MESSIAH
Fifty Expository Discourses
Preached in the years 1784 and 1785
by John Newton
VOLUME II
Digitized by Susanna K. Martens
Sermon XXVI
The Ascension of Messiah to Glory
Lift up your head, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.
T he institutions of the Levitical law were a “shadow” or “sketch” of good things to come. They exhibited a faint and general outline of the mediation and glory of MESSIAH. They may be compared to the delicate engravings on a seal, the beauty and proportions of which cannot be plainly discerned without the assistance of a magnifying glass. The Gospel answers to such a glass. Beheld through this medium, the miniature delineations of the law, which to the eye of unassisted un-humbled reason, appear confused and insignificant; display a precision of arrangement in the parts, and an importance of design in the whole, worthy the wisdom of their great Author.
From the similarity of the subject of this 24 th Psalm and the 68 th , it is at least probable that they were both composed upon the same occasion —the removal of the Ark of the Lord from its last stationary residence, to its fixed abode in Zion, when the king, the priests, the singers and the harpers all assisted in the procession; attended by a great concourse of the people. The language of the latter part of the Psalm is evidently alternate. And we may conceive that when the Ark approached the Tabernacle, the priests and Levites who accompanied it demanded admittance for it in these words, Lift up you heads, O ye gates, etc., and were answered by those who were waiting within to receive it, Who is the King of glory? To which question the proper reply is made, The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory.
This, if taken according to the letter of history,
was a grand and solemn transaction. But at the same time it was a
type
[prophetic symbol] of an event unspeakably more
glorious. They who know that the Scriptures of the Old Testament
testify of Christ, that it is
He
of whom Moses in the Law, David in the Psalms, and
all the succeeding prophets wrote, will I think, agree in considering
this passage as referring to His ascension, in the nature in which He
suffered, into the true holy place in the heavens, as the
representative and High Priest of His people; when, after having by His
own self purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty
on high. Then having spoiled principalities and powers, He triumphed
over them openly, though not in the view of mortal eyes. He lifted up
His hands, and blessed His apostles, and while in this attitude He was
parted from them
(
We conceive of Him, therefore, from this sublime passage, as ascending to His Father and our Father; to His God and our God; accompanied with a train of worshipping angels, who demand admittance for MESSIAH the Saviour and friend of sinners, as the King of glory. The question is asked, who is He that claims this honour? An answer is given, asserting His character, His victories, and the justice of His claims — The LORD of Hosts, the LORD strong in battle, He is the King of glory!
The principal points which offer to our consideration, are,
I. His title, the LORD of Hosts
II. His victories, implied in the expression The LORD strong and mighty in battle.
III. His mediatorial title, the King of glory.
IV. His authoritative entrance into the holy place
I.
MESSIAH
, who humbled Himself to the death of the cross,
is
the LORD of Hosts.
He is so, if the Scripture be true; I attempt no
other proof. This is a point not referred to in the discussion of our
fallen reason, but proposed by the authority of God in His Word, as the
foundation of our faith and hope. He is the husband of the Church; and
the husband of the Church is the LORD of Hosts
(
II.
He is the LORD, strong and mighty in battle.
It was in His human nature that by Himself He engaged
with His enemies and ours, and the victory was the LORD’s.
Therefore, tho’ He
trod the winepress alone
,
and of the people there was none with Him
(
III.
The title of ‘
King of glory,’
I understand
as being peculiarly applicable to Him in the
character of Mediator.
The
glory
of
His
divine
nature
is
essential
to
Him.
But in consequence of His obedience unto death, He
obtained in the human nature,
a name that is above every name
(
IV.
He ascended, in the nature of man, as the acknowledged King of glory . The everlasting gates unfolded wide, and He entered into the holy place, not made with hands, there to appear in the presence of God for His people,
(1.)
As their
REPRESENTATIVE
. The glory is properly His own, the benefit redounds
to His people. Sin had excluded them from the Kingdom, but He claimed
and took possession, in their name
(
(2.)
As their
HIGH PRIEST
and
INTERCESSOR
. He presents their persons and their prayers
acceptable to God. He bears the iniquity of their holy things. With
this encouragement, weak and unworthy as they are in themselves, and
though their best services are polluted, they find a liberty of access;
and because He ever lives, thus to make intercession for all who come
to God by Him
(
(3.)
Though the heavens must receive and contain the holy
human nature, till the restitution of all things, He is not unmindful
of them in their present circumstances. He is seated upon the Throne of
universal dominion, and He exercises His authority and rule, with an
especial view to their welfare. While He pleads for them on high, He is
present with them below by the power of His Spirit. He comforts their
hearts, enlivens their assembles, and manages their concerns. He is
their Shepherd, who gives them food, controls their enemies, revives
their fainting spirits, and restores their wanderings
(
This High and Holy One, this King of glory, who is
seated on the throne of heaven, dwells also in the humble and lowly
spirit. He thus solemnly claims the throne of the heart of each of His
people, which in a state of nature is usurped by self and Satan; and He
is thus willingly acknowledged and admitted in the day of His
power.
Behold! He stands at the door and knocks
(
I close the subject with the Apostle’s
inference,
Seeing then that we have so great a High Priest, who
is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
profession
(
Others, if they can, must prepare to meet Him. But
alas! How shall they stand before Him? Or whither shall they flee from
Him whose presence fills heaven and earth?
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXVII
Messiah the Son of God
For to which of the angels said He at any time,
Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee?
T
hough every part of a revelation from God must of
course be equally true, there may be a considerable difference even
among truths proposed by the same authority, with respect to their
immediate importance. There are fundamental truths, the knowledge of
which are essentially necessary to our peace and holiness: and there
are others of a secondary nature, which, though very useful in their
proper connection, and though the right apprehension of them is greatly
conducive to the comfort and establishment of a believer; are not so
necessary, but that he may be a true believer before he clearly
understands them. Thus our Lord pronounced Peter,
“Blessed”
(
However, if there be any doctrine fundamental and
necessary to be rightly understood, what the Scripture teaches
concerning the person of
MESSIAH
the Redeemer, must be eminently so. Mistakes upon
this point, must necessarily be dangerous. It cannot be a question of
mere speculation, whether the Saviour be God, or creature. He must be
either the one or the other. And the whole frame of our religion is
unavoidably dependant upon the judgment we form of Him. If he be a man
only, or if he be an angel, though of the highest order, and possessed
of excellencies peculiar to himself; still upon the supposition that he
is but a creature, he must be infinitely inferior to his Maker, in
comparison of whose immensity the difference between and angel and a
worm is annihilated. Then all they who pay divine worship to Jesus, who
love Him above all, trust Him with all their concerns for time and
eternity, and address Him in the language of Thomas,
My Lord, and my God
,
(
We ascribe it, therefore, to the wisdom and goodness of God, that a doctrine so important, the very pillar and ground of truth, is not asserted once, or in a few places of Scripture only. It does not depend upon texts which require a nice skill in criticism, or a collation of ancient manuscripts, to settle their sense; but, like the blood of the animal economy, it pervades and enlivens the whole system of revelation. The books of Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets, all testify of Him, who was styled the Son of God in so peculiar a sense, that the Apostle, in this passage, considers it as a sufficient proof that He is by nature superior to all creatures. The form of the question implies the strongest assertion of this superiority; as if He had said, Conceive of the highest and most exalted of the angels, it would be absurd to suppose that God would say to him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee
The verse contains three terms which require explanation. ‘ My Son ,’ ‘ Begotten ,’ and ‘ This Day .’ But who is sufficient for these things? If I attempt to explain them, I wish to speak with caution and with modesty becoming the sense I ought to have of my own weakness, and to keep upon safe ground; lest instead of elucidating so sublime a subject, I should darken counsel by words without knowledge. And, in these enquiries, I know of no safe ground to go upon but the sure testimony of Scripture. It would be improper to the last degree to indulge flights of imagination, or a spirit of curiosity, or conjecture upon this occasion. Those are the deep things of God., in which if we have not the guidance of His Word and Spirit, we shall certainly bewilder ourselves. Nor would I speak in a positive dogmatizing strain. At the same time I trust the Scripture will afford light sufficient, to preserve us from a cold and comfortless uncertainty.
The gracious design of God in affording us His holy
Scripture, is to
make us wise unto salvation
(II
Timothy
3:15)
His
manner
of
teaching
is
therefore
accommodated to our circumstances. He instructs in
heavenly things by earthly. And to engage our confidence, to excite our
gratitude, to animate us to our duty by the most affecting motives; and
that the reverence we owe to His great and glorious Majesty, as our
Creator and our Legislator, may be combined with love and cheerful
dependence; He is pleased to reveal Himself by those names which
express the nearest relation and endearment amongst ourselves. Thus He
condescends to style Himself the Father, the Husband, and the Friend of
His people. But though in this way we are assisted in forming our
conceptions of His love, compassion, and faithfulness, it is obvious
that these names, when applied to Him, must be understood in a sense
agreeable to the perfections of His nature, and in many respects
different from the meaning they bear amongst men. And thus, when we are
informed that God has a Son, it is our part to receive His testimony,
to admire and adore; and for an explanation adapted to our profit and
comfort, we are to consult, not our own preconceived ideas, but the
further declarations
of
His Word, comparing spiritual things with spiritual,
attending to His instructions with the simplicity of children, and
avoiding, as much as possible, those vain reasonings, upon points above
our comprehension, which, though flattering to the pride of our hearts,
are sure to indispose us for the reception of divine truth. A
distinction of the Divine Nature inconceivable by us, but plainly
revealed in terms, must be admitted upon the testimony and authority of
Him who alone can instruct us in what we are concerned to know of His
adorable essence.
There are three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one
(
Allow me to confirm my own sentiments, by and observation of a celebrated French * writer to the following purport: —‘The whole difference, with respect to this subject, between the common people and the learned doctors, is, that while they are both equally ignorant, the ignorance of the people is modest and ingenuous, and they do not blush for being unable to see what God has thought fit to conceal. Whereas the ignorance of their teachers is proud and affected; they have recourse to scholastic distinctions, and abstract reasonings, that they may not be thought upon a level with the vulgar.’ * Jakob Abbadie (1654?-1727)
The form of baptism prescribed by our Lord for the
use of His Church, is thus expressed,
Baptizing
them
in the name of the Father
,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
(
Our Lord, in His conference with Nicodemus, was
pleased to say,
God so loved the world that He
gave
His
only
begotten
Son
,
etc.
(
I cannot, therefore, suppose, that the title Son of God, is merely a title of office, or belonging only to the nature which He assumed. But that MESSIAH is the Son of God, as He is God and man in one person. If the forming of a perfect and spotless man, like Adam when he was first created, could have effected our salvation, it would have been a great and undeserved mercy to have vouchsafed [graciously granted] the gift; but I think it would not have required such very strong language as the Scripture uses, in describing the gift of the Son of God. The God-man, the whole person of Christ, was sent, came forth from the Father. The manhood was the offering, but the Word of God, possessed of the perfections of Deity, was the altar necessary to sanctify the gift, and to give a value and efficacy to the atonement.
The term
begotten
, expresses with us the ground of relation between
Father and Son, and upon which an only son is the heir of the father. I
feel and confess myself to be at a loss here. I might take up your
time, and perhaps conceal my own ignorance, by borrowing from the
writings of wiser and better men than myself, a detail of what have
been generally reputed the more prevailing orthodox sentiments on this
subject. But I dare not go beyond my own ideas. I shall not, therefore,
attempt to explain the phrase
eternal generation
, because I must acknowledge that I do not clearly
understand it myself. Long before time began, the purpose of
constituting the Mediator between God and sinners, was established in
the Divine Counsels. With reference to this, He Himself speaks in the
character of the Wisdom of God.
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way,
before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the
beginning, or ever the earth was. Then I was by Him, as one brought up
with Him, rejoicing always before Him; rejoicing in the habitable parts
of the earth, and my delights were among the sons of men
(
The Scripture, in different places, evidently applies the purport of this phrase ‘ I have begotten thee,’ to transactions which took place in time, This Day, and particularly to two principal events.
(1.)
His
INCARNATION
. Thus the angel said to Mary,
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of
the Highest shall overshadow thee
(
(2.)
His
RESURRECTION
. To this purpose our text is quoted from the second
Psalm.
The promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath
fulfilled the same to the children, in that He hath raised up Jesus
again; as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this
day have I begotten thee
(
After all, I would remind you, that the best
knowledge of the doctrine of the person of Christ, that which affords
life and comfort to the soul, is to be obtained, not so much by enquiry
and study on our part, as by a gracious manifestation on His part.
Prayer, attention to the great Teacher, a humble perusal of the
Scripture, and a course of simple obedience to His known will, are the
methods which He has prescribed for our growth in grace, and in the
knowledge of Himself. Thus even babes are made wise; while they who are
wise and prudent in their own sight, the more they endeavour to
investigate and ascertain the sense of Scripture, are frequently
involved more and more in perplexity. He has given a promise and
direction for the encouragement of those who sincerely seek Him.
He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it
is that loveth me; and he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father,
and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him
(
This is He with whom we have to do. In and by this
Son of His love, we have access by faith unto God. Unworthy and
helpless in ourselves, from hence we derive our plea; here we find a
refuge; and on this we rest,
that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is
in His Son;
who is so much
better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance
obtained a more excellent name than they
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXVIII
Messiah Worshipped By Angels
Let all the angels of God worship Him.
M
any of the Lord’s true servants, have been in a
situation so nearly similar to that of Elijah, that
like
him
they
have
been
tempted
to
think they were left to serve the Lord alone
(
Though the bringing of MESSIAH , the first or only begotten into the world, may, as I have observed already, be applied to His incarnation, or to His resurrection, I apprehend it rather designs the whole of His exhibition in the flesh. At His ascension, having finished the work appointed for Him to do, He was solemnly invested with authority and glory, and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. But in His lowest, no less than in His exalted state, the dignity of His divine person is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He was always the proper object of worship. It was agreeable to right, and to the nature of things, and a command worthy of God, that all the angels of God should worship Him.
The holy angels that excel in strength
(
Here then, as I have mentioned, is a pattern and encouragement for us. The angels, the whole host of heaven, worship Him. He is Lord of all. We in this distant world have heard the report of His glory, have felt our need of such a Saviour, and are, in some degree, witnesses and proofs of His ability and willingness to save. He lived, He died, He arose, He reigns for us. Therefore humbly depending upon His promised grace, without which we can do nothing, we are resolved, that whatever others do, we must, we will worship Him, with the utmost powers of our souls. It is our determination and our choice, not only to praise and honour Him with our lips, but to devote ourselves to His service, to yield ourselves to His disposal, to entrust our all to His care, and to place our whole happiness in His favour. I hope, in speaking thus, I speak the language of many of your hearts.
Some reflections easily offer from this subject, with which I shall close it.
(1.)
They who love Him, may rejoice in the thoughts of His glory. They have deeply sympathized with Him, when reading the history of His humiliation and passion. It has not been a light concern to them, that He endured agonies, that He was rejected, reviled, scourged and slain. He who suffered these things was their best friend, their beloved Lord, and He suffered for their sakes. In the glass [magnifying glass] of His Word, and by the light of His Holy Spirit, He has been set forth as crucified before their eyes. And they have been crucified with Him, and have had fellowship with Him in His death. From hence they derive their indignation against sin, and their indifference to the world, which treated Him thus. But now He is no more a man of sorrows; His head, which was once crowned with thorns, is now crowned with glory; His face, which was defiled with spittle, shines like the sun; His hands, which were manacled, wield the sceptre of universal government; and, instead of being surrounded with insulting men, He is now encircled by adoring angels. Therefore they rejoice with joy unspeakable, expecting soon to see Him as He is, and to be with Him forever, according to the gracious promises He has made them, and the tenor of His prevailing intercession for them.
(2.)
What an honour does His exaltation and glory, reflect
upon His faithful followers? The world that rejected him pays little
regard to them. They are slighted, or scorned, or pitied, and, in
proportion as they manifest His Spirit, experience a degree of the
treatment which He met with. They are accounted visionaries or
hypocrites. Many of them are great sufferers. And few of them,
comparatively, are distinguished among men by abilities, influence or
wealth. They are pilgrims and strangers upon earth. Yet this God is
their God. He who is worshipped by angels is not ashamed to call them
brethren
(
(3.)
We may well admire the condescension of this great
King, who humbles Himself even to notice the worship of heaven; that He
should look upon the worship of sinful men with acceptance, and permit
such worms as we are to take His holy name upon our polluted lips. If
we know ourselves, we must be conscious of such defects and defilement
attending our best services, as are sufficient to affect us with shame
and humiliation. What wanderings of imagination, what risings of evil
thoughts, what unavoidable though unallowable workings of
self-complacence, mingle with our prayers and praises, and disturb us
in our secret retirements, in the public assembly, and even at the
table of the Lord! I hope we know enough of this, to be sensible that
we need forgiveness, not only for our positive transgressions of His
will, but for our sincerest, warmest and most enlarged attempts to
render Him glory due to His name! Yet we are incompetent and partial
judges of ourselves; we know but little of the evil of our own hearts,
and have but a slight sense of the malignity of that evil which is with
our observation. But the Lord searches the heart and the reins, to Him
all things are
naked,
without covering,
open
without concealment
(
(4.)
Hence we may infer the necessity of that change of
heart, which the Scripture expresses by a new birth, a new life, a new
creation, and other representations, which denote it can only be
effected by divine power. Till we are the subjects of this operation,
we are incapable of enjoying or even of seeing the Kingdom of
God
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXIX
Gifts Received for the Rebellious
Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive:
Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also,
that the LORD God might dwell among them.
W
hen Joseph exchanged a prison for the chief honour
and government of Egypt, the advantage of his exaltation was felt by
those who little deserved it
(
For their sakes He lives and reigns. He fought, conquered, and triumphed over their enemies. As their representative, He received gifts to bestow upon them. Such gifts as their necessities required, derived from the relation He was pleased to stand in to them, and from the value and dignity of His engagements on their behalf. Such gifts as He alone could communicate, and which alone could restore them to the favour of God, and revive His image in their hearts; so as to make it suitable to His holiness and truth, for the Lord God to return to His polluted temples, and to dwell in them, and among them.
I formerly observed [sermon XXVI, second paragraph] that this Psalm, and the 24 th , were probably composed and first published on the memorable occasion when David, having obtained the victory over his numerous enemies, and settled his kingdom in peace, removed the ark, which till then had no fixed residence, into Zion.
The Apostle’s application of this
passage
(
The clauses, as they lie in the text, suggest a convenient method for our meditation, and will lead me briefly to consider four points:
I. His ascension;
II. His victories;
III. The gifts He received for men;
IV. And the great end for which He bestows them.
I.
Thou hast ascended on high . God formed man originally for Himself, and gave him an answerable capacity, so that no inferior good can satisfy and fill his mind. Man was likewise, by the constitution and will of his Maker, immortal, provided he persevered in obedience. But sin degraded and ruined him, shut the gates of Paradise, and the gates of Heaven against him. Man destroyed himself; but wisdom and mercy interposed for his recovery. A promise was given of the seed of the woman, who should bruise the serpent’s head, defeat his policy, destroy his power, and repair the mischiefs he had introduced by sin. MESSIAH fulfilled this promise. And when He had finished all that was appointed for Him on earth, as the second Adam, the Head and Representative of His people, He ascended on high, and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. As an illustrious proof to the universe, that God is reconciled: that there is forgiveness with Him for sinners who implore His mercy: one in our nature, and in our behalf, has taken possession of the Kingdom.
The series of texts in this part of the
Oratorio
recalls this subject frequently to our thoughts; nor
can we think of it too often. It is the foundation of our hopes, the
source of our most sublime joys, and the sufficient, the only
sufficient answer to all the suggestions by which guilt, fear, unbelief
and Satan, fight against our peace. Surrounded as we are with enemies
and difficulties, we plead against every accusation and threatening,
that our Head is in heaven; we have an Advocate with the Father, a High
Priest upon the Throne, who, because He ever lives to make
intercession, is able to save to the uttermost. This is all our plea,
nor do we desire any other.
His ascension on high, is a sure pledge that His
servants shall follow Him
(
II.
Thou hast lead captivity captive. The expression is emphatic. He has conquered and triumphed over all the powers which held us in captivity, so that captivity itself is taken captive. The spirit and force of it is destroyed, and His people, when released by Him, and walking in His ways, have no more to apprehend from those whose captives they were, than a conqueror has to fear from a prisoner in chains. The energy of the phrase is not unlike that of the Apostle which we are hereafter to consider — death is swallowed up in victory. Man by nature is a captive, in a state of confinement and bondage, from which he cannot escape by any address or effort of his own.
He is captive to sin; a sinful state is a state of bondage; and this, notwithstanding the sinner is a willing captive, speaks swelling words of vanity, and boasts of liberty while he is the servant, the slave of corruption. He is not always, and in every sense, a willing captive. Conscience sometimes remonstrates, fills him with fears and forebodings, which make him struggle to be free. And there are many sins, which, besides being offences against the law of God, are directly contrary to the sinner’s present interest and welfare; and would be so upon his own plan, and if he was wholly his own master, and had no account to render of his conduct. Persons enslaved to habits of lewdness or drunkenness, need not be told from the pulpit, that the courses they pursue are injurious to their health, their business, or substance, their reputation and their peace. They know it and feel it, without a monitor. There are seasons, when the ill consequences they bring upon themselves, make them sick of the drudgery, and excite some effort towards a reform. But in vain. The next return of temptation, bears down all their resolutions like a torrent, and, after every attempt to amend, they usually become worse than before. For none can escape, unless the Son makes them free. His grace can overcome the most obstinate habits of licentiousness, and implant the contrary habits of purity and temperance. But they, who are not delivered by Him, must die in their chains.
III.
Thou hast received gifts, even for the
rebellious.
To bestow gifts upon the miserable, is
bounty
; but to bestow them upon rebels, is
grace
. The greatness of the gifts contrasted with the
characters of those who receive them, displays the exceeding riches of
the Redeemer’s grace. He came to save not the
unhappy
only, but the
ungodly
. He gives pardon, peace, and eternal life to His
enemies; whose minds are so entirely alienated from Him, that unless He
makes them willing, in the day of His power, their minds are determined
against accepting any favour from Him. They live long in contempt of
the law and authority of God; and though justly obnoxious to His
displeasure, while left to themselves, they despise and reject the
proposals of His mercy. If they sometimes acknowledge themselves to be
sinners, they still presume that they are able to procure His favour by
their own performances. They strangely imagine they have a sufficient
ground of hope, so long as it appears to themselves that they are not
altogether so bad as others. And when, by the Gospel, the Lord treats
them as sinners already justly condemned by the tenor of His holy laws,
and informs them of the exigency of their case; that nothing less than
the resources of His infinite wisdom, and the most expensive exertion
of His unspeakable love, can possibly save them from destruction; the
pride of their hearts rises against His declarations. His wisdom, in
their view, is folly; and His love provokes their enmity and scorn. He
says of
MESSIAH,
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,
hear ye Him;
but the language of their hearts is,
we will not have Him to reign over us
(
Can the spirit of rebellion rise higher, than when
they who have insulted the authority, defied the power, and resisted
the government and will of the great God, proceed at length to trample
upon His tenders [offers] of reconciliation, and to affront Him in that
concern, which of all others, is dearest to Him, the glory of His grace
in the person of His Son? Yet this is no exaggerated representation.
Such is the disposition of the heart of man towards God. Such were some
of us. And such, I fear, some of us are to this hour. I do not say that
this enmity of the carnal mind acts with equal rage and violence in
every person who is not subject to the grace of God. In a land of
light, liberty, and civilization, like ours, a variety of circumstances
may concur to set bounds to its exercise; education, a natural
gentleness of temper, and even interest, may keep it within limits of
decorum, especially towards some individuals; but I affirm, or rather
the Scripture declares, that enmity against God, a disaffection to His
Gospel, no less than to His law, and a dislike to those who profess and
obey the truth, are principles deeply rooted in our nature, as fallen:
and however they may seem dormant in some persons, for a season, would
operate vigorously, if circumstances were so to alter, as to afford a
fair occasion. For, as of old,
he that was born after the flesh, persecuted him that
was born after the Spirit, even so it is now
(
Thus men are characterized in the Word of God. Rebel
and enemies have a
neck of iron,
to denote their obstinacy;
a brow of brass
(
MESSIAH
died, arose, and ascended on high, that He might
receive gifts for rebels of this spirit and disposition. The one
grandest gift I shall specify, is, indeed, comprehensive of every other
good. The gift of the Holy Spirit. He said to His sorrowing
disciples,
It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go
not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will
send Him to you
(
That the Gospel is preached upon earth, by a
succession of ministers, called and furnished for that service; and
that the Gospel, when preached, is not rejected by all, as it is by
many, is wholly to be ascribed to the agency of the Holy Spirit, whose
office and covenant engagement it is, to convince
the world of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment
(
IV.
His ultimate design, in favour of rebellious men, the great final cause of His mediation, and particularly of His bestowing on them the gift of the Holy Spirit, is, that the Lord God may dwell among them. Man was created in the image of God, who formed him for Himself. But he sinned, and was forsaken. God withdrew His light and love from him, and man sank into darkness and misery. Sin and Satan took possession of the heart, which was originally designed to be the temple of the living God. But the Lord had a merciful purpose, to return in a way worthy of His perfections. Without Him, the souls of men, and the whole human race, as to their proper happiness, are like what the earth would be without the sun —dark, cold, fruitless, and comfortless. But the knowledge of MESSIAH, like the sun, enlightens the world, and the heart.
