THE
TITLES OF OUR LORD
ADOPTED BY HIMSELF
IN THE
NEW TESTAMENT.
BY
J. MONTAGU RANDALL,
VICAR OF LANGHAM, NORFOLK.
"I am the door." -JOHN x. 9.
PHILADELPHIA:
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION,
No. 821 CHESTNUT STREET.








PREFACE.
THE circumstances under which this little work
has been prepared, will, it is hoped, bespeak in its
favour the indulgence of the religious public. Nearly
blind, the author has been unable to consult many
books, which would have afforded him important
assistance. The whole has been written in pencil
in a chiragon,* and afterwards transcribed with the
greatest care. Only those who, like the author,
have written consecutive paragraphs which they
could not read, can realize the increase of labour
occasioned by the loss of sight. As a thank-offering to his heavenly Father for unnumbered mercies,
he has been anxious to cast his mite into the treasury of the Church of Christ, and he fervently
prays that it may please the Lord Jesus to accompany its perusal with his effectual blessing.
LANGHAM, September 1858.
* An instrument used by the blind to guide the hand in
writing.
(3)








CONTENTS.
PAGN
1. INTRODUCTION..........,...,..............................  7
II. I AM.-John viii. 58.......................................  12
III. ALPHA AND OMEGA.-ReV. i. 8................................  27
IV. JESUS.-Acts ix. 5.............................................  44
V. MESSIAS.-John iv. 25, 26.......................................  62
vi. THE SON OF GoD.-John ix. 35-37; and THE SON OF MAN.
-Matt. xvi. 13.............................................  81
VuI. THE BREAD OF LIFE.-John vi. 48..........................  96
VIII. THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.-John viii. 12...................... 113
Ix. THE DOOR.-John x. 9............................................ 131
x. THE GOOD SHEPHERD.-John X. 11................................ 147
XI. THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.-John xi. 25, 26......... 164
xII. MASTER AND Lord.-John xiii. 13............................. 184
xIII. THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.-John xiv. 6......... 200
xIv. THE VINE.-John xv. 1............................................ 218
xv. THE MORNING-STAR.-ReV. xxii. 16.............................. 235
1*                                                   (5)








THE TITLES OF OUR LORD
ADOPTED BY HIMSELF
IN THE
NEW TESTAMENT.
INTRODUCTION.
IT has been computed that there are more than
one hundred glorious names and titles of our blessed
Lord in the Scriptures: none present so instructive
and interesting a group as those which he has been
pleased to assume to himself in the New Testament.
We have read of an ancient city celebrated for its
hundred gates: the names of Jesus Christ are like
so many gates, through which we are invited to
enter and contemplate the graces and the glories
of his character. The city of God, the New Jerusalem, is described in the visions of John as having
twelve gates, and it is added that "every several
gate was of one pearl," Rev. xxi. 21. We are thus
taught that our only way of acceptance with God
is through Jesus Christ; that he is accessible to
penitent sinners in all parts of the world; that
(7)




8         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
from whatever quarter we look upon him, we behold
a blessed and precious unity in his character:
"every gate is of one pearl."
If we consider the names and titles which Christ
has assumed to himself, we shall soon discover that
the idea which pervades them all is that of relationship towards, and solicitude for, his believing people.
By his Divine perfections, as our Creator, and by
experimental contact, Jesus Christ knows us through
and through. "He needeth not that any should
testify of man: for he knows what is in man."
"He knoweth our frame: he remembereth that we
are dust." He is, moreover, a Saviour perfectly
adapted to our necessities, the very Friend we need.
And it is a proof of his grace and mercy, that when
he speaks of himself, and unfolds to us his own
character and attributes, he speaks to our very
hearts, and assumes the very attributes and qualifications which will commend him the most to our
confidence and gratitude. Is not the name of
"Jesus" a balm for every wound, a cordial for our
fear?  Is he not the "Christ," anointed of the
Father to preach the gospel to the poor? Is he
not the "bread of life" for our famishing souls?
Is he not the "light" of this dark, sorrow-stricken
world? Is he not the "door" by which we may




INTRODUCTION.               9
enter into his fold of peace, liberty, and joy? And
is he not the "good Shepherd" who gave his life
for his sheep? With what sympathy does he speak
to the bereaved and desolate, when he calls himself
"the resurrection and the life!"  With what care
for our real happiness does he give his own example
to our imitation, and charge us to follow him as our
"'Lord and Master!"  Where, in such few words,
can we find a more complete unfolding of his character than when he says of himself, "I am the way,
the truth, and the life?"  Can any image set forth
more vividly our dependence upon him, and the
fulness of the grace in him for us, than that of the
"true vine?"  "We are saved by hope."  Can
anything be more cheering than to hear him say to
us at the close of the sacred volume, "I am the
bright and morning star?"
In all these titles there is nothing of self-exaltation, for the "Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister" consolation and grace
to his followers. Even in the august name "I Am,"
though he claimed the prerogatives of Jehovah, yet
its simplicity and brevity are quite as striking as
its majesty and mystery.  And when he called
himself "Alpha and Omega," it was for the comfort of his afflicted church, and to assure his suffer



10        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
ing servants to the end of time, that as he had been
the "Author," so he would also be the "Finisher
of their faith."
The names of the Lord Jesus are real things,
not a mere pageant or an empty sound; but what
Christ calls himself that he is. Among men, titles
are frequently bestowed which are undeserved;
Christ has a pre-eminent right to every title assigned
to him in the Bible, but no title does justice to him.
He is what it implies, but more; more than all combined, yea, combined in their best state; and infinitely more. He is not only perfect, but Divine.
Among men, names and titles are chiefly a benefit
to the person who enjoys them.  The titles of
Christ are the glory and salvation of his redeemed.
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the
righteous runneth into it, and is safe."
Names are frequently redolent with fragrant
memories. What pleasant associations did Bethel,
the hill Mizar, and the river Chebar furnish to
Jacob, David, and Ezekiel! How dear to recollection are the names of places where some auspicious
event has occurred, some unexpected relief has
been experienced, some peculiar and never-to-beforgotten answer to prayer has been vouchsafed!
With what satisfaction do our thoughts linger around




INTRODUCTION.              11
the name of a revered parent, a spiritual counsellor
or friend, who, though removed, yet seem to speak
to us from day to day! If all this be true in regard
to earthly scenes and friendships, how much more
does it obtain of that "Friend who loveth at all
times," and that "Brother born for adversity!"
To the devout Christian, the names and titles of
Christ are as "ointment poured forth;" he has
"sat down under" the Redeemer's "shadow with
great delight, and his fruit was sweet to his taste."
As he reviews the path by which he has been led,
he can point to seasons of high and holy communion,
when the names of Jesus have been applied by the
Holy Ghost with tranquillizing and satisfying
power; and thus, "fitly spoken" to his inmost soul
by the Divine Comforter, they have been like
" apples of gold in pictures of silver."
May the unction of the Holy One accompany
our feeble endeavour to explore the treasures of the
names of Jesus, and make it effectual in promoting
the consolation of his believing people.




12        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
"I AM."
" Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am."-JoHN viii. 58.
THE clouds of a retreating storm are often fringed
with the brightest light, and their silver edges look
like doors opening into Paradise.  "When the
night is drearest, the morn is nearest." It is the
glory of God to bring the greatest good out of the
greatest evil, and to make the darkest sorrow to be
the harbinger of the deepest joy.
Never did blasphemy put on a haughtier front
than when the Jews said to the Son of the Blessed,
"Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil;" and
never were meekness and majesty more sweetly
blended than in the Saviour's reply, "I have not a
devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is
one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never
see death." Upon this the Jews repeat their awful




I AM.                  13
blasphemy: "Now we know that thou hast a devil.
Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste
of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead:
whom makest thou thyself?  Jesus answered, If I
honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me, of whom ye say that he is
your God: yet ye have not known him; but I know
him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall
be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep
his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see
my day: and he saw it, and was glad."
We need not pause here to inquire what was the
measure of evangelical light enjoyed by the ancient
patriarchs; neither can we decide what was the
special occasion on which Abraham rejoiced in the
prospect of the day of Christ. Was it when Melchisedec, one "like unto the Son of God," met him
returning from his victorious war? Was it when
he entertained the Divine stranger, who visited
him with the two angels, and who gave him the
promise of a son, and with whom he interceded in
behalf of Sodom? Did he realize in the expulsion
of the bondwoman and her son an allegory, radiant
with gospel promises and gospel peace? Or was it
2




14        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
when he was directed by the voice of God from heaven to offer the ram instead of his son, and when
the promise of the blessing of the nations through
his Seed was confirmed in the most solemn manner,
and when he "called the name of that place Jehovahjireh," saying, "In the mount of the Lord it shall
be seen?" We do not know what was the special
occasion to which Jesus referred, when he said,
"'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day:
and he saw it, and was glad." But we know that
the ancient believers looked forward with eager
faith and hope to the advent of Christ in the flesh,
even as we look back upon his advent as the one
foundation for our acceptance and peace. They
built their faith upon the promise of a Saviour who
was yet to come; we build our faith upon the fulfilment of that promise in the Saviour who has come.
Abraham rejoiced, his very heart leaped for joy and
eagerness of holy desire for the day of Christ; and
we are taught to look for and hasten unto the day
of his glory, when "he shall appear the second
time without sin unto salvation." The first advent
of Jesus is the centre of our faith; and his second
advent is the centre of our hope. Round these two
foci of the grand ellipse, so to speak, of the Christian system, the thoughts and purposes of God,




I AM.                   15
and the hopes and the destinies of man, are speeding onwards to their final realization.
"Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou
seen Abraham?" Such was the rejoinder of the
Jews, marked by unbelief and surprise. The incarnate Saviour was only thirty-three, according to
the years of his humiliation in the flesh; but care
and sorrow, and sympathy for man, had furrowed
his features with the lineaments of age: " His visage
was so marred more than any man, and his form
more than the sons of men." Jesus said unto
them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am." Thus were the unbelief and
blasphemy of the Jews a platform, on which Jesus
manifested his own Divine glory. Never had blasphemy so awful occasioned a confession so sublime
and replete with consolation and instruction.
Let us draw near with humble reverence, and
contemplate the glorious title which the Lord Jesus
has been pleased to assume: "Before Abraham was,
I am." Not before Abraham was, I was, as some
critics interpret it; this would only imply the preexistence of Christ, and not necessarily his Deity.
Nor is there any ground for the cold interpretation
of the Socinian, who reads the passage, "Before
Abraham was, I am," that is, I was appointed to




16        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
be the Messiah, the Teacher and Exemplar sent
from God. Here, indeed, is partial truth, but not
the sublime truth of the text; for, by a striking and
peculiar form of expression, Jesus claims to himself the name which God appropriated when he
said to Moses, "'I Am that I Am: thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me
unto you." God had revealed himself to the patriarchs as " God Almighty," but by his name Jehovah he was not generally known to them. Now he
assumed a name even more significant and comprehensive than Jehovah, "I Am that I Am."  And
when the Lord Jesus claimed this title, nothing
could be more clear than that, in so doing, he claimed
all the prerogatives and attributes of Deity.
"I Am."  This title teaches us the self-existence
of Christ.  The creature is a dependent being;
God alone is independent and self-existent.  We
depend more or less upon each other. "The king
himself is served by the field." No man, except
in pride and arrogance, can say, "I am." Only
the Great First Cause of all has a right to say, "I
am God, and there is none else."  Marvellous indeed are the manifestations of his almighty power.
If on some winter's night we lift up our eyes, and
"'consider the heavens, the moon and the stars,




I AM.                  17
which he has ordained," the number, distance, and
magnitude of those magnificent orbs; and the conclusion-apparently so irresistible-from  analogy,
and from the benevolence and wisdom of God, that
these worlds are all inhabited by intelligent creatures who exalt their Maker's praise; if from this
high study we turn our attention to our own tiny
ball, and reflect upon the countless tenants of earth,
and air, and sea; and then meditate upon our own
mental and physical constitution, we shall form
some poor and inadequate idea of the self-existence
and power of God, and we shall exclaim with the
psalmist, "Great is our Lord, and of great power:
his understanding is infinite."
When Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am,"
he claimed the Divine attribute of self-existence.
All power is his in heaven and earth. "By him
all things were created." "In him was life." In
perfect harmony with these testimonies, we find
that in the performance of his miracles, he exercised supreme, almighty, and independent power.
To the suppliant leper he said, "I will, be thou
clean;" and the leprosy, curable by God alone, was
immediately cleansed. Under his feet the surging
billows of the sea of Galilee became a solid pavement, on which he walked to the relief of his terri2 *




18        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
fied disciples. Three instances are recorded of Jesus
raising the dead: an only son, an only daughter,
and an only brother. In all of these Christ spoke
with authority as the great "I Am."  "Young man,
I say unto thee, Arise."  "Talitha cumi."' Lazarus, come forth." His own resurrection was in his
own power. "No man taketh my life from me,
but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay
it down, and I have power to take it again." How
consoling is the thought of Christ's almighty power!
Jesus, the great "I Am," is able to save to the
uttermost all that come to God by him.  "He is
able to keep that which we have committed unto
him against that day." "Is anything too hard for
the Lord?"  Art thou harassed by temptation,
oppressed with trials, besieged by spiritual enemies?
Rest upon his word; comfort and encourage yourself
in him. "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, I will
help thee."  "Thou art small," but "thou shalt
thresh the mountains," yea, thou shalt be more than
conqueror through Him who has loved thee.
This glorious name implies the unchangeableness
of God, "I Am that I Am." Change is written
upon everything earthly. The flower, the fruit, the
grass wither and perish. Man himself " continueth
not in one stay." The infant, the child, the youth,




I AM.                  19
the man, the grave, all remind us of our changing
condition. But our God is immutable.  "I am the
Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob
are not consumed." "The Strength of Israel will
not lie, nor repent: for he is not a man, that he
should repent." Place a cube where and how you
will, and it will always present the same front.
Analyse a portion of air from the summit of }Mont
Blanc, or from one of the crowded lanes of London,
and it always contains the same proportion of its
primary elements. Our God is ever the same. The
billows of a thousand generations may sweep over
the rock, but the rock is steadfast.  "God is our
Rock, his work is perfect;" "From  everlasting to
everlasting he is God;" his purpose and counsel
shall stand, and the thoughts of his heart from generation to generation.
Jesus Christ is an unchangeable Saviour. He
calls himself "I Am."  He is "the same yesterday,
and to-day, and for ever."  Mark the quotation
which Paul makes from Psalm  ci. 24, 25, in the
first chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, "To
the Son he saith, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast
laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens
are the works of thine hands: they shall perish;
but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as




20        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold
them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art
the same, and thy years shall not fail." The love
of God is an everlasting love.  "Yea, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee;" and those whom
Jesus loves, he loves unto the end. Iis "sheep
shall never perish," neither shall any one pluck
them out of his hand.  "Can a woman forget her
sucking child, that she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget,
yet will I not forget thee."  The names of his
penitent and believing people are inscribed upon
his heart, and, like the jewels in the ephod, are presented by him before his Father with an everlasting
remembrance.
There is, moreover, implied in this name the unfathomable mystery of God's being and character.
"I Am that I Am."  "Canst thou by searching
find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
to perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst
thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?"
In the 77th Psalm we read two remarkable statements; in the 19th verse, "Thy way is in the sea,
and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps
are not known." There is a depth in the dispensa



I AM.                  21
tions of God, and specially with his own children,
which eternity alone can disclose.  But in his
mercy, he has not left us altogether without a clue:
"Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary," we read
in the 13th verse: " who is so great a God as our
God?" Yes, Christian, in thine hours of sorrow,
wait upon the Lord in the sanctuary, honour him in
his own appointed ordinance; and when thou hast
fully and unreservedly opened thy heart to thy
Father, he may be pleased to cast a ray of his sunshine into thy soul, and to open a little of his dealings with thee; he will reveal to thee as much as
thou canst receive here, and more than enough to
cover thine unbelief with shame, and to humble
thee before him in the deepest confidence, adoration, and love. It was so with Asaph: his perplexity was the prosperity of the wicked.  How
was this problem solved? When he "went into the
sanctuary of God, then understood he their end."
And has not many a child of God echoed the language of Asaph from the depth of his heart? "So
foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before
thee.  Nevertheless I am continually with thee:
thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt
guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive
me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee?




22         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
and there is none upon earth that I desire beside
thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is
the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."
Even in the day of his humiliation, there was frequently deep mystery in the dispensations of Christ.
With what apparent roughness and severity did he
exercise the woman of Canaan! How mysterious,
for a little season, were his dealings with the woman
of Samaria! How strange to the two sisters must
his delay of two days have appeared! "Jesus loved
Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.  When he
heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days
still in the same place where he was." "But wisdom
is justified of her children." And however mysterious the ways of Christ may for a time appear, we
shall acknowledge that we have been led by the
right way, and that all the paths of the Lord are
mercy and truth, and "that not one thing hath
failed of the good things which the Lord our God
hath spoken; all are come to pass, not one thing
hath failed thereof."
All-sufficiency is also implied in this glorious
name, "I Am that I Am."  That great Being, who
is self-existent in himself, is all-sufficient for us. To
teach this, he simply says, "I am."  Bishop Beveridge makes a fine remark on this part of our sub



I AM.                  23
ject: -"When the Lord speaks of himself with
regard to his creatures, and especially his people,
he calls himself'Jehovah-I Am that I Am,' Ex.
iii. 14. We should understand this of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of God the Holy
Ghost, one God. He does not say, I am their light,
their life, their tower, their strength; but only'I
am.' He sets his hand, as it were, to a blank, that
his people may write under it what they please, that
is for their good. As if he should say,'Are they
weak? —Iam strength.  Are they sick?-I- am
health. Are they in trouble?-I am comfort. Are
they poor?-I am riches. Are they dying? —I am
life. Ilave they nothing?-I am all things. lam
justice and mercy. Iam grace and goodness. I
am glory, beauty, holiness, eminency, supremacy,
perfection, all-sufficiency, eternity-Jehovah. lam
whatsoever is suitable to their nature, or convenient
for them in their several conditions. I am whatsoever is amiable in itself, or desirable to their souls.
Whatever is pure and holy, whatever is great and
pleasant, whatever is good, and needful to make
them happy, that I am." So that, in short, God
here represents himself unto us as one universal
good;. and leaves us to make the application to ourselves, according to our several wants, capacities,




24        THIE TITLES OF'OUR LORD.
and desires; he saying, only in the general —"I
am."
To the pious Israelite this name would speak volumes of consolation. Was Pharaoh a haughty and
imperious monarch, whose will was law, and whose
frown was death? Had he at his bidding innumerable hordes of soldiers; and were the Israelites a
nation of slaves, whose spirit was crushed and broken
by grievous bondage? Still the God of the Hebrews
was the great "I Am," of infinite and almighty
power to subdue their proud tyrants, and to bring
them out with a mighty hand and a stretched-out
arm into a "land flowing with milk and honey."
God had been pleased to enter into covenant with
their fathers, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and
his name assured them that he was unchangeably
faithful to his covenant engagement, and would perform his promise and his oath to a thousand generations. Did it frequently appear to them a hopeless,
an almost impossible matter that they should be delivered from their galling bondage? could they suggest no plan for a safe and successful departure from
Egypt?  What then? their God was "I Am that I
Am." His understanding was infinite: what was
hard and intricate to man, was easy and simple to
God; all events were under his control; all means




I AM.                   25
at the disposal of his perfect and unerring wisdom.
The Israelites might therefore trust and not be afraid;
the great "I Am" was with them, and liberty and
prosperity welcomed them forward.
Let Christians rejoice in their adorable Saviour.
He is the "Mighty God," of unchangeable love and
exhaustless resources of wisdom and grace. Your
enemies, 0 ye humble followers of the Lamb, may
be subtle, powerful, and malicious. Satan and his
legions, the world and its opposing seductions, the
traitor within and your remaining corruptions, may
all unite to obstruct your progress.  But "rejoice
in the Lord," rejoice in the almighty power of your
blessed Redeemer, rejoice and fear not, for "greater
is ile that is with you, than all they who are against
you." He has ever linked your cause with his own
by a "covenant, ordered in all things and sure."
He has given unto you "precious promises," suited
to your every need in the wilderness, and his word
cannot be broken; his counsel shall stand; his covenant shall be graciously accomplished in the complete and final salvation of all his true people. Your
path may be rough and thorny: it was even so with
him, the "Man of sorrows;" your path may be
hedged up; mountains of difficulty, seas of opposition, and hosts of enemies may encompass you, and
3




26        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
threaten your destruction; but your "Redeemer is
mighty," and his wisdom is infinite. He loves to
surprise his people. The deeper your troubles, the
darker your prospects, the more formidable your
enemies, the more entirely your way appears to be
shut up, the more there seems to be a sentence of
death written upon every means of escape, the more
triumphantly and unexpectedly will He appear for
your relief and succour.
Banish, then, every fear to the winds. Put the
whole trust of your mind and heart in Jesus, the
great "I am." Wait upon him, honour him, love
him, obey him. "At evening time it shall be light."
"'He turneth the shadow of death into the morning."




ALPHA AND OMEGA.               27
"ALPHA AND OMEGA."
c am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith
the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the
Almighty." —REv. i. 8.
"ALPHA" is the first letter, and "Omega" the
last letter in the Greek alphabet.  By uniting these
two in one appellation, Jesus Christ illustrates the
eternity of his Divine nature.
To escape from this proof of the Deity of Jesus,
it has been said, that the words which stand at the
head of this chapter are the words, not of the Son,
but of the Father. The seventh verse plainly
speaks of the second coming of Jesus "with clouds,
when every eye shall see him." The inspired apostle
-and all true believers echo his prayer —says,
"Even so, Amen."  "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
To assure the faithful disciple of the certainty of
his coming, Jesus says, "I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the ending," the Creator of the
world, and its final Judge. In this view, the whole




2$t       TIE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
connection is easy and natural; and, but for a special object, we think no one would have hazarded
the opinion that the speaker of these words was God
the Father. Further, there can be no question
that the speaker in verse 11 is the Lord Jesus; "I
am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,
what thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto
the seven churches which are in Asia." For when
John turned to see who addressed him, he beheld
"'one like unto the Son of man." The manifestation of his heavenly glory so oppressed him with
fear, that he tells us in the 17th verse, "When I
saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his
right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I
am the first and the last." And he adds, "I am
he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am
alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of
hell and of death." In the second chapter, verse
8th, we read, "Unto the angel of the church in
Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the
last, which was dead, and is alive." Most plainly,
then, is the crucified and risen Saviour the same
person as "the first and the last."  Again, in Revelation xxi. 6, after a description of the heavenly
felicity, the Lord Jesus says, "It is done. I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end;"




ALPHA AND OMEGA.              29
and a promise is subjoined which identifies the
speaker at once; "I will give unto him that is
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."
For we read in John vii. 37, "In the last day, that
great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and
drink." And in Rev. xxii. 13, "I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last," the context proves that the speaker is Jesus
Christ.
We have thus referred to these six passages in
the book of Revelation, because, taken together,
they prove that our Lord assumes the attribute of
eternity, and because we wish to consider three testimonies in the book of the prophet Isaiah, in juxtaposition with these remarkable passages.
In Isaiah xli. 4, Jehovah inquires, "Who hath
wrought and done it, calling the generations from
the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the
last; I am he." In Isaiah xliv. 6, "Thus saith the
Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord
of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and
beside me there is no God."  And in xlviii. 12,
"Hearken unto me, 0 Jacob and Israel, my called;
I am he; I am the first, I also am the last." No
candid person can read these passages, and not be
3*




30         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
convinced that the speaker is Jehovah, the Lord of
hosts; neither can it be denied that in the six passages in the book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus
takes the title of "the first and the last."  Therefore the Lord Jesus is co-equal and co-eternal with
the Father, "Jehovah, the Lord of hosts."
Every proof of the Saviour's Deity is precious
to the Christian. The foundation laid in Zion is a
Divine foundation. The Saviour is a Divine Saviour. The atonement, the righteousness, and the
sacrifice of the Lamb of God are Divine. Most
consoling is it to reflect that there is an infinite
efficacy and merit in the work of Christ, satisfying
alike the requirements of perfect holiness and justice, and the trembling anxieties of a wounded and
a spiritually enlightened conscience.
Let us now inquire what is set forth by the glorious
title of the Lord Jesus, "I am Alpha and Omega."
The most cursory reader would gather from it an
illustration of eternity.  This is an attribute of God
alone. All creatures have a beginning. God never
had a beginning. The irrational creatures perish.
Angels and men are immortal. The King of heaven is "immortal and invisible."  Immortality,
therefore, is not exclusively a prerogative of Deity,
but eternity is. And Christ claims this to himself:




ALPHA AND OMEGA.             31
"I am Alpha and Omega."  "In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God." " The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way," Christ says in Proverbs viii. 22,
"before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth;
when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills,
was I brought forth. While as yet he had not made
the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the
dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens,
I was there: when he set a compass upon the face
of the depth: when he established the clouds above:
when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
when he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters
should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by
him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily
his delight, rejoicing always before him."
Let us examine our subject more in detail. Jesus
Christ is the "Alpha and Omega" in the department
of Nature. "All things were made by him; and
without him was not anything made that was made."
"By him were all things created, that are in hea



82        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
ven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him,
and for him: and he is before all things, and by
him all things consist." In the beginning he laid
the foundations of the earth, and the heavens were
the work of his hands.  He is the "Alpha" of creation. In him was "life," in him, as in a fountain;
and from him, streams of life were distributed over
the amplitude of his extensive dominions.  He
tenanted space with the countless luminaries of heaven, and impressed upon them, and upon our earth
among them, that marvellous combination of opposing forces by which, with unerring precision, they
have each retained their proper orbit. He framed
and fashioned our globe, making it by successive
dispensations meet for the residence of man; every
plant, every tree, every animal, and man himself,
were created by Jesus Christ in perfect maturity.
The herb yielded its seed, the trees were laden with
ripe fruit, the earth was clothed with luxuriant vegetation, and man was formed in the perfection of
stature both of mind and body, in the image of God,
"very good." And although, in the high purpose
of God, sin has been permitted to enter, and to mar
the handiwork of Christ, and to spread its wither



ALPHA AND OMEGA.               33
ing curse around, and to introduce toil and sweat,
thistles and thorns, diseases, decay, and death,
amongst us; yet, even now, everywhere, we behold
the footprints of Jesus Christ, the "Alpha and
Omega" of creation. All that remains of beauty,
and melody, and harmony, in the earth, is from him.
"By him all things consist." The "Alpha" of
all, is also the "Omega."  The Creator is also the
sustainer, the upholder, and the perfecter. Every
blade of grass, every ear of corn, all the fruits of
autumn, every insect, born only for an hour's sunshine, every individual of the feathered and the
finny tribes, and all the generations of men, have
been formed and nourished by life and power from
Christ. When he trode upon our earth, the sea,
the grave, the clouds rendered due allegiance to
him; and when he "shall come in his glory, and all
the holy angels with him," he will, by a word, subdue his foes, and transfigure his people, and gather
them from the four winds of heaven, and set up
his monarchy of love, and peace, and righteousness, and reign King of kings and Lord of lords
over a renovated universe. Of that blessed period,
how sweetly does the poet sing!
" See Salem built, the labour of a God;
Bright as a sun the sacred city shines.




