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The Incarnation and Birth of Christ
A Sermon Delivered on Sabbath Morning, December 23rd, 1855, by the
REV. C.H. SPURGEON
At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark
"But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."Micah 5:2.
This is the season of the year when, whether we wish it or not, we are compelled to think of the birth of Christ. I hold it to be one of the greatest absurdities under heaven to think that there is any religion in keeping Christmas-day. There are no probabilities whatever that our Saviour Jesus Christ was born on that day, and the observance of it is purely of Popish origin; doubtless those who are Catholics have a right to hallow it, but I do not see how consistent Protestants can account it in the least sacred. However, I wish there were ten or a dozen Christmas-days in the year; for there is work enough in the world, and a little more rest would not hurt labouring people. Christmas-day is really a boon to us; particularly as it enables us to assemble round the family hearth and meet our friends once more. Still, although we do not fall exactly in the track of other people, I see no harm in thinking of the incarnation and birth of the Lord Jesus. We do not wish to be classed with those
"Who with more care keep holiday
The wrong, than others the right way."
The old Puritans made a parade of work on
Christmas-day, just to show that they protested against the observance of it. But we
believe they entered that protest so completely, that we are willing, as their
descendants, to take the good accidentally conferred by the day, and leave its
superstitions to the superstitious.
To proceed at once to what we have to say to you: we notice, first, who
it was that sent Christ forth. God the Father here speaks, and says, "Out of thee
shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel." Secondly, where
did he come to at the time of his incarnation? Thirdly, what did he come for?
"To be ruler in Israel." Fourthly, had he ever come before? Yes, he had.
"Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
I. First, then, WHO SENT JESUS CHRIST? The answer is returned to us by the
words of the text. "Out of thee" saith Jehovah, speaking by the mouth of Micah,
I out of thee shall he come forth unto me." It is a sweet thought that Jesus Christ,
did not come forth without his Father's permission, authority, consent, and assistance. He
was sent of the Father, that he might be the Saviour of men. We are, alas! too apt to
forget, that while there are distinctions as to the persons in the Trinity, there are no
distinctions of honor; and we do very frequently ascribe the honor of our salvation, or at
least the depths of its mercy and the extremity of its benevolence, more to Jesus Christ
than we do to the Father. This is a very great mistake. What if Jesus came? Did not his
Father send him? If he was made a child did not the Holy Ghost beget him? If he spake
wondrously, did not his Father pour grace into his lips, that he might be an able minister
of the new covenant? If his Father did forsake him when he drank the bitter cup of gall,
did he not love him still? and did he not, by-and by, after three days, raise him from the
dead, and at last receive him up on high, leading captivity captive? Ah! beloved, he who
knoweth the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost as he should know them, never setteth
one before another; he is not more thankful to one than the other; he sees them at
Bethlehem, at Gethsemane, and on Calvary, all equally engaged in the work of salvation.
"He shall come forth unto me." O Christian, hast thou put thy confidence in the
man Christ Jesus? Hast thou placed thy reliance solely on him? And art thou united with
him? Then believe that thou art united unto the God of heaven; since to the man Christ
Jesus thou art brother and holdest closest fellowship, thou art linked thereby with God
the Eternal, and "the Ancient of days" is thy Father and thy friend. "He
shall come forth unto me". Did you never see the depth of love there was in
the heart of Jehovah, when God the Father equipped his Son for the great enterprise of
mercy? There had been a sad day in Heaven once before, when Satan fell, and dragged with
him a third of the stars of heaven, and when the Son of God launching from his great right
hand the Omnipotent thunders, dashed the rebellious crew to the pit of perdition; but if
we could conceive a grief in heaven, that must have been a sadder day, when the Son of the
Most High left his Father's bosom, where he had lain from before all worlds
"Go," saith the Father, "and thy Father's blessing on thy head!" Then
comes the unrobing. How do angels crowd around to see the Son of God take off his robes He
laid aside his crown; he said, "My father, I am Lord over all, blessed for ever, but
I will lay my crown aside, and be as mortal men are." He strips himself of his bright
vest of glory; "Father," he says, "I will wear a robe of clay, just such a
men wear." Then he takes off all those jewels wherewith he was glorified; he lays
aside his starry mantles and robes of light, to dress himself in the simple garments of
the peasant of Galilee. What a solemn disrobing that must have been! And next, can you
picture the dismissal! The angels attend the Saviour through the streets, until they
approach the doors: when an angel cries, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye
lifted up ye everlasting doors, and let the king of glory through!" Oh! methinks the
angels must have wept when they lost the company of Jesuswhen the Sun of Heaven
bereaved them of all its light. But they went after him. They descended with him; and when
his spirit entered into flesh and he became a babe, he was attended by that mighty host of
angels, who after they had been with him to Bethlehem's manger, and seen him safely, laid
on his mother's breast, in their journey upwards appeared to the shepherds and told them
that he was born king of the Jews. The Father sent him! Contemplate that subject.
