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ficiently light. He will strengthen you cheerfully to suffer and to perform all his holy pleasure concerning you. He will give you more grace; increase your faith; and animate you to pursue the rugged paths of life. A similar passage to our text, we have in the New Testament: Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. This not only teaches you constantly to cast your cares upon the Lord, but, you are stimulated by the persuasion of God's care of you. Your body, soul, family, every concern that may attend you, are under the inspection of your Lord, who suffered on the cross for you. He has preserved you thus far; promises that he will never leave nor forsake you; and, eventually, that he will receive you to his presence in glory. How great is the number of those now in heaven, whom the Lord sustained under personal and public burdens, much heavier than yours? And were it the pleasure of God to collect all their burdens, and place them upon you: is he not Almighty to grant you support? Learn a useful lesson from those ancient worthies recorded in the Bible, who by faith and prayer were found daily in the practice of casting all their burdens and care upon the Lord; and who have left it on record that they were exceeding joyful in all their tribulations.

Having opened to you some of the burdens of life; explained the duty of casting them upon the Lord; and enforced the exhortation from the power and goodness of Jesus to support you; I shall close the discourse with a few reflections.-Learn the utility of religion. How many unfortunate individuals and families are there, who, loaden with sorrows, have no knowledge of God, nor seek his aid for support? On the contrary, their afflictions produce the most improper tempers. Some have been se very unfortunate as to make use of base means to throw

off their burdens; and others, still worse, by violent hands, have plunged themselves into the abyss of eternity! How happy should you esteem yourselves if, amidst all your cares and burdens, God hath conducted your feet to the throne of his grace! Be assured there is a gracious design in all your afflictions. Your faith, love, patience, nor any other virtue would be found necessary or useful, were it not for the sufferings of life. They certainly, in their proper exercise, show that there is a difference in you, which none but God can make; and, likewise, it is by these fruit, well ripened, that the glory of grace appears to all around you. Go forward; the Lord is with you, and will not forsake you. Yet a little while, and you will come to the verge of death, when you shall throw down every burden, and be made perfectly and eternally free from every thing that shall prevent your felicity in the enjoyment of God. And, when brought to the realms of bliss, you will adore the conduct of your gracious God; and find the deliverance you have experienced under the sorrows of time, a source of gratitude through a vast eternity

CHRIST A TESTATOR.

HEBREWS ix. 16, 17.

For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all whilst the testator liveth.

O Lord, my God, whose sovereign lov e,
is still the same, nor e'er can move;

Look to thy testament, and see,
Has not thy love been shown to me?
Remember me, my dearest friend,
And love me alway to the end.

A TESTAMENT is the declaration of a person's mind and will, concerning the disposal of his property, and what he wishes to have performed after his death. It is so called, because it is a testimony which is not in force until the testator dies. These sentiments are contained in our text, purposely to show the confirmation of the covenant of grace, which is revealed in the Gospel, by the death of Christ as a testator.. On this character of Jesus I shall offer some general observations, in expecta-tion of your deriving both pleasure and advantage.

Our first remark is, that our Lord Jesus, as a Testator, had SENTIMENTS to communicate; PROPERTY to dispose of; and FRIENDS to receive them.—In general, the SENTIMENTS which Christ hath recorded in his testament, related to his own person; the design of his coming into our world; the council of Jehovah in the redemption of sinners; the office of the Holy Spirit; the.

establishment of his Church; the revolutions of kingdoms; the call of the Gentiles; the restoration of the Jews; the first resurrection; his personal reign; the final judgment. Epecially the sentiments of our adored Testator relate to his family of grace; the nature and design of his own sufferings; for, without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission. Not a single article relating to the honours of Jehovah, and the interests of men, is omitted. If the perusal of the will of a deceased earthly friend, by whom you have been benefited, affords gratification, how much more so the reading of the Scriptures as the Will and Testament of Christ? So true is it that John declared, He that hath received his testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true.-I likewise said, Jesus, our Testator, had PROPERTY to be queath. Christ, in the character of wisdom, declares, With me are durable riches and substance. These treasures were the property of Christ, as Redeemer, and they are unsearchable; some for time, others for eternity. To specify these would require a long inventory indeed. However, it may be asserted, here are robes of righteousness for the guilty; pardons for the greatest transgressors; faith for the unbelieving; an inheritance among his saints for exiles; and a kingdom of glory that shall never end, for those who by sin were heirs of hell. Riches of providence suited for our bodies; riches of grace necessary for our souls; and riches of glory in the enjoyment of God for ever!-But I said also, Jesus our Testator had FRIENDS to whom he should bequeath his treasures Friends did I say? Who are these? What are their names, and where do they reside? Let me look around. Ah! not a friend of Jesus, but once was his enemy, and in rebellion against him! Of such were some of you

He found you enemies, but by grace he made you his friends. It is not our province to know the names written in the book of life; but it is our privilege to make our claim to the testament of Jesus, as conquered enemies and devoted friends; or as children adopted by grace, according to the good pleasure of his will. Now, to read the Will of Christ, and be assured he hath bequeathed you a new heart, a new robe, the treasures of grace, and the bliss of eternity,-what humility, grati tude and love should you possess!

When a person makes his last will and testament, we know that he has DEATH in his view. This certainly was the case with Jesus. When he engaged with Jehovah, the Father, for our redemption, death was before him; therefore he is called, the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. From the time that God inspired Moses to commence the sacred writings, and through all the subsequent historians, from the first promise to Adam, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, down to the completion of the NewTestament, we have the strongest assurances that Jesus came to die. But, what is of consequence for us to remark is, Jesus knew the kind of death he should undergo. A natural death upon the cross, attended with shame and inexpressible anguish ; and a moral death in his soul, being excluded from his Father's sensible presence, while he made his soul an offering for sin. How charmingly does this enhance the love of Jesus to perishing sinners? and how sensibly should this consideration affect our hearts?

In law a man's will is of no use, unless it be SIGNED, SEALED, WITNESSED, and DELIVERED. Each of these particulars is visible in the perfect Will and Testament of Jesus. As to his adored NAME, we find it in every

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