him for ever and ever. Lord shed more of thy precious love abroad in my heart; enlarge it in true affection to thee, and make all that is within me bless thy holy name.

Reader, stop a little here, and consider: Art thou one of these believers? Hast thou a warm heart for the person of Christ? Dost thou see in him, and in its highest degree every thing that is lovely, and art thou growing and abounding in love to him? If this be thy present happiness, thou wilt find many powerful motives to increase it in the 45th and 42d Psalms. Read them, and see whether thou canst so mix faith with what is said in them of the incarnate God, as to conclude with David-" Whom have I in heaven, but thee, and there "is none upon earth, that I desire besides thee." If thy heart be thus enamoured with his love, then thou hast got a key to the book of Canticles; for thou art the spouse of Christ. Mayest thou experience what is therein said of the glories of thy heavenly Bridegroom, and mayest thou grow in love to his adorable Person, by finding continual tokens of his love to thy soul in the several offices, which he sustains for the dispensing of his favours. In these offices he is always endearing himself to his people. And this is the

Second thing, whereby the fathers in Christ grow in the knowledge of him. There is not a want, which sin has brought upon believers, but there is an office in Christ, where it may be supplied; and the sense and feeling of that want, leading them to trust in him upon the warrant of his word and promise, will certainly bring them a supply in the hour of need. His offices are many, but they may be all included in these five. He is the Saviour, the Prophet, the Priest, the King, and the Advocate of his people.

The SAVIOUR, Jesus, a dear name, descriptive of his infinite grace, and sweetly suited to the sinner's wants. Whatever pollution or guilt he has contracted, whatever misery he deserves to suffer in time or in eternity, Jesus is Jehovah, almighty to save him: for he was called

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Jesus, because he was to save his people from their sins. Whatever they stand in need of to make them happy, wisdom, righteousness, holiness, comfort or strength, it is all in the fulness of Jesus, freely promised, and by faith received, as it is written, "Ye are saved freely by grace through faith," and saved for ever: for Jesus is the Author of eternal salvation. The spirits of just men made perfect in glory, are said to be crying with a loud voice" Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon "the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever." that the name Jesus is dear and precious to the saints in heaven; they are happily employed in ascribing the glory of their eternal salvation to the Lamb of God. And the believer has at present a part of their happiness; for Jesus is the Saviour. He can trust him for all the promised blessings of his salvation, and live by faith upon him for the receiving them. As every moment some of them are wanted, so the Saviour's love in bestowing them is more experienced; faith in him is thereby strengthened, and love to him increased. And these graces will be continually growing, while the believer views the state of guilt and misery, from which Jesus has saved him, the state of safety in which he has. placed him, and the blessings which he has promised him in life and death and in eternity. Must not such a Saviour become more precious for continuing day by day such free and unmerited benefits? And who can receive them, sensible of his unworthiness, without rejoic-. ing in such a salvation, and admiring and adoring the goodness of the Saviour? Oh most blessed Jesus, increase the faith of thy people, that they may glorify thee more by depending upon thee for all the promised blessings of thy salvation. Teach them how to do this as the great

PROPHET of the house of God. This is another of his gracious offices, suited to the ignorance of his people: for when sin separated them from God, they then lost the light of life, and had no means left in their own power to discover God and the things of God. Hear