Let your soul get hold of it, and in every period of his life think that he suffered what the
Father willed; that every step of his life was marked with the approval of the great I
AM. Let every thought that you have of Jesus be also connected with the eternal,
ever-blessed God; for "he," saith Jehovah, "shall come forth unto me."
Who sent him, then? The answer is, his Father.
II. Now, secondly, WHERE DID HE COME TO? A word or two concerning Bethlehem.
It seemed meet and right that our Saviour should be born in Bethlehem and that because of
Bethlehem's history, Bethlehem's name, and Bethlehem's positionlittle in Judah.
1. First, it seemed necessary that Christ should be born in Bethlehem, because
of Bethlehem's history. Dear to every Israelite was the little village of Bethlehem.
Jerusalem might outshine it in splendour; for there stood the temple, the glory of the
whole earth, and "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth was Mount
Zion;" yet around Bethlehem there clustered a number of incidents which always made
it a pleasant resting-place to every Jewish mind; and even the Christian cannot help
loving Bethlehem. The first mention, I think, that we have of Bethlehem is a sorrowful
one. There Rachel died. If you turn to the 35th of Genesis you will find it said in the
16th verse"And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to
come to Ephrath; and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when
she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son
also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called
his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in
the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave, that is the
pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day." A singular incident thisalmost
prophetic. Might not Mary have called her own son Jesus, her Ben-oni; for he was to be the
child of Sorrow? Simeon said to her"Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own
soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." But while she might
have called him Ben-oni, what did God his Father call him? Benjamin, the son of my right
hand. Ben-oni was he as a man; Benjamin as to his Godhead. This little incident seems to
be almost a prophecy that Ben-oniBenjamin, the Lord Jesus, should be born in
Bethlehem. But another woman makes this place celebrated. That woman's name was Naomi.
There lived at Bethlehem in after days, when, perhaps, the stone that Jacob's fondness had
raised had been covered with moss and its inscription obliterated, another woman named
Naomi. She too was a daughter of joy, and yet a daughter of bitterness. Naomi was a woman
whom the Lord had loved and blessed, but she had to go to a strange land; and she said,
"Call me not Naomi (pleasant) but let my name be called Mara (bitter) for the
Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me." Yet was she not alone amid all her
losses, for there cleaved unto her Ruth the Moabitess, whose Gentile blood should unite
with the pure untainted stream of the Jew, and should thus bring forth the Lord our
Saviour, the great king both of Jews and Gentiles. That very beautiful book of Ruth had
all its scenery laid in Bethlehem. It was at Bethlehem that Ruth went forth to glean in
the fields of Boaz; it was there that Boaz looked upon her, and she bowed herself before
her lord; it was there her marriage was celebrated; and in the streets of Bethlehem did
Boaz and Ruth receive a blessing which made them fruitful so that Boaz became the father
of Obed, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. That last fact gilds
Bethlehem with glorythe fact that David was born therethe mighty hero who
smote the Philistine giant, who led the discontented of his land away from the tyranny of
their monarch, and who afterwards, by a full consent of a willing people, was crowned king
of Israel and Judah. Bethlehem was a royal city, because the kings were there brought
forth. Little as Bethlehem was, it was much to be esteemed; because it was like certain
principalities which we have in Europe, which are celebrated for nothing but for bringing
forth the consorts of the royal families of England. It was right, then, from history,
that Bethlehem should be the birth-place of Christ.
