Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

man," consisted of three component parts,-a soul, a body, and that Eternal Word, or Logos, which formed a part. He is represented as taking upon himself this form, and "being found in fashion as a man," exalted to the adoration of the universe, which beheld the greatest wonder that ever was exhibited to the world, in Him that was God becoming man; for, if it be a wonder that God should make man, how much more astonishing that God should become man! "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name:" this is the reason. If you ask, how came a portion of human nature thus to be dignified? how came dust and ashes (for such was a component part of the Saviour) to be placed at the righthand of God, in the midst of the inaccessible glory? It was-because in that nature he suffered, that he was humbled and bowed to the cross; and this was the way in which he ascended to his crown. What an example is this of the force of humility and the efficacy of condescension; of the wonderful power which, according to the rules and laws of the kingdom of God, condescension, patient suffering, and lowliness have in raising us to true dignity. This is the way the Saviour ascended to the crown.

Be it remembered, "He became obedient." There was, therefore, no necessity to obey at all. But he assumed voluntarily a nature which made him capable of suffering: and he obeyed in that nature even unto death, "the death of the cross;" in order that he might make it becoming the character of God, as a Moral Governor, to grant pardon to a whole race of apostate and guilty, but believing and penitent,

creatures.

And yet we are told that Christ is not to be called a Saviour exclusively; we are told that Paul, and Peter, and others shared in the glory of saving mankind. Nay, we are told that all this argument of the apostle in the text, conclusive as it is, both from the words and phrases which are employed, and from the disposition in the mind of Christ which the whole of the reasoning implies,-that all this, instead of proving the pre-existence and divinity of Christ, proves nothing of the kind. Indeed, further, the leader of the Unitarians in the present day declares, that no words can ever be clear enough to prove to him that Christ is God; and that if he should find any such words in the Scripture, they would only serve to weaken the evidence of the truth of the Christian revelation, and would not convince him that the statement was true. With such men we can have no communion. Such a spirit shuts up all the avenues to truth and conviction; nay, it is the height of arrogance and practical infidelity in a creature like man. For it not only leads to error,--dangerous, fatal, destructive error, growing out of a spirit diametrically opposite to that inculcated in the text, but it goes to the frightful length of setting itself above revelation; of limiting the wisdom of the Infinite Mind; by affirming that the revealed declarations concerning the incomprehensible God cannot be true: thus subverting the whole foundation of faith.

Be careful then, my brethren, that "the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." If you wish to be great in the kingdom of

God, go in the same path. If you wish to possess true dignity, lower yourself. If you wish to reign with him, you must also suffer with him: " If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." We cannot follow the Saviour without pursuing the same path; we must tread in the same steps: "If any man will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me;" and "Where I am, there shall also my servant be;" for " he that honoureth me, him will my Father honour."

This wonderful mystery of our redemption is of the most practical tendency; not only because it exhibits such affecting views of the evil of sin, and of the price of our redemption, but because it shows the connexion between humility and true dignity. The glory of the cross consists in this-that it is the way to the crown. The Christian religion is distinguished from all others, by turning men's minds from aspiring to dignity here, inducing them to forego their own good, to cast away their lives, to make shipwreck of all but faith, to give up themselves to God's will entirely, to follow wherever the Saviour leads, and to press into the celestial kingdom through agonies, and crosses, and torments--through every possible obstacle. This is the way the Saviour went, and it is in this way we must expect to be partakers of his glory. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."

66

"Let

The time forbids my enlarging upon this subject, by pressing the practical conclusion from it in its different branches; but I cannot close without urging upon all, "Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus;" Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." It is one of the first principles of our religion, one of the elementary truths of Christianity, that "He who was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich." the same mind be in you."-You who are possessed of property, devote that in the way it becomes the servants of so divine a Master. Consider the use he would have made of that portion of this world's good, which he declined as an example of patience and humility. Consider to what purpose he employed his heavenly powers; and to the same purpose employ your natural advantages and civil resources.

When did he employ that word which commanded angels and devils, and subdued the very elements of nature, for the purposes of ostentation? When were his words any thing but spirit and life? When did they operate to any purpose but to communicate health to the dying, purity to the guilty, pardon to the sinful, and salvation and benefits to all around him? "Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." You possess a portion of this world's good: if you are true Christians, you will consider this as belonging to your Lord, as belonging to the poor of his people, as belonging to the world-to all but yourselves, and will consider all as having a much greater property in it, morally considered, than yourselves; you will regard yourselves as the stewards of God, and the most unjust persons (though not amenable to any human tribunal, but to your Saviour and your Lord) if you employ them to any other purposes than those of beneficence. If you deem it peculiarly honourable to die rich, and to leave

estates afterward to your children, to have them "called by your own name," that name will be a name of infamy. No, my brethren, be assured such a mistaken course will cancel your name, will blot it out of the Lamb's book of life for ever. Let then "the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." And those who are elevated in rank, let them not use it merely for the purpose of levying homage from men, of making a vain show, of appearing in artificial splendour. And those who are possessed of influence, let them use it also for the glory of God, and the good of their fellow-creatures. Never was any one so exalted as our Saviour, and never did any one make such a use of his exaltation. He shrouded it in the deep veil of humanity; he concealed it from the view of the world. None but the piercing eye of faith, illuminated by the Spirit of God, could behold it. The world knew him not. "We beheld his glory, the glory as of the onlybegotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Do you then, my brethren, employ your influence in that manner. Never make it the means of keeping at a distance from you the poor, the distressed, and the afflicted. "Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate." "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." Do not dwell on the contemplation of your own greatness; do not separate yourselves from your fellow-creatures. Do not suffer yourselves to be hedged in and fenced round from them by the riches of this world; but communicate them to others, and pray for the blessing of God upon the right use of them, that they may turn to incorruptible riches and righteousness; that these perishing riches and this evil mammon may not seduce you from the right way to the everlasting mansions. If you are not faithful over a little, how shall you be faithful over much? and if you are not faithful to that which is the property of God, who lends it to you for a time, but gives to none a discretionary use of it, how shall he give you "that crown of righteousness that fadeth not away," that glory which will be a part of your nature, which will satisfy your souls, and make you great, and happy, and blessed, to all eternity?

