God’s Chief Mercy (2)¹

A Sermon by John Maclaurin

Romans 8:32. He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

But there was something beyond this. He would have died as a reputed criminal had He died only as a martyr, by the sentence of an unjust persecutor. But there was more than Pilate’s sentence here; the Saviour was brought before the tribunal of the just Judge of the universe, and under His sentence. He laid on Him the iniquities of us all, and therefore put Him to grief; it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. Other condemned persons are charged, but only with their own crimes. A right view of this great Sufferer will show Him to be charged with all the abominable crimes of innumerable multitudes. Only He could descend so low, or come under such a burden.

If further, in the lowest character in the world of criminals condemned, we distinguish their treatment; if any disgrace is lower than another, the Redeemer condescended to the lowest: the punishment of the meanest of men for the greatest offences – the ignominious death of the cross. To the lowness of His sufferings, we may add the lowness of the instruments. This was what made Abimelech lament his death. The sorrows of this great Sufferer did not come from the honourable hands of God or angels, but from the hands of man (who is but a worm), from the worst of sinners, in the vilest manner, when His judge gave in to the fury of a mob.

Yet what completed all was that He was forsaken of God. Saul tells that he was sore distressed, for God had departed from him (1 Sam 28:15); but Saul knew little of God’s presence. He did not say, My God is departed from me. David knew God better. While he had God’s presence, he feared no evil, not even in the valley of the shadow of death; but when that was gone, there was nothing but a dry, parched land; there was nothing but the crying out of flesh and soul after the living God, like a hart after water. It was into a far more dismal wilderness that the blessed antitype of the scapegoat was driven, with all the sins of the people upon Him, each of them sitting heavier on His innocent soul than the effects of the cursed tree on His body. Instead of the bright face of God, the sins imputed to Him were staring Him in the face, although He was the greatest hater of sin in the world.

¹Taken, with editing, from Maclaurin’s Works. It was preached immediately before the Lord’s Supper and addressed primarily to believers. In last month’s section, Maclaurin spoke first of “some principal, edifying truths included in redemption” and then began to show that the gift of Christ is superior to all God’s other gifts; his last point was to ask: How could “Christ make Himself lower than to be a reputed criminal in the sight of man?”

This could not but cause a painful thirst of soul incomparably beyond David’s, but there was nothing but vinegar and gall for Him – from man or from God. The first was but scanty; He only tasted it, but the ocean of divine wrath must be drunk till He could say, “It is finished”. There was never a request for pity till now. He sought none from Pilate; He would receive none from the sympathising daughters of Jerusalem, telling them not to weep for Him but for themselves. But now He who was like a sheep dumb before the shearers was dumb no more, and the Lamb being brought to this dreadful slaughter must open His mouth. The upbraiding language of His murderers was, What has become of His God? No wonder the world grew dark and the rocks rent to hear the blessed Jesus forced to say that His God had forsaken Him. When we consider how much a son will suffer from a father before He divulges it to others, especially enemies, it may make us reflect how much Christ suffered from God when He who loved Him so much expressed His sufferings from Him before such company.

This condescension is often illustrated by Jacob’s ladder, and it is our duty to admire the height and depth of that condescension, though we cannot measure the distance between the throne of glory and the cursed tree, between heaven and Mount Calvary, the Father’s bosom and Joseph of Arimathaea’s sepulchre. Yet our thoughts should, like Jacob’s angels, ascend and descend as far as we can, considering the various steps of that condescension, how low the condition of its objects, how low its acts, and how glorious its effects. Nor should we forget that the humiliation of the Saviour and the exaltation of the sinner are in effect but different views of Christ’s condescension. It is by the same power of mysterious love and condescension that the sinner is raised from the brink of hell to the highest heaven, and the Saviour brought from the highest heavens to the lowest parts of the earth, as Paul expresses it. But though they are acts of the same love, the latter has pre-eminence. The humiliation of the Redeemer is a far higher display of love than the glory of His people which follows it.

After considering the greatness of the Redeemer’s condescension in His satisfaction for sin, we must consider the value of that satisfaction. Whatever shows the value of Christ satisfying God’s justice shows also the value of God’s gift to sinners. It is right to say that Christ’s satisfaction is of infinite value; it would be good if it was as usual to be suitably impressed by it. We cannot say that all of created glory in the world has infinite value. God’s perfections are infinite in their nature; it is not merely that they are superior to other objects, but when something has infinite value, the value of other things is nothing to it. No wonder Paul counts all other things comparatively but loss, as Isaiah counts all nations before God as less than nothing.

