he knows and feels its existence; and whenever the wants of his soul are awakened, whenever he listens to that secret voice which sometimes speaks to remind him of the primitive nobility of his nature, he sighs for a union the want of which he then knows and feels. As a child is said to be separated from his father when he has revolted against him, has left his house, entertains wrong sentiments towards him, and delights in doing what he disapproves; so it must be said that man, in the state in which we know him, is separated from his God. And as such a child should first of all be reconciled and reunited to his father; so man should first of all be reconciled and reunited to his God. There can be no order, no justice, no peace, no happiness, while such a disunion exists. To effect this reunion

is the object of Christianity. It is the work which God has had in view; and this day reveals 1 to us the means wherewith he sees fit to accomplish it. God has come into the world to reconcile us unto himself. The birth of Jesus Christ is the link which connects that which was separated. On that day Emmanuel was given to us; on that day this oracle of an ancient prophet, repeated by the Evangelist in the words of our text, was fulfilled: " Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." That day was the epoch of the union of man with God. We will consider with you the principle of this union, namely, that God has been with us; and the consequence of this principle, namely, that we should be with God. Thus, the principle and the consequence, GOD WITH US, and WE WITH GOD, will form the two divisions of this meditation.

And Thou who didst come in the flesh to reconcile unto thyself the fallen race of man, grant thy blessing upon the words of our lips; that, while displaying unto the minds of many what thou hast done, this day may become for them the day of an everlasting covenant with thee! Amen.

GOD WITH US.

GOD has been with us. This, my brethren, is the great truth which we proclaim unto you; and perhaps it is a truth

1 This discourse was delivered on Christmas.

entirely new to some who, though they may often have heard it before, have never yet understood it. God has been with us. In uttering these words we do not make use of figurative language, but we mean simply what we say. God himself became flesh, and a man like ourselves. The day which we commemorate is that on which the Eternal Being humbled himself, and appeared among men in the form of a child. Do these assertions seem extraordinary or inadmissible? We have the means of proving them. We have not lightly advanced them; we can dissipate the smallest doubt in the mind of any one who still respects the infallible word of God.

you

In that Jesus of Nazareth, whose birth we commemorate to-day, and who was crucified thirty-three years later, under Pontius Pilate, dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead." It was not an angel, nor an archangel, nor any creature, who put on human nature in the person of Jesus Christ, but it was God. This, my brethren, is a fundamental and immovable truth, which the word of God displays in all its splendour. We do not wish to accumulate here all the quotations we might make to prove it. One alone might suffice. A few ought to be enough. Consider then, first, the words of our text: it were difficult to find any more clear: "They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." From the Gospel according to Matthew, from which our text is taken, turn, I pray you, to the Gospel according to John, and will see that it begins thus: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. were made by Him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.' From the Gospel according to John, turn to the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, and you will read these words: "Whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Pass on to the first Epistle to Timothy, and you will find this beautiful testimony: "Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." And conclude, if you please, with the first Epistle of John, at the end of which you will read: "We are in him that

All things

is true, even in his Scn Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." Thus God has been manifested in the flesh; we can not believe in the word of God without believing in this truth.

But can not the very nature of the work which was to be accomplished make us feel beforehand that God himself would come, and would give to no other being so great a charge? It was indeed for no work of slight importance that he was manifested in the flesh. It was not to found some sect of philosophy; it was not to teach some precepts which he might have delivered unto men quite as well through one of his prophets. If he was with us, it was to save the human race which was lost; to restore life to the dead; to transport to heaven what had been the prey of hell. That was a greater work than all that had been done till then, and one which required nothing less than the immediate interposition of Divinity. Assuredly, to create beings was a wonderful work; but to save beings who already existed, and whose lot was everlasting misery, was a still more important and wonderful work. And since God had of himself executed the work of creation, why should he not of himself have accomplished that of redemption? Why would he have left to another the glory of saving the world, while he left to no other that of creating it? Assuredly, to preserve the life of the body, as God does daily by his providence, is a wonderful work; but to restore the life of the soul to those who had lost it, to make those who were dead unto God live unto him, was a still more important and wonderful work. And why should not God, who of himself performs the very smallest work necessary for the preservation of the body which perishes, come himself when the spirit, which can not perish, is to be restored to life? Why should he leave the care of these things to one of his servants? Ah! that was precisely the work which he was to fulfil himself; for it was emphatically the work of charity. I could perhaps imagine that he might have given to others the execution of the work of power at the day of creation; but he was himself to accomplish, at the day of redemption, the work of love. He might give to another his power, but not his mercy.

