Tim. iii. 16; 1 John v. 20). It is not only one of the profoundest of all doctrines, it is the most practical. Let me doubt it, and how can Christ be to me a Saviour? How can He be more to me than any other eminently holy and wise man who died centuries ago, or yesterday? 1. What comfort can I derive from the declaration that He died for me? Could a man atone for the sins of the whole world, for my sins? 2. What comfort can I derive from the declaration that He now lives and is in heaven? If so, as a man, doubtless, He will sympathise with me, but how can I be assured that He hears the cries for help which in times of distress and danger I raise or that, if He hears me, He is able to help? 1. This complex Christian life of ours can be sustained only by the complex and unfathomably mysterious doctrine of the Divine-human nature of Christ, just as our physical life can be sustained only by the compound yet simple atmosphere we breathe. To simplify the atmosphere by taking away, if it were possible, either of its main constituents would transform the earth into a sepulchre; and to "simplify" Christian doctrine by taking away the doctrine either of our Lord's humanity or of His Deity is the destruction of spiritual life. 2. Let us, then, accept in all their fulness the declarations of Scripture concerning the Person of our Lord. Those declarations transcend our reason, but they do not contradict it (H. E. I. 851, 4809-4814), and they should be joyfully accepted by our faith. 3. Let us think much of Christ as the Son of man, that by His example we may be incited to strive after a noble manhood, and that by the assurance of His sympathy we may be sustained amid all the struggles and sorrows of life. 4. Let us think much of Him as "the mighty God," that our faith may rejoice in His ability to accomplish for us a complete redemption; that our reason and conscience may be led to bow to the authority which must therefore belong to all His utterances; that our love for Him, while it is tender and ardent, may be also reverent; and that our soul may feel itself free to give expression to the feelings of adoration that rise up within us when we contemplate His perfections, His purposes, and the work which it is declared He has accomplished on our behalf. (a) The following translations have been given by sceptical scholars, but have all been conclusively rejected by sound scholarship:Mighty Hero."-Gesenius. 66 "Counsellor of the Mighty God."—Grotius. "Counseller of God, Mighty."-Carpenter. "And He who is Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, calls His name the Prince of peace.”—Jarchi and Kimchi THE EVERLASTING FATHER. ix. 6. The Everlasting Father. We usually associate the name of father with the first "Person" of the adorable Godhead. But there is no manner of doubt that the title here belongs to our Lord Jesus Christto the very same Person who, in human nature, was a Child born, and a Son given up for the salvation of men. But there is this difference: the title given to the Son born is not merely "the Father," but "the everlasting Father. The title is not Father," but the entire phrase. Read more exactly in accordance with the original words, the phrase is this: "the father of perpetuity, the father of eternity, the father of the for ever." "Father" means here simply possessor or author. To be the father of eternity" is to have eternity, and to rule in eternity-to be the Lord of eternity. Christ Jesus, who hath the government upon His shoulders, hath it on His shoulders for ever; He is King of kings and Lord of lords throughout eternity. The eternity here spoken of is not the eternity that is bygone-if we may so speak of eternity; it is the ongoing and unending duration that lies before us, and Christ Jesus is Lord and Ruler of it all. No doubt He who can hold the future eternity in His hand, and who can rule all its affairs, must have been Himself the Unbeginning and Eternal One; and the Scriptures and the Scriptures leave no doubts about that being the attribute of our Lord Jesus Christ (John viii. 58; Col. i. 17; John i. 3). But it is that for ever which lies before us which Christ is here said to be the Father of. He is so as its Possessor-He has it; as its Originator-He makes it what it is; as its Controller-He rules in it. I. Jesus Christ is the father of the eternity that lies before us, the father of the for ever, because He Himself lives for ever. He has it. Observe, this is true of the Second Person of the Godhead in human nature. The connection of the text will not permit us to forget that. It is the Child born and the Son given who is said to live for ever. That is a great thought; the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ in humanity is to live for ever is a stupendous expectation and belief. Sometimes it has seemed to me as it were more wonderful even than the Incarnation. It seems as if it would have been less strange for the Son of God, for some great purpose, to have clothed Himself with a creature's nature, and then, having accomplished that purpose, to have laid down that nature as a thing too far down from the Infinite to be worn for ever. But now the wonder is, that having made Himself our kinsman, He is to be our Head for ever, and is never to cease to wear the human nature in which He died on Calvary. That this is an important thought appears from two considerations. 1. It is part of the Divine promise of the Father to our Lord, and it is a thing for which our Lord prayed as part of His Father's promise (compare Isa. liii. 10, Ps. Ixxii. 