When in the day of His power, by the revelation of
His light and love, He destroys the dominion of sin, and dispossesses
Satan, He reclaims His own, and takes possession for Himself. The
heart, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, and anointed with the holy
unction, becomes a consecrated temple of the Holy Ghost. This
persuasion, though now deemed by many to be the essence of enthusiasm
[fanaticism], (yet who have not renounced the name of Christian), was
once thought essential to Christianity; so that the Apostle speaks of
it as an incontrovertible fact, with which no Christian could be
unacquainted.
Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost?
(
He dwells likewise among His people in their
collective capacity. His whole Church, comprising all the members of
His mystical Body,
built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets,
form a building fitly framed together, a palace, a
holy temple for the Lord the great King. He dwells likewise in every
particular society who walk by His rule, and adorn the profession of
His truth by a conversation becoming the Gospel. He is
a wall of fire round about
them, and a
glory in the midst of them
(
I trust He dwells and walks in the midst of us. He is
here as an observer, and as a gracious benefactor. He sees who
draw near Him with their lips, while their hearts are
far from Him;
and He likewise takes notice of them that fear and
love Him, and who esteem the light of His countenance to be better than
life.
The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, who
dwells in the high and holy place, dwells likewise with those that are
of a contrite and humble spirit
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXX
The Publication of the Gospel
The Lord gave the word:
great was the company of those that published it
[or of the preachers]
P
erhaps no one Psalm has given greater exercise to the
skill and patience of commentators and critics, than the sixty-eighth.
I suppose the difficulties do not properly belong to the Psalm, but
arise from our ignorance of various circumstances to which the Psalmist
alludes; which probably were, at that time, generally known and
understood. The first verse is the same with the stated form of
benediction which was used whenever the ark of the Lord set forward
while Israel sojourned in the wilderness
(
However, this passage is properly introduced
in
The Messiah Oratorio,
and in its proper place, immediately after the view
given of our Saviour’s triumphant ascension, as it leads us to
consider the first visible effect of that great event: for soon
afterwards,
when the day of Pentecost was fully come, the Lord
gave the word
(
My text therefore, if not a direct prophecy of the publication of the Gospel, is at least a fit motto to discourse on this very important subject. We may consider it in two senses, which, though something different, are equally agreeable to the words before us, and to the general tenor of Scripture.
I. That the message is the Lord’s. He gave the word, and prescribed to His servants the subject matter of their preaching.
II. That the messengers employed, are called and sent forth by Him. The Lord gave the word, or command; in consequence of which word, the number of preachers was great, as when in the beginning He said, Let there be light, and there was light.
I.
The Lord gave the word which the multitude of
preachers went forth to publish. His merciful design was great, to
deliver sinners from bondage, misery and death; and to bless them with
liberty, life and peace. But they are by nature rebellious and
obstinate, and must be
made
willing. He only can subdue their prejudices, and
soften their spirits; and He has promised to display His power in their
favour, by a certain mean [medium; method] of His own appointment, and
we cannot expect that He will do it in any other way. This mean
[medium; method] is the Gospel, which, for its admirable suitableness
and efficacy, is commended to us as
His wisdom and power
(
But we are sometimes asked, What do we understand by
the Gospel? The use of the term in a restrained sense, so as to imply
there are but comparatively few who preach it, is deemed invidious and
assuming; and it is supposed by many that a sermon, if delivered from a
pulpit and if the text be taken from the Bible, must of course be the
Gospel. It is undeniable, however, that there are a variety of
different and opposite sentiments delivered from pulpits; and surely
the Gospel cannot be opposite, contrary, yea contradictory to itself!
It is a mournful consideration that multitudes of people are not
qualified to judge of this point. Not properly for want of ability, for
many of them are persons of good sense and discernment, and can judge
and talk well upon other subjects; but for want of attention. Their
application is engrossed by the demands of business or pleasure, and
they have neither leisure nor taste for a careful perusal of the
Scriptures, nor for the examination of religious sentiments. If the
language and elocution of the preacher be good, and if there be no
close and painful address to the conscience, they are satisfied. The
Apostle Paul undoubtedly preached the Gospel; and he tells us himself
that he preached Christ crucified; he preached Christ as appointed of
God,
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and
redemption
(
There is likewise a certain energy or power which
accompanies the Gospel when it is truly preached, which sufficiently
characterizes and distinguishes it from all other religious schemes and
systems. Our Lord, during His personal ministry, frequently gave proofs
that He knew the heart
of
man.
When
Zacchaeus thought himself unknown and unseen, He
called him by his name
(
II.
It is owing to the word, the appointment and power of
God, that any persons are induced or enabled to preach this Gospel. Men
may, indeed, assume the office of a preacher upon other grounds; there
are too many who do. But though they speak in the name of the Lord, and
as His ministers, if He has not sent them, they cannot declare His
message in such a manner as to make full proof of their ministry
(
The hungry sheep look up, but are not fed.
Nay, we see in fact, though a few persons may still be found, who place their religion in a dull, unmeaning attendance upon the form of public worship, upon any form in which it was their lot to be educated; yet, in many places, the bulk of the people, by their contempt of the Lord’s day, and by their customary manner of absenting themselves from their appointed teachers, give sufficient proof that they have neither found, nor expect to find, so much benefit or pleasure, as to make them think it worth their while to attend.
From the following considerations it will appear to competent judges, that faithful preachers are called and prepared for their office by the Lord, the Head of the Church, and not by human institutions—
(1.)
That the Gospel cannot be rightly understood but by
[except by] divine teaching. The natural man, however distinguished by
abilities or literature, cannot
receive the things of the Spirit of God
(
(2.)
That the desire of preaching this Gospel when known,
if it be a right desire, must likewise be given. If a man should
attempt the service, without counting the cost, or considering the
consequences, he will most probably be disgusted and wearied. And if,
beforehand, he seriously and properly considers what he is about to
engage in, and has a due sense of his own weakness, he will tremble at
the prospect, and direct his thoughts to some other employment, unless
his call and support be from on high. What courage, wisdom, meekness,
and zeal appear requisite, in the view of such an enquirer, to qualify
a man for preaching, and continuing to preach, a doctrine so unpleasing
to the world, as the doctrine of the cross has in all ages proved! What
opposition, snares and difficulties,
what fightings from without, what fears within
, may be expected! Surely, he will be ready to shrink
back, and to say,
Who is sufficient for these things?
But the Lord, by the constraining sense of His love,
and by giving a deep impression of the worth of souls, and by exciting
in the mind a dependence upon His all-sufficiency, can and does
encourage those whom He calls and chooses to serve Him in the Gospel.
In themselves they are quite unequal to what is before them, but they
obey His voice; they trust in His promises for guidance and protection,
and are not disappointed. We are therefore directed to pray that
the Lord of the harvest would send,
or rather (according to the force of the Greek
word),
thrust forth labourers into His harvest
(
(3.)
That only He who sends forth His ministers can enable
them to persevere. It is a service of continual exertion and expense,
and requires a continual supply. The opposition of the world, and the
power of temptation, acting upon the weakness and depravity of the
heart, would quickly prevail against the best ministers, if they were
left to carry on the warfare at their own charges. They are at times,
yea frequently, in situations and circumstances, which teach them
feelingly the meaning of the Apostle’s words,
We were pressed out of measure, above strength,
insomuch that we despaired even of life
(
(4.)
That the Lord only can give success to their
endeavours.
Paul may plant, and Apollos may water,
but there is no
increase
unless He affords a blessing
(
We must however allow, and observe, that to preach
salvation to others, and even to be instrumental in saving souls, will
not absolutely prove that the preacher is in a state of salvation
himself: we hope it is generally so; but there are exceptions and
instances which should awaken our circumspection, and keep us
constantly looking to the Lord in a spirit of humility and dependence.
There was a Judas among the Apostles; and we are assured that at the
last day, some, yea many, will plead having done great things in the
name of Christ, whom He will notwithstanding disown as workers of
iniquity
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXXI
The Gospel Message, Good Tidings
[As it is written] How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things!
T
he
account
which
the
Apostle
Paul
gives
of
his
first
reception
among
the
Galatians
(
Thus, likewise, when Philip preached the Gospel in
Samaria, the consequence was great joy in that city
(
The
passage
in
the
Prophet
Isaiah
from
which
my
text is quoted, is very animated and
descriptive.
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him
that bringeth good tidings!
(
I. The message of the Gospel is glad tidings of peace and good things.
II. The messengers, or preachers, find ample reward in their success and acceptance.
I.
According to the Hebrew idiom, (which frequently
obtains [is applicable] in the New Testament) all good things are
comprised [included] in the term
peace.
They are eminently comprised in the peace of the
Gospel,
for it is the peace of God which passes
understanding.
It brings a blessed assurance, that
MESSIAH
has made peace by the blood of His cross. They who
believe this good report, derive peace of conscience from it; and are
able to say,
Though thou wert justly angry, thine anger is turned
away
(
If the wickedness and obstinacy of mankind were not
so strongly described and exemplified in the Bible, and if we could
forget that this obstinate perverseness was once our own character, we
should find it difficult to conceive, after we understand the nature
and design of the Gospel, upon what grounds a scheme so wisely and
completely adapted to relieve men from misery, to promote their present
comfort, and to secure their future happiness, should, instead of being
received with thankfulness, generally excite contempt and opposition.
Can the world afford a peace which shall abide and cheer the heart
under all the changing circumstances incident to us in this mortal
state? Can it propose any good, any honours, profit, or pleasures,
worthy of being compared with the honour which comes from God only, the
light of His countenance, and the riches of glory? Can the influence of
the world preserve us from trouble, or support us under it, or deliver
us out of it? Has it any charms capable of soothing the anguish of a
wounded conscience? Can it obviate [prevent] the stroke, or overcome
the fear of death? Or can it inspire the soul with confidence and joy,
in the contemplation of that approaching day, when we must all appear
before the tribunal of the supreme Judge? That the world, if we
possessed the whole of it, cannot do these things for us, is
acknowledged by many, and felt by all. The Gospel proposes a cordial
[tonic; cheering comfort] for every care, a balm for every wound; and
none who make the experiment of its efficacy are disappointed. In other
cases, they who have received great obligations may speak highly of
their benefactor; and they, who beyond hope, have been recovered from a
dangerous malady, may commend the skill and care of their physician, to
those who are labouring under the same disease, without giving offence.
But if they who have obtained life and peace by believing in Jesus,
proclaim His goodness, and point Him out to their fellow-sinners, as
the only Physician and Saviour of souls, their testimony is charged
with folly, and their endeavours rejected with scorn, as officious and
impertinent. Men, while left to themselves, will not come to Him that
they may have life. The god of this world so works upon their
prejudices, pride, and passions, that though the light of truth shines
around them like the light of the sun, the eyes of their mind are
blinded, and they are pleased with their darkness, and unwilling to
see
(
II.
The instruments of this happy change, find their reward in their work. It being owned to the salvation of a few, they are compensated for all the opposition they meet with from the many; and this on a two-fold account—
First, and principally, for the love they bear to their Lord and to souls for His sake.
To
see
His name made precious to the hearts of sinners; to
see those who were blind admiring His
excellence;
to
see
those
who
were
so
far
off
from
God
brought
so
nigh; to see those who were
wretched,
rejoicing
in
His
goodness;
to
hear
those
whose
lips
were
filled
with
folly, falsehood, or blasphemy, proclaiming His
praise. Such salutary effects of their ministry fill
them
likewise
with
praise
and joy. And when their hearers express the power and
spirit of the Gospel, in
their
tempers
and
conduct,
they
can
say,
Now
we
live,
if you stand fast in the Lord
(
A secondary satisfaction, which of itself is
sufficient to make them full amends for all the scorn of an unkind
world, is,
the share they have in the affections of the
people,
who are thus benefited by their ministry. This is the
popularity which alone is desirable. It would be a small thing to be
able merely to hold a multitude by the ears; but to be approved, and
loved, by those to whom the Lord has made them useful, is a high
honour, and a source of sublime pleasure. When Peter and John
(
But true Christians will, and do, set a high value upon the ministers, who with simplicity and godly sincerity, preach the Gospel of peace, in such a manner as to evidence that they are influenced by a regard to the glory of God, and to the good of souls. And they give proof of their affection in more ways than by speaking well of them.
(1.)
By the satisfaction with which they accept a faithful
ministry, as a balance to the trials they meet with in common life.
There are many poor, and many afflicted people, who have little comfort
in the things of this life, and in their own houses. Some are pinched
by penury, and some who live in opulence, yet dwell, as the Psalmist
expresses it
(
(2.)
By, in public, taking kindly and in good part his
most searching discourses, or even his reproofs and admonitions in
private, if needful. For they know that he watches over their souls, as
one who must give account
(
(3.)
By their tenderness and sympathy with him in all his
exercises; and by their care, according to their ability, to make his
situation comfortable, and to avoid everything that might give him just
occasion for complaint or grief. The trials of a faithful minister are
neither few nor small. His work is great; he is sure to meet with
enemies and discouragements. He travails in birth for souls
(
Sometimes their regard is rather improperly expressed; as when they not only value his ministry, but hold him so highly a favourite, that they can hardly hear another. A preference is certainly due to the person who is made especially useful, but no faithful preacher should be slighted. Though gifts and abilities are not equal in all, yet, they are all the Lord’s messengers, and entitled to regard.
Again, it is an improper regard, if they yield
themselves implicitly to him, to be governed by his will. So far as we
speak agreeably to the Scripture, which is the rule and standard of
faith and practice, both to you and to us, we are authorized to require
your attention and obedience; but you are not bound to receive what we
propose, merely upon our own authority. There are those who account
ignorance the mother of devotion, and expect an implicit compliance
with their injunctions, by virtue of their office and personal
influence. But a true minister, will account it his honour and pleasure
to preach to an enlightened people, who love and study the Bible, and,
like the Bereans,
in that they received the word with all readiness of
mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were
so
(
How much are they to be pitied, who account that word of grace a burden, which to those who receive it with thankfulness, proves the balm and cordial [cheering comfort] of life! Take heed how you hear. If the Gospel is not made to you a savour of life, it will be a savour of death. It will aggravate your guilt and condemnation, and leave you utterly hopeless and inexcusable. If you continue impenitent and obstinate, the hour is coming when you will wish you had never heard the name of Jesus. It had been better for you never to have been born, or to have lived and died among the savage Indians; or to have been an idiot or a lunatic to the end of your days, than to have lived where the doctrine of salvation was published in your hearing, if you finally reject the counsel of God against yourselves!
—— O ——
Sermon XXXII
The Progress of the Gospel
Their sound went into all the earth,
and their words unto the end of the world.
T
he heavens declare the glory of God
(
This passage, taken from that sublime ode of David,
the 19
th
Psalm, is applied by the Apostle to illustrate the
character, and the progress of the still more wonderful display of the
divine perfections, which God has made known by the glorious Gospel. A
variety of truths shine (like stars in the firmament) in the system of
revelation. But principally Jesus the Sun of truth and righteousness,
the Source of spiritual light and life, answers to the description
there given of the material sun,
His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his
circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from his
heat
(
But the fulfilment of the promises respecting MESSIAH’S Kingdom is progressive. So far as this prophecy has been accomplished, the arm of the Lord has been revealed. It is His doing, and may justly be marvellous in our eyes. The truth of the prophecy will be proved by its final completion; which, though not likely to take place in our time, we may be assured that it cannot fail, for the Lord has spoken it. And besides, we have a sufficient pledge and security for the whole, in what He has already done. It was not necessary for the fulfilling of this prophecy, nor consistent with the tenor of many other prophecies, that the spread of the Gospel should be instantaneous and universal on its first publication. MESSIAH is to rule in the midst of His enemies, till the appointed season, when all enemies shall be subdued under His feet. The Gospel, the rod of His power, is so admirably adapted to the necessities of mankind, that the obstructions it has met with must be ascribed to their wickedness and obstinacy. Not that they could resist the will of God. Had He intended to give it universal success from the beginning, the event would have been answerable. But it was His pleasure to conduct the dispensation [ordering] of it, so as on the one hand to display His sovereignty, wisdom, and power, and on the other, to afford a full proof of the depravity and alienation of the heart of man. This point is so much misunderstood and misrepresented, that though it is attended with great difficulties, especially if we give way to vain reasonings upon it, I shall venture in the present discourse to offer a few thoughts towards clearing the subject, and vindicating (if the very attempt be not presumptuous) the ways of God to man.
When the Sun of righteousness, after a long night of darkness, rose upon the world, there appeared a strong probability that the prophecies concerning the extent of His vital influence, from east to west, from pole to pole, would soon be completely realized.
In a very short space He was known and adored by multitudes, through the greatest part of the Roman Empire, and beyond its limits. But, perhaps, for about seventeen hundred years since that period, the boundaries of His Kingdom, though they have been altered, have not been much enlarged. If He has since in some measure enlightened the more western parts of the globe, the eastern regions which once rejoiced in His light, are now overwhelmed with gross Mohammedan darkness. And if we were capable of investigating the state of the world at this day, we should probably find that five out of six of the human race now living, never so much as heard of the name of Jesus as a Saviour. There is reason to fear likewise, that in the nations that professedly call Him Lord, and are not unwilling to be themselves called Christians, a greater proportion than five out of six, are no less strangers to His power and grace than the Mohammedans who reject Him, or the heathens who never heard of Him.
There is not perhaps a darker chapter in the book of divine providence, nor a meditation which calls for a more absolute subjection and submission to the holy will and unsearchable wisdom of God, than this. The first spread of the Gospel proved it to be a divine expedient, fully capable of producing all the great purposes which the prophets had foretold, and which the state of the world required. It reconciled men to God, to themselves, and to each other. It subdued their passions, regulated their affections, freed them from the guilt and bondage of sin, from the love of the world, and from the fear of death. Wherever the doctrine of the cross was preached, it produced that salutary change of conduct, which philosophy had long attempted in vain; and raised men to that life of communion with God, of which philosophers had no conception. Such was the bright morning of the Gospel Day. But in time, yea, in a little time, dark clouds obscured its light, its progress was impeded, and in a manner stopped. On one hand, the profession and name of the Gospel gave occasion to mischief and abominations, which had been unknown among the heathens; so that the part of the world which received the name of Christendom, was little distinguished from the rest, in a religious view, but by a fierce and rancorous superstition which tyrannized over the consciences, liberties, and the lives of men. On the other hand, as I have observed, the very name of Christianity was restrained to a small portion of the earth; many nations have not heard of it to this day, and many who once professed it, have renounced it long ago.
Thus the fact stands. We cannot deny it. But how shall we account for it? Infidels and petty-reasoners think they here find an invincible objection against the truth. They say,
“ If the Gospel you speak of be so salutary and necessary, if it be indeed the greatest effect of the divine goodness, why has not God who is the common Father of mankind, afforded it to all the nations of the earth? And why is it restrained to so few?”
But I think we may retort the question, and let them
who propose it, give such an answer (if they can) as shall not amount
to a confession of the obstinacy and ungrateful folly of mankind. When
the world saw the happy tendency and effects of this Gospel in the age
of the apostles, why did they not universally receive it? We know that
when the use of the mariner’s compass, the art of printing, and
many other inventions that might be named, were discovered in one
country, they were presently adopted by the surrounding civilized
nations. Even the recent attempts to venture through the air with a
balloon, hazardous as they certainly are, and insignificant with
respect to real usefulness, are likely in a little time not only to
engage the notice, but to excite the imitation of Europe. Why then was
the Gospel, the most beneficial and important discovery the world has
been favoured with, the only one that has been treated with general
contempt? Certainly our Lord has assigned the true reason,
Light is come into the world, but men love darkness
rather than light, because their deeds are evil
(
The nation of Great Britain, in particular, has but little right to ask, ‘Why has the Gospel of Christ spread no farther among the heathen?’ The Providence of God has favoured us with peculiar advantages for this service. Our arms and commerce have opened us a way to the most distant parts or the globe; and of late years, the enterprising spirit of our navigators, has added almost a new world to the discoveries of former times. How far have our plans been formed with a subservience to the great design of evangelizing the heathen? How much have we done to promote it in Asia, where our influence and opportunities have been the greatest? What impression of the name and spirit of Christianity has our conduct given to the inhabitants of India? But I forbear —Facts are too well known to need recital; too glaring to need a comment. It is true, we have an incorporated society for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts, and we hear the missionaries; but of the good effects of their missions, as at present conducted, we neither hear, nor expect to hear. While America was ours, the efforts of a few individuals from the northern provinces in the last and present century, were not without success. But I fear this is all the honour we can claim. Some good has been done by the Danish mission to * Tranquebar, but I believe our influence in it, has been rather nominal than effective. The extent and effects of the labours of the Unitas Fratrum (more generally known amongst us by the name of The Brethren, or Moravians), compared with their circumstances and resources, must not be omitted on this occasion. They doubtless excite admiration, and thankfulness to God, in every serious mind acquainted with the subject. But excepting in these instances, I believe the heathens have derived but little knowledge of the Gospel from their connections with Christendom, for some ages past. And I think none of the commercial nations in Europe have had the propagation of Christianity less at heart than the English. What obligations the natives in Africa are under to us, for instruction or example, may be estimated, in part, by a cursory survey of the state of our West-India Islands.
* 17 th Century Danish colony on the Coromandel coast of India
That the Gospel is so little known in the world, and
so little received where it is known, cannot be so properly ascribed to
the will of God, as the wickedness and wilfulness of men. Undoubtedly
He to whom all things are possible, who has absolute power over the
hearts of His creatures, could make a way for the universal reception
of it. And we trust that in His own time He will do so. But
power
is not His only attribute. It would be rash and
absurd to suppose that the great God
will
do everything that He
can
do. We are sure that He will do what is worthy of
Himself; but of this, His own infinite wisdom is the only competent
judge. What is becoming of His perfections and holy government, we can
know no farther than He is pleased to inform us. But it certainly
becomes us to lay our hands upon our mouths, and our mouths in the
dust, when we contemplate His conduct. Or, if we do speak, to adopt the
Apostle’s language,
O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past
finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been
His counsellor? Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be
recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him,
are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
(
However, my text is fulfilling, and shall be fulfilled. This joyful sound has already been spread far abroad, in defiance of all attempts to restrain it. Multitudes from age to age have heard it, and found it to be the power of God unto salvation. And it would be easy to prove, if it belonged to my subject, that the superior advantages of civilization which Christendom enjoys, are remotely owing to the knowledge of revelation. To this must be chiefly ascribed, the different state of this island, from what it was when visited by Julius Caesar. Yea, our modern philosophers would make but a poor figure, were they despoiled of all the plumes they have borrowed from the Book they affect to despise. Farther, the purpose of God to save sinners, by faith in His beloved Son, is the primary ground of that patience and long-suffering which He still exercises towards such a world as this. And some imperfect traces of this design, transmitted by tradition, are probably to be found, though woefully disfigured, among every nation and people under heaven; which have at least preserved, in a degree, the notices of right and wrong, and some faint warnings of conscience, in the most savage state of human nature. But were it not for reasons connected with the designs of His mercy, we can scarcely conceive that the holy God would have perpetuated the race of mankind in a state of rebellion and enmity against His government. Or if He had permitted them to multiply, and left them wholly and absolutely to themselves, without interposing some restraints upon their depravity, I believe the inhabitants of the earth would have been no better than incarnate fiends.
The prophecies both of the Old and New Testaments,
encourage us to hope for a time, when the light of the Gospel truth
will break forth with meridian brightness, the glory of the Lord be
revealed, and all flesh shall see His salvation. As a pledge of this,
and of the truth of the whole Scripture, we have, what may be called a
standing miracle continually before our eyes. I mean the state of the
Jews, who, though dispersed far and wide among many nations, are
everywhere preserved a distinct and separate people. The history of the
world affords no other instance of the kind. The great monarchies, by
which they were successively conquered and scattered, have successively
perished. Only the names of them remain. But the people whom they
despised, and endeavoured to exterminate, subsist to this day; and
though sifted like corn over the earth, and
apparently
forsaken of God, are still preserved by this
wonderful Providence, unaffected by the changes and customs around
them; still tenacious of the law of Moses, though the observance of it
is rendered impracticable. Many days, many ages they have lived, as the
prophets foretold they should, without a temple, without sacrifice or
priest
(
But the point I am chiefly to press upon my hearers,
is, that this Word of Salvation is sent to you
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXXIII
Opposition to Messiah Unreasonable
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD , and against His Anointed, saying,
Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
I
t is generally admitted, that the institutes of
Christianity, as contained in the New Testament, do at least exhibit a
beautiful and salutary system of morals; and that a sincere compliance
with the precepts of our Lord and His apostles, would have a good
effect upon society. Few infidels have ventured to contradict the
common sense of mankind, so far as to deny this. Nor can it be denied
that the Author of this institution
[referring to Christianity]
,
(
if we judge by the history and character given of Him
by the evangelists), exemplified by His own conduct the precepts which
He enjoined to His followers, in the highest perfection. While He lived
as a man amongst men, the tenor of His behaviour was such as became the
Friend of mankind. Though He submitted to a low estate, and often
suffered hunger, thirst, and weariness, we do not read of His having
wrought a single miracle merely for His own relief. But the wants and
calamities of others continually excited His compassion, and engaged
His assistance. He gave sight to the blind, health to the sick, and
sometimes wiped away the tears of mourners by restoring their dead to
life. He endured hunger Himself; but, once and again, provided food for
multitudes, lest they, having nothing to eat, should faint by the way.
