It begins with—“Thus saith the Lord God, I will do thus and so;” and
concludes with—“I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it.” There is
no peradventure with God. His word is for ever settled in heaven, and
cannot fail of its fulfilment. When he says—“I promise to pay,” there is
no failure, whatever the sum. The bank of heaven cannot break. It is
the oldest and best in the universe. Its capital is infinite; its credit
is infallible. The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of
Peace, is able to fulfil to the utmost all his engagements. He can do
any thing that does not imply a contradiction, or a moral absurdity. He
could take upon himself the form of a servant, and become obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross; but he can never forget or disregard
his promise, any more than he can cease to exist. His nature renders
both impossible. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but his word shall
not pass away. Every jot and tittle shall be fulfilled. This is the
consolation of the church. Here rested the patriarchs and the prophets.
Here reposes the faith of the saints to the end of time. God abideth
faithful; he cannot deny himself. Our text is already partially verified
in the advent of Christ, and the establishment of his church; the
continuous growth of the gospel kingdom indicates its progressive
fulfilment; and we anticipate the time, as not far distant, when the
whole earth shall be overshadowed by the branches of the cedar of God.
II. We proceed to consider, with a little more particularity, the import
of this evangelical prophecy. It describes the character and mediatorial
kingdom of Christ, and the blessings which he confers upon his people.
1. His character and mediatorial kingdom. “I will take of the highest
branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top
of his young twigs a tender one, and plant it upon a high mountain and
eminent; in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it.”
Christ, as concerning the flesh, is of the seed of Abraham—a rod issuing
from the stem of Jesse, and a branch growing out of his root. “As the
new vine is found in the cluster, and one saith, destroy it not, for a
blessing is in it;” so the children of Israel were spared,
notwithstanding their perverseness and their backslidings, because they
were the cluster from which should be expressed in due time the new wine
of the kingdom—because from them was to come forth the blessing, the
promised seed in whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
The Word that was in the beginning with God, one with God in essence and
in attributes, in the fulness of time assumed our nature, and tabernacled
and dwelt among us. Here is the union of God and man. Here is the great
mystery of godliness—God manifest in the flesh. But I have only time now
to take off my shoes, and draw near the burning bush, and gaze a moment
upon this great sight.
The Father is represented as preparing a body for his Son. He goes to
the quarry to seek a stone, a foundation stone for Zion. The angel said
to Mary:—“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that Holy Thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” The eternal lays hold on
that nature which is hastening downward, on the flood of sin, to the gulf
of death and destruction, and binds it to himself. Though made in the
likeness of sinful flesh, he was holy, harmless, and undefiled. He did
no iniquity, neither was guile found in his mouth. The rod out of the
stem of Jesse is also Jehovah our righteousness. The child born in
Bethlehem is the mighty God. The Son given to Israel is the everlasting
Father. He is of the seed of Abraham, according to the flesh; but he is
also the true God and eternal life. Two natures and three offices meet
mysteriously in his person. He is at once the bleeding sacrifice, the
sanctifying altar, the officiating priest, the prophet of Israel, and the
Prince of Peace. All this was necessary, that he might become “the
author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.”
Hear Jehovah speaking of Messiah and his kingdom:—“Why do the heathen
rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set
themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and
against his anointed. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare the decree by which he is to rule his redeemed empire.”
That decree, long kept secret, was gradually announced by the prophets;
but at the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, Jehovah himself proclaimed it
aloud, to the astonishment of earth, the terror of hell, and the joy of
heaven:—“Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Come forth from
the womb of the grave, thou whose goings forth have been from of old,
even from everlasting. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession. I will exalt thee to the throne of the universe, and thou
shalt be chief in the chariot of the gospel. Thou shalt ride through the
dark places of the earth, with the lamps of eternal life suspended to thy
chariot, enlightening the world. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be
instructed ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice
with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the
way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Let no man withstand him.
