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Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

"His name shall be called Wonderful :" and in proof of this, let us contemplate a second combination

HUMILIATION.

II. A combination of GRANDEUR and Here we may trace the whole of His ministry. Nothing could have been attended with more obscurity and privation and hardship and abasement, than the circumstances of his birth. Descended from a pure virgin, born in a stable, and laid in a manger. And yet was there ever a son so honoured and dignified? At the birth of whatever other child or son did the heavens assume a new star-did wise men come from the east to worship him, with gold, frankincense and myrrh-did the angel of the Lord descend from heaven and assure the shepherds of glad tidings of great joy which should be to all people-a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will towards men?" At the birth of what other child did God say, "I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come?"

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You often find Him praying. Well, prayer argues an inferior nature; prayer is the exercise and expression always of dependence and indigence. But you find that He received adoration and prayer too, without rebuke. The apostles prayed, Lord, increase our faith." Stephen died invoking, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." As He comes into the world, "all the angels of God" (and they were commanded to do it,) "worship Him." You find Him at sea; wearied nature required repose; and He was asleep even in the storm, and it required an effort of His disciples to awaken Him from it. But He arose, stood on the deck, rebuked the wind and the waves, and said, "Peace, be still;" and there was a great calm. Unable to pay the temple tribute, He commanded a fish to furnish the money, and even mentioned the name of the coin that should be found—a denarius (this should be mentioned in our translation). He was hungry in the morning, and found no fruit on the fig-tree, and He cursed it, and in a moment it withered away.

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He was thirsty when He came to the well of Samaria; He asked for a draft of cold water: but He promised the woman the water of eternal life at the time, and said, "He that drinketh this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." When He was in the garden, He was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death;" He was sore amazed" and very heavy;" "His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground:" and yet there an angel ministered unto Him; there He healed the ear of Malchus, which had been cut off; there, when the Roman guard approached to apprehend Him, He presented Himself, and only said, "I am He," and they went backward, and fell to the ground. He sends forth the seventy disciples without purse, or scrip, or shoe; and yet at the same time He gave them power over unclean spirits, and to cast out devils, and to heal the sick; and assured them that they should tread upon live adders and serpents, and that nothing should by any means hurt them. He "crucified through weakness;" well, allow this weakness; yet, at the same time, what grandeur was displayed! The earth shakes; the heavens rend; the veil of the temple is rent in twain from the top to the bottom; the graves are opened, the dead are raised, and appear to many in the city; the sun hides his face in darkness; the centurion, watching there, exclaims, "Truly this was the Son of God;" the dying thief addresses Him as if He had been upon His throne, and says, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom;" and He says, "This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise ;" and as many as came together to that sight, beholding it, smote their breasts and returned. He descends into the lowest parts of the earth; He is entombed ; but again the earth rends, and the angel of the Lord comes down, and sits upon the stone of the sepulchre, his face like lightning, his raiment white as snow; his looks make cowards of the Roman veterans, who had made the world to tremble, and they flee; and He undresses Himself from His grave clothes, and wraps up the napkin that was about His

was

head, and lays it in a place by itself, and opens the door, and comes out-the Resurrection and the Life!

"His name shall be called "WONDERFUL:" and in illustration of this, let us behold Him in a third combination

fering. Here is a mystery, which would indeed be a contradiction and a blasphemy, unless we could add another mystery to it, namely, that of substitution-that which arises from His interposition in our behalf, and saying, "Deliver from going down into the pit, I have found a ransom." Oh! He snatched us away from the stroke, and placed Himself in our room, and bore our sins in His own body upon the tree. He once suffered for sins, "the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." He was "made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."

"His name shall be called WONDERFUL:" and in proof of this, let us survey in Him a fourth combination—

now

IV. A combination of WEAKNESS and EFFICIENCY. This regards His instrumentality and His agency—the weakness of the one, and the efficiency of the other.

