He should consent to be, through suffering, made perfect as the Captain of our Salvation, fighting our battle that He may lead us to victory. Let us remember what suffering it cost Him, that in order to bring many sons unto glory, He took part with us the unholy, became one with us, was not ashamed to call us brethren; clothed Himself with our flesh and blood, poor, feeble, fallen, suffering, mortal, as we know that flesh to be, that through death, His death, His meeting our doom, His entering into the grave, He might overcome the wicked one who has the power of death, and accomplish for us a great deliverance, a deliverance from the fear of death, and from all that death must bring to those who are estranged from God, and from death itself through a glorious resurrection.

Again, at verse 16, we come back to this-this all important truth, "He took not on Him the nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham." Let us never forget it; He took on Him the seed of Abraham, the flesh of fallen man, that which had been accursed, condemned of God, which was sentenced to death, and had no hope or possibility of recovery, till the Son of God clothed Himself with it; taking it with its doom and sentence upon it, and Himself enduring that sentence. Taking it with all the unprofitableness and unfitness for God's service, and liability to temptation which we know belongs to its fallen

condition; yet ever holding it for God, fulfilling in it a life of perfect and holy obedience, and recovering it to a far higher condition than that from which it fell. For in Him first, and through Him alone has it become the temple of the Holy Ghost. Only as we hold fast this great truth, that our very nature, such as we know it to be, was in Him redeemed and sanctified, can we take in all the blessed consolation of the next two verses, "Wherefore (because He took the seed of Abraham), in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of His people. For in that He Himself hath suffered, being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted." What unspeakable consolation is treasured up for us in these words. There are no depths of sorrow, of suffering, or of temptation, which He does not know. "He suffered being tempted." It was a sore thing to Him, even as it is to us to be tempted. He too had to encounter that wicked one who goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour; He too had to endure the contradiction of sinners against Himself; He too had to drink a bitter cup, which He would gladly have seen pass from Him; and it was during that dark hour of His agony, that He said to His disciples, "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temp

tation: the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak."* Had He not been clothed with weak flesh, He would have had no real conflict, no real triumph. His meek and holy obedience when He said, "O my Father, if this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done;" would have had no example, no reality for us at all. It is because into that very nature which had fallen away from God, He brought a new life, whereby he fulfilled in it a perfect obedience; and of which He makes us partakers by our union with Him, that while we trace His blessed footsteps as He went about among men, we find in all His human life an encouragement and an example. His sorrows and sufferings were indeed beyond all that we can conceive of, because He was bearing our sins in His own body; but still do not let this deprive us of the comfort we are meant to receive, when we are told that, "we have not an High Priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,"† and able therefore to help them that are tempted. "Let us come boldly to a throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need;"‡ fighting the good fight of faith in His strength, not

our own.

* Matt. xxvi. 41.

+ Chap. iv. 15,

Ib. 16.

FOURTH SERIES.

III.

The Ten Virgins.

MATTHEW XXV. 1-13.

I HAVE no intention of trying to explain all that is taught in this parable; but I think we may, with God's blessing, together learn some simple lessons which are in it for us all.

It is said that the kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins that went forth to meet the Bridegroom. The position and character of those belonging to that kingdom is to be that of persons waiting for the Bridegroom, expecting him to come. They have gone forth to meet Him. Why is it that this is their position and character? what reason had they for thus expecting Him? They had His own express promise, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also." And the

* John xiv. 3.

"

words of the angels spoken just when He was taken up into heaven: "This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven."* So when He was taken away, those who believed in Him were a company of people waiting for His return, gone forth to meet Him.

But the time is long, His servants grow weary of waiting. They begin to forget what they have come out for. Less and less is heard about their Lord's coming, it is forgotten, the hope of it passes away. They who had watched begin to slumber, their eyes are heavy, and from slumber it comes to heavy sleep. And there they are sleeping, quite unaware that what they had waited for is now near, very near, just at hand. Perhaps in their sleep they are dreaming of very different things from that, but these are dreams, and this is a reality. At length, at midnight, just when men's sleep is deepest, the cry goes forth, "Behold the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him." How amazed must those wakened sleepers be, roused from their dreams to hear that solemn cry. To be called on, that very hour to go out and meet Him for whom they were no longer waiting, whom they had ceased to expect.

But now there is a great difference among

* Acts i. 2.