propitiation

It

"There is no other name given under heaven among men, whereby we must "-whereby we may—" be saved.” The life which we live in the flesh must be "a life of faith in the Son of God who loved us, and who gave himself for us," if it would be a life of peace and joy and purity and lively hope. Jesus as propitiator is the only "way" to the Father." "No man cometh unto the Father but by Him."--All this is not only true; it is truth of transcendent importance. And, indeed, the transcendency of it has to the minds of many most sincere inquirers so over-arched the expression that is before us, that they have felt disposed to interpret the inspired writer's language as meaning that Jesus is the author and finisher of that which we believe. He is the author and finisher of the great and only propitiation. The idea is most scriptural. It is emphatically evangelical. is, indeed, the sum and substance of the entire scriptures. It is the essence and quintessence of the glad tidings of salvation. And the phraseology, too, in which the idea is couched is most excellent. It is lucid to perfection. is worthy of being stereotyped in the language of theology. Our ears tinkle responsively and as with music to our souls, when we hear it. And we greatly rejoice, therefore, that it is true that Jesus is the author and finisher of that which is the great object of faith for our sinful souls. Nevertheless, it would appear to be the case that this idea, though in itself most scriptural and most momentous, is not the idea which was present to the mind of the inspired writer when he was in the act of penning the intensely interesting words before us. translated author means, as we have seen, leader. "the leader and finisher of faith."

It

The term

Jesus was

For this same reason, it would be improper to understand the expression as teaching that it is Jesus who works within us the act or exercise of faith. This view has also been taken by some; and among these, there have been several who have perverted the phraseology to bring out the idea that man himself has got nothing to do with the origination of his faith. He is merely passive in the matter, and must contentedly continue in his unbelief, until by some irresistible divine power the Saviour implant faith in the soul. We will not at present stop to expose the erroneousness of such a notion. It is enough to observe, that whether the notion should in itself be right or wrong, it cannot possibly be legitimately founded on the expression before us ;— for the expression, as we have seen, represents our Saviour as being our guide in the matter of faith-our captain. He is "the leader and finisher of faith."

The truth is, that Jesus is represented in the scriptures in a considerable variety of relations. He is many-sided. He is a propitia

tor, the great, the only propitiator, the author and the finisher of that great propitiation which is the great object of saving faith. But he is likewise the giver of the Divine Spirit; and that Divine Spirit is the giver, though not the necessitator, of faith; he affords it, he proffers it. Jesus is likewise our great king to rule over us, and in us, and for us, our king to whom "all power in heaven and earth is given." But, in addition to all these relations, he is also our great Exemplar, who has "left us an example that we might follow his steps.". It is in this last relationship that he is exhibited in the expression before us; and hence it is that it was legitimate for the inspired writer to represent him as having faith and as being the chief of believers. He is the leader and finisher of faith.

When the inspired writer speaks of faith, he has reference to that believing that has to do, not with things material, terrestrial, and secular, though made known to us by most trustworthy testimony, but with things spiritual, celestial, and everlasting. Faith, indeed, absolutely considered, has a much wider range of objects than these things spiritual, celestial, everlasting. It may have reference to distant places on the earth for instance. We believe in the existence of China and of Australia. It may have reference to persons who lived on the earth long ago. We believe that there were such men in olden times as Socrates and Alexander the Great. It may have reference to sad and sinful events as well as to gladsome and glorious realities. We may believe that Nero committed crimes, and that Adam sinned, and that Satan tempted him through Eve, by uttering a falsehood, in which, alas, both Eve and Adam had faith. Such varied objects as these are legitimate objects of believing or faith. And all men everywhere are believers in regard to multitudes of such-like objects. It is no peculiarity of Christians to have faith in such objects. Neither was it in relation to such objects that Jesus left us an example that we should follow his steps. By no means. The faith, of which the inspired writer speaks, had relation, as we learn from the first verse of the 11th chapter, to things that are at once not seen and hoped for. It had relation to gladsome. spiritual things, to grand and glorious spiritual, celestial, and everlasting realities. It embraced within its range, first and foremost, God himself the unseen God, the grandest, the most glorious, the most gladdening of all realities. We must believe that God is." We must believe that he is "the Rewarder of them who diligently seek him ;"-a most gladsome feature of his glorious character. We must believe that it is He, our own personal Father, who made the world;-a most gladsome fact. We must believe that it was He who made ourselves, and made

