The face of nature then is glorious in itself, but it is overcast with a gloom of terror to us; it shows the glory of the Judge to the criminal; the glory of the offended Sovereign to the guilty rebel. This is not the way to give comfort and relief to a criminal; it is not the way to make him glory and triumph. Accordingly, the enemies of the cross of Christ, who refuse to know God, otherwise than by the works of nature, are so far from glorying in the hope of enjoying God in heaven that they renounce all those great expectations, and generally deny that there is any blessedness to be had. Conscience tells us we are rebels against God: and nature does not show how such rebels may recover His favour; how, in such a well ordered government as the divine government must be, the righteous Judge and Lawgiver may be glorified, and the criminal escape; much less how the Judge may be glorified, and the criminal obtain glory likewise.
The language of nature, though it be plain and loud in proclaiming the glory of the Creator, yet it is dark and intricate as to His inclination towards guilty creatures. It neither assures peremptorily that we are in a state of despair, nor gives sure footing for our hopes. If we are favourites, whence so much troubles? If we are hopeless criminals, whence so many favours?
Nature shows God’s glory and our shame, His law, our duty and consequently our danger; but about the way of escape, it is silent and dumb. It affords many motives for exciting desires after God; but it shows not the way to get these desires satisfied. Here, in the text, is an object which gives us better intelligence. It directs us not merely to seek by feeling in the dark (Acts, xvii. 27), if happily we may find; but to seek Him so as certainly to find Him. Unlikely doctrine to a carnal mind! that there should be more of God’s glory manifested to us in the face of Christ crucified, than in the face of heaven and earth. The face of Christ!—in which sense discovers nothing but marks of pain and disgrace;—that mangled visage, red with gore, covered with marks of scorn, swelled with strokes, and pale with death;—that would be the last object in which the carnal mind would seek to see the glory of the God of Life; a visage clouded with the horror of death. It would with more pleasure and admiration view the same face when transfigured, and shining like the sun in its strength. Divine glory shone, indeed, then in a bright manner in that face on the Mount; but not so brightly as on Mount Calvary. This was the more glorious transfiguration of the two. Though all the light in the world, in the sun and stars, were collected together into one stupendous mass of light, it would be but darkness to the glory of this seemingly dark and melancholy object; for it is here, as the Apostle expresses it (II. Cor. iii. 18) “we all, with open face, behold . . . the glory of the Lord.”
Here shines spotless justice, incomprehensible wisdom, and infinite love, all at once. None of them darkens or eclipses the other;—every one of them gives a lustre to the rest. They mingle their beams, and shine with united, eternal splendour,—the just judge, the merciful Father, and the wise Governor. No other object gives such a display of all these perfections; yea, all the objects we know give not such a display as any one of them. Nowhere does justice appear so awful, mercy so amiable, or wisdom so profound.
By the infinite dignity of Christ’s person, His cross gives more honour and glory to the law and justice of God than all the other sufferings that ever were or will be endured in the world. When the Apostle is speaking to the Romans of the gospel, he does not tell them only of God’s mercy, but also of His justice revealed, by it (Romans, i. 18). God’s wrath against the unrighteousness of men is chiefly revealed by the righteousness and sufferings of Christ. The Lord was pleased for His righteousness sake (Isa. xlii. 21). Both by requiring and appointing that righteousness, He magnified the law and made it honourable. And though that righteousness consists in obedience and sufferings which continue for a time, yet since the remembrance of them will continue for ever, the cross of Christ may be said to give eternal majesty and honour to that law which is satisfied,—that awful law, by which the universe (which is God’s Kingdom) is governed, to which the principalities and powers of heaven are subject,—that law which, in condemning sin, banished the devil and his angels from heaven, our first parents from paradise, and peace from earth. Considering, therefore, that God is the Judge and Lawgiver of the world, it is plain that His glory shines with unspeakable brightness in the cross of Christ, as the punishment of sin. But this is the very thing that hinders the lovers of sin from acknowledging the glory of the cross; because it shows so much of God’s hatred of what they love. It would be useful for removing such prejudices to consider, that though Christ’s sacrifice shows the punishment of sin, yet, if we embrace that sacrifice, it only shows it to us. It takes it off our hands; it leaves us no more to do with it. And surely the beholding our danger, when we behold it as prevented, serves rather to increase than lessen our joy. By seeing the greatness of our danger, we see the greatness of our deliverance. The cross of Christ displays the glory of infinite justice, but not of justice only.
