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PRINTED BY HUNTER, ROSE & CO. 1882. ■ WlillWIIIlllW ■MMiMa 1 ?4a,ut in Jesus Christ we find the same character throughout ; consistent with itself in every display of its excellence, and every virtue ready to show itself in proper degree, and?in proper time and place. That Jesus who joined in the festivities of the marriage feast, ard made his beginning of miracles in supply- ing the deficiencies of the entertainment of the happy circle, is the same with him who endured privations of every kind in doing the will of his Father, and enjoined a life of self-denial on all his disciples. If w^ admire the zeal of the Saviour in jour- neying from city to city, thronged by the people, and fatigued by his travelling, we see the same character v/hen he is calm amid the hosannas of the multitude, or questioned before the tribunal of the Roman governor. In fact, his zeal is consist- ent with his calmness, and his calmness never betrays any defi- 4 CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST. 13 ciepcy of proper feeling. There is a unity also in his piety and in his active endeavours ; he prays when he performs his miracles, as at the tomb of Lazarus ; and, on the other hand, when we have access to his private devotion, we find the ob- jects of his mission were uppermost, as we discover by the words which he spoke to his sorrowing disciples when he was about to leave the scene of his sufferings, of which the follow- ing quotations may shew the general spirit : " Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am ; that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." In truth, every quality which could adorn human nature was found in the man Christ Jesus. There was no opposition of virtues in him ; for all harmonized in producing the character of him who extorted approbation from the lips of his enemies, and in whom God himself declared that he was well pleased. IV. In the character of Christ there is a wisdom displayed such as was never before exhibited on earth. That he knew intimately the principles of human nature may be gathered from his history, although we altogether leave out of sight the assertion of the sacred historian, '• That he knew what was in man." Moral science is that which the revelation of God claims as peculiarly its own. Classification, or the reducing of a science to its elemental principles, is the highest effort of hu- man genius. But where in the writings of all the philosophers that ever existed, shall we discover, on the subject of morals, a classification so complete as that which is exhibited in the ten commandments. In vain do we look for such a display in the writings of the sages of antiquity. In comparison of the light which shines in the Word of God on this momentous subject, the splendour of. heathen reason becomes faint and deceitful in 14 CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST. the light which it affords. But Jesus Christ could shed addi- tional light on that which already transcended the unaided powers of human genius. He could so explain and enforce the law of God as to make his instructions be called emphatically a new commandment. Well might it be asked, whence has this man wisdom ? Is not this the carpenter's son ] And the in- quiry is as important at this day as when our Lord was on the earth. Whence hath this man wisdom ] Is this not Jesus, the Jew, the Nazarene ? Is not this he who was crucified under the governorship of Pontius Pilate 1 Or, in the words of Tacitus : ** Is not this he who was the author of a despicable superstition 1 " Whence, we again ask, had this man the wisdom that he could in a few sentences declare more valuable truth than ever was discovered by all the sages of an- tiquity, and that in a science on which they had prided them- selves above all others. A remarkable feature in his mission also is, that he required no long reasoning to arrive at his con- clusions, but, with the glance of intuition, could arrive at truths which were never brought to light by the most laborious and vaunted investigations of philosophy. To him the science of morals was as plain as if he had been the original author of all its decrees, and the workings of human nature were as open to his view as if he had been the framer of the constitution of man. It is worthy also of particular remark that in his simple declaration there is an authority independent of his character as a divine messenger, which none of the precepts of philoso- phy could ever acquire, even when fortified with the profound- est reasoning. We have only to take a few examples to estab- lish what we have said. " Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," is a truth, the longerwe consider it the more we are satisfied of its truth ; as the proud heart can never be CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST. 15 3d addi- iinaided brce the ticallv a has this the in- j on the lis not ho was 1 Or, author lad this re more 3 of an- 1 them- nission lis con- 'ive at sorious science hor of s open ion of limple iracter