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came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth ".'

Nothing less than an omniscience of the whole will of God could have qualified our Saviour for the due discharge of this office. Moses, the greatest of the prophets who preceded him, was not endowed with any perpetual gift of inspiration, authorizing him to speak at all times in the name of God according to the necessity of the moment. He had no such comprehensive knowledge of the universal will of Jehovah on every subject as would empower him to dispense with consulting in the appointed way, and waiting for particular answers to the information required.

But the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, for so the Apostle marks the peculiarity of the heavenly message announced through the ministry of our Saviour, was very different. As in all things he was to

7 John, xviii. 37.

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have the pre-eminence,' he came with such fuli powers, that by reason of his intimate union with the Father, and perfect sympathy with his designs, God may be said to speak to us in him face to face. Whilst he was a child, the Evangelist bears him witness that he was filled with wisdom,' which increased' as he increased in years; so that at the commencement of his ministry it was testified of him that he was full of the Holy Ghost". Instead, therefore, of that radiance which once shone on the face of Moses, after his interview with the Most High, instead of those transient moments of inspiration, wherein holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,' as servants in the house partially acquainted with temporary prospects of their Master's will, there was spread around the head of Christ a crown of perpetual illumination; so that the Spirit of God which lighted on him at his baptism, abode with him continually, and in him, as in an inexhaustible storehouse of truth, were hidden

Luke, ii. 40. iv. 1.

9 Heb. iii. 4.

all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge'.' And thus it was foretold of him by Isaiah 2:— The spirit of the Lord shall 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.

It would seem analogous to the order of the divine counsels, that as Christ speaking by the prophets was the original declarer of the will of God from the beginning, and as he afterwards became in his own person the direct medium of communication, he should not leave his work imperfect, but should continue to sustain his office of teacher so long as the world stood in need of his heavenly aid.

The reasonableness of such an expectation stands confirmed by the testimony of Scripture. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; my spirit which is upon thee, and my words which I have

1 Col. ii. 3...

2 Is. xi. 2.

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put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.' 'Lo,' said our Lord to his disciples, as his parting assurance, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world3;' not only to the termination of their own natural lives, but with their successors in the Christian church, through endless generations, in their studies and labours, whether public or private, for the extension of his spiritual kingdom. In the strength and comfort of this gracious assurance may the ministers of his word go forth unto their work, in the full confidence that though they be as it were earthen vessels, he will be glorified in their weakness, and will perfect praise out of the mouth of very babes and sucklings. And it is this promise which will be their sufficient support in the execution of their difficult office, wherever their lot may be cast-whether they are commissioned to bear the name of their

3 Is. lix. 21. Matt. xxviii. 20.

Master into lands which have not yet heard the joyful sounds of salvation, or amongst the Jews who have despised and rejected their prophet, or whether they are placed among Christian nations to stir them up to faithfulness, and to remind them of the duties of their calling. He will be with them, and will remember his word unto his servants,' even unto the end of the world. The fathers' of the church,' where are they; and the prophets, do they live for ever?' or, as the Jews themselves observed, 'Abraham is dead, and the prophets;' but the Lord ever liveth' to complete his victory over Satan, and to work by the servants whom he employs ministerially to act in his name and authority 5.

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The practical reflections suggested to the mind after dwelling on this subject, are of very general application. There is no view of our Lord's character which is not fraught with valuable instruction, and, like his own word, he

5 Zech. v. 8. John, viii. 52.

4 Ps. cxix. 49.

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