The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked Jer. xvii. 9. From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts adulteries, fornications, &c. Matt. xv. 19. Mark vii. 21. The Liturgy of our Church teaches us to confess, that "there is no health in us:" that "we are tied and bound by the chain of our sins:" and that "through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered."* Are all men by nature in this wretched condition? Yes. There is none that doeth good. They are all gone aside-there is none that doeth good, no not one. Ps. xiv. 1.3. How was this occasioned? By the fall of Adam. By one man sin entered into the world. Rom. v. 12, But our own actual transgressions, without original sin, would be sufficient to ruin us. They are more in number than the hairs of our head, and attended with the most shocking aggravations. If you are yet in the state in which you were born into the world, you are living in iniquity, or rather dead in trespasses and sins, and consequently exposed to the wrath and damnation of God. But awful as your condition is, it is not hopeless. Jesus, who died for your redemption, and who ever liveth to make intercession for you, is waiting to extend to you the benefits of his cross and passion. Come unto him, and though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. The Catechism says of the Saviour, "who redeemed me and all mankind," how did Jesus redeem us? By taking upon him our nature, and dying in our stead. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. John i. 14. Of whom, concerning the flesh, Christ came. Rom. ix. 5. God sent forth his Son, made of a woman. Gal. iv. 4. Made in the likeness of men. Phil. ii. 7. One Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Tim. ii. 5. Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh. 1 Tim. iii. 16. He took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham, &c. Heb. ii. 16, 17. The collect containing the second of these expressions has not been inserted in the American Prayer Book. He was sustained in the same manner as other infants, for like them he was helpless and dependent: he hungered, thirsted, and was weary; and was a partaker of the various bodily infirmities of childhood. Jesus increased in wisdom and stature. Luke ii. 52. in spirit. He wept, and rejoiced And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it. Luke xix. 41. Jesus wept. John xi. 35. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit. Luke x. 21. In his human nature he differed from us only in being sinless. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Heb. iv. 15. . Such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Heb. vii. 26. What is the meaning of the title CHRIST? The Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. John i. 41. Why is he called the Anointed? Because he was anointed or set apart by God the Holy Ghost, to be the Prophet, Priest, and King of his people; to each of which offices persons were anointed under the law. He was both foretold and typified in these charac ters. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost. Acts x. 38. Anointing oil was used on these occasions by the Jews. This shall be holy anointing oil unto me. Exod, xxx, 51, Prophets were anointed. Elisha shalt thou anoint to be prophet. 1 Kings xix. 16. Christ was anointed to be a Prophet, whose office was to make known the will of God. He teaches by his word, his ministers, and his Spirit. Men had despised all other prophets, (Matt. xxi. 37,) so God sent his Son. He hath anointed me to preach, &c. Isa. lxi. 1. Luke iv. 18, And thou shalt anoint them-that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. Exod. xl. 15. If the priest that is anointed, &c. Lev. iv. 3. Christ was anointed as a Priest. We are guilty, and Christ has atoned for us by the sacrifice of himself, and by his intercession alone we are able to appear before God. He only could offer an acceptable sacrifice, and appease his Father's wrath. Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedec. Ps. cx. 4. Christ hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God. Eph. v. 2. This priest was made with an oath. Heb. vii. 21. Who needeth not daily-to offer up sacrifice for this he did once, when he offered up himself. Heb. vii. 27. Every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. Heb. viii. 3. Kings were anointed. Hazael, 1 Kings xix. 15. Christ is described as a King. We are by nature enslaved to our spiritual enemies; but Christ has become our King to deliver us from them, and to reign over our hearts by his grace. He furnishes us with strength to conquer our enemies, and to live a holy life. His is a spiritual and eternal, not a worldly kingdom. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. Ps. ii. 6. The Prince of Peace-upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it. Isa. ix. 6, 7. Behold, thy King cometh unto thee. Matt. xxi. 5. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Matt. xxvii. 