Condescension of Christ
A Sermon
Delivered on Sabbath Morning, September 13, 1857, by the
REV. C. H. Spurgeon
at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.
"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might
be rich"—2 Corinthians 8:9.
THE APOSTLE, in this chapter, was endeavoring to stir up the Corinthians
to liberality. He desired them to contribute something for those who were
the poor of the flock, that he might be able to minister to their
necessities. He tells them, that the churches of Macedonia, though very much
poorer than the church at Corinth, had done even beyond their means for the
relief of the Lords family, and he exhorts the Corinthians to do the same.
But suddenly recollecting that examples taken from inferiors seldom have a
powerful effect, he lays aside his argument drawn from the church of
Macedonia, and he holds before them a reason for liberality which the
hardest heart can scarcely resist, if once that reason be applied by the
Spirit. "My brethren," said he, "there is One above, by whom you hope you
have been saved, One whom you call Master and Lord, now if you will but
imitate him, you can not be ungenerous or illiberal. For, my brethren, I
tell you a thing which is an old thing with you and an undisputed truth—'For
ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.'
Let this constrain you to benevolence." O Christian, whenever thou art
inclined to an avaricious withholding from the church of God, think of thy
Saviour giving up all that he had to serve thee, and canst thou then, when
thou beholdest self-denial so noble,—canst thou then be selfish, and regard
thyself, when the claims of the poor of the flock are pressed upon thee?
Remember Jesus; think thou seest him look thee in the face and say to thee,
"I gave myself for thee, and dost thou withhold thyself from me? For if thou
dost so, thou knowest not my love in all its heights and depths and lengths
and breadths."
And
now, dear friends, the argument of the apostle shall be our subject to-day.
It divides itself in an extremely simple manner. We have first, the
pristine condition of our Saviour—"He was rich." We have next, his
condescension—"He became poor." And then we have the effect and
result of his poverty—"That we might be made rich." We shall then close
by giving you a doctrine, a question, and an exhortation. May God bless all
these, and help us to tell them aright.
I.
First, then, our text tells us THAT JESUS CHRIST WAS RICH. Think not that
our Saviour began to live when he was born of the Virgin Mary; imagine not
that he dates his existence from the manger at Bethlehem; remember he is the
Eternal, he is before all things, and by him all things consist. There was
never a time in which there was not God. And just so, there was never a
period in which there was not Christ Jesus our Lord. He is self-existent,
hath no beginning of days, neither end of years; he is the immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, our Saviour. Now, in the past eternity which
had elapsed before his mission to this world, we are told that Jesus Christ
was rich; and to those of us who believe his glories and trust in his
divinity, it is not hard to see how he was so. Jesus was rich in
possessions. Lift up thine eye, believer, and for a moment review the
riches of my Lord Jesus, before he condescended to become poor for thee.
Behold him, sitting upon his throne and declaring his own all-sufficiency.
"If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the cattle on a thousand hills
are mine. Mine are the hidden treasures of gold; mine are the pearls that
the diver can not reach; mine every precious thing that earth hath seen."
The Lord Jesus might have said, "I can stretch my scepter from the east even
to the west, and all is mine; the whole of this world, and yon worlds that
glitter in far off space, all are mine. The illimitable expanse of
unmeasured space, filled as it is with worlds that I have made, all this is
mine. Fly upward, and thou canst not reach the summit of the hill of my
dominions; dive downward, and thou canst not enter into the innermost depths
of my sway. From the highest throne in glory to the lowest pit of hell, all,
all is mine without exception. I can put the broad arrow of my kingdom upon
every thing that I have made.
But
he had besides that which makes men richer still. We have heard of kings in
olden times who were fabulously rich, and when their riches were summed up,
we read in the old romances, "And this man was possessed of the
philosopher's stone, whereby he turned all things into gold." Surely all the
treasures that he had before were as nothing compared with this precious
stone that brought up the rear. Now, whatever might be the wealth of Christ
in things created, he had the power of creation, and therein lay his
boundless wealth. If he had pleased he could have spoken worlds into
existence; he had but to lift his finger, and a new universe as boundless as
the present would have leaped into existence. At the will of his mind,
millions of angels would have stood before him, legions of bright spirits
would have flashed into being. He spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and
it stood fast. He who said, "Light, be," and light was, had power to say to
all things, "Be," and they should be. Herein then, lay his riches; this
creating power was one of the brightest jewels of his crown.
