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LUKE xix. 41, 42.-And when he came near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

THESE words of Christ were spoken under circumstances of peculiar interest. He and his followers were approaching Jerusalem, where he was soon to be betrayed and crucified. He had come to the brow of Olivet, whence the city was seen in near prospect. A view of the holy city, its lofty walls, its splendid palaces, and its sacred temple towering above the rest, in rich magnificence,-the central seat of God's chosen people, was surely fitted to awaken pleasing emotions. Nevertheless, sadness filled the heart of Jesus.

He was now, more than at any former period, the object of popular favor. He, who had long been despised and rejected of men, was now, in accordance with ancient prophecy, entering Jerusalem in seeming triumph. The people, astonished at his miracles, were acknowledging him their king, and bestowing upon him the tokens of honor customarily shown on the approach of kings and conquerors. As he rode on his way, descending the Mount of Olives, a “very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes, that went before and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Yet in the midst of this joyful multitude, he who was the object of their homage remained sad.

He foresaw the events that awaited him at Jerusalem, and knew that the hour was at hand when he should depart out of the world. He had distinct apprehension of the trying circumstances of his arrest and condemnation, and of the

sufferings in which his life would terminate. Yet these were not the things which bore with most weight upon his mind. Passing by all things else, his sorrow is awakened, in view of Jewish impenitence and unbelief. And when he came near, he beheld the city and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. As a preacher of the gospel of peace, he had labored in Jerusalem with comparatively little success. Though his approach to the city was hailed with hosannas, his gospel had not been received. They who had killed the prophets, and stoned those who were sent unto them, were now filling up the measure of their iniquity by rejecting the true Messiah. The language of his grief is expressive of strong desire, on the eve of despondency. O, that thou hadst known, even thou, highly-favored people, at least in this thy day, when the Messiah has come, publishing glad tidings, the things that belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

Christ, uniting a human nature with the divine, can weep over the wickedness and obduracy of impenitent men, is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and does earnestly desire that ruined sinners may be partakers in the benefits of his redemption.

The leading sentiment suggested by the text is, that CHRIST EARNESTLY DESIRES THE CONVERSION OF THE IMPENITENT. It is not strange that it should be so, since,

He weeps over men,

I. He knows what sin is, and what are its consequences. as offenders against God, and desires their release from sin and condemnation. Knowing the extent and danger of the disease, he is anxious to apply the remedy. The ideas men have of sin and its evils are altogether inadequate. They rarely give the subject a careful consideration. The contemplation of it brings upon them painful convictions of guilt. To look at their relations to God, and their obligations to love him, and recall the delinquencies of their past lives, would disturb their peace and mar their enjoyment. They wish to think well of themselves, and they palliate their guilt; and by a thousand devices, cover their sins. They hate the light, neither come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. And though convicted of sin, their conceptions of it are still inadequate. When the truth is urged home upon the heart and the conscience, and applied by the convicting influences of the Spirit, when the character of God as holy is seen, and the extent and purity of his law are apprehended, and the heart with its desperate wickedness is recovered, still but little is known of sin, of its actions, nature, and mischievous tendency.

But the character of sin, and all its bearings upon the happiness of man and the government of God, are fully comprehended by the mind of Jesus. He has understood from the beginning what were the principles of his Father's administration. He knows what are the great ends of his government, and by what means they are accomplished. He knows the laws by which his Father governs, their purity and extent, and how unspeakably important it is, that justice and judgment continue the habitation of his throne. And he understands, full well, what sin is, as aimed against the government of God, and a transgression of holy law. He has seen its influence, wherever it has spread through his Father's dominions. He was present and saw the sad effects of sin, when a part of the angelic hosts rebelled, and there was war in heaven. He saw its influence in changing them from angels of light to malignant fiends, and casting them out of heaven, and consigning them to the darkness of the pit, reserved in

