_Lord_, _how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us_, _and not
unto the world_.
ON the festival of the Epiphany, and on several Sundays afterwards, we
commemorate what are called manifestations of CHRIST; revelations and
exhibitions of Him, in His nature, His person, His might, His wisdom, His
various offices. In one sense, CHRIST’S whole life, from the manger in
Bethlehem to the Mount of the Ascension, was a manifestation. It was not
possible to see or hear Him, without becoming convinced—if open to
conviction—that He was different from all other men, and superior to
them. His every deed, His every word, His every look, designedly or
undesignedly proclaimed “This is GOD manifest in the flesh!” Still,
there were some particular exhibitions of Himself, which, from the
special circumstances attending them, the preparation made for them,
their peculiar importance, their wonderful effects, or their relations to
certain classes or individuals, are entitled to be distinguished from the
rest of that life-long Epiphany, and to be called _par excellence_ the
manifestations of CHRIST.
Of this kind, was the exhibition to the shepherds, and again, that to the
wise men of the East—prefiguring, commencing the manifestation to the
Gentiles; the declaration that He must be about His Father’s business,
the baptism by John, the show of His power in converting water into wine,
in cleansing the leper, in calming the troubled sea, in casting out
devils; the unfolding of His wisdom in speaking parables, the preaching
of judgment by the Son of Man—all of which are in turn commemorated at
this season. Of this kind, again, were the teaching on the Mount, all
the miracles, the Transfiguration, the appearances after the
Resurrection, the Ascension, the wonders of Pentecost, the light that
shone from heaven on Saul journeying to Damascus, and the voice that said
“I am JESUS whom thou persecutest.” These were all pre-eminent
manifestations, as being designedly full of significance, making special
revelations to special persons; displaying, so to speak, the chief
features of CHRIST, and teaching most important lessons. Nevertheless,
they were rather preludes and signs of CHRIST’S truest manifestation,
than that manifestation itself—faint glimmers of coming light, rustlings,
warning movements, scarcely upliftings of the curtain that hung between
things spiritual and the would-be spectators of them—parables, and
prophecies. They left not those who saw them where they were, but they
carried them not whither they would be or should be. They bade them look
and listen; but they revealed not the sight, nor spake the word. Strange
as it may seem, CHRIST was not truly manifested till the clouds of heaven
hid Him, and, in the flesh, He ceased to appear and speak till
judgment-time. The truth was, as yet, not taught, but only hinted at,
and men were not yet ready for it, and could not receive it. It is not
in what we call the Gospels, but in the Epistles, that the truth as it is
in JESUS is revealed. It is not in the miracles of His earthly ministry,
but in the spiritual wonders which, after Pentecost, the Apostles wrought
in His name; that the real power of CHRIST, the power to bless, is seen
and felt. All before was but a type, a shadow, a dream. The antitype,
the reality, the waking vision, belong to apostolic days, and to the days
after them. Then was the Gospel revealed, which before was only brought
nigh. Then was the kingdom of Heaven opened. Then did JESUS, through
the Spirit, begin to speak and show Himself openly and plainly to Jews
and Gentiles, and to draw all men to Him. Then did spiritual wisdom
begin to enlighten, and spiritual power begin to enable the hitherto
blind and helpless. Then first, even to the Apostles, and then, by them,
to the world, began to be displayed GOD manifest in the flesh. Up to
that time, though He was in the world, the world knew Him not. He stood
among them, but they did not see Him; He spoke, but they did not hear:
yea, though He had come to His own, they did not receive Him, till the
Pentecostal light made all clear, and the voice of the Spirit declared
“This is the beloved Son of the Father,” and the power of Divine grace,
enabled and constrained to believe on His name, to receive Him
intelligently and heartily, and through Him, and in a measure like Him,
to become sons of GOD.
Then and thus was CHRIST truly manifested, as it were in these last
times.
But there is even yet a better manifestation, one more really worthy of
the name—that, namely, which is made to the Disciples, but not to the
world.
