to God in all our prayers. This is the only safe method of address to
the mercy-seat: It is ordained for this very purpose, to help a sinner
near to God; Heb. x. 19, 21, 22.—_Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to come into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,—and having a High-priest
over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart._ He is
ascended to heaven before us, he is entered within the veil in virtue of
his sacrifice: he has bespoke acceptance for our persons before the
throne, and a favourable audience for all our prayers. Whatsoever we ask
of the Father, we must ask it in his name, and especially in the name
and virtue of his great atonement: All the blessings that God has to
bestow, are purchased by his sufferings.
Reflection.—“Remember, O my soul, and be humble; remember thou canst not
be a welcome guest even at the throne of grace, unless thou art
sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. The God whom thou hast offended, is a
great God, and a terrible, a God of holiness, like a devouring fire; a
God of awful majesty and severe justice, who will by no means clear the
guilty, without some recompence for his broken law. Dare not to approach
him therefore, but under the protection of the blood of his Son: Christ
is set forth as our propitiation through faith in his blood. If thou
bring the atonement of Christ in the hand of thy faith, thou shalt find
sweet and easy access: And when thou art filled with inward sorrows,
thou mayest pour them all out, and spread thy complaints and thy burdens
before the eyes of thy God, with inward consolation and hope.
“Lord, I have sinned, but thy Son has suffered: I come to the throne of
grace in his name. My offences cry for vengeance, but the blood of Jesus
speaks better things, and cries louder for peace and pardon. Let the
voice of that blood which has made full satisfaction for the vilest
sins, prevail over all my unworthiness. Let the Lamb which is in the
midst of the throne be honoured this day, by introducing a guilty
creature with all his complaints and sorrows into thy awful presence,
and thy divine favour. Let me obtain grace in the hour of my distress
and necessity: And, O that I may find such success, and such ease of
soul, in drawing near to God by the blood of Christ, that on all
occasions I may run to this refuge, and maintain humble and constant
communion with God my Father, in this new and living way of access. May
this earthly and foolish spirit of mine, never be such a stranger as it
has been at the mercy-seat, since the door of approach is always open,
since I have so glorious an introducer.”
IV. We should use this atonement of Christ, as a divine guard against
temptation and sin; 1 Pet. i. 15, 18, 19. _As he which hath called you
is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation—for ye are redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot._
Reflection.—“And has this soul of mine, which was in slavery to sin and
the power of Satan, been redeemed by the death of the Son of God? and
shall I run back to my old slavery, and give myself up again to the
reign and tyranny of sin? Has this guilty and polluted soul been washed
in so precious a laver as the blood of the Son of God? And shall I
defile myself again? Shall I return with the dog to his vomit, or with
the swine that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire?” 2 Pet. ii. 22.
It was sin that cost my Redeemer so dear, that cost him agonies and
death: And shall I indulge such an enemy in my heart, and obey it in my
practice? God forbid! How shall I that am dead to sin, by my interest in
a dying Saviour, live any longer therein? Rom. vi. 2. It is a scandal
and reproach to this blessed doctrine of atonement, if I should ever
dare give a loose to my iniquities, while I profess faith in the blood
of Christ. Grant, O Jesus, that I may never turn this adorable grace of
thine into wantonness.
V. The atonement of Christ is an argument of prevailing force to be used
in prayer, when we plead for the aids of the blessed Spirit; when we ask
for his sacred influences to enlighten, to sanctify, or to comfort our
souls. The Spirit flows down to us in the blood of Christ.
Reflection.—“Holy Father, thou hast not withheld thy Son Jesus, but hast
given him to die for me, and wilt thou not give me thy Spirit to live in
me, and to raise me to a divine life? Even when I was dead in trespasses
and sins, my blessed Saviour poured out his own soul to death, that I
might be recovered to thy favour; and shall I not have thy image
impressed upon me by the Spirit, that I may appear before thee in the
beauty of holiness? Shall I be sprinkled with the blood of Christ, and
have my errors forgiven, and shall I not have divine light bestowed upon
me, that I may not wander afresh in the ways of error and darkness! Is
my guilt cancelled, and are my iniquities removed by the great atonement
of the Son of God, and wilt thou not bestow thy sanctifying Spirit upon
me, to guard me from renewed guilt and fresh iniquities? Lord, have I
not fled to lay hold on the hope set before me? Hast thou not forgiven
all my sins? And shall not the Spirit the Comforter, speak peace to my
soul, and fill me with hope and joy in believing? Wilt thou deny thy
Spirit to any creature, for whom thy Son has poured out his invaluable
life and blood?”
