In reading the holy scriptures, we should remember that they do not simply contain a rule of life and conduct, but that they are a revelation of God, so as to lead us into the knowledge of Him in Jesus Christ, and thus into eternal life. He that was “in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him,” “I have manifested thy name,” says the Lord, “unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world.” They do assuredly exhibit a rule of life; and as such, not a jot or tittle of them is to be disregarded: (Matt. 5:1919Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19).) but if they be received merely as such, our souls will not come into contact with the great purpose of God in giving them forth. We are renewed in knowledge—knowledge of God in Christ, through the Spirit; and therefore the effort of the god of this world is to hinder the light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, from shining into us; and, on the other hand, the prayer of the Apostle, for the Church is, that they might receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, and that they might increase in the knowledge of God. (Eph. 1:1717That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: (Ephesians 1:17). Col. 1:1010That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Colossians 1:10).) 0! that all saints may find their happiest occupation in searching out the ways of their covenant God, redeeming their time from the vain pursuits of the world thus to converse with Him; remembering, however, that it is the willing and obedient heart, and not the acute intellect, that makes safe and profitable progress in this knowledge. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.” (Psa. 25:1414The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant. (Psalm 25:14).) “The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.” (Psa. 111:22The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. (Psalm 111:2))
The sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow, form as we are told, the great burthen of the scriptures. The Spirit in the prophets testified of these; and surely they do constitute the center of the blessed, wondrous, and gracious mystery or plan of our God in His dealings with us.
Concerning this glory which was thus to follow the sufferings of Christ, I desire to trace two portions or characters of it signified to us by two of His many titles— SON OF DAVID, SON OF GOD.
The purpose of God in His election of Israel as His nation, was the assertion of His own right to all power on earth; or, in other words, for the manifestation of Christ, as the heir and holder of all earthly glory and dominion.
His dispensation, by means of Israel, no doubt was made to answer other purposes; as for instance—it answered the purpose of drawing out in still broader and clearer lines, the evidences of man’s weakness and degradation through the fall; that though favored, as man was in the Jews, in the most special ways of providence, yet was he found to be as without strength, unable to stand unrebukeable before God; and thus it gave us further to know, that God Himself must sustain us, and work in and for us. And then it answered the other purpose of witnessing that God could in grace thus sustain us, and thus work in and for us Himself; for it presented shadows of good things to come; the law, as well as the prophets of Israel, prophesied of Jesus (Matt. 11:1313For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. (Matthew 11:13).) But the characteristic purpose of God in the dispensation of Israel, appears to have been to vindicate His own name— “the name of Jehovah as the only God of the whole earth, the only Lord of the lower parts of the earth.” For in Israel, Christ or Jehovah was economically or virtually on the throne. A Theocracy, as it is commonly admitted, was established among them; and the history of Israel was to have shown, and, but for their unbelief and rebellion, would have shown, that “blessed were the people who had the Lord for their God.” Jehovah had redeemed them out of Egypt, and brought them to Himself. They were entitled to make their boast in God as their God. They were “set on high above all nations of the earth.” “What nation is there,” said Moses, “so great, that hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all that we call upon Him for?” (Deut. 4:77For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? (Deuteronomy 4:7).) And so Joshua could afterward stand before Israel, and witness in like manner, the mercy of Jehovah to them as His nation: “the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong; but as for you no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.” (Josh. 23:99For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day. (Joshua 23:9).)
Thus was Israel established to be God’s witness on earth: they were His people, politically united with Him as their king. And being thus the earthly people of God, their blessings were blessings of the earth, blessings of providence, as it is written— “all these blessings shall come upon them.” (Deut. 28:1-141And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. 3Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 9The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. 10And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: 14And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (Deuteronomy 28:1‑14).)