everlasting chains, unto the judgment of the great day. It was he that created the world, and made it a suitable habitation for man-for man, obedient, sinless, and immortal. And he saw the sad effects of sin, when the tempter entered the peaceful bowers of Eden, and when the forbidden fruit was taken. He has watched the effects of sin, in its wide-spreading influence among mankind, in all succeeding ages. And it was their sad condition, as under its reigning power, that moved his pity, and urged him to undertake for their recovery, by making his soul an offering for sin. And while he was on the earth and fulfilling the ends of his mission, though he knew no sin as a transgressor, yet he had opportunity of tasting its bitter ingredients. "Himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree," and the anguish of spirit which he endured, when on him was laid the iniquity of us all, and when denied the light of his Father's countenance, he bowed his head in death, plainly told him what sin must be, which could be only thus atoned for. Nor is it strange, that the benevolent Jesus, remembering the agonies of his cross when he sunk under the painful load of our iniquity, should desire our deliverance.

He is well acquainted with the effects of sin, as resulting from continued impenitence. He knows what must be the sinner's course, and what his fearful end, if, resisting proffered mercy, he goes on hardening himself in unbelief. He can foresee the sorrows and woes that will cluster around him, leading a sinful life, and dying a hopeless death. He knows what it will be for a sinner to appear at his judgment-bar, unwashed in his blood and without the robes of his righteousness, only to be banished from his presence to the world of despair. And the mind of Jesus is capable of comprehending the extent and severity of the woes to be endured in that eternal world.

The capacities of men are limited, and never do their powers appear so feeble and imperfect as when they look into futurity, and attempt to measure and estimate the unseen things of eternity. With all the light of revelation, we form but feeble conceptions of what awaits us beyond the grave. We can know something of the happiness of the righteous. We can know something of the miseries of the lost. The Scriptures have exhibited, by the most terrific images, the punishment of the ungodly. But no man will know, in this life, what it is to be banished from the presence of God, and imprisoned with damned spirits, to blaspheme God, and feel the gnawings of the worm that never dies. No man, till he shall sink beneath the burning lake, will understand what is intended by the vengeance of eternal fire, nor even then will he be able to anticipate the amount of suffering, of coming ages, while the eternal smoke of his torment is ascending.

But Jesus, who takes a deep interest in all the affairs of his Father's government, and casts a penetrating glance through his wide-spreading dominions, has seen the eternal prison-house, and knows what punishments are there inflicted. From his lofty throne in the heavens he can look across the impassable gulf, and view the sufferings of the rich man, in his place of torment, calling in vain for a drop of water to cool his tongue. And he can cast his mind forward, through the coming ages of eternity, and measure the amount of suffering yet to be endured. And with his enlarged views of the fearful end of the wicked, we cannot wonder that he should take a deep interest in the condition of man on probation, and weep over his impenitence and folly,-saying, O, that thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things that belong to thy peace!

II. Christ earnestly desires the conversion of the impenitent, because he knows what ample provision has been made for their pardon. He looks upon men, not only as sinners, but as redeemed sinners; and considering the price that was paid for their ransom, he earnestly desires that they may partake of its benefits. The way of salvation by Jesus Christ has always been an inviting, animating theme. It was a subject of much thought and interest to mankind, during the ages which preceded the Messiah's coming. Many prophets and wise men, looking at types and sacrifices, and anticipating a more full development of the things pertaining to salvation, when the fulness of time should come, earnestly desired to see the days of Christ's appearing. The contemplation of this theme, as more fully displayed in the life and doctrines of Christ, animated the apostles in the arduous enterprise of preaching the gospel. The subject has excited even a greater interest among the hosts of heaven. These are the things which angels desire to look into, and the loftiest hymns of praise of those who surround the throne of God are awakened by redeeming love. But to no one is redemption a subject of more interest than to the Redeemer himself.

We take deepest interest in plans that are our own, and which are accomplished by our own efforts. The salvation of a ruined world is to Christ a plan of his own, and one which has for a long time called forth his labors and awakened the full energy of his love. In the redemption of fallen men he has been the chief actor, and has watched its progress through every stage of its accomplishment, and he is capable of comprehending the real magnitude of the vast design.

