a merciful High-priest, that is provided with a sacrifice, and hath a heart to offer it for thee; thy name is in his heart as well as on his shoulders, in his bowels as well as on his back. He hath blood for thee, precious blood; and he hath bowels for thee, bowels of mercy. He can have pity and compassion on the miserable. Heb. 5 2. : If he can find no other, he can find arguments enough from thy woe and thy misery to draw forth his soul towards thee. He is merciful, and his mercies are tender mercies; he is pitiful, and his compassions are tender compassions: thou art not so tender of the wife of thy bosom, of thine own child-thou art not so tender of thine own flesh, of the apple of thine eye, of thine own soul, as thy Lord is of thee. His Spirit is moved for thee, his soul melts over thee, he bleeds in thy wounds, he suffers in thy sorrows, his eye weeps, his heart breaks over thy broken and undone state; fear not his forgetting thee.

He is a merciful and a faithful High-priest. No dignity to which he is exalted above thee, no distance to which he is removed from thee, can make him forget his friends; he is gone into the heavens, and is there exalted far above all principalities and powers, and set down at the right hand of God. He is gone, but he hath carried thy name with him as a perpetual memorial for thee. Thou art unfaithful; shame to thee! thou forgettest thy Lord at every turn; every business that comes, every trouble that comes, every pleasure that comes, every companion that mes, makes thee forget thy Lord, forget his love,

forget thy duty: O, how small a matter will steal thy heart from him; yea, stir up tumults and rebellions against him. Thy comforts, thy hopes, thy needs which thou hast daily from him, will not all prevail to hold him in remembrance with thee. Thou forgettest thy Lord, but he will not forget thee; though thou hast been unfaithful in many things, yet he is in nothing. "Yet he abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself." 2 Tim. 2:13. He would not be true to himself, if he be not faithful to thee; his interest lies in thee; thou art his, his possession, a member of his body, fear not; if he should be unfaithful to thy soul, he is therein unfaithful to his own body. If thy case be such that he can help thee, if there be any thing wherein he can stead thee-if all that he has, his blood, his righteousness, his interest with the Father, will be sufficient for thy help, he has undertaken to procure it for thee and secure it to thee. Faithful is

he that has called you, and will do it.

This now is that Jesus who is given unto us, as our propitiatory Sacrifice, as our merciful and faithful High-priest, who suffered on the earth, and is gone into the heavens for us; standing in his red robes, garments rolled in blood-with the glorious white inscribed upon the red-pardon, peace, absolution, acceptance; with the names of his ransomed ones engraven upon his heart and upon his shoulders: this is that Jesus, who is THE LORD OUR RIGHT

EOUSNESS.

III. AS OUR LORD AND KING. "A King shall reign in righteousness," and in him shall the Gentiles trust.

"Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy King cometh." Zech. 9:9. "The government shall be on his shoulder." Isa. 9:6. God hath more care of his saints, than to leave the government of them on their shoulder. Is not her King in her?

He is a King to gather them, a King to govern them, a King to defend and save them: to save them from their temporal enemies, the sons of violence, the men of this evil world; to save them from their spiritual enemies, from their sins. "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." Matt. 1:21. It is a mercy to be under government and under protection. What would become of us were there no King in Israel? Where there is no king, all are kings; more kings than men: Satan will be a king, every lust will be a lord-as many kings as there are devils and sins. Whither would our unruly hearts carry us? How easily would our wily and potent enemies ruin us. What tyranny would sin exercise within; what cruelty should we suffer from without. Whither should we wander: where should we fix? What peace, what order, what stability? Whence should counsel and protection and salvation come, were there no Lord over us? It is a mercy to be under government; but to be under such a government, under a King, and such a King; such a wise and potent King, such a meek and merciful King, such a holy and righteous King! Oh, what a wonder of mercy! "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salva

tion; lowly, and riding upon an ass's colt." He is just, having salvation; as a Priest he hath purchased, as a King he bestows his salvation. He comes not to get, but to give-not to give laws only, but to give gifts unto men; and he gives like a king, palms, crowns, and thrones-salvation to his people by the remission of their sins. Oh, how unthankful; 0, how foolish is this rebellious world! Impatient of subjection, they shake off the yoke, groan under duty, under discipline: "We will not have this man to rule over us." Who then shall save you? Hard to be a Christian; strict laws, severe discipline, no liberty! Is this thy complaint, Christian? Nay, rather, There is no liberty left me to be miserable: if I will be his, I must be happy.

Let fools inherit their own folly, but let Israel rejoice in him that made him, let the children of Zion be joyful in their King; for the Lord taketh pleasure in his people, he will beautify the meek with salvation. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, yea, the Lord our righteousness, he is the King of glory. The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King, he will save us. Praise ye the Lord. Come all ye Nimrods, ye mighty hunters on the earth; come all ye sons of Anak, ye seed of the giants; come all ye sons of Belial, ye seed of the adulterer; come all ye Ishmaelites and Ammonites, ye Moabites and Hagarenes, associate, confederate, take counsel together, smite with the tongue,

bite with the teeth, push with the horn, kick with the heel; come all ye gates of hell, and powers of darkness; thou dragon with all thy armies, with all thy fiery darts and instruments of death; come thou king of terrors with thy fatal dart: the virgin the daughter of Zion has despised you all, she has laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you; her King is in the midst of her; the Lord is her King, he will save her.

4. As our HEAD AND HUSBAND. He that is given to be Head over all things to the church is given to be the Head of the church, Eph. 1:22, 23, and of every member in particular. 1 Cor. 11:3. Believers are all joined to the Lord. 1 Cor. 6:17. United in Christ as fellow-members; united unto Christ as their common Head, "from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God." Col. 2:19. They are married to Christ: "I have espoused you to one Husband." 2 Cor. 11:2. From this union follows a communication of influences, and a combination of interests.

1. A communication of influences. "Having nourishment ministered." Christ our Head is our Fountain of life. Our Head is our Heart also, out of it are the issues of life; from him we live, and are nourished and maintained in life. He is our Joseph, all the treasures of the holy land are with him. him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colos. 2:3. "It pleased the Father that

"In

in him should all fulness dwell." Colos. 1:19. He