conferred upon all his relatives an independent fortune. To us also a
brother was born against the day of adversity, who is able to enrich us
all with eternal riches. You know not what hardships your brother
endured in the East, while gathering the wealth you now enjoy; but we
know that our brother, “though he was rich, for our sakes became poor,
that we through his poverty might be rich.”
When Naomi returned from the land of Moab, Elimelech, her husband, was
dead, and the inheritance greatly involved in debt. According to the law
of the tribes, the nearest kinsman of the deceased debtor was obliged to
marry the widow, and redeem the inheritance, so as to retain it in the
same tribe. The purchaser was sought in the land of Bethlehem. One was
found, sufficiently rich, but unwilling. He preferred to take off his
own shoes, before the elders, at the gate of the city, rather than stand
in the shoes of his deceased brother. It was done, however, by another,
of the name of Boaz. But who will stand in the place of sinners, who
have forfeited all claim to the heavenly inheritance, and deserve eternal
damnation? Let heaven and earth meet in council, and see who is able and
willing to “redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him.” Earth
replies—“There is no such person here.” All the angels around the throne
answer—“There is none in the celestial city.” Search the streets of
Jerusalem; go to the garden of Gethsemane; inquire on the hill of
Calvary. Who is willing to die for sinners to-day? There is the tree.
There is the executioner, with hammer and nails. Who will offer himself
a sacrifice there, for the redemption of man? None but Jesus. None but
Jesus was able; none but Jesus was willing. “Here am I,” said he; “if ye
seek me, let these go their way.” And without the gates of Jerusalem, he
honored the law, spoiled principalities, and redeemed his people. He
suffered the curse in the sinner’s stead, and swallowed up all its
plagues in himself. As your representative, he endured all the agony and
ignominy you justly deserved. {132} And when you by faith lay hold of
his atonement, you shall be made the righteousness of God in him—shall be
dealt with, not according to your deserts, but according to his merit and
his mercy. He was humbled that you might be exalted, impoverished that
you might be enriched, bound that you might be released, punished that
you might be spared, condemned that you might be acquitted, wounded that
you might be healed, cursed that you might be blessed, and slain that you
might live for ever.
III. Job’s faith anticipated a Living Redeemer. “I know that my
Redeemer liveth”—is the Living One—he that has life, underived and
independent, in himself—the agent and source of all life in the universe,
who will at last quicken the dead.
The first woman was called Eve—that is, Life—because she was the mother
of all living—the mother of him who is the life of the world. This was
fulfilled four thousand years afterward in one of her daughters, a
virgin, who brought forth a son, whose name is Jesus, Emmanuel, the
Living God, the true God, and eternal Life. He is the Lord of life, and
the life of all that believe. “Because I live, ye shall live also.”
With the flame of one candle you may light many others, and the light of
all is the same. Christ is the source whence all his people derive their
light, the great central luminary of his church. “In him was life, and
the life was the light of men.”
When the prophet stood in the valley of dry bones and prophesied, there
was a wonderful agitation, and the bones came together, and formed
themselves into skeletons, and sinews and flesh covered them, and each
form was enclosed with a skin; but they were still dead, and it was not
till the breath of God blew upon them, and kindled the flame of life
within them, that they “stood up an exceeding great army.” So Christ is
the resurrection and life alike of the soul and of the body. “He that
believeth on him, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” He is the
bread and the water of life. “He that cometh unto him, shall never
hunger; and he that believeth on him, shall never thirst.” “He that hath
the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son, hath not life.” “We
are dead; 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.”
IV. The Living Redeemer of Job was to appear in this world. “He shall
stand at the latter day upon the earth.”
A woman who is travelling, and has no money to bear her expenses, obtains
credit on her husband’s account, who afterward passes that way, and
discharges the obligation. So ancient saints went home to glory on
credit: and in the fulness of time, Christ came and paid their debt; not
by installments, but all at once; and the virtue of his own offering went
up to the gate of Eden, and down to the end of the world. As on both
sides of the altar of burnt-offering, were pipes, conveying the blood
into the basins, till they were full; so the great altar on Calvary
communicates with past generations, and generations yet to come; and the
saving merit of the one sacrifice runs back to Abel and to Adam, and
forward to the last believer.
