ONCE more has the swift current of time produced the day, upon which our church calls on her children to look up with a mixture of joy and melancholy to the cross, whereon was accomplished the stupendous work of the salva­tion of the world—A day never to be forgot­ten, always to be respected by every one who is not ashamed of the cross of Christ, by every one who glories in the name of a christian.

[Page 6]THE holy prophet, being, by the spirit of God, brought forward thro' many ages of futu­rity, beholds our Saviour returning from his severe contest with his spiritual foes—his head crowned with never-fading laurels—his gar­ments deeply stained with the crimson spots, which were the price of his victory. ‘Who art thou,’ cries the Prophet with awful sur­prize, ‘coming from the land of blood, from the fields of tribulation, with bloody raiment; who nevertheless art cloathed in glory, and puttest on majesty itself as a garment, and walkest in the height of superlative power?’ The blessed Conqueror answers, ‘I, whose word is the essence of truth, and who am able to save to the uttermost.’ Isai­ah further enquires, ‘Wherefore is thine ap­parel so bloody and your garments red, like the garments of him that treadeth in the wine-fat?’ "The wine-press," replies the Messiah, ‘indeed have I trodden; and have trodden it alone; of all my friends and fol­lowers, there was none continued with me in that trying hour; But as for mine enemies, they shall be made my foot-stool; my im­penitent, incorrigible adversaries will I tram­ple under foot in my just indignation; my garments shall be stained with their blood; I will break them with a rod of iron; I will dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. For the day of vengeance is come, the time, when I am to bruise the serpent's head—to open the prison doors and liberate the redeemed cap­tives. In that tremendous crisis, I looked [Page 7] round for assistance, but no man appeared to help me▪ Of my own chosen disciples, one had betrayed me▪ another had denied me, and all had forsaken me.—Then, in my vast astonishment, and bitterness of grief, I cried out MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME!—But my God had not entirely forsaken me, because he had pro­mised, that when I should descend into hell (as I assuredly must to complete my work of redemption) he would not leave my soul there. Then had I recourse to the omnipo­tence of mine own arm; my fortitude and resolution upheld me. Woe to all who op­pose me, or obstruct the great business, that I am performing. Woe to them that slan­der, despise or neglect the salvation which I have purchased by this conflict; for I will trend them down in mine anger, I will aston­ish them with my fury; their most aspiring pride, power and hopes I will bring down to the earth: I will laugh at their calamity, I will mock when their fear cometh.’

THIS is the wonderful atchievement of that divine Hero, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light▪ This is the narrative thereof, as given by him­self. This atchievement, it is our business, our duty, our honour to celebrate with admiration and gratitude: To this purpose the present day of the year is especially dedicated; for this laudable purpose we are now convened.

[Page 8]WHETHER we consider the greatness of the work of redemption, the dignity of the Redeem­er, the meanness and wretchedness of the per­sons to be redeemed, the depth of misery from which they were to be raised, the bliss and glory to which they were to be exalted, the condescen­sion of our Saviour, or the privileges purchased for mankind by his blood—Whichever of these points we consider, we shall become lost in a labyrinth of wonder and amazement: We shall find a mysterious complication of wisdom, grace and benevolence on the part of heaven; but of folly and wickedness on the part of man. The most superficial contemplation of these matters will convince us, that in the redemp­tion of the world, there are mysteries, to which the utmost perception of Arch-Angels is far from being adequate—Mysteries, which Che­rubim and Seraphim in vain desire to compre­hend; at which all the heavenly host stand aston­ished. What operation then, should a survey of these things have on the children of men, for whose benefit these mysteries originated, and who are principally interested therein? The bare recollection of what our Saviour has done and suffered for us, ought (at least during the present anniversary) to banish every other care from our minds. When we meditate on the bitterness of his sufferings; when we view the nails piercing his hands and his feet, the spear thrust into his side; the reproaches, the stripes and the agonies he endured, our minds ought to be possessed by the deepest melancholy the sin­cerest grief; but when we muse upon the heav­enly [Page 9] treasures, the unspeakable felicity, pur­chased for us, by the price of his cross and pas­sion, then should our hearts be enraptured with extatic joy, with the height of gratitude.

BEHOLD the wonders of redeeming love! Admire the strength, the height, the depth, the extent of celestial grace! Stand astonished at the compassion and affection of the Son of God towards mean worms of the dust! That divine Person▪ who, in perfect equality with his Father, inhabiteth eternity, who in and of himself is pos­sessed of infinite wisdom, power and happiness, he condescended to undertake a mean birth, a sorrowful life, and (what is still more astonish­ing) to suffer the grievous, shameful, accursed death of the cross.—And for whom was all this performed? For aliens and enemies; for us, who were wretched, and miserable; and poor, and blind, and naked. Who can be found among mankind, that would lay down his life for his dearest friend, his greatest bene­factor, or the best of the human race? much less for a stranger, or an enemy? Our blessed Redeemer's affection soars as much above that of man, as his thoughts are above our thoughts, and his ways above our ways. Well therefore might the Apostle cry out, Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us. Well therefore might our Saviour graciously declare to his disciples, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.

