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Post by Admin on Feb 20, 2024 16:23:00 GMT -5
The Covenant of Redemption, Part 1
The covenant of REDEMPTION is that blessed compact between God the Father and Jesus Christ; concerning the conversion, sanctification, and salvation of the elect, through the death, satisfaction, and obedience of Jesus Christ; to the eternal honor, and unspeakable praise, of the glorious grace of God.
X. The tenth plea that a believer may form up, as to these ten scriptures, [Eccles 11:9, and 12:14; Mat. 12:14, and 18:23; Luke 16:2; Romans 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27, and 13:17; 1 Pet. 4:5.] which refer to the great day of account, or to a man's particular account, may be drawn up from the consideration of that compact, covenant,
and agreement, that was solemnly made between God and Christ, touching the whole business of man's salvation or redemption. We may present it to our understanding in this form: God the Father says to Christ the mediator, "I look upon Adam and his posterity as a degenerate seed, a generation of vipers, of apostates and backsliders, yes, traitors and rebels; liable to all temporal, spiritual, and eternal judgments; yet I cannot find in my heart to damn them all. My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. No, I will not punish you as much as my burning anger tells me to. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy (Hosea 11:8-9), and therefore I have determined to show mercy upon
many millions of them, and save them from wrath to come, and to bring them to glory. But this I must do, while still upholding my law, justice, and honor. If, therefore, you will undertake for them, and become a curse for their sakes, Gal. 3:10, 13, and so make satisfaction to my justice for their sins; I will give them unto you, John 17:2, 6, 11, to take care of them, and to bring them up to my kingdom, for the manifestation of the glory of my grace.
"Well," says Christ, "I am content, I will do all you require with all my heart, and so the agreement is made between you and me." This may be gathered from these scriptures. [Psalm 2:7-9, and 40:6-8.]
Christ the Son speaks in both places. In the first he publishes them decree or ordinance of heaven, concerning himself, and brings in the Father, installing him into the priesthood or office of mediator; for so the apostle applies that text, Heb. 5:5, "You are my son," etc., and also states this covenant and agreement in the two main parts of it.
1. First, What CHRIST must do, as mediator, "He must ask of God;" that is, not only verbally, by prayers and supplications, beg mercy,pardon, righteousness, and salvation for poor lost sinners; but also really, by fulfilling the righteousness of the law, both in doing and suffering; and so by satisfaction and merit, purchasing acceptance
for them at his hands. [Consider Christ in the capacity of a mediator, for so only he covenanted with the Father, for the salvation of mankind.] The Father engaged so and so to Christ, and Christ reciprocally engaged so and so to the Father; a considerable part of the terms and matter of which covenant is set down: Isaiah 53:10,
"When you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed," etc. The Father covenants to do thus and thus for fallen man; but first in order thereunto, the Son must covenant to take man's nature, therein to satisfy offended justice, to repair and vindicate his Father's honor, etc. Well, he submits, assents to these demands, and
covenants to make all good; and this was the substance of the covenant of redemption. But,
2. Secondly, Let us consider the promise which the FATHER engages to perform on his part; the Son must ask, and the Father will give: "He will give him the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession," Psalm 2:8. An allusion to great princes, when they would show great affection to their favorites, they
bid them ask what they will, as Ahasuerus did, and as Herod did; that is, he shall both be the Lord's salvation to the ends of the earth, and "have all power given him in heaven and earth; so that all knees shall bow to him, and every tongue shall confess him to be Lord." [Esther 5:3; Mark 6:23; Isaiah 49:6; Mat. 28:18; Phil. 2:10, 11; Psalm
40:6-8.] In the other text before mentioned, Psalm 40:6-8, Christ declares his compliance to the agreement, and his subscribing the covenant on his part, when he came into the world, as the apostle explains it, Heb. 10:5, etc.; "Look, I have come to do your will, O God;" as if he had said, "O Father, you engage me to be your servant in this great work of saving sinners. Lo, I come to do the work, I here covenant and agree to yield up myself to your disposing, and to serve you forever." Psalm 40:6. "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require." It seems to be an allusion to the master's "boring through the servant's ear," Exod. 21:6. Among the Jews only one ear was bored, but here are ears in the plural number, a token of that perfect and desirable subjection, which Christ, as mediator, was in to his Father.
But for a more clear, distinct, and full opening of the covenant of redemption, or that blessed compact between God the Father and Jesus Christ, which is a matter of grand importance to all our souls; and considering that it is a point that I have never yet treated of in pulpit or press, I shall therefore take the liberty at this time to open
myself as clearly and as fully as I can. And therefore thus—
QUESTION. If you ask me, What is this covenant of redemption?
Answer 1. I answer, in the general, that a covenant is a mutual agreement between parties, upon articles or propositions on both sides, so that each party is tied and bound to perform his own conditions. This description holds the general nature of a covenant, and is common to all covenants, public and private, divine or human.
But,
Answer 2. Secondly, and more particularly, I answer, the covenant of redemption is that federal transaction or mutual stipulation that was between God and Christ from everlasting, for the accomplishment of the work of our redemption, by the mediation of Jesus Christ, to the eternal honor, and unspeakable praise, of the glorious grace of God. Or, if you please, take it in another form of words, thus—It is a compact, bargain, and agreement between God the Father and God the Son, designed mediator, concerning the conversion, sanctification, and salvation of the elect, through the death, satisfaction, and obedience of Jesus Christ, which in due time was to be given to the Father. But for the making good the definition I have laid down, I must tell you that there are many choice scriptures which give clear intimation of such a federal transaction between God the Father and Jesus Christ, in order to the recovery, and everlasting happiness, and salvation of his elect. I shall instance the most considerable of them—
(1.) The first is this, Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Here begins the book of the Lord's wars, God's battles. ["The Scriptures are called the Book of the Battles of the Lord." Num. 21, Rupertas.] This is spoken of that holy enmity that is between Christ and the devil, and of Christ's destroying the kingdom and power of Satan: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil," Heb. 2:14.God, by way of threatening, told Satan that the seed of the deceived woman should overmatch him at last, and should break in pieces his power and crafty plots. He gives Satan permission to do his worst, and proclaims an open and an utter enmity between Christ and him. From this scripture some conclude that Christ covenanted from eternity to take upon him the seed of the woman, and the sinless infirmities of our true human nature; and under those infirmities to enter the lists with Satan, and to continue obedient through all his afflictions, temptations, and trials, to the death, even to the death of the cross, Phil. 2:8-9. And that God the Father had covenanted with Christ, that in case Christ did continue obedient through all his sufferings, temptations, and trials—that then his obedience to the death should be accounted as full satisfaction to divine justice for all those wrongs and injuries which were done to God by the sins of man. Christ must die, or else he could not have been the mediator of the new covenant through death, Heb. 9:15-16. But,
(2.) The second scripture is that, Isaiah 42:6, "I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles." Thus God speaks of Christ. In this chapter we have a glorious prophecy of Christ our Redeemer. Here are four things prophesied of him:
(1.) The divine call, whereby he was appointed to the work of our redemption: verse 1, "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations." Jesus Christ would not, yes, he could not, he dared not, thrust himself upon this great work, or engage in this
great work, until he had a clear call from heaven.
(2.) Here you have the gracious deportment of Christ, in the work to which he was called; this is fully set down, vers. 2-4, "He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets." He shall come clothed with majesty and glory, and yet full of meekness: "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In
faithfulness he will bring forth justice." "He will not break," that is, he will bind up the bruised reed, he will comfort the bruised reed, he will strengthen the bruised reed. Christ will acknowledge and encourage the least degrees of grace; he will turn a spark of grace into a flame, a drop into a sea, etc. "He shall not fail, nor be
discouraged." These words show his kingly courage and magnanimity. Though he should meet with opposition from all
hands, yet nothing should daunt him, nothing should dismay him; no afflictions, no temptations, no sufferings should in the least abate his courage and valor.
(3.) The divine assistance he should have from him that called him. This is set down in two expressions: verse 6, "I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you." Divine assistance does usually concur with a divine call. When God sets his servants on work, he defends and upholds them in the work.
(4.) The work itself to which Christ was called. This is expressed under divers phrases: verse 6-7, "To be a light to the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and to be a covenant to the people." In these last words you have two things observable; the first is one special part of Christ's office: "He
was given for a covenant." Second, The persons in reference to whom this office was designed: "a covenant of the people." One end why God the Father gave Christ out of his bosom, was, that he might be a covenant to his people. Christ is given for a covenant both to the believing Jews and Gentiles. As he is "the glory of the people of Israel," so he is "a light to enlighten the Gentiles." In this scripture last cited, you have the Father's designation and sealing of Christ to the mediatorial employment, promising him much upon his undertaking it, and his
acceptance of this office, and voluntary submission to the will of the Father in it: "Behold, I come to do your will," Heb. 5:4-5; Psalm 40:7-8; John 10:17-18. And these together amount to the making up of a covenant between God the Father and his Son; for what more can be necessary to the making up of a covenant than is here expressed? But,
(3.) The third scripture is that, Isaiah 49:1, " Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations—Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name." [This prophecy is applied to Christ, Luke 2:32; Acts 13:47; Gal. 3:16; Heb. 5:4-5. And many of the Jews do confess that this place is to be understood of Christ only, Mat. 1:21-22; Luke 2:10-11; Heb. 1:6.]
These words are spoken in the person of Christ; he tells us how he is called by his Father to be a mediator and Savior of his people. Jesus Christ would not take one step in the work of our redemption until he was called and commissioned by his Father to that work. God the Father, who from eternity had fore-assigned Christ to this office of a mediator, a Redeemer—did, both while he was in the womb, and as soon as he was come out of it, manifest and make known this his purpose concerning Christ both to men and angels. Christ did not thrust himself, he did not intrude himself at random into the office of a Redeemer: "No man takes this honor to himself, but he that is
called of God, as was Aaron," Heb. 5:4-5. So Christ took not upon himself the office of a mediator, a Savior, but upon a call and a commission from God. The sum is, that Christ took up the office of a Redeemer by the ordinance of his Father, that he might fulfill the work of our redemption unto which he was destined. Verse 2, "He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver." Christ having agreed to his Father's calling of him to the work of man's redemption, he gives you a
picture in this verse, of God's fitting and furnishing of him with abilities sufficient for so important a work, together with his sustaining and supporting of him in the performance of the same. Here are two similitudes or comparisons:
(1.) That of a "sharp sword;" that of a bright and "sharp arrow," to show the efficacy of Christ's doctrine. [See Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:16, and 6:2.] The word of Christ is a sword of great power and efficacy for the subduing of the souls of men to the obedience of it, and for the cutting off of whoever or whatever shall oppose or
withstand it. Christ was not sent of the Father to conquer by force of weapons, as earthly princes do; but he conquers all sorts of sinners, even the proudest and stoutest of them, by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, as you may see by comparing these scriptures together. [Acts 2:37, 41, 4:1-4, and 16:29-35; 2 Cor. 10:4,
6.] Having spoken of the efficacy of Christ's doctrine, he tells us that he will take care of the security of his person: "In the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver." God the Father undertakes to protect the Lord Jesus Christ against all sorts of adversaries that should band themselves
against him, and to maintain his doctrine against all enemies that should conspire to suppress it. [John 7:30, 44; Luke 22:53; Mat. 27:62-66, and 2-6; Acts 2:23-24.] God so protected his dear Son against all the might and malice of his most capital enemies that they neither could lay hold on him, or do anything, before the time by God fore-designed was come. Christ was sheltered under the wing of God's protection until he voluntarily went to his passion; neither could they keep him in death, when that time was once over, though they endeavored with all their might to do it. Now in the third verse, God the Father tells Jesus Christ what a glorious reward he should have for undertaking the great work of redemption: "And said unto me, You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor." [Or, as some render the words, You are my servant to Israel, or for Israel; that is, for Israel's good, for my people's behalf. "Few," says Sasbont, "to this day do consider Christ's labor in preaching, prayer, fasting, and suffering a cruel death for us; for if they did, they would be more affected with love towards him that loved them so dearly."] God having called Christ, set him apart, sanctified him, and sent him into the world for the execution of the office of a Redeemer, he does in this third verse encourage him to set upon it, and to go on
cheerfully, resolutely, and constantly in it, with assurance of good and comfortable success, notwithstanding all the plots, designs, and oppositions that Satan and his imps might make against him. Verse 4, "Then I said—I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the Lord's
hand, and my reward is with my God." In these words Jesus Christ complains to his Father of the incredulity, wickedness, and obstinate rebellion of the greatest part of the Jews against that blessed word which he had clearly and faithfully made known to them. When Christ looked upon the paucity and small number of those whom his ministry had any saving and powerful work upon, he pours out his complaints before the Father. Not that Christ's pains in his ministry among the Jews were wholly in vain, either in regard of God who sent him, or in regard of the persons unto whom he was sent, as if not any at all were converted. Oh no! for some were called, converted, and sanctified, as you may see by these scriptures. [Isaiah 6:13, and 8:18, etc.] Or in regard of himself, as if any loss or harm
should thereby redound unto him. Oh no! but in regard of the small, the slender effect, that his great labors had hitherto found. "Yet surely my reward is with my God." Christ, for the better support and re-encouraging of himself to persist in his employment, opposes unto the lack of the chiefly desired success of his labors with men— the gracious acceptance of them with God. It is as if Christ had said, "Although my labor has not produced such fruits and effects as I indeed desired, yet I do comfort and bear up my heart with this, that my heavenly Father knows that in the office and place wherein he has set me, I have faithfully done all that could be done for the salvation of poor sinners' souls, and for the securing of them from wrath to come." "Yet surely my reward is with my God;" that is, the reward of my work, or my wages for my work, which God will render unto me, not according to the outcome or success of my labors, but according to my pains therein taken, and the faithful discharge of my office and duty there in
"What," says Christ, "though the Jews believe not, repent not, return not to the Most High; yet my labor is not lost, for my God will really, he will signally reward me." Upon this, God the Father comes off more freely and roundly, and opens his heart more abundantly to Jesus Christ, and tells him in the fifth and sixth verses following, that he will give him full, complete, and honorable satisfaction for all his pains and labors in preaching, in doing, in suffering, in dying, that he might bring many sons to glory. Verse 5, "And now the Lord says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength." In this verse you have a further encouragement to our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father engaging himself not only to support him and protect him in the work of his ministry, but of
making him glorious in it and by it also; and that though his work should not prove so successful among his own people as he desired, yet his ministry should become very glorious and efficacious upon the Gentiles, far and near, throughout the whole world. [John 5:20, 23, 10:15, 17, and 17:1, 5; Phil. 2:9.] Jesus Christ is very confident of his being high in the esteem of his Father for the faithful discharge of his duty; and that, notwithstanding all the hard measure that he met with from the most of the Jews, that yet his Father would crown him with honor and glory, and that he would enable him to go through the work that is incumbent upon him, and that he would protect him and defend him in his work, against all might and malice, all power and policy, that would make headway against him.
Verse 6, "And he said—It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." Thus you see that God the Father still goes on to show that the labors of Christ should be very glorious, not only in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of all the world. You know elsewhere Christ is called "the way, the truth, and the life," John 14:6; and here he is called the light and salvation of the Gentiles. God the Father, speaking to Jesus Christ, tells him that it was but a small matter, a light thing—for him to have such happy and ample success as to reduce and win the Jews, in comparison of that further work that he intended to effect by him, even the salvation of the Gentiles unto the ends of the earth. God the Father seems to say thus to Jesus Christ, "The dignity and worthiness of your person, you being the eternal and only Son of God, as also the high office whereunto I have called you, requires more excellent things than that you should only raise up and restore the people of Israel. I have also appointed and ordained you for a Savior to the Gentiles, even to the ends of the earth; therefore though the greatest part among the Jews will not receive you nor submit unto you, yet the Gentiles shall own you and honor you, they shall embrace you and give themselves up unto you." I shall be briefer in the remaining proofs; and therefore,
(4.) The fourth scripture is, Isaiah 52:13-14, "Behold, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted." [Isaiah 42:1, and 53:11, etc.] The three last verses of this chapter, with the next chapter, do jointly make up an entire prophecy concerning Christ's person, parentage, condition, manner of life, sufferings,
humiliation, exaltation, etc., with the noble benefits which redound to us, and the great honor which redounds to himself. In these two verses you have—
(1.) The two parties contracting, namely, God the Father, and Jesus Christ: "Behold my servant," says God the Father. This title is several times given by the Father to Jesus Christ, because he did the Father great service in the work of man's redemption, freeing fallen man from the thraldom of sin and Satan.
(2.) Both parties are very sure and confident of the event, and of the accomplishment of the whole work of redemption: "Behold, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted." Here are several terms heaped up to express in part the transcendent and inexpressible advancement of Jesus Christ. When
men are raised from a base and low estate, to some honorable condition; when men are furnished with such parts and endowments of prudence, wisdom, and understanding as makes them admirable in the eyes of others; and when they are enabled to do and suffer great things whereby they become famous and renowned far and near—then we say they are highly exalted. Now in all these respects our Lord Jesus Christ was most eminently exalted above all creatures
in heaven and earth, as is most evident throughout the Scriptures.
(3.) He tells you of the price which Jesus Christ should pay for the redemption of his people, agreed upon by covenant, namely, the humbling of himself to the death of the cross, as you may see in verse 14: "there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond
human likeness." This is the speech of the Father to Jesus Christ; his appearance was so marred that the Jews were ashamed to own him for their King and Messiah. The astonishment here spoken of is such an astonishment as arises from the contemplation of some strange, uncouth, and rueful spectacle of desolation, deformity, and misery.
And no wonder if many were astonished at the sight of our Savior's condition, in regard of that base, disgraceful, and despiteful treatments which were done to him in the time of his humiliation here on earth, when his own followers were so amazed at the foretelling of them, Mat. 10:32-34. O sirs! the words last cited are not so to be understood as if our blessed Savior had, in regard of his bodily person or presence, been some strange, deformed, or
misshapen creature, Isaiah 53:3, but in regard of his outward estate, coming of poor and obscure parents, living in a low, despicable condition, exposed to scorn and contempt, and to much affliction, through the whole course of his life; and more especially yet, in regard of what he was also in his personal appearance, through them base and scornful treatment which he sustained at the hands of his malicious and mischievous adversaries, when they had gotten him into their power; besides his watchings, draggings to and fro from place to place, buffetings, scourgings, carrying his cross, and other base treatment—could not but much alter the state of his body, and deface all the sightliness of it. And yet all this he suffered, to make good the compact and agreement that he had made with his Father about the redemption of his elect! But,
(5.) The fifth scripture is Isaiah 53. This scripture, among many others, gives us very clear intimations of a federal transaction between God the Father and Jesus Christ, in order to the recovery and everlasting happiness of poor sinners. The glorious gospel seems to be epitomized in this chapter. The subject-matter of it is the
grievous sufferings and dolorous death of Christ, and the happy and glorious outcome thereof. Of all the prophets, this prophet Isaiah was the most evangelical prophet; and of all the prophecies of this prophet, that which you have in this chapter is the most evangelical prophecy. [Jerome calls him Isaiah the evangelist.] In this chapter you have a most plain,lively, and full description and representation of the humiliation, death, and passion of Jesus Christ; which indeed is so exact, and so consonant to what has actually occurred to Jesus, that Isaiah seems here rather to pen a history than a prophecy. [In this chapter you have the compact and agreement between God the Father and Jesus Christ plainly asserted and proved.] The matter contained in this chapter is so convicting, from that clear light that goes along with it—that several of the Jews, in reading of this chapter, have been converted, as not being able to stand out any longer against the shining light and evidence of it. Out of this chapter, which is more worth than all the gold of Ophir, yes, than ten thousand worlds, observe with me these eight things:
[1.] First, Observe that God and Christ are sweetly agreed, and infinitely pleased in the conversion of the elect: verse 10, "He shall see his seed," that is, he shall see them called, converted, changed, and sanctified; "he shall see his seed," that is, an innumerable company shall be converted to him by his word and Spirit, in all countries and nations, through the mighty workings of the Spirit, and the incorruptible seed of the word, Psalm 110:3; 1 Pet. 1:23. Infinite numbers of poor souls would be brought in to Jesus Christ— which he would see to his full contentment and infinite satisfaction, Rev. 7:9; Heb. 10, 13. "He shall see his seed," that is, he shall see them increase and multiply; he shall see believers brought in to him from all corners and quarters, and he shall see them greatly increase and grow by the preaching of the everlasting gospel, especially after his ascension into heaven, and a more glorious pouring forth of the Holy Spirit upon his apostles and others, Acts 2:37, 41, 4:1-4, and 8.
No accountants on earth can count or reckon up Christ's spiritual seed. But,
[2.] Secondly, Observe with me, that in the persons redeemed by Jesus Christ, there was neither weight nor worth, neither portion nor proportion, neither inward nor outward excellencies or beauties, for which the punishment due to them should be transferred upon dear Jesus, Ezek. 16:1-10; for if you look upon them in their sins, in their guilt, you shall find them despisers and rejecters of Christ. Verse 4, "Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." Christ took upon him, not our nature alone—but the infirmities also of it; and became liable to such sorrows, and afflictions, and pains, and griefs, as man's sinful nature is exposed and subject unto. They are called ours because they were procured to him by our sins, and
sustained by him for the discharge of our sins; unto the guilt whereof, out of love to us undertaken by him, they were deservedly due, Romans 8:3; Heb. 4:15. Christ, for our sakes, has taken all our spiritual maladies, that is, all our sins, upon him—to make satisfaction for them; and as our surety, to pay the debt that we had run into. Christ, in the quality of a pledge for his elect, has given full satisfaction for all their sins, bearing all the punishments due for them, in torments and extreme griefs, both of body and soul. [You know they traduced him as a notorious deceiver, a drunkard, a friend of publicans and sinners, and one who wrought miracles by the power of the devil.] The reason why they so much disesteemed Christ was, because they made no other account, but that all those afflictions which befell him, were inflicted by God upon him for his own evil deserts. They accounted him to be one out of grace and favor with God, yes, to be one pursued by him with all those evils, for his sins. When the Jews saw what grievous things Christ suffered, they wickedly and impiously judged that he was thus handled by God, in way of vengeance for his sins. By all which, you may see, that in the persons redeemed by Christ, there was nothing
of worth or honor to be found, for which the punishment, due to them, should be transferred upon our Lord Jesus Christ. But,
[3.] Thirdly, Observe with me, that no sin, nor meritorious cause of punishment, is found in Jesus Christ, our blessed Redeemer, for which he should be stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God: verse 5, 9, "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his
stripes we are healed. He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." Sin had cast God and us at infinite distance. Now Christ is punished—that our sins may be pardoned; he is chastised that God—that we may be reconciled. Guilt stuck close upon us, but Christ, by the price of his blood, has discharged that guilt, pacified divine wrath, and made God and us friends. [1 Pet. 1:18-19; Romans 3:25, and 5:1, 10; 2 Cor. 5:19, 21; Col. 1:19-20.] God the Father laid upon dear Jesus all the punishments that were due to the elect, for whom he was a pledge; and by this means they come to be acquitted, and to obtain peace with God. "Christ was holy, harmless, and undefiled." No man could convict him of sin; yes, the devil himself could find nothing amiss in him, either as to word or deed. Christ was without original blemish—or actual blot. [Heb. 7:26; John 8:46, and 14:30; 1 John 3:5.] All
Christ's words and works were upright, just, and sincere. Christ's innocency is sufficiently vindicated, verse 9. It is true, Christ suffered great and grievous things—but not for his own sins—but for ours! "For he had done no violence, neither was any deceit found in his mouth." Christ had now put himself in the sinner's stead, and became his surety, and so liable to whatever the sinner had deserved in his own person; and upon this account, and no other, was he wounded, bruised, and chastised. The Lord Jesus had no sin in him by inhesion; but he had a great deal of sin upon him by imputation: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God," 2 Cor. 5:21. It pleased our Lord Jesus Christ to put himself under our guilt, and therefore it pleased the Father to wound him, bruise him, and chastise him. But,
[4.] Fourthly, Observe with me, that peace and reconciliation with God, and the healing of all our sinful maladies, and our deliverance from wrath to come—are all such noble favors as are purchased for us by the blood of Christ: [Thes. 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Romans 3:25, and 5:1, 16; 2 Cor. 5:19, 21.] verse 5, "The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed." Christ was chastised to procure our peace, by removal of our sins, which had set God and us asunder; the guilt thereof being discharged with the price of his blood, and we reconciled to God by the same price. Christ was punished, that we by him might obtain perfect peace with God—who
was at enmity with us by reason of our sins. By Christ's stripes, we are freed both from sin and punishment. Now
because some produce this scripture to justify that corrupt doctrine of universal redemption, give me permission to argue thus from it. That chastisement for sin, which was laid upon the person of Jesus Christ procured peace—for those for whom he was so chastised, Isaiah 57:21; Eph. 2:14; but there was no peace procured for the
reprobates, or those who would never believe. Further, "By his stripes we are healed." Whence I reason thus: the stripes inflicted upon Christ are intended, and do become healing medicines for those for whom they are inflicted; but they never become healing medicines for reprobates or unbelievers: Nahum 3:9, "There is no healing of their bruise." But,
[5.] Fifthly, Observe with me, that the great and the grievous sufferings which were inflicted upon Jesus Christ—he did endure freely, willingly, meekly, patiently; according to the covenant and agreement that was made between the Father and himself: verse 7, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." This is a very pregnant place to prove the atonement and satisfaction made by Christ's sufferings for our sins; if we look upon the words as they run in the original, for thus they run; "It was exacted, and he answered;" that is, the penalty due to God's justice for our sins was exacted of Christ, and he sustained the penalty for us. The prophet does not
speak of one and the same party or parties, both sinning and suffering or sustaining penalties for their own defaults; but as one suffering, for the sins of another, and sustaining grievous penalties for faults made and faults committed by other persons. The words, rightly read and understood, do sufficiently confirm the doctrine of
atonement and satisfaction, made to God's justice by Christ's sufferings, for our sins. The penalty due to us was, in rigor of justice, exacted of him; and he became a sponsor or surety for us, by undertaking in our behalf the discharge of it. Christ did voluntarily undertake and engage himself unto God his Father in our behalf, as a
surety for the payment of all our debts. They were exacted of him, and he answered for them all; that is, he not only undertook them, but he also discharged us of them! Just so, we use the word commonly in our English tongue; to answer a debt, for to discharge it; and this is most true of our dear Lord Jesus, for he answered our debt, and caused our bond to be cancelled, that it might never come to be put in suit against us, either in this or the eternal world, John 19:30; Romans 4:25; Col. 2:14. "Yet he did not open his mouth." This has respect to his patience; for the oppressions and afflictions that he sustained for others, and that in regard of those by whom he suffered them unjustly—yet was he silent. He neither murmured or repined at God's disposal of things in
that manner, nor used any railing or reviling speeches against those who dealt so despitefully with him, but behaved calmly and quietly under them; Christ having an eye to his voluntary obedience and submission to the will of his Father, and agreement thereunto, Mat. 26:39, 42; Mark 14:36; John 18:23; 1 Pet. 2:23. He undertook willingly what his Father required of him, and as willingly, when the time came, he underwent it; neither hanging back or opposing
anything in way of contradiction thereunto, when it was by his Father propounded to him at first; nor afterward seeking to shift it off, when he was to actually perform what he had engaged himself unto, by pleading anything for himself, for a release from their most unjust proceedings, in whose hands he then was. "Yet he did not open his mouth" to confute the slanders and false accusations of his enemies; neither did he utter anything to the harm
of those who put him to death, but prayed for those who crucified him, Luke 23:34; Mat. 26:63, and 27:12, 14. "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter," properly, as a ewe-lamb, or she-lamb. The ewe is mentioned as the quieter of that species, because the rams are sometimes more unruly. "And as a sheep before her shearers is silent." A lamb does not bite or push him, who is going about to kill it, but goes as quietly to the slaughter-house, as if it were going to the fold wherein it is usually lodged, or the field where it is accustomed to feed. But,
[6.] Sixthly, Observe with me, that the original cause of this compact or covenant between the Father and the Son, by virtue of which God the Father demands a price, and Jesus Christ pays the price according to God's demands—is only from the free grace and favor of God! verse 10, "It pleased the Lord to bruise him, he has put him to grief." God the Father looks upon Jesus Christ as sustaining our person and cause; he looks upon all our sins as laid upon him, and to be punished in him. Sin could not be abolished, the justice of God could not be satisfied, the wrath of God could not be appeased, the terrible curse could not be removed—but by the death of Christ!