We
call men rich, too, who have honor, and though men have never so much
wealth, yet if they be in disgrace and shame, they must not reckon
themselves among the rich. But our Lord Jesus had honor, honor such as none
but a divine being could receive. When he sat upon his throne, before he
relinquished the glorious mantle of his sovereignty to become a man, all
earth was filled with his glory. He could look both beneath and all around
him, and the inscription, "Glory be unto God," was written over all space;
day and night the smoking incense of praise ascended before him from golden
viols held by spirits who bowed in reverence; the harps of myriads of
cherubim and seraphim continually thrilled with his praise, and the voices
of all those mighty hosts were ever eloquent in adoration. It may be, that
on set days the princes from the far off realms, the kings, the mighty ones
of his boundless realms, came to the court of Christ, and brought each his
annual revenue. Oh, who can tell but that in the vast eternity, at certain
grand eras, the great bell was rung, and all the mighty hosts that were
created gathered together in solemn review before his throne? Who can tell
the high holiday that was kept in the court of heaven when these bright
spirits bowed before his throne in joy and gladness, and, all united, raised
their voices in shouts and hallelujahs such as mortal ear hath never heard.
Oh, can ye tell the depths of the rivers of praise that flowed hard by the
city of God? Can ye imagine to yourselves the sweetness of that harmony that
perpetually poured into the ear of Jesus, Messias, King, Eternal, equal with
God his Father? No; at the thought of the glory of his kingdom, and the
riches and majesty of his power, our souls are spent within us, our words
fail, we can not utter the tithe of his glories.
Nor
was he poor in any other sense. He that hath wealth on earth, and honor too,
is poor if he hath not love. I would rather be the pauper, dependent
upon charity, and have love, than I would be the prince, despised and hated,
whose death is looked for as a boon. Without love, man is poor—give him all
the diamonds, and pearls, and gold that mortal hath conceived. But Jesus was
not poor in love. When he came to earth, he did not come to get our love
because his soul was solitary. Oh no, his Father had a full delight in him
from all eternity. The heart of Jehovah, the first person of the Sacred
Trinity, was divinely, immutably linked to him; he was beloved of the Father
and of the Holy Spirit; the three persons took a sacred complacency and
delight in each other. And besides that, how was he loved by those bright
spirits who had not fallen. I can not tell what countless orders and
creatures there are created who still stand fast in obedience to God. It is
not possible for us to know whether there are, or not, as many races of
created beings as we know there are created men on earth. We can not tell
but that in the boundless regions of space, there are worlds inhabited by
beings infinitely superior to us: but certain it is, there were the holy
angels, and they loved our Saviour; they stood day and night with wings
outstretched, waiting for his commands, hearkening to the voice of his word;
and when he bade them fly, there was love in their countenance, and joy in
their hearts. They loved to serve him, and it is not all fiction that when
there was war in heaven, and when God cast out the devil and his legions,
then the elect angels showed their love to him, being valiant in fight and
strong in power. He wanted not our love to make him happy, he was rich
enough in love without us.
Now,
though a spirit from the upper world should come to tell you of the riches
of Jesus he could not do it. Gabriel, in thy flights thou hast mounted
higher than my imagination dares to follow thee, but thou hast never gained
the summit of the throne of God.
"Dark with insufferable light thy skirts appear."
Jesus,
who is he that could look upon the brow of thy Majesty, who is he that could
comprehend the strength of the arm of thy might? Thou art God, thou art
infinite, and we poor finite things, are lost in thee. The insect of an hour
can not comprehend thyself. We bow before thee, we adore thee; thou art God
over all, blessed for ever. But as for the comprehension of thy boundless
riches, as for being able to tell thy treasures, or to reckon up thy wealth,
that were impossible. All we know is, that the wealth of God, that the
treasures of the infinite, that the riches of eternity, were all thine own:
thou wast rich beyond all thought.
II.
