find Him, "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, no man cometh to the Father BUT BY ME."

The question which we have to discuss and settle this evening, is not whether there is any necessity for the services of a mediator between God and men; this is a point upon which both Catholics and Protestants are agreed. What we have to determine is, whether of these two is the more scriptural—the doctrine of the Reformation, that there is but ONE mediator, or the practice of the Church of Rome, that there are MANY mediators. The passage of Scripture which I have selected as a text may be found in the Apostle Paul's first epistle to Timothy, the second chapter at the fifth It is thus rendered in the Douay Bible :

verse.

"THERE IS ONE GOD AND ONE MEDIATOR OF GOD AND MEN, THE MAN CHRIST JESUS."

If we take a comprehensive view of the doctrine of Christ's mediation, we shall find that it covers the whole history of man from the period of his fall.

For as soon as man sinned, as we have already seen, immediate intercourse between him and God was interrupted. The scheme devised and proposed in the mind of Deity was, that thenceforward man should be governed and treated with, through the intervention of a mediator. In harmony with all the arrangements, I mean ordinary arrangements, of both the works and the providence of God, this scheme was gradually developed. It did not burst suddenly upon the world in all the splendours of its light and glory; it rather followed that beautiful ordination of the Creator which we daily behold in the gradual development of the

morning light. But that Jesus Christ was mediator between God and men equally in the days of Abel and of Caiaphas the High Priest, equally in the days of Moses and of Peter and Paul, is a doctrine which is admitted by the most celebrated divines both Catholic and Protestant. We all detect the doctrine of Christ's mediation in the sacrifice of Abel, and in the offering of Abraham; we recognize our glorious Mediator in the Angel of the Covenant, and in the Captain of the Lord's Host; we see the doctrine of mediation shadowed forth in the appointment of the High Priest, in the daily offering of sacrifices, and in the yearly atonement; we recognize Christ crucified in the sin offerings of the priests, in the predictions of the prophets, and in the praises of the Psalms. For this Old-Testament recognition of Christ our Mediator, we have his own authority. The Evangelist Luke describes a conversation which Jesus had with his disciples, in the following words:"These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things might be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets and in the psalms concerning me."

A comprehensive view of Christ's mediatorship embraces also his mediatorial qualifications.

Mediator is a word that is transferred from the Latin to the English language without any variation; it is a translation of the Greek word μɛoirns which means a middle person-one who comes between two adverse parties and reconciles them. Whatever lower meaning may be given to the word as applied by St. Paul to Moses, it is clear that whenever it is applied in the New

Testament to Jesus Christ, it includes the doctrine of reconciliation by atonement. Hence in the verse immediately following our text it is said:" Who gave himself a redemption for all." The qualifications of the Lord Jesus Christ to interpose between God and men,

are seen

First, In his possessing in his own person the nature of each of the estranged parties. To employ the language of the Nicene Creed, he was "true God of true God," and yet, not less truly, was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man." These qualifications are seen

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Secondly, In his possession, as an infinite Being untainted by sin, of an infinite merit. And

Thirdly, In his offering himself as a ransom, an atonement, a satisfaction, for the sin, and consequent demerit of the offending party.

A comprehensive view of Christ's mediation embraces also his every office and his entire work.

"All the offices of Christ arise out of his gracious appointment as Mediator between the offended God and offending man. He is the PROPHET Who came to teach us the extent and danger of our offences, and the means by which they may be remitted. He is the GREAT HIGH PRIEST of our profession, who having offered himself without spot to God has entered the holiest to make intercession for us, and to present our prayers and services to God, securing to them acceptance through his own merit. He is the KING ruling over the whole earth for the maintenance and establishment, the defence and enlargment of his Church, and the

punishment of those who reject his authority."* He teaches us as our Mediator, he atones for us as our Mediator, he intercedes for us as our Mediator, he rules over us and defends us as our Mediator. His entire work as the God-man is mediatorial. The Gospel is mediatorial, the Christian dispensation or covenant is mediatorial; all that we in this state of being have to do with God, and all that God has to do with us is mediatorial,

A comprehensive view of Christ's mediation comprehends his absolute unity as Mediator.

He stands forth in the Gospel single and alone; needing no helper, rejecting all aid, in the peculiar functions of his office. It is as certainly a scriptural truth that there is but one mediator, as it is that there is but one God: the two doctrines seem to be cognate, or rather the unity of Christ as mediator arises out of the doctrine, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." Adapting the truth contained in the text to the phraseology employed by Moses, we may say, "Hear ye children of our Christian Israel, the Lord Jesus, our Mediator, is ONE MEDIATOR."

There is not, probably, an intelligent Roman Catholic present who would be disposed to question the scriptural accuracy and the general orthodoxy of these views. And, we will not be backward to admit that the written teaching of the Church of Rome on these subjects is generally correct. The divinity of Christ, his infinite. merit, the satisfaction which he paid down for the sins of the whole world, the reconciliation which he effected * Farrar's Biblical Dictionary sub voce,

between God and sinners, and the unity of the Divine Mediator, are exhibited with more or less clearness in the authorised canons and liturgies of that Church. Candour, however, obliges us to state that these gems of original gospel truth are so imprisoned within modern incrustations as not to be easily detected. It is only by taking the hammer of God's word that we reach them at all. For instance, I find in the "Key of Heaven," a devotional work recommended by Archbishop Murray, at page 171, the following sentiments:

"And that my petition may find acceptance, I appeal to thee, sweet Jesus, Son of the living God, the Advocate and Mediator betwixt us sinners and thy eternal Father, humbly beseeching thee, through that infinite charity which brought thee from heaven to the ignominy of the cross, and thy precious blood spilt thereon, that I may now partake of the benefit of thy sufferings, and be cleansed from all my offences: that by thy assistance I may sincerely repent and amend of all my failings: that dying to myself and the world, I may live only to thee, and never suffer either passion or pleasure to divide me from thee any more."

I find also the following sentence in the Catechism of the Council of Trent :-" True there is but one Mediator, Christ the Lord, who alone has reconciled us through his blood; and who having accomplished our redemption, and having once entered into the holy of holies, ceases not to intercede for us." scriptural than this, but then there are added these words," it by no means follows that it is therefore unlawful to have recourse to the intercession of saints."

Nothing could be more