Christmas Evans Part 22

Then shall Time be swallowed up in Eternity. The righteous shall inherit life everlasting, and the unG.o.dly shall find their portion in the second death. Time is the age of the visible world; eternity is the age of the invisible G.o.d. All things in time are changeful; all things in eternity are immutable. If you pa.s.s from time to eternity, without faith in Christ, without love in G.o.d, an enemy to prayer, an enemy to holiness, "impurged and unforgiven," so you must ever remain. Now is the season of that blessed change, for which myriads shall sing everlasting anthems of praise. "To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts."

To-day the office is open: if you have any business with the Governor, make no delay. Now He has time to talk with the woman of Samaria by the well, and the penitent thief upon the cross. Now He is ready to forgive your sins, and renew your souls, and make you meet to become the partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Now He waits to wash the filthy, and feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, and raise the humble, and quicken the spiritually dead, and enrich the poor, and wretched, and reconcile enemies by His blood. He came to unloose your bands, and open to you the gates of Eden; condemned for your acquittal, and slain for the recovery of your forfeited immortality. The design of all the travelling from heaven to earth, and from earth to heaven, is the salvation of that which was lost, the restoration of intercourse, and amity between the Maker and the worm. This is the chief of the ways of G.o.d to man, ancient in its origin, wise in its contrivance, dear in its accomplishment, powerful in its application, gracious in its influence, and everlasting in its results. Christ is riding in His chariot of salvation, through the land of destruction, and death, clothed in the majesty of mercy, and offering eternal life to all who will believe. O captives of evil! now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation; now is the year of Jubilee; now is the age of deliverance; now is "the time of reformation."

II. All the prophets speak of something within the veil, to be manifested in due time; the advent of a Divine agent in a future age, to accomplish a glorious "reformation." They represent him as a prince, a hero, a high priest, a branch growing out of dry ground, a child toying with the asp, and the lion, and leading the wolf, and the lamb together.

The bill of the reformation had been repeatedly read by the prophets, and its pa.s.sage required the descent of the Lord from heaven. None but Himself could effect the change of the dispensation. None but Himself had the authority and the power to remove the first, and establish the second. He whose voice once shook the earth, speaks again, and heaven is shaken. He whose footsteps once kindled Sinai into flame, descends again, and Calvary is red with blood. The G.o.d of the ancient covenant introduces anew, which is to abide for ever. The Lord of the temple alone could change the furniture, and the service from the original pattern shown to Moses on the mount; and six days before the rending of the veil, significant of abrogation of the old ceremonial, Moses came down upon a mountain in Palestine to deliver up the pattern to Him of whom he had received it on Sinai, that He might nail it to the cross on Calvary; for the "gifts and sacrifices" belonging to the legal dispensation, "could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats, and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation."

This reformation signifieth "the removal of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain;" the abrogation of "carnal ordinances," which were local, and temporal in their nature, to make room for a spiritual worship, of universal, and perpetual adaptation. Henceforth the blood of bulls, and goats is superseded by the great reconciling sacrifice of the Lamb of G.o.d, and outward forms, and ceremonies give place to the inward operations of a renovating, and purifying Spirit.

To the Jewish Church, the covenant of Sinai was a sort of starry heaven.

The Shekinah was its sun; the holy festivals, its moon; and prophets, priests, and kings, its stars. But Messiah, when He came, shook them all from their spheres, and filled the firmament Himself. He is our "Bright and Morning Star;" the "Sun of Righteousness," rising upon us "with healing in His wings."

The old covenant was an accuser, and a judge, but offered no pardon to the guilty. It revealed the corruption of the natural heart, but provided no renovating, and sanctifying grace. It was a natural inst.i.tution, for special benefit of the seed of Abraham. It was a small vessel, trading only with the land of Canaan. It secured, to a few, the temporal blessings of the promised possession, but never delivered a single soul from eternal death, never bore a single soul over to the heavenly inheritance. But the new covenant is a covenant of grace, and mercy, proffering forgiveness, and a clean heart, not on the ground of any carnal relationship, but solely through faith in Jesus Christ.

Christianity is a personal concern between each man, and his G.o.d, and none but the penitent believer has any right to its spiritual privileges.

