Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth....Isa. xlii. 1. ANGELS reproved disciples of old with, "Why stand ye gazing up into heaven ?"....Acts i. 11. How much do we deserve this reproof! Why stand ye gazing upon the vanities of the earth? Soul, what art thou looking at? What is the object of thy attention tonight? Be it what it may, God calleth to thee, and demands audience of him and attention to him. It is for your comfort and his glory. The majesty of heaven speaks to sinful worms of the earth. BEHOLD take off your eyes and thoughts from every object: be all eye, ear and attention to me. Ye poor, miserable, law-condemned, sin-distressed souls, look at and take special notice of MY SERVANT. Wonder, adore, rejoice and love. My beloved, my coequal Son, who is Lord of all, becomes man, takes on him the form of a servant, to do my will perfectly and to finish your salvation completely. WHOM I UPHOLD: carnal reason bow: satanic pride avaunt: high thoughts submit to faith's mystery. Not a God upheld by a God, but a perfect man upheld by a perfect God. Christ, as perfect man, was too weak to sustain the ponderous load of a world of sin, and to support the suffering of divine wrath, in atoning for sin and satisfying divine justice: therefore, all the fulness of the godhead dwelt in him bodily, to uphold his manhood. O sinners, in your precious Saviour behold the man: adore the God. MINE ELECT. Christ was chosen to the office of God's servant and our Saviour; chosen in the eternal council and covenant before time, to assume human nature in the fulness of time. IN WHOM MY SOUL DELIGHTETH. Says St. John, "We know that we are of God."....John i. 19. How? By this sure mark, this infallible evidence, we are of one mind with God. Doth God's soul delight in the person and work of his beloved Son: so doth ours. Is God's soul delighted that Christ hath satisfied his justice, magnified and made honorable his law, and finished salvation for miserable sinners? So is ours. Then, as surely as our souls delight in Christ, the Lord's soul delights in us. We are called Hephzibah, that is, the Lord's pleasure is in thee. Thou art married to him. His soul delighteth over thee....Isa. Ixiv. 4. He hath given his Spirit to thee for, says Christ, he shall receive of mine, my love, my atonement, my redemption, my righteousness, my salvation, my, resurrection, ascension and intercession, and shall shew it unto you. Thus he shall glorify me in your eyes and in your hearts....John xyi. 14. God calls, my soul attend, In form of servant he did send, This is the joy of faith: M. Let me see the king's face....2 Sam. xiv. 32. BELOVED Absalom was now in a state of exile from his royal father: he had shed his brother Amnon's blood: the king was enraged against him. Though he suffered Absalom to return to his own house at Jerusalem, yet, says he, "let him not see my face." Still there was love, great love in David's heart towards his son. Thus, O believer, thy heavenly Father may hide away his face in anger because of thy provocations: that's thy hell. But his love never abates; it is always the same towards thee, from everlasting to everlasting: that's thy heaven to know. Was it not so, hell had long since been thy portion and mine. O think of, believe in, rejoice for, everlasting, unchangeable love; love, that will never be wearied out by thy sins,. till it hath brought the soul where sin and sorrow shall be no more for ever. But, was Absalom quiet and easy to return to his house at Jerusalem? No; amidst all his enjoyments, there was a fly in the pot: his mind was corroded: his heart unhappy. Why? The king would not see him: and, as though he had but this one desire in his soul, and all other enjoyments were nothing without this, says he, "LET ME SEE THE KING'S FACE.” He could not rest till this request was granted him. Some folks are very fond of having their fortunes told. O soul, dost thou desire to know thy state? Thou mayest very easily know to-night whether thou art in the way to heaven or hell. Is it the one desire of thy soul to see the king's face? The face of the King of kings.... the king of saints, the friend of sinners? Is thy soul restless and unsatisfied without this sight? Though surrounded with all that heart can wish, yet art thou saying? "Lord, I cannot live at a distance from thee, without the smiles of thy love, the sight of thy reconciled face in Jesus. Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me and I shall be whole, quite happy and comfortable. The light of thy countenance will make me exceeding glad. In thy smiles is heaven in thy frowns is hell." Here is a blessed and sure evidence that thou art a child of God: here is a proof of thy faith and the regeneration of thy soul. It is disposed to God; has a loving desire, an earnest pressing after enjoying the comforts of his Spirit, a sight of his face and a sense of his love. You will not, you cannot rest upon doctrines of grace, without experiencing the grace of the doctrines in your heart; not be satisfied with believing the everlasting love of God, without feeling it shed abroad in your heart, by the Holy Ghost. Love cannot bear absent to live, It makes me daily cry and grieve, M. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down....Heb. xi. 30. DOUBTLESS this story has been food for the profane wit of scoffing infidels. To see Joshua and his army, with seven priests blowing ram's horns, marching round Jericho, once every day, and ON the seventh day, seven times, what could the men of Jericho think? Doubtless, that it was the foolish parade of a set of weakheaded men. Had they told them, behold on the seventh day's blowing of the ram's horns, the strong walls of your city shall fall down at our shouting, without any human power, they would have laughed them to scorn as a set of dreaming enthusiasts. The obedience of faith is the scorn and ridicule of carnal men. What of that? Our Lord was pleased with it. They had his word for their warrant; they believed his word: they did as he commanded: the event was as he promised: the Lord soon made it manifest who were the fools and madmen. But, 1st. Why is it said, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down? Was not this effected by the power of God? Yes, but it was according to the faith of the Israelites, and agreeable to the word of God, which was the ground of their faith. Divine faith and divine truth are inseparable. So it is said, "by faith we are justified, and have peace with God."....Rom. v. 1. "Yet it is God who justifieth."