oose
him and let him go." Even in Gethsemane, when oppressed with agony too
great for human endurance, his self-possession remained as perfect as
his submission to his Father's will. That his serenity never left him
for a moment during the process of his arrest, trial, sentence, and
lingering death on the cross, is a truth which shines forth from the
sacred narrative as his own raiment did on the mount of transfiguration,
"white and glistering." Any attempt to describe it would be but mockery.
And yet this deep composure of spirit is not that of indifference or of
a cold temperament. It is the composure of one in whose bosom burns a
steady and intense flame of zeal for the glory of God and good will
towards men, by which he is borne forward with untiring energy in the
work committed to him from above. It is the composure of a spirit whose
depth of emotion none can measure.

We notice again the union in our Lord of perfect _wisdom_ with perfect
_freedom from guile_ and double dealing. That his wisdom was never at
fault all must admit. He was surrounded by crafty adversaries, who
contrived all manner of plans to entangle him in his talk. Yet in the
twinkling of an eye he turned their wiles against themselves, and they
found themselves taken in their own net. Meanwhile he always pursued the
straightforward course of sincerity and truth. Not the slightest trace
of deceit or cunning artifice appeared in his ministry from first to
last.

Closely allied to the above-named qualities are _prudence_ and
_boldness_, both of which met in full measure in our Lord's character.
That he feared no man and shrank from no peril when it was his duty to
encounter it, is too obvious to be insisted on. Yet he never needlessly
encountered opposition and danger. He was never bold for the purpose of
making a show of boldness. When the Jews sought to kill him, he "walked
in Galilee" to avoid their enmity. When his brethren went up to the
feast in Jerusalem, he would not go up with them, but afterwards went
up, "not openly, but as it were in secret." When, at a later day, after
the resurrection of Lazarus, the Jews sought his life, he "walked no
more openly among the Jews; but went thence into a country near to the
wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his
disciples." Not until the time had come that he should die for the sins
of the world did he expose himself to the rage of his enemies; and then
he went boldly into J