Therefore, God the Father took a pleasure to bruise him, and to put him to grief, according to the agreement between him and his Son. It must be readily granted that God did not incite or instigate the wicked Jews, to those vile and cruel treatments to Jesus Christ. But yet that his sufferings were by God predetermined for the salvation of mankind is most evident by these scriptures; [Acts 2:23, and 4:28.] And, accordingly, it pleased the Lord to bruise him, and to put him to grief. The singular pleasure that God the Father takes in the work of our redemption, is a wonderful demonstration of his love and affection to us!
[7.] Seventhly, Observe with me, that it is agreed between the Father and the Son—that our sins should be imputed unto him, and that his righteousness should be imputed unto us, and that all the redeemed should believe in him, and so be justified! Verse 11, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge (or
faith in him) shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities;" or, as some render it, "He shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul—and shall be satisfied." That is, Jesus Christ shall receive and enjoy that, as the effect and outcome of all the great pains that he has taken, and of all the grievous things which he has suffered, as shall give him full contentment and satisfaction. When Christ has accomplished the work of redemption, he shall receive a full reward for all his sufferings. Christ takes a singular pleasure in the work of our redemption, and does herein, as it were, refresh himself, as with the fruits of his own labors. God the Father engages to Jesus Christ that he should not travail in vain, but that he should survive to see with great joy, a numerous family of souls begotten unto God. You know when women, after sore, sharp, hard labor, have delivered,
they are so greatly refreshed, delighted, gladdened, and satisfied, that they forget their former pains and sorrow, "for joy that a child is born into the world," John 16:21. God the Father undertakes, that Jesus Christ should have such a holy seed, such a blessed outcome, as the main fruit and effect of his passion, as should joy him, please
him, and as he should rest satisfied in. Certainly there could be no such joy and satisfaction to Christ—as for him to see poor souls reconciled, justified, and saved by his sufferings and satisfaction; as it is the highest joy of a faithful minister to see souls won over to Christ, and to see souls built up in Christ, 1 Thes. 2:19-20; Gal. 4:19.
Christ did bear the guilt of his people's sins, and thereby he made full satisfaction and atonement; and therefore he is said here "to justify many;" not all promiscuously, but those only whose sins he undertook to discharge, and for whom he laid down his life. [Besides the elect, he intercedes for none, John 17:9-10.] Christ's justifying of
many is his discharging of many from the guilt of sin, by making satisfaction to God for the same. But,
[8.] Eighthly, Observe with me, that it is agreed between the Father and the Son, that for those persons for whom Jesus Christ should lay down his life—that he should stand intercessor for them also, that so they may be brought to the possession of all those noble favors and blessings that he has purchased with his dearest blood. Verse 12, "He
bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors," saying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do," Luke 23:34. For those very transgressors, by whom he suffered, he does intercede; for the article here is emphatic, and seems to point unto that special act, and those particular persons. Not but that these words have relation also to Christ's intercession for all those sinners who belong to him, and who have a saving interest in him; which intercession continues still, and shall continue—to the end of the world, Heb. 7:25. But,
(6.) The sixth scripture is that, Isaiah 59:20-21, "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the Lord. "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the Lord. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your
children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the Lord." Out of this blessed scripture you may observe these following things
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Post by Admin on Feb 20, 2024 16:26:02 GMT -5
First, The parties covenanting and agreeing—and they are God the
Father and Jesus Christ. God the Father in those words, "Says the
Lord;" and Jesus Christ in those words, "The Redeemer shall come to Zion."
Secondly, You have God the Father, first covenanting with Jesus
Christ, and then with his seed, as is evident in the 21st verse.
Thirdly, You have the persons described, who shall be sharers in
redemption mercies, and they are the Zionites, the people of God, the
citizens of Zion. But lest any should think that all Zion should be
saved, it is added by way of explication, that only such of Zion "as
turn from transgression in Jacob," shall have benefit by the
Redeemer. The true citizens of Zion, the right Jacobs, the sincere
Israelites, in whom there is no guile, Romans 11:26, are they and only
they—who turn from their sins. None have a saving interest in Christ,
none have redemption by Christ—but converts—but such as cast
away their transgressions, as Ephraim did his idols, saying, "What
have I any more to do with you?" Hosea 14:8.
Fourthly, You have the way and manner of the elect's delivery, and
that is, not only by paying down upon the nail, the price agreed on;
but also by a strong and powerful hand, as the original imports in
these scriptures. [Romans 11:26; Isaiah 59:20.] The Greek word
which is used by Paul, and the Hebrew word which is used by Isaiah,
both signify delivering "by strong hand," to rescue by force, as David
delivered the lamb out of the lion's paw.
Fifthly, You have the special blessings that are to be conferred upon
the elect—namely, redemption, conversion, faith, repentance,
reconciliation, turning from their iniquity; all comprehended under
that term "the redeemed."
Sixthly, You have the Lord Jesus Christ considered as the head of the
church, from whom all spiritual gifts—sanctification, salvation, and
perseverance do flow and run, as a precious balsam, upon the
members of his body: "My Spirit," says God the Father, to Christ the
Redeemer, "and my word which I have put into your mouth, shall not
depart out of your mouth; nor out of the mouth of your seed," etc. In
these words, God the Father engages, that his Spirit and word should
continue with his church to direct and instruct it, in all necessities,
throughout all ages successively, even unto the world's end. But,
(7.) The seventh scripture is, Zechariah 6:12-13, "Tell him this is what
the Lord Almighty says—Here is the man whose name is the Branch,
and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the
Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be
clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will
be a priest on his throne. And the counsel of peace shall be between
them both." Now that the business of man's redemption was
transacted between the Father and the Son, is very clear from this
text, "And the counsel of peace shall be between them both," that is,
the two persons spoken of—namely, the Lord Jehovah, who speaks,
and the man, whose name is the Branch, Jesus Christ. This counsel
was primarily about the reconciliation of the riches of God's grace,
and the glory of his justice. The design and counsel, both of the
Father and the Son, was our peace. [Whatever Socinians say, it is
most certain that reconciliation is not only on the sinner's part, but
on God's also.] The counsel of reconciliation, is how man, who is now
an enemy to God, may be reconciled to God, and God to him. This
counsel or consultation shall be "between them both," that is
Jehovah and the Branch. There were blessed transactions between
the Father and the Son, in order to the making of peace between an
angry God and sinful men. I know several learned men interpret it of
Christ's offices—namely, of his kingly and priestly office; for both
conspire to make peace between God and man. Now if you will thus
understand the text, yet it will roundly follow, that there was a
consultation at the council-board in heaven, concerning the
reconciliation of fallen man to God; which reconciliation Christ, as
king and priest, was to bring about.
Look, as there was a counsel taken, concerning the creation of
mankind, between the persons in the blessed Trinity, "Let us make
man after our image," Gen. 1:26; Col. 3:19; Eph. 4:24; so there was a
consultation held concerning the restoration of mankind out of their
lapsed condition: "The counsel of peace shall be between them both."
Certainly there was a covenant of redemption made with Christ;
upon the terms whereof he is constituted to be a reconciler and a
redeemer, to say to the prisoners, "Go forth, to bring deliverance to
the captives, and to proclaim the year of release or jubilee, the
acceptable year of the Lord," as it is, Isaiah 61:1-2. But,
(8.) The eighth scripture is that, Psalm 40:6-8, "Sacrifice and
offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced burnt
offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, "Here I
am, I have come-- it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do
your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." Compared with
that, Heb. 10:5-7, "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he
said—Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you
prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not
pleased. Then I said—Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--
I have come to do your will, O God."
In these two scriptures, two things are concluded:
(1.) The impotency of legal sacrifices, verse 5-6;
(2.) The all-sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice, verse 7.
There is some difference in words and phrases between the apostle
and the prophet, but both agree in sense, as we shall endeavor to
demonstrate. Penmen of the New Testament were not translators of
the Old Testament, but only quoted them for proof of the point in
hand, so as they were not tied to syllables and letters—but to the
sense of the text alone. That which the prophet speaks of himself, the
apostle applies to Christ, say some. This may be readily granted; for
David being a special type of Christ, that may in history and type be
spoken of David, which, in mystery and truth, is understood of
Christ. But, that which David uttered in the aforesaid text, is without
question, uttered by the way of prophecy, concerning Christ, as is
evident by these reasons.
First, In David's time, God required sacrifices and burnt-offerings,
and took delight therein, 1 Chron. 21:26; 1 Sam. 26:19; for God
answered David from heaven by fire, upon the altar of burntoffering; and David himself advised Saul to offer a burnt-offering
that God might accept of it.
Secondly, David was not able so "to do the will of God," as by doing
it, to make all sacrifices void; therefore this must be taken as a
prophecy of Christ.
Thirdly, In the verse before, namely, Psalm 40:5, such an admiration
of God's goodness is premised, as cannot fitly be applied to any other
evidence, than of his goodness in giving Christ; in reference to
whom, it may be truly said, "That eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man—the things which God
has prepared for those who love him," 1 Cor. 2:9.
Fourthly, These words used by the apostle, "when he comes into the
world, he says," are meant of Christ; which argue that that which
follows was an express prophecy of Christ. These things being
premised, out of the texts last cited we may observe these following
particulars that contribute to our purpose.
[1.] FIRST, That the Holy Spirit opens and expounds the covenant of
redemption, bringing in the Father and the Son, as conferring and
agreeing together about the terms of it; and the first thing agreed on
between them is the price; and the price that God the Father stands
upon is "blood;" and that not "the blood of bulls and goats, but the
blood of his Son;" which was the best, the purest, and the noblest
blood, which ever ran in veins. [Heb. 10:4, and 9:22; John 10:11, 15,
17, 18, and 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:18-19.]
Now Christ, to bring about the redemption of fallen man, is willing to
come up to the demands of his Father, and to lay down his blood.
The scripture calls the blood of Christ, precious blood. Oh, the virtue
in it, the value of it! Through this red sea, we must pass to heaven;
Christ's blood is heaven's key. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the
blood of the saints," Psalm 116:15, and truly "precious in the sight of
the saints is the blood of Christ." One little drop is of more worth,
than heaven and earth, [Luther.]
Christ's blood is "precious blood," in regard of the dignity of his
person. It is "the blood of God himself," Acts 20:28, it is the blood of
that person, who is very God as well as very man. Christ's blood was
noble blood, and therefore precious. He came from the race of kings,
as touching his manhood; but being always the Son of God. This
renders his nobility matchless and peerless. It was Pharaoh's brag,
that he was the son of ancient kings, Isaiah 19:11. Who can lay claim
to this more than Christ? Who can challenge this honor before him?
He is the Son of the ancientest king in the world, he was begotten as
a king from all eternity, Dan. 7:9, 13, 27.
The blood of good kings is precious; "You are worth ten thousand of
us," said David's subjects to him, 2 Sam. 18:3; and therefore they
would not allow him to hazard himself in the battle. The nobleness of
his person did set a high rate upon his blood. And whom does this
argument more commend unto us, than Christ?
The blood of Christ is precious blood in regard of the virtues of it. By
this blood, God and man are reconciled; by this blood, the chosen of
God are redeemed. It was an excellent saying of Leo, "The effusion of
Christ's blood is so rich and available, that if the whole multitude of
captive sinners would believe in their Redeemer, not one of them
should be detained in the tyrant's chains." This precious blood
justifies our persons in the sight of God, it frees us from the guilt of
sin, and it frees us from the reign and dominion of sin, and it frees us
from the punishments that are due to sin, it saves us, "from that
wrath to come," Acts 13:38-39; Romans 3:24-25; 1 John 1:7; 1 Thes.
1:10.
Now, were not Christ's blood of infinite value and virtue, it could
never have produced such glorious effects. The blood of Christ is
precious, beyond all account; and yet our Lord Jesus did not think it
too dear a price to pay down for his saints. God the Father would be
satisfied with no other price; and therefore God the Son comes up to
his Father's price, that our redemption might be sure. But,
[2.] SECONDLY, Observe that God rejects all ways of satisfaction by
men. Could men make as many prayers as there are stars in heaven
and drops in the sea; and could they weep as much blood as there is
water in the ocean; and should they "give all their goods to the poor,
and their bodies to be burned," 1 Cor. 13:3, as some have done—yet
all this would not satisfy for the least sin, not for an idle word, not for
a vain thought! Heb. 10:5, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire;"
that is, you will not accept of them for an expiation and satisfaction
for sin, as the Jews imagined.
The apostle shows the impotency and insufficiency of legal sacrifices,
by God's rejecting of them. The things here set down, as not regarded
by God—as sacrifices, offerings, burnt-offerings, and sacrifices for
sin, together with other legal ordinances comprised under them—do
evidently demonstrate that God regards none of those things in a
way of satisfaction; they are no current price, they are no such pay
that will be accepted of in the court of heaven. Remission of sin could
never be obtained by sacrifices and offerings, nor by prayers, tears,
humblings, meltings, watchings, fastings, penances, pilgrimages, etc.
Remission of sins cost Christ dear, though it cost us nothing!
Remission of sins drops down from God to us, through Christ's
wounds, and swims to us in Christ's blood. It was well said by one of
the ancients: "I have nothing I may boast in my own works; I have
nothing whence I may boast myself; and therefore I will glory in
Christ! I will not glory that I am righteous, but I will glory that I am
redeemed! I will glory, not because I am without sin, but because my
sins are forgiven! I will not glory because I have profited, or because
any has profited me, but because Christ is an advocate with the
Father for me, but because the blood of Christ is shed for me!"
Certainly the popish doctrine of man's own satisfaction in part, for
his sins is most derogatory to the precious blood of Jesus; and to the
plenary and complete satisfaction of Jesus Christ. But,
[3.] THIRDLY, Observe that nothing below the obedience and
sufferings of Christ, our mediator, could satisfy divine justice. Heb.
10:5, "But a body have you prepared me." Christ having declared
what his Father does not delight in, he further shows affirmatively
what it was wherein he rested well pleased, in these words, "But a
body have you prepared me." In this phrase, "A body have you
prepared me," Christ is brought in, speaking to his Father. By body is
meant the human nature of Christ. Body is a synecdoche, put for the
whole human nature, consisting of body and soul; the body was the
visible part of Christ's human nature. A body is fit for a sacrifice, fit
to be slain, fit to have blood shed out of it, fit to be offered up, fit to
be made a price, and a ransom for our sins, and fit to answer the
types under the law. Applicable therefore, to this purpose, is it said of
Christ, "He himself bore our sins in his own body," 1 Pet. 2:24; and
those infirmities wherein he was "made like unto us," Heb. 2:9, 14,
17, were most conspicuously evidenced in his body; and hereby
Christ was manifested to be a true man. He had a body like ours, a
body subject to manifold infirmities, yes, to death itself.
That body which Christ had is said to be "prepared by God;" the
Greek word, which is translated prepared, is a metaphor from
mechanics, who do artificially fit one part of their work to another,
and so finish the whole. God fitted his Son's body to be joined with
the deity, and to be an expiatory sacrifice for sin. The word
"prepared" implies that God the Father ordained, formed, and made
fit and able, Christ's human nature—to undergo, suffer, and fulfill
that purpose for which he was sent into the world. God the Father is
here said to have prepared Christ a body; because Christ having
received from his Father the human nature out of the flesh and blood
of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mat. 1:20; Luke
1:31, 35, here gives up the same unto the service of his Father—to do,
to suffer, to die—that he might be a sacrifice of expiation for our sins.
As for the words of the psalmist, Psalm 40:6, "My ear have you
opened,"—Heb., "dug open," it is a proverbial manner of speech,
whereby there is implied the qualifying or fitting a man unto
obedience in service—the ear, or the opening of the ear, being an
emblem, or symbol, or a metaphorical sign of obedience, Isaiah 55:5;
Job 33:16. Now Paul, following the translation of the Septuagint, and
being directed by the Spirit of God, expounds this of God's
sanctifying and fitting a body unto Christ, wherein he was obedient,
even unto the shameful death of the cross. These words, "You have
bored through my ears," import that Christ, now becoming man,
gives up himself to be a willing servant of his Father, to obey him
unto the death of the cross. And it is a similitude taken from the
servants of the Hebrews, who, after that they had served their
masters six years, would not depart out of their masters' service the
seventh year, but abide in it continually until death; for a testimony
whereof their ear was bored through, on the posts of the door, as
may be seen, Exod. 21:6. It is therefore as much as if he should say,
You have given me a body that is willing and ready in your service,
even unto death.
But to conclude this head, the apostle speaking of disannulling the
sacrifice of the law, he uses this word body to set out a sacrifice
which would come instead of the legal sacrifices, to effect that which
the legal sacrifices could not effect. But,
[4.] FOURTHLY, Observe that Christ, our mediator, freely and
readily offers himself to be our pledge and surety. "Then said I, Lo, I
come," namely, as surety, to pay the ransom, and to do your will, O
God. Every word carries a special emphasis as,
(1.) The time, "then," even so soon as he perceived that his Father
had prepared his body for such an end—then, without delay. This
speed implies forwardness and readiness; he would lose no
opportunity.
(2.) His profession in this word, "said I;" he did not come secretly,
timorously, as being ashamed thereof, but he makes profession
beforehand.
(3.) This note of observation, "Lo;" this is a kind of calling angels and
men to witness, and a desire that all might know his inward
intention, and the disposition of his heart; wherein was as great a
willingness as any could have to anything.
(4.) An offering of himself without any force or compulsion; this he
manifests in this word, "I come."
(5.) That very instant set out in the present tense, "I come;" he puts it
not off to a future and uncertain time, but even in that moment, he
says, "I come."
(6.) The first person twice expressed, thus, "I said," "I come." He
sends not another person, nor substitutes any in his place; but he,
even he himself in his own person, comes. All which do abundantly
evidence Christ's singular readiness and willingness, as our surety, to
do his Father's will, though it were by suffering, and by being made a
sacrifice for our sins.
God's will was the rule of Christ's active and passive obedience. Jesus
Christ, our only mediator and surety, by free and ready obedience
and death, did make a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God's
justice for the sins of all the elect. Christ has, by his death and blood,
as an invaluable price of our redemption, made sure—the favor of
God, the pardon of our sins, and the salvation of our souls! Christ has
freed his chosen people from all temporal, spiritual, and eternal
punishments, properly so called; so that now the mercy of God may
embrace the sinner without the least of wrong to his truth or justice.
But,
[5.] FIFTHLY, Observe that Jesus Christ, our surety, does not only
agree with his Father about the price that he was to lay down for our
redemption, but also agrees with his Father about the persons who
were to be redeemed; and their sanctification: Heb. 10:10, "By that
will"—that is, by the execution of that will, by the obedience of Christ
to his heavenly Father—"we are sanctified, through the offering of
the body of Jesus Christ, once for all." Jesus Christ agrees with the
Father that all those shall be sanctified, for whom he has suffered
and satisfied. The virtue, efficacy, and benefit of that which arises
from the aforesaid will of the Father and of the Son, is expressed
under this word, "sanctified." To pass by the many acceptations of
this word "sanctified," let it suffice to tell you it is not here to be
taken, as distinguished from justification or glorification, as it is
elsewhere taken, 1 Cor. 1:30, and 6:11; but so as comprising under it
all the benefits of Christ's sacrifice, Heb. 10:14, and 2:11; Acts 26:18.
In this general and large extent it is sometimes taken; only this word,
sanctified, here gives us to understand that perfection consists
especially in holiness; for he expresses the perfection of Christ's
sacrifice under the word "sanctified," which implies "a making holy."
This was that special part of perfection wherein man was made at
first, Eccles. 7:31; and whereunto the apostle alludes, where he
exhorts, "To put on that new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness," Eph. 4:24; for this end, Christ gave
himself even unto death, for his church, "that he might sanctify it,"
Eph. 5:25.
The principal thing under this word "sanctified" in this place is, that
Christ's sacrifice makes perfect. In this respect, Christ's sacrifice is
here opposed to the legal sacrifices, which could not make perfect; so
that Christ's sacrifice was offered up to do that which they could not
do; for this end was Christ's sacrifice surrogated in the place of the
legal sacrifices. Now this substitution had been in vain, if Christ's
sacrifice had not made us perfect.
If the dignity of his person that was offered up, and his almighty
power, and unsearchable wisdom, and other divine excellencies of
his, be duly weighed, we cannot but acknowledge, that as his sacrifice
is perfect in itself, so it is sufficient to make us perfect also. Christ's
body was given up as a price and ransom, and offered up as a
sacrifice for our sins; and that we might be sanctified and made holy,
Christ, by the offering of his body once for all, has purchased from
his Father, grace and holiness for all his redeemed ones. Christ
agrees with his Father that he will lay down an incomparable price
for his chosen ones; and then he further agrees with his Father that
all those shall be sanctified, for whom he has laid down an invaluable
price.
The will of God the Father was, that Jesus Christ should have a body,
and that that body of his should be offered up, that his elect might be
sanctified and saved. Now to this Christ readily answers, "Lo, I come
to do your will." From what has been said from Psalm 40, compared
with Heb. 10, we may very safely and roundly conclude that it is most
clear and evident, that there was a covenant, compact, or agreement,
between God the Father and Jesus Christ, concerning the
redemption of fallen man. This I shall more abundantly clear up
before I have said all I have to say about the covenant of redemption,
which is under our present consideration. But,
(9.) The ninth scripture is Psalm 89:28, "My mercy will I keep for
him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him." With
whom? why, with our dear Lord Jesus, of whom David was a singular
type. There are many passages in this psalm which do clearly
evidence that it is to be interpreted of Christ; yes, there are many
things in this psalm that can never be clearly, pertinently, and
appropriately applied to any but Jesus Christ. For a taste, see verse
19, "I have laid help upon one who is mighty," mighty to pardon, to
reconcile, to justify, to save, to bring to glory; suitable to that of the
apostle, Heb. 7:25, "He is able to save unto the uttermost"— that is,
to all ends and purposes, perfectly, completely, fully, continually,
perpetually. Christ is a thorough Savior, a mighty Savior: Isaiah 63:1,
"Mighty to save." There needs none to come after him to finish the
work which he has begun. Verse 19, "I have exalted one, chosen out
of the people," which is the very title given to our Lord Jesus. Isaiah
42:1, "Behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect," or chosen one,
"in whom my soul delights." Verse 20, "I have found David my
servant." Christ is very frequently called by that name, as being most
dearly beloved of God, and most highly esteemed and valued by God,
and as being typified by him both as king and prophet of his church.
Verse 10, "With my holy oil have I anointed him;" suitable to that of
Christ. Luke 4:18, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;" and therefore we need
not doubt of the excellency, authority, certainty, and sufficiency of
the gospel. Verse 27, "I will make him my firstborn, higher than the
kings of the earth." [See Jer. 30:9; Hosea 3:5; Ezek. 34:23.] Christ is
the firstborn of every creature, and in all things has the preeminence: verse 29, "His seed also will I make to endure forever, and
his throne as the days of heaven." [This cannot be understood of
David's seed, for Solomon's throne was overthrown.] This is chiefly
spoken of Christ and his kingdom. The kingdom of heaven is eternal;
and such shall be Christ's seed, throne and kingdom. Verse 36, "His
seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me."
"Christ shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hands," Isaiah 53:10. "And his throne
as the sun before me;" that is, perpetual and glorious, as the Chaldee
explains it, "shall shine as the sun." Other kingdoms and thrones
have their times and their turns, their rise and their ruins, but so has
not the kingdom and throne of Jesus Christ. Christ's dominion is "an
everlasting dominion," which shall not pass away; "and his kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed," Dan. 7:13-14.
I might give further instances out of this Psalm, but enough is as
good as a feast. Now says God, "I have made a covenant with him;"
so then there is a covenant that God the Father has made with Christ
the mediator; which covenant, the Father engages to the Son, shall
stand fast, there shall be no cancelling or disannulling of it. God the
Father has not only made a covenant of grace with the saints in
Christ, of which before; but he has also made a covenant of
redemption, as we call it for distinction sake, with Jesus Christ
himself, "My covenant shall stand fast with him;" that is, with Christ,
as we have fully and clearly demonstrated. But,
(10.) The tenth scripture is Zechariah 9:11, "As for you also, by the
blood of your covenant," or whose covenant is by blood, "I have sent
forth your prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water." Here God
the Father speaks to Christ, with relation to some covenant between
them both; and what covenant can that be but the covenant of
redemption? All the temporal, spiritual, and eternal deliverances
which we enjoy, they swim to us through the blood of that covenant
which is passed between the Father and the Son. By virtue of the
same blood of the covenant, wherewith we are reconciled, justified,
and saved, were the Jews delivered from their Babylonish captivity.
The Babylonish captivity, thraldom, and dispersion, was that
waterless pit, that dirty dungeon, that uncomfortable and forlorn
condition, out of which they were delivered by virtue of the blood of
the covenant; that is, by virtue of the blood of Christ, figured by the
blood that was sprinkled upon the people, and by virtue of the
covenant confirmed thereby, Exod. 24:8; Psalm 74:20; Heb. 13:20.
Look, as all the choice mercies, the high favors, the noble blessings
that the saints enjoy, are purchased by the blood of Christ; so they
are made sure to the saints by the same blood; by the blood of your
covenant "I have sent forth your prisoners." Whatever desperate
distresses, and deadly dangers, the people of God may fall into, yet
they are "prisoners of hope," and may look for deliverance by the
blood of the covenant.
By these ten scriptures it is most clear and evident that there was a
covenant, a compact, and agreement between God the Father and
our Lord Jesus Christ, concerning the work of our redemption.
Christ's being called "the surety of the better covenant," Heb. 7:21,
shows that there was a covenant between God the Father and him, as
there is between a creditor and a surety. Christ gave bonds, as it
were, to God the Father, and paid down the debt upon the nail—that
breaches might be made up between God and us, and we restored to
divine favor forever. But for the further clearing up of the covenant of
redemption, I shall, in the second place, lay down these propositions.
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Post by Admin on Feb 20, 2024 16:30:15 GMT -5
The Covenant of Redemption, Part 2
By these ten scriptures it is most clear and evident that there was a
covenant, a compact, and agreement between God the Father and
our Lord Jesus Christ, concerning the work of our redemption.
Christ's being called "the surety of the better covenant," Heb. 7:21,
shows that there was a covenant between God the Father and him, as
there is between a creditor and a surety. Christ gave bonds, as it
were, to God the Father, and paid down the debt upon the nail—that
breaches might be made up between God and us, and we restored to
divine favor forever. But for the further clearing up of the covenant of
redemption, I shall, in the second place, lay down these eight
propositions.
(1.) The first is this—That the covenant of redemption differs from
the covenant of grace. It is true, the covenant of redemption is a
covenant of grace, but it is not properly that covenant of grace which
the Scripture holds out in opposition to the covenant of works; which
I shall thus evidence—
[1.] The covenant of redemption differs from the covenant of grace in
regard of the parties. In the covenant of redemption, it is God the
Father and Jesus Christ who mutually covenant. But in the covenant
of grace the parties are God and believers.
[2.] In the covenant of redemption, God the Father requires of Jesus
Christ that he should suffer, shed his blood, die, and make himself an
offering for our sins. In the covenant of grace, God requires of us that
we should believe and embrace the Lord Jesus.
[3.] In the covenant of redemption, God the Father has made many
great, precious, and glorious promises to Jesus Christ. As, "Sit on my
right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool," Heb. 1:13;
and, "He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hands," Isaiah 53; and, "Ask of me, and
I will give you the heathen for your inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the earth for your possession," Psalm 2:8; and, "I will be to
him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son," Heb. 1:5. But in the
covenant of grace, God promises to us grace and glory, holiness and
happiness, both the upper and the lower springs, Psalm 84:11; Ezek.
36:26-27.