A satisfaction of infinite value is something more than merely to execute infinite justice. Such justice is carried out in hell, but justice is not properly satisfied till the uttermost farthing is paid; never will more than a part be paid there, and scarce a part, since the remainder is still infinite. But when justice found Christ’s ransom, not one tittle passed from the law, but all was fulfilled. Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost, having satisfied to the uttermost, because He was God’s own Son and because He was not spared.

When we speak of Christ’s satisfaction to justice, we speak of God’s gift to sinners. Satisfaction is a complete manifestation of justice; it is a complete manifestation of mercy and goodness. We may allude to that remarkable passage where Moses seeks to see God’s glory, and God promises to make all His goodness pass before him. We may admire the expression, “all His goodness”, for God’s goodness is infinite. Moses saw many types of Christ: and we may look on this as an emblem of what was to be seen on Calvary, where His glory was veiled more than ever so that goodness might be manifested. Then He who is all goodness, the tender-hearted Samaritan passing by sinners lying in their polluted blood, with no eye to pity them, washed them in His blood, poured wine and oil into their wounds. He poured out His blood and His soul to heal them and to make them live.

But to return to the value of this gift: it is called in Scripture a pearl of great price. We should consider its value by what it purchases. We express but part of the value of this pearl when we say it is worth the everlasting kingdom of heaven; it not only purchases that eternal inheritance, but also pays an eternal debt. If a poor man who has nothing, but is free of debt, is given an estate, it would not be so great a gift as if another who is drowned in debt is gifted a pearl that would both pay all his debt and purchase an estate over and above. The former is the case of angels; the latter is the case of redeemed sinners.

It is evident then that the value of the object we are speaking of is greater when considered as a gift of mercy than when it is considered only as a satisfaction to justice – redeeming us from the curse of the law. Justice is justified when deliverance from the curse is purchased. But that deliverance is but a part of the purchase of this pearl of great price; there is at least as much happiness in the inheritance granted to the sinner as there is misery in the punishment from which he is delivered.

The value of this unspeakable gift transcends the value of satisfaction to infinite justice, and also that of the eternal inheritance, because it contains both. No gift greater or equal to it can be bestowed on any creature. No wonder the angels desire to look into these things. They and the believer receive the same inheritance, but not in the same way: the sinner owed an

infinite debt to justice, but the angels were always free. This may naturally bring to our minds Christ’s parable about the debtor to whom most was forgiven. And we may think of the deliverance and the inheritance together as, in a manner, making a double heaven. The joy of the deliverance must greatly enhance the joy of the inheritance. To humanity, deliverance from great danger doubles the pleasure of any prosperity that follows, and surely what doubles the believer’s eternal prosperity must double his obligations, and consequently his love; and what increases his love must increase his joy.

But in considering the fruits of God’s chief gift, we should take care not to lose sight of the gift itself. When an earthly prince gives a condemned criminal both pardon and an estate, he shows very great kindness, though at the expense of justice. But if the nature of human justice allowed it, and human pity could bring the prince to sacrifice his son for the criminal, it is plain that this act of love to him would be far greater than giving him both life and fortune without such expense.

Thus we have seen that the superiority of God’s unspeakable gift consists in the dignity of the Redeemer’s person, the manner in which He is given – particularly the mysterious condescension involved – and the value of His satisfaction. Some scriptures lead us to notice further a particular superiority in this gift when we consider those to whom it is given: “Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Those who receive Christ are indeed the same persons who receive heaven, but in a spiritual sense they were not the same creatures when Christ was given to them as they are when heaven is given. After receiving Christ, the sinner is a “new man” or a “new creature”. There is therefore a plain difference: heaven is given to the perfect saint, the faithful servant, the child of God. Christ was given to the sinner, the stranger, the enemy.

Heaven is a blessing that fully satisfies the highest desires of a rational creature; but this other favour is above the highest desires. We can think of a sinner seeking heaven from God before God intimates His purpose to give it; but we cannot imagine any sinner seeking Christ, unless God had revealed His purpose of giving Him. This gift was found of them who sought it not. How could all the world have presumed to desire the Son of God to come down and die on a cross for them, to redeem them by His own blood? Paul speaks of God giving His people more than all they ask or think.

Sinners could not have asked for Christ’s incarnation and sacrifice; it is scarcely possible that they could have thought of it. Even among men, no criminal ever seriously asked the judge to bear the sentence himself,

especially a sentence for crimes committed against the judge himself. Yet how small is the distance between a judge and a criminal, either as to standing or guilt; between us and Christ the distance is infinite.