34          THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
All kingdoms and all princes of the earth
Flock to that light; the glory of all lands
Flows into her; unbounded is her joy;
Praise is in all her gates; upon her walls,
And in her streets, and in her spacious courts,
Is heard salvation. Eastern Java there
Kneels with the native of the furthest West,
And Ethiopia spreads abroad the hand,
And worships. Her report has travelled forth
Into all lands. From every clime they come
To see thy beauty, and to share thy joy,
Oh, Zion!  an assembly such as earth
Saw never-such as Heaven stoops down to see."
Jesus Christ is the "Alpha and Omega" of the
arrangements of Providence.   Providence is that
mighty scheme of Divine government by which all
events, even the most minute, are ordered for the
welfare of the church and for the glory of God. If
all power is Christ's in heaven and earth, then all
events of Providence are at his disposal.  If he
holds the keys of the invisible world, whether of
bliss or of misery, and of death, as the portal
through which the children of men pass one after
another, then it follows that life is also under his
sway. If heaven, hell, and death are governed by
him, then life, with its momentous interests and re



ALPHA AND OMEGA.             35
sponsibilities, its sorrows and its joys, must also be
ordered by him.
The thought of Christ's sovereignty in providence
is full of unspeakable comfort. By a wondrous
course of discipline, Jacob was instructed in the
ways of God. He learned by painful experience
the bitterness of sin, and he was brought again and
again to place his whole trust in the tender mercy
and faithful promise of his God. In his dying benediction he left this testimony to the leadings of
Providence.  "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all
my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads." Through
what eventful vicissitudes was Joseph led; and with
what tearful joy did he say to his penitent and
astonished brethren, "Be not grieved, nor angry
with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God
did send me before you to save life." The charge
of Moses to Israel was this: "'Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee
these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee,
and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart."
And Joshua made this appeal: "Ye know in all
your hearts, and in all your souls, that not one thing
has failed of all the good things which the Lord




86        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
your God spake concerning you." It is the privilege of the Christian, when he reviews the dealings
of the Lord with his ancient people, to "thank
God and take courage." The friend and guide of
Jacob, and Joseph, and of the children of Israel,
has pledged himself to be your friend and guide
even unto death. Jesus Christ is "the first," he
also is "with the last," even to the end of the
world. The promises made to the saints of old, are
assured to believers now. He who said to Joshua,
"I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee," says to you,
"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."  "All
the promises of God in him are yea, and in him
amen, unto the glory of God by us."
Jesus Christ is your "Alpha and Omega" in
providence.  "He knoweth the end from the beginning." Your whole history is written out as on
a map before him. The streams which you have
to cross; the mountains over which you have to
climb; the fertile valleys, rich with the grapes of
Eshcol, where you shall enjoy sweet refreshment;
and the long and dreary path in the wilderness into
which sovereign wisdom shall allure you, ay, and
where Jesus shall "speak comfortably" to you;
and the dark river of Jordan, through whose swelling waters Divine love shall bear you, encircled




ALPHA AND OMEGA.             37
within his everlasting embrace-all this way, from
the beginning to the end, is ordered for you by the
"Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end."
Art thou in sorrow, 0 Christian, and are thy days
passed in grief and heaviness? Art thou laid upon
a bed of languishing? Has God "stirred up thy
nest?" Has he broken up thy home, torn down
the walls of thy habitation, and permitted the
searching winds of adversity to sigh through its
ruins? Art thou straitened, oppressed, and desolate? Is it that no one knows thee? and when
thou dost look forward, are all thine earthly prospects shrouded in the thickest gloom? Fear not:
death is the womb of life. If thou art a child of
the living God, all thy present discipline is "big
with mercy." All the attributes of God are exercised in thy behalf and for thy welfare. He who
has loved thee from everlasting, shall love thee to
everlasting. The end shall crown the way, thy
home shall abundantly compensate the preparatory
discipline. The "Alpha" of thy faith and hope,
will be the "Omega" of thy joy.
Jesus Christ is the "Alpha and Omega" in the
system of grace.
"Look at the revelation of -Divine grace in the
Scriptures. Christ is the "Alpha and Omega" of
4




38         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
the Bible. Of him the first verse in Genesis, and
the last verse in Revelation, bear witness.  The
Bible is the centre of theology. The gospel is the
centre of the Bible. Jesus Christ is the centre of
the gospel: in him the types of the Mosaic ritual
are fulfilled: to him the sacrifices of the law referred: of him the prophets testified, and psalmists
chanted sweet songs of praise. Apostles and evangelists wrote memoirs of his humiliation, and in
their preaching and letters they knew nothing save
"Jesus Christ and him crucified," Jesus Christ and
him glorified.
Look at the origin, development, and completion
of the system of grace towards our world. Of this
system Christ is the "Alpha." The vessels of
mercy were chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world, and "given to him" by the Father as
"a people for his praise."  At the fall, the promise
of a Redeemer was made; and four thousand years
after, the promise was fulfilled, and the hopes of
ten thousand times ten thousand saints were realized.  "When the fulness of the time was come,
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law."  "The Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us." Christ magnified the law, and
made it honourable by a sinless obedience and by a




ALPHA AND OMEGA.              39
voluntary submission to its penalty.  " He bare our
sins in his own body on the tree." He rose from
the dead for our justification.  He is at the right
hand of God, where he "maketh intercession for
us." From his mediatorial throne, he pours out his
blessings upon men. Though "exalted far above
all principality and power," he ever proves himself
the sympathizing friend of his people. He has
watched over his church from age to age, and has
never withdrawn his presence from her.  In the
darkest periods he has not left himself without witness. But in these latter times, the testimony for
Jesus is greatly multiplied. The missionaries of the
cross traverse the remotest regions of the earth,
and carry the message of Divine love to nations
whose very existence was not known to our forefathers. God is now visiting the Gentiles, and he is
gathering out to himself from the land of Sinim,
and from the gold fields of Australia; from the arid
plains of Hindostan, and the spicy groves of Ceylon;
from the vast continent of Africa, and the islands
of the Pacific; from the extensive plains of America;
from ice-bound Labrador; and last, but not least,
from the neglected masses of our own baptized heathen at home, stars of righteousness and jewels of
glory. And that Saviour, whose cross has been the




40         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
central point of attraction to his people, in all climes
and through all periods, is coming, as the grand
"Omega" of Christianity; not in weakness, but in
power; not in humiliation, but in majesty; not as
"the Man of sorrows," but as the King of glory.
Look at the work of grace in the heart and life of
the believer. Christ is the "Alpha," the "Author
of our faith." The first movement of the heart towards God, is of God. By the still small voice of
the Spirit, Christ speaks in man. Providence, sermons, and religious books speak to man. The Spirit of Christ speaks in the heart gently, but with
power. A soft voice in the house is heard more
distinctly than a loud cry in the street. This is
general, that is special; this is to the multitude,
that to the individual. Various are the means employed, but the great agent is the same. Under
divers circumstances are men called: Samuel, in the
hour of still repose; Josiah, amid the urgent claims
of public life; Matthew, at the receipt of custom;
Peter, at his fishing; Saul, on his way to Damascus;
Lydia, the purple-seller of Thyatira, at the meeting
for prayer by the river side, and the thief on the
cross, were all called by the one Spirit. The first
step is from God.  "No man cometh to me, except
the Father which hath sent me draw him." "I




ALPHA AND OMEGA.             41
have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore
with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." "We
love him, because he first loved us."  "Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power." If we
"look unto the rock whence we were hewn, and to
the hole of the pit whence we were digged," we
shall acknowledge that it was so in our own experience. If we be asked, How is the voice of the Spirit
of Jesus to be distinguished from the voice of conscience? we may answer, the voice of conscience
may be subdued and silenced. The voice of the
Spirit speaks again and again, more and more powerfully, until the strong man armed is humbled effectually before the cross. Conscience may deter from
sin, excite to the performance of duty, and, when
thoroughly aroused, may goad a man to despair.
Thus it was with Saul and Judas. But the Holy
Spirit convinces of sin, in order that he may convince of righteousness. He wounds that he may
heal. He leads the sinner sweetly and yet mightily
from the love of the world and the crushing power
of sin, to the cross, to holiness, and to heaven.
Christ, then, is the "Alpha" of our conversion.
"By grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." As the
first step is from Christ, so every succeeding step
4*




42        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
in our heavenly journey is from him. "As ye have
therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk
ye in him: rooted and built up in him." Without
Christ we can do nothing. In repentance, in faith,
in obedience, in patient endurance, we are powerless without him. This is a daily lesson. What
are we in secret prayer, in the path of duty, in the
conflict with corruption, in our walk before God?
What are we without Jesus Christ but whited sepulchres, pieces of clay, hard and cold and stupid as
the stones of the valley?
The most blessed life on this side heaven, is that
of continual dependence upon Christ. Experience
alone can enable us to realize how sweet and how
endearing it is, in every duty, emergency, and sorrow, to go to Jesus Christ, as a child to a tender
parent, and in faith and submission to spread our
case before him. By his word, he speaks to our
hearts; by his appointed ordinances, he bestows
upon us his grace; by his beautiful works in nature,
and by the strange yet faithful dealings of his providence, he teaches us about himself. And we may,
we do hold communion with him, not only at stated
seasons, but in sudden ejaculations, such as "Lord,
save me;" "Lord, help me;" "0 Lord, I beseech
thee, deliver my soul;" "0 my God, remember




ALPHA AND OMEGA.             43
me for good." Throughout, Christ is our " all and
in all;" "wisdom and righteousness, sanctification
and redemption." "The path of the just is as the
shining light, that shineth more and more unto the
perfect day."  "The righteous shall hold on his
way." And when the work of grace is completed,
and the sands of life are run out, then will Christ
the "Author" be the "Finisher of our faith."  In
the last struggle, he will be with us, and his rod and
his staff shall comfort us. He has given us grace
to live; he will give us grace to die. He will
smooth our pillow, and bid the enemy keep far from
us. He will bear up our fainting spirit, and carry
us in peace, if not in triumph and ecstasy, to our
eternal home, where we shall for ever sing, "Unto
him that loved us, and washed us from Qur sins in
his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests
unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."




-44       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
JESUS.
"I am Jesus."-ACTS ix. 5.
ON two occasions the Saviour claimed this blessed
name to himself; in the garden, at his apprehension,
when his enemies "went backward, and fell to the
ground;" and in heaven, when from his throne he
beheld the danger of his disciples in Damascus;
and the lion, Saul of Tarsus, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter," was transformed into the
lamb, and was struck to the earth by the words,
"Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  And he
said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I
am Jesus, whom thou persecutest: it is hard for
thee to kick against the pricks."
This name was given to the Saviour by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb. Its meaning
was added by the inspired evangelist, "for he shall
save his people from their sins. Now all this was
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of
the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin




JESUS.                 45
shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and
they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." We infer then that
"Jesus" means God the Saviour - an inference
which is confirmed by the investigation of the name
itself.  "Jesus" is the Greek form of the name
"'Joshua." In fact, it is put for Joshua in Heb. iv.
8: "For if Jesus had given them rest, then would
he not afterward have spoken of another day."
The full meaning of Joshua is God the Saviour,
which has been ably shown by Bishop Pearson.
Joshua was a remarkable type of Christ. Moses
could only bring the Israelites to the river Jordan;
Joshua must lead them into the promised land.
" The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to
Christ."  "The law was given by Moses, but grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ." Joshua led the
Israelites on dry ground, through the river Jordan,
at a season when it always overflowed its banks.
The Lord Jesus brings his people through the
"swellings of Jordan," and enables them to triumph
over death and hell. Under Joshua, the people of
the Lord conquered the Canaanites, and were settled in their several inheritances, each tribe in its
predestinated portion.  Through Jesus, we are
more than conquerors over our spiritual enemies,




46        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
and we shall in due course enter into the rest of
heaven, the kingdom prepared for believers before
the foundation of the world. But every type falls
far short of the reality, even as the earthly must
ever be far inferior to the heavenly. The salvation
wrought by Joshua was but temporal; that wrought
by Jesus Christ is eternal. One nation only was
benefited by Joshua; in Jesus Christ, all the families of the earth are blessed. In a good old age,
Joshua died and was gathered to his fathers;
"Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more:
death hath no more dominion over him." He is' alive for evermore."
Let us now inquire, From what has Jesus saved
us?  In what manner? And on what grounds may
we hope to obtain an interest in his salvation? Jesus "saves his people from their sins,"-from the
guilt of sin, from the power of sin, and from the
condemnation of sin. The guilt of sin exposes us
to the wrath of God; the power of sin enslaves us
under the tyranny of Satan; the condemnation of
sin results in the miseries of hell. Jesus Christ
saves us from the wrath of God, from the yoke of
Satan, and from the agonies of damnation.
"Sin is the transgression of the law."  It has
"brought death into the world, and all our woe."




JESUS.                 47
It drove Satan and his legions from heaven, and
our first parents from Eden; it destroyed the old
world; it overthrew the cities of the plain; it slew
the Canaanitish nations; it reduced the house of
Israel to a banishment, that shall only terminate at
the Lord's second coming; it imprisoned the house
of Judah in Babylon for seventy years; and for
eighteen centuries the wrath of God has scattered
the Jews over the earth, "a hissing, a proverb, and
a reproach to all nations."  Sin has subverted the
haughtiest empires: Nineveh, Babylon, Persepolis,
and Rome have crumbled under its sway.  It
drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea; drove Nebuchadnezzar to eat grass with the beasts of the field; it
devoured Herod with worms. It has made this
earth of ours, so beautiful even under the curse,
like a vast hospital, full of mourning, lamentation,
and woe. In a word, it has peopled earth with the
children of sorrow, and hell with the children of
despair. But if we would contemplate sin in its most
awful aspect, we must draw near to Calvary. Whom
do we behold stretched upon the accursed tree?
What is the title over the cross?-" Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews." Yes, be astonished,
O heavens; and hear, 0 earth; "God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son."  He




48        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
who spared Abraham's son, did not spare his own
Son. When we were enemies, Christ died for us,
"the Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to
God."  Behold the crucified One. Think upon the
sufferings of his body, and the sorrows that drank
up his spirit. Think upon his eternal dignity, and
his spotless innocence; and behold in the cross the
deepest proof of the guilt and malignity of sin, the
grandest illustration of Divine holiness, and the
mightiest achievement of Divine love.
Sin is bondage. Evil habits are the chains with
which Satan binds his willing captives.  Ahab
"sold himself to work wickedness."  Sinners make
their own chains, and work out their own ruin.
"Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of
vanity, and sin as it were with a cart-rope."
There is a formidable growth in the power of sin.
At first it was as fine as a hempen string; habit
twisted it into a cord of vanity; and time strengthens the cord into a rope of iniquity. How awful
are the apostle's words, "Lust, when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death!" and how solemn is
the prophet's question, "Can the Ethiopian change
his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye
also do good, that are accustomed to do evil!" Sin




JESUS.                 49
paralyses man's soul. "I well remember," said a
clergyman in London, "one wintry night, when the
storm was raging and the wind was howling, being
called up to attend one who was in the agonies of
death, and who had long been living an avowed life
of sin. But he became anxious at last to know if
it were possible for him to find a place of safety;
and never shall I forget the answer which that poor
dying man made to me when I directed him to pray.' Pray! sir,' he said;'I  cannot pray. I have lived
in sin too long to pray; I cannot-I know not how;
and if this be all, I must perish.''" Such is the
effect of long-continued, habitual sin.
Sin brings its own condemnation. The wages of
sin is death-temporal, spiritual, and eternal death.
At the great day, the sinner will be self-condemned
as well as law-condemned.  The man who had not
accepted and put on the proffered wedding garment
" was speechless."  Sinners now are so careless that
they have not a word to say to God; then they will
be so conscience-stricken that they shall not have a
word to say before God. When the Judge shall
pass the sentence, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels," their burning tongues will be constrained
to acknowledge, "Just and true are thy ways," 0
5S




50        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
Lord God of hosts. Fools make a mock of sin
here, but sin will make a mock of them hereafter.
Shame and everlasting contempt, weeping, wailing,
and gnashing of teeth, fire and brimstone, storm
and tempest, shall be their portion, for "the wicked
shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that
forget God."
From the condemnation, power, and guilt of sin,
Jesus Christ saves those who believe in him. Our
next inquiry is into the manner in which this has
been brought about.
By faith in his blood and righteousness, we obtain
a title to salvation. God gave man a law. That
law was a transcript of his Divine mind; it was
holy, just, and good. God required a perfect obedience-an obedience which would insure our happiness and his glory. In default of this obedience,
there was a penalty. That penalty was death.
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Man, by
transgression, fell, and lost his high estate.  Corrupt in heart, alienated in mind, and disobedient in
practice, how could he stand before a holy God?
How escape the awful penalty? How fulfil the requisite obedience?  Justice-stern, unbending justice-demands the execution of the penalty. Mercy
-sweet and gentle mercy-weeps, and pleads that




JESUS.                  51
sinners should be forgiven and lifted up to glory.
But how are these contending parties to be reconciled? Shall the high and lofty One dishonour his
law, tarnish his justice, and falsify his word? Impossible. Are sinners, then, to be swept, generation after generation, into the abyss of despair?
Where, then, is mercy? Mercy weeps again, because when she looks upon the families of men, she
can find no advocate, no intercessor. This was the
difficulty. The wisdom, love, and power of the
eternal Trinity devised the solution of the mighty
problem. Jesus undertook to be our surety and
substitute. He agreed in covenant with the Father
and the Holy Spirit to take, in the "fulness of
time," the human nature into union with the Divine
nature, and to fulfil the double requirement of the
law-its obedience and its penalty. All this he
graciously accomplished. By his Holy Spirit, he
took our nature, and was "born of a pure virgin."
For thirty-three years he tabernacled with men.
He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from
sinners." He magnified the law and made it honourable, and brought in an everlasting righteousness. On the cross, he suffered as the surety for
man.  "All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way: and the




52        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
" God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him." Hence, in his prayer in the garden, he could
say, "Father, I have glorified thee on the earth, I
have finished the work that thou gavest me to do;"
and on the cross, he could exclaim in triumph, "It
is finished." Jesus has bought our title to salvation. He has put the highest honour upon all the
attributes of God; he has satisfied all the necessities of guilty, ruined sinners.  "Thanks be unto
God for his unspeakable gift."
But Christ has done more than this for us.
Through faith in his atonement, we obtain our title
to heaven. But what would this avail, if we had
been left to make ourselves holy and fit for heaven?
We must have meetness for, as well as the title to
heaven. Suppose you had a son, and you forbade
him to enter a place of contagion, on pain of losing
all you could leave him. He goes, and is seized
with the infection. He thus is not only guilty, by
transgressing your command, but he is also diseased.
And do you not perceive that your forgiving him
does not heal him? He wants not only the father's




JESUS.                  53
pardon, but the physician's aid; and in vain is he
freed from the forfeiture of his estate, if he be left
under the power of his disorder. Christ is our Physician. By his Spirit he subdues our sins, and
quickens us to holy obedience; he imparts to us a
new principle of life; we are "made new creatures
in Christ Jesus;" he "has ascended on high; he
has led captivity captive; he has received gifts for
men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God
might dwell among them." The Holy Spirit is now
given, because Jesus is now glorified. To this the
apostle refers when he says, "If, when we were
enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of
his Son: much more, being reconciled, we shall be
saved by his life." Behold then the riches of Divine grace.  See how the wisdom of God originated
the wondrous plan, and how the power of God perfected it. See how the Deity of Jesus gives an
infinite merit to his obedience and his sacrifice.
See how the humanity of Jesus gives him the capacity to do and to suffer the will of God. See
how, on Calvary, "Mercy and truth met together; righteousness and peace kissed each other."
See how Christ sanctifies those whom he saves; in
short, how the guilt of sin is pardoned, how the
power of sin is broken; and how "there is no con5*




54        TIIE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
demnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
On what grounds may we hope to obtain an interest in the salvation of Jesus Christ? His promise, his power, and his love.
His promise binds him to confer it upon us, if
we ask him. Jesus has condescended to pledge
himself to penitent souls, by "exceeding great and
precious promises." "Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest."  "He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life." "Him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out." "Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Invitations and promises like these might
be quoted from every part of the Bible. By these
Christ has been pleased to bind himself. He is the
"Amen, the faithful and true witness."  "Heaven
and earth may pass away, but one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Has his word ever been broken? Let fulfilled prophecy answer. Let saints in heaven answer. Let believers on earth bear witness.  Go
and ask any servant of the living God. What will




JESUS.                  55
be the reply?  "I have been unfaithful to my Lord
ten thousand times, but Christ has never been unfaithful to me; he has never disappointed me; he
has ever exceeded my expectations. I can set to
my seal that God is true." How pleasant is the
testimony of a well-used Bible! Here you see a
broad mark to draw attention; there a date written,
to recall some incident in experience; perhaps you
see a mark on the margin of some text, and it means
that that text contains a precious promise.  Such
texts have been like a rock for the trembling feet;
such words of life have been tried and proved, and
have never failed to afford direction, comfort, and
hope.  Art thou an inquirer after the Saviour?
Art thou afraid to draw near to him?  Fear not,
"be of good cheer; rise, he calleth thee." Take
his own invitation and his promise. Plead them in
earnest prayer. Act like the Christian negro, who
said, "I fall flat on the promise, and I pray straight
up." Let this be your plea: Lord, such is thy promise to the poor, the weak, the guilty, the penitent.
"Do as thou hast said."  "Thou saidst, I will
surely do thee good." Fulfil thine own promise, in
thine own time.
His power enables him to grant that which he
has promised. Jesus is able to "save his people




56        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
from their sins." Man's promise may fail, through
change of circumstances and want of ability. Christ
is an unchangeable Saviour. IHe has almighty
power. Is not this consolatory to the inquirer?
Have your sins been as numerous as the sands upon
the sea-shore?  "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." Are your evil habits like chains
of adamant about your soul? Christ is able to subdue sin and to trample down Satan for you and in
you.  "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the
ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none
else."
The love of Christ inclines him to save sinners.
There is no want of power with him; neither is he
unwilling. For he is love. "Have I any pleasure
at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord
God."  What brought him on his errand of mercy
to our earth? Love to the lost. What made him
willing to resign for a season the adoration of heaven, that he might sojourn with man? Love to the
lost. What made him willing to endure privation,
poverty, the ignorance of the people, the contempt
of the Pharisees, and the unbelief of his own disciples? Love to the lost. What inclined him to
make an atonement, and to bear the sins of men
upon the cross? Love to the lost. What has in



JESUS.                 57
duced him to carry on the gracious work in heaven,
and to plead for sinners with his Father? Love to
the lost. Do you not know some one person (perhaps you may know many such) who prayed to Jesus, and who has found a sweet welcome and a free
pardon? What inclined Him to extend mercy to
that individual? Love to the lost. What he has
done for others, he will do for you. He has never
cast out a returning wanderer: he will not cast you
out. Doubt not then his willingness to save. The
leper "worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt,
thou canst make me clean; and Jesus put forth his
hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou
clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
If Christ had been unwilling to save sinners, he
would not have died for them. If he had been unwilling to save you, he would have been unwilling
to save others like you. But he is not unwilling.
The very fact of your preservation to the present
hour is a proof of his patience and forbearance towards you. And patient long-suffering implies love
to the lost and a willingness to save; you have
therefore every ground of encouragement to draw
you to Jesus Christ. "The Spirit and the bride
say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever




58         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
will, let him take the water of life freely." His
faithfulness, his power, and his love bid you welcome:
"Come, for all things are now ready."
The name of Jesus is full of consolation to the
Christian, because it reminds him of the state of
guilt and misery in which grace found him; of the
amazing cost at which salvation was purchased; and
of the relief, pardon, and satisfaction which he experienced when he first "fled for refuge to lay hold
upon the hope set before us" in the gospel. The
name of Jesus is sweet, as memory retraces the
story of life-not of life according to the flesh, but
of life according to the spirit. We acknowledge
with shame, and yet with thankfulness, that we have
lived, only since we have loved Jesus.  "To me to
live is Christ." And the story of life tells, how
the name of Jesus has been an inexhaustible spring
of peace and joy; how it has driven back many
temptations, dried many tears, and healed many
sorrows; how in some spiritual conflict and perplexity, the Holy Ghost has whispered the name of Jesus in the heart, and it has been like the rising of
the sun, which has dispersed the clouds of sin and
unbelief; how when the cross had to be taken up
in some peculiar call of duty, and nature, always
self-indulgent, recoiled, how the name of Jesus has




JESUS.                 59
banished every fear and nerved us for the task;
and how when in faith and obedience we went straight
to the work, anticipating only roughness and difficulty, we found such a hallowed sweetness, that, as
it was once said by an eminent minister, " The very
cross that we took up for Jesus, was lined with
velvet."
There have been seasons of communion with our
fellow Christians, when the name of Jesus has been
"'as ointment poured forth."  Our hearts have
burned within us whilst he, alas! too often an unknown friend in the midst of us, has opened to our
minds the promises of the word respecting himself.
" Our hearts have mingled into bliss," as we have
spoken of him whom we love, and as we have testified to each other of his grace to our souls.
In his house, and at his table, how sweet have
we found his name! Often have we said, " This is
none other than the house of God, and this is the
gate of heaven."  "He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love."
Never, perhaps, do we realize the sweetness of
the name of Jesus more than when we bend over
the dying bed of a true Christian. In such a chamber God holds his court, and we feel a solemn reverence spread over our spirit, and that we are on




60        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
holy ground. Disease has been taking down the
earthly tabernacle, pin by pin, and there is scarcely
a stake to be removed. But while the outward man
perishes, the inward man has been renewed from
day to day. The pale countenance is lighted up
with heavenly peace, and the eye glistens with consolation all divine. Do we ask, "Are you happy? "
"Yes," is the prompt reply, "happy in Jesus; Jesus is mine, and I am his." "Have you any fear
of death?"  "No, for Jesus is with me; I will fear
no evil; his rod and his staff comfort me." "Do
you depend upon anything in yourself, any sacrifice
you have made for Christ, or any services which
you have rendered to his cause?" "No, no; my
best is stained and dyed with sin, my all is nothing
worth; my whole trust is in the precious blood and
perfect righteousness of Jesus; he is my all and in
all." Have we not witnessed such a scene again
and again? Has not the testimony to the grace of
Jesus been most solemnizing and elevating? Have
we not prayed as we lingered in the chamber, where
angels hovered around, waiting for the word of command to bear the emancipated spirit to the rest
above, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and
let my last end be like his?" If the name of Jesus has been sweet in life, will it not be unspeak



JESUS.                 61
ably sweet in the strife of death? How blessed
then to have a Saviour to rejoice in, and not a Saviour to seek! And if Jesus' name will be so sweet
in the last struggle, what will be our emotions of
wonder, love, and praise, if we are found in him at
the great day, amid the throes of a universe travailing with fire for the bringing forth the new heavens
and new earth! What will be our ascription of
praise when we find our poor unworthy names written in the Lamb's book of life, and mentioned with
gracious distinction by the Judge of quick and dead!
Reader, is Christ precious to you? Do you trust
in him and love him?  If not, why not?
6




62         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
"MESSIAS."
" The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh,
which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all
things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he."
-JOHN iv. 25, 26.
MESSIAH and Christ both signify "the Anointed
One." Messiah is the Hebrew, Messias the Syriac,
and Christ is the Greek form  of the same word.
The woman of Samaria said, "I know that Messias
cometh." Andrew saith to his brother Simon, "We
have found the Messias." The woman and Andrew
both spoke in the Syriac or Syro-Chaldaic language.
John wrote in Greek, the universal language of that
day, as English or French is in our day, and therefore he explained Messias by adding, "which is
called Christ," and by commonly writing Christ
instead of Messias in his gospel. Messias, then, is
the same with Christ. Anointing with oil, was the
ancient form of consecration to the service of God.
At Bethel, "Jacob poured oil upon the top of the




MESSIAS.                 63
stone which he set up for a pillar," and he said,
"This stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be
God's house." Moses anointed the tabernacle, and
all the vessels with oil, and thus set them apart for
the service of Almighty God.  Prophets, priests,
and kings were anointed at their installation into
their sacred office. The Lord Jesus was anointed,
not with material oil, but with the Holy Ghost; not
by the hand of man, but by God himself, as the
head of his true church, the Prophet, Priest, and
King of his people. In his first sermon at Nazareth, he announced this holy unction, "The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent
me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance
to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed
the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and
sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in
the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture
fulfilled in your ears." And to the woman of Samaria he said, "I that speak unto thee am" the
true Messias.
Let us glance at some of the proofs of the Mes



64        TIHE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
siahship of Jesus of Nazareth; and then meditate
upon the blessings which accrue to his church from
his threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King.
There was, at the time when Jesus appeared, a very
general expectation among the Jews of the Messiah. This expectation had spread among other
nations. Philip said to Nathanael, "We have found
him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets,
did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
The woman of Samaria expresses the general feeling, "We know that Messias cometh." The people
said, " When Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence
he is;" and some of his disciples said, " When
Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than those
which this man hath done?" When John the Baptist entered upon his ministry, and preached with
such astonishing power and success, Luke tells us,
that " all men mused in their hearts of John,
whether he were the Christ or not." Many more
proofs might be mentioned of the expectation of
the Messiah which pervaded the Jewish mind.
The visit of the Magi shows how far eastward this
opinion had spread, and the testimony of classical
writers proves that the civilized nations of the West
entertained the same idea. The promises of the
seed to the early patriarchs; the predictions of




MESSIAS.                65
Moses; and the stream of prophecy which flowed
in one continuous and unbroken channel for six
hundred years from Samuel to Malachi, more or
less referring all along to the coming of Christ,
would naturally make a strong impression upon the
Jewish people. The settlement of many Jews,
after the Babylonish captivity, in the regions of
Asia, in Egypt, and in the bordering countries,
would spread the knowledge of the true God, and
of that prominent article of their creed, the expectation of a Messiah, through the heathen world.
The peculiarity of their manners, the purity and
comparative spirituality of their worship, the high
antiquity of their sacred books, and the marvellous
dealings of Jehovah with their nation in past ages,
would bespeak, nay, command the attention of the
heathen to their doctrines and their hopes.  In
addition to this, prophecy had fixed a definite point
of time for the coming of the Messiah. The celebrated prediction of the seventy weeks or four hundred and ninety prophetic years tied down their
expectation to the very period when Jesus of Nazareth did appear and minister among them.
The miracles of Christ were the great proof of
his Divine mission to which he always referred.
"The works which I do in my Father's name, they
6 *




