(Continued from page 182.)

Next, we will look at His temptation,-being-owned and baptized by John, owned and anointed with the Holy Spirit by God the Father. Now a new scene opens up to our view:He is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. What a contrast to His thirty years of retirement! We learn from Gen. 3:of the trial of the first man, Adam. Now, in grace, our Lord, the second man, will subject Himself to the same test. Adam failed, disobeyed, sinned. Christ, by the test, demonstrated what He was-as ever, perfect and holy, -perfect in dependence, perfect in obedience. Yet the circumstances are a perfect contrast:Adam tried under the most favorable circumstances ; Christ, under the most unfavorable; Adam, in a garden; Christ, in a wilderness; Adam, with the animals tame and harmless; Christ, with the wild beasts; Adam, with a partner; Christ, alone. But as He during this time passed through various temptations, the test only makes manifest that He was as the pure gold; hence the secret of His triumph here was, as ever, He was "that holy thing; " His humanity was of a new character compared with that of Adam, and hence the enemy was completely foiled, and so leaves him for a season. How could He, ever divine, ever perfect, ever holy, have swerved from the path of holiness ? Such a thing was impossible; and one would belittle the majesty and glory of His sacred person even to suggest it possible for Him to fail, to disobey, to sin; -as was said ere that life closed, '' The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me." (Jno. 14:30.) He ever was that in Himself, perfect and holy; and although tried as the first man, yet, it must be remembered, it was in grace He subjected Himself to such a test, to make manifest the infinite worth of His person. Hence, by those tests, so much more severe than Adam's, inasmuch as the circumstances were so much more unfavorable, we learn the true character of His humanity, the true nature of His person-"that holy thing; " and the language of old would be inadequate to express the feelings of any taught of God, " Thou art worth ten thousand of us." (2 Sam. 18:3.) In grace, He came from heaven; in grace, submits in all things to the law, moral and ceremonial;-even the ordinance of circumcision was not passed by, and the little turtle-doves, or pigeons, were not withheld. In grace, He goes down to Nazareth, and is subject to His parents; in grace, permits John to baptize Him, as the rest who came for baptism. Yet personally He needed none of these things-yea, circumcision, sacrifices, and even baptism, all found their true fulfillment in Him. In grace, He subjects Himself to this deep trial, a temptation for forty days by Satan; yet during this brief period, as also in the previous thirty years, He was always that savor of delight to Jehovah ; and the severer the test, the hotter the fire, it only brought out the more the sweet fragrance of His pure and perfect life. As we trace His path step by step, we can but triumph in His triumphs; we worship and adore.

We follow Him as He returns from the wilderness, and glance at a few leading features of that blessed path of His, during His public ministry, from the wilderness to its end. "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee; and there went out a fame of Him through all the regions round about, and He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all." (Luke 4:14.)

Now we get in truth the true "meat-offering" of Lev. 2:, not only made with oil (conceived by the Holy Ghost), but also anointed with oil,-" How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil:for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38); and hence His whole life from this time was one marked, whether His words or works, to be in the power of the Spirit of God. He taught in grace; it was in grace He healed also:every step in His blessed path was for the glory of God and the good of men; and while, as to His humanity, there was much in real contrast to Adam, whether in His unfallen or fallen state, yet we can find much also in which, bless God, there was a parallel. Hence we need to try things which differ, but with a suited reverence and godly fear, lest we should tarnish His person and glory in the eyes of any. If we view Adam ere he fell, Gen. 1:and 2:show us his humanity was so constructed by the Lord in creation as to require food (chap. 1:29; chap. 2:16); and work would be part of that delightful service he would render to the Lord his Creator (chap. 2:15)- not the toil and sufferings as announced after the fall, in chap. 3:17-19;-and the result of such a service, such work, would be to enjoy the gracious provisions of goodness and love, food and drink; and quite natural to learn of sleep also in chap. 2:, ere sin entered to mar all. From chap, 2:, then, it is clear there was work; meat and drink and sleep also:hence to all ought this not to be clear, these are not the result of the fall ? Yet now many things accompany these- pain, sorrow, disease, and even death; and they themselves are intensified in many ways through sin. Yet we believe it is of all importance to understand that daily work, food, and sleep, are not the results of sin, but were there, and so required by human nature, before ever man became sinful and depraved. Now since the fall these continue with us; but sin having entered, much more follow, pain, sorrow, disease, and even death, "the wages of sin." Now we learn that the Lord, when He entered a body prepared for Him, was truly a man, of flesh and blood as we, yet apart from sin being there; and need we be surprised to learn, when He was here, of Him at times being hungry, thirsty, wearied, and even asleep? Surely not. And with a holy reverence and godly care for the glory of His person, could we say these were the results of the Lord Jesus having an inferior humanity to that given to Adam in the beginning ? Surely not; and to say so would be to degrade the person of the blessed Saviour, from which every true believer would recoil. This we maintain was part of His perfect humanity, and hence He having accommodated Himself to such, He is able to give sympathy and succor to His beloved people now (Heb. 2:17, 18).

