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FOUR LECTURES

FIRST AND SECOND ADVENT

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DELIVERED IN THE PARISH CHURCH OP LEEDS,

REV. HENRY DALTON, A.M.
TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN.

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LONDON:
W. J. CLEAVER, BAKER STREET,
POBTMAN SQUARE :
Ti, HARRISON, AND T. W. GREEN, LEEDS.

CONTENTS.

LECTURE I.
John i. 18. PAGE
"No man hath seen God at anytime; the only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath
declared Him." ------ l
LECTURE II.
John i. 14.
" The Word was made flesh." - - - - 17
LECTURE III.
Hebrews x. 37.
" For yet a little while, and He that shall come will
come, and will not tarry."  30
LECTURE IV.
1 John iv. 17.
" Because as He is, so are we in this world." - - 45

LECTURE I.

John i. 18.
" No man hath seen God at any time, the only-begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.''
It is worthy of remark that the Church com
mences her year at the period when the natural
year is computed to draw near to its close. She
makes the rising of the Sun of Righteousness the
point from which date all her services; thus for
cibly reminding us, that the course of this world
is not her rule or guide. Her seasons, her mo
tions, her phases, are regulated by other laws.
Like her Lord and her Head, Jesus Christ, she
is not "of this world." The Church is "a new
creation." Time and space enter not into her
conditions; for she is "seated in heavenly places
in Christ." When the Church records the annals
of her creation, she goes to Bethlehem; when she
speaks of the mind and counsels that gave her
birth, she tells of the counsels of eternity. For
the Church was God's purpose before "the round
world was made," before " the morning stars sung
for joy."
It was an ancient and goodly custom to have
sermons preached on Wednesdays and Fridays dur
ing Advent, as well as during Lent; and we know
B

LECTURE I.

from some of the ancient prayer books, that col
lects, epistles and gospels were appointed for these
days. It is greatly to be desired that the obser
vance of this season were more generally followed.
The Church brings the advent of our Lord Jesus
Christ under our notice, in a two-fold aspect, viz.
First, in reference to His coming in humility; and
secondly, in reference to his coming in glory. By
the one she reminds us what we are; by the se
cond she tells us what we shall be. She leads us
to Bethlehem, and there tells us who the child
Jesus is — tells us what the man Christ Jesus hath
accomplished for us; and there she bids us remem
ber that he will " come again," as " the King of
glory." Guided thus in our consideration of this subject,
we shall notice, first, the coming of the Son of
God, as the Virgin's child; and next, his second
appearing. And here I would observe, that al
though we know that there are two advents of
our Lord, or rather two parts spoken of; the one
in humility, the other in glory, — I say although we
know this from the fact, that the one has taken
place, whilst the other is still a subject of expec
tation, yet a Jew could scarcely, if indeed at all,
have supposed that this would have been the case.
He could not have known, before the incarnation,
that which we so readily discern, that the advent
of our Lord has two distinct parts. The Old Tes
tament Scriptures speak only of the coming of the

LECTURE I. 6
Messiah ; and as the end of that coming is the esta
blishment of a kingdom, this absorbs the whole
mind of the prophets, and is the burden of their
visions. They saw but the fact, that Messiah should
come and reign; and therefore, they overstep, as it
were, or only incidentally speak of his coming in
sorrow and shame. They are rapt with the visions
of his glory. They see his kingdom. They behold
" the restitution of all things" under his reign; and
therefore, no sooner is the song begun " Unto us
a Son is given, unto us a child is born," than is
added, " and the government shall be upon his
shoulders, and He shall be called Wonderful, Coun
sellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the
Prince of Peace, and of his government there shall
be no end." In the Old Testament times, Patriarchs,
and Prophets and Seers had but one thing in view,
the coming of the Messiah ; and whilst they looked
upon that coming as one thing, we know from facts
and revelation, that it consists of two parts — the
coming of the lowly Jesus, and the coming of the
King — the " coming to save" and the " coming to
reign." These are the subjects presented by the
Church for our meditations at this season.
Those are very imperfect and dim views of the
great work of the Son of God, which regard the
incarnation merely as a remedial exertion on the
part of God ; as though God sought to repair, and
only sought to repair, the failure of the creature by
the gift of His Son. This He did, but the source
b 2

LECTURE I.

of the incarnation is of higher spring than the failure
of the creature. It was the eternal purpose of God,
—the purpose before all time, — that the second per
son of the blessed Trinity should come into the limi
tation of human nature, should become man. I
say this, though contingent upon the fall, that is to
say, brought about by the fall of man, was laid in
the counsels of eternity. It was this, the eternal
purpose, that gave birth unto creation. Creation
came into being, in order to bring this to pass.
Adam was the twoc tov fiiWovrog, the type of Him
that was to come. And where there is a type,
there is in the mind of him that maketh a type,
an anti-type. Where there is a shadow, there is
a substance. Adam was, if I may so speak, the
shadow thrown off from the predestinated purpose
of the incarnation of the Son of God. Incarnation
was not an accident, however contingent in its ac
complishment. The creature was made in order
to be put under the incarnate Son.
That the Son of God should take our nature and
become man, and as such should be the head of
all flesh, and thereby become the head of a Body,
which is the Church, this was the eternal purpose
of God, purposed in Himself before all worlds, as
speaks the Apostle, in the Epistle to the Ephesians
(chap. iii.).
Oh if men did but see this, there would be
no dispute as to what or whence is the Church.
There would be no dispute as to our faith.

LECTURE I. 0
All the heresies of old, all errors of later day,
and all failings and short-comings, may, almost
without exception, be traced to error on, or forget
fulness of this one truth, the incarnation.
Incarnation is the substance of revelation.
Here all truth begins, and thither all truth tends.
Incarnation is the centre round which evolves the
whole system of divine revelation. There is no
thing before it, there is nothing beyond it in the
revelation to man. It is the focus to which con
verge, as so many rays, the revelations of God's will.
Brethren, suffer me to enlarge for a little on this
deeply interesting subject; which I do the more
confidently, knowing that you are built up in
sound doctrine, in the doctrine of the Holy Ca
tholic Church; ye are not novices in the truth, " I
speak as to wise men, judge ye what I say."
The doctrine of the incarnation is this — God as
God is incommunicable, invisible, " dwelling in light,
to which no man can approach, whom no man hath
seen, or can see." " No man hath seen the Father
at any time. The only begotten Son which is in the
bosom of the Father, He hath declared him." In
the person of God the Father, Godhead stands in
communicable, invisible. The object of worship,
not the object of knowledge. God the Son coming
into flesh, becoming man, descending into the limits,
and acting within the limits of a creature-form of
existence, is the revealer of God. In the person of
the Son made flesh, God is seen, known, contem-

6 LECTURE I.
plated. In Him God is the object of knowledge ;
we see, we look upon, " we handle the word of life."
By incarnation, the second person of the blessed
Trinity came first into manifestation ; and we then
and then only, know, that in the one God are three
persons. The Son becomes man by the will of the
Father, and by the power of the Holy Ghost. The
God-man — the Son of God made man — The Son
of God, with a divine will, and a human will (and
not as the heretics of old, and schismatics of later
days speak, as having only one will), the Son of
God having two natures but one person, and ever
bringing his divine will into the limits of the human
will, He is the revealer of the Father; He makes
known the incomprehensible, the incommunicable
God. Oh yes, brethren, this was why heaven and
earth were made. Incarnation gave birth to crea
tion; man was made for the bringing forth of the
Christ. The womb of all creation travailed, and
travails still, till the full development of the God-
man, God incarnate, shall be accomplished. No
wonder that the heavenly host brake forth into sing
ing, when " Jehovah's fellow" was " wrapt in swad
dling clothes," for then and there took place that
work of God, in comparison with which, the laying
the foundations of the world was as nothing, and
to which the fiat that gave creation birth, was only
a note of preparation. " All things were made by
Him, and for Him."