When we, with our limited capacities, fix our attention upon the system of redeeming mercy, there is comparatively little we can understand. And should we ever arrive in heaven, it will be the pleasing theme of investigation for eternity. But Jesus knows what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth of that love which passeth knowledge. He was present and took part in the counsels, when it was decided in heaven that man should be redeemed, and that the Son, giving his soul an offering for sin, should have a chosen people to serve him, as his reward. He made all the arrangements of that darker dispensation by which the expectations of men were raised, and the way prepared for his appearance on the earth. He saw how great the condescension, for him who was rich, yet for our sakes to become poor, that we, through his poverty, might be rich. He knows how much suffering and self-denial it cost him, while, as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, he fulfilled the business of his mission. He remembers what was the anguish of that hour, when in the near prospect of death, his soul was troubled and he seemed to hesitate whether he should pray, Father, save me from this hour, or Father, glorify thy name. He knows what were the agonies of his cross, when he poured out his blood an offering for sin, and the scene veiled the heavens in sackcloth, and shook the earth, and raised the dead. Considering these sufferings, he would earnestly desire that they might avail to secure the sinner's pardon and cleansing. He knows that the provisions are ample, and that justice cannot overtake those who fly to him for refuge. The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin, and the poor polluted sinner may fly to the fountain, and secure its benefits. The invitations have gone out, and whosoever will may come, and Jesus, who died for the sinner, desires that he should not tarry. O, the hardness and obduracy of the impenitent heart, that is not scftened and subdued by redeeming love! Seeing the reluctance of

redeemed sinners to come to Christ, what friend of God but could mingle his tears with those of Jesus, and say, O that thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!

III. Christ desires the enlargement of his kingdom. Of course he desires that sinners may be converted, and added to the number of its loyal subjects. When the Messiah was about to appear, the event was announced by John, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Christ came into the world to establish a kingdom, and he has ever taken a deep interest in its establishment and progress. With constant solicitude he watched over its interests when it was small, and labored and prayed for its enlargement. He came to God's chosen people, who had long enjoyed his word and ordinances, and preached the gospel of the kingdom in the cities and villages of Judea. He chose to lay the foundations of the kingdom on the labors of prophets, and gather its early subjects from the seed of Abraham. He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and he spared no effort to gather them to his fold. And when he saw the multitude of those that believed not, he was grieved at the hardness of their hearts.

He carefully instructed the few who became his followers in the great principles of the kingdom, and prepared them to become his agents in extending its borders. And when he left them, he commanded them to preach the gospel of the kingdom to all nations, and promised to be with them, even to the end of the world. Through all the fiery trials of the church, he has watched over her interests and prospered her, to her present state of enlargement. The kingdom is still to advance, and he looks forward to its future triumphs, and anticipates the day when he shall have the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession.

The views of men concerning this kingdom have always been gross and imperfect. From the language of prophecy respecting the Prince that was to appear, and the deliverance that was to be wrought by him, it was inferred, that his kingdom was like the kingdoms of the earth, and that he was to ascend the throne at Jerusalem, and become a conqueror and a deliverer from Roman bondage. And it was with difficulty, that he enlightened even his followers into the nature of that spiritual dominion, which it was his object to establish over the hearts and lives of men. And in all ages, when men have been called to act with reference to this kingdom, they have shown that their views were earthly, that their desires were to give the kingdom an earthly character, and that they were slow in coming to a practical knowledge of its spirituality. And now, that the kingdom has spread itself so widely on the face of the earth, and its interests have become so various and complicated, the feeble minds of men fail to embrace these interests in all their bearings, and their hearts are not moved as they might be moved by a more enlarged and perfect knowledge. And especially are their conceptions imperfect, when they turn to the future and contemplate the spreading influence of the gospel in Christian and pagan lands, till the Sun of righteousness shall compass the earth, the Millennium be ushered in, and Jesus reign in triumph over all nations. We cannot say what bearing the events which come under our own observation are to have upon these great interests. We cannot say what will result from the combined effort of the people of God to give the Bible and spread the gospel, from the extensive outpouring of the Spirit, or from the conversion even of a single sinner.

But Jesus, seated on his throne in the heavens, distinctly surveys and fully

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