15; xxi. 4). 2. It implies that His work was finished to His Father's satisfaction. It is clearly spoken of as a reward for work well done. Hence this title "Father of eternity" -hath in germ within it the great facts of Christ's death, resurrection, ascension, and session in glory (comp. Rev. i. 18). From this fact two inferences can be drawn, both of a most consolatory and joyful character. 1. To God's people. What a Saviour they have! They need never fear that they will be without His care. They could not find a world in all the universe where He is not with them, and they cannot live on to any age when He shall cease to be their light and King 2. The same thing brings comfort to every sinner (Heb. vii. 25). Do not lose yourselves in a great general thought of Christ living for ever; rather narrow the broad and grand conception, and fasten it down. upon the present fleeting moment. Christ lives now, and lives here-lives here and now to save the sinner and bless the saint. Apply to Him, and rejoice in Him that liveth now and for ever and ever. II. He originated this age that is spoken of. As by His death He secured His own immortality on the basis of the faithful covenant, and received life for ever because He had done the Father's will; so by the same completion of His mediatorial work on earth He purchased this immortality for His people. All that is valuable in the prospect of unending existence to any human being he owes to our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the father of the eternal age; it could not have been without Him. III. As Jesus Christ, personally and in humanity, lives through this eternal age, and as He introduced it and gave it its grand characteristics, so the administration of its whole affairs is in His hands. The Author of our Faith is the ruler of its progress, and that not on earth alone, but in heaven (Matt. xxviii. 18). What follows from that? 1. What a terrible and what a hopeless thing it must be to resist Christ! To resist Him effectually, we would require to be able to do one or other of two things. We should need either to go beyond infinite distance and get away from Him that way, or live longer than for ever, which is equally impossible. The only question is this, "Am I in Christ's hands to be slain by Him, or to be saved by Him?" and that turns on my submission to His will. "Am I to sit on the throne beside Him? or take the other alternative and be made His footstool?" 2. What a good thought it is for the Christian, that he can never go away from Christ's care, that He can never be for a moment without his Friend watching over him, and never in any place in which he does not hear the music of those precious words, "Lo, I am with you alway!"-J. Edmond, D.D.: Christian World Pulpit, vol. ix. pp. 145-148. THE PRINCE OF PEACE ix. 6. The Prince of Peace. How peaceful was the scene when the first Sabbath shone upon this world! How reversed was the scene when sin entered to revolutionise it! Think of the widespread and woful war which sin has entailed on this world, and see the need of such a Prince as our text reveals to restore the primitive peace. See, too, the magnitude of the work to which the Redeemer stands appointed when He is presented in the character of a pacificator who is to bring this strife to a happy conclusion for man. I. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF CHRIST FOR ACTING AS THE PRINCE OF PEACE." We find these, 1. In His original personal excellence as the only be gotten of the Father. 2. In His Father's ordination of Him to the office. 3. In the meritoriousness of the work He accomplished as the substitute for sinners. 4. In the station to which He has been exalted, and the executive power which has been lodged in His hands. First of all, He has been appointed Intercessor, to plead the cause of His people on the foundation of the work He has done for them; and, secondly, He has been anointed a King with all the influence and energy of the Almighty Spirit placed at His disposal to carry into execution all the favourable purposes of the Divine government on behalf of those whose cause He has won by His intercession. 5. In the fervency with which His heart is dedicated to the attainment of His object. II. THE PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF THAT PEACE OF WHICH CHRIST IS, OR SHALL YET BE, THE MINISTERING PRINCE TO ALL WHO BELIEVE ON HIM. 1. He hath effected reconciliation between God and man. 2. In Christ we cease to war against ourselves. 3. Our Prince hath reconciled us to the angels. 4. Reconciliation is effected between Jew and Gentile (Eph. ii. 14-16). 5. The general reconciliation of man to man, the destruction of selfishness, and the diffusion of benevolence. Christ came, by His dying for all, to teach that all were as brethren, and ought to regard one another with fraternal affection. How much the world required this lesson! How imperfectly it has been learned ! H. E. I., 884).- William Anderson, L.L.D.: Christian World Pulpit, vol. x. pp. 392-394. I. The character of Christ: "the Prince of Peace." How wonderful and glorious is this character when viewed in connection with this title ! Infinite wisdom and almighty power employed not for purposes of war, but of peace! (Isa. lv. 8, 9). 1. He procures peace. 2. He proclaims peace. 3. He imparts peace. 