LECTURE I. 7
Thus then in considering the advent of our Lord
Jesus Christ, we are led to trace back the incar
nation to the eternal purpose and will of God. We
" behold the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world," or rather as St. Peter teaches us, " the
Lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily
was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifested in these last times."
And do not, my brethren, imagine for a moment,
that this is a mere speculation, or curious enquiry
into unrevealed things ; nor regard it as a matter of
interest, it may be, to theologians, but of no prac
tical importance to yourselves. Suffer me to assure
you that the right understanding of this subject, lies
at the root of all spiritual advancement — that the
right apprehension of all the most precious and
momentous truths, is deeply, intimately connected
therewith. Mistake here, is fatal ; for as I have before
said, there is scarcely an heresy of old, or a false
theory of later days, but take their rise from false
conceptions in this matter. If men will understand
what the holy sacraments are ; — how they are bap
tized into Christ, — how they eat his flesh, and drink
his blood; what the Church of God is, what the
meaning of Christian worship, what the realities of
the ordinances of God's appointment ; — nay, if they
will know why the world was made ; if they will trace
the mind of God in all his dealings; if they will
make His will their's, and be of one mind with God;
if they will know what they themselves are, what

» LECTURE I.
their calling, what their destiny, what the intense
value of their position; — if they will know 'these
things, or any of them; or if they will be guarded
from heresy, — from low and debasing views of
Christ, of his Church, and of his kingdom, from a
miserable and hollow theology, from a lifeless, use
less, fruitless religion; — in a word, if they will
rise up into the height of their calling; if they
will dwell on high and be like-minded with Christ ;
— they must stay themselves on the incarnation of
the Son of God ; they must, if I may with rever
ence so speak, .study the God-man, and there learn
, — at incarnation learn, " the mystery of godliness."
And they must, for this, step back, as it were, be
hind the scenes that creation and redemption un
fold, and in the counsels of eternity, read this
one, this great, this all-absorbing verity' — the pur
pose of Jehovah before all time — that the Son
of God should in due time be born of a woman ;
take manhood as his form of being, and in that
manhood " be the Head over all things to His
Church, which is His body the fulness (the TrX^pw/uz),
of Him that filleth all in all."
And now, having reminded you that the incar
nation of our Lord Jesus Christ originates in the
eternal purpose and will of God, and that whilst
brought about by the fall of man, and in order to
remedy it, (and more than remedy, for incar
nation brings a higher position to man than he
has by creation), it is yet to be traced higher than

LECTURE I. »
the fall, viz., to the counsels of eternity, and as the
purpose that shall stand through eternity ; let me,
as briefly as may be, point out to you the deal
ings of God with man, as preparatory to the in
carnation. In looking at the history of man as a whole, and
the dealings of God with mankind as an unity, we
perceive four distinct and peculiar dispensations,
each having a particular object, and all tending to
prepare man for the revelation of the purpose of
God, — the incarnation of the Son of God. These
distinct times or dispensations, are. headed up re
spectively in the persons of Adam, Abraham, Moses,
and David.
Let us briefly take notice of these dispensations.
In Adam we behold man, both in his unfallen,
and in his fallen condition. We see him created in
all the glory and happiness of creature-perfection ;
all around him lovely, all within him pure; all
things at his bidding, fie was the representa?
tive and the image of his God. His body, soul,
and spirit were stainless ; his will was free, and not
an evil passion moved within him, inciting him to
evil. Like the heavens above him, his unclouded
spirit reached up unto God ; like the earth beneath
his feet, his body knew no "jarring elements;" like
the sea stretched out before him, his unruffled soul
rested in God. Such was man. And yet he fell.
From this height he fell. He chose the evil and for
sook his God. And thence, his course is downward.

10 LECTURE I.
Death seizes upon his body; ignorance of God,
distrust and fear fill his soul; and the onward
history of his race is that of deeds of violence, and
shame, and sorrow and woe. Till at length, such
a cry goes up to God from the once lovely earth,
that to arrest, if it were possible, the rushing tide
of man's deep depravity, the Almighty breaks up
the order of his own creation, and drowns the world
of the ungodly, a remnant only being saved. Oh,
what a lesson is here ! The lesson is this : that the
creature cannot hold himself up ; that the creature,
however holy, unless upheld by the arm of God,
must fall. Of angels, some left their first estate;
now man. And then when fallen, what misery, and
sorrow, and shame ! the curse of God withering up
his very being, and all around him breathing cor
ruption and death. Such is man, from Adam to
Abraham: it is the witness of the creature's in
ability in himself to stand, and the witness of man's
misery when departing from God.
In Abraham, we have the dispensation of faith.
We see one called to leave his father's house and
his native country, to go forth he knew not whi
ther, on the assurance of God that he should be
the father of a peculiar people. By faith he went
out, — by faith he sojourned in a strange land, — by
faith he offered up his son Isaac, — by faith he was
subject to circumcision, — by faith he received the
promises, — by faith he pleased God ; and thus by
anticipation he witnessed, that by faith alone the

LECTURE I. 11
creature can stand. The history of man is nar
rowed to the history of his descendants, and
through the long descent ofthe twelve patriarchs and
their descendants, the children of faithful Abraham,
we have the witness of a people serving God through
faith. The dispensation of Abraham to Moses is
the dispensation of faith.
In Moses, and his times, man is seen brought
under the law. The people who by faith, the faith
of Abraham, entered the land of promise, went
down into Egypt, and sojourned in a strange land,
now are placed under law and ceremony, and so
lemn and prescribed rites ; — are taught the holiness
of God, and are made to worship in fear and trem
bling. God is made known as holy, just, and
righteous. Sinai gives forth thunders, and the
law, — the Shechinah is there ; the house built with
labour and costly gifts is filled with glory; the
priests are clad with righteousness ; none may wor
ship but in the way prescribed, and there is no ap
proach but with " the blood of sprinkling." If any
infringe these laws, judgment follows ; if any set
light by them, death overtakes them. God is
proved a holy God, and man is proved a sinner.
Such is the dispensation of the law. By laws, by
holy rites and ceremonies, by fearful judgments, by
sad reverses, the heinousness of sin is shewn.
From Moses to David is the dispensation of
righteousness. When David comes, the man after
God's own heart, — the type of David's Lord, a

12 LECTURE I.
new chord is struck, — hope breaks forth, and " the
sweet psalmist of Israel" sings of other days; the
glory of Messiah's days, the excellency of his king
dom — the restitution of all things — the deliverance
of the creation, — these are the burden of his song,
and thence prophets and seers take up the theme,
and whether they weep by the river of Babylon, or
rapt in vision forget their captivity, or joy in the
temple restored ; one thing, and one alone, fills their
mouth with praise, and their heart with gladness —
the hope ofthe Messiah. And with this hope, the
Jewish sun descends, and the night closes in; and
Anna and Simeon, and such like, are found daily
waiting in the temple, — when suddenly the cry is
heard, " Glory be to God on high; peace on earth;
good will towards men." From David to the birth
of Christ is the dispensation of hope.
Thus God laboured to educate mankind for the
coming of the Just one. Oh, what pains did he
take! By the dispensation of the unfallen and
fallen creature ; by the dispensation of faith ; by the
dispensation of the law, — by the dispensation of
hope, — by all these, he trains, he educates, he
prepares mankind, — and when all these are proved
incompetent to win man back; when the human
race goes on downward and downward; when
judgment and mercies, threatenings and promises,
forbearance and quick displeasure; when the fall
of Adam, and the faith of Abraham, and the law
of Moses, and. the hope of David, all, all fail (as
fail they must) to bring back man unto his God :

LECTURE I. 13
" He sends forth his Son made of a woman ;" he brings
forth his great purpose; " his own arm brings salva
tion." The purpose, " purposed in Himself" is un
folded, and the incarnate God takes up the cause of
God, and the cause of man, and the cause of
creation. And that purpose shall stand. And though
it has to pass through many a heavy stage ; though
it brings suffering, shame, and death, even to the
Son of God ; though all earth and hell league to
prevent it, it shall stand; — and the child cradled at
Bethlehem shall vindicate God, and the church of
the Redeemer shall surround his throne, and the
Jewish people, as " the virgins that follow," and all
creation delivered from sin and death, all shall sur
round the throne of the Lamb. " At the name of
Jesus, every knee shall bow," and " every creature
which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under
the earth, and such as are in the sea ; and all that
are in them shall be heard saying, Blessing and
honour and glory and power be unto the Lamb, for
ever and ever." The purpose of God shall stand;
and that purpose is — The Son incarnate.
Surely, brethren, these considerations are calcu
lated to raise our thoughts and our affections to
wards God, and to prepare us for the due celebration
of the Nativity of our Lord. Truly, if we contem
plate the Incarnation of our Lord as the purpose of
God from eternity, and then see the way in which
that was brought to pass, — the many stages of pre
paration man underwent before its accomplishment,

14 LECTURE I.
and the fact itself of the Son of God assuming our
nature, — becoming man, — taking up manhood into
God, and making it the mode of his being ;— I say if
we consider these things (and surely we should
consider them), we shall say with the apostle : " Oh,
the depth of the riches, both of the knowledge and
wisdom of God, how unsearchable are his judg
ments, and his ways past finding out." We shall
admire the unwearied patience and long suffering
of God. From eternity his counsel was laid; the
Lamb foreordained before the foundation of the
world was in the mind of God. And yet, how
does He deal with man? how does He bear with
him before He brings to pass that which He
has purposed ? By how many ways has He la
boured to train and educate mankind? How
does He let him, as it were, learn his own ne
cessity for the plan which He has in store? How
does He prove to man, by the dispensations that
precede, that nothing else but the Son of God be
coming one with us, "bone of our bone, flesh of
our flesh," could deliver us.
Again, what a view does this give us of the
innate and profound corruption of man? age after
age is only an additional witness, and an over
whelming testimony to man's utter alienation from
God. What a ceaseless tide of sin has rolled its
deep and turbid waves since the day that Adam
sinned! How has the majesty of heaven been
outraged since that day! and yet, no warning,
no mercy, no threat, no forbearance, no judgment