66        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
bear witness of me." These miracles were performed in public; thousands witnessed them, and
could not be mistaken in, or deceived by them;
they were wrought in different places, and were
marked by a singular variety; they were many in
number.  The Jews relate seventy-four miracles
by Moses, and seventy-six by the prophets; but
John tells us that if all the things were written
that Jesus did, "even the world itself could not
contain the books that should be written."  The
bitterest enemies of the Lord never denied the performance of these miracles; but they ascribed
them to Satanic agency —a horrible blasphemy,
which the Saviour himself refuted in an unanswerable manner.
The prophecies in the Old Testament have been
minutely fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, and in no
one else. The Jews who crucified him, and who
persecuted his followers from city to city, have been
the librarians of these sacred oracles. Most jealously have they watched over the sacred deposit.
No apprehension, therefore, need be felt that the
evangelists corrupted the Old Testament to adapt
its prophecies to Jesus of Nazareth. Neither could
or would an impostor have fulfilled these predictions in himself. A man cannot arrange the place




MESSIAS.                 67
of his birth, nor the particular mother, nor family
of which he is to be born. No mere man could
perform the variety of miracles that Jesus wrought.
Neither would an impostor have been diligent to
fulfil predictions which involved his own persecution,
contempt, betrayal, crucifixion (with its minute details), and consequent death. If it be thought
possible that an impostor would submit to all this
in order to make for himself a name in the world,
and to establish his own system, we may answer
that no impostor would have made such sacrifices
with such slender hopes and prospects.  At his
crucifixion, the disciples of Jesus were but a few
illiterate individuals who had all forsaken him; and
the whole Jewish nation was mad with disappointed
rage against him.  Under such  circumstances,
would Jesus have yielded himself to crucifixion if
he had been an ordinary man or an impostor?
But the character of our Lord alone would be
sufficient to refute such a calumny. Was not his
whole demeanour a specimen of Divine goodness
and purity walking up and down in the midst of us?
Could he not fearlessly challenge his adversaries,
"Which of you convinceth me of sin?" Was not
his transparent holiness and integrity one secret
of the power with which he taught? Some have




68         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
thought that if Virtue herself should ever walk
upon this earth, all mankind would immediately
kneel down and worship her. Alas for poor human
nature! Plato had a deeper insight into the weakness and malice of man, for, speaking of the treatment which the good man would receive, he said
that "he would be tortured, spit upon, have his
two eyes put out, and finally, he would be crucified." What a remarkable testimony is this from
a heathen writer who lived more than three centuries before the birth of Christ!
We have not space to enter more at length into
the evidences for the Messiahship of Jesus. We
have only alluded in the briefest manner to one or
two proofs; and those who would pursue a most
inviting field of profitable investigation are referred
to the works of Paley, Sumner, Davison, Keith,
and a host of writers who have regarded it as their
highest honour to dedicate their talents and attainmerits to their Saviour's cause, and to the vindication of his holy religion.
We would close what we have said by turning to
one or two passages of Scripture. In Genesis xlix.
10, we read: "The sceptre shall not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until
Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of




MESSIAS.                 69
the people be."  If Jesus be not the true Messiah,
the true Shiloh, the "Sent" of God, no one else
can be: for the Jews have lost their seeptre, and
their lawgiver, their civil and ecclesiastical polity
for more than eighteen hundred years. And that
"the people," the heathen nations, have been gathered to Jesus, the propagation of Christianity is an
abundant witness.
In Malachi iii. 1: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:
and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come
to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant,
whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts."  And in Haggai ii. 7: "I will
shake all nations, and the desire of all nations
shall come: and I will fill this house with glory,
saith the Lord of hosts."  The appearance of
Messiah was thus fastened to the second temple.
"I will fill this house with glory." If Jesus were
not, the true Messiah, no one else can be, for the
temple was laid in ruins forty years after his ascension, and since that time the Jews have been exiles
and wanderers, the witnesses to the truth of Jehovah in all the world.
In Jeremiah xxiii. 5: "Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a right



70        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
eous Branch." From this, and a multitude of
similar texts, we gather that the Messiah was to be
the son of David.  At the time when our Lord
was born, the genealogies of the Jews were preserved with scrupulous exactness, and we have a
double list of the ancestors of Jesus in the Gospels, tracing up his lineage to David on his mother's
side, and on his reputed father's side.  But we
think if any one should now appear among the
Jews, claiming to be their Messiah, it would be difficult and well-nigh impossible for him to prove his
genealogy to David. From the present state of the
Jews, therefore, and from the rapid and unexampled
growth of Christianity, we may, independently of
the arguments from miracles, prophecy, or our
Lord's character, obtain conclusive proofs that
Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed Prophet, Priest,
and King of his true church. We think that no
serious reader will regret the attention which he has
given to these evidences, because it is the solemn
duty of every Christian to be able "to give a reason of the hope that is in him with meekness and
fear," and with all charity "to refute gainsayers;"
and further, there are seasons when we are assaulted with the poisoned shafts of infidelity, and
when it is expedient to have the mind well stored




MESSIAS.                 71
with facts, and scriptural arguments, with which
to drive back the enemy of souls.
Great and manifold are the blessings which flow
to the church from the threefold office of her Divine Head.
Jesus Christ is the true Prophet.  The ancient
seers were commissioned directly by God to instruct,
encourage, and warn his chosen people; and to
predict future events.  The Lord Jesus was a
"teacher sent from  God."  And he foretold his
own death and resurrection; the destruction of
Jerusalem; and, in the book of Revelation, the
history of his church to the end of time.' In him
were the celebrated words of Moses accomplished,
"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like
unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." Let us consider the Lord Jesus as the great Teacher. How
weighty were his lessons! He "brought life and
immortality to light."  The importance of faith;
the straitness of the gate, and the narrowness of
the way; the necessity of self-denial; the duties of
prayer, watchfulness, humility, and forgiveness,
were his topics. How simple and appropriate were
his illustrations! The corn fields, the lilies, the
processes of sowing and fishing supplied him with




72        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
materials.  How  kind was his manner!  What
tenderness to the young, and what sympathy for
the afflicted did he evince! What encouragement
to the timid, and what commendation to the meek
and diligent did he minister! How faithful were
his warnings! What wisdom, majesty, and grace
shone in his discourses! Well might the officers
remark, "Never man spake like this man." His
example was as pure and perfect as his teaching
was grave and holy. He taught by life as well as
by lip. He rose early for secret prayer. It was
his meat and drink to do his Father's will. Never
did he speak an idle word. Everywhere the Word
and Wisdom of God was "holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners." He went into society, and
he sanctified it. He attended at a wedding ceremonial, and there manifested his glory. He withdrew from the multitude when they desired to clothe
him with the pomp and insignia of earthly royalty.
His delight was with the children of suffering and
sorrow.
What is the testimony of believers to his teaching? Are they not witnesses to his grace, patience,
and faithfulness? Cannot they say, "Who teacheth like him?"  "I am the Lord thy God which
teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the




MESSIAS.                 73
way thou shouldest go." When he spoke by his
Spirit in our hearts, was it not with power? When
he opened our eyes, did we not perceive wondrous
things in his word? When he took us in hand, did
we not learn more in five minutes than in all our
past life from human teachers?  Has he not taught
us many lessons by his rod? Cannot we testify
that his teaching is suitable, and holy, and full of
sweetest joy? And his instructions in the sanctuary, and at his table, have they not distilled like
dew into our souls, and made us fruitful in every
good word and work? Can the reader attest all
this in his own experience? If so, let him adore
the riches of sovereign grace. If not, how earnestly would we exhort him, Oh taste and see how
gracious the Lord is! "The meek will he guide in
judgment; and the meek will he teach his way."
Jesus Christ is our "merciful and faithful High
Priest." Under the law, the priests were washed
in water, and anointed with oil, at their entrance
into their holy function. The Lord Jesus was consecrated by his baptism in Jordan, and by the anointing of the Holy Ghost for his office, as Priest
of his church. In a general way, we may observe
that the duties of the Levitical priests were three:
sacrifice, intercession, benediction. Christ was at
7




74        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
once our priest, altar, and victim. He offered up
himself. He hath taken away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. His Divinity was the altar, his humanity was the victim, he himself, both God and
man, was the sacrificing priest. The legal sacrifices were frequently repeated.  Christ offered
himself once. Those sacrifices consisted of bulls
and calves which could never take away sin. Christ
"bare our sins in his own body on the tree."
Those sacrifices availed only to remove ceremonial
pollution; Christ's sacrifice appeases the troubled
conscience, and reconciles the penitent to his
offended Father, and cleanseth from all sin. "By
him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which they could not be justified by the law
of Moses."
Having sprinkled the blood upon and before the
mercy-seat seven times, the high priest presented
the incense in the golden censer, and the fragrant
cloud ascended before the Lord in the holy of
holies. Our High Priest having taken his mediatorial throne in the highest heavens, pleads in behalf of his people, "his agony and bloody sweat,
his cross and passion," and intercedes for them
with "his Father and their Father, with his God
and their God." When he came forth to bless the




MESSIAS.                75
waiting congregation, the high priest clothed himself with his "garments of beauty." At his return to our earth "to be glorified in his saints, and
to be admired in all them that believe," the Lord
Jesus shall be clothed with celestial splendour; he
shall wear a diadem of surpassing glory: "Thousand thousands shall minister unto him, and ten
thousand times ten thousand shall stand before
him;" and "the King shall say unto them on his
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world."
Jesus Christ has also been anointed as the King
of his church. "Yet have I set my King upon
my holy hill of Zion." Christ is a king by personal right. Jehovah is "King."  Christ is Jehovah's "fellow" (Zech. xiii. 7), and therefore he has
a Divine right to universal sovereignty.  He is
king by donation from the Father: "All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth:" "Thou
hast given him power over all flesh, that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me."
He is king by purchase: "Ye are not your own,
for ye are bought with a price." He is king by
conquest: "In righteousness doth he make war."




76        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
Of his gracious victories the psalmist writes, " Thine
arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee." He is
king by voluntary surrender.  His service is perfect
freedom.  "No man can come unto me, except the
Father which hath sent me draw him." Bishop
Reynolds says, "As we see human wisdom can so
order, moderate, and make use of natural motion,
that by it artificial effects shall be produced; as in
a clock, the natural motion of the weight and plummet causes the artificial distribution of hours, and
minutes; and in a mill, the natural motion of the
wind or water causes an artificial effect in grinding
the corn: how much more then shall the wisdom of
Almighty God be able so to use, incline, and order
the wills of men, without destroying either them or
their liberty, as that thereby the kingdom of his
Son shall be set up amongst them! So that there
be still an habitual, radical, fundamental indetermination and indifference unto several ways (unto
none of which there can be a compulsion); yet by
the secret, ineffable, and most sweet operation of
the Spirit of grace, opening the eyes, convincing
the judgment, persuading the affections, inclining
the heart, giving an understanding, quickening and
knocking at the conscience, a man shall be swayed




MESSIAS.                 77
unto the obedience of Christ, and shall come unto
him as certainly as if he were drawn, and yet as
freely as if he were left to himself. For in the
calling of men by the word there is a trahere, and
a venire.  The Father draweth, and the man
cometh, John vi. 44. That notes the efficiency of
grace, and this the sweetness of grace.  Grace
worketh strongly, and therefore God is said to
draw; and it worketh sweetly too, and therefore
man is said to come. "
Satan is an usurper, "the prince of the powers
of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." But Christ is the King of
his believing people. Once they, as others, were
the slaves of the devil and of sin. When they look
back, they acknowledge with humiliation of soul,
" O Lord, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us." By grace they have given themselves to the Lord, and have entered into a perpetual covenant with him, that shall never be forgotten. What privileges do they enjoy as the subjects of Jesus! He is their King, and he defends
them. His church is his vineyard, purchased with
his own blood, and "lest any hurt it, he keeps it
night and day." "When the enemy shall come in
like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a
7*




78         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
standard against him." He is their King, and he
bestows upon them  honourable titles.  They are
not servants, but friends, yea his children: "Now
are we the sons of God." He condescends to call
them lambs, for gentleness; doves, for innocence;
serpents, for wisdom; and eagles, for spirituality.
They are trees, for fruitfulness; and flowers, for
fragrance: they are his "peculiar" treasure, jewels
of inestimable value. They are the salt of the
earth, and the light of the world.  "All that see
them shall acknowledge them, that they are the
seed which the Lord hath blessed." He is their
King, and bestows upon them precious gifts-not
mere earthly possessions (these are often the solemn
trust of the unconverted), but "durable riches,"
grace here and glory hereafter. It is their highest
joy to own him as their Lord. His honour is dear
to them. His commandments, so far from being
esteemed grievous, are "ways of pleasantness and
paths of peace." Never are they so happy as
when they hold communion with him, or labour for
him. Never does he pour such sweet consolation
into their hearts as when they are reproached for
his name, or suffer under his afflicting hand. "In
keeping his commandments there is great reward."
Christ has a right to be King of every nation,




MESSIAS.                79
every tribe, every family, every heart. But it is
not so yet; "we see not yet all things put under
him." The Christian mourns over the debasement
and ignorance of the heathen, the fanaticism and
pride of the Mohammedans, the obstinacy and unbelief of the Jews, the inconsistencies and worldliness of nominal disciples, and, above all, the ingratitude and coldness, and remaining corruption
of his own heart. With what joy does he anticipate the blessed time when the whole earth shall be
the Lord's, and all shall know him from the least
unto the greatest! May God hasten it according
to his will.
The last question of our Saviour's public ministry was a very solemn one, "What think ye of
Christ?" Let us apply this inquiry to ourselves.
What do we think of him? Is he our Prophet, our
Priest, our King?  How  do we think of him?
With love, gratitude, and adoration? or with coldness, formality, and reserve?
There is a more solemn question still, "What
does Christ think of us?" Ah! we may be mistaken in our thoughts of him; he can never be mistaken or deceived in his thoughts of us.  "He
searcheth the heart; he trieth the reins." His
eyes are a flame of fire. "[By him actions are




80        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
weighed." What does Christ think of us? Let'
each reader pause, and inquire "What does Christ
think of me?  Now-in the presence of Godin reference to eternity-what am I? Where am
I? Whither am I going?'Search me, 0 God,
and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts;
and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead
me in the way everlasting.'"




SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN.              81
" THE SON OF GOD AND THE SON OF MAN."
" Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had
found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son
of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I
might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast
both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee." —JoHN
ix. 35-37.
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, he
asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son
of man am? " -MATT. XVi. 13.
THE tabernacle in the wilderness was resplendent
with the glory of Jesus. Every part of the sacred
structure shadowed forth his Deity and his humanity. Its division into the holy and most holy place;
its cedar boards covered with golden plates; its
earthy floor and its gorgeous canopy; the vessels
of the sanctuary; the sacrifices, and the incense,
all proclaimed to a spiritual worshipper that the
promised Seed, the Son of David, was both the
Son of God and the Son of man. From a conside



82        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
ration of some of the proofs of the Messiahship of
Jesus, it naturally follows that we meditate upon
the mystery of his person. "Without controversy
great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." With holy reverence, therefore,
and humble prayer for Divine teaching, let us draw
near and contemplate Him, who is both the "root
and offspring of David," the "man of sorrows,"
and the "God of glory."
It was a prominent article in the creed of the
ancient Jews, that the Messiah was to be the Son
of God. Accordingly Nathanael witnessed a good
confession when he said, "Rabbi, thou art the Son
of God; thou art the King of Israel." Peter, in
the name of the other apostles, said, "Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God." More fully,
and with yet greater assurance of reality in what
he said, we find Peter answering the inquiry, "Will
ye also go away?" by the emphatic testimony,
"Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words
of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."
Martha, the sister of Lazarus, said to her Divine
Master, "I believe that thou art the Christ, the
Son of God, which should come into the world."
And when Jesus stood upon his trial, "the high




SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN.        83
priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee
by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be
the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him,
Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the
right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of
heaven." Christ then claimed the title of the Son
of God: "Thou hast said."  Nor was this the only
occasion. He welcomed and comforted the man to
whom he had given sight, and whom, for his confession of the truth, the Pharisees had cast out of
the synagogue; and that which was judicially
"hidden from the wise and prudent," was revealed
unto a babe. "Thou hast both seen him, and it is
he," the Son of God, "which talketh with thee."
Jesus declared the same truth publicly. When the
Jews charged him with blasphemy, for "making
himself equal with God," he answered them from
their own Scripture: "Is it not written in your
law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods,
unto whom the word of God came, (and the Scripture cannot be broken;) say ye of him, whom the
Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world,
Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son
of God?"
In what sense are we to understand that Jesus




84        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
is "the Son of God?" At the creation we are
told that the "morning stars sang together, and all
the sons of God shouted for joy;" that is, the holy
angels rejoiced in, and adored their glorious Maker.
Adam is said to be "the son of God," Luke iii. 38.
Believers are called "the sons of God;" but angels
are the sons of God by creation; believers are his
sons by adoption; Jesus Christ is the Son of God
by eternal generation. Angels and men are but
creatures: Christ is the Creator of all things.
Believers were once strangers and enemies, and
they have been reconciled by blood, and adopted
by grace into God's family: Jesus Christ was ever
with the Father, "rejoicing always before him;"
co-equal and co-eternal with him, "the brightness
of his glory, and the express image of his person,"
the only begotten Son of God.
The proofs that Jesus, the Son of God, is equal
with the Father-God of God-Light of Lightvery God of very God-are clear, strong, and numerous.
Look at the statements of the Bible.  "In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. The same
was in the beginning with God. All things were




SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN.        85
made by him; and without him was not anything
made that was made." "I and my Father are
one."  "Of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ
came, who is over all, God blessed for ever.Amen."  How convincing is the testimony of the
prophets to the Deity and humanity of Jesus!
We read in Isaiah: "Unto us a Child is born,"
mark his human nature: " Unto us a Son is given,"
mark his Divine nature (compare John iii. 16):
"and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty Godl, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace." Micah says, "Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come
forth unto me," here is his human nature, "that is
to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have
been from of old, from everlasting," here is his Divine nature. To quote only one more passage;
Jeremiah says, "Behold, the days come, saith the
Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous
Branch," here is the human nature of Christ;
"and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall
execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his
days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell
safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be
8




86        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS;" here is
his Divine nature.
Consider one remarkable feature in the miracles
of Jesus, namely, they were performed by his own,
not a derived power. Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and
the apostles wrought miracles by power from heaven. They were instruments of God's power when
they wrought miracles, as they were instruments of
his wisdom and knowledge when they wrote books
of Holy Scripture, and instruments of his grace
when they converted  souls.  But when Jesus
wrought miracles, he acted fre1y and independently, with the authority and majesty of God himself. "Talitha cumi."  "Young man, I say unto
thee, Arise." "Lazarus, come forth." His miracles, therefore, were proofs of his Deity.
Consider the argument from the parity of names,
attributes, and operations.  There are names, attributes, and operations assigned to Jehovah, in the
Scripture, which are the property of God alone.
If these are assigned to Jesus Christ, it must follow
that Jesus Christ is of the same nature with God.
On this head, we cannot do better than quote the
references of Bishop Beveridge: "The Father is
called Jehovah, and so is the Son: Isa. vi. 3; Hos.
i. 7. The Father is called God, so is the Son:




SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN.        87
John i. 1,'In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.''With God' as to his person,' God' himself as to his
essence: so John xx. 28; Acts xx. 28; 1 Tim. iii.
16. The Father is Alpha and Omega, the first
and the last: Isa. xli. 4; xliv. 6. So is the Son:
Rev. i. 8-17. Is the Father eternal?  So is the
Son: Isa. ix. 6; Rev. i. 8. Is the Father Almighty? So is the Son: Heb. i. 3. Is the Father
everywhere?  So is the Son: Matt. xviii. 20.
Doth the Father know all things? So doth the
Son: John xxi.; 17.  Did the Father make all
things? So did the Son: John i. 3. Doth the
Father preserve and uphold all things? So doth
the Son: Heb. i. 3.I Doth the Father forgive sins?
So doth the Son: Matt. ix. 6."
Further, without question, Jesus Christ knew
the mind of God. It was his meat and his drink
to do his Father's will. Would he then give any
sanction to idolatry? If I pay religious homage to
a creature, I am guilty of idolatry. Hence Peter
refused the homage of Cornelius, when "he fell
down at his feet, and worshipped him. Peter took
him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a
man." The angel at whose feet John fell, said,
"See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and




88        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus:
worship God." The Lord Jesus never declined
the worship of man. The leper knelt before him.
After the walking upon the sea, and the calming
the tempest, the disciples came and worshipped
him, saying, " Of a truth thou art the Son of God."
The woman of Canaan prayed unto him, "Have
mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my
daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." The
blind men who were restored to sight offered a
similar prayer. Many more instances might be
mentioned. Were these acts of adoration ever discouraged in any single instance? If Jesus were
only a man, then all these cases were acts of idolatry, and our Lord went about (with reverence we
write it) teaching and encouraging idolatry. But
what were the words of Jesus himself?  " That all
men should honour the Son even as they honour
the Father." And what was his command immediately before his ascension?  "'Go ye therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost."  Baptism  surely is an act of religious
worship. Yet baptism is to be administered in the
name of Jesus. If, then, we cannot believe that
Jesus, the great teacher sent from God, would




SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN.        89
institute idolatry, he must be a Divine Being equal
in authority, majesty, and glory with the Father
and Holy Spirit.
Such are some of the scriptural proofs for the
Deity of Jesus Christ. We have referred to this
subject in a previous chapter, where we entered at
some length into the argument from the title " I am
Alpha and Omega, the first and the last."
This doctrine is full of unspeakable consolation
and instruction. The love of God in the gift of his
Son, and the condescension of Christ in effecting
our salvation, are exceedingly magnified, if we in
any measure realize the eternal dignity and majesty
of the Son of God.
The salvation which Jesus has purchased is a
Divine work. It has Divine efficacy and merit.
It honours God, and it saves man. The holiest
creature could only have done his duty, he could
not have merited a righteousness for another. But
Jesus is "Jehovah our righteousness." Neither could
a creature have endured the weight of imputed sin;
our own sin is an intolerable burden: "A wounded
spirit who can bear?" If Jesus had not been a
Divine Being, he would have sunk under the weight
of the sins of the world.
8*




90        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
As God, Jesus Christ is "able to save to the
uttermost."  He is able to subdue our enemiesconquer temptations for us and in us, hear, answer, and satisfy every prayer of our hearts.
In him  all fulness dwells.  All wisdom, knowledge, grace, and power are treasured up in him
for his people.
The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, also calls
himself the "Son of man." "Who do men say
that I the Son of man am?"  "The Son of man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
and to give his life a ransom for many." "The
Son of man is come to seek and to save that which
was lost." It is a common observation how often
Jesus calls himself the "Son of man," and how
very seldom he is called so by others. More than
sixty passages might be quoted of the former class,
and not six of the latter. Once Daniel speaks of
Jesus as the "Son of man." Once Stephen said,
"I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man
standing on the right hand of God;" and John,
in the first chapter of Revelation, says, "Being
turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in
the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto
the Son of man;" and again, in Rev. xiv. 14:




SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN.        91
"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and
upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man."
It was like him to designate himself the "Son of
man," for "he made himself of no reputation."
It would not have been like his apostles, to whom
he was so precious, and who sought his glory as
the one object of their lives, to apply to him, in
their ordinary method of speech, a title of humiliation-and it was such, take it how we will. Some
simply understand by the title that Jesus was the
" Seed of the woman," the promised Son of David.
Others look upon it as an expression on his part
of his humanity. Dean Trench thinks that he is
so called, because he was the only specimen which
earth has ever witnessed of man in his high and
true estate. Man in ruins cannot be called the
true idea of man. You would hardly say of the
mounds and morasses of Babylon, and of the
excavations of Nineveh, There is Babylon, or There
is Nineveh. And of man —sinful, depraved, diseased, and dying man-you can hardly say, There
is man. The naturalist would not select as an
illustration of an order of creatures, some broken
or mutilated thing, but the most perfect that he
could find; and so Trench says, that "Christ alone




92        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
realized the idea of man, the second Adam, who,
unlike the first, should maintain his position as
the head and representative of the race-the one
true and perfect flower which had ever unfolded
itself out of the root and stalk of humanity."
The proofs of the human nature of Jesus meet
us everywhere in the Gospels.  We shall best
satisfy our readers, if we again refer to Bishop
Beveridge's arrangement of texts on this head.
"As the Son of God was begotten of the same
substance with God the Father from eternity, so
was he conceived of the same substance with us
men in time; and therefore is there nothing that
belongs to us as men, but what he took upon himself. Have we a body? so had he, Heb. x. 5, 10:
have we flesh and blood? so had he, Heb. ii. 14:
have we hands and feet? so had he, Luke xxiv.
39: have we a soul? so had he, Matthew xxvi. 38.
Are we hungered? so was he, Matthew iv. 2:
and weary? so was he, John iv. 6: and heavy
and sorrowful? so was he, Mark xiv. 33. Do
we grow in stature and knowledge? so did he,
Luke ii. 52. Do we die? so did he-he gave
up the ghost too, John xix. 30. Thus was he
in all things tempted like us, yet without sin,




SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN.        93
Hebrews ii. 17; iv. 15. So well may he be called
the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy ii. 5; 1 Corinthians xv. 21: and Christ Jesus the Son of man,
Matthew xxvi. 2."
How great was the condescension of the Lord
Jesus! "Though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor, that ye through his poverty
might be rich." Jehovah's "fellow" became very
man.  Hiow  wonderful that the Creator should
voluntarily abase himself to become a creature;
that the only begotten Word of the Father
should be "born of a woman;" that he who "upholds all things by the word of his power,"
should himself be upheld in his mother's arms;
that he, in whom all men "live and move, and
have their being," should himself draw sustenance
from his mother's breast; that the boy in the
temple at Jerusalem should himself be the very
Wisdom of God, from whom the sages of the law
derived their understanding, and their hard questions; that the Teacher, who instructed Nicodemus by night, was himself both on earth and in
heaven! "No man hath ascended up to heaven,
but he that came down from heaven, even the Son
of man which is in heaven." Three wonders meet




94        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
in that verse of John (chapter i. 10).  "He was
in the world," observe the condescension of his
humanity; "and the world was made by him,"
mark the glory of his Deity; "and the world
knew him  not."  This is the greatest wonder,
that men knew not their Creator, Redeemer, and
Lord.
The humanity of Jesus assures us of his deep
and tender sympathy: "For he that toucheth you,
toucheth the apple of his eye." "We have not an
High Priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin." The
Lord Jesus passed through the various stages of
man's condition, that he might experimentally feel
for each and for all. He was emphatically the
" man of sorrows." Are we oppressed by poverty?
He could say, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of
the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not
where to lay his head." Are we suffering under
agonizing bereavement?  He wept at Lazarus's
grave. Have we to encounter shame and reproach
for him?  He endured the "contradiction of sinners against himself." Have we to grapple with
spiritual enemies?  "He himself hath suffered, being tempted; and he is able to succour them that




SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN.         95
are tempted." He is the head of his church. We
are his members. We are one with him. He is
one with us. Most intimate is the sympathy between Jesus and his saints. He is their "all in all,"
"the chiefest among ten thousand." We are thus
encouraged to put all our trust in Jesus Christ, and
to commit our way to him, believing that he will
perfect his own work in our souls.