When Israel, thus with revolted heart, would have a king, after the Lord had made trial of the son of Cis, the mystical import of whose reign, though deeply interesting and instructive, I need not here consider; He gave them David to be their king, a man after His own heart. By the arms of David, the enemies of God and of His Israel, were all reduced; and then full of honor and as established to the furthest limits of the promised land, the throne and kingdom of David are delivered over to his son Solomon, that he might hold them as glorious in the eyes of the nations; and thus was the throne of David constituted a second witness of God’s authority and power on earth. But the house of David, like Israel before, speedily corrupted itself, and after long patience, God removed them from their place, took power from them, and allowed it to pass over to the heathen who were not His people; and there it has been ever since, passing from one to another of the four beasts of the prophets, and thus has the Lord been left without a due or appointed witness to His glory as Lord of the earth. But scripture very largely tells us that Israel is to revive as from their present state of death, and be established by Christ and under Christ, (who is the faithful witness to the glory of the Father,) in the person and with all the rights of “Son of David” and to His hand earthly power and glory shall be found to be securely committed, to the glory of God the Father.
I have thus anticipated what I understand from scripture to be the special characteristic glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, as “Son of David;” it presents Him to us as the restorer and holder of power on earth. This name or title appears to have its origin in the words of Nathan, the prophet of God, to David. (See 2 Sam. 7:8-168Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: 9And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. 10Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, 11And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. 12And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. (2 Samuel 7:8‑16).)
This word of Nathan distinctly appoints the Son of David to be the head of that house and kingdom which the Lord would Himself establish in the earth forever. Psa. 8914Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. (Psalm 89:14) celebrates the same grace of God to David’s seed. Now a comparative view of 1 Sam. 7:1414And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:14). with Heb. 1:55For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Hebrews 1:5) of Psa. 132:1111The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. (Psalm 132:11). with Acts 2:3030Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; (Acts 2:30), and of Isa. 55:33Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. (Isaiah 55:3). with Acts 13:3434And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. (Acts 13:34). will at once assure us that Christ, and not Solomon, is really and substantially the Son of David; both in the oracle of Nathan and in the Psa. 18I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8) have referred to. And I would add just this —that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of David, not as head of His mystical body—the Church, but as head of the restored tribes of Israel; for the Church never has been, and indeed never could be forsaken of her God, as the prophet there threatens, and the Psalmist there complains; (Psa. 8934My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. (Psalm 89:34)) but Zion is now really the forsaken, and her land the desolate. (Isa. 62:44Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. (Isaiah 62:4).) Besides, the Lord Jesus often admitted His claim to this title, and when He stood before the Roman governor, confessed Himself to be the king of the Jews. And the angel, announcing His birth, spake of David as His Father, and David’s throne as His. In this character as the Son of David, the Lord offered Himself to Israel at his first coming; but Israel cast Him out then, as they had done before, in the days of Samuel. We learn this from the parable of the wicked husbandmen. For we are there distinctly taught that the mission of the Son of God to earth, was designed, among its many blessed purposes, to prove whether Israel could still be continued in possession of the vineyard under the care and government of Him who was the heir of it, for the disallowing of whose title to which, was the vineyard taken from them.
So the Lord’s last solemn entry into Jerusalem was in the character of Son of David, and therefore He was accompanied on that occasion with the suitable acclamation—Hosanna to the Son of David—God save the king. But the rulers and representatives of the people being then offended in Him, not discerning the glory of the kingdom in the person of the lowly Jesus of Nazareth, He left them as ripe for present judgment, (and which judgment they have ever since been suffering) giving them to know that they should not see Him till in the spirit of repentance and faith they had learned to welcome Him, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (see Matt. 21; 23) These words of welcome the Lord advisedly takes from Psa. 118 that being the song of Israel in the joyous and triumphant day, when they shall bring in Jesus as the head stone with shootings of “Grace, grace,” to Him; and the shout of a king, according to the prophecy, shall be eminently among them. (Num. 23:2121He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. (Numbers 23:21).)