Let no man seek to stay his progress. Herod, Pilate, Caiaphas, stand
off! clear the way! lest ye be crushed beneath the wheels of his chariot!
for that which is a savor of life to some, is to others a savor of death;
and if this stone shall fall upon you, it shall grind you to powder!”
Behold, here is wisdom! All other mysteries are toys in comparison with
the mystery of the everlasting gospel—the union of three persons in the
Godhead—the union of two natures in the Mediator—the union of believers
to Christ, as the branches to the vine—the union of all the saints
together in him, who is the head of the body, and the chief stone of the
corner—the mighty God transfixed to the cross—the son of Mary ruling in
the heaven of heavens—the rod of Jesse becoming the sceptre of universal
dominion—the Branch growing out of his root, the little delicate branch
which a lamb might crop for its food, terrifying and taming the serpent,
the lion, the leopard, the tiger, and the wolf, and transforming into
gentleness and love the wild and savage nature of all the beasts of prey
upon the mountain! “And such,” old Corinthian sinners, “were some of
you; but ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name
of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God.” And such, my brethren,
were some of you; but ye have been made a new creation in Christ Jesus;
old things are passed away, and all things are become new. Ye are dead,
and your life is hid with Christ in God. He is one with the Father, and
ye are one in him; united and interwoven, like the roots of the trees in
the forest of Lebanon; so that none can injure the least disciple of
Christ, without touching the apple of his eye, and grieving all his
members.
2. The blessings which he confers upon his people. “It shall bring
forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar, and under it shall
dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall
they dwell; and all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord,
have brought down the high tree, and have exalted the low tree—have dried
up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish.”
_Christ is a fruitful tree_. “The tree is known by his fruit. Men do
not gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles. Every good tree
bringeth forth good fruit, and every evil tree bringeth forth evil
fruit.” This is a singular, supernatural tree. Though its top reaches
to the heaven of heavens, its branches fill the universe, and bend down
to the earth, laden with the precious fruits of pardon, and holiness, and
eternal life. On the day of Pentecost, we see them hang so low over
Jerusalem, that the very murderers of the Son of God reach and pluck and
eat, and three thousand sinners feast on more than angels’ food. That
was the feast of first-fruits. Never before was there such a harvest and
such a festival. Angels know nothing of the delicious fruits of the tree
of redemption. They know nothing of the joy of pardon, and the spirit of
adoption. The bride of the Lamb alone can say:—“As the apple tree among
the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down
under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me also to his banqueting house, and his banner over me was
love.”
These blessings are the precious effects of Christ’s mediatorial work;
flowing down to all believers, like streams of living water. Come, ye
famishing souls, and take, without money and without price. All things
are now ready. “The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all
manner of pleasant fruits, both new and old.” Here is no scarcity. Our
Elder Brother keeps a rich table in our Father’s house. Hear him
proclaiming in the streets of the city, in the chief places of
concourse:—“Come to the festival. There is bread enough, and to spare.
My oxen and my fatlings are killed. My board is spread with the most
exquisite delicacies—wine on the lees well refined, and fruits such as
angels never tasted.”
_Christ is a tree of protection to his people_. This cedar not only
beautifies the forest, but also affords shade and shelter for the fowls
of the air. We have the same idea in the parable of the mustard
seed:—“the birds of the air came and lodged in the branches thereof.”
This is the fulfilment of the promise concerning the Shiloh:—“to him
shall the gathering of the people be.” It is the drawing of sinners to
Christ; and the union of believers with God.
“All fowl of every wing.” Sinners of every age and every degree—sinners
of all languages, colors, and climes—sinners of all principles, customs,
and habits—sinners whose crimes are of the blackest hue—sinners carrying
about them the savor of the brimstone of hell—sinners deserving eternal
damnation—sinners perishing for lack of knowledge—sinners pierced by the
arrows of conviction—sinners ready to sink under the burden of
sin—sinners overwhelmed with terror and despair—are seen flying to Christ
as a cloud, and as doves to their windows—moving to the ark of mercy
before the door is shut—seeking rest in the shadow of this goodly cedar!
