doing "the will of his Father which is in heaven."

The propriety of this description will indeed be more clearly seen, if we go further into particulars, and enquire, when we may be said to do the Will of God.

The Will of God is made known to us in the Bible. Especially in the Revelation, which he has given to us in his Son Jesus Christ, are we taught what his Will is, and what are the things which He requires us to do. When, therefore, we do these things, we may be said to do the Will of God. Let us see then, what these things are.

1. God would have us to believe in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the first thing which He requires us to do. When the Jews asked our Saviour," What they should do that they might work the works of God," He answered, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him, whom He hath sent."

And St. John expressly says, "This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ *. Now, to believe in Jesus Christ, or on his name, is not merely to believe Him to be the Son of God, and sent by God into the world, but to believe in Him for the purposes for which He was sent, for the pardon * John, vi. 29.-1 John, iii. 23.

of our sins, and the justification of our persons. It is to receive Him as a gift given to us of God: to trust to his precious bloodshedding as the atonement for our sins; to rely on his righteousness put to our account; and in short, to place our whole hopes of salvation, and of eternal happiness on his merit and mediation alone. This is the work which God requires us to do. But let it be observed that the very doing of this work, presupposes another most important work. It presupposes that we have previously renounced our own merits and righte ousness; that we have been thoroughly con vinced of our own unworthiness and guilt; and have for ever laid aside all thoughts of justifying ourselves before God, or of recommending ourselves to his favour by any thing that we can do. It is impossible in the nature of things, that we can believe in Jesus Christ for the pardon of our sins, without first deeply feeling that we are sinners; or that we can trust in Him for righteousness, till we are convinced that we have no righteousness of our own. To renounce ourselves therefore is included in the very idea of receiving Christ: and consequently when God requires us to do the one, He of course intends that we should do

2. God requires us to repent of our sins and to walk in newness of life. He "now commandeth all men every where to repent*." He constantly in the Gospel joins repentance with faith, and shews how impossible it is that we can believe in Christ aright, without forsaking our sins and bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. "This is the Will of God even our sanctification t." It is his Will that we no longer live after the flesh, after the course of this world, as children of disobedience, and subjects of the kingdom of darkness; but that as children of light we walk in the light, and lead new and godly lives. He requires us to lay the axe to the root of the tree; not only to renounce bad habits, and evil companions, but to resist the first motions of sin in the heart, to deny and mortify our corrupt inclinations, and in short to live in a constant warfare with the devil, the world, and the flesh. He requires us to be careful in maintaining good works; to be holy and exemplary in all our conduct and conversation, in fulfilling the duties of our station, in governing our tempers and affections, and in managing our worldly concerns. He requires us to be active, kind, and useful, not thinking only of our • Acts, xvii. 30. Thess. iv. 3.

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selves, but mindful of the wants of others. He requires us to be meek and forgiving under injuries, contented with the portion assigned to us, patient in tribulation, in every thing giving thanks, and even rejoicing in sufferings and persecutions for righteousness' sake. He requires us to be frequent and regular in using the means of grace; in maintaining communion with him in prayer; in reading the Scriptures; in of fering to him spiritual sacrifices in his house; in keeping holy his sacred day.-These are the things which God requires us to do. This is his Will respecting us, as it is revealed in the Gospel of his Son: and when we do these things; when we make the doing of them our constant aim and habitual endeavour, taking no other standard than this for the rule of our conduct, and labouring to live up to it, we may then be said to do the Will of God.

Here then, again, we may see the propriety of the description in the text. Those who thus do the Will of God, are true disciples of Christ: for no others can do it. None but his true disciples can even desire or attempt to do the things required. To believe on Him with the heart unto righteousness, and to repent and walk in newness of life, are works which no man naturally can

do, which no man naturally will attempt to do. They are works above his natural strength, and quite contrary to his natural inclinations. Before he can do, before he will attempt these things, his heart must have been changed by grace, and his soul have been made partaker of a new and holy He must have been born again of the Spirit, and be daily living by faith on the Son of God.

nature.

Such then are Christ's true disciples. This is the Description of them. They "do the Will of their Father which is in heaven.' We consider,

II. The Dignity conferred on them. "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father, which is in heaven, the same is my Brother, and Sister, and Mother."

Christ here declares how dear and how precious to Him are his true disciples. He esteems them as near relations to Himself, and feels for them all that tender love, and that strong affection, which such a relationship implies. High, and holy, and glorious as He is; mean, and evil, and polluted as they are, He is yet, "not ashamed to call them brethren *" and to admit them in that character, to communion and fellow ship with Himself. Such is the Dignity to

* Heb. ii. 11.