THE NEW EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE, AND Theological Review. JANUARY, 1816. 1 SERMON IV. THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF THE BLESSEd god. The glorious gospel of the blessed God. 1 Tim. i. 11. earthly things." Phil. iii. 18. Notwithstanding its valuable nature, there are many who despise it as foolishness, and reject the things peace. They prefer death to life, and the curse to the blessing; and, if mercy prevent not, they shall have their choice. WHEN the Psalmist, wrapt in prophetic vision, saw the approach of the gospel dispensation, he ex-which belong to their everlasting claims, with pious admiration and sympathetic joy, "Blessed is the people who know the joyful sound." This joyful sound has often reached your ears-" Unto you is the word My hearers, I have this day fixed of this salvation sent." "The lines upon the words of my text as the have fallen to you in pleasant foundation of an address to you, in places, and you have a goodly he-order that your minds might be ritage." A greater privilege you properly affected towards that God could not enjoy than the possession who has so highly distinguished of the glorious gospel of the blessed you above millions of your fellowGod. It discovers to you an in- creatures- that I might exhibit fallible method of obtaining de- before your eyes the glorious disliverance from impending ruin, and play of God's goodness bestowed the full enjoyment of eternal glory. upon you-warn you against lightly Every person, therefore, who esteeming your mercies, and stivalues the state of his soul, who mulate you to walk as becometh has been convinced of his natural those who are blessed with the misery, and who feels right de-light of "the glorious gospel of sires after happiness, must and will the blessed God." prize the gospel, and rejoice in the treasure he possesses, when he holds the records of truth in his hand. It is indeed to be lamented that it has had and still has opposers. Hence the apostle observes, Many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind VOL. II. For this purpose allow me to call your attention to I. The distinguishing nature, I will call your attention, I. To the distinguishing nature of the gospel. Were I to attempt to set forth the nature of the gospel of Christ in the fullest and clearest manner, it would be necessary to give you a summary 2 THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF THE BLESSED GOD sages of sacred Scripture-"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began; that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life." Luke i. 68-75. angel said unto them, Fear not: "And the of its doctrines, promises, precepts, and blessings; but to do this, would occupy more of your time than at present it might be prudent to engross. Allow me therefore to confine myself to a few general observations concerning it, and to mention a few only of those representations of it which are set forth in the sacred Scriptures; by means of which we shall discover sufficient of its nature to convince us that "It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation." If we were called upon to give a brief and general description of the gospel, we might say, it is the joyful proclamation from heaven of the redemption of sinners of the human race by Jesus Christ, accomplished in such a manner as to redound to the glory of all the perfections of Jehovah-for, behold, I bring you good we might represent it as a dispen- tidings of great joy, which shall sation of grace, proceeding from be to all people. For unto you the free unmerited love of God in is born this day in the city of Christ Jesus," Whom God hath set David, a Saviour, which is Christ forth to be a propitiation through the Lord." But in order to give faith in his blood, to declare his you as enlarged a view of its narighteousness for the remission of ture as time will allow, we obsins that are past, through the for- serve, that in the New Testament bearance of God; to declare, it is termed, say, at this time his righteousness; 1. The word of truth. Thus the that he might be just, and the apostle Paul exhorts Timothy, his justifier of him who believeth in son in the gospel, to study to shew Jesus." Rom. iii. 25, 26. As a himself approved unto God; dispensation of happiness, be- workman that needeth not to be stowing upon lost perishing sin- ashamed, rightly dividing the word ners, peace, joy, and salvation. of truth. And well indeed might And a dispensation of holiness, he thus term it, for it has the God delivering them who believe from of truth for its author, and conthe power of sin, purifying their tains nothing but truth, TRUTH affections, and restoring them to the most pure and unadulterated; the image of God, lost by the fall. TRUTH the most important to This is clearly pointed out by the mankind, compared to which all apostle Paul. When writing to things else are but trifling vanities Titus, he says, "For the grace of and uninteresting stories; TRUTH, God that bringeth salvation hath on the knowledge and belief of appeared to all men, teaching us, which their everlasting salvation that, denying ungodliness and depends. It reveals all that is worldly lusts, we should live sc- necessary to be known concerning berly, righteously, and godly, in the perfections of the Divine Nathis present evil world." Tit. ii. ture and the awful situation of 11, 12. It is also beautifully il-man by reason of sin; and, tolustrated in the following pas-gether with this, discovers the most a It is termed, glorious method by which men the gospel is termed the word of might be delivered from that state reconciliation. Because in it Jesus of misery, and raised to the dig-as the Redeemer is displayed in all nity of the sons of God. Hence the loveliness of his character, as Christ declares, "I am the light the Healer of the breach-the of the world." And again, "I am Publisher of peace-the atoning come a light into the world, that High Priest of our professionthey who believe in me should not the Mediator between God and henceforth walk in darkness, but man, "who by the eternal Spirit have the light of life.”