96         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
"THE BREAD OF LIFE."
" I am that bread of life."-JOHN Vi. 48.
RITHERTO our attention has been directed to
t,se titles and names of Christ assumed by hims'f, which we may regard as personal, because
thlMy set forth his personal attributes, and what he
is in himself, in the adorable mystery of his persovu-God and man in one Christ. We now turn
to those titles and names which may be regarded as
descriptive, rather than as personal, because Christ
has, in condescension to our infirmities, been pleased
to apply to himself some familiar object as an emblem, descriptive of what he is to us, and of our
duty towards him.  These descriptive titles are
almost entirely peculiar to the writings of John.
To him it was permitted to record the more intimate conversations of Christ with his disciples; and
to him we are indebted for the beautiful and suggestive titles upon which we now enter, the "Bread




THE BREAD OF LIFE.           97
of Life," the "Light of the World," the "Good
Shepherd," the "Resurrection and the Life," etc.
"I am that bread of life." The Lord Jesus
thus applies to himself the celebrated gift of the
manna in the wilderness.  "Moses gave you not
that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you
the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God
is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth
life unto the world."
The manna was the gift of God. "God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son."
The manna was given freely. No merit could the
children of Israel claim. Rather, the merit was
the other way. They might have expected fire
from heaven, but not food.  They were guilty
rebels, murmuring in their unbelief, as though God
had brought them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness.  The plagues of Egypt, the passage
through the Red Sea, and the mysterious pillar of
cloud which overshadowed and guided them day by
day, had not taught them to trust in the Lord Jehovah. When the bread which they had brought
with them out of Egypt was spent, they murmured
against Moses and against God. How marvellous
the patience and the grace of the Most High!
God, who is rich in mercy, chose to still the fretful
9




98        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
murmurs of his first born with the breast rather
than the rod. He bids the heaven supply by its
bounty what the earth denied by its barrenness;
and, without their toil or sweat, gives them plenty
of bread even in a land that was not sown. And
has not "God commended his love toward us, in
that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us? "
The sandy desert was barren and utterly destitute
of any sustenance for the numerous host, and God
opened for them the treasures of the sky, and gave
them corn from heaven, and invited them to partake of angels' food. Earth could provide no Saviour for man: "None can by any means redeem
his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him."
Christ "-saw that there was no man, and wondered
that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm
brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness,
it sustained him." We are told in Numbers xi. 9,
that "when the dew fell upon the camp in the
night, the manna fell upon it;" and in Exodus xvi.
13, that "the dew lay round about the host."
Most abundant was the provision, in the midst of
which the congregation of Israel dwelt, and most
striking was the "goodness" with which God had
prepared a table in the wilderness for his people.,The dew was a sovereign gift, which "tarrieth not




THE BREAD OF LIFE.            99
for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men."  At
night the manna fell; and dark indeed was the
moral night of this world when Jesus was given to
tabernacle among us. For more than fifteen hundred years, the Jews had been the favoured depositaries of the oracles of heaven, and yet they rejected the Messiah, and crucified the Lord of glory.
Greece and Rome had reached the highest point of
fame and civilization; but let the first chapter of
Romans testify how ineffectual is intellect without
grace to produce virtue, and purity, and happiness
here, or to confer a hope of immortality hereafter.
Surely, then, it was the "fulness of time" when
the Lord Jesus came into the world, if we only
regard the darkness of the moral night in which
the nations were enshrouded. Jesus is the gift of
God. Grace shines throughout it. Mercy to the
fallen, grace to the lost; yea, most abundant grace:
to be preached to all nations, and to be offered to
every creature. The manna lay outside the host.
And Christ's arm of mercy encircles the human
family. The invitation is as free as the air we
breathe, and as extensive as the globe; "Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the
earth."
The manna was to be gathered.  The Israelites




100        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
had to stoop down, and to put forth their hand,
and appropriate portion by portion, if they wished
to avoid perishing from hunger in the wilderness.
It is not enough for us that Christ has died, and
has made a full, perfect, and sufficient satisfaction
for the sins of the whole world.* We must come to
him. We must appropriate him to our souls by faith.
The manna was to be gathered in the morning.
If done at all, the work must be done at the opening dawn. " Remember thy Creator in the days of
thy youth."  "I love them  that love me; and
those that seek me early shall find me."  "In the
morning sow thy seed." Let the First have the
first. Some give the dregs of their life to God,
and hope to creep into heaven at the eleventh
hour. How deep and how foul is the ingratitude
of such conduct! Does a youthful eye rest upon
this page? Let me invite such an one to taste of
true happiness by coming at once to Jesus. Let
your opening and expanding powers of mind and
* While the atonement is of infinite sufficiency, it is only
efficient in the case of those who penitently and believingly receive it. The writer, evidently, does not teach that Christ
made satisfaction for the sins of those who finally perish, otherwise they would have been saved; but that it was so sufficient
that the whole world might avail themselves of its benefits. —
Editor of the Board of Publication.




THE BREAD OF LIFE.           101
body be devoted to him. Come to Jesus now, and
let Dudley Tyng's dying words be the motto of
your daily life, "Stand up for Jesus."
Gather spiritual manna at the morning hour of
each day. Imitate the example of Him who "rose
a great while before day," that he might enjoy
communion with his Father in heaven.  Make
time for secret morning devotion.  "The arrow
long retains the first direction of the impelling
hand. The vessel rarely loses the savour of its
first contents. The day-break blessing is a daylong gain. Let Jesus draw back your morning
curtain, and he will sanctify the mid-day labour,
and lull you to the night's repose." * If you would
be serious, and holy, and useful-if you would walk
in the light of the Lord through the day-give the
moments of early morning to prayer and reading the
word of God. This is the secret of the strength
of Christians. General Havelock, whose memory
is so fragrant in all the churches of Jesus, set apart
two hours for secret devotional exercises before he
entered into the public business of each day.
Havelock was permitted to relieve Lucknow; and
he was called away from the admiration of a grate* Archdeacon Law.
9*




102       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
ful country to receive the "crown of life," radiant
with immortal splendour.
All had to gather the manna. There was an
ample supply for all. Some gathered much, others
less: "He that gathered much had nothing over,
and he that gathered little had no lack." All need
to come to Jesus. All are invited to come to him.
All who do come, find in him an all-sufficient portion.  The manna was parted liberally to all.
None are straitened in Jesus Christ: "They shall
be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God's
house; and thou shalt make them drink of the
river of thy pleasures." The manna was equally
distributed among the Israelites.  So, all believers,
of every sex, of every age, of every nation, strong
or weak, eminent or obscure, do equally partake
in the common salvation; for all are one in Christ
Jesus. The manna was to be gathered day by day,
and not to be hoarded. Thus were the Israelites
taught to depend upon God for their daily bread,
and to beware of covetousness. Manna was not to
be gathered on the Sabbath day. Thus did God
put honour upon his own day, and thus would he
teach us to look forward to that eternal Sabbath,
where the means of grace and the ordinances of
religion will be laid aside, and where there is no




THE BREAD OF LIFE.           103
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in
the heavenly temple; for the glory of God doth
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Having glanced at a few features of the origin
and distribution of the manna, let us take some up
in the hand of faith, and inquire what it teaches us
about Jesus Christ, the "Bread of life."
It was the natural exclamation of the people,
when they first saw the manna, "What is this?"
They had never seen it before; they had never
tasted it; they knew it not. Alas, how many are
ignorant of Jesus Christ!  Millions have never
heard his sweet and blessed name; and millions
more have heard his name and his gospel, and yet,
in the experience of their hearts, are totally ignorant of him. But when the manna had been
tasted, then that which at first was an exclamation
of surprise and ignorance, by a slight literal alteration passed into an expression of adoration and
gratitude. "Manna," What is it? became "Maneh,"
a portion —an abundant portion. It is even so
with Jesus. For years, we may have been in ignorance and carelessness respecting him. But let our
hearts be touched by Divine grace, and let us but
come to him, and receive his blessed welcome and
his free pardon; let us but enjoy deep and full




104       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
communion with him, and then our hearts shall
acknowledge that Christ is a portion indeed. He
is all my salvation, and all my desire.
The manna was "small;"''-in appearance, like a
little seed. To the eye of sense, it might seem
very poor nourishment for an army-too poor, certainly, to be the gift of Heaven. When Jesus:'came unto his own, his own received him not."
"He was despised and rejected of men."  The
reputed son of a carpenter of Nazareth was thought
too humble to be the Son of David, and the King
of the Jews. To the world, Jesus appears but
"'small." They take no account of him in their
political schemes, or in their family arrangements.
Self is the great idol. Pleasure, pride, and pelf
are the trinity of the world, and the Lord Jesus is
dishonoured and cast out; even believers are too
often ashamed of him; and the Saviour is wounded
in the house of his professed servants and friends.
The manna was "round." The circle was the
ancient emblem of eternity. Jesus is the everlasting God, "without beginning of days, or end of
years."
The manna was "white." This is the universal
idea of purity. Jesus is the Holy One. In him
was no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.




THE BREAD OF LIFE.           105
His innocence needed no more argument than the
sun needs an argument to prove that he is the
brightest luminary in the firmament.
The manna also was "sweet;"-"like honey."
Unto them that believe, Jesus Christ is precious.
The law of his mouth is dearer to them than
thousands of gold and silver. His person, offices,
and work are full of sweetness to their souls.
When most needed, Jesus Christ is most sweet.
When the heart is bleeding with disappointment,
he draws near to heal it. When the billows of
adversity roll over the spirit of man, he speaks to
the wind "Peace," and to the waves "Be still,"
and "there is a great calm." When sin presses
with mountainous weight upon the conscience, his
blood, applied by the Holy Spirit, casts the mountain into the sea. Oh, how "sweet" has Jesus
proved himself in the moment of temptation, amid
the rough sneers of worldly opposition, and in the
last, the dying strife! Let us taste and see how
gracious the Lord is. It is a matter of personal
experience. What is your testimony, reader, to
the sweetness of the "Bread of life?"
Before eaten, the manna must be prepared,
"It must be gathered, and ground in mills, or
beaten in a mortar, and baked in pans, and made




106       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
into cakes" for the people. Might not all this
portray the humiliation and the sufferings through
which Jesus passed that he might qualify himself
to be our Saviour? Not only must he come from
heaven, and take our nature, but he must "bear
our sins in his own body on the tree," and endure
the judicial fire of the Father's wrath, to- purchase
our redemption.  It is thus also with his people.
Affliction is the school of preparation for God's
service. The earth must be ploughed up, and the
clods broken, if we would reap a plenteous harvest.
The olive berries must be crushed, if we would extract the oil. The grapes must be trodden in the
wine-press, if they are to yield the "wine which
maketh glad the heart of man." The corn must
be cut down and laid on the threshing floor, and
beaten and winnowed, and ground very small, and
kneaded, and baked, if it is to be the staff of man's
life: and the believer must suffer, if he is to glorify
his Lord, and benefit his fellow-creatures. When
he is brought into the very dust, when he is taught
his own poverty and wretchedness, then he is in a
proper posture to receive good from heaven, and
to do good upon earth. When he is most like to
his Lord in the patience of discipline, then will he




THE BREAD OF LIFE.            107
most nearly resemble him in the fruitfulness of sanctification, and devotedness to the will of God.
We may learn much about Christ, the "Bread
of life," if we think of the "manna" in contrast
with him. Earthly and temporal emblems fall short
when they are employed to represent heavenly and
eternal realities. No one emblem can do justice
to Christ, for all created glory flows from him and
oentres in him. The "manna" was lifeless; Christ
i's the living Saviour, with him is the well of
life.  The  "manna" was food for the body;
Chris.t is the true "bread" for the soul. The
"'manna" could not give, it could only sustain life;
Christ is a life-giving, life-sustaining Saviour: "In
him we live, and move, and have our being," physically, mentally, spiritually, and eternally.  The
"manna" could only supply one want: in Christ is
all fulness; in him we have "wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." The'"manna" was for one nation only; Christ is the
"desire of all nations."  The "manna" was given
for forty years only, and in one place, the wilderness; Christ has been the refuge and hope of his
saints from generation to generation: "Where two
or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them." "Lo, I am with you




108       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
alway, even unto the end of the world." Multitudes that partook of the "manna" died in the
wilderness; but if we "keep Christ's saying, we
shall never taste of death;" to us the death of the
body will be the portal to endless life and happiness.  The children of Israel wearied  of the
"manna," and called it "light food;" true believers
find increasing joy and treasure in Christ; the
longer they live, the richer satisfaction do they
experience in studying the wonders of redeeming
love. Charles Simeon, on his deathbed, employed
himself in dictating the outline of four sermons on
Ephesians iii. 18, 19.  "So intensely," says his
biographer, "were his thoughts fixed on the distribution and illustration of this glorious theme, that
he declared he thought no higher honour could be
conferred on him, than to be permitted to prepare
a set of discourses upon it; and added,'This is
the grandest subject I can conceive of for a course
of sermons; I should think a life well spent, even
out of heaven, to write and deliver four sermons
upon it, in a manner worthy of it.'" Had the
Israelites met with other food in the desert, they
might have subsisted upon it, as well as upon the
manna.  Christ is the only Saviour for sinners.
"Other foundation can no man lay than that is




THE BREAD OF LIFE.          109
laid, which is Jesus Christ."  "Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved."
We have remarked, that in the arrangement for
gathering the manna, God put special honour upon
the Sabbath day; twice as much was to be gathered on the sixth day, that none might be required
on the seventh day. The fact that this commandment was given prior to the delivery of the law
from Mount Sinai, is one of the many proofs
that the Sabbath was a patriarchal and not a Mosaic institution. If the Sabbath were thus made
for man, independently of national privilege or
peculiarity, then it follows that in its spirit it is
binding upon us. The Christian is taught that no
unnecessary work is to be done on God's holy day,
nothing that may be anticipated on the Saturday,
or that may be postponed till the Monday; and, if
he be a master or employer, he should afford every
possible facility to his dependants to honour the
Sabbath.
The arrangement, moreover, that a double portion should fall on the sixth day, and that none
should fall on the seventh day, proves that the gift
of the manna was not natural, but miraculous. It
10




110       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
has been well observed, that the "natural manna
was never found in the desert, where this fell:
where the natural manna does fall, it is only in the
spring, whereas this fell throughout all the months
in the year. The natural manna does not melt in
the sun, Exodus xvi. 21; does not breed worms, if
kept till the morning, verse 20; cannot be ground,
so as to make cakes; is medicinal, and therefore
cannot be used as food."
Our Saviour's discourse on the "bread of life,"
in the sixth chapter of John, has been applied by
many, who are not Romanists, to the sacrament of
the supper of the Lord. We think that Christ
would not, by a considerable interval, have thus
antedated the institution of that ordinance; and,
therefore, that no sacramental theory should be
erected upon this chapter, which may not be most
clearly demonstrated from other passages of Scripture. Still, in a "spiritual and heavenly manner,"
the solemn words of Christ may be accommodated
to the reception of bread and wine in the holy communion, as well as to every act of a Christian's
faith: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son -of man,
and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso
eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.




THE BREAD OF LIFE.            1ll
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink
indeed." In every ordinance that Christ has appointed, as a means of grace, there must be a believing appropriation of him to the soul, even as it
was necessary that the manna should be gathered,
prepared, and eaten by the Israelites. The mere
form of religious service will not profit us anything;
there must be the spirit and life, if it is to be acceptable to God, and beneficial to us. Nothing is
apparently more simple than that before eating there
must be appetite; that in eating there must be actual
reception of food; and that after eating there must
be digestion, if assimilation and sustenance are to
follow. Nothing is so simple as all this, and yet
the physiologist will tell us that all this implies one
of the most mysterious processes in nature; and so,
nothing can be more easily stated upon paper, nothing appears more simple and reasonable when personally realized, than that there must be a sense of
need and sinfulness, a belief in the love and power
of Jesus, and an habitual abiding in him, and union
and communion with him, if the life of God is to
flourish in the soul of man. And yet how solemn
and how mysterious are all these actings of the Divine Spirit in man! That in secret prayer, while
reading the Bible, at the house of God, or at the




112        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
Lord's table, in the conscientious fulfilment of daily
duty, or in the loving ministrations to the poor of
Christ's flock-that in each and all of these means
of grace, we are one with Christ, and he is one with
us-all this is no less true than it is mysterious;
and we learn to analyze diligently our own motives
and principles, to labour after reality in our Christian walk, and to offer with all humility and earnestness the prayer of the disciples, "Lord, evermore
give us this bread."




THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.          113
1" THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."' Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of
the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life."-JoHN viii. 12.
IT is to be regretted that when the division of
the New Testament into chapters and verses was
made, the first verse of the eighth chapter of John
was separated from the last verse of the seventh
chapter; the two verses should have been left in
close connection, and then the reader's attention
would have been drawn immediately to that which,
doubtless, the Holy Spirit intended to illustrate,
namely, the homelessness of Jesus: "Every man
went unto his own house; Jesus went unto the
mount of Olives." The Creator of all things had
no home upon his own earth. The world was made
by him, and the world knew him not. This is his
own testimony, "Foxes have holes, and the birds
of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath
not where to lay his head."
10 *




114       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
"And early in the morning" (we read in the
eighth chapter and second verse) "he came again
into the temple, and all the people came unto him;
and he sat down, and taught them." Soon after
the great Teacher had commenced his instruction,
the case of the "woman taken in adultery" was
captiously submitted to his judgment by the Scribes
and Pharisees. How strikingly did the "Wisdom
of God" frustrate the counsels of his enemies!
How clearly did. he evince his knowledge of the
heart of man, and his sovereignty over conscience!
How beautifully did he manifest his compassion for
the sinner, and his hatred of sin! "Woman, where
are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned
thee?  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said
unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin
no more." In delicate allusion to this instance of
moral darkness and shame; and pointing, probably
with his finger, to the bright luminary of heaven,
which had only just appeared above the eastern
horizon, and was even then dispersing in every direction the clouds of night, and was illuminating
the vault of heaven and the face of nature with his
glorious beams, Jesus said to his hearers, "I am
the light of the world."
Under this emblem, so sublime and significant,




THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.         115
Christ was spoken of by the prophet Malachi:
"Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of
righteousness arise with healing in his wings;" and
again, the royal psalmist (Psa. lxxxiv. 11), "The
Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give
grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly."
Let us think for a moment or two on the darkness to which our Saviour referred, and which is
driven away by him, the "light of the world."
The word "darkness" is used in a fourfold sense.
There is the darkness of ignorance. "The dark
places of the earth," that is, the places enshrouded
in mental and spiritual ignorance, " are full of the
habitations of cruelty."  There is the darkness of
sin: "Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Ignorance is the
parent of crime. The adulterer and the thief, like
the "beasts of the forest, creep forth" under the
shades of night, to execute their vile designs.
There is the darkness of danger and dread. "Are
there not twelve hours in the day? If any man
walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth
the light of this world: but if a man walk in the
night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in
him." Night is the time of danger and alarm, when




116        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
we close our shutters, lock our doors, and draw our
bolts and bars, and when we feel, in an especial
manner, our need of the protection of our heavenly
Father. And there is the darkness of sorrow and
misery. To walk in darkness, is to walk in sorrow.
To lie down in the "blackness of darkness for ever,"
is to lie down in hell. The Lord Jesus is the "light
of the world." He brought life and immortality
to light. Profound indeed was the darkness even
of the civilized Roman world at his advent. Cicero
may be regarded as a fair specimen of what man
could attain to without a revelation from heaven;
and yet Cicero was not sure either of the existence
of God, or of the immortality of the soul. The Rabbis were designated by our Lord as "blind leaders
of the blind." To Nicodemus, the doctrine of the
new birth appeared strange; and though the law
and the prophets were read in the synagogue every
Sabbath day, Paul says that the veil was on the
heart of the Jewish nation.  Very appropriate,
then, was the title which the "Teacher sent from
God" assumed to himself, "I am the light of the
world." Through succeeding ages, wherever the
gospel has been freely and fully proclaimed, there
has the light of truth, religion, civilization, and
science sprung up. Modern Europe owes all her




THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.         117
mental superiority over the nations of the earth to
the gospel. And in our own day, Christ, the "light
of the world," has illuminated the tribes of the Red
Indians, the natives of New Zealand, the islands of
the Pacific, and many heathen nations with the
"brightness of his rising." We need not stay to
show the rich blessings which follow in the train of
the gospel. The light of Christian knowledge is
succeeded in ten thousand instances by the light of
Christian virtue and holiness. "The Son of God
was manifested, that he might destroy the works
of the devil." He saves all who truly believe in
him, from the guilt, the power, and the condemnation of sin.  He is the consolation of Israel, and
the "Prince of peace." IHe despoils death of its
sting, and the grave of its victory.  He "opens the
kingdom of heaven to all believers." In every
point of view, therefore, darkness yields at his appearing. Christ is the "true Light, which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world."
We proceed to consider the instruction from the
character and offices of the Saviour which the emblem suggests.
There is but one sun in our planetary system,
and throughout the ample extent of this system the
sun is the one source of light. Towards the sun




118       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
each planet with its moons and satellites, turns its
every portion of surface to receive light; and round
the sun, as the great centre of attraction, each
planet journeys in its fixed order of march, and
thus enjoys innumerable blessings from him. There
is but one Saviour for sinners; one light for the
moral and spiritual world.  Without Jesus every
human soul is wrapt in darkness. From him believers obtain all the blessings of grace and glory.
To him do they daily look for light, and in obedience to him they journey forward, each in his own
orbit, appointed by infinite, unerring wisdom and
love.
The sun is the brightest luminary in the firmament. In his splendour the moon and the stars
pale their feebler radiance. The Lord Jesus "in
all things must have the pre-eminence." He is "the
chiefest among ten thousand." When his light and
love enter into and fill the soul, all inferior lights
of worldly pleasure are extinguished. The man of
the world walks by taper-light; the Christian walks
by sun-light. What are ten thousand thousand
tapers compared to the sun?
The sun is of prodigious magnitude. Our earth
appears to us a huge rotundity; it is 25,000 miles
round, and has a surface of 200,000,000 square




THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.        119
miles. But what is our earth to the sun? About
one to a million. The highest mountain bears the
proportion to the whole earth of a grain of sand
lying upon an eighteen-inch globe.  What then
must a mountain be to the sun? And if a mountain be to the sun so minute a speck, what must
man be who, on a plane surface, can only see two
miles and a half on every side of him? What must
the lower animals be?  What the tiny flower amid
the Alpine snow? What the insects that float upon
the sunbeam? Yet the light that streams from the
sun travels 97,000,000 miles before it reaches us,
and, in order, gladdens and enlightens all. The
loftiest mountains and the most secluded valley,
the lordly palace and the humble cot, the monarch
on the throne and the beggar in the dungeon, are
visited and cheered by his beams. Think of the
magnitude of the sun, and the minuteness of his
operations; the distance of the sun, and yet his
nearness to every one of us. If the sun be so
great, what must its Divine Creator, "the Sun of
righteousness," be! On a fine winter's night the
naked eye can discern a thousand stars, some of
them larger than our sun; and each of these, it is
believed by astronomers, the sun of a separate system, the sovereign luminary of its own territory.




120       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
Through a powerful glass 80,000,000 of these are
brought to view. How sublime, then, the amplitude of His dominion who " filleth heaven and
earth!"  How unspeakably magnificent the power
of the Lord Jesus! How infinite the distance between the Creator Saviour and man whom he has
loved! How wonderful that he who thus has built
all things, and has peopled immensity with the creatures of his hands, should humble himself to visit
our planet, and to take the nature of rebel man,
and in that nature effect an atonement upon the cross
by which the rebel is pardoned, accepted, and saved;
and the principalities and powers in heavenly places,
perhaps the intelligent beings in other planets, and
in other systems, are instructed in the manifold
wisdom of God! Nor is this all: one main object
wherefore the Son of God abased himself and made
this stupendous sacrifice, was that he might purchase
from his Father for men the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In this manner the heart of man is made the temple
of God. The light of the Sun of righteousness
thus shines, not only upon, but in man, without any
respect of persons. "For the same Lord over all
is rich unto all that call upon him." Surely we
may say with David, "Who is like unto the Lord
our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth him.




THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.         121
self to behold the things that are in heaven, and in
the earth?  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that he
may set him with princes, even with the princes of
his people." "Pray," said an infidel to an honest
countryman on his way to church, "whither are you
going?"  "To church."  "What for?"  "To worship God." " Can you tell me whether your God is
a little God, or a great God?" "He is both," replied the countryman.  "Both! how so?" rejoined
the infidel.  "He is so great that he fills heaven
and earth, and he is so small that he can dwell in my
poor heart." "Wisdom is justified of her children."
The sun is eminently beautiful in himself, and he
confers beauty upon every object. This beauty is
simple and yet composite. Pure white light, when
refracted and reflected by the drops of rain, or analyzed by a prism, is proved to consist of seven colours; the most opposite colours are combined in the
formation of pencils of light. Even so, in the Lord
Jesus, there is a combination of excellences. He is
"all fair," and his purity and holiness are "without
spot and blemish." The sevenfold gifts of the Spirit "rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the
spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord."
11




122        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
"As is his majesty, so is his mercy." The Lion of
the tribe of Judah is the "Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world." The sovereign
of all is the servant of all. The beauties of the
landscape are derived from the sun; the variety of
hues that meet the eye are painted by him. The
clouds, the ocean, the fields, the hedges, the hills,
the streams, the trees, with their rich fruit and
luxuriant foliage, the plants, with their exquisitely
tinted flowers, all reflect, and distribute far and wide
the gladdening smile of the sun which falls upon
them. If it be true that colour differs according
to texture, different textures absorbing and reflecting different portions of colour from the solar rays,
then we see how the Creator of these fabrics and
of the light which paints them, has ordered each
and all, so that each shall be beautiful in itself, each
shall contribute to the beauty of the whole landscape, and all redound to the glory of God. It is
thus in the system of grace. The disciples of Jesus
are "black, but comely." In themselves they are
black, polluted, and defiled; but in Jesus they are
comely; " their beauty is perfect, through the comeliness which the Lord Jesus has put upon them."
Their dispositions and characters vary according to
the gifts of God. The grace of Jesus makes them




THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.               123
all beautiful in holiness, and radiant with the smile
and favour of their Beloved. In position, talents,
circumstances, and measure of influence, they vary.
One is a servant, another a master; one, as the
herald of the cross, preaches to thousands; another,
in the service of the word, visits the sorrowful and
the sick in the abodes of destitution and dens of
wickedness; all the saints of Jesus shine in his light,
and they glorify God "in their body and in their
spirit, which are his."
The sun is eminently beneficial.   Light, heat,
and fertility flow from his beams. Blot the sun
from the firmament, and our earth would quickly
become the region of mourning, lamentation, and
woe.  How  pathetically does Milton lament over
his blindness:
" With the year
Seasons return; but not to me returns
Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn,
Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose,
Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine;
But cloud instead, and ever-during dark,
Surround me, from the cheerful ways of men
Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair
Presented with an universal blank
Of Nature's works, to me expunged and razed,
And wisdom, at one entrance, quite shut out."




