^Ilii^llllMli^ ffPF^ f/ '*' '"''^ ' '**' J^S iii&iiiP U^A/5a4.*.. iJ}^. m'^^ydt yv ^\;^^-jX mi^'^'-M mm i ^ .^,#^ ^{i\i.t^he0\ogki(t& ""iti PRINCETON, N. J. *A % Presented by C^\rS CJ ^X'T\a\0\ GX'JKU\a' V O f^ >-^--^ »1S wm wm 'm^ "S... V :!v;i: .^i^MI^, ^ ^'^JI'v^^^^ll ■,7'mmi% w^ IHflLi i ''~ '^ -LWHUHPf gTj K.W.^ ;M LT 4i* iiiw iy&«^v WSMMM^m ^^mi^i^MUl ^mmmiUi \.^i%i ■Uw, THE GLOPiY OF CHRIST: ILLUSTRATED IN HIS CHARAUTER AND HISTORY INCLUDING THE LAST THINGS OF HIS MEDIATORIAL GOVERNMENT. BY GARDINER SPRING, 'ASTOR OF THE BRICK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE CITV^ OF NEW YOHIC AND AUTHOR OF "ATTRACTION OF THE CROSS," " THE MERCY SEAT," "first things," etc. ETC. ETC. VOLUME TWO. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED liY M. W. DODD. BRICK CHURCH CHAPEL, OPPOSITE CITY HALL. 18 5 2. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 185-2, BV M. W. DODD, 1 iho ("lerk"s office of tho Southern District of New York. ITERKOTYPED BY THOMAS B. SMITH, ^ 216 WILLIAM STRKKT, ». Y. '• *■ ALVOIID. PRINTKR, 2& Gold-»l^ N. Y. CONTENTS OF VOLUME 11. en AFTER XL PAGE THE GI.ORY OF CHRIST IN TUE MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, ... 1 CHAPTER XI L THE <;L0UY of CHRIST IN THE CHARACTER OF HIS FOLLOWERS, . . Jil CHAPTER XIIL TUE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED, 57 CHAPTER XIV. Christ's glory the wonder of angels, 78 CHAPTER XV. THE GLORY OF CHRISt's MILLENNIAL REIGN ON EARTH, 102 CHAPTER XVL HE GLORY OF CHRISTS MILLENNIAL EEIGN, 149 CHAPTER XVII. PRACTICAL DEDVCTIONS FROM THE DOCTRINE OF TUE MILLENNIIM, . .181 iv CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVIII. THE (JLORY OF CHRIST .\S THE FINAL JUlKiK, CHAPTER XIX. CHRIST GLORIOUS IN THE DESTRUCTION OF HIS ENEMIE3, CHAPTER XX. CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN, THE GLORY OF CHRIST. CHAPTER XL THE GLOEY OF CHRIST IN THE MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. So far as it respects its influence upon men, the great object of Christ's coming into the world was to elevate them to moral rectitude. There is a higher good than mere enjoyment; something more valuable than the j^ardon of sin, and deliv- erance from the wrath and curse ; else would there have been no such revealed conditions of salvation, and no such sacrifice as the humiliation of the Son of God. Infinite goodness would make men ha|)py, but not at the expense of holiness ; it is a holy happiness which it seeks to bestow. In the final issues of his government, God cannot tolerate an unholy happiness. When we speak of holiness, we speak of that which God most loves. His own character is "glorious in holiness." Sei'aphim and cherubim cover their faces with their wings when they pros- VOL. IX. 1 2 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. trate themselves at his throne, and say, one to another, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts !" Such a being, from his nature, must be the sup- port and guardian of holiness on the earth. This world can give riches, pleasures, honors, dignities, crowns ; but it cannot give holiness. The sons and daughters of men are pilgrims to the Holy Land ; but they cannot enter it unless they themselves are holy. There is no such thing as a happy hereafter, unless it be a holy hei-eafter ; nor is there any crown of immortality unless it be " the crown of righteousness." They themselves must be consecrated temples, sanctified by precious graces, and adorned with the beauties of holiness. Though formed for blessedness, they must forever be banished from God's presence if they remain defiled with the pollution of sin. Their title to eternal life was not only extinguished with their innocence, but the gates of heaven remain for- ever barred against them unless there be super- added to the expiation of the Son of God, that divine arrangement by which they are l)orn anew to a spiritual life, not of corrujjtible, but of incor- ruptible seed, which liveth and abideth forever. Every principle of the gospel illustrates its su|)reme and immutable regard to holiness. The wondrous and eternal purpose which originated it; the doc- ti-ines it reveals, its promises and its threatenings, its institutions and means of grace, are all designed MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 3 to purify and elevate the moral character of men. It would render them not merely the objects of the divine compassion, but of the divine compla- cency. It would fit them for that holy world where they shall be purified from all that is debasing, and the glorious Eedeemer shall present his church uni-eprovable, without blemish and without spot. Hence the Scriptures speak of the Dispensation of the Spirit, of the Ministration of the Spirit, and of the Spirit of Christ as dwelling with men ; and of the work of the Spirit as glorifying Christ. We propose in the present chapter, in the first place, to speak of the worh itself which the Spirit of God performs. The tvorh of the Spirit itself^ in carrying into effect the gracious purposes of the Eedeemer is not limited to any one effect, or series of effects in the human mind. Besides giving to the world the divine Oracles, and recalling to the remembrance of the inspired penmen the facts and truths which these Oracles contain, it is his province, in the first place, to atvaken the attention of this tbouglitless and slumbering world to the truth of God. There is no fact more discouraging in the history of a preached gospel, than the utter listlessness with which it is heard. Men's thous^hts are absorl^ed in other things; "their heart goeth after their covetonsness ; the sower sovveth the word ;" but the seed falls on the barren rock, and is choked by the 4 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. cares and pleasures of the world. Men will listen to a popular preacher, and be in admiration of his eloquence ; while the truth he utters has no charms for their unthinking minds. We are told that, " The Lord opened the heart of Lydia, that she attended to tlic things which were spoken of Paul.'. No sooner is this listlessness dismissed, and men begin in earnest to attend to GocVs truth, than there is reason to hope that some salutary impres- sion is made upon their minds. This is the work of God's Spirit. It is he who unstops the deaf ear, and makes a passage for the first ray of heavenly truth to penetrate the dungeon mind. It is his work, in the next place, to convince of sin. There is nothing of which men know less than their own wickedness. The Saviour says of the Holy Spirit, " He shall convince the world of sin." The power of the Holy Spirit is always superadded to the truth, when the truth shows the sinner his true character and condition. When the mind is merely awakened to attend to the truths of God's word, the effect of this aAvaken- ing is ordinarily no more than to excite alarm, and give rise to some few self-righteous efforts to escape the coming wrath. Under this excitement, men become reformed in their outward conduct ; return to the neglected duties of religion, and indulge the expectation of pleasing God by going aljout to establish their own righteousness. They have very MISSION OF THE HOL\ SPIRIT. 5 superficial views of their own sinfulness, and there- fore do not feel their need of an interest in the atonement of the Son of God. But when the Spirit of God sets home the truth, shows them "the plague of their own hearts ;" makes them see that they are dead in sin, and that their own righteous- nesses are as filthy rags ; their apprehensions of the wrath to come are painful realities, and often too heavy to be borne. Their state of mind is not unlike that of Paul, of which he says, " I was alive without the law once ; but when the commandment came, sin revived^ and I diedy The law condemns them ; and they feel that they are without hope. " The arrows of the Almighty stick fast within them, the poison whereof drinketh up their spirits." They are self-condemned, and all their false ref- uges are swept away. Most of all do they feel condemned for not repenting and believing the gospel. " When he the Spii'it of truth is come, he shall convince the ivorld of sin, because they believe not in meT It is the work of the Spirit, in the next place, to regenerate the said. That great and governing principle of human conduct, the love of God, which was lost at the fall, is restored to its rightful throne in the heart only by the Spirit of God. Give the sinner this, and it changes his whole character. Old things are done away, and all things become new. He is brought out of darkness into God's 6 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. marvellous light. His understanding is illuminat- ed, and he sees the things of the Spirit of God in their reality, their nearness and beauty. This is emphatically true of the method of salvation by Jesus Christ. The time was the Saviour of men was to them as " a root out of a dry ground, having no form, or comeliness that they should desire him." But it is not so now. He who " commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into their hearts, to give them the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ." In their view, he is now " the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." They fall in with the method of redemption by his cross ; are clothed upon with the " righteousness which is of God by faith ;" give him all the glory, and only desire to know more of him, and to be more like him. They are " born of the Spirit ;" they are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." 8anctificatio7i is also another work of the Spirit. It is he alone who progressively purifies the soul and fits it for heaven. This is one of the most im- portant and beautiful offices which the Spirit of grace performs, and in which he himself so much delights. We read of " the love of the Spirit ;" and it is in this hallowed work that his love is so delightfully made manifest. He not only takes the soul from its deeply imbedded pollution, and transforms it from the rude rock which it was by MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 7 nature ; but burnishes it, and gives it its diamond lustre, and makes it sparkle on the brow of its heavenly Prince. All Christians are " sanctified by the Holy Ghost." Whatever means are neces- sary to this end, the providence of God prepares, and his Spirit consecrates. That sweet attraction of the heart to heavenly things, by which the eyes are turned away from beholding vanity; those delightful aspirations so often breathed in the closet, " O God, thou art my God ; early will I seek thee ; my soul thirsteth for thee ; my flesh longeth for thee ;" those sacred festivals of the mind in which it feeds on the bread which came down from heaven, and where every pious thought is in- vigorated, every devout affection enlivened, and every hope cheered, are all the fruit of the Spirit. In the last place, it is the high and peculiar work of the Spirit to perform the office of the Comforter. "If I go not away," says the Saviour, "the Com- forter will not come ; but if I depart, I v/ill send him unto you." Delightful work is this, and de- lightfully befitting the lovely nature of him who thus proceedeth forth from the Father and the Son ! Delightful thought it is, that that vivifying Spirit, spoken of by the prophet, who directs and animates the ministering cherubim in their attend- ance upon the throne of the Most High, should, take up his abode in the hearts of his often de- jected and sorrowing people on the earth ! Here 8 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. he dwells, like tlie Sliekinah in the Temple, filling their hearts with his light and love ; creating a fire and a smoke in every dwelling-place on Mount Zion ; making her Sanctuaries glorious with his presence, and like the cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, guiding and comforting his church through the wilderness. It is because taught and encouraged by him, that the individual Christian, perplexed and .desponding, harassed by enemies, agitated by fears, and chastened by afiiictions, is so often heard to say, " Why art thou cast down, O my soul ! and why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance, and my God !" It is because he is her refuge and solace, that the church of God, in her associated character, when oj^pressed and disheartened, and passing under the cloud, and through long nights of darkness, and trial, has been buoyed up by bright expecta- tions, and has found light arising in the midst of the darkness. The four emblems by which the Spirit is set forth in the Scriptures, are ivatei\ the dove^ the wincl^ and fire. Soft and gentle as the refreshing showers, meek and retiring and easily grieved as the fluttering dove, balmy as the breeze, and glow- ing with heavenly fervor as the flame on celestial altars ; this Commissioned Comforter dispenses his heavenly grace, gives the people of God an earnest MISSION OP THE HOLY SPIRIT. 9 of their inheritance, and seals them to the day of redemption. The Son of God no longer dwells with men. He has gone to return no more, until he shall come in the clouds of heaven to judge the world. He must have returned had not the Holy Spirit come in his place, to act as the great repi-e- sentative of Christ upon the earth, that his church might not be with the present Deity, nor the world without this Witness to the truth. Such is the work of the Holy Spirit. All the religion that ever was in the Avorld, and that is now and ever will be in it, is the eflect of his power. No awakening, no conviction, no conver- sion, no sanctification and comfort are genuine^ unless they are the work of the Spirit. There is as wide a diiference between those awakenings and misnamed revivals of religion which are the result of human machinery, and are got up by the meas- ures and management of men, and that well-in- structed, noiseless, humble, and deep-toned piety which is the fruit of God's Spirit ; as between the rushing tempest which rent the mountains, and the still small voice which made the prophet wrap his face in his mantle. The Spirit of God never coun- terfeits. There are abortions and monstrous births in " that wdiich is born of the flesh ;" that " which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Our next object is to show^ that this great and divine as'ent is the Messenger or Jesus Christ. 1* 10 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. Although the power of the Spii'it was enjoyed by the church of God under the old dispensation, and cheei-ed and refreshed her pilgrimage, and w^as often revealed in the holy land ; yet was it the great promise to the new dispensation. There were early predictions, not a few, that looked for- ward to this disj^ensation of the Spirit with a cheered and cheering vision. Isaiah spake of it in the glowing imagery of " pouring water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground ;" and often spake of it with his own characteristic and sublime rapture when he predicted these lat- ter days. The prophet Joel spake of it in more simple, and not less insti-uctive language. " And it shall come to pass afterward, saith the Lord, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." All classes and orders and ages were to be partakers of the blessing ; sons and daughters, old men and young men ; and " upon the servants and hand- maidens in those days wdll I pour out my Spirit." The New Testament, as we have already seen, repeats and confirms these promises. Not more certainly was the promise of the incarnate Son the great promise of the Old Testament, than the promise of the Spirit is the great promise of the New. Before his death the Saviour made frequent mention of the Spirit's advent. After his resur- rection, and as the time was di-aAving near when he was about to ascend to his Father, he renewed MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. H the promise, and told them that the time of its accomplishment was near. In one of his last in- terviews with them, " he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for tlio promise of the Father^ which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." Most gloriously was the promise fulfilled. Ten days after our Lord^s ascension, and fifty days after that memorable day of the Passover when he expired on Calvary, and when the day of Pen- tecost was fully come ; that wondrous event took place which is recorded in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The Holy Ghost de- scended both in his miraculous gifts and his con- verting power upon the souls of men. We would that time were allowed us to dwell upon the de- tails of this narrative, for it is one of the most interesting in the sacred record. It was at the hour of prayer in the temple, on the morning of that memorable day which commemorated the giving of the law on Sinai, now made more mem- orable, not by proclaiming it in thunder, but by inscribing it in the hearts of men. It was the day consecrated in Jewish history to the annual offer- ing of the first fruits ; now more emphatically con- secrated by the first ingathering of the gospel har- vest. It was one of those three days in the year 12 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. on which all the Jews were obliged by their law to come to worship at Jerusalem and in the tem- ple : and well was it selected, if for no other rea- son than to give publicity to this first triumph of Christian truth, this successful commencement of the " ministration of the Spirit." Here again, as at the passover, and on the clay of the crucifixion, Jews from Asia, Africa, Europe, the islands, and all parts of the world where they were dispersed, were assembled to become the witnesses of this great fact, subjects of this divine influence, and to bear the tidings of the new doctrine, the new dis- pensation, and the descending Spirit. The risen Saviour did not intend that this vast multitude, who had so lately demanded and triumphed in his crucifixion, should depart from the city so lately desecrated by his blood, till they had seen these new wonders of his power, and not a few of them had washed in that fountain which their murder- ous hands had opened, and had become thus quali- fied to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Wonderful was the spectacle. We can form no just conception of it without representing to our minds his expectant disciples assembled " with one accord, in one place," bowing with one heart be- fore the mercy-seat, lifting up their souls to God, and imploring him to put honor upon his Son Jesus, by fulfilling the promise, and causing the Holy Ghost to descend. These holy men had MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 13 been bound together by the strongest ties of love to their Master, love to his cause, and love to one another. They were now bound by welcome, yet most solemn responsibilities ; for they had already received the command to " go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." They were about to separate, with the view of ful- filling this high commission, but were detained by this one command : " Tarry ye in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father." Burning as their hearts did burn to enter fields already white to the harvest, they could not go without the Holy Spirit. They needed both his miraculous and his sanctifying and comforting power in order to qualify them for their work, and sustain them in their fiery trials. And there they were in prayer, expressing their earnest desires, pleading with God, with no dubious and vacillating faith, but with humble and strong and confident expectation, that the promise of their ascended Master Avould be fulfilled, and that "God would glorify his Son Jesus" by such wonders of his power as this earth has never before beheld. " And it came to pass, while they were praying, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and be- gan to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." The promise was ful- filled. The multitude were held in ju-ofound admiration. And while some of these millions 14 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. scoffed, and others were held in doubt, these men of God, no longer oppressed by their own faint- heartedness, and no longer shutting themselves up in seci-et chambers for fear of the Jews, went forth undaunted, and carried the message of the great salvation to their assembled countrymen. Even in the pi'esence of the Sanhedrim, who had but seven weeks before put Jesus to death, and in the pres- ence of the scoffing millions, who circulated the rumor that his disciples came and stole his body while the guard slept, they testified that Jesus was the promised Messiah; that with wicked hands they had crucified and slain him ; that God had raised him from the dead, and that now re- pentance and remission of sins was preached in his name to all nations. Tlie consequence was, that the Holy Spirit which was with the apostles, fell also on the mul- titude, so that under the preaching of a single discourse b}^ Peter, three thousand were converted in a day. It was a rich day to the apostles, to the infant church, to the world ; and a rich and glori- ous day to Jesus Christ. It was a new day in the history of God's grace to the sons and daughters of men. Thus it was that Christianity began its course. And thus it continued during the apostolic age. Immediately after this, five thousand more were made the subjects of converting grace. And then here and there, hundreds, until the gospel MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 15 had free course, and Avas glorified tlirougliout the Roman empire. It was " the ministration of the Spirit ;" nor will it cease until men shall be blessed in the God of Israel, and all nations shall call him blessed. Our last and principal object is to illustrate the glory of Ohrist in this mission and ivork of the Spirit of truth and grace. This illustration we can best present by the following distinct thoughts. In the first place, the worh of the Spirit fur- nishes additional proof of the great facts which form the sum and substance of Christianity, We have made this deduction from premises before stated ; and the evidence here culminates to its highest point. We need not go beyond this, in order to prove that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of men. This w^as the last prediction which he made while on the earth ; next to his death and resurrection, it was the gi'eat prediction. Christ himself did not go beyond this, in order to satisfy the faith of his apostles, and substantiate his claims to the confidence and obedience of the world. He told his disciples to wait for the ful- filment of this prediction ; they did wait ; and when the Spirit came, they girded on the whole armor of God, and Avent forth. This was the only piece of their bright panoply which remained to be buckled on; with this sword of the Spirit, so burnished, they addressed themselves to the con- 16 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. quest of the world. Tlie Christ had come whom their Scriptures foretold; fit the predicted tioie, from the predicted seed and origin, and in the predicted place. According to the same series of prophecies, he was God and man, and the Great Prophet who came in the power of Elias, and con- firmed his mission by signs and miracles, which demonstrated that God was with him.v They had seen him, as the same spirit of prophecy foretold, poor and despised, .betrayed by one of his disciples, mocked and derided, and crucified for the sins of the world. They had seen his garments divided and the soldiers cast lots for his vesture ; honor- ably buried, risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven. The Holy Ghost had not yet been given, " because Christ was not yet glorified." But now they saw that he was faithful to his promise, and sent the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. This was the argument on which they relied for proof of the divine origin of Christianity. This was the ai'gument of Peter on the day of Pente- cost, and the argument of Stephen before the Jewish Sanhedrim. These were the facts, the most of which the Jews denied ; and vvhich, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles pro- claimed in their hearing, and in the place and under circumstances, the very last to be selected by impostors. It is worthy of remark, that they did not go first to Antioeh, nor to Ephesus, nor to MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. I7 Rome ; where, from the superstitious habits of the people, it would have been an easy matter to have introduced a false religion, and where the igno- rance of the people of events in Judea and Jeru- salem, would have rendered any detection of their fraud impossible. But, in obedience to the direc- tion of their Master, they " began at Jerusalem ;" in the very courts of the Temple, and in a presence the most appalling in the world, if they had been impostors ; because these were the men who had been the crucifiers, and who, if there had been anything in the form of connivance or fraud, not only had the best and only means of detecting the deception, but who had a deep interest in con- founding the deceivers before the world. Yet three thousand of these very men, on the first pres- entation of these great facts, bowed before the majesty of truth, and professed their faith in that Saviour, whom but fifty days before, they had nailed to the accursed tree. These were the proofs, also, with which they afterward went to the Gentile world, to combat its philosophy, its idolatry, its wickedness ; overturn its altars, and subdue it to the obedience of the Chris- tian faith. And this completed series of facts, consti- tutes the argument in favor of Christianity at the present time. It is in few words, the great moral argumeiU^ arising from the effects of Christianity on the minds of men. We have nothing more to 13 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. utter in its behalf, than to demonstrate these facts ; on these, with the concurrent and immense inter- ests and responsibilities they involve, rests our appeal for the Saviour's honor, and the salva- tion of men. We say to the boasting infidel, see for yourself these great facts in the history of Je- sus of Nazareth, and then mark their influence upon the character of men. What has human philosophy or human legislation accomplished in this agitated and convulsed world, compared with the elevating and reforming influence of these great facts ? We make our appeal to the living- masters of the Jewish law, and ask them to tell us what Judaism is worth, and what it is more than a worn-out system, breeding nothing but obduracy and disappointment ; a rigorous, exclu- sive, and unmeaning system, if it terminate not in him who " was to come." Go to India, to China, to Persia; inspect the combined influences of other religions, and all the influences which this earth ever has known, or now knows ; and what have they done in restoring the race from the moral malady to which sin has subjected them, and in regenerating the world, compared with those liv- ing and actuating realities, the truth and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. In the second place, the work of the Spirit gives efficacy to the ivorh already accomplished hy Ohrisfs death and resurrection. Had the world been left MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 19 witliout any other divine agency than the death and resurrection of Christ, it had been left dead in tres- passes and sins. Something more was necessary, than that the Son of God assume man's nature, die on the cross, rise from the dead, and ascend to the right hand of God. Experience, observation, and the Scriptures instruct us, that with these great facts before them, men will not come to him that they might have life. They are not influenced by these facts, as they ought to be influenced ; nay, wdthout superadded influences, they are not governed by them at all, save in so far forth 'as they restrain the wickedness of the unrenewed heart, and exert a moralizing and elevating power on the social in- tercourse of Christian lands. Men everywhere, even where these facts are known, are still under the dominion of a blinded understanding, an erring conscience, and a heart that is desperately wicked. "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and they have loved darkness rather than light." " In them, that is in their flesh, there dwelleth no good thing." They are thoughtless and indifferent to the claims of the gospel ; uncon- cerned alike about their sins and their salvation ; blinded by the God of this world, bowing in his temple, and sacrificing at his altars, i-ather than turning from these dumb idols to serve the Living God. It requires more than the mere gospel ofi'er, and the proclamation of mercy in the Saviour's 20 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. name, to lead them to repentance, however urgent that call, and aided even by extraordinary dispen- sations of divine providence. It is not the force of truth alone, nor the most persuasive and cogent inducements, that awaken, convince, regenerate, sanctify, and comfort the soul, and fit it for heaven. They were not those influences, on which Christ himself placed his dependence, for the in- troduction, and extension, and prevalence, of his religion on the earth. "Paul may i:)lant and Apollos may water, but God giveth the increase." Presumptuous hope I to look for the conversion of men except to a power that is higher than human, and more effective than any of those truths which the great Author of Christianity has committed to men, in the mere outward ministrations of his gospel. Indispensable, therefore, was it to the success of the gospel, and the saving effects of Christ's death, that, in addition to the facts which terminate with his ascension, there should be this great consum- mation, the descent of the -Holy Spirit. "He died for our sins, and rose again for our justifica- tion." Here the immediate influence of his great Propitiation terminated. His priestly office is a department by itself; it affects the law and gov ernment of God, and has no proximate efficacy in renewing the sinner's heart. This belongs to another department of the method of redemption. MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. £1 and is reserved for the Spirit of grace and truth, into whose hands the Father and the Son have committed it, that he, with them, might share the equal honors of man's salvation. The Saviour himself left the world, that he might send down his Holy Spirit to dwell with men, and rear that beautiful superstructure of holiness, the founda- tion of which was laid in his Atoning Sacrifice. He would not have ascended to the Father but for this ; but would have remained on the earth, and here established his kingdom in the hearts of men by his own mighty power, and thus estab- lished his claim to the office both of Mediator and Sanctifier. He did return to his Father's throne, but it was to send the Holy Spirit ; not, indeed, " to make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness," but to bear testimony that the Son of God has accomplished this great work; not to add to the perfected atonement which Christ has made, but to bear testimony that Christ is approved and accepted in what he has done ; not to detract from the work of Christ, but to be heaven's messenger, crowning it with honor, testifying to the understanding, the con- science, and the heart of men, that there is salva- tion but in him, and drawing them to him, by the cords of love. God is still upon the earth, not in the person of the Father, nor in the person of the Son, but in the person of the Holy Spiiit. He is THE GLORY OF CHRIST. the appointed and honored Representative of Christ in the world and in the church ; taking of the things of Christ and showing them unto his people; subduing their hearts unto himself, and extending his kingdom. He gives efficacy to the peculiar work of Christ, by making it efficacious on the hearts of men ; by driving them from their refuges of lies, and sweeping away one hiding- place after another, till they are glad to take refuge from the raging storm of divine wrath, at his cross. He gives efficacy to it by striving with them and overcoming them, till they consent to be saved by Christ alone ; by banishing their fears, and giving them the assurance that the blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin. And need I say, that it is thus that the Saviour triumphs, and that in the eye of God, and angels, and men, he is glori- ous in the ministration of the Spirit. Has he any greater glory, than in thus verifying the declara- tion, " And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me !" Once more: the work of the Spirit alone enables us to form some just estimate of the bless- ings wliiclh Christ hestows.' Not until he as- cended up on high, did he sit down upon his mediatorial throne, and give gifts to men. It was his coronation day ; and his accession to the king- dom was marked by the bounty of a Prince, such as this world never saw. His disciples did not at MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 23 first comprehend the full import of the promise, that he would seud the Comforter; their views were obscure and indefinite. This one thing only did they comprehend, that it was some great bless- ing^ because he had told them it was more desira- ble even than his own blessed presence. It was to introduce a new and spiritual dispensation ; was to effect great changes in them, and in the men who were their associates ; to transform the world, and to change the whole course of the divine gov- ernment toward fallen men. They were gifts pur- chased by his own precious blood, and worthy of the price ; gifts that would prove his right to the dominion to which he was exalted; that would abundantly gratify his benevolent heart to be- stow ; and in bestowing which he would take pos- session of "the joy that was set before him, when he endured the cross, despising the shame." What were these gifts ? They were to arrest the progress of millions, who, under the full sun- light of a revealed Christianity, ^vere treading their way where peace and hope never come, and where sin and the curse hold their uncontrollable dominion. They were to break those chains of sin and death, and give the liberated captives the liberty of the sons of God. They were to make them a peculiar and holy people; peradventure the wonder and the laughing-stock of the world ; peradventure the victims of torture and death; 24: THE GLORY OF CHRIST. bat a holy peoi)le, destined to be more, and still more like their divine Master, and at last received to those holy mansions where sin never enters, and where are imperishable honors, and crowns of rejoicing for every sinner that repenteth. Yes, they were gifts for men. They were to make his people ivilUng in the day of his power. Wondrous thought, and still more wondrous grace — tvilUng ! Willing to be what? to do what? to escape what? to enjoy what? Willing to be the friends of him who as far excels all other friends, as heaven exceeds earth, and eternity time, and God creatures; to be ]3ardoned and justified subjects; to be clothed with the jDure robe of his righteousness, comely through the comeliness which he puts upon them, and luminous through the light with which he decks them as with a garment. Willing to do his will, who governs by no usurped authority, and whose right to command none can deny; whose commands secure the approbation of every conscience, and w^ho has made abundant provisions of grace to help in the time of need, and strength according to their day. Willing to escape the burden of their own guilt, and their Maker's curse, the everlasting shame of wicked- ness, and the unutterable groans of everlasting anguish and despair. Willing to enjoy God's presence and favor, to love and praise him, to be- hold his glory, to reflect his image, and drink of MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 25 those rivers of pleasure whicli flow at his right hand. Yes, they were to make this people ivilling in the day of his power. Again I say, wondrous thought and grace! It is not the character of men to be so blind to their own well-beinor, as to require to be made ivilling to enjoy earthly good. It is in relation to higher and spiritual l:)lessings only, that they are the slaves of this guilty and miserable infatuation. It is even so. Their reluc- tance to be made truly and forever happy is abso- lutely invincible by any power short of the om- nipotent energy of the Holy Spirit. And in this consists the greatness of the blessings he imparts. It is immense graciousness, and gracious immensity of blessino^. It adds not a little to this bounty that this work of the Spirit is perpetual. The day of Pentecost commenced a series of wonders, and was the pledge of those divine influences, which, however various in measure, shall never be intermitted until time shall be no more. The Saviour has de- parted ; but the Comforter will never depart. He will continue to instruct, convince, convert, and sanctify the sons and daughters of men until the last heir of glory is gathered in. There is no sub- stitute for this influence. It will be as continuous as the work of redemption. And though it will not always descend in unwonted richness, it will 26 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. ever be descending. No more than God tbe Crea- tor abandons the world lie has made ; no more than God the Redeemer retires from the great work of making all things subservient to the church of which he is the Head ; will God the Sanctifier re- sign the interests of his sacred office, and leave it unoccupied, or in other hands. It would be a darker day than this world has ever seen, if the divine Spirit should ever take his leave of men. Individuals may be thus abandoned of God ; but his church — na}^, this guilty world will never be thus abandoned. "As for me this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord ; my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, from henceforth and forever." Just before his crucifixion, the Saviour said to his dis- ciples, " I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you FOREVER." The dispensation of the Spirit is a perpetuated dispensation to the end of the world. Wherever Christ's ministers go in his name, the Spirit is with them. Where two or three are met together in his name, the Spirit is with them. Wherever the great congregation assembles to worship him, the Spirit is with them. If there be a community or a man on the face of the earth, whose condition is more to be deplored than that MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 27 of any otlier, it is tlie community and the man who is utterly abandoned of God's Spirit. We hope never to see such a commuui]by or such a man. We believe there are few such men. Living under the dispensation of that condescending and gracious Comforter, whose benignant influences penetrate all orders of men, and hover over the path and the pillow even of the most thoughtless and giddy, we dare not relinquish the hope that the most deaf may yet hear the voice of God, and the most be- nighted open his eyes upon this great glory of his risen and princely Son. Beautiful is that glory which belongs to the Son of God in his wondrous ministration of the Spirit. His name is written on myriads of minds that are thus transformed by his life-giving power. His voice breaks from the cloud, when it descends in copious showers, and gives verdure to the moun- tains of Zion. It whispers in the breeze, speaking not only to man, but in man, and insinuating his sacred influence into the very centre of his soul. There is not one of these renovated and illumined minds in which his light does not shine brighter than the sun, making them all reflect his glory. And when, in after and latter days, this light shall be steady and strong, and the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun as the light of seven days ; how will his glory which was concealed in the veil of man's 28 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. nature, and eclipsed in Calvary, break fortli and overlay every dwelling-place, and make it a taber- nacle of the Most High ; every temple and make it the " Holy of Holies ;" every mountain and val- ley, and deck them with heavenly beauty ; every wilderness, and every dark and subterraneous cav- ern where the wickedness of man has been secreted, and make them glitter for that day in which he shall make up his jewels. How obvious is it, on a summary review of these observations, that the Holy Sjnrit is the hope of the world! The promise of the Spirit was Christ's promise ; and it was like him, worthy of him, and the fruits of it are the matured fruits of this Tree of Life. Ages, and places, and men on whom this blessing most effectually descends, are the marked ages in the history of the church, distinguished spots on the face of our favored globe, the favored individuals of our fallen race. The Apostles were scoffed at, until the descent of the Holy Ghost. The ministers of Christ, in every age, have spoken, and now speak to no better purpose, until the Spirit be poured from on high. Look over the world, and the land in which we live, and even on these favored churches where God's power and glory have been seen in the Sanctuary. What have they been when the Spirit of God was in the midst of us ? what have they been, what are they now that the Spirit descends so sparingly ? This MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 29 is the influence we want. We have Bibles, we have Sabbaths, and