LXXIV. TEACHER.

'The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a Teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.'

John iii. 2.

THIS word occurs in twenty-one instances, but this is the only place where it is applied to the Saviour of the world; and there may have been more of flattery than sincerity on the part of Nicodemus, who made the acknowledgment. But, in

either case, a great truth was expressed.

The subject may be fairly presented under three heads.

I. A teacher must possess a perfect knowledge of his subject.

II. A proper method of communication.

III. He must practise the duties he recommends to others.

Now in all these ways, we shall find the great Teacher excelled. His knowledge was perfect; his method simple, yet dignified and forcible; and he recommended no duty to others which he did not exhibit in his own life.

I. A teacher must possess a perfect knowledge of his subject. Here we notice two points only.

1. His knowledge of the character of God. When the great Teacher appeared, the whole earth was covered with impiety, idolatry, and superstition.

There was only one temple on the whole earth erected to the true God. That was in Judea. And even the worshippers there had deformed religion by their groundless traditions. What a scene of degradation and corruption! All had sinned, and come short of the glory of God.' There had been many great and good men; they had written excellent maxims, and inculcated pure precepts. But all their efforts had failed to reach the human heart. The Teacher from heaven surveyed the scene; undismayed, he commenced his great work. He began by revealing God as a Father, and as a being requiring spiritual worship. And when God was thus brought before the mind, every idolatrous temple on earth shook to its very centre. It was like the sun appearing in the midst of storms and tempests, gilding and beautifying every object. A flood of light and joy poured upon the world. Man claimed kindred with the skies. His soul leaped for joy. He looked to heaven, and, for the first time, he felt that he could say to the Creator of worlds, My FATHER! What a kindling, mighty thought. A richer truth, God could not have conferred on man. And here we leave the reader to admire, adore, and worship, for it would be in vain to attempt to follow out a theme so vast and boundless.

2. His knowledge of the human heart. 'He knew what was in man.' He could weigh every motive. He could penetrate into the secret chambers of the soul, and reveal every hidden thought. In short, he was the only Teacher that has ever appeared in our world that could reveal man to himself. For the first time, man saw his own heart; he saw his

departure from truth and moral rectitude; and he went and fell down at the feet of the Teacher, and said, 'Depart from me; for I am a sinful man.' 1 And the Teacher, in accents of mildness and mercy, said, 'Son, be of good cheer: thy sins be forgiven thee.'

How deep, how penetrating the knowledge of the great Teacher! And where was this great wisdom obtained? Not from the schools; not by the slow and uncertain process of human teaching; but from heaven; for he came from the bosom of the Father.' II. A teacher must have a proper method of communication. Under this head, we take a single view the originality of this Teacher. Here we shall find that he went directly contrary to the wisdom of this world. He was the first Teacher and the last that has ever sought the influence of the poor. All others have sought the aid of the wealthy and the powerful. Had human policy and pride been consulted on the means of the erection of his kingdom, they would have demanded that splendor should be seen following in its train, and wealth pouring out its treasures at his feet. Human wisdom would have said, 'Let poetry sing its praises; let eloquence pour forth its most effective oratory in her behalf; let every spring of human power be touched and put in motion, and the gospel may gradually gain a footing in the world.' How different were the means employed by this Teacher. Look at his sermon on the mount. There he pronounces blessings on the 'meek,' the 'merciful,' the 'poor in spirit,' and even on the persecuted! His usual method was by parables; and how surpassingly beautiful was every one

that dropped from his lips! Two of the number shine among the rest with unrivalled splendor; and we may safely challenge the genius of antiquity to produce, from all his stores of eloquence and beauty, such specimens of pathetic, unlabored description, as the parables of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan.' Even an infidel could bear his testimony to the character of Jesus as a Teacher: What sweetness, what purity in his manners! What an affecting gracefulness in his delivery! What sublimity in his maxims! What profound wisdom in his discourses! What presence of mind in his replies! How great the command over his passions! Where is the man, where the philosopher, that could so live and so die without weakness and without ostentation?' ***

III. A teacher must practise the duties he recommends to others. There was not a single precept which the great Teacher enjoined which he did not exhibit in his own conduct. He enjoined meekness, humility, self-denial, temperance, gratitude, prudence, alms-giving, forgiveness, blessings, and prayers and acts of goodness, for execrations, hatred, and injuries. All these virtues shone forth in the life of this Teacher. He was not only pure and spotless on some occasions, but he passed through life without a single stain upon his character. None before the time of Jesus had seen a perfect man, but he exhibited a specimen of perfect humanity. Having these views, we feel that we can close the present number with great propriety in the very words of our motto: 'We know that thou art a Teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.'

LXXV. TRUTH.

'Jesus saith unto Thomas, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' John xiv. 6.

WHAT a commanding title! A thousand associations rush into the mind at the very mention of the word Truth. And how long has the world been in search of truth; how very few have found it. What penances and probations. The most remote regions have been traversed in search of the hidden treasure. The entrails of animals, the flight of birds, and the stars of heaven, have all been questioned. In the midst of this darkness and conjecture, the Truth appeared. It was in the most impressive form he stood, a man among his fellow-men, telling what he had learned of God. It was in the most simple form: he used the language of common life; and, instead of the warning which banished the uninitiated, his inviting proclamation was, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." It was in the most affecting and influential form: the precept, the maxim, and the parable, fixing itself in the memory, and opening all the springs of emotion in the heart. It was in the most useful and exciting form: demanding no prostration of the intellect, nor fixing any impassable boundaries for its exertions, but appealing to reason, and stimulating reason to new efforts, to free and full exercise, to rapid and illimitable progress. The