[4.] The covenant of redemption between God and Christ secures the
covenant of grace between God and believers; for what God promises
to us, he did, before the foundation of the world, promise to Jesus
Christ, Titus 1:2. And therefore, if God the Father should not make
good his promises to his saints, he would not make good his
promises to his dearest Son, which for any to imagine would be high
blasphemy. God will be sure to keep touch with Jesus Christ; and
therefore we may rest fully assured that he will not fail to keep touch
with us.
[5.] The covenant of redemption is the very basis or bottom of the
covenant of grace. God made a covenant with Christ, the spiritual
David, that he might make a covenant with all his elect in him, Psalm
89:3-4; Romans 11:26-27. He made this agreement with Christ, as
the head, and on this is reared up the whole frame of precious
promises comprised in the covenant of grace, as a goodly building
upon a sure foundation. But,
(2.) The second proposition is this—God the Father, in order to
man's redemption and salvation, stands stiffly and peremptorily
upon complete satisfaction. Without full satisfaction, there is no
remission, no salvation. God will have satisfaction to the utmost,
though it cost Christ his life and blood. Man is fallen from his
primitive purity, glory, and excellency; and by his fall he has
provoked divine justice, transgressed God's righteous law, and cast a
deep dishonor upon his name, Romans 8:32. The case standing thus,
God is resolved to have ample satisfaction in the reparation of his
honor, in the manifestation of his truth, and in the vindication of his
holiness and justice. All the attributes of God are alike dear to him,
and he stands as much upon the advance of his justice as he does
upon the glory of his grace; and therefore he will not remit one sin,
yes, not the least sin, without entire satisfaction. In this, God the
Father is fixed, that he will have "an offering for sin," in an expiatory
and propitiatory way; "a price and a ransom" he will have paid down
upon the nail, or else the captive sinner shall never be released,
pardoned, saved, Isaiah 53:10; 1 Tim. 2:6.
Now, lost man being wholly incapable of giving such a satisfaction to
divine justice, Christ must give it—or fallen man must perish forever.
Sin and sorrow, iniquity and misery—always go hand in hand. "The
wages of sin is death," Romans 6:23. Every sinner is worthy of death.
"Those who commit such things are worthy of death," Romans 1:32.
If God is a just and righteous God, then sin cannot absolutely escape
unpunished; for it is but "a just and righteous thing with God" to
punish the sinner, who is worthy of punishment. "It is a righteous
thing with God," says the apostle, "to recompense tribulation to
those who trouble you," 2 Thes. 1:6. As God must be just--so He must
be
faithful. And if He must be faithful--then He must carry out His
threatenings against sin and sinners. The word has gone out of his
mouth, "In the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die; and the
soul which sins shall die," Gen. 2:17.
Look, as there is not a promise of God but shall surely take place; just
so, there is not a threatening of God but shall surely take place, Ezek.
18:4. The faithfulness of God, and the honor of God, is as much
concerned in making good of his dreadful threatenings, as they are
concerned in making good of his precious promises, 2 Pet. 1:4. God
has given it in his own hand, that "he will by no means clear the
guilty;" and that "the soul that sins, shall surely die;" and that "the
wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him;" and that "he will
render to every man according to his deeds," Exod. 34:7; Ezek.
18:20; Romans 2:6. And will God abrogate his own laws, or will he
dare men to sport and play with his threatenings? Will not every wise
and prudent prince look to the execution of their own laws? and shall
not that God, who is wonderful in wisdom, and whose understanding
is infinite, see all his laws put in execution against offenders? Isaiah
40:28; Psalm 147:5. Surely yes!
Thus you see that God stands upon full satisfaction, and will admit of
no treaty of peace with fallen man without it. Now sorry man is never
able, either by doing or suffering, to compensate and make God
amends for the wrong and injury that he has done to God by his sin;
and therefore one who is able, by doing and suffering, to give
complete satisfaction, must undertake it, or else we are lost, cast out,
and undone in both worlds. Concerning that full and complete
satisfaction that Jesus Christ has given to God's enraged justice, I
have in part discovered already, and shall say no more to it before I
close up the covenant of redemption. But,
(3.) The third proposition is this—The business transacted between
those two great and glorious persons, God the Father, "whose
greatness is unsearchable," Psalm 145:3, and Jesus Christ, "who is
the prince of the kings of the earth," Rev. 1:5, was the redemption
and salvation of the elect. Our everlasting blessedness was now fresh
in their eyes, and warm upon their hearts. How lost man might be
found, and how fallen man might be restored, and how miserable
man might be made happy, how slaves might be made sons, and how
enemies might be made friends, Luke 15:30, and how those who
"were afar off might be made near," Eph. 2:12-17, without the least
harm to the honor, holiness, justice, wisdom, and truth of God—was
the grand business, the thing of things—which lay before them. Upon
the account of the covenant, compact, and agreement that was
between the Father and the Son, it is that Christ is called "the second
Adam," 1 Cor. 15:25; for as with the first Adam God pledged a
covenant concerning him and his posterity, so also he agreed with
Jesus Christ, concerning that eternal redemption, that he was to
obtain and secure for his seed, Heb. 9:12. For the clearing of this, let
us a little consider of the excellent properties of that redemption
which we have by Jesus Christ.
[1.] First, It is a GREAT redemption. The work of redemption was a
great work. The greatness of the PERSON employed in this work,
speaks out the work to be a great work. This was a work too high, too
hard, too great for all the angels in heaven, and all the men on earth
to undertake. None but that Jesus who is "mighty to save," Isaiah
63:1, was ever able to bring about the redemption of man. Hence
Christ is called the Redeemer, Romans 11:26: "And their redeemer is
mighty," Proverbs 23:11; Isaiah 44:6, "And his redeemer, the Lord
Almighty;" Isaiah 47:4, "As for our redeemer, the Lord Almighty is
his name;" Isaiah 49:26, "And your redeemer, the mighty one of
Jacob;" Jer. 50:34, "Their redeemer is strong, the Lord Almighty is
his name."
Again, the great and invaluable price that was paid down for our
redemption speaks it out to be a great redemption. The price that we
are bought with is a price beyond all computation. 1 Pet. 1:18-19,
"Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with
corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation;
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot," 1 Cor. 6:19-20, and 7:23. Christ was a lamb:
(1.) for harmlessness;
(2.) for patience and silence in afflictions;
(3.) for meekness and humility;
(4.) for sacrifice.
This lamb was "without blemish," Isaiah 53:7, that is, free from
actual sin, and "without spot," that is, free from original sin, Jer.
11:19, (Aquinas.) That the most absolute and perfect purity of Christ
—prefigured in the lambs of the Old Testament, which were to be
sacrificed—might be better expressed, the apostle calls him "a lamb
without blemish, and without spot," Eph. 5:27. The price that this
lamb without a spot has laid down is sufficient to pay all our debts; it
is a price beyond all computation. All the silver, gold, pearls, jewels
in the world, are of no value—compared with this price; a price in
itself infinite, and of infinite value. [Neither God nor Christ could lay
down a greater price. All things in heaven and earth are not to be
compared to this blood, to this price.]
Among the Romans, the goods and estates which men had gotten in
the wars, with hazard of their lives, were called peculium castrense,
or a field-purchase. Oh how well then may the elect be called Christ's
peculium castrense, his purchase, gotten not only by the jeopardy of
his life, but with the loss of his life and blood, John 10:11, 15, 17-18,
and Acts 20:28.
Again, if you compare the work of redemption with other great
works, you must necessarily conclude that the work of redemption is
a great work.
The CREATION of the world was a great work of God, but yet that
did but cost him a word of his mouth, a "let it be;" he spoke the word,
and it was done; "He said, Let there be light, and there was light,"
etc., Gen. 1:3-6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24. But the work of redemption cost
Christ's dearest blood. Much matter of admiration does the work of
redemption afford us. The work of creation is many ways admirable,
yet not to be compared with the work of redemption, wherein the
power, wisdom, justice, mercy, and other divine attributes of God do
much more shine forth; and wherein the redeemed reap much more
good than Adam did by his creation, which will evidently appear by
observing these particular differences:
First, In the creation God brought something out of nothing. But in
the work of redemption, out of one contrary he brought another; out
of death he brought life. This was a work of far greater power,
wisdom, mercy. Death must first be destroyed, and then life brought
forth.
Secondly, In creation there was but a word; and thereupon the work
followed; in redemption there was doing and dying. But the work of
redemption could be brought about by none but God. God must
come down from heaven, God must be made man, God must be
made sin, God must be made a curse, 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13.
Thirdly, In the creation God arrayed himself with majesty, power,
and other like properties, fit for a great work. But in the work of
redemption he put on weakness, he assumed a nature subject to
infirmities, and the infirmities of that nature. He did as David did
when he fought against Goliath, he "put off all armor, and took his
staff in his hand, and drew near to the Philistine," 1 Sam. 17:39-40.
Fourthly, In the work of creation there was nothing to withstand
God, to make opposition against God. But in the work of redemption
there was justice against mercy, wrath against pity. Death, and he
who had the power of death, was vanquished, Heb. 2:14-15; Col.
2:14-15.
Fifthly, By creation man was made after God's image, like him, Gen.
1:26-27. But by redemption, man was made a member of the same
mystical body "whereof Christ is the head," Eph. 1:22, 23.
Sixthly, By creation man received a natural being. But by redemption
man received a spiritual being.
Seventhly, By creation man received a possibility to stand. But by
redemption man received a certainty of standing and impossibility of
falling, John 10:28-31; 1 Pet. 1:5; Jer. 32:40-41.
Eighthly, By creation man was placed in an earthly paradise. But by
redemption he is advanced to a heavenly paradise.
Thus you see how the work of redemption transcends the work of
creation.
Again, the works of PROVIDENCE are great, very great, in the eye of
God, of angels, of men; but what are the works of providence,
compared to the works of redemption? For in order to the
accomplishment of that great work, Christ must put off his royal
robes, take a journey from heaven to earth, assume our nature, do
and die, etc.
Again, the work of redemption by Christ will be found a great work, if
you will but compare it with those redemptions that were but types
of this. Israel's redemption from their Egyptian bondage, and from
their Babylonish bondage, were very great redemptions, which were
brought about by a strong hand, a mighty hand, and an outstretched
arm, as the Scripture speaks. But, alas! what were those
redemptions, compared to our being redeemed from the love of sin,
the guilt of sin, the dominion of sin, the damnatory power of sin, and
to our being redeemed from the power of Satan, the curse of the law,
hell and wrath to come? 1 Thes. 1:10.
Lastly, the great things that are wrapped up in the womb, in the
belly, of redemption, speak out our redemption by Christ to be a very
great redemption. In the womb of this redemption you shall find
reconciliation, justification, adoption, eternal salvation, etc. Are not
these great, very great, things? Surely yes! But,
[2.] A second excellent property of that redemption that we have by
Christ is this, that it is a FREE and GRACIOUS redemption. All the
rounds in this ladder of redemption are made up of free, rich, and
sovereign grace. Though our redemption cost Christ dearly, as has
been before hinted, yet as to us it is most free: Eph. 1:7, "In whom we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace;" that is, according to his
exceeding great and abundant grace: "Being justified freely by his
grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." [This word
properly signifies a deliverance, which is brought to pass by paying of
a ransom and price. See Mat. 20:28; 1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18.] Our
redemption is from the free love and favor of God. It was free grace
which put God the Father upon finding out a way for the redemption
of lost sinners. It was free grace that put God upon providing of such
a surety, as should undertake the work of redemption, as should
carry on the work of redemption, and as should accomplish and
complete the work of redemption; and it was free grace that moved
God the Father to accept of what Christ did and suffered, in order to
the bringing about of our redemption; and it is free grace that moves
God to make an application of this redemption to the souls of his
people. Ah, poor souls! the Lord looks not, neither for money nor
money's worth from you, towards the purchase of your redemption,
and therefore always look upon your redemption as the mere fruit of
rich grace, Isaiah 52:3. But,
[3.] The third excellent property of that redemption that we have by
Jesus Christ is this, it is a FULL and PLENTEOUS redemption:
Psalm 130:7, "Let Israel hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is
mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption." Christ redeems us
from all sin, and from all the consequences of sin. He redeems from
death, and from the power of the grave; he redeems us from the law,
and from the malediction of the law. Christ took that off; he was
made a curse for all that believe on him. [Hosea 13:14; Titus 2:14;
Romans 7:6; Gal. 4:6, and 3:18.] He did not only stand in the place of
eminent believers, but he stood in the place of all believers, and
endured the wrath of God to the uttermost for everyone who believes
on him. Every believer is freed from a cursed estate by the least faith.
Every degree of true faith makes the condition to be a state of life,
and passes us from death and condemnation: "There is no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus."
And Christ redeems us from this present evil world, and from the
earth, and from among men, and from wrath to come, and from "the
hands of all our enemies." [Romans 8:1; Gal. 1:4; Rev. 14:3, 4; 1 Thes.
1:10; Luke 1:71, 74.] Jesus Christ has completely done the work of
our redemption. Christ does not his work by halves; all his works are
perfect; there is no defect or flaw in them at all. Christ does not
redeem us from some of our sins, and leave us to grapple with the
rest; he does not work out some part of our redemption, and leave us
to work out the rest; he does not bear the heat and burden of divine
wrath in part, and leave us to wrestle with other parts of divine
wrath. Oh, no! Christ makes most complete work of it. He redeems
us from "all our iniquities; he delivers us out of the hands of all our
enemies," Heb. 7:25. He pays all debts, he cuts all scores, he delivers
from all wrath, he takes off the whole curse, he saves to the
uttermost, and will settle us in a state of full and perfect freedom,
when grace shall be turned into glory. In heaven our redemption
shall be entire and perfect.
[4.] The fourth excellent property of that redemption which we have
by Jesus Christ, is this, it is an ETERNAL, a permanent, a lasting,
yes, an everlasting redemption! Heb. 9:12, "Neither by the blood of
goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Redemption
is in general a freeing one out of thraldom, Exod. 6:6. Now this is
done three ways—
(1.) By interceding and pacifying wrath. Thus the prophet Oded, 2
Chron. 28:9, etc., procured redemption for the captives of Judah by
his intercession.
(2.) By force and might. Thus Abraham redeemed his brother Lot,
and the people that were captives with him, by overcoming their
enemies, Gen. 14:16.
(3.) By ransom, or paying a price. Thus a Hebrew that was sold a
slave to a stranger might be redeemed by one of his brethren, Lev.
25:48-49. The last of these is most agreeable to the notation of the
several words, which in the three learned languages do signify to
redeem, though the last be especially intended. In that, mention is
made of a price, namely, Christ's blood; yet the other two are not
altogether exempted, for Christ has all those three ways redeemed
his people. This will more clearly appear if we duly weigh the distinct
kinds of bondage in which we were by reason of sin—
(1.) We were debtors to divine justice, Mat 6:12;
(2.) We were children of wrath, Eph. 2:3;
(3.) We were slaves to Satan, Heb. 2:14-15.
(1.) As debtors, Christ has paid a ransom for us;
(2.) As children of wrath, Christ makes intercession for us;
(3.) But though divine justice be satisfied and divine wrath pacified,
yet the devil will not let his captives go; therefore Christ by a strong
hand wrests us out of Satan's power, "and destroys him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil," Heb. 2:14-15.
The ransom which Christ paid was the ground of man's full and
eternal redemption, for by satisfaction of justice way was made to
pacify wrath; both which being accomplished, the devil lost his right
and power over such as he held in bondage. This redemption is a full
freedom from all misery, and comprises under it— reconciliation,
justification, sanctification, and salvation. By this redemption divine
justice is satisfied, wrath pacified, grace procured, and all spiritual
enemies vanquished. The perfection of this redemption is hinted in
this word eternal. The eternity here meant has a special respect to
the continual duration thereof without end, yet also it respects the
time past, so as it looks backward and forward. It implies a virtue
and efficacy from the beginning of the world, for Christ was "a lamb
slain from the foundation of the world," Rev. 13:8.
Christ himself is, Rev. 1:8, "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
ending—who is, and who was, and who is to come." Now that which
is spoken of the person of Christ may very well be applied to our
redemption by Christ. This epithet eternal is here added to
redemption, in opposition to the legal purifications, which were
momentary and temporary. They had a day, and endured no longer
than the "time of reformation." On this ground, by just and necessary
consequence, it follows that the redemption wrought by Christ is
absolutely perfect, and that there is no need for any other.
Redemption being eternal—all who have been, all who shall be
redeemed, have been and shall be redeemed by it; and they who are
redeemed by it need no other means. The liberty whereinto Christ
Jesus brings the elect, is permanent and lasting, it abides
unmoveable and unchangeable to all eternity. The Jews which had
sold themselves to be servants were to be set free at the jubilee, yet
the jubilee lasted but for one year; therefore the same persons might
afterwards become bondmen again, Lev. 25. But this "acceptable
year of the Lord's redeemed," Isaiah 61:2, and 63:4, is an everlasting
year, it shall never end; therefore they shall never be subject to
bondage any more.
It is observable that when the Lord would comfort the Jews with
hopes of a return from Babylon, he usually annexed evangelical
promises respecting the deliverance of poor sinners from the slavery
of Satan, whereof that captivity was a type, some of which promises
do plainly express the perpetuity of that spiritual freedom which they
shall enjoy. Take a taste: [See also Jer. 32:39; Ezek. 37:25-28, and
39:29.] Isaiah 35:10, "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads:
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee
away." Isaiah 51:6, "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon
the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and
the earth shall wax old like a garment, and those who dwell therein
shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be forever, and my
righteousness shall not be abolished." Isaiah 60:19-20, "The sun
shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the
moon give light unto you: but the Lord shall be unto you an
everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun shall no more go
down; neither shall your moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be
your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be
ended." Jer. 31:11-12, "For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and
ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and their
soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more
at all." But,
[5.] The fifth excellent property of that redemption that we have by
Jesus Christ is this—namely, it is an ENRICHING redemption; it is a
redemption which makes men rich in "spiritual blessings in heavenly
places," Eph. 1:3. There are many choice and rare spiritual benefits
which attend on redemption, which go hand in hand with
redemption: as reconciliation, remission of our sins, justification of
our persons, adoption, sanctification, full glorification, Romans 5:1,
and 3:24-25. We have some foretastes of it in this life. Here we have
the "first-fruits of the Spirit," Romans 8:23, 30; but in the morning
of the resurrection, we shall reap the whole harvest of glory. It is
called, by way of eminency, the salvation of our souls, 1 Pet. 1:9.
Redemption, and the noble benefits attending on it, are salvation
begun; but in heaven this shall be salvation consummate.
Redemption is a rich mine, containing a mass of treasure which
cannot be valued. Could we dig into it, could we pry into it, we might
find a variety of the choicest jewels and pearls, in comparison
whereof all the riches of the Indies, all the gold of Ophir, and all the
precious jewels and most orient pearls that are in the world, are no
better than dross.
I have read of Tiberius the emperor, that passing by a place where he
saw a cross lying in the ground upon a marble stone, and causing the
stone to be dug up, he found a great treasure under the cross. But
what was this treasure, but a great nothing—compared to that
treasure which is wrapped up in our redemption by Christ! What the
Lord said once to his anointed Cyrus, a temporal deliverer of his
people, the same he has spoken, and much more, to his anointed
Jesus, the greater Savior and Redeemer of his church: "I will give you
the treasures of darkness, the hidden riches of secret places," Isaiah
43:3. There are "unsearchable riches" in Jesus Christ. In him are
riches of grace, of all grace; in him are riches of justification, and
riches of sanctification, and riches of consolation, and riches of
glorification. Would you share in the best of riches, would you share
in the most durable riches, would you share in soul riches, would you
share in heavenly riches? Oh, then, secure your interest in the
redemption that is by Jesus Christ. But,
[6.] The sixth, and last, excellent property of that redemption that we
have by Jesus Christ is this—namely, it is a redemption- sweetening
redemption; it is such a redemption as sweetens all other
redemptions. It is redemption by Christ, which sweetens our
redemption out of this trouble and that, out of this affliction and
that, out of this danger and that, out of this sickness and that, out of
this bondage and that. Redemption by Christ is like that tree which
Moses cast into the bitter waters of Marah, which made them sweet,
Exod. 15:23. This water became sweet for the use and service of the
Israelites for a time only, and remained not always sweet after, as
appears by Pliny's Natural History, who makes mention of those
bitter waters in his time. But the redemption that we have by Jesus
Christ does forever sweeten all the bitter trials and afflictions that we
meet with in this world. The Jewish doctors say that this tree was
bitter, and they give us this note upon it, "that it is the manner of the
blessed God to sweeten that which is bitter by that which is bitter." I
shall not dispute about the truth of their notion; but this I may safely
say, that it is the manner of the blessed God to sweeten our greatest
troubles, and our sharpest trials, by that redemption that we have by
Jesus Christ.
And thus you see the excellent properties of that redemption that
Jesus Christ, by covenant or compact with his Father, was engaged to
work for us. But,
(4.) The fourth proposition is this—That the blessed and glorious
titles which are given to Jesus Christ, in the Holy Scriptures, do
clearly and strongly evidence that there was a covenant of
redemption passed between God the Father and Jesus Christ. He is
called a "mediator of the covenant" of reconciliation, interceding for
and procuring of it; and that not by a simple entreaty, but by giving
himself over to the Father, calling for satisfaction to justice, that
reconciliation might go on, for paying a compensatory price
sufficient to satisfy divine justice for the elect. "There is one God, and
one mediator between God and men"—namely, God incarnate—"the
man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all"—that is, all his
elect children—"to be testified in due time," 1 Tim. 2:5-6.
Let me glance a little upon the words, "one mediator between God
and men." In the Greek, it is one mediator of God and men; which
may refer either to the two parties between which he deals, pleading
for God to men and for men to God, or to the two natures, mediator
of God, having the divine nature, and of men, having the human
nature upon him. One mediator, not of redemption only, as the
papists grant, but of intercession too. We need no other master of
requests in heaven, but the man Christ Jesus, who being so near us,
in the matter of his incarnation, will never be strange to us in the
business of intercession.
"A ransom," the Greek antilutron, is a counter-price such as we could
never have paid, but must have remained and even rotted in prison,
but for our all-sufficient surety and Savior. The ransom that Christ
paid was a real testimony of his mediatorship between God and men,
whereby he reconciled both. "The man Christ Jesus." Paul speaks
this, not to exclude his divinity from this office of mediatorship, for
he is "God manifested in the flesh," 1 Tim. 3:16, and "God has
purchased his church by his own blood," Acts 20:28; but to show
that, in his human nature, he paid the ransom for us, and that, as
man, he is like unto us, Heb. 2:10; and therefore all sorts and ranks
of men have a free access by faith unto him, and to his sacrifice. He is
also called a Redeemer, "I know that my Redeemer lives," Job 19:25.
The word redeemer in the Hebrew is very emphatic, Goel; for it
signifies a kinsman, near allied unto him; one that was bone of his
bone, and flesh of his flesh. [Some read the words thus, "I know that
my kinsman, or he who is near to me, lives."]
Christ is of our kindred by incarnation, and redeems us by his
passion. The words are an allusion to the ceremonial law, where the
nearest kinsman was to take the wife and buy the land, Ruth 3:9, 12-
13, and 4:4-5. We were Satan's by nature, but Christ our brother, our
kinsman, has redeemed us by the price of his own blood, and will
deliver us from hell, and bring us "to the inheritance of the saints in
light," John 20:17; and therefore deserves the name of a redeemer, 1
Pet. 1:3-4; Col. 1:12. Jesus Christ is near, very near, yes, nearest of
kin to us, Eph. 5:30; he is flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone,
and blood of our blood: "Forasmuch as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, he also himself took part of the same," Heb. 14.
Now it is evident, by the old law of redemption, that the nearest
kinsman was under a special obligation to redeem; as you may see by
comparing Ruth 3:12-13 with 4:4-5. Boaz was a kinsman, and had
right to redeem; yet because there was a nearer kinsman, he would
not engage himself, but upon his refusal: "If you will redeem it,
redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may
know; for there is none to redeem it besides you, and I am after you."
Now Jesus Christ is nearest of kin to us, and therefore, upon the
strictest terms and laws of redemption, he is Goel, our Redeemer. If
we consider Jesus Christ as a kinsman, a brother, we must say, that
he had not only a right to redeem us; but that he was also under the
highest obligation to redeem us. There is a double way of redeeming
people:
(1.) By force and power: thus when Lot was taken prisoner by those
four kings that came against Sodom, "Abraham armed his servants,"
and by force and power redeemed them, Gen. 14:14, 16. We were all
Satan's prisoners, Satan's captives, but Christ our nearest kinsman,
our brother, "by spoiling principalities and powers," Col. 2:15,
rescues us out of that tyrant's hand.
(2.) There is a redemption by price or ransom; to redeem is to buy
again, 1 Cor. 6:20, "You are bought with a price;" 7:23, "You are
bought with a price." The word price is added, to intimate the
excellency and dignity of the price wherewith they were bought,
which was not "silver or gold; but the precious blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish, and without spot," 1 Pet. 1:18-19. "You are
bought with a price;" that is, you are dearly bought, by a price of
inestimable value; but of this before.
Again, sometimes Christ is called "the surety of a better covenant."
Heb. 7:22, "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better
covenant," so called from the manner of the confirmation of it—
namely, by the death of Christ. Look, as Christ was our surety to God,
for the discharge of our debt—the surety and debtor, in law, are
reputed as one person—so he is God's surety to us, for the
performance of his promises. The office of a surety being applied to
Christ shows that he has so far engaged himself for us, as that he
neither can, nor will, desist from his engagement. You shall as soon
remove the earth, stop the sun in his course, empty the sea with a
cockle-shell, make a world, and unmake yourselves—as any power on
earth, or in hell, shall ever be able to hinder Christ from the
performance of the office of a surety.
A perfect fulfilling of all righteousness, according to the tenor of the
law, is required of man. Now Christ our surety, by a voluntary
subjection of himself to the law, and by being made under the law, he
has fulfilled all righteousness, Gal. 4:4; Mat. 3:15; and that he did
this for us is evident by that phrase of the apostle, Romans 5:19, "By
the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." The contents of
the law must be accomplished by our surety, or else we can never
escape the curse of the law, Gal. 3:10, 13; there must be a translation
of the law from us in our persons, unto the person of our surety, or
we are undone, and that forever. Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness, and has made us just by his obedience; "We are made
the righteousness of God in him," Romans 10:4. Our surety became
subject to the law, that he might redeem us, who were obnoxious to
the law, 2 Cor. 5:21.
Again, full satisfaction for every transgression is required of man.
Now Christ our surety has made satisfaction for all our sins, "he was
made a curse for us," Gal. 3:13; and by that means he has redeemed
us from the curse of the law. To exact a debt which is fully satisfied,
is a point of injustice. Now Christ our surety having made full
satisfaction for all our sins, we need not fear to stand before the face
of God's justice. A debtor who has a surety that is able and willing to
pay his debt, yes, who has fully paid it, need fear no charge. This title,
"a surety of a better covenant," does necessarily import a blessed
covenant between Jesus Christ and his dear Father, to whom he
freely and readily becomes surety for us; for what is suretyship but a
voluntary transferring of another's debt upon the surety, he obliging
to pay the debt for which he engages as surety? Thus you see, by the
blessed and glorious titles which are given to Jesus Christ in the
Scriptures, that there was a covenant of redemption passed between
God the Father and Jesus Christ. But,
(5.) The fifth proposition is this—That the work of our redemption
and salvation, was transacted between God the Father and Jesus
Christ, before the foundation of the world. This federal transaction
between the Father and the Son was from eternity. Upon this
account the Lord Jesus is said to be "the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world," Rev. 13:8, because it was then agreed and
covenanted between God the Father and Jesus Christ, that he should,
in the fullness of time, be made flesh and die for sinners; and
therefore it was said to be done from the foundation of the world.
[God loved his people and provided for them, and contrived all their
happiness before they were, yes, before the world was.] Though
Christ was not actually slain, but when he suffered for us upon the
cross, yet he was slain from the beginning, in God's purpose, in God's
decrees, in God's promises, in the sacrifices, in the faith of the elect,
and in the martyrs; for Abel, the first that ever died, died a martyr, he
died for religion.