Nor did He confine His acts of benevolence to His followers, but was
easy of access, and granted the requests of all indiscriminately, who
applied to Him.
He went about doing good
(
His Gospel breathes the spirit of the great Author,
and has a direct tendency to make men happy and useful. Wherever it was
published, in the first age, among the heathens, many of them turned
from the worship of dumb idols, to serve the living and true God. It
taught and enabled them to renounce
ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly,
righteously, and godly
(
What then shall we say of that zeal which kindled the fire of persecution against our Lord and His apostles, and His followers through a succession of ages? What is the common principle, the bond of union, which at this day connects people who differ so widely in other respects, and points their displeasure, from all sides, against this one object? In a * former discourse, I briefly mentioned the principal grounds of that dislike which the Jews manifested to MESSIAH’S personal ministry ; and I observed that they are deeply rooted in the nature of fallen man, and therefore not peculiar to any one age or nation. * Volume I, Sermon XVII
The Gospel always did, and always will, produce the
same happy change, in those who receive it; and provoke the same
opposition and resentment in those who do not. The actings will be
different as circumstances vary, but the principle is universally the
same. In this island [Great Britain], which the good Providence of God
has distinguished by many signal and peculiar favours; the spirit of
our constitution and government is friendly to liberty of conscience,
and the rights of private judgment; so that our religious profession
does not expose us to the penalties of fire and sword, stripes or
tortures, imprisonment or banishment. Such trials have been the lot of
our forefathers, when the servants of God, under names of
Gospellers,
or
Puritans,
were treated as heretics of the worst sort. We are
bound to acknowledge with thankfulness, the blessings of religious and
civil liberty which we enjoy. But the world at large around us, is not
more favourably disposed to the grace and rule of
MESSIAH’S
Kingdom, than it was in the days of heathen and
Popish darkness. The tongue, at least, is unrestrained, and out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth will speak. The Gospel offends the
pride of men, by considering them all on a level, as sinners in the
sight of God; and by proposing only one way of Salvation, without
admitting any difference of plea or character. It offends them
likewise
by
its
strictness. Like Herod, they might, perhaps, consent
to do many things
(
The like arts are still practiced, with the like
success. The same secret motives, are disguised by the same plausible
pretences. The deceitfulness and wickedness of the heart appears in no
one instance more plainly, than in the cavils which are repeated and
multiplied against the grace of the Gospel. When we preach a free
Salvation by faith in Jesus, and propose His obedience unto death, as
the sure and only ground of acceptance with God; when we say, in the
words of the Apostle, to the vilest of sinners who feel the burden, and
fear the consequences of their sins,
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved
(
I may seem to have digressed from the immediate scope
of my text, but I judge it proper to bring the subject home to
ourselves. If I confined myself to prove that the enemies of our Lord,
when He was upon earth, were very unreasonable and unjust in treating
Him as they did, I should have an easy talk, and, I suppose, the ready
assent of all my hearers. But there may be persons present, who, though
they little suspect themselves, are equally misled by prejudices; and
under a semblance of zeal for a form of godliness, oppose the truth and
power of it, upon the same principles and in the same spirit, as the
Jews and heathens did of old. The Jews who condemned
MESSIAH
to death, blamed their forefathers for persecuting
the prophets who foretold His appearance
(
In this prophecy, David, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, speaks of the future as actually present. He saw the resistance that would be made to the Person and Kingdom of MESSIAH, by the powers of the world; that they would employ their force and policy to withstand and suppress the decree and appointment of God. The question Why? implies that their opposition would be both groundless and ineffectual.
(1.)
It
was entirely groundless and unreasonable.
MESSIAH
was indeed a King, and He came to set up a Kingdom
that should endure forever. But His Kingdom is not of this world; and,
if rightly understood, would give no umbrage to human governments. It
does not interfere with the rights of princes. His subjects are indeed
primarily bound by the laws of their immediate King, and they
must
obey God rather than man
(
We are sure it was thus, in the first and golden days of Christianity. The Roman government was then absolute, arbitrary, and oppressive. Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, and others, who presided over it, and bore the name of Roman emperors, were vile and abominable beyond measure: one of them [one of the Christians] was, by a decree of the Roman senate, sentenced to death as a public enemy to mankind — but the Christians neither disputed their right, nor disobeyed their authority. Kings and rulers, therefore, have nothing to fear from the Gospel of Christ. The maxims of sound policy would engage all their influence in facilitating its progress, for true Christians will assuredly be good subjects. Impatience of subordination, contempt of lawful authority, tumults, riots, and conspiracies, are evils which would have no place, if the Gospel was generally received. But princes have usually been exposed to the flattery of designing men, who, by their arts and misrepresentations, have seduced them to act contrary to their true interest. Their mistaken efforts to suppress that cause, which if maintained, would have been the best security of their thrones, have often stained the annals of their reign with innocent blood, and filled their dominions with misery. History furnishes many instances of kings who might otherwise have lived beloved, and died lamented, that have involved themselves and their families in the calamities with which they unjustly punished those who deserved their protection. For —
(2.)
Opposition to
MESSIAH
and His Kingdom is no less
vain and ineffectual,
than unreasonable and groundless. Nor is it in vain
only, but ruinous to those who engage in it. What did the Jews build,
when they rejected the Foundation Stone which God had laid in Zion?
They acted, as they thought, with precaution and foresight. They
said,
If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe on
Him; and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and our
nation
(
Ah! If sinners did but know what the bonds and cords are, which they are so determined to break; if they knew that His service is perfect freedom; if they were aware what more dreadful bonds and chains they are riveting upon themselves, by refusing His easy yoke, they would throw down their arms and submit. They think, if they yield to the Gospel, they must bid adieu to pleasure. But what will become of their pleasure when, the day of His forbearance being expired, He will speak to them in His wrath, and fill them with hopeless horror and dismay?
Bless the Lord, ye favoured few, whose eyes are opened, whose hearts are softened, and who are become the willing people of this Saviour. Yet a little while and He will appear again, and then you also shall appear with Him in glory!
—— O ——
Sermon XXXIV
Opposition to Messiah in Vain
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh;
the Lord shall have them in derision.
T
he extent and efficacy
[effects] of the depravity of mankind cannot be fully
estimated by the conduct of heathens destitute of divine revelation. We
may say of the Gospel, in one sense, what the Apostle says of the
Law,
It entered that sin might abound
(
The prophets foresaw and foretold the reception He would meet with, and their predictions were fulfilled. The Jews, who professed to expect Him, and the heathens who have not heard of Him, united their utmost efforts to withstand and defeat the purposes of His unexampled love. What must the holy angels think of the baseness, presumption, and obstinacy of such creatures!
But rebellion against God is not only wickedness, but
folly and infatuation in the extreme.
Who ever hardened himself against the Lord and
prospered?
(
I. That He sits in the heavens.
II. That He takes notice of His enemies He smiles at their rage, and treats both their power and their policy with contempt.
I.
He whom God has anointed (therefore called
MESSIAH
) He against whom kings and rulers, nations and
people rage,
sits in the heavens.
He has finished His great work, and entered into His
rest; having by Himself
purged our sins,
He is immovably seated upon His throne,
at the right hand of the Majesty on High
(
II.
The feebleness and insignificance of their rage against MESSIAH, is intimated by the manner in which He notices their proceedings. He holds them in derision, He laughs them to scorn. He has them perfectly under His control, holds them in a chain when they think themselves to be most at liberty, appoints the bounds beyond which they cannot pass, and can in a moment check them, and make them feel His hook and bridle, when in the height of their career.
It is the Lord’s pleasure not only to favour and to support His people, but to do it in such a way that it may be seen that it is wholly His own work, and that the praise belongs to Him alone. And therefore He permits their enemies for a season to try if they can prevent His designs. For a season, things take such a course that their attempts seem to prosper; they threaten, they boast, and confidently expect to carry their point. But the contest always issues in their shame and confusion. He not only disconcerts their schemes, but makes them instrumental to the promoting of His own designs. Thus when He sent Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt, Pharaoh, instead of complying with His command, increased their burdens, added to the rigour of their bondage, and, though rebuked by a succession of severe judgments, he hardened himself the more, and was determined to detain them if he could. But he could not detain them a day or an hour beyond the appointed time, which God had long before made known to Abraham (Exodus 12:41, 42) . Then they were delivered, and Pharaoh and his host overthrown in the Red Sea. Hereby the name of the God of Israel was more known, noticed and magnified, than it would have been if Pharaoh had dismissed the people without reluctance and delay.
In like manner, when
MESSIAH
left the earth, His followers were considered as
sheep without a shepherd. The world conspired to suppress His cause,
and to root out the remembrance of His people. But the methods they
employed counteracted their own designs. They who were dispersed by the
persecution that followed the death of Stephen, preached the Word
wherever they went, the Gospel spread from place to place, and the
number of disciples daily increased. So that the Jewish rulers soon
found themselves unequal to the task, and foreboded their own
disappointment,
doubting whereunto these things would grow
(
From the Jews the business was transferred to the heathens, whose opposition was no less unavailing. Though they sometimes affected to boast that they had suppressed the Christian name, the Gospel was propagated in defiance of their attempts to prevent it. The worst and the best of the Roman emperors, were alike industrious, and alike unsuccessful, in their endeavours to stifle the work of God. At length, in the reign of Constantine, the Christian religion obtained the sanction and protection of imperial authority.
But it soon appeared that the religion of the New
Testament gained little advantage by this revolution. Though the
worship of heathen idols gradually declined, and sank into disrepute,
the bulk of the people of all ranks were only changed in name. The
world still lay in wickedness
(
To appearance, the Church of Christ was often brought
low. It was very low at the time of the Reformation. But then it
suddenly was revived, and broke forth like the sun from behind a dark
cloud; and the light of the Gospel was diffused far and wide, almost as
at the beginning, in the apostles’
days.
But
the
Protestants
were
quickly
actuated
by
the
same
spirit,
as
their
popish
and pagan
predecessors
had
been.
The
form
of
Christianity
was
professed
and
protected,
and
the power
of
it
denied
and
opposed.
And
to
this day it remains a truth verified by
experience,
that all who
will live godly in Christ Jesus, must,
in one way or other,
suffer persecution
(
Of late years the sanguinary [blood-thirsty; murderous] spirit, which, under pretence of doing God’s service, destroyed His people by fire and tortures, is much subsided. We live in a time when great pretences are made to candour and moderation. We have reason to be thankful to the good Providence of God for our religious liberty. But, so far as men are concerned, we are not indebted for it, to a just sense and acknowledgment of the right of private judgment, but to the prevalence of sceptical indifference and infidelity. The religion of the Gospel was, perhaps, never more despised and hated than at present. We seem to be returning apace to the state of primitive ages when there were but two sorts of persons —Christians and infidels. But notwithstanding all the arts and assaults of men, whether open enemies or pretended friends, the Bible is still extant [still in existence], the Gospel is still preached, yea, is still spreading. The Lord has always had a people, though they have been often hidden from the general notice and observation of men. He that sits in the heavens laughs His opposers to scorn, and maintains His own cause in defiance of them all.
Surely
if
this work was not of God, the united efforts of
kings, councils, popes, and philosophers,
the great, the wise, the decent, and the profligate,
must have overthrown it long ago. If a miracle be demanded in proof of
Christianity, behold one! Though the world has been raging and plotting
against it, from its first appearance; though it has been fiercely
assaulted by those without, and shamefully betrayed by many within, it
still subsists, it still flourishes. And subsist it shall, for it is
maintained by Him, who has the hearts of all men in His hands, and can
control or change them as He pleases. He can, and He will, support and
strengthen His people under all their sufferings. He can disappoint His
adversaries by unexpected events, divide them among
themselves,
and
so
manage
them
by
His
Providence,
as
to make them protect and promote the very cause which
they hate. And whenever He pleases He can, as it were, from the
stones
(
(1.)
Let not His people tremble for the ark. Our eyes
indeed should affect our hearts. It becomes us to be jealous for the
LORD of hosts, to be concerned for the contempt and dishonour that is
cast upon His government and grace, to be grieved for the abounding
abominations of the day, and to pity and pray for obstinate sinners who
know not what they do. But we need not fear the failure of His promise.
His truth and honour are engaged for the success of His Gospel, and
they must stand or fall together. It is a cause dearer to Him than it
can be to us. The manifestation of His glory in the salvation of
sinners, by the doctrine of the Cross, is the one great concern, for
which the succession of day and night, and of the seasons of the year
is continued, and the visible frame of nature is preserved.
He will work, and none shall let it
(
(2.)
Think it neither strange nor hard, if any of you are called to suffer for the sake of the truth. Think it not strange; for thus it has been from the beginning. Think it not hard; for our sufferings are small, if compared with the lot of many who have lived before us. We are not called to resist unto blood. Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see such days of liberty as we are favoured with, but have not seen them.
(3.)
Consider seriously,
Who is on the Lord’s side?
His is the strongest side and must prevail. If you
have yielded yourselves to Him, and taken upon you His yoke, your best
interests are safe, your final happiness is secured. Nothing can
separate you from His love. You shall be kept by His power through
faith,
and no weapon formed against you shall
prosper.
But if you are against Him, tremble; for the Day of
His Wrath will come, it will
burn like an oven, and all the proud, and all that do
wickedly shall be as stubble, and the day that comes shall burn them
up, says the Lord of hosts, and shall leave them neither root nor
branch
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXXV
Opposition to Messiah Ruinous
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel
T
here is a species of the sublime in writing, which
seems peculiar to the Scripture, and of which, properly, no subjects
but those of divine revelation are capable, With us, things
inconsiderable in themselves are elevated by splendid images, which
give them an apparent importance beyond what they can justly claim.
Thus the poet, when describing a battle among bees, by a judicious
selection of epithets and figures, excites in the minds of his readers,
the idea of two mighty armies contending for empire. But the works and
ways of God are too great in themselves, to admit of any heightening
representation.
We
conceive more forcibly of small things by
illustrations borrowed from those which are greater; but the Scripture
frequently illustrates great things by contrasting them with those,
which in our estimation, are trivial and feeble. One instance out of
many which might be mentioned, is that truly sublime passage of the
prophet,
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved; and
the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host
shall fall down as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling
fig from the fig-tree
(
* Homer - Greek poet (8 th century BC) * Virgil - Roman poet (70BCE - 19BCE)
The series of the passages, we have lately considered, is very regular and beautiful . MESSIAH ascended on high, and received gifts for men. The first and immediate consequence of His exaltation in our nature is the publication of the Gospel. Then follows the happy and beneficial influence of the Gospel on those who thankfully receive it. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach these glad tidings. The next passage secures and describes its extensive progress — The sound went forth into all the earth. The opposition awakened by it is there described, as unreasonable, Why do the Heathen rage? ; as ineffectual, the Lord laughs at His opposers; He sits upon His immovable throne, and derides their attempts. The final issue of their mad resistance, their confusion and ruin , is the subject of the verse I have read, which prepares for the close of the second part of the Oratorio . His enemies shall perish, His Kingdom shall be established and consummated. And then all holy intelligent beings shall join in a song of triumph, Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.
The
two
expressions of “breaking with a rod of
iron” and “dashing in pieces” suggest nearly the same
idea. But as elsewhere He is said to
rule
His enemies
with a rod of iron
(
I.
How the Lord
MESSIAH
rules over impenitent and obstinate sinners in the
present life. They attempt (in vain) to withdraw from His subjection.
They oppose His holy will. They refuse to submit to His golden sceptre.
He will, therefore,
rule them with a rod of iron.
For though they boast of their liberty, and presume
to say
Who is Lord over us?
(
(1.)
One branch of His iron rule over them, consists in
that certain and inseparable connection, which
He
has
established between sin and misery.
The fruit of righteousness is peace
(
(2.)
He rules them with a rod of iron,
by His power over conscience. They may boast and
laugh, but we know the gall and bitterness of their state, for we,
likewise, were in it, until the Lord delivered us. Let them say what
they will, we are sure that there are seasons, when, like him whom they
serve,
they believe and tremble
(
It is possible some may affect to contradict the representation I have made, and be ready to say, “I find nothing of all this. I take a pleasure in my way. I have a healthy body, money at my command, and I can sleep soundly. I feel none of the qualms of conscience you speak of; and though the saints and good folks care as little for me as I do for them, yet I am very well and happy with such acquaintance as I like best. As to an hereafter, I do not think of it; but I am determined to live now.”
In answer to sentiments of this kind, which I am afraid are too common, I observe,
(3.)
That the amazing hardness and blindness of heart to
which some sinners are given up, is another, and the most terrible
effect
of that iron rod,
with which the Lord
rules His enemies.
Pharaoh would say as positively as you,
Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?
(
II.
I proceed to consider the final issue of this unequal
contest, between the worms of this earth and their Maker.
He will dash them in pieces like a potter’s
vessel.
Such a vessel may be curiously wrought, and appear
beautiful to the eye, but it is frail, easily broken, and when once
broken to pieces it is irreparable. It is, therefore, a fit emblem of
mortal man in his best estate.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made
(
* from CORNUBIA - by George Woodley (1819)
Communities and collective bodies of men, are, in His hand, no less frail than individuals. The first-born throughout Egypt, and the vast army of Sennacherib, perished in a night. The Romans were the iron rod in His hand, wherewith He dashed the Jewish nation to pieces. Their fragments are scattered far and wide to this day, and who can gather them up? The Roman Empire was likewise dashed to pieces in its turn; and such has been the end, successively, of many powers, and of many persons, who have presumed to oppose His designs. For a while they were permitted to rage, and plot, and strive; but at length they stumbled and fell, and their memory is perished.
But it is proper to bring the consideration nearer
home. I have been informed that the music to which this passage is set,
is so well adapted to the idea it expresses, as in a manner to startle
those who hear it. They who live in sinful habits, regardless of the
Gospel, would be startled, indeed, if they were duly sensible how
directly the words apply to their own situation, and that the Psalmist
describes the manner in which God will treat them if they continue
impenitent. If we could see all that passes upon dying beds, we should
often see the false peace and vain hopes of sinners dashed to pieces
when eternity is opening upon their view. We shall certainly see the
solemnity of the great day:
For we must all appear
, not only as spectators, but as parties nearly
interested in the proceedings
before the judgment-seat of Christ
(
But let them who love His name rejoice. You have fled
for refuge to the hope set before you. To you His appearance will be
delightful, and His voice welcome. You shall not be ashamed. This awful
God is yours. He will then own and accept you before assembled worlds,
and will say,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom
prepared for you.
Then
the days of your mourning shall be ended, and your
sun shall go down no more
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXXVI
The Lord Reigneth
Hallelujah; for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!
T he book of the Revelation, being chiefly prophetical, will not, perhaps, be fully understood, till the final accomplishment of the events shall draw near, and throw a stronger light upon the whole series. But while the learned commentators have been, hitherto, divided and perplexed in their attempts to illustrate many parts of it, there are other parts well adapted for the instruction and refreshment of plain Christians. Particularly, those passages in which the scenery and images seem designed to give us some representation of the happiness and worship of the heavenly state. Thus a plain unlettered believer, when reading with attention the fourth and fifth chapters, though he cannot give a reason why the elders are twenty-four, and the number of their wings neither more nor less than six; yet, from the whole description of the Lamb upon the Throne, the songs of the redeemed, and the chorus of the angels, he receives such an impression of glory, as awakens his gratitude, desire and joy; and excites him likewise to take up the same song of praise, to Him who has loved him, and washed him from his sins in His own blood. He is content to leave the discussion of hard questions to learned men, while he feeds by faith upon those simple truths, which can only be relished by a spiritual taste; and which, where there is such a taste, make their way to the heart, without the assistance of critical disquisition [critical discussion].
The subject of the preceding chapter, is the destruction of mystical Babylon, the head of the opposition against the Kingdom of the Lord Christ. But Babylon sinks like a mill-stone in the mighty ocean, and is no more found. So must all His enemies perish. The catastrophe of Babylon, like that of Pharaoh at the Red Sea, is beheld by the saints and servants of the Lord with admiration, and furnishes them with a theme for a song of triumph to His praise. This may be properly styled sacred music indeed. It is commanded, inspired and regulated, by the Lord Himself. The performers are all interested in the subject, they who fear God , and are devoted to His service and glory. And though persons of this character are comparatively few upon earth, hidden, and in a manner, lost among the crowd of mankind; they will be, when brought together at last, a very large company. Their united voices are here compared to the voice of many waters, and of mighty thunders, and this is the solemn close, the chorus of their song, Hallelujah, for the L ORD God Omnipotent reigneth.
The impression, which the performance of this passage in the Oratorio usually makes upon the audience, is well known. But however great the power of music may be, should we even allow the flights of poetry to be truth, that it softens rocks, and bends the knotty oak, one thing we are sure it cannot do. It cannot soften and change the hard heart, it cannot bend the obdurate will of man. If all the people who successively hear the Messiah Oratorio, who are struck and astonished, for the moment, by this chorus in particular, were to bring away with them an abiding sense of the importance of the sentiment it contains, the nation would soon wear a new face. But do the professed lovers of sacred music in this enlightened age, generally live, as if they really believed that the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth ? Rather, do not the greater part of them live, as they might do, if they were sure of the contrary? as if they were satisfied to a demonstration, that either there is no God, or that His Providence is not concerned with human affairs? I appeal to conscience; I appeal to fact.
I apprehend that this passage, taken in the strictest
sense, refers to a period not yet arrived. Babylon is not yet fallen.
The servants of God in the present day, will most probably fulfill
their appointed time upon earth, like those who have lived before them,
in a state of conflict. They must endure the cross, and sustain
opposition for His sake. The people who shall live when
the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of our
Lord and His Christ,
when the
nations shall learn war no more,
are yet unborn. But even now we may rejoice
that
the L
ORD
God Omnipotent reigneth,
and that
Jesus is King of kings, and L
ORD
of lords.
I must consider my text as referring to Him. Many of
the heathens believed that God reigned. The Christian doctrine
is,
that
the
L
ORD
God
Omnipotent
exercises
His
dominion
and
government in the person of Christ.
The Father loves the Son, and has committed all
things into His hands
(
Happy are they who can, upon solid and Scriptural grounds, exult in the thought that the Lord reigns, and can make His government the subject of their hallelujahs and praises! Happy are they, who see, acknowledge and admire His management in the kingdom of providence, and are the willing subjects of His kingdom of grace. Let us take a brief survey of his reigning glory in these kingdoms.
I.
Great and marvellous is this L ORD God Omnipotent in His Kingdom of Universal Providence ! His mighty arm sustains the vast fabric of the universe. He upholds the stars in their courses. If we attentively consider their multitude, their magnitudes, their distances from us and from one another, and the amazing swiftness, variety and regularity of their motions, our minds are overwhelmed, our thoughts confounded, by the vastness and wonders of the scene. But He spoke them into being, and they are preserved in their stations and revolutions by His power and agency. If we fix our thoughts upon the earth, though in comparison of the immensity of His creation, it is but as a point, or a grain of sand, it is the object of His incessant care. All its various inhabitants derive their existence and their support from Him. He provides for the young ravens when unable to fly, and for the young lions that traverse the woods. The instinct of animals, whereby they are unerringly instructed, in whatever concerns the welfare and preservation of their species, so vastly exceeding the boasted wisdom of man, that he can neither imitate nor comprehend it, is communicated by Him. He teaches the birds to build their nests, the spider to weave his web, and instructs the communities of bees, and insignificant emmets [ants] , to form their admirable policies and government among themselves. If we speak of intelligent beings, He does what He pleases in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth. He directs and overrules the counsels and purposes of men, so that though they act freely, the event of all their different interfering schemes, is only the accomplishment of His purposes. When they are employed as His instruments, from small beginnings, and in defiance of difficulties apparently insuperable, they succeed beyond their own expectations. When unhappily engaged against His designs, in vain they rage and plot. He takes the wise in their own craftiness, pours contempt upon their power and policy, and all their great preparations melt like a mist, or like snow before the sun, and leave no trace behind. Still more wonderful, to the eye of faith, is His control over Satan and the powers of darkness. Whatever He may permit them to do, for wise reasons, though unknown to us, they cannot detain one soul in their bondage (with all their subtlety or strength) longer than till His appointed time of release; nor recover one soul back to their dominion, of which He is pleased to undertake the care. On the contrary, He breaks the heads of these Leviathans in pieces, turns their counsels against themselves, and makes them instrumental in purifying His people, and extending His Church, by the means they employ for the destruction of both. Thus they who dwell under His shadow are safe; for all things are in His power, and He always cares for them, and keeps them as the pupil of His eye. And therefore though they are exercised with trials, and suffer many things for their good, His eye being always upon them, and His ear open to their prayer, they are supported, supplied, relieved, delivered, and at last made more than conquerors.
II.
He has a peculiar Kingdom, which He has established
distinct from the kingdoms of this world, though diffused and extended
among them, and which, in due time, like leaven, will pervade and
assimilate them all to Himself. This is the Kingdom of the Gospel, His
Church. It is founded upon a Rock, and though the gates of hell
continually war against it, they cannot prevail. For He is
a wall of fire round about it, and a glory in the
midst of it
(
Here He reigns upon a throne of grace. He possesses and exercises unlimited authority as a sovereign, to save whom He pleases, to pardon all manner of sins and offences, and to admit rebels and enemies, when they submit themselves and bow to His golden sceptre, into the number of His children and His friends. Seldom do the kings of the earth publish an act of grace in favour of those who have been guilty of rebellion, without clogging it with exceptions. Either they feel a resentment against some of the delinquents, which they have not magnanimity sufficient to conquer, or they dare not trust them. But His mercy is infinite. And He knows how to change their hearts when He pardons their sins.
