Sermons of Christmas Evans Part 12

Among the blessings of this happy period, shall be that of a universal and everlasting peace. There shall be no more contention and bloodshed upon earth. "Nation shall no more lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." The a.r.s.enals shall empty their contents into the foundries and blacksmith-shops, and the weapons of war shall be converted into scythes and plowshares. O, glorious day! when heaven shall be seen upon earth, and earth itself shall seem like heaven!

Behold the ferocious wolf dwelling with the gentle lamb; the furious leopard lying down with the innocent kid; the cow and the bear feeding in the same pasture; the infant leading the lion by the mane, and playing upon the den of the adder and the asp; and no disposition to hurt or destroy. These are the scriptural emblems of that blessed peace.

Holiness and happiness, more united than David and Jonathan, more inseparable than Ruth and Naomi, hand in hand, two heavenly twins, shall go singing over the world. All envy and jealousy and hostility, whether of nations, of churches, or of individuals, shall perish before Messiah's kingdom, as perished the image in the vision before that wondrous stone.

_Thirdly_. The duration of the kingdom. This is the crowning circ.u.mstance of its glory. It "shall not be destroyed, nor left to other people." Its enemies, however numerous and mighty, cannot overthrow it; and it "shall stand for ever." Where now are the ill.u.s.trious empires of Babylon, and Persia, and Greece, and Rome? Where are the Pharaohs, the Ptolemies, the Alexanders, the Caesars, the Napoleons, whose voice terrified nations, and whose tread shook the world? Where-with all their power and splendor, their iron sceptres and golden crowns? Gone; mouldering in the dust; and their magnificence nourishes the worm. They are utterly demolished, and shall rise no more. But the King of Zion liveth through all time, and is himself "the Father of Eternity," "the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last."

"His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and of his dominion there shall be no end."

III. Let us consider the nearness of its approach. The language of prophecy, viewed in connection with the signs of the times, will lead us to the conclusion that it is nigh at hand, even at the door.

Many learned divines are of opinion that Popery and Mohammedism, the Antichrists of the east and the west, must fall about the year 1866.

This notion is founded on the following words: "From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and threescore days-Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." {148} Different writers on the prophecies, however, differ in opinion concerning the times of their fulfilment. All these speculations are very uncertain, if not utterly unprofitable. What matters it, if our watches do not exactly agree? We all know that the night is far spent, and the day is at hand, and the magnitude and importance of our duty requires prompt and earnest attention.

Five men were determined to rise early in the morning, to engage in a great work, upon which depended their future fortunes. The first was up before the morning star; and though uncertain as to the hour, immediately prepared for business. The second, when he rose, saw the star just above the horizon, and hastened to his work with animation and joy. The third slept a little too long, and awoke in great confusion and alarm; but hurrying through the day as well as he could, though with a heavy heart and many a blunder, he made out partially to redeem his delinquency. The fourth heard the c.o.c.k crowing, but thought there was no need of being in a hurry, and composed himself to sleep again; and when his neighbors called him, turned in his bed, and answered-"A little more slumber;" and awaking about nine of the clock, found the day too far advanced, and abandoned his purpose in despair. The fifth, disturbed by the bustle of the others before daylight, got up and looked out of the window; and finding it as dark as it was at midnight, was very angry, called his neighbors a set of fools, and declared he would have nothing to do with the enterprise; and while all the others made themselves rich, he lived and died in deserved poverty; and some pitied him for his misfortune, and others ridiculed him for his folly. Mark the wise man, and follow his example.

The kingdom of Antichrist has of late been greatly weakened in many parts of the world. Providence is pouring the vials of wrath upon the Beast and the False Prophet. The idols and altars of Paganism fall before the advancing ark of G.o.d. The church, with its train of benevolent inst.i.tutions-like the bride, with her attendant virgins, going forth to meet the royal bridegroom-proclaims the coming of the Prince of Peace.

The Bible, Missionary, Sabbath-school, and Tract societies, are four heralds, running before Messiah's chariot; rather, the four wheels of that chariot in which he rides victoriously.

