iB more to thee than thy earthly father; thy living Lord is certainly more to thee than thy dead father, Let those who o.re 'dead in trespasses and sins' care for the naturally dead; jUBt now your attention i~ arrested by an all-absorbing call ; your redeemin" Lord has called you; then at once, without delay, without hesitation, obey,-• G~ thou and preach the kingdom,' as a sign that you are my disciple." That message tested him. It tests us. If God has spoken to our hearts, that message is an all- absorbing message. Our weak hearts are always urging us to say, "By-and-by, Lord; by-and-by." Augustines still pray," Lord, convert me, but not yet." And Jesllll still says, "He that forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my disciple."-R. T. Ver. 20.-fJhrist's name for himself. Christ had a distinctive name for God. He almost always speaks of him as the Father. Christ had as distinctive a name for himself. It embodies the apprehension of him that anybody and everybody might gain; and not that particular apprehension which would come only to more intimate, and more spiritna.lly taught, disciples. 'l'he name "Son of man" is used seventy-one times in the New Testament, and in every case but one by our Lord himself. The martyr Stephen also uses the name (Acts vii. 56; comp. Dan. vii. 13). To see the force of the term we must keep in mind that Jewish surnames took the form "son of.". 'l'hus Simon Bar-Jona, or" son of Jona;" James and John, the sons of Zebedee. I. WHAT DOES TBIB NAME DENY? That Jesus was the Son of any particular man. It would be to limit him and his relations if he could have been called "the Son of Joseph." Properly regarded, this name denies the ordinary natural origination of Jesus, and supports the great doctrine of the Incarnation. Observe, too, that our Lord never had the difficulty of deciding between the authority of the earthly and heavenly Father. II. WBAT DOES THIB NAME ASSERT? 1. That Jesus was hnmanity's Child. He belongs to the race. 2. That Jesus was a new Race-head, a second Adam, a Beginner of a new spiritual generation. 3. That Jesus was a. Divine Child, getting an origina- ~ion by the inbreathing of God as truly as the first Adam by the fiat of omnipotence. So the truth of his being the Son of God is actually carried by the assertion that he is the Son of man. It may further be shown what this implies concerning his unity with our race-it involves the possibility of his full sympathy with human sorrow anl need. And yet it includes also the explanation of his having no home, for he was the Son of no 1,srticular man, and so had no natural home rights. "It is remarkable that this name for Christ never passed into the current language of the apostolic Church, nor into the theological or liturgical phraseology of Christendom. It is not used in any of the Epistles" (but see Rev. i. 13; x.iv. H).-R. T. Ver. 27.-Revelations of the mystery in <Jhrist. This text gives the impression pro- duced by one of the most striking miracles tho.t Jesus wrought. It belongs to the earlier part of the ministry, when men scarcely knew what to think of him. Christ wns asleep in the boat, lying on an old sail, or on John's fisher-coat-so fast asleep that the howling wind, and creaking oars, and flapping waves, did not disturb him. 'l'he fishermen scarcely knew what to do for the best. It took all their rowin;i tJ keep the boat's head to the wind, and she was fast filling with the waves tha~ broke over her sides. At la.et, in their despair, they awoke the Master. He rose BB calmly as if there was no danger, and spoke the words which declared him to be l!ie Lord of nature, but set the fishermen wondering who he was. All Christ's life w..s a revelation of himself. Revelation can come by acts and by words, by nature, by " book, or i,y a life. Miracles are revelations; so we ask-What does this miracle rel'ual? I. THE REVELATION IT MAKES OF TRE PERSON (1)' CHRIST. Throughout hiP dfij the question was asked, " Who is he ? " " What think ye of Christ ? " It w11i asked by his countrymen of Nazareth; by his c1isciples; by Joh!l the Baptist; by the Pharisees from Jerusalem. Christ's answer is, "If ye believe not m~, believe the works." Then look at this work. I. It gives deep impression of Christ's being withi,, humanity. See the suggestions of Lis sleep. His sleepless nights of prayer <lo not surprise us; his tirednesa does. A human Saviour is he who sleeps. 2. It gives <leep irripression of Christ's being bey,md humanity. He controls the storms; commands tbe forces of nature. If that man is under limitati('nf. be must h1._ve put himself under 358 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [ea. vm. 1-34.
limitations voluntarily. Show bow the thought of Christ has grown. Carpenter, great Teacher; wonderful Hakim; Messiah; Son of God. Then spiritual Saviour; 1111ti. to us ideal Manhood-" God manifest in the flesh." JI. THE REVELATION IT MAKES OF THE MISSION OF CHRIST. Which was to show men the Father. He told them what the Father was, and what the Father thought. He showed them what the Father was always doing in his love to them. What, then, did be show here? How the Father-God is ever at work, controlling the hinderiag and distressin~ _circumstances th~t imperil us. In the Old Testament water is the type of the oppos1t.10ns of outward circumstances. Illustrate: the Red Sea; the river Jordan. We often think ourselves mastered by outward things, or at least find in them our excuses. This is the age of masterful circumstances; so we need this miracle, and its assurance that our Father-God holds the waters- and all they represent-in the hollow of his hand.-R. T.