“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou "Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more "Though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict wil- ERRATA. Page 221, line 7, for "of his providence," read "of providence ;" and line 21, SERMON I. THE FREE GRACE OF GOD. THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY, AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. ISAIAH lv. 1. "Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." ISAIAH is frequently called the evangelical prophet. He is entitled to this most honourable name, not only because he largely and frequently foretels the coming of the Christ, but also because he enters into the nature and character of the method of salvation which constitutes the Gospel, with a fulness and exactness which belong rather to an Evangelist or an Apostle, than to a Prophet. The Holy Spirit has wonderfully set his seal to the truths which our Lord taught, and which his ministers rejoice to publish, by thus preaching them before his coming; when seven hundred years were yet to elapse before B the glory of God was revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. The latter part of this inspired book is dedicated solely to the Gospel times. All mention of Egypt, Assyria, and the other allies or enemies of Israel is dropt, and we are introduced directly into the kingdom of heaven. Neither can we be at a loss in our endeavours to understand the subject of which the prophet treats, if we carefully apply the key with which the Gospels and Epistles furnish us. Let us turn to the 53d chapter, and we there find the prophet assuming the very character of a preacher of the Gospel. He speaks as though the far distant event were already accomplished; as if Jesus had finished the mighty work for which he descended from heaven, and the sacrifice on the cross had been completed. Isaiah appears before us as one of those, who were commanded to "go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature" and he complains that few have "believed his report," that, comparatively speaking, few of the Israelites, to whom the Gospel was first preached, have acknowledged Jesus as their Saviour. His mean worldly rank, the sufferings to which, in the wisdom of God, he was exposed, proved to them a stone of stumbling. "He is despised, and rejected of men." The Prophet then proceeds to declare the very essence of the Gospel, the great mystery of God, and in language as plain as St. Paul 1 Mark xvi. 15. |