heads, knowing that our redemption draweth nigh.” If we go into a strange and unknown world, he can there fill our souls with joys far above all our thoughts or desires. O blessed period! when will it arrive. Then, and not till then, shall we be able to see the power of that love, which stormed and vanquished our obstinate hearts; which overcame our raging lusts and corruptions; which threw open the doors of heaven for our reception, and closed the gates of hell against us; which drew us up to glory through a host of furious devils and ungodly men. O let us now begin to shout those hallelujahs which will then dwell upon our tongue, and to sing, "Unto him that hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God, to him be glory and dominion for ever!"" 4. Finally to crown all these properties, this love was painful and suffering. Jesus did not content himself to display his kindness only by words or by deeds which cost him nothing. His love has stronger proofs; it is attested by the sorrows to which it induced him cheerfully to submit. These sorrows were incalculable in number, and inconceivable in degree: every step that he took through life, from the sordid manger to the bloody cross, was marked with misery. Poverty, pain, reproaches, slanders, these were his ordinary portion; and to consummate it all, he closes his mortal life in ignominy and pain. Let us turn aside for a moment and behold this great sight. Christians, raise your eyes to the accursed cross; behold extended upon it the eternal Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Judge of quick and dead! Why does he remain hanging upon it? By a single word he could cause the nails which fasten him to drop, and the soldiers who guard him to sink in the agonies of death. Ah, Christians! he is retained by stronger bonds; he is secured by safer guards: the firm cords of love fasten him to the cross; the eternal purposes of mercy form that powerful guard which even his omnipotence cannot resist. Behold his livid mouth, his hands and his feet changed into streams of blood, his whole frame torn by the scourge, the nails, and spear. View the crowd which surround this victim of love; and listen to their reproaches, their contumelies and curses. Do you shudder at considering these woes? Alas! this was but the smallest part of what the Saviour underwent. These outward tortures were joy, were ecstasy, compared to the agonies of his soul. Standing as the substitute of sinners, he endured the wrath of God due to sin; wrath which none but he who was united to the Godhead could have sustained. So inconceivable, so infinite, were the woes of his soul, as by their endurance for a few hours to counterpoise the everlasting damnation of all the millions of the redeemed, who shall hereafter surround his throne. To all this, Jesus submitted for you. These were the powerful proofs of his love, the tender expressions of his mercy; he joyfully consented to lay down his life, that you might live eternally; to be painfully crucified, that you might be glorified. Such is the nature of that love to which the spouse has respect, when she cries, "We will remember thy love." That it is our duty to imitate her resolution, and, like her, to remember this rich love, is to be shown in the Ild, Division of our discourse. It may seem almost unnecessary, my brethren, formally to prove this truth; it may seem that it is so firmly established by the impulse of feeling, as to render any reasoning useless. Nevertheless, as we see there are many who entirely forget the grace of the Saviour; as we all of us are too cold and infrequent in our recollections of it, it will not be improper or unprofitable, to consider for a few minutes these two ideas: It is the duty of believers to remember the love of Christ, because, I. All those circumstances which tend to produce permanent and firm impressions upon the memory, are to be found in this love; and because, II. The remembrance and sense of this love is the fountain whence all holy actions and good desires proceed. 1. All those circumstances which tend to produce permanent and firm impressions upon the memory, are to be found in this love. We carefully observe and faithfully remember those things that are wonderful; those things which are calculated to excite our love; and those which are absolutely necessary for us. We carefully observe and faithfully remember those things that are wonderful and beyond the ordinary course of nature. "Common events pass through the mind as common persons through the streets, without attracting particular notice;" whilst those events that are rare and astonishing, fasten upon the mind, and leave a durable impression. Now where can a greater complication of wonders be discerned, than in the love of your Redeemer ? Examine it in every part, and you will find prodigies which nature cannot parallel. That the second person of the adorable Trinity should leave his heaven, and dwell with agonies, that God might be reconciled to us; that the Eternal, should become an infant of days; the Infinite, be circumscribed by a human body; the essentially blessed, be the man of sorrows; the Ruler of the universe, the babe of Bethlehem! Are not these sufficiently wonderful to arrest the attention and to fix the remembrance: That he who is God should be forsaken by God; that he who is inseparably united to the source of blessedness, should be sorrowful and distressed; that, by a painful and ignominious death, heaven should be unbarred, the flames of hell quenched, the world, the flesh, and the devil, vanquished? Behold a small part of the wonders which marked the love of Christ; wonders so great, that, at beholding them, nature was amazed; the sun, in sympathy with the source of its light, shrouded himself in darkness; and even those who were sleeping in the tomb sprang into new life! Surely, then, there are wonders enough connected with the love of the Saviour to cause us constantly to remember it. We easily retain and frequently meditate on all those things which excite our love. Do we love any object? Memory constantly presents it to us; in our more retired moments, and even amidst the bustle of the world, the object of our attachment is the theme of our meditation. Now, what is more calculated to excite our love than the love of Christ? It contains, in an inconceivable degree, every thing that can engage the soul. If we compare with him any earthly objects of affection, how infinitely inferior do they appear? Ought not then the perfection, the infinitude, the utility of his love, to obtain love from us? And if we love him, we must remember him. No business can be so urgent, no sorrows so oppressive, no cares so weighty, as to make us forget a Saviour who is beloved. In the intercourse with our fellow-men our thoughts will frequently be directed to him; and when the world is shut out from our closets, he will still be present, will be the subject of our reflections, the centre towards which our souls will run. We easily remember those things that are beneficial to us, and necessary for us. And what is there so beneficial, so necessary, as the love of Christ? If it be beneficial to be delivered from the power and punishment of sin, to be made like unto God, to be fashioned on no lower pattern than that of the allperfect Jehovah, to enjoy a felicity infinite in degree, eternal in duration: if these things be beneficial, and if things which are beneficial deserve our remembrance, then surely we should remember the love of Christ, which procured all this for us. If it be necessary for our felicity to be shielded from the vengeance of God, to be rescued from eternal damnation, to be saved from those woes which no tongue can describe, no heart can conceive: then surely the love of Christ, which procured this exemption, should never escape from our mind. Infinitely more reasonable would it be to forget our dearest earthly friends, our highest temporal enjoyments, the things absolutely necessary for the preservation of our life, than to forget the love of our Saviour. 2. We are bound to remember the love of Christ, because the remembrance and sense of this love is the fountain whence all holy actions and good desires proceed. It is this love which animates the Christian to obedience; it is this love which, in the |