The rise and progress of the British and Foreign Bible Society remind me of the stream in Ezekiel's vision. This great river had its source in one of the mountains of Wales. In the year 1802, the Rev. Mr. Charles of Bala, an ordained minister of the established church, officiating in connection with the Calvinistic Methodists, deeply impressed with the preciousness of the Bible, and aware of the scarcity of copies throughout the princ.i.p.ality, felt that some measures ought to be adopted to furnish it at a reduced price, and circulate it gratuitously among the poor. He wrote concerning it to his countryman, the Rev. Mr. Owen, an Episcopal clergyman in London. The subject was subsequently introduced to a circle of Christian gentlemen, who had met to transact other business. It elicited much conversation, and excited a lively interest. The Rev.

Joseph Hughes, a Welshman, and Baptist minister at Battersea, near London, suggested that Wales was not the only part of the world that felt a want of the Bread of Life; and that it was desirable to awaken, if possible, a more extensive interest on the subject among Christians of every name; and stir them up to the adoption of some measure, which might lead to a general circulation of the Scriptures. The suggestion was heartily entertained, and warmly supported by the rest of the company; and its discussion led to those incipient efforts, which, in 1804, issued in the organization of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The little spring of Bala soon became a stream large enough for a man to swim in; and now it widens and deepens into a great river, on which float the merchandise of Zion, and the navies of G.o.d.

Welshmen! it is your privilege and honor, as well as your duty, to sustain this excellent inst.i.tution. It is a native of Wales, born in your northern mountains. It is your own child, and you are bound to protect and support it to the extent of your ability. I call upon you as Welshmen, to aid an inst.i.tution originating in Welsh philanthropy. I call upon you as Welsh Baptists, to help forward an enterprise which sprang from the heart of a Welsh Baptist minister. I appeal to you in the language of another:-

"The cause in which we are engaged is the cause of G.o.d, and must succeed.

Divine goodness has inspired, divine wisdom and power will sustain it.

The Bible will be carried throughout the habitable globe. Nor deserts-nor oceans-nor Alpine solitudes-nor Himalayan heights, will obstruct its progress. It will go through polar ice and equatorial fire, wherever a soul may possibly be saved. It will go on victorious, like the sword of the Lord and of Gideon, carrying every thing before it.

Error and delusion must vanish as the mists of the morning before the rising splendor of the sun. The powers of darkness must recede like spectres before the bursting of the day-spring from on high. False G.o.ds and their altars must fall together in the dust. The followers of Confucius and Zoroaster will take up their cross and follow Christ. The wandering Arab will sit and sing at Messiah's feet; and the deluded disciples of Mohammed, instead of going in painful pilgrimage to Mecca, will turn their penitent eyes to Calvary. The dark places of the earth will be enlightened, and the habitations of cruelty will become the abodes of love. Rivers will no longer roll with human blood, nor sacrificial fires be fed with human victims. Mothers will no longer destroy their innocent children, nor aged parents be immolated by their inhuman offspring. Marriage will be inst.i.tuted in places where it is now unknown, and savage practices be supplanted by the virtuous inst.i.tutions of the gospel. The Cannibal of New Zealand will be humanized, and the Caffre and the Hottentot clothed and in their right minds. The descendants of Abraham must be gathered from the four quarters of the earth; Jerusalem arise and s.h.i.+ne; and the dejected Jordan roll his streams with joy. Barren climes will teem with life-dreary deserts blossom as the rose. Rivers of salvation will run down the hills, and fertilize the plains. The Saviour will ride forth in the chariot of the everlasting gospel, conquering and to conquer. Nations will fall down before him, and mountains melt at his approach. And thus nation after nation will be converted, and empire upon empire will be conquered; and Christianity will spread from clime to clime, and from pole to pole; until the final arrival of the blessed day, when the knowledge of the Lord shall literally cover the earth as the waters cover the deep-when there shall be but one people and one G.o.d-when the millennial day shall burst upon the earth, like a flood of glory from on high-when the trump of Jubilee shall sound, and countless millions of the redeemed shall sing, Hallelujah! the Lord G.o.d omnipotent reigneth!"