And who but God could perform this work? Who but he sufficed for the things which were to be the foundation of our eternal redemption? Sinful creatures were to be placed in pos

session of felicity and glory.

But did the sovereign holiness

of Him who weighs in his balance the least iniquity, allow him thus to raise sinful man? All the attributes of God must, in

all his actions, be entirely satisfied, and fully manifested: you will find, on reflection, that in this consists all his perfection. But had he simply, by an act of his power, restored all sinful creatures to eternal happiness, would not this act, instead of displaying his holiness, have covered it with a thick cloud? He was therefore not content with raising up man, but at the same time he abased himself; he became like unto a servant, so that the humiliation of Divinity should justify the elevation of humanity, and that the same deed which revealed his mercy should also proclaim his holiness in the eyes of all creation. But if such are the means by which our redemption was to be effected, who but God could accomplish it? What being, by his abasement, could have justified the elevation of sinful humanity? Who, by his sufferings, could ever have deserved to receive, as a reward, the salvation of the whole guilty creation? Who has not yet so much to answer for as to make it impossible for him to enter the lists, to answer for sinful man? No creature could have come forward for such a purpose. The everlasting Word

alone could do it. He became flesh.

He alone was to become flesh. He was with us, and like one of us. He endured all we endured. He dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. He was obedient even unto death. And those who were his friends bear witness that they beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father.

After having

God has been with us; and he is yet with us. dwelt here below in the flesh, as the Representative of the whole human race, to procure salvation for it, he is now here in the Spirit, as Prince and Protector, to give the possession of that eternal salvation to it. Such is the important meaning of these words: "If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Since Jesus Christ became flesh, God continually stoops down to the most wretched of his creatures. There is now nothing more that can separate God from man; our very sins can not repel him; on the contrary, it is on their account that he came.

Nevertheless, great as the position is which this truth occu

pies in the Christian revelation, we know that it encounters much unbelief in our hearts. We do not deceive ourselves, dear brethren; we do not suppose that it is sufficient for us to announce this truth from the pulpit, to have you believe it; and as we desire to preach to you not merely for the sake of form. but truly to lead your spirits captive unto the obedience of faith -as "I say these things, that ye might be saved," and as we value our words only in proportion to the conviction which they may carry with them in your minds, we ask you, What hinders you from believing, with sincere and firm faith, without any doubt or restriction, this great principle of our salvation?

Perhaps you may say, 'We can not understand how God can have become man to save men; consequently, we can not fully believe it?' You can not fully believe what you do not understand: this we grant you, my brethren; but that you can not understand this truth, we deny. On the contrary, we assert that no truth can be clearer to the comprehension. There is certainly one thing that you can not understand; that is, the manner in which God was united to man in Jesus; neither can you conceive the manner in which your soul is united to your body; yet this is a matter which more immediately concerns you. But the word of God does not require your belief in this point. It does not summon you to believe how the thing was done, but only that it was done; and this the mind of even a child can understand. "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children." The manner in which God was united to Christ is a secret thing; it does not belong unto us. But that God was really in Christ is a revealed thing, and the most glorious of all revealed things; this, therefore, belongs to us and to our children, and nothing can excuse you from believing it.

It is true,' you will perhaps reply, that God should have become man is, indeed, a clear and evident fact to my mind; but what a fact! How can it be consistent with the ideas which I form, and which I ought to form, of the greatness and majesty of God?' And do you think then, my dear brother, that the greatness of God is a greatness of ostentation, like that of the powerful of the earth? And do you think that his majesty consists in dwelling constantly in inaccessible palaces of glory, infinitely above the misery of creation? No! the great