[If this sermon be too long, here is a proper pause.]
How great and desirable are the advantages that we have found already to
be derived from this gospel of atonement? May our souls possess and
improve them all? But there are still more treasures of divine grace to
be dug out of this golden mine: It is an inexhausted fountain of duties
and blessings. I proceed therefore to point out more of them to the eye
of faith.
VI. We should use this doctrine of propitiation for sin by the death of
Christ, as an everlasting spring of holy love to God the Father, and to
his Son Jesus Christ. Great and unspeakable was the love of God the
Father; 1 John iv. 10. “Herein is love; not that we loved him, but he
hath loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.”
Great and unspeakable is the love of Jesus the Saviour; “it has heights,
and depths, and lengths, and breadths in it which pass our knowledge;”
Eph. iii. 18. For, “when we were enemies, he died to reconcile us to
God;” Rom. v. 10. The great and blessed God had no richer gift than his
Son, and he bestowed his Son upon us. Christ Jesus himself made his
flesh and soul an offering for our sins. It was a spring of divine love
that arose from the bosom of God, and runs through all this sacred
transaction in many blessed streams: It runs through all the length of
time into a long eternity. How should this melt and soften our hearts,
into returns of love to the great God, and to his Son Jesus Christ. _We
love him_, saith the beloved apostle, _because he first loved us_; 1
John iv. 19.
Reflection.—“And what shall I do to raise my love to God my Father, and
my blessed Redeemer? When I was a stranger and an enemy, God reconciled
me to himself, by sending his Son to die for me. How hard is this
wretched heart of mine, that it feels no more powerful impressions from
this amazing love and compassion of God to a rebel creature? What
sorrows, what indignities, what bitter scoffs, what loads of reproach,
what inward and unknown agonies of soul, what a shameful and painful and
cursed death, did the blessed Son of God endure for my sake: And can I
forbear to love him? Alas! how cold are my affections! How feeble and
languid is my zeal! What poor sorry returns do I make for these infinite
condescensions of divine love! Warm my heart, O Jesus with this love,
and inflame all my affections. O may all the powers of my soul exert
their utmost diligence in the service of the Son of God, that has
redeemed me! His love was stronger than death: and shall it not
constrain me to love him? Did he lay down his life for my sake, and
shall I not lay out and employ my life with all my talents and
capacities to his honour? Blessed Jesus, I grieve, I mourn, I am
confounded that I feel no more of the constraining influences of thy
dying love, to make all my duty and obedience easy and delightful.”
VII. This doctrine carries in it a strong persuasive to that love and
pity which we should shew on all occasions to our fellow-creatures. When
the apostle John had magnified the love of God, in that he had sent his
Son to be a propitiation for our sins: He makes this inference,
_Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another_; 1 John
iv. 11. And in the foregoing chapter, iii. 16. he raises this inference
of love to a sublime degree: _Because God hath laid down his life for
us, we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren_. But how can any
person make a pretence to christianity, who _hath the goods of this
world, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of
compassion from him_? verse 17. How can such an hardened and cruel heart
pretend that the love of God dwells there?
This blessed truth of the forgiveness of sin through the propitiation of
Christ, demands of us the duties of forbearance and forgiveness, of
kindness and tenderness to men. “Be ye kind one to another, and
tender-hearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath
forgiven you;” Eph. iv. 32. Shall Christians bite and devour each other,
shall they rage against each other with bitter reproaches, shall they
quarrel, and grieve, and wound each other who were once fellow-slaves in
the chains of guilt, and death, and were redeemed together by the
voluntary death of the Son of God? Shall they who have known and tasted
such divine compassion, imitate the rage, and malice, and envy of hell,
rather than the heavenly example of the blessed Jesus?
