Sermons of Christmas Evans Part 15

But the author of our salvation is G.o.d as well as man. The Divinity often shone out through the humanity, controlling the elements, quickening the tenants of the tomb, and compelling the very devils to obey him. Had he been less than "G.o.d manifest in the flesh," he must have been incompetent to the work of redemption. The Divine nature was necessary to sustain the human nature under its immense burden of sufferings, and render those sufferings sufficiently meritorious to atone for the transgressions of mankind. Christ endured more of the Divine displeasure "from the sixth to the ninth hour," than all the vessels of wrath could endure to all eternity; {185} and but for the union of the two natures in his person, he could not have borne his unparalleled woes.

But while the man suffered, the G.o.d sustained. While the G.o.d-man offered up his humanity, his Divinity was the altar that sanctified the gift, and rendered it a sacrifice of sweet smelling savor to the Father. It was man that died upon the cross, but it was man in mysterious union with G.o.d, so that the two natures const.i.tuted but one person, and the dignity of the G.o.dhead gave infinite value to the tears and sweat and blood of the manhood. No wonder that the cross of Christ is the admiration of men and angels; and-"worthy is the Lamb that was slain!" the ultimate theme of earth and heaven!

"And being made perfect." In the twentieth chapter of Exodus, we read of "the ram of consecration"-the ram of perfection in the original, or full ram, as the word full signifies complete, mature, perfect. The two rams mentioned in that chapter represent the atonement and intercession of Christ. He is our full, complete, or perfect sacrifice. "In him dwelleth the fulness of the G.o.dhead;" and he has the hand of a man to bestow blessings upon his brethren. "Of his fulness have all we received, and grace upon grace." Our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption are all in the Son of man. Aaron never entered the holy place with empty hands, and our great High-priest hath gone into the celestial sanctuary, bearing with him his own most precious blood, wherewith to sprinkle the mercy-seat, and make it approachable to man. Thus suffering on earth, and pleading the merit of his suffering in heaven, "he becomes the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him."

III. This leads us to our third topic. The character of those who are interested in him as a Saviour-"all them that obey him."

To obey is to submit to authority-to do what is commanded. What is the command of G.o.d the Father? That ye should believe on the name of his Son. What is the command of Christ, the Captain of our salvation? "Ye believe in G.o.d; believe also in me." It is said that he is precious to them that believe, but unbelievers are disobedient. They are all a disaffected and rebellious army, who will not obey their Captain. They have made G.o.d a liar, and are condemned for their unbelief. The Father saith-"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry!" but they reply-"Away with him!

away with him! we will not have him to reign over us!"

Is this your character? You are commanded to "behold the Lamb of G.o.d, that taketh away the sin of the world." Have you obeyed? What are you doing? Are you determined to rebel? Will you risk the consequences of disobedience? O, you are reading the book of election, are you? You are looking for your names in the book of election; but lo! you find them written in the book of d.a.m.nation, under the article-"He that believeth not shall not see life, but the wrath of G.o.d abideth on him!" What shall be done in such a case? Obey the Captain of your salvation. Do ye not hear him, as he rides along the ranks, proclaiming-"To-day, if ye will hear my voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation! Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live!" Obey, obey this gracious exhortation. Come, with your pet.i.tions for pardon.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. Behold a door of hope opening for you in the blood of atonement. There is forgiveness and sanctification for all that believe. Does your sense of guilt overwhelm you with gloomy fears, and plunge you in despair? Do you tremble at the thought of the mult.i.tude and enormity of your crimes? Cry aloud, with all your hearts-"G.o.d be merciful to me a sinner!" Remember that your Prince "is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto G.o.d by him." Hear him calling you-"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest! Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light!" Who, then, would not obey thee, blessed Jesus?

"Had I, dear Lord, a thousand hearts, I'd give them all to thee; A thousand tongues, they all should join The grateful harmony!"

We have a remarkable instance of faith and obedience in Abraham. There was no natural probability, there was no apparent possibility of the fulfilment of the promise; but Abraham believed, rested on the naked word of G.o.d, and went to mount Moriah to offer up his only son. Here was the triumph of faith, and it is recorded for our encouragement. Did the patriarch firmly believe the promise-"In Isaac shall thy seed be called?"

