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SERMON X.

THE BLESSEDNESS OF A TRIUMPHANT

BELIEVER.

REVELATION III. 12.

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall ·go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God; and I will write upon him my new name.

To believers the journey of life is peculiarly fatiguing. In addition to those troubles which are common to them as men, they experience innumerable temptations unknown to the ungodly. They carry about with them a body of sin and of death, and are surrounded by watchful and malignant enemies, who incessantly harass them.

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Satan shoots his fiery darts into their souls, exciting distrust and murmurings. world insinuates that it is in vain to serve God; and holds out to them the cup of pleasure, urging them to drown all care with its intoxicating delights. Infidelity casts a mantle over the region beyond the grave, and writes on the tomb, " Death "is an eternal sleep." Corrupt nature enters with avidity into the schemes of all these, and stimulates the passions and appetites to rebellion against God.

Thus situated, believers must fight the good fight of faith; they must resist even unto blood. They are not their own; they are bought with a price. Jesus, who is their Redeemer, is the Captain of their salvation. Enlisted under his banner, they are soldiers in the best of all causes. They battle for God against the prince of darkness. Hence, though weak in themselves, in their Lord they are strong. Through him they can do all things. He is ever mindful of them, and ever ready to succour them. He will bear them in safety to their journey's end. He is at their right hand and at their left, bidding them to be of good cheer.

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Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast "which thou hast, that no man take thy 66 crown"," cries the divine Saviour. Amidst the trials of life he directs their views to the harvest of glory. They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy. Perseverance through his grace

will ensure a mighty victory, decisive and final: after which, the victor will meet with his reward. "Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the temple of

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my God, and he shall go no more out, “and I will write upon him the name of

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my God, and the name of the city of

my God, which is New Jerusalem, which "cometh down out of heaven: and I will

❝ write upon him my new name."

By contemplating the reward of him that overcometh, our faith will be strengthened, and our graces quickened. We will also be enabled to pay a suitable tribute of respect to the memory of an eminent servant of Christ gone to rest. Let us, then,

I. Attend to the promise: and,

II. Apply the subject.

I. Our Lord in the promise, alludes to the practice of ancient conquerors.

a Rev. iii. 11.

When

they had achieved any important victory, or gained a memorable conquest, they erected pillars near to, or in, the temples of their gods, and in other places, as monuments of the same. On these were inscribed the names of their gods, of the conquerors, of their cities, and of the captains by whose conduct the victory or conquest was obtained'.

From this allusion, it is evident that our Lord's design in these words, is to represent the triumphant believer, his trials being over, and his contest ended, as a monument of divine grace, immutably fixed by his power in the temple or church above. In the temple below he was also a pillar, but being composed of perishable materials, he is liable to decay. Above, however, mortality has put on immortality; corruption has put on incorruption. As a monument, he will be to the praise of the glory of Almighty grace. He was not made a believer by might or power, but by Jehovah's spirit. The commencement and progress of the divine life in him,

was solely of grace. Transplanted into

b Doddridge on the text.

eternity, he is established amidst the shoutings of grace, grace. On him is written the name of Jehovah, under whose auspices he was erected as a monument thus immutably fixed; also the name of Jehovah's city, in which he is now placed; and the name of the great Captain of salvation, by whose power the victory, of which he is a monument, was gained. The "writing" of these names on him, denotes a public recognition and reception of the believer as a child of God; a citizen of the new Jerusalem; and one of the redeemed of the Lord Jesus.

How glorious, how blessed, then, is the state of the triumphant believer in heaven! How durable, beyond even the possibility of a change! Who sees not at one glance, in the promise of the text, a reward infinitely delightful and interesting to man--a reward calculated to satisfy in the most ample manner the boundless desires of an immortal spirit! The prospect of a haven near at hand is not half so pleasant or comfortable to the tempest-tost mariner, as that of heaven is

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