In this distant land we for a short time ascend the mount to converse with God in his ordinances, as I trust ye this day did in a peculiar manner at his holy table; but soon we must again descend into the world, and engage in its cares and pursuits. But when we have seen the temple of God above, and entered into the possession of those mansions in our Father's house, we shall go no more out. Jesus says, "Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." We behold his glory now, but it is through a glass darkly; whereas then we shall see him face to face, and know even as also we are known. The object will be the same, but the perceptive faculty will be infinitely improved, and with steady eye we shall behold the glories of God and of the Lamb; enlarged discoveries of the love and grace of God in the person of the Son; which have been gradually unfolded to us, and exercised on our behalf to the day of our admission into glory, will fill our astonished souls with gratitude ineffable, and our tongues with never-ceasing praises. O with what delight shall we "sit on every heavenly hill," and talk of our Saviour's love to us, poor sinful mortals. The only matter of debate will be, who owes most to sovereign grace. With joy unfelt by angels, we shall join the ransomed millions round the throne, and sing the hymn of endless praise to Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his blood, and made us kings and priests to God. O thrice happy state of all who believe in Jesus Christ! all the perfections of God are on your side; on the dissolution of the body there are mansions in heaven to receive youJesus is now preparing for your reception-Jesus will come and receive you to himself, that where he is, there shall you be also, and be ever with the Lord. Amen! So let it be! The Saviour says, Let not your heart with anxious thought Be troubled or dismay'd, But trust in Providence divine, Z I to my Father's house return, I go your entrance to secure Thence will I come when ages close, DISCOURSE XXVI. DELIVERED AT THE REV. J. CLAYTON, JUNIOR'S, CHAPEL. FEB. 26, 1826. THE POWER OF CHRIST RESTING ON HIS PEOPLE AND SERVANTS, THE ONLY TRUE CAUSE OF GLORYING. 2 COR. xii. 9. "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 'Ir is recorded of the Apostle Paul, (I determine not how truly,) that he was of low stature, crooked and bald; some add that he had an impediment in his speech, that his voice was shrill and unpleasant, and his delivery ungraceful." (Scott, in loco.) He himself tells us, in a paragraph of his second epistle to the Corinthians, that his enemies represented his letters as indeed weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence as weak, and his speech contemptible. This accusation was probably exaggerated, but still, had he been a man of commanding appearance, and had he excelled in the eloquence of the day, they would not have brought against him such an accusation. The infirmity which he calls a "thorn in the flesh,” and " a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him," some have considered to arise from his "personal defects, of which he was conscious, and which gave his enemies, especially the false apostles, a colour of reviling and derid ing him." But it cannot be supposed, without apparent absurdity, that St. Paul would pray for the removal of bodily defects, which could not be brought about without a miraculous interposition of Almighty power. Beside, his bodily defects of low stature, and so forth, had been with him through life; they were not given or sent at any particular period, nor could they be removed. The Apostle, by employing figurative language on the subject of the infirmity, which occasioned him so much uneasiness, has cast a veil over it, which no industry of commentators or others has ever been able to remove. Nor is it at all of consequence to the complete understanding of the Apostle's reasoning. The circumstances of the case are these: St. Paul had been highly favoured, and treated as a man greatly beloved in the heavenly world. Jesus had in a special and unexampled manner appeared to him in the glory of his exalted human nature, with an effulgence exceeding that of the sun shining in its strength; and he was, at a subsequent period, "caught up to the third heaven," to the paradise of God, where he was blessed with visions and revelations of the Lord; and "heard unspeakable words," which it is not possible for a man to utter, in the language of mortals. But St. Paul had still to reside a little longer on earth among his fellow-men, and was liable, as other men are, to be unduly elated by the privileges conferred upon him; to prevent which it pleased God his Saviour to permit him to be assaulted by the enemy of man, in the form of some temptation or infirmity, calculated to humble him in his own estimation, and perhaps also to lower him in the esteem of others. To have this "thorn," which galled and aunoyed him, removed, he was very anxious, and besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from him. But his prayer was not granted: what he desired was not conceded. Instead of removing his infirmity, the Lord said unto him, "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Paul was satisfied, and formed the resolution, contained in the words of our text-" Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." You perceive St. Paul prayed to a person he styles the Lord; that same Lord replied to his prayer; and the Lord who was prayed to, and answered, was the Lord Christ. The Lord said, "My grace" shall be with thee, and " my strength" shall support thee; and these the Apostle calls the "Power of Christ." Christ Jesus is therefore the object of prayer, and consequently truly God, By this power resting upon him must be understood its being always present with him, to assist and sustain him in the time of need. Having thus briefly traced the occasion and import of the words of our text, I shall deduce from them a few practical inferences. And, First, Infirmities, temptations, and anxieties, have been the lot of the most eminent servants of God; of inspired Apostles, as well as of ordinary ministers and private Christians; for so general, in all places, and in every age, have been the pernicious effects of man's first apostacy; it has involved all mankind. Although the renewing influences of God's Holy Spirit produce an extensively beneficial change upon the human soul, sanctification has still to progress through the whole of life, and is, we believe, never perfected whilst man remains on earth. The idea of sinless perfection whilst here below, is not a doctrine, we apprehend, according to the Scriptures; and the idea of entire rest on the Christian's part, or a complete cessation of hostilities on the part of Satan, the world, and corrupt nature, derives no proof either from Scripture or experience. But it would appear from the promise made to the Apostie Paul, that some conscious weakness or inability for the performance of his great and important duties, was that which depressed him, or caused him anxiety. If he surveyed the power of spiritual enemies, and the hostility of earthly authorities, with the inveterate prejudices and corrupt usages which prevailed among the mass of mankind, he might naturally desire to have arrayed on the side of the |