In a sense, all that has hitherto been described was an external
manifestation—a manifestation to the world. The Gospel was preached
openly, the credentials of its heralds were publicly exhibited, whosoever
would might hear and see; and only when they refused, and judged
themselves unworthy of eternal life, did the Apostles turn away from
them, or pass on to another place, shaking the dust off their feet as a
testimony against them. Even the inward grace, the power to see
spiritually, to believe, and to accept CHRIST, was so far manifested to
the world, that it was offered to all, and was within the reach of all.
The Apostles, who taught men their need of salvation, and exhorted them
to save themselves, both showed them the way and promised them the grace
of salvation; and thus, therefore, was CHRIST openly, and with power,
manifested to the world. But, in the chapter of the text, CHRIST makes
it a special promise to those that love Him, that He will manifest
Himself to them. Judas (not Iscariot) rightly concludes that this is a
manifestation which shall be made to none but approved disciples; and,
accepting the promise, he ventures to ask, respecting its fulfilment,
“LORD, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto
the world?”
It must be borne in mind that the Jewish notion, a notion shared by the
disciples, was that the MESSIAH would manifest Himself in all the pomp
and power of a triumphant earthly prince, exhibiting Himself to the whole
world, ruling all the nations of the earth, and demanding the homage and
adoration of all men. They waited in expectation that the kingdom of
Israel would be restored, that Jerusalem would become the capital of the
world, that CHRIST would sit visibly on a splendid throne, in the midst
of her, and that they would occupy the nearest places to Him of honour
and power. This notion was still theirs, as we know, when CHRIST led
them out to the Mount of the Ascension; and we can well understand,
therefore, that Judas, and those with him, must at this time have been
greatly perplexed by the intimation, which CHRIST’S promise conveyed,
that He was only to be manifested to those that love Him. It is out of
this perplexity—not, as I said before, questioning the fact of a partial
manifestation, but unable to understand it, and seeking
enlightenment—that Judas asks, “LORD, how is it that Thou wilt manifest
Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”
The words translated “How is it,” render possible a threefold
interpretation of this question. 1st. LORD, what has happened—how is it
come to pass that the original design (at least, what we suppose to be
the original design) of an universal manifestation is altered, and now
only a partial manifestation to be afforded? 2ndly. LORD, what has been
done by us, what special merits have we, whence is it that we are to be
so signally favoured, and others passed over? 3rdly. LORD, what kind of
manifestation will that be which some eyes only shall perceive? In what
way wilt Thou reveal Thy presence to us, so that the world, in the midst
of which we dwell, into the midst of which, therefore, Thou must come to
us, shall not partake with us of the vision. It is scarcely profitable,
perhaps, to consider whether or no the first interpretation is
admissible; nor need we attempt to decide between the second and the
third. Let us rather combine them; and taking the question out of
Judas’s mouth, and adopting it as our own, let us reverently and
teachably ask, as we need, of Him who giveth wisdom liberally, “LORD, how
is it, on what account, and in what way, that Thou wilt manifest Thyself
unto us, and not unto the world?”
I. On what account is He partial? Why does He make us to differ? Not
then, for any recommendation we had to His favour—for we were all
concluded under sin, and all guilty before GOD. Not again, for any
merits or deserts in His service, for at the best, if we have done all
that He set us to do (and who has?) we are yet but unprofitable servants.
No! there was nothing which should make GOD respect and choose us before
others; and we have done no work for which we can claim reward. GOD is
no respecter of persons. It is impossible, by any mere natural deeds or
efforts to please Him. We have all sinned and come short of His glory.