liloso- "oiind- 3stab- '^ shall more 'erbe i satisfied ; but the heart of tlie meek and lowly is ready to give thanks for every blessing it secures ; and we all know that the» man who is in a state to give thanks can never be unhappy. '* Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness- sake," is a truth, the moment it is stated, none can deny, and yet none but Jesus ever published it. His tracing of morals ta their first principles is also remarkable, or rather, we should say his declaration of these principles. " Ye have heard," says he, " that it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt not kill, but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his bro- ther without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment." — And again, " From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, etc. All these evil things come from within and defile the man." It would far exceed the limit of our essay to do justice to this part of our subject ; but we cannot forbear remarking that the doctrines of our Lord,^ in regard to prayer and providence, to human responsibility and future judgment, as far transcend the wisdom of the wise,, as the matured wisdom of age and of intellect surpasses the feeble lispings of the infant, whose sounds are as void of mean- ing as its mind is destitute of knowledge. Besides the wisdom of our Lord so far exceeding the wisdom of antiquity, another circumstance which makes it still more conspicuous is the marvellous folly and extravagance of those in Christian times who have chosen to dispute the claims of the Gospel. Philosophy, in the first ages of the Christian Church, in its rage for opposing the revelation of the Bible, upheld superstition in all its forms ; nay, employed magical incantations and false miracles to support the interests of idola,- try J and so besotted are modern sceptics that they make some of these deluded men the objects of their praise, and still dare 16 CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST. maintain their own pretensions to sup nior wisdom and freedom from vulgar prejudice. Thus Gibbon, instead oi' a history, writes a panegyric of the apostate Julian ; and although, on his own shewing, we can perceive that Julian was the most super- stitious of human beings, yet this renowned historian calls him not only a virtuous but a philosophic prince, and at the close of his account of his remarkable reign, adds, with an effrontery which none but a sceptic coulrl use in such circumstances, " Philosophy," says he, " can boast (and perhaps it is no more than the boast of philosophy) that her gentle hand is able to eradicate from the human mind the latent and deadly princi- ple of fanaticism." But it is not only the philosophers of the first centuries of Christianity, but modern philosophers, who have, in the course of Divine Providence, been allowed to shew the extent of their folly in opposing revealed truth. In latter times, in their zeal against Christ, they sapped the foundations of all morality, and by the adoption of their principles by mul- titudes who followed their delusions, human nature was ex- hibited in an as'^ect of ferocity that had never before been wit- nessed. Truly I'c may be said of false philosophers, as well as of the votaries of a false church, God hath sent them strong de- lusion that they may believe a lie. If men will reject the wisdom which shines in every word the Saviour uttered, they shall not do it with impunity. Opposition to truth hardens the mind and blinds the understanding, so that the little which a man hath is taken away by the workings of his own perver- sity. Thus we see that in the character of Christ there is a wisdom which far excels that of all men. The reasonings of ^heathen philosophers are altogether set aside by the light of the Gospel, and modern sceptics only increase their folly in their attempts to overturn the truth of God, and in their pre- CHAUACTER OF JESUS CHKIST. 17 tensions to superior wisdom and liberality. In all their en- deavours they have shown to the world that there are no men so bigotted and fanatical as thorough-paced sceptics. At this day the wisdom of Christ and the folly of his enemies is more manifest than at any former period. Is this the fate of impos ture ? Do false pretensions become more confirmed as the world becomes more enlightened ? V. In the character of Christ we perceive a habitual eleva- tion of mind. With the character which we have described, elevation in all circumstances is perfectly consistent ; nay, we cannot conceive so many excellences united without an eleva- tion of spirit beyond anything that can be 'seen on earth. By elevation of spirit we mean not that pride which often attends the union of many great talents in mere human beings ; a feeling which leads to the contempt of others, and often blinds to the very means of attaining the ends at which its ambi- tion aims. Many are the melancholy instances of the ruin which an ill-timed self-ambition brought on its possessors. It was this which took away the judgment they previously possessed, and