OUR SAVIOUR'S VINDICATION.

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still loves — still yearns over them with a father's love-still longs for their Salvation.

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They are my property. I made each of them all souls are mine.' I have hitherto maintained them in existence, and I have come to die for each of them. They are dearer to me than the entire material universe. True they have left me, and wandered away like lost sheep-yet my compassionate love to them, and to every sinner of the human family, remains unquenched. And when any wretched sinner comes to me and is freely pardoned-then there is joy in Heaven in the presence of the angels of God-and there is joy in earth. But oh! my joy exceeds them all. For, as the joy of the shepherd -and of the woman -and of the fatherexceeded that of the friends and neighbours whom they invited to share in their feelings -so my joy, over any or every returning sinner, exceeds that of all saints and angels in heaven or on earth. It is my voice which is heard by them all-exclaiming-' rejoice with me-for this my son was dead, but is alive; was lost, but is found.” ”

But, besides the wondrous parental feeling

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KINGLY ASPECT OF god.

in the heart of God to every man,—he sustains,―

Secondly, the high official relation to the human family, of KING or GOVERNOR. Now, every earthly king, or chief governor, who is at the same time the head of a family, sustains these relations distinctly to each member of that family. In his private capacity he is their FATHER, and speaks to them as such in terms of endearment or especial affectionate interest. In his public capacity, on the other hand-he is their KING-and as such, makes no difference in his mode of dealing with them from that of any others of his subjects. And, while he speaks to them from the throne in his official capacity-the expression of mere parental feelings is necessarily for the time held in abeyance. And so with God. At one time he speaks in His Word to all men as a FATHER-longing for their salvation, and lamenting their folly and rebellion. At another time-He speaks as their soVEREIGN at once-justifying — rewarding — condemning, or punishing,-according to the principles of law and justice.

THUS, as THE UNIVERSAL GOVERNORTHE SOVEREIGN OF THE UNIVERSE, he ac

EXPRESSIONS OF DIVINE RESENTMENT. 33

quits the righteous or punishes the wicked; conducting His government on grounds of perfect equity-righteousness - and truth.

For, justice and judgment are the basis of his throne. Hence, his holy decisions or declarations, as Judge of all-are often clothed with language so terrible, that they might seem to us to have proceeded from sudden or awfully impetuous feelings. But no. This language is only used in condescension to our apprehensions; and is employed for a wise and most merciful design. The awful words"Wrath"-"Indignation"—"Fury of the Lord"-are only employed, (as terms with which we are familiar,) to describe the dreadful certainty of God's hatred to sin-his determination to punish the persevering offender and the fearful results, to such persons, of His judicial or kingly threatenings and judgments. They also denote that the retribution which will certainly overtake the wicked, will be found as dreadful, in fact as would be accomplished by an earthly absolute sovereign, in these terrible states of fury -wrath-burning indignation.

But, though God sees it necessary thus awfully to address the capacity of fear in

34 THE KING AND HIS OFFENDING SON.

wicked men, that he might awaken them from their sleep of death-and lead them to consider the nature and terrific consequences of unpardoned sin,-yet this mode of speaking does not in the slightest degree disprove the sincerity of his compassionate love to those whose just fears he is thus seeking mercifully to awaken-that they may be saved. No other means would suffice.

A simple illustration of the perfect consistency of judicial anger or wrath, with ardent parental affection, may be easily taken from an earthly case. Let us conceive of a king or lawgiver-distinguished for the equity of. his laws the strict impartiality of his government-and not less so for his general benevolence and intense parental affection. One of his beloved family is arraigned before him for a public crime. Behold him on his tribunal -during the trial! He is striving to hold in check his parental feelings,-that justice may be done. His son is condemned. He pronounces the sentence in full;-and then retires to weep in agony over his unhappy child.

To hear his language on his judicial throne supporting the MAJESTY OF LAW-and then

THE KING AND HIS OFFENDING SON. 35

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But

afterwards listen to the gushings of his PARENTAL HEART in his secret place,—exclaiming in anguish, "O my son!-would that I had died for thee!"-one would be ready to conIclude that he had listened to the voices of two distinct persons. But was there in reality any contradiction? The son, in his prison, may indeed feel as if he were enduring the "wrath”—the "fury" of the Governor. the inward meltings of the Governor's heart -his many tears in secret-all exclaim, “Fury is not in me!" And so with God. Thus, for example, while the "indignation" or "wrath" of His Government was about to overwhelm the city of Jerusalem and its guilty inhabitants in destruction,-behold the Lamb of God(who fully exhibited the mind of his Fatherthe Judge of all)-weeping as in an agony of grief over them all! Thus must we distinguish between God speaking and acting in infinite love as the FATHER of our spirits-and the same God,-upholding the MAJESTY of Universal Government-declaring the inflexibility of his law and justice. These different manifestations are perfectly consistent. And in this view, the awful expression, "God is angry with the wicked every day,"-must be