Yes verily, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Did the patriarch believe, on the strength of that promise, that G.o.d would not permit him to offer up his only son? No, verily; but he was determined to obey G.o.d, and leave the event with him, well a.s.sured that G.o.d would fulfil his word, though it should require the miracle of Isaac's resurrection. Thus your faith must soar above nature, and lay hold on the righteousness of Christ, which justifieth the unG.o.dly. When you believe with all your heart, G.o.d will smile upon you, and calm your troubled soul, and hush the raging storms of a guilty conscience, for the sake of the satisfaction which he received in the obedience of Christ, as the subst.i.tute and surety of his people. This is the Urim and Thummim-light and perfection-of the gospel, beaming upon us through the twelve stars-the apostles of the Lamb, pacifying the conscience, and answering the important question-"What shall I do to be saved?" I feel within me a sea of corruption, but I know that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.

Faith and obedience are inseparable, and the former is dead without the latter. They wrought together in Abel, and therefore he offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. They wrought together in Noah, and led him to prepare an ark to the saving of his house. Abraham not only believed that G.o.d would give him and his seed the land of Canaan; but he set forth at the Divine command, not knowing whither he went. Moses not only believed that G.o.d would deliver Israel out of Egypt; but, in obedience to his command, he "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of G.o.d, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." Thus, true faith always leads to obedience. It is a living principle, by which the soul is quickened from the death of sin to a new life of holiness. It is the means through which, by the Holy Ghost, we are created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works. It works by love, and love is always the great motive to obedience. It gives us large and clear views of the love of G.o.d in Christ; then "we love him because he first loved us;" and "this is the love of G.o.d, that we keep his commandments." Thus, by faith, "the love of G.o.d is shed abroad in our hearts," leading us to a holy life.

Such is the connection between faith and obedience, and the necessity of one to the other.

And now, brethren, let us trust in the Captain of our salvation. In the ages before his advent, many sons were brought to glory through faith in his future sufferings. In the fulness of time, he visited our world; a.s.sumed our nature; atoned for our transgressions; and, ascending to the right hand of the Father, as our representative and intercessor, "became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him."

"O Captain of salvation! make Thy power and glory known, Till clouds of willing captives come, And worship at thy throne!"

SERMON XII.

FINISHED REDEMPTION

"_It is finished_."-John xix. 30.

THIS exclamation derives all its importance from the magnitude of the work alluded to, and the glorious character of the agent. The work is the redemption of the world; the agent is G.o.d manifest in the flesh. He who finished the creation of the heavens and the earth in six days, is laying the foundation of a new creation on Calvary. Four thousand years he has been giving notice of his intention to mankind; more than thirty years he has been personally upon earth, preparing the material; and now he lays the chief corner stone in Zion, exclaiming-"It is finished."

We will first consider the special import of the exclamation, and then offer a few remarks of a more general character.

I. "It is finished." This saying of the Son of G.o.d is a very striking one; and, uttered, as it was, while he hung in dying agonies upon the cross, cannot fail to make a strong impression upon the mind. It is natural for us to inquire-"What does it mean? To what does the glorious victim refer?" A complete answer to the question would develope the whole scheme of redemption. We can only glance at a few leading ideas.

The sufferings of Christ are ended. Never again shall he be persecuted from city to city, as an impostor and servant of Satan. Never again shall he say-"My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." Never again shall he agonize in Gethsemane, and sweat great drops of blood.

Never again shall he be derided by the rabble, and insulted by men in power. Never again shall he be crowned with thorns, lacerated by the scourge, and nailed to the accursed tree. Never again shall he cry out, in the anguish of his soul, and the baptism of blood-"My G.o.d! my G.o.d! why hast thou forsaken me!"

The predictions of his death are fulfilled. The prophets had spoken of his crucifixion many hundred years before his birth. They foresaw the Governor who was to come forth from Bethlehem. They knew the babe in the manger, as he whose goings forth are of old, even from everlasting. They drew an accurate chart of his travels, from the manger to the cross, and from the cross to the throne. All these things must be fulfilled. Jesus knew the necessity, and seemed anxious that every jot and t.i.ttle should receive an exact accomplishment. His whole life was a fulfilment of prophecy. On every path he walked, on every house he entered, on every city he visited, and especially on the mysterious phenomena which accompanied his crucifixion, it was written-"that the Scriptures might be fulfilled."

The great sacrifice for sin is accomplished. For this purpose Christ came into the world. He is our appointed high-priest, the elect of the Father, and the desire of nations. He alone who was in the bosom of the Father, could offer a sacrifice of sufficient merit to atone for human transgression. But it was necessary also that he should have somewhat to offer. Therefore a body was prepared for him. He a.s.sumed the seed of Abraham, and suffered in the flesh. This was a sacrifice of infinite value, being sanctified by the altar of Divinity on which it was offered.

