Morning journal and courier., 1884-03-10
Calvary Ba ptist Church.

Man - His Character as the son S1 Man and the Need that He Supplies. At the Calvary Baptist church last evening Rev. Mir. Samson, the pastor, preached a
 very interesting discourse, selecting as the
 basis of his remarks, John, 12th chapter, 34th ! verse: "And how say est thou the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" The preacher spoke in substance as follows:
 When Jonathan had made his memorable covenant with David, and when King Saul
 had noticed that the seat of David by his ! side had been vacant for two successive days, when invuiring of Jonathan the reason of David's absence and receiving for answer
 that David had gone to Bethlehem, the King | turned in anger upon his son and exclaimed, l ''Thou son of the perverse and rebellious woman." That other Saul, of the New
 Testament, who was afterwards called Paul, not in an angry impulse, but in calm deliber ! alton, ,exhorts the church of the Thessrlonians not to be disturbed by the current impress sion that the return of Christ was at hand, for that man of sin must fl rst be revealed, which is '"rhe son of perdition-" The word son in these instances does not refer to the percentage of Jonathan in the one case nor of the man of sin in the other. It is but form 1 of speech common to all languages, by which l in the strongest possible terms the character of an individual is decided. When our Lord applied the surname Boanerges. sons of thunder to the brothers James and John it
 was indicative of their character. When we read of Jesus, whom the apostles named Barnabas, the son of consolation, it was 8 revelation of his character and Luke tells us in the Acts that the Barnabas was good man and full of the Holy Ghost and faith. And so when our Lord speaks of himself in one breath as the
 Son of Man and in the next as the Son of God we are to understand that he was in peculiar and complete sense man, while he
 was also in an equally peculiar and complete sense God.
 The question of the text was asked at an interview between our Lord and certain Greeks who had come up to Jerusalem to
 worship at the feast. It presents two other questions, namely, what was the object of
 the suffering and death of the Son of Man, and how do his suffering and death accom-
 plish the object for which they were de- signed.
 As to the first of these questions, it was evidently not the object of the suffering and death of Christ to excite the curiosity of men, to display bis wisdom or to exhibit his miraculous power. Christ was enheshed to reveal God to man, to make known his character and law, and to implant within man B spirit of obedience to that law. We have no greater need as individuals and as 8 race than to know God in this way. ''No man" says John, ''hath seen God at any time; the only begotten son which is in the form of the father, he hath declared him. No man can comprehend the character of God except as it is revealed in the only be- gotten son of God who vas in the bosom of
 the father and who in human nature hath
 revealed the fullness of the fathers truth
 and grace. This is why Christ became the
 son of man.
 As to the second question how the suffer-
 ing death of Christ accomplished the object
 for which they were designed, we need to
 remind ourselves of the frequency with
 which the union of two natures in Christ IS
 presented in the scri pture- The title Son of
 Man is applied to Lour ord about eighty times
 in the New Testament, and it is significant
 that whenever the people were inclined to
 magnify one part of his nature above
 another he immediately directed their
 attention to the other and complementary
 part of his nature We cannot understand
 this union of natures in Christ any more than
 we can comprehend the union of our own
 body and spirit. Can you explain to me the
 union of mind and matter? Can you com
 prehend 1t? The astronomer can calculate
 with wonderful accuracy the movements of
 the heavenly bodies, but he cannot explain
 the law or principle upon which those move
 nnents depend. He calls it gravity. But ask
 him why matter shall have gravity
 and he is silent. It is mystery, and so there are mysteries in everything. That God
 should be manifest in flesh is in truth the
 mystery hidden from ages. There is no
 my ystery like 1t in theunlverse. It IS stupend- ous mystery But, mysterious though 1t be, this union of natures is precisely what we need. No one but the God man can mediate between the two. Our religious needs may be reduced to two. We need first of all to know the character and will of God. The e. kI,1S1 nd then we need to know that God can forgive sin and keep us from sin. The son of man supplies this need. Suppose that to 8 oompany of disafeoted and rebel lious subjects one should come and say, 1 am an ambassador from your king. He is compassionate and will forgive you" "GIve us the proof of it., says the rebel. "I will sacrifice my life for you," the ambassador replies, :'and my compassion shall be the pledge of his." .'You may be com passionate" says the reael, but he may not be like you" 'sTrue," says the ambassador, ''but am his SOD, and son is the express image of his father" ''Ah, but a son is not always like lis father" the rebel replies, ''I am not sure that you represent your father. I want to see him manifest his
 own love" Is not this just and natural mode of reasoning? The king must come himself and himself exhibit his own char acter and will. Is this true of Msn, Qf human
 
 character and will of God unless he himself in our own nature make them manifest? And then as to that other religious want, namely, inst we may know that God can for give sin, our Lord nhaoses his language with great care. He says, "The sop of mgn cams stThe son of man must be delivered into the hands of men," Not the son of God. 1.-The son of man hath not where to lay his head." Not the son of God. It is the son ofImsn, nGt superior being, but one made in all points like unto his hrethFep. Again our given him." that is the son Of God, authority to execute judgment also,
 because he is the son of man." If God were to execute judgment upon us without having in our nature Submitted himself to his own law, we might conceive of an injRstiee. But when the son of man becomss our judge every mouth must be stopped and all the world becomes guilty before God. These i've ideas fully satisfy our two religious nesds In his character as the son of man, Christ, the son of Gsd, is prepared to &C.,
 --uspiish his nevel work for the humaF closer than t'rsthefr He has com e'Ise5 olIse oLs nAn oat. and .dsn,- himself to our condition When did he ever disregaru the cry of suppliant misery? Why does scr | row go to him to have it's tears wiped away2 | Why does conscious guilt fall at bis feet with uplifted eye of hopeP Like the first martyr | Stephen we may see heaven open and the Son of Man; not Gcd the Spirit, but Jesus the crucified standing at ths right hand of God" With the apostle Paul we ex- claim, "There-Cis one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus" Come to him and find rest unto your souls Over these scenes and wastes of human woe, over this storm-tosssd sea of human trouble, more deadly and : furious than Tiberius, when every one is seeking shelter without knowing where to i obtain 1t, exposing himself to all its horrors, pressing forth into the midst of it with 8 heart that feels and bleeds for all, comes the echo of his divine voice saying to the wild ] sea, 'tBe stiia''
 Seven persons were baptized in bhis church yesterday morning; two of them being chiI-4 dre0 of the pastor. About seventy persons have been passed by the board of deacons fer admission to the ehuf fch during the present