124       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
Milton had many alleviations in his calamity; he
had friends who comforted him, and daughters
who read to him. For years he had enjoyed the
blessing of sight, and his vigorous memory could
people his imagination with the scenes of former
days, and portray upon his mental vision a thousand objects in nature and art which once it was
his happiness to behold. If there were no sun,
what would be the benefit of sight? This world,
beautiful even in its fall, would be a gloomy prisonhouse of despair and death. In what a deplorable
state would our souls be without Jesus!  Apart
from him, we should have no spiritual knowledge,
no happy love to God or to man for his sake, no
holy conformity to his image, and no fruitfulness to
his glory. Without Jesus we can do nothing, in
repentance, or in faith, or in obedience, or in patience. In him is the light of life, and without him
there would be no holiness or happiness, either in
earth or in heaven.
We may gather some sweet thoughts of Jesus,
from what are called the laws of light, or the modes
of its operation. Is the sun an inexhaustible fountain of light? In Jesus there is an infinite fulness
of grace for all his redeemed people. Does light
travel with amazing rapidity?  How swiftly do the




THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.          125
thoughts of the heart of Jesus flow out toward hig
servants, "thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to
give you an expected end!"  "Before they call, I
will answer." Does light travel only in straight
lines? The Lord Jesus is a holy Saviour; his eyes
look straight before him in the prosecution of his
Father's purposes. Is the angle of reflection always
equal to the angle of incidence? The Christian
knows that in proportion as he receives grace from
Jesus, so will he act grace for Jesus; and that the
light which he receives from heaven, he will find it
his honour and his happiness to reflect upon earth.
Is light, like heat and electricity, a radiant force?
It follows, that a small approximation to its centre
brings a great increase of influence. It is thus in
our relation to Jesus: he is the centre of spiritual
influence and power. Our prayers, the goings forth
of our hearts to him, how weak, how imperfect are
they; and how small is the real approach which we
make to him; and how great is his mercy and love
to us! The more closely we walk with him, the
more shall we realize his grace to our souls.
Again, reflect upon what is popularly called the
rising of the sun. See how he climbs higher and
higher in his beneficent journey, "as a bridegroom
coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong
11 *




126       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
man to run a race." Behold a striking emblem of
the rising of the Sun of righteousness. Mark the
first streak of the light of hope and salvation for
our fallen humanity in the promise given in Eden"the Seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's
head." See how another broad streak was added in
the prophecy of "Enoch, the seventh from AdamBehold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his
saints." Look at the deliverance of Noah and his
family from perishing by water, a prophecy by fact
of the salvation wrought out by Christ Jesus. See
how the promise to Abraham was renewed to Isaac,
and confirmed and extended to Jacob, "In thy seed
shall all the families of the earth be blessed." How
high, comparatively, had the sun risen, when the
dying patriarch said, "The sceptre shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be;" and when he could calmly
lie down in the grave in peace and hope with the
prayer, "I have waited for thy salvation, 0 Lord!"
See how fully, though amid the shadows of an external ritual, the gospel was preached by Moses.
What light would rise in the mind of many a devout
Israelite when he contemplated the pillar of cloud
and of fire; when he gathered his daily portion of




THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.         127
manna; when he drank water from the smitten rock;
when he was healed by looking upon the serpent of
brass; and when he saw the tabernacle of witness,
and took his own part in its solemn services! And
when the people of the Lord were settled in their
inheritances in the promised land, mark how prophecy took up the wondrous tale.
See how the light of the knowledge of the Saviour
extended from age to age, from Samuel to Malachi,
with increasing distinctness: his tribe-his family
-his mother —his birthplace —his miracles —his
doctrines —his crucifixion-his resurrection, and the
"'glory that should follow." How gradually was
all this foretold! With what rapture of hope did
the latter prophets sing of the coming Deliverer!
And with Malachi, how did prophecy expire, as it
were, with the gospel on its tongue, " Unto you that
fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise
with healing in his wings.-Behold, I will send you
Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord!" At length, in the
"fulness of time," the promised Saviour was born;
the true Light shone upon the world. The words
of Isaiah were accomplished, "The people that
walked in darkness have seen a great light: they
that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon




L28       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
them hath the light shined;" and Christ himself
could say, "I am the light of the world." IHeathens are in the darkness of night; the Jews, who
still reject their Messiah, are in twilight; Christians
enjoy the noontide brightness of the Sun of righteousness. How exalted are our privileges! how
grave and solemn are our responsibilities!
When the gospel is first preached to a nation or
a community, Jesus rises upon that nation with
healing in his wings. It is thus also, when the first
entry of the gospel is made by the Holy Spirit into
man's heart. Whilst unconverted, he "sat in darkness," he was satisfied in worse than Egyptian bondage; but when he is enlightened, the Spirit speaks
with power in his soul, "Awake, thou that sleepest,
and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee
light."  How great, how marvellous is the change!
Once darkness, he is now light in the Lord. All
things are become new. He sees everything in a
new light. He is like a man, who for years has
been immured in a dungeon, and who has been
brought unexpectedly into light and liberty. He
is like a man born blind, to whom all the wonders
of nature are suddenly opened. When Christ rises
upon a man's heart, light, and hope, and peace, and
gladness rise, and he is transported with a "joy un



THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.        129
speakable and full of glory." What does the Scripture say of the course of such a convert?  "He
shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace;
the mountains and the hills shall break forth into
singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their
hands." He grows in grace and in knowledge. He
waxes stronger and stronger. "Light is sown for
the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart."
"The path of the just is as the shining light, that
shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
In conclusion, should we not inquire, what do we
know experimentally of this great change? Have
we been brought out of darkness into light, and
from the power of Satan unto God? Let us not
rest till this important question has received a satisfactory answer.
If we are the children of light and of the day,
let us learn to walk, not as others who are still in
darkness, but in obedience to our dear Master and
only Saviour Christ Jesus. "Let us put on the
armour of light." "Let us walk honestly, as in
the day." Let us "shine as lights in the world;
holding forth the word of life." Let us in our conversation, influence, and example, at all times, and
in all circumstances, remember "whose we are and




130        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
whom we serve," and let the joyful object of our
life be to spread the light of life to all around us.
Great things are in store for us if we hold fast
our steadfastness firm unto the end. Glorious is
the prospect before us: "If children, then heirs,
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ."  If
faithful unto death, we shall receive the crown of
life. By grace we have a title to "an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away."  There are greater promises than these.
"They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of
the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."  Can there
anything higher be added from the volume of inspiration?  Yes, for the Saviour has promised that
"the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father."




THE DOOR.                 131
"THE DOOR."
" I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall go in and out, and find pasture." —JoHN x. 9.
How familiar is this representation which Jesus
Christ gives of himself: "I am the door! "  Plainly
it is a metaphor or emblem, by which he intended
to reprove the Scribes and Pharisees, and to instruct
us. The Roman Catholics, by taking literally what
was intended figuratively, have built up the monstrous doctrine of transubstantiation. When our
Saviour instituted the sacrament of the supper, he
took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake
it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat,
this is my body which is given for you: do this in
remembrance of me. Likewise after supper he
took the cup; and when he had given thanks, he
gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for
this is my blood of the New Testament, which is
shed for you, and for many, for the remission of
sins: do this, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance




132       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
of me. Because Jesus said, This is my body, and
this is my blood, the Romanists teach that after the
consecration of the elements by the priest, the bread
and wine are changed into the very body and blood
of the Lord. And, say they, nothing can be more
plain, for we only take Jesus at his word, for he
says, This is my body, and this is my blood. We
may answer, that if one emblem is to be taken in
this literal manner, another must be taken in the
like manner. Jesus said, "I am the vine." Is he
then literally a tree? He said, "I am the light of
the world."  Is he then literally the sun?  He
said, "I am the door."  Is he then the timber and
nails of which the door is made? Everybody must
see the folly of such a method of interpretation.
And, therefore, we are to take these emblems figuratively. The bread and wine represent his body
broken, and his blood poured out for sinners; and
eating the bread and drinking the wine at his table
represent our union and communion with Jesus, and
with each other, as his true people. The vine represents him as the source of all our fruitfulness;
the sun, as the fountain of innumerable blessings;
and the door teaches us, in a lively manner, many
lessons about our Lord, as the Mediator between
God and man.




THE DOOR.                133
"I am the door." A door is a medium of passage. By the door we leave the house, and go forth
into the world; by it, others come from without
and hold intercourse with us. Jesus Christ is the
door to God. "There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
Christ is the "Daysman," the peace-maker who reconciles sinners to God, and God to sinners. Therefore he says, "I am the way; no man cometh unto
the Father, but by me." And Paul writes, "Being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God." And again,
"Through him we both (Jews and Gentiles) have
access by one Spirit unto the Father."
When Jacob left his home as a fugitive, the first
night he stopped at Beersheba: alone in the wilderness, he lay down; the ground his bed, the stone
his pillow, and the heavens his canopy. It was the
season of his distress. Probably he prayed with
strong crying and tears, and bitterly lamented his
deceitful conduct to his aged father, from whom he
was then an exile. The Lord "answered him in
the day of his distress." His very sorrow made
him sleep, and as he slept, "he dreamed, and,
12




134       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of
it reached to heaven: and, behold, the angels of
God ascending and descending on it. And, behold,
the Lord stood above it," and spoke to him words
of consolation and encouragement, "I am with thee,
and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest,
and will bring thee again into this land; for I will
not leave thee, until I have done that which I have
spoken to thee of." What an apt illustration is
this of the mediation of Christ! He is the ladder
between earth and heaven, between man and God.
By him, the penitent sinner's prayer ascends to
heaven; and through him, and for his sake, an answer of peace and forgiveness descends into the
soul.
The tabernacle in the wilderness was surrounded
by a court. Into this court you entered by a veil
of fine linen, curiously wrought with blue, purple,
and scarlet. By a similar veil, you entered into
the holy place, and into the most holy place. In
all these cases, the veil was exactly similar.
Through Christ, we enter into the outward and
visible church; through him, by his mediation,
grace,; and Spirit, we are admitted into his true
church on earth; and through him, when the work
of grace is completed, we are admitted into the




THE DOOR.               135
holiest, even into heaven itself.  Nor is this a
fancy.  The apostle says, "Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the
blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he
hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to
say, his flesh; and having an High Priest over the
house of God; let us draw near with a true heart
in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies
washed with pure water."  Jesus Christ is our
"door," our way of access to God.
"I am the door of the sheep." The true sheep
of Christ, his "chosen, called, and faithful" people,
enter by him, the door. They hear his voice, and
by grace they obey it. They appropriate the promises of Jesus to their souls; this is the mark of
real Christians, true sheep. Many hear of Christ;
few obey, and make use of him. Medicine, not
taken, cannot cure.  Food, not eaten, cannot
nourish. Jesus Christ, not applied by faith, not
entered through, as the door, cannot save. The
true sheep are those who have been reclaimed from
their wanderings, and brought by Christ to God.
Once far off, they are made nigh by the blood of
Jesus. Once enemies and strangers, they are now
his servants, his friends, and his children.




136         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
By the door is intended the mode of entrance
into the fold. The fold was a plot of ground parted
off and strongly enclosed, in order that the sheep
might be protected against "thieves and robbers,"
or wolves and wild beasts. The church of Christ
is separated by grace from the world; it is in the
world, but not of the world. It is under the peculiar protection of the Almighty. "The gates of
hell shall not prevail against it." Jehovah is its
keeper; "lest any hurt it, he watches over it night
and day." The houses in the East consist of a set
of sleeping rooms opening into a quadrangular
space, in the centre of which, perhaps, a tree affords
its delightful shade, or a sparkling fountain its cool
and  exhilarating  beverage.   Here, the inmates
meet for conversation; here, the ordinary business
of life is transacted; and here, in some instances,
for greater protection, the sheep are enfolded at
night. To such a house, the entrance is by a low,
narrow,* unobtrusive, and substantial door let into
* Dr. Kitto gives the following interesting illustration of
Prov. xvii. 19. "He that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction:" -' This is literally true at the present day in the East;
but whether this literal interpretation be that which the sacred
writer had in view, it may be difficult to determine. It will be
remembered that the Oriental houses do not front the street,




THE DOOR.                    137
an archway in the wall, towards the street; and
near it the porter resides. In allusion, probably,
to this arrangement, Christ calls himself the Door.
but that the entrance from thence leads to a court, in which,
or in another beyond it, the front of the main building appears.
Hence little indication can be gathered in the street concerning
the probable character of the interior building, or the rank or
wealth of its inmates, from the appearance of the gate. Aware
of this, and aware also that to excite the cupidity of the ruling
powers by any indication of wealth is to seek destruction, the
wealthiest persons are careful, among other precautions, that
their gate shall not betray them, by being less low or mean
than the gates of their neighbours. In going through a street,
the doors are almost invariably of the most beggarly description-very low; and, although strong, formed of rough, unpainted wood; and on visiting persons whom he may know to
be wealthy, the traveller is surprised to be conducted to a gate
which, in his own country, he would consider unworthy of a
stable or an outhouse, and which but ill prepares him for the
splendour and luxury which he may probably find when he
reaches the interior. In the city of Bagdad, the only exalted
gate to a private residence which the writer recollects to have
seen, belonged to the house of a Moslem of large wealth, and
of so much influence in the city as, he thought, might allow
him to display it freely. He was mistaken. One day, when
riding through the street in which he lived, he was dragged
from his horse, near our door, and put to death on the spot, by
order of the pasha, who immediately took possession of all his
property."
12 *




138       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
The master of the house was also the owner of the
sheep. Christ is our Master and Owner. He calls
himself the Shepherd and the Door. We are now
particularly to contemplate him as the Door. Was
the door of an Eastern residence low, so that you
must stoop at entering?  Christ is a door, not for
the proud, but for the poor and contrite in spirit.
The question was once asked, Which is the first
step to heaven?  The answer was "humility;"
which is the second step? —"humility;" and the
third step?-" humility." Every step towards heaven must be taken in humility.  When we first
come to Christ, we must come in humility; as we
walk daily with him, we must walk in humility; and
wihen we yield our souls to him in death, we must
do so in humility, trusting alone in his most precious merits and his everlasting love. Was the door
narrow? So, if we would enter by Christ upon
the way of life, we must leave our worldliness behind. The door can admit us, but not our sins or
our lusts; these must be renounced finally and for
ever. " Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life; and few there be that find
it."  Was the door humble and unpretending, so
that no idea of the wealth of the owner could be
gathered from the appearance of the gate towards




THE DOOR.               139
the street? When the Lord Jesus, the proprietor
of all things, came into this world, "he humbled
himself, and made himself of no reputation;" he
was "'meek and lowly in heart." Who would have
imagined that the holy child in the temple was the
"Wisdom of God?" or that the carpenter of Nazareth was the Divine Architect of the universe? or
that the crucified One was the beloved of the Father, " the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person;" the "heir of all things," to
whom all power was given in heaven and earth?
Was the door solid and massive? and did it present
a substantial hindrance to an invading foe? Jesus
Christ is a mighty Redeemer, "able to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him." "He
that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye."
The enemy must destroy him before he can prevail
to destroy his sheep. Take an illustration drawn
by the pencil of inspiration: "As an eagle stirreth up
her nest, fiuttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad
her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings;
so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no
strange god with him."
Unless we enter by the door, we can have no
knowledge of the wealth of the house, nor of the
character of the owner. We have no real know



140       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
ledge of God except we draw near unto him through
his Son, Jesus Christ. "No man hath seen God at
any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
How great are the blessings which Christ promises to those who "enter by him! "  "By me, if
any man enter in, he shall be saved."  The poor
wandering sheep brought into the fold is safe and
happy. Believers in Jesus are saved with an " everlasting salvation." They are "filled with joy and
peace in believing." They are washed in the blood
of Christ, they are clothed in the righteousness of
Christ, they are freely and fully justified through
the merits of Christ, and they are progressively
sanctified by the Spirit of Christ.  Hooker well
remarks of this glorious salvation, "There is a
threefold righteousness for believers; there is a justifying righteousness, which is perfect but not inherent; there is a sanctifying righteousness, which is
inherent but not perfect; and there will be a glorifying righteousness in the world to come, which is
both perfect and inherent."
Liberty, holy, gracious liberty, is also secured in
the promise, "He shall go in and out." Always
to be in the fold would be imprisonment. Always
to be out of the fold would be banishment. Christ's




THE DOOR.               141
sheep have liberty. The truth has made them
"free." They are led forth by their compassionate
Shepherd into pasture. He leads them into the
treasures of his word, and feeds them with the plenteousness of God's house. He brings them into the
fold, and his "banner over them is love." Their
Shepherd is ever with them. He will never fail
nor forsake them. Their communion with him is
free and unrestrained; they come with boldness to
the throne of grace. They pour out their hearts
before him, and he entrusts the secrets of his covenant and his dealings to them. How pleasing is the
testimony of one of the sheep, "The Lord is my
Shepherd; I shall not want! He maketh me to
lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside
the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
If we found a door always shut against us, we
should leave off trying to effect an entrance. What
an unspeakable mercy it is that over the door to
present pardon, peace, and holiness, and to everlasting felicity, there is this inscription, "Knock, and
it shall be opened unto you." Blessed is he that




142       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
knocks at mercy's door; for Christ says, "Him that
cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." We may
be poor, sorrowful, and unworthy; we may feel (yea,
we ought to feel) as if we were beggars at the throne
of grace.  "The Son of man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost." The voice of tender
invitation is to "the sons of men," Prov. viii. 4.
None are excluded but those who exclude themselves. Though we have to knock again and again,
though our wants are so numerous, and our necessities so pressing, yet Christ is never wearied with
our prayers. He is ever more ready to hear than
we are ready to pray; and he is wont to give more
than we can desire or deserve. And should not
our own successful experience stimulate us to encourage and invite others to apply to him for his
blessing? Christ will not be displeased, for he is
rich unto all that call upon him, and rejoices over a
repenting sinner with "joy and singing." Christ
is then an open door to penitent believers.  "The
Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst
come. And whosoever will, let him take of the
water of life freely."
Grace, however, has its time and season. The
longest day has an end. The brightest sun will




THE DOOR.              143
set. God's patience is great with man; but patience will have her "perfect work."  His wrath is
slow to rise; but when once it is kindled, all the
rivers of the south cannot quench it. "Now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Now, the door of mercy may be entered. Now,
God is waiting to be gracious. There is a time
when conscience speaks, when providences allure or
alarm, when the HIoly Ghost pleads, when the offers
of grace are made, and when the door may be opened
by faith and prayer. But, "when once the Master
of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door,
and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the
door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; he shall
answer and say unto you, I know you not whence
ye are."
Noah preached to the sinners of the old world for
a hundred and twenty years, all the time the ark
was building. There was then a double testimony
from God; but they were proof against every admonition, dead to every sound.  They ate, they
drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they
builded; and in their folly they thought that all
things would continue the same as from the beginning of the creation; they believed not in God, and
treated the Most High as if he were a liar like unto




144        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
themselves. The appointed time came. The ark
was completed, and stored with all kind of provision.
The creatures had all entered and taken their allotted
places. Noah and his family embarked in that huge,
strange vessel, and the sacred historian adds, "The
Lord shut him in." The door that shut in Noah and
his family, shut out the ungodly and the impenitent.
Even thus will it be when the "Son of man is revealed."  The door of mercy will then be shut.
When the last elect soul shall be converted and
saved, then shall the end come; then shall the flood
of fire sweep over a guilty world; then shall it be
too late to cry for mercy when it is the time of justice. Oh terrible voice of most just judgment, which
shall be pronounced upon them, when it shall be
said unto them, "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!"
In the parable of the ten virgins our Lord says,
"They that were ready went in with him to the
marriage: and the door was shut." Solemn words!
— "the door was shut."  They that were ready
were safe and happy; but those who were not ready,
who had no oil in their vessels, no grace in their
hearts, were shut out, and that sorrowful word fell
upon their ear, "Depart."
To every individual the door is shut at death.




THE DOOR.                145
While there is life there is hope. At death the portion of each is unalterably fixed. As the tree falls,
so it lies. As death leaves a man, so will judgment
find him —saved by grace, or lost by sin. Death
may come gradually. Weeks of languishing may
be appointed. Pin by pin the tabernacle may be
taken down. A long season may be granted for
personal preparation, or for giving a testimony for
Christ to those around us. But the door will be
shut at last, and the soul will be launched into eternity. Death may summon us in a moment. We
know not what a day may bring forth. Like the
grass, we may be cut down: "In the morning it
flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut
down, and withereth." Spencer Thornton, the faithful minister of Wendover, rich in faith and good
works, was walking in London, when the Lord called
him from his work to his reward; he suddenly
dropped, fell on the pavement, and the vital spark
was gone:" They looked-he was dead;
His spirit had fled:
The soul, undressed
From her mortal vest,
Had stepped in her car of heavenly fire;
13




146       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
And proved how bright
Were the realms of light,
Bursting at once upon the sight."
To him sudden death was sudden glory. It is
not so with all: many a worldly man has been cut
down at a banquet; many with a lie or an oath upon
their lips; many in the very act of sin, the rebel
hand lifted up against God, and then struck down
for ever.
What shall we learn from these considerations?
Let us watch and pray. Let us use all "diligence
to make our calling and election sure." Let us
arise and go to our Father. Let us henceforth determine, in a strength not our own, with full purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord. "Behold, I
stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me."




THE GOOD SHEPHERD.            147
" THE GOOD SHEPHERD."
"I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth his life
for the sheep."-JoHN x. 11.
THE character of a shepherd is frequently given
in Scripture to our blessed Lord. He says of himself, "I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice;
and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd."
Peter calls him "the chief Shepherd," 1 Pet. v. 4;
and the "Shepherd and Bishop of our souls," 1
Pet. ii. 25.  Paul calls him "the great Shepherd of
the sheep," Heb. xiii. 20. Isaiah speaks of him as
Jehovah God: "Behold, the Lord God will come
with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him;
behold, his reward is with him, and his work before




148       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
him. 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." What blessed consolation is this to
the tried and tempted believer! He does not lean
upon an arm of flesh, but upon the living and eternal God. He has a Shepherd who combines the
most unlimited power with the most tender sympathy: by faith he can rejoice in tribulation, and smile
even in conflict, for he can argue from the strongest
premises to the strongest consolation, "Jehovah is
my Shepherd: therefore can I lack nothing." Whatever office the Lord Jesus sustains to his people, they
bear a corresponding relation to him. Is he their
Head? they are his members. Is he their Foundation? they are lively stones built upon him. Is he
the Vine? they are the branches. Is he their Shepherd? then it follows that they are his sheep.
Let us meditate on the dealings of the Lord Jesus with his chosen, called, and faithful people, in
their state of nature, of grace, and of glory.
View the sheep in their natural state.  They
were fallen and guilty; in want and danger; under
a sentence of condemnation, and ready to perish.
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way." We have not




THE GOOD SHEPHERD.            149
the slightest claim or merit in the sight of a holy
God: our very righteousnesses are no better than
filthy rags.  "If we should keep the whole law,
and yet offend in one point, we are guilty of all."
If we commit but one sin, we are sinners; and if
that one sin be unrepented of, and if it be not
washed out in the blood of Christ, that one sin is
mighty enough to sink our souls into eternal ruin.
The air we breathe surrounds us, and inhabits us:
it pervades the depths of ocean; it may be exhausted
from the pores of vegetables, and the substance of
the hardest metals. It is thus with sin; it insinuates itself into the most secret recesses of all our
hearts, and permeates every action of our lives.
If we are out of Christ, from day to day we are
treasuring up "wrath against the day of wrath."
The good Shepherd came to "seek and to save
that which was lost." Nothing but goodness and
free grace could have induced him to do this.
There was no authority which could compel him,
and no application on our part which could incline
him. He knew perfectly what it would cost himeven tears, and agony, and blood. But he did not
shrink back: on the contrary, he longed for the
accomplishment of his work with inexpressible eagerness. "I have a baptism to be baptized with; and
13 *




150       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
how am I straitened till it be accomplished!"  Nor
was this all. After he had redeemed them by his
death, he had to search for his sheep, and to find
them in their wanderings, and to bring them to his
fold. All mankind are his sheep by the right of
creation and supreme sovereignty; but out of the
mass of mankind there are those whom he calls
peculiarly his own, because they were GIVEN to him
by his Father before the foundation of the world.
Hence, he says, "As thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as
many as thou hast given him." If none had been
given to Christ from all eternity, none would have
given themselves to him in time: if Christ had not
loved and chosen them, they would never have loved
and chosen him.
How gracious is the Shepherd to his little flock,
to whom it is the Father's good pleasure to give the
kingdom!  "He leaves the ninety and nine, and
goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which
is gone astray." And when he has found it, does
he complain of his privations, and fatigues, and sufferings? does he drive it into the fold, or commit it
to the care of another? No; he layeth it on his
shoulder. He placeth it near his heart. He encompasseth it with his everlasting arm, rejoicing.




THE GOOD SHEPHERD.            151
He calls upon the angels to unite with him in his
triumph, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my
sheep which was lost."
Consider the sheep in their state of grace. Redeeming love has commenced the happy work. Renewing and sustaining grace carries on and completes
it.  Beginning with the former, the soul instantly
goes on with the latter. Redeeming love, if we may
so speak, is a hand stretched out to us in our direst
jeopardy, pulling us out of the bottomless pit, when
we were sinking, hopelessly sinking, into perdition;
and taking away our foul garments from us, clothes
us in the righteousness of Christ, a robe of spotless
purity. Renewing grace is ready at hand to welcome us on our escape, and sets us in a chariot
which bears us all along the way of holiness, straight
up to the celestial gates. Redeeming love justifies
us freely, instantly, and perfectly. Renewing grace
sanctifies us gradually, and in the end perfectly,
body, soul, and spirit.
Mark the goodness of the Divine Shepherd to
his people in this state of progressive sanctification.
1. He feeds them. He provides "good pasture
for them."  "lie leads them beside the still waters."
We appeal to your own experience. When you
resorted to the deceitful pastures of this world, did




152       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
they satisfy you? Did you find in its business or
its pleasures that which could fill an immortal mind?
No; that were impossible. But, in true religion, in
vital godliness, you have found that which is solid
and permanent and satisfying. You can say with
truth, "He feeds me;" in the means of grace; in
the dispensations of his providence; by his word,
his presence. He feeds his flock like a shepherd,
with food convenient for them.
2. He gives them repose. This is no less necessary than food. Hence we read: " He maketh
them to lie down in green pastures."  "I will feed
my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith
the Lord God." There is a striking question in
Job xxxiv. 29: "When he giveth quietness, who
then can make trouble?" When God smiles as a
Father, who can make the child of God tremble?
Can the law?  The law is satisfied.  Can earthly
calamities? No.  " God is'our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble." It was a strong
thing to say (but he* who said it is now walking in
white, in glory) that, "Were it possible to plunge
an individual, with the peace of God in his conscience, into the depths of hell, it would be no hell
to him; he might witness the torments of others,
* Rev. W. Howells, Long Acre Chapel.




THE GOOD SHEPHERD.           153
but the peace of God in his conscience would shield
him." "When he giveth quietness, who then can
make trouble? " " The peace which passeth all understanding," which Christ bestows upon his tried and
afflicted people, must be tasted to be enjoyed-must
be realized experimentally, to be in the slightest
degree known and appreciated.
3. He restores them.  Though regenerate, they
are not perfect. The old man still wars within; the
evil nature still struggles for the mastery. Though
they have been taught the lesson again and again,
that Jesus is the supreme good for their souls, yet,
through the deceitfulness of sin, they are prone to
wander into forbidden paths, and to hew out to
themselves cisterns of earthly comfort, broken cisterns, which can hold no water. But the Shepherd's eye is upon them; he permits them to wander a little way that they may suffer the effects of
their folly; and then, he goes after them to restore
and to bring them back. He heals their backslidings, because he has loved them freely. For a
small moment he hides his face, that with everlasting mercies he may gather them. If he chasten
them, it is but in measure, "not willingly," that he
may make them "partakers of his holiness." All
his dispensations have this glorious end in view.




154       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
God is determined to make his redeemed family holy
in his holiness, and happy in his happiness. He
visits them with one trial after another, till they are
thoroughly weaned from every earthly thing; till
they become as little children, distrusting themselves
wholly, and trusting him wholly, for everything.
4. He protects them. They are not only weak
in themselves, but absolute feebleness and helplessness. The sheep is a defenceless animal; but not
so defenceless as poor, fallen man. How rich the
consolation laid up for the true people of God!
"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."  They know in whom they have believed,
and they are persuaded that He is able to keep that
which they have committed unto him against the
great day. They look into the Scriptures, and there
they read the most encouraging promises.  "My
sheep shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck
them out of my hand." Blessed be God, they have
been redeemed from the hand of the enemy; they
have been rescued from the fangs of the destroyer;
they have been plucked as brands from the burning;
and now that Christ has brought them into his fold,
shall any one pluck them out of his hand, or tear




THE GOOD SHEPHERD.           155
them from his heart? Impossible. Whom he loves,
he loves unto the end. His grace shall be sufficient
for them. He shall bruise Satan under their feet;
and, finally, make them "more than conquerors"
over all their spiritual foes.
5. He guides them. The shepherds in the East
go before their flocks, and lead them by the voice.
" The business of the day being over, we" (the missionaries of the Church of Scotland to Jerusalem,
in 1839) "enjoyed a walk outside the Zion Gate.
Two flocks were moving slowly up the slope of the
hill, the one of goats, the other of sheep. The
shepherd was going before the flock, and they followed, as he led the way toward the Jaffa Gate.
We could not but remember the Saviour's words,'When he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth
before them, and the sheep follow him, for they
know his voice.' A traveller once asserted to a
Syrian shepherd, that the sheep knew the dress of
their master, not his voice. The shepherd, on the
other hand, asserted it was the voice they knew.
To settle the point, he and the traveller changed
dresses, and went among the sheep. The traveller,
in the shepherd's dress, called on the sheep, and
tried to lead them; but'they knew not his voice,'
and never moved. On the other hand, they ran at




156       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
once at the call of their owner, though thus disguised." * So it is with the good Shepherd. He
is the forerunner. He has gone before them, and
he bids them to tread in his steps. He has left
them his example, and he has promised them his
strength to enable them to follow it. He guides
them by his voice: they discern that voice in the
Scriptures, and in the dispensations of Providence.
"They follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth:"
it is the desire of their souls, "Speak, Lord, for
thy servants hear."
6. How tenderly he accommodates himself to
their age and weakness! He carries the lambs in
his bosom, and he gently leads those that are with
young. He does not "break the bruised reed, nor
quench the smoking flax."  He "stayeth his rough
wind in the day of his east wind." He tempers
the breeze to the shorn lamb. He lays affliction
upon his people; but with affliction, he bestows
sustaining grace. He gently leads his burdened
pilgrims in his own mysterious paths; dealing with
them in such matchless wisdom, and such gracious
tenderness, that they are ready, with the apostle,
to glory in their infirmities, that the power of Christ
may rest upon them.
* Narrative of a Mission to the Jews, vol. i. p. 231.