Perhaps it may not be a digression, wholly un-useful and impertinent, if I take this occasion to point out the several senses in which the word Church may be understood, agreeable to the Scripture.
(1.)
It denotes the aggregate, the
mystical Church,
the whole body of that spiritual kingdom, of which
the Redeemer is the living and life-giving Head
(
(2.)
The visible Church
contains all those who bear and acknowledge the name
of Christians, and who admit and enjoy the Gospel revelation. The
Church, in this sense, includes many nations. But it is a small thing
to belong only to the visible church, for it is compared to a
corn-floor
(
(3.)
The
catholic
[universal]
church
, in one period, is part of the visible church which
is united to the Lord by living faith. It comprises all who agree in
the profession of the fundamental truths of the Gospel, and whose
conversation is regulated by its precepts, or, in the Apostle’s
words,
All who love the Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity
(
(4.)
The word church is applied to particular societies or Christians who are connected by a participation in the same ordinances of the Gospel, and who maintain a Scriptural separation from the sinful spirit and customs of the world. And though there may be pretenders among them, as there were among the apostolic churches, they are denominated by the better part. They belong to the catholic [universal] church by their profession of the truth, and those of them that are in deed and in truth what they profess to be, are living members of the mystical Church, to which all the promises are made. By whatever name they are known or distinguished among men, they are branches of the true vine, they have their fruits unto holiness, and their end, everlasting life. But to return—
In this His Church, or spiritual Kingdom, He rules by
wise and gracious laws and ordinances. He releases His subjects from
all authority, in point of conscience, but His own, and enjoins them
to
call no one master, but Himself
(
For it is the principal glory of His Kingdom, that He
reigns in the hearts of His people. There He writes His precepts,
impresses His image, and erects His throne; ruling them, not merely by
an outward law, but by an inward secret influence, breathing His own
life and spirit into them, so that their obedience becomes, as it were,
natural, pleasurable, and its own reward. By the discoveries He affords
them of His love, He wins their affections, captivates their wills, and
enlightens their understandings. They derive from Him the
spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind
(
It is impossible, therefore, to make this song our own, and cordially [sincerely; heartily] rejoice that the L ORD God Omnipotent reigns, unless we are the willing subjects of His government; unless we are really pleased with His appointed way of salvation, approve of His precepts, and, from a view of His wisdom and goodness, can cheerfully submit and resign ourselves to the disposal of His Providence. In all these respects we are by nature at variance with Him. We are too proud to be indebted to His grace, too wise in our own conceits to desire His instruction, too obstinately attached to the love and practice of sin, to be capable of relishing the beauty and spirituality of His commandments. And our love of the world, and the things of it, is too strong and grasping, to permit us to be satisfied with the lot, and with the dispensations [circumstances; experiences] He appoints for us. We wish, if possible, and as far as possible we attempt, to be our own carvers. We are unthankful, when He bestows; impatient, if He withholds; and if He sees fit to resume the gifts of which we are unworthy, we repine and rebel against His will. This enmity must be subdued, before we can be pleased with His government. In other words, we must be changed, we must be made new creatures. To produce this change, this new creation, the Gospel is the only expedient; and when revealed and applied to the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit, the miracle is wrought. The sinner who is first convinced of his guilt and misery, and then reconciled to God by faith in the great atonement, willingly yields to His administration. He owns and feels the propriety of His proceedings, is ready to acknowledge, in his sharpest afflictions, that the Lord is gracious, and has not dealt with him according to the desert of his iniquities. He considers himself as no longer his own, but bought with a price, and brought under the strongest obligations, to live no longer to himself, but to Him who loved him, and gave Himself for him. And what was before his dread and dislike, becomes now the joy of his heart — the thought, that the Lord reigns, and that all his concerns are in the hands of Him who does all things well.
Are there any among us, who say in their hearts, We will not have this Saviour to rule over us ? The thought is no less vain than wicked. He must, He will reign, till He has subdued all enemies under His feet. You must either bend or break before Him.
—— O ——
Sermon XXXVII
The Extent of Messiah’s Spiritual Kingdom
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,
and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever!
T
he Kingdom of our Lord in the heart, and in the
world, is frequently compared to a building or house, of which He
Himself is both the Foundation and the Architect
(
And thus, although the growth and extent of His
Kingdom is the great scope and object of His Providence, to which all
the revolutions that take place in the kingdoms of this world shall be
finally subservient; yet the steps by which He is carrying forward His
design, are, for the most part, remote from the common apprehensions of
mankind; and, therefore, seldom engage their attention. His Kingdom,
founded upon the Rock of Ages, is building, advancing, and the gates of
hell shall not be able to withstand its progress. Only detached and
inconsiderable parts of the plan are as yet visible, and the beauties
are everywhere obscured by attendant blemishes. But His counsel shall
stand, and He will do all His pleasure. Princes and statesmen seldom
think of Him, are seldom aware that in pronouncing their own schemes,
they are eventually fulfilling His purposes, and preparing the way to
promote the cause which they despise, and often endeavour to suppress.
But thus it is. Sometimes He employs them more directly as His
instruments, and when they are thus engaged in His work, their success
is secured. So Cyrus, whom Isaiah mentioned by name
(
Prophecies which are not yet fulfilled will necessarily be obscure. Many learned men have laboured to explain the prophecies in this Book [Bible], to ascertain the facts which are foretold, and to fix the dates when they may be expected to take place. But they are so divided in their judgments, and with regard to several of the most eminent who thus differ, the support their opinions derive from the character and abilities of the proposers is so nearly equal, that those who consult them are more likely to be embarrassed, than satisfied. For myself, I think it becomes me to confess my ignorance and my inability, either to reconcile the conjectures of others, or to determine which is the more probable, or to propose better of my own. I do not, therefore, undertake to give the precise sense of this passage, as it stands connected with the rest of the chapter. Nor should I, perhaps, have attempted to preach from it, but upon this occasion. It is introduced with great propriety in the Messiah Oratorio , as a close to the second part, which begins with a view of the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world, by the power of His priestly office; and concludes with an account of His glorious success as the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
My business is only to lead you to some pleasing and profitable reflections upon this subject, now it comes in my way. There are many prophecies in the Old Testament that speak in magnificent strains of a kingdom which God would, in His appointed time, establish upon the earth; the sense of which is greatly weakened and narrowed, if restrained, as some commentators would restrain it to the restoration of Israel to their own land from their captivity in Babylon. Yet it must be allowed, that the highly figurative language in which many of these prophecies are expressed, a great part of which cannot be understood literally, renders the interpretation difficult.
What we read in the 20
th
chapter of this book, of a period in which the saints
shall reign with Christ during a thousand years, has given occasion to
almost a thousand conjectures, concerning a Millennial state. Some
persons suppose, that the present frame of nature shall be dissolved
and changed, and expect a proper resurrection of the dead; after which,
the Lord will personally reign with His people upon the earth, when
purified by fire and restored to its primitive perfection and beauty.
If so, earth will be heaven; for the state of happiness believers are
taught to hope for, depends not upon local circumstances, but chiefly
consists in the enjoyment of His unveiled immediate presence, and in
beholding His glory. Others seem to conceive of the Millennium nearly
in the same manner as the Jews formed their expectations of
MESSIAH’S
Kingdom. They think that temporal honours, dominion,
prosperity, and wealth, will then be the portion of believers; the very
portion, which they are now called upon to renounce and despise. But as
I have hinted, large allowances must be made for the metaphorical
language of prophecy. We read that the streets of the New Jerusalem are
paved with gold, and that the twelve gates are twelve pearls
(
The glory and happiness of
MESSIAH’S
Kingdom, is described by the prophets in terms which
cannot be justly applied to any period of the Church already past. They
sometimes represent it by a variety of beautiful pastoral images, and
sometimes in plainer language. Thus says Isaiah,
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the
mountain of the L
ORD'S
house shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall
flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go
up to the mountain of the L
ORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach
us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go
forth the law, and the word of the L
ORD
from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations,
and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into
plough-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not
lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more
(
Though the promises and prophecies of this import are addressed to the Church, under the names of Israel, Jacob, Zion, or Jerusalem, we are certain they were not fulfilled to the nation of Israel, while their civil government subsisted. Their national prosperity and glory were greatly diminished, before any of these prophecies were revealed. They were an inconstant and a suffering people, during the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel, till at length their city and temple were destroyed by the Chaldeans. And though they returned from their captivity, and their city and temple were rebuilt; they continued tributary and dependent, and were successively subject to the Persian, Macedonian, and Roman power. Their obstinate rejection and crucifixion of MESSIAH filled up the measure of their iniquities, and brought wrath upon them to the uttermost. They were soon afterwards exterminated from their land, their constitution, both of church and state, utterly subverted; and they remain, to this day, in a dispersed state, which renders the observance of the law impracticable.
It seems equally plain, that these prophecies have not yet been fulfilled to the Christian Church. The greater part of the earth, to this day, is unacquainted with the name of Jesus. And the general face of Christendom, whether in Popish or Protestant countries, exhibits little more of the spirit and character of the Gospel, than is to be found among the heathens. If Christianity be compatible with pride or baseness, with avarice or profusion, with malice and envy, with scepticism in principle, and licentiousness of conduct, then Christians abound; but if humility, integrity, benevolence, and a spiritual mind are essential to a Christian; if we judge by the criterion which our Lord Himself appointed, and account only those His disciples, who live in the exercise of mutual love, it is to be feared that they are but few, even in the places which are most favoured with the light of the Gospel. But can the Scriptures be broken? Can the promises of the Lord fail? By no means. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of His word shall fail of accomplishment.
It is not necessary to suppose that every individual of mankind shall be savingly converted to the Lord, in this future day of His power; but I apprehend the current language of the prophecies warrants us hope that the prayers and desires of the Church, shall, in some future period, be signally answered in the following respects:
(1.)
That the Gospel shall visit the nations which are at present involved in darkness. The heathen are given to MESSIAH for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. At present (as I have formerly observed) if the whole of Christendom was inhabited by real Christians, they would bear but a small proportion to the rest of mankind. Large countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, where the Gospel was once known, have been, for many ages, involved in Mohammedan darkness. The scattered remnant of the Greek church, in Turkey, are so miserably depraved and ignorant, that they scarcely deserve to be mentioned as an exception. The rest of Asia knows little of Christianity; unless they have learnt it in the eastern parts, from the cruelty and tyranny of men who bear the name of Christians. The like may be said of America, excepting the northern provinces of our late dominion there. For the zeal of the Spaniards and Portuguese has produced few other effects, than rapine, slavery, and deluges of human blood. The interior parts, both of Africa and America, are unknown. The countries and islands, lately discovered in the Southern Hemisphere, are left as they were found, in gross ignorance. The exertions of our navigators to supply them with sheep and cows, and useful implements from Europe, were humane and laudable. But it does not appear that the least attempt was made, to impart to them the knowledge of our holy religion. The only missionary they have from us (if he be yet living) is, the much spoken of Omiah [Omaha - a native from Tahiti, brought to England in 1774 by Captain Cook after one of his voyages]. This man was brought to England, almost from the Antipodes; he spent some time among us, and was then sent back to tell his countrymen what he had seen and heard. But, if he gave a faithful account of our customs, morals, and religion, so far as they fell within the circle of his own observations, the relation would certainly be little to our honour, and, I am afraid, much to their hurt. In brief, a large part of Europe, almost the whole of the other three continents, with the Islands in the Eastern and Southern Oceans, are destitute of the true Gospel. But there is a time approaching, called the fulness of the Gentiles, when the Redeemer’s glory shall dawn and shine upon all nations. And though we cannot see when, or how this happy change shall be effected, yet, in the Lord’s hour, mountains shall sink into plains. Nor is it more improbable to us now, than it would have seemed to an inhabitant of Rome, in the time of Julius Caesar, that the island of Great Britain should one day be distinguished by all those privileges which the Providence of God has since bestowed upon it.
(2.)
That this Gospel shall prevail, not in word only, but in power. Even where the name of Christ is professed, but little of the power of it is known at present. The superstition and false worship, generally prevalent within the pale of Roman and Greek churches, may be mentioned without offence to Protestants. But the bulk of the Protestant countries are equally overspread with scepticism and wickedness. Few, comparatively, among Protestants, are friendly to that Gospel which the Apostles preached; and much fewer are they who are influenced by it. Perhaps no nation is favoured with greater advantage for knowing the truth than our nation, nor any city more favoured than this city [ London, England ]. I doubt not but there are persons now living, who would have been thought eminent Christians, if they had lived in the first and happiest age of the Church; and I trust their number is greater than we are aware of. The Lord has a hidden people, little known to the world, or to each other. But if we judge by the standard of truth, we must acknowledge that the power of religious profession is very low. How little does it appear in the lives, tempers, and pursuits of the most who hear the Gospel? But the time will come when Christians shall again be known by their integrity, spiritual-mindedness, and benevolence, and by all the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. The fall of mystical Babylon, and of Anti-Christ, in its various forms, and the calling of the Jews, are events which are positively foretold; and which, when they come to pass, will have great effects. Zion, as yet, is only building; but it shall be built.
( 3.)
That the animosities and disputes which prevail among
Christians shall cease. The observation of a late ingenious writer,
which, it is to be feared, he was confirmed in by his own experience,
is too much founded in truth: “We have just religion enough to
make us hate one another.” The spirit of party, prejudice,
bigotry, and interest, a zeal for systems, forms, modes, and
denominations, furnish men with plausible pretences for indulging their
unsanctified passions; and deceive them into an opinion that, while
they are gratifying their pride and self-will, they are only labouring
to promote the cause of God and truth. Hence often the feuds which
obtain among religious people are pursued with greater violence and to
greater lengths, and are productive of more mischievous consequences,
than the quarrels of drunkards. The lovers of peace, who refuse to take
part in these contentions, but rather weep over them in secret, are
censured and despised as neutrals and cowards, by the angry combatants
on both sides, while the world despises and laughs at them all. It was
not so in the beginning, nor will it be so always. The hour is coming
when believers shall be united in love; shall agree in all that is
essential to a life of faith and holiness, and shall live in the
exercise of forbearance and tenderness towards each other, if, in some
points of smaller importance, they cannot think exactly alike; which
possibly may be the case in the best times, in the present imperfect
state of human nature.
Ephraim then shall no more envy Judah, nor Judah vex
Ephraim
(
(4.)
That it will be a time of general peace. At present,
the kingdoms which, by their profession, should be subjects of the
Prince of Peace, are perpetually disturbing, invading, and destroying
each other. They live in habits of mutual fear and jealousy, and
maintain great armies on all sides; that each nation may be prepared,
if occasion offers, to strike the first blow. War is followed as a
trade, and cultivated as a science; and they who, with the greatest
diligence and success, spread devastation and ruin far and wide, and
deluge the earth with human blood, acquire the title of heroes and
conquerors. Can there be a stronger confirmation of what we read in
Scripture, concerning the depravity of man? Can we conceive an
employment more suited to gratify the malignity of Satan and the powers
of darkness, if they were permitted to appear and act amongst us in
human shapes? Could such enormities possibly obtain, if the mild and
merciful spirit of the Gospel generally prevailed? But it shall prevail
at last, and then
the nations shall learn war no more
(
How transporting the thought! That a time shall yet arrive, when the love of God and man, of truth and righteousness, shall obtain [shall prevail] through the earth. The evils (and these are the greatest evils of human life) which men bring upon themselves, and upon each other, by their wickedness, shall cease; and we may believe that the evils in the natural world will be greatly abated. Sin will no longer call down the tokens of God’s displeasure, by such public calamities as hurricanes, earthquakes, pestilence, and famine. And if some natural evils, as pain and sickness, should remain, submission to the will of God, and the compassion and tenderness of men towards the afflicted, will render them tolerable.
If this prospect be desirable to us, surely it will be the object of our prayers. The Lord will do great things, but He will be enquired of by His people for the performance.
But to many persons, the extension of dominion and
commerce appears much more desirable. The glory and extent of the
British government has been eagerly pursued; and the late diminution of
our national grandeur and influence, has been much laid to heart; while
the glory of the Redeemer’s Kingdom, and the conversion of the
heathens, are considered by the
politicians
and
merchants
of the earth, as trivial concerns, unworthy of their
notice; or rather, as obstacles to the views and ambition of avarice.
But it is said of
MESSIAH
, and of His Church,
The nation and kingdom that will not serve Thee,
shall perish
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXXVIII
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written,
K ING OF K INGS AND L ORD OF L ORDS
T he description of the administration and glory of the Redeemer’s Kingdom, in defiance of all opposition, concludes the second part of Messiah Oratorio. Three different passages from the book of Revelation are selected to form a grand chorus, of which Handel’s title in this verse is the close —a title which has been sometimes vainly usurped by proud worms of this earth. Eastern monarchs, in particular, have affected to style themselves King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. In the Scriptural language, men, whether high or low, rich or poor, one with another, are compared to worms and potsherds of the earth; but they are by nature so strongly infected by pride, that they cannot invent titles of honour answerable to the idea they have of their own importance, without intrenching [infringing] upon the divine prerogative. Thus sovereignty, majesty, holiness and grace, and other attributes which properly belong to God alone, are parcelled out among the Great. But let the great and mighty know, that wherein they speak proudly, MESSIAH is above them. The whole verse (of which the latter clause only is in the Oratorio ) offers two points to our meditations.
I. How He is represented as wearing His title. It is written, or inscribed, upon His vesture dipped in blood, and upon His thigh. Either upon that part of His vesture which covers His thigh; or, upon the upper part of His vesture, and upon His thigh likewise.
II. The title itself. King of kings, and Lord of lords. Whatever power the kings and lords among mankind possess, is derived from Him, and absolutely subject to His control.
I.
The manner in which He wears His name or title. It is written upon His vesture, and upon His thigh.
(1.)
This name being written upon His
vesture
, denotes the manifestation, and the ground of His
authority. It is written upon His outward garment, to be read, known,
and acknowledged by all beholders. And it is upon His bloody garment,
upon the vesture stained with His own blood, and the blood of His
enemies; which intimates to us, that His government is founded upon the
success of His great undertaking. In the passage from whence this verse
is selected, there are three names attributed to
MESSIAH
. He has
a name which no one knows but Himself
(verse 12)
, agreeable to what He declared when upon earth. No
man, no one, (neither man or angel) knoweth the Son, but the Father;
this refers to His eternal power and Godhead. A second name,
the Word of God
(verse 13)
,
denotes the mystery of the divine personality. The
name in my text imports His glory, as the Mediator between God and man,
in our nature, which, when He resumed it from the grave, became the
seat of all power and authority; which power, we are now taught to
consider —not merely as the power of God, to whom it essentially
belongs, but as the power of God exercised in and by that Man who died
upon the cross for our sins. In consequence of His obedience unto
death, He received
a name which is above every name
(
(2.)
It is written upon His
thigh.
The thigh is the emblem of power, and is the part of
the body on which the sword is girded
(
II.
The title itself is
K
ING
OF
K
INGS
,
AND
L
ORD OF
L
ORDS
He is the
Prince of the kings of the earth
(
(1.)
The rage they discover, and the resistance they make,
cannot weaken this truth, but rather render it more evident. If it be
asked, ‘Why does He permit them to resist?’ we may give an
answer, in point, from the case of Pharaoh —he resisted, and he
perished. He was often warned and rebuked, but he still hardened his
neck, and continued stubborn under repeated judgments, till at length
he was destroyed without remedy. Thus the God of Israel was more
magnified, and the people of Israel were more honoured, in the view of
the surrounding nations, when they were brought from Egypt with a high
hand and with a stretched out arm; and when Pharaoh and his armies were
overthrown in the Red Sea, than the nature of the case would have been
admitted, if Pharaoh had made no opposition to their departure. Yet the
obstinacy of Pharaoh was properly his own. It is true, we are assured
that God hardened his heart; but we are not thereby warranted to
suppose that God is the author of the sin, which He hates and forbids.
It is written again, that
God cannot be tempted by evil, neither tempteth He
any man
(
(2.)
The
kings
of
the earth are continually disturbing the world with
their schemes of ambition. They expect to carry everything before them,
and have seldom any higher aim in view, than the gratification of their
own passions. But in all they do, they are but servants of this great
King and
Lord,
and
fulfill
His
purposes
as
the instruments He employs to inflict prescribed
punishment upon transgressors against Him, or to open a way for the
spread of His Gospel. Thus under the Old Testament dispensation [order]
(for He was King from everlasting) the successes of Sennacherib and
Nebuchadnezzar, and the exaltation of Cyrus, were entirely owing to
their being employed by Him, as an axe or a saw in the hands of a
workman
(
* The American Revolution (1775-1783)
(3.)
That
He
is
King
of
kings,
and
Governor
among
the
nations,
is
farther
evident
from
the preservation of His people; for the world is
against them, and they have no protector but Him. The wrath of man,
like the waves of the sea, has bounds prescribed to it, which it cannot
pass. So far as He is pleased to overrule it, to His own praise, He
will permit it to operate; but the remainder, that is not subservient
to the accomplishment of His purpose, He will restrain
(
Many salutary and comfortable inferences may be drawn from the consideration of this subject. Some of them I may perhaps have formerly mentioned, but they will bear a repetition. We have need to be reminded of what we already know.
(1.)
It should inspire us with
confidence.
If the L
ORD
of hosts, the Lord of lords be for us, what weapon or
counsel can prosper against us? However dark and threatening
appearances may be, we need not tremble for the ark of God. The
concernments of His Church are in safe hands. The cause so dear to us,
is still more dear to Him. He has power to support it, when it is
opposed, and grace to revive it when it is drooping. It has often been
brought low, but never has been, never shall be forsaken. When He will
work none can hinder. Nor need you fear for yourself, if you have
committed yourself, and your all to Him.
The very hairs of your head are numbered
(
(2.)
It should affect us with an admiring and thankful
sense of
His condescension. “Lord, what is man, that
Thou shouldest be so mindful of him?” He humbles Himself to
behold the things that are in heaven
(
(3.)
How great is the dignity and privilege of true
believers.
Is the man congratulated or envied whom the king
delights to honour? Believers are more frequently despised, than
envied, in this world. But they may congratulate one another. The King
of kings is their Friend. They have honours and pleasures which the
world knows nothing of. Their titles are high, they are the
sons and the daughters of the Lord Almighty
(
(4.)
We may lastly infer the extreme folly and danger of
those, who persist in their rebellion and opposition to this King of
kings, and Lord of lords. Though He exercises much patience and
long-suffering towards them for a season, the hour is approaching when
His wrath will burn like fire. It is written, and must be
fulfilled,
the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the
nations that forget God
(
—— O ——
Sermon XXXIX
Job’s Faith and Expectation
I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.
C
hristianity, that is, the religion of which
MESSIAH
is the author and object, the foundation, life, and
glory, though not altogether as old as creation, is nearly so. It is
coeval
[contemporary] with the first promise and intimation
of mercy given to fallen man. When Adam, by transgression, had violated
the order and law of his creation, his religion, that is, the right
disposition of his heart towards God, was at an end. Sin deprived him
at once of faith and hope, of love and joy. He no longer desired, he no
longer could bear, the presence of his offended Maker. He vainly sought
to avoid it, and when compelled to answer, though he could not deny his
guilt, instead of making an ingenuous confession, he attempted to fix
the blame upon the woman, or rather indeed upon the L
ORD
Himself, who had provided her for him. But mercy,
undeserved and undesired, relieved him from a state in which he was
already become obdurate
[hardened]
and
desperate.
A
promise
was
given
him
of
the
seed
of
the woman
(
The learned are far from being agreed, either in the translation, or in the explanation, of this text. The words worms and body, being printed in italics in our version, will apprize [inform] the attentive English reader that there are no words answerable to them in the Hebrew. If you omit these words, something will evidently be wanting to make a complete sense. Different writers have supplied this want according to their different judgments, and from hence, chiefly, has arisen, the variety of versions and interpretations. But it would be very improper for me, in this place, to take up your time, and to draw off your attention from the great concerns which should fill our minds when we meet in the house of God, by giving you a detail of controversies and criticisms, which after all are much more uncertain than important. We need not dispute whether Job, in this passage, professes his assurance of the incarnation of MESSIAH , or of His resurrection, or of His final appearance to judge the world; or whether he is only declaring his own personal faith and hope in Him. These several senses are not so discordant, that if we determine for one, we must exclude the rest. I shall content myself with the words as I find them. And I hope that if we should miss some of the precise ideas, which Job might have when he spoke, we shall not greatly mistake his general meaning, nor wander far wide from the scope of the text.
Four things are observable:
I. The title of Redeemer
II. The appropriating word ‘ My’
III. His standing upon the earth
IV. Job’s expectation of seeing Him in his flesh
I.
The title. There is no name of
MESSIAH
more significant, comprehensive, or endearing, than
the name
REDEEMER
. The name ‘
Saviour’
expresses what He does for sinners. He saves them
from guilt and wrath, from sin, from the present evil world, from the
powers of darkness, and from all their enemies. He saves them with an
everlasting salvation. But the word ‘
Redeemer’
intimates, likewise, the manner in which He saves
them. For it is not merely by the word of His
power,
as He saved His disciples when in jeopardy upon the
lake, by saying to the winds and seas,
Peace, be still: and there was a great calm
(
II.