2. But again: there is something in the name of the place. "Bethlehem
Ephratah." The word Bethlehem has a double meaning. It signifies "the
house of bread," and "the house of war." Ought not Jesus Christ to be born
in "the house of bread?" He is the Bread of his people, on which they feed. As
our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, so do we live on Jesus here below. Famished by
the world, we cannot feed on its shadows. Its husks may gratify the swinish taste of
worldlings, for they are swine; but we need something more substantial, and in that blest
bread of heaven, made of the bruised body of our Lord Jesus, and baked in the furnace of
his agonies, we find a blessed food. No food like Jesus to the desponding soul or to the
strongest saint. The very meanest of the family of God goes to Bethlehem for his bread;
and the strongest man, who eats strong meat, goes to Bethlehem for it. House of Bread!
whence could come our nourishment but from thee? We have tried Sinai, but on her rugged
steeps there grow no fruits, and her thorny heights yield no corn whereon we may feed. We
have repaired even to Tabor itself, where Christ was transfigured, and yet there we have
not been able to eat his flesh and drink his blood. But Bethlehem, thou house of bread,
rightly wast thou called; for there the bread of life was first handed down for man to
eat. And it is also called "the house of war;" because Christ is to a man
"the house of bread," or else "the house of war." While he is food to
the righteous he causeth war to the wicked, according to his own word "Think
not that I am come to send peace on the earth; I am not come to send peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they
of his own household." Sinner! if thou dost not know Bethlehem as "the house of
bread," it shall be to thee a "house of war." If from the lips of Jesus
thou dost never drink sweet honeyif thou art not like the bee, which sippeth sweet
luscious liquor from the Rose of Sharon, then out of the selfsame mouth there shall go
forth against thee a two-edged sword; and that mouth from which the righteous draw their
bread, shall be to thee the mouth of destruction and the cause of thine ill. Jesus of
Bethlehem, house of bread and house of war, we trust we know thee as our bread. Oh! that
some who are now at war with thee might hear in their hearts, as well as in their ears the
song
"Peace on earth, and mercy mild.
God and sinners reconciled."
And now for that word Ephratah That was the
old name of the place which the Jews retained and loved. The meaning of it is,
"fruitfulness," or "abundance." Ah! well was Jesus born in the house
of fruitfulness; for whence cometh my fruitfulness and any fruitfulness, my brother, but
from Bethlehem? Our poor barren hearts ne'er produced one fruit, or flower, till they were
watered with the Saviour blood. It is his incarnation which fattens the soil of our
hearts. There had been pricking thorns on all the ground, and mortal poisons, before be
came; but our fruitfulness comes from him. "I am like a green fir-tree; from thee is
my fruit found." "All my springs are in thee." If we be like trees planted
by the rivers of water, bringing forth our fruit in our season, it is not because we were
naturally fruitful, but because of the rivers of water by which we were planted. It is
Jesus that makes us fruitful. "If a man abide in me," he says, "and my
words abide him, he shall bring forth much fruit." Glorious Bethlehem Ephratah!
Rightly named! Fruitful house of breadthe house of abundant provision for the people
of God!
3. We notice, next, the position of Bethlehem. It is said to be
"little among the thousands of Judah." Why is this? Because Jesus Christ always
goes among little ones. He was born in the little one "among the thousands of
Judah." No Bashan's high hill, not on Hebron's royal mount, not in Jerusalem's
palaces. but the humble, yet illustrious, village of Bethlehem. There is a passage in
Zechariah which teaches us a lesson:lt is said that the man on the red horse stood
among the myrtle-trees. Now the myrtle-trees grow at the bottom of the hill; and the man
on the red horse always rides there. He does not ride on the mountain-top; he rides among
the humble in heart. "With this man will I dwell, saith the Lord, with him who is of
a humble and contrite spirit, and who trembleth at my word." There are some little
ones here this morning"little among the thousands of Judah." No one ever
heard your name, did they? If you were buried, and had your name on your tombstone, it
would never be noticed. Those who pass by would say, "it is nothing to me: I never
knew him." You do not know much of yourself, or think much of yourself; you can
scarcely read, perhaps. Or if you have some talent and ability, you are despised amongst
men; or, if you are not despised by them, you despise yourself. You are one of the little
ones. Well, Christ is always born in Bethlehem among the little ones. Big hearts never get
Christ inside of them; Christ lieth not in great hearts, but in little ones. Mighty and
proud spirits never have Jesus Christ, for he cometh in at low doors, but he will not come
in at high ones. He who hath a broken heart, and a low spirit, shall have the Saviour, but
none else. He healeth not the prince and the king, but "the broken in heart, and he
bindeth up their wounds." Sweet thought! He is the Christ of the little ones.
"Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out
of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel."