THE GOOD SHEPHERD.              157
The portion of the believer, even though his
bark be tossed upon the waves of this troublesome
world, is unspeakably blessed. His bitter tears shed
before the cross, have real sweetness in them. And
if the bitters of religion be so sweet, what are its
joys? If its tears be so full of happiness, what
must be comprised in its smiles?
" If such the sweetness of the stream,
What must the fountain be?"
God, in all his fulness; Messiah, in all his glories;
the Holy Ghost, with all his shining train of satisfying and sanctifying and enlivening and ennobling
influences:
"      a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain."
Bright indeed is this prospect. Glorious beyond
conception are the mansions prepared for those who
love and fear God. It may be asked, Is there not
the valley of the shadow of death?  Does not Jordan roll its dark waters between the wilderness and
the heavenly Canaan? Yes. It is a solemn thing
to plunge into eternity-an unaltering and unalterable eternity; for an alarming alternative presents
14




158       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
itself: happiness or misery, life or death, heaven
or hell, for ever.
If you are a partaker of the Spirit of Christ, if
you desire to look to Christ alone for pardon, and
to lean upon him alone for grace; if you are his
sheep, brought into his fold; if you follow your
Shepherd's voice, and hasten to obey his will, then
death will be to you a conquered foe-we might
almost say, a smiling friend. Shall that gracious
God who has chosen thee, redeemed thee, regenerated thee, fed thee, restored thee, protected thee,
guided thee, dealt with thee hitherto so lovinglyforsake thee, and leave thee to thyself in thy last,
thy worst struggle? No. The valley of the shadow
of death may be dark, but it is safe and short; for
God, thy God, will be with thee, his rod and his
staff they shall comfort thee. Some of us have been
privileged to witness how the Lord can sustain his
people in their dying moments. We know too, in
olden days, how he endued the noble army of martyrs with zeal and courage, to meet death in its
most terrific aspect.  When Bishop Hooper was
martyred, though his sufferings were wantonly protracted for three-quarters of an hour; though three
times the fire was made up, green fagots having
been ordered to try the strength of his patience and




THE GOOD SHEPHERD.            159
endurance, as it were, to the uttermost-yet this is
the testimony of the historian to his faith: "Thus
was he three-quarters of an hour in the fire. Even
as a lamb (one from Christ's fold), he patiently bore
the extremity thereof, neither moving backwards
nor forwards, nor to any side, but died as quietly
as a child in his bed."
Patrick Hamilton was the first preacher and martyr of the Scottish Reformation. He suffered for
Christ in 1528. Six hours was he in burning.
"At noon," says his biographer,* "he was seated
at a table in an apartment of the castle, awaiting
calmly the signal for setting out to the closing scene.
The martyr was ready for the stake, and the stake
for the martyr. The spirit of power and of love had
fallen abundantly upon him, and the most perfect
composure, resolution, and self-devotion filled his
soul. When the hour of noon struck, he sent for
the captain, and inquired whether all was ready.
The captain, more humane than his master, was unable to tell him plainly the fatal truth; he could
only hint that the last hour was even come. Hamilton immediately rose from his seat, and putting his
hand into the captain's walked forth with a quick
step towards the place of execution.  He carried in
* Abridged from Lorimer's Life of Patrick Hamilton.




160       THE TITLES OF -OUR LORD.
his right hand a copy of the evangelists, and was
accompanied by his servant, and a few intimate
friends. When he came in sight of the spot, he uncovered his head, and addressed himself in silent
prayer to Him who alone could give him a martyr's
strength and victory. On reaching the stake, he
handed to one of his friends the precious volume
which had long been his companion, and the'rod
of his strength;' and taking off his cap and gown,
and other upper garments, he gave them to his attendant, with the words,'These will not profit in
the fire: they will profit thee. After this, of me
thou canst receive no commodity, except the example
of my death, which I pray thee bear in mind. For
albeit it be bitter to the flesh, and fearful before man,
yet is it the entrance to eternal life, which none shall
possess that denies Christ Jesus before this wicked
generation.' After an ineffectual effort to make him
recant, he was fastened to the stake by an iron chain
round his middle. Fire was now laid to the pile,
and exploded some powder which was placed among
the fagots. The martyr's left hand and left cheek
were scorched by the explosion; but though thrice
kindled, the flames took no steady hold of the pile.'Have you no dry wood?' demanded the sufferer.'Have you no more gunpowder?' It was some time




THE GOOD SHEPHERD.           i6i
before fresh billets and powder could be fetched
from the castle, and his sufferings during the interval were extremely acute.
"After a while the flames were rekindled; a
baker, called Myrton, brought his arms full of straw
and cast it into the fire; whereupon there came a
blast of wind from the east, and raised the flame of
fire so vehemently that it blew upon the friar who
had accused him, and threw him upon the ground,
burning all the fore-part of his cowl. The terror
and confusion of the conscience-stricken Dominican
contrasted strangely with the calmness of the martyr. Surrounded and devoured by fierce flames, he
had still recollectedness enough to remember, in his
torment, his widowed mother, and to commend her
with his dying breath to the care and sympathy of
his friends. When nearly burnt through his middle
by the fiery chain, a voice in the crowd of spectators called aloud to him, that if he still had faith in
the doctrine for which he died, he should give a last
sign of his constancy. Whereupon he raised three
fingers of his half-consumed hand, and held them
steadily in that position till he ceased to live. His
last audible words were,' How long, Lord, shall darkness overwhelm this kingdom? How long wilt thou
14 *




162       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
suffer this tyranny of man? Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit.'
"The execution had lasted for nearly six hours;'but during all that time,' says Alexander Alane,
who had witnessed with profound emotion the whole
scene,' the martyr never gave one sign of impatience
or anger, nor ever called to heaven for vengeance
upon his persecutors: so great was his faith; so
strong his confidence in God.'"
Thus tragically but gloriously died, on the 29th
of February, 1528, Patrick Hamilton-a noble martyr in a noble cause.
These instances, while they clearly evince what
Popery is when in power, how cruel and how intolerant; also illustrate in the most striking manner
the vital power of Christianity to give consolation
and support under the most terrible sufferings.
If the dealings of Christ, the good Shepherd, are
so gracious towards his people in the chequered path
of life, and in the hour of dissolution, how can we
describe the glory which he has prepared for them
in the world to come?  "It doth not yet appear
whbat we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him
as he is." "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the




THE GOOD SHEPHERD.           163
things which God hath prepared for them that love
him."  They "have washed their robes, and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him
day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on
the throne shall dwell among them. They shall
hunger no more; neither thirst any more, neither
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of
waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes."
How may we know whether we are Christ's sheep?
His sheep are marked in the ear and in the foot.
"My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me."
The Lord grant that we may have, manifestly and
unquestionably, the mark of his chosen flock, his
faithful people.




164         THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
" THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE."
" Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Believest thou this?"-JOHN xi. 25, 26.
TIIIs is the address of Jesus to Martha, when
she had, in conformity with the general opinion of
the Jews, expressed her belief in the resurrection at
the last day. "Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother
shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the
last day." She plainly inferred, "What comfort
can this minister to me now?" Observe the weakness of Martha's faith. She could believe the distant miracle, when the ten thousand times ten
thousand inhabitants of this earth shall rise at the
last day; but she could not realize the present assurance, that that brother, whom she so fondly
loved, should, even then, at the word of Jesus, arise
from his sepulchre at Bethany. It is the triumph




THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.   165
of faith to receive humbly, to rest cheerfully upon
the promise for to-day; amidst daily wants, trials,
and temptations, to believe that "as our days, so
shall our strength be;" and that as each season of
difficulty occurs, there will accompany it, grace,
and love, and patience, equal to our need and God's
requirement.
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection."
What comfort must these words have brought to
Martha and Mary! "By my own power, shall the
resurrection take place; if I can raise up the countless myriads of mankind who have been dead so
many ages, cannot I raise up one man who has been
dead four days? What then have you to fear,
either for Lazarus or for yourselves? I tell you
that he shall rise again, and I can command the
resurrection which I promise." Here was power
more astonishing than the imagination could conceive, united to mercy more tender than the heart
could venture to hope.
"I am the resurrection."  What a proof does
this title afford of the Divine glory of Jesus, for
who but God can raise the dead? Yet Jesus here
claims this as his own: "I am the resurrection."
"I have the keys of hell and of death." "Marvel
not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all




166       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall
come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,
unto the resurrection of damnation." In the day
of his humiliation, he raised three persons from the
grave: an only daughter, an only son, and, in the
case under consideration, an only brother. This
he did in his own name, and by his own power.
"Talitha cumi." "Young man, I say unto thee,
Arise."  "Lazarus, come forth."
A further illustration of this glorious title was
afforded in Christ's own resurrection. To each person of the sacred Trinity is this mighty work ascribed. That he was raised by the Father's power,
we read in Acts ii. 32, "This Jesus hath God raised
up;" and in Eph. i. 20, "Which He (that is, the
Father) wrought in Christ, when he raised him from
the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the
heavenly places." That he was raised by the power
of the Spirit, we read in Rom. viii. 11, "If the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead
dwell in you;" and in 1 Pet. iii. 18, "Put to death
in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." And
that Christ raised himself up, we read in John x.
18, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down
of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I




THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.   167
have power to take it again;" and ii. 19, "Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.He spoke of the temple of his body." Christ's
resurrection is the corner-stone of our spiritual hopes:
"If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are
yet in your sins." He "bare our sins in his own
body on the tree." "He tasted death for every
man."  He "was made a curse for us," as our gracious Substitute and Surety.  "The whole cup (says
Bishop Hopkins) of that fury and wrath of God
which we should have been drinking off, drop by
drop, throughout eternity, Christ drank off at once."
The full penalty of the law, he paid. Had he remained in the grave, where would have been the
proof that his payment for us had been accepted by
the Father? So long as the law has a just hold
upon a man, so long does he remain in prison. If
Christ had remained in the prison of the grave, it
might have been argued that his work was not sufficient, and that his satisfaction to the justice of
God was not complete. But as he died for our sins,
so he rose for our justification. He was buried, to
show the reality of his death; he rested in the grave
till the third day, that the prophetic word might be
fulfilled. An angel was sent to remove the stone
from the mouth of the sepulchre: "The Father, to




168        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
testify that his justice was fully satisfied with the
price which the Son had paid, sent an officer from
heaven to open the doors of the grave, and, as it
were, to hold away the hangings while his Lord
came forth from his bed-chamber." * How truly
happy must those be who are interested in the death
and resurrection of Jesus! "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is
Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us."
Another illustration of this title occurs every day.
"I am  the resurrection," saith the Lord Jesus.
What are we in our natural state?  "Dead in trespasses and sins." What is Christ's command to us?
"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light." What is the fact
when the soul is quickened with Divine energy?"made willing in the day of God's power."  "This
my son," saith the Lord, "was dead, and is alive
again." This is the work of Christ. He is the
fountain of life and light. In every case of real
conversion of heart, he says to us, "I am the resur-rection."
* Bishop Reynolds.




THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.   169
We shall witness a grand display of the truth of
this title when the resurrection morn shall dawn
upon this earth. What multitudes shall then awake,
some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt! Christ's resurrection is a pledge
of our resurrection. "Every man in his own order:
Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are
Christ's at his coming."  "Because he lives, we
shall live also." "In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must
put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. So when this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put
on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the
saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 0 death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where
is thy victory? "
"I am the resurrection, and the life." Life is
no less necessary than resurrection. The life which
Jesus imparts to his people must be sustained by
him. What the vine is to the branches, and the
head to the members, Jesus is to his believing people. The life which they live in the flesh, they live
by faith of the Son of God, who hath loved them,
15




170       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
and hath given himself for them; and "when Christ,
who is their life, shall appear, then shall they also
appear with him in glory." This we shall enter
into more fully, if we consider the promise that follows: "He that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live."
"Though he were dead." Whatever may have been
the sinner's previous state of rebellion; however great
his transgressions; "though he were dead," yet by
faith, wrought in his heart by the Holy Spirit, "he
shall live:" the first acting of faith is the first acting
of spiritual life, the earnest of everlasting life. The
penitent may be tempted to regard his case as almost
desperate. His sins may seem steep and rugged as
mountains, boisterous as the waves of the sea, more
numerous than the hairs of the head. But in this
promise there is rich encouragement: " He that believeth, thou.gqh he were dead, yet shall he live."
Come, O trembling sinner, to Jesus, just as thou art.
Accept him as thy Saviour. Welcome him to the
throne of thy heart; and thou "shalt live."
" Though he were dead."  How frequently is the
believer constrained to make the mournful confession of the psalmist, "My soul cleaveth unto the
dust," and to offer his prayer, "Quicken thou me
according to thy word." Art thou ready to faint,




THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.   171
O believer, with thy long and weary conflict? Art
thou cast down at the remembrance of thy many
acts of ingratitude and unfaithfulness to thy Lord?
Does it appear to thee, as if day by day thy way
were more steep, thy temptations more urgent, and
thy realization of eternal things more slender? Has
the world laid its withering hand upon thee, and
hast thou been so torn by solicitations from outward
things, on the right and on the left, that thou hast
suffered an estrangement to spring up between thy
soul and Jesus? Is the Bible a sealed book to thee?
Hast thou no boldness of access to the mercy seat?
Are the ordinances of religion wearisome formalities? Dost thou appear to thyself as if thou wert now
"twice dead?" Does the enemy suggest that there
is no hope? Nay, does he even quote Scripture to
remind thee that it is "impossible to renew thee to
repentance?" Oh listen to the gracious promise,
"He that believeth, though he were dead," yet, on
the renewal of faith, there shall be the renewal of life.
Believe on Him who is "the resurrection and the
life."  Only acknowledge thine iniquity; keep nothing back; conceal nothing; palliate nothing; say,
"Lord, here is a poor, dead soul: I plead thy promise;" "I believe, help thou mine unbelief;"
though I am dead, make me to live. How gra



172       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
ciously will he receive, and how tenderly will he
embrace, and how freely will he forgive such a returning, believing soul!
"Though he were dead."  The bodies of the
saints must undergo the sentence of death pronounced against sin.  "The body is dead because
of sin."  Their souls shall never die, and their
bodies shall be reanimated, and made like unto their
Redeemer's glorious body. The doctrine of the
resurrection of the body may appear impossible to
human reason, and it was opposed by the ancient
heathen on this very ground. When a Christian
was slain for his profession of faith in Jesus, they
burned his body, and cast the ashes into the river,
that they might be carried into the broad ocean,
and be made the sport of winds and waves. And
by this they thought to prove the impossibility of a
resurrection.  Bishop Hopkins well answers this
argument; for he remarks that "unless the parts
of the body could be scattered beyond the reach of
Almighty power; unless they could be crumbled
into so small a size as to escape the knowledge and
care of God, who arranges every little particle of
dust that plays up and down in the sunbeam; then
the scattering of the parts of the body far and wide
does not prove the impossibility of their being united




THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.   173
again: for the power and providence of God will
gather up every atom of their dust, and rally them
together into there present order and place."
There is, however, no occasion to defend this doctrine by an appeal to the omnipotence and omniscience of the Deity. Professor Hlitchcock* has
ably shown, in his lecture on the " Resurrections of
Spring," that the doctrine of the resurrection of
the body is taught in the Bible; that the germ of
the resurrection body proceeds from the body that
is laid in the grave; that our present organization
does not exist in the resurrection body; "that flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;"
that there will be as great a difference between our
present bodies and the spiritual body, as between
the seed and the full-grown plant that proceeds
from it.  "That which thou sowest, thou sowest not
that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance
of wheat, or of some other grain; but God giveth
it a body as it hath pleased him." "Consider,"
observes this author, "how few particles of the seed
enter into the composition of the plant that springs
from it. Compare, for instance, a forest tree weighing many tons, with the seed weighing a few grains,
from which it sprang; and then, recollect also, that
* "Peculiar Phenomena of the Four Seasons."
15 *




174        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
only a small part of the seed finds its waly into the
future plant; and we may safely say that the proportion between the particles derived from the seed
and from other sources, is only as one to a million.
Yet the Bible justifies the conclusion, that equally
small may be the proportion of the particles derived
from our present bodies in the resurrection body.
If only a millionth part, or a ten thousandth millionth part of the matter deposited in the grave,
shall be raised from thence, it justifies the representations of Scripture, that there will be a resurrection of the dead. And why may we not suppose,
that amid the transmutations which the dead body
may undergo, some infinitesimal germ  may be
watched over by Omniscience, and by Omnipotence
at length be made to constitute the germ of the spiritual body? This body will possess a specific and
individual identity.'God giveth' to the plant
that springs from the wheat, or other seed sown,'a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed
his own body;' that is, a peculiar body, one marked
off from  every other.  The apostle illustrates this
statement, as if it were a point of great importance.'All flesh,' says he,'is not the same flesh; but
there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of
beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.'




THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.   175
He states the same fact respecting organic bodies:'There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the
glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one
glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon,
and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also,' he adds,'is the resurrection of the dead.' And he teaches
that there will be a peculiarity of character that
will discriminate between the resurrection body and
everything else; and he implies that even individual
peculiarities will exist in a future world."
In our present state we can form no idea of the
spiritual body. Three particulars are mentioned by
the apostle: "It is sown in corruption, it is raised
in incorruption; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised
in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in
power." This statement, so far as we can realize
it, gives us a very exalted conception of the nature
and glory of the resurrection body. The same writer has shown that "there is no necessity for an
identity of particles to establish the identity of the
spiritual and natural body."  "What is it," he
asks, "that constitutes bodily identity in this world?
Suppose a person born in this country (America),
after living here twenty years, goes to China for a




176       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
permanent residence. Now, as we have reason to
suppose that the entire particles of which a man
is composed change every seven years, this individual, after residing ten years in China, will not
probably retain in his composition a single particle
of the body which he acquired in America. But
he is still the same man, and why? Because his
body is made up of the same kinds of elementary
matter combined in the same proportion as in
America, and has the same form and structure.
And it matters not whence the elements of a compound are derived, whether from  China or the
United States; if they are only united in the same
proportion, they will constitute exactly the same
substance. Thus, it can make no difference from
what source the oxygen and hydrogen are obtained,
that form water. It will be identically the same
substance, though its elements come from the antipodes. So it is with the oxygen, hydrogen, carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus, and lime that make up the
human system. The essential thing that makes
them the flesh and bones of man, is their combination in a certain definite proportion. And though
there may be a constant loss of individual particles,
yet if their place is supplied with others of the
same kind, no matter whence they come, they will




THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.   177
maintain the identity of the body, if combined in
the proper proportion; for it is essentially the chemical composition, not the identity of particles,
that continues a man the same from year to year.
If this be a correct view of what constitutes personal identity in this world, we have only to apply
it to the resurrection body in order to meet satisfactorily the famous objection to the resurrection of
the body, that its particles enter into the composition of several other bodies. By this view, it is not
necessary that the resurrection body should contain
a single particle of the body laid in the grave; if it
only contain particles of the same kind, united in
the same proportion, and the compound be made to
assume the same form and structure as the' natural
body. For all this is what often happens to men
in this world, without exciting a suspicion that the
identity of the individual is endangered. God may
give to the man raised from the grave such a body
as pleases him, just as he does to the plant; but if
it be only composed of the same elements in the
same proportion, and have a peculiarity of form
and structure, its identity with the individual buried
will be preserved."
Our limits will allow us to abridge but one more
extract from the valuable lecture to which we have




178        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
been so largely indebted. Having deduced several
interesting analogies from the "Season of Spring,"
Professor Hitchcock observes, that " spring restores
to us many well-remembered forms of vegetable and
animal life. When the frosts of autumn came on,
it was saddening to see many familiar forms of the
vegetable world, to which we had become attached,
yielding up their foliage; and though they descended
to the grave in a gaudy dress, we could not but feel
that we were losing the society of friends. Then,
too, the song of the birds ceased in the fields and
the woods, or they uttered only a few solitary and
farewell notes, as they withdrew to their southern
retreats. Yet with the opening spring they have
come back: in a new dress indeed, but still the
same, and awakening delightful reminiscences and
anticipations. Some of them have been concealed
among us, and subjected to the stern power of
winter: and others have fled far away to escape his
withering blasts. But they have reappeared, as
fresh and lovely as ever; yea, more so: nor can we
perceive that one feature is gone, or changed, save
that the fresher charms of youth are upon them.
"How delightful to be able to say, Thus shall it
be with the resurrection of the dead! Then shall
the grave deliver up a multitude of well-remembered




THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.   179
and endeared forms, which in sadness we committed
to its charge. What consolation does this offer to
the bereaved! Who has not been afflicted by the
removal of those whose forms and features have
been ever since remembered with the deepest interest?  We have called in the aid, it may be, of
painting and photography, to embalm their features,
and the expression which the workings of the soul
within gave to the countenance. And how deep
was our anguish, when we last looked upon them,
as we saw the grave closing over their remains!
But if they were the true disciples of Christ, they
shall be restored to us in the resurrection morning;
and we shall recognize them amid the millions who
then awake from thWe grave, as we now recognize the
plants and birds of spring. There shall be a characteristic something in their spiritual bodies, that
will lead us at once, and with exulting joy, to fly
to their embrace. Oh, blessed season of recognition and joy! How will it wipe away every Christian's tears, and restore him to his departed friends,
and bring them all together in the presence of their
Lord, to enjoy his smiles and the delightful intercourse of one another, with no fear of change or
separation, for ever and ever! Oh that this bright
hope might stimulate us so to live and to labour,




180       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
that not only we ourselves, but all whom we love on
earth shall come forth at the resurrection of the
just, purified from the stains and sins of earth, and
ripe for the perfect holiness and happiness of heaven!"
If the reunion of saints, and their recognition of
each other on the resurrection morning, be so richly
fraught with an ever-increasing happiness and glory,
what shall we think of the meeting of sinners with
sinners before the Judge at the great day? Mr.
Moffat in one of his journeys fell in with an African
king surrounded by his court: he was employed in
making arrowsand spears. Mr. Moffat began talking to him; and he told him of the resurrection,
which he described in vivid colours. And as he
went on, he saw that the iron man's face began to
work convulsively; the muscles began to quiver;
the eyes were looking as though they would start
from his head; and when he was able to speak-for
he trembled all over-he said, " What! what do
you say? Shall I see all the men I have slaughtered on the field of battle? Do you mean to say
that they will all rise up before me, and that I shall
know them, and that they will know me? Do you
mean to say that I shall see them there, with all
their wounds, just as I slew them?"  He dreaded




THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.   18I
the sight of the victims of his valour, as he once
thought, but of his cruelty, as he now began to
think. Yes, that man will know all his victims.
Companions in crime here will be companions in
misery there. Every sinner has his victims here.
Every sinner shall meet and recognize his victims
there. Before the great white throne, in the presence of an assembled universe, and amidst the blaze
of an opening eternity, sinners shall recognize those
whom they have seduced and destroyed in this
world. It is related of the historian Hurne, that
he destroyed the faith of his poor mother by giving
her arguments against Christianity. On the bed of
death she found those arguments could not support
her; she sent for her son to tell him that she was
sinking into eternity with nothing under her feet.
Hume shall meet his mother; and the mother shall
meet the son who did this awful work. Let us "not
be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that
soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting."
We have tarried so long on this interesting topic
that we have left ourselves no space for the consideration of the latter clause of our Lord's promise:
16




182       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
"'He that liveth and believeth in me shall never
die."
" He that liveth and believeth."  Life is the seedtime for eternity. It is the only season for conversion to God. How important, then, and how valuable is life!  "He that liveth," and by grace "believeth" in Jesus, "shall never die;" for the "gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord."
This promise has also a spiritual reference: "He
that liveth and believeth;" he that evinces his spiritual life by his faith in the Son of God, and by
the fruits of faith in his walk and conversation,
"shall never die," but shall pass through the portal
of death to everlasting glory.
Reader, let me press this grave inquiry upon
your attention. "Believest thou this," that Jesus
is the "resurrection and the life?" Canst thou
realize the solemnities of the great day? Where
will be thy place? On the right hand, or on the
left hand of the Judge? With what emotions wilt
thou recognize thy companions here? What is the
character of the seed which thou art sowing? Will
thy harvest be everlasting joy, or "shame and everlasting contempt?"  What reply does conscience
make to these inquiries?-"Jesus saith, I am the




THE RESURRECTION AND tiI  LIFE.   183
resurrection and the life; believest thou this?"
Canst thou say with Martha, "Yea, Lord?"  If so,
then, in adoring gratitude, ascribe the faith which
has been wrought in thy heart, with its present
peace and glorious anticipations, to the grace of
God; and "let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven."




184        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
"MASTER AND LORD."
" Ye call me Master, and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am."
-JOHN xiii. 13.
SOLEMN indeed was the occasion when these
words were spoken.  "Jesus knew that his hour
was come, that he should depart out of this world
unto the Father;" the hour predetermined in the
counsels of eternity, to which he had eagerly looked
forward, when by his sacrifice upon the cross he
should achieve redemption for man, and vindicate
all the attributes of God. This hour now had almost
arrived, and the moments that intervened he occupied in comforting and instructing his disciples.
Surely, next to the hour of the crucifixion, the time
spent with his disciples in the upper chamber in
Jerusalem was the most solemn in the history of
man. The condescension and grace with which the
Lord of all became the servant of all when he
washed the disciples' feet, suggest many reflections
to the thoughtful Christian. For not only did he




MASTER AND LORD.            185
teach impressively the important lessons of humility
and love to the brethren, but he also illustrated by
this significant action the object for which he came
into the world, and the amazing sacrifices required
of him in its accomplishment. We must not, however, pause to meditate upon the sublime mysteries
wrapped up in this narrative, but proceed to the
consideration of the titles which our Lord assumed,
when, having again taken his seat at the table, he
said, "Know ye what I have done to you?  Ye call
me Master, and Lord: and ye say well; for so I
am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed
your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet."
By the title of "Lord" is implied the Divine
glory of Jesus. It was his Deity which added such
a halo to his condescension, and such solemnity to
the lessons of humility which he drew from it. As
we have in previous chapters adduced many illustrations and proofs of this important and consolatory
doctrine, we will not return to it, but direct our attention to the dominion which Christ exercises over
his people. There is an important passage on this
subject in Rom. xiv. 7-9. The apostle has been
urging upon the Christians at Rome, the duty of
liberality to the opinions of others in minor points.
And he reminds them that "none of us liveth to
16 *




186        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether
we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die,
we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or
die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both
died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord
both of the dead and living." Scott remarks on
these verses that "no real Christian allows his own
humour, indulgence, interest, credit, or ease, to be
the end for which he lives or acts, as to the general
tenor of his conduct; nor does he even avoid, desire, or meet death from selfish motives: but whether his life be prolonged, he aims to spend it to
the glory of Christ; or whether death be expected,
he refers it to him, to be ordered in all respects for
the glory of his name. So that whether the Christian lives or dies, he belongs to the Lord to be disposed of as he pleases; and as the object of his love,
to be taken care of by him in all possible events.
For to this very end Christ both died on the cross,
and rose again, and liveth in heaven to die no more;
that in human nature he might be the sovereign
Lord of all his people, both during their lives and
after their death, as they willingly devote themselves
to him, and are prompt to labour, suffer, or die for
his sake; as he orders all things respecting the time
and circumstances of their death, for his own glory




MASTER AND LORD.            187
and their good; and as, when they die, they are
taken to be with him for ever, and he will raise
their bodies to share the same felicity."
As our Creator, the Lord Jesus has a claim upon
all we have and all we are. He hath made us, and
not we ourselves; or as it is in the margin, "His
we are," Psa. c. 3. We are his workmanship; he
fashioned us in the womb; he has covered us with
skin and flesh; fenced us with bones and sinews;
he has poured into our nostrils the breath of life,
and the inspiration of the Almighty has given us
understanding. Suppose we were to return to him
all that we received from him, what would be left
of our own? His right, then, to us as our Creator
is complete. He has a property in us, not only
such as no man can have in a fallen creature, but
such as even no father has in his own children.
They are his in a subordinate and limited degree;
but we are the Lord's absolutely and entirely.
As the providential disposer of our lot, Christ has
a claim to all our love and obedience.  "By him
all things consist," and "in him we live, and move,
and have our being." Are we not indebted to him
for the countless blessings and comforts which we
enjoy? Has not he made this world beautiful, even
in its ruins? Has not he, by the medium of the




188       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
atmosphere, tempered light to our powers of vision?
Has not he made green, so sweet and soothing a
colour to the eye, the prevailing colour of the landscape? Has not he so constituted the atmosphere
in such admirable proportions, that we can inspire
and respire it, not only without difficulty, but without consciousness? Has not he watched over us individually, with tender care? Has not he sustained us
amidst the perils of infancy? Has not he renewed his
mercies every morning?  Has not he given his
beloved sleep?  Has not he, in wisdom, appointed
the bounds of our habitation, and in love upheld
and guided us from day to day?  Has not he
"made all things work together for our good,"
taught us, in the way of discipline, how to obtain
"honey from the rock, and meat from the eater?"
Has not he healed many sorrows, wiped away many
tears, answered many prayers, and opened before
us, by means as suitable as unexpected, a path in
the wilderness and streams in the desert? What
shall we say to these blessings? Should they not
constrain us to yield ourselves to him? Shall we
not be most vile if we do not acknowledge our untold obligations?
Christ is our Lord, as our Redeemer. "We are
not our own," for we have been " bought with a price,"




MASTER AND LORD.             1.89
not "with corruptible things, as silver and gold,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot." The magnificence of creation arose at the simple fiat of Christ.
"'By the word of the Lord were the heavens made;
and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth."
To make a watch requires skill. But when that
watch has been dashed upon the stones, and broken
into ten thousand pieces, then to gather up the
fragments, and arrange them, and reconstruct the
watch, would be a work of acknowledged difficulty,
and of surpassing skill. Creation was a great
work; but redemption was infinitely greater. Israel
was redeemed out of Egypt by the power of God,
"'with a mighty hand and a stretched-out arm."
But the Exodus involved no incarnation, no sacrifice. How vast the cost at which our redemption
has been procured! God himself must assume our
nature, and in that nature obey the law's utmost
demand, and suffer its severest penalty. Let us
meditate upon the spotless life of Christ, and his
agonizing death, that we may realize his claim to
the allegiance of our hearts.
"Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small:
Love so amazing, so Divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all."