The Lord Jesus Christ, then, was rich. We all believe that, though none of
us can truly speak it forth. Oh, how surprised angels were, when they were
first informed that Jesus Christ, the Prince of Light and Majesty, intended
to shroud himself in clay and become a babe, and live and die! We know not
how it was first mentioned to the angels, but when the rumor first began to
get afloat among the sacred hosts, you may imagine what strange wonderment
there was. What! was it true that he whose crown was all bedight with stars,
would lay that crown aside? What! was it certain that he about whose
shoulders was cast the purple of the universe, would become a man dressed in
a peasants garment? Could it be true that he who was everlasting and
immortal would one day be nailed to a cross? Oh! how their wonderment
increased! They desired to look into it. And when he descended from on high,
they followed him; for Jesus was "seen of angels," and seen in a special
sense, for they looked upon him in rapturous amazement, wondering what it
all could mean. "He for our sakes became poor." Do you see him as on that
day of heaven's eclipse he did ungird his majesty? Oh, can ye conceive the
yet increasing wonder of the heavenly hosts when the deed was actually done,
when they saw the tiara taken off, when they saw him unbind his girdle of
stars, and cast away his sandals of gold? Can ye conceive it, when he said
to them, "I do not disdain the womb of the virgin; I am going down to earth
to become a man?" Can ye picture them as they declared they would follow
him! Yes, they followed him as near as the world would permit them. And when
they came to earth they began to sing, "Glory to God in the highest, on
earth peace, good will toward men." Nor would they go away till they had
made the shepherds wonder, and till heaven had hung out new stars in honor
of the new-born King. And now wonder, ye angels, the Infinite has become an
infant; he, upon whose shoulders the universe doth hang, hangs at his
mothers breast; he who created all things, and bears up the pillars of
creation, hath now become so weak that he must be carried by a woman! And
oh, wonder, ye that knew him in his riches, whilst ye admire his poverty!
Where sleeps the new-born King? Had he the best room in Caesar's palace?
hath a cradle of gold been prepared for him, and pillows of down, on which
to rest his head? No, where the ox fed, in the dilapidated stable, in the
manger, there the Saviour lies, swathed in the swaddling bands of the
children of poverty! Nor there doth he rest long; on a sudden his mother
must carry him to Egypt; he goeth there, and becometh a stranger in a
strange land. When he comes back, see him that made the worlds handle the
hammer and the nails, assisting his father in the trade of a carpenter! Mark
him who has put the stars on high, and made them glisten in the night; mark
him without one star of glory upon his brow—a simple child, as other
children. Yet, leave for a while the scenes of his childhood and his earlier
life; see him when he becomes a man, and now ye may say, indeed, that for
our sakes he did become poor. Never was there a poorer man than Christ; he
was the prince of poverty. He was the reverse of Croesus—he might be
on the top of the hill of riches, Christ stood in the lowest vale of
poverty. Look at his dress, it is woven from the top through out, the
garment of the poor! As for his food, he oftentimes did hunger; and always
was dependent upon the charity of others for the relief of his wants! He who
scattered the harvest o'er the broad acres of the world, had not sometimes
wherewithal to stay the pangs of hunger? He who digged the springs of the
ocean, sat upon a well and said to a Samaritan woman, "Give me to drink!" He
rode in no chariot, he walked his weary way, foot sore, o'er the flints of
Galilee! He had not where to lay his head. He looked upon the fox as it
hurried to its burrow, and the fowl as it went to its resting-place, and he
said, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but I, the Son
of man, have not where to lay my head." He who had once been waited on by
angels, becomes the servant of servants, takes a towel, girds himself, and
washes his disciples' feet! He who was once honored with the hallelujahs of
ages, is now spit upon and despised! He who was loved by his Father, and had
abundance of the wealth of affection, could say, "He that eateth bread with
me hath lifted up his heel against me." Oh, for words to picture the
humiliation of Christ! What leagues of distance between him that sat upon
the throne, and him that died upon the cross! Oh, who can tell the mighty
chasm between yon heights of glory, and the cross of deepest woe! Trace him,
Christian, he has left thee his manger to show thee how God came down to
man. He hath bequeathed thee his cross to show thee how man can ascend to
God. Follow him, follow him, all his journey through; begin with him in the
wilderness of temptation, see him fasting there, and hungering with the wild
beasts around him; trace him along his weary way, as the Man of Sorrows, and
acquainted with grief. He is the byword of the drunkard, he is the song of
the scorner, and he is hooted at by the malicious; see him as they point
their finger at him, and call him "drunken man and wine-bibber!" Follow him
along his via dolorosa, until at last you meet him among the olives
of Gethsemane; see him sweating great drops of blood! Follow him to the
pavement of Gabbatha; see him pouring out rivers of gore beneath the cruel
whips of Roman soldiers! With weeping eye follow him to the cross of
Calvary, see him nailed there! Mark his poverty, so poor that they have
stripped him naked from head to foot, and exposed him to the face of the
sun! So poor, that when he asked them for water they gave him vinegar to
drink! So poor that his unpillowed head is girt with thorns in death! Oh,
Son of Man, I know not which to admire most, thine height of glory, or thy
depths of misery! Oh, Man, slain for us, shall we not exalt thee? God over
all, blessed for ever, shall we not give thee the loudest song? "He was
rich, yet for our sakes he became poor." If I had a tale to tell you this
day, of some king, who, out of love to some fair maiden, left his kingdom
and became a peasant like herself, ye would stand and wonder, and would
listen to the charming tale; but when I tell of God concealing his dignity
to become our Saviour, our hearts are scarcely touched. Ah, my friends, we
know the tale so well, we have heard it so often; and, alas, some of us tell
it so badly that we cannot expect that you would be as interested in it as
the subject doth demand. But surely, as it is said of some great works of
architecture, that though they be seen every morning, there is always
something fresh to wonder at; so we may say of Christ, that though we saw
him every day, we should always see fresh reason to love, and wonder, and
adore. "He was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor."
