Sermon XII
Containing a third Motive to enliven the general Exhortation, from a third Title of CHRIST .
CANT. v. Part of Verse 16.--Yea, He is altogether lovely.
T the ninth verse of this chapter, you have a query pro A pounded to the spouse, by the daughters of Jerusalem; " What is thy beloved more than another beloved ?" To this question the spouse returns her answer in the following verses, wherein the asserts his excellency in general. Ver. 10. "He is " the chiefeft among ten thousands;" confirms that general af sertion, by anenumeration of his particular excellencies, to ver.
16. where the closes up her character and encomium of her beloved, with an elegant epiphonema, in the words that I have read; Yea, he is altogether lovely." The words, you fee, are an affirmative proposition, setting forth the transcendent loveliness of the Lord JesusChrifl; and naturallyrefolvethemselves into three parts, viz.
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1. The subject. 2. The predicate. 3. The manner ofpredication. First, The subject, He, viz. the Lord Jesus Christ, after whom she had been seeking, for whom she was sick of love ; concerning whom these daughters of Jerusalem had enquired : whom she had endeavoured fographically to describe in his particular excellencies. This is the great and excellentfubject of whom the here speaks .
Secondly, The predicate, or what she affirmeth, or faith of him, viz. That he is a lovely one, Machamaddim, desires; according to the import of the * original, " which signifies earnestly " to desire, covet ; or long after that which is most pleasant, " grateful, delectable, and admirable ;" The original word is both in the abstract, and of the plural number, which speaks Christ to be the very essence of all delights and pleasures; the very foul and substance of them. As all the rivers are gathered into the ocean, which is the congregation or meeting-place of all the waters in the world : fo Christ is that ocean in which all true delights and pleasures meet.
Thirdly, The manner ofpredication : He is [altogether] lovely, Totus, totus defiderabilis ; lovely in all, and in every part : as if she had said, Look on him, in what respect or particular you will ; cast your eye upon this lovely object, and view him any way ; turn him in your serious thoughts, which way you will; confiderhis person, his offices, his works, or any otherthing belonging to him ; you shall find him altogether lovely : There is nothing ungrateful in him; there is nothing lovely without him. Hence note, Doct. That Jesus Christ is the loveliest person souls can set their eyes upon. Psal. xlv. 2." Thou art fairer than the children " of men ." That is said of Jesus Christ, which cannot be saidofany creature; that he is " altogether lovely." In opening this lovely point, I thall,
1. Weigh the importance of this phrase, " altogether lovely." 2. Shew you in what respects Christ is sos First, Let us weigh this excellent expression, and particularly confiderwhat is contained in it, and you shall find this expref fion, " Altogether lovely:"
Significat appetere, expetere quod jocundum, gratum, volup
VOL. II. tuofum, utile et amabile est. Pag. Τι ;
322 SERM . XII. The Method of Grace.
First, That it excludes all unloveliness, anddistastefulness, from Jesus Christ. So + Vatablus ; " There is nothing in him " which is not amiable :" The excellencies of Jesus Christ are perfectly exclusive of all their opposites ; there is nothing of a contrary nature, or quality found in him, to alloy, or debase his excellency. And in this respect Christ infinitely transcends the most excellent and loveliest creatures . For whatsoever loveliness is found in them, it is not without a distastefultang; the fairest pictures must have their shadows : The most orient, and tranfplendent stones, must have theirfoils to setofftheir beauty; the best creature is but a bitter sweet, at best: If there be somewhat pleasing, there is also somewhatdistasting; if there be gracious and natural excellencies in the same person, to delight us, yet there is, also, some natural corruption intermixed with it, to distaste us. But it is not so in our altogether lovely Christ ; his excellencies are pure, and unmixed; he is a sea of sweetness, withoutonedrop of gall.
Secondly, Altogether lovely, (i.e.)as there isnothingunlovelyfound in him, foallthat is in him is wholly lovely ; as every ray of God is precious, so every thing that is in Christ is precious : Who can weigh Christ in a pair of balances, and tell you what his worth is ? " His price is above rubies, and all that thou " canstdefire is not to be compared with him," Prov. viii. 11.
Thirdly, Altogether lovely, (i. e.) He is comprehensive of all things that are lovely; he seals up the sum of all loveliness : Quae faciunt divisa beatum, in hoc mixta fluunt ; Things that thine as single stars, with a particular glory, all meet in Christ, as a glorious constellation. Col. i. 19. " It pleased the Father " that in him should allfulness dwell." Cast your eyes among all created beings, survey the univeric, observe strength in one, beauty in a second, faithfulness in a third, wisdom in a fourth ; but you shall find none excelling in them all, as Christ doth. Bread hath one quality, water another, raiment another, physic another; but none hath all in itself, as Christ hath : He is bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, a garment to the naked, healing to the wounded; and whatever afoulcandefire, is found in him, I Cor. i. 30. Fourthly, Altogether lovely, (i. e.) Nothing is lovely in opposition to him, or in separation from him. If he be altogether lovely,then whatsoever isoppofite to,or separate from him, can + Nihil in eo quodnon est amabile. †The more excellent he is, the more is he to be fought after by earnest prayers and desires. Brightman.
SERM. XII. The Method of Grace. 323 have no loveliness in it; take away Christ, and where is the loveliness of any enjoyment ? The best creature-comfort out of Christ, is but a broken cistern ; it cannot hold one drop of true comfort, Psal. Ixxiii. 26. It is with the creature, the sweetest and loveliest creature, as with a beautiful image in the glass : turn away the face, and where is the image? Riches, honours, and comfortable relations, are sweet, when the face of Christ
upon us through them ; but without him, what empty trifles are they all ?
Fifthly, Altogether lovely, (i. e.) Transcending all created excellencies, in beauty and loveliness; so much it speaks. If you compare Christ and other things, be they never so lovely, never so excellent, and desirable; Christ carries away all loveliness from them : " He is (faith the apostle) before all things," Col. i. 17. Not only before all things, in time, nature and order; but before all things, indignity,glory, and true excellency : In all things he must have the pre-eminence. For let us but compare Christ's excellency with the creatures, in a few particulars, and how evidently will the transcendent loveliness of Jesus Christ appear ! For, First, All other loveliness is derivative and secondary; but the loveliness of Christ is original and primary. Angels and men, the world, and all the desirables in it, receive what excel. ency they have from him ; they are streams from the fountain : But as the waters, in the fountain itself, are more abundant; fo more pure and|| pleasant than the streams : And the farther any thing departs and is removed from its fountain and original, the less excellency there is in it.
Secondly, The loveliness and excellency of all other things, is but relative, and respective, consisting in its reference to Christ, and subserviency to his glory ; but Christ is lovely, considered absolutely in himself : He is desirable for himself, other things are so for him .
Thirdly, The beauty and loveliness of all other things, is fading and perishing; but the loveliness of Christ is fresh to all eternity: the sweetness of the best creatures is a fading flower ; if not before, yet certainly at death, it must fade away. Job iv. 21 .
Doth not their excellency,which is in them,go away ?" Yes, yes,whether natural excellenciesofthe body, or acquiredendowments of the mind, lovely features, amiable qualities, attracting Tt2
Dulcius ex ipfofonte bibuntur aque. Waters drink morepleafantly from the fountain itself.
324 The Method of Grace. SERM. XII. excellencies ; all these, likepleasantflowers, are withered, faded, and destroyed, by death ; "but Christ is still the fame, yester- " day, to day, and for ever," Heb . xiii. 8 .