37. The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever. Luke i. 32, 33. : King of kings, and Lord of lords. Rev. xix. 16. Offend not then his majesty, and slight not his love; but receive the Christ of God in his various characters, as your Prophet, your Priest, and your King. Come to him, and let him, as a Priest, wash you from your sins by the blood of sprinkling, and apply his atonement to your soul. Let him, as a Prophet, teach you the things which belong to your peace, and instruct you in all spiritual knowledge. Let him, as your King, reign without a rival in your heart, and bring not only every action and word, but even every thought, into subjection to him. What were the circumstances attending our Saviour's incar nation? He was conceived by the Holy Ghost: born of the Virgin Mary.' He had no earthly father as other children have; Joseph was only his supposed parent. Luke iii. 23. This wonderful event was foretold many ages before by Isaiah the prophet. A virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. Isa. vii. 14. Matt. i. 23. It was announced to Mary herself by an angel. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, &c. Luke i. 35. When does our Church celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ? At the season called Christmas. This holy festival should be set apart for devout thankfulness, and the promotion of those religious feelings which would prevent our affronting God by the abuse of his mercies. What does the Creed further teach us to believe concerning Jesus Christ? That he "suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried." Jesus suffered without the gate. Heb. xiii. 12. Who was Pontius Pilate? The Roman governor of Judea. Luke iii. 1. He is mentioned, to show that at the time of our Saviour's birth, the supreme government was departed from the Jews, as had been foretold in Gen. xlix. 10. If our Saviour was both God and man, in which nature did he suffer? In his human nature only: his divine nature could not be subject to pain. Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh. 1 Pet. iv. 1. How did he suffer? In his body and in his soul-poverty and privation; hunger, and thirst, and fatigue; pain, and desertion, and shame, and death: all the horrors and sufferings of which human nature is capable; all that malice could invent, or cruelty inflict. He was a man of sorrows from the cradle to the grave. He was born in a stable, laid in a manger, banished from his country while a child, spent his youth in the occupation of a carpenter, was without a home in his manhood, was tempted of the devil in the wilderness, and persecuted and derided by men during his ministry. He was betrayed by Judas, one of his own disciples; forsaken by the rest of his followers; denied by Peter with oaths; taken by the soldiers in the garden of Gethsemane ; led bound to Annas, and thence to the palace of Caiaphas the high priest; thence taken to Pilate's judgment-hall, when false witnesses testified against him, and he was unjustly condemned. He was scourged, crowned with thorns, buffeted, clothed in purple, and had a reed put into his hand; the knee was bowed to him in derision, and he was hailed as "King of the Jews," in bitter mockery. He was stripped of his garments, and there was none to pity; (Ps. Ixix. 20;) though Pilate presented him before his murderers in the extremity of his humiliation, and said, 66 Behold the man!" he was led away to Golgotha, bearing his cross, till he fainted under the load. He was crucified. He endured a punishment considered by the Romans so degrading that it was never inflicted on freemen, but only on the vilest slaves. He was stripped naked, his arms extended, his hands and feet pierced and nailed fast to the cruel tree; and thus was he lifted up between two thieves, a spectacle to men and angels. His whole body was so dislocated, that all the bones were out of joint; (Ps. xxii. 17;) and in this deplorable state his life-blood ebbed slowly away, amidst the revilings of the beholders, and even of his fellow sufferers; till he cried with a loud voice, "It is finished, and gave up the ghost." Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye, through his poverty, might be rich. 2 Cor. viii. 9. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards an hungered. Matt. ív. 2. Jesus saith, I thirst. John xix. 28. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. John iv. 6. All they that see me, laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head. Ps. xxii. 7; see also verses 12-18. He is despised and rejected of men. Isa, liii. 3. And they found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Luke ii. 16. Flee into Egypt, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Matt. ii. 13. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary? Mark vi. 3. The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Matt. viii. 20. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. Matt. iv. 1. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. Mark xi. 19. Matt. xxvii. Mark xv. Luke xxiii. and John xix. contain an account of his crucifixion, and the circumstances attending it, |