WSSm 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 University of California. 
 
 GIFT OF" 
 
 Mrs. SARAH P. WALSWORTH. 
 
 Received October, 18Q4. 
 ^Accessions No. 5^ glf+l. Class No. 
 
THE 
 
 ROCK OF OUR SALVATION 
 
 A TREATISE 
 
 RESPECTING 
 
 THE NATURES, PERSON, OFFICES, WORK 
 
 SUFFERINGS, AND GLORY 
 
 OF JES^JS-ejIRIST. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM S. PLUMER, D.D., LL. D. 
 
 ii 
 
 Let tw make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Psa. 95 : 1. 
 
 [TJIUVBRSIT7] 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 
 
 150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. 
 
P6 
 
 Enteked according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by 
 the American Teact Society, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
 Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. 
 
/f*S > ' at IHB 
 
 [uhivirsitt; 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Christ All in All, page 7: opposed, 8, 17; his Names and Titles, 
 
 10-13; Christ much loved, 13; what God's People say of Him, 
 
 18, 19. 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 The Divinity of Christ, 22: proven by his Names, 22, 23; by his 
 
 Attributes, 23-28; by his Works, 28-34; by his Worship, 35-38; 
 
 Inferences, 38-40. 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 The Sonship of Christ, 41: above that of Angels, of Adam, of 
 Believers, 41; not merely because supernaturally conceived, 42; 
 or by Designation to Office, or by his Eesurrection, 43; or by 
 being Heir of all Things. He has the same Nature with the 
 Father, his Sonship real and proper, 45; eternal, 48; more than 
 iiatorskip, ineffable, 49; long held, 51; proven, 53-5(5. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Incarnation of Christ, 58: how effected, 59; true, 61; made 
 under the Law, 62; foretold by Prophets, 64; often declared, 
 : incomprehensible. 67-7G; at the Right Time, 69; a Great 
 Event, 73; perpetual, 76; Inferences, 76-79. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth, 80: expected, 80; proven, 
 82-95; Remarks, 95-99. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 EAXOB, 100: what the Word means, 100; the Ex- 
 
 • of Christ's Mediation, 101; when Mediation is admissible, 
 
 I of it. 1D1; Christ fit for this Work, 105-110; 
 
 Ell .110; Cause of Joy, 117; how earned 
 
 on, 117; Remarks 117-119. 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Cueist a Prophet, 120: necessary, 120; the Office honorable, 121; 
 what it is, 121; foretold by Moses, 123; Moses a Type of Christ, 
 126; how Christ does the Work of a Prophet, 130; his Teach- 
 ings true and pure, 135; complete, attested, practicable, 136; 
 plain, kindly given, 137; effectual, 138; must be obeyed, 140. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Priesthood of Christ, 141: much spoken of, 141; Our High 
 Priest is divine, 141; human, 144; called, 146; anointed, 145; 
 sent, 146; holy, 147; after Order of Melchizedek, 149; made a 
 Fit Offering, 151; entered the Holy Place, 153; blessed the 
 People, 154; is unchangeable, 155; Lessons from it, 156-159. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Christ a King, 160: Prophecy required Him to be, 161; He con- 
 fessed it, 162; often so called, 163; has Badges of Royalty, 
 164; a Peculiar King, everlasting and wise, 165; just, 166;, 
 almighty, 167; his Kingdom divinely ordered and not of this 
 World, 169; his by right, 170; universal, supreme, and stable, 
 171; full of Energy and of Mystery, 172; Lessons from it, 174- 
 178. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Christ's Humiliation, 179: the Several Steps thereof, 180-197; 
 Lessons from it, 197, 198. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 General Views of Christ's Work, 199-203: Substitution, 203, 
 Suretyship, 204; Satisfaction, 206; Sacrifice, 210; Obedience, 
 212; Lessons thus taught, 214-216. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Redemption by Christ, 217: much spoken of, 217; Verbs used, 
 217; Nouns used, 218; Idea of Redemption whence obtained, 
 219; based on Several Principles, 220; harmonizes Divine Attri- 
 butes, 225; Christ a Fit Redeemer, 228; God's Wisdom in 
 Christ's Work, 232; in his Sufferings, 233, and in the Effects of 
 Redemption, 234; Cause of Joy, 237. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Atonement, 239: Meaning of the Word Reconciliation, 239- 
 242; Theories of, 242-244; True View proven in Various Ways 
 by Scripture, 215-252; Consequences of denying, 252-257. 
 
CONTENTS. - 5 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Folly of Objecting to the Atonement, 258: Objection First, 
 259; Second. 260; Third. 262; Fourth, 263; Fifth, 268; Testi- 
 monies to Eight View, 269-275. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Christ's Resurrection', 277: a Vital Doctrine, 277; required by 
 Prophecy, 278; who raised Him up, 279; the Third Day, 280; 
 real, 281; proven by Witnesses, many, 283; competent 284; con- 
 curring and credible, 2S6 ; Objections to Witnesses frivolous, 
 287-290; the Evidence summed up, 290-293; Fruits of Christ's 
 Eesurrection, 293-295. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Christ's Ascension and Session at God's Eight Hand, 296: Ascen- 
 sion why delayed Fort}' - Days, 296, 297; Prophecy required his 
 Ascension, 297; is taught as a Fact, 298; the Place of it, 299; 
 it was necessary, 301; his Human Nature ascended, 302; the 
 Manner of it, 303; his Session required by Prophecy and much 
 spoken of, 305 ; what is meant by Sitting at God's Eight Hand, 
 306-310; The Effects of Christ's Session, 310, 311; Inferences, 
 311-313. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Christ in Heaven, 314: his Life is deserved, 314; immortal and 
 glorious, 315; full of Authority yet loving, 316; active, 317-323; 
 the Effects thereof, 323-327; Inferences, 327-330. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Christ's Personal Absence from this World, 331 : a Grief to his 
 Disciples, 331; yet it is right and best, 332-348; Inferences, 
 348-351. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Christ on the Judgment-seat, 352: sure, 352; the Day of it, 
 : Who shall be judged, 359-362; how They shall be 
 ju.: 164; for What sliull We be judged, 364-366; Who 
 
 shall be the Judge, 366-368; Inferences, 368-371. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 r the Good Shepherd, 372: his Qualities, 372-379; what 
 Offices he performs for his Sheep, 379 386; Happy Effects 
 therof, 385; Marks of his Sheep, 386, 387; Inferences, 387-390. 
 
 &Z 
 
 or 
 
 «n e*t 
 
6 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Chkist a Physician, 391: Sin a Disease, 391-397; the Kemedy, 
 397-402; the Great and Good Physician, 402-406. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The Gentleness of Cheist, 407: needed, 407-411; Christ's Char- 
 acter, 411; his Covenant, 412; God's People weak, 413; dis- 
 couraged, 414; when really safe, 415; his Tenderness to them, 
 416; the Feeble cared for, 417; look at Quality not Quantity of 
 Attainment, 417; obey Christ, 418; rely not on Frames, 419; 
 draw near to God, 420. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Christ shale yet have a Glorious Keward, 422: Present Stato 
 of the World, 422-428; the Scriptures promise a Change, 428- 
 431; some Good Tokens, 431, 432, what We can do, 432-437; 
 a Prayer for the Success of the Gospel, 437-439. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The Gospel or Christ is hid from some, 440: Excellence of Pro- 
 nouns, 440-442; how the Gospel is not hid from Us, 442-448; 
 how it is hid from Some, 448-453; Kemarks on these Truths, 
 453-459. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The Sin and Danger of not believing in Christ, 460: God 
 always spoke against Unbelief, 460, 461 ; Classes of Unbelievers, 
 462; why Unbelief is so great a Sin, 462-474; Inferences, 474- 
 477. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The Keproach of Christ, 478: often mentioned, 478; Case of 
 Moses, 479; Ancient Egypt, 479-484; Moses' Choice, what, 
 484-489; Elements of Jlis Choice, 489-492; Its Wisdom, 492- 
 495; Its Cause, 495; Inferences, 496-499. 
 
 . CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Conclusion, 500: Union with Christ, 500-504; Admiration of 
 Christ, 504-507; Imitation of Christ, 507-512; glorifying Christ, 
 512-516; reigning with Christ, 516-519. 
 
&lin£r*- 
 
 (TJHIVBESIT7] 
 ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CHRIST ALL IN ALL. 
 
 When I was a youth, in the bond of ini- 
 quity and in the gall of bitterness, I fell into 
 distress concerning my soul. I feared I should 
 be lost for ever. Being in the company of 
 two Christian ladies, one of them kindly ex- 
 pressed the wish that my impressions might 
 not be transient. This I understood. The 
 other expressed the hope that Christ might 
 
 be to me all in all. To me, whose heart 
 was covered with a veil of unbelief, her words 
 were as the srfcech of a barbarian. Yet they 
 made an impression. From them I learned 
 that some persons knew a secret hidden from 
 me; and I longed to learn what it was. I 
 hope I have gained some insight into it, and I 
 
8 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 propose to present some of the views I have 
 obtained. 
 
 The great central truth of the religion of 
 sinners relates to the person, character, work, 
 sufferings, offices, and glory of Jesus Christ. 
 These are vital in Christianity. As one is 
 sound or corrupt here, so is he substantially 
 right or wrong in the main. Both now and in 
 the last day, the great question in determining 
 character and destiny is the same: "What 
 think ye of Christ?' 7 
 
 On this subject the controversy is old. It 
 goes back to the first two men ever born. 
 Cain and Abel split on this point. In the 
 immediate family of Adam the strife began, 
 and it has never ceased. In the days of Moses 
 the hardest thing to be borne in the profes- 
 sion of the true religion was "the reproach of 
 Christ." When Messiah was born, the strife 
 was resumed with more warmth than ever. 
 The wise men brought their gifts of gold, 
 frankincense, and myrrh • but when Herod 
 heard of his birth, he was tr<Jubled, and all 
 Jerusalem with him, and he sought the young 
 child to destroy him. And when Christ be- 
 came a public teacher,, some said, He is a good 
 man ; others, He cleceiveth the people. One 
 
CHRIST ALL IN ALL. 9 
 
 party worshipped him ; the other crucified 
 him. Even when he was on the cross, the 
 Spectators were divided — some looking on 
 with unutterable grief; others wagging their 
 heads and deriding him. In fact, the very 
 thieves who died with him were not of one 
 mind ; one reviling him, the other calling him 
 Lord. On the day of Pentecost the contro- 
 versy was renewed with great vigor, and with 
 great advantage to the cause of truth ; and it 
 has been kept up ever since. All the friends 
 of God have at heart been on one side, and 
 all his enemies substantially on the other — if 
 not openly, yet secretly ; if not by profession, 
 yet in practice. For eighteen hundred years 
 a large portion of all the heresies that have 
 arisen have related to the person or work of 
 ( "lirist. Infidelity is most bitter against Christ, 
 while piety feeds upon the truth of which he is 
 the sum. Many scoff and more refuse ; while 
 some admire and adore. Some obey; others 
 cry, We will not have this man to reign over 
 us. In no age has malice against Christ been 
 more envenomed than in the present. 
 
 Jesus Christ is a wonderful, a glorious 
 person. To look away from self and one's 
 own works to Christ, is to lay hold on eternal 
 1* 
 
10 THE ROCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 life. Safety consists in fleeing to him and 
 abiding in him. When he is in the ascendant, 
 the night flees away, and the morning comes — 
 a morning without clouds. His names and 
 titles are as important as they are significant. 
 Every one of them is as ointment poured 
 forth. His lips drop as the honeycomb ; 
 honey and milk are under his tongue, and the 
 smell of his garments is like the smell of Leb- 
 anon. His people sit under his shadow with 
 great delight, and his fruit is sweet to their 
 taste. To them he is altogether lovely. 
 
 He is their Advocate, the angel of the 
 covenant, the author and finisher of faith. He 
 is as the apple-tree among the trees of the 
 wood ; the alpha and the omega ; the Beloved, 
 the Shepherd and Bishop of souls, the bread 
 of life, the righteous Branch, the bridegroom, 
 the brightness of the Father's glory, and the 
 express image of his person. He is a bundle 
 of myrrh. 
 
 To his saints he is and is owned to be 
 Creator, captain, counsellor, covenant, corner- 
 stone, a covert from the tempest, and the 
 chiefest among ten thousand. He is to them 
 as the Dew, the door into tlie fold, a days- 
 man, a day-star, a deliverer, a diadem, and 
 
CHKIST ALL IN ALL. 11 
 
 the desire of all nations, ranks, and genera- 
 tions of pious men. 
 
 In their eyes he is the Elect, Emmanuel, 
 the everlasting Father and eternal life. He 
 is a Fountain of living waters to thirsty souls, 
 of joy to troubled souls, of life to dying souls. 
 He is the foundation on which his people of 
 all ages safely build their hopes of heaven. 
 He is the father of eternity, the fir-tree under 
 whose shadow the saints rejoice, the first and 
 the last, the first fruits of the greatest harvest 
 ever gathered, the first-born among many 
 brethren and the first-begotten from the dead, 
 
 To his chosen he is as the most fine Gold, 
 a guide, a governor, a glorious Lord, God, the 
 true God, God over all blessed for ever. He 
 is the Head of the church, the health the 
 hope, the husband, the heritage, the habita- 
 tion of his people. He is the horn of their 
 salvation. He rides upon the heavens by his 
 name J ah. He is the Jehovah, the inheri- 
 tance, Judge and King of his saints. He is 
 their light, their life, their Lord, their leader, 
 (heir lawgiver, their' atoning lamb, the lily of 
 the valley, the lion of the tribe of Juclah. 
 
 lie is the Man Christ Jesus, the master, 
 the mediator, the messenger of the covenant, 
 
12 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the minister of the true sanctuary, which the 
 Lord pitched and not man. He is the mighty 
 God of Isaiah, the Michael of Daniel, the Mel- 
 chisedek of David and of Paul, the bright and 
 morning star of John, and the Messiah of all 
 the prophets. 
 
 He is the Only-begotten of the Father, 
 full of grace and truth. He is at once the 
 root and the offspring of David. He is the 
 Peace, the prince, the priest, the prophet, the 
 potentate, the purifier, the propitiation for 
 our sins, the physician of souls, the plant of 
 renown, the power of God unto salvation, the 
 passover of all saints. He is a polished shaft 
 in the quiver of God. 
 
 He is the Bock, the refuge, the ruler, the 
 ransom, the refiner, the Eedeemer, the right- 
 eousness and the resurrection of all that walk 
 in white. He is the rose of Sharon. He is the 
 Seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the 
 seed of David, the stem of Jesse, the Son of 
 God, the son of man, the shield, the strength, 
 the surety, the Shiloh, the sacrifice, the sanc- 
 tuary, the salvation, the sanctification, and the 
 sun of righteousness to all believers. 
 
 He is that holy Thing that was born of 
 Mary. He is the truth, the treasure, the 
 
CHRIST ALL IN ALk 13 
 
 teacher, the temple, the tree of life, the great 
 testator of his church. He is the Way, the 
 well of salvation, the Word of God, the wis- 
 dom of God, the faithful witness. He is the 
 Wonderful. 
 
 His person is one ; his natures are two. 
 He is both human and diyine, finite and infi- 
 nite, created and uncreated. He was before 
 Abraham, though not born for ages after that 
 patriarch slept with his fathers. He was 
 dead, and behold he is alive for evermore. 
 
 On earth he had not where to lay his 
 head ; yet he disposes of all diadems. By him 
 kings rule and princes decree justice. He has 
 the arm of a God, and the heart of a brother. 
 To him all tongues shall confess and all knees 
 bow ; yet learned he obedience by the things 
 which he suffered. None loves like him, none 
 pities like him, none saves like him. 
 
 It is not surprising that such a person 
 lives and reigns in the hearts of his people. 
 No marvel that the virgins love him, and the 
 saints praise him, and the martyrs die for him, 
 and the confessors are not ashamed of him, 
 and the sorrowing sigh for him, and the peni- 
 tent lie at his cross and pour out their tears 
 before him, and the humble trust in him, and 
 
14 THE BOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 the believing lay fast hold of him and will not 
 let him go. His frown shakes the frame of 
 universal nature, his smile gives life, his pres- 
 ence converts dungeons into palaces, his blood 
 cleanses from all sin, his righteousness is the 
 white robe of the redeemed. 
 
 If men would be, safe, or wise, or holy, or 
 happy, or useful, or strong, or victorious ; let 
 them look to Jesus, let them look to none 
 else, let them walk in him, abide in him, glory 
 in him, and count as loss all things besides. 
 You may look at the law till the spirit of 
 bondage overwhelms you with terrors and 
 torments. You may go about to establish 
 your own righteousness till you can boast, 
 and sin, and perish like a Pharisee. You 
 may weep till the fountain of your tears has 
 gone dry, you may have all gifts, understand 
 all mysteries, bestow all your goods to feed 
 the poor, and yield your body to be burned ; 
 but all these things will not atone for sin, will 
 do nothing toward regaining the lost favor of 
 God, will not make you meet for the inheri- 
 tance of the saints in light. "None but 
 Christ, none but Christ, none but Christ," has 
 been the cry of the faithful witnesses of all 
 ages when truth has triumphed, when oracles 
 
CHEIST ALL IN A-LL. 15 
 
 were struck dumb, when sinners were con- 
 verted, when saints shouted for joy, when the 
 word of God mightily grew and prevailed. 
 
 True piety begins, continues, and is per- 
 fected, by our union with Christ. We are 
 cleansed through his blood, we are clothed 
 in his righteousness, we arc purified by his 
 Spirit, We meet the demands of the law of 
 this day of grace when we walk as he walked, 
 and have the same mind that was in him. In 
 proportion as men are truly pious, they make 
 him the foundation and the top-stone, the sum, 
 and substance, and centre of all their hopes 
 and rejoicings before God. He is accepted and 
 believed on in the world, not merely because 
 there is no other Saviour, but because his 
 way of saving sinners precisely suits their 
 case, and because it brings glory to God in 
 the highest. The true believer not only trusts 
 in Christ, but makes his boast in him. He not 
 only makes mention of him ; he admits none 
 into comparison with him. To all the ends, 
 parts, and purposes of salvation, Christ stands 
 alone. There is none like him, there is none 
 with him, there is none before him, there is 
 none after him, there is none beside him. He 
 had no predecessor; he has, and shall have, 
 
16 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 no successor. He has no vicegerent ; lie has 
 no assistant; he wears an undivided crown, 
 and wields a perfect sovereignty over an undi- 
 vided kingdom. If God's people exalt him 
 above all others, so does his holy and eternal 
 Father. If they crown him Lord of all, God 
 also hath highly exalted him, and given him a 
 name that is above every name. If they sur- 
 passingly admire and extol him, there is cause 
 for this preference. It is a holy, reasonable 
 thing, to fall before him and cry, My Lord 
 and my God. If he is the delight of the sons 
 of men, he is also the delight of his Father. 
 Listen to the voice from the excellent glory : 
 "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased.' 7 
 
 We sadly err when we begin in the spirit 
 and end in the flesh ; when we regard Christ 
 as the Author, but not as the Finisher, of our 
 faith. A legal spirit is the bane of piety. It 
 is as great a foe to holy comfort as it is to 
 gospel grace. Through the law believers are 
 dead to the law, that they may live unto God. 
 This is the evangelical plan. Here is the 
 secret of growing conformity to God. Here 
 is power, here is life, here is wisdom. We 
 are complete in him. 
 
CHKIST ALL IN ALL. 17 
 
 In the wars of opinion, the greatest con- 
 tests ever known have be^n on the question 
 whether Christ is the sole and sufficient cause 
 of salvation to men. Strange that any who 
 have God's word should be at a loss on this 
 subject. The language of Scripture could not 
 be more clear: "Christ is the end of the law 
 for righteousness to every one that believeth." 
 This is the sum of inspired teachings on the 
 subject. This doctrine is quite beyond the 
 suggestion of human wit, but wholly accordant 
 with right reason. The gospel is not the 
 progeny of human wisdom, but it is the proper 
 remedy for human woes. The heart of man 
 is strongly wedded to a plan that will not 
 abase pride nor silence boasting. Although in 
 regeneration folly is so far cured that the soul 
 reclines upon Jesus, yet even the converted 
 sometimes fall into sad declensions, and lose 
 their clear and lively apprehensions of the one 
 way of salvation provided by God. Then follow 
 darkness, dejection, and strange perplexities. 
 They are then " bewitched/' and "obey not 
 the truth." 
 
 Christ is our life ; severed from him, we 
 are withered branches. It is only when Christ 
 is clearly seen and cordially embraced that 
 
18 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 our peace is like a river, and our righteous- 
 ness like the wav^s of the sea. The entire 
 "Christian race is run by pressing towards the 
 mark for the prize of the high calling of God 
 in Christ Jesus. All the acts of faith are the 
 fruit of the Spirit; the object of them all is 
 the person of the Lord Jesus Christ ; the war- 
 rant of them all is the promise of God, the 
 offer of the gospel: and while they utterly 
 renounce self, they bring Christ into the soul, 
 the hope of glory. 
 
 Oh that men would learn that mount Sinai 
 is far from Jerusalem, and that Calvary is 
 hard by it. The nearer we are to the law as 
 a covenant of life, the farther we are from 
 Christ, from deliverance. The hosts of saints 
 who have finished their course and gone home 
 to God all found in themselves sin, guilt, folly, 
 misery, and helplessness ; while in him were 
 hid all the treasures of wisdom, grace, and 
 glory. Hear their sayings : 
 
 John Brown of Haddington said: "The 
 command is, 'Owe no man any thing. 7 What 
 a mercy that there is no such precept as this, 
 Owe a Saviour nothing; or even this, Study 
 to owe him as little as possible. Oh what a 
 mercy that my admission into eternal life does 
 
CHRIST ALL IN ALL. 19 
 
 not depend on my ability for any thing ; but 
 as a poor sinner, will win in leaning on Christ 
 as the Lord my righteousness ; on Christ, 
 made of God unto me righteousness, sanctifi- 
 cation, and redemption. I have nothing to 
 sink my spirits but my sins ; and these need 
 not sink me either, since the great God is my 
 Saviour. 
 
 McCheyne said: "Live within sight of 
 Calvary, and you will live in sight of glory." 
 
 When dying, Dr. Kevins said: "I recom- 
 mend Christ to you ; I have nothing else to 
 recommend. " 
 
 Well was it said of old, "It is better to 
 die with Christ than to reign with Cassar." 
 
 John says, "The testimony of Jesus is the 
 spirit of prophecy." 
 
 Peter says, "To Him gave all the proph- 
 ets witness." 
 
 Paul says, "God forbid that I should 
 glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 This subject suggests a few remarks to 
 two classes of persons : 
 
 *L. To Christians. In choosing Christ, you 
 acted wisely. Exquisite suffering for him is 
 better than exquisite enjoyment with the 
 
20 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 world. It is better to be a prisoner for him 
 than a prince without him. To die in Christ 
 is to fall asleep in Jesus, and be for ever with 
 the Lord. Hold fast your profession of his 
 name. Stick to him, stand up for him, live 
 unto him, look to him, be ready to die for 
 him, let your desires centre in him, let your 
 motives to holy living be drawn from him, let 
 your sorrows be sanctified by him. let your 
 joys be heightened, chastened, sweetened by 
 him. Keep to him alone. We are as much 
 bound to believe that there is but one Media- 
 tor as that there is but one God. 1 Tim. 2 :5. 
 None else can do us any good. Devotion to 
 Christ cannot be excessive. Many love, and 
 serve, and trust, and praise him too little ; 
 but whoever loved, or served, or trusted, or 
 praised him too much? "There is no love of 
 duty where there is no love to Christ." 
 
 2. To such as have not fled to Christ, and 
 are yet in their sins. Will you not embrace 
 the Saviour ? If Christ shall not be taken as 
 your surety, you must pay your own debt. 
 Despise not his cross. It is the life of men. 
 By wicked men it was designed to be, surd is 
 still esteemed, the seal of infamy, the badge 
 of ignominy. Christ crucified was to the Jews 
 
CHKIST ALL IN ALL. 21 
 
 a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolish- 
 ness. But see to it that ye follow not their 
 wicked ways. Come to Christ; he died for 
 our sins ; he offered himself without spot to 
 God, a ransom for many, a sweet-smelling 
 savor. Cast yourselves upon him. Believe 
 in him, and the law has no more penal de- 
 mands against you ; believe in him, and God 
 will accept you in the Beloved ; believe in 
 him, and your right to the tree of life is at 
 once complete ; believe in him, and the sting 
 of death is extracted ; believe in him, and you 
 shall have part in the first resurrection ; be- 
 lieve in him, and you shall have boldness in 
 the day of judgment. But reject him a little 
 longer, and your heart will be harder than it 
 is now ; reject him a little longer, and the 
 call to light and life will reach you no more ; 
 reject him a little longer, and the day of grace 
 will be gone for ever ; reject him a little longer, 
 and you will awake to shame and everlasting 
 contempt. "There is a fearful chasm in the 
 heart that has no love for Christ." 
 
22 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHKIST. 
 
 The design of this chapter is to state and 
 prove the doctrine of the true, proper, and 
 supreme divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 His Godhead is true, not fictitious ; it is 
 proper, not figurative ; it is supreme, not 
 merely superangelic. None is divine in a 
 higher sense than the Saviour of lost men. 
 The proofs of this truth are various, multi- 
 form, and abundant. 
 
 T. The names of God are, in Scripture, 
 given to Jesus Christ. One apostle says of 
 him, " This is the true God, and eternal life.'' 1 
 1 John 5 : 20. Speaking of the Israelites, an- 
 other apostle says, " Of whom, as concerning 
 the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God 
 blessed for ever." Eom. 9:5. In both Tes- 
 taments he is called Immanuel, which means 
 God with us. Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23. Speak- 
 ing of him, Paul says: "God was manifest in 
 the flesh." 1 Tim. 3:16. The evangelical 
 prophet calls him the "mighty God, the ever- 
 lasting Father." Isa. 9 : 6. Peter says, " He 
 
THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 23 
 
 is Lord of all." Acts 10 : 36. Paul says, "He 
 is the Lord of glory." 1 Cor. 2:8. Both Isaiah 
 and Joel call him by the awful and incommu- 
 nicable name, Jehovah. Isa. 6:5; Joel 2 : 32. 
 Compare John 12:41; Rom. 10:13. The 
 Bible styles our Saviour, God, the true God, 
 God blessed for ever, Lord of all, Lord of 
 glory, God with us, Jehovah, Lord of hosts. 
 This language is used by prophets and apos- 
 tles at periods long separated and on occa- 
 sions very diverse ; some before his birth, 
 others at his birth, and others after his ascen- 
 sion to glory. Surely God's word thus teaches 
 that he is divine. 
 
 Lord Jesus, thou God over all, thou Jeho- 
 vah of hosts, be thou our Friend. Bless and 
 help each one of us. Be unto us a horn of 
 salvation. 
 
 II. Divine attributes are also ascribed to 
 him. Eternity is one of his perfections: "In 
 the beginning was the Word." John 1:1. 
 John the Baptist was born six months before 
 our Lord, yet of our Saviour he says, "He 
 was before me." John 1:15. In prophecy, 
 Christ gives this account of himself: "The 
 Lord possessed me in the beginning of his 
 way, before his works of old. I was set 14) 
 
24 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever 
 the earth was. 7 ' Prov. 8 : 22, 23. When on 
 earth, he asserted his own eternity and self- 
 existence : "Before Abraham was, I am." 
 John 8 : 58. More than sixty years after his 
 ascension from Olivet, and within eight verses 
 of the close of the New Testament, Jesus says 
 of himself, "I am Alpha and Omega, the be- 
 ginning and the end, the first and the last.' 7 
 Rev. 22:13. He who is himself the Alpha, 
 the first, the beginning, must be self-existent, 
 independent, and eternal. Surely he who can 
 truly thus speak of himself is divine. 
 
 thou eternal Son of God, thou Father 
 of eternity, remember that we are of yester- 
 day and are crushed before the moth. Bring 
 us, in the fulness of thy grace, to behold thy 
 glory, which thou hadst with thy Father before 
 the world was. 
 
 Omnipresence is another attribute of God 
 claimed by Christ: "Where two or three are 
 gathered together in my name, there am I in 
 the midst of them." Matt. 18 : 20. Christ 
 could not thus meet all the little groups of his 
 worshippers in all parts of the world, unless 
 he were omnipresent. He claims the same 
 perfection when he says to his disciples, "Lo, 
 
THE DIVINITY OF CHEIST. 25 
 
 I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
 world." Matt, 28:20. If this promise con- 
 veys any natural and obvious sense, it is one 
 that, beyond a doubt, implies the omnipres- 
 ence, and therefore the divinity, of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Blessed Saviour, who art everywhere pres- 
 ent, preside in all our solemn assemblies, large 
 and small. Walk thou in the midst of the 
 golden candlesticks. Be thou unto us for a 
 little sanctuary. 
 
 Omniscience is another attribute of God 
 belonging to Christ. Peter said, "Lord, thou 
 knowest all things." John 21 : 17. By his 
 omniscience, Jesus declared Judas a devil, 
 even w T hen he was unsuspected by any of his 
 intimate friends. By his omniscience, he 
 convinced Xathanael of his Messiahship and 
 Divinity. Two things are wholly inscrutable 
 pt to omniscience. One is, the human 
 heart. Yet we are expressly informed that, 
 even in his humiliation, Jesus "knew all men, 
 and needed not that any should testify to him 
 of man, for he knew what was in man." John 
 2 : 24, 25. And when for three-score years 
 the Son of man had been in glory he said, 
 "All the churches shall know that I am he 
 
26 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 which searcheth the heart." Rev. 2 : 23. The 
 other thing unsearchable except to God only, 
 is the Divine nature. Yet Jesus declares that 
 he is master of that awful mystery: "As the 
 Father knoweth me, even so know I the 
 Father." John 10:15. Surely he who thus 
 knows the unsearchable God is himself God. 
 
 Lord Jesus, search us, and know our 
 hearts, try us, and know our thoughts, and 
 see if there be any wicked way in us ; lead us 
 in the way everlasting ; and reveal to us the 
 glorious mystery of God. 
 
 Immutability is another perfection belong- 
 ing to God only ; and by inspired men it is 
 ascribed to Jesus Christ. Having shown that 
 this earth and the heavens above, with all that 
 is grand and solid in them, must pass away, 
 the Scriptures say of Christ, "Thou art the 
 same, and thy years shall not fail." Psalm 
 102.: 25-27; Heb. 1:10-12. The inspired 
 author of the epistle to the Hebrews declares 
 in explicit terms that "Jesus Christ is the 
 same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Heb. 
 13:8. Without profaneness, we cannot ascribe 
 unchangeableness to any but God. Yet Paul 
 says that Jesus is ever the same. Is he not 
 Divine? 
 
THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 27 
 
 Blessed Saviour, we rejoice that thou art 
 the same as when thou didst weep at the 
 grave of Lazarus ; as when thou didst pour 
 salvation on the dying thief; as when, in 
 ascending to glory, thou didst bless thy fol- 
 lowers. We rejoice that thy state is changed 
 and thy nature immutable. Oh pity and bless 
 us. Be unto us a sure foundation, a munition 
 of rocks. 
 
 Beyond all doubt, omnipotence is an attri- 
 bute of God only. We cannot reason with 
 one who persistently contends that almighti- 
 ness is the property of man or angel. But 
 God's word abundantly teaches that Jesus 
 Christ is omnipotent. Surely he who in his 
 own name raises the dead and subjects the 
 universe to his power is almighty. Paul says 
 Jesus does both these things: "Our conversa- 
 tion is in heaven; from whence also we look 
 for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who 
 shall change our vile body, that it may be 
 fashioned like unto his glorious body, accord- 
 ing to the working whereby he is able even to 
 subdue all things unto himself." Phil. 3 : 20, 
 21. Surely such energy is omnipotent. In 
 Rev. 1 . 8, Christ thus reveals himself : "lam 
 Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end- 
 
28 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 ing, saith the Lord; which is, and which was, 
 and which is to come, the Almighty." Nor did 
 Jesus acquire omnipotence by his ascension 
 to glory. Indeed, almightiness cannot be 
 acquired, else a creature might become God. 
 But even in his humiliation Jesus said, "What 
 things soever the Father doeth, these also 
 doeth the Son. As the Father raiseth up the 
 dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son 
 quickeneth whom he will." John 5 : 19, 21. 
 Jesus could do none of these things, if his 
 power could be resisted. But irresistible 
 power is omnipotent power, is divine power, 
 and so Christ is divine. 
 
 thou which art, and which wast, and 
 which art to come, the Almighty, cover us in 
 the hollow of thy hand. If our hold on thee 
 is feeble, let thy hold on us be the grasp of 
 omnipotence. Go forth conquering and to 
 conquer, till earth owns thee Lord of all. 
 
 III. Those things which can be done by 
 none but God are done by Jesus Christ, and 
 therefore he is God. Such is the work of cre- 
 ation: "All things were made by him; and 
 without him was not any thing made that was 
 made," John 1:3. "By him were all things 
 created that are in heaven and that are in 
 
THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 29 
 
 earth, visible and invisible, whether they be 
 thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or 
 powers : all things were made by him and 
 for him." Col. 1:16. If by creation the 
 Father is shown to be truly God, by creation 
 also we establish the divinity of the Son. 
 
 Glorious Redeemer, we all were made by 
 thee and for thee. We own thy perfect and 
 sovereign right to us and over us. All we 
 have and are, in soul or body, belongs to thee. 
 Xor can any thing dissolve the ties that bind 
 us to thee for ever. 
 
 Jesus Christ also upholds, preserves, and 
 governs the worlds which he has made. Isaiah 
 says: "The government shall be upon his 
 shoulder." Isa! 9 : 6. Paul says : " To the Son' 
 he [the Father] saith, Thy throne, God, 
 is for ever and ever." Heb. 1:8. In one 
 one place the same apostle says, he " uphold- 
 eth all things by the word of his power." 
 Ileb. 1:3. In another he says : "By him all 
 things consist." Col. 1 : 17. Indeed his care 
 and superintendence of all things is a neces- 
 sity; for Paul says: "He must reign till he 
 hath put all things under his feet." 1 Cor. 
 15 : 25. Thus all creatures, from the smallest 
 insect that is seen by the microscope up to 
 
30 THE EOGK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 the archangel that worships and ministers be- 
 fore the eternal throne ; all events, from the 
 falling of a hair of the head to the wasting 
 of nations by famine, pestilence, and war; 
 all rule and authority, from that of a petty 
 official to that of thrones and principalities in 
 heaven ; the material universe, from the least 
 particle that floats in the sunbeam to the 
 grandest system of worlds that roll in immen- 
 sity — all hang dependent on his powerful 
 providence ; and if one link in the chain of 
 that dependence were broken, they would all 
 rush headlong to destruction. He always has 
 governed this world ; and he shall ever hold 
 the sceptre over it, till his last foe shall be 
 vanquished, and his last hidden one made 
 victorious. 
 
 Lord Jesus, who upholdest all things by 
 the word of thy power, bear us up, bear us 
 on, bear us through, giving us the victory over 
 death, and hell, and all the powers of dark- 
 ness. 
 
 Again, redemption is more glorious than 
 creation or providence ; and Jesus Christ is 
 the sole author of redemption. I never heard 
 of any one who believed in redemption by the 
 Lord, who did not ascribe it to the Son. He 
 
THE DIVINITY OF CHKIST. 31 
 
 alone was fit for this great work. Beveridge 
 saya : "Man can suffer, but lie cannot satisfy ; 
 God can satisfy, but he cannot suffer ; but 
 Christ, being both God and man, can both 
 suffer and satisfy too, and so is perfectly fit both 
 to suffer for man and to make satisfaction unto 
 God. And thus Christ, having assumed my 
 nature into his person, and so satisfied Divine 
 justice for my sins, I am received into grace 
 and favor with the Most High God." 
 
 Two things the Scriptures make very clear. 
 One is, that Christ has redeemed us from the 
 curse of the law — that salvation is by his 
 blood and righteousness. The other is, that 
 for this redemption Christ is entitled to the 
 warmest love and the highest honors, and 
 that he actually receives both from all the 
 redeemed. The Author of one's eternal sal- 
 vation eannot be inferior to the Author of 
 one's earthly existence, and so ought to be 
 honored and adored, because he is Divine. 
 
 Lord Jesus, who hast died the just for the 
 unjust, set thy love on us, wash us from our 
 sins in thy most precious blood, and make us 
 kings and priests unto God. 
 
 Moreover, when Christ was on earth, he 
 claimed and exercised the power of pardoning 
 
32 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 men g iniquities. "Man, thy sins are forgiven 
 thee" — Luke 5 : 20 — were his brief and sol- 
 emn words of superhuman authority. He 
 himself tells us that he thus spoke that we 
 "might know that the Son of man hath power 
 on earth to forgive sins." Matt. 9 : 6. In 
 fact, Christ is exalted a Prince and a Saviour 
 to this very end, that he may grant repentance 
 and remission of sins unto Israel. Yerily he 
 is God. 
 
 Lord Jesus, spread the skirt of thy bloody 
 garment over our souls, and grant us repent- 
 ance and remission of sins, and we shall be 
 saved. 
 
 Nor is this all. Jesus Christ shall raise 
 the dead. In Deut. 32 : 39, God says, "I kill, 
 and I make alive." In Rev. 1 : 18, the Lord 
 Christ .says, "I have the keys of hell and of 
 death." Raising the dead is an act of almighty 
 power, and so no creature can do it. Yet 
 Paul says, "In Christ shall all be made alive." 
 1 Cor. 15 : 22. "When on earth, more than 
 once Jesus gave life to the dead. He spake, 
 and was obeyed, like a God: "Lazarus, come 
 forth." He said, "This is the will of him that 
 sent me, that every one which seeth the Son 
 and believeth on him may have everlasting 
 
THE DIVINITY OF CHEIST. 33 
 
 life, and I will raise him up at the last day." 
 John 6 : 40. Nay more, he even raised his 
 own body from the dead: "I lay down my 
 life, that I might take it again." ' 'Destroy this 
 temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 
 John 2:19 j 10 :18. Truly this is the Son of 
 the Highest, and may fitly count it no robbery 
 to be equal with God. 
 
 Kind Redeemer, we cheerfully follow thee 
 into the grave, in hope of a glorious resurrec- 
 tion. We would not live always. In the last 
 day raise us up, and make our vile bodies like 
 unto thy glorious body. Give us part in the 
 first resurrection. 
 
 In like manner shall Jesus Christ judge 
 the quick and the dead at his coining. He 
 expressly says that the Father hath given the 
 Son " authority to execute judgment also, be- 
 cause he is the Son of man." Jonn 5 : 27. In 
 the same chapter he says: "The Father judg- 
 eth no man ; but hath committed all judgment 
 unto the Son." John 5:22. The great tribu- 
 nal before which we must all stand is "the 
 judgment-seat of Christ." Rom. 14 : 10. In 
 Rev. 1:7, John saysf "Behold he cometh with 
 clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they 
 also which pierced him ; and all kindreds of 
 
 2* 
 
34 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the earth shall wail because of him." If- Divine 
 perfections are required for any thing, it is for 
 deciding on the destinies of men and angels ; 
 yet the unerring God has committed this judg- 
 ment into the hands of Christ. He must, there- 
 fore, be God. 
 
 Lord Jesus, when thou comest in thy 
 glory, with all thy holy angels, and the heav- 
 ens shall flee away at thy presence, by thy 
 mercy let us have boldness in the day of judg- 
 ment. 
 
 And as Jesus made, and governs, and shall 
 judge the world, so shall he destroy these 
 heavens and this earth. So says inspiration : 
 "Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the 
 foundations of the earth, and the heavens are 
 the works of thy hands : They shall perish . . . 
 as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they 
 shall be changed." Heb. 1 : 10-12. Who can 
 do this, and do it with the ease with which 
 man folds up a garment and lays it aside, but 
 God only? Yet Jesus Christ shall do this 
 very thing. Surely he is divine. 
 
 Jesus, our Lord and our God, when thou 
 shalt dissolve the franfe of all sublunary 
 things, remember and spare us according to 
 the riches of thy grace in glory. 
 
THE DIVINITY OF CHEIST. 35 
 
 IY. The Bible has done more to root out 
 idolatry than all other books. It declares 
 that idolaters shall have their part in the lake 
 of fire. Yet this same holy book authorizes 
 the highest acts of worship to be offered to 
 Christ. Faith in him is as much required as 
 faith in the Father: "Ye believe in God, 
 believe also in me." John 14 : 1. We are 
 required in both Testaments to embrace him 
 and trust in him on pain of perdition : " Kiss 
 the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from 
 the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. 
 Blessed are all they that put their trust in 
 him." Ps. 2:12. "He that believeth not the 
 Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God 
 abideth on him." John 3 : 36. The Scriptures 
 never require of us to rely on man. On the 
 contrary, they say, " Cursed is he that trust- 
 eth in man." Jer. 17:5. But they also say: 
 "There shall be a Eoot of Jesse, and he that 
 shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in Him 
 shall the Gentiles trust." Rom. 15 :12. Yea, 
 more: "At the name of Jesus every knee 
 shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in 
 earth, and things under the earth." Phil. 
 2 :10. And all this is by God's command ; for 
 "when he-bringeth in the First-begotten into 
 
36 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the world, he saith, And let all the angels of 
 Grod worship him." Heb.l: 6. Before he was 
 born, his mother's cousin Elisabeth by 'the 
 Holy Ghost called him ; 'My Lord." Luke 
 1 : 43. After his resurrection, Thomas ado- 
 ringly said, "My Lord and my God." John 
 20 : 28. The first Christian martyr wor- 
 shipped him, crying, "Lord Jesus, receive my 
 spirit." Acts 7 : 59. That Jesus receives the 
 highest worship offered in heaven the Scrip- 
 tures clearly assert: "And I beheld, and I 
 heard the voice of many angels round about 
 the throne and the beasts and the elders ; and 
 the number of them was ten thousand times 
 ten thousand, and thousands of thousands ; 
 saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb 
 that was slain to receive power, and riches, 
 and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and 
 glory, and blessing. 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 honor, and glory, and power, 
 be unto him that sitteth upon the' throne, and 
 unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Eev. 
 5 : 11-13. No part of God's word speaks of 
 a higher, degree or more complete universality 
 
THE DIVINITY OF CHKIST. 37 
 
 of solemn worship than is here said to have 
 been offered to the Son. Verily he is divine. 
 He is God. He has supreme divinity. There 
 is do idolatry in heaven, yet Jesus is wor- 
 shipped there. 
 
 thou Lamb of God, grant us this one 
 favor — to worship thee with true devotion 
 here below, and after this life to unite with 
 the heavenly throng in ascribing to thee bles- 
 sing, and honor, and power, and glory, and 
 salvation. 
 
 The foregoing is but an outline* of the 
 argument on this glorious theme. The Bible 
 is full of it. Sometimes we have nearly whole 
 chapters devoted to this weighty matter. Such 
 are the eighth chapter of Proverbs and the 
 first chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews. 
 Many considerable portions of several books 
 of the Bible are given to establish the same 
 truth. The gospel by John is evidently writ- 
 ten chiefly for the same purpose. The very 
 first verse may be taken as a text of the 
 whole : "In the beginning was the Word, and 
 the Word was with God, and the Word was 
 God." Time would fail us to dwell on each of 
 the proofs of our Lord's divinity found in this 
 gospel. 
 
38 THE KOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 Indeed, we may with Melville say: " There 
 is no such book of contradictions as the Bible, 
 if there be no person who was both human and 
 divine. Nothing but such a combination will 
 make sense of the Bible, or rescue it from main- 
 taining a vast mass of inconsistencies. Some 
 may think that it would simplify the Christian 
 theology to remove from it the mystery that 
 two natures coalesced in the one person of 
 Christ ; but as the divinity of our Lord is the 
 foundation of our hope, so is it the key to the 
 Bible. We acknowledge, reverently, a great 
 mystery, but not the thousandth part as great 
 as the whole Bible becomes on the supposition 
 that Christ was only man." 
 
 1. If Jesus Christ is divine, he may safely 
 be trusted with our whole case. He will 
 betray no interest committed to him. He in- 
 vites all to come. He welcomes all who come. 
 He is all-sufficient. He is chosen, called, and 
 ordained of God, to this very work of saving 
 lost men who seek a refuge in him. A pious 
 man once said : ■ ' If I did not know my Sav- 
 iour to be Grod, I should this night lie down 
 in despair: the Scripture could in this case 
 convey no comfort to my mind." But He is 
 
THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 39 
 
 divine, and we may safely rest the whole 
 weight of our salvation on his almighty arm, 
 and trust our most complicated affairs to the 
 solution of his infinite wisdom. 
 
 2. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a 
 most reasonable duty. "He that hath the 
 Son hath life ; and he that hath not the Son of 
 God hath not life. 77 1 John 5 : 12. If we fail 
 here we fail utterly, for there is salvation in 
 no other. He is the Rock. All hopes not 
 built on him must for ever perish. Jesus is 
 set for the rise and the fall of many. He will 
 be to us a rock of salvation or a stone of stum- 
 bling ; the shadow of a great rock in a weary 
 land, or a rock of offence to the unbelieving. 
 I have long since ceased to marvel that Jeho- 
 vah has laid such stress on this doctrine. In 
 their measure the pious do the same. They 
 all cling to it as their last hope. Oh that 
 every man would ask God to give him faith, 
 saving faith; for no man can say that Jesus 
 is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 
 12:3. 
 
 3. Will you have this Lord Jesus for your 
 Saviour? Will you bow your head, and take 
 his yoke upon you? If you confess and for- 
 sake your sins, he is faithful and just to 
 
40 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 forgive your sins, and to cleanse you from all 
 iniquity. Will you have him? You need him. 
 You need him now. You need him urgently. 
 You need him to help you live. You will 
 need him to help you die. You will need his 
 grace and mercy for ever. 
 
THE SONSHIP OF CHEIST. 41 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 THE SONSHIP OF CHEIST. 
 
 The Scriptures say much of the Son of 
 God. Many scores of times is the Saviour 
 called the Son, the Son of the Blessed, the Son 
 of the Highest, or the Son of God. Very 
 often too have we the corresponding term, 
 Father, expressing the relations of the first 
 person of the Godhead to the second. 
 
 The Sonship of Christ is one of the glori- 
 ous mysteries of our religion. Angels are, in- 
 deed, sometimes called the sons of God. Thus, 
 in the only reliable history of the origin of 
 our world, we are told that at the creation 
 " the morning stars sang together, and all the 
 sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38 : 7. 
 Because Adam came into existence without 
 any created instrumentality, but directly from 
 the hand of God, he is called the son of God. 
 Luke 3 : 38. And because all believers are, 
 by the Holy Spirit, renewed into the image of 
 the Most High, and are adopted into the heav- 
 enly family, they are called the sons of God. 
 Rom. 8:14; 1 John 3:1. But the whole tenor 
 
42 THE HOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 of the argument in the earty part of the epis- 
 tle to the Hebrews goes to show that Jesus 
 Christ is the Son of the Father in a sense far 
 higher than can be claimed for any mere crea- 
 ture. He is preeminently God's own Son, 
 Rom. 8 : 32 ; and God's dear Son, Col. 1:1$; 
 and God is preeminently his Father, John 5:18. 
 Some have maintained that Christ was the 
 Son of God only in the sense that he was con- 
 ceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the 
 womb of the Virgin Mary. In proof, they cite 
 Luke 1 : 35 : "The Holy Ghost shall come upon 
 thee, and the power of the Highest shall over- 
 shadow thee ; therefore also, that holy thing 
 which shall be born of thee shall be called the 
 Son of God." Should we admit that this pas- 
 sage teaches that Christ's human nature was 
 so derived from the Holy Spirit as to make it 
 proper to call him the Son of God, this would 
 not show that he was in no higher sense be- 
 gotten of the Father. Nor would this express 
 his relation to the Father. But the passage 
 fairly admits of another construction, namely, 
 that he who is thus miraculously brought into 
 the world is thereby infallibly proven to be 
 the Son of God in the highest sense ever 
 claimed. 
 
THE SONSHIP OF CHEIST. 43 
 
 It has also been maintained by some that 
 Christ's designation to office constituted his 
 Sonship. In proof, they cite John 10:36: 
 "Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanc- 
 iified and sent into the world, Thou blasphe- 
 mest, because I said, I am the Son of God?" 
 But, like the preceding, this passage may 
 fairly refer to the proof, and not to the cause 
 or nature of his Sonship with God. One text 
 
 The Son of God is come." Another 
 says, "God sent forth his Son," Gal. 4:4. He 
 did not become the Son of God by coming or 
 by being sent, but being the Son of God, he 
 was sent and is come. Many other texts 
 afford similar proof. 
 
 Others have said that Christ is called the 
 Son of God only because he rose from the 
 dead. For proof they cite Acts 13 : 33 : "God 
 hath fulfilled the promise unto us, in that he 
 hatli raised up Jesus again ; as it is also writ- 
 ten in the second psalm, Thou art my Son; 
 this day have I begotten thee." But this pas- 
 sage receives its clear exposition from Rom. 
 1 : 4, where the apostle says that Jesus Christ 
 our Lord was "declared [defined, marked out 
 as by a boundary, determined, that is, beyond 
 doubt proven] to be the Son of God with 
 
44 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by 
 the resurrection from the dead." In other 
 words, Christ's resurrection for ever settled 
 in all fair minds the question of his Sonship 
 with Grod. 
 
 Others have said that Christ was called the 
 Son of God simply because he is heir of all 
 things. In proof, they cite Heb. 1 : 3-5 : "He 
 sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on 
 high ; being made so much better than* the 
 angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a 
 more excellent name than they. For unto 
 which of the angels said he at any time, Thou 
 art my Son, this day have I begotten thee ? 77 
 But heirship comes from Sonship; not Son- 
 ship from heirship: "If children, then heirs. 77 
 Rom. 8 : IT. The fact that Christ is heir of 
 all things is irrefragable proof that he is the 
 Son of God. But Christ's Sonship is more 
 than all these. 
 
 I. He is the Son of the Father in a higher 
 and more glorious sense. In the preceding 
 chapter, it has been shown that he existed 
 long ages before he became incarnate ; that 
 he was possessed of all divine attributes ; that 
 he was uncreated, and justly claimed supreme 
 divinity. This Sonship of our Lord clearly 
 
THE SONSHIP OF CHKIST. 45 
 
 implies that he has the same nature with the 
 Father ; and so, as the Scriptures say, He 
 #as begotten of the Father. When we say 
 that Christ is by nature the Son of God, we 
 mean that the Father communicates to him 
 his being and perfections. He himself says, 
 "All things that the Father hath are mine." 
 John 16:15. "As the Father hath life in 
 himself, so hath he given to the Son to have 
 life in himself." John 5:26. Indeed, "the 
 communication of the Divine essence by the 
 Father is the generation of the Son." In 
 nature, the Father and the Son are perfectly 
 the same. Xor did the Father ever commu- 
 nicate by generation his divine essence to any 
 other ; so that Jesus Christ is properly called 
 God's only Son, and his only begotten Son. 
 This generation of the Son is entirely peculiar 
 to himself, and is the foundation of all the 
 holy worship offered to the Redeemer in 
 heaven and earth, of all saving confidence 
 reposed in the efficacy of his blood-shedding 
 and intercession, and of the all-controlling 
 gratitude felt towards him for his amazing 
 condescension in coming into the world and 
 dying for our salvation. 
 
 II. The Sonship of Christ is real, not ima- 
 
46 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 ginary ; and proper, not figurative. It is the 
 foundation of the everlasting relation between 
 the Father and the Son, and not merely the 
 mode of our conceiving of the Divine subsis- 
 tence. Christ is as truly and properly the 
 Son of God as Abel was the son of Adam ; 
 that is, his nature is as truly the nature of his 
 Father as the nature of any man is that of his 
 parent. Adam begat a son in his own like- 
 ness, after his image. Gen. 5 : 3. So, by his 
 generation, Jesus Christ is "the brightness of 
 his Father's glory, and the express image of 
 his person." Every other name and title of 
 our Lord has a delightful fitness and signifi- 
 cancy. Why should that of Son of God be an 
 exception? He is called Jesus, because he 
 shall save his people from their sins. Who 
 deserves the name of Saviour as he does? He 
 is called Christ, because the Spirit was won- 
 derfully poured upon him. If Aaron's anoint- 
 ing filled his presence with sweet perfume, the 
 anointing of Christ fills heaven and earth with 
 an odor of a sweet smell. He is called Lord 
 and Master, because he has perfect sovereignty 
 over us. None ever so worthily wore a crown 
 or swayed a sceptre. He is called Wonder- 
 ful, for his person, his birth, his life, his works, 
 
THE SONSHIP OF CHKIST. 47 
 
 his doctrines, his death, his resurrection, his 
 glory, all entitle him to that appellation. He 
 is called Counsellor, for none deals so pru- 
 dently. Isa. 52 :13. His wisdom and plans 
 will yet destroy every dark plot of iniquity. 
 Himself says, "Counsel is mine, and sound wis- 
 dom ; I am understanding ; I have strength." 
 Prov. 8 : 14. The Spirit of counsel and might 
 rests upon him. Isa. 11 : 2. Speaking of the 
 man whose name is The Branch, the prophet 
 - : "He shall build the temple of the Lord, 
 and the counsel of peace shall be between 
 them both r that is, between Jehovah and the 
 Branch, between the Father and the Son. 
 Zcch. 6 : 12, 13. So that he is the Counsellor 
 of God. He is also the Counsellor of all men 
 who believe in him. He is the true light, the 
 infallible teacher of all the saints. He is 
 called Redeemer. None half so fitly bears 
 that title. Others bought back captives with 
 such corruptible things as silver and gold ; he 
 redeekns through his most precious blood. 
 They redeem from temporal, he from eternal 
 woe. He is the Christ, and Jesus Christ is 
 tin' Son of God, and Jesus Christ the Son of 
 God is the Saviour of lost men; but all this 
 only shows that our Lord has many and ex- 
 
48 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 cellent names and titles, as he has also many 
 crowns on his head. He is called Jehovah, 
 because he is self-existent, independent, eter- 
 nal, and unchangeable. He is called God, 
 because the fulness of the Godhead dwells in 
 him bodily. He is called the Son of God, 
 because he is the only begotten of the Father, 
 full of grace and truth. His "names and 
 titles, which are more than two hundred in 
 number, include every thing which is great 
 or glorious, amiable or excellent, in the esti- 
 mation of mankind."* He has no empty 
 titles, no insignificant names. There is none 
 like him. 
 
 III. The Sonship of Christ is eternal. This 
 is clearly taught: "He is before all things." 
 Col. 1 : 17. "He made the worlds." Heb. 1 : 2. 
 Of course he existed before them. There 
 never was a point in duration when the Son 
 was not. Some have argued against the eter- 
 nity of the filiation of our Redeemer from the 
 phrase, "This day have I begotten thee." But 
 Owen well says, "'To-day 7 being spoken of 
 God, of him who is eternal, to whom all time 
 is so present as that nothing is properly yes- 
 terday nor to-day, does not denote necessarily 
 
 * Payson. 
 
THE SONSHIP OF CHRIST. 49 
 
 such a proportion of time as is intimated ; but 
 it is expressive of an act eternally present, 
 nor past, nor future." Addison Alexander 
 says, ''This profound sense of the passage is 
 no more excluded by the phrase 'this day,' 
 implying something recent, than the univer- 
 sality of Christ's dominion is excluded by the 
 local reference to Zion. The point of time, 
 like the point of space, is the centre of an 
 infinite circle." 
 
 IY. Of course the Sonship of Christ im- 
 plies much more than Mediatorship. It is 
 eminently fitting that the Mediator between 
 God and man should be the Son of God and 
 the Son of Man ; but Sonship is not Mediator- 
 si iip, any more than Messiahship is Sonship. 
 The Word did not become God's Son, but 
 being God's Son, he became God's Anointed 
 by receiving the Spirit without measure. 
 
 Y. The filiation of Christ is, and ought to 
 be freely admitted to be, ineffable. When, as 
 "the angel of the Lord," the Son of God 
 appeared to Manoah, that holy man said unto 
 him, '" What is thy name?" "And the angel 
 of the Lord said unto him, Why askcst thou 
 thus after my name, seeing it is secret?" 
 Judges 13:17, 18. Payson says: "It was 
 
50 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 doubtless the eternal Word, who is frequently 
 called the Angel of the Covenant, that ap- 
 peared on that occasion. The name which is 
 here given him, signifies secret, mysterious, 
 wonderful ; and in each of these senses it may 
 properly be ascribed to Christ. 77 Christ him- 
 self says : "No man knoweth who the Son is, 
 but the Father. 77 Luke 10 : 22. The Son- 
 ship is ineffable, because the Divine nature 
 is incomprehensible. Divinity is essentially 
 inscrutable. So the Scriptures everywhere 
 declare : " Canst thou by searching find out 
 Grod ? canst thou find out the Almighty unto 
 perfection ? It is as high as heaven ; what 
 canst thou do ? deeper than hell ; what canst 
 thou know? The measure thereof is longer 
 than the earth and broader than the sea. 77 
 Job 11 : 7-9. Another Scripture declares the 
 incomprehensibility of the nature both of the 
 Father and of the Son : " Who hath ascended 
 up into heaven, or descended? who hath gath- 
 ered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the 
 waters in a garment? who hath established all 
 the ends of the earth ? what is his name, and 
 what is his son 7 s name, if thou canst tell? 77 
 Prov. 30 : 4. G-od, indeed, has revealed himself 
 to us in a trinity of persons. He has said that 
 
THE SONSHIP OF CHEIST. 51 
 
 the relation between the first and second of 
 these persons is best expressed in our language 
 by the terms Father and Son. But we must not 
 strain such terms to make them imply all that 
 we understand by them when used to denote 
 human relationships. Among men, a father ex- 
 ists before his son ; but God the Father is eter- 
 nal, and God the Son is eternal. The great idea 
 conveyed by the word Father is, that he is the 
 fountain of the divinity. So, when we use the 
 words begat and begotten in this connection, the 
 meaning is, that we cannot better express the 
 manner in which the Father communicates 
 the divine nature to the Son than by the use 
 of these terms. 
 
 At this point it is convenient to give a 
 statement of the doctrine of Christ's Sonship 
 in several orthodox Confessions. This may 
 prevent mistake, and show how steadfast has 
 been the faith of God's people on this point. 
 
 The Apostles' Creed says, "I believe in 
 God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven 
 and earth ; and in Jesus Christ his only Son, 
 our Lord." 
 
 The Creed as given by Iremeus has it, "I 
 believe in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, 
 who was incarnate for our salvation." 
 
52 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 The Nicene Creed (properly so called) 
 says, "We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, 
 the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the 
 only-begotten, that is, of the substance of the 
 Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God 
 of very God, begotten, not made, of one sub- 
 stance with the Father." 
 
 The Athanasian Creed says, "The Catho- 
 lic faith is this : That we worship one God in 
 Trinity, and Trinity in Unity. . . . The Son is 
 of the Father alone ; not made, nor created, 
 but begotten." 
 
 The Confession of Wirtemberg says, " We 
 believe and confess that the Son of God, our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of his eternal 
 Father, is true and eternal God." 
 
 The Confession of Belgia says, "We be- 
 lieve that Jesus Christ, in respect of his divine 
 nature, is the only Son of God, begotten from 
 everlasting, not made or created, (for then he 
 should be a creature,) but of the same essence 
 with the Father and coeternal with him." 
 
 The Confession of Saxony says, "The Son 
 of God our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the im- 
 age of the eternal Father, is appointed our 
 Mediator, Reconciler, Redeemer, Justifier, and 
 Saviour." 
 
THE SONSHIP OF CHEIST. 53 
 
 The Augsburg Confession teaches, "that 
 the Word, that is, the Son of God, took unto 
 him man's nature in the womb of the blessed 
 Virgin Mary. 
 
 In further support of this doctrine, con- 
 sider the following : 
 
 1. It is clear that the Jews expected their 
 Messiah to be the Son of God. Nathanael 
 was an Israelite indeed, and he said to Christ, 
 11 Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the 
 King of Israel." Martha too said to him : "I 
 believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of 
 God, which should come into the world." The 
 high-priest said to Jesus, "I adjure thee by 
 the living God, that thou tell us whether thou 
 be the Christ, the Son of God." John 1 : 49 ; 
 11 : 27 ; Matt. 26 : 63. Where did they all get 
 the impression that Messiah should be the 
 Son of God, if their prophets did not so teach 
 them? 
 
 2. From many Scriptures it appears rea- 
 sonable to infer that the Spirit of God designed 
 to teach us Christ's Sonship with God. You 
 remember that famous confession of Peter : 
 ' ; We believe and are sure that thou art that 
 Christ, the Son of the living God." John 6:69. 
 John expressly informs us that he wrote his 
 
54: THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 gospel "that we might believe that Jesus is 
 the Christ, the Son of God." John 20 : 31. 
 Again he says : " These things have I written 
 unto you that believe on the name of the Son 
 of God ; that ye may know that ye have eter- 
 nal life, and that ye may believe on the name 
 of the Son of God." 1 John 5 : 13. 
 
 3. On two occasions Christ received from 
 God the Father glorious testimony to his Son- 
 ship. "Jesus, when he was baptized, went 
 up straightway out of the water ; and lo, the 
 heavens were opened unto him, and he saw 
 the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and 
 lighting upon him j and lo, a voice from heaven, 
 saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
 well pleased." Matt. 3:16, 17. The other 
 occasion was that of his transfiguration, when 
 a voice out of the cloud, called by Peter the 
 " excellent glory," said, " This is my beloved 
 Son, in whom I am well pleased ; hear ye 
 him." Matt. 17 : 5. 
 
 4. The Scriptures lay great stress on this 
 doctrine. In fact they assert, in plain terms, 
 that the belief of it is essential to the forma* 
 tion and establishment of Christian character. 
 "Who is he that overcometh the world, but 
 he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of 
 
THE SONSHIP OF CHEIST. 55 
 
 God?" 1 John 5:5. The Ethiopian treas- 
 urer made the confession of his faith in these 
 simple words: "I believe that Jesus Christ is 
 the Son of God." Upon this profession he 
 was baptized. And John says expressly: 
 ' • Whoso denieth the Son, the same hath not 
 the Father." I John 2:23. 
 
 5. It is admitted that the term "Word" 
 is applied to Christ in reference to his exist- 
 ence before his incarnation, and without ref- 
 erence to his office as Mediator. Yet John 
 uses the term " Word" and the term V Only- 
 begotten of the Father" as interchangeable 
 terms : "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt 
 among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory 
 as of the only-begotten of the Father,) full of 
 grace and truth." John 1 :14. The glory of 
 the Word and the glory of the only-begotten 
 of the Father is the same. 
 
 6. The ordinance of Baptism is adminis- 
 tered " in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost." All who be- 
 lieve the doctrine of the Trinity admit that 
 Father and Holy Spirit designate divine per- 
 sons. Surely the term Son does the same. 
 
 7. The Scriptures expressly state that the 
 only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the 
 
56 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Father,- he hath declared him ; that is, the 
 only-begotten Son who has an eternal and 
 infinite intimacy with the divine nature has 
 revealed him. 
 
 8. The glory of the priesthood of Christ 
 arises chiefly from his filiation with God. So 
 the apostle sets it forth; He maketh the Son a 
 High Priest; "We have a great High Priest, 
 Jesus the Son of God." Heb. 4:14; 7 : 28. 
 The greatness of our High Priest clearly re- 
 sults from his being the Son of God. 
 
 9. If Christ was the Word before he was 
 made flesh, he was the Son before he was 
 manifested to destroy the works of the devil. 
 John 1:1, 14 ; 1 John 3 : 8. Surely this is 
 fair reasoning. 
 
 10. Fuller says: " It is the proper deity 
 of Christ which gives efficacy to his sufferings : 
 1 by himself he purges our sins.' (Heb. 1 : 3.) 
 But this efficacy is ascribed to his being • the 
 Son of God :' ' The blood of Jesus Christ, his 
 Son, cleanseth us from all sin. 7 His being the 
 Son of God therefore amounts to the same 
 thing as his being a divine person." Yea, 
 more ; it shows how he is divine, viz., by an 
 eternal generation. 
 
 The inferences from this discussion are 
 
THE SONSHIP OF CHRIST. 57 
 
 many and important. The doctrine is - full of 
 rich consolation. Our Redeemer not only 
 has glorious power and exaltation, but he has 
 them because, being the Son of God, he learned 
 obedience by the things which he suffered. 
 Heb. 5 : 8. Our Advocate has by nature a 
 right to equality with God ; and, being full 
 of love and kindness, he is sure to manage 
 the cause of all his people so as to secure 
 their final salvation. 
 
 3* 
 
58 THE KOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 THE INCAKNATION OF CHKIST. 
 
 When we say, The Son of God became 
 incarnate, we mean to say that he became 
 the Son of man, taking to himself human na- 
 ture entire. In the Apostles' Creed this doc- 
 trine is thus expressed: "He was conceived 
 by the power of the Holy Ghost, and born of 
 the Yirgin Mary." The Athanasian Creed 
 says : " He is not only perfect God, but per- 
 fect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh 
 subsisting." The Westminster Assembly thus 
 teach: "The Son of God, the second person 
 of the Trinity, being very and eternal God, 
 of one substance and equal with the Father, 
 did, when the fulness of time was come, take 
 upon him man's nature, with all the essential 
 properties and infirmities thereof, yet without 
 sin ; being conceived by the power of the 
 Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Yirgin Mary, 
 of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, 
 and distinct natures, the Godhead and the 
 manhood, were inseparably joined together in 
 one person, without conversion, composition, 
 
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST. 59 
 
 or confusion. Which person is very G.od and 
 very man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator 
 between God and man." 
 
 Respecting Christ's human nature, many 
 wild and dangerous opinions have been held ; 
 but these need not now be formally refuted. 
 The proof of the true doctrine will be suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 The union of Christ's natures was formed, 
 not by his humanity seeking to be affianced 
 to divinity. This would have been presump- 
 tuous aspiring. But his Godhead sought union 
 with manhood. This was infinite love and 
 condescension. Christ's human nature never 
 existed separately, or otherwise than in union 
 with his divinity. From his conception this 
 union was complete. The preexistent divine 
 nature took to itself human nature. Christ's 
 human nature never had a personal subsist- 
 ence V)}- itself. So that Christ did not assume 
 a human person, but human nature. "His 
 person is not a compound person ; the person- 
 ality belongs to his Godhead, and the human 
 nature subsists in it by a peculiar dispensa- 
 tion. The assumption of our nature made no 
 change in hi- person ; it added nothing to it; 
 and the only difference is, that the same per- 
 
60- THE KOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 son who was possessed of divinity has now' 
 taken humanity." So that things done or suf- 
 fered in either nature are ascribed to the one 
 person, Christ Jesus. The properties of each 
 nature are, and will ever continue to be, entire 
 and distinct. Divinity cannot be subject to 
 any change. Humanity cannot cease to be 
 humanity — cannot become divinity. The Cre- 
 ator cannot cease to be Creator. The crea- 
 ture cannot cease to be a creature. 
 
 This union of the two natures in Christ is. 
 not without some similitude in ourselves. In 
 his constitution man has two substances, one 
 a soul, the other a body ; one spiritual and 
 immortal, the other material and perishable. 
 By their union, one of these substances is not 
 changed into the other. They remain distinct 
 even when united. Yet a man is one person, 
 and not two persons. When we say, He is 
 sad, all know we refer to his soul. When we 
 say, He is muscular, all know we speak of his 
 body. Yet in both cases we speak of the 
 same person. So Christ's person is one, and 
 not two. When he spake of himself he said, 
 /, mine, me. When his apostles spake of him, 
 they said, he, his, him. When we address him, 
 we say, thou thine, thee. Acts 1 : 24. The 
 
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST. <61 
 
 Scriptures also use singular nouns respecting 
 him, and call him a Prophet, a Priest, a King, 
 a Shepherd, a Redeemer. The union of his 
 natures could not be more perfect. It is per- 
 sonal, perpetual, indissoluble. 
 
 The Scriptures say, Christ was "made of a 
 woman" Human beings have come into the 
 world in four ways. The first man, the very 
 fountain of human nature, had neither father 
 nor mother. Neither man nor woman was 
 the instrument of his existence. The first 
 woman had neither father nor mother, yet she 
 derived her nature from Adam, but in no 
 sense from a woman. Since the first pair, 
 every mere man has had both father and 
 mother. Yet none have denied that all these 
 had human nature entire. Jesus Christ had 
 a mother, but no father according to the flesh ; 
 even as in his divine nature he had a Father 
 only. He was made of a woman. 
 
 To be our Saviour, it behooved Christ to 
 have a human nature. His incarnation was 
 fitting and necessary. 
 
 It was meet that the nature which had 
 brought our ruin should bring our deliver- 
 ance. 
 
 It was lit that the nature which had sinned 
 
62 THE KOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 should make reparation for our wrongs, and 
 so should die. 
 
 This earth, which is the abode of men, not 
 of God or of angels, was the proper theatre 
 for the display of the grace, and mercy, and 
 justice, and power, manifested in the life and 
 death of Jesus Christ. He that was rich thus 
 became poor, that we through his poverty 
 might be rich. 2 Cor. 8-: 9. In some respects, 
 this was the most amazing step in our Lord's 
 humiliation. It is more surprising that a 
 prince should marry a shepherdess than that, 
 having made her queen, he should nobly pro- 
 tect and richly endow her, or even die in her 
 defence. 
 
 Christ was "made under the law." As to 
 his divine nature, he could in no sense be 
 under the law. He was the Lawgiver. He 
 was God; and God cannot live and act under 
 rules fit for the government of creatures. If 
 the Saviour was to live under the law as a 
 rule of life, and set us an example in all 
 things, he must do it in a finite nature, and 
 as his mission was to us, most fitly in our 
 nature. 
 
 Besides, Divinity cannot suffer, cannot 
 die. But by his incarnation, Jesus was made 
 
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST. 63 
 
 "lower than the angels, for the suffering of 
 death." 
 
 Thus he was made under the law in the 
 two senses of being voluntarily subject to its 
 precept, being thus bound to fulfil all right- 
 eousness ; and being voluntarily made under 
 the penalty of the law, that he might taste of 
 death for every man. He even obeyed the 
 law of religious rites 'under which he lived. 
 In his 'infancy he was circumcised. In his 
 manhood he was baptized. He perfectly, 
 personally, perpetually kept the whole moral 
 law. He never sinned once, even by omis- 
 sion. And he freely placed himself, and lived 
 and died, under the curse of the very law 
 which he perfectly obeyed during his whole 
 life. Edwards says: "The meritoriousness 
 of Christ's obedience depends on the perfec- 
 tion of it. If it had failed in any instance, it 
 could not have been meritorious ; for imper- 
 fect obedience is not accepted as any obedi- 
 ence at all in the sight of the law of works, to 
 which Christ was subject. That is not ac- 
 cepted as obedience to a law that does not 
 fully answer it." 
 
 The efficacy of Christ's death depended on 
 his dying in the room and stead of sinners, 
 
64 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 who were under the curse of the law. If he 
 did not bear the curse for us, we shall surely 
 be obliged to bear it ourselves. 
 
 Let us consider a few distinct proposi- 
 tions : 
 
 I. Prophecy required that Christ should 
 assume human nature. It said he should be 
 of " the seed of Abraham" and of " the seed 
 of David." Gen. 12 :3, 7 ; 17 :7, 8 ; Gal. 3:16; 
 
 2 Sam. 7 :12 ; John 7 :42 ; Acts 13:23; Rom. 
 1 :3 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 8. Other predictions required 
 that he should " at the latter day stand upon 
 the earth," Job 19 :25 ; that he should have 
 a body, Psa. 40:6; and Heb. 10:5 ; that he 
 should hang upon his mother's breasts, Psa. 
 22:9; and that his body should be dead, Isa. 
 26:19. 
 
 Yet still more clearly, the very first gos- 
 pel ever preached, even in Eden, foretold 
 that he should have a human nature, and that 
 derived from his mother: ''The seed of the 
 woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Gen. 
 
 3 : 15 ; and later : " Behold, a virgin shall con- 
 ceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name 
 Immanuel." Isa. 7:14. So that the Scrip- 
 tures would not have been fulfilled, if Christ 
 had not had a human nature — a human nature 
 
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST. 65 
 
 derived from his mother alone. In prophetic 
 vision, Daniel called him the Son of man. 
 Dan. 7:13. 
 
 II. These predictions have been fulfilled. 
 The whole histoiy of our Lord upon earth 
 proves it. God has "sent forth his Son, made 
 of a woman." In the New Testament he is 
 often called a man. In the gospels alone he 
 is more than seventy times called the Son of 
 man. More than sixty times he gives this 
 appellation to himself. The year of his ascen- 
 sion Stephen saw him glorified, and called 
 him the Son of man. Sixty years later John 
 did the same. The gospel of Matthew is styled 
 11 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, 
 the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." John 
 says: " The Word was made flesh, and dwelt 
 among us.'' John 1:14. Paul says: "He 
 took upon him the seed of Abraham." Heb. 
 2 :16. In his first epistle, 1 : 1-3, John ex- 
 pressly says that by three senses, hearing, 
 sight, and touch, he and the other apostles 
 had satisfied themselves of his incarnation. 
 