Christ is the sure defence of his church. A thousand times has she been
assailed by her enemies. The princes of the earth have set themselves in
array against her, and hell has opened upon her all its batteries. But
the Rock of Ages has ever been her strong fortress and high tower. He
will never refuse to shelter her from her adversaries. In the time of
trouble, he shall hide her in his pavilion; in the secret of his
tabernacle shall he hide her. When the heavens are dark and angry, she
flies, like the affrighted dove, to the thick branches of the “Goodly
Cedar.” There she is safe from the windy storm and tempest. There she
may rest in confidence, till these calamities be overpast. The tree of
her protection can never be riven by the lightning, nor broken by the
blast.
_Christ is the source of life and beauty to all the trees in the garden
of God_. Jehovah determined to teach “the trees of the forest” a new
lesson. Let the princes of this world hear it, and the proud
philosophers of Greece and Rome. “I have brought down the high tree, and
exalted the low tree—have dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree
to flourish.” Many things have occurred, in the providence of God, which
might illustrate these metaphors; such as the bringing of Pharaoh down to
the bottom of the sea, that Israel might be exalted to sing the song of
Moses; and the drying up of the pride and pomp of Haman, that Mordecai
might flourish in honor and esteem. But for the most transcendent
accomplishment of the prophecy, we must go to Calvary. There is the high
tree brought down to the dust of death, that the low tree might be
exalted to life eternal; the green tree dried up by the fires of Divine
wrath, that the dry tree might flourish in the favor of God for ever.
To this, particularly, our blessed Redeemer seems to refer, in his
address to the daughters of Jerusalem, as they follow him, weeping, to
the place of crucifixion. “Weep not for me,” saith he. “There is a
mystery in all this, which you cannot now comprehend. Like Joseph, I
have been sold by my brethren; but like Joseph, I will be a blessing to
all my Father’s house. I am carrying this cross to Calvary that I may be
crucified upon it between two thieves; but when the lid of the mystical
ark shall be lifted, then shall ye see that it is to save sinners I give
my back to the smiters, and my life for a sacrifice. Weep not for me,
but for yourselves and your children; for if they do these things in the
green tree, what shall be done in the dry? I am the green tree to-day;
and behold, I am consumed that you may flourish. I am the high tree, and
am prostrated that you may be exalted.”
The fire-brands of Jerusalem had wellnigh kindled to a flame of
themselves, amid the tumult of the people, when they cried out—“Away with
him! Crucify him! His blood be on us, and on our children!” O wonder
of mercy! that they were not seized and consumed at once by fire from
heaven! But he whom they crucify prays for them, and they are spared.
Hear his intercession:—“Father, forgive them! Save these sinners, ready
for the fire. On me, on me alone, be the fierceness of thy indignation.
I am ready to drink the cup which thou hast mingled. I am willing to
fall beneath the stroke of thy angry justice. I come to suffer for the
guilty. Bind me in their stead, lay me upon the altar, and send down
fire to consume the sacrifice!”
It was done. I heard a great voice from heaven:—“Awake, O sword, against
my shepherd! Kindle the flame! Let off the artillery!” Night suddenly
enveloped the earth. Nature trembled around me. I heard the rending of
the rocks. I looked, and lo! the stroke had fallen upon the high tree,
and the green tree was all on fire! While I gazed, I heard a voice,
mournful, but strangely sweet:—“My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken
me? My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My
strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws.
One may tell all my bones. Dogs have compassed me about; strong bulls of
Bashan have beset me. They stare at me; they gape upon me with their
mouths; they pierce my hands and my feet. Deliver my soul from the
lions; my darling from the power of the dogs!”