Here shines chiefly the glory of infinite mercy. There is nothing in the world more lovely or glorious than love and goodness itself; and this is the greatest instance of it that can be conceived. God’s goodness appears in all His works; this is a principal part of the glory of the creation. We are taught to consider this lower world as a convenient habitation, built for man to dwell in; but, to allude to the Apostle’s expression (Heb. iii. 3), this gift we are speaking of should be accounted more worthy of honour than the world, inasmuch as “He who hath built the house hath more honour than the house.” When God gave us His Son, He gave us an infinitely greater gift than the world. The Creator is infinitely more glorious than the creature, and the Son of God is the Creator of all things. God can make innumerable worlds by the word of His mouth; He has but one only Son; and He spared not His only Son, but gave Him up to the death of the cross for us all.
God’s love to His people is from everlasting to everlasting; but from everlasting to everlasting there is no manifestation of it known, or conceivable by us, that can be compared to this. The light of the sun is always the same, but it shines the brightest to us at noon; the cross of Christ is the noontide of everlasting love, the meridian splendour of eternal mercy. There were many bright manifestations of the same love before, but they were like the light of the morning, that shines more and more unto the perfect day; and that perfect day was when Christ was on the cross, when darkness covered all the land.
Comparisons can give but a very imperfect view of this love, which passeth knowledge. Though we should suppose all the love of all the men that ever were, or will be on the earth, and all the love of the angels in heaven, united in one heart, it would be but a cold heart to that which was pierced by the soldier’s spear. The Jews saw but blood and water, but faith can discern a bright ocean of eternal love flowing out of these wounds. We may have some impression of the glory of it, by considering its effects. We should consider all the spiritual and eternal blessings received by God’s people for four thousand years before Christ was crucified, or that have been received since, or that will be received till the consummation of all things; all the deliverances from eternal misery; all the oceans of joy in heaven; the rivers of the water of life, to be enjoyed to all eternity, by multitudes as the sand of the sea-shore. We should consider all these blessings as flowing from that love that was displayed in the cross of Christ. Here shines also the glory of the incomprehensible wisdom of God, which consists in promoting the best ends by the fittest means. The ends of the cross are best in themselves, and the best for us that can be conceived—the glory of God, and the good of man. And the means by which it advances these ends are so fit and suitable, that the infinite depth of contrivance in them will be the admiration of the universe to eternity.
It is an easy thing to conceive the glory of the Creator manifested in the good of an innocent creature; but the glory of the righteous Judge manifested in the good of the guilty criminal is the peculiar mysterious wisdom of the cross. It is easy to conceive God’s righteousness declared in the punishment of sins; the cross alone declares “His righteousness for the remission of sins” (Rom. iii. 25). It magnifies justice in the way of pardoning sin, and mercy in the way of punishing it. It shows justice more awful than if mercy had been excluded; and mercy more amiable than if justice had been dispensed with. It magnifies the law, and makes it honourable (Isa. xlii. 21). It magnifies not only the law but the criminal who broke the law; and the respect put upon the law makes him honourable likewise (I. Cor. ii. 7). Yea, this is so contrived, that every honour done to the criminal is an honour done to the law; and all the respect put upon the law puts respect on the criminal. For every blessing the sinner receives, is for the sake of obedience and satisfaction made to the law; not by himself, but by Another, who could put infinitely greater dignity on the law: and the satisfaction of that Other for the sinner, puts the greatest dignity on him that he is capable of. Both the law and the sinner may glory in the cross of Christ. Both of them receive eternal honour and glory by it.
