“I confess when I can escape the deadening power of habit, and can receive the full import of such passages as the following, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ ‘I am come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ ‘He that confesseth me before men, him will I confess before my Father in heaven.’ ‘Whosoever shall be ashamed of me before men, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of the Father with the holy angels.’ ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions; I go to prepare a place for you;’ I say, when I can succeed in realizing the import of such passages, I feel myself listening to a being, such as never before and never since spoke in human language. I am awed by the consciousness of greatness which these simple words express; and when I connect this greatness with the proofs of Christ’s miracles which I gave you in a former discourse, I am compelled to speak with the Centurion, ‘Truly this was the Son of God.’ {50a} “In reading the Gospels I feel myself in the presence of one who speaks as man never spake; whose voice is not of the earth; who speaks with a tone of reality and authority altogether his own; who speaks of God, as conscious of his immediate presence, as enjoying with him the intimacy of an only Son; and who speaks of heaven, as most familiar with the higher states of being.” {50b} “Go to Jesus Christ for guidance, inspiration, and strength in your office.” * * * “The privilege of communing with such a spirit is so great, and the duty of going from man to Christ is so solemn, that you must spare no effort to place yourself nearer and nearer to the Divine Master.” “My brother, go forth to your labours with the spirit and power of Him who first preached the Gospel to the poor.” {50c} “To Jesus the conqueror of death we owe the sure hope of immortality.” * * * “Is that teacher to be scorned, who in the language of conscious greatness says to us, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’?” {51a} “What are we to understand by the Divinity of Christ? In the sense in which many Christians, and perhaps a majority interpret it, we do not deny it, but believe it as firmly as themselves. We believe firmly in the Divinity of Christ’s mission and office, that he spoke with Divine authority, and was a bright image of the Divine perfections. We believe that God dwelt in him, manifested himself through him, taught men by him, and communicated to him his spirit without measure. We believe that Jesus Christ was the most glorious display, expression, and representative of God to mankind, so that in seeing and knowing him, we see and know the invisible Father; so that when Christ came, God visited the world and dwelt with men more conspicuously than at any former period. In Christ’s words, we hear God speaking; in his miracles, we behold God acting; in his character and life, we see an unsullied image of God’s purity and love.” {51b}