Again, in further process of time, it pleased Him to make another of His glories known. In the person of the patriarch Abraham, we have him before us as the father of the household of God; as it is written, “Behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations, neither shall thy name any more he called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee.” Now this promise was to Abraham's Seed, that is, to Christ, as we learn from the Epistle to the Galatians. Is not the Lord Jesus Christ really too the Father of the many nations? And so the time will be when He shall be manifested in this character, when He will gather His households around Him like flocks of sheep, when He shall be revealed “the Father of the everlasting age,” and when those to whom He has given life shall he with Him, and He shall say, “Behold I, and the children whom God hath given me.”
Thus in Noah we see Jesus as Lord and Heir of the earth and its fullness, and in Abraham as Head and Father of the whole family of God-two bright dawnings of His predestinated glory and kingdom, when a rich demesne shall be spread out beneath Him, owning His Lordship, and happy households shall be gathered about Him, knowing His Fatherhood. But we are still to look for more characteristic glories in the midst of all this. These we shall find in the combined dignities of the King and the Priest, two personages which are therefore made very familiar to us in scripture. Moses and Aaron were united in order to present them together; as they were afterward, though in feebler lines (for the memorials of Christ were much effaced through the world's increasing evil), in Zerubbabel and Joshua.
But a striking expression of Christ's priestly dignity is given to us in the person of Phinehas, and that of His royal honors in Solomon.
Phinehas stood in an evil day. Israel had joined himself to Baalpeor, and the heads of the people must be slain, ere the anger of the Lord that was then kindled could be turned away. Phinehas rose up from among the congregation, and executed the judgment, and thus made atonement for the people. The Lord then spake to Moses, saying, “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel (while he was zealous for my sake among them), that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy; wherefore say, Behold I give unto him my covenant of peace, and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.” (Num. 25:11-1311Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: 13And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel. (Numbers 25:11‑13).) So also Christ, the true Phinehas, was glorified to be made an High Priest by Him who said unto Him, “Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee.” He took not this honor unto Himself, He rather learned obedience by the things that He suffered, through which, as Phinehas, He made atonement, and turned away wrath; but He has been “called of God an High Priest after the order of Melchisedec.” He is the Priest of the Most Highs God, the only Mediator between God and man. Levi is nothing, and Aaron is nothing, and Phinehas is nothing—Jesus is the Priest; in His hand alone the blessing is laid, and by Him it is ministered.
But while He is thus the Priest, He is King also: “a Priest upon his throne"-the true Melchisedec; and Solomon, as we have observed, sets Him forth the most brightly in His royal honors. Unto Solomon the whole earth sought, and brought every man his present; and so all nations whom He has made shall come and worship before Jesus, when He shall take the dominion under the whole heaven, and a kingdom that shall break in pieces every other kingdom, standing forever.
But here we desire to be somewhat more particular, and to take a closer view of the “King in his beauty.” Would that the sight were more transforming even now, through the power of faith! But surely we can at least say, that we do long to see the Man of sorrows thus; we do desire to see those days of His wherein He, that once bore the curse for us, shall bear the glory, and that forever and ever.
In order fully to see in Solomon the type of Jesus the King, we must previously meditate on his father David, and David and Solomon thus combined will constitute a very full and beautiful typo of Him “with whom we have to do.” And while I write these words, I taste something of the sweetness of them; what marvel is it, beloved brethren, that we can speak of Jesus, the Son of God, as of Him with whom we have to do But so it is, grace has made it so; and we may therefore well take leave of all thoughts and desires that are not associated with Him.
There is one feature in the character of David which marks him in every scene through which he passes, from the time that we see him as the shepherd in Bethlehem, to the time of his delivering up of the throne of Israel to his son, Solomon. He was at all times and in all scenes the servant. It mattered not with him what the sphere of labor might be, this was his character. As a suitable introduction of him as such, we find him, in the beginning of his history, slighted and forgotten, even his father esteeming him not. Ηe was the youngest of his father's sons, and (scarcely putting him among his children, but rather treating him as a servant) his father says of him to Samuel, “Behold, he keepeth the sheep.” (1 Sam. 16:1111And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. (1 Samuel 16:11).) From this place of scorn and neglect, however, he is drawn forth by the signal favor of God, and anointed to the throne of Israel; but the virtue of this anointing was still in everything to keep him as the servant. Whatever in his conduct is opposed to this is properly not of himself. It is this which gives him throughout his character, not doing his own will, or seeking his own glory.