 Jesus Christ had all that is necessary to 
 constitute human nature entire. He himself 
 mi id. Behold my hands and my feet, that it 
 La I myself; handle me and see, for a spirit 
 
66 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 hath not flesh and bones as ye see me 
 have." Luke 24 : 39. Christ had a soul. 
 He said, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful 
 unto death." # Mark 14 : 34. He had a spirit: 
 "In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit." Luke 
 10 : 21. " When he had cried with a loud 
 voice, he yielded up the ghost." Matthew 
 27:50. Jesus Christ had a will: "Father, 
 not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matt. 26 : 39. 
 See also Matthew 27 : 34 ; John 7 : 1. Jesus 
 Christ had the affections of a man. He re- 
 joiced. Luke 10 : 21. He wept. John 11 : 35. 
 He was grieved. Mark 3 : 5. He had hopes, 
 even in his early infancy. Psa. 22:9. He 
 had natural affection for kindred spirits. We 
 are told that he loved Mary, and Martha, and 
 Lazarus, and John, and the rich young ruler. 
 In some places his soul and body are men- 
 tioned together : " The child Jesus grew, and 
 waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom." 
 Luke 2 : 40. He performed bodily acts. He 
 walked, he rode, he ate, he drank, he sailed, 
 he slept, he rested. He was not indeed sub- 
 ject to mortal diseases. Psa. 91 : 5-8. But 
 he had the general infirmities of our nature. 
 He hungered. Matt. 4:2. He thirsted. John 
 19 : 28. He was wearied. John 4:6. He 
 
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST. 67 
 
 was greatly, pained. Luke 12 : 50. He was 
 tempted. Heb. 2 : 18. He endured unpar- 
 alleled agony. Luke 22 : 44. He died, as 
 all admit. He had no moral infirmity. He 
 was without sin. Heb. 4 : 15. 
 
 III. The incarnation of Christ is some- 
 thing entirely beyond human comprehension. 
 It is an ineffable mystery. The Scriptures 
 say, "Without controversy great is the mys- 
 tery of godliness : God was manifest in the 
 flesh." 1 Tim. 3 : 16. How could it be oth- 
 erwise? The Father of eternity became an 
 jnfant of days. "Though all things were crea- 
 ted by him, he was placed on a level with his 
 own creatures. 7 ' He, whom the heaven of 
 heavens could not contain, was laid in a man- 
 ger. The eternal Word and the child Jesus 
 were one person. Possessed of infinite bles- 
 sedness, the Son of God is united with the 
 man of sorrows. Himself in both natures 
 spotlessly holy, he consents to be treated, tor- 
 men ted, punished, as a sinner. He made all 
 things, yet was made flesh. He governed all 
 things, yet was subject to his parents. He 
 opened his hand and satisfied the desire of 
 
 ; y living thing, yet fasted forty days him- 
 self. All the infinite perfections of God and 
 
68 THE KOCK OF OUB SALVATION. 
 
 all the innocent infirmities of man meet in the 
 God-man, Christ Jesus. There is no greater 
 gulf than that which separates created and 
 uncreated. Yet the Son of God passes it all, 
 and takes our nature into indissoluble union 
 with divinity. This union could not be more 
 intimate. Soul and body may be separated 
 for a season. When Christ himself died, his 
 soul went to Paradise, while his body lay in 
 the sepulchre of Joseph. But the union of 
 his human and divine natures was not dissolved 
 by death. Paul calls the blood shed by him 
 the blood of God. Acts 20 : 28. So close was 
 this union that we fitly speak of our Lord as 
 a divine sufferer. When he was on earth, he 
 spoke of himself as " the Son of man which is 
 in heaven." John 3:13. We ascribe to the 
 person of our Saviour whatever belonged to 
 either of his natures, or was done in either of 
 them. His incarnation is a mystery in itself. 
 Basil says, " He was conceived not of the 
 substance, but by the power of the Holy 
 Ghost ; not by his generation, but by his ap- 
 pointment and benediction." His incarnation 
 is a mystery of love. It expresses infinite 
 benevolence. It is also " the wisdom of God 
 in a mystery" — a mystery of power, of truth, 
 
THE INCAKNATION OF CHKIST. 69 
 
 and of grace. It is the mystery of mysteries, 
 because it is " the mystery of God." We are 
 not required to divest it of inscrutableness, 
 but we are required to embrace it, and rejoice 
 in it. It is a fundamental doctrine, the belief 
 of which is essential to salvation: "Every 
 spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come 
 in the flesh, is of God : and every spirit that 
 confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in 
 the flesh, is not of God." 1 John 4:2,3. 
 
 IY. The Son of God did not become man 
 
 at the giving of the first gospel promise, but 
 
 more than four thousand years after it. He 
 
 took our nature "when the fulness of time 
 
 <ome." This phrase designates — 
 
 1. The time set in the counsels of God. 
 Jesus Christ was born no sooner and no later 
 than the purpose of God had determined. 
 Acts 4 : 28. 
 
 2. The time fixed in prophecy, which is 
 but the revealed purpose of God. The sev- 
 enty weeks of Daniel had expired. The sec- 
 ond temple was soon to fall. 
 
 3. The state of the Jewish nation was such 
 to render Christ's appearance at that time 
 
 very seasonable. The tabernacle of David 
 had fallen very low, was cleft with breaches, 
 
70 THE KOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 and was lying in ruins, for Herod the Great, 
 now king over Judea, was not a descendant of 
 the royal Psalmist, but was an Idumean. Now 
 was the fit time to build up the throne of 
 David. Amos 9 : 11 ; Acts 15 : 16. 
 
 4. Many things in the general state of the 
 world rendered this a fit time for Christ's 
 coming. 
 
 It had been fully demonstrated by the 
 experience of many powerful and civilized 
 nations, that the world by wisdom could never 
 come to know God. Letters, arts, science, 
 civilization, philosophy, commerce, and expe- 
 rience had shown that they were all power- 
 less to save men from polytheism, or to teach 
 them the true nature of God. 
 
 Consequently, human misery was unaba- 
 ted. Men multiplied their sorrows by hasten- 
 ing after another God than Jehovah. The 
 world had long been oppressed with its woes. 
 The cry of its wailings was very loud. 
 
 At Christ's birth the earth was populous — 
 much more so than it had commonly been at 
 any previous period. So that his coming was 
 likely to be known to many and to produce 
 an impression on vast multitudes. 
 
 When Christ came the Greek was the 
 
THE INCAKNATION OF CHEIST. 71 
 
 polite language of the world, and the Latin 
 was the popular language of multitudes in 
 many lands, so that both what was spoken and 
 what was written was likely to be widely and 
 rapidly diffused. 
 
 At the birth of Christ, the Roman empire, 
 the greatest and most terrible monarchy the 
 world ever saw, w T as in its strength. It was the 
 iron dynasty of all ages. It was peculiarly fit- 
 ting that in the height of its dominion the stone 
 cut out of the mountain without hands should 
 break in pieces this immense and cruel power, 
 and the God of heaven set up a kingdom which 
 shall never be destroyed. Dan. 2 : 42-45. By 
 words of peace and grace, by deeds of love 
 and mercy, by meekness and holiness, by 
 patience and martyrdom, this gigantic tyranny 
 was wholly changed in less than three centu- 
 ries after our Lord's crucifixion. 
 
 Christ was the Prince of peace, and it was 
 seemly that he should come when war was not 
 raging. When he was born the temple of 
 J a n ns was shut — a thing that had not occurred 
 for centuries till about that time. This was a 
 sign that peace everywhere prevailed. 
 
 " Nor war nor battle-sound 
 Was heard the world around ; 
 
72 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 No hostile chiefs to furious combat ran ; 
 
 <J3ut peaceful was the night, 
 
 In which the Prince of Light 
 His reign of grace upon the earth began." 
 
 The Jews were at this time very widely 
 dispersed over the world. Though they often 
 visited the holy city, yet they went every- 
 where. So that any change effected in Judea 
 was likely soon to be known in all the chief 
 cities of the world. On the day of Pentecost 
 there were Jews, devout men of every nation 
 under heaven at Jerusalem, and on their con- 1 
 version and dispersion they went everywhere 
 preaching the word of the gospel. Acts 2 : 5-11 ; 
 8:4. 
 
 Christ was born when the spirit of perse- 
 cution was not raging violently in the world 
 generally, so that his doctrine was less likely 
 to be fiercely assailed for a season than if it 
 had been propagated a century or two earlier 
 or later. 
 
 No period could be conceived so little 
 adapted to the exhibition of a false, and so 
 well calculated to put to the test the merits of 
 a true religion. 
 
 Thus did Christ become incarnate "in the 
 fulness of time," i. e. at the right time, at the 
 fittest time possible. 
 
THE INCAKNATION OF CHRIST. 73 
 
 V. The incarnation of Christ was the 
 greatest event that ever happened. The 
 birth of a prince often sends a thrill of joy 
 through an empire, yet he may prove a shame 
 and a curse to the nation and the world ; but 
 the birth of Christ brought inestimable bless- 
 ings to Jews and Gentiles, and shall do so for 
 ever. No ancient monarchy lives, even in 
 history, to bless mankind ; but the birth and 
 kingdom of Christ are, and ever shall be, 
 gladsome truths. The hopes of virtuous mill- 
 ions hang upon them. The joys of saints and 
 angels are kindled by them. "The creation 
 of the world was a very great thing, but not 
 so great as the incarnation of Christ. It was 
 a great thing for God to make the creature, 
 but not so great as for the Creator to become 
 a creature." Christ's incarnation was the con- 
 firmation of all that had been said and done 
 in preceding ages to encourage the hopes of 
 penitent men. It fulfilled the glorious pledges 
 of redemption. It opened boundless and ama- 
 zing prospects of enlargement and glory to 
 God's people and to their Redeemer. Some 
 of its effects were immediate and some remote. 
 Home related to angels and some to men; 
 some to Jews and some to Gentiles. The 
 
74 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 wise men who came from the east to worship 
 Christ were Gentiles, and were representa- 
 tive men. Christ's personal ministry was a 
 blessing to several Grentiles, and the only men 
 converted in sight of his cross were pretty 
 certainly Grentiles. These things were assur- 
 ances of the fulfilment of all God had prom- 
 ised respecting heathen nations. These con- 
 versions were first-fruits of the great harvest 
 to be gathered in all lands. The immedi- 
 ate effect of Christ's birth on the pious Jews 
 was most happy. To Simeon and Anna, and 
 such lovely specimens of genuine godliness, 
 the event gave joy unspeakable. Those who 
 hated God and all his messengers, of course 
 wondered and perished. The effect on angels 
 was amazing. They felt new joys in heaven. 
 One of their number announced the event to 
 the shepherds, and " suddenly there was with 
 him a multitude of the heavenly host, prais- 
 ing God, and saying, Glory to God in the 
 highest, and on earth peace, good- will to men.' 7 
 Previous to the birth of Christ for about four 
 hundred and twenty years, God's Spirit, as a 
 Spirit of inspiration, had been quite withheld 
 from men. But about the time of his appear- 
 ance, there are recorded no less than eleven 
 
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST. 75 
 
 instances in which men and women received 
 the Holy Ghost as a spirit of prophecy. 
 
 The effect of Christ's incarnation on fallen 
 angels was great. Their power began at once 
 to dwindle. They cried out, "Why hast thou 
 come to torment us before the tiiue ?" The 
 Lord himself said: "I saw Satan's kingdom 
 fall like lightning from heaven." It is credi- 
 bly stated that the Delphic oracle ceased to 
 give its usual responses, and when asked the 
 reason, replied, "There is a Hebrew boy who 
 is king df the gods, who has commanded me 
 to leave this house, and begone to hell, and 
 therefore you are to expect no more answers." 
 And Porphyry says: "Since Jesus began to 
 be worshipped, no man has received any pub- 
 lic help or benefit of the gods." 
 
 From the day that Christ was born to this 
 hour, all the desirable changes which have 
 taken place in the world, either in persons or 
 communities, have been in consequence of his 
 incarnation and of his glorious progress in 
 setting up his kingdom. So shall it ever be. 
 Bra kingdom is constantly enlarging. His 
 diadem is more and more glorious. Every 
 soul saved is a new jewel in his crown. 
 
 Of Christ's incarnation Robert Hall Bays : 
 
76 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 t ' ' The epoch will arrive when this world will 
 be thought of as nothing but as it has furnished 
 a stage for ' the manifestation of the Son of 
 God ;' when his birth, his death, his resur- 
 rection from the dead, his ascension to glory, 
 and his second appearance, events insepara- 
 bly connected, will concentrate within them- 
 selves all the interest of history ; when war 
 and peace, and pestilence and famine, and 
 plenty and want, and life and death, will have 
 spent their force, and leave nothing but the 
 result of Christ's manifestation upon earth." 
 
 VI. The person of Christ as now consti- 
 tuted remains perpetual. The bond of union 
 between his divine and human natures is indis- 
 soluble. As he was from his conception, so 
 he continues to be, "God and man, in two dis- 
 tinct natures and one person, for ever." The 
 same Lamb that was slain is now in the midst 
 of the throne. Eev. 5 : 6. The same Jesus 
 that ascended from Olivet shall come again. 
 The progress of duration shall neither change 
 his natures nor his person, his character nor his 
 readiness to save. He is able ; he is willing. 
 
 1. Let none be offended at the mystery of 
 the incarnation. If we cannot comprehend, 
 
THE INCAKNATION OF.CHRIST. 77 
 
 let us adore. No fact is more plainly asserted 
 or more amply proved. Let us receive and 
 rest upon it. He who has no heart to praise 
 the incarnate mystery, has none of the spirit 
 of heaven. What a shame it is that the song 
 of angels announcing Christ's birth "has never 
 been answered by a general shout of gratitude 
 from earth. Only a few faint voices from the 
 low places of earth have responded to the loud 
 concert of angels." that must be a bad 
 heart which loves not the Saviour. Many 
 hear of his love with hearts colder than mar- 
 ble. Such hearts cannot be right in the sight 
 of God. No heart is good that loves not good- 
 ness incarnate. If Christ's incarnation has its 
 mysteriousness, it yet is the only doctrine that 
 enables us to unlock every text of Scripture 
 relating to his person. It admits that as God, 
 he made the worlds ; as a child, he grew in 
 stature; as a man, he was sorrowful; as Me- 
 diator and in a low condition, he said, "The 
 Father is greater than I •" and as God-man, he 
 stands between Jehovah and us. Let us hum- 
 bly and piously receive this doctrine; for as 
 the Atliiiiinsiaii Creed says, "It is necessary to 
 rlasting salvation, that we believe rightly 
 the incarnation of Jesus Christ." 
 
78 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 2. Salvation is clearly and wholly of the 
 Lord. The devising of the scheme is as clearly 
 divine as the execution and application. Hu- 
 man wit, and wisdom, and strength, and merit 
 are nothing in such a work. "Boasting is ex- 
 cluded by the law of faith." We are nothing ; 
 we can do nothing ; we deserve nothing. Our 
 Lord has won the crown, a»d he shall wear it. 
 It is his of right ; it shall be his in fact. 
 
 3. Let us give Grod his own time* He 
 knows what is best. He took four thousand 
 years to prepare the way for the coming of 
 the Redeemer. With the Lord one day is as 
 a thousand years, and a thousand years as one 
 day. We are no judges of what is best or 
 wisest. There is as much wisdom in saying, 
 " When thou wilt," as in saying, " What thou 
 wilt," or "How thou wilt." 
 
 4. If any ask, Are we bound to celebrate 
 the birth of Christ on any given day of the 
 year ? the answer is, Grod has given no such 
 command, and he is sole Lawgiver in his 
 church. There is no proof that for centuries 
 the primitive church had any such observance. 
 When such a day was at length observed, 
 many churches fixed on the sixth clay of Jan- 
 uary. Many learned men contend that Christ 
 
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST. 79 
 
 was born in October. Some think he was 
 born in May. It seems certain that the Ro- 
 man emperor would not require women as 
 well as men to take long journeys in the 
 depths of winter, and that shepherds would 
 not then be watching their flocks in the open 
 air. Compare Matt. 24:20 and Mark 13:18. 
 But if any man observe a day in honor of our 
 Lord's nativity, let him keep it unto the Lord. 
 M One man esteemeth one day above another; 
 another esteemeth every day alike ; let every 
 man be fully persuaded in his own mind." 
 Romans 14:5. It is, however, a significant 
 fact, that God has concealed from us any 
 positive knowledge of the day, the month, 
 and even the year of our Saviour's birth. 
 
80 THE KOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 
 
 In the English Bible we have the word 
 Messiah, or Messias, four times ; twice in Dan- 
 iel, and twice in John. But in the original 
 Scriptures we have the word forty times. It 
 is commonly translated, and often points to 
 the Saviour. In the New Testament we have 
 the word Christ more than live hundred and 
 sixty times. Both Messiah and Christ signify 
 anointed. 
 
 Jesus Christ was but once anointed with 
 material oil, and that not by an official, but by 
 a woman ; not to his office, but to his burial. 
 
 Jesus Christ was anointed to office by su- 
 perabundant influences of the Holy Spirit, who 
 is the oil of gladness indeed. Ps. 45 : 7 ; Heb. 
 1:9; Matt. 3:16; Luke 4 : 1, 14, 16. The 
 Father gave not the Spirit by measure unto 
 him. John 3 : 34. 
 
 That the Jews and others expected a great 
 deliverer, called by the prophets Messiah, can- 
 not be denied. The woman of S|maria, igno- 
 rant as she was, said, "I know that Messias 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 81 
 
 cometh." John 4 :25. Luke says, "The people 
 were in expectation, and all men mused in 
 their hearts of John, whether he were the 
 Christ or not." Luke 3 : 15. Indeed, there 
 is evidence that the ancients generally ex- 
 pected a great deliverer to arise. 
 
 In inquiring into the Messiahship of Jesus 
 of Nazareth; the Jewish Scriptures are taken 
 for truth. AVe believe all that is written in 
 the law, and in the Psalms, and in the proph- 
 ets. Besides, it is clear that if Jesus is not the 
 promised deliverer, then the Messiah has not 
 yet appeared. Jews and Christians alike reject 
 all the pretenders who have arisen from the 
 time of the Emperor Adrian to the year 1666, 
 when Sabatai Sevi for a while deceived some. 
 Nor is there any dispute between Jews and 
 Christians as to the need of Messiah. We all, 
 in words at least, confess that we are undone 
 without him. Nor is there any doubt that for 
 some cause great calamities have overtaken 
 the Jews. They admit it. Rabbi David Levi 
 Bpeaks of the facts of "the exact accomplish- 
 ment of every event foretold by Moses as 
 a Hording such clear and unequivocal proofs of 
 divine inspiration as to strike the deist and 
 infidel dumb." Be says: "I am free to assert, 
 V 
 
82 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 no nation ever suffered the like during a 
 
 period of almost eighteen hundred years 
 
 The punishments which Moses denounced 
 against the Jews have been exactly fulfilled 
 in every particular.' 7 Nor is there any dis- 
 pute as to whether Jesus of Nazareth lived, 
 and taught, and died cm the cross. Jews and 
 Christians, Mohammedans and Infidels are 
 alike agreed on this point. This chapter is an 
 argument for the Messiahship of the great 
 teacher of Nazareth. 
 
 The first question to be considered is : 
 I. Has the time fixed by prophecy for 
 
 THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH ALREADY PASSED ? 
 
 The correct answer is, It has. The argu- 
 ments are clear and decisive. 
 
 On his deathbed Jacob uttered this pre- 
 diction : "The sceptre shall not depart from 
 Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, 
 until Shiloh come, and to him shall the gath- 
 ering of the people be." Gen. 49 : 10. The 
 word here rendered sceptre is used in that 
 sense by no less than six prophets. Num. 
 24 : 17 ; Ps. 45 : 6 ; Isa. 14:5; Ezek. 19 : 11, 
 14 ; Amos 1:5, 8 ; Zech. 10:11 ; and sceptre 
 in this clause corresponds with lawgiver in 
 the next. The Septuagint gives it this sense, 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 83 
 
 and so do ancient Jewish interpreters and the 
 Chaldee Paraphrase. That Shiloh points to 
 the Messiah is also, admitted by the three 
 Chaldee paraphrasts, the Jewish Talmud, and 
 ial later Jews ; and that the word signi- 
 fies Saviour, or Peacemaker, or Sufferer, of 
 the Son, or the Sent, has the consent of nearly 
 all the best scholars. Nor can w r e get any 
 good sense from the passage "unless we admit 
 that Shiloh means Messiah. '"To him shall 
 the gathering of the people be, 77 is a phrase 
 like that of Isaiah predicting the same person : 
 •lie shall stand for an ensign of the people." 
 Isa. 11 : 10. That the sceptre or political 
 power did continue with Judah until the birth 
 of Jesus of Nazareth is evident ; for though 
 Herod was not of that tribe, but was an Idu- 
 mean, yet the Jewish senate did never swear 
 fealty to him till after the birth of Christ. But 
 in the days of Titus, about the year 70, all 
 show and form of political power forsook the 
 Jews. From that time they had not the small- 
 est remnant of dominion. But their father and 
 prophet Jacob said their power should last 
 till Messias should come. Therefore the time 
 for the coming of Messias is already past. 
 The same thing might be argued from 
 
84 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Psalm 40:6-8: "Sacrifice and offering thou 
 didst not desire ; mine ears hast thou opened : 
 burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not re- 
 quired. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume 
 of the book it is written of me, I delight to do 
 thy will, my God." The blood of bulls and 
 goats never did expiate the sins of men. Even 
 as types, they were to be wholly abolished 
 after the coming of Christ. Here then we 
 have the prediction that the legal sacrifices 
 shall be abolished when He that is to come, 
 the Messiah, shall do the work so pleasing to 
 God. It is now eighteen centuries since any 
 Jewish priest offered a bloody sacrifice. When 
 God would wholly reject sacrifices, Messiah 
 was to do his will. Sacrifices have ceased, and 
 where is Messiah, if Jesus of Nazareth is not he ? 
 Another prophecy fixing the time for the 
 coming and death of Messiah is found in Dan- 
 iel 9 :24-27: "Seventy weeks are determined 
 upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to 
 finish the transgression, and to make an end 
 of sins, and to make reconciliation for ini- 
 quity, and to bring in everlasting righteous- 
 ness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, 
 and to anoint the Most Holy. Know there- 
 fore and understand, that from the going 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 85 
 
 forth of the commandment to restore and to 
 build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince, 
 shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two 
 weeks: the street shall be built again, and the 
 wall, even in troublous times. And after three- 
 score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, 
 but not for himself: and the people of the 
 prince that shall come shall destroy the city 
 and the sanctuary ; and the end thereof shall 
 be with a flood, and unto the end of the war 
 desolations are determined. And he shall 
 confirm the covenant with many for one week : 
 and in the midst of the week he shall cause 
 the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for 
 the overspreading of abominations he shall 
 make it desolate, even until the consummation, 
 and that determined shall be poured upon the 
 desolate." 
 
 The rule by which time is here counted is 
 doubtless that given by Ezekiel (4:6): "I have 
 appointed thee each day for a year;" so that 
 by seventy weeks we are to understand four 
 hundred and ninety years. This is the longest 
 time we have any reason for giving to the 
 eoinputation of the seventy weeks. 
 
 These weeks were to date from "the going 
 forth of the commandment to restore and to 
 
86 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 build" Jerusalem. There were four decrees 
 respecting the return of the Jews from Baby- 
 lon. One was issued in the first year of Cyrus. 
 
 Ezra 1:1-4. The next came out in the second 
 
 • 
 
 year of Darius. Ezra 6 :1-12. The third was 
 in the seventh year of Artaxerxes. Ezra 
 7 : 11-26. The fourth and last was in the 
 twentieth year of Artaxerxes. Neh. 2:1. The 
 first two edicts speak of rebuilding the temple 
 only. But the prophecy requires that the 
 decree should relate to the rebuilding of the 
 city, its walls and streets. So, counting from 
 the last two decrees, we have " seventy weeks 
 of solar years from one of them, and as many 
 weeks of lunar years from the other" till the 
 death of Christ. But count as we may, the 
 seventy weeks of Daniel must have expired 
 more than eighteen hundred years ago. 
 
 More than this, the prophecy says Messiah 
 was to be cut off before the overflowing deso- 
 lation befell Hie holy city. All history de- 
 clares that Jesus was crucified more than 
 thirty-three years before the armies of Eome 
 laid waste Jerusalem. Surely the time for the 
 coming of Messiah is past, and Jesus of Naza- 
 reth came neither too soon nor too late to meet 
 the demands of prophecy in this respect. 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 87 
 
 I adduce but one other passage to show 
 that Messiah has come: "Thus saith the Lord 
 of hosts, Yet once, it is* a little while, and I 
 will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the 
 sea, and the dry land ; and I will shake all 
 nations, and the Desire of all nations shall 
 come : and I will fill this house with glory, 
 
 saith the Lord of hosts The glory of 
 
 this latter house shall be greater than of 
 the former, saith the Lord of hosts." Hag. 
 2 : 6-9. By this sure word, Messiah, "the De- 
 sire of all nations," was to appear during the 
 time of the second temple, here called "this 
 latter house." It is also evident, as none will 
 deny, that the second temple was destroyed 
 by the Romans. Not one stone was left upon 
 another. Messiah, therefore, must have come. 
 This passage also teaches that the glory of the 
 second temple should excel the glory of the 
 fast Thia promised glory did not consist in the 
 superior magnificence of the structure, "for 
 many of the priests, and Levites, and chief of 
 the fathers, who were ancient men, that had 
 
 i the first house, when the foundation of 
 this house was laid before their eyes, wept 
 with a loud voice," says an eye-witness, Ezra, 
 Indeed, in the very chapter containing the 
 
88 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 prophecy Haggai has these words, "Who is 
 left among you that saw this house in her first 
 glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in 
 your eyes in comparison of it as nothing ?" So 
 that the second temple was inferior to the first ; 
 and yet the second house was to have a glory 
 surpassing the glory of the first. What was it? 
 Nor was the second temple equal, much 
 less superior to the first in its appendages. 
 For it is admitted that the first temple had, 
 and that the second temple lacked, the holy 
 fire, which came from heaven, the spirit of 
 prophecy, the ark of the covenant, the She- 
 chinah and the Urim and Thummim. In the 
 eyes of Jews these were grand things. But 
 they were not found in the second temple, and 
 they were in the first. The promised supe- 
 rior glory of the latter house must have been 
 that in it Messiah, "the Desire of all nations," 
 was to appear. Malachi says: "The Lord, 
 whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his 
 temple, even the messenger of the covenant 
 whom ye delight in. 77 This key unlocks the 
 mystery. Simeon told us what this glory was, 
 when "he came by the Spirit into the tem- 
 ple, and when the parents brought.in the child 
 Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 89 
 
 law, he took him up in his arms and blessed 
 God, and said, Lord, now let-test thou thy ser- 
 vant depart in peace, according to thy word, 
 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which 
 thou hast prepared before the face of all peo- 
 ple, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the 
 glory of thy people Israel. 77 Luke 2 : 27-32. 
 Thus it has been shown by four prophecies 
 uttered during a period of eleven hundred and 
 sixty-nine years, the first B. c. 1689, the sec- 
 ond, b. a 1020, the third b. c. 538, and the 
 fourth b. c. 520, that the time for the coming 
 of the Messiah is already past. 
 
 The second question to be considered is, 
 II. Does Jesus of Nazareth meet the 
 
 DEMANDS OF PROPHECY RESPECTING THE MES- 
 SIAH ? 
 
 Surely he does. Messiah was to be a 
 lineal descendant of David. He was to be "a 
 root of Jesse, 77 "a rod out of the stem of 
 Jesse. 77 Isa. 11 : 1, 10. The first words of the 
 first gospel are: "The book of the generation 
 of Jesus Christ, the son of David, 77 and then 
 hifl genealogy is traced from Abraham through 
 David. The scribes said that the promised 
 "Christ is the' son of David. 77 When our 
 Lord said, " What think ye of Christ? whose 
 
90 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 son is he ? they say unto him, He is the son 
 of David." Matt. 22 : 42. When men saw his 
 miracles, they said, " Is not this the son of 
 David?" The blind men so saluted him. Luke 
 18 : 38. The hosanna of the multitude was 
 M to the son of David." Matt, 21 : 9, 15. In- 
 deed, before Jesus was born, the genealogy of 
 Mary the mother of Jesus, and of Joseph her 
 husband, were determined by the very pro- 
 cess of law by which the lands of Judea were 
 held, and this under the decree of the Roman 
 emperor. Jesus meets this requirement of 
 prophecy. He is the lineal descendant of 
 David. None of the false Christs have given 
 the slightest evidence that they were de- 
 scended from David. Should any arise here- 
 after, they can never show their descent from 
 David, for the genealogical tables of his family 
 and of his tribe are confessedly irrecoverably 
 lost. No man even pretends to have them in 
 possession. 
 
 The prophets further said that Messiah 
 should be born in Bethlehem of Judea. So 
 the chief priests and scribes informed Herod, 
 correctly quoting Micah 5 : 2 in proof: "Thou 
 Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the 
 least among the princes of Juda." Matt. 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 91 
 
 2 : 4-6. Xow it is matter of common notori- 
 ety that "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of 
 Judea." Matt. 2:1. Truly, God governs 
 all things. Just before the birth of Jesus, 
 his mother and her betrothed husband were 
 required by an imperial edict to repair to 
 Bethlehem, some distance from their usual 
 residence, there to be duly registered, "be- 
 cause they were of the house and lineage of 
 David/ 7 and there to us was born "in the city 
 of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." 
 Luke 2 :4, 11. None of the false Christs either 
 proved or claimed that they had been born in 
 Bethlehem. 
 
 Prophecy required that Messiah should be 
 born in a miraculous manner: "The Lord 
 himself shall give you a sign: Behold a virgin 
 shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call 
 his name Emmanuel," which being interpreted 
 is "God with us." Isa. 7 : 14. That Jesus 
 was thus born the angel declared at the time 
 of his conception; that he was thus born was 
 admitted by the husband of his mother, who 
 fully vindicated the purity and innocence of 
 his wife : that he was thus born God and an- 
 and men have borne witness. No one 
 else was ever thus born. 
 
92 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Jesus and none else endured all the suf- 
 fering which prophecy decreed to Messiah. 
 He had no form nor comeliness, and when we 
 saw him there was no beauty that w& should 
 desire him. He was despised and rejected of 
 men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with 
 grief; we hid our faces from him ; we esteemed 
 him not. His visage was so marred more than 
 any man, and his form more than the sons of 
 men. He made himself of no reputation. He 
 took upon him the form of a servant. Proph- 
 ecy said : " They weighed for my price thirty 
 pieces of silver.' 7 Zech. 11 : 12. The chief 
 priests covenanted with Judas "for thirty 
 pieces of silver." Matt. 26 :15. The Psalmist 
 predicted : "They pierced my hands and my 
 feet." Ps. 22 : 16. Isaiah (53 : 5) said-: "He 
 was wounded." Zechariah (12:10) said: "They 
 shall look on me, whom they have pierced." 
 We all know how his hands and his feet were 
 pierced by the nails, how the soldiers pierced 
 his side, and how Jesus himself afterwards 
 showed the print of the nails. In Psalm 22 :7, 
 8, we read, "They shall laugh him to scorn, 
 and shake their heads, saying, He trusted in 
 the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him 
 deliver him, seeing he delighted in him." In 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 93 
 
 Matthew 27:39, 43, we read, "They that passed 
 by] reviled him, wagging their heads, and say- 
 ing, He trusted in God, let him deliver him 
 now, if he will have him, for he said, I am the 
 Son of God." Isaiah says, "He was numbered 
 with the transgressors." Mark says, "He was 
 crucified between two thieves." The prophet 
 says, "In my thirst they gave me vinegar to 
 drink." His biographers tell us how "Jesus, 
 that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I 
 thirst, and they took a sponge and filled it with 
 vinegar, and put it on a reecl, and gave it him 
 to drink." The prophets said, "They part my 
 garments among them, and cast lots upon my 
 vesture." In the gospels we learn how the 
 soldiers "took his garments, and made four 
 parts, to every soldier a part, and also his 
 coat : now the coat was without seam, woven 
 from the top throughout. They said therefore 
 among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast 
 lots for it, whose it shall be." Isaiah and 
 Daniel foretold that he should be cut off. No 
 living man denies that Jesus died a violent 
 death. 
 
 [saiab said he should be "brought as a 
 lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before 
 her .-hearers is dumb, so he opened not his 
 
94 THE KOCK OF OITE SALVATION. 
 
 mouth." All history tells how meekly, and 
 •silently, ard patiently he endured. " When 
 he suffered, he threatened not." 
 
 Prophecy foretold that he should trium- 
 phantly enter Jerusalem riding upon a young- 
 ass. In this way did he meekly enter the 
 holy city, weeping over its impending ruin. 
 Indeed, time would fail us to tell how, accord- 
 ing to prophecy, not a bone of him was broken, 
 how he died with the wicked, how he made 
 his grave with the rich, how he never saw 
 corruption, how according to the prophecy he 
 is sitting at the right hand of God, to the 
 intent that "all the house of Israel might know 
 assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus 
 whom they crucified both Lord and Christ." 
 
 Look at another matter. By the prophet 
 Amos God says : " Surely the Lord God will 
 do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto 
 his servants the prophets" (3:7). It cannot be 
 denied that Jesus of Nazareth has done more 
 to change the opinions and practices of man- 
 kind than Cyrus, and Alexander the Great, 
 and the Roman empire. Yet, if he is not the 
 Messiah, the Old Testament is silent concern- 
 ing him. No man or set of men have ever 
 changed the opinions of enlightened nations 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 95 
 
 as Jesus did. Yet. if he is not the Messiah, 
 God never showed his prophets any thing' 
 concerning him. Can it be believed that God 
 has never by any prophet said a word to 
 warn mankind against him, or to invite them 
 to receive him ? — him whose coming has done 
 more to revolutionize men's opinions, to mol- 
 lify asperities, to diffuse virtue and happiness 
 among the most enlightened nations, than any 
 other hundred men that ever lived. 
 
 1. Let Christians greatly rejoice in the 
 abundant evidence of the divine mission of 
 Jesus. In embracing his doctrine we are not 
 following cunningly devised fables. no ! 
 Jesus was truth itself. 
 
 2. If in Jesus of Nazareth we have found 
 the Messiah, have we embraced him? Such a 
 Deliverer is not to be put off with civilities 
 and compliments. We may say, Lord, Lord; 
 but w§ must do more. We must take his yoke 
 upon us. We must do his will. We must 
 embrace him, and rely on him. We must by 
 the Holy Ghost call him Lord. Have you in 
 your heart received him! An American error- 
 ist lias written a book in which he calls him 
 the ''Magnificent Jesus.'' He is far more than 
 
96 THE KOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 that. The temple at Jerusalem was magnifi- 
 cent. The temple of Diana was magnificent. 
 Jesus is the Messiah, the Saviour of lost men, 
 the Son of God. He is to be obeyed and 
 loved, adored and embraced. God has set 
 forth his Son as an object of religious faith. 
 Will you receive him as such ? Without faith 
 in him we cannot be saved. Himself said i "If 
 ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in 
 your sins." 
 
 3. If we ourselves have found Jesus the 
 Messiah, let us, like Andrew, tell our brother 
 the good news and bring him to Jesus. There 
 is none like Jesus. There is none with Jesus. 
 There is none besides Jesus. He is the Son 
 of God. He can save, and he alone. Oh that 
 you would embrace him and then persuade 
 others to do so too. You will soon need his 
 help. A great master of logic has recently 
 left the world. When one of the clergy spoke 
 of his fortitude in looking death in the face, 
 he said : "Talk not to me of fortitude; it is 
 my faith in Christ that gives mc grace and 
 strength." 
 
 4. Pray for the Jews. God can open their 
 eyes. None else can. It is affecting to hear 
 them on this point. Dr. Eaphall, formerly of 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 97 
 
 England, now of New York, sa}'S : '" "While I 
 and the Jews of the present day protest 
 against being identified with the zealots who 
 were concerned in the proceedings against 
 Jesus of Nazareth, we are far from reviling 
 his character or deriding his precepts, which 
 are, indeed, for the most part, the precepts of 
 Moses and the prpphets. You have heard me 
 style him the ' Great Teacher of Nazareth/ for 
 that designation I and the Jews take to be 
 his due." 
 
 The Late Mordecai M. Noah also said : ' • I 
 did not term Jesus of Nazareth an impostor. 
 I had never considered him such. The impos- 
 tor generally aims at temporal power, attempts 
 to subsidize the rich and weak believer, and 
 draws around him followers of influence whom 
 he can control. Jesus was free from fanati- 
 cism: his was a quiet, subdued, retiring faith ■ 
 he mingled with the poor, he communed with 
 the wretched, avoided the rich, rebuked the 
 vain-glorious. In the calm of the evening he 
 sought shelter in the secluded groves of Oli- 
 vet, or wandered pensively on the shores of 
 iialilee. He sincerely believed in his mis- 
 sion ; he courted no one, flattered no one ; in 
 his political denunciations he was pointed and 
 
98 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 severe ; in his religion calm and subdued. 
 These are not the characteristics of an impos- 
 tor ; but, admitting that we give a different in- 
 terpretation to his mission, when one hundred 
 and fifty millions believe in his divinity, and 
 we see around us abundant evidence of the 
 happiness, good faith, mild government, and 
 liberal feelings, which spring from his reli- 
 gion, what right has any one to call him an 
 impostor ? That religion which is calculated 
 to make mankind great and happy cannot be 
 a false one." 
 
 i 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 God, bring the children of Abraham to 
 embrace Jesus Christ { and to us and to all 
 that dwell in this land give hearts to receive 
 thy Son, to believe on his name, to own him 
 as our Saviour; so that all the blessings of 
 the covenant of grace may come on us and 
 overtake us ; that we may be blessed in the 
 city and in the field ; that thy blessing may 
 rest on the fruit of our body, and on the fruit 
 of our ground, and the fruit of our cattle, and 
 the increase of our kine, and the flocks of our 
 sheep ; that thy blessing may rest on our bas- 
 ket and on our store ; that we may be blessed 
 
THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 99 
 
 when we come in and blessed when we go 
 out ; and that they who come out against us 
 one way may flee before us seven ways. Oh 
 that all the land and world may soon avouch 
 the Lord Jehovah to be their God, his Son 
 Jesus Christ to be their Saviour; his Holy 
 Spirit to be their Sanctifier, Comforter and 
 Guide ; and unto the King eternal, immortal, 
 and invisible, the only wise God our Saviour, 
 be glory, and honor, dominion and power, 
 now and for ever. Amen. 
 
100 THE ROCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 CHKIST THE MEDIATOE. 
 
 The word Mediator is not found in the 
 English version of the Old Testament. There 
 we find the word daysman in very much the 
 same sense, Job 9 :33. In that place the Sep- 
 tuagint version employs the word rendered in 
 the New Testament mediator. A daysman 
 was an umpire and a reconciler. In the New 
 Testament the word mediator is found six 
 times. Once it points to Moses: "The law 
 was ordained by angels in the hand of a medi- 
 ator." Gal. 3 :19. Moses was a messenger to 
 make known God's will to Israel, and to pre- 
 sent the requests of the people to God. Once 
 the word mediator is clearly used in a general 
 sense, and refers to no particular person. " A 
 mediator is not a mediator of one ; but God is 
 one." Gal. 3:20. The meaning of this verse 
 is, doubtless, that a mediator cannot act where 
 there are no parties, and that he must act for 
 both parties. As God is one, he needed not 
 to be reconciled to himself. Mediation comes 
 in between God and those estranged from 
 
CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 101 
 
 him. Ill all other cases, the word plainly 
 refers to Christ. Thus he is said to be "The 
 Mediator of a better covenant," and "The Me- 
 diator of the New Testament." Heb. 8:6; 
 9:15. In Heb. 12:24 we are said to have 
 come " to Jesus, the Mediator of the new cov- 
 enant." TV r e also have the word in 1 Tim, 
 2:5: "There is one God, and one Mediator 
 between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 
 Boston says, "Mediator properly signifies a 
 midsman, that travels betwixt two persons 
 who are at variance, to reconcile them." Owen 
 says, " Christ's mediation consists in his being 
 the middle person between God and us." In 
 the Gaelic version, the word for mediator is 
 "go-between." 
 
 Jesus Chjrist is Mediator not typically, but 
 properly ; not partially, but completely ; not 
 merely as a messenger from God to us, and as 
 one presenting our requests to God, but as 
 one who has removed all obstacles to friendly 
 intercourse between God and man, and brings 
 together in holy fellowship the offended Judge 
 of all the earth and offending sinners. 
 
 The doctrine of mediation is no novelty. It 
 
 great antiquity. Job foresaw the day when 
 
 the Redeemer should be manifest. Indeed. 
 
102 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 to Him gave all the prophets witness. Even 
 some of the heathen had a faint idea of medi- 
 ation. Plato says, "God does not mingle in 
 familiar intercourse with mortals, but all inter- 
 course and conversation with him are main- 
 tained by means of demons," or spirits. Ever 
 since the fall, men have been afraid of the 
 Divine presence. I find no Scripture for the 
 opinion that, "although man had remained 
 immaculately innocent, yet his condition would 
 have been too mean for him to approach to 
 God without a mediator. " On the contrary, 
 our first parents had delightful communion 
 with the Lord God until they sinned against 
 him. We know of nothing in the nature of 
 God or of man to hinder their intercourse 
 until iniquity separated between tjiem. God's 
 tender mercies are over all his works. He 
 stoops to the meanest worm. Infinite conde- 
 scension is one of the glories of his nature. 
 Christ's mediation fairly presupposes man's 
 sinfulness and alienation from God. Where 
 there is no controversy, there is no room for 
 mediation. If persons are already at one, 
 they need no reconciliation. If God loves 
 and approves man's course and character, and 
 if man loves and approves of God's ways, per- 
 
CHKIST THE MEDIATOK. 103 
 
 fections and government, there is nothing to 
 keep them from mutual delight. There is then 
 no contest between them ; nothing to be set- 
 tled ; no room for mediation. Dick says : 
 "The necessity of the mediation of Christ 
 arises from the existence of sin, which, being 
 contrary to the nature and will of God, ren- 
 ders those who have committed it obnoxious 
 to his displeasure." 
 
 Where there are parties entirely alienated, 
 another, the equal and friend of both, may 
 interpose, and tender his kind offices, and do 
 whatever he is able honorably to reconcile the 
 contestants. A mediator is different from a 
 petitioner. From his dignity, he has a right 
 to be heard with respect and candor. By his 
 divinity, Christ was equal with God ; by his 
 humanity, he was equal with man. He was 
 so much the friend of God, that he was will- 
 ing to die for the glory of divine justice. He 
 so much the friend of man, that he was 
 willing to lay down his life for human re- 
 demption. 
 
 The doctrine of mediation is that which 
 chiefly distinguishes genuine Christianity from 
 a system of pure deism. Let us consider this 
 subject: 
 
104: THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 I. The advantages of mediation as a meth- 
 od of reconciling God and man are many. 
 
 1. It is very humbling to man, the sinner, 
 the wrong -doer. It says to him, You are 
 unworthy and unfit to come into the presence 
 of God. You can neither justify nor excuse 
 your wicked conduct. You are rejected. God 
 will not even treat with you in your own name. 
 He utterly abhors all your works, all your 
 pleas, all your merits. You are condemned. 
 You are vile. 
 
 2. A system of mediation is more honora- 
 ble to God than any other mode of reconcilia- 
 tion could be. It shows that he is infinitely 
 just and holy; so that he cannot look upon 
 sin, or have any close, friendly intercourse 
 with sinners, except through a third party — 
 one in whom he is well-pleased. 
 
 3. Mediation marks sin as very base, de- 
 serving all the woes and wrath denounced 
 against it. Though God is the Maker of our 
 bodies and the Father of our spirits, yet so 
 unspeakably does he detest sin and count it a 
 horrible thing, that he refuses not only com- 
 munion, but even conference, with the offender, 
 except through the Son of his love. 
 
 4. A system of mediation marks sin as a 
 
CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 105 
 
 public offence, demanding a" public satisfaction 
 and reparation. It is no private wrong that 
 can be secretly repaired or adjusted. In ac- 
 cepting Christ as Mediator, every sinner con- 
 fesses, before angels and men, that he has 
 insulted and injured the government of God, 
 and done what in him lay to disturb the order 
 and harmony of the universe. 
 
 II. Let us consider Christ's fitness for the 
 work of mediation. 
 
 1. His person is wonderfully and admira- 
 bly constituted. He is at once "God mani- 
 fest in the flesh" and "the man Christ Jesus.' 7 
 1 Tim. 3:16 and 2:5. As a daysman, he can 
 lay his hand upon both God and us. He 
 knows God's rights. He knows our sins. 
 By his divine nature, he has zeal for the di- 
 vine glory. By his human nature, he has 
 sympathy with us. He has all that is perfect 
 and infinite in God, and all that is amiable 
 and excellent in man. He will not betray 
 God's interest, because it is the glory of his 
 Godhead. He will not betray our interest, 
 because it is the crown of his manhood. He 
 bag the confidence of God and of all right- 
 minded men. He is in sympathy with Jeho- 
 vah on the throne, and with man in his misery. 
 
106 THE ROOK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 He knows what God demands, and what man 
 requires. God has no claims that Christ does 
 not hold to be just. Man has no real wants 
 that Christ is not ready to supply. From his 
 very nature, he must vindicate the laws and 
 government of God, and at the same time hold 
 forth the cup of salvation to us poor sinners. 
 He can so present our cause and nature to 
 God that he will not turn away from us with 
 loathing. And he can so present to us the 
 glorious perfections of God as to show us their 
 infinite amiability. By his divine nature, it 
 is no robbery for him to assert equality with 
 God. God has never denied him any thing : 
 "Him the Father heareth always." His claims 
 to be heard are never questioned in heaven. 
 For the honor of God he has poured out his 
 blood, infinitely more precious than the blood 
 of all the pious martyrs. And if man can be 
 brought to hearken to terms of peace at all, 
 surely it will be by Jesus Christ. He is so 
 loving, he died so freely, he speaks so kindly, 
 his grace is so rich, and his ways are so con- 
 descending, that if we will not hear him we 
 will hear no one. By his human nature he 
 is capable of suffering, and in his human na- 
 ture he did actually suffer the penalty of the 
 
CHKIST THE MEDIATOR. 107 
 
 law ; and being without sin himself, he was a 
 spotless sacrifice to Divine justice. By his 
 divine nature, which took the human into 
 indissoluble union with itself, infinite merit 
 attached to all Christ did and suffered. As 
 the Father, by reason of Christ's holiness, 
 found no fault in him, so we, by reason of his 
 love and gentleness, are not repelled from 
 him. There is no more approachable being 
 in the universe than Jesus Christ. If God is 
 his Father, we are his brethren. As man he 
 suffered; as God he satisfied. His divinity 
 gives unshaken stability to his mediation, as 
 well 08 infinite worth to his humiliation. 
 
 2. Jesus Christ was chosen of God to this 
 very office. The Father calls him "mine 
 elect, in whom my soul delighteth." Isaiah 
 42 :1. He is "chosen of God, and precious." 
 1 Pet. 2:4. Not by any arrogance, but by 
 Divine appointment, he is the first-born among 
 many brethren. All he said and all he did 
 by the commandment of his Father : "As 
 the Father gave me commandment, even so I 
 do." John 14: 31. Compare John 10:18. God 
 iK'vtT Intrusted the work of mediation bar 
 twccii him and sinners to another, though he 
 appointed some men as types and shadows of 
 
108 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Christ, who alone was to do this work. God 
 is in Christ — God is in none but Christ — 
 reconciling the world to himself. Christ is 
 our peace. 
 
 3. To the full work of Mediator Jesus 
 Christ not only brought ample qualifications 
 and a divine commission, but he has met with 
 entire acceptance from God. In every way 
 possible God has declared his confidence in 
 Christ, and his approval of his undertaking. 
 Before his incarnation, in anticipation of what 
 he was yet to do, God poured out his Spirit 
 on many souls, granted them pardon, accept- 
 ance, and renewal, and at death received them 
 to glory. When Christ was on earth, and be- 
 fore his death, God expressed his approval of 
 him by a voice from heaven, by amazing mir- 
 acles, and by leading some truly to love him, 
 and to forsake all and follow him. God fur- 
 ther expressed approval of Christ by raising 
 him from the dead, by giving him a glorious 
 admission into heaven, and a seat with him- 
 self on his throne. God has further and 
 wondrously expressed approbation of Christ's 
 mediation by making the preaching of Christ 
 crucified the power of God unto salvation — 
 the salvation of millions, many of whom were 
 
CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 109 
 
 sunk in almost unparalleled guilt, and shame, 
 and ignorance, and misery, till they heard and 
 believed tlue gospel. 
 
 4. In suffering and dying for us Jesus Christ 
 needed not to subject himself to .humiliation 
 but for a time. He lived on earth over thirty 
 years. Thenceforward his whole person par- 
 takes of incomparable bliss. Since his ascen- 
 sion into heaven he has no pains, no sorrows, 
 no bitterness of soul. His short conflict was 
 followed by eternal triumph ; his brief agony 
 by eternal joy. The lower he sunk on earth, 
 the higher he rises in glory. What a blessed 
 truth is this ! How could his people be happy 
 if they thought he was still a sufferer ? 
 
 Of course Christ is a far better mediator 
 than Moses. 2 Cor. 3:9. The mediation of 
 the former was temporary ; that of the latter 
 • •VI 'Hasting. This is the last dispensation. 
 "There rcmaineth no more sacrifice for sins." 
 AVe may not expect "the bringing in of a better 
 hope. 7 ' The mediation of Moses was typical ; 
 that of Christ was real. Moses laid many 
 burdensome rites on the people; Christ ap- 
 pointed a very simple worship. The ten- 
 dency of the law, through sin, was unto death ; 
 through faith the gospel gives life. Heb. 9 :13, 
 
110 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 14. The former was the ministration of death ; 
 the latter is the ministration of the Spirit. 
 The mediation of Moses prepared men for the 
 gospel ; that of Christ prepares men for glory. 
 Christ excels Moses in that he is the Mediator 
 of a better covenant established upon better 
 promises. Heb. 8:6. Christ is more kind and 
 compassionate than Moses. Both refused a 
 crown ; but Jesus wore a crown of thorns and 
 hung on the cross. Moses was a servant, but 
 Jesus Christ was a Son. Both the authority 
 and energy of Moses were limited ; but Jesus 
 raised the dead and performed countless mir- 
 acles in his own name, and all power in heaven 
 and earth is given unto him. Moses did a 
 good work ; but Christ a far better work. The 
 law was given by Moses ; but grace and truth 
 came by Jesus Christ. 
 
 III. Let us look at some of the great and 
 happy effects of Christ's mediation. 
 
 1. Through it, and through it only, do we 
 obtain correct and sufficient knowledge of the 
 divine nature. Like Moses, good men cry, 
 "Show me thy glory." Like the disciples, 
 they say, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth 
 us." We do greatly desire to have before us 
 some representation of God j and as all idols 
 
CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. Ill 
 
 and images made or conceived by man are no 
 representation of him, but a horrible dishonor 
 to him, it is with delight that we find Christ 
 the image of God, the express image of his 
 person. 2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1 : 15 ; Heb. 1 : 3. 
 So that now to know God, and Jesus Christ, 
 whom he hath sent, is eternal life. John 
 17:3. No man can see God's face and live. 
 No man hath seen God at any time. The 
 only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the 
 Father, he hath declared him. Now, if we 
 would know what is the nature of God, let us 
 look at it through the veil of Christ's flesh. 
 Himself says: "I and my Father are one." 
 "I am in the Father, and the Father in me ;" 
 and in yet stronger terms, " He that hath seen 
 me hath seen the Father." 
 
 2. It is only by and through the media- 
 tion of Christ that we can indulge any hope of 
 reconciliation with God. We cannot answer 
 for one of a thousand of our offences. We 
 are justly condemned. God rightly counts 
 us " reprobate silver." The single sin of not 
 toying God with all our heart, and mind, and 
 soul, and strength, is enough to blot out every 
 hope of heaven. But our iniquities have risen 
 up like the mountains. They are more than 
 
112 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the hairs of our heads. And the guilt of 
 every sin is greater than any man ever saw 
 the guilt of any sin to be. Surely there is 
 no hope left us that we shall ever see God's 
 face in peace, unless it be by Christ's media- 
 tion. How sweet are his precious words : 
 '■'■■I am the door;" "I am the way, the truth, 
 and the life; no man cometh to the Father 
 but by me." 
 
 3. Through the mediation of Christ, and 
 through it alone, are our hearts brought into 
 such a state that we admire and delight 
 in God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of 
 Christ. Christ promised to send that Spirit 
 for the conversion and purification of men's 
 hearts. So that now, us " that were some- 
 time alienated and enemies in our mind by 
 wicked works, hath he reconciled." Col. 1 :21. 
 Christ's Spirit by the gospel slays our enmity. 
 Thus Christ is " made unto us sanctification." 
 By the cross of Christ we are crucified unto 
 the world, and the world unto us. All grace, 
 all saving virtue comes to us through the me- 
 diation of Christ. Owen says: "God commu- 
 nicates nothing in a way of grace unto any, 
 but in and by the person of Christ as the 
 mediator and head of the church." John 1:3 8. 
 
CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 113 
 
 "The head of every man is Christ, and the 
 head of Christ is God." 1 Cor. 11 : 3. 
 
 4. Through the mediation of Christ, and 
 not otherwise, can men be brought into the 
 society and fellowship of angels. When the 
 believer is exploring the counsels of love and 
 the glories of redemption, as he goes deep into 
 these unfathomable mines, he finds a bright 
 cherub or a burning seraph in the same region 
 of exulting inquiry, and, asking what they do 
 here, he is told that they have divine permis- 
 sion to "look into these things." Angels 
 hymned the birth of Christ. Angels rejoice 
 at the conversion of sinners and the progress 
 of Christ's kingdom. Though Christ is not the 
 Saviour of angels, yet by virtue of his great 
 merit and dignity he has become Lord of an- 
 gels. They serve and worship and obey him. 
 They are his ministers. God has "set him at 
 his own right hand in the heavenly places, far 
 above all principality, and power, and might, 
 and dominion, and every name that is named, 
 not only in this world, but in that which is to 
 come, and hath put all things under his feet, 
 and given him to be head over all things to 
 fa chureh.V Eph. 1 : 20-22. Thus saints and 
 
 Is constitute the one family named in 
 
114 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 heaven and earth. Thus "in the dispensation 
 of the fulness of times" he shall "gather to- 
 gether in one all things in Christ, both which 
 are in heaven, and which are on earth." Eph. 
 1 : 10. The apostacy severed us from God 
 and from one another. By creation angels 
 belonged to another order of beings. The 
 work of Christ brings us to love God and one 
 another, and gives to angels and men a com- 
 mon Lord, the God-man, Jesus Christ. 
 
 5. The mediation of Christ, in an unpar- 
 alleled manner, makes known the wisdom 
 of God. That this is so is admitted by all 
 good men, who never cease to admire the 
 wonderful plan of salvation. That this is so 
 is declared in Scripture. Paul says the whole 
 scheme and mystery of salvation is, "to the 
 intent that now unto the principalities and 
 powers in heavenly places might be known 
 by the church the manifold wisdom of God." 
 Eph. 3:10. The scheme of Christ's media- 
 tion is God's chief work. As poet, painter, 
 sculptor, and architect, Michael Arigelo accom- 
 plished many admirable things ; but above all 
 the rest his monument is St. Peter's at Eome. 
 So God has filled the heavens and the earth, 
 the sea and the dry land with wonders ; but 
 
CHEIST THE MEDIATOR. 115 
 
 above all his other works the plan of salvation 
 by Jesus Christ is God's monument, display- 
 ing his infinite skill and wisdom. 
 
 6. It is only through the mediation of 
 Christ that the divine government has consis- 
 tency, and the divine attributes have harmony, 
 in the salvation of our race. "A God all 
 mercy is a God unjust." A God all justice 
 could not forgive a sinner. In the cross we 
 see mercy infinite and justice inflexible kiss- 
 ing each other. Truth, which cannot swerve, 
 here meets peace which cannot be broken. 
 Eighteousness, which is the stability of God's 
 throne, by Christ's mediation issues in bless- 
 ings unparalleled to the rebellious. 
 
 7. Through the mediation of Christ, and 
 through it alone, can an enlightened con- 
 science ever find relief. But the blood of 
 the covenant can hush the perturbations of 
 the most agonized soul. It gave peace to the 
 penitent thief on the cross, and to the peni- 
 tent murderers of Christ. It quieted the con- 
 science of even Saul of Tarsus, when he relied 
 upon it. 
 
 8. By the mediation of Christ, man recov- 
 ftommnnioii with God, lost by the fall. 
 
 This is a wonderful result; " No^ in Christ 
 
116 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Jesus ye, who sometime were far off, are 
 made nigh by the blood of Christ." Eph. 
 2:13. So that, with the last surviving apos- 
 tle, all Christians may unite in the exultant 
 exclamation, " Truly our fellowship is with 
 the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 
 1 John 1:3. Bringing man into the fellow- 
 ship of angels was very glorious, but it was as 
 nothing compared with his restoration to com- 
 munion with God. 
 
 IY. Christ is sole Mediator. So says the 
 Scripture : "There is one God, and one Medi- 
 ator between God and men, the man Christ 
 Jesus." One such Mediator is enough. The 
 word of God speaks of no more. The neces- 
 sities of man demand no more. By Scripture 
 we are as clearly shut up to the faith of one 
 Mediator as to the belief of one G-od. If it is 
 an offence to the heavenly Majesty to believe 
 in many gods, it cannot be pleasing to the 
 Most High that we should hold the doctrine of 
 many' mediators. "We do shockingly insult the 
 Lord Jesus Christ and his Father when we 
 bring in a great rabble of mediators and inter- 
 cessors. Christ only, and Christ alone, is 
 worthy of the Daysman's crown. To men- 
 tion another js theft and robbery. John 10:1. 
 
CHKIST THE MEDIATOR 117 
 
 Y. We should greatly rejoice in Christ, 
 the one Mediator. He is our life and our 
 light. Let us make him our joy and our song. 
 We cannot praise him -too much. We shall 
 never laud him enough. He is the admira- 
 tion of all heaven. He ought to be the de- 
 lights of the sons of men. 
 
 "Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 That were a present far too small ; 
 Love so amazing, so divine, 
 Demands my soul, my life, my alL" 
 
 VI. As Mediator, Christ holds and exe- 
 cutes the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. 
 This method of stating his work is not a hu- 
 man invention. It is clearly and often taught 
 in the Scriptures. It is based in the nature of 
 things. It is really a useful mode of present- 
 ing truth. Christ does the full work of a 
 Mediator. 
 
 Controversies between two parties are of 
 three kinds : 
 
 1. Such as are founded in mere mistake, 
 both parties being innocent and honest, nei- 
 tln T intending any harm. In this case, all 
 that is wanted is light, explanation. ButGlod 
 is not mistaken respecting us. He under- 
 stands our case perfectly. He is not misin- 
 
118 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 formed. He is under no misapprehensions 
 respecting us. He has no prejudices against 
 us. And although we are willingly mistaken 
 respecting Grod in many particulars, and have 
 wicked prejudices against him, it is because 
 we hate the light ; for when we know him, we 
 glorify him not, nor like to retain him in our 
 knowledge ; our carnal mind is enmity against 
 him. The controversy between God and us 
 cannot be settled by mere explanation. Jeho- 
 vah's conduct needs none ; ours admits of 
 none. 
 
 2. In the second kind of controversy, both 
 parties are to be blamed — both have done 
 wrong. In human strifes this is often the 
 case. One wrong leads to another. Before 
 adjustment, ofttimes, both parties are censura- 
 ble. But Grod has done us good, and not evil, 
 all our days. He has never wronged us. Even 
 when he has afflicted us, he has punished us 
 less than our iniquities deserved. He has 
 brought no false accusation against us. He 
 has mercifully spared us, when he might justly 
 have cut us down. He has done all things 
 well. We have destroyed ourselves. He is 
 holy, just, and good. In this fearful contro- 
 versy we cannot blame him. 
 
CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 119 
 
 3. The only other kind of controversy be- 
 tween two parties is, where all the blame is 
 on one side. This is the character of our con- 
 troversy with God. We have sinned against 
 him, not he against us. We are all wrong ; 
 we are w T holly wrong , we are terribly wrong. 
 Our iniquities have separated between us and 
 God. He is righteous; we are unjust. He 
 is holy ; we are vile. He can do without us ; 
 without him we are undone. Let us say all 
 this, and confess the whole truth. Let us 
 joyfully accept the mediation of Jesus Christ. 
 This way of reconciliation is as safe for us as 
 it is honorable to God. This is the only 
 method of ending the fearful contest. Reject 
 this, and nothing remains but an eternal over- 
 throw. 
 
 And the sooner we make peace with God 
 the better. There is no time to be lost. Now 
 is i he day of salvation. Awake, sleeper, 
 ami call upon thy God. 
 
 The responsibility of living under the gos- 
 pel is great in proportion to its incalculable 
 advantages. Heb. 2:1-4; 10:28-30. 
 
120 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 CHRIST A PROPHET. 
 
 The prophetical office of Christ claims 
 solemn attention. The life of men's souls is 
 involved in it. The necessity of some great 
 teacher to enlighten mankind was confessed 
 by the heathen as well as by the Jews. Soc- 
 rates said: "Yon may resign all hope of 
 reforming the manners of men, unless it please 
 God to send some person to instruct you.' 7 
 Plato said: " Whatever is set right in the 
 present ill state of the world can be done only 
 by the interposition of G-od." Cicero, speak- 
 ing of the philosophers, said : " Do you think 
 that those precepts of morality had any influ- 
 ence, except in a very few instances, upon the 
 men who speculated, wrote, and disputed con- 
 cerning them? No; who is there of all the 
 philosophers whose mind and manners were 
 conformed to the dictates of right reason? 
 Who of them ever made his philosophy the 
 law and rule of his life, and not merely an 
 occasion of displaying his own ingenuity? On 
 the contrary, many of them have been slaves 
 
CHEIST A PKOPHET. 121 
 
 to the vilest lusts." How the pious Jews 
 longed, and waited, and prayed for the com- 
 ing of a great prophet is declared in many 
 Scriptures. 
 
 Let us consider this subject : 
 
 I. Among the ancients and moderns, civ- 
 ilized and rude, the office of prophet has been 
 held in high esteem. In this agree Jews, 
 Christians, Mohammedans, and pagans. The 
 evangelical prophet expressed the popular 
 sentiment of his countrymen and the common 
 sense of mankind when, in the same list, he 
 enrolled the prophet with the mighty man, 
 and the man of war, and the judge, and the 
 prudent, and the ancient, and the captain, and 
 the honorable man, and the counsellor, and 
 the eloquent orator. Isa. 3:2, 3. Such men 
 arc the stay and the staff of a people. Among 
 them all, none were more important, or were 
 charged with more weighty duties, than the 
 prophets. 
 
 II. But what is the office of a prophet? 
 The word prophet comes to us from the Greek, 
 where its literal signification is a foreteller. 
 The Hebrews hid two words for a prophet, 
 One was from their word to see. It was in 
 use a long time in the early history of that 
 
122 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 people. So we read in 1 Samuel 9:9: " Be- 
 foretime in Israel, when a man went to inquire 
 of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to 
 the seer j for he that is now called a Prophet 
 was beforetime called a Seer." The other 
 word for a prophet signifies primarily to boil 
 up or pour forth, as a fountain ; then to pour 
 forth words like those who speak with fervor 
 of mind, or under divine inspiration. Then 
 it came to signify a prophet, one who spake in 
 the name of God, or in the place of God. 
 Proof is not wanting in the Scriptures them- 
 selves that the word designates one who speaks 
 eloquently or beautifully. God said to Moses, 
 "Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet." 
 This is God's answer to Moses, who had ob- 
 jected to his mission on the ground that he 
 was "of uncircumcised lips." The Greek 
 word prophet is by Paul himself applied to a 
 heathen poet, Titus 1:12, either because the 
 poet had written eloquently, or because he 
 was held in high esteem as a teacher. In the 
 New Testament the word prophesy has at least 
 in one case the sense of edifying the church 
 by preaching. ' ' The gift of prophecy included 
 that of prophetic foresight, but it included 
 more. The prophet was inspired to reveal 
 
CHKIST A PROPHET. - 123 
 
 the will of God, to act as an organ of commu- 
 nication between God and man. The subject 
 of the revelations thus conveyed was not, and 
 could not be, restricted to the future. It em- 
 braced the past and present, and extended to 
 those absolute and universal truths which have 
 no relation to time." A prophet then is an 
 inspired, and so an infallible teacher, able to 
 tell the past or the future, authorized to speak 
 lor God and by his authority, not merely as 
 an expounder of truths already revealed, but 
 to teach truths before unknown or forgotten 
 by mankind.' In this full and broad sense 
 Jesus Christ was. a prophet. 
 
 III. The fundamental passage on which 
 we found the doctrine of Christ's prophetical 
 office is Deuteronomy 18 : 15-19 : " The Lord 
 thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet 
 from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like 
 unto me, unto him ye shall hearken. Accord- 
 ing to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy 
 God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, say- 
 ing. Let me not hear again the voice of the 
 Lord my God, neither let me see this great 
 fire any more, that I die not. And the Lord 
 said unto me, They have well spoken that 
 which they have spoken. T will raise them 
 
124 THE ROCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 up a Prophet from among their brethren, like 
 unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth : 
 and he shall speak unto them all that I shall 
 command him. And it shall come to pass that 
 whosoever will not hearken unto my words, 
 which he shall speak in my name, I will 
 require it of him." This prophecy is quoted 
 by Peter in his address to the people in Jeru- 
 salem after the cure of the lame man, Acts 
 3:22, 23. It is also cited by Stephen, in his 
 pungent address to the Jews who were about 
 to stone him to death, Acts 7:37. In this 
 prediction several things claim attention. 
 
 1. It is a promise made to the people on 
 the occasion of their asking that God would 
 not again speak to them in so awful a manner 
 as he had done. God was not angry at them 
 for this request, but approved of their words. 
 The prediction is full of kindness. It is a gra- 
 cious engagement to give them a teacher whose 
 presence should not be terrible to them. 
 
 2. We have the best evidence that this 
 prediction is not fulfilled, unless Jesus of Naz- 
 areth was the promised teacher. The last 
 chapter of Deuteronomy was evidently not 
 written by Moses, for it tells of things done 
 after his death. It was probably written by 
 
CHRIST A PROPHET. 125 
 
 different hands. Some, perhaps not without 
 reason, ascribe it to Ezra, who compiled the 
 canon of the Old Testament more than nine 
 hundred years after the death of Moses. Its 
 precise date we are, not able to give ; but it 
 declares that up to that time there had not 
 arisen in Israel a prophet like unto Moses, 
 Deuteronomy 34:10. Nay more, no prophet 
 like Moses had, in the belief of the Jews, 
 arisen till the time of John the Baptist; for 
 they asked him, "Art thou that prophet? 
 And he answered, No." John 1:21, 25. So 
 when they saw the miracles Jesus did, they 
 said, "This is of a truth that Prophet that 
 should come into the world." John 6:14. 
 Again : "Many of the people . . . said, Of a 
 truth this is the prophet." Jews do not pre- 
 tend any more than Christians that "that 
 prophet " has arisen since the coming of Jesus 
 of Nazareth. He has not as yet come at all, 
 unless Jesus be he. 
 
 3. The great prophet that was to come 
 was to be raised up from the midst of Israel, 
 and to be one of their brethren. Jesus Christ 
 \\;is, as descended from his mother, a Jew. 
 No one denies this. 
 
 4. The promised prophet was to be like 
 
126 THE KOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 unto Moses. In the following particulars Mo- 
 ses was a striking type of Christ : 
 
 Moses was hardly born when his life was 
 sought by bloody men. No sooner was the 
 birth of Jesus known, than Herod sought the 
 young child to destroy him. 
 
 Moses brought God's people out of the 
 house of bondage. Jesus Christ delivers 
 God's people from a worse than Egyptian 
 bondage. 
 
 Moses was faithful in all his house. So 
 Jesus was faithful to Him that appointed him. 
 Heb. 3:2. Each of them spake the will of 
 God in honesty and sincerity. 
 
 Moses was a mediator between God and 
 his ancient people. He is expressly so called 
 in Galatians 3:10: " The law was ordained by 
 angels in the hands of a mediator." Moses 
 received the mind of God and bore it to the 
 people ; and he heard the wishes of the peo- 
 ple, and bore them to God. Nor did any one 
 but Moses perform this office to the Jews. So 
 now Christ is our one and sole Mediator. 
 "For there is one God, and one Mediator be- 
 tween God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 
 1 Tim. 2:5. 
 
 Moses was very intimate with God: "The 
 
CHEIST A PROPHET. 127 
 
 Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man 
 speaketh to bis friend." Ex. 33:11. '"The 
 Lord knew Moses face to face." So Christ 
 was in the beginning with God. "No man 
 hath seen God at any time ; the only begot- 
 ten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, 
 he hath declared him." John 1 :18. 
 
 Beyond all others before Christ, Moses 
 attested his doctrine and commission by^ signs 
 and wonders, both in the land of Egypt and 
 in the sight of all Israel. Deut. 34:11, 12. 
 So Jesus Christ has filled the world with the 
 renown of his stupendous miracles. Even 
 when he was on earth, many who were not 
 his disciples said, " When Christ cometh, will 
 he do more miracles than these which this man 
 hath done?" John 7:31. Jesus called on 
 his enemies to "believe the works" which lie 
 wrought John 10 : 38. Indeed, our Saviour's 
 miracles were not only amazing in kind; they 
 were countless in number. Having told us 
 much of Christ, John says: " There are also 
 many other tilings which Jesus did, the which, 
 if they should be written everyone, I suppose 
 that even the world itself could not contain 
 the books that should be written." 21:25. 
 So Cleopaa said that "Jesus of Nazareth was 
 
128 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 * a prophet mighty in deed and word before 
 
 God and all the people." Luke 24 : 19. 
 
 Moses introduced a new state of things, 
 setting aside the patriarchal dispensation. So 
 Jesus Christ introduced a new dispensation in 
 the place of the Mosaic. Now we have the 
 gospel instead of the Sinaic covenant. 
 
 In all these respects Moses was a striking 
 type of Christ. Yet, as was fitting, the Anti- 
 type far excelled him. Moses was a servant. 
 Christ was a Son. Moses was a mere man. 
 Christ was " God manifest in the flesh." 
 Moses was a sinner. Christ never displeased 
 his Father. The Mosaic dispensation passed 
 away. Christ shall never be superseded ; 
 while eternity lasts, the Lamb himself shall 
 feed his people, and lead them to fountains of 
 living waters. Eev. 7:17. 
 
 So convincing was the evidence which 
 Christ gave of his divine mission, that the 
 woman of Samaria said, "I perceive that thou 
 art a prophet." John 4:19. And the blind man 
 who was healed by him, in the midst of taunts 
 and threats said, "He is a prophet." John 
 9:17. So when he raised the young man of 
 Nain, "there came a fear on all: and they 
 glorified God, saying that a great prophet is 
 
CHRIST A PROPHET. 129 
 
 risen up among us." Luke 7 :16. And at one 
 time multitudes of the Jewish nation, gathered 
 at the holy city, were so affected that they 
 said, "This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth 
 of Galilee." Matt. 21 :11. Indeed, during his 
 ministry his miracles were confessed. Nor 
 did any one ever successfully impugn his 
 teachings, or assail his claims to be the prophet 
 of God. 
 
 The objections made were frivolous, such 
 as tfiese : " Search and look : for out of Gali- 
 lee ariseth no prophet." John 7 : 52. To this 
 bold statement there are several fair answers. 
 1. Neither Moses nor any other writer of the 
 Jewish Scriptures had said where all the 
 prophets should be born. 2. At this very 
 time the Jews had among their canonical 
 books the writings of two prophets, Jonah 
 and Xalium, both of whom were natives of 
 Galilee. 3. Jesus did not arise out of Gali- 
 1< •«■. for he was born in Bethlehem of Judea. 
 1. Lsaiahhad expressly foretold, not that Mes- 
 siah should be born in Galilee, but that his 
 ministry should greatly enlighten that dark 
 region, sometimes called Galilee of the Gen- 
 tiles, betaise it bordered on Syria and Ara- 
 bia, and because there many Gentiles dwelt 
 G* 
 
130 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 with the Israelites. Compare Isa. 9 :1, 2, and 
 Matt. 4 : 14-16. 5. The cities of refuge, "it is 
 commonly admitted, were types of Christ, and 
 one of these, Kedesh (or Kadesh) of Naphtali, 
 was in Galilee ; for Galilee included Asher, 
 Issachar, Zebulon, and Naphtali. 
 