But Job uses the language of appropriation. He says
‘
my’
Redeemer
And all that we know, or hear, or speak of Him, will
avail us but little, unless we are really and personally interested in
Him [personally affected by Him] as
our
Redeemer. A cold speculative knowledge of the Gospel,
such as a lawyer has of a will or a deed which he reads, with no
further design than to understand the tenor and import of the writing,
will neither save, nor comfort the soul. The
believer
reads it, as the will is read by the heir who finds
his own name in it, and is warranted by it, to call the estate, and all
the particulars specified,
his own.
He appropriates the privileges to himself, and says,
“
The promises are mine, the pardon, the peace, the
heaven, of which I read, are all mine. This is the will and testament
of the Redeemer, of
my
Redeemer. The great Testator remembered
me
in His will, which is confirmed, and rendered valid
by His death
(
But how shall we obtain this comfortable [reassuring] persuasion, and preserve it against all the cavils of our enemies, who will endeavour to litigate our right? I seem to have before me a proper occasion of discussing a point, very important, and by too many misunderstood; I mean, the nature of that assurance of hope, which the Scripture speaks of as attainable, which has been happily experienced by many believers, and which all are exhorted and encouraged to seek after, in the methods of God’s appointment. But my plan will only permit me to offer a few brief hints upon the subject.
(1.)
Many respectable writers and preachers, have
considered this assurance, as essential to true faith. But we have the
Scripture in our hands, and are not bound to abide by the decision of
any man, farther than as they agree with this standard. The most
eminent properties, or effects ascribed to faith, are,
that it works by love
(
(2.)
I will go a step farther. Were I to define the
assurance we are speaking of, I should perhaps say,
It is,
in our present state,
the combined effect of faith and ignorance
. That assurance which does not spring from true
faith in the Son of God, wrought by the operation of the Holy Spirit,
is not better than presumption. But I believe, what we call
assurance
, even when it is right, is not entirely owing to the
strength of our faith, but in a great measure, to our having such faint
and slight views of some truths, which, if we had a more powerful
impression of them, unless our faith was likewise proportionably
[proportionally] strengthened at the same time, might possibly make the
strongest assurance totter and tremble. I will explain myself.
Admitting that I had a right to tell you, that I am so far assured of
my interest in the Gospel salvation, as to have no perplexing doubt
either of my acceptance, or of my perseverance; you would much overrate
me, if you should suppose this was a proof that my faith is very
strong. Alas! I have but very slight perception of the evil of sin, of
the deceitfulness of my own heart, of the force and subtlety of my
spiritual enemies, of the strictness and spirituality of the holy law,
or the awful majesty and holiness of the great God, with whom I have to
do. If in the moment, while I am speaking to you, He should be pleased
to impress these solemn realities to my mind, with a conviction and
evidence, tenfold greater than I have ever known hitherto (which I
conceive would still be vastly short of the truth) unless my faith was
also strengthened, by a tenfold clearer and more powerful discovery of
the grace and glory of the Saviour, you would probably see my
countenance change and my speech falter. The Lord, in compassion to our
weakness, shows us these things by little and little, as we are able to
bear them; and if, as we advance in the knowledge of ourselves, and of
our dangers, our knowledge of the unsearchable riches of Christ
advances equally, we may rejoice in hope, we may even possess an
assured hope. But let not him who has put on his harness, boast as
though he had put it off
(
(3.)
How far our assurance is solid may be estimated by
its effects. It will surely make us humble, spiritual, peaceful and
patient. I pity those who talk confidently of their hope, as if they
were out of the reach of doubts and fears, while their tempers are
unsanctified and their hearts are visibly attached to the love of the
present world. I fear they know but little of what they say. I am
better pleased when persons of this character complain of doubts and
darkness. It proves at least that they are not destitute of feeling,
nor, as yet, lulled into a spirit of careless security. And there are
professors, whom instead of endeavouring to comfort in their present
state, I would rather wish to make still more suspicious of themselves
than they are; till they are convinced of the impossibility of enjoying
true peace while their hearts are divided between God and the world.
For though sanctification is not the ground of a good hope, it is the
certain concomitant [accompaniment] of it. If it be true that
without holiness no man shall see the Lord
(
(4.)
But to give a direct answer to the inquiry,
‘How shall I know that He is my Redeemer?’ I may use the
Prophet’s words,
Then shall ye know, if ye follow on to know the
Lord
(
III.
Another article of his creed, concerning the
Redeemer, is,
He shall stand in the latter day upon the
earth.
The latter or last days, in the prophetical style,
usually denote the
MESSIAH’S
day, the times of the Gospel. To this time Job looked
forward. He beheld the promises afar off. Thus
MESSIAH
was the consolation of His people of old, as He
who
was
to come. And it should be our consolation, to know
that He
has
come. His “standing upon the earth” may
include the whole of His appearance in the flesh: His life, passion,
and resurrection. The manner of expression intimates something
important and wonderful. Had Job, in the spirit of prophecy, spoken of
any individual of Adam’s race, of Isaiah or Paul, there would
have been nothing extraordinary predicted by saying
he shall stand upon the earth
, for all men do so in their successive generations.
But that the Redeemer, the L
ORD
of glory, the Maker of all things, should condescend
to visit His creatures, to dwell with men for a season, to stand and
walk upon the earth with them, clothed in a body like their own, is an
event which never could have been expected, if it had not been revealed
from heaven. It was the object of Job’s faith, and well deserving
the solemn preface with which he introduces his firm persuasion of
it,
Oh! That my words were graven with an iron pen in the
rock forever!
When Solomon had finished the temple of the L
ORD
of Hosts, instead of admiring the magnificence of the
building, he was struck with the condescension of the Lord, who would
vouchsafe [graciously agree] to notice it, and honour it with a symbol
of His presence.
Will God indeed dwell with men upon the earth? Behold
the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him; how much less this house
which I have built!
(
IV.
From the Redeemer’s appearance upon earth, Job
infers the restoration, and resurrection, of his own body. His trials
had been great —bereaved of his children and substance, afflicted
with grievous boils, harassed with temptations, reproached by his
friends: out of all these troubles the L
ORD
his Redeemer delivered him, and his latter days were
more prosperous than his beginning. But he knew that he must go the way
of all the earth, that his body must lie in the grave, and return to
dust. But he expected a future time after his dissolution, when in the
flesh, for himself, and with his own eyes, he should see God. The
expressions are strong and repeated. He does not speak the language of
hesitation and doubt, but of confidence and certainty. It likewise
appears that he placed his ultimate happiness in seeing God. His words
are not very different from those of the Apostle.
When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is
(
The great inquiry this subject should impress upon us
is, ‘Are we thus minded?’ What think you, my dear friends,
of Christ? Have you accepted Him as your Redeemer? And have you a good
hope that you shall see Him to your comfort, when He shall return to
judge the world? If so, you may rejoice. Changes you must expect. You
must die, and your flesh must be food for worms. But He has promised
to
change our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned
like unto His glorious body, according to the mighty power whereby He
is able to subdue all things unto Himself
(
—— O ——
Sermon XL
The Lord is Risen Indeed
But now the Lord is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.
A s, in the animal economy [As, in the function of physical bodies], the action of the heart and of the lungs, though very different, are equally necessary for the maintenance of life, and we cannot say that either of them is more essentially requisite than the other; so, in the system of divine revelation, there are some truths, the knowledge and belief of which, singly considered, are fundamentals with respect to the salvation of a sinner. And though they are distinct in themselves, we cannot determine which of them is of most importance to us; for unless we know, approve, and receive them all, we can have no experience of a life of faith in the Son of God. Such, for instance, is the Scriptural doctrine concerning the depravity of human nature. This is a first principle; for unless we understand what our state is in the sight of God, the enormity of our transgressions, and our incapacity for true happiness; until our hearts are changed by the power of His grace, we cannot rightly understand a single chapter in the Bible. Such, likewise, is the doctrine of the Atonement. For if we could know how totally we are lost, without knowing the gracious method which God has appointed for our recovery, we must unavoidably sink into despair. Again, if we were sensible of our state, as sinners, and even if we trusted in Christ for salvation, yet the Apostle observes, in this chapter, that unless He be indeed risen from the dead, our faith in Him would be in vain, and we should still be in our sins. The resurrection of Christ, therefore, is a doctrine absolutely essential to our hope and comfort: and it is likewise a sure pledge, that they who believe in Him, shall be raised from the dead also, by virtue of their union with Him, and according to His pattern. For now is Christ risen from the dead, and is become the first-fruits of them that slept. Let us, at present, consider His resurrection. The sure consequence of it, that His people shall be raised from the dead, will offer to our meditations, from the following verses.
The resurrection of Christ, being, as a fact, the great pillar upon which the weight and importance of Christianity rest, it has pleased the Lord to put the indubitable proof of it within our power. There is no one point of ancient uninspired history, so certainly and unquestionably authenticated. It may seem unnecessary to prove it, and to many of you it is entirely so. Yet I think it proper to take some notice of it; not so much on account of the weak and trifling cavils of infidels, as for the sake of persons who may be assaulted with temptations. For many plain people, who are not much acquainted with the subtleties of sceptics, are sometimes pestered with difficulties and objections in their own minds, perhaps more shrewd and powerful than such as are commonly found in books, or retailed [conversed about] in coffee-houses. For unbelief is deeply rooted in every heart; and Satan, our great enemy can, and if permitted will, work powerfully upon this evil disposition. He endeavours to beat us off from the belief of every truth of Scripture, and of this among the rest. And many persons who have been so well convinced that our Lord rose from the dead, as to venture their souls and their all upon it, have found themselves at a loss how to answer the enemy in an hour of sharp and pressing temptation.
Let us suppose then, that we had lately received the news of some extraordinary, and almost incredible event; and let us consider what evidence we should require to satisfy us that the report was true, and apply the same kind of reasoning to the point in hand. That there was, a great while ago, a person named Jesus, who gathered disciples, and died upon a cross, is universally acknowledged. Both Jews and heathens, who lived at the time, and afterwards, not only admitted it, but urged it as a reproach against His followers. Many testimonies of this kind are still extant.
The turning point between His enemies and His friends is His resurrection. This has been denied. We acknowledge that He did not appear publicly, after He arose, as He did before His death, but only to a competent number of His followers, to whom He showed Himself and satisfied them by many infallible proofs, that He was alive and that He was the same person whom they had seen crucified. They reported what they saw, and we believe their report. We are therefore to enquire, ‘Who were they?’ and ‘On what grounds do we receive and rely upon their testimony?’
If they were mistaken themselves, or if they were engaged and agreed in a crafty design of imposing upon mankind, we who depend upon their relation [report] may be involved in their mistake, or deceived by their artifice. But if neither of these suppositions can possibly be true, if they were competent and impartial witnesses, then we are not only justified in giving credit to their testimony, but it must be unreasonable, and (in a case of this importance) presumptuous, and dangerous to reject it.
I.
That they were competent judges of what they asserted is evident:
(1.)
From their numbers.
The eye-witnesses of this fact were many.
He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve; after that
He was seen of five hundred brethren at once; after that He was seen of
James, then of all the apostles. And last of all, He was seen of me
also
(
* Euclid of Alexandria (300 BC)- Greek mathematician, often referred to as the Father of Geometry
(2.)
From the nature of the fact,
in which is was not possible that so many persons
could be mistaken or deceived. Some of them saw Him not once only, but
frequently. His appearance to others was attended with peculiar
striking circumstances and effects. His disciples seem not to have
expected His resurrection, though He had often foretold it pervious to
His sufferings. Nor did they hastily credit the women who first saw
Him, in their way from the sepulchre. Thomas refused to believe the
report of all his brethren, to whom our Lord had shown Himself. He
would see for himself; he required more than ocular proof; for he
said,
Except I put my finger into the print of the nails,
and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe
(
II.
As they were competent judges, so they were upright and faithful witnesses. There is no more room to suspect that they had a design to deceive others, than that they were mistaken or deceived themselves. For:
(1.)
If we judge of them by their writings, we must, at least, allow them to have been well-meaning men. They profess to aim at promoting the knowledge and honour of the true God, and thereby to promote the morality and happiness of mankind. Their conduct was uniformly consistent with their profession, and their doctrines and precepts were evidently suited to answer their design. The penmen of the New Testament were, confessedly, men in private life, most of them destitute of literature, and engaged in low occupations, till they became the disciples of Jesus. Is it possible, that men who speak so honourably of God, who inculcate upon [who indoctrinate] their fellow-creatures such an entire devotedness to His will and service, should be impostors themselves? Is it at all credible that a few men, in an obscure situation, should form a consistent and well concerted plan, sufficient to withstand and overcome the prejudices, habits, and customs, both of Jews and heathens; to institute a new religion; and, without the assistance of interest or arms, to spread it rapidly and successfully, in a few years, throughout the greatest part of the Roman Empire? Or is it possible, that such men could, at their first effort, exhibit a scheme of theology and morality, so vastly superior to the united endeavours of the philosophers of all ages? A learned man in France attempted to prove that most of the Latin poems, which are attributed to those whom we call the Classic writers, and particularly the Aeneid of Virgil, were not the production of the authors whose names they bear, but gross forgeries, fabricated by monks, in the dark ages of ignorance, and successfully obtruded [imposed] upon the world as a genuine, till he arose to detect the imposture. He gained but few proselytes to his absurd paradox. Yet, to suppose that men who could only express their own dull sentiments in barbarous Latin, were capable of writing with the fire and elegance of * Virgil, when they undertook to impose upon the world; or to affirm that the Principia of Sir Isaac Newton, was in reality written by an ignorant plough-man, and only sent abroad under the sanction of a celebrated name; cannot be more repugnant to true taste, sound judgment, and common sense, than to imagine that the Evangelists and Apostles were, from their own resources, capable of writing such a book as the New Testament. The whole of which must stand or fall with the doctrine of our Lord’s resurrection.
* Virgil - Roman poet (70BCE - 19BCE)
(2.)
But farther, They could not possibly propose any
advantage to themselves, in their endeavours to propagate the Christian
religion, if they had not been assured, that the crucified Jesus, whom
they preached, was risen from the dead and had taken possession of His
Kingdom. Knowing whom they had believed, filled with a constraining
sense of His love, and depending upon His promise and power to support
them in the service to which He had called them, they were neither
ashamed nor afraid to proclaim His Gospel, and to invite and enjoin
sinners everywhere to put their trust in Him. Otherwise, they had
nothing to expect but such treatment as they actually met with, for
professing their belief of His resurrection; and especially for the
pains they took to publish it: first among the people who had put Him
to death, and afterwards among the heathens. It required no great
sagacity to foresee that this doctrine would be an offence
to
the
Jews,
and foolishness to the Greeks
(
(3.)
Even if we could for a moment suppose them capable of
so wild and wicked an undertaking as, under pretence of the service of
God, to provoke and dare the hatred of mankind, by asserting and
propagating an offensive falsehood, it would be impossible, upon that
ground, to account for the success which they met with. If this counsel
and cause had not been of God, it must have come to nought
(
* Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56 – AD 117) - senator, and historian of the Roman Empire
(4.)
But the proof of the resurrection of Christ, which is the most important and satisfactory of any, does not depend upon arguments and historical evidence, with which multitudes of true Christians are unacquainted; but is, in its own nature, equally convincing in all ages and equally level to all capacities. They who have found the Gospel to be the power of God to the salvation of their souls, have the witness in themselves. And are very sure that the doctrine which enlightened their understandings, awakened their consciences, delivered them from the guilt and dominion of sin, brought them into a state of peace and communion with God, and inspired them with a bright and glorious hope of eternal life, must be true. They know that the Lord is risen indeed, because they are made partakers of the power of His resurrection, and have experienced a change in themselves, which could only be wrought by the influence of that Holy Spirit which Jesus is exalted to bestow. And many believers, though not qualified to dispute with philosophers and sceptics, upon their own learned ground, can put them to shame and to silence, by the integrity and purity of their conduct, by their patience and cheerfulness under afflictions; and would especially silence them, if they were eye-witnesses of the composure and elevation of spirit, with which true believers in a risen Saviour welcome the approach of death.
This is the evidence, which I would principally
recommend to my hearers to seek after. If the resurrection of Christ be
a truth, and a fact, much depends upon the right belief of it. I
say
a right belief;
for though I have offered you a brief view of the
external evidence in proof of this point, I am aware that I am not
preaching to Jews, or Mohammedans. If I should ask you, ‘Do you
believe the resurrection?’ might I not answer myself, as the
Apostle did on another occasion, ‘I know you do’?
(
But let those who love His name be joyful in Him. Your Lord who was dead, is alive, and because He lives, you shall live also. If you be risen with Him, seek the things which are above, where He is seated at the right hand of God. And, when He, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory.
—— O ——
Sermon XLI.
Death By Adam, Life By Christ
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
F rom Mr. Handel’s acknowledged abilities as a composer, and particularly from what I have heard of his great taste and success in adapting the style of his music to the subject, I judge, that this passage afforded him a fair occasion of displaying his genius and powers. Two ideas, vastly important in themselves, are here represented in the strongest light, by being placed in contrast to each other. Surely the most solemn, the most pathetic strains must be employed, if they accord with the awful words, By man came death.; in Adam all die. Nor can even the highest efforts of the heavenly harpers, more than answer to the joy, the triumph and the praise, which the other part of my text would excite in our hearts, if we are interested in it, provided we were capable of comprehending the full force and meaning of the expressions, By man came also the resurrection; In Christ shall all be made alive.
By one man came death.
By one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin
(
Let us take a survey, first of the malady, and then of the remedy:
I.
The malady, the effect and wages of sin, is death. Many ideas are included in this word, taken in the Scriptural sense.
(1.)
The sentence annexed to the transgression of that
commandment, which was given as an especial test of Adam’s
obedience, and which affects all his posterity, is thus
expressed,
In the day that thou eatest
—
thou shalt surely die
(
(2.)
Death
, in a very important sense, entered immediately with
sin. Besides the rational life, which still distinguishes man from the
brute creation, he originally possessed a spiritual and divine life,
for he was created in the image of God, in righteousness and true
holiness. He was capable of communion with God, of rejoicing in His
favour, and of proposing His will and glory as the great end of his
actions. In a word, the presence and life of God dwelt in him, as in a
temple. As the soul is the life of the body, which becomes a carcase, a
prey to worms and putrefaction, when the soul has forsaken it; so God
is the life of the soul. Sin defaced His temple, and He forsook it. In
this sense, when Adam had transgressed the law, he died instantly, in
that very day, in that very moment. He lost his spiritual life, he lost
all desire for communion with God, he no longer retained any love for
his Benefactor. He dreaded His presence, he sought to hide himself from
Him, and, when obliged to appear and answer, stood self-condemned
before Him, till revived and restored by the promise of grace. And thus
his posterity derive from him, what may be called, a living death. They
are dead while they live,
dead in trespasses and sins
(
(3.)
Death, as the wages of sin, extends still farther. There is the second death, the final and eternal misery of soul and body in hell. This we know is the dreadful lot of the impenitent. We need no other proof that this was included in the sentence; for, certainly, the righteous Judge would not inflict a greater punishment than He had denounced [threatened]. Indeed, it follows of course, in the very nature of things, if we admit the soul to be immortal, a resurrection both of the just and the unjust, and that there remains no other sacrifice for sin in favour of those who reject the Gospel. For to be disowned of God in the great day, to be separated from His favourable presence, and conscious of His endless displeasure; to be abandoned to the unrestrained rage of sinful dispositions, and hopeless despair; to be incessantly tormented by the stings of a remorseful conscience must be, upon the principles of Scripture, the unavoidable consequences of being cut off by death in an unhumbled, unpardoned, unsanctified state.
II.
But, blessed be God, the Gospel reveals a relief and
remedy, fully adapted to the complicated misery in which sin has
involved us.
As by man came death, by man also came the
resurrection from the dead.
MESSIAH
has made an end of sin, and destroyed the power of
death. They who
believe in Him, though they were dead shall
live
(
(1.)
He raises the soul from the death of sin, unto a life
of righteousness. By His blood He procures a right and liberty, and by
His Spirit He communicates a power, that those who were afar off,
may
draw
nigh
to
God.
Thus,
even
at present,
believers
are
said
to
be
risen
with Him
(
First: Though when they are made partakers of His
grace, and thereby delivered from the condemning power of the law, sin
has no longer dominion over them as formerly; yet it still wars and
strives within them, and their life is a state of continual warfare.
They now approve the law of God
as holy, just and good, and delight in it after the
inward man
(
Secondly: They are subject, like other people, to the
various calamities and distresses incident to this state of mortality;
and they have, more or less, troubles peculiar to themselves, arising
from the nature of their profession and conduct (if they are faithful
to their Lord) while they live in a world that lies in wickedness. But
the curse and sting is taken out of their afflictions, and they are so
moderated and sanctified, by the wisdom and grace of Him whom they
serve, that in the event, they work for their good. But though
they
yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness
(
Thirdly: They are still subject to the stroke of death; the separation of soul and body. But this death has lost its sting, as to them. And therefore they are said, not to die, but to sleep in Jesus. To them, instead of being an evil, it proves a deliverance from all evil, and an entrance into everlasting life.
(2.)
That new life to which they are raised, is surely
connected with life eternal, the life of grace, with the life of glory.
For Christ lives in them, and being united to Him by faith, they shall
live while He lives. They only shut their eyes upon the pains and
sorrows of this world, to open them immediately in His presence,
and
so they shall be forever with the Lord.
How wonderful and happy is the transition! From
disease and anguish, from weeping friends, and often from a state of
indigence and obscurity, in which they have no friends to compassionate
them, they remove to a state of glory, honour and immortality, to a
mansion in the realms of light, to a seat near the throne of God. In
the language of mortals, this ineffable honour and happiness is
shadowed out to us, by the emblems of a white robe, a golden harp, a
palm-branch, (the tokens of victory) and a crown, not of oak or laurel,
not of gold or diamonds,
but a crown of life.
Such honour have all the saints. However afflicted or
neglected, despised or oppressed, while upon earth, soon as their
willing spirits take their flight from hence, they shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father. Thus Lazarus lay for a time, diseased,
necessitous, and slighted, at the rich man’s gate. Yet he was not
without attendants. A guard of angels waited around him, and when he
died conveyed his spirit into
Abraham’s bosom
(
(3.)
Their dead bodies shall be raised at the great day,
not in their former state of weakness and corruption, but that which
was
from weakness shall be raised in power,
and the
mortal shall put on immortality. He shall change our
vile body, that it may be fashioned according to the likeness of His
own glorious body.
So that His own resurrection is both the pledge, and
the pattern of theirs. I have only farther to observe upon this subject
at present, that as Adam is the root and head of all mankind, from
whence they all derive a sinful and mortal nature; so Jesus, the second
Adam, is the root of a people who are united to Him, planted and
engrafted in Him, by faith. To these the resurrection, considered as a
blessing, is to be restrained. There will be a resurrection of the
wicked likewise
(
May we be happily prepared for this great
event,
that when He shall appear we may have confidence in
Him, and not be ashamed before Him
(
—— O ——
Sermon XLII.
The General Resurrection
Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed;
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption,
and this mortal must put on immortality.
A n object, great in itself, and which we know to be so, will appear small to us, if we view it from a distance. The stars, for example, in our view, are but as little specks or points of light; and the tip of a finger, if held very near to the eye, is sufficient to hide from us the whole body of the sun. Distance of time has an effect upon us, in its kind, similar to distance of space. It diminishes in our mind the idea of what, we are assured, is, in its own nature, of great magnitude and importance. If any of us were informed that we should certainly die before this day closes, what sudden and powerful change would take place in our thoughts? That we all must die, is a truth of which we are no less certain, than that we are now alive. But because it is possible that we may not die today, or tomorrow, or this year, or for several years to come, we are often little more affected by the thoughts of death, than if we expected to live here forever. In like manner, if you receive the Scripture as a divine revelation, I need offer you no other proof that there is a day, a great day, approaching, which will put an end to the present state of things, and introduce a state, unchangeable and eternal. Then the Lord will descend with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God. The earth, and all its works, will be burnt up. The great Judge will appear, and all the human race must give an account of themselves to God, and, each according to his righteous award, be happy or miserable, in a degree beyond expression or conception, and that for ever.
If we were infallibly assured that this tremendous scene would open upon us tomorrow; or if, while I am speaking, we should be startled with the signs of our Lord’s coming in the air, what confusion and alarm would overspread the congregation? Yet, if the Scripture be true, the hour is approaching when we must all be spectators of this solemn event, and be parties nearly [personally, closely] interested in it. But because it is at a distance, we can hear of it, speak of it, and profess to expect it, with a coolness, almost equal to indifference. May the Lord give us that faith which is the evidence of things not seen, that while I aim to lead your meditations to the subject of my text, we may be duly impressed by it: and that we may carry from hence such a consideration of our latter end, as may incline our hearts to that which is our true wisdom!
Many curious enquiries and speculations might be started from this passage, but which because I judge them to be more curious than useful , it is my intention to wave. I shall confine myself to what is plainly expressed, because I wish rather to profit than to amuse my hearers. The principal subject before us is the resurrection of the dead, in the most pleasing view of it; for my text speaks only of those who shall change the mortal and corruptible, for incorruption and immortality.
