As he had much forgiven, he loved much," and was exceedingly zealous for the Lord of Hofts." His attention was first of all turned to his old companions in fin and folly. For these he conftantly and fervently prayed, and literally gave them no reft. He was inftant in feafon and out of feafon, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting continually. Some of them were given him for his hire, among whom is the unworthy writer of this memoir. Others treated his remonstrances with indifference and neglect, and pursued their own way. I believe, however, that the remembrance of his loving and earnest intreaties will not eafily be erased entirely from their minds while they live. But fhould this be the cafe, the day, when the fecrets of all hearts fhall be difclosed, will be fure to revive it; may it not be to their everlasting fhame and forrow!

Being truly in earneft in the caufe of God, it might be expected that the common enemy of mankind would not be inactive in affaulting him: temptations of various kinds foon became his portion. Sometimes it was fuggested to his mind that all his former experience was a mere delufion; that the whole fyftem of the religion of Jefus Chrift was a cunningly devised fable; and that a proper regard to the dictates of reafon was all that the Divine Being requires of men, in order to their eternal happiness. But that which caufed him the greatest distress of all, was an almoft continual temptation to blafpheme the name of God. This caufed him to figh and weep in fecret places, in the bitterness of his foul, till God directed him to a veteran in the spiritual warfare, who put the Life of John Bunyan into his hands; in reading this he faw his cafe was not fingular, and that his being thus tempted was not a new thing in the earth. Here he received much comfort, and went on his way rejoicing, although he was occafionally affaulted with this temptation, I believe, till his spirit returned to God.

But it was not only from the fuggeftions of Satan that he met with oppofition; he was alfo exercifed with trials from various other quarters. But in the midst of all, his concern for the glory of God, and his defires to promote the interefts of the Redeemer's kingdom, were intenfe. He exerted himself in every possible way to receive good himfelf, and to communicate it to others. He reproved finners with great boldness, and yet with humility and affection. His zeal and diligence provoked many to emulation; fo that many profeffors were roufed from their lethargy, and open finners were brought to the knowledge of God. It foon became evident to all his friends that God had more extenfive work for him to do. A powerful conviction was also wrought in his own mind, that he ought to become a public witness for that God whom he loved. This conviction was, for fome time, a fource of great trial and exercife of mind to him. The idea of standing

forth

forth as a public character, and preacher of the Gofpel, made all his bones to fhake. Influenced by fear, and the violent affaults of the enemy of fouls, for fome time he reasoned and remonstrated againft what he was nevertheless obliged to acknowledge was his duty, and, like Jonah, he more than once fled from the prefence of the Lord, refufing many providential calls to fpeak for his mafter. At length he faw clearly that he muft either preach the Gospel or lofe his foul, St. Paul's words founding in his ears,"Woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gofpel." He therefore, at length, confented to make trial of his gifts; which he did in the prefence of a few felect friends; and the Lord greatly enlarged his heart, and opened to him a door of utterance, fo that he explained and enforced the Gofpel of Chrift, with the Holy Ghost fent down from heaven. All who were prefent were constrained to fay, "It is good for us to be here." It was a memorable time. Surely not one who heard him then will be content to live and die without a good hope of meeting him again in the Church above. May I be there!

From this time, he continued in a local capacity till the Conference following, and it may properly be faid, that he filled his new ftation with profit to the people and credit to his own character. "In labours he was abundant." He preached frequently, endured fatigue joyfully, and did not count his life dear unto himself, fo that he might win fouls to Chrift. And in this, his defire was fulfilled, for under his preaching many were turned from lying vanities unto the living God.

At the Conference he was called to labour more extensively in the vineyard of his Lord. He was appointed to the Difs Circuit, in which he lived, and in a part of which he had preached for twelve months before. It foon appeared that the appointment was of God. He had much honour, even in his own country, being greatly beloved by all who knew him. But, what is much more important, he was made very ufeful, and much people were added to the Lord. At the request of the people, he was reappointed at the Conference following; and ftill continued to labour faithfully, and with fuccefs. He gave himself up wholly to his work, confidering himself as the people's fervant for Jesus's fake. He alfo applied himfelf very clofely to study and prayer this year, not unfrequently spending the greatest part of the night in prayers and tears for the good of the people. This, I believe, was known but by very few perfons; I think it my duty, however, to mention it now he is gone to his reward, that those who furvive, for whom he thus "travelled in birth," may give all diligence to make their calling and election fure, in order that he who fowed, and they who reaped, may eternally rejoice together. This year was crowned, in that circuit, with an abundant bleffing from the Lord. The united labours of himself and his beloved

colleague

colleague were remarkably owned of God. Nevertheless, to the great grief of his numerous friends, there was too much ground for apprehending that his career, though glorious, would be but fhort. His conftitution being naturally weak, fuch close application to study, and great labour in preaching, foon deranged the fyftem, so that he became the fubject of many infirmities, which ultimately terminated his holy and useful life.

Sir,

TH

HE following Sermon, preached before the London Miffionary Society, May 13, 1802, by John Mason, A. M. of NewYork, poffeffes fo many of the effential requifites of a useful difcourse, that I am perfuaded it will afford fatisfaction and profit to your readers,

MESSIAH'S THRONE.

HEBREWS I. 8.

S. B.

"But unto the Son, he saith, Thy Throne, O God!
is for ever and ever."

