as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may
remain;” the abrogation of “carnal ordinances,” which were local and
temporal in their nature, to make room for a spiritual worship, of
universal and perpetual adaptation. Henceforth the blood of bulls and
goats is superseded by the great reconciling sacrifice of the Lamb of
God, and outward forms and ceremonies give place to the inward operations
of a renovating and purifying Spirit.
To the Jewish church, the covenant of Sinai was a sort of starry heaven.
The Shekinah was its sun; the holy festivals, its moon; and prophets,
priests, and kings, its stars. But Messiah, when he came, shook them all
from their spheres, and filled the firmament himself. He is our “Bright
and Morning Star;” the “Sun of Righteousness,” rising upon us “with
healing in his wings.”
The old covenant was an accuser and a judge, but offered no pardon to the
guilty. It revealed the corruption of the natural heart, but provided no
renovating and sanctifying grace. It was a national institution, for the
special benefit of the seed of Abraham. It was a small vessel, trading
only with the land of Canaan. It secured to a few the temporal blessings
of the promised possession, but never delivered a single soul from
eternal death; never bore a single soul over to the heavenly inheritance.
But the new covenant is a covenant of grace and mercy, proffering
forgiveness and a clean heart, not on the ground of any carnal
relationship, but solely through faith in Jesus Christ. Christianity is
a personal concern between each man and his God, and none but the
penitent believer has any right to its spiritual privileges. It is
adapted to Gentiles as well as Jews, “even as many as the Lord our God
shall call.” Already has it rescued myriads from the bondage of sin, and
conveyed them over to the land of immortality; and its voyages of grace
shall continue to the end of time, “bringing many sons to glory.”
“Old things are passed away, and all things are become new.” The
circumcision of the flesh, made with hands, has given place to the
circumcision of the heart by the Holy Ghost. The Shekinah has departed
from Mount Zion, but its glory is illuminating the world. The sword of
Joshua is returned to its scabbard; and “the sword of the Spirit, which
is the word of God,” issues from the mouth of Messiah, and subdues the
people under him. The glorious High-priesthood of Christ has superseded
the sacerdotal office among men. Aaron was removed from the altar by
death before his work was finished; but our High-priest still wears his
sacrificial vestments, and death has established him before the
mercy-seat, “a priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec.” The
earthquake which shook mount Calvary, and rent the veil of the temple,
demolished “the middle wall of partition” between Jews and Gentiles. The
incense which Jesus offered fills the temple, and the land of Judea
cannot confine its fragrance. The fountain which burst forth in
Jerusalem, has sent out its living streams into every land; and the heat
of summer cannot dry them up, nor the frosts of winter congeal.
In short, all the vessels of the sanctuary are taken away by the Lord of
the temple. The “twelve oxen,” bearing the “molten sea,” have given
place to “the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” proclaiming “the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” The sprinkled mercy-seat,
with its overshadowing and intensely-gazing cherubim, has given place to
“the throne of grace,” stained with the blood of a costlier sacrifice,
into which the angels desire to look. The priest, the altar, the
burnt-offering, the table of shew-bread, and the golden candlestick, have
given place to the better things of the new dispensation introduced by
the Son of God, of which they were only the figures and the types.
Behold, the glory is gone up from the temple, and rests upon Jesus on
mount Tabor; and Moses and Elias are there, with Peter, and James, and
John; and the representatives of the old covenant are communing with the
apostles of the new, and the transfigured Christ is the medium of the
communication; and a voice of majestic music, issuing from “the excellent
glory,” proclaims—“This is my beloved Son; hear ye him!”
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake unto our fathers by
the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” Behold
him nailed to the cross, and hear him cry—“It is finished!” The voice
which shook Sinai is shaking Calvary. Heaven and hell are in conflict,
and earth trembles at the shock of battle. The Prince of Life expires,
and the sun puts on his robes of mourning. Gabriel! descend from heaven,
and explain to us the wondrous emblem! As set the sun at noon on
Golgotha, making preternatural night throughout the land of Palestine; so
shall the empire of sin and death be darkened, and their light shall be
quenched at meridian. As the Sun of Righteousness, rising from the night
of the grave on the third morning, brings life and immortality to light;
so shall “the day-spring from on high” yet dawn upon our gloomy vale, and
“the power of his resurrection” shall reanimate the dust of every
cemetery!