Fourthly, The beauty and lovelinessofcreatures are ensnaring, and dangerous ; am an may make an idolthereof, and dote, beyond the bounds of moderation,upon them ; but there is no danger of excess in the love of Christ : The soul is then in the healthiest frameandtemper,when it is molt sickos love to Christ, Cant. v. 8 .
Fifthly, The loveliness of every creature is ofa cloyingand glutting nature; our estimation of it abates, and finks by our nearer approach to it, or longer enjoyment of it; creatures, like pictures, are fairest at a due distance: but it is not fo with Christ; the nearer the soul approacheth him, and the longer it lives in the enjoymentofhim, still the more sweet and desirable i she.
Sixthly, and Lastly, All other loveliness is unsatisfying, and straitening to the foulofman; there is not room enough in any one, or in all the creatures, for the soul of man to dilate and expatiate itself; but it fstill feels itself confined, and narrowed within those strait limits * : And this comes to pass from the inadequateness , and unsuitableness of the creature, to the nobler and more excellent foul of man; which like a ship in a narrow river, hath not room to turn; and, besides, is ever, and anon, striking ground, and foundering in those shallows. ButJefus Christ is every way adequate to the vast desires of the soul ; in him it hath sea room enough ; there it may spread all its fails, po fear of touching the bottom. And thus you fee what is the importance of this phrase, Altogether lovely
Secondly, Next I promised to shewyou in what respects Je sus Christ is altogether lovely. And, First, He is altogether lovely in his person ; a Deity dwel ling in flesh, John i. 14. The wonderful union and perfection of the divine and human nature in Christ, render him an object of admiration, and adoration to angels and men, Tim, iii. 16. God never presented to the world such a vision of glory before : And then, consider how the human nature of our Lord Jesus
is replenished with all the graces of the Spirit, so as never
Pellaojuveni non fufficit orbis ; Eftuat infelix angufto in limitemundi.
1 Oneworldisnot sufficient for the Macedonian youth; (viz.Alex ander) hefrets for being confined within the narrow boundary of the world.
SERM. XII. The Method of Grace. 325 any of all the saints was filled; O how lovely doth this render him! John iii. 34. "God giveth not the Spirit by measure un- " to him:" This makes him fairer than the children of men, grace being poured into his lips, Psal. xlv. 2. Ifa small measure of grace in the saints, makes them such sweet and desirable companions; what must the riches and fulness of the Spirit of grace, filling Jesus Christ without measure, make him in the eyes of believers ? Owhat a glory and a lustre must it stamp upon him !
Secondly, He is altogether lovely in his offices: for let us but confider the fuitableness, fulness, and comfortableness of them.
First, Thefuitableness of the offices of Christ to the miseries and wants of men; andwecannotbut adore the infinite wisdom of God in his investiture with them, we are, by nature, blind and ignorant, at best but groping in the dim light of nature after God, Acts xvii. 27. Jesus Christ isa light to lighten the Gentiles, Ifa. xlix. 6. When this great prophet came into the world, then did the day-spring from on high visit us, Luke i.
78. The state of nature is a state of alienation from, and enmity against God; Christ comes into the world an attoning sacrifice, making peace by the blood of his cross, Col. i. 20. All the world, by nature, are in bondage and captivity to Satan, a lamentable thraldom ; Christ comes, with a kingly power, to rescue sinners, as a prey from the mouth of the terrible one.
Secondly, Let thefulness of his offices be also considered, by reason whereof he is able " to fave to the uttermoft, all that 66 come to God by him," Heb. vii. 25. The three offices, comprising in them all that our souls do need, become an universal relief to all our wants; and therefore, Thirdly, Unspeakably comfortable must the offices of Christ be tothefouls of sinners. If light be pleasant to our eyes, how pleasant is that light of life springing from the Sun of righteousness! Mal. iv. 2. If a pardon be sweet toa condemned male factor, how sweet must the sprinkling the blood of Jesus be to thetremblingconfcience of a law-condemned sinner ? If a rescue from a cruel tyrant be sweet to a poor captive, how sweet must it be to the ears of enslaved sinners, to hear the voice of liberty and deliverance proclaimed by Jesus Christ ? Out of the several offices of Christ, as out of fo many fountains, all the promises of the new covenant flow, as so many foul-refreshing streams of peace and joy : all the promises of illumination, counsel and direction how out of the prophetical office ; all the promises of reconciliation, peace, pardon and acceptation flow out of the priestly office, with the sweet streams of joy, and spiritualcom
325 The Method of Grace. SERM . XII. forts dependingthereupon: all the promises of converting, increasing, defending, directing, and supplying grace, flow out of the kingly office of Christ; indeed, all promises may be reduced to the three offices : so that Jesus Christ must needs be altogether lovely in his offices.
Thirdly, Jesus Christ is altogether lovely in his relations.
First, He is a lovely Redeemer. Ifa. lxi. 1. He came to open the prison-doors to them that are bound. Needs must this Redeemer be a lovely one, if we consider the depth of misery from which he redeemed us, even " from the wrath to come,"
I Theff. i. 10. How lovely was Titus, in the eyes of the poor enthralled Greeks, whom he delivered from their bondage ! this endeared him to them untothatdegree, that when their liberty was proclaimed, they even trod one another to death to see the herald that proclaimed it; and all the night following, with instruments of music, danced about his tent, crying with united voices , " a Saviour, a Saviour." Or, whether we confiderthe numbers redeemed, and the means of their redemption. Rev. va 9. " And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to " take the book, and to open the seals thereof : for thou walt " " fslain, and haft redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation." He redeemed us not with silver and gold, but with his own precious blood, by way of price, 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. with his out-stretched and glorious arm, by way of power, Col. i. 13. he redeemed us freely, Eph. i. 7. fully, Rom. viii. 1.feafonably, Gal. iv. 4. and out of special and peculiar love, John.xvii. 9. In a word, he hath redeemed us for ever, never more to come into bondage, i Pet. i. 5. John x. 28. O how lovely is Jesus Christ in the relation of a Redeemer to God's elect !
Secondly, He is a lovely bridegroom to all that he espouses to himself. How doth the church glory in him, in the words following in my text; " This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem !" q. d. Heaven and earth cannot shew such another: which needs no fuller proof than the following particulars.
First, That he espouses to himself, in mercy and in loving kindness, such deformed, defiled, and altogether unworthy fouls as we are; who have no beauty, no excellency to make us desirable in his eyes: all the springs of his love to us are in his own breast, Deut. vii. 7. he chuseth us, not because we were, but that he might make us lovely, Eph. v. 27. he passed by us when we lay in our blood, and said unto us, Live; and that was the time of love, Ezek. xvi. 5.
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Secondly, He expects nothing with us, and yet bestows himself, and all that he hath, upon us. Our poverty cannot enrich him, but he made himself poor to enrich us, 2 Cor. viii. 9. 1 Cor.iii. 22. Thirdly, No husband loves the wife of his bosom, as Christ loved his people, Eph. v. 25. He loved the church, and gave himself for it .
Fourthly, None bears with weaknesses and provocations as Christ doth; the church is stiled " the Lamb's wife," Rev. xix. 9.
Fifthly, No husband is so immortal and everlasting a husband as Christ is; death separates all other relations, but the soul's union with Christ is not dissolved in the grave : yea, the day of a believer's death, is his marriage day, the day of his fullest enjoyment of Christ. No husband can say to his wife, what Christ saith to the believer, " I will never leave thee, nor " for lake thee," Heb. xiii. 5.