III. A combination of INNOCENCY and SUFFERING. "The righteous Lord loveth righteousness: His favour doth behold the upright." He has set sin and happiness upon eternal variance; and He has united, as Lord Bacon expresses it, sin and sorrow by an adamantine chain. "The soul," says He, "that sinneth, it shall die ""The wicked shall not stand in His sight:" "He hateth all workers of iniquity." Well, I look at Him, and I see a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;" He "had not where to lay His head." I hear Him saying Himself, "Behold and see if ever there was sorrow like unto My sorrow, wherewith the Lord has afflicted Me in the day of His fierce anger." I see other sufferers suffering only in some part; He suffers in every Now let us go back at once to the part capable of passion. I I see other beginning of Christianity: and here we sufferers suffering sometimes; He suffers shall find the greatest work to be accontinually, from the manger to the complished with means the most inadecross. Other sufferers know not before-quate to the purpose. What a thing was hand what they have to endure; He saw the end from the beginning--all was spread before Him. They had some to sympathise with them, and to soothe their sorrows, if they could not remove them; but He looked for this in vain; He looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comfort, but He found

none.

Well, if suffering be the offspring of sin, what a sinner must He be! Nay, "in Him was no sin; He did no evil, neither was guile found in His mouth;' He was

"the Holy One of God," "the holy child Jesus." He said of the multitude, "Which of you convinceth Me of sin?" When the prince of this world came, he "found nothing in Him." Judas said, "I have betrayed innocent blood." Pilate washed his hands and said, "I have condemned a just man.” My God, where are we now, then? Where is the God of judgment? Is there no righte

ousness in our world-none in His dispensations? Does He punish the righte- | ous with the wicked, and as the wicked, and more than the wicked? Here is a mystery; here is a combination of the greatest innocency and the greatest suf

it, to establish the kingdom of God in a world lying in wickedness-to establish the Gospel dispensation, and to extend it! Its doctrines seemed unaccountable to human reason; its motives, being spiritual, could not operate upon carnal minds for want of congeniality; its duties required the destruction of every evil passion; and the profession of it was sure to expose the man to reproaches, losses, exile, imprisonment and death. What had they to overcome? They had to overcome the edicts of emperors, the persecution of magistrates, the subtilty of philosophers, the craftiness and covetousness of priests, the profligacy of the common people. He orders a beginning to be made; but He does not act like other agents, who enlarge their design, and go on as they find success, and as opportunities increase upon them, but He thought of nothing else from the very first than subduing all nations to the obedience of the faith. He therefore said to His apostles, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature, teaching all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teach

simplest allegory which was ever composed, it was to be written, not by a bishop, but by a Bunyan, taken from the lowest condition of life. If the Scriptures are to be translated into the various languages in the East, God does not call for a first rate scholar from the University, but goes and fetches a Carey from the humble craft of shoemaking. So it has always more or less been-this combination of weakness and efficiency; weakness as to the instrument, and efficiency as to Him who employs them.

ing them to observe all things whatsoever |
1 have commanded you: and lo, I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the
world." And who were they? They
were not fetched from the schools of
Greece or Rome, but from the lake of
Galilee. They had no power to compel,
they had no riches to bribe, they had no
learning to perplex, they had no eloquence
to persuade and yet see how the Word
of the Lord increases and multiplies, how
it goes forward, how it is immediately em-
braced, not by a few,but many; not by men
of one description, but of every description.
Soon churches are formed throughout all
Samaria and Galilee and Judea; and
soon the Gospel reaches the boundaries
of the unwieldy Roman empire; and the
apostle could say when he wrote his
epistle to the Colossians, "The hope
which is laid up for you in heaven,
whereof ye heard before in the word of
the truth of the Gospel, which is come
unto you, as it is in all the world; and
bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you,
since the day ye heard of it, and knew
the grace of God in truth." Why, it
was "the Lord's doing;" but how "mar-
vellous in our eyes!" It was thus He
"stilled the enemy and the avenger;"
and thus "out of the mouths of babes and
sucklings" He chose to "perfect praise."
Other agents would gain admiration by
the excellency and competency of the
means and instruments they employ; but
His praise springs entirely from their
weakness and their unfitness. This was
typified by the barley cake of Gideon,"
which tumbled into the host of the
Amalekites, and overthrew a tent.
was typified by the ram's horns, which
were blown at Jericho, and produced the
falling of the walls; and by the sling and
the stone, by which David killed the
terror of the day. So it was, this "trea-
sure" was "in earthen vessels"-for
why? "That the excellency of the
power might" appear to "be of God and
not of men."

