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given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.'* When standing before Pilate, in the judgment hall, he said, 'To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.'† The message of this Servant was prepared for him long before he came into the world. And what a message! It was full of love and tenderness to the human family; full of grace and truth. 'God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, *** not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.' 'Herein is love.' The universe is crowded with proofs of the benevolence of God, but here is a proof that outweighs them all! How much he loved us, we can never know; we have no line with which to fathom, no standard with which to compare; but he so loved us that he gave his only-begotten Son, that the world through him might be saved. Such, then, was the message which this Servant brought to man.

II. A servant must be properly qualified for his work. And how eminent were the qualifications of this Servant of God! 'He knew what was in man.' He could weigh every motive, and see every desire within the chambers of the soul. Therefore he could penetrate every heart, reveal every hidden plan, and adapt his instructions to the mass of mind by which he was surrounded. To the ignorant he could impart knowledge; to the wayward, stability; to the mourner, consolation; to the despairing, hope. His nature was sweet; his manners humble; his words Ib. iii. 16, 17.

* John vi. 38, 39. + Ib. xviii. 37.

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wise; his comportment grave; his questions deep; his reproofs severe and charitable; his pity great and merciful. His qualifications are admirably and beautifully expressed in the tender language connected with our motto: A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.' Bishop Pearce says, "This expression means that he shall be so gentle as not to hurt even that which is of itself ready to perish. The Jews used flax, as we now do cotton, for candles, or in lamps. This, a little before it is quite extinguished, gives more smoke than flame, and, therefore, this sense seems a proper one.' '* How much tenderness is comprised in these few words as applied to the Servant of God! 'He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.'t

III. The servant must perform his duty, whether his message is received or not. This is so obvious that a few remarks only will be necessary. And what a variety of incidents in the life of this Servant, illustrative of this point, could we bring, if our limits would permit. We see him going on from day to day in the discharge of his duty. No obstacle retarded him. Plans were formed by his enemies, and difficulties presented, but he heeded them not. At the very commencement of his ministry, 'he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. ***The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted.' * * * And we are told, 'All they in the

*Com. on the place.

† Psa. cxlvii. 3.

synagogue were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way.'* At another time, 'the Jews took up stones to stone him.'t Finally, they brought the cross, the cruel nails, and the soldiers, and yet he was faithful to the last, and, even in the agonies of death, he prayed, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'

There is a great moral truth connected with our subject which must not be overlooked; for it is a part of the message of this Servant to the world: 'Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.' What a message for the ambitious to receive! What! is that the way to be great, first to become a servant? Is that the road to true greatness? Then what becomes of the Alexanders, the Hannibals, and the Napoleons? They are then the least among men, for they aspired to universal conquest. 'Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.' 'He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.'|| How slowly the world learns the great essential truths of Christianity! How desirous men are to lower its standard to their own narrow views and sordid feelings. But this cannot be done. The mind must be brought up to the standard; that will never be brought down to the mind. Christianity came to elevate man; and it does this

*Luke iv. 16-30. § Matt. v. 5.

† John x. 31.

Prov. xvi. 32.

Matt. xx. 27.

by teaching him humility as the first lesson. 'He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.'* Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.'† Men are led away by show. They are always ready to pay homage to wealth, fame, and honor. These are the gods they worship. But he who would resemble this Servant, must renounce them all, and enter the school of Christianity. It was said of him, 'He shall not strive nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the street.' He was to pass unostentatiously through the world, and leave his works to bear their own testimony. So, if we would be like him, we must be content to pass through life in a humble and quiet manner, without ostentation, without show, and without parade.

In closing, we cannot but admire the mercy, love, and goodness of God in sending his Son in 'the form of a Servant.' It is, indeed, a spectacle for the universe to behold and admire. He came in the condition of a poor, despised, rejected man. He came to lay down his life for an alienated world. O, what manner of love was this!

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LXIX. SHEPHERD.

'I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.' John x. 11

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JESUS is thus called in five instances in the New Testament. The word is often applied to God, Isa. xl. 11. Psa. lxxx. 1. xxiii. 1. The Psalmist makes a most touching and beautiful allusion to Jehovah under this similitude: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.' Then, looking forward to the termination of life, he says, 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.' In what an interesting light does this place the great Shepherd of the universe! In the very place where men fear the greatest evil; in the dark valley of death, to the Monarch of Israel all was bright and fair, because God was there. And when the last hour comes, may I have the same unshaken confidence in Jehovah.

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But we must turn from the Shepherd of the universe to the Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep.' We cannot begin our labor better than by bringing before the reader the manner in which sheep were kept by the ancients. The flocks were not kept in enclosures, but were led from place to place, from mountain to valley. Hence the Psalmist says, 'He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he

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