I
have thought that there is one peculiarity about the poverty of Christ, that
ought not to be forgotten by us. Those who were nursed upon the lap of want
feel less the woes of their condition. But I have met with others whose
poverty I could pity. They were once rich; their very dress which now hangs
about them in tatters, tells you that they once stood foremost in the ranks
of life. You meet them amongst the poorest of the poor; you pity them more
than those who have been born and bred to poverty, because they have known
something better. Amongst all those who are poor, I have always found the
greatest amount of suffering in those who had seen better days. I can
remember, even now, the look of some who have said to me when they have
received assistance—and I have given it as delicately as I could, lest it
should look like charity—"Ah, sir, I have known better days." And the tear
stood in the eye, and the heart was smitten at bitter recollections. The
least slight to such a person, or even too unmasked a kindness, becomes like
a knife cutting the heart. "I have known better days," sounds like a knell
over their joys. And verily our Lord Jesus might have said in all his
sorrows, "I have known better days than these." Methinks when he was tempted
of the devil in the wilderness, it must have been hard in him to have
restrained himself from dashing the devil into pieces. If I had been the Son
of God, methinks, feeling as I do now, if that devil had tempted me, I
should have dashed him into the nethermost hell, in the twinkling of an eye!
And then conceive the patience our Lord must have had, standing on the
pinnacle of the temple, when the devil said, "Fall down and worship me." He
would not touch him, the vile deceiver, but let him do what he pleased. Oh!
what might of misery and love there must have been in the Saviour's heart
when he was spit upon by the men he had created; when the eyes he himself
had filled with vision looked on him with scorn, and when the tongues, to
which he himself had given utterance, hissed and blasphemed him! Oh, my
friends, if the Saviour had felt as we do, and I doubt not he did feel in
some measure as we do—only by great patience he curbed himself—methinks he
ought have swept them all away; and, as they said, he might have come down
from the cross, and delivered himself, and destroyed them utterly. It was
mighty patience that could bear to tread this world beneath his feet, and
not to crush it, when it so ill-treated its Redeemer. You marvel at the
patience which restrained him; you marvel also at the poverty he must have
felt, the poverty of spirit, when they rebuked him and he reviled them not
again; when they scoffed him, and yet he said, "Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do." He had seen brighter days; that made his misery
more bitter, and his poverty more poor.
III.
Well, now we come to the third point—WHY DID THE SAVIOUR COME TO DIE AND BE
POOR? Hear this, ye sons of Adam—the Scripture says, "For your sakes he
became poor, that ye through his poverty might be made rich." For your
sakes. Now, when I address you as a great congregation, you will not feel
the beauty of this expression, "For your sake." Husband and wife,
walking in the fear of God, let me take you by the hand and look you in the
face, let me repeat those words, "for your sakes he became poor."
Young man, let a brother of thine own age, look on thee and repeat these
words, "Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor." Gray-headed
believer, let me look on you and say the same, "For your sake he
became poor." Brethren, take the word home, and see if it does not melt
you—"Though he was rich, yet for my sake he became poor." Beg for the
influences of the Spirit upon that truth, and it will make your heart devout
and your spirit loving—"I the chief of sinners am, yet for my sake he died."