As the sufferings and death of our gracious [Page 10] Redeemer are of the utmost importance, and are, to the last degree, interesting to the world of mankind—As none of Adam's posterity could have been saved without them, and by them eternal salvation is purchased for, and of­fered to all men; so a great number of the most plain and material predictions of the an­tient, inspired prophets of God point to these sufferings and center therein. Thus was it foretold that the Messiah should be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: His af­flictions and oppressions, his bruises and wounds were mentioned in the book of Isaiah; also his being numbered with transgressors, brought to the slaughter and cut off from the land of the living. Another Prophet mentions the very price for which he was betrayed, and their look­ing on him, whom they had pierced; the pierc­ing his hands and his feet; their parting his garments, and casting lots upon his vesture; these and almost every other essential circum­stance of his close of life were manifestly fore­told, whole centuries before their accomplish­ment; and foretold in such a manner, that they cannot, with the least colour of probabili­ty, be applied to any other transaction.

IT may furthermore, with great propriety be observed, on the present occasion, that almost innumerable [...] ordinances of the Jewish Church, typified this great, precious sa­crifice for sin; the sacrifice which the Son of God made of his own body on the altar of the cross. Thus the Paschal Lamb, which under [Page 11] the law, was offered for the sins of the people, was designed to represent the Lamb of God, who was to atone for the sins of the world: Thus the lifting up of the brazen serpent in the wilderness, was a lively type of the Saviour on the cross: Thus the solemn and memorable day of atonement prefigured the observable day, we are now celebrating. For a parallel between the great day of atonement or expia­tion under the law, and the valuable oblation performed on the present anniversary by our great High-Priest, I would refer you to the epistle directed to the Hebrews. The author of that epistle has compared the business of these two days, and has, in a great variety of instan­ces, demonstrated how much superior the sa­crifice and the sacrificer of the gospel are to those of the law: He makes it most evidently appear, that our High-Priest hath obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the Mediator of the better covenant which was estab­lished upon better promises. The same author, under the influence of the Holy Ghost has like­wise proved beyond a possibility of contradic­tion that Christ, being come an High-Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect taber­nacle not made with hands, that is to say not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

IF we look into the intention, wherewith this great annual feast appointed, and the pur­poses [Page 12] wherewith it has, through a long series of ages, been observed; we shall find that whilst the devout and exemplary fathers of christiani­ty mourned for the agonies of their benevolent Redeemer expiring on the cross; they at the same time lamented, with deep and serious peni­tence, those detestable sins, that brought the pre­cious life of Jesus Christ to such a deplorable catastrophe. One essential branch of our busi­ness on this day is to offer to God the sacrifice of broken hearts and contrite spirits—of hearts broken with grief for our wickedness, of spi­rits deeply contrite for our offences; this is an oblation more pleasing to God than ten thou­sand sacrificed rams, and whole oceans of con­secrated oil.

OUR sins brought the Son of God into a world of troubles and temptations; our wickedness betrayed, mocked, buffeted and scourged him; our crimes insulted him, crowned him with a crown of thorns, and finally crucified him. Shall we not, then, humble ourselves to the very dust for those iniquities, which brought our supreme benefactor to the death of a crim­inal? Shall we not bewail, in tears of blood, those abominations, that wrung large drops of blood from the face of the great captain of our salvation? Shall we not abhor, and utterly for­sake those execrable transgressions, that were the cause of our Saviour's agonies, and will, if persisted in, lead us into eternal misery of soul and body?

[Page 13]IN the primitive ages of christianity, with what holy zeal, with what warm devotion, was the annual humiliation of this day observed! How lengthy and severe were their fastings! How deep and serious their repentance! How conformable to the occasion and business of the day, were all their thoughts, words and actions!

LET us, in humble imitation of their bright example, improve this whole day in fasting, prayer and meditation, bewailing the agonies of our divine master, whose affection induced him to die for us, and humbling ourselves for our sins, as the cause of his crucifixion. For our assistance in this matter, the course of this day's service is calculated as much as possible for the purposes of humility, penitence and edification. What sacred melancholy, what sedate and god­ly sorrow for sin, what salutary repentance, what purity of heart, what pious temper of soul are excited by an attentive and devout use of the forms provided for the worship of the present day! Is it a great matter, is it a mighty burden to devote one day in the year to contem­plate, in a particular manner, the death of Christ, since he died for our sake? It is our reasonable service, it is the least return we can desire to make him, it is an acknowledgement very in­adequate to the benefit received.

WHILST we are solemnizing the day of the great, universal oblation for sin, let us do it in such a manner as to prepare us for the more chearful, but no less solemn offices of the third [Page 14] day from hence, called EASTER: That day will disclose to our view scenes far different from those now before us; then will be brought to our consideration a Saviour conquering all the powers of sin and satan, of death and darkness, bursting the adamantine chains of the tomb, totally defeating the king of terrors, trampling under foot the infernal potentates in their own territories, and leading captive captivity itself. Upon that blessed, happy day, we are invited to a spiritual feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. To this pleasing, glo­rious feast, I ask you in the name of God, as his Ambassador, I call you in Christ's behalf, who died equally for you and me, I exhort you, as ye love your own salvation. Our blessed Lord intreats and commands us spiritually to eat his flesh and drink his blood, and to do this in re­membrance of him; these precious words he repeats; how gracious, how valuable are these words, both in the holy scripture, and in our liturgy!—DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME —in remembrance of my sufferings, of my cross and passion, of mine inestimable oblation and precious blood, of my descent into hell, my return from thence, and resurrection from the dead, mine ascension into heaven, and continu­al, potent intercession, and my coming ag [...] to the final judgment.

MAY God Almighty, who sent his Son to die for the world—May Jesus Christ, who expired on the cross for us—May the Holy Spirit, who [Page 15] applies the benefits of Christ's death to us— may all these divine persons assist us to improve the present and all other occasions, times, pla­ces and offices of religion, in such a manner as to gain knowledge, holiness, edification, faith, repentance, charity and eternal felicity.