This compact between the Father and the Son bears date from
eternity. This the apostle asserts: 2 Tim. 1:9, "Who has saved us and
called us with a holy calling; not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ
Jesus, before the world began." [The grace here spoken of cannot be
understood of infused grace, unless we will say that it could be
infused into us before either the world was, or we were in it.] Here is
grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But what grace
was it, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began?
Doubtless it was the grace of redemption, which God, in his purpose
and decree, had given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began. The
scripture last cited does clearly show that God the Father and Jesus
Christ dealt together about the redemption of souls, before the world
began; and that all our everlasting concernments were agreed on and
made sure between them.
Titus 1:2 gives the same sound, "In hope of eternal life; which God,
who cannot lie, promised before the world began." How was this life
promised before the world began, but in this covenant of
redemption, wherein God the Father promised and engaged to Jesus
Christ that he would give eternal life to all his seed? So the apostle
tells us, "He has chosen us in him," that is, in Christ, "before the
foundation of the world." There was an eternal contrivance, compact,
covenant, or agreement between God the Father and Jesus Christ,
concerning the sanctification, holiness, and salvation of the elect.
God agrees with Christ about the everlasting happiness of his chosen
people, before the world began. [The whole business of our salvation
was first transacted between the Father and Christ before it was
revealed to us, John 6:27. The Apostle Peter, speaking of our
redemption by the precious blood of Christ, says that Christ was
foreordained, thereunto, before the foundation of the world," 1 Pet.
1:20.]
John 10:16, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them
also I must bring." Why must he bring them home? how was he
bound, how was he engaged to bring home his other sheep, that he
puts a must upon it? "Them also I must bring." Doubtless it was from
this covenant and agreement which he had made with God the
Father, wherein he had engaged himself to bring home all his elect.
Christ takes a great deal of pains to bring home his sheep; being
bound in the covenant of redemption, to present all who are given
him by charter, blameless before the Father; therefore, says he, I
bring them, and "I must bring them;" the matter not being left
arbitrary, even in respect of his obligation to God the Father, Col.
1:22.
Certainly the decree, covenant, and agreement between God the
Father and Jesus Christ about the whole way of redemption, about
all things belonging to the salvation of the elect, to be brought about
in due time, was fixed and settled before the world began. [Psalm
2:7; Acts 15:18, and 2:23; Eph. 1:9; Proverbs 8:22-32.] Ponder
seriously on this, it may be a loadstone to draw out your hearts more
than ever, to love the Father and the Son, and to delight in the Father
and the Son, and to act faith upon the Father and the Son, and to
long to be with the Father and the Son, and all your days to admire at
the love of the Father and the Son—who have from eternity, by
compact and agreement, secured your souls and your everlasting
concernments. But,
(6.) The sixth proposition is this—That God the Father had the first
and chief hand in this great work of saving sinners, by virtue of this
covenant of redemption, wherein he and his Son had agreed to bring
"many sons to glory." Heb. 2:10. Weak Christians many times have
their thoughts and apprehensions more busied and taken up with the
love of the Son, than with the love of the Father; but they must
remember, that in the great and glorious work of redemption, God
the Father had a great hand, an eminent hand, yes, the first and chief
hand. God the Father first laid the foundation-stone of all our
happiness and blessedness. His head and heart was first taken up
about that heaven-born project, the salvation of sinners: Isaiah
28:16, "Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a
foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure
foundation;" Heb., "I am he who founds a stone in Zion." It is God
the Father, who has long since laid Christ as a sure foundation, for all
his people to build their hopes of happiness upon; it is he who first
laid Christ, the true corner-stone, whereby Zion is forever secured
against death, hell, and wrath.
Hence it is said, "The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand,"
that is, God's eternal decree about the work of our redemption and
salvation, shall be powerfully, faithfully, and completely executed by
Jesus Christ; who, by his word and Spirit, shall communicate unto all
his elect the fruit of his atoning death—to life and salvation, Romans
9:33; 1 Pet. 2:6; 53:10.
Again: Job 33:24, "Deliver him from going down into the pit, for I
have found a ransom!" The Hebrew word signifies a price paid to
redeem a man's life or liberty, "I have found a ransom," or an
atonement, a cover for man's sin. "Angels and men could never have
found a ransom, but by my deep, infinite, and unsearchable
wisdom," says God the Father, "I have found a ransom! I have found
out a way, a means for the redeeming of mankind, from going down
to the infernal pit, namely, the death and passion of my dearest Son!"
But where, O blessed God, did you find a ransom? "Not in angels, not
in men, not in legal sacrifices, not in gold or silver, not in tears,
humblings, and meltings of my people; but in my own bosom. That
Jesus, that Son of my love, who has lain in my bosom from all
eternity, John 1:18, he is that ransom, that by my own matchless
wisdom and singular goodness, I have found. I have not called a
council to inquire where to find a ransom, that fallen man might be
preserved from falling into the fatal pit of destruction; but I have
found a ransom in my own heart, my own bosom; without advising
or consulting with others, I have found out a way how to save sinners
without injuring my honor, justice, holiness, and truth!"
Had all the angels in heaven, from the first day of their creation, to
this very day, sat in serious council—to invent, contrive, or find out a
way, a means, whereby lost man might be secured against the curse
of the law, hell, condemnation, and wrath to come, and whereby he
might have been made happy, and blessed forever; and all this
without the least wrong or harm to the justice and righteousness of
God, they could never have found out any way or means to have
effected those great things. Our redemption, by a ransom, is God's
own invention, and God's only invention. The blessed ransom which
the Lord has found out for poor sinners, is the blood of his own
dearest Son—a ransom which never entered into the thoughts or
hearts of angels and men, until God had revealed it—which is called
"the blood of the covenant," Heb. 10:29, because thereby the
covenant is confirmed, and all covenant-mercies assured to us.
Again, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son,"
John 3:16; Hosea 14:4. This signifies the firstness of the Father's
love, and the freeness of the Father's love, and the vehemency of the
Father's love, and the admirableness of the Father's love, and the
matchlessness of the Father's love. Oh! what kind of love is this, for
God to give his Son—not his servant; his begotten Son—not his
adopted Son; his only Son—and not one son of many; his only Son by
eternal generation, and communication of the same essence; to be a
ransom and mediator for sinners!
God the Father loving lost man, sent his Son to suffer and to do the
office of a mediator, that through his mediation, he might
communicate the effects of his love, in a way agreeable to his justice!
for God loved the world, and that antecedently to his giving Christ,
and as a cause of it. The design, the project of saving sinners, was
first contrived and laid by God the Father; therefore Christ says, "The
Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do."
God the Father sent his Son, and God the Father sealed his Son a
commission to give life to lost sinners. "Him has God the Father
sealed;" that is, made his commission authentic, as men do their
deeds by their seals. It is a metaphor taken from those who ratify
their authority, whom they send; that is, approve of them, as it were,
by setting to their seal. Christ is to be acknowledged to be he whom
the Father has authorised and furnished to be the Savior and
Redeemer of lost sinners, and the storehouse from whence they are
to expect all spiritual supplies.
Look! As kings give sealed warrants and commissions to their
ministers of state, who are sent out or employed in great affairs, 1
Kings 21:8; Eph. 3:12, and 8:8, so Christ is the Father's great
ambassador, authorised and sent out by him to bring about the
redemption and salvation of lost man. And look, as a seal represents
in wax, that which is engraved on it, so the Father has communicated
to him his divine essence and properties, and stamped upon him all
divine perfection, for carrying on the work of redemption. And look,
as a seal annexed to a commission is a public evidence of the person's
authority, so Christ's endowments are visible marks whereby to
know him, and clear evidences that he was the true Messiah, and of
the Father's installing him into that office of a Redeemer.
John 6:38, "I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the
will of him who sent me." [See John 10:17, and 16:27.] In this verse
Christ declares in the general, that his errand into the world is to do
his Father's will who sent him, and not his own; which is not to be
understood that, as God, he has a different and contrary will to the
Father's, though, as man, he has a distinct and subordinate will to
his; but the meaning is, he came not to do his own will only, as the
Jews alleged against him, but the Father's also; and that in this work
he was the Father's commissioner, sent to do what he had entrusted
him with, and not, as the Jews gave out, that he was one who did that
for which he had no warrant. Christ, in entertaining those who come
to him, as in verse 37, is not only led thereunto by his own mercy,
and bounty, and love towards them, as the reward of all his
sufferings; but does also stand obliged thereunto by virtue of a
commission and trust laid upon him by the Father, and accepted and
undertaken by him. Therefore he mentions "the will of him who sent
him" as a reason of his fidelity in this matter.
By what has been said, it is most evident that God the Father had the
first and chief hand in the great work of our redemption. It is good to
look upon God the Father as the first projector of our happiness and
blessedness, that we may honor the Father as we honor the Son, and
love the Father as we love the Son, and value the Father as we value
the Son, and admire the Father as we admire the Son, and exalt the
Father as we exalt the Son, and cleave to the Father as we cleave to
the Son, etc.
I have a little the longer insisted on this proposition, because
commonly we more easily understand the love of the Son, than we do
of the love of the Father; and that I may the more heighten your
appreciation of the Father's love in the great work of redemption. Ah!
what amazing love is this, that the thoughts of the Father, that the
eye of the Father, that the heart of the Father, should be first fixed
upon us, that he should begin the treaty with his Son, that he should
make the first motion of love, that he should first propose the
covenant of redemption, and thereby lay such a sure foundation for
man's recovery out of his slavery and misery.
To speak after the manner of men, the business from eternity lay
thus: "Here is man," says God the Father to his Son, "fallen from his
primitive purity, glory, and excellency, into a most woeful gulf of sin
and misery! He who was once a son—has now become a slave; he
who was once our friend—has now become our enemy, Eph. 2:12-13;
he who was once near us—is now afar off; he who was once in our
favor—is now cast off; he who was once made in our image—has now
the image of Satan stamped upon him, Gen. 1:26-27; he who had
once sweet communion with us—has now fellowship with the devil
and his demons. Now out of this forlorn estate he can never deliver
himself, neither can all the angels in heaven deliver him. Now this
being his present case and state, I make this offer to you, O my Son:
If, in the fullness of time, Phil. 2:7-8, you will assume the nature of
man, "tread the winepress of my wrath alone," Isaiah 63:3, bear the
curse, Gal. 3:13, shed your blood, die, suffer, satisfy my justice, fulfill
my royal law—then I can, upon the most honorable terms
imaginable, save fallen man, and put him into a safer and happier
condition than he ever was--and give you a noble reward for all your
sufferings.
Upon this Jesus Christ replies: "O my Father! I am very ready and
willing to do, to suffer, to die, to satisfy your justice, to comply with
you in all your noble motions, and in all your gracious and favorable
inclinations, that poor sinners may be sanctified and saved, made
gracious and glorious, holy and happy; that poor sinners may never
perish, that poor sinners may be secured from wrath to come, and be
brought into a state of light, life, and love, 1 Thes. 1:10; Heb. 10:10,
14; I am willing to make myself an offering; and, "Lo, I am come to
do your will, O God," Psalm 40:6-7. Thus you see how firstly, and
greatly, and graciously, the thoughts of God have been set at work,
that poor sinners may be forever secured and saved. But,
(7.) The seventh proposition is this—It was agreed between the
Father and the Son that Jesus Christ should be incarnate, that he
should take on him the nature of those whom he was to save, and for
whom he was to satisfy, and to bring to glory. [Gen. 3:15; 1 John 3:8;
Acts 2:30, and 3:22; Isaiah 7:14, and 9:6; Deut. 18:15-18; Gal. 4:4;
Romans 8:3.] Christ's incarnation was very necessary in respect of
that work of redemption, which he, by agreement with the Father,
had undertaken. He had engaged himself to his Father that he would
redeem lost sinners, and, as their surety, make full satisfaction. By
the fall of Adam, God and man became enemies, they were at
variance, at enmity, at open hostility, Romans 8:7. Because of this,
all fellowship between heaven and earth was stopped, and all
communion between God and us ceased. Now to remedy all this, and
to make an atonement, a mediator was necessary; now this office
belonged unto Jesus Christ, both by his Father's ordination and his
own voluntary acquiescence, Heb. 10:5-7; and for discharge of it a
human nature was very requisite.
There was an absolute necessity that Christ should suffer, partly
because he was pleased to substitute himself in the sinner's stead,
and partly because his sufferings alone, could be satisfactory. But
now, unless Christ became incarnate, how can he suffer? The whole
lies thus: without satisfaction no redemption, without suffering no
satisfaction, without flesh no suffering; consequently, Christ must be
incarnate. The Word must be made flesh, John 1:14: and so Heb.
2:14, 16, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and
blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through
death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the
devil; for truly he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took
on him the seed of Abraham:" 1 Tim. 3:16, "Without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached unto the Gentiles,
believed on in the world, received up into glory." This is only
applicable to the person of Christ.
He who by his office is to be Emmanuel, God with us, he must, in
regard of his person, be Emmanuel also, that is, God-man in one
person. He who by office is to make peace between God and man, he
must be God-man; he who by office is to stand and minister between
God and men, he must be God and man, that so he might not be only
zealously faithful towards God's justice, but also tenderly merciful
towards men's errors, Heb. 2:17-18, and 4:15-16. Look, as he must be
more than man that he may be able so to suffer, that his sufferings
may be meritorious, that he may be consistent with the work of
redemption, and triumph over death, devils, difficulties,
discouragements, curse, hell, wrath, etc., all which Christ could never
have done had he been but a mere man; just so, it was requisite that
he should be man, that he might be in a capacity to suffer, die, and
obey; for these are not works for one who is God alone. A God only—
cannot suffer; a man only—cannot merit. God cannot obey, man is
bound to obey. Therefore Christ, that he might obey and suffer, he
was man; and that he might merit by his obedience and suffering, he
was God-man. Now such a person, and such a person alone—did the
work of redemption call forThat is a mighty scripture, Phil. 2:6-7, "Who being in the form of God
thought it no robbery to be equal with God"—here is Christ's
preexisting in the nature of the Godhead, and then after comes his
manhood—"but emptied himself," as it were, of his divine dignity
and majesty; he disrobed himself of his glory, and became a sinner,
both by imputation and reputation, for our sakes, for our salvation
—"and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men," Isaiah 53:6, 9. All this Christ did upon his Father's
prescription, and in pursuit of the great work of redemption.
The blessed Spirit fitted the God-man Christ Jesus, to be a fit
mediator and redeemer for poor sinners. The Spirit formed the
nature of man, from the substance of the virgin, after an
extraordinary manner, Luke 1:35; he sanctified the human nature
which Christ assumed, after such a perfect manner, that it was free
from all sin, Gal. 4:4; Luke 1:35; in the very moment of conception he
united this pure human nature with the divine nature, in the same
person—the person of the Son of God, that he might be a fit head,
mediator, and redeemer for us, Heb. 10:5. But,
(8.) The eighth proposition is this—That there were commandments
from the Father to the Son which he must obey and submit to. God
the Father put forth his paternal authority, and lay his commands
upon his Son, to engage in this great work of redeeming and saving
poor sinners' souls.
He had a command from the Father what to teach his people, as the
prophet of the church: "For I have not spoken of myself," says Christ;
"but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I
should say, and what I should speak," John 12:49. Christ declares
that he had received a commission from the Father, who sent him,
concerning his doctrine, and what to say and speak; and that he was
persuaded that this doctrine delivered to him by the Father points
out the true way to eternal life; and that he had exactly followed this
commission in preaching, both for matter and manner.
The two words of saying and speaking may be taken
comprehensively, pointing out all the ways of delivering his
commission, by set and solemn preaching, or occasional conferences,
and the whole subject-matter of his preaching, in precepts, promises,
and threatenings; and so it will import that his commission from the
Father was full, both for matter and manner, and his discharge
thereof answerable. [Between saying and speaking there is this
difference, says Lapide: "that to say, is to teach and publish a thing
gravely; to speak, is familiarly to utter a thing.] Christ is a true
prophet, who speaks neither more or less in the doctrine of the
gospel than what was the Father's will should be delivered to us: "For
whatever I speak, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak." Christ
keeps close to his commission, without adding or diminishing; and
herein Christ's practice should be every faithful minister's pattern.
Again, Christ had a command to lay down his life for those who were
given him: "No man takes 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; this
commandment have I received of my Father," John 10:18. The
Father is so well pleased with the reconciliation of lost sinners, that
he loves Christ for the undertaking thereof, and is fully satisfied with
his suffering for attaining that end. In both these respects it holds
good: "Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my
life," verse 17. The Father is pleased with him, that he undertook this
service, and is satisfied with his death as a sufficient ransom. Christ
having laid down his life for the redemption of lost man, did take it
up again, as a testimony that the Father was satisfied with his
sufferings.
Now the way of the accomplishment of our redemption was agreed
on between the Father and the Son before the accomplishment
thereof; therefore says he, "This commandment have I received from
my Father," which makes it clear that he came into the world fully
instructed about carrying on the work of redemption, [Psalm 40:6-7
with Heb. 10:6-8.] It pleased Christ to suffer death, not only
voluntarily, but in a way of subjection to his Father's command—in
order that the merit thereof, might every way be full and acceptable
to the Father: "For this commandment have I received."
He was content to be a servant by agreement—so that his sufferings
might be accepted for his people. And so when Christ was going to
die, he says, "That the world may know that I love the Father; and as
the Father gave me commandment, even so I do: arise, let us go
hence," John 14:31. As if he had said, Power is permitted to Satan
and his accomplices to persecute me to death, that dying for man's
redemption, the world may see the obedience and love I bear to the
Father, who has thus determined the plan.
All that Christ suffered for the redemption of sinners was by the
order, and at the command, of the Father, who did covenant with
him concerning this work: "For as the Father gave me a
commandment, even so do I." In this scripture, as in a crystal glass,
you may see that Christ entered upon his sufferings—with much
willingness and alacrity, with much courage and resolution, that so
he might commend his love to us, and encourage us to do the like
through him. Therefore, says he, "Arise, and let us go hence." I am
very free and ready, by my death and sufferings, to complete the
work of man's redemption, according to the covenant and agreement
which long since was made between the Father and myself. If Christ
should fail in complying with his Father's commands about suffering
and dying for us, then not only the breach of articles, but high
disobedience too, might be justly charged upon him; but from all
such charges Christ has exempted himself.
There was a special law laid upon Christ as he was our mediator,
which law he was willing and ready to obey, in order to effect our
redemption. That Christ should die was no part of the moral law, but
it was a positive special law laid upon Christ. Well, this law he obeys,
he complies with: "I lay down my life for my sheep; this
commandment have I received of my Father," John 10:11, 15, 17-18.
Christ, as mediator, had a command from his Father to die, and he
observes it; hence God calls him his servant: "Behold my servant
whom I uphold," Isaiah 42:1. And in pursuance of God's royal law,
will, and pleasure—he takes upon him the form of a servant; and
frequently proclaims before all the world, that he "came to do the will
of him who sent him," Phil. 2:6, 7.
Again, God the Father lays a special command upon Jesus Christ, to
preserve and bring to glory all those that come unto him. Jesus
Christ has not only permission to save the elect, but a charge to save
the elect: "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever
comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from
heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And
this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he
has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will
is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have
eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:37-40.
Here you have Christ's commission to save the elect, etc. Christ is to
be answerable for all those that are given to him, at the last day, and
therefore we need not doubt but that he will certainly employ all the
power of his Godhead to secure and save all those whom he must be
accountable for. In this blessed scripture there are several special
things that we may take notice of, which are put to our present
purpose—
[1.] As first, that it is the great dignity and happiness of the elect, that
they are, from eternity, given to Christ in the covenant of
redemption, as the reward of his sufferings, to come to him in due
time; and that they are given to him in trust, and that he must be
accountable for them, as being given by the Father to him, Psalm
24:1. They were the Father's first, not only by the right of creation,
but by particular election also; and being thus the Father's, they are
given to Christ from eternity—to be redeemed by him, and as the
reward of his sufferings.
Again, such as are elected and given to Christ, will certainly, in due
time, come to him. Their being given to Christ from eternity,
produces their being given and coming in time; for God is faithful,
who will not frustrate Christ of what he has purchased. The power
which draws them, is invincible and irresistible; therefore, says he,
"All that the Father gives me, shall come to me."
Again, Christ in receiving those who come to him, is not only led
thereunto by his own mercy, and bounty, and love towards them as
the reward of his sufferings, but does also stand obliged thereunto by
virtue of a commission and trust laid upon him by the Father, and
accepted and undertaken by him; therefore does he mention "the will
of him that sent me," as a reason of his fidelity in this matter.
Further, from verse 39, we may observe that the gospel contains an
extract of the deep counsels of God, and of the eternal transactions
between the Father and the Son concerning lost man, so far as is for
our good; for he brings out and reads in the gospel his very
commission, and some articles of the covenant, passed between the
Father and him.
Again, the first fountain and cause of the salvation of any of lost
mankind, is in the absolute and sovereign will and pleasure of God;
for here he mentions the will of him that sent him, as the first
original of all; from whence their giving to Christ, their coming and
safety, do flow.
Again, these, whose salvation the Father wills, are given over to
Christ in his eternal purpose, to be brought to him in due time; for so
it is here held out. Again, such as are given to Christ by the Father,
and do in time come to him, are put in his keeping, and he has a care
of them, not to lose the least of them, "For this is the will of him that
sent me, that of all he has given me, I should lose nothing;" herein
the Father does so commit the trust to him, as that he still keeps
them in his own hand also. Again, Christ's charge and care of these
that are given to him, extends even to the very day of their
resurrection, that there he may make a good account of them, when
all perils and hazards are now over, and that he may not so much as
lose their dust, but gather it together again, and raise it up in glory,
to be a proof of his fidelity; for, says he, "My sheep listen to my voice;
I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they
shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My
Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can
snatch them out of my Father's hand." John 10:27-29. And so death
and dissolution proves no loss.
[2.] Again, from verse 40, we may observe, that such as are given to
Christ, to be under his charge, and to participate of his benefits, are
drawn to believe on him: and it is the Father's will, and a part of the
transaction between him and his Son, that faith is the way to partake
of these benefits, and not the fulfilling of the impossible condition of
the works of the law; for they who are given to Christ, are expounded
to be those who believe on him; and it is the Father's will that such
partake of these benefits here mentioned, as of the rest of his
purchase. Albeit mortification, holiness, etc., do prepare for the
possession of these benefits, and do evidence a right thereunto, and
the begun possession thereof; yet it is only faith in Christ which gives
the right and title, that so it may be of grace, Eph. 2:6-8.
Again, it is covenanted between the Father and the Son, that
believers shall be made partakers of everlasting life; for it is
explained, that not to lose them, verse 39, is "that they may have
everlasting life." For the further assurance of believers of their
eternal happiness, it is also covenanted that they shall have this life
in present possession, in the pledge, and first fruits thereof; for they
have everlasting life even here, and before their raising up. The
believer stands already on the battlements of heaven, he has one foot
in the porch of paradise.
Again, Christ having paid the full price of salvation—he will not allow
it to be lost, by any difficulty or impediment in the way, but will carry
believers through all difficulties, until he destroys death and the
grave, and raises up their very dust, that in body and soul they may
partake of that bliss; and that he may make it manifest, that death
and rotting in the grave does not make void his interest, nor cause
his affection to cease. Therefore it is added, "And I will raise him up
at the last day." Thus you see that God the Father did lay his
commands upon his Son, to engage in this great work of redeeming
and saving poor sinners' souls, etc.
[3.] In the third place, I shall show you that the manner or quality of
the transaction between God the Father and Jesus Christ, was by
mutual engagements and stipulations; each person undertaking to
perform his part in order to our recovery and eternal felicity. We find
each person undertaking for himself by solemn promise.
The Father promises that he will hold Christ's hand and keep him,
Isaiah 42:6. God the Father engages himself to direct and assist
Christ, and to keep him from miscarrying; and that he will give him
all necessary strength and ability for the execution of his mediatorial
office, and work wonders by him and with him, according to that
word, "My Father hitherto works, and I work," John 5:17.
And the Son engages himself that he will obey the Father's call, and
not be rebellious: Isaiah 50:5, "I was not rebellious, neither turned
away back;" that is, I did not hang back, as Moses once and again
did, Exod. 3:11, 13, and 4:1, 10, 13; nor refuse to go when God sent
me, as once Jonah did, chapter 1:3; but I offered myself freely and
readily to my Father's call. "There was no affliction, no opposition,
no persecution, no evil usage that I met with in carrying on the work
of redemption, which ever startled me or discouraged me, or made
me flinch or shrink back from that great and blessed work that I had
undertaken. I was dutiful and obedient to the calls and commands of
my Father, in all things that he required of me or set me about."
Now the Father and the Son being thus mutually engaged by
promise, one to another in honor and faithfulness—it highly
concerned them to keep one another close to the terms of the
covenant which was made between them, and accordingly they did;
for God the Father peremptorily stands upon that complete and full
satisfaction that Christ had promised to give to his justice; and
therefore, when the day of payment came, he would not abate Jesus
Christ one penny, one farthing of the many ten thousand talents that
he was to pay down upon the nail for us, Mat. 18:24: Romans 8:32,
"God spared not his own Son;" that is, he abated nothing of that full
price that, by agreement with his Father, he was to lay down for us.
Other fathers give their all to spare their children; but the heart of
God the Father is so fully and strongly set upon full payment, that he
will not spare his Son, his own Son, his only Son, but give him up to
death, yes, to an accursed death, that we might be spared and saved
forever!
To redeem us, God would not spare—no, not his own Son; because
no money nor treasure could pay the redemption price—but only the
blood, yes, the heart-blood of his dear Son! 1 Pet. 1:18-19.
And as God the Father keeps Christ close to the terms of the
covenant, so Jesus Christ keeps his Father close to the terms of the
covenant also: John 17:4, 5, "I have glorified you on the earth," says
Christ to his Father, "I have finished the work which you gave me to
do. And now, O Father, glorify me with your own self, with the glory
which I had with you before the world was." O my Father, I have
finished the work of redemption; but where are the wages, where is
the glory, where is the reward that you have promised me? There was
nothing committed to Christ by the Father, to be done on earth for
the purchasing of our redemption, but he did finish it; so that the
debt is paid, justice satisfied, and sin, Satan, and death spoiled; so
that nothing remains but that Christ be glorified, according to the
promise of the Father to him.
The sum of Christ's petition is this—that since he had finished the
work of redemption, that therefore the Father, according to his
engagement, would advance him to the possession of that glory that
he enjoyed from all eternity. Now for the clearing of this we must
consider, that as Christ was from eternity the glorious God, so we are
not to conceive of any real change in this glory of his godhead; as if
by his estate of humiliation he had suffered any diminution; or by his
state of exaltation any real accession were made to his glory as God.
But the true meaning is this, that Christ having, according to the
covenant passed between the Father and him, obscured the glory of
his godhead for a time, under the veil of the form of a servant, and
our sinless infirmities, Phil. 2:5-8. He now expects, according to the
tenor of the same covenant, after he had done his share of the work,
to be exalted and glorified, and "openly declared to be the Son of
God," Romans 1:4; the veil of his estate of humiliation, though not of
our nature, being taken away.
It is further to be considered that however this eternal glory be
proper to him as God, yet he prays to be glorified in his whole
person. "Glorify me," because not only his human nature was to be
exalted to what glory finite nature was capable of, but the glory of his
godhead was to shine in the person of Christ, God-man, and in the
man Christ, though without confusion of his natures and properties.
Christ did so faithfully discharge his trust, and perfect the work of
redemption, as that the Father was engaged by covenant to glorify
him; and accordingly Christ, God incarnate, is exalted with the
Father in glory and majesty; so that believers may be as sure that all
things necessary for their redemption are done, as it is sure that
Christ is glorified. But,
[4.] In the fourth place, let us seriously consider of the articles agreed
on between the Father and the Son. Let us weigh well the promises
that God the Father makes to Jesus Christ, and the promises that
Jesus Christ makes to the Father, for the bringing about our
reconciliation and redemption, that so we may the more clearly see
how greatly both the heart of the Father and the heart of the Son is
engaged in the salvation of poor sinners' souls. Now there are seven
things which God the Father promises to do for Jesus Christ, upon
his undertaking the work of our redemption.