what two infallible witnesses say to this fact-" There ❝is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh "after God." Mind, here is no exception, the prophet knew not one; neither did the apostle-" All the Gen"tiles had the understanding darkened, being alienated "from the life of God through the ignorance that is in "them, because of the blindness of their hearts." To man in this state of ignorance what could be so suitable as a prophet? And what prophet like him, who being God is possessed of infinite wisdom, and being Godman has that infinite wisdom for his people's use? He was made unto them wisdom, that by his divine teaching he might enlighten their understandings, and by leading them into all truth, might make them wise unto salvation. He begins his teaching with discovering to them their ignorance, which is a hard lesson to learn, but he uses such mildness and gentleness with his authority, that by degrees he subdues their pride and makes them willing to sit at his feet to hear his words. This is the humble posture of all his true disciples. They receive him by faith for their teacher, convinced that without him they can learn nothing which belongs to their peace, and having been for some time under his teaching, they grow more sensible of their want of it. He discovers to them more of their ignorance, and thereby brings them to a closer dependence upon him for wisdom. And that is the way they rise in his school. Whoever is the most humble and teachable, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The abiding sense of his standing in need of the divine Prophet every moment makes him the highest scholar. And the Lord keeps him in this dependent state, waiting upon him for his continual instruction, in hearing and reading the word, and in prayer for the enlightening Spirit to make the word effectual. The great Prophet could teach without these means, but he has commanded us in the use of them to wait upon him: for in them he has promised to meet and bless his people, and for the fulfilling of this promise they wait. Christ's presence they look

for in the use of all means, and they find it. He teaches them how liable they are to err, how little they know, how soon they forget, and thus they grow in a dependence upon, and in love to their divine Teacher. And as all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in him, and they can know at present but in part, they therefore will be waiting upon him for more, still more knowledge, and he answers his character, he teaches them wisdom. He shews them dangers, discovers to them the devices of Satan, guards them against the errors and heresies of the day, makes manifest the snares of the world, and in all respects fulfils to them the offices of an infallible prophet: for he keeps them from resting upon any false foundation, and enables them to build all their hopes of acceptance with God upon the atonement made by the high

PRIEST of our profession Christ Jesus. This is his chief office. He is our Prophet to teach us our guilty helpless state, and to bring us to rely upon him to save us from it, by being our Priest. All we have sinned, and have incurred the pains and penalties due to sin. We e are all justly liable to the sufferings and death, to the curse and to the separation from God, threatened in his law to trangressors, and we have no means in our own power to escape them. How full then of grace

and love was the heart of our blessed Immanuel, that he would vouchsafe to be a priest to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin? His gifts were infinitely precious-he gave himself for us, the gift of his eternal God-head, the gift of his immaculate manhood, body and soul, in which he obeyed perfectly, and so magnified the law, that it may be eternally honourable in admitting those, who have sinned, into heaven-the gift of his prevailing prayer for all that shall believe in him to the end of the world -and the gift of his body and soul to be once offered for sin, in the place and in the stead of sinners, as it is written," He suffered once for sins the just for the "unjust that he might bring us unto God-He died "for our sins according to the scriptures-He was made

a curse for us, that he might redeem us from the curse "of the law, and that we who sometimes were afar off "might be made nigh by his blood, and might through "him have access by one Spirit unto the Father." In these most precious gifts, in this everlasting meritorious Sacrifice consists the office of our divine priest; and upon him the believer rests. He is enabled upon this foundation to build all his hopes of acceptance. The great atonement made by Jesus' obedience unto death is all his salvation, and all his desire-all his salvation: for he looks no where else, but to Jesus and him crucified he depends upon nothing else to save him from suffering and death, from the curse of the law, and from being eternally separated from God. And this is all his desire to get a closer acquaintance, and more intimate communion with the crucified Jesus. This is his one study and delight-I have determined, says he, to know nothing but Jesus, by whom I have now received the atonement. God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. I would look upon all other things as dross and dung, compared to the excellency of the knowledge of that one offering, by which he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. In this his priestly office, bleeding and dying for me, he is beyond description, beyond conception, full of grace and truth; and daily he becomes more lovely in mine eyes. As I discover more of the exceeding sinfulness of my heart and life, my meritorious Priest grows more dear to me: I rest more safely on his atonement, satisfied of its infinite sufficiency to bring me near to God. And finding my faith and hopes established in it, and through it a free access to the Father, Jesus the sacrificed Lamb of God becomes dayby day more precious to my heart. His blood and righteousness are the continual rejoicing of my soul. Oh! how happy am I in this my royal Priest: for now even now have I redemption in his blood, the forgiveness of sins-I am safe from the destroying angel under the blood of sprinkling, and I have also boldness