peoplo from their ains," the angel said. Thie wrtS thE m<"aning, the transln.tion of t!.o name. "Ho himself shall savo bi3 people," the Greek vrord means-himself by his own ·power, Tho first Joshua savccl the Israelites by the help of God; the second Joshua iij himself God, therefore he himself is "able to save even to the uttermost all who come unto God by him." "lie shall save his people." He came to "redeem us from all iniquity, and pmify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." He has;-,. people, his own people, 'for he is a King, and his people are a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. They belong to him; they are bis, bought with a price; they are not their own. All Christians are !,is by solemn dedication to his service in hnly baptism; but in the deepest sense they only are his people in whom the promise is fulfilled, whom he is saving from their sins. Alas I there are some of whom it is written, "Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God" (Hos. i. 9). 4. His salvation is present. He saves his people from their sins; not only from the punishment of sin, but from the sin itself. His precious blood, once shed upon the cross, cleanses all who believe in him from the defilement of sin. His gracious presence, abiding in the heart through the indwelling of his Spirit, sa'l"es his people from the dominion of sin. "The sting of death is sin;" "but God giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." This is t,he plain teaching of Holy Scripture; then if we are his, sin must be losing its power over us, for hie blood is cleansing from all sin those who walk in the light of his presence, and he is saving them from the power of sin. We must try to realize in our own experience this victory over sin. :Most people seem to be content with a life that falls very short of anything that can be called victory. But this is what God promises to give us; the Lord Jesus came to save bis people from their sins; the purpose of bis coming is not fulfilled in us unless we are saved from them. And he will save us, himself will save us, if we trust his word and come to him in faith. 5. And it is future, it is everlasting. Joshua led the children of Israel into Canaan; Jesus leads his people into heaven. He is preparing a place for us there, and is preparing us for it. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord; but he of God is made unto us Sanctification. He makes his people holy by the gift of bis Spirit. He takes away the sting of death, which is sin, and changes drath into sleep. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord," for if they die in him, in spiritual union with him, he is their Jesus, their Saviour; the blessed meaning of the holy Name is realized in their experience, and refreshes their soul in death with its heavenly music. LESSONS. 1. God's holiest saints are often very sorely tried. Be patient; trust always. 2. God heareth prayer; he will bring the afflictions of bis people to a happy issue. 3. 'l'he holy Name is exceeding precious and sacred; pronounce it with rever- ence; treasure it in your heart; do all things in the nnme of the Lord Jesus. 4. He shall save his people from their sins: is he saving you from yours?
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-Genealogical lessons. We are tempted to pass by the string of names with which the New Testament opens, as though it had no moral significance, as thouo-h it were ouly a relic of Jewish domestic annals. But even the genealogies in Genesi~ are eloquent in lessons on human life-its brevity, its changes, its succession, its unity in the midst of diversity; and the genealogy of our Lord has its own peculiar importance reminding us of many facts. ' I. CHRIST 1s TRULY HUMAN. It will be a great mistake if we so conceive of his Divinity as in any way to diminish our idea of his humanity. He was as true a man as if he had not been more than a man. The Divinity in him overflows the humanity, fills it and surrounds it, but does not destroy it. Christ is not a demi-god-half-way between man and God. Perfectly one with his Father on the Divine side of his nature, he is equally one with us on the human. Ii. CHRIST HAS CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER MEN. He does not descend ont of the sky like an angel, or suddenly appear at our tent-door as the "three men" appeared to .Abraham (Gen. xviii. 2). He comes in the line of a known household, and takes his place in the family tree. 'l'his family tree suggests kinship. A family is more than a collection of men, women, and children, more er less closely associate;l together like the grains of sand on the see.shore. 'l'hcre is blood-relationship in i& 16 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [oH, 1. 1-25,
The solidarity of the human race makes one man to be the brother of nil men. But ~he family relationship is even closer. Our Lord extends his own closest kinship to all who do the will of God (eh. xii. 50). III. THE PAST LEADS UP TO CnarsT. He has his roots in the ao-es. Those dim ~or'.owf~I years did not con:i,e and go in vain. They were all laying the foundation o~ which, in the fulness of time, God would build his glorious temple. Yet the men whose names are immortalized in this list knew not of their high destiny. \Ve live for a future that is beyond our vision. lV. CHRIST IS NOT ACCOUNTED FOR BY HIS ANCESTRY. Some people are proud of a noble pedigree. Yet it is possible to be the worthless scion of a glorious house for families often_ degenerate. On _the ~ther hand, many of t~e best men have eme:ged out of obscunty. \Ve may believe m "blood" to a certam extent, but heredity will not explain the most striking phenomena of human life. Most assuredly it will not explain the marvellous nature and character of Christ. " Who ean brino- a clean thing out of an unclean?" (Job xiv. 4). Christ is not the product of such lives as those of his ancestors here gi\'en. His unique glory is not of this world, as a comparison of his life with his genealogy should show us. V. CHR!ST su~s UP_ THE ~LORIES OF THE PAST. All that is great and good in his ancestors 1s contained m Chnst and surpassed by hi.n. 1. The Jewish faith. Christ's pedigree goes back to .Abraham, the friend of God; and in Christ .Abraham's faith and JJiety are perfected, and the promises to Abraham are fulfilled. 2. The Jewish throne. Christ is David's heir. He inherits David's kingship and he exceeds it, realizing in fact what David imperfectly foreshadowed in type.-W. F . .A.