So that beautiful prophecy contained in Isa. 7-9 instructs us in the same truth. When that prophecy was delivered, Syria and Ephraim were confederated against Judah, and Isaiah was commissioned to sustain the courage of the house of David, by an assurance to it that the confederacy should not prevail; and by more than that, for the discomfiture of the then present confederacy, was made a pledge of the discomfiture of all succeeding confederacies, at least so as to secure to the house of David, in the end, rest and glory, though for a season it might He in ruins and dishonor; and that “a child” in due time should be “born,” and “a son be given,” whose right it was, and whose right should be asserted, on that throne of David to sit, and his kingdom and government to order and establish forever. And how splendidly do the hopes of Israel sparkle on that page of scripture— “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace: of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end; upon the throne of David and upon His kingdom to order it, and to establish it with judgment, and with justice from henceforth forever and ever.”
Psa. 72 is another beautiful exhibition of the doings and glories of Christ in the character of the Son of David; and Isa. 35 presents us, as it were, with a sample of the peaceable fruit of the reign of His scepter of righteousness.
This title of “Son of David” was indeed the highest in which Christ was made known to the faith of the Jews, merely as Jews; (see Matt. 22:4242Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. (Matthew 22:42).) and therefore, as we have already seen, it was as the Son of David that the multitude congratulated Him, on His royal visit to Jerusalem. (Matt. 2142Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (Matthew 21:42)) So we may observe that Bartimaeus manifested his faith in contrast with the ignorance of the multitude, for while Jesus was known to them merely as “Jesus of Nazareth,” being thus distinguished, just as all men are by a specified place, parentage, or other circumstance; He was known to Bartimaeus as “Son of David” and appealed to as such for mercy; and justly so, for according to the Jews themselves, the Son of David was to bring the mercy which Bartimaeus needed; (Matt. 12:2323And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? (Matthew 12:23).) and also according to the prophets; for as Son of David, the restorer of the human earthly system, He is to come with a recompense, He is to come and save the people, and the eyes of the blind are to be opened, and the ears of the deaf to be unstopped. (Isa. 35:3, 43Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 4Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. (Isaiah 35:3‑4)) In like manner the woman who came to Jesus from the coasts of Tire and Sidon, appealed to Him for mercy, as the Son of David. Now she presents to us a sample of the faith in which the nations are to stand, in the day when the tabernacle of David, which is now in ruins, shall be set up, and the residue of men shall seek after the Lord; for the Gentiles will then acknowledge Israel as the “children,” the “natural branches,” and will acquiesce in God’s appointment of the “first dominion” to the daughter of Sion; in the Lord’s settling of everything in favor of the Jew lust. So this woman commends her faith to the Son of David, in the same spirit; readily taking a place under the children’s table. (Matt. 15:2828Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matthew 15:28).)
Now Peter’s faith apprehended the person of the blessed Jesus in a character different from that of the Son of David; he was taught by the Spirit to discern in Him a glory beyond a mere Jewish or earthly glory. He made confession to Him “as the Son of the living God:” and therefore, and at once the Lord committed to him not the keys of the house of David, but the keys of the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 16:1616And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:16).) Because, as I believe, while Jesus as Son of David is the head of earthly power and glory, as Son of God He is the head of all power in heaven, the dispenser of those which are in the επουρανια or heavenlies. And this leads me to consider, as I proposed to do, the second title of our blessed and adorable Savior— “Son of God.”
In a divine sense, I assuredly believe our Lord Jesus bears this title; He is called Son of God, when His full, unqualified, eternal Deity is expressed, when revealed as one with the Father and the Holy Ghost; three persons in one God. For John says, “therefore the Jews sought to kill Him, because He had not only broken the sabbath, but said also that God was His Father; making Himself equal with God.” (Isa. 5:1818Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: (Isaiah 5:18).) And again, after speaking largely of Himself as Son of God, He closes with assuming full divine glory, saying, “before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:5858Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:58).) And the divine dignity of this title, clearly appears from John 10:30-3930I and my Father are one. 31Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. 39Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, (John 10:30‑39) (and from 1 John 1, 2). Indeed on the truth, that there is Father and Son in the Godhead, the very life of the Church seems to depend; for that life is fellowship with God in love; which will be found to be fellowship with the Father and the Son, “whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.” (1 John 2:2323Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. (1 John 2:23)) “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God; he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 99Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. (2 John 9).)
