Sermon

by Rev. Thomas Halyburton

(Continued from page 144)

“The voice of my Beloved; behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.” Song 2: 8.

III. Proceed to inquire, what are these affections which this sight will move in a believing soul?

1. It will occasion admiration. The spouse here is filled with wonder, and is extraordinary pressed with it, that she would have others to help her to admire the sight; “Behold, says she, he cometh skipping upon the hills, and leaping upon the mountains!” In this sight every thing is apt to beget wonder, every thing is new, surprising, unexpected, and uncommonly excellent.

2. It will excite love. If ever the heart warm to Jesus Christ, this sight will do much to put it into a flame of love. The spouse, when she sees him, is so taken, that she confidently calls him her Beloved. “The voice of my Beloved! Behold he cometh.”

3. It will raise extraordinary joy. See how the church carried it, when he came unexpectedly for their delivery from that captivity, which was a type of their spiritual captivity, Psal. 126. “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; then said they among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them, the Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.” And such certainly will be the influence of the sight of the glorious deliverer, when he is coming to deliver his people from their spiritual thrallism.

4. It will fill with shame, an ingenuous sort of shame, such as was that of David, upon the Lord’s promising to do so many, so great, and undeserved favours and kindnesses to him; 2 Sam. 7: 18. Shame is nothing else but a sort of dispricency and dissatisfaction with one’s self, arising from the discovery of some imperfection, and this is done, when the Lord comes to us; for in him we may see what we are, how vile! how unkind! and how wonderfully kind he is! Enough to put the soul that sees him to the blush. There is a remarkable scripture to this purpose, Ezek. 16: 63. “And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never more open thy mouth, because of thy shame, when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.” When Christ comes to a soul in peace, it will surely blush for shame.

5. It will occasion grief, an ingenuous sorrow: joy and godly sorrow are not inconsistent: nay, so far is it on the contrary, that here away that joy is not usually abiding, which has not for its companion an ingenuous sorrow; when a believing soul sees Christ, whom it is pierced by its sins, its unbelief, and unkindness, coming “skipping upon the hills, and leaping upon the mountains,” it is ready to dissolve into tears of godly sorrow, which is not like the sorrow of the world, that contracts and narrows the soul; but it enlarges and sweetens the heart, and has in it a joy, which those who are acquainted with it, would not exchange for all the carnal mirth of a wicked world. This grief we are speaking of, is promised expressly as the consequence of this sight, Zech. 12: 18. “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and mourn.”

6. And lastly, this sight will be attended with gratitude in the soul that sees it. Gratitude is one of the most noble and elevated passions; as much has a man of greatness and ingenuity, as he has a gratitude: if ye pronounce him destitute of this, ye pronounce him void of all that is good. Gratitude is nothing else, but a delightful sense of favours done to any without their desert; and this naturally leads to that question, “What shall I render to the Lord for all his gracious benefits to me?” Psal. 116: 12. And this much for the third general head. We proceed now,

IV. To inquire into the reasons of the doctrine; whence it is that Christ’s coming is so affecting to the soul of a believer.

The reasons of this are so plain, that we need scarce insist upon them after what has been said: only in a word; this sight is affecting,

1. Because it is the return of the desire of a believing soul. What is it that the believing soul longs for, and vehemently desires? Is it not to see him come “skipping upon the hills, and leaping upon the mountains”? Doth not such a one cry out with the spouse, in the 17th verse of this chapter, “Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe, or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether?” And is it possible, that this desire should be accomplished, and the heart not be affected, therewith? “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life,” says the wise man, Prov. 13: 12. And a few verses afterward, “The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.”

2. This flows from the nature of the thing, which is seen; every thing in it, as we have at length made appear, is wonderful and surprising; and therefore apt to affect the beholder.

3. It is on the account of the effects of the discovery: it removes all clouds, it lays a foundation for solid joy, it gives strength to the faint, and comfort to the disconsolate. But passing these, I shall come now to the application.