sanctuaries, and ministers ; our great want is more and greater outpouring of the Spirit from on high. The Holy Spirit is the hope of the church, and the hope of the world. The external machinery of God's church is complete ; we want now the sacred fire to set it in motion. Nothing but God's omnipotent Spirit can safely direct its course, and give it the impulse that shall carry it through the earth. Never will another beam of hght dawn, unless he bids it shine. Never more will there be an awakened thought, nor a pang of conviction, nor a penitential tear, nor a peaceful hope in Christ, nor an emotion of spiritual comfort and joy, nor a successful effort for the ex- tension of the Redeemer's kingdom, unless he gives it. " All these worketh that self-same Spirit." Yes, he is employed in this holy work still. He is now working in men to will and to do. And this is your hope. This gracious Reformer and Comforter meets the sinner in his deepest and most dire necessity. He gives him what he needs, be- cause he makes him willing to receive the great salvation. He cannot come to Christ without the power of the Holy Spirit ; but he can ask, he can seek, he can humbly knock at the door of heavenly grace, and will not be sent away empty. God gives his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. The 30 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. promise is sure, " Then shall ye find me when ye search for me with your whole heart." Let this truth be appreciated. It is no easy task for the sinner to resist the tenderness and importunity of the Spirit of truth and grace. To all the dispensations of God's jDrovidence, all the truths of his word, all the checks of conscience, the ascended Kedeemer is adding the appeals of his own Spii'it. Wait not for them ; for they are with you. Long has the Spirit of God been striv- ing with you. From earliest childhood, he has been repeating his invitations, his remonstrances, his convictions. You have no such friend. Only do not grieve him. " Beware of him, and obey his voice ; provoke him not, for the name of the Lord is in him," and he has come to show you his great glory. CHAPTER XII. THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN THE CHARACTER OF HIS FOLLOWERS. The time was when tlae human nature, like the angelic, bore the impress of its divine original." The perfect production of the artist indicated his excellence and skill. The stream was clear, and discovered the purity of the fountain. But man is no more what he then was. His " carnal mind is enmity against God ;" nor is it until he " puts on the new man, which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness," that he " shows forth the praises of him who hath called him out of darkness into his marvellous light." This is the high privilege of all the followers of Christ. " If any man be in Christ he is a new creature." His highest honor is to honor Christ. That the Son of God should be glorious in him- self and in all that he has done, is a thought that commends itself to reason, to conscience, to piety ; but that he should be glorious in the character of his followers, welcome as the thought is, is one which does not find so ready access to 32 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. our minds. It is a wondrous manifestation of the divine condescension, that a creature of yes- terday, born in sin, should be allowed to cherish so lofty a purpose. " Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not ; yea the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man that is a worm, and the son of man which is a worm !" Yet nothing short of this fulfils man's spiritual and im- mortal destiny. This affecting truth bursts upon . us from every utterance of the divine oracle, from the progressive developments of divine providence, and from the inward teachings of the divine Spirit. It is among the perpetually-augmenting glories of Christ, that he " is glorified in his saints, and ad- mired in all them that believe." He is glorious in the character of his followers, in that they give him the throne, and cheerfully acknowledge his authority over them ; in that their character is but the reflection of his own ; in that they are his witnesses in this ungodly world ; and in that they live to advance the interests of his kingdom and promote his glory. Let us dwell a few moments on each of these four thoughts. Christ is glorious in the character of his follow- ers in that they give Mm the throne^ and clieerfully achioivledge his autliority over them. Every crea- ture in the universe needs to be governed; not excepting the "angels who excel in strength." Nothins: would be more unstable than this world THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 33 under the control of a capricious monarch, or un- der any other than his one empire who is " Head over all things to his church." Even under such a head, what faction, sedition, treachery, disloyalty, and rebellion on the part of the great mass of man- kind ! The humors and tempers of men are the sport of their passions ; the world is a scene of tumult, so that, instead of living in peace and order, and by their subjection doing honor to the King of heaven, every man is his own monarch ; and the^ world we live in bears the marks of deso- lation and anarchy. It is in such a world that he who styles himself the " Prince of the kings of the earth," has not only set up his throne, but subdued unto himself a "willing people in the day of his power." By nature, just as depraved and rebellious as other men, and just as much disposed to complain of his laws, they have learned to award him the honors of universal empire, and to take their proper places at his footstool. On that memorable day ' in which he first made his spiritual conquest over them, and when, as sinful and guilty rebels, they first drew nigh to God with hopes of pardon, it was through him, as the exalted Mediator, and by faith in the blood of his cross. They were " recon- ciled to God by the death of his Son ;" but it was with penitence and shame for their former disloy- alty, with self-renunciation and self-abasement, and 2* 34 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. with unconditional submission, not less to his mir tliority as their lawgiver, than to his mercy as their Redeemer. These were the indispensable terms of their mutual reconciliation. The very end of their reconciliation, was " that they might walk in his statutes, and do his judgments and keep them ;" their obedience is the test of their reconciliation. True religion consists in a renovated character, controlled by those high-bora principles, which, while they are the main-spring of spiritual affec- tions and emotions, possess the vigor and. efficacy to govern the life, and show their strength only^ when they constrain its subjects to make the will of Christ their joy. His yoke is easy, and his bur- den is light, because his sceptre is a right sceptre, and such as every right-minded man loves to obey. The very acts of obedience which he requires, are themselves joyous, and productive of inward blessedness. If it costs self-denial to obey, there is happiness in the self-denial ; the love of Christ makes the service delightful. JN'or do his follow- ers engage in it unpardoned, and staggering under the curse ; but with the embarrassments of a legal condemnation thrown off, and cheered with the light of their Heavenly Father's countenance. Although they are sanctified but in part, and do not always find a heart within them that is pliant to the authority of their Master ; yet is their strength according to their day, and there is grace to help THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 35 them in the time of need. There is an eye above them that inspects all their inward struggles, and observes all their outward conflicts ; and there is a voice, too, that cheers and comforts them. Many a time does their heart turn away from the fickle- ness and imbecility and deception of earth, to his all-gracious and stable throne, and rejoice that their divine Lord and Prince is not only qualified to rule, but to defend and enrich them. All power is his ; his are the riches of the universe. "Dominion is with him," and greatly do they rejoice. And is it too much to say, that those whose minds and hearts have been graciously schooled and disci- plined into this conviction and these sentiments, do him homage ? Do they not speak for him and hold in check this rebellious world ? Are they not the guardians and defenders of his rightful and royal prerogative ? Is it not his honor to have a loyal people in this world of anarchy and wickedness, and one so full of dishonor to " the monarchy of heaven?" Bound to him by cords of love and recorded vows, they rally round this unearthly fabric of his power; and though, like his exiled and captive people of old, they may be "men that are wondered at," they are his "peculiar people." Our second thought is, that Christ is glorious in the character of his followers, in that whatever is 36 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. excellent in their cliaracter is hut the reflection of his own. The moral desolation of the world is fitly represented in the Scriptures, by the earth shrouded in darkness. It is all gloom, imj^erisha- ble gloom. There is no sun, no moon. Not a star twinkles in the sky. Not a light is to be seen in the habitations of men. Imagine yourself standing in the midst of such an impervious night ; and then see the curtain gradually drawn up. One black cloud after another rolls away, discov- ering here and there a pale star, then a bright planet, then some clustered galaxy, and then the full moon walking in her brightness. Yet all these bright orbs shine in borrowed splendor, and do but reflect the light of the great Central Sun. So the light reflected from the church of God on the earth, whether from a single star, or a brighter planet, or from more faint and congregated twink- lings of the milky-way, is the light of heaven. It is not uniform ; " one star diff*ereth from another star in glory ;" yet is it luminous, and its bright- ness indicates its source. If there be those who think and say that there is wonderfully little of this resemblance to the character of Christ among men ; while we confess there is too much truth in this remark, we at the same time afiirm, that what there is of true religion in the world, consists in this resemblance. We do not inquire how strong or how faint the resemblance is; and only say, THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 37 that be it ever so faint, it is still a resemblance to him. Be it so that it is faint, and often marked with dark shadows ; blot it out, and the world is all darkness, Egyptian darkness, darkness that may be felt. Even the imperfect holiness that is found among men, is a beautiful object; the most beautiful under the sun. We could hold up be- fore you the character of many a Christian man and woman among the living, that would at once be recognized as a beautiful, though not a spotless character. The severest and most fastidious moral critic in the world, would be slow to deny that the true church of God, with all its blemishes, possesses a beautiful character. " Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." " Thou wast exceeding leaiitiful^'' and thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through the comeliness which the Lord God had put upon thee." This reflected character of the Lord Jesus in his followers is not a little for his own honor and glory. He has undertaken the great work of re- deeming his people from the power of sin ; and when their renewed and sanctified character is con- trasted with what it once was, who is there that is not constrained to honor him for what he has^ done, and m what he has done ? We look at the church of Rome, at the time when their " faith was spoken of throughout all the world," and compare 38 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. it with the same individuals whose nauseous char- acter is described in the first chapter of the epis- tle to the Romans. We look at the licentious, debased, and i^olluted Corinthians, and then at those same Corinthians, " washed and sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus ;" and while we love and honor the77i for their piety, it is not the persons themselves whose character is thus transformed, that we so much think of, as that Lord Jesus, by whose grace they were thus beautified, and wdiose reflected glory they show forth. Could we unroll the catalogue of all those holy men and women, so many of whom were stars of the first magnitude, and so many more of whom whose light was less resplendent, but not the less lovely and attractive ; and could w^e add to these those untold myriads of infant minds, born in sin, but made pure and bright by him that " maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning ;" and could we then bring before you the names of those now on the earth who were once as notorious for their wickedness as they now are more or less illustrious for their piety, we should furnish some adequate illustration of the glory of Christ in the character of his followers. The moral hemisphere is lighted up with these reflections of his love and power. " Look how the floor of heaven Is thick inlaid with patins of bright gold ; THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 39 There's not the smallest orb that thou behold'st But in his motion like an angel sings, Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubim." Yet all this celestial harmony is but an echo ; and these brilliant lights in the vault of heaven shine by rays from the Sun of righteousness. If from such a survey, you take the map of the / world as it now is, and trace those lands where the national character and government and laws and literature and customs are formed by the de- grading and brutalizing influence of Paganism, the iron sceptre of the False Prophet, the delusions and tyranny of the Man of sin, and those prolonged triumphs of Oriental philosophy over reason and conscience and moral virtue, and contrast them with the civil, social, religious, and moral condition of those favored nations where Christianity exerts her appropriate influence ; can it be difficult to decide in which the Prince of life is exalted ? Is there not in this survey, both of individual and congregated and national character, an intuitive perception of the Saviour's glory? Does it not strike the eye as clearly as the rainbow when it spans its arch over against the cloud ? What is Christianity but Christ revealed ? What is its ap- propriate influence, but Christ revealed to the mind and heart ? And in what consists its true glory, unless it is in the fact that where it is thus ascendant, millions of intelligent and immortal 40 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. beings, in the solitude of their retirement, and in the noise and bustle of the world ; in the depres- sion of their grief and in the tranquillity of their joy ; in the secrecy and publicity of their devo- tions ; in the rectitude, truthfulness, and benignity of their deportment toward God and their fellow- men ; manifest his glory, who is " the only begot- ten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The most difficult graces and virtues which the disciples of Christ are called upon to exercise, are those which respect their relations to their fellow- men. Many are they who cheerfully engage in acts of piety and devotion toward God ; it costs them little to pray, and praise, and hear his word. But to do j ustly, and love mercy, and walk humbly ; to practise the duties of kindness, forbearance, meekness, forgiveness of enemies, beneficence, self- control, and self-denial ; to be just, truthful, dili- gent, honest; these are the duties which most honor our divine Master. The Scriptures largely insist on the importance of these relative obliga- tions, in our intercourse with our fellow-men. " Though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, I am as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals." "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the widow and fatherless in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." These duties are spoken of by the Saviour as the great evidence THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 41 of a living and operative faith at the Last Great Day. " In as much as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me." We cannot be profitable to God, as we can be profitable to our fellow-men. We cannot serve him, but we can serve them. We cannot do good to him, but we can do good to them. External religious rites are a very cheap religion. We may perform them all, and yet be covetous men, proud, malicious, envious, revengeful, and volup- tuous men. True godliness honors Christ in the family, as well as the closet ; in the world, as well as the church ; never does it shine in more attrac- tive beauty, than in the very heart of the world, and living, breathing, in the midst of secular employments. The image of Christ, though faint, is there ; it is Christ in the soul. Their weakest emo- tions of love, their faintest beamings of hope, their very lisj^ings of prayer and praise, are beautiful and heavenly because they are so full of Christ. Much more is he glorious in them when they " come to excellent ornaments," and the rigor and constancy, and uniformity of their character are in more close and bright resem- blance to his own. There is nothing in this inferior world in which Christ himself so much glories, and which he has done so much to restore, elevate and ennoble. He calls them " his treasure ;" and 42 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. anticipates with joy tlie day when he " makes them up as his jewels." None triumph in their bright prospects so much as he ; and none but he could paint them in such glowing imagery as he has done, when he says to them, " Arise, shine, for thy lighfc is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen iipon tliee For behold, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the people ; but tlie Lord shall arise vfpoii thee^ and his gloey shall be seen upon thee. The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of tliy rising. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary^ and I will make the place of my feet GLOEious." Nor have they themselves any more devout exultation, than when they declare, " I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joy- ful in my God ; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom deck- eth himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorn- eth herself with her jewels." Our third thought is, that Christ is glorious in the character of his followers, in that they are his witnesses in this ungodly loorld. Errors and sin have no need of witnesses ; they are too deeply imbedded in the human heart to require testimony. Nor has there ever been a period of time, since the days of righteous Abel to the present hour, THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 43 when there were none on the earth to bear witness for the King of truth and grace. They have often been " a little flock ;" but they have borne their testimony, and like righteous Abel, " being dead, they yet speak." Sometimes their testimony has gathered strength with the widening and rapid cur- rent of time ; then again it has been alternately accumulative and diminished ; and then, like the waters of the ocean, it has become diffused and dis- pensed itself over the earth in clouds. If you inquire of what are they the witnesses ; I answer of the truth and power of Christ and his gospel. Many such witnesses the Saviour has now on the earth ; and though they may be of different preferences, and polity, and names, they all unite in bearing testimony to the truth of Christ. His church' is a witness-bearing church. They are wit- nesses to his being and character ; to his deity and incarnation ; to his life and death, to his resurrection and ascension. They are witnesses to the equity and binding obligation of his law, and to the hallowed influences of his grace ; themselves living epistles of its excellence known and read of all men. When the scoifers' tongue slanders the doctrines of grace as conniving at immorality and wickedness, the Sa- viour can point to all his true followers and say, " These are my witnesses," who have been taught to deny " ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present 44: THE GLORY OF CHRIST. evil world." True Christians are practical preacli- ers of the gospel, demonstrating in their own lives its elevating and purifying tendency. They are witnesses of its preciousness ; of the pleasures it gives above all the pleasures of sin. They are witnesses of the high privilege of access to God and sweet communion with things unseen ; they are witnesses of the equanimity which arises from trust in him, and from a mind subdued and regu- lated by the graces of the Spirit ; they are witnesses of the comfort which the Saviour's presence im- parts, of the rest which he gives in the time of trouble, in the midst of this fluctuating and agi- tated world ; they are witnesses of clear and sun- light prospects when the wilderness is dark, and of springs of joy in this dry and thirsty land where desolated blessings and blasted hopes so fearfully mark the Destroyer's path. They are witnesses to the truth of his promises and the value and preciousness of his ordinances. They are wit- nesses for his Bible ; witnesses for his Sabbath, his Sanctuary, his ministers, and his saints. They are chosen, called, and ftiithful witnesses. They are sw^orn witnesses, and consent before God, angels, and men, that " God should help them," as their tes- timony is true or false. They are competent wit- nesses, even though they may not be learned. They are credible, convincing, and unanswerable wit- nesses ; and where their testimony is disregarded, THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 45 tliey are condemning witnesses. They are witnesses for the Saviour and judge of men against Satan, sin and the world. They are continued through every age of time ; and just so far as they are his follow- ers, the testimony he calls for they give. Every true Christian in the world is Christ's wit- ness. Whether he occupies a throne or a dungeon, his heart and his voice are lifted up for his once suf- fering and now exalted Master. The poor Negro who is washed in the blood of the Lamb, the frozen Greenlander whose heart is warmed by the love of God, the brutalized Hottentot, the treacherous Hin- doo, and the lewd and sanguinary worshipper at the shrine of Juggernaut, who have been turned from dumb idols to serve the Living God, are as truly wit- nesses for Christ, as the favored Missionary of the Cross who first bore the glad tidings of great joy to their degraded lands. That Christian mother, and that believing child, bear witness for him as truly as Paul before Nero ; or Luther at the diet of "Worms ; or Calvin by his Institutes ; or Zuiugle on the battle-field ; or John Knox in the Castle of St. Andrews ; or the persecuted Church of Scotland by her Solemn League and Covenant ; or Thomas Chalmers when he led out the Church of Scotland free. There have been noble witnesses for Christ in ages of darhness^ and when wickedness tri- umphed, and the witnesses were clothed in sack- 46 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. cloth, and sealed their testimony with their blood ; but that child of poverty and prayer who is over- heard giving utterance to her fdth and submission in the almshouse, is as truly, though a more hum- ble witness for him, as the martyr at the stake Great and extraordinary trials and conflicts call for great sacrifices ; nor will the providence and grace of God fail to raise up witnesses fitted for such scenes ; yet must it not be forgotten, that it is amid the ordinary scenes of Christian life, where watchfulness and prayer, faith and patience, and toil, uncheered except by heavenly influences, that the believer's testimony exerts its appropriate and powerful and abiding efficacy. It is no small matter to live and die, bearing witness before angels and men for Christ and his truth. More especially is the Saviour honored by this testimony when the witnesses are few, and dishonored for their testimony. When wealth and pride, fashion and power frown upon the Christian ; when to be allied to Christ is to dis- solve the charm of other alliances and the believer stands alone ; then it is that the exactions of the gos- pel are urgent, and a strength of no ordinary faith is called for in order to take up his cross cheerfully. The temptation was strong for the twelve disci- ples to symbolize with the impiety of Jerusalem and Rome ; and it was this that gave their testi- mony value and importance. When iniquity THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 47 abounds, and error unfolds lier gorgeous and Pro- tean standard, and those even from whom better things are expected fall away ; it is no feigned re- gard to the Redeemer's honor, that verifies his truth. Noble was the answer and the testimony, and it shall travel wherever this gospel is preached, " Lord to whom shall we go but unto thee ? thou hast the words of eternal life, and we know and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God." How many millions have lived and died beaiing this testimony ! That death-hed tes- timony, how precious it is ! and how many pallid lips have uttered it! and how have its frag- ments been gathered up, and consecrated by tears ! When Toplady lay on his death-bed, he said to a friend, " It is impossible to describe how good God is to me. The comforts and manifestations of his love are so abundant, as to render my con- dition the most delightful in the world. He leaves me nothing to pray for but a continuance of them. My prayers are all converted into praise. Those great and glorious truths which the Lord in mercy has given me to believe, and which he has enabled me, though very feebly, to stand forth in defence of, carry me far above the things of time and sense. Sickness is no affliction; pain no curse; death itself no dissolution. I am the happiest man in the world. O how this soul of mine 48 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. longs to be gone ! Like a bird imprisoned in its cage, it longs to take its flight. Being fixed on the eternal Rock, Christ Jesus, my soul is filled with peace and joy." When he drew near his end, he said, " O what delight ! Who can fathom the joys of the third heaven ! The sky is clear ; there is no cloud. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!"* Soon after this, he closed his eyes, and found " A death-like sleep, A gentle wafting to immortal life." How many precious memories of the departed have thus been preserved, and how often have they been scattered far and wide, and everywhere shedding the fragrance of the Saviour's name ! And think you, Christ is not glorified by this great cloud of witnesses, whether among the liv- ing or the dead ? This testimony is designed to honor him, and does honor him. Our last thought is, that the followers of Christ live to promote his glory and advance the interests of his hingdom. '"None of us," says the inspired Apostle, " liveth to himself" Such is the supreme and all-absorbing egotism of the human heart, that to do this is the most difiicult thing in the world. The great conflict is between the flesh and the spirit, self and interests that are higher * Life of Toplady, by London Tract Society. THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 49 and more important. The conquest is complete when sin and self are lost and swallowed up in God. And although it is never complete in the present world, yet just in the measure in which the conflict is successfully maintained, is Christ glorious in the character of his followers. We confess to no sympathy with those moral chemists, who, by their subtle analysis, have endeavored to resolve all the elements of goodness into self-love. Self has its place in the nature and relations of all intelligent existences; it has its place in the divine law, and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the infinite and ever-blessed God has also liis place. Nor is it possible for a false philosophy so to twist and mould any one modification of true piety, as to make it appear that its origin and ruling motive is selfishness. If this principle were true, it would break down all moral distinc- tions in the universe, and show that the best man in the world, though he may be wiser, is radically no better than the worst. The controlling principle which governs every truly Christian mind, is not so involved in abstruse- ness and intricacy as to escape consciousness ; nor is it so obscure and doubtful in its overt actings, as to escape observation. The self-sacrificing impulse is strong^ where " the love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost." The faith of the gospel " works by love." A dead faith is a contra- 50 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. diction ; it has no actual existence ; it wants tlie principle of life and activity ; its vitality is gone. Living Christians are " constrained" by the love of Christ, henceforth to live," not unto themselves, but to liim that died for tlieiiiT True piety has this for its great object ; and never does it appear to such advantage, and never so glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, as when it holds forth the beautiful picture of a redeemed sinner, caring more for the honor of Christ than his own, and for the interest of his kingdom than his own interest. Be his errors and imperfections ever so mournful a blot upon the canvass, this single characteristic stands out upon it in bold relief There is not a Chris- tian on the earth, who does not live to promote the glory of the Kedeemer, and advance the inter- ests of his kingdom. It is not his own ease, or honor, or w^ealth, or social relations, or country, that he lives for ; it is for interests above and be- yond all these, and to which all these, even when most cherished, are made subordinate. This is the great triumph of Christianity. In the character of such followers, its author is able to show the universe some bright spots in this dark world. Much as he is despised and rejected of men, and little as the mass of mankind care for the salva- tion of others, and for the nations that are going down to death, there are those who think of him, and honor him ; who feel that all they are, and THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 51 have, and can perform, belongs to him, and that it is their earnest expectation and hope, that he may be " magnified in them, whether it be by life or by death." Is he not glorious in such as these ? May he not say concerning them : See, I have not died in vain ! The manger of Bethlehem, the poverty of Nazareth, the gloom of Gethsemane, the scorn, the scourge, the spitting, the cross, the grief, the love, were not in vain. Nor when I rose, was it in vain that all power in heaven and on earth was intrusted to my hands. These are they who were bought with a price. To their hands I have committed my honor, and the inter- ests of my kingdom in yonder world. This is my reward ; these are my triumphs, and they shall be multiplied as the drops of the morning dew! Are they not multiplied ? Are they not found wherever a pure Christianity lives ? Does not the wilderness blossom as the rose for them? Are they not the friends of the fatherless and the widow ; the founders and patrons of every charity, the teachers of the ignorant, the i-eformers of the vicious, and the Christianizers of every people, and kindred, and tongue, and nation? Sweet is the privilege to be tlius instrumental in extending the knowledge of God's salvation, and to become one of the lights of the world ! Every effort to make known his name, is an effort to promote his glory ; it makes God himself known, and "makes his 52 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. praise glorious." It brings glory to him from others, arresting the attention of a thoughtless world, augmenting the trophies of his love and power, making new manifestations of his glorious character, radiating around them and beyond them, to untold generations. God himself has said, "This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise." Thus is the glory of Christ unfolded in the char- acter of his followers. Nor is this empty specula- tion; but full of comfort to the people of God, full of inducements to holy living, and full of re- buke to ungodly men. It kfuU of comfort to thejpeople of God^ because tlieu have the greatest security in his guardianship and love. " The Lord's portion is his people ; Israel is the lot of his inheritance." He has left them in this world as the guardians of his honor ; to their keeping he has committed this sacred deposit, more valuable than worlds. And think you he will not keep them^ and be their Guardian ? We may rest satisfied that his church is safe. The signs of the times may be complex, and even dark; thrones may totter and there may be commotions among the people ; but nothing in heaven, or on earth, or in hell, shall ever divert the love of Christ from his people. His unchanging faithfulness is the guar- anty that light and darkness, good and evil, joy and sorrow, friends and foes shall Avork together THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 53 for their benefit. " Surely there is no divination against Jacob, and no enchantment against Israel." There is nothing he regards with such a watchful eye, or such a loving heart. What God said to ancient Israel, he says to his church now, and in these ends of the earth : " Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people ; for all the earth is mine, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." He stands forth their Protector. " He that touch- eth them, toucheth the apple of his eye." His church is more beautiful and lovely in his eyes than in ours ; and he will be its friend because it is the only living exhibition on the earth of his ami- able and glorious character. " Not for their sakes will he do this, but for his own great name's sake." He has too many important purposes to accomplish, by their character and agency, ever to intermit either his care, or his love, or to fail in the prom- ise, " I will make thee an eternal excellency, the joy of many generations." The thoughts which have been expressed, are aho full of inducements to holy living. We know of none stronger, or more constraining. " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fndt^^ For what has his spiritual vineyard a place in this desert world ; for what has he built a hedge about it, and encircled with his omnipotent protection, 54 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. and nurtured it by the prayers, and tears, and blood of liis Son ; but to bring forth fruit ? From time to time, he visits it to " see if the vine flourish and the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth." If his church would welcome the visits of his love, she should welcome these visits of inspection. Her prayer should be, " Awake, O north wind, and come thou, south ; blow upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow out ! Let ray beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits !" It is not enough to be professors of the Christian faith, and maintain the forms of Christian consecration and worship ; the pride and self-delusion of the human heart often assume this disguise. Outward decency may not be the " fruit of the Spirit." It is a melancholy indication when men refuse to avow relation to Christ, and are ashamed of his truth and institutions; but this avowal is not necessarily Christian, nor may its object be to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour. If we would honor Christ, we must possess his Spirit, and sympathize with him in the great ob- jects he came into the world to accomplish. We must exemplify his Spirit in the more arduous and self-denying duties, by bearing his cross and never becoming weary in his service. We should take heed lest we dishonor him, and furnish a keen- eyed and fault-finding world some plausible pre- text for saying, " What do ye more than others ?" THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN HIS FOLLOWERS. 55 O give no ground for this. Be consistent ; be cir- cumspect. Do not wound the Saviour "in the house of his friends." Do not betray the trust he has committed to you, but preserve his glory un- tarnished. It is a glorious trust. "Wherefore also we pray for you that our God would account you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power; that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." The thoughts which have been suggested are also full of rebuke to ungodly men. There are no indications of the Eedeemer's glory in their char- acter. They neither acknowledge him to be their Lord and King ; nor is their odious sinfulness any reflection of his unblotted purity ; nor are they his witnesses in the world ; nor do they live to advance the interests of his kingdom and promote his glory. It is another Master they serve ; another model they imitate ; another cause in behalf of which they appear as witnesses, and other interests than his which they live to promote. They bear no fruit to his praise ; and but for his overruling providence, would be cumberers of his ground, and but for his forbearance and long-suffering, would be cut down. " Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud; for the , Lord hath spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before he cause darkness, and before your 56 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. feet stumble upon the dark mountain, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride, and mine eye shall run down with tears." It is wonderful that God spares "the proud and them that do wickedly" so long. It is a perfectly proper thing that after he has waited upon them a suitable time he should cut them down. " Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire." We say frankly to all the ungodly, it must come to this unless you turn from your evil way, and live and die to him whose glory is man's chief end and joy. The day of his scorning is not gone by ; for men still hide their faces from him, and it is the day of his reproaches. Yet, with all the contumely that you are heaping upon him, his eye now beams upon you the radiance of compassion and love. Woe to the man who discourages, and exhausts, and crushes those heavenly sympathies ! The day is coming when the defamed Jesus will vindicate his insulted honor ; when he will avenge the wrong that has been done to him ; and the man who now hates and slanders him, will find that he has not a friend in the universe, and that heaven and earth " shall clap their hands at him, and hiss him out of his place." CHAPTER XIII. THE GLOEY OF CUEIST SPIEITUALLT DISCEENED. It is recorded of tlie two disciples, in their in- structive and animating interview with their di- vine Master on their way to Emmaus, that " their eyes were holdeu so that they did not know him." The Sim of righteousness may shine around us in the fuhiess of his glory ; but if our eyes are closed, it matters not to us whether he be risen, or cov- ered with a cloud. It is one thing for him to pos- sess these unutterable glories, and another for men to behold them. At his first advent, " the light shone upon the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." It is no uncommon thing for those who have strong convictions of the truths of the gospel and some hopes of the divine favor, to complain of the obscurity of their views of Jesus Christ. They are not without some just impressions of their need of him ; nor without occasional glimpses of his fit- ness, excellence, and beauty; nor do they doubt 3* 58 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. his fulness and all-sufficiency ; yet tlie great defect in their religious experience, and as they them- selves judge, the dark spot in their character con- sists in their defective views of Christ. On the other hand, there are those who think much and speak much of him, and seem to make much of him in their hopes, who do not furnish the best evidence in the world that they partake of his spirit. They profess to enjoy delightful, and even ravishing views of him ; yet you cannot helj) feeling that their Christianity is questionable. It has an Antinomiau cast ; nor do they appear to have a sufficiently deep impression of the truth that " if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." Yet the important fact may never be forgotten nor obscured, that personal, experimental, practi- cal godliness has much to do with Christ. His character and work and glory not more certainly form the great and prominent subjects of a super- natural revelation, than believing and sanctified views of him form the inward source and spring of devout affections and holy sensibilities of soul. All true believers are " complete in him." From " his fulness have they all received, and grace for grace." He " of God is made to them wasdom, righteous- ness, sanctification, and redemption." He is the fountain of their spiritual life, the ground of their hopes, the solace, the joy of their hearts, and their everlasting portion. THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 59 It is of no ordinary importance, therefore, tliat we make a scriptural presentation of those mews of the glory of Christ that are peculiar to the peo- ple of God. There were those in the days of his flesh who " beheld his glory ;" there are those who behold it now, and whose views differ from those which " see in him no form, nor comeliness." We shall confine our remarks to the following charac- teristics of those views of the adorable Saviour which are enjoyed only by his own people. The first of these characteristics is, that they are the fruit of the Spirit. The apostle Paul rep- resents unrenewed men as "having their under- standing darhened^ being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, be- cause of the hlindness of their heart. This blind- ness is nowhere more obvious than in their igno- rance of Christ. Their views of him are obscure and confused. They are perverted views, and such as dishonor him ; they are false views, and sometimes no' views at all. Not a few persons of this description do not possess even a gleam of intellectual light when they hear or read of him who " is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his Person." Of true Christians the Scriptures speak in very different language. "Ye were once darkness; but now are ye light in the Lord ;" — " We all, with un- veiled face, behold as in a glass the glory of the 60 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. Lord ;" — " Ye are a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." We say, therefore, that the peculiar views which Christians have of Christ are produced by the Holy Spirit. " God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in their hearts to give them the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ." It is not the work of man, nor of means, nor of the unillumined intellect in its deepest researches, or its loftiest flights. When the Apostle Peter, with his charac- teristic boldness, made that memorable declara- tion, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," the Saviour said to him, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona ; for flesh and blood hath not re- vealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." In speaking of the appropriate work of the Spirit, the Saviour remarks, " He shall take of mine and show it unto you ;" and he elsewhere speaks of " manifesting himself to his disciples as he does not unto the world." As a consequence of this general and leading truth, we remark, in the next place, that the views which all true Christians enjoy of their divine Lord are spiritual views, in distinction from those which are purely intellectual. In the act of crea- ting them anew in Christ Jesus, the Spirit of God creates within them "a new heart and a new THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 61 spirit ;" he " sheds abroad the love of God in the heart," which of itself lays the foundation for new discernment, new sensibilities, and, if I may so speak, a new spiritual taste. We see not why the metaphysical writers of a very intelligent class should have made so fierce a warfare upon what we mean by spiritual taste. It is a common-sense view of the subject when we speak of a spiritual taste in men, and a natural taste. Just as there is in some minds a peculiar sensitiveness to the beauty of colors, or to the melody and harmony of sound, or to the beauty of proportions; so is there in every truly regenerated mind a moral or spiritual sensitiveness, a ready perception of the deformity of sin, the beauty of holiness, the excel- lence of the divine character, and the glory of Christ, There is a taste and relish for divine truth, and for the duties and enjoyments of piety. There is no more certain criterion by which true grace may be distinguished from all counterfeits than this. The renewed mind receives pleasure from the contemplation of divine objects ; nor can you touch a string within the whole circle of di- vine truth, but such a mind, if well instructed, re- sponds to it. It is far otherwise with the unre- newed heart. