the shepherds of their people. But it is to the distinguishing and exalted manner in which this appellation and its attributes are given to Christ, that the attention of the serious inquirer is invited. "I am the GOOD SHEPHERD and I know my

sheep and am known of mine.

"As the Father

knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I HAVE, which are not of this fold: them also I MUST BRING, and they shall hear my voice.-I GIVE unto them eternal life."*-This language would ill become a merely dependent being.† It implies an actual dominion over the minds, the moral principles, and the everlasting state of mankind. It is the style of a CHIEF SHEPHERD, in whose hand it is to confer the "unfading crown of glory" on his faithful servants.

* See Note [A] at the end of this Section.

+ "The Proprietor of the sheep, not a hireling: the true Messiah. Is. xl. Ezek. xxxiv." [Ye, my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I your God; saith the Lord Jehovah.]Rosenm. in Joann. x. 11,

1 Pet. v. 4.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE

то

SECT. XXIII.

my

Note [A] p. 296.

Joh. x. 14-16, 27. It may be objected, that our Lord follows up this style of sovereignty with expressions of subordination and dependence: "This commandment have I received of Father; ;-my Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." But, in reply to this, and to the same objection under other forms, we readily say that we without hesitation admit that the Christ is the servant and messenger of the Father, and therefore officially subordinate and dependent; but that the previous requisite of CAPACITY and QUALIFICATION for executing the mediatorial office, is nothing less than the possession of DIVINE dignity and power. Let it not be forgotten, that the Redeemer subjoined to the declaration of his mediatorial appointment, this great assertion, "I and my Father are ONE. A oneness of design will not reach the evident requisites of the connection; which are to call efficaciously, to preserve infallibly, and to save eternally, all the church of God. It is manifestly a unity of power, and how that could exist without a UNITY of ESSENCE let the truly calm and impartial reflect.

SECT. XXIV.

BELOVED SERVANT OF GOD.

Is. xlii. 1-4.

1. Behold my servant! I will support him.
My chosen! The delight of my soul!
I have bestowed my Spirit upon him:
He shall bring judgment to the nations.
5. He will not be noisy, nor be clamorous,
Nor shall his voice be heard abroad.
A bruised reed he will not crush,

And faintly smoking flax he will not extinguish. He will bring forth judgment unto [manifest] truth. 10. He will not faint, nor will he be broken down;

Until he shall have placed judgment in the earth,
And the islands shall fix their expectations on his law.

THE Messiah is here described as the object of the most perfect divine complacency; qualified, by the richest participation of heavenly gifts, for communicating the true religion to the world; modest, lowly, and unassuming; supporting and soothing the weak and afflicted; indefatigably persevering in his arduous work of evangelizing the earth; and finally successful in it.

If, with some interpreters, it be admitted that this description had a primary respect to Isaiah in his prophetic character; it is not the less to be maintained, from the force of the terms, the known genius of Hebrew prophecy, and the evidence of the New Testament,* that the complete application can be to none other than the Messiah. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him!"

* Matt. xii. 18-21.

SECT. XXV.

JEHOVAH, THE SUPREME GOD, THE RIGHTEOUS, AND THE SAVIOUR.

Is. xlv. 21-25.

1.- I Jehovah, and no God besides me:

God the righteous and the Saviour; none except me.
Look unto me, and receive salvation,

All the farthest regions of the earth;

5. For I am God, and there is none besides.

By myself I have sworn: the just decree hath issued from my mouth;

The word shall not return [inefficient]:

That unto me every knee shall bow,

Every tongue shall swear [homage].

10. Of me shall it be said, "Surely in Jehovah is righteousness and strength:

"Unto him they shall come, and all who scorn him shall be confounded:

"In Jehovah all the race of Israel shall have righteousness and shall triumph."

To urge the consideration that "we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ,"* the

* — παραστησόμεθα τῷ βήματι A Scottish law term would give a more exact translation than any English phrase that I am aware of: "We shall be sisted [presented as objects of judicial cognizance] at the tribunal of Christ."