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Saviour! But when we, who live after the event, behold the reconciliation, and literal fulfilment of every word that the Holy Ghost spake beforehand of Him that was "to come," then that on which our faith had formerly stumbled, becomes its very stay and resting place; and the darkness in which we had hitherto been enveloped, serves but to give additional brilliance and beauty to the " marvellous light" of truth!

SERMON II.

CHRIST'S TRIUMPHANT ENTRY INTO JERU

SALEM.

MATT. XXV. 9.

And the multitudes that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

To those who have carefully traced the course of our Saviour's life and ministry from its commencement to its termination -and surely all who have had leisure and opportunity have done this-the circumstance recorded in the Gospel of this day', must appear one of the most surprising events even of his wonderful history, and must impress on their minds,

1 Advent Sunday.

at least as strongly as any other passage of Scripture, the conviction, that he who thus acted, and was thus received, was of a truth the Christ, the Son of the living God. It contains within itself the three evidences of this doctrine, which, taken together, are irresistible and undeniable; viz. the fulfilment of a misunderstood prophecy; the exertion of supernatural power; and, along with these, the tokens of the most fervent piety and devotion to the will of God. We cannot require or conceive any other proofs than these, that he who professed to be the Son of the Most High was indeed the only begotten of the Father; and all these proofs were exhibited on this remarkable occasion.

Let us consider the time and circumstances under which this public and triumphant entry into Jerusalem took place. Our Saviour had for some time past preached the Gospel both in Judea and in Galilee with various success. At first he was received by the people of all ranks with every expression of exultation and

for a deliverer, and flattered themselves that he had at last appeared in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He wrought miracles, such as had been recorded of no prophet that had been before him; in wisdom he surpassed Moses their lawgiver; in meekness he was his equal; in feeding the hungry in the wilderness with food from heaven, he followed his example: all these things seemed to shew that the Lord God had now fulfilled his promise in raising up to his people a prophet like unto Moses; and to him therefore, as their lawgiver had commanded them to do', they seemed at first ready to hearken. But, at the same time, if there was in his character much to encourage, there was yet, according to their erroneous notions, much to dishearten them. He came with no outward pomp. He raised no armies. He uttered no imprecations against the Romans, their masters. He did not deny that they ought to pay tribute to Cæsar. When they sought to make him king, he

1 Deut. xviii. 15.

hid himself; when they wished to pay him worldly honours, he withdrew himself from them. There could be no hope of deliverance from their enemies under a Saviour like this; he did not even hold out to them the most distant prospect of attaining it. On the contrary, the only evils from which he even professed to liberate them were spiritual evils; evils of which they were hardly conscious, and which they were unwilling to allow had any existence among them. them. The enemies from which he undertook to rescue them were themselves, their errors, and their vices. He showed them that they had corrupted their whole religion from its very root upwards, that the whole head was sick, and the whole heart faint; that they had perverted the commandments of God, and taught in their stead, and even in opposition to them, the commandments of men; that it was no wonder, therefore, that their practices were, like their doctrines and principles, sinful and dangerous; that sin was the

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