Is not the Lord Jesus Christ to be admired and adored for what He is in Himself? How emphatically He is the “Wonderful”—the great “Mystery of Godliness!” The “seed of Abraham,” and yet “the Mighty God:” “the fruit of David’s loins,” and yet Jehovah’s “Fellow:” “made of a woman,” and yet the Maker of “all things:” “like unto His brethren,” yet “separate from sinners:” the “Child born,” and yet the “Son given:” “found in fashion as a Man,” yet “the Image of the invisible God,”— “the brightness of His glory:” “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” yet “without sin.” How glorious, infinitely glorious, He is! How exactly fitted for the work of eternal redemption! What a mighty Days-man to lay His hand both on God and us! How wise! How truly able to sympathize with us! for assuredly, as we sometimes sing,
‘His heart is made of tenderness,
His bowels melt with love!’
And what a sacrifice that was, when He “offered Himself without spot to God!” What forgiveness, as well as consecration, the blood of that Lamb speaks to our consciences—the Offerer, One in whom the Father was well-pleased, the Fellow of the Lord of Hosts; the Offering that in which Jehovah could find both satisfaction and delight—sin was borne, judged, condemned, and put away, justice satisfied, and the holy Lord God glorified. How blessed also it is to consider that “all the promises of God”—all His rich purposes of grace—are in Christ “yea, and in Him, Amen, unto the glory of God, by us;” so that our Lord could say, “I am glorified in them.” Surely we must add, “How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!”
But let us dive still deeper into these unsearchable realities, and we shall soon perceive,
‘‘Twas love that brought Him down,
The purest, strongest love’—
eternal, unchangeable, redeeming, faithful love. Mercy “from everlasting,” according to the eternal counsel and purpose of Him, who gave us to Christ, chose us in Christ, and redeemed us by Christ; so that the divine declaration is, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” God loved us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. How sweet it is thus to look back into the deep and eternal counsels of God, and see how the salvation which He wrought in Christ, exactly corresponds both with His own decree and our deep necessity. The eternal purpose of God being the glory of Christ in our salvation, redemption must therefore be “in Him.” As guilty sinners could only be brought into God’s presence without blame by a Saviour, one who, moreover, was capable of satisfying the stern requirements of divine justice, our Lord Jesus Christ undertook, and did, at the cost of His own guiltless life, obtain our entrance into that holy presence—He proved Himself capable of, and all-sufficient for, this stupendous work. Thus “we, who sometime were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” By virtue of the infinite perfections of the Offerer and the Offering, God’s eternal purpose of salvation by grace is most blessedly effected, and an everlastingly-efficacious redemption accomplished for us; so that the decree of Jehovah, the security of the believer, and the glory of God, have all been met once and for ever in that “one offering,” which Christ “once offered.” How gracious was the utterance of the loving heart of Jesus, when He said, “My goodness extendeth....to the saints which are in the earth, and to the excellent in whom is ALL MY DELIGHT.” (Ps. 41)
But do we not further see in the “finished” work of the Son of God, that the perfection of love displayed in the perfect work of this spotless One, makes us “meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light?” Surely it was as our “Surety” that He died upon the cross; and there we see not only the Son “forsaken” and “spared not,” but also an offering brought to God in which He is infinitely glorified, in which He takes ineffable delight, and in which He finds, too, “a savor of rest.” And was it not for us? Most assuredly, “He gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” Thus we are “righteous,” by His “obedience”— “accepted in the Beloved” — “complete in Him;” not only ransomed from hell by His blood, but fitted for His presence, by “the righteousness of God which is into all and upon all them that believe.” How precious it is to be occupied with God’s estimate of the worth and work of His beloved Son, and thus find, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, that His glory is great in our salvation, and that it is a salvation worthy of Him who doeth great things and unsearchable! And does not the contemplation of these glorious realities make Christ Himself more precious to our souls? and necessarily, therefore, more constantly and unfeignedly the Object of our affections and worship? Do we not thus realize the blessed liberty of His yoke? and are we not constrained to yield to Him our willing and obedient service? Surely, these things are so; and when the Holy Ghost thus reveals to us the wondrous mystery of Emmanuel’s cross, how worthless and insignificant the world appears! How transient! How rapidly it “passeth away” to make room for that full power of redemption that will be connected with the Lord’s return! To the spiritual eye the world now appears a dark spot which God has consigned to judgment, but men are spending all their time and energy in seeking happiness in it apart from God and Christ.
