IN this branch of the story two things are remarkable, and
there is a behold prefixed before either of them to excite our
attention. First, they see a bright cloud, and then they hear a voice out of
the cloud.
First, Of the cloud: and while he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud
overshadowed them. It was not a dark cloud, as upon Mount Sinai, when God
gave the law, but a bright one, yet not so bright and lightsome but that it was
mixed with some obscurity. It was no natural and ordinary cloud, such as are
commonly engendered in the air above us, but extraordinary and supernatural,
created by God for this occasion. The use of it was double.
1. To convey Moses and Elias out of their sight when this conference was ended.
Therefore some expound that which is said, Luke ix. 34, 'They feared as they
entered into the cloud,' after this manner, the disciples feared when they saw
Moses and Elias entering into the cloud-that is, involved and covered in it. It
is said of Jesus Christ himself, when he ascended into heaven, Acts i. 9, 'A
cloud received him out of their sight.'
2. To be a token of the extraordinary presence of God, whose voice immediately
came out of the cloud, as also to veil the glory thereof, which was best done
by a cloud, a thing of a middle nature between terrestrial and celestial
bodies. When Solomon builded the temple the Lord showed his special presence
there by filling the house with a cloud, 1 Kings viii. 10. This way of
apparition God useth to moderate the splendour of his excellent glory. We are
not able to behold God as he is, and must not pry into his glory; there is a
cloud and, veil upon it.
Secondly, They heard a voice: and behold, a voice out of the cloud which
said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
1. Observe, That there was a voice distinctly and audibly heard. Though God did
sensibly now manifest his presence in the mount with Christ, and did audibly
speak to them, yet he did not appear in any distinct form and shape, either of
man or any other living creature, but all was done by a voice out of the cloud;
so Deut. iv. 12, 'Ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude,' and
ver. 15, 'Take good heed to yourselves, for ye saw no similitude in the day
that the Lord spake to you in Horeb, lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make to
you any graven image.' The similitude of any figure, etc. The voice of God may
with less danger come 'to us than any sight or representation of him.
2. The matter, or what this voice said: This is my beloved Son; hear ye
him. By this voice there is :-
[1.] A testimony given to Christ.
[2.] A command to hear him; or,
(1.) The dignity of Christ. He is the beloved Son of God, in whom he is well
pleased.
(2.) A suitable respect bespoken for him.
The words are few, but yet contain the sum of the whole gospel, and they are
spoken, not by a man, nor by an angel, but by the Lord himself, and therefore
they should be entertained with the more reverence. The apostle Peter, who was
one of the parties present, could never forget this testimony of the Father
concerning his Son Jesus Christ: 2 Pet. i. 17, 'He received from the Father
honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory,
This is my beloved Son, in whom l am well pleased;' and besides, what Christ
speaketh of another voice from heaven is true of this: John xii. 30, 'This
voice came not because of me, but for your sakes,' not so much to encourage him
in his suffering as to our edification and instruction. All the testimonies
given unto Christ from heaven tended to point him out to sinners as the true
Messiah, approved and accepted of God; therefore these words should ever be in
our minds, especially when we draw nigh to God in solemn duties.
I shall begin with the dignity, honour, and glory of Christ, solemnly declared
from heaven. There are three things in it :-
1. The relation between him and the Father: he is a Son.
2. The dearness of that relation: his beloved Son.
3. The complacential satisfaction which he taketh in him, and the price of our
redemption paid by him: in whom I am well pleased.
Doct. That it is the main and principal point of the gospel, and of
great necessity to be known and believed to salvation, that Jesus Christ is the
beloved Son of God, in whom he is well pleased.
1. I shall open this testimony given to Christ
2. Speak of the importance and weight of it.
I. Of the testimony given to Christ.
1. Let me open the term that expresseth his filiation, that he is
God's Son. Christ is the Son of God properly so called, a Son only- begotten:
John iii. 16, 'God so loved the world that he gave his only- begotten Son;'
eternally begotten, Prov. viii. 22, 23, 'I was set up from everlasting, the
Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old' A Son
co-equal with his Father, John v. 18. The Jews sought to kill him because he
said God was his Father making himself equal with God, patera idion elege
ton theon, his own proper Father. So co-essential, of the same substance
with his Father, John i. 1, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.' Now thus is he the Son of God.
