I. The reason of the Church's love to Christ —
" His name is as ointment poured forth" —
[A rich ointment poured forth will fill a whole house with its odour ^, so that all who are within it shall be refreshed with its fragrance : and such is the delight which the whole Church derives from the mention of the name of her Beloved.
Consider his name, " Emmanuel :" it was a name given him eight hundred years before he came into the world : and the interpretation of that name is given us by the sacred historian, that we may know all the riches of grace and love contained in it. Its import is, " God with us^" Wonderful name! God, " the mighty God," with us, worms of the earth ; with us, who have been all our days rebels against his Divine Majesty, and who might well have expected to have been made ever- lasting monuments of his righteous indignation. In some respect indeed he might bear that name, even in the regions of darkness and misery : since he is there by his power inflicting his heavy judgments on all who inhabit those dreary mansions: but he is with us by his love ; yea, he is with us in our very nature ; " bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh ;" God and man in one person ! Stupendous mystery ! Can it be so ? Is it true, that the God of heaven and earth has so condescended to assume our nature, and to sojourn upon earth, that he might commend himself to us as our Beloved ? Say, ye who have any spiritual senses, does not a fragrance go forth at this name Emmanuel, sufficient to fill the whole universe with its odours 1
But take another name, the name of " Jesus." This was
* That seems the more proper place for the stop, b John xii 3, c Matt. i. 23.