3. The danger of neglecting the counsel of this great Prophet. The word that can enlighten is at last to judge: Deut. xviii. 18, 19; John xii. 48. ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. A sick woman said to Mr. Cecil: "Sir, I have no notion about God; I can form no notion of him. You talk to me about him, but I cannot get a single idea that seems to contain anything.' "But you know how to conceive of Jesus Christ as a man," replied Mr. Cecil. "God comes down to you in him full of kindness and condescension."—"Ah, sir, that gives me something to lay hold on. There I can rest. I understand God in his Son." "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." "The character of Christ," says an eminent writer, "is a wonderful proof of the divinity of the Bible. The Hindu cannot think of his Brahmin saint other than as possessing the abstemiousness and austerity which he admires in his living models. The Socrates of Plato is composed of elements practically Greek, being a compound of the virtues necessary to adorn the sage. A model of the Jewish teacher might easily be drawn from the writings of the rabbis, and he would prove to be the very reflection of those scribes and Pharisees who are reproved in the gospel. But in the life of our Redeemer a character is represented which departs in every way from the national type of the writers, and from the character of all ancient nations, and is at variance with all the features which custom, education, religion, and patriotism seem to have consecrated as most beautiful. Four different authors have recorded different facts, but they exhibit the same conception; a conception differing from all they had ever witnessed or heard, and necessarily copied from the same original. And more: this glorious character, while borrowing nothing from the Greek, or Indian, or Jew, having nothing in common with established laws of perfection, is yet to every believer a type of excellence." "I esteem the Gospels," said Goethe, "to be thoroughly genuine; for there shines forth from them the reflected splendour of a sublimity, proceeding from the person of Jesus Christ, of so divine a kind as only the divine could ever have manifested upon earth." "The character of Jesus," said Dr. Channing, "is wholly inexplicable on human principles." "Give your enlarged spirit to the communion of his Word. Be free, be disentangled. Let it teach, let it reprove, let it correct, let it instruct in righteousness. And, by its wonderful delineations of the secrets of the divine nature, and of the future destinies of the human race, let it elevate you higher than the loftiest poetry doth; and let it carry you deeper by its pictures of our present and future wretchedness than the most pathetic sentiment ever penned by the novelist; and let it take affection captive by its pictures of Divine mercy and forgiveness more than doth the sweetest eloquence; let it transport you with indignation at that with which it is indignant, and fill you with passion when it is impassioned; when it blames, be ye blamed; when it exhorts, be ye exhorted; when it condescends to argument, by its arguments be ye convinced. Be free to take all its moods, and to watch all its inspirations."-Edward Irving. "Instead of leaving our faith to apprehend an infinite abstraction, Christ has in his own person invested the Deity with that power over our minds which a definite object alone can exercise......The character of God, so infinitely reduced, is to be seen in the life of Christ; the excellences of Christ, if infinitely magnified and restored to their original proportions, are to be found in the perfections of God. The character of Christ is the conception of a Being of infinite amiableness seeking to engage the heart of the world, that reasons by analogy, and to enamour it of divine excellence."-Dr. Harris. "The Bible is a divine encyclopædia in itself. It contains history the most authentic and ancient, tracing it back to the first creation of our world; and prophecy the most important and interesting, traced forward to its final consummation; journeys surpassing all others in the marvellousness of their adventures and the dignity of their guide, for they were marked by miracles at every step and in every movement directed by God; the travels of the most distinguished missionaries, the first preachers of the gospel; and the lives of the most illustrious personages, including the biography of the Son of God; events more wonderful than romance ever imagined; and stories more fascinating than fancy ever sketched; the finest specimens of poetry and eloquence, of sound philosophy and solid argument; models of virtue the most attractive, and maxims of wisdom the most profound; prayers the most appropriate