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are fool- ishness unto him; neither can he show them, be- cause they are spiritually discerned^ Spiritual 62 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. minds are deeply interested in Christ's instructions ; they have exalted and delightful views of his Per- son and work and ineffable glory. Their views of him are above and beyond all mere intellectual views, however just those" intellectual views may be. All spiritual views of him are scriptural^ but all scriptural views of him are not necessarily spiritual. Judas Iscariot may have had scriptural views of him. We are told that " the devils be- lieve and tremble ;" they may, and doubtless do possess views of Christ's Person and work that are accordant with truth : and wicked men may be well instructed in all those doctrines of the gospel which relate to the Son of God. Yet none of these ever truly beheld his glory. Yet while we say these things, it is not unim- portant to remark that the best and most orthodox intellectual views of Christ are very apt to be in- tellectually defective. There may be just views of his natural perfections as he unfolds them in the works of creation and providence ; while not a few who live under the broad daylight of the gospel have no just conceptions of the glory of his moral nature. This thought suggests the true and dis- criminating nature of spiritual in distinction from mere intellectual views. It requires rectitude to perceive rectitude, goodness to perceive goodness, love to perceive and form a true estimate of love, just as it requires thought to perceive thought, THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 63 and genius to perceive and ai:)preciate genius, and nobleness and generosity to perceive and appre- ciate them in others. It is one thing to possess the intellectual conviction that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again according to the scrip- tures, and another to perceive the excellence of his Person and work. Those there are who do not call in question the instructions of the gospel con- cerning him, whose views of him are limited to the bare letter of these instructions without any- right feeling or corresponding emotions. When we speak of spiritual^ in distinction from intellectual views of Christ, we are aware that we use language that is capable of perversion. The words spirituality^ spiritual^ and spiritualize^ are some of these compendious words, which, if we • do not regard their true import, may conduct minds not a few, to the mysticisms of piety, rather than to its intelligible reality. Mysticism is ob- scurity. It is a sublimated, rather than a sublime religion, and flows from a supposed and direct in- tercourse with the divine Spirit, ivithout the inter- vention of GocVs truth. The puerile illusions and collusions of modern spiritualists, are scarcely more absurd than the mysticism of the fourth and twelfth centuries. The Spirit of God alivays acts upon the mind through the Qnedium of truth. Truth is one^ whether revealed in the works and providence of God, unfolded in the Scriptures, or 64 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. brought to the view of the mind by that divine Agent, whose office it is to take of the things of Christ, and show them to men. Spiritual views of Christ are sober and veritable views. They are not high-wrought sentimentalism. They are not poetry ; nor are they the effect of mere men- tal abstraction. They are not the fancies of the cloister ; nor are they produced by dreams, and visions, and supernatural audible voices. Nor are they the effect of any extraordinary light to the outward eye ; nor do they consist of those percep- tions that are caused by an excited and fertile imagination, painting the Saviour as suspended on the cross, and surrounded by a halo of indescriba- ble glory. Nor let the remark be deemed too trivial, when we say that they are never steeped and drugged into the soul by subtle opiates and alcoholic poisons, stealing upon the nerves and senses, and superinducing that dreamy and exqui- site sensibility, which, by weak minds, is so often mistaken for the fervors of piety. Nor is it any evidence that they are spiritual views, that they were obtained in some extraordinary and unac- countable way, and have been deeply affecting. It is true that the " wind bloweth where it list- eth ;" the Spirit of God may sometimes come over the soul amid the night-watches ; amid hours of solemn thought, and through altogether unwonted agencies ; but when he does so, it is always in the THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 65 oversh ado wings of trutli. All other views are imaginary or false, and are not w^ortliy of confi- dence. They are a sort of religious transcenden- talism, w^hich a believing mind looks upon with suspicion and rejects. The great facts of the Bible form the basis on which a mind enlightened by God's Spirit rests its confidence. Spiritual views are " full of truth ;" God's truth lies at the foundation of them all. Another characteristic of those views of Christ which are peculiar to the Christian mind is, that tJiey are not selfish meius. Self is not dissevered from them, but they are not mainly excited or sustained by selfish considerations. They are views of a grateful, but not a selfish mind. They do not flow from regarding him merely as our benefactor ; but from loving him as he is, and for his own sake. True love and gratitude are easily distinguished ; while as exercised toward Christ by every truly Christian mind, they are never sep- arated. A good man may receive benefit from one w^hose character he condemns; and a bad man may receive benefit from one in whose char- acter he takes no complacency ; wdiile both may be grateful for the benefit and have no love for the character. Where the character deserves complacency and confidence, and the benefits bestowed demand gratitude; the complacency strengthens the gratitude, and the gratitude the 66 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. complacency. The character of Christ and his love towards his people, give him the highest claim both upon the complacent and grateful ad- miration of his glory ; nor need they be separated. But what if my iw2)i'essio'ns of my own per- sonal interest in Christ are delusive, and my hope in his mercy no better than the hypocrite's hope ? Such a persuasion obviously has not anything gracious in its nature. Remove this delusion, and such a mind would see no beauty in the Son of God. Those views of his glory which are im- parted by the Holy Spirit, consist of enlarged and gratified concej^tions of his own intrinsic loveli- ness. If my impressions of my own personal in- terest in him are such as are founded in truth ; are they not rather the result of my spiritual views of him, than these views themselves ? They are views of him^ and not of my own hopes that are so transporting. These views of him produce a calm and peaceful state of mind ; nay, they are often associated with hope's full assurance, and because they furnish the scriptural evidence that those who enjoy them are personally interested in his redemption. But they are not selfish views ; nor do they forsake the soul even in her most desponding hours. There are those who have very languid hopes for themselves, who have at the same time views of Christ that are truly spir- itual. They have the assurance of faith without THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 67 the assurance of hope. Through the power of temptation, or from a suspicious and gloomy tem- perament, or from bodily infirmity, they may be driven to the borders of despair ; yet their souls pant after Christ, and they are resolved to seek him, though they die at his feet. Then again, there are those whose views of the Saviour are so clear and transporting, that they do not stop to think of themselves. The manifes- tations of his glory are so resplendent and so ab- sorbing, that they are raised above all thoughts of their own spiritual state. Such views are not selfish. The sweetest, purest, and most spiritual joys ever experienced by the people of God, arise ft'om their objective views of Christ. Self is lost sight of. Christ is the object they are contempla- ting; nor can they, in such a state of mind, con- sent to Avithdraw their thoughts from him. His loveliness and glory are then realized, and make corresponding impressions on the heart. There is that heartfelt sense of his excellence and beauty, imparted by that grace which the world knows not of Another characteristic of these views is the ^:>(?r- fect assurance they produce of the reality and ex- cellence of the tilings that are thus discovered to the soul. They put to flight all doubts of the truth of God's w^ord, and of the method of salvation there revealed. The Christian who enjoys them 68 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. no morQ doubts than Peter did, wlien lie exclaimed, " We know and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God." He no more doubts than he doubts his senses. He has the evidence of experience ; it is experimental knowledge ; he has " tasted and seen that the Lord is good." This, to him, is more than all other evidence. It is no theory ; it is matter of fact. He never forgets it; many a time, in subsequent seasons of darkness does he recur to it in order to eradicate his unbe- lieving fears and repel the suggestions of the adver- sary. There is something unutterably delightful in such views of God and his Christ, were it for nothing more than the assurance, and perfect rej)Ose they produce in the reality of the things thus seen. Babes in Christ may have these intelligent teach- ings, and this assurance that they are taught. They may have no other evidence within their reach, but this satisfies them. They have found the truth of Christ to be what it professes to be ; it speaks to them as nothing else speaks. Mere speculative knowledge cannot produce this im- pression. It is something written on the "flesh- ly tables of the heart." It is unwrought; it is " truth in the inward parts," and is as much a reality as their own thoughts and affections. It is the joy and rejoicing of the heart. Good men glory in it as Paul did when he " gloried in the cross." The Person and grace of Christ shine THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 09 with such a divine glory, that they seek no other Saviour, They are satisfied with Christ, though in want of other things; while without him all other things are nothing. Another characteristic of these views is that tliey produce a loivly mind. No views, be the}^ ever so transporting, are the fruit of the Spirit that have not this effect upon the soul. Never does the Christian lie so low as when he enjoys the clearest perceptions of his Redeemer's glory. " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee ; wherefore I abhor my- self and repent in dust and ashes !" When he looks up and sees how exalted and glorious that Saviour is, he is covered with shame ; an humbling sense of his own abjectness and vileness abases him. Past and present sin humbles him, abases his pride, and fills him with self-loathing. He lies low, and " his comeliness is turned into corruption." The soul feels its wants then. It is sensible of its insufficiency and ill-desert, and its language is " God be merciful to me a sinner !" We may rest satisfied that where our views of Christ are such as to lift up the heart in pride, and produce a self-sufficient and self-exulting spirit, they are not of God. Still another characteristic of all spiritual views of Christ is a cherished solicitude to lionor and glo- rify him. They give him the throne, and would 70 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. see him enthroned in every heart. One glimpse of his glory, and no living man asks for greater evidence that he deserves to be practically acknowl- edged as " God over all blessed forever." The crown of the Godhead is his ; the crown of Creation is his ; to him belong all the badges of kingdom and royalty. The crown of heaven is his ; and his the crown of all the earth. His " By ancient covenant, ere nature's birth, And he has made his by purchase since. And overpaid its vakie with his blood." Look where he will, after such rich views of his divine Lord, the believer exclaims, " Whom have I in heaven but Thee ; and what is there on the earth that I desire beside Thee !" His heart finds its sweetest impulses to active and self-denying duty in the character, the love, the ineffable glory of his adorable Master. His reason goes on from step to step, but finds naught to gratify it like the revelations that are made of Christ. When his affections become enchained and his imagination enchanted by earthly good ; nothing breaks the charm like spiritual perceptions of this " brightest, sweetest, fairest One." AVhere these views of Christ do not furnish effective inducements to holy living, they may al- ways be regarded as spurious. The Christian pro- fession is a good profession ; and where it is sus- tained by supreme love to Christ and joy in him, THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 71 is indicated by watchfulness and prayer, by a cir- cumspect deportment, and a faith that is manifest- ed by works. His light shines before men, that others seeing his good works, may glorify his Fa- ther Avho is in heaven. If he is obstructed in his heavenly career, he is the more careful to lay aside every weight and the sin that doth most easily beset him ; and though he is never what he should be, he strives to be better thian he is, and seeks for grace to enable him to walk worthy of his high hopes and high vocation. Such are some of the characteristics of that spir- itual discernment of the glory of Christ that are peculiar to the people of God. They are by no means the same in all Christians, nor with the same Christians at all times. The best " see through a glass darkly ;" while not a few " see men as trees walking ;" and others walk for the most part in darkness. No one may draw the conclu- sion that he is not the disciple of Christ because he has not the same illumined views with Moses and Paul. If he does not hal:)itually enjoy the sunlight splendor of God's countenance, let him be thankful for its milder, and less refulgent rays. Paul was not always in the third heavens, nor was Moses always in the Mount with God. There are bright views of the Redeemer's gloiy; and there are those equally spiritual that are less bright. The more bright we should desire and 72 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. seek cafter, because they are attainable. There are no new faculties imparted to the soul in order to enjoy them ; they are such views as all might enjoy if their hearts were always right with God, and they loved the Saviour as they ought. They are not obtained by the revelation of any new truths not contained in God's word ; but by clear and deep impressions of those already made known, and carried home to the heart by the Holy Spirit. Let the reader, in view of these thoughts, ask himself, am la Cliristian? Do I belong to that peculiar people, who in character and sources of enjoyment differ from other men % God has such a people, to whom he gives peculiar views of the glory of his Son. No thanks to them that they are what they are. The work is God's ; his the grace, and his the glory ! " I thank thee Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes. Even so Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight !" Would you be a happy Christian ; seek to know more of Christ; There is more to be seen and ad- mired in him than you have ever beheld. There is nothing which appertains to true godliness which those who have once experienced do not desire to experience again, and in still higher degrees. Paul could say, " Not as though I had already attained ; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 73 for whicli I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." There is room to know more, love moi'e, admire, enjoy more, and to be more transformed l^y these delightful manifestations into the same image, from glory to glory. The mind of a godly man is alive to every repeated and every fresh discovery which the Redeemer makes of himself, whether in his word and ordinances, or in his providence. He " would see Jesus." He would see him everywhere, and en- joy him in everything. Whatever the scene, the events, the place, the duties which bring his Sa- viour near, attract his own heart toward Christ and heaven. That is the Mount of Transfiguration to him, and he says of it, " Lord it is good to be here !" The most adoring views he would have still more adoring. His prayer is, "I beseech thee, show me thy glory !" He would be satisfied to the full ; he would drink of those " rivers of pleasure," that " river of life, flowing clear as crys- tal from the throne of God and the Lamb." If you walk in darkness, there is fault somewhere ; and must it not be in you f It cannot be in God ; for " God is love ;" he " taketh pleasure in them that fear him and in them that liope in his mercy." It is not in the gospel ; for the gospel is " glad tidings of great joy." It is not in the Saviour ; for his glory is never concealed, but always luminous, always visible if men will but open their eyes to behold it. " He that followeth after me," says this 74 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. great source of light and comfort, " shall oiot walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." He passed through scenes of darkness, that he might "lift the light of his countenance upon them, and give them peace." Let the benighted Christian say, " Behold I am vile ; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upou my mouth." He is looking to other sources of light and joy, when he should be looking only to Christ. It is not the world that can give you peace, but Christ. It is not human counsellors, but Christ the Wondejftd Counsellor. It is not frames and feelings, but Christ. To a sin- ner everything is dark but Christ. Happy frames and feelings are not Christ. They change, but he never changes. There is no delusion when faith fixes its eye not upon itself but upon him. " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ!^'' Let these simple truths sink down into your hearts, and jowv nights will be tranquil, and your days cheered and joyful. You will not indeed throw off from your heart the load of conscious wickedness, but you will find the relief of pardon and grace ; you will be established in the peace, and hope, and joy of the gospel ; your apprehensions will be dissipated, and you will possess those views of the Saviour's glory which fill you with light and joy. Would you he fitted for death and ripe for heav- en', seek to know more of Christ. Special mani- festations of his glory are often vouchsafed to the THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 75 people of God for tlie purpose of furnishing tliem responsible and self-denying duty and toil. They are often imparted in order to prepare him for scenes of conflict and days of temptation and trial. But they always exert a happy influence in fitting them for death and heaven. No small part of the blessedness of that joyous world consists in " see- ing him as he is ;" though even there, there are heights and depths of his glory which the purest of disembodied spirits never penetrate. There the soul is happy because it loses itself in his infinity, and prospects are ever being opened which are the source of ever increasing joy. Preparatory to this glory hereafter revealed, there is no more delight- ful or eflfective means than those less refulgent manifestations begun on earth. Nothing so cer- tainly withdraws the heart from things seen and temporal and fixes it on the things that are unseen and eternal. They are like the Pisgah views which the Prophet enjoyed of the Promised Land, where the eye of faith rests on the " delectable mountains," and runs over the fields beyond the flood. They are like some unlooked-for light which breaks on the path of the wearied and benighted traveller as he comes near to his journey's end, and as it glimmers from the window of his own beloved home. They are no unfriendly indications of our departure from the present world, when the veil is thus drawn aside, and like the martyred 76 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. disciple we are allowed to " see heaven opened and Jesus standing on tlie riglit hand of God." Christ is " all and in all," to the dying, as well as the living believer. John the aged might well consent to be gathered to his people after that vision of the Son of Man in the isle of Patmos. It was a view that travelled with him to his grave. Ever after that heavenly voice fell upon his ear, " Fear not ; I am he that liveth and was dead." And when that same voice spoke the w^ords, " Surely I come quickly ;" w^ell did this favored disciple reply, " Even so ; come Lord Jesus !" But it may be that the reader is not a Chris- tian. Yet is he travelling to the same eternity and through no such illumined path. It is a dark path through the wilderness which he has chosen, and a dark valley through which he enters upon his gloomy inheritance. No fellow spirit can accom- pany, no created arm support him in the dread conflict. The Comforter is afar oft', and he goes alone to the house appointed for all the living." What shall we say to him ? Shall we cheer him by vivid delineations of earthly joy? His mind cannot be thus satisfied, even though thus transiently deceived. It may be that even now it would fain hunger and thirst after righteousness. It were no fitting counsel to magnify in his esteem the wealth, and honors, and pleasures of time. We come on a more kind errand, and have a sweeter THE GLORY OF CHRIST SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. 77 message. We would tell him of tlie crucified and living One wlio came to guide his erring feet into the way of peace, to make him happy by making him holy, to show him his glory and induce him to become partaker of his joy. The pleasure of his return to God would outweigh all the pain of forsaking and mortifying his sin. One cheering view of Christ would far transcend all the glories of earth and time. Come, " taste and see that the Lord is good." Gather fruit, now before the har- vest is past and the summer of life is ended, from this Tree of Life. Drink of these rivers of salva- tion, that you go not any more to these broken cisterns which hold no water. O what overpowering splendor shines in the face of Jesus Christ ! Behold it as the " glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." " Look unto him and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth, for he is God and there is none else !" CHAPTER XIV. Christ's glory the wonder of angels. Fro]\[ the fact that God has chosen this Avorld to be the theatre of the great Redemption, the inference cannot be fiiirly drawn, that all the ben- efits of this stupendous work are confined to this world. We have our own special concern in it as fallen creatures ; but others observe it as well as we, and may, j^erad venture, learn more from it than we ourselves learn, jMen are not the only race of intelligences in the universe ; some there may be that are lower; that there are those who are higher is distinctly revealed to ns. We have frequent notices of the existence of a ciass of in- telligences existing in another state of being, and constituting a celestial family, or hierarchy, over which God immediately presides. They are of different orders, and, it would seem, form a chain of beings which fill up the chasm between the in- finite Creator and the creature man. We know nothing of them except from the Bible ; while CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OP ANGELS. 79 from this source our knowledge is collected from hints and fragments, rather than from any historic or dogmatic statement. They are spiritual beings, of intelligent and holy character; and in those instances in which they have appeared to men they have appeared in human forms, in I'obes of purity, and with emblems of power. When sent on errands of mercy, their countenances are full of light and love ; full of terror when bearing mes- sages of judgment. They are described in the New Testament as yoking men whose countenance is like lightning, and whose raiment is white as snow. They stand in the presence of God ; are ministering spirits to them that shall be the heirs of salvation ; and in the execution of this office are sometimes clothed with a cloud, and a rain- bow about their head. We probably have very inadequate views of the number of these holy and heavenly intelligences. They are represented as a "host," and as "the host of heaven," standing on the right and the left of the celestial throne ; as " thousands of angels ;" as " thousands, and ten thousand times ten thou- sand ;" as " more than twelve legions ;" as " a great multitude of the heavenly host," and as an innu- merable company of angels." It is said of them that they " excel in strength ;" that they are " great in power and might," and that their activity and power are such that they fly from heaven to earth, 80 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. and from earth to heaven, with a swiftness that is inconceivable to men. The object of the present chapter is to speak of the fact, itself that angels take a deep interest in the Person of Christ ; to show xvliy they feel this interest; and to advert to \\\^ impressions which their views of his glory make npon their own minds. We will, in the first place, advert to the fact ITSELF, THAT ANGELIC EXISTENCES FEEL A DEEP IN- TEREST IN THE Person and work of Christ. Although these celestial messengers have no personal interest in the redemption of Christ, be- cause they are not sinners; yet are they repre- sented as " desirinsr to look into it." One of the o great truths enumerated by the Apostle Paul as connected with the history of God manifest in the flesh, is that he v/as " seen of angels." The same apostle, in addressing the church of Ephesus, dis- tinctly informs us, that it was " the intent" of this redemption, that " now unto pnnci]}alities and 'poioers in heavenly iJla-ces might be known the manifold wisdom of God." It is a curious fact, also, that in the great epoch of the Saviour's history, we find these angel ministrations ; ever and anon the angels of God are about his path, and hovering over him. There is an intercourse kept up between them, as though the association were mutually ex- pected and delightful. CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. 81 Men " see through a glass darkly," both from the imperfection of their intellectual powers, the sinfulness of their character, and the remoteness of their position from celestial objects. Angels possess thought and intelligence far above that which is human ; while their proximity to heav- enly things enables them to behold them without any intervening obstruction. We are ignorant of the laws of their intercourse with one another, and with the great and glorious objects around them; yet in those instances in which they have appeared among men, the medium of their percej^tions seems to have been not unlike our own. Their views and emotions were communicated just as we commu- nicate ours; and their perceptions, though more extensively intuitive, are derived from sources of knowledge more proximate and more clear, indeed, but such as are revealed to men. When the revelation was first made known in heaven that he was to take upon him "not the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham," there is no doubt they regarded the intelligence with astonishment ; and when he assumed man's nature, and made known the great objects he had in view by this assumption, while a part of their number revolted from this service as an indignity to their exalted rank, those who remained loyal held them- selves ready to promote this glorious design in all the ways by which their loyalty to the Son of God 4* 82 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. and their love for man could be expressed. Tliey regarded him with high interest as their Maker and Lord; but when he veiled his divine glory, and was made of a woman and made under the law, they regarded him with new interest, and with an admiration still more profound. Some of them had, from time to time, attended on their adorable Master when he made a transient appearance to the patriarchs as a prelude and earnest of his actual coming in the flesh ; and now they saw the whole import of that incarnation. Centuries before, it had been predicted that his " name shall be called Wondei'ful ;" and now the wonder was realized. They beheld his glory ; it was a rapturous view to them of those councils of peace which had been made known in heaven. They had seen that there was no hope for the apostate rebels of their own race ; and they waited with eager expectation to see the problem solved, how God could be "just, and the justifier of the ungodly;" how Satan could be baffled in his mischievous and successful device of marHs apostasy ; how snail's restoration and hap- piness could be rendered consistent with the sup- port of the divine government and the authority of the divine law, and the whole enterprise be so conducted as to save the Deity, harmless, and even augment the lustre of his throne. When the eter- nal Word bowed his heavens, and they beheld the child that was born, they saw the mystery of god- CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. 83 liness thus far explained. They were expecting this event ; and Gabriel was sent to foretell it to his virgin mother. And when she brought forth her first-born and laid him in the manger, one of them was commissioned to make it known to the shep- herds, while " suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will to men !" They even indi- cated the place of his birth to the astonished shep- herds; and it was in obedience to their angelic directions that these men went to Bethlehem and " found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." This was but the beginning of their admiration. When the eastern sages worshipped him, angels beheld the sight ; and they saw how and why it was, that "Herod and all Jerusalem were trou- bled." They saw his flight into Egypt, w^onder- ing why men should take the alarm, because the God of love had come to dwell on the earth. They saw his return to Nazareth, and witnessed the purity and devotion of his private life, and marked how this remarkable Personage " grew in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man." Night and day did they observe him, for they had never seen such a sight before ; " a sin- less child, a sinless youth, a sinless man," among the descendants of Adam ! It was a wondrous 84: THE GLORY OF CHRIST. object tliey thus beheld iu humble retirement, and before he launched upon more troubled scenes and agitated seas. It was not in his true glory that he even then appeared to them ; but they thought not the less of him for appearing in this strange disguise. He was not disguised to them; they knew him well; and they joyfully discerned in his person and conduct, that great- ness and goodness, that beauty of holiness, which outshone all their own, and made them veil their faces in his presence. A palace and a throne would have added nothing to him in their estima- tion ; nor the riches of the world, even though for our sakes he became poor. Nor would it have increased his glory in their view, if, instead of the reproaches that were cast upon him, his name had been ahvays mingled with the hosannahs of the people. For thirty years of his short life, he remained thus in comparative retirement ; and they saw him all the while. But when he came forth to the world, and published the errand on Avhich he came, they also published and confirmed it. He was seen of them when John baptized him in Jordan ; and when he came up from the river, they heard the voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased !" In his forty days' dwelling in the wilderness they watched him, solitary and alone among beasts and devils ; they CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. §5 saw liis conflicts, and when "the Devil leaveth him, behold angels came and ministered unto him." They saw his miracles ; and were held in astonishment at the power of the Great Healer. They heard the contradiction of sinners against him ; and were the witnesses of his patience and . meekness under it all. When he was transfigured on the Mount, they saw him ; and rejoiced at this prelibation of his coming glory. In Gethsemane they, beheld him, burdened and distressed; and they heard the cry, " Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me!" They were the wit- nesses of that deep distress; and, strange and wondrous errand, so abject was his condition, and so high their privilege, that " an angel appeared strengthening him!" They saw him betrayed and apprehended; and legions of them stood ready to rescue him at his Father's bidding. They saw him arraigned, accused, insulted, blind- folded, spit upon, dragged from hall to hall, scourged, crowned with thorns, and at last con- demned as a malefactor. They saw him led out to Calvary ; they stood still, because heaven stood still ; and this commandment they received from their Lord, while the high and holy and harmless One was laid on the cross, transfixed with nails, raised up in agony to be a gazing-stock to the infuriate populace, and inhumanly derided in his agonies. He was seen and heard of angels, when THE GLORY OF CHRIST. he cast that look of pity ou the dying thief; and when he uttered those words of filial love and duty on behalf of his weeping mother. They heard that prayer for his enemies, and that final sentence, " It is finished !" They saw him expire, taken down, and laid in the tomb of Joseph. Where the soldiers watched, they kept watch also over his lifeless body. And as soon as the third day began to dawn, one of them appeared and rolled away the rock that was upon the mouth of the sepulchre, and for " fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men." They saw him rise from the dead, and were in waiting in shining apparel, to announce the joyful tidings to his disciples, " He is not here, he is risen !" And when forty days afterward, he was received up into glory, they stood by and saw him go up. Nay, they tarried awhile to console his mourning disciples, with the assurance of his coming again a second time, without sin unto salvation. They conducted him to his throne in triumph ; shouted his return in joyous praises, and though they have not learned the notes of the redeemed, they cried with a loud voice, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in." After he ascended, also, they saw and honored him. They beheld his glory in the "ministration of the Spirit." And if " there is joy in heaven among CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. 87 the angels of God over one sinner that repent- eth," what a jubilee was the day of Pentecost to angels ! And how often has that jubilee been re- peated ; and those angelic triumphs, how sweetly have they reverberated, and how are they des- tined to prolong their echo ! Nor does their ad- miration stop here. In the future and final administration of the Mediator's government on the earth, they still bear a part. They are com- missioned by him to sound one trumpet and one woe after another, in order to prepare the way for his Last Advent. Nay more, at his command " the angels come forth to sever the wicked from among the just," and to "gather his saints to- gether who have made a covenant with him by sacrifice." And when he shall come to judge the world in righteousness, they shall be his glorious attendants; "the Son of Man shall come m Ms glory^ and all the lioly angels with him." They are now, they shall be ever, enveloped with his glory ; his glory, from first to last, is their wonder and admiration. Thus true is it that the glory of Christ is the admiration of angels. Men admire other things. They are intent on the pursuit of wealth, pleasure, and fame. They gaze with admiration on the beauty and majesty of the outstretched earth, and the splendor of the starry heavens. Its princes and its palaces, its proud cities and gor- 88 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. geous temples, and tlie solemnity and pomp of their religious worship, these excite their wonder. Angels look at Christ and admire his great glory. This world did not contain such another Person- age, nor present a scene half so glorious in their eyes. The splendid court of princes had no charms for them, compared with Mary's Son. The wealth and honors, the learning and splendor of earth they could not look at, so long as their eye might be fixed on Jesus. Its men, its virtues, were lost sight of, while they might behold him, and be conversant with one so holy and harmless, so undefiled and separate from sinners. Jerusa- lem with its gorgeous Temple made with hands, they cared not for, so long as they could see him within its sacred courts, and hear him disputing with its learned masters. Its sacred ark and ves- tal fires were of little moment to them. The ark was gone, the primitive fires on its altars were ex- tinguished. The Temple needed them not, for he filled it who w^as its glory, and who made the glory of the latter greater than the glory of the former house. This earth did not contain such another Personage, nor j^resent a scene half so glorious in their eyes, as this ever-blessed and adorable Redeemer. We proceed in the next place, to the eeasoint OF THEIR devout ADMIRATION. Here we I'emark, in the first place, angels were CHRIST'S GLORY THE AVONDER OF ANGELS. 