of a Christian by death, that he obtains an introduction tə the society of glorified Saints and Angels in heaven. Angels below encamp around them that fear the Lord, and are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation. The Saints of the Lord in the temple of grace below take sweet counsel together, and mutually share in the numberless privileges the Lord hath bestowed upon his Church. By death they will be no losers. Angels shall convey their souls to glory; and the spirits of the just made perfect shall afford them the most delightful, inconceivable joy. Then, says Paul, shall I know even also as I am known. Patriarchs, prophets, apostles, ministers, and saints of the Lord, shall not only know each other, but recount the wonders of grace and of providence which have attended them while here below. Here their communion is often interrupted; but there no cessation shall attend their delightful employ of adoration and praise. We may conclude, that by death the Christian gains a crown of glory. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life, is the promise of Jesus to all his followers; which, no doubt, includes every thing that can be implied under the idea of greatness, grandeur, pleasure, wealth, and endless glory. Thus I have offered you some reflections on the unavoidable, affecting, solemn, and necessary submission to mortality. After all our efforts, we can only, as it were, paint death upon canvass; or, by signs, or sounds, give you what I may call the skeleton of death. The reality, the pain, or the bliss of dying, surpass the living to describe! Let me, therefore, exhort you by the worth of your souls, by the joys of the righteous, and by the sorrows of the wicked in death, seriously to propose to yourselves this solemn question: "Am I prepared to die?" I have also attempted to make some faint estimate of the gain a Christian may certainly expect by death. The cause of all which is in Christ. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. You are sinners by nature and by practice; to die in your sins is to lose the eternal happiness of your souls; it is the loss of heaven and the gain of hell. Mark with serious attention, the connection of our text. To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. No gain by death, unless you live in Christ. May the Spirit of God lead you to Jesus, and give you that faith in his blood for pardon and acceptance, which alone can deliver you from the fear of death, and inspire you with hope of an eternal gain!-Those who know the Saviour as their own, I wish frequently to meditate on the expected gain by death. Job said, I would not live always. For many reasons a good man may desire a continuance in life; perhaps to see his children called by grace to perform some good work for the benefit of society, and to see Zion prosper in her King. Yet the certain, more valuable, and glorious acquisitions by death, not only reconcile him to dissolution, but create in him a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better. Remember, it is your privilege and your interest to realize these important subjects. How should the persuasion of such great gain reconcile us to mortality? Be assured the salutary influence of this upon your heart and life will be very great. And when the hour of death shall come, you will resign with cheerfulness; die in faith, and leave a noble testimony behind you for the encouragement of others, and for the glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. LECTURE XLIX. THE UNCHANGEABLENESS OF CHRIST. HEBREWS xiii. 8. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.. Jesus, as thon art still to-day R THE primary intention of the Apostle in this address, was to console the Hebrew converts under the loss of their spiritual rulers, and to exhort them to consider the end of their conversation, life, and doctrine, which was invariably and perpetually Christ Jesus. As ministers, like other men, are mutable, and continue not by reason of death, it is a source of joy that Jesus Christ ever liveth, and is unchangeable; therefore able to preserve the most important interest of his Church, until days and years are known no more. You, who are Chris→ tians indeed, must certainly possess a consciousness of the changeableness of your comforts and your sensations, in the various duties and trials of your lives. To you, therefore, it is an unbounded source of satisfaction, that your Saviour is unchangeable; the same in Himself and the same in his relation and in his love to you, yesterday, and to day, and for ever. May our meditation upon this subject be the mean which the Spirit of God shall bless to increase our faith, and enlarge our affections towards our immutable Saviour. 1. Let us first begin with the immutability and unchangeableness of the PERSON of Jesus Christ. What is asserted in our text is not applicable to any mere creature, whether human or angelic; for of these we have sufficient evidences of their mutability. Immutability, unchangeableness and eternity are essential only to Jehovah, and are necessary to his underived, unmixed, holy nature. Immutability is, therefore, ascribed to Christ, as he is God over all, blessed for evermore; and as he is the Redeemer and Saviour of sinners. I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last; which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. May we not, therefore, join David and Paul in their sublime ascription of immutability to our adored Emmanuel? Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Jesus, the rock of ages, is a permanent foundation for our hope. It is from hence that every name which Jesus bears, every relation he sustains, and every office he discharges for his people, are invariable. Christ our HIGH PRIEST is now in heaven with an unchangeable priesthood, ever living to make intercession for us. With propriety, and with pleasure we embrace the words of our text as charmingly descriptive of our unchangeable Saviour. Our Jesus was the same yesterday, that is, in time that is past, set up from everlast❤ ing. A Saviour to our first sinning parents, to the pa triarchs, the prophets, and to all the family of grace under the former dispensation. So he is to-day, the time present, the blessed day of the Gospel; in which he proves himself the same Almighty Saviour, and unchangeable friend to sinners. And so Jesus will be in future, for ever; as long as he has one of his people remaining on earth to enjoy him; and equally so when the whole body of his Church shall be complete in glory. This charming testimony to the immutability of the Saviour has been given by the subjects of his grace in all ages, and in every clime. This strong rock constitutes the basis of our hope and perseverance through life; our victory in death, and our eternal felicity. 2. Let us next indulge a few reflections on the un-` changeableness of that SALVATION which Jesus hath accomplished, as the effect of his covenant engagement with his Father. This subject constitutes the most important part of the Gospel, and is equally necessary for us to understand. Of Jehovah, the Father and the Son, it is said, The council of peace shall be between them both. And David knew that the covenant of God was ordered in all things, and sure, which was all his salvation, and all his desire. To redeem and to save, Jesus must not only assume our nature, but be made under the precept, and the penalty of the law. Thus, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. He is the rock; his work is perfect. By one offering, he hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified. He hath obtained eternal redemption for us. What God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it; and God doeth it that men may fear before him. There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The blood of Jesus so perfectly cleanses from all sin, his obe |