All the ceremonial sacrifices could not obtain the bond from the hand of the creditor. They were only acknowledgments of the debt. But Jesus, by one offering, paid the whole, took up the bond-the handwriting that was against us, and nailed it to his cross; and when driving the last nail, he cried-"It is finished!"

The satisfaction of Divine justice is completed. The violated law must be vindicated; the deserved penalty must be endured; if not by the sinner himself, yet by the sinner's subst.i.tute. This was the great undertaking of the Son of G.o.d. He "bore our sins"-that is, the punishment of our sins-"in his own body on the tree." He was "made a curse for us, that we might be made the righteousness of G.o.d in him." There was no other way by which the honor of G.o.d and the dignity of his law could be sustained, and therefore "the Lord laid upon him the iniquities of us all." He "died unto sin once;" not merely for sin, enduring its punishment in our stead; but also "unto sin," abolishing its power, and putting it away.

Therefore it is said, he "made an end of sin"-destroyed its condemning and tormenting power on behalf of all them that believe. His sufferings were equal to the claims of justice; and his dying cry was the voice of Justice himself proclaiming the satisfaction. Here, then, may the dying thief, and the persecutor of the holy, lay down their load of guilt and wo at the foot of the cross.

The new and living way to G.o.d is consecrated. A vail has. .h.i.therto concealed the holy of holies. None but the high-priest has seen the ark of the covenant, and the glory of G.o.d resting upon the mercy-seat between the cherubim. He alone might enter, and he but once a year, and then with fear and trembling, and the sprinkling of atoning blood, after the most careful purification, and sacrifice for himself and the people. But our great High-priest has made an end of sacrifice by the one offering of himself. He has filled his hands with his own blood, and entered into heaven itself, there to appear in the presence of G.o.d for us. The sweet incense which he offers fills the temple, and the merit of his sacrifice remains the same through all time, superseding all other offering for ever. Therefore we are exhorted to come boldly to the throne of grace.

The tunnel under the Thames could not be completed on account of an accident which greatly damaged the work, without a new subscription for raising money; but Jesus found infinite riches in himself, sufficient for the completion of a new way to the Father-a living way through the valley of the shadow of death to "the city of the Great King."

The conquest of the powers of darkness is achieved. When their hour was come, the Prince and his hosts were on the alert to accomplish the destruction of the Son of G.o.d. They a.s.sailed him with peculiar temptations, and leveled against him their heaviest artillery. They instigated one disciple to betray him and another to deny him. They fired the rage of the mult.i.tude against him, so that the same tongues that lately sung-"Hosanna to the Son of David!" now shouted-"Crucify him!

Crucify him!" They filled the priests and scribes with envy, that they might accuse him without a cause; and inspired Pilate with an accursed ambition, that he might condemn him without a fault. They seared the conscience of the false witnesses, that they might charge the Just One with the most flagrant crimes; and cauterized the hearts of the Roman soldiers, that they might mock him in his sufferings, and nail him to the cross. Having succeeded so far in their h.e.l.lish plot, they doubtless deemed their victory certain. I see them crowding around the cross, waiting impatiently to witness his last breath, ready to shout with infernal triumph to the depths of h.e.l.l, till the brazen walls should send back their echoes to the gates of the heavenly city. But hark! the dying Saviour exclaims-"It is finished!" and the great dragon and his host retreat, howling, from the cross. The Prince of our salvation turned back all their artillery upon themselves, and their own stratagems become their ruin. The old serpent seized Messiah's heel, but Messiah stamped upon the serpent's head. The dying cry of Jesus shook the dominions of death, so that the bodies of many that slept arose; and rang through all the depths of h.e.l.l, the knell of its departed power. Thus the Prince of this world was foiled in his schemes, and disappointed in his hopes; like the men of Gaza, when they locked up Samson at night, thinking to kill him in the morning; but awoke to find that he was gone, with the gates of the city upon his shoulders. When the Philistines caught Samson, and brought him to their temple, to make sport for them, they never dreamed of the disaster in which it would result-never dreamed that their triumph over the poor blind captive would be the occasion of their destruction.

Suffer me, said he, to lean on the two pillars. Then he bowed himself, and died with his enemies. So Christ on Calvary, while the powers of darkness exulted over their victim, seized the main pillars of sin and death, and brought down the temple of Satan upon its occupants; but on the morning of the third day, he left them all in the ruins, where they shall remain for ever, and commenced his journey home to his Father's house.

II. So much concerning the import of our Saviour's exclamation. Such was the work which he finished upon the cross. We add a few remarks of a more general character.