Thus, as soon as he was anointed, this grace at once manifests itself in him. He is called up to the royal city to wait on king Saul, and as the wise charmer, by the charming of his harp, to allay the evil spirit that had visited the king from the Lord. (1 Sam. 16:2323And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. (1 Samuel 16:23).) From this service we find him returned to the care of his sheep at Bethlehem (1 Sam. 17:1515But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. (1 Samuel 17:15)); and when again called forth, it was only in like manner to be the minister of others. It was not, as his brother injuriously judged, that the pride and naughtiness of his heart led him to the battle with Goliath and the Philistines in the plain of Elah; he went at the bidding of his father to carry provisions to his brothers in the camp, the servant of their necessities; but when he arrived there, occasion showing itself to him, he at once offers himself as the servant of Israel's necessities and of Jehovah's glory. The Lord had been dishonored, and His people threatened, and this was “the cause” that moved David to say to Saul, “Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” The promised honors and riches that were to be his who killed Goliath were not that which moved him; for after the victory we do not find him claiming them, flattering and splendid as they wore (the very things for one who sought to glorify himself), but we hear him saying, “Who am I, and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” and we see him becoming again the king's harper; thus, instead of seeking his own glory, ministering to others in the humblest service that might be appointed him. (1 Sam. 18:10-1810And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. 11And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice. 12And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul. 13Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. 14And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him. 15Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. 16But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. 17And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. 18And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king? (1 Samuel 18:10‑18).)
Again, in all his sufferings at the hand of Saul we discern nothing but the same spirit of submission, that never sought its own rights or avenged its own wrongs. He yields to the enmity of the king. He retires from court, and dwells in dens and caves of the earth. He willingly loses sight of himself altogether, doing service if called on as the soldier of Israel and the king, but leaving all the profit and honor of his service to them. He would not dare to harbor the thought of avenging himself upon his persecutor. Rather than touch the Lord's anointed, he would be “a partridge in the mountains” all his days. Though conscious that he had been appointed to the throne of Israel, he would make what promises, enter into what covenants, the rival house of his enemy pleased, careless how this might tend to exalt them, and abase himself. (See 1 Sam. 20:17; 23:18; 24:2217And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul. (1 Samuel 20:17)
18And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house. (1 Samuel 23:18)
22And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold. (1 Samuel 24:22).) And when his enemy fell, and his own sorrows were thus to end, and the way to the throne was made plain before him, he had no heart to rejoice in those his own advantages-he looked not on his own things, and knew nothing but grief at the fall and dishonor of the Lord's anointed. “Tell it not in Gath,” says he, “publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.” (2 Sam. 1:2020Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. (2 Samuel 1:20).) The messenger of the tidings did not understand David. He judged that he brought joy to David, and that he should have received a reward for his pains; but David is filled only with the sad vision of Israel's dishonor, and the sin of this Amalekite in lifting his hand against the anointed of the Lord. “The world knoweth us not,” says one, speaking as the elect of God; and this was now illustrated in David and this Amalekite; their griefs are not our griefs, nor their joss our joys.
But we have to trace the servant-character of David still further, for no change of scene or circumstance has power to work a change in the character of the energy of the Spirit of God that was in him; scenes and circumstances, change as they may, serve only to set forth this character more brightly. And indeed, beloved in the Lord, this is that which alone can end in the reward of the kingdom. Nothing but service here shall be honored hereafter; as it is written, “Whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister, and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all.” And again, “If any man serve me, him shall my Father honor.”
We find David, then, on the throne; having received it, however, not at his own will, but called to it by the Lord Himself. But what was the way of David now? Why, just what it had been before; just what had signalized him when his hand bore the shepherd's crook, the harp, or the warrior-sling; just that which had marked him in the caves and holds of the wilderness, now marks him seated on the throne of Israel. He is still, and that only, the servant, doing Jehovah's pleasure alone, and seeking only His glory. He gives himself no rest. He does not pause in His course till the enemies of the Lord and of His people submit themselves; he pursued and destroyed, and turned not again until he had consumed them. (2 Sam. 22:3838I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them. (2 Samuel 22:38).)
And the time of peace, as well as the time of war, was the time of service with king David; at home or abroad he is the same; and therefore not only in the field is he seen pursuing the enemy, but in the city we hear him saying, “Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed, I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.” (Psa. 132:33Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; (Psalm 132:3).) Accordingly he makes preparation, and brings up the ark of the Lord God, which had lain neglected in the days of Saul (1 Chron. 13:33And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul. (1 Chronicles 13:3)), to its place in the midst of the tabernacle, which he had pitched for it. He waits on it himself-he offers his burnt-offerings and his peace-offerings there. He blesses the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, and, as a girded servant, he makes them to sit down to meat, and serves them. (2 Sam. 6:1919And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house. (2 Samuel 6:19).) He dances before the ark in the joy of one who knew only the joy of ministering to the praise of another; and he would be more vile than thus, and base in his own sight, and willingly be put among the objects, so that he might but duly fulfill his service as the minister of the glory of Jehovah, and of the joy of His people. And in the end unwearied in serving as at the beginning, he purposes to build an house for this ark of the Lord. See now,” he says to Nathan, “that I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.” His zeal in this was somewhat without knowledge, but it was the zeal of one who desired to serve fully.