Reflection.—“And hast thou never felt the influence of this divine
truth, O my soul, this blessed doctrine of atoning love? Dost thou swell
with anger? Dost thou resent every supposed injury? Dost thou indulge a
spirit of revenge? And do thy thoughts contrive mischief to men, while
the thoughts of the Son of God are all tenderness and compassion towards
thee? Had he resented all thy iniquities, had he meditated vengeance for
all thy crimes, he had never laid down his life to rescue thee from
hell, and thy state and thy case had been miserable without hope.
“Hast thou no pity for the poor, when their necessities and groans cry
aloud for thy relief? The Son of God did not deal thus with thee: He
expended the riches of his love upon thee, even his unsearchable riches
of grace: And when no other price was sufficient to redeem thee from
death, he gave up himself for thee, and made his own soul an offering
for thy sins.—Remember therefore, when provocations to anger are set
before thee, and thou feelest the inward rising passion, remember the
death and love of the Son of God, remember the price of thy
forgiveness.”
VIII. Patience under heavy afflictions, is another divine lesson that we
should learn from this doctrine of the atoning death of Christ; and not
patience only, but holy joy in the midst of earthly sorrows may be
derived from the same spring. Rom. v. 1, 2, 3, 8. “Being justified by
faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;—we rejoice
in hope of the glory of God; and not only so, but we glory in
tribulations,—because God has commended his love towards us at this
rate, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
Reflection.—“Why then should my spirit be overwhelmed under the troubles
of this life? Surely the mercies which I enjoy are infinitely greater
than all my sorrows. God has redeemed my soul from hell by the blood of
his Son. Lord, I would suppress all repining thoughts; I am humble, I am
thankful; and though thou visitest me with chastisements, to reduce me
from my follies, thou hast not laid on me the burden of my sins, nor
called me to the hard and dreadful work of answering the severe demands
of thy broken law. This burden thy own Son has borne; this work he has
performed. _The cup_ of common sorrows _which my heavenly Father puts
into my hand, shall I not drink it!_ It is not a cup of such anguish and
terror as the Son of God drank up for my sake. Why should a creature
saved from hell, be impatient and uneasy at any of the little sufferings
which he sustains here on earth!
“This is not only a powerful argument to compose my soul to resignation
under troubles, but even to raise me to holy joy. Surely he that has
loved me, and has given his own Son up to death for me, does not afflict
me willingly, nor grieve my spirit beyond what he sees necessary. He
transacts all his affairs with me according to that covenant of love
whereby he ordained his Son to die for me; and he will bestow upon me
every good thing in its proper season: _He that spared not his own Son,
but gave him up to die for us, shall he not with him freely give us all
things_; Rom. viii. 32.
“Bless the name of thy God, O my soul, let my heart be filled with
thankfulness, and my lips with praise: He has distinguished thee, my
soul, by peculiar blessings. He has made no such preparation of an
atonement for angels, those heavenly creatures, when they sinned against
him, but they are cast down into chains of darkness, and why am not I
cast into chains of darkness too? He has not revealed this grace to
several large heathen nations: They know nothing of a Redeemer: But he
has revealed his Son to me, in the glory and grace of his atonement He
has raised me to the hope of eternal life, by the death and the
resurrection of Jesus his Son. Let all my murmurings and impatience be
silent for ever. The worst of _my present sufferings are not worthy to
be compared with the glory that shall be revealed_, the glory purchased
by the sufferings of Christ;” Rom. viii. 18.
IX. The doctrine of the atonement of Christ gives us a blessed
invitation to the Lord’s-supper, where Christ crucified is set forth
before us in the memorials of his propitiation.
The propitiation of Christ is of so constant and universal use in the
whole of our religion, that our blessed Lord would not suffer us to live
without some sensible tokens and signs of it, and these are to be
frequently repeated to the end of the world; and therefore he has given
a most express and positive command; Luke xxii. 19. _This do in
remembrance of me._ And the apostle Paul; 1 Cor. xi. 29. where he
teaches the Corinthians this ordinance, assures them, _As often as ye
eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he
come_. Our blessed Lord has not given us such a peculiar memorial of any
of his other actions or offices as he has of his priesthood and
sacrifice.
Reflection.—“And shall I not do honour to the memory of my dying
Saviour? Shall I refuse to remember my great High-priest, and his
propitiation for sin, in the way and manner in which he has enjoined me?
