The word friend in the language of Scripture is very general; but eminently so when spoken of Christ. Abraham is called "the friend of God" (2 Chronicles 20:7) And the friendship of David and Jonathan is proverbial. (1 Samuel 18:3) But all friendship falls to the ground, when brought into any comparative statement with that of the friendship of the Lord Jesus. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." So Speaks Jesus himself. (John 15:13) But though no man ever manifested greater love than this, yet the God-man himself far, very far, exceeded it; for he laid down his life for his enemies. (Romans 5:8) And what unceasing, what everlasting, what unexampled proofs did Jesus give of his friendship, before it came to this last finishing act of love in dying for his people. He engaged from everlasting as our Surety; he took our nature, married our persons, paid all our debts, cancelled all our insolvency, bore the whole weight and pressure both of our sins and his Father's wrath, endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, lest we should be weary and faint in our minds; and having died for us, he took up both the person and the causes of all his people. He is now carrying on the whole purposes of redemption, and never intermits one moment an unceasing attention to our present and everlasting interests; neither will he, until that he hath brought home all his redeemed to glory, that "where he is, there they may be also." Well might the spouse in the Canticles, in the contemplation of such unheard of unexampled love, exclaim, "This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!" (Song of Solomon 5:16)