The glories that are found separately in the other works of God are found united here. The joys of heaven glorify God’s goodness; the pains of hell glorify His justice; the cross of Christ glorifies both of them in a more remarkable manner than heaven or hell glorifies any of them. There is more remarkable honour done to the justice of God by the sufferings of Christ, than by the torment of devils; and there is a more remarkable display of the goodness of God in the redemption of sinners, than in the joy of angels: so that we can conceive no object in which we can discover such manifold wisdom or so deep contrivance for advancing the glory of God. The like may be said of its contrivance for the good of man. It heals all his diseases; it pardons all his sins (Psalm, ciii). It is the sacrifice that removes the guilt of sin. It is the motive that removes the love of sin. It mortifies sin and expiates it. It atones for disobedience, and it makes obedience acceptable. It excites to obedience, and it purchases strength for obedience. It makes obedience practicable; it makes it delightful; it makes it in a manner unavoidable; it constrains to it (II. Cor. v. 14). It is not only the motive to obedience, but the pattern of it. It satisfies the curse of the law, and fulfils the commands of it. Love is the fulfilling of the law; the sum of which is, the love of God, and of our neighbour. The cross of Christ is the highest instance of both. Christ’s sufferings are to be considered as actions. Never any action gave such glory to God; never action did such good to man. And it is the way to show our love to God and man, by promoting the glory of the one, and the good of the other.
Thus the sufferings of Christ teach us our duty by that love whence they flowed, and that good for which they were designed. But they teach us not only by the design of them but also by the manner of His undergoing them. Submission to God, and forgiveness of our enemies, are two of the most difficult duties. The former is one of the chief expressions of love to God, and the latter of love to man. But the highest submission is, when a person submits to suffering, though free from guilt; and the highest forgiveness is, to forgive our murderers, especially if the murderers were persons who were obliged to us. As if a person not only should forgive them who took away his life, even though they owed him their own life; but also desire others to forgive them, pray for them, and as much as possible excuse them. This was the manner of Christ’s bearing His sufferings: “Father, thy will be done;” and “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Thus we see how fit a means the cross is for promoting the best ends, for justification and sanctification. It would be too long to insist here in showing its manifold fitness for promoting also joy and peace here, and everlasting happiness hereafter; for, no doubt, it will be a great part of future happiness to remember the way it was purchased, and to see the Lamb that was slain at the right hand of Him who gave Him for that end. The things already adduced show, that the incomprehensible wisdom of God is gloriously displayed in the cross of Christ, because it has such amazing contrivance in it for advancing the good of man, as well as the glory of God; for that is the design of it, to show the glory of God, and goodwill towards man.
But it is not only the glory of divine wisdom that shines in this blessed object, but also the glory of divine power. This, to them who know not Christ, is no small paradox; but to them who believe, Christ crucified is the wisdom of God, and the power of God (I. Cor. i. 24). The Jews thought Christ’s crucifixion a demonstration of His want of power. Hence they upbraided Him, that He who wrought so many miracles, suffered Himself to hang upon a cross. But this itself was the greatest miracle of all. They asked, Why He who saved others, saved not Himself? They named the reason without taking heed to it. That was the very reason why at that time He saved not Himself, because He saved others; because He was willing and able to save others. The motive of His enduring the cross was powerful,—divine love, stronger than death; the fruits of it powerful,—divine grace; the power of God to salvation (Rom. i. 16), making new creatures, raising souls from the dead; these are acts of Omnipotence. We are ready to admire chiefly the power of God in the visible world; but the soul of man is a far nobler creature than it. We justly admire the power of the Creator in the motion of the heavenly bodies; but the motion of souls towards God as their centre is far more glorious; the effects of the same power far more eminent, and far more lasting.
The wounds of Christ seemed effects of weakness; but it is easy to observe incomparable strength appearing in them. We should consider what it was that bruised Him; “He was bruised for our iniquities.” The Scriptures represent them (Isa. liii.) as a great burden; and describes us all lying helpless under it, as a people laden with iniquity. Christ bore our sin in His own body on the tree; He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. Not those we feel here only, but those we deserved to feel hereafter: “The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. liii. 6). We might say with Cain, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” This might be said to every one of us apart. But it was not the sins of one that He bore; He bore the sins of many; of multitudes as the sand on the sea-shore, and the sins of every one of them as numerous. This was the heaviest and most terrible weight in the world.
(To be continued.)