The sufferings of Christ were vicarious. He died, not for his own sins, but for ours. He humbled himself, that we might be exalted. He became poor, that we might be made rich. He was wounded, that we might be healed. He drained the cup of wrath, that we might drink the waters of salvation. He died the shameful and excruciating death of the cross, that we might live and reign with him for ever.

"Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to have entered into his glory?" This "ought" is the ought of mercy and of covenant engagement. He must discharge the obligation which he had voluntarily a.s.sumed. He must finish the work which he had graciously begun. There was no other Saviour-no other being in the universe willing to undertake the work; or, if any willing to undertake, none able to accomplish it.

The salvation of one human soul would have been too mighty an achievement for Gabriel-for all the angels in heaven. Had not "the Only Begotten of the Father" become our surety, we must have lain for ever under the wrath of G.o.d, amid "weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." None but the Lion of the tribe of Judah could break the seals of that mysterious book.

None but "G.o.d manifest in the flesh" could deliver us from the second death.

The dying cry of Jesus indicates the dignity of his nature, and the power of life that was in him to the last. All men die of weakness-of inability to resist death-die because they can live no longer. But this was not the case with the Son of G.o.d. He speaks of laying down his life as his own voluntary act;-"No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."

He "poured out his soul unto death"-did not wait for it to be torn from him-did not hang languishing upon the cross, till life "ebbed out by slow degrees;" but poured it out freely, suddenly, and unexpectedly. As soon as the work was done for which he came into the world, he cried-"It is finished!" "bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." Then the sun was darkened, the earth quaked, the rocks rent, the graves opened, and the centurion said-"Truly, this man was the Son of G.o.d!" He cried with a loud voice, to show that he was still unconquered by pain, mighty even upon the cross. He bowed his head that death might seize him. He was naturally far above the reach of death, his Divine nature being self-existent and eternal, and his human nature ent.i.tled to immortality by its immaculate holiness; yet "he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"-"He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

We may regard his last exclamation, also, as an expression of his joy, at having accomplished the great "travail of his soul," in the work of our redemption. It was the work which the Father had given him, and which he had covenanted to do. It lay heavy upon his heart; and O, how was he straitened till it was accomplished! His "soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death;" "and his sweat as it were great drops of blood, falling down to the ground." But upon the cross, he saw of the travail of his soul, and was satisfied. He saw that his sacrifice was accepted, and the object of his agony secured-that death would not be able to detain him in the grave, nor h.e.l.l to defeat the purposes of his grace-that the gates of the eternal city would soon open to receive him as a conqueror, and myriads of exultant angels shout him to his throne; whither he would be followed by his redeemed, with songs of everlasting joy. He saw, and he was satisfied; and, not waiting for the morning of the third day, but already confident of victory, he uttered this note of triumph, and died.

And if we may suppose them to have understood its import, what a source of consolation must it have been to his sorrowing disciples! The sword had pierced through Mary's heart, according to the prediction of old Simeon over the infant Jesus. Her affections had bled at the agony of her supernatural Son, and her wounded faith had wellnigh perished at his cross. And how must all his followers have felt, standing afar off, and beholding their supposed Redeemer suffering as a malefactor! How must all their hopes have died within them, as they gazed on the accursed tree! The tragedy was mysterious, and they deemed their enemies victorious. Jesus is treading the winepress in Bozrah, and the earth is shaking, and the rocks are rending, and the luminaries of heaven are expiring, and all the powers of nature are fainting, in sympathy with his mighty agony. Now he is lost in the fire and smoke of battle, and the dread artillery of justice is heard thundering through the thick darkness, and shouts of victory rise from the troops of h.e.l.l, and who shall foretell the issue of the combat, or the fate of the Champion? But lo! he cometh forth from the cloud of battle, with blood upon his garments! He is wounded, but he hath the tread and the aspect of a conqueror. He waves his crimsoned sword, and cries-"It is finished!"

Courage, ye weepers at the cross! Courage, ye tremblers standing afar off! The Prince of your salvation is victor, and this bulletin of the war shall cheer myriads of believers in the house of their pilgrimage, and the achievement which it announces shall const.i.tute an everlasting theme of praise!

"It is finished!" The word smote on the walls of the celestial city, and thrilled the hosts of heaven with ecstasy unspeakable. How must "the spirits of just men made perfect" have leaped with joy, to hear that the Captain of their salvation was victorious over all his enemies, and that the work he had engaged to do for them and their brethren was completed!

and with what wonder and delight must the holy angels have witnessed the triumph of him, whom they were commanded to worship, over the powers of darkness! It was the commencement of a new era in heaven, and never before had its happy denizens seen so much of G.o.d.

