II. THAT THOSE WHO ARE ENABLED ΤΟ DISCOVER HIS EXCELLENCIES FEEL AN ATTACHMENT TO HIM.

The affection of that soul which has by faith contemplated and discovered the excellencies of Christ, is,

1. Reasonable. (Rational)

III. THAT THOSE WHO REALLY LOVE HIM ARE ANXIOUS TO RECOMMEND HIM TO OTHERS.

1. By earnest entreaty.

2. By bringing them under the sound of the gospel. 3. By prayer to God for them.

4. By a holy life.

IMPROVEMENT.

1. We here see that there is no worthiness in the instrument employed in a sinner's conversion.

The Samaritan woman was made useful in directing her fellow citizens to Christ.

2. This subject affords us a test whereby we may try our own characters.

Are we really attached to Christ?

3. Are there any here desirous to see Jesus?

LUKE XXIV. 32.

No. III.

CHRIST AT EMMAUS.

not our hearts

And they said one to another, did burn within us, while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the scriptures?"

The connexion of this text shews us, that after the death and resurrection of the great Messiah, two of the disconsolate disciples, who knew not that he was raised from the dead, went to a village called Emmaus; that on their way thither they

conversed, as was likely they would do, upon the wonderful events that had lately transpired in Jerusalem, and spake of him they loved. His person -his actions-his sermons-his prophecies-and, above all, his most extraordinary exit occupied their solemn attention, and afforded a subject for the most interesting discourse. Whilst they were thus engaged in conversing about him, with whom they had before been familiar, and from whom they had learned most excellent lessons, a third came up and joined them; this indeed was Jesus of Nazareth, who had been raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. But he chose, for wise ends, to conseal himself from them, and to cause that their eyes should be holden, that they should not know him, appearing to them as a stranger desirous of knowing the subject of their conversation, and the cause of their grief, and to sympathize with them under their sorrow-weeping with them that wept. They intimated to him their wonder that he, even supposing that he were but a stranger in Jerusalem, should be unacquainted with the things which were come to pass there in those days; then proeeeding to tell him how Jesus, a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and the people, was condemned to death and crucified; giving him to understand at the same time, that the hopes they had entertained of him were most sanguine, for they trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel; and, finally, they informed him of some peculiar phenomena that had been witnessed by certain women of their acquaintance at his sepulchre, where his body could not be seen, though they saw a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. The courteous and mild fellow traveller then began to speak and detain them with delightful converse; for he shewed them that Christ ought to suffer these things, and then to enter into his glory.' He spread before them the mysteries of the inspired page, and shewed how they were il

lustrated in the life and death of their best friend. Sooner than they thought they arrived at their jour ney's end, where he made as though he would have gone further; but they prevailed on him, by their great importunity, to go in and tarry with themwith them he took bread, blessed it, brake it, and gave unto them-then first their eyes were opened to behold him as the same Jesus who was crucified, and to discover in him the lovely features of their Lord who had done all things well-when, lo! he vanished out of their sight, and was seen no more. -After which, we may reasonably suppose to have taken place a solemn silence; and then they used to each other the admirable expression we have selected as a text-" Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the seriptures ?" Having, then, taken a slight glance at the whole account of this wonderful circumstance, in confining our attention more particularly to the words of the text, we shall view them as leading us to reflect on -the conversation of our Lord with his disciples -and the effects it produced upon their minds"their hearts burned within them, while he talked with them by the way." Behold

(1.) The conversation of our Lord with his disciples.

And here the passage presents us with the kind familiarity which he displayed, and the lustre that he cast on the divine word--the first remarkable thing in our Lord's conversation with the travellers to Emmaus, is

(1) The kind familiarity which he displayedtheir own expression is, "He talketh with us by the way." It is condescension in the Son of God, to notiee the concerns and accept the worship of his holy angels; how much more must it be so to sojourn with mankind-to go where they go--and freely to tell them the secrets of his heart. The Saviour was now, you remember, even on earth, a most dignified

character he was now no longer to suffer and be cruelly entreated--he had now finished the work his Father had given him to do—and had shortly after to ascend to claim his high seat in glory. He now shewed himself to be the Christ, the Son of God, and confirmed the reality of his appointment and mission, by his bursting the bars of the tomb. He would not now be viewed by any as a common character, but as the most wonderful being that had ever appeared in the world. --as such even his enemies must consider him. Yet all this did not make him forget his friends, or cause him to lose any thing of that social and condescending disposition he had ever before manifested; but almost as soon as he was risen, he goes to meet some of the members of his little family, and confirm them further in himself. "He talked with them by the way."-Oh! what a heaven does Christ here by his example stamp upon Christian intercourse and sacred friendship.-Behold he talks with his disciples, proving to them that “ ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so doth the sweetness of a man's friend, by hearty counsel." And to this day we are permitted to converse with our God" he talks with us by the way"-tells us our true character, and reveals his own excellence--he appears as our wonderful counsellor! and to whatever place we journey, we should be concerned to have him talking with us by the way.-The next remarkable circumstance in this conversation of our Lord, mentioned in the text, is

as

(2) The lustre that he cast upon the divine word.

He talked with us by the way, and opened to us the scriptures." And well he might, for he told us before that "the Lord had given him the tongue of the learned; that he should know how to speak a word in season, to him that is weary." "He began, says the evangelist, "at Moses and all the prophets, and expounded to them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself"-blessed interpreter-divine teacher. We have no reason to

suppose that he forgot the first promise that was made of him, even in the garden of Eden, that he should bruise the head of the serpent: no doubt but the intended sacrifice of Isaac, the patriarch's son -the erection of the brazen serpent on the poleand the various sacrifices under the law, were all delightfully commented on by Jesus the Saviour. He did justice to all the passages-he shewed their full import-he gave them an insight into the meaning of all the prophecies respecting his death and glory-he took up every part of scripture in its bearing upon himself, he shewed [that he] was "all in all" even in the Old Testament; and thus by his teachings they discovered far more of the beauty, harmony, and fulfilment of the word of God, than they ever did before, or ever would have done without his instruction. And does he not now give his people to understand the doctrines of his word-does he not now daily open to us the scriptures-has he not given to us his Holy Spirit in order to make us more wise in the mysteries of his kingdom,-and are we not directed to seek for him in the field of divine truth as for hid treasure. Oh! how much is there respecting Christ in this holy book, and who is so able to make us know it as himself" he opens our understanding that we may understand the scriptures he ever teaches his ministers to open and allege that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom we preach unto you is Christ," as he taught his apostles to testify the kingdom of God, persuading men concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening." Having then admired the conversation of our Lord with his disciples on the way to Emmaus, we notice II-The effects it produced in their minds.

It was not at all probable that his discourse should be without effect, or fail deeply to interest their minds, since it was the very theme on which they chose to dwell; and it was conducted in so wise and