29 Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away
Sacramental Meditations.
THE FIFTH
MEDITATION,
UPON JOHN i. 29. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the fins of the world.
THE ſcope of this chapter, is to prove the divinity and eternalGodhead ofJesus Chrift.
One of thoſe argumentsbywhich this great article offaith is confimredandproved is the teftimony of John.
This testimony of John is the more remarkable, becauſe it was before prophefied of him, that when the Meffiah ſhouldcome, this meſſenger ſhouldgo before his face, to prepare the way for him, Mal. iii. t.
Now,among allthe teftimoniesthatever John gave ofChriſt, none ever was, or couldbe more full and clearthan this in the text: " Beholdthe Lamb ofGod, which taketh away the fins of " the world !"
In which words are remarkable, 1. Thepreface to his teſtimony. 2. The teftimony itſelf.
First, The preface or introductionto John's teftimony; Behold! there is adouble ufein ſcripture of this word: fometimes it is uſedby way of indication, and ſometimes byway of excitation.
In the firſt, it points out the perſon; inthe : laſt, it raifes our affections to him.
In this place it hath both thefe ufes.
Behold the Lamb ofGod! q. d.
This is thegreat expectati- ⚫on and hope of allages.
This perſon whom youbehold, is •the defire ofallnations.
Lo this, is Godmanifest in the flesh.
• This is thegreat facrifice, the Lamb ofGod : Never did hư- ⚫man eyes behold fuch an object before.'
Secondly, The testimony itſelf: Which mustbe confidered two ways ; as it reſpects. 1. The truth and reality ; 2. The virtueanddignity of Chriſt its object.
First, John's teftimony reſpects the truth and reality of the object : This is ο αμνos, the Lamb of God; the very antitype towhich all legal facrifices had reſpect, and from which they derived all their value and virtue ; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, as he had faid before, ver. 17. The paſchal lamb
andthe lamb for daily facrifice, were but the types and ſhadows ofthis Lamb ofGort.
Sacramental Meditations.
Secondly, His teftimony reſpects the virtue anddignity of Chrift and his blood.
He taketh away thefin of the world.
The Greek word, αιρειν, (as DeDieu, a learned critic, obſerves) anſwers both the Hebrew words, לכשס ii. and ſignify not only tobear, butto bear away ; Potando expiat, expiando aufert, efficitque ut remittatur. By bearing fin, he expiates it ; by expiating,takes it away, or procures the remiſſion ofit.
The expreffion ſeems to allude to theſcape-goat, mentioned Lev. xvi. 22. Thus Chriſt really and wholly takes away the fin of the world; i. e. the fin of all believers in the world, for whom he was ſacrificed ? as Drufius well expounds it, concurring with the ſtream offound expofitors.
So that this is a very full teftimony which John gives to Chrift, and it is given with great affection, and admiration ofhim : Behold ! yea, admirein in beholding the Lamb ofGod, which taketh away thefin of the world. Behold him with affections ſuitable toſuch an object ; Ecce perfona a Deo ordinata, in victimam ad expiandum peccata. Grotius.
Behold the perſon appointed byGod, for a ſacrifice to expiate fin ! Now, tho' this ſcripture be very fruitful in practical obſervations, yet it is notmy purpoſe, at this time, to note or profecute any of themexcept this one,whichriſes from the prefatory particle, or that note of admiration, with which John's teftimony of Chrift is ushered in : Behold the Lamb ofGod ! And the note thence will be this :
Doct. That Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is to be beheld with admiration and affection fuitable to fuch an object.
Chrift is beheld by men three ways :
First, Carnally, with an eye of flesh: So men ſaw him in thedays of his flesh, and deſpiſed him, Ifa. liii. 2. Carnal eyes ſawnobeauty in him, thathe ſhould be defired.
