Works of John Bunyan Volume I Part 116

To be of David's seed is to spring from his loins, to come of his race according to the flesh; and therefore as he is David's G.o.d, so likewise is he David's Son; the root and also the offspring of David. And this the Lord himself acknowledgeth, saying, 'I am the root,' or G.o.d, 'and the offspring,' and Son, 'of David, and the bright and morning star' (Rev 22:16). This is indeed the great mystery, the mystery of G.o.dliness. 'If David then call him Lord, how is he his Son?' (Matt 22:45; Luke 2:4; Rom 1:3; 2 Tim 2:8). And hence it is that he is said to be 'wonderful,' because he is both G.o.d and man in one person--'Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful' (Isa 9:6). Wonderful indeed!

Wonderful G.o.d, Wonderful man, Wonderful G.o.d-man, and so a Wonderful Jesus and Saviour. He also hath wonderful love, bore wonderful sorrows for our wonderful sins, and obtained for HIS a wonderful salvation.

Quest. Third. What was it for Jesus to be of this man's seed according to the promise?

This word 'promise' doth sometimes comprehend all the promises which G.o.d made to our fathers, from the first promise to the last, and so the Holy Ghost doth call them--'The promise made unto the fathers, G.o.d hath fulfilled the same unto us their children' (Acts 13:32,33). But the word 'promise' here doth in special intend that which G.o.d made to David himself--'Men and brethren,' said Peter, 'let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that G.o.d had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ,' &c. (Acts 2:29,30).

Quest. Fourth. What was it for Jesus to be raised thus up of G.o.d to Israel?

Here we have two things to consider of--1. Who Israel is. 2. What it was for Jesus to be raised up unto them.

1. Who Israel is. By 'Israel' sometimes we should understand the whole stock of Jacob, the natural children of his flesh; for that name they have of him, for he obtained it when he wrestled with the angel, and prevailed, and it remained with his seed in their generations (Gen 32). By 'Israel' we are to understand all those that G.o.d hath promised to Christ--'The children of the promise are counted for the seed,' the elect Jews and Gentiles. These are called 'the Israel of G.o.d,' and the seed of Abraham, whom Jesus in special regarded in his undertaking the work of man's redemption (Rom 9:8; Gal 6:16; Heb 2:14-16).

2. What it was for Jesus to be raised up unto them. This word 'raised up' is diversely taken in the Scripture. (1.) It is taken for 'sending'; as when he saith he raised them up judges, saviours, and prophets, he means he sent them such, and thus he raised up Jesus--that is, 'he sent him' (Judg 2:16,18, 3:9,15; Amos 2:11).

'I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment' (John 12:49). (2.) To be raised up, intimateth one invested with power and authority. Thus he raised up David to be the king of Israel, he anointed him and invested him with kingly power (1 Sam 16:13; Acts 13:22). And thus was Jesus Christ raised up. Hence he is called 'the horn of salvation'--'He hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David'

(Luke 1:69). (3.) To be raised up, intimateth quickening and strengthening, to oppose and overcome all opposition. Thus was Jesus raised up from under sin, death, the rage of the world, and h.e.l.l, that day that G.o.d raised him out of the grave.

Thus, therefore, was Jesus raised up to Israel--that is, he was sent, authorized, and strengthened to, and in the work of, their salvation, to the completing of it.

The words thus opened do lay before us these two observations--FIRST.

That in all ages G.o.d gave his people a promise, and so ground for a believing remembrance, that he would one day send them a Saviour.

SECOND. That when Jesus was come into the world, then was that promise of G.o.d fulfilled.

[OBSERVATION FIRST.]

To begin with the first, THAT IN ALL AGES G.o.d GAVE HIS PEOPLE A PROMISE, AND SO GROUND FOR A BELIEVING REMEMBRANCE, THAT HE WOULD ONE DAY SEND THEM A SAVIOUR.