He that sitteth upon the throne hath spoken—“Behold, I make all things
new!” The reformation includes not only the abrogation of the old, but
also the introduction of the new. It gives us a new Mediator, a new
covenant of grace, a new way of salvation, a new heart of flesh, a new
heaven and a new earth. It has established a new union, by a new medium,
between God and man. “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.” “Forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh
and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.” “God was
manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached
unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
Here was a new thing under the sun; the “Son of man” bearing the “express
image” of the living God; bearing it untarnished through the world;
through the temptations and sorrows of such a wilderness as humanity
never trod before; through the unknown agony of Olivet, and the
supernatural gloom of Golgotha, and the dark dominion of the king of
terrors; to the heaven of heavens; where he sits, the adorable
representative of two worlds, the union of God and man! Thence he sends
forth the Holy Spirit, to collect “the travail of his soul,” and lead
them into all truth, and bring them to Zion with songs of everlasting
joy. See them, the redeemed of the Lord, flocking, as returning doves
upon the wing, “to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God;
and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and to an innumerable
company of angels; and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant; and to
the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel!”
O, join the joyful multitude! The year of jubilee is come. The veil is
rent asunder. The way into the holiest is laid open. The blood of Jesus
is on the mercy-seat. The Lamb newly slain is in the midst of the
throne. Go ye with boldness into his gracious presence. Lo, the King is
your brother, and for you has he stained his robe with blood! That robe
alone can clothe your naked souls, and shield them in the day of burning.
Awake! awake! put on the Lord Jesus Christ! The covenant of Sinai cannot
save you from wrath. Descent from Abraham cannot entitle you to the
kingdom of heaven. “Ye must be born again;” “born, not of the flesh, nor
of the will of men, but of God.” You must have a new heart, and become a
new creation in Christ Jesus. This is the promise of the Father.
“This is the dear redeeming grace,
For every sinner free!”
Many reformations have expired with the reformers. But our Great
Reformer “ever liveth” to carry on his reformation, till his enemies
become his footstool, and death and hell are cast into the lake of fire.
He will finish the building of his church. When he laid the “chief
corner-stone” on Calvary, the shock jarred the earth, and awoke the dead,
and shook the nether world with terror; but when he shall bring forth the
top stone with shoutings of “grace!” the dominion of Death and Hades
shall perish, and the last captive shall escape, and the song of the
bursting sepulchre shall be sweeter than the chorus of the morning stars!
Even now, there are new things in heaven; the Lamb from the slaughter,
alive “in the midst of the throne;” worshipped by innumerable seraphim
and cherubim, and adored by the redeemed from earth; his name the wonder
of angels, the terror of devils, and the hope of men; his praise the “new
song,” which shall constitute the employment of eternity!
SERMON II.
THE TRIUMPH OF CALVARY
“_Who is this that cometh from Edom_, _with dyed garments from
Bozrah_? _this that is glorious in his apparel_, _travelling in the
greatness of his strength_? _I that speak in righteousness_, _mighty
to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel_, _and thy garments
like him that treadeth in the winefat_? _I have trodden the
winepress alone_; _and of the people there was none with me_: _for I
will tread them in mine anger_, _and trample them in my fury_; _and
their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments_, _and I will stain
all my raiment_. _For the day of vengeance is in mine heart_, _and
the year of my redeemed is come_. _And I looked_, _and there was
none to help_; _and I wondered that there was none to uphold_:
_therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me_: _and my fury_,
_it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger_, _and
make them drunk in my fury_, _and I will bring down their strength to
the earth_.”—Isaiah lxiii. 1–6.