It is adapted to Gentiles, as well as Jews, "even as many as the Lord our G.o.d shall call." Already has it rescued myriads from the bondage of sin, and conveyed them over to the land of immortality; and its voyages of grace shall continue to the end of time, "bringing many sons to glory."

"Old things are pa.s.sed away, and all things are become new." The circ.u.mcision of the flesh, made with hands, has given place to the circ.u.mcision of the heart by the Holy Ghost. The Shekinah has departed from Mount Zion, but its glory is illuminating the world. The Sword of Joshua is returned to its scabbard; and "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of G.o.d," issues from the mouth of Messiah, and subdues the people under Him. The glorious High-priesthood of Christ has superseded sacerdotal office among men. Aaron was removed from the altar by death before his work was finished; but our High-priest still wears His sacrificial vestments, and death hath established Him before the mercy-seat, "a Priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec." The earthquake which shook Mount Calvary, and rent the veil of the temple, demolished "the middle wall of part.i.tion" between Jews and Gentiles. The incense which Jesus offered fills the temple, and the land of Judea cannot confine its fragrance. The fountain which burst forth in Jerusalem, has sent out its living streams into every land; and the heat of summer cannot dry them up, nor the frosts of winter congeal them.

In short, all the vessels of the sanctuary are taken away by the Lord of the temple. The "twelve oxen," bearing the "molten sea," have given place to "the twelve Apostles of the Lamb," proclaiming "the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." The sprinkled mercy-seat, with its over-shadowing, and intensely-gazing cherubim, has given place to "the throne of grace," stained with the blood of a costlier sacrifice, into which the angels desire to look. The priest, the altar, the burnt-offering, the table of shew-bread, and the golden candlestick, have given place to the better things of the new dispensation introduced by the Son of G.o.d, of which they were only the figures, and the types.

Behold, the glory has gone up from the temple, and rests upon Jesus on Mount Tabor; and Moses, and Elias are there, with Peter, and James, and John; and the representatives of the old covenant are communing with the Apostles of the new, and the transfigured Christ is the medium of the communication; and a voice of majestic music, issuing from "the excellent glory," proclaims-"This is my beloved Son, hear ye Him."

"G.o.d, who at sundry times, and in divers manners spake unto our fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son."

Behold Him nailed to the Cross, and hear Him cry-"It is finished!" The voice which shook Sinai is shaking Calvary. Heaven and h.e.l.l are in conflict, and earth trembles at the shock of battle. The Prince of Life expires, and the sun puts on his robes of mourning. Gabriel! descend from heaven, and explain to us the wondrous emblem! As set the sun at noon on Golgotha, making preternatural night throughout the land of Palestine, so shall the empire of sin, and death be darkened, and their light shall be quenched at meridian. As the Sun of Righteousness, rising from the night of the grave on the third morning, brings life, and immortality to light; so shall "the day-spring from on high" yet dawn upon our gloomy vale, and "the power of His resurrection" shall reanimate the dust of every cemetery!

He that sitteth upon the throne hath spoken-"Behold, I make all things new." The reformation includes not only the abrogation of the old, but also the introduction of the new. It gives us a new Mediator, a new covenant of grace, a new way of salvation, a new heart of flesh, a new heaven and a new earth. It has established a new union, by a new medium, between G.o.d, and man. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." "Forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same." "G.o.d was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." Here was a new thing under the sun; the "Son of man" bearing the "express image" of the living G.o.d; bearing it untarnished through the world; through the temptations and sorrows of such a wilderness as humanity never trod before; through the unknown agony of Olivet, and the supernatural gloom of Golgotha, and the dark dominion of the king of terrors: to the Heaven of heavens; where He sits, the adorable representative of two worlds, the union of G.o.d and man! Thence He sends forth the Holy Spirit, to collect "the travail of His soul," and lead them into all truth, and bring them to Zion with songs of everlasting joy. See them, the redeemed of the Lord, flocking as returning doves upon the wing, "to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living G.o.d; and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and to an innumerable company of angels; and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant; and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."

Oh, join the joyful mult.i.tude! the year of jubilee is come. The veil is rent asunder. The way into the holiest is laid open. The blood of Jesus is on the mercy-seat. The Lamb newly slain is in the midst of the throne. Go ye, with boldness, into His gracious presence. Lo, the King is your brother, and for you has He stained His robe with blood! The robe alone can clothe your naked souls, and shield them in the day of burning. Awake! awake! put on the Lord Jesus Christ! The covenant of Sinai cannot save you from wrath. Descent from Abraham cannot ent.i.tle you to the kingdom of heaven. "Ye must be born again," "born not of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but of G.o.d." You must have a new heart, and become a new creation in Jesus Christ. This is the promise of the Father,

"This is the dear redeeming grace, For every sinner free."