LECTURE I. 15
has been wanting on the part of God. But all
have failed. Adam sinned, and was expelled
from Paradise ; the world was drowned ; Sodom
and Gomorrah were burned ; Abraham was chosen
and blessed ; the law was promulgated ; David's
horn was exalted ; and yet all failed ; — nothing
could arrest the tide ,- generation after generation
rolled onward, adding sin to sin ; four thousand
years teeming with rebellion and apostacy, and sin
and strife, rose up against God, and when God
could do no more, " He sent forth His Son, made ,
of a woman."
Lastly, how does this consideration evince the
love of God? The incarnation of the Son was the
eternal purpose of God. God the Father ever for-
saw it ; and was ever willing to give the Son. God
the Son was ever willing to become " the man of
suffering, and acquainted with grief." From eter
nity he was in the mind of God, " the Lamb slain."
He knew what he came to endure ; and all the long
history of man's guilt and turnings in the hand of
God, never shook his purpose. " Lo I come to do-
thy will," was the language of the Son. He was
content to receive back the glory which he had
with the Father, in the form of a man — having
humbled himself to manhood. Oh well may the
Apostle desire to " know the love of Christ which
passeth knowledge I"
Brethren, many are the reflections which arise
from the consideration of this matter; but that I

16 LECTURE I.
may not weary you, it must suffice to urge you to
let these things sink into your hearts. Let your
hearts rejoice in Emanuel. Lay hold of God's
great purpose, the incarnate Son; make Jesus,
" flesh of your flesh," your resting place. Behold
him as the brother of your humanity. Let nothing
cheat you of this; that He who stretched out the
heavens as a curtain, "Jehovah's fellow," the eternal
Son of God, came to visit us in great humility;
wrapt himself in the garment of our flesh, was born
of a pure virgin — lived, and suffered, and died, the
man of woe, and as a man, in glorified humanity,
never, never, to be laid aside — sitteth on the right
hand of God making intercession for us. To whom
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be ascribed
all might, majesty, dominion, and power, world
without end — Amen.

LECTURE II.

John i. 14.
" The Word was made flesh."
The Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, as the great purpose of God before all
worlds, and the preparation made for the develop
ment of that purpose in the four principal dispensa
tions which preceded it, (viz., those of Adam, Abra
ham, Moses, and David), formed the subject of
consideration on the former occasion.
I endeavoured to shew you that " the Lamb fore
ordained before the foundation of world" was the
plan, the design of God, round which, as round
a centre, revolve all the manifestations of the will
of God, and all His dealings with man; that the
Incarnation of the Son of God is the concentration
of the mind of the Eternal. For all things were
made by, and for the Son.
I now proceed to draw your attention to the
coming, or advent of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, the coming of the Mes
siah, as I before observed, is spoken of as one grand
event. The prophets see but one thing ; and that
is, that the Messiah should come to set up his king
dom, and thereby bring in blessedness and glory, and

18 LECTURE II.
restore all things to their true position. The parts
and intervals, the separate epochs and transactions
contained under the idea of " the Coming of the
just One," are dove-tailed and interwoven one with
another, and the whole subject is brought under
one designation, viz., The Reign oe the Messiah.
The Jews were not, and, I might almost say,
could not have been prepared for the coming of the
Promised Seed in the form of a servant. We, read
ing backwards, from the event to the prediction,
are able plainly to see the one contained in the
other, and we wonder that the Jews should have been
offended at the lowly and humble Jesus. But we
forget that they had been trained by the songs of
prophets, and by the visions of seers, to look for, and
to desire the coming of a king. We little know the
trial of faith, and the blighting of long-cherished
hopes, it was to a Jew to be told that a helpless,
sleeping babe was the Messiah. The sin of the
Jews consisted not in their expectation of a glorious
advent, but in that unpreparedness and uncircum
cision of heart, which rendered them unwilling to
allow to God his own ways of accomplishing his
promise and purpose. They prescribed to God the
way of fulfilment, and thus, when the mode of
accomplishment differed from that which they looked
for, " they stumbled and fell." It was only those
who like Simeon were willing that God should have
his own way, — who waited for the Messiah, and
left the mode unto God, that could discern in the

lecture ii. 19
birth of " the Holy Child," the accomplishment of
prophecy, — a memorable lesson that faith must pre
cede knowledge, — and that it is unpreparedness
of heart which prevents us entering into the mind
and ways of God.
The Advent of Christ, — in the Old Testament
spoken of as one thing — in the New Testament, is
divided into two parts: The Advent in humility;
and the Advent in glory, — the coming " to save,"
and the coming " to reign." And as the New Tes
tament records the one as a fact accomplished, whilst
it speaks of the other as a matter of hope, so is it
principally occupied in exhibiting the blessings
brought to us by the first coming, and the duties
thereby laid upon us. Nevertheless, there is con
tinual reference, both in the words of our Lord him
self and in the instructions of the Apostles, to his
" glorious appearing," as the ground of encourage
ment and hope. Nor can it escape our observa
tion, how strikingly our Church connects these
two events in that beautiful collect, which she di
rects to be repeated with the other collects, during
advent. Let us, then, endeavour to regard the first and
second coming of our Lord; first, in their con
nexions one with another; and then in their sepa
rate and distinct features.
And here let me again remind you, that the re
vealed purpose of God, purposed in Himself before
all worlds, is the exaltation ofthe Son incarnate to
c2

20 lecture ii.
the headship ofthe Church, to which all things are
put in subordination. To this great purpose, as to
an end, the first and second coming of our Lord are
the respective means. It is by the first coming, and
by the second coming, Jesus is made Lord. It is by
the first coming and by the second coming, the plan,
the design, laid in the counsels of Jehovah, is accom
plished. By the first, the way is laid to the second.
By the second the first is consolidated. Take away
either, and the other fails. If Jesus comes not in
glory, redemption is not sealed. If Jesus came
not in humility, redemption is not obtained. If the
Son of God had not come to shame, suffering and
death, sin had been neither proven nor pardoned.
If he comes not in glory and triumph, righteous
ness is neither established nor rewarded. If he
had not come, the price is not paid. If he comes
not again, the purchase is not obtained.
They are separate scenes in one and the same
great drama. These two, with all comprised under
them, span the revelation of God. As the heaven
and the earth meeting (or seeming to meet) form
our horizon, so these two bound all vision ; embrace
all revelation, and link heaven and earth together.
By them Jesus is made known, the Alpha and
the Omega. By the one his work began, by the
other it is accomplished, The Incarnate Son is
God's purpose, and the first and second advents are
the developements of that purpose ; two parts of the
same whole, Alas! how prone has man ever been

LECTURE II. 21
to separate what God has joined together; and to
give a prominence to one part to the disparagement of
the other. So it has been in regard to this subject.
The Jews looking for the glorious appearing of
the Messiah, and expecting the setting up of his
kingdom, rejected him as " the man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief," notwithstanding that he had
been so announced by the prophet. And we, Chris
tians, seem to be content with believing in his first
coming, and to regard his second appearing, if not
with indifference and apathy, at least as an object
of secondary importance ; and to look upon it ra
ther as a matter that must take place in due course,
than to wait for it, as the consummation of all our
hopes. We have taken up with Immanuel in the
form of a servant, and have ceased to long for his
presence as a king. We have acted the part of the
Jews over again ; like them, though in a different
manner, we have said, " we will not have this man
to reign over us." Satisfied with obtaining recon
ciliation and peace with God, through the blood of
the cross, we have become indifferent to the parti
cipation of his glory. We wonder at the Jew, and
accuse him of unbelief, and forget the prophetic
warning of our Lord, " when the Son of man
cometh, shall he find faith on the earth."
Thus then the first and second Advent of our
Lord stand in their connection, one with another^
as two parts of the same whole ; the one, the com
mencement, the other, the completion. Let us

22 LECTURE II.
consider them in their distinct and peculiar fea
tures. Let us, so to speak, take up our position
between the cradle at Bethlehem and the throne of
glory, and contemplate Jesus in the one, and on
the other.
First, as regards his coming in humility. To
you who are well instructed in the gospel, I need
not speak of the love of God, in the gift of his Son,
Jesus Christ. I need not put you in remembrance
of the love of him, who " though he was rich, yet
for our sakes became poor," who, though " he
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant." I will, therefore, rather draw
your attention to the person of the God-man ; and
the condition into which he came by union of our
nature with the divine.
When the Son of God became incarnate, he took
our nature — he came into the conditions of that
nature. Sorrow, suffering, fierce contention with
evil; subjection to death, were those conditions;
and he clad himself with these as with a garment.
He stood forth, and undertook the deliverance of
man thus circumstanced. He engaged to put him
self into the condition in which man was placed,
and therein to obtain deliverance and conquest.
And who can read the gospel narrative, or enter in
any degree into the thoughts of Jesus, as his words,
few and deep, and full of import, or as his sighs
and heavy groans reveal them, without feeling how