But still in another sense, the holy scriptures speak of Him as Son of God; and that is in immediate connection in result with us as incarnate, as the eldest of the family in heaven; the first-born among many brethren. Now let us look for the origin of this title, as we did before, that of “Son of David.”
As our blessed Lord walked on earth, He was a circumcised man, debtor to do the whole law. He was made, as we read, “under the law;” and to the utmost title of it was obedient to it, so that He presented a righteousness in flesh to God; and died on the cross a Lamb without blemish. But by resurrection He entered into another condition, being then declared to be the Son of God, with power, having thereby proved that He, a Son of Man, had life of God in Him; life superior to the power of death. And we must ever remember, for it is a doctrine insisted on most fully, I might say in all parts of the apostolic scriptures, that it is with the Lord in His resurrection, that the saints have their union. It is as first-born from the dead, that He is the head of His body the Church. (Col. 1:1818And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18).) The life in His members is not, if I may call it, legal or Jewish life, life of circumcised flesh, but life through the Spirit; a circumcision made without hands, divine life eternal life, life of the risen Head. “They have become sons of God, being born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Now when Jesus left this world, He went to the Father; into the Father’s house, there to prepare places for His brethren. (John 14:11Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (John 14:1).) “He ascended to His Father and our Father, to His God and our God; and has gained for us sinners (blessed be His name for such riches of grace, such everlasting and satisfying consolations) that we should be loved of the Father, with the same love wherewith He Himself is loved.” (Isaiah 17:26.)
Being thus the brethren of the ascended Jesus, Son of God, the saints having the Spirit and life of their Head, sit even now in Him in heavenly places; the citizenship is in heaven, by Him they have access to God, as a Father through the Spirit. They are married to Him, that is, raised from the dead, and thus bring forth fruit unto God. And being now the sons of God the world knows them not, even as it knew not Christ; for they are not of the world even as He was not of the world. And as He is, so are they in this world, they have in spirit followed Him out of this world into heaven. The blessings therefore, wherewith they are blest, are blessings not of this world, or of the earth, as we have seen the Jews’ were, but “spiritual blessings in the heavenlies;” as it is written, “blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings, in the heavenlies in Christ; according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Eph. 1:3-63Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians 1:3‑6).)
And as children, now in the Father’s house, they are waiting for the inheritance of the children, for “if children then heirs;” they are hoping for the grace which is to be brought to them at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And as Jesus Himself is now crowned with glory and seated at the right hand of God, as a kind of pledge of His future dominion, (Ps. 110:1., Heb. 2:8,98Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:8‑9).) so His brethren here, His members still suffering on earth, have received the Holy Ghost, the fruit of this His glory and exaltation to heaven, as the earnest or pledge of their inheritance with Him. (2 Cor. 1:2222Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. (2 Corinthians 1:22), v. 5., Eph. 1:13,1413In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13‑14).)
