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Les cartas, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre fiimis A des taux da reduction diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA. il est filmA A partir da Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, an prenant la nombre d'imagas nAcessaira. Las diagrammas suivants illustrant la mAthode. 1 2 3 3:x 1 2 3 4 5 6 P^fe «'«iT>i)r>Sii»il8i^ THE TEACHER ^"' SENT FROM GOD. (\.u\ . Rev. JOHN THOMPh'ON, .Of St. Andrew's CHrrROH, Sarnia. SABKIAt THB AMATET7B PBESS. 1882. ^^^i»><-i"^ i*> ''*"'a^fir »ag> ^^ I THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD. % BY THE Kev. JOHN THOMPSON, Of St. Andrew's Cuukch, Sakma. S A R N I A : THE AMATEUE FEESS. 1882. TO THE SESSION AND CONGREGATION or NDREW'S CHUKCH, SARVIA, My true Yoke-feUows who labor with me in the Gospel, Tint lagft are ledicated as a And Memorial of aweet Coonsel together, and with the Prayer for increased uiefiilneu in ftiture yean,-b7 Sarnia, Christman, 1882. THE PASTOK. THEfo are put who, ir lead th Ou cussion, view, it parta eternal theme ( purpose more ex and his from th him stil gained i teacher these m The Chi teacher < other mi still sits lowly, t( INTRODUCTION. a, be Gospel, the Prayer 7 8T0K. The following brief chapters on Christ's character as a Tkacher, are published with the hope that they may prove helpful to those who, in sincerity of heart, have come to learn of Him who can lead them into all truth. Our aim in the following pages has not been^ll^di^ of dis- cussion, even of that jmrticular aspect of Christ's work under re- view. A full discussion of such a subject is an impossibility, for it partakes of the infinite, and will be a subject of study through eternal ages. We have merely dwelt on a few salient ix>ints of a theme of permanent and profound interest to the Church. Our purpose is gained if any may be led by what is here written, to a more exalted conception of, and firmer trust in both the kacher and his Lessons. "Never man spake like this man," was a judgment forced from those who once heard him : we form the same judgment of him still, notwithstanding the many who have since spoken, and gained an audience among men. "We know that thou art, a teacher sent from God," said Nicodemns, "for no man could do these miracles which thou doest, unless God were with him." The Church to-day is still of the same opinion. Every other teacher comes in time to be criticized, and even superseded ; every other master has his place filled by a successor, but Christendom still sits with loving obedience at the feet of Him who is me-'- lowly, to learn from Him the words of eternal life. IctrK aSu 'sr :#" The Teacher Sent from Goi -tP^^rvT^ii.- CHAPTER I. Chriat, the Teacher : His Character. "And He went forth again by the sea side, and aU the multi. tude resorted unto Him, and Ha taught them." The cliaracter and work of tlio Lord Jesus Christ nrny U^ considored under various a-spects, for in liis niis- Kion to tlie world tluTo is a umnifold wisiloni. His cliief and 8i)ecial characteristic is as a Princk and iv Saviour, wlio came to redeem man from the power of sin and death! He IS also set forth in the Gosj.el as an exawp/e to his people-the j.erfect pattern of what their lives should be. But he is a Teticher also, who came to teach the people knowledge, to instruct them in the will of God, and by hi.. Spirit to lead them into all the truth. Teaching was one of his i)rominent functions ; he was recognised by all in this character : " Thou art a teacher sent from God."— John iii., 3. His enemies said of him, "He stirreth up the peoj.le, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place."— Luke xxiii., 5. While the Evan- gelists, in recording his life, affirm that Jesus went about an Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. "-Matt, iv., 23. As he passed from \illage to village, and from place to place, his audit- ors became more numerous. His teaching was so much li kll the mnlti- psus Christ ill Iiis inis- His cliief V Saviour, and (loath. uple to his should he. the people xl, and by 'iching was i.sed by all m (Jod."— jtirreth up ining from the Evan- t'ent about preaching he passed his audit- .8 so much CHRIKT, THE TKACHKK 8KNT rROM GOD. '5 talked a])out, and took such a tirni hold of men's minds that great multitudes crowdefore, in considering him as a teacher sent from God, as well as an nfonenient for sin, or an example to his people, though these are but different parts of the one work given him to do,— "to bring his many sons into glory." ins CHARACTER AS A TEACHER. ''And it came to pam vhrn JeMis had ended these myhigs, the •]i€ople were astonished at his doctrine ; for he tauffht thevi as one hacinff authority, and not as the .SVW6ew. "— Matt, vii., 28, 29. What a skillful, -nstant teacher the Ma.ster was, using every opportunity and incident to bring truth home to the heart and conscience of )iis hearers. Though