LECTURE II. 23
deeply the mighty struggle he had undertaken
weighs upon him. Oh what a pressure lay upon
his sinless soul. He has undertaken the salva
tion of man, the deliverance of the creation, and
the vindication of God; and ever and anon he
seems as if the weight of such a burden would con
sume him.
His thoughts, his words, his whole being are con
centrated here. " He forgets to eat his bread ;" he
must, when a child, be " about his Father's busi
ness." He weeps at the grave of Lazarus, he
groans within himself; unfriended and alone, he
steps down into the wilderness to contend with
Satan. At another time, he sweats great drops of
blood, at the nearer approach of that hour when
" the powers of darkness" should be let loose upon
him, and his Father's face withdrawn. And then
hear his last words. To all this he came, — to all
this he knew he should come — to all this he was
willing to come. Yes, brethren, when the Son of
God girt himself about with humanity, when he
made human nature the mode of his being, he ga
thered up into himself the issues of all creation.
He undertook the deliverance of man from the curse
of a violated law. He undertook to bring him out
from under the conditions to which the fall had sub
jected him ; to meet and triumph over the enemy,
who had triumphed over man; yea, and to make
man's very nature the battle-field in which to over
come. He engages to expel Satan from his hiding

24 LECTURE II.
place in our flesh, himself being made flesh. He
undertakes to break up the dungeon of death, him
self dying. He rifles the prison-house of separate
spirits, himself descending into hell. In a word, he
engaged to lead " captivity captive." Yea, more
than this; He undertook to lift man up out of his
miserable and fallen condition, and to set him " in
heavenly places." To set him higher than he was,
or could be, by creation. By taking our nature he
placed humanity on the first link that hangeth down
from the throne of God. The recovery which the
Son undertook to effect, was not the recovery of
man to his unfallen state, but his exaltation to that
state which God purposed for him before all worlds ;
and what is that ? Incorporation into the mysti
cal BODY OE THE SON OE GOD,— ONENESS WITH THE
Son incarnate. This is what he undertook in
taking flesh. This is the meaning and interpre
tation of his life. Every stage, every step, has a
corresponding deliverance. Each stage in his holy
life is an ascending step in man's deliverance.
Therefore, does the Church pray; "By the mys-
stery of thy holy incarnation ; by thy holy nativity
and circumcision ; by thy baptism, fasting, and temp
tation ; by thine agony, and bloody sweat ; by thy
cross and passion; by thy precious death and burial;
by thy glorious resurrection and ascension, and by
the coming ofthe Holy Ghost, good Lord deliver us."
Such is Jesus, at his first Advent. " For as
much as the children were partaken of flesh and

lecture ii. 25
blood, he also himself, likewise took part of the
same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is the devil. And
deliver them who, through fear of death, were
all their life-time subject to bondage." In the
womb of the Blessed Virgin he took an oppressed —
a death-stricken nature. He humbled himself to
its woes, its sorrows, its death. He was " tempted
in all points like as we are,, yet without sin."
Oh, how wonderful is the mystery of the incar
nate God ! The Son of God, — " equal to his Father,
touching his God-head" — becomes " inferior to the
Father, touching his manhood." The Son of God
comes into the finite; the Creator into the crea
ture-nature; divinity unites itself to humanity;
two natures never again to be separated, form the
one Christ. The feelings of a man — the thoughts
of a man — the affections of a man — the words of a
man — the wOrks of a man — the temptations of a
man — the wants of a man — the faith of a man —
the prayers of a man — the dependance of a man —
the joy of a man ; these, all these are his, and more
than these; arrows shot from the bow of Satan,
such as no man could withstand, fall on him — the
forsaking of the Father's face, such as no man could
endure, — this is his portion. Truly he " came to
visit us in great humility."
Oh brethren, contemplate Jesus ; he grows in his
mother's womb, he is nourished at her breasts, he
strengthens as a youth, becomes perfect as a man ;

26 LECTURE II.
such is he bodily. And look at his sinless soul ;
u who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered
up prayers and supplications with strong cryings,
and tears unto him that was able to save him from
death, was heard in that he feared." " Who for
the joy that was set before him, endured the cross,
despising the shame." He said, " not my will, but
thine be done." He spent whole nights in prayer.
He went down to the grave in the faith that " God
would not leave his soul in hell, nor suffer him to
see corruption."
Such is Jesus at his first coming. When he
came the purpose of God unfolded itself; the inter
pretation of the heavens and earth being made was
then given ; and, as we have said, the issues of crea
tion were in his hand, — every thing is at stake on
the incarnate Son.
Did time permit, brethren, I would fain pass on
to consider his second appearing. But I must now
content myself with pressing upon your attention,
one or two considerations, drawn from this subject.
Consider the humility of the Son of God; " con
sider him" saith the Apostle, " who endured such
contradiction of sinners, lest ye be weary and faint
in your minds." " Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus ; who being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God ;
but made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men."

LECTURE II. 27
Consider the unweariedness of his love. He emp
tied himself (khwat) and became man ; he was con
tent to take human nature into union with the
divine nature, and that for ever ; for he abideth for
ever as the God-man. Let your hearts, brethren,
be lifted up in adoration and wonder to Jesus. Let
the God-man, be the object of your thoughts and
most intimate affections. Let it be your joy to see
the Man, at the right of God exalted. Much pains
and labour has been expended to prove his divi
nity ; whereas, in point of fact, it is his humanity
that is most commonly and practically denied.
The Roman Catholic (practically, not in theory)
denies his humanity. He sees not the glorified
man at the right hand of God, he sees the man
Christ Jesus, as far as the cross, but loses sight of
his humanity at the Ascension, and almost consi
ders it merged in the divinity ; therefore, he exalts
the Blessed Virgin and saints into the place of the
ascended man, and makes them intercessors. He
feels the need of having one to plead for him, " who
can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities.
And forgetting that Jesus was, and is, and ever
shall be man ; he turns to those who, as he thinks,
can feel with and for him. It is -this that gives the
heinous character to the idolatery of Rome. She has
practically denied " that Jesus is come in the flesh."
Again, the Protestant denies his humanity, who
considers redemption to be a mere matter of barter,
so much suffering for so much sin : or, who con-

28 LECTURE II.
siders our Lord's incarnation to be merely his ap
pearing in our nature, but not that he really " was
made man."
The religionist who imagines that religion con
sists in knowing so much doctrine, or in believing
so much truth, or in having so much enjoyment of
personal feelings, these all lose sight of, and prac
tically deny the man, the God-man, Christ Jesus.
They who know not our incorporation into the body
of Christ through baptism, who seek not for the
sustenance and support of the divine life, by eating
his flesh and drinking his blood — they, likewise,.
practically deny the humanity of Jesus Christ.
Oh, then, Brethren, at this season of the year,
when the Church would more especially lead us to
contemplate the " mystery of godliness, God mani
fest in the flesh," let us lift up our hearts to the
Son of God, made man, and seated at the right
hand of God. He is "bone of our bone," and " flesh
of our flesh." He has raised up our nature, and
seated it in his own person, at God's right hand.
There, where angels could not appear ; your
flesh, and my flesh, in the person of the God-man
is exalted, redeemed from death, and glorified.
Let the love of God in giving his Son to take
flesh; the love of the Son, and his humility in
taking flesh ; the life of the Son, made flesh ; the
oneness between him and us; the victory he has
obtained in flesh; the purpose of God in the Church
• — Let these things dwell in your hearts. Let the,

LECTURE II. 29
Son incarnate be the rock on which you rest.
Thus looking to him " who has come," you will
dwell on high, and will rejoice in the day of his
second appearing, when he shall " come in the
glory of his Father, and with his holy angels."
To Him, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost,
be glory everlasting — Amen.

LECTURE III.

Hebrews x. 37.
" For yet a little while, and He that shall come, will come,
and will not tarry."
I endeavoured on two former occasions to open to
you the doctrine of the Incarnation, and to point
out the peculiar and prominent features of the first
advent of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
I now proceed to the consideration of the second
Advent. That our Lord Jesus Christ will come again,
none can doubt who believe the Scriptures, or who
profess to hold the Catholic faith. He told His
disciples, " He would see them again." It was
said to the apostles, beholding him go up into hea
ven; " This same Jesus which is taken up from you
into heaven, shall so come in like manner, as ye
have seen Him go into heaven." It is an express
article ofthe creed that, " He will come again with
glory, to judge both the quick and the dead."
The second coming of our Lord is most com
monly set forth, both in the Scripture, and in the
language of the Church, as His " Coming to judge
the world." But inasmuch as very imperfect views
are entertained respecting the judgment of the

lecture iii. 31
world, this second appearing of our Lord, though
so commonly acknowledged, has little hold upon
men's thoughts, either as an object of hope, or as a
cause of fear. With the worldling, the man of
pleasure, or the man whose heart is set upon this
world, the judgment of this world is a matter far
too remote to have any counterbalance against the
engrossing powers which the things of time and
sense possess. And even with the godly it seems
seldom to form the subject of present expectation,
so as to serve either as a check, or as an encourage
ment. This may possibly arise from the incorrect, or
at least, imperfect ideas held respecting the judg
ment of the world. That judgment is, for the
most part, regarded as the mere act of passing a
final sentence; and, consequently, the character,
the stages, and the circumstances of that event are
little regarded.
It is to this point I wish particularly to draw
your attention.
When our Lord Jesus Christ comes to "judge
the quick and the dead," He takes upon Him the
office of king, and in that capacity enters upon the
judgment of the world. Christ has not yet entered
upon the exercise of His kingly office and power.
At His first coming he took upon Him the ofiice of
p7'ophet; "He spake as never man spoke." At
His ascension He entered upon His office of priest,
for then He entered into the holy of holies with His