Many reformations have expired with the reformers. But our Great Reformer "ever liveth" to carry on His reformation, till His enemies become His footstool, and death and h.e.l.l are cast into the lake of fire.

He will finish the building of His Church. When He laid "the chief corner-stone" on Calvary, the shock jarred the earth, and awoke the dead, and shook the nether world with terror; but when He shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of "Grace!" the dominion of Death and Hades shall perish, and the last captive shall escape, and the song of the bursting sepulchre shall be sweeter than the chorus of the morning stars!

Even now, there are new things in heaven; the Lamb from the slaughter, alive "in the midst of the throne;" worshipped by innumerable seraphim and cherubim, and adored by the redeemed from earth; His name the wonder of angels, the terror of devils, and the hope of men; His praise the "new song," which shall const.i.tute the employment of eternity!

SERMON II.

THE PURIFICATION OF THE CONSCIENCE.

"_How much more shall the blood of Christ_, _who_, _through the eternal Spirit_, _offered Himself without spot to G.o.d_, _purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living G.o.d_."-HEB. ix. 14.

The Hebrew Christians, to whom the Apostle wrote, were well acquainted with the laws of ceremonial purification by the blood of beasts, and birds, for by blood almost everything was purified in the service of the Temple. But it is only the blood of Christ that can purge the human conscience. In speaking of this purification, as presented in our text, let us notice-_the object_, _the means_, and _the end_.

I. The object of this purification is the conscience; which all the sacrificial blood shed, from the gate of Eden down to the extinction of the fire on the Jewish altar, was not sufficient to purge.

_What is the conscience_? An inferior judge, the representative of Jehovah, holding his court in the human soul; according to whose decision we feel either confidence, and joy in G.o.d, or condemnation, and tormenting fear. His judicial power is graduated by the degree of moral and evangelical light which has been shed upon his palace. His knowledge of the will, and character of G.o.d is the law by which he justifies, or condemns. His intelligence is the measure of his authority; and the perfection of knowledge would be the infallibility of conscience.

This faithful recorder, and deputy judge is with us through all the journey of life, and will accompany us with his register over the river Jordan, whether to Abraham's bosom or the society of the rich man in h.e.l.l. While conscience keeps a record on earth, Jehovah keeps a record in heaven; and when both books shall be opened in the final judgment, there shall be found a perfect correspondence. When temptations are presented, the understanding opposes them, but the carnal mind indulges them, and there is a contest between the judgment, and the will, and we hesitate which to obey, till the warning bell of conscience rings through the soul, and gives distinct notice of his awful recognition; and when we turn away recklessly from his faithful admonitions, we hear low mutterings of wrath stealing along the avenues, and the quick sound of writing-pens in the recording office, causing every denizen of the mental palace to tremble.

There is a _good conscience_, _and an evil conscience_. The work of both, however, is the same; consisting in keeping a true record of the actions of men, and pa.s.sing sentence upon them according to their deserts. Conscience is called good, or evil only with reference to the character of its record, and its sentence. If the record is one of virtues, and the sentence one of approval, the conscience is good; if the record is one of vices, and the sentence one of condemnation, the conscience is evil.

Some have a _guilty conscience_, that is, a conscience that holds up to their view a black catalogue of crimes, and rings in their ears a sentence of condemnation. If you have such a conscience, you are invited to Jesus, that you may find peace to your souls. He is ever in His office, receiving all who come, and blotting out, with His own blood, the handwriting which is against them.

But some have a _despairing conscience_. They think that their crimes are too great to be forgiven. The registry of guilt, and the decree of death, hide from their eyes the mercy of G.o.d, and the merit of Christ.

Their sins rise like mountains between them, and heaven. But let them look away to Calvary. If their sins are a thousand times more numerous than their tears, the blood of Jesus is ten thousand times more powerful than their sins. "He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto G.o.d by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."