IN the all-important argument, which occupies this epiftle, Paul affumes, what the believing Hebrews had already profeffed; that Jefus of Nazareth is the true Meffiah. To prepare them for the confequences of their own principle, a principle involving nothing less than the abolition of their law, the fubversion of their ftate, the ruin of their city, the final extinction of their carnal hopes, he leads them to the doctrine of their Redeemer's perfon, in order to explain the nature of his offices, to evince the value of his fpiritual falvation; and to fhew, in both, the accomplishment of their economy, which was "now ready to vanish away." Under no apprehenfion of betraying the unwary into idolatrous homage, by giving to the Lord Jefus greater glory than is "due unto his name," the apostle fets out with afcribing to him excellence and attributes which belong to no creature. Creatures of most elevated rank are introduced, but it is to difplay, by contraft, the pre-eminence of Him who is "the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his perfon." Angels are great in might and in dignity, but " unto them hath he not put in fubjection the world to come." Unto which of them faid he, at any time, "Thou art my Son?" To which of them, "Sit thou at

my

my right hand?" He faith, they are fpirits, "miniftering fpirits, fent forth to minifter unto them who are the heirs of falvation.' But unto the Son, in a ftyle which annihilates competition and comparison; unto the Son he faith, Thy Throne, O God, is for ever

and ever.

Brethren, if the majefty of Jefus is the fubject which the Holy Ghost feleted for the encouragement and confolation of his people, when he was fhaking the earth and the heavens, and diffufing his Gospel among the nations; can it be otherwise than fuitable and precious to us on this occafion? Shall it not expand our views, and warm our hearts, and nerve our arm, in our efforts to exalt his fame? Let me implore, then, the aid of your prayers, but far more importunately the aids of his own Spirit, while I fpeak of " the things which concern the King;" those great things contained in the text-his perfonal glory-his fovereign rule.

I. His perfonal glory, which shines forth in the name by which he is revealed; a name above every name-" Thy Throne, O God!" To the fingle eye nothing can be more evident, in the

First place, than that the Holy Ghoft here afferts the effential Deity of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Of his enemies, whom he will "make his footstool," fome have indeed controverted this pofition, and endeavoured to blot out the text from the catalogue of his witneffes. Inftead of, "thy Throne, O God!" they would compel us, by a perverfion of phrafeology, of figure, and of fenfe, to read, "God is thy throne;" converting the great and dreadful God into a fymbol of authority in one of his own creatures. The Scriptures, it feems, may utter contradictions or impiety, but the Divinity of the Son they fhall not atteft. The crown, however, which "flourishes on his head," is not to be torn away, nor the anchor of our hope to be wrefted from us by the rude hand of licentious criticism.

I cannot find in the lively Oracles a fingle diftinctive mark of deity which is not applied, without referve or limitation, to the Only Begotten Son, "All things whatfoever the Father hath, are his." Who is that mysterious WORD, that was "in the beginning with God?" Who is the ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING, THE FIRST AND THE LAST, THE ALMIGHTY? Who is he that "knows what is in man," because he searches the deep and dark receffes of the heart? Who is the OMNIPRESENT, that has promifed, "Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midft of them?" the light of whofe countenance is, at the fame moment, the joy of heaven and the falvation of earth? who is incircled by the feraphim on high, and "walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks?" who is in the affembly; in all the affemblies of his people? in every worshipping family? in every closet of prayer? in every holy heart? Whofe hands have ftretched out the heavens and laid the foundations

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foundations of the earth?" Who hath replenished them with inhabitants, and garnished them with beauty; having created all things that are in both, "vifible and invifible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers?" By whom do "all things confift?" Who is "the Governor among the nations, having on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Whom is it the Father's will that "all men should honour, even as they honour himself?" Whom has he commanded his angels to worship? Whom to obey? Be fore whom do the devils tremble? Who is qualified to redeem millions of finners "from the wrath to come," and preferve them by his grace to his everlafting kingdom? Who raifeth the dead, "having life in himself to quicken whom he will," fo that at his voice, all who are in their graves fhall come forth; and death and hell" furrrender their numerous and forgotten captives? Who fhall weigh, in the balance of judgment, the deftinies of angels and men; difpofe of the thrones of paradife; and bestow eternal life? Shall I fubmit to the decifion of reafon? Shall I afk a refponfe from heaven? Shall I fummon the devils from their chains of darkness?" The refponfe from heaven founds in my ears, reafon approves, and the devils confefs-This, O Chriftians, is none other than the GREAT GOD OUR SAVIOUR!

Indeed, my Brethren, the doctrine of our Lord's Divinity is not, as a fact, more interefting to our faith, than, as a principle, it is effential to our hope. If he were not "The True God," he could not be "Eternal Life." When preffed down by guilt, and languishing for happiness, I look around for a deliverer, fuch as my confcience, and my heart, and the word of God affure me I need, infult not my agony by directing me to a creature; to a man, a mere man like myself! a creature! a man! My Redeemer owns my perfon; my immortal fpirit is his property; when I come to die, I must commit it into his hands. My foul! my infinitely precious foul, committed to a mere man! become the property of a mere man! I would not, thus, entruft my body to the highest angel who burns in the temple above. It is only the "Father of fpirits," that can have property in fpirits, and be their refuge in the hour of tranfition from the prefent to the approaching world. In fhort, my Brethren, the Divinity of Jefus is, in the fyftem of grace, the fun to which all its parts are fubordinate, and all their stations refer; which binds them in facred concord, and imparts to them their radiance, and life, and vigour. Take from it this central luminary, and the glory is departed; its holy harmonies are broken; the elements ruth to chaos-the light of falvation is extinguished for ever!

But it is not the Deity of the Son, fimply confidered, to which the text confines our attention. We are, in the

VOL. XXXIII. JANUARY, 1810.

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