Do I not trust in the death of Christ for my salvation, and shall I not
glory in his cross, and profess it before the world? Do I not stand in
daily need of this bread of life which was broken for my sake, and shall
I reject the memorials of his broken body, when his flesh and spirit
were made an offering for my guilt: Do I not hope for forgiveness
through his blood, and shall I not drink this cup of reconciliation
which he has mingled! I have learned by the gospel, the excellency and
virtue of the propitiation of Christ, to cancel my iniquities, and shall
I not receive this propitiation in all the methods of his own
appointment? Shall I dare to say, it is enough for me to read it in the
bible, and to hear it in the ministry of the word, and to meditate on it
in private, when my Lord has given me an express command to receive it
also in those emblems and sensible figures of bread and wine, and has
sanctified them for this very purpose? Is this a kind return to him that
died for me?
“Blessed Redeemer, forgive all my omissions, my delays my careless or
slothful neglects of this holy ordinance of thine, and all my sinful
indifferency about it. O scatter all my doubts, banish all my excuses,
and bring me to thy holy table as a penitent and humble disciple, as a
worthy and joyful receiver; there let me join with my fellow-christians
and remember thy dying love.”
X. We may use this doctrine as our most effectual defence against the
terrors of dying; and as our joyful hope of a blessed resurrection.
The atonement of Christ is a divine support in the agonies of death. At
such a season a thousand past iniquities will sometimes crowd in upon
the memory, and fill the soul with horror, and perhaps Satan the accuser
makes a dreadful assault upon the conscience at the same time, and
torments the spirit with painful agonies: But the most formidable
terrors, the sharpest agonies find a relief here, the very sting of
death is taken away by the death of Christ; 1 Cor. xv. 56. _The sting of
death is sin, and the strength of sin to condemn us is the law of God:
but thanks be to God through Christ Jesus_, who hath answered the
demands of the condemning law, and taken away the sting of death by his
atoning sacrifice.
We may now venture into the presence of a holy and righteous God, laying
fresh hold of the atonement in a dying hour by a living faith, and
having our departing spirits sprinkled with the blood of Christ. It was
this very blood in the virtue of which Jesus himself was raised from the
dead; Heb. xiii. 20. _The God of peace brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the
everlasting covenant._ It was in the virtue of this blood that he
ascended and appeared before God in heaven; Heb. ix. 12. _Christ by his
own blood entered into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us._
Did the cursed guilt of our sins bring the Son of God down from heaven
to earth, did it smite him to death, and lay him low in the grave? But
the power of his complete atonement has broken the bonds of death and
the grave; this has brought him back to life again, and has raised him
from earth to heaven; and by the same blood of his cross he has opened
an effectual way for our rising from the dead, and our final admission
into the place of blessedness. As Aaron the Jewish high-priest might not
dare to venture into the holy of holies without the blood of expiation,
so Christ our great High-priest, when he had once taken our sins upon
him, might not ascend to heaven into the presence of God, till in the
language of scripture he could carry his blood with him, till he could
shew a full atonement. Now that very same blood and sacrifice which gave
Christ himself a joyful admission into heaven, who was the great
Shepherd and the Representative of his people, will also give every one
of his sheep a safe and glorious entrance into the presence of God. This
we may hope for with a chearful heart, when our departing spirits are
called away from this lower world. And for the further joy of our faith,
we should remember also, that in the virtue of the same blood we shall
be raised from the grave: The grave shall obey the voice of him that
died for us; for he has ransomed us from the power of it. Then the soul
and body of every disciple of Christ shall be introduced with divine
acceptance to dwell where Jesus is, and _to behold his glory_; John
xvii. 24.
Reflection.—“Why then art thou so terrified, O my soul, at the thoughts
of dying? Why all these shudderings of the flesh, and these agonies of
spirit at the apprehensions of death and the grave? Are the sins of thy
life great and numerous? Do they throng in upon thy conscience, and fill
thy thoughts with tumult and terror? Remember the time, the dark and
dismal hour, when Jesus thy Saviour bore all those very sins in his own
body on the tree: There the demands of Divine Justice were all answered,
and sin has now no power to condemn the saint, nor has death power to
hurt him in his best interests;” Rom. viii. 34. “Who shall condemn? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather has risen again, as a complete
conqueror over death.” And is not Christ thy Head, thy Redeemer and the
Captain of thy salvation?
