Parochial and Plain Sermons

" This begimHr.q of ffracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, ad manifested forth llis lorJ; and Ilis disciMes believed on 2Iim."

IIE Epiphany is a. season especially set apart for adorîng thc glory of Chrisf. Thc word mav be fakcn fo mean fhc manifcstafion of IIis lory, and leads us fo the confcmplation of IIim as a King upon His fhrone in the midst of lIis court, wifh IIis servants around IIim, and IIis guards in attendauce. Af Christmas we commcmorafe IIis @race; nnd in Lent His temptation; and on Good Friday IIis suffering and deah; and on Easter Dav His vietory; and on Holy Thursday IIis return fo tle Father; and in Advent wc antieipate IIis second eoming. And in ail ofthese seasons IIe does something, or sulTers something: but in the Epiphany:md the weeks after if, we eelebrate Him, hot as on IIis field of battle, or in His solitary retreat, but as an august and glorious King; we view Him as the Objeet of out worship. Then only, during His

Thc Scasolz of Fpi2h«lO,. 7 5 whole earthly history, did He fiflfil the type of Solomon, and held (as 1 may say) a court, aud received the homagc of Ilis subjcets; viz. when IIc was an infant. Ilis thronc was Ilis uudefilcd Mother's arms; Ilis ehamber of state was a cottage or a cave; the worshippers were the wise men of the East, aud they brought preseuts, gold, frankiueeuse, aud myrrh. Ail around and about Ilim seelned of earth, exeept fo the eye of fidth; oue uote alone had IIe of Divinity. As great men of" this world are often plaiu]y dressed, and look like other nlen, all but as haviu some Olle costly ornameut on their breast or on their brow; so the Sou of Mary in IIis 1,,wlv dwelling, aud in an iufimt's form, was declared to be the Sou of God Most IIig'h, the Father of Ag'es, and the Prince of Peace, bv IIis star; a wonderful appearance which had guided the wise men all the way ff'oto the East, even unto Bethlchcm. This bein the character of this Saered Season, out services throughout it, as fir as Ihev are proper fo it, are full of the image of a king iu his royal court, of n sovereigu surrounded by subjeets, of a glorious priuce upon a throne. There is uo thouFht of war, or of strife, or of suffering, or of triumph, or of venFeauce comaected with the Epiphauy, but of august mjesty, of power, of prosperity, of splendour, of sereuity, of beniuity. Now, if at any rime, it is fit fo say, "OEhe Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him ." * Hab. il. 20.