32 LECTURE III.
own blood, there to make intercession for us. And
that office He more especially carries on now as
"the high priest of our profession." When He
comes again He will enter upon his office as king, in
the full meaning and import of that title. The
Jews were right in looking for the Messiah as a
king, they were wrong in rejecting Him as the
Lamb. They forestalled the purpose of God;
they knew not, and would not learn that " it be
hoved Christ to suffer, and thus to enter into
glory." The promise to Christ is that he shall be
a king for evermore; "Unto the Son," he saith,
" Thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever, a sceptre
of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom."
That kingdom is not openly established till the se
cond appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. That
" kingdom shall have no end." It is for that king
dom we pray " Thy kingdom come." The Church
is that kingdom, now "in a mystery," — it is now
the kingdom of God within us. The church is the
spiritual phase of that kingdom, which by and bye
shall be openly established. But by spiritual, I do
not mean something unreal and figurative. " Spi
ritual" is not opposed to " literal," nay, that which
is spiritual is most literal, most real; when, there
fore, I say the kingdom of Christ is now only
manifested in its spiritual phase, that is the Church,
I mean that it has not yet taken its visible and out
ward development. The Church is a spiritual
organization. Her union with Christ, her offices,

LECTURE III. 33
her functions, her powers, her laws, her life, are all
spiritual; that is, are by and through, and in the
Holy Ghost, coming from her head, the Lord Jesus
Christ. So far only as the Church of God is de
veloped, is the kingdom of Christ yet developed.
We have now union with an invisible head, through
the Spirit, we are incorporated into his mystical
body, and receive nourishment therein through the
Spirit. This is the meaning of the holy sacraments ;
this the intent of the Christian ministry, and of all
offices and services in the Church; viz., that thereby
we receive life, nourishment, guidance, and protec
tion from Christ, through the Spirit, whom the
Fathers were wont to call the vinculum trinitatis.
The visible is now set against the spiritual;
Christ's " kingdom is not now from hence," he has
not yet received his kingdom, nor has he yet en
tered upon the exercise of kingly rule. He has sat
down upon the throne of the Father, where none
but he shall ever sit ; by and by, he will sit down
upon his own throne, and they " that overcome shall
sit with him on that throne." {Rev. iii. 21.) His
kingdom is now being formed secretly. He has his
faithful subjects, who cleave to him; to them he
gives his laws, to them he makes known his will, and
they acknowledge him to be their Lord and their
King. They vow allegiance to his throne, they
take his badge, the cross; and vow to fight against
the world, the flesh, and the devil. They refuse
all other service. Like their Lord, they wait for his
D

34 LECTURE III.
kingdom. They wait until he " shall taTce his great
power, and reign;" Jesus himself waiteth "till his
foes be made his footstool." Earthly power and
kingly rule is not yet headed up, and held under
the Son, although his title is " Kings of kings."
The kingdom of the Son is not yet brought forth;
the " stone cut out of the mountain hath not yet
broken in pieces, the iron, the brass, the clay, the
silver, and the gold," as speaks the prophet Daniel.
We now by faith receive, in the ordinances of
Christ's appointment, a " kingdom, that cannot be
moved;" and we wait for its developement; and in
that hope we refuse to call the kingdom of this
world our rest. Such is the Church — the kingdom
in a mystery. But when Christ comes, the King
comes ; and then the kingdom is set up. Then the
Church, the budding of that kingdom, blossoms
forth into the purpose of God. Then the Incarnate
Son shall stand at the head of creation, and the
Church, one with him, shall share his throne.
Then he comes to judge the world. And that judg
ment is not the mere passing of a final sentence,
but is the administration of rule. That judgement
commences with the Church of God. The first act
is separation; the faithful are separated from the
unfaithful; the chaff from the wheat; the sheep
from the goats; the wise from the foolish virgins.
And the faithful, thus and then separated, enter
into the joy of their Lord; " that joy for the which
he endured the cross, despising the shame."

LECTURE III. 35
The first act of his coming is the judgement
and separation of the Church ; and then with his
Church he enters upon the judgement, (the assizes
of the world,) and the rule of creation.
The time of his coming is spoken of as " the day
of the Lord." It is his day. That day, of what
ever duration, (for "one day is with the Lord as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,")
is divided into its separate portions, with their al
lotted work. Compared to the glory of that day,
this, the Christian dispensation, is as the night.
This is the night ; when he comes, it will be noon
day. " The night is far spent, the day is at hand;"
saith the apostle.
My brethren, many are the considerations which
crowd in upon the mind, in the contemplation of
that day. Suffer me to point out to you some of
its most prominent features.
When the Lord comes next, he comes to reign.
He is the " Nobleman who is gone into a far coun
try, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return."
It is then, and not till then, the Church is per
fected; for not till then are all her members united
as a community. Now some sleep, some are alive;
some, it may be, do not yet exist. But then the
Church of the first-born shall be gathered together
as One. How many things, alas ! how many now
divide and separate the children of God ; then they
shall be as one. Furthermore, it is only at the
coming of Christ that the Church's organization
d 2

36 lecture in.
can be fully developed. In this dispensation she
has only a partial, very partial developement.
Earthly ties — earthly powers — earthly interests,
hinder her expansion. Nor can these bodies in
their present condition be adequate members and
instruments to a glorified head. It is after the re
surrection that the Church, in her organization,
receives her full developement.
For be it remembered the Church is no earthly
or human constitution. She holds her form of
being from God Himself; her constitution is hea
venly. It neither takes its rise from earthly powers,
nor is its continuance dependant on theirs. When
these fail, nay, when the frame work of this world
shall have passed away, the Church, expanded into
the kingdom, shall abide. Her names, her offices,
her services, her laws, her powers, her spiritual en
dowments are for eternity. Oh! that men, that
statesmen, that ministers, that people, did thus think
of the Church. What sacredness does this thought
give to our services. The bread we eat, and the
cup we drink, are unto eternal life. The worship
we give is the commencement of the worship of eter
nity; the ministrations we offer are the commence
ment of our eternal service. Yes, my brethren, of
all around us, of all in us, that only which is Christ's
shall partake of eternal life ; every thing else must
fail. Earthly powers and kingdoms must give way.
" Those things which can be shaken must be re
moved." But Christ abideth for ever, and his

LECTURE III. 37
Church, one with him, shall abide. " His kingdom
shall have no end;" when the heavens rolled up as
a scroll shall be thrown back, when the earth shall
crumble and pass away, the Church shall endure.
And " by the Church shall be known to the prin
cipalities and powers, in heavenly places, the mani
fold wisdom of God."
Ye ministers of God, suffer me to remind you,
that ye are not Christ's servants merely during this
shifting, passing scene, but for ever. And ye peo
ple, ye are God's people, for ever. Amidst the
changing scenes of this world, let your hearts be
stayed upon the immoveable purpose of God in
Christ. Wait for the inheritance, of which by bap
tism ye have been made heirs, even the kingdom —
and " which is incorruptible, undefiled, and fadeth
not away."
When Christ comes the Church receives her sal*
vation. Now by faith she is ever drawing upon
his fulness, and through the several channels he
has appointed, and more especially through the
holy sacraments, she receives " grace for grace."
From him she receives pardon, and regeneration,
and renewal of the Holy Ghost ; but still she has
to " fight the fight of faith." When he comes she
obtains salvation — for salvation is not pardon, nor
regeneration, nor renewal of the Holy Ghost, but
these, and more than these, triumph, deliverance
and reward. She waits for the " grace that is to
be brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

38 LECTURE III.
Again, when Christ comes and takes his king
dom, Creation shall be delivered. We know that
"the whole Creation groaneth and travaileth in
pain, together until now." The earth, though re*
deemed by the death of Christ, still brings forth
" thorns and thistles." Man laboureth with the
sweat of his brow ; sickness and death are rife upon
the earth. The very ground exhales corruption —
the air is polluted — the brute creation is oppressed :
— in fine, " The earnest expectation of the crea^
ture waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of
God," and that manifestation is not till the heavens
give forth Jesus again.
Truly, the Church is set to work life in the midst
of death, — to give peace and rest to men in this
troubled world, — to heal sickness, — to minister
forgiveness ; and, it may be, to stay the rude hand
of death. And did she but rise up into the might
iness and majesty of her calling, what good things
would be wrought upon the earth. " Her elders
would anoint the sick and they should recover.
{James v). Her priests would remit the burdens
of the penitent and the oppressed. Evil Spirits
would be driven from their lurkings in diseased
minds. Sin would not go unpunished. A people
feeding on the heavenly manna, the flesh of Christ,
would go forth clothed with holiness, and invested
with " the powers of the world to come." They
would have "the earnest of their inheritance." Still?
it would be life in the midst of death, — - health, in