Sixthly, No bridegroom advanceth his bride to such honours by marriage,as Christ doth; he relates them to God as their father, and from that day the mighty and glorious angels think it nodishonour to be their servants, Heb. i. 14. they are brought in admiring the beauty and glory of the spouse of Christ, Rev. xxi. 9.
Seventhly, and lastly,No marriage was everconfummatedwith that triumphal solemnity, as the marriage of Christ and believers shall be in heaven, Psal. xlv. 14, 15. " She shall be brought " to the king in raiment of needle-work, the virgins, her companions that follow her, shall be brought unto thee ; with gladness and rejoicing shall theybebrought ; they shall enter " into the king's palace." Among the Jews the marriage-house was called Bethillula, the house of praise; there was joy upon all hands, but none like the joy that will be in heaven, when believers, the spouse of Christ, shall be brought thither : God the Father will rejoice, to behold theblessedaccomplishment and confummationof those glorious designs of his love. Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, will rejoice, to see the travail of his soul, the blessed birth and issue of all his bitter pangs and agonies, Isa . liii. 11. The Holy Spirit will rejoice, to see the completion and perfection of that sanctifying design which was committed to his hand, 2 Cor. v. 5. to see those souls whom he once found as rough stones, now to shine as the bright, polished stones of the spiritual temple. Angels will rejoice: great was the joy when the foundation of this design was laid, in the incarnation of Christ, Luke ii. 13. great therefore must their joy be, when the
328 The Method of Grace. SERM. XII, top-stone is set up with shouting, crying, Grace, grace. The Saints themselves shall rejoice unspeakably,when they shall enter into the King's palace, and be for ever with the Lord, I Theff. iv. 17. Indeed there will be joy on all hands, except among the devils and damned; who shallgnash their teeth with envy, at the everlasting advancement,and glory of believers .
Thus Christ is altogether lovely, in the relation ofa Bride. groom.
Thirdly, Christ is altogether lovely, in the relation of an Advocate. 1 John ii. 1. " If any man fin, we have an advocate " with the Father,Jesus Christ the righteous,and he is the pro-
66 pitiation ;" it is he that pleads the cause of believers in heaven; appears for them in the presence of God,to prevent all new breaches, and continues the state of friendship and peace be. twixt God and us. In this relation Christ is altogether lovely. For, First, He makes our cause his own, and acts for us in heaven, as for himself, Heb. iv. 15. He is touched with the tender sense of our troubles and dangers, and is not onlyonewithus, byway of representation, but alsoonewith us in respect of sympathy and affection.
Secondly, Christ our Advocate, follows our suit and business in heaven, as his great and main design and business; therefore, in Heb. vii. 25. he is said to " live for ever to make in- " terceffion for us ;" as if our concernments were so minded by him there, as to give up himself wholly to that work, as if all the glory and honourwhich is paid him in heaven, would not satisfy him, or divert him one moment from our business.
Thirdly, He pleads the cause of believers by his blood; it satisfies him not, as other advocates, to be at the expence of words andoratory, which is a cheaper way of pleading; but he pleads for us by the voice of his own blood, Heb. xii. 24. where we are said to be come " to the blood of sprinkling, that " speaketh better things than that of Abel:" Every wound he received for us on earth, is a mouth opened to plead with God on our behalf in heaven ; Quot vulnera, tot ora. And hence it is, that in Rev. v. 6. he is represented standing before God, as a lamb that badbeenflain : as it were, exhibiting, and opening, in heaven, those deadly wounds received on earth, from the justice of God, on our account. Other advocates spend their breath, Christ his blood.
Fourthly, He pleads the cause of believers freely. Other ad vocates plead for reward, and exhaust the purses, while they plead the causes of their clients.
SERM XII . 329 The Method of Grace. Fifthly, In a word, he obtaineth for us all the mercies for which he pleads; no cause miscarries in his hand, which he undertakes, Rom. viii. 33, 34. Owhat a lovely Advocate is Christ for believers !
Fourthly, Christ is altogether lovely in the relation of a friend, for in this relation he is pleased to own his people, Luke xii. 4, 5. There are certain things in which one friend manifests his affection and friendship to another, but none like Christ . For, First,No friend is so open-hearted to his friend, as Christ is to his peopie: he reveals the very counsels and secrets of his heart to them. John xv. 15. "Henceforth I call you not servants, " for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doth ; but I have " called you friends ; for all things that I have heard of my " Father, I have made known unto you."
Secondly, No friend in the world is so generous and bountiful to his friend, as Jesus Christ is to believers; John xvi. 13. he parts with his very blood for them ; "Greater love (faith he) " hath noman than this, that am an lay down his life for his " friends." He hath exhausted the precious treasures of his invaluable blood, to pay our debts. O what a lovely friend is Jesus Christ to believers !
Thirdly, No friendsympathizes so tenderly with his friend in affliction, as Jesus Christ doth with his friends : "In all our af-
66 Aictions he is afflicted," Heb. iv. 15. He feels all our sorrows, wants, and burthens, as his own . Whence it is, that the sufferings of believers are called thefufferingsof Christ, Col.i. 24.
Fourthly, No friend in the world takes that complacency in his friend, as Jesus Christ doth in believers. Cant. iv. 9. " Thou " hast ravished my heart, (faith he to the spouse) thou hast ra- " vished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of " thy neck." The Hebrew, here rendered ravished, signifies topuffup, or to make one proud: how is the Lord Jesus pleased to glory in his people ! how is he taken and delighted with those gracious ornaments, which himself bestows upon them ! No friend so lovely as Christ.
Fifthly,No friend in the world loves his friend with so fervent and strong affection, as Jesus Christ loves believers. Jacob loved Rachel, and endured for her sake, theparching heat of summer, and cold of winter : but Christ endured the storms of the wrath of God, the heat of his indignation, for our fakes. Davidmanifestedhis love to Abfalom, in wishing, " O that I had " died for thee !" Christ manifested his love to us,not in wishes thathehaddied,but in death itself, inourstead, and for our fakes.
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Sixthly, No friend in the world is so constant and unchangeable in friendship, as Christ is. John xiii. 1. "Having loved his 66 own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." He bears with millions of provocations and injuries, and yet will not break friendship with his people. Peter denied him, yet he will not disown him ; but after his resurrection he faith, 66 Go, tell the disciples, and tell Peter," q. d. Let him not think he hath forfeited, by that fin of his,his interest in me ; though he have denied me, I will not disown him, Mark xvi. 7. O how lovely is Christ in the relation ofa friend ! I might farther shew you the loveliness of Christ in his ordinances, and in his providences, in his communion with us, and communications to us; but there is no end of the account of Christ's loveliness : I will rather chuse to press believers to their duties towards this altogether lovely Christ, which I shallbrieflydispatch in a few words.
Use. First, Is Jesus Christ altogether lovely, then I beseech you set yourfouls upon this lovely Jesus. Methinks fuchanobject as hath been here represented, should compel love from the coldest breast, and hardest heart. Away with those empty nothings, away with this vain, deceitful world, which deserves not the thousandth part of the love you give it ; let all stand aside and give way to Christ. O did you but know his worth and excellency, what he is in himself, what he hath done for, and deserved from you ; you would need noargumentsofmine to persuade you to love him.
Secondly, Esteem nothing lovely, but as it is enjoyed in Christ, or improved for Christ : Affect nothing for itself, love nothing separate from Jesus Christ. In two things we all fin in love of creatures, viz. in the excess of our affections, loving them above the rate and value of creatures ; and in the inordinacy of our affections, (i. e.) in loving them out of their proper płaces.