it is only a small part of all" he uttered that has been preserved to us in the Gospels, yet what a store of truth is recorded there ! How rich the moral precepts he lays down ! What a light is thrown across all duty by his Sermon m> the Mount ! What a revelation he gives us of the Father's mercy and love ! Christ's teaching, like his example, was perfect, and his lessons had many characteristics peculiar to himself, for no man ever taught like this man. He poured forth, from the fountains of his own holy life, and spake 6 0IIRI8T, THE TEA( IIEll HKNT FROM OOD. to the people from that Divine fulb.oss which is peculiarly his own, as - The Wisdon, of C;b. Every spiritual purpose is then forgotten, while the rite continues for its own sake. The technical remains, long after the real has vanished. So these Scribes dwelt on the letter, and ignored the spirit of the law ; they pursued the shadow, and despised the 'sub- stance ; they clung to the ritual, and ignored the real • they worshipped the dead carcass, and trampled on the livincr soul. Such teaching had neither freshness nor force in it* it moved along the cold narrow lines of precedent ; what It lacked in^originality and lire, it made up by dogmatic Iteration. Not a fringe of their phylacteries must be ruf- ^JS^ I not one unlioly finger must be put on their tradi- I is peculiarly iR himself the iiiicatod from 8. Through- 'ad of his liu- mcv Kjiake as in. All who from that of kc. it before, his instruc- out distinct- w t/ic Scribes.'^ I those days, •ture, especi- a noble race the return ;ion of what godliness is n forgotten, ho technical So these pirit of the d the *sub- e real ; they II the liviriff force in it ; lent ; what y dogmatic lust be ruf- bheir tradi- CnBIST, THE TKACIIEK SENT FnoM OOD. tmns, not one whisper must be l.reathed against their meaningless observances, but they could break all the ten connuandments of the law and be blameless. TI.eir teach- ing had becon.e pe(>en swearing by the temple, and swearing by the fjold of thi temple. They were thus' in their spiritual bMndness, binding heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and laying them on n.en's shoulders ; ))ut they themselves would not touch them witli one of their fingers. What a character is giveti them by our Lord ! his scathing words reveal what manner of men they were. '•• The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat ; all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do ; but do not ye after their works : for they say and do not. For they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders ; but they them- selves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men ; they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. "-Matt, xxiii, 2 — 7. ,1 8 CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD. I I' These Scribes have tlieir successors in the Churcli of to-day ; men who are ready to barter all the doctrines of the Gospel for the sake of their traditions, and make com- promises with morality itself, to find room for their crot- chets and quibbles. There are those who are eager to un- church the best part of Christendom for a fiction ; some who even revile Christ to his face, and preach damnable heresies -, yet because certain hands have been laid upon them in ordination, they claim to be the true successors of the Apostles, and the only lawful ministers of the Apos- tolic Church ; while they brand as a schismatic a man who has been ordained, like Timothy, by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery, though he may have preached the Gospel with power and blessing, to the saving of thou- sands, with the demonstration of the Spirit ! To such men the lies and heresies of Rome are nothing in compar- ison to the enormity of preaching without the sanction of an Episcopal bishop. Tliere are men also in the Church, —fit successors to the Scribes,~who think far more of water than of the blood of Jesus, for they will unchurch those who have been washed in the one, and receive those who have been only dipped in the other ; men more Judaic than the Jews, and more dogmatic even than the Scribes ! But are not some of our own congregations and Church Courts often witnesses to just such men,— as pe- dantic, technical, and drivelling as ever the Scribes were ? men who think far more of a. pin than Si pillar in the tem- ple of God ! who can split a hair, but can never see the cable it hangs on ! fighting for principles, debating ques- tions, lifting up their testimony, and growing angry over matters as unsubstantial as the foam of the sea, and which concent samer '\ tory of troublei Scribes, become congrec one wh< Church with tl] questioi will me overflow will the pei^cial Ho was the of the h stifled ai to what sectariai sing froi glories o; and dirt, ground c soil of \ through ing of SG all bare i ever won wide siirr le Churcli of doctrines of cl make com- r their crot- eager to un- ction ; some ;li