we have concern. I might give practical illustrations of this principle in living action; but I should require to transcribe nearly all Paul's Epistles. Where another man would have said, I hope to see your face, he says, "Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face;" where another man would have said, I hope my way may be directed unto you, he says, "Now God himself, even our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you;" where another man would have said, When I came to Troas I found a door open unto me, he says, "A door was opened unto me of the Lord," and again, Praying also for us, that God would open to us a door of utterance. But these are only samples of that spirit which breathes in every line of his Epistles, and which pervaded the whole man, and led him to an acknowledgment of God so unwearied, and a dependence on him so constant, as is absolutely intolerable to any man till he has known Him who is love; for never till then does it appear a reasonable service. But if then it does appear reasonable, then here we have another proof that the knowledge of the love of God is the healing of the soul's depravity.

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I said, when speaking of sin and its curse, that it had separated man from man. But, the knowledge of the love of God knits man and man together again in the bond of mutual love. How strikingly is this proved by the language of Paul, in chap. iii. of the Galatians: "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, but ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Equally striking is his testimony in the iiid chapter of his Epistle to the Colossians: "The new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of Him that created him; where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all." And if we want to see this mutual love in living exhibition, we have only to turn to the conclusion of the iid chapter of the Acts and to the iv th chapter of John's First Epistle; to both of which I have already repeatedly referred. The Acts of the Apostles abound with illustrations and proofs of what I declare. When we are told of the conversion of the Gentiles, we are told that it caused great joy unto the brethren (Acts xv. 3). Why rejoice in another's welfare, if I do not love him? When Barnabas came to Antioch, and had seen the grace of God manifested in the eternal life of many, we are told that "he was glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord" (Acts xi. 23). And the inspired historian, to explain this love he had to believers, and the interest he shewed in their welfare, says "that he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith;" for " every one that loveth, knoweth God." When from Miletus Paul sent to

Ephesus and called the elders of the church (Acts xx. 17), he testified to them how long and how faithfully he had served them; and in leaving among them his parting testimony of love," Watch,' he says, "and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Whence this thoughtlessness of self, whence this care of others, if not from love, deep, fervent, exceeding love? When this same Apostle testifies, "When I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother;" when we find the conclusion of all his Epistles filled with salutations and greetings of love to his brethren, his beloved, his sisters in Christ Jesus; think we that these are words of course? Ah, if we do, we are not seeing the object the Apostle saw. They are no words of course, but express the feelings which really existed in his mind he was really joined in love to them, as one member to the other members of one family: they and he were beholding one love, and this love knit them thus together. And when we find him testifying, in another place, that he sought not his own profit, but the profit of many, that they might be saved; when we find him, on his journey from Greece to Jerusalem, hasting to improve for the eternal life of many the few days he could afford to spend at Ephesus; when we find him thus speaking of his proposed visit to Rome, "I am sure that when I come I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ;" and when we find him again telling us that he became "all things unto all men, if by all means he might save some;" oh! say, is this perfect carelessness of self, and this entire devotion to the good of others, that which is natural to human selfishness? We have the testimony of Apostolic experience, "All seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's;" and we know that this spirit was found in Paul also, as well as in others; for "I know that in me, that is in my flesh," he says, "dwelleth no good thing." He was enabled thus to labour then, and thus to devote himself, because he had fellowship with God, even with Him who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. And he had this fellowship with him, because he saw His glory in the face of Jesus Christ: for he himself declares, "We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory." And if this his knowledge of the love of God knit him in the ties of closest affection to all who looked on the same love, and made him abound in

love to all men, then it is indeed a blessed reality: the knowledge of the love of God is the healing of the soul. That same love in which we put our confidence transforms us in contemplating it into his very image.

Hence, then, I argue the absolute necessity of the Lord's Divinity. Christ known is eternal life, because Christ known is the love of God known: Christ known is forgiveness known, and therefore Christ known is the healing of the soul, because the love of God known is the healing of the soul. But if Christ be not God, I may know Christ without knowing the love of God, and therefore without eternal life. For knowing Christ to be God, I know that my God hath so loved me that he hath come forth to seek and save me; I know that he hath so loved me that he hath made this provision for my peace-even the gift of His own flesh as a sin-offering for me-that I may have confidence toward him, and may walk with him and before him in all the joy of conscious reconciliation. And the knowledge of this is eternal life to me. But if Christ be not God, I cannot know this: I can only know that one most amiable and most exemplary came forth a Teacher sent from God; that he taught men a very fine and very excellent morality; and that he laid down his life in attestation of the truth he had delivered to them and doctrines he had inculcated on them. I cannot know any more, if Christ be not God. But the knowledge of this will not be eternal life to me. Again: if Christ be not God, he may be known without forgiveness being known; for if he be not God, nothing that I know about him gives me the smallest information about forgiveness. But I have already proved, by referring to the express testimony of the Holy Ghost on this subject, that the Christ of God known is forgiveness known; and whatever Christ he be, then, that may be known without forgiveness being known, as included in the knowledge of him, he is not the Christ of God. But if Christ be not God, it is impossible that the knowledge of Christ can be the knowledge of forgiveness; for there is no forgiveness without a propitiation, and there is no propitiation if the Lamb of God, in his other nature, was not Divine; for the price of the soul is infinite; and the infinite dignity of the Person who in his other nature was capable of suffering, and suffered for sin, made his offering of infinite value, sufficient for the sins of the world. A creature's death never can atone for sin if so, every man might atone for his own sins, for it is appointed unto all men once to die. The knowledge of a creature's death, then, never can be to me the knowledge of forgiveness; and so, if Christ be not God, the knowledge of Christ is not the knowledge of pardon. And if Christ can be known without the love of God being known, and without the forgiveness of sin being known, Christ