“It is finished!” O with what majestic sweetness fell that voice upon my
soul! Instantly the clouds were scattered. I looked, and saw, with
unspeakable wonder, millions of the low trees shooting up, and millions
of the dry trees putting forth leaves and fruit. Then I took my harp,
and sang this song:—“Worthy is the Lamb! for he was humbled that we might
be exalted; he was wounded that we might be healed; he was robbed that we
might be enriched; he was slain that we might live!”
Then I saw the beam of a great scale; one end descending to the abyss,
borne down by the power of the atonement; the other ascending to the
heaven of heavens, and lifting up the prisoners of the tomb. Wonderful
scheme! Christ condemned for our justification; forsaken of his Father,
that we might enjoy his fellowship; passing under the curse of the law,
to bear it away from the believer forever! This is the great scale of
redemption. As one end of the beam falls under the load of our sins,
which were laid on Christ; the other rises, bearing the basket of mercy,
full of pardons, and blessings, and hopes. “He who knew no sin was made
sin for us”—that is his end of the beam; “that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him”—this is ours. “Though he was rich, yet for
our sakes he became poor”—there goes his end down; “that we, through his
poverty, might be rich”—here comes ours up.
O sinners! ye withered and fallen trees, fuel for the everlasting
burning, ready to ignite at the first spark of vengeance! O ye faithless
souls! self-ruined and self-condemned! enemies in your hearts by wicked
works! we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God! He has
found out a plan for your salvation—to raise up the low tree by humbling
the high, and save the dry tree from the fire by burning up the green.
He is able to put, at the same time, a crown of glory on the head of the
law, and a crown of mercy on the head of the sinner. One of those hands
which were nailed to the cross blotted out the fiery handwriting of
Sinai, while the other opened the prison-doors of the captives. From the
mysterious depths of Messiah’s sufferings flows the river of the water of
life. Eternal light rises from the gloom of Gethsemane. Satan planted
the tree of death on the grave of the first Adam, and sought to plant it
also on the grave of the second; but how terrible was his disappointment
and despair, when he found that the wrong seed had been deposited there,
and was springing up unto everlasting life! Come! fly to the shelter of
this tree, and dwell in the shadow of its branches, and eat of its fruit,
and live!
To conclude:—Is not the conversion of sinners an object dear to the
hearts of the saints? God alone can do the work. He can say to the
north, give up; and to the south, keep not back. He can bring his sons
from afar, and his daughters from the ends of the earth. Our Shiloh has
an attractive power, and to him shall the gathering of the people be.
Pray, my brethren, pray earnestly, that the God of all grace may find
them out, and gather them from the forest, and fish them up from the sea,
and bring them home as the shepherd brings the stray lambs to the fold.
God alone can catch these “fowl of every wing.” They fly away from us.
To our grief, they often fly far away, when we think them almost in our
hands; and then the most talented and holy ministers cannot overtake
them. But the Lord is swifter than they. His arrows will reach them and
bring them from their lofty flight to the earth. Then he will heal their
wounds, and tame their wild nature, and give them rest beneath the
branches of the “Goodly Cedar.”
SERMON XI.
THE PRINCE OF SALVATION.
“_For it became him_, _for whom are all things_, _and by whom are all
things_, _in bringing many sons to glory_, _to make the captain of
their salvation perfect through sufferings_.”—Heb. ii. 10.
“_And being made perfect_, _he became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey him_.”—Heb. v. 9.
I HAVE put these passages together because of their similarity. In
discussing the doctrine which they contain—the doctrine of salvation
through the mediatorial work of Christ, I purpose to consider—_First_,
His relation to believers, as the author, captain, or prince of their
salvation; _Secondly_, His perfect qualification, through meritorious
sufferings, to sustain that relation; and _Thirdly_, The character of
those who are interested in him as a Saviour.
I. Christ is the prince of our salvation. He is the great ante-type of
Moses, Joshua, Samson, and David. Their deeds of pious valor faintly
foreshadowed the glorious achievements of the Captain of our salvation.
