Sermons of Christmas Evans Part 22

Brethren in the ministry! this is our consolation. The Spirit that blessed the labors of David Jones, Daniel Rowlands, and Howell Harris, still "dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." O let us seek his aid in our holy work, and pray for his outpouring upon our congregations!

Delegates of the different churches! be of good courage! You may not have seen as many additions lately as in former times; but the Holy Spirit has not yet departed from the faithful. You have heard of wonderful revivals in America, as well as in some parts of Wales. The "Comforter" is yet at work. The illuminator of souls is yet at hand.

The office is yet open. The blessing is yet offered. O, let us all pray for the Holy Spirit! let us look for his coming! let us wait for his salvation!

SERMON XXII.

THE FATHER AND SON GLORIFIED.

"_Howbeit_, _when he_, _the Spirit of Truth_, _is come_, _he will guide you into all truth_; _for he shall not speak of himself_; _but whatsoever he shall hear_, _that shall he speak_; _and he will show you things to come_. _He shall glorify me_: _for he shall receive of mine_, _and shall show it unto you_. _All things that the Father hath are mine_; _therefore_, _said I_, _that he shall take of mine_, _and shall show it unto you_."-John xvi. 1315.

THE wonderful Providence which brought the Children of Israel out of the house of bondage was a chain of many links, not one of which could be omitted without destroying the beauty, and defeating the end of the Divine economy. The family of Jacob come to Egypt in the time of famine-they multiply-they are oppressed-their cries reach to heaven-G.o.d manifests himself in the burning bush-Moses is sent to Egypt-miracles are wrought by his hand-Pharaoh's heart is hardened-the first-born are slain-the pa.s.sover is eaten-the people depart, led by the pillar of G.o.d-the sea is divided-and with many signs and wonders, the thousands of Israel are conducted through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Had one of these links been wanting, the chain of deliverance had been defective.

So, in the salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ, all the conditions and preparatives were essential to the completeness and glory of the scheme.

The Son of G.o.d must consent to undertake our cause, and become our subst.i.tute-the promise must be given to Adam, and frequently repeated to the patriarchs-b.l.o.o.d.y sacrifices must be inst.i.tuted to typify the vicarious sufferings of Messiah-a long line of prophets must foretell his advent, and the glory of his kingdom-he must be born in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, and buried in Joseph's new tomb-must rise from the dead, ascend to the right hand of the Father, and send down the Holy Spirit to guide and sanctify his church. Without all these circ.u.mstances, the economy of redemption would have been incomplete and inefficient.

The last link in the chain is the mission and work of the Holy Spirit.

This is quite as important as any of the rest. Our Saviour's heart seems to have been much set upon it during all his ministry, and especially during the last few days before his crucifixion. He spoke of it frequently to his disciples, and told them that he would not leave them comfortless, but would send them "another Comforter," who should abide with them for ever; and that his own departure was necessary, to prepare the way for the coming of the heavenly Paraclete. In our text, he describes the office of the Holy Spirit, and the specific relation which he sustains to the work of salvation:-"Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you."

These words teach us two important truths-_first_, That the Son is equal with the Father; and _secondly_, That the Father and the Son are alike glorified in the economy of salvation.

I. The Son claims equality with the Father. "All things that the Father hath are mine."

This sentence is very comprehensive and sublime-an unquestionable affirmation of Messiah's "eternal power and G.o.dhead." The same doctrine is taught us in many other recorded sayings of Christ, and sustained by all the prophets and apostles; and when I consider this declaration in connection with the general strain of the inspired writers on the subject, I seem to hear the Saviour himself addressing the world in the following manner:-

"All things that the Father hath are mine. His _names_ are mine. I am Jehovah-the Mighty G.o.d, and the Everlasting Father-the Lord of Hosts-the Living G.o.d-the True G.o.d, and Eternal Life.

"His _works_ are mine. All things were made by me, and I uphold all things by the word of my power. My Father worketh hitherto, and I work; for as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. I am the author of universal being, and my hand moves all the machinery of providence.