LECTURE III. 39
the midst of sickness and corruption ; for, creation
shall not be delivered, — the new heavens and the
new earth shall not be, until He comes whose they
are, for whom and by whom they were made. The
curse shall be lifted off, when the " Second man "
is revealed from heaven. Then, the earth shall
blossom and bud; then, the " womb of the morn
ing shall be filled with the dew of God's blessing ;"
then, " Every thing that hath breath shall praise
the Lord ;" then, God shall be vindicated in all his
works; then, the Incarnate Son shall receive his
glory, shall stand at the head of creation, and every
tongue shall confess, that Jesus of Nazareth is "both
Lord and Christ." When " His kingdom shall
come, His will shall be done in earth as it is in
heaven." This is the hope of the Church ; this is the hope
of creation ; all wait for this ; the dead await his
appearing. For even if the idea be correct which
some of the Fathers seem to have entertained? viz.
That from time to time, some of the saints have
been raised from the dead and have passed into glory,
still, as a whole, the dead in Christ await His
coming as the time of their resurrection. The
living await his appearing, — Creation awaits that
day; and, Jesus himself waits for that day " which
the Father hath put in his own power." But that
day shall come. He shall step down from the
throne of the Father, and take His own throne,
and receive His Kingdom, and all creation shall do

40 LECTURE III.
Him homage. And the Church His spouse shall
rejoice in his glory. Then " the seed of the wo
man shall bruise the serpent's head." Then, the
day which Abraham saw afar off, shall be realized.
Then, the Prophet like Moses, and David's King,
and Isaiah's Child of the Virgin, and the Branch
of Zechariah, shall be known, and all that Prophets
foretold shall be accomplished.
Oh, my Brethren, who shall speak of the bless
edness of that day, when Jesus " shall see of the
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." When
his saints shall be delivered," — when " his enemies
shall lick the dust," — when his Church shall be as
" a city that is at unity in itself" — when creation
shall be freed from all curse, — when God shall be
glorified — when death and hell shall be destroyed,
and the purpose of God shall stand out for ever
and for ever.
Why do we not long for that day, as those that
long for the morning? Why are we not "hke
unto men that wait for their Lord?" The early
Christians anxiously waited for the appearing of
their Saviour. They had even exaggerated views
of the nearness of its approach; whilst we seem
to regard the 1800 years that have passed, as a
guarantee of its great distance, rather than a rea
son for considering it the nearer. Our Lord
said, "occupy till I come;" and again, " I come
quickly;" and the response of the Spirit in the
Church was " come," and the Bride, the Church,

LECTURE III. 41
said " come;" and he that was athirst said " come;"
and one longing cry went up to heaven, " even
so, come Lord Jesus." But when by reason of his
long suffering, ("not willing that any should pe
rish"), he tarried, " men slept," and the servants
began to say in their hearts, " my Lord delay eth
his coming." And so it has gone on, till at length,
" the scoffer of the last days" arose, saying : " where
is the promise of his coming? for since the Fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from
the beginning of the world." And thus witness
is borne that " the night is far spent."
And, my Brethren, are there no " signs of the
times," to make us look for the coming of the Son
of Man? Are there no signs in the heavens, the
spiritual elements, the Church? Are there no signs
in the earth, the temporal elements, the world?
Are there no ragings of the sea, " the tumults of
the people" ? Has there been no apostacy from the
faith, once delivered to the saints? Have no se
ducing spirits gone forth? Have there been no
divisions in the one family ? What else, the names
of Greek, Roman, and Anglican? Look at Chris
tendom, the company of the baptised; and in its
condition you read the signs that precede the
coming of the Son of Man. " When the Son of
Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
Truly judgement commenceth with the house of
God ; truly the righteous shall scarcely be saved.
Of the day when the Son of Man cometh, it is

42 lecture hi.
said: — "That as a snare it shall come upon the
earth." It is said, " the day of the Lord so cometh
as a thief in the night." Our Lord says, "that as in
the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son
of Man be." These, and many other similar pas
sages, teach us that men will be unprepared for that
day. And how unprepared, how unexpecting are
all around. They that are at ease, that are ab
sorbed in the world's love of gain, or of pleasure,
they expect him not. They who call themselves
" the religious world;" who form schemes of their
own devising for the good of mankind, and despise,
or lightly esteem, the ordinances which God has
appointed. They who regard the Church, the
sacraments, the ministry, as things of secondary
importance; they who set at nought the present
aspect of the kingdom, that is the Church; shall
they desire the presence of the King, at whose
coming that same Church shall receive its full de
velopement? Do they truly and in heart, desire his
coming, who make that expectation as an excuse
and apology for disorder and confusion in his
house? The servant who professes to desire his
master's arrival, but who will not endeavour to
have the house made ready for his coming, is an
hypocrite. His own words condemn him.
That Church which hath raised saints and mar
tyrs to the place which belongs to Jesus alone;
who refuses the wine ofthe kingdom to her people;
on whose shoulder rests the heavy, heavy burden,

lecture iii. 43
of having caused " Israel to offend;" who has
caused Christendom to reject many precious truths ;
shall she desire the coming of her Lord? Surely
not. The unfaithful wife desires not the return of
her lord. These all agree in one thing; " they say
in their hearts, my Lord delay eth his coming."
They desire not, and therefore they believe not, in
his near approach.
My Brethren, are we looking for and hastening
unto that day? Oh let it be in our thoughts; let
the fact that we shall see him coming in the clouds
of glory, (and who knows how soon) occupy our
daily and our nightly thoughts. Are we minis
ters — it is when He cometh that we shall receive
our " reward." Now our mission, like that of John,
is to " prepare his way, by turning the hearts of the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just." And let
us be content " through good report and through
evil report, as deceivers and yet true," to serve him,
to serve his Church, and so obtain to reign and rule
with him in his kingdom.
What a thought, that possibly in our life-time,
before death overtakes us, the Son of Man may
come. He comes to " judge the quick" as well as
the " dead." " We which are alive and remain,"
says St. Paul, " shall not prevent," or go before
" them that sleep." Yes, Brethren, there* will be
a day — and we, perchance, may be alive when it
comes, — it may be just beginning to dawn; the
world may be awaking up to the din and toil of

44 LECTURE III.
life — or the stillness and darkness of midnight may
have hushed the world to slumber. Some day — or
some night, there will be, perhaps before another
year has run its course, " when the voice of- the
archangel and the trump of God" shall be heard,
when the cry shall be made, " the Bridegroom
cometh." Then the dead shall break forth from
their long sleep ; the living be caught up to meet
the Lord in the air; and, the kingdom shall be set
up. Of " that day and of that hour, knoweth no
man;" but if it be true that the hour immediately
preceding the dawn of day is the darkest, surely
we have some reason to believe that that day is not
far off. The night groweth darker and darker;
" evil men wax worse and worse." The signs of
the last days (2 Tim. iii.) abound. Christendom
is being unchristianized; the Church is assailed on
all sides. In a word, the night is far spent, the
day is at hand.

LECTUEE IV.

1 John iv. 17.
" Because as He is, so are we in this world."
Having brought before your notice, the doctrine of
the Incarnation, and the prominent features of the
first and second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ,
it would appear the most obvious and practical
application of the whole subject, to consider the
present position the Church occupies, standing as
she does, in common with her Lord and Head, be
tween these two Advents.
In order to see this more distinctly, let me draw
your attention to some of the most prominent fea
tures in the constitution, the calling, and the his
tory of the Church, in reference to the first and
second Advent.
1. The constitution of the Church is based on
the fact, that the Son of God became man. The
man Jesus, God over all, is the head of the Church ;
therefore, he reveals himself to man, through men.
He, the man, can use men, as the channel through
which his grace may flow. This is the meaning of
the christian ministry. Jesus is the Apostle, the
Prophet — the Evangelist — the Pastor; and there
fore, He can use men in these offices, when and

46 LECTURE IV.
how he wills. He is the Bishop of our souls, the
High Priest of our profession; the Deacon or
ministering Servant 'Bkhcovoq). Therefore, through
men set in these places, he can minister forth from
his fulness " grace for grace."
The Church is the body of Christ — and under this
term, are contained the two important ideas, of
unity of life, and diversity of membership.
The life which the Church has, is the Holy Spirit
coming forth from the man Christ Jesus. There
fore, that life can enter into, and fill all the recesses
of man's being. It comes from the man, who being
God, can possess it, and it flows unto and into man ;
and so man, in all his complex being of body, soul,
and spirit, becomes the expression and manifestation
of the life of the Son of God.
Again, in the body there is membership. The
Church, considered as a whole, the Catholic Church,
is the company of the baptized ; " for by one spirit,
we are baptized into one body;" and in that body,
the members have various and different positions
and functions; some are more visibly active and
needful than others ; and yet, none can say to ano
ther, " I have no need of thee." It is thus the
Apostle argues : " The eye cannot say to the hand
I have no need of thee; nor again, the head to the
foot, I have no need of thee." All are necessary,
and not only those set in the place of active service,
such as the eye, the hand, the ear, the foot, (by
which it may be, as some think, the Apostle would