He is a prince in our nature. The Lord from heaven became the second
Adam, the seed of the woman, the offspring of David. Divinity and
humanity were mysteriously united in his person. The Word that was in
the beginning was made flesh, and tabernacled among us. God is now
nearer to his people than ever. The Lamb’s bride is bone of his bone and
flesh of his flesh. As the children were partakers of flesh and blood,
he himself took part of the same. By taking human nature into union with
himself, he has imparted to believers a new and divine life.
Our Prince has conquered our adversaries. His name is Michael, the power
of God. He is the mighty prince that stood up on behalf of his people,
and bruised Satan under their feet. He has cast out the strong man, and
his goods. He has demolished the kingdom of darkness, spoiled
principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly. He has proved
to earth and heaven that the devil is a usurper, and has no claim
whatever to the title, “God of this world,” and “Prince of this world.”
When Christ was crucified, hell quaked to its centre. Then he obtained
liberty for the captives, and the opening of the prisons to them that are
bound. His victory is our manumission from the slavery of sin and death;
and if the Son make us free, we are free indeed.
Three offices meet in the Author of our salvation; the prophetic, the
priestly, and the regal. He wears three crowns upon his head; a crown of
gold, a crown of silver, and a crown of precious stones. He “shall bear
the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and shall be a priest
upon his throne, and the covenant of peace shall be between them both.”
This prophecy is fulfilled in Messiah’s mediatorial relations. The house
was purified, the altar was consecrated, on the morning of his
resurrection. This is the Prince of life, who was dead, and is alive for
evermore, and hath the keys of hell and of death. That he might sanctify
the people with his own blood, he suffered without the gate; and by
suffering, he opened a way for believers into the holiest of all; and lo!
his people are standing before the mercy-seat within the vail, and
worshipping in open sight of the glory of God that dwelleth between the
cherubim. If God smelled “a savor of rest” in the sacrifice of Noah,
much more in the sacrifice of his beloved Son, in whom he is ever well
pleased. His sinless soul and body were offered once for all upon the
cross. “He bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors.” The Father proclaims the demands of his law fully
answered, and invites sinners to come and rest in the Beloved. This is
he of whom it was said—“A man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind,
and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; as the
shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” This is the Author and Captain
of our salvation.
II. Let us consider how he is qualified for that relation—made perfect
through sufferings.
His sufferings were necessary to constitute him a complete Saviour.
“Without the shedding of blood is no remission;” the blood of Jesus is “a
fountain opened for sin and uncleanness.” It was threatened—“In the day
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die;” but Christ, by dying in our
stead, delivered us from the sentence.
In order that he might bear our sins, it was necessary for him to assume
our nature. The Priest must have somewhat to offer as a sacrifice.
Divinity could not suffer and die. “A body hast thou prepared for me.”
The Son of God took that body as his own, and offered it to the Father
upon the cross. The blood which he shed was his own blood; the life
which he laid down was his own life; the soul which he poured out unto
death was his own soul. Moses saw an emblem of this mystery in Mount
Horeb—a bush burning with fire, yet unconsumed. “Our God is a consuming
fire,” dwelling in a tabernacle of clay. The human nature, though slain,
is not consumed. On the third day the bush is found still flourishing
and fruitful.
It was necessary that the precept of the law should be obeyed, and the
penalty of the law endured, in the very nature of its violater. Christ
answered the demands of both tables on behalf of his people, in the
purity of his life, and the merit of his obedience unto death. He
displayed all the fruits of holiness. He loved righteousness and hated
iniquity. He paid our debt, a debt which he never contracted; he endured
our curse, a curse which he never deserved. He took the cup of the wine
of wrath out of our hand, and drained its very dregs upon the cross. In
hell, every one drinks his own cup, and can never exhaust its contents;
but behold, on Calvary, one man drains the cup of millions, and cries—“It
is finished!” Not a drop is left, not a particle of any of its
ingredients, for his people. God hath condemned and punished sin in the
human nature of Christ, and all who believe are justified freely by his
blood.