"His _honors_ are mine. I have an indisputable right to the homage of all created intelligences. I inhabit the praises of eternity. Before the foundation of the world, I was the object of angelic adoration; and when I became incarnate as a Saviour, the Father published his decree in heaven, saying:-'Let all the angels of G.o.d worship him!' It is his will, also, that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father-in the same manner, and the same degree. He that honoreth the Son, honoreth the Father; and he that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father: for I and my Father are one-one in honor-possessing joint interest and authority.

"His _attributes_ are mine. Though as man and mediator I am inferior to the Father; yet my nature is no more inferior to his, than the nature of the Prince of Wales is inferior to the nature of the King of England.

You see me clothed in humanity; but in my original state, I thought it not robbery to be equal with G.o.d. I was in the beginning with G.o.d, and possessed the same eternity of being. Like him, I am almighty, omniscient, and immutable; infinite in holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. All these attributes, with every other possible perfection, belong to me in the same sense as they belong to the Father. They are absolute and independent, underived and unoriginated-the essential qualities of my nature.

"His _riches of grace_ are mine. I am the mediator of the new covenant-the channel of my Father's mercies to mankind. I have the keys of the house of David, and the seal of the kingdom of heaven. I have come from the bosom of the Father, freighted with the precious treasures of his good will to men. I have sailed over the sea of tribulation and death, to bring you the wealth of the other world. I am the Father's messenger, publishing peace on earth-a peace which I have purchased with my own blood upon the cross. It hath pleased the Father that in me all fulness should dwell-all fulness of wisdom and grace-whatever is necessary for the justification, sanctification, and redemption of them that believe. My Father and I are one in the work of salvation, as in the work of creation. We have the same will, and the same intention of mercy toward the children of the great captivity.

"The _objects of his love_ are mine. He hath given them to me in an everlasting covenant. He hath given me the heathen for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession. They were mine by the original right of creation; but now they are doubly mine by the superadded claim of redemption. My Father, before the world was, gave me a charter of all the souls I would redeem. I have fulfilled the condition. I have poured out my soul unto death, and sealed the covenant with the blood of my cross. Therefore all believers are mine. I have bought them with a price. I have redeemed them from the bondage of sin and death. Their names are engraven on my hands and my feet. They are written with the soldier's spear upon my heart. And of all that the Father hath given me, I will lose nothing. I will draw them all to myself; I will raise them up at the last day; and they shall be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory-the glory which I had with the Father before the foundation of the world."

II. The Father and the Son are equally glorified in the economy of redemption, and the work of the Holy Spirit.

1. The Son glorifies the Father. I hear him praying in the garden:-"Father, I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." I hear him again, amid the supernatural gloom of Calvary, with a voice that rings through the dominions of death and h.e.l.l, crying-"It is finished!"

What mighty achievement hast thou finished to-day, blessed Jesus? and how have thy unknown agony and shameful death glorified the Father?

"I have glorified the Father, by raising up those precious things which fell in Eden, and were lost in the abyss.

"I have raised up my Father's _law_. I found it cast down to the earth, and trampled into the dust. I have magnified and made it honorable. I have vindicated its authority in the sight of men and angels. I have satisfied its demands on behalf of my redeemed, and become the end of the law for righteousness to all who will receive me as their surety.

"I have raised up my Father's _name_. I have declared it to my brethren.

I have manifested it to the men whom he has given me. I have given a new revelation of his character to the world. I have shown him to sinners, as a just G.o.d and a Saviour. I have restored his worship in purity and spirituality upon earth. I have opened a new and living way to his throne of grace. I have written the record of his mercy with my own blood upon the rocks of Calvary.

"I have raised up my Father's _image_. I have imprinted it afresh upon human nature, from which it was effaced by sin. I have displayed its excellence in my own character. I have pa.s.sed through the pollutions of the world, and the territory of death, without tarnishing its l.u.s.tre, or injuring its symmetry. Though my visage is marred with grief, and my back plowed with scourges, and my hands and feet nailed to the accursed cross, not one trace of my Father's image has been obliterated from my human soul. It is as perfect and as spotless now as when I lay in the manger. I will carry it unstained with me into heaven. I will give a full description of it in my gospel upon earth. I will change my people into the same image from glory to glory. I will also renovate and transform their vile bodies, and fashion them like unto my own glorious body. I will ransom them from the power of the grave; and because I live, they shall live also-the counterpart of my own immaculate humanity-mirrors to reflect my Father's glory for ever."