First, That he will give him the Spirit in an abundant measure. "The
Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord," Isaiah 11:2. God the Father
fits Jesus Christ for the work of redemption, by a large effusion of the
graces and gifts of the Spirit upon him. The Spirit of the Lord shall
not only come upon Christ, but rest and abide with him. The Holy
Spirit shall take up in a more special, yes, singular, manner his
perpetual and never-interrupted or eclipsed residence with him, and
in him. God the Father promises that Christ shall, in his human
nature, be filled with all the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, that
he may be as an everlasting treasury, and as an overflowing fountain,
to all his people.
So Isaiah 42:1, "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my elect, in
whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit upon him, he shall bring
forth judgment to the Gentiles." So Isaiah 61:1, "The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me." So John 3:34, "God gives not the Spirit by measure
unto him." Christ, as mediator, is endued with the Spirit for the
discharge of that office; and though Christ as man has not an infinite
measure of the Spirit, though indeed in that person the fullness of
the Godhead dwells, as being God also, for that were to be no more
man, but God; yet the gifts and graces of the Spirit are poured out
upon the man Christ in a measure far above all creatures, Col. 2:10;
for though every believer is complete in him, yet, for what is inherent
in him, they have but some gifts of the Spirit, 1 Cor. 12:4; Eph. 4:7;
but Jesus Christ had all sorts of gifts. They had gifts for some
particular uses; but he had gifts for all uses. They have a measure of
gifts which are capable of increase, he above measure, so much as the
human nature is capable of, which, though it be finite in itself, yet it
cannot be measured nor comprehended by us. So much is imported
in that, "God gives not the Spirit by measure to him," being
understood of his manhood; though, as we said, if we speak of his
person, he has the Spirit infinitely and without measure, Col. 1:19,
and 2:3, 9.
This fullness befit Christ as man, that he might be a fit temple for the
Godhead; and as a mediator, that he might be the universal head of
his church and storehouse of his people, that from him, as from a
common person, spiritual root or principle, the Holy Spirit with his
gifts and graces might be communicated to us. "He received gifts for
men, yes, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell
among them," Psalm 68:18; "Of his fullness we receive grace for
grace," John 1:16; "The first Adam was a living soul, but the second
Adam is a quickening spirit," 1 Cor. 15:45. In the man Christ Jesus,
there is a treasury and fullness of grace and glory for us! He is the
lord-keeper of all our lives, of all our souls, of all our comforts, and of
all our graces; and he is the lord-treasurer of all our spiritual,
durable, and eternal riches, 2 Tim. 1:12. We lost our first stock by the
fall of Adam, Proverbs 8:18. God put a stock into our own hands, and
we soon proved bankrupts and run out of stock. Now since that fatal
fall, God will trust us no more; but he has out of his great love and
noble bounty, put a new stock of grace and glory for us into the
hands of Jesus Christ, who is mighty, who is able to save to the
uttermost, and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge, Isaiah 9:6; Heb. 7:25; Col. 2:3.
Christ was more capable, by infinite degrees, of the fullness of the
Holy Spirit than mere men were or could be; and his employment
being also infinitely beyond the employment of men, the measure of
the Holy Spirit's fullness in him must needs be accordingly beyond
all measure. Hence, by way of emphasis, Christ is called "the
anointed one of God," John 12:15; Acts 3:22-23. The kings, priests,
and prophets among the Jews, who were anointed, were in their
unction but types of Christ, who is the great king, priest, and prophet
of his church, and anointed above them all, yes, and above all the
apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and believers
under the new testament ministration. In Christ there is all kind of
grace, and it is in him in the highest and utmost degree, that he
might be able to manage all his offices, and finish "that work which
God gave him to do," John 17:4; and God has filled him with his
Spirit, that he might successfully bring about the redemption and
salvation of sinners. But
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Post by Admin on Feb 20, 2024 16:33:03 GMT -5
Secondly, God the Father promises to invest Jesus Christ with a
threefold office, and to anoint him and furnish him with whatever
was requisite for the discharge of those three offices—namely, his
prophetic, priestly, and kingly offices, Isaiah 61:1-3, and 33:22.
Christ never forced himself into any of these offices, he never
intruded himself into any one office, he never ran before he was sent,
he never assumed any office until his Father had signed and sealed
his commission, John 6:17. If Jesus Christ had acted without a
commission under his Father's hand, it would have been invalid and
lost, and God would one day have said to him, "Who has required
this at your hand?" [Melchizedek was a king and a priest; Christ was
more—a priest, a prophet, and a king; Samuel was a priest and a
prophet; David was a king and a prophet: but never met all three in
any but in Christ alone.] Isaiah 1:12.
In order to our spiritual and eternal recovery out of sin and misery, it
was absolutely necessary that whatever Christ did act as a priest,
prophet, or king, he should act by the authority of his Father, by a
commission under the broad seal of heaven: Heb. 5:5, "So also Christ
glorified not himself to be made a high-priest; but he who said unto
him, You are my Son." The high-priesthood was an honor; for Christ
to have taken that to himself, without a commission from his Father,
had been to glorify himself, by conferring glory and honor upon
himself. This negative, that "Christ glorified not himself," is a clear
evidence that Christ arrogated no honor to himself. Christ would not
arrogate honor to himself, but rather wait upon his Father, that he
might confer upon him what honor he saw fit. Christ glorified not
himself to be made a high-priest; but his Father glorified him, in
ordaining or commissioning him to be the high-priest. In short, to be
made a high-priest is to be deputed or appointed and set apart to
that function; and thus was our Lord Jesus Christ made a highpriest. He had never undertaken that office had he not been ordained
to it by his Father. But, that you may see Christ's threefold
commission to his threefold office, consider,
[1.] First, that God the Father promises to Jesus Christ an excellent,
royal and eternal PRIESTHOOD: Heb. 7:21, "For those priests were
made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto
him, The Lord swore and will not repent, You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchisedec." Heb. 2:17-18; Psalm 110:4. Among
the Jews, in the times of the old testament, they had a high-priest,
who was in all things to stand between God and them; and in case
any sinned, to make an atonement for them. Now look, as the Jews
had their high-priest, so the Lord Jesus Christ, he was to be, and he
is, the apostle and the high-priest of our Christian profession, as
Aaron was of the Jews' profession. The priestly office of Jesus Christ
is erected and set up, on purpose for the relief of poor distressed
sinners. [Heb. 3:1. By the way, you may take notice that the whole
body of Antichristianism is but an invasion upon the priestly office of
Christ. What is the popish mass, that unbloody sacrifice, but a
derogation from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, once upon the cross;
and so a derogation from his priestly office? What are all those
popish penances and satisfactions enjoined, but a derogation unto
the satisfaction of Christ; and so unto the priestly office of Christ!
What is all their praying to saints and angels, but a derogation unto
the intercession of Christ; and so unto the priestly office? God
deputes Christ to his priestly office, as God and man; yet papists say
that Christ is a priest only in his human nature. God says to his Son,
"You are a priest;" yet they make many priests. God makes his Son a
priest forever; yet they substitute others in his room. God gave Christ
to offer up but one sacrifice, and that but once; but they every day
offer up many sacrifices in the mass. God gave Christ to offer up
himself; but they offer up bread and wine, upon pretense that it is
the body and blood of Christ. Christ's sacrifice was a bloody sacrifice;
but they style theirs an unbloody sacrifice.]
The work of the high-priest, is to make reconciliation for the sins of
the people. In the times of the old testament, the high-priest made an
atonement for the people. In case any man had sinned, he brought a
sacrifice, and his sins were laid upon the head of the sacrifice. Once
every year, the high-priest entered into the Holy of holies, and with
the blood of the sacrifice, sprinkled the mercy-seat, and laid the sins
of the people upon the head of the scape-goat, and so made an
atonement for the people, as is clear in Lev. 16:14, "He shall take of
the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger, upon the
mercy-seat eastward: and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of
the blood with his finger seven times;" and at verse 21, "Aaron shall
lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over
him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their
transgressions, and all their sins, putting them upon the head of the
goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the
wilderness; and so he shall make an atonement." This was the work
of the high-priest, in case any had sinned, to make an atonement and
satisfaction, by the way of type, for the sins of the people. The main
scope of the apostle in Heb. 7, is to advance Christ his priesthood
above the Levitical priesthood, in order to which he premises this—
that those "priests were made without an oath," verse 20.
The apostle's third argument to prove the excellency of Christ's
priesthood above the Levitical, is taken from the different manner of
instituting the one and the other. Christ's institution was more
solemn than the Levites'; their institution was without an oath,
Christ's institution was with an oath. The argument may be thus
framed: that priesthood which is established by an oath, is more
excellent than that which is without an oath; but Christ's priesthood
is with an oath, and theirs without an oath. It is here taken for
granted that Christ was most solemnly instituted a priest, even by an
oath; yes, by the oath of God himself, which is the greatest and most
solemn manner of institution that can be. God's oath imports two
things:
(1.) An infallible certainty of that which he swears.
(2.) A solemn authority and dignity conferred upon that which he
instituted by oath. Great and weighty matters of much concernment
use to be established by oath. Hereby it appears that Christ's
priesthood is a matter of great importance, and of much
concernment. This will appear the more evident, if we consider the
person who was made priest, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, who
was the greatest person that could be; Heb. 7:28; therefore he is fitly
called "a great high-priest," Heb. 4:14.
Or if we consider the ENDS of Christ's priesthood, which were very
weighty, and that in reference both to God and man. To God, for the
manifestation of his perfect justice, infinite mercy, almighty power,
unsearchable wisdom, and other divine attributes, which never were,
nor ever can be so manifested, as in and by Christ's priesthood. To
man, that God's wrath might be averted, his favor procured, man's
sin purged, and he freed from all evil, and brought to eternal
happiness. Or if we consider the benefits of Christ's priesthood,
which are answerable to the foresaid ends. Jesus Christ was
appointed and made by the Father, "The apostle and high-priest of
the church's profession:" Heb. 3:1-2, "Therefore, holy brethren,
partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and highpriest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him who
appointed him." Christ had a divine call to the execution of all those
offices, which he sustained as our mediator, he did not run before he
was sent, he did not act without a commission and warrant, he was
lawfully constituted by him who had power to undertake that great
charge he has over the church; this we shall find asserted of all his
three offices.
As for his priestly office, he was made a priest by an immediate call
and ordination from God, Heb. 5:4-6. The scope of the apostle is to
set out the excellency of Christ's priesthood, by comparing it with the
Levitical. His priesthood had a concurrence of all things necessary to
the Levitical; and it had many excellencies above that. Now among
other things required in the priesthood of Aaron, this was one—there
must be a divine regular call. This was in the priesthood of Christ;
"He was called of God, a high-priest, after the order of Melchisedec."
[Psalm 110:4. The Hebrew is, "You a priest," etc., that is, "You shall
be a priest forever;" it being the manner of the Hebrew tongue,
sometimes for brevity sake, to leave out a word, which is to be
understood and supplied.] Psalm 110:4 is God's sure and irrevocable
promise to Christ, touching that excellent and eternal priesthood,
whereby the recovery of his seed was to be meritoriously obtained.
This priestly office of Christ is sure, because it is confirmed by God's
oath, of which before as well as his promise. The promise makes it
sure, the oath doubly sure, irrevocable; and certainly the Lord
neither can nor will ever repent of this promise and oath.
The priesthood of Christ is the most noble part of all his mediation.
In the priesthood of Christ, and in that especially, lies the latitude
and longitude, the profundity and sublimity of God's love towards us;
and in respect of this especially, is the whole mystery of our
redemption by Christ called the magnificent works of God. Christ as
man, and as mediator between God and man, was, by his Father,
deputed unto his priestly office. Concerning the dignity and
excellency of Christ's priestly office, above the Levitical priesthood, I
have spoken elsewhere. But,
[2.] Secondly, God the Father promises to Jesus Christ to make him a
PROPHET, a great prophet, yes, the prince of prophets. Christ is a
prophet, in way of eminency and excellency, above all other
prophets; he was the chief, the head of them all. Christ was made a
prophet by an immediate call and ordination from God. Christ, in
respect of his prophetic office, can plead the authority of his Father;
he can show a commission for this office, under his Father's own
hand. Deut. 18:18, "I will raise them a prophet from among their
brethren like unto you, and will put my words in his mouth; and he
shall speak unto them all that I shall command them." [See Acts
3:22, and 7:37; Deut. 18:15; Isaiah 61:1.] Christ does not raise himself
up to the prophetic office, but God the Father raises him up to this
great office. He was anointed of God to preach glad tidings. Weigh
Isaiah 42:6, "I will give you for a light to the Gentiles; to open the
blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from their prison, and those
who sit in darkness out of the prison-house." "The Spirit of the Lord
God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me, to preach good
tidings unto the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken-
hearted," etc., Luke 4:18. Thus you see that this prophetic dignity of
Christ, that he is the grand teacher of the church, is built upon the
authority of his Father, who has authorised and commissioned him
to that great office.
Isaiah 50:4, "The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom,
so that I know what to say to all these weary ones." [Christ displaces
all Rabbis, by assuming this title to himself, "one is your teacher and
master, even Christ," Mat. 23:8-10.] Thus you see that God the
Father promises to invest Christ with a prophetic office for the
opening the eyes of the blind, etc. This great prophet is richly
furnished with all kinds of knowledge; "In him are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge." They are hid in him as gold
and silver are hid in the veins of the earth. "Treasures of knowledge,"
that is, precious knowledge, saving knowledge; "Treasures of
knowledge," that is, plentiful knowledge, abundance of knowledge;
"Treasures," that is, hidden and stored knowledge, was laid up in
him. All the angels in heaven, and all the men on earth—do not know
all that is in the heart of God; but now Jesus Christ, "who lies in the
bosom of the Father," John 1:18, he knows all that is in his Father's
heart. All those secret mysteries, that were laid up in the bosom of
eternity, are fully known to this great prophet of the church.
John 5:20, "The Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that
he himself does," by a divine and unspeakable communication. God
the Father shows to Jesus Christ all things that he does. God's love is
communicative, and will manifest itself in effects, according to the
capacity of the party beloved; so much appears in that unspeakable
love of the Father to the Son, "The Father loves the Son, and shows
him all things," etc., or communicates his nature, wisdom, and
power, for operation with him; which is expressed in terms taken
from among men, because of our weakness: and ought to be
spiritually, and not carnally conceived of. And therefore these terms
of the Father's "showing," and the Son's "seeing," are made use of to
prevent all carnal and gross conceptions of this inexpressible
communication from the Father, and participation by the Son.
In the blessed Scripture, Jesus Christ is sometimes called "the"
prophet, and "that" prophet; because he is one who came from the
bosom of the Father, and lives and lies in the bosom of the Father,
and understands the whole mind, will, heart, counsels, designs,
ways, and workings of the Father. Jesus Christ is anointed by God
the Father to be the great prophet and teacher of his elect; and
accordingly Jesus Christ has taken that office upon himself. God the
Father has laid a charge upon Jesus Christ, to teach and instruct all
those that he has given him, in his whole mind and will, so far as is
necessary to their salvation, edification, consolation, etc. "Moses was
faithful as a servant, but Christ as a Son," Heb. 3:2, 5-6. Christ
cannot be unfaithful in his prophetic office. Those whom God the
Father has charged him to teach and instruct, he will teach and
instruct, in the great things of their peace; and no wonder, for the
knowledge that is communicated to Jesus Christ, the great prophet
of his church, is not by dreams, or visions, or revelations of angels, as
to the prophets of old—but by a clear, full, intimate view, and
beholding of the Godhead, the fountain of all sacred knowledge.
Rev. 5:6, "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain,
standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living
creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which
are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth." [The Lamb
stands, because (1.) prepared to perfect the work of redemption; (2.)
to help; (3.) to judge; (4.) to intercede.] The lamb slain opens the
prophecies, and foretells what shall befall the church, to the end of
the world. The discovery of the secrets of God in his word, are the
fruit of Christ slain, ascended, and anointed as the great prophet of
the church. The lamb lacked neither power nor wisdom to open the
seven seals, and therefore he is said to have "seven horns and seven
eyes." Seven is a number of perfection. Horns signify power, eyes
signify knowledge or wisdom; [Dan. 7:24; Isaiah 35:5; Mat. 28:18;
Col. 2:3, 9.] both joined together, argue a fullness and perfection of
power and wisdom in Christ; so that we have here a lively
representation of the threefold office of Christ: his priestly office in
the lamb as slain, his royal or kingly office in the horns, and his
prophetic office in the eyes. But,
[3.] Thirdly, God the Father promises to make him a KING, yes, a
mighty king also. The kingly office speaks might and power. Christ is
a king above all other kings; he is a king "higher than the kings of the
earth; he is the prince of the kings of the earth; he is Lord of lords,
and King of kings," Psalm 89:27; Rev. 1:5, and 17:14. Theodosius the
emperor and another emperor, used to call themselves the vassals of
Christ; and it is most certain that all the emperors, kings, and princes
of the world are but the vassals of this great king. Christ is not only
"King of saints," but he is also "King of nations." "There was given
him dominion and glory, and a kingdom; that all people, nations,
and languages should serve him," Rev. 15:3-4, and 12:5; Dan. 7:17.
God, by promise, has "given him the heathen for his inheritance, and
the utmost parts of the earth for his possession," Psalm 2:8. The
monarchs of the world have stretched their empires far.
Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom reached as far as Spain; the Persians
reached farther, Alexander farther than they, and the Romans
farther than them all; but none of all these has subdued the whole
world, as Christ has and will. "All power is given unto him both in
heaven and in earth. The Father loves the Son, and has given all
things into his hand, and the Father also has put all things under his
feet," Romans 10:18; Rev. 11:15; Mat. 28:18; John 3:35; 1 Cor. 15:27.
The government of all the world is given to Jesus Christ as God-man.
All the nations of the earth are under the government of Christ. He is
to govern them, and rule them, and judge them, and make whatever
use he pleases of them, as may make most for his own glory, and the
good of his chosen people. Now God the Father promises to invest
Jesus Christ with his kingly office: Psalm 2:6, "Yet have I set my king
upon my holy hill of Zion." These words are spoken by God the
Father, of his Son Jesus Christ. In a promissory way, God the Father
anoints Jesus Christ as Zion's king; and therefore it cannot but be the
highest madness, folly, and vanity, for any to seek or attempt to pull
that king of saints down, whom God the Father has set up. Christ
rules for his Father, and from his Father, and will so rule in despite
of all the rage and wrath, malice and madness, of men and devils:
"yet have I set my king"—Heb., "I have anointed"—where the sign of
Christ's inauguration, or entrance into his kingdom, is put for the
possession and enjoying thereof. Christ was anointed and appointed
by his Father to the office and work of a mediator, and is therefore
here called his king. There is an emphasis in the word "I," "Yet have I
set my king upon my holy hill of Zion," " I," before whom all the
nations of the earth are but as a drop of a bucket, and as the small
dust of the balance, Isaiah 40:15, 17; I, before whom all nations are
as nothing, yes, less than nothing; I, by whom princes rule, and
nobles, even all the judges of the earth, Proverbs 8:16; I, who rule the
kingdoms of men, and give them to whoever I will, and who set over
them the basest of men, Dan. 4:17; I, who change times and seasons,
and who removes kings and sets up kings, Dan. 2:21; I, who can kill
and make alive, save and damn, bring to heaven and throw down to
hell, Deut. 32:39; I am he who has set up Christ as king, and
therefore let me see the nation, the council, the princes, the nobles,
the judges, the family, the person, that dare oppose or run countercross to what I have done.
Again, the Lord, in a promissory way, approves and establishes this
king by a firm decree: Psalm 2:7, "I will declare the decree," not the
secret decree, but the decree manifested in the word. I, the Son of
God, will, by my everlasting gospel, proclaim my Father's counsel,
concerning the establishment of my kingdom. I will declare that
irrevocable decree of the Father, for the setting up of his Son's
scepter, point-blank, opposite to that decree of theirs, verse 3. The
decree of God, concerning the kingly office and authority of Christ, is
immutable, and in effect as irrevocable.
Again, the Lord, in a promissory way, extends the dominion of Christ
to the Gentiles, and to the uttermost parts of the earth, verse 8. So
far should the enemies of Christ be from ruining his kingdom, that
God the Father promises that all the inhabitants of the earth should
be his, and brought into subjection to him, not only the Jews, but all
the inhabitants of the earth shall be subjected to Christ's kingdom,
the elect he shall save, and the refractory he shall destroy. "He shall
have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of
the earth."
Again, the Lord, in a promissory way, declares the power, prevalency,
and victory of Christ over all his enemies: verse 9, "You shall break
them with a rod of iron: you shall dash them in pieces like a potter's
vessel." This signifies their utter destruction, so that there is no hope
of recovery. A potter's vessel, when it is once broken, cannot be made
up again. This proverb also signifies ease in destroying them. As for
such that plot, bandy, and combine together against the Lord Jesus
Christ, he shall as easily and as irrecoverably by his almighty, eternal,
and irresistible power, dash them in pieces, as a potter breaks his
vessels in pieces: Jer. 19:11, "I will break this people and this city, as
one breaks a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again."
Isaiah 30:14, "It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so
mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for
taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern." The
Jews, you know, were Christ's obstinate enemies; and he has so
dashed them in pieces, that they are scattered abroad all the world
over.
The Lord has made another promise, that Christ shall be sovereign
king, Psalm 110:1-6. And no wonder, when we consider that God the
Father has called Christ to the kingly office. The scepter is given into
his hand, and the crown is put upon his head, and the key of
government is laid upon his shoulder by God himself. Isaiah 22:22, it
is written thus of Eliakim, "The key of the house of David will I lay
upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall
shut, and none shall open." Now herein was this precious soul a
lively figure and type of Christ. The words of the prophecy are
applied to Christ, in his letter to Philadelphia, Rev. 3:7; and the sense
is this, that look, as Eliakim was made steward or treasurer under
Hezekiah, that is, the next under the king in government all over the
land, to command, to forbid, to permit, to reward, to punish, to do
justice, and to repress all disorder; of which authority the bearing of
a key on the shoulder was a badge; so Christ, as mediator under his
Father, has regal power and authority over his Church, where he
commands in chief, as I may say, and no man may lift up his hand or
foot without him; he has the key of the house of David upon his
shoulder, to prescribe, to inhibit, to call, to harden, to save, and to
destroy—at his pleasure.
Such a monarch and king is Christ, neither has any such rule and
sovereignty beside him. And if you look into Dan. 7:13-14, you may
observe, that after the abolishing of the four monarchies, Christ's
monarchy is established by the Ancient of days, giving to Jesus
Christ dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations,
and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall never pass away, and his kingdom shall not be
destroyed. Christ did not thrust himself into the throne, as some
have done; neither did he swim to his crown through a sea of blood,
as others have done; nor did he swim through a sea of sorrow to this
crown, as Queen Elizabeth is said to do; no, he waited until authority
was given him by his Father. But,
Thirdly, God the Father has promised, that he will give to Jesus
Christ— assistance, support, protection, help, and strength to carry
on the great work of redemption. God the Father promises and
covenants with Jesus Christ, to carry him through all dangers,
difficulties, perplexities, trials, and oppositions, etc., that he would
meet with in the accomplishing our redemption; upon which
accounts Jesus Christ undertakes to go through a sea of trouble, a sea
of sorrow, a sea of blood, and a sea of wrath! Isaiah 42:1, "Here is my
servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put
my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations;" verse 4,
"He will not stop until truth and righteousness prevail throughout
the earth." Verse 6, "I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness,
and will hold your hand, and will keep you." [Christ is our Lord, but
in the work of redemption he was the Father's servant.] What is that?
Why, I will support, strengthen, and preserve you with my glorious
power; I will so hold your hand, that you shall not be discouraged,
but finish that great work of redemption, which, by agreement with
me, you have undertaken.
God the Father agreed with Jesus Christ about the power, strength,
success, and assistance that he would have to carry on the work of
redemption, all which God the Father made good to him until he had
sent forth judgment unto victory; as Christ himself acknowledges,
saying, "Listen to me, all of you in far-off lands! The Lord called me
before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name. He
made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword. He has hidden me
in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver. He
said to me—You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory."
Isaiah 49:1-3. The work of redemption was so high, so hard, so great,
so difficult a work—that it would have broken the hearts, backs, and
necks of all the glorious angels in heaven, and mighty men on earth,
had they engaged in it; and therefore God the Father engages himself
to stand close to Jesus Christ, and mightily to assist him, and to be
singularly present with him, and wonderfully to strengthen him in all
his mediatorial administrations, John 17:2; upon which accounts
Jesus Christ despises his enemies, bears up bravely under all his sore
temptations and trials, and "triumphs over principalities and
powers," Mat. 4:11; Luke 22:43; Col. 2:15.
And certainly if Christ had not had singular support, and an almighty
strength from the Godhead, he could never have been able to bear up
under that mighty wrath, and to have drunk up that bloody cup. Now
upon the account of God the Father's engaging himself to own Christ,
and stand by him in the great work of our redemption, Jesus Christ
acts faith against all his deepest discouragements, which he would
meet with in the discharge of his mediatorial office, as the prophet
tells us: "Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be
dismayed. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to
do his will. And I know that I will triumph. He who gives me justice
is near. Who will dare to oppose me now? Where are my enemies?
Let them appear!" Isaiah 50:7-8. From the consideration of God's
help, Jesus Christ strengthens and encourages himself, in the
execution of his office, against all oppositions. God's presence and
assistance made Jesus Christ victorious over all wrongs and injuries.
Jesus Christ knew that God the Father would clear up his innocency
and integrity, and this made him patient and constant to the last.
But,
Fourthly, God the Father promises to Jesus Christ that he shall not
labor in vain, and that the work of redemption shall prosper in his
hand, and that he will give a blessed success to all his undertakings,
and crown all his endeavors. [See Isaiah 53:10, and 49:6-12; Micah
4:3.] "He shall see his seed, and he shall see the travail of his soul."
Another promise of the Father to the Son you have in that, Isaiah
55:5, "Nations that know you not, shall run unto you." The Gentiles,
who never heard of Christ, nor ever were acquainted with Christ, nor
ever had any notice of Christ; when Christ calls, they shall readily
and speedily repair unto him and submit unto him. Christ shall one
day see and reap the sweet and happy fruit of his blood, sufferings,
and undertakings; "The pleasure of the Lord shall certainly prosper
in his hand." Christ's sufferings were as a woman's travail, sharp
though short. Now though a woman suffers many grievous pains and
pangs, yet, when she sees a child brought into the world, she rejoices
and is satisfied. So when nations shall run to Christ, he shall see his
seed and be satisfied.
God the Father promises that Jesus Christ shall have a numerous
spiritual posterity, begetting and bringing many thousands to the
obedience of his Father; "Nations shall run unto you; "and this shall
fill the heart of Jesus Christ with abundance of joy and comfort,
contentment and satisfaction, when he shall see the fruit of his bitter
sufferings, when he shall see such an abundance of poor, filthy,
guilty, condemned sinners—pardoned, justified, and accepted with
his Father, "his soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,"
Psalm 63:5. The numerous body of believers, past, present, and to
come, that God the Father had promised to Jesus Christ, was the life
of his life. That is a sweet promise, Psalm 110:2, "You will rule over
your enemies." Those who will not bend—must break; those who will
not stoop to his government—shall feel his power. "Your people"—
the people of God are Christ's five ways:
(1.) By donation;
(2.) By purchase;
(3.) By conquest;
(4.) By covenant;
(5.) By consent. "They shall be willing in the day of your power"—
Heb., willingnesses, as if the Holy Spirit could not sufficiently set
forth their exceeding great willingness to submit to all the royal
commands of the Lord; John 17:6; 1 Pet. 2:9; Luke 1:57; 1 Cor. 3:23.
All Christ's subjects are volunteers, free-hearted, like those isles
which wait for God's law, Isaiah 42:4, and 56:6; Zech. 8:21, "And the
inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily
to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord Almighty: I will go
also;" "From the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your
youth," Psalm 110:3. Here is the success of Christ's office promised,
both in the victorious subduing of his enemies, and in the cheerful
willingness of his subjects, and in the wonderful numerousness of his
people brought over to him, even like the innumerable drops of the
morning dew.
