SERMON I.

THE CONSOLATION.

ISAIAH xl. 1, 2. .

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, faith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerufalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for he hath received at the Lord's hand double for all ber fins.

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HE particulars of the great mystery of godliness as enumerated by the Apostle Paul, constitute the grand and inexhaustible theme of the Gofpel Miniftry, God manifeft in the flesh, juftified in the Spirit, feen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory*." It is my wish and purpose to know nothing among you but this fubject; to preach nothing to you but what has a real connection with the

VOL. I.

*

1 Tim. iii, 16.

B

doctrine

doctrine of Jefus Chrift and him crucified, and with the caufes and the effects of his obedience unto death, even the death of the crofs. But a regard to the fatisfaction and advantage of my stated hearers, has often made me defirous of adopting some plan, which might lead me to exhibit the principal outlines of the Saviour's character and mediation in a regular feries of discourses; fo as to form, if not a picture, at least a flight fketch, of those features of his glory and of his grace, which endear him to the hearts of his people. Such a plan has lately, and rather unexpectedly, occurred to me. Converfation in almost every company, for fome time paft, has much turned upon the commemoration of Handel; the grand musical entertainments, and particularly his Oratorio of the Mefiah, which have been repeatedly performed on that occafion in Westminster Abbey. If it could be reasonably hoped that the performers and the company affembled to hear the mufic, or the greater part, or even a very confiderable part of them, were capable of entering into the fpirit of the subject; I will readily allow that the Meffiah, executed in fo masterly a manner, by persons whose

hearts,

hearts, as well as their voices and instruments, were tuned to the Redeemer's praife; accompanied with the grateful emotions of an audience duly affected with a sense of their obligations to his love; might afford one of the highest and nobleft gratifications, of which we are capable in the prefent life. But they who love the Redeemer, and therefore delight to join in his praife, if they did not find it convenient, or think it expedient, to hear the Meffiah at Westminster, may comfort themselves with the thought, that, in a little time, they shall be still more abundantly gratified. Ere long death fhall rend the vail which hides eternal things from their view, and introduce them to that unceafing fong and univerfal chorus, which are even now performing before the throne of God and the Lamb. Till then, I apprehend, that true. Christians, without the affistance of either vocal or inftrumental mufic, may find greater pleasure in a humble contemplation on the words of the Meffiah, than they can derive from the utmost efforts of musical genius. This therefore is the plan I spoke of. I mean to lead your meditations to the language of the Oratorio, and to confider in their order,

(if the Lord on whom our breath depends fhall be pleased to afford life, ability and opportunity) the feveral fublime and interefting paffages of Scripture, which are the basis of that admired compofition.

If he fhall condefcend to fmile upon the attempt, pleasure and profit will go hand in hand. There is no harmony to a heaven-born foul like that which is the refult of the combination and coincidence, of all the Divine Attributes and perfections, manifested in the work of redemption; mercy and truth meeting together, inflexible righteousness correfponding with the peace of offenders, God glorious, and finners faved. There is no melody upon earth to be compared with the voice of the blood of Jesus speaking peace to a guilty confcience, or with the voice of the Holy Spirit applying the promises to the heart, and fweetly infpiring a temper of confidence and adoption. Thefe are joys which the world can neither give nor take away, which never pall upon the mind by continuance or repetition; the fenfe of them is always new, the recollection of them is always pleafant. Nor do they only fatisfy, but fanctify the foul. They ftrengthen faith, animate hope,

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hope, add fervency to love, and both dispose and enable the Chriftian to run in all the paths of holy obedience with an enlarged heart.

The Meffiah of Handel confifts of three parts. The firft, contains prophecies of his advent and the happy confequences, together with the angel's meffage to the fhepherds informing them of his birth, as related by St. Luke. The fecond part defcribes his paffion, death, refurrection and ascension ; his taking poffeffion of his kingdom of glory, the commencement of his kingdom of grace upon the earth, and the certain disappointment and ruin of all who perfift in oppofition to his will. The third part expreffes the bleffed fruits and consummation of his undertaking in the deliverance of his people from fin, forrow and death, and in making them finally victorious over all their enemies. The triumphant fong of the redeemed, to the praise of the Lamb, who bought them with his own blood, clofes the whole. The arrangement or series of thefe paffages, is fo judiciously disposed, so well connected, and so fully comprehends all the principal truths of the Gospel, that I shall not attempt either to alter, or to enlarge it. The exordium or inB 3 troduction