Use.
In the improvement of this doctrine, that I may not encroach too far upon your patience, I shall wave the consideration of many useful doctrinal inferences, which might be drawn from it, and only speak a word to one or two sorts of persons, of whom this assembly may be composed. That I may then make way for the improvement I design, there is a question I shall put to you all; and ye are all not a little concerned in it, especially such of you as design to approach the table of the Lord. The question I pose you on, and which, I plead, ye may pose your own consciences upon, is this:

Did ye ever see this heart-affecting sight, Jesus Christ coming “skipping upon the hills, leaping upon the mountains?” Found ye ever your hearts filled with wonder, love, joy, grief, shame, and gratitude, when ye saw this lovely, wonderful one, Jesus Christ, coming over all interposing difficulties to you? Put the question home to your own consciences: it is a matter of the highest moment and the last importance, especially as to you, who design to approach the table of the Lord. This question, if put home, will, I conceive, cast this assembly into two sorts. 1. Such as never saw Jesus Christ, nor have any desire to see him. 2. Such, who, if they dare not positively say, That they have seen him “skipping upon the hills, and leaping upon the mountains;” yet dare say, they have seen that, which makes them desire above all things to see this heart-affecting sight. I shall not stand here to subdivide this latter sort, into such who dare be positive in asserting they have seen him, and those who cannot; but shall speak a few words to the two sorts of persons mentioned, without any separate consideration of these inferior divisions that might be made. I begin with the

1st Sort; those who never saw this sight.
I put no doubt, there are in this house this day not a few, who have lived, it may be, some twenty, some thirty, some forty, fifty, or threescore years, and have never to this day seen this heart-affecting sight. Ye have been busy toiling for the pleasures or profits of the world; your only inquiries have been about “what ye should eat, what ye should drink, or wherewithal ye should be clothed;” if ye got food to eat, or raiment to put on, or medicine when ye were sick, ye found no want of any other thing; how ye might escape the wrath of God; how ye might be reconciled to him, and get the well-grounded assurance of your peace, its being made with him, never entered into your thought, never brake your rest; ye never missed Christ. If a husband, a wife, a child, a friend, had been absent, or if ye had wanted any external comfort, ye could be sensibly touched and affected with it; but indeed for Christ, ye never had him more than other honest folk your neighbours, nor did ye ever miss him; you came, it may be, to the church, and it may be to communions, ye heard and saw as did others; but for seeing this sight, or hearing any thing that affected you so, as I have said, a sight of Christ coming for the relief of his people will do; that ye did never see, nor desire. Is not this the exact character of not a few of this assembly? Sure it is. Well, to any of you who are such, we say,

1. What have we to do with you, who dare not say, that you come to see Jesus? Our only business here, is to call persons to come and look at this heart-affecting sight; we have no errand here, but to direct people that would see him coming in this glorious manner, and lead them to him, and therefore we have nothing to do with you.

2. What seek ye here? “What seek we here! A very impertinent question,” it may be, will some of you say. “We seek the same that other honest folks seek; we never neglected the church; we thank God, our parents taught us, that it is the way to heaven; and we see every body come to it, and we come as they do, to hear a preaching, and to get our communion, as we have ever been in use to do, and as we see others do: and what an impertinent question is this, what seek ye!” I answer, the question is not impertinent, for God has appointed the ends people should propose to themselves in coming, as well as the ordinances to which they should come; and these ends ye have named. Compliance with custom, education, and the like, are not the ends God has appointed the ordinances for: and therefore,

3. It is a small thing for you to mock men, by your assuming the name of Christians, though ye be not acquainted with Christ; but will ye mock our Lord also? Do ye think, that he will suffer you to tread in his courts, as his people, without he understand your errand? or, if he know ye come not to seek himself, will he suffer you to go away without a mark of his displeasure? No; you may assure yourselves he will not suffer such abuses to pass unpunished; the mockers’ bands will be made strong. He has said, Lev. 10: 3, “That he will be sanctified in all them that come nigh to him, and that he will be glorified before all the people.” And if he get himself glory in some remarkable judgment, like to that whereby he was sanctified in the destruction of Nadab and Abihu, then woe to you. How terrible will your case be! And, though your stroke be not so evident to by-standers, and discernible to the eye of sense, as theirs was, yet it may be fully as severe. God may lock you up in final impenitency, clap on the chains of judicial hardness upon you, and then woe to you eternally.