This Zacharias testifies when he was filled with the Holy Ghost; for, speaking of the Messiah or the Saviour, he saith that G.o.d spake of him by the mouth of all the prophets which have been since the world began; to which I will add that of Peter, 'Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days' (Luke 1:69,70; Acts 3:24).

From these texts it is evident that in every generation or age of the world G.o.d did give his people a promise, and so ground for a believing remembrance, that he would one day send them a Saviour; for indeed the promise is not only a ground for a remembrance, but for a believing remembrance. What G.o.d saith is sufficient ground for faith, because he is truth, and cannot lie or repent. But that is not all; his heart was engaged, yea, all his heart, in the promise which he spoke of sending us a Saviour.

From this observation I shall make inquiry into these three things--FIRST. What it is to be a Saviour. SECOND. How it appears that G.o.d in all ages gave his people a promise that he would one day send them a Saviour. THIRD. That this was ground for believing remembrance that a Saviour should one day come.

FIRST. What it is to be a Saviour.

First. This word 'Saviour' is easy to be understood, it being all one with Deliverer, Redeemer, &c. 'A Saviour, Jesus,' both words are of the same signification, and are doubled, perhaps to teach us that the person mentioned in the text is not called 'Jesus'

only to distinguish him from other men--for names are given to distinguish--but also and especially to specify his office; his name is Saviour, because it was to be his work, his office, his business in the world. His name shall be called Jesus, 'for he shall save his people from their sins' (Matt 1:21).

Second. This word 'Saviour' is a word so large that it hath place in all the undertakings of Christ: for whatever he doth in his mediation he doth as a Saviour. He interposeth between G.o.d and man as a Saviour; he engageth against sin, the devil, death, and h.e.l.l, as a Saviour, and triumphed over them by himself as a Saviour.

Third. The word 'Saviour,' as I said, is all one with Redeemer, Deliverer, Reconciler, Peace-maker, or the like; for though there be variation in the terms, yet Saviour is the intendment of them all. By redeeming he becomes a Saviour, by delivering he becomes a Saviour, by reconciling he becomes a Saviour, and by making peace he becometh a Saviour. But I pa.s.s this now, intending to speak more to the same question afterwards.

SECOND. How it appears that G.o.d in all ages gave his people a promise that he would one day send them a Saviour.

It appears evidently; for so soon as man had sinned, G.o.d came to him with a heart full of promise, and continued to renew, and renew, till the time of the promised Messiah to be revealed was come.

[First.] He promised him under the name of 'the seed of the women,'

after our first father had sinned--'I will also put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel' (Gen 3:15).[1] This the apostle hath his eye upon when he saith, 'When the fulness of the time was come, G.o.d sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law' (Gal 4:4,5).

Second. G.o.d renewed this promise to Abraham, and there tells him Christ should be his seed, saying, 'In thy seed shall all families of the earth be blessed' (Gen 12:3). 'Now,' saith Paul, 'to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ' (Gal 3:16).

Third. He was promised in the time of Moses under the name of a 'prophet'--'I will raise them up,' saith G.o.d to him, 'a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee' (Deut 18:18). This Peter expounds of Christ, 'For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your G.o.d raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you' (Acts 3:22).

Fourth. He promised him to David under the t.i.tle of a 'son,' saying, 'I will be his Father, and he shall be my Son' (2 Sam 7:14). For this the apostle expounded of the Saviour, saying, 'Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee'; and again, 'I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son' (Heb 1:5).

Fifth. He was promised in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah--

1. By the name of a 'branch'--'In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious' (Isa 4:2).

2. Under the name of the 'son of a virgin'--'Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.' This Matthew expounds of Christ (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23).

3. He was promised under the name of a 'rod'--'There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.' This answereth the text, David was the son of Jesse, and Christ the Son of David (Isa 11:1,2).

4. He is promised under the t.i.tle of a 'king'--'Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,--and a man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land' (Isa 32:1,2).