And others have a _dark_, _and hardened conscience_. They are so deceived, that they "cry peace, and safety, when destruction is at the door." They are "past feeling, having the conscience seared as with a hot iron." They have sold themselves to work evil; to eat sin like bread, and drink iniquity like water. They have bribed, or gagged the recorder, and accuser within them. They will betray the just cause of the righteous, and slay the messengers of salvation, and think that they are doing G.o.d service. John the Baptist is beheaded, that Herod may keep his oath of honour. A dead fish cannot swim against the stream; but if the king's conscience had been alive and faithful, he would have said:-"Girl, I promised to give thee thy request, even to the half of my kingdom; but thou hast requested too much; for the head of Messiah's herald is more valuable than my whole kingdom, and all the kingdoms of the world!" But he had not the fear of G.o.d before his eyes, and the proud fool sent, and beheaded the prophet in his cell.

A _good conscience_ is a faithful conscience, a lively conscience, a peaceful conscience, a conscience void of offence toward G.o.d, and man, resting in the shadow of the cross, and a.s.sured of an interest in His infinite merit. It is the victory of faith unfeigned, working by love, and purifying the heart. It is always found in the neighbourhood, and society of its brethren, "a broken heart and a contrite spirit;" an intense hatred of sin, and an ardent love of holiness; a spirit of fervent prayer, and supplication, and a life of scrupulous integrity, and charity; and above all, a humble confidence in the mercy of G.o.d, through the mediation of Christ. These const.i.tute the brotherhood of Christianity; and wherever they abound, a good conscience is never lacking. They are its very element, and life; its food, its sunshine, and its vital air.

Conscience was a faithful recorder, and judge under the law, and notwithstanding the revolution which has taken place, introducing a new const.i.tution, and a new administration, Conscience still retains his office; and when "purged from dead works to serve the living G.o.d," is appropriately called a _good conscience_.

II. The means of this purification is "the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to G.o.d."

Could we take in, at a single view, all the bearings of "the blood of Christ," as exhibited in the Gospel, what an astonishing light would it cast upon the condition of man; the character of G.o.d; the nature, and requirements of His law; the dreadful consequences of sin; the wondrous expiation of the cross; the reconciliation of Heaven, and earth; the blessed union of the believer with G.o.d in Christ, as a just G.o.d, and a Saviour; and the whole scheme of our justification, sanctification, and redemption, through free, sovereign, infinite, and unspeakable grace!

There is no knowledge like the knowledge of Christ, for the excellency of which the apostle counted all things but loss. Christ is the Sun of Righteousness, in whose light we see the tops of the mountains of immortality, towering above the dense clouds which overhang the valley of death. All the wisdom which philosophers have learned from nature, and providence, compared with that which is afforded by the Christian revelation, is like the _ignis fatuus_, compared with the sun. The knowledge of Plato, and Socrates, and all the renowned sages of antiquity, was nothing to the knowledge of the feeblest believer in "the blood of Christ."

"The blood of Christ" is of infinite value. There is none like it flowing in human veins. It was the blood of a man, but of a man who knew no iniquity; the blood of a sinless humanity, in which dwelt all the fulness of the G.o.dhead bodily; the blood of the second Adam, who is the Lord from Heaven, and a quickening Spirit upon earth. It pressed through every pore of His body in the garden; and gushed from His head, His hands, His feet, and His side, upon the cross. I approach with fear, and trembling, yet with humble confidence, and joy. I take off my shoes, like Moses, as he approaches the burning bush; for I hear a voice coming forth from the altar, saying, "I and my Father are one; I am the true G.o.d, and Eternal Life."

The expression, "the blood of Christ," includes the whole of His obedience to the moral law, by the imputation of which we are justified; and all the sufferings of His soul and His body as our Mediator, by which an atonement is made for our sins, and a fountain opened to wash them all away. This is the spring whence rise the rivers of forgiving and sanctifying grace.

In the representation which the text gives us of this redeeming blood, are several points worthy of our special consideration:-

1. It is "_the blood of Christ_;" the appointed Subst.i.tute and Saviour of men; "the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world."

2. It is the blood of Christ, _who offered Himself_. His humanity was the only sacrifice which would answer the demands of justice, and atone for the transgressions of mankind. Therefore "He has made His soul an offering for sin."