Why is it mentioned there?
[1.] To show the special dignity of Christ above all others. He is the Son of
God: Christians are the sons of God, but in a different manner-he by nature, we
by adoption. Though God have many sons by creation and adoption, yet Christ is
his Son in a peculiar and proper way, by eternal generation, and communication
of the same essence, ho uios agapetos, that beloved Son; so a Son as
none else is the Son of God, properly so called.
[2] To distinguish him from Moses and the prophets. From Moses,
Heb. iii. 5, 6, ' Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant but
Christ as a Son over his own house, whose house we are,' etc. ; so from the
rest of the prophets: Heb. 1. 1, 2,' God at sundry times, and in divers
manners, spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, but hath in
these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all
things, by whom also he made the world.' This is the great doctor of the
church; now as to meekness above Moses, as to zeal above Elias, as to
familiarity and communion he was with God and was God.
[3.] To show the old prophecies were fulfilled, which foretold the
union of the two natures in his person, the predictions concerning one whose
name should be Immanuel, God with us, and who should save and redeem the
church, Isa. vii. 14; and of a child that should be 'the mighty God, the
everlasting Father,' Isa. ix. 6. This the prophets foretold, that he should be
God, and the Son of God: Micah v. 2, 'His going forth is from everlasting,'
though born at Bethlehem; so the bud of the Lord and the fruit of the earth,
Isa. iv. 2. The man God's fellow, Zech. xiii. 7; and in many other places the
union of the two natures is asserted.
2. He is the beloved Son.
[1.] That God loved Christ. Christ is the object of his Father's love, both as
the second person and as mediator. As the second person of the Trinity-two
things are wont to attract love, nearness and likeness, they are both here.
Nearness, he was in the bosom of the Father: John i. 18, ' The only-begotten
Son, which, is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.' Likeness is
another load- stone of affection:' Heb. i. 3, He is 'the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of his person.' Such as the Father is so is
Christ.
[2.] As mediator, so God loveth him on the account of his obedience: John x.
17, 'Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life for the
sheep;' John iii. 35, the Father hath loved him and put all things into his
hand. The Father approved Christ's undertaking for sinners, delighted in it as
an excellent way of glo- rifying his name, and recovering poor creatures out of
their lost condition; and rested satisfied, and was pleased with his death, as
a sufficient ransom for poor souls. Well, then, God loved him so as to trust
the souls of all mankind in his hands, and to appoint him to be the great
mediator, to end all differences between him and us; and the more he doth in
pursuance of his office, the more beloved he is and acceptable to God.
[3.] The testimony of his love to him as mediator; for his unspeakable
rejoicing in him, as second person in the Trinity, we are not competent judges
of. It is described: Prov. viii. 30, 'I was daily his delight, rejoicing always
before him.' The mutual complacency which the divine persons take in one
another is there set forth; God delighted in Christ, and Christ in God. But in
the second love as mediator, God expressed his love to him in two things: the
gift of the Spirit, and the glory of his human nature.
(1.) The gift of the Spirit: John iii. 34, ' God giveth not the Spirit in
measure to him, for the Father loveth the Son, and hath put all things into his
hands.' This was the great expression of his love to Christ as mediator, not to
make him a visible monarch of the world, but by the gift of his Spirit to be
head of the church.
(2.) The other expression of his love to him as mediator was the gift of
everlasting glory: John xvii. 24, 'Father, I will that those whom thou hast
given me should be where I am, and behold my glory, for thou hast loved me
before the foundation of the world.' God's love to Christ, as mediator, was
manifested in exalting him to glory, and this everlasting. These are the great
expresses of God's love to Christ, as God incarnate, or appearing in our
nature.
Why is it put here ?-
[1.] To show the end for which Christ came; to represent the amiableness of God
- that he is love, 1 John iv. 8, and hath love for his children. Christ is the
pattern of all, for he is first beloved, and the great instance and
demonstration of God's love to the world.