Come, let me hear you speak; let us bring the sinner here, and let him
soliloquize—"I cursed him, I blasphemed, and yet for my sake he was made
poor; I scoffed at his ministers, I broke his Sabbath, yet for my sake was
he made poor. What! Jesus, couldst thou die for one who was not worth thy
having? Couldst thou shed thy blood for one who would have shed thy blood,
if it had been in his power? What! couldst thou die for one so worthless, so
vile?" "Yes, yes," says Jesus, "I shed that blood for thee." Now let the
saint speak: "I," he may say, "have professed to love him, but how cold my
love, how little have I served him! How far have I lived from him; I have
not had sweet communion with him as I ought to have had. When have I been
spending and spent in his service? And yet, my Lord thou dost say, 'for
thy sake I was made poor.'" "Yes," saith Jesus, "see me in my miseries;
see me in my agonies; see me in my death—all these I suffered for thy
sake." Wilt thou not love him who loved thee to this great excess, and
became poor for thy sake?
That,
however, is not the point to which we wish to bring you, just now; the point
is this, the reason why Christ died was, "that we through his poverty
might be rich." He became poor from his riches, that our poverty might
become rich out of his poverty. Brethren, we have now a joyful theme before
us—those who are partakers of the Saviour's blood are rich. All those for
whom the Saviour died, having believed in his name and given themselves to
him, are this day rich. And yet I have some of you here who can not call a
foot of land your own. You have nothing to call your own to-day, you know
not how you will be supported through another week; you are poor, and yet if
you be a child of God, I do know that Christ's end is answered in you;
you are rich. No, I did not mock you when I said you were rich: I did
not taunt you—you are. You are really rich; you are rich in possessions;
you have in your possession now things more costly than gems, more valuable
than gold and silver. Silver and gold, have I none, thou mayest say; but if
thou canst say afterward, "Christ is all," thou hast outspoken all that the
man can say who had piles of gold and silver. "But," thou sayest, "I have
nothing." Man, thou hast all things. Knowest thou not what Paul said? He
declares that "things present and things to come, and this world, and life
and death, all are yours and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." The
great machinery of providence has no wheel which does not revolve for you.
The great economy of grace with all its fullness, is yours. Remember that
adoption, justification, sanctification, all are yours. Thou hast everything
that heart can wish in spiritual things; and thou hast everything that is
necessary for this life; for you know who hath said, "having food and
raiment, let us therewith be content." You are rich; rich with true riches,
and not with the riches of a dream. There are times when men by night do
scrape gold and silver together, like shells upon the sea shore; but when
they wake in the morning they find themselves penniless. But, yours are
everlasting treasures; yours are solid riches. When the son of eternity
shall have melted the rich man's gold away, yours shall endure. A rich man
has a cistern full of riches, but a poor saint has got a fountain
of mercy, and he is the richest who has a fountain. Now, if my neighbor be a
rich man, he may have as much wealth as ever he pleases, it is only a
cistern full, it will soon be exhausted; but a Christian has a fountain that
ever flows, and let him draw, draw on forever, the fountain will still keep
on flowing. However large may be the stagnant pool, if it be stagnant, it is
but of little worth; but the flowing stream, though it seem to be but small,
needs but time, and it will have produced an immense volume of precious
water. Thou art never to have a great pool of riches, they are always to
keep on flowing to thee; "Thy bread shall be given thee, and thy water shall
be sure." As old William Huntingdon says, "The Christian has a hand-basket
portion. Many a man, when his daughter marries, does not give her much, but
he says to her, 'I shall send you a sack of flour one day, and so-and-so the
next day, and now and then a sum of gold; and as long as I live I will
always send you something." Says he, "She will get a great deal more than
her sister, who has had a thousand pounds down. That is how my God deals
with me; he gives to the rich man all at once, but to me day by day." Ah,
Egypt, thou wert rich when thy granaries were full, but those granaries
might be emptied; Israel was far richer when they could not see their
granaries, but only saw the manna drop from heaven, day by day. Now,
Christian, that is thy portion—the portion of the fountain always flowing,
and not of the cistern-full, and soon to be emptied.