3. It is the blood of Christ, who offered Himself _to G.o.d_. It was the eternal Father, whose broken law must be repaired, whose dishonest government must be vindicated, and whose flaming indignation must be turned away. The well-beloved Son must meet the Father's frown, and bear the Father's curse for us. All the Divine attributes called for the offering; and without it, could not be reconciled to the sinner.

4. It is the blood of Christ, who offered Himself to G.o.d, _without spot_. This was a perfect sacrifice. The Victim was without blemish, or defect; the altar was complete in all its appurtenances; and the High Priest possessed every conceivable qualification for his work. Christ was at once victim, altar, and high-priest; "holy, harmless, and undefiled"-"G.o.d manifest in the flesh." Being Himself perfect G.o.d and perfect man, and perfect Mediator between G.o.d and man, He perfects for ever all them that believe.

5. It is the blood of Christ, who offered Himself to G.o.d, without spot, _through the eternal Spirit_. By the eternal Spirit, here, we are to understand, not the third Person of the G.o.dhead, but the second; Christ's own Divine nature, which was co-eternal with the Father before the world was, and which, in the fulness of time, seized on humanity-sinless, and immaculate humanity-and offered it, body, and soul, as a sacrifice for human sins. The eternal Spirit was at once the priest that offered the victim, and the altar that sanctified the offering. Without His agency, there could have been no atonement. The offering of mere humanity, however spotless, aside from the merit derived from its connection with Divinity, could not have been a sacrifice of sweet-smelling savour unto G.o.d.

6. It is the blood of Christ, who offered Himself to G.o.d, without spot, through the eternal Spirit, _that He might purge your conscience_. As the typical sacrifices under the law purified men from ceremonial defilement, so the real sacrifice of the Gospel saves the believer from moral pollution. Blood was the life of all the services of the tabernacle made with hands, and gave significance, and utility to all the rites of the former dispensation. By blood the covenant between G.o.d, and His people was sealed. By blood the officers, and vessels of the sanctuary were consecrated. By blood the children of Israel were preserved in Egypt from the destroying angel. So the blood of Christ is our justification, sanctification, and redemption. All the blessings of the Gospel flow to us through the blood of the Lamb. Mercy, when she writes our pardon, and when she registers our names in "the Book of Life," dips her pen in the blood of the Lamb. And the vast company that John saw before the throne had come out of great tribulation, having "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

The children of Israel were delivered from Egypt, on the very night that the paschal lamb was slain, and its blood sprinkled upon the doorposts, as if their liberty, and life were procured by its death. This typified the necessity, and power of the Atonement, which is the very heart of the Gospel, and the spiritual life of the believer. In Egypt, however, there was a lamb slain for every family; but under the new covenant G.o.d has but one family, and one Lamb is sufficient for their salvation.

In the cleansing of the leper, several things were necessary; as running water, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop, and the finger of the priest; but it was the blood that gave efficacy to the whole. So it is in the purification of the conscience. Without the shedding of blood, the leper could not be cleansed; without the shedding of blood, the conscience cannot be purged. "The blood of Christ" seals every precept, every promise, every warning, of the New Testament. "The blood of Christ"

renders the Scriptures "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." "The blood of Christ"

gives efficiency to the pulpit; and when "Jesus Christ and Him crucified"

is shut out, the virtue is wanting which heals, and restores the soul.

It is only through the crucifixion of Christ that "the old man" is crucified in the believer. It is only through His obedience unto death, even the death of the cross, that our dead souls are quickened, to serve G.o.d in newness of life.

Here rest our hopes. "The foundation of G.o.d standeth sure." The bill of redemption being presented by Christ, was read by the prophets, and pa.s.sed unanimously in both houses of parliament. It had its final reading in the lower house, when Messiah hung on Calvary; and pa.s.sed three days afterward, when He rose from the dead. It was introduced to the upper house by the Son of G.o.d Himself, who appeared before the throne "as a lamb newly slain," and was carried by acclamation of the heavenly hosts. Then it became a law of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Holy Ghost was sent down to establish it in the hearts of men. It is "the perfect law of liberty," by which G.o.d is reconciling the world unto Himself. It is "the law of the Spirit of life," by which He is "purging our conscience from dead works to serve the living G.o.d."

III. The end of this purification is twofold,-that we may cease from dead works, and serve the living G.o.d.

1. The works of unrenewed souls are all "dead works," can be no other than "dead works," because the agents are "dead in trespa.s.ses and sins."