89 made the spectators of these things, that theij might he the witnesses of them. It is well for Christianity, that its Author is thus glorious in the eyes of angels. They are liis witnesses as well as men. In every view, their testimony to the great facts in the history of Christy is of weight in the argument in favor of the truth of Christianity. These facts, as we have had occasion frequently to remark, lie at the basis of that religion that is revealed from heaven. He who believes these facts to be true, and treats them as true, is a Christian. He who rejects them, or gives his cold and bald assent to them, without trusting in them, is an infidel. We say nothing of other evidence ; God himself summons his angels from heaven to bear witness to these great and glorious realities. They were eye-witnesses of them ; and they have more than once come down from their high abodes to give their testimony. In bright array they stand before men as the Saviour's witnesses. Men may think little of this testimony ; but it will be found to have either a justifying or condemning powei". We may, or may not give credence to such testimony, Init it is given to us. And it will be given at another day, when the universe shall hear it, and shall know that the witness they bear is true. In the next place, He whom they thus satv and . adrnired^ is worthy of their intense regard. He 90 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. was manifested in the flesh, but he is their Cre- ator ; he is that eternal Word without whom not one of them was made. He was in \om' attire, but more exalted than they ; " for to which of the angels saith God at any time. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?" God requires of them this respectful, this venerating, this devo- tional regard, to his well-beloved and only-begot- ten Son. When he bringeth his only-begotten into the world, he saith, " Let all the angels of God worship him." In his human nature, he is the " head of the creation of God." It is his purpose, "in the dispensation of the fulness of time, to gather together in one, all things in Christ, both which are in lieaven^ and which are on earth; even in him." It is but taking their place and giving him his, to watch him at every stej? of his career; and never are they so exalted as when thus observing and thus ministering to their Cre- ator and Lord. God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of " things in heaven, as well as things upon the earth." Believers on the earth, in the homage they pay to the Incarnate God, are only " come to" and sympathize with, an " innumerable company of angels." We know not all the relations which exist between Christ and these unfallen spirits ; but they well understand that his assumption of CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. 91 human nature, and his official capacity and subor- dination to the Father, abate nothing of his essen- tial claims as " over all God blessed forever." Angels celebrate the glory with which he is in- vested, because all power is given to him in heaven and on earth ; boundless resources are his ; to him belongs the homage of the universe. In their admiring views of Christ, tliere is also a beautiful exldhition of the angelic character. They are not of the moral temperament which allows them to be indifferent to any of God's works, or to any of the manifestations of his ex- cellence ; much less to this great impersonation of the Deity ; or to his redemption, which is the greatest, the brightest, of all his works. They were filled with wonder, because he was mani- fested for the purpose of destroying the works of the Devil, and establishing and perpetuating on the earth, the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy, in the Holy Ghost. God has taken occa- sion thus to turn the apostasy of man to good ac- count, and thereby to illustrate his own wisdom and all-sufficiency, and to express at once the glory of his justice and the riches of his grace. Angels would do violence to their own nature, not to worship at his cross, and bow at his throne. Here is the showing forth of his glory, and the exact representation of his essence. On the won- drous facts of his mediation, these lofty intelH- 92 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. gences delight to meditate, because tliey are be- nevolent beings; this greatest expression of benevolence and love that was ever made, must necessarily attract their attention. They are holy beings ; and it cannot but be delightful to their holy minds, to see the multitudes once totally de- filed with sin, now, and hereafter, to be washed, and sanctified, and restored to perfect purity. They the friends of God, of order, of law, and of good government ; and in this Deity Incarnate, and his triumph on the cross, there is a sure and certain pledge of the happy issue of all the events of time, and the everlasting security of the divine empire. Nor may the thought be overlooked, that angeh themselves are the gainers hy this great redemption. Though not the objects of it, it consults their character, their honor, their joys. Though they form no part of Christ's redeemed kingdom, yet are they brought under the same rule, and author- ity, and Prince. It is the object of his incarna- tion, to bring the whole unfallen and redeemed creation into one family, and into closer union with himself Through this great work they are expecting to see the terrible breach repaired, that was made by the rebellion and fall of so many of their own once holy society ; and as those vacant mansions are thus replenished, to unite with the restored millions of our race in the sacred joys of CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. 93 their obedience and praise. There is, and there will be forever, a heartfelt union between the saved of our race and angels, which never would have been known, but for Christ. It is natural to ask, as the last topic of our illustration, wliat are some of the impressions wliicli --' their vieio of the Redeemer'' s glory must make on these angelic minds? We know nothing what these impressions are, except as they are revealed to us in the Scriptures, and from what we know of angels themselves. Their impressions must be worthy of their holy natures, and of the vast intellect with which their Master has gifted them. They are, and ever have been, disposed to look with a friendly, gratified eye, on all that God has done. They are capable of very strong and in- tense impressions, and there is nothing more fitted to produce them than this Incarnate Deity, and the objects and purposes for which he came into the world. Their views of Christ must, therefore. In the first place, greatly augment their love and admiration of God himself. Every new view of God increases their obligations to love and admire him ; and here they have the clearest and most enlarged views. There is every reason to l)elieve that even their intellectual and moral powers be- come invigorated by this service ; and that in this contemplation of the Deity their minds become greatly expanded, and their hearts greatly en- 94 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. larged. Their love of him must be inflamed, and their confidence in him greatly strengthened, by their views of him as manifested in the flesh. It must fill them with unbounded admiration of his manifold wisdom, his strange condescension, his matchless love and grace, his equal justice, his inviolal)le truth, and all his glowing excellencies and unfolding j^urposes, as they thus shine in the face of his Sou. It is altogether a new view of God, and such as they never had before ; and it is a most delightful view. The prophet Isaiah once had a remarkable vision of the angels, as they themselves fixed their minds upon the Incar- nate Deity. "I saw the Lord," says he, "high and lifted up; and his train filled the Temple. Above it stood the seraphim, each one had six winsrs ; with twain he covered his feet, with twain he covered his face, and with twain he did fly. And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory !" These were very deep and strong impressions. They were heartfelt and thrilling impressions, whenever those pure and lofty spirits caught a view of Jesus. There is no object which they looked upon with half the admiration of the Deity, with which they looked upon him. This wide universe they had explored, but nowhere saw so much of God, and so much to admire, as in the Person of his Son. For ages and ages have CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. 95 they travelled over tlie vast empire of Jehovah, to observe and mark Avhere and what could give them the most admiring views of God ; but they always came back to gaze upon the manger and the cross. It is quite obvious, in the next place, that their views of the glory of Christ, communicate to their- mind deep impressions of the sovereignty of God^ in providing a Saviour for men^ and not for tlie fallen of their own race. Those of their own race who fell, once stood upon as solid and lofty an eminence as the unfallen; but God suffered them to fall, and now they are "reserved in chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the Great Day." God kept these holy and favored ones, else they would have fallen too. And deep must be their sense of dependence, and most deep their gratitude. When a portion of their own once holy and happy race thus fell, they fell with- out remedy and without hope. There was no helpei' — no mystery of godliness — no God mani- fest in the flesh, preached to them, or to be re- ceived by them. When angels beheld him as the appointed Saviour for men^ it was an impressive, an amazing view, of his amiable and awful sov- ereignty, who "has a right to do what he will with his own." It was an instructive and memo- rable view ; it was a test of their submission to God's supremacy; it proved their ^ '^Mnission, QQ THE GLORY OF CHRIST. and that instead of finding fault witli God be- cause he thus " had mercy on whom he would have mercy," they rejoiced in his government, and even became ministering spirits to them who should be heirs of salvation, in jDreference to the fallen of their own race. Their views of Jesus must also, in the next place, give them strong impressions of the evil of sinning against God. The time was when they had the knowledge of good, but no knowledge of evil. Until a part of their own race fell, they had no conception of what it was to do wrong ; there never had been an act of wrong in the universe ; nor had they any conception of what it was to be tempted to such an act. When Lucifer fell, they saw what it was ; and it was a terrible view when they saw him and his guilty confederates forever banished down to hell. When Adam fell, they saw what it was, and what a fearful curse rested upon all the successive generations of men ! But when the Son of God, their Lord and Maker, stooped so low ; when he descended lower than the nature of angels, and condescended to abject men; and when he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross — and all because he took the sinners' place — then they saw what it was to sin. Not Lucifer's expulsion from heaven, nor Adam's exile from Paradise, nor the flood that swept away the antediluvian world, nor the fires CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. 97 tliat rained on Sodom and Gomorrali taught them what the death of Jesus taught them. If they had never seen Jesus suffer, never would they have had so deep impressions of the evil of sin. They do not wonder now, at the justice that condemns the sinner. No marvel that God spared not the angels who fell, when he spared not his Son ; no marvel that he spares not sinners of our guilty race, if he spares not his well-beloved Son. In their views of this glorious Saviour they also have new views of all the tvorhs and ivays of God. From the time of their creation to the fall of Adam and the announcement of the method of redemp- tion by Christ, they must have been a mystery to themselves, and known comparatively little of the liigh and great work for which they were brought into existence. But when Christ was revealed, they saw themselves, and all things in a new and splendid light. New glory was given to the Deity ; a new face was put upon all his creation and ivorhs ; upon angels and upon men ; upon time and eter- nity ; upon the church and the world ; upon the method of God's grace and the method of his jus- tice ; upon everything in the universe of God ; and especially upon that great and glorious end which Christ came to accomplish. God manifest in the flesh is the luminous truth that pours light upon every other and all other mysteries. Where sin abounds, it makes grace much more abound ; where 98 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. darkness covers tlie earth, it cbases the darkness awaj'' ; it swallows up death in victory. We our- selves are babes in knowledge ; and the more so for want of clear and impressive views of the work of Christ. Angels do not see all that is to be seen ; but they see most when they see most of the Per- son, purposes, and work of Christ. New^ light is every day pouring in upon their astonished minds ; the glory of Christ is still the subject of their new and more engaging, and rapturous contemplations ; and their knowledge, holiness, and happiness still find their aliment in him who is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his Person. Such are the views of angels of the glory of Christ ; such some of the thoughts which arrest their attention in their contemplations of his glory ; and such some of the impressions which a view of his glory makes on their holy minds. Does not this conduct of angels rebuke the thought- lessness and indiffevtnce of wicked men f What shall we say of those who take no notice of that which angels stoop down to look into ! Is Jesus thus admired of angels, and shall he be despised and rejected of men ? Do angels veil their faces with adoring reverence before him, and will men turn away their faces from him through shame ? This is strange delusion, else is it sin beyond the sin of devils. O foul ingratitude ! blackest crime ! CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. 99 thus to contemn him whom all heaven adores ! Men have an interest in beholding this Lamb of God which angels cannot have ; yet they practi- cally say unto him, " Depart from us, for we de- sire not the knowledge of thy ways." Ye who refuse to give your hearts and your confidence to this incarnate Deity, and will not come to him that you might have life, ye are they of whom we speak. Your heart is waxed gross, and your ears are dull of hearing, and your eyes have you closed : lest at any time ye should see with " your eyes, and hear with your ears, and understand with your heart, and should be converted." O that your eyes and ears were opened, and your consciences awake, and your fears alarmed, and your hopes excited toward this all-sufiicient and all-glorious Saviour. Go not forward, I pray you, thus blindfold and careless in the broad road to destruction, when that Saviour, whose glory dazzles seraphs, presents himself before your eyes. You know not at what you stumble, and little think that this crucified Saviour rejected, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin. That there should be any Saviour for lost and ruined sinners, is marvellous mercy ; but that there should be such a Saviour is still more mar- vellous. Well does he say, " Ye have hated me without a cause." And glorious truth that he also says, " Blessed is he that shall not be ofifended in me!" 100 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. And wliat tliouglits does this conduct of angels address to the people of God ? Christian ! behold what angels see, and love, and admire. Though you have not seen him with your bodily eyes, you may yet know more of him even than angels know. If God has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light, and shined in your hearts to give you the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ ; is it not wonderful that you know so little of him and love him so little ? The world is blind ; but why. Christian, should you be so blind to the glories of your Sa- viour ? See him as he forgets himself and thinks of you. See him on the cross; and when you learn that it was your sins that nailed him there, O look upon him whom you have pierced and mourn. Repentance is never so deep and bitter as when the penitent sinner gets a sight of Christ crucified. Come see him, and let the tears flow. Come see him, O my soul, that thou mayest repent and mayest be forgiven, and mayest be saved. See him on the tlirone^ and ask why it is that he is thus exalted ? And when you learn that it was that you might live and reign with him, learn also more steadfastly to set your affections on things that are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. If you have beheld his glory ; if you now behold it, look at him more intensely. Still look, look continually, never lose sight of him. All CHRIST'S GLORY THE WONDER OF ANGELS. IQl your darkness, doubts, discomforts arise from losing sight of Christ. Look to him whose glory is the wonder of angels. His love never grows cold ; his resources never fail. Witness, ye who have been washed in his blood and presented faultless before his throne ; witness ye angels who excel in strength, swift to do his will, harkening to the voice of his word, if there be any sense of want he cannot relieve, any fear he cannot quell, any guilt he can- not wash away, any sinner so vile that he cannot save and save to the uttermost ! CHAPTER XY. THE GLORY OF CHRISt's MILLENMAL EEIGN ON THE EARTH. We have been contemplating a series of causes which forms the most effective chapter in the di- vine purposes and government ; — God manifest in the flesh, teaching, obeying, suffering, dying, rising, ascending, reigning, and manifesting his power and grace in the dispensation of his Spirit. Facts like these may well be supposed to have a sensi- ble and permanent influence on the destiny of our race. Earthly princes are not wont to visit the remote boundaries of their empire for unimpor- tant ends; nor did this Prince of heaven and Kino- of the universe descend to this fallen and proscribed province of his dominions, but for ends that vindicated his condescension. Well might the inhabitants of this and other worlds be look- ing out for important changes in human affairs, from the hour when the Sufferer of Calvary fin- ished his work and went up on high. All orders and classes of men might well be, as indeed they were, held in eager expectancy. Kings upon their MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 103 thrones would naturally be arrested by these wondrous occurrences; and the agitated nations, attracted by the greatness and novelty of their claims, would anxiously demand, what Avill the end of these things be ? We have in a former series of lectures, spoken of some of the "first things" which distinguished the history of the divine government ; in the re- maining chapters of the present series, we pro- pose to speak of la-'^t tilings. Our object is not retrospective ; it is the bright and dawning future that now employs our thoughts. If we look into the Scriptures, we find a day is there foretold, such as the world has never seen ; a remarkable age, and distinguished for nothing so much as the manifestation of the Redeemer's glory. When the sacred writers speak of it, it is in weighty thoughts and glowing imagery. " As I live, saith the Lord, the whole earth shall be filled with my glory. All the ends of the world shall remember, and turn uuto the Lord. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name. It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that 104 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. unto me every kuee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear. From the rising of the sun even to the going clown of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles. I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottom- less pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the Dragon, that old Serpent, and bound him a thousand years ; and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be fulfilled." Such are a very few of the many passages of Scripture which describe these coming days. Theological writers have been accustomed to speak of this period as the Latter-Day Gloey ; as the Millennium of holiness and happiness ; and as the Millennial Keign or Christ upon the earth. From the fact that the scriptural descrip- tions of this period are for the most part figura- tive and symbolical, there has been and still is a difference of opinion in relation to some of its leading characteristics. While by far the greater portion of the church of God "believe that it is purely a spiritual reign of Christ that is here spoken of, not a few advocate the view that it is the reign of Christ in his own i)roi:>er jyerson. The former are decided in their judgment by the figurative and symbolic language which speaks of his Millennial glory; by other truths and facts MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 105 wMcli tliey deem inconsistent with Christ's per- sonal advent, and by the general scope and spirit of the Sacred Writings. The latter rest their conclusions upon the more literal import of the language which speaks of that period itself. This question is assuming such grave importance in our own land, and moreover has so intimate a re- lation to the conversion of the world, that we shall devote a few thoughts to the consideration of it, before we present the scriptural character- istics of the Millennium itself The views of those who adopt the opinion of Christ's personal reign upon the earth cdnnot be so clearly and intelligibly stated, as they might be if the advocates of them did not differ so widely among themselves. Those which come under re- view in the following chapter may be thus repre- sented. In general terms they affirm, that at some subsequent age of the world Jesus Christ will de- scend in Person upon this earth, and here establish a visible and temporal kingdom, of which he him- self will l)e the reigning Prince : — That the saints of all past generations will then be raised from the dead, be associated with him in this visible empire, hold places of power and authority under him as their Head, and with him possess the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven: — That the particular place where this kingdom is to be established, is the Holy Land ; 106 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. Jerusalem is to be its recognized capital, and here the Palace of the Great King is to be erected : — That here all the tribes of Hebrew origin, and all the nations of the earth are to be assembled, and are to come up to worship the true God ; and that for this purpose the order of Jewish Priests and Levites is to be restored, the altars and sacrifices of the Levitical Law renewed, and new revelations of God's will to be made known : — That during this visible reign of Christ and his saints upon the earth, the antichristian powers and wicked men who will not submit to his dominion are, at differ- ent tim^s and in different places to be judged and destroyed, and that this is the day of judgment of which the Scriptures speak: — That this visible reign of Christ and his saints on the earth is to continue forever : — That the race will increase and multiply just as it does now, except that men will no longer be born in sin : — that this world will never come to an end, but be purified, made beau- tiful and immortal, and the everlasting residence of the righteous : — That men will always continue to be regenerated and sanctified, and thus the re- demption of the race go on perpetually ; and that the time when Christ will thus come to make these visible manifestations is near at hand, and may not irrationally be considered as the attendant, or the last scene in the drama of the age in which we live. MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 107 This, SO far as I have been able to collect it, from volumes not a few, is the prevalent theory of what is called the pre-millennial advent. It holds that the time of Christ's second coming with all these attendants and sequences is not at tlie close of the Millennium, but hefore that period. We have not designedly misrepresented this the- ory ; we have not caricatured it ; we have not colored it by any additions, or imaginations of our own.* We have not presented it in its fulness; we could not do so without writing a volume. We do not believe it is necessary for us to say, that we have no sympathies with this antiscrip- tural theory. With the single exception of the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, on which we now express no opinion, and which is not a ne- cessary part of the theory, we do not believe that it is anywhere taught in the Scriptures. There are two ways of refuting the manifold er- rors of this strange system. The one is by a pa- tient and critical examination of the passages of Scripture which are relied on for its support. This is too tedious a process for such a work as that to which these pages are devoted ; nor could it be interesting to the great mass of readers. This has been done, and ably and conclusively done * See Theological and Literary Journal — and also the Literalist — ^sparsim. 108 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. already.* The other method is to bring the the- ory to the test of those acknowledged principles and truths of the gospel with Avhich it is at vari- ance. The truths of God's word are unchanging things. There are truths so clearly revealed, and so important, that the theory, or interpretation which calls them in question must always be re- garded as false. It is a safe law of Scriptural inter- pretation thus to " compare spiritual things with spiritual ;" it is one of the first and best of all laws ; one which is addressed to the popular mind ; and one which cannot be controlled ]jy any systems of Literalism or Symbolization. Of how little consequence is any theory of symbolical and figu- rative, or literal interpretation, which should, for example, come in collision with the doctrine of God's existence ; or the perfection of his purj)oses and government; or the doctrine of human de- pravity ; or the Deity and atonement of Christ ! These are settled truths ; the theory and interpre- tation that calls them in question must be unsound and false, however learnedly and ingeniously sup- ported. Now there are features in this theory of Glirisfs pre-millennial advent^ which, though not * See The Bampton Lectures — Wardlaw's Discourses, and Brown on Christ's Second Coming. See also Scott's Com. in loco ; Pool's Synopsis, Rosenmuller, and Alexander on Isaiah, in locis. The last named work does not professedly treat of this subject; while its sound principles of interpretation, do, in our judgment, x>\\t the question at rest. MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 109 at war with the truths just mentioned, are di- rectly at Avar with other truths equally undeniable. Men who adopt theories of interpretation which lead to these results, are not to be reasoned with except as those who deny important truths in God's word, and important priucij^les as sanctioned by the great mass of Christians, and as expressed in the Confessions of Faith of the Eeformed churches. We must necessarily present a very brief illustration of these thoughts ; and although in- this illustration, even if more extended, you would have but a part of our objections to pre- milleuarian theory, we hope that, partial as it is, it may furnish some protection against errors to which good men in the present age of excitement are not a little exposed. I. Our first objection against this theory then is, that the great priRciple vAicli it assumes in its interpretation of the Scrijjtures on this subject^ is a false principle. That jDriuciple is the law of rigidly literal interpretation^ than which nothing can be more preposterous. All agree that the Scriptures ought to be so interpreted as to express the mind of their Author, and the sense which the writers of them intended to convey. If the sacred writers were divinely inspired, they cannot be inconsistent with themselves. If there be doubtful and obscure passages in their writings, they are to be rendered clear and intelligible by 110 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. those that are not obscure and doubtful. A met- aphorical or symbolical passage may receive light from one that is literal ; while one that is literal may receive light, force, and beauty, from those that are expressed in syml)ols and metaphor. The simplest interpretation, and that which presents itself most naturally to the mind, is often that which regards the passage as purely symbolical or figurative. It may require great art and subtlety, and great research, in order to justify a literal in- terpretation of some passages on the subject of the Millennium ; while the true import of the figures and symbols they contain, is discovered with perfect facility. "The true sense is the necessary sense ;" and we only wonder when we come to perceive it, that we did not perceive it before. There are passages which, if literally in- terpreted, would go the whole length of the state- ment we have already given, of the Pre-Millen- nial Advent; but the question is, is the literal construction the fair and true construction ; or do they require some other construction, demanded by the subject, and which must necessarily be adopted, in order to make the sacred writers con- sistent with themselves ? To affirm a literal con- stiuction of those passages which are professedly contained in the most figurative and symbolical books of the Scriptures, would go far toward de- stroying all the fixed laws of sound interpretation. MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. m This would be to make prose of poetry, and bold imagery as thongli it were doctrinal statement. No sober man ^vonld interpret such passages as one would interpret a law, a deed, a contract, or a last will and testament. To do so would be a perversion of language, and an outrage upon com- mon sense and common honesty. The true prin- ciple of interpreting the word of God, so far as the question of literal construction is concerned, is to interpret those passages literally, which their authors designed should be thus interpreted. Enthusiasm and ftmaticism would have nothing to restrain them, if allowed to put a literal construc- tion upon those parts of the Bible which the Holy Spirit never designed should receive such a construction. If objects and events are repre- sented to the sacred writers in a vision^ and are described in all the richness of imagery and glow of emotion which prophetic pens could command ; instead of overlooking this fact in our interpreta- tion, we are bound, so far as thought and piety and prayer will enable us to do so, to enter into their views and emotions. The intellect and the heart will then be in perfect coincidence ; and what is true to both, will be true to the word of God. It is easy to affinn that the prophetic and apocalyptical writings which speak of the Millen- nium are free from figures and symbols, and are altogether literal. Yet on this mere assumption 112 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. rests tlie wliole hypothesis of the pre-millennial advent. The strength of this argument lies in this rigid and literal interpretation, while the pro- priety of such an interpretation has nothing in the world to support it, but the strength with which it is repeatedly asserted. As we shall have frequent occasion to make use of these observations in the present discussion, we will illustrate our meaning. The representation, for example, which speaks of " all nations flowing to Mount Zion ;" which speaks of God's "gathering all nations and tongues," and of their " coming and seeing his glory in Jerusalem," cannot be con- strued literally, because it is not possible for all nations ever to go up to Jerusalem. In view of this difficulty, the advocates of this theory are constrained to abandon their own position of lit- eral construction, and to concede that all nations will thus worship at Jerusalem in the presence of Christ, only by some selected representation, or delegation of all nations ! Their theory fails them ; and if it fails them in this instance, why may it not be fallible in others? Kindred prophecies speak of priests and Levites, and of the offering of sacrifices, as under the law; yet the Apostle Paul assures us that these sacrifices " have ceased to be offered ;" that " God hath taken them away ;" that under the Christian dispensation " there is an annulling of them;" and that by "one ofiPering MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 113 Christ hath perfected forever them that are sanc- tified." If literalism is thus to Judaize the church of God in the days of her millennial glory, may we, with impunity, give it our confidence ? Paul says to the Hebrews, "Ye are Jiot come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burneth with fire ; but ye are come to Mount Zion, and unto the City of the Living God, the heavenly Jeru- salem, and to an innumerable company of angels." This declaration is true ; but in what sense is it true ? It is not true that the Hebrews were lite- rally " come to Mount Zion ;" for they were a per- secuted people, scattered over Palestine and other lands. It is not true that they " were come to an innumerable company of angels;" for they were not in heaven where angels dwell. It is not true that they " were come to the general assembly and church of the First Born which are written in heaven," "and to the spirits of just men made perfect ;" for they were still residents on the earth. But it is true, that instead of living under the law of terroi^, they were under the gospel of peace ; instead of living under the Mosaic they enjoyed the Christian dispensation ; instead of belonging to the earthly, they were initiated into the citizen- ship of the spiritual Jerusalem : they belonged to the same society with angels, and all holy men living and dead ; were one with them, under the same Prince and Head, whose blood of sprinkling 114 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. had purchased for them these rights and this den- izenship, and to whom they were all joined in one spirit. Paul speaks of true believers, whether Jew or Gentile, as " the Israel of God ;" — as " the circumcision who worship God in the spirit ;" and as " a chosen generation and royal priesthood." It is yet more to our purpose to remark, that not a few of those passages on which pre-millenarians rely for proof of their doctrine, are interpreted by the Ajjostles themselves^ not in a literal, but a fig- urative sense. When James, at the general Synod in Jerusalem, quotes the passage from the prophet Amos, " In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David^ and close up the breaches thereof," he expounds it as relating, not to a temporal king- dom, but the Christian Chui'ch ; and makes use of it to prove the abolition of Jewish rites. When Paul, in writing to the Hebrews, adverts to the prediction of the Prophet Jeremiah, in which God declares that he will " make a new covenant with the house of Israel^ not according to the covenant which he made with their Fathers f he refers to it in order to show that the gospel dispensation su- persedes the Jewish, and that the prediction itself is accom23lished in the introduction of the gospel dispensation. When the same apostle, in writing to the Galatians, refers to that emphatic prophecy of Isaiah, "Sing O barren, thou tlmt didst not bear ; break forth into singing thou that didst not MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. II5 travail with child," he applies it to the New Testa- ment Church, and is instituting the contrast be- tween the church under the new, with the church under the old dispensation. The following predic- tion in Hosea, " Then said God, Call his name Lo- ammi ; for ye are not my peaple^ neither will I be your God ; yet the number of the cMldren of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which can- not be numbered, nor measured ; and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them. Ye also are the sons of the living God ;" the same apostle declares to have been fulfilled in the calling of the Gentile Church. There is no truth more clearly revealed in the New Testament than that, " They are not all Israel who are of Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abra- ham are they all children." Let them belong to what nation they may, they are only those who are believers in his Son who are God's people — • " sometime afar off," but " made nigh by the blood of Christ." So when the Prophet Zechariah speaks of " the man whose name is the BrcmclC as " build- ing the Temple" — " sitting upon his throne" — and " a Priest upon his throne ;" we are confident that the prediction is not to be intei-preted literally, because Jesus Christ did not literally build the Temple, nor literally sit upon the throne of David, nor literally minister as the High Priest. Yet is 116 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. the prediction fulfilled in the establishment and extension of his spiritual kingdom, and in his min- istrations as the great High Priest of the Christian profession. We deem it of some importance in our argument that the literal interpretation of the prophecies on the subject of the Redeemer's king- dom did not receive the least countenance from the Apostles ; so far from this, they gave them a spiritual construction, and understood them figura- tively and in a Christian sense. Though not ver- bally and literally true, therefore, these and other analogous predictions and descriptions express great and precious truths. Great and precious truths also are expressed by the figurative and symbolical representations of the Millennium, truths which the literal construction perverts and annihilates. The literal construction of this subject is the most arbitrary construction in the world. Such a view of human language as this theory adopts is incompatible with the very design of language. They are most certainly mistaken views which re- sult from them ; nor is there any end to the mis- takes which have been made in resorting to the doctrine of literal construction. If the nature of the subject, the object of the sacred writers, theii consistency with themselves, and the analogy of faith have anything to do in interpreting the Scrip- tures ; the arbitrary law of literal construction MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. II7 must be given up. Nor is there any intimation in any of the scriptural descriptions of the millennial glory of the Son of God, that the language is to be thus literally understood. We have read labored dissertations on the laws of symbols and meta- phors; we have observed the impatience their authors manifest because the Christian w^orld does not bow to this dictation ; we have noticed with some surprise the indecorous epithets with which they stigmatize those who differ from them as un- learned and ignorant men ; but we have not found their system supported by the Bible. More espe- cially in its application to the supposed pre-millen- nial advent of Christ, is it unsupported liy a single proof text, a single declaration of the Scriptures, which, if properly explained, does not sustain the opposite doctrine. We give them credit for no small ingenuity and critical research, and patient labor, and great zeal ; but they are distorted views which they express, and rest on no secure founda- tion. The subject is not a difficult one, if w^e con- sent to take the Scriptures as a whole. It is one which most certainly calls for a patient reading of the Scriptures ; but the path of inquiry is a plain and simple path. Our adorable Master, when he spake of the future w^orld did not speak in ambig- uous language. There is great sublimity in his teaching, but no obscurity, unless we are on the lookout for forced and suljtle interpretations. All 118 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. we ask is, tliat intelligent and devout minds should take a common sense view of the instructions of the whole Bible on tkis subject. If it be true that the Son of Man is to descend from heaven before he descends to judge the living and the dead ; that he is to establish his throne in Jerusalem, and there introduce the worn-out rites and sacrifices of the Jewish law, and give his sanction to a system of services which he himself abolished more than eighteen centuries ago ; if it be true that he is then to raise the pious dead of all generations, and that they are thus to reign with him forever on this earth ; and that those who are alive at his advent are to remain in immortal and unglorified bodies, and to perpetuate their race ; we have a right to demand chapter and verse for such theories. It must be a forced construction of the Bible, a forced literalism and a forced symbolization combined, that proves such things as these. If they seem to be contained in the words of the sacred writers, taken by themselves, they express a sense which the writers themselves never enter- tained. They are errors of no ordinary kind, and lead to errors still more seductive, and that wax worse and worse. We marvel not a little that their advocates are not alarmed for their own hal- lucination, and do not shrink from the abyss into which they are plunging. It is due, not to the boldness of which these discussions are a speci- MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 119 men, but to the sober thoughts of the Christian community, and their love of the truth, that these errors have not more deeply imbued the American mind. There are those who have listened to them and followed them ; but we are not without hope, that, like others who have listened and followed for a while, they will be glad to return, with elas- tic force, to the plain and safe instructions of the Bible. 