saw the successful progress of his mission, and seeing and hear- ing this "rejoiced."
The whole verse is a most instructive picture of a true minis- ter's work and character. He is a friend of Christ, and is ordained in order to promote a union between Christ and souls. (2 Cor. ii. 2.) He must rigidly adhere to that office, and must never take to himself that which does not belong to him. The minister who allows honour to be given to himself which only belongs to Jesus, and exalts his own office into that of a mediator and priest, is treacherously usurping a position which is not his but his Mas- ter's. The professing Christian who treats ministers as if they were priests and mediators, is dishonouring Jesus Christ, and basely giving that honour to the Bridegroom's friends which belongs exclusively to the Bridegroom Himself.
The expression " this my joy is fulfilled," is a very instructive one for ministers. It shows that the truest happiness of a minis- ter should consist in Christ's voice being heard by souls. " Now we live," says St. Paul, " if ye stand fast in the Lord." (1 Thess. iii. 8,) &c.
It deserves notice that when our Lord at another period of His ministry expressly speaks of Himself as " the bridegroom," in His reply to the disciples of John the Baptist (Matt. ix. 15), He seems purposely to remind them of tbeir master's words.
Musculus, on this verse, observes, " The day of the Lord will declare what kind of zeal that is in our Popish bishops, who profess to be influenced by zeal for the love of the church, which is Christ's bride, against Christ's enemies. The day will declare whether a zeal which makes them shed innocent blood and per- secute the members of Christ, is the zeal of true friends of the Bridegroom, or of treacherous suitors of the bride."
30. — [He must increase...!.. .decrease.] In this sentence John the Baptist tells his complaining disciples that it is right and proper and necessary that Christ should grow in dignity, and that he himself should be less thought of. He was only the servant ; Christ was the Master. He was only the forerunner and am- bassador, Christ was the King. He was only the morning star; Christ was the Sun. The idea implied appears to be that of the stars gradually fading away, as the sun rises, after the break of day. The stars do not really perish or really become less, bat they pale and become invisible before the superior brightness of the great centre of light. The sun does not really become larger, or really increase in brightness, but it becomes more fully visible, and occupies a position in which it more completely fills our vision. So was it with John the Baptist and Christ. — Every faithful minister ought to be like-minded with John. He must be content to be less thought of by his beheving hearers, in pro*