in every variety of spiritual experience, and songs of praise that would not be unworthy an angel's tongue; precepts of unparalleled importance, and parables of unrivalled beauty; examples of consistent piety, suited to every situation; and lessons of divine instruction, adapted to every age.” -White. The Rev. Samuel Pearce, in a letter to the Rev. Dr. Ryland, wrote thus: "I have never felt so deeply my need of a divine Redeemer, and seldom possessed such solid confidence that he is mine. I want more and more to become a little child, to dwindle into nothing in my own esteem, to renounce my own wisdom, power, and goodness, and simply look to and live upon Jesus for all." Mr. Robert Aitken, a bookseller in Philadelphia, was the first person who printed a Bible in that city. He was a Scottish Seceder, and an eminently pious man. While he kept a book-store, a person called upon him and inquired if he had Paine's "Age of Reason" for sale. He told him he had not; but having entered into conversation with him, and found he was an infidel, he told him he had a better book than Paine's "Age of Reason," which he usually sold for a dollar, but that he would lend it to him if he promised to read it; and if, after he had actually read it, he did not think it worth a dollar, he would take it again. The man consented, and Mr. Aitken put a Bible into his hands. He smiled when he found what book he had engaged to read, but said that he would perform his engagement. He did so; and when he had finished the perusal, he came back to Mr. Aitken, and expressed the deepest gratitude for his recommendation of the book, saying it had made him what he was not before-a happy man; for he had found in it a Saviour and the way of salvation. Mr. Aitken rejoiced in the event, and had the satisfaction of knowing that this reader of the Bible, from that day to the end of his life, supported the character of a consistent Christian, and died with a hope full of immortality. "Young man,” said Dr. Samuel Johnson on his death-bed, "attend to the voice of one who has possessed a certain degree of fame in the world, and who will shortly appear before his Maker-Read the Bible every day of your life." "From me Christ required no miracles as witnesses of the truth; he himself, his life, his thoughts, his actions, towered above the mist of centuries, the one perpetual miracle of history, the holy ideal of a perfect humanity."Heinrich Zchokhe. "One book has saved me, and that book is not of human origin. Long had I despised it, long had I deemed it a class-book for the credulous and ignorant; until, having investigated the gospel of Christ with an ardent desire to ascertain its truth or falsity, its pages proffered to my inquiries the sublimest knowledge of man and nature, and the simplest and at the same time the most exalted system of ethics. Faith, hope, and charity were enkindled in my bosom; and every advancing step strengthened me in the conviction that the morals of this book are as superior to human morals as its oracles are superior to human opinions."-Professor Bautain of Strassburg. "We bless the Prophet of the Lord, That comes with truth and grace; Jesus, thy Spirit and thy Word Shall lead us in thy ways."--Watts. QUEST. 25. How doth Christ execute the office of a priest? ANS. Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us. HEB. viii. 1. Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. EPH. v. 2. Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. HEB. ix. 12. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Ver. 25. Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; Ver. 26. For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. HEB. X. 14. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. ROM. iii. 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Ver. 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. 1 PETER ii. 24. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. HEB. ii. 17. In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make | priesthood. Ver. 25. Wherefore he is able reconciliation for the sins of the people. also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. HEB. vii. 24. But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable The priest is a public person who deals with a holy God on behalf of guilty men. The priest was chosen by God from among men, and thus qualified to offer sacrifices and act as a mediator. He was to be compassionate. I. Christ is a priest.-This is expressly declared: Ps. cx. 4, with Heb. v. 6, vi. 20. Priestly functions are ascribed to him: Isa. liii. 10; Dan. ix. 24, 25. Priests of the Jewish Church were sinful and temporary. Christ is divine, holy, and everlasting: Heb. v. 5, vii. 26. II. Christ's sacrifice.-It was himself. 