SERMON XXXIII.

EPHESIANS V. 1, 2.-Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.

In the preceding verses the Apostle inculcates on his Ephesian converts several virtues and duties, as being the genuine fruits of the new creature; and then, in our text, he sums them all up in this general direction, "Be ye followers," or imitators, "of God as dear children." The imitation of God comprises all the virtues before enumerated and enjoined, as truth, justice, purity, goodness and mercy; for these are particular branches of the divine character. Among these the Apostle selects one most eminent and glorious part of God's character, which he distinctly recommends to imitation; "Walk in love." And he subjoins an argument which ought to have peculiar weight with Christians. "Walk in love, as Christ hath loved us and hath given himself for us."

The exhortation and the argument, we will consider distinctly.

I. We will consider the Exhortation. of God, and walk in love."

"Be ye followers

The goodness of God is the glory of his moral character. When Moses prayed, "Lord, show me thy glory;" this was the divine answer, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee.”

Language affords not stronger terms, or higher expres

sions, than those in which revelation describes the goodness of God. "He is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." He daily loadeth us with benefits, and we know not the number thereof; if we would count them, they are more than the sand. His goodness is constant; "it endureth forever; it fainteth not, neither is weary." It is exercised toward the most unworthy creatures, in the most disinterested manner, without hope of a recompense. Compared with him, the most bountiful among the sons of men, are evil: even parental goodness sinks and is lost in the comparison.

Many wonderful instances of God's love to men the Scripture adduces to raise our admiration and gratitude. But the most wonderful of all; that which awakens the loudest songs of angels, and should excite the liveliest praises of men, is the gift of his Son for the redemption. of our guilty race. "In this," says St. John, "was manifested the love of God toward us, because he sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." "Herein is love." In this word is comprehended the whole divine character. "We have known the love

that God hath to us. God is love. And he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him."

From this divine example the

Scripture infers our "Let us love one an

obligation to love our fellow-men. other, for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. God gave his only begotten Son, that we might live through him: if he so loved us, we ought to love one another."

Love is the highest and noblest virtue in the Christian system. To be merciful as God is merciful, is to be perfect as he is perfect. Charity is the bond of perfectness. Christians are therefore required, "above all things to put

on charity;" "above all things to have fervent charity among themselves." This is called "the end of the commandment;"" the fulfilling of the law;" "the sum of the law and the prophets." Faith, hope and charity are all great; but the greatest of these is charity. In the gospel climax of virtues, you see brotherly kindness and charity standing at the top. These complete the order of graces, and finish the character of the Christian. The grand decision of characters, at the last day, will be made by a particular inquiry into the exercises of this virtue. He who has this, the greatest of all virtues, has the other; and without this all pretensions to religion are vain. For this reason, when the Apostle exhorts us to be followers of God, he particularly reminds us, that we must walk in love. We proceed,

II. To consider the Argument, by which the Apostle presses his exhortation. "Walk in love, as Christ also loved us, and gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour."

The sufferings of Christ for the sin of the world were typified and anticipated in the sacrifices and offerings instituted under the Mosaic law. Hence the language of that dispensation is adopted in the gospel; and the death of Christ is called "a sacrifice and an offering to God."

"Christ was sacrificed for us." He suffered death on the cross in our behalf and for our sakes, that we through his blood might obtain everlasting salvation. This is the uniform language of the gospel. "He who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." "He once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." "He bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness." "He gave

himself a ransom for us; and we have redemption through his blood."

"The wages of sin is death." This is the just demerit of, and the legal sentence against the transgression of man. The wisdom of God has seen fit to ordain, that without the shedding of blood there should be no remission of sin. The great ends of God's moral government required, that there should be some solemn display of his just and holy wrath against the disobedience and rebellion of his subjects. To have executed deserved punishment on the of fenders themselves would have been forever inconsistent with their admission to pardon and favour. Therefore, that they might be forgiven in a way agreeable to the great and benevolent design of God's government, he was pleased to appoint and accept an atonement for their guilt. "He set forth his Son to be a propitiation, that he might be just, and the justifier of them that believe."

"Christ gave himself for us." He, freely and of his own choice, submitted to all the pains and indignities, which attended a death on the cross; and he bore them all with resignation and patience, that thus he might save us from the wrath to come.

Here was a full display of his love. The Apostle says, "He loved us, and gave himself for us."

He who is the Son of God, the brightness of his glory, he by whom all worlds were made, and who upholdeth all things by the word of his power, he gave; what did he give? Not one of his creatures, not an angel, not a world; but, what is more than all worlds, he gave HIMSELF for us, an inferior order of intelligences, sinners, rebels, under sentence of condemnation.

He gave himself, not merely to become a man, and dwell on earth; not merely to be our pattern, teacher and guide; but to die in our stead, and to suffer a kind

of death peculiarly painful and ignominious. He gave himself for us, not in hope of a recompense from us, but in his self-moving goodness, in his disinterested benevolence toward us.

"The offering of Christ was a sweet smelling savour." It was pleasing and acceptable to God, and, through his appointment, became efficacious to obtain pardon and grace for men. The sacrifices offered to God, according to his institution, and the Patriarchal and Mosaic dispensations, are called "a sweet savour to him;" and he is said to" smell a sweet savour in them." The Apostle uses the same phrases to express God's acceptance of Christ's sacrifice and its virtue to take away human guilt. God's law is magnified, his character is honoured, and his justice is satisfied with the work which Jesus, as our Redeemer, has accomplished. And penitent sinners, now humbly applying to the mercy of God, and relying on the atonement of the Saviour, will be admitted to favour as freely and completely, as if they had never offended. As Christ, who knew no sin, has been made a sin-offering for us, so we are by faith made the righteousness of God in him. According to the terms of the new covenant, believers receive through Jesus Christ abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, they are abundantly pardoned, their sins are extinguished as a cloud, and remembered no more. They receive life, and receive it more abundantly than it was promised by the covenant of innocence. The righteousness of Christ has procured for them immortality far more glorious than Adam, in virtue of his own most perfect obedience, could have claimed.

This example of Christ's love to us is an argument of great force, why we should love one another. "Be ye followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us." As ye are children of one common