[2.] To intimate the redundancy of this love ; it overfloweth to us, for Christ
being beloved, we are beloved also: Eph. i. 6, ' He hath made us accepted in
the beloved,' to the praise of his glorious grace. It is an overflowing love;
he is loved, and all that have an interest in him are loved. There is a twofold
love in God-the love of benevolence and complacency. The elect from all
eternity are loved by God with a love of benevolence, whereby he willed good
unto them, and decrees to bestow good upon them ; but the love of complacency
and delight is that love whereby God accepteth us, delighteth in us, when he
hath made us lovely as his own children, reconciled them by the death of
Christ, renewed them by the Spirit of Christ, and furnished them with all the
graces which make us acceptable to him, and precious in his sight.
[3.] To show the kind and manner of the expressing of his love to his redeemed
ones. Christ prayed: John xvii. 23, 'That the world may know that thou hast
loved them as thou hast loved me.' And ver. 26: 'That the love wherewith thou
hast loved me may be in them,' that is, by the gift of the Spirit and
everlasting glory. Though Christ was the beloved Son, yet his state was but
mean and despicable in the world; 'he was afflicted,' 'a man of sorrows,'
pursued to the death, even a shameful, painful, accursed death; yet all this
while he was full of the Holy Ghost, of his graces, comforts, and afterwards
received to glory; and so will he love us. At this rate and tenor, his love
bindeth him not to give us worldly greatness, but if we have the Spirit, and
may be welcomed to heaven at the last, we have that which is the true discovery
of God's love. So he manifested his love to the only-begotten Son, and
therefore the adopted children should be contented with this love, if by the
Spirit they may be enabled to continue with patience in well-doing, till they
receive eternal glory and happiness.
3. The next thing is en o eudokesa, 'in whom I am well pleased.' This is
to be interpreted of Christ as mediator, or God incarnate; for this was twice
spoken-at Christ's baptism, Mat. iii. 17, and now at his transfiguration. Both
imply his mediatorship; for his baptism had the notion of a dedication; he did
then present himself to God as a mediator for us, to be the servant of his
decree, as we in baptism dedicate ourselves to fulfil the precepts which belong
to us, and as we are concerned to promote his glory in the world. Christ
presented himself as a mediator, that is, as a prophet to acquaint us with the
way of salvation, as a priest to pay a perfect ransom for us, as a king to give
us all things, and defend and maintain all those who submit to his government
till their glory be perfected, and they attain unto their final estate of bliss
and happiness. Now, then, God from heaven declared himself well pleased; and
now, again, when Christ had made some progress in the work, confirmeth it for
the assurance of the world.
This, then, must be interpreted : -
[1.] As to Christ.
[2.] As to those who have benefit by him and interest in him.
[1.] As to Christ. He was well pleased; partly, as to the design - the
reparation of lost mankind; partly, as to the terms by which it should be
brought about; partly, as to the execution and management of it by Christ.
(1.) As to the design. God was well pleased that lapsed mankind should be
restored. At the first, God was pleased with his creation, Exod. xxxi. 17. 'On
the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed;' that is, recreated in the view
of his works, as the effects of his wisdom, power, and goodness. And Ps. civ.
31, 'The Lord shall rejoice in his works.' The Lord saw all to be good in the-
beginning and working, not to be repented of. This was God's rest and Sabbath,
to take delight in his works. When he looked on it altogether, behold it was
exceeding good; but afterwards man, the ungrateful part of the creation, though
the masterpiece of it in this visible and lower world, fell from God his
creator, and preferred the creature before him, to his loss and ruin; then God
was so far displeased that he had reason to wish the destruction of mankind. It
is said, Gen. vi. 6, that 'it repented God that he had made man;' that is, he
was displeased with us, estranged from us, no more contented with us than a man
is in what he repenteth of. For, properly, God cannot repent; but this is an
expression to show how odious we were grown to him: Ps. xiv. 2, 3, ' The Lord
looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that
did understand, and did seek after God. They are all gone aside, they are all
together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.' Alas !
there is a lamentable appearance of mankind to God's sight, now nothing good to
be found in them; an universal defection, both in piety and humanity. But then
Christ undertook the reparation of mankind, and the design was pleasing to God,
that he might not lose the glory of his creation, and all flesh be utterly
destroyed Col. i. 19, 20, 'It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness
dwell ; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to
reconcile all things unto himself.' The restoring of fallen man to friendship
with God, and all things tending to it, were highly pleasing to God, namely,
that Jesus Christ, the second person in the Trinity, should become a mediator;
for that end he had a great affection and liking to this thing: eudoknse, it is
the same word used here, the thing is highly pleasing to God, that the breach
should be made up ; that man, who had lost the image, favour, and fellowship
with God, should be again restored, by renewing his heart, reconciling his
person, and admitting him again into communion with God, who was so justly
provoked by him. God stood in no need of our friendship, nor could any loss
come to him by our hatred and enmity; only it pleased the Father to take this
way: Isa. liii. 10, for 'it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to
grief : when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his
seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in
his hand.'
