Election Sermon

' While the constitutions of most states are the edicts of triumphant ambition, or imperfect and mutilated charters a of freeflom, wrested from the hands of tyranny ; the foun- i ' dation of the empire of Christ was laid injustice. The great God, whose everlasting counsels will stand> and whtt will do all his pleasure, hath constituted his beloved Son the ruler of the world, " putting, all tMn^ in subjection under his feet," and requiring all men to receive him as their sovereign. Thus by the express designatio^i of the Father, he is made Lord of all, " angels, and authorities,, and powers being made subject unto him/' All the qualifications for empiire are also concentrated in his charactery such as perfect benevolence, and consummate wisdom,, and irresistible power ; so that on this account his claim to authority is very unlike the preteijsions of many of the rulers of this world, as well as on account of the necessary dependence of all things upon his supporting hand, " for by him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or .powers / all things were created by him and for him, and by hi.iii all things consist.'^ There ate yet other reasons, which establish hisrighfof dominion.. He is the Redeemer of sinners, the mediator between God and man ; and in consequence of his humiliation and of *^ his obedience to the death of the cross, God hath highly exalted him? and given him a name, which i^ above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ % Jjord, to the gloi'y of Grod the Father." His empire is founded in conquest ; but it was a conquest over the powers of darkness, intrenched in the human heart — over, the enemies of holiness and goodness: His empire is founded in blood ; not however in the blood of slaughtered armies, but in his own blood, voluntarily shed- in order that, he might make propitiation for the sins of the world, — in order that he might redeem the enslaved, and pardon the guilty, and save the lost. It is therefore most fit^ that he should be invested with the atr tributes of royalty ; — -it is therefore most fit, that ^' the ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of the heavenly host should say with a loud voice, vv^orthy is the Lamb, that was slain, to receive power, and riehes> and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and gloi:y, and blessing !" While the dominion of the Son of God is thtis establish: ed in righteousness, the laws of his kingdom are perfectly good. As earthly legislatures, composed of depraved men, are liable to corruption and sometimes cstmpletely under the control of sovereigns, who have little regard for the publie welfare ; the statutes, which they makfe, are frequently designed rather for the honor and interest of the prince, than for the benefit of the subject, and are statutes of unrighteousness. How often has " the throne of iniquity framed mischief by a law ?" How often, in the history of nations, have the people of a king groaned under the oppression of unjust laws, and been subjected to a mej"ciless and resistless tyranny ? Even in free republics, legislative assemblies, through ignorance and misapprehension, or from party zeal and love of power, may establish laws, manifestly partial, unequal, and unjust. It is a grand distinction in the kingdom of Christ, that all his precepts are benevolent, and wi^e, and holy. • The liORD, who is our lawgiver and our king, loves righteousness and hates iniquity ; and " the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul 5 the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple ; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart ;■ the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." He requires men, whose senses he has rendered the sources of deilight, and whom he has surrounded by objects, capable of affording them gratification, to be temperate in the enjoyment of earthly good, and to subject their passions to rules, designed to guard against the evils of excess, preserving unimpaired the powers both of mind and body, that they may prosecute with vigor the great objects of their being. He reqiiires men, whom he has placed together in society, to be united in affection, to sympathise with each other in scenes both of joy and of sorrow, to respect each other's rights and seek each other's welfare ; — ^the rich to be ^ rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to comIS umnicate, thus laying up in store/ for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life;" — ^the poor to be industrious and Contented, "rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom/ which he hath promised to them, that love him ;" — ^the sujtgect to honor and obey i^e magistrate, and the magistrate to be upright and diligent, ^' fearing God and hating eovetousness." He requires men, who are sinners, condemned by the divine law, and liable to " everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power," immediately to repent and implore mercy, and to believe in him, " who is exalted a Prince and a Savior for to give repentance and the remission of sins," and who can pardon the greatest sin, and wash away the deepest stain of guilt, and give peace to the most disquieted conscience, and gladden the most desponding heart. …