And when forbidden to build the house (for reasons which we shall consider presently), in his trouble be prepares for it (1 Chron. 22:1414Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. (1 Chronicles 22:14)) gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, timber also, and stone; and provides and hires all manner of cunning men for every manner of work. And not only this, but he gives patterns of all things to Solomon, patterns of the cherubim, the courts, and the treasuries. He numbers and distributes the Levites into courses for the service of the house, and settles the order of the sons of Aaron. He appoints the offices of the singers instructed in the songs of the Lord; he settles the divisions of the porters, the officers, and the judges, the captains of the several months, and the princes of the tribes.
And when all his service is ended, and nothing remains but to reap the fruit of it, and the glory and kingdom for the which all these things had been prepared, he retires, ceasing to be, when he must cease to serve. The throne of Jerusalem was no more to him than his shepherd-tent at Bethlehem; in both all his desire was to fill as an hireling his day. And now, having come to the evening of his day (for “man goeth forth to his work and to his labor until the evening"), he retires. He will not glorify himself. “Take with you,” says he to his officers, “the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon, and let Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, anoint him there king over Israel, and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon: then shall ye come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne, for he shall be king in my stead, and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.” (1 Kings 1:33-3533The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: 34And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. 35Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. (1 Kings 1:33‑35).) He gives up the throne which his hands had established, and all the honors of it; these were nothing in his account-he had finished his work and service, and this was everything to him.
Thus, the moment that all was ready for the full display of the glory, he disappears; he had sown, and would have another now reap; he had labored, and was willing that another should now enter into his labors. He made Solomon his son king over Israel. In the assembly of the princes and the captains, with the officers and mighty men at Jerusalem, Solomon sat on the throne of Jehovah as king, instead of David his father, and all Israel obeyed him, and all the princes and mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David submitted themselves to Solomon the king. (1 Chron. 29:2424And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king. (1 Chronicles 29:24).)
Thus have we in this blessed man the perfect pattern of a servant; he was the servant who would not go out free, but would serve forever. (Ex. 21:1-61Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. 2If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 3If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. 5And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 6Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. (Exodus 21:1‑6).) Such was David; but in Solomon we see another thing altogether. Solomon was one who entered into another man's labors; he reaped where another had sown; he enjoyed by inheritance the honors and the name which David in his trouble and service had gotten. In the sight of Israel Jehovah magnified Solomon exceedingly, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him. He passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom, and all of them sought his presence, and God made the name of Solomon better than David's name, and his throne greater than David's throne. (1 Kings 1:4747And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed. (1 Kings 1:47).) For David did the Lord call His servant, but Solomon He called His son, saying, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.” By inheritance he obtained a better name than his father. As heir of the fruit of David's toil, Solomon appears before us full of peace and prosperity; not as David had been, the scorn of others, but the boast and joy of his people, and the very center of the world's attraction, his fame going abroad into all the earth.
And with this better name was reserved for him the honor of building the house of God, for that work is to be regarded rather as honor than as service, an honor too great for David the servant, but reserved for Solomon the son, as God said to David, “Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.” (1 Chron. 28:66And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. (1 Chronicles 28:6).) As before He had said to Nathan, “Go and tell David my servant, thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in; I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons, and I will establish his kingdom; he shall build me an house, and I will establish his throne forever, and I will be his father, and he shall be my son.” (1 Chron. 17:4, 134Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in: (1 Chronicles 17:4)
13I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: (1 Chronicles 17:13).) Other reasons, it is true, appear in the mind of God for hindering David from being builder of the house. Thus, for instance, in David's time the children of Israel had not come to their rest, the kingdom was still unsettled, and the people were in the attitude of being girded for service, or harnessed for war, and the Lord refused to enter into His settled habitation while His people were thus. In all their afflictions He had been afflicted, and in their wanderings He had walked in a tent and in a tabernacle; and till He had planted them in their ordained place, He would Himself enter no house of cedar. (1 Chron. 17) Again, David had shed blood abundantly, wars had been about him on every side, but his son was to be “a man of rest,” rest was to be given him from his enemies round about; peace and quietness were to be unto Israel in his days; and then. But not till then, would the Lord arise into His dwelling-place. (1 Kings 5:33Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. (1 Kings 5:3) Chron. 22:8-10; 28:3.) But besides all this, I say it was because Solomon was the son, as we have seen, that the building of the house was reserved for him. The house was the sign of constancy and abiding, as it is written, “The servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son abideth forever.”