(2.) He is pleased with the terms. God, who is the supreme governor of the
world, and the offended party, stood upon these terms, that the honour of his
governing justice should be secured, and the repentance and reformation of man
carried on. Strictly these must be done, or else man must lie under his eternal
displeasure ; if one be done and not the other, no reconciliation can ensue.
Now that God is highly pleased with the satisfaction and compensation made to
his governing justice : Heb. x. 6, 7, 'In burnt-offerings and sacrifices for
sin thou hast no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come to do thy will, 0 God;' ver.
10, ' By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of
Christ once for all.' God rejected all other sacrifices, but was fully
satisfied with this, as enough to expiate the sin of man. Christ delighted to
give it, and God delighted to accept of it. He paid a perfect ransom for us,
besides or above which he craved no more, but rested fully content in it. For
the other, the renovation of man's nature, to put him into a capacity to serve
and please God, for God would not admit us to privileges without change of
heart and disposition: Acts v. 31, ' God exalted him to be a prince and
saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins.' In short, God is so
satisfied with these terms, that (1.) He seeketh no further amends for all
their wrongs: Rom. iii. 25, 'Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of
sins that are past;' (2.) No further price for what they need: 1 Pet. i. 18,
19, 'Ye are not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with
the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without spot and blemish.' The
repentance of a sinner is pleasing to him, there is joy in heaven: Luke xv. 7,
'Joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that is converted.' A feast
was made at the return of the prodigal: 'As I live, saith the Lord, I have no
pleasure in the death of a sinner.' Our conversion is more pleasing to God than
our destruction.
(3.) He is pleased with the execution and management of it by Christ. He
carried himself in the office of the mediator according to what was enjoined
him: John viii. 29, 'I do always the things that please him.' John v. 30, 'I
can of myself do nothing; as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just; because I
seek not my will, but the will of the Father which sent me.' And did finish all
that was necessary for the redemption of the elect before he died: John xix.
30, ' When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he
bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.' Evidences of this are his resurrection
from the dead: Acts v. 30, 31, 'The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye
slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a
Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.'
Heb. xiii. 20, 'The God of peace brought again the Lord Jesus from the dead,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant.' As pacified in Christ,
'received into glory,' I Tim. iii. 16. Certainly God is well pleased, since he
hath given not only a discharge, but a reward. The gift of the Spirit, for
renewing the heart of man, which is the great pledge of God's being satisfied:
John vii. 39, 'This he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on him
should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was
not yet glorified ;' a sure evidence that our ransom is paid: Acts v. 32, 'And
we are his witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Ghost, which he hath
given to them that obey him.' A sacrifice of infinite value and esteem.
[2.] That he is well pleased with us who have an interest in him. In our
natural estate we are all displeasing unto God. Whatever we are in the purpose
of his decree, we must look upon ourselves as we are in the sentence of his
law; so 'Children of wrath,' Eph. ii. 3: 'Enemies by our minds in evil works,'
Col. i. 21 : 'Estranged from the womb,' Ps. lviii. 3 ; so that all of us were
cut off from the favour of God, obnoxious to his wrath; this is our miserable
condition by nature, that we were no way pleasing to him, ' for without faith
it is impossible to please God,' Heb. xi. 6. A sinner as a sinner can do
nothing acceptable; indeed, God having found a ransom, is placabilis, but not
placatus, not actually reconciled to us till we are in Christ; and he is
placandus antequam placendus, to be appeased before he can be pleased; he is
not actually reconciled till we are in Christ.