11. Our second objection to the theory is, that it obscures the spirituality of Chrisfs hingdom. Jesus Christ has now a kingdom on the earth. It has been long established in this apostate world ; has attained to great enlargement, and will even- tually cover the earth. When the great Founder of it left this world, his kingdom did not die. When apostles and martyrs died, this kingdom lived. When the reformers died, still it lived. When we and other generations die, it will live still. " Of the increase of this kingdom and govern- ment there shall be no end. Christ must reigu until all things are put under his feet." It is the same kingdom now which existed in the days that are past ; it will be the same kingdom during the millennium ; the same forever. It does not change like the kingdoms of time ; it is " A KINGDOM WHICH CANNOT BE MOVED." Its Prince, its subjects, its laws, its privileges, its rewards, are ever the same. It began in Jerusalem, is now 120 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. being extended over the earth, and will be more extended in the latter days, and perpetuated in heaven. The great characteristic of this kingdom is, that it is a spiritual^ in distinction from a tempoi'al and visible reign. When the Saviour founded it, he made the open avowal, " My kingdom is not of this world." When his disciples misunderstood its nature, he instructed them by the declaration, "The kingdom of God is xoitliiii you." When the opinion was prevalent that it was limited to a particular locality, he uttered the truth, "the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this moun- tain, nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must wor- ship him in spirit and in truths When men looked for its advancement amid the pompous decorations of earth and earthly power, he told them, " The kingdom of God cometh not with ob- servation." When two of his favored followers preferred the request that they " might sit, the one on his right hand and the other on his left in his kingdom," he rej^lied, " Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the ciq) that I shall drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with ?" He told them all that they should live and reign with him, but that it should not be here in this world ; but that both they and all his followers to the end of time, should MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 121 reign with him at the right hand of God. He never intimated to them that they should leave those high abodes, and that angel presence, and those blissful interchanges of thought and affec- tion, and that overshadowing of the ineffable glory, and come down to reign on this earth doomed to fire. He desired they should reign with him, and where he reigned. His prayer for those who were first given to him, and for " all those who should believe on him through their word," was, that " they might be with him ivliere lie is, and behold his glory." This great characteristic of his kingdom, its holy and divine sjyirituality, is made as prominent as the Sci'iptures can make it. The passages mul- tiply on every side, Avhich assert and illustrate this great and important thought. Light and love are its distinctive features ; wherever these are found, there is his kingdom ; and though they exist in an imperfect state in the present world, there exist here the elementary preparations for it in heaven. This gi'eat truth, therefore, is to be carried into all our interpretations of those Scrip- tures which speak of his kingdom, whether now existing on the earth, or existing during the millennium. The glory of this spiritual reign is expressed to us not unfrequently by figures and emblems and symbols addressed to our senses, because we are 122 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. creatures of sense. They are iustructive and af- fecting rej^resentations, if we cany this great truth along with us in order to interpret them ; but without this, we make havoc of the word of God. This great truth is worth all the literalism and all the algebraic laws of synibolization in the world. No man supposes that the sea of glass, — the streets of the New Jerusalem, — the river of life, — the trees on its banks, — the terraces of the city sparkling with precious stones, — the gates of pearl, — the harps of gold and the white linen of the saints, are anything more than emUems of the beauty, purity, and bliss of this heavenly and spiritual kingdom. Nor does any man suppose that when the same writer, in the same meta- phorical language, speaks of an "angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottom- less pit, and a great chain in his hand," and of his "laying hold on the Dragon, that old Serpent, and binding him a thousand years, and casting him into the bottomless pit, and setting a seal upon him," that there was literally any such angely — or ^^y, — or chain^ — or dragon^ — or seal. The meaning is, that the time is coming when Satan's power on the earth shall be divinely and effectively restrained. And when the same writer proceeds in the next sentence to say that he " saw thrones, and they sat upon them ; and the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 123 Jesus and for the word of God, and wbicli had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their fore- heads, nor in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years ;"* no one supposes that these were literal thrones ; nor any person that sat upon them ; nor any least ; nor image ; nor any marh upon the forehead or hands. It was all a vision, and was designed to teach such truths as enlightened and devout minds would receive. The writer is speaking of the thousand years when the power of Satan should not only be restricted, but the power of piety re- \dved, and the kingdom of Christ greatly ad- vanced. The whole passage cannot be understood literally, without the most preposterous conclu- sions. We have a key that unlocks the whole, in the spirituality of Chrisfs hingdom^ in all its pro- * ;?«' E'C,r}attv xai itjuoLlsvauv /jstu %qi'Qu //^t« sir/. — " Hoc uon ita intelligendum, quasi ipsi illi pii martyres, qui olim pro Christo religione supplicia sustinuerant, essent revicturi, et regnaturi cum Christo. Sed figurare et in imagine quadam exprimitur florens conditio reipublicse christiano, quae tanta erit, ac si prisci martyres sepulcris revocati, hisce in terris tranquille iterum viverent. Cum Christo regnare significat magnam felicitatem in regno Christi in his terris, Et inteUigendum hoc est de ecclesia ipsa, non de singulis t^us membris. Itaque hoc vult Joannes, fccclesiara, quae diu vitiata et corrupta erat in suis membris, ita fore comparatam, quasi excitata fuerit e mortuis, ac denuo revixerit." — ROSENMULLER ScHOLIA IN ApOCALYPSIN, ch, XX. V. 4. 124 I'HE GLORY OF CHRIST. gress through the millennmm. It was a most beautiful vision ; it was piety predominant on the earth; it was the spirit of noble and martyred men living in their successors ; men who had no alliance with antichristian powers, or with wicked- ness. It was a resurrection of long-decayed prin- ciples in the hearts of the blessed and the holy, living and reigning with Christ on the earth, as he had not lived and reigned since the days of Pentecost; as indeed he had never lived and reigned before. It was a neio creation in which God creates Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. Premillenarians insist on a literal construction of a vision ! Very well ; we hold them to this construction. What was it that John saw ? " I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus." H© did not see the bodies of these witnesses. It was owt therefore a bodily resurrection. Literalists should abide the conse- quence of their own rigid interpretation ; if they do so, so far as this passage is concerned, they must confess their error. John says of these souls that they lived, not that they lived again :* he simply saw the souls of the witnesses alive. Their testimony was living; there was a new race of tvitnesses for the truth. No, it was not the hodies and persons of departed saints which * s^7]aav^ not avs'Qjjauf. MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 125 were seen rising from the mighty abyss of the past. They were the souls that were thus seen coming up — everywhere coming uj:) — from the gulf of bygone ages. They were souls which never die, and of which no literal resurrection can be predicted ; they were minds, bright, and pure, and spiritual minds, multiplying on the earth, influencing it by their piety, enjoying un- wonted fellowship with their exalted Saviour, Mling in and co-operating with his designs of mercy, and extending his dominion over the chil- dren of men. Nothing is more obvious than that the theory of Christ's premillennial advent and personal reign, obscures the beautiful spiiituality of his kingdom. We are told that when he comes, thei-e is to be a splendid and magnificent temple erected for him on Mount Zion; that Jerusalem is to be reljuilt, and enlarged, and adorned with magnificence ; that " he is literally to assail his enemies with the in- struments of destruction," and ^^figlit with them as he fought in the day of battle," and thus show- ing himself the great warrior of his age. So thought the Jews in relation to our Lord's first advent. They were literalists ; nothing suited their taste but the visible manifestations of tem- poral royalt}^ Christ's own disciples were imbued with this expectation, even after his resurrection, and until after the day of Pentecost, when they 126 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. were in the highest sense "endued with power from on high." We know how prejudicial this notion was to the early propagation of the gospel ; nor is the theory of modern literalists less ruin- ous. The day of Pentecost effected a radical cure of this evil in the minds of the disciples ; and we marvel not a little that the glorious " min- istration of the Spirit," does not eradicate the kindred error from the minds of those who are so intent on the personal and premillennial advent of the Son of Man. How adverse is all this from the millennial reign of the Son of God, as described in the Scriptures ! Give his spiritual kingdom the place Avhich the Bible gives it, and yon kill this theory at once. It has nothing to support it but a vain imagination, that congratulates itself in an empire decked with all the gorgeous royalty of this world, rather than one which is not meat and drink, but " righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." The world has seen in recent treatises from the press, how such an imagination misinterprets that sweet passage, " The Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead them to liv- ing fountains of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." One would scarcely believe that an intelligent writer would, from such a passage, draw the conclusion that the prophet is speaking of literal nutriment to the body ; yet MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 127 such is the fact. Why not carry the principle through, and affirm that when the Psalmist says, " He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters," the language is to be literally interpreted ? Why not apply it to the words of Paul, when he says, " I have fed you with milk, and not with strong meat, because hitherto ye were not able to bear it ?" Is it not better to let the Scriptures interpret their own metaphors? There is no more difficulty in inter- preting the passage, " In this mountain hath the Lord of hosts spread a feast of fat things, of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined," than there is in interpreting the passage, " I will give them pas- tors after mine own heart, who shall feed them with hnoivledge and understanding.'''' We have no confidence in such views of the kingdom of Christ. His designs are above this. The gospel will not have free course, nor Christians be com- forted and instructed, nor God's enemies humbled and subdued by such prospects. Y/e may not utter all the objections in their full force to this sentimental, tender, and pa- thetic theory. We are instructed by the great Teacher, that " except a man be born again, he cannot see the kine^dom of God." Some of the features of modern Millenarians are not diffi- cult to be seen; nor are they altogether revolt- 128 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. ing to tlie natural heart. We are told that " that which is born of the flesh is flesh ;" nor may we forget the truth that in the resurrection " ihej neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God." It is the anti- spiritual view of Christ's kingdom which imparts attractiveness to it which God himself has not given. We do not wonder that a theory which thus addresses itself to creatures of sense should produce excitement in the world. We do not wonder at the preposterous views concerning it in the first three centuries, nor that it sunk in silence under the burden of its own unworthiness and absurdities. We do not wonder at the wick- edness of the Anabaptists of Munster, nor at the legal enactments against them ; nor at the tragical issue of the " celestial republic" of John of Leyden. Nor are we surprised at the extravagances of the men of the " Fifth Monarchy," during the time of Cromwell, establishing a " heavenly kingdom" on earth, which was the resort of Deism, infidelity, and crime. Nor do later errors of the same gene- ral family in our own land surprise us. We re- spectfully submit to good men, who, though they disclaim all participation in principles thus luinous, yet advocate this anti-spiritual and literal theory; whether the fundamental principle of their system does not lead to such results, and whether the sys- MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 129 tern they now oppose and which the Bible advo- cates, is not the safer system ? III. A third objection to this theory is that it gives undue mid wiivarranted influence to tlie mere Personal presence of Christ in the conversion of the iDorld. It does not assign its proper place to the agencies in this work which already exist, and which God himself has appointed. When the Son of God ascended up on high, he bequeathed to his church all the agencies that are required for the extension and final triumph of his spiritual king- dom on the earth. These are the truths of his GOSPEL and the omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit. Just in the measure in which these are enjoyed will men turn from the error of their ways to the wisdom of the just. We hold this to be a truth of universal application — everywhere and always^ in Christian, Antichristian, and Pagan lands, in present and future ages, down through the millennium and to the end of time. Just in the measure in which men withhold the gospel from their fellow-men, and God withholds his Spirit, will they everywhere and cdways^ remain " dead in trespasses and sins." This is the doctrine of the Bible, and one which is illustrated in every page of the world's history, and deeply written in the hearts of all the people of God. No doctrine is more important, or more inseparable from the ex- istence of true piety, or from the gospel itself In 6* 130 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. the same proportion in wliicli this doctrine is ob- scured, the glory of the Prince and Saviour is cast into the shade or sunk in total eclipse ; in the same proportion in which it is denied, the great moral argument in favor of the truth of Christianity- loses its force, and the last and most brilliant chain in the series of facts on which it rests is broken. This is one of the grounds on which we stand in our opposition to the supposed premilleunium ad- vent. We might have said more than that this theory does not assign its proper place to the truth and Spirit of God ; but we should do violence to our own feelings to say more of those whom we have long known as the advocates of evangelical truth. Yet when a i-ecent and able writer^' made this objection to the views on which we were ani- madverting, the leading organ in the expression of those views in this countryf repelled the impu- tation with indignant sensitiveness. Let us see how this matter stands, and whether, according to their own showing, tins indignant disclaimer will avail them. We affirm that they deny the suffi- ciency of God\8 revealed truth in the conversion of men ; because they declare that at the period when the Jewish and Gentile nations are to be, as they suppose, assembled at Jerusalem, God " is to give them new revelations^ and institute new laws ;"J * Princeton Repertory for April, 1851. t Theological and Literary Journal — sparsim. \ lb. MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. I3I that " he is to make new communications of his will ;" and that " these revelations of himself will be more efficient means than any others^* Is not this a plain denial of the sufficiency of the Holy- Scriptures, and does it not unite all manner of pre- tensions to a new revelation ? God declares that his word " is able to make men wise unto salva- tion ;" this theor}^ declares that it is not able. God declares that " Christ crucified is the power of God ;" this theory makes the bold demand, " What can exceed the error that the cause in which Christ suffered cannot prevail and be victorious, unless the work is entrusted by him entirely to his cross ?"f And again it declares that " if Christ is not to come anterior to the conversion of the world, it is absolutely certain that it is never to be con verted." { We have the same error expressed in somewhat a different form. We are told that in order to "bring the whole race to a full discernment of God\s heing will obviously demand means far more influ- ential than any that have hitherto been employed ;" " that it will doubtless require the use of extraor- dinary means" — " new and peculiar means," with- out which the nations "must fail of adequate views."§ Is not this an avowal of their belief that there are to be new means of grace and salvation ? * See Theolog. and Lit. Journal, Nos. 7 and 9. t II). No. 9, p. 27. X lb. p. 18. § lb. 132 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. Nor do tliese writers leave us i what these new and extraordinary means are. They are comprised in the msihle and personal ap- pearing and manifestation of Christ on this earth. They speak of " the necessity of Christ's interpo- sition to make the gospel efficacious," and of his " interposing to convince and convert the nations." They affirm that " it is not the purpose of God to give essentially any greater efficacy to the means of grace than he heretofore has given," until Christ comes in Person ;* that " the universal prevalence of religion to be hereafter enjoyed is not to be effected by any increased impetus given to the present means of evangelizing the nations, but by a stupendous display of divine wrath upon all the " apostate and ungodly ;"— that " the kingdom and universal church are to be estal)lished, not by grad- ual conversion more or less rapid under this dis- pensation, but by the Personal advent of our Lord himself, and all the remarkable events that accom- pany it ;" — that " the rectifying comes at last, not by mercy, but by judgment ; not by the sowing of grace, but by the sickle of vengeance ; not by the extension of the gospel and the labors of its min isters, or any gracious instrumentality now at tvorh^ but by the angels of God who are to accom- pany the Son of Man at his advent ;" and that " it will consist not in resowing but in reaping the * Theolog. and Lit. Journal, No. 15, p. 15. MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. I33 field."* Nor may this class of writers protect themselves from the charge of error by saying that all they mean is, that these visible manifesta- tions arrest the attention^ and wake up the minds of men to the divine claims ; for they expressly affirm that they " are to excite love and submis- siony-f While therefore the advocates of the Personal Reign repel this attendant upon their views, it must recoil upon them as a necessary result of their theory. When the question is asked. Will the Personal appearing of Christ on the earth ex- ert no salutary influence ? Is it unnatural to sup- pose that it should occasion an overwhelming sense of guilt in not having believed on him ; and a realization of the necessity of submission, faith, and love in order to salvation ? To this we reply in the language of Christ himself, " When he^ the Spirit of truth, is come, he will convince the world of sin." The Scriptures represent all true conviction of sin as produced by the Holy Spirit. " Lord, make me to know my transgression and my sin." We reply further, that these outward manifestations will not of themselves exert the Jeast influence in the conversion of men. Were * The author is indebted for these last three quotations from the raillenarian writers to an able article in the Princeton Reper- tory for Apiil, 1851. f Theolog. and Lit. Journal, No. 7. 134 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. he to come again in the flesh, his Personal pres- ence would have no more influence in subduing the hearts of his enemies than it had on the Jewish Sanhedrim, or Pontius Pilate. It might awaken the attention of men, it might produce the faith of the "intellect ; but it would not touch the heart of rebellion. The solemn truth seems to be lost sight of that men are blind and dead in sin, and that no objective light converts the soul. Here lies the fallacy of the Premillenarian system in this particular article of its faith. It supposes that the unbelief of men is to be attributed to the want of objective light ; whereas the true cause is subjective darkness and sin. Unbelief is never owing to the want of evidence, but to the want of an obedient heart. The burning splendor of the Millennium in its meridian glory would not convert a soul to God, unless the power of the Highest came down upon it, and the Holy Spirit take away the heart of stone and give the heart of flesh. To do tltis it is not necessary that Christ be personally present ; his personal presence is supposed to be confined to Jerusalem. Yet he can do this in the Millennium just as he did it on the day of Pentecost. It will be no more diflicult for him to convert the nations then than it was for him to convert Saul of Tarsus. This supposed eflScacy of his Personal j^resence is the merest as- sumption in the world. It is worse, because it is MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. I35 fjilse doctrine. The rich man in the parable thought that if one should go from the dead to his brethren, they would repent. The abettors of this theory, though they mean not so, are fur- nishing the world a new apology for its unbelief, and are unwittingly throwing up a strong en- trenchment to defend the infidelity of the human heart. The faith of the gospel consists in believ- ing it as it is revealed. If the light of truth is so essentially defective, men are justified in wait- ing for more evidence. It is not defective. Men deceive themselves when they suppose that Christ's Personal presence will produce convictions that are not produced by that gospel which is now the power of God unto salvation. God has already given the world the best means of grace ; if Christ's personal presence had been more ef- fective, he would never have left the earth and committed his kingdom here to the Comforter. The reason why he did not remain was, that he had selected a more excellent way, and a more fittino- agent. Nor has he seen fit to amend, or alter this arrangement; nor will he during the Mil- lennium. The " Ministration of the Spirit" is to introduce and perfect that era of glory, and is to continue until the last heir of his spiritual King- dom is gathered in. There will be no other dis- pensation until the unchanging dispensation of eternity. The presence of the Comforter was 136 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. forever to supersede tlie presence of Christ among men ; and therefore it " was expedient that he should go away." In this beautiful feature of his . redemption, the Millenarians have a controversy with Christ. Their theory is a fiction of their own, however ardent the piety from which it may flow, and however attractive to the imagination. What should induce them to believe, that the Personal presence of the Son of Man in Jerusa- lem, or in the clouds of heaven, or on the throne of j udgment, or anywhere else, would be rightly regarded by men who will not regard the testi- mony of God in his word, it is not easy to di- vine. " Let not God speak with us lest we die." God told Moses he could not behold the fulness of his glory ; no man can see his face and live. His presence on the Mount of Transfiguration made his own disciples afraid. The wicked would be filled with terror at such a view ; they would tremble and turn pale ; they would cry to the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them ; but they would neither love, nor adore him. The man who remains unconvinced and at enmity with God, unsanctified and hopeless amid all the light of the Gospel, and in this world of the eftusions of the divine Spirit, and amid these consecrated altars and ordinances, will not find holiness and hope from such scenes. Such scenes would disclose nothing more than is already revealed in the Bible ; they would only MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. I37 be the Bible over again, except under circum- stances not so well fitted to be the subject of serious reflection, or to impress the mind. Christ's Personal presence is superfluous to the great ob- jects which the Scriptural Millennium aims at. Christians in the Millennium, as in all asres, will walk by faith and not by sight. A spiritual mind needs nothing more than faith's view ; it asks no more than those views of Christ which are here imparted by the Holy Spirit. Wh}^ should they desire his Personal reign in the Millennium ? Faith will then exert its high moral influences on them- selves, and on all their eftbrts for the advancement of their ascended Saviour's glory. " Because thou hast seen me^ thou hast believed ; Messed are they who have not seen^ and yet believed." It is the high character of saving faith, to believe in an unseen Saviour : " whom having not seen^ we love ; in whom, though now we see him not, yet believ- ing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." IV. Our fourth objection to this theory is, that it denies the General Judgment^ and the final de- struction of this mcffericd world. It is not neces- sary for us to prove that " God hath appointed a Day in which he will judge the world in right- eousness ;" that " the dead, small, and great shall stand before God ;" that " the sea shall give up the dead which are in it, and death and hell de- 138 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. liver up tlie dead which are in them ;" that be- fore the Son of Man shall at last " be gathered all nations," and that he shall " separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats ;" and that the sentence shall then be carried into execution by which " these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." Nor do we suppose that it is necessary for us to prove, that at the close of this scene, " the heavens shall vanish away "like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment;" that the heavens shall pass away with a " great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and all the works that are therein shall be burnt up;" that all these things shall be " dissolved," and that " before the face of him who sits upon the throne, the heavens and the earth shall flee away, and there shall be found no place for them." There are so many important ends in the divine government to be secured by this arrangement, that to deny it is a virtual attempt to disturb the pillars by which it is supported, mar its symmetry, and deface its beauty. No judgment of individual men, as such, or individual nations, can answer the end of a general judgment. That man does not preach the same gospel which Christ and his Apos- tles preached who denies, or even obscures this great truth. We have all our lifetime read the MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 139 Scriptures in vain, if they do not instruct us that Christ's second coming is hi-s coming to the judg- ment, and if they do not connect the final and irrevocable sentence of the righteous and the wicked with his second coming. They speak only of ix first and second coming; the first to save, the second to judge. The twentieth chapter of the Revelation makes it perfectly clear, that his com- ing to judgment is after the Millennium. If his coming to judgment is his -second coming, there is no such event revealed therefore as his Premillen- nial Advent. There is no Advent until the judg- ment, and this will be the second and the last. The great event which the departed of all ages are next to look for is not the coming of their Divine Lord to establish a kingdom on the earth and there to reign with him ; it is the judgment. " It is appoint- ed unto men once to die ; aftei' that the judgment." It is not his coming to introduce, and extend and perpetuate his reign on the earth ; but to bring it to its august conclusions, and announce the issues of that kingdom which he set up when he rose from the dead. It is not to convert his enemies, but to bring his kingdom of grace on the earth to an end and pronounce the sentence that puts their con- version beyond hope. It is to erect the indestruc- tible barrier between eternity and time by striking time out of existence, and then sinking the impass- able gulf The Scriptures utter these truths as' 140 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. among the most important tliey ever utter ; so that men may appreciate the privileges of the kingdom which Christ has ah-eady set up in the world ; may know the value of time while it lasts, and the true worth of this world before it shall melt away with fervent heat. Yet these truths are denied by the Premillen- nial theory. It does indeed recognize a judgment, but no such " Great Day" of judgment as that to which the Scriptures give such emphasis. It makes the judgment consist in the personal rule and autlwrity of Christ during the tliousand years. It does this professedly, and as it seems to us, treats with disdain and contempt the idea of the General Judgment. It argues this question deliberately and calls upon us to prove, that when Christ affirms that he will gather all nations before him in order to hear his sentence and their doom, he means all the nations of the earth. We have no desire to prove so plain a truth, except by such Scriptures as we have just referred to. Men who deny the plain and obvious sense of such declara- tions, and yet whose whole theory rests upon the doctrine of literal construction^ cannot be reasoned with. And what astonishing coolness is it with Avhich they confront the Bible, and endeavor to show that this world will not at last be burnt up and destroyed ! They tell us that the Personal reign of Christ on the earth " is to extend through MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. 141 eternal ages ;" — that " it is to be exercised over all the world through endless ages;" and that the ScrijDtures " do not teach that the world is to be burned up, nor that the righteous are to be taken to heaven." We have their reasoning, if reason- ing it may be called, in such sentences as the fol- lowing : " Were the world to be destroyed, because Satan has held dominion over it ; or the race inter- cepted from multiplying, and transported to some other scenes of existence on the ground that the earth had become unfit for their residence because of the curse brought upon it by sin ; would it not be a triumph to Satan ?" Again, " Christ is to work a perfect remedy of the disorder and ruin brought on man and the world by revolt, not by putting an end to the multiplication of the race, nor by striking the earth from existence, but by rescuing them from the dominion of sin, and caus- ing the race to continue as it would have done if it had not fallen."* What would the noble man have thought of a future state in which the right- eous are to live and reign forever on this earth, and increase and multiply just as they do now, who wrote of " a better country that is an heaven- ly," and taught the world that " flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdoni of God ?" What would a greater than he have thought of it, who uttered the words, " In my Father^s house are many man- * Theolog. and Lit. Journal, No. 9, p. 23 and 24. 14:2 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. sions \ I go to i^repare a jylace for you f" What would the Apostle Peter have thought of it when he said, " Looking for, and hasting unto the com- ing of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ?" What would he say to the miserable subterfuge of its advocates, who in order to protect the righteous from the desolating effects of the fierij judgments which, according to their own theor}", are to come upon the wicked, are driven to the conviction that the final confla- gi-ation will be partial, and limited to scenes where the destruction of the wicked will not endans^er the righteous ! We marvel not that the abettors of this theory speak of tieio revelations f May it not l:)e that, in their enthusiastic eagerness, they themselves have anticipated those extraordinary instructions from heaven which they so distinctly intimate will be revealed during the supposed Personal reign of Christ on the earth ? We must indeed have a new Bible before we can believe any of these things. Are they not a mere human device, originating in the love of novelty, fostered by the self-complacency of a severe and imperioua criticism upon long received and well fortified opinions, and fitted only to mislead minds that are " carried about by every wind of doctrine ?" Most fei'vently do we wish that our respect for the ad- vocates of this theory could restrain us from say- MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. I43 ing that it is anything better than ingenious and learned trifling with the word of God. V. Our fifth objection to this theory is, that it is inconsistent tvith the scriptural narrative of those events ■which are to tahe place hetween the Millennium and tlie end of the world. The 20th chapter of the Book of the Kevehition furnishes the following brief, but comprehensive narra- tive. "And when the thousand years are ex- pired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from heaven and de- voured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the Beast and the False Prophet are, and they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever." Immediately after this, the sacred writer proceeds in highly symbolical language to describe the Day of Judgment. " And I saw a great white throne — and the dead small and great stand before God — and the books were opened, and the dead were judged." There are several things in this narrative that are absolutely fiital to the hypothe- sis of the Premillennial advent. In the first place. 