Such, brethren, is the approaching triumph of Emmanuel. The mighty angel, having found an old copy of the everlasting gospel, which the Pope had kept locked up in his bureau for many centuries, is flying in the midst of heaven, in sight of all the world. His progress is rapid as the wings of the wind, and his sweet strong voice is publis.h.i.+ng the glad tidings to all people. But we look for greater things than these.

Following, comes another mighty angel, casting a great millstone into the sea, and saying-"Thus shall Babylon, that great city, be thrown down, and found no more at all." Another follows, crying with a loud voice-"Babylon is fallen, is fallen!" Another descends with the key and the chain, and binds the dragon in the bottomless pit. Then appears one "like unto the Son of Man," sitting upon a white cloud, and wearing a golden crown. He thrusts in his sharp sickle, and reaps the harvest of the earth, and gathers the wheat into his garner, the church. Again the sickle falls, and the vintage of wickedness is gathered, and cast into the wine-press of the wrath of Almighty G.o.d. Then comes the voice of a great mult.i.tude, as of many waters and mighty thunderings-the blended minstrelsy of earth and heaven-ascribing salvation and dominion and glory to him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever.

The Prince of Darkness, with all his infernal hosts, and all his allies upon earth, is fearfully agitated, as he witnesses the preparation for the great decisive battle. "Why so much benevolence? Why so many societies? Why such extraordinary schemes and efforts?" Nothing disturbs them so much as the sight of Emmanuel's troops, with their faces toward the field of Armageddon, led on by the Captain of their Salvation, on his white horse, with his vesture dipped in blood. They know that this is the Lion of the tribe of Judah; and the redness of his apparel, reminding them of their defeat when he bruised their heads on Calvary, shoots consternation and anguish through all their ranks; and the gates of h.e.l.l tremble at the shaking of the iron rod in his hand, which shall dash them in pieces as a potter's vessel. But the saints are rejoicing in his train; for they know that not one of the faithful shall perish-that not one of them shall be wounded-that each shall be more than conqueror, and all shall appear with songs of everlasting joy at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And now, my brethren, children of my heavenly Father, of every name and order, loved with the same love, redeemed with the same blood, called by the same Spirit, clothed with the same garment, fed on the same manna, engaged in the same cause-the great Missionary enterprise-as you love the Savior, as you appreciate his salvation, as you desire the introduction of his millennial kingdom, we beseech you to give us a liberal contribution!

We are now ready to receive your money for Missionary purposes; and while you are casting it into the treasury, let me remind you that your gold and your silver are beautiful birds plumed for flight, that Christian liberality is the scissors with which you may clip their wings, and a short winged bird is better than none. May we all act to-day as stewards of the Lord, in the immediate presence of our Master, before whom we must soon appear to account for the use made of our talents; and when the time of reckoning shall come, may each receive the gracious plaudit-"Well done, good and faithful servant! thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many! Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!" Amen.

SERMON VIII.

THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.

"_Who_, _his own self_, _bore our sins_, _in his own body_, _on the tree_; _that we_, _being dead to sins_, _should live unto righteousness_; _by whose stripes ye were healed_."-I Peter ii. 24.

WHAT great encouragement to patience and fort.i.tude is afforded the followers of Jesus, by the apostle's contrast of the light and transient afflictions of the present time, with the eternal weight of glory reserved for them in heaven! How forcible the argument which he draws from the approaching scenes of another world, to urge Christians in this to a life of holiness and self-denial! How vivid and terrible his picture of the dissolution of nature by the great conflagration! Imagine the heavens wrapped in dissolving flames, and the elements melting to the centre of the globe. The victorious and inextinguishable fire towers to the empyrean; the magnificent palace of creation is lost in the smoke of its own burning; and the ear is stunned, and the soul is horrified, by the crash of its final fall. "Seeing then, that all these things must be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and G.o.dliness; looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of G.o.d;" "using all diligence to make your calling and election sure;" "that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless;" that "so an abundant entrance may be ministered unto you, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!"

