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ing weight; the scoffs and sophistries of infidelity have been in vain employed to undermine it; the storms of persecution have raged against it in vain; all the fiery darts of the grand adversary have been hurled with all his art and force against this "rock of offence" to him and his-and still it stands uninjured! "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, to-day, and forever;" and His Church is built upon Himself, as that Rock against which not the gates of hell shall prevail. "Their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges." In every respect, a tried stone;" tried by God, by Satan, by man; tried in life, in death, in eternity; tried by all the saints in all their rials; and never tried in vain! Well, indeed, may we, whose office it is to preach the everlasting gospel, proclaim this to be "a tried stone;" for this is the doctrine which is found to succeed, where every other has failed. Yes, my brethren, the righteousness and blood, the love and grace of the Saviour, come home to the sinner's heart, where no force of arguments, no statement of evidences, no deduction of religious truths from natural sentiments, could produce any deep impression. The still small voice of the Lamb of God is mightier in operation than even the thunders of Mount Sinai! Appeals to the understanding must be lost upon many, and, even where best appreciated, exert but a feeble influence on the heart: but this-that "God so loved the world that He gave His Son"-this, that "Christ so loved His Church that He gave Himself for it," is a doctrine, or, rather, a fact, that finds its way to every understanding, while it strikes upon every cord of the heart. Here is a doctrinal fact, that forms the grand distinction of revealed religion; in comparison with which nothing besides, which even the Bible contains, appears, in the view of a dying sinner, of magnitude or energy, as a resting-place for the soul! All besides vanishes into comparative insignificance; and, amid the ruins of dissolving nature, Jesus Christ remains alone!

Fitly, therefore, so well tried, is He next described as a "precious corner-stone." The corner-stone denotes the most important part of the building; and such, in the spiritual edifice, is Christ; such, in the gospel system, the doctrine of the cross. Take the testimony of St. Paul: "I am determined to know nothing among you, save Christ crucified;""We preach Christ crucified, to the Jew a stumbling-block, to the Greek foolishness; but to those who are called, the power and wisdom of God ;" “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ!" The corner-stone unites both sides of an edifice; and St. Paul represents Christ as Him in whom the whole building, fitly compacted, rises as a spiritual habitation of God; Him in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, wise nor unwise; but all the children of God that were scattered abroad are gathered into one family, and things on earth are harmonized with things in heaven. Well may this "corner-stone" be signalized as "precious;" precious

in respect to the wondrous constitution of the Saviour's person; His nature as the only-begotten Son of God! precious in respect to His sacrifice; a foundation, composed, not of corruptible things, as silver and gold, but of the precious blood of God's unblemished Lamb! precious in His salvation, that of an immortal soul; for which what shall man give in exchange; for the loss of which what compensation could the whole world make precious as an inheritance undefiled, and that fadeth not away; an exceeding and eternal weight of glory! Well may St. Peter remind his brethren and ourselves, "Unto you, therefore, that believe, He is precious." Well may St. Paul, as an example for our imitation, affirm, "I count all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ my Lord, that I may win Him, be found in Him, and being made conformable to His death, may know the power of His resurrection."

"A sure foundation;" not an imaginary one, like every other, but one real and substantial! In the Hebrew the word is reduplicated, for the greater emphasis, " a foundation, a foundation!" not a transitory one, but an eternal! not one variable with circumstances or feelings, but unchangeable as "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness!" We are dying men; we sojourn in a world of vanity and death; what we want is "a sure foundation." Behold in Christ this grand desideratum! "Lift up your eyes, saith Jehovah, to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath! the heavens shall vanish like smoke, the earth shall wax old like a garment, and all that dwell therein shall die; but My salvation shall be forever, My righteousness shall not be abolished;" even that righteousness, and that salvation, which is provided in Christ, and proclaimed in the gospel! The foundations of the heavens and the earth may be removed, but this sure foundation shall stand forever!

The excellence of the foundation having been thus declared, the happiness of him who rests upon it is affirmed in the closing words," he that believeth shall not make haste;" he shall not be thrown into disquietude and agitation of spirit. "The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep his heart and mind in Christ Jesus." The sincere and steadfast believer in Jesus Christ, knowing whom he has believed, shall not be ashamed of his hope, nor afraid of evil; but shall possess an ineffable composure, an imperturbable confidence: for "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, O Lord, because he trusts in Thee." Thousands, in every age of gospel faith, have attested the veracity of the promise, "he that believeth shall not make haste." Nothing is better ascertained, nothing more familiar to many, than the believing peace and joy, the abounding hope, with which, amid the lingering languor of disease, Christians have been filled to the last hour of nature's trial! With the prophetic eye of faith, and the fearless heart of love, they have pierced the veil of eternity; looked into the invisible

world; rejoiced in an unseen Saviour as present at their side; anticipated heaven on earth; and never known such serenity, such happiness, as in the immediate presence of death, of what nature justly deems the king of terrors! Never has the strength of this foundation been so well appreciated as when it was most tried, most needed: never have they so truly felt its support as when every other prop disappeared: the more they leaned on this, the more their whole soul rested its whole weight on this; the more they experienced a strength perfect in weakness; a security illustrated by danger; a personal tranquillity amid circumstantial distress. When our flesh and our heart faileth, then is the time to find in God the rock of our heart, in Christ, the foundation of our soul! But then we must possess the character de fined in the text: "he that believeth" is he that, amid the wreck of nature, shall be saved on this foundation. We must see to it that we are true believers; that ours is not a dead, not a merely nominal, but a real and a living faith; a precious faith, as Peter marks it from that which is worthless, in the precious cornerstone; a faith which is known by its fruits, which keeps the commandments, purifies the heart, works by love, overcomes the world, resists the devil, rejoices in the Saviour!