Secondly, Fiducially,by the eye offaith : believing, is feeing Chriſt, John vi. 40. Faith is to the faints inſtead ofeyes : By it they make Chriſt preſent, tho' the heavens have received him out of our carnal fight, Thirdly, Beatifically, by the glorified eye : ſo thespirits of just men made perfect do, by their mental eye, ſee him in glory; and all the faints, after the refurrection, ſhall with theſe coporeal eyes, ſee their Redeemer, according to Jobxix. 26, 27,
The fight ofChriſt byfaith(which is all the fight ofhim that anyman now hath, or can have in this world) as it is much more excellentthan the first; for " bleffed are they that have
"notſeen, andyet believe," Johnxx. 29. ſoit is much inferior L12
Sacramental Meditations. tothe laſt; 1 Cor. xiii. 12. " For now we feedarkly through a "glaſs, butthen face toface." Buttho' itbe an inferior viſion in reſpect ofthatwhich is immediate and perfect ; yet the eye offaith is a precious eye, and the viſions of Chriſt by faith, are raviſhing vifions ; and hethat beholds Chriſt, the Lamb of God, by a steady fixed eye of faith, cannot butadmire, and be deeply affected with ſuch a fightofhim. The views ofChriſt by faith, are raviſhing and tranſporting views, 1 Pet. i. 8.
"Whom having notfeen, ye love; in whom, though now " ye ſee him not, yet believing, ye rejoice withjoy unſpeak- " able, and full ofglory."
It is adiſparagement to ſoglorious an object as Chrift, to beholdhim, and not wonder; to fee, andnot love him. Certainlythe admiration, love, delight, andjoy ofourhearts, are allthe command of faith: for let usbut conſiderwhat ravish-
ing excellencies are in Chriſt, for the eye ofa believerto behold and admire.
First, God is inChrift, 2 Cor. v. 19. He isGodmanifest in theflesh, 1 Tim. iii. 16. AGod incarnate, isthe world'swonder! Here is finiteand infinitejoined in one; eternitymatchedwith time ; the Creator and creature making but one perfon ! " The Lordhath createda new thing upon the earth ;A " woman ſhall compaſs a man," Jer. xxxi . 22. It is an argument ofweakneſs, to admire little things ; and of ſtupidity, not to admire great things.
Many,miracles (faith one) were wrought by Chriſt in the flesh; but the greatest ofall mi- ⚫racles was his aſſumption of fleſh.'
Secondly, The wisdom ofGod is inChriſt ; yea, in himare, hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, Col. ii. 3. Neverdid thedivine wisdomdiſplay its glorious beams, in the eyesofmenandangels, in anywork ofGod ſince the beginning oftime, as ithathdone inthe defignation ofChriſt tobe the Lamb ofGod, afacrifice for fin. Beholdthe Lamb ofGod! and inhim behold the unſearchable wisdom of God, in recoveringthe elect perfectly from all the danger of fin, andyet making fin more dreadful to them, by wayof their recovery from it, than ever itcouldbe madeby anyother confideration.
Infinitewisdom, infuiting the ſinner's remedyto thecauſe ofhis diſeaſe ! The diſeaſe was the pride ofman; theremedy was the humiliation ofthe Son ofGod. Man affected to be as God; that ruinedhim: God comes down, aſſumes fleſh, and willbe found in faſhion as a man ; that ſavedhim.
Oprofound wisdom ! which from the lofs and ruin of our. primitiveglory (whichwas theundoing ofus, foul and bo
Sacramental Meditations.
dy) takes the occaſion of raiſing us to a far better ſtate, and ſettles us in it with amuch betterſecurity thanthe former.
Who but Jeſus Chriſt, the wisdom ofGod, (as he is called, 1 Cor. i. 24.) could ever have ordered and over-ruledthe worſt ofevils, ſo as by occaſion ofthebreach ofthe law, to raiſe more glory to God, than ever could have been givento him by the moſtpunctual obſervation ofits commands, or by the moſt rigorous executionofits penalties ? O the astonishing depth of wiſdom!
Thirdly, The love ofGod is in Chriſt, Behold the Lamb of God! and in him behold the love ofGod, in the highest and moſt triumphant diſcovery that ever was, or can be made of it inthis world !