144 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. it speaks of events that are to take place on this earth., and affirms the thousand years of the Sa- viour's reign upon it are to have an end ; " when the thousand years are expired." This the mille- narians deny, as we have before seen. In the next place, it affirms that the judgment will not take place until the dose of the thousand years ; it was not until tlie thousand years had expired., that the books were opened, and every man judged accord- ing to his works. This also millenarians deny. And in the third place, it speaks of a great and final conflict between the powers of light and the powers of darkness, which is to take place between the close of the millennial reign and the subsequent and second coming of the Son of Man. This the millenarians also deny ; and affirm that the final battle is to take place long before, and when Christ comes in Person to introduce the millennial reign and to establish his kingdom. Will they explain these incoherencies in their theory : will they in- form us how it is, upon their hypothesis, that the spirit of Antichrist is to rise again in the earth, after the thousand years are expired ? Will they inform us how it is that the great and final con- flict which they assign to a period previous to the Millennium, John speaks of as after the Millen- nium ! Nor is this all. In the 21st chapter of the same book, we have the following narrative. " And I 1 MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. I45 Jolin saw a new heaven and a new earth ; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I John saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem come down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." The writer then proceeds to de- scribe in language that is too grand and symboli- cal to admit of comment, the beauty and glory of the heavenly woi-ld. This whole narrative is equally fatal to the Premillennial theory. It affirms that the first heaven and first earth are passed away ; which this theory denies. It affirms that the great and glorious scenes and events which it speaks of are realized not until after the judg- ment. This also milleuarians deny, and declare that they are realized during the thousand years of Christ s Personal reign on the earth. Will they explain these inconsistencies between the inspired writer and their own hypothesis ? VI. Our sixth and last objection to this theory is, that it is fitted to produce 7mscliicvovs and fa- natical impressions upon the minds of men in re- lation to tlie period of Clirist^s second coming. There is no doubt that the dawn of the true Mil- lennium, and that of which the Scriptures speak, is not far distant, and that God is now rapidly preparing the way for it by the diffusion of his gospel, and the political agitations of the earth. Nor is there anything in this prospect but is fitted 146 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. to exert the most animating influence on the human mind. But the Millennium becomes a very differ- ent thing from what it will be in reality, when it is assumed to be such as it is described by the ad- vocates of the Premillennial advent. Yet the same predictions and the same signs of the times which the Scriptures specify as indicative of the approach of the universal reign of holiness on the earth for a thousand years, millenarians regard as indicative of Christ's final coming in the glory of his Father and with his angels to commence the reign 6f eternity. Hence they proclaim their be- lief that that coming day is near. They proclaim it from the press ; they proclaim it from the pul- pit ; and we ourselves have heard some of the most intelligent and best informed among them, and men whose personal character and worth might well give weight to their convictions, declare that they were expectants of his coming, could truly say that they held themselves in the attitude of ivait- ing for the Lord's last advent. We know well that such men have no sympathies with the rav- ings of the mad prophet who has driven so many persons in this land to folly, and disappointment, and despair, and the madhouse, and that they dis- claim all alliance with such extravagancies. But we repeat the thought, does it not behoove them to inquire if this millennial furor is not a legitimate deduction from their own avowed principles, and MILLENNIAL REIGN ON THE EARTH. I47 whetlier they can throw off the responsibility of leading so many weak minds astray, and furnish- ing arguments in favor of their abused hypothesis to minds that are more wicked than weak ? Many are the generations, and many the centu- ries that will pass over the earth before the final coming of the Son of Man. Those who love him will welcome his coming whenever, and however he shall appear. His coming is virtually to every man at death, because his destiny is then unalter- ably decided, and his account sealed up for eter- nity. His actual coming " knoweth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, but the Father only." The harvest of the earth is not fully ripe. Great and important events are yet to take place, before the command is given, " thrust ye in the sickle ;" and great j)reparations are yet to be made for that solemn catastrophe. The plans of heavenly wisdom are too vast to be consummated in a day ; " the end is not yet." We have thus presented our objections to the hypothesis of the Premillennial advent. We have omitted several strong points in the discussion, from necessity. It is unhappy that at this age of the world the church of God should be called on to go into a question which has been so often dis- cussed, and one which we have long supposed put at rest. Forty years ago, there was not, to the best of my knowledge, but two men in New 14:8 'fHK GLORY OF CHRIST. England who advocated this theory ; and their works were deemed unworthy of notice. They are crude view^s ; and though persisted in honestly at the present day, I confess I do not see for what good end. If you ask me, Is there then to be no Millennium ? I answer there is ; there is a day coming when the Great Prince and Saviom* will reign gloriously over this earth. What is the nature of that reign, and what the leading characteristics of that com- ing age, we shall endeavor to show in our next chapter. CHAPTER XVI. THE GLORY OF CIIEISt's IVULLEISTSTAL EEiaiS". There is a class of minds, which the conceal- ment of the future does but incite to ascertain what it will disclose. Give them but the clue to it, and though their inquiries be of doubtful suc- cess, they prosecute them with ardor ; though their excursions be across seas and deserts, and through deep caverns and intricate labyrinths, they shrink not from the toil, or the peril of the pursuit. Nor is there anything in the spirit of piety to repress, or rebuke this research, but rather not a little to encourage and give it right direction. The Chris- tian is the only genuine philosopher ; the lover of God is the only true lover of nature and science, the only wise and profited inquirer into the history of the past, or the prospects of the coming times. How trivial the consequences which flow from the greatest achievements of men, their most important discoveries and their most agitating revolutions, compared with those which may natu- rally be supposed to follow from the setting up of 150 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. that kingdom of which Jesus Christ is the Head, and which is fitted in its noiseless, pathless course, to transform chaos into order and beauty, and create all things new ! When, six thousand years ago, the thought was uttered that the Seed of the Woman should bruise the head of the serpent, there were wrapped up in this announcement some of the greatest thoughts ever intimated to men. Here was the love of God to this guilty world. Here was the Father of Eter- nity giving his Eternal Son to die, and here the stipulated reward of that mighty Sufferer, and the joy that was set " before him, when he endured the cross, despising the shame." And here was the bright harvest of the omnipotent and ever-blessed Spirit, who, though Paul plant, and Apollos water, himself gives the increase. The mighty mind of the Deity has formed purposes without number that are expressive of goodness and wisdom ; but they are all subordinate to this, and minister to its fulfilment. Without it, there had been a va- cuum in the universe, the sun had never shone in the heavens, nor the moon walked in her bright- ness. This earth had not been this earth. Man had not been man. Seraphim had not covered their faces with their wings, nor had they ever have been heard to say, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts, the ivliole earth is full of his glory." When Rome inscribed in three differ- THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 151 ent languages, that inscription on the cross, " Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," there was an invisible hand which was preparing the announce- ment, " At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth ; and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father." We have in the preceding chapter, en- deavored to show in what this predicted age of millennial glory does not consist, and have ex- pressed some of the reasons of our dissent from the opinion that Jesus Christ will then reign in Person upon our earth. We are, in some sort, under obligation, therefore, to show wherein con- sists the glory of that predicted day. This we do by the induction of the following particulars. That coming day will, in the first place, he in- troduced hy rcmarkaUe judgments inflicted on anti- cliristian nations and iviched men. It would seem, from many intimations in the Scriptures, that the church of God, just before the brighter dawnings of that day, will be involved in no small perplexity from the hostility of her enemies. It has been the method of divine providence to allow his peo- ple to be reduced to some extremity of depression before God himself interposes for their deliver- ance and enlargement. To such an extent has this been the fact in past ages, that good men have been taught the lesson that at the period when 152 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. their enemies began to triumph, they themselves may begin to hope. The representations given of the Millennium in the Apocalypse are preceded by the representa- tions of most exemplary and fearful judgments inflicted upon wicked men, and upon the powers of Antichrist in every form. Without attempting to specify the events in the past or the future his- tory of the world, which correspond with the pouring out of the seven phials, containing the seven last plagues, it is enough for us here to say that they are all emblematical of the judgments that are to descend upon the earth, in order to prepare the way for the reign of Jesus Christ among men. And they are to be continued down to the period when John "saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottom- less pit and a great chain in his hand," to bind " that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan," a thousand years. The evidence preponderates in favor of the conclusion that the sixth phial is now being poured upon the earth, and has ])een de- scending for many years that are past, and will yet descend for years to come. The " Holy City," the true church of God, is still "trodden under foot of the Gentiles," infested by enemies and false friends, and in the old Avorld especially the wit- nesses for the truth are " prophesying in sackcloth." For a series of years events have been taking THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. I53 place which indicate the overthrow both of the imperial and the ecclesiastical Beast, or, in other words, the Beast and the False Prophet ; and by which the sources of all antichristian powers have been and are gradually drying up, like the dry- ing of a mighty river, which for so many ages has been overflowing all its banks. How long before the seventh and last phial will begin to be poured out, we are not warranted in determining any far- ther than to say that this last series of judgments is yet to visit the earth. There is little doubt that the spirit of wickedness is yet to become rampant in all its forms of arbitrary power, vile hypocrisy, giddy worldliness, bold infidelity, and filthy crime. Nor is there any doubt that they will combine their counsels and their power against the Son of God and his struggling church, and that in this last battle, which is to precede the Millennium, the kingdom of darkness will be made to tremble " From turret to foundation stone." These judgments upon antichristian nations will neither be few nor light. Revolution will succeed revolution both in the political and moral world ; convulsion will come upon the back of convulsion, and God will pour upon the nations " his indigna- tion, even all his fierce anger." The scenes shall be lealized of which it is written, "And there were voices and thunders and lightnings and a 154: THE GLORY OF CHRIST. great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great." The " cities of the nations shall fall ;" and "great Babylon shall come into remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." The nations who have spilled the blood of his saints shall drink blood because they are worthy. The cry of the souls from under the altar shall be heard in heaven and answered, " How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth !" The " day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low ;" and upon " every high tower and every fenced wall," and God will " cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible." So far from being subdued and humbled by these judgments, the hostile nations shall throw their armor about them, and, exasperated with rage, shall contend with God as in the day of bat- tle. With the sword and with fire and with fam- ine God shall contend with them until they are swept from the earth. "They shall pass through it hardly bestead and hungry ; and it shall come to pass that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God and look upward. And they shall look unto \ THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. I55 the earth and behold trouble and darkness, dim- ness of anguish, and they shall be driven into darkness." This last conflict under the seventh and last phial is described in the Apocalypse by the most fear- ful metaphors and symbols which human language can utter. " I, John, saw the Beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, to make war against him who sat upon the horse and against his army." "And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God ; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men both small and great." Judgments, of which such things as these are the symbols, are yet to take place in our world, and to prepare the way for the glory of Christ in his millennial reign. There will be no refuge from this desolating march of death. The work will go on until the enemies of the Son of Man are destroyed by the breath of his mouth and the brightness of his coming. Throughout all this period, God's designs are represented as rapidly coming to maturity for the 156 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. introduction of this predicted day of his great power and glory. The assembly of the first-born, we are told by the same symbolical writer, will give glory to God both for these judgments and for the dawning of millennial glory as swmltGr neous events. Immediately as this ascription of glory to God is being given, the angel who in terpreted the vision to John is heard saying " Write, blessed are they who are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb." Then it was that the song of triumph began. " And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluiah : for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him ; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready !" Then the devil will be chained, and the Millennium will advance by progressive and rapid steps. It will be like " life from the dead," and well nigh as rapid as a general resurrection. ' The perfect day will not shine at once ; but the dawn will shine brightly. We are looking for that day. Heaven is look- ing for it. Angels and the spirits of the just made perfect are looking for it. Its fainter lights even now begin to transpire through the veiled windows of time, and seem struggling to break through and illumine this dark world. Even THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 157 " tlie earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for this manifestation of the sons of God." The One so long despised and rejected of men, shall come " like rain upon the mown grass, and like showers that water the earth. All kings shall bow down before him, and all nations shall call him blessed." Thus introduced by judgments, this reign of mercy will commence ; and our next remark con- cerning it is, that it will be distinguished hy the -y multitudes who enjoy its sacred infiuence. It will be the glory of Christ's millennial reign that " he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." Nor will the in- habitants of the earth then be few, notwithstand- ing the desolations that have been made by the sweeping judgments that preceded his gracious empire. Everything will combine from the very dawn of that blissful period to augment the pop- ulation of our globe; so that at the close of a single century of the thousand years, more human beings will be found upon the face of it than ever existed at any former period. The predictions which relate to the increase of the Jeics alone are of a very marked character. " The mountains of Israel shall shoot forth their branches;" and God "will multiply men upon them, and do better to them than at their begin- nings." Men shall no more say, that " the land 168 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. devours men, and lias bereaved its nations." As tlie "holy flock, the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts ; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men." The same causes which contribute to this augmented population of the Jews, are adverted to in the Scriptures as having the same effect upon the Gentile nations. There shall be " an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains : the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon ; and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth." The " abundance of the seas," and the " forces of the Gentiles," the multitude of the beasts of the earth, and the glory of its forests shall unite in beautifying the place of God's sanctuary, and making the place of his feet glorious. This earth is now believed to con- tain eight hundred millions of inhabitants. Yet what vast portions of it remain uninhabited ; and what a multitude, both of remote and proximate causes, retard the increase of the human family ; or cut off its population in its bud, and flower, and fruitfulness ; or diminish and reduce those honored years, in which " the almond-tree flourishes !" The social relations form no small part of that wise and benevolent arrangement of divine provi- dence by which the institutions of religion, and true religion itself are perpetuated from parents to their children, and the honor of the Kedeemer becomes refulgent in the earth. They are dis- THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 159 honored now ; but they will not be dishonored in that coming day, when " a little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation." Few, if any, will then be found who, from a dis- social spirit, from avarice, or licentiousness ; from the dread of toil, or the fears of responsibility ; from indifference to the wise arrangements of the Author of their living, or from any other selfish consideration ; will countervail that great law by which these relations are rendered perpetual and pure. The world will be exclusively a world of families ; or if here and there a solitary straggler is found beyond the bright zone that thus belts the earth, he will be pitied and wondered at as a wandering star. The science of Political Economy^ about which so much has been written to little pui-pose, will then be understood, and its true principles will be found in the nice adaptations of that moral code which not only prescribes the conduct of man toward his fellows, but the intercourse of nations. The crowded and suffocated portions of the earth, where human labor finds little encouragement, and there is a scanty supply for human wants, will migrate to broader lands, and where the earth is enriched by the quiet of centuries. Ava- rice will give way to contentment ; the spirit of speculation will be superseded by cheerful dil- igence and moderate gain; and land and ocean IgO THE GLORY OF CHRIST. yield their increase, because " His way is known upon earth, and his saving health among all nations." It was the promise of God to his people, that if they would hearken to his voice, "he would take away sickness from the midst of them." It is a remarkable declaration of the prophet Isaiah, concerning the Millennium, that the " inhabitant shall not say, I am sick." The germs of disease will no longer be found in human vices ; men will die only by the gradual decays of nature ; and " there shall be no more an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days." Famine and plague shall no more desolate the earth ; war, that scourge of humanity, shall cease, and the re- sources it has diminished, and the energies it has wasted, shall be employed only in the diffusion of blessing. Those fountains of human infirmity and sorrow, — intemperance, licentiousness, and luxury — in whose deceitful and rushing maelstrom so many generations have found a premature grave, shall be dried up ; and in its place the waters of the sanctuary shall flow, and " everything shall live whither the river cometh." Could we stand in the midst of those coming days, and view the population of this globe, we should see what has never yet been seen. Not a continent nor island, not mountain nor valley; not river's bank nor iron-bound shore, not a sandy desert nor a bold i THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 161 promontory, but will teem with the habitations of men. Successive generations, no longer traver- sing the earth in solitary streams or broad rivers, shall flow on in one vast, swelling ocean, every- where multiplied as the sands on the shore. To an extent hitherto unknown, the age of which we speak, ivill also, in the next place, he one of light and hnowledge. It is the device of the Adversary, to shroud the world in darkness ; he holds his throne most firmly in " the dark places of the earth." He who is the light of the world never made a more exulting avowal than that at the bar of Pilate, when he said, " To this end was I born, and for this end came I into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth.'''' He is the King of truth ; light and truth are the great ele- ments of his empire, and the only means of its ad- vancement and triumph. It is a remarkable predic- tion, that " knowledge with the strength of salva- tion shall be the stability" of the best days of the Christian church. And it is a remarkable fact, that since the commencement of the Christian era, save the arts of divination, which still linger in Pagan lands as their forlorn hope, the lights of science have been wauino^ throuf!:hout the Pagan (Do O world. Even in the darkest of the " Dark Ages," almost every department of useful knowledge, re- pudiated everywhere else, found a refuge in the monasteries of a corrupted Christianity. Facts 162 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. and principles multiplied without limit, do indeed show that a spiritual religion does not necessarily stand abreast with the progress of science and the arts ; while they also show that all advances of true religion carry along with them a proportioned in- tellectual advancement. Bright will be the glory of that age of which it may be said that piety is the adornment of its learning, and learning is the adornment of its piety. This shall be eminently one of the glories of Christ's millennial reign. In- stitutions of learning shall be multiplied, and they shall be under a Christian influence. The press shall no longer teem with error, but become the vehicle of truth ; important truth, truth that in- terests and pleases, because it instructs and elevates. Most of all shall religious hiowledge^ the knowl- edge of God and his Son, have access to the human mind. The world shall no longer groan under the bondage of ignorance and superstition. The Prince of darkness shall be expelled from this his usurped dominion, and be chained a thousand years. " The eyes of them that see shall not be dim ; and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart of the rash also shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall speak plainly. Then the moon shall be confounded, and tlie sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his an- cients gloriously." The imagery by Avhich this THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 163 increase of knowledge is illustrated is beautiful and significant beyond comparison. Nor is the sober fact less significant, or beautiful. God's word, never bound, shall then break over the limits of tribe, nation, and language, and have " free course and be glorified." " This gospel of, the kingdom shall be preached to all nations." The rising gen- eration shall be a generation religiously instructed ; and the Bible shall become a text-book in every school and university throughout the earth. Every- where shall it have access to the human mind; kings shall honor it upon their thrones ; courtiers shall honor it in their councils ; and the common people shall honor it. Untold myriads shall be sanctified through the truth. An intelligent and holy ministry, and an intelligent and holy church shall be found in every clime. Heavenly truth shall be difl^'used through all nations; the institu- tions of heavenly love and wisdom shall flourish under genial skies ; returning Sabbaths shall every- where revisit the earth ; churches of a pure faith shall be erected in every district, and stand as beacon lights on every shore. God shall " destroy the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil spread over all nations." Amid the mul- tiplied facilities for human intercourse, many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." " The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as 164 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. the light of seven days," and the " knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." It will also in the next place be an age which is emphatically the dispensation of the Spirit. It will differ from former ages, in no one particular more than this. The third Person in the adorable and ever-blessed Trinity will then be univei-sally acknowledged as the appointed and honored Dis- penser of the blessings of that New Covenant of which the Son of God is the Mediator. In conse- quence of this, the reign of Christ on the earth will be the reign of holiness. There shall be few unconverted and unholy men. We dare not say that all the inhabitants of the earth will then be converted to God, because the Scriptures intimate that there will still be a leaven of wickedness, and miry places of the earth that " are given to salt," and where the waters that" issued from the Sanc- tuary do not come. The final struggle between the righteous and the wicked, and the great battle of Gog and Magog which is just antecedent to the final judgment, and during which Satan shall be again let loose for a little season, cannot well be accounted for without the fact, that notwithstand- ing the multitudes of good men, there will be a remnant that will still cleave to their sins, and their lusts, remain rebels among the rebellious, and adhere to the last to the accursed Father of THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENIAL REIGN. 165 rebellion. These constitute " the rest," the rem- nant of which the Apocalypse speaks, that lost their power during the Millennium, and "lived not again until the thousand years were completed." This one thing is clearly revealed, that the inhabi- tants of this world, as a mass, will then be holy. " The gathering of the people^'' shall then be unto the predicted Shiloh. " A nation shall be born in a day." The " daughter of Zion shall rejoice, be- cause many nations shall be joined unto the Lord in that day, and shall be his people." " From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, his name shall be great among the Gentiles ; and in every place, incense shall be offered to his name, and a pure offering, and his name shall be great among the heathen." The Jews also will be restored from their long exile, and form one com- munity with the Christian church ; the veil that is upon their hearts shall be taken away, and from " all places whither they have been scattered," they shall return, and come into the fold of the Great Shepherd. The Root of Jesse shall " stand for an ensign to the people, to which the outcasts of Israel shall assemble, and the dispersed of Judah shall gather from the four corners of the earth." The effect of their conversion upon the Gentile nations may well be supposed to be bordering almost upon the miraculous ; " for if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, 166 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead ?" Not only will there be more good men, but good men themselves will be more conformed to God. They shall walk in God's statutes and keep his judgments as previous generations have not done. They will still be imperfect men ; but they will be eminently adorned with the beauties of holiness. " They shall not speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth." In that day "there shall be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto the Loed !" This reign of Christ by his Spirit is his true reign upon the earth ; and glorious will it be for the splendor of his power, and the triumphs of his redemption, beyond what eye has seen or ear has heard. Men shall be blessed in him, all nations shall call him blessed. "The idols he shall utterly abolish." The great obstructibns to the prevalence and growth of piety in the earth will then be taken out of the way. The various forms of Paganism will die ; atheism and infidelity and the Mahom- edan imposture will wake no more ; and every form of hierarchy will have slept its sleep. False religions that are baptized with the Christian name will no longer exert their neutralizing and corrupting influence ; their teachers and their dis- ciples will have passed away ; no hand shall gar- nish the sepulchre where they lie, and none shall THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 167 be found to slied a tear upon their grave. It will be a time of great engagedness among the people of God ; Christian churches will be Christian in character as well as in name. It will be an age of prayer and one of great anxiety, and still great- er hope and expectation for the souls of men. The ministers of the gospel will be eminent for their self-denial, toil, and fidelity, and will preach as they never preached before. The Spirit of God will be upon preachers and upon hearers ; and in- stead of here and there a passing cloud, the heav- ens shall pour down righteousness, and the earth shall open and bring forth salvation. The New Jerusalem shall come down from God out of heav- en ; God himself shall dwell with men and be their God. The Millennium will be heaven begun on earth, and heaven will be the millennium of earth consummated in holiness and joy. We remark again, it will also be a period when ^~ it will be distinctly seen that all things are directed '""^ hij Providence in suhservieiicy to the Mncjdom of Christ. All things ever have been thus directed ; but this subserviency has, to the eye of sense, and even to the eye of faith, been sometimes so ob- scurely made known that it has scarcely been perceived, much less always gratefully acknowl- edged. If we look over the earth on which we dwell, we see so many events, agencies, and influ- ences that countervail the great objects which 168 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. Christ has in view, that we see not how they will ever contribute to his advancement and honor. We see wrong and injury in every form ; human rights trampled on, and human obligations unen- forced and trifled with. On the side of the op- pressors is power, and the oppressed have no com- forter. But in that age of millennial glory, hu- man authority and power will be in the hands of good men. As the vast majority of the human race will then be holy, such will be their influence that human governments will be in their hands, and the places of power and trust will be at their dis- posal. " The kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven will be given to the saints of the most high God." The people will be righteous, and therefore the rulers will be good men. The people will rule, and a glorious and Christian democracy will it be when righteous na- tions demand righteous rulers, and rulers and ruled come bending unto the Son of God ! " All kings shall bow down before him, and all nations shall serve him." Oppression shall cease, and every yoke of bondage shall be broken. Kings shall be nursing fathers, and queens nursing moth- ers to the church of Christ. Great voices in heaven shall announce that " the kingdoms of this w^orld are become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ. He will be exalted, and all the powers of earth shall be subservient to his dominion. He THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 1^9 Will reign over the earth, in his people and with his people, and they " shall live and reign with him." His influence will be extended to all the forms of power and to all the departments of gov- ernment, everywhere vindicating the rights, and at the same time enforcing the responsibilities of men. Legislators will be wise and good men ; that great engine of security and happiness, or of inse- curity and misery, huDian law, no longer subject to the arts of professional adroitness, will be sub- mitted to upright and impartial expositors and judges, and be a terror only to the evil, and a praise to them that do well ; while in the execu- tion of laAv " its officers shall be peace and its ex- actions righteousness." There are great elements of nature also which have just begun to be subjected to the power of man. Others there are which as yet remain locked up in her own bosom, because the time is not come, when " the Lord hath need of them." The magnetic power, and the power of steam are destined to work wonders for the kingdom of Christ. The resources of the physical creation will not probably be known until they are ren- dered more subservient to the moral and spiritual creation. Problems are waiting for their solution, only until they shall be made to speak for Jesus Christ, bear testimony to his truth, and extend his kingdom among men. The heavens and the earth, VOL. II. 8 170 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. land and ocean, men and nations, tlie inspection of the present and the researches of the past wait his bidding, " by whom are all things, and for whom are all things." The light and the darkness, the atmosphere above us, and the fossils and min erals and more precious metals beneath us, ever;y element, and combination of elements shall be con- ducive to his praise. And will it not be the jubi- lee of the material creation, when its clouds and its sunshine, its mines of gold, its honors, its pur- suits and its enjoyments all do honor to the Re- deeming Saviour ? The arts and sciences shall also be under the influence of Christian principles, and receive a be- nevolent direction. No longer will they be em- ployed in works of impiety and unrighteousness, or for the mere gratification of selfishness and gain, or for the construction of ingenious instruments of death. Instead of being embarrassed and kept back as they have been in past ages, because they multiply the agencies of evil, they shall disclose new inventions and be crowned with new successes, because men have learned to employ them wisely. This whole material creation, made by Christ, and for Christ, shall no longer be diverted fi-om the design of honoring him, and wickedly made the unhallowed means of obstructing the progress of his kingdom. For ages past, this has been a polluted earth and still " groans" under its pollution. Every THE GLORY ON CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 171 created thing in it has been prostituted to the vile purpose of dishonoring the Son of God. It has been thus " subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in liopey There is hope even for the earth which is now under the curse for man's sake. The day will dawn when it will be rescued from this " bondage of corruption," and made subservient to " the man- ifestation of the Son of God." " Let the sea roar and the fulness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands ; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord ; for he Cometh to judge the earth; with righteous- ness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. Sing O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it ; shout ye lower parts of the earth ; break forth into singing, ye mountains, and forests, and every tree therein ; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel !" It will also be a day, in the next place, when the glory of Christ shall he ivonderfully manifested to the children of men. Here lies the true glory of that coming day. God himself is the true glory of all his works. In past ages he has done much to bring himself to the view of creatures ; but they have been comparatively ages of darkness. He is known now by " the judgments which he execut- eth," and by the dark cloud in which he dwells, and whence the voice goes forth to agitate, con- 172 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. vulse, and overturn. Yet these are but parts of his ways. There are other glories of his nature to be unfolded ; other impressions of his excellence to be produced on the minds of men ; other honors which he is to receive, ere the last ingathering of this world's harvest. Some of these manifestations have already been made ; and if it is a view unut- terably grand and beautiful thus to " stand still and see the salvation of God," what will it be when that salvation is consummated, and its splen- did glories burst upon the earth, and the tongue of the dumb is unloosed, and millions in every land exclaim, "Behold, what hath God wrought!" They are these strong and vivid impressions of the Deity made upon the minds of men, which is one great object he has in view in the arrangements of his providence and in the dispensations of his grace. We turn aside to see this great sight, as Moses did, to look on the burning bush in Horeb, and take the shoes from off our feet. Or like Ja- cob, in the open field, we catch a glimpse of the heavenly vision, and with him exclaim, " Verily, the Lord is in this place !" He sjDeaks to us as he did to Elijah on the mount, or to Job out of the whirlwind, and we bow at his footstool. Won- drous day will that be when the nations shall ac- knowledge his supremacy, and feel the weight of his great and amiable character. " Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 1 ;3 Lord, and for the glory of his majesty ; for the lofty looks of mau shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of man shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day !" Won- drous day, when " all kings shall bow before him, and all nations shall call him blessed !" No mar- vel that ancient prophets " searched what, or what manner of time" it would be. Delightful, yet awful day ! desirable, yet fearful age ! to his friends desirable, fearful only to his foes ! And they shall go " into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." It is a great thought when we speak of Chrlst^s millennial glory. The time is coming when it will be written in broad and legible charactei's on the azure sky, and stand out in strong and bold relief when the sun is turned into darkness, and the moon into blood. It will blaze forth as the recog- nized standard of that " kingdom which cannot be moved," and as the well-known insignia of its royalty and splendor, when the kingdoms of this world shall have "passed away, as the chaif of the summer threshing-floor." It is the ineffable glory of his divine nature in all the combination and in- finitude of his perfections. It is the glory that is consequent on his sufferings who is " God manifest in the flesh !" It is glory that shall be worthy 174 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. of Idiii^ worthy of his greatest purpose, and his greatest work, Avorthy of his work of degradation and suffering, when he travelled in the " greatness of his strength." It is glory which is his fitting reward, and with which he is satisfied when he looks back upon the travail of his soul, and con- templates his completed work. The existence of this earth would be a dark problem, and the method of redemption would seem to be a failure, if we could contemplate only the past and the present. There are scenes unspeakably more glorious than these. It is not the present glory of his clmrcli^ glorious as she is, nor liis present gloiy, exalted as he is at the right hand of majesty in the heavens, which the revealing Spirit unfolds. It is the glory that sliall be when the triumphs of Christianity are consummated on the earth, and the Sufferer of Calvary shall rejoice " over his redeemed with joy, shall joy over them with. singing, and rest in his love." It is the glory that sJiall be when the ages so anxiously looked for and intensely enjoyed, shall have come and gone ; when the light and love of a progres- sivel}^ holy world shall find a mirror in every bosom ; when all that faith believed, and hope anticipated, and a sanctified imagination had tried to picture, shall be realized in its growing knowl- edge, holiness, and joy. Nay, it is the glory that sliall be, when things seen and temporal shall be THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 175 lost sight of in those that are unseen and eternal, and when redeemed men shall j^ress forward to their equality with angels. It is the embryo be- ing and the embryo glory now ; for now the God of Israel is a God " that hideth himself." What has been, what is, may well be lost in the pros- pect of what will be. This leads to our last remark, which is, that Christ iti his millennial glory ivill reign during a sufficiently long i)eriod to secure the great objects hotlh of his humiliation and his exaltation. We do not feel warranted in speaking, with anything like precision, if the time during which the Mil- lennium will continue. It is one of the mysteries of the divine government, that the great objects of Christ's Redemption have not been more ex- tensively attained, and are even now being ac- complished so tardily. The greatness of the de- sign may not be estimated by the extent to which it has already been accomplished. " God is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness." The reason why, after so long time, it has not been more fully accomplished, is found in the very magnitude of the design itself. It cannot be accomplished in a century. Eighteen centuries have passed away, and it is still a pro- gressive work. Its peculiar glory is that every part of it is so arranged as to express the aug- mented and progressive glories of its great Authoi*. 