190       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
To inflame our gratitude, let us reflect upon the
depth of sin and misery from which he has rescued
us. He has "brought us up out of an horrible pit,
out of the miry clay," from the power of darkness,
from this present evil world, from the wrath of God,
and from the flames of hell.
Let us survey the blessedness of salvation to
which Christ has raised us. "He has set our feet
upon the rock, and established our goings.  He
has put a new song into our mouth, even praise
unto our God." He has adopted us into his family,
and has enabled us to cry, "Abba, Father." He
has given us, even here, a joy that is unspeakable,
and a "peace that passeth all understanding;" and
he has dignified us by making us the channels of
his mercy to others, and the happy instruments of
glorifying his name.
All these mercies have been bestowed upon us in
a way adapted to our circumstances as sinners.
He has appointed faith as the medium of union and
communion with himself. Faith is a grace which
requires nothing from us but the acknowledgment
of our emptiness, and poverty, and unworthiness,
and which pleads with God his own sure promise
and unchanging love.  Faith is not the natural
fruit of the heart, but the gift of God, through the




MASTER AND LORD.            191
operation of the Holy Spirit. And, blessed be
God, he has freely promised the Holy Spirit to all
who ask him in humble prayer for this inestimable
benefit. The redemption of Christ is all of grace.
The more we examine its provisions, the more sensible shall we be of the claim of Jesus to our devoted service and unwavering confidence.
If we are his loving disciples, we have ratified
the claim of Jesus to be Lord of our hearts. We
have surrendered ourselves to him. We have
"joined ourselves to the Lord by a perpetual covenant, that shall never be forgotten." "We have
subscribed with our hand unto the Lord, and surnamed ourselves by the name of Israel." We can
look back with shame upon the time when other
lords-the world, the flesh, and the devil-had dominion over us.  Perhaps we can remember the
occasion which, by grace, led us to make the wise
and happy choice. Perhaps we were under sore
trial when we first lifted up our heart to the great
God; perhaps it was the conversation of a friend,
or the perusal of a religious book, or the faithful
preaching of the cross, that was blessed by God to
subdue our hearts to the "obedience of faith."
Perhaps we can recall the emotions with which we
first prayed, or wrote out a prayer, and with tears




192       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
of contrition signed our name to make the hallowed
transaction more permanent. Can we look back
upon all this, and not adore and magnify the grace
which has been manifested towards us? Have we
any feeling of regret for the step which we then
took?  Nay, has it not been our happiness again
and again to renew our covenant? —in the hour of
retirement - in the field of meditation - in the
house of God, and at his holy table. Have we not
said, Lord, I am thine; I offer and present myself
to thee; my understanding shall be thine, to know
thee; my will to choose thee; my conscience to
fear thee; my tongue shall set forth thy praise;
my life shall be devoted to thy glory?
It would not be difficult to illustrate these observations by incidents from real life. Martin Luther
was one day searching in the library of the university of Erfurt, when he found a large volume, with
strong clasps, covered with dust. It was the Bible:
he had never seen it before.  He knew nothing
more of the Bible than the lessons extracted from
it in the Missal, or the incidental histories given
from it in the Breviary. He began to read that
Bible: he found in it new and awakening facts.
He read of the guilt of man so deep that no tears
could wash it away, and of the holiness of God so




MASTER AND LORD.            193
awful that no sinner could meet it. He trembled
and he read: he read again and again; he trembled,
and wept, and read. The Reformation with all its
issues, stretching into eternal ages, was contained
in the dusty Bible Martin Luther discovered at
Erfurt. God's providence seconded the teaching
of his grace. Luther was one day walking in the
fields with a fellow-student, when a storm of thunder and lightning overtook them; both ran for
shelter, but ere they reached a place of retreat,
Luther's companion was struck by the lightning,
and dropped dead at Luther's feet. Luther was
unscathed.  That companion the world could do
without, but neither the world nor the church could
do without Luther. This solemn event impressed
and awed the spirit of Luther. He felt with increasing force, Life how short! — Judgment how
near!-Eternity how terrible! When he recollected
what his own conscience felt, and what God's word
declared, and thought that he also might be struck
by the next flash, or overwhelmed by the next
storm, and sent to stand shivering and naked and
guilty at the judgment seat, he endured an agony
of spirit that was beyond all expression.  "What,"
he asked himself, "what must I do to be saved?
What can I do?"  He cried out in the anguish of
17




194        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
his soul, " Oh my sin! my sin! what, what can forgive me my sin?"  Such was the commencement
of Luther's spiritual life.
Many have been awakened to the service of God
during a storm at sea. John Newton, once a libertine and an infidel, once a dealer in slaves on the
coast of Africa, and himself the slave of evil passions, was, after years of hardened rebellion against
God, led, during an awful tempest, to examine his
own heart, to read the New Testament, and to pray
for the gift of the Holy Spirit. His life was preserved through many imminent perils, and, "being
found faithful," he was admitted into the sacred
ministry. For several years, at Olney, he preached
the faith which once he sought to destroy. There
he formed a friendship with Thomas Scott, whom
he directed into the truth as it is in Jesus, and who
was the author of the Commentary on the Bible of
world-wide fame and usefulness.
Our glorious God, who *binds the ocean with a
rope of sand, and sustains millions of created things
by the dew-drops of the morning, often employs
very feeble means for the production of very grand
results in the moral and spiritual world. What can
be more insignificant than a tract? In the hand
of God, nevertheless, one of these little messengers




MASTER AND LORD.           195
can convey light to the mind, and life to the heart,
and civilization to regions lying in darkness and the
shadow of death.
That well-known tract, "The Dairyman's Daugh.
ter," written in the Isle of Wight by the Rev. Legh
Richmond, found its way to Constantinople. There
it was translated into the Armenian tongue by the
Rev. Dr. Goodell, an American missionary to Turkey. A copy of this version was carried to Nicomedia, and fell into the hands of a vartabed or
preaching priest of the Armenian church. He,
upon perusing it, was deeply affected by the picture
it presented of simple and genuine Christianity,
such as he supposed to have existed only amongst
the primitive Christians. Comparing the spirit and
principles of this sweet story with the condition of
the corrupt Armenian church, he was led to the
study of the New Testament, and the result was
his own conversion. He then communicated the
knowledge of this wondrous tract, and his own
blessed experience, to another vartabed with the
same results. These two converted priests, expelled
from their own corrupt communion, were the founders of the evangelical church now existing in Nicomedia. That church has given origin to two
others in the neighbourhood;i and as the good




196       TEHE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
influence extends itself widely in all directions, it is
impossible to say how far throughout Turkey may yet
be diffused the beneficial leaven of the "Dairyman's
Daughter." Thus the church of Nicomedia commenced in the Isle of Wight.
Jesus Christ is not only the Lord, but also the
Master of his believing people. The original word
for Master signifies Teacher, and is so translated in
John iii. 2. "Rabbi, we know that thou art a
teacher come from God."  This title of "Teacher"
which he assumed, suggests some profitable hints
for our meditation.
Christ is a "Teacher sent from God." If the
Lord of heaven and the "Prince of the kings of
the earth" condescend to teach us, with what reverence and humility does it become us to " sit at his
feet and hear his word!"
As a Teacher, Christ has infinite knowledge.
From eternity he was in the bosom of the Father,
and knew all the counsels and purposes of God.
His comprehensive eye journeys in an instant
throughout the regions of space, and contemplates
the innumerable worlds which he has created, with
all their teeming populations; and his tender solicitude is engaged in directing the affairs of the meanest of his servants. He "knows the things that




MASTER AND LORD.            197
come into their mind-every one of them."  If a
sparrow be not forgotten by him, will he overlook
one of his own disciples? No; Christ knows all
things, all events and persons in heaven, on earth,
and in hell. He knows the mind of God, and the
circumstances of his people; and he is therefore
able to guide them into all truth needful for their
peace here, and for their happiness hereafter.
As a Teacher, Christ is characterized by gentleness and consideration for his pupils. He does not
sew a new piece upon an old garment, nor "put
new wine into old bottles." Christ teaches his -disciples as they are able to bear.
He manifests great patience towards their infirmities. He teaches them the same lesson again
and again —" precept upon precept; line upon line;
here a little, and there a little."
Jesus Christ teaches by his example: I have
given you an example, that ye should do as I have
done to you. The original word for example, in 1
Pet. ii. 21, is very instructive. It denotes a copy
set for children to write under and imitate without
one false stroke. Christ has written out for us, in
his life, the will of God. See how I teach you to
obey: "come and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
17 *




198       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
souls." Christ is a commander like Gideon, who
said to his soldiers, "Look on me, and do likewise;"
and like Coesar, who called his soldiers, not "soldiers," but "fellow-soldiers," and whose usual word
was not "Go," but "Come."
Christ teaches effectually, for he teaches by the
Spirit. Ministers and parents can only inform the
understanding, but they cannot sanctify the heart.
Who teaches like Christ?  By his Spirit he pours
light into the soul, applies his word to the conscience,
and draws the heart gently, yet poworfully, to faith,
love, and holy obedience. Five minutes' instruction in Christ's school is worth more than ten thousand sermons.
We have seen a child make a drawing from a
picture set before him; and as the work grows under
his pencil, he is delighted with his own performance,
and does not perceive its many defects. The master
looks at the work, and surprises the pupil by pointing out deficiencies hitherto unsuspected; he then
takes the pencil into his hand, and by a bold touch
here, and a stroke there, he produces a new effect;
so that the pupil is at once astonished and humbled.
Thus a touch or so from the Spirit of Jesus in the
heart, is more effectual than all the wisdom of the
schools, and all the learning of the ancients. Let




MASTER AND LORD.                  199
us inquire, Have we so learned Christ? Devout
Mr. Herbert, when he mentioned the name of Christ,
used to add, my Master; and thus expresses himself concerning it in one of his poems:
" How sweetly doth' my Master' sound!'my Master I'
As ambergis leaves a rich scent
Unto the taster,
So do these words a sweet content,
An oriental fragrancy;' my Master.'"




200        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
"THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE."
"Jesus saith, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me."-JOHN xiv. 6.
NOTHING can be more important to sinners, than
instruction in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Nothing can be more blessed for sinners than that
Jesus Christ should give this instruction himself.
Ministers preach Jesus Christ, but they may make
mistakes, they are fallible men; Jesus Christ is the
"faithful and true witness;" he is infallible; he
knows all things; and, concerned as he is for our
welfare, what could be more profitable to sinners
than that he should teach them about himself?
There are many things respecting Jesus Christ
which the restless curiosity of man would pry into:
as the nature of his eternal union with the Father;
the mysteries of his incarnation; how his human
soul could be distinct from, and yet subordinate to
his Divine mind. These things he does not unveil;
but he teaches us that which is of infinite moment




THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 201
to us as immortal and responsible creatures, namely,
the way of salvation through himself: "I am the
way, the truth, and the life."
"I am the way:"-"no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me."  Christ is then our way to
God. He does not say, "I am a way," but "I am
the way." There is but one way to God. Jesus
Christ is that one way. Many ways lead from God:
one only way conducts us to him. There are many
diseases to which man is liable; there are many
errors afloat in society: but health and truth are
marked by unity. There are many ways to hell;
there is but one way to heaven. "There is one
God, and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus."
How mighty is the abyss between God and the
creature, between a holy God and a sinner! an
abyss which man, by his own folly and impiety, is
daily making wider and deeper. Who but Jesus
Christ could bridge over this mighty chasm? In
tender mercy, he became our "mediator," or " daysman," laying his hand, as it were, upon the offended
Father, and man his rebellious creature, and reconcil'ng us to God in himself. By his incarnation, obedience, and sufferings, by his holy life and meritorious death, he has wrought our redemption. He




202        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
has removed all obstacles to our return to God on
God's part. The obedience which the law required,
he has fulfilled.  The penalty which justice exacted,
as the right of the broken law, he has suffered, and
in him "God can be just, and the justifier of him
that believeth in Jesus." On our part the difficulties have been removed: the pride, vanity, worldliness, rebellion, and alienation of man's heart, all
yield before the influence of the Holy Spirit, which
Jesus has obtained as the Father's gift to man.
Thus has Jesus effected a double reconciliation, the
reconciliation of God to man, and of man to God.
When a ship is going down off-shore, when she has
dashed upon some hidden rock, and the billows are
breaking over her with terrific fury, then a rope is
thrown out from the shore, and laid hold of by the
mariners, and fastened to the vessel. This line of
communication is fastened at both ends, and, clinging to it, the weather-beaten crew are brought to
the desired haven. The plan of salvation originated
in the grace of God: Jesus came into the world
"to seek and to save that which was lost;" and
laying hold upon him, we are brought to God, to
holiness, and to heaven.
"I am the way." How solemn is our Saviour's
admonition, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for




THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 203
wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth
to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the
way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it."  "The whole world lieth in wickedness."
Christ's people are a'little flock."  "Many are
called, but few are chosen." The prophet Isaiah
thus describes the way: "An highway shall be there,
and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it
shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools,
shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, -nor
any ravenous beast shall go up thereon; it shall not
be found there: but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and
come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon
their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away." There are
many striking points in this passage. Of gospel
times, it is predicted that there shall be a "highway" —a way plainly laid down and marked out.
In the Scripture there are dark and difficult statements, but the way of salvation by Christ Jesus is
clearly revealed; and the Holy Spirit is freely promised in answer to prayer. This way is a "way of
holiness," it leads to a holy God, and a holy hea



204        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
ven.  Whom  Jesus saves, he sanctifies.  "His
mercy," says Bishop Reynolds, "is a holy mercy,
which knows how to pardon sin, not to protect it.
It is a sanctuary for the penitent, not for the presumptuous. The beam of the sun shining on fire
doth discourage its burning: the shining of God's
mercies on us should dishearten and extinguish lust
in us. This is the use we should make of mercy.
Say not, he is my God, therefore I may presume
upon him; but, he is mine, therefore I must return
unto him. Because he is God, I will fear to provoke him; and because he is mine, I will be afraid
to forfeit him. He is so great, I must not dare to
offend him: he is so precious, I must not venture to
lose him." This is the law of Christ's kingdom —
Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. It is
added, "The unclean shall not pass over it," for
vain is the profession of the gospel without the
practice of its duties; "but it shall be for those,"
that is, if we adhere to our version, it shall be the
happiness of those to walk in this way who are
spoken of in the previous part of the chapter, and
who are vitally interested in Jesus Christ, however
ignorant they may be; "the wayfaring men,
though fools, shall not err therein." In the margin, however, we read, "but he" (that is the Lord)




THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 205
"shall be with them."  Bishop Lowth gives this
beautiful translation of the verse:"' And a highway shall be there;
And it shall be the way of holiness;
No unclean person shall pass through it:
But He himself shall be with them, walking in the way;
And the foolish shall not err therein."
The security of the way is set forth in the next
verse, "No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous
beast shall go up thereon; it shall not be found
there." What have they to fear from temptation
or conflict, if the Lord be with them "walking in
the way?" "No weapon that is formed against
thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise
against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn." All
this high and distinguishing privilege implies the
happiness of the way.  "The ransomed of the Lord
shall return" from  their weary captivity under sin
and Satan, and " they shall come to Zion with songs;"
yea, "'they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: for
great is the glory of the Lord." Not only shall
they obtain joy and gladness when they arrive at
Zion, but they shall sing with unspeakable joy on
their way thither; for wisdom's ways "are ways of
pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." How
blessed, then, must be the way of salvation! It is
18




206        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
the way of holiness, liberty, security, and happiness, and terminates in everlasting glory.
The apostle, writing to the Hebrews, says, "' Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the
holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living
way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the
veil, that is to say, his flesh." The properties of
this way are two. It is a new way, because, in contrast with the dispensation of the law, it was newly
made, and belonged to the new covenant; it has
also a perpetual freshness and power; it admits of
no decay, believers find it ever new, and ever glorious.  "It is a living way, in opposition to the way
into the holiest, which was by death: nothing was
done without the blood of sacrifices; and it is living,
as to its efficacy; it hath a vital, spiritual efficacy
in our access unto God: it leads to life, and effectually brings us thereto." *
Is Jesus Christ the way? Is he the one mediator? Let us come by him to God. Do we feel
our ignorance?  Let us say, "Teach me thy way,
O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth: Oh knit my
heart unto thee, that I may fear thy name." Do
we need guidance? Let us plead the promise, "I
* Dr. Owen.




THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 207
will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which
thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."
Is Jesus Christ the way? Let us persevere therein; one step will not take us to heaven. He only
that endures to the end shall be saved. Every day
will bring fresh exercise for grace; every day, therefore, should find us at the mercy-seat, drawing near
to God by his dear Son.
Is Jesus Christ the way? Let us invite others to
walk therein. Let us imitate the kindness of Moses
to Hobab, and say to others, "We are journeying
unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it
you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good:
for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel."
What millions are ignorant of Jesus, the way of
pardon, peace, and holiness! Let us with joyful
zeal tell them of this blessed way to God. What
multitudes are there near our own doors, to whom
Christ is still unknown! Let us endeavour to bring
these to him.
I am the "truth." The ceremonies of the law
were but shadows and types of "good things to
come."  Christ is the truth in whom  all these
shadows find their substance. The Epistle to the
Hebrews is an inspired commentary on the Gospel
according to Leviticus. For "what," says an old




208       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
writer, "is the law, but the gospel predicted? and
what is the gospel, but the law fulfilled?" The
gospel is a key which unlocks the treasures of the
law. The ancient Jews groaned under the weight
of complicated and expensive ceremonies.  We
enjoy the riches of gospel light and consolation, laid
up in those ceremonies. "The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ." Not only is he the
true manna, and the "spiritual Rock," but the tabernacle, its structure, ordinances, and priesthood,
direct us to Christ the Truth. We wrong our own
souls by studying these types so little. Take up
the Bibles of many, even sincere Christians, and
you will observe that the New Testament and Psalms
have been carefully read; that the prophets have
been but little read, and that Exodus and Leviticus
have been scarcely opened.  What was David's
prayer? "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." In David's
time, the Pentateuch was the only written voice of
God to man, yet he speaks of wondrous things in
the law, and he wrote a Psalm, consisting of 176
verses, to express his thankfulness for, and his admiration of a part of the sacred volume, which we
Christians are too apt to neglect.
I am the "truth." "The testimony of Jesus is




THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 209
the spirit of prophecy." How accurately have the
prophecies of the Old Testament been fulfilled!
Christ is the truth of each and of all of them. Christ
is the " Seed of the woman;" the " Shiloh, to whom
the nations will be gathered;" the "Branch from
the root of Jesse," the "Ruler from Bethlehem,"
the "King, meek and lowly, riding upon an ass,"
the "Man of sorrows," and the "Sun of righteousness."
I am the " truth." In the midst of the false systems of religion in the world, Christ is the one
Truth. Mohammedanism glories in its prophet:
Christ is the true Prophet. Paganism is a lie:
Christianity is truth. It may be asked, "There
are many forms of Christianity; are all true?"
We answer, All contain some portion of saving truth;
but that which exhibits most of Christ, exhibits most
of the truth. The more closely any teaching adheres to the word of God, and the more simply
Christ is exalted, the more highly will God be honoured, and the more richly will the souls of men be
blessed. We do not mean that the name of Christ
is to occur in every sentence in a sermon, for there
may be Christ's name, and not Christ's truth.  But
Christ, in all his work and offices, should be set forth.
The love of Christ as our motive, and the law of
18 *




210       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
Christ as our rule; the atonement of Christ as our
hope, and the example of Christ as our pattern; the
all-sufficient merits of his Godhead, and the tender
sympathy of his manhood; the grace which sways
the heart to obey him, and the awful responsibility
of rejecting him; the first coming of Christ, the
centre of our confidence, and his second coming,
the circumference of our hope; our absolute need
and wretchedness without him, and our complete
redemption and restoration through him -such
are some of the main features of the truth of
the gospel. Any system that hides or obscures
these doctrines, however plausible its pretensions,
is not to be regarded as a faithful exponent of the
truth. Whatever differences of opinion may exist
among serious Christians on matters of doctrine and
church government, they are united in faith in the
one Saviour. The Bible is their one standard of
doctrine and duty; the Lord Jesus is the one foundation of their acceptance with God; the Holy Spirit is their one teacher, "dividing to every man
severally as he will;" and heaven is their one eternal home.
"What is truth? " was the question of Pilate, but
he did not wait for the reply. Jesus of Nazareth,
the Truth, stood before him. The Roman governor




THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 211
was far too proud and worldly minded to seek instruction from the mysterious prisoner at the bar.
The infidel and the scoffer reiterate the question,
"What is truth?" and they endeavour to justify
their neglect of the gospel by an appeal to the diversities of opinion among Christians.  "Let them
agree among themselves as to what is truth, and then
we will condescend to listen to them." This, however, is a delusion, and often a cloak for sin. The
love of sin is the root of infidelity. Let a man profess infidelity, and his conscience is not at peace.
He may be noisy and merry with his companions;
but he cannot, with all his efforts, divest himself of
the sense of his individual responsibility: this tortures him when alone. There is a God, and reason
coincides with conscience in the acknowledgment
that God observes men's actions, and will judge
them at the great day. There is that in man which
is immortal; and there must therefore be some residence for the immortal spirit after death. There
must be an eternity; and the man tremblingly asks,
"What is truth?" If infidelity be sound and substantial, well; but if not, then where am I? what
is my hope? what will become of me in a future
state? what shall I answer to my Judge? Let such
a man go to the Bible, and there he will find simple




212       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
and majestic truth. A traveller who had professed
infidel opinions was sailing to South America. The
voyage was tedious, and he sought to beguile the
time by reading. Among the few books which the
ship afforded, was a copy of Rollin's "Arts and
Sciences of the Ancients." There he met with some
references to the Bible and to the fulfilment of its
prophecies. Hle had not read the sacred volume
for years. His curiosity about these prophecies led
him to inquire for a Bible. He searched the ship
through, and at length, at the bottom of a sailor's
chest, one was discovered. He eagerly compared
Rollin's references, and found them exactly correct.
This induced him to read further. IHe had abundance of leisure, and the perusal became increasingly
interesting. Gradually a serious impression fastened
on his mind. At first, he rather tried to shake it
off, and his associates on the voyage joked him about
it. He could not explain it, and there was no one
in the ship who could sympathize with his new feelings. He persevered in reading, and he found a
happiness and rest, to which hitherto he had been a
stranger. He no longer wished to shake off these
convictions. Under the secret teaching of the Holy
Ghost, he learned the fundamental doctrines of the
gospel; and the first Sunday after his return to




THE WAY, TIHE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 213
England, he went to church, where, to his surprise
and joy, he heard the very truths which he had
worked out alone on shipboard, preached before the
great congregation. This brought to his mind fresh
evidence of the truth, and he "went on his way rejoicing."  To the candid inquirer Christ says, "If
any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of
myself."
I am the "life."  What a beautiful completeness
does this title give to the whole statement! For if
there be a spiritual way to walk in, and a spiritual
truth to apprehend, there must be spiritual life, or
else neither the way nor the truth will profit us.
How delightful, then, to hear Christ say, "I am the
way, the truth, and the life!"
In Christ is life. Mental energy and spiritual
life are his gift. How mysterious, and yet how
powerful a principle is spiritual life!  "The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the
Spirit." One soul is quickened suddenly, and with
alarming convictions; another is led gradually and
gently into the obedience of faith. The heart of
the savage jailer is riven as by an earthquake, and




214        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
in an agony of terror he cries out, "What must I
do to be saved?" The heart of the devout Lydia
is opened gently, like the first beginning of a summer day, or the passing away of a morning mist.
It was real, and yet drew no notice. Happy Lydia!
She went to the river-side, and returned home again
the same woman outwardly, but inwardly how different! She went a stranger to Christ-she returned
a sister beloved.
How various are the times for the commencement
of this life! Some, like John the Baptist, are " filled
with the Holy Ghost" from infancy. Others, as
Samuel and Timothy, are called by Christ, and savingly instructed in the Scripture, in childhood.
Some, like Josiah, are enabled to dedicate their
youthful prime to God. Others, as Manasseh, are
brought, after a long course of rebellion, to repentance. Some are converted in the midst of the pressing occupations of life, as Elisha and Matthew.
We read of one who was forgiven and saved in the
hour of death. One such case is recorded that none
may despair; and only one, that none may presume.
The circumstances, also, of conversion vary
greatly. The word of God is the instrument generally employed, but it is applied to the heart by different agencies. The lesson in the nursery; the




THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 215
sermon in the house of God; the conversation of a
pious friend; the letter written for the birth-day;
the Bible found in the knapsack, in the hour of loneliness, in a foreign land; the tract picked up on the
wayside; the disappointment in business; the sudden
death of a relative; or a season of prolonged sickness and retirement,-these are some of the channels through which Christ pours life into the soul.
Amidst this diversity of operation, and variety in
time and circumstances, the work is one and the
same. In harmony, there is frequently the same
air hidden under several variations. So in the spiritual dealings of Christ with men, there may be
diversity and yet unity. Every case of conversion
is marked by blessed fruits-repentance toward God,
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and love to man
and zeal for God for Christ's sake. Conversion is
a new creation-a passing from death to life, and
from the power of Satan to God.
Christ is our "life."  He nourishes the seed
which he has planted. He who gives being, will
also give increase.  He who lays the foundation
stone, will, according to his eternal purpose, carry
on the building, and shall bring forth the head-stone
thereof with shoutings, crying, " Grace, grace unto
it."  The promises are sure and faithful: "They go




216       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
from strength to strength, every one of them in
Zion appeareth before God." "The righteous also
shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands
shall be stronger and stronger." If conversion be
a miracle of grace, the support and strength which
the child of God receives from day to day is a continuation of the miracle. Neither the temptations
of Satan, nor the allurements of the world, nor the
corruptions of his own heart shall be permitted to
prevail finally against the humble believer. Is it
wonderful that the frail bark should outlive the
raging tempest? No less wonderful are the victories of faith. Does the timid swallow, in her flight
across the ocean towards a more genial climate, find
that, in escaping from the monster bird of prey
above her, she is in dangerfrom the jaws of the
devouring shark beneath her, so that on every side
death threatens her? Yet is she sustained by the
hand of Omnipotence, and carried forward by an
invisible Protector. Even so, 0 Christian, "thy
shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so
shall thy strength be." Thine enemy is mighty,
but thy Redeemer is mightier. In all things thou
shalt be more than conqueror through him that hath
loved thee. Look, then, unto Jesus, the "author
and finisher of thy faith." Wait upon him, and he




THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. 217
shall renew thy strength. Walk with him in lowly,
self-renouncing dependence. Walk before him in
the realization of his presence and love. Walk in
him, rooted and built up in him. Expect nothing
from thyself, everything from Jesus. Attempt nothing for self, but everything for him. And Christ,
who has been thy way to God, and the truth to keep
thee in the way, will be thy life to welcome and to
crown thee at the end of the way.
19




218       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
"THE VINE."
" I am the true vine."- JOHN XV. 1.
"THE  common people heard" Jesus Christ
"gladly." Their "eyes were fastened upon him"
while he spake to them, for he taught not only with
power, and as "one having authority," but with
great plainness of speech and illustration.  He
adapted his instruction to the capacities of men of
ordinary life. His infinite knowledge would have
enabled him to adorn and enforce his discourses
with figures and emblems drawn from the secrets
of creation, or the mysteries of his Father's being
and attributes. But his teaching was not intended
to win man's admiration, but to promote man's spiritual benefit. He drew his lessons, therefore, from
familiar objects. A husbandman casting seed into
the ground; the fisherman and his nets; the woman
kneading dough, supplied him with a text and a
similitude. Whether at home or abroad, everything
with our Lord was a vehicle of instruction. A




THE VINE.                219
casual expression, an incidental occurrence, the season of the year, a particular place, the vicinity of
a building, the features of the surrounding country,
served to introduce matters of the greatest moment.
He was, indeed, "a teacher sent from God;" never
did an idle word fall from his gracious lips; in
everything it was the study of his life to do all to
the glory of his Father and for the salvation of man.
A tree is a common emblem in the Bible; the
godly are spoken of as "trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified;"
and, in awful contrast, sinners are called "trees
whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead,
plucked up by the roots."  A particular tree is
sometimes selected: "The righteous shall flourish
like the palm-tree; he shall grow like a cedar in
Lebanon." There can be no doubt that when our
Lord pronounced the curse upon the barren fig-tree,
it was a significant warning to the Jewish nation.
The vine was as common in Palestine as the oak
and the elm are with us; hence it could be no
matter of surprise or difficulty to the apostles when
our Lord, in his farewell discourse, said to them,
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Let us, then, meditate on this title which Jesus




220       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
has claimed for himself and his people, "I am the
vine, ye are the branches."
"I am the vine." In outward appearance the
vine is inferior to many trees. It is not as sturdy
as the oak, nor as majestic as the cedar, nor as lofty
as the palm. Look at the vine in early spring;
it appears a dry, withered, sapless, lifeless, and leafless tree. Wait a few months; look again in autumn.
What are those sounds of rejoicing? It is the joy
of the vintage. The vines are covered with luxuriant foliage, and are adorned with rich purple fruit.
The prophet thus describes the appearance of the
Lord Jesus in this world: —" He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a
dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and
when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we
should desire him;" and this is the testimony of the
apostle, "that, though he was rich, yet for our sakes
he became poor, that we through his poverty might
be rich." Our Lord himself says, " The foxes have
holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the
Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
Think of the poverty of Jesus. He never possessed a habitation or an apartment he could call his
own. He was born in another man's house, and
this was a stable; and he was laid in a manger.