By this true faith, dear brethren, lay hold, now in the accepted time, on this Divine foundation! with the earnestness of shipwrecked mariners, utter that cry of the heart which, so uttered, will never be unheard, "Lord, save us, or we perish!" Cast yourselves on Christ, as your Rock, the ground of your hope; and show your gratitude, your love to Him, by imitation of Hi example, in deep dependance on His Spirit. So shall you be saved on the Foundation laid in Sion; and to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, you shall ascribe everlasting praise.

X.

THE ABILITY OF JESUS CHRIST TO SAVE TO THE
UTTERMOST.*

HEBREWS, vii., 25: He is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him; seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

[Preached at Broadmead, Bristol, October 22, 1826.]

IT was the design of St. Paul, in this epistle, to confirm the Jewish Christians, persecuted as apostates by their Jewish brethren, in the faith of Christianity. To this purpose the apostle shows the superiority of the gospel to the law, and makes it clear

From the notes of the Rev. T. Grinfield.

how the gospel substantiates what was before a shadow, and completes and finishes the picture of which the law had merely given the rudiments. As sacrifice and priesthood were two great features of the ceremonial law, he applies these at large, in the chapter before us, to Jesus Christ, as their true object and sub

stance.

In the text two things engage us: first, the character of the persons to whom it relates, "Those that come to God by Jesus Christ;" and, secondly, the ability of Jesus Christ to save such, and the extent of that ability: "He is able to save such to the uttermost."

I. The character is that of those who come to God by Jesus Christ. Whenever a mediator or intercessor is mentioned, it is supposed that there exists a previous relation between us and God. "There is one God, and one mediator between God and man." This natural relation to God must be first remembered, as the reason why a mediator is required. The grand assumption of Christianity consists of two parts: first, that we stand in a natural relation to God; and, secondly, that we have violated this relation. The idea of coming to God seems to be taken from the practice of the Israelites as coming to the temple in their local worship. It is no longer now a local approach; it is a mental approach, a movement of the mind, a turning of the heart to God.

This coming may be regarded under two aspects: we must come as subjects to obey God, and come as suppliants to enjoy God. Those who come, come not only to promote the interests of His glory by their obedience, but their own happiness also, by taking God for their portion; they come with a heart which the world cannot fill, to have it filled by God. Whoever so comes is the character that has the comfort of the text, has a share in the redemption of Jesus Christ. But all that come to God must come by Jesus Christ. The mercy of God flows through no other channel than the righteousness and worthiness of Jesus Christ. He is the only way to God: "No man comes to the Father but by Me." Having, therefore, such a High Priest, such a new and living way to the Father, let us draw near.

II. The ability of Jesus Christ to save such, and its extent, "to the uttermost."

1. His ability: this is clear from various views.

(1.) He alone is appointed by God: "Him hath God the Father sealed" to dispense the bread of life to dying sinners. He was declared that is, defined, ascertained, determined to be the Son of God with power, by his resurrection from the dead, as the crown of all his other miraculous attestations; declared to be the only Saviour, the only refuge from the offended justice of God.

(2.) He actually shed his blood as an atonement for sin. Though sin is infinite, and the justice of God infinite also, there

was a sufficiency in the blood of Christ, as He was at once a divine and human person, God and man in one. The reasons,

arising from the moral character of God, why sin should be punished, have now ceased in behalf of believers in Jesus: God is at once just, and the justifier of such; for God made Him sin for us, or a substitute for our sin: the chastisement which obtained our peace was laid on Him, and all our iniquities made to meet on Him. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son," because His Son, "cleanseth from all sin." The sacrifice of Christ was as pleasing to God as sin had been displeasing; it was as perfect a satisfaction to His justice as sin had been an offence. It was represented, therefore, long before it was offered, in the typical sacrifices of the law. "But if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works to serve the living God!" It is called emphatically His own blood: "not with the blood of bulls, but with his own, hath He entered in.” (3.) It is a clear evidence of His ability to save, that God has raised Him up to sit at His own right hand. He who was "delivered for our offences, was raised again for our justification;" His own justification in our behalf. Had He not risen, the inference would have been that His death had failed; but now God has proclaimed to all worlds that Christ has vanquished death, and made the last enemy the instrument and agent of benefit to those who believe.

(4.) Since "He ever liveth in heaven to make intercession for them," therefore He must be able to save believers. Whether His intercession is actual or merely virtual, literal or merely figurative, we may not be able to determine: probably it is the former; probably, as He interceded on earth for His followers, so He does in heaven; He continues the priesthood which commenced from His sacrifice and ascension: this seems implied in His words, "I will pray the Father:" He stands as a High Priest before the throne of God; presents the sacrifice of the "Lamb as newly slain" in the midst of the throne; reminds His Father of all His dolorous sufferings, of the wormwood and the gall!

2. His ability to save extends "to the uttermost." The term is used in a very general and indeterminate sense; in every possible case and period. There are, then, two great views of its import He can save, first, from every kind and degree of guilt ; secondly, to the whole extent of duration.

(1.) Every kind and degree of guilt is here included. The sins of men are very various; every man's conscience reads a different history to him, peculiar to himself; every one that knows the plague of his heart, is apt to suppose that he must be a greater sinner than all beside; must be, as the apostle considered himself," the chief of sinners," though this can be strictly