76 Te Scaso f Eaç. "lm Lord sih abov lm warflood, and lm Lord rema]nth a kin for ever." "Tlm Lord of IIoss is wifl us; tire God of acob is our rfi." "0 coma, le us worshiIb and fall down, and kneel before the Lord out Maker." " 0 magnil)" t]le Lord out God, and fall down befiwe Ilis footsto,,1, fi,r I[e is lh,ly." " 0 worship t.he ord in the beauty of holiness; bring presents, and eome iut.o Ilis courts." I said tllaç aL this rime «,f year the portions of out services vhich are prol.er fo the season are of  eharaeter fo remind us of a king on his throne, reeeiving the devoti..u of his subjeets. Sn.:h is the narrative itself, already referrcd fo, of the eoming of the wise men, who soug'ht, Ilim with their g'ifts flore a plaee afar off, and VI1 down aad worshipl»ed Ilim. 8ueh too, is the aeeount, of His bapt, ism, whieh forms the 8eeond Lesson of the feast, of the El»iphany, when the Holy Ghos desccndcd ou Ilim, and a Voiee froln heaven aeknowledged IIim fo be the Son of God. And if we look af the Gospels read throughont the season, we shall find lhem ail eontaining some kingly action of Christ, the 3[ediator between God and man. Thus in the Gospel for the First Sunday, IIe lnanifests His glory in thc temple at the age of twelve 3ca.fs, sitting" among the doctors, and astonishing them with His wisdom. In the Gospel for the Second Sunday IIe manifests His glory at the wedding feast, when He turned the water into wine, a miracle hOt of necessity or meney, but especially an august and bountiçnl act—the act of a King, who ou of 1Ils abundar, ee gnve a gift fo 1Ils OWll, therewith fo lnake merry with their ti'iend«. the Third Sunday, the leper worships Christ, who thereupon heals him; the eenturion, again, reminds I[im of His Angels and ministers, and IIe speaks the word, and his servmt is restm-ed forthwith. In the Fourth, a storm arises on the lake, while IIe is peaeefiflly sleeping, without eare r sorrow, on a pillmv; then I Ie rises and rebukes the winds and the sea, and a eahn follows, deep as that of His own soul, and the beholders worship I[im. And next Ite easts out Legion, affer the man possessed with if had also Cran and worshipped I[imï' In the Fifth, we hear of His kingdom on earth, and of the enemy sowin tares mnid the good seed. And in the Sixth, of His second Epiphany ri'oto heaven, "with power and great glory." Sueh is the series of manifestations whieh the Sundays after the Eiphany bring belote us. When IIe is with the doetors in the temple, He is manifested as a pt;phet in turning the water into wine, as a priest—in His miracles of healing, as a bounteous Lord, giving out of His abundaneein His rebuking the sea, as a Sovereign, whose word is lawin the parable of the wheat and tares, as a guardian and ruler—in His second eoming, as a lawgiver and judge. And as in these Gospels we hear of our Saviour's greatness, so in the Epistles and First Lessons we hear of the privileges and the duties of *he new people, whom IIe bas formcd to show forth IIis praise. Chris-. ians are af once the temple of Christ, and IIis worshippers and ministers it the temple; they are the Bride of the Lamb Uaken eollecively, and taken individually, they are the fi'iends ot' the 7Bridegroom and the gnests aU the marriage feasU. In these various points of view are they presented to us in the Services during these weeks. In the Lessons ff'oto the prol»heU Isaiah we read of the R'ifts and privile'es the eharaeteristies, the poweB the thrtnnes oU" the Churehhow widely spreading, even throughouU nll the GenUiles; how awfid and high, how miraeulonsly endowed, how revered, how powerful upon eath, how rieh in Uemporal goods, how holy, how pure in doeUrine, how full of the Spirit. And in the Epistles t'or the successive Smdays, we hear of the duties and distinguishing narks of her Urue members, prineipally as laid down in the Uwelfth and flirteenth ehapters of S{. Patd fo the Romans; then as Uhe saine Apostle enjoins flmm npon the Çolossians; and then in St. 3ohn's exhortations in his General Epistle. The Colleets are of Uhe saine eharaeter, as befiU the supplieaUions of subjeets eoming belote their King. The tïrsU is for knowledge and power, the second is for peaee, the third is for sUrengUh in out infirmities, the tburth is for help in temptation, tire fifth is for protection, and Uhe sixUl is for preparation and puritïeation

Te Scasolz of Eibz'haO,. 79 aainst Christ's second comin. OEhere is none which would suit a season of trial, or of repentauee, or of waitin, or of exultaionthey befi  seasou of peace, thauksgivin', and adoration, when Christ is no manifested in pain, conflict, or vietory, but in tle tranquil possession of IIis kingdom. If will be sufficient to make one reflection, which sugests itself t¥om wha I have been saying. You will observe, then, tha the onlv display of royal g'reatness, the only season of mjesty, homage, tmd 'lory, whieh out Lord had on earth, was in IIis infaney and youth. Gbriel's message fo lary was in its style and manner snch as befittcd an Augcl speakin fo Christ's Mother. Elisabeth, too, slntcd 3Iary, and thc thturc Bal)tist his hiddcn Lord, in the same honourablc way. Angels announecd tlis biçh, and the shepherds worshipped. A star appeared, and the wise meu rose from the East and ruade Him oflbrings. He was brought to the temple, and Simeon took Him in His arms, and returne thanks for Him. IIe grew ¢o twelve years old, and again He appeared in the temple, and took His seat in the midst of the doctors. But here His eaoEhly majesty had ifs end, or if seen afterwards, it was but now and then, by glimpses and by sudden gleams, but with no steady sustaincd light, and no diffused radianee. We are told af. the close of the ]astmentioned narrative, "And He went down with His parents and came fo Nazareth, a.td cas stbjected unto

