[ p. v ]
It is just twenty years since the appearance of The Days of His Flesh , my first book, written with much misgiving, at the request of the late Sir William Robertson Nicoll, while I was minister in a remote Scottish parish; and the favour which greeted it and has attended it all these years has taught me not only how graciously our Lord owns a feeble service rendered in faith and love but how eagerly the human heart everywhere longs for a larger knowledge and a deeper understanding of Him. During those years, so eventful for humanity and so fraught in my own experience with loving-kindness and tender mercy, my esteem of the Holy Scriptures and my reverence for Him of whom they testify have both increased ; and it has long been in my heart to tell the immortal story afresh after a simpler fashion, eschewing the distraction of critical discussion and referring to my earlier work for the justification of my handling of the evangelic narratives and my arrangement of the precious material which they furnish.
This book is the realisation of my purpose. It is an attempt, by one who for upwards of thirty years [ p. vi ] has been continually employed in study of the sacred records and the relevant literature, ancient and modem, and who has moreover enjoyed a peculiar opportunity of acquainting himself with the thoughts and needs of his generation, to exhibit our Blessed Lord and Saviour as He dwelt here long ago and follow His progress from Bethlehem to Olivet. Poor though it be, it is a grateful tribute—the best that I can bring—to the Love which has blessed my life and made my heart glad; and as I now lay it humbly and reverently at His feet, may He pardon its manifold imperfection and deign to use it for His glory and the confirmation of my readers in His faith and peace and hope!
D. S.
College Park, Belfast.