We all sin, and deserve wrath every day. But CHRIST, Who would have all
men to be saved, Who has died for all, and risen again for all, and sent
down His Holy Spirit ready to justify, to sanctify, to bless all, has
nevertheless made the bestowal of His grace conditional. He requires a
certain “receptivity” for it. It is not thrust upon all, willing or
unwilling, proud or humble, GOD-fearing or GOD-despising. Men must feel
their need of it; and, feeling their need, they must express it, at least
to Him, and must go to Him in His appointed ways to obtain it. CHRIST in
sufficiency, in desire, the Saviour of all men, is, in fact, specially
only the Saviour of them that believe—believe with that impelling desire,
and that active faith, which make them flee to Him to be saved, and
earnestly ask of Him, “What must I do to be saved?” And next, having
this fitness, this receptivity for grace, and so receiving it, CHRIST
requires men to treasure up the grace with reverence and godly fear; to
use it with diligence, with zealous effort, to improve it, to grow in it;
to strengthen it constantly by all appointed means of sustenance and
exercise; to accomplish with it all that He wills and directs to be done;
to be heartily grateful to the Author, the Sustainer, the Finisher of
Salvation. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is
that loveth Me, and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I
will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” So then it is only to
love that the manifestation is made; and love is proved by obedience, and
obedience is the hearty faithful performance, in the spirit as well as
the letter, of the expressed will of CHRIST.
And here, brethren, before we go further, let us see in the light of
these conditions, why it is that religious influences affect so little
the vast mass of mankind. There is a manifestation of CHRIST to the
world. He is ever speaking in their ears and showing Himself to their
eyes. His Church, with its Bible, its means of grace and ministry, its
duration and extension, besides being a standing miracle, the infallible
credential of His divine authority, the proof of His wisdom and His
power, is a very exhibition of Himself, mighty and eager to save. The
Spirit, which is with and in that Church, declares Himself to be able and
ready to enlighten, and persuade, and strengthen all, without exception,
without delay, if only they will come to Him. And yet how many, not only
of the recklessly profane, the grossly carnal, the resolutely blind and
deaf, but of the well-disposed, the moral, the albut exemplary, have no
perception whatever of CHRIST! How many so-called Christians, not only
in their business or their pleasure, when they turn away their eyes from
the manifested GOD, but even when they come up to the sanctuary, when
they read the Bible, when they kneel in prayer or stand to praise, when
they look Zionwards, when they are all attent, eyes and ears, yet see no
sight, and hear no sound of CHRIST! The world which they have left is
remembered, and stands before them in a life-like picture. The sights
they would not see, the sounds they would not hear, they cannot escape
from; but CHRIST, the object of their worship, in some sense the desire
of their eyes, they look for but cannot find; if He stands in the midst
of them, they know it not!
Is not this, brethren, the experience of many of you? You do not, of
course, ever expect open visions, perceptions with natural eyes and ears
of a spiritually manifested Saviour; but do you not often fail to obtain
what you think (and rightly) you ought to aim at obtaining, a real,
though spiritual, a convincing, constraining, sanctifying, and cheering
manifestation of CHRIST? Do you not often, do you not almost always find
just that wanting, which should make religion real? “Oh!” you exclaim,
“would that when I kneel down in church, to make solemn confessions, to
utter supplications, to pray for pardon, for favour, for grace—oh! that
such a vision of CHRIST were afforded me, that I were possessed with such
feeling of His presence, as would prevent my turning away so readily from
the solemnity, to see who is coming into church, to admire or criticise
the dress or appearance of those beside me, to remember the worldliness
of yesterday, to anticipate the worldliness of to-morrow. Oh! that when
I sit with open Bible before me, and slight and slur over its difficult
parts, and give little heed to the personal application of its histories,
and treat albut with indifference its exhortations, its warnings, its
promises, its threats—Oh! that some voice would recall me from my
wandering, and dispel my irreverence, and concentrate my devout attention
with its heard command, ‘Thus, saith the LORD, Hear what the Spirit
saith.’ Oh! that when I go about the world, and neglect my religious
duty here, and transgress it there, yielding readily to temptation,
hankering after, following worldliness, led by the persuasions, awed by
the frowns, constrained by the demands of the world, oh! that CHRIST
would stand at least before my spiritual vision, and utter to the ears of
my soul, ‘Forbear. Take up thy cross. Follow me.’ Oh, that He would do
all this for others too: for those whom I love, who go farther out of the
way, for the carnal, for the godless, for the souls that are carelessly,
that are deliberately perishing! Oh! that for His own honour’s sake He
would openly show Himself and dispute—with the Devil, with Mammon, with
Pleasure, with Folly—the possession of the souls which He has purchased
for Himself! Why does He not give some proof, why does He not exercise
some persuasion which must be felt, which could not be disregarded? Oh!
that He would rend the heavens and come down; that He would cheer the
saint; that He would confound and convert the sinner by His manifested
presence.”
