The death of Christ on the cross was but the accomplishment in time of an eternal purpose in the bosom of the Father, and hence it was that thus "it behoved him to suffer." No words could more strikingly embody the truth that the Father is the fountain of mercy, and that in order to make that mercy available to us, he gave up his own Son to the death of the cross as the medium through which alone sinners could obtain an equitable pardon. There may be mystery about the precise line at which the agency of the Father, and that of the men who crucified the Lord meet; but whatever the mystery, the fact is unquestionable, that Christ, in his inconceivable agonies, was duly accomplishing the awful work which the Father had given him to do.

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