God, and to infpire us with the certainty of his priesthood and power to abfolve from fin, that we might come to him and be faved, and be firm and eternal followers of this great Apoftle of our profeffion, whofe facrifice is our hope and glory to all eternity.

If I fpeak of this text in order, then I muft,

ift, Shew who he is that appeared to put away fin by the facrifice of himself.

2dly, What is meant by his appearing.

3dly, What the apostle would have us underftand by his having come "now in the end of the world."

4thly, To fhew how he hath" put away fin by the facrifice of himself;" and to this head belongs the doctrine of his priesthood.

Laftly, I will fhew what benefits we now receive through the facrifice of Chrift, and in what fenfe we are priefts to him upon earth, and attend to him in quality of fervants, about his altar.

Of the first head I fhall fpeak but a little in this place, becaufe the chief matter which now must be confidered, is the doctrine of his offering up his own felf to put away fin; but so much is needful to fay, though I have often repeated it in many other difcourfes, and which can never too

much

much be preached, that this Perfon of whom the whole epiftle treats, as well as all the fcripture, is Jefus Chrift the God of all the earth, the Lord from heaven, and who is very and effential God equal to the Father, and his exprefs image and fubftance, and the fame with the Holy Spirit in the bleffed Trinity from everlasting and to everlafting JEHOVAH. This has an unfhaken foundation in the Bible, and if any word in that book be true, then is this doctrine true, that Jefus the Son of Mary, who died upon the Crofs, in the reign of Tiberius Cæfar, at Jerufalem, is the Son of the living God. Amen. Be it fo. Amen and Amen.

But what is meant in the fecond place by his appearing, fince God often appeared; and we read frequently all through the prophets, how the Lord appeared to them, and they faw his fimilitude, and fpoke with him face to face? The weight of this expreffion does not then lie herein, that he has appeared, though that really is amazing and awful, that the invifible and incomprehenfible Jehovah has often spoke and appeared to his fervants and church; but this is now to be understood, that this laft time, he has appeared in the mean form of a fervant, and as a man. When he appeared formerly, he did it in the form of an angel, or fometimes as a king fitting upon his throne with all his hofts adoring at his right hand and at his left hand, with the feraphims covering their faces with their wings before him, and crying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord: And at other times, as the Antient of Days, reverend and full of majefty with ten thousand times ten thousand miniftring to him; and often only in a pillar of fire, in a cloud, in glory, in great light, &c. But now he who reared the noble arch of heaven, and built the houfe