damnable n laid upon iuccessors of •f the Apos- ! a man who ig on of the ve preached ing of thou- ! To such [ in compar- sanction of the Church, ar more of II unchurch 3ceive those tiore Judaic he Scribes ! Rations and en, — as pe- ribes were? in the tem- ver see the ating ques- angry over and which CHRIST, THE TEACHKR SENT FROM GOD. 9 concern the real life of the Church no more than the gos- samer which the child chases as it flits past him ? A his tory of many of our congi-egational quarrels and church troubles would be a good commentary on the spirit of the Scribes. It is humiliating to think of the little trifles that become occasions of offence, and over which many of our congregations break up, and good men grow angry. Any one who has listened to an Appeal case in some of our Church Courts, knows we.: .ow precious time is occupied with these petty, contemptil)le (juan-els, while the great questions of the Church's needs are crowded out. When will men lose their pedantry and pettiness in the groat overflowing floods of the Church's life and work 1 When will the real, and practical, and spiritual, displace the su- perficial and technical 1 How different from all this, and how much gmnder was the teaching of Christ ! It breathed the amplitude of the heavens under which it was uttered, and not the stifled air of the synagogue. In passing from his lessons to what we sometimes hear taught in the narrow, bigoted sectarian shibboleths of certain congregations, is like pas- sing from the grandeur of Solomons Temple, or even the glories of the summer sky, to a beggar's hovel, amid refuse and dirt. His words were germinal, and covered the whole ground of life and duty ; they were as seed planted in the soil of the heart, to bud, and blossom, and bear fruit through the ages. His teaching pierced even to the divid- ing of soul and spirit ; it touched the very core, and laid a., hare in the light of eternal truth and righteousness. If ever words were spoken on earth by human lips, of world- wide significance, they were the wholesome words of Jesus 10 CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD. Christ, who spake as never man spake. Tliey come as the sunshine around tlie roots of our deepest convictions and noblest aspirations. As the morning light his words caused all things to be seen in their true proportions and relations, while they have purified the atmosphere of centuries. His teaching subverts the false sentiments and maxims of hu- manity ; the sermon preached from the hill-top by the car- penter from Nazareth, to the group of peasants, fishermen and mechanics, is by universal judgment regarded as the noblest utterances of the earth. It contains no commen- dation on what the world eagerly seeks— its pleasures, fame, riches, honor or rank ; but rather on what it dreads —poverty, sorrow, persecution, humility, for those things that are esteemed among men are an abomination in the sight of God. The world's wisest men have marvelled at a vision so fair as the one held up by our Lord in his Ser- mon on the Mount ; they have been fascinated by the con- ception it contains of man's moral and spiritual life. The Great Teacher gives utterance to truths that have entered the thoughts of all civilized peoples, and been regarded as living principles, sacred and current forever, as axiomatic truths, common alike to believer and unbeliever. Words so child-like, so simple and artless, spoken by the lips of a poor Nazarene, brought up in the narrowest of all na- tional bigotries, spoken, too, by a man who had never learned letters, and j et the foundation of all morality for all time. Such an intellectual and moral phenomenon can be accounted for only in one way,— He was the Teacher sent from God, and came into the world as THE V/lSDOM OF GOD. CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD. 11 '' come as the ivictions and words caused md relations, ituries. His axims of hu- p by the car- its, fishermen arded as the no commen- ts pleasures, hat it dreads those things nation in the marvelled at 'd in his Ser- d by the con- lal life. The have entered 1 regarded as as axiomatic ver. Words )y the lips of Bst of all na- o had never morality for phenomenon Ie was the ie world as II. Affirmatively.