evidences we are passed from death unto life;—this image which Christ bears, he stamped on the hearts of his Apostles; the church being converted through their ministry having this image communicated to their souls, are called their children, for this the Apostles travailed in spirit till Christ was formed in them the hope of glory. Second, the writing in my Text is not only the image of God, but also the words of truth which these men preached,—hence Paul says in the Text, this writing was ministered by us, these words are of Divine Authority, they were first received of the Father, by the Lord Jesus in the everlasting Covenant; during our Lord’s Ministry upon the earth they were applied to the hearts of the Apostles; hence the Redeemer says, in John xvii. “I have given them the words thou gavest me, and they have believed thou didst send me.” The Saviour received the Father’s Mind and Will concerning the elect and their salvation; this was written on his heart, then copied off in the word, and afterwards wrote on the hearts of God’s Ministers, and through them conveyed to the hearts of God’s elect with power:—the Will of the Father is made known to Christ as Mediator,—the Saviour makes it known in his word by his spirit, and ministers to God’s children. Thus it appears, what is in Christ’s human nature, is to be found in all his people, and what the Father has made known to him, he has kindly revealed to us,—this appears the sense of the writing in the Text, the love of God shed abroad in the heart, and the word having an abiding place in the soul, producing its glorious fruits to his honor; these are the laws written within, not on tables of stone, which could receive no lively impression, but on the new hearts, God has promised to give his people:—I come secondly, to shew the means, “written by us.” Those who receive the truth in the love of it are compared to epistles or letters wrote which contain the mind and will of God, and it is evident there must be pen, paper, and ink. To this the Apostle alludes; here the minister is compared to a pen, to shew their meaness, their entire dependance, and that they cannot act to any good purpose only as they are led; as pens, they must be shaped, formed, cut on purpose, simple means, yet accomplishing great ends, no merit due, yet useful, pleasant, and prized as it suits the purpose, hard or soft, giving broad or fine strokes, often wants nibbing or mending, used to write on various subjects, charges, sentences, consolations, love, promises, and pardons:—this is a fit emblem of the ministers of the gospel in their different gifts, as called and qualified by the Great Head of the church. Some of the most simple, mean, and obscure characters have been employed in this service of Jesus in the great work of the ministry. Elisha, from following the plough, David, the sheep, and Amos from the herds, Peter, and the other Apostles from their fishing-boats, John Bunyan from mending