THIS passage is one of the sublimest in the Bible. Not more majestic and
overwhelming is the voice of God issuing from the burning bush. It
represents “the Captain of our salvation,” left alone in the heat of
battle, marching victoriously through the broken columns of the foe,
bursting the bars asunder, bearing away the brazen gates, and delivering
by conquest the captives of sin and death. Let us first determine the
events to which our text relates, and then briefly explain the questions
and answers which it contains.
I. We have here a wonderful victory, obtained by Christ, in the city of
Bozrah, in the land of Edom. Our first inquiry concerns the time and the
place of that achievement.
Some of the prophecies are literal, and others are figurative. Some of
them are already fulfilled, and others are in daily process of
fulfilment. Respecting this prophecy, divines disagree. Some think it
is a description of Christ’s conflict and victory, without the gates of
Jerusalem, eighteen centuries ago; and others understand it as referring
to the great battle of Armageddon, predicted in the Apocalypse, and yet
to be consummated before the end of the world.
I am not willing to pass by mount Calvary, and Joseph’s new tomb, on my
way to the field of Armageddon; nor am I willing to pause at the scene of
the crucifixion and the ascension, without going farther on to the final
conquest of the foe. I believe Divine inspiration has included both
events in the text; the victory already won on Calvary, and the victory
yet to be accomplished in Armageddon; the finished victory of Messiah’s
passion, and the progressive victory of his gospel and his grace.
The chief difficulty, in understanding some parts of the word of God,
arises from untranslated words; many of which are found in our own
version, as well as in that of our English neighbors. For instance—in
Mat. ii. 23, it is said, “He came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, He shall be
called a Nazarene.” Where in the prophets is it predicted that Christ
shall be called a Nazarene? Nowhere. When the proper names are
translated, the difficulty vanishes. “He came and dwelt in a city called
_plantation_, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,
He shall be called _the Branch_.” This name is given him by Isaiah,
Jeremiah, and Zechariah. Now this is precisely the difficulty that
occurs in our text, and the translation of the terms unties the
knot:—“Who is this that cometh from Edom,” _red earth_—“with dyed
garments from Bozrah,” _tribulation_?
The former part of the text has reference to the victory of Calvary; the
latter part anticipates the battle and triumph of Armageddon, mentioned
in Rev. xvi. 16. The victory of Calvary is consummated on the morning of
the third day after the crucifixion. The Conqueror comes up from the
earth, exclaiming:—“I have trodden the winepress alone on Calvary; and I
will tread them in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, at the
battle of Armageddon. I will overtake and destroy the beast, and the
false prophet, and that old serpent the devil, with all their hosts.”
When the tide of battle turned, on the field of Waterloo, the Duke of
Wellington mounted his horse, and pursued the vanquished foe. So
Isaiah’s Conqueror, having routed the powers of hell on Calvary, pursues
and destroys them on the field of Armageddon. Here he is represented as
a hero on foot, a prince without an army; but John, the revelator, saw
him riding on a white horse, and followed by the armies of heaven, all on
white horses, and not a footman among them.
The victory of Calvary is like the blood of atonement in the sanctuary.
The cherubim were some of them looking one way, and some the other, but
all were looking on the atoning blood. Thus all the great events of
time—all the trials and triumphs of God’s people—those which happened
before, those which have happened since, and those which are yet to
happen, are all looking toward the wrestling of Gethsemane, the conflict
of Golgotha, and the triumph of Olivet. The escape from Egypt, and the
return from Babylon, looked forward to the cross of Christ; and the faith
of the perfect man of Uz hung on a risen Redeemer. The Christian martyrs
overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and all their victories were in virtue
of one great achievement. The tomb of Jesus is the birthplace of his
people’s immortality, and the power which raised him from the dead shall
open the sepulchres of all his saints. “Thy dead men shall live;
together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that
dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth
shall cast forth her dead.”
Christ offered himself a sacrifice for us, and drank the cup of God’s
righteous indignation in our stead. He was trodden by Almighty justice,
as a cluster of grapes, in the winepress of the law, till the vessels of
mercy overflowed with the wine of peace and pardon, which has made
thousands of contrite and humble spirits “rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory.” He suffered for us, that we might triumph with him.
