has felt it, but now feels it no more, because he has been made free from the pollution and the very existence of sin; and his spiritual arrogance and presumption, his ignorance of Christ and the gospel, and the contempt he manifests for others, not so favoured as he imagines himself to be, will soon convince you what the character of his religion is; that it is not the religion of a broken heart; that it is not the religion of the Bible. Oh! my brethren, are you really entered upon the race mentioned in our collect and in the text? The prize in view is a crown of glory, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to all them who love his appearing. They who run in the Christian race, unlike the poor competitors for earthly honours, of whom it is said, that "one receiveth the prize," shall all receive a crown of glory which shall never fade away. Do you really find the hindrances which I have endeavoured to point out? Are you laying aside every weight, and the sin which doth most easily beset you? Your own strength is but perfect weakness how, then, can you do this? All your strength must come from above, even from

Jesus, who is "a strength to the poor; a strength to the needy in his distress; a refuge from the storm; a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall."

And here we are led to consider, in the last place, the source whence, in a proper use of the collect for this day, we expect our only support, the sovereign power and grace of God in Christ Jesus. "O Lord, raise up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us, through the satisfaction of thy Son, our Lord." The direction in the text is, "Looking unto Jesus."

III. Our most gracious Saviour said, before He came into this world of sin, " Look unto me; and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God; and there is none else." And when He had finished the work which His Father had given Him to do, He uttered these ever memorable words: "All power is given to me, in heaven and in earth." He is "the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express image of His person." "Whoso hath seen Him, hath seen the Father." He is the

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Lamb, whose blood "cleanseth from all in." And He is made of God, to all who elieve in Him, wisdom, righteousness, anctification, and redemption." To Him he Spirit of holiness was given "without measure," that, out of His inexhaustible fulness, all His people might receive, and grace for grace. So willing is He to save and to bless, that He casteth out none that come to Him. To this gracious Being every tried, weak, fainting, believer may look for "mercy, and for grace to help in every time of need;" under the full assurance that He who is the Author of his faith, will be the Finisher of his faith, and, indeed, the whole of his salvation. "Looking unto Jesus." Christians, we are to look to Jesus especially, among "the cloud of witnesses" by whom we are surrounded. He has left us an example how the cross, with all its sorrows, is to be borne; and it is our part, by grace, to follow His steps. We are assured too, that "they who wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength; they shall run, and not be weary; and shall walk, and not faint." And how is a believer to look to Jesus? He is to behold Him, and re

ceive him as the all in all of a sinner's salvation; on whom the soul may rest secure for all the peace and happiness of time, and all the glory of eternity. Now, dear brethren, are we so looking? Multitudes are wil

ling to trust the Saviour for part of their salvation, but few are giving Him the glory of the whole. Many are ready to take Him as the Author, who reject Him as the Finisher of their faith. the proper use of the very different lesson. tion, and all his desire.

But the Christian, in
word, has learned a
Jesus is all his salva-
As he looked to

Him at first, in the character of a lost, helpless creature; so he knows he must ever look to Him, under the same necessitous and most humbling circumstances; and gladly acknowledge his unceasing dependance upon Him, and lie at His sovereign and supreme disposal. Oh! you to whom such a subject cannot be without its deep and lively interest, knowing, as you know, the peculiar character of the Christian life, let these things, I beseech you, sink into your hearts, however they may die upon the ears of others. The race you have to run, is a severe and an arduous struggle. The

It

Christian life is not a season of what the mass of mankind calls ease and peace. is a labour; it is a warfare; it is a crucifixion of every thing that nature would seek to gratify and indulge. But, in the language of the word of God, it is a season of peace, yea, a peace which passeth all understanding:" for the peace which Jesus gives, He gives not as the world giveth ; and your life is beyond the penetration and conception of others, because it is a life which is "hid with Christ in God;" and it is not you that live, but Christ that liveth in you. Jesus has taught you to love Him; and He will be with you in all your difficulties. He will support you in your dying conflict; and when, in His strength, you shall have reached the mark, and gained the prize of your high calling in Him, He will Himself crown you with honour and immortality in His own kingdom of glory, which will never be moved, nor ever fade away. Now, ought not such a reflection to animate you, to cheer you, to strengthen you, in the serious undertaking in which you are engaged? Ought it not to induce you to take up your cross with composure and satisfaction, and