— //e taught as one having authority:' " The Son of Man has poiver on earth." "His word was with poioer. " The intense personal conviction of eternal truth ever rested upon him. He uttered the verities of God, and therefore spake with authority, and not as the Scribes. Tlie Scribes appealed to their traditions, to the authority of others, while Jesus always appealed to his own. " / smj U7ito you," and spoke as one who had a right to the empire of the heart of every man ; and even when he quotes tlie Bible, he does so as one who stands above it, and who puts his own seal upon it. All the prophets had said, " Thus saith the Lord," but Jesus says, "/ sr/y unto you," and as he commands men to repent, to believe, to come to him, he seeks no certificate for his authority but his own. He lays down the foundation of eternal principles with all the self-consciousness of God, and with all the familiar loving intercourse of a brother. Unlike any other prophet who preceded him, following in the wake of no other teacher, he was the substance of his own revelation, the fullness of the Gospel which he preached, the interpretation of his own symbols, the substance of a shadow that had long co- vered the dispensations of God, the bright and morning star for whose rising faith had long waited through the dim outlines of prophecy. He put himself above the law, above the priesthood, above the whole Jewish economy. "There is one here greater than the temple." How in- tense was his personality that he might stand alone as "The teacher sent from God," distinctive in all his utter- ances as the One in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He never hesitates to assert his own su- 12 CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD. premacy, and put himself in opposition to the Scribes and learned doctors whom he denounced as blind leaders of the blind. In his vScrmon on the Mount he repeatedly oon- froiij;s them, and turns their miserable interpretations of the Law of Moses upside down. Bead Matt, v., 21, 22; 27, 28 ; 31, 32 ; 33, 34, etc. And the Master continues, " Ye have heard that it hath been said, lliou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he niaketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye 1 Do not even the publicans the same 1 And if yo salute your brethren only, what do ye more than than othei-s ? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in hea- ven is perfect." How his words inspire action, and breathe around life the sweet atmosphere of a garden of spices— the aroma of tlie king's own presence ! Here the Law and the Prophets, long remaining as an unblossomed branch of spring buds, now, under the light he sheds upon them, crop out into flower and fruit. His words are so full of hope, full of cheering, assurances, full of faith in God, till the distance between our Father and ourselves, is bridged by him who is the Wai/, and who assures our hearts of the Fatheriiood of God. What a revolution of sentiment, as wel! as a stirring up of oppc»sition these words would cause ! What a fer- ment this teaching would produce among the Scribes and CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FKOM OOD. 13 e Scri}>es and leaders of the peatedly con- T)retations of I: V,, ^ J, J^ J ler continues, ou shalt love say unto you, u, do good to 1 despiteful ly the cliildren iketh his sun id(;th rain on em that love he publicans nly, what do >r.blicans so? v'ho is in hea- , and breathe f spices — the Law and the ed branch of upon them, ire so full of 1 in God, till ?s, is bridged ur hearts of as a stirring What a ter- Scribes and Pharisees ! Tliis cai7)enter, this young untaught Nazar- ene, who had never learned letters, presuming to put his authority against their's ! He belonged to none of tho Schools of Philosoi.hy, had sat at the feet of no teaflier, who had no social standing, and no oilicial dignity ; and yet he had the hardihood to come and instruct the doctors of the law in the great city ! Tlie more earnest among them were astonished at his doctrincj, it was so unlike any- thing ever heard before. Tliere was no labored argument, no doubtful disputation, or formulated doctrinal statement. He deals with the simplest and most obvious religious and moral duties, and always spake in the simplest and most artless manner, with such quiet conscious dignity. An earthly teacher, conscious of his partial knowledge and li- ability to err, wishes to correct his opinions, especially if bhese have been hastily given ; and more particularly in extempore speech he cannot have the exactness of formal preparation ; he is often taken at a disadvantage, and com- pelled to revise his opinions. But the Great Teacher never claims any such right, though he often speaks without the {wssibility of any previous preparation. He never modifies his previously expressed opinions ; he never protects him- self by any saving clause ; his former and later judgments are ever in harmony. In all his conflicts and controver- sies, he is never forced to give up his position, for he was the Truth, and had the words of eternal life. Tlie philo- sophers search after truth, but as they push their specula- tions with fervent enquiry, they often fall into error ; hence the ebb and flow of philosophic opinion. But Ghrist Jesus makes a revelation of eternal truth, his declarations are not only clear but final, and he speaks with the consci- 14 CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD. i! ill IIIIIM I' ous authority of one who reveals the Father, and who, as the Anciejit of Days, knew aU that the Father Himself doeth- <• Heaven and earth may pass away, but my words shall never pass away." This carpenter's sou taught them with authority, and with what self-satisfaction he speaks of " These sayings of mme " / He even forecasts a day when he would sit on a throne of universal judgment, and decide the solemn allotments of all nations gathered be- fore him. m. His Seeming Egotism.