A Goodly Heritage

' Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me .' John 14:6. IT  is the saying of an old divine, that God often orders it, that when he is in hand with the greatest mercies for us, then we are the most of all sinning against him; which he doth to magnify his love the more. In the words I have read, we find an example of this. At no time did the heart of Jesus overflow with a tenderer and more sovereign love to his disciples, than when he said, 'Let not your heart be troubled.' They were troubled by many things. He had told them that he was going to leave them; he had told them that one should betray him – that another should deny him – that they should all be offended because of him that very night; and perhaps they though he was going from them in anger. But, whatever the cause of their trouble was, Jesus' bosom was like a vessel full to overflowing, and these words were the overlipping drops of love –

Rom. viii. 4. -- "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us." God having a great design to declare unto the world both his justice and mercy towards men, he found out this mean most suitable and proportioned unto it, which is here spoken of in the third verse, -- to send his own Son to bear the punishment of sin, that the righteousness of the law might be freely and graciously fulfilled in sinners. And, indeed, it was not imaginable by us, how he could declare both in the salvation of sinners. He could not have found out a way to declare his righteousness and holiness, which would not have obscured his mercy and grace, nor a way to manifest his grace and mercy which would not have reflected upon his holiness and justice, according to the letter of the law that was given out as the rule of life. He that doth them shall live in them, and cursed is every one that doeth them not, &c. What could we expect, if this be fulfilled, as it would appear God'

God is essentially invisible. "He dwells in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man has seen, nor can see." (1 Tim. 6:16.) When, therefore, he would make himself known to the sons of men, it must be by his works or by his words. The first way of making his power and glory known is beautifully unfolded in Psalm 19—"The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world." This is the testimony which God gave of himself to the Gentile world, but which, through the depravity of man's heart, has been universally misunderstood, perverted and abused, as the Apostle speaks—"since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of

I. His glory as a  PROPHET . He spoke with authority, and not as the scribes. He spoke with such power that the very men sent to arrest him were disarmed. When asked how this was, all they could answer was, "Never man spoke like this man." John 7:46. Those who heard him felt that the Searcher of hearts was speaking to them. As he himself was truth, all he said was true, and he was its author. He was also the substance of truth. He made known to us the true nature of God. He said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." John 14:9. Nor did any one else ever so reveal the true nature of God: "Neither knows any man the Father, but the Son, and he to whoever the Son will reveal him." Matt. 1:27. The reason why that which was spoken by the prophets was good and pure, was because they spoke by the Spirit of Christ. 1 Pet. 1:11. "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Psalm 12:6. As he w

"For our  light affliction , which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and  eternal  weight of  glory ; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen– for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Cor. 4:17, 18 From the cradle to the coffin, affliction and sorrow are the appointed lot of man. He comes into the world with a wailing cry, and he often leaves it with an agonizing groan. Well is this earth called "a valley of tears," for it is wet with them in infancy, youth, manhood, and old age. In every land, in every climate, scenes of misery and wretchedness everywhere meet the eye, besides those deeper griefs and heart-rending sorrows which lie concealed from all observation; so that we may well say of  the life of man  that, like Ezekiel's scroll, it is "written within and without, and there is written therein lamentations, and mourning and woe.&q