LECTURE IV. 47
denote, the four ministries of Apostle, Prophet,
Evangelist, and Pastor, of which he speaks in ano
ther place — the Apostle, as the hand to rule and set
in order; the Prophet, the eye, to see afar off into
the visions of the Almighty; the Evangelist, the
foot, " beautiful upon the mountains publishing
peace;" the Pastor, the ear, into which the burdens
of the weary and oppressed are poured.) Not only
are these, the members of service necessary, but also
the more uncomely, " the less honourable, are need
ful, that there may be no schism in the body ;" and
that the one life, may flow through the many mem
bers. And as each fills his respective place, the life
circulates, and the works and will of Jesus are done.
It is this that gives meaning and sacredness, not
only to all the ordinances of ministry, but also to
all those relationships which God has appointed man
to fulfill. In Christ, the ordinances of creation are
as it were, gathered up, and consecrated to be the
modes by which God and Jesus Christ are mani
fested and made known ; and this knowledge is eter
nal life. By the relationship of husband and fa
ther, and master and king, God would make himself
known, and would dispense his fatherly rule and
tender care ; His wise and wholesome restraints, His
high authority; and Jesus would be known the
Husband of his Church. Hence then, in her con
struction the Church stands now the revealer of
God. She is the development of that mystery
of Godliness (God manifest in flesh) which com-

48 LECTURE IV.
menced, and which abides for ever in the incar
nate Son.
This is the present position of the Church, since
the first, and in expectation of the second Advent ;
viz., that as the body of Christ, and therefore, hav
ing an unity of life and diversity of membership, she
shews forth, and carries out his will..
What a solemn reality does this give to every
relationship of life — by these, God is made known.
What a meaning and import to the various minis
trations in the Church ; by them, grace is ministered
to the body, and to each member in particular.
What a stamp does this put upon the Church, as the
handy-work of God.
For remember, brethren, the Christian Church is
not a mere enlargement of the Jewish polity. It
is wholly distinct in kind, and immeasurably above
it. • The Jews were indeed the favoured people of
God, but the Church is the body of Christ. To
the Jews the law was given — to the Church the
will of God is entrusted, and by her executed.
The spirit influenced the Jew, but dwells in the
christian. The Jewish government was a theo
cracy ; the christian Church is God's habitation; In a
word, the Son of God Incarnate, works, and mani
fests God, through and by and in the Church, This
is her present position as regards her constitution.
2, The Church's calling. This is best summed
up in the words of St. John; "our fellowship is
with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."

LECTURE IV. 49
To have the mind of Christ, to know the fellow
ship of his sorrows — this is her high calling. To
think, to feel, to suffer with Christ, and to joy in
his joy; and that, not in reference merely to what
he felt and suffered, and hoped for when on earth;
but even as now, he feels, and thinks, and suffers,
and joys in heaven. My Brethren, we are too
much inclined to forget the man Christ Jesus, after
the cross. We are wont to think his sorrows ended,
when He said " it is finished." And truly his expia
tory sufferings were then ended. But think you He
has no yearnings of heart, no sorrow, no burden
at heart ; think you no thrill of agony goes up to
his heart, when he beholds them perish for whom
he died ; when he beholds the withered branch cut
off; the spirit in the regenerate, grieved and driven
out; the divine life quenched and lost. When He
beholds his body oppressed, divided, weakened;
when sin prevails, when Satan triumphs; are these
things no sorrow to the heart of Jesus? What!
shall it be said, that " if one member suffers, all
the members suffer with it," and the Head not feel
it? Shall the life-blood be tainted, and the heart
not know it? Jesus who wept over Jerusalem,
think you that he is tearless and heartless, to the
burden, the sorrow and the sins of his body, the
Church? Oh no, He feels, He sorrows, He mourns
over our sins and our divisions. As truly as
he " rejoices over a sinner that repenteth," so truly
doth he sorrow over a saint that sinneth. He is

50 LECTURE IV.
wounded afresh ; he is pierced again. Nay, he is
sorely wounded — for he is "wounded in the house
of his friends."
A world, lying in the wicked one, is a grief to
him; a Church, worldly, divided and weakened,
is a grief to him. His God dishonoured, is a
grief to him ; creation oppressed and " travailing in
pain," is a grief to him. And on the other hand,
the love of his Church, the prayers of his people,
are his delight; the Father's honour is his stay —
the hope of the redemption, his solace. What else
mean the words, " He pleadeth for us"? Can
he plead who is not burdened for another — who
longeth not for the good of another?
Now, Brethren, into this fellowship of the sorrows
and joys of Jesus, we are baptized. And we should
have his mind; we should sorrow with him, He
should be able to tell us his grief; to give us par
ticipation of his sorrow; and we should be able to
enter into his thoughts. And this fellowship, the
ever ministering Spirit, coming from, and acting
under the Son, would give us. He would fill
us with the heart — the mind of Jesus. For he
speaketh not of himself, but taketh of the things
of the Son. This the Spirit would do, if we did
but yield to him; did we, did the Church but
rise up into her calling — into the faith that she is
one with Christ — one, as the body and the head
are one; one as the branch and the tree are one;
one, as the husband and the wife are one; yea,

LECTURE IV. 51
one as the Father and the Son are one. Yes, Bre
thren, Jesus would tell his sorrows into the bosom
of the Church, and find a response; what else mean
her fasts? He would tell his joys, and she should
rejoice; what else her festivals? The Psalms are
the expression of the heart of the risen God-man ;
either as he grieves because of his enemies, or sighs
over the house of God, or in anticipation sees the
kingdom ; and the Psalms are the songs of the
Church; therefore, he says, "in the midst of the
Church will I sing praise unto thee." Oh that we
did enter into the fellowship of the sufferings of
Christ! then we should have fellowship one with
another — that we were filled with his thoughts;
then we"should cease from our miserable divisions
and strifes, and names that separate and cannot
bind the family of God. Truly if the Church did
enter into the fellowship of his mind, division and
enmity would cease. It is sympathy in sorrow,
that of all things most binds the hearts of men to
gether. ' How do family contentions, and the feuds
of a nation, give way before a common affliction.
Even so, the Church, entering into the griefs of the
risen man, would find no place for contention and
strife; a sorrowing spirit cannot strive; and the
servant of the Lord should not strive. Jesus when
on earth, did " not strive nor cry," his heart was
too full of pain. And so with us, if we ceased from
our own ways, if we ceased from seeking our " own
things instead of the things of Jesus Christ"; if

52 LECTURE TV.
we departed from that spiritual covetousness which
so often cloaks itself under the name of " personal
religion" ; if our hearts were set upon God's ser
vice, and the vindication of his honour; if we
entered into the heart of Jesus ; if the Spirit could
find room " to make intercession with groanings
which cannot be uttered." — Oh how would strife
cease ! East and West would not dispute whether
the Spirit proceeded from the Son; it would be
known as a reality. There would not be the heart
burnings and jealousies that rend the Western
Church. There would be no usurpation of one
Church above another. "But the precious ointment"
would descend " from Aaron's beard, down to the
skirts of his garment." Let us seek after this
fellowship with Christ. Let us desire with the
Apostle, to " know him and the fellowship of his
sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;"
and again, to " fill up the afflictions of Christ, which
are behind, for the body's sake, the Church." In
vain shall we seek in any other way for the unity of
the Church. Eighteen centuries have proved the
insufficiency of law, and rule, and ceremonies, and
high pretensions, and burning zeal, to bind, to heal
the Church. The Church's unity, is the unity of
life ; and the life she is called to live, is that of the
Son of God. " As he is — so are we in this world."
My Brethren, be not deceived by false appear
ances, or by false pretensions. Do not suppose
that where there is uniformity or union, there must

LECTURE IV. 53
necessarily be unity. Who, that knows the Church
of Rome, does not know the falsity of her preten
sions to unity, founded on her uniformity. She
stands as a beacon to warn us against this fatal
error. Unity is the oneness of life; uniformity
is the mimicry of life ;. or, rather it is the still mo
tionless quietism of death; and what is Rome but
the mimicry of life, a lovely corpse decked in the
garments of a bride?
Nor is union, unity. The cry of this day is for
union, the coalescing of heterogeneous matter. This
is not unity, the unity of a body, the unity of life.
Unity is an heavenly, union an earthly thing;
unity is the bond of life ; union is the bond of a
confederacy. In the raging billows of the sea,
" the tumults of the people," there is union. In
the deep, dark blue of heaven, the Church, there
is unity. Unity is the creation of God, union the
expedient of man. The unity of the Church is
such, that she can have the mind of Christ, can
be filled with his thoughts, can enter into his sor
rows, long with his longings, grieve with his griefs,
and do his works.
Oh that the heart of Jesus found expression in
the Church. Oh that we did enter into the fellow
ship of his sufferings; then the lovely sight would
be seen of " brethren dwelling together in unity."
Such is the calling of the Church.
3. The Church's history. If we would follow the
Church, and know her spiritual, not her outward

