colours, but they all centre in or emanate from the Sun of Righteousness; many streamlets to refresh weary hearts, but they all return again to their own eternal ocean-home, the pleroma (Col. ii. 9, comp. John i. 16, Col. i. 19) or fulness of the Divine nature. This leads to the 11th verse, which stands in closest connexion with the 10th, and contains the doctrine of the

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I. PROTHESIS OR PURPOSE OF GOD.

According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ our Lord."

This 11th verse depends on the verb "made known," in verse 10th, and the meaning is this-The manifold wisdom of God is made known by the Church to the angels, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. It was made known in the way and order which God preferred. Man had nothing to do with the forming or the mode of executing it. The Greek form may be translated literally, "the plan of the ages," or the eternal purpose, as in our Bible, and this, notwithstanding Macknight's objection, is the natural and most obvious rendering. The plural genitive of the noun is, by a very common construction in all languages, the same as the cognate adjective, and expresses here the same thought as "Before the foundation of the world" (Eph. i. 4, 1 Pet. i. 20). This work of Divine love in the person of the God-man, was no subsidiary or after-thought in the Divine mind, but rather the great central one, around which all the others revolve. Hence the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; the purpose was made, the Divine plan contained the necessary provisions, and the falling world fell into the arms of the slain Lamb. I cannot help thinking that they deprive themselves of much comfort who refuse to contemplate the antiquity or

eternity of Jehovah's purpose of love. Is it not worthy of God, is it not ennobling to man, that the Creator should think of us so early? Is not the strength of an affection proved by the length of its continuance and the obstacles which it surmounts? Why are those who seek to enlarge His love in one direction most anxious to diminish it in another? They admit the universality, but not the eternity of His love, and thus what you gain on the one hand, you lose on the other. But, as I said before, many translate "the plan of the ages" in the sense of a final cause, and refer it to the Headship of Christ as its end (Eph. i. 10, 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23, xi. 3, Eph. ii. 15, i. 21). That the words will readily bear this interpretation is manifest, and the sense is noble and striking. God arranged all the ages and dispensations of the world in and for Jesus Christ His Son, as the life-giving Head of the creation, in whom, like a centre of unity, the heavens and the earth, the visible and the invisible, the mortal and the immortal, should find their happiness, their strength, and their fellowship with God. The various ages are but the developing of one great plan which embraces and unites them all; the various dispensations, such as the Adamic, Patriarchal, Jewish, or Christian, are but the opening of the great book of life, the unveiling of the glorious person of Emmanuel, in whom and for whom (the Greek ev has this meaning in such passages as Matt. vi. 7, Rom. iii. 25, 1 Cor. xv. 18, Eph. iii. 13, iv. 1, 2 Tim. ii. 9, 2 Pet. i. 1, ii. 3) they were all ordained; all the developments of Divine mercy, from the promise in paradise unto the birth of Christ, are but parts of this all-comprehending plan of the ages, which embraces all nations and generations, and shall be most gloriously manifested in the coming and kingdom of Christ, when the groaning creation shall be at

rest, and all things be subjected to the holy will of God (Rom. viii. 18, 23). The word prothesis, plan, is applied to the loaves of bread arranged in order before the Lord by the high priest; bread of presentation, or, as the Hebrew has it, "bread of faces" (Ex. xxv. 30, xxxix. 36, 1 Kings vii. 48, 2 Chron. iv. 19, compare Matt. xii. 4, Luke vi. 4); called also presentation of bread (2 Chron. xiii. 11, Levit. xxiv. 5, Ex. xxv. 30). The meaning is nearly the same. The high priest orders and arranges the twelve cakes of bread before the Lord in the temple, and the Lord of the temple arranges in like manner, and with equal ease, the various ages of the world for the coming and manifestation of His Son Jesus Christ. God is the ruler, the orderer, the predestinator in His own world, and His Son is the end of His working. The King makes the marriage-supper for His Son (Matt. xxii. 2). There is no chance here. Eternal wisdom ordains, and Almighty power executes the decrees of God, and the final cause is the glory of the Redeemer (Ps. cx.) Some not willing to admit the pre-existence of Christ render the passage thus— "According to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in His Son Jesus Christ." This is admissible (see Matt. xxi. 31, John vi. 38, comp. John viii. 34, 2 Cor. xi. 7, Luke iii. 19, Mark xv. 7, Rev. xxi. 15). The context, however, renders the former meaning probable. It is concerning the forming, not the execution of the plan he is speaking (see also Mark iii. 6, xv. 1.) Both applications of the word are realized in Christ. The purpose was formed in Him as the Son and Mediator; it was intended for Him as the end or final cause, and it was accomplished through Him as the instrument (Col. i. 17). We come now to the 12th verse, which shows us the way of