We cannot pass away from this without another thought here, which is, how
wonderfully mysterious was that providence which brought Jesus Christ's mother to
Bethlehem at the very time when she was to be delivered! His parents were residing at
Nazareth; and what should they want to travel at that time for? Naturally, they would have
remained at home; it was not at all likely that his mother would have taken journey to
Bethlehem while in so peculiar a condition; but Caesar Augustus issues a decree that they
are to be taxed. Very well, then, let them be taxed at Nazareth. No; it pleases him that
they should all go to their city. But why should Caesar Augustus think of it just at that
particular time? Simply because, while man deviseth his way, the king's heart is in the
hand of the Lord. Why, what a thousand chances, as the world has it, met together to bring
about this event! First of all, Caesar quarrels with Herod; one of the Herods was deposed;
Caesar says, "I shall tax Judea, and make it a province, instead of having it for a
separate kingdom. Well, it must be done. But when is it to be done? This taxing, it is
said, was first commenced when Cyreneus was governor. But why is the census to be taken at
that particular periodsuppose, December? Why not have had it last October and why
could not the people be taxed where they were living? Was not their money just as good
there as anywhere else? It was Caesar's whim; but it was God's decree. Oh! we love the
sublime doctrine of eternal absolute predestination. Some have doubted its being
consistent with the free agency of man. We know well it is so, and we never saw any
difficulty in the subject; we believe metaphysicians have made difficulties; we see none
ourselves. It is for us to believe, that man does as he pleases, yet notwithstanding he
always does as God decrees. If Judas betrays Christ, "thereunto he was
appointed;" and if Pharaoh hardens his heart, yet, "for this purpose have I
raised thee up, for to show forth my power in thee." Man doth as he wills; but God
maketh him do as he willeth, too. Nay, not only is the will of man under the absolute
predestination of Jehovah; but all things, great or little, are of him. Well hath the good
poet said, "Doubtless the sailing of a cloud hath Providence to its pilot; doubtless
the root of an oak is gnarled for a special purpose, God compasseth all things, mantling
the globe like air." There is nothing great or little, that is not from him. The
summer dust moves in its orbit, guided by the same hand which rolls the stars along; the
dewdrops have their father, and trickle on the rose leaf as God bids them; yea, the sear
leaves of the forest, when hurled along by the tempest, have their allotted position where
they shall fall, nor can they go beyond it. In the great, and in the little, there is
GodGod in everything, working all things according to the counsel of his own will;
and though man seeks to go against his Maker, yet he cannot. God hath bounded the sea with
a barrier of sand; and if the sea mount up wave after wave, yet it shall not exceed its
allotted channel. Everything is of God; and unto him. who guideth the stars and wingeth
sparrows, who ruleth planets and yet moveth atoms, who speaks thunders and yet whispers
zephyrs, unto him be glory; for there is God in everything,
III. This brings us to the third point: WHAT DID JESUS COME FOR? He came to
be "ruler in Israel." A very singular thing is this, that Jesus Christ was said
to have been "born the king of the Jews." Very few have ever been "born
king." Men are born princes, but they are seldom born kings. I do not think you can
find an instance in history where any infant was born king. He was the prince of Wales,
perhaps, and he had to wait a number of years, till his father died, and then they
manufactured him into a king, by putting a crown on his head; and a sacred chrism, and
other silly things; but he was not born a king. I remember no one who was born a king
except Jesus; and there is emphatic meaning in that verse that we sing
"Born thy people to deliver;
Born a child, and yet a king."
The moment that he came on earth he was a king. He
did not wait till his majority that he might take his empire; but as soon as his eye
greeted the sunshine he was a king; from the moment that his little hands grasped
anything, they grasped a sceptre, as soon as his pulse beat, and his blood began to flow,
his heart beat royally, and his pulse beat an imperial measure, and his blood flowed in a
kingly current. He was born a king. He came "to be ruler in Israel. "Ah!"