2. The Father glorifies the Son. He prayed in the garden:-"And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Was the pet.i.tion granted? Answer, ye Roman sentinels, who watched his sepulchre! Answer, ye men of Galilee, who gazed upon his chariot, as he ascended from the Mount of Olives!

The glorification of the Son by the Father implies all the honors of his mediatorial office-all the crowns which he won by his victory over the powers of death and h.e.l.l. The Father raised him from the dead, and received him up into glory, as a testimony of his acceptance as the sinner's surety-an expression of perfect satisfaction with his vicarious sacrifice upon the cross. It was the just reward of his work; it was the fruit of his gracious travail. He is "crowned with glory and honor for the sufferings of death." "Because he hath poured out his soul unto death," therefore "G.o.d also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name."

What an honor would it be to a man, to receive eight or ten of the highest offices in a kingdom! Infinitely greater is the glory of Emmanuel. His name includes all the offices and t.i.tles of the kingdom of heaven. The Father hath made him "both Lord and Christ"-that is, given him the supreme prerogatives of government and salvation. "Him hath G.o.d exalted to be a prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins." He is "head over all things in the church"-Prime Minister of the kingdom of heaven-Lord Treasurer, dispensing the bounties of Divine grace to mankind-Lord High-Chancellor of the realm, and Keeper of the Great Seal of the living G.o.d; holding in his hand the charter of our redemption, and certifying the authenticity of the Divine covenant-Lord Chief Justice of heaven and earth, having all power and authority to administer the laws of Providence throughout the universe-the Chief Prince-the General of the army-the Captain of the Lord's host-the Champion who conquered Satan, Sin, and Death; bruising the head of the first, destroying the power of the second, and swallowing up the third in victory. He hath the keys of h.e.l.l and of death. He shutteth, and no man openeth; he openeth, and no man shutteth. He bears all the honors of his Father's house; and concentrates in himself all the glories of Supreme Divinity, redeemed humanity, and "mediator between G.o.d and man."

3. The Holy Spirit glorifies Father and Son together. He is procured for the world by the blood of the Son, and sent into the world by the authority of the Father; so that both are alike represented in his mission, and equally glorified in his office. The gracious things which the Father gave into the hands of the Son when he descended from heaven, the Son gave into the hands of the Spirit when he returned to heaven.

"All things that the Father hath are mine; and he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you."

This is the object of the Spirit's advent, the communication of the things of Christ to men. What are the things of Christ? His merit, his mercy, his image, his gospel, his promises, all the gifts of his grace, all the treasures of his love, and all the immunities of eternal redemption. These the Father hath given to the Son, as the great Trustee of the church; and the Son hath given them to the Spirit, as the appointed agent of their communication.

A ship was laden in India, arrived safe in London, unloaded her precious cargo, and the goods were soon distributed all over the country, and offered for sale in a thousand stores. The Son of G.o.d brought immense riches of Divine grace from heaven to earth, which are all left to the disposal of the Holy Spirit, and freely proffered to the perishing wherever the gospel is preached.

The Holy Spirit came not to construct a new engine of mercy, but to propel that already constructed by Christ. Its first revolution rent the rocks of Calvary, and shook the rocky hearts of men. Its second revolution demolished the throne of death, burst his prison-doors, and liberated many of his captives. Its third revolution carried its builder up into the heaven of heavens, and brought down the Holy Spirit to move its machinery for ever. Its next revolution, under the impulse of this new Agent, was like "the rushing of a mighty wind" among the a.s.sembled disciples at Jerusalem, kindled a fire upon the head of every Christian, inspired them to speak all the languages of the babbling earth, and killed and quickened three thousand souls of the hearers.

The Holy Spirit is still on earth, glorifying the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin. He leads men to Christ, through the rivers of corruption, the mountains of presumption, and the terrible bogs of despair, affording them no rest till they come to the city of refuge. He continues on the field to bring up the rear; while the Captain of our Salvation, on his white horse, rides victorious in the van of battle. He strengthens the soldiers-"faint, yet pursuing;" raises the fallen; encourages the despondent; feeds them with the bread of life, and the new wine of the kingdom; and leads them on-"conquering, and to conquer."