....Rom. viii. 33. Faith has no more hand in procuring justification than the Israelites had in throwing down the walls of Jericho? The righteousness of Christ solely obtains this for us. But as they did, so we do by faith, shout, Christ All opposition from sin and satan fall before us: we see the kingdom of heaven open to us. 2d. Here was the obedience of faith. Though to carnal sense and reason, the means commanded were even ridiculous, yet they obeyed. Study the Lord's word: obey his will: attend his ordinances: look to the Lord for the promised blessing. 3d. Here is the patience of faith. They encompassed the city seven days and repeated their work. Ó christian be not weary: hold on and hold out till the seventh day, the sabbath of thy eternal rest comes. Says Bishop Hall, "A good heart groans under his infirmities: fain would he be rid of them : strives and prays: but when he hath done all, until the end of the seventh day, it cannot be." But, 4th. At God's time the walls fell: not one moment sooner. His word cannot fail. So, believer, at God's appointed time (you are immortal till then) shall your body, the prison walls of your soul, fall. O then faith may shout, "for there remaineth a rest for the people of God."....Heb. iv. 9. and salvation. Faith looks at God's omnipotence, Consults not reason vain : Increase our faith, thou dearest Lord, M. He received from God the Father, honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.... : 2 Pet. i. 17. THESE words furnish poor sinners with matter for sweet meditation. Spirit of truth, help us to see the honor and glory of the Father and Son in them, and to get comfort from them. Here is, 1st. A silencing answer to that objection, you rob God the Father of his honor and glory by ascribing so much to his Son Jesus. Have you never been baited with this temptation? It comes from the enemy of God and sinners. Can two walk together except they be agreed? But God and we are agreed. Our faith puts all the honor and glory of our salvation upon God's beloved Son: there God himself puts it in his beloved Son, God is well pleased, and with us also IN him. 2d. Here see the nature of faith: it causes the soul both to imitate and obey God, and to be well pleased with what God is, the dear man, the beloved Son of God. 3d. Though to the eye of nature Jesus appeared as a mere man in abject poverty, contemptible meanness, and lowest abasement; yet the Father gives them the highest honor and glory because he magnified his holy law and made it honorable: satisfied his divine justice, and brought everlasting honor and glory to every attribute and perfection of his nature. So that now, "God is just, and the justifier of sinners who believe in Jesus." Then under a sight and sense of your ruined nature, innumerable sins, and dreadful apostasies from God, put honor and glory upon the Son of God this night: his work and salvation God is well pleased with; it has satisfied heaven for all thy sins; let thy conscience be satisfied with Jesus, and glory of him and in him alone. For thy encouragement herein, 4th. Consider Peter, who wrote these words: he was honored to be on the mount: saw his Lord's transfiguration: heard these words from the excellent glory : and yet, O shocking to think of! this same Peter, with horrid oaths and curses, denied that he knew the man whom God the Father had so lately honored and glorified: yet there was an inexpressible fulness of grace in Jesus for him. Out of Christ's fulness, Peter received grace upon grace, whereby he was recovered from his fall, restored to repentance, and preserved to salvation. O may the dear Saviour look our hearts into godly sorrow and holy love, that we may say, "This is my beloved Saviour in whom I am well pleased." If God in Jesus is well pleas'd, Such glory to him gave, We ne'er can honor Christ too much, O Lamb of God, we lift our eyes And call thee, Lord, our own. I say untò all, watch....Mark xiii. 37. Ir is very awful, when God's precious promises are opposed to his righteous commands: hence some get above and beyond duty: they cannot bear the word DUTY! O, say they, don't tell us of duty, it is such legal stuff! We are at liberty: we are not under the law, but under grace: true, indeed they are at liberty, but it is to per vert the gospel: they are awfully under the law of sin; not under the law of love, but the spirit of delusion: their ears are closed and their hearts shut against the sweet voice of our loving charmer, Christ. O, my soul, watch against such, and their licentious notions of liberty, as you prize the love of Christ and sweet communion with him. He who sees no danger, and thinks he has nothing to lose, will give no attention to this command, WATCH. It is here opposed to sleep. Sin is not dead: satan never sleeps: the world ever invites and enchants: all is at war against thee; therefore thy Lord in love calls unto thee, WATCH. And you have a most treacherous, most deceitful, and desperately wicked foe within, who ever takes part with your enemies without, even your heart, "out of which proceed all evils."....Matt. xv. 19. There is not an evil in our thoughts, in our tongue, or in our life, but what is first hatched there and springs from thence. If there was no evil within, there would be none without. Satan finds something within us to work upon or we might bid him defiance: we cannot say as our Lord did, "the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."....John xiv. 30. No, but we have, as Paul had, an evil nature, “flesh, in which dwelleth no good thing."....Rom. vii. 18. O then, watch continually over the motions of your wicked heart and evil nature: watch against high thoughts, which spring from pride; against carnal reasonings, which exalt themselves against thy Lord and his truths, and tend to rob thee of thy peace, thy hope, and thy joy. Watch against that vile brat of pride and carnal reason, cursed unbelief. O this is a many-headed monster: he will suggest that truth is fiction, the way of holiness folly, and the paths of sin delightful: "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation."....Matt. xxvi. 41. Join prayer to watching: the diligence and number of our enemies should urge us to watch, that we be not surprized our weakness and proneness to presumption, should make us pray to be powerfully strengthened; for though the devil takes part with all evil in us, Christ takes our part, and is before the throne FOR US.... Heb. ix. 24. My soul be ever on thy guard, O may I ever hear thy voice, M. |