gives why He should be the bestower of this food. "For Him hath God the Father sealed;" referring to his Baptism, and the scene which took place afterwards, the descent of the Holy Ghost upon Him after his Baptism. That is the thing He refers to; that was the solemn appointment of Him, what may be called the inauguration of Him before the time into his office. Understand what I mean by "before the time;" because properly the time of his inauguration was his ascension into heaven posterior to his resurrection; but He, like his people after Him, had the anticipation of that state, which anticipation was given to Him, as it is given to us, through the ordinance of Baptism; and when He had received that ordinance, then He received his inauguration, his anticipative inauguration. And thus He was solemnly constituted and appointed of God the Father to be the giver of this bread. And now I beg you to notice this, because you will perceive at once how it puts an end to that foolish imagination that the Lord Jesus Christ is the giver of this bread as the Second Person in the Godhead. It is not as the Second Person. It is as God's Christ, that He is the giver. Now, you perceive, God the Father's having sealed Him, assigning that as the reason for his giving this food, is a direct testimony to that distinguishing point. "Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" They were touched by his saying; they put a question as if they thought Him capable of giving instruction, and as if they were

ready to follow it. "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." This is what God calls upon you to do. And all the work,-notice this,-all the work of the people of God is, believing in Christ, which they cannot do without also believing in God; for there is no meaning in "Christ," but in relation to God, who hath made Him what He is for a certain end. Then

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this is what you are called to do. They said therefore unto Him, What sign showest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?" You call us to believe in you; give us some proof that we ought to believe in you. Then they proposed one. "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat."

Now there is a remarkable connection of events here, which is easily understood by those who enter into the method of God's proceedings. In all cases He brings out what He purposes to teach, by a sort of natural and necessary order of events. This was about the time of the feast of the passover; so we are told; and the Lord was going to show that He had an ordinance which would supersede the feast of the passover; and that ordinance was connected with the giving of bread; and therefore a miracle was arranged, which should consist in the giving of bread. And thus, by a natural connection, instruction would be given in the form of administering bread. Why now, who can doubt that the Lord had in his view here that

second ordinance of his, the ordinance of the Supper? Well then, they proposed that He should do something for them like what Moses had done. Moses had been the instrument of God for bringing down the manna. "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven." We say "that bread," but more properly "the bread;" it is that peculiar preeminent bread. He did not give you the bread from heaven. It is not that He denies Moses to have been the instrument of God in bringing down the manna. What He means to deny is, that the manna was the bread. Moses gave you not the bread, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. "For the bread of God,"-the bread which God gives, and which has God in it; mind that, “the bread which God gives, and which has God in it:" why, he (Moses) gave you natural bread; there is the distinction: Moses gave you natural bread: "For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." There can be no question that He means himself by, "He that cometh down from heaven." And now may God enable me in very few words to express this "coming down from heaven." It is not merely that the Second Person did come down from heaven in human form; but the Second Person, having subsisted from the beginning, from

everlasting, in the form of the risen Godman by a predestinative and covenant arrangement; He, not only that same person, but that same person having worn the very form in which He was to return back,—did come down, did appear and make himself manifest to the eyes of flesh upon the earth. And here is a peculiarity to be noticed; the person was not altered by the adjunct of a perfect humanity; his person remained precisely the same that it had been from all eternity; the form of his substance was changed by the addition, but the person itself not in the minutest jot or tittle altered. But now, as I distinctly told you before, He came from the heavenly places, which are distinguished by opposition to the earth, by contradistinction to earth; -heaven is that which is not earth; heaven, as you have heard it again and again defined, is that imagined region which lies beyond the barriers of the material universe; He then that had subsisted out of the world now came into the world, now wore a visible form among the sons of men. "The Word,"-notice this," the Word" does not mean the Second Person simply. Look at Rev. xix; and ask whether that is the Second Person simply; the Word is the risen Godman, subsistent as such, predestinatively and covenantwise, before He really was that sort of personal substance. Not to confound you with words, I withdraw the word "personal;" before He was that very substance; his person, as I have said, never undergoing any change. "He which cometh down from heaven,

and giveth life unto the world." Now notice that expression; see how much depends upon it. "Giveth life," reality of life; flesh and blood life is not called reality of life; that only is life, which is eternal, eternal as to the future; satisfying, perfect happiness, never coming to an end, is alone what is really and fitly, and is here called, life. Well, He is "to give life unto the world." Now I desire you always to bear in mind, the junction of God with the creature had a far wider extent than the mere giving of life to a number of individuals. Nevertheless, the life here spoken of is that reality of life which is given by Him to a number of individuals; and when He says "life to the world," it is by way of contradistinction to the Jewish nation: that manna was confined to the Jewish nation; this life shall be extended to a people of all mankind. And we may here take into our view that future dispensation which is to be introduced after what we are taught to call, in one consideration, the consummation of all things. But I will confine my view, and aim to confine yours, to that elect people out of all mankind, as contrasted with the peculiar nation, unto which the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world that, among other things, He might give this reality of life.

"Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread." It was a sort of natural aspiration, after hearing such a testimony. "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life:" the bread which hath life in itself. Now understand, this is the bread throughout;