4. Have ye been so long at Jerusalem, and never “seen the king’s face?” have ye attended ordinances so long, and never seen Christ coming “skipping upon the hills, and leaping upon the mountains?” Then certainly ye are blind. I may venture to say, that others in the church with you, in the same assembly, nay, it may be, in the very seat, or at the table with you, have seen this ravishing sight, Jesus Christ “coming from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, glorious in his apparel, travelling, nay, skipping and leaping, in the greatness of his strength,” over interposing hills and mountains. Past all peradventure, then, ye are blind.

5. We say therefore, Take heed; see that ye approach not the Lord’s table: for, as the Lord liveth, if ye do, the curse of God will fall upon you: ye will “eat and drink damnation to yourselves, not discerning the Lord’s body.” Blind folks cannot discern this, and such are ye. Touch not therefore, we charge you, those holy things; for why should ye meddle to your hurt?

6. Saw ye never Jesus? Then ye never saw any sight worth the seeing; ye never saw any thing that could ease you of a burden of guilt which, though ye do not feel the weight of it at present, yet will sink you into hell, if he take it not off you. Ye never saw any that can go between you and wrath, the wrath of God, that is ready to break forth into a flame against you, and burn you in the lowest hell: ye never saw any that can redeem you out of the hand of the devil, who reigns in the children of disobedience, or subdue those rebellious lusts that war against our souls; in fine, ye never saw any that could save your souls: and, “what is a man profited, if he gain a world, and lose his own soul?” Can you carry a world with you into the grave? Can a world comfort you in hell? Can a world purchase heaven? Can a world redeem a soul from chains of massy darkness, with which sinners shall be eternally bound? No; “the soul’s redemption is precious, and it ceaseth for ever.” All the angels in heaven, all the saints above, all the men on earth, millions of worlds will not, cannot bring a soul, that is once lost, back again.

7. Saw ye never Jesus? Then ye never saw one so infinitely well worth the seeing. What is he, will ye say, whom ye talk so much of? Are ye serious in the question? or, are ye not? If ye be not serious, then it is needless to answer you; if ye be, then, O! that I had the tongue of men and angels, to tell you who he is. O that God would grant me my desire! That he would enlarge a narrow heart, to receive just and great impressions of wonderful Christ! O that he would loose a tacked tongue, and open closed lips! Then should I speak and tell of Jesus Christ; if not what he is, yet what would, in some measure, satisfy the serious inquirer, and make those who were but in jest, to turn in earnest. Ask ye what, and who Jesus is? I tell you, his name is wonderful: “He is the brightness of the Father’s glory, the express image of his person, the eternal darling of his bosom: he is the son of man, our elder brother,” bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh: “He is Immanuel, God with us: God manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, believed on in the world, received up into glory:” He is earth carried up to heaven, and heaven brought down to earth: he is that man, who is fellow of the Lord of hosts: he is God in the form of a servant: he is the Amen, and faithful witness, the great prophet, the wonderful counsellor of the church: he is the great shepherd of the sheep: he is the guide of the blind, and the prince of preachers: he is the glorious high-priest of our profession, “the Lord our righteousness,” the law fulfilled, the curse of the law, the propitiation for the sins of the world, the Lamb of God, the truth of all the sacrifices, the throne of grace, the true mercy-seat, and the glorious advocate of the church: he is Zion’s king, the captain of our salvation, the head of the church, the Saviour of lost sinners, the prince of the kings of the earth, the death of death, the conqueror of the world, the devil, and the flesh, the Redeemer of Satan’s slaves, the law giver of the church, the prince exalted to give gifts to rebels, repentance and remission to sinners. What shall I say more of him? “He is the everlasting Father, the mighty God, the Prince of peace, the desire of all nations,” the heir of all things, the unspeakable gift of God, the sun of righteousness, the resurrection and the life, the wonder of angels, the terror of devils, the light of the world, the lamp of heaven, in the light of which the nations of them that are saved do walk, and the eternal song of all the redeemed and ransomed of the Lord. This, this is he, O blind sinners, to whom ye have preferred the world, your filthy lusts, and the devil. This is he whom ye expect to come down, to fill this house with his glory, and to entertain his friends at his royal banquet. But, who may abide his coming? Dare ye, O wretches, do it? Dare ye look him in the face? Once more in the,