Thirdly, Let us all be humbled for the baseness of our hearts, that are so free of their affections to vanities, and trifles ; andfo hard to be persuaded to the love of Christ, who is altogether lovely. Ohowmanypour out streams of love and delight upon the vain and empty creature ; whilst no arguments can draw forth one drop of love from their obdurate and unbelieving hearts to Jesus Christ ! I have read of one Joannes Mollius, who was observed togo often alone, and weep bitterly ; and being pressed by a friend to know the cause of his troubles ; O ! said he, it grieves me that I cannot bring this heart of mine to love Jesus Christ more fervently.
Fourthly, Represent Christ, as he is, to the world, by your carriage towards him. I she altogether lovely; letalltheworld
SERM . XII. 331 The Method of Grace. fee, and know that he is so, by your delights in him, and communion with him ; zeal for him, and readiness to part with any other lovely thing upon his account; proclaim his excellencies to the world, as the spouse here did ; convince them how much your beloved is better than any other beloved; display his glorious excellencies in yourheavenlyconversations; hold him forth to others, as he is in himself, altogether lovely. See that you " walk worthy of him unto all well-pleasing," Col. i. 10. " Shew forth the praises of Christ," 1 Pet. ii. 19. Let not that " worthy name be blafphemed through you," James ii. 7. He is glorious in himself, and will put glory upon you ; take heedye put not shame and dish on our upon him : he hath committed his honour to you, do not betray that trust.
Fifthly, Never be ashamed to own Christ : he is altogether lovely ; he can never be a shame to you ; it will be your great fin, to be ashamed of him. Some men glory in their shame ; be not you ashamed of your glory : if you be ashamed of Christ now, he will be ashamed of you when he shall appear in his own glory, and the glory of all his holy angels. Be ashamed of nothing but fin ; and among other sins, be ashamed, especially for this fin, that you have no more love for him who is altogether lovely.
Sixthly, Be willing to leave every thing that is lovely upon earth, that you may be with the altogether lovely Lord Jesus Christ, in heaven. Lift up your voices with the spouse, Rev. XX. 20. " Come Lord Jesus, come quickly." It is true, you must pass through the pangs of death into his bosom and enjoyment; but sure it is worth suffering much more than that, to be with this lovely Jesus . " The Lord direct your hearts into " the love of God, and the patient waiting for Jesus Christ," 2 Thef. iii. 5 . Seventhly, Strive to be Christ-like, as ever you would be lovely in the eyes of God and man. Certainly, my brethren, it is the Spirit of Christ within you, and the beauty of Christ upon you, whichonlycanmakeyou lovely persons; the more you refemblehim in holiness, the more will you discover of true excellency and loveliness : and the more frequent and spiritual your converse and communion with Christ is, the more of the beauty and loveliness of Christ will still be stamped upon your spirits, changing you into the same image from glory to glory.
Eightly, Let the loveliness of Christ draw all men to him. Is loveliness in the creature so attractive ? And can the transcepdent loveliness of Christ draw none ? O the blindness of man ! Uu2
332, The Met had of Grace. SERM. XIII.
If you fee no beauty in Christ,why you should defirehim, it is because the god of this world hath blinded your minds.
SERMON XIII,
Alluring the Hearts of Men to come to CHRIST, bya fourth Motive contained in another Title of CHRIST.
HAGGAI ii. 7. --And the desire of all nationssball come.
HE former chapter is mainly spent, inreproving the ne Tgligere heroin to time, had delayed the rebuilding the temple : and, in the mean time, employed their care and cost in building andadorn ing their own houses: but, at last,being persuaded to set about the work, they meet with thisdiscouragement, that such was the poverty of the present time, that the second structure would no wayanfwer the magnificence and splendor of the first. In Solo mon's days the nation was wealthy, now drained; so that there would be no proportion betwixt the second and the first. To this granddiscouragement, the prophet applies this relief; that whatsoever shouldbewantinginexternalpomp and glory, should be more than recompensed by the presence of Jesus Chriftin this second temple. For Christ, " the desire of all nations, faith he, shall come into it. Which, by the way, maygiveus this useful note ; That the presence of Jesus Christ gives a mora real and excellent glory to the places of his worship, than any external beauty, or outward ornaments, whatsoever, can bestow upon them. Our eyes, like the disciples, areapt to be dazzled with the goodly stones of the temple, and, in the meantime,to neglect and overlookthatwhichgives it thegreatesthonourand beauty.
But to return. In these words we have both the description of Christ, and an index pointing at the time of his incarnation: he is called, " the desire of all nations;" and the time of his coming, in the flesh, is plainly intimated to be whilst the second temple should be standing. Where, by the way, we find just caule to admire at, and bemoan the blindness that is happened to the Jews ; who owning the truth of this prophecy, and not able to deny the destruction of the second temple, many hundred years past, will not yet be brought to acknowledge the incarna tion of the true Messiah, notwithstanding.
SERM . XIII. 333 The Method of Grace. But to the point. The character, or description of Christ, stined the desire of all nations, who was to come into the world in the time of the second temple, Mal. iii. 12. and that, after grievous concussions, and shakings of the world, which were to make way for his coming; for so our prophet here speaks, "[.
" will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations small " come," to which the apostle alludes, in Heb, xii. 26. applying this prophecy to Jesus Christ, here called the " desire of all " nations:" purting the act for the object, desire for the thing desired; as in Ezek.xxiv. 16. " The desire of thine eyes," that is, the desirable wife of thy bosom so here, the " desire of " all nations," that is, Christ, the object of the desires of God's elect, in all nations of the world : a Saviour infinitely desirable in himself, and actually desired by all the people of God, dispersed among all kindreds, tongues, and nations of the world. From whence this note is, Doct. That the desires of God's Elect, in all kingdoms, and among all people of the earth, are, and shall be drawn out after, andfixedupon the Lord Jesus Christ.
The merciful God beholding the universal ruins, of the world by fin, hath provided an universal remedy for his own elect, in every part of the earth. Christ is not impropriated to anyone kingdom, or nation in the world; but intended to be God's salvation to the ends of the earth; and accordingly, speaks the apostle, Col. ii. 11. " There is neither Greek, nor Jew, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all " and in all." In the explication of this point, two things must be enquired into.
1. Why Christ is called the desire of all nations. 2. Upon what account the people of God, in all nations, desire him.
First, Why he is called the desire of all nations; and what thatphrafe may import and there are divers things that are supposed, or included in it, First, That God the Father hath appointed him as a common remedy, for the fins and miseries of his people, in all parts and quarters of the world. So in the covenant of redemption, betwixt the Father and the Son, the Lordexpresseth himself, Ifa, xlix. 6. and he said, " It is a light thing that thou shouldestbe " my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the " preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the " Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of
1 The Method of Grace. SERM . XIII. " the earth." Suitable whereunto, is that prophecy, Ifa. lii15." He shall sprinkle many nations." IfGodhadnot appointed him for, he could not be desired by all nations.
And, indeed, herein the grace of God doth admirably shine forth in the freeness of it, that even the most barbarous nations are not excluded from the benefit of redemption by Christ. This is what the aposlle admires, that Christ should be preached to the Gentiles, I Tim. iii. 16. a people that seemed to be loft in thedarknessofidolatry; yet even for them, Christ was given by the Father, "Ask of me(faith he) and I will give thee the "Heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the " earth for thy possession."