“Let me call to mind the solemn seasons of transaction between Christ
and my soul. Have I not resigned myself to him as an all-sufficient
Saviour, to deliver me both from the guilt and the power of every sin?
Have I not trusted in the blood of his atonement, and felt the
quickening power of his Spirit as the fruit of his blood? Has he not
raised me to a new life? What if the mortal body must die, because it
has sin in it, yet my Spirit shall live because Christ is my
righteousness. Fear not then, O my soul, but go chearfully through the
gates of death when he calleth thee. Jesus has taken away the terrors of
that dark passage. He has deprived death of its sting, and sanctified
the grave for a sweet sleeping place. Awaken all the powers of thy
faith, and triumph over the conquered enemy. The justice of God is
become thy friend, and death can do no mischief to the friends of God,
reconciled by the blood of Jesus. Look forward and behold thy great
Fore-runner ready to introduce thee into the presence of _his Father and
thy Father, his God and thy God_, with exceeding joy. Bid a joyful
farewell to flesh and sense, those busy tempters; farewell to time and
this world, and all things that are not divine and holy. Turn thy back
on all visible objects, close thine eyes with a smiling countenance,
forget earth for ever, and enter into the heavenly mansions.”
XI. The view of Christ as our propitiation, is not only a safe defence
against the terrors of death, but it is a divine allurement toward the
upper world. There lives our dear Redeemer, our blessed and beloved
Lord, who ransomed our souls from sin and hell. There he reigns on the
throne as king of glory, who once hung on the cross as our sacrifice of
atonement: The Lamb of God in the midst of the throne, with the signals
of his death upon him. The sight of these signals shall open all our
springs of love: Joy, love, and gratitude shall fill the departed
spirit: As soon as we are absent from the body, we are present with the
Lord who died for us.
Reflection.—“O happy day and happy hour indeed, that shall finish the
long absence of my beloved, and place me within sight of my adored
Jesus! When shall I see that lovely, that illustrious Friend, who laid
down his own life to rescue mine, his own valuable life to ransom a
worm, a rebel that deserved to die. He suffered, he groaned, he died:
but he rose again, the blessed Saviour arose, he lives, he reigns
exalted over all the creation. Faith beholds him risen, and reigning,
but it is through a glass, it is at a distance, and but darkly. I wait,
I hope for a more divine pleasure; it is a delight worth dying for, to
behold him face to face, to see him as he is, to converse with his
wondrous person, and to survey his glories. Alas! my soul is too patient
of this long distance and separation. O for the wings of love, to bear
my spirit upward in holy breathings! Methinks I would long to be near
him, to be with him, to give him my highest praises and thanks for my
share in his dying love. I would rise to join with the blessed
acclamations, the holy songs of the saints on high, while they behold
their exalted Saviour. How sweet their songs! How loud their
acclamations! This is the man, the God-man who died for me! This is the
Son of God, who was buffetted, who was crowned with thorns, who endured
exquisite anguish, and unknown sorrows for me, who was scourged, and
wounded, and crucified for me! This is the glorious Person, the Lamb of
God, who washed me from my sins in his own blood. Blessing, honour, and
salvation to his holy name forever.” _Amen._
HYMN FOR SERMON XXXVI.
_Christ’s Propitiation improved._
Lord, didst thou send thy Son to die
For such a guilty wretch as I?
And shall thy mercy not impart
Thy spirit to renew my heart?
Lord, best thou wash’d my garments clean
In Jesu’s blood from shame and sin?
Shall I not strive with all my power
That sin pollute my soul no more!
Shall I not bear my Father’s rod,
The kind corrections of my God,
When Christ upon the cursed tree
Sustain’d a heavier load for me?
Why should I dread my dying day
Since Christ hath took the curse away,
And taught me with my latest breath
To triumph o’er thy terrors, death?
O rather let me wish and cry,
“When shall my soul get loose and fly
To upper worlds? When shall I see,
The God, the man, that dy’d for me?”
I shall behold his glories there,
And pay him my eternal share
Of praise, and gratitude, and love,
Among ten thousand saints above.
SERMON XXXVII.
_The Christian’s Treasure._
1 COR. iii. 21.—All things are yours.