(A FUNERAL DISCOURSE FOR MISS MARTHA RHODES.)

HEB. vii. 25.

He is able to save.

THESE words are selected for two reasons:-they were frequently on the lips of the deceased during her illness; and the sentiment they contain was abundantly refreshing to her heart. They afford also the fairest opportunity of preaching to you the gospel ; of exalting the Saviour; of addressing you on a subject which lies at the foundation of your faith, and is closely connected with your hope and comfort.

This service has been anticipated with considerable feeling. On some accounts it is a task which I would decline, could it be done consistently with duty. At the same time, the attempt is attended with pleasure, arising partly from the satisfactory state of mind pos sessed by my departed relative, and also from the hope, the humble hope, that on this occasion some useful impressions will be felt; the hearts of some melted in penitence, awakened to prayer, and turned

to God through Jesus Christ. May this indeed be the case, and God shall have the glory!

Our subject is THE ABILITY OF CHRIST TO SAVE. This ability, we shall endeavour to shew, is of three kinds; natural, official, and moral. In other words, it is an ability of power, of right, and of will. Each is important; but taken together, and in their connection with each other, they are of infi nite moment, and afford the richest encouragement -"He is able to save.'

What is salvation? We cannot fully answer this question, unless we knew the extreme evil and demerit of sin; unless we understood the worth of the soul, the duration of eternity, and the felicity of heaven. This we know, salvation is deliverance from sin and all its consequences. It is freedom from the curse of a broken law, and from the wrath of an offended God. It is the possession of pardon, peace, and growing purity in this life; and the full fruition of holiness, happiness, and glory in the life which is to come. Salvation includes whatever constitutes the perfection of our immortal nature, its highest enjoyment; and this enjoyment perpetuated to the count less ages of eternity, Christ is "able to save."We notice,

1. HIS NATURAL ABILITY:

His ability of nature, irrespective of any office he fills, or engagement he has made: in plain words, his ability as God.

We have no notion of placing the Saviour lower in the scale of being than the sacred Scriptures explicitly assign. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word (in his essential nature) was God*." His name is called, "the mighty God"-" the true God"-" the only wise God."

#John i. 1,

And to Him is addressed the magnificent language, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever!"-" Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail*." It is a solemn declaration,

Cursed is man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lordt.' But may we not trust in the Saviour; and trusting in Him, are we not safe? May we not place entire confidence in Christ; and thus confiding, are we not safe? Yet tremendous danger would await us, were he merely a man-were he not Immanuel, God with us.

The Godhead of the Saviour is an essential pillar of our holy religion: remove this, and it falls; the whole system of Christianity sinks into insignificancy. But it cannot be removed. "The Deity

of Christ stands on the basis of claims which he himself advanced, of worship which he received, of power which he exerted, of attributes which he exhibited, of an empire unbounded as the universe, and infinite as eternity."

But it is not necessary on this occasion to search for arguments in proof of the Deity of Jesus Christ. You are persuaded of the truth of the doctrine, and you feel its importance in connection with his ability to save; an ability founded originally in his essential nature, as one with the Father-" The brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person"-" over all, God blessed for ever. Amen."-We remark,

II. HIS OFFICIAL ABILITY:

Heb. i. 8-12.

+ Jer. xvii, 5.

His ability of office, in virtue of which it is his right, his prerogative, to save.

The Son of God undertook the cause of ruined man: He became Mediator. This was the office He condescended to sustain; and in pursuance of this office He saves. It is as Mediator that he speaks thus:" Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire: mine ears hast thou opened; burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then I said, Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me; I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart." The will of God is the salvation of man, and Christ is the Saviour; "neither is there salvation in any other." His designation to the office, his qualifications for the work, and the authority under which he acts, are clearly intimated : "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me." "Him hath God the Father sealed." Thus he possesses not only an ability of power from his Divine nature, but also of office from his constituted character; an ability of right resulting from his appointment to the work of saving sinners, and his voluntary engagement in this work.

It is observable, that this is the kind of ability particularly intended in the text, considered in its connection. The verse is introduced as an inference from what had been stated of the priesthood of Christ: "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." The intercession of the Saviour, you perceive, is the ground of the ability here asserted: but his intercession implies something else; it implies his office as Mediator, his work as Redeemer; and it directly regards his deep humiliation, his meritorious sufferings and + Is. Ixi. 1; John vi. 27.

Ps. xl. 6-8.

death, whereby he is furnished with an all-powerful plea in behalf of transgressors. Having "humbled himself, and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, God hath highly exalted him;" and in this state of exaltation he ever lives to intercede "He pleads his merit there to save, transgressors doomed to die."

Look unto Jesus! You find in Him not only the power of a God, but the compassion of a Saviour, the tenderness of a friend. It is his right to save; as much so as it is the right of a father to protect his child-of a king to pardon, or a judge to acquit. You are thankful to contemplate his Omnipotence: but authority is his; an authority to save and to bless which no power can possibly controul.-Hence we observe,

III. His MORAL ABILITY:

His ability of mind, if it may be so expressed; his inclination; in one word, his willingness to save. This is unspeakably interesting, especially considered in connection with what has been advanced. Suppose the Saviour willing, but devoid of power and right, what would avail his willingness? And suppose him possessed of right and power, but not willing, lost and wretched we must remain. But behold the happy union of all these; an ability of power, of right, and of will; an ability of settled inclination, of fixed design and purpose. And how does this appear? How is it proved?-Consider,

1. What he hath said.-He hath given the strongest assurances of his ability, his resolution, to save; and shall we not believe him? "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?" The Messiah answers-"I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." This was his explicit design, his compassion