Whom do I see in the garden yonder, in such agony of soul, prostrate in
prayer, and sweating great drops of blood? Job’s Living Redeemer. Why
is his heart thus wrung with anguish? Is there a dark register of sins
in his conscience, like the fiery handwriting of God upon the wall? No,
he has not a single crime to confess. He has done no iniquity, neither
is guile found in his mouth. Why then does he suffer? He is bearing our
griefs, carrying our sorrows, and receiving the chastisement of our
peace. Behold him on the mountain, “wounded for our transgressions, and
bruised for our iniquities.” “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.” “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” “Who
shall declare his generation?” Who shall give us his pedigree, his
history, his character? Will none of the angels of heaven make the air
of Calvary ring with the sufferer’s name? Behold! the darkened sun and
quaking earth proclaim him God! Hark! he speaks—“I am the true God, and
eternal life. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning of the
Creator’s way, or ever the earth was. When there was no depths, nor
fountains of water; before the mountains were settled, before the hills
was I brought forth; while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the
fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared
the heavens, I was there; when he set a compass upon the deep; when he
established the clouds above; when he strengthened the foundations of the
deep; when he gave the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass
his commandment; when he established the foundations of the earth; then I
was by him, as one brought up with him; and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable parts of his
earth, and my delights were with the sons of men; and therefore I am
here, hanging on the cross to-day!”
V. Job’s Living Redeemer was to deliver him from the power of death.
Job anticipated the coming of “the last enemy,” who should give his flesh
to be food for worms. The Sabeans had taken away the oxen and the asses,
and slain the servants with the edge of the sword. The fire had fallen
from heaven, and burnt up the sheep and the shepherds. The Chaldeans had
robbed him of his camels, and murdered his domestics. The whirlwind had
killed his sons and his daughters in the house of their feasting. His
body was covered with putrid ulcers, from head to foot. His best friends
turned against him, and even his wife tempted him to “curse God and die.”
But amid all his calamities, he saw another enemy, ready to assail his
body, and drag it away to the tomb, and reduce it to dust and ashes. At
the same time, his faith beheld the Messiah swallowing up death in
victory. He saw the Son of Mary in the house of Jairus, where the lion
had just slain his victim; and on the street of Nain, where he was taking
the prey to his den; and at the grave in Bethany, where he was banqueting
with worms in the joy of victory. Death could not stand before the
Prince of Life. The spoiler yielded up his spoil. Christ sailed on the
open channel like a man of war, delivering the hapless captives of the
great pirate Death, to the astonishment and joy of the people, from
Samaria to the borders of Tyre and Sidon. But on a certain day, ever to
be remembered, as he drew near the ramparts of Sinai, all its batteries
were opened upon him. He stood in the fire all night, and fought till he
sweat great drops of blood. He threw himself between his friends and the
fort, and sustained the shock of its heaviest artillery, which played
upon him without intermission, especially the old cannon of Eden—“Dying
thou shalt die”—until three o’clock in the afternoon of the next day,
when he received a shot in the heart, and, crying, “It is finished!” gave
up the ghost. The whole creation trembled when he fell, and was
swallowed up in the horrible abyss. But on the morning of the third day,
the earth was seized with new spasms, and he that was dead came forth to
be the life of his people; and the cable of faith, the anchor of hope,
and the sails of love, ascended with him from the deep, never to go down
again. He is alive for evermore, and has the keys of hell and of death.
VI. Job speaks of the period of Messiah’s advent, under the term of “the
latter day.” This may refer, either to the end of the Jewish
dispensation, or to the end of the world.
Christ has already once appeared on earth, fulfilled the types and
shadows, made an end of sins, and brought in everlasting righteousness;
“and to them that look for him, he shall appear the second time, without
a sin-offering, unto salvation.” “When the Son of man shall come in his
glory, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him
shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them as the shepherd
divideth the sheep from the goats.” Then shall God have finished his
work in mount Zion, and the trumpets of the gospel shall cease to sound,
and the great net shall be taken up from the sea, and the laborers in the
vineyard shall receive their wages, and the tares shall be cast into the
unquenchable fire.
Wonderful shall be the glory and the terror of that day; “when the Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming
fire; taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the
gospel; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come
to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe.”
What a glorious army shall attend him down the sky—myriads of his saints,
and all the celestial powers and principalities! “Fire shall devour
before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall
call to the heavens above, and to the earth, that he may judge his
people.” His throne shall be “like a fiery flame, and his wheels like a
burning furnace.” He “shall descend with a shout, and the voice of the
archangel, and the trump of God.” The sound of the trumpet on Sinai was
long and loud, and “exceeding terrible;” but how much more powerful shall
be the voice of “the last trumpet,” penetrating the cold ear of death,
and awaking into immortality the dust of the grave! Then the Messiah
shall not appear “as a root out of dry ground;” but shall stand forth
before heaven and earth “in the glory of the Father, and of his holy
angels;” in addition to the glory of his own person as God-man, and the
glory of his work as Mediator. Before him, “the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the
earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up;” and
death and hell shall deliver up their dead; and all men shall stand and
receive their sentence from him who was an infant in Bethlehem—“a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief”—condemned by Pilate, mocked by the
multitude, and nailed upon the cross. This is Job’s living Redeemer, the
resurrection and life of all who believe.
