upon earth the heavenly kingdom over which He rules.

2. This grand and glorious achievement He effected by means that came not within the expectation of the Jewish people, although they were clearly predicted. It was by death that He conquered death. It was by a perfect obedience in action and suffering that He became the second Adamthe spiritual Head of a new and happier race (Rom. iv. 25). He planted His religion on the earth, opposed by hostile scorn, relentless malice, and despotic power. In a few years the banner of the Cross waved upon the conquered fortresses of Paganism, and enlisted under its folds the great and mighty of the earth. Yet no earthly weapon had been raised in its defence nor in its assaults. The cause of Christ had achieved its victories by its own inherent power. It was resistless by its truth, and by the silent operations of the Spirit of truth. Its adherents Its adherents were indeed strong, but it was in faith, purity, and charity. Thus the Servant of God prospered, was extolled, and became very high.

3. But His reign on the earth is yet very limited, and His conquests incomplete. "There remaineth yet much land to be possessed." Threefourths of the human race are still the prey of idolatry or of imposture; and the ancient people of God are still outcasts from His favour, and the victims of unbelief.

III. WHAT WE MAY GATHER FROM THIS PROPHETIC ACCOUNT RESPECTING THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE KINGDOM OF THE MESSIAH SHALL BE FULLY AND FINALLY ESTABLISHED.

"As

many... shall they consider" (1 Cor. 14, 15). These declarations are full of information as to the process by which Christianity shall advance to her sacred and ultimate dominion. We are led to infer

1. That there shall be a wide dispersion of Divine knowledge over heathen and Mohammedan nations; for men cannot cee or consider that which is not presented to their notice.

2. The nations shall fix their anxious

attention on the truths declared to them. Is there now before our eyes no such symptom of the approaching reign of Christ?

3. Impressed with holy awe, they shall assume the attitude of abasement and submission. The expression, "the kings shall shut their mouths at Him," implies the submission of whole nations, here represented by kings; for, as the reception of Christianity on the part of the rulers of a country requires the overthrow of every system of religious polity previously established, such a reception, publicly made, implies, more or less, the submission of the mass of people. Enlightened by the Divine Spirit, they shall recognise His righteous claims, receive His law, trust to His grace, and bow to His sway.

4. He shall forgive their iniquities and sanctify their hearts. "He shall sprinkle many nations"—that is, in allusion to the aspersions under the law, by which the people were sanctified, He shall apply to the souls of regenerated multitudes the blood of His great atonement, and the sacred influences of His Holy Spirit. Then the conquests of the Redeemer shall be visible and splendid (Ps. lxxii. 17).-G. T. Noel, M.A., in Sketches of Sermons on Christian Missions, pp. 114-119.

Of whom does the prophet speak? Not of the nation, but of an individual. That individual is not himself. No one corresponds, in the circumstances detailed, but the Christ. "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently," &c.

I. DESCRIBES HIS HUMILIATION. "My servant." He was appointed to a work. He assumed the human body, subjecting Himself to the conditions of a lowly human life, that He might be under law. He was voluntarily a servant under a master. He became subject to the Father's will, although that will involved His suffering unto death. He was fully acquainted with the solemn necessity for His suffering, in order to the accomplishment of the end, on which His heart was set as much as the Father's heart. Hence the sweep of His humiliation was all

the way from the bosom of the Father -the glory which He had with the Father in heaven, to the lowliest conditions of an earthly life.

II. COMMENDS HIS CONDUCT. "Shall deal prudently." His conduct was uniformly consistent with the end He had in view. He pursued that end steadily from the beginning of His course, both when He eluded the vigilant hostility of His enemies, and when He allowed Himself to fall into their hands. He conducted Himself with perfect wisdom, so that everything happened in the way and at the time He intended.

III. PREDICTS HIS EXALTATION. "He shall be exalted, and extolled, and be very high" (ch. liii. 11, 12). The exaltation follows the humiliation, and is its consequence (Phil. ii. 6–10). Note how varied are the elements of His exaltation, and how we have in them a complete and glorious fulfilment of this prediction. We see it fulfilled. Let us observe how it has followed His humiliation. Note these facts

1. In His resurrection from the dead. On the third day from His crucifixion He rose from the grave (1 Cor. xv. 4-8). Its moral grandeur as evidence of His truth, and of the Father's acceptance of the work He had just performed in His death, is enhanced by the circumstance that He had predicted His resurrection on that day. This fact was made prominent in the apostolic ministry, especially at first; it was the main argument for the truth of Christ.