Such, substantially, is the argument. But the apostle employs another; the Christian's obligation to imitate Christ, suffering for him as he suffered for us, with the same fort.i.tude and resignation, though not to the same extent, nor for the same purpose. It is in this connection he uses the language of the text:-"Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward G.o.d endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with G.o.d. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." We are to suffer for Christ as his disciples and confessors; he suffered for us as our subst.i.tute, our atoning sacrifice and Saviour. Let us attend, first, to this description of his sufferings; and then to the end for which he endured them.

I. The text describes Christ in his vicarious sufferings, as _bearing our sins_; bearing our sins, _his own self_; bearing our sins, his own self, _in his own body_; and bearing our sins, his own self, in his own body, _on the tree_,

1. _He bore our sins_. To get a correct understanding of this expression, we must turn to the record of the ordinance to which it alludes, which is as follows:-"And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat, and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and shall send him away, by the hand of a fit man, into the wilderness; and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness." But this part of the ceremony was preceded by another, of very solemn import. A goat was selected for a sin-offering.

He was brought before the Lord, and Aaron put his hands upon him, and devoted him to death. He was slain, and his blood was sprinkled upon the altar and the mercy-seat. Then the sins of the children of Israel were laid upon the head of the other goat, and he was led forth, and sent away into the wilderness, to return no more. Both these goats represented Christ; who, as our Savior, answers to both; at once, suffering for our sins, and bearing them away into the land of forgetfulness.

Three things were found continually in the temple; fire, and blood, and sweet incense. The fire denoted the wrath of G.o.d against sin; the blood prefigured the sacrificial sufferings of Christ; and the sweet incense typified his intercession at the right hand of the Father, on the ground of his vicarious death upon the cross. The goat of the sin-offering was bound and slain; and then burnt up, with the fat thereof, upon the altar.

So Christ was crucified for us without the gates of Jerusalem; and his humanity was consumed by the fire of G.o.d's holy indignation against sin, on the altar of his Divinity; while from that altar ascended a column of the sweetest incense to the heaven of heavens-"Father, forgive them!" In h.e.l.l also there is fire, where sinners suffer upon the altars of eternal justice. Every sacrifice is salted with fire, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. But the black and sulphurous smoke of the bottomless pit is not a sweet smelling savor unto G.o.d, like the fumes of the sacrifice once offered on Calvary-a sacrifice which satisfied the claim of Heaven, and expiated the offence of earth.

The form of expression used in our text is one which frequently occurs in the Old Testament, and signifies the enduring of punishment. Of the impenitent sinner it is said, "He shall bear his iniquity"-that is, he shall endure the just punishment of his sins. He shall carry the burden alone, and for ever sink beneath the load, and mercy shall never come to his relief. Christ's bearing our sins, then, signifies his enduring, the punishment in our stead. Glory to G.o.d, that every poor trembling sinner may cast his burden upon one who is able to sustain it, who has already sustained it in his stead! The law pa.s.sed the guilty, and arrested the guiltless. Jesus willingly gave himself up as the victim, saying-"I am he; if ye seek me, let these go their way." His sufferings const.i.tute the sea, in which are buried for ever the sins of his people; sins of the greatest magnitude; sins of the deepest dye. The Father, who turned his back upon the sufferings of his Son, hath said-"I will cast all thy sins behind my back, into the depth of the sea." This is the abyss, in which they are swallowed up, and seen no more.

2. He bore our sins, _his own self_. G.o.d and man were parties at variance. There was but one who could stand between them as mediator, and he gave himself a subst.i.tute and sacrifice for the sinner. Uniting in his person the two natures, human and Divine, he was fully qualified for his work; and by once offering himself, he satisfied the demands of the insulted law, and "became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him." He offered up himself, without the aid of another; and it was his own blessed person that he threw between you and the destroying angel, between you and the mortal plague of sin, between you and the unquenchable fires of h.e.l.l.