- "For God offered himself without spot unto so loved the world, that he gave God." Heb. ix. 14. In this word his only begotten Son, that who- of reconciliation we hear him exsoever believeth in him should not claiming, "I create the fruit of perish, but have everlasting life." the lips-Peace, peace to him that John iii. 16. is afar off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord, and I will heal 2. The word of reconciliation. him." In order to effect this reThis representation of the gospel conciliation in a manner honourable we have in the well known decla- to God and safe to man, he was tion of the apostle of the Gentiles, constituted THE MEDIATOR, set when writing to the Corinthians. forth as THE PROPITIATION for "And all things are of God, who sin, and exalted at the right hand hath reconciled us to himself by of the Most High, a PRINCE and Jesus Christ, and hath given to us a SAVIOUR, to give repentance the ministry of reconciliation; to unto Israel and the remission of wit, that God was in Christ, resins. How affectingly does the conciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Cor. v. 18–21. And it conveys to our minds a very plain and interesting idea of the nature of the gospel of Christ. It reminds us of the awful effects of sin; it teaches us that sin has made a breach between heaven and earth; destroyed the friendship which once subsisted between God and man; and, in a moral point of view, has driven the creature far off from the Creator. But eternal thanks to divine grace, whilst it reminds us of these things, it proclaims a method by which this alienation might be destroyed, aud friendship restored between the two parties at variance. Hence prophet Isaiah speak of this transaction! "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isa. liii. 5. And the same glorious truth is described in similar language by the apostle to the faithful brethren in Christ at Colosse, Col. i. 21, 22. and again Eph. ii. 13, 14. It is termed, 3. The word of salvation. We are told that Paul and Barnabas, being at the command of the Lord separated for the work whereunto he had called them by the church at Antioch, and being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, after visiting many places, and preaching the gospel unto the inhabitants, at length came to Antioch in Pisidia. Here they entered on the Sabbathday into the synagogue and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and bre 4 THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF THE BLESSEd god. will towards men. You will learn, that it deserves the character given of it in the words of my text,"The glorious gospel of the blessed God." Let me now direct your attention to, 1. The manner of its promulgation. thren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and after giving them a summary of the gospel, closed with this address, Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you that feareth God, to II. The transcendant excellency you is the word of this salvation of the gospel. Already have Ï sent. Perhaps the Holy Ghost, given some idea of the excellency speaking by the apostles, might of the gospel, by the brief dehave this end in view, when repre-scription of its nature in the former senting the gospel under these head of discourse. But it deserves different terms, viz. to shew how a still more enlarged consideration; complicated the misery of man is therefore we remark, that its exby nature-How great the wisdom cellency will appear, if we condisplayed in providing the remedy; sider, and how efficacious and suitable the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is for the happiness of man. Is he In external pomp and awful ignorant of spiritual and divine splendour, the promulgation of things? The gospel is the word the law exceeded the splendour of truth, the entrance of which of the promulgation of the gospel. giveth light. Is he at enmity with But still the glory of the latter far God? The gospel is the word of outshone the glory of the former. reconciliation, proclaiming peace "The law was given by Moses, by Jesus Christ, who is Lord of but grace and truth came by Jesus all. Is he exposed to condemna-Christ;" and therefore the glory tion and punishment? The gospel of its promulgation was as far suis the word of salvation, because perior to that of the law as Christ by it the glad tidings of a Saviour is superior to Moses. Would you is proclaimed, "who is able to save then know the glory of the gospel; to the uttermost all who come unto consider the dignity of Him who God through him, seeing he ever first revealed it unto the children liveth to make intercession for of men; and of this the apostle them," Heb. vii. 25.; and because will inform you: when writing to by the knowledge and belief of its the Hebrews, he says, "God who truths deliverance is received by at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Heb. i. 1-3. How suitable then the conclusion, "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should us. Therefore the apostle says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Rom. i. 16. Now then, unite these descriptions together, and you will be able to form some idea of the nature of the gospel. You must be convinced that it is worthy of the contrivance of an infinitely wise God, and worthy the acceptation of all the children of men. You will see that it is calculated to promote the glory of God in the highest, on earth peace, and good |