Another promise of that great and complete success that God the
Father has made for Jesus Christ in his mediatorial office, you have
in Isaiah 49, from the 6th verse to the 14th verse: Christ shall have a
people gathered to him, and a seed to serve him, "because he has
made his soul an offering for their sins." The multitude of sinners
brought over to Jesus Christ, is the product of the atoning sacrifice
which he has made for them, and the trophies of the victory that he
has gotten by dying the death of the cross.
Thus you see that God the Father has not only engaged himself by
compact to preserve Jesus Christ in his work, but he has also made to
him several precious promises of preservation, protection, and
success—so that the work of redemption shall be sure to prosper in
his hand. And, to make these glorious promises the more valid and
binding, God confirms them solemnly by an oath: Heb. 7:21, "This
priest," Christ, "was made with an oath by him that said unto him,
The Lord swore, and will not repent, You are a priest forever." God
the Father foresaw from everlasting that Jesus Christ would so
infinitely satisfy him and please him by his incarnation, obedience,
and death, that thereupon he swears. But,
Fifthly, God the Father promises to Jesus Christ— rule, dominion,
and sovereignty, Psalm 2:8-9. This sovereignty and rule is promised
to Jesus Christ in Isaiah 40:10, "His arm shall rule for him." "He
shall sit in judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law,"
Isaiah 42:4—not the Jews only, but the Gentiles also, the people of
divers countries and nations shall willingly and readily receive and
embrace his doctrine, and submit to his laws, and give up themselves
to his rule. Micah 4:3, "He shall judge among many nations," that is,
rule, order, command, and direct as a judge and a ruler among many
nations. The conquests that Christ shall gain over the nations shall
not be by swords and arms, but he shall bring them to a voluntary
obedience and spiritual subjection by his Spirit and Gospel: John
3:35, "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his
hand," that is, God the Father has given the rule and power over all
things in heaven and earth to Jesus Christ. In carrying on the
redemption of sinners, as the matter is accorded between the Father
and the Son, so the redeemed are not left to themselves, but are put
under Christ's charge and custody, who has "purchased them with
his blood," God the Father having given him dominion over all that
may contribute to help or hinder his people's happiness, that he may
order them so as may be for their good. And this power he has as
God with the Father, and as man and mediator by donation and gift
from the Father, Mat. 28:18, and 2:3. Thus every believer's happiness
is most firm and sure, all things being wisely and faithfully
transacted between the Father and the Son. As long as Jesus Christ
has all power to defend his people, and all wisdom and knowledge to
guide and govern his people, and all dominion to curb the enemies of
his people, and a commission and charge to be answerable for them,
we may roundly conclude of their eternal safety, security, and felicity,
Col. 1:19, and 2:1. But,
Sixthly, God the Father promises to accept of Jesus Christ, in his
mediatorial office. "Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be
glorious in the eyes of the Lord," Isaiah 49:5; that is as if he had said,
notwithstanding the infidelity, obstinacy, and impenitency of the
greatest part of the Jews, yet, faithful labor and diligence in the
execution of my mediatorial office is, and shall be, greatly accepted,
and highly esteemed, by my heavenly Father. Artaxerxes, the king of
Persia, lovingly accepted of the poor man's present of water, because
his good will was in it, and put it into a golden vessel, and gave him
the vessel of gold, accounting it the part of a truly noble and
generous spirit to receive small presents offered with a hearty
affection. Oh, how much more will God the Father kindly accept of
Jesus Christ in his mediatorial office: verse 7, "The Lord, the
Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised
and rejected by a nation, to the one who is the servant of rulers—
Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will bow low
because the Lord has chosen you. He, the faithful Lord, the Holy One
of Israel, chooses you." [Jerome says that the Jews cursed Christ in
their synagogues three times a day. They so greatly abhorred the
name Jesus that they would not pronounce it; but if they did
unawares happen to pronounce it, then they would punish
themselves with a blow on their faces, etc.] God the Father,
comforting of Christ, tells him that though he were contemptible to
many, yes, to the nation of the Jews, and basely treated, like a
servant, by their princes, Herod, Annas, Caiaphas, and Pontius
Pilate, yet other kings and princes should see his dignity and glory,
and submit to him, and honor him as the Savior and Redeemer of the
worldGod the Father chose Jesus Christ to be his servant, and to be a
mediator for his elect; he designed him to that office of being a
Savior, both to the Jew and Gentile, and accordingly he accepted of
him, "Thus says the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard you,
and in a day of salvation have I helped you; and I will preserve you,
and give you for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to
cause to inherit the desolate heritage." Here you see that God the
Father still goes on to speak more and more comfortably and
encouragingly to Jesus Christ; for he tells him that he will be at hand
to hear, and help, and assist him; and he tells him that he will
preserve him, both in his person, and in the execution of his office;
and he tells him that he will accept of his person, and of his services,
and of his suits and intercession for himself and his people.
Mat. 3:17, "And, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased." The voice from heaven was
doubtless the voice of his Father, in that he says, This is my beloved
Son," my natural Son, by eternal and incomprehensible generation,
and therefore dearest to me, and most acceptable with me; my
judgment is satisfied in him, my love is settled upon him, and I have
an inestimable value for him; and therefore I cannot but declare my
approbation and acceptance both of him and his work. I am well
pleased in him, I am infinitely pleased in him, I am only pleased in
him, I am at all times pleased in him, I am forever pleased in him; I
am so well pleased in him, that, for his sake, I am fully appeased with
all those who "I have given him, and who come unto him," John
6:37-40. [This Jerome applies to the time of Christ's hanging on the
cross. He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
for God made it appear that he heard him, and forsook him not, in
that he raised him from the dead, etc. See Heb. 5:7.] But,
Seventhly, God the Father promises highly to exalt Jesus Christ, and
nobly to reward him, and everlastingly to glorify him. "You will do
more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light
to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the
earth." Isaiah 49:4-6, and 40:10. These are the words of God the
Father to his Son, promising of him to set such a crown of glory upon
his head as should make the nations of the world run unto him. God
the Father made Christ glorious in his birth, by the angels' doxology,
"Glory be to God on high;" in his baptism, by his speaking of him
from heaven, "this is my beloved Son;" in his transfiguration on the
mount, in his resurrection, and in his ascension into heaven. [Luke
2:13, 14; Mat. 3:17, and 17:1-5; Romans 1:4; Acts 1:9-11.]
Isaiah 53:12, "Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out
his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he
bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
The meaning is this: "I will impart," says God the Father, "to my Son,
such honor, glory, renown, and riches, after his sufferings, as
conquerors have; and he shall have them as a glorious reward of all
his conflicts with my wrath, with temptations, with persecutions,
with reproach, with contempt, with death, yes, and with hell itself!"
The words are a plain allusion to conquerors in war, who are
commonly exalted and greatly rewarded by their princes, for the
venturing of their lives, and obtaining of conquests, as all histories
will tell you. And, indeed, should the Father not reward Jesus Christ
for all his hard services, and his matchless sufferings—he would
express less kindness to him, than he has done to heathen princes;
for he gave Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as his hire, for his service at
Tyre; and to Cyrus he gave hidden treasure, Ezek. 29:18-19; Isaiah
45:1-3. But, alas, what were their services, compared to Christ's
services, or their sufferings, compared to Christ's sufferings?
I have read of Cyrus, how that in a great war against his enemies, the
better to encourage his soldiers to fight, in an oration that he made at
the head of his army, he promised, upon the victory, to make every
foot soldier, into a horseman; and every horseman, into a
commander; and that no officer who fought valiantly should be
unrewarded. And will God the Father let the Son of his dearest love,
who has fought against all infernal powers, and conquered them, go
without his reward? Surely not! Col. 2:14-15.
Psalm 2:7, "I will declare the decree; the Lord has said unto me, You
are my Son, this day have I begotten you." David was God's son by
adoption and acceptance; but Christ was his Son, Psalm 89:26-27,
Proverbs 8, and Heb. 1:5, (1.) By eternal generation; (2.) By
hypostatic union of the divine and human natures. And so God had
one only Son, as Abraham had one only Isaac, though otherwise he
was the father of many nations.
Some by "this day" understand the day of eternity, where there is no
time past nor to come, no beginning nor ending, but always one
present day. Others by "this day" understand it of the day of Christ's
incarnation, and coming into the world. Some again understand it of
the whole time of his manifestation in the world, when he was sent
forth as a prophet to teach them, and was declared evidently to be
the Son of God, both by his miracles and ministry, John 1:14, and by
that voice that was heard from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased." Others understand it of the day of Christ's
resurrection, and with them I close, for this seems to be chiefly
intended; partly because it seems to be spoken of some solemn time
of Christ's manifestation to be the Son of God, and "he was declared
to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead," Romans 1:4; that is, by the power
and force of the Deity, sanctifying and quickening the flesh, he was
raised from the dead, and so declared mightily to be the Son of God;
but mainly because the apostle does clearly affirm that this was in
Christ's resurrection: "He has raised up Jesus again, as it is also
written in the second psalm, You are my Son, this day have I
begotten you," Acts 13:33.
In the day of Christ's resurrection he seems to tell all the world, that
though from the beginning he had been hid in the bosom of his
Father, John 1:18, and that though in the law he had been but darkly
shadowed out; yet in the day of his resurrection they might plainly
see that he had fully satisfied divine justice, finished his sufferings,
and completed the redemption of his elect; and that accordingly his
Father had arrayed him with that glory that was suitable to him.
Before the resurrection the godhead was veiled under the infirmity of
the flesh; but in the resurrection, and after the resurrection, the
godhead did sparkle and shine forth very gloriously and wonderfully,
2 Cor. 13:4.
Lest the human nature of Christ, upon its assumption, should shrink
at the approach of sufferings, God the Father engages himself to give
Jesus Christ a full and ample reward, and to exalt him far above all
principality and power, and to put all things under his feet, and to
make him head over all things to the church: and to "give him a
name above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow;" and all because, to give satisfaction to his Father, he made
himself of no reputation, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross;" that is, to his dying day, Eph. 1:21-22; Phil. 2:9.
[Name is put for person; and bowing of the knee, a bodily ceremony,
to express inward subjection.—Estius, Beza.]
Jesus went through many a little death, all his life long, and at length
underwent that cursed and painful death of the cross; upon which
account the Father rewards him highly by exalting him to singular
glory and transcendent honor. Look, that as the assumption of the
human nature is the highest instance of free mercy, so is the
rewarding thereof in its state of exaltation the highest instance of
remunerative justice. Oh, how highly is the human nature of Christ
honored by being exalted to a personal union with the Godhead!
Though vain men may dishonor Christ, yet the Father has conferred
honor upon him as mediator, that it may be a testimony to us that he
is infinitely pleased with the redemption of lost man. Although Christ
is, in himself, God all-sufficient, "God blessed forever," and so is not
capable of any access of glory; yet it pleased him to condescend so far
as to obscure his own glory under the veil of his flesh, and state of
humiliation, until he had perfected the work of redemption; and to
account of his office of mediator, and the dignity accompanying it, as
great honor conferred upon him by the Father, John 8:54.
And it is observable that Christ having finished our redemption on
earth, he petitions his Father to advance him to the possession of
that glory that he enjoyed from all eternity; "And now, O Father,
glorify me with your own self; with the glory which I had with you
before the world was," John 17:5. Now for the clearing up of this text
we are to consider, that as Christ was from all eternity the glorious
God, the God of glory; so we are not to conceive of any real change in
this glory of his godhead; as if by his estate of humiliation he had
suffered any diminution, or by his state of exaltation any real
accession were made to his glory as God. But the meaning is this,
that Christ having, according to the covenant passed between the
Father and him, obscured the glory of his godhead for a time, under
the veil of the form of a servant, and our sinless infirmities, does now
expect, according to the tenor of the same covenant, that, after he
has done his work as mediator, he be highly exalted and glorified in
his whole person; that his human nature be exalted to the glory that
his finite nature is capable of, and that the glory of his godhead
might shine in the person of Christ, God-man, and in the man Christ
Jesus. [Jesus Christ is true God, and was infinitely glorious from all
eternity, for he had glory with his Father before the world was; and
therefore he was no upstart God, and of a later standing, as the
Arians and Mohammedans make of him.]
Thus you see the promises, the encouragements, and rewards that
God the Father sets before Jesus Christ. And let thus much suffice
concerning the articles of the covenant on God's part
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Post by Admin on Feb 20, 2024 16:47:15 GMT -5
The Covenant of Redemption, Part 3
In the last place, Let us seriously consider of the articles of the
covenant on CHRIST'S part. Let us weigh well the promises that
Jesus Christ has made to the Father for the bringing about the great
work of our redemption, that so we may see what infinite cause we
have to love the Son as we love the Father, and to honor the Son as
we honor the Father, and to trust in the Son as we trust in the Father,
and to glorify the Son as we glorify the Father, etc. Now there are six
observable things on Christ's part, on Christ's side, that we are to
take special notice of, etc.
[1.] First, Christ having consented and agreed with the Father about
our redemption, accordingly he applies himself to the discharge of
that great and glorious work by taking a body, by assuming our
nature. Heb. 2:14, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same." He
who was equal with God did so far abase himself as to take on him
the nature of man, and subjected himself to all manner of human
frailties, so far as they are freed from sin, even such as accompany
flesh and blood. This is one of the wonders of mercy and love, that
Christ our head should stoop so low, who was himself full of glory, as
to take part of flesh and blood, that he might suffer for flesh and
blood: verse 16, "For truly he took not on him the nature of angels;
but he took on him the seed of Abraham." Christ assumed the
common nature of man, and not of any particular person. The
apostle does here purposely use this word "seed," to show that Christ
came out of the loins of man, as Jacob's children and their children
are said to come out of his loins, Gen. 46:26, and as all the Jews are
said to come out of the loins of Abraham, Exod. 1:5; Heb. 7:5; and as
Solomon is said to come out of the loins of David, 1 Kings 8:19. In a
man's loins his seed is, and it is a part of his substance. Thus it shows
that Christ's human nature was of the very substance of man, and
that Christ was the very same that was promised to be the Redeemer
of man; for of old he was foretold under this word seed, as "the seed
of the woman," "the seed of Abraham," "the seed of Isaac," "the seed
of David." [Gen. 3:15; Romans 9:7; Heb. 11:18; John 8:58.]
This phrase—"he took on him," as it sets out the human nature of
Christ, so it gives us a hint of his divine nature; for it presupposes
that Christ existed, before he took on him the seed of Abraham. He
who takes anything on him must needs be, before he do so. Is it
possible for one who does not exist—to take anything on him?
Therefore Christ's former being must needs be in regard of his divine
nature. In that respect he ever was the eternal God. Being God, he
took on him a human nature. Christ's eternal deity shines in this 16th
verse, and so does his true humanity; in that he took upon him the
seed of man, it is most evident that he was a true man. Seed is the
matter of man's nature, and the very substance thereof. The seed of
man is the root, out of which Christ assumed his human nature,
Isaiah 11:1. The human nature was not created out of nothing, nor
was it brought from heaven, but assumed out of the seed of man,
Luke 1:35. The human nature of Christ never had an eternal
subsistence in itself. At or in the very first framing or making it, it
was united to the divine nature; and at or in the first uniting it, it was
framed or made. Philosophers say of the uniting of the soul to the
body, in creating it, it is infused, and in infusing it, it is created.
Much more is this true, concerning the human nature of Christ,
united to his divine. Fitly therefore is it here said, that he "took on
him the seed of Abraham."
So John 1:14, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." The
evangelist having proved the divinity of Jesus Christ, comes now to
speak of his humanity, incarnation, and manifestation in the flesh,
whereby he became God and man in one person. "Flesh" here
signifies the whole man in Scripture. You all know that man consists
of two parts, which are sometimes called flesh and spirit, and
sometimes called soul and body. Now by a synecdoche, either of
these parts may be put for the whole: and so sometimes the soul is
put for the whole man, and sometimes the body is put for the whole
man, as you may see by comparing these scriptures together. [Acts
27:37; Gen. 46:27; Romans 12:1, and 3:20.] Christ did assume the
whole man, he did assume the soul as well as the body, and both
under the term flesh. And indeed, unless he had assumed the whole
man, the whole man could not have been saved. If Christ had not
taken the whole man, he could not have saved the whole man. Christ
took the nature of man, that he might be a fit mediator. If he had not
been man, he could not have died; and if he had not been God, he
could not have satisfied divine justice. So great was the difficulty of
restoring the image of God in lost man, and of restoring him to God's
favor, and the dignity of sonship, that no less could do it than the
natural Son of God his becoming the Son of man, to suffer in our
nature; and so great was the Father's love and the Son's love to fallen
man, as to lay a foundation of reconciliation between God and man
in the personal union of the divine and human nature of Christ. So
much is imported in those words, "the Word was made flesh." [Christ
put himself into a lousy, leprous suit of ours, to expiate our pride and
robbery in reaching after the Deity, and to heal us of our spiritual
leprosy; for if he had not assumed our flesh he had not saved us. —
Gregory Nazianzen.]
The person of the godhead, who was incarnate, was neither the
Father nor the Holy Spirit—but the Son, the second person, for "the
Word was made flesh." There being a real distinction of the persons,
that one of them is not another; and each of them having their
proper manner of subsistence, the one of them might be incarnate,
and not the other; and it is the Godhead, not simply considered, but
the person of the Son subsisting in that Godhead, who was incarnate.
And it was very convenient that the second or middle person, in
order of subsistence of the blessed Trinity, should be the reconciler
of God and man; and that "he, by whom all things were made," Col.
1:16-17, should be the restorer and maker of the new world; and that
he who was "the express image of his Father," Heb. 1:2-3, should be
the repairer of the image of God in us.
Oh the admirable love and wisdom of God that shines in this, that
the second person in the Trinity is set on work to procure our
redemption! Ah, Christians, how well does it befit you to lose
yourselves in the admiration of the wisdom of God in the contrivance
of the work of our redemption! For the Son of God to take on him the
nature of man, with all the essential properties thereof, and all the
sinless infirmities and frailties thereof—is a wonder that may well
take up our thoughts to all eternity. And Christ took the infirmities of
our nature as well as the nature itself. To show the truth of his
humanity he had a nature that could hunger and thirst even as ours
do, and to sanctify them to us; and that so he might sympathize with
us as "a merciful and faithful high priest," Heb. 16-18, and 4:15-16;
and that we might confide the more in him, and have access to him
with boldness. By reason of the personal union of the two natures in
Christ, he is a fit mediator between God and man. His sufferings are
of infinite value, being the sufferings of one who is God, Acts 20:28,
and who is mighty to carry on the work of redemption, and to apply
his own purchase, and repair all our losses, Isaiah 63:1; Heb. 7:25.
Oh, what an honor has Jesus Christ put upon fallen man by taking
the nature of man on him! What is so near and dear to us as our own
nature? and lo, our nature is highly preferred by Jesus Christ to a
union in the Godhead. Christ now sits in heaven with our nature, and
the same flesh that we have upon us—only glorified, Acts 1:9-11. It is
that which all the world cannot give a sufficient reason, why the same
word in the Hebrew, Basher, should signify both "flesh" and "good
tidings." Theology will give you a reason, though grammar cannot.
Christ's taking of flesh upon him was good tidings to all the whole
world, therefore no wonder if one word signifies both. Abundance of
comfort may be taken from hence to poor souls, when they think God
has forgotten them, to consider, is it likely that Christ, who is man,
should forget man, now he is at the right hand of the Father, clothed
in that nature that we have? When we are troubled to think it is
impossible God and man should ever be reconciled, let us consider
that God and man did meet in Christ, therefore it is possible we may
meet. What has been may be again. The two natures met in Christ,
therefore God may be reconciled to man; yes, they therefore met,
that God might be reconciled to man. He was made Emmanuel, "God
with us," that he might bring God and us together.
When a man is troubled to think of the corruptions of his nature, that
is so full of defilements, that it cannot be sanctified perfectly, let him
also think that his nature is capable of sanctification to the full.
Christ received human nature which was not polluted, his nature is
the same, therefore that nature is capable of sanctification to the
uttermost. O sirs! if Christ, the second person in the Trinity, did put
on man, how careful should men be to put on Christ! "Put on the
Lord Jesus," says the apostle, Romans 13:14. If Christ assumed our
human nature, how should we wrestle with God to be made
partakers of the divine nature: 2 Pet. 1:4, "Whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious promises; that by these we may be
made partakers of the divine nature." If Christ became thus one flesh
with us, how zealous should we be to become one spirit with Christ, 1
Cor. 6:17. "Even as man and wife is one flesh, so he who is joined to
the Lord is one spirit." Was the Word made flesh? did Christ take our
nature? yes, did he take our nature at the worst, after the fall? What
high cause have we to bless his name forever for this condescension
of his! Should all the princes of the world have come from their
thrones, and have gone a-begging from door to door, it would not
amount to as much as for Christ to become man for our sakes. Christ
took our nature, not in the integrity of it, as in Adam before his fall,
but in the infirmities of it, which came to it by the fall. What amazing
love was this! For Christ to have taken our nature as it was in Adam,
while he stood clothed in his integrity, and stood right in the sight of
God, had not been as much as when Adam was fallen and proclaimed
traitor; as Bernard says, "Lord, you shall be so much the more dear
to me, by how much the more you have been vile for me!" Here is
condescension indeed—that Christ should stoop so low to take flesh,
and flesh with infirmities! But,
[2.] Secondly, Jesus Christ promises to God the Father that he will
freely, readily, and cheerfully accept, undertake, and faithfully
discharge his mediatorial office, in order to the redemption and
salvation of all his chosen ones. Consult these scriptures, [Compare
Psalm 40:6-11 with Heb. 10:5-11, and Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-20;
Acts 13:23, and 7:22.] they having been formerly opened, and in
them you will find that Christ did not take the office of mediatorship
upon himself, but first the Father calls him to it, and then the Son
accepts it: "Christ glorified not himself, to be made a high-priest; but
he who said unto him, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you,"
Heb. 10:12, 14, he called him, and then the Son answered him, "Lo, I
come." God the Father promises that upon the payment of such a
price by his Son, such and such souls should be ransomed and set
free from the curse, from wrath, from hell, etc. Jesus Christ readily
consents to the price, and pays it down upon the nail at once, and so
makes good his mediatorial office.
It pleased the glorious Son of God, in obedience to the Father, to
humble himself and obscure the glory of his godhead, that he might
be like his brethren, and a fit mediator for sympathy and suffering,
and that he might engage his life and glory for the redeeming of the
elect, and lay aside his robes of majesty, and not be reassumed until
he gave a good account of that work, until he was able to say, "I have
finished the work that you gave me to do." Christ very freely and
cheerfully undertakes to do and suffer whatever was the will of his
Father that he should do or suffer, for the bringing about the
redemption of mankind. Christ willingly undertakes to be his
Father's servant in this great work, and accordingly he looks upon his
Father as his Lord, "You are my Lord," Isaiah 50:5-7; Psalm 16:2—
that is, you are he to whom I have engaged myself that I will satisfy
all your demands, I will fulfill your royal law, I will bear the curse, I
will satisfy your justice, I will humble myself to the death of the
cross, Phil. 2:8; "I will tread the wine-press of my Father's wrath,"
Isaiah 63:3; I will fully discharge all the bonds, bills, and obligations
which lie in open court against any of those whom by compact you
have given me, Col. 2:13-15, let their debts be ever so many or ever so
great, or of ever so long continuance—I will pay them all! There is no
work so high, nor any work so hard, nor any work so hot, nor any
work so bloody, nor any work so low—in which I am not ready to
engage upon the account of my chosen people! "Lo, I come, I delight
to do your will; yes, your law is in my heart." Christ freely submits,
not only to the duty of the law, but also to the penalty of the law—not
only to do what the law enjoins, but also to suffer what the law
threatens; the former he makes good by his active obedience, and the
latter by his passive obedience, Gal. 4:4-5.
This was the way wherein the Father, by an eternal agreement with
his Son, would have the salvation of lost sinners brought about, and
accordingly, Jesus Christ very readily complies with his Father's will
and way, Titus 1:2. Christ, as mediator, had a command from his
Father to die, which command he readily closes with: John 10:11, "I
am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep;" verse 15, "I lay down my life for the sheep;" verse 17, "I lay
down my life, that I might take it again;" verse 18, "No man takes it
from me, but I lay it down of myself; this commandment have I
received from my Father." Christ was content to be a servant by
covenant, that so his sufferings might be accepted for his people; and
certainly whatever God the Father put Jesus Christ upon in his whole
mediatorial work—that Jesus Christ did freely, fully, and heartily
comply with: "Lo, I come; and I have finished the work that you gave
me to do," John 17:4. And had not Christ been free and voluntary in
his active and passive obedience, his active and passive obedience
would never have been acceptable, satisfactory, or meritorious. To go
further to prove it, would be to light a candle to see the sun at noon.
But,
[3.] Thirdly, Jesus Christ promises and engages himself that he will
confide, depend, rely, and trust upon his Father for help and for
assistance to go through with his work, notwithstanding all the wrath
and rage, all the malice and oppositions, that he would meet with
from men and devils. Heb. 2:13, "And again, I will put my trust in
him." Christ's confidence in his Father was one great encouragement
to him to hold out in the execution of his office; and his confidence in
God speaks him out to be a true man, in that, as other men, he stood
in need of God's aid and assistance; and thereupon, as others of the
sons of men, his brethren, he puts his trust in God. The Greek phrase
used by the apostle carries emphasis; it implies trust on a good
persuasion that he shall not be disappointed. It is translated
"confidence," in Phil. 1:6. Word for word it may be here thus
translated, "I will be confident in him." The "him" has apparent
reference to God, so as Christ himself, being man, rested on God to
be supported in his works, and to be carried through all his
undertakings, until the top-stone was laid, and the work of
redemption accomplished.
Christ had many great and potent enemies, and was brought to very
great straits; yet he fainted not, but put his trust in the Lord; yes, his
greatest enemies gave him this testimony, that "he trusted in God;"
and though they spoke it in scorn and derision, yet it was a real truth,
Psalm 18:3-5; Isaiah 8:18; Mat. 27:43. Christ's confidence in his
Father was further manifested by the many prayers which, time after
time, he made to his Father, Heb. 5:7. Another proof of Christ's
confidence in God's assistance, even in his greatest plunges and his
sharpest sufferings, the prophet Isaiah will furnish us with: "The
Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I
have not drawn back. I offered my back to those who beat me, my
cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from
mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will
not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I
will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then
will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my
accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord who helps
me." Isaiah 50:5-9.
Christ, as mediator, trusted God the Father to carry him through all
difficulties and oppositions, until he had completed the great work of
his mediation. Christ strengthens and encourages himself in the
execution of his office against all hardships and oppositions, from his
confidence and assurance of God's aid and assistance; and by the
same eye of faith, he looks upon all his oppositions as worn out and
weathered by him. Christ's faith, patience, and constancy gave him
victory over all wrongs and injuries; so Isaiah 49:5, "My God shall be
my strength." Christ is very confident of his Father's assistance to
carry him through that work that he had assigned him to. Christ, in
the lack of comfort, never lacked faith to hang upon God, and to call
him his God: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mat.
27:46. Christ was never forsaken in regard of the hypostatic union;
the union was not dissolved—only the beams, the influence, was
restrained. [As man he cries out, "My God, my God," etc., when as
God he promises paradise to the penitent thief. —Hilary.] Nor in
regard of his faith; for though now he was sweltering under the wrath
of God, as our surety, and left in the hands of his enemies, and
deserted by his disciples and dearest friends, and under the loss of
the comforting and solacing presence of his Father, yet, in the midst
of all, such was the strength and power of his faith, that he could say,
"My God, my God."
