CCVI. THE GLORY OF CHRist. Zech. ix. 17. How great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! THE glory of Christ is manifested throughout all the holy scriptures This is attested both by the apostles and by our Lord himself * In the New Testament he shines like the sun in an unclouded atmosphere In the Old, though generally veiled, he often bursts forth as from behind a cloud with astonishing beauty and splendour Such a view of him is exhibited in the chapter now before us Nor could the Prophet himself forbear exclaiming with wonder and admiration, "How great is his goodness!" &c. We cannot have our minds more delightfully occupied than in contemplating I. The goodness of our Lord In the context he is set forth as the God of providence and of grace And in order to behold his goodness we must view him in both respects 1. As the God of providence [As all things were created, so are they upheld and governed by him To him we owe the preservation of our corporeal and intellectual powers We are continually fed by his bounty, and protected by his arm The meanest creature in the universe has abundant reason to adore him— His a Acts x. 43. Luke xxiv. 27. John v. 39. b After foretelling the preservation of the Jews amidst the destruction of surrounding nations, the prophet called their attention to Christ, as their lowly but triumphant king (ver. 9.) who should redeem them by his blood (ver. 11.) be a strong hold to all who should turn unto him (ver 12.) and save them with an everlasting salvation (ver. 16). His own people in particular may discern unnumbered instances of his goodness in his dispensations towards them— His most afflictive as well as his more pleasing dispensations afford them much occasion for gratitude and thanksgiving -] 2. As a God of grace [Jesus is the one fountain of spiritual blessings to his church. Neither prophets nor apostles had any grace but from hime To him must we ascribe every good disposition that is in our hearts f What reason then have his faithful followers to bless his name! How thankful should they be that he called them by his grace! That he so distinguished them, not only from the fallen angels, but from multitudes of the human race! With what gratitude should they acknowledge his continued kindness! Though they have often turned back from him, he has not cast them off Yea rather, he has "healed their backslidings and loved them freely❞— Surely, every blessing they receive, and every victory they gain, should fill them with admiring thoughts of his good ness & Let every soul then comply with that injunction of the Psalmist h And, like him, repeat the wish, which a sense of his mercies must inspire1-] If we have just conceptions of his goodness we shall be more able to behold II. His beauty The world behold "no beauty nor comeliness" in the face of Jesus- But the saints of "old saw his glory as the glory of the only-begotten of the Father". This we also may see, if we survey him 1. In his divine character ["We cannot by searching find out the Almighty to perfection" Little do we know of the greatness of his majesty, or the thunder of his powerk - We cannot comprehend his unsearchable wisdom, his unspotted holiness, his inviolable truth and faithfulness We can scarcely form any idea of the inflexibility of his justice, the extent of his mercy, or the heights and depths of his love We know that Jesus is the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person m But, when we attempt to delineate that image, we only "darken counsel by words without knowledge"" His glory is more than the feeble language of mortality can express-] 2. In his human character [Here we look at him, as the Jews at Moses when his face was veiled And can contemplate him more easily, because he shines with a less radiant lustre Doubtless while he lay in the manger the virtues of his mind beamed forth in his countenance— Nor is it to be wondered at that the Jewish doctors were so filled with admiration at him while he was yet a child oBut principally must we view him during the course of his ministry What marvellous compassion did he manifest to the souls and bodies of men! Not one applied to him for bodily or spiritual health without obtaining his request And when many were hardened in their sins he wept over them P Yea, he even pleaded the cause of those who mocked and reviled him on the cross ¶ His zeal for God was ardent and unremitted It was "his meat and drink to do the will of his heavenly Father Nor could any thing for one moment divert or deter him from the prosecution of his work His meekness, patience, fortitude, were altogether invincible Whatever was amiable and excellent in man abounded in him He was not merely virtuous, but virtue itself incarnate Nor, m Heb. i. 3. Nor, though continually tried in the hottest furnace, was there found in him the smallest imperfection or alloy-] 3. In his mediatorial character [With what readiness did he become a surety for sinful mant! What astonishing condescension did he manifest in uniting himself to our nature! How cheerfullly did he go forth to meet the sufferings that were appointed for him In the garden and on the cross, when to the eye of sense "his visage was marred more than any man's," his beauty was most conspicuous to the eye of faith His obedience unto death was the fruit of his love, and the price of our redemption How beautiful is he now in the eyes of those who behold his glory! And how will he "be admired and glorified by all” in the last day !— Satan must have blinded us indeed if we be yet insensible to his charms " If we be true believers, he cannot but be precious to our souls -] APPLICATION 1. To those who have never yet beheld the goodness and beauty of the Lord [We speak not now to those who seek his face, and long to enjoy him- For though their sorrow endure for a night, joy will come to them in the morning But they, who pant not after him, are miserably ignorant of his excellency Their views of Christ are different from those of the most competent judges And different from what they will shortly be in the eternal world Let such persons diligently consider the Saviour's cha racter And cry to God for that spirit whose office it is to reveal Christ unto us 8 Then John xiv. 30. t Ps. xl. 7, 8. u 2 Cor. iv. 4. X 1 Pet. ii. 7. To the Father he is "chosen and precious," 1 Pet. ii. 4.; to the angels, the subject of their praise, Rev. v. 11, 12; to saints of old, an object of great desire, Hag. ii. 7. John viii. 56.; to all pious men at this time, their supreme good, Phil. iii. 7, 8. Then shall they both see the King in his beauty, and be changed into his image-] 2. To those whose eyes have been opened to behold him [Let your meditations of him be more sweet and frequent However much you know of him, there are unsearchable depths unfathomed Let your determination therefore accord with that of David View him as appointing your trials, and dispensing your mercies Consider him as the fountain from whence you are to have supplies of grace Look to him as the example which you are continually to follow Above all, rely on him as expiating your guilt, and interceding for you Thus will you glory in him as your beloved" "friend and your And at last will see him as he is, and be like him for ever-] z Isai. xxxiii. 17. 2 Cor. iii. 18. a Ps. xxvii. 4. CCVII. THE NATURE OF THE GOSPEL. Isai. lii. 7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! IN order to understand the prophetic writings, we must always bear in mind that they have a spiritual or mystical sense, as well as a plain and literal one-The words before us, in their primary meaning, evidently refer to the joy, with which the proclamation of Cyrus, when he permitted the captive Jews to return from Babylon to their native country, would be receivedBut they certainly relate also to the deliverance announced to us under the gospel dispensation; for it is in this view that they are quoted by the apostle Paul We shall take occasion from them to shew 1. What VOL. II. a Rom. x. 15. |