Secondly, Christ, the desire of all nations, plainly notes the fufficiency that is in him, to supply the wants of the whole world : as the fun in the heavens suffices all nations, for light, and influence, so doth the Sunofrighteousness suffice for the redemption, justification, fanctification, and salvation of the people of God, all over the world ; Ifa. xlv. 22. " Look unto me, and be 66 ye saved, all ye ends of the earth ." Thirdly, It implies the reality that is ingodliness. It shews you, that religion is no fancy, as the atheistical world would persuade us; and this evidently appears, in the uniform effects of it upon the hearts of all men, in all nations of the world, that are truly religious: all their desires, like so many needles touched by one and the fame loadstone, move towards Jesus Christ, and all meet together in one and the same blessed object Christ. Were it possible for the people of God to come out of all nations, kindreds, and languages in the world, into one place, and there confer, and compare the desires and workings of their hearts; though they never faweach other's faces, nor heard of each other's names; yet, as face answers to face in a glass, fo would their desires after Christ answer to each other. All hearts work after him in the same manner ; what one faith, all fay : These are my troubles and burdens, thesemywantsand miseries ; thefamethings, mydefires and fears : one and the fame Spirit works in all believers throughout the world ; which could never be, if religion were but a fancy, as some call it ; or a combination,or confederacy, as others call it : fancies are as various as faces; and confederacies presuppose mutual acquaintance and conference.
Fourthly, Christ, the desire of all nations, implies the vast extent his kingdom hath, and snall have in the world, out of every nation, under heaven, some shall be brought to Christ, and toheavenbyhim and though the number of God's elect, com
SERM . XIII. The Method of Grace. 335 pared with the multitudes of the ungodly in all nations, is but a remnant, a little flock ; and, in that comparative sense, there are few that shall be saved: yet considered absolutely, and in themselves, they are a vast number, which no man can number, Mat. viii. II . "Many shall come from the East, and from the " West, and shall fit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, " in the kingdom of heaven." In order whereunto, the gospel, like the fun in the heavens, circuits the world. It arose in the East, and takes its course towards the western world: rising, by degrees, upon the remote, idolatrous nations of the earth : out of all which a number is to be saved, even Ethiopia small stretch 66 out her hands to God," Psal. lxviii. 31. And this consideration should move us to pray earnestly for the poor Heathens, who yet fit in darkness, and the shadow of death ; there is yet hope for them.
Fifthly, It holds forth this, that when God opens the eyes of men to fee their fin and danger by it ; nothing but Christ can give them satisfaction ; it is not the amenity, fertility, riches and pleasures, the inhabitants of any kingdom of the world do enjoy, that canfatisfy the desires of their fouls : when once God touches their hearts with the sense off in and misery : then Christ, and none but Christ, is desirable, and necessary, in the eyes of fuchpersons. Many kingdoms of the world abound with riches and pleasures ; the providence of God hath carved liberal por tions of the good things of this life to many of them, and scarce left any thing to their desires that the world can afford. Yet all this can give no satisfaction, without Jesus Christ, the desire of all nations, the one thing necessary, when once they come to see the necessity and excellency of him: then take the world, who will, so they may have Christ, the defireof their souls . Thus we fee upon what grounds, and reasons, Christ is stiled the desire of all nations.
Object. But there lies one great objection against this truth, which must be solved ; viz. If Christ be the desire of all nations, how comes it to pass, that Jesus Christ finds no entertainment insomanynationsof the world, among whom Christianity is hissed at, and Christians not tolerated to live among them ? Who see no beauty in him that they should desire him.
Sol. First, We must remember, the nations of the world have their times and seasons of conversion ; those that once embra. ced Christ, have now loft him, and idols are now set up, in the places where he once was sweetly worshipped. The fun of the gospel is gone down upon them, and now thines in another Hemisphere; and so the nations of the world are to have their
336 The Method of Grace. SERM . XIII. distinct days, and seasons of illumination. The gospel, like the sea, gaineth in one place, what it loseth in another ; and in the times and seasons appointed by the Father, they come fucceffively to be enlightened in the knowledge of Christ ; and then shall that promise be fulfilled, Ifa. xlix. 7. " Thus faith the " Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his holy One, to him " whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers; kings shall fee and arise, princes also " shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful. "
Secondly, Let it also be remembred, that altho' Christ be rejected by the rulers and body of many nations ; yet he is the desire of all the elect of God, dispersed, and scattered among those nations.
In the next place, Secondly, we are to enquire, upon what account Christ becomes the desire of all nations, (i. e.) of all those, in all the nations of the world, that belong to the election of grace. And the true ground, and reason thereof, is, because Christ, only, hath that in himself, which relieves their wants, and answers to all their need. As , First , They are all, by nature under condemnation, Rom. v. 16, 18. under the curse of the law; against which, nothing is foundinheaven or earth, able to relieve their consciences, but the blood of sprinkling, the pure and perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus : and hence it is, that Christ becomes so desirable in the eyes of poor sinners, all the world over . If any thing in nature could be found to pacify and purge the consciences of men from guilt and fear, Christ would never be desirable in their eyes; but finding no other remedy but the blood of Jesus, to him, therefore, small all the ends of the earth look for righteousness, and for peace.
Secondly, All nationsoftheworld are polluted with the filth of fin, both in nature and practice, which they shall fee, and bitterly bewail, when the light of the gospel shall shine amongst them; and the same light, by which this shall be discovered, will, also, discover the only remedy of this evil to lie in the spirit of Christ, the only fountain opened to all nations for fanctification, and cleansing: and this will make the Lord Jesus incomparably desirous in their eyes. O how welcome will he be thatcometh unto them, not by blood only, but by water also !
John i. 5, 6.
Thirdly, When the light of the gospel shall shine upon the nations, they shall then see, that, by reason of the guilt and filth of fin, they are all barred out of heaven ; those doors are chained up against them, and that none but Christ can open an
SERM . XIII. The Method of Grace.
2 337 entrance for them, into that kingdom of God: that " no man " cometh to the Father but by him," John xiv. 6. " Neither " is there any name under heaven given among men, whereby " they must be saved, but the name of Christ," Acts iv. 12. Hence the hearts of sinners shall pant after him, as a hart panteth for the water-brooks. And thus we fee upon what grounds
becomes the desire of all nations. The improvement of all followeth, in five several uses of the point; viz.
1. For information. 2. For examination. 3. For consolation. 4. For exhortation. 5. For direction. First use, for information. First, Is Christ the desire of all nations ; how vileafin is it, then, in any nation, upon whom the light of the gospel hath Shined, to reject Jesus Christ ? And say, as those in Jobxxi. 14. "Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." To thrust away his worship, government, and servants, from amongst them ; and, in effect, to say, as it is Luke xix. 14. " We will not have this man to reign over us." Thus did the Jews, Acts xiii . 46. they put away Christ from among them, and thereby judged themselves unworthy of eternal life. This is, at once, a fearfulfin, and a dreadfulfign. How foondid vengeance overtake them, like the overthrow of Sodom ? O let it be for a warning unto all nations, to the end of the world.
He would have gathered the children of Israel under his wings, as a hen doth her brood, even when the Roman Eagle was hovering over them, but they would not; therefore their houses were left unto them desolate, their city and temple made an heap.