So, when we praise God for His mercy, we praise Him for what we could not have prayed for – indeed what we could not have thought of. It is the chief thing God prepared for His people, which eye had not seen, nor ear heard, nor could enter into the heart of man – nor, we may add, into any mind below infinite wisdom. The expressions of Scripture about angels looking into these things seem to indicate surprise. No one can pretend that the principalities and powers of heaven ever knew so much before of God’s love, or of God who is love. Before this was revealed, they did not know before how much God could love, especially such unlovely objects; and how far His pity could go, and how low His condescension.

Finally, as to the application of this doctrine, it is plain we ought to apply it in meditating on every other doctrine of Christianity; it is the centre of, and serves to give light to, them all. We will mention only a few inferences.

1. For any of us to pretend to have faith in Christ, without good works is to be desperately lacking in gratitude and understanding; so also if we pretend to be impressed by God’s chief mercy, without loving and obeying Him, and to be impressed by the chief manifestation of the evil of sin, without warring against it.

2. On the other hand, let those who neglect this gift of righteousness, and place their own good works in its place, consider what was said about that gift, that pearl of price. It shows them that any good works that are preferred to it must atone for rejecting the gift.

3. Particularly we should carefully apply the doctrine, with dependence on God’s grace, to the holy exercise of divine worship relating to the work of redemption – our proper work at this sacrament. The doctrine insisted on shows that this work is the noblest and highest we are capable of. We may obtain some impression of this by comparing it with any of our other works.

Man is endowed with various faculties, all useful, but some higher than others. And the highest exercises of the soul relate to the most excellent objects. Highest of all is the worship of God, in which the mind is occupied about an infinitely-excellent object. We noted that God’s mercies are above all His other works. Worshiping Him should therefore be above all our other works. Christ is above all other mercies; so worshipping God for Christ should be absolutely above all other worship. It is the highest kind of spiritual exercise that we are capable of.

Scripture represents the angels as enraptured with it – they have much greater skill in it – but it concerns us more directly and we are under a greater

obligation. Paul distinguishes between glorifying God and being thankful to Him: “When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful”. We should even glorify God for all His works towards others. Thankfulness is the debt we owe for His favours to ourselves. Instead of treating it as a burden, we should triumph in it as an inestimable privilege. To be obliged to great thankfulness and love is to be obliged to a high degree of joy. If we dare not give thanks for an actual interest in that chief gift, we are obliged at least to give thanks for the offer of it. Till we have a sure interest in it, our chief ground of thankfulness and joy is that the chief gift of God is offered to the chief of sinners.

Praise and thankfulness are not our whole work. Praise is common to us with angels; praise and thanksgiving are common to us with the saints made perfect. It is all we know of their work, but we also are to pray – desiring what the saints enjoy. The angels look into these things admiringly, but there is a difference between that and receiving them. It is not good to be a mere spectator at the Lord’s Supper, but to be a mere spectator of what it represents is the worst work of a sinner. For a destitute sinner to see such danger without desiring relief – to see such relief without embracing it; to see such a pearl, such a gift of infinite value, offered to him without grasping it – is the greatest affront to God and cruelty to himself that he is capable of.

The doctrine insisted on shows that we should use, through divine grace, great earnestness, like Jacob’s holy, humble wrestling in believing prayer – taking the kingdom of heaven with spiritual, reverent violence. We show the greatest reverence for God when we are most earnest to be delivered from His just displeasure and from those sins that procure it. The doctrine shows how appropriately faith is called precious, since it receives the pearl of great price. This should make us renew our consent to the covenant and receive the seal of it cheerfully. And what is required of us, in order to obtain a title to all things, is to receive what is more than all things.

Next we should apply the doctrine to eating our passover with the bitter herbs of repentance. The greatness of God’s mercy proves the greatness of guilt if we are ungrateful for it. As all of us are more or less thus guilty, the believer’s guilt is specially aggravated; it is not only against the offer of this mercy but against its actual application. No wonder then that the most eminent saints are those who have the greatest sorrow for sin, as well as the greatest delight in duty, and sorrow for sin is one of the chief means of delight in duty.

The evil of the sin against the Holy Ghost is no objection to this assertion that ingratitude for Christ is the chief sin; this rather confirms it, because that sin is a particular kind of this ingratitude; it shows the evil of all such ingratitude, since the worst act of it is unpardonable. The sin against the Spirit of

Christ shows special disrespect to the gift of Christ, disrespect which applies to all His other gifts; it shows the danger of abusing any of them. It is sufficient for our purpose to note that it is called trampling under foot the Son of God, and crucifying Him afresh; this shows that it is the greatest abuse of His greatest gift. Since it can never be forgiven or repented of, it should stimulate us to repent of every abuse of that gift which may be forgiven.

