There is a river, clear and pleasant, the streams whereof make glad the city of G.o.d.
These are the waters that the doves love to sit by, because by the clearness of these streams they can see their pretty selves as in a gla.s.s. Song 5: 12.
These he the streams where the doves wash their eyes, and by which they solace themselves and take great content. These streams are instead of a looking-gla.s.s; their clearness presents us with an opportunity of seeing our own features.
As in fair waters a man may see the hody of the sun, and of the moon, and of the stars, and the very body of heaven; so ho that stands upon the bank of this river, and that washeth his eyes with this water, may see the Son of G.o.d, the stars of G.o.d, the glory of G.o.d, and the habitation that G.o.d has prepared for his people. And are not these pleasant sights? Is not this excellent water? Has not this river pleasant streams?
Some men fly from the "river of the water of life," as from a bear; arid some are afraid to drink of it, for fear it should he poison unto them. Some again, dare not take it, because it is not mixed, and as they, poor souls, imagine, qualified and made toothsome by a little of that which is called the wisdom of this world. Thus one shucks, another shrinks, and another will none of G.o.d. Meanwhile, whoso shall please to look into this river, shall find it harmless and clear; yea, offering itself to the consciences of all men to make trial if it be not the only chief good, the only necessary waters, the only profitable for the health of the soul, of all the things that are in the world, and as clear of mischief as is the sun of spots.
In old times the ancients had their habitations by the rivers; yea, we read of Aroer, that stood upon the brink of the river Arnon.
Balaam also had his dwelling in his city Pethor, by the river of the land of the children of his people. O, by the river side is the pleasantest dwelling in the world; and of all rivers, the river of the water of life is the best. They that dwell there shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat or sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by springs of water shall he guide them. Isa. 49: 10; Psal. 1: 3; Jer. 17: 8.
Trees planted by the rivers, and that spread out their roots by the rivers, they are the flourishing trees, they bring forth their fruit in their season. And the promise is, that men that take up their dwellings by this river of water of life, shall be fruitful as such trees.
If thou be a Christian, thou hast more than an ordinary call and occasion to abide by these waters; thy things will not grow but by these waters. Weeds, and the excellences of most men, we may find in the barren wilderness; they grow under every hedge, Jer. 31: 12; but thine are garden, and so choice, things, and will not thrive without much water; no, not without the water of G.o.d"s river. Isa. 21: 1-3.
Dwell therefore here, that thy soul may be as a watered garden.
By the characters that are given of this water of life, thou art capacitated to judge, when a notion, a doctrine, an opinion comes to thy ears, whether it is right good and wholesome, or how. This river is pure, is clear, is pure and clear as crystal. Is the doctrine offered unto thee so? or is it muddy and mixed with the doctrines of men? Look, man, and see if the foot of the worshippers of Bel [Footnote: Story of Bel and the dragon in the Apychrypha.] be not there; and if the waters be not fouled thereby. What water is fouled is not the water of life, or at least, not the water of life in its clearness. Wherefore, if thou findest it not right, go up higher to the spring-head; for always the nearer to the spring, the more pure and clear is the water. Fetch then thy doctrine from afar, if thou canst not have it good nearer hand. Job 36: 3. Thy life lies at stake; the counterfeit of things is dangerous; every body that is aware, is afraid thereof. Now a counterfeit here is most dangerous, is most destructive; wherefore take heed how you hear what you hear; for, as men say of the fish, by your color it will be seen what waters you swim in. Wherefore look you well to yourselves.
The grace of G.o.d is called a river, to show that it is only suited to those who are capable of living therein. Water, though it is that which every creature desireth, yet is not an element in which every creature can live. Who is it that would not have the benefit of grace, of a throne of grace? But who is it that can live by grace?
even none but those whose temper and const.i.tution is suited to grace. Hence, as the grace of G.o.d is compared to a river, so those that live by grace are compared to fish; for that, as water is that element in which the fish liveth, so grace is that which is the life of the saint. "And there shall be a very great mult.i.tude of fish, because these waters shall come thither; for they shall he healed, and every thing shall live whither the river cometh." Ezek. 47: 9.
Art thou a fish, man--art thou a fish? canst thou live in the water?
canst thou live always, and nowhere else hut in the water? is grace thy proper element? The fish dieth if she be taken out of the water, unless she be timely put in again; the saint dieth if he be not in this river. Take him from his river, and nothing can make him live; let him have water, water of life enough, and nothing can make him die.
I know that there are some things besides fish that can make a shift to live in the water; but the water is not their proper, their only proper element. The frog can live in the water, but not in the water only; the otter can live in the water, hut not in the water only.
