3. As exalted to glory —
[Hitherto we have witnessed nothing but his humiliation ; but the shame of his cross was quickly rolled away. In vain were the stone, the seal, the watch: he burst the bands of death, and rose triumphant. Henceforth we are to view him ascending amidst myriads of exulting angels, sitting on the throne of his glory, dispensing blessings to the church below, and receiving the adorations of his church above. Sinner, lift up thine eyes to heaven, and behold thy once crucified, but now exalted, Redeemer! Now he shines forth in all his glory, and says to thee, even to thee, " Behold me, behold me n ! " O that every eye might see him, and that all, who have pierced him by their sins, might mourn and be in bitterness, as one that mourneth for his first-born son0! Soon indeed all shall see him: the time is shortly coming, when he will descend from heaven again, not however to stand, as before, like a criminal at man's tribunal, but to execute judgment on the assembled universe ; and then happy shall they be who have beheld him
k Matt. ii. 11. i Matt. ii. 1G— 20. m Luke iv. 28—30.
11 Isai. lxv. 1. ° Zech. xii. 10.
here with suitable affection ; tliey shall behold his face with inexpressible delight ; and be the spectators of his glory, and the partners of his throne, to all eternity.]
Address —
1. The careless —
[Know you what the sins, which you commit so lightly, have occasioned ? Go to Calvary and behold your God ; and then judge whether sin be so light and venial a matter as you are ready to imagine ! The Jews and Romans were the imme- diate actors in that bloody tragedy ; but your sins, and the sins of an ungodly world, were the real occasion of all that your God endured; and, while you continue in your sins, you " crucify him afresh, and put him to an open shame." Ah ! did David cast away the water, for which the lives of three men had been endangered, and will not you cast away the sins which have actually shed the blood of Godp ? Let this thought induce you to put away the polluted cup from your lips ; and and let " the love of Christ constrain you to live unto him who died for you and rose again."]
2. The heavy-laden —
[To you especially the Saviour cries, " Look unto me, and be ye saved ! " Come unto me, and find rest unto your souls ! " Consider well, who it is that thus invites you; it is your Saviour, and your God: there can be no want of efficacy in his blood, or of power in his arm : he is a strong rock, a sure foundation, an all-sufficient help. Trust then in him ; and, as a sight of the brazen serpent healed the dying Israelites, so shall a view of your divine Saviour prove an effectual remedy for all your wants. You shall soon, like Thomas, exclaim with holy rapture, " My Lord and my God !" or, in the language long since dictated to you by the spirit of prophecy, " Lo, this is our God ; we have waited for him, and he will save us : this is the Lord ; we have waited for him : we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation q!"]
p 2 Sam. xxiii. 16, 17. with Acts xx. 28. i Isai. xxv. 9.