a trial, trouble, or temptation but He has sent it for the good of some poor child in His family-there has not been a deep hole into which I have been plunged but He has overruled it for the comfort and consolation of some poor battered and shattered ones who are near and dear to Him. But the apostle says, "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the Church." As long as a God-sent minister is in the body, he must know something of a continual crucifixion of the flesh and mortification of his members for the mutual comfort and consolation of the suffering members of the one body. This is a marvellous and mysterious truth unknown to worldlings, hypocrites, and proud professors. These are the. afflictions of Christ mystical, the sympathy of suffering existing between Christ the Head and all His living members. He experienced them in all their fulness while we have them dealt out in measure to us. The first point we notice is DEATH." Ye are dead." What are we to understand by that? A living child of God knows something of spiritual death by Divine power. In Romans vii. the apostle shows from his own case the killing work of the law in the hearts of elect vessels of mercy. He says, "For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." Mark I know what that means; you, but it was not through hearing the commandments read in church, or by my reading them. It was not because they were written by the finger of God upon tables of stone. It was not because the Spirit of God caused them to be written in Exod. xx., and again in Deut. v., but it was because the commandment came to me by the power of the Holy Ghost revealing to me the true nature of sin. Sin then became exceeding sinful to me. Where previously I saw virtue, I then beheld vice. "Sin revived and I died." Yes, I died to all creature wisdom, creature ability, creature righteousness, and creature purity. Brought under the power of this killing process I am unable to do anything in the matter of my salvation and acceptance with God. What can a dead man do? You may do what you like with him, but you cannot produce life, or preserve beauty or comeliness. Bring the rays of the sun to bear upon his mortal remains, and putrefaction becomes still more putrid. That which is loathsome must be buried and hidden from sight. However much our natural affections may hover over that which was loved and prized, when death seizes it, we say with Abraham, "Bury my dead out of my sight." As God the everblessed Spirit works in you and in me, we see ourselves to be but one mass of sin and death before God, and we should just as soon expect to find holiness in hell as to find purity in the old Adam nature. Yes, you may as soon expect to hear of pleasure in the realms of never-ending despair as to find wisdom, righteousness, or faith in spiritual mysteries in the natural man. "Ye are dead" through and to the law, and to sin. Through the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have become dead to sin, which was made life to us by the power of the law. How is this, say you? Because He who is our Surety, our Mediator, and our Redeemer from the curse of the law, took the whole load of our transgressions, sins, and iniquities, and bore them in His own body to the tree, carried them into the land of never-ending forgetfulness, threw them into the depths of the sea of eternal oblivion, cast them all behind God's back, and, as we look into our Father's face, we find immensity, eternity, and infinity between us and them. He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He made an end of sin, so that now it has no damning power over the child of God. Sin has no penal power over me as I stand in Christ. Neither Satan nor law can now exact anything from me, for my sins appear not in the presence of my God, but the righteousness of my Lord and God is on me in their place. See! "Dead to the law by the body of Christ." As human laws wreak all their vengeance and spend all their power upon the culprit who suffers the last dread penalty, and can exact no more; so the spiritual, perfect, and fiery law of God exhausted all its wrath and power upon Jesus, the Surety of His people, by which they are everlastingly free from all its claims. "No claims can law or justice have On Jesus' honoured bride; Oh, it is a glorious privilege for me to know that when the law inflicted all its sentence of condemnation and death upon Jesus, it finished all its course with me. I was dealt with in Him, and by His sufferings and death I am delivered from all its demands. In the person of Zion's adorable Surety, all in union with Him find all the law's exactions, frankly met and fully answered. "Dead to the world." It is marvellous how the world fastens upon and clings to us, ay, and our natural affections cling to it. We often seem earth-bound in our affections. I do, and nothing but a knowledge and felt experience of my oneness with my once crucified Lord gives me a gracious lift out of my worldliness and sensuality. "I thirst, but not as once I did, The vain delights of earth to share ; That I should seek my pleasures there. It was the sight of Thy dear cross First weaned my soul from earthly things; And taught me to esteem as dross The mirth of fools, and pomp of kings." See Gal. vi. 14: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." As the world receded from before the failing vision of the poor wretch who experienced the death-throes of crucifixion, so the delights, enjoyments, and pleasures of this world fade away from the spiritual vision of that highly-favoured, yet exercised sinner who can say by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal. i. 20). This brings us to notice our oneness with Christ in resurrection. