You may now perceive the analogy between the resurrection of Jesus and the conversion of sinners. Their sonship is declared; their spiritual life is enjoyed; it is their first step to glory, and the whole displays the grandeur of God.

From the nature of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; as also its parallel with the death of a believer to sin, and his rising to a life of righteousness, by the power of regenerating grace; Paul, in this chapter, takes occasion to show the design of BAPTISM. This institu

tion is a mirror, in which those subjects on which we have now treated are admirably illustrated; and when a person is baptized in faith, he beholds the fitness of that ordinance to realize his hope in his Saviour's death and resurrection, and his personal interest in the power of his resurrection; and from thence devotes himself to the honour of God.

Let us now inquire into our personal interest in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What evidence have we that we have passed from death unto life? If so we have, we certainly live to God in newness of life, and know that that life we once did not possess; that it comes from a risen Saviour, and is connected with hopes, privileges, duties, and joys unknown to us before. From the death and resurrection of the Son of God, all your salvation must flow. If you, therefore, be risen with Christ, may you set your affections on things above. Remember, every aspiration of the soul to heaven, every longing to be dissolved and to be with Christ, is the fruit of his resurrection upon you. May your conversation be more abundantly in heaven! And, while on earth, may you bear the fruit of the resurrection of Jesus in your temper and conduct, and look forward, with joy, to the hour of death, and to the day of judgment.

CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

PSALM Xxiii. 1.

The Lord is my Shepherd.

Tell me,

fairest of thy kind,

Tell me, Shepherd, all divine,
Where this fainting head reclined

May be relieved from cares like mine:
Shepherd lead me to thy grove

If burning noon infect the sky,
The sick'ning sheep to covert fly,
The sheep not half so faint as I,
Thus overcome with love.

Watts.

ALL the characters and offices of Jesus Christ declare his union with his people; they express the beneficent care he exercises over them; and they are admirably designed to teach us, how to make use of him under all the exigencies and changes of their lives; the result of which never fails to be the glory of his adored name. Among the variety of characters of Christ, no one is more excellent in itself, or more instructive to us, than that of a SHEPHERD. Be this the subject for our present meditation; and may he graciously vouchsafe so to reveal to us the riches of his love and the brightness of his glory, that each may appropriate the language of David: The Lord is my Shepherd, therefore I shall not want;—and, may the Lord grant we may never want an heart to praise him.

It will be our advantage to examine a few ancient prophecies relative to Messiah, under the character of a Shepherd, and to which Jesus referred when he said, I am the good Shepherd. The first which occurs is, Gen xlix.

24. From thence is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel; that is, Messiah, who was to spring from Jacob, and the God of Jacob, to whom should be the gathering of the people, as a shepherd gathereth his flock; and who also is empha tically the foundation-stone on which the hopes of his people should rest for present and future felicity. By Isaiah it was said concerning this great personage, He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gether the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Stronger still, if possible, was the promise by Ezekiel; I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them; and ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God. But by Zechariah, the Lord ushered in the appearance of Messiah in a very extraordinary manner. Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts; smite the shepherd, and the sheeft shall be scattered. Reviewing each of these prophecies, and comparing them with the life, character, and claim of Jesus, we have abundant reason to appropriate the text, and say of Jesus, The Lord is my Shepherd.

As the office of a shepherd is familiar, let us select a few instances of his ability and care, and we shall find that these will aid our reflection on Jesus, the Shepherd of Israel. The shepherd receives his flock in charge; there fore Jesus, addressing his Father, concerning his sheep, said, Thine they were, and thou gavest them me.-As every wise pastor knows the individuals of his flock, so Jesus declared, I know my sheep, and am known of mine. -Eastern shepherds always went before their flocks, to remove hindrances from their paths; and, it is very certain, Jesus our fore-runner and all conquering Shepherd,

It

has removed every obstruction which our sins had produced, and opened a safe and plain path to heaven. is, therefore, said, When he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.-The chief office, however, of the shepherd is, to provide necessary pasture for the flock; and the testimony of David concerning the Lord his Shepherd is a copy of the experience of every believer: He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.-No animals are more defenceless in themselves, nor more exposed to dangers, than sheep, and need the watchful eye, and the guardian arm of a faithful shepherd. We all like sheep are exposed to sins and foes; but Jesus is the good Shepherd that careth for his sheep; They, said he, shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.-Cleanly as sheep are, they frequently want washing; and this is certainly true of all that follow the Lord; and, as necessity requires, he washes them in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, and in the waters of affliction. Thus they are described as a flock of sheep which go uf from the washing, not one barren among them.-Notwithstanding the excellence of the shepherd, and the fruitfulness of the pasture he provides, there is a strange propensity in sheep to go astray. Too true an emblem of ourselves! We have all gone astray in heart or in life, and perhaps in both. But Jesus seeks the lost sheep, recovers them from danger, and returns them to his fold. David has left a memento of this; he restoreth my soul; and Peter, like a wandering sheep, entangled in the barriers of iniquity, could never forget the gracious care of this powerful Shepherd, in restoring him to the comforts of his love!

Not detaining you any longer upon a detail of parallel between the shepherd of a flock and the good and gracious Shepherd of our souls, I shall call your attention to a few peculiarities which distinguish his character, and which claim both our faith and our admiration.-This blessed Shepherd, to rescue his flock from the curse of the law, the evil of sin, and the damnation of hell, assumed their nature, fulfilled the precepts of the law in his life, and suffered its penalties for them in his death. I lay down my life for my sheep, said the good Shepherd. The sword of vengeance, according to prophecy, did awake; the Shepherd was smitten, that the flock might be redeemed. Unparalleled love! See, see my brethren, you who are the flock of his pasture, your life purchased by his death; for though the price of pardon was his blood, his pity did not withdraw.-Jesus, the Shepherd of Israel, gives spiritual birth to all his flock, who, by nature, are dead in trespasses and in sins. I am come, said he, that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. With this life, the sheep have an ear created, by which they hear the shepherd's voice; for a stranger will they not follow. And, with this life also, the sheep receive a spiritual appetite for the food which the Shepherd provides. Else none would have believed in him, none would have followed him, nor feasted on the pastures of his love. This truth, however unpalatable to some, Jesus declared to many; Ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. What gratitude should you express to Jesus, who sought you when strangers, and brought you to the fold of God! -As the Shepherd of Israel gives life to his flock, so he goes before them to prepare pasture suited to their growth and nourishment. Incompetent to choose for