This

It has been the same, more or less, ever since. When the nations were to be reformed from Popery, the head of the Catholic Church was not converted; but Luther, a poor monk in a cell, who set off, just like the early dawn, with a few rays about his path, but was as "the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day." If religion was to be delineated in the first and

VOL. XIII.

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So it is often found now, as to personal experience. A man goes by a place of worship, and turns in from mere curiosity; but he is "known of all, and judged of all," and says, "God is in the midst of you of a truth." A man takes up a tract, which he finds dropped on the road, and reads it, and is pricked to the heart. An accident befalls him, and he reflects; a dream terrifies him, and he is led to pray. Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living." While, on the other hand, a man shall hear a Massillon or a Saurin, with all their eloquence, and all their powers of reasoning, in vain. The most likely means are nothing, unaccompanied by the energy of God; and the most unlikely means are available when He is pleased to employ them. Then the minister shall not labour in vain; then the Word shall not be in vain, but shall produce all the good pleasure of His goodness."

"His name shall be called WONDERFUL" and in proof of this let us survey a fifth combination

V. A combination of TENDERNESS and SEVERITY. He was at once, as the apostle says, 66 a merciful and a faithful High Priest." Now, observe, both these attributes were to be exemplified in Him, and both these qualities appear in all their strength in His personal ministry, in His dealings with men in the days of His flesh. David therefore says, referring to this combination, "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish by the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little; blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." But hear how He himself in one of these prophecies combinethem: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath

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anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn." Here you find both these displayed by Him. It is impossible to do justice to His tenderness. His heart was made of tenderness; His bowels melted with love; His love passeth knowledge. He was to "come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth :" and did He not? It was foretold of Him, "A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench, till He shall bring forth judgment unto victory:" and did He not? when He said, in language soft as the ether of heaven, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young:" did He not thus, when He taught His disciples as they were able to bear; and when He said to Peter, "Feed My lambs?"

But oh! see Him as His forerunner also describes Him (and more of which you will hear in the evening of the day); "His fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into His garner; but the chaff will He burn with unquenchable fire." Observe Him in dealing with the Scribes and Pharisees; and observe that He uses no such severity with any other characters it was only with the saints of the day, with those wretches who made such pretensions to religion that the poor common people were deluded, and were accustomed to say, that if two persons entered heaven, one of them must be a Pharisee. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Fill ye up, then, the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" How did John see

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Him in his vision? Why, as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, also as 66 a Lamb that had been slain." What a combination of gentle fulness and dreadfulness does this express! He has patience, but He does not connive at sin. Go forward to the last scene; see the heavens rolling together as a scroll, and every mountain and hill moving out of their place. "The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

"His name shall be called WONDERFUL" and in proof of this let us survey Him in one more combination

VI. A combination of EVIDENCE AND

OBSCURITY-PLAINNESS AND DIFFICULTY.

