death to life, not only did He take upon Himself our infirmities and bear
our woes, but tenderly also has He provided for our constant direction,
and for the daily needs of our lives.

The level to which the Saviour raised our lives and the dignity to which
He invites us are far, indeed, above our natural powers. Left to
ourselves, we could never attain the heavenly heights to which, in His
goodness, He has called us. Through the infinite merits of His life and
sacrifice we have been redeemed and reclaimed from the enemy of our souls;
the gates of Heaven, closed against us before, have been opened wide; and
our wayward race is again restored to the road that leads to our immortal
home. But just because our celestial destiny is of so high and sublime a
character, it is impossible, if left to our own abilities, that we should
be able long to pursue it, and vastly beyond our sublimest hopes that we
should ever finally attain it. We have, it is true, ever before us, the
life and example of Him who has saved us; we know that His cross and death
have delivered us from the wrath that frowned upon us. But we are weak and
fragile mortals. With respect to things of the higher life--of the
supernatural world--we, of ourselves, shall always remain as helpless and
frail as infants. Not less unable is the babe of yesterday to traverse
unaided and explore the material world, than the wisest of men would be to
know and grasp by his natural powers the unrevealed good of the immortal
human spirit. And as, in our natural state, we could not know the true end
of our existence, without a divine revelation, so likewise, we could not
pursue and attain our spiritual destiny without special assistance from on
high.

How well all this was known to our kind and kingly Shepherd! How keenly
did He appreciate our frailty and inability to walk alone the paths which
He had trodden! Not unmindful, therefore, was He constantly to teach and
direct the way which leads to unending life. When going before his flock
and teaching them by force of example, He did not omit to give them that
saving doctrine which, when He had disappeared, would be their guide, and
the guide to their future shepherds in the direction of safety and truth.
Hence He propounded a teaching which should be to its obedient followers a
realization at once of all He had promised them, and of all their heart's
desires. Not that it would make them rich or great in the eyes of the
world and