which is the grand want of human nature. Mercy and grace, pardon of sin and a new heart, are the two great gifts which alone can fill the soul, and once given are never taken away, but endure for ever. Both here and in many other places, we must always remember, that " meat ' did n^t mean exclusively " flesh" in the days when the Bible was translated, as it does now. The Greek word rendered " meat " here means simply " food " of any kind.
When our Lord says, " The Son of man shall give you the meat that endureth to everlasting life," He appears to me to make one of the widest and most general offers to unconverted sinners that we have anywhere in the Bible. The men to whom He was speaking were, beyond question, carnal-minded and unconverted men. Yet even to them Jesus says, " The Son of man shall give unto you." To me it seems an unmistakeable statement of Christ's willingness and readiness to give pardon and grace to any sinner. It seems to me to warrant ministers in proclaiming Christ's readiness to save any one, and in offering salvation to any one, if he will only repent and believe the Gos- pel. The favourite notion of some, that Christ is to be offered only to the elect, — that grace and pardon are to be exhibited but not offered to a congregation, — that we ought not to say broadly and fully to all whom we preach to, Christ is ready and willing to save you, — such notions, I say, appear to me entirely irrecon- cileable with the language of our Lord. Election, no doubt, is a mighty truth and a precious privilege. Complete and full redemption no doubt is the possession of none but the elect. But how easy it is, in holding these glorious truths, to become more systematic than the Bible, and to spoil the Gospel by cramping and limiting it!
When our Lord says, " Him hath God the Father sealed," He probably refers to the custom of setting apart for any specific purpose, and marking for any peculiar use by a seal. So also deeds and public documents were sealed to testify their execution and validity, and give them authority. So it is said in Esther : " The writing that is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse." (Esther viii. 8.) The expression applied to our Lord in this place certainly stands alone, but I think there can be little doubt as to its meaning. It signifies that in the eternal counsels of God the Father, He has sealed, commissioned, designated, and appointed the Son of mm, the Incarnate Word, to be the Giver of everlasting life to man. It is an ofl&ce for which He has been solemnly set apart by the Father.
Parkhurst thinks that the word means " Him hath God the Father authorized with sufficient evidence, particularly by the voice from heaven ;" and he refers the sealing entirely to the