o Thc Scaso, of [he»t .'" IIis snbjeefion and servitude now began in face. IIe had corne in the form of  servant,.and now /Ie took on IIim a serwnt's oee. ]Iow mueh is eontained in the ide: of Ilis subjeetion ] and it beg«m, and ]Ils rime o gory ended, when IIe was twelve vears old. Solo,non, the re type o the Prinee of Peaee, rcined forty years, and h{s nmne and g'reatness was kuown fir and wide flroug'h the East. Joseph, the much-loved son of Jaeob, who in ail earlier age of the Church, was a type of Christ in IIis kingdom, was in power and favour eighty years, twicc as lon as Solomon. But Chl5st, thc truc Rcvealcr of secrets, and the Dispenser of the bread of lire, fhe truc wisdom and majesty of thc Father, manifbstcd IIis g-lory but in His early years, and thon fhc Sun of iR'hteousness was clouded. For He was hot fo reign really, till Ho left the wor]d. Ho has reined ever since; nay, reigned i the world, though He is hot in sensible presence in it—the visible Kin of a visible kindomfor IIe came on earth but to show what tIis rcin would be, after He had left if, and to submit to suffering and dishonour, fhat IIe uiht reign. It offert happens, fha when persons are in serious illnesses, and in delirium in consequence, or othcr disfurbance of mind, they havc some few minutes of respire iu the midst of if, when thcy are even more than them- 1 Luke ii. 51.

selves, as if to shov us whaL they really are, and to interpreL for us whaL eise woul.l be dreary. And again, some have Lhoug'ht thaL the minds or" ehihlren have on them traces of someflfing m,re than earthly, whieh fade away as lifb goes on, buL are the pronfise of whaL is intended for them hereafler. And somewhaL in this way, if" we may date compare ourselves with out g'raeious Iord, in a parallel thongh higher way, Christ. descends fo Lhe shad,»ws of this world, with the transitory tokens on Him of thaL future glory into which I[e could noL enter till IIe had sufFercd. The star burned brig»htly over Him for awhile, though if then faded away. We sec the saine law, as iL may be ealled, of Divine Providence in other cases also. Consider, for instance, hov the prospeet of our Lord's passion opens upon the Apostles in the saered history. \Vhere did they hear of if? " Moses and Elias on the mountain appeared with Him in glory, and spake of tIis deeease, which I[e should aecomplish aL Jerusalem ." ThaL is, the season of His biLLet trial n-as preceded by a short gleam of the glory which was to be, when Ho was suddenly transfig'urêd, '" and the fashion of His eountenanee v,'as altered, and His raimenL was white a«ld g'listering"-." And with this glory in prospeet., out Lord abhorred noL to die: as iL is vritten, "" XYho for the joy thaL was set belote ttim, endured fle Cross, despising" the shame." Again, Ite forewarned His Apostles thaL they in like  Luke ix. 30, 31. 2 Luke ix. 29.