us in his own image, so that, indeed, we are "his offspring;"-a most gladsome fact. We must believe that he is good in Himself, infinitely good, and that he is "good unto all,” and that "his tender mercies are over all his works ;"-most gladsome and grand realities. We must believe that his will is good-will,-his will in relation to what he himself is to do, and his will in relation to what we, in our little spheres of operation, ought to do. And truly it is a gladsome fact that this his will is in all respects good-will. We must believe, too, that heaven is his home, and that it is the city that hath foundations,-whither as toward our own sweet home, we should, in the spirit of pilgrims, be daily travelling, each day's journey being a day's march nearer home. It was gladsome believing of this kind that animated the bosom of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Enoch, and Noah, who all "declared plainly that they were seeking a country," who "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth," and that their faces were Zionward. 66 They desired a better country, that is, an heavenly," and they saw their way into it made clear and straight, for "they saw the day of Jesus afar off, and were glad." "These all lived and died in faith," and left us a noble example. They have gone before, and yet they are intently and intensely interested in those who are coming after. They stoop down, and bend over their parapeted glory that they may be witnesses of our progress. They line in spirit the pathway of our ascent, that in spirit they may cheer us on. "Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race (of faith) that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the leader and the finisher of faith,"-looking unto Jesus, the greatest, the most persistent, the most triumphant of all believers. He is the leader of the whole company of believers. Every one of them, both under the Old Testament and under the New, follows in his steps. They believe on him, they believe in Him,-as the only propitiation for their sins. They believe more. They believe on him and in him as their Leader, who was far, very far, from living in a merely sensuous manner while on earth,-who was far, very far, from seeking as the great object of life the things that appeal to the desire of the eye, the things that appeal to the desires of the flesh, the things that minister to the pride and pomp of terrestrial life. He rose sublime in the whole of his earthly career amid and above all such objects. His eye was turned to things spiritual, to things spiritually grand, to things spiritually glorious, to things celestial and eternal. He lived a spiritual life on earth. He lived a heavenly life. He lived a God-like life. He communed from the beginning to the ending of his career with No. 5.]

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things unseen, things eternal, things of that glorious and gladsome kind that constitute, when testified to us, glad tidings about God, and about heaven, and about everlasting glory. He communed, that is to say, with the things of faith. Never was there such faith in the reality and transcendency and glory of things unseen, and eternal, and divine, as was wrapt up in the spirit of Jesus. Never before, never since, was there such persistent and unfaltering contemplation of, or faith in, the spiritual side of things, -the everlasting side, the divine side. Never, in simple phrase, has there been such believing. Hence it is that the inspired writer, after saying "let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the leader and finisher of faith," adds explanatorily, "who, for the joy that was set before him,”—and in which he had the most unwavering faith-" endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.-For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself"-consider how he had unwavering faith in the glory wherewith his endurance was by and by to be crowned-" lest ye be wearied and faint in your mind.-Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin."

It is true, then, that Christ's faith was a complete and completely finished thing. He finished it. It was perfect. He was "the finisher of faith "—the great exemplar, who, by the example of his own sublimely spiritual life, has shewn us the way to live by that faith which is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

THE LORD'S SUPPER.

THERE is much of interest and blessing to the church and to the world, to the saved and the unsaved, in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. It is fitted and designed to serve important purposes. It is evident that Jesus meant it to be duly observed by all his people, that he wished and wishes it to be spread out wherever his gospel is preached. Not only is it spoken of in the Evangel by those who were present when it was instituted; it was made known to Paul by special revelation. That revelation has been transmitted to us for our benefit. Paul was not favoured with the personal friendship and instruction of the incarnate Jesus. He was not of the privileged few who sat down with the Saviour to celebrate the last passover. He was as one born out of due time, and was not present when the ordinance of the supper was instituted. But Jesus deemed the ordinance of

such importance, that he made a special revelation to him concerning it.

We are not to regard the Lord's Supper on the one hand, as having in it anything of an atoning sacrifice; but neither are we on the other, to view it as nothing more than breaking and eating a little bread, and pouring out and drinking a little wine. While we are not to look upon it with superstitious awe and dread, still less are we to slight it as a common thing. It is a solemnity, with a peculiar blessing attached. In the observance of it Jesus is to be remembered. By it his death is to be shewn forth till he comes again.

(1) The ordinance of the supper is a standing memorial of the truth of Christianity. Let any one deny the truth of the Bible and seek to maintain that no such person as Jesus of Nazareth ever existed, and performed such works and died such a death as the Bible sets forth,-and we beg to ask him, Whence then has come this ordinance of the supper? If it was not instituted at the time and by the person and in the way described in the Bible, whence came it? Is there any other department of history that can inform us of its introduction? It is in existence now; it has been in existence for a very long time back; it has been observed among many peoples for many long ages back; when and how did it come upon the scene? If it does not reach back to the time of Jesus Christ, how far back does it reach? If the event which it commemorates never took place, is there any one who can tell us who it was that invented it, and how he got so many to believe in the imposture? Such questions must for ever remain unanswered. No other solution can be given of the introduction of the simple ordinance into our world than what is given in the Bible. If this Bible be a fable or a myth, the ordinance is an unaccountable mystery, as well as an unmeaning mummery.

Suppose that some persons were to erect a monument to the memory of a great public personage, and were at the same time to write a biographical history of his life. Suppose that it should be alleged that this personage had just finished a conspicuous career in the very locality where the monument was erected, and amid the very people amongst whom the biography was disseminated. But suppose still further, that no such personage ever lived. Would not the people around easily detect the imposition? And if, on the other hand, a monument and biography, of the kind described, remained unchallenged, would not such a fact be evidence of the truth of both? Would not the one corroborate the truth of the other? The history might be cited as evidence of the truthfulness of the monument, and the monument appealed to as evidence of the truth of the history. Both