 Another objection has no more force. 
 When Simon the Pharisee saw how Christ 
 permitted the poor sinful woman to wash his 
 feet with her tears, and to anoint him, he said, 
 "This man, if he were a prophet, would liave 
 known who and what manner of woman this 
 is that toucheth him : for she is a sinner." 
 Luke 7 : 39. But Jesus did know not only the 
 woman's sinfulness, but also her penitence, 
 and amply vindicated his conduct. Simon did 
 not know that Jesus ' came into the world to 
 save sinners. The mistake was all on his side. 
 
 IV. It remains to show how Jesus Christ 
 fulfils ' ' the office of a prophet, in revealing 
 to the church in all ages, by his Spirit and 
 word, in divers ways of administration, the 
 whole will of God, in all things concerning the 
 edification and salvation of believers." 
 
 1. For about four thousand years Jesus 
 Christ made known the will of God by his 
 servants, the prophets. "At sundry times 
 
CHKIST A PROPHET. 131 
 
 and in divers manners" lie " spake in time past 
 unto the fathers by the prophets." Heb. 1:1. 
 So Peter also says, Of this "salvation the 
 prophets have inquired and searched dili- 
 gently, who prophesied of the grace that 
 should come unto you, searching what or what 
 manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was 
 in them did signify, when it testified before- 
 hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory 
 that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed 
 that not unto themselves, but\mto us they did 
 minister the things which are now reported 
 unto you by them that have preached the gos- 
 pel unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent down 
 from heaven." These Scriptures bring out 
 these truths : 1. All the will of God was not 
 revealed at once, but at divers times from 
 Adam to Malachi. 2. God's will was revealed 
 in various ways; sometimes in dreams, some- 
 times in visions, sometimes by sending an an- 
 gel, sometimes by an audible voice, and some- 
 times by the Son of God assuming a human 
 form. 8. But whatever the manner of the rev- 
 elation, ii was always by "the Spirit of Christ 
 which was in the prophets." 4. Much that 
 the prophets spoke was dark to themseb 
 so that they found it necessary to study very 
 
132 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 carefully their own writings. 5. The burden 
 of their messages was the sufferings of Christ 
 and the glory that should follow. 6. Their 
 teachings were in their aspect chiefly pro- 
 spective, relating to gospel times. 7. Tlie 
 same Holy Spirit, who dictated the prophe- 
 cies, gives efficacy to the preached gospel. 
 8.. Much that was said by the prophets, 
 amounting in all to thirty-nine books, was 
 put in writing, and committed to the ancient 
 church, as the depository of the truth. 
 
 2. The prophets were followed by John 
 the Baptist, who, for the clear light he gave 
 and for pointing out the very man who was to 
 save the world, was "more than a prophet." 
 Matt. 11:9. He was in a sense an evange- 
 list. He was Christ's herald and forerunner. 
 
 3. Then came Jesus Christ himself, the 
 Light of the world, the life of men, and the 
 desire of all nations. God fl hath in these lat- 
 ter days spoken unto us by his Son." Heb. 
 1:2. Men saw him full of grace and truth. 
 Men wondered at the gracious words that 
 proceeded out of his mouth. And no marvel ; 
 " for it pleased the Father that in him should 
 all fulness dwell." Col. 1:19. During his 
 personal ministry Christ taught us the will of 
 
CHKIST A PEOPHET. 133 
 
 God in four ways. 1. He wrought miracles in 
 his own name and by his own power, thus 
 showing not only that he was a teacher sent 
 from God, but that he was himself divine. 
 2. In his entire human nature he set us an 
 example of piety and benevolence, making 
 plain to us all our duties. Whatever Christ 
 did as a man, we are bound to do. In obedi- 
 ence to parents, in submission to civil rulers, 
 in forgiveness of injuries, in all things his ex- 
 ample was perfect. 3. During his personal 
 ministry Christ uttered several remarkable 
 predictions, which have been and shall be of 
 eminent service to the church of God. Christ's 
 predictions were strongly marked. 4. Jesus 
 Christ preached much and in a manner wholly 
 incomparable. When the minions of cruelty 
 were sent to arrest him, they were disarmed 
 by hifl amazing discourses. When asked why 
 they did not bring him before the chief priests 
 and Pharisees, the only account they could 
 giye of the matter was, "Never man spake 
 Like this man." John7:4G. The guilty hands 
 lifted against him fell nerveless before his 
 amazing words. No wonder the people were 
 gto&ished at his doctrine; for he taught 
 them as one having authority, and not as the 
 
134 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 scribes." Matt. 7 : 28, 29. The word of God 
 in his mouth was a sharp two-edged sword. 
 Deut. 18:18 and Rev. 1:16. 
 
 4. When Christ left this world and ascended 
 up far above all heavens, "he gave some apos- 
 tles ; and some prophets ; and some evange- 
 lists ; and some pastors and teachers ; for the 
 perfecting of the saints, for the work of the 
 ministry, for the edifying of the body of 
 Christ." Eph. 4 : 11-13. This whole work 
 of the apostles and their co-laborers was 
 conducted under the guidance and teaching 
 of the Holy Grhost, who both taught them 
 and brought to their remembrance all things 
 taught them by the Master personally. John 
 14:26. It was given them what they should 
 say. The same Spirit in his converting power 
 was poured upon their hearers. 
 
 5. Jesus Christ inspired his apostles and 
 evangelists to write for our use twenty-seven 
 distinct books, giving a full account of his life 
 and doctrine, and of his will in all things per- 
 taining to life and godliness, to the end of the 
 world. 
 
 6. It is still Christ's gracious plan to pour 
 out his Spirit on faithful ministers in preach- 
 ing his word, and on tKe hearers of his word, 
 
CHRIST A PROPHET. 135 
 
 so that great numbers are still converted, sanc- 
 tified, and built up in faith and holiness unto 
 eternal life. In these several methods Jesus 
 Christ carries on his great work as the prophet 
 of God. 
 
 Let us consider a little the excellence of 
 his work as a teacher. 
 
 1. Every thing he has taught us either by 
 himself or by his servants is true. In it all 
 there is no mistake, no error, no delusion. 
 The more it is tried, the more true it is pro- 
 ven to be. In a world full of falsehood and 
 delusion, pure truth is a great matter. Now 
 whether men jest or are serious in asking, 
 AVliat is truth ? we can look up to God and 
 say, "Thy word is truth. " " It is truth with- 
 out any admixture of error." It is the truth 
 of God. And it all comes to us through the 
 Spirit of Christ. Indeed, he is the Rock, out 
 of which the river of truth has ever flowed to 
 make glad the city of God. 
 
 2. All he has taught us is very pure. It 
 cannot defile. "The words of the Lord are 
 pore words: as silver tried in a furnace of 
 
 li. purified seven times." "The command- 
 
 incut of the Lord is pure, enlightening the 
 
 is." "The law is holy, just, and good." 
 
136 THE KOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 The reason why the wicked hate God's word 
 is that it is so holy. 
 
 3. Jesus Christ has, in ways already sta- 
 ted, revealed to us the whole will of God for 
 our salvation. He has kept back nothing that 
 would be profitable to us. He says expressly : 
 u All things that I have heard of my Father, 
 I have made known unto you." John 15 : 15 ; 
 Ps. 40:9, 10; Deut. 18:18. 
 
 4. The whole will of God thus made known 
 to us through our great Prophet is accompa- 
 nied by the strongest attestations. It is con- 
 firmed by witnesses who jeoparded their lives, 
 and in most cases actually died martyrs. God 
 has also borne witness, both with signs and 
 wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts 
 of the Holy Ghost. It is confirmed by the 
 spotless life of Christ himself, and by the holy 
 lives of his prophets and apostles. It is con- 
 firmed to us by its converting and sanctifying 
 power over men's souls. It is confirmed by 
 the commanding authority it has over the 
 human conscience. It is confirmed to us by 
 covenant and by God's awful and unimpeach- 
 able oath. 
 
 5. The will of God, as revealed to us by 
 our great prophet, is practicable. The doc- 
 
CHRIST A PEOPHET. 137 
 
 trines can be loved and are loved by all whose 
 hearts are right. All the precepts are just. 
 They are obeyed sincerely by the godly. 
 They were obeyed perfectly in our Lord's 
 human nature, thus showing that they could 
 be kept whenever sin did not oppose. 
 
 6. Our great prophet has made the will of 
 God very plain. " The common people heard 
 him gladly/' He never mystified his hear- 
 
 "That which maketh manifest is light.' 7 
 God's word is even a discerner of the thoughts 
 and intents of the heart. It exposes to our 
 view the secrets of our souls and the glorious 
 mysteries of heavenly things. Neither Christ 
 nor his servants handled the word of God 
 deceitfully. If to any the Bible is a sealed 
 book, it is because of the blindness of their 
 heart " All the words of my mouth are in 
 righteousness ; there is nothing frowarcl or 
 ] icr verse in them. They are all plain to him 
 that tmderstandeth, and right to them that 
 find knowledge." Prov. 8 : 8, 9. 
 
 7. God's will is made known to us in the 
 kindest, gentlest way. Our great prophet did 
 n<»t BtrivOj nor cry, nor cause his voice to be 
 heard in the streets. lie held up a little child 
 
 he pattern he would have us follow. Even 
 
138 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Moses, his servant, who was the minister of the 
 Sinaic covenant, was the meekest of mere men. 
 
 8. Jesus Christ teaches all his people effec- 
 tually. "I will put my law in their inward 
 parts, and write it in their hearts ; and I will 
 be their God and they shall be my people." 
 Jer. 31 : 33. So that David said no more 
 than every child of God may say: "I will 
 never forget thy precepts ; for with them thou 
 hast quickened me.' 7 Ps. 119:93. 
 
 1. Let us not waste our life and time in 
 gaping after some strange thing, some new 
 doctrine, or some new revelation. Let us 
 seek the old paths, the ways in which the 
 prophets, and apostles, and martyrs, and con- 
 fessors, and righteous men walked. There 
 never was but one way of salvation for sinners. 
 There is but one way now. It is taught us 
 by Jesus Christ. Let us not, like the foolish, 
 say, " Who shall ascend into heaven ? (that is, 
 to bring Christ down from above ;) or, Who 
 shall descend into the deep ? (that is, to bring 
 up Christ again from the dead.) But what 
 saith it ? The word is nigh thee, even in thy 
 mouth, and in thy heart ; that is, the word of 
 faith, which we preach : that if thou shalt con- 
 fess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt 
 
CHEIST A PKOPHET. 139 
 
 believe in thy heart that God hath raised him 
 from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with 
 the heart, man believeth unto righteousness ; 
 and with the mouth, confession is made unto 
 salvation." Rom. 10 : 6-10. 
 
 2. The teachings of Christ as our great 
 Prophet are not submitted to us for criticism, 
 for speculation, for our entertainment ; no. 
 " These things have I written unto you that 
 believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye 
 may know that ye have eternal life." 1 John 
 5 :13. "Whatsoever things were written afore- 
 time were written for our learning, that we 
 through patience and comfort of the Scrip- 
 tures might have hope." .Rom. 15 : 4. Hear 
 the word of this salvation not as critics, but as 
 criminals; not as theorists, but as candidates 
 lor eternity ; not as idle spectators of a drama, 
 but as those who must give account to God. 
 
 3. IJow very reasonable it is that such 
 poor, ignorant, blind creatures as we are should 
 pray lor light and wisdom, and especially for 
 the teaching of the Spirit of Christ. Of him 
 it was promised by Christ, "He shall receive 
 of mine, and shall show it unto you." John 
 l(j : 14. Other tilings being equal, he who 
 prays most will learn fastest. When Daniel 
 
140 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 was to expound Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he 
 and his friends found out the secret by prayer. 
 Dan. 2:18. Luther said : " Three things make 
 a good theologian — meditation, temptation, 
 and prayer." David was a prophet, yet often 
 he cried, "Teach me thy statutes;" "Open 
 thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous 
 things out of thy law." 
 
 4. Whatever we do or leave undone, let 
 us not fail to hear and obey this great Prophet. 
 God says we must : "Unto him shall ye heark- 
 en ;" " Whosoever will not hearken unto my 
 words which he shall speak in my name, I 
 will require it of him." This is the law under 
 which the gospel is promulged. Let none 
 think to screen himself from this awful respon- 
 sibility by the fact that Christ is no longer on 
 earth. He is here by his essential presence, 
 and he is here by his faithful ambassadors. 
 Before he left the world, he said to his minis- 
 ters : " He that heareth you heareth me ; and 
 he that despiseth you despiseth me ; and he 
 that despiseth me despiseth him that sent 
 me." Luke 10:16. The law of nations is, 
 He that despises an ambassador insults the 
 government that sent hiin. Such also is the 
 law of the God of heaven. 
 
THE PRIESTHOOD OF OHEIST. 14] 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST. 
 
 In Scripture much is said of the offices of 
 Christ, In particular, his priesthood is dis- 
 tinctly stated. One of the epistles, that to 
 the Hebrews, is an inspired treatise on this 
 subject. It is clear and simple. It discusses 
 the chief points in a natural order, and con- 
 cludes with practical inferences fairly drawn. 
 Christ's priesthood is our theme at present. 
 We can find no better order in which to pre- 
 sent the matter than that suggested by Paul. 
 
 1. The first thing asserted and proved by 
 the apostle is, that our High Priest, Jesus 
 Christ, is divine. All his offices required that 
 he should be God. None but God could be 
 such a King as Christ is. None but God 
 knows the things of God, or could infallibly 
 declare them to us as the Prophet of the 
 church. None but God could satisfy justice, 
 and bring in everlasting righteousness suffi- 
 cient for lost men. On Christ's divinity the 
 power of hi.- priesthood must rest. So Paul 
 thought : and he takes up the whole of the 
 
142 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 first chapter of Hebrews in proving it. He 
 uses four arguments, which to a pious mind 
 are conclusive. 
 
 1 . He says that Christ is ' ' the brightness 
 of the Father's glory, and the express image 
 of his person." Then he says Christ's holy 
 Father calls him " God :" " Thy throne 
 God, is for ever and ever." Heb. 1 : 3, 8. 
 Then he shows, from Psalm 102 : 25, 26, that 
 he is called Lord. In that psalm the word 
 Lord occurs eight times. In every instance 
 the original word is Jehovah, the great and 
 incommunicable name of the self-existent God. 
 
 2. Paul argues the divinity of Christ from 
 the fact that he is Creator. He says expressly, 
 " By him God made the worlds ;" and, "Thou, 
 Lord, in the beginning hast laid the founda- 
 tion of the earth, and the heavens are the 
 works of thy hands." Heb. 1 : 2, 10. He also 
 says : ' ' This man was counted worthy of more 
 glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath 
 builded the house hath more honor than the 
 house. For every house is builded by some 
 man, but he that built all things is God.'' 
 Heb. 3 : 3, 4. 
 
 3. The third argument for Christ's divin- 
 ity here employed is, that he is the author of 
 
THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST. 143 
 
 providence. He governs and sustains the 
 universe. Paul says of Christ, "He upholds 
 all tilings by the word of his power f and, 
 "Thy throne, God, is for ever and ever." 
 Hob. 1:3, 8. Again Paul says : God "hath 
 appointed him heir of all things." Heb. 1 : 2. 
 Well does Whitby say, "I believe it is as 
 impossible to understand how a man should 
 have this empire over all things in heaven 
 and earth, and over death itself, and yet be a 
 mere man, as it is to understand any mystery 
 of the sacred Trinity." 
 
 4. Paul's fourth argument for the divinity 
 of our High Priest is, that by command of his 
 Father he is to be worshipped: "When he 
 bringeth the first-begotten into the world, he 
 saith, And let all the angels of God worship 
 him."' Heb. 1 : 6. Any one of these argu- 
 ments, fairly stated, is conclusive. If Christ 
 is fitly called God and Lord, or if he is the 
 Creator, or if he is the author of providence, 
 or if he is rightly worshipped, he is divine. 
 What higher or better evidence have we that 
 the Father is possessed of supreme divinity 
 than that he is rightly called God and Jeho- 
 vah, that ho made all things, that he governs 
 all things, and that it is proper to pay him 
 
144 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 religious worship ? If we cannot prove the 
 Son divine, neither can we prove the Father 
 divine. 
 
 II. The second proposition of Paul respect- 
 ing our High Priest is, that he is human, has 
 our nature, is a man. We can conceive how 
 our Lord might have been King in his divine 
 nature alone. He could have ruled the world 
 without becoming incarnate. To some extent, 
 perhaps to a saving extent, he might have done 
 the work of a prophet, and taught us the mind 
 and will and nature of G-od, without becoming 
 man. True, we should have very much missed 
 his perfect example, set us in the days of his 
 flesh. But by his word and Spirit he might 
 have made men wise unto salvation without 
 his example. He did this for four thousand 
 years, and gathered many sons to glory. But 
 how could he have been a priest without a na- 
 ture capable of obeying, of suffering, and of 
 dying. Divinity cannot obey, cannot suffer, 
 cannot die. Without a nature capable of suf- 
 fering, he could make no atonement. Although 
 Christ's humanity has at divers times and un- 
 der various pretexts been denied, yet it is 
 now seldom impugned. It is not necessary 
 therefore to argue this matter at length. A 
 
THE PEIESTHOOD OF CHEIST. 145 
 
 few verses on the point will be enough. In 
 Hebrews 2 : 7 we have these words applied to 
 him : " Thou madest him a little [or for a lit- 
 tle while] lower than the angels." In He- 
 brews 2 : 9, Paul says that he "was made a 
 little lower than the angels for the suffering of 
 death.'' In Hebrews 2 :10 Paul says that it 
 was by suffering that Jesus became a perfect 
 Captain of salvation. Then in Hebrews 2:14 
 lie says : ' ' Forasmuch as the children arc par- 
 takers of flesh and blood, he also himself took 
 part of the same, that through death he might 
 destroy him that had the power of death." 
 And in Hebrews 2:17: "Wherefore in all 
 tilings it behooved him to be made like unto 
 his brethren, that he might be a merciful and 
 faithful High Priest in things pertaining to 
 God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the 
 people." And in Hebrews 2:18: "For in 
 that he himself hath suffered being tempted, 
 he is able to succor them that are tempted." 
 
 These passages assign four distinct rea- 
 wli y our Lord must be human : 
 
 1. Thus only could he be lower than the 
 angels, 2. That he might suffer, and so atone 
 3. That by death he might destroy him that 
 had the power of death. And 4. That he 
 
146 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 might by experience learn what temptation 
 and sorrow were, and so be a merciful High 
 Priest. 
 
 III. Jesus Christ was duly called of God 
 to be our High Priest. He was no bold intru- 
 der into those awful functions. Every step 
 he took was agreeable to the counsels of God. 
 This is to us a matter of great importance ; 
 and so we are not left in doubt upon it. In 
 Hebrews 5:4, 5 we read : "No man taketh 
 this honor to himself, but he that is called of 
 God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified 
 not himself to be made a high priest ; but he 
 that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day 
 have I begotten thee." If it can be shown 
 that any man was ever called of God to any 
 office, much more can it be proved that the 
 Son was called of his Holy Father to be a 
 High Priest. 
 
 IY. Not only ancient usage, but the law 
 of Moses required that the high priest should 
 be anointed. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, 
 the Lord's Anointed. Twice in God's word, 
 once in prophecy, and once in direct and in- 
 spired application to Christ, do we find these 
 words: "God, thy God, hath anointed thee 
 with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." 
 
THE PKIESTHOOD OF CHRIST. 147 
 
 Psa. 45 : 7 ; Heb. 1:9. In his first great ser- 
 mon after his baptism and return to Nazareth, 
 Jesus Christ clearly and unequivocally applied 
 to himself these words of Isaiah : " The Spirit 
 of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath 
 anointed me to preach good tidings to the 
 meek,'' etc. Compare Luke 4 : 16-22 and Isa. 
 61 :l-3. He said : "This day is this Scrip- 
 ture fulfilled." 
 
 V. Jesus Christ was sent of God into the 
 world on the very work of a high priest. 
 Malachi had foretold that he should be the 
 " Messenger of the covenant f and Paul well 
 calls him " the Apostle and High Priest of our 
 profession. " Mai. 3:1 and Heb. 3:1. In 
 John's gospel Christ is thirty times declared 
 to have been sent by his Father: "I must 
 work the works of him that sent me f "It is 
 my meat to do the will of him that sent me," 
 mples. Indeed, Jesus said expressly 
 that he both taught and wrought miracles that 
 moil might believe that God had sent him. 
 John 11 :42. And in his days humble souls 
 so received him ; for Nicodemus said : " We 
 know that thou art a teacher come from God." 
 
 YI. Jesus Christ was fit to be our High 
 Priest, because he was "without sin." He)). 
 
148 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 4:15. He was without original sin, for he 
 was not represented in Adam, our first parent 
 standing only for such as descended from him 
 by ordinary generation. So the angel who 
 announced him to Mary called him " that 
 Holy Thing which shall be born of thee." It 
 was every way necessary that our High Priest 
 should be holy. God could have been in no 
 way pleased with a high priest acting, offer- 
 ing, or interceding for us, if like ourselves he 
 was a sinner, tainted and vile. Nor could 
 we, with any just sense of sin, ever have been 
 brought to put our confidence in one who was 
 himself guilty and rebellious. Jesus was not 
 only not a sinner, but he was impeccable. 
 It is with great delight that we read: "Such 
 a High Priest became us, who is holy, 
 harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." 
 God the Father knew how vital this point 
 was, and so he has given us the most ample 
 satisfaction respecting it. At Christ's bap- 
 tism a voice from heaven said: "This is my 
 beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
 Matt. 3:17. So on the mount of transfigura- 
 tion, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is 
 my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased : 
 hear ye him." Matt. 17:5. John says he 
 
THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST. 149 
 
 was "fall of grace and truth." John 1:14. 
 Even the miserable trifler who sat in judgment 
 on our Lord said : ' ' I find no fault in this man." 
 Nay, more ; he says, " I find no fault at all ;" 
 "I find no fault in him f "I find no fault in 
 him." Luke 23:4; John 18:38; 19:4, 6. 
 Even infidels generally have admitted that 
 his character was blameless. The only true 
 thing his enemies ever said in their malice 
 •gainst him while on earth was, that in which 
 we glory: "This man receiveth sinners." 
 Luke 15:2. Though not a sinner himself, he 
 loves sinners, he pities sinners, he died for 
 sinners, he saves sinners, he saves none but 
 sinners, he had no other errand on earth. 
 blessed be God, the Lord Christ owed no obe- 
 dience to the law for himself, for he was the 
 Lawgiver. He needed not, as other high 
 priests, daily to offer up sacrifice, first for his 
 own sins, and then for the people's. Heb. 
 7 :27. We have his merits and his blood for 
 omr salvation. He needed no sacrifice to make 
 him personally a sweet savor unto God. 
 
 VII. Christ is a priest, not after the order 
 of Aaron, but after the order of Melchisedek. 
 Under tin,' law. (lie high priest held no other 
 office ; but Melchisedek and Christ held the 
 
150 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 two offices of King and Priest. Melchisedek 
 signifies king of righteousness ; and lie was 
 also king of Salem, which is King of peace. 
 So Jesus, by reason of his infinite superemi- 
 nence, is most fitly styled both king of righte- 
 ousness and king of peace. He brought in 
 everlasting righteousness, so that God is now 
 as righteous as he is merciful' in pardoning 
 sin and in accepting the sinner. And Jesus 
 is the King of peace. He is the author of all 
 the peace between God and penitent sinners, 
 between Jews and Gentiles. His blood speaks 
 peace to the conscience. He is our Peace. 
 Neither the name of Melchisedek, nor that of 
 his parents is found in the genealogical tables 
 of the tribe of Levi. " And it is evident that 
 our Lord sprang out of Juda ; of which tribe 
 Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood." 
 Melchisedek was greater than Aaron, greater 
 than Levi, greater than Abraham ; for to him 
 Abraham paid tithes, and from him received 
 a blessing; "and without all contradiction the 
 less is blessed of the better." In the whole 
 history of Melchisedek he appeared but once ; 
 so "now once in the end of the world hath 
 Christ appeared to put away sin by the sacri- 
 fice of himself." And as Melchisedek, so Christ 
 
THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHEIST. 151 
 
 had no predecessor and no successor in office. 
 He needed none. None was fit for such a 
 work. Christ's work is perfect. 
 
 VIII. Jesus Christ made a suitable offer- 
 ing to God. " Every high priest is ordained 
 to offer gifts and sacrifices ; wherefore it is of 
 necessity that this man have somewhat also to 
 offer." Heb. 8 : 3. Accordingly Christ gave 
 "himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to 
 God for a sweet-smelling savor." Eph. 5 : 2. 
 In order to Christ's oblation availing for us, 
 it must be something that he had a right to 
 offer, something that he was willing to offer, 
 something that was itself very precious, and 
 something that God entirely approved and 
 highly esteemed. On each of these points 
 the Scriptures give us the most entire satis- 
 faction. Not a doubt is left on the mind of 
 one who takes God's word for his guide. 
 Other priests offered bulls and goats and 
 lambs; but Jesus offered himself, his entire 
 human nature. "We are sanctified through 
 the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once 
 for all." JI.cb. 10:10. Here, as in many 
 other places, body means the whole man. 
 First he offered his corporeal nature. It 
 spit upon, smitten, crowned with thorns; 
 
152 THE KOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 was nailed to the cross, was thrilled with 
 agony, was dead and buried. He also offered 
 his soul. Even before his arrest, so terribly 
 did the wrath of God press upon him that his 
 sweat was as great drops of blood. He ex- 
 claimed : "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, 
 even unto death. " All this was according 
 to prophecy, for the evangelical prophet had 
 said, "Thou shalt make his soul an offering 
 for sin." Isa. 53:10. His divinity was the 
 altar, which sanctified his oblation. His whole 
 person made the offering, or presented the 
 gift. And his entire human nature was the 
 sacrifice. His sacrifice was true, not fictitious ; 
 real, not imaginary ; proper, not typical. His 
 one oblation was enough. It opened the gates 
 of heaven to all believers. God has accepted 
 it before angels and men. Under the law of 
 Moses no sacrifice took away sin. Heb. 10 : 4. 
 All was type, figure, shadow of something to 
 come. But when Christ came he slew the 
 enmity, he took away the hand -writing that 
 was against us, he satisfied divine justice, he 
 brought redemption. Under the law sacrifices 
 were ordained only for sins of ignorance, sins 
 against the law of ceremonies, and sins admit- 
 ting of restitution. No provision was made 
 
THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST. 153 
 
 for sacrifices for murder, or unbelief, or pride, 
 or malice. Accordingly, when David found 
 himself convicted of violating the sixth and 
 seventh commandments, he said, "Thoudesir- 
 est not sacrifice, else would I give it." But 
 " the Lamb of God taketh away the sin of the 
 world." "The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, 
 cleanseth us from all sin." So that "he has 
 perfected for ever them that are sanctified." 
 He has made the comers to his altar perfect, 
 as concerning offering for sin. 
 
 IX. When the high priest under the law 
 had shed the blood and offered the victim, he 
 made his intercessions in this lower world, in 
 a place made with hands ; but Christ has en- 
 tered "into heaven itself, now to appear in 
 the presence of God for us." Heb. 9 : 24. 
 Thus he is "made higher than the heavens." 
 Heb. 7 : 26. None else was ever permitted to 
 si and before the blazing throne in heaven and 
 with authority plead with God. In all things 
 Jesus has the preeminence. Now "if any man 
 sin. we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus 
 Christ the righteous." We know where he is 
 and what he is doing. He "is passed into the 
 heavens." He is at the right hand of God. 
 He is preparing a place for his people. "He 
 
 7* 
 
154 THE EOCK OF OUB SALVATION. 
 
 ever liveth to make intercession for us." His 
 blood speaketh peace. His appearance is our 
 advocacy. The arguments he uses are the 
 wounds he received. His intercession never 
 fails. " Him the Father heareth always." If 
 you would see how he prays, study John 17th. 
 It is remarkable, however, that the law of 
 Moses gives no form of words to be used by 
 the high priest in the holy of holies. So 
 Christ's intercession may be very much in his 
 " appearance for us." When an Athenian was 
 about to be sentenced for crime, his worthy 
 brother, who had terribly bled for the liber- 
 ties of his country, came into court, looked at 
 the prisoner tenderly and at the judges im- 
 ploringly, at the same time lifting up the 
 stump of an arm, as if to plead. It was 
 enough. The argument was decisive. The 
 prisoner went free. 
 
 X. The high priest, having fulfilled his 
 office in the holy place, came forth and gave 
 his benediction to Israel, saying : " The Lord 
 bless thee, and keep thee : the Lord make his 
 face shine upon .thee, and be gracious unto 
 thee : the Lord lift up his countenance upon 
 thee, and give thee peace." Num. 6:24-26. 
 "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins 
 
THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST.. 155 
 
 of many ; and unto them that look for him shall 
 he appear the second time without sin unto sal- 
 vation." Heb. 9 : 28. yes! He will come 
 again, not in sadness, not with lips swollen 
 with grief, not with his visage marred more 
 than any man; but in his glory, and all the 
 holy angels with him. Then shall he say, 
 "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
 tion of the world." that our ears may hear 
 that blessed plaudit ! 
 
 XI. Under the law men came into the 
 high priest's office, and went out of it again ; 
 but Jesus Christ, "because he continue th ever, 
 hath an unchangeable priesthood." He "ever 
 liveth." He "is consecrated for ever more." 
 He is made a high priest, not "after the Uxav 
 of a carnal commandment, but after the power 
 of an endless life." He "is a priest for ever." 
 Heb. 7:1G, 17, 24, 25, 28. He abideth ever 
 over the house of God. I am glad — are not 
 you? — that there is to be no change in the 
 priesthood of our profession. No change is 
 possible. None but Jesus is worthy of the 
 office. Any change would be for the worse. 
 We could never have another like Jesus. 
 
 His priesthood suggests these lessons : 
 
156 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 1. How vain are all other sacrifices for sin. 
 No tears, no blood, no offerings but those of 
 Christ can avail for us. He who pleads other 
 merits before God is a thief and a robber. 
 John 10 : 1. A few years ago, an archbishop 
 of Paris was dying of wounds received in an 
 cmeute. He said : "0 God, I offer to thee my 
 present bodily sufferings as an atonement for 
 the errors of my episcopate. " But the suffer- 
 ings of a sinner have no merit, no efficacy to 
 atone. Jesus only, Jesus alone has so suf- 
 fered as to make reconciliation for the people. 
 
 2. In Christ we have all we need. Jesus 
 is so excellent in person and character, and is 
 so highly in favor with God, that if he will 
 but manage our cause and plead for us before 
 the throne, we cannot fail. He counts it not 
 robbery to be equal with God, and yet he is 
 not ashamed to call us brethren. He can lay 
 his hand upon God and upon us. In all 
 things he suits our case and meets our neces- 
 sities. His offering was perfect. It was fully 
 accepted of God. He was a sin-offering. He 
 bore the sin of many. This suits us. Sinners, 
 sinners only, sinners always need expiation. 
 The effect of Christ's oblation has been mar- 
 vellous. Its wonders will never cease. It is 
 
THE PKIESTHOOD OF CHRIST. 157 
 
 now filling heaven with a happy throng of 
 worshippers, and with thundering hallelujahs. 
 
 3. With Christ for our high priest, Ave 
 may exercise great boldness in prayer. Thus 
 Paul reasons : " Let us therefore come boldly 
 unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain 
 mercy, and find grace to Iiclp in time of need.'' 
 Again : "Having a high priest over the house 
 of God, let us draw near with a true heart, 
 in full assurance of faith, having our hearts 
 sprinkled from an evil conscience and our 
 bodies washed with pure water." Heb. 4:16; 
 10:21,22. 
 
 4. In Christ's priesthood we have a sure 
 foundation for Christian steadfastness. So 
 Paul reasoned: " Seeing then that we have a 
 great High Priest, that is passed into the heav- 
 en-, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our 
 profession." Again: "Let us hold fast the 
 profession of our faith without wavering; for 
 he is faithful that promised." Heb. 4:14; 
 10 : 23. It cannot but be safe to rely on such 
 a Redeemer, and fearlessly do our duty. 
 
 5. This doctrine is essentially connected 
 with the whole life of faith as Paul shows at 
 length in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. 
 
 G. This doctrine is full of comfort to the 
 
158 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 afflicted. So Paul uses it at length in the 
 twelfth chapter of Hebrews. 
 
 7. This doctrine leads the pious soul to 
 acts of thanksgiving, as nothing else does. 
 " By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of 
 praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of 
 our lips, giving thanks to his name." Heb. 
 13 : 15. The great gospel feast is that of the 
 Eucharist. 
 
 8. The great motive to a life of benevo- 
 lence is drawn from this doctrine of Christ's 
 priesthood. So Paul uses it: "Be not forget- 
 ful to entertain strangers ;" "Kemember them 
 that are in bonds, as bound with them j" "To 
 do good, and to communicate, forget not : for 
 with such sacrifices God is well pleased." 
 Heb. 13:2, 3, 16. 
 
 9. It is at our peril that we reject the 
 priesthood of Jesus. Yea more, we are un- 
 done if we do it. On this point Paul is urgent : 
 "How shall we escape if we neglect so great 
 salvation?" "See that ye refuse not him that 
 speaketh." ■ ■ He that despised Moses' law died 
 without mercy under two or three witnesses : 
 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, 
 shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden 
 under foot the Son of God, and hath counted 
 
THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST. 159 
 
 the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was 
 sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done 
 despite unto the Spirit of grace." Heb. 2:3; 
 12 : 25 ; 10 : 28, 29. These solemn and awful 
 texts establish these points : 1. Neglect of 
 Christ is refusal of his grace. 2. Persistent 
 neglect of Christ is followed by inevitable 
 damnation.- 3. There is something worse than 
 dying without mercy under Moses' law. 4. Sin 
 reaches its height when we trample on the 
 blood of Christ. 5. He who neglects Christ, 
 does despite to the Holy Spirit. A gospel 
 despiser is acting as foolishly as he is wick- 
 edly. impenitent man ! your condition is 
 indeed sad. Your worst fears are not as bad 
 as the truth would justify. The awful sen- 
 tence of a broken law is against you ; your 
 own conscience will sooner or later flash dam- 
 nation in your face; even now your polluted 
 heart often writhes in agony; your wicked 
 life is a token of perdition. The day of your 
 death is near at hand ; there is a dreadful 
 hell just before you, and you deserve to be 
 cast into it. turn, turn, turn to God 
 before the door of mercy closes for ever. 
 
160 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CHKIST A KING. 
 
 Those who reject Christ as King have 
 never truly received him as Prophet or Priest. 
 His yoke and his doctrine, his rule and his 
 rest, go together. If his love does not make 
 us obedient to his laws, we have no interest 
 in his merits. We are not wise unto salva- 
 tion till we bow to his authority. If we are 
 partakers of his redemption, we are certainly 
 partakers of his holiness. We may talk of his 
 wonderful teachings, or boast of our interest 
 in his amazing sacrifice, but it is all in vain 
 so long as we refuse to own him as our Leader 
 and Commander. Wherever he comes to bless, 
 he comes as a Conqueror. His rule is as just 
 as it is welcome to the penitent : " For to this 
 end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, 
 that he might be Lord both of the dead and 
 living." Rom. 14 : 9. No law of Christ is too 
 strict for a believer. With a controlling power 
 his conscience enforces, and his heart embraces 
 every precept of his Master. The kingly office 
 of Christ is our theme. 
 
CHRIST A KING. 161 
 
 I. Prophecy required that Christ should 
 be a King. So ran that great fundamental 
 prediction made to David : "I will set up thy 
 seed after thee . . . and I will establish his 
 kingdom . . . and I will stablish the throne of 
 his kingdom for ever. I will be his Father, 
 and he shall be my Son." 2 Sam. 7 : 12-14. 
 Again : "I have set my King upon my holy 
 hill of Zion." Psa. 2 : 6. Again : " Unto us a 
 Child is born, unto us a Son is given : and the 
 government shall be upon his shoulder : and 
 his name shall be called- Wonderful, Counsel- 
 lor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, 
 the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his 
 government and peace there shall be no end, 
 upon the throne of David, and upon his king- 
 dom, to order it, and to establish it with judg- 
 ment and with justice from henceforth even for 
 ever." Isa. 9 :6, 7. The great promise to Beth- 
 lehem Ephratah was: " Out of thee shall he 
 come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in 
 IsraeL" Mic. 5:2. So also the angel Gabriel 
 said of him to Mary: "He shall be great, and 
 shall be called the Son of the Highest ; and 
 the Lord God shall give unto him the throne 
 of htfl lather David. And he shall reign over 
 the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his king- 
 
162 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 dom there shall be no end." Luke 1 : 32, 33. 
 It is thus clear that prophecy required him to 
 be a King. 
 
 II. When Jesus Christ was upon his trial 
 before Pilate, that guilty trifler "said unto 
 him, Art thou a king then f And in the lan- 
 guage commonly used in those days to affirm, 
 he answered, "Thou sayest that I am a king." 
 The meaning is, Thou correctly sayest I am a 
 king. And that all may see his solemn ear- 
 nestness, he immediately adds, "To this end 
 was I born, and for this cause came I into the 
 world, that I should bear witness unto the 
 truth. Every one that is of the truth hear- 
 eth my voice." So that Christ's mission into 
 this world would have been in vain, if this 
 "trutJi" had not been received. Twenty- 
 seven years after Christ's trial, Paul, writing 
 to a young minister, and giving him a charge 
 to be faithful, calls his attention to this awful 
 scene in the judgment-hall, when "Jesus Christ 
 before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good con- 
 fession." 1 Tim. 6:13. The only thing Christ 
 confessed on his trial before Pilate was, that 
 he was a king and Christ. This was his ' ' good 
 confession." It was good, because it was true. 
 " He sealed it with his precious blood." 
 
CHKIST A KING. 163 
 
 III. Jesus Christ is often called Lord, 
 Master, Governor, Ruler, Shepherd, Prince, 
 Prince and Saviour, the great Prince, the 
 Prince of Life, the Prince of Peace, the Prince 
 of princes, the Prince of the kings of the earth, 
 a King, the King, the King of kings and Lord 
 of lords. This last title is first found in 1 Tim- 
 othy 6:15, 16 : "Which in his times he shall 
 show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, 
 the King of kings and Lord of lords, who only 
 hath immortality, dwelling in the light which 
 no man can approach unto ; whom no man 
 hath seen, nor can see : to whom be honor 
 and power everlasting. Amen." Some apply 
 this passage to Christ, some to the Father, 
 and some to the Godhead without distinction 
 of persons. For the purposes of this argu- 
 ment, either mode suits our object. If it refers 
 to Christ, it settles the question of his kingly 
 authority. If it refers to the Father, or to 
 the Divinity without distinction of persons, 
 then it settles the point that the highest sov- 
 
 j;nty is thus declared. And we have the 
 very same language, thirty-five years after, 
 applied to ( Jhrist : " The Lamb shall overcome 
 them: for he is Lord of lords and King of 
 kings ;" "And he hath on his vesture and on 
 
164 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 his thigh a name written, King of kings and 
 Lord of lords. " Eev. 17:14; 19 :16. Surely 
 Jesus is a King. 
 
 IV. In the Scriptures, Jesus Christ is said 
 to possess all the badges and tokens of a king. 
 He has a throne : " Thy throne, God, is for 
 ever and ever," Heb. 1:8; "To him that 
 overcometh will I give to sit with me in my 
 throne," Rev. 3:21. He has a crown; for 
 we read of " the crown wherewith his mother 
 crowned him in the day of his espousals." 
 Cant. 3:11. About a thousand years later 
 John says: "And a crown was given unto 
 him; and he went forth conquering, and to 
 conquer." Rev. 6:2. And to show the am- 
 plitude of his kingly authority, John says : 
 " And on his head were many crowns." Rev. 
 19 : 12. Christ has a sceptre : "A sceptre of 
 righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." 
 Heb. 1:8. Christ has a kingdom. He says 
 to Pilate : ' ' My kingdom is not of this world : 
 if my kingdom were of this world, then would 
 my servants fight, that I should not be deliv- 
 ered to the Jews : but now is my kingdom not 
 from hence." John 18 : 36. Christ has sub- 
 jects. In the verse just cited he speaks of his 
 servants. His people in heaven and earth feel 
 
CHRIST A KING. 165 
 
 honored by being allowed to live under him, 
 and to serve him. And at God's command 
 all the angels of heaven have taken the oath 
 of allegiance to him : "Let all the angels of 
 God worship him." Heb. 1:6. He has the 
 sword: " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, 
 most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty." 
 Psa. 45 : 3. He deals with his enemies like a 
 great King : "He shall break them with a rod 
 of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's 
 vessel." Psa. 2 : 9. Surely he is a King. 
 
 V. But w T hat sort of a king is Christ? Let 
 us see. 
 
 1. He is an everlasting King: His "go- 
 ings forth have been from of old, from ever-- 
 lasting." Mic 5:2. He "was in the begin- 
 ning with God." John 1:2. He " was set up 
 from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever 
 the earth was." Prov. 8:23. Nor shall he 
 
 r cease to be King : " Thy throne, God, 
 is for ever and ever." Heb. 1 :8. The great 
 prophet of the captivity expressly says his 
 " kingdom is an everlasting kingdom," "which 
 shall never be destroyed." Dan. 2 :44 ; 7:27. 
 I lis throne shall endure as the days of hcav- 
 ( J lory to God for that. 
 
 2. He is a wise King. One of his names 
 
166 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 is Wisdom. Prov. 8. According to proph- 
 ecy, he has dealt prudently in all things. 
 Isa. 52:13. He has never made any mistake. 
 He orders and establishes his kingdom with 
 the ken of omniscience. He leads his people 
 by the right way, that they may go to a city 
 of habitation. Psa. 107 : 7. He teaches them 
 all in the way of wisdom ; he leads them in 
 right paths. Wl en they go, their steps shall 
 not be straitened ; and when they run they 
 shall not stumble. 
 
 3. He is a just King. He preserveth the 
 faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud- 
 doer. Just and right is he. He accepteth 
 not the person of princes, nor regardeth the 
 rich more than the poor. "A sceptre of right- 
 eousness is the sceptre of his kingdom." Heb. 
 1 :8. However things may seem to us, right- 
 eousness and judgment are the habitation of 
 his throne. Our King can do no wrong. He 
 never has done wrong to any. Much as he 
 had set his heart on saving sinners, he would 
 not open the gates of paradise to one of them 
 till he had bound himself by oath and cove- 
 nant to satisfy all the claims of justice, and to 
 bring in everlasting righteousness. He will 
 not carry one sinner to glory, trampling on 
 
CHRIST A KING. 167 
 
 the rights and government of God as he goes. 
 When the awful scenes of the last day shall 
 come, the heavens shall declare his righteous- 
 ness, and all the people see his glory. Not a 
 blot shall be found on his escutcheon, nor an 
 error in his awards. Hallelujah ! The Judge 
 of all the earth will do right. 
 
 4. Christ is an almighty King. Nothing 
 is too hard for him. None can resist him. 
 He carries the keys of the invisible world ; 
 he opens, and none can shut ; he shuts, and 
 none can open. He controls all causes and 
 all agents. He is the Lord strong and mighty, 
 the Lord mighty in battle. Who would set 
 the briers and thorns against him in battle ? 
 lie would go through them, and burn them 
 together. At his rebuke the pillars of heaven 
 tremble. The hiding of his power none can 
 understand. He is "the Almighty." Rev. 
 1:8. Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipo- 
 tent reigneth. 
 
 5. Jesus is a meek, tender, merciful, conde- 
 scending King. He never breaks the bruised 
 
 1. He never quenches the smoking flax. 
 The haughtiest monarchs he has trodden to 
 hell ; but he never trampled on a broken 
 heart. "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion ; 
 
168 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 shout, daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy 
 King cometh unto thee : he is just, and hav- 
 ing salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an ass." 
 Zech. 9:9. Yes, He who commands the twenty 
 thousand chariots of heaven, Psalm 68 : 17, 
 entered the holy city in the humblest manner, 
 even when receiving a triumph decreed to 
 him by prophecy. Yea more, he wept over 
 the very city that was about to imbrue its 
 hands in his blood. It was but ten days after 
 his ascension till he sent his ministers and his 
 Spirit to call his murderers to repentance; 
 and in one day thousands of them were made 
 to rejoice in his loving-kindness. Though the 
 heaven is his throne and the earth is his foot- 
 stool, yet he dwells with him that is poor and 
 of a contrite spirit, and trembles at God's 
 word. 
 
 6. Jesus Christ is a King of exhaustless 
 resources. He has unsearchable riches. He 
 is heir of all things. The stars, and the sea, 
 and the dry land are his, for he made them. 
 He is Lord of angels. "He is Lord of all." 
 Acts 10 : 36. Yea, he is "the Lord of glory." 
 1 Cor. 2 : 8. All power in heaven and earth 
 is given unto him. Matt. 28:18. When he 
 promises grace and glory, we know it is sure 
 
CHKIST A KING. 169 
 
 to come. AVhcn he pledges a crown and a 
 kingdom and a royal priesthood to the hum- 
 blest of his followers, we may judge of his 
 immense treasures and possessions. He gives 
 even to his enemies, many a time, great wealth, 
 and even diadems, though he respects no 
 man's person. The earth is his, and the ful- 
 thereof. 
 VI. But what sort of a kingdom has Christ? 
 Just such as you would expect such a King to 
 preside over. 
 
 1. It is divinely ordered and ordained. 
 Hear his own words : "I appoint unto you a 
 kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto 
 me." Luke 22:29. His regal power is no 
 usurpation: "The Father of glory . . . raised 
 him from the dead, and set him at his own 
 right hand in the heavenly places, far above 
 all principality, and power, and might, and 
 dominion, and every name that is named, not 
 only in this world, but also in that which is 
 to come ; and hath put all things under his 
 feet, and gave him to be the head over all 
 things to the church.'' Eph. 1 :17, 20-22. 
 
 2. Christ's kingdom is not of this world. 
 Ii«' Bays so expressly, John 18:36. It is not 
 
 ■d on worldly wisdom; it is not ruled by 
 
170 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 worldly maxims ; it is not managed by crafty 
 statesmanship. Scott says: "It has nothing 
 to do with men's temporal interests or privi- 
 leges ; it leaves rulers and subjects in the same 
 situation as it found them. It is .therefore no 
 fit object of jealousy to any government. Je- 
 sus never armed his followers. His disciples 
 were inoffensive in their habits, and were for- 
 bidden to fight for him, even when he was 
 apprehended. So that his kingdom is clearly 
 not of a secular nature, but relates wholly to 
 spiritual and heavenly things, and is sup- 
 ported entirely by spiritual sanctions and 
 authority. 77 
 
 3. Christ's kingdom is not his without a 
 cause. He has deserved all his honors and 
 all his authority. He is not on the throne by 
 an act of grace to him, but by his own ama- 
 zing merits: He was "in the form of God,' 7 
 and ' ' thought it not robbery to be equal with 
 God ; but made himself of no reputation, and 
 took upon him the form of a servant, and 
 was made in the likeness of men : and being- 
 found in fashion as a man, he humbled him- 
 self, and became obedient unto death, even the 
 death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath 
 highly exalted him, and given him a name 
 
CHKIST A KING. 171 
 
 which is above every name; that at the name 
 of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in 
 heaven, and things in earth, and things under 
 the earth, and that every tongue should con- 
 fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of 
 God the Father." Phil. 2:6-11. All heaven 
 publicly and adoringly ascribes his kingly ex- 
 altation to his own merits. Rev. 5:12. Their 
 cry ever is, " Worthy is the Lamb." 
 
 4. His kingdom is universal. It includes 
 all worlds, all creatures, all causes. Nothing 
 in heaven, nothing in earth, nothing under the 
 earth is outside of it. His saints praise him. 
 The angels adore him. The devils are subject 
 to him. The king's heart is in his hands, and 
 he turneth it whithersoever he will. His king- 
 dom rulcth over all. 
 
 5. Christ's kingdom is supreme. He is 
 over all God blessed for ever. There is no 
 principality over him. His kingdom is not a 
 wheel within another wheel, an imperium in 
 imperio ; but it is so exalted that there is 
 nothing above it, 
 
 G. It is stable. Nothing can shake it. 
 Many n bold conspiracy has been formed 
 against it, but all in vain. Worms cannot 
 spit their venom so as to reach the stars in 
 
172 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 their course. Nor can puny mortals reach the 
 person or the power of our Immanuel. 
 
 1. Christ's kingdom is full of energy. By 
 his own divine efficiency he carries on his 
 government. He upholds all things by his 
 powerful word. He does his will in heaven 
 and in earth. He is expecting till his ene- 
 mies become his footstool. Not an empire 
 rises or sinks but by his will. Not a sparrow 
 falls to the ground without his notice. Every 
 change on earth is by his providence. He 
 is subverting wicked counsels and defeating 
 wicked plots, till he shall have done, his whole 
 pleasure upon Mount Zion. 
 
 His work on his people is mighty. He 
 subdues them to himself. By love, by power, 
 by truth, by chastisement, by terrible things 
 in righteousness, in mercy, in judgment, in 
 faithfulness, in loving kindness, he reigns their 
 Lord and Master. He chains their great 
 adversary ; he subdues their iniquities under 
 them ; he strips the world of its fatal fascina- 
 tions ; he makes them willing in the day of his 
 power ; he leads them into all necessary truth. 
 A joyful allegiance to Christ is a great ele- 
 ment of true piety. 
 
 8. His kingdom is and perhaps ever will 
 
CHRIST A KING. 173 
 
 be above human comprehension. "God mani- 
 fest in the flesh" is the mystery of mysteries. 
 "When Christ is about to do his greatest won- 
 ders, both of judgment and of mercy, he often 
 gives no such notice as arrests attention. 
 The kingdom of God cometh not with obser- 
 vation. The Lord comes suddenly to his tem- 
 ple. He doeth mighty things which we look 
 not for. When we are shut up and cannot 
 come forth, then he brings us out into a 
 large place. When he turns our captivity, we 
 are like them that dream. The resurrection 
 of Christ, .his ascension to heaven, the mira- 
 cles of Pentecost, the release of Peter, the 
 conversion of Paul surprised both good and 
 bad men. It shall be so to the end of time. 
 The judgment day itself will abound with 
 wonders, beyond all the days of earth. One 
 great mystery is that both w 4 e and the Captain 
 of our salvation are "made perfect through 
 suffering." Strange that he should scourge 
 every son whom he receiveth; but so runs his 
 counsel, and so we become partakers of the 
 Divine nature. 
 
 Sometimes to us his delays are unaccount- 
 able, and we cry out, "0 Lord, how long? 
 Why tarry thy eliariot wheels? Why do the 
 
174 THI >I OtXB s.vi.v \ 
 
 wicked pro* Why are v, | | full 
 
 cup wrong out to thy chosen ones?" Bui 
 
 [hat with the Lord one day 
 thousand years, and a thousand \ 
 
 nhabiteth eternity. His pr 
 are bounded by no horizon. His delays 
 punish are stupendous mercies. Without then 
 no flesh would be spa rod. 
 
 1. Let 08 put our hand into our Saviour's 
 hand to lead us as he will. A child of t 
 
 -ick. She had suffered long and 
 She was asked whether mid 
 
 not prefer death to life, u Just as the I 
 was her reply. •• l>ut," said i 
 I should refer it to ild you 
 
 ehoo She Replied: "Then I would refer it 
 
 baek again to God." Bhe 
 
 Should we, settle such a question 
 would almost certainly be decided wrong. 
 the Master determines it there will be no n 
 take when we wholly submit our 
 
 will to his will his will be and so 
 
 God has 1. 
 When that which pi ie Lord pic. 
 
 nothing can take away our rejoicing. Much 
 of the bliss of heaven consist < in this ha] 
 
CHRIST A KING. 175 
 
 temper. No doubt things are constantly oc- 
 curring in the realms above which would pro- 
 voke resistance and rebellion in hearts not 
 taught perfect submission to the will of God. 
 The demand for hearty acquiescence is most 
 
 sonable, because the Lord is unerring. It 
 he were ever unkind, if he were unwise, if he 
 were feeble, we might hesitate. But he is too 
 good, too perfect to be doubted. 
 
 2. The church is safe. The gates of hell 
 shall not prevail against her. She enjoys her 
 Monarch's love and her Monarch's care. Jesus 
 lives and reigns for ever! To all believers we 
 may boldly say, " Who shall harm you, if ye 
 be followers of that which is good?" The 
 solution of a good man's perplexities, and the 
 quelling of his fears, can often be had by 
 remembering that our Saviour's throne is the 
 throne of God, and that his ways are the v 
 of God. lie giveth account of none of his 
 matters. The Lord our God in the midst of 
 us is mighty, mighty to save all who take ref- 
 uge in him, mighty to destroy all who dare 
 /ion. Christ's kingly office is 
 made illustrious iii bringing pood out of evil, 
 
 light out of darkness, and joy out of sorrow. 
 When the unhappy Dr. Dodd was on his way 
 
170 'J I OUJi *A 
 
 to execution, a brutish man came and tauc 
 him as a culprit, though a minister of I 
 j>"J. IJ<: bad indeed committed t crime, 
 
 but there is some reason to hope that he 
 
 tie penitent In his anguish, heightened by 
 the gA26 Of the multitude and the reproa< 
 oft; : : be quoted those memora- 
 
 ble irhicb the prophet Micah put into 
 
 the montb of the church : li Rejoice not against 
 
 mine enemy; when I Call, J shall ari 
 in darkness, the Lord shall b 
 light unto me, I wij] bear the indignation of 
 the Lord, because J have sinned aj turn, 
 
 until he plead myeau.se, and execute judgment 
 lot me ; he will bring me forth to the light, 
 and I shall he-hold his Bghteo ' The 
 
 gloomy procession moved on, the crowd be- 
 coming more dense, until al who 
 had used the reproach wj the 
 
 h and perished, though no one intended 
 
 him evil. Thus were fulfilled the word of the 
 
 very next verse, whieh Dodd had not quoted : 
 
 "He that is mine enemy . . . shall be trodden 
 down as the dKre of the Chrii 
 
 the Prince of the kings of the earth. 
 
 We greatly mi at the church, 
 
 and Christ also, when we teach that hi 
 
CHRIST A KING. 177 
 
 dom is of this world, that the weapons of her 
 Warfare are carnal, that the linen white and 
 clean of her members can be trailed in the 
 mire of this world's maxims, usages, and pol- 
 icy, without being defiled. There is no risk in 
 asserting that the cause of Christ has been 
 more injured by being represented so as to 
 sanction the vices and crimes and follies of 
 iiini, than by all the fires of persecution ever 
 kindled. The great error of the Jews respect- 
 ing Messiah's kingdom was that it was of this 
 world. His own followers labored under this 
 error for a long time. They said, " Lord 
 wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to 
 Israel 
 
 4. Let all who are yet out of Christ, be 
 reconciled to him now while it is called to- 
 day. He has a right to your highest homage. 
 He is your rightful sovereign. Out of him 
 you are undone. He has come and is calling 
 you. Will you accept his grace?" He 
 done more for you than all your earthly 
 ids united. He offers you the life that 
 and that which is to come. Oh that 
 you would be wiae t wise for yourself, v. 
 
 wise for etertiity. "Kiss the 
 lest he be angry, and ye perish from 
 8* 
 
178 THE ROOK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the way when his wrath is kindled but a 
 little." 
 
 now unto the klng eternal, immortal, 
 invisible, the only wise god our saviour, 
 be honor and glory for ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. 179 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. 
 
 Some distinguish between Christ's conde- 
 
 • 
 
 scension in assuming our nature, and his 
 humiliation in suffering. But the distinction 
 is useless. God "humbleth himself to behold 
 the things that are in heaven and in the 
 earth." Ps. 113 : 6. Surely then he humbled 
 himself when he became incarnate. This has 
 already been considered. 
 
 Respecting the humiliation of the Saviour, 
 the language of Scripture is strong: "He 
 made himself of no reputation [literally, he 
 emptiecP himself] and took upon him the form 
 of a servant, and was made in the likeness 
 of men : and being found in fashion [form or 
 figure] as a man, he humbled himself, and 
 became obedient unto death, even the death 
 of the cross." This is an outline of our Lord's 
 humiliation, which has long been and will for 
 ever be the wonder and the song of angels 
 and redeemed men. The whole of our Lord's 
 history on earth was one series of acts of self- 
 emptying and humiliation. 
 
180 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Let us begin with the humble circumstan- 
 ces in which he came into the world. The 
 husband of his mother was an artisan, com- 
 monly supposed to be a carpenter. Matt. 
 13 : 55. Both he and the mother of our Lord 
 were descended from David. Luke 2 : 4. But 
 tins family was fallen so low that when 
 Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem their 
 descent from David secured them no atten- 
 tions or civilities, but they w T ere lodged in 
 a house built for cattle. There the mother 
 of our Lord brought forth her child, and 
 wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid 
 him in a manger, because there was no room 
 in the inn. Luke 2 :7. And when she brought 
 him to present him to the Lord, her offering 
 was that of the poorest, "a pair of turtle- 
 doves or two young pigeons." The law of 
 Moses admitted that offering for those who 
 were " not able to bring a lamb.' 7 Lev. 12 : 8. 
 Thus the most highly favored among women 
 was found in the depths of poverty and in 
 great neglect. Her first-born shared her lot. 
 I have heard of but one child born in a stable. 
 That was the holy child Jesus. 
 
 At his birth our Lord had all the weak- 
 ness of infancy. He was helpless and de- 
 
CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. 181 
 
 pendent like other children. The inspired 
 history tells us that he "increased in wisdom 
 and stature, and in favor with God and man.''* 
 Lukr 2:62. He had the trials of childhood. 
 
 No sooner was his birth known than Herod 
 the Great, a cruel and bloody man, became 
 intent on his death. He killed all the young 
 children in one district of the land in the 
 hope that he would thereby surely destroy 
 Jesus. By timely warning from God that 
 infant Saviour was rescued from the threat- 
 ened evil j but only by flight into Egypt — 
 Egypt, the "Rahab" and "Leviathan" of 
 Scripture. The cruel, idolatrous, and degra- 
 ded people of that land had a hereditary 
 and inveterate hatred against the Jews; but 
 n<»\v their country was a safer asylum to -this 
 blessed family than any city or village of 
 Judea. 
 
 On their return from Egypt, they settled 
 in Nazareth. By some means this place had 
 been rendered odious. Even the guileless 
 Xatlianael shared in the common aversion, 
 and cried, "( Ian there any good thing come out 
 of Nazareth?" John 1 : 46. Here Jesus spent 
 the most of hie life till he was thirty years old. 
 Nazareth is not once mentioned in the Old 
 
182 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Testament, nor by Josephus. Prophecy said 
 that Christ should be " despised and rejected 
 of men." This was the same as saying he 
 should be called "a Nazarene." Compare Isa. 
 53 : 3 and Matt. 2 : 23. Nazareth was probably 
 infamous for the fierceness and brutality of its 
 people. Luke 4 : 16-30. It was not the seat 
 of any famous school. As a place of residence 
 it had the advantage of privacy ; and its geo- 
 graphical position was truly beautiful. Here 
 our Lord lived and wrought at the same craft 
 as Joseph, for his own countrymen said, "Is 
 not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" 
 Mark 6:3. If there was any school at Naza- 
 reth, Jesus does not seem to have attended it; 
 for the Jews said, "How knoweth this man 
 letters, having never learned?" John 7 :15. 
 Another part of Christ's humiliation con- 
 sisted in his being tempted. Heb. 2:18; 4:15. 
 True, the prince of this world found nothing 
 in him. John 14 : 30. In his holy soul was no 
 fuel to be kindled by the fiery darts ; but it 
 must have filled him with anguish to have so 
 foul suggestions made to him. So far as we 
 know, his first great conflict with the adver- 
 sary was in the wilderness. It lasted forty 
 days. Luke 4:2. Christ was about to enter 
 
CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. 183 
 
 on his public ministry, and retired to the wil- 
 derness under the best desires to commune 
 with God. But Satan annoyed him continu- 
 ally. The temptation grew worse and worse 
 to the close. The adversary then tempted 
 him to use his miraculous power to prove his 
 divinity to Satan, and to satisfy his own hun- 
 ger, as he had eaten nothing for forty days. 
 The wicked one also tempted him to an act of 
 presumption by throwing himself from the pin- 
 nacle of the temple. Finally, he offered him 
 immense possessions and great honors, the 
 kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, 
 if he w r ould commit one act of idolatry. It 
 added not a little to the power of these beset- 
 ments that they were urged on Christ in his 
 solitude. Although each assault was an utter 
 failure, yet the devil departed from him but 
 for a season. Luke 4:13. The Saviour was 
 tempted in all points like as we are, yet with- 
 out sin. 
 
 As Jesus was born, so he lived and died 
 poor. He said, "The foxes have holes, and 
 the birds of the air have nests : but the Son of 
 man hath not where to lay his head." Matt. 
 8 : 20. During his ministry he seems to have 
 chiefly subsisted upon the charity of some 
 
184 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 poor, pious women. Well did he know what 
 it was to suffer hunger and want. When a 
 capitation tax was demanded of him, though 
 it was but half a crown for himself and Peter, 
 he could not pay it without a miracle. 
 
 Another element of Christ's humiliation 
 was his liability to affliction. Above all that 
 ever lived he was the " man of sorrows." He 
 was subject to disappointment, grief, vexa- 
 tion, a sense of wrong, a sense of the ingrati- 
 tude of men, and the pangs arising from a dis- 
 regard of all the principles of friendship. His 
 holy soul was filled with anguish by his cruel 
 rejection. "He was in the world, and the 
 world was made by him, and the world knew 
 him not. He came unto his own, and his own 
 received him not." John 1 : 10, 11. None of 
 the princes of this world knew him. 1 Cor. 2 : 8. 
 ' ' We hid as it were our faces from him ; . . . 
 we esteemed him not. 7 ' Isa. 53 : 3. Those 
 countless annoyances, called slights, must 
 have pierced him deeply. The people of the 
 city where he had been brought up were so 
 offended at his first sermon in their syna- 
 gogue, that they attempted to destroy his life 
 by casting him down from a high rock. Luke 
 4:16-30. And when he claimed existence 
 
CHKIST'S HUMILIATION. 185 
 
 prior to Abraham, the Jews took up stones to 
 cast at him. John 8 : 59. For saving two 
 men from the most frighful torments, followed 
 by the loss of some swine, the whole city of 
 the Gergesenes "besought him that he would 
 depart out of their coasts." They preferred 
 their swine, madmen, and devils, to the Prince 
 of Peace. Matt. 8 : 34. Afterwards, on his 
 trial, the Jews cried, "Away with him; away 
 with him." John 19: 15. They preferred to 
 have a murderer tu/ned loose on their com- 
 munity, rather than that the Son of God 
 should longer teach his heavenly doctrines. 
 Their cry was, "Not this man, but Barabbas." 
 During his whole ministry the leaders among 
 hifi foes denied that God had sent him. John 
 10:24-26. Never was mission so well attest- 
 ed. Never were attestations so malignantly 
 set aside 
 
 And never were hard names and oppro- 
 brious epithets so heaped upon any one. His 
 enemies said he' was a deceiver, John 7:12; 
 gluttonous and a wincbibber, a friend of pub- 
 licans and sinners, Matt. 11:19. They said 
 he was in league with the prince of the dev- 
 ils, and that by Satanic power he wrought 
 miracles. Surely above all others he en- 
 
186 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 dured the contradiction of sinners against 
 himself. Heb. 12:3. Nor were these things 
 without their dreadful effects on his refined 
 and tender nature. " His visage was so 
 marred more than any man, and his form 
 more than the sons of men." Speaking in his 
 name the prophet said, "Reproach hath bro- 
 ken my heart ; and I am full of heaviness ; 
 and I looked for some to take pity, but there 
 was none ; and for comforters, but I found 
 none." Ps. 69 : 20. Th# same prophet had 
 elsewhere said in his name, "I am a worm, 
 and no man ; a reproach of men, and despised 
 of the people. All they that see me laugh 
 me to scorn ; they shoot out the lip, they 
 shake the head." Ps. 22 : 6, 7. 
 
 The annals oj* our race furnish no parallel 
 to his history in the want of sympathy under 
 amazing sufferings. No terms of derision, no 
 taunts in the midst of his agonies were by his 
 enemies deemed indecent. Matt. 27 : 40-43. 
 In his greatest trial, when he most needed the 
 offices of friendship, his "disciples forsook 
 him and fled." Matt. 26 : 56. The very bold- 
 est of all his followers denied him thrice, and 
 even with oaths and curses. Mark 14 : 71. 
 Never by countenance did friend express such 
 
CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. 187 
 
 surprise, regret, and reproof, as when Christ 
 looked on Peter after the cock crew. 
 
 He was not only denied by one disciple ; 
 he was betrayed by another in a manner full 
 of base hypocrisy, even with a kiss. The gen- 
 eral motive for his betrayal was the depravity 
 of Judas. The special motive was covetous- 
 ness. Yet the son of perdition sold him for the 
 paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver, the amount 
 fixed by the law of Moses as the price of a 
 slave, to be paid to his owner if his death had 
 been brought about by the goring of a neigh- 
 bor's ox. Ex. 21 :32. In prophetically speak- 
 ing of this sum, Zechariah ironically calls it a 
 goodly price. He cast the amount in scorn to the 
 1 totter in the house of the Lord. Zech.ll :13. 
 
 Another element in our Lord's humiliation 
 was the character of the testimony on his trial. 
 The witnesses were all suborned. The Jews 
 "sought false witness against Jesus to put 
 him to death, but found none, yea, though 
 many false witnesses came, yet found they 
 none." Matt 26 : 59, GO. That is, the law 
 required two concurring witnesses, and they 
 found not two who agreed. "At the last came 
 two false witnesses, and said, This fellow said, 
 I am able to destroy the temple of God, and 
 
188 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 to build it in three days." Matt. 26 : 60, 61. 
 These witnesses lied, for they had not heard 
 him say any thing about destroying the tem- 
 ple, and what he did say was quite unlike 
 what they alleged. " Destroy this temple," 
 (i. e., kill this body,) "and in three days I 
 will raise it up." John 2 : 19. The thing 
 charged was absurd and frivolous as well as 
 false. No wonder Jesus held his peace and 
 answered nothing. The Jews evidently felt 
 that they had made good no serious charge ; 
 for they tried to get from him a confession 
 that he was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed. 
 Our Lord felt it was a right time to speak, 
 whereupon he made that "good confession," 
 so precious in the church ever since. He said 
 he was the Christ. 
 
 The course of the judge who sat on his 
 trial, while it was a disgrace to himself, was a 
 deep humiliation to Jesus. If history can be 
 trusted, Pilate was a monster of perfidy, ava- 
 rice, cruelty, and obstinacy. Previously he 
 had fallen on some poor Galileans and butch- 
 ered them while they were making their pre- 
 scribed offerings, thus mingling their blood 
 with their sacrifices. Luke 13:1. No de- 
 cency of life, no solemnity of religion could 
 
CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. 189 
 
 restrain him. Over and over again did he 
 confess that Jesus had violated no law, had 
 committed no offence. His wife warned him 
 to do nothing against that just person. He 
 knew that the chief priests had delivered him 
 up for envy. He was afraid that he would lose 
 his place if he did not give sentence against 
 Jesus. Instead of abiding by his own clear 
 convictions, he turned to the malignant ene- 
 mies of the innocent sufferer before him and 
 asked them what the sentence should be. 
 Compare Matt, 27 : 18, 19, 24, and John 19:12- 
 16. Before yielding to the violence of the 
 mob around the judgment-seat, this merce- 
 nary and vacillating creature made a feeble 
 effort to convince the Jews that the prisoner 
 before him ought not to die, saying, " Why, 
 what evil hath he done?" Matt. 27 : 23. • This 
 failing, he thought to save his popularity and 
 the life of Jesus by working on their sympa- 
 thies. So he delivered Christ over to be 
 irged. This was a dreadful infliction. The 
 ba<k was made bare, the arms were drawn up, 
 the scourge was applied first with the right 
 hand and then with the left. At the shocking 
 t men often grew faint. All this had been 
 predicted by the evangelical . prophet : "I 
 
190 THE KOCK OF OUB SALVATION. 
 
 gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks 
 to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not 
 my face from shame and spitting." Isa. 50 :6. 
 But all this had no effect in appeasing the 
 rage of the malignant throng. Nor did it 
 strengthen any just purpose in the bosom of 
 the judge. So he delivered his guiltless vic- 
 tim to be crucified. Matt. 27 : 26. It is often 
 asked, What became of Pilate ? His murder 
 of the Galileans and like acts of violence would 
 probably have caused his dismissal, had not 
 Tiberius died. He however fell under the 
 displeasure of the successor of that emperor, 
 was degraded from office, became a wretched 
 outcast, and ended his days by committing 
 suicide. 
 
 As the form of trial granted to Jesus was 
 a mockery of all justice and decency, so mock- 
 ery was kept up to the last. They spit in his 
 face and buffeted him. Others smote him with 
 the palms of their hands, and asked him, Who 
 is he that smote thee ? They stripped him, 
 and put on him a scarlet robe, as though he 
 were a royal personage. But all was in de- 
 rision. And when they had platted a crown 
 of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a 
 reed in his right hand : and they bowed the 
 
CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. 191 
 
 knee before him, and mocked him, saying, 
 Hail, King of the Jews ! And they spit upon 
 him, and took the reed and smote him on the 
 head. And after they had mocked him, they 
 took the robe off from him, and put his own 
 raiment on him, and led him away to crucify 
 him. Matt. 26 : 67 ; 27 : 28, 29. 
 
 It would be wonderful indeed if so long 
 and sleepless sorrow, such scourging and smi- 
 ting, had not much exhausted his strength. 
 And so we find it. # At first by their bidding 
 he bare his own cross, John 19 : 17 ; but, as 
 is supposed, growing faint ufider it, he could 
 bear it no farther. They met a man of Cyrene, 
 Billion by name. Matthew says they com- 
 pelled him to bear the cross. Luke says they 
 laid the cross on him that he might bear it 
 Jesus. Compare Matt. 27 : 32 and Luke 
 23 :26. Who this Simon was, friend or foe, or 
 how he felt on the sad occasion, is not cer- 
 tain ; but lie was probably suspected of lean- 
 ing to the cause of Christ. It is not certain 
 whether he bore the whole cross or only the 
 hinder part of it. 
 
 A- the procession advanced, there followed 
 li i in a great company of people, and of women 
 which also bewailed and lamented him. But 
 
192 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Jesus, knowing he should soon be through 
 his troubles, and seeing the glory that should 
 follow, turning to them, said, Weep not for 
 me, but weep for yourselves and your chil- 
 dren. He then foretold the awful doom of 
 the holy city. Luke 23:27-31. 
 
 Reaching the dreadful spot, Jesus was again 
 stripped, and nailed to the cross. Truly this 
 was the hour of darkness. A few days before 
 the Son of God was in tears. The night be- 
 fore he had been in bloody^sweat. Now he is 
 on the cross, receiving at the hands of men a 
 punishment reserved for the worst criminals, 
 and those slaves. Some think hanging on the 
 cross produced dislocation. So they under- 
 stand that phrase, " All my bones are out of 
 joint," Psalm 22:14. Others think it is fig- 
 urative language, descriptive of dreadful ag- 
 ony, as if all the bones were dislocated. Per- 
 haps this is the more probable view. The 
 theory of death by crucifixion was the extinc- 
 tion of life, not by strangulation, nor by loss 
 of blood, but by nervous distress. The ex- 
 tremities, the seat of very tender sensation, 
 were wounded and lacerated. The distortions 
 of the frame were dreadful. The sufferer was 
 confined to one position, itself great torture, 
 
CHKIST'S HUMILIATION. 193 
 
 if long continued. One may read the history 
 of crucifixion until his feelings are petrified. 
 The details are indeed lacerating. No doubt 
 a graphic description of them in a large assem- 
 bly would make many swoon away. But the 
 object of this chapter is not to harrow up sen- 
 sibilities, but to show how Jesus humbled him- 
 self, and became obedient unto death, even 
 the death of the cross. 
 
 Wondrous cross ! Wondrous tree ! The 
 human mind, ever prone to superstition, has 
 sought, and claims to have found, more wood 
 belonging to our Saviour's cross than is found 
 in one of our large edifices. But the efficacy 
 of the cross is not in the wood, but in the 
 blood shed by him who hung upon it. Pious 
 minds must have experienced sensible relief 
 when the first Christian emperor, considering 
 the horrible nature of the torture, and wishing 
 to put honor on the death of Christ, abolished 
 punishment by crucifixion. 
 
 Every death by the cross was shameful. 
 That of our Lord was peculiarly so. He was 
 crucified between two thieves, and with every 
 mark of Ignominy. 
 