overwhelmed in destruction an Alexander, a Caesar, and a Bonaparte before the schemes were completed which they con- sidered necessary to their glory. The elevation which we con- template in the Saviour was the very reverse of all this. It arose from a calm consideration of the greatness of the work in which he v:as engaged, and from a certain conviction of the truth of all that he assumed. From his first appearance in public to the last moment he tabernacled among men, we see the movements of a being who had higher ends in view, and with greater power to put them into, execution, than ever were be- held in any of the sons of men. Even when a child, although submissive to his parents, we find him asserting the preroga- 2 18 CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRlST. I « live of liim wlio was commissioned by God himself : " Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business ! " When he began his public ministry, and we find his forerunner do- ing him homage, can we perceive the smallest impropriety in Jesus accepting this testimony to his mission, although John was a prophet and more than a prophet. Nay, the exclama- tion of the Baptist, " Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world," is in perfect keeping, when ad- dressed to him who had power to heal the sick and to cast out devils witi; a word. In the submission of Jesus to the minis- fi! I try of the Baptist, we also discover the same dignity as when I jj he receives the respect which was due to His character. When John says that he had need to be baptized of Jesus, our Lord does not deny the truth of his opinion, but says, ** suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness; " "* v\ thus he submits to the ordinance, but never forgets for a mo- ment that he was Lord of him who was to administer the sacred rite. In all his intercourse with the people he displayed the same superiority of character. " He speaketh with authority and not as the Scribes" was the remark of the multitude themselves. He was the first being upon earth who could speak with au- thority in his own name, and heaven bear witness to the truth of what he said. The prophets prefaced their declarations with saying " thus saith the Lord," but the language of the Son is, ** verily, verily, I say unto you." Mild and affable wherever he went, but whether with the disciples or in the presence of his bitterest enemies, there was something in the deportment of our Lord who overawed all who approached him. What , must have been the dignity of that individual who, without tumult, could drive from the courts of the temple the thous- I CHAUACTEU OF .JL:sUS (JIIIUST. 10 1 i ands of selfish creatures, who at the feast of the Passover pol- luted the house of God with their merchandize. Had any other dared interrupt thoir unhallowed practices he would have been torn in pieces. Indeed, wherever he went and in what- ever circumstances he was placed, he considered himself as the messenger of Heaven, whose mission not all the powers of hell could interrupt. " My hour is not yet come," was his answer to the trembling disciples. " I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it again," was language which was perfectly consistent with the character of him who uttered it. How elevated must his conduct have been before the chief priests and the Roman governor. Surely there must have been something more than human in the behaviour of Jesus Christ, which could make an unprincipled Roman hesitate to give up a single individual for the preservation of the public peace ; especially when we consider that this happened in a land and at a time when cruelty and oppression were the order of the day, and the sacrifice of the lives of hundreds, to the quelling of the slightest sedition, were events of every day occurrence. " My Kingdom is not of this world," if uttered in ordinary circumstances, and by an ordinary person, would have called down the derision of every spectator ; yet these v^re the words which led Pilate the more earnestly to seek to release him. How wonderful also is the sight of a poor, persecuted Gal- ilean speaking words which were to console his people to the end of time ; instituting an ordinance which was to commem- orate his death to the latest period, as one of the greatest events the world ever saw ; and in the immediate prospect of death, addressing such language as the following to the God of heaven and earth : '* Father I will that they also whom thou li 20 CIIARACTKR OF JESUS CHRIST. hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." The same character is supported to the end. In the garden, when he says, " whom seek ye ?" and on the cross when he cries with a loud voice, ** it is fin- ished." Does it not become us when we consider the exalted character which Christ sustained from the cradle to the grave, seriously to consider how great this Man was 1 Thus then we have considered the character of Christ in that exalted view which characterizes all his proceedings, whether we consider his relation to God or to man ; in that union of qualities