"It is finished!" Go, ye heralds of salvation, into all the world, and proclaim the joyful tidings! Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet, and publish to all men, that the work of the cross is finished-that the great Mediator, "made perfect through sufferings,"

has become "the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him"-"is of G.o.d made unto us, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption!" Go, teach the degraded Pagan, the deluded Mohammedan, and the superst.i.tious Papist, that the finished work of Jesus is the only way of acceptance with G.o.d! Go, tell the polished scholar, the profound philosopher, and the vaunting moralist, that the doctrine of Christ crucified is the only knowledge that can save the soul! Go, say to the proud skeptic, the bold blasphemer, and the polluted libertine, "Behold the Lamb of G.o.d that taketh away the sin of the world!" Preach it to the gasping sinner upon his death-bed, and the sullen murderer in his cell! Let it ring in every human ear, and thrill in every human heart, till the gladness of earth shall be the counterpart of heaven!

SERMON XIII.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS.

"_He is not here_; _for he is risen_, _as he said_. _Come_, _see the place where the Lord lay_."-Matt. xxviii. 6.

THE celebrated Jonathan Edwards of America begins his History of Redemption with an account of the Lord's visit to Adam and Eve at the cool of the day in Eden. All the wonderful works of G.o.d toward the children of men, since the seed of the woman was promised to bruise the serpent's head, are to be considered as so many parts of the same great machinery of providence, whose wheels, like those of Ezekiel's vision, all move in majestic harmony, though their thousand revolutions may seem to us discordant and confused. The chief design of all the Divine manifestations recorded in the Old Testament was to prepare the way for the Redeemer's appearance upon earth. Jehovah often suffered his people to be in great distress and perplexity; he lengthened the chain of Satan and his angels, allowed a partial success of their infernal schemes, and permitted them to prevail for a season against his people, and pride themselves in their power and their skill, in order to make their defeat the more signal, and gather more glory to himself from their final overthrow. During the engagement, the victory often seemed to be on the side of the enemy; but when the smoke of battle cleared away, the pillar of G.o.d was seen upon the camp of Israel. If his people are besieged between Pi-hahiroth and Baal-zephon, he raises the siege by dividing the sea, and making a highway through the deep, while the waters rise up in a solid wall on the right and the left, and roll back in ruin on the pursuing foe. If an army comes to arrest Elisha on Carmel, the mountain is covered with celestial warriors, and the surrounding heavens teem with hors.e.m.e.n and chariots of fire, and the enemy are smitten with blindness, and taken captive by the prophet. If Goliath of Gath confronts the camp of Israel with his challenge, roaring like a lion, till the valley resounds with his voice, a little shepherd-boy goes forth with his sling, and the vaunting blasphemer is smitten to the ground, and slain with his own sword. If the worshippers of the true G.o.d are cast into the fiery furnace, or the den of lions, to show the power and gratify the pride of an infamous tyrant, there is one among them "like unto the Son of Man,"

and the violence of the fire is quenched, and the mouths of the lions are stopped.

But when Messiah was slain and buried, the enemies of G.o.d boasted more than ever in their crafty and malicious schemes. This was the great decisive engagement between Heaven and h.e.l.l. The enemy imagined "the Captain of our salvation" vanquished and destroyed. But his fall was no defeat. He yielded to the powers of darkness apparently, that he might triumph over them openly. He suffered himself to be taken prisoner by death, that he might seize the tyrant on his throne, demolish his empire, and deliver his captives. And if none of his friends on earth had courage to proclaim his resurrection, a preacher descended from heaven to announce the joyful fact:-"He is not here; for he is risen, as he said.

Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Wonderful message, and wonderful messenger! On the morning of the third day after his crucifixion, Jesus revived in his tomb, and the sound of the earthquake reached the heaven of heavens, and a mighty angel, swifter than the light, descended straight to the new grave in Joseph's garden, calling on no one for the key, instantly rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it, and made it his pulpit, from which he preached to the women the doctrine of our Lord's resurrection.

Let us consider, _first_, the testimony by which this fact is sustained, and _secondly_, the fact itself, as the sure basis of Christianity.

I. It appears from the record of the evangelist Luke, that the women were much perplexed at finding the stone rolled away from the mouth of the sepulchre, and the body of Jesus gone. Then they were saluted by two angels in shining apparel, who said;-"Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you while he was yet in Galilee, saying-The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

And they remembered his words."