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they will let their moderation be known unto all men1; if, while seeking the blessing of peacemakers, they will at the same time be sober; if, zealous for the Glory of GoD, they will at the same time let their eyes look straight on, and their eyelids look straight before them; if they will ponder the path of their feet, and turn neither to the right hand nor yet to the left.

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SERMON XII.

THE SONG OF THE ANGELS.

LUKE II. 14.

Glory to GOD in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men."

SUCH was the song of Angels, expressive of their feelings when they beheld the LORD of Glory assuming the nature of man; and to the consideration of this seraphic song I invite you, humbly hoping that, by the Grace of GoD, we may, from such consideration, imbibe some portion of the angelic spirit and principle', while we forget not that, so far as we are among the Saints, we have mystical communion with the Angels themselves?.

1 See Collect for St. Michael and all Angels.

2

Heb. i. 14.

Our subject naturally divides itself into two parts. The Angels contemplated the Glory of Gon, and they rejoiced also in the effect of that Glory in producing Peace upon earth and good will towards men.

When man looks abroad upon creation; when, from the contemplation of this earth we tread on, he passes to the view of those planets which revolve, in our company, around our central sun; when passing the limits of our solar system and looking to the firmament he remembers that the worlds piled upon worlds which he there beholds are but parts of a stupendous whole; when he reflects upon mind itself, its capabilities and its powers, as we perceive them in man, as we can imagine them in the higher intelligences, in whom they are not depressed by those hindrances which chain down to earth a creature whose mind, whatever its remaining vigor, is but a ruin ;

I

say, when man looks abroad upon universal creation, the universe of created matter, and the universe of created spirit, he is tempted to ask why, for what end, purpose, object, were all these wondrous works commanded into existence? And the mind of man can devise one answer, and one only, and that answer is, that all things, from the insect scarce breathing on the imperceptible atom, to the seraph all glowing with love Divine, all,

all were created for the glory of the CREATOR. And the surmises of reason are fully confirmed by the assurance of Revelation, which declares that "the LORD hath made all things for HIMSELF, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil".

Now, sanctity consists in the identification of the will of the creature with that of the Creator, and the Holy Angels, therefore, are one with GOD, in seeking to promote His Glory, and in rejoicing at every fresh manifestation thereof. They see, what with us is an object not of sight but of faith, how the glory, the happiness, the perfection of universal creation is involved in the Glory of the CREATOR.

They proclaimed, then, Glory to God in the highest, when Mary brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped HIM in swaddling clothes, and laid Hrм in a manger', because they perceived how by that event peace was brought to earth and good will manifested towards men.

But here we must pause to reflect on what is meant by the peace and good will which are thus mentioned, and which are thus conducive to the Glory of GOD.

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Instead of looking to GoD and His Glory, we are too apt to think only of man in his impotence; and then, when we think of peace in this sense, we find that it has not resulted from the propagation of Christianity; on the contrary, we are reminded of our LORD's warning words: “Think not that I am come to send peace upon earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword". He came to declare the truth, and the truth is a "twoedged sword"; and the declaration of the truth is like the wielding of a sword; some it must cut down, and those it wounds will turn to strike again. To preach the Gospel is to declare the truth of GOD; to declare the truth of GOD is to make known the Divine will: but man's heart, we know, is desperately wicked3; and in what does wickedness consist? in what but in opposition to the Divine will? To GOD's truth, then, man is naturally opposed; not to every portion of it taken by itself, but to His truth as a whole, and consequently to some portions of it; to all that portion which happens to run counter at the present time to his passions, his indolence, or his selfishness. Cast GOD's truth, then, upon the corrupt hearts of men, and it is like applying alkali

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