think it going too far if I were
to say that in making Himself like unto all His brethren, our Lord made
Himself like Mr. Ready-to-halt too? Indeed He did. And it was because
his Lord did this, that Mr. Ready-to-halt so loved his Lord as to follow
Him upon crutches. It would not be thought seemly, perhaps, to carry the
figure too close to our Lord. But, figure apart, it is only orthodox and
scriptural to say that our Lord accomplished His pilgrimage and finished
His work leaning all along upon His Father's promises. Esaias is very
bold about this also, for he tells his readers again and again that their
Messiah, when He comes, will have to be held up. He will have to be
encouraged, comforted, and carried through by Jehovah. And in one
remarkable passage he lets us see Jehovah hooping Messiah's staff first
with brass, and then with silver, and then with gold. Let Thomas
Goodwin's genius set the heavenly scene full before us. "You have it
dialoguewise set forth," says that great preacher. "First Christ shows
His commission, telling God how He had called Him and fitted Him for the
work of redemption, and He would know what reward He should receive of
Him for so great an undertaking. God at first offers low; only the elect
of Israel. Christ thinks these too few, and not worth so great a labour
and work, because few of the Jews would come in; and therefore He says
that He would labour in vain if this were all His recompense; and yet
withal He tells God that seeing His heart is so much set on saving
sinners, to satisfy Him, He will do it even for those few. Upon this God
comes off more freely, and openeth His heart more largely to Him, as
meaning more amply to content Him for His pains in dying. 'It is a light
thing,' says God to Him, 'that Thou shouldest be My servant to raise up
the tribes of Jacob--that is not worth Thy dying for. I value Thy
sufferings more than so. I will give Thee for a salvation to the ends of
the earth.' Upon this He made a promise to Christ, a promise which God,
who cannot lie, promised before the world began. God cannot lie, and,
most of all, not to His Son."

And, then, more even than that. This same deep divine tells us that it
is a certain rule in divinity that, whatsoever we receive from Christ,
that He Himself first receives in Himself for us. All the promises of
God's word are made and fulfilled to Christ first, and so to us in and
after Him. In other words, our Lord's lif