VII. Our text contains Job’s confession of faith. It is brief, but very
comprehensive, and may be called an epitome of the gospel. Here we have
the Divinity and the humanity of Christ, his work of redemption, his
victory over death and hell, his second advent, and the resurrection of
the dead.
The Athenians mocked when they heard of the resurrection of the dead; and
the Sadducees greatly erred on this subject, “not knowing the scriptures,
nor the power of God,” and many of the Corinthians imbibed the same
poison of unbelief. But the patriarch of Uz thought it not “a thing
incredible that God should raise the dead.” He firmly believed the
doctrine, and gave it a prominent place in his confession. He knew that
God is able to watch and preserve the dust of his saints; has his eye
upon every particle, throughout all the periods of time; and through the
Divine Mediator, “will raise it up at the last day.” This doctrine was
to him a great consolation in his unparalleled afflictions. “Though my
skin,” says he, “is a tissue of disease and corruption—yea, though my
body sink into the earth, and be eaten up of the worms, and my very reins
be consumed within me—yet in my flesh, in this same body, reorganized,
reanimated, and made immortal from the tomb, I shall see God—shall see
him for myself, with these self-same eyes.”
Yes, brethren; the souls and bodies of all the human race shall be
reunited; and with our own eyes, we shall see the judge of quick and
dead, with his fan in his hand, thoroughly purging his floor, gathering
the wheat into his garner, and burning up the chaff with unquenchable
fire. In that day, the tares and the wheat shall be for ever separated,
and there shall be no more foolish virgins among the wise. “For we must
all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that we may receive the
things done in the body, according to that we have done, whether it be
good or evil.”
How vast the difference between Messiah’s first and second advents! When
he “tabernacled and dwelt among us,” he appeared “in the form of a
servant;” but when he shall come again, he shall come as a judge, and
“sit upon the throne of his glory;” and “all that are in their graves
shall hear his voice, and come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection
of damnation.” “For the Son of man shall send forth his angels; and they
shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them that do
iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall he
weeping and gnashing of teeth; then shall the righteous shine forth as
the Sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
VIII. I call your attention to one other topic suggested by the text—the
confidence with which Job speaks of his interest in the living Redeemer.
“For I know that my Redeemer liveth.” It was not a mere conjecture.
There was no doubt in the case. The patriarch had reached the assurance
of faith; and so perfectly satisfied was he of the fact, that he
expressed an intense desire that his words might be recorded on the most
durable materials, that they might be read by generations to come.
How may we acquire the same confidence? What is the evidence of our
interest in Job’s living Redeemer? The nature and effects of the change
which has taken place in our hearts. You that “were sometime darkness,
are now light in the Lord;” have been “called out of darkness into his
marvellous light;” and can say—“One thing I know, that whereas I was once
blind, now I see.” “The carnal mind is enmity against God;” but those
that are born of the Spirit love God; and love and hatred are not so much
alike, that you cannot tell by which principle you are governed. While
the strong man armed kept the palace, his goods were in peace; but when a
stronger than he came and cast him out, there was a warfare commenced
between the old man and the new. You were formerly dead in trespasses
and sins; but are now alive to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. You
were once destitute of faith in the Redeemer; but now you believe in him,
and rely upon his righteousness alone, as the ground of your acceptance
and salvation. How can you experience such a transformation, and know
nothing of the matter? As well might the sick, when Christ healed
them—as well might the blind, when Christ opened their eyes—as well might
the dead, when Christ raised them to second life from the bed, the bier,
or the grave—have been ignorant of the mighty change.
In the word of God, we have the testimony of many who had obtained the
assurance of faith. “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall
stand upon the earth at the latter day”—was the testimony of Job. “The
Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, and the horn of my
salvation, in whom I will trust”—was the testimony of David. “I will
greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in God; for he hath
clothed me with the garments of salvation; he hath covered me with the
robe of righteousness”—was the testimony of Isaiah. “I know in whom I
have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day”—was the testimony of the apostle
Paul. “We know that we are of God; we know that we have passed from
death unto life; we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is”—was the testimony of John, “the beloved
disciple.”
“These things,” saith the apostle, “have I written unto you that believe
in the name of the Son of God, that ye might know that ye have eternal
life.” This is the design of God, in revealing his will to the church.