Give some men grace and the world, grace and sin--admit them to make use of their l.u.s.ts for pleasure, and of grace to remove their guilt, and they will make a pretty good shift, as we say; they will finely scrabble on in a profession. But hold them to grace only, confine their life to grace, put them into the river and let them have nothing hut river, and they die; the word, and way, and nature of grace, is to them as light bread, and their soul can do no other but loathe it, for they are not suited and tempered for that element.
VII. CHRIST.
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST.
THE first main design of the life and conversation of the Lord Jesus, was that thereby G.o.d, the Eternal Majesty, according to his promise, might be seen by, and dwell with, mortal men. For the G.o.dhead being altogether in its own nature invisible, and yet desirous to be seen by and dwell with the children of men, therefore was the Son, who is the self-same substance with the Father, clothed with or tabernacled in our flesh, that in that flesh the nature and glory of the G.o.dhead might be seen by and dwell with us. "The word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory;" what glory? "the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Again, "The life"--that is, the life of G.o.d in the works and conversation of Christ--"was manifest, and we have seen it and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us." And hence he is called the image of the invisible G.o.d; or he by whom the invisible G.o.d is most perfectly presented to the sons of men.
Did I say before that the G.o.d of glory is desirous to be seen of us?
Even so also have the pure in heart a desire that it should be so.
"Lord," say they, "show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." And therefore the promise is for their comfort, that "they shall see G.o.d." But how then must they see him? Why, in the person, and by the life and works of Jesus, When Philip, under a mistake, thought of seeing G.o.d some other way than in and by this Lord Jesus Christ, what is the answer? "Have I been so long time with you," saith Christ, "and hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?
The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself; hut the Father, that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work"s sake."
See, here, that both the words and works of the Lord Jesus were not to show you, and so to call you back to the holiness we had lost, but to give us visions of the perfections that are in the Father.
"He hath given us the knowledge of the glory of G.o.d in the face of Jesus Christ." And hence it is that the apostle, in that brief collection of the wonderful mystery of G.o.dliness, places this in the front thereof: "G.o.d was manifest in the flesh"--was manifested in and by the person of Christ, when in the flesh he lived among us; manifest, I say, for this as one reason, that the pure in heart, who long after nothing more, might see him. "I beseech thee," said Moses, "show me thy glory." "And will G.o.d indeed dwell with men on the earth?" saith Solomon.
Though Adam be called the image or similitude of G.o.d, yet but so as that he was the shadow of a more excellent image. Adam was a type of Christ, who only is the express image of his Father"s person, and the likeness of his excellent glory; for those things that were in Adam were but of a human, but of a created substance; but those things that were in Christ, of the same divine and eternal excellency with the Father.
Is Christ then the image of the Father, simply as considered of the same divine and eternal excellency with him? Certainly not; for an image is doubtless inferior to that of which it is a figure.
Understand, then, that Christ is the image of the Father"s glory, as born of the Virgin Mary, yet so as being very G.o.d also: not that his G.o.dhead in itself was a shadow or image, but by the acts and doing of that man, every act being infinitely perfect by virtue of his G.o.dhead, the Father"s perfections were made manifest to flesh. An image is to be looked upon, and by being looked upon, another thing is seen; so by the person and doings of the Lord Jesus, they that indeed could see him as he was, discovered the perfection and glory of the Father. "Philip, he that hath seen me, hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" Neither the Father nor the Son can by us at all be seen, as they are simply and entirely in their own essence. Therefore the person of the Father must be seen by us through the Son, as consisting of G.o.d and man; the G.o.dhead, by working effectually in the manhood, showing clearly there through the infinite perfection and glory of the Father. "The word was made flesh, and" then "we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of his Father"--he being in his personal excellencies, infinitely and perfectly, what is recorded of his Father, "full of grace and truth."
When Jesus Christ came down from glory, it was that he might bring us to glory; and that he might be sure not to fail, he clothed himself with our nature--as if we should take a piece out of the whole lump instead of the whole, Heb. 11:l4--and invested it with that glory which he was in before he came down from heaven. Eph.
2:6.
THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST.
We perceive love, in that the human nature, the nature of man, not of angels, is taken into union with G.o.d. Whoso could consider this as it is possible for it to be considered, would stand amazed till he died with wonder. By this very act of the heavenly Wisdom we have an inconceivable pledge of the love of Christ to man; for in that he hath taken into union with himself our nature, what doth it signify but that he intends to take into union with himself our persons? For this very purpose did he a.s.sume our nature. Wherefore we read that in the flesh he took upon him, in that flesh he died for us, "the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to G.o.d."