1 John iv. 10. " Herein is love, not that we " loved him, but that he loved us, and ſent his Son tobethe
"propitiation for our fins." Ohere, here is the love ofGod to ſinners! he manifeſts love tous, in ourdaily provifions, protections, deliverances, and comforts. That we have health, when othersgroan underpains ; therein is love: thatwe have bread. to eat, when others are ready to perish ; therein is love. O ! but tohave Chriſt to be a propitiation for us, when the angels that fell were left deſperate ; thereinwas love indeed ! All the lovethatbreaks out in the variety ofprovidences for us in this world, in our health and eſtates, in our relations and comforts, isnothing comparedwith this love : Herein is love indeed !
Fourthly, The tender mercies of God over poor por finners are in Chriſt. As Chrift is the mercy promiſed, Luke i. 72. the capital mercy; ſo he isthe channel, thro' which allthe ſtreams ofGod's mercy flow freely to the fons ofmen, Jude 21. The mercy ofGod to eternal life, orhis faving mercies, are only diſpenſedtous thro' Jeſus Chriſt.
Behold the Lamb of God! a Lamb prepared by the aftoniſhing mercy ofGod, a facrifice forus, when no ſacrifice was laidout for fallen angels. Mercyalone hath made this difference : mercy opened its tender eye, and looked through Chriſt upon us, inthe depth of our mifery : in Chrift it is that the milder attribute of mercy is exerciſeduponus, whilſt ſeverejustice punishes them.
Fifthly, All the hopes of poor finners are in Chriſt, Col. i.
27. Take away Chriſt, and where is the hope of our fouls ?
Tim. i. 1. itis by the blood of the Lamb that we have bope towards God : inhis oblation, and no where elſe, our hope of : falvation finds footing: on him it is, the anchor of hope is fixed, and the foul ſtayed, when the ſtorms of fear and inward trouble do arife, and beat violently upon it.
Sixthly, The falvation ofourfouls toeternity, is in Chriſt ;
Sacramental Meditations.
Acts iv. 12. " Neither is there any other, name givenunder heavenbywhich we must be ſaved." He is theark, in whom we are preferved, Jude ver. 1. Look, as the ſprinkling ofthe blood of thePaſchal Lambupon the door-poſts of the Ifraelites, was that which preſerved them from the destroying angel ; fo theblood of Chriſt, the Lamb ofGod, typified by that blood, faves believers from the wrath to come.
But who can open the unſearchable riches, or recount the raviſhing excellencies found in Chriſt ? Angels, and the ſpirits ofjuſtmen made perfect, behold, and admire for evermore, the incomparable excellencies of Chriſt ! Heaven would be no heaven to them, ifthey could not behold Chriſt there, Pfal.
Ixxiii. 25.
But mybuſineſs rather lies in improving this point, thanendeavouring farther to unfoldit : for new wonders will appear in Chriſt, ifwe behold him to eternity.
1 Ufe. And all the improvement I ſhall make ofit, ſhallbe in one uſe ofexhortation ; beſeeching everyoneof you, whatever yourprefent condition and eſtate be, " to beholdthe Lamb of " God,which taketh awaythe fin ofthe world!" And,
First, Ifthere be found amongyou anythat are ſenſible ofa ſtony hard heart, which cannot relent and mourn for all the wrongdone to Jeſus Chrift, by fin, whoſe affections are bet numbed and ſtupified by fin, fo that no confiderations they can urgeupon their own hearts, are able to thaw them, and cauſe arelenting pang for fin ; to ſuch I would direct the words of this text, as the most effectual means to melt ſuch hearts.
Lookhither, hard heart ; " Behold the Lamb ofGod !" Confider, believe, and apply what is hereſenſibly repreſented ; and thy heart ishard indeed, if it relent not upon ſuch a view of Chrift.
It is faid, Zech.xii. 10. " They ſhall look uponme, " whom theyhave pierced, and mourn."
Behold the Son of God, brought " as a Lamb to the flaughter" for thee, a vile, polluted finner ! Behold the invaluable blood ofthis facrifice,
: thed for thee ! Bring thy thoughts cloſe to this ſubject ; think who it is that was made a Lambfor facrifice ; forwhom he endured all his unspeakable fufferings ; how meekly and wil lingly he endured all the wrath ofGod and men, ſtanding in his perfect innocency, tobe flain for thee.