We may—we should know that we have eternal life. “He that believeth on
the Son of God hath the witness in himself.” But this assurance of faith
is not a mere imagination of the brain. It is not founded on a vague
notion of your being one of the elect, without any other evidence. It is
not founded on a voice from heaven, bidding you be of good cheer, and go
in peace, because your sins are forgiven you. It is founded on the
fruits of the Spirit, and the testimony of Divine Revelation. True
believers are “created anew in Christ Jesus, unto good works;” evincing
the reality of their love to God by keeping his commandments.
Let us, therefore, give all diligence to make our calling and election
sure. Let us examine ourselves, whether we are in the faith. Let us
compare our religion with the precepts of the Bible, and the example of
ancient saints. But as our hearts are so wicked and deceitful, let us
not trust them, but pray to God for the aid of his Holy Spirit, in this
important work of self-examination. Behold “the Sweet Singer of Israel,”
praying—“Search me, O God, and try me; prove me, and know my heart.” The
Holy Spirit has given you a rule by which you are to examine yourselves;
and he works in you a conformity to that rule, and bears witness with
your spirits that you are the children of God. In proportion to his
operation upon the heart, will be the assurance of faith; and in
proportion to the assurance of faith, will be your spiritual comfort and
joy. The Lord grant us that “faith which worketh by love, and purifieth
the heart!”
Are you stript of property, bereft of children, afflicted in body,
forsaken of friends, persecuted and insulted by relatives? Think of Job,
and of Job’s living Redeemer! Imitate the patriarch’s patience and
confidence amid all the troubles and conflicts of life! Go your way
until the end; for ye shall rest, and stand in your several lots at last!
SERMON VII.
MESSIAH’S KINGDOM.
“_And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom_, _which shall never be destroyed_: _and the kingdom shall
not be left to other people_, _but it shall break in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms_, _and it shall stand for ever_.
_Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain
without hands_, _and that it brake in pieces the iron_, _the brass_,
_the clay_, _the silver_, _and the gold_; _the great God hath made
known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter_; _and the dream
is certain_, _and the interpretation thereof sure_.”—Dan. ii. 44, 45.
IN these words we have a prophetic description of the kingdom of Christ,
as the fifth empire that should arise after the date of this prophecy.
The wonderful image which so troubled the king of Babylon in his dream,
and occasioned him so much solicitude when he awoke, denoted four of the
great empires of the world. The head of gold represented the Babylonian
empire; the breasts and arms of silver, the Medo-Persian empire; the
belly and thighs of brass, the Grecian empire, under Alexander the Great;
the legs and feet of iron, the Roman empire in its strength and glory;
and the ten toes of mingled iron and clay, the same empire in its divided
and enfeebled state. The last circumstance was intended to denote the
same thing as the ten horns on the head of the Beast in the book of
Revelation. As iron is firm and strong, and able to bruise and break all
materials of a softer quality; so the Roman empire once crushed beneath
its power all other kingdoms, and dictated laws to the world. As the
beast with iron teeth trampled and rent to pieces all that came in its
way; so the Roman tyrant, like a lion among the lambs of the flock, tore
and devoured the followers of the meek and lowly Jesus.
The kingdom of Christ is represented under the figure of “a stone cut out
of the mountain without hands:” that is, without human agency—without any
wisdom or power of man, but by the Spirit of God; smiting the feet of the
image, and shattering it into fragments; then becoming a great mountain,
and filling the whole earth. In the history of Christianity we have the
counterpart of the emblem. Messiah appeared in the form of a servant;
born of a poor virgin, in the despised town of Bethlehem; lived a life of
poverty, persecution, and various sorrow, from the manger to the tree;
died the most painful and ignominious of deaths, even the accursed death
of the cross; but rose from the dead on the predicted morning, the
morning of the third day; commissioned his apostles, the fishermen of
Galilee, to “go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature;” ascended on high, and sent down the Holy Spirit, the promised
Comforter, to give energy and efficacy to the word, to prove its
divinity, and convince and save mankind. The apostles immediately
commenced their work; persevered in the divine employment; were prospered
by the power of God; and the stone, rolling forth from Mount Zion, and
raising a dust which darkened the very heavens, smote the feet and legs
of the image, until it shook, and the earth trembled around it; and that
stone is still rolling on, and shall crush and demolish the image, and
grind it to powder, and scatter it to the winds of heaven; and shall
increase, till it becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth for
ever.
In speaking of the accomplishment of this prophecy, we will notice—its
certainty, its attendant glory, and the nearness of its approach.