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And Jesus may well be called a loving messenger, because he came into the world not only to tell us this great truth, but also to be himself the proof of it.

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But in the third place, Jesus is-AN EVER-PRESENT-messenger. A messenger can be of no use in any place where he is not present. And an earthly messenger can never be present in more than one place at

a time. But Jesus, the messenger of the covenant is always present in every place. David felt this when he said:-"From the ends of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Ps. lxi: 2. It would have been no use for David, "from the ends of the earth" to cry unto one who was not there to hear his cry. But Jesus is present everywhere.

What a good illustration we have of this in the case of Jonah! When he was in the belly of "the great fish" that swallowed him, he was carried down to the bottom of the sea. What a far off, lonely place that was to be in! In speaking of it himself, he said:—“The floods compassed me about. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the weeds were wrapped about my head; the earth with her bars was about me forever." Jonah ii: 3-6. What a strange place that was in which to pray! Jonah called it "the belly of hell." Yet from that deep, dark, lonely place Jonah prayed unto God. His prayer was heard and answered, and he was brought back in safety to the light, and to the land again.

Jesus the ever-present messenger was there to help him, when he cried. And so he is present in every place to hear and answer us when we call upon him.

Here is an illustration from the experience of a sea-captain. "Once, when I was crossing the Atlantic," said he, "it had been my watch on deck till midnight. Then the first-mate took my place, and I went down into the cabin to sleep for four hours. I told the mate the direction in which the vessel was to be steered. While I was undressing to turn into my berth, the thought came into my mind that I ought to change the ship's course one point." The mariner's compass, you know has a circle drawn around it which is divided up into a great many points. "The vessel was heading to the north-east. The thought that came The thought that came into my mind was to change her course to one point south of north-east. But I could see no reason for the change, for I knew that north-east was the right course to reach the port for which we were sailing. So I turned into my berth and tried to go to sleep. But I could not sleep. Something seemed to be saying to me, in a strange way—“Change the vessel's course one point." I tried to put the thought away, but it was impossible. At last I rose and went on deck, and ordered the man who was steering, to change the vessel's

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course one point. Then I went to bed and slept till morning. The next day we saw a vessel in the distance with a signal of distress flying. We made sail for her. On coming up to her, we found she had sprung a-leak, and was in a sinking condition. We saved the whole ship's company.

Soon after a severe gale arose in which the ship went down, and all on board would have perished if they had not been taken off. I did not understand, the night before, what I was changing my ship's course for; but now, the meaning of it was plain enough." This was the captain's story.

And here is the explanation of it. The captain of that sinking ship was not a Christian; but he had a Christian wife at home. There, hundreds of miles away, she was praying for the safety of her husband. Jesus, the messenger of the covenant, was present with her, and heard her prayers. He was present with her husband on that sinking ship. He saw the danger he was in. He was present with the captain of the other ship in his cabin. He put into his mind the thought which seemed so strange to him

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The Mariner's Compass.

'change the ship's course one point." In this way, the prayer of that Christian wife was heard, and her husband and his crew were saved from death. Jesus is an ever-present messenger.

In the fourth place, Jesus is-AN ABLE-messenger.

The messengers that we employ have very little power. They may be able to carry the message that we send by them, but that is all. In carrying our message, they may meet with many difficulties which they have no power to overcome. But Jesus, the messenger of the covenant, is able to overcome every difficulty in his way. He has "all power in heaven and on earth given unto him," and he makes use of that power to help, and comfort, and save, and bless his people. Just think for a moment, of some of the things which the Bible tells us that he is able to do. "He is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Matt. iii: 9.

"He is able to save unto the uttermost, them that come unto God through him." Heb. vii: 25. "What he has promised, he is able to perform." Rom. iv: 21. He is "able to make all grace abound to us, that we may abound in every good work." II Cor. ix: 8. He is "able to build us up, and give us an inheritance among them that are sanctified." Acts xx: 32. He is "able to keep us from falling, and present us faultless before the presence of his glory, with exceeding joy." Jude xxiv. He is "able to succor them that are tempted." Heb. ii: 18. He is "able to make" his people

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"stand." Rom. xiv: 4. He is "able to save or to destroy." James iv: 12. He is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." Ephes. iii: 20. This last is a most wonderful statement. Jesus is able to do not only some things that we ask, but all that we ask; he is able to do above all that we ask; he is able to do abundantly above all that we ask; he able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask. And then, as if this were not enough, the apostle tells us that Jesus is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we think," as well as above all that we ask. What a blessing to have such a messenger as our friend!

We have a striking illustration of the ability of Jesus to help his people in what took place on the Sea of Galilee, while he was here in our

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