You must admit (for these are to be exemplified in His present administration)— you must acknowledge, if you believe the Scriptures, that our world is now under His empire. "All power in heaven and in earth," said He," is given into My hands." Angels, principalities, and powers, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come, are made subject unto Him, says the apostle. He says also, "He is head over all things to His body, the church." And He said himself, "Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given Him." So that you see, He has universal empire for a specific purpose-to effectuate the relief, the comfort, and the complete salvation of His people. All resources, therefore, are under His controul, and at His disposal. But if this be the case, how is it, then, that a cause which He infinitely loves makes such slow progress, and that it is attended with such inconsiderable success? If this be the case, how is it, that the church, which He infinitely delights in, should often "for His sake be killed all the day long," and be " counted like sheep for the slaughter?" How is it, then, that those whom He has loved with an everlasting love, for whom He has shed His own blood, and whom

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He is leading to glory-how is it that they should be poor, and afflicted, and oppressed; while their enemies prosper in the world, and increase in riches, and are not chastened as other men, nor plagued like other men, and have no bands in their death, and their strength standeth firm? Ah! my brethren, this is what we referred to; this is evidence and ob- | scurity, plainness and difficulty. We must stand on the shore here, and exclaim with the apostle, "Oh! the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments! and His ways past finding out!"

But we must hasten to conclude, by observing

Almighty unto perfection." Christians are now walking by faith, and not by sight; and this "wonderful" Being therefore is continually saying to them now, "What I do, ye know not now, but ye shall know hereafter." And therefore

3. Look forward to that period, when you will have the finest and clearest perceptions of this truth, when He shall come to be "glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." They admire him now; but how much more will they admire Him then! For though now, and in other cases, ignorance is the cause of wonder, yet here knowledge is the cause; and the more we know, the more we shall admire; because He is not 1. How necessary it is for us to go to only perfect, but infinite, and therefore the Scriptures for the name of our Re- there will be always room to expand; we deemer not to the opinions of men! shall always be discovering more and Why, one of them, if we did, would tell us more, and therefore honour and admire that He is an angel; another would tell Him the more. Then will come what is us that He is a man, a mere man, de- called in the Scriptures, "the revelation scended from Joseph as well as Mary. At of Jesus Christ." He "shall appear in last, a few years ago, Belsham came for glory," says an apostle. We shall "see ward and told us that His nature was Him" then "as He is." Then His work peccable; then' came Mr. Irving, to tell will be finished; then the object will be us that His nature was sinful too. But unveiled to our view. Then we shall see would such a being as this be entitled to clearly how all that He did here harmoall the glories of our text? Would such a nized with the truth of His Word, how all being as this justify the prediction, "His conduced to the welfare of His people. name shall be called WONDERFUL?" It is Now He often seems to forget them, to true, that there is something wonderful in neglect them, nay, sometimes even to be all God's works, in the least of them all, fighting against them. How adverse and they all praise Him; and even in our were the events that befell Joseph! how own structure there is much to admire; unlikely did they seem to fulfil the assurwe are "fearfully and wonderfully made;" ance which had been given him of his but He is 66 fairer than the children of exaltation! And yet, by and bye, the men;" He is "anointed with the oil of whole was explained, and he could say, gladness above His fellows;" He is "all"He hath done all things well." So and in all."

2. Let us not be surprised, if sometimes we should be required to exercise implicit confidence in such a Being, and be compelled to trust in Him, even in the dark. Is it to be supposed, that every thingwhich such a Being, such a "wonderful" Being as this, does in the church, and in the world, in families, and with regard to individuals, should be level to our capacity? He who will believe no more than he can comprehend, must have either a very little creed, or a very large capacity; for what is there that a man can completely comprehend? But we are sure that he cannot comprehend here; we are sure that no man 66 can by searching find out God, that no man can find out the

will it be with you, Christians; "when Messias, who is called Christ, shall come, He will tell you all things;" and then you will be enabled not only to see the wisdom and the rectitude and the goodness of His dispensations to your satisfaction, but to His eternal praise. You will be saying with Moses, "God is a rock: His work is perfect; His ways are judgment: a God of truth, and without iniquity; just and right is He:"-and with the adoring throng, "Marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, O Thou King of saints."

Let His people remember Him in their measure and degree. They are "predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first

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