Behold ! he was " made fin forthee, who had no fin ; that thou, who hadſt no " righteouſneſs, mightest be made the righteouſneſs ofGod in him." Oh ! whoever loved thee atthat rate Chriſt hath done ? Who would endure that miſery that Chriſt did endure for thy fake ? Would thy father, or the wife ofthy boſom,
Sacramental Meditations.
orthy friend, that is asthy ownfoul,be contentto feel that for thee (though but one hour) which Chriſt felt, when " his
" ſweet was as it hadbeen great drops ofblood falling to " down to the ground ?" Nay, thou wouldeft never taſte ſuch acup for the ſaving ofthine own child, as Chriſt drank off, whenhe cried, "MyGod ! myGod ! why haft thou forſaken
" me ?" Behold how he loved thee !
Surely, if the rocks rent afunder at his paſſion, thy heart is harderthan a rock, ifit thaw not at ſuch a fight as this.
Fix thine eyes awhile here, and thine eye will affectthyheart.
Secondly, Is there any among us that maketoo light of fin, and are easily overcome by every temptation to the commif fion of it ? O come hither, and " behold the Lamb ofGod !" andyou cannot poſſiblyhave flight thoughts of fin after ſucha fight of Chrift.
Seehere the price offin ! behold what it coft the Lord Jesus Chriſt to expiate it. Did he come into the world as a Lamb, bound with the bands of an irreverſible decree, to die for fin ?
Did he come from the boſom ofthe Father, to be our ranſomer, andthat at the price of his own life ?
Did the hand of ſevere justice ſhed the heart-blood of this immaculate Lamb, to fatisfy for thewrongs thy fins have done toGod ? Andyet,canstthou look upon fin as a light matter ?
God forbid!
I remember, when the worthies of Ifrael brake through the hoſt of the Philistines, and brought unto David the waters of thewell ofBethlehem, itisfaid, 2Sam. xxiii. 17. "Hewould
" not drink thereof, but poured it out before the Lord, and " faid, Be it far from me, that I shoulddothis : Is not this the "blood of the men that went injeopardyoftheir lives ?"
He longed for it, and yet would not taſte it, how pleaſant foever it wouldhave been tohim, confidering what hazard was run toobtain it.
Ah Chriſtian ! it was but the hazard of their blood, that gave check to David's appetite to thewater : And if the water had coſt an equal quantity of their blood, yet it had been but alowargument todiſſuade him from drinking it, tothis confiderationthat now lies before thee.
Thy ſin actually coſt the blood of Christ; one drop whereof is more valuable than all humanblood ; and yet wiltthou not denythy lufts, nor refift atemptationfor his fake ? " Behold the lamb ofGod, flain for " thy fin!" and thou canst neverhave flight thoughts of it anymore.
Thirdly, Is there any among you that droop, and are difcouragedintheir ſpirits,becauſe oftheir manifold aggravated
Sacramental Meditations. iniquities ; who being overweighed with the burthenſome ſenſe of fin, deſpond and ſink in their minds ? To ſuch I would apply the words ofmy text,as a ſovereign cordial, to revive their hearts and hopes : "Behold the Lamb ofGod, that taketh away the fin ofthe world!"
Iftheblood ofthe Lamb can take away the fin ofthe world, itcantake awaythy fin,though therebe aworld of fin in thee.
For dobut confider Chriſt, as deſigned from eternity to beour propitiation ; John vi. 27. " HimhathGod the Father fealed;" as facrificed in our room, " in the fulneſs of time." I Cor. v.
7. " Chrift our paſſover is facrificed for us?" As accepted by the Father with the greatest content andpleaſure, even " as a " fweet-fmelling ſavour," Eph. v. 2. As publicly justified anddiſchargedbyGod, theCreditor, at his refurrection, 1 Tim: iii. 16. and John xvi. 9. And lastly, Confider him as now in heaven, where he " appears before God for us, as aLamb that "had been flain," Rev. v. 6. bearing the very marks of his death, and preſenting them before God, as the most effectual and moving plea, to procure pardon, and mercy, for his people.