Now of what are the sons of God to be the heirs? surely of the same glory of which the first-born among them is heir, as it is written— “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ;” and again— “for our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior—the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile bodies info the likeness of His glorious body;” and again— “when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.” So that the kingdom prepared by the Father for the Son, is to be the scene of the common glory and joy of the whole “family in heaven,” the portion of the children of whom He is the first-born all are to be in the Father’s house and seated on the Son’s throne. (John 14:22In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2), Rev. 3:22Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. (Revelation 3:2)) Their inheritance is heavenly; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.” Therein will be the glory of the celestial, which is one, inasmuch as they shall be presented in the likeness of the risen and glorified body of Jesus, and have their place manifestly there where now in Spirit they dwell, that is, the Father’s house in the heavenlies, the place of the children; while the glory of the restored Israel will be there, that of the terrestrial which is another, inasmuch as in bodies of flesh and blood they shall occupy the earth, the place of the servants, the footstool and not the throne, the place of subjects under Christ, and not the seat of government with Christ. And thus in the manifestation of the sons of God, in the dispensation of the fullness of times when all things in heaven and in earth shall be gathered together in one, even in Christ, He who once descended into the lower parts of the earth. and then ascended up far above all heavens, shall according to the decree of the everlasting covenant, fill all things, shall be brought forth in the earthly glory of the Son of David, and in the heavenly glory of the Son of God: His risen saints and restored nation, having their several unions with Him, “of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,” and “every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This His glory as filling all things in heaven and earth, the Lord appears to anticipate in a very early stage of His ministry, as we read in the 1st chap. of John’s gospel. When Nathaniel believed, he made a large and blessed confession to the glory of Christ, “Rabbi,” says he, “thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel; Jesus answered and said unto him, because I said unto thee I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And He saith unto him, verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” From this confession to Him as Son of God and king of Israel, the Lord catches, as it were, the glimpse of His then far distant glory, as the center, the mediator, and life of all things in heaven and in earth, in whom all things are to consist, and be gathered, though they are still to be distinct as things heavenly, and things earthly.
Thus, then, there does appear to me to be most clearly recognized in scripture, a distinct purpose with God in His dispensation of Israel and of the Church; in other words, in the manifestation of the Christ (who is God’s ordinance for all His purposes, and to whom be glory forever,) as Son of David and as Son of God. But as I judge that a practical conclusion on a subject interesting to us all, who desire to know and do the will of our gracious God and Savior, very much rests on a just apprehension of this distinction, I desire to add a little more upon it. And I do it in much subjection to my brethren in the Lord, knowing indeed but in small part, and therefore able to speak but as so knowing. However, I speak according to clear conclusions of my own mind. In the Jewish dispensation, Christ spake on earth, but now He is speaking from heaven. (Heb. 12:2525See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: (Hebrews 12:25)) The position of the Head being thus changed, the position of His elect, as those who are gathered to Him, and who are to witness to Him, must be also changed. And so I judge, we shall find from the word of God that it has changed, As for instance—Israel was to go forth as on earth, with “a two-edged sword in their hand,” utterly to destroy city after city; the Church, “with power from on high” to subdue sinners to the God of the spirits of all flesh. The characteristic action of Israel may be read in such passage as this — “So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings, he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded,” Israel being made the witness of God’s glory among the nations—and the rod of His anger. But the characteristic action of the Church or saints, on the contrary, may be read in these words— “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the whiles of the devil; for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places;” their conflict being with a world that lies in the wicked one, with him that has the power of death, and their strength lying only in the Spirit and in the name of the Lord, in the name of Him who is not now on earth as He was when in the ark of Israel, He arose and His enemies were scattered, and they who hated Him fled before Him, or as when He headed the Lord’s host as their captain before the walls of Jericho.
So the characteristic confession of Israel before God was this— “a Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation great, mighty, and populous; and the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us, and laid upon us bard bondage; and when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction, and our labor, and our oppression; and the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness;” this being a confession that they who were bond-slaves in a strange land, had been blest with the fullness of all earthly good. But the confession of the saints is expressed by the cry “Abba Father;” a confession that they who had been alienated from the life of God, were now brought nigh, and made sons, and had the life and spirit of sons sent forth into their hearts.
