ere not justified by His works--then we might deny His
Messiahship, and disregard Him as our Great Example. But it is not so.
What He taught He practised; what He promised he performed; the work He
came from heaven to accomplish He actually "finished," even to the
shedding of His blood. "The cup which my Father hath given me to drink,"
said He, "shall I not drink it?" Thus the example of Christ forbids all
fickleness and falsehood. It condemns all false appearances; and says to
all His followers, with an authority and force which even the words
themselves do not contain, "Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay,
nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." What a wonderful
and glorious change would the observance of such a rule effect in the
church, and in the world! "Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus."

III. The mind of Christ is distinguished by its _sympathy_ and
_ceaseless activity_. He could _weep_ at the grave of Lazarus, before
calling back His friend to life. He could _stop_ at the gate of Nain, to
cheer the heart of a bereaved widow, by restoring to life her only son.
He could condescend to _touch_ the loathsome leper, and thus make him
clean. He could _stoop to hold a conversation_ with a penitent
adulteress. He could _work a miracle_ to feed a hungry multitude. He
could _look_ conviction into Peter's heart, and thus send the faithless
Apostle out of His presence weeping bitterly. O there was nothing cold,
ungenerous, or selfish in the nature of Christ. He was never too much
occupied to listen to the tale of sorrow, nor too dignified to afford
relief. He was never unapproachable. The finest sensibilities, the
purest affections, the deepest sympathies were exhibited in actions,
which, had there been no ultimate purpose in His mission, would have
marked Him as a benefactor of our race, and carried down His name and His
fame to the latest posterity. And this, in a humbler degree, we are
called upon to imitate. How little like the Saviour is the man whose
heart is hard, whose temper is irritable, and who has no bowels of
compassion for the destitute and afflicted. How little like the Saviour
is the man who prides himself upon superior extraction or superior
position, and looks down with contempt upon the poor and the penniless.
The Son of Man came to seek, and to save the lost: and when John's
disciples asked Him for evidence that He was Christ, His reply was simp