1. To whom offered? To God: Heb. ix. 14. 2. For whom? The guilty: Rom. v. 6; 1 Peter iii. 18. 3. For what purpose? (1.) To satisfy divine justice. He was a surety for sinners: Heb. vii. 22; Isa. liii. 5, 10. He redeemed them: Gal. iii. 13; Acts xx. 28. He purged sin away: Heb. i. 3. (2.) To reconcile us to God. Man had offended God, and was at enmity with God. Christ made reconciliation: Eph. ii. 15-18; Rom. v. 10; Col. i. 21. 4. How often? Once only: Heb. x. 10, 14. Jewish sacrifices were all imperfect and typical, and therefore frequent; Christ's sacrifice was perfect, and not needing repetition. 5. On what altar? His divine nature. This gave infinite value to the sacrifice. The altar sanctified the gift. Christ's sufferings were penal and vicarious, and were satisfactory as an atonement in the sight of God. God himself appointed it, and has pronounced it worthy. God has set him forth as a propitiation for justifying the ungodly who believe in him. III. Christ's intercession.—The priest is an advocate, and pleads for pardon and for grace. 1. Christ did this on earth: John xvii.; Luke xxiii. 34. 2. He does this in heaven: Heb. iv. 14-16. He appears in the presence of God for us as our priest: Heb. ix. 12, 24; Rev. v. 6. He is our advocate there: Acts ii. 33-36; Heb. vii. 25. He is there in our human nature. 3. His intercession still continues: Heb. vii. 25;-for every needed help in danger, for grace to sanctify, for efficacy with the Father when we pray. 4. His intercession always prevails. The dignity of his person, the efficacy of his sacrifice, the influence of his position, the wisdom of his requests, all secure the object desired. LESSONS. 1. Christ's atonement is the only ground of a sinner's hope for eternity. 2. To be in Christ is the sinner's safety. 3. The advantage of having such a Priest before God. We may come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 4. The assurance of sympathy from Christ in all our trials and sorrows. "Though now ascended up on high, He knows the frailty of our frame.”—Bruce. ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. It is recorded of Eschylus, the Greek tragedian, who was found guilty of violating the laws of his country, and condemned accordingly, that his brother engaged to plead for him and secure his pardon. At the appointed time he appeared in a crowded court. All expected to hear an eloquent appeal to human sympathy; but, to the great surprise of the assembly, the fraternal advocate never opened his lips at all, but simply held up the stump of his arm that had been dismembered in fighting the battles of his country at Salamis. That was his plea, his only argument; and it was enough. The court felt the power of the appeal, and released the prisoner.-The guilty children of men have an elder Brother who, as he pleads for them, exhibits his wounds. "Five bleeding wounds he bears, received on Calvary, Nor let that ransomed sinner die." Xenophon mentions an Armenian prince taken captive, together with his queen, by Cyrus, who, on being asked if he desired the restoration of his liberty, his kingdom, and his queen, answered, "As for my liberty and my kingdom, I value them not; but if my blood could redeem my wife, I would cheerfully give it." Cyrus having generously restored him all, Tigranes asked his queen what she thought of Cyrus's person. She replied, "I really did not observe him; my mind was so occupied with the man who offered to give his life for my ransom, that I could think of no other."-Jesus Christ has claims transcending this, for he has given his blood to ransom us for ever. In the American War a man was drafted for the army, but got off by securing a substitute. He was again brought up, when he pleaded his death. It was held that as his substitute had fulfilled the claims of the law for him, he could not be taken again. It is said that he sought out the grave of his substitute, and put up a stone with this inscription, "He died for me!" A traveller found him adorning the grave with flowers, and asked if any of his friends were buried there. He replied, "He died for me!" Christmas Evans, an earnest and eloquent minister in Wales, was once preaching on the depravity of man by sin, and of his recovery by the death of Christ. In the course of his remarks, he introduced the following allegory after the manner of Quarles in his "Emblems :"-" Brethren, if I should compare the natural state of man, I should conceive of an immense graveyard, filled with yawning sepulchres and dying men. All around are lofty walls and massive iron gates. At one of the gates stands Mercy, sad spectatress of the melancholy scene. An angel flying through the midst of heaven, attracted by the awful sight, exclaims, 'Mercy, why do you not enter and |