 Such was the agony of death by the cross 
 that, as a matter of humanity, it seems to have 
 
194 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 been customary to administer some powerful 
 narcotic to produce insensibility. "Wine 
 mingled with myrrh " was offered to our Sav- 
 iour, but he "received it not." Mark 15:23. 
 He drew his solace from another source. 
 As he had despised their reproaches and 
 cruelties, so he contemned their proffered 
 stupefying cup. Christ would end his days 
 with an unclouded intellect. He would not 
 leave the world in voluntary stupor. Yet 
 even the offer of wine mingled with myrrh 
 was soon followed by renewed derision. Matt. 
 27:42, 43. 
 
 The death of the cross is often called 
 accursed. It was so indeed. Paul says : 
 "It is written, Cursed is every one that hang- 
 eth on a tree." Gal. 3 :13. He refers to Deu- 
 teronomy 21:22, 23: " If a man have com- 
 mitted a sin worthy of death, and he be to be 
 put to death, and thou hang him on a tree, 
 his body shall not remain all night upon the 
 tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that 
 day (for he that is hanged is accursed of God) 
 that thy land be not defiled which the Lord 
 thy G-od giveth thee for an inheritance." 
 These texts do not teach that eternal misery 
 always followed this kind of death. We know 
 
CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. 195 
 
 this is not so. The penitent thief went from 
 the cross to paradise. 
 
 A few remarks may aid us in understand- 
 ing these verses. 
 
 1. Hanging in any way has always been 
 esteemed odious, gibbeting the dead very 
 much so, and crucifixion most- of all. 2. The 
 Jews contend that they never crucified the 
 living, though they admit that, after the death 
 of a vile criminal, they sometimes hung his 
 lifeless body on a tree. Some contend that 
 they crucified the living. Perhaps they did. 
 See Josh. 8 :29 ; 2 Sam. 21 : 9. Josephus tells 
 (lib. 13, cap. 22) of the crucifixion of eight 
 hundred men by Alexander, king of the Jews. 
 However this may be, the Jews and all an- 
 cient nations regarded hanging on the cross 
 as the most execrable death. 3. In the pas- 
 sage cited from Deuteronomy, God himself 
 teaches that whoever is righteously and ac- 
 cording to the divine law delivered over to 
 hanging, does therein receive the curse of 
 God. 4. So terrible was this death, that God 
 -;ii<l it should be all the punishment and dis- 
 graoe man should inflict on any criminal. It 
 was "the curse of God ;" that is, the extreme 
 penalty provided for evil-doers in the Jewish 
 
196 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 commonwealth. Accordingly, at sunset the 
 body was to be taken down, that the land 
 might not be defiled by scenes which could 
 but harden men's hearts. 5. Though the sen- 
 tence given by Pilate was wholly unjust, and 
 though it was with wicked hands that Jesus 
 was crucified and slain, Acts 2:23, yet, as 
 he voluntarily and by G-od's approval stood 
 in our place, he bore " the curse of the law,' 7 
 not for his own, but for our sins. No doubt 
 the Mosaic law pointed to the death of Christ, 
 for above all that ever lived, he was "made 
 a curse," though not for himself, yet " for us." 
 He was not only forsaken of men, but of God. 
 The bitterest cry ever heard came from the 
 cross: "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ?" 
 
 JSTot long after, our Saviour cried with a 
 loud voice, and gave up the ghost. That he 
 was dead the executioners admitted, and nei- 
 ther friend nor foe doubted. The water that 
 came from his side proved that he was dead 
 and cold. But the Lord of heaven and earth 
 had no sepulchre of his own. The love of one 
 of his followers secured him burial. Joseph 
 of Arimathea, an honorable counsellor and a 
 rich man, who had hitherto shown much timid- 
 ity, went in boldly unto Pilate and craved the 
 
CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. 197 
 
 body of Jesus. He bought fine line.*, and 
 took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, 
 and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn 
 out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door 
 of the sepulchre. Mark 15:43, 46. Here the 
 Lord lay surrounded by a strong guard of 
 Roman soldiers. 
 
 This was the end of his humiliation ; for 
 that clause in the Apostles' Creed which says, 
 "He descended into hell," means no more 
 than that his body was under the power of 
 death, and that his soul was in the invisible 
 world. That our Lord's soul was not in tor- 
 ment after his death is certain, for he said to 
 the penitent thief, "This day shalt thou be 
 with me in paradise ;" and paradise is a place 
 of bliss. 
 
 1. Why should we be in love with this 
 world? It reviled, maligned, and crucified 
 the Lord of life and glory. It deserves not 
 our confidence or our love. 
 
 2. Let us not make much ado about our 
 <ii!] -rings. Our Master fared far worse. If 
 personal innocence and unswerving benevo- 
 lence could screen any one, our Lord had 
 never met a rebuff 
 
198 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 3. Let us not be afraid of humiliation. In 
 the end it will do us' no harm. It is the high- 
 way to glory. If we would be very high, let 
 us know the fellowship of Christ's sufferings, 
 and be made conformable unto his death. 
 Phil. 3:10. If we would reign with him, let 
 us suffer with him. 
 
 4. It is as safe as it is necessary to trust in 
 the divine mercy granted to sinners through 
 the bloodshedding of Christ. To believe in 
 Christ is a duty, is wisdom, is eternal life. 
 
VIEWS OF CHRIST'S WORK, 199 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 GENERAL VIEWS OF CHRIST'S WORK. 
 
 It is common to many languages to put 
 a part for the whole. The sacred writings 
 abound in this figure. The whole nation of 
 Israel is called Jacob. The law often signi- 
 fies the whole Mosaic dispensation. The death 
 of Christ, or the cross of Christ, is a term to 
 denote the whole system of gospel truth. The 
 fear of God and the love of God are used to 
 express the whole of religion. So when the 
 apostle says, "We preach Christ crucified," 
 he intends to say that he and his co-workers 
 set forth the whole of the gospel, giving a just 
 prominence to the great fact of the sacrificial 
 death of our Lord. 
 
 As preliminary to this discussion it may be 
 observed : 
 
 1. Unless man is a sinner, he needs no 
 other good news than that God is just. The 
 whole need not a physician. The innocent 
 require no pardon. The holy need no change 
 of heart In the righteous there is no room 
 for remission. It is the lost who need a Sav- 
 
200 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 iour. Whoever denies his guilt rejects Christ. 
 Let the Governor tender pardons where guilt 
 has been proven ; let him not insult the virtu- 
 ous by an offer to remit the penalty for crime 
 of which even the suspicion of guilt is a great 
 wrong. 
 
 2. A full and thorough conviction that we 
 are sinners is both right and useful. A vague 
 and general suspicion of guilt will hardly lead 
 any one to embrace the gospel. Whenever 
 one feels that he is wrongfully accused, and is 
 fully conscious of innocence, he asks no relax- 
 ation of legal rigor. All he desires is sheer 
 justice. 
 
 3. The gospel is rendered null and void as 
 to any saving efficacy in regard to all men 
 who refuse to say, in the spirit of the publi- 
 can, "God be merciful to me a sinner." Its 
 morality may secure to them respectability; 
 its civilizing influences may soften the asperi- 
 ties of their character j its enlightening power 
 may rescue them from barbarism, but its sav- 
 ing influences they will never feel while enter- 
 taining self-complacent views of themselves. 
 Whoever would be cleansed in the fountain 
 opened for sin and uncleanness must confess 
 his guilt Whoever would be made rich, must 
 
VIEWS OF CHKIST'S WOEK. 201 
 
 own his poverty. Whoever would be clothed 
 upon with the righteousness of Christ, must 
 bewail his own nakedness. To him who sees 
 that floods of tears can never cover the moun- 
 tains of his sins, it will be good news that, 
 through Christ, God will cast them into the 
 depths of the sea. God giveth grace to the 
 humble, but he knoweth the proud afar off. 
 
 4. As many as are under the teachings of 
 God's Spirit will always welcome even a plain 
 and familiar explanation of the plan of mercy 
 revealed in the gospel. Wisdom is justified 
 of her children. All others will wonder and 
 perish. 
 
 5. In preaching the gospel, nothing is to 
 be concealed. It is at our peril if we with- 
 hold a truth because it is offensive to the car- 
 nal mind. We may not even disguise it or 
 obscure it by the arts of rhetoric. Thus Paul 
 says, " We preach Christ crucified, unto the 
 Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks 
 foolishness." Nothing could have more offend- 
 ed the prejudices of Jews or assailed the wis- 
 dom of Greeks than preaching Christ crucified. 
 To call upon them to believe in one that had 
 been hanged on a tree seemed to them mon- 
 B t reus. Yet Paul preached this very doctrine. 
 
 9* 
 
202 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 He knew its power. He says: "Unto them 
 which are called, both Jews and Greeks, 
 Christ" is " the power of God and the wisdom 
 of God. 7 ' Nor did he publish this vital truth 
 in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but in 
 words which the Holy Ghost teacheth. Let us 
 follow his excellent example. Let us not try 
 to render the gospel pleasing to men by deny- 
 ing or disguising its unwelcome truths. If we 
 could persuade all men that Christ was never 
 crucified, the work of salvation would be at 
 an end, the humble would be cast into de- 
 spair, the ignorant be rendered more brutish, 
 and the world return by not very slow marches 
 to idolatry and atheism. 
 
 6. While the death of Christ was ' the 
 crowning event in his humiliation and an 
 essential part of it, it is not to be separated 
 from his incarnation, his perfect obedience, 
 and his previous sufferings. His whole life 
 upon earth, followed by his death on the cross, 
 and that by his exaltation at God's right hand, 
 must be taken together. 
 
 7. The salvation of a sinner in no sense 
 depends upon his fitness, but only on the ful- 
 ness of Christ Jesus. If the gospel makes any 
 thing plain, it surely teaches that we are saved 
 
VIEWS OF CHKIST'S WOKK. 203 
 
 by grace through faith, that is in Christ the 
 Lord. 
 
 With these explanations, let us notice sev- 
 eral methods by which we often point to the 
 effect of the death of Christ in saving lost men. 
 The human mind is weak and full of darkness 
 by reason of sin. It is a mercy, therefore, 
 that in several well-chosen ways God makes 
 this doctrine plain to our understandings. 
 
 I. Sometimes we represent Christ as taking 
 our place j and so substitution is the name by 
 which we designate the glorious plan of gospel 
 mercy. This mode of expression is appropri- 
 ate and striking. Among men substitution is 
 common and well understood. One is drafted 
 into the army ; his brother or friend, seeing 
 the importance of his presence at home, or a 
 Stranger moved by pecuniary reward, becomes 
 hi- substitute. When once, with his own con- 
 
 ! , he is thus enrolled, he is bound to obey 
 all orders as if the lot had originally fallen on 
 himself. In his case, as in any other, deser- 
 tion is severely punished. Substitution, once 
 admitted, binds in all its rigor. There can 
 be HO abatement in favor of him who volun- 
 tarily consents to stand in the place of another. 
 When he has done all that the other was bound 
 
204: THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 to do, and not before, is he released. So Jesus 
 Christ voluntarily became our substitute. He 
 took our place in the eye of the law, and "be- 
 came obedient unto death." He perfectly ful- 
 filled all his engagements. He never said, 
 "It is finished,' 7 until he had showed us on 
 the cross what temper he would have us exer- 
 cise in the severest trials, and until he had 
 drunk the dregs of " the cup of astonishment" 
 put into his hands by the offended majesty of 
 heaven. He entirely finished the work which 
 God had given him to do. His release from 
 the tomb was God's public declaration that 
 the Substitute was bound to no more obedi- 
 ence or suffering for us. He who takes Christ 
 as his substitute does therefore publicly ap- 
 prove of this method of salvation. By the 
 act of faith in the Redeemer, he is released 
 from the penalty of damnation, and from the 
 law itself as a covenant of works, by the keep- 
 ing of which unfallen creatures stand justified 
 before God. 
 
 II. Near akin to substitution is surety- 
 ship, in which one person undertakes to make 
 good the engagements or liabilities of another. 
 Christ is expressly called our Surety. In the 
 Lord's prayer, our sins are called debts. They 
 
VIEWS OF CHRIST'S WORK. 205 
 
 are indeed dreadful debts. We could never 
 pay them. We are said to owe ten thousand 
 talents, a sum equal to twelve tons of gold. 
 Who can meet such liabilities? Besides, we 
 all owed a perfect obedience to the precept of 
 the law, a sinless keeping of every command- 
 ment. Not one of Adam's race could meet 
 such demands. Seeing our indebtedness and 
 helplessness and poverty, Jesus mercifully 
 became our Surety. He did not indeed en- 
 dorse our worthless names, but he gave his 
 own most worthy name to God. He bound 
 himself to pay all our debts, that is, to suffer 
 the penalty due to us for sin, and to obey the 
 precept of the law for righteousness to us. 
 He did it ; he did it all. The law, either as 
 to its curse on the rebellious or as a means of 
 justification before God, claims nothing of be- 
 lievers. ' Their tears and groans pay no part 
 of their debt incurred by transgression. Their 
 works of love and faith prove their sincerity 
 and adorn their profession, but form no part 
 of their justifying righteousness. So wonder- 
 ful was this suretyship, and so perfect was the 
 confidence of God in the engagements of the 
 Surety, that " the souls of the elect were saved 
 upon trust for four thousand years. The Fa- 
 
206 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 ther gave credit to Christ and glorified his 
 saints on the footing of a sacrifice not then 
 offered up, and of a righteousness not then 
 wrought. Christ also, in the days of his flesh, 
 went on credit with his Father every time 
 previous to his death he said to a sinner, ' Thy 
 sins are forgiven thee.' "* Thus, though Jesus 
 was not actually crucified till the days of Pon- 
 tius Pilate, he was in the esteem of God " the 
 Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.' 7 
 So that "if you have been looking at works, 
 duties, and qualifications, instead of looking at 
 Christ, it will cost you dear. No wonder you 
 go to complaining. Graces are no more than 
 evidences : the merits of Christ alone, without 
 your graces, must be the foundation for your 
 hope to rest upon."f Blessed be God, ■" Christ 
 is not more rich himself than he is liberal to 
 contribute of his treasures. He makes his 
 people sharers to the uttermost of all that he 
 has."J 
 
 III. Sometimes we speak of Christ as 
 meeting the demands of God's law against us, 
 and then we call his undertaking a satisfac- 
 tion, a satisfaction- to the law of God, a satis- 
 faction to divine justice. This mode of speak- 
 
 * Ryland. f Wilcox. % Crisp. 
 
VIEWS OF CHRIST'S WOBK. 207 
 
 ing goes on the supposition that God's law is 
 holy, just, and good ; that its demands, both 
 in precept and penalty, ought to be met, and 
 that God's justice is an amiable attribute, call- 
 ing for no more than is right. The word sat- 
 isfaction is often used in a general sense, 
 not different from atonement, compensation, 
 amends. But the primary meaning of satis- 
 faction is, doing enough. To satisfy is to do 
 all that is properly demanded. The judgment 
 of all right-minded men the world over is, that 
 God's precepts concerning all things are right, 
 and that his judgments are equity and truth. 
 To satisfy God's law is, to meet its demands 
 in all respects. This Jesus Christ did for us. 
 He said : " I delight to do thy will, my God 
 yea, thy law is within my heart," Psa. 40:8 
 "Mine ears hast thou opened," Psa. 40:6 
 that is, thou hast made me thy servant. As 
 God's law is a transcript of his character, in 
 full accordance with his justice and holiness, 
 to do and suffer all the law demands is of 
 course to satisfy justice — to do and suffer what 
 justice requires. Christ's satisfaction goes 
 upon this supposition, that mere absolute re- 
 mission of undeniable guilt cannot take place 
 without loosening the bands of good govern- 
 
208 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 ment. Guilt cannot be removed without what 
 some theologians call "compensation" — with- 
 out what most call satisfaction. If laws had 
 no penalties, they would be mere advice. If 
 their just penalties were not enforced, they 
 would be idle appendages to the best laws, 
 and so government would be at an end. But 
 God's government is perfect ; he never de- 
 mands more than is right ; he never unjustly 
 condemns ; he cannot pardon capriciously ; 
 he must show mercy, if at all, in some way 
 consistent with the demands of law, justice, 
 and good government. Hence the necessity 
 for satisfaction. The satisfaction which Christ 
 rendered is taken sometimes in an extended 
 sense. It then includes all he did and suffered 
 for us. Sometimes it is used in a more limited 
 sense, and then it denotes his meeting all the 
 demands of the law against us as sinners by 
 enduring the penalty in our stead. Those 
 who thus use the term speak both of the sat- 
 isfaction and merit of Christ. By the latter 
 they signify his obedience to the precepts of 
 the law; by the former, his amazing suffer- 
 ings, by which we are set free from the curse 
 of the law. His satisfaction delivers us from 
 death; his merit procures for us the inherit- 
 
VIEWS OF CHRIST'S WORK. 209 
 
 ance of sons. By the one the chains of con- 
 demnation are taken off; by the other, the 
 best robe is put upon us. One brings us out 
 of Egypt ; the other brings us into Canaan. 
 This difference in terms, however, makes no 
 difference in doctrine. Blessed is he who 
 has accepted this full and glorious satisfaction 
 made by God's dear Son. On him the second 
 death shall have no power. God has declared 
 the law met and justice satisfied by Jesus 
 Christ. Is not that enough ? Jesus gave 
 himself for us that, " the justice of God being 
 satisfied and the law fulfilled, sinners might 
 be freed from the wrath to come." 
 
 How necessary this undertaking of Christ 
 was is well stated by Owen : "To pardon sin 
 without satisfaction in him who is absolutely 
 holy, righteous, true, and faithful, the abso- 
 lute, necessary, supreme Governor of all sin- 
 ners, the Author of the law, and sanction of 
 it, wherein punishment is threatened and de- 
 clared, is to deny himself, and to do what one 
 infinitely perfect cannot do." Another writer 
 says: "The atonement may be defined as 
 that satisfaction for sin which was rendered 
 to God as the moral governor of the world, 
 by the perfect obedience unto death of our 
 
210 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ— a satisfaction which has 
 removed every obstacle, resulting from the 
 divine perfections and government, to the be- 
 stowment of mercy upon the guilty.' 7 * 
 
 It is an objection of no force that the word 
 satisfaction is never used in the Scriptures in 
 regard to the work of Christ. We are not 
 contending for words. The doctrine is taught, 
 and that is enough for us. It is, however, a 
 good word, and is used in Scripture on a like 
 subject: " Ye shall take no satisfaction for the 
 life of a murderer.' 7 Num. 35 : 31. 
 
 TV. Sometimes we represent the work of 
 Christ for us by speaking of him as a sacrifice. 
 It is expressly said in Scripture that Christ 
 "hath given himself for us an offering and a 
 sacrifice to G-od for a sweet-smelling savor;" 
 "he hath appeared to put away sin by the 
 sacrifice of himself;" "he offered up himself." 
 Eph. 5:2; Heb. 7 : 27; 9 : 26. He "bare our 
 sins in his own body on the tree." 1 Pet. 2: 24. 
 His soul was made an offering for sin. Isa. 
 53:10. Although the word sacrifice is some- 
 times used to denote every kind of offering, 
 yet, a sacrifice, strictly speaking, differs from 
 a mere oblation in this, that in a sacrifice 
 
 * Rev. George Payne. 
 
VIEWS OF CHKIST'S WORK. 211 
 
 there is a real destruction or change of the 
 thing offered ; while an oblation is a simple 
 gift without any such change. Thus tithes, 
 first-fruits, and every kind of property devo- 
 ted to religious uses were oblations. But sac- 
 rifices, in strictness of speech, were either 
 wholly or in part consumed by # fire. They 
 were of three kinds : first, eucharistical, to 
 express gratitude for mercies received ; sec- 
 ondly, impetratory, to obtain some favor; or, 
 thirdly, expiatory, to atone for some sin. This 
 last was specially and peculiarly the sacrifice 
 of Christ. " He was made sin [a sin-offering] 
 for us." He died as a victim in our room and 
 place. He put away sin by the sacrifice of 
 himself. He offered one sacrifice for sins. 
 The Jew, who had incurred ceremonial guilt, 
 brought his lamb and confessed his sins over 
 it ; and it became his victim, and died for 
 him, and for him alone. But when John the 
 Baptist saw Christ he said, "Behold the Lamb 
 of God which taketh away the sin [not of one 
 man, or of one nation, but] of the world. " 
 .John 1:29. So that Paul well argues that 
 there is no need of daily, yearly, or any more 
 rificee, for by once offering himself to God 
 Christ hath for ever perfected them that be- 
 
212 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 lieve, hath made an end of transgression, hath 
 put away sin, and become the end of the law 
 for righteousness to every one that believeth. 
 Thus is Christ the propitiation for our sins. 
 That is, his sacrifice averts from us the wrath 
 of G-od, and renders God propitious to us. 
 The word propitiation is borrowed from the 
 propitiatory, or mercy-seat, which covered the 
 tables of the law. So the propitiation of Christ 
 covers up the handwriting that was against 
 us, and opens the way for God's mercy to flow 
 forth to us lost men. It should be for our 
 perpetual joy that "the redeeming power of 
 the blood of Christ is greater than the con- 
 demning power of sin."* The vilest sinners 
 the world has ever seen, the murderers of 
 Christ and the murderers of his saints, when 
 they have been able to see the completeness 
 of this one offering, have said, "It is enough: 
 my conscience demands no more sacrifice : 
 God requires no further offering." 
 
 Y. Sometimes Christ's work for us is called 
 his obedience — his obedience unto death. This 
 mode of speaking is found in Scripture, and is 
 often adopted by good writers. Paul says 
 that "by the obedience of one shall many be 
 
 * Mather. 
 
VIEW OF CHKIST'S WORK. 213 
 
 made righteous ;" that "though he were a Son, 
 yet learned he obedience by the things which 
 he suffered;" and that he "became obedient 
 unto death, even the death of the cross." 
 Rom. 5 : 19; Heb. 5:8; Phil. 2 : 8. Christ's 
 obedience was both active and passive. He 
 kept the precept and he bore the penalty of 
 the law. He obeyed in suffering. He suf- 
 fered in obeying. In Romans 5:19 obedience 
 in Christ is put in contrast with disobedience in 
 Adam. This is active obedience. In Philip- 
 pians 2 : 8 we read of obedience unto death. This 
 is passive obedience. Though we thus distin- 
 guish, we never separate these two kinds of 
 obedience. They are inseparable. Had our 
 Lord lived a blameless life, the example would 
 have been good for us, and his life pleasing to 
 God ; but how could his life have saved us from 
 wrath ? On the other hand, if our Lord had 
 not been holy, his death could in no way have 
 availed for us. The whole obedience of Christ 
 has these excellent qualities. It was obedi- . 
 ence unto God. So he said, "I have fin- 
 ished the work which thou gavest me to do." 
 "The cup which my Father hath given me, 
 shall I not drink it?" It was perfect. There 
 was no defect in it. He did all that 'God 
 
214 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 required. He suffered all God inflicted. His 
 obedience was unfailing. He shrank from 
 nothing. He came short in nothing. He was 
 full of zeal for the honor of God. In his 
 greatest darkness he prayed, " Father, glorify 
 thy name." He was full of compassion to 
 men. Having loved his own, he loved them 
 to the end. It was because he loved us that 
 he gave himself for us. Gal. 2 : 20. 
 
 1. There is a rich and harmonious variety 
 of modes of expressing and explaining the 
 great doctrine of salvation by Christ. Every 
 suitable method of teaching this truth is either 
 used or suggested by the sacred writers. 
 While we find this pleasing variety, there is 
 no diversity in the scope of their teachings. 
 They wonderfully agree. 
 
 2. It is of paramount importance that we 
 believe and maintain the true doctrine re- 
 specting Christ's undertaking for us. At no 
 time and at no hazard let us yield to the clam- 
 ors or insidiousness of error. In the religion 
 of a sinner all depends on the work and suf- 
 ferings of the Saviour. Here alone can the 
 guilty have peace with God, or the despairing 
 have hope beyond the grave. 
 
VIEWS OF CHEIST'S WORK. 215 
 
 3. There is no danger in making Christ all 
 and in all. "It is Christ that brings us every 
 thing we get. ... If you would have any good 
 you must get it by Christ."* "If you ever 
 saw Christ, you saw him as a rock, higher than 
 self-righteousness, Satan, and sin. And this 
 rock follows you ; and there will be a continual 
 dropping of honey and grace out of this rock 
 to satisfy you."f Make much, make much 
 of Christ. "Whoever hath Christ cannot be 
 poor • and whoever wants him cannot be 
 rich."J 
 
 4. The salvation of Christ is no more rich 
 than it is free. It gives milk and wine in* 
 almndance. And it gives without money and 
 without price. If you would be saved, you 
 must simply believe, simply accept the grace 
 that is offered. An experienced Christian 
 said: "I never had a more lively sense of 
 my acceptance with God through Christ than 
 when I was sensible of the greatest recum- 
 bency on him: when I laid most stress upon 
 him, I always found most strength in him."§ 
 
 5. As- our persons, so also our services 
 have acceptance through Christ. The love of 
 (.<><! refuses nothing which the obedient love 
 
 * Crisp. | Wilcox. % Dyer. \ Thomas Coles. 
 
216 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION., 
 
 of his people offers through Christ Jesus. 
 Imperfect indeed are all our doings. But 
 perfect is the righteousness of Christ, through 
 whom believing sinners and works of faith 
 are graciously owned and accepted. 
 
BEDEMPTION BY CHEIST. 217 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 
 
 It has long been customary to speak of the 
 recovery of lost men as the work of Redemp- 
 tion. Job, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, all 
 speak of the Redeemer. Though the word 
 redeemer is not in the New Testament, yet 
 redemption and corresponding terms are there 
 of frequent occurrence. In the Old Testament 
 the same word is rendered Redeemer and 
 Avenger. The avenging of blood and re- 
 deeming from bondage both devolved on the 
 nearest male relative ; so that a redeemer was 
 a kinsman. Our Redeemer is our brother, bone 
 of <>ur bone, flesh of our flesh. In the New 
 anient are three verbs rendered redeem. 
 One is from a noun which signifies a market, 
 and means simply to buy. It is found more 
 than thirty times. It is the word used by 
 our Lord when he speaks of buying a field, 
 buying oxen, bwying victuajg. It is the word 
 used by Paul, when lie twice says, "Ye are 
 b&ug/ti with a price." 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23. It 
 ifl used by John : "Thou hast redeemed us to 
 
 i:o<k 10 
 
218 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 G-od by thy blood." Eev. 5:9. See also Rev. 
 14 : 3, 4. God's people are redeemed from 
 the earth, from among men, from their sins by 
 the blood of Jesus — a great price paid for 
 such poor creatures — such sinful worms. 
 
 Sometimes we have another verb, a com- 
 pound of the foregoing. It occurs four times. 
 This is the word used by Paul when he says : 
 " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the 
 law;" "God sent forth his Son ... to redeem 
 them that were under the law." G-al. 3:13 ; 
 4:4, 5. This word signifies to buy again, to 
 buy out of the hands of another. 
 
 There is still another verb thrice used in 
 the New Testament, and* always rendered 
 redeem. "We trusted that it had been he 
 which should have redeemed Israel j" He 
 "gave himself for us that he might redeem us 
 from all iniquity;" "Ye know that ye were 
 not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver 
 and gold, from your vain conversation received 
 by tradition from your fathers ; but with the 
 precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb with- 
 out blemish and without spot." Luke 24: 21 ; 
 Tit. 2 : 14 ; 1 Pet, 1 : 18, 19. This word has a 
 noun corresponding to it [lutron]. This is the 
 word used by our Lord when he says :' "The 
 
REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 219 
 
 Son of man came not to be ministered unto, 
 but to minister, and to give his life a ransom 
 for many." Matt. 20 : 28; Mark 10 : 45. 
 
 We have yet another word, a compound 
 of the foregoing [antilutron]. It is used by 
 Paul when he says that Christ "gave himself 
 a ransom for all." 1 Tim. 2 : 6. Each of thes,e 
 nouns points to the price paid for redemption. 
 
 In the Jewish Commonwealth redemption 
 was well understood. If a man became poor, 
 so that he could not pay his debts, he was 
 sold into servitude to the year of Jubilee. 
 But it was the privilege and the duty of his 
 near and wealthy kinsmen to pay his debt, 
 and let him go free. Among other nations 
 also, before the coming of Christ, redemption 
 was not unknown. In the early history of 
 the world, prisoners-of-war were often put to 
 death. At length, humanity forbade so cruel 
 a practice, and they were sold as slaves. On 
 the return of peace, their kin or their country 
 sometimes sent and paid a ransom for them, 
 thus redeeming them from their masters. 
 
 The moving cause of the redemption of 
 sinners is not any thing good in them, but 
 only tlic sovereign, eternal, and unchangeable 
 love of God. The procuring or availing cause 
 
220 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 of redemption is the humiliation and death of 
 Christ. The end of redemption was the pro- 
 motion of the divine glory, as it marvellously 
 illustrated the divine perfections. The effect 
 of redemption on man is full, complete, gratu- 
 itous, eternal salvation. 
 
 ■. The subject of this chapter is the wisdom 
 of God in redemption. In this matter it may 
 aid us to keep clearly in view these truths : 
 
 1. God is a holy God. By the unchange- 
 able rectitude of his nature, he hates sin. To 
 him it is abominable. 
 
 2. God is the Creator of all things, and 
 therefore he has a perfect right to treat all 
 his creatures as he pleases. His awful chal- 
 lenge is, Shall I not do ' • what I will with 
 mine own V 1 Who dares take it up ? 
 
 3. God is every way fit to govern the 
 world and all its inhabitants. He has all and 
 infinite perfections. He justly claims and ex- 
 exercises the right of universal empire and 
 control. 
 
 4. Man is a creature. He is therefore not 
 independent. He is bound by his Maker's 
 will. Nothing can release him from these 
 everlasting bonds. 
 
 5. Man is a rational and voluntary agent. 
 
REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 221 
 
 He is therefore a fit subject for moral govern- 
 ment. He is rightly and justly accountable. 
 
 6. Man is a sinner. He has violated the 
 law of his being. He is thus guilty, depraved, 
 and miserable. He is under a curse, in a 
 state of pollution, and a child of sorrow. He 
 is not so unfortunate as he is criminal. 
 
 7. Sin is an evil of such magnitude as not 
 to be manageable by finite beings. "It seems 
 to be a law of mind that, once perverted, it 
 should never be able to recover itself. 7 ' It is 
 easier to make breaches than to repair them, 
 to pull down than to build up, to kill than to 
 make alive. "He who cannot buil a hut, 
 may destroy a palace. " One man may kill 
 another, but all men united cannot give life. 
 This is the law of our nature. Let it never 
 be forgotten. 
 
 8. The whole problem of redemption was 
 therefore beyond the solution of a finite mind. 
 The limits of man's understanding and facul- 
 ties are narrow. Our wisdom consists not a 
 little in confessing our ignorance, in seeking 
 Distraction, in shunning dizzy heights. For 
 human weakness to meddle with the great 
 affairs of God can never be innoxious. 
 
 9. Let us all, therefore, learn what we 
 
222 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 can, and pretend to no more than we have. 
 Let us refresh ourselves in the river of truth, 
 but let us not venture beyond our depth. 
 Creation is beyond the reach of fair criticism. 
 So also is redemption. Let us be lowly. 
 There is a consanguinity between humility 
 and solid advancement in knowledge. Paul 
 confessed his insufficiency to fathom the deep 
 things of God: " the depth of the riches 
 both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." 
 Such ignorance is wiser than all boasting. 
 
 10. All men do at times feel the necessity 
 of some redemption-price being paid to God 
 for them— some satisfaction being made to 
 divine justice. Adam Smith, the author of 
 the ''Wealth of Nations," whom none will sus- 
 pect of too strong an inclination to Christian 
 doctrines, says, "Man, when about to appear 
 before a being of infinite perfections, can feel 
 but little confidence in his own merit, or in 
 the imperfect propriety of his own conduct. 
 To such a being he can scarce imagine that 
 his littleness and weakness should ever seem 
 to be the proper object either of esteem or 
 regard. But he can easily conceive how the 
 numberless violations of duty of which he has 
 been guilty should render him the object of 
 
REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 223 
 
 aversion and punishment ; nor can lie see any 
 reason why the divine indignation should not 
 be let loose, without an}' restraint, upon so vile 
 an insect as he is sensible that he himself must 
 appear to be. If he would still hope for hap- 
 piness, he is conscious that he cannot demand 
 it from justice, but that he must entreat it from 
 the mercy of God. Repentance, sorrow, humil- 
 iation, contrition at the thought of his past 
 conduct, are, upon this account, the senti- 
 ments which become him, and seem to be the 
 only means which he has left of appeasing 
 that wrath which he has justly provoked. He 
 • ven distrusts the efficacy of all these, and 
 naturally fears lest the wisdom of God should 
 not, like the weakness of man, be prevailed 
 upon to spare the crime, by the most importu- 
 nate lamentations of the criminal. Some other 
 intercession, some other sacrifice, some other 
 atonement, he imagines, must be made for 
 him. beyond what lie himself is capable of 
 making, before the purity of the divine justice 
 can be reconciled to his manifold offences. " 
 Thousands feel as much as is expressed by 
 this author; as he says, it is very natural that 
 they should. A sense of guilt renders the ex- 
 tee of many almost intolerable; nor can' 
 
224: THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 it ever be effectually removed but by some 
 great sacrifice like tlie blood-shedding of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 11. Wisdom marks all the divine conduct. 
 In actual operation wisdom selects good ends 
 and right means to accomplish those ends. 
 ■' The wisdom of God is formed of his omnis- 
 cience and benevolence, united in planning 
 and accomplishing all real good in the prog- 
 ress of his immense and eternal kingdom."* 
 
 We are now prepared to look at the truth 
 that there are unfathomable depths of wisdom 
 in the dealings of God with our race in the 
 great work of redemption. 
 
 It is evident that the illustration of any 
 attribute of God or man, furnished by any 
 work, is in proportion to the difficulties to be 
 overcome. Some things are simple and have 
 few relations. Others are vast and complica- 
 ted, and have bearings remote and immediate. 
 Their course is through a long duration. They 
 involve the happiness of many. Such is the 
 work of redemption. It is God's chief work. 
 He has expended more on it than on all his 
 other works ; more than in creation and prov- 
 idence. It would seem as if it was known that 
 
 * Dwight. 
 
KEDEMPTION BY CHKIST. 225 
 
 God would redeem men, before it was known 
 how lie would do it. The wit of angels seems 
 to have attempted no solution. The case was 
 too wonderful for them. Of Jehovah it is 
 said: "He saw that there was no man, and 
 wondered that there w r as no intercessor ; 
 therefore his arm brought salvation unto him ; 
 and his righteousness, it sustained him." Isa. 
 •~>9 : 16. Jehovah was the sole author of 
 redemption. He alone devised it. He alone 
 executed it. He alone applies it. " Salva- 
 tion is of the Lord." Let us notice .some par- 
 ticulars. 
 
 I. God's wisdom shines out in redemption, 
 08 bis plan reconciles all the divine attributes. 
 Redemption must not weaken the divine gov- 
 ernment, must not impair the divine honor. 
 God could consent to nothing which should 
 evince the possibility of his denying himself. 
 When human governments pass by offences, 
 it is a confession of weakness. God could 
 ignore no offence. Yet the eternal ruin of all 
 men would have left the human and angelic 
 races without a single case of mercy shown to 
 (he guilty. 
 
 "Mercy pleads, if man be ruined, the cre- 
 ation is in vain: justice pleads, if man be not 
 10* 
 
226 THE BOOK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 sentenced, the law is in vain; truth supports 
 justice, and grace abets mercy. What shall 
 be done in this seeming contradiction. Mercy 
 is not manifested if man be not pardoned : 
 justice will complain if man be not punished ; 
 therefore an expedient is found out by the wis- 
 dom of God to answer these demands, and adjust 
 the differences between them. The wisdom of 
 God answers, I will satisfy your pleas. Pun- 
 ishment shall be inflicted, yet pardon shall be 
 bestowed. Justice shall not complain for want 
 of an infliction of wrath ; nor mercy for want 
 of an exercise of compassion. I will have an 
 infinite sacrifice to meet the demands of jus- 
 tice ; and the virtue and fruit of that sacrifice 
 shall be the delight of mercy. The rights of 
 both those attributes shall be preserved, and 
 the demands amicably accorded in punishment 
 and pardon, by transferring the punishment of 
 our crimes upon our Surety, exacting a recom- 
 pense from his blood by justice, and conferring 
 life and salvation upon us by mercy without 
 one drop of our own blood being required. 
 Thus is justice satisfied in its holy severities, 
 and mercy in its gracious indulgences. The 
 riches of grace are entwined with the terrors 
 of wrath. The glories of divine mercy are 
 
REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 227 
 
 wound about the naming sword of justice : 
 and the sword of justice protects and secures 
 the glories of mercy. Thus is God righteous 
 without being cruel, and merciful without be- 
 ing unjust. His righteousness remains invio- 
 lable, and the sinner becomes recoverable. 
 Thus is resplendent mercy brought forth in 
 the midst of all the wrath threatened to the 
 offender."" 
 
 This scheme has no parallel in heaven or 
 earth; Such a suretyship as that of Christ 
 was never before heard of. It stands by 
 itself in the history of all worlds. Around 
 the cross of Christ were 'assembled Jews and 
 ( i entiles, men and devils ; but in the cross of 
 Christ justice and mercy, righteousness and 
 e, severity and compassion embrace and 
 kdsfl each other. So that now forgiveness to 
 the believing sinner is no less consistent with 
 justice than is the destruction of the unbeliev- 
 ing reprobate. "God is just to forgive us 
 our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity." 
 A 1 1 penitent souls may say : " We arc justified 
 freely by his grace, through the redemption 
 that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set 
 forth to be a propitiation through faith in his 
 
 * Chanioek. 
 
228 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 blood, to declare his righteousness for the 
 remission of sins that are past, through the 
 forbearance of God." Eom. 3 : 24, 25. God's 
 rational creatures had never before seen it on 
 this wise. So far from being able to devise 
 or execute such a scheme, man is not able to 
 comprehend it. All he can do ; at least the 
 best he can do, is to embrace it, obey its 
 calls, wonder, and adore. 
 
 II. The wisdom of God is displayed in the 
 choice of his incarnate Son, as the Kedeemer. 
 Neither an infinite God, nor an enlightened 
 sinner would be satisfied with the doings or 
 sufferings of a mere creature. What our case 
 demanded was something far above the power 
 of worms. Any redemption wrought out by 
 men or angels must have been wholly ineffi- 
 cacious ; but if it could have saved any one, 
 it must have resulted in idolatry. No sinner 
 saved from hell could have failed to give his 
 heart to his deliverer. But the Lord Jesus 
 Christ was every way fit to be our Redeemer. 
 
 1. He was divine, and so able to lay his 
 hand upon God. He counted it not robbery 
 to be equal with God. He was the eternal 
 Son. To worship him was no idolatry. Be- 
 fore all worlds he was the Well-beloved of the 
 
KEDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 229 
 
 Father. If any redemption could avail, his 
 would not be powerless. He had no superior 
 in nature. He was chosen, appointed, ordained 
 of God to this very work. If any ask, Why 
 was the second, and not the first or the third 
 person of the Trinity chosen to be the Re- 
 deemer, we may not be able to tell what we 
 shall know hereafter, and we ought both to 
 think and speak reverently ; but we may 
 ily say that the Father could not fitly be- 
 come incarnate and our surety, for then he 
 must have stood in the relation of one answer- 
 ing for our guilt before the Judge of all the 
 earth. This would have subverted the order 
 of the Trinity. The Father is the first person 
 in order. As such, there is a peculiar fitness 
 in his demanding satisfaction for sins and 
 receiving applications for mercy. He is the 
 fountain of the Godhead. Besides, he could 
 not properly be sent into the world, as it is of 
 the Father to send the Son, and of the Father 
 and Son to send the Holy Spirit. The order 
 of subsistence in. the divine persons is prop- 
 erly the ordfer of their operations. The Fa- 
 tter is of none. He was neither begotten, 
 nor does he proceed from any. The Son is 
 of and from the Father — eternally begotten. 
 
230 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Whatsoever the Son doeth, he doeth of the 
 Father : " The Son can do nothing of himself, 
 but what he seeth the Father do." John 5 :19. 
 When the Son came, it was as he was sent of 
 the Father, and to " do the ^pvill" of the 
 Father. Thus it appears that the Father 
 was not the proper person to do the work of 
 redemption. 
 
 Nor was the Spirit the proper person to 
 undertake that work. True, he proceeds from 
 the Father and the Son, and is sent by them, 
 yet it was fit that the Third Person should 
 glorify the Secpnd in calling men to believe 
 on him, rather than that the Second should call 
 men to bow before the Third ; for this would 
 invert the order of divine operation. The 
 Redeemer is the object of saving faith. The 
 agent of saving faith is the Holy Ghost. In 
 order, the object precedes the exercise of faith, 
 and of course it precedes the author and exist- 
 ence of faith. It is meet that the Spirit should 
 apply the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 
 Thus we see wisdom in sending the Second, 
 and no other person of the divine nature, to 
 be our Redeemer. His eternal Sonship in 
 heaven well consists with his supernatural 
 Sonship on earth. This double Sonship well 
 
REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 231 
 
 fitted him to be our elder Brother, by whom 
 we become sons and heirs of God. 
 
 2/ This leads to the remark that God's 
 wisdom is gloriously displayed in the incarna- 
 tion of his Son. The glory of redemption 
 much depends on its being effected in the very* 
 nature whose fall made redemption necessary : 
 11 By man came death ; by man came also the 
 resurrection of the dead f " As by the offence 
 of one judgment came upon all men to condem- 
 nation, even so by the righteousness of one the 
 free gift came upon all men unto justification of 
 life. For as by one man's disobedience many 
 were made sinners, so by the obedience of one 
 shall many be made righteous." The first 
 Adam was earthy, and sunk us in ruin ; the 
 second Adam was heavenly, and saves us 
 from wrath. By the sin of one imputed we 
 fell ; by the righteousness of the other impu- 
 ted we rise to sonship with God. 
 
 Thus by his two natures Christ is equal 
 with God in glory and authority, and equal 
 with man in lowliness and suffering. None 
 is higher — none is humbler. The Father greets 
 him with gladness: "This is my beloved Son, 
 in whom I am well pleased." The sinner hails 
 him with joy: "My Lord and my God." Thus 
 
232 THE KOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 we see the wisdom of God in the choice of the 
 Redeemer — one who can be safely trusted with 
 the honors of God's throne and with the sins 
 and sorrows and salvation of men ; one who 
 can be worshipped without idolatry and ap- 
 proached without terror. 
 
 III. The wisdom of God is also manifested 
 in the works and sufferings of the Redeemer : 
 
 1. In his works. They were all faultless, 
 perfect. Even Pilate found no fault in him. 
 His works were without a blot or stain. They 
 were many. They exemplified every perfec- 
 tion of God and every virtue of the creature. 
 They set a pattern for every duty ; they gave 
 a measure for every attainment ; they magni- 
 fied every precept of the law. His obedience 
 to law wrought out a spotless robe of right- 
 eousness for every believer. This is the linen 
 white and clean, called the righteousness of 
 saints. No robe of personal innocence is so 
 glorious. Angels in heaven are not so beau- 
 teously adorned. And it is all by the merit 
 of Christ. Thus is boasting excluded, God 
 honored, the dignity of the heavenly state 
 unimpaired, and the sinner abundantly saved. 
 Thus is God's wisdom displayed in Christ's 
 works. 
 
REDEMPTION BY CHEIST. 233 
 
 2. So also in Christ's sufferings do we see 
 God's wisdom. He was subject to the penalty 
 of the law. He suffered as one heta guilty :n 
 law, not for himself, but for us, whose law- 
 place he took. His sufferings began with his 
 birth and lasted till he expired on Calvary. 
 They were not solely from man, but chiefly 
 from God ; not merely corporeal, but mainly 
 mental ; not confined to his last hours, but 
 running through his whole life ; not only pres- 
 ent, but anticipated for long years. Luke 
 12:50. "The radical error of the Unitarian 
 system is, that men are saved solely by influ- 
 ence or power. But the truth is, we are not 
 saved so much by any action as by a passion ; 
 not so much by exertion as by endurance ; 
 not chiefly by vital energy, but by dying 
 blood. It was not finished till Christ died. 
 We are made nigh by the blood of Jesus. 
 We are healed, not at all by his words or 
 deeds, but by his stripes"* Law is stern and 
 uncompliant. It "ought to be severe and 
 awful too, or it will excite nothing but con- 
 tempt." By tlie suffering of death, Christ 
 
 jfied the demands of the law, and gave to 
 the troubled conscience ground of hope. N<jpr 
 
 * Nevins. 
 
234 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 no justification is more perfect than that of 
 sinners who believe in Jesus. Though with- 
 out the sh'edding of blood there is no remis- 
 sion, yet by the shedding of Christ's blood 
 there is no lack of forgiveness. He who 
 poured out his soul unto death is exalted a 
 Prince and Saviour, to grant both repentance 
 and remission of sins. Thus is G-od's wisdom 
 displayed in Christ's sufferings. The law is 
 magnified, the sinner is saved. 
 
 IY. The wisdom of Grod is manifested in 
 the effects of redemption on the universe : 
 
 1. We have -seen how it harmonizes the 
 divine perfections ; let us see how it illustrates 
 them. In the cross we have the strongest pos- 
 sible expression of benevolence. The infinite 
 dignity of the sufferer, the unparalleled humil- 
 iation he underwent, the debasement of those 
 he would save, and the utter impossibility of 
 ever adequately requiting his love, all show 
 the amazing extent of the Divine compassion. 
 If any ever doubted G-od's hatred of sin, all 
 such uncertainty comes to a full end at Cal- 
 vary. If Grod would not spare his own Son, 
 when he suffered the Just for the unjust, surely 
 he is the awful and determined enemy of all 
 unrighteousness. The scheme of saving mercy 
 
KEDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 235 
 
 evinces at <5nce the greatest love to the sin- 
 ner and the strongest abhorrence of his sins. 
 {i Christ was no partisan with the sinner against 
 the law." In like manner it would be easy to 
 show how God's truth, and faithfulness, and 
 power, and all his perfections, are displayed 
 in redemption. 
 
 2. The influence of redemption on holy 
 angels is both great and benign. It affords 
 them the most wonderful theme of inquiry. 
 They desire to look into it, It gives them new 
 and delightful employment. They minister to 
 the heirs of salvation. It gives them a new 
 Head. Though Christ is not their Saviour, 
 he is their Lord. It brings them and men 
 into relations of amity and brotherhood, so 
 that they make one family in heaven and earth. 
 It gives them great and new sources of joy. 
 They are glad with exceeding joy when a sin- 
 ner repents. Luke 15:10. Nor have they 
 any theme for songs so sublime as those con- 
 eeining salvation. 
 
 3. To man the effects of redemption are 
 glorious and elevating. He who is saved 
 from death should be most of all struck with 
 his deliverance — most of all drawn towards 
 his Deliverer. None are so changed byre- 
 
236 THE BOOK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 demption as the redeemed themselves. They 
 pass from the lowest depths to the greatest 
 heights ; from just, perfect, and awful con- 
 demnation, to full, free, ^nd irrepealable jus- 
 tification ; from a state of the lowest deprav- 
 ity to a state of purity and holiness fitting 
 them for fellowship with God ; from a state 
 of misery that cannot be conceived by sinless 
 creatures, to a state of comfort and joy un- 
 speakable ; from a state of fearful estrange- 
 ment from a holy God and holy angels, to a 
 state of lasting friendship with their Maker 
 and all right-minded creatures. The bond 
 which binds them to God and to angels 
 binds them also to one another, and that 
 for ever. 
 
 1. How futile are all schemes of man's 
 devising for securing the favor of God and 
 his own happiness. None of them reach the 
 real evils in his case. They do not dispose of 
 sin, either in its power, or guilt, or pollution. 
 
 2. How vain are all objections to the gos- 
 pel drawn from the feeble, erring, sinful soul 
 of man. Never is man more a fool or a trans- 
 gressor than when he sits in judgment on this 
 greatest plan and work of God. Did any wise 
 man ever undertake to show how God could 
 
REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 237 
 
 have more fitly formed the dove, the eagle, or 
 the horse? Yet many a prating simpleton 
 undertakes to tell the world how he would 
 like the plan of salvation, God's greatest work, 
 to be arranged. _ 
 
 3. How attractive is the character of Jesus 
 Christ. He is the perfection of a Saviour. 
 Some have made the suggestion that he might 
 have rescued many from sin and wrath with- 
 out so full, and frequent, and amazing acts of 
 condescension. But who ever taught that he 
 ought to have given higher evidences of com- 
 passion and tenderness? All the redeemed 
 join in praising him, unite in crowning him, 
 contend in the strife of extolling him. Each 
 of them sings : 
 
 " I was a stricken deer that left the herd 
 Long since. With many an arrow deep infixed 
 31y panting side was charged, when I withdrew 
 To seek a tranquil death in distant shades. 
 There I was found by One who had himself 
 Been hurt by the archers. In his side he bore, 
 And in his hands and feet, the cruel scars. 
 With gentle force soliciting the darts, 
 He drew them forth, and healed, and bade me live." 
 
 Matchless Redeemer ! None among all 
 the -sons of the mighty, none among the holy 
 angela, can compare with thee. 
 
 4. If any desire a rich, pure, exalted, inex- 
 haustible theme of study and inquiry, lie 1ms 
 
238 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 it in the redemption wrought out by Christ, 
 He need go no farther. Here the holy angels 
 all stop, and bow, and worship. 
 
 5. Unconverted men ought to feel a lively 
 and profound interest in the undertaking of 
 Christ. It mightily concerns them to know 
 something of its wonders. If they ever find 
 life or peace, it must be here. In Christ are 
 hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 
 Col. 2:3. In him is life, and the life is the 
 light of men. 
 
 6. Children of God, rejoice and obey, "Ye 
 are bought with a price : therefore glorify God 
 in your body and in your spirit, which are 
 God's." 1 Cor. 6:20. Give him all. Keep 
 back nothing that can honor him. Hear the 
 voice of mercy whispering good counsels to 
 your souls. Present your whole selves a liv- 
 ing sacrifice to him ; and let the love of God, 
 like holy fire, come down and consume you. 
 Be not straitened in your charity. Be not 
 slothful in your labors of love. Be not cold 
 in your zeal for the Master. Be ye enlarged. 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 239 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 THE ATONEMENT. 
 
 The word Atonement is found but once in the 
 English New Testament : "We also joy in God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we 
 have now received the atonement." Eom. 
 5:11. Yet the Greek word here rendered 
 atonement frequently occurs elsewhere. Our 
 word atonement is compounded of at and one. 
 At-one-ment is therefore the same thing as a 
 reconciliation. It brings together those who 
 have been at variance. The words reconcile, 
 reconciled, reconciling, and reconciliation, in ap- 
 plication to the work of Christ, are found in 
 the New Testament nine or ten times. " The 
 ministry of reconciliation" is the ministry that 
 makes known the atonement of Christ. "The 
 word of reconciliation" is the doctrine of atone- 
 ment. Here are four striking passages from 
 the New Testament in which the word occurs : 
 11 In all things it behooved him to be made like 
 unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful 
 and faithful High Priest in things pertaining 
 to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of 
 
240 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the people." Heb. 2 :1T. "All things are of 
 God, who hath reconciled us. to himself by Je- 
 sus Christ." 2 Cor. 5:18. " God was in Christ 
 reconciling the world unto himself, not impu- 
 ting their trespasses unto them." 2 Cor. 5 :19. 
 " It pleased the Father that in him should all 
 fulness dwell ; and having made peace through 
 the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all 
 things to himself." Col. 1 :19, 20. In like man- 
 ner Daniel, 9 :24, says: " Seventy weeks are 
 determined upon thy people and upon thy holy 
 city, to finish the transgression, and to make 
 an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for 
 iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteous- 
 ness." Each of these phrases used by Daniel 
 is explanatory of the others. Each of them 
 points to an atonement ; and an atonement is 
 a reconciliation, a bringing together of those 
 who have been alienated. We have forsaken, 
 insulted, and rebelled against God. He has 
 followed us with mercies, reproofs, and expos- 
 tulations, and yet we persist in iniquity. As 
 a moral Governor, he must put down sin in 
 his dominions. He is holy, and hates iniquity. 
 His nature and his office both require that 
 transgression be punished. He saw men ru- 
 ined and lost, yet he pitied them. He pro- 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 241 
 
 vided a mode of reconciliation by the life and 
 death of his Son.* Jesus Christ is the Recon- 
 ciler. He is fit for this work. He has the 
 nature of God, and so can appear with honor 
 before the heavenly Majesty. He has the 
 nature of man, and is by experience acquainted 
 with all our natural infirmities. He knows 
 what temptation and sorrow and death are. 
 
 In the passage cited from Colossians, God 
 is said " to reconcile all things to himself' 7 by 
 Jesus Christ. This mode of speaking is not 
 unusual in the sacred writings. The reason 
 of this seems to be, that God is the offended 
 party and we are the offenders. As such, we 
 have need to be reconciled to him. The price 
 of reconciliation was, therefore, paid to him, 
 not to us. The learned Grotius has very justly 
 remarked that in heathen authors men's being 
 reconciled to their gods is always understood to 
 signify appeasing the anger of their gods. 
 When our Saviour commanded the offending 
 to go and be reconciled to his brother, the 
 plain meaning is, that he should go and try to 
 appease his brother's anger, obtain his par- 
 don, and regain his favor by humility) en- 
 treaty, and. if required, by reparation or res- 
 titution. This is also the use of the word 
 
 Rv-lr of S»l. 11 « 
 
242 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 reconciled, in 1 Samuel 29 :4, where the Philis- 
 tines say of David and his difficulty with Saul. 
 "Wherewith should he reconcile himself unto 
 his master ? Should it not be with the heads 
 of these men?' 7 They thought David would 
 try to assuage Saul's anger and regain his favor 
 by destroying his enemies. Indeed, this is 
 the ordinary sense of the term in Scripture. 
 To make reconciliation, therefore, is to offer 
 an atonement. 
 
 The doctrine of atonement is vital in the 
 Christian system. It claims our candid and 
 careful study. When we speak of atonement, 
 we mean that "Christ, by his obedience and 
 death, did fully pay the debt of all his people, 
 and did make a proper, real, and full satisfac- 
 tion to his Father's justice in their behalf.' 7 
 It was a proper satisfaction ; that is, it was not 
 figurative or emblematical. It was real, not 
 imaginary, not feigned, not fictitious, not the- 
 atrical. It was/w#, and not partial. It was 
 complete, entire, wanting nothing. The only 
 possible ideas respecting the work and death 
 of Christ are these : 
 
 1. That Jesus Christ fully satisfied all the 
 penal claims of the law for all men, and that 
 all shall therefore infallibly be saved. This 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 243 
 
 was formerly the doctrine of Universalists. 
 They held that Christ had paid all the debts 
 of all men, and that God would certainly save 
 all men by the merits of his Son. 
 
 2. Another theory respecting the atone- 
 ment is, that Christ did not by his death sat- 
 isfy Divine justice for any of the sins of any 
 man ; that he died merely as a martyr to the 
 truth ; that no man required any real atone- 
 ment, and that God required no satisfaction 
 to his justice. This was the view held by old 
 Socinians of Europe, and embraced by their 
 modern followers. 
 
 3. Another theory of the death of Christ 
 is. that he made atonement for some of the 
 
 3 of all men, and left them by their own 
 works and sufferings to satisfy for their other 
 sins as best they could. This view presents 
 the work of Christ as partial and incomplete. 
 It is practically the theory of all who by pains, 
 prayers, penances, and acts of voluntary humil- 
 ity, propose to make themselves acceptable to 
 God. 
 
 4. The last view is, that Jesus Christ made 
 full and complete satisfaction for all his peo- 
 ple ; that in him they are complete ; that in 
 him they possess full redemption and perfect 
 
244 THE BOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 righteousness before God. This is the true, 
 Scriptural doctrine of atonement. It is full of 
 comfort to all who are so humble as to be 
 willing to be saved by sovereign grace. It 
 puts the conscience at rest, so that it demands 
 no more atonement. Indeed, it kindles up 
 untold delights. "We joy in God through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now 
 received the atonement," says the Scripture. 
 
 'As the doctrine of atonement is not of 
 human origin, but is matter of pure revelation 
 from God, it is evident we must be guided in 
 the formation of our opinions by the Scrip- 
 tures alone. If they settle not the points in- 
 volved, all our logic and metaphysics will be 
 useless. Our appeal is directly to God's 
 word. 
 
 No one will deny that in the sacred wri- 
 tings Christ is called a Saviour, a Eedeemer, 
 a Deliverer, a horn of salvation. He is said 
 to be the Bread of life, the Tree of life, the 
 Water of life. Indeed, he is said to be the 
 Life itself. 
 
 The Scriptures as clearly ascribe our sal- 
 vation to the death of Christ. They say he 
 "died for the ungodly;" that "to this end 
 Christ both died, and rose and revived ;" that 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 245 
 
 Christ "died for our .sins ;" that saints should 
 live to him who died for them ; that he died 
 for us that we should live with him. Bom. 
 5:6; 14:9; lCor.l5:3; 2Cor.5:15; 1 Thess. 
 4:14; 5:10. 
 
 The Old and New Testaments wondrously 
 harmonize in their teachings on this subject. 
 Isaiah says, " Surely he hath borne our griefs 
 and carried our sorrows. . . . He was wounded 
 [margin, tormented] for our transgressions, he 
 was bruised for our iniquities : the chastise- 
 ment of our peace [or, that procured our 
 peace] was upon him ; and with his stripes 
 we are healed. . . . Thou shalt make his soul 
 an offering for sin. . . . For the transgression 
 of my people was he stricken. . . . The Lord 
 hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. . . . He 
 bare the sin of many." In sin are two things: 
 one its defilement or pollution; the other its 
 desert of punishment. To say that God laid 
 on Christ the pollution of our sins is blasphe- 
 mous ; but to say that Christ "bare our sins 
 in his own body on the tree," is a heavenly 
 doctrine. When the prophet says, "Thou 
 shalt make his soul an offering for sin," we 
 know lie refers not to any iniquity in Christ, 
 for he bad no sin. Nor did our Lord bear the 
 
246 THE EOCK OF OUB SALVATION. 
 
 sin of fallen angels. He took not on him their 
 nature. Between them and God there is no 
 mediator. They are reserved in chains under 
 darkness, to the judgment of the great day. 
 And yet his soul was an offering for sin. 
 What sin can be meant but ours ? One says, 
 "We may, in many cases, say that the inno- 
 cent suffers for the guilty, when one is exposed 
 to loss or pain by means of another's fault, or 
 for his benefit ; but can it be said, with pro- 
 priety, that the Lord lays upon the innocent 
 sufferer the iniquity of the offender, or that 
 the former bears the sins of the latter, when 
 no translation or imputation of guilt is in- 
 tended and no real atonement made ? If so, 
 what words can convey the ideas of imputa- 
 tion or atonement ? What determinate mean- 
 ing can there be in language V* 
 
 Peter declares that "Christ also hath once 
 suffered for sins, the just for the unjust." 
 1 Pet. 3:18. If he suffered for sins, whose sins 
 were they? They were the sins of the unjust, 
 even of those whom he would rescue from a 
 righteous and eternal destruction. Indeed, 
 almost every form of language is employed to 
 show that Christ's sufferings were vicarious, 
 
 * Scott. 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 247 
 
 not for himself but for others. Paul says, 
 "God hath made him to be sin [or a sin-offer- 
 ing] for us." 2 Cor. 5 : 21. In the very same 
 verse it is declared that Christ knew no sin. 
 Surely he bore the wrath of God that was due 
 to us. 
 
 When Peter says that he, ".his. own self, 
 bare our sins in his own body on the tree," 
 1 Peter 2 : 24, what is the meaning of this sol- 
 emn language ? The expression bearing sin. or 
 bearing iniquity, occurs more than thirty times 
 in Scripture, and in every instance it means 
 to bear the sufferings or penalty of sin. Thus 
 in Leviticus 5:1, God ordains that if a man 
 hear swearing and is a witness and does not 
 utter it, he shall ' 'bear his iniquity" This means 
 that guilt shall so rest upon him that he shall 
 be liable to punishment. So also in Leviticus 
 22:9, God says "they shall therefore keep 
 mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and 
 die.' 7 So in Ezekiel 23:49, God says," Ye 
 shall bear the. sins of your idols." Clearly, 
 the meaning is, ye shall be held liable to pun- 
 ish mm t for worshipping your idols. Again, 
 in Leviticus 24 : 15, the Lord says, " Whoso- 
 ever curseth his God, shall bear his sin." In 
 Hebrews 9 : 28, Paul says, " Christ was once 
 
248 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 offered to bear the sins of many;' 7 and in 
 Isaiah 53:11, God says, "My righteous ser- 
 vant . . . shall bear their iniquities." Could 
 words more plainly teach that Christ endured 
 the wrath of God for us, and bore the penalty 
 of the law in our room and stead ? 
 
 In Galatians 3 :13, Paul says, "Christ hath 
 redeemed us from the curse of the law, being 
 made a curse for us." This passage seems 
 specially intended to meet all cavillings. In 
 the language of an Israelite, the law consisted 
 of a precept, a statute, a rule, or a direction, 
 and of a curse, or penalty, and of a promise 
 or blessing. The rule or command was for 
 all. The promise or blessing was for the obe- 
 dient ; the curse or penalty was for the trans- 
 gressor. Indeed, our Anglo-saxon word curse 
 has precisely the same meaning with the Latin 
 word penalty. As we were all transgressors, 
 we were all under the curse. But Christ has 
 redeemed us by enduring the penalty or by 
 being made a curse for us. The slight varia- 
 tions in the sense of the word curse in this pas- 
 sage need mislead no one. In the latter case, 
 it means a victim, one devoted or accursed for 
 us. In quite a number of passages is Christ 
 spoken of as a lamb, a Lamb slain, a Lamb 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 249 
 
 that takes away sin, as a Lamb that is wor- 
 shipped in heaven, a Lamb slain from the 
 foundation of the world. Isa. 53 : 7 ; John 
 1:29; Acts 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 5:8, 12, 
 and 13:8. It is admitted that Christ resem- 
 bled a lamb in his uncomplaining gentleness. 
 But in what sense did a lamb ever take away 
 sin, but by dying in the room of the offerer, 
 and how could Christ as a lamb take away 
 sin, but by the sacrifice of himself? If he 
 were slain, it was not for himself, but for us. 
 All the lambs offered in sacrifice died the in- 
 nocent for the guilty, the spotless for the 
 criminal. Do not these things clearly teach 
 that Christ endured the penalty of the law, 
 that he died as a substitute for others ? 
 
 The same doctrine is variously taught in 
 the Scriptures in connection with the phrase, 
 the blood of Christ. It is expressly said that 
 he "made peace through the blood of his 
 cross," Col. 1 : 20 ; that "by his own blood he 
 entered in once into the holy place, having 
 obtained eternal redemption for us," Heb. 
 9: L2; that his blood shall purge our "con- 
 science from dead works to serve the living 
 God," Heb. 9 : 14 ; that "the blood of Jesus 
 
 Christ . . . cleanseth us from all sin," 1 John 
 11* 
 
250 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 1:7; that he hath redeemed us to God by his 
 blood, Rev. 5:9; and that we "are made 
 nigh by the blood of Christ." Eph.2:13. Now 
 the shedding of the blood of Christ by his en- 
 emies was the greatest crime ever committed 
 in Jerusalem or on this earth. It is impos- 
 sible that such wickedness could be pleasing 
 to God. In what sense then does his blood 
 cleanse us from sin? It cannot be other- 
 wise than as he offered himself as a Lamb 
 without spot unto God ; poured out his soul 
 unto death, that we might live for ever. 
 Blood, innocent blood, calls for vengeance. 
 The blood of Abel cried from the ground, 
 and the cry went up to heaven. But the 
 blood of Christ speaketh better things than 
 that of Abel. It calls for salvation to all who 
 believe. 
 
 The Scriptures no less clearly declare that 
 Christ endured his sufferings for the iniquities 
 of his people. Isaiah says, "For the trans- 
 gression of my people was he stricken ;" 53 : 8. 
 Paul says that "he was delivered for our 
 offences," Rom. 4:25; that he "died for our 
 sins according to the Scriptures," 1 Cor. 15 : 3 ; 
 and that he "gave himself for our sins," Gal. 
 1:4. There is no desirable sense in which 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 251 
 
 Christ could have done and suffered these 
 these things for sin, unless it be as an atone- 
 ment. And it is very clear from the New 
 Testament that Christ's dying for sin is mat- 
 ter of exultation to all the pious. Indeed the 
 only feast instituted under the gospel is a 
 feast expressly ordained to show forth his 
 death until he come. The Scriptures no less 
 frequently declare that Christ died for guilty 
 men. "This is my body which is given for 
 you" Luke 22:19. "I lay down my life for 
 the sheep." John 10:15. "In due time Christ 
 died for the ungodly." Eom. 5:6. " While 
 we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 
 Rom. 5:8. There is danger of weakening 
 the force of such clear and solemn passages 
 by any explanation. Still it may be asked, In 
 what conceivable sense could Christ die in 
 our place if it be riot as a vicarious, atoning 
 sacrifice ? 
 
 The Scriptures also declare that all hope 
 of pardon for us lost men is centred in Christ. 
 But why in him if he is not our atoning 
 priest? Thus says Peter, "Him hath God 
 i with his right hand to be a Prince 
 and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel 
 and forgiveness of sins." Acts 5:31. Paul 
 
252 THE EOOK OE OUE SALVATION. 
 
 says as explicitly, "Be it known unto you 
 therefore, men and brethren, that through this 
 man is preached unto you the forgiveness of 
 sins." Acts 13:38. Again, "In whom we have 
 redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 
 of sins, according to the riches of his grace." 
 Eph. 1:7. Where is the fitness of connecting 
 the remission of sins in so remarkable a man- 
 ner with the person and the blood of Jesus 
 Christ unless he is indeed the substitute of his 
 people and their Saviour in the highest sense 
 ever claimed by the Christian world ? 
 
 These clear, Scriptural proofs and state- 
 ments receive confirmation and elucidation 
 from the following considerations : 
 
 1. If we deny that Jesus Christ endured 
 the penalty of the law, and that his sufferings 
 were vicarious, then we must deny that he 
 was the substitute of his people, and that their 
 sins are imputed to him. If this be true, we 
 are of all men most miserable ; for we have 
 given up this world in the hope of attaining 
 a better through Christ's substitution for us. 
 But all our sins still remain, unless we have 
 remission through his blood. We are disap- 
 pointed, and our guilt is still upon us. If we 
 go thus far, we must in consistency maintain 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 253 
 
 that justice is unsatisfied and must ever remain 
 so, and that if there is any salvation for sinful 
 men, it must be in derogation of the justice 
 of God ; it must be by trampling under foot 
 the penalty of God's law. 
 
 2. Some who deny that Christ's death and 
 sufferings were vicarious and for us, yet admit 
 that the Scriptures seem to teach that doctrine. 
 But they warn us against being led astray by 
 figurative language. To this these answers 
 may be given :• 1. If figurative language teach- 
 es nothing, then it is nonsense. 2. In all lan- 
 guages, the very strongest things that are said 
 are said in metaphor. 3. A great variety of 
 metaphors is employed by the sacred writers 
 on this subject. 4. Oftentimes the Scriptures 
 speak in language perfectly plain. " He bare 
 the sin of many;" " He was wounded for our 
 transgressions;' 7 "He died for our sins;" and 
 "He suffered the Just for the unjust," are forms 
 of expression as free from figure as language 
 can well be. 
 
 3. If the Scriptures which are generally 
 relied on as teaching the doctrine of a vicar i- 
 
 atonement may be so explained as not to 
 li it, then it is useless to attempt to prove 
 any thing by the word of God. 
 
254= THE KOCK OF OTJB SALVATION. 
 
 4. Any scheme of doctrine which opposes 
 the retributive justice of God will, if carried 
 to its legitimate results, subvert also the doc- 
 trine of the Divine holiness. God punishes 
 sin because his nature leads him to abhor it. 
 
 5. If God has set aside the penalty of his 
 law without a full satisfaction, must it not 
 have been at first too severe? And if the 
 penalty was at first wrong, may not the pre- 
 cept for the same cause be too strict ? Thus 
 by our speculations we subvert the whole law. 
 
 6. In like manner we shall subvert the 
 gospel. What the convinced sinner needs 
 and seeks is, not merely that he may escape 
 hell and reach heaven, but he wishes to do it 
 in a manner that will secure the honor of God. 
 He wishes to see how God can be just and yet 
 justify the sinner. On the old Bible doctrine 
 of a vicarious atonement, all is plain ; but on 
 any other scheme there is no way of satisfac- 
 torily accounting for the death of Christ or the 
 offer of salvation. If Jesus Christ bore the 
 penalty, all is clear; if he did not, why did 
 God smite the man that was his fellow ? 
 
 7. How well does the true doctrine, and 
 how ill does the opposite doctrine, agree with 
 the types of the Old Testament. Without 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 255 
 
 referring to the many great offerings in detail, 
 let any one carefully consider the offering of 
 even the young pigeons or the rite of the 
 scape-goat, and see what can be the meaning 
 of such services, if Jesus Christ did not die for 
 us. If Christ bears our sins, well may we be 
 forgiven. 
 
 8. How well does the true doctrine, and 
 how ill does the opposite doctrine, harmonize 
 with the worship of heaven: "The songs of 
 the redeemed in heaven, even of those ' who 
 had come out of great tribulation,' and had 
 shed their blood in the cause of Christ, afford 
 an unanswerable argument in favor of a real 
 atonement and a vicarious sacrifice in the 
 death of Christ. Without one discordant 
 voice, they ascribe their salvation to ' the 
 Lamb that was slain, and redeemed them 
 unto God by his blood,' who washed them 
 from their sins in his own blood. But in 
 what sense could the Lamb that was slain wash 
 fh< in from their sins in his own blood, unless he 
 literally an atoning sacrifice?"* What is 
 there to make exultant the worship of sinners 
 
 ed it. alter all, God merely connives at 
 tlteif transgressions? 
 
 * Scott. 
 
256 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 9. It cannot be safely denied — indeed it 
 is commonly admitted — that the early Chris- 
 tian writers, the reformers, and the Christian 
 world generally, until after the middle of the 
 eighteenth century, held and taught that Christ 
 bore the curse and endured the wrath of God 
 in the room and stead of sinners. Is not this 
 fact a strong presumptive proof that the doc- 
 trine is true ? Is it possible that God's hid- 
 den ones have so generally mistaken the 
 prophets and apostles, and been left to em- 
 brace delusion ? 
 
 10. It is a great fact confirmatory of the 
 true doctrine, that it has a mighty power over 
 all right hearts. " what a melting consid- 
 eration is this, that out of Christ's agony 
 comes our victory ; out of his condemnation 
 our justification ; out of his pain our ease ; 
 out of his stripes our healing ; out of his gall 
 and vinegar our honey ; out of his curse our 
 blessing ; out of his crown of thorns our crown 
 of glory ; out of his death our life : if he could 
 not be released, it was that we might be ; if 
 Pilate gave sentence against him, it was that 
 the "great God might never give sentence 
 against us ; if he yielded, that it should be 
 with Christ as they required, it was that it 
 
THE ATONEMENT. 257 
 
 might be with our souls as well as we cau 
 desire. 7 '* Hearts must be harder than the 
 rooks, if the love and death of Christ do not 
 move them, When he died, the rocks were 
 rent. 
 
 * Hopkins. 
 
258 THE KOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE FOLLY OF OBJECTING TO THE ATONE- 
 MENT. 
 
 The minds of inspired men were warm 
 with saving truth. The more fully the way 
 of salvation was understood, the more did 
 they glory in the cross and in its power to 
 save. With them philosophy was as nothing. 
 Learned men without revelation had wasted 
 centuries in idle debates, in refuting one an- 
 other, and in deceiving mankind ; but they 
 had effected nothing truly useful. Not a sin- 
 ner was reformed, not an aching heart found 
 ease, not an idol was abolished. But when 
 the gospel was fully and faithfully preached, 
 it wrought wonders. It saved men's souls. 
 It was full of power. The early preachers of 
 righteousness gave to mankind the triumphant 
 challenge, "Hath not God made foolish the 
 wisdom of this world?" 1 Cor. 1:20. Yet 
 the wise, the scribe, and the disputer, had 
 many objections. They mocked; they cav- 
 illed ; they scorned ; they counted the gospel 
 foolishness. Anon they pretended to reason. 
 
FOLLY OF OBJECTIONS. 259 
 
 Their utmost powers were directed against the 
 cross and the person of Jesus Christ. They 
 hated the doctrine of atonement. It is even 
 so still. Time, which mends many things and 
 wears out many things, has not improved the 
 temper of the carnal heart, nor exhausted its 
 fondness for debate. 
 
 Let us look at some of the objections made 
 against the atonement. These are sometimes 
 stated, with apparent modesty, in the form of 
 questions, and sometimes categorically and 
 polemically. 
 