So the characteristic glory of Israel may be seen in such a chapter as 2 Chron. 9, where king Solomon is admired in the eyes of all the nations, passing all the kings of the earth, as he then did, in riches and wisdom, all of them seeking his presence, and bringing him offerings; while that of the Church may be seen (far, far, different) in the description thus given of the early saints at Jerusalem. “And the multitude of them that believed, were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that aught of the things that he possessed was his own, but they had all things common; and with great power gave the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”
I do confess that this view of the divers glories of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Son of David and Son of God, thus distinguishing the proper characteristic purpose of each dispensation, Jewish and Christian, leads me very distinctly to the conclusion, that the Church of the New Testament saints is not to concern itself with the regulation of the earth; that it comes down from its only due position, as ascended into heaven with its head, when it links itself with the powers and authorities of the world for the purpose of managing the world’s interests, or preserving its good order. For her Head, to whom and to whose position she is to witness, we must still repeat it, is not on earth, but in heaven; and is not directly under taking for the present, the management of a kingdom which is of this world. Nor will He, until He regain dominion in Israel, and be seated on the throne of David, His only recognized organ of earthly power and rule. But He is not in this position yet, “now is my kingdom not from hence.” “He came to His own but His own received Him not.” He was offered to Israel as their king; for that word of the prophet was fulfilled — “Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold thy king cometh unto thee.” But Israel cast the heir of the vineyard out, saying, “come let us kill Him.” Then die God the Father exalt this rejected stone, taking Him up far above all heavens. Jesus by the Jewish enmity was chased, as it were, from earth to heaven; but the Father has made this wrath of man to praise Him, and has by occasion of it, constituted Jesus the Head of all things in heaven; for now the rejected stone, the descended and ascended Savior, shall in due time be manifested as the head of the corner, the filler of all things in heaven as well as in earth. Israel gave up their testimony to their Head on earth, by losing their separate place as God’s nation, acknowledging other lords than Jehovah, and selling themselves to the kingdoms of the Gentiles; the Church gives up her testimony to her head in heaven, by settling herself down in the earth, and combining with the powers and principles of the world, too ungraciously forgetful that her blessed suffering Lord was cast out by the world, and given no place on earth.
Many, “beloved of the Lord,” are found in a system which professedly makes the Church the minister of civil order; the state, in return, the patron of the Church. This is clearly in my judgment, an unwarranted condition for the Church to be found in; and thus, as far as the influence of this judgment extends, I am necessarily separated from them. I might speak of much in the details of the same system, from which I feel constrained to withdraw myself, being, as I judge, anti-scriptural, and not merely non-scriptural; such as the Church requiring her ministers to recognize all her baptized children as dying equally in the true hope of eternal life; but it is not my wish or purpose to go into any such details, but to state simply this one foundation principle. But then how am I to view this separation? how am I to be affected by it? When I say, as unfeignedly I do, that hi many things they honor their Lord and love Him with a constant and fervent love, how dare I view it or how can I be affected by it, but as a cause of much humiliation before our common Lord and master, and with great sorrow of heart? With many of them, if they will let me thus claim with them sympathy in Jesus, I take constant and most sweet counsel. and do confess that their Christian spirit and deportment will at times make me pause and ask myself, could I be right in formally withdrawing from public recognized communion with such saints of God? But then the scripture of truth, which is to be the rule —rather than the suggestions of our affections never brings me to this pause, or awakens a doubt of the untenableness of their position, and therefore though we have many brethren to love, we have but one Lord to obey.