This

2. In His ascension to heaven. was also witnessed by the apostolic company. And references to it in their sermons and epistles show how much importance they attached to it in relation to His personal distinction, and also in relation to His continued work and influence on His Church and on the world.

3. In the pre-eminence assigned to Him. He is at the right hand of God, which is the place of honour and prominence at the celestial court (Col. i. 18; 1 Pet. iii. 22; Eph. i. 20-23). All things are put under His feet.

4. In the functions He discharges. They arise out of the redemptive work which He accomplished on the Cross. They consist in (1.) The restoration of His Church. To this end He endowed His apostles with power to work miracles in His name. He commissioned them, and still commissions His ministers to preach the Gospel to every creature. every creature. He bestows spiritual blessings on sinful men (Acts v. 31; John xvii. 2; Heb. vii. 25; John xiv. 2). (2.) In the certain subjugation of His enemies (Ps. cx. 1). The gradual extension and final triumph of His empire (H. E. I. 979). (3.) In the judgment of the world. All judgment is committed to Him. In Matt. xxv. there is a representation of the proceedings of the great day of judgment, which represents the Lord Jesus Christ as the most august and illustrious personage in the universe.

5. In the honour He receives. From the Church on earth. The Church honours the Son even as it honours the Father. It renders to Him similar trust, love, and obedience. From the saints in heaven (Rev. v. 9, 10). From the angelic ranks (Rev. v. 12). From the whole universe (Rev. v. 13, 14).

Christian brethren, see that you exalt your glorified Saviour. Be not ashamed of your connection with Him. Let it be your boast, as it is unquestionably the cause of your real dignity. Glorify and extol Him by your praises, and by the holiness of your lives. And expect the final glorification with Him. For, like your Saviour, your days of conflict, toil, and suffering will be followed by the exaltation to heaven.-J. Rawlinson.

I. THE UNPARALLELED HUMILILIATION OF CHRIST.

1. The state of humiliation begins with the stupendous fact of His incarnation (Phil. ii. 6-8; 2 Cor. viii. 9, &c.) While we believe and teach the supreme divinity of Christ, we also exult in the wondrous fact that He became man. Two natures mysteriously united. Revelation af

firms the fact, but not the mode. "Great is the mystery of godliness." A stoop of illimitable graciousness! His assumption of humanity was real and complete. It was "no God in disguise"no mock assumption of humanity, the whole nature was taken on (H. E. I. 849–854).

2. His humiliation is seen in His humble and lowly life, in fixed obedience to the law. He was not born of "loins enthroned, or rulers of the earth," but of a poor virgin, &c. (Isa. vii. 14; Matt. i. 18-23; Luke i. 26–35; Matt. xiii. 55, 56; Mark vi. 3, 4). He was born in a stable at a common inn, &c. (Luke ii. 1-7, xii. 16). He wrought at the same employment with His reputed father (Matt. xiii. 55). The Lord of the world was subject to man! The Author of the law became its servant submitted Himself to the rite of circumcision, and all the righteousness of the law, and accomplished it by a perfect obedience in deed and suffering. He was always poor (Matt. viii. 20, xvii. 24-27; Jno. xix. 25-27). He toiled, hungered, thirsted, and was weary; tempted of the devil and despised by man. Again and again He was declared to be a deceiver and in league with hell (Matt. iv. 1-11; John vii. 12, &c.) That He might be the comforter of the poor and wretched, He shunned not the poverty and wretchedness of men, &c.

3. In His sufferings and death. His whole life was one of suffering (ver. 14). His general appearance was so disfigured by excessive grief and distress, as scarcely to retain the appearance of a man (see Barnes, in loco). In every struggle and conflict of which man is capable, the Captain of our salvation shared a part. His humiliation was deeper still: "He humbled Himself unto death, even the death of the cross." The agony in the garden (Luke xxiii. 41-44); the betrayal (Matt. xxvi. 14-16, xxvii. 3, 4); the treachery of His disciples, &c. The weight of The weight of a world's sin; the dread hiding of His Father's countenance; the shameful, painful, and cursed death of the cross (Matt. xxvii. 46; Isa. liii. 10;

VOL. II.

John xix. 16-18; Phil. ii. 7, 8; Gal. iii. 13). While we treat of the depth of this suffering, let us meditate upon the dignity of the person undergoing such agony. What immeasurable love

and compassion!

