that beauty which his own grace has put upon you. Brethren, if you "walk in the Spirit," you will find it easy to mortify the flesh with its affections and lusts easy to let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven; easy, in short, to be what those ought to be, who are so favored as to live under this higher and more glorious dispensation of the divine Spirit. And now what remains but that we render constant thanks to God, that the day of gospel mercy is ours; that we hear these welcome truths, and behold these glorious objects. Jesus, who once visited this world on an errand of love, has gone to his celestial throne. But his departure was prompted by infinite benevolence, and secures to his followers the precious gift of the Holy Spirit in larger measures than had been enjoyed before. Under this higher influence of the Spirit, far more is done for the enlargement and prosperity of the church and the sanctification of individual believers, than had been done at any time before the ascension of Christ. And it is through this more powerful influence of the Spirit, that we behold the glory of our invisible Saviour. Though he has gone away from us in his bodily state, we truly enjoy his presence. He is indeed in heaven; but he is none the less here. We not only call to mind the wonderful events which took place during his humiliation, but we follow him to the courts above. In the exercise of a sanctified imagination and a believing heart, we behold him on his throne in the heavens. Through the influence of the indwelling Spirit his throne becomes the throne of grace to us; and we draw near to it, and find our Saviour there; and then we enjoy his presence. We want no images, no pictures, no wooden cross. Enlightened by the Spirit, we know and see the blessed Jesus without any such help as these. We are better without them. They are all too mean to set forth the excellence of our exalted Saviour. They obscure his glory. We prefer the substance to the shadow. We prefer the bright noon-day sun to the clouds that hide him from our view. Jesus promised to be with his disciples always to the end of the world. We deem it our hap piness to enjoy his promised presence here, till we go to enjoy it more perfectly in the world above. Son to die for us, and the Thanks then to God, who gave his Holy Spirit to guide and comfort us and make us partakers of his fulness. Thanks be to God for these unspeakable gifts. A SERMON DELIVERED IN THE CHAPEL OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, ANDOVER, Gal. 6: 14.-BUT GOD FORBID THAT I SHOULD GLORY, SAVE IN THE CROSS of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, BY WHOM (BY WHICH) THE WORLD IS CRUCIFIED TO ME, AND I UNTO THE WORLD. THE effect of the cross of Christ upon the believer is here set forth in very impressive figurative language. "The world is crucified to me." It is like one who is crucified and dead. It has lost its attractions. I have set my affections supremely on Christ; and, comparatively, I feel no interest in worldly things. The same idea is expressed, when it is said, the believer is dead to the world. The opposite is always implied, namely, that he is alive unto God. The Apostle says also, "I am crucified to the world." That is, the world has lost its interest in me as a follower of Christ. It turns away from me as though I were a dead man. Thus the deadness is mutual. The world is crucified and dead to me, and I unto the world. Here then we see what is the great fact in the gospel scheme, and what is its practical effect upon the followers of Christ. It is by means of the cross, that their hearts are withdrawn from the world and set upon spiritual and divine things. But we must always keep in mind, that whatever efficacy is at tributed to anything as a means or instrument, flows ultimately and entirely from the appointment and agency of God. It is he that worketh all in all. The influence of any truth is so far from superseding the work of the Holy Spirit, that it includes it, and depends upon it. Let it also be kept in mind, that it is not the cross of Christ, considered literally and alone, which possesses the efficacy here mentioned. To obtain any just conception of this efficacy, we must consider the crucifixion of Christ in its high moral relations. We must consider it as a measure of the divine government; as related to God's holy law, and his spiritual empire. We must consider what displays the cross made of the holiness, the justice, and the grace of God; what aspect it had upon his righteous administration; what representation it made of the sin and ruin of man and the worth of the soul, and what character Christ himself exhibited, and in what relation he stood to sinners, when he endured the pains of crucifixion. When we view the cross of Christ in such lights as these, we attain to some just conceptions of the mighty efficacy ascribed to it in the text. Here, brethren, we are taught the grand secret of the Christian life, that life which is hid with Christ in God. Here we have the principal means, by which believers subdue their sins, and obtain a conformity with God's perfect law. We have here the principal means, and, in an important sense, the only means of this. Other means in abundance have been invented and relied upon in pagan countries, and even in Christendom; but they have all proved to be in vain. And we are brought by the experience of ages, as well as by our own experience, and the word of God, to this conclusion, that the reformation of man's character and heart is to be effected chiefly by the cross of Christ. We can rely upon nothing separate from this. But the doctrine of the cross, accompanied with the divine blessing, has an unfailing efficacy. there is anything which is really valuable in other means employed for the renovation of man; it is all found here. And as to the other means which God has appointed-it is their connection with the If cross, and their being exhibited in this connection, that gives them their saving efficacy. Their efficacy is all comprised in the cross of Christ. Everything which has the nature of a motive, and everything which renders motives efficacious - everything which manifests the goodness and the authority of God - the excellence of his law the evil of sin and the beauty of holiness-the value of eternal blessedness and the dreadfulness of eternal misery; in short, everything which can lead the sinner to repentance, and move the heart to gratitude and love, is found in the cross of Christ. And its being found here is the circumstance which gives it a true and saving efficacy. — Take the very same thing as exhibited in other ways; take, for example, the benevolence of God. Prove it, as you may, by general reasoning. Produce the evidence of it from the works of nature and providence. Unrenewed men may feel the weight of your arguments, and may be convinced that God is benevolent, and the conviction may excite their imagination to a pleasant activity. But their hearts are not subdued, and their love is not kindled. But when in the exercise of faith they look at the cross of Christ and see the benevolence of God displayed there; conscience is roused, love and gratitude are kindled, and the character is transformed. Take another example, the evil of sin. erations with which the science of ethics From various considis familiar, you may clearly prove that sin is wrong in itself, and pernicious in its effects;- a disorder in the moral system a perversion of our nature, and contrary to the purity and goodness of the Creator. But all this, presented merely in this light and proved in this manner, plays only upon the surface of the mind. It leaves the sinner coldly convinced, not savingly converted. But let a man in the exercise of a lively faith, look to calvary; and learn the evil of sin there. Let him learn from the sufferings of the cross, how sin is regarded by a just and righteous God. Let him see what it brought upon the holy Saviour, and what it would have brought upon a world of sinners, had not he died in their stead. Let him judge of the evil of sin from the precious blood which was shed to atone for it. Now he is |