Secondly, If Jesus Christ be the desire of all nations, how incomparably happy, then, must that nation be, that enjoys Christ, in the power, and purity of his gospel-ordinances ! If Christ, under a veil, made Canaanaglorious land (as it is called) Dan. xi. 41. what a glorious place must that nation be, that beholds him with open face, in the bright fun-shine of the gospel ! OEngland, know thy happiness, and the day of thy visitation ; what others desire, thou enjoyest : provoke not the Lord Jesus to depart from thee, by corrupting his worship, longing after idolatry, abusing his messengers, and oppressing his people, lest hisfouldepart from thee. Second use, for examination. If Christ be the desire of all nations, examine whether hebe VOL. II. Xx
338 The Method of Grace. SERM. XIII, the desire of your souls, in particular; else you shall have no benefit by him. Are your desires, after Christ, true, spiritual detires ? Reflect, I beleech you, upon the frames and tempers of your hearts. Can you fay, of your desires after Christ, as Peter did of his love to Christ ? Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knoweft that Idefire thee. Try your desires, as to their sincerity, by the following characters : First, Are they vehement, and ardent ? Hath Christ the supreme place, in your desires ? Do you esteem all things to be butdross, and dung, in comparison of the excellencies of Jesus Christ your Lord ? Phil. iii. 8. Is he to you, as the refuge-city to the man-flayer ? Heb. vi. 18, 19. As a spring of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land ? Ifa. xxxii. 2. Such vehement desires are true desires.
Secondly, Are your desires after Christ universal; (i. e.)Is every thing in Christ desirable in your eyes ? The hypocrite, like the harlot, is for a divided Christ; they would be called by his name, but live upon their own stock, Ifa. iv. 1. If his holiness, and government, his crols, and sufferings, be desirable for his sake ; such universal desires are right desires.
Thirdly, Are your desires after Christ, industrious desires, using all the means of accomplishing what you desire ! You say you desire Christ, but what will you do to obtain your desires? If you seek him carefully, and incessantly, in all the ways ofdu ty ; if you will strive in prayer, labour to believe, cut off right hands, and pluck out right eyes, fi. 8.) be content to part with the most profitable, and pleasant ways of fin, that you may enjoy Christ, the desire of your souls ; then are your desires right desires.
Fourthly, Are your desires after Christ permanent desires, or only a sudden motion, or fit which goes off again, without effect! If your desires after Christ abide upon your hearts; if your longings be after him at all times, though not in the fame height and degree; then are your desires, right desires. Christ always dwells in the desires of his people; they can feel him in their desires, when theycannotdifcern him in their love or delight.
Fifthly, Will your desires after Christ admit no satisfaction, nor find rest any where, but in the enjoyment of Christ ? Thea are your desires right desires. The soul thatdefires Christ, can never be at reft, till it come home to Christ, 2 Cor. v. 2, 6. Phil. i. 23. The devil can satisfy others with the riches and pleasures of this world, as children are quieted with rattles ; but if nothing but Christ can rest, and terminate your desires; surely such reltleis desires are rightdefires.
SERM . XIII. 339 The Method of Grace.
Sixthly, Do your desires after Christ spring from a deep sense of your need and want of Christ ? Hath conviction opened your eyes to fee your misery, to feel your burthens, and to make you sensible that your remedy lies only in the LordJefus ? Ther - are your desires right desires. Bread and water are made necessary and desirable, by hunger and thirst: by these things try the truth of your desires after Christ.
Third use, for consolation . Do you indeed, upon serious trial, find such desires after Christ, as were described above ? O bless the Lord for that day *wherein Christ, the desire of all nations, became the desire of your souls ; and, for your comfort, know that you are happy and blessed fouls at present.
First, Blessed in this, that your eyes have been opened to fee both the want and worth of Christ. Had not Christ applied his precious eye-salve to the eyes of your mind, you could never havedefired him; you would have said, with them in Ifa. iii 2, 3. " He hath no form norcomelinefs, and when we shall " see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him : " Or, as they to the spouse, Cant. v. 9. "What is thy beloved more " than another beloved ?" O blessed souls, enlightened of the Lord ; to fee those things that are hid from them that perish !
Secondly, You are blessed in this, that your desires after Christ are a sure evidence that the desire of Christ is towards you : had he not first defiredyou, you could never have desired him. We may say of desires, as it is said of love, we desire him because he first desired us : your desires after Christ are inflamed from the desires of Christ after you.
Thirdly, Blessed in this, that your desires shall surely be satisfied; Mat. v. 6. " Bieffed are they that hunger and thirst af46 ter righteousness, for they shall be filled." Prov.x. 24. "The " desires of the righteous thall be granted." God never raised such desires as these in the souls of his people, to be a torment to them for ever.
Fourthly, Blessed in this, that God hath guided your desires to make the best choice that ever was made in the world : whilst the desires of others are hunting after riches, pleasure, andhonours in the world; toiling themselves, like children, in pursuit ofa painted butter-fly, which, when they have caught, doth but daub their fingers : God, mean while, hath directed your desires to Christ, the most excellent object in heaven or earth . Any good will satisfy some men ; O happy foul, if none but Christ can fatisfythee ! Psal. iv. 6.
Xx 2
340 The Method of Grace. SERM . XIII.
in this, that there is a work of grace certainly wrought upon thy foul ; and these very desires after Christ, are apart thereof, Sixthly, Blessed in this, that these desires after Christ, keep thy soul active, andworkingafterhim continually in the ways of duty ; Psal. xxvii. 4. " One thing have I desired, that will I " seek after." Desire will be a continual spring to diligence and industry, in the ways of duty: the desire of the end, quick. ens to the use of means, Prov. xviii. 1. Others may fall asleep, and cast off duty; but it will be hard for you to do fo, whose souls burn with desire after Christ.
Seventhly, Blessed in this, that your desires after Christ will make death much the sweeter and easier to you ; Phil . i. 23.
" I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, which is far " better." When a Christian was once asked, Whether he was willing to die ? He returned this answer *, " Let him be " unwilling to die, who is unwilling to go to Christ." And much like it, was that of another, Vivererenuo,ut Christo vivam; I refuse this life, to live with Christ.
Fourth use, for exhortation. In the fourth place, let me exhort and persuade all to make Jesus Christ the desire and choice of their souls. And here ! fall in with the main scope and design of the gospel. An dO that I could effectually press home this exhortation upon your hearts: let me offer some moving considerations to you, and may the Lord accompany them to your hearts.
First, Every creature naturallydefires its own preservation; do not you desire the preservation of your precious and immor tal fouls ! If you do, then make Christ your desire and choice, without whom, they can never be preserved, Jude, ver. 1 .
Secondly, Do not your souls earnestly desire the bodies they live in ? How tender are they over them, how careful to pro vide for them? though they payadear rent for those tenements they live in. And is not union with Christ infinitely more de firable than the union of foul and body ? O covet union with him ! then shall your souls be happy, whenyourbodiesdrop off from them, at death, 2 Cor. v. 1, 3. yea, foul and body shall be happy in him, and with him, for evermore .
Thirdly, How do the men of this world desire the enjoyments of it ? They pant after the dust of the earth ; they rise early, fit up late, eat the bread ofcarefulness; and all this for very van i y: Shall aworldling do more for earth, than you for heaven!
Ill i us eft nolle mori, qui nolle ire ad Chriftum.
SERM. XIII. 341 The Method of Grace.
Shall the creature be so earnestly desired, and Christ neglected ?
Fourthly, What do all your desires in this world benefit you , if you go chrifttess ? Suppose you had the desire of your hearts in thele things, how long shall you have comfort in them, if you miss Christ ?
Fifthly, Doth Christ desire you, who have nothing lovely or desirable in you ? And have you no desires after Christ, the most lovely, and desirable one in both worlds ? " Hisdefires are to- " wards you," Prov. viii. 31. O make him the desire and choice of your souls.
Sixthly, How absolutely necessary is Jesus Christ to your souls ? Bread and water, breath and life, are not so necessary as Christ is ; " One thing is necessary," Luke x. 42. and that one thing is Christ. If you miss your desires in other things, you may yet be happy ; but if you miss Christ you are undone for ever.