II. ACCESS TO GOD.

"In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him."

It is then a fact, brother, that the way to God which sin had barred, is re-opened in the redemption of Jesus Christ. In Him we have access to the Holiest of all, for the great offering is accepted and Divine justice satisfied. It is a fact that any sinner, even the vilest, may, humbly relying on the merits of Christ, approach the throne of the Most High God with acceptance. The angels that never sinned have not freer access to God than we have when we come through the appointed Mediator. Sin is removed through the blood of the cross; heaven is opened to all believers by the ascension; and, with an open door and a heart full of pardoning mercy, the Father invites the prodigals to

return.

"Burdened with a world of grief,

Burdened with a sinful load,

Burdened with this unbelief,

Burdened with the wrath of God;

Come ye guilty souls oppressed,
Answer to the Saviour's call,
'Come, and I will give you rest,

Come, and I will save you all.'"

Observe (1.) what it cost Him to make this free proclamation to sinners. The violated law must be vindicated, in order that God, in dispensing His pardoning mercy, might not be taken for a sin-indulger. Part of the angels, and the whole human race had fallen. Indiscriminate mercy might seem to relax the law of holiness, and sanction the sinner in his course of rebellion. Hence the awful sacrifice of His own Son, by which the righteousness of God was vindicated in the way of boundless mercy to mankind.

"To Thee, Thou bleeding Lamb, to Thee
For pardon, peace, and life we flee;
The shelter of Thy Cross we claim,
Thy righteousness alone we name;
Low at Thy feet we suppliant fall,

Our Lord, our Saviour, and our all."

(2.) This access is by the faith of Him, which is the same as the faith on Him (Phil. iii. 9, Rom. iii. 22). He that hath the Son hath life. Faith is the medium by which we receive His blessings, and rest upon Him for salvation. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is not the admission into the mind of a certain amount of truth respecting the person and work of the Son of God, but a holy, confident, joyful resting upon Him as the Mediator and Redeemer. He loved me, and gave Himself for me, and the echo of my spirit is, I love Him, and give myself up to, and for Him. That is faith. By this faith we see Him, hear His voice, and feel His presence in all things. He is the resting-place and home of faith, where its deepest sorrows and loftiest flights ever lead it, and where, alone, the weary, yet faithful soul, can weep its fears away in the sunshine of His love. Seek this faith from God, for it is His gift, and He will not send thee empty away. Be in earnest in this matter, for the stake is great, and the time to win it in may possibly be short. Read the following passages with the eye on God, and be not faithless, but believing :-Rom. v. 1-3, Eph. ii. 14, Col. i. 20, John x. 9, xiv. 6, Heb. x. 19, Phil. i. 14, 1 Thess. iii. 3, Col. i. 24. (3.) In Jesus Christ we have boldness in our approaches to the throne of grace. The Greek word is variously translated. Meyer gives it, "Libertatem dicendi," Luther, "Freudigkeit," Rückhert, "Freimütigkeit im Reden," Macknight, "Liberty of speech," Doddridge, "Freedom of speech," the Vulgate, "Fiduciam," Beza, "Libertatem," Castellio, "Audaciam," Darby, "Freimütigkeit," Kistemacker, "Vertraulichkeit," De