(3) It meant the sacrifice of Himself on behalf of the work given Him to do. — He baa a baptism to be baptized with, and He is straitened until it be accomplished. The Master does not go forth to the agony in the garden with a cowed and trembling spirit, all bowed and crushed in the dust; He advances to the conflict like a man who has his full strength about him. Taken out to be a victim (if I may use such a figure), not as a worn-out ox that has long borne the yoke, but as the firstling of the bullock, in the fulness of His strength, He goes forth to the slaughter, with His glorious, undaunted spirit fast and firm within Him, glad to suffer for His people's sake, and for His Father's glory .^
(4) It meant the assurance of victory. — The death-song of Jesus is a song of triumph uttered before the agony came. He knew absolutely that the Father would not fail Him, that evil could not prevail, and that the sacrifice would be a great victory. But mark this : He could not see beyond Calvary. He knew, but He could not see. Faith never can do otherwise than that ; it knows, but it cannot see.
Two great mysteries stand out here. First, the mystery of
His agony. As a Koman Catholic theologian has put it, the
agony in the garden and the dereliction on Calvary present
to the gaze an ocean of sorrow on the shores of which we may
' D. Daviee. »€. H. Spurgeon.
ST. MARK 399
stand and look down upon- the waveless surface, but the depths I below no created intelligence can fathom. Never speak lightly
of the agony of Christ, for you do not know what it was, or ' how terrible, or how overwhelming even to the Divine Son of I God. The second mystery is the mystery of His deliverance. I He saw through the first mystery, but not the second. He i saw the agony as we never can see it, but He did not see i beyond. We see the second, but not the first. We never can J 1 look on Calvary except over the empty tomb. We see on this I inside of the Cross; Christ looked on the other. Think, then,
of tlie grandeur and the magnificence of that august Figure,
standing pathetic and lonely in the upper room, singing, " Bind
the sacrifice with cords, even unto^he hums of the altar. . . .
0 give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy
endureth for ever."
^ About the close of the Civil War in America some Con- federate officers were once listening to some Union officers singing the songs that were most popular in the camps of the Northern army during the Civil War. After the singing had gone on for some time, one of the Confederate officers said, "If we had had your songs we could have defeated you. You won the victory because you had the best songs."
^ A little while ago, when the most notorious infidel of this century lay dead in his home on the shores of the Hudson, the telegraph which bore the message to the ends of the earth, when telling of the kind of funeral service that would be held over the body, said : " There will be no singing." ^
^ The hymn, " Fear not, 0 little flock," is known as the hymn of Gustavus Adolphus. In Butterworth's The Story of the Hymns, the following graphic incident is told of the battle of Liitzen : As we read the stirring lines a vision rises before us of two mighty hosts encamped over against each other, stilled by the awe that falls on brave hearts when momentous events are about to be decided. The thick fogs of the autumn morning hide the foes from each other ; only the shrill note of the clarion is heard piercing through the mist. Then suddenly in the Swedish camp there is a silence. With a solemn mien Gustavus advances to the front rank of his troops, and kneels down in the presence of all his followers. In a moment the whole army bends with him in prayer. Then there bursts forth the sound of trumpets, and ten thousand voices join in song :
' L. A. Banks.
400 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
Fear not, 0 little flock, the foe
Who madly seeks your overthrow, Dread not his rage and power."
The army of Gustavus moved forward to victory, an army so inspired with confidence in God could not but be victorious : but at the moment of triumph a riderless horse came flying back to the camp — it was that of the martyred king.
III.
The Disciples Singing with Him.
I It was wonderful that the disciples could sing on such a night as this. It had been to them a night of perplexity, and awe, and wonder. Their Master had been saying and doing things most solemn and strange. There had been the feet- washing, the disclosure of the traitor, the institution of the Sacrament, the eager questions, the deep discourse, and the farewell greeting. What a night of emotion and expectation ! Only with sad countenances and in muffled tones could the Eleven, when their Lord is on the point of leaving them, join in the refrain of the Hallel — " 0 give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good : for his mercy endureth for ever."