THE VINE.               221
HIow soon was he driven an infant exile into Egypt!
Widows ministered  to him  of their substance.
Wearied with his journey, he sat on the well, and
said to the woman, "Give me to drink." A fish
furnished him with money to pay the temple tribute.
One night he slept in a fishing-boat; another, he
continued all night in prayer on a mountain. We
read only once of his riding; and this was upon a
borrowed ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. He
partook of the last passover in a borrowed chamber;
he was wrapped in linen not his own when taken
down from the cross, and was buried in another
man's garden, and another man's tomb. Who would
have thought that this was the living Vine which
should fill the face of the earth with fruit? When
we think of the conversions on the day of Pentecost,
and of the spread of Christianity from that day to
this; when we contemplate the blessings, moral,
social, and spiritual, which have everywhere followed
the preaching of the gospel; when we think of the
millions in the heavenly rest who have believed in
Jesus, and who have triumphed through him; when
we cast our eye over the world, upon multitudes of
every nation, kindred, people, and tongue, who,
sprinkled like gems among all denominations, are
his militant church on earth, who rest upon him,
19 *




222        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
love him, and glorify him,-then we understand
why he has compared himself to a vine, a tree so
full of life, joy, and fruitfulness.
The foliage of the vine affords delightful shade.
We read in the Scripture of persons sitting under
the vine and under the fig-tree. In reference to
another tree, the bride, the church says of her Beloved, "I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." Christ
affords the shadow of protection and refreshment to
his people. He defends them in the hour of temptation and danger.  He shelters them  from  the
wrath of God, the curse of the broken law, and the
accusations of an awakened and upbraiding conscience. This shadow is represented under a fourfold emblem: first, that of a tree, as we have just
stated; second, that of a cloud, as in Isaiah xxv.
5; third, that of a rock, "a great rock in a weary
land:" and fourth, that of a tabernacle: "There
shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime
from the heat." The shadow of a tree under which
we sit down is delightful; but it is limited to a small
distance, and the solar rays frequently pierce
through the boughs. The shadow of a cloud in harvest is grateful, but transient. The shadow of a
great rock is dense and cool: but it befriends not




THE VINE.               223
on every side, and covers little from the vertical
rays. The shadow of a tabernacle is the most complete and inviting. All these have some truth in
their application to Christ; but none do justice to
him. He is what they imply, and infinitely more,
because he is Divine.  How beautiful, then, and
how just, is this emblem of the true Vine! The
fruit, however, must be tasted, and the shade experienced to be appreciated. We must come to Christ,
and taste how gracious he is, and how complete is
the peace and protection which he bestows, if we
desire personally to realize these inestimable blessings. This emblem teaches us as much by contrast
as by comparison. A vine is not always green; it
will not always bear; and it bears only one kind of
fruit. Christ ever liveth; he is unchangeably the
same, "yesterday, to-day, and for ever." He has
all grace in himself, and he bestows it upon his
needy suppliants at all times and under all circumstances. He is the Tree of life that bears "twelve
manner of fruits." All that the soul can require is
laid up in him, and out of his fulness may we receive, and "grace for grace." The fruit and shade
of the vine are only temporal and for the body:
Christ is a Saviour for the soul and for eternity.
The poor carmnot obtain wine; but poverty excludes




224       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
none from the wine of the gospel.  Here "the rich
and the poor meet together." The fruit of the vine,
if taken too largely, will injure the partaker; but
there is no danger here; while we are forbidden to
be "drunk with wine, wherein is excess," we are
commanded to be "filled with the Spirit."
"Ye are the branches."  This is the title which
the Lord Jesus gives to his disciples, and it implies
their union to him. This union may be external
and scarcely apparent, or internal and real. We
are outwardly united to Christ when we are admitted into his visible church, when we attend the
ordinances of the sanctuary, and are called Christians. Many are thus outwardly united to Christ
while their hearts are given to the world. Occasionally, nay, perhaps regularly, they attend the
means of grace, but, alas, this is the only homage
which they pay to religion. Even on the Sabbath,
their conversation is of the world, worldly; and
through the week they are wholly engrossed with
the cares, and pleasures, and riches of this life.
To such as these Christ refers when he says,
"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he
taketh away." It is their high and awful privilege
that they are outwardly united to Christ: it is their
condemnation that with all their profession they




THE VINE.                225
bear no fruit of faith, love, and holy obedience;
and it will be their tremendous doom to be "taken
away" and "cast into outer darkness," where
"there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
There are those who are inwardly and truly
united to Jesus, and these are the true church, and
the little flock to whom it is the Father's good
pleasure to give the kingdom. Christ is the true
Vine, and these are fruit-bearing branches.  How
is this union produced? What is its nature? What
are its blessed results? How is this vine-slip to be
made partaker of the life and fatness of the true
vine? By creating the closest connection possible.
You engraft it. You take this leafless rod, perhaps
severed from a wild vine, and you insert it in the
quick vine-stock, and speedily the graft has taken.
Fibre by fibre, and vein by vein, the slip clings and
coheres, till the life of the tree is the life of this
adopted branch, and the graft buds, and blossoms,
and matures its clusters from the flowing juices of
the vine.* Jesus has life in himself, and having
completed the work given him to do, he rests in his
Father's bosom, and is most blessed for evermore.
But here is a dead and sapless soul; here is a spirit to which holy joy is a stranger, and to which
* " The Vine." Nisbet's Series of Tracts.




226        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
God is still unknown as a reconciled God and a
loving Father. How is this dead and dreary soul
to be made partaker of Christ's life and joy? It
must be separated from the wild tree of nature, and
it must be brought into the closest connection with
Jesus Christ, the living tree of grace.  It is the
husbandman who effects the graft.  Conversion is
an instance of Divine interposition. Left to itself,
the barren branch would have remained in the wild
tree, and would have yielded no profitable fruit.
But the husbandman cut it off the wild vine, and
grafted it into the true vine. Our heavenly Father,
by the power of the Holy Spirit upon his word,
and his providential dealings, separates the soul
from worldly dependence, tastes, and pleasures,
and graciously leads it by faith to cling to Jesus.
Life flows from this true vine into the soul of the
humble penitent. This life is soon evidenced by
growth and fruitfulness.
Though the union of the believer with Christ be
mysterious, it is real, close, intimate, and endearing. Any injury inflicted upon his people, Christ
regards as done to himself: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"  "He that toucheth you
toucheth the apple of his eye." And any kindness
shown to them, he will crown with an abundant




TIE VINE.               227
recompense: "Whosoever shall give to drink unto
one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in
the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he
shall in no wise lose his reward." "Inasmuch as
ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me." On the other
hand, the glory of Christ is dear to the Christian.
It is his highest joy to see the kingdom of Christ
advanced, and his greatest grief to see Christ dishonoured or rejected: "Rivers of waters run down
mine eyes, because men keep not thy law." As
the same sap pervades the vine and the branches,
so the same mind is in his people which was. also in
Christ Jesus; for "he that is joined to the Lord is
one spirit."  There is confidence in this union.
How wonderful to hear the Lord say, "Shall I
hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" and
how unfathomable the condescension, that he should
impart his counsels to sinful worms of the dust!
"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear
him." "To you it is given to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven." It may be said, these
were his apostles, and they were honoured with
peculiar confidence: it cannot be so in our day.
We answer, that in measure it is the same now.
Christ speaks to the souls of his people now as




228       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
distinctly and as personally as when 1800 years
ago he held communion with the apostles face
to face, as "a man speaketh to his friend."  His
word dwells in them richly in all wisdom, and
many a dark and frowning providence he explains
to them by the secret whispers of his love. So
that it is their happiness "to lie passive in his
hands, and know no will but his."  This experience of Christ's love increases confidence
in him. What a blessed welcome did the penitent
receive when with trembling fears he cast himself
at the foot of the cross! That welcome has bound
his heart to Christ ever since.  Every day has
witnessed his believing access to the same cross,
and to the fountain of all cleansing efficacy; and
every fresh welcome inflames his love to the Saviour
more and more. He knows and is sure that Christ
is his Saviour and his Friend; he has learned to
"trust in him at all times, and to pour out his
heart before him;" yea, to " come boldly unto
the throne of grace, that he may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need." There
is great consolation in this union with Christ.
Where a union is formed between persons, and
one is superior to the other in wisdom and power,
the weaker party looks up to the superior with




THE VINE.                229
reverence and dependence. Immeasurable indeed
is the disparity between the Divine Saviour and
the miserable sinner. Hence the believer hangs
upon Jesus for all things. He trusts in Christ for
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.  He knows that he can do nothing of himself, and, therefore, he looks to Christ in every
duty, trial, and  emergency.  But though  the
branches depend on the parent stock for all their
life, beauty, and fruitfulness, yet the branches
are the glory of the vine. Christians are the
glory of Christ.  He sustains them, and they
glorify him. From him is their fruit found as its
source, but they bear the fruit to the "praise
and glory of God."  They receive from  Christ,
and work for him. They live in the Spirit and
they walk in the Spirit.  And the "fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."
Union with Christ is characterized by progressive sanctification. Every fruitful branch is
purged. "The husbandman purgeth it, that it
may bring forth more fruit." It is the propensity
of even fruitful branches to wanton into excessive
foliage. But besides spoiling the appearance of
the vine, the sap spent on the leaves is taken from
20




230       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
the grapes, and the excessive shade keeps out the
sun. The husbandman prunes these shoots and
suckers away; and while he makes the branch
more sightly, he lets the sunbeams freely in, and
makes the clusters richer. So it is with Christians.
In prosperity, when all goes well with them, they
are apt to indulge in pride and luxury. They
grow selfish, and study their own ease. They seek
great things for themselves.  And the watchful
husbandman, consulting his own glory in the
fruitfulness of the vine, comes with the pruningknife of some afflictive providence and removes
the verdant shoots. Not to hurt, but to benefit
the tree does the husbandman handle the pruningknife. In deep dejection of spirit, Mr. Cecil was
pacing to and fro in the Botanic Garden at Oxford,
when he observed a fine specimen of the pomegranate almost cut through the stem. On asking
the gardener the reason, he received an answer
which explained the wounds of his own bleeding
spirit,-" Sir, this tree used to shoot so strong that
it bore nothing but leaves.  I was, therefore,
obliged to cut it in this manner, and when it was
almost cut through, then it began to bear plenty
of fruit." Ye suffering members of Christ, be
thankful for every sorrow which weakens sin or




THE VINE.               281
strengthens grace. Though it should be a cut
to the heart, be thankful for every sin and idol
shorn away; for whatever makes your conscience
more tender and your character more consistent.
Another privilege flowing from union with
Christ, is success in prayer.  " If ye abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what
ye will, and it shall be done unto you." To abide
in Christ is to maintain communion with him, not
only at stated seasons, not only in secret, family,
and public worship, but in our daily walk and conversation. To abide in Christ is to have the heart
constantly going forth to him in meditation on his
person, offices, and work; to have the mental eye
ever fixed upon him in grateful, loving, holy adoration and praise. To abide in Christ is to have our
wills and affections so subdued to the "obedience
of faith," that the one object and desire of our
hearts and lives is to imitate his example, and
to keep his commandments.  To quicken and
maintain and direct this blessed union with Christ,
it is necessary that his words should abide in us.
It is the application of the word of God with
power to the judgment and conscience, that imparts
the true vine nature to the branches.  "Ye are




232        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
clean," that is, pure and genuine, "through the
word which I have spoken unto you." This word
abides in their hearts from day to day. Its pre
cepts and promises; its encouragements and warnings; its moral lessons and evangelical motives;
its examples of holiness and its anticipations of
exalted happiness-these are treasured up in the
hearts of Christians, and exercise a transforming
influence over them, so that they grow up into
Christ in all things.
Abiding in- Christ, and Christ's word abiding
in them, believers know and love and are conformed to the will of Christ.  Thus they have
a spiritual perception of that which will please
their Lord and Saviour.  Here is the secret of
their strength in prayer. The apostle John teaches
us that "this is the confidence that we have in
him, that if we ask anything according to his will,
he heareth us."  It is the privilege of believers,
that they have access to God in Christ Jesus.
Their prayers are the communings of children with
a Father. Temporal things they are well content
to leave to his disposal, and spiritual blessings they
may ask with holy boldness, because they know
that the will of God is their sanctification. The




THE VINE.                 233
answers to prayer which they daily receive, and
which they love to register in their affectionate
remembrance, are testimonies to their interest in
Christ, and their adoption into the family of God.
It is their duty to have their hearts in that state
and frame, that they shall instantly recognize the
answer to their supplications, the response from
the mercy-seat in heaven to the telegraphic communications dispatched from the spiritual worshippers
on earth.
We have thus briefly considered the nature and
efficacy of union* with Christ. Let us inquire
whether we are living branches in him the true
Vine. "They are not all Israel, which are of Israel." It is one thing to be a Christian in name,
and another to be a Christian in deed. Have we
been taught our sinfulness and danger by the Holy
Spirit? Have we been enabled by grace to believe
in Christ?  Is he all our salvation and all our desire?  Do we maintain communion with him?  Do
we esteem the words of his mouth more than our
necessary food?  Do we bear fruit to the glory of
* This subject is treated in a devout and practical manner
in a book called " Thoughts on Union with Christ;" by Sosthenes.
20*




234       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
his name? Is our conscience tender, our eye single,
our demeanour serious and holy? Are we "epistles
of Christ, known and read of all men?"  "And
now, little children, abide in him; that, when he
shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be
ashamed before him at his coming."




THE MORNING STAR.             235
"THE MORNING STAR."
" I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and
morning star." —REV. xxii. 16.
WE have now meditated upon the glorious titles
which our blessed Lord has assumed to himself in
the New Testament. We have observed that some
of these are personal, and that others are pictorial
titles.  When he calls himself, "I Am;" "Alpha
and Omega;" "Jesus;" "Christ;" "The Son of
God," and "The Son of man," it is plain that
these are personal titles in which he sets forth what
he is in himself. When our Lord compares himself
to the "manna;" a "shepherd;" a "door;" a
"way," and a "vine," it is equally plain that these
emblems he employs as pictorial representations of
the offices that he bears to his redeemed people.
The verse at the head of this chapter contains the
last of these self-assumed titles in the Holy Scriptures, and combines in striking and sublime language that which is personal with that which is pie



236       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
torial. " I am the root and the offspring of David;"
here is the august and mysterious person of Christ:
"I am the bright and morning Star;" here is an
appropriate and consolatory emblem of his work
and office.  An especial blessing is pronounced
upon the devout and intelligent perusal of the book
of Revelation. "Blessed is he that readeth, and
they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep
those things which are written therein: for the time
is at hand." The prophecies of this book embrace
the history of the church of Christ from his ascension to his coming again. Some of these prophecies were addressed to the beloved disciple by the
ministry of an angel, and others by the Lord himself. But in the titles, which will form the subject
of this our concluding chapter, he sets his seal to,
and authenticates the whole book: "I Jesus have
sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in
the churches: I am the root and the offspring of
David, and the bright and morning Star."
The Lord Jesus thus describes his personal character: "I am the root and the offspring of David."
That he was according to the flesh, and in fulfilment of ancient prediction, "the offspring of David" is proved by the two genealogies given by
Matthew and Luke, which trace his line of ancestry




THE MORNING STAR.           237
on his mother's and on his reputed father's side.
In the wonder-working providence of God, Joseph
repaired from Nazareth to Bethlehem to enrol his
name in the register of that town, "because he was
of the house and lineage of David." In doing this,
Joseph simply obeyed the decree of C(esar Augustus "that all the world should be taxed," that a
census might be taken of the millions which composed his mighty empire. Mary, the espoused wife
of Joseph, accompanied him-a fatiguing journey
of more than sixty miles. Whilst at Bethlehem,
she was delivered of her firstborn son; and the infant Saviour of the world was "laid in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn."
Thus singularly was it brought about, that Jesus
was born at Bethlehem, and that his name and
descent from David were publicly registered in that
town. Christ was also the "root" of David. This
he could only be in his Divine nature. The union
of the two natures in one person is the only explanation of the paradox, "I am the root and the offspring of David." This the Pharisees could not
solve: "What think ye of Christ? " was our Lord's
question to them, the last question of his public
ministry, "whose son is he?  They say unto him,
The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then




238       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
doth David in spirit call him Lord? saying, The
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right
hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. If
David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And
no man was able to answer him a word, neither
durst any man from that day forth ask him any
more questions."
Neither can the Unitarian explain this difficulty.
For if Jesus Christ be only a man, if he be simply
the offspring of David, how can he be the root of
David? Christ was born one thousand years after
David; but the root of David must be before David. If Christ then be only a man, how can he be
the root of a very distant ancestor? No man that
receives the New Testament can deny that, according to the flesh, Christ was the Son of David, and
was born at Bethlehem. If he be David's Lord and
David's root, then he must have existed long before
he was "born of a pure virgin." The pre-existence of Christ necessarily implies his Deity. And
if, instead of appealing to human reason, we go to
the Scriptures, we shall find that the same passages
which teach his humanity, also prove his Deity.
Paul, speaking of the exalted privileges of the
Jewish people, says, that of them "concerning the
flesh Christ came," and he adds, "who is over all,




THE MORNING STAR.           239
God blessed for ever. Amen."  To quote only one
more reference: "Behold," saith the prophet Isaiah,
"a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel." Matthew has given us
the inspired application of this prediction, and the
interpretation of the name "Emmanuel, which is,
God with us." In our present imperfect state we
cannot fathom the mystery of the person of Christ.
We are a mystery to ourselves. We cannot explain
how the reasonable soul and flesh is one man: is it
any matter of surprise that we cannot unravel the
amazing mystery that " God and man is one Christ? "
Let us receive the testimony of the word of truth
with reverence and humility. Let us listen when
God speaks, and believe and wait when he is silent.
We have a Divine Saviour; let us build all our hope
of eternal happiness upon him. We need, in the
daily trials of life, a sympathizing Brother and
Friend. Let us go to Jesus, who "was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin." He will
not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking
flax: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
Let us adore and bless God for the revelation of so
complete and glorious a Redeemer, who is so able
and so willing to save, and who is "the root and the
offspring of David."




240       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
We must, however, proceed to meditate on Jesus
as "the bright and morning Stark" This is no disparagement to him who is called the Sun. We have
frequently observed that no emblem can do justice
to him. The one Saviour is called the "Dayspring,"
the "Day Star," the "Light of the world," and the
"Sun of righteousness."
The word star is used symbolically and for different purposes in the Bible. It is used to describe
the angels of heaven, as in Job: "The morning
stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted
for joy."  By a star is meant a ruler, or a conqueror, as in the celebrated prophecy of Balaam,
"I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him,
but not nigh: there shall come a star out of Jacob,
and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite
the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children
of Sheth." The king of Babylon, in his pride,
called himself the morning star; but his pride
brought him low, for the morning star of Babylon
was a fallen star. "How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning!"  Pastors or
ministers of the gospel, who ought to shine like stars
in respect of the brightness and purity of their lives
and doctrine, are also called stars in Rev. i. 20,
where they are said to be in Christ's hand, located




THE MORNING STAR.             241
and removed by him according to his ever wise and
watchful providence. Again, wicked professors are
called "wandering stars, to whom is reserved the
blackness of darkness for ever."
Jesus Christ calls himself the "bright and morning Star." Of all the stars which bespangle the
vault of heaven, the morning star* is the most luminous and beautiful. In all things Christ has the
pre-eminence. He is fairer than the angels of God;
fairer than the children of men: he is "the chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely."
When other stars pale their radiance, the morning star shines forth. When prophecy had been
silent four centuries, the great Prophet of the
church appeared. When reason, unassisted by revelation, had failed in four thousand years to discover
man's chief end, and his real happiness, then the
true Light enlightened the world.
The bright and morning star is the harbinger of
the day. It is principally in this reference that we
are to understand the emblem which the Lord Jesus
has assumed to himself.  The aged Zacharias, in his
prophetic song, extols "the tender mercy of our
God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath
visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness
* The planet enuus is usually so called.
21




242       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into
the way of peace."  When the angels announced
the birth of Christ to the shepherds, in the glowing anthem, "Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good-will toward men;" when Christ,
by his obedient life and atoning death, wrought out
our redemption; when he rose from the dead and
brought "life and immortality to light," and opened
the kingdom of heaven to all believers; and when
he stood upon Mount Olivet, and blessed his disciples, and gave them that wondrous commission,
" Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature," —in all these events, we behold the
Morning Star ushering in the noon-tide splendour.
"When the morn is nearest, the night is drearest."
The first two chapters of the Epistle to the Romans
testify to the moral and spiritual darkness both of
Jews and heathen. When truth had fallen in Jerusalem, and virtue starved at Rome; when the eye
of Greece was almost darkened, and Egypt, once
the nursery of letters, and the mistress of nations,
had dwindled into a Roman province; then the Star
of Bethlehem arose; truth again flourished upon
the earth, and righteousness looked down from heaven. The morning star gives but a faint idea of
the brightness of the noonday. The success of




THlE MORNING STAR.            243
Christ's ministry, and of the labours of his early
followers, gave but a slender presage of the triumphs
which Christianity should win from age to age.
Who can number the rays of light which stream
from the sun in his full-orbed glory? And what human arithmetic can calculate the moral, social, political, intellectual, and spiritual blessings which have
accompanied the gospel of the Lord Jesus? "Truly
the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the
eyes to behold the sun; " but the light of Christianity and the truth of Jesus have conferred blessings upon us, which the heart of man cannot conceive, or his tongue describe.
Peter teaches us that "we have a more sure word
of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take
heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,
until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your
hearts."  Christ is this " day-star."  Dark indeed,
as a gloomy sepulchre, is the heart of man. Naturally, sin and death reign there with undisputed
sway. When grace enters, the "day-star" arises.
The sinner is taught by the Holy Spirit the exceeding sinfulness of sin; left to himself, he might
despair of any effectual remedy, for he has no merit
to atone for past transgressions, and no strength
adequately to fulfil present duty, nor to vanquish




244       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
present temptation: no hope, therefore, in himself
of acceptance with God. What shall the trembling
sinner do? The grace which has taught him his
sinfulness, leads him to the cross. There he beholds "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world." Hope is kindled in his breast;
the "day-star" indeed arises; and the thrilling
welcome which he receives from the Saviour inspires
him with a humble confidence, that the grace which
has begun will also perfect the happy work wrought
in him, and that his path shall be like "the shining
light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect
day."
There is a day which Christians delight to anticipate, namely, the day of Christ's glorious reign
upon our earth; of this day, the bright and morning Star is the harbinger. We believe that our lot
is cast in very solemn times, and that our feet press
upon the margin of the appearing of the Son of
man. The prophet Zechariah, speaking of the period when Christ shall come, says that, "In that
day the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it
shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord,
not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that
at evening time it shall be light." When we take
a survey of the religious state of mankind, we be



THE MORNING STAR.             245
hold vast multitudes who are still destitute of the
true light, "without hope, and without God in the
world." But the darkness which broods over millions, though intense, is not supreme. The pure
gospel is widely proclaimed; the word of truth is
largely circulated; Jesus has an innumerable host
of faithful witnesses; and we rejoice in the belief,
that never were greater exertions made than in the
present day to speed the course of the gospel all
the world over. There are signs of the times, to
which we can with difficulty shut our eyes. How
remarkable are the words of the ancient seer, containing a Divine photograph, as it were, of the very
days in which we ourselves now live: "Many shall
run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased!"
A living writer well remarks, that "the means of
intercourse were never so abundant as in the present
age. It is an age marked above all others for multiplying the means of rapid communication. All
the efforts of mankind for promoting intercourse in
the way of roads, and other communications from
place to place, from the beginning of the world till
the present time, are not nearly so great as the
efforts which have been made, and the progress
which has been attained during the last fifty years.
What an illustration is this fact of the prophecy to
21 *




246        THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
which we have referred, and which was given to
Daniel by the Son of man twenty-four hundred
years ago!
But it is not merely that the means of intercourse
have been very greatly increased: the motives for
that intercourse have been increased, have completely changed the whole character of the age in
which we live. Steamboats and railroads, electric
telegraphs, submarine telegraphs, new lines of steamers, surpassing all the triumphs of science and art
in former ages in size and swiftness-these are the
subjects which are constantly uppermost in the
thoughts of men. What do we witness at the present hour? These great efforts, all tending to promote more rapid communication between the farthest West and the extremest East, struggling, as it
were, into birth.  Supposing these  plans completed, we shall witness such a spectacle as this
earth has never witnessed before. We shall see the
grasp of science taking hold of nearly the whole
circumference of the globe, so that in a few minutes
a message may be transmitted from the farthest
East to California in the farthest West. No wonder,
then, that such a signal feature of God's providence
should be made the subject of prophecy in olden
times, or that He who sees the end from the begin



THE MORNING STAR.            247
ning should in these few words have stamped the
very image of the times in which we live: "Many
shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
But the sign which we regard with the greatest
interest, as the bright and morning star, the harbinger of the day of Christ's glory, is the propagation of the gospel among Jews and heathen. Fifty
years ago scarcely any interest was taken in Zion;
there were few who mourned over her desolations,
and who prayed that her time of favour might come.
Fifty years ago, but few missionaries were sent to
the heathen. Now what a different state of things
do we behold. Look at that great and glorious institution, the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Fifty years ago the Scriptures went forth from the
press through the world at the rate of 2000 copies
per week; now the presses of the Bible Society alone
send forth the word of God at the rate of 13,000
copies per day. Four hundred years ago, it occupied
a year to transcribe a copy of the Holy Scriptures, and a fortune was required for its purchase;
now, through the immense improvements in printing, by cylinder steam-presses, a whole Bible is
printed in one minute, and is sold for twenty-five
cents. Are we not reminded by this mighty exten



248       THE TITLES OF OUR LORD.
sion of the truth of the Saviour's words, "The
gospel shall be preached as a witness among all
nations, and then shall the end come?" Contemplate, Christians, the bright and shining pledge of
your Lord's return. " Lift up your heads with joy,
for your redemption draweth nigh." "Now is your
salvation nearer than when ye believed." "Yet a
little while, and He that shall come will come, and
will not tarry." "The Redeemer shall come to
Zion," and the widowed land of Judah shall welcome her everlasting Bridegroom. The air which
was once rent with the cry, "Crucify him, crucify
him," shall resound with joyful acclamations, " Hosanna, Hosanna to the Son of David: blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord." The spirit of grace and of supplications shall be poured
forth, and the house of David and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem shall look upon Him whom they have
pierced, and mourn over centuries of unbelief and
hardness of heart. The glory of the Lord shall
rise upon Zion, and the Gentiles shall come to her
light, and kings to the brightness of her rising.
The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the
glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Seeing then that we look for such things, "what
manner of persons ought we to be in all holy con



THE MORNING STAR.            249
versation and godliness!"  Let us set the Lord Jesus constantly before us. Let us imitate him. Let
us shine as lights in the world, and let us anticipate
with joy the blessed period which is hastening on,
when "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."