I. The introduction, Behold I show you a mystery.
II. What we are taught to expect. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
III. The suddenness of the event. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
IV. The grand preceding signal. The trumpet shall sound.
I.
The Apostle apprizes [informs] the Corinthians that
he is about to
show them a mystery.
As the word
mystery
has been treated with no small contempt, I shall
embrace this occasion of offering you a short explanation of it as it
is used in the Scriptures. We are allowed to say, that there are
mysteries in nature, and perhaps we may be allowed to speak of
mysteries in Providence; but though an Apostle assures us that
Great is the mystery of godliness
(
* Possibly Joshua Bayes (1671 - 1746) a Presbyterian minister, who was quoted by Edmond Burke (1729-97); and subsequently, by many others
A mystery , according to the notation of the Greek word, signifies, a secret. And all the peculiar truths of the Gospel may justly be styled mysteries or secrets, for two reasons:
(1.)
Because the discovery of them is beyond the reach of
fallen man, and they neither would nor could
have
been
known
without
a
revelation
from
God.
This is eminently true of the resurrection. The light
of nature, which we often hear so highly commended, may afford some
faint glimmerings of a future state, but gives no intimation of a
resurrection. The men of wisdom at Athens, the Stoic and Epicurean
philosophers, who differed widely in most parts of their respective
schemes, united in deriding this sentiment, and contemptuously styled
the Apostle Paul a babbler for preaching it
(
(2.)
Because, though they are revealed expressly in the Scripture, such is the grossness of our conceptions, and the strength of our prejudices, that the truths of revelation are still unintelligible to us, without a farther revelation of their true sense to the mind by the influence of His Holy Spirit. Otherwise, how can the secret of the Lord be restrained to those who fear Him (Psalm 25:14) , when the Book which contains it is open to all; and the literal and grammatical meaning of the words is in the possession of many who fear Him not?
Books in the arts and sciences, may be said to be
full of mysteries to those who have not a suitable capacity and taste
for them; or who do not apply themselves to study them with diligence
and patiently submit to learn, gradually, one thing after another. If
you put a treatise on the mathematics, or a system of music into the
hands of a ploughman or labourer, you will not be surprised to find
that he cannot understand a single page. Shall the works of a Sir Isaac
Newton, or of a Handel, be thus inexplicable to one person, while
another peruses them with admiration and delight? Shall these require a
certain turn of mind, and a close attention? And can it be reasonably
supposed, that the Bible is the only book, that requires no peculiar
disposition or degree of application to be understood; though it is
designed to make us acquainted with the
deep things of God
(
It may, perhaps, be thought that a belief of the doctrine of the resurrection does not require the same teaching of the Holy Spirit that is necessary to the right knowledge of some other doctrines of the Gospel. But such a belief as may affect, cheer, and animate the heart, must be given us from above, for we cannot reason ourselves into it. Nay, this divine teaching is necessary to secure the mind from the vain reasonings, perplexities, and imaginations, which will bewilder our thoughts upon the subject, unless we learn to yield, in simplicity of faith, to what the Scripture has plainly revealed, and can be content to know no farther, before the proper time.
II.
What we are here taught to expect, is thus expressed — We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. We are not to suppose that the whole human race will die, and fail from the earth, before the resurrection. Some will be living at the time, and among them, some of the Lord’s people. Of the living, it cannot properly be said that they will be raised from the dead. But they will experience a change, which will put them exactly in the same state with the others. Their mortality shall be swallowed up in life. Thus we conceive it to have been with Enoch and Elijah. They did not die like other men. But their mortal natures were frail and sinful, like ours, and incapable of sustaining the glories of heaven, without a preparation. Flesh and blood, in its present state, cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither can corruption inherit incorruption. But the dead shall arise, and the living shall be changed. Here is a wide field for speculation, but I mean not to enter it. Curiosity would be glad to know how our bodies, when changed, shall still be the same. Let us first determine how that body, which was once an infant, is the very same when it becomes a full grown man, or a man in extreme old age. Let us explain the transmutation of a caterpillar or a silkworm, which, from a reptile, becomes a butterfly. Isn’t this a wonderful change, both in appearance and in powers? Who would suppose it to be the same creature? Yet, who can deny it? It is safest and most comfortable for us, to refer to the wisdom and power of God, [re] the accomplishment of His own word.
III.
These great events will take place unexpectedly and
suddenly.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
We have reason to believe, that a part at least of
mankind will be employed as they are now, and as they were in the days
of Noah and Lot
(
IV.
The great scene will be introduced by a signal. At the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound. Thus the approach of a king or a judge is usually announced; and the Scripture frequently borrows images from our little affairs and customs, and, in condescension to our weakness, illustrates things, in themselves too great for our conceptions, by comparing them with those which are more familiar to us.
It will, indeed, be comparing great things with
small, if I attempt to illustrate this sublime idea, by local customs,
which obtain [which prevail] in this kingdom. At a time of assize, when
the judges, to whom the administration and guardianship of our laws are
entrusted, are making their entrance, expectation is awake, and a kind
of reverence and awe is felt, even by those who are not immediately
concerned in their inquest. The dignity of their office, the purpose
for which they come, the concourse of people, the order of the
procession, and the sound of the trumpet, all concur in raising an
emotion in the hearts of the spectators. Happy are they then, upon whom
the inflexible law has no demand! But who can describe the terror with
which the sound of the trumpet is heard by the unhappy criminal; and
the throbbing of
his
heart, if he be already convicted in his own
conscience, and knows or fears that there is sufficient evidence at
hand to fix the fact upon him and to prove his guilt? For soon the
judge will take his seat, the books will be opened, the cause tried,
and the criminal sentenced. Many circumstances of this kind are alluded
to in the Scripture, to assist us in forming some conception of what
will take place, when all the race of Adam, small and great, shall
stand before the sovereign Judge, the one Lawgiver, who is able to save
and to destroy. But the concourse, the solemnity, the scrutiny, the
event, in the most weighty causes that can come before a human
judicature, are mere shadows, and trivial as the sports of children, if
compared with the business of this tremendous tribunal.
The Lord Himself will descend with the voice of the
archangel, and the trump of God.
What a trumpet that will be, whose sound shall
dissolve the frame of nature and awaken the dead! When the Lord is
seated upon His great
white throne
(
But it will be a joyful day to believers. They shall
be separated, as the wheat from the tares, and arranged at His right
hand. When the Lord shall come, attended by His holy angels, His
redeemed people will reassume their bodies, refined, and freed from all
that was corruptible; and those of them who shall be then living, will
be changed and caught up to meet Him in the air. He will then own them,
approve and crown them before assembled worlds. Every charge that can
be brought against them will be overruled, and their plea, that they
trusted in Him for salvation, be admitted and ratified. They will be
accepted and justified. They will shine like the sun in His train, and
attend as assessors with Him, when He shall pass final judgment upon
His and their enemies. Then He will be admired in and by them that
believe. Their tears will be forever wiped away, when He shall say to
them,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world
(
Beloved, if these things are so,
what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy
conversation and godliness
?
(
—— O ——
Sermon XLIII
Death Swallowed Up in Victory
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory!
D
eath, simply considered, is no more than the
cessation of life —that which was once living, lives no longer.
But it has been the general, perhaps the universal custom of mankind,
to personify it. Imagination gives death a formidable appearance, arms
it with a dart, sting or scythe, and represents it as an active,
inexorable and invincible reality. In this view death is a great
devourer; with his iron tongue he calls for thousands at a meal. He has
already swallowed up all the preceding generations of men; all who are
now living are marked as his inevitable prey; he is still unsatisfied,
and will go on devouring till the Lord shall come. Then this destroyer
shall be destroyed; he shall swallow no more, but be swallowed up
himself, in victory. Thus the Scripture accommodates itself to the
language and apprehensions of mortals. Farther the metaphorical usage
of the word ‘
swallow
,’ still enlarges and aggrandizes the idea.
Thus the earth is said to
have opened her mouth, and ‘swallowed’ up
Korah
and his accomplices
(
This victory however, being the Redeemer’s work
and the fruit of His mediation, the Scripture teaches us to restrict
the benefits of it to the subjects of His Church and Kingdom.
In Adam all die.
A depraved nature, guilt, sorrow and death, extend to
all Adam’s posterity. The ‘
All’ who ‘in Christ shall be made
alive’
are those who, by faith in Him, are delivered from
the sting of death, which is sin, and are made partakers of a new
nature. There is a ‘
second death,’
which, though it shall not hurt the believers in
Jesus
(
I would further observe, that many prophecies have a
gradual and increasing accomplishment, and may be applied to several
periods; though their full completion will only be at the resurrection
and last judgment. This passage, as it stands in the prophecy of
Isaiah
(
Let us endeavour to realize the great scene before
us, to contemplate the redeemed of the Lord, when they shall return
with Him to animate their glorified bodies. Let us ask the question
which the elder proposed to John,
Who are these clothed with white robes, and whence
came they?
(
I.
They were once
dead in law.
They had revolted from their Maker. They had violated
the holy order of His government, and stood exposed to His righteous
displeasure, and to the heavy penalty annexed to the transgression of
His commandments. But mercy interposed.
God so loved them, that He gave His only begotten
Son,
to make an atonement for their sins, and to be
their
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and
redemption
(
II.
Once they were
dead in sin.
They were destitute of the knowledge and love of
God.
They were foolish, deceived, and disobedient,
enslaved to divers lusts
(
III.
One branch of the death due to sin, is the
tyranny and power of Satan.
For a time he ruled in their hearts, as in his own
stronghold; and while they were blinded by his influence, they were
little affected with their bondage. Hard as his service was, they did
not often complain of it. They were lead by him according to his will,
for the most part without resistance; or, if they attempted to resist,
they found it was in vain. But in His own hour, their Lord who had
bought them, dispossessed their strong enemy and claimed their hearts
for Himself. Yet after they were thus set free from his [Satan‘s]
ruling power, this adversary was always plotting and fighting against
them. How much have some of them suffered from his subtle wiles, and
his fiery darts! from his rage as a roaring lion, from his cunning as a
serpent lying in their path, and from his attempts to deceive them
under the semblance of an angel of light
(
IV.
While they were in the world they had a share, many
of them a very large share, of the
woes and sufferings incident to this mortal
state;
which, as they are the fruits and effects of sin, and
greatly contribute to shorten the life of man, and hasten his return to
dust, are, as I formerly observed, properly included in the
comprehensive meaning of the original sentence,
Death.
They belong to its train, and are harbingers of its
approach. None of the race of Adam are exempted from these, but
especially, the servants of God have no exemption. Their gracious Lord,
who frees them from condemnation, and gives them peace in Himself,
assures them that in this world they shall have tribulation
(
V.
In their collective capacity, the seeds of sin often produced bitter fruits. Through remaining ignorance and prejudice, they often mistook and misunderstood one another. They lost much good, which they might otherwise have enjoyed, and brought upon themselves many evils, through their intemperate heats, and unsanctified zeal which divided them into little parties and separate interests. The children of the same family, the members of the same body, were too often at variance, or at least cold and distant in their regards to each other. Yea, Satan could foment discord and jealousies among those who lived in the same house, or met at the same table of the Lord. But now grace has triumphed over every evil; sin and death are swallowed up in victory. Now all is harmony, love and joy. They have one heart and one song, which will never more be blemished by the harshness of a single discordant note.
May this prospect animate our hopes, and awaken in
those who have hitherto been afar off, a desire of sharing in the
happiness of the redeemed! Awful will be the contrast to those who have
had their portion in this world! Is it needful to address any in this
auditory [audience] in the language which our Lord used to
His
impenitent hearers?
Woe unto you that are rich! for you have received
your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for you shall hunger. Woe
unto you that laugh now! for you shall mourn and weep
(
—— O ——
Sermon XLIV.
Triumph Over Death and the Grave
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
T
he
Christian
soldier
may
with
the
greatest
propriety,
be
said
to
war
a
good
warfare
(I Timothy
1:18)
. He is engaged in a good cause. He fights under the
eye of the Captain of his salvation. Though he be weak in himself, and
though his enemies are many and mighty, he may do that which in other
soldiers would be presumption, and has often been the cause of a
defeat; he may triumph, while he is in the heat of battle, and assure
himself of victory before the conflict is actually decided. For the
Lord, his great Commander, fights for him, goes before him, and treads
his enemies under His feet. Such a persuasion, when solidly grounded
upon the promises and engagement of a faithful unchangeable God, is
sufficient, it should seem, to make a coward bold.
True
Christians
are
not
cowards;
yet,
when
they compare themselves with their adversaries, they
see much reason for fear and suspicion on their own parts; but when
they look to their Saviour they are enlightened, strengthened, and
comforted. They consider who He is, what He has done; that the battle
is not so much theirs, as His; that He is their strength, and their
shield, and that His honour is concerned in the event of the war. Thus
out of weakness they are made strong; and however pressed and opposed,
they can say,
Nay, in all these things, we are more than
conquerors, through Him that loved us!
(
We have here two unspeakably different views to take of the same subject: Death armed with its formidable sting ; and Death rendered harmless, and its aspects softened, by the removal of the sting.
I.
The first is a very awful subject. I entreat your attention. I am not now about to speak upon a point of speculation. It is a personal, a home concern to us all. For we must all die. But should any of you feel, not only the stroke, but the sting of death when you leave this world, it were better for you that you had never been born.
The love of life, and consequently a reluctance to that dissolution of the intimate union between soul and body, which we call death, seems natural to man. But if there was no hereafter, no state of judgment and retribution to be expected; if there was no consciousness of guilt, no foreboding of consequences upon the mind; if we only considered death as inevitable, and had no apprehensions beyond it, death would be divested of its principal terrors. We see that when conscience is stupefied, or when the mind is poisoned with infidelity, many people, notwithstanding the natural love of life, are so disgusted with its disappointments, that a fit of impatience, or the dread of contempt, often prevail on them to rush upon death by an act of their own will, or to hazard it in a duel rather than be suspected of wanting, what they account, spirit. But death has a sting, though they perceive it not till they feel it —till they are stung by it past recovery.
But usually, and where the heart is not quite hardened, men are unwilling and afraid to die. They have some apprehension of the sting. Death can sting at a distance. How often, and how greatly, does the fear of death poison and embitter all the comforts of life, even in the time of health! Perhaps, some of you well know this to be true. But in health, people can, in some measure, run away from themselves, if I may so speak. They fly to business, company, and amusements, to hide themselves from their own reflections. Their fears are transient, occasional, and partial; they would tremble indeed, if they knew all; or if they were steadfastly and deliberately to contemplate what they do know. How sin is the sting of death is best discovered when conscience is alarmed in a time of sickness; when the things of the world can no longer amuse, and death is approaching with hasty strides. These scenes are mostly kept secret. And, very often, they are not understood by those who are spectators of them. Perhaps the unhappy terrified sinner is considered as ‘delirious,’ because the sting of death in his conscience extorts from him such confessions and complaints as he never made before. What was once slighted as a fable, is now seen and felt as a reality. Such cases, I am afraid, are more frequent than we are in general aware of. But they are suppressed, ascribed to the violence of the fever, and forgotten as soon as possible. Yet they do sometimes transpire. I believe there is no reason to doubt the truth of what we have heard of one who, in the horrors of despair, vainly offered his physicians many thousand pounds [dollars] to prolong his life but a single day. The relation is in print [the story is told] of another, who, pointing to the fire in his chamber said, if he were only to lie twenty thousand years in such a fire, he should esteem it a mercy, compared with what he felt, and with what he saw awaiting him. It is not always thus. Many persons die, insensible as they lived, and can, perhaps, trifle and jest in their last moments. But the Scripture assures us, that when they who die in their sins breathe their last in this world, they open their eyes in the other world, in torments. For the sting of death, the desert [the merited punishment] of sins, unless timely removed by faith in Jesus, will fill the soul with anguish forever. It derives a strength, an efficacy, and a continuance from the law.
This law, which gives strength to sin, and sharpens
the sting of death, is the law of our creation, as connected with the
penalty, which God has annexed to the breach of it. Our relation to
God, as we are His creatures, requires us, according to the very nature
of things, supremely to love, serve, trust, and obey Him who made us,
and
in whom we live, and breathe, and have our
being
(
(1.)
The law, to which our tempers and conduct ought to be conformed, is not an arbitrary appointment; but necessarily results from our state as creatures, and the capacities and powers we have received from our Creator. It is, therefore, holy, wise, and good; indispensable, and unchangeable. To love God with all our heart and strength, to depend upon Him, to conform to every intimation of His will, was the duty of man from the first moment of his existence; was the law of his nature, written originally in his heart. The republication of it, as it stands in the Bible, by precepts and prohibitions, would not have been necessary, had he continued in that state of rectitude in which he was created. It became necessary, after his fall, to restrain him from evil, and to convince him of sin; but could not properly increase his primitive obligation to obedience.
(2.)
We are bound to the observance of this law by the
highest authority
It is the law of God, our Maker, Preserver, and
Benefactor, who has every conceivable right to govern us. His eye is
always upon us, and we are surrounded by His power, so that we can
neither avoid His notice, nor escape His hand. Men
are usually tenacious of their authority; they seldom
allow their dependents to dispute or disobey their commands with
impunity. It is expected that a son should honour his father, and a
servant his master
(
(3.)
The extent of the law adds to the strength by which
sin acts as the sting of death. Human laws can only take cognizance of
words and actions. But the law of God reaches to the thoughts
and
inward
recesses
of
the
heart.
It
condemns
what
is
most
specious
[deceptively attractive]
and most approved amongst men, if not proceeding from
a right intention, and directed to the right end, which can be no other
than the will and glory of Him who made us. It condemns the
sinner
not
only
for
the evil which he has actually committed, but for
every sinful purpose formed in his heart, and which was only rendered
abortive for want of opportunity
(
(4.)
The sanction of the law which thus strengthens the
malignity of sin, is the very point
,
if I may so express myself, of the ‘
sting’
of death. This is, the displeasure of the Almighty.
His holy, inflexible love of order, will exclude those who violate it
from His favour. They must be miserable, unless they are reconciled,
and renewed by the grace of the Gospel. They must be separated from
Him, and they cannot be happy without Him. They are not so, even in
this world, which they love. How miserable then must they be, when,
torn from all their attachments, pleasures, and possessions, having no
longer anything to divert them from a fixed attention to their true
state, they shall be made keenly sensible of what is implied in that
sentence,
Depart from me, ye accursed, into devouring
fire.
We cannot now conceive what it will be to lose the
only good which can satisfy a soul. To be shut out from God, whose
favour is life, and in whose presence there is fulness of joy; and to
be shut up where neither peace nor hope can enter. The images of fire
unquenchable and a never dying worm, are but faint emblems of that
despair and remorse which will sting the sinful soul in a future state.
This is the second death. This is eternal death. For the wicked and all
they who forget God, when thrust into hell, will forever desire to die,
and death will forever flee from them
(
II.
Let us turn our thoughts to a more pleasing theme,
and attempt to take a view of death as softened into a privilege, by
Him who has brought life and immortality to light. Jesus died. His
death was penal: He died for sin, though not for His own, and therefore
suffered the penalty due to sin, the curse of the broken law. The
torment and shame of His crucifixion were preceded and accompanied by
unknown agonies and conflicts, which caused Him to sweat blood, and to
utter strong cries and groans. Death stung Him to the heart; but, (as
it is said of the enraged bee) he lost his sting. The law having been
honoured and sin expiated, by the obedience and sufferings of the Son
of God for us, and in our nature, death has no longer power to sting
those who believe in Him. They do not properly ‘die,’ they
‘fall asleep’ in Jesus
(
(1.)
Dying believers can sing this song before their departure out of the world. We expect it when we are called to attend them in their last hours; and if their illness leaves them in possession of the faculties and speech, we are seldom disappointed. Yet, I believe a full knowledge of this subject cannot be collected from what we observe of others, or hear from them, when they are near death. We must be in similar circumstances ourselves before we can see as they see, or possess the ideas which they endeavour to describe, and which seem too great for the language of mortals to convey.
We know, by the evidence of undeniable testimony, that many faithful servants of God, when called to suffer for His sake, have not only been supported, but comforted and enabled to rejoice under the severest tortures, and even in the midst of the flames. We suppose, I think with reason, that such communications of light and power as raise a person, in such situations, above the ordinary feelings of humanity, must, either in kind or degree, be superior to what is usually enjoyed by Christians in the smoother walks of prosperity and outward peace. God, who is all-sufficient, and always near, has promised to give His people strength according to their day, and in the time of trouble they are not disappointed. A measure of the like extraordinary discoveries and supports is often vouchsafed [graciously given] to dying believers, and thus the gloom, which might otherwise hang over their dying hours, is dispelled; and while they contemplate the approach of death, a new world opens upon them. Even while they are yet upon earth, they stand upon the threshold of heaven. It seems, in many cases, as if the weakness of the bodily frame gave occasion to the awakening of some faculty, till then dormant in the soul; by which invisibles are not only believed, but seen, and unutterables are heard and understood.
The soul’s dark cottage tatter’d and decay’d,
Lets in new light, through chinks —
Instances are frequent of those who are thus blessed
when they die in the Lord; and it does not appear that old age, or
great knowledge, or long experience, give any considerable advantage in
a dying hour; for when the heart is truly humbled for sin, and the hope
solidly fixed upon the Saviour, persons of weak capacities and small
attainments, yea, novices and children, are enabled to meet death with
equal fortitude and triumph. And often the present comforts they feel,
and their lively expectations of approaching glory, inspire them with a
dignity of sentiment and expression far beyond what could be expected
from them; and, perhaps, their deportment, upon the whole, is no less
animating and encouraging than that of the most established, and best
informed believers. Thus
out of the mouths of babes and sucklings
the Lord
ordains strength, and perfects His praise
(
First,
Thanks be to God.
This blessedness is all His work. The means are of
His gracious appointment. The application is by His gracious power. He
gave His Son for them, He sent His Gospel to them. It was the agency of
His Spirit that made them a willing people. The word of promise, which
is the ground of their hope, was of His gratuitous providing, and it
was He who constrained and enabled them to trust in it
(
Secondly, Who gives us the victory . This is victory indeed: for it is over the last enemy; and after the last enemy is vanquished, there can be no more conflicts. In this sense, believers are more than conquerors. In other wars, they who have conquered once and again, may have been finally defeated; or they may have died (like our long lamented * General Wolfe) upon the field of battle, and have left the fruits of their victory to be enjoyed by others. But the Christian soldier, though he may occasionally be a loser in a skirmish, is sure to conquer in the last great deciding battle; and when, to an eye of sense, he seems to fall, he is instantly translated to receive the plaudit of his Commander, and the crown of life which He has prepared for them that love Him.
* General James Wolfe (1727 – 1759) , commander of the British army; victorious over the French in Quebec, Canada in 1759. He died of wounds received in the battle of the Plains of Abraham.
Thirdly, This victory is
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
They
gained it not by their own sword, neither was it
their own arm that saved them
(
(2.)
This triumphant song will be sung to the highest
advantage when the whole body of the redeemed
shall
be
collected
together
to sing it with one heart and voice, at the great
resurrection day. Lot was undoubtedly thankful, when he was snatched
from the impending destruction of Sodom. Yet, his lingering showed that
he had but an imperfect sense of the greatness of the mercy
afforded
him
(
—— O ——
Sermon XLV.
Divine Support and Protection
[What shall we say then to these things?]
If God be for us, who can be against us?
T
he passions of joy or grief, of admiration or
gratitude, are moderate when we are able to find words which fully
describe their emotions. When they rise very high, language is too
faint to express them; and the person is either lost in silence, or
feels something which, after his most laboured efforts, is too big for
utterance. We may often observe the Apostle Paul under this difficulty,
when attempting to excite in others such sensations as filled his own
heart, while contemplating the glories and blessings of the Gospel.
Little verbal critics, who are not animated by his fervour, are
incapable of entering into the spirit of his writings. They coldly
examine them by the strictness of grammatical rules, and think
themselves warranted to charge him with solecisms
[ungrammatical usages] and improprieties of speech.
For it must be allowed that he sometimes departs from the usual forms
of expression; invents new words, or at least compounds words for his
own use, and heaps one hyperbole [figure of speech] upon another. But
there is a beautiful energy in his manner far superior to the frigid
exactness of grammarians, though the taste of a mere grammarian is
unable to admire or relish it. When he is stating the advantage
of
being
with
Christ
as
beyond
anything
that
can
be
enjoyed in the present life, he is not content
with
saying,
as his expression is rendered in our version,
‘
It is far better’
(
Though this short lively question is omitted in the musical composition [of the Messiah Oratorio ], I am not willing to leave it out. It stands well as a sequel to what we have lately considered. The sting of death is taken away. Death itself is swallowed up in victory. Sinners who were once burdened with guilt and exposed to condemnation, obtain a right to sing, ‘ Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ — What shall we say to these things?’
It stands well likewise, as introducing the following question. ‘ If God be for us ,’ if His promises, His power, His wisdom, and His love, be all engaged on our behalf, ‘ who can be against us ?’ What shall we see, or can we, or need we say more than this? What cause can we have for fear? or our enemies for triumph, if God be for us?
We may consider:
I. What is implied in the supposition?
II. The meaning of the inference.
I.
The form of the question is hypothetical If the assumption be right, that God is for us; the conclusion, that none can be effectually against us, is infallibly sure. Many serious persons will allow, that if God be indeed for them, all must, and will be well, in the end. But they hesitate at the ‘ if’ and are ready to ask, How shall I know that God is for me? I would offer you a few considerations towards the determining of this point, in the first place.
