3.

THE SON'S DELIGHT.

"Then I was by him, as one brought up with him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.”—Prov. viii., 30, 31.

SAS

ATTRIBUTES of mind, passions of soul, forces of nature, seasons of the year, produce of the earth, time, and the prowess of man, have all been personified and elevated to the dignity of divinities by the bards and philosophers of that wonderland-the Mythological world. Of all figures of speech personification received the greatest attention and cultivation. Gods, goddesses, muses, furies, and all manner of divinities were created, first, in the fertile imagination of the poet, next, in the superstitious mind of the people, the exaggerated form of which was idolatry. Of the many specimens of this species of composition extant none can vie with the inimitable personification of Wisdom in the 7th, 8th, and 9th chapters of this book. The theme is the highest, and the delineation the most perfect.

I am inclined to believe that there is something more than a figure of speech in these words. The text forces upon us the conviction that not an imaginary, but a real form speaks to us. If wisdom is simply regarded as a

divine attribute here, the picture is much overdrawn, but if we allow that the dawn of the incarnation had shone upon the sage's mind, the harmony of its parts is complete. The words, I believe, refer to a person-the Son of God. The first part of the 1st chapter in the Gospel by John runs parallel with the last paragraph of this chapter, with the exception that John was able to point to the incarnation as a fact. Instead of word I will substitute wisdom, for they are synonymous, "In the beginning was the wisdom, and the wisdom was with God, and the wisdom was God. The same was in the beginning with God." One cannot help inferring that the words of the text and context were present to the Apostle's mind when he wrote these words. He is generally supposed by expositors to refer to the divine consciousness of Plato, and the fuller development of that doctrine by Philo under the term logos, but I see a greater affinity between John and Solomon than can be traced between him and ancient philosophers. John not only personifies wisdom, but reveals a real person, whom the personification foreshadows, "And the wisdom was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of

grace and truth.” Heathen mythology and philosophy

make wisdom the first attribute of the Great Being, such as the Oum of the Hindoos, the Hom of the Persians, the Tao of the Chinese, the nous of Plato, and the logos of Philo, but the wisdom of the text and of John is a person, dwelling among men, and revealing unto them his grace and truth. The life of faith is in him; light incarnate is the life of men. "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." Indeed, the person of Christ is the only interpreter of these words to my mind. Deprive them of this fulfilment and their meaning is gone. You will observe here, in the case of Solomon, what you have observed in the case of some of the prophets and writers of the Bible—that once, at least, the spirit of God

lifted them up to see a vision of the Son of God. I would say that the highest degree of inspiration Solomon ever experienced was when he penned the text. It was God's desire that none of the great prophets and patriarchs of those memorable days should pass away without being once invited to the levée of the Prince. As a prophetic vision of him was then granted, so a vision of faith is now granted; the faith which has held communion with him through a variety of means, will "see the King" before passing from the platform of time. To-day we are content to "walk by faith and not by sight." Let us see him through the medium of the text.

I. THE DIVINE PERSONALITY OF THE SON.

"Then I was by him, one brought up with him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." The great palace was astir, and the Prince spake thus when on the eve of the auspicious event-" the fulness of time." On attaining his majority he takes a retrospect of a long period-the first of the triad. It is the language of the love which bound him to the Father: the conditions under which the purest and closest of all relationships was enjoyed are reviewed. Full of harmony, his soul bids a loving farewell to the past, while he contemplates a change. A change, not in the nature of the relationship, but in the conditions under which henceforth it shall be enjoyed. Was it a soliloquy, or was this oration delivered to an august assembly of angels and the "spirits of men made perfect?" It is the record of the past life of him whose name is Wisdom, "For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light."

1.-The duration of that period.

The beginning, when was "In the beginning God earth." Geology rolls us

"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old." that? History points to it, created the heaven and the backward towards the beginning. Our own imagination

has often run in that direction, and we have stood on the last precipice of creation, thinking for a moment that there was nothing beyond. Age is inscribed on every creature, but some of them will not tell us when they were born. It is some years now since the Palæotherium made his depredations on the forest tribes. No man ever heard the roar of the Dinotherium-the terrible wild beast-as he plunged for his bath in the lake or river. A description by an eye-witness of the Megatherium, the Mastodon, and the Mammoth, is not to be found, for they lived and died before the scribe opened his eyes on nature's wonders. Creation is very much older than they. When we try to decipher the Book of Rocks, we find that change has preceded change indefinitely. “And as a vesture shalt thou fold them, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." He has decked himself with many robes of glory which have faded, and are now folded in his coffers. There was a beginning, nevertheless, to all objective forms, or creature manifestations of God. There is a very old chronicle in which the date of the beginning is entered. When the Great Father came forth to rear His first palace, there stood by Him then one to witness His wisdom and power. He assisted in laying the corner stone of creation; and the stupendous structure was advanced under his supervision-“And without him was not anything made that was made." Read the paragraph observing the order of events, "When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the chief part (man) of the dust of the earth. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a circle upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters

should not pass his commandments: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, &c." Eternity is incomprehensible to our mind, but we can go back from station to station on the railway of time, until we reach a terminus beyond which there are no lines. At that point the mind becomes disturbed, unless a voice is heard from the void, saying, "Before Abraham was, I am.” This vast creation which sweeps through time, in the whirl of which we find ourselves, is impelled by the unerring but the unseen hand of the Son of God. The faith which lays hold upon this truth solves all our perplexities, and brings us to rest upon the same foundation where the universe itself finds a solid base.

The eternity of the Saviour is everywhere taught in the Bible, and is a fountain of solace to the believer. There is a remarkable passage in the 9th chapter of Isaiah and 6th verse," For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." The last but one of these strong appellations should be translated the "Father of Eternity." That endless period, with its told and untold revolutions, unfolds the divine existence. The greater contains the less. See the practical use the Apostle puts this truth to when he says "Jesus Christ yesterday and to day the same, and for ever. Be not carried about with strange and divers doctrines." The old landmark was the last object the mariner saw when he sailed away from the shores of his native land. On his return, after encountering many storms, and witnessing many changes, the old landmark is the first spot to greet his eye. When that mariner is gone the "way of all the earth," yea, when many generations of mariners have disappeared from the crest of the ocean, the old landmark will remain to serve as a beacon to others. The church has its landmark in the unchangeableness and

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