But here a difficulty presents itself; not arising from any intricacy in the subject to be discussed, but from the incompetency of man to do justice to it: for who can set forth the character of Christ? It demands much of the sanctity of Jesus to comprehend his unspeakable dignity and holiness. What mind can fully embrace such a theme? And where are the hearers who are sufficiently acquainted with the gospel history? Who have studied, as they should, the records of the life of the Son of God? Our argument can only be estimated in proportion as the copious references, on which it rests, meet with the well-informed mind.

Grant me, then, at least, your attention; and may God vouchsafe to us grace to study, with a docile and impartial temper, the divine character of his wellbeloved Son!

We are first to point out the conduct of our Lord in

HIS MORE PECULIAR CHARACTER AS MEDIATOR.

This will include his deportment as the Son of God and Saviour of the world; as a divine teacher; as appearing in a state of humiliation; and promising a heavenly recompence to his disciples.

1. Observe, then, the manner in which our Lord sustained his high claims of being THE SON OF GOD AND THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD.

4

Here we may first remark, that they are not put forth ostentatiously, but only as occasions called for them. There are, indeed, explicit declarations of his exalted origin. He "called God his Father," in the sense of "making himself equal with God." He asserted, "Before Abraham was, I am.”5 But these and many similar claims sprang from the circumstances in which he was placed, and were not made for the mere purpose of asserting his own dignity. It 5 John viii. 58.

4 John v. 17, 18.

is incidentally, rather than formally, that you see divinity breaking forth. You hear him command angels and devils; you see him work miracles in his own name; you observe how he forgives sins, assumes to be greater than Solomon, replies to the thoughts of his hearers, and calls on men to believe in and honour him, even as they believed and honoured the Father.

Yet he enters into no details on these points, no explanations of the mode of his union with the Father. He leaves these to be inferred. He speaks of them with the ease and naturalness with which one, born a prince, would speak of his father's court and attendants-without surprise, without introduction, without effort, without detailed description. The invisible world, mansions in paradise, legions of angels, his own advent in glory to judge the world, are evidently matters with which he is familiar. The astonishing scene at his baptism, the spendours of the transfiguration, the various offices performed towards him by angels, the repeated testimonies from his Father by a voice from heaven, pass as matters of course, and create no extraordinary emotion, in the mind of the Son of God.

In the mean time, every thing has an evident reference to his undertaking, as the promised Messiah and Saviour of mankind. With what dignity and wisdom is all made to bear on that one object. With what majesty, and yet unaffected simplicity and compassion, did he open the book in the synagogue of Nazareth, and, having read the prophetic description of his office, declare "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. With what a mixture of authority and tenderness did he, on another occasion, claim that 66 All things were delivered to him of his Father; and that no man knew who the Son was, save the

6 Luke iv. 21.

Father, nor who the Father was, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son should reveal him ;" and then soften the claim and adapt it to the purposes of his mission, by inviting the " weary and heavy laden to come unto him for rest!" With what dignity did he call on those who applied to him, to entertain the highest thoughts of his power, to repose their faith in his word, and to expect relief in proportion to their honourable conceptions of his office and person.

And how remarkably does he mingle his own name with his Father's, his own works with his Father's, his own glory with his Father's, for the purpose of elevating and fortifying the faith of his disciples. "He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father. Whatsoever ye ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.'

I will not stop to ask whether these points sufficiently prove that our Lord sustained, in a pre-eminent manner, his high claims of being the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. You see the refulgence of his Divinity; you are compelled to recognize "his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth!"9

2. But consider our Lord's conduct as A TEACHER AND REVEALER OF THE WILL OF GOD, which formed the next part of his peculiar character as Mediator. How admirable was both the manner and the matter of his instructions!

Never was a MANNER of instruction so DIGNIFIED AND FORCIBLE, and at the same time so MILD AND

ATTRACTIVE.

7 Matt. xi. 26-28.

John xiv. 9-13; xi. 4; xvii. 5.

? John i. 14.

HOW DIGNIFIED AND FORCIBLE are his discourses! You see the messenger from heaven, the Messiah, the maker and creator of all things. He speaks with the native majesty of the Son of God. Sentences full of weight, brief aphorisms, authoritative comments on the errors of the Jews, clear and conclusive decisions on the import of the law, messages sent, and demands issued with a solemnity which penetrates the bearers, short lessons left on the minds of the crowds by whom he was surrounded; these were his methods of teaching; all most suitable to the character which Christ bore, but utterly inconsistent with every other. Even his most familiar parables breathe an innate divinity, proceed on the supposition of his union with the Father, and his glorious advent to judge the world. The simplest images and illustrations are big with hidden majesty. He is the Light of the world, the living Vine, the Bread of God, the hidden Treasure, the Pearl of unknown price, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Every idea inspires awe and reverence in the mind of the astonished hearer.

And yet, with all this dignity, how MILD AND ATTRACTIVE is his manner of teaching! Lo, he takes up young children in his arms. See, he passes softly and meekly from place to place, not "breaking the bruised reed, nor lifting up his voice in the streets." 10 Hear him condescending to the comprehensions of the populace in his most striking parables, where the implied authority and majesty are still surrounded with the utmost simplicity and attractiveness. The most obvious images clothe ideas the most important and deep. What exquisite touches are there in the parables of the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the ten virgins, the marriage feast! How intelligible and familiar are the illustrations drawn from the incidents

10 Matt. xii. 20.

of each place and time! When he gives sight to the blind, he speaks of himself as the light of the world; when little children are brought unto him, he makes them an example of humility; when he views the lilies of the field, he discourses of providence; when the produce of the earth appears before him, he bids his disciples to judge of men by their fruits; when he is seated at a feast, he speaks of the gospel entertainment; when he washes the disciples' feet, he discourses of purity of heart. Never was there a course of religious doctrines so familiar, so lovely in the manner of their being conveyed, as those of our Lord.

And why should I speak of the MATTER of them? What heart has not been affected with the GRANDEUR and yet FACILITY, the EARNESTNESS and yet WISDOM, apparent in the matter of our Saviour's doctrine ?

It was, indeed, in all the substance of it, full of GRANDEUR of the most majestic, novel, and weighty communications to man. Our divine Teacher fills and overwhelms the mind with the most sublime ideas, and pours out doctrines, which, to the ignorant and prejudiced Jews, were most surprising and strange. He unfolds the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; he displays the riches of the gospel; he assumes the position of a legislator in expounding the law; he repels the pride and traditions of the scribes and pharisees with indignation; he converses on the subject of his sufferings with prophets, lawgivers, and angels; he opens the hidden meaning of the ancient predictions; he detects all the secrets of the human heart. All is so peculiar, so elevated, so divine, as to leave an impression of grandeur and infinite excellency on the mind.

And yet no doctrine was ever so INTELLIGIBLE AND SIMPLE as to its practical bearings and its results. It was precisely level to man's comprehensions;