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above." When Christ died, all the elect died in Him; when He was buried, all His members in a mystic or spiritual manner were buried with Him; when He rose again, every one of them rose with Him in the purpose and good pleasure of the Father. See how blessedly Paul keeps this before the mind of the Ephesian Christians. In chap. i. 19, 20, he prays that they might know "what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in heavenly places." Again in chap. ii. 4-6: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." This was not a mere opinion or matter of doctrine with the apostle. He prayed, "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection (Phil. iii. 10). As His resurrection-power is communicated to us, we long for further manifestations of the love and beauty of Jesus, that we may rise to something higher than prayer meetings, religious services, or even communion with the brethren. Yes, we long for a clean lift in union with Him out of sin and self. Our souls cleave to the dust, but our cry ascends to Him who alone can answer, Quicken Thou me according to Thy word." Ofttimes we find ourselves in the grave of carnality and bound around with fleshly graveclothes, yet, blessed be His holy name, we know something of the sweetness and power of that voice of which John writes, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live" (chap. v. 25). This leads the mind to the contemplation and enjoyment of His ascension-glories. "He ascended into heaven" is an article of our creed and of our confidence. He is gone there to appear in the presence of God for us, and to draw our hearts with loving desire after Him. When He ascended to His Father and ours, the disciples who witnessed His flight "looked steadfastly toward heaven." They were asked the question, "Why stand ye gazing up into heaven?" They might have answered," Because the one Object of our heart's affection is there." Why are we ofttimes looking up and longing for home? Because of the gracious promise He left to 66 us, "I go to prepare," or possess, "a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John xiv. 2, 3). There we have the blessed assurance that at this moment a living and loving Christ stands before the throne in our nature, possessing the kingdom for us. God, in our nature, in our Father's house, holds in undisturbed security the everlasting and inalienable inheritance which the Father has made over to us in Him. Do we believe it? As assuredly as the great King-Priest has power over all things in heaven and in earth, so will He draw our affections and fix them upon things above. His covenant command will come home with almighty power, "If ye then be risen with Christ," from sin, from the law, from the world, from death, and from self, "seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Here we see His session. Having finished the work of His Father's glorification and His people's salvation, He stands before the Father with acceptance, and all His people accepted in Him. "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." However good, precious, or lovely earthly possessions may be, death, disappointment, and dissatisfaction is stamped upon them all. "Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day; O Thou who changest not, abide with me.' "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." The apostle as much as says, Life and immortality is brought to light to my heart, but He is hidden from you. When He appears by the power of the Holy Ghost to your waiting souls, then shall ye also appear with Him and as He is. Then ye shall appear in the glory of His person, in the glory of His salvation, in the glory of His righteousness, and in the glory of His kingdom. Then you shall truly understand the mystery of redeeming love, and experience the indescribable sympathies which flow from His loving heart to His suffering members here below. This appearing in grace is the pledge, the earnest, and the sweet foretaste of our appearing with Him in that eternal glory which He has in store, and holds in undisturbed security, for all those in eternal and hallowed association with Himself. May He add His blessing for His name's sake. Amen. "HE IS ABLE." A Sermon PREACHED IN GROVE CHAPEL, CAMBERWELL, ON SUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 26TH, 1879, BY THOMAS BRADBURY, Believe ye that I am able to do this?"-Matt. ix. 28. OD has a bit of good news for some of you this morning. It is this: He never yet damned a child of His for doubting, and never will. But there is a piece of awful news to all those out of the Son of His love, who can parade a false profession, which is this: He will damn such for their believing. He cannot discard or put away one of those upon whom His everlasting and immutable love is fixed. He cannot unredeem one of those for whom the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ was shed. He cannot banish one of those who by His blessed Spirit have been brought into His family as the fruit of the Redeemer's sufferings. In all these blessed, gracious, and highly-favoured persons Jesus sees the fruit of the travail of His soul, and with them He is perfectly and unceasingly satisfied. In all of them the Father sees His own workmanship, the production of His covenant love, and thus beholding them, He cannot but keep near to Himself objects so dear and precious. They are so precious to Him that He seems by His apostles and prophets to ransack_creation to find out names and appellations whereby He may describe His love and His fondness for them, and His delight in them. He calls His bride, Hephzibah, "My delight is in her" (Isa. lxii. 4). He calls His gathered ones, "My jewels-My special treasure (Mal. iii. 17). He calls those whom He has drawn into blessed association with Himself, "His lilies" (Song ii. 16). He describes the soul that mourns over its iniquities, yet flies long distances for pure food and covenant provision, as "My dove" (Song ii. 14; Isa. lx. 8). He styles those who sigh and cry because of their impurity, and who can see in themselves everything but purity, My undefiled" (Song v. 2). Mark you! They are No. 113.- PRICE ONE PENNY. |