It is thus, if I mistake not, that we sometimes think and wish. But,
brethren, the words which prompted Judas to speak, reprove our thoughts.
They show us that it is not by oversight, by defect, by mismanagement, by
any failure to accomplish what was intended, but by deliberate design, by
exact fulfilment of what GOD proposed, that the real, the strong
influences of Christianity are not brought to bear upon men generally.
CHRIST manifests not Himself fully to the world. He never meant to do
it. He never will do it, till he comes to judgment.
GOD, we are told, “will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom
He will He hardeneth.” These awful words do not mean what some attempt
to make out of them—that there is an arbitrary election to salvation, and
so for all others an inevitable destruction. They mean rather that while
His mercy is ready to flow, and is always flowing, if you desire it, you
must go to the fountain for it. GOD is under no necessity to save all
men. We do not confer a favour on Him by consenting to be saved. His
glory will be manifested in destruction as in salvation. He desires to
save us. He will save us, and rejoice in our salvation, if we seek to be
saved: but if we are rebellious, or indifferent, if we will not comply
with the conditions on which only He will manifest His best presence to
us, then we must not complain, if He makes good His declaration, and
proves it by withholding Himself from us, that whom He wills (and in what
way He wills) on them He has mercy, and all others, though He long bears
with them, and gives them much time and opportunity for conforming to His
will, yet is He content, yea, determined to leave them in their hardness,
to confirm them in their hardness, because they will not be softened in
the way which He has chosen to prescribe.
Oh! my brethren, do not suppose that it is the weakness, the impotence of
Christianity, the frustration of the will of GOD that is demonstrated in
the world’s ungodliness, in the perdition of so many immortal souls. No!
It is rather the power of Christianity to keep its own for its own: it is
the glorious vindication of the sovereign will of Jehovah to save whom He
will; it is the corroboration of CHRIST’S word, that none should come to
the Father but by Him; it is the terrible, deliberately-inflicted
punishment of those that will not come unto Him that they might have
life; it is the manifestation, so to speak, of His non-manifestation: “If
ye will not love me, holding my commandments and keeping them, then you
cannot be loved of My Father, and so cannot be loved of Me, and I will
not manifest myself to you.”
It is ourselves, brethren, and not GOD that must be changed. The seed is
scattered over all the field, but it grows only in the good ground. If
CHRIST is not manifest to us, it is because we have not complied with the
conditions of manifestation. He is faithful to His promise, but we have
not closed with the promise. Realising, then, that it is not binding on
GOD to save us—excepting on the terms which He has Himself laid down—and
presenting to ourselves the momentous interests at stake, let us comply
with GOD’S terms, and let us strive to do so gratefully. Let us be at
pains to ascertain CHRIST’S will; let us diligently and scrupulously keep
it, endeavouring all the while to follow it, not as mere routine of
morality, but as active direct service of CHRIST Himself, and proposing
to ourselves, as the motive to its observance, gratitude for CHRIST’S
salvation, and as the reward of observance, the manifestation of CHRIST.
So doing, we shall soon find that there is a real, an unequalled power in
Christianity to attract and constrain us; we shall soon know how it is
that CHRIST will manifest Himself to His disciples, while He is hidden
from the world.
II. I have left but little time for the consideration of the second form
of our question, namely, in what way CHRIST will manifest Himself only to
the chosen. There is no need of a lengthy discussion of this subject,
because, with all our spiritual short-sightedness, we are not like the
Jews, we can have no difficulty in understanding the possibility of
CHRIST’S manifestation of Himself to whom He will, and at the same time
His hiding of Himself from all others. We know that like as ghosts are
sometimes said to appear to but one of a roomful, so if it pleased
CHRIST—and in any other way which He pleased—He could stand visibly at
this moment before any one of us, and utter to that favoured ear
distinctly audible words, while the rest of us saw and heard nothing of
Him.