None but Moses, the mediator, could penetrate the thick darkness in which, as in a pavilion, G.o.d dwelt, upon the mount of terror; and none but Aaron, the high-priest, dared enter the holy of holies, and he only once a year, on the great day of atonement, with trembling steps, and sacrificial blood. So Jesus, the mediator of a better covenant, and high-priest of the true sanctuary, the sum and substance of all the types and shadows of the old dispensation, when, in the garden of Gethsemane, he approached the black and terrible cloud, where G.o.d revealed the terrors of his justice, and the fierceness of his wrath, said to his disciples:-"Tarry ye here, while I go yonder. Ye cannot go; the place is too dreadful. I will go alone." Alone he went; and as he drew near the furnace, his countenance was marvellously altered, his heart melted in the midst of his bowels, and the very substance of his life pressed through the pores of his skin. All the visible fire which flamed on the summit of Sinai, now breaks forth anew on Calvary; and though unseen by man, envelopes in its burning the soul and the body of our glorious Subst.i.tute. Behold him rus.h.i.+ng between you and the flames, s.h.i.+elding you, and quenching the flames in his blood!

3. He bore our sins, his own self, _in his own body_. Atonement was made for the sins of Israel by the blood of slaughtered beasts. But "the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctified only to the purifying of the flesh." The blood of Christ alone has power to "purge the conscience from dead works, to serve the living G.o.d." It was his own body, that our blessed Redeemer offered as a sacrifice for our sins, a sacrifice of a sweet savor unto G.o.d. The Divine person bore the punishment of sins in human nature. "It was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins." We hear the Son saying to the Father:-"Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared for me. I see that the services of the altar are of no avail, and are pa.s.sing away. In burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast no pleasure. At this moment, the great cause of difference between heaven and earth remains untaken away. The bills are all uncancelled. The handwriting in the book of the law, and in the book of conscience, continues in full force unto this day. But lo, I come to do thy will, O my G.o.d. Yea, thy law is within my heart. I delight to honor its claims, while I save its violaters. I will obey, even unto the death of the cross, and expiate human transgression by my meritorious sufferings. Then, as first begotten from the dead, will I declare the decree which thou didst read to me before the foundation of the world-'Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Because I have bruised thee, and put thee to grief, thou shalt see thy seed, and prolong thy days; and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in thy hand.

Because thou hast borne the sins of many, thou shall justify many.

Because thou hast been numbered with the transgressors, and made intercession for them, thou shalt see of the travail of thy soul, and be satisfied. Because thou hast made thy soul an offering for sin, pouring it out unto death, I will divide thee a portion with the great, and thou shalt divide the spoil with the strong. I will make thee king in Zion, and thou shalt reign for ever and ever!'"

The sufferings of the Son are accomplished, and the promise of the Father is receiving its fulfilment. The law of the Spirit of Life hath gone forth; and sinners, with songs of salvation, are crowding to the cross!

4. He bore our sins, his own self, in his own body, _on the tree_. In Deut. xxi. 22, 23, we find that death by hanging on a tree was deemed an accursed death. Paul refers to this pa.s.sage in the third chapter of his epistle to the Galatians:-"As it is written; cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." By consenting to crucifixion, Christ was "made a curse for us." What shame and ignominy did he endure in our behalf! See him arrayed in royal purple, the reed of scorn in his hand, the crown of thorns upon his head, and the cross of infamy upon his back. He grows faint beneath his burden. His murderers, fearing lest his woes should pa.s.s endurance before their cruel thirst for his blood could be satiated, compel Simon of Cyrene to carry one end of the cross. Thus they move on to the summit of Calvary. They lay the tree upon the ground, and stretch the Son of G.o.d upon it, and nail his hands and his feet to the wood. It is reared on high, with its bleeding victim; and there he hangs, before the gazing world, and the wondering heavens; suffering the most excruciating death ever invented, the most shameful in the sight of man, the most accursed in the sight of G.o.d. All the springs of consolation are sealed to the glorious sufferer; and he finds not a single drop of comfort in his great extremity. True, the fountains of the deep are broken up, and the windows of heaven are opened; but not to supply him with drink who saith-"I thirst!" From below burst forth upon him the streams of h.e.l.lish rage, a fiery deluge from the mouth of the dragon; while from above Divine Justice pours down a cataract of wrath, overwhelming his soul with agony, and baptizing his body with blood.