which never meet in any of the corrupt children of Adam ; in that wisdom by which he never spake as man spake; and in that elevation of mind which suited such excellence alone. Is it then possible to conceive that a being clothed with virtue and excellences of every description could deceive those who are willing to give credit to his sayings ? Is it consistent with spotless purity to defile the conscience with deceit and falsehood ; with the most exalted devotion to God, to establish will worship and idolatry; with benevolence to men to mislead them in their most important concerns ; with the greatest wisdom, to establish a groundless superstition ; and can we suppose the greatest elevatioa of soul, compatible with the meanness of passing himself off for a being which he was not, and claiming honours to which he had not the smallest title 1 Such suppositions are utterly incredible. If we admit the truth of the records which the Apostles have given, we must admit the justice of the claims which are advanced, although we had no other evidence than the veracity of Jesus himself who urges them. There is no way of avoiding the conclusion, but denying the ,.4 % C'lIAUACTKU OF JESUS CHlilST. 21 % i I truth of the details of the life of our Lord as given by the evan- gelists ; and to assert that no such person ever existed ; and that the character A^hich is exhibited in the Gospels is the mere fiction of those who wrote them. But a very little consideration will convince us that this hypothesis is altogether untenable, and that the invention of the history of Jesus was beyond the power of the disciples. We admit that there are some qualities which may be described by those who do not possess them. Thus, for example, a person may declaim about courage, and even invent circumstances in which it might be exercised and ail the while himself be a coward, and on the first occasion of real danger abandon the companions who were hurried into action by the power of his eloquence. We know that this was the case with the greatest orator of antiquity. A person also may write much about feeling, and invent cases to call it forth, and yet mi'^^ be destitute in a great measure of practical sym- pathy for distress. We grant that in moral subjects also, beautiful general descriptions may be given, and feigned char- acters may in many points be well supported, in the writings of those who are worthless themselves, who neither fear God nor regard man. But here our admission must stop, and we assert without the fear of contradiction, that it is altogether impossible for a human being to raise up a perfect moral char- acter on minute particulars of action, and of private and public discourse, without the writer himself being a perfect moral character. That this is the case we have already remarked, when speaking of purity of heart ; and we find the truth con- firmed by all writers of novels, dramas, and poems. What are the best characters of Homer but pictures of the savage morality of which the writer approved. Even the Cyrus of Xenophon, with all his worth, is no paragon of excellence ; and i 22 4^ mi CHARACTER OF JKSUS CHRIST. the pious ^Eneas himself, of the Mantuan bard, is a monster of deceit and cruelty. The thing is notorious, that previous to the history of our Lord no account of the actions and the sayings of a perfect moral being, in duties to God and man, ever appeared or could appear ; and what is still more striking, no such history has ever shewn itself since his appearance in the world, although the numberless writei^i of fiction which rise up in every age, had the advantage of such a copy before them. In all feeliiigs which are merely the workings of nature, with- out requiring perfections of morals, men may be found equal to the task of framing a fictitious character which all must ad- mire. But to form a fictitious moral character, by relating minute particulars of private and public life, the writer himself must have a perfect idea of moral worth. * And can we sup- pose for a moment that tho apostles of our Lord, illiterate and obscure as they were, could do what was beyond the power of Homer, Xenophon, Virgil, and all the sages of Greece and Rome, and beyond the power of all the genius that has appeared in the world since the Christian era ; and that they could rise altogether above the age in which they lived, and give us a picture of perfection, altogether at variance with the notions in which they had been educated. The supposition is altogether incredible. If the apostles had written a fictitious character in which they wished to give us their ideas of per- fection, they would have done as Homer, Xenophon, Virgil, and all other writers of fiction have done. They would have given us as fiir as they were able, a graphic and striking repre- sentation of the virtues which were most in repute in their day ; they would have clothed their hero with every attribute that could dazzle the imagination or call forth the patriotic III. • uwiPJiNijiv ii|jiiiii^p»y TW^KOKr^i. , v.- :-y-'"-:'i r ► H • ....- . .:v. ?i-X\;-XiiL-l^*^''*