invisible God, so that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God was displayed in the face or person of Jesus Christ, and He truly affirmed, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.86 As this glorious Being created the universe, so likewise He upholds it and preserves it in existence; By Him all things consist. How wonderful was it that He, who was so highly exalted, should abase Himself so low, in consequence of His love to fallen man! In order that He might put away our sins, He condescended to lay aside that glory which He had with the Father before the world was,86 and to take the form of a servant; and further humbled Himself to become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; thus to bear our sins in His own body on the tree, that He might purge them away, or blot them out from the book of God's remembrance. It was for this purpose that He abased Himself to the lowest state of degradation to which a human being could be brought; He endured the pain and the ignominy, or the shame of the cross; He became accursed, was made a curse for us, that He might redeem us from the curse of the law, and avert the wrath of God from His rebellious creatures, by having it poured upon His own head, as though He had been Himself the guilty transgressor.

But although the Redeemer of mankind poured

84 Col. i. 15, 17. 85 2 Cor. iv. 6. 86 John xiv. 9, xvii. 5.

out His soul unto death, when He was numbered with the transgressors, and bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors ; .87 yet His soul was not left in hell, the place of departed spirits, neither His flesh did see corruption, because it was not possible that He should be holden of death. He died for our sins, but He rose and revived, or lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living,89 and in human nature He was seen ascending into heaven, to sit down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, as the Head over all things to His church,90 the mighty Conqueror of death and hell, who for the suffering of death was crowned with glory and honour, and set at the right hand of God in heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come,90 being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For as the Heir of all things and Lord of all, He is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God, angels, and authorities, and powers, being made subject unto Him.91

In order to show the vast superiority of the Son of God to all created beings, the apostle asks, Unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee?

87 Isa. liii. 12. 88 Acts ii. 31, 24. 89 Rom. xiv. 9. 90 Eph. i. 21, 22.

And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son? The angels that excel in strength were never addressed as partakers of essential Deity, or as one in nature and essence with the Divine Being. They are so far inferior to the Son of God, that when He bringeth in the first begotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him. They adore Him as their Lord and King; they do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word; they are His ministers, or attendants, that wait upon Him and do His pleasure.92

With regard to their office, of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. They are swift as the winds in executing His orders. They are ardent as a flame of fire in performing His will. They are His ministering spirits, ready to undertake any service in which He may be pleased to employ them. They are employed under His direction, but in what manner we know not, as this is not revealed to us, for the benefit of them who shall be heirs of salvation. They are merely the servants of God; not so the Son; for unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. The Son is on the throne, the eternal throne of heaven. He wields the sceptre of in

911 Peter iii. 22.

92 Ps. ciii. 20, 21.

flexible justice, of infinitely perfect righteousness. Of Him it is added, Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows. He loves righteousness supremely. In Him there is not the least deviation from infinite rectitude. He hates iniquity with inconceivable and unalterable abhorrence. This He constantly manifested, even when He was compassed with the sinless infirmities of human nature; and therefore the Spirit was given to Him without measure, and He became Head over all things to His church, being thus qualified for the office which He was to sustain as the God-man, Christ Jesus.

The superiority of the Son is farther shown in His being addressed as the Creator of all things, who is God from everlasting to everlasting. Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine hands: they shall perish, but Thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them and they shall be changed; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail. As He must be antecedent to all the works of His hands, the visible creation, so He will survive them all, the wreck of nature and the crash of worlds. When all these things shall be dissolved, He will continue the same, without end, as He was without beginning.

up,

Such is the account which the apostle gives of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Epistle for this day. Let us now consider more particularly the words which have been selected for the text, as appropriate to the subject on which we are accustomed to dwell at this season, the incarnation of our Divine Redeemer. We may inquire

First, Into the meaning of the title here given to our blessed Saviour, the first begotten;

Secondly, The purpose for which He came into the world; and

Thirdly, The Divine proclamation concerning Him. This is indeed a subject for rejoicing to all believers in Christ. May we rejoice in commemorating His birth, in consequence of being made partakers for ourselves of the blessings which flow from it to the children of men.

The first begotten is a term used to denote priority both of existence and affection, meaning both the first born and the most beloved. It is applied to our Lord Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God,93 the only person who ever appeared in the world, who could say of Himself with truth, He that seen Me, hath seen the Father; for I am in the Father and the Father in Me9 I and my Father are one.95 No other being could ever speak of Himself as one in

93 John iii. 18. 94 John xiv. 9-11. 95 John x. 30.