would affuredly return to recompenfe all which they might endure for his fake-" In my Father's," &c. We shall confider I. Our Lord's defcription of heaven We are taught to conceive of heaven as a place of unfpeakable felicity The defcription given of it by St. John is intended to elevate our thoughts, and enlarge our conceptions to the uttermoft But a spiritual mind, which is dead to earthly things, may perhaps fee no lefs beauty in our Lord's deferip tion Our Lord thus defcribes it; "My Father's houfe with many manfions" [Here feems to be an allufion to the temple at Jerufalem God dwelt there in a more efpecial manner - This defcription may be depended upon "fee [The difciples had left all in expectation of a future re compence Our Lord had taught them to look for it, not on earth, but in heaven Had no fuch recompence awaited them, he "would have told them fo" Thus he pledges, as it were, his love and faithfulness for the truth of what he had told them--] Our Lord further acquaints them with the reason of his afcending thither II. The end of his afcenfion thither All which our Lord did on earth was for the good of his people He confulted their good alfo in his afcenfion to heaven He went to prepare a place for them," which he does 1. By * Rev. xxi. 19, 21. 1 Kings viii. 10, 11. • Ifai. Ivii. 15. 1. By purging heaven itself with his own blood [Heaven would have been defiled, as it were, by the admiffion of finners into it He therefore entered into heaven to fanctify it by his blood This was typified by the atonement made for the altar and the tabernacle The type is thus explained and applied -] 2. By taking poffeffion of it as their head and reprefentative [He is the head, and his people are his members— His afcenfion to heaven is a pledge and earneft of theirs In this view he is exprefsly called "our forerunner "—] 3. By maintaining their title to it h [They would continually forfeit their title to it by their fins But he maintains their peace with God by his interceffion→→ Hence his power to bring them finally to that place is reprefented as depending on his living in heaven to intercede for thein1-] 1 By these means every obstacle to his people's happiness is removed III. The profpects which his afcenfion affords us 1. That he fhall "come again [The high-priest, after offering incenfe within the vail, was to come out and blefs the people This was a type of our Lord's return from heaven when he fhall have finished his work of interceffion there *-] 2. That he fhall take his people to dwell with him [He had promifed this as a condition of their engaging in his fervice L He declared it to be his fixed determination just before his departure" It d Lev. xvi. 16—20. Heb. ix. 21-24. Here is a parallel drawn not only between the Holy of holies and heaven, but also between the purifying of the Holy of holies by the high-prieft, and the purifying of heaven itself by Chrift with his own blood: and both are declared to have been necellary; the one as a type, and the other as the anti-type. Eph. iv. 15, 16. iHeb. vii. 25. John xvii. 24. 81 Cor. xv. 20. h Heb. vi. 20. John xii. 26. It may even be inferred from his afcenfion; for his afcenfion would have been utterly in vain without it "-] What a bright and bleffed profpect is this!— What an effectual antidote against their approaching troubles !- INFER 1. How wonderful are the condefcenfion and grace of Chrift! [We cannot conceive any thing more tender than the whole of this addrefs Such is ftill his conduct towards all his people-Let us admire and adore this compaffionate, high-priest-] 2. How highly privileged are they that believe in Chrift! [How different was our Lord's addrefs to unbelieversBut to believers he fays" Where I am, ye fhall be alfo"Let this ineftimable privilege have its due effect upon us→→→ Let it ftimulate our defires after heaven Let it reconcile us to the thoughts of death Let it engage us more earneftly to ferve God P-] 1 Cor. xv. 14. John viii. 21. P 1 Theff. i. 9, 10. LXVIII. THE CHARACTER AND AIM OF A CHRISTIAN MINISTER. Col. iv. 12. Epaphras, who is one of you, a fervant of Chrift, faluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. LOVE is the effence of the Christian religionThe heathens themfelves noticed the fervour of the love which fubfifted among the firft Chriftians Minifters in particular feel a diftinguithed regard for thofe to whom they have been fignally ufeful Epaphras is fet forth as a moft eminent pattern of affection and zeal I. The 1 Theff. ii. 7, 8. I. The office he sustained Epaphras was perhaps the fame with EpaphroditusHe was a Coloffian, and probably a paftor of the church at Coloffe He fuftained the most honourable of all offices, being "a fervant of Chrift "— This office every Chriftian may be faid to bear But minifters bear it in a higher and more exalted fenfe: They are 1. His ftewards [A fteward has the care and management of the family committed to him So Chrift's minifters have the myfteries of the gospel committed to them b They are to difpenfe thefe myfteries to men Hence we are taught to confider them exprefsly in this view -] d 2. His meifengers [They are ambaffadors from the court of heaven — They deliver to men his meffages of grace and mercyThey negociate, as it were, a peace between God and man-] 3. His reprefentatives [They ftand in his ftead'; the word they speak is not theirs, but his The reception or rejection of them will be deemed a reception or rejection of Chrift himself—] 4. His glory [They are the inftruments whereby he is known and glorified Hence they are exprefsly called " the glory of Chrifti ". him II. The love he manifefted Love will invariably manifeft itself in acts of kindness towards those who are the objects of it- A minifter's love will fhew itself most towards the fouls of men But none can do good to fouls unlefs God himself vouchfafe his bleflingk Hence Epaphras made application to God in prayer [It is faid of Jacob that he " wrestled" with God all night in prayer Thus did Epaphras on behalf of the Chriftians at ColoffeTM. How defirable is it that every miniiter fhould be fo occupied !-] He did it conftantly [He was not fatisfied with preaching to them, or praying with them He remembered them "always" in his fecret prayers before God Nor did his abfence from them diminish his concern for their welfare- This was the moft unequivocal teftimony of his affection that he could poflibly give them -] Nor could he reft fatisfied, while his people had a fin to be forgiven, or a want to be supplied III. The end he aimed at He defired that his Chriftian friends might be Ifraelites indeed No doubt he had exerted himfelf much and often to make them fo He fought the fame bleffed end in all his prayers for thein 1. That they might have no fecret referves in their obedience [He well knew that one fin indulged would destroy the foul P He was aware that nothing but the most unreferved dedication of ourselves to God's fervice would be of any avail He therefore prayed that they might do "all" the will of God-] 2. That * 1 Cor. iii. 7. 1 Compare Gen. xxxii. 24, 28. with Hof. xii. 4. m This is implied in the term ἀγωνιζόμενος. 1 Theff. iii. 10. with Ifai. Ixii. 7. one. It is easier to preach to men ten hours, than to pray P Jer. xlviii. 10. for them Pf. cxix. 6. |