cisely those, which constitute the right preparatives for the holy sacrament. And, surely, it is not those who feel that they are worthy, who draw near with acceptance to the divine Saviour. No. It is the humble and the contrite-it is those who know the plague of their own hearts-who mourn for the sins of their past lives-who plead guilty and self-accused, before the bar of justice :these, and these alone, can lay hold upon the promises of the gospel, or receive the consolations which flow from Christ. These, and these alone, can, with sincerity, unite in those deep confessions of unworthiness, and of sin, which our sacramental service requires of all communicants. "We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy Divine Majesty ; provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us." "We do not presume to come to this thy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table."

Which of you can, sincerely, before the searcher of hearts, take this pregnant language into his mouth? Talk not, then, of your unworthiness, as an impediment in your way: but ra

ther hear-for to the contrite, and to the humble, and to them alone, do they apply-" Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith, unto all that truly turn to him.

'Come unto me, all that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.'

'So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.' Hear, also, what Saint Paul saith.

'This is a true saying, and worthy of all men That Christ Jesus came into the

to be received.

world, to save sinners.'

Hear, also, what Saint John saith.

If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins."

215

SERMON XV.

PHILIPPIANS, iii. 20,

"FOR OUR CONVERSATION IS IN HEAVEN."

conver

THE word which is here translated " sation," may be rendered citizenship. The meaning of the passage, thus translated, would be, that all Christians should feel towards heaven, as if it were their own country.

It was customary amongst the ancient Romans, to extend the rights of citizenship, beyond the pale of their own territory. So that the inhabitants of towns, far distant from Rome, were ranked amongst the number of its citizens. And this was the case of Tarsus, that city of Cilicia, to which Paul himself belonged. In virtue of this, the apostle was a Roman citizen: and we find him, in the 22nd chapter of the Acts, both referring to, and asserting the privileges of, that character.

St. Paul may be considered, then, as having in view, this right of Roman citizenship, when he uses the expression of my text. And the force of

the comparison seems to be, that as one ever so far removed from the capital of that great empire, might, nevertheless, feel himself, in interest, in immunities, in character, a member of the Roman state: so should every subject of Christ's kingdom, though, at present, far separated from that higher heaven, in which the king of saints holds his more immediate court;-yet should he never lose sight of his high calling, as a member of Christ's mystical body, as a freeman of the Jerusalem above, as one whose birthright is heaven, and whose country is eternity.

Such a consideration opens to our view, many profitable subjects of reflection. Are we citizens of heaven? Then this is not our home. We are sojourners, in a foreign land; pilgrims, and strangers upon the earth, as all our fathers were.

To some minds, this persuasion is melancholy and depressing: because they are of the world, and love the world; and do not like to think, that even now it should be renounced in affection, and soon must be parted with for ever. Not so, when Satisfied to

66 our conversation is in heaven." continue here below, as long as it is the will of God; and convinced that we are bound faithfully to act the part assigned us, and with alacrity and conscientious care, to perform all our allotted duties well;-yet the mind, whose treasures are

laid up in heaven, can derive unspeakable comfort from the constant recollection, that this is not its rest, and that it has no abiding city here. Is sorrow, is poverty, is pain or adversity, our portion here? How cheering the reflection to the child of God, that all this will soon be over! That in that house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, there is no pain, nor sorrow, nor crying; that tears are there wiped from all faces; that no mourners go about the streets; that there the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest!

But persons not thus visited with affliction, have their trials, their perplexities, and exercises of patience. The man who appears prosperous to the world, often feels, how little the many around him know the doubts, the disappointments, the cares, that weigh upon his mind, by day, and hover round his bed, at night. Let one trouble be laid at rest; and other troubles will rise upon his imagination, and press upon his heart. We may see our way out of one difficulty; but that removed, new difficulties will start up in its place. Such, my brethren, is the life of man. Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. And, on this point, take the counsel of one who has thought, and who has felt, not a little on the subject. If you have an anxious mind, you never

VOL. II.

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