Seventhly, How suitable a good is Christ to your souls ? comprising whatsoever they want, I Cor. i. 30. Set your hearts where you will, none will be found to match and suit them, as Christ doth, Eigthly, How great are the benefits that will redound to you by Jesus Christ ! In him you shall have a rich inheritance settled upon you ; all things shall be yours, when you are Christ's, 1 Cor. iii. 22. And is not such a Christ worth desiring ? Ninthly, All your well-grounded hopes of glory are built upon your union with Christ, I Cor. i. 21. If you miss Christ, you must die without hope. Will not this draw yourdefires to him? い Tenthly, Suppose you were at the judgment-feat of God, where you must shortly stand, and saw the terrors of the Lord in that day; the sheep divided from the goats; the sentences of absolution and condemnation passed, by the great and awful
Judge, upon the righteous and wicked: would not Christ be then defireable in your eyes ? As ever you expect to stand with comfort at that bar, let Christ be the desire and choice of your souls now.
Fifth use, for direction. Do these, or any other considerations, put thee upon this enquiry; how shall I get my desires kindled and enflamed towards Christ ? Alas ! my heart is cold and dead, not a serious desire stirring in it after Christ. To such I shall offer the following directions.
Direct . 1. Redeem some time every day for meditation; get out of the noise and clamour of the world, Psal. iv. 4. and feri
342 SERM. XIII, The Method of Grace. ously bethink yourselves how the present state of your soul
and how it is like to go with you for ever : here all found conversion begins, Plal. cxix. 59.
Direct. 2. Confider seriously of that lamentable state, in which you came into the world; children of wrath by nature, under the curse and condemnation of the law: so that either your state must be changed, or you inevitably damned, John iii. 3.
Direct. 3. Confider the way and course you have taken since you came into the world, proceeding from iniquity to iniquity.
What command of God have you not violated a thousand times over? What siniscommittedin the world, that you are not, one way or other, guilty of before God ? How many secret fins upon your score, unknown to the most intimate friend you have in the world?Either this guilt mustbeseparatedfrom your souls, or your souls from God to all eternity.
Direct. 4. Think upon the severe wrath of God due to every fin; "The wages of sin is death," Rom. vi, 23. And how intolerable the fulness of that wrath must be, when a few drops sprinkled upon the confciencein this world, issounsupportable, that hath made some tochuse strangling, rather than life ; and yet this wrath must abide for ever upon you, if you getnotinterest in Jesus Christ, John iii. 36 .
Dirett. 5. Ponder well the happy state and condition they are in who have obtained pardon, and peace by Jesus Christ, Psal. xxxii. 12. And seeing the grace of God is free, and you are set under the means thereof; why may not you be as capablethereofas others ?
Direct. 6. Seriously confider the great uncertainty of your time, and preciousness of the opportunity of salvation, never to be recovered, when they are once past, John ix. 4. let this provoke you to lay hold upon those golden seasons whilst thy are yet with you ; that you may not bewail your folly and madness, when they are out of your reach.
Direct. 7. Associate yourselves with serious Christians ; get into their acquaintance,and beg their assistance; beseech them to pray for you; and fee that you rest not here, but be frequently upon your knees, begging of the Lord a new heart, and a new state.
In conclusion of the whole, let me beserch and beg all the people of God, as upon my knees, to take heed, and beware, left by the carelesness and scandal of their lives, they quench the weak desires beginning to kindle in the hearts of others. You know what the law of God awards for striking a woman with child, fo that her fruitgo from her,Exod. xxi: 22, 23.0
SERM. XIV. The Method of Grace. 343 shed not foul-blood,by stifting the hopeful desires of any after Christ.
Blessed be God for Jesus Christ, the desire of all nations.
SERMON
XIV.
Containing the fifth Motive to apply CHRIST, drawn from another excellent Title of CHRIST .
1 COR. ii. 8. Which none of the princes of this world have known, forbad they known him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
IN this chapter, the apostle discourses to the Corinthians, of the excellency of his ministry, bothtoobviate the contempt which some caftupon it for wantofhumanornaments,and to give the greater authority unto it among all : and whereas the spiritual simplicity of his ministry laiditunderthe contempt offome, he removes that several ways, by shewing them, First, That it was not suitable to the design and end of his ministry, his aim being " to know nothing among them, faveJe- " fus Christ, and him crucified, " ver. 1 , 2 .
Secondly, Neither was it for the advantage of their souls : it might indeed tickle their fancies,but could be no solid foundation to their faith and comfort, ver. 4, 5 .
Thirdly, Though his discourses seemed jejune and dry to carnal hearers, yet they had a depth and excellency in them, which spiritual and judicious Christians saw and acknowledged, ver. 6, 7.
Fourthly, Therefore this excellent wisdom which he preached far transcended all the natural wisdom of this world ; yea, the most raised and improved understandings of those that were most renowned and admired in that age for wisdom, ver. 8. " which none of the princes of this world knew." 66
In which words we have,
1.A negative proposition. 2. The proof of the proposition. First, A negative proposition : None of the princes of this worldknewthat spiritual wisdom which he taught. By princes of this world, or rather, principes feculi, the princes of that age, he means, as Cameron well notes, the learned Rabbi's, Scribes, and Pharifees, renowned for wisdom and learning a
344 The Method of Grace. SERM . XIV. mong them; and honoured, upon that account, as so many princes: but he adds a diminutive term, which darkens all glo. ry. They are but the princes of this world, utterly unacquaintedwith the wisdom of the other world. To which he adds, " Secondly, A clear and full proof; " For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." In which words we find one of Christ's glorious and royal titles, The Lord of glory : upon which title will be my present discourse. The words being fitly rendered, and nothing of ambiguity in them, they give us this observation.
Doct. That Christ crucified is the Lordofglory. Great and excellent is the glory of Jesus Christ, the scriptures every where proclaim his glory; yea, we may observe a notable climax, or gradation, in those scriptures that speak of his glory. The prophet Haiah, speaking of him, calls him glorious ; lla. iv. 2. " In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious." John, speaking of his glory, rises a step higher, andascribeth to him a " glory, as oftheonlybegotten Son of the " Father," John i. 14. i. e. a glory meet for, and becoming the Son of God: proper to him, and incommunicable to any other. The apostle James rises yet higher, and doth not only call him glorious, or glorious as the only begotten of the Father ; but the glory, James ii . 1. glory in the abstract; " My brethren, (faith " he), have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory, " with respect of persons ;" For the word Lord, which is in our translation, is a supplement; Christ is glory itself, yea, the glory emphatically so stiled; the glory of heaven; the glory of Sion ; the glory of our souls for ever. The author to the Hebrews goes yet higher, and calls him not simply the glory, but " the " brightness of the Father's glory, " * Heb. i. 3. as though he should say, the radiancy, sparkling, or beaming forth of his Father's glory; the very splendor, or refulgency of divine glory. O what a glorious Lord is our Lord Jesus Chrft ! the bright, sparkling diamond of heaven ; who shines inglorythere, above the glory of angels and faints, as the glory of the fun excels the lesser, twinkling stars. When he appeared to Paul, Acts xxvi.
13. " I saw, faith he, a light from heaven above the bright- " ness of the fun, shining round about me:" Needs must the glory of Christ be unspeakable, who reflects glory upon all that are with him, John xvii. 24. and stamps glory upon all that belong to him. His works on earth were glorious works, Luke xiii . 17. the purchased liberty of his people, a glorious liberty, * Απαύγασμα της δόξης.