says one, "then he came in vain, for little did he exercise his rule; 'he came unto
his own, and his own received him not;' he came to Israel and he was not their ruler, but
he was 'despised and rejected of men,' cast off by them all, and forsaken by Israel, unto
whom he came." Ay, but "they are not all Israel who are of Israel," neither
because they are the seed of Abraham shall they all be called. Ah, no! He is not ruler of
Israel after the flesh, but he is the ruler of Israel after the spirit. Many such have
obeyed him. Did not the apostles bow before him, and own him as their king? And now, doth
not Israel salute him as their ruler? Do not all the seed of Abraham after the spirit,
even all the faithful, for he is "the father of the faithful," acknowledge that
unto Christ belong the shields of the mighty, for he is the king of the whole earth? Doth
he not rule over Israel? Ay, verily he doth; and those who are not ruled over by Christ
are not of Israel. He came to be a ruler over Israel. My brother, hast thou submitted to
the sway of Jesus? Is he ruler in thine heart, or is he not? We may know Israel by this:
Christ is come into their hearts, to be ruler over them. "Oh!" saith one,
"I do as I please, I was never in bondage to any man." Ah! then thou hatest the
rule of Christ. "Oh!" says another, "I submit myself to my minister, to my
clergyman, or to my priest, and I think that what he tells me is enough, for he is my
ruler." Dost thou? Ah! poor slave, thou knowest not thy dignity; for nobody is thy
lawful ruler but the Lord Jesus Christ. "Ay," says another, "I have
professed his religion, and I am his follower." But doth he rule in thine heart? Doth
he command thy will? Doth he guide thy judgment? Dost thou ever seek counsel at his hand
in thy difficulties? Art thou desirous to honor him, and to put crowns upon his heart? Is
he thy ruler? If so, then thou art one of Israel; for it is written, "He shall come
to be ruler in Israel." Blessed Lord Jesus! thou art ruler in thy people's hearts,
and thou ever shalt be; we want no other ruler save thyself, and we will submit to none
other. We are free, because we are the servants of Christ; we are at liberty, because he
is our ruler, and we know no bondage and no slavery, because Jesus Christ alone is monarch
of our hearts. He came "to be ruler in Israel;" and mark you, that mission of
his is not quite fulfilled yet, and shall not be till the latter-day glories. In a little
while you shall see Christ come again, to be ruler over his people Israel, and ruler over
them not only as spiritual Israel, but even as natural Israel, for the Jews shall be
restored to their land, and the tribes of Jacob shall yet sing in the halls of their
temple; unto God there shall yet again be offered Hebrew songs of praise, and the heart of
the unbelieving Jew shall be melted at the feet of the true Messias. In a short time, he
who at his birth was hailed king of the Jews by Easterns, and at his death was written
king of the Jews by a Western, shall be called king of the Jews everywhereyes, king
of the Jews and Gentiles alsoin that universal monarchy whose dominion shall be
co-extensive with the habitable globe, and whose duration shall be coeval with time
itself. He came to be a ruler in Israel, and a ruler most decidedly he shall be, when he
shall reign among his people with his ancients gloriously.
IV. And now, the last thing is, DID JESUS CHRIST EVER COME BEFORE? We
answer, yes: for our text says, "Whose goings forth have been of old, from
everlasting."
First, Christ has had his goings forth in his Godhead. "From
everlasting." He has not been a secret and a silent person up to this moment. That
new-born child there has worked wonders long ere now; that infant slumbering in its
mother's arms is the infant of to-day, but it is the ancient of eternity; that child who
is there hath not made its appearance on the stage of this world; his name is not yet
written in the calendar of the circumcised; but still though you wist it not, "his
goings forth have been of old, from everlasting."
1. Of old he went forth as our covenant head in election,
"according as he hath chosen us in Him, before the foundation of the
world."
Christ be my first elect, he said,
Then chose our souls in Christ our Head."
2. He had goings forth for his people, as their representative before the throne, even before they were begotten in the world. It was from everlasting that his mighty fingers grasped the pen, the stylus of ages, and wrote his own name, the name of the eternal Son of God; it was from everlasting that he signed the compact with his Father, that he would pay blood for blood, wound for wound, suffering for suffering, agony for agony, and death for death, in the behalf of his people; it was from everlasting that he gave himself up, without a murmuring word, that from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot he might sweat blood, that he might be spit upon, pierced, mocked, rent asunder, suffer the pain of death, and the agonies of the cross. His goings forth as our Surety were from everlasting. Pause, my soul, and wonder! Thou hadst goings forth in the person of Jesus from everlasting. Not only when thou wast born into the world did Christ love thee, but his delights were with the sons of men before there were any sons of men. Often did he think of them; from everlasting to everlasting he had set his affection upon them. What! believer, has he been so long about thy salvation, and will he not accomplish it? Has he from everlasting been going forth to save me, and will he lose me now? What! has he had me in his hand, as his precious jewel, and will he now let me slip between his precious fingers? Did he choose me before the mountains were brought forth, or the channels of the deep scooped out, and will he lose me now? Impossible!
"My name from the palms of his hands
Eternity cannot erase;
Impress'd on his heart it remains,
In marks of indelible grace."