54 LECTURE IV.
history, we must read it, as it is prefigured and fore
told in the Jewish people. They were set, both as
a pattern of Christian verities, and as a warning of
Christian dangers. Jewish events had, as their
aim and end, the shewing forth of those things
which in the Christian Church receive their accom
plishment. " Whatsoever things happened unto
them, happened for our admonition." That thus
warned and fore-armed against the evils that
should arise, the Church haply might escape them.
Hence is it that the language of the Prophets is so
much larger than the events to which they refer
in Jewish history would authorise.
In the mind of the Spirit, the Church and
her interests are pointed to. Jewish facts are
only the covering, the substance is behind.
" Whatever things were written, were written for
our learning," and the design of the New Testa
ment is to throw us back upon the Old Testament
for interpretation; thus demonstrating the truth
of that ancient canon of interpretation, " the New
Testament lies open to the old." The Church is
set forth prophetically in the history of the Jews,
not, as I have said externally, or in her external
history, but spiritually.
Neither are we to expect to find the Church set
forth chronologically. Each event, each aspect of
the Jewish polity points to some one or other dis
tinct feature in the spiritual history of the Church,
Thus, in the call of Abraham, the deliverance from

LECTURE IV. 55
Egypt, the journeyings through the wilderness, the
rites and services of the tabernacle ; we see the re
generation, the services and government of the
Church in this dispensation pourtrayed.
So likewise, in the captivities of Israel and Judah,
and in the dispersion, we read her judgements. Each
teaches some lesson, each points to some sin and its
corresponding judgment; or to some danger, and
the deliverance from it. Now we have abundant
reason for thinking that the beginning and end of
the two dispensations correspond, and these are
the only points at which we may look for chrono
logical concurrence. The Jewish beginning with
the call of Abraham, and closing at the first Ad
vent of the Messiah ; the Christian commencing on
the day of Pentecost, and closing with the second
coming of the Son of Man.
When we read the Prophets — especially Isaiah,
Amos, Micah, and Malachi — we are struck with the
strain of continual rebuke to a people who have
"transgressed the law, — changed the ordinances, —
broken the everlasting covenant ;" whose condition
is such that "from the sole of the foot to the crown
of the head, there is nothing but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores." Whose kings, priests, and
people, are described as having "gone away back
ward." The nation is said to be, "without any to
guide her, of all the sons whom she hath brought
up" — is accused of having gone to Egypt for help "
— is charged with "robbingGod" of his due in "tithes

56 LECTURE IV.
and offerings " — is spoken of as having grieved
His Spirit — and as knowing not the day of their
visitation. In a word — it is one continual rebuke
of a people in covenant with God, but who have
revolted and turned in his hand Hke a deceitful
bow; so that, if it had not been, as Isaiah speaks,
" for a very small remnant," they had been " like
Sodom, and like unto Gomorrah."
Some of the other Prophets speak to a people
brought under captivity — point to the sin which
provoked God to bring them into that bondage, and
give them an assurance of deliverance, and shew,
that in the midst of the judgments which have
come, or shall come upon them, God will remem
ber his people, and bring forth a remnant, — and
then, the Messiah, " who shall sit as a refiner," is
proclaimed. It is scarcely needful to say, that the
very language which conveys all this, forbids us to
limit its interpretation to the Jewish people. In
fact, we know from the quotations in the New Tes
tament, taken from the Prophets, that something
far higher and greater than the Jewish history is
pointed to ; nay, these are quoted, as receiving their
fulfilment in the Gentile Church.
With this key of interpretation, we go to the
Prophets, and there — in Jewish types and figures,
we read the Church — and in Jewish sins, and judg
ments, and deliverances, read the sins, the judg
ments, and the deliverances ofthe Church.
We go to Isaiah, and read God's arguments with

LECTURE IV. 57
a rebellious people, — we read his pleadings with
them. We go to Jeremiah, and read the counsel
of God to a people in captivity ; and in the Lamen
tations, read the burdens and sorrows ofthe Church
and of her Head. We go to Amos and Malachi,
and learn the sins of the spiritual seed — and read
of the day of the Messiah.
And, when we thus sit down, my Brethren, before
the Prophets, what an insight is opened up into
the city of God. Oh what a wound is the wound
of the daughter of Judah !
Time will not permit me to enlarge upon this
wide and interesting field; but who can read, of
Ephraim and Manasseh, of Ammi and Ruhamah,
of Judah and Israel, of the captivity of Babylon,
and such Hke, without having their thoughts turned
to " the Vine which God hath planted " — the Vine,
which He made so strong for Himself, but which
"is trodden down"? Look, for instance, at one
example — the captivity of Babylon.
It has been customary with Protestant writers,
especially of a former day, and of a certain class, to
consider Babylon as the type of Rome ; and no doubt,
there is a certain amount of truth in this interpre
tation; inasmuch as the Roman Church, up to a
particular period, expressed the majority of the
Christian world. But certainly this interpretation
is far from exhausting or even from giving a due
and adequate meaning to the type.
Babylon is the condition of confusion and captivity
into which the people of God (the Jews in the let'

58 LECTURE IV.
ter, the Church in the Spirit) are brought ; and en
larging our view of the Church, as we have before
said, to the company of the baptized, Babylon re*
presents the confusion and captivity of the Christian
world. Babylon is that Power with which "the kings of
the earth have committed fornication " — and the
inhabitants of the earth drink of the wine of her
fornication. Babylon is that which holdeth the saints
captive, but eventuaHy from which they shall be
delivered. It is said, "Come out of her my people."
Babylon is that which giveth its strength to the
Infidel power, and then maketh war with the Lamb'
and is overcome. Babylon cometh into judgment
at the second coming of the Lord.
If you take this key, furnished by the New Tes
tament, and then turn to the Prophets, you find that
the language addressed to the Jews in Babylon, is
too large to be limited to that event, and that it co
vers that captivity of Babylon into which the Spirit'
foresaw the Church to come, — into which the
Church has come, — in which she is found at the
second appearing of our Lord, — and from which,
she is then finally delivered. And this deliverance
earries us to another typical point, — into which
we cannot enter now, — viz., the rebuilding of the
Temple. Finally. The Jewish dispensation ended in Apos
tacy. So does the Christian. That Apostacy began
in the days of the Apostles; "The Man of Sin"
was even then being revealed. That Apostacy

LECTURE IV. 59
has been growing, side by side with the growth
of the Church. The signs of " the last days " are
given, and those signs have been, and are being
daily shewn out; so that we may, I had almost said,
read the world's age in the history of the Church.
If time permitted, I would fain point to many
Jewish types that have been accomplished in the
Christian Church.
Has she not had "Edom, Moab, and Amnion"
to contend with ? Has she not gone down to Egypt
for help? Has she not of a long day hung her
harp on the willows of the Euphrates? Is she
not weary of her captivity ? There remaineth but
one to be accomplished. " He came unto his own,
and his own received him not."
But if the night be dark (and is it not dark ?) are
there no signs of the dawn ? If the Church has gone
"to Egypt for help" (that is, "the flesh"), are not
his people finding out that " Egypt cannot save" —
" that the horses of the Egyptian are flesh and not
spirit." If they have been long in captivity, are
there no signs of return ? Does it not pity his ser
vants to see Jerusalem in the dust? Is not the Spirit
of Ezrah and Nehemiah moving many to say, " Shall
we dwell in ceiled houses whilst the house of God
lieth waste?" If the Apostacy of the last days has
almost reached its zenith — if the Church is deprived
of " her ornaments of silver, and her ornaments of
gold " — if the 74th Psalm has received its accom
plishment, even so that our eyes can see it — Is not

60 LECTURE IV.
the cry also heard, "Arise, 0 Lord, plead thine
own cause"?
Yes, Brethren, there is a return. The servants
are awakening— the house is being got ready— -the
wise have arisen to trim their lamps- What if
some, from unguided zeal, or from ignorance and
spiritual selfishness, mistake their way — if some,
instead of going up to Jerusalem, stop at Rome —
if some, taken in the foolishness of the wise, think,
that by leaving one part and going to another part,
they leave the captivity under which all suffer —
what if some, ensnared by the blandishments of the,
fooHsh woman, forsake and deny the mother at
whose breast they have received consolation. Shall
these things, my Brethren, discourage us? God
forbid. These things must needs be. The faith of
many shall wax cold — many shall seek their own
things — many shall be weary — many shall seek for
rest, where they shall not find it. Let us, my
Brethren, endure to the end. Let us, as at this
time, go to Bethlehem, and there renew our strength.
Let us worship the Child Jesus. Let. us fight the
fight of faith. Let us set our affections on heavenly
things— that so, when Christ who is our life, shall
appear, we may appear with Him in glory. To
whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, Three
Persons and One God, be ascribed all might, majesty,
dominion and power, world without end, Amen.
FINIS.