SERM . XIV. 345 The Method of Grace. Rom. viii. 21. the church his mystical body, a glorious church, Eph . v. 27. the gospel which reveals him, is a glorious gospel, 1Tim. i. 11. But, more particularly, let us consider the glory of Christ, as it is distinguished into his, either,
1. Essential , or, 2. Mediatorial glory. First, The essential glory of Christ, which he hath as God from everlasting ; which is unspeakable and unconceivable glory: For (faith the apostle, Phil. ii. 6.) " He being in the form " of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God," (i. e.) he had a peerage or equality with his Father in glory ; John *. 30. " I and my Father are one." And again, John xvi. 15. " All things that the Father hath, are mine:" the fame name, the fame nattire, the same essential properties, the fame will, and the fame glory.
Secondly, The mediatorial glory of Christ is exceeding great, This is proper to him, as the head of the church, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Of this glory the apostle speaks, Phil. ii. 9, 10. " Wherefore God also hath exalted him, and 66 given him a name, which is above every name," σι. υπερυψωσέ, exalted above all exaltation. Now the mediatorial glory of our Lord Jesus Christ consisteth either,
1. In the fulness of grace inherent in him : or, 2. In the dignity and authority put upon him. First, In the fulness of grace inherent in him : The humanity of Christ is filled with grace, as the fun with light : John 1. 14. " Full of grace and truth." Never any creature was filled by the Spirit of grace, as the man Christ Jesus is filled; for " God gives not the Spirit to him by measure," John iii. 34. By reason of this fulness of grace inherent in him, he is " fairer " than the children of men," Psal. xlv. 2. excelling all the saints in spiritual luftre and gracious excellencies.
Secondly, In the dignity and authority put upon him. He is crowned King in Sion; all power in heaven and earth is given unto him, Mat. xxviii. 18. he is a law-giver to the church, James iv. 12. all acts of worship are to be performed in his name ; prayer, preaching, cenfures, sacraments, all to be adminiftred in his name. Church-officers are commissioned by him, Eph. iv. II . The judgment of the world in the great day will be administred by him ; Mat. xxv. 31. "Then shall " he fit upon the throne of his glory."
To conclude, Jesus Christ shall have glory and honour a VOL. II. Yy
346 The Method of Grace. SERM . XIV.
for evermore, by angels and saints, upon the account of his mediatorial work : this some divines call his passive glory, the glory which he is said to receive from his redeemed ones. Rev. v. 8, 9, 10. " And when he had taken the book, " the four beasts, and the four and twenty elders, fell down be- " fore the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden " vials full ofodours, which are the prayers of the saints ; and " they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and " haft redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, " and tongue, and people, and nation," &c. And thus you fee, that our Lord Jesus Christ is, upon all accounts, the Lord of glory. The uses follow.
Inference 1. How wonderful was the love of Christ, the Lordofglory, to befo abusedandhumbled, ashe was for us , vile andfinfulduft? It is astonithing to conceive, that ever Jesus Christ should strip himself of his robes of glory, to clothe himself with the mean garment of our flesh : O what a stoop did he make, in his incarnation, for us! If the most magnificent monarch upon earth had been degraded into a toad; if the fun in the heavens had been turned into a wandering atom; if the most glorious angel in heaven had been transformed even into a fly; it had been nothing to the abasement of the Lord of glory. This act is every where celebrated in scripture, as the great mystery, the astonishing wonder of the whole world, 2 Tim. iii. 16. Phil. ii. 8. Rom . viii. 3. The Lord of glory looked not like himself, when he came in the habit of a man ; Ifa. liii. 3. We hid, as it were, " our faces from him : " Nay, rather like a worm, than a man ; Psal. xxii. 6. " A reproach of men,and despised of the people." The birds of the air, and beasts of the earth were here provided of better accomodations than the Lord of glory, Mat. viii.
" Ostupendous abasement ! Olove unspeakable ! Though " he was rich, yet for our fakes he became poor, that we through " his poverty might be rich," 2 Cor. viii. 9. He put off the crown of glory, to put on the crown of thorns: Quanto pro me vilior, tanto mihi charior, said Bernard ; The lower he humbled bimself for me, the dearer he shall be to me.
Infer. 2. How transcendently glorious is the advancement of believers, by their union with the Lord of glory! This, also, is an admirable and astonishing mystery; it is the highest dignity of which our nature is capable, to be hypostatically united; and the greatest glory of which our persons are capable, to be myfiically united to this Lord of glory; to be bone of his
SERM . XIV . 347 The Method of Grace. bone, and flesh of his flesh. O what is this ! Christian dost thou know and believe all this, and thy heart not burn, within thee, in love to Christ ? O ! then, what a heart haft thou ? What art thou, by nature, but finfuldust, a loathsome sinner, viler than the vilest creature, cast out to the loathing of thy person in the day of thy nativity ! O that ever the Lord of glory should unite himself to such a lump ofvileness ! take such a wretch into his very bosom ! Be astonished, O heavens and earth, at this ! this is the great mystery which the angels
down to look into: Such an honour as this, could never have entered into the heart of man . It would have seemed a rude blasphemy in us, to once have thought, or spoken of such a thing, had not Christ made first the motion thereof: Yet how long didst thou make this Lord of glory wait upon thy undetermined will, before he gained thy consent ? Might he not justly have spurned thee into hell, upon thy first refusal , and never have made thee such another offer ? Wilt thou not fay, Lord, what am I, and what is my father's house, that fo great a King should stoopso far beneath himself, to such a worm as I am ! That strength should unite itself to weakness, infinite glory to such baseness ! O grace, grace, for ever to be admired !
Infer. 3. Is Jesus Christ the Lord of glory ? Then let noman count himself dishonoured by suffering the vilest indignities for his fake : The Lord of glory putsgloryupon the very suffering you undergo in this world for him. " Moses esteemed the re-
66 proaches of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt," Heb. xi. 26. he cast a kingdom at his heels, to be crowned with reproaches, for the name of Christ. The diadem of Egypt was nøt half so glorious, as self-denial for Christ. This Lord of glory freely degraded himself for thee, wilt thou stand hefitatingwith him upon terms ? It is certainly your honour to be difhonoured for Christ, Acts v. 41. to you it is given, in behalf of Christ, not only to believe, but also to suffer for his sake, Phil. i. 29. The gift of suffering is there matched with the gift of faith; it is given as an honorarium, a badge ofhonour to suffer for the Lord of glory. As all have not the honour to wear the crown of glory in heaven, so few have thehonour to wear the chain of Christ upon earth. * Thuanus reports of LodovicusMarsacus, a knight of France, that, being led to suffer with other martyrs, who were bound, and he unbound, because a Yy 2
Curme non quoque torque donas, et infignis bujus ordinis militem creas ? Thuanus.
348 The Method of Grace. SERM. XIV. person of honour ; he cried out, " Why don't you honour " me with a chain, too, and create me a knight of that no- " ble order ?" My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, James i. 2. (i. e.) trials by sufferings. David thought it an honour to be vile for God, and that is a true observation, that disgrace itself is glorious when endured for the Lordofglory.
Infer. 4. Is Christ the Lord of glory ? How glorious, then, Shall the faints one day be, when they shall be made like this glori ous Lord, and partake of his glory in heaven ? John xvii. 22, " The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them :" Yea, thevilebodies of believers shall be made like to the glorious body of Christ, Phil. iii. 21. What glory, then, will be communicated to their souls ? True, his essential glory is incommu. nicable ; but there is a glory which Christ will communicate to his people. "When he comes to judge the world, he will come 66 to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them " that believe," 2 Thef. i. 10. Thus he seemeth to account his social glory, which shall result from his faints, a great part