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1. After he had created the world. nently remarked, in reference to the Divine procedure in the creation of the world, that what was first in intention was last in execution. Man, for whom all other things were made, was himself made last. First of all-" In the beginning God created" the materials for the heavens and the earth," which were without form and void-a confused mass or chaos-until the Divine Architect separated, arranged, modified, and formed them into the firmament, or atmosphere, the sea, and the dry land.

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2. God did not create man till after he had enlightened the world. It was never the will of God that man should walk in darkness," natural, intellectual, or spiritual. Before the Lord introduced man upon the earth, he said,

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Let there be light! And there was light." And not only light, but heat, caloric or latent heat, without which no operation of nature could be carried on or perfected, and which light and heat were afterwards increased by the action of the sun's rays for on the fourth day the Creator called forth the celestial luminaries-the sun to rule the day, and the moon and stars to rule the night. The dimensions, distances, revolutions, velocity, and beauty of those heavenly bodies, are wonderful, and worthy of contemplation.

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3. The Almighty made man when he had-not only created the earth, and enlightened it, but also furnished and beautified it. The earth had been commanded " to bring forth grass, herb, yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind." The waters had been commanded "to bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." The earth was again bid "to bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind." And God blessed them, and saw that they were good, before he formed man as their possessor and governor.

II. How did God make man?

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1. When this important and interesting being was to be made, there was consultation. Let us make man in our own image!" But with whom was this consultation held? Not with angels; for although these " morning

stars' were created previously, and were present when the Almighty laid the foundations of the earth, (Job xxxviii. 4-7,) yet they were but attendants, they did but admire and rejoice, they did not perform any thing in any part of the creation, nor were they consulted on the creation of man. God here speaks to those in whose image man was made, but he was not made in the image of angels. The consultation was undoubtedly amongst the persons, subsistences or hypostases of the Godhead-Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

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2. In the formation of man there was process or handywork. When all other things were created, the Almighty said, Let them be!" and they were; but the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the earth, and therefore, "though the same kind of organization may be found in man as appears in the lower animals, yet there is a variety and complication in the parts, a delicacy of structure, a nice arrangement, a judicious adaptation of the various members to their great offices and different functions; a dignity of mien, and perfection of the whole, which are sought for in vain in all other creatures."

3. "God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," or rather, the breath of lives-animal, intellectual, and spiritual" and man became a living soul." Thus we see the soul and the body are not the same thing; the one is of the earth, the other is from God. Therefore, as Solomon says, "the dust shall return unto the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Eccles. xii. 7.

III. What did God make man?

1. He made him a creature comely and beautiful in his outward appearance. The human body is a piece of the most exquisite mechanism. We behold in its formationsymmetry, intricacy-all that is wonderful in workmanship. An examination of its parts, and the admirable skill with which they are disposed, brought Galen on his knees in humble adoration of the wisdom with which the whole is contrived, and invited him to challenge any man upon an hundred years' study to show how the least fibre or particle could have been more commodiously placed either for use or beauty!

2. Dignified in his soul, made in the image of God

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Let us make man in our image, after our likeness!" Beautiful as is the outward structure, it is not in the body, but in the soul, that we are to look for the Divine image. God is a spirit-and so is the human soul-immaterial, invisible, active, intelligent, free, immortal, and created with a capacity for divine knowledge, holiness, and righteousness, in which the image of God particularly consists. Eph. iv. 24 Col. iii. x. But observe even that Divine moral image, high, holy, perfect, excellent as it was, was only an image or likeness, it did not equal, but only resemble its High Original.

3. Princely in his office. He was the Lord's vicegerent upon earth, invested with authority and dominion to rule and govern the inferior creatures. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them: Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, &c." Ver. 28-30. 4. Probationary in his circumstance. He was created with that inherent power called liberty, and therefore, as a test of his obedience, he had a law given to him, which, however, consisted of only one single prohibition. "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." This law, however, Adam broke, and the awful consequences are deeply felt by his posterity to this day.

Our subject suggests a few reflections.

1. How happy must have been the state of man in Paradise! There was nothing within nor without to disturb ; for sin, the sole cause of unhappiness, had not yet been introduced into the world. All was enjoyment. In each breast of the innocent pair was the Divine image—holiness, goodness, love. The fruitful garden produced every thing that was wholesome and delightful, and their needful employment was their recreation and pleasure-for employment of course they had, man was never made to be idle.

2. How keenly would they feel the effects of the fall! When the glory departed-when the image of God was lost! When spiritual death began to work, how terrible would be the change! The pair--once innocent, hea

venly, spiritual and divine—now became guilty, earthly, sensual and devilish. What an alteration! How would every thing surprise and alarm them!-the sorrows of the heart-the pains of the body—the comparative sterility of the earth-the ferocity of animals-the contention of elements—the introduction of death-of murder—of fratricide-and all the evils that they lived to see.

3. How visibly do we see the effects of the fall in our world! In the vegetable kingdom, what noxious weeds and pernicious plants! In the animal kingdom, what de vouring beasts, fowls and reptiles! In the moral world, what wickedness and enmity against God! what domestic disturbances! official disputes! destructive wars! mourning and woe, lamentation and death!

4. How thankful ought we to be for the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ. "As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous!" How encouraging to the poor penitent who is struggling under the influence of original, and the load of actual sin, to hear the Redeemer say, Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out," and to know that he may find in Christ all that he lost in Adam.

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Admire man as he was in his pristine glory. Deplore him as he is in his fallen state. Seek for the restoration of the Divine image.

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THE SIGNIFICANT NAME.

MATT. i. 21.

Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.'

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THERE have been two great federal heads, or representatives of the human race; Adam, whose name denotes his earthy origin, and Jesus, whose name signifies a Saviour. Hence saith the apostle, the first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. The first Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit:" and since by man came spiritual and natural" death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead, both soul and body. For as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so

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death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." The first man was made in the image of God, but he retained that image but a short time he fell by transgression, and spiritual death was the awful consequence. He lived long enough to see its most dreadful ravages—even nine hundred and thirty years-and then died. The second man is the Lord from heaven, who was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, believed on in the world, received up into glory," where he is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins," or in other words, to save his people from their sins. Let us consider, I. The character of Jesus as a Saviour; and

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II. The process by which he saves his people from their

sins.

I. The character of Jesus as a Saviour.

1. Jesus has the ability to save his people from their sins. Sin is the transgression of the Law of God; it is therefore an infinite offence, and as such could be expiated only by an infinite atonement. Such an atonement Jesus was able to make; for he was God. He is in the Sacred Scriptures frequently called God, see Isai. ix. 6., St. John, i. 1, Rom. ix. 5, 1 Tim. iii. 16, Heb. i. 8. The attributes of God are ascribed to Jesus; for instance, Eternity, Rev. i. 10, 11; Omnipotence, Rev. i. 8; Omniscience, St. John, xxi. 17; Omnipresence, Matt. xviii. 20; Immutability, Heb. xiii. 8. The actions of God are also ascribed to Jesus Creation, St. John, i. 3; Preservation, Col. i. 17; Government, Eph. i. 20-23; Forgiveness of sins; Luke, vii. 48; Judgment of the world, St. John, v. 22. And he gave ample proof of his Divinity or Godhead while he was in the world, by the miracles which he performed, and the authority with which he spoke.

2. Jesus is competent to save his people, because he mysteriously united his Godhead with humanity, and came into the world. He did not change his Divinity for humanity, but he became Immanuel-God with us-and was in all points tempted like as we are. He was

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a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs:" and as 'without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin,"

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