(2.) Awakened sinners are not easily satisfied, so as to look upon themselves
as pleasing unto God; for the conscience of sin is not easily laid aside, nor
is the stain soon got out. And though the grant be passed in heaven, yet we
have not the sense of it in our own hearts; for it is the blood of Christ can
only do it: Heb. ix. 14, ' How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God?' The carnal offer thousands of rams,
and rivers of oil, and 'the fruit of the body for the sin of their soul,' Micah
vi. 6, 7. They would give anything for a sufficient sin-offering; yea, the
renewed and pardoned have not so firm a peace as to be able always to look upon
themselves in a state of well-pleasing, therefore often beg that God would
dissipate the clouds and cause the light of his countenance to break forth upon
them: Ps. lxxx. 19, ' Turn us, O Lord God of hosts; cause thy face to shine,
and we shall be saved.' So that when there is a grant of pardon, and peace, and
access to God, we have not always the sense.
(3.) Yet the ground is laid. As soon as we have an interest in Christ, God is
well pleased with us; if you consent to his mediation, and take him in his
three offices, as a prophet, priest, and king. As a prophet, hear him ; the
business is put out of all question, that God will love you because he loved
Christ. When you depend on him as a priest, you have reconciliation and access
to God: Rom. v. 1, 2, 'Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into
the grace wherein we stand.' When you subject yourselves to him as a king, Col
i. 13, 'He hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.' Christ is dear
to God, and to him all the subjects of his kingdom are dear also. So that if
you will be more explicit in your duty, you may be more explicit in your
comforts; if you will receive his doctrine, so as it may have authority over
your hearts; if in the anguish of your soul you will depend on the merit of his
sacrifice, and give up yourselves to live in a constant obedience to his laws;
you will find him to be a dear Son indeed, one very acceptable with God, for
you also will be accepted with him, for his sake.
II. Concerning the weight and importance of this truth.
1. It is propounded as the foundation upon which God will build his church:
Mat. xvi. 16-18, 'And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art Christ, the Son
of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon
this rock will I build my church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.'
2. It is the question put to those that would enter upon Christianity: Acts
viii. 37, ' If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest: and he answered
and said, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.' When they were serious in
the profession, that was enough: 1 John v. 1, 'Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God.'
3. This engaged the hearts of the disciples to tarry with him when others
murmured at his doctrine. He that cleaveth to this profession carrieth himself
accordingly, whatever temptations he hath to the contrary: we believe and are
sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God.
4. For this end the scriptures were written: 'These things are written, that ye
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye
might have life through his name,' John xx. 31. By obedience to his laws,
dependence on his promises.
5. This is the ground of submission to Christ in all his offices, why we should
hear him as a prophet in this place (which I shall more fully make manifest in
the next sermon), why we should depend on him as a priest, for the virtue of
his oblation and intercession: 'If God spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?'
Rom. viii. 32. I John iv. 10, 'Herein is love, not that we loved God, but he
loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.' 1 John ii. 1,
If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous.' The blood of Christ is of high esteem and infinite value, both as
to merit and satisfaction, to purchase all manner of blessings for us, and to
satisfy God's provoked justice for our sins. And if the Father be so well
pleased with him, what can he not obtain at his hands? which is an
encouragement in our prayers and supplications. So for our improvement of his
kingly office, which respects duties and privileges; our duty with respect to
the kingly office is subjection: Ps. ii. 12, ' Kiss the Son lest he be angry,
and you perish in the midway.' Because Christ Jesus is the Son of God, he
should be submitted unto and embraced with the heartiest love and subjection;
for to kiss, is a sign of religious adoration, Hosea xiii. 2; as they kissed
the calves, and offer homage and hearty subjection; as Samuel kissed Saul,
because God had anointed him to be king over his people, 1 Sam. x. 1. So for
privileges; he is God co-equal, co- eternal with his Father, able to protect
all those that apply themselves to him, till he bring them to eternal glory and
happiness; and, therefore, it is said, 1 John v. 5, ' Who is he that overcometh
the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?' That is the
fortifying truth; this both cautioneth us against all the delights and snares,
and supports us against all the terrors and fears of the world. If we have the
Son of God for our prophet, priest, and king, we ought to carry ourselves with
greater reverence, trust, and subjection.