We should reflect that despising redemption involves special guilt, beyond other sins which make us need redemption. The folly which poisoned our souls and brought us under the sentence of death is wisdom, if compared to the folly of refusing the cure and rejecting the remission. This is especially so when the cure is prepared with such kindness that it is the Physician’s own heart’s blood. Besides it is offered so freely that the best blessings which can be desired are ours if we sincerely desire them – offered not only so freely but with such tenderness that the Sovereign beseeches the criminal by His inspired ambassadors, and the remission is joined with the offer of an endless inheritance. And the gift that purchased both is of infinite value. This shows how far divine mercy could go; so the sin of rejecting it shows how far human wickedness can go. And the greatness of this gift of God, compared with man’s treatment of it, shows His condescension and our ingratitude at its uttermost.

“If I had not come”, says Christ, “they had not had sin”; and that is the sin that will at last make the case of Capernaum more intolerable than that of Sodom, since it is the sin that has no parallel on earth, or even in hell. It is a sin the devils know only by speculation, by seeing it in us, having no experience of it themselves. When the devil tempts people to many other sins, he sets a pattern before he lays the snare; when he tempts to lying or murder, he is himself a liar and a murderer from the beginning. But when he tempts them to despise redemption, he tempts them to a sin of which he is innocent. Whatever example the devils give in other cases, the despiser of redemption sets a pattern which these angels are not capable of following.

Though we do not know the nature of their first sin, Scripture shows that the condescension involved in the Son of God assuming their nature would not have been quite so great as in assuming ours. We should consider that, though they oppose the work of redemption, it was not their redemption but ours. Such considerations should not only excite sorrow in those who have never embraced this chief mercy and in effect renounce all benefit by it; it should excite sorrow even in sincere believers, who have embraced it but have not been careful enough to show due gratitude for it. This is an accusation from which no one can free themselves; not only have we many times neglected to praise and give thanks for it, in directly addressing God – for our very

acts of praise and thanksgiving most clearly show our ingratitude for it, on account of how we performed them. Even if there was no other argument for the corruption of our nature, the cold and indifferent way that we praise God for Christ is a demonstration of it.

Repentance for this ingratitude and unbelief is one of the best exercises of faith and love, and one of the best helps to prayer and other spiritual exercises, so suited to the time of the Lord’s Supper. But not only at this time are they suitable, but before and after it, and always. To communicate assumes they are our habitual practice, and it is designed to promote them, yet we should engage in them more at this time than any other. To partake of the Lord’s Supper is beyond prayer, praise and meditation because it joins these together and adds to them. It is beyond mere spiritual exercises of worship, because of how it involves not only the soul but also the body. It is more like heaven than communion with God, because this takes place in the visible communion of saints. It is beyond private duties, because it is public; and beyond other public ordinances, because the use of them is joined to it.

In the Lord’s Supper we not merely commemorate God’s chief gift, but receive Him solemnly; what it especially communicates is the very consummation of the Redeemer’s death. It is an honourable distinction that the Redeemer Himself appointed it, when He was entering upon those last sufferings which it chiefly commemorates. That should not make it seem a burden but a delight. It is more the Lord’s work than it is ours. His work at His table is to give, ours is to receive.

If we could look at our own work from outside ourselves, we would easily realise that we cannot imagine any work on earth so honourable. The chief sight that the world ever saw was the King of kings dying on a cross for His guilty subjects. But next to that, can there be a greater sight than a crowd of such subjects, once condemned criminals, now assembled at their reconciled Sovereign’s table, at a feast, to receive a sealed remission of all their guilt, be granted an everlasting inheritance, and receiving a foretaste of it, having as it were the pearl of great price in their hands, jointly doing honour to God’s greatest mercy and chief gift, jointly employed about the noblest spiritual exercises we can conceive any creature on earth or in heaven is capable of?

The excellence of the work shows its solemnity, the importance of carrying out the duty aright and the danger of the opposite. If therefore we consider our work as a receiving of Christ, we should seriously consider that we can never receive any gift like Him to all eternity. And when we come to receive Him at His table, we make the most solemn appearance before Him that ever we can make on earth till He comes again.

To His name be glory and honour and immortal praise for ever and ever.