And there is no use in the discussion of the nature of CHRIST’S truest
manifestation, because even if the preacher had realised it in all its
perfect blessedness, his words would fail to describe what he had felt;
yea, the best possible description would be wholly unintelligible to the
natural man who perceives not, and cannot perceive, the things of GOD,
while it would be wholly unnecessary, rather would be solemn trifling
with those who have actually partaken of the blessedness. No, brethren,
it cannot be spoken—and if it could, I believe, it might not be—how
CHRIST shows Himself to those who love Him and keep His commandments. It
is only in its realisation that you can understand what the promise
means: “We will come unto Him and make our abode with Him.” Go, fulfil
the conditions, and you shall receive the promise; and it shall disclose
to you its own wonders, and its own transcendent bliss, and its own
constraining power.
But though we may not describe the manifestation itself, we may observe
and recount the effects it produces. The Israelites might not come up to
GOD and see Him face to face in the Mount, but they were allowed, and it
was good for them, to behold the shining of Moses’s face when he returned
from the Divine presence. Doubtless, to many, it was an additional proof
of the being of GOD; to not a few it may have been an incentive to seek
the blessing of His favour. And so, brethren, it may be with us. Taking
knowledge of those who have been with JESUS, we may see on them some
reflection of His glorious self, some marks of a bliss which we shall
covet to share, which may stimulate us both to believe better in its
reality and to strive more earnestly for its fruition. Yes! and
comparing ourselves with them very humbly, with unceasing prayer and
watching against false confidence, we may even discern on ourselves the
faint dawn, the first streaks of the Divine twilight, which tell (oh! how
unspeakable the bliss!) that the dayspring is about to mount above our
horizon; that the Sun of righteousness is about to shine into our hearts
with all His glory.
Consider, then, such as Abraham, who, after He had seen CHRIST—for CHRIST
was often manifest before the Incarnation—could himself resolutely
destroy his best earthly hope if GOD required it; Job, who, after the
vision of perfect holiness, abhorred himself and repented; Jacob, who
felt (and felt throughout his life, we may be sure) how dreadful, how
consecrated was the place where GOD was met; Joseph, who possessed a
power to resist effectually the sin, which so many dare to say there is
no resisting (“How can I do this great wickedness and sin against GOD?”);
Daniel, who entered courageously into a den of lions; Simeon, who longed
for death, and the enjoyment of the permanent vision, after he had once
seen CHRIST; Stephen, who died, almost like his Master, “LORD JESUS
receive my spirit;” and the many others, who endured and laboured, and
resisted, and persevered, and rejoiced in tribulation, and hoped against
hope, as seeing Him who is invisible. Yes, brethren, consider these.
Think what they were, men of the same flesh and blood, of like
infirmities, and like sin with yourselves. Think how they secured the
favour of GOD, by the same simple means which are within the power of the
least of you, yea, and more within your power than theirs, at least of
most of them, because of the clearer light, and the better grace of
Gospel times. Think what a reflection they showed of the visions of
CHRIST which they enjoyed. Think how real must have been their religious
life; how enviable their peace and bliss; what a glorious light they
afforded for the example and encouragement of other men; and be no longer
content that with all your faculties and opportunities, all your
knowledge and invitations, all your proffers of Divine grace, all the
perpetual revelations of CHRIST to those who desire Him, you yet should
never see Him; but resolutely accepting His terms, hold and keep His
commandments, and pray, and meditate, and labour to love Him.
Then plead and watch—you shall not plead in vain, nor watch very long—and
the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit will surely come unto you and
make their abode manifestly within you, cheering you with the light of
the Divine countenance, strengthening you with the strength of Divine
grace, moulding you more and more into the image of CHRIST (which must be
yours in perfection before you can partake of His fullest manifestation),
abiding with you here, and shining clearly even in the deepest darkness,
and by and by transplanting you, perfected in grace and spiritual
perception, to the place where CHRIST is always seen, with an eye that
shall never be dim, with a delight which, however it grows in desire,
shall be more than satisfied, as you behold His face in righteousness,
and are filled to overflowing with the fulness of His presence.
SERMON X.
BLESSING ACCORDING TO PRAYER.