But there is another thought in connection with the perfect work of Jesus, and it is this:—If we are “justified from all things,” and “perfected for ever,” through His being “made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption,” necessarily our hope and prospect must be correspondingly perfect, and pregnant with glory and bliss. And, blessed be God, they are; and that, too, in strict keeping with God’s eternal purpose “in Christ;” for, “the mystery of His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself” being “to gather together in one all things IN CHRIST,” we are taught by the Holy Ghost, in the word, to “look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body;” and to rest in the assurance, that HE will come again and receive us unto HIMSELF—that “when HE shall appear we shall be like HIM, for we shall see HIM as HE is;” and “he for ever with the Lord.” It is Christ Himself, “in whom we have obtained an inheritance,” who is our hope, and He says, “Behold, I come quickly!”
How precious it is, beloved, to learn from the oracles of God, that all this wondrous and everlasting blessing comes to ul through Him who “offered HIMSELF,” “gave HIMSELF” for us, “put away sin by the sacrifice of HIMSELF;” that it is Christ HIMSELF who now appears in the presence of God for us; and that it is “the Lord HIMSELF” we wait for, and expect to see, and to be with, and like for ever!
How happy to see the blessed harmony of the purpose of God, the grace of God, and the glory of God, and to trace therein not only the “Lams slain from the foundation of the world,” but also in the glory that is to be revealed, that “the Lamb is the light thereof;” and those only are there “which are written in the LAMB’S book of life.” Surely it is the Lamb who is the Alpha and the Omega, the center of, and way to all this glory. None was found worthy to open the book, or look thereon, but “the Lamb as it had been slain;” and it is the worthiness of the Lamb that fills heaven with unceasing praise and glory. From the throne of God and the LAMB the “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,” proceeds; and it is the Liras that feeds, and that leads the blood-washed multitude to fountains of living waters. It is because the throne of God and the LAMB is there, that there will be no more curse. By grace Christ is our LAMB as well as the LAMB of God; yea, rather, because He is God’s LAMB He is our LAMB. We have come to God by Him, we have access to the Father through Him, our sins were laid upon Him, we trust in Him, we have peace with God through Him, we are complete in Him, and we wait for Him: we find in Him full salvation, suitable salvation, everlasting salvation; yea, God’s salvation, and, therefore, all our salvation. Hence we joyfully lift up our heart, and sing, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” Well we may add,
‘How can I sink with such a prop
As my eternal God,
Who bears the earth’s huge pillars up,
And spreads the heavens abroad?
‘How can I die while Jesus lives,
Who rose and left the dead?
Pardon and life my soul receives
From my exalted HEAD.’
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THE LORD is MY SHEPHERD.—Oh, to be led, drawn, and sent by Him continually! and made to lie down, too! None but Christ Himself can so fill our souls with the sweetness of His green pastures, as to make us lie down therein; yet how can there be growth unless we chew the cud there. The world is rapidly hasting on its course—drawing near its terrible end: but we are sheep, and our heavenly blessing is to be led and fed by the Lamb. What fullness there is in Jesus! He is the LAMB of God and the SON of God; yea, all fullness dwells in Him.
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THE LORD WAS WITH HIM.—This was said of David in his early day. This is at the root of his humility, and wisdom, and skill; it enabled him to hide himself and his greatness behind his harp-strings. The anointed of the Lord a harp-player to the rejected king! The man of war content to return to feed the sheep—his father’s sheep—to be his father’s and his brother’s servant! “The Lord was with him:” this was enough. With Saul, with the sheep, with his trembling and offending brethren, with Goliath—it matters not where; it matters not what to do—the Lord was with him. The Lord was for him, also. He can conquer Lion, Bear, SELF, Goliath, Saul. His brethren think and make nothing of him. Be it so. He can bear it. The Lord was with him.
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OTTE SUFFICIENCY.—Let us never forget the all-sufficiency of the grace of God—“My grace is sufficient for thee;” the all-sufficiency of the word of God – “All Scripture is given....that the man of God may be throughly furnished unto all good works;” the all-sufficiency of the Spirit of God— “He shall guide you into all truth,” “bring all things to your remembrance,” &c. “The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
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THAT is the happy knowledgs of Christ which reflects back the rays of resurrection-glory, and not only keeps our eyes open as to the evil that surrounds our path down here, but so lights up the future as to make us desire to depart and to be with HIM—to be associated in all that glory.