But our text describes him as a king and a conqueror. He was, at once,
the dying victim and the immortal victor. In “the power of an endless
life,” he was standing by the altar, when the sacrifice was burning. He
was alive in his sacerdotal vestments, with his golden censer in his
hand. He was alive in his kingly glory, with his sword and his sceptre
in his hand. He was alive in his conquering prowess, and had made an end
of sin, and bruised the head of the serpent, and spoiled the
principalities and powers of hell, and turned the vanquished hosts of the
prince of darkness down to the winepress of the wrath of Almighty God.
Then, on the morning of the third day, when he arose from the dead, and
made a show of them openly—then began the year of jubilee with power!
After the prophets of ancient times had long gazed through the mists of
futurity, at the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, a
company of them were gathered together on the summit of Calvary. They
saw a host of enemies ascending the hill, arrayed for battle, and most
terrific in their aspect. In the middle of the line was the law of God,
fiery and exceeding broad, and working wrath. On the right wing, was
Beelzebub with his troops of infernals; and on the left Caiaphas with his
Jewish priests, and Pilate with his Roman soldiers. The rear was brought
up by Death, the last enemy. When the holy seers had espied this army,
and perceived that it was drawing nigh, they started back, and prepared
for flight. As they looked round, they saw the Son of God advancing with
intrepid step, having his face fixed on the hostile band. “Seest thou
the danger that is before thee,” said one of the men of God. “I will
tread them in mine anger,” he replied, “and trample them in my fury.”
“Who art thou?” said the prophet; He answered: “I that speak in
righteousness, mighty to save.” “Wilt thou venture to the battle alone?”
asked the seer. The Son of God replied: “I looked, and there was none to
help; and I wondered there was none to uphold; therefore mine own arm
shall bring salvation unto me; and my fury it shall uphold me.” “At what
point wilt thou commence thy attack?” inquired the anxious prophet. “I
will first meet the Law,” he replied, “and pass under its curse: for lo!
I come to do thy will, O God. When I shall have succeeded at the centre
of the line, the colors will turn in my favor.” So saying he moved
forward. Instantly the thunderings of Sinai were heard, and the whole
band of prophets quaked with terror. But he advanced, undaunted, amidst
the gleaming lightnings. For a moment he was concealed from view; and
the banner of wrath waved above in triumph. Suddenly the scene was
changed. A stream of blood poured forth from his wounded side, and put
out all the fires of Sinai. The flag of peace was now seen unfurled, and
consternation filled the ranks of his foes. He then crushed, with his
bruised heel, the old serpent’s head; and put all the infernal powers to
flight. With his iron rod he dashed to pieces the enemies on the left
wing, like a potter’s vessel. Death still remained, who thought himself
invincible, having hitherto triumphed over all. He came forward,
brandishing his sting, which he had whetted on Sinai’s tables of stone.
He darted it at the Conqueror, but it turned down, and hung like the
flexible lash of a whip. Dismayed, he retreated to the grave, his
palace, into which the Conqueror pursued. In a dark corner of his den,
he sat on his throne of moldering skulls, and called upon the worms, his
hitherto faithful allies, to aid him in the conflict; but they
replied—“His flesh shall see no corruption!” The scepter fell from his
hand. The Conqueror seized him, bound him, and condemned him to the lake
of fire; and then rose from the grave, followed by a band of released
captives, who came forth after his resurrection to be witnesses of the
victory which he had won. {94}
John in the Apocalypse did not look so far back as the treading of this
winepress; but John saw him on his white horse, decked with his many
crowns, his eyes like flames of fire, a two-edged sword in his hand, in
the van of the armies of heaven, going forth conquering and to conquer.