4. He was humbled in His burial (John xix. 38. 42, &c.) The body of the Son of God lay lifeless in the grave until the morning of the third day!

Note carefully and remember well that the humiliation of Christ was perfectly voluntary (Phil. ii. 6-8, &c.) The will of the Father did not coerce the Son (John x. 11, 17, 18). With the entire concurrence of His will He thoughtfully and deliberately yielded Himself up to death, with all its attendant circumstances of shame and suffering, that He might accomplish the Father's will, and effect the redemption of mankind. He was a willing victim (H. E. I. 918). This was essential. There can be no merit in exacted suffering. Herein we behold the wonderful love of Jesus. In this voluntariness we are called to imitate our great pattern. How willingly we should give ourselves to Him who so willingly gave all He could give for

us!

II. HIS UNPARALLELED EXALTATION. A happy transition. "He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high." Concerning the fulfilment of this prediction, see preceding outline.

CONCLUSION. From the wide field of instruction furnished by this subject, two or three reflections deserve particular consideration

1. We have the Divine attributes exhibited in a manner and to a degree they would never otherwise have been.

2. We see the way in which His followers may expect to go to heaven. Like their Master, they must be humbled before they are exalted (Luke xviii. 14; Jas. iv. 10; 2 Tim. ii. 11, 12). Whatever we may have to pass through, let us remember that Jesus has gone before, &c. He prays that His people may be with Him (John xvii. 24), and in due time they who have suffered with Him shall also reign with Him. 3. The manner in which these stupen461

dous facts must affect the finally impeni tent. What are they to you? Only wonderful events? Is there no intelligent personal interest in them? Your condemnation will not proceed on the evidence that you have profaned God's holy name, &c., but on the rejection

of an offered Saviour-the one great, damning sin into which all other sins are merged (John iii. 19). Again, this once humbled but now exalted and glorified Saviour is offered for your acceptance (Ps. ii. 12).—Alfred Tucker.

He

The personal coming of the Son of God was a great theme of prophecy. Changes of dynasties, national and local calamities, the raising up of heroes, the overthrow of sovereigns and of empires were predicted by the ministers of Jehovah; but the overthrow of the dominion of sin, by that man Jesus Christ, is the sublimest intelligence uttered by prophetic lips. The personal character of Christ is sketched in prophecy. He is to be different from ordinary men-their superior. He is to be open of heart, gentle of hand, sober of mind, consistent in conduct. The personal circumstances of Christ are mentioned. is to come of royal stock, yet impoverished. Obscurity and lowliness are to be His portion in His domestic life, rejection and contempt in His public career. Yet are men to hear eagerly His words, and He is to be crowned with ultimate glory. The countenance of the Saviour, His personal appearance, is also referred to. These slight sketches were literally fulfilled. How different is the face of the infant from that of the dying man! During the tortuous course of life, the chisel of the energetic sculptor, Time, has been busy cutting deep furrows; the pencils of the twin painters, Sorrow and Care, have left the expression wan and worn.

I. The text is a photograph of the face of Jesus in the hour of His death. Let us meditate upon it. "Love and grief the heart dividing."

man.

1. The face and form are those of a There is here flesh and blood; parts and features capable of expressing feeling.

2. Though in these respects a face like ours, yet how different! It is a visage marred; but not by evil life, evil disposition, infirmity, sickness, or age. In the Saviour's face there are, (1.) Lines which tell of severe hardship. He was made acquainted with hunger, thirst, and fatigue. He lived for others' welfare, comfort, and happiness, forgetting His own. (2.) Indications of heavy sorrow (ch. liii. 3, 4). A world's ingratitude pressed upon His spirit. A world's sin grieved Him. (3.) Traces of anxious care. He had come as the representative of His Father to men. He had undertaken to represent the case of man before His Father. What responsibility! (4.) Marks of much suffering. Allusion is made in the text not only to mental, but to physical suffering. Gethsemane's agony; the cruel usage in Herod's hall, where "He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair;" His sufferings under Pilate; the tortures of the crucifixion, remove all room for wonder at the statement of the text. There are actual scars upon His sacred Person; "the print of the nails;" of the thorncrown; the spear-wound.

II. We may reverently muse upon what is here revealed. The face is but the outer mask; the soul is hidden within. The face is an index which reveals and expresses the feelings and experiences of the soul.

1. We learn from the face of Jesus the reality of His life. It is seen to have been intensely real. The visit to earth was no illusive appearance of the Son of God. To Him sin, human guilt, and Divine wrath were real and fearful