PREFACE.

The personal and official titles of our Lord Jesus, unlike the names and designations of the world, are real and substantial things- each one possessing profound significance and unfading glory. They have not been inaptly denominated, by a divine of the sixteenth century, a "cabinet of jewels." With them our Lord is completely invested Himself the divinest, the most costly and precious one of all. They emblazon His person, shed luster upon His work, and will sparkle upon brow when in His Second Coming, "upon His head shall be many crowns." Each title embodies a distinct meaning and illustrates a particular truth, the significance and preciousness of which the Holy Spirit can alone unfold and the believing heart alone appreciate. Like His twofold nature, the titles of our Lord are wonderful, and, like His infinite resources, they are exhaustless. The present volume is an attempt to explore, in a limited degree, this costly treasure. The author is painfully conscious that he has scarcely opened the sacred casket, and that even the few precious gems he has exposed to view, he fears are placed in a light so dim, and are arranged with a hand so inartistic, as greatly to obscure their luster and to veil their worth. With his readers he is prepared to exclaim, "The half has not been told us!" And yet so essential is it to know the Lord Jesus, so important to believe in, admire, and love Him, the author is consoled by the thought that the dimmest presentation, the feeblest uplifting of the Savior, may win to Him a soul and plant a new jewel in His crown. May this be the happy result of these pages!

There is, perhaps, no name belonging to our Lord with which the believer is in more practical and constant communion than the one selected as the distinctive title of this volume- "Emmanuel, God with us." How blessed to know that our daily life is a daily realization and experience of its truth, power, and preciousness. God in Christ is with us in all places, in all circumstances, and at all times. In all our "adversities of mind, body, and estate," "in all times of our tribulation; in all times of our wealth; in the hour of death and in the day of judgment, "Christ is "Emmanuel, God with us!" If the present volume but serve to keep this glorious name of our divine Redeemer, and the precious truth it expresses, prominently and constantly before the Christian Church, it will have served its mission; and to the Triune Jehovah shall be ascribed all the praise.