"Let nothing be done," saith the apostle, "through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." Let men learn of Jesus Christ that humility which disposed him to behave as if he had been the lowest and meanest of all. Our blessed Saviour was not unconscious of his high dignity, but he knew that it was important to exhibit the spirit of his religion in great humility. When he knew that he was shortly to go to his Father, and that "the Father had given all things into his hands, then he took a towel, and girded himself, and washed his disciples' feet." When he was about to take possession of universal empire, and heaven, earth, and hell were to be submitted to him,-when he knew that he was just about to be crowned with immortal glory, after he had sustained the Divine frown for the salvation of men, even "then he took a towel, and girded himself, and washed his disciples' feet, saying, Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am; if I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one

another's feet,"-to condescend to the lowest office of Christian beneficence and love.

Again: "Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus," in his entrance into the world: consider with what sympathy he regarded mankind, and what drew him from his exalted seat of majesty on high. How did he look down upon a distant race far removed from him, and compassionate their misery! how did he, as it were, for a season annihilate himself! how did he take their curse upon him, and invest himself with their nature! He looked upon them with unutterable and tender compassion: "Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." You live among men dead in trespasses and sins; you see nations innumerable sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. Consider what compassion actuated the Saviour's breast in coming down from heaven to pay the price of our redemption, to make peace with God, and bring in everlasting righteousness. What compassion touched his holy and beneficent mind, inducing him to die a sacrifice for the sins of his people! Do you have the same mind: compassionate the distant and miserable children of men involved in darkness. Carry your eyes to the remotest borders of the earth; and be not satisfied until the whole earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord, till all men have seen the salvation of God. Let no distance of place, no difference of circumstances, prevent your exerting yourselves to spread the knowledge of Him "who made himself of no reputation." Let nothing prevent your feeling a participation of the common nature. God has provided for sympathy by making you "of one blood;" so that you must act contrary to the laws of nature, if you do not sympathize with your fellow-creatures. "Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus;" then will the religion of Christ extend itself far and wide. Let this mind distinguish the followers of Christ; and all men will confess that God is among you of a truth. You will be all of one heart, and one mind; you will be actuated by such a desire as will render you beneficial to all your fellow-creatures, as will make you the "light of the world," and "the salt of the earth." Then would iniquity stop its mouth, and so you would confound infidelity and impiety. Seriously study the doctrine of the cross, place yourselves there, consider what are the morals of the cross; consider what are the dispositions the cross inculcates ; what is the influence of the fact that you are purchased, redeemed, and, by his Spirit, prepared for a seat at the right-hand of God; what the everlasting advantages which accrue from being purchased by such blood, saved by such humility; what the doctrines of the Saviour's incarnation, sacrifice, and ascent to heaven inculcate on Christian hearts. It opens a fountain of love, of wonderful and inexhaustible compassion; and it is at that fountain of love we should study; for we shall never be truly happy till we do study the spirit of our religion at the foot of the cross. We should enter more deeply into the dying love of Christ, that we may "comprehend, with all saints, what is the height, and depth, and breadth, and length of that love which passeth knowledge, and be filled with all the fulness of God."

Finally, my brethren, we see here the great and intimate connexion between the practical principles of religion, and the great doctrines of Christianity. Take away the incarnation of our Lord, and his sacrifice upon the cross, and these sublime and glorious truths lose all their meaning this great example dwindles into nothing, if we lose sight of Christ's dignity, glory, and humility. It is this which renders his sacrifice of infinite value. It is this which renders his cross so inexpressibly awful and so interesting. It is this which makes it so innitely precious to his people. The cross of Jesus Christ is the appropriate, the appointed rendezvous of heaven and earth;* the meeting-place between God and the sinner: thus the principles of the cross become the savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. Deprive Jesus Christ of his dignity, deprive his person of divinity and pre-existence as the Son of God, and all these momentous truths dwindle into inexpressible futilities. Doctrines meant to warm and kindle our hearts fill us with perplexity. When we look for a glorious mystery, we find nothing but the obscurity and perplexity that make men rack their invention to find out the meaning of those passages which it is plain the apostle poured forth in a stream of exquisite affection and delight.

But "we have not so learned Christ." Hold fast the cross of Christ. You who are not acquainted with the Christian religion, come to Jesus Christ by faith; cast yourselves upon the dying love of the Saviour; receive him by faith. And those of you who have received the Saviour, study him more and more; impress still more and more upon your minds the lessons which Christ crucified teaches. This is the power of God and the wisdom of God unto salvation; and by means of this only shall we grow up into conformity to our blessed Lord and Saviour: which God grant of his infinite mercy. Amen.

V.

THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM.

PSALM CXlV. 11.-"They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power."†

[PREACHED AT KETTERING, IN JUNE, 1813.]

THE absolute dominion of God is a subject worthy to be celebrated by all creatures: it is the frequent theme of praise in the Scriptures, which were dictated by the Holy Ghost.

There is another kingdom, which God has intrusted to the hands

* See p. 85-88.

† Printed from the notes of the Rev. S. Hillyard, of Bedford. For Mr. Hall's own notes, see p. 88-92.

VOL. III.-Z

« AnteriorContinuar »