Christ, before the world began, having promised and engaged to the
Father that, in the fullness of time, he would come into the world,
assume our nature, be made under the law, tread the winepress of
the Father's wrath, bear the curse, and give satisfaction to his justice;
[Titus 1:2; Gal. 4:4; Isaiah 63:3; Gal. 3:13; Romans 8:3-4.] now upon
the credit of this promise, upon this undertaking of Christ, God the
Father takes up the patriarchs and all the old testament believers to
glory. God the Father, resting upon the promise and engagement of
his Son, admits many thousands into those mansions above, before
Christ took flesh upon him, John 14:2-3. Now as the Father of old
has rested and relied on the promise and engagement of Christ, so
Jesus Christ does, to this very day, rest and stay himself upon the
promise of his Father, that he shall, in due time, "see all his seed,"
Isaiah 53:10, and reap the full benefit of that full ransom that he has
paid down upon the nail for all who have believed on him, that do
believe on him, and that shall believe on him.
Christ knew God's infinite love, his tender compassions, and his
matchless affections, to all those for whom he died; and he knew very
well the covenant, the compact, the agreement which passed between
the Father and himself; and so trusted the Father fully in the great
business of their everlasting happiness and blessedness, relying upon
the love and faithfulness of God, his love to the elect, and his
faithfulness to keep covenant with him. As the elect are committed to
Christ's charge, to give an account of them, so also is the Father
engaged for their conversion, and for their preservation, after being
converted; as being not only his own, given to Christ out of his love
to them, but as being engaged to Christ, that he shall not be
frustrated of the reward of his sufferings, but have a seed to glorify
him forever, John 6:37; Isaiah 53:11. Therefore does Christ not only
constantly preserve them by his Spirit, but does leave also that
burden on the Father: "Father, keep those whom you have given me,"
John 17:11. But,
[4.] Fourthly, Jesus Christ promises and engages himself to his
Father, that he would bear all and suffer all that should be laid upon
him, and that he would ransom poor sinners, and fully satisfy divine
justice by his blood and death. [Isaiah 50:5-6; John 10:17-18, and
15:10; Luke 24:46; Heb. 10:5-7, 10. I have opened these scriptures
already.] The work of redemption could never have been effected by
"silver or gold," or by prayers or tears, or by the "blood of bulls or
goats," but only by the second Adam's obedience, even to the death
of the cross. Remission of sin, the favor of God, the heavenly
inheritance, could never have been obtained, but by the precious
blood of the Son of God. The innocent Lamb of God was slain in
typical prefigurations from the beginning of the world, and slain in
real performance in the fullness of time, or else fallen man would
have lain under guilt and wrath forever. The heart of Jesus Christ
was strongly set upon all those whom his Father had given him, and
he was fully resolved to secure them from hell and the curse,
whatever it cost him; and seeing no price would satisfy his Father's
justice below his blood, he lays down his life at his Father's feet,
according to the eternal covenant and agreement, which had passed
between his Father and himself. But,
[5.] Fifthly, The Lord Jesus Christ was very free, ready, willing, and
careful to make good all the articles of the covenant on his side, and
to discharge all the works agreed on for the redemption and salvation
of the elect. John 17:4, "I have finished the work that you gave me to
do," John 12:49-50, and 17:6. There was nothing committed to Christ
by the Father to be done on earth, for the purchasing of our
redemption, but he did finish it; so that the debt is paid, justice
satisfied, and sin, Satan, and death spoiled of all their hurting and
destroying power, Col. 2:14-15, and Heb. 2:14. By the covenant of
redemption Christ was under an obligation to die, to satisfy to divine
justice, to pay our debts, to bring in an everlasting righteousness,
Dan. 9:24, to purchase our pardon, and to obtain eternal redemption
for us, Heb. 9:12; all which he completed and finished before he
ascended up to glory. And without all question, had not Jesus Christ
kept touch with his Father, had not he made good the covenant, the
compact, the agreement on his part, his Father would never have
given him such a welcome to heaven as he did, nor would he ever
have admitted him to "sit down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high," as he did, [Heb. 1:3; Romans 8:34; Col. 3:1; Heb. 8:1, and
10:12; 1 Pet. 3:22.] Acts 1:9-11. The right hand is a place of the
greatest honor, dignity, and safety that any can be advanced to. But
had not Jesus Christ "first purged away our sins," he would never
have "sat down on the right hand of his Father." Christ's
advancement is properly of his human nature. That nature wherein
Christ was crucified was exalted; for God, being the Most High,
needs not be exalted; yet the human nature in this exaltation, is not
singly and simply considered in itself, but as united to the deity; so
that it is the person, consisting of two natures, even God-man, which
is thus dignified, Mat. 26:64; Acts 7:56. For as the human nature of
Christ is inferior to God, and is capable of advancement, so also is
the person consisting of a divine and human nature.
Christ, as the Son of God, the second person of the sacred Trinity, is,
in regard of his deity, no whit inferior to his Father, but every way
equal; yet he assumed our nature, and became a mediator between
God and man; he humbled himself, and made himself inferior to his
Father; his Father therefore has highly exalted him, and set him
down on his right hand, Phil. 2:8-9; Eph. 1:20. If Christ had not
expiated our sins, and completed the work of our redemption, he
could never have sat down on the right hand of God: Heb. 10:12, "But
this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down
on the right hand of God." This verse is added in opposition to the
former. But in the former verse it was proved that the sacrifices
which were offered under the law could not take away sins. This
verse proves that there is a sacrifice which has done that which they
could not do. The argument is taken from that priest's ceasing to
offer any more sacrifices after he had offered one; whereby is implied
that there needed no other, because that one had done it to the full.
Sin was taken away by Christ's sacrifice, for thereby a ransom and
satisfaction were made to the justice of God, for man's sin, and
thereupon sin taken away. Now sin being taken away, Christ "sits
down on the right hand of his Father."
Look, as the humiliation of Christ was manifested in offering a
sacrifice; so his exaltation, in sitting at God's right hand, was
manifested after he had offered that sacrifice. This phrase, "sat
down," is a note of dignity and authority; and this dignity and
authority is amplified by the place where he is said to sit down—
namely, on "the right hand of God;" and this honor and dignity is
much illustrated by the eternal continuance thereof, "Forever sat
down on the right hand of God." It is an eclipse of the luster of any
glory to have an end. The very thought that such a glory shall one day
cease, will cast a damp upon the spirit of him who enjoys that glory.
Christ's constant sitting at the right hand of his Father is a clear
evidence that he has finished and completed the work of our
redemption. Christ could never have gone to his Father, nor ever
have sat down at the right hand of his Father—if he had not first
fulfilled all righteousness, and fully acquitted us of all our iniquities.
John 16:10, "Of righteousness, because I go to my Father." The
strength of the argument lies in this, Christ took upon him to be our
surety, and he must acquit us of all our sins, and satisfy his Father's
justice, before he can go to his Father, and be accepted of his Father,
and sit down on the right hand of his Father. If God had not been
fully satisfied, or if any part of righteousness had been to be fulfilled,
Christ would have been still in the grave, and not gone to heaven; his
very going to his Father argues all is done, all is finished and
completed. But,
[6.] Sixthly, Christ having performed all the conditions of the
covenant on his part, he now peremptorily insists upon it, that his
Father should make good to him and his the conditions of the
covenant on his part. Christ having finished his work, looks for his
reward. "Father," says he, "I have glorified you on earth, I have
finished the work which you gave me to do. And now, O Father,
glorify me with your own self, with the glory which I had with you
before the world was," John 17:4-5. There was a most blessed
transaction between God the Father and God the Son before the
world began, for the everlasting good of the elect; and upon that
transaction depends all the good, and all the happiness, and all the
salvation of God's chosen; [This transaction between the Father and
the Son is worthy of our most deep, serious, and frequent
meditation.] and upon this ground, Christ pleads with his Father,
that all his members may behold his glory: John 17:24, "Father, I will
that those also whom you have given me, be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory;" "Father, I will," not only I pray, I
beseech, but "I will;" I ask this as my right, by virtue of the covenant
between us; I have done thus and thus, and I have suffered thus and
thus, and therefore I cannot but peremptorily insist upon it, that
those that I have undertaken for, "be where I am, that they may
behold my glory;" for though glory be a gift to us, yet it is a debt due
to Christ.
It is a part of Christ's joy that we should be where he is. Christ will
not be happy alone. As a tender father, he can enjoy nothing if his
children may not have part with him. The greatest part of our
happiness, which we shall have in heaven lies in this—that then we
shall be with Christ, and have immediate communion with him. O
sirs! the great end of our being in heaven is to behold and enjoy the
glory of Christ. Christ is very desirous, and much taken up with his
people's fellowship and company, so that before he removes his
bodily presence from them, his heart is upon meeting and fellowship
again, as here we see in his prayer before his departure. This he
makes evident from day to day, in that until that time of meeting
come, two or three are not gathered in his name but he is in the
midst of them, Mat. 18:20, to eye their behavior, to hear their
prayers, to guide their way, to protect their persons, to cheer their
spirits, and to delight in their presence. He delights to "walk in the
midst of the seven golden candlesticks," Rev. 2:1. The golden
candlesticks are the churches, which are the light of the world, Mat.
5:14, 16, and excel all other societies as much as gold does other
metals.
And he desires to dwell in the low and little hill of Zion, Psalm 68:16.
Zion is his resting-place, his chosen place, his dwelling-place: Psalm
132:13, "For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his
habitation;" verse 14, "This is my rest forever: here will I dwell, for I
have desired it." Christ chose Zion for his love, and loves it for his
choice; and accordingly he delights to dwell there. The Lamb stands
on mount Zion, Rev. 14:1. Christ stands ready for action; and in the
midst of all antichrist's persecutions he has always a watchful eye
over mount Zion, and will be a sure life-guard to mount Zion, Isaiah
4:5-6; he stands readily prepared to assist mount Zion, to fight for
mount Zion, to communicate to mount Zion, and to be a refuge to
mount Zion; and no wonder, for he "dwells in mount Zion," Isaiah
8:18. Now if Christ take so much delight to have spiritual
communion with his people in this world, it is no wonder that he can
never rest satisfied until their gracious communion with him here,
issues in their perfect and glorious communion with him in heaven.
[2 Cor. 6:16, "I will dwell in them." The words are very significant in
the original, "I will in-dwell in them." So the words are. There are
two ins in the original, as if God could never have enough
communion with them, 2 Thes. 1:10.]And certainly the glory and happiness of heaven to the elect will
consist much in being in Christ's company, in whom they delight so
much on earth. To follow the Lamb wherever he goes, to enjoy him
fully, and to be always in his presence—is the heaven of heaven, the
glory of glory; it is the sparkling diamond in the ring of glory! The
day is coming wherein believers shall be completely happy in a sight
of Christ's glory, when he shall be conspicuously glorified and
admired in all his saints, and glorified by them; and when all veils
being laid aside, and they fitted for a more full fruition, shall visibly
and immediately behold and enjoy him! Therefore is their condition
in heaven described, as consisting in this, that they "may behold my
glory which you have given me."
Thus I have glanced at Christ's solemn demand on earth for the full
accomplishment of that blessed compact, covenant, agreement, and
promises which were made to him when he undertook the office of a
mediator. Now in heaven he appears "in the presence of God for us,"
Heb. 9:25, as a lawyer appears in open court for his client, opens the
case, pleads the cause, and carries the day. The verb translated "to
appear," signifies conspicuously "to manifest." It is sometimes taken
in a good sense, namely, to appear for one as a favorite before a
prince, or as an advocate or an attorney before a judge, or as the
high-priests appeared once a year in the holy of holies, to make
atonement for the people, Exod. 30:10. Christ is the great favorite in
the court of glory, and is always at God's right hand, ready on all
occasions to present our petitions to his Father, to pacify his anger,
and to obtain all noble and needful favors for us, Romans 8:34. And
Christ is our great advocate to plead our cause effectually for us, 1
John 2:1. Look, as in human courts there is the guilty, the accuser,
the court, the judge, and the advocate; so it is here. Heaven is the
court, man is the guilty person, Satan is the accuser, God is the
judge, and Christ is the advocate. Now look, as the advocate appears
in the court before the judge to plead for the guilty against the
accuser, so does Christ appear before God in heaven, to answer all
Satan's objections and accusations that he may make in the court of
heaven against us.
"He ever lives to make intercession for us," Heb. 7:25. The verb
translated "intercession," is a compound, and signifies "to call upon
one." It is a judicial word, and imports a calling upon a judge to be
heard in this or that, against another or for another; so here Christ
makes intercession for them, Acts 25:24; Romans 11:2, and 8:34. The
metaphor is taken from attorneys or advocates who appear for men
in courts of justice; from counselors, who plead their client's cause,
answer the adversary, supplicate the judge, and procure sentence to
pass on their client's side. This act of making intercession may also
be taken from kings' favorites, who are much in the king's presence,
and ever ready to make request for their friends. But remember,
though this be thus attributed to Christ, yet we may not think that in
heaven Christ prostrates himself before the father, or makes actual
prayers; that was a part of his humiliation which he did in the days of
his flesh. But it implies a presenting of himself a sacrifice, a surety,
and one who has made satisfaction for all our sins, together with
manifesting of his will and desires, that such and such should
partake of the virtue and benefit of his sacrifice, Heb. 5:7. So Christ's
intercession consists rather in the perpetual vigor of his sacrifice and
continual application thereof, than in any actual supplication. The
intendment of this phrase applied to Christ, "to make intercession,"
is to show that Christ, being God's favorite, and our advocate,
continually appears before God, to make application of that sacrifice
which once he offered up for our sins. Christ appears in the presence
of God for us:
(1.) To present unto his Father himself, who is the price of our
redemption;
(2.) To make application of his sacrifice to his church time after time,
according to the need of the several members thereof;
(3.) To make our persons, prayers, services, and all good things
acceptable to God. But,
[7.] Seventhly and lastly, The whole compact and agreement between
God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, about the redemption of
poor sinners' souls—was really and solemnly transacted in the high
court of justice above; in the presence of the great public notary of
heaven—namely, the Holy Spirit; who being a third person of the
glorious Trinity, of the same divine essence, and of equal power and
glory, makes up a third legal witness with the Father and the Son.
They being, after the manner of kings, [1 John 5:7, is a very clear
proof and testimony of the Trinity of persons; in the unity of the
divine essence; they are all one in essence and will. As if three lamps
were lighted in one chamber, albeit the lamps are divers, yet the
lights cannot be severed; so in the Godhead, as there is a distinction
of persons, so a simplicity of nature.] their own witnesses also: 1
John 5:7, "For there are three who bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one." Three,
(1.) In the true and real distinction of their persons;
(2.) In their inward properties, as to beget, to be begotten, and to
proceed;
(3.) In their several offices one to another, as to send and to be sent.
"And these three are one," one in nature and essence, one in power
and will, one in the act of producing all such actions as, without
themselves, any of them is said to act; and one in their testimony
concerning the covenant of redemption which was agreed on
between the Father and the Son. Consent of all parties, the allowance
of the judge, and public record, is as much as can be desired to make
all public contracts authentic in courts of justice; and what can we
desire more, to settle, satisfy, and assure our own souls that all the
articles of the covenant of redemption shall, on all hands, be
certainly made good, than this—that these three heavenly witnesses,
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—do all agree
to the articles of the covenant, and are all witnesses to the same
covenant?
Thus you see that there was a covenant of redemption made with
Christ; upon the terms whereof he is constituted to be a Redeemer;
"to say to the prisoners, go forth, to bring deliverance to the captives,
and to proclaim the year of release, the acceptable year of the Lord,"
as it is, Isaiah 61:1-2. I have been the longer in opening the covenant
of redemption, partly because of its grand importance to all our
souls, and partly because others have spoken so little to it, to the best
of my observation, and partly because I have never before handled
this subject, either in the pulpit or the press, etc.
Now from the serious consideration of this compact, covenant, and
agreement, which was solemnly made between God and Christ,
touching the whole business of man's salvation or redemption, I may
form up this tenth plea as to these ten scriptures, [Eccles. 11:9, and
12:14; Mat. 12:14, and 18:23; Luke 16:2; Romans 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10;
Heb. 9:27, and 13:17; 1 Pet. 4:5; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 5:6, 8; Gal.
2:20.] which refer to the great day of account, or to a man's
particular day of account. "O blessed God! I have read over the
articles of the covenant of redemption that were agreed on between
yourself and your dearest Son; and I find by those articles that dear
Jesus has died, and satisfied your justice, and pacified your wrath,
and bore the curse, and purchased my pardon, and procured your
everlasting favor: and I find by the same articles that whatever Jesus
Christ acted or suffered, he acted or suffered as my surety, and in my
stead and place. O Lord! when I look upon my manifold weaknesses
and imperfections, though under a covenant of grace, yet I am many
times not only grieved, but also stumbled and staggered; but when I
look up to the covenant of redemption, I am cheered, raised, and
quieted; for I am abundantly satisfied that both yourself and your
dear Son are infinitely ready, able, willing, and faithful to perform
whatever in that covenant is comprised, Isaiah 38:16-17. By these
things men live, and in these is the life of my spirit. Men may fail,
and friends may fail, and relations may fail, and trade may fail, and
natural strength may fail, and my heart may fail—but the covenant of
redemption can never fail, nor can the parties, who are mutually
engaged in that covenant, ever fail, Psalm 73:24-25; and therefore I
am safe and happy forever.
What though my sins have been great and heinous, yet they are not
greater than Christ's sacrifice. He bore the curse for great sins as well
as small, for sins against the gospel as well as for sins against the law,
for omissions as well as for commissions. Assuredly the covenant of
redemption is a mighty thing, and there are no mighty sins that can
stand before that covenant. If we look upon Manasseh, in those black
and ugly colors which the Holy Spirit paints him out in, we must
conclude that he was a mighty sinner, a monstrous sinner, 1 Kings
21:1-16; and yet his mighty sins, his monstrous sins, could not stand
before the covenant of redemption. The greatest sins are finite, but
the merit of Christ's redemption is infinite. All the Egyptians were
drowned in the Red Sea. There remained not so much as one of
them; there was not one of them left alive to carry the news; the high
and the low, the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the
honorable and the base, were all drowned, Exod. 14:28; Psalm
106:11. The red sea of Christ's blood drowns all our sins, whether
they are great or small, high or low, etc., "Though my sins be as
scarlet, my Redeemer will make them as white as snow; though they
be as red as crimson, they shall be as wool," Isaiah 1:18. There is not
one of my sins for which Jesus Christ has not suffered and made
atonement for; nor there is any one of my sins for which Jesus Christ
has not purchased a pardon, and for which he has not made my
peace. Though my sins are innumerable, though they are more than
the hairs of my head, Psalm 40:12, or the sands on the sea-shore, yet
they are not to be named in comparison with the merits of Christ, the
atoning sacrifice of Christ, and the covenant of redemption, is
mentioned and pleaded. Be my sins ever so many; yes, though they
might fill a scroll which reaches from east to west, from north to
south, from earth to heaven—yet they could but bring me under the
curse. "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and
brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14. "In him we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God's grace." Ephesians 1:7.
Now Christ my surety, that he might redeem me from the curse, has
taken upon him the whole curse, Gal. 3:13. Though my debts are so
many as cannot be tallied—yet Christ has paid them all. Woe had
been to me forever, had Christ left but one penny upon the record for
me to pay. As I have multiplied my sins, so he has multiplied his
pardons, Isaiah 55:7. Christ has cancelled all bonds, and therefore it
is but justice in God to give me a full acquittance, and to throw down
all bonds as cancelled, saying, "Deliver him, I have found a ransom!"
Col. 13-15; Job 33:24. O God, though my sins are very many, and
very great, yet if you do not pardon them, the innocent blood of your
dearest Son will lie upon you, and cry out against you; for he
therefore died, that my sins might be pardoned; so that now, in
honor and justice, you are obliged to "pardon all my transgressions,
and remember my iniquities no more," Isaiah 43:25; Dan. 9:24. Now
this is my plea, O holy God, which I make to all those scriptures that
respect my last account—and by this plea I shall stand.
"Well," says God the Father, "I accept of this plea, I am pleased with
this plea, your sins shall not be mentioned, Ezek. 18:22; "Enter into
the joy of your Lord!"
I shall now make a little practical improvement of what has been said
as to the covenant of redemption, and so draw to a conclusion.
(1.) This covenant of redemption, as we have opened it, looks sadly
and sourly upon those that make so great a noise about the doctrine
of 'universal redemption'. The covenant of redemption extends itself,
not to every man in the world, but only to those that are "given by
God the Father to Jesus Christ." [Mat. 24:16; Luke 12:32; Romans
9:11-2, and 11:5-8; Romans 8:39-40.]
This covenant of redemption looks sadly and sourly upon those that
make so great a noise about God's choosing or electing of men, upon
the account of God's foreseeing their faith, good works, obedience,
holiness. Scripture everywhere teaches that our election is from
God's sovereign grace and favor; and that faith, good works, holiness,
sanctification, are the fruits and effects of election, as has been made
evident in my opening the gracious terms of the covenant of
redemption. But because I have, in another place, treated of these
things more largely, a touch here may suffice. [Deut. 7:6-8, and
33:11; Romans 9:14; 2 Tim. 1:9; Eph. 1:4; Romans 8:29 30; 2 Thes.
2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2.] But,
(2.) Secondly, How should this covenant of redemption spirit,
animate, and encourage all the redeemed of God—to do anything for
Christ, to suffer anything for Christ, to venture anything for Christ, to
part with anything for Christ, to give up anything to Christ—who,
according to the covenant of redemption, has done and suffered such
great and grievous things, that he might bring us to glory—which are
above all apprehensions, and beyond all expressions, Mark 8:34-35,
38; Heb. 10:34. Who can tell me what is fully wrapped up in that one
expression—namely, "That he poured out his soul unto death," Heb.
2:10-11. Let us not shrink, nor faint, nor grow weary under our
greatest sufferings for Christ. When sufferings multiply, when they
are sharp, when they are more bitter than gall or wormwood, yes,
more bitter than death itself—then remember the covenant of
redemption, and how punctually Christ made good all the articles of
it on his side—and then faint and give out if you can. "Well may I be
afraid, but I do not therefore despair, for I think upon and remember
the wounds of the Lord," says Austin. "O my God, as long as I see
your wounds, I will never live without wound," says Bonaventura.
"The cross of Christ is the golden key which opens paradise to us!"
says Damascene. "I had rather, with the martyrs and confessors,
have my Savior's cross, than, with their persecutors, the world's
crown. The harder we are put to it, the greater shall be our reward in
heaven," says Tertullian. Gordius the martyr hit the nail on the head,
when he said, "it is to my loss if you abate me anything in my
sufferings." "If you do not suffer not for Christ, you will suffer for a
worse thing," says one. "Never did any man serve me better than you
serve me," said Vincentius to his persecutors. "We thank you for
delivering us from hard task-masters, that we may enjoy more
sweetly the bosom of our Lord Jesus," said the martyr. It was a
notable saying of Luther, "The church converts the whole world by
blood and prayers." "They may kill me," said Socrates of his enemies,
but they cannot hurt me." Just so, may the redeemed of the Lord say,
"they may take away my head, but they cannot take away my crown
of life, my crown of righteousness, my crown of glory, my crown of
immortality!" Rev. 2:10; 2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 5:4-5.
The Lacedemonians were accustomed to say, "it is a shame for any
man to flee in time of danger; but for a Lacedemonian, it is a shame
for him to deliberate." Oh, what a shame is it for Christians, when
they look upon the covenant of redemption, so much as to deliberate
whether it were best to suffer for Christ or not. Petrus Blesensis has
long since observed, that "the courtiers of his time suffered as great
trouble, and as many vexations, for vanity—as good Christians did
for the truth. The courtiers suffered weariness and painfulness,
hunger and thirst, with all the catalogue of Paul's afflictions; and
what can the best saints suffer more?" Now shall men who are
strangers to the covenant of redemption, suffer such hard and great
things for their lusts, for very vanity; and will not you, who are
acquainted with the covenant of redemption, and who are savingly
interested in the covenant of redemption, be ready and willing to
suffer anything for that Jesus, who, according to the covenant of
redemption, has suffered such dreadful things for you, and merited
such glorious things for you? But,
(3.) Thirdly, From this covenant of redemption, as we have opened it
—you may see what infinite cause we have to be swallowed up in the
admiration of the Father's love in entering into this covenant, and in
making good all the articles of this covenant on his side. When man
was fallen from his primitive purity and glory, from his holiness and
happiness, from his freedom and liberty, into a most woeful gulf of
sin and misery; when angels and men were all at a loss, and knew no
way or means, whereby fallen man might be raised, restored and
saved; that then God should firstly and freely propose this covenant,
and enter into this covenant, that miserable man might be saved
from wrath to come, and raised and settled in a more safe, high and
happy estate than that was from which he was fallen in Adam,—oh,
what wonderful, what amazing love is this! [God so loved his Son,
that he gave him all the world for his possession, Psalm 2:8; but he
so loved the world that he gave Son and all for its redemption.—
Bernard.] Abraham manifested a great deal of love to God in offering
up of his only Isaac, Gen. 22:12; but God has showed far greater love
to poor sinners, in making his only Son an offering for their sins: for
[1.] God loved Christ with a more transcendent love than Abraham
could love Isaac; [2.] God was not bound by the commandment of a
superior to do it, as Abraham was, John 10:18; [3.] God freely and
voluntarily did it, which Abraham would never have done without a
commandment, Heb. 10:10, 12; [4.] Isaac was to be offered after the
manner of holy sacrifices, but Christ suffered an ignominious death,
after the manner of thieves; [5.] Isaac was all along in the hands of a
tender father, but Christ was all along in the hands of barbarous
enemies; [6.] Isaac was offered but in show, but Christ was offered
indeed and in very good earnest. Is not this an excess, yes, a miracle
of love? It is good to be always a-musing upon this love, and
delighting ourselves in this love. But,
(4.) Fourthly, From this covenant of redemption, as we have opened
it, you may see what signal cause we have to be deeply affected with
the love of Jesus Christ, who roundly and readily falls in with this
covenant, and who has faithfully performed all the articles of this
covenant. Had not Jesus Christ kept touch with his Father as to every
article of the covenant of redemption, he could never have saved us,
nor have satisfied divine justice, nor have been admitted into heaven.
That Jesus Christ might make full satisfaction for all our sins, "he
was made a curse for us, whereby he has redeemed us from the curse
of the law," Gal. 3:13. All Christ's sufferings were for his people. All
that can be desired of God by man is mercy and truth; mercy in
regard of our misery, truth in reference to God's promises. That
which moved Christ to engage himself as a surety for us was his
respect to God and man: to God, for the honor of his name. Neither
the mercy nor the truth nor the justice of God, would have been so
conspicuously manifested, if Jesus Christ had not been our surety; to
man, and that to help us in our dreadful and desperate estate. No
creature either would or could discharge that debt, wherein man
stood obliged to the justice of God. This is a mighty evidence of the
endless love of Christ, this is an evidence of the endless and
matchless love of Christ. We count it a great evidence of love for a
friend to be surety for us—when we intend no damage to him
thereupon; but if a man be surety for that which he knows the
principal debtor is not able to pay, and thereupon purposes to pay it
himself—this we look upon as an extraordinary evidence of love. But
what amazing love, what matchless love is this, for a man to sacrifice
his life for his friend! where as "skin for skin, and all that a man has,
will he give for his life," Job 2:4; and yet, according to the covenant
of redemption, Jesus Christ has done all this and much more for us,
as is evident, if you will but cast your eye back upon the articles of
the covenant, or consult these scriptures. [John 10:11, 15, 17, 18, 28;
Romans 5:6, etc.; Eph. 5-7, etc.; Col. 2:13-15; Heb. 2:13-15.]
If a friend, to free a captive, or one condemned to death, should put
himself into the state and condition of him whom he frees—that
would be an evidence of love beyond all comparison. But now, if the
dignity of Christ's person and our unworthiness, if the greatness of
the debt and kind of payment, and if the benefit which we reap
thereby, is duly weighed—we shall find these evidences of love to
come as much behind the love of Christ—as the light of a candle
comes short of the light of the sun.