Sin has made an awful breach and separation between
God and mankind.
They
are alienated in their minds from
Him,
and
He
is justly displeased with
them.
The intercourse and communion with God, which
constitute the honour and happiness of the human nature, were no longer
either afforded or desired, when man rebelled against his Maker; except
to the few who understood and embraced His gracious purpose of
reconciliation, the first intimation of which, was revealed in the
promise of the
seed of the woman, who should bruise the
serpent’s head
(
(1.)
In the ground of the agreement; this is
MESSIAH
, the Mediator between God and man. When He entered
upon His office, a voice from heaven commended Him to sinners,
This is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased
(
(2.)
They
agree
with
God
in
the
great
design of the Gospel, which is to purify unto Himself
a peculiar people
who,
being
delivered
from
their
fears
and
their
enemies,
shall
serve
Him
with an unreserved and persevering obedience
(
(3.)
They are agreed with Him likewise as to the ultimate
great end, the final cause of the redemption, which is, ‘
the praise of the glory of His grace’
(
If we truly understand and approve these things, then we are certainly engaged for God, and of course, His is for us. For He alone could either enable us to see them in their true light, or incline our hearts to embrace them. Who then can be against us?
II.
We are not to understand the question, ‘ Who can be against us?’ as designed to encourage us to expect that they who have the Lord on their side will meet with no opposition; but that all opposition against them will be in vain.
(1.)
They whom God is for, will, on that very account, have many opposers.
First, the men of the world. Our Lord expressly
teaches us to expect this:
If you were of the world, the world would love its
own. But because you are not of the world, therefore the world
hates
you
(John
15:19)
And
His
Apostle:
Marvel
not,
my
brethren, if the world hate you
(
Secondly, the powers of darkness. Ordinarily, Satan
will not trouble while he bears rule. He is indeed an enemy to his own
servants, and seeks their destruction, both soul and body, by pushing
them on in sin, which, if persisted in, will prove their ruin; but
while they make no resistance, he gives them no disturbance. It is
otherwise with those whom the Lord has freed from his bondage. He will
pursue them,
like a lion seeking his prey
(
(2.)
No opposition can prevail against us, if God be for us. It is impossible to deny, or even to doubt this truth, upon the principles of reason. For who, or what, can injure those who are under the protection of Omnipotence? And yet it is not always easy to maintain the persuasion of it in the mind, and to abide in the exercise of faith, when, to an eye of sense, all things seem against us. But though we believe not, he continues faithful, and will not forsake those whom He once enables to put their trust in Him. Job was a faithful and approved servant of God, yet, for a season, his trials were great, and his confidence was sometimes shaken. But he was supported, and at length delivered. There are many instances recorded in Scripture to confirm our faith, and to teach us that God manifests Himself to be for His people, and, in different ways, renders them superior to all their difficulties and enemies.
At one time, He prevents the threatened danger. They
only see it, or expect it, for He is better to them than their
apprehensions and fears. Thus, when Sennacherib was furious against
Jerusalem, and supposed he could easily prevail, he was not suffered
[allowed] to come near it
(
At another time the enemies go a step farther. His
people are brought into trouble, but God is with them, and they escape
unhurt. So Daniel: though he was cast into the den of lions, he
received no more harm from them than if he had been among a flock of
sheep
(
The most that opposers can do is to kill the
body
(
In brief, whatever men or devils may attempt against us, there are three things, which, if we are true believers, they cannot do. They may be helpful to wean us from the world; they may add earnestness to our prayers; they may press us to greater watchfulness and dependence; they may afford fair occasions of evidencing our sincerity, the goodness of our cause, and the power of that God who is for us. — Such are the benefits, that the Lord teaches His people to derive from their sufferings, for He will not let them suffer, or be oppressed in vain. But no enemy can deprive us of the love with which God favours us, or the grace which He has given us, or the glory which He has prepared for us. Now what shall we say to these things?
Alas! there are too many that say, at least in their
hearts (for their conduct betrays their secret thoughts), we care but
little about them. If they were to speak out, they might adopt the
language of the rebellious Jews to the prophet, ‘
As to the word which thou hast spoken to us in the
name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee; but will certainly do
whatever thing goes forth out of our own mouth’
(
At present, and while you persist in your impenitence and unbelief, I may reverse the words of my text. Oh! consider, I beseech you, before it be too late: ‘ If God be against you, who can be for you?’ Will your companions comfort you in a dying hour? Will your riches profit you in the day of wrath? Will the recollection of your sinful pleasures, give you confidence to stand before this great and glorious Lord God, when you shall be summoned to appear at His tribunal? May you be timely wise, and flee for refuge to the hope set before you!
—— O ——
Sermon XLVI.
Accusers Challenged
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?
It is God who justifies.
T hough the collating of manuscripts and various readings has undoubtedly been of use in rectifying some mistakes which, through the inadvertency of transcribers, had crept into different copies of the New Testament, yet such supposed corrections of the text ought to be admitted with caution, and not unless supported by strong reasons and authorities. The whole Scripture is given by inspiration of God: and they who thankfully receive it as His Book, will not trifle with it by substituting bold conjectural alterations, which, though they may deem them to be amendments, may possibly disguise or alter the genuine sense of the passage. Some fancied emendations [corrections] might be pointed out, suggested by very learned men, which do not seem to afford so strong a proof of the sound judgment of the proposers, as of their vanity and rashness. Let the learned men be as ingenious as they please in correcting and amending the text of * Horace or * Virgil, for it is of little importance to us whether their criticisms be well founded or not; but let them treat the pages of divine revelation with reverence. * Horace - Roman poet (65 BC - 8 BC) ; * Virgil - Roman poet (70BC - 19BC)
But the pointing [punctuation] of the New Testament, though it has a considerable influence upon the sense, is of inferior authority. It is a human invention; very helpful, and for the most part, I suppose, well executed. But in some places it may admit of [be in need of] real amendment. The most ancient manuscripts are without points [punctuation marks], and some of them are even without a distinction of the words. With the pointing [punctuation], therefore, we may take more liberty than with the text; though even this liberty should be used soberly. A change in the pointing [punctuation] of this verse, and the following, will not alter the received sense; but, as some critics judge, will make it more striking and emphatical. If two clauses should be read with an interrogation, instead of a period, the Apostle’s triumphant challenge may be expressed in the following brief paraphrase:
‘ Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Shall God Himself? So far from it, it is He who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Shall Christ? Nay, He loves them and accepts them. Shall He who died for them, yea rather who is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, on their behalf, who also makes intercession for them? There is not the least ground to fear, that He will condemn them, who died to deliver them from condemnation. Nor can any charge of their enemies prevail to the condemnation of those, whom God is pleased to justify, and for whom Christ died, and now intercedes before the throne.’
The death, the resurrection, and ascension of MESSIAH , we have already considered. I shall speak only to two points, from this verse.
I. The title here given to believers, God’s elect.
II. Their great privilege, they are justified . It is God who justifies them.
I.
The persons who will be finally justified by God, are
here styled, His ‘
elect
.’ Very near and strong is the connection
between peace and truth. Yet a mistaken zeal for the truth has produced
many controversies, which have hurt the peace of the people of God
among themselves; and at the time, have exposed them to the scorn and
derision of the world. On the other hand, a pretended, or improper
regard for peace, has often been prejudicial to the truth. But that
peace which is procured at the expense of truth, is too dearly
purchased. Every branch of doctrine, belonging to the faith once
delivered to the saints, is not equally plain to every believer. Some
of these doctrines, the Apostle compares to milk, the proper and
necessary food for babes
(
* Austin (St. Augustine) - Roman philosopher and theologian (354AD - 430AD)
(1.) All mankind are sinners
(
(2.)
The
inestimable
gift
of
a
Saviour
to
atone
for
sin,
and to mediate between God and man
(
(3.)
Wherever this love of God to man is made known by the
Gospel, there is encouragement, and a command given to
all men every where to repent
(
(4.)
Men, while blinded by pride and prejudice, enslaved
to sinful passions and under the influence of this present evil world,
neither can nor will receive the truth in the love of it
(
(5.)
As all mankind spring from one stock, there are not
two different sorts of men by nature; consequently they who receive the
Gospel are no better in themselves
(
(6.)
It seems, therefore, at least highly probable, that
all men universally, if left to themselves, would act as the majority
do to whom the Word of salvation is sent; that is, they would reject
and despise it. And it is undeniable that some, who in the day of
God’s power, have cordially [sincerely] received the Gospel, did
for a season oppose it with no less pertinacity [obstinacy], than any
of those who have continued to hate and resist it to the end of life.
Saul of Tarsus was an eminent instance
(
(7.)
If all men had heard the Gospel in vain,
then Christ would have died in vain.
But this is prevented by the covenanted office and
influence of the Holy Spirit
(
(8.)
But who will presume to say, that when God was
pleased to make a proposal of mercy to a race of rebels, He was
likewise bound to overcome the obstinacy of men, in every case, and to
compel them to accept it by an act of His invincible power? If He does
thus interpose in favour of some, it is an act of free mercy, to which
they have no claim. For if we had a claim, the benefit would be an act
of
justice,
rather than
mercy.
May not the great Sovereign of the world
do what He will with His own?
(
(9.)
When sinners are effectually called by the Gospel,
then they are visibly chosen out of the world
(
(10.)
But if they are thus chosen in ‘time,’ it
follows of course, that they were chosen from
‘everlasting.’ Both these expressions, when applied to this
subject, amount to the same thing; and the seeming difference between
them is chiefly owing to our weakness and ignorance. To the infinite
and eternal God, our little distinctions of past, present, and future,
are nothing. We think unworthily of the unchangeable Jehovah, and liken
Him too much to ourselves, if we suppose that He can form a new
purpose. If it be His pleasure to convert a sinner today, He had the
same gracious design in favour of that sinner yesterday, at the day of
his birth, a thousand years before he was born, and a thousand ages (to
speak according to our poor conception) before the world began. For
that mode of duration which we call ‘time,’ has no respect
to Him ‘
who inhabits eternity’
(
With regard to those who reject the declaration of
the mercy of God; who, though called and invited by the Gospel, and
often touched by the power of His Holy Spirit, will not come to the
Saviour for life, but persist in their determination to go on in their
sins —their ruin is not only unavoidable, but just in the highest
degree. And though, like the wicked servant in the parable
(
(11)
The great privilege of the elect, comprehensive of every blessing, is that they are justified ; finally and authoritatively justified, from all that can possible be laid to their charge, for it is God Himself who justifies them.
The justification of a sinner before God, by faith in
the obedience and atonement of Christ, is considered by many persons,
in these days of refinement, in no better light than as a branch of a
scholastic theology, which is now exploded as uncouth and obsolete. At
the Reformation, it was the turning point between the Protestants and
Papists. Luther deemed it the criterion of a flourishing, or a falling
Church; that is, he judged that the Church would always be in a
thriving or a declining state, in proportion as the importance of this
doctrine was attended to. How important it appeared to our English
Reformers, many of whom sealed their testimony to it with their blood,
may be known by the writings of
*
Cranmer,
*
Latimer,
*
Philpot, and others; and by the articles of the
Church of England, which are still of so much authority, by law, that
no person can be admitted into holy orders amongst us, till he has
declared and subscribed his assent to them. But I hope never to preach
a doctrine to my hearers, which needs the names and authority of men,
however respectable, for its support.
Search the Scriptures
(
* Thomas Cranmer (1489 – 1556), Leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury ; * Hugh Latimer (1487 - 1555), Bishop of Worcester, and Chaplain to King Edward VI ;
* John Philpot, Archdeacon of Winchester (1516 - 1555).
All three of these godly men were martyred - - - burned at the stake.
This justification, in its own nature, is
authoritative, complete, and final. It is an act of God’s mercy,
which, because founded upon the mediation of Jesus, may, with no less
truth, be styled an act of His justice, whereby the believing sinner is
delivered from the curse of the law, from the guilt and power of sin,
and is
translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son
(
But
though
justification,
in
the
sight
of
God,
be
connected
with
the
reality
of
faith,
the
comfortable perception of it in our own consciences
is proportional to the
degree
of faith. In young converts,
therefore,
it is usually weak. They are well satisfied that
Jesus is the only Saviour, and they leave no doubt of His ability and
sufficiency in that character, in favour of those who put their trust
in Him. But they are suspicious and jealous of themselves; they are
apprehensive of something singular in their own case, which may justly
exclude them from His mercy; or they fear that they do not believe
aright. But the weakest believer is a child of God; and true faith,
though at first like a grain of mustard-seed, is interested in [is
beneficiary of] all the promises of the Gospel. If it be true, it will
grow
(
But especially at the great day, the Lord the Judge
shall ratify their justification publicly before assembled worlds.
Then
every tongue that rises in judgment against
them
(
The right knowledge of this doctrine, is a source of
abiding joy; it likewise animates love, zeal, gratitude, and all the
noblest powers of the soul, and produces a habit of cheerful and
successful obedience to the whole will of God. But it may be, and too
often is, misunderstood, and
abused.
If
you
receive it by divine teaching, it will fill you
with
those fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus
Christ to the glory and praise of God
(
—— O ——
Sermon XLVII.
The Intercession of Christ
Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us!
T
he Redemption of the soul is precious.
Fools make mock of sin
(
The word the Apostle uses here, and in
I.
He pleads as a Priest. His office of intercession has
a plain reference to His great instituted type
[prophetic symbol], the High Priest under the
Levitical dispensation
[order]
; who, according to the appointment of God, entered
within the veil, to present the blood of the sacrifice before the mercy
seat
(
(1.)
When
the
mind
is
burdened
with
guilt.
Great
is
the
distress
of
an awakened conscience. The sinner now is sensible of
wants, which God alone can supply, and of miseries, from which he
cannot be extricated, but by an Almighty arm. But when he thinks of the
majesty and holiness of God, he is troubled, and adopts the language of
the Prophet,
Woe is me, I am undone
(
(2.)
When we are deeply conscious of our defects in duty.
If we compare our best performances, with the demands of the law, the
majesty of God, and the unspeakable obligations we are under; if we
consider our innumerable sins of omission, and that the little we can
do is polluted and defiled by the mixture of evil thoughts, and the
working of selfish principles, aims, and motives, which, though we
disapprove we are unable to suppress, we have great reason to
confess,
To us belong shame and confusion of face
(
Thus the wisdom and love of God have provided a
wonderful expedient which, so far as it is rightly understood and
cordially [sincerely] embraced, while it lays the sinner low as the
dust in point of humiliation and self-abasement, fills him, at the same
time, with a hope full of glory, which, with respect to its foundation,
cannot be shaken; and, with respect to its object, can be satisfied
with nothing less than all the fulness of God. There are favoured
seasons, in which the believer, having a lively impression of the
authority and love of the Intercessor, can address the great Jehovah as
his Father with no less confidence than if he was holy and spotless as
the angels before the throne, at the very moment that he has abundant
cause to say,
Behold I am vile! I abhor myself, and repent in dust
and ashes!
(
(3.)
This
powerful
and
prevalent
intercession
abundantly
compensates
for
the
poverty
and
narrowness of our prayers. Experience confirms what
the Scripture declares of our insufficiency to order our own cause
before the Lord, to specify our various wants, and to fill our mouths
with such arguments as may engage the attention, and enliven the
affections of our hearts.
We know not how to pray as we ought
(
II.
Jesus, the High Priest is upon a throne. He is a King, King of saints, and King of nations. He is not only a righteous advocate, but He possesses all authority and power. And it belongs to His office as King, effectually to manage for those in whose behalf He intercedes. I have already observed, that the original word, includes this sense.
(1.)
He is the source and fountain of the supplies. All
their springs are in Him. The fulness of wisdom, grace, and
consolation, out of which they are invited to receive, resides in Him.
And therefore He says, ‘
If you ask anything in my name, I will do
it’
(
(2.)
He appoints and adjusts their various
dispensations
[happenings; experiences]
with an unerring suitableness to their several
states, capacities, and circumstances. If a skilful gardener had the
command of the weather, he would not treat all his plants, nor the same
plant at all times, exactly alike. Continual rain, or continual
sunshine, would be equally unfavourable to their growth and
fruitfulness. In His Kingdom of Providence, He so proportions the rain
and the sunshine to each other, that the corn is usually brought
forward, from the seed to the blade, the ear, and the full ripe ear.
And I believe it would be always so, were it not for the prevalence of
sin, which sometimes makes the
heavens over our head, brass; the earth under our
feet, iron
(
(3.)
He is
the Captain of their salvation
(
We may close this part of our subject, with two or three reflections which, though I may have offered you the substance of them before, are always seasonable and suitable, when we are speaking of the power and grace of MESSIAH.
(1.)
How precious is this Saviour! How justly is He entitled to the chief place in the hearts of those who know Him! In the work of salvation, from the first step to the last, He is all in all. If He had not died and risen again, we must have died forever. If He had not ascended into heaven, there to appear in the presence of God for us, we must have been thrust down into the lowest hell. If He did not plead for us, we could not, we durst not, offer a word in our own behalf. If He was not on our part, engaged to keep us night and day, our enemies would soon be too hard for us. May we, therefore, give Him the glory due to His name, and cleave to Him, and trust in Him, alone.
(2.)
How safe are the people, of whom he undertakes the
care! While His eye is upon them, His ear open to their prayer, and His
arm of power stretched out for their protection; while He remembers
that word of promise, which, encouraged them to commit their souls to
Him, it is impossible that any weapon or stratagem formed against them
can prevail. There are many, it is true, who will rise up against them;
but God is for them, and with them, a very present help in
trouble
(
(3.)
If these things be so, how much are they to be
pitied, who hear of them, without being affected or influenced by them!
Will you always be content with hearing?
Oh taste and see, that the Lord is good!
(
—— O ——
Sermon XLVIII.
The Song of the Redeemed
And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou … hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood,
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ...
T he extent, variety, and order of the creation, proclaim the glory of God. He is likewise, * Maximus in Minimis . The smallest of the works, that we are capable of examining, such for instance as the eye or the wing of a little insect, the creature of a day, are stamped with an inimitable impression of His wisdom and power. Thus in His written Word, there is a greatness considering it as a whole, and a beauty and accuracy in the smaller parts, analogous to what we observe in the visible creation, and answerable to what an enlightened and humble mind may expect in a book, which bears the character of a divine revelation. A single verse, a single clause, when viewed (if I may so speak) in the microscope of close meditation, is often found to contain a fulness, a world of wonders. And though a connected and comprehensive acquaintance with the whole Scripture, be desirable and useful, and is no less the privilege, than the duty, of those who have capacity and time at their disposal, to acquire it; yet, there is a gracious accommodation to the weakness of some persons, and the circumstances of others. So that in many parts of Scripture, whatever is immediately necessary to confirm our faith, to animate or regulate our practice, is condensed into a small compass, and comprised in a few verses: yea, sometimes a single sentence, when unfolded and examined, will be found to contain all the great principles of duty and comfort. Such is the sentence which I have now read to you. In the Messiah Oratorio, it is inserted in the grand chorus taken from the 12 th and 13 th verses of this chapter. And as it may lead us to a compendious recapitulation of the whole subject, and, by the Lord’s blessing, may prepare us to join in the following ascription of praise to Him that sits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb; I purpose to consider it in its proper connection, as a part of the leading song of the redeemed before the Throne, in which the angels cannot share. Though the angels, from their love to redeemed sinners, and from their views of the manifold wisdom and glory of God, in visiting such sinners with such a salvation, cheerfully take a part in the general chorus. * Maximus, means ‘Greatness’ ; Minimis, means ‘Tiniest‘
The redemption spoken of is suited to the various
cases of sinners of every nation, people and language.
And
many
sinners
of
divers
descriptions
and
from
distant
situations
scattered
abroad into all
lands,
through a long succession of ages, will, by the
efficacy of this redemption, be gathered together
into
one
(John
11:52)
They
will
constitute
one
family
united
in
one great Head
(
But though this song, and this joy, will only be consummated in heaven, the commencement takes place on earth. Believers, during their present state of warfare, are taught to sing it; in feebler strains indeed, but the subject of their joy and the object of their praise are the same which inspire the harps and songs in the world of light. May I not say, that this life is the time of their rehearsal? They are now learning their song and advancing in meetness [fitness] to join in the chorus on high, which, as death successively removes them, is continually increasing by the accession of fresh voices. All that they know, or desire to know, all that they possess or hope for, is included in this ascription.
I take the last clause of the verse into the subject. The words suggest three principal points, to our consideration.
I. The benefit, Redemption, to God.
II. The redemption price, by the Blood.
III. The extent of the benefit —to a people out of every kindred, and tongue, and nation.
I.
Thou hast redeemed us to God
. Redemption or ransom, is applicable to a state of
imprisonment for debt, and to a state of bondage or slavery. From these
ideas taken together, we may form some estimate of the misery of our
fallen state; a theme, which, if I cannot insist upon at large in every
discourse, I would never wholly omit. For we can neither understand the
grace, nor enjoy the comfort of the Gospel, but [except] in proportion
as we have a heart-felt
and
abiding
conviction
of
our
wretched
condition
as
sinners,
without
it
They
who
think themselves whole, know not their need of a
physician
(
If a man, shut up in prison for a heavy debt which he
is utterly incapable of discharging, should obtain his liberty, in
consideration of payment made for him by another, he might be properly
said, to be redeemed from imprisonment. This supposition will apply to
our subject. The law and justice of God have demands upon us, which we
cannot answer. We are therefore shut up under the law, in unbelief,
helpless and hopeless, till we know and can plead the engagement of a
surety for us. For a time, like Peter, we are sleeping in our
prison
(
We are likewise in bondage. The servants, the slaves
of a harder task-master than Pharaoh was to Israel. Satan, though not
by right, yet by a righteous permission, tyrannizes over us till Jesus
makes
us
free
(John
8:34,
36).
The
way
of
transgressors
is
hard
(Proverbs
13:15)
Though
the solicitations and commands of that enemy, who
works in the children of disobedience
(
For he is not only delivered from guilt and thrall
[enslavement]; he
is redeemed to God.
He is now restored to his original state, as an
obedient and dependant creature, devoted to his Creator, conformed to
His will and image, and admitted to communion with Him in love. These
are blessings which alone can satisfy the soul, and without which it is
impossible for man to be happy. While he is ignorant of his proper
good, and seeks it in creatures, he is, and must be, wretched. Madness
is in his heart, a deceived, disordered imagination turns him aside,
and he feeds upon ashes, and upon the wind
(
II.
What unspeakably and beyond conception, enhances the value of this deliverance, is the consideration of the means by which it is effected. For it is not merely a deliverance, but a redemption. It is not an act of mere mercy, but of mercy harmonizing with justice. It is not an act of power only, but of unexampled, and expensive love. Thou has redeemed us by Thy blood!
The sentence, denounced by the law against
transgressors, was death. And therefore when
MESSIAH
became our surety, to satisfy the law for us, He must
die. The expression of ‘
His blood’
is often used figuratively for His death; perhaps to
remind us how He died. His was a bloody death. When He was in agony in
Gethsemane, His
sweat was as great drops of blood, falling down to
the ground
(
If
these
things
were
understood
and
attended to, would it be thought wonderful that this
Saviour is very precious to those who believe in Him, and who obtain
redemption by His blood? How can it possibly be otherwise? Grace like
this, when known,
must
captivate and fix the heart! Not only to save; but to
die, and to die for His enemies! Such costly love, productive of such
glorious consequences, and to such unworthy creatures! Surely the
Apostle’s mind was filled and fixed with these considerations
when authenticating an epistle with his own hand, he subjoined this
emphatic close,
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him
be
*
Anathema Maranatha!
(
Do you think, my brethren, that the Apostle took
pleasure in denouncing so severe a sentence against all those who did
not see (as we say) with his eyes? Had he so little affection for
sinners, that he could thus consign them to destruction by multitudes,
for differing from him in what some persons only deem an opinion?
Rather, consider him not as breathing out his own wishes, but as
speaking in the name, and on the behalf of God. He knew it must be, and
he declared it would be so. It was no pleasure to him to see them
determined to perish. On the contrary, He had great grief and sorrow of
heart for them, even for the Jews who had treated him with the greatest
cruelty. Even for
their
sakes, he could have been content to be made an
Anathema
himself
(
III.
The benefits of this redemption extend to a numerous people, who are said to be redeemed out of every kindred, tongue and nation. I have, upon a former occasion, offered you my sentiments concerning the extent of the virtue of that blood, which takes away the sin of the world (Volume I, Sermon XVI) . But the clause now before us, invites me to make a few additional observations, upon a subject which, I conceive, it much concerns us rightly to understand.
The redeemed of the Lord, are those who actually
experience the power of His redemption, who are delivered from the
dominion of sin and Satan, and brought into a state of liberty, peace
and holiness. That the people of every kindred, nation and tongue are
not redeemed, in this sense, universally, is as certain as evidence of
faith and express declarations of Scripture can make it.
Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.
Multitudes, thus disqualified, will be found
trembling, on the left hand of the Judge, at the great day. But,
a remnant will be saved, according to the election of
grace.
For they who differ, who are redeemed to the service
of God,
while
others
live
and die in the love and service of sin, do not make
themselves to differ
(
I have repeatedly expressed my belief, that many prophecies, respecting the spread and glory of the Kingdom of MESSIAH upon earth, have not yet received their full accomplishment, and that a time is coming when many (perhaps the greater part of mankind), of all nations, and people, and languages, shall know the joyful sound of the Gospel, and walk in the light of the Redeemer’s countenance. At present, I would confine myself to consider, what ground the Scripture affords us to hope that there are many of every nation, people and tongue, even now, singing this song before His Throne.