This is the fulfilment of his declaration in our text:—“For I will tread
them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury.” This is the beginning
of the jubilee, the battle of Armageddon, wherein all heathen idolatry
and superstition shall be overthrown, and the beast and the false prophet
shall be discomfited, and the devil arid his legions shall be taken
prisoners by Emmanuel, and shut up in the bottomless pit. He who hath
conquered principalities and powers on Calvary, will not leave the field,
till he make all his enemies his footstool, and sway his scepter over a
subject universe. Having sent forth the gospel from Jerusalem, he
accompanies it with the grace of his Holy Spirit; and it shall not return
unto him void, but shall accomplish that which he pleaseth, and prosper
in the thing whereto he hath sent it.
The victory of Armageddon is obtained by virtue of the victory of
Calvary. It is but the consummation of the same glorious campaign; and
the first decisive blow dealt on the prince of darkness is a sure
precursor of the final conquest. “I will meet thee again at Philippi!”
said the ghost of Julius Cæsar to Brutus. “I will meet thee again at
Armageddon!” saith the Son of God to Satan on Calvary—“I will meet thee
in the engagement between good and evil, grace and depravity, in every
believer’s heart; in the contest of Divine Truth with human errors, of
the religion of God with the superstitions of men; in every sermon, every
revival, every missionary enterprise; in the spread and glory of the
gospel in the latter day, I will meet thee; and the heel which thou hast
now bruised, shall crush thy head for ever!”
Man’s deliverance is of God. Man had neither the inclination nor the
power. His salvation originated in the Divine Love, and burst forth like
an ocean from the fountains of eternity. Satan, as a ravenous lion, had
taken the prey, and was running to his den with the bleeding sheep in his
mouth; but the Shepherd of Israel pursues him, overtakes him, and rends
him as if he were a kid. The declaration of war was made in Eden:—“I
will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed; thou shalt bruise his heel, and he shall bruise thy head.” It
shall be fulfilled. The league with hell, and the covenant with death
shall not stand. The rebellion shall be quelled, the conspiracy shall be
broken, and the strong man armed shall yield the citadel to a stronger.
The works of the devil shall be destroyed, and the prey shall be taken
from the teeth of the terrible. The house of David shall grow stronger
and stronger, and the house of Saul shall grow weaker and weaker, till
the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and of his
Christ, and Satan shall be bound in chains of darkness, and cast into the
lake of fire. All the enemies of Zion shall be vanquished, and the
forfeited favor of God shall be recovered, and the lost territory of
peace and holiness and immortality shall be restored to man.
This campaign is carried on at the expense of the government of heaven.
The treasury is inexhaustible; the arms are irresistible; therefore the
victory is sure. The Almighty King has descended; he has taken the city
of Bozrah; he has swayed his scepter over Edom; he has risen
victoriously, and gone up with a shout, as the leader of all the army.
This is but the pledge and the earnest of his future achievements. In
the battle of Armageddon, he shall go forth as a mighty man; he shall
stir up jealousy as a man of war; and he shall prevail against his
enemies. They shall be turned back—they shall be greatly ashamed, that
trust in graven images—that say unto molten images, “Ye are our gods!”
Then he will open the blind eyes, and bring the prisoners from the
prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. He will
make bare his holy arm—he will show the sword in that hand which was
hidden under the scarlet robe—he will manifest his power in the
destruction of his enemies, and the salvation of his people. As
certainly as he hath shed his blood on Calvary, shall he stain all his
raiment with the blood of his foes on the field of Armageddon. As
certainly as he hath drained the cup of wrath, and received the baptism
of suffering, on Calvary, shall he wield the iron rod of justice, and
sway the golden sceptre of mercy, on the field of Armageddon. Already
the sword is drawn, and the decisive blow is struck, and the helmet of
Apollyon is cleft, and the bonds of iniquity are cut asunder. Already
the fire is kindled, and all the powers of hell cannot quench it. It has
fallen from heaven; it is consuming the camp of the foe; it is inflaming
the hearts of men; it is renovating the earth, and purging away the
curse. “The bright and Morning Star” has risen on Calvary; and soon “the
Son of Righteousness” shall shine on the field of Armageddon; and the
darkness that covers the earth, and the gross darkness that covers the
people, shall melt away; and Mohammedism, and Paganism, and Popery, with
their prince, the devil, shall seek shelter in the bottomless pit!