I grant we have to listen to the Church, as a brother has lately, I think well insisted on. I do not deny the discretionary power which he has in a very interesting and instructive manner advocated; but the Church’s discretion must ever be regulated by the written mind of her great Head; the wife is subject to the law of her husband; and the Establishment, not to speak here of many of her ordinances, which clearly appear to me to be much more than merely non-scriptural, as I have submitted, takes a position not only unwarranted by the scriptures, but plainly opposed to the views which they present of the Church of Christ. But if I do thus honor these brethren, who are still in the Establishment, as among the Lord’s dearest and most honored servants in this day of ours, can I allow myself in anything that may appear to be a rejoicing in, or exulting because of this separation? Can I say of any given communion, to the exclusion of these brethren, “the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these?” assuredly I could not do so. I could not adopt any judgment that would thus have them on the outside. But I must at the same time say, that I do not feel indebted to the system with which these brethren are connected for the Christian zeal and temper which grace them, I am very far from being able to see, as is commonly observed among us, and urged too as a strong persuasive for continuing in the Establishment, that the Lord is thus marking it with His approbation, and honoring it by having such servants of His in it. Were this so, we should naturally look for the brightest exhibitions of Christian zeal and temper in those who were most subject to the system, if by the system itself the Lord were working among us, and putting honor upon it as His own ordinance. But the contrary is glaringly the fact. It is in those who are, every day, in various ways, asserting a measure of independency, and working out of the recognized rule, that the energy of the Spirit chiefly manifests itself, while much of mere formality, and the substitution of respectability among men for the patience of Jesus, will be found there, where the system is most exactly enforced. I think I am conscious that I do not desire to be a judge, but some things are too plain not to be read by even those who run.
And while I thus clearly and thankfully acknowledge what is of the Lord’s Spirit in these brethren, I will also acknowledge, that, because the world in its spirit and practice, has been so much retained, while separation from it, in its religious services, has been so formally adopted, little of the blessing and power of God does now rest on those who are now called dissenters. We are all weak, by reason of much unfaithfulness; much individual personal unfaithfulness from all of us more or less, “seeking their own, and not the things that are Jesus Christ’s.” And O! will not these things, in the judgment of the Lord, overweigh correct ideas or clear views, as they are too often boasted to be, of the nature and government of a Christian Church? What are correct ideas and clear views, “being alone?” There is such a thing, as by the letter and circumcision, the transgressing of the law. What spirit can God recognize with His blessing in such a state of things as the present, of weakness as respects the saints individually, and of distraction as respects them together, but that of sighing and crying, that of sympathy with Jesus weeping over Jerusalem? Was it not comely in David to mourn for Saul, and to slay the Amalekite who brought him tidings of his death, thinking in the pride and naughtiness of his heart, that he should be rewarded for his misplaced zeal? and shall we instead of this mourning, glory in that which is enough, and more than the death of king Saul, to make the enemies of God rejoice, the daughters of the uncircumcised to triumph? for surely the beauty of our Israel is departed, and brethren, such as David and Jonathan, are kept asunder by the false and apostate principles that are corrupting us throughout. Let us judge the systems of the day to be as bad as they can be, the worse they are, the less proper objects are they for our exulting over. O let us not he against the truth; such zeal cometh not from above. Let us rather strengthen the things that remain among us by humbleness of mind and confession before our God, knowing that our present distractions arise rather by reason of the worldliness and unbelief that are in the hearts of us, the professed servants of God, than from any external causes. Let us learn our individual responsibility to do what we can for a speedy recovery of some of that goodliness which has been lost to us: or at least, that the little that remains perish not.
Let us embrace all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, lest we he keeping ourselves out of the scope and range of the fullness of the blessing of the gospel, for peace is pronounced on all such. Let us cease from judging one another, and rather set ourselves to exhort one another to love and to good works, reminding one another that if we sow bountifully, we shall also reap bountifully. Let our hope enter into that within the vail, let us cast our anchor there, and wish for the day, the day of the Lord, remembering that unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time, without sin unto salvation. And therefore let each ask himself, am I ever in spirit saying, “come Lord Jesus,” as a faithful soul that has given itself to the Lord; am I looking for His return with those longing desires; “make haste my beloved, be thou like a roe or to a young hart on the mountains of spices.”
I would desire, with one heart and voice, to join my beloved brethren in the Establishment, and say “Almighty God, may it please thee of thy gracious goodness shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom that we, with all those who are departed in the true faith of thy holy name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thine eternal and everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”