His work will not be finished till the resurrection. Then will he quicken our mortal bodies. Then will he light his candle, and sweep the house till he find every lost piece of silver. Then will he descend into the dark caves of death, and gather all the gems of redeemed humanity, and weave them into a crown for Emmanuel, and place that crown upon Emmanuel's head, amid the songs of the adoring seraphim!

Thus the Holy Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son. Let us pray for the outpouring of his grace upon the church. In proportion to his manifestation in our hearts, will be our "knowledge of the light of the glory of G.o.d in the face of Jesus Christ." Nor is this all; in proportion to the visitations of the Holy Spirit, will be the purity of our lives, the spirituality of our worship, the ardor of our zeal and charity, and the extent of our usefulness to the cause of Christ. Would you see a revival of religion? pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon you, to sanctify your hearts and your lives, that your light may "so shine before men, that others may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

"When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt bestir thyself; for then the Lord shall go out before thee, to strike the hosts of the Philistines." Brethren, this is the time. The mulberry trees are shaking. G.o.d is going before his people, to prepare their way to victory. The hand of Divine Providence is opening a great and effectual door for the gospel. The mountains are levelled, the valleys are exalted, and a highway is cast up in the wilderness for our G.o.d. The arts of printing and navigation, the increasing commerce of the world, the general prevalence of the spirit of peace, the rapid march of literature and science, and the correspondence of eminent and leading men in every nation, are so many preparatives for the moral conquest of the world. The Captain of our Salvation, on the white horse of the gospel, can now ride through Europe and America: and will soon lead forth his army to take possession of Asia and Africa. The wings of the mighty angel are unbound, and he is flying in the midst of heaven.

Again: Christians are better informed concerning the moral state of the world than formerly. If my neighbor's house were on fire, and I knew nothing of it, I could not be blamed for rendering him no a.s.sistance; but who could be guiltless in beholding the building in flames, without an effort to rescue its occupants? Brethren, you have heard of the perishing heathen. You have heard of their dreadful superst.i.tions, their human sacrifices, and their abominable rites. You have heard of Juggernaut, and the River Ganges, and the murder of infants, and the immolation of widows, and the worship of idols and demons. You know something of the delusion of Mohammedism, the cruel and degrading ignorance of Popery, and how millions around you are perishing for lack of knowledge. Do you feel no solicitude for their souls-no desire to pluck them as brands from the burning?

What can we do? The Scriptures have been translated into nearly all the languages of the babbling earth. Missionaries have gone into many lands-have met the Indian in his wigwam, the African in his Devil's-bush, and the devotee on his way to Mecca. We can furnish more men for the field, and more money to sustain them. But these things cannot change and renovate the human heart. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." This is the grand regenerating agency. He alone can convince and save the world. His aid is given in answer to prayer; and the Father is more ready to give than we are to ask.

Mr. Ward, one of the Baptist missionaries in India, in a missionary discourse at Bristol, said,-"Brethren, we need your money, but we need your prayers more." O, what encouragement we have to pray for our missionaries! Thus saith the Lord:-"I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." Let us plead with G.o.d for the accomplishment of the promise. "Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest till he make Jerusalem a praise in the whole earth."

Brethren in the ministry! let us remember that all our success depends upon the aid of the Holy Spirit, and let us pray constantly for his blessing upon the word! Brethren in the church! forget not the connection between the work of the Holy Spirit and the glory of your Best Friend, and earnestly entreat him to mingle his sanctifying unction with the treasures of Divine Truth contained in these earthen vessels!

"Finally, brethren, pray for us; that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified;" and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our G.o.d!

"Hasten, Lord, the glorious time, When, beneath Messiah's sway, Every tribe, in every clime, Shall the gospel call obey!

"Then shall wars and tumults cease; Then be banished grief and pain Righteousness, and joy, and peace, Undisturbed, for ever reign!"

EXTRACTS.

I. THE DEMONIAC OF GADARA.