SERMON XVI.

THE SECOND ADVENT.

REVELATION Xxii. 20.

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly; Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

WHO can imagine, who declare," the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of CHRIST?" Is man poor and destitute?-it reveals unsearchable riches. Is he under the sentence of eternal death?—it proclaims the remission of that sentence. Is he the child of sorrow, and the heir of woe ?-it opens an inexhaustible fund of consolation, and points to the inheritance of perfect and perpetual bliss. Here, the curse is turned into a blessing; night into day; sorrow into joy; death into life; and even the solemnities of judgment, into the desirable realities of complete salvation. When the great redemption which the Gospel proclaims is indeed received into the heart by faith, all that was before terrible becomes delightful, and the soul is now cheered with the thought and contemplation of that which had hitherto produced anxiety, alarm, dismay, and horror. In nothing does the excellence and Divine efficacy of true Religion appear more triumphant, than in its power to raise the eye of

a believer to gaze upon the awful signs of the SECOND ADVENT, to attract his ear to the sound of the thunders that shall roll beneath the chariot-wheels of "the Judge of all," and to fill his heart with the responsive thrill of satisfaction, and his lips with the animated language of joyful acquiescence, "Even so, come, LORD JESUS!" Nor is this the language of wild enthusiasm, but of well-founded consideration. The true Christian has "a reason for the hope that is in him ;" and the response of the text to the announcement of his LORD's speedy coming, is the reply of the most enlightened understanding, as well as the desire of the most willing and delighted heart. This will be evident, while we notice a few particulars, which render the coming of Christ desirable to those who truly believe in Him.

1st. Consider-WHO IT IS that shall come: The LORD JESUS. CHRIST and the believer are no strangers to each other. He is "the Good Shepherd," who knows His sheep, and is known of them. He knew them from eternity, for then were they given to Him by the FATHER. He knew their sins, and their sorrows, and their dangers, and their defenceless, helpless, and impotent condition; and He came to bear their sins, to experience their griefs, to remove their dangers, and to rescue them from all the misery and wretchedness to which they were exposed. And they are made acquainted with His purpose, and His

work. Convinced by His Word, and influenced by His SPIRIT, true Christians feel their condition to be that of sinful, guilty, hell-deserving, helpless creatures; and they gladly "flee for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them" in the Gospel, which is "JESUS CHRIST, and Him crucified."

They come to CHRIST by faith. Then a blessed union is formed between them; for He is the vine, they the branches; He the head, they the members. He calls every one, that really and heartily trusts in him, His "friend," His "brother," His "delight," His "portion;" and He reveals to such an one, from time to time, the secrets of His grace, the abundance of His consolations, the "peace which passeth all understanding," the joy which is "unspeakable and full of glory." And the believer opens his heart to his SAVIOUR. No day passes without such a disclosure of the believer's thoughts, and motives, and wishes, and fears, and failings, and sins, and compunctions, and anxieties to CHRIST, as he could not make to his nearest and dearest earthly friend. Oh! it is a constant, a close, an unreserved communion, which the soul maintains with the SAVIOUR. CHRIST lives in the heart of the Christian, and the Christian lives in union with CHRIST. There is a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, which draws and keeps the heart close to 66 THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Each day's defects and defilements produce a deeper conviction of the utter impossibility of justification before

GOD in any other way than through the imputed obedience of the LORD JESUS; and urge the conscious soul to desire and to depend alone upon the cleansing efficacy of the blood of CHRIST to take away all his sins. Thus, there is a habit of dependence upon the righteousness and death of JESUS, formed and strengthened in the heart of every real Christian; so that with St. Paul he can say, "The life that I now live in

the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who "loved me, and gave Himself for me." Christ is the Rock, on which he builds all his hopes; the Spring, from whence he draws all his comforts; the Sun, to which he is looking during the whole day of life's pilgrimage: He is the Friend to whom he unbosoms all his cares and griefs; and in whose counsel, promise, support, and sympathy, he finds never-failing comfort and relief.

Is it then surprising, that the believer, who is thus living, thinking, depending upon, and maintaining spiritual communion with CHRIST, should welcome His approach in the glory of His power, and say, "Even so, come, LORD JESUS?" Who is not glad, when his nearest and best-loved relative or friend draws near?-And such is CHRIST to the believer. In comparison of "the excellency of the knowledge of CHRIST JESUS his Lord," he "counts all things but loss;" and how then shall he not desire, wish for, love His appearing? This was one remarkable feature in the Church of the primitive Christians. St.

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them that love His appear

Paul describes them, as ing" :"2 Tim. iv. 8. Brethren, is this your character? Not, if you are still without CHRIST in your heart, as the only hope of glory. Not, if you are trusting in your own works to recommend you to GoD, and are cherishing the leaven of the Pharisee in your thoughts, while you flatter yourself that you are not as bad as others, and are therefore in a fair way to Heaven. Not, if you dislike the plain doctrine of the Gospel of CHRIST, that "by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of GOD; not of works, lest any man should boast;"—and that, “except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” Dear brethren, are these great truths welcome to your ears, and precious to your souls? Do you experience real pleasure in reading, or hearing, that CHRIST is made of GOD, "Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Sanctification, and Redemption," to every one that believeth? Oh, remember, there can be no love to CHRIST in that man, who hates or rejects "the truth as it is in JESUS:" and where there is no love to CHRIST, as our only Righteousness, our only Atoning Sacrifice, our only MEDIATOR and REDEEMER, there can be no love of His appearing-there can be no desire, such as the text breathes forth, Even so, come, LORD Jesus!"

But consider, 2dly-FOR WHAT PURPOSE the LORD