8th and last place, we say to you, have ye yet no desires to see him coming, “skipping upon the hills, and leaping upon the mountains,” that are placed between God and you? Then I say to you, we cannot tell, ye cannot tell, but this unseen Christ may lift up his mighty arm, and fetch an unseen blow down upon you, that may ruin you eternally: he may say to you, “Sleep on;” and then, though angels should preach to you, though the threatenings should thunder out wrath to the terror of others, though the land wherein ye live, should shake with the anger of God; nay, though all the shrieks and cries of the damned were about you, ye shall never waken, till the flames of hell awaken you. If ye be awake, and have any desires, then give heed to what we are,

2nd. To speak to the other sort of person whom we named. I hope there are some here, who are longing to see Jesus Christ coming, “skipping upon the hills, and leaping upon the mountains;” and whether they dare say, that they have seen him formerly in that ravishing posture, or not; yet dare say, that nothing will satisfy them, unless they see this sight; that they have come here for that very end, and have this morning, and it may be, for some days or weeks before, been praying, that here they might see the sight they long for, him, whom though it may be they dare not call their beloved, yet whom they would fain love, skipping over hills and mountains that are between them. And are there any such here? Then our errand is this day to such a very acceptable one; we come this day to call you to see the sight ye so much long for. Up, up; come and see; “behold, he cometh, skipping upon the mountains, and leaping upon the hills!”

1. Poor soul! It may be, thou hast been full of misdoubting thoughts. What! will he, “who is the High and Lofty One, that inhabits eternity,” ever let me near him? Me! sinful me! Come and see, O sinner, him whom thou longest for, skipping upon this hill, leaping upon this mountain, cheerfully coming over this difficulty: come to his table, and see, that though Christ “be high, yet he regards the poor and lowly,” Psal. 138: 6. He stoops, indeed, when he receives praises, when he bends his ear to hear thy prayers: but here he is a step lower; he is willing to sit at the same table with you: nay, before you should doubt his kindness, he will step a step lower; he will set you at the table, and he will serve. “Behold him skipping upon the hills, and leaping upon the mountains!”

2. It may be, thou hast been full of fears about the wrath of God. What! will ever he bear one stroke for me! Sinful, unkind, unbelieving me! Oh, no; he never will! Away, away, O sinner, with these proud and misgiving thoughts: “Behold, he comes, leaping upon the hills, skipping upon the mountains!” He has borne the wrath of God; and though it has broken his body, he is nothing discouraged, nothing offended at thee; nor doth he rue his undertaking, but is cheerful after all that is over; and, as a sign of it, has proclaimed a feast for thee, that thou mayest be cheerful at the remembrance of all his sorrow.

3. It may be, thou fearest the enemies that stand in the way, the devil, the world: but let none of these things trouble you: he, who hath trode their strength, and knows it well, stands so little in fear of them, whom he has foiled, that lo, he makes a feast of loves, and covers a table for you in the presence of his foes! Here is a strange evidence of his power: behold him covering the table, placing the royal entertainment, and holding his enemies, to their infinite discontent, spectators of his matchless kindness to you! Here, here is indeed a heart-affecting sight!