Let theſe things, I ſay, beduly pondered, andnothing will be found more effectual to relieve the deſpondent minds ofpoor believers against the ſinking ſenſeof their fina
He that repreſents himselfinthe facramentaswounded for you, ſhews at the fame time, tothe Father in heaven, the real body that was wounded ; thanwhichnothing more effectually moves mercy, or ſtays the ſliding feet ofapoor believer's hope:
Andthatwhether we confider, First, The dignity of that body which was wounded; the moſt hallowed and deeply ſanctified thing that ever was created; Luke i . 35. " That holy thing."
Secondly,Or his vicegerencyinſuffering; "He was wound " ed for our tranſgreſſions," Ifa. liii. 5.
Itwas for that hard, proud, vain, dead heart, thatthou complaineſt of.
Or, Thirdly, The end anddeſign of thoſe wounds; which was to repair the honour of God, and the violated law : the language of thatblood (which is faid to" ſpeakbetterthings than
" the blood ofAbel," Heb. xii. 24.) is this :
• Father, have theſe poor fouls wounded thy name, thine honour, thy law ? Beholdthe wounds thy juſticehath inflict- ' ed on me, for reparation of all thatwrong they havedone
' thee !' O how sweetlydoth the blood ofthe Lamb ſettle the confcience of a poor drooping believer !
Fourthly, Is there any among you that are faint-hearted, andreadyto ſhrink away from any fufferings forChriſt, as un
Sacramental Meditations.
able tobear and endure any thing for his fake ? To ſuch I would fay inthe words ofthis text, Behold the Lamb ofGod!
DidChrift fuffer ſuch grievous things for you ! andcannot you ſuffer ſmall matters for him ? Alas! what is the wrath of man to the wrath ofthegreat and terribleGod ? Befides, he was an innocent Lamb, and deſerved not to fuffer the leaſt degree of penal evil upon his own account; but thou hast defervedhell, andyet ſhrinkeſt underthe ſufferings ofamoment.
Did he fuffer ſo much for you, and can you fuffernothing forhim ? Surelyhe, in fuffering for you, hath " left you an " example, that you should follow his ſteps," i Pet. ii. 21 .
What ! is our blood compared in dignity to the blood of Chrift? What! are ourfufferings compared in kind,or degree, to the ſufferings ofChriſt? Nothing is found to fortifya man's ſpirit for fufferings, as the meditation ofChriſt's ſufferings for usdoth.
Fifthly,Isthere any amongyou that are impatientunderyour ownperſonal trials and troubles, apt tohowl under common afflictions from the hand ofGod, or ſwell with revengeunder injuries from the hands of men ? To ſuch I would fay, Behold theLamb ofGod ! Was Chrift a Lamb for meekneſs, and art thou a lion for fierceneſs ? Washe filent,not once opening his mouth, whenhe ſuffered moſt vile things from the hands of ſinners; and can youbearnothing ? He ſuffered patiently, and deſervedit not ; you ſuffer impatiently, andhave deſerved infinitelymore.
O that you wouldlearnto be more Chrift-like in allyour trials and afflictions ! let it not be faid, that Chrift carried it asaLambwhen he was tried,and we like ſwine, grumbling orhowling when we are tried. O get a Chriſt-liketemper!
Sixthly,Is there any among you thatſtagger at the promiſes, through unbelief,that cannot rely uponaword ofpromiſe, be cauſetheirownunbelieving hearts fill themwithunworthy fufpicions ofthe power, faithfulneſs, or willingneſs of God to perform them to them ? O that ſuchwould behold the Lamb ofGod, as repreſented in this ordinance ! Are not all the promiſes ofGod ſealed to believers in the blood of the Lamb ?
Heb. ix. 17, 18, 19, 20. Are not all the promises ofGod, in - Chrift, " Yea, and Amen,to all that are in him ?" 2Cor. is
20. Or is there anythingput into any promise ofgreater value thanthebloodof the Lamb, thatwasſhed topurchaſe it ? Or is not the giving ofChriſt to die for us, the accomplishment ofthe greatest promise that ever Godmade to us ? And after
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