that He came not to do His own will, but His Father's. He is a king
of gentleness and meekness too: but do not mistake that. There is
no weak indulgence in Him. A man may be very meek, and yet stern
enough and strong enough. Moses was the meekest of men, we read, and
yet He made those who rebelled against him feel that he was not to be
trifled with. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram found that to their cost.
He would not even spare his own brother Aaron, his own sister Miriam,
when they rebelled. And he was right. He showed his love by it;
indulgence is not love. It is no sign of meekness, but only of
cowardice and carelessness, to be afraid to rebuke sin. Moses knew
that he was doing God's work, that he was appointed to make a great
nation of those slavish besotted Jews, his countrymen; that he was
sent by God with boundless blessings to them; and woe to whoever
hindered him from that. Because he loved the Jews, therefore he
dared punish those who tempted them to forget the promised land of
Canaan, or break God's covenant, in which lay all their hope.

And such a one is our King, my friends; Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Like Moses, says St. Paul, He is faithful in all His office.
Therefore He is severe as well as gentle. He was so when on earth.
With the poor, the outcast, the neglected, those on whom men
trampled, who was gentler than the Lord Jesus? To the proud
Pharisee, the canting Scribe, the cunning Herodian, who was sterner
than the Lord Jesus? Read that awful 23rd chapter of St. Matthew,
and then see how the Saviour, the lamb dumb before His shearers, He
of whom it was said "He shall not strive nor cry, nor shall His voice
be heard in the streets"--how He could speak when He had occasion. .
. . "Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" "Ye serpents,
ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"