that _if_ His human nature be contemplated apart from His Divine, it _might_ be taken to be thus ignorant; so, I would repeat, He is not thus proclaiming that He, the God-Man, the One Christ, is ignorant, nor yet dividing His Substance and becoming two, but merely contemplating apart the Divine and human natures, which may well be done; and we may even go so far as to say that _if_ we contemplate them as separated, then there would be things unknown to the one, though known to the other, and _if_ they could be divided there would be a separate province of knowledge in each; but that, as we must believe the two natures have ever been united in one Person from the time of His taking our nature of the substance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so no one can ever predicate of Him, the thus born Son of God and Son of Man; of Him “in Whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;” of Him “in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge;” of Him “Who is over all, God blessed for ever,” {144a} that it is possible there was, or is, or shall be anything, whether “of things in heaven, or things in earth, or things under the earth,” of which He was, or is, or shall be ignorant. {144b} Turn then again, brethren, to the stable at Bethlehem. Cast away, at least on such a blessed day as this, the thoughts of controversy. Come to the sight which is to be seen in that lowly habitation “where the stalled oxen feed.” See the blessed Mother! See the glorious Infant, glorious and divine in Himself, howbeit He may look like any other child of man, and with the eye of faith “behold thy God!” Think of the wonders of love in the condescension that He should be found in such an humble guise and lowly place, only excelled by the marvel that He should abase Himself to become man at all! And then think that all this is no barren spectacle, to be gazed upon indeed with wonder, but in which we have no practical interest. No, it all belongs to us, and has to do with us, in matters of the very highest moment. It is so important to us, that we might say all other things are mere bubbles and trifles compared with it. What should we be, and what would be our hope, if we had not the Christmas season, and all which it has brought, to gild our year, and gladden our hearts? Think of what we are, and what are our prospects by nature! The children of Adam in his fallen state, and therefore “born in sin and children of wrath.” A degenerate race, from our very birth, with the sure seed of the first and second death implanted in us, with a corrupt nature, a depraved will, a heart estranged from God, exiles from Eden, unable to return to it. Even if we had the heart to seek it, only doomed to find it barred against us, and “cherubims and a flaming sword turning every way to keep the way of the tree of life,” on account of both the original guilt and actual sins of men. Thus, in ourselves with no access again to God. Placed, it is true, in a world of wonders, a