The Revelations vouchsafed [graciously granted] to
the beloved Disciple in Patmos, exhibit a succession of great events,
extending (I suppose) from the spotless days, to the end of time. But
while only the learned can so much as attempt to ascertain, from
history, the dates and facts to which the prophecies already fulfilled
refer; or to offer probable conjectures concerning the events, as yet
future (in which the most judicious commentators are far from being
agreed); there are passages, interspersed, which seem designed to
administer consolation to plain believers, by representations suited to
raise their thoughts to the state of the Church triumphant. Though they
are unable to explain the particulars of what they read, there is a
glory resulting from the
whole,
which animates their hope and awakens their joy. Of
this kind I think is that vision -
Having premised this acknowledgment of my incompetence to decide positively, I venture to say, that by the hundred and forty-four thousand sealed in their foreheads (a definite for an indefinite number, which is frequent in Scripture language) I understand, those, who, living to mature age and where the Gospel is afforded, are enabled to make a public and visible profession of religion, and are marked, as it were, in their foreheads, and known to whom they belong, by their open and habitual separation, from the spirit and customs of the world which lies in wickedness. And the exceeding great multitude, contradistinguished from these, I conceive to be those, who are elsewhere styled the Lord’s hidden ones; and that these, are a great multitude indeed, gathered by Him, who knows them that are His, out of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples and tongues. I may distribute them into the following classes:
(1.)
Infants.
I think it, at least highly probable, that when our
Lord says,
Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid
them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven
(
(2.)
A people hidden among the most degenerate communities, civil or ecclesiastical, that bear the name of Christian; where ignorance and superstition, or errors, which, though more refined, are no less contrary to the Gospel, have prevailing dominion and influence. What can be more deplorable, in the view of an enlightened and benevolent mind, than the general state of the Roman and Greek churches! Where the traditions, inventions and doctrines of men, a train of pompous and burdensome ceremonies, a dependence upon masses, penance and pilgrimages, upon legends and fictitious saints, form the principal features of the public religion. Many nations are involved in this gross darkness, but they are not wholly destitute of the Scripture; some portions of it, are interwoven with their authorized forms of worship; and we cannot, with reason, doubt, but a succession of individuals among them, have been acquainted with the life and power of true godliness, notwithstanding the disadvantages and prejudices of their education. There are likewise amongst Protestants, schemes of doctrine supported by learning, and by numbers, which are not more conformable to the standard of the New Testament, than the grossest errors of Popery; and yet, here and there, persons may be met with, who, by the agency of the Holy Spirit enabling them to understand the Scriptures, are made wiser than their teachers; and who, though still fettered by some mistakes and prejudices, give evidence in the main, that their hopes are fixed upon the only Atonement, that they are redeemed to God, and are partakers of that faith which works by love, purifies the heart, and overcomes the world.
(3.)
I
will
go
one
step
farther.
The
inferences
that
have
been made, by some persons, from the Apostle
Peter’s
words,
That God is no respecter of persons, but in every
nation, he that fears Him, and works
righteousness,
is
accepted
with
Him
(
—— O ——
Sermon XLIX.
The Chorus of Angels
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour and glory, and blessing!
I t was a good report which the queen of Sheba heard, in her own land, of the wisdom and glory of Solomon. It lessened her attachment to home, and prompted her to undertake a long journey to visit this greater King, of whom she had heard so much. She went, and she was not disappointed. Great as the expectations were, which she had formed from the relation made her by others, they fell short of what she saw and heard herself when she was admitted into his presence. Good, likewise, is the report of the Gospel. It has a powerful effect upon those who receive it by faith. It is abundantly sufficient to convince them of the comparative insignificance of all that they most admired and esteemed in this world. From that hour, they become strangers and pilgrims upon earth. They set out in the way which God has prescribed, in hopes of seeing Him who is greater than Solomon; and the report they have heard of Him is their subject, their song, and their joy, while they are on their journey, and their great support, under the difficulties they meet with on the road. What then will it be to see Him as He is? As yet, the one half is not told them. Or, at least, they are not yet capable of conceiving the half, or the thousandth part, of what they read in the Scripture, concerning His wisdom, His glory, and His grace. We weaken, rather than enlarge, the sense of such a passage as this, by our feeble comments. We must die before we can understand it. To the bulk of mankind, * ‘Wait the great teacher, Death,’ is cold, is dangerous advice. If they are not taught by the Gospel while they live, the teaching of death will be too late. Dreadful will be the condition of those who cannot be convinced of their mistakes, till repentance and amendment will be impracticable. But death will be a great teacher, indeed, to a believer; he will then know more by a glance, and in a moment, of the happiness he is now expecting, than by all he could collect, from the enquiry and experience of a long course of years, in this world.
* From "Essay on Man" by Alexander Pope
The scenery of this chapter, if attentively considered, is sufficient to snatch our thoughts from the little concernments of time, and to give us some anticipation of the employments and enjoyments of heaven. Come, all ye that are wearied and burdened with afflictions and temptations, look up, and for a while, at least, forget your sorrows! The Lamb is upon His Throne, surrounded by a multitude of His redeemed people, who once were afflicted and burdened like yourselves; but now all tears are wiped from their eyes. They have a song, peculiarly their own, and are represented as taking the first and leading part in worship and praise. The angels cannot sing their song, they were not redeemed to God by His blood; but they are interested in the subject. Their highest views, of the manifold wisdom of God, are derived from the wonders of redemption. Therefore they join in the chorus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom and strength, and honour and glory, and blessing. If you have a humble hope of bearing a part in this immortal song, will you hang down your heads like a bulrush, because you have the honour of following your Lord, through many tribulations, to His Kingdom?
The number of angels is expressed, indefinitely, ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; myriads and
millions; to intimate to us that, with respect to our capacities and
conceptions, they are innumerable. Their number is known to Him
who
tells the number of the stars, and calls them all by
their names
(
I.
WHY
HE
WAS
SLAIN.
The redeemed say,
For us. He loved us, and washed us from our sins in
His
own
blood
(
II.
Their praises are heightened when they consider, HOW HE WAS SLAIN. He did not die a natural death. He was slain. Nor did He fall, like a hero, by an honourable wound in the field of battle. The impression which the death of the late General Wolfe [see footnote in chapter XLIV] made upon the public, is not yet quite forgotten. He conquered for us, but it cost him his life. But he died honourably, and was lamented by his country. Not so, the Lamb of God. He died the death of a slave, of a malefactor. Cruelty, malice, and contempt combined to give His sufferings every possible aggravation. And after He was slain, very few laid it to heart. The world went on as it did before, as though nothing extraordinary had happened. But on this dark ground, the perfections of God were displayed in their fullest lustre. And they are the perfections of the great Redeemer, and therefore distinctly ascribed to Him, by the angels, in the words which follow— Power, and wisdom, and riches, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Though each of these words have a distinct sense, a nicety [an exactness] in defining them, and stating their precise meaning, is of less importance than to feel the combined efficacy of them all, to impress our hearts with sentiments of reverence, confidence, and love. The fulness of expression may teach us that every kind of excellence, is the indubitable right and possession of the Lamb that was slain. He is worthy to have them all attributed to Him, in the most absolute sense, and consequently worthy of our adoration, dependence, and praise.
(1.)
POWER
—It is spoken once, yea twice we have heard the
same, that
power belongs to God
(
(2.)
WISDOM
—He is the
only wise God, and our Saviour
(
(3.)
RICHES
—All the stores of mercy, grace, and comfort,
are in Him, as light in the sun, or water in the ocean. The Apostle,
speaking
of the unsearchable riches of Christ
(
(4.)
STRENGTH
—That energy and efficacy of His power, by
which He accomplishes His holy purposes. Who can conceive of this? How
just is the Psalmist’s reasoning:
He that formed the eye, shall not He see? He that
planted the ear, shall not He hear?
(
(5.)
HONOUR
—He is the fountain of it. All the honour of
His creatures, and of His people, is from Him; as the sun beautifies
and gilds the objects he shines upon, which, without him, are opaque
and obscure. Because His people are precious in His sight, they are
honourable. He clothes them with garments of salvation, covers them
with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with
ornaments, as a bride adorns herself with jewels
(
(6.)
GLORY
—The manifestation of God, that by which He is
known and magnified, in the view of finite intelligence; the result,
the combined effulgence of His holiness, grace, wisdom, truth, and
love: this is His glory, and this glory is revealed and displayed in
Christ. He is glorious in His works of Creation and Providence, but
these do not fully exhibit His character. But in the Lamb upon the
throne, His glory shines, full-orbed. And all in heaven, and all in
earth, who behold it, take up
the song of Moses and the Lamb
(
(7.)
BLESSING
—He is the author of all blessings, of all the
happiness and good which His people receive, and He is the deserved
object of their universal praise. The different senses in which we use
the word ‘
blessing,’
taken together, may express that intercourse or
communion which is between the Head and the mystical members of His
Body. He blesses them
effectually,
with the light of His countenance, with liberty,
grace, and peace. He blesses them
daily.
His mercies are renewed to them every morning. He
will bless them
eternally. Blessed are the people who have this Lord
for their God. They
can make Him no suitable returns, yet, in their way,
they bless Him. They admire, adore, and praise Him. They call upon all
the powers of their souls to bless Him. They proclaim His goodness, and
that He is worthy to receive the ascription of power,
and
riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and
glory and blessing. In proportion to their attainments in this
delightful exercise of worship, love, and gratitude, they enjoy a
heaven upon earth; and to stand before Him continually to behold His
glory, to live under the unclouded beams of His favour, and to be able
to bless and praise Him as they ought, without weariness, abatement,
interruption, or end, is what they mean, when they speak of the heaven
they hope for hereafter. Such is the blessedness of those who have
already died in the Lord. They see His face, they drink of the rivers
of pleasure which are at His right hand, they cast down their crowns
before Him, and say, Thou art worthy —
Let us not be slothful
(
The Scripture declares the Lamb that was slain, to be worthy of all this glory and honour. Wisdom, riches, and strength are His. His power is infinite, His authority supreme. He is the Author and Giver of all good. He has life in Himself, and He is the life of all that live; the Lord and Head of the Church, and of the Universe. Can language express, or can heart conceive, a higher ascription and acknowledgement than this? Can all this be due to a creature, to one of a derived and dependent character? Then surely the Scripture would have a direct tendency to promote idolatry. Far be the thought from us! The Scripture teaches us the knowledge of the true God, and the worship due to Him. Therefore MESSIAH , the Lamb that was slain, is the true God, the proper and immediate object of the worship of angels and men.
Let us, therefore, take up a lamentation for those
who slight the glorious Redeemer, and refuse Him the honour due to His
name. Their mistake should excite our pity and prayers, not our anger
or scorn. Are there any such amongst us? Alas, my fellow-sinners, you
know not what you do! Alas, you know Him not, nor do you know
yourselves. I am well aware that a thousand arguments of mine will not
persuade you. But I can simply tell you what would soon make you, at
least, desirous of adopting our sentiments upon this subject. If He,
who has that power over the heart which I have been speaking of, was
pleased to give you, this moment, a sense of the holiness and authority
of God, and of your conduct towards Him, as His creatures; your
strongest objections to the high honours we attribute to the Saviour,
would, this moment, fall to the ground. And you would be immediately
convinced, that either Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life,
or that you must perish. You would no longer expect mercy; but in a way
perfectly consonant with the righteousness and truth of God, declared
in His Word, and with the honour and purity of His moral
government
[sic]
. This would lead you to perceive the necessity of an
atonement, and the insufficiency of any atonement, but that, which the
Lamb of God has made by the sacrifice of Himself
(
Though the doctrines I have enumerated, are, in these
sceptical days, too generally disputed and contradicted, I am fully
confident that it is impossible to demonstrate them to be false. Upon
the lowest supposition, therefore, they possibly
may be
true; and the consequences, depending upon them, if
they should be found true at last, are so vastly momentous, that even
the peradventure, the possibility of their truth, render them deserving
of your most serious consideration. Trifle with yourselves no longer.
If they be truths, they are the truths of God. Upon the same authority
stands the truth of that gracious promise, that He will give His Holy
Spirit to them that ask Him. Let me entreat you to make the experiment.
This is the proper point to begin with. Instead of indulging reasonings
and speculations, humble yourselves before the Lord, and pray for the
light and influence, which He has said He will afford to them who are
willing to be taught. Read the Scripture with deliberation, and do not
labour to fortify yourselves against conviction. Break off from those
practices which your own consciences admonish you, cannot be pleasing
to Him who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.
Then shall you know, if you will sincerely follow on,
to know the Lord
(
—— O ——
Sermon L.
The Universal Chorus
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that stteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
M en have generally agreed to dignify their presumptuous and arrogant * disquisitions on the works and ways of God, with the name of wisdom ; though the principles upon which they proceed, and the conclusions which they draw from them, are, for the most part, evident proofs of their depravity and folly. Instead of admiring the effects of His wisdom and power in the creation, they have rashly endeavoured to investigate the manner of its production. A variety of hypotheses have been invented, to account for the formation of the world, and to state the laws by which the frame of nature is governed; and these different and inconsistent accounts have been defended, with a magisterial tone of certainty, and an air of demonstration by their respective authors, as though they had been bystanders and spectators when God spoke all things into being, and produced order out of confusion by the Word of His power. They have, however, been much more successful in showing the absurdity of the schemes proposed by others, than in reconciling their own, to the sober dictates of plain, common sense. * disquisition - an elaborate analytical or explanatory essay or discussion
But, if by indulging their speculations on the
creation of the world, the causes of the deluge, and similar subjects,
their employment has been no better than weaving
spiders webs
, the result of their reasoning on morals has been
much worse. Here they have, with much industry,
hatched cockatrice eggs
(
and find no end, in wand‘ring mazes lost. [Milton]
The
more
they
reason, the more they involve themselves in
uncertainty and error, till at last they make
lies
their
refuge,
and
adopt,
with
implicit credulity, as so many undoubted axioms,
opinions which
are
equally
dishonourable
to
God, and contradictory to truth and experience
(
The redeemed are represented as taking the first part in this sublime song, verses 8-10. The angels join in the chorus, verses 11, 12 which now becomes universal. All the angels, all the saints upon the earth, in the state of the dead, or Hades, whether their bodies are buried under the earth, or in the sea, with one heart, aim and voice, unite in worship and praise. In the preceding verse, Blessing, and honour, and glory and power, are ascribed unto the Lamb; but here, the ascription is unto Him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. I shall not add to what I have already observed to you from the words of the doxology. A few remarks, which offer from this verse, taken in connection with the former, will bring me to a conclusion of the whole subject. And oh! for a coal of fire from the heavenly altar, to warm your hearts and mine; that our love, joy and gratitude may be awakened into lively exercise, and that the close of our meditations on the Messiah may leave us deeply impressed with desires, and well-grounded hopes, of meeting ere long before the Throne, to join with the angels and the redeemed, in singing the praise of God and the Lamb!
I.
The Lord Jesus is not only the Head of the Church
redeemed from among men, but of the whole intelligent creation, that is
in willing subjection to God. It belonged to His great design
to gather in one
(
II.
From hence, we may form some judgment of the true
nature and high honour of that spiritual worship, which is the
privilege and glory of the Church of God, under the Gospel dispensation
[order]. When we meet in the name of Jesus, as His people, and with a
due observance of His institutions, we come to the
innumerable company of angels, and to the general
assembly and church of the first born
(
III.
Though the Lamb is worthy of all blessing, and honour, and glory, and power; there is a distinct ascription of praise to Him that sits upon the Throne.
The Scripture, which alone can teach us to form right
conceptions of God and to worship Him acceptably, guides us in a
medium, between opposite errors and mistakes. Too many persons,
ignorant of their own state as sinners, and of the awful majesty and
holiness of the Most High, presume to think of Him, to speak of Him,
and, in their way, to speak to Him, without being aware of the
necessity of a Mediator. But they who are without Christ, who is the
only door and way to the Father, are without God, atheists in the
world
(
(1.)
They come to God
by
Christ. They have access through Him
(
(2.)
They
come
to
God
in
Christ.
He
is
the great temple in whom the all-fullness
dwells
(
IV.
This solemn worship and praise, is referred, ultimately, to Him who sits upon the Throne. To the great and glorious God, thus known and manifested, in and by, and with the Lamb that was slain.
The mediatorial Kingdom of Christ will have a period.
He will reign as Mediator until He has subdued all enemies under His
feet, and perfected His whole work. Then His Kingdom in this
sense
will
cease;
He
will deliver it up to the Father,
That God may be all in all
(
Then the grand, ultimate, final cause of all the manifestations of God will be completely obtained. The glory of the great Creator and Lawgiver, the splendour of all His perfections, will forever shine, without a veil or cloud, and with a brightness which could not have been known by creatures, had not the entrance of evil given occasion for a display of His wisdom and love, in overruling it to the praise of His glorious grace.
Thus, according to the measure of my ability and experience, I have endeavoured to point out to you the meaning and importance of the well-chosen series of scriptural passages, which are set to music in the Oratorio of the Messiah. Great is the Lord MESSIAH, and greatly to be praised! I have attempted to set before you a sketch of what the Scripture teaches us, concerning His person, undertakings and success; the misery of those whom He came to save, the happiness to which He raises them, and the wonderful plan and progress of redeeming love. But who is sufficient for these things? Alas! how small a portion of His ways are we able to trace! But I would be thankful, that the desire of attempting this great subject was put into my heart, and that having obtained help of God, I have been preserved and enabled to finish my design. Imperfect as my execution of it has been, I cannot doubt that the various topics I have been led to insist on, are the great truths of God. For what is properly my own, the defects and weaknesses, which mix with my best services, I entreat His forgiveness, and request your candour. But I do not hesitate to say, that the substance of what I have advanced, deserves and demands your very serious attention.
It is probable, that those of my hearers who admire this Oratorio, and are often present when it is performed, may think me harsh and singular in my opinion: that of all our musical compositions, this is the most improper for a public entertainment. But while it continues to be equally acceptable, whether performed in a church, or in the theatre, and while the greater part of the performers and of the audience, are the same at both places, I can rate it no higher than as one of the many fashionable amusements which mark the character of this age of dissipation. Though the subject be serious and solemn, in the highest sense, yea, for that very reason, and though the music is, in a striking manner, adapted to the subject, yet, if the far greater part of the people who frequent the Oratorio, are evidently unaffected by the Redeemer’s love, and uninfluenced by His commands, I am afraid it is no better than a profanation of the name and truths of God, a crucifying of the Son of God afresh. You must judge for yourselves. If you think differently from me, you will act accordingly. —Yet, permit me to hope and to pray, that the next time you hear the Messiah, God may bring something that you have heard in the course of these sermons, nearly connected with the peace and welfare of your souls, effectually to your remembrance.
I would humbly hope, that some persons, who were
strangers to the power and grace of
MESSIAH
when I entered upon this service, are now desirous of
seeking Him with their whole hearts. Yes, I trust I have not laboured
wholly in vain. The Gospel is
the rod of His strength
(
But may I not fear, that I am still speaking to
others, who, to this hour, have no cordial admiring thoughts of the
great Saviour? Alas! should you die in your present frame of mind, let
me once more entreat you to consider what
your
situation and employment will be, when all His
redeemed people, and all His holy angels, shall join in worshipping and
praising Him, in the great day of His appearance. Unless you repent,
lay down your arms, and submit to His golden sceptre, your doom is
already pronounced. Awful are the words of the Lord, by the Prophet,
and very applicable to your case, if (which may His mercy prevent!) you
should die in your sins.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold my
servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall
drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but
ye shall be ashamed: behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart,
but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of
spirit
(
Genesis
1:31 2:17 3:15 3:15 3:18 19:16 45:4 45:5
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
Esther
Job
1:10 3:17 9:4 9:12 15:26 19:25 19:26 34:29 38:10 38:11 40:4 41:6
Psalms
2:1-3 2:3 2:4 2:4 2:9 2:9 8:2 9:17 12:4 17:15 19:1 19:1 19:6 23 23:5 24:7-10 34:5 34:8 35:20 37:13 44:3 45:3 46:1 46:4 50:6 50:21 57:4 62:11 68:11 68:18 76:10 84:7 84:10 93:3 93:4 94:9 97:2 103:20 104:24 104:25 110:2 110:4 113:6 115:1 115:1 116:15 119:49 126:5 139:14 145:14 145:16 147:4
Proverbs
8:22 8:23 8:31 11:4 11:30 13:15 14:9 16:23 23:29
Isaiah
2:2-4 2:4 2:11 6:1 6:2 6:3 6:5 10:15 11:6-9 11:13 12:1 12:2 14:27 25:8 25:9 25:9 28:16 30:10 30:20 34:4 37:33 40:15 42:3 42:8 43:13 44:20 45:1-5 48:4 49:24 49:25 51:11 52:7 53:1 54:5 54:13 54:17 55:10 55:11 57:15 57:15 59:5 60:12 60:18-22 60:20 60:20 61:10 63:3 65:1 65:13 65:14
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
3:27 4:35 4:35 5:5 5:6 6:23 9:7 12:2
Hosea
Amos
Micah
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew
3:9 3:12 3:17 5:28 7:22 7:23 8:22 9:12 9:38 10:30 11:20-24 13:24 13:30 13:43 13:47 16:17 16:26 17:20 19:14 20:15 21:15 22:21 23:8-10 23:30 23:31 25:1-12 25:24 25:32 25:34 25:46 26:24 28:18 28:18 28:19 28:20
Mark
4:26 4:39 5:7 5:15 6:20 9:7 9:44 9:45 9:48
Luke
1:35 1:74 1:75 2:13 2:14 4:18 4:28 4:29 6:24 6:25 6:25 7:47 8:13-15 12:4 12:20 12:20 13:25 13:26 13:27 16:22 16:25 17:26-30 19:5 19:14 22:31 22:32 22:44 24:51
John
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:18 1:48 1:48 3:3 3:16 3:16 3:18 3:19 3:19 3:35 4:22 4:29 5:23 5:24 5:29 5:39 6:44 7:18 7:37 8:56 8:58 11:25 11:48 12:26 12:32 12:41 12:41 13:22-25 14:1 14:9 14:14 14:19 14:21 15:5 15:15 15:19 15:19 16 16:7 16:8 16:33 17:3 17:3 17:24 20:25 20:28
Acts
1:9 1:24 2:1-4 2:4-37 3:11 5:24 5:29 5:29 5:31 5:38 7:56-60 7:59 7:60 8:8 9 9:1 10:34 10:35 10:38 11:18 12:6-10 12:23 12:23 13:26 13:32 13:33 13:39 15:9 16:14 16:25 16:31 17:11 17:18 17:18 17:28 17:30 17:31 17:32 19:28 20:28 20:28 20:29 20:30 22:17-21 23:7 24:25 25:19 25:24 26:11 26:18 26:27
Romans
1:4 1:20 3:19 3:19 3:19 3:20 3:23 3:24 3:25 3:25 3:25 3:26 4:4 4:5 5:1 5:6 5:8 5:12 5:14 5:20 7:12-23 8:26 8:26 8:30 8:31 8:33 8:34 8:37 9:3 9:5 9:18 10:4 10:4 10:15 10:18 11:24 11:25 11:25 11:26 11:33 11:33-36 12:18 13:7 14:9
1 Corinthians
1:23 1:23 1:24 1:30 1:30 1:30 1:31 2:3 2:9 2:10 2:14 3:4 3:6 3:9 3:21 4:7 4:7 6:9-11 6:19 9:27 15:5-8 15:19 15:20 15:21 15:22 15:28 15:51-53 15:54 15:55 15:56 15:57 16:22
2 Corinthians
1:8 1:24 4:4 4:4 4:4 4:17 4:17 5:10 5:10 5:17 5:19 6:16 6:18 11:14 12:9
Galatians
2:20 2:21 3:1 4:1 4:2 4:4 4:15 4:19 4:29 5:1 5:6 6:14
Ephesians
1:6 1:10 1:20 2:1 2:2 2:3 2:6 2:12 2:12 2:18 2:20-22 3:8 3:8 3:14 3:15 3:17 4:8 4:21 6:12 6:24
Philippians
1:11 1:23 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:15 3:21
Colossians
1:13 1:18 1:19 1:27 2:6 2:15 3:1 3:3 3:4
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Hebrews
1:3 1:3 1:4 1:5 1:6 1:6 1:14 1:14 2:10 2:11 3:13 4:13 4:13 4:14 5:13 5:14 6:12 6:20 7:25 7:25 7:25 8:12 9:6-12 9:16 9:22 9:24 9:26 10:26 10:27 11:1 11:13 11:38 12:6-8 12:11 12:14 12:14 12:15 12:22 12:23 13:7 13:8 13:16
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
1:1-3 2:1 2:1 2:13 2:28 3:2 3:14 5:4 5:4 5:7 5:7 5:10 5:19 5:20
Jude
Revelation
1:5 1:5 1:5 1:7 1:8 1:11 1:18 2:11 3:8 3:20 5:9 5:12 5:12 5:13 6:13 6:14 6:15 6:16 6:16 6:17 7:9 7:13 9:6 11:15 11:15 15:3 16:21 18:21 19:6 19:15 19:16 20:11 21:15 21:21 22:9 22:17
Wisdom of Solomon