— " T'/te^e sayings of mine." "7 that apeak unto thee am He." With some men, their egotism is a gi-eat blemish, but with Christ it is the very blossom and beauty of his teach- ing. We rejoice in the egotism of the Apostle Paul, who was full of the spirit of his Master, and witnessed unto the truth. " / have fought a good fight, / have finished my course, / have kept the faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me," &c "/am crucified with Christ, nevertheless / live, yet not /, but Christ liveth in me," &c " Do / now persuade men, or do /seek to please men, for if /yet pleased men, / would not be the servant of Christ," &c., «kc. You could gather out the personal pronouns from his writings by the score, yet we love to see them all there. But the egotism of Christ is something very different from this. The Great Teacher made himself the centre of all he said. From him went out the healing virtue upon the touch of faith, which was to heal all manner of sickness, and all maimer of disease among the people. He was the Gospel which he preached. He proclaimed himself in his life and death, the hope of the world, and the only Savi- our from its sins,—" The Lamb of God," upon whom the D. ', and who, as -ther Himself but my words i taught them ion lie speaks recasts a day udgment, and gathered be- ofviine." "7 blemish, but of his teach- ile Paul, who ssed unto the J finished my sre is laid up nevertheless c " Do / 1, for if /yet Christ," &c., )uns from his jm all there, ifferent from centre of all iue upon the r of sickness, He was the imself in his le only Savi- )n whom the CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD. 15 perishing were to look and be saved. With what con- scious power and grace he uses the word /./—blessed ego, the unfailing source of this world's healing streams. Never before had any teacher put forth any such claim to supremacy over the conscience and life, and de- manded to occupy such a central position : " I am the bread of life, let the hungry eat and live : I am the Hying water, let the thirsty come and drink freely : I am the light of the world, before the brightness of whose rising the darkness shall soon be found no more at all : I am the good shepherd, I give eternal life to my sheep, no one can pluck them out of my hands : I am the way, the truth, the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me : I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me : I am the re- surrection and the life ; he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life : before Abraham was I am : all power is given unto me in heaven and on earth." It was asked of him, "By what authority doest thou those things, and who gave thee this authority T And he answers by the works he did and the words he spoke. He shows them the great j^ower of God. Is it a storm on the sea ? He needs only say, " Peace, be still !" and suddenly there is a calm. Does the grave hold the remains of the beloved brother I He cries, " Lazarus, come forth !" " Hold thy peace, and come out of him !" and the evil spirit ]s cast out. " I will be thou clean !" and the most virulent disease is removed. " Fill the water-pots," and his mother says to the servants, " Do whatever he commands you !" " The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,^=thy sins be forgiven thee !" " The Son of Man shall appear in his glory, with 10 cnnisT, inE teacher sent from god. all his holy angels with him, and then all that are in their graves shall hear his voic«^" S:c. This is hut a samjf of his uniform way of preaching and making himself {he substance of all ho proclaimed! He is not only true^but the Truth ; not only light, but the Light. He know-all the burdens that men bear, and must bear till the end of time, and declares that he is both able and willing to grant relief. " Come unto mo all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." WLatever man's immortal spirit needs, he claims to sup- ply, for in him all fullness dwells. What an attitude of supremacy towards all things he asserted and assumed, even claiming a oneness with God,—" I and my Father are one." " Ye are from beneath, I am from above,'— un- dauntedly facing all the light of philosophy, and the com- bined wisdom of ages, and with boldness asserting that a greater than Solomon was there ; making his own i)erson essential to every man's salvation : " Without me ye can do nothing." Laying his hand with heavenly majesty up- on the dearest and tenderest affections^ of life, and claim- ing supremacy even there,—" He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." He that lov- eth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." How