And during this part of His perfect life on earth, when, ministering among men, He beheld the condition into which sin had plunged the whole human race-the sorrow, disease, sickness, and even death- He, ever perfect, could feel for such, sympathize with the creatures of His hands; but were those feelings, those groans, those tears of His, because His humanity was upon a par with man ? Surely not. Neither was it because His humanity was as Adam's simply. Nay, it was of a different character, we have seen- "that holy thing":divine power was there; and because of such, no taint of sin could ever enter to tarnish His blessed, spotless person. Not only was there power there, but love and sympathy, true and divine; and hence we read in Matt. 8:that one part of Isa. 53:was fulfilled-" Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses." On the cross he bare sins; but here in Matt. 8:, it was what He bare and carried during His life ministry; His love, compassion, and sympathy, were so real, so perfect, that, as He beheld the infirm, the diseased, He felt so keenly for them that He suffered in sympathy as much as if it was His own (Himself ever free from such, no sickness, no disease, could enter His perfect humanity, inasmuch as there was no sin there). How such truths as these, revealed in the word of God, exalt the Lord of life and glory! He could feel for the sick, yet Himself never so; pity those a prey to the many forms of disease, Himself never subject to such; take by the hand her who was stricken with fever, and lift her up, the fever not only leaving her but He never affected by it (Mark 1:30-32); touch the leper, yet Himself never defiled by such (Mark 1:41).
No; there was nothing in His pure, spotless humanity that could respond to sin, to Satan; no sickness, no disease, nothing of the pain and sorrow that belongs to the human race, the effects of sin in their nature, and hence nothing to leave Him open to death, "the wages of sin." Nothing in Him to make this a necessity, and to say or hint at such would be to take antichristian ground and degrade the person of the Lord Jesus.

In grace, we have said, He came down from heaven; in grace He entered a human body (mystery of mysteries)-He, the eternal One; in grace we have beheld Him in His life of lowly service among men. Now, the question is strangely asked, Why did He die? if death was not a necessity of His human nature? In grace, we readily answer. It was "the wages of sin," the penalty due to us. He was free to leave as He came (Ex. 21:2-6; Matt. 26:53, 54;) -free to go back to the Father; but then it was to carry out those divine plans between Himself and the Father before the world was, to accomplish the Father's will, and to deliver us from the awful penalty of sin and death and judgment. Hence death for Him was not a necessity of His human nature, but for us substitutory. What love, what grace, are thus expressed in the cross of Calvary! and how we need, as we contemplate such an act, to cry out, "Teach me"! for here we are ever learners, and such a scene as Calvary will keep us pupils and also worshipers through that day of eternity. Yet to be taught we need to keep close to the very words of holy Scripture.

True it is, that man is held guilty in crucifying the Lord Jesus, and His death is charged against the people to whom He came in richest love (the Jews). This is the cross from one point of view. Yet John 10:2:15, 17, 18, which gives the other side, needs to be carefully weighed ; given by the pen of one especially inspired to set forth His greatness, His majesty, the personal and divine glories of God's only begotten Son. "No man taketh my life from me," His own words. And although true man, perfect man, yet "God manifest in the flesh." How many are the crowns that will deck His brow ! The sea obeys Him; the fish of the deep serve His call; the wild beasts are harmless in His presence (Mark 1:); the dead rise at His word; sickness, disease, leprosy, and all, flee when He, the "mighty God, the everlasting Father"-[Father of Eternity, Heb.] so wills to deliver and bless the creatures of His love and care. Now, what shall we say of His death?-a work so marvelous, an act so great, when there upon the cross they break the legs of one thief, then the other; but, lo, when they came to Him, "they found Him dead already." (John 19:33.) Why was this ? The true fulfillment of what the same penman records in chap. 10::"I lay it down of myself." The cup of suffering and judgment was drunk by Him, the "Lamb of God," the substitute, in grace provided for men, and now having borne the judgment, having finished the work "He gave up His life," no man taking it from Him, and thus the full penalty is borne. Of whom else could such be said ? there is but one answer which will be to His eternal praise:None. No, not one. Never was there before, and never shall there be again, a death of the same character as His,-a work truly divine.

In the manner of His conception, we have seen Mary stands alone; in the character of His humanity, He appears alone; in the perfection of His holy life, He also appears alone; and now, His death is a perfect contrast to all others, a willing surrender of Himself on our behalf, and to bear the full penalty and remove every barrier. We see His Godhead glory burst out amid all the darkness of such an hour:" He gave up His life." As we look back and think of such a life of perfection and beauty, and gaze upon the scene of Calvary, we can but exclaim, Oh, what grace! what love!

We have noticed in this sketch only a little here and there from those parts so full and rich with precious food, the four Gospels; and even in them, while there is such a fullness, yet they themselves bear witness to the fact of how little they have given us compared to the great fullness God has given us in His beloved Son (Jno. 20:30; 21:24, 25 ; Col. 1:19). But if what has been imperfectly noticed will enable any to understand and to give a better answer to the Lord's own question we started out with, we will rejoice, "What think ye of Christ ? " He was truly David's Son; but this falls short of the full answer-He was also David's Lord; or, as given by the same writer from the lips of an ascended and glorified Saviour, "I Jesus … I am the root and the offspring of David ; " and we will add further, for the joy of all (amid the darkness of this our day, or amid the darkness of this night, which is far spent) who love the Lord Jesus Christ, " I am the bright and morning star" (Rev. 22:16). A. E. B.