The psalmist saith of Christ, that "he was fairer than the children of men;" and that, as I believe in his outward man as well as in his inward part, he was the exactest, purest, completest, and beautifulest creature that ever G.o.d made, till his visage was so marred by his persecutions; for in all things he had, and shall have the preeminence.
THE HUMILIATION OF CHRIST
Christ did not only come into our flesh, but also into our condition, into the valley and shadow of death, where we were, and where we are, as we are sinners.
That which would have been death to some--the laying aside of glory, and the King of princes becoming a servant of the meanest form--this he of his own goodwill was heartily content to do. Wherefore he that was once the object of the fear of angels, is now become a little creature, a worm, an inferior one, born of a woman, brought forth in a stable, laid in a manger, scorned of men, tempted of devils, was beholden to his creatures for food, for raiment, for harbor, and a place wherein to lay his head when dead. In a word, he made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, that he might become capable to do this kindness for us, to give himself a ransom for us.
And it is worth your noting, that all the while that he was in the world, putting himself upon those other preparations which were to be antecedent to his being made a sacrifice for us, no man, though he told what he came about to many, had, as we read of, a heart once to thank him for what he came about. No; they railed on him they degraded him, they called him devil, they said he was mad and a deceiver, a blasphemer of G.o.d and a rebel against the state; they accused him to the governor; yea, one of his own disciples sold him, another denied him, and they all forsook him, and left him to shift for himself in the hands of his horrible enemies, who beat him with their fists, spat on him, mocked him, crowned him with thorns, scourged him, made a gazing-stock of him, and finally, hanged him up by the hands and feet alive, and gave him vinegar to increase his affliction, when he complained that his anguish had made him thirsty. And yet all this could not take his heart off the work of our redemption. To die he came, die he would, and die he did, before he made his return to the Father, for our sins, that we might live through him.
When Christ betook himself to his ministry, he lived upon the charity of the people; when other men went to their own houses, Jesus went to the mount of Olives.
THE GLORY OF CHRIST.
Christ is rich indeed, both in his blood, resurrection, intercession, and all his offices, together with his relations, and all his benefits; all which he bestoweth upon every one that receiveth him, and maketh them unspeakably wealthy.
The pearl, as it is rich, and so worth much, so again it is beautiful and amiable, even to take the eyes of all beholders; it hath, I say, a very sweet and sparkling light and glory in it, enough to take the eye and affect the heart of all those that look upon it. And thus is Christ to all that come to him, and by him to the Father. "My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest of ten thousand; his mouth is most sweet, he is altogether lovely."
THE LOVE OF CHRIST.
Here is love, that G.o.d sent his Son, his darling, his Son that never offended, his Son that was always his delight. Herein is love, that he sent him to save sinners; to save them by bearing their sins, by bearing their curse, by dying their death, and by carrying their sorrows. Here is love, in that while we were yet enemies, Christ died for us; yea, here is love, in that while we were yet without strength, Christ died for the unG.o.dly.
Oh, blessed Jesus, how didst thou discover thy love to man in thy thus suffering! And, O G.o.d the Father, how didst thou also declare the purity and exactness of thy justice, in that, though it was thine only, holy, innocent, harmless, and undefiled Son Jesus, that did take on him our nature and represent our persons, answering for our sins instead of ourselves; thou didst so wonderfully pour out thy wrath upon him, to the making of him cry out, "My G.o.d, my G.o.d, why hast thou forsaken me?" And, O Lord Jesus, what a glorious conquest hast thou made over the enemies of our souls--even wrath, sin, death, h.e.l.l, and devils--in that thou didst wring thyself from under the power of them all. And not only so, but hast led them captive which would have led us captive; and also hast received for us that glorious and unspeakable inheritance that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive.
The great Bringer of the gospel is the good Lord Jesus Christ himself; he came and preached peace to them that the law proclaimed war against. And to touch a little upon the dress in which, by the gospel, Christ presents himself unto us, while he offers unto sinful souls his peace by the tenders thereof:
He is set forth as born for us, to save our souls. Isa. 9:6; Luke 2:9-12; 1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 3:13; Rom 10:4; Dan. 9:24.
He is set forth before us as bearing our sins for us, and suffering G.o.d"s wrath for us.
He is set forth before us as fulfilling the law for us, and as bringing everlasting righteousness to us for our covering.
Again, as to the manner of his working out the salvation of sinners for them, that they might have peace and joy, and heaven and glory for ever:
He is set forth as sweating blood while he was in his agony, wrestling with the thoughts of death, while he was to suffer for our sins, that he might save the soul. Luke 22:24.