This is the baptism which he antic.i.p.ated in talking with his disciples:-"I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" Let us pause a moment to contemplate this baptism. It was the anguish of his soul, wringing the blood from his person, till the crimson dew stood thick upon his brow, and rolled down in great drops to the ground. The sufferings of his soul const.i.tuted the soul of his sufferings. "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." It was not the taunt of the rabble, the derision of the governors, nor the cruelly lacerating scourge, that Jesus dreaded in the garden, and deprecated in that mysterious agony. Nor was it the thorns, the nails, the tree, or the spear. It was the burden, O man! of thy guilt; the flaming curse of the law; the felt displeasure of the Father against sin. When the martyrs suffered death for Jesus' sake, they rejoiced in the midst of the fire, for the Son of man was there to sustain them; but when Christ suffered, the Just for the unjust, he felt the hidings of his Father's face, and cried after him through the blackening heavens-"My G.o.d! my G.o.d! why hast thou forsaken me!"

In the Bible we read of two very remarkable trees; "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden," and the tree of redemption high planted on "the place of skulls." Milton has made the former the theme of his majestic song, which he opens with the following strain:-

"Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste Brought death into the world, and all our wo, With loss of Eden, * * * * *

* * * * * sing, Heavenly Muse!"

But let me extol that mysterious tree of life on Golgotha, by which,-

-"One Greater Man Restores us, and regains the blissful seat!"

"Sing, Heavenly Muse," of Jesus and his cross! Sing of the wormwood and the gall, of the strife and the triumph of Calvary! Let us compare these two trees. By the former, "the first Adam" transgressed, and entailed ruin upon his posterity; by the latter, "the second Adam" "became obedient unto death," and "brought life and immortality to light." By a forbidden approach to the one, the chain of the covenant was broken, Paradise forfeited, G.o.d's image and favor lost, the league with h.e.l.l signed, and sealed, and ratified, and the whole earth converted into a province of the Prince of Darkness, and delivered up to the despotism of Sin and Death; but four thousand years afterward, the Son of G.o.d took his stand on the other, wrestled gloriously with the tyrant usurpers, dethroned Satan, condemned and abolished Sin, swallowed up Death in victory, disannulled the league of earth with h.e.l.l, restored to believers the favor and image of G.o.d, reopened the gates of the forfeited Eden to the exiles, and established a new and everlasting covenant of grace. The blood of Jesus cancelled the debt of man, and quenched the wrath of G.o.d; and from all them that obey him, it will ultimately wash away all the stains of sin, and all the dust of death. This is the newly consecrated way into the holy of holies; this is eternal life! "Sing, Heavenly Muse," once more!

"We too with him are dead, And shall with him arise: The cross on which he bows his head Shall lift us to the skies!"

Thus, the Son of G.o.d, "his own self, bore our sins, in his own body, on the tree." The burden beneath which he fainted was our burden, and would have sunk us to perdition. It was for us he suffered and died. Though our iniquities were laid on him, they were yet our iniquities. He endured the punishment in our stead. He stood between us and the uplifted arm of Justice; and the sword which would have cleft our souls asunder, was sheathed in Emmanuel's heart. His righteousness, imputed to us, and appropriated by faith, is "the righteousness of G.o.d, which is unto all and upon all them that believe," covering their sins, and rendering them "accepted in the Beloved."

Can we pa.s.s by mount Calvary, and gaze upon that wondrous sight, and still remain unmoved? Have we no tears of grat.i.tude and love? Pause we not to wonder and adore? O the depth of the riches! the riches of his wisdom! the riches of his grace!

II. Having thus spoken of Christ's vicarious sufferings, let us notice a little more particularly the end for which he endured them. "That we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed."

