DISCOURSE XI.

THE EXULTATION OF ZACHARIAS.

A CHRISTMAS SERMON.

LUKE i. 68, 69.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us, in the house of his servant David,

THESE

HESE are the words of Zacharias upon his recovering his speech, after the miraculous dumbness which God had inflicted on him, for his backwardness in believing the angel whom he had sent to him with the promise of a son, when he and his wife had lived to a great age without having had any child. It is to be remarked that they are the first words which he spake; and that they were spoken by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, for whose divine influence he had been previously prepared by a holy unblameable life. St. Luke saith, of both him and Elizabeth, that they were "righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Probably, too, the long silence imposed on him by the hand of God, had turned his mind more intensely to divine contemplation, and the consideration of spiritual objects. Penitence and prayer had, no doubt, increased his humility, and enlivened his faith and confidence in God. Finding how speedily the divine threat was inflicted on him, he became fully certain of the truth of God, and boldly assured himself, that all his promises by the mouth of his holy Prophets, of sending salvation to his people, were then on the eve of being fulfilled. Accordingly when the visitation of God on him was ended, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the

VOL. II.

Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us, in the house of his servant David."

Behold the pious rapture of the holy man, upon seeing, by the spirit of prophecy, the approaching birth of the Saviour Christ! His own circumstances are overlooked and disregarded, as being unworthy of his attention when so glorious and majestic a subject was before him. Two grand and miraculous events, in both of which he was deeply interested, had just happened to him-the birth of his son, and the recovery of his speech. These, it may be supposed, employed his mind, and would call forth his praise and adoration to God, at this time. But greater things, a more august theme filled his heart. The proph ecies that had gone before, the promises of God by the mouth of his inspired servants, that he would send a mighty Saviour to deliver his people, rushed upon him. He saw the incarnation of this almighty Deliverer begun-by faith he saw it completed in the birth of Christ the Lord: and with prophetic rapture he proclaimed to the world as already past, what did not happen till six months after. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people."

None among the children of men is less interested in this propitious event than Zacharias was. Why then should it not be the rapture of our hearts, as it was of his? What should hinder us from joining in the triumphant song, and repeating with grateful hearts, before men and angels, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people." We have before us the same prophecies that Zacharias had; and, by faith in the records of the holy Evangelists, we see them wonderfully fulfilled. His need of this Saviour is also ours; and we derive the same blessings from him which he did. Let him, therefore, be our pattern; and may his divine hymn inflame our hearts with grateful praise and adoration of our gracious God for the astonishing instance of his love, in the happy event which we this day commemorate in his holy Church. All glory be to his holy name, that

he hath given his Son to be born of human nature, to take away the sin of the world, and restore fallen man to his favour now no longer a God of wrath and vindictive justice; but, through his Beloved, the God of mercy, and goodness, and love, not willing the death of a sinner, but that he should repent and be saved.

The Jews fondly expected a temporal deliverer in Christ, who should free them from worldly thraldom, as Moses had delivered their fathers from the slavery of Egypt. Under the influence of this vain expectation, they, with scorn, rejected the true Messiah, when he appeared among them. Little sensible must they have been of their sinful state and its consequent miseries, when they were so insensible of the love and mercy of God in sending a Saviour to redeem them from it. What was the thraldom of the Romans under which they lived, compared with the thraldom of satan, who held all mankind in bondage? or what was the mischief of living under foreign laws, and paying tribute to a foreign power, compared with slavery to the law of sin, to boisterous passions and unruly appetitesall foreign to the original nature of man; and at last to pay the tribute of eternal torment to a foreign lord, the prince of darkness, who hath usurped dominion over us?

Some Christians, under the power of a vain philosophy, expect little better from Christ, than did these unhappy Jews. They expect he will save them from the penalty, though not from the power of sin. They say HE hath paid the whole penalty of sin; and, therefore, no further punishment can be justly inflicted on account of it. If so, the habits of sin may remain; and should any one live his whole life under their full power, the slave of evil lusts and passions, and die without repentance, Christ will, by the arbitrary imputation of his own righteousness and merit, secure him from punishment, and make him happy in heaven, where no evil can enter.

Be not deceived with vain schemes and fallacious hopes. Magnify this doctrine as much as you will, preach it with ever so much confidence, believe it with ever so much earnestness, love it with ever so much ardor; that salva

tion which does not deliver you from the power and dominion of sin, never will free you from its penalty. In the same proportion that it leaves you unholy, it will leave you unhappy. "If we say that we have fellowship with" Christ, and that his righteousness is imputed us, "and walk in darkness; we lie, and do not the truth."* The venom of sin lies in the power and dominion it hath over us. "He that committeth sin," that liveth under its power and dominion," is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning," and still continueth to sin. For "this purpose the Son of God was manifested," by coming into the world, "that he might destroy the works of the devil."t Unless, therefore, the power of sin in us be broken and destroyed, the works of the devil remain. And if we do his works, we are his servants, and must receive his wages. Now, "the wages of sin is death"-What that death is, may you never know!

Remember, therefore, that the Son of God became the Mediator between God and man, was born of the holy Virgin, and suffered death on the cross; to make it possible for you to repent and turn to God; and to make it also possible for God to forgive, or pass over your sins: neither of which could have been possible without his atonement. Look to the song of holy Zacharias, and you will find he had far other notions of Christ's salvation than merely exemption from punishment for sin; namely, "That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies"-from the power of sin and satan-" might serve" God "without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life." How exemption from punishment, while the habits of sin remain, can be called serving God in holiness and righteousness, is too hard for me to conceive. Or how we can be said to serve God without fear, that is, in peace and quietness from our spiritual enemies, while we love and delight in the bondage of sinful lusts and affections, is as hard for me to comprehend. It

1 John i. 6.

† 1 John iii. 8. λion from auw, that he might break or dissolve the works of the devil, and set man free from them.

is true, all men are sinners; that is, all have sinned. But there is a great difference between continuing in the habits of sin, and repenting and forsaking it. Against the former, the wrath of God is denounced in the Bible; to the latter, the merciful forgiveness of God is promised through Jesus Christ. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' It is also true, that there is none who liveth and sinneth not. But there is also a great difference between those miscarriages which spring from weakness of nature, from the surprise of sudden temptation which gives no time for thought, from involuntary ignorance, or real weakness of understanding; and habitual, wilful, and premeditated sins. By the merciful covenant of the gospel, if we strive against the offences of infirmity, they shall not be imputed to us by our gracious God.

But let us return to the more direct consideration of the text.

دو

The reason why Zacharias blessed the Lord God of Israel was, that he had "visited and redeemed his people, and had" raised up a horn of salvation" for them, "in the house of his servant David.”

Under the Law, and in the time of the Patriarchs; besides the standing revelation of his will, God communicated his pleasure to man by messages; sending either angels or his inspired prophets, to speak to his people in his name. But in the event which we this day celebrate, the "Lord God visited his people"-came in his own person united to human nature; and was, therefore, Emmanuel, God with us.

St. John, speaking of the same event, saith, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" literally, He tabernacled, pitched his tent among men. His visit was

not intended to be a short one: And from the history of his life we find, that when he assumed our nature, his tabernacle of human flesh was not soon removed. Thirty and three years did he continue in this miserable world;