 1. It has been urged against the doctrine 
 of vicarious atonement, that it involves a trans- 
 fer of moral character. To meet this, it is suf- 
 ficient to ask, Is there not a difference between 
 the penally of sin and its pollution? between 
 the penalty of the law incurred and the vile- 
 ness of the heart indulged? between legal 
 responsibility and moral character? If an 
 innocent man pays the forfeiture for the non- 
 appearance of a bad man to stand his trial, 
 doee that make the surety a partaker of the 
 moral character of the criminal? Surely one 
 may voluntarily assume pains and penalties 
 for oven a bad man without approving of his 
 wrong, or without being like him in moral 
 
260 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 character. The truth is, a transfer of moral 
 character is simply impossible ; but nothing 
 is more common than a transfer of legal re- 
 sponsibilities. The correct doctrine on this 
 subject is well expressed by Owen in his work 
 on justification : " Nothing is more absolutely 
 true, nothing more sacredly and assuredly be- 
 lieved by us, than that nothing which Christ 
 did or suffered, nothing that he undertook or 
 underwent, did or could constitute him, sub- 
 jectively, inherently, and therefore person- 
 ally, a sinner, or guilty of any sin of his own. 
 To bear the guilt or blame of other men's 
 faults — to be alienee culpce reus — makes no man 
 a sinner, unless he did unwisely or irregu- 
 larly undertake it." 
 
 2. Again, it is urged that if Christ bore 
 the curse due to us, and fully satisfied Divine 
 justice, then it is no mercy in God to forgive 
 and accept us. But was there no mercy in 
 God's providing that justice should be satis- 
 fied, so that salvation might flow fortfi to sin- 
 ners ? Was it not mercy in God so to love 
 the world as to give his only-begotten Son, 
 that whosoever believeth in him might not 
 perish, but have everlasting life? Is it not 
 mercy in the blessed Spirit of God to purify 
 
FOLLY OF OBJECTIONS. 261 
 
 our hearts? To Christ, indeed, who has bought 
 us with his blood, justice and the covenant of 
 God require that he have a seed to serve him. 
 But to the seed who do serve him, considered 
 in themselves, salvation from first to last is 
 the fruit of infinite grace. To believers, con- 
 sidered as in Christ and confessing their trans- 
 gressions, G-od is faithful and just to forgive 
 their sins. He is faithful and just to himself, 
 faithful and just to his Son. But to those for- 
 given it is never of debt, but all of mercy, 
 pity, and love. The whole objection goes 
 on the supposition that justice and mercy, in 
 the gospel scheme, even after all that Christ 
 has done, are antagonistical to each other. 
 Whereas Christ's first and great work was, to 
 satisfy the claims of justice; and now justice 
 and mercy gloriously harmonize in man's sal- 
 vation. Mercy abounds and grace is free, 
 because justice is fully satisfied. " The tran- 
 s' indent graciousness of the gospel covenant 
 consists not in requiring less righteousness to 
 give title to life than was done at first; not 
 in requiring a perfect righteousness of us per- 
 sonally to that end ; but in providing and ac- 
 cepting that of the Surety, according to the 
 -tie, Romans 8:3, 4. The law could not 
 
262 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 give us life, because, being weakened *by sin, 
 we could not perform the perfect righteous- 
 ness which it required ; but what the law could 
 not do Christ has done, giving us a title to life, 
 fulfilling the righteousness of the law on our 
 behalf. 7 '* 
 
 3. It is sometimes said that if Christ bore 
 the curse due to us for sin, there is no increase 
 of happiness in the universe by means of his 
 mediation. Such an objection goes on the 
 supposition that Christ's sufferings were in 
 exact proportion to the number of those who 
 shall finally be saved, and that they were in 
 amount equal to what would have been the 
 everlasting sufferings of all his people if they 
 had not been rescued from wrath. But this 
 is not the doctrine of the Scriptures. It is 
 wholly unsupported by the word of God. It 
 is shocking to the feelings of pious men. It 
 is not maintained by one enlightened friend 
 of the doctrine of a vicarious atonement. It 
 utterly overlooks the infinite dignity of the 
 eternal Son of Grod, from which his sufferings 
 derive their chief value, and which puts them 
 far beyond all comparison with the sufferings 
 of mere creatures. So that there is no ground 
 
 * Clarkson. 
 
FOLLY OF OBJECTIONS. 263 
 
 whatever for the objection. His sufferings, 
 though great, were short. They were soon 
 followed by unparalleled glory, in which all 
 his redeemed partake. The happiness of the 
 universe is already infinitely increased by the 
 death of Christ; and yet his kingdom is far 
 from being completed, and all its subjects have 
 an eternity of bliss before them. 
 
 4. Sometimes it is asked, How could Christ 
 make an atonement for us ? how could he bear 
 our sins, endure the penalty of the law for us, 
 and for us work out a perfect righteousness ? 
 
 So far as there is a real difficulty in this 
 matter, and so far as it has not its seat in our 
 depravity, let the following things be carefully 
 considered : 
 
 (1.) God was under no obligation to pro- 
 vide any Saviour for us. He might justly 
 have left us to perish as he did the fallen an- 
 gels. But if in his mercy he has provided a 
 Redeemer, who has satisfied divine justice, 
 why should we find fault? If the demands 
 of the law and Lawgiver are fully met, it is 
 jxrverseness in us to cavil or object. 
 
 (2.) God could not relax his demands 
 and acrcpt a righteousness less perfect than 
 the law requires. "Christ's righteousness is 
 
264 THE KOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 called the righteousness of the law. For, 
 though righteousness does not come by our 
 obedience to the law, yet it does come by 
 Christ's obedience to it. Though by the deeds 
 of the law as performed by man no flesh liv- 
 ing can be justified ; yet, by the deeds of the 
 law as performed by Christ, all the elect are 
 justified."* Eom. 8:4. So the penalty of the 
 law is death, and without the shedding of 
 blood there is no remission, even though Christ 
 undertake for us. 
 
 (3.) The whole work of Christ from first to 
 last was voluntary. He was not forced to obey 
 the law or bear the curse for us. No man took 
 his life from him. He laid it down of himself. 
 
 (4.) Mere suffering even of such a one as 
 Christ would not of itself avail for us without 
 the consent of the sufferer and of God the 
 Lawgiver. Jesus Christ died in fulfilment of 
 a covenant between himself and his Father. 
 Hence the efficacy of his bloodshedding. 
 
 (5.) When we say that Jesus Christ bore the 
 penalty of the law in the stead of sinners, we 
 do not deny that his sufferings were different 
 from those of sinners on whom the curse falls. 
 He felt neither despair nor remorse. His 
 * Gill. 
 
FOLLY OF OBJECTIONS. 265 
 
 holy soul could feel neither, because he had 
 done no sin, and because he knew his suffer- 
 ings would soon be followed by great glory. 
 But despair and remorse are nowhere said to 
 be the penalty of the law. They are indeed 
 incidents to the wicked, who suffer the curse, 
 but they are not the curse itself. Christ also 
 suffered but for a short time, whe'reas sinners 
 jrho bear their own iniquity must suffer eter- 
 nally. The reasons of this difference in the 
 duration of sufferings are, first, Christ's infi- 
 nite dignity and glory, which made his humili- 
 ation in time of more avail than the anguish 
 of man to all eternity ; and secondly, when 
 Christ bore our sins, he bore them all, and 
 made provision that his people should cease 
 from sin ; but the wicked, who fall under the 
 wrath of God, sin always, and provoke the 
 Most High by new transgressions for ever. 
 But an eternity of suffering is nowhere in 
 Scripture said to be an inherent clement of 
 the penalty of the law. It accompanies it 
 only when borne by finite creatures, them- 
 selves sinners. The death of the body and 
 that endurance of the wrath of God in the 
 mind, which is properly called the death of 
 tin' soul, constitute the penalty of the law. 
 
 . f 8.1. 12 
 
266 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Jesus Christ bore these, for all admit that 
 his body died and was buried ; and that his 
 soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death. 
 This is the sense and the only sense in which 
 any sound writer maintains that Christ bore 
 the penalty of the law. 
 
 Admitting these views, how plain is it that 
 God could be just and yet justify the ungodly. 
 But if we reject these views and maintain 
 that in saving his people it was the deliberate 
 purpose of God to set aside the penalty of 
 the law, who can conceive of the object of 
 Christ's death? All admit that he died not 
 for his own sins, for he had none. If divine 
 justice requires the punishment of sin, how is 
 God just in not punishing his people, unless 
 the wrath due to them was borne by their 
 Substitute ? We cannot prove that God is 
 righteous in permitting any one personally in- 
 nocent, not standing in the place of the guilty, 
 to suffer much or little. Good angels have 
 sometimes visited our world in the form of 
 men ; and some have sought to harm them. 
 But God never permitted one of them to en- 
 dure the least pain. There can be no greater 
 injustice than to visit with stripes one who is 
 under no penalty. The sufferings of Christ 
 
FOLLY OF OBJECTIONS. 267 
 
 can never be reconciled with justice, unless he 
 bore the wrath of God due to us. To inflict 
 pain on one who has done no wrong or who 
 has not assumed legal responsibilities for oth- 
 ers, is absurd. 
 
 Some hold that Christ's sufferings were 
 not penal, yet that his death was an exhibi- 
 tion of God's justice, and hatred of sin. But 
 how can it illustrate these excellent attributes 
 of the Most High to inflict unparalleled suf- 
 ferings on one who had never displeased him, 
 and who had not undertaken to bear the pen- 
 alty of the law in the room of others ?■ The 
 only legal obstacle to the salvation of any sin- 
 ner is the penalty of the law. If that is not 
 borne, it remains in full force, and forever 
 demands satisfaction. To admit men to heaven 
 with the penalty of the law still unsatisfied, 
 would be trampling the law under foot. No 
 government can maintain its authority when 
 the penalty of its laws is not enforced. The 
 penalty not executed, the precept falls into 
 contempt. If sinners were thus saved, the 
 heayens would be filled with thieves and rob- 
 bers, as Christ speaks, that is, with men who 
 would bo there in spite of law and right, and 
 in contempt of God's retributive justice. 
 
268 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Where, then, is the difficulty in the case? 
 God, the Judge of all, objects not to our salva- 
 tion by the death of his Son. The Son died 
 and lives for this great purpose. The Holy 
 Spirit calls men to repentance. Why should 
 we waste our lives in crying, "How can these 
 things be?" A little simple faith in Jesus 
 Christ will scatter the difficulties men make 
 about this doctrine. 
 
 5. Others say that if Jesus Christ made a 
 vicarious atonement for those who believe on 
 him, and laid down his life for his sheep, how 
 can we offer the salvation of the gospel to all 
 men, as we are commanded to do ? 
 
 Let us look at this matter candidly and 
 fairly. In reply it may be stated that the 
 Scriptures clearly teach that Christ died to 
 save his people, and with the covenant en- 
 gagement on the part of his Father that he 
 should effect that great end. He himself says, 
 " I lay down my life for the sheep f and 
 prophecy said, "He shall prolong his days ; 
 he shall see his seed.' 7 Yet we have the ex- 
 ample of God, of the prophets, of the Jjord 
 Jesus Christ, and of the apostles, in favor of 
 making an indiscriminate and urgent offer of 
 salvation to our fellow-men. But it is no part 
 
FOLLY OF OBJECTIONS. 269 
 
 of the true doctrine of the atonement that the 
 merit of our Saviour is exhausted in the sal- 
 vation of those who believe on him. No 
 respectable writer teaches that Christ's humil- 
 iation and sufferings would have been less if 
 the number of his chosen people had been 
 smaller ; nor that his humiliation and suffer- 
 ings would have been greater, if the number 
 to be saved had been greater. The old stand- 
 ard writers all held that the offer of salvation 
 was to be made to men indiscriminately, earn- 
 estly, and tenderly ; that it was entirely con- 
 sistent, to make such an offer, that there is an 
 infinite fulness in Christ, a sufficiency of merit 
 to save the souls of all who should come. 
 Mark the testimony of eminent divines. 
 
 Calvin: "We know the promises to be 
 effectual to us only when we receive them by 
 faith : on the contrary, the annihilation of 
 fa i tli is the abolition of the promises. If this 
 is their nature, we may perceive that there 
 is no discordance between these two things : 
 God's having appointed from eternity on whom 
 li<- will bestow his favor and exercise his wrath, 
 and his proclaiming salvation to all. Indeed, 
 I maintain that there is a most perfect har- 
 mony between them." 
 
270 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Owen: "It was, then, the intention and 
 purpose of Gocl that his Son should offer a 
 sacrifice of infinite worth, value, and dignity, 
 sufficient in itself for the redeeming of all and 
 every man, if it had pleased the Lord to 
 employ it for that purpose ; yea, and of other 
 worlds also, if the Lord should freely make 
 them and would redeem them. Sufficient, we 
 say then, was the sacrifice of Christ for the 
 redemption of the whole world, and for the 
 expiation of all the sins of all and every man 
 in the world. This sufficiency of his sacrifice 
 hath a two-fold rise. First, the dignity of the 
 person that did offer and was offered. Sec- 
 ondly, the greatness of the pain he endured, 
 by which he was able to bear and did undergo 
 the whole curse of the law of God due to sin : 
 and this sets out the innate, real, true worth of 
 the Uoodshedding of Jesus Christ." 
 
 Thomas Boston: "There was virtue and 
 efficacy enough in Christ's oblation to satisfy 
 offended justice for the sins of the whole world, 
 yea, and of millions of worlds more ; for his 
 blood hath infinite value because of the excel- 
 lency and dignity of his person." 
 
 John Brown of Haddington : " Such is the 
 infinite dignity of Christ's person that his ful- 
 
FOLLY OF OBJECTIONS. 271 
 
 fitment of the broken law is sufficient to bal- 
 ance all the debts of all the elect, nay, of 
 millions of guilty worlds. ... In respect of its 
 intrinsic worth as the obedience and suffer- 
 ings of a divine person, Christ's satisfaction is 
 sufficient for the ransom of all mankind : and 
 being fulfilled in human nature, is equally 
 suited to all their necessities." 
 
 What broader, surer foundation for a sin- 
 cere and consistent offer of mercy, than is 
 found in such views as these, can any one 
 demand ? 
 
 Hervey: "The obedience and atonement 
 are as sufficient to secure perfectly all sinners 
 that fly by faith under the covert of his wings, 
 as the immeasurable circuit of the sky is 
 roomy enough for a lark to fly in, or as the 
 immense brightness of the Sun is lightsome 
 enough for a laborer to work by. When the 
 thunders roar, and the lightnings flash ; when 
 the clouds pour down water, and a horrid 
 storm comes on ; all, that are in the open air, 
 retire under the branches of a thick tree, or 
 fly to some other commodious shelter. So the 
 blood and righteousness of Christ are a covert. 
 Hither we may fly and be screened; hither 
 we may fly and be safe." 
 
272 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 Witherspoon : "I shall lay down three 
 propositions which I think can hardly be 
 called in question, and which are a sufficient 
 foundation for our faith and practice. 
 
 "1. The obedience and death of Christ is 
 of value sufficient to expiate the guilt of all 
 the sins of every individual that ever lived 
 or shall live on earth. This cannot be de- 
 nied, since the subjects to be redeemed are 
 finite, the price paid for their redemption is 
 infinite. Christ suffered in the human nature, 
 but that nature was intimately and personally 
 united to the divine ; so that Christ the Medi- 
 ator, the gift of God for the redemption of sin- 
 ners, is often called his own and his eternal 
 Son. ' He that spared not his own Son, but 
 delivered him up for us all, how shall he not 
 with him also freely give us all things.' Eom. 
 8 : 32. Such was the union of the divine and 
 human nature in Christ, that the blood which 
 was the purchase of our redemption, is ex- 
 pressly called the blood of God. Acts 20 :28. 
 This is the great mystery of godliness, God 
 was manifest in the flesh, in wilich all our 
 thoughts are lost and swallowed up. 
 
 "2. Notwithstanding this, every individ- 
 ual of the human race is not in fact partaker 
 
FOLLY OF OBJECTIONS. 273 
 
 of the blessing of the purchase, but many die 
 in their sins, and perish for ever. This wil] 
 as little admit of a doubt. Multitudes have 
 died who never heard of the name of Christ, 
 or salvation through him ; many have lived 
 and died blaspheming his person and despising 
 his undertaking ; many have died in unbelief 
 and impenitence, serving divers lusts and 
 passions, and if the Scripture is true, he will 
 at last render to them according to their 
 works. But 
 
 "3. There is in the death of Christ a suffi- 
 cient foundation laid for preaching the gospel 
 indefinitely to all without exception. It is the 
 command of God that this should be done : 
 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the 
 world, and preach the gospel to every crea- 
 ture." MarklG:15. The effect of this is, that 
 the misery of the unbelieving and impenitent 
 shall be entirely at their own door ; and they 
 .shall not only die in their own sins, but shall 
 suffer to eternity for the most heinous of all 
 sins — despising the remedy and refusing to 
 h«\ar the Son of God. 
 
 "Let us neither refuse our assent to any 
 part of the revealed will of God, nor foolishly 
 imaging an opposition between one part of it 
 12* 
 
274 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 and another. All the obscurity arises from, 
 and may be resolved into, the weakness of our 
 understandings ; but let God be true, and ev- 
 ery man a liar. That there is a sense in which 
 Christ died for all men, and even for those 
 who perish, is plain from the very words of 
 Scripture." 
 
 In like manner Symington : "Wc hold that 
 the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus possessed an 
 intrinsic value sufficient for the salvation of the 
 whole world. In this sense it was adequate to 
 the redemption of every human being. . . . The 
 worth of Christ's atonement we hold to be, in 
 the strictest sense of the term, infinite, abso- 
 lute, all-sufficient .... This all- sufficiency is what 
 lays the foundation for the unrestricted univer- 
 sality of the gospel call .... Such is my impres- 
 sion of the sufficiency of the atonement, that 
 were all the guilt of all mankind concentrated 
 in my own person, I should sec no reason, 
 relying on that blood which cleanseth from all 
 sin, to indulge despair." 
 
 So also Dr. Candlish has written at length 
 to show that there is a fitness in the " univer- 
 sality of the gospel offer," and that it is sin- 
 cere and in "good faith on the part of God." 
 . . "We maintain that the death of Christ 
 
FOLLY OF OBJECTIONS. 275 
 
 lavs the foundation for the offer of the gospel 
 to all men universally, and lays the founda- 
 tion for that offer being honest and free on the 
 part of God." 
 
 Precious as is the doctrine of a vicarious 
 atonement, and glad as must be the heart of 
 him who hopes that he personally is interested 
 in the sacrifice of Calvary, yet it abates noth- 
 ing from the riches of divine grace, but on 
 the .contrary, enhances its glories, that the 
 blood of Christ will never lose its power ; and 
 when all the redeemed shall have obtained a 
 full supply, the treasure of gospel grace will 
 be as ample ^s ever. Let sinners everywhere 
 know that if they perish it is not because there 
 is not merit in Christ sufficient to meet all the 
 demands of law and justice against them. Let 
 them all turn and embrace the kind, the sin- 
 cere, the urgent call to life and salvation by 
 mere gratuity on the part of God : ". Whoso- 
 ever will, let him take the water of life freely." 
 As God is not mocked, so neither does he mock 
 any of his creatures. 
 
 Other objections have been urged against 
 the doctrine of a vicarious atonement, but it is 
 not necessary here to dwell upon them. 
 
276 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 1. Let the Christian glory in the fulness 
 and sufficiency of the work of Christ. His 
 crown and his inheritance are sure. In this 
 world's possessions you may be poor; but "a 
 ragged saint is dearer to God than a godless 
 millionaire. 77 " God is a portion of which his 
 people can never be robbed. Impoverished 
 you may be, but not undone ; discouraged, 
 but not disinherited. 7 '* I recommend Christ 
 to you more and more. Hold fast to him. 
 Never let him go. Especially, 
 
 2. Let all sinners everywhere accept the 
 salvation that is so fully provided and so freely 
 offered. Why will men stand and cavil, and 
 wonder, and perish, when they are called to 
 return to God and seek salvation? "There 
 is mercy enough in God, and merit enough in 
 Christ, and power enough in the Spirit, and 
 scope enough in the promises, and room enough 
 in heaven. 77 why will men refuse salva- 
 tion? 
 
 * Arrowsmith. 
 
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 277 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 
 
 The humiliation of Christ being completed 
 in his death and burial, his exaltation began 
 in his resurrection from the dead. This is a 
 great cardinal truth in the Christian system. 
 It has often been shown to be so. It is so by 
 the confession of all Christians, and of the 
 apostles themselves. Paul says, "If Christ 
 be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and 
 your faith is also vain. ... If Christ be not 
 raised, your faith is vain ; ye are yet in your 
 sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep 
 in Christ are perished. If in this life only we 
 have hope in Christ, we are of all men most 
 miserable:" 1 Cor. 15:14, 17-19. Clearly this 
 doctrine is fundamental. It should be often 
 preached and never yielded. "It is the car- 
 dinal fact of Christianity, without which all 
 her other facts lose their importance."* 
 
 It is agreed by Jews, Christians, and Infi- 
 dels, that Christ was dead and buried. For a 
 time his body was lifeless. Any decent regard 
 
 * Mason. 
 
278 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 to truth must admit this. Of his death there 
 is no doubt. Himself admitted it more than 
 fifty years afterwards : " I am He that liveth, 
 and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive for 
 evermore." 
 
 It is also clear that prophecy required that 
 Christ should rise from the dead. " My flesh 
 also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave 
 my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine 
 Holy One to see corruption." Ps. 16 : 9, 10. 
 That this does not apply to angels is cer- 
 tain, for angels are pure spirits and have no 
 "flesh." They never die. That it does not 
 refer to any mere man is certain, for the per- 
 son here spoken of is called God's Holy One, 
 and all mere men are sinful. That it does not 
 apply to David, who wrote the Psalm where it 
 is found, Peter proved on the day of Pente- 
 cost: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak 
 unto you of the patriarch David, that he is 
 both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is 
 with us unto this day ;" we know that he has 
 seen corruption, for he has been lying in the 
 grave for centuries. But, continues Peter, 
 David "being a prophet, and knowing that 
 G-od had sworn with an oath to him, that of 
 the fruit of his loins according to the flesh he 
 
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 279 
 
 would raise up Christy to sit on his throne, he 
 seeing this before spake of the resurrection of 
 Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, nei- 
 ther his flesh did see corruption." Acts 2 :29- 
 31. Jesus foretold his own resurrection : "De- 
 stroy this temple, and in three clays I will 
 raise it up." John 2:19. "He spake of the 
 temple of his body." 
 
 In the resurrection of Christ there was a 
 concurrence of all the divine persons. Peter 
 says, "God raised him up." Acts 10:40. Paul 
 also say, "God the Father raised him from 
 the dead." Gal. 1:1. But this work is not 
 ascribed to the Father alone. The divine na- 
 ture of Christ was employed in quickening his 
 own dead body. Himself said of his own 
 body, "I will raise it up." "I have power 
 to lay down my life, and I have power to take 
 it ngain." The Son of God participated in 
 the resurrection of his own body. And in 
 Romans 8:11 the same work is said to have 
 been effected by the Spirit of God. As in 
 creation and providence, so in the raising of 
 Christ's body, each person of the Godhead 
 concurred. 
 
 Peter says that Christ was raised up the 
 third day. Acts 10:40. In reckoning time, 
 
280 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 both Hebrews and Greeks frequently counted 
 the part of a day on which a thing began as one 
 day, and the part of a day on which it ceased 
 as another day, and, putting these to the inter- 
 mediate day or days, gave the total. Thus, 
 among the Hebrews, the day on which a child 
 was born was set down as one day, and the 
 day on which it was brought to be circum- 
 cised was put down as another day, and only 
 six entire days intervened between its birth 
 and circumcision, and so it frequently hap- 
 pened that a child was not seven times twenty- 
 four hours old when it was circumcised, and 
 yet the law required that sign and seal to be 
 put on the child on the' eighth day. Greek 
 antiquities show that the same mode of reck- 
 oning was often used in Eastern Europe. At 
 other times the Hebrews counted only the en- 
 tire days. Compare Luke 9 : 28 and Mark 9 :2. 
 So that either mode might be used. The gos- 
 pels state that Christ was buried the after- 
 noon of the day before the Jewish Sabbath, 
 and that he rose very early on the day after 
 the Jewish Sabbath. So that he continued 
 under the power of death one whole day and 
 a part of two others. This method of compu- 
 ting time explains the phrases three days and 
 
CHKIST'S EESUKKECTION. 281 
 
 the third day. Jesus arose the third day ; this 
 was the time fixed by his own prophecies ; had 
 he risen sooner, some might have doubted the 
 reality of his death ; had he remained longer 
 in the grave, the season of terrible fear and 
 darkness to his people would have been 
 needlessly prolonged ; had he remained much 
 longer under the power of death, his body 
 must have "seen corruption," which prophecy 
 had said should not be. 
 
 Christ's raised body was a real body, and 
 not merely the appearance of a body. In the 
 minds of his followers there were doubts on 
 this point. Once when he stood in the midst 
 of them they were "affrighted, and supposed 
 that they had seen a spirit.' 1 To settle this 
 point he said, "Handle me, and see; for a 
 spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me 
 have." Their sight and their touch alike in- 
 formed them that there was no illusion. 
 
 Jesus Christ had the same body after his 
 nrection that he had before. The sepul- 
 chre was opened and the sacred body it con- 
 tained arose. After his resurrectfon our Lord 
 said to his disciples, "Behold my hands and 
 my feet, that it is I myself." To unbelieving 
 Thomas be .-aid, "Reach hither thy finger and 
 
282 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 behold my hands ; and reach hither thy liana 
 and thrust it into my side ; and be not faith- 
 less, but believing." Christ's risen body was 
 the same as his dead and buried body. 
 
 Do any ask, Why did not Christ's followers 
 recognize him immediately? In at least one 
 instance "their eyes were holden" that they 
 should not know him, until by reasoning with 
 them out of the Scriptures, he had satisfied 
 them that he " ought" to have suffered these 
 things, and then enter into his glory. And 
 although Christ had plainly foretold his own 
 death, burial, and resurrection, yet through 
 the strange power of unbelief, his disciples did 
 not understand or receive those truths. This 
 error was not wholly removed from their 
 minds till near the time of his ascension. 
 When he was dead, the best thing they could 
 bring their feelings to say was, ' ' We trusted 
 that it had been he which should have re- 
 deemed Israel." Moreover, in a mind greatly 
 afflicted there is a strange unwillingness, 
 amounting almost to incapacity, to believe 
 good tidings. It looks upon any very good 
 news as too good to be credited. Luke 
 tells us that this was the state of mind in 
 the followers of Christ : " They believed not 
 
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 283 
 
 for joy, and wondered." Such a state of mind 
 is not unusual, as might easily be shown. 
 
 Let us now examine the evidence by which 
 the fact of Christ's resurrection is established. 
 Peter says : " God . . . showed him openly ; 
 not to all the people, but unto witnesses cho- 
 sen before of God, even to us, who did eat 
 and drink with him after he rose from the 
 dead." Acts 10:40, 41. It is worthy of notice 
 that to the disciples there were two heav- 
 enly witnesses of Christ's resurrection. Luke 
 indeed speaks of them as "two men ... in shin- 
 ing garments ;" but John expressly says they 
 were "two angels in white." Luke 24:4-6 ; 
 John 20:12, 13. These elder sons of God 
 were the first, and they were fit witnesses of 
 the wonderful event. 
 
 Respecting the witnesses of Christ's res- 
 urrection, several things may be stated : 
 
 1. Their number was large, between five 
 and six hundred; From the days of Moses to 
 this time, the most enlightened nations have 
 admitted the testimony of two or three men. 
 1 1 < re we have two or three hundred times the 
 number of witnesses required to prove even 
 that a mother killed her own child. Five 
 or six hundred witnesses arc as good as 
 
281 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 five or six thousand. The number is suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 2. The witnesses were competent. They 
 had the use of all their senses, and they had 
 the best opportunities of obtaining correct 
 information. Peter says the witnesses "did 
 eat and drink with him after he rose from the 
 dead." In Acts 1:3, Luke says that 4 'he 
 showed himself alive after his passion by 
 many infallible proofs, being seen of them 
 [the apostles] forty days, and speaking of the 
 things pertaining to the kingdom of God." 
 So that the witnesses fearlessly say, "That 
 which we have heard, which we have seen 
 with our eyes, which we have looked upon 
 and our hands have handled of the Word of 
 life, . . . declare we unto you." 1 John 1:1, 3. 
 In Scripture are mentioned eleven particular 
 instances in which our Lord was seen by some 
 or all of these witnesses. 
 
 His first appearance was to Mary Magda- 
 lene, who at first mistook him for the gar- 
 dener, and to whom he announced his early 
 ascension into heaven, Mark 16:9; John 
 20:14-17. Christ's second appearance was 
 to Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary 
 the mother of James, and other women, who 
 
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 285 
 
 had prepared spices to embalm his sacred 
 body. Matt. 28 : 1-10 ; Luke 24 : 1-12. His 
 third appearance was to the two disciples, as 
 they went into the country on their way to 
 Emmaus. Mark 16:12, 13 ; Luke 24:13-35. 
 He was afterwards seen bv Peter, 1 Cor. 15 :5. 
 He was afterwards seen by James, 1 Cor. 15 : 7. 
 He was then seen by the ten apostles, Thomas 
 being absent, John 20:19-24. Eight days 
 afterwards he was seen by all the eleven apos- 
 tles, John 20:26-29. He was next seen by 
 his disciples at the sea of Tiberias. There 
 were seven apostles present on that occasion, 
 John 21 :1-14. He was also seen at one time 
 by more than five hundred brethren, 1 Cor. 
 15:6. Perhaps it was on this occasion that 
 h€ ascended to heaven in the sight of the men 
 of Galilee. Paul also, on his way to Damascus, 
 perhaps about two years later, saw him in his 
 resurrection body, and conversed with him. 
 In these interviews with his disciples, they 
 had every opportunity to be certified of his 
 being truly the risen Saviour. There is no 
 sOn to believe that the evangelists have 
 told us all the instances in which Christ was 
 with his friends. Both John and Luke would 
 lead us to this conclusion, John 20:30 ; Acts 
 
286 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 1 :3. Christ conversed with them. The pious 
 women held his feet and worshipped him. 
 These witnesses saw him walk ; they heard 
 his arguments and his reproofs ; they saw his 
 wounds ; they received both his command to 
 spread his gospel, and his blessing. Infidelity 
 itself has never impugned the competency of 
 the witnesses. Their testimony was not built 
 on rumor, on the report of others, but on what 
 was submitted to their own senses and obser- 
 vation. 
 
 3. The testimony of these witnesses agrees. 
 Some mention things that others did not see 
 or hear ; but all agree that he rose from the 
 dead, and that they saw him in his resurrec- 
 tion body. There is no contradiction between 
 the witnesses. They agree in all things of 
 which they speak. The early infidels labored 
 to find out some contrariety in their testimony, 
 but their labors were a singular compound of 
 ignorance and malice. 
 
 4. The witnesses, by lives of humility, be- 
 nevolence, uprightness, and self-denial, proved 
 that they were good men, and their word to 
 be relied on. There is an almost universal 
 belief that the apostles were pious men, and 
 afraid of offending God, which they would 
 
CHKIST'S RESURRECTION. 287 
 
 have done by fabricating falsehood. It is not 
 even pretended that any of them ever amassed 
 fortunes by maintaining that Jesus had risen. 
 They lived and died poor men. The sublimest 
 of the apostles was willingly a tent-maker. 
 Jesus forewarned all his followers that adhe- 
 rence to him was the highway to poverty. 
 These witnesses too were banished, stoned, 
 slain with the sword, and crucified. They 
 were hated of all men ; ignominy was heaped 
 upon them. They foresaw it would be so, and 
 they were not disappointed. They were not 
 in quest of fame, or ease, or pleasure. They 
 counted it joy to suffer reproach for Christ. 
 They hailed with composure the fire and sword 
 of persecution. "There were no motives to 
 corrupt them. ... It is evident that nothing 
 desirable in this world had the least influence 
 on the apostles. Nay, on the contrary, what- 
 
 r was terrible to nature discouraged them. 
 They suffered all temporal evils, even death 
 itself, for this testimony." The enemies of 
 Hie Christian religion do commonly admit all 
 this. The way of weakening this testimony 
 is, by such insinuations as these : 
 
 1. The witnesses were unlettered and un- 
 philosophical men. Suppose this were true, 
 
288 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 it would not prove that they were not good 
 witnesses. Science and literature do not qual- 
 ify men to tell the truth respecting a matter 
 of fact occurring before their faces. But men 
 who could speak all the languages of their 
 times ought not to be held up to the world as 
 liable to contempt for their ignorance. And 
 men who have revolutionized the moral senti- 
 ments of mankind must have had something 
 better than mere science. Such men were 
 capable of being witnesses. 
 
 2. Some have said the apostles were cred- 
 ulous, and so are not worthy of confidence. 
 But the whole history shows that they were 
 not credulous. Mark says they "believed 
 not." Mark 16 :11. Again, on the next dec- 
 laration of the fact, he says: "Neither be- 
 lieved they them." Mark 16:13. Again: 
 "He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at 
 meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief 
 and hardness of heart, because they believed 
 not them which had seen him after he was 
 risen." Indeed, Christ often reproved their 
 slowness to believe on this point. The whole 
 history shows that they were not credulous. 
 Notice here the unfairness of these infidels. 
 When we state how slow Christ's followers 
 
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 289 
 
 were to believe his resurrection, some say, 
 Why did they doubt, if the evidence was good 
 and sufficient? Then when we give the rea- 
 sons of their hesitancy, and show that finally 
 the evidence was complete and to every one 
 satisfactory, we are told that they believed 
 only because they were easy of belief. One 
 of these statements destroys the other. Nei- 
 ther is true. 
 
 3. But some have said that the witnesses 
 in this case, and especially the apostles, were 
 fanatics, and therefore not to be believed. 
 It is freely admitted that a well-established 
 il) urge of fanaticism must impair confidence 
 in any testimony ; but who has adduced the 
 slightest evidence of the truth of such a charge 
 in this case ? It is no evidence of wild enthu- 
 
 ii to believe an extraordinary yet possible 
 thing when it is proven to us. It is no evi- 
 dence of fanaticism to say that we are wit- 
 nesses of what we thus believe. Fanaticism 
 relies on impulses and unaccountable impres- 
 sions. It pays no just regard to evidence. 
 But the apostles appealed to well-known facts. 
 Tiny said, " Ye know" so and so. "These 
 tilings were not done in a corner." "We 
 
 Ify that which we have seen." This is not 
 
 Bock of 8aL 1 ) { 
 
290 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 the language of madmen. Fanatics are proud, 
 and boastful, and arrogant. All history shows 
 that the apostles were humble, meek, and mod- 
 est men. They avoid all needless allusion to 
 themselves. They record their own imper- 
 fections. They praise not themselves. The 
 chiefest of them says he was "not worthy to 
 be called an apostle ;" that he was " the least 
 of all saints;" yea, that he was " the chief of 
 sinners." Fanatics could never have sent 
 forth a system claiming to be divine, and ac- 
 companied with such evidences as to deceive 
 such men as Milton, Locke, Boyle, Bacon, and 
 Newton, and a large portion of the most en- 
 lightened nations of the earth, for the last 
 eighteen hundred years. 
 
 But it is worthy of notice that the Jews at 
 first generally denied Christ's resurrection. 
 They said that while the soldiers were asleep, 
 his disciples stole away his body. This story 
 cannot be believed for the following reasons : 
 
 1. The guard at the sepulchre was unusu- 
 ally large — as large as Christ's enemies desired 
 it should be. Matt. 27 ; 65, 66. 
 
 2. It is wholly incredible that a guard, a 
 large guard of Eoman soldiers, should be asleep 
 on their posts. The season of the year, at 
 
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 291 
 
 least during the night, was cool. The pen- 
 alty for falling asleep on guard was death. 
 
 3. The dead body of our Saviour could 
 have done nothing in producing the belief 
 that he was alive. 
 
 4. During the hours that Christ lay in the 
 sepulchre, his disciples spent their time very 
 much in mourning and weeping. Mark 16:10. 
 It is incredible that this company of unarmed, 
 dispirited, heart-broken followers of Jesus 
 Christ should have laid and executed a plan 
 to rescue the precious body of their Lord from 
 a trained and armed soldiery. 
 
 5. The testimony of these soldiers, as 
 eventually given, was wholly incompetent ; 
 for it related to a fact which they said occur- 
 red when they were asleep. 
 
 G. Their testimony, as first given, was full 
 and satisfactory in favor of our Lord's resur- 
 rection. Of the two stories they gave out we 
 are at full liberty, yea, we are bound, to be- 
 lieve the one that they told without " large 
 money." 
 
 If Je'sus Christ was not the Son of God, 
 and did not rise from the dead, then he was a 
 gross deceiver. Nevertheless, his followers, 
 in tint case BO cruelly misled, were willing to 
 
292 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 lay down their lives for him. Is not that very- 
 strange ? 
 
 If Jesus Christ did not rise, then a few 
 men, who never had nor claimed any political 
 power, any fortune, any favor with civil rulers, 
 were able to convince hundreds of thousands 
 of Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews, that one 
 who suffered as a malefactor, was the Saviour 
 of men, and yet all in the teeth of evidence to 
 the contrary. 
 
 If Jesus Christ did not rise, then we must 
 believe that millions have " madly suffered 
 imprisonments, tortures, and crucifixions, to 
 spread an illusion." 
 
 If Jesus Christ did not rise, then it is true 
 that " ten thousand miracles were wrought in 
 favor of falsehood." 
 
 All admit that Christ died. Yet "his 
 death is incomparably a greater wonder than 
 his resurrection." Surely it is less to be ex- 
 pected that "the Son of God, who originally 
 possessed immortality, should die, than that 
 the human body united to him should be 
 raised to a glorious life." "It was not pos- 
 sible" that he should have been holden of 
 death. Acts 2 : 24. His eternal power and 
 godhead forbade it. Divine justice required 
 
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 293 
 
 his resurrection that his innocence might be 
 vindicated. 
 
 Many important truths, essential to the 
 comfort of a Christian life, are suggested and 
 confirmed by this discussion : 
 
 1. The resurrection of Jesus Christ incon- 
 testably proves that in nothing was Jesus an 
 impostor. 
 
 2. Christ's resurrection clearly manifests 
 his divinity and his Sonship with God. If he 
 raised himself from the dead, he must have 
 been divine. If he claimed to be equal with 
 God, and the Father and the Spirit coopera- 
 ted in his resurrection, then he was equal 
 with God, for God would not work a miracle 
 to establish a lie. Paul says expressly that 
 he was ''declared to be the Son of God with 
 power,'' i. e., in a powerful manner, "by the 
 resurrection from the dead." Rom. 1 : 4. 
 
 3. Christ's resurrection gave ample proof 
 of the completeness of his satisfaction to the 
 law and justice of God. So Paul argues : 
 
 Who was delivered for our offences, and was 
 
 raised a pi in for our justification. " Rom. 4:25. 
 
 • Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ 
 
 that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who 
 
294 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 is even at the right hand of God, who also 
 maketh intercession for us." Rom. 8 : 34. 
 Paul says "the God of peace . . . brought again 
 from the dead our Lord Jesus." Heb. 13 : 20. 
 lie was the God of peace because his justice 
 had been fully satisfied. " His death appeased 
 God, his resurrection assures men. . . . Justice 
 incensed, exposed him to death ; and justice 
 appeased, freed him from the dead." 
 
 4. If Christ rose from the dead, so shall his 
 people. ■* Now is Christ, risen from the dead 
 and become the first-fruits of them that slept." 
 1 Cor. 15 : 20. He is " the first-born from 
 the dead." "If we believe that Jesus died 
 and rose again, even so them also which sleep 
 in Jesus will God bring with him." 1 Thess. 
 4:14. "Our Saviour's victory over death 
 was obtained by dying, his triumph by rising 
 again. He foiled our common enemy in his 
 own territories, the grave." We shall be 
 raised "in the likeness of his resurrection." 
 Rom. 6 : 5. Our vile bodies shall be fash- 
 ioned like unto his glorious body. Phil. 
 3 : 21. 
 
 5. If we would know the fulness of the 
 blessings of eternal life hereafter, we must 
 know the power of Christ's resurrection here. 
 
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 295 
 
 Phil. 3 :10. One of Whitefield's best sermons 
 is on this subject. 
 
 6. On the fact and doctrine of Christ's 
 resurrection depend all our hopes for eter- 
 nity. So the apostles taught. 1 Pet. 1:3, 4. 
 There is no room for doubt here. We cannot 
 yield this point without surrendering all that 
 is worth contending for. 
 
 7. How wonderful is that providence of 
 God, which permitted death to come by man, 
 and which arranged that by man also should 
 come the resurrection of the dead. 1 Cor. 
 15:21. 
 
 8. The 'Bible is true. Christianity is 
 divine. Its author was the Son of God. 
 Obedience to him is required, and is most 
 
 -onable. Will you believe and obey the 
 Son of God ? 
 
296 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 CHAPTEE XYI. 
 
 CHRIST'S ASCENSION, AND SESSION AT GOD'S 
 EIGHT HAND. 
 
 The first step in Christ's exaltation was 
 his resurrection ; the second, his ascension to 
 heaven ; the third, his sitting at the right 
 hand of God. Having considered the first, 
 let us now meditate on the other two. 
 
 I. HIS ASCENSION. 
 
 1. Our Lord, having risen, did not at once 
 ascend to heaven, but remained on earth forty 
 days. Acts 1:3. By this delay 
 
 (1.) He would give his followers all rea- 
 sonable proof of his humanity: "Behold my 
 hands and my feet, that it is I myself : handle 
 me, and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and 
 bones, as ye see me have. And when he had 
 thus spoken, he showed them his hands and 
 his feet." Luke 24 : 39, 40. Long after his 
 ascension to heaven, the last surviving apostle 
 testifies : ' ' That which was from the begin- 
 ning, which we have heard, which we have 
 seen with our eyes, which we have looked 
 
CHKIST'S ASCENSION. 297 
 
 upon, and our hands have handled, of the 
 Word of life . . . declare we unto you." 1 John 
 1:1,3. 
 
 (2.) Christ would give all reasonable sat- 
 isfaction concerning the reality of his resur- 
 rection. This he did many ways, calling one 
 poor doubter to reach forth his finger and be- 
 hold his hands, and to reach forth his hand, 
 ini.l thrust it into his side. John 20 : 27. In- 
 deed he showed himself alive after his pas- 
 sion, by many infallible signs. Acts 1 : 3. 
 
 (3.) Christ remained on earth a season 
 that he might aid his disciples in recovering 
 from the terrible shock which their faith had 
 received at the crucifixion, and that he might 
 further confirm and instruct them in the na- 
 ture and things of his kingdom. "These are 
 the words which I spake unto you, while I 
 was yet with you, that all things must be ful- 
 filled which were written in the law of Moses, 
 and in the prophets, and in the psalms, con- 
 cerning me. Then opened he their under- 
 standing, that they might understand the 
 Scriptures." Luke 24:44, 45. 
 
 2. Prophecy required the ascension of our 
 Lord, and the Scripture cannot be broken. So 
 
 read, "God is gone up with a shout, the 
 13* 
 
298 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 77 Ps. 47 : 5. 
 "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. 77 Ps. 68 : 18. 
 Of this prediction we have an inspired and so 
 an infallible interpretation given by Paul in 
 Ephesians 4 : 8-13. Daniel foretold the same 
 thing: "I saw in the night visions, and, be- 
 hold, one like the Son of man came with the 
 clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of 
 days, and they brought him near before him; 
 and there was given him dominion, and glory, 
 and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and 
 languages should serve him, 77 etc. Dan. 7:13,14. 
 
 Our Lord himself often foretold his own 
 ascension: "I go unto the Father. 77 John 
 14 : 28. "I go my way to him that sent me. 77 
 John 16:5. See also John 1 : 51. Much more 
 did he say to the same effect. So that beyond 
 all doubt several predictions, running over the 
 space of at least a thousand years, required 
 that Christ should ascend to Grod. 
 
 3. With the prophecy, the historic record 
 well and fully agrees. Neither Matthew nor 
 John in the gospels bearing their names record 
 Christ 7 s ascension. Yet it is declared in four 
 
CHRIST'S ASCENSION. 
 
 books of the New Testament, The testimony 
 of Mark on the subject is, " So then, after the 
 Lord had spoken unto them, he was received 
 up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of 
 God." In his gospel Luke says, "And he led 
 them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up 
 his hands, and blessed them. And it came to 
 pass, while he blessed them, he was parted 
 from them, and carried up into heaven. And 
 they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusa- 
 lem with great joy: and were continually in 
 the temple, praising and blessing God." Luke 
 24:50-53. In Acts 1:9-11, we read: "And 
 when he had spoken these things, while they 
 beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received 
 him out of their sight. And while they looked 
 steadfastly towards heaven as he went up, be- 
 hold two men stood by them in white apparel ; 
 which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand 
 ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, 
 which is taken up from you into heaven, shall 
 so come in like manner as ye have seen him 
 go into heaven." In 1 Timothy 3:16, Paul 
 aaya be was "received up into glory." Thus 
 the record agrees with the prediction and ex- 
 plain 
 
 4. On the southeast side of Jerusalem, 
 
300 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 and separated from it by the valley of the 
 brook Kidron, is a mountain-ridge running 
 north and south. Its summit is about half 
 a mile from the wall of the holy city. For 
 many thousand years it has been famous for 
 its olive-trees, and from the days of Samuel 
 to the present time it has been called Olivet, 
 or the Mount of Olives. 2 Sam. 15 :30. Over 
 this David fled weeping, as he retired from his 
 palace in the rebellion of Absalom. The road 
 to Jericho and the Jordan crosses this ridge. 
 At its base on the west lay the ever-famous 
 garden of G-ethsemane. On its eastern slope 
 was the retired village of Bethany, so often 
 favored with the presence of the Saviour. 
 Often did he cross Olivet. This mount, which 
 rises about two hundred feet above Jerusa- 
 lem, is chosen by Zechariah either as the place 
 or the emblem of great and terrible judgments. 
 It witnessed many of the wonders and mer- 
 cies and sufferings of our Lord. From it he 
 ascended. Tradition attempts to mark the 
 spot whence he arose ; but all this is uncer- 
 tain. On this mount he had beheld the holy 
 city and wept over it. At its base he had 
 been sorrowful and very heavy; yea, "his 
 sweat was as it were great drops of blood fall- 
 
CHKIST'S ASCENSION. 301 
 
 ing down to the ground." It had witnessed 
 his human weakness and his dreadful suffer- 
 ings. At his ascension, it witnessed his tri- 
 umph and amazing glory. Here he had'fought 
 .vith the powers of darkness. Here he now 
 ' made a show of them openly." 
 
 5. From Olivet Christ ascended to heaven. 
 His going to heaven is expressly said to have 
 been necessary: "Whom the heaven must 
 receive until the times of restitution of all 
 things." Acts 3:21. God's purpose, the truth 
 of prophecy, and the fitness of things required 
 Christ's ascension into heaven. Mark says: 
 "He was received up into heaven." Luke 
 3: "He . . . was carried up into heaven." 
 Christ himself says : " No man hath ascended 
 up to heaven, but he that came clown from 
 heaven, even the Son of man, which is. in 
 heaven." John 3:13. In Acts 1 :11 we have 
 the words of the angels: "This same Jesus 
 which is taken up from you into heaven shall 
 so come in like manner as ye have seen him 
 into heaven." Stephen saw "the heavens 
 opened, and the Son of man standing on the 
 right hand of God." Paul warns masters to 
 !)«• kind and gentle, and gives this as ;i rea- 
 son, "knowing that your Master also is in 
 
302 THE BOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 heaven." Eph. 6:9. Again: " Our conver- 
 sation is in heaven, from whence also we look 
 for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." Phil. 
 3:20. "Again: "Christ is not entered into 
 the holy places made with hands, which are 
 the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, 
 now to appear in the presence of God for us." 
 Heb. 9:24. Peter also says, He "is gone 
 into heaven." But Paul says he is "made 
 higher than the heavens." Heb. 7 :26. This 
 mode of speech may have reference to the 
 Jewish idea of three heavens — first the aerial 
 heavens, and then the starry heavens. Christ 
 is made higher than these heavens, and has 
 entered the third heaven, often called the 
 heaven of heavens. 
 
 6. When we speak of Christ ascending, 
 we -speak of his human body and human soul. 
 His divine nature fills, and has always filled, 
 heaven and earth. Essentially it fills all space, 
 is confined to no place, but pervades immen- 
 sity. When Christ was walking here on earth, 
 he spoke of the Son of man as being then in 
 heaven.- John 3:13. At all times this was 
 true of his divine nature, and of it only. The 
 effect of this exaltation on the human nature 
 of Christ was not to annihilate it, not to subli- 
 
CHRIST'S ASCENSION. 303 
 
 mate it so that it ceased to be human nature, 
 but to glorify it, to crown it with glory and 
 honor. When Saul of Tarsus saw him, soon 
 after his ascension, he shone with a lustre 
 above the brightness # of the sun. The vision 
 produced blindness, which was miraculously 
 healed. About sixty years later John saw 
 him, and he fell at his feet as dead. The 
 ordinary mode of explaining this wonderful 
 change in the appearance of Christ is, that 
 while he was here on earth his glory was 
 veiled. At his transfiguration the veil was 
 taken away, and his raiment became white 
 and glistering. In heaven there is no veil, 
 no covering. The glory shines out brightly, 
 and nothing obscures it. 
 
 7. The manner of Christ's ascension is 
 worthy of our attention. Christ ascended not 
 figuratively^ but literally; not spiritually, but 
 corporeally; not insensibly, but visibly. His 
 jiplea >aw him ascend to heaven as clearly 
 hey saw him on the cross, or on the ship, 
 <r at the sea-side. He ascended in a cloud. 
 No one has told us how bright that cloud was, 
 or what was its appearance ; but it was like 
 the cloud in which he will come to judgment. 
 Acts 1:11. Nor was he taken away sud- 
 
304 THE BOCK OF OUB SALVATION. 
 
 denly. He was seen to leave the earth, and 
 seen for some time after he left it. They 
 gazed upon him as he went up. His ascen- 
 sion was triumphant. Forty-three days be- 
 fore he had ridden into Jerusalem on an ass 7 
 colt. He now ascends triumphantly into the 
 heavenly Jerusalem. He left the world speak- 
 ing words of encouragement and benediction 
 to the humble. The first nine sentences of 
 his sermon on the mount began with the word 
 blessed. The last thing he ever did on earth 
 was, to pronounce a blessing on his people. 
 His ascension to heaven was every way glo- 
 rious. His appearance was doubtless such. 
 And his retinue was first the heavenly host 
 of angels. In Acts mention is made of but 
 two angels having been seen. But the proph- 
 ecy which expressly foretells his ascension 
 begins by saying, "The chariots of God are 
 twenty thousand, even thousands of angels ; 
 the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the 
 holy place. ?; Psa. 68:17. Compare verse 18 
 and Ephesians 4 : 8-12. The law on Sinai was 
 given by angels. The Saviour shall come to 
 judgment with his angels in like manner as he 
 left the world. Our Lord's ascension was ev- 
 ery way a joyous event, and was so regarded 
 
XT GOD'S RIGHT HAND. 305 
 
 by his disciples, as Luke expressly informs 
 us. It was the blessed fruit of his sufferings 
 and obedience. And it was witnessed by a 
 sufficient number of competent and credible 
 witnesses, not less than five hundred. 1 Cor. 
 15:6. No man has ever suggested a plausi- 
 ble pretext for any one saying that he had 
 seen him ascend, unless it was true. 
 
 II. HIS SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. 
 
 This is the third measure of our Lord's 
 reward ; the third step in his exaltation. 
 
 This was required by prophecy. David 
 had said: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit 
 thou at my right hand, until I make thine 
 enemies thy footstool." Psa. 110:1. Com- 
 pare Luke 20:42; Heb. 1:13. Both Peter 
 and Paul prove that this applies to Christ. 
 Christ himself foretold the same thing when 
 he was in the hands of his murderers r 
 "Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on 
 the right hand of the power of God." Luke 
 22*£9. 
 
 This session at the right hand of Ged is 
 modi spoken of in Scripture. Mark says, he 
 
 ! "ii (he right band of God." Paul says, 
 ftod "set him at his own right hand in the 
 
306 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 heavenly places/' Epli. 1:20. Peter says, 
 he "is on the right hand of God." 1 Pet. 
 3 : 22. 
 
 1. The question then arises, What is the 
 import of the phrase, " sitting at" the right 
 hand?" The word sitting does not teach 
 that our Lord's body is always in a sitting 
 posture. Indeed, mere posture is not referred 
 to at all. Peter and Paul, each once, simply 
 say, he " is at the right hand of God." And 
 Stephen, dying, saw "the Son of man stand- 
 ing on the right hand of God." Acts 7:56. 
 Standing is a posture in which one is ready 
 to receive another, or give him assistance. 
 This was just what Stephen needed. 
 
 (1.) The first thing taught by Christ's il sit- 
 ting at the right hand of God" is, that he now 
 has quiet, repose. He is entered into his rest. 
 He hath ceased from his own works. Thus 
 says Micah : " They shall sit every man under 
 his vine and under his fig-tree ; and none shall 
 make them afraid." Micah 4:4. So in Eev- 
 elation : " To him that overcometh will I grant 
 to sit with me in my throne, even as I also 
 overcame, and am set down with my Father 
 in his throne." Rev. 3:21. It is right that 
 after toil should come rest ; after war, peace. 
 
AT GOD'S EIGHT HAND. 307 
 
 After the conflict, both Christ and his people 
 rest from their labors and sorrows. 
 
 (2.) The term sitting also denotes perma- 
 nency of abode and possession. Thus it is 
 said, "Asher continued [literally, sat] on the 
 sea-shore," Judges 5:17; that is, he had per- 
 manent possession of that country. Christ 
 has rest and a permanent abode and a right- 
 ful possession in heaven. 
 
 (3.) Sitting also expresses authority and 
 dominion. "Sit thou at my right hand, until 
 I make thine enemies thy footstool," Psalm 
 110 :1, is parallel to " He must reign till he 
 liath put all enemies under his feet." 1 Cor. 
 15 : 25. It is not meet that the king should 
 stand in the presence of his subjects, even of 
 those admitted nearest to his throne. 
 
 (4.) Sitting is also a fit posture for a judge. 
 Solomon speaks of "a king that sitteth in the 
 throne of judgment." Prov. 20:8. Speaking 
 of Christ, Isaiah, 16 : 5, says : "In mercy shall 
 the throne be established : and he shall sit 
 upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, 
 
 ging, and seeking judgment, and hasting 
 
 righteousness." And he shall not fail nor be 
 
 1 till he have set judgment in 
 
 the earth j yea, "he shall judge the poor of 
 
308 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the people, he shall save the children of the 
 needy, and shall break in pieces the oppres- 
 sor." Ps. 72 : 4. 
 
 2. Sitting, being, or standing at the right 
 hand is figurative. God has no bodily parts. 
 He uses such language in condescension to 
 human weakness. The figure is one of fre- 
 quent use in the Scriptures. Jacob put his 
 right hand on the head of Joseph's .younger 
 son wittingly, to give him the greater blessing. 
 In Psalm 80 : 17 are these words : " Let thy 
 hand be upon the man of thy right" hand, 
 upon the son of man whom thou madest strong 
 for thyself." What is the import of the 
 figure ? 
 
 (1.) The hands are the chief instruments 
 of human bodily power, and by reason of use 
 the right hand is commonly the stronger of the 
 two. It is a fit emblem of strength, and is often 
 used to denote the almighty power of God. 
 Thus in Moses' song: "Thy right hand, 
 Lord, is become glorious in power : thy right 
 hand, Lord, hath dashed in pieces the ene- 
 my." Ex. 15 : 5. So Jesus Christ at the 
 right hand of God has all power. He is able 
 to do all his will. 
 
 (2.) With the right hand gifts were com- 
 
AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND. 309 
 
 monly bestowed and received. So when Christ 
 ascended up on high he received gifts for men, 
 and for himself glory and dominion. Eph. 4 : 8. 
 
 (3.) The right hand of regal power is by 
 men esteemed a place of enjoyment. As such 
 it is much sought after. So in Psalm 16:11, 
 which much relates to Christ, we read: "In 
 thy presence is fulness of joy ; at thy right 
 hand there are pleasures for evermore/' Our 
 Saviour is no longer "a man of sorrows." 
 Grief reaches him no more. 
 
 (4.) The right hand, according to Hebrew 
 ideas, is the post of honor. When Solomon 
 would confer peculiar honor on his mother he 
 caused her to sit on the right hand of his 
 throne. 1 Kings 2 : 19. To say that Christ is 
 on the right hand of God is to declare that he 
 is exalted by his Father to great dignity and 
 glory. This corresponds with the declaration 
 of Paul in Philippians 2 : 9. Our translation is, 
 " God hath highly exalted him." The Syriac 
 is, "God hath multiplied his sublimity." The 
 Arabic is, " God hath heightened him with 
 a height." Justin renders it, "God hath 
 famously exalted him." God has heard his 
 prayer and glorified him with himself, with the 
 glory which he had with the Father before the 
 
310 THE ROOK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 world was. Yes, "we see Jesus crowned with 
 glory and honor." John 17:5; Heb. 2:9. To 
 a higher degree of rest, and rule, and bliss, 
 and favor, and power, and majesty, Christ 
 could not be raised. 
 
 In this glorious state Jesus Christ executes 
 all the mediatorial offices. He is the great 
 Prophet of the church. With him is the 
 residue of the Spirit. By his Spirit he con- 
 vinces the world of sin, of righteousness, and 
 of judgment. We may not say, as some do, 
 that the Spirit was purchased by Christ, much 
 less that he is the minister of Christ. The 
 Holy Ghost is " free.' 7 Ps. 51 : 12. He has 
 no guide or counsellor. He is equal with the 
 Father and the Son. He is sovereign in all 
 his acts. 1 Cor. 12 : 11. He cannot be pur- 
 chased either with money, or tears, or blood. 
 But there is a glorious harmony in the coun- 
 sels of the Trinity. The Holy Ghost proceeds 
 from the Father and the Son. There is no 
 diversity of counsel or of will in the Godhead. 
 On the day of Pentecost Peter said, "Jesus, 
 being by the right hand of God exalted, and 
 having received of the Father the promise of 
 the Holy Grhost, he hath shed forth this, which 
 ye now see and hear." Acts 2 : 33. So the 
 
AT GOD'S EIGHT HAND. 311 
 
 Holy G-host is the Spirit of Christ. He en- 
 lightens our minds, works faith in us, and saves 
 us. Christ also raises up, qualifies, and sends 
 forth every real, genuine gospel minister. He 
 is head over all things to the church. 
 
 In his exalted state Christ continues to be 
 our Priest. He makes, indeed, no more offer- 
 ings ; but he gloriously intercedes for us. The 
 glory of his intercession may be learned from 
 these facts : 1. The person of the intercessor 
 is ineffably gracious ; 2. He is the delight of 
 liis Father ; 3. His intercession is full of au- 
 thority; 4. It always prevails; 5. It is alone ; 
 6. It continues for ever. 
 
 In his exaltation Christ is also a King. In 
 this his great glory is : 1. His kingdom is 
 spiritual, and so has its seat in the hearts of 
 his people. 2. It is wholly ordered in truth, 
 and equity, and righteousness. 3. It is as 
 stable as the throne of God. 4. It is for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 1. We have a right to expect the conver- 
 sion of all God's chosen. Native depravity 
 and long-continued habits of sinning may seem 
 to render a change of heart hopeless ; but 
 because Chi fitting at God's right hand, 
 
312 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 his people shall he willing in the day of his 
 power. Psa. 110:1, 3. 
 
 2. There will be no failure in the comple- 
 tion of all God's plans and schemes: "The 
 Lord at thy right hand shall strike through 
 kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge 
 among the heathen. ... He shall drink of the 
 brook in the way : therefore shall he lift up 
 the head." Psa. 110:5-7. 
 
 3. The church is safe. Her Head is ex- 
 alted, and he loves her, and bought her with 
 his blood. He has graven her on the palms 
 of his hands. Her success depends on an arm 
 full of power, on grace that is infinite, on inter- 
 cession never unavailing. Humble and exclu- 
 sive confidence in the Captain of our salvation 
 can never be disappointed. 
 
 4. To what a glorious state believers in 
 Christ are rapidly tending. Heaven, the 
 heaven of heavens, the third heaven, para- 
 dise, the new Jerusalem, the city of Glod, are 
 some of the names by which the glory of the 
 spirits of just men made perfect is shadowed 
 forth. The glory of that blessed world is, that 
 the Lamb is the light thereof. We shall be 
 like him, for we shall see him as he is. Our 
 vile bodies shall be fashioned like unto his 
 
AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND. 313 
 
 glorious bod}'. We shall be for ever with 
 the Lord. 
 
 5. Hearty and universal submission and 
 obedience to Christ are both reasonable and 
 obligatory. Submit we must, either joyfully 
 unto salvation, or reluctantly unto destruction. 
 Now men may affect, and even feel, contempt 
 for religion and its Author : but those are shal- 
 low thinkers who do not know that inconsid- 
 erate courage soon gives way to appalling dis- 
 may, while sober apprehension prepares the 
 mind for the worst. No cries for mercy will 
 be more loud, no shrieks of anguish will be 
 more piercing, no moanings of despair will be 
 more heart-rending, than those uttered at the 
 last by men who all their lives made light of 
 eternal things. If you are yet in your sins, 
 one of two things is true — either your con- 
 nee 1$ at perpetual and fearful war with 
 your practice, or you have embraced some 
 error which strips life of dignity and death of 
 hope. 
 
 14 
 
314 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 CHAPTEK XVII. 
 
 CHKIST IN HEAVEN. 
 
 Pious souls feel a profound interest in the 
 person, life, and glory of Christ. Let us con- 
 sider him in his exaltation ; and the benefits 
 received from him by his people. 
 
 I. Christ in his exaltation. 
 
 1. His exaltation is deserved. He has 
 merited all the honor and glory he has. He 
 is the only one who has in the highest sense 
 earned all that he has received of God. 
 Originally possessed of infinite perfection, 
 and freely consenting to great humiliation, 
 his merit consists in his perfect obedience to 
 the law, and in his bearing its curse for us. 
 Holy angels have never sinned against God ; 
 but they owed all the obedience they have 
 ever rendered. None but Christ has ever 
 supererogated. All Christ merited for us was 
 as our Mediator, was by a blessed covenant 
 with his Father, and was through the gift by 
 grace, which has abounded unto many. Eom. 
 5 : 15. He is worthy to live and reign for 
 ever. 
 
CHRIST IN HEAVEN. 315 
 
 2. Christ's life is immortal. He was dead, 
 but he dieth no more. Rom 6:5. He says, 
 "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and be- 
 hold I am alive for evermore." Rev. 1:18. 
 It is greatly to the joy of the child of God that 
 his Saviour can be spit upon no more, can be 
 wounded no more, can be crucified no more, 
 can be laid in the sepulchre no more. He 
 hath immortality. 
 
 3. Christ's exaltation is very glorious. His 
 Very scars are resplendent with light and 
 radiance. Soon after his ascension Saul of 
 Tarsus saw him, and his light was above the 
 brightness of the sun, and such was the glory 
 that it covered the persecutor's eyes with 
 scales. John says, "I saw ... in the midst of 
 the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of 
 man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, 
 and girt about the. paps with a golden girdle. 
 1 1 [fl head and his hairs were white like wool, as 
 white as snow ; and his eyes were as a flame 
 of lire ; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if 
 Hhey burned in a furnace ; and his voice as the 
 sound of many waters. And lie had in his 
 riirlit hand seven stars ; and out of his mouth 
 
 : a -harp two-edifed sword; and his coun- 
 tenance was us the sub shineth in his strength. 
 
316 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as 
 dead." Eev. 1 : 12-17. Among all the bright 
 objects in glory, far the brightest is the Son 
 of man, the Son of God, our great deliverer. 
 There is no mistaking him for another, or an- 
 other for him, in that bright world above. 
 
 4. Christ's exaltation is full of authority. 
 He has the keys of hell and of death. Rev. 
 1:18. On his vesture and on his thigh is a 
 name written — King of Kings, and Lord 
 of Lords. Eev. 19:16. He is far above all 
 principality, and power, and might, and do- 
 minion, and every name that is named, not 
 only in this world, but also in that which is 
 to come. Eph. 1 : 21. He is the head of all 
 principality and power. Col. 2:10. Indeed, 
 before his ascension he said, "All power is 
 given unto me in heaven and in earth." Matt. 
 28 : 18. Blessed be God, pur Saviour sways 
 the sceptre of universal empire. There is 
 none above him. He is Lord of all. He has 
 no rivals. He shall never be superseded. 
 
 5. And yet his love is unchanged. Great 
 is the change in his state ; but he is as meek, 
 as lowly, as gentle, as tender-hearted as when 
 he gave his face to spitting and his back to the 
 smiter ; as when he cried, " Learn of me ;" as 
 
CHRIST IN HEAVEN., 317 
 
 when he set a little child as the model he 
 would have us copy; as when he wept at the 
 grave of Lazarus ; as when he prayed for his 
 own murderers. Change of state has not 
 changed his heart, his love to his people, or 
 his pity for sinners. 
 
 6. Christ's exaltation is full of holy action. 
 He is not sunk down into the repose so much 
 celebrated in Hindoo theology. His rest, like 
 that of the spirits of just men made perfect, is 
 consistent with eternal activity. His toils, 
 and sorrows, and weariness are over. But his 
 energy and operations remain. 
 
 He is still executing the offices of Prophet, 
 Priest, and King. No man knows the Father 
 but as the Son reveals him. He ever liveth 
 to make intercession for us. "He must reign 
 till he hath put all enemies under his feet." 
 II*' iceds. and guides, and protects all his peo- 
 ple He is the Angel that leads Israel in all 
 the wilderness, and in the heavenly mansions. 
 
 Wherever and whenever a sinner is made 
 penitent and is pardoned, it is by and through 
 him. For he is on the hill of Zion to grant 
 
 entance and remission of sins. He leads 
 his chosen like a flock. He gathers the lambs 
 in his arm and carries them in his bosom. 
 
318 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 He is present at every closet of secret 
 devotion. He hears all our weeping and sup- 
 plications. He says: "I will not leave you 
 comfortless : I will come to you. 77 "He that 
 loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and 
 I will love him, and will manifest myself to 
 him." 
 
 He is present at every social meeting of 
 his people, however small it may be. Two or 
 three are enough to' claim the fulfilment of his 
 promise. Matt. 18 :*20. To all such gather- 
 ings he says, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in 
 my name, that will I do, that the Father 
 may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask 
 any thing in my name, I will do it." John 
 14:13,14. 
 
 He is no less present at all our solemn 
 assemblies. When he sent forth his disciples 
 to preach the gospel to every creature, he 
 said, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
 the end of the world." Many a time His ser- 
 vants have failed to meet their appointments ; 
 but our Lord has always been true to his 
 word. 
 
 He is always ready to help his people in 
 their temptations. His promise is : " My grace 
 is sufficient for thee." Never, in any case, 
 
CHEIST IN HEAYEN. 319 
 
 does he fail to make good his engagement. A 
 thousand times would their feet slip, and their 
 profession be covered with reproach, but for 
 his timely aid and succor. His peace is their 
 solace when Satan roars. John 14:27. 
 
 He is also with his chosen in sorrow. Into 
 deep affliction he often brings them. There 
 for a long time he often keeps them. But 
 never does he leave them to bear their sor- 
 rows alone. For intrepid consistency in fear- 
 ing God the three faithful Hebrews were cast 
 into the burning fiery furnace. But though 
 its intense heat consumed those who cast them 
 in, }^et the smell of fire was not on their gar- 
 ments. Not a hair of their heads was singed. 
 Nor are we at a loss to account for their pres- 
 ervation. The tyrant of Chaldea, though a 
 heathen* found out the cause of their preser- 
 vation: "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was 
 astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, 
 and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast 
 three men bound into the midst of the fire? 
 They answered and said unto the king, True, 
 king. 1 le answered and said, Lo, I see four men 
 ■. walking in the midst of the fire, and they 
 have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is 
 like the Son of God." Dan. 3:24, 25. This 
 
320 THE ROOK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 explains the whole mystery, not only of this, 
 but of all cases of Christian endurance. The 
 presence of Christ shut the mouths of the lions, 
 that they hurt not Daniel. It made Paul and 
 Silas pray in the jail at Philippi, and sing 
 praises, so that the prisoners heard them. 
 Ten thousand times it has converted deserts 
 into Bethels and dungeons into sanctuaries. 
 
 The Lord Jesus also receives all departing 
 saints. He said he would, John 14:3; and 
 he keeps his word. Not a soul of a believer 
 passes out of time but Jesus does for it what 
 he did for Stephen in his dying hour, though 
 he does not always before death give like full 
 evidence of his being at the gate of heaven 
 ready to put forth his hand and take in his 
 dove. 
 
 Christ is also building the heavenly Jeru- 
 salem. In the Divine purpose, this blessed 
 abode was prepared from the foundation of 
 the world. So also has its location long since 
 been determined. But ever since his ascen- 
 sion, the Redeemer has been enlarging and 
 beautifying it, and bringing the glory of the 
 nations into it. To his sorrowing disciples 
 he said, "I go to prepare a place for you. 
 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I 
 
CHKIST IN HEAVEN. 321 
 
 will come again, and receive you unto myself, 
 that where I am, there ye may be also." John 
 14:2, 3. In a sense, the works of creation 
 were finished from the foundation of the world. 
 Heb. 4:3. Yet Providence has in a thousand 
 ways made great changes here. Had sin never 
 entered, there is no telling to what heights of 
 advancement things would ere this have been 
 carried on our globe. As there is no sin 
 in heaven, and as there is the abode of the 
 Redeemer, and as there is the city of the liv- 
 ing God, we know not what its glory is. Of 
 this city we know some things, though the half 
 is not told us. It is the city of the great King. 
 It is his abode. He is its Builder and Maker. 
 It is stable. It hath foundations. Heb. 11 :10. 
 It is the true "Zion, the city of our solemni- 
 ties .... Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tab- 
 ernacle that shall not be taken down ; not one 
 of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, 
 neither shall any of the cords thereof be bro- 
 ken. I Jut there the glorio.us Lord will be 
 unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; 
 wherein shall go no [enemy's] galley with oars, 
 neither shall gallant ship pass thereby." Isa. 
 33:20, 21. It is the city of truth, Zech. 8:3; 
 the perfection of beauty, Lam. 2:15 ; the city 
 14* 
 
322 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 of praise and joy. Jer. 49 : 25. u Great is the 
 Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of 
 our God, in the mountain of his holiness. " 
 Psa. 48:1. It is the city of righteousness. 
 Isa. 1:26. All its inhabitants are righteous. 
 The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abom- 
 inable, and murderers, and whoremongers, 
 and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars are 
 shut out of its pure precincts. Eev. 21 :8, 27. 
 Inside of its walls are no sickness, no poverty, 
 no sorrow, no weeping, no tears, no crying, 
 no pain, no death, no curse. Eev. 21 :4 ; 22 : 3. 
 This too is the greatest of all cities. Babylon 
 was fifteen miles square ; but. this city is rep- 
 resented as twelve thousand furlongs, or fif- 
 teen hundred miles square. Eev. 21 : 16. This 
 is the capital of Immanuers dominions, that 
 great city, the holy Jerusalem, having the 
 glory of God. Her light is like unto a stone 
 most precious, even like a jasper-stone, clear 
 as crystal. Eev. 21:10, 11. The walls of 
 this city can never be scaled. "The length 
 and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 7 ' 
 Eev. 21 :16. They are walls of salvation, im- 
 pregnable, girt with omnipotence. Isa. 26:1. 
 In it is no temple ; for the Lord God Almighty 
 and the Lamb are the temple of it. And it 
 
CHEIST IN HEAVEN. 323 
 
 has no need of the sun, neither of the moon, 
 to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten 
 it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. Nor is 
 it a desolate, uninhabited city ; for it has in it 
 the nations of them that are saved. Nor is it 
 a poor, mean city ; for the kings of the earth 
 do bring their glory and honor into it. Rev. 
 21:22-24. 
 
 II. The benefits received from Christ in 
 his exaltation. These are expressed very 
 forcibly in the last gospel: " Because I live, 
 ye shall live also." John 14:19. 
 
 1. Because he lives and reigns, all who 
 believe shall be justified. Now if any rises 
 up to condemn us, we cry, "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." Eom. 8 : 34. As 
 he rose from the dead, so are believers risen 
 with him from the death of sin. Col. 3:1. He 
 .si i not down at the right hand of God, till he 
 had by himself purged our sins. Heb. 1 :3. As 
 th<' expiation of Christ was complete and per- 
 
 SO is the justification of all who have fled 
 to him. 
 
