way to be happy, his pleasures turn into thorns and vexations. If he is in the way to be great, a short time will put him upon a level with the lowest of mankind. If he is in the way to be wise, his wisdom is a wisdom of words. If he is a discoverer, he brings in a fresh generation of terms; persuading the world that he has new knowledge, because he has new expressions. Thus is man constantly seeking the way, but he is still estranged from it, and misses his true object. It was therefore intimated of old that a way is prepared, which man can neither make nor find. Jacob's visionary ladder had this use: it foreshewed, that there should be a communication between earth and heaven! a method of descending from heaven, and of ascending from the earth. This our Saviour applies to his own person. He is that ladder by which man is to ascend to God: and to attempt it without him, is to think we can step into the clouds. Mau can no more make his own communication with God, than he can make a ladder to heaven. must be our mediator, before he becomes our teacher; and of this we can give you another proof. When man was shut out of paradise, a flaming sword was interposed to keep the way of the tree of life. When man left that seat of bliss, labour and death were before him, and vengeance was behind him. There was no return for him into paradise, without passing the fire of that sword. This is the thing which Christ did for us: he suffered that fire, and survived it; and thus he recovered for us the way to paradise: he overcame this sharpness of death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers: and from the story of the malefactor upon the cross, we may know, what was true of him, may be true of us all; we may all be with him this day in paradise.

Christ

There is no way to the favour of God, or to the knowledge of God; no entrance administred, but by Jesus Christ; who being the only mediator, is also the only teacher, who shews us the way in which we are to walk. This was one great end of his coming: and all the world hath known and confessed, till of very late years, that the way of man is not in himself: it must be revealed to him. And as a way is wanting to all mankind, it is necessary all should understand it. The prophet therefore speaks of it as an highway; such as all may see and understand, if they will walk in it. What can be easier to every capacity, than the rule of example? We have nothing to do but to look at Christ; and all is plain. Learn of me, says he, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls.-Matth. ii. 29. How short, and how proper! How suited to our case !-while the world gives a very different lesson." Learn of me, for I am proud and high-spirited, and ye shall find nothing but disquiet and labour of heart." The blessed Apostle repeats a lesson corresponding with that of his Master-Be ye followers of me, even as I am of Christ. How heavy is the burthen of the world, when compared with the yoke of Christ! how laborious and difficult is the way of fashion, when compared with the way to heaven! This short, plain rule, of following Christ, would deliver us all.

And as for that other way; that valley of the shadow of death, in which we must all walk, there Christ hath gone before us, and shewed us the path of life: so that we may all say with the Psalmist, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy staff, they shall comfort me.

thy rod and We shall find the

way, as sheep are directed across a ford by the shep

herd and though that ford be as wide and as deep as the Red Sea, it will make no difference: the bondage of Egypt will then be left behind, and, Canaan will be in full view before us; to which the rod and staff of this great Shepherd will conduct us in safety.

But now let us consider the second capacity in which Christ appears to us; that of the truth.

When we lost our way, we lost the truth at the same time. When Satan shewed a way of knowledge, truth was no longer to be found.-The different opinions among men; that vain jangling, as the apostle calls it, is a proof that there is no truth among them. Let any man hear what philosophers have said about God, and he will soon see what human truth is. But the truth of God is this: that the Father sends his Son into the world, that all that believe in Him may be saved. This no philosopher ever thought of. But this is the truth, on which man has depended ever since it was said in paradise," the seed of the woman "shall bruise the serpent's head." The great end of revelation was to keep up and explain this truth, which was fulfilled in the person of Christ. Without him neither the law nor the prophets, nor even the world itself, hath any truth in them. What are all the types of the law of Moses? What is that greatest of all, the passover? It is nothing, unless you add to it, Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. The law had a shadow of good things to come; but the body and substance, from whence that shadow was formed, is of Christ. Take away the blood of Christ, and what is the blood of bulls and of goats? It cannot take away sin it cannot do that for which it was commanded to be shed; and so it is nothing. We are told of a redemption from Egypt; but that was a temporary re demption nothing will save us but an eternal redemp

tion, of which that was a figure; but the truth is in Christ he is the true Lamb, the true Moses, the true Aaron, the true Joshua: he is the truth of all that were before him; the true leader and captain of the people of God; the true priest, the true sacrifice: and this was probably the glorious subject of his Exodus, about which Moses and Elias talked with him at his transfiguration. For neither Moses nor the prophets have any other truth: Christ is the sum and substance of all.

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But I ventured to say, that the natural or created world itself has no truth without him and I am persuaded you will find the assertion true. For look at some of the world's first objects, and examine them. We see and admire the light of the day; and we may say with the wise man, truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun." But this is the light of the eye: it is not the light of the mind: Christ is that light; and therefore he calls himself the true light, whom the sun in the heavens points out to us as the sun of righteousness. The natural light of the day cannot enlighten a man that is born blind but the light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, that alone is the true light : and this Christ shewed, when he gave light to a man 'blind from his birth: he did this to teach us, that no man is out of the reach of his light, be his case what it will from the enlivening rays of that sun nothing is hidden.

Bread is of great consequence to man's life; but it is so only to his natural life: that alone is the true bread which cometh down from heaven, and giveth light to the world. He that eateth of what we call 'bread, will die afterwards; and even they that did eat of manna in the wilderness, all died: but this is the

true bread from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.

On another occasion, Christ calls himself the True Vine; because every thing that can be said of the vine is fulfilled in him. The vine, considered in itself, is but a shadow; apply it to him, and it has sense and

substance.

Water is made to quench the thirst; but he that drinketh of it, shall thirst again: this is the true living water, of which a man may drink and thirst no more: and this is what our Saviour offered, when he said, i any man thirst, let him come unto ME and drink.

In like manner, all things in this world that are most necessary and valuable to man, are verified in Christ in him alone the truth of them is found. And we may thence affirm, that the world we see without him is not the true world; it is only a shadow of it. The world before us is a bodily world, and made for the body of man: but the true world is made for his spirit, and must be of a spiritual nature. Hence you may understand the two great mistakes which the wise man of the world is sure to make, concerning this world and the other. He judges He judges totally amiss of the Christian and of himself. He supposes his own objects to be real, and the objects of the Christian imaginary; because the one walks by sight, and the other by faith whereas the objects of a Christian's faith are the true objects, while the man of the world has nothing but the shadow of them; and when he loses the shadow, the Christian gains the substance: when this world goes down and disappears, the world of eternity rises up, and the objects of faith are all realized. Lord, give us evermore of that world which we seeˆ not; and of this that now appears to us give us more or less, according to thy good pleasure: for we now

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