Christ's suretyship, according to the covenant of redemption, is and
ought to be a prop of props to our faith. It is as sure a ground of
confidence that all is well, and shall be forever well between God and
us—as any the Scriptures does afford. By virtue hereof we have a
right to appeal to God's justice, for this surety has made full
satisfaction; and to exact a debt which is fully satisfied is a point of
injustice. Christ knew very well what the redemption of fallen man
would cost him; he knew that his life and blood must go for it; he
knew that he must lay by his robes of majesty, and be clothed with
flesh; he knew that he must encounter men and devils; he knew that
he must tread the wine-press of his Father's wrath, bear the curse,
and make himself an offering for our sins, for our sakes, for our
salvation! Yet, in spite of all this—he is very ready and willing to bind
himself by covenant, that he will redeem us, whatever it cost him.
Oh, what tongue can express, what heart can conceive, what soul can
comprehend, "the heights, depths, breadths, and lengths of this
love"? Eph. 3:18-19.
O blessed Jesus, what manner of love is this—that you should wash
away my scarlet sins in your own blood! That you should die—that I
may live! That you should be cursed—that I might be blessed! That
you should undergo the pains of hell—that I might enjoy the joys of
heaven! That the face of God should be clouded from you—that his
everlasting favor might rest upon me! That you should be an
everlasting screen between the wrath of God and my immortal soul!
That you should do for me beyond all expression, and suffer for me
beyond all conception, and gloriously provide for me beyond all
expectation! and all this according to the covenant of redemption!
What shall I say, what can I say to all this, but fall down before your
grace, and spend my days in wondering at that matchless, bottomless
love, which can never be fathomed by angels or men!
"O Lord Jesus," says Bernard, "I love you more than all my goods,
and I love you more than all my friends, yes, I love you more than my
very self!" It is good to write after this copy.
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Post by Admin on Feb 20, 2024 16:51:28 GMT -5
The Book of Life
XI. The eleventh and last plea that a believer may form up as to these
ten scriptures, [Eccles. 10:9, and 12:14; Mat. 12:14, and 18:23; Luke
16:2; Romans 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27, and 13:17; 1 Pet. 4:5. 3]
which refer to the great day of account, or to a man's particular
account, may be drawn up from the consideration of the book of life,
out of which all the saints shall be judged in the great day of our
Lord. "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.
Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for
them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is
the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had
done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in
it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and
each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death
and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the
second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of
life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:11-15.
In the 11th verse John describes the judge with his preparation; in
the 12th verse he describes the people who will be judged; and then
he describes the process and sentence; and lastly, he describes the
execution of the sentence, namely—the casting of the reprobates into
the lake of fire, and the placing and fixing of the elect in the heavenly
Jerusalem, verse 13-15.
In these five verses, you have a clear and full description of the last
general judgment, as is evident by the surrounding context and
series of this chapter, Rev. 20:1-3. For having spoken of the devil's
last judgment, which, by Jude, is called "The judgment of the great
day," Jude 6; it is in agreement, therefore, to understand this of such
a judgment whereby he is judged. And, indeed, the expressions are
so full, and the matter and circumstances so satisfying and
convincing, that they leave no place for fears, doubts, or disputes.
This scripture runs parallel with that Dan. 12:1-3, and several other
places of Scripture where the day of judgment is spoken of; and let
him who can, show me at what other judgment all the dead are
raised and judged, and all reprobates sent to hell, and all the elect
brought to heaven, and death and hell cast into the lake; all which
are plainly expressed here. He shall be an Apollo to me, who can
make these things which are here spoken of, to agree with any other
judgment than the last judgment. Let me give a little light into this
scripture, before I improve it to that purpose for which I have cited
it.
"And I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it." This
is a lively description of the last judgment, "a great throne." "Great,"
because it is set up for the general judgment of all, for the universal
judgment of the whole world. Before this throne all the great ones of
the world must stand—popes, emperors, kings, princes, nobles,
judges, prelates—without their miters, crowns, scepters, royal robes,
gold chains—and before this throne all other sorts and ranks of men
must stand. And he who sits upon this throne is a great King, and a
great God above all gods; he is "Prince of the kings of the earth, who
is King of kings, and Lord of lords," [All the thrones of the kings of
the earth, with Solomon's golden throne, are but petty thrones,
compared to this throne; yes, they are but footstools to this throne;
and therefore upon this single ground it may well be called a great
throne.] Rev. 1:5, 17:14, and 19:16. Upon all which accounts this
throne may well be called a great throne.
It is also called "a white throne," because of its celestial splendor and
majesty, and to show the uprightness and glory of the judge. The
color white in Scripture is used to represent purity and glory. Here it
signifies that Christ, the judge, shall give most just and righteous
judgment, free from all spot of partiality.
"From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away." The splendor
and majesty of the judge is such, as neither heaven nor earth is able
to behold or abide the same; how then shall the wicked be able to
stand before him? Augustine says, "the judgment being finished,
then shall this heaven and earth cease to be—when the new heaven
and earth shall begin." For this world shall pass away by a change of
things, not by an utter destruction. "The heaven and the earth shall
flee away;" that is, this shape of heaven and earth shall pass away;
because they shall be changed from vanity, through fire, that so they
may be transformed into a much better and more beautiful estate;
according to that which the apostle Peter writes, "The heaven shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt with heat; but
we expect new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells
righteousness," 1 Pet. 3:12.
How this passing away, or perishing of heaven and earth, shall come
to pass—there are divers opinions of learned men. Some think that
the substance or essence itself of the world shall wholly perish and be
annihilated. Others are of opinion, that only the corruptible qualities
thereof shall perish and be changed, and the substance or essence
remain. There shall be a renovation of all things, say most, and that
only the fashion of the world, that is, the outward form and
corruptible qualities, shall be destroyed; and so the earth shall be
found no more as it was, but shall be made most beautiful and
glorious, being to be "delivered into the glorious liberty," as far as it
is capable, "of the sons of God," Romans 8:19-22; being to be freed
from corruption and bondage; and with these I close. The sum of the
21st verse is, that the creature shall not be always subject to vanity,
but shall have an emancipation from bondage; of the which
deliverance, three things are declared;
First, Who the creature is—that is, "the world;"
Secondly, From what—from "corruption," which is a bondage;
Thirdly, Into what estate—into "the glorious liberty of the sons of
God."
Some here note the time of the deliverance of the creature, namely,
when the children of God shall be wholly set free; for though they
have here a freedom unto righteousness, from the bondage of sin, yet
they have not a freedom of glory, which is from the bondage of
misery. But others take it for the state itself which shall be glorious,
yet not the same with each of the children of God—but proportioned
according to its kind with them; for it is most suitable to the liberty
of the faithful, that as they are renewed, so also should their
habitation. And as when a nobleman mourns, his servants are all
clad in black; so it is for the greater glory of man, that the creatures,
his servants, should in their kind partake of his glory. And whereas
some say that it is deliverance enough for the creature, if it ceases to
serve man, and have an end of vanity, by annihilation, I affirm, it is
not enough, because this 21st verse notes, not only such deliverance,
but also a further estate which it shall have after such deliverance—
namely, to communicate in some degree, with the children of God in
glory.
Certainly the creatures, in their kind and manner, shall be made
partakers of a far better estate than they had while the world
endured; because God shall fully and wholly restore the world, being
fallen into corruption through the transgression and sin of mankind.
And this does more plainly appear by the apostle's opposing
subsequent liberty against former bondage; which, that he might
more enlarge, he calls it not simply freedom or liberty—but liberty of
glory, as it is in the Greek text, meaning thereby, according to the
phrase and propriety of the Hebrew tongue, glorious liberty, or
liberty that brings glory with it; under which term of glory, he
comprises the excellent estate that they shall be in after their delivery
from their former baseness and servitude.
As for those words, of the "sons of God," to which we must refer the
glorious liberty before mentioned, they must be understood by a
certain proportion or similitude thus; that as in that great day, and
not before, God's children shall be graciously freed from all dangers
and distresses of this life whatever, either in body or soul, and on the
other side, made perfect partakers of eternal blessedness; so the
creatures then, and not before, shall be delivered from the vanity of
man, and their own corruption, and restored to a far better estate
than at present they enjoy; which also may further appear by the
words the apostle uses, setting glorious liberty, deliverance and
freedom, against servile bondage and slavery. Chrysostom reads, for
the glorious liberty of the sons of God: as if the end or final cause of
their deliverance were pointed at, namely, that as God made the
world for man, and for man's sin subdued it to vanity; so he would
deliver it and restore it for men, even to illustrate and enlarge the
glory of God's children. I could, by variety of arguments, prove that
this deliverance of the creature that our apostle speaks of, shall not
be by a reduction into nothing, but by an alteration into a better
estate. But I must hasten to a close.
[If any shall inquire what shall be the particular properties, works,
and uses of all and every creature after the last judgment, I answer,
(1.) That as to these things the word is silent, and it is not safe to be
wise above what is written; (2.) Here is place for that which
Tertullian calls a learned ignorance.]
Verse 12, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God."
The judge, before whom all do appear, is our dear Lord Jesus, "who
has the keys of hell and death in his hands," Rev. 1:18; Acts 17:30-31,
and who is designed and appointed by God the Father to be the judge
of the living and the dead. He has authority, and a commission under
his Father's hand, to sit and act as judge. Here you see that John calls
the judge absolutely God, but Christ is the judge; therefore Christ is
God absolutely; and he will appear to be God in our nature in that
great day.
The parties judged, who stand before the throne, are,
Generally "the dead," all who had died from Adam to the last day. He
calls them "the dead," after the common law of nature, but then
raised from death to life by the power of God, Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13. He
speaks not of men dead in sins and trespasses, but of such as died
corporally, and now were raised up to judgment. But shall not the
living then be judged? Oh, yes! "For we must all appear before the
judgment-seat of Christ: that he may be judge of the living and the
dead, and be Lord both of the dead and the living," 2 Cor. 5:10;
Romans 14:9-10. Under this phrase, "the dead," are comprehended
all those that then shall be found alive. By "the dead" we are to
understand the living also, by an argument from the lesser. If the
dead shall appear before the judgment-seat, how much more the
living! But the dead alone are named, either because the number of
the dead, from Adam to the last day, shall be far greater than those
that shall be found alive on earth in that day, or because those who
remain alive shall be accounted as dead, because "they shall be
changed in the twinkling of an eye," 1 Cor. 15:52.
Secondly, He describes them from their age and condition, for the
words may be understood of both "great and small," which takes in
all sorts of men, tyrants, emperors, kings, princes, dukes, lords, etc.,
as well as subjects, vassals, slaves, beggars; rich and poor, strong and
weak, bond and free, old and young. All and everyone, without
exception, are to be judged; for the judgment shall be universal. No
man shall be so great as to escape the same, nor none so small as to
be excluded; but everyone shall have justice done him, without
respect of persons, as that great apostle Paul tells us, "We must all
appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may
receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done,
whether it be good or bad," 2 Cor. 5:10. I am no admirer of the
schoolmen's notion, who suppose that all shall be raised about the
age of thirty-three, which was Christ's age; but do judge that that
perfection, which consists in the conforming them to Christ's
glorious body, is of another kind than to respect either age, stature,
or the like.
"Stand before God," that is, brought to judgment. The guilty standing
ready to be condemned, and the saints standing ready in Christ's
presence to be absolved and pronounced blessed, John 3:18.
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book
of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works." Christ the judge
being set on his throne, and having all the world before him, "the
books are opened."
(1.) In the general, the books are said to be open.
(2.) Here is a special book for the elect, "The book of life was
opened."
(3.) Here you have sentence passed and pronounced, according to
what was written in these books, and according to their works. Here
the judicial process is noted by imitation of human courts, in which
the whole process is accustomed to be drawn up, and laid before the
judge, from whence the judge determines for or against the person,
according to the acts and proofs that lie open before him. The equity,
justice, and righteousness of Christ the judge, who sits on his white
throne, is set forth by a metaphor taken from human courts, where
the judge pronounces sentence according to the written law, and the
acts and proofs agreeing thereunto. "All things are naked and bare
before him, whose eyes are as a flame of fire," Heb. 4:13; Rev. 1:14.
But to show that the judgment shall be as accurate and particular in
the trial, and just and righteous in the close, as if all were registered
and put on record, nothing shall escape or be mistaken in its
circumstances, but all things shall be so cleared and issued beyond
all doubts and disputes, as if an exact register of them had been kept
and published; in all which there is a plain allusion unto the words of
Daniel, speaking thus of this judgment, "The judgment was set, and
the books were opened," Dan. 7:10.
We find six different BOOKS mentioned in the Scripture.
[1.] The book of NATURE. This is mentioned by David, "You saw me
before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed" Psalm
139:16. ["The world," says Clemens Alexandrinus, "is the first Bible
that God made for the instruction of man."] It is a metaphor from
precise workmen, that do all by the book, or by a model set before
them, that nothing may be deficient or done amiss. "The heavens
declare the glory of God, and the skies show his handiwork." The
psalmist looks upon that great volume of heaven and earth, and there
reads in capital letters the prints and characters of God's glory.
In this book of nature, which is made up of three great leaves,
heaven, earth, and sea, God has made himself visible, yes, legible,
"even his eternal power and godhead," Romans 1:20. So that all men
are left without excuse. Out of this book of nature, the poor blind
heathen might have learned many choice lessons, as:
first, that they had a maker;
secondly, that this maker, being before the things made, is eternal,
without beginning or ending;
thirdly, that he who made all things out of nothing, and sustained
such a mass of creatures—must needs be almighty,
fourthly, the order, variety, and distinction of creatures declare his
marvelous wisdom;
fifthly, in this book they might run and read the great goodness, and
the admirable kindness of God to the sons of men, in making all the
creatures for their good, for their service, and benefit;
sixthly and lastly, in this book they might run and read what a most
excellent, what a most admirable, what a most transcendent
workman God was. What are the heavens, the earth, the sea—but a
sheet of royal paper, written all over with the wisdom and power of
God?
Now, in the great day of account, this book shall be produced to
witness against the heathen world, because they did not live up to the
light which was held forth to them in this book, but crucified that
light and knowledge by false ways of worship, and by their wicked
practices, whereof the apostle gives you a catalogue, from verse 21st
to the end of that 1st chapter of Romans. But,
[2.] Secondly, There is the book of PROVIDENCE, wherein all
particulars are registered; even such particulars, as we may count
trivial and inconsiderable. Mat. 10:30, "But the very hairs of your
head are all numbered." And where is their number summed up?
Even in the book of providence. The three Hebrew worthies were
taken out of the fiery furnace, with their hairs in full number, not one
of them singed, Dan. 3:27. Paul, encouraging the passengers to eat,
who were in fear and danger of death, tells them that "there should
not a hair fall from the head of any of them," Acts 27:34. And when
Saul would have put Jonathan to death, the people told him "that
there should not a hair of his head fall to the ground," 1 Sam. 14:45.
Christ does not say that the hairs of your eyelids are numbered, but
the hairs of your head, where there is the greatest plenty, and the
least use. Though hair is the least significant part of man, yet every
hair of an elect person is observed and registered down in God's
books, and not one of them shall be lost. God has already booked
them all down, and all to show us that special, that singular care that
God takes of the smallest and least concerns of his chosen ones. God
will produce this book of providence in the great day—to confute and
condemn the atheists of the world, who have denied a divine
providence, and whose hearts have swelled against his government
of the world, "according to the counsels of his own heart." But,
[3.] Thirdly, There is the book of men's AFFLICTIONS. This some
account an entire book of itself: Psalm 56:8, "You keep track of all
my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have
recorded each one in your book." God counted all those weary steps
that David took in passing over those two great forests, when he fled
from Saul. While David was hunted up and down like a partridge,
and chased out of every bush, and had no certain dwelling-place, but
driven from post to pillar, from one country to another, God was all
this while a-noting down and a-numbering of his sorrows, and abottling up his tears, and a-booking down his sighs: "You have
collected all my tears in your bottle." Not a single tear of mine is ever
lost, but kept safe in God's bottle, as so much sweet water. God is
said in Scripture to have a bag and a bottle: a bag for our sins, and a
bottle for our tears. ("My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will
cover over my sin." Job 14:17) And oh that we would all labor to fill
his bottle with our tears of repentance, as we have filled his bag with
our sins!
And certainly if the white tears of his servants be bottled up, the red
tears of their blood shall not be cast away. If God treasures up the
tears of the saints, much more will he remember their blood, to
avenge it! And though tyrants burn the bones of the saints, yet they
cannot blot out their tears and blood out of God's register: "Are they
not in your book?" Are they not in your register or book of accounts,
where they cannot be blotted out by any time or tyrants? That is—
yes, certainly they are! You assuredly book them down, and will
never forget one of them. Let the great Nimrods and oppressors of
the saints look to themselves, for God books down all the afflictions,
sufferings, and persecutions of his servants; and in the great day he
will bring in this book, this register, to witness against them.
Ah, sinners, sinners! look to yourselves. In the great day of account,
the Lord will reckon with you for every rod that he has spent upon
you; he will reckon with you, not only for all your mercies, but also
for all your crosses; not only for all your sweets, but also for all your
bitters; not only for all your cordials, but also for all your corrosives.
In this book of afflictions there is not only item for this mercy and
that, but item also for this affliction and that, this sickness and that,
this cross and that, this loss and that. And will not the opening of this
book of the saints' afflictions and sufferings, and of sinners'
afflictions and sufferings, be as the handwriting upon the wall, to all
the wicked of the earth, in the great day of account? Dan. 5:5-6.
Surely yes; for as they cannot answer for one mercy of ten thousand
that they have enjoyed, so they cannot answer for one affliction of
ten thousand that they have been exercised with. But,
[4.] Fourthly, There is the book of CONSCIENCE. "Conscience," says
Philo, "is the little tribunal of the soul." Conscience is a thousand
witnesses, for or against a man, "Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not
have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law
for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they
show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts,
their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now
accusing, now even defending them." Romans 2:14-15.
Conscience is God's preacher in the heart. "Conscience has a good
memory," says one. The chief butler forgot the promise that he had
made to Joseph, but conscience told him of it, Gen. 41:9. "A good
name acquit us among men, but it is a good conscience only that can
acquit us before God," says Augustine. In this great day, the book of
every man's conscience shall be opened for their conviction, wherein
they shall read their guilt in legible characters; for that is a book of
record, wherein men's actions are entered. And although now it be
shut up close, and sinners will by no means be brought to look into it,
and though many things that are written in this book seem to be so
greatly obliterated and blotted, that they can hardly be read, yet in
that great day of accounts God will refresh and recover the luster of
those ancient writings; and sinners, in that day, shall find that
conscience has an iron memory!
In the last day God will bring the book of conscience out of the
rubbish, as they did the book of the law in Josiah's time; and the very
laying open of this book before sinners will horrify them, and fill
them with unspeakable dread and terror, and be a hell on this side
hell unto them. In this book they shall find an exact account of every
vain thought they have had, and of every idle word they have spoken,
and of every evil action they have done; and oh, what amazement
and astonishment will this fill them with!
By the books in this Rev. 20:12, Origen does understand the books of
conscience, which now are hidden, not from God, but from most
men; for the hidden things of the heart are not now known, but then
they shall be opened, and manifested to the consciences of every
sinner, so as there shall be no place, no room left for any excuse or
plea. Ambrose says that the books that are here said to be opened are
the books of men's consciences and God's omniscience. Oh, what
dreadful accusations will every sinner be forced to read out of this
book of conscience in the great day! Oh, how in that great day will all
wicked men wish that they had followed the counsel of the heathen
orator when he said, "A man may not depart an hair's-breadth all his
life long from the dictates of a good conscience." The book of God's
omniscience takes in all things past, present, and to come, as if he
had kept a diary of every man's thoughts, words, and actions. But,
[5.] Fifthly, There is the book of SCRIPTURE. And of all books, this
book is the most precious book. The book of the creature is but as the
inventory of the goods; the book of the Scripture is the evidence, and
conveyance, and assurance of all good to us. The book of Scripture is
the book of the statutes and ordinances of the King of heaven, which
must be opened and consulted, and by which all must be judged in
the great day: James 2:12, "So speak, and so do, as those who shall be
judged by the law of liberty;" that is, by the gospel of Jesus Christ, by
the whole word of God, registered in the blessed Scriptures, James
1:23-25. Now the whole word of God is called the law of liberty;
because thereby we are born again to a new spiritual life, and so
freed from the bondage and slavery of sin and Satan. ["Let the word
be president in all assemblies and judgments," says Beza. In the
Nicene Council, Constantine caused the Bible to be set upon the desk
as judge of all controversies. The word shall be the judge of all men's
estates at last; every man shall stand or fall, according as he holds
weight in the balance of the sanctuary.]
Our Lord Jesus Christ, in his proceedings in the great day of account,
will judge us by the Scriptures, and pass everlasting sentence upon
us according to the tenor of the Scriptures. At the great and general
assize, Christ will try all causes by the word of God, and pass
judgment upon all people according to the word: John 12:48, "He
who rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him:
the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last
day." The people that are to be judged in the great day are not
believers in Christ, they are not receivers of Christ, but such as reject
his person, and receive not his doctrine. "He who rejects me, and
receives not my words, has one that judges him," etc.
However the rejecters of Christ may escape judgment for a time, yet
they shall never be able to escape the judgment of the last day; they
shall assuredly, they shall unavoidably, be judged in the last day.
Though the rejecters of Christ had none to witness against them, yet
the word of the Lord shall be more than a thousand witnesses against
them in the great day, "The word that I have spoken, the same shall
judge him in the last day." The word of the Lord is so sure and
infallible a word, that Christ's sentence in the great day, when heaven
and earth shall pass away, 2 Pet. 3:7, 10-12, shall proceed according
to the verdict and testimony thereof, "For the word that I have
spoken shall judge him in the last day." Christ will pronounce then
according to what it says now; and that as well in favor of believers as
against unbelievers. Look, as Christ himself is "ordained to be the
judge of the living and the dead," Acts 17:31; so the word, the
doctrines which he has delivered, will be the rule of all his judicial
proceedings, both in acquitting the righteous, and condemning the
wicked.
By the books in this Rev. 20:12, Augustine understands the books of
the Old and New Testament, which shall then be opened; because,
according to them, the judge will pronounce sentence: Romans 2:16,
"When God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according
to my gospel," which promises heaven and happiness to all believers.
The sentence of the last day shall be but a more manifest declaration
of that judgment, that the Lord, in this life, generally has passed
upon men. Heathens shall be judged by the law of nature; profligate
professors by the written law, and the word preached; true believers
by the gospel, which says, "He who believes shall be saved; he who
believes shall not perish, but have eternal life; he who believes on the
Son has everlasting life; he who believes shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death to life," Mark 16:16; John
3:15-16, 36, and 5:24. Christ shall, in the great day, give sentence
according to the doctrine of the gospel, which says, "If there be first a
willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man has, and not
according to that he has not." Upon the credit of the word of God, if
we believe, really, savingly, and repent sincerely—all our sins shall be
blotted out; and a book of clean paper, in respect of sin, shall be
presented to the judge. But,
[6.] Sixthly and lastly, There is a book of LIFE. Rev. 20:12, "And
another book was opened, which is the book of life." The book of life
is the book of all those who were elected and redeemed to life
through Christ Jesus. [God neither needs nor uses books to judge by,
but this is spoken after the manner of men.] This book of life
contains a register of such particular persons in whose salvation, God
from all eternity determined to have his mercy glorified, and for
whom Christ merited faith, repentance, and perseverance, that they
should repent, believe, and be finally saved. "The book of life shall be
opened;" that is to say, the decrees of God will be then published and
made known, which now are sealed up in his bosom and locked up in
his archives. Then it will be seen whom are appointed to eternal life,
for the glorifying of God's free, rich, and sovereign grace; and whom
he purposed to leave in their sins, and to perish forever, for the
exaltation of his justice. It is called "a book of life," not that God has
need of a book, but to note the certainty of predestination—namely,
that God knows all and each of the elect, even as men know a thing
which, for memory's sake, they set down in writing. This book of life
shall be opened in the great day, because then it shall be shown . . .
who were elect—and who were reprobates; who truly believed in
Christ—and who did not; who worshiped God in spirit and in truth—
and who did not; who walked with God as Noah did—and who did
not; who truly reverenced God—and who did not; who followed the
Lamb wherever He went—and who did not; who were sincere—and
who were not; who are sheep—and who are goats; who are sons of
God—and who are slaves of Satan; who have mourned for their sins
—and who have made a sport of sin; who preferred Christ above ten
thousand worlds—and who did not; who preferred their farms, and
their oxen, and their swine, yes, their very lusts—before a Savior, a
Redeemer! Ezek. 9:4,6, etc.
Of this book of life you read often in Scripture: Phil. 4:3, "And I
entreat you also, true yoke-fellow, help those women which labored
with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlaborers, whose names are in the book of life." Vorsitus thinks it a
speech taken from the custom of soldiers or cities, in which the
chosen soldiers or citizens are by name written in a certain book or
scroll. This book or scroll is called here "the book of life," because
therein are written all the elect who are ordained to eternal life: Rev.
3:5, "He who overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment,
and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life." In this book
of life all "the just, who live by faith," are written. The elect are
certain of eternal life, they shall never perish, nor none can ever
pluck them out of the Father's hand, nor out of Christ's hand, John
10:28-31.
God is said to have books metaphorically; he needs no books to help
his memory; he does all things by his infinite wisdom, eternal
foreknowledge, counsel, government, and judgment. But thus men
cannot do; for whatever is done in their councils, cities, families,
contracts, etc., for memory's sake, is set down in writing, that so, as
there is occasion, they may look it over, and call to mind such things
as they desire. [The holy God, by an anthropomorphism, speaks to
our capacity; for he does all things without the help of books.] Mark,
not to have our names blotted out of the book of life is to have them
always remain therein; that is, to enjoy eternal glory; and what can
the soul desire more?
The names of the elect are written in the book of life. They do not
obtain salvation by chance, but were elected of God to eternal life
and happiness before the foundation of the world. Now their names
being once written in the book of life, they shall never, never be
blotted out of that book. In the book of predestination there is not
one blot to be found—the salvation of the elect is most sure and
certain: Rev. 13:8, "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the
beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life
belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world."
The names of the elect are said to be written in the book of life by a
usual metaphor; for we commonly write down the names of such as
are dear unto us, that we may continually remember them. So God
having in his eternal counsel elected some to salvation, has written
their names in the book of life; as our Savior tells us, "Rejoice,
because your names are written in heaven," Luke 10:20. Some
understand the metaphor of the sonship of the elect; so that to be
written in the book of life shows that they are heirs of glory; for we
know that such are to inherit whose names are written in the last will
and testament of men. Of this book of life you may further read, Rev.
17:8, 20:15, 21:27, and 22:19.
Now from this book of life, which shall be opened in the great day,
when the other books shall be opened, as has been showed, every
sincere Christian may form up this eleventh plea as to these ten
scriptures, [Eccles. 11:9, and 12:14; Mat. 12:14, and 18:23; Luke 16:2;
Romans 14:10 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27, and 13:17; 1 Pet. 4:5; Dan.
9:24; Col. 2:14.] that refer to the great day of account, or to a man's
particular account.
Most holy and blessed Lord, cast your eye upon the book of election,
and there you will find my name written. Now my name being
written in that book, I am exempt from all condemnation, and
savingly interested in the great salvation. My name being written in
the book of life, I am secured from coming into the judgment of
reprobation or condemnation, John 5:14; Rev. 21:27. Jesus Christ,
who has written my name in the book of life, has made up my
accounts for me; he has satisfied your justice, and pacified your
wrath, and borne my curse, and purchased my pardon, and put upon
me an everlasting righteousness. He has crossed out the black lines
of my sins—with the red lines of his blood; he has cancelled all the
bonds wherein I stood obliged to divine justice. I further plead, O
blessed Lord, that there is an immutable connection between being
written in this book of life and the obtaining of eternal life; and if the
connection between being written in this book of life and the
obtaining of eternal life were not commanding, what reason could
there be of opening this book in the day of judgment? The book of
life is a book of sovereign grace, upon which lies the weight of my
salvation, my happiness, my all; and therefore by that book I desire
to stand or fall."
"Well," says the Lord, I cannot but accept of this plea as holy,
honorable, just, and righteous; and therefore enter into the joy of
your Lord, inherit the kingdom prepared for you!" Mat. 25:21, 34.
Thus, by divine assistance, and by a special and a gracious hand of
providence upon me—I have finished those select and important
cases of conscience which I designed to speak to.
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