8 2 The Scaso,z of E2ihany. manner should be perseeuted for righteousness' sake, and be afflieted and delivered up, and hated.and killed. Sueh was t'o be their lire in this world, "that if in this world only they had had hope in Christ, they had been of all men most' miserable ." Vell then, observe, t'heir tri.al too vas preeeded by a season of peaee and pleasantness, in:mtieipation of their future rew.ard; fiw befi»re Ihe day of Penteeost, for forty days Christ was with them, soothin , eomforting', eonfirmin them, « and speakin." of the things peoEaining unto the kin- dom of G«»d ." As 3Ioses stood on the mount' and saw the promised land and.all ifs riches,,and;}et Joshua had t'o fig'ht many battles belote he ot possession, so did t'he Apostles, before deseendin int'o the valley of the shadov of deat'h, whenee nouht of heaven was to be seen, stand upon the heights, and look over thn valley, whieh they had fo cross, fo the eity of the living God beyond if. And so ag'ain, St.. Paul, after many years of t'oil, refers baek fo a rime when he had a eelestial vision, anticipatory of what was fo be his end. "I knew a man in Christ," himself, "about fourfeen years affo, third heaven.... And I knew sueh a blessedness in the he says, meaning eaught up fo the man... how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard nnspeakable words, which if is hot lawful for a man fo utter"." St. Paul fhen, as the twelve Apostles, and as our Lord belote a 1 Cor. xv. 19.  Aets i. 3.  2 Cor. xii. 3, 4.

him, had his brief season of repose and consolation before the bttle. And 1,stly: the whole Church also may bc said to havc had, similar mcrey vouehsafed fo if af first, in anticipation of what is to bc in thc end. Vc kuow, alas, too well, that, according fo our Lord's account of if, tares are to bc with thc wheat, fish of everv kind in the net, all through ifs sojourning on earth. But in the end, "the saints shall st:md belote thc throne of God, and serve IIim day and ni'ht in IIis temple: and the Lamb shall fccd thcm, and shall lead them uuto living fountains of waters," and therc sh,qll be no more "sorrow nor pain, nor anv thin that defilcth or workcth abomination," "for without are dogs, and sorcercrs, and whoremongers, and murdcrers, and idolatcrs, and whosocver loveth and maketh a. lie." Now was not this future glo:v shadowed fbrth in that infancy of thc Church, when belbre the seal of the new dispensation was opened and trial began, "there n'as silence in hcavcn fi»r hall an honr;" md "thc disciples continued daily with ont accord in the temple, and in prayers, breaking bread from bouse to house, being of one heart, and of one soul, e,qtin" their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people; '' whih, hypocrites and "liars," likc Ananias and Sapphira, were struck dead, and "sorcercrs," like Simon, werc detectcd and denounced?  Acts il. 46, 47.

8 4 The Scasoz of Fihao'. To eonclude; let us thankfiflly cherish ail seasons of peace and joy vhich are vouchsafcd us here below. Let us beware of abusillg" thcm, and of resting in them, of forgettin. tiret they are special privilegcs, of neglecting" fo look out for t.rouble and trial, as our due and our pot- Lion. Trial is our portion here—we must hot think iL strang'e when trial cornes aLLer pcace. Still God mercifully does g'rant a respire now and then; and perlmps IIe grants iL fo us thc lnorc, thc more careful we are hot to abuse iL. For all seasons we must thank Him, for time of sorrov and finie of joy, Lime of warfare and Lime of pcace. And the more we thank Ilim for the one, the more we shall be drawn to thank Ilim for the other. Each has ils own proper ri'uit, and ils own peculiar blessedness. Yet out mortal tlesh shrinks from the one, and of itself prefers the otller;—it prefers test fo toil, peace to war, joy to sorrov, health fo pain and siekness. XVhen then Christ g'ives us what is plea.sant, let us take iL as a refreshment by the way, that we may, when God ealls, go in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nig'hts unto I[oreb, the mount of God. Let us rejoice in Epiphany with trcmbling, that aL Septuag'esima. we may g'o into thc vineyard with thc labourers with cheerfulness, and may sorrow in Lent with flmnkfnlness; let us rejoice now, hot as if we have attained, but in hope of atta.ining. Let us take our present ha.ppiness, hot as our true rest., but, as what the land of Canaan was fo the Israelites,a type and shadow of iL. If we now

Thc Scason of eajoy God's ordinances, let us they nmy prepare us for Ilis prescrite hercafter. If we eajoy the presence of frieuds, let them remind us of the communion of saints before Ilis throne. Let us trust nothing- here, yet draw hope ri'oto every thing—that length the Lord may be out evedasting- light, and days of our mournin x lnay be ended.