I am sure he would not love me so long, and then leave off loving me. If he intended to be tired of me, he would have been tired of me long before now. If he had not loved me with a love as deep as hell and as unutterable as the grave, it he had not given his whole heart to me, I am sure he would have turned from me long ago. He knew what I would be, and he has had long time enough to consider of it; but I am his choice, and there is an end of it; and unworthy as I am, it is not mine to grumble, if he is but contented with me. But he is contented with mehe must be contented with mefor he has known me long enough to know my faults. He knew me before I knew myself; yea, he knew me before I was myself. Long before my members were fashioned they were written in his book, "when as yet there were none of them," his eyes of affection were set on them. He knew how badly I would act towards him, and yet he has continued to love me;
"His love in times past forbids me to
think.
He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink."
No; since "his goings forth were of old from
everlasting," they will be "to everlasting."
Secondly, we believe that Christ has come forth of old, even to men, so
that men have beheld him. I will not stop to tell you that it was Jesus who walked in
the garden of Eden in the cool of the (lay, for his delights were with the sons of men;
nor will I detain you by pointing out all the various ways in which Christ came forth to
his people in the form of the angel of the covenant, the Paschal Lamb, the and ten
thousand types with which the sacred history is so replete; but I will rather point you to
four occasions when Jesus Christ our Lord has appeared on earth as a man, before his great
incarnation for our salvation. And, first, I beg to refer you to the 18th chapter of
Genesis, where Jesus Christ appeared to Abraham, of whom we read, "The Lord
appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the
day; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him; and when he saw
them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground.
"But whom did he bow to? He said "My Lord,"only to one of them. There was
one man between the other two, the most conspicuous for his glory, for he was the God-man
Christ; the other two were created angels, who for a time had assumed the appearance of
men. But this was the man Christ Jesus. "And he said, My Lord, if now I have found
favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I
pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree." You
will notice that this majestic man, this glorious person, stayed behind to talk with
Abraham. In the 22nd verse it is said,And the men turned their faces from thence and
went towards Sodom;" that is, two of them, as you will see in the next
chapter"but Abraham stood yet before the Lord." You will notice that this
man, the Lord, held sweet fellowship with Abraham, and allowed Abraham to plead for the
city he was about to destroy. He was in the positive form of man; so that when he walked
the streets of Judea it was not the first time that he was a man; lie was so before, in
"the plain of Mamre, in the heat of the day." There is another instance-his
appearing to Jacob, which you have recorded in the 32nd chapter of Genesis and the
24th verse. All his family were gone, "And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a
man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against
him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint,
as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will
not let thee go, unless thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And be
said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a
prince hast thou power with God." This was a man, and yet God. "For as a prince
bast thou power with God and with men, and bast prevailed." And Jacob knew that this
man was God, for he says in the 30th verse: ,for I have seen God face to face. and my life
is preserved." Another instance you will find in the book of Joshua When
Joshua had crossed the narrow stream of Jordan, and had entered the promised land, and was
about to drive out the Canaanites, lo! this mighty man-God appeared to Joshua. In the 5th
chapter, at the 13th verse, we read- And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that
he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his
sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went unto him, and (like a brave warrior, as he was,)
said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as Captain
of the host of the Lord am I now come." And Joshua saw at once that there was
divinity in him; for Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said to
him, "What saith my lord unto his servant?" Now, if this had been a created
angel lie would have reproved Joshua, and said, "I am one of your fellow
servants." But no; "the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy
shoe from thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so."
Another remarkable instance is that recorded in the third chapter of the book of Daniel,
where we read the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being cast into the fiery
furnace, which was so fierce that it destroyed the men who threw them in. Suddenly the
king said to his counsellors- Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?
They answered and said unto the king, True, 0 king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four
men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the
fourth is like the Son of God." How should Nebuchadnezzar know that? Only that there
was something so noble and majestic in the way in which that wondrous Man bore himself,
and some awful influence about him, who so marvellously broke the consuming teeth of that
biting an I devouring flame, so that it could not so much as singe the children of God.
Nebuchadnezzar recognized his humanity. He did not say,"I see three men and an
angel," but he said, "I see four positive men, and the form of the fourth is
like the Son of God.' You see, then, what is meant by his goings forth being I from
everlasting:'
Observe for a moment here, that each of these four great occurrences
happened to the saints when they were engaged in very eminent duty, or when they were
about to be engaged in it. Jesus Christ does not appear to his saints every day. He
did not come to see Jacob till he was in affliction; he did not visit Joshua before he was
about to be engaged in a righteous war. It is only in extraordinary seasons that Christ
thus manifests himself to his people. When Abraham interceded