 2. By the life of Christ his people are sanc- 
 tified. We are dead — dead to the world, dead 
 
324 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 to sin — and our life is hid with Christ in God. 
 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, 
 then shall we also appear with him in glory. 
 Col. 3:3, 4. Christ is made of God unto us 
 sanctification. 1 Cor. 1:30. The Spirit of 
 Christ, sent into our hearts by the Saviour, 
 purifies them. In so doing, he puts great 
 honor on the death and life of Christ by using 
 them as means and motives of our purification. 
 Col. 3:1. 
 
 3. Sometimes the word live seems to be 
 nearly synonymous with being happy; as where 
 Paul says, "Now we live, if ye stand fast in 
 the Lord." 1 Thess. 3:8. So we live and 
 are happy because Christ lives and is happy. 
 He is beyond the reach of malice or misery. 
 For thousands of years it has been for a song 
 in Israel : " If we be dead with him, we shall 
 also live with him : if we suffer, we shall also 
 reign with him : if we deny him, he also will 
 deny us: if we believe not, yet he abideth 
 faithful: he cannot deny himself.' 7 2 Tim. 
 2:11-13. Though we see him not, yet be- 
 lieving that he lives and is blessed, we live 
 and rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory. 
 
 4. By Christ's present glorious life, believ- 
 
CHRIST IN HEAVEN. 325 
 
 ers have every encouragement. They are 
 fully authorized to expect that, as he has over- 
 come and sat down with his Father on his 
 throne, so they shall overcome, and sit down 
 with Christ on his throne. Rev. 3:21. It is 
 a reasonable duty and a great help to look 
 unto Jesus, and to consider him that endured 
 such contradiction of sinners against himself, 
 lest we be wearied and faint in our minds. 
 All good hopes spring from the cross and cen- 
 tre in the person of Christ. 
 
 5. By Christ's living and reigning above, 
 the natural life of believers is continued and 
 made safe as long as is on the whole best. 
 Each child of God is immortal till his work is 
 done. The very hairs of his head are all num- 
 bered. Every believer may say to every 
 persecutor as Christ said to Pilate: "Thou 
 couldest have no power at all against me, ex- 
 cept it were given thee from above." John 
 19:11. Every lion is chained. Not a dog 
 can move his tongue against God's people, 
 unless God gives permission. Exod. 11:7. 
 Daniel never spent a night more safely than 
 that he spent in the lions' den. 
 
 G. Jt is by the life of Christ that the bod- 
 ofall his people shall •»«' raised to life 1 and 
 
326 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 beauty. So teach all the Scriptures: "Thy 
 dead men shall live, together with my dead 
 body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye 
 that dwell in dust : for thy dew is as the dew 
 of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the 
 dead." Isa. 26:19. "Now is Christ risen 
 from the dead, and become the first-fruits of 
 them that slept." "As we have borne the 
 image of the earthy, we shall also bear the 
 image of the heavenly." 1 Cor. 15 : 20, 49. 
 Christ's resurrection put the resurrection of 
 his people beyond all doubt. Each one may 
 shout and sing : "I know that my Redeemer 
 liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter 
 day upon the earth ; and though after my 
 skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh 
 shall I see God ; whom I shall see for myself." 
 Job 19 : 25-27. 
 
 7. By the life of Christ his people are fully 
 saved. So argues blessed Paul: "While we 
 were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much 
 more then, being now justified by his blood, 
 we shall be saved from wrath through him. 
 For if when we were enemies, we were recon- 
 ciled to God by the death of his Son ; much 
 more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by 
 his life." Rom. 5 : 8-10. No man can find 
 
CHKIST IN HEAVEN. 327 
 
 in mathematics more conclusive and irrefraga- 
 ble argument than this. 
 
 8. Because Christ lives, all his people have 
 and shall have everlasting life. They cannot 
 be condemned, because they are accepted in 
 the Beloved. They cannot be overcome, be- 
 cause He overcame. They cannot fail of eter- 
 nal life, because they hold their title to it 
 through the merits of him that sits on the 
 throne. If they could fail of salvation, Jesus 
 would fail of his reward; for they are the 
 purchase of his agonies. 
 
 1. Humility well Tbecomes the saints. They 
 are less than the least of all God's mercies. 
 In themselves they are poor creatures, yea, 
 they arc nothing. Christ is all. He is their 
 life. It is easy for us to esteem Christ too 
 little and ourselves too much ; but it is not 
 possible for us to think too much of him, and 
 too little of ourselves. In a life of faith the 
 more we think of Christ, the lower do we put 
 We cannot be too low in self- 
 in. The Lord giveth grace unto the 
 humble. Wisdom m with the lowly. 
 
 The true, blood-bought, blood-washed 
 church of God is safe. She is loved by her 
 
328 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Eedeemer, and he is strong. The high priest 
 carried the names of the twelve tribes in- 
 scribed on his breastplate. But his church 
 is graven on the palms of the hands of her 
 Redeemer. Isa. 49 :16. If a dying Saviour 
 could redeem, a living Saviour can give the 
 victory. 
 
 3. The ministers of Christ have a peculiar 
 interest in this subject. Let them hope in 
 him for ever. Each of them may say as 
 Cyprian: "While I oversee the church, 
 Christ oversees me." Most of the promises 
 personally made by Christ when on earth 
 were first made to his ministers, and through 
 them to all believers. 
 
 4. God's people are truly blessed. With 
 them all is right. Nothing can harm them, 
 nothing can destroy them, because they are in 
 Christ, and he lives for ever. If they die, they 
 sleep in Jesus. If they leave this world, they 
 go to be with Jesus. He is every thing to 
 them. A pious, sorrowful widow used to say, 
 "Jesus lives!" Once a wretched state of 
 nerves and a sore surprise for the moment 
 seemed to rob her of courage, and she burst 
 into tears. Her little child, who knew her 
 habits of cheerfulness and the ground of her 
 
CHRIST IN HEAVEN. 329 
 
 courage, recalled her to her trust by saying, 
 "Mamma, is Jesus dead?" The child sup- 
 posed nothing could go wrong in life if Jesus 
 lived. The mother was thus reproved, and 
 regained her Christian heroism. So blessed 
 are the people of God, that even in this world 
 a company of believers could not in a day or 
 a year count up their privileges. 
 
 Some time since a number of eminent ser- 
 vants of Christ were together, and each one 
 was asked to repeat as sweet a text of Scrip- 
 ture as he could then think of. One said : 
 11 Into you therefore which believe he is pre- 
 cious.'* This is, indeed, refreshing. Another 
 said, "God so loved the world that he gave his 
 only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
 him should not perish, but have . everlasting 
 life." What an eternal rock is this ! Another, 
 since gone to glory, said: "We know that all 
 things work together for good to them that love 
 God, to .them who are the called according to 
 his purpose.'* Another gave this as his text : 
 »d is love." Another this : " As the Father 
 hath loved me, even so have I loved you." 
 Another said: "Jesus Christ, the same yester- 
 day, and tonlay, and for ever." Such a string 
 of pearls might be made ten times as long, and 
 
330 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 yet it would be but the beginning of all that 
 Grocl has said and done for his people. 
 
 5. But how sad is the state of the wicked. 
 Instead of promises and assurances, the Scrip- 
 tures are full of woes and threatenings to 
 such, saying, " They shall not see life ;" "God 
 is angry with the wicked every day;" that 
 Christ the judge of all will say, "Depart 
 accursed ;" that the Most High will laugh at 
 their calamity, and mock when their fear com- 
 eth ; and that they shall endure "the wra.th 
 of the Lamb." The Bible gives whole chap- 
 ters to show the necessity and the dreadful- 
 ness of the doom of impenitent men. See 
 Ezek. 15 : Isa. 14 : Matt. 25. Surely the wicked 
 must turn or burn ; must repent now or mourn 
 for ever ; must embrace Christ or embrace 
 death. The very truths and principles which 
 secure the eternal life of the righteous, make 
 certain the eternal death of the wicked. 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 331 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE FROM THIS 
 WORLD. 
 
 TnE family of Christ was the most inter- 
 esting society that ever existed on earth. 
 Most of its members were remarkable charac- 
 : and the head of this household was the 
 most wonderful person that ever appeared in 
 any world. 
 
 In such a brotherhood we should look for 
 affecting scenes. Nor are we disappointed. 
 It is not rash to say that the last interview, 
 before the crucifixion, between Christ and his 
 disciples, was as tender and overpowering as 
 any of winch the human mind can form a con- 
 
 tion. While inspiration employs no epi- 
 thets to characterize it, we yet have the Bufc- 
 stance of what was said and done. The chief 
 source of affliction to the disciples in the upper 
 chamber^ where for the last time they celebra- 
 ted tke passover, and for the first time parr 
 took of the Lord's supper, was the prospect of 
 their Master's having them. To prepare their 
 minds for thifi event, he said many soothing 
 
332 THE KOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 things, yet did he not conceal the fact of his 
 departure: "I go away;" "I go unto my 
 Father ;" "I tell you the truth : it is expedient 
 for you that I go away." John 14 : 3, 12 ; 16:7. 
 
 The subject of Christ's absence from the 
 visible church is in many respects one of great 
 interest, and has always been made to hold an 
 important place in Christian doctrine, and in 
 pious meditations. Their belief on this point 
 greatly affects men's comfort and efficiency. 
 
 From the best views we can get, it is clear 
 that it was in itself proper that our Lord 
 should go to his Father when he did. In proof 
 it may be said — 
 
 That it is fit and right that honor should 
 succeed faithful and eminent service, and that 
 the highest honors should follow so distin- 
 guished services as those rendered by Jesus 
 Christ. This is the Scriptural method ot 
 speaking on this subject: "When thou shalt 
 make his soul an offering for- sin, he shall 
 see his seed. He shall prolong his days, and 
 the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his 
 hand. He shall see the travail of his soul 
 and shall be satisfied." Isa. 53 :10, 11. Com- 
 pare Phil. 2 : 7-9. 
 
 It was right that Moses after serving Grod 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 333 
 
 and his generation, should enter upon his 
 reward ; but Moses was a mere servant, and 
 an imperfect one too. He ow r ed all the obe- 
 dience he ever rendered. But Christ was a 
 Son, and his whole work w r as in the highest 
 sense voluntary. Yet in the form of a ser- 
 vant he rendered perfect and blameless obe- 
 dience. He never once failed. Truly did he 
 
 to his Father, "I have glorified thee on 
 the earth." He brought to God such a reve- 
 nue of honor as none else in heaven or earth 
 ever did or can do. Well, therefore, might 
 he say, " Now, Father, glorify thou me :" in 
 the presence of all thy creatures, let suitable 
 honors succeed my humiliation. If angels, 
 who owe all the obedience which they ren- 
 der, are crowned with heavenly glory, how 
 much more proper that Christ should receive 
 honor and glory from God. If he who so 
 
 Eminently merited the richest gifts of God 
 had failed to receive them, how could poor 
 Burners, though they believe in him, hope for 
 any thing good? 
 
 Moreover, ever since Christ's incarnation, 
 a larL r < i majority of his real people have been 
 in heaven, and it seems proper that as their 
 bliss and glory are in and through Christ, he 
 
334 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 should be personally with them, and by his 
 presence make them glad. From the days of 
 righteous Abel to the time of Christ, there 
 was a long succession of pious men, who be- 
 lieved in the Redeemer, and walked with God. 
 They endured much for his name. They 
 loved him. They saw his day approaching 
 and rejoiced in it. They were as dear to 
 Christ as the people of God in any age could 
 be. They were saved by his blood. And 
 there were many of them. Even in one na- 
 tion, and when there was a great apostacy, 
 God says there were seven thousand who had 
 not revolted to idol-worship. What number 
 of souls before Christ's birth were saved, none 
 can tell ; but beyond a doubt far more of the 
 redeemed have for long centuries been in 
 heaven than have been living on the earth at 
 any one time. Is it not proper that the great 
 body of Christ's followers, who are in heaven, 
 should enjoy his personal presence? Is he 
 not their light and life and glory? Is he not 
 the admiration of all his saints ? Yes ; the 
 Lamb is the light of that bright world. His 
 presence fills it with radiance and effulgence. 
 His ascension brought to it a vast accession of 
 gladness. It may then be asked, Would it be 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 335 
 
 proper that we upon earth, a mere handful, 
 should have his bodily presence, while all 
 heaven should be left without it? Blinded as 
 we are by ignorance and sin, even we may see 
 a fitness in this arrangement. Surely it is 
 right that the great cloud of witnesses, who 
 have, in ages of darkness long gone by, stood 
 in their lot and fought the good fight, should 
 have with them the great Captain of salva- 
 tion and rejoice in his fulness and glory, even 
 though we, who for the trial of our faith remain 
 on the earth, should be deprived of his bles- 
 sed presence. 
 
 Besides, it seems proper that one having 
 so vast dominions should dwell in the capital 
 of his empire. Christ's authority and govern- 
 ment are over all creatures and all worlds. 
 This earth is a mere speck in creation. It 
 probably constitutes not a millionth part of 
 the intelligent universe. Since sin has en- 
 tered, this world has become peculiarly unfit 
 for the residence of any one in a glorified 
 Much less is it suited to be the great 
 centre of Influences in the kingdom of God. 
 When Christ \va< in the world, it was in a 
 way of voluntary exile from his proper home 
 and country. One thing we know: he has 
 
336 THE BOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 chosen another part of the universe for the 
 seat of his throne ; having fixed the centre of 
 his kingdom there, it is right that he should 
 not seem to desert it. 
 
 It is also expedient for Christ's people on 
 earth that he should not be in this world, but 
 in heaven. Suppose that he were here ; he 
 must be here either in glory or in humiliation ; 
 either bearing the signs of majesty and divin- 
 ity which now attend him in heaven, or in ap- 
 parent weakness, his godhead covered with a 
 thick veil, and himself appearing much like 
 other men. If here in glory, who could abide 
 his coming ? His brightness is intolerable to 
 the eyes of mortals. Even when Moses had 
 been in the mount but forty days, conversing 
 with God and beholding his glory, his counte- 
 nance acquired such brightness that upon his 
 coming amoug the people it was necessary 
 that he should put a veil upon his face. They 
 could not look upon him. Yet Moses was a 
 mere man, and a sinful man too. How then 
 could we, with open face, behold the King in 
 his glory ? Isaiah saw Him in a vision before 
 His incarnation, and. the sight so overpowered 
 him as to make him cry out, " Woe is me, for 
 I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 337 
 
 lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of 
 unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the 
 king, the Lord of hosts." Isa. G:5; John 
 12 :41. When Christ was transfigured before 
 his disciples, and his raiment became shining, 
 even his most intimate friends who were pres- 
 ent became "sore afraid," so much so that Mark 
 says Peter "knew not what to say." If the 
 transfiguration produced such terror even on 
 bosom friends, how could the mass of men, 
 
 u of good men, while in the body, endure 
 his divine effulgence ? 
 
 From these and like known facts, it is ap- 
 parent that a full vision of Christ's unveiled 
 glory would not be to us, in our present state, 
 tolerable. In his History of Redemption, 
 Edwards properly says: " It is not to be 
 supposed that any man could subsist under a 
 k -iL r lit of the glory of Christ's human nature as 
 it now appears." At such a vision we should, 
 Ijke Saul of Tarsus, become blind ; or like 
 John, as dead men. Should Christ, therefore, 
 be personally present on earth for our good, it 
 could not be in his glorified condition, but in 
 Mr of humiliation. And is it right that 
 the Son of God should again humble himself 
 and a— wine the form of a servant? If lie 
 
 BorkofJUl. 15 
 
338 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 should reappear in a lowly state on earth, 
 where would be the assurance that his faithful 
 followers shall ever be glorified? The ser- 
 vant may not expect more honor than the 
 Master ; the disciple will not rise higher than 
 his Lord. How then could we believe that 
 our glorification should ever come and never 
 cease, if Christ should be brought back to 
 earth in a lowly condition? Yerily it is ex- 
 pedient for us that Christ, having overcome, 
 should sit down on his Father's throne, and 
 thus certify us that when we shall have over- 
 come we shall sit down with him on his throne. 
 Nor is this all. If Christ were here in 
 person, that is, in his human nature, in any 
 state in which we could bear his presence, it 
 is evident that he could not be everywhere on 
 earth at once. Ubiquity belongs not to man- 
 hood in any state. Christ's human nature 
 possesses not the attribute of omnipresence. 
 If then he were here, he must at any one time 
 be in some particular place in a sense in 
 which he could not be in other places. Then, 
 in order to enjoy his bodily presence, the 
 whole church must be assembled in one spot 
 or vicinity, and thus the perishing nations 
 would be left without the light of holy exam- 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE 339 
 
 pies and gospel preaching ; or the Saviour 
 would of necessity travel over the earth, vis- 
 iting every portion of the world ; and even 
 then many of his devoted followers would 
 never see him. The sick, and the poor, and 
 the prisoner would be among the less favored 
 of his followers. Thus would be created con- 
 tinual dissatisfaction in the church, some think- 
 ing one place too highly favored, and others 
 neglected. Indeed it is very probable that, 
 blind as we are, all the pious now feel the 
 Saviour to be nearer to them than they would 
 if he were anywhere upon earth. Is not this 
 view of the matter just and important? 
 
 There is still another thought upon this 
 subject. The absence of our Saviour is the 
 means of furnishing an excellent test of char- 
 acter. In the parable of the talents, our Lord 
 seems to teach this doctrine. He represents 
 himself as one " travelling into a far country," 
 and "after a long time coming and reckoning 
 with his servants." In this way all motives 
 except those arising from genuine love to him 
 lost their force; and if his servants were not 
 sound at heart, they would evince their true 
 character by disregarding his will ; and if they 
 really loved him, their devotion to his inter- 
 
340 THE BOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 ests would not die out as he left them. Eye- 
 servants are often very industrious when their 
 master is looking on ; but faithful servants 
 are governed by higher principles. Their 
 controlling purpose is to do right, whether 
 they are applauded, or neglected, or blamed. 
 Our Lord alludes to this matter when he says, 
 " Blessed are those servants whom the lord, 
 when he cometh, shall find watching ; verily 
 I say unto you that he shall gird himself, and 
 make them to sit down to meat, and will come 
 forth and serve them .... But and if that ser- 
 vant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his com- 
 ing, and shall begin to beat the men-servants 
 and maidens, and to eat and drink and to be 
 drunken, the lord of that servant will come in 
 a day when he looketh not for him, and at an 
 hour when he is not aware, and will cut him 
 in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with 
 the unbelievers." Luke 12:37, 45, 46. No 
 man ever loved Christ who did not love him 
 present or absent ; and all must admit that 
 cheerful and uniform obedience to him in his 
 absence is to us and to our neighbors the best 
 proof we can give of sincere attachment to his 
 cause and his person. 
 m Furthermore, if Christ were here upon 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 341 
 
 earth in an humble state, would not the feel- 
 ings of his people be continually mortified and 
 deeply wounded by the direct insults and per- 
 sonal indignities offered him by his foes? The 
 world is in no better humorwith holiness than 
 it ever was. Christ's presence on earth would 
 be a continual and sharp rebuke to the abound- 
 ing wickedness of every age and country ; and 
 those who are in love with sin, and deter- 
 mined not to forsake it, would bear reproof 
 no better now than formerly. To a good man, 
 what could be more trying than to have con- 
 tinual slanders uttered respecting the daily 
 conduct of his Saviour, and to know that 
 wicked conspiracies were constantly forming 
 against his person ? Even if all plots should 
 be defeated by miracle or otherwise, it would 
 still keep the church in deep distress to wit- 
 ness fearful exhibitions of deadly malice against 
 the Beloved. Or if the Lord were here and 
 invulnerable, his friends would be subjected 
 to unusual and dreadful persecutions for cleav- 
 ing to One whose light terribly condemned 
 the world. Now the Christian rejoices that, 
 however malevolence may vent itself against 
 Christ, he is for ever beyond its reach. May 
 not this explain what lie means by that say- 
 
342 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 ing, "If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because 
 I said, I go unto the Father ?" John 14 :28. 
 Again, in Christ's absence faith has full 
 scope for exercise ; whereas, were he present 
 we should walk somewhat at least by sense, 
 and not by faith only. • Any arrangement 
 friendly to the vigorous growth of faith is 
 advantageous to the pious. It was, indeed, a 
 great privilege to be able with the disciples 
 to say: "We have seen with our eyes, . . . 
 and our hands have handled of the Word of 
 life." Compared with ages preceding, the life- 
 time of our Saviour afforded great privileges 
 to the godly. Nor is it asserted that faith 
 and sight necessarily destroy each other ; but 
 we may say that faith has now fewer obstacles 
 to overcome than if Christ were here. For 
 then it would not be easy to separate, or even 
 distinguish emotions awakened by sight from 
 those which spring from a living faith. In the 
 days of our Lord's flesh many, moved by what 
 they saw, outwardly became his followers. 
 Though they had no pious confidence in him, 
 nor reliance on him, yet they mistook their 
 strong feelings for true piety ; but the root of 
 the matter was not in them. Under one pun- 
 gent discourse many such forsook him. John 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 343 
 
 6 : 66. It is indeed true that the distance of 
 the sun makes hiin appear to us very small ; 
 but by the aid of science, we learn his dimen- 
 sions and know his vastness. Now faith is 
 "divine reason," as Leigh ton calls it. It cor- 
 rects the errors of sense. It teaches us firmly 
 to believe, and on the best grounds — the word 
 of God — that the Sun of Eighteousness is far 
 more glorious than we can conceive ; and of 
 course more glorious than we could possibly 
 apprehend by our senses- Foster well says 
 that it is " evident that to see the Messiah in 
 his personal manifestation was a mode of con- 
 templating him very inferior, for the excite- 
 ment of the sublimer kind of affection, to that 
 which we have to exercise by faith. It is 
 true that to those who regard him as nothing 
 more than a man, all this will appear imperti- 
 nent and fantastic. But those who solemnly 
 believe that their salvation depends on his 
 being infinitely more, will feel the importance 
 of all that gives scope to their faculties for 
 magnifying the idea of their Redeemer." Now 
 that he is in heaven "we have^no exact and 
 invariable image, placing him before us as a 
 ■on (hat we know; exhibiting him in the 
 mere ordinary predicament of humanity." 
 
344 THE KOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 Now "we can with somewhat more facility 
 give our thoughts an unfimited enlargement 
 in contemplating his sublime character. Thus 
 also we are left in greater freedom in the 
 effort to form some grand though glimmering 
 idea of him as possessing a glorious body, 
 assumed after his victory over death. Our 
 freedom of thought is more entire for array- 
 ing the exalted Mediator in every glory which 
 speculation, imagination, devotion can com- 
 bine to shadow forth the magnificence of such 
 an adored object." 
 
 Our Saviour himself has pronounced a 
 special blessing on those who believe without 
 sight. To Thomas he said, "Because thou 
 hast seen, thou hast believed : blessed are 
 they that have not seen, and yet have be- 
 lieved. 7 ' This settles the point. We may 
 fearlessly assert that the present arrange- 
 ment is more advantageous to believers, how- 
 ever weak their faith, than if our Lord had 
 continued on earth after his resurrection, or 
 were now to return again to this world. 
 
 We should not forget that no carnal view 
 of Christ is profitable to the soul. Thou- 
 sands saw him, conversed with him, travelled 
 with him, ate with him, heard his sermons, 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 345 
 
 witnessed his miracles, and were as little 
 profited as if he had been a common man. 
 It is a remarkable fact that no picture of our 
 Saviour was ever taken, fables to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding, and that we have no 
 reliable description of his stature, of his 
 figure, of his gait, of his complexion, or of 
 any thing respecting his personal appearance. 
 The Bible says, "his visage was so marred 
 more than any man, and his form more than 
 the sons of men ;" and there it leaves the mat- 
 ter, as if to warn us not to indulge in carnal 
 thoughts of him. 
 
 If an artist should give to the church a 
 perfect likeness of our Saviour, as he appeared 
 in the days of his flesh, he might indeed lead 
 many into idolatry ; but he would render no 
 real service to any true believer. It is as 
 true of the Son as of the Father that he who 
 worships him must worship him in spirit. 
 Does any one seriously believe that our spir- 
 itual conceptions of the glory and grace of 
 Christ would be in the least aided by the 
 knowledge of any thing respecting his out- 
 ward appearance as a man? 
 
 It is enough for us to know that the Son 
 of man is glorified, and that he shines with a 
 
 15* 
 
346 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 brightness above the brightness of the sun. 
 His is a "glorious body." 
 
 Nor should we forget that our Saviour 
 assigns yet other reasons for leaving his disci- 
 ples : " I go to prepare a place for you;" " I 
 tell you the truth : 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 unto you." John 14:2; 16:7. 
 The great promise of a copious descent of the 
 Spirit is in importance second to none ever 
 made. The Holy Ghost is God, has all divine 
 perfections, has never been incarnate, works in 
 the church unseen, yet mightily. He is essen- 
 tially everywhere present, he is infinitely lov- 
 ing and tender, and in all respects suited to 
 apply the work of redemption. He comes not 
 to speak of himself, but he takes of the things 
 of Christ, and shows them. He glorifies Christ. 
 John 16: 13-15. 
 
 Should any inquire why Christ's abode on 
 earth was inconsistent with the abundant gra- 
 cious presence of the Holy Spirit, we might, 
 perhaps, without irreverence, assign certain 
 reasons of fitness in the case, drawn from the 
 nature of things. We might dwell upon the 
 fact that the word Comforter and the word 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 347 
 
 Advocate are in the original the same word, 
 that both the second and the third persons of 
 the Trinity are called Advocates or Comfort- 
 ers, and both make intercession for us, though 
 in different ways. John 16:7; 1 John 2:1; 
 Heb. T : 25 ; Rom. 8 : 26. It seems proper 
 that so long as a part of the church is above 
 and a part below, one of the Advocates or 
 Comforters should be on earth, while the other 
 is in heaven. TVe need not speculate, but rest 
 the whole upon Christ's word— that if he went 
 not away the Spirit would not be poured out. 
 He lays this dojjp as an ultimate, though cer- 
 tain truth. The church may not expect the 
 personal presence of Christ, and the copious 
 effusion of the Holy Ghost at the same time. 
 There were days of Pentecost when our Lord 
 on earth, but none of them was marked 
 by the descent of the Spirit, like a mighty 
 rushing wind, converting thousands in a day. 
 All the glorious revivals witnessed since 
 Christ's ascension, have been in consequence 
 of his absence from the church below. He 
 I : " He that believeth on me, the works 
 that I do shall he do also ; and greater works 
 than these shall he do, because I go unto my 
 Father." John 14:12. The blessed Spirit 
 
348 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 comforts ten thousands, yea, ten millions of 
 hearts at once, filling with joy the souls of 
 believers, at the same hour, in different parts 
 of the world. This is better than Christ's 
 personal presence on earth. The Spirit is in 
 all, through all, over all. He is just such a 
 Comforter, just such an Advocate, as the 
 church militant needs. His presence may 
 revive ten thousand churches at once, and 
 each of them be as much blessed as if his 
 visit was to it alone. 
 
 1. The present arrangement of all things 
 concerning the church is the oest. If there 
 ever was a point respecting the expediency of 
 which the pious might have doubted, it was 
 Christ's leaving them on earth. Yet even 
 his personal followers lived to see that this 
 dark event was for the best. Man, with his 
 ignorance and folly, will never be able to sug- 
 gest any improvement in God's method of 
 governing the world and saving the church. 
 It is best that Christ should be on the other 
 side of Jordan and beckon us over. Eays of 
 heavenly brightness from the upper world 
 light up our darkness even in our passage to 
 eternity. The Sun of Righteousness gilds the 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 349 
 
 path of dying saints. The departing believer 
 now rejoices that he is going to his Saviour. 
 Death is far less dismal than it would be if, 
 in leaving earth, we were going away from 
 the blessed Redeemer. 
 
 Besides, after the High Priest has shed 
 his blood, what is so proper as that he should 
 go into the holy of holies, sprinkle the mercy- 
 seat, appear for us in the presence of God, 
 and execute the full work of intercession for 
 his chosen ? 
 
 As things now are, Christ is the great 
 attraction to heaven and heavenly-minded- 
 ness. 
 
 2. Let the people of God everywhere and 
 always rejoice in a Saviour risen and made 
 higher than the heavens. Let them do this 
 in adversity as well as in prosperity. Bates 
 says : u One of the sorest and most dangerous 
 temptations of the afflicted is, that they are 
 out of God's favor. The mourning veil dark- 
 ens the eyes of their minds, that they cannot 
 reconcile his gracious promises with his prov- 
 idential dispensations, the good things he hath 
 prepared for hereafter with the evil he sends 
 here, Gideon complained to the angel, 'If 
 God be with us, how comes all this evil to 
 
350 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 us?' St. Augustine introduces God as thus 
 addressing his afflicted and tempted child: 
 1 Is this thy faith ? Did I promise temporal 
 prosperity to you ? Were you made a Chris- 
 tian that you might flourish in this world V " 
 Blessed be God, who has said, " As many as 
 I love I rebuke and chasten." God had one 
 Son in this world without sin, but never a son 
 here without affliction. His promise is, I 
 will bring them through the fire, and they 
 shall be refined as gold and silver is tried ; 
 and they shall say, The Lord is my God. 
 Zech. 13:9. If it were expedient for the 
 Master to leave the disciples, surely it is no 
 great stretch of faith to believe that it may 
 be for our good that friends, and health, and 
 prosperity, and reputation should leave us. 
 He who overrules for good the heaviest losses 
 will not permit lesser ones to do us harm. 
 
 3. All things are now ready for the conver- 
 sion of sinners and for subduing the world to 
 knowledge, to love, and to obedience. The 
 atonement is finished. Christ has made an 
 end of transgression. His work has been 
 owned and accepted before heaven and earth. 
 His ascension was a public triumph in the 
 presence of angels and men. In it he led 
 
CHKIST'S PERSONAL ABSENCE. 351 
 
 captivity captive, and received gifts for men. 
 The chiefest of the mercies he sends down to 
 accompany pardon of sin and acceptance is 
 the sanctifying, enlightening, and comforting 
 presence of the Holy Ghost. In God's gov- 
 ernment, all obstacles to the salvation of sin- 
 ners who will believe have been removed. 
 The propitiatory has been sprinkled with 
 precious atoning blood. It is now indeed a 
 mercy-seat, and it is accessible to all the guilty 
 sons of men who are willing to bow before it ; 
 so that we may now proclaim aloud: "Let 
 us come boldly to the throne of grace, that 
 we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help 
 in time of need." If we need more grace, 
 more liveliness in our affections, more success 
 in our labors, we have access to God. The 
 door is open to poor, perishing men, the guilty 
 and the helpless. Let them only look and 
 live, believe and be saved. 
 
352 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CHKIST ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 
 
 The fourth and last step in Christ's exal- 
 tation is yet future. It consists in his coming 
 to judge the world. 
 
 No man knows that he will ever see the 
 sun rise or set again ; but it is certain that 
 every one shall see the Son of man coming 
 to judgment, and witness the solemn transac- 
 tions of the last day. 
 
 Conscience forebodes a solemn reckoning. 
 She says it will be right and fair to have a 
 final settlement of all things. The resurrec- 
 tion of Christ from the dead gave assurance 
 of a judgment-day. Acts 17 : 31. It is in itself 
 proper that God should show to the whole 
 universe that in all things he has done right. 
 This can fitly be done in the assizes of an 
 assembled world. The doctrine of a day of 
 judgment was not a secret to any of the proph- 
 ets. Enoch foretold it as clearly as any apos- 
 tle. The author of the first psalm says : "The 
 ungodly shall not stand in the judgment ;" and 
 the author of the fiftieth psalm gives a full ac- 
 
ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 353 
 
 count of its awful grandeur, and of the princi- 
 ples on which its awards shall be made. Sol- 
 omon says : " God shall bring every work into 
 judgment, with every secret thing, whether it 
 be good or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12 :14. 
 Time would fail us to show how often and 
 clearly Christ himself, and Paul, and James, 
 and Peter, and John speak of such a day. 
 This solemn subject now claims attention. 
 
 I. God hath appointed a day in the which 
 he will judge the world. Eespecting this day 
 several things are noticeable. 
 
 1. To God it is a day certain. He has 
 appointed it. Acts 17 :31. Nothing can hasten 
 it: nothing can retard it. The purpose of 
 God concerning it is fixed, unalterable. 
 
 2. To all creatures, it is a day uncertain: 
 11 Of that day and hour knoweth no man ; no, 
 not the angels of heaven." It is clear from 
 the teachings of Scripture, that God designed 
 that no conjecture should be formed by any 
 generation of men respecting the precise time 
 of the judgment. Twice is it said, it will 
 come as a thief in the night. 1 Thess. 5:2; 
 2 Peter 3 :10. Compare Matt. 24 :36, 42, 44 ; 
 Luke 21:35, 36. 
 
 3. The day of judgment will be the great 
 
354 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 day. So inspired men often call it. It will 
 be the greatest day in the annals of the uni- 
 verse. It is the day for which all other days 
 were made. There will be more done that 
 day than was done perhaps for thousands of 
 days, or even years, of former times. This 
 day is so well known to inspired men, that 
 they call it the day, that day, as preeminent 
 over all others. 
 
 4. It will be the day of the Lord. 2 Peter 
 3:10. Christ will then appear in his glory. 
 On that day men will not question his divinity, 
 or his humanity, or his authority. Then he 
 will be crowned Lord of all. It will be exclu- 
 sively his day. 
 
 5. It will be the last day. It is so called 
 by Christ himself, John 6:39, 40. After it, 
 time will be no longer. Duration will no 
 more be measured by seconds, minutes, days, 
 months, years, centuries, cycles; but all will 
 be boundless, shoreless, fathomless, unmeas- 
 ured eternity. 
 
 6. It will probably be a long day — how 
 long we are not informed, but long enough to 
 answer all the purposes for which it was ap- 
 pointed, displaying G-od's justice, vindicating 
 the right, condemning the wrong. • 
 
ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 355 
 
 7. It will be a very bright clay. Other 
 days had their dawn, their twilight, and their 
 clouds; but this day will begin, continue, and 
 end In ineffable effulgence. They had their 
 light* from the sun ; but this will have its light 
 from the brightness of Immanuel. 
 
 8. It will be a day of unusual noises : 
 " The Lord himself shall descend from heaven 
 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 
 and with the trump of God." The heavens 
 shall pass away with a great noise. To these 
 shall be added the shouts of the redeemed 
 and the wailings of the impenitent. 
 
 9. It will be a day of wonderful clearing 
 up of the character of the innocent. God will 
 then bring forth their righteousness as the 
 light and their judgment as the noonday. 
 The slandered will that day have the sting 
 of calumny for ever removed ; the persecuted 
 will no longer clank their chains ; those with 
 whose lives and liberties witnesses, juries, 
 judges and rulers wantoned will no more fear 
 the minions and myrmidons of cruelty. 
 
 10. It will be a day of astounding expo- 
 muvs. Yillany will be covered up no more. 
 Every disguise will be taken away. There is 
 nothing covered that shall not be revealed ; 
 
356 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 neither hid, that shall not be known. Indeed, 
 there never was any thing kept secret, but 
 that it should come abroad. Luke 12 :2 ; Mark 
 4:22. "Some men's sins are open before- 
 hand, going before to judgment, and some 
 men they follow after. 7 '' 1 Tim. 5 :24. 
 
 11. It will be a day of unwonted gran- 
 deur: " Our G-od shall come, and shall not 
 keep silence ; a fire shall devour before him, 
 and it shall be very tempestuous round about 
 him. He shall call to the heavens from above 
 and to the earth, that he may judge his peo- 
 ple." For majesty and glory, for sublimity 
 and grandeur, the pomp of all other days shall, 
 in comparison with this, be as nothing. If 
 Felix trembled when Paul merely reasoned 
 of judgment, how will sinners tremble when 
 Christ shall come to judgment ? 
 
 12. From first to last it shall be a day of 
 miracles. "All the wonders ever exhibited 
 before will be nothing to the wonders of this 
 day. Indeed, all that is natural will end on 
 this day, and every thing will be miraculous." 
 
 13. Of course it will be a day of intense 
 excitement. There will be no listless specta- 
 tors of those scenes. Every faculty of the 
 intellect and of emotion will be aroused to 
 
OX THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 357 
 
 the highest possible exercise. Men may sleep 
 under sermons concerning the judgment, but 
 they will not be dull when they go to judgment. 
 
 14. It will also be a day of separation. 
 The precious and the vile, the wheat and the 
 tares, the sheep and the goats, saints and sin- 
 ners, shall no longer mingle together. The 
 separations of this day will be final. The 
 righteous and the wicked shall part that day 
 to meet no more. 
 
 15. It will be a day of decision. The tri- 
 bunal of Christ is the court of last resort. 
 Causes and destinies will be inquired into no 
 more. Saved that day, saved for ever. Lost 
 that day, lost for ever. Holy that day, holy 
 for ever. Filthy that day, filthy for ever. 
 
 16. It will be a day of triumph. Christ 
 and his people will fill the heavens with their 
 peals of exultation. At his ascension from 
 Olivet the Redeemer went up with a shout. 
 Ps. 47 : 5. He shall come to judgment with a 
 shout; 1 Thess. 4 : 10. His return to heaven 
 will be with vehement notes of triumph still 
 louder. When the Israelites brought the ark 
 of the covenant into their camp they shouted 
 with a great shout, so (hut the earth rang 
 again. Hut when all the elect shall receive 
 
358 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 their welcome plaudit, their shout shall fill 
 the heavens with its thunder. 
 
 17. It shall be a day of despair to all sinful 
 creatures. The last hope will be gone from 
 fallen angels and incorrigible men. Every- 
 where sinners will be crying to the rocks and 
 the mountains : " Fall on us and hide us from 
 the face of him that sitteth on the throne, 
 and from the wrath of the Lamb." Was ever 
 despair more dreadful than this ? 
 
 18. This will be a day full of surprise. Not 
 only will it come unexpectedly, but its awards 
 will fill saints and sinners with astonishment. 
 So Christ teaches at length in Matthew 25th. 
 The wicked will be amazed that they are lost, 
 and how they are lost. They will be espe- 
 cially surprised that God sets no value on 
 their self-righteousness. The sons of Grod 
 will receive more honor than they ever asked 
 or thought of. The sons of Belial will receive 
 more wrath than they ever feared. Christians 
 will marvel why they are saved. Sinners will 
 wonder why they are not saved. Each class of 
 persons will cry, "Lord, when saw we thee a 
 hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, 
 or sick, or in prison?" Many will be saved 
 and more perhaps be lost contrary to the 
 
ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 359 
 
 judgments formed of them by their neighbors. 
 But more will be saved and more will be lost 
 contrary to the opinions they had formed of 
 themselves. 
 
 II. The Bible says on that day God will 
 judge the world. In the Greek Testament are 
 three words rendered world. One of these 
 signifies duration past, present, or future, but 
 often with a limit. It is the word used by our 
 Saviour when he speaks of "this world, !? of 
 " that world," of " the end of the world," and 
 of "the world to come." In this way of using 
 it, it is equivalent to age. In the plural it 
 often signifies eternity. It is never used to 
 teach whom God will judge. 
 
 A second word, rendered world, is of fre- 
 quent occurrence. It is found in Acts 17 : 24 : 
 " God that made the world and all things 
 th* rein.*' Here it evidently means the uni- 
 verse ; so also in many other cases. Often it 
 means the earth, and then its inhabitants. It 
 is often used in connection with the judgment. 
 In Romans 3 : 6 it is said : " God shall judge 
 the world" + 
 
 lint in Acts 17:31, "He hath appointed a 
 day in the which he will judge the world," 
 yet another word is used for world. In Luke 
 
360 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 21 : 26 it is rendered the earth ; in all other 
 cases, the world. In Luke 2:1, it is put for 
 the Roman empire, because that embraced 
 most of the known world. But commonly it 
 means the habitable earth. It occurs fifteen 
 times, and, with the exception already noticed, 
 is uniformly rendered the world, as when Jesus 
 says, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be 
 preached in all the world, for a witness unto 
 all nations." Matt. 24:14. 
 
 The Scriptures declare that all men shall 
 be judged. The Lord "shall judge the earth," 
 "shall judge the ends of the earth," "shall 
 judge the people," shall judge " all nations," 
 "shall judge them that are without," "shall 
 judge his people," "shall judge the righteous 
 and the wicked," "shall judge the quick and 
 the dead.'-' 
 
 Other Scriptures say that angels shall be 
 then judged. Christ shall bring all his holy 
 angels with him. Matt. 25 : 31 ; Mark 8 : 38 ; 
 Luke 9 :26. They shall be the reapers on this 
 great harvest-day. See also 2 Pet. 2 : 4. 
 
 It seems tb be intimated that all angels, 
 fallen and unfallen, all men, saints and sin- 
 ners, great and small, quick and dead, shall 
 be judged. All rational creatures shall make 
 
ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 361 
 
 up the assembly. The servant and his master, 
 the prisoner at the bar and the judge that sat 
 on his trial, the assassin and the assassinated, 
 the seducer and his victim, the invader and 
 the invaded, the hireling and his oppressor, 
 the king and his subjects, the fool and the 
 
 • man. the persecutor and the persecuted, 
 the apostate, the hypocrite, the child of God 
 and the child of the devil, the angels that 
 stood and the angels that fell, shall all be 
 there. Xo rational creature shall be so 
 mighty, no mortal shall be so mean as to 
 elude the eye or the sentence of him that 
 shall sit upon the throne of judgment. 
 
 What a mighty concourse will this be, 
 when prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, 
 saints of all ages, when sinnQrs, liars, infidels, 
 blasphemers, moralists, and murderers, shall 
 all be there ; when the sea and the dry land 
 shall give up their dead, when the third 
 heaven shall pour forth its glorious legions, 
 when death ami hell shall deliver up the dead 
 that are in them, when all that lived before 
 the flood, all that have lived since the Hood, 
 and all that shall have lived to the end of 
 ill Maud before God. This will be 
 the firs! and the last assembly in which may 
 
3G2 THE EOOK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 be found every rational creature that God 
 ever made. 
 
 III. This great assembly shall be judged 
 in righteousness. No injustice shall be done. 
 Even the condemned will have nothing to 
 allege against the equity of their doom. 
 Every mouth will be stopped. The evidence 
 will be full, the record complete. For "the 
 books shall be opened :" 
 
 1. The volume of nature. It shows forth 
 the eternal power and godhead of the Most 
 High. Its lessons are taught everywhere. 
 "There is no speech nor language where 
 their voice is not heard." So that all men 
 are " without excuse." Ps. 19 :3 ; Eom. 1 : 20. 
 
 2. There is the book of providence. How 
 many disregard all its lessons ! They despise 
 the riches of God's goodness, and forbear- 
 ance, and long-suffering. They never think 
 that his goodness should lead them to repent- 
 ance ; but after their hard and impenitent 
 heart treasure up to themselves wrath against 
 the day of wrath. Kom. 2 : 4, 5. 
 
 3. There, too, will be the book of con- 
 science. On it is written the work of the 
 law. Now this volume may be closed. There 
 it will show its faithful records. 
 
ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 363 
 
 4. Then, too, will be opened the book of 
 holy Scripture. Christ says that even infi- 
 dels, who refused to believe Grod's word, shall 
 be judged by it. " He that rejecteth me and 
 receiveth not my words, hath one that judge th 
 him : the word that I have spoken, the same 
 shall judge him in the last day. 7 ' John 12:48. 
 Wilfhl ignorance is no excuse. Wilful rejec- 
 tion of the Bible enhances men's condemnation. 
 
 5. Then, too, will be opened the booh of 
 remembrance. Its record will be full, minute, 
 infallible. When it is opened every sinner 
 will say, "Innumerable evils have compassed 
 me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold 
 upon me, so that I am not able to look up ; 
 they are more than the hairs of my head : 
 therefore my heart faileth me." 
 
 Thus will be revealed all forms and de- 
 grees of sin ; open sin, which proclaims its 
 guilt on earth ; secret sin, which no man could 
 prove, or without uncharitableness suspect, 
 Bom. 2:16; sins of commission, which were 
 acted out ; and sins of omission, which in 
 will make a formidable array. 
 The fig-tree vraa cursed because it had no 
 fruit. Endeed, in his solemn account of the 
 judgment, in Matthew 25, Jesus Christ men- 
 
364 THE ROCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 tions no sins but those of omission. The life of 
 man consists in thoughts, emotions, words, and 
 deeds. For all these he shall give account. 
 
 (1.) Thoughts. "The thought of foolishness 
 is sin." Prov. 24:9. God destroyed the old 
 world because the imagination of the thoughts 
 of man's heart was evil, and that continually. 
 G-en.' 6:5. It is an alarming charge against 
 the wicked that " God is not in all his 
 thoughts." Ps. 10 : 4. " The thoughts of the 
 righteous are right." Prov. 12 : 5. "The 
 thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to 
 the Lord." Prov. 15 : 26. All good thoughts 
 and all evil thoughts shall be judged. 
 
 (2.) Emotions. Malice, lust, covetousness, 
 envy, sinful auger, hatred, inordinate affection 
 on the one hand ; and love, hope, joy, peace, 
 gentleness, patience on the other ; all good 
 emotions and all sinful emotions shall be tried. 
 
 (3.) Words. "Every idle word that men 
 shall speak, they shall give account thereof 
 in the day of judgment. For by thy words 
 thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou 
 shalt be condemned." Matt. 12 : 36, 37. Not 
 a word, good or bad, shall be passed over. 
 1 ' Whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness 
 shall be heard in the light ; and that which ye 
 
ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 365 
 
 have spoken in the ear in closets shall be 
 proclaimed upon the housetops." Luke 12:3. 
 All vain, false, unchaste, impudent, provo- 
 king, profane, blasphemous speeches, and all 
 pure, pious, loving, wise, right words, shall 
 alike and properly be noticed. 
 
 (4.) Deeds.* All our good deeds shall be 
 reported before the Judge. And he will not 
 wipe out our good deeds that we have done. 
 Xch. 13:14. To the ungodly Jehovah will 
 give "according to their deeds, and according 
 to the wickedness of their endeavors : give 
 them after the work of their hands; render to 
 them their desert." Ps. 28:4. l< According to 
 their deeds, accordingly he will repay." Isa. 
 59:18. He says: "I will recompense them 
 according to their deeds, and according to 
 [he works of their own hands." The matter, 
 the manner, the motive of every act, good and 
 bad, will be t li 
 
 (5.) As no man has a good thought, or feel- 
 ing, or speaks a good word, or does a good 
 ieed, but by divine grace, and as in this life 
 sin cleaves to nil men so as to mar their best 
 performances, and as all the wicked do noth- 
 ing but -in. if there was no other book besides 
 
 Be to be opened, all mu b. But 
 
366 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 there is another. It is the booh of life of the 
 Lamb slain from the foundation of the ivorld. 
 Rev. 13:8. In the other books was nothing 
 found that could save any man. But this 
 contains the names of all those who shall 
 have washed their robes and made them 
 white in the blood of the LamU According 
 to this book all who believe in Christ shall be 
 justified. They shall receive a rich, free, gra- 
 tuitous salvation. But ''whosoever was not 
 found written in the book of life was cast into 
 the lake of fire," Eev. 20 : 15. 
 
 IV. The Judge will be the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, called in Scripture, the man whom God 
 hath ordained to that work : " For the Father 
 judge th no man ; but hath committed all judg- 
 ment unto the Son.' 7 John 5 :22. " We must 
 all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ." 
 2 Cor. 5:10. Christ shall come not only in the 
 glory which he had with the Father before the 
 world was, but in his glorified human nature ; 
 God has given him authority to judge, because 
 he is the Son of man. John 5 : 27. Christ 
 the Lord will be the righteous Judge.. Oth- 
 ers shall approve the sentences he shall pro- 
 nounce, and in this sense saints are said to 
 judge angels. 1 Cor. 6:3. But in the full 
 
ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 367 
 
 sense shall Christ alone "judge the quick and 
 the dead/' 2 Tim. 4:1. How altered the 
 state and appearance of the Saviour will be 
 from what it was when he walked and wept 
 on earth, and especially when he hung upon 
 the cross, or lay in the sepulchre of Joseph. 
 His coming shall be visible to all: "Every 
 eye shall see him, and they also which jrferced 
 him." llev. 1:7. Even those born blind shall 
 sec him. Christ will come visibly, and be 
 
 i as a man. We shall behold him in hu- 
 man form. So he himself declared more than 
 once : " Ye shall see the Son of man coming 
 in the clouds of heaven." Matt. 24 : 30 • 26 : G4 ; 
 Mark 13:26; 14:62. So testified the angels 
 at his ascension: "This same Jesus which is 
 taken up from you into heaven shall so come 
 in like manner as ye have seen him go into 
 heaven." Acts 1:11. But Jesus ascended vis- 
 ibly ; so will he descend visibly. He ascended 
 in human nature entire ; he shall descend in 
 human nature entire. He shall come with 
 great power and glory. Mark 13:26. 
 
 At his presence nature shall dissolve. The 
 elements shall melt with fervent heat. 2 Pet. 
 3:10. Great signs and terror shall witness 
 his coming: The heavens shall depart as a 
 
368 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 scroll when it is rolled together • and every 
 mountain and island shall be moved out of 
 their places, and the kings of the earth, and 
 the great men, and the rich men, and the chief 
 captains, and the mighty men, and every bond- 
 man, and every freeman shall hide themselves 
 in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains. 
 Rev. 6:14, 15. 
 
 The sentence passed by the Judge will be 
 .solemn and irrevocable. That of the right- 
 eous will be: "Come, ye blessed of my Fa- 
 ther, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
 from the foundation of the world." That of the 
 wicked will be : " Depart from me, ye cursed, 
 into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil 
 and his angels." In both cases the sentence 
 will be at once executed. Matt. 25 :34, 41. 
 
 1. Let us not be much troubled by the 
 apparent confusion we now witness in human 
 affairs. Here vanity often rides in splendor, 
 while worth is clothed in rags ; folly rolls in 
 chariots, while wisdom lies in chains ; brutal- 
 ity wields unlimited power over decency and 
 piety j and oppression puts its iron heel on 
 all that good men love ; but the kst day will 
 set all things right. Eccl. 2 : 14-17 ; 5 : 8. 
 
OX THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 369 
 
 2. What a mighty argument is the day of 
 judgment for a holy life. So Peter says : 
 "Seeing then that all these things shall be 
 
 solved, what manner of persons ought ye 
 to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 
 looking for and hasting unto the coining of the 
 day of God." 
 
 3. Nothing but uprightness and consist- 
 ency will stand the test of the last day, and 
 
 followed by glory and honor: "Thinkest. 
 tlmii this, man, that judgest them which do 
 such things, and doest the same, that thou 
 shalt escape the judgment of God?" Bom. 2 :3. 
 
 4. In his address to the people of Athens, 
 Paul uses this subject as an argument to re- 
 pentance : "God . . . commandeth all men eve- 
 rywhere to repent, because he hath appointed 
 a day in the which he will judge the world in 
 righteousness, by that Man whom he hath 
 ordained." The call to repentance thus given 
 is solemn and full of authority. It is a com- 
 mand from God. It is urgent. The judgment 
 is coming. The Judge standeth before the 
 door. The time is short. There is no work, 
 nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, nor 
 repentance in the grave, whither thou goest. 
 Some say, &od has not made us to punish us. 
 
 1G* 
 
370 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 But if they die in their sins, they will find 
 that " He that made them will not have mercy 
 on them, and he that formed them will show 
 them no favor." Isa. 27:11. drunkard, 
 how wouldst thou look and feel if called to go 
 raving and reeling into "the presence of thy 
 Maker and thy Judge? No drunkard shall 
 inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor. 6:10. 
 And thou shameless profligate, unless thou 
 dost speedily repent, thou wilt be for ever 
 given over to appetites and passions which 
 will sink thee to the lowest hell. I pray thee 
 to repent. And thou profane man, who min- 
 glest thy Maker's name with thy ribaldry, thy 
 passions, or thy lies, beware lest thou become 
 one of those " that cannot cease from sin, . . . 
 to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for 
 ever." Oh repent while thou may est. Thou 
 abuser of holy time, if thou sinnest a little 
 longer, thou wilt be in a state where thou 
 wouldst give ten thousand worlds for another 
 Sabbath in a gospel church. Thou foul-mouthed 
 man, with thy present love of sin thou canst 
 never sing, Hosanna to the Son of David. 
 When, on his trial, Latimer heard the pen of 
 the notary running behind the curtain, he was 
 careful what he said. Take heed what thou 
 
ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 371 
 
 speakest. The recording angel is about. Thy 
 words will meet thee at God's bar. Art thon an 
 apostate? " If any man draw back," says God, 
 "my soul shall have no pleasure in him." 
 Tertullian says: "The apostate seems to put 
 Christ and Satan both in the balance, and 
 having weighed the service of each, prefers 
 that of the devil, and proclaims him master." 
 Surely thou must repent: "God. will make 
 lii- sword drunk in the blood of apostates." 
 Finally, art thou an unbeliever, perhaps 
 moral, serious, kind to the poor, well-behaved 
 id the house of God, yet without living faith in 
 Jesus ? Repent, and believe the gospel, else 
 it had been good for thee if thou hadst not 
 been born. Let every sinner cry for mercy. 
 Let him cry mightily, thou Son of David, 
 have mercy on me. 
 
372 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 CHEIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 
 
 With the exception of the Egyptians, Gen. 
 46:34, the ancients appear to have held in 
 high esteem the occupation of shepherd. Much 
 of the romance and poetry of antiquity related 
 to pastoral life. It was therefore very nat- 
 ural for the sacred writers by a shepherd and 
 his flock to represent the relations between 
 rulers and their subjects, between ministers 
 and their people, and between God and his 
 church. There is peculiar propriety in thus 
 setting forth the character and offices of the 
 Saviour and the relations subsisting between 
 him and believers. Quite a number of inspired 
 writers employ such language. With his own 
 blessed lips our Lord said, "I am the Good 
 Shepherd." We may .here consider : 
 
 I. The qualities of a good shepherd, as 
 they are found in Christ. 
 
 One of these is, devotedness to his office. 
 He who would well fulfil the place of shep- 
 herd must not be idle. He holds no sinecure. 
 He must be very attentive. He has a great 
 
CHKIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 373 
 
 work on hand. This is the case when the 
 shepherd has but a small flock', and they of 
 little value. It is much more true when he 
 has the care of souls. It is above all true of 
 the Saviour of men. Who ever served God 
 or his generation like the Redeemer? Even 
 when on earth, he was often wearied and hun- 
 gry and thirsty, yet nothing could divert him 
 from the great business he had undertaken. 
 In every age he has fully performed the en- 
 
 ement to each believer, " I will never leave 
 thee nor forsake thee." At home and abroad, 
 in sickness and health, in the height of pros- 
 perity and in the perfection of trouble does he 
 attend his "little flock." He is not merely a 
 
 lour afar off, but also a Saviour at hand — 
 a very present Help in time of trouble. 
 
 Another quality of a good shepherd is, 
 love for Ms office. If his heart should be set 
 more intently on something else, he cannot 
 possibly succeed. If he prefers some other 
 calling above that in which he is engaged, 
 disaster must come on the ilock. It is de- 
 lightful to be able to assert, on the authority 
 of single promises and of the tenor of Scrip- 
 . that no object in creation lies nearer the 
 
 ; t of the good Shepherd than the care and 
 
374 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 salvation of his flock. This was so in the 
 countless age's of a past eternity, as himself 
 declares : "Then I was by him as one brought 
 up with him : and I was daily his delight, re- 
 joicing always before him; rejoicing in the 
 habitable part of his earth ; and my delights 
 were with the sons of men." Prov. 8 :30, 31. 
 When he was here, " having loved his own, . . . 
 he loved them unto the end." Never did he 
 neglect one of his flock. Never did he slight 
 his appropriate work. As one whom his 
 mother comforteth, so does he comfort his 
 saints. To Zion he says: "Behold, I have 
 graven thee upon the palms of my hands; 
 thy walls are continually before me." Isaiah 
 49:16. 
 
 Another important quality of a good shep- 
 herd is, watchfulness: "Thy shepherds slum- 
 ber, king of Assyria' 1 — Nahum 3:18 — was 
 among the saddest signs of Nineveh's ruin. 
 To the church God saith : "He that keepeth 
 thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keep- 
 eth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." 
 Psa. 121:3, 4. 
 
 "Those wakeful eyes, 
 
 That never sleep, 
 
 Shall Israel keep 
 
 When dangers rise." 
 
CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 375 
 
 "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through- 
 out the whole earth, to show himself strong 
 in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect 
 toward Mm." 2 Chron. 16:9. It is a great 
 mercy that God's people are so seldom allowed 
 to fall under the temptation to believe that 
 their way is hid from the Lord and their judg- 
 ment passed over from their God. But even 
 when Satan does gain a temporary advantage, 
 in such a case they know that it is not for the 
 want of loving care and tender watchfulness 
 in their God and Saviour. 
 
 Another desirable quality in the shepherd 
 ifi wisdom* Woe to the flock whose guide has 
 only " the instruments of a foolish shepherd.''' 
 Zech. 11:15. When the shepherd takes the 
 whip rather than the crook, the scourge rather 
 than the staff of Israel, when he would only 
 drive, and not at all allure, it is sad indeed 
 for the flock. Alas for the "shepherd that 
 cannot understand." Isa. 56:11. But the 
 
 1 Shepherd employs no unwise instru- 
 ments or measures. He knows what is best. 
 He leea the end from the beginning. Be 
 understands all our case. He chargeth his 
 angels with folly. He taketh the wise in their 
 own craftiness. No plot la 00 deep, and no 
 
376 THE ROCK OF OUB SALVATION. 
 
 machination so cunning, that he cannot at once, 
 and with infinite ease, pour confusion upon 
 their authors. 
 
 Another necessary quality in a shepherd 
 is strength. Without it the sheep are defence- 
 less. With it they are safe. In Amos 3 ;12, 
 we read of the shepherd taking out of the 
 mouth of the lion the two legs of one of his 
 sheep. With supernatural strength God en- 
 dowed David, when he was but a shepherd's 
 boy, that he might deliver his flock from a 
 lion and a bear. It may be in special refer- 
 ence to the power of Christ that he is called 
 "that great Shepherd of the sheep." Heb. 
 13:20. He is also styled "the chief Shep- 
 herd." 1 Pet. 5:4. In strength, as in all 
 other good qualities, he excels all shepherds : 
 ■' ' God hath spoken once : twice have I heard 
 this, that power belongeth unto God." In 
 Scripture our Shepherd is called " the mighty 
 God." Isa. 9:6. He claims for himself the 
 awful title, "The Almighty," Rev. 1:8; and 
 one Almighty is more than all mighties. In- 
 deed, our Shepherd "appeared unto Abra- 
 ham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name 
 of God Almighty." Expd. 6 : 3. 
 
 It is a matter of no small weight that a 
 
CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 377 
 
 shepherd be no intruder, but be rightfully in 
 his office. This is the case with our Shepherd. 
 Before he gave the commission under which 
 the gospel is now preached, he assured his 
 church, saying, "All power [authority] is 
 Liven unto me in heaven and in earth." Matt. 
 28:18. Indeed, early in his ministry he said 
 to his disciples: "All things are delivered 
 unto me of my Father. 7 ' Matt. 11 :27. Even 
 before his advent, prophecy declared 
 that there should be "given him dominion, 
 and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 
 nations, and languages should serve Mm." 
 Dan. 7:14. 
 
 X' i quality of a shepherd is of higher value 
 than love to the sheep. This shows itself in gen- 
 tleness, in constant care, in readiness to en- 
 counter danger for their defence. how won- 
 drously loving is our Shepherd. He is> so 
 
 tie. He neither strives, nor cries, nor 
 lifts up, nor causes his voice to be heard in 
 the streets. When reviled, he reviled not 
 
 n ; when lie suffered, he threatened not. 
 
 How different was Ik; from the shepherds of 
 
 the flock of slaughter. They pitied not the 
 
 distresses of those for whom they were hound 
 
 as love; 0, it was compassion 
 
 /for Of IHJI^ 
 
378 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 like a God, that caused the good Shepherd, to 
 lay down his life for the sheep. Some of the 
 Eoman emperors claimed to be shepherds to 
 their people. Trajan was such a one. He 
 sent his own raiment to bind up the wounds 
 of his soldiers ; and for that kindness many 
 loved him. But Jesus, the good Shepherd, 
 had his flesh torn, and his blood shed, and his 
 heart melted like wax, that he might heal our 
 wounds. He has the only sovereign balm. 
 This pity of Jesus shows itself in his readi- 
 ness to receive and tenderly treat the weak- 
 est and most sickly of his flock. Continually 
 does he fulfil the prophetic promise, " He shall 
 feed his flock like a shepherd : he shall gather 
 the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his 
 bosom, and shall gently lead those that are 
 with young." Isa. 40:11. One of the last 
 charges of the chief Shepherd to Peter, and 
 through him to all ministers, was, "Feed my 
 lambs, feed my sheep, feed my sheep." Jesus 
 never forgot the lambs. Jesus never forgot 
 one of his sheep. When a bird, frightened by 
 a hawk, flew into the bosom of a man, though 
 he was a heathen he said, " I will not betray 
 thee to thine enemy, seeing thou comest to me 
 for sanctuary." So in time of danger the 
 
CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 379 
 
 good Shepherd loves to have his affrighted 
 sheep come close to him aiid abide with him. 
 In a sense, all times are times of danger ; so 
 we cannot cleave too closely to the Redeemer. 
 This ardent love to the flock secures fidelity, 
 as our Lord has said: "He that is a hire- 
 ling, and not the shepherd, whose own the 
 sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leav- 
 eth the sheep and fleeth, and the wolf catch- 
 eth them and scattereth the sheep. The hire- 
 ling fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth 
 not for the sheep." John 10:12, 13. But 
 Jesus saw the wolf coming, and stood his 
 ground, and laid down his life for his sheep, 
 and saved them. 
 
 II. Let us consider the offices which 
 tin' good Shepherd actually performs for his 
 people. It would do no good to a flock to 
 have a shepherd over so well qualified, if he 
 exercised nut himself in their behalf. Our 
 Shepherd unceasingly seeks and promotes our 
 good. 
 
 It is required of a shepherd that he know 
 his Hock. Xhe words of Jesus, so full of corn- 
 arc. '•!... know my sheep, and am known 
 of mine." John 10 : 14. And in verse 3 lie 
 says, "He oallctli his own sheep by name. " 
 
380 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Sometimes in Scripture the word know has 
 the same sense as foreknow. In this sense 
 Jesus knew his people. " Whom he did fore- 
 know he also did predestinate." Eom. 8 : 29. 
 He saw Nathanael under the fig-tree, and 
 Zaccheus in the sycamore-tree. He knew all 
 about them. Sometimes the word know is 
 equivalent to distinguish. In this sense, also, 
 Christ knows his people: "The Lord know- 
 eth them that are his," that is, he distin- 
 guishes the sheep from the goats. Sometimes 
 to know denotes familiarity. So our Lord 
 Jesus says : "I will come unto you ;" "I will 
 make my abode with you;" "Lo, I am with 
 you alway, even unto the end of the world." 
 Sometimes to know denotes recognition as of 
 friends.- So Jesus says, "Henceforth I call 
 you not servants ; for the servant knoweth 
 not what his Lord doeth: but I have called 
 you friends ; for all things that I have heard 
 of my Father, I have made known unto you. 
 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen 
 you." John 15 : 15, 16. Besides, he himself 
 has taught us how a good shepherd will seek 
 a lost sheep, and rejoice over it when he has 
 found it. Thus he illustrates the emotions 
 awakened in heaven over a lost sinner recov- 
 
CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 381 
 
 ered from the snare of the wicked one. And he 
 explicitly teljs ns that he came to seek and to 
 e that which was lost, and to do it by 
 dying the death. Indeed, "All we like sheep 
 have gone astray ; we have turned every one 
 to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid on 
 him the iniquity of us all." Isa. 53 : 6. With 
 what joy each believer sings, 
 
 • J64QB sought rue when a stranger, 
 Wandering from the fold of God ; 
 He. to rescue me from danger, 
 Interposed his precious blood. " 
 
 1>\ Ezekiel, 34: 6, God complains, "My sheep 
 Wandered through all the mountains and upon 
 ry high hill : yea, my flock was scattered 
 upon all the face of the earth." He then adds, 
 verses 12-1 I. "As a shepherd seeketh out 
 his Hock in the day. that he is among his 
 sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek out 
 my sheep and deliver them out of all places, 
 whe?$ they have been scattered in the cloudy 
 and dark day. And 1 will bring them out 
 IVmn the people, and . . . feed them upon the 
 mountains of Israel by the rivers, ... I will 
 feed then in a good pasture, and upon the 
 high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. 
 There shall they lie in a- good fold, and in 
 a ha pasture shall they feed upon the mount- 
 
382 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 ains of Israel." This, blessed be his name, 
 is just what the Lord is doing. J3e is seeking 
 and finding the lost sheep, and bringing them 
 into his fold, and blessing them, by the thou- 
 sand and the ten thousand, with his own pres- 
 ence and infinite mercy. 
 
 Not only does a good shepherd once 
 gather his sheep into his fold, but when they 
 wander he brings them back : " He restoreth 
 my soul," says David, Ps. 23 : 3. This is 
 according to the whole tenor of Scripture. 
 Compare Ps. 89 : 30-33. When Peter strayed, 
 Jesus sought him. When Ephraim wandered, 
 God said, " Is Ephraim a dear son ?" 
 
 It was one branch of a shepherd's work to 
 go before his flock, and thus be their leader. 
 So the good shepherd ' ' leadeth them out, and 
 when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth 
 before them." John 10 : 3, 4. In like man- 
 ner the psalmist cries: "Give ear, Shep- 
 herd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a 
 flock." Ps. 80 : 1. The shepherd weiit before 
 the flock to keep the sheep from going into 
 barren or dangerous places, to guide them 
 into green pastures and to cooling fountains, 
 and at evening to bring them safely to their 
 fold. how gently the good Shepherd leads 
 
CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHEED. 383 
 
 his flock? How abundantly he supplies all 
 their wants. The science of mathematics 
 affords no stronger reasoning than this: "The 
 Lord is my Shepherd ; I shall not want." It 
 was an awful charge that God brought against 
 some of old: "Woe be to the shepherds of 
 Israel that do feed themselves! should not 
 the shepherds feed the flocks ?" Ezek. 34 : 2. 
 Surely the good shepherd will not do thus. 
 He provides food for the body. Not a spar- 
 row is forgotten before God. Are ye not 
 of more value than many sparrows, ye 
 of little faith ! Thy bread and thy water is 
 sure. When the last handful of meal was 
 preparing, then was the prophet sent to sup- 
 ply the widow with plenty. Jesus also pro- 
 vides for the sustenance of our souls: "My 
 grace is sufficient for thee." There is his 
 blessed word. There are his precious ordi- 
 nances. He has made provision that, by his 
 Spirit all the appointed means shall be effica- 
 cious. In short, God denies a Christian noth- 
 ing, but to give him something better. 
 
 n& also keeps and defends his flock. If 
 now and (lien wild beasts prow] about the 
 
 ibid and alarm the sheep; this makes them 
 
 lather the more closely around their glorious 
 
384: THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Leader. Or if, in the way of persecution, 
 Apollyon shall let loose his clogs upon the 
 flock of Christ to worry them, it shall only 
 make them the more willing to remain in 
 the fold. God controls all that seek to do 
 his people harm. Their mouths are holden. 
 "Hear the word of the Lord, ye nations, . . .. 
 He that scattered Israel will gather him, and 
 keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock." Jer. 
 31 :10. The Master said, "Behold, I send you 
 forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. 57 Matt. 
 10 : 16. Yet he adds, "Let not your heart be 
 troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14: 27. 
 If their enemies are mighty, he is almighty j if 
 they are cunning, he knows all things ; if they 
 muster many, he marshals all the host of 
 heaven, and devils are subject unto him. 
 When Christ's sheep hear his voice and know 
 it, it is to them most cheering. For the 
 "words of the wise," which "are as goads, 
 and as nails fastened by the masters of assem- 
 blies," are "given from one Shepherd." Ecc. 
 12 : 11. . The true flock of Christ has a 
 remarkable discernment, which makes it very 
 difficult to lead them astray. "A stranger 
 will they not follow." Jesus accustoms them 
 to his voice. Its gentle tones and winning 
 
CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 385 
 
 sweetness bind them close to the Redeemer. 
 He is all in all to them. 
 
 III. Let us observe the effect of the good 
 Shepherd's care over his flock. They know 
 his voice and they follow him. His word is 
 quick and powerful in their hearts. His ex- 
 ample they love to imitate. Was he benevo- 
 lent? So are they. Did he go about doing 
 good? So do they. Was he meek and lowly? 
 They are not proud and revengeful. Their 
 great hope and aim are that they may be like 
 him, and see him as he is. 1 John 3 : 2. They 
 will be satisfied when they awake with his 
 likeness. They learn to flee to him in times 
 of danger. His name is a strong tower ; the 
 righteous run into it and are safe. Like the 
 <•< mies, God's people are a feeble folk, and 
 like the conies, their defence is in the rock. 
 ( )n their Shepherd they depend for every 
 thing. In him they have strong confidence, 
 great boldness in the Lord. Yet they 
 are far removed from self-confidence. They 
 plead no merits of their own, but plead their 
 title to membership in his flock. Hear them 
 of old: "We thy people and sheep of thy 
 ire** Ps. 70 : 13. ".Oh come, 'let us 
 worship and bow down : let oa kneel before 
 
 Bock of felva. 17 
 
386 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the Lord our maker. For he is our God ; and 
 we are the . people of his pasture, and the 
 sheep of his hand." Ps. 95 : 6, 7. Other 
 places show how these timid ones come with 
 boldness even to the throne of grace. 
 
 IY. But what are the marks which Christ 
 puts on his sheep? These are much hidden 
 from the eye of unregenerate men. Even 
 the chief Shepherd was not known by the 
 wise and prudent of his day; much less do 
 such men see the image of God on the hearts 
 of his people. Like their Master, they are 
 often esteemed impostors, babblers, blasphe- 
 mers, madmen, possessed of devils. But still 
 they have, their marks. 
 
 1. A sheep is gentle and quiet. It is not for 
 war. A meek and quiet spirit is in the sight 
 of God of great price. The difference between 
 a saint and a sinner is the difference between 
 a sheep and a goat, sometimes between a 
 sheep and a wolf. ; 'A sheep before her 
 shearers is dumb," though losing her fleece. 
 God's people have a law whose spirit they 
 love : " If any man will sue thee at the law, 
 and take away thy coat, let him have thy 
 cloak also." 
 
 2. A sheep is free from guile. A fox is 
 
CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 387 
 
 cunning and sly ; but sheep have no craft. 
 They are artless. Of each of Christ's flock it 
 may be said with more or less exactness, 
 "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no 
 guile." 
 
 3. Sheep are tractable and not heady. 
 From their nature they are governable. God 
 loves the obedient, not the complaining ; the 
 submissive, not the murmuring. 
 
 4. A sheep is of a cleanly nature. Its 
 habits are quite different from those of the 
 swine. We expect to see the sow in the mire. 
 She loves to be there. But if the sheep is 
 there, it is not willingly. God's people are 
 holy. If they were as holy as they desire, 
 fliey never would sin any more. 
 
 1 . All accounts of the Shepherd's life show 
 us that there is much intercourse between 
 him and his flock; and that as he loves them, 
 so they love him. This holds in a spiritual 
 sense. Here is a delightful theme. Christ 
 manifests himself to his people as he does not 
 to i In- world. Many a time does he come unto 
 them, and show them his covenant. Nor are 
 these manifestations of his grace and glory 
 lost upon them. Their souls learn to follow 
 
388 THE BOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 hard after him. They count all things bat 
 less for the excellency of his knowledge. 
 Consequently, the more intercourse between 
 Christ and his people, the better do they love 
 him. 
 
 2. Let us never forget that there is but 
 one Shepherd and but one fold. How careful 
 then ought we to be not to disown any whom 
 Christ has received. It is better, through 
 honest mistake, to receive him whom Christ 
 rejects, than through uncharitableness to reject 
 him whom Christ has received. How many 
 wicked partition walls are set up in the fold 
 of Christ! "Is Christ divided?" It is at 
 our peril if we wound where Christ would 
 heal. 
 
 3. Dear Christian brethren ! sheep of 
 Christ's pasture ! often seek the guidance of 
 your Leader. Go in quest of the green pas- 
 tures and the still waters. Cry mightily to 
 Grod. Ask him to lead you in paths of right- 
 eousness for his name's sake. Never lose 
 sight of the Redeemer. Constantly petition 
 him as did the spouse of old: "Tell me, 
 thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feed- 
 est, where thou makest thy flock to rest at 
 noon : for why should I be as one that turn- 
 
CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 389 
 
 eth aside by the flocks of thy companions V 1 
 Cant, 1 : 7/ 
 
 How sweet and awful is the place, with 
 Christ within the doors. It was communion 
 with the Redeemer before his incarnation that 
 made Jacob exclaim at Bethel, "This is none 
 other but the house of God and the gate of 
 heaven." 
 