But
remember, O saint, that thy wealth does not all lie in thy possession just
now; remember thou art rich in promises. Let a man be never so poor
as to the metal that he hath, let him have in his possession promissory
notes from rich and true men, and he says, "I have no gold in my purse, but
here is a note for such-and-such a sum—I know the signature—I can trust the
firm—I am rich, though I have no metal in hand." And so the Christian can
say, "If I have no riches in possession, I have the promise of them; my God
hath said, ' No good thing will I withhold from them that walk
uprightly,'—that is a promise that makes me rich. He has told me, 'My bread
shall be given me, and my water shall be sure.' I can not doubt his
signature, I know his word to be authentic; and as for his faithfulness, I
would not so dishonor him as to think he would break his promise. No, the
promise is as good as the thing itself. If it be God's promise, it is just
as sure that I shall have it, as if I had it."
But
then the Christian is very rich in reversion. When a certain old man
dies that I know of, I believe that I shall be so immensely rich that I
shall dwell in a place that is paved with gold, the walls of which are
builded with precious stones. But, my friends, you have all got an old man
to die, and when he is dead, if you are followers of Jesus, you will come in
for your inheritance. You know who that old man is, he is very often spoken
of in Scripture; may the old man in you die daily, and may the new man be
strengthened in you. When that old man of corruption, your old nature, shall
totter into its grave, then you will come in for your property. Christians
are like heirs, they have not much in their minority, and they are minors
now; but when they come of age, they shall have the whole of their estate.
If I meet a minor, he says, "That is my property." "You can not sell it,
sir; you can not lay hold of it." "No," says he, "I know I can not; but it
is mine when I am one-and-twenty, I shall then have complete control; but at
the same time, it is as really mine now as it ever will be. I have a legal
right to it, and though my guardians take care of it for me, it is mine, not
theirs." And now, Christian, in heaven there is a crown of gold which is
thine to-day; it will be no more thine when thou hast it on thy head than it
is now. I remember to have heard it reported that I once spoke a metaphor,
and bade Christians look at all the crowns hanging in rows in heaven—very
likely I did say it—but if not, I will say it now. Up, Christian, see the
crowns all ready, and mark thine own; stand thou and wonder at it; see with
what pearls it is bedight, and how heavy it is with gold! And that is for
thy head, thy poor aching head; thy poor tortured brain shall yet have that
crown for its arraying! And see that garment, it is stiff with gems, and
white like snow; and that is for thee! When thy week-day garment shall be
done with, this shall be the raiment of thy everlasting Sabbath. When thou
hast worn out this poor body, there remaineth for thee, "A house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens." Up to the summit, Christian, and survey
thine inheritance; and when thou hast surveyed it all, when thou hast seen
thy present possessions, thy promised possessions, thine entailed
possessions, then remember that all these were bought by the poverty of thy
Saviour! Look thou upon all thou hast, and say, "Christ bought them for me."
Look thou on every promise, and see the bloodstains on it; yea, look too, on
the harps and crowns of heaven, and read the bloody purchase! Remember, thou
couldst never have been anything but a damned sinner, unless Christ had
bought thee! Remember, if he had remained in heaven, thou wouldst for ever
have remained in hell; unless he had shrouded and eclipsed his own honor,
thou wouldst never have had a ray of light to shine upon thee. Therefore,
bless his dear name, extol him, trace every stream to the fountain; and
bless him who is the source, and the fountain of everything thou hast.
Brethren, "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might
be rich."
IV.
I have not done, I have three things now to say, and shall say them as
briefly as possible.
The
first is a doctrine; the doctrine is this: If Christ in his poverty
made us rich, what will he do now that he is glorified. If the Man of
Sorrows saved my soul, will the man now exalted suffer it to perish? If the
dying Saviour availed for our salvation, should not the living, interceding
Saviour, abundantly secure it?
"He lived, he lives and sits above,
For ever interceding there;
What shall divide us from his love,
Or what shall sink us in despair?"
If when the nail was in thine hand, O Jesus, thou didst rout all hell, canst
thou be defeated now that thou hast grasped the scepter? If, when the thorn
crown was put about thy brow, thou didst prostrate the dragon, canst thou be
overcome and conquered now that the acclamations of angels are ascending to
thee? No, my brethren, we can trust the glorified Jesus; we can repose
ourselves on his bosom; if he was so strong in poverty, what must he be in
riches?
The
next thing was a question, that question was a simple one. My hearer,
hast thou been made rich by Christ's poverty? Thou sayest, "I am good enough
without Christ; I want no Saviour." Ah, thou art like her of old, who said,
"I am rich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing, whereas, saith
the Lord, 'Thou art naked, and poor, and miserable.'" O ye that live by good
works, and think that ye shall go to heaven because you are as good as
others; all the merits you can ever earn yourselves, are good for nothing.
