SERM- XLIV.? ANb THE USE OF IT. 273 powers of thy nature submit with joy to all the discoveries of such grace. Go, humble thyself before an offended God, who is willing .to become a Father and a Friend : Go, in the name of Jesus, the great Mediator, and make thy approaches to the throne. Seek the influences of the Holy Spirit to enlighten thy dark understanding, to conquer the obstinacyof thy will, and subdue all thy affections, to a sincere compliance with this method of divine love : And let the constraining force of this sweet doctrine, unite thy heart to all thyfellow-christians, who sincerely worship the same God, who seek for acceptance through the blood of the same Mediator, andwho depend upon the aids of the same Spirit. " Happy day, when faith, and holiness, and love, shall be found shining, and reigning amongst all that profess the religion of Christ ! O when shall that pro- mised hour appear, that " the Lord Jehovah shall be king over all the earth, and there shall be one Lord, and his name one ?" Zech. xiv. 9. Blessed Jesus, hast thou, by thy death, " broken down that middle wall of parti- tion, that stood between the Jews and the gentiles? Hast thou reconciled both unto God in one body by thy cross, and slain the enmity thereby ?" Eph. ii.. 16. What wretched creatures are we then to build up new walls of partition ourselves, by inventing, and imposing new forms of faith and worship, which thy word has not taught us, and for which it has given us no foundation ! What wretched creatures are we, to raise up so many new enmities in the christian church, and support them with fierce and implacable zeal and fury ! This is to walk as enemies, even to the crossof Christ, and contrary to the compassionate designs of a dying Saviour. One would think, the blood of the Son of God crucified should teach us kinder lessons. O when shall all these enmities be abolished by the over-powering influence of the Spirit of light and love ? When shall these unhappywalls of parti- tion be broken down, and thewhole flock of Christ be- come one blessed fold under Jesus the universal Shep- herd ? When shall we arrive at the " perfect unity of the faith, and maintain the unityof the Spirit in the bond of love?" Eph. iv. 3, 13. When shall the glory and beauty of the primitive church be restored, where " the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and VOL.
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