us peonie, and be made, in all points, like unto his brethren, sin only excepted: that he should subject! umseif, in a human body and soul, to the limits and infirmities of our species to the weakness of man's birth, and to the painfulness of his deathis an example of condescension and unbounded charity, which the mind of man may contemplate with silent adoration, but can never fully grasp. The act of self-renunciation would have been infinite, even had he come, as the Jews expected him, in the form of an earthly monarch. But, behold, he selects for himself a humble station, and a life of poverty. His birth-place is a stable; his cradle a manger; his early home a Galilean village, his mother a virgin, royally descended indeed, but of a low estate; his reputed | father, a mechanic. Soon he becomes a wanderer in deserts and caves of the earth, and "though the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”6

When his followers would make him a king, he finds his refuge in the wilderness; he prefers the form of a servant; he ministers to his brethren; he washes his disciples' feet. In the mean time, an ungodly people refuse to believe his word; his miracles are traced to Beelzebub; he is despised and rejected—the object of unbridled hatred, insult, and mockery. He gives

6 Matt. viii, 20.

his back to the smiters," and his cheeks to them that "pluck off the hair;" he hides not his face "from shame and spitting."7 Finally, the shameless cry is raised against him-"Crucify him! crucify him!" Having made himself of no reputation, he humbles himself yet further-even "unto death;" and the death to which he submits, is a public execution, in the form which was appointed for the vilest malefactors.

4. Such were the depths of humiliation to which he descended; but who shall tell the sufferings which he endured? Persons of great refinement of mind are often found to be peculiarly susceptible of pain, even in body; and it is impossible to say in how great a degree the most endowed and refined of all human spirits, was alive to the sufferings of its mortal tabernacle. "His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.' "8 There can be no question that our blessed Lord suffered grievously from weariness, watching, and fasting; from the scourge so wantonly inflicted before his crucifixion; from burning thirst upon the cross, when his cruel enemies gave him "gall mingled with vinegar" to drink; from the piercing of his hands and feet; from the slow yet intense agonies of his dying hours, while the whole weight of his body was resting on those tortured parts. The thought of these things,

his people, and be made, in all points, like unto his brethren, sin only excepted; that he should subject himself, in a human body and soul, to the limits and infirmities of our species-to the weakness of man's birth, and to the painfulness of his deathis an example of condescension and unbounded charity, which the mind of man may contemplate with silent adoration, but can never fully grasp. The act

of self-renunciation would have been infinite, even had he come, as the Jews expected him, in the form of an earthly monarch. But, behold, he selects for himself a humble station, and a life of poverty.

His

birth-place is a stable; his cradle a manger; his early home a Galilean village, his mother a virgin, royally descended indeed, but of a low estate; his reputed father, a mechanic. Soon he becomes a wanderer in deserts and caves of the earth, and "though the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."6

When his followers would make him a king, he finds his refuge in the wilderness; he prefers the form of a servant; he ministers to his brethren; he washes his disciples' feet. In the mean time, an ungodly people

refuse to believe his word; his miracles are traced to Beelzebub; he is despised and rejected—the object of unbridled hatred, insult, and mockery. He gives

6 Matt. viii, 20.

his back to the smiters," and his cheeks to them that "pluck off the hair;" he hides not his face "from shame and spitting."7 Finally, the shameless cry is raised against him—"Crucify him! crucify him!" Having made himself of no reputation, he humbles himself yet further—even "unto death;" and the death to which he submits, is a public execution, in the form which was appointed for the vilest malefactors.

4. Such were the depths of humiliation to which he descended; but who shall tell the sufferings which he endured? Persons of great refinement of mind are often found to be peculiarly susceptible of pain, even in body; and it is impossible to say in how great a degree the most endowed and refined of all human spirits, was alive to the sufferings of its mortal tabernacle. "His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” 8 There can be no question that our blessed Lord suffered grievously from weariness, watching, and fasting; from the scourge so wantonly inflicted before his crucifixion; from burning thirst upon the cross, when his cruel enemies gave him "gall mingled with vinegar to drink; from the piercing of his hands and feet; from the slow yet intense agonies of his dying hours, while the whole weight of his body was resting on those tortured parts. The thought of these things,

and of each particular amongst them, ought to move every heart to tenderness; for he was "wounded for our transgressions"-by "his stripes we are healed." "I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications, (saith the Lord,) and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born."9 Yet the marring of our Lord's countenance might doubtless be traced chiefly to the sorrows of his soul. "My soul," said he, "is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." 1

The capacities of man for every description of right feeling are miserably weakened by the fall; and it is only as we experience a restoration to the image of our God, that they again assume their native and original vigour. On this principle it is in various respects true, that holiness and sensibility to sorrow go hand in hand and keep pace with each other. The greater advances we make towards divine purity, the more acute becomes our sympathy with the woes of other men, the deeper our distress because of the sinfulness of the world, and the more painful to our feelings those temptations of the devil, with which we are ourselves assailed.

Now we know that our blessed Lord, although

9 Zech. xii, 10.

1 Matt. xxvi, 30.