Solomon's was the time of rest. No enemy remained for him to conquer, no preparations by trouble and toil were left for him to make; he sits down full of honors and peace. And his was the time of joy also. Then for the first time did songs break forth from the midst of the congregation of Israel. Moses of old had appointed sacrifices, but no songs had been heard in the tabernacle. David had ordained the singers, given them their charge, and settled them in their courses, but all this joy was prepared for Solomon; it was in the house that he had builded that the priests, the trumpeters, and the singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and brethren, first awakened the praises of Jehovah in Israel. Above all days in Israel was that day joyous, when they began to sing to the Lord, “for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.” (2 Chron. 5:1313It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; (2 Chronicles 5:13).) And glorious, we may say, above all was the cloud which then filled the temple. This was a sample of the Solomon days; nothing was there but joy and glory. The priests could not stand to do their usual service, for the glory had displaced them. No sacrifices could then be bound to the horns of the altar, for nothing but the fruit of praise and joy was there, thanksgivings were heard, and the voice of melody only. And in this Jehovah rested-the joy of His Zion had now come, and He that inhabits the praises of Israel filled the place with His presence. (2 Chron. 5:12-1412Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) 13It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; 14So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:12‑14).)
Now these things which we have been tracing in David and Solomon are shadows of better things; “the body is of Christ.” Christ is the great ordinance of God; “the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy;” the promises made to Abraham were really to his seed, which is Christ. The exhibition of grace in David, and of glory in Solomon, in like manner, are really and fully all of Christ. (Gal. 3:1616Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16); Heb. 1:55For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Hebrews 1:5).) And thus throughout, all these highly-favored ones were only witnesses of the things that should be found in Jesus. This was their joy, to wait, with their various testimony upon Him. (See John 3:2929He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. (John 3:29))
We have seen in David the servant-character fully exhibited. We have tracked him from the field of the shepherd to that of the conqueror, from the court of the king to the holds in the wilderness, and from thence up to the throne, and have marked this one character throughout. And so was it perfectly and throughout in the blessed Jesus, the true David. Before the foundation of the earth He gave Himself to service, as in the volume of the book is written of Him, “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.” While manifest in flesh, He ever was seen as having come forth, not to be ministered unto, but to minister; not to do His own will, but the will of Him that sent Him. He could say at all times, “I seek not mine own glory.” He emptied Himself; and the form that He took was that of a servant. He refused to know Himself, saying, “My goodness extendeth not to thee;” and again, “Why callest thou me good?”
There was always (save when the testimony for which He stood on the earth would call on Him for a while to stand confessed in His divine glory) this hiding of Himself. Thus, when invited of His mother to display Himself at the marriage in Cana, He says to her, “Woman, what have I to do with thee, mine hour is not yet come?” When challenged by His brethren to show Himself to the world, He replies in like manner, “My time is not yet come.” (See John 2; 7) When He had been doing His wonted wonders of grace, and the people were astonished, His disciples, desirous that He should be magnified in the eyes of the world, say unto Him, “All men seek for thee;” but His only answer was that of a servant, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, for therefore came I forth.” And such was He on the earth throughout. A body had been prepared for Him, His ear was opened, and, like David, He had but to finish the work that was given Him to do.
And He was perfect in this through every stage. As a child, He was subject to His parents, fulfilling all righteousness as such; and when anointed of God, like David, He still came forth only to serve, whether it were the Father's glory, or our necessities. As towards the Father, whether in solitudes by night, or in labors by day, the Father might still pronounce upon Him, “Behold, my servant.” He fulfilled His day, ever working the work of Him that sent Him: the vows of His God were upon Him, and He did all, until He were entitled to say, “It is finished"-He was obedient unto death. And as towards us, He was always waiting on our necessities; He went about doing good: every sickness and every disease among the people, every city and every village in the land knew Him thus-none sought His help in vain.
And here we would turn aside for a moment to see this great sight, the necessity for all this humiliation of the blessed Son of God. Surely it was because He had to undo the mighty mischief which our pride had wrought, when we sought, being tempted, to be as God (Gen. 3:5, 65For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis 3:5‑6)); and this could be done only by the Highest emptying of Himself, and the Brightness of the glory of God being manifest in flesh, and veiling Himself in the form of a servant. Adam the creature had sought His own glory, but the Son of God emptied Himself of His. To be as God, though a creature of yesterday, was the daring design of the first man-to take the form of a servant, though in the form of God, was the willing humiliation of the Second; and thus the attempted dishonor to God by the one was abundantly repaired by the other.
(To be continued.)