4. He maintains peace. He perfects peace. II. The character of His religion. It is a religion of peace. True, at its first introduction, it leads to conflicts (Matt. x. 34); but in the end it secures a permanent peace (Jas. iii. 17). It will give peace, but only on its terms. III. Character of the followers of Christ. 5. They are the sons of peace. 1. They seek peace with God through the mediation of Christ. 2. They exemplify a spirit like His own, and thus help to heal the wounds of a bleeding world. 3. They extend through the world the gospel of peace. 4. They anticipate in heaven the reign of unbroken peace.-Samuel Thodey. THE EMPIRE OF CHRIST. ix. 7. Of the increase of His government, &c. If any man asks, Concerning whom does the Prophet write these things" the answer is, "Concerning Christ." "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end" (a). The world has seen many great empires, that bade fair to be everlasting, crumble away; and in view of the history of the past, it is unreasonable to believe that any modern empire, except so far as it is obedient to Christ, will be more durable. This is a world of change, and it is vain to hope that political revelations are altogether things of the past. Two thousand years hence, should the present era so long continue, the map of the world will be very different from what it is to-day. But the empire of Christ is to continue for ever. Unlike all other empires, it is to be continually progressing in extent and cohesion. What are our grounds for believing this? I The distinct promises of Scripture (Ps. ii. 8, xxii. 27, lxxii. 811; Dan. vii. 13, 14). For a Christian this is sufficient. But even to those whose reverence for God's Word is most profound and unquestioning, it is interesting to see- II. That the nature of things (6) is all in favour of the fulfilment of this prediction. Under this division of our subject, look at some of the differences between all human empires and the empire of Christ. 1. As to their origin. They have usually been created by the genius and energy of some great man. But even such men as David, Alex. ander, and Cæsar are mortal, and because it is impossible to secure a constant succession of men of genius, the empires they found crumble away. To David and Solomon succeeds a Rehoboam, and Rehoboam means ruin. But Christ wields the enormous "power all the hopeful energy of those who know that the end of all their efforts is not failure, but a glorious success (H. E. I. 979, 1161, 1162, 1166–1168). (a) Upon the throne of David. This was in accordance with the promise made to David (1 Kings viii. 25; 2 Sam. vii. 12, 13; Ps. cxxxii. 11). This promise was understood as referring to the Messiah. The primary idea is, that He should be descended in the line of David, and accordingly the New Testament writers are often at pains to show that the Lord Jesus was of that family (Luke ii. 4). When it is said that He would sit upon the throne of David, it is not to be taken literally. The peculiarity of the reign of David was, that he reigned over the people of God. To sit upon the throne of David, therefore, means to reign over the people of God; and in this sense the Messiah sits on his throne.-Barnes. that His limitless resources are em- Concerning the complete fulfilment of the prediction of our text, we need therefore have no fear. And hence, 1. We can look without dismay at the mighty forces arrayed against Christ and His truth,-heathenism abroad and infidelity at home (H. E. I. 642). 2. We can look forward to the future of the world with hope. Α golden age is yet to dawn (H. E. I. 3421-3423). 3. We can labour for the extension of Christ's kingdom with The angel who came to Mary affirmed these very things of the Son then to be born (Luke (8) According to my view of the Unity of the Divine nature, God is one, as we meet Him in the Old Testament and the Oldest ; in the New and the Newest. There are four Testaments: an Oldest and an Old, a New and a Newest. The Oldest Testament is the Nature of Things. The newest is Christ's continued life in the present influences of the Holy Spirit. The oldest and the newest are unwritten; the old and new are written; but the voices of the four are one.-Joseph Cook. (7) See Bushnell's sermon on "The Power of an Endless Life," in "The New Life," pp. 287-307. (8) The remarkably emphatic repetition of the idea of His ruling in righteousness, justice, and real benevolence, suggests how fearfully the world has been misgoverned, and how little the great body of human government in even civilised nations have sought and practically secured the welfare of the millions.-Cowles. THE SECURITY FOR THE FULFILMENT OF GOD'S PROMISES. It may be affirmed with equal truth, that from what zeal is in man we may know what it is in God; and that from what zeal is in man we cannot tell what it is in God (H. E. I. 22292240). We can tell what its nature is, but we cannot tell its power. 1. Zeal is in man an intense passionateness of desire for the accomplishment of some purpose; this leads to an energy and continuity of action that in many cases triumphs over obstacles, and accom plishes what seemed impossible. True zeal in man is intelligent, calm, persistent, and unweariable; and all this we know it must be in God. 2. But what its power is in God we cannot tell. Water in the mass, and fire in the mass, is an utterly different thing from water or fire on a small scale (a). "The zeal of the Lord of hosts" is a tremendous conception which the mind cannot grasp. This declaration is the consummation |