176 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. " God laatli made all things for himself." His great object is to show forth the undiscovered and unsearchable glories of his nature by such means, and in such progressive manifestations, as shall be most clearly seen, most deeply felt, and most ad- mired and adored. No sudden effulgence can ef- fect this : he has resources which cannot be thus exhausted. It were a low and unreasonable con- ception of the Deity, to suppose that all the features of any one of his designs are fully made known. We know not how many years will pass away before the day of millennial glory will begin. Sir Isaac Newton well remarks, that " prophecy was not designed to make men prophets." We have no desire to commit, or even trust ourselves .with any numerical calculations on a subject where so many minds have been at fault, and where enthusiasm, or despondency have so much to do with forming the opinions of men. The four thousand years that were preparatory to the Saviour's incarnation, were but the morning of a bright and prolonged day. God's moral arrange- ments, like everything else which he does, con- template events in their order. " The kingdom of heaven is like seed cast into the ground ; first Cometh up the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." The fairest portions of Christen- dom have scarcely seen the '•' corn in the ear ;" THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 177 by far the larger portions of the earth remain as yet fallow ground, which is yet to be broken up. The Millennium will no doubt come on gradually, though rapidly. Preparations are now being made for it ; but the scene has not yet begun to open. Curtain after curtain is yet to be with- drawn, ere the world obtains a glimpse of the dawning glory. It is a mistaken notion that it is to be introduced and sustained by miracle^ except so far as the work of the Holy Spirit is super- natural. It is the work of faith and the " labor of love ;" a faith that is human, and a power that is divine ; a faith that gathers strength and ex- pectation from every instance of success and every new attainment, and a power that neither intermits nor relaxes its energy until " the zeal of the Lord of hosts" shall have accomplished its gracious purpose. When we look at the prevalence of false re- ligions, and more especially those systems of error that prerail throughout the oriental nations, and that are so venerable for age, so incrusted by the accumulations of centuries, and so deeply imbed- ded in the science, the morals, and social institu- tions of millions ; it would seem to border on the expectations of romance to look for the time when these vast mountains of ignorance and wicked- ness shall melt away. There are not many visible indications of decay in any of the great antichris- 178 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. tiau powers or systems ; nor is the sanctuary it- self yet cleansed. We may not look for tlie dawn of the latter-day glory until there are some more significant indications of these great changes. There will be, as we have seen, days of great dark- ness and suffering and bloody persecution in re- serve for the church of God, before Satan shall be bound ; yet in a little time " he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Christ Avill prove himself the triumphant conqueror. He Avill " bruise the head of the serpent," and crush his power. It is not the majority of our race over whom the devil will triumph, and whom he will drag down to per- dition, but a meagre minority. As a section of the divine empire, this world belongs to Christ; in defiance of the past and present dominion of the adversary, he will reign over it. He will take his own time to make the conquest ; nor is there any reason to doubt that his millennial reign will in- clude prolonged ages of his power. The Scriptures speak of a thousand years ^ during which Satan shall be chained ; but they do not intimate whether these thousand years include only the meridian glory of that age of mercy, or whether they include its gradual dawn and close. They simply instruct us that his power shall be crippled for a tlwusand years. Whether this period be literally a thousand years, or whether a THE GLORY OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 179 round number of years is thus designed to indicate an indefinite and long period ; or whether, count- ing a day for a year, which is revealed as the pro- phetic counting, it comprises three Imindred and sixty thousand years ; are questions on which great and good men have entertained different views. The most welcome conclusion certainly is the last ; but we can only say that in a book so symbolical and figurative as the Apocalypse, it is not proba- ble that the " thousand years" are to be under- stood literally. We can affirm with certainty that there will be a sufficiently long period, during which Christianity will have a free and unob- structed course in the world ; and men and na- tions, unembarrassed by the deceptions of the adversary, and uncontrolled by his power, will flock to the universally-erected standard of the cross. The work to be accomplished is no small work, and the happy period allotted to it is no short and transient age. It is no vain hope that generations shall yet exist, which, in long and un- broken series, shall see the Son of Man thus come in his glory. And when these have travelled on and travelled far, subsequent generations, in a more distant and brighter stage of this the world's spiritual progress, shall behold still bright- ter glories, till their progress verges toward the hemisphere where the sun never goes down. Their ;lg() THE GLORY OF CHRIST. days shall be as the days of heaven upon the earth. It is the great -glory of God's eternal Son, illuminating all, encompassing all, the atmo- sphere in which all live and move and have their being. I CHAPTER XVII. PEACTICAL DEDUCTIONS FROM THE DOCTEINE OF THE MILLENNIUM. We have reserved a separate chapter from some practical deductions of the Scriptural doctrine of the Millennium, because we could not, without embarrassment, crowd our thoughts within a nar- rower compass. The first remark which suggests itself in review- ing this cheering subject relates to the importance of having our minds deeply imhued with the fact that brighter days are yet to dawn upon this lost world. There is no fact more delightful, in rela- tion to the future history of man, than that the Redeemer is to reign in millennial glory on the earth. This is humanity's hope. Come what will beside, this one thing we know, the Millennium will come. Be the darkness ever so great that precedes it, and the convulsions ever so many and severe, and the conflicts ever so agitating; the pure light of heaven will yet dawn without a cloud, revolutions and war shall be no more, and there 183 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. shall i)e " abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth." Human wickedness may be greatly- prevalent, and wicked men and nations possess great poAver; but not more certainly is there a God in heaven, than " the righteous shall inherit the earth," and that " for yet a little while and the wicked shall not be, yea thou shalt diligently con- sider his place, and it shall not be." The government of God needs this great re- vealed tact in order to dissipate the clouds and darkness that surround his throne. We are not without evidence in the dispensations of his prov- idence that he now supei'intends the affairs of men ; but the day is coming when his hand will be more conspicuous, and his gracious designs be more fully comprehended. When the Apostle John in the Apocalypse beheld the woman that " sat upon the scarlet colored Beast" upon whose forehead " a- name was written Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth," and saw her " drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the'mai-tyrs of Jesus ;" he makes this emphatic observation : " And when I saw her, I wondered ivith great admirationP Good men in every age have stood surpi'ised and in amazement at scenes and events so full of suc- cessful uickedness that they have been tempted to feel, that *'• the Lord seeth not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth." It is true that Eternity will PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS 183 clear up these inscrutable things ; but what sym- metry and beauty does it give to the system of revealed truth that these clouds are even now dis- persed by the light of prophecy, and that we have the perfect assurance that during the thousand years Avhen the Spirit of God will be poured from on high, the wickedness and the miseries of the past shall be forgotten in scenes which earth and heaven behold with transport ! Does not the church of God also need this great revealed fact in order to remind her of her his^h destiny ? It is not easy for us to conceive what Christianity is destined to accomplish. We have often spoken of it as God's greatest work, and as embodying the highest interests of his kingdom. Yet its progress has been so interrupted and slow, that even now after the lapse of eighteen centuries, they are but the orient dawnings of the Sun of risrhteousness that have risen on the earth in which we dwell. A thoughtless and giddy world may flatter themselves that the church of God has no higher destination than this; that these are the extent of her victories, and that here her horizon terminates. But thoui^h the moments seem to linger and the lapse of time is slow ; the Chris- tian's eye is fixed on these last days as the great triumphs of truth and holiness. There is some obscurity in the details of this predicted advancement of Christ's kingdom ; but 184 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. there is so mucli that is luminous in the results, that fiiith and hope live in the brightness of the anticipation. There is nothing visionary in the most generous expectations of all that is desirable and delightful in those days when Christianity shall fulfil its office among men, and accomplish the end for which she was sent fi-om heaven. When the ancient church was an exile in Baby- lon, she hung her harp upon the willows ; she wept sore in the night, and her tears were on her cheeks. They are days of exile which remain for a little while for the church of God that is now on the earth. Judah is gone into captivity be- cause of affliction. The ways of Zion do mourn because few come to her solemn feasts ; all that pass by clap their hands at her ; they hiss and waof their head at the dau2:hter of Jerusalem. But these days of her mourning shall shortly be ended. Blessings, rich and pure as the heavens from which they descend, shall mark her progress as she returns and comes to her promised glory with singing. There is ripe fruit to be gath- ered from the seed that is now being scattered, and health and salvation from the tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. They are the most glorious revelations of the future, which God has made known. We chide ourselves that we do not give them that place in our thoughts and affections which their inimitable PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS. 185 ricliness and beauty demand, and are constrained to look upon this deficiency as indicating a low state of piety in our own hearts. When the Christian ministry, and the Christian church be- come deeply imbued with these great truths, it will become such a ministry and such a church as the world has not seen since the days of the apostles. We cannot help feeling that there is a value and sacredness in this doctrine of the Millennium which we may well contemplate on our bended knees. It is heavenward in all its tendencies and influence. There is no remorse in such anticipa- tions ; nor do I know that there is even any temp- tation to extravagance and sin. Victor Hugo once said " that the law which rules the world is not, cannot be different from the law of God." The man in whose creed this thought is most inti- mately inwoven, in whose heart it is most deeply imbedded, and whose dejDortment is most under its control, other things being equal, will be the holiest, the most useful, and the happiest man. The man who uttered this sublime truth we all know is not a man who is living for the Millen- nium. This single anticipation, intelligently cher- ished in the bosoms of princes and statesmen, dif- fused throughout the various social organizations, and disseminated over the earth, would be like a new power from the armory of heaven by which 186 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. the world would be subjugated to the kingdom of Christ. " He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." What a powerful truth is this to take hold of the human intellect, to inspire human genius, and to consecrate human piety ! Dwell upon it ; teach it ; instil it into the infant mind. Let the pulpit bear witness to it ; carry it to the halls of legislation ; let literature and the arts, and commerce honor it. Let it go forth to the world as man's inheritance, as heaven's harbinger of good-will to the race. A second remark suggested by these views of the Millennium is, that no oilier agencies are neces- sary in order to secure this glorious consummation than those which the church of God already enjoys. Just before the Saviour ascended to his heavenly throne, he gave the commission to his apostles, " Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the world." These are the promised agencies by which men are to be converted in every age of time. The truths of the gospel and the presence of Christy these, and these alone, are adequate to the introduction and perfection of millennial glory. His gospel, with all its sacred institutions and influences imparted to all classes of men and all nations, and his presence in the PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS. 187 kingdoms of providence and grace are pledged to accomplish this great work. The truth of God and his Spirit are the mflu- ences which have penetrated the mass of human society, and by which so large portions of it have become already transformed. And what is true of the past will be true of the future. Of the brightest days of the Millennium nothing more can be said than was affirmed on the day of Pen- tecost, that " Jesus, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the pi'omise of the Holy Ghost, hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear." We have heard much of the law of jyrogress^ and that, in the natural course of human events, the world is growing better. We, too, are believ- ers in the law of progress ; but it is not nature's progress ; it is not the progress of the human in- tellect or the human heart; it is not the progress of human legislation or the science of human gov- ernment, uncontrolled by the gospel of Jesus Christ. All history shows that without Christian- ity all the tendencies of our nature are evil. We look with concern upon the dreams of those mod- ern philanthropists who expect to see the world transformed in its moral character by agencies which acknowledge neither the truth nor the power of the ascended Saviour. All other agen- cies are powerless. There is no law of progress 188 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. except this. Men who have conceived this idea of the necessary and resistless progress in human affairs, have caught this impression from those bright periods in man's history in which his moral advancement has emphatically indicated the de- velopment of the divine purposes of mercy toward our race. They overlook the thought that these purposes have been carried into effect by a power that is superhuman. The Bible is as truly suited to one age as another. No matter how rapid, and how far advanced the progress ; the Bible will ever be foremost in the race of im- provement. The same is true of the Spirit of God. Shut out God's truth from the minds of men ; exclude the renovating power of his Spirit, and the direction of his almighty providence ; and the character of our race will become not station- ary only, but retrograde. Our confidence is weak- ened in the wisdom of men with every passing year. We look with suspicion upon all those ar- rangements and alliances by which they hope to renovate the world, irrespective of the truth and power of God. It is something better which we are hoping for, and to a more simple agency and a higher power that we look. If our woi-ld is made better, the work is to be done by Chiistian- ity. If the Millennium ever arrive, the work will be done not by science, nor by human legislation, but by Christianity ; Christianity will prepare the PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS. 189 way for it by its patient collision with every sys- tem of error in cliurch and in state, in individual man and in aggregate society. Christianity will introduce and perpetuate it by the power of its living and reigning Prince. It will be the sword of his Spirit cutting its way through the very heart of the nations, and multiplying its triumphs till the predicted consummation shall come. In these two things, the truth of Christ and his Spirit, are comprised all those moral influences which act effectively upon the minds of men. The strength of all permanent reform lies thus in the power of Christianity. That peculiar and excitable state of the public mind which gives rise to spasmodic ef- forts to restrain and subdue the vices of men, is not what the condition of our world calls for. We honor those associations whose object is the sup- pression of human wickedness ; but if we look into the Scriptures we shall find that even those moral virtues which adorn the character of good men are " the fruit of the Spirit." God is wiser than man, and better knows access to the human heart. What the world requires is the conservative influ- ence of God's truth, enlightening the public con- cience, imparting a strong sense of rectitude, deep impressions of human dependence and re- sponsibility, and confidence in God. The destitute and wretched condition of the masses and their reckless vices will find no permanent relief except 190 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. in the truth and Spirit of the Great Healer. It is the dream of idiocy to look for any permanent melioration of individual or social wrong except from the influence of Christianity. It is no marvel that the truth of God is studiously protected from the inspection of the people, where the policy of Princes is to keep them in bondage. Rome fears nothing so much as the unembarrassed dissemina- tion of God's truth. Recent as well as ancient facts in her history proclaim alike her shame and her weakness. This crusade of the Papal hierarchy against the Bible is the most emphatic exposition of its " universal declaration of war against free- dom." If these fair lands in which we ourselves dwell, ever prove themselves recreant to the high and inestimable trust committed to them by their sainted Fathers, it will be by their national de- parture from Christianity. Nothing but this in the wide universe can hold us together, and induce us to hold fast that we have, that no man take our crown. Social and political convulsions may be directed by the wisdom of statesmen, or be held in check for a while by the strong arm of military power; but there must be another remedy for local jealousies and fermenting discontent; and that remedy is the " righteousness which exalteth a nation." Christian principles lie at the foundation of all order, government and godliness. That na- tion will bear the most honored part in introdu- ( PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS. 191 cing the Millennium which most fears God and keeps his commandments. Give the world the gospel and the presence of its divine Author, and the Millennium is begun. We remark therefore again; the view which has been presented of the Millennium urges the friends of God of every name to vigorous and combined efforts for the introduction of that prom- ised day of their Redeemer\s glory. The agencies by which it is to be brought about are put into their hands for the purpose of being employed , nor can they throw off these solemn obligations of duty, of love to Christ and love to this lost world to employ them diligently. The Millennium will not come while good men are asleep. It is then that the enemy sows tares. Nor will it come so long as they are employed exclusively in their secular occupations, and living to themselves. We know not the power they may exert in preparing the way for their divine Lord. Men who have the gospel may send it everywhere, at home and abroad. They may send it with that mighty agency, the presence of its divine Author, when- ever they are so intent on securing it as to give him no rest until " he make Jerusalem a name and a praise in the earth." The prediction was once uttered, " It shall come to pass that there shall come people and the inhabitants of many cities ; and the inhabitants of one city shall go unto an- 192 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. other, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord^ and to seek the Lord of Hosts ; I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LordP What a sight will this be, when, not individuals only, but churches ; and not churches only, but nations ; and not nations only, but many people and strong nations, nations pre-eminent in power, nations distinguished for wealth and literature, renowned in civilization, in arts and in arms, in solemn and delightful concert, go to " pray before the Lord !" Such a scene we have never witnessed ; in the present disjointed and jarring state of Christen- dom, the time seems far distant when the sun will shine upon such a scene as this. The importance given to party shibboleths, and the intolerance with which they are sustained — the mutual jeal- ousies and apprehensions which find their way even into the more evangelical churches — the suspicions which are fostered against institutions that are based upon the broad basis of a common Cliristian- ity — the isolated and almost monastic training and habits of the Christian ministry, and the reluctance of pi'ivate Christians to co-operate in those religious and spiritual services which so greatly advance the kingdom of their Master — the zeal and extrava- gance of good men in pushing some favorite meas- ure of ultra reform, to the neglect of the divinely rRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS. 193 instituted methods by God's truth and Spirit — the diminution in numbers and siDirituality of men de- voted to the sacred office — the thirst for novelty in the pulpit to the neglect of the solid and sub- stantial truths of the gospel — the neglect of re- ligion by the young, and the growing indifference to this neglect on the part of the old — the all-ab- sorbing influence of the world, and the melancholy control which its social splendor exercises over men and women professing godliness — the un- wonted apathy of the church of God in this and other lands, unmindful of mercies and unmindful of judgments — all these indicate that the spirit of fervent prayer, and the stimulus to united effort for the gloi'ious jireseuce of the Son of Man are greatly wanting in the age in Avhich we live. These things must, and will be repented of and reformed, before the coming of that predicted day. There must be another spirit in ministers and in churches, before Zion becomes a light to the na- tions, and salvation to the ends of the earth. It will not be amid such a state of things that the standard is set up to which the outcasts of Israel shall be gathered, and the dispersed of Judah shall assemble. Were the 7nen and the means which have, for the last twenty years, been so un- successfully employed in promoting objects which the preaching of the gospel more effectually pro- motes, there would have been fewer divisions in VOL. II. 9 194 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. the cliurcli and in the state, and the spirit with which they are imbued would have been less ran- corous. The church of Christ is, by the organiza- tion of her great Head, one cliurcli^ and her inter- ests are one. She is not an isolated community ; her dwelling-place is among men. She may not maintain the j^osition of indifference and prayer- lessness ; nor a selfish and iron-hearted policy ; nor inactivity of any kind in the midst of so much ig- norance, superstition, idolatry, impiety and crime. The crreat end of her existence is the instruction o and conversion of the tuorld. She is a Missionary Community, and from her very nature and laws, a community for the promotion of every good work. So far as religious objects are concerned, she is her- self the great voluntary society of the earth, under a high and heaven-born organization. Her prin- ciples are principles of peace, of temperance, of purity, and of all that is lovely and of good report. If she would but be true to her principles, she forms the best organization for the accomplishment of all those great and important events which her exalted Saviour lives to accomplish. Her minis- ters, her officers, her members are by their cove- nanted allegiance to their celestial Leader, as well as by their own mutual engagements, pledged to seek nothing so earnestly as the universal triumph of his kingdom. It is no marvel that her light wanes, her energy becomes feeble, and her glory PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS. 195 obscured, when she loses sight of the great end for which she Avas called by his truth, washed in his blood, and sanctified by his Spirit. She needs a more self-denying heart, and one that is more sen- sitive to the endearments of redeeming love. She needs a conscience exercised for the Millennium^ and one that speaks in higher tones of authority and decision. There is no lack of encouragement in this high source ; nor is there any higher, or more hallowed impulse, than that it is the glory of her ascended and reigniug Saviour which that illustrious day Avill secure. Never was there a period of the woi-ld in which his glory ought to incite to nobler thoughts and deeds, or in which her hopes ought to be higher or more regaled. Our next observation relates to the signs of tlie times^ and the indications they furnish of the approach of this latter day of glory. The history of the past is a most instructive his- tory. As we look back on 1800 years, we see that Christianity, though not without severe con- flicts, and some seasons of deep depression, has been making rapid advances. Within less than a century after the death of its Founder, one of its strongest holds Avas in the capital of the Ro- man Empire; in the fourth century, it was the established religion of the Empire itself It was diffused through all its pi-ovinces, was embraced by barbarous and invading nations, was subse- 196 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. quently handed down to the nations of modern Europe, and is now the professed religion of the most civihzed and enlightened parts of the world. In all this progress, this one fact has been de- lightfully demonstrated, — that Christianity con- sults the best interests of men, not for eternity only, but also for time. Just in the proportion in which it has had free course, have the temporal blessings of the Millennium stood abreast with its progress. Civil and religious liberty have trodden in her footsteps ; literature and science have been her adornment ; and if the Lord of heaven and earth has not always given Christian nations that physical power which has been exercised by some that are antichristian, he has given them a moral influence in the world which is more powerful. He has also given them physical power. To say nothins: of our own land, w^e have but to look at the Chi'istian and Protestant nations of Europe, in order to perceive the authority which they have exerted, and still exert in the world. What land holds so commanding a position among the nations as the little island of Great Britain, spreading her dominions as she does, over one hundred and fifty millions of the human family, swaying her sceptre beyond the utmost bounda- ries of the Roman Empire, and embracing a terri- tory on which the sun never ceases to shine ? Her language is spoken in the East and in the West, PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS. 197 and her institutions have taken root in a soil occupied by one sixth part of the human race. While the foundations of the principal European states have been shaken by political convul- sions, her social fabric has stood firm ; God has made her the great bulwark of Protestant Chris- tianity; and notwithstanding all her faults, she now lives to bless the world. Compare her con- dition at the present hour, with her condition at the beginning of the fifteenth century ; and how marvellous the change ! Kead the third chapter in the first volume of the " History of England" by Thomas Babington Macaulay, and you will see a change, as almost by magic, and one to which the history of the Old World furnishes no paral- lel. Kead the slight sketch indeed which is pre- sented by the same elegant and forcible historian in his first chapter, and you will see when and how it was that the light began to break on that once dark land. Nor are we so much surprised as grat- ified to hear this author say, " Unless I greatly de- ceive myself, the general effect of this checkered narrative will be to excite thankfulness in all re- ligious mincls^ and hope in the breast of all patriots ; for the history of our country during the last hundred and sixty years is eminently the history of physical, of moral, and of intellectual improve- ment. Those who compare the age in which their lot has fallen with a golden age which exists only 198 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. in the imagination, may talk of degeneracy and decay ; but no man who is correctly informed as to the past will be disposed to take a morose or desponding view of the present." If from Great Britain, we look to the Scandi- navian nations of the North, comprising Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, we discover, if not equal, yet real indications of the same progress. What were the ancient Celts and Goths compared with the modern Danes^ but a nest of merciless and ferocious pirates who were distinguished by their hatred of the Christian name, and their terror to all Europe ? What was Sweden in the days of Tacitus compared with Sweden after she was converted to Christianity at the close of the eleventh century ; and more especially compared with what she was in the days of Luther, and un- der the reign of the religious, the humane, and yet the invincible Gustavus Adolphus ; and with what she was in our own days, under Bernadotte. What was Nortuay^ the most interesting, but the least known of all the countries of ancient Scan- dinavia, that land of lake and mountain, and pagan necromancy, until the period when the followei-s of Luther gave them the Sabbath and the Bible. If from these you pass to the more central na- tions of Europe, and look at ancient Germany, ignorant of arts and agriculture, with no cities and no villages ; no temples, but groves and forests PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS. 199 where they worshipped the sun, the fire, and the earth ; or if you inspect her provinces after the conquest by Julius Caesar ; or if you advert to her intellectual and religious character as they existed under the Papal See; and then compare them with what they have been since the great Refor- mation ; you cannot but perceive that, notwith- standing the pernicious effect of her philosophy, falsely so called, the efforts of her reformers, and the learning of her universities have contributed largely to the growth of true religion in Protes- tant lands. Holland^ the home of Calvinism, and the asylum of the Puritans, was not long since the land where 50,000 perished on the scaffold for conscience' sake under a single reign. Switzerland^ the birth-place of Zuinglius, Bullinger, and Beza, and from the bosom of whose placid lake the re- nowned Calvin sent forth a voice that now speaks in every well-instructed and well-organized church in the Christian world, was once at the feet of im- perial Rome, and overrun and almost extirpated by hordes of barbarians. Prussia^ the land of Copernicus and the great Frederic, and whence Ber- lin, and Halle, and Bonn have diffused so much of the learning and intelligence of Europe, and which has been the honored asylum of the persecuted, and than which no country on the Continent is more distinguished for its schools, its toleration and its Christianity ; as late as the 13th century 200 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. was tlie dwelling of the Vandal, and later still one of tlie arenas of that fearful conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants, known as the " thirty years' war." Hungary was once the hospitable region where reposed the innumerable hordes which overran the Roman Empire: it was the asylum of the Tartar ; nov/, down-trodden as it is, it gives toleration and security to two millions of Protestants, and seventy-five thousand Jews. It is scarcely two centuries since Ilussia was known as an Empire ; now she holds the balance of power in Eurppe ; and though her religion is but one of the corrupted forms of Christianity, the Bible is recognized as its standard, and is accessible by the people. Of Austria^ France^ and the Roman States^ we can say nothing, but that they are not Pagan, and that the witnesses for Christianity which are there, are there to suffer ; and it may be by their sufferings, by the word of their testimony, and by the blood of the Lamb, are to overcome. It is a fact of deep interest in the divine govern- ment also, that no one nation now on the earth is so powerful as to dictate and give laws to all other nations. It was not always thus. The Chaldean, the Medo-Persian, and the Mecedoniau Emperors successively ruled the earth. The Roman Em- pire, still subsisting in its ten broken kingdoms, once gave law to the world ; but when that em- pire fell, it was the last antichristian power that PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS 201 should sway the nations, and that was to be su- perseded by the " stone cut out of the mountain without hands." Nor is the circumstance to be overlooked, that Infidelity has receiv^ed a blow from which it will scarcely be resuscitated. The great question between believers and unbelievers in the Christian revelation has been so thoroughly discussed, and the evidence in its favor is so cumulative, that no intelligent infidel has for a long series of years ventured to array himself against the authenticity and inspiration of the Sacred Writings. Where infidelity has not retired from the field, it has sought a refuge in scholastic philosophy, or be- taken itself to some corrupted form of the Chris- tian faith. The well-known arena of its tempo- rary triumph has been so fearfully scathed by the divine judgments, that its noisy pi-etensions have been silenced, and the nations look upon it with horror. It always has been, and ever will be the natural result of minds that are at enmity with God ; but so long as the scenes of the French Revolution are fresh in the remembrance of men, it will not again form the great feature of national character. Romanism may in the last resort do it homage, because it has no Bible to fall back upon when its own resources fail. False religions in different lands may do it homage, because with- out the gospel, it is their only asylum in their 202 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. overthrow. Islamism will not honor it ; rather will it honor the Christianity which itself honors the " One God." Despots will not honor it, be- cause without some religion, they are insecure upon their thrones. Nor will the people honor it, because it gives them blood to drink, and only blood. The rapid progress which Christianity has made in the world during the last half -century^ is also among the brighter signs of the times. Wonderful as the fact may appear, the Bible is now scattered through the earth in one hundred and seventy-five languages. Great Britain alone maintains in successful operation /c>?//?'i!^f^i Societies for Foreign Missions ; Germany seven ; the United States fourteen ; Holland one ; Switzerland one ; France (9716 ; Sweden ?;?,^c»; Norway 072ylon's furnace, seven times heated, conld in- flict? When once it is considered how much suf- fering has been endured in the world for i-ight- eouyuess' sake ; and how much is still endured for the sake of invigoi-ating the strength of moral principle in good men ; and how often they them- selves have gratefully confessed that to have gained the victory over a single besetting sin, and to have made some sensible advance in the divine life, is worth all their suffering, twice told ; the conviction must be strong on our minds that there are higher intei-ests to be consulted by the divine government than the mere happiness or misery of its subjects. In the final issue, there must be no connivance at wickedness, ])e the sacrifice what it may. DESTRUCTION OF HIS ENEMIES. 273 It is because this trutli is so important that the divine government is penal. Nor does it follow, because the penalty is executed., the great Lawgiver and Judge is not kind. Compassion that is supe- rior to rectitude is weakness, is effeminacy, is sin. If the question of sending the incorrigible to hell were left to his compassion and tenderness only, they Avould relent; never could he inflict that exterminating sentence. But his rectitude never changes. He cannot do " evil that good may come." His tenderness and compassion are not lawless, but under the guidance of his rectitude. He cannot do wrong, even to save immortal beings from ever- lasting perdition. And who does not perceive that he is not the less amiable and glorious, because his love and tenderness are governed by his rectitude ? Is not the sentence that banishes the wicked to hell just what it should be ; a respecter of principles, rather than of the persons of men ; an attachment to law rather than to the transgressor? Does it not de- serve our confidence ? and does not he deserve it who sits upon the throne ? The suffering is fear- ful, but the rectitude is glorious. 3. There is another view of the subject in which a class of minds may perhaps take a deeper inter- est. We afiirm that it is an expression of the 8avioiir\s goodness thus to punish all his incorri- gible creatures. When opposers of future punish- 12* 274 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. ment make their appeal to the Saviour's goodness^ they practise deception upon their own minds. Has goodness no tenderness for the obedient? Does law exhaust all its tenderness for the guilty, and has it none left for the vii'tuous? Must not the divine goodness aim at the highest and most comprehensive good ; and can it be shown that this is consulted by allowing the lawless and ob- durate to go unpunished ? Would not this be an impeachment of goodness; and does not mercy revolt from this inconsiderate and j'eckless con nivance at sin ? AVhen God caused "all his good- ness to pass liefore Moses," one expression of it was in the words, " He will by no means clear the guilty." In that memoi'able song of the Psalmist, wdiich celebrates the divine mercy^ are found such thoughts as these: "To him who smote Egypt ;'''' to him who '"'' overtlireiD l^haraolh and Ids host in the Red Sea;" to him who "smote great kings and slew famous kings;" for his "mercy endureth for- ever !" His mercy was illustrated by these acts of his justice; it was a sacrifice of the less to the greater ; it was the deliverance of Israel that was one inducement to cut off her enemies. Just as it is mercy to the living that the murderer should not live, it is mercy to the righteous that, in the final ai'rangements of God's government, the wicked should perish. There are other sources of happi- ness infinitely dear to Christ, beside those which DESTRUCTION OF HIS ENEMIES. 275 might flow from unrestrained and impimished wickedness. We may not place so much confidence in this view of the subject as in some others; yet is it one which no benevolent mind can disregard. E\'en if the law of expediency were the great law of the divine government, it would demand the destruction of the ungodly. It would not be xirise to jeopard and destroy the peace and safety of all virtuous minds, through interminable ages, for the sake of impunity to crime. The wicked must go to their own place ; they are in league with the devil and his angels, and may not have their dwell- ing within the heavenly city. They are not fitted fur it, but for their own chosen associates, and chosen hell. The Son of Man must "send his angels and gather out of his kingdom all things that offendy And the universe will stand in awe. It will be an awful and majestic deed, when he who hung on Calvary shall cast those who have trodden his blood under their feet into the "fur- nace of fire, where there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth ;" but it will be a glorious deed, and the only and last resoi-t by which his own throne and tlie tranquillity of his obedient subjects can be secured. 4. The fourth and last thought by Avhich the glory of Christ in this destruction is illustrated, is that it is required hij justice. This is the true 276 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. ground on which the Scriptures place this great sul)ject. The government of the world belongs to God ; it is a government of law ; and is a perfect government. The precepts and prohibitions of it are equitable and right ; and the penalty is com- mensurate with the ill-desert of transgression. Justice gives man his due. It is essential to ■punitive justice^ that the penalty of ti'ansgi-ession be proportioned to the magnitude of the offence. Justice, pui-e, equal justice^ inflicts penalty which neither goes beyond, nor ftiUs short of the offend- er's ill-desert. Such justice as this is one of the essential and immutable properties of the divine nature. God not only may be just, but must be just; he not only may punish, l>ut must punish. He sits on the throne of eternal justice. He iimst forever hate sin, and forever be disposed to punish it, and ac- tually punish it according to its desert ; else is he no longer just. The consciences of men respond to this repre- sentation. They are conscious of having violated God's law, and are equally conscious that this ren- ders them deserving of punishment. No argu- ments ai-e necessary to establish the connecting bond between sin and punishment. No excuses, no reasoning, no theory, no hopes, no refuge can relieve the transgressor's mind from this seci-et ap- prehension. His great Maker has so constituted DESTRUCTION OF HIS ENEMIES. 277 him, that he is looking out for the ministers of vengeance — " a fire not blown consumes him ;" the "shaking of a leaf " fills his mind with ominous forebodings, because he " hnoiv-s the just judgment of God, and that they who do such things are wor- thy of death." When therefore God announces himself in his 'VA'ord to be fxjust God^ he makes his appeal to the sinner's conscience. When the sinner reads the curses that are written in his book, he cannot set aside this condemning power and sentence. And when we come before him to vindicate this sen- tence, and to show him, that the righteous Judge 18 glorious in executing it to the uttermost ; our ap- peal is to his own sense of justice^ nor do we go beyond the resistless convictions of his own con- science, when we affirm that he deserves punish- ment. He deserves it wherever it exists and as long as it exists. We only ask that God may not be disrobed of the honors of \lv^ justice. We dis- honor him if, on the one hand, we suppose him to be indifferent to the destiny of wicked men ; or, if on the other, Ave suppose him to be under the influence of those turbulent, ungoverned, furious passions which cannot be gratified by anything ghoit of making them as miserable as it is possible to make them. But is it any dishonor to him that " he cannot look on sin ;" that " to him belonsreth vengeance and recompense ;" and that he is clothed 278 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. with rigliteousuess as a garment ? The true and impartial exercise of his justice is founded on the highest reason, and su])ported by the strongest virtue. Wicked men have done evil and nothing but evil ; and therefore they are ill-deserving. The time will never come when these sufferers will cease to be conscious of their ill-desert. While therefore the divine justice leaves them without hope, it is Justice; and because it is justice, we may not fault it. It would not be justice, if they did not deserve it ; and because they deserve it, the justice is glorious. It would not be justice if they were punished beyond their ill-desert; this would be injustice^ and there is no fear of this. They will suffer because they deserve it ; they will always suffer because they will always deserve it ; and because they forever deserve it, the justice that inflicts it will be forever glorious. The only reason why their punishment will be everlasting, is that their ill-desert is everlasting. Such is the destruction of the ungodly, and such the considerations which show that Christ is glo- rious in inflicting it. We are sensible that it is no easy matter to persuade men of these truths. They often wonder at the adoring approbation with which holy beings are represented in the Scriptures as expressing toward these acts of God's judicial power. When Pharaoh and his host were cast into the Red Sea, Moses gave Israel the song. DESTRUCTION OF HIS ENEMIES. 