 Blest Jesus ! What delicious fare. How 
 sweet thy entertainments are ! All must 
 come humbly to the mercy-seat. Set your 
 wants before the Lord as the widow set her 
 empty vessels before the prophet, and he will 
 supply them all ; yea, there shall not be 
 room enough to contain the blessing. A dear 
 young Christian mother expiring three thou- 
 sand miles from the Cape of Good Hope, in 
 the interior of Africa, sent to her mother and 
 sister in the capital of Virginia this message : 
 "I never have regretted coming to this land 
 of darkness. Heaven is as near to Mosika as 
 to Richmond." She then kissed her babe and 
 knl<' farewell to earth. So do his rod and 
 his staff comfort those who walk through the 
 valley of the shadow of death. 
 
 4. Here the sheep and the goats often 
 mingle together ; but it shall not be so always. 
 
390 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 The chief Shepherd will appear by-and-by, 
 "and before him shall be gathered all nations: 
 and he shall separate them one from another, 
 as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the 
 goats ; and he shall set the sheep on his right 
 hand, but the goats on the left. ,; Matt. 25 :32, 
 33. Solemn indeed will be that day. Final 
 and fearful will be its separations. Nothing 
 but that which infinite purity and omniscient 
 rectitude shall approve will stand the test of 
 the last day. I ask not, Are you a rare Chris- 
 tian, but are you a real child of God ? You 
 may not be a splendid worshipper, but are you 
 sound at heart? What think you of Christ? 
 Is he all your desire and all your salvation ? 
 Do you mark his footsteps ? Do you exhibit 
 his temper ? Do you love his cause ? Do you 
 die unto the world ? Are you alive unto God ? 
 Be honest with yourself ; the day that is com- 
 ing will strip off every disguise. 
 
 "When thou, my righteous Judge, shalt come, 
 To take thy ransomed people home, 
 
 Shall I among them stand ? 
 Shall such a worthless worm as I, 
 Who sometimes am afraid to die, 
 
 Be found at thy right hand ?" 
 
CHRIST A PHYSICIAN. 391 
 
 CHAPTEK XXI. 
 
 CHRIST A PHYSICIAN. 
 
 Often in Scripture is sin spoken of as a 
 disease, a sickness, a hurt ; the plan of mercy 
 
 i remedy, a balm, a healing ; and God 
 and particularly Christ, as a Physician. Psa 
 38:7; Isa. 1:6; Jer. 8:21, 22; Hos. 5:13 
 Matt 4:23 ; 8 : 17 ; 9 : 12, 35 ; Mark 2 : 17 
 Luke 5 : 31. More just or striking figurative 
 language is nowhere found. Men's sins make 
 them sick. The only remedy is sovereign 
 grace. The Physician must be divine. 
 
 Let us look at the great doctrines of the 
 gospel under this figure: 
 
 I. Sin is a dreadful disease. Yea, it is 
 the very worst disease. It was the first, and 
 so is the oldest malady. It infected man very 
 soon after his creation. The devil was a mur- 
 derer from the beginning. John 8:44. For 
 aearly six thousand years sin has committed 
 its ravages and been gaining inveteracy. No 
 other disease is so old. 
 
 Bin is also a universal disease : " All have 
 
392 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION 
 
 sinned, and come short of the glory of God." 
 V There is none righteous, no, not one : there 
 is none that understandeth, there is none that 
 seeketh after God. They are all gone out of 
 the way." Eom. 3 : 10-12, 23. Other mala- 
 dies have slain their thousands ; this has slain 
 its tens of thousands. The whole world is a 
 graveyard, full of spiritual death and corrup- 
 tion. No mere man ever lived without sin. 
 As soon as we begin to act we begin to trans- 
 gress. 
 
 Not only is every man sick, but our whole 
 nature is diseased. "The understanding is 
 darkened ;" the memory is polluted ; the ima- 
 gination of the thoughts of the heart is only 
 evil continually ; the throat is an open sepul- 
 chre ; with their tongues men use deceit '; the 
 poison of asps is under their lips ; their mouth 
 is full of cursing and bitterness j their feet are 
 swift to shed blood. The heart is deceitful 
 above all things, and desperately wicked. 
 Their hands are full of bribes and of blood. 
 They love darkness rather than light. They 
 put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 
 They call the proud happy and the humble 
 miserable. They are utterly vain. Sin makes 
 men blind, and deaf, and dumb, and lame, and 
 
CHRIST A PHYSICIAN. 393 
 
 lethargic. It is a terrible complication of dis- 
 eases. It is a rottenness in the bones. It is 
 a maddening fever, a wasting consumption, a 
 paralysis of all the powers. Human nature is 
 wholly corrupt. "From the sole of the foot 
 even unto the head there is no soundness in 
 it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying 
 sores : they have not been closed, neither 
 bound up, neither mollified with ointment,'' 
 Isa. 1 : 6. 
 
 Sin is a perpetual disease. It rages day 
 and night, on the sea and on the land, in the 
 house of mirth and in the house of God. The 
 wicked "sleep not, except they have done 
 mischief." They devise mischief upon their 
 bed-. They "cannot cease from sin." Even 
 in sleep their dreams are vain or vile. Sin has 
 no rest. If for a season the evil spirit for- 
 sakes h\< house, it is only to bring with him 
 ii other spirits more wicked than himself; 
 and they enter in and "dwell there, and the 
 
 state of that man is worse than the first. 
 
 Sin is a hereditary disease: "By one 
 man's disobedience many were made sin- 
 ners." We are conceived in sin and brought 
 forth in iniquity. The child of a consumptive 
 may die of old age, i»nt tin* children of sinners 
 
 17* 
 
394 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. * 
 
 must be sinful. ' ' Who can bring a clean 
 thing out of an unclean V 
 
 Sin is also contagious. Sinners are enti- 
 cers, seducers, corrupters. Isa. 1 : 4. Many 
 are "factors for hell, studying to corrupt all 
 about them. 77 Men are often partakers of 
 each other 7 s sins. To the perpetual disgrace 
 of Jeroboam and Manasseh, it is said that they 
 "made Israel to sin. 77 Some men strongly 
 resemble the upas-tree, whose leaves and 
 bloom and shade blighted all within its reach. 
 
 Sin is also the most deceitful and flatter- 
 ing disease. One of its strong delusions is, 
 "Thou shalt not die. 77 Paracelsus tells us of 
 a disease " which made men die dancing. 77 So 
 with the wicked. When they cry, Peace and 
 safety, lo, sudden destruction cometh upon 
 them, and they shall not escape. See the 
 throng of ungodly men marching to perdition, 
 the slaves of Satan, the -servants of corrup- 
 tion, the enemies of God. Their mirth would 
 make an ignorant man think them the happiest 
 of mortals, and not, as they are, condemned 
 criminals, on their way to the eternal prison- 
 house of inflexible justice. Just as the fool 
 thought himself prepared for a long and merry 
 life, his soul was required of him. Sin has its 
 
CHRIST A PHYSICIAN. 395 
 
 hectic flushes, its unnatural excitements, its 
 delusive dreams, its strange ecstacics. The 
 worse a man is, the better he thinks himself 
 to be. 
 
 Sin is the worst disease, because it is the 
 parent of all other diseases. In Paul's argu- 
 ment, •death by sin" is an axiom. But for 
 sin, we should never have seen a human being 
 faint, or sicken, or die. Suffering and agony 
 have one parent — transgression. 
 
 Other diseases are calamities ; this is a 
 wickedness. Sin is not a misfortune ; it is a 
 crime. It is a wicked thing to be a sinner. 
 Transgression brings guilt. God is angry 
 with the wicked every day. The more sinful 
 any one is, Que more is G-od displeased with 
 him. • 
 
 Sin is the most loathsome of all diseases. 
 
 Pride ifl the worst kind of swelling. No heart 
 
 a hard heart. No vileness com«i 
 
 lilt an evil heart of* unbelief. No aighl 
 
 jo appalling as a sight of vile affections. 
 The physician of the body sees sights which 
 try his ; but he who has right views of 
 
 sin i- sickened and frightened at the discovery. 
 Ii ta horrible ami abominable to God and to 
 all riffht-minded creatures. 
 
396 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Sin is also the most dolorous disease. 
 They multiply their sorrows who hasten after 
 transgression. The most bitter cries that ever 
 were heard were extorted by sin. This is true 
 of saints and of sinners, of earth and of hell. 
 
 Other diseases do but kill the body ; this 
 kills soul and body in hell for ever. They 
 may pursue their victims to the grave ; but 
 " sin kills beyond the tomb." It will, if pos- 
 sible, rage more violently beyond the tomb 
 than on earth. It will be followed by eternal 
 regrets and reproaches, eternal weeping and 
 wailing, eternal wrath and anguish. 
 
 Nor can this disease be cured by any 
 means of human devising. If music did cure 
 the bite of the tarantula, the music of the an- 
 gelic choir, announcing the advent of Messias, 
 will not of itself heal any soul. Nay, the 
 melodies and harmonies of the skies, singing 
 the song of Moses and the Lamb, would not 
 save a soul. All reformations wrought by 
 persuasion and the natural will never cure the 
 heart. " If I wash myself with snow-water, and 
 make my hands never so clean ; yet shalt thou 
 plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes 
 shall abhor me." Job 9:30, 31. "I fast 
 twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I 
 
CHRIST A PHYSICIAN. 397 
 
 possess," said the Pharisee, while spiritual 
 wickedness reigned within. Herod heard 
 John gladly, and did many things, Mark 
 
 20, but he sinned on. Saul lifted up his 
 voice, and wept, and confessed his sin, but he 
 not turned from folly. Nor can any mor- 
 tal "redeem his brother, nor give to God a 
 ransom for him ; for the redemption of their 
 soul is precious." Psa. 49:7, 8. We may 
 
 >p and lament over our own sins or over 
 the sins of others, but that will neither de- 
 throne sin nor atone for it. God alone can 
 do that work. Though conversion is not a 
 miracle, as we now use that word, yet it is 
 wrought by the almighty power of God, as 
 truly as creation was the work of omnipotence. 
 
 II. THERE IS a KKMKDY FOR SIN. This 
 
 remedy is in Scripture sometimes called a 
 lical i nii-. sometimes a recovery, and sometimes 
 " the balm of Gilead." Let us carry out this 
 figure. The balm or balsam here alluded to 
 was an oily juice gathered from a tree about 
 fourteen feet in height. It chiefly grew in 
 G-ilead. We know that this balm was very 
 highly prized. It was famous as a remedy in 
 many lands. The Lshmaclites who bought 
 Joseph were going from (iilead to Egypt 
 
398 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 with, myrrh and spices and this balm. Gen. 
 37:25. When Jacob sent presents down to 
 Egypt, he forgot not to send balm. Gen. 
 43 : 11. Ezekiel informs us it was part of the 
 merchandise of Tyre. Ezek. 27 : 17. The 
 best quality of balm sold for double its weight 
 in silver. This celebrated medicine has long 
 been mentioned as the best cure. < Jeremiah 
 says of Egypt: " Go up into Gilead and take 
 balm; virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in 
 vain shalt thou use many medicines, for thou 
 shalt not be cured." Again, of Babylon he 
 says, she "is suddenly fallen and destroyed: 
 howl for her ; take balm for her pain, if so be 
 she may be healed." Jer. 46 : 11 ; 57 : 8. So 
 that the general import of the phrase is clear 
 and very striking. The remedy for sin, the gos- 
 pel balm of Grilead, is found in the work and 
 death of Christ. His blood cleanseth from all 
 sin. 1 John 1:7. With his stripes we are 
 healed. Isa. 53:5. His merits clothe our 
 nakedness. 
 
 1. By the blood and righteousness of Christ 
 we are justified. We have peace with God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the 
 Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the 
 world. He is all our salvation. The word 
 
CHRIST A PHYSICIAN. 399 
 
 Jehovah, commonly rendered Lord, is in Scrip- 
 ture variously combined with other words, 
 and always much to the strengthening of our 
 faith. Thus we have Jehovah -jireh, Gen. 
 
 22 : 14, the Lord will provide ; Jehovah-nissi, 
 Bxod. IT : 15, the Lord is my banner ; Jeho- 
 vah-shalom, Judg. 6 : 24, the Lord send peace ; 
 Jehovah-shammah, Ezek. 48 : 35, the Lord is 
 there ; Jehovah-rophi, Exod. 15 : 26, the Lord 
 that healeth thee ; and Jehovah-tsidkenu, Jer. 
 
 23 : 6, the Lord our righteousness. Which of 
 all these could believers spare from the teach- 
 ings of Scripture ? Not one. But among them 
 all. none are more precious than the two last 
 cited. Well do our translators put thai last 
 cited in capital letters. The types all fore- 
 told that Christ should bear our sins. The 
 prophecies did the same. Christ's death atones. 
 By his Bufferings we have remission, lie is 
 our ransom : and by his obedience we have 
 
 iptanoe, justifying righteousness, a right 
 to the tree of life. Our blood is nothing, our 
 ithing, our works arc nothing; all 
 usnesses are as filthy rags ; they 
 of no avail. The first effect, therefore, of 
 Christ's undertaking for as, is an effect exter- 
 na] to us. It changes the state of things at 
 
400 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the throne of God in reference to us. It rec- 
 onciles God to the offer and grant of saving 
 mercy to us sinners. It makes him willing 
 and just to take into his favor us poor miser- 
 able outcasts and rebels. Thus by what Christ 
 has done and suffered, all barriers to God's 
 merciful communications to sinners are re- 
 moved, and they are actually restored to the 
 Divine favor. Eternal Justice is no longer 
 against them, but for them. The sovereign 
 Lord makes them his sons, his heirs, and joint 
 heirs with his Son to an inheritance incor- 
 ruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. 
 2. The same Jesus who reconciles God to 
 sinners, reconciles sinners to God: Christ "is 
 made unto us sanctification." If human hearts 
 are ever overcome and brought sweetly to 
 comply with the demands of God's law, it will 
 be by looking on him that was pierced. When 
 the Eomans saw Caesar's bloody robes, they 
 said, "His murderers shall die." And when 
 by faith the sinner sees how his sins crucified 
 the Lord of life, he says he will mortify his 
 members, which are on the earth. 
 
 "Yes, my Redeemer, they shall die, 
 My heart has so decreed ; 
 Nor will I spare the guilty things, 
 That made my Saviour bleed." 
 
CHRIST A PHYSICIAN. 401 
 
 Nothing but the cross will melt a hard 
 heart, or bend a stubborn will, or give a 
 death-blow to corruption. A sight of hell 
 never frightened one out of the love of sin. 
 The thunders of Sinai never made a rebellious 
 heart submit to God. Pliny, the naturalist, 
 Sfcjrs that blood readily extinguishes fire. It 
 is sure that the blood of Christ not only 
 quenches the flaming wrath around the throne 
 of God, but it also extinguishes the fires of 
 unhallowed desires in the soul. It begets 
 hatred to sin, and love to holiness. In its 
 application this remedy is often painful. The 
 sinner is so accustomed to look to himself for 
 righteousness and holiness, that when God is 
 convincing him of his guilt and helplessness, 
 he often fears that all is for ever lost. He 
 supposes his exercises are but a foretaste of 
 the wrath to come. Even renewed men, hav- 
 ing a clear sight of their sins, are sometimes 
 sore vexed. Luther in desertion was so over- 
 come that he lay as one dead. But in all 
 !ti vrhere it is applied, the gospel remedy 
 overeign and efficacious. It availed for 
 the dying thief, for the bloody Saul of Tarsus, 
 for the cruel jailor, and for millions on millions 
 who once esteemed themselves as vile and as 
 
402 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 worthy of everlasting death as any of us can 
 possibly esteem himself. Christ came to save 
 the chief of sinners, and if he failed in that, 
 the whole object of his mission would not be 
 attained. 
 
 III. There is a great and good physi- 
 cian. His name is Wonderful, Counsellor, 
 The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The 
 Prince of peace, Jesus Christ the Righteous. 
 He is the Physician of souls. None but he 
 can cure a sin-sick soul. 
 
 He is a very tender Physician. He can 
 be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. 
 He was once hit by the archers himself. His 
 compassions are without a parallel. The 
 bruised reed he will not break j the smoking 
 flax he will not quench. He died for his 
 patients. His strength was dried up like a 
 potsherd, that we might be strong in the Lord. 
 His heart was melted in him like wax, that 
 ours might be melted in penitence. By his 
 stripes we are healed. He knows what temp- 
 tation and sorrow mean. He is the most 
 approachable being that ever walked the 
 earth 
 
 He will go wherever he is asked. He will 
 go among rich or poor, old or young, captives 
 
CHRIST A PHYSICIAN. 403 
 
 or captors, if they really desire him. Never 
 did he refuse to heal a sin-sick soul submitted 
 to him. From the days of righteous Abel 
 unt'il now, he has graciously received every 
 returning penitent. I was once asked, What 
 is the most consolatory text in the Bible ? I 
 have never been able to answer the question, 
 but I know of none sweeter than this: "Jesus 
 Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and 
 for ever." The Lord Jesus is still as ready to 
 save as when he called Zaccheus, poured his 
 mercies on the dying thief, or granted the 
 request of the Canaanitish woman. 
 
 Then he is always at hand. He is omni- 
 present. We need not wait a long time for 
 him to come. He is a present help in time of 
 trouble. Rom. 10:6-10. 
 
 He makes no charge for all his cures. He 
 prac ithout money, without price. He 
 
 utterly contemns all sordid proposals. The 
 full soul he sends empty away, but he fills the 
 tangly with good things, and gives grace to 
 the humble. Grace is poured into his lips; 
 the oil of grace is poured into every bleeding 
 heart 
 
 He seems most ready to go where he is 
 most needed. When he sent forth his a] 
 
404: THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 ties to preach, he told them to begin at Jeru- 
 salem — to begin with his murderers — those 
 who had taunted him, mocked him, and cruci- 
 fied him, crying, " His blood be on us and 
 on our children." He knows that the whole 
 need not a physician, but they that are sick. 
 
 And well does he love his work. Nothing 
 could balk his purpose. Having loved his 
 own, he loved them to the end. His heart is 
 set upon saving sinners, so as it is set upon 
 nothing else. He delights in his work. He 
 sees the travail of his soul, and is satisfied. 
 His people are his crown. His redeemed are 
 his diadem. 
 
 He is vastly skilful. He knows what is 
 in man. He understands all the difficult and 
 stubborn cases. His wisdom is more than 
 equal to any demands we can make upon it. 
 He has the tongue of the learned, that he 
 should. know how to speak a word in season 
 to him that is weary. He knows the enor- 
 mity of sin, the dreadful burden it brings 
 upon the conscience, and its fearful obstinacy. 
 He knows our- frame and remembers that we 
 are dust. 
 
 Never has he failed in any case that he 
 undertook. One of his names is, Mighty to 
 
CHKIST A PHYSICIAN. 405 
 
 save. Manaraeh and Paul and Bunyan are as 
 holy and as liappy as if sin had never defiled 
 their souls. Whosoever believeth in him shall 
 not perish, but have eternal life. Where sin 
 abounded, grace hath much more abounded. 
 
 He is a famous Physician. His whole 
 undertaking has been "to the intent that now 
 unto the principalities and powers in heavenly 
 places might be known by the church the man- 
 ifold wisdom of God, according to" the eternal 
 purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our 
 Lord." Eph. 3 :10, 11. So famous is he that 
 his name is above every name that is named 
 in heaven and in earth. All heaven thinks 
 itself well employed in singing, "Worthy is 
 the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, 
 and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and 
 honor, and glory, and blessing." 
 
 He will take his own time, use his own 
 pleasure, and employ his own methods respect- 
 ing the cure. He will have his own way or 
 he will not do any thing. He knows that his 
 way is best. He admits no counsellor to teach 
 him. The wisdom of creatures is folly. 
 
 Bis prescriptions are useless unless we 
 con tide in him implicitly. The whole efficacy 
 of his remedies depends on our confidence in 
 
406 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 him. "According to your faith, be it unto 
 you," is still the rule of distribution and 
 admeasurement in his kingdom. 
 
 And now, poor, sin-sick, dying soul, repair 
 to this Physician, submit your case to him, and 
 seek for the healing remedy. If you stay 
 away, you must die. " The wages of sin is 
 death." There is balm in Gilead, and a Phy- 
 sician there. Why then is not your health 
 recovered? Nothing but your unbelief hin- 
 ders you from being a sharer in the infinite 
 mercies of G-od. come, and welcome to all 
 the blessings of salvation. 
 
THE GENTLENESS OF CHRIST. 407 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE GENTLENESS OF CHRIST. 
 
 The wants of men are such that any suita- 
 ble relief brought to them must be marked by 
 great kindness and gentleness. The wicked 
 are often rough and boisterous. Towards God 
 their conduct is insolent. They care not for a 
 Redeemer. With the heirs of salvation it is 
 different. They feel themselves to be feeble. 
 They are grieved in spirit. They are often 
 faint-hearted. They are poor and timid. A 
 sense of sin bows them down. A sense of weak- 
 ness destroys their self-confidence. Their 
 boldness does not diminish their humility. 
 Their confidence consists with contrition. 
 Their adversaries are many, mighty, and ma- 
 lignant Their understanding of divine things 
 
 !ten imperfect. The best of them have no 
 confidence in the flesh. 
 
 Some of God's dear people are born with 
 great weakness of intellect, which is not re- 
 lieved either by education or by grace. They 
 never take clear and strong views of any sub- 
 ject. They live and die children in under- 
 
408 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 standing. They are often perplexed by things 
 which are plain to others. Eegeneration does 
 not give new faculties, but a right direction 
 to those we have. 
 
 Sometimes disease or a casualty shatters 
 the nervous system, and for life renders one 
 incapable of vigorous exercise of mind or res- 
 olute purposes of heart. Divine grace does 
 not restore health to the sickly, though it 
 gives sweet submission in suffering. Many 
 have a morbid tendency to dark views of 
 their spiritual state. Nor have they learned 
 to discriminate between exercises of mind 
 which are the result of natural causes and 
 those produced by religious truth. 
 
 Wrong teaching, especially in the earlier 
 stages of religious experience, often sadly 
 affects character. The truths of Scripture 
 are presented out of proportion. The solemn 
 and the terrible, the awful and the gloomy, 
 sometimes take the place of the mild and gentle, 
 the bright and cheering. Even in true piety 
 there is often a sad mixture of superstition. 
 
 In some good men there is such a tendency 
 to levity and inconstancy, that the Saviour 
 sees it necessary often to make them smart 
 for their transgressions, and to humble them 
 
THE GENTLENESS OF CHJIIST. 409 
 
 in the dust. The terrors of the law are let 
 loose upon them. The arrows of the Almighty 
 stick fast in them. Some who now, by Divine 
 grace, have a well-regulated temper, once had 
 wild passions ; but they have been tamed by 
 severe discipline. Some of the most cheerful 
 Christians once had months or years of dejec- 
 tion of mind and sharp anguish of spirit to 
 cure their lightness and fickleness. 
 
 Besides, such are the infinite majesty and 
 glory of divine things, such the unhappy effects 
 of sin upon the mind, and such the unspeaka- 
 ble importance of salvation in the eyes of a 
 renewed sinner, that the strongest among the 
 saints often have the deepest sense of their 
 weakness, and those who have the clearest 
 views are the least satisfied with their attain- 
 ments. 
 
 Consequently, many in the church are de- 
 sponding, yet sincere. Their faith is weak, 
 though unfeigned. They have many fears 
 about themselves, while others have good 
 hopes of them. Though they walk in dark- 
 
 , they walk uprightly. W they do not go 
 forward like some, yet they do not go back- 
 ward. Their hearts cleave unto God. They 
 
 k to bis wav 
 
 18 
 
410 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 There is not a more interesting subject 
 than the treatment which Christ gives to the 
 timid and feeble among his people. 1. All 
 his people, at some time or other, have fears, 
 and are conscious of feebleness. Their weak- 
 ness and their leanness often constitute their 
 song. 2. Any provision for such compre- 
 hends also the necessities of the strong. 3. It 
 is delightful to the pious to know that their 
 weakest brethren shall be cared for and up- 
 held. 4. All sincere Christians love to con- 
 template the kindness of their Lord and Mas- 
 ter, to whomsoever manifested. 
 
 We dare not tell such that a dim view of 
 religious truth or a low state of religious en- 
 joyment is the best. There may be a neces- 
 sity for present distress, arising from some 
 defect of character. But all Christians should 
 seek for enlargement and establishment in 
 truth, holiness, and comfort. Even the most 
 perfect should be beckoned on to higher at- 
 tainments. 
 
 Nor should we abate aught of the require- 
 ments of Glod's word as a rule of life or of self- 
 examination. If God is merciful, he is also 
 holy. If he is condescending, he is also full of 
 majesty. Presumption is a great foe to grace. 
 
THE GEXTLENESSIOF CHRIST. 411 
 
 The great resources of God's people, 
 whether comparatively weak or strong, must 
 be found in the character, the covenant, and 
 the grace of the Kedeemer. In a review of 
 their lives, the Lord's people ascribe their tri- 
 umphs to no other cause. Like David, each 
 of them says, " Thy gentleness hath made me 
 great." 2 Sam. 22:36: Psa. 18:35. 
 
 1. The character of Christ, as given us 
 both in prophecy and in history, is full of en- 
 couragement to all his people, even the fee- 
 blest. Thus said the evangelical .prophet : 
 "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his 
 voice to be heard in the street. A bruised 
 reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax 
 shall he not quench : he shall bring forth judg- 
 ment unto truth." Isa. 42:2, 3. Nothing in 
 all the Scriptures is said contrary to this pre- 
 diction. Our Lord's whole life upon earth 
 was an illustration of its verity. In his right- 
 eous indignation, he has trodden blaspheming 
 tyrants to hell ; but never did he trample 
 on a broken heart. Human ingenuity has 
 never yet suggested any thing expressive of 
 kindness which he might have said or done, 
 that lie did not say or do, or something more 
 loving. The shortest, but by no means the 
 
412 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 least instructive verse in his history is, "Je- 
 sus wept." This was at the grave of his friend 
 Lazarus. At his last celebration of the pass- 
 over, he laid himself out to say the tenderest 
 and most consolatory things to his mourning 
 disciples. In his agony, he apologized for 
 their drowsiness. To erring Peter he sends 
 a personal message to meet him in Galilee. 
 He bids unbelieving Thomas come and thrust 
 his hand into his side, that he might no longer 
 doubt. Often did he invite poor sinners to 
 partake of the blessings of his salvation: 
 " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 77 After 
 his ascension to heaven, when one of his fol- 
 lowers was pierced by a thorn in the flesh, 
 and terribly buffeted by Satan, he made this 
 consolatory revelation: "My grace is suffi- 
 cient for thee. 77 
 
 2. The covenant, of which Christ is the 
 surety and the head, abounds in provisions 
 and promises made to the trembling and the 
 feeble: "As thy days, so shall thy strength 
 be; 77 "He that is feeble among them at that 
 day shall be as David ; and the house of 
 David shall be as God, as the angel of the 
 Lord; 77 "He giveth power to the faint; and 
 
• 
 
 THE GENTLENESS OF CHEIST. 413 
 
 to th cm that have no might he increase th 
 strength;" u Comfort ye, comfort ye my peo- 
 ple, saith your God." These are mere sam- 
 ples of engagements made before the coming 
 of Messiah. In the New Testament they are 
 confirmed. Speaking of " him that is weak in 
 the faith," Paul says: " He shall be holden 
 up, for God is able to make him stand." Like 
 promises abound in the gospels and in the 
 epistles. The very last book of Scripture is 
 full of the kindest things spoken to sincere 
 believers. All these promises are yea and 
 amen in Christ. Study them. Let them 
 dwell in you richly. 
 
 3. In some stage of their experience all 
 Christians have their fears and weaknesses. 
 We must be babes before we are men. We 
 must crawl before we can walk, and walk 
 before we can run. The very best things 
 come from small beginnings. The greatest 
 rivers at their head are but little rills. The 
 greatest oaks come from acorns no larger 
 than a thimble. The greatest families and 
 kingdoms had humble beginnings. The king- 
 dom of heaven in the heart is like a grain 
 of mustard-seed, which is the smallest of all 
 geds. Despise not the day of small things. 
 
414 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 We must take root downwards, and then bear 
 fruit upwards. The finest picture on earth, 
 when only the outlines were drawn, was a 
 poor thing ; not till it was finished was it fair 
 to pronounce judgment upon it. 
 
 4. Some humble child of God may say, " I 
 have made but poor progress ; I am more and 
 more out of conceit of myself. I have sore 
 troubles, fears within, and fightings without." 
 Let such remember, 1. Whatever makes us 
 lowly is good for us. Humility is the most 
 excellent of graces. Without it there is no 
 real progress heavenward. 2. Paul speaks of 
 it as the common experience of Christians in 
 his day that they were sorely troubled: "We 
 know not what we should pray for as we 
 ought." We are not sufficient, as of ourselves, 
 to think any thing. "0 wretched man that 
 I am, who shall deliver me from the body of 
 this death?" Your troubles are not greater 
 than these. 3. G-od's plan is that our sancti- 
 fication ordinarily should not be begun and 
 finished in a day, as was that of the thief on 
 the cross. Nature and grace are like the 
 house of Saul and the house of David. The 
 contest between them is long and deadly ; but 
 the house of Saul waxes weaker and weaker, 
 
THE GENTLENESS OF CHRIST. 415 
 
 and that of David stronger and stronger, 
 finally getting full dominion. 4. It is a pre- 
 cious token of God's regard to us that he so 
 deals with us as to destroy our carnal security, 
 mortify our pride, make us loathe and abhor 
 ourselves, and yet gives us a relish for spir- 
 itual enjoyments, and leads us to seek them 
 above all other things. 
 
 5. He is a real Christian and is making 
 progress, to whom Christ is more and more 
 precious. As our estimate of him rises, our 
 estimate of ourselves necessarily becomes 
 lower. To believers Christ is every thing. 
 He is all their salvation. But for the birth 
 of Christ in Bethlehem, that would have been 
 one of the least celebrated of all towns. But 
 for liis residence in Nazareth, the proverb 
 might still have been true of it. But for his 
 visit to the second temple, its glory would 
 have remained every way inferior to that of 
 the first. Christ dignifies every thing with 
 which he is connected. Union with him is 
 life from the dead. If we are guilty, he has 
 stoned; if we are vile, he is worthy; if we 
 
 naught, he is all in all.. And then he is 
 so gracious to the needy and guilty and faint 
 and trembling. See how he reasons with the 
 
416 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 desponding disciples on the way to Emmaus. 
 During his ministry he granted great blessings 
 even to those who approached him doubting 
 and saying, "If thou wilt," or, "If thou canst." 
 When the poor afflicted woman thought to steal 
 a blessing from him and escape his notice, he 
 stopped her, but only to deal kindly with her. 
 Christ never puts new wine into old bottles. 
 Some men begin their ministry with denun- 
 ciations and threatenings of the law ; but from 
 the first Christ pronounced blessings on the 
 humble. The very last words in the Bible 
 are : " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be 
 with you all. Amen." There are heights, 
 and depths, and lengths, and breadths of 
 mercy in Christ beyond all human necessities, 
 miseries, and sins. To be in Christ is heaven 
 begun. To be with Christ and like Christ is 
 heaven completed. His mercies are shore- 
 less, fathomless, eternal, unchangeable. He 
 has helped myriads to glory who were as weak> 
 as unworthy, as desponding as any of us. 
 
 6. To his sincere followers Christ has a 
 tender regard at all times and in all trials. 
 His kind providence over them is constant, 
 wise, and wonderful. With them every thing 
 has a good issue. With them all is for the 
 
THE GENTLENESS OF CHBIST. 417 
 
 best. Every thing helps on the saints to 
 glory. To the deeply afflicted, the Saviour 
 gays: "As many as I love, I rebuke and 
 chasten ;" "wherefore lift up the hands which 
 hang down, and the feeble knees." Your 
 brethren may cast you out under pretence of 
 glorifying God ; but he shall appear to your 
 joy, and they shall be ashamed. Isa. 66 : 5. 
 
 7. Christ surely includes the case of even 
 the feeblest and most desponding of his peo- 
 ple when he speaks of them as his little ones. 
 He will certainly avenge the wrongs of such. 
 He regards them as the apple of his eye. He 
 knows their sins, and errors, and follies, but 
 he loves them still and tenderly. They may 
 be babes and sucklings, yet out of their mouth 
 he will ordain praise. Their weakness affords 
 him a welcome opportunity to show pity and 
 condescension. His are the compassions of a 
 God. He is the express image of his Father, 
 and his spirit is as loving as the Father's to 
 the Son. 
 
 8. In his word Christ fully authorizes us 
 to persuade all his people, even the humblest, 
 to look at the quality rather than the quantity 
 of their attainments. The stronger our graces 
 the better. Christian character cannot be too 
 
 18* 
 
418 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 vigorous. Nor should any sit down contented 
 with small acquirements. But any real grace 
 is a token for good. A shilling may be as good 
 money as a pound. A dew-drop is as truly 
 water as the ocean. A spark has the nature 
 of fire no less than the glowings of a furnace. 
 Kind is one thing ; degree is another. To 
 doubt the genuineness of our faith because 
 we have not full assurance is not wise. He 
 to whom Christ is precious, to whom the word 
 of God is sweeter than honey, to whom sin is 
 odious, to whom secret devotion is a delight, 
 who makes it the business of his life to honor 
 his Master, and who regards the world as a 
 broken idol, has the witness that he is passed 
 from death unto life. " It is safer to be hum- 
 ble with one talent than proud with ten • yea, 
 better to be a humble worm than a proud 
 angel."* "He that is contented with just 
 grace enough to get to heaven and escape 
 hell, and desires no more, may be sure he 
 has none at all, and is far from being made 
 partaker of the divine nature. "f 
 
 9. If the trembling and feeble would have 
 the full comfort of Christ's salvation, let them 
 do his will. In keeping the commandments 
 
 * Flavel. t Janeway. 
 
THE GENTLENESS OF CHRIST. 419 
 
 there is great reward. "If ye know these 
 things, happy arc ye if ye do them." When- 
 ever we wander from the path of duty, we 
 weaken our principles and wound our con- 
 sciences. Let us carefully guard against cen- 
 sor iousness and severity of judgment. Let us 
 forgive, as we hope to be forgiven. Let us 
 love others as Christ has loved us. Let us 
 wait upon the Lord in all his ordinances. If 
 Paul could not do what he would, he would 
 yet do what he could. "Prayer and pains, 
 through faith that is in Christ Jesus, can do 
 all things," says Eliot. No man ever sin- 
 cerely did what he honestly believed to be 
 his duty, and then solely relied on the infinite 
 mercy of God in Christ, and yet came short of 
 heaven. But wo must obey as well as trust. 
 W< i must do the will of God, as well as hope 
 in liis mercy. "Blessed are they that do his 
 commandments, that they may have right to 
 th<' tree of life, and may enter in through the 
 
 - into the city." 
 
 in. It would greatly comfort all God's 
 people, if they would rely more upon the 
 proi vciiaiit, and oath of God, ami less 
 
 on their own frames of mind and heart. Our 
 feeling! vary with a thousand influences; but 
 
420 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the covenant of G-od is sure and unchangea- 
 ble. " If we believe not, yet he abideth faith- 
 ful : he cannot deny himself." The life of the 
 believer is hid with Christ in God. He is 
 like mount Zion, which cannot be moved. But 
 how variable are his feelings ; how easily 
 discouraged is his heart. If left to himself, 
 he must fail. But Jesus never changes. His 
 mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon 
 them that fear him and keep his covenant. 
 He pities like a God. He pours water upon 
 him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry 
 ground. 
 
 11. Let all believers remember that they 
 are not forbidden the nearest access to Grod. 
 The covenant is as sure to the trembling and 
 feeble as to any others. Christ's power is 
 made perfect in man's weakness. If he ac- 
 cepted and saved none but the strong and res- 
 olute and unwavering, who would be saved? 
 Did ever a good husband neglect a wife be- 
 cause she t was weak and timid ? and is not 
 Christ the husband of all that put their trust 
 in him ? He says : ' ' For a small moment 
 have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies 
 will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my 
 face from thee for a moment ; but with ever- 
 
THE GENTLENESS OF CHKIST. 421 
 
 lasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, 
 saitli the Lord thy Redeemer." Jehovah, he 
 is God. Let his people shout for joy. Let 
 his ministers speak a word in season to him 
 that is weary. Let all the saints comfort the 
 feeble-minded. Let despondent, yet sincere 
 believers, hope in God, for their redemption 
 draweth nigh. 
 
422 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIII. 
 
 CHRIST SHALL YET HAVE A GLOEIOUS 
 REWARD. 
 
 There is a general impression among 
 Christians that true religion will yet pervade 
 the earth. There is a difference among some 
 good people as to the manner in which this 
 work will be accomplished ; but all agree as 
 to the fact. Neither do we know the time 
 when the inconceivable blessings of the gospel 
 shall be made known to all men. ' ' In giving 
 us prophecies, Grod did not intend to make 
 prophets of us." Yet we may modestly in- 
 quire what and what manner of time the 
 Spirit of Christ did signify, when he foretold 
 the latter-day glory. Much prophecy is yet 
 to be fulfilled, and some prophecies are now 
 in course of actual fulfilment. 
 
 . I. Let us take a brief view of the pres- 
 ent MORAL STATE OF THE WORLD. It is adlllit- 
 
 | ted that appearances are often dark ; and that 
 the aspect of the world is discouraging. 
 
 Now and then Atheism proclaims its tenets, 
 is confident that mankind are superstitious in 
 their worship of Jehovah, makes its disciples of 
 
CHRIST'S GLORIOUS REWARD. 423 
 
 the drunkard, the licentious, the prostitute, and 
 the blasphemer, and once in a while threatens 
 a terrific eruption of its scalding lava on the 
 nice of society. Its latest form of develop- 
 ment is in a wretched Pantheism. 
 
 Infidelity still uses great swelling words 
 of vanity, makes hard and ungodly speeches 
 respecting Jehovah and his saints, often spews 
 out its venom against all that is pure and 
 holy, asserts the sufficiency of human reason 
 as a guide to heaven, betakes itself to the 
 caves of sorcery, and can boast of nothing 
 better than a death without hope, and a grave 
 without a resurrection. 
 
 Gentilism still boasts her myriads of altars, 
 purple with human gore and smoking with 
 abominable incense. What heathenism once 
 was, it still is. The pencil of inspiration lias 
 drawn a perfect portrait of it, Rom. 1 : 21-32. 
 For marly six thousand years the pagan 
 world has been seeking an image of the invis- 
 ible God, and the summit of its aspirings still 
 
 ohes no higher than the sun, or moon, or 
 
 ra, or devils, or crocodiles, or peacocks, or 
 
 aerpents, or images of gold, silver, wood, or 
 
 morals never meucL Dnder i(s 
 
 saiKlioii- every precept of the decalogue is 
 
424 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 broken publicly and privately, ritually and 
 legally. No marvel that when Satan is wor- 
 shipped there should be found habitations of 
 cruelty. No nation without God's word has 
 in its language any term expressing what 
 Christians mean by sanctification. Corrup- 
 tion is and ever has been the alpha and the 
 omega of G-entilism. One of the greatest ben- 
 efits derived from reading the early Christian 
 fathers is the insight thus obtained into the 
 abominations from which the gospel saved us. 
 All that is stupid in the ass, silly in the dove, 
 filthy in the swine, fierce in wild beasts, and 
 venomous in serpents, is fitly ascribed to hea- 
 thenism. 
 
 Although just now somewhat shorn of his 
 power to persecute, the prophet of Mecca still 
 practises his sorceries, maddens the passions 
 of men, holds the cup of carnal delight to the 
 lips of his besotted worshippers, and endeav- 
 ors to light up the horrors of the grave by 
 pointing to a Paradise of sin. 
 
 Notwithstanding all that has been done in 
 blessing and in cursing, in fulfilling prophecy, 
 and in setting up Messiah's kingdom, Juda- 
 ism is still intrenched behind Targums, Para- 
 phrasts, an oral law, endless traditions, and 
 
CHRIST'S GLORIOUS REWARD. 425 
 
 the most inveterate prejudices and enmity 
 against the truth. Thus it is with things 
 claiming no connection whatever with Chris- 
 tianity. When we come to nations profes- 
 sedly accepting the gospel, there is still much 
 to dishearten. 
 
 The Oriental church still adheres to her 
 ignorant priesthood, her sacraments of human 
 invention, her apostolic supremacy, and her 
 nearness to Messiah's sepulchre ; but knows 
 not that she is poor, and miserable, and blind, 
 and naked, far from Christ's precepts, far from 
 his example, far from, his doctrines. In the 
 pride of her apostolicity she renounces every 
 distinctive truth taught by apostles. 
 
 She, that has made the kings, merchants, 
 and dwellers on earth drunk with the wine of 
 her fornications, holds forth other goblets to 
 the nations, saying: "I have perfumed my 
 bed with myTrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, 
 let us take our fill." Follow her footsteps to 
 any region of the world, and you find that 
 11 the doctrine of the cross is least understood 
 where crosses most abound." The lamp of 
 God's Word is put under a bushel, waxen 
 tapeie are substituted, and darkness becomes 
 visible. 
 
426 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Universalism still teaches -that the wheat 
 and the tares shall both be gathered into the 
 garner, that the sheep and the goats shall be 
 for ever in the same fold, that hell is a fiction, 
 and damnation a chimera. 
 
 Pelagianism is not dead. It does not even 
 sleep, but still preaches human ability, and 
 boasts of the ease with which the Ethiopian 
 can change his skin, and the leopard his spots. 
 It boldly calls evil good, and bitter sweet. It 
 denies the need of efficacious grace. 
 
 In its grossness Socinianism still talks 
 about a created God, <ind speaks loudly in 
 praise of virtue, though its rules and motives 
 for a pious life are no better than those of 
 Epictetus. 
 
 Unitarianism tells of the magnificent Jesus, 
 philosophizes into thin air the vital doctrines 
 of the gospel, emblematizes the blood ol 
 Christ, and raises its hideous voice against a 
 vicarious atonement. 
 
 Arianism soars to its usual adventurous 
 heights, and speaks of a grade above finite 
 and below infinite. It discusses divinity as 
 though by searching it could find out the 
 Almigjity to perfection. 
 
 Then, too, we meet fanaticism, presenting 
 
CHRIST'S GLORIOUS REWARD. 427 
 
 us a congeries of wild speculation, silly pur- 
 pose and vicious practice. Break up its nest 
 among the lawless, and presently you shall 
 hear of it among the orthodox pretending to 
 aid in a revival of religion. 
 
 And Antinomianism — that horror of all 
 good men — still flourishes in many places. It 
 boldly marches up to the cross of Christ, and 
 from his precious blood draws arguments for 
 living in sin.* By its want of good fruit ye 
 shall know it. 
 
 Besides, a low state of piety paralyzes 
 half the limbs of the body of Christ. Cold 
 and selfish, many never aim high. A low 
 estimate of evangelical doctrine makes many 
 indifferent to the teachings of Christ himself. 
 Often t<><) do we hear unpleasant whisperings 
 and bnzzings in the camp of Israel. Some act 
 ii- if they would rather make a proselyte from 
 church than a convert to Christ who 
 would not follow with them. The standard 
 of Christian manners and morals is low. 
 Doubts of personal piety aillict many of 
 Christ's professed followers. Sadly is the 
 Christian profession compromised. Covetous- 
 h;is fearful power. The lust of the flesh, 
 the lust of the eye, and the pride of life ter- 
 
428 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 ribly prevail. Fashion is the Juggernaut of 
 Christendom. Christ and Belial are invited 
 to the same feast. The Sabbath is in danger 
 of being buried under railroads. Blasphemy 
 vomits forth her poison. The church is a vas- 
 sal often ingloriously chained to the car of 
 state. The seed of the bondwoman lords it 
 over the seed of the free woman. Tyranny, 
 like the owl, loves darkness, and binds the 
 masses in chains of ignorance.* Often the 
 shaking of the nations makes the loops of 
 society fall from their ancient fastenings and 
 introduces wild lawlessness. Yet there is no 
 room for despair. 
 
 II. Let us consider some of the encour- 
 agements TO HOPE FOR THE WIDE SPREAD OF 
 
 truth and righteousness. The promises of 
 God and the prophecies of Scripture, like the 
 udders of well-fed kine, are well distended and 
 full of fatness. " All the promises do travail." 
 Sixteen hundred and eighty-nine years before 
 the Christian era, Jacob says, ' ■ Unto Shiloh 
 shall the gathering of the people be." G-en. 
 49 : 1 0. Six hundred and sixty-six years later, 
 the prophet David speaking in -the name of 
 God to Messiah, says : "Ask of me and I shall 
 give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, 
 
CHRIST'S GLORIOUS REWARD. 429 
 
 and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy 
 possession. " Ps. 2:8. Three hundred and 
 eleven years later, by Isaiah, Jehovah says : 
 "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, 
 he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very 
 high. ... He shall see his seed; he shall pro- 
 long his days. ... He shall see of the travail 
 of his soul, and shall be satisfied." Isa. 52 : 13 j 
 53 : 10, 11. A hundred and fifty-seven years 
 later, the great prophet of the captivity says : 
 "I saw in the night visions, and behold, 
 one like the Son of man came with the clouds 
 of heaven, and came to the Ancient of da}^s, 
 and they brought him near before him. And 
 there was given him dominion, and glory, and 
 a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lan- 
 guages should serve him: his dominion is an 
 everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
 away, and his kingdom that which shall not 
 be destroyed." Dan. 7 : 13, 14. In this pas- 
 . by the " Son of man" we are clearly to 
 understand the incarnate Saviour ; and by 
 "the Ancient of days" the everlasting God, 
 ted on (he throne of the universe. The 
 coming of the Son of man with the clouds of 
 heaven wafi liis ascension to the right hand of 
 God. This prediction was to begin to be ful- 
 
430 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 filled after the establishment of the Boman 
 empire, spoken of in the same chapter as 
 the fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and 
 strong exceedingly, having great iron teeth, 
 devouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping 
 the residue with the feet of it, diverse from all 
 the other beasts that were before it, and hav- 
 ing ten horns, ver. 7. The terms "dominion, 
 glory, and a kingdom,' 7 denote the extent, 
 grandeur, and permanency of the possession 
 purchased by Christ, and secured to him by 
 covenant. What Daniel therefore saw was, 
 "that in the vigor of the Eoman empire Jesus 
 Christ ascended to his God and Father, the 
 Ancient/>f days, and took his seat at his right 
 hand, and received a title to and entered on 
 the possession of a kingdom, grand, glorious, 
 and permanent/"' Other Scriptures declare 
 that under the reign of Messiah "the earth 
 shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as 
 the waters cover the sea." " The light of the 
 moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the 
 light of the sun shall be sevenfold as the 
 light of seven days." Isa. 11 : 9 ; 30 : 26. With 
 these texts compare Ps. 22 : 27-31 ; 72 : 19 ; 
 Hab. 2:14; Zech. 14:9. These passages 
 clearly indicate a state of things not yet ful- 
 
CHRIST'S GLORIOUS REWARD. 431 
 
 filled in the history of the world. There is 1 
 no method of interpreting language so as to 
 confine these predictions to the past. Christ 
 has not yet had his reward in the gathering 
 of the nations. Great and glorious things 
 may properly be expected in behalf of Zion. 
 
 Xor are pleasing indications entirely 
 wanting. 
 
 The present mode of studying the Bible 
 in the original, so generally adopted by many 
 of God's ministers, is favorable to a clear 
 understanding of Scripture doctrine. It often 
 looks as if Providence was erecting machinery 
 that was to move the world. There is a bles- 
 sed sisterhood of institutions, cooperating for 
 the spread of the truth. All modern contro- 
 versies have been handled to the advantage of 
 sound Christianity. In no case has the enemy 
 gained any decided or permanent victory. 
 Modern Inventions are generally capable of 
 
 ig turned to good account. Commonly 
 they have had a good influence. Many great 
 political changes have favored freedom of in- 
 quiry, tin' reading of God's word, and a sense 
 of individual responsibility] 
 
 The general ordcrings of Providence in 
 this age have favored the church. Great 
 
432 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 success has attended many efforts to spread 
 the gospel, especially among the most de- 
 graded tribes of men. The hope of better 
 days powerfully animates the bosoms of many 
 throughout the world. What has been done 
 in the last seventy years is great compared with 
 what was done for the same time preceding ; 
 yet much remains to be done ; large portions 
 of the world are still sunk in gross darkness. 
 
 III. What can we do to promote the 
 cause op Christ? It should not discourage 
 us that we can do nothing efficiently. The 
 excellency of the power is of God. We may 
 plant and water, but God alone can give the 
 increase. This is, on many accounts, the best 
 arrangement. If we depend on God, we shall 
 not be disappointed. If he does the work, it 
 will be well done, and to him, without dis- 
 pute, will be all the glory. Yet we may do 
 much instrumentally . 
 
 We may keep ourselves and those under 
 our influence informed respecting the state of 
 the world. It is a great thing to know and to 
 make known how men are living in sin and 
 dying in despair, having a dismal eternity 
 before them, and their ruin being unneces- 
 sary, salvation having been provided, a min- 
 
CHEIST'S GLORIOUS REWAKD. 433 
 
 istry instituted, and a glorious gospel com- 
 manded to be preached. 
 
 We may cultivate an ardent love to the 
 souls of men. Oh that there were a thou- 
 sand times more of that godlike spirit which 
 Shaftsbury scornfully called a "rage for saving 
 souls." No man ever had too much love or 
 pity for those that were perishing under the 
 load of their guilt and in the horrors of their 
 depravity. It is easy to over-estimate wealth, 
 honor, station, but it is not possible to set too 
 high a value on the salvation of a soul by 
 Jesus Christ 
 
 We may all encourage, and should never 
 discourage, wise and practicable schemes of 
 
 ulness. Let us hinder nothing good. Let 
 us do all we can to cheer the hearts and 
 strengthen the hands of all faithful laborers, 
 even if they follow not with us. 
 
 Let us believe assuredly that all flesh shall 
 see the salvation of God, for the mouth of the 
 rd hath spoken it. The decree has gone 
 rth. Every knee shall bow, and every 
 tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to 
 the glory of God the Father.. The whole 
 work of evangelizing the world is a work 
 of faith. have faitli in Qod, 
 
 Bock of kla 19 
 
 sec 
 
 for 
 
4:34 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 In particular, have faith in Christ, in his 
 mediation, in his ability to execute all his offi- 
 ces. He ^as dominion over wicked men and 
 devils. "All power in heaven and earth is 
 given to" him. He saves, and he destroys. 
 He kills, and he makes alive. He has the 
 keys of death and of hell. He does all his 
 pleasure in all worlds. For the good of his 
 church he orders all things. He and his peo- 
 ple are so far one, that in all their affliction he is 
 afflicted, and in all his glory they rejoice. That 
 which, in Daniel 7:14, is said to be given to 
 Christ, is in the same chapter, verse 27, said 
 to be given to the saints of the Most High. 
 When Christ is glorified, his people shout for 
 joy. When they are glorified, they enter into 
 the joy of their Lord. 
 
 The desire to spread the gospel belongs to 
 the very spirit of piety. " Let him that hear- 
 eth say, Come." He who thinks he has es- 
 caped perdition, and has no desire to rescue 
 others from wrath, does not know his own 
 heart. He that is begotten of God loves his 
 fellow-men. He longs for their salvation. 
 
 God's people can pray for the reign of 
 grace over all the earth. Such supplications 
 are agreeable to the will of God. Psa. 122 : 6. 
 
CHRIST'S GLORIOUS REWARD. 435 
 
 The first three petitions of the Lord's prayer 
 embrace the same subject. There is too little 
 united, hearty calling on God. All the prog- 
 ress hitherto made in bringing men to a, saving 
 knowledge of the Redeemer has been in an- 
 swer to the fervent cries of the children of 
 God. There is nothing more powerful for 
 good than prayer. 
 
 Those who know somewhat the doleful case 
 of the heathen, ought to plead their cause be- 
 fore all Christian people. Mankind are slow 
 to believe how terribly the perishing nations 
 have multiplied their sorrows by hastening 
 after other gods than Jehovah. 
 
 Every member of the church should be 
 trained and urged to do his full share of 
 the great work. He should know his place, 
 and keep it. He should love to do what he 
 can for BO blessed a cause. 
 
 All the (lunches should be trained to lib- 
 erality in giving their worldly substance for 
 spreading the gospel. Systematic, benevo- 
 lence is loudly called for. We must learn to 
 carry our liberality to the extent of self-denial. 
 We niii-i remember the power of littles. The 
 d consists of the aggregation of drops. 
 
 Our young men must freely give them- 
 
436 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 selves to the work of the ministry at home 
 and abroad. Parents must cheerfully give 
 their sons to this service. It must come to 
 be, in popular esteem, an honor to serve the 
 Lord in any way his providence may permit. 
 Why is the ministry so lighty esteemed ? 
 Why do we so seldom find a Hannah, a Eu- 
 nice, or a Monica in the church of God? One 
 well-qualified, laborious minister of the gospel 
 is commonly far more useful than two men of 
 equal talents in any other calling. It is enough 
 to break the heart to see revival after revival 
 without a host of young men rising up to pub- 
 lish salvation. 
 
 There should be a much deeper tone of 
 piety in all the churches. Love is too cold. 
 Faith too often staggers. Eepentance sheds 
 too few tears. Joy has but few feasts. Pity 
 for the perishing too seldom stirs the soul 
 to its depths. Adoring views of God have 
 too little power over men's minds. Hope 
 is too feeble to impart much animation. " In 
 doing good," says Burke, "we are generally 
 cold, and languid, and sluggish, and of all 
 things, afraid of being too much in the right. 
 But the works of malice and injustice are quite 
 in another style. They are finished with a 
 
CHRIST'S GLORIOUS REWARD. 437 
 
 bold, masterly hand, touched as they are with 
 the spirit of those vehement passions that call 
 forth all our energies when we oppress and 
 persecute." Oh that ministers and people, 
 fathers and mothers, young men and maidens 
 loved as they should a dying world, and la- 
 bored as they ought to turn many to right- 
 eousness. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts ! The 
 whole earth is full of thy glory. Blessed be 
 the Lord for the precious things of heaven, 
 for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth 
 beneath, and for the precious fruits brought 
 forth by the sun, and for the precious things 
 put forth by the moon, and for the chief things 
 of the ancient mountains, and for the precious 
 things of the lasting hills, and for the precious 
 things of the earth, and the fulness thereof. 
 Still more would we bless thee for the good will 
 of Ilim that dwelt in the bush, and for thy 
 precious loving-kindness, and for the precious 
 seed of gospel truth, and for the precious prom- 
 and lor precious faith to believe thy word, 
 and for the precious sons of Zion, comparable 
 to fine gold, and for the precious death of thy 
 
438 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 saints, and for the precious name of Jesus, 
 which is as ointment poured forth, and for the 
 precious blood of the Son of God, through 
 whom we have redemption. 
 
 Look in mercy on this dark world. Ee- 
 member Zion. Make Joseph a fruitful bough, 
 whose branches run over the wall. Oh that 
 the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion. 
 Bring back the captivity of thy people, that 
 Jacob may rejoice and Israel be glad. Thou 
 hast set thy Son on thy holy hill of Zion. 
 Eighteousness is the girdle of his loins, and 
 faithfulness the girdle of his reins. Hasten 
 the time when the wolf shall dwell with the 
 lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the 
 kid, the calf and the young lion and the fat- 
 ling together, and a child shall lead them ; 
 and the cow and the bear shall feed, and their 
 young ones lie down together, and the suck- 
 ing child shall play on the hole of the asp, 
 and the nations shall learn war no more, and 
 thy ancient people the Jews and the fulness 
 of the G-entiles shall be brought in ; when the 
 kingdoms of the world shall become the king- 
 doms of the Lord and of his Christ ; when the 
 Lord shall call them his people which are not 
 now his people ; when the angel shall fly in 
 
CHRIST'S GLORIOUS REWARD. 439 
 
 the midst of heaven, having the everlasting 
 gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the 
 earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and 
 tongue, and people. 
 
 Lord God of hosts, cut short the work in 
 righteousness. Let the ploughman overtake 
 the reaper, and let a nation be born in a day. 
 
 "Fity the nations, O our God ; 
 Constrain the earth to come ; 
 Send thy victorious word abroad, 
 And bring the strangers home." 
 
 We are indeed asking great things, but we 
 do it at thy command. We ask no more than 
 thou hast promised to thy Son, and no more 
 than he has purchased by his most precious 
 blood, and no more than he himsQlf intercedes 
 for in heaven. Amen. 
 
440 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF CHEIST IS HID FEOM SOME. 
 
 "The beauty of Scripture, " says Luther, 
 " consists in pronouns." It is sweet to find 
 such Scriptures as these : "/am the Lord thy 
 God;' 7 "/ have called thee by thy name;" 
 "/am with thee; /will strengthen thee; 1 
 will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
 righteousness." 
 
 The heart delights in fastening its affec- 
 tions on spiritual things, and calling them its 
 own. This is laying hold on eternal life. 
 Thus the soul tastes and sees that the Lord 
 is gracious. "What could the saints do were 
 they never permitted to claim an interest in 
 heavenly things ? Wilkinson says : "All con- 
 solation in religion is connected with appro- 
 priation." Accordingly Job says, "I know 
 that my Eedeemer liveth." David: "Unto 
 thee will I cry, Lord my rock." In the 
 Canticles the church says, u My Beloved is 
 mine, and /am his." Thomas said, " My Lord 
 and my God." Paul says, "He loved me and 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDDEN. 441 
 
 gave himself for me;" "/know whom /have 
 believed." 
 
 Nor is there anything selfish or exclusive 
 in this appropriation. The saints delight to 
 have others joint partakers with them in the 
 infinite benefits of salvation. The psalmist 
 
 9 : " Lord our Lord, how excellent is 
 thy name in all the earth;" "The Lord of 
 hosts is with 119; the God of Jacob is our ref- 
 uge." John says, " Behold what manner of 
 love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that 
 we should be called the sons of God." In like 
 manner Christians commonly speak of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and of our brethren. If we 
 are believers, to us pertain the adoption, and 
 the glory, and the covenants, and the service 
 of God, and the promises. Paql saj's, " Who 
 shall separate us from the love of Christ?" 
 lie also saya that those that call on Jesus 
 Christ as Lord, own him as both theirs and 
 Be farther says to the Corinthians, 
 "We arc your rejoicing, even as ye also arc 
 in the day of the Lord Jesus." Jucto 
 
 akfl of the common salvation, that is, tin' 
 salvation in which all believers have a joint 
 
 interest, and arc made fellow-heirs. 
 
 So also Paul Bpeake of "our gospel," as 
 
 19* 
 
442 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 though he and his brethren were joint parta- 
 kers of its benefits, as well as unitedly con- 
 cerned to make it known. "If our gospel be 
 hid, it is hid to them that are lost." Yery awful 
 language is this, and the more so as the same 
 thing is taught in other Scriptures: "The 
 preaching of the cross is to them that perish 
 foolishness j" "Behold, ye despisers, and won- 
 der, and perish." 2 Cor. 4 : 3 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 18 ; 
 Acts 13 :41. Let us consider this solemn mat- 
 ter under the form of speech just cited : " If our 
 gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost/ 5 
 We may inquire — 
 
 I. LST WHAT SENSE THE GOSPEL IS NOT HID 
 FROM ANY OF US. 
 
 1. The gospel is not hid from any of us in 
 the same sense in which it is hid from the 
 brutes. These have no natural capacities 
 for understanding, receiving, or enjoying the 
 gospel under any culture, however wisely or 
 assiduously administered. The God who made 
 them has given them neither minds nor hearts 
 capable of grasping divine things. If their 
 natures were so elevated as to lay hold of the 
 gospel, they would no longer be brutes. With 
 men it is far different. Their original capa-. 
 city is such as to make it proper to address 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDDEN. 443 
 
 to them the gospel with all its doctrines, pre- 
 cepts, promises, requirements, and obligations. 
 No man, therefore, can now truly plead incom- 
 petence of nature as a justification for a course 
 of neglect or contempt towards the evangelical 
 
 -age. In this sense therefore the gospel 
 is not hid from any of us. 
 
 2. Neither is the gospel hid from us in the 
 sense in which truth is hid from unbalanced, 
 disordered, deranged minds. From the force 
 of his disease, the poor maniac connects ideas 
 and facts most remote from each other, and 
 groups together the most discordant assem- 
 blages of truth and fiction. He lays down 
 false premises, and makes lawful deductions ; 
 or he lays down true premises, but infers some- 
 thing foreign and unnatural. Incoherence of 
 thought is his disease, or flows directly from 
 it. But these things cannot be said of men in 
 general. In the human mind as it came from 
 the hands of God, there is nothing that would 
 lead it thus to wander. Men have Be 
 enough on all points on which an evil heart 
 no perverting tendency. There is not 
 found in the human soul any disease unfitting 
 it for receiving plain gospel truth, whem 
 it is rightly disposed. 
 
 
444 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 3. Neither is the gospel hid from us in the 
 sense in which the abstruse and difficult sci- 
 ences are hid from the majority of men. It 
 cannot be expected, it is not required, that 
 men generally should become skilled in all 
 the depths of mathematical or physiological 
 inquiry. These things must remain very 
 much confined to a few and hid from the 
 many. And the many may be wholly excu- 
 sable. But the gospel is a clear statement of 
 plain facts and doctrines of such a nature as 
 to require no profound argumentations, no bril- 
 liancy of wit, no scholastic acumen to know and 
 apprehend its great essential truths. Thou- 
 sands of unlettered men have understood its 
 sublime mysteries of justification and sanctifi- 
 cation by the blood and righteousness and 
 Spirit of Jesus. The gospel is so plain that 
 any right-minded person of common sense 
 and an honest heart may understand enough 
 of it to be saved by it. To such the Holy 
 Ghost is given to enlighten the mind, take the 
 veil from off the heart, and lift the soul up to 
 God. Our gospel, therefore, is not hid from 
 men in the sense in which the difficult sciences 
 are hid from the multitude. 
 
 4. Nor is it hid from us by any act of pro- 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDDEN. 445 
 
 hibition from God forbidding us to inquire 
 into its truths. There is no flaming sword 
 turning every way, and warning us not to 
 enter any book of Scripture. On the con- 
 trary, the Author of our religion says, "Search 
 the Scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have 
 eternal life, and they are they which testify of 
 me/' The great apostle to the Gentiles teaches 
 the same when he says, "Prove all things; 
 hold fast that which is good.' 7 It is a grand 
 error of the Eomish church to keep, contrary 
 to God's will, the Holy Scriptures from the 
 common people, thus taking away the key 
 of knowledge. God has purposes and plans 
 which lie has concealed from us, some of them 
 in part, and some of them wholly; but the 
 very object of a revelation was that we might 
 know his will. "Secret things belong onto 
 the* Lord our God: but those things which are 
 revealed belong unto us and to our children 
 for ever, that we may do all the words of this 
 law.'' They are God's gifl to us. Therefore 
 they are not hid from us by any divine pro- 
 hibition. 
 
 5. Nor is the gospel hid from was 
 
 from men who lived before the coining of 
 
 Christ. Now the types and shadows have 
 
446 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 given way to the bright beams of light and 
 truth issuing from the Sun of righteousness. 
 So Paul says : "The word of God, even the 
 mystery, which hath been hid from ages and 
 from generations, but now is made manifest to 
 the saints : to whom God would make known 
 what is the riches of the glory of this mystery 
 among the Gentiles ; which is Christ in you, 
 the hope of glory." Col. 1 : 25-27. The reve- 
 lation is therefore made. We see the things 
 which kings and prophets and righteous men 
 desired to see but could not. We have them 
 in our own language, in plain statements, easily 
 read. We have the Bible, the clearest book 
 ever written respecting so weighty matters. 
 "He may run that readeth it." JSTo honest 
 inquirer after truth ever mistook its teachings 
 on vital points. If we cannot read this book, 
 we can hear its truths preached. It is in ref- 
 erence to this preaching especially that the 
 apostle is speaking in 2 Corinthians 4 : 1-5. 
 He says that he and his fellow-laborers had 
 not handled the word of God deceitfully ; 
 but by manifestation of the truth commended 
 themselves to every man's conscience in the 
 sight of God; and immediately adds, "If our 
 gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost." 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDDEN. U7 
 
 The fault was not in the preachers, for they 
 told the truth, using great plainness of speech. 
 In like manner, all of us do or may hear the 
 gospel published in a way clear and decided. 
 Who among us has not heard many sermons 
 which faithfully presented the gospel? Christ 
 id preached^ and we all hear or can hear. The 
 object of all good preaching is not to hide the 
 gospel, but to make it known. 
 
 G. Nor is the gospel hid from us as it is 
 from the heathen, who never heard its blessed 
 truths. How shall men "call on him in whom 
 they have not believed? and how shall they 
 believe in him of whom they have not heard ? 
 and how shall they hear without a preacher?. . . 
 Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the 
 word of God." There are millions on earth 
 who never heard that Jesus Christ is the Lamb 
 of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. 
 The guilt of their transgression is not en- 
 hanced by a knowledge of the glorious gofipel, 
 light has never shined on them. If men 
 without law, they shall perish without law. 
 I>u! fearful beyond expression will he the 
 
 doom of those who. knowing the way of life, 
 turn from the holy commandm I To him 
 that knowetfa to do good and doeth it not, to 
 
US THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 him it is sin. In none of these senses is the 
 gospel hid from us. 
 
 II. We may now show in what sense the 
 
 GOSPEL IS HID FROM THE UNBELIEVING. 
 
 This is truly an awful subject. It is so in 
 its very nature ; and it concerns many. The 
 essence of this hiding consists in one's having 
 eyes and not seeing, in having ears and not 
 hearing, and in having a heart and not under- 
 standing. In some way, the truth reaches 
 the intellect, and perhaps slightly moves the 
 affections, but there it stops. It changes not 
 the heart or the life. Thus one may be a 
 learned critic, a clear expositor, or an apt 
 teacher of many truths of the gospel, and yet 
 never see its true force, nor apprehend its 
 chief design. Pride and perverseness may 
 hold him in such a state that he may not dis- 
 cern the real nature of the most glorious things. 
 Sin hides the most precious truths from the 
 mind, as clouds hide the rays of the sun from 
 the earth. A benighted soul is a lost soul. 
 A state of darkness is a state of guilt, deprav- 
 ity, and death. All sin produces blindness 
 of mind. For their wicked rejection of known 
 truth and duty, God, as a sovereign, hides the 
 gospel from men. In sending so terrible spir- 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDEEN. 449 
 
 itual judgments, God is not to blame. He is 
 not bound to continue favors which are slighted 
 and contemned. The pious and amiable John 
 Newton says: "Let us suppose a person to 
 have a curious cabinet, which is opened at his 
 pleasure, and not exposed to common view. 
 He invites all to come and see it, and offers 
 to show it to any one who asks him. It is hid, 
 because he keeps the key ; but none can com- 
 plain, because he is ready to open it whenever 
 he is desired. Some persons disdain the offer, 
 and say, Why is it locked at all ? Some think 
 it not worth seeing, or amuse themselves with 
 guessing at the contents. But those who are 
 simply desirous for themselves leave others 
 disputing, go according to appointment, and 
 arc gratified. These have reason to be thank- 
 ful for the favor; and the others hare no just 
 cause to iiml fault Thus the riches of divine 
 grace may be compared to a richly-farnished 
 cabinet, to Which Christ is the door. The 
 word of God likewise is a cabinet, generally 
 lucked u}) ; but the key of prayer will open it. 
 
 The Lord invites all. but he keeps the dispen- 
 
 D hands. They cannot sec these 
 
 things except be -hows them; but then lie 
 
 refuses none that sincerely ask Dim." So that 
 
450 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 God is clear in this matter. He hides not 
 these things in any way that can impeach his 
 justice or his wisdom; yet he hides them 
 effectually. Left to themselves, men seek to 
 become wise and become fools. This is a pun- 
 ishment for their pride or other sins. We 
 read of some on whom God sent strong de- 
 lusion, and gave them up to believe a lie, that 
 they might be damned, because they had pleas- 
 ure in unrighteousness. They delighted not 
 in the truth. They cared neither to know nor 
 to do God's will. Surely God was at liberty 
 to hide from them that which they so much 
 disliked. Their ignorance proves the truth 
 of the words, " If our gospel be hid, it is hid 
 to them that are lost." All the treasures of 
 wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ. He 
 who despises the Saviour despises all the les- 
 sons we can learn from him. The truth is 
 also hidden in the letter of Scripture. As the 
 time of the day is hid in the figures of the sun- 
 dial, but cannot be read unless the sun shines 
 and reveals the truth, so is saving truth hid 
 in the letter. 
 
 The instrumentality employed in hiding 
 the gospel from the minds of men is various. 
 Sometimes the work is done by Satan. So 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDDEN. 451 
 
 g the apostle: "If our gospel be hid, it is hid 
 to them that are lost: in whom the god of this 
 world hath blinded the minds of them which 
 believe not, lest the light of the glorious gos- 
 pel of Christ, who is the image of God, should 
 shine unto them." The great adversary dark- 
 ens and confuses the mind of unbelievers. For 
 this they are to blame, because they are in 
 league with the wicked one. Let them resist 
 and renounce the devil, and he shall have no 
 power to hide the gospel from them. 
 
 Men blind one another. Many seducers 
 ami deceivers are entered into the world. 
 They operate " with all deceivablcness of 
 unrighteousness in them that perish, because 
 they received not the love of the truth, that 
 they might be saved." Many lie in wait to 
 dec< j idling unstable souls, and employ- 
 
 ing canning craftiness and sleight of men. 
 Sneh cannot succeed but with those who do 
 not wish to know the truths of the gospel. 
 The deceiver ami the deceived are both guilty. 
 
 Men hide the gospel from themselves. 
 They love darkness rather than light. They 
 
 I to be deceived. They shut their eyes 
 lie- truth, [tfl light ifi painful to them. 
 
 darkness. They extinguish the 
 
452 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 lamp of truth. They corrupt their own minds. 
 They obliterate good impressions. They resist 
 the Spirit. They seek to hide the gospel, and 
 it is hidden. 
 
 Thus is God righteous in all cases, even 
 where the blindness is most dreadful. God 
 is not responsible for this darkness. Man is 
 the author of his own blindness. Were it not 
 for the sun, we should have perpetual dark- 
 ness ; and were it not for God, we should 
 never have any divine light. Were the sun 
 never to shine on the world, and were God 
 to withhold all his beams from us, neither the 
 one nor the other would be chargeable with 
 the darkness that should follow. 
 
 When the sun shines in his strength, and 
 all nature rejoices in his light, the blind can- 
 not behold his beauty. Were there ten thou- 
 sand suns, the blind would be no better off. 
 The fault is in their vision. So if, instead of 
 one, there were ten thousand gospels, each 
 giving the brightest light to lead the soul to 
 God, the unbelieving would continue in their 
 present unhappy state. The very light that 
 is in them is darkness, and they love to have 
 it so. When Lord Nelson put the telescope 
 to his blind eye, we do not wonder that he 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDDEN. 453 
 
 could not see the concerted signals. If our 
 gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are 
 
 This subject has a solemn bearing on per- 
 sons who were once somewhat enlightened, 
 but are now in deeper darkness than ever. 
 So was it with Jerusalem, over which Christ 
 wept and said: " If thou hadst known, even 
 thou, at least in this thy day. the things which 
 belong unto thy peace ! but now they are hid 
 from thine eyes." Luke 19:42. There are 
 set times, chosen seasons, precious harv 
 when, if people are rightly disposed, they 
 may know. But if these are neglected, awful 
 darkness ensues. The gospel, once made to 
 shine into the mind, but then rejected, pay 
 be hid from the eyes for ever. Such 
 undone. Their day is past. Their doom is 
 sealed. 
 
 Some complain that the Bible is so nr 
 rious that it is like a sealed book, and when 
 they read it. they become bewildered. They 
 
 nothing in it plain or intelligible. Ought 
 not such honestly to inquire into their spirit- 
 ual condition ? Does not their bewilderment 
 prove that they are lost? 
 
454 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Others apprehend somewhat of the truth, 
 but presently "stumble at the word, being 
 disobedient." Their stumbling makes them 
 disobedient, and their disobedience makes 
 them stumble. This is the grand error of 
 many. They refuse submission to what they 
 do know, and so they learn nothing aright. 
 The light is hid from such, because they are 
 lost. 
 
 To some Christ crucified is foolishness. 
 The idea of salvation by the righteousness of 
 another is opposite to all their conceptions. 
 They deride the doctrine of life to sinners by 
 the death of the Saviour. Speak to them of 
 their own merits as the ground of their 
 acceptance, and they approve such boasting. 
 A gratuitous salvation they scorn. Their 
 present temper continuing, they are lost for 
 ever. 
 
 Some think that by their own natural wit 
 they can arrive at saving knowledge. Such 
 often exclude themselves from heaven by a 
 jest or a trifle. Many are damned for a 
 quibble. They judge all things by some fan- 
 tastic rule, perhaps in their view quite phil- 
 osophical. When will men learn that the 
 world by wisdom never knew God? Per- 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDDEN. 455 
 
 sisting in this self-conceit, such are hopelessly 
 lost. 
 