imperial his sovereignty, while his utterances are the conscious verities of God, and decide the destinies of the ages. Conscious of his royalty, he lays his hand on the glories of the Godhead, and claims them as his own. And as the end drew near, he taught with a growing intensity, that in him alone were the words of eternal life, the life and the light of men. " Abide in me ; without me ye can do nothing ; I am the vine, ye are the branches ; as the t(< '■> are in their of preaching proclaimed, light, but the ar, and must is both able E! all ye that e you rest." aims to sup- 1 attitude of id assumed, i ray Father ibovo,' — un- md tht; com- irting that a own j)erson t me ye can majesty up- j, and claim- ill father or He that lov- ■thy of me." iuces are the tinies of the liand on the own. And ig intensity, life, the life t me ye can ;hes ; as the CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD. 17 branch «uinot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me." Such egot- ism would be insufferable in man, but it i« sublime in the God-man, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. As a devout disciple once .said, as he meditated upon some of his great and precious promises : " It be- comes him well to praise himself." No wonder that when the multitudes heard these sayings of his, they were as- tonished at his doctrine, and said one to another, as in little groups they journeyed homeward, " He does not teach like the Scribes; this man teaches with authority." We search in vain for a parallel among the philosophers, poets, lawgivers, and wise men of the world. The Nazar- ene who had never learned letters, stands alone in his own class, witli none to take rank with him, and by his teaching, as by everything else, was declared to be the Son of God with power. He was at once the altar, the sacrifice, the priest, the propitiation and the propitiated, all in one— the Man Christ Jesus, who is God over all, blessed forever. CHAPTER II. The Substance of His Teaching. "Grace and Truth came by JesM Chriat" "The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." They marvelled at his doctrines, for they were full of the deep things of God. Some speak as if it would have added both to the interest and value of the Bible, had it been a hand-book of Science as well as of Faith ; and if the Great Teacher had been commissioned by God to dis- course on the Laws of Nature, as well as unfold the prin- ciples of the Moral Law, it would have been of unspeak- 18 CHR18T, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD. :|J able inoinont, and added an additional diann to all liis say- ings. All this arises from a mistaken view of man's needH, and of the naturtj of the work given him to do. The bur- den of his message was not »ecnfnr, but spiritnal know- ledge. He came not as a divider of iidieritances, but to break the bread of life to hungry souls ; not to teach Sci- ence, but to open up the m ay to the Father. He looked not at the teiupomf, but always at the eternal side of things, urging the i)eoi)le not to occupv their whole time with the questions, " What shall we eat, what shall we drink, wherewithal shall we 1-e clothed T l)ut to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Not so much the seen as the \m^ecn realities chi(?fly occupy him, and form the bunlen of liis lessons. Not earthly but heaven- ly things form the substance of his weighty utterances. " Labour not fur the meu-t that i)erisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you— the true bread that came down from heaven ; for what shall it profit a man though he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul." He who was the Wisdom of God could have antici- pated all the discoveri(>s of modern science. As One who knew all that the Father himself doeth, he could have an- tedated all the labors of a Copernicus, a Columbus, a Far- aday, a Newton, and all the wise men of the ages who have since enriched the world by their labors. If such had been his purpose he could have disclosed all the se- crets of this world. He who created the worlds knew all their hidden treasures, and could have exnlained their la- tent forces — the strata of Geology, the laws and principles of Astronomy, or the mechani&m of the Universe. He to nil hi.ssay- f mail's iiocdH, lo. The biir- irlfKftl know- ;aiicoH, but to ; to teach Hci- He looked er7ud si(]o of ir wlioli; tiino t'liat sliall we t to seek first Not so much ipy liim, and / but heavei;- y utterances, but for that I'hich the Son ad that came I man tliough own soul." I have antici- As One who Duld have an- imbus, a Far- the ages who )rs. If such ed all the se- rlds knew all <1 f T lo. men their !f md principles niverse. He CIIKIMT, THE TEACHKR 8KNT FHOM aOD. io couhl have lectured as Tyndall caniiot on tl^aws^Tight and electricity, for they were all his own works, made to fulhl his pleasure. Th<> Ancient of Days could have un- fol