SERMON IV.

THE HUMILIATION OF THE MAN CHRIST JESUS.*

PHILIPPIANS, ii. 8.

"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the

WE have been spared to reach once more that solemn season at which our Church directs specially our attention to the sufferings and death of the Redeemer. There can never, indeed, be the time at which the contemplation of the offeringup of our great high priest is at all out of place. Knowing the foundation of every hope, our thoughts should be continually on that substitution of the innocent for the guilty which was made upon Calvary, when he "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth," "bare our sins in his own body on the tree." It is still, however, most true, that the preaching Christ Jesus and him crucified, requires not, as it consists not in, the perpetual recurrence to the slaying of our

* I am indebted to Bishop Sherlock for much assistance in handling this and the following subject.

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surety. The preaching of the cross is not, necessarily, that preaching which makes most frequent mention of the cross. That is the preaching of the cross, and that is the preaching of Christ, which makes the crucifixion of the Son of God its ground-work; which offers no mercy, and exhorts to no duty, but on the distinct understanding that no mercy could be obtained, had not a Mediator purchased it, no duty performed, had He not gained for us the power. But when the groundwork has been thoroughly laid, then, though it behoves us occasionally to refer to first principles, and to examine over again the strength of our basis, it is certainly not our business to insist continually on the presentation of sacrifice; just as if, this one article received, the whole were mastered of the creed of a Christian.

For nothing do we more admire the services of our Church, than for the carefulness displayed that there be no losing sight of the leading doctrines of the faith. It may be said of the Clergy of the Church of England, that they are almost compelled by the Almanack, if not by a sense of the high duties of their calling, to bring successively before their congregations the prominent articles of Christianity. It is not left to their own option, as it comparatively would be if they were not fastened to a ritual, to pass a year without speaking of the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ, of the Trinity of persons in the Godhead, or of the outpouring of the Spirit.

If they be disposed to keep any of these matters out of their discourses, the Collects bring the omitted doctrines before the people, and convict the pastors of unfaithfulness. A dissenting congregation may go on for years, and never once be directed to the grand doctrine of the Trinity in Unity. They are dependent on their minister. He may advance what he chooses, and keep back what he chooses; for he selects his own lessons, as well as his own texts. An established congregation is not thus dependent on its minister. He may be a Unitarian in his heart; but he must be so far a Trinitarian to his people as to declare from the desk, even if he keep silence in the pulpit, that the Catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity." And thus, whatever the objections which may be urged against forms of prayer, we cannot but think that a country without a liturgy is a country which lies open to all the incursions of heresy.

We obey, then, with thankfulness, the appointment of our Church which turns our thoughts specially at particular times on particular doctrines; not at any season excluding their discussion, but providing that, at least once in the year, each should occupy a prominent place.

We would lead you, therefore, now to the survey of the humiliation of the man Christ Jesus, and thus take a step in that pilgrimage to Gethsemane and Calvary which, at the present time, is enjoined on the faithful.

We bring before you a verse from the wellknown passage of Scripture which forms the epistle of the day, and which furnishes some of our strongest arguments against those who deny the divinity of Christ. It cannot well be disputed, whatever the devised subterfuges for avoiding the inferences, that St. Paul speaks of the Mediator in three different states; a state of glory, when hẹ was "in the form of God;" a state of humiliation, when he assumed "the form of a servant;" a state of exaltation, when there was "given him a name which is above every name. It is further evident, that the state of glory preceded the state of humiliation; so that Christ must have pre-existed in the form of God, and not have begun to exist when appearing on earth in the form of a servant, Indeed the apostle is inculcating humility, and enforcing his exhortation by the example of the Saviour. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." You can require no proof that the strength of this exhortation lies in the fact, that Christ displayed a vast humility in consenting to become man; and that it were to take from it all power, and all meaning, to suppose him nothing more than a man. It is surely no act of humility to be a man; and no individual can set an example of humility by the mere being a man. But if one who pre-exists in another rank of intelligence become a man, then, but not otherwise, there may be humility, and consequently example, in his manhood.

H

We can, however, only suggest these points for your consideration, desiring that you may be led to give to the whole passage that attention which it singularly deserves. We must confine ourselves to the single verse which we have selected as our text, and which, in itself, is so full of information that there may be difficulty in giving to each part the requisite notice.

The verse refers to the Redeemer in his humiliation, but cannot, as we shall find, be fairly interpreted without taking for granted his preexistent glory. St. Paul, you observe, speaks of Christ as" found in fashion as a man," and as then humbling himself, so as to become "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. It will be well that we advance a few remarks on the phrase "found in fashion as a man," before we consider that act of humility here ascribed to the Saviour.

Now the true humanity of the Son of God is as fundamental an article of Christianity as his true divinity. You would as effectually demolish our religion by proving that Christ was not real man, as by proving that Christ was not real God. We must have a mediator between God and man; and

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а mediator is not a mediator of one," but must partake of the nature of each. Shall we ever hesitate to pronounce it the comforting thing, and the sustaining thing, to the followers of Christ, that the Redeemer is, in the strictest sense, their kinsman? We may often be required, in the