 God always hides saving knowledge from 
 the "wise and prudent." That which we 
 learn by our unaided faculties puffs up and 
 blinds the mind. " Seest thou a man wise in 
 his own conceit ? there is more hope of a fool 
 than of him.' 7 The lifting up of the soul unto 
 vanity does itself exclude the light of truth. 
 This is its natural tendency. Such a state of 
 mind spurns the aid of the Spirit of God. 
 And flesh and blood can never reveal the 
 great truths of the Bible. It is only by an 
 unctibn from the Holy One that any man is 
 ever able to see divine things aright. They 
 are spiritually discerned. He that is not led 
 by the Spirit of God must err. Often do we 
 see men stumbling at straws, making difficul- 
 ties where a child sees its way clear, insist- 
 ing upon understanding things of no immedi- 
 ate practical utility, and yet refusing to bow 
 their necks to the plainest and most practical 
 precepts. Such are lost. 
 
 No marvel that the careless never come 
 to the knowledge of the truth. If men would 
 be wise unto salvation, they must cry after 
 knowledge, and lift up their voice for under- 
 
456 THE KOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 standing ; they must seek her as silver, and 
 search for her as for hid treasure. The whole 
 plan of God requires care, candor, attention, 
 earnestness. Some are so heedless that they 
 do not know what the gospel is. They dream 
 or guess at the contents of the Bible. They 
 are deaf to the proclamations of mercy. 
 they are lost. 
 
 Cavilling, prejudice, cherished error, a 
 halting mind, an unforgiving temper, any sin 
 wilfully indulged may work the same ruin to 
 the soul. 
 
 Thus we see that the work of destroying 
 the soul is a work done in this life. One says, 
 "When men perish under the gospel, they are 
 benighted at noon. They have created to 
 themselves a horrid darkness in the midst of 
 a bright and clear day. They are lost in a 
 day of salvation. Lost, not only under the 
 means of salvation, but by them. Gospel light 
 strikes them blind. The sweet, vital savors 
 of the gospel strike them dead. Invited, yet 
 lost! "Warned, exhorted, besought, reproved, 
 yet lost. Lost, not as to any thing which is 
 theirs, but as to themselves. Not a part lost, 
 but the whole. Lost contrary to expectations. ;; 
 The darkness, the errors, the ignorance, the 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDDEN. 457 
 
 folly of unregenerate men, are as sure and 
 certain tokens of what is to be their state 
 hereafter, as are the faith, and hope, and love 
 of Christians respecting their eternal well- 
 being. As the work of saving the soul is a 
 work of time, and not of eternity ; s"o the work 
 of destroying the soul is also done in this 
 world, and not in the next. And the evi- 
 dences of this work being done or in process 
 are often clear and decisive. If men would 
 reason as fairly about their standing in God's 
 esteem as they do respecting temporal mat- 
 ters, they would soon be convinced of their 
 lost estate. The smoke of the bottomless pit 
 issuing forth in ungodliness surely proves that 
 the fir.es of perdition are burning within. One 
 wanders up and down in a forest and finds no 
 safe path. He knows that he is lost. But 
 when one errs from the truth and follows the 
 mazes of iniquity, he often infers that he is in 
 a safe way. 
 
 Remember that men are lost in this world. 
 On a lost soul in the day of judgment will be 
 found no sign of perdition that is not found 
 upon it on earth. Whatever may be men's 
 apprehensions, but few of the unregenerate 
 learn the truth that they are already lost. In 
 
 Bock of 8»lT«. 20 S^*\ 
 
458 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 two ways men are convinced of their misera- 
 ble state. One is in time, and leads to salva- 
 tion. The other is when the day of grace is 
 
 over. 
 
 T was very sick. Her physician 
 
 was sent for. He came and kindly watched 
 by her bed. The day before her death she 
 seemed calm and tranquil, and inquired if she 
 should probably recover. She was answered 
 in the negative. "How long can I live?" said 
 she. The answer was, "Possibly until to-, 
 morrow morning." "Then," she said, "I am 
 lost, lost, lost!" At short intervals until she 
 breathed her last, her piteous cry pierced the 
 ears of attendants : "Iain lost, I am lost, lost, 
 lost, lost!" why will unbelievers keep on 
 in sin, and go to eternity for ever to mourn 
 heaven lost, a crown of glory lost, an eternity 
 of bliss lost, the means of grace lost, the day 
 of salvation lost, all opportunity to make peace 
 with God lost, and lost for ever ? 
 
 Though the unregenerate are at present 
 lost, yet they are not lost beyond recovery. 
 By God's command Christians still pray, min- 
 isters still preach, and offers of mercy are. still 
 given ; and by God's grace sinners are still 
 converted. What a glorious truth that Jesus 
 
THE GOSPEL HIDDEN. 459 
 
 Christ came to seek and to save that which 
 was lost. Almost the only trne thing Christ's 
 enemies ever said against him was, "This man 
 receiveth sinners." He admitted the charge, 
 and spake three parables in vindication of his 
 matchless mercy. 
 
460 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXV. 
 
 THE SIN AND DANGER OF NOT BELIEVING 
 IN CHRIST. . 
 
 In both Testaments God expresses his 
 displeasure against unbelief. By Moses he 
 says to Israel: " Ye did not believe the Lord 
 your God;" "Ye rebelled against the com- 
 mandment of the Lord your God, and ye 
 believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice." 
 Deut. 1 : 32 ; 9 : 23. Again, God complains of 
 Israel: "They would not hear, but hardened 
 their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, 
 that did not believe in the Lord their God." 
 2 Kings 17 : 14. By the psalmist he says, 
 "They believed .not in God, and trusted not 
 in his salvation." Ps. 78 : 22. By another 
 prophet he thus threatens them: "If ye will 
 not believe, surely ye shall not be estab- 
 lished." Isa. 7:9. The New Testament is no 
 less clear. The great sin of the Jews under 
 the ministry of John the Baptist was their 
 unbelief. Matt. 21:32. The Son of God 
 marvelled at the unbelief of his own disci- 
 ples, and sharply rebuked it, Mark 6:6; Luke 
 
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. 461 
 
 24 : 25. Our Lord himself expressly says : " He 
 that believeth not is condemned already ;" 
 " He that believeth not the Son shall not see 
 life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." 
 John 3 : 18, 36. Paul says, by unbelief the nat- 
 ural branches were broken off. Eom. 11 : 20. 
 Unbelief hinders prayer: "How then shall 
 they call on him in whom they have not be- 
 lieved?" Eom. 10:14. " The god of this world 
 hath blinded the minds of them which believe 
 not. 7 ' 2 Cor. 4 : 4. "God shall send them strong 
 delusion, that they should believe a lie ; that 
 they all might be damned who believed not the 
 truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 7 ' 
 .2 Thess. 2 : 11, 12. "But the fearful, and 
 unbelieving, and the abominable, and mur- 
 derers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and 
 idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part 
 in the lake which burnetii with fire and brim- 
 stone : which is the second death.' 7 Kev. 
 21 : 8. Unbelief may relate to any doctrine, 
 or promise, or threatening of God. It com- 
 monly has special reference to the person, 
 work, offices, and sufferings of the Saviour. 
 Then it is a rejection of him as he is offered 
 in the gospel. He demands our affectionate 
 confidence, and we withhold it. 
 
462 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 Unbelievers are of two classes, specula- 
 tive and practical. All speculative unbe- 
 lievers are also practical unbelievers ; but 
 some practical unbelievers have no intellec- 
 tual doubts of the truths of the Bible. Spec- 
 ulative unbelievers are of two sorts. Some 
 rage and rail and blaspheme. Others doubt, 
 hesitate, are skeptical. This latter class alter- 
 nately hope that the Bible is not true, and 
 fear that it is true. Meantime they live as if 
 it were not true, and so #re practical unbe- 
 lievers. If they do not deny, they suspect. 
 This is truly unbelief. Not to credit is to 
 disbelieve. Not to receive is to reject. A 
 refusal to obey the gospel is as truly danger- 
 ous as a scornful denial of its claims. 
 
 The object of this chapter is to show the 
 sin of unbelief. It is a great offence against 
 God in many ways. It is very wicked and 
 deserves God's hot displeasure. 
 
 1. Unbelief is a very heinous sin, because 
 it is an impeachment of the divine veracity. 
 God's word is his testimony. It is the highest 
 testimony ever given. "When a judge gives a 
 decision or a jury gives a verdict contrary to 
 good evidence, all right thinkers have but one 
 opinion. We take the testimony of men. We 
 
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. 463 
 
 act wisely in so doing. But "if we receive 
 the witness of men, the witness of God is 
 greater." 1 John 5 : 9. Man is fallible, man 
 is corrupt, man often deceives, man is often 
 deceived. Yet in some cases man is and must 
 be believed. Under certain circumstances 
 every one gives credit to the word of man. 
 Much more then should we believe God, who 
 is infallible, and who cannot lie. From the 
 days of Moses until now the best governments 
 on earth have hekl that two or three wit- 
 nesses were sufficient to prove any fact. If 
 so, shall we not believe the Trinity of persons 
 in the Godhead ? Jesus adopts this kind of 
 argument when he says : "I am not alone ; 
 but I and the Father that sent me. It is also 
 written in your law that the testimony of two 
 men is true. I am one that bear witness of 
 myself, and the Father that sent me beareth 
 witness of mc. ? ' John 8 : 16-18. 
 
 The testimony of Christ confirming all the 
 doctrines taught by the prophets and by him- 
 self was open, clear, decisive. The very 
 highest proofs of his knowledge, veracity, and 
 sincerity, were amply given. The testimony 
 of his Father was given in an audible voice 
 from heaven* It was repeated in the many 
 
464 THE ROOK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 stupendous miracles wrought by Almighty 
 power. In these the third person of the 
 adorable Trinity also bore testimony in a 
 manner both striking and convincing. In 
 Hebrews 2 : 3, 4, Paul argues thus: "How 
 shall we escape, if we neglect so great sal- 
 vation, which at the first began to be spo- 
 ken by the Lord, [that is, Christ,] and was 
 confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 
 God also [that is, the Father] bearing them 
 witness both with signs. and wonders, and 
 with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy 
 Ghost." So that the three that bear record 
 in heaven have given testimony upon earth. 
 Their witness is harmonious, unequivocal, 
 often repeated, and accompanied by infallible 
 signs. He, therefore, who lives in unbelief, 
 discredits and impeaches the testimony of the 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. That this is a 
 heinous sin cannot be doubted. 
 
 Well do the Scriptures say, he that be- 
 lieveth "hath set to his seal that God is 
 true." They as distinctly say, "He that be- 
 lieveth not God hath made him a liar, because 
 he believeth not the record that God gave of 
 his Son." 1 John 5:10. This language is 
 indeed awful, but it is just. God's honor in 
 
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. 465 
 
 regard to his veracity is dear to him. He 
 never will part with it. He says : "My glory 
 will I not give to another." The heavens 
 and the earth shall pass away, but his word 
 shall not pass away. Every jot and tittle 
 shall be fulfilled. Because God is perfect, he 
 is jealous of the honor of his name. An evil 
 being may be reckless of his repute for vera- 
 city, but a good being, never. To man you 
 can offer no greater indignity than to say he 
 lies. How dreadful then the sin of making 
 God a liar. 
 
 Besides, God has made his word the chief 
 means by which to test the confidence of his 
 creatures in his truth: "Thou hast exalted 
 thy word above all thy name ;" that is, above 
 all by which thou hast made thyself known. 
 Ami the chief burden of God's word is, redemp- 
 tion by his Son, together with histories, laws, 
 doctrines, promises, and threatenings. His 
 word is truth selected from the boundless field 
 of omniscience. It is more precious than gold, 
 than much fine gold. His words are fitly 
 spoken. They arc like apples of gold in a 
 
 work of silver. They are more precious 
 than rabies. To disbelieve them is to trample 
 pearls under our feet. It is to take the cove- 
 
 20* 
 
"466 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 nant of God and treat it with contempt. Un- 
 belief, therefore, is of the nature of sacrilege. 
 It puts the holiest things to base uses. More- 
 over, God has not only pledged his word, but 
 he has added to it the awful solemnity of an 
 oath. He who disbelieves his word charges 
 him with falsehood. He who discredits his 
 oath charges him with perjury. A witness 
 may give his testimony upon oath, and we 
 may decide in the teeth of all he swears, 
 but in so doing we declare our utter want of 
 confidence in his statements. If God is dis- 
 pleased at any thing, it must be at this atro- 
 cious insult. 
 
 Nor is this all. To disbelieve God is to 
 believe his enemies, and especially his great 
 adversary, the father of lies. Eve believed 
 the devil rather than her Maker. When Ahab 
 rejected the testimony of the man of God, he 
 was ready to believe the lying prophets of 
 Baal. Chateaubriand says : " Men are ready 
 to believe any thing when they believe noth- 
 ing. They have diviners when they cease to 
 have prophets ; witchcraft when they cease to 
 have religious ceremonies ; they open the caves 
 of sorcery when they shut the temples of the 
 Lord." He who does not believe God surely 
 
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. 467 
 
 believes the great deceiver. Such impiety is 
 shocking to all right-minded persons. Its 
 wickedness is manifest to all whose con- 
 sciences are not seared as with a hot iron. 
 
 2. He who by unbelief rejects the word of 
 God and his well-beloved Son, impugns the 
 Divine wisdom. If we say that we do not 
 need the salvation of the gospel, we charge 
 God with making a needless sacrifice, and 
 needless provision for our souls. When one 
 saj^s he is well, he declares that he needs no 
 remedy. When one says he is good enough, 
 and justifies himself, he cannot but look upon 
 redemption by atoning blood as either a fable 
 or a folly — a vast expenditure to no wise pur- 
 pose. God's wisdom determined that Christ's 
 work and death were necessary for our salva- 
 tion. Unbelief says, "We can do without a 
 Saviour." Or if the sense of guilt is strong, 
 then our unbelief, tending to despair, im- 
 God's wisdom by sajdng that the 
 death <»f Christ is insufficient, and his blood 
 inefl$cacious to wash away our sins. We say 
 the remedy h not adequate. We say that sin 
 stains too deeply and guilt presses too heavily 
 for us to hope in the atonement of God's dear 
 Son. In this view the scheme of redemption 
 
4G8 THE BOOK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 is a failure. It lacks virtue. It meets not 
 men's wants. Could a more heinous impeach- 
 ment of God's wisdom be made ? Shall man 
 be wiser than God, who charges his angels 
 with folly? Is it surprising that the Judge 
 of all the earth should be offended, yea, 
 incensed, when men reject his Son and his 
 gospel, which is both the wisdom of God and 
 the power of God unto our salvation? 
 
 3. Unbelief is a rejection of kindness, a 
 slighting of unspeakable mercy offered to us 
 by the Lord. The refusal of Jesus Christ has 
 no parallel for ingratitude, stubbornness, and 
 daring impiety. Sovereign Love holds to our 
 lips the cup of salvation. Unbelief puts it 
 away, and says/ "Let thy gifts be to thyself, 
 and thy rewards to another ; I need them not ; 
 I trust them not ; I accept them not." In un- 
 belief, the debtor in prison refuses to let Jesus 
 be his Surety. By unbelief, the poor naked 
 soul refuses the spotless righteousness of 
 Christ, and cleaves to the filthy rags of its 
 own righteousness. Unbelief refuses to per- 
 mit the great Deliverer to come in and knock 
 off the chains of fiery condemnation. It spurns 
 the balm of Gilead, although the soul is all 
 diseased. God expostulates with the wicked, 
 
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. 469 
 
 and says, "How shall I give thee up? As I 
 live, I have no pleasure in the death of the 
 sinner. My repentings are kindled together." 
 The Father of mercy calls them. The Son of 
 his love cries, "Come unto me, all ye that labor 
 and are heavy laden." The Holy Spirit woos. 
 The church of God says, "Come." Surely it 
 cannot be safe, it must be perilous, lightly to 
 esteem such love and pity, mercy bought 
 with blood — the blood of propitiation ; mercy 
 offered to us by the Lord himself; mercy so 
 much needed by us all ; mercy rejected by 
 none but the perverse. God's love to us is 
 amazing ; Christ's love to us far exceeds any 
 love the best man bears to him ; the love of 
 the Holy Spirit is unsurpassed. How, how 
 can we slight such kindness ? 
 
 4. Unbelief is a denial and refusal of the 
 grace of God in the gospel of his Son. And 
 we need all the grace proffered to us. We 
 are sinful, guilty, justly condemned, blind, 
 ignorant, wretched, impotent. We are with- 
 out strength, without holiness, without right- 
 eoilSDeftS, without saving knowledge, without 
 healing medicines, without hope, without God 
 in* the world. This is and must continue to 
 be our state till we arc made partakers of 
 
470 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 that grace which is rich, free, unmerited, 
 abundant, treasured up in Christ, and pro- 
 claimed in the glorious gospel. But unbelief 
 says, Christ has died in vain, his intercession 
 is nugatory, his gospel is a fable. In robbing 
 our own souls of this mercy, we rob God of 
 the glory of his grace. "In a word, if a man 
 should choose to set himself in a universal 
 opposition unto God, he can think of no more 
 compendious way than this 77 of unbelief. 
 
 5. Unbelief is a slighting of God's power 
 both to save and to destroy, and of his 
 authority as a Lawgiver and Governor. He 
 has brought all his sovereignty to bear on the 
 duty of faith in Christ: "This is his command- 
 ment, that we should believe on the name of 
 his Son. 77 To disregard this command is to 
 contemn all his power over us, for he requires 
 faith in his Son under the sanction of the 
 most awful threatenings, many of which have 
 been already recited. 
 
 6. The sin of unbelief is in most cases ter- 
 ribly aggravated. It is commonly a sin that 
 has been long persisted in. If men are now 
 unbelievers, they have been committing that 
 sin all their days. Their lives have been 
 lives of unbelief. For one act of unbelief 
 
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. 471 
 
 Moses was denied admission into Canaan. 
 For one act of unbelief Zacharias was struck 
 dumb. But our acts of unbelief have been 
 as numerous as the calls of mercy which we 
 have resisted. And our unbelief has been 
 indulged against much instruction and knowl- 
 edge. Often has the light shone as clear as 
 day. Often have we heard appeals as solemn 
 as death, and as tender as the compassions of 
 a dying Saviour. If we are now in unbelief, 
 we know, we have long known it was a sin. 
 For unbelief indulged under a much darker 
 dispensation, the carcases of six hundred thou- 
 sand men fell in the wilderness. Again, we 
 have seen great sinners turn from sin to the 
 Saviour, and find mercy. In their renovated 
 lives we had the proof of the power of Christ 
 to save. We must be guilty for disregarding 
 the lessons of such examples. Hear the Son 
 of God himself on this matter: "The publi- 
 cans and the harlots believed John ; and ye, 
 when ye had seefl it, repented not afterwards 
 that ye might believe." Matt. 21 : 32. Yea 
 more, the salvation of the gospel is God's last 
 offer to man. Christ's atonement rejected by 
 unbelief) there remains no more sacrifice for 
 sins. God will never send another Saviour 
 
472 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 into the world. Christ himself said: " If ye 
 believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your 
 sins." Indeed, unbelief is by preeminence the 
 damning sin of all who hear the gospel and 
 perish. It is of the nature of all sin to work 
 death ; but unbelief is a sin without which no 
 other sin that we in a gospel land commit 
 renders damnation inevitable. It is the act 
 of a poor condemned criminal on his way to 
 execution refusing a pardon. It is the act of 
 Esau taking the pottage, eating it, and giving 
 up the birthright for ever. And unbelief is a 
 sin always wilfully committed. So charges 
 Christ himself: "Ye will not come to me, 
 that ye might have life.' 7 So charge the 
 apostles: " Ye judge yourselves unworthy of 
 everlasting life." Unbelief persisted in seals 
 our perdition. It closes every door of hope, 
 and leaves us enshrouded in the darkness of 
 despair for ever and ever. It does all this 
 by grieving the Holy Ghost, by vexing him 
 to depart from us. 
 
 7. Indeed, how can unbelief be other than 
 an enormous sin, when it has its seat in pride, 
 self-will, self- righteousness, love of riches, 
 love of human honors, and hardness of heart? 
 "The wicked, through the pride of his counte- 
 
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. 473 
 
 nance, will not seek after God ;" "How can ye 
 believe, which receive honor one of another, 
 and seek not the honor that cometh from God 
 only?" "Ye cannot serve God and mam- 
 mon ;" " If any man love the world, the love 
 of the Father is not in him ;" " Ye do always 
 resist the Holy Ghost." These are but sam- 
 ples of the manner in which God speaks of 
 the causes of unbelief. All unbelief has its 
 seat in dreadful depravity. 
 
 8. We may judge of the heinousness of 
 the sin of unbelief from the dreadful sentence 
 resting on all in whom it reigns. The Bible 
 says they are "condemned already." They are 
 condemned by the first covenant, which says : 
 "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all 
 tilings which are written in the book of the law 
 to do tin m ;" "The soul that sinneth, it shall 
 die" — it shall die — it shall die — it shall die. 
 And O what a death ! But to this condemna- 
 tion is added that of the gospel: "He that 
 believeth not is condemned already;" "This 
 La the condemnation, that light is come into 
 the world, and men loved darkness rather 
 than light." this double condemnation, 
 how terrible! It is a condemnation from 
 Lawgiver, the Judge of all. His 
 
474 THE ROCK OF OUR SALTATION. 
 
 sentence is irreversible. And it "already" 
 rests on unbelievers. The day of judgment 
 will declare and enforce it, but it will not 
 alter it. He who lives and dies condemned, 
 will awake to shame and everlasting contempt 
 on the morning of the last day, and will stand 
 self-condemned as well as God-condemned at 
 the tribunal of Christ. Beware, unbeliever, 
 beware. ' Forsaking truth and embracing 
 error, angels shrunk into devils. Forsaking 
 error and grasping truth, sinners rise to the 
 dignity of saints, and to the companionship of 
 angels.' 
 
 1. What a dreadful thing is sin! It is so 
 daringj so stubborn, so mischievous, so ruin- 
 ous to man, so dishonoring to God. 
 
 2. What mercy is found in God in pro- 
 viding a Saviour, in offering him to our accept- 
 ance, in waiting on ungrateful and rebellious 
 men so long, and in actually leading many to 
 the Saviour. 
 
 3. What a dreadful doom awaits those who 
 will not be reclaimed ! " It shall be more tol- 
 erable for . . . Sodom and Gomorrah in the day 
 of judgment than for " such. ' ' Unbelief brings 
 greater guilt" and sorer punishment "than the 
 
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. 475 
 
 sins of the worst of heathens, who never heard 
 of these glorious-things, nor have had this Sav- 
 iour offered to them." . . . "The moth shall eat 
 them up like a garment, and the worm shall 
 eat them like wool," says God; "but my 
 righteousness shall be for ever, and my sal- 
 vation from generation to generation." Isa. 
 51:8. 
 
 4. Let us carefully guard against that great 
 parent of unbelief, a self-righteous temper, 
 which says, "I am holy, I am clean, I am 
 pure." "If righteousness come by the law, 
 then Christ is dead in vain." Gal. 2:21. To 
 expect heaven on the ground of your own 
 merit is, says Edwards, to "arrogate to your- 
 self the honor of the greatest thing that ever 
 God himself did." ... "To take on yourself 
 to work out redemption is a greater thing than 
 if you had taken it upon you to create a world." 
 A self-righteous spirit is fatal to the soul. 
 
 5. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in 
 any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in depart- 
 in- from the living God." Heb. 3:12. It 
 dishonors and provokes God. It grieves the 
 Saviour. Mark 3:5. It grieves the Holy 
 Spirit Of promise. An attack of fever is not 
 so bad a.- mil of unbelief. 
 
476 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 6. The great business assigned us on earth 
 by God himself is, believing— believing on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. When the multitude said 
 to Jesus, "What shall we do that we might 
 work the works of God ? Jesus answered and 
 said unto them, This is the work of God, that 
 ye believe on him whom he hath sent." John 
 6:28, 29. So when the jailor cried, "Sirs, 
 what must I do to be saved ¥' Paul and Silas 
 said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 
 16 :30, 31. This is the tenor of all the Scrip- 
 ture. It is only by faith that we enter into rest. 
 Be sure you truly, believe : "Without faith it is 
 impossible to please God." "Till you have 
 this faith, you have no special interest in 
 Christ. It is only believers that are united 
 to him. and are his living members. And it 
 is by faith that he dwells in our hearts, and 
 that we live in him. Eph. 3:17: Gal. 2:20. 
 In vain do you boast of Christ, if you are not 
 true believers. You have no part or portion 
 in him. None* of his special benefits are yours 
 till you have this living, working faith."* The 
 law presses until we believe. Forgiveness 
 and acceptance come not till we close in with 
 
 * Baxter. 
 
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. 477 
 
 Christ: "He that believeth on him is not 
 condemned ; but lie that believeth not is con- 
 demned already." Why, why do not all 
 perishing sinners. flee to Christ? Why will 
 men involve their souls in deeper sin and 
 more alarming danger by persisting even for 
 an hour in the rejection of Christ ? 
 
478 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 THE REPROACH OF CHRIST. 
 
 Eeproach is shame, opprobrium, infamy, 
 disgrace, exposing men to scornful derision. 
 
 Nothing has rendered men so liable to 
 taunt, reviling, and malignity as love to Jesus 
 Christ. The Lord himself told his people that 
 it should be so : " Ye shall be hated of all men 
 for my name's sake f "If the world hate you, 
 ye know that it hated me before it hated you." 
 The reproach of the cross has not ceased. 
 Matt. 10:22; John 15:18; Gal. 5:11. Who- 
 ever would be a true Christian must obey the 
 summons: "Let us go forth therefore unto 
 him without the camp, bearing his reproach." 
 Heb. 13 :13. The great scandal of Christian- 
 ity is the cross and the Crucified. It has long 
 been so. The very expectation of a Eedeemer, 
 thousands of years before his coming, was an 
 offence to men, and exposed them to virulent 
 scorn. 
 
 It is mentioned by the apostle to the Gen- 
 tiles as worthy of special notice, that "by 
 
THE ItEPKOACH OF CHKIST. 479 
 
 faitli Moses, when lie was come to years, re- 
 fused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daugh- 
 ter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with 
 the people of God, than to enjoy the pleas- 
 ures of sin for a season ; esteeming the re- 
 proach of Christ greater riches than the 
 treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto 
 the recompense of the reward." Heb. 11 :24- 
 26. This is an illustrious example of faith, 
 and full of instruction. Let us look at it in 
 some of its more important bearings. 
 
 Ancient Egypt was a wonderful country. 
 The Hebrews called it Mizraim, from the son 
 of Ham, who bore that name. To this day. 
 the Arabs call it Mizr. • By the. Greeks and 
 Latins it was called Egypt, the origin of which 
 word we do not know. To its great river, the 
 Nile, was first given the name of the Father of 
 waters. To the overflowings of this river the 
 land of Egypt owes its extraordinary fertility. 
 Egypt is about four hundred and fifty miles 
 in length. It is commonly divided into Upper 
 
 pt, Lower Egypt, and the Delta. An- 
 nual v it was subdivided into forty- two prov- 
 inces. In Upper Egypt was one of the most 
 remafktble cities known to antiquity; ami 
 the whole land was sufficiently supplied with 
 
480 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 cities and towns. The Egyptians were greatly 
 averse to the life of shepherds or herdsmen. 
 They gave great attention to the culture of 
 grain. Not less than twenty millions of bush- 
 els of corn were for a long time annually sent 
 from Egypt to Eome. The land generally af- 
 forded two crops every year — one before and 
 one after the overflowing of the Nile. The 
 Egyptians were a people remarkable for their 
 skill in the arts. No contemporary nation 
 equalled them. To this effect ancient history 
 speaks clearly. The productions of the soil 
 were very various. Different species of wood 
 and varieties of marble in Egypt induced men 
 to become skilful manufacturers. The monu- 
 ments of ancient art among this people are 
 amazing. For thousands of years the pyra- 
 mids have been the wonder of the world. 
 One of these covers an area of thirteen acres, 
 and is still four hundred and seventy -four 
 feet above ground. In Upper Egypt, the 
 sphinxes, obelisks and temples still" amaze 
 the beholder. Wonderful statuary and paint- 
 ings are still found in that region. The an- 
 cient Egyptians were to a great extent the 
 fathers of science and of literature. Philoso- 
 phy, astronomy and geometry early found 
 
THE REPROACH OF CHRIST. 481 
 
 t among them. There too the practice of 
 ang permanent and intelligible records 
 ns first to have extensively prevailed, 
 their acquirements, the priests of Egypt 
 icelled the savans of all nations ; yet the 
 iperstitions of the country were strange, 
 lighty, and numerous; there were gods by- 
 he thousand ; religious worship was addressed 
 to men, to stars, to domestic animals, and even 
 to plants; thus proving that mere science can 
 ve no people from debasement, and that 
 '•'those who .are most delicate as to the decen- 
 cies of life arc often the most gross as to the 
 decencies of religion. " 
 
 F<>r a long time this country was governed 
 by a raee of kings known to us as the Pha- 
 raohft Tin* wonl Pharaoh signifies sovereign 
 power, and is not very different from our 
 word emperor or autocrat. Each of the 
 Pharaohs probably had a proper name ; but 
 none of these names arc preserved to us in 
 until the time of Rehoboain, wheri 
 Pharaoh Shishak lived. We do not, th 
 fore, know which of the Pharaohs was on the 
 tin- birth of Moses. 
 
 Bui II informed that In- had an 
 
 only child, a daughter, whom he greatly loved, 
 
 BockofBalv*. 21 
 
482 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 and who was herself childless. According to 
 the Egyptian laws, she was at liberty to adopt 
 whom she would as her son, and on his adop- 
 tion he became the heir expectant and appa- 
 rent of the throne of Egypt. The name of 
 Pharaoh's daughter, according to Josephus, 
 was Thermutis. This woman was led to adopt 
 Moses under the following circumstances. For 
 some time a cruel decree had been in force 
 that all the male children of the Hebrews, 
 who had now for a long time been in abject 
 slavery, but who yet rapidly increased - in 
 numbers, should be put to death as soon as 
 they were born. 
 
 In Hebrews 11 : 23, the apostle says : 
 "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid 
 three months of his parents, because they saw 
 he was a proper child ; and they were not 
 afraid of the king's commandment." What it 
 was that made them regard him with unusual 
 interest, we know not ; but they risked their 
 lives to save his. Having kept him concealed 
 for three months, and finding further secresy 
 impracticable, they put him into a small ves- 
 sel, or water-tight basket, and exposed him 
 on the banks of the Nile. Thermutis, the 
 king's daughter, coming thither to bathe, and 
 
THE REPROACH OF CHRIST. 483 
 
 perceiving the basket, ordered it to be brought. 
 She opened it, and found a weeping infant. 
 There was watching, at a little distance, a 
 Hebrew girl, about ten years old. It was 
 Miriam, the only sister of Moses. She came 
 to Thermutis, and asked if she would have a 
 Hebrew nurse. God led her to assent, and 
 soon the delighted little sister brought Joche- 
 bed, the wife of Amram, and the mother of 
 the babe. The princess gave to the child the 
 nai ne of Moses, which is a compound Egyptian 
 word signifying drawn out of the water. 
 
 Thermutis had her adopted child taught in 
 all such matters as the vast science and lite- 
 rature of the country could afford. He was 
 
 ■ instructed in more important matters. 
 His pious parents taught him the religion of 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and early imbued 
 his in i lid with excellent precepts of wisdom, 
 virtue, and godliness. At what precise age 
 hifl education was considered complete, is not 
 
 tain ; but it is probable that it was not till 
 he was at least thirty years old, perhaps 
 
 rer forty than thirty. 
 
 The Scriptures do not inform us as to the 
 
 mstances attending the ftrsri open act 
 whereby Moses disowned any connection with 
 
484 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the royal family. Whether it was done in 
 words and actions, or by actions only, is not 
 known ; nor is it necessary that it should be. 
 His forsaking of the court was a matter which 
 could not be misunderstood. Soon after, he 
 fled the country, and went to Midian, and 
 allied himself to Jethro, and remained for 
 forty years longer, until he was called of Grod 
 to return to Egypt. But it is his conduct in 
 retiring from court that is specially noticed 
 by the apostle: "By faith Moses, when he 
 was come to years, refused to be called the 
 son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing rather to 
 suffer affliction with the people of God than 
 to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; 
 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater 
 riches than the treasures in Egypt ; for he had 
 respect unto the recompense of the reward." 
 
 In contemplating the reproach of Christ, 
 and the manner of overcoming it, let us con- 
 sider 
 
 I. The . Choice which Moses made. It 
 consisted of two parts : something forsaken, . 
 and something embraced ; something refused, 
 and something received ; something relinquish- 
 ed, and something laid hold of. What did he 
 give up ? 
 
THE REPROACH OF CHRIST. 485 
 
 1. The highest honors which earth had to 
 bestow. Egypt was at this time, in an impor- 
 tant sense, the mistress of the world. She 
 had more resources, more character, more 
 national glory, than any of the nations of anti- 
 quity. Her glory had been filling the world 
 with wonder for ages, and at no time more 
 than within the last eighty years. No crown 
 on earth glittered with such dazzling bright- 
 ness as the crown of Egypt. More foreigners 
 came to that land to seek wisdom and to won- 
 der than were then going to all the world 
 besides. Priests of other lands came here to 
 study theology. The magi of remote nations 
 visited its schools to study astrology. What- 
 
 r was supposed to be useful or ornamental 
 In life, could be found or learned in Egypt. 
 By Leaving the court, Moses lost all opportu- 
 nity of conversing With Learned men, and of 
 being an object of admiration as the great 
 Light of science and literature in his genera- 
 tion : for although he was not an eloquent 
 man, yet the Bible tells us he was a man 
 '• mighty in words." The meaning is that he 
 had not any great fluency, nor did he seek 
 meretricious ornament in speech \ yet his 
 tarning and wisdom were remarkable. 
 
486 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 That Moses could write with sublimity hardly- 
 equalled by any of the ancients, has been con- 
 fessed by sober critics since the days of Lon- 
 ginus. That in sentiment and style, if not in 
 delivery, he was a sublime preacher and poet, 
 requires no proof beyond that given us in the 
 last two chapters of the Pentateueh. As a 
 historian and a lawgiver, he has no equal. 
 His fitness to govern, and his power to com- 
 mand, have never been surpassed. Moses, 
 then, relinquished all the honor which, as a 
 scholar, a man of science, a military com- 
 mander, and king of the most enlightened and 
 powerful nation under heaven, he might have 
 enjoyed. Converse with the polite and the 
 great, even as their Mentor or Apollo, he 
 gave up for the life of a shepherd in Midian. 
 The crown of Egypt grew dim, and its glory 
 faded before his eye of faith. 
 
 2. He also relinquished all the pleasures 
 which the absolute monarchy of ancient Egypt 
 might have afforded. The Scripture says he 
 cared not to enjoy " the pleasures of sin for a 
 season." How many wondrous arts for grati- 
 fying our carnal nature are known at courts 
 of great kings, is no secret. 
 
 3. He also gave up great wealth. There is 
 
THE REPROACH OF CHRIST. 487 
 
 much force in that phrase, " the treasures in 
 Efeypt." Many ancient thrones had vast treas- 
 ures. It was so with the Jewish throne in 
 the days of Hezekiah, and with that of Baby- 
 lon in the days of Belshazzar. It was unques- 
 tionably so in Egypt in the time of Moses. 
 During the long famine in the days of Jacob, 
 Joseph had bought up all the land in Egypt, 
 and brought it into the possession of the crown. 
 
 We have seen what he relinquished ; let us 
 see what he embraced. The apostle uses two 
 phrases, neither of which sounds sweetly in 
 the ears of a carnal man. The first is, "afflic- 
 tion with the people of God j" the other is, 
 " the reproach of Christ." 
 
 The afflictions of the people of God at this 
 time were very great. They were in the most 
 abject bondage. They were the slaves of 
 slaves. Servant^ ruled over them. The Egyp- 
 tians th< m for a long time had been 
 nothing but tenants at will of the land under 
 their sovereign. They were at the mercy of 
 their monarch lor a home, for food, for rai- 
 ment, and even fur life. These were the 
 
 raded people who were the masters of the 
 Ibbnws. Over them they had the power of 
 life and death. They had actually murdered 
 
488 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 many of them, and had made all of them to 
 groan and sigh with the enormous burdens of 
 labor and toil which had been placed upon 
 them. Joseph, who had been dead one hun- 
 dred and four years, was forgotten. Grati- 
 tude for his eminent services was nowhere 
 found. For Moses to make common lot with 
 such a people was an act of great humiliation. 
 The rest of their condition can easily be con- 
 jectured. It was exceedingly dark. No one 
 of us has ever witnessed such scenes of misery 
 and degradation. Abject poverty had wrought 
 its usual effects. The Hebrews were far from 
 being highly virtuous, as we might have hoped 
 from their possessing the knowledge of the 
 true God. But few of them were truly pious. 
 The great mass of them were gross and sen- 
 sual unbelievers, who, for their outbreaking 
 sins, perished in the wilderness. When Moses 
 first appeared among them, about the time of 
 his forsaking the court. " he supposed his 
 brethren would have understood how that 
 God by his hand would deliver them ; but 
 they understood not/ 7 Acts 7 : 25. Yet they 
 were the people of God by promise and by 
 profession. What little piety there was on 
 earth was chiefly among them. They, too, 
 
THE REPROACH OF CHRIST. 489 
 
 had the traditions of the patriarchs. They 
 were beloved for the fathers' sakes. To them 
 pertained the covenant, and the promise, and 
 the ordinance of circumcision. 
 
 Then their pretended expectation of the 
 Messiah rendered them even more hated than 
 otherwise they would have been. To the 
 Egyptians it looked like a mark of special 
 stupidity, stubbornness, and arrogance for a 
 people thus sunk down in the deepest degra- 
 dation to be talking about a great king that 
 should arise from among them, be the King of 
 kings and Lord of lords, and establish a gov- 
 ernment that should have no end and no 
 limit — a kingdom that should rule over all. 
 Bence "the reproach of Christ" mentioned 
 by Paul as coming on Moses at the making of 
 his choice' 
 
 II. Lei as consider the elements of his 
 
 CHOP 
 
 1. It vras a choice^ a firm and decided pur- 
 
 of the >/•/'// a hearty and voluntary pre£ 
 
 ice <>f one thing, a cordial and controlling 
 
 refusal of another thing. Paul speaks both of 
 
 I inn] refusing. What Moses did he 
 
 did ooi by compulsion, nor by over»persua- 
 
 sion, but of choice. 
 
 21* 
 
490 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 2. It was a choice made at the most critical 
 period of life, when he was about to enter on 
 a splendid career ; "at an age when the heart 
 is most devoted to the pursuit of pleasure, 
 most susceptible of the allurements of ambi- 
 tion.' 7 
 
 3. It was a deliberate and intelligent 
 choice. Nothing in the existing state of 
 things around him led to his decision. The 
 popular current was quite*the other way. It 
 was also the choice of a man, and not of a 
 child who could not understand what he was 
 doing. The Bible says "he was come to 
 years." In the Greek it is "when he was 
 become great." It is manifest from the Bible 
 chronology that Moses was not less than forty 
 years old. Nor was it the choice of a man 
 who knew not the sweets o*f a palace. He 
 had been brought up in ease and affluence. 
 He was not a rude boor, incapable of enjoying 
 the refinements and elegancies which encircled 
 the throne of Egypt. Nor was it the choice 
 of a man whose mind was soured by unsuc- 
 cessful intercourse with the world. So far his 
 relations, public and private, had been as 
 pleasant as possible. The whole history of 
 Moses shows him to have been a man of 
 
THE REPROACH OF CHRIST. 491 
 
 uncommon tenderness of sensibility, fitting 
 him for intercourse with refined society. He 
 was no ascetic. Nor did he expect by volun- 
 tary humility to merit the favor of God. Nor 
 was his choice that of an old man who knew 
 that he could not much longer enjoy the 
 world. Eighty years later "his eye was not 
 dim, nor his natural force abated." He was 
 no dotard. His choice was that of a full-grown 
 man with a sound, matured mind, just as he 
 about to enter on a course for life — a life 
 in which he had been led to expect stirring 
 its. 
 
 4. The choice of Moses cannot be properly 
 estim&ted without remembering that it was 
 not the pursuit and prospect of great earthly 
 advantages which lie relinquished with the 
 probability thai affliction and reproach would 
 come in their room. No: he gave up the 
 actual possession <>f these good things with the 
 entire certainty that the evil things would 
 
 OOme. Ee was not merely in the high road 
 to honor and wealth and power, but lie could 
 lay his hand on Iheiu all. He had "become 
 
 ,t,'" "mighty in words and deeds;'' !)«• 
 eminent among the Bgyptia 
 
 Nor could Moses have Tailed to remem- 
 
492 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 ber that in refusing to be called the son of 
 Pharaoh's daughter he was exposing himself 
 to the charge of base ingratitude towards his 
 royal benefactress. Moses was not a man 
 whose feelings were so blunted that he was 
 not alive to any just reproach that might be 
 cast upon him. Indeed, the fourth chapter of 
 Exodus shows that he was a man peculiarly 
 modest, diffident, and sensitive to the opinions 
 of mankind. Yet he chose as he did. 
 
 6. The choice of Moses was an unreserved, 
 an unconditional, and a final choice. The 
 royal displeasure once incurred, and the royal 
 confidence once forfeited, there was no hope 
 of return. He indeed had no desire to win 
 back the favor of the Pharaohs. He gave up 
 all to the cause he espoused. He did not 
 even look back. 
 
 7. His choice was a gracious choice. 
 Without the aid of God's Spirit on his heart 
 he never would have made it. Flesh and 
 blood did not reveal to him the great things 
 that lay at the foundation of his decision. 
 
 III. Let us now consider the wisdom of 
 his choice. It was wise then. Moses believed 
 it to be so. His history since has demonstra- 
 ted its wisdom. True, he was forced to flee 
 
THE REPROACH OF CHRIST. 493 
 
 his country. Soon lie was away in Midian. 
 But God visited him there, and spoke to him 
 in the burning bush, and in due time called 
 him to be leader to his people. In the maj- 
 of a mighty man of God, he appeared 
 tie' august ambassador from heaven at the 
 court of Pharaoh; there he wrought great 
 wonders ; then in a marvellous manner he led 
 forth God's afflicted people ; became the his- 
 toriographer of the world ; gave laws to the 
 
 i renowned nation whose history has 
 
 reached us ; in an important sense he became 
 
 the lawgiver of all nations ; he inscribed his 
 
 name oil the pinnacle of fame above that of 
 
 •••untrymen or contemporaries ; he 
 
 lid God and knew him face to face ; he had 
 so mueli honor paid him thai to hinder his tomb 
 from becoming the scene of superstitious devo- 
 tions, no man knoweth the place of his burial 
 unto this day. When he died God stood by 
 him : wlini lie was buried Jehovah buried 
 him — an honor conferred on no other. A 
 after his death he appeared in great glory on 
 
 tie* mount of transfiguration. Since that time 
 
 his splendid career has been becoming still 
 more brilliant ; and \«t it doth not appear 
 
 what he shall be. only when Christ shall 
 
494 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 appear he shall be like unto the* glorified 
 Lamb of God. It is now (1867) nearly three 
 thousand four hundred years since Moses made 
 his choice. Eighty of these were spent in afflic- 
 tion and reproach, yet not without comforts, 
 joys, and supports which none of Egypt's 
 monarchs ever tasted. The remaining more 
 than three thousand years have all been spent 
 in heaven. Yet eternity is hardly begun, and 
 the work of redemption is not consummated 
 either in regard to Moses or his race. The 
 glories of salvation have but begun to be 
 revealed. Already in heaven they sing the 
 song of Moses and the Lamb ; yet what is 
 that song compared to the hosannas and hal- 
 lelujahs which shall fill the upper temple when 
 the fulness of the Gentiles, the abundance of 
 the seas, and the nation of the Jews shall 
 return to God ; and when the work of redemp- 
 tion shall be concluded by the sublimities and 
 splendors of the resurrection morning, of the 
 judgment day, and of the marriage supper of 
 the Lamb ! Could we ask Moses what he now 
 thinks of his choice, does any doubt what his 
 answer would be ? When Peter, James, and 
 John saw him on the holy mount, did they 
 see any thing in his appearance that argued 
 
THE EEPEOACH OF CHEIST. 495 
 
 sorrow or relenting of choice ? Was his coun- 
 ance way-worn or gloomy? Bather, was 
 it not cheered with light like the sun, and 
 glory like unto that of the angels of God? 
 
 IV. Tin: OAUBB of his choice next claims 
 our attention. The cause of his choice was 
 his faith. So we are distinctly told: 'M>y 
 i'aith Mioses, when he was come to years, re- 
 fused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daugh- 
 The great object of Hebrews, chap. 11, 
 where the choice of Moses is stated, is to cel- 
 ebrate the grand achievements of this illustri- 
 ous grace. The faith of Moses was not a blind 
 credulity ; it was not a sottish superstition ; 
 it was a reliance on the divine testimony 
 giveD to the fathers, and through them to 
 their posterity. His faith looked at tin 
 which could be seen neither by sensg DOB 
 
 -on. lie '• had regard to the recompense 
 of reward" — the reward of eternal Life. Be 
 looked bach to former ages, and be looked for- 
 ward to coming ages, The chief excellency oi 
 
 his lailh was. the respect which ii had to the 
 Mesa iah. Hi' believed all thai Qod had said 
 
 the Deliverer which ahould arise. 
 The coming of Ohri crel anion-- the 
 
 Jews. It was always a pillar of their faith. 
 
496 THE BOCK OF OUB SALVATION. 
 
 Moses bore the reproach of Christ. He " es- 
 teemed the scoffs cast on the Israelites for 
 expecting the Messiah to arise from among 
 them, in whom all the nations of the earth 
 should be blessed, 'greater riches than the 
 treasures of Egypt.' - ■ Wonderful indeed have 
 b.een the effects of true faith, wherever it has 
 existed. 
 
 1. True religion is the same in all ages. 
 It is based in the same principles : it produces 
 the same effects. Whoever properly believes 
 God has the same religion that Moses had, 
 and under fair trial will prove it. 
 
 2. Let every man examine himself, and 
 see what manner of spirit he is of. It is a 
 great mercy when G-od so deals with us here 
 as to furnish us a real test of our true char- 
 acter. 
 
 3. The apostle speaks well when he tells 
 us of "precious faith. " What could we do 
 without it ? " Faith makes all evil good to 
 us, and all good better; unbelief makes all 
 good evil to us, and all evil worse. Faith 
 laughs at the shaking of the spear; unbelief 
 trembles at the shaking of a leaf. Faith finds 
 food in famine and a table in the wilderness. 
 
THE KEPKOACH OF CHRIST. 497 
 
 In greatest danger faith answers, I have a 
 great God. "When outward strength is bro- 
 ken, faith answers, The promises are strong 
 still. Then faith pulls out the sting of trouble, 
 and draws out the' wormwood of every afflic- 
 tion." let us have faith in God. Lord, 
 increase our faith. 
 
 4. Let us not be discouraged, however 
 much our condition may differ from our wishes. 
 "The life of a man does not consist in what 
 he has, but in what he is and hopes to be." 
 The same God that led Moses into Midian can 
 bring us out of any depths into which affliction 
 may have cast us. The strong arm with which 
 God saved Mosea and his people is as mighty 
 as ev 
 
 5. The wicked one gives his servants a 
 treatment very different from that received 
 by God's people. "The wages that Bin bar- 
 is to give the sinner are, life, pleasure, and 
 
 profit : but the wages rl pays him are, death, 
 torment, and destruction. Be thai would un- 
 derstand the falsehood and deceil of sin must 
 compare its promises and its payments to? 
 gether." But the Lord gives good measure-, 
 pre ether and running over. In death 
 
 victory. 
 
498 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 " How often has the gloom which spread 
 Above the Christian pilgrim's head, 
 And darkened all his earthly way, 
 Like Israel's beacon, cloud by day, 
 Changed, as the hour of death drew nigh, 
 To flame that streamed along the sky, 
 And lit his footsteps through the night 
 With holy fire and heavenly light." 
 
 Where is your treasure? Where are your 
 affections ? If the earth should be burned up, 
 have you any thing left ? 
 
 6. Let us receive the word of exhortation. 
 Like Moses, we all are passing through scenes 
 which are manifesting our preferences. Had 
 he chosen this world, how different his his- 
 tory, how sad his destiny. We must choose 
 this world or the next. The present is near, 
 urgent, and flattering ; but it is vain, fleeting, 
 and full of disappointment. " Our love to 
 creatures is like the funning of a stream in a 
 channel that is too narrow for it, where stops 
 and banks do make it go on with roaring vio- 
 lence. Our love to G-od is like the brook that 
 slideth into the ocean, where it is insensibly 
 swallowed up." 
 
 7. Let us not be cast down by the reproach 
 of Christ. Others have borne it, and even 
 triumphed in it. All will come right at last. 
 The Son of man has been here in weakness 
 
THE KEPROACH OF CHRIST. 499 
 
 and suffering ; but in due time he shall come 
 in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, 
 and before him shall be gathered all nations. 
 Then it will be found an immortal honor to 
 have borne shame and spitting for him: "If 
 3 e be reproached for the name of Christ, happy 
 are ye ; for the Spirit of glory and of God 
 rcsteth upon you." All this will be manifest 
 in the last day. For the King shall say unto 
 them on his right hand, " Come, ye blessed of 
 my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
 yon from the foundation of the world.'' One 
 smile from the eternal Judge will for ever 
 obliterate all painful impressions made upon 
 us by the scorn of men who have despised us 
 for Christ's sake. 
 
 " Under sorrows and reproaches, 
 this thought our cour. 
 Swiftly God's great day approaches ; 
 Sighs shall then be changed to praise. 
 \W shall triumph 
 D the world is in a blaze." 
 
500 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Great and glorious is our theme when we 
 speak of Christ. He will occupy our thoughts 
 for ever. The preceding chapters have dis- 
 cussed several weighty points. The pious 
 reader will allow some brief remarks on kin- 
 dred topics in conclusion. 
 
 I. Union with Christ. 
 
 The New Testament abounds with teach- 
 ings respecting the union between Christ and 
 believers. Our Lord himself dwelt much on 
 it, especially near the close of his life. In his 
 intercession he prays "that they all may be 
 one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, 
 that they also may be one in us : that the world 
 may believe that thou hast sent me. And the 
 glory which thou gavest me I have given them ; 
 that they may be one, even as we are one : I 
 in them, and thou in me, that they may be 
 perfect in one." John 17 : 21-23. The union 
 between Christ and believers is variously set 
 forth in holy Scripture. 
 
CONCLUSION. 501 
 
 1. Inspired writers compare it to the union 
 between the stones in an edifice and the found- 
 ation. By one of the prophets Jehovah says : 
 "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief Corner-stone, 
 elect, precious ; and he that believeth on 
 him shall not be confounded." The appstle 
 of the circumcision takes up the figure, and 
 refers it to Christ : " To whom coming as unto 
 a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but 
 chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively 
 stones, are built up a spiritual house." The 
 apostle of the Gentiles employs like language : 
 " Ye are built upon the foundation of the apos- 
 tles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being 
 the chief Corner-stone, in whom all the build- 
 ing, fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy 
 temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are build- 
 ed together for a habitation of God through the 
 Spirit" Believers rest their whole weight on 
 Christ. This foundation can never fail. The 
 conflagration of the last day shall in no wise 
 disturb the Rock on which they rest. It shall 
 Maixl for ever. They are not dead, but lively 
 stones, and are a habitation of God through 
 
 Spirit. 
 
 2. Union with Christ is compared to the 
 union of the members in the human body: 
 
502 THE EOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 ' ■ Know ye not that your bodies are the mem- 
 bers of Christ? ... He that is joined unto the 
 Lord is one spirit ; ... ye are the body of Christ, 
 
 and members in particular For as the body 
 
 is one, and hath many members, and all the 
 memjbers of that one body, being many, are 
 one body, so also is Christ." Let not the hand 
 say to the foot, "I have no need of thee;' 7 
 nor the eye to the hand, "I have no need of 
 thee." Christ is the head of the body, the 
 church. So she is sure of his sympathy. No 
 man ever yet hated his own flesh ; neither 
 did Christ ev#r hate one of his own mem- 
 bers. He regarded the cruelties of Saul of 
 Tarsus as directed against himself. He loved 
 his church of old ; he loved her unto death j 
 he loves her still ; he shall love her for 
 ever. 
 
 3. Christ is the Husband of his church, and 
 she is his spouse, his love, his dove, his unde- 
 filed. " The husband is the head of the wife, 
 even as Christ is the head of the church. . . . 
 Husbands, love your wives, , even as Christ 
 also loved the church, and gave himself for 
 it." No husband ever loved his wife as Christ 
 loved the church. His love is infinite, eter- 
 nal, unchangeable. Feeble as she may be, 
 
CONCLUSION. 503 
 
 she comes up safely " from the wilderness, 
 leaning upon her Beloved." 
 
 4. Union with Christ is sometimes com- 
 pared to the union of the branches with the 
 stock: "lam the true vine, and my Father 
 is the husbandman. Every branch in me that 
 bcareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring 
 forth more fruit: I am the vine, ye are the 
 branches ; as the branch cannot bear fruit of 
 itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can 
 ye, except ye abide in me. Abide in me, and 
 I in you." Thus believers get sap and nour- 
 ishment and fruitfulness from Christ, and from 
 Christ alone. In the same connection, the 
 Saviour says: "Without me ye can do noth- 
 ing," No wonder that the branch severed 
 from the trunk withers and dies. 
 
 By this union with Christ his people enjoy 
 all spiritual blessings. In particular, they 
 have pardon by his blood, acceptance by his 
 righteousness, renewal by his Spirit, increase 
 of grace, divine sympathy in their sorrows, 
 vi<torv in temptation, support in death, a glo- 
 rious resurrection, a public acquittal in the 
 day of judgment, and everlasting life. Sev- 
 
 I from Christ, no man is strong, or wise, or 
 righteous, or holy, or safe. United to Christ, 
 
504 THE BOCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 all that is included in a great salvation belongs 
 to the believer. 
 
 So that the real child of God ought not to 
 faint, nor be discouraged. He may have the 
 same temptations and afflictions as his Lord ; 
 but "if we suffer, we shall also reign with him. 
 If we deny him, he also will deny us." There- 
 fore, "if any man suffer as a Christian, let 
 him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God 
 on this behalf." 
 
 Thus also the feeblest child of God shall 
 be tenderly beloved and cared for. The weak 
 in faith shall be holden up, for God is able to 
 make him stand. 
 
 If these things are so, it is not wonderful 
 that God's people have so fervent love one 
 to another. Their union among themselves 
 arises from their union with Christ. The 
 closer they are drawn to him, the nearer they 
 are to one another. 
 
 II. Admiration of Christ. The people 
 of God do greatly admire and wonder at the 
 excellence and glory of Christ. In proportion 
 to their faith, they delight in thinking of his 
 all-sufficiency, and are carried away with their 
 pious thoughts, their souls being made like, 
 the chariots of Amminadib. This shall be a 
 
CONCLUSION. 505 
 
 part of their employment in the last clay and 
 for ever. 
 
 When Christ shall come to be glorified in 
 his saints, he shall also come to be admired in 
 all them that believe. Even in this world, 
 the people of God often forget their trials by 
 the way, and are lost in admiration of Christ. 
 When a young man, for seventeen days I 
 watched by the dying-bed of a dear Christian 
 friend. Shortly before his death, thinking of 
 the Redeemer, he wrote : 
 
 What Christian has not sometimes given 
 expression to the feelings of his heart in some 
 such language as this: 'What a Saviour ! > 
 That there should be to us, lost and ruined 
 sinners, any Saviour, is marvellous mercy, is 
 worthy of our highest admiration ; but that 
 there should be to us such a Saviour, is still 
 more astonishing. I have thought that we 
 might have had a Saviour, who should have 
 
 1 1 able to save us, and should have actually 
 saved many, and yet not have been such a 
 Saviour. Less tender, less condescending, 
 less forbearing, I have thought, he might have 
 
 i, and yet have been a Saviour. It seems 
 as if Jesus had said more kind things and 
 done more kind arts than were absolutely 
 
 Hoc* of 8*Jr«. 22 
 
506 THE EOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 necessary to have been said and done by him. 
 Need he have made that apology for his dis- 
 ciples, who could sleep when he was in his 
 agony — 'the spirit indeed is willing, but the 
 flesh is weak?' I wonder how they could 
 have slept in such an hour ; but I wonder 
 more at the apology their Master made for 
 them. Need he have uttered that prayer on 
 the cross, 'Father, forgive them ; for they know 
 not what they do V We do n't expect such 
 things from the innocent when dying by the 
 hand of violence. If he had maintained silence 
 during these hours of inconceivable anguish, 
 we should have been satisfied. But Oh, think 
 of his forgetting himself, and when they were 
 deriding, and in every way insulting him, 
 hear him meekly addressing his Father on 
 their behalf, asking him to forgive them, and 
 pleading for them that they knew not what 
 they did. It was not necessary that he should 
 have paid any visible attention to the suppli- 
 cation of the thief. It could not have been 
 expected of him. But that he should have 
 turned his head, and looked such forgiveness 
 and love while he said, 'To-day shalt thou 
 be with me in paradise,' is a strange mystery 
 of love. 'what a Saviour!' Why, he 
 
CONCLUSION. 507 
 
 knows from experience what pain is ; he has 
 had the trials I have ; he has been through 
 the vale of tears ; he knows how I am tried ; 
 he remembers how he was tried. If he never 
 smiled, yet he wept — even over the very city 
 and people whose soil and hands were about to 
 be stained with his blood. I wonder I love him 
 so little ; I wonder he is not more precious to 
 me ; I wonder any should be offended in him. 
 How can he appear a root out of a dry 
 ground? Why don't all see his form and 
 comeliness ?" 
 
 Such admiration of the Saviour naturally 
 leads to — 
 
 III. The imitation of Christ. 
 
 It is with great authority over the con- 
 science that the Scripture says: "Let this 
 mind be in you which was also in Christ 
 
 as;" and "Consider him that endured such 
 contradiction of sinners against himself, lest 
 ye be wearied and faint in your minds." 
 Christ's example shows us what the Christian 
 
 ces are, and how far they are to be carried. 
 It is sometimes said that there is a point 
 beyond which forbearance ceases to be a vir- 
 tue \i' there be such a point, surely it would 
 have been reached in the life of Christ. But 
 
508 THE KOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 where is it ? He hath left us an example that 
 we should follow his steps. True Christians 
 love to sing : 
 
 " Such was thy truth, and such thy zeal, 
 Such deference to thy Father's will, 
 Such love, and meekness so divine, 
 I would transcribe and make them mine. 
 
 "Be thou my pattern ; make me bear 
 More of thy gracious image here ! 
 Then God the Judge shall own my name 
 Amongst the followers of the Lamb." 
 
 That this is not overstraining the matter is 
 evident from Scripture. John says that every 
 man who hopes to see Jesus as he is, purines 
 himself even as He is pure. 1 John 3:3. Paul 
 says : "lam crucified with Christ : neverthe- 
 less I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in 
 me." Gal. 2 : 20. It is therefore a great 
 fault in professors of religion that they do not 
 more earnestly strive to imitate Christ in 
 love, and gentleness, in tenderness of heart, 
 in submission to the will of God, in zeal for 
 the divine glory, in self-abnegation, in silence 
 under unjust reproaches, and in all his imita- 
 ble virtues. The highest honor we can render 
 to the Lord Jesus is honestly and earnestly 
 to pray and labor to be like him. 
 
 Of course nothing distresses the people of 
 God so much as to find themselves full of 
 
CONCLUSION. 509 
 
 imperfection, even after they have long been 
 followers of the Lamb. They still daily cry : 
 "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our 
 debtors. " 
 
 Philip Henry says : " If my prayers were 
 written down, and my vain thoughts inter- 
 lined, what incoherent nonsense would there 
 be ! I am ashamed, Lord, I am ashamed ! 
 Oh pity and pardon ! . . . These following 
 sins were set home with power upon my con- 
 science : 1. Omissions innumerable. I fall 
 short of duty in every relation. 2. Much fro- 
 wardness upon every occasion, which fills my 
 way with thorns and snares. 3. Pride ; a 
 vein of it runs through all my conversation. 
 4. Self-seeking ; corrupt ends in all I do. 
 Applause of men often regarded more than 
 the glory of God. 5. My own iniquity. Many 
 babblings up of heart-corruption, and break- 
 ings forth too. Lord, shame hath covered 
 my face." 
 
 Indeed, the best men weep day and night 
 r their unbelief, hardness of heart, pride, 
 vanity, ingratitude, discontent, self-will, self- 
 righteousness, irritability, envy, censorious- 
 ness, carnal security, spiritual deadness, lack 
 of fervor, and other sins and short-comings. 
 
510 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 This has been the case with men of every 
 age. Job says, "I abhor myself, and repent in 
 dust and ashes." David cries, "Mine iniquities 
 have taken nold upon me, so that I am not 
 able to look up ; they are more than the hairs 
 of my head : therefore my heart faileth me." 
 Isaiah said, ' ' Woe is me ! for I am undone ; 
 because I am a man of unclean lips, and I 
 dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." 
 Peter "fell. down at Jesus' knees, saying, De- 
 part from me, for I am a sinful man,. Lord." 
 
 The bitterest cry ever heard on earth was 
 that of the Saviour on the cross, "My God, 
 my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" Next 
 to this in bitterness was the cry of Paul: "0 
 wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver 
 me from the body of this death ?" The body of 
 this death is a Hebrew form of expression, 
 signifying this dead body. The language is 
 supposed by some to have been derived from 
 the mode of punishing murderers adopted by 
 certain ancient tribes, who fastened the sev- 
 eral parts of the body of the murdered to the 
 corresponding parts of the murderer, then 
 confining his hands so that he could not effect 
 his own release. In his distress, the poor 
 criminal would cry, "Who shall deliver me 
 
CONCLUSION. 511 
 
 from this dead body? Oh that I had some 
 relief. Will no one help me ?" 
 
 So Paul cried for deliverance. He loathed 
 sin. He hated nothing so much. Whenever 
 he contemplated it, it filled him with terror 
 and detestation. He consented to the law that 
 it was good: yea, he delighted in the law of 
 God after the inward man. With his mind 
 he served the law of God. He loved holi- 
 ness, yet so annoyed was he by indwelling 
 sin, and so violent were its assaults upon him, 
 that he pronounces himself carnal, sold under 
 sin. The contest was dreadful, the war fear- 
 ful. Nothing was to him so offensive as his 
 
 : corruptions. In the jail at Philippi, his 
 flesh torn with the scourges, his feet fast in 
 the stocks, surrounded by the gloom of mid- 
 night, lie prayed, and sang praises to God, 
 and the prisoners heard him. He was in 
 stripes above measure, in prisons more fre- 
 quent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times 
 he received forty stripes save one. Thrice 
 he beaten with rods, once was he stoned, 
 lli rice he suffered shipwreck, a night and a 
 day had he been in the deep ; in journcyings 
 ■•) -il.s of waters, in perils of robbers, 
 in perils by his own countrymen! in perils by 
 
512 THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in 
 the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils 
 amongst false brethren ; in weariness and 
 painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and 
 thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 
 Yea. the Holy Ghost witnessed that in every 
 city bonds and afflictions awaited him. Yet of 
 all these he said, "None of these things move 
 me." But when sin pierces him he cries, "0 
 wretched man that I am!" 0, it is a good 
 sign to mourn for sin, and to long for holiness. 
 How sweet heaven will be to all weary pil- 
 grims. There we shall be for ever done with 
 temptation. There we shall never, never sin. 
 There we shall be like him, for we shall see 
 him as he is. Even now a view of him by 
 faith has a transforming power, as Paul 
 teaches : " We all, with open face beholding 
 as in a glass [mirror] the glory of the Lord, 
 are changed into the same image from glory 
 to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 
 2 Cor. 3 :18. And Paul himself follows his 
 cry with the triumphant shout : " I thank God 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 IY. Glorifying Christ. 
 
 If the views previously presented are cor- 
 rect, then it is true that all the saints do 
 
CONCLUSION. 513 
 
 greatly desire to put the highest honor upon 
 Christ — they glorify him. In receiving honor 
 from his people, Christ and the Father are not 
 separated. When we in heart honor one per- 
 son of the Godhead, we virtually honor all. 
 And it is the will of God that "all men 
 should honor the Son even as they honor the 
 Father." John 5 : 23. How full the Scrip- 
 tures are of this matter, the pious reader will 
 easily remember. 
 
 This truth is often and delightfully illus- 
 trated in the Life of David Brainerd. Under 
 date of November 22, 1744, he writes : 
 "Came on my way from Eockciticus to the 
 Delaware. Was very much disordered with 
 a cold and pain in my head. About six at 
 night I lost my way in the wilderness, and 
 wandered over rocks and mountains, clown 
 hideous steeps, through swamps, and most 
 dreadful and dangerous places ; and the night 
 being dark, so that few stars could be seen, I 
 was greatly exposed. I was much pinched 
 with cold, and distressed with an extreme 
 pain in my head, attended with sickness at my 
 stomach ; so that every step I took was dis- 
 m<\ I had little hope for several 
 hours together, but that 1 must lie out in the 
 
514 THE EOCK OF OUK SALVATION. 
 
 woods all night in this distressed case. But 
 about nine o'clock I found a house through the 
 abundant goodness of God, and was kindly 
 entertained. Thus I have frequently been 
 exposed, and sometimes lain out the whole 
 night ; but God has hitherto preserved me, 
 and blessed be his name. Such fatigues and 
 hardships as these serve to wean me from the 
 earth - and, I trust, will make heaven the 
 sweeter. Formerly when I was thus exposed 
 to cold, rain, etc., I was ready to please my- 
 self with the thoughts of enjoying a comfort- 
 able house, warm fire, and other outward 
 comforts ; but now these have less place in 
 my heart, through the grace of God, and my 
 eye is more to God for comfort. In this 
 world I expect tribulation ; and it does not 
 now, as formerly, appear strange to me. I 
 do not in such seasons of difficulty flatter my- 
 self that it will be better hereafter ; but rather 
 think how much worse it might be, how much 
 greater trials others of God's children have 
 endured, and how much greater are yet per- 
 haps reserved for me. Blessed be God, that 
 he makes the thought of my journey's end and 
 of my dissolution a great comfort to me under 
 my sharpest trials, and scarce ever lets these 
 
CONCLUSION. 515 
 
 thoughts be attended with terror or melan- 
 choly ; but they are attended frequently with 
 great joy." 
 
 The secret of this remarkable calmness 
 and heroism is elsewhere clearly expressed 
 by the pious sufferer. Under date of July 
 2G, 1747, he says: "This day I saw clearly 
 that I should never be happij — yea, that God 
 himself could not make me happy-— unless I 
 could be in a capacity to please and glorify 
 him for ever.'' Again, September 19, of the 
 same year : " Oh how I longed that God 
 should be glorified on earth! . . . Bodily pains 
 I cared not for ; though I was then in extrem- 
 ity, I never felt easier. I felt willing to glo- 
 rify God in that state of bodily distress, as 
 long as he pleased I should continue in it." 
 Again, September 27, of the same year, he 
 says: '.'I am almost in eternity. I long to 
 
 there. My work is done ; I have done 
 
 witli all my friends ; all the world, is nothing 
 
 to me. I long to be in heaven, praising and 
 
 glorifying God with the holy angels. All my 
 
 is to glorify God." The last recorded 
 
 ii from his lips are, "I shall soon 
 
 ;iiY God with the angel$." 
 
 Thus felt also inspired men of old: "I will 
 
516 THE ROCK OF OUE SALVATION. 
 
 glorify thy name for evermore." Psa. 86 :12. 
 Thus the prophet enjoined: "Glorify ye the 
 Lord in the fires." Isa. 24:15. Thus the 
 Saviour taught: "Let your light so shine 
 before men that they may see your good 
 works, and glorify your Father which is in 
 heaven." Matt. 5:16. The sickness of Laz- 
 arus was "not unto death, but for the glory 
 of God, that the Son of God might be glori- 
 fied thereby." John 11 : 4. Christ and the 
 Father are one. Whoever glorifies the Fa- 
 ther, glorifies the Son ; and whoever glorifies 
 the Son, glorifies the Father. 
 
 Y. Reigning with Christ. 
 
 Many saints have left the world crying, 
 " Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." The 
 Master had come, and was calling for them. 
 The last words of Eobert Bruce were : ' ' Now 
 God be with you, my children; I have break- 
 fasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord 
 Jesus Christ this night." Grimshaw said : 
 "I shall have my greatest grief and my great- 
 est joy when I die. My greatest grief, that I 
 have done so little for Christ ; my greatest joy, 
 that Christ has done so much for me." Felix 
 Neff's last words were: "Victory! victory! 
 victory! by Jesus Christ." Dr. Marshman's 
 
CONCLUSION. 517 
 
 were : " Can you think of any thing I am yet 
 to do for the kingdom of Christ?" Dr. W. J. 
 Hoge : "I could tell of Jonathan Edwards, 
 and of many wonderful authors and poets, 
 but they are all comparatively low down. 
 Christ! Christ! the glory of Christ." 
 
 Though Christ's people know their Lord, 
 the best is that they are known of him. 
 
 It was probably a part of a hymn in use 
 in the primitive church, and is certainly a 
 part of Scripture: "If we suffer [with him] 
 we shall also reign with him." 2 Tim. 2:12. 
 More than half a century after our Lord's 
 ascension to glory, he sends to the angel of 
 the church at Laodicea this message : "To him 
 thai overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my 
 throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down 
 with my Father in his throne" Rev. 3:21. 
 Doddridge's paraphrase of this promise is : 
 "For your further encouragement, hear the 
 lasi promise which I make to all who exert 
 themselves in that holy warfare to which I 
 am calling you with becoming vigor and res- 
 olution. As for the valiant conqueror, I will 
 him to sit down with me upon my glori- 
 ous and exalted throne in the heavenly world ; 
 as I also myself have conquered the enemies 
 
518 THE BOCK OF OUR SALVATION. 
 
 which violently assaulted me in the days ol 
 my flesh, and am set down with my Father 
 upon his throne; my faithful servants shall 
 partake with me of this honor in the great 
 day of my appearing, and shall live and reign 
 with me for ever." 
 
 Poole explains the promise thus : "I will 
 give him great honor, dignity, and power ; 
 he shall judge the world in the day of judg- 
 ment, 1 Cor. 6:3, and the twelve tribes of 
 Israel, Matt. 19:28; he shall be made par- 
 taker of my glory, John 17 : 22, 24. But such 
 must come to my throne as I came to it. I 
 overcame the world, sin, death, the devil, and 
 then ascended, and sat down with my Father 
 in his throne : so they that will sit down with 
 me in my throne of glory must fight the same 
 fight, and overcome, and then be crowned.' 7 
 
 What is meant by this glorious promise is, 
 and must remain, very much a secret, until 
 we go and see for ourselves, and by a blessed 
 experience find out what it is to enter into the 
 joy of the Lord. Even Paul, who had often' 
 been rapt in visions of the third heavens, could 
 tell us no more than this : "I heard unspeak- 
 able words which it is not lawful for a man 
 to utter." The ancient artist drew Helen 
 
CONCLUSION. 519 
 
 with a veil over her face, |hus confessing that 
 to paint her was impossible. It is far more 
 impossible for us to picture the glories of the 
 celestial state. We must wait till we behold 
 it with our eyes. Then we shall say, "The 
 half was" not told us." 
 
 "On wings of faith mount up, my soul, and rise ; 
 View thine inheritance beyond the skies. 
 Nor heart can think, nor mortal tongue can tell, 
 What endless pleasures in those mansions dwell. 
 Here my Redeemer lives, all bright and glorious ; 
 O'er sin, and death, and hell he reigns victorious. 
 
 " No gnawing grief, no sad, heart-rending pain, 
 In that blest country can admission gain. 
 No sorrow there, no soul-tormenting fear, 
 For God's own hand shall wipe the falling tear. 
 Here my Redeemer lives, all bright and glorious ; 
 O'er sin, and death, and hell he reigns victorious. 
 
 "No rising sun his needless beams displays, 
 No sickly moon emits her feeble rays. 
 The Godhead here celestial glory sheds ; 
 Th' exalted Lamb eternal radiance spreads. 
 Here my Redeemer lives, all bright and glorious ; 
 O'er sin, and death, and hell he reigns victorious. 
 
 " One distant glimpse my eager passion fires. 
 Jesus, to thee my longing soul aspires. 
 When shall I at my heavenly home arrive? 
 
 i leave this earth, and when begin to live ? 
 For In re my Saviour is, all bright and glorious ; 
 O'er sin, and death, and hell he reigns victorious,'' 
 
 TJ*I7BRSir 
 
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