can be known without the healing of the soul that knows him. For the Scripture uniformly declares that nothing but the knowledge of the love of God will heal the depravity of the human heart. But if Christ can be known without the love of God being known, then Christ can be known, and still the soul that knows Him be left to the dominion of incurable depravity; as unholy, as full of enmity to God, as dead in sin, as ever. And so the knowledge of Christ, to which God in his word thus attributes every thing, and which he declares to be attended with all results to the creature of blessedness and holiness and conformity to his own image, may be, after all, an utterly worthless knowledge, unattended with any blessing, and to the creature of no benefit whatever. If Christ, then, be to us a gift of any value, he must be God. This truth is so very evident, if the real circumstances of man be acknowledged, that of this I am perfectly sure, that no one who does not acknowledge the Lord's Divinity ever can receive the statements I have already made about man's sinfulness and God's pardon. For, were the truth contained in these statements acknowledged, the Lord's Divinity would be clearly seen implied in the acknowledgment. But, the truth contained in these statements not heartily acknowledged, the Gospel itself cannot possibly be believed; for the whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Unless a man has seen his absolute need of pardon, it is utterly impossible, in the very nature of things, that he should believe the good news of pardon. But good news of pardon to the guilty is the very essence of the Gospel. Tell a man who has seen his guilt that Christ was not God, i. e. that he was a mere man, and what will he answer you? The Gospel, then, gives me no information whatever about pardon; and if so, for all the peace it can afford me, I may be lost for ever.' Tell this to a man who has believed the Gospel, and so has eternal life, and he will feel that you are seeking to rob him of his eternal life: and he will instantly answer you,' If Christ be not God, there is no propitiation; if no propitiation, no pardon; if no pardon, no knowledge of pardon; if no knowledge of pardon, no confidence toward God; if no confidence toward God, no further enjoyment of eternal life abiding in me. Supposing that I were to ask one who did not believe in Christ's Divinity how he knew that he was pardoned, what answer would he or could he make me? And supposing I went further, and spoke to him of his sinfulness, and convinced him of that sinfulness and its need of pardon, I should inevitably drive him to one of two things,-either to acknowledge himself absolutely destitute of any ground of confidence toward God, or to take refuge in the propitiation of Christ; and propitiation implies Divinity. Or I might ask one who did not believe in Christ's Divinity, if he believed that God loved him;

and he might answer, Yes: but if I asked him how he knew it, I am perfectly sure he would not answer, Because he gave me Christ and I am perfectly sure, that on inquiring further into the kind of love he was thinking of, I should find it to be a vague feeling on the part of God, he scarce knew what a love he could not put much confidence in; for this plain reason, that he was believing in it without the least evidence that it really did exist. But the love of God in Christ Jesus is declared in Scripture to be of that surpassing glory, that the very apprehension of it, and of ourselves as the objects of it, is eternal life (John iii. 16; xvii. 3); that it fills the soul that sees it with new feelings, new affections, new desires, new objects of interest, giving it a new life, making it a new creature. Now will any one, who does not receive Christ's Divinity, really say that he has seen in his face such a love as this? He cannot possibly say so; for no such thing is to be seen, except he be acknowledged as God.

"Except, then, I acknowledge Christ's Divinity, can I not have eternal life abiding in me?' I shall answer the question by asking others: Do you know the love of God? the forgiveness of sins? for the knowledge of these things is eternal life. Or have you ever seen any love in the face of Christ that seems worthy of being known; any love that can be said to pass all understanding? Has the sight of this love ever awakened in you any joy in God, of which, if left to the natural expression of your feelings, you would say that it was unspeakable and full of glory; or ever given you any expectation of receiving all holy blessedness from God? because this is eternal life. Or have you ever known Christ as pardon? for this knowledge is being "made. nigh by the blood of Christ" (Ephes. ii. 13); is "the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" upon you (1 Pet. i. 2) and this, too, is the eternal life; because, if you do not know these things, how shall you have eternal life abiding in you? But if you do not know Christ as God, how shall you know these things? It cannot be. You yourself know that it is not; that up to this hour you have not had the most distant idea that there was any thing like love or pardon to be apprehended in the face of Christ Jesus. And, ah! if this be, has a love you have never seen ever filled you with all the fulness of God? ever been in you the principle of a new life? ever made you a new creature? It cannot be and this is conclusive evidence that you have never apprehended him as he is; for the Apostle Paul says, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature." And, these things being so, the language of Paul must be to you a perfect enigma: "The life which I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal. ii. 20.) If this language have