Use 1. Believe it, lay up this truth in your hearts by a firm and
sound belief. There are in faith three things - assent, acceptance, dependence.
The matter in hand calleth for all these.
[1.] A firm assent; for here we have the testimony of God concerning his Son.
The apostle tells us, that 'he that believeth not hath made God a liar, because
he believeth not the testimony of God concerning his Son,' 1 John v. 10. The
great testimony is this, that we have in hand that Jesus is his beloved Son,
with whom he is well pleased; that he will give pardon and life to all that
hearken to him, embrace his person, receive his doctrine, believe his promises,
fear his threats, obey his precepts, the strictest of them. Oh ! labour to work
it into your hearts that indeed it is so. In matters of fact we receive the
testimony of men, two or three credible men ; why not in matters of faith ?-the
testimony of God evidenced to us by this solemn action, an account of which we
have from ear-witnesses and eye-witnesses, who were men that hazarded their all
for the delivery of this truth, and yet referred us to the surer word of
prophecy, 1 Pet i. 19. He was owned as a Son: Ps. ii. 7, 'Thou art my Son: this
day have I begotten thee.' As a beloved Son, in whom God is well pleased: Isa.
xlii. 1, 'Behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect in whom my soul
delighteth.' If you be not wanting to yourselves, you may have this witness in
your hearts: 1 John v. 10, ' He that believeth on the Son of God hath the
witness in himself.' Oh! let us not give the flat lie to God. Rouse up this
languid faith. Is this true, or is it a cunningly devised fable?
[2.] Faith is an acceptance of Christ, or an entering into a covenant with God
by him. You must have the Son: 1 John v. 12, 'He that hath the Son hath life.'
John i. 12, 'As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them which believe on his name.' Receiving, respects God's
offer. God gives Christ, and we receive what God giveth,-to what end? Why, he
giveth him as king, priest, and prophet, to dwell in our hearts by faith, to
rule us and guide us by his word and Spirit, and maintain God's interest in us
against the devil, the world, and the flesh, till we come to everlasting
glory.
[3.] Dependence. He is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by
him; therefore on him alone should we depend for all things necessary to
salvation. Two things persuade this dependence :-
(1.) That nothing can be done without Christ: Acts iv. 12, 'Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved.' Nothing can be done without Christ that may be
effectual to our recovery, either for the paying of our ransom, or for the
changing of our hearts. Alas! what could we do to please God, or profit our own
souls? The work would cease for ever if it should lie upon our hands.
(2.) That he can do what he pleaseth for the good of his redeemed ones: John
xvii. 2, 'As thou hast given power over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him.' All that Christ did for our salvation
did highly content and please the Father; he is satisfied with him; he can make
us lovely in his sight: Eph. i. 6, 'To the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.' And will now joy in his
people, Isa. lxv. 19, and rest in his love, Zeph. iii. 17. Well, then, let us
believe; faith is a ratifying God's testimony concerning his Son; we believe
what God hath said, that Christ is his Son; we receive him as he is freely
offered, and subscribe to this declaration. The Father saith from heaven, 'This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am we]l pleased; hear him.' So penitent believers
must answer back again, This is our beloved Redeemer, in whom we are well
pleased; let the Father hear him. He hath somewhat to say to the Father as well
as to us; his doctrine concerneth us, but his intercession is made to God.
Use 2. Entertain it with thankfulness. That such a remedy should be provided for us argueth the unspeakable love of God: 1 John iv. 9, 'In this was manifested the love of God to us, because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live by him.' That God should bestow his Son upon us to procure our salvation. God tried Abraham's love in sacrificing his son, but manifested his love to us in sending his own Son; 'He spared him not, but delivered him up for us all.' Now that such a remedy and ransom is found out for us, it should leave an impression of God's love on our hearts, that we may love him again who first loved us, 1 John iv. 19. Think nothing too dear for God, who thought no rate too dear to purchase our life and peace. As our salvation was precious to him, let his glory be dear to us; only let me tell you, this love must not be confined to a bare act of our reason, but you must pray to God to shed abroad this love in your hearts by the Holy Spirit, Rom. v. 5, that so you may study to love and please God, prize Christ and his precious benefits above all things in the world, and live to him who died for you, that you may feel the constraining efficacy and force of love.