These solemn words no donbt contain mnoli that is deeply mysterious. One thing hoireyer about them is abundantly clear. They are a divine declaration, that oi|r Lord Jesus Christ is the promised Kedeemer, whom God from the beginning undertook to send into the world, and that with His incarnation, sacrifice, and sub-* stitution for man, Ood the Father is satisfied and well pleased. In Him, He r^ards the claim of His holy law as fully discharged. Through Him, He is willing to receive poor sinful man to mercy, and to remember his sins no more.
Let all true Christians rest their souls on these words, and draw from them daily consolation. Our sins and shortcomings are many and great. In ourselves we can see no good thing. But if we believe in Jesus, the Father sees nothing in us that He cannot abundantly pardon. He regards us as the members of His own dear Son, and, for His Son's sake, He is well pleased.
We see, lastly, in these verses, what a Jrail and dying creature is man. We read at the end of the chapter a long list of names, containing the genealogy (^ the family in which our Lord was bom, traced up through David and Abraham to Adam. How little we know of many of the seventy-five persons> whose names are here recorded I They all had their joys and sorrows, their hopes and fears, their cares and troubles, their schemes and plans, like any of ourselves. . But they have all passed away from the earth, and gone to their own place. And so will it be with us. We too are passing away, and shall soon be gone.
For ever let us bless God, that in a dying world we