This death unto sin, and this new life unto righteousness, denote the sanctification of the soul "by the renewing of the Holy Spirit." The "spiritually minded" man is made, through the grace of G.o.d, a "partaker of the Divine nature." He has received a new principle, whereby his l.u.s.ts and corruptions are mortified, crucified, and slain. The right hand that offended is cut off; the right eye that offended is plucked out. He delights in the law of G.o.d; he feels a strong desire, and makes strenuous efforts, to conform himself, in heart and life, to its holy requirements. Made free from the dominion and condemning power of sin, he still needs, however, the aid of the Holy Spirit, to crucify the old man; to live soberly, righteously, and G.o.dly, in this present evil world; to die to sins, and live unto righteousness. In the court of heaven, he is justified by the righteousness of Christ; but before men, he is justified by his own righteousness. "Let your light so s.h.i.+ne before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Be as a candle, not under a bushel, but on a candlestick, enlightening all around you. Paul to the Ephesians says that Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the was.h.i.+ng of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. G.o.d hath not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness. Let us, therefore cleanse ourselves from all filthiness-from all manner of pollution-of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of G.o.d. For it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy; holy in all manner of conversation; holy in all stations, relations, and conditions of life-as husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants; and this always, and in all places-at home and abroad, in private and in public, in prosperity and adversity. Our conversation should be such as becometh the nature and requirements of the gospel of Christ. Forgetting the things that are behind, we should be ever pressing forward towards those things that are before-not as though we had already attained, either were already perfect; but making perfection our mark; for we know not yet what we shall be, but one thing we do know-that when he shall appear, we shall be like him! Then, and not till then, shall we be satisfied, when we awake in his likeness. We must be conformed to the image of G.o.d's Son in this world, otherwise we cannot have the enjoyment of him in the world to come. We must have the spirit of Christ, to love righteousness, and to hate iniquity. We must imitate his example in zeal and activity, doing our Father's work while the day lasts. Die to sin, we must. "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die, but if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. Put off the old man with all his deceitful l.u.s.ts, and put on the new man, which, after G.o.d, is created in righteousness and true holiness. Abstain from those fleshy l.u.s.ts that war against the soul; always keeping in mind, that they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and l.u.s.ts. To die to sin, implies a perfect hatred of it, deep sorrow and contrition on account of it, and a constant desire and effort to forsake it. We should conscientiously use all the means of grace, and depend entirely upon the grace of G.o.d, as that by which alone we can obtain a victory-final and complete,-over all our enemies, the flesh, the world, and the devil. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion goeth about, seeking whom he may devour. Good reason have you to pray without ceasing, that you may be made strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. You must put on the whole armor of G.o.d, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Your loins must be girt about with truth. The breast-plate of righteousness you must wear. Your heart must be protected by the s.h.i.+eld of faith, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Forget not the helmet of salvation, nor the sword of the Spirit, nor to write often to the King-directing to the care of Jesus, that your pet.i.tions may not fail-"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." As ye formerly yielded your members servants to uncleanness, even so now yield your members servants of righteousness unto holiness.

Live unto righteousness. Yield yourselves up unto G.o.d, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto G.o.d. Conform to his revealed will, and keep an eye single to his glory in the performance of every duty.

To produce in his people this happy change, was the end of Messiah's sufferings. But this was not all, for the apostle adds,-"By whose stripes ye were healed." Divine philosophy! supernatural science!

transcending all original conception of men and angels! Who could ever have dreamed of healing by his stripes, soundness by his wounds, pleasure by his pains, and life eternal by his death! We are afflicted by the old inveterate plague of sin, but there is balm in Gilead, and a Physician there. His blood alone can cure the malady, and that is infallible. All the way from Bethlehem to Calvary, he was employed in preparing his materia medica. The Gospel is the great store-house of this precious preparation. It is always full; it is always free; and the sign over its entrance is-"Able to save to the uttermost." The Holy Spirit is continually making the application, and all who come are cured.

It is a matter of all others the most momentous, that we know our personal interest in these things. If we be not dead to sins, and alive unto righteousness-if we be not healed by the stripes of Jesus-his sufferings upon the cross, and our theoretical faith in their vicarious character and saving power, will profit us nothing. "If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his." There is a vast difference between sanctification and morality. A man may perform many excellent deeds, while the principle that actuates him is averse to true G.o.dliness.

Happy are they, whose sins are pardoned, whose persons are justified, and whose bodies are become temples of the Holy Ghost. The Lord is their G.o.d and Father. They have pa.s.sed from death unto life, and shall not come into condemnation. "There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; for the law of the Spirit of life, in Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of sin and death."