4. It may be, many times thou hast thought in thy heart, I would not doubt but that Christ will come over all, if it were not my wretched unkindness. After I was at his table, and was feasted with royal dainties, I proved wretchedly unkind; I had forgot all he had done for me, and begun to parley and treat with his enemies; and I fear he will never get over this forgotten light, love and comfort. Whenever I look to him, behold, this looks me broad in the face. Stand not upon this; thou hast reason indeed to be ashamed, but none to be discouraged; for, behold, he comes cheerfully, skipping over all thy unkindnesses, and leaping upon the hills that thou hast raised! Behold, he comes not to upbraid thee with unkindnesses, but to win thee by new favours! Behold, he comes not frowning for faults, but smiling! He comes not to fight against thee, but to feast thee; not to take away mercies thou hast received, but to give thee new ones! he lifts not up his hand to smite unkind friends, but stretcheth them forth with mercies! He speaks to you, but it is not, Depart, unkind friends; but he cries, “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honey with my honeycomb; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved,” Song 5: 1. We protest in our kind Lord’s name, that if any go away from his table, without being full fed, they are not straitened in him, but in their own bowels: they are not filled; because they have not opened their mouth wide enough.

In fine, Behold, he comes triumphantly over the mountains of unbelief! Are thy sins so strong, so great, that thou findest it hard to believe a bare word, a bare promise, though even of a God that cannot lie? Behold here a wonder of goodness! He will not have thee discouraged for all that. Here he calls to thee, Come and see; nay, taste, and see that Christ is good. Here thou mayest hear him speak; here thou mayest see him bleeding, dying, broken; here thou mayest reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into his side: that wide gash that the sword of justice made, will let thee into his very heart, and there thou mayest see one-half of it full of sorrow and heavy trouble, under the pressure of the hand of justice, and the other full of love and kindness to thee. O! be not then faithless, but believing. Tell me, poor drooping soul, what was it that thou didst see in Christ, when thou sawest him formerly? All that is still to be seen; thou mayest see him pouring out a river of blood, to cleanse such filthy wretches as thou art; thou mayest see him making a feast to strengthen, to comfort poor, weak, drooping souls, and offering all freely. He says not, take my body and my blood, if thou be one that is come to such and such a degree of love, of desire; if thou be one that art free of such and such sins: but, take me, take all, whatever thy sins be, if thou beest but willing. I cannot stand to answer objections now; only I say, away with fruitless, groundless discouragements. I cannot tell what to say of the naughty, low, narrow, and scanty thoughts many of you have of the grace of Christ. O! says one or other, I am such a body, so vile, so naughty, and fellow-communicants, they are so vile, and so naughty, and, it may be, the ministers, they are such men, have such and such faults; and therefore Christ will not come; he will not get over these mountains. I say, all these may be true, ministers may be faulty, and people too; but, I say, your unbelief is liker to keep Christ away, than any of these things. Away with these narrow thoughts, which depress grace, and discommend Christ. Blessed, eternally blessed be God, that Jesus Christ is not so pettish as many of us, that, for a fault in a minister, or in a fellow-member, will run away. Many faults, many mountains of faults in ministers and people, will not keep him away from any poor soul that is seeking him; and blessed be God, that it is so. Away with these groundless, ignorant, and narrow thoughts. Has Christ come skipping over all real mountains, and will ye rear up imaginary ones? I protest to you, ye are not straitened in Christ, but in your own bowels. “Behold, he cometh, leaping upon the hills, and skipping upon the mountains! And the Spirit, and the bride say, Come; and let him that heareth, say, Come; whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely,” Rev. 22: 17. “And he which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen, even so, come Lord, Jesus,” Rev. 22: 20.