279 " Thy light hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. Who is like unto thee among the gods ? Who is like nnto thee, glorious in holiness, fear- ful in praises, doing wonders ?" When the Psalm- ist sets forth the wickedness and the peidition of the ungodly, his language is, "The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance." " Zion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Jerusa- lem rejoiced, because of thy judgments, O Lord!" When the seven angels appear with the seven last plagues, the saints are represented with hai-ps in their hands, and singing, " Great and marvellous are thy works. Lord, God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints !" When mystical Babylon fell, the high command was issued, " Re- joice over her thou heaven, and ye holy Apostles and Martyrs, for God hath avenged you on her !" It was when the Apostle John was carried away in the Spirit into the wilderness, and there saw "a w^oman upon a scarlet-colored beast ;" and he saw her " drunk with the blood of the saints," and Avith the blood of the martyi's of Jesus, that he also " saw an angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory ; and he cried mightily with a strong voice, aying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen !" And then he heard " a great voice of much people in lieaven^ saying, Alleluiaii ! Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power unto the Lord our 280 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. God ; for true and righteous are liis judgments ! And again they said Alleluiaii ! and her s-moke rose up forever and ever !" Nothing is more ob- vious, than that if we have emotions diverse from these, Ave are either in great darkness, or our ha- bitual state of mind is not heavenly. The charac- ter of Christ, as the liewarder deserves our admi- ration and praise as well as theirs. If we are dis- satisfied with this essential attribute of his nature, it is because we have a state of mind that is dis- satisfied with Mm. To look upon his justice as odious, is to look on sin with indifterence ; to re- gard his justice as hard and cruel, is to take the part of his enemies. Beware of this state of moral feeling. No man can sit down with the saints in the kingdom of God, who cannot sing the song of Moses., as well as the song of tlie Lamb. There is a wide dificrence between the enemies of God and his friends. His enemies hate his justice, with im- placable hatred ; his fi-iends approve and adore it. In the view of his enemies, it is a blemish in his character ; in the view of his friends, it is one of its' glories. Stei-liug virtue is not the enemy of justice. No man can from the heart accept God's pai'doning mercy, until he approves his condemn- ing justice. It is not possible to perceive and ap- preciate the grace of God in saving, if you neither perceive, nor appreciate his justice in punishing. Most men live as though there were no such DESTRUCTION OF HIS ENEMIES. 281 state of misery in the universe as that which we have described. Great mnltitndes, and among them some professing godliness, do not feel satisfied when they read or hear anything of the gospel but its glad tidings. Christ iijcarnate, Christ sin- less, Chi'ist commiserating and healing, Christ dying, Christ rising, ascending, reigning, — these are topics which interest them. And well they may; would to God that they interested them more intensely ! But Christ on the throne of Judgment, Christ the Redeemer, Christ uttering and executing the sentence, " De;paH ye cursed into everlasting fire ])re^ared for the Devil and his angels f"" this is a manifestation of his gloiy which they would rather have concealed. It is too over- whelming to be real ; they wish it were not true, and wish it suppressed even if it be. I cannot but think this is one of the devices of Satan to destr#)^ the souls of men. It is not more " a faith- ful saying, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," than that he is glorious in the everlasting destruction of those who neglect this salviition. Never would he have died on Calvary if he did not mean to vindicate his higli claims as the righteous Judge. His death would have an- swered no valuable purpose if incori'igible offend- ers go unpunished, and if it only served to pro- claim impunity to crime. O ye who are in the gall of bitterness and 282 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. the bonds of iniquity, who are the prisoners of his justice, and for a few short hours the possessors of hope, will you not be persuaded to "flee to the stronghold ?" We know we have uttered fearful truths; perhaps he who utters- them may be ac- cused as a stern prophet, and a prophet of wi'ath because he utters them. We have uttered them because, " knowing the terrors of the Lord, we would persuade men." The world of lost spirits is no idle figment, no melancholy conceit or inven- tion of men. And there is but one method of escape from it. O how it exalts that wondrous redemption to think upon the woes from which it delivers, and that it shows the way of escape from bitter groans and endless burning ! You are to exist eternal ages, and if it be a miserable exist- ence, when it comes upon you there will be no escape. There is escape now, but before another sun shall rise, you may drop from your thought- lessness into the pit of despair. O thou ci'eature of guilt and miser}^ ! wilt thou not escape from this coming wrath ? A few more Sabbaths of thought- lessness and sin, and the storm will burst. The proffered salvation of him who is "a just God and Saviour," is in your hands; and we demand of you, by his authority and in his name, whether you will ascend with the redeemed to heaven, or whether, with the devil and his angels, you will make your bed in the lake of fire. CHAPTER XX. CHRIST HmSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN". It is a beautiful remark of John in the Apoca- lypse, when speaking of the New Jerusalem, that " the City had uo need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it." He had been describinc: it as no uninspired pen could have described. Death and hell had been cast into the lake of fire. The wicked of every land, and class, and name, from " the fearful and unbelieving" to " whoremongers and liars," had been doomed to their own place. Fear, sorrow, and pain were among " the former things that are passed away ;" and the inspired narrator was borne away in his vision to " a great and high mountain," there to take a view, and fur- nish a sketch of the " Holy City, coming down from God out of heaven." There are some strong peculiarities in this de- scription. The great Architect had decked that bright world with unfading splendor; and this apostle was directed to avail himself of an accumu- 284 TlIK GLORY OF CHRIST. latioii of imagery, fitted to make the most vivid impressions of all tliat is beautiful and magnificent, and at the same time to convey some definite in- struction. The City was " foursquare," symmetri- cal in its form, accessible from all sides, and on its foundations were inscribed "the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb." So vast was it, that it could not be measured by any human standard, but only " according to the measure of the Angela It was adorned with the most ex- pressive symbols of unwasting wealth and perpet- ual joy. There was "no Temple therein," because it was all temple ; the same worship pervaded the whole, and incorporated itself with every service and place. There was no sun and no moon in it; there were brighter lights and more dazzling ; and this was the zenith of its glory. The " glory of God did enlighten it, and the Lamb is the light THEREOF." We are sensible that the theme is above our reach. " We know but in part." The indwelling Shekinah is behind the veil, and it is only the outer court of this celestial temple we are permit- ted to occupy. There are four tlioiiglits by which we would pre- sent some illustration of the truth, that Christ HIMSELF IS THE GLORY OF HEAVEN". r^ The first is, that he is there the rightful and ac- knowledged Head of his redeemed jieople. It is not CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVExNf. 285 only one of Ms glories that he is the everhxsting King of his church, but it is the glory of that holy and happy hhirjdoin over which he reigns. There is a kingdom Avhich he administers as the Media- tor, which he will not administer in the heavenly world ; one Avhich is more extensive than his re- deemed church, and which will continue only until the close of the final judgment. The objects of his Mediation will then have been so far secured, that all his enemies will have been "put under his feet," and all his followers gathered into heavenly man- sions. The day of grace and the space for repent- ance will have been terminated ; nothing more will remain for him to accomplish for the salvation of men; and then he will "deliver up" the kingdom which was delegated to him over " all things," to " God even the Father that God may be all in all." But this termination of his raediatoi'ial reign, althousfh it leaves the absolute and universal su- premacy in the hands of the Eternal Godhead, involves no dissolution of the union between his divine and human natures. It does not even ter- minate his priestly office ; much less those outward manifestations of the invisible Deity, that ai'O so wondrously and pi'ogressivel}^ made by God in human nature. " He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all heavens," forever retaining his crown and sceptre, as the King and 286 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. Heiul of the redeemed universe. " His dominion is an eveilasting dominion, wliicli shall not pass away." He is to be the God-man forever; and in this character he is to I'eign as the King of Zion, the King of saints, the King of glory. For successive ages he has been preparing him- self a KINGDOM ; now he is in complete possession of it, and his crown beams in all its splendor. His ascension from the Mount of Olives was his instal- ment and coronation ; and then it was that herald angels conducted him to his palace, and " the ever- lasting doors w^ere lifted up that the King of glory might come in !" From that day, he has been a Prince upon his throne, swaying a sceptre such as no earthly monarch ever held, reigning in im- mortal love and holiness, perpetuating his tri- umphs, and inviting " the children of Zion to re- joice in their King." It is their unspeakable joy now to know that he is upon the throne ; but what will their joy become, when the mystery of God shall be perfected ; when the last revolution in this convulsed universe shall be brought to its long predicted issues ; and he " shall reign over the house of Jacob forever !" His subjects will be multiplied, so that no man can number them ; and it will be his endui'ing honor to be at the head of so vast and holy an Enipire. They shall come from far-distnnt lands, and from the islands of the sea ; they will have been nur- CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 987 tured under all the divei'sities of time and cii'cum- stance, and amid all the varieties of intellectual and moral culture, and modes and forms to which the different families of the church of God were subject; but they shall be one in him, and he shall be their glory and crown. It is not difficult to perceive why it is that "there remaineth a rest for the people of God." The perfect rejiose and safety which the redeemed will enjoy in having Mm for their Sovereign, are themselves enough to render him the glory of the heavenly w^orld. In the new heavens and the new earth, "there shall be no more sea f or, it will be, " as it were, a sea of glass J'' Its surftice is un- ruffled. Not a ripple stirs it. Nothing overlays it but the pure light and fragrant breath of heaven. Storms and tempests never gather over those tranquil regions. The changeful winds of passion are still. Nor are human kingdoms nor human hopes ever engulphed under the reign of this Prince of peace. Despotism and anai-chy have done their work in this nether woild. The "nations of the saved" now rest under the equita- ble monarchy of heaven, whose laws and piinci- ples shall never })e repealed nor abated, but remain in full force and blessedness to all eternity. Glorious supremacy and glorious world which can boast of such a Sovei-eign ! There will be spectacles of admiration in his heavenly kingdom, 288 THE GLOKY OF CHRIST. and scenes of splendor such as mortal eyes never beheld ; bright and embellished minds will be there, angelic and human, shining in all the blend- ed and perfected beauties of holiness; but they will be like tapers under the splendors of his throne. So long as the redeemed were " present in the body they were absent from the Lord." The best of them had very imperfect views, and "saw through a glass darkly," They could do little more, even in their brightest houis, than stand on the shoi'e of that ocean of light and love, and exclaim, " O the depth !" But they have come now to Mount Zion, where the King of glory unfolds his loveliness, and they see him without a veil. And if, during their pilgrimage in this dark world, they looked to hirn as their chief joy, and nothing charmed them like his beauty ; what must be their delighted and I'apturous admiration of him in that world where they have no need of the sun, or of the moon to shine on it, because " the glory of God enlightens it, and the Lamb is the light tliei'eof '' Thou art the King of glory, O Christ! V/iio would not take thy cross and be- come a partul^er in thy humiliation, if he may thus become partaker in thy exaltation and glory ! To be made "kings and priests unto God even his FatheJ", and live and reign with him;" to ]>e "fel- low-heirs with lii;n of the same kingdom," sit "down on his thr<»iie," and "enter into his joy;" CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 289 what a lieaven is this, and what else is it but to learn by blessed experience that Christ himself is its glory ! We illustrate this truth, in the next place, by the thought that Christ hmiself is the Authoo' and DispPRser of all the hlessedne'SS of the heavenly world. Its " Builder and Maker" is God. His name is inscribed on every page of its history. " I go," said he to his early followers, " I go to prerpare a place for you." There is no scene of loveliness or splendor there; nothing to delight the mind, cheer the heart, or regale the senses, refined and purified as they will be for immor- tality, but owes its loveliness and splendor to him. If the skies are genial, it is because he has " spread them out as a molten looking-glass." If there is no sickness, nor infirmity, nor decay, nor death, it is because he has shut them without the walls, and has made its inhabitants immortal. If no heart is wrung with disappointment and anguish, and no countenance dejected, and no eye heavy with sorrow, or dimmed with tears ; it is because " the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne leads them, and God wipes away all tears fi-om their eyes." If there is no serpent to sting and no tempter to ensnare, it is because he has crushed the serpent's head. If the wicked there cease from troubling, it is because he does not allow anything to enter that defileth. It is his own palace ; and VOL. 11. 13 290 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. lest any invade or hurt it, he himself is its ever- lasting Warder. Its redeemed iiiJiahitants are all the children of his power and grace. It is not their work by which they have found access to that glorious world, but his. The design of bringing them there originated with him, and was completed by him in whose blood they have washed their robes, and made them white. Take away Christ from heaven, and there are no hopes, no promises, no heaven itself for man. They were naturally fallen and apostate ; but he saved them by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Their exalted and holy character was formed by him, and formed for eternity and heaven. It was the offspring of his grace when it was cradled here on earth. His hand burst the bandages of its in- fancy, and his voice first cheered it in its onward progress to immortal manhood. And now, in its perfection and richness, who is its recognized au- thor and dispenser, if not he who presents it " not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing !" iVll the varieties of its excellence, mingling its most exalted with its' humblest emotions, its strongest lights with those that are the most delicate, its angelic purity with its human loveliness, are to be attributed to him who has thus "clothed his church with the garments of salvation, and cov- ered her with the robe of risrhteousness, as a bride- CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 291 groom decketli himself with ornaments, and a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." The sources of their blessedness are all either in him, or from him. Whatever of God they there enjoy, is through Christ and from Christ. What- ever of angel blessedness flows in upon them, his hand opens the channels in which it flows. There are social joys there ; and the sacred intercourse and fellowship of that immense holy society are exalted and pure because the bond that unites them is perfect love to him. There are remem- brances of the past, and personal recognitions, and endeared- and responsible relationships fondly dwelt upon, and present amiableness of character, and mutual services, and reciprocated acts of kind- ness which make their cup of joy run over. All this, by sympathies and a fellowship never till then known, nor its source appreciated, will then be recognized as imparted by him, and he will be honored as the medium of these visions of loveli- ness, and the gracious dispenser of every joyous thought and emotion. That thirst for knowledge, there gratified to fulness ; those sources of thought, so ample, and various; and that reality and cer- titude of truth, which leaves no jDhantoms to be dissipated, and no probabilities to unsettle or per- plex the mind, are radiations from him who is the " light of the world," and streams from that ocean of God's unsearchable wisdom and knowledge. If 292 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. their affections are exalted and exalting, they are all in view of his imperishable truth, and excited and sustained by manifestations of his glory. And their acts of duty, whatever they may be, and wherever they may be required, are not less cheer- ful and happy than they are uniform and constant, because they are swift to do his will, " hearkening to the voice of his word." The permanency of heaven is also the work of Christ. He is the everlasting Rewarder. Those fields of light will be illumined with a splendor that never fades, because he " is the same, yester- day, to-day, and forever." When this earth has disappeared in the final conflagration, it will be Seen that there is yet remaining " a far more ex- ceeding and eternal weight of glory." The highest eminence hitherto occupied by Moses and Paul, is low compared with those sublime heights which they, and all the redeemed will occupy in the yet unexplored sources of blessedness that are treas- ured up in Christ. They will always have Christ, and therefore will always have heaven. They will be everlasting recipients, because he is the ever- lasting Giver. There is no present joy which Christ does not bestow ; nor is there any such last lin.it to the believer's everlasting career of blessed- ness, that he can say, this is all that Christ can give. We say therefore that Christ is the glory of CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 293 heaven, because lie is the dispenser of all its bles- sedness. Suppose a man like ourselves, to be so eminently favored of God as to be the author of all temporal blessings ; the fabricator of all that is wise and good in human institutions and laws — the inventor of all that contributes to w^ealth and prosperity — the example and patron of every vir- tue, and the promoter, and guardian, and partaker of every joy ; who so fitly as such a man would be the glory of his race ? What then must Christ himself be to the heavenly world ! We know the comparison fails. All comparisons are like atoms in the sunbeams, when we think of him whose in- finite glory and blessedness are reflected in the natures of the saved. We may derive a third illustration of this truth from the fact that Christ is the most happy of all tJie glorified inhabitants of heaven itself. It is no ordinary source of enjoyment, to see those happy whom we love ; to virtuous and disinterested minds, there is no higher source of earthly joy than this. More especially are such sacred and delightful sympathies realized, when these joys are virtuous and holy, and the sources of them such as God approves. We cannot conceive of the blessedness of heaven, even in the meanest of the saints ; much less in the brightest and most favored spirit that bows before the throne. It mitigates our sorrows, and makes us happy to think of their 294 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. happiness, and that though they once toiled and suffered on the earth, they are gone to their heav- enly rest. And how much more to think of the infinite blessedness of the Son of God ! He is the most happy Being in heaven, because from the infinite perfection of his intellectual and moral nature, he is the most capable of happiness. Of all the bright minds in the universe, his is the most bright and holy, and can hold more joyous thoughts and emotions. And if it is " more blessed to give than to receive ;" we may never forget he is the greatest of all Givers. Just think of his benevolent and generous mind surveying that Holy City, infinitely more resplendent with the memorials of his redeeming love than with the precious stones which garnish its walls, and its gates of pearl, and its streets of gold ; and then, if you can, estimate the blessedness which flows in upon his holy soul from these unnumbered and hallowed sources. What joy in being able to make such gifts to millions who were so uuAvorthy and ill-deserving, so poor and miserable, and who, but for his bounty, had " lifted up their eyes in hell, being in torment !" To have saved such as these is his everlasting blessedness ; and in bestow- ing this salvation he himself enjoys more than those who receive it. Just before he left the world he uttered the prayer. " Father, / ivill that they whom thou hast given me be with me i CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 295 where I am, that they may behold my glory, even the glory which I had with thee before the world was !" Heaven would scarcely be welcome to him without tliem. " I in them, and thou in me, that we may all be made perfect in One !" Everything contributes to his joy, now that he is glorified, and they are all glorified with him. He has finished his work on the earth ; his redeemed are gathered in ; and he has nothing more to ask as his reward. Every accession to their blessedness exalts his own. His iufinite love has been indulged, expressed, and gratified. It is this, his own divine blessedness that fills up the glory of heaven. The Redeemed them- selves have no higher joy than to see their ador- able Lord thus glorified and happy. Some of them had seen him a man of sorrows, debased and mise- rable, and all of them have known how he was once nailed to the cross. But the scene is changed. From insult and torture he has found a throne ; from being once the greatest Suflerer, he is now the most honored and the most happy of all who dwell in that honored and joyous world. He once said to his disciples, " If ye love me, ye will rejoice because I said, I go to the Fatliery Blessed Mas- ter! who, of all thy followers does not rejoice in the thought, that thy last tear was shed on Calva- ry, and the last badge of thine undeserved infamy was left in the tomb ! Sweet is the thought, that y 296 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. among all the lovely, lie is the adornment of their loveliness ; and of all the honored and happy, he is the most happy and the most honored. If we are ever permitted to have a place in some of those many mansions, the first Person we shall ask for will be, not the children whom God has given us, nor the friends we most loved, but " the Lamb that was slain." He will be the first and great object of attraction, in the full enjoyment of his own heaven, restored to that habitation of holiness, of which his own blessedness constitutes the glory and crown. What will it be to be per- mitted thus to enter into his joy, and ourselves to exemplify the truth, " The glory which thou liast given me I have given them!'''' There is one more thought which illustrates the truth, that Christ himself is the glory of heaven ; he is the object of their adoration and praise. Christ alone, as the Mediator, is not indeed the only object of celestial praise. The Eternal God- head is there honored by the adoring and ever- lasting acknowledgments of all the unfallen, as well as all the redeemed creation. " They rest not day and night, saying Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty., which was, and is, and is to come !" Spotless angels give " glory, and honor, and thanks to Him that sitteth upon the throne, who liveth forever and forever." The redeemed from among men " fall down before Him that sitteth upon the CHEftST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 297 throne, and worship Him that liveth forever and ever; and cast their crowns before the throne, saying. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power : for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they do exist, and were created." A beautiful view is this of the heavenly world, that the Great and Eternal Jeho- vah, in all the fulness of his infinite glory, is thus exalted by these grateful and adoring acts of praise. Yet is it revealed to us that the God-man Me- diator is, to redeemed men, the object of special adoration. He sustains a relation to them which he does not sustain toward the unfallen. It was not the angelic nature that he assumed, nor was it for them that he suffered and died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven; lives and reigns, nor is it by virtue of anything he has ac- complished for them, that he becomes the Final Judge and Rewarder of the living and the dead. It was the human nature to which he became allied ; it was that nature, in the persons of his redeemed, that he bought off from the curse of the law; rose for their justification; became the dis- penser of those gracious influences by which they were fitted for heaven ; and " raised them from the dead, and set them at his own right hand in heav- enly places." He feels an interest in tJiem^ therefore, which he does not feel for the unfallen. If " there 13* 298 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. is joy in heaven among the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth^ more than over ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance;" what must be the interest and the joy which his benevolent mind experiences in repentant and re- deemed myriads, above that which he feels in the character and blessedness of those who were never the objects of his mediation, nor the subjects of his grace ? He is the Sovereign Lord of Angels ; but to his redeemed people, he is the all-sufficient, gracious, faithful, once suffering and now glorified Redeemer. They are his people, his own blood- bought inheritance ; and can there be a doubt that they also feel an interest in liiin Avhich the unfallen cannot feel, and maintain a more intimate and sensible relation to him ? Since then they have sources of enjoyment from him and in him, which angels cannot have ; and feel towards him as angels cannot feel ; and since his presence diffuses joys over their happy society which angels can never know ; why should they not praise him in strains which the tongue of angels cannot utter? The Apostle John, in the Apocalypse, beheld them as they " fell down before THE Lamb, having every one of them harps ; and they sung a new song^ saying. Thou art worthy, for thou loast slain^ and liast redeemed us unto God hy thy hlood^ It is not creative power and persevering goodness, but redeeming grace which CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 299 is thus extolled. The unfallen and unredeemed cannot extol him in accents such as these. It was " a voice as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder;" it was "the voice of harpers harj^iug with their harps; and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and no man could learn that song hut those that were redeemed from among men^ Christians in the present world often make Christ the special object of their praise. They are at- tached to the song, "Worthy is the Land) that was slain ;" and are never happier than in those favored moments, when anticipating the employ- ments of heaven, their praise to him is thus inti- mately incorporated with their devotions. In the worship of heaven his Person and work hold a distinguished place. No part of the glory which belongs to him is there kept back, or expressed with reserve. The great and the gratified desire of the redeemed is to exalt and glorify him. A thousand grateful recollections constrain them to cast their crowns at his feet. The palms in their hands, and the pure robes they wear, are emblems of his victories. "The glorious company of the apostles praise him ; the goodly fellowship of the prophets praise him ; the noble army of martyrs praise him." The redeemed church from every kingdom, and language and tribe praise him. The ear and tongue and soul of man are formed for 300 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. this celestial harmony. A great multitude whicli no man can number, once mourning pilgrims, but now at the end of their pilgrimage, and clothed with the garments of joy and salvation ; once struggling with sin, self, and the world, but now conquerors through him that loved them ; stand on that " sea of glass," unruffled as it is by the storms of earth, and unperturbed by the deep agitations of time, and " having the harps of God," " sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb ;" but the chorus is the Lamb that was slain. Praise "sweet as the breath of love," and deep as the memory of their woes, and loud as the echo of his fame, bursts forth from every tongue. These harps of excelling excellence are divinely strung for the full echo of his glory. We cannot think of the song of the redeemed, without thinking of Christ. Nor do these redeemed ones think of him without bowing the knee before him, and under the im- pulse of emotions that are sometimes tender and serene, always joyous, and sometimes rapturous and vehement, ascribing everlasting glory to the Lamb that was slain. What a world is that of which Chi-ist is thus the glory ! What a song is that when the full chorus of all the spirits of just men made perfect, from Adam down to the last- redeemed of Adam's race, gifted as they never were before with melodious hearts and melodious sounds, and with a tongue sweeter than angels use, CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 301 thus express tlieir sweetest and most devout affec- tions and transporting joys. " And to the Lamb all glory and all praise, All glory and all praise at morn, at even, That come and go eternally, and find Us happy still, and thee forever bless'd ! Glory to God, and to the Lamb, Amen ! Thousands of thousands, thousands infinite With voice of boundless love answered Amen ! And through eternity, near and remote. The world adoring echoed back Amen !" We have thus endeavored to present some faint illustration of the thought, that Clirist himself is the glory of heaven. Let us weigh this thought, and from it derive the following j^ractical remarks : In the first place, let us learn from it tvhat are the essential preparatives for the heavenly tvoild. They are all comprised in that state of mind which cheerfully gives Christ the throne. This is the character of the redeemed in heaven, and this is the test of piety on the earth. Its measure and degree are not the same in the church below, but its nature is the same with the piety in the church above. Its humility and love and gratitude and praise and loyalty are imperfect here, but they are the same in kind. Here, these heavenly graces are in blossom ; there, they are fully ripe. Here the tree is scathed by storms ; there, it is in full bearing. Let none please themselves with the illusion, 302 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. that ■stu'li a heaven has any attractions for an un- holy niinih Wicked men know not what they ask when, with all their sinful propensities dominant, they ask for such a heaven as this. They cannot drink of the cup whicli the Saviour drank of, nor be ba])tized with the l)aptisni with which he was bap- tized. Their false views of heaven neutralize all their efforts. It is not the heaven of the Bible which they are seeking; yet is there no other; no other heaven in the universe than that of which Christ is the glory, and his presence the fountain of joy. How fearful the disappointment, when they struggle at last to go up to that celestial city, and see inscribed on its archway, "There shall nothing enter that defileth !" Could those who are now living in sin, and estranged from Jesus Christ, whose treasure is on earth, and whose heart is there, to whom the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life furnish all their sources of enjoyment, see that holy and glorious and blessed world as it is, and as angels and the spirits of just men made perfect behold it ; it would not be surprising if they should become strongly conscious that such a heaven has no attractions for their unholy minds. No, no ; such a heaven is no place for an ungodly man. He has no sympathies either with its society its employments, its laws, its blessedness, or its great and glorious King. All who enter heaven desire and pursue that which constitutes its bles- CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 303 sedness. " It is character that makes heaven ; it is spiritual enjoyment that makes heaven ; it is the presence and blessing of God that make heaven." It is Christ that makes heaven. To him who loves not, trusts not, obeys not, honors not Jesus Chi-ist, such a heaven as this has no allurements. Ho must be a different man from what he is, ever to be happy in such a heaven. Well did the Saviour utter the words, " Veiily, verily I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." How is it possible for one who " loves darkness rather than light," to be happy in a world which is thus filled with Christ's glory, and which he thus irradiates as with ten thousand suns ? It is not heaven's spaciousness and splendor, nor its salubrious streams and healthful clime, nor yet its everlasting day and blooming immortality that can commend it to the moral temper and dis- position of the soul that does not love Jesus Christ. Not until Christ himself retires from that glorious woi'ld, will it be a fitting residence for an ungodly man.. Quench its flame of holy love; dry up its fountains of holy joy ; silence its song to the Lamb that was slain ; then, and not till then, will it have charms for a mind that is " dead in trespasses and sins." The heaven where Jesus is, none can enjoy but the friends of Jesus. "The pure in heart shall see God." In . the next place, how strongly does the 304 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. thought that Christ hhuself is the glory of heav- en urge upon the people of God a more heavenly mind and more hea^^enly anticipations. True followers of Christ love to think of heaven. It is a heaven of holiness, and where Christ is all in all. These are its charms, and these the sweet realities which give such sweetness to their hopes. What marvel if, in their more spiritual frames, they look toward these heavenly hills with eager expectation, and pant for those abodes of spotless purity where Jesus dwells, and where their perfect conformity to him constitutes the perfection of their blessedness ! We would fain stimulate them to think of it, and with sweeter hopes and brighter anticipations. How magnificent is that New Jerusalem, where the Lamb is the light thereof! AVlien John saw even a mighty angel come down from heav- en, the earth was lightened with his glory. How brilliant, then, and overpowering the light of heaven^ enlightened as it is by the Lord' of angels ! It does not need the sun nor the moon to shine in it. The reason why "the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, and as the stars forever and ever," is that Christ, the light of heaven, shines upon them in the effulgence of his glory. If it is true that our minds become assimilated to the objects about which they are most em- CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 395 ployed, were it. not wise to cultivate more heav- enly thoughts ? We shall be the gainers by being more familiar with that holy and blessed world in our daily contemplations. " Where your treas- ni'e is, there will your heart be also." There is a voice which speaks to thee, my Christian brother, in sweetest accents, " Arise thou, and depart hence, for this is not your rest !" A few more days in this distant land, and you shall behold him whom your soul loveth, and " be like him, because you shall see him as he is." Few things probably would surprise angels more, than to be informed how reluctant the friends of Christ are to leave this world and go to their heavenly Father's house. The writers of the New Testament address those to whom they wrote as though they knew they were Christians. They lived in an age of trial, and the apostles every- where spoke to them and of them as though they knew there was but a short distance between them and their unearthly home. And why have not Christians at the present day the same unembar- rassed confidence ? Why is it that you have any latent doubts of that " faithful saying, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ?" Turn back to the facts which have been demonstrated in the preceding pages, and inquire if there is not enough in these heavenly credentials of Mary's Son to warrant an assured faith. Not a few of 306 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. your strongest hopes rest on dreams ; but there is no illusion in these great realities. It is not one fact alone, but many facts, all bound together ; there is a piling up of truth upon truth, none of them disjointed, but all of them compact and each in its place ; all combining to silence the tempter and banish doul)t. Again I ask, why is it that your ftiith in these great realities is not moi-e tran- quil and confident ? Is it that you fear to die ? Is it that you reluctate from breaking up these earthly associations and enter that unseen world ? Why should you fear to die when you see how death has been robbed of his sting? You need not anticipate darkness because you are approaching the regions of the departed. You will be cared for as you go down into the dark valley, and your flesh shall rest in hope. Why not a more cheer- ing and brighter view than this ? Why should you wish to be still a foreigner and an exile from that heaven of which your Saviour is the glory? What have you found in this sinning, suffering w^orld to detain you wdien the summons comes ? Why cling to the ashes of this burn- ing earth, when the New Jerusalem is unfolding its gates, and angels bid you enter in ? Why clank these fetters and bear this load when heaven's messenger comes to set you free? What more have you to do with these dark and cloudy habi- tations of wretchedness, when he who sitteth on CHRIST HIMSELF THE GLORY OF HEAVEN. 307 the throne, and hath made you kings and priests unto God, commands you to come away ? O that we lived more with our eyes and hearts on Christ and heaven ! In the third and last place, these thoughts admonish all to labor into that heavenly rest. We do not forget that this is the closing chapter in our series. We do not know w^hat good has been done by this series of thoughts, nor whether one soul has, through these humble means, been brought to the knowledge of Christ, and the hope of that heaven of which he is the glory. I am the more earnest therefore in urging you to strive to enter in at the strait gate — labor to enter " that rest, lest any of you should seem to come short of it." What a loss does he sustain who loses heaven ! O there is no loss within the range of human thought like this. Nor can it ever be repaired. I have known those who were burdened to despondency, and miserable almost to distraction, because they could not obtain even to a comfortable hope of heaven. And if to be denied the mere hope is to be denied all that can cheer the mind in its earthly pilgrimage ; w^hat must the agony be when the loss is realized, and the despondency become de- spair ! To go up to the gates of the Heavenly City and find them shut; to see the multitudes coming from the north, and the south, and the east, and the west, and sitting down with i)ati-iarchs 312 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. and prophets, and Jesus himself in the kingdom of God, and you yourself cast out ; what a fearful and mournful overthrow is this ! O that in that day when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed, it may ])e seen that these truths hav< not been without some hallowed influence upon the reader and the writer of this volume. 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