tially and for ever dwell; and that out of that fulness He stands pledged to supply all His people's need, whatever that need may be. Yes, I would say to every individual believer, "The grace of Jesus is sufficient for thee." "The times of each of His people are in His hand: and the grace itself; and the opportunity for displaying it; and the glory connected with it, are all his own. And when He ceases to be gracious, and to be a brother in adversity; and when His truth and faithfulness fail, He will cease to be Jesus; He will no longer be that precious Being, of whom it is written: He shall save His people from their sins."

What, then, shall we say to these things?— If Christ be for us, who or what can be against us? If Christ be ours, all things are ours. Oh! then, Christians, let it suffice, that the Lord is gracious. Be satisfied to be what He wills you to be, so long as His grace is only magnified in you. Be satisfied to be weak, so long as His strength is only perfected in your weakness, and His glory promoted by your shame. Nay, be not only satisfied, but rather glory in these

things; so that the 'power of Christ may rest upon you. Let it be your encouragement, your consolation, your glory, under all circumstances, that the grace that is in Christ Jesus is sufficient for you. To remember this, will give you relief, even in those moments when you cannot discover your own interest in the work of His redemption; for the simple truth, that Christ is gracious, is the foundation of all our hopes, and the source of all our joy. A child of God may be of a fearful heart, but in the free grace of Christ he may be strong and fear not. That grace is infinite. It knows no bounds. It is supreme, and is, and will be, quite victorious. Oh! brethren in the Lord, grace has done great things for you, for which you ought to rejoice, though you may not be able to take any comfort from what you see to have been done in you. The work is begun, and is going on in you, though you may not be able to trace it in its real character. But "you shall see greater things than these." Grace is a fountain that can never be exhausted; it is an ocean that can never be dried up. It is above the comprehension of the angels themselves; no wonder, then, if you cannot

yet discover its height and depth. A Saviour, whose grace is of such a character, must be indeed a strong tower, to which we may continually resort.

you

be

Who, then, is that happy soul, who, having been convinced of his lost state as a sinner, has been led to look to Jesus, as the only hope set before him? To that soul I would say ;-You have been quickened by the Spirit of grace, which is the Spirit of Christ. You have longed for His salvation, and these longings have not been wholly unsatisfied. Now, inasmuch as they have ever been in the least degree met from above, if have not been comforted, you have been strengthened, though it may imperceptibly. You have waxed strong, though you may not have been drawn out into much rejoicing. Oh! be assured that the Lord is with you. He is the faithful and true witness, and He will not, because he cannot, by virtue of His covenant, allow a hair of your head to fall to the ground. You are the object, and the fruit of His own grace; and, as such, shall never be lost. How ought your peace to flow like a river; and how satisfied ought you to be, that one so gracious should do with you as seemeth

Him good! You may sin; yea, and you shall mourn for it; but sin shall not have

dominion over you, because you are "under grace." You may die; but to die will be your gain. At death, there is an end of the perplexities of sin, and not before; at death, there is the consummation of life; and the perfection of glory. Oh! then, why should not your spirit leap up "beyond the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills?" Why should it not spring to Him who made them? You have looked, you have waited for His salvation; and you shall not look in vain. There has been kindled within you a holy fire. The flame of that fire may shine more brightly in the eyes of others, than it perceptibly warms your own heart but it is there; and it warms and enlightens others, if it does not warm and enlighten you. May God pour out upon it the sacred oil that flows from Himself, that it may rise higher, and burn with a more vivid and more animating glow, to the praise of the Triune Jehovah, and to your own increasing joy, throughout eternal ages 1

260

SERMON XIV.

THE BELIEVER REALIZING THE PRESENCE

OF CHRIST.

CANT. i. 12.

"While the King sitteth at His table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof."

THE life of the person who, in sovereign mercy, is brought under the renewing power of the Spirit of Holiness, is a life, not only of high enjoyment, in point of privilege, but it is also an honourable and influential life. At the same time that he is a subject of the King of kings, the Prince of peace, and therefore blessed; and a child of the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore an heir of a glorious and incorruptible inheritance; he is "the salt of