that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance. How dishonoring to God, then, to represent Him as unwilling
to save agonizing sinners; so that the protracted prayers of the church
are necessary, and often unavailing! Paul says that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself. The world had transgressed, had
gone away from God, and Christ's mission as mediator, is to bring it
back in agreement and submission to the divine will.

The importance of the mediatorial office of Christ is very improperly
apprehended. The necessity of a mediator between us and God can never
be fully realized in this life. This belongs to that association of
deep and profound mysteries emanating from the mind of God, that angels
intently desire to look into. We are permitted to see only the surface
in this life. But we know enough about the general character of His
work, to know, that it has a value far above the world's comprehension.

When one stands as our intercessor we are favored in proportion to his
standing with the other party. When one seeks a favor at the hands of
the chief executive of the nation, if he has no standing of his own,
all depends on the standing of his advocate. If the one interceding for
him stands high in the president's favor, and has great influence with
him, his request is favorably considered on account of his advocate.
When we consider the standing of the Son with the Father; that through
Him the Father has sought the reconciliation of the world; that He is
the "brightness, the Father's glory, and the express image of his
person;" we have perfect confidence that His pleadings will prevail.
But when the Father "so loved the world as to give his Son to die for
it;" when He so loves sinners that His great loving heart goes out in
yearnings for their salvation, why should His loving, struggling
children need an intercessor with Him at all? This has been one of the
questions of the ages. Theories more curious than satisfactory have
been promulgated concerning it by the different schools of theology. We
shall not presume to answer it, beyond the simple suggestion that this
was the special work for which the divine Logos that was in the
beginning with God, had to qualify Himself by special education. Hence
it is a matter not of difference between the love and goodness of the
Father and that of the Son, but of qualification by _experience_ in the
trials, temptations and weaknesses of the flesh. T