All that human nature ever made, turns to a blot and a curse. If those are
your riches, you are no saints. But can you say this morning, my hearers, "I
am by nature without anything, and God has by the power of his Spirit taught
me my nothingness."
My
brother, my sister, hast than taken Christ to be thine all in all? Canst
thou say this day, with an unfaltering tongue, "My Lord, my God, I have
nothing; but thou art my all?" Come, I beseech thee, do not shirk the
question. Thou art careless, heedless; answer it, then, in the negative. But
when thou hast answered it, I beseech thee, beware of what thou hast said.
Thou art sinful, thou feelest it. Come, I beseech thee, and lay hold on
Jesus. Remember, Christ came to make those rich, that have nothing of their
own. My Saviour is a physician; if you can heal yourself, he will have
nothing to do with you. Remember, my Saviour came to clothe the naked. He
will clothe you, if you have not a rag of your own; but unless you let him
do it from head to foot, he will have nothing to do with you. Christ says he
will never have a partner; he will do all, or none. Come then, hast thou
given up all to Christ? Hast thou no reliance and trust save in the cross of
Jesus? Then thou hast answered the question well. Be happy, be joyous; if
death should surprise thee the next hour, thou art secure. Go on thy way,
and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
And
now I close with the third thing, which was an exhortation. Sinner,
dost thou this morning feel thy poverty? Then look to Christ's poverty. O ye
that are to-day troubled on account of sin—and there are many such here—God
has not let you alone; he has been plowing your heart with the sharp
plowshare of conviction; you are this day saying, "What must I do to be
saved?" You would give all you have, to have an interest in Jesus Christ.
Your soul is this day sore broken and tormented. O sinner, if thou wouldst
find salvation, thou must find it in the veins of Jesus. Now, wipe that tear
from thine eye a moment, and look here. Dost thou see him high, where the
cross rears its terrible tree? There he is. Dost see him? Mark his head. See
the thorn-crown, and the beaded drops still standing on his temples. Mark
his eyes; they are just closing in death. Canst see the lines of agony, so
desperate in woe? Dost see his hands? See the streamlets of blood flowing
down them. Hark, he is about to speak. "My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me!" Didst hear that, sinner? Pause a moment longer, take another
survey of his person; how emaciated his body, and how sick his spirit! Look
at him. But hark, he is about to speak again—"It is finished." What means he
by that? He means, that he has finished thy salvation. Look thou to him, and
find salvation there. Remember, to be saved, all that God wants of a
penitent, is to look to Jesus. My life for this—if you will risk your all on
Christ, you shall be saved. I will be Christ's bondsman to-day, to be bound
for ever, if he break his promise. He has said, "Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth." It is not your hands that will save you;
it must be your eyes. Look from those works whereby you hope to be saved. No
longer strive to create a garment that will not hide your sin, throw away
that shuttle; it is only filled with cobwebs. What garment can you weave
with that? Look thou to him, and thou art saved. Never sinner looked, and
was lost. Dost mark that eye there? One glance will save thee, one glance
will set thee free. Dost thou say, "I am a guilty sinner?" Thy guilt is the
reason why I bid thee look. Dost thou say, "I cannot look?" Oh, may God help
thee to look now. Remember, Christ will not reject thee; thou mayest reject
him. Remember now, there is the cup of mercy put to thy lip by the hand of
Jesus. I know, if thou feelest thy need, Satan may tempt thee not to drink,
but he will not prevail; thou wilt put thy lip feebly and faintly, perhaps,
to it. But oh, do but sip it; and the first draught shall give thee bliss;
and the deeper thou shalt drink, the more of heaven shalt thou know. Sinner,
believe on Jesus Christ; hear the whole gospel preached to thee. It is
written in God's Word, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
Hear me translate it—He that believeth and is immersed shall be
saved. Believe thou, trust thyself on the Saviour, make a profession of thy
faith in baptism, and then thou mayest rejoice in Jesus, that he hath saved
thee. But remember not to make a profession till thou hast believed:
remember, baptism is nothing, until thou hast faith. Remember, it is a farce
and a falsehood, until thou hast first believed; and afterwards, it is
nothing but the profession of thy faith. Oh, believe that; cast thyself upon
Christ, and thou art saved for ever! The Lord add his blessing, for the
Saviour's sake. Amen.
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