5. He was promised under the name of an 'elect servant'--'Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench' (Isa 42:1-3; Matt 12:17-20).

6. He was promised to Jeremiah under the name of 'the Lord our Righteousness'--'Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper; and shall execute judgment--in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS'

(Jer 23:5,6).

7. He was promised by the prophet Ezekiel under the name of 'David, a shepherd'--'And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their G.o.d, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it' (Eze 24:23; John 10:1-3).

8. He was promised by the prophet Daniel under the name of 'Messiah, or Christ, the most holy'--'And after threescore and two weeks shall the Messiah be cut off, but not for himself' (Dan 9:26).

9. He was promised by the prophet Micah under the name of the 'ruler in Israel'--'But thou, Bethlehem-Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come--that is to be ruler in Israel' (Micah 5:2; Matt 2:6).

10. He was promised to Haggai as 'the desire of all nations'--'I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts'

(Hagg 2:7).

11. He was promised by Zechariah under the name of 'servant and branch'--'For, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.'

And again, 'Behold the man whose name is the BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory' (Zech 3:8, 6:12,13).

12. He was promised by Malachi under the name of 'the Lord, and the messenger of the covenant'--'Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts' (Mal 3:1).

Indeed, the Scriptures of the Old Testament are filled with promises of the Messias to come, prophetical promises, typical promises; for all the types and shadows of the Saviour are virtually so many promises.

Sixth. Having therefore touched upon the prophetical, I will briefly touch the typical promises also; for as G.o.d spake at sundry times to the fathers, so also in diverse manners, prophetically, providentially, typically, and all of the Messias (Heb 1:1). The types of the Saviour were various--1. Sometimes he was typed out by men; 2. Sometimes by beasts; 3. Sometimes by insensible creatures.

1. He was typed forth sometimes by men. Adam was his type in many things, especially as he was the head and father of the first world.

He was 'the figure of him that was to come' (Rom 5:14). Moses was his type as Mediator, and as builder of the tabernacle (Heb 3:2,3).

Aaron was his type as he was high-priest, and so was Melchisedec before him (Heb 5:4,5, 7:1,21). Samson was his type in the effects of his death; for as Samson gave his life for the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines, Christ gave his life to deliver us from sin and devils. Joshua was his type in giving the land of Canaan to Israel, as Jesus will give the kingdom of heaven to the elect (Heb 4:8). David was his type in many things, especially in his subduing of Israel's enemies, and feeding them [Israel]: hence he is sometimes called David their king, and David their shepherd (Eze 34:23,24). Solomon was his type in his building the temple, and in his peaceable kingdom. Hence it is said, 'He shall build the temple of the Lord'; and again, 'Of his government and peace there shall be no end.'

2. Beasts were his types. To instance some--

(1.) The paschal lamb was his type (Exo 12). In its spotlessness; Christ was 'a lamb without blemish and without spot' (1 Peter 1:18,19). In its being roasted it was a figure of the cursed death of Christ; for to be roasted bespake one accursed (Jer 29:22; Gal 3:13). In that it was to be eaten--'Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood,' saith Christ, 'hath eternal life' (John 6:54).

In that its blood was to be sprinkled upon the doors of their houses, for the destroying angel to look on; the blood of Christ is sprinkled upon the elect for the justice of G.o.d to look on (Heb 9; 1 Peter 1:2). By eating the paschal lamb, the people went out of Egypt; by feeding upon Christ by faith we come from under the Egyptian darkness, tyranny of Satan, &c.

(2.) The red cow was his type (Num 19:2, &c.).[2] In that she was to be without blemish. In that she was to be slain without the camp--'Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate' (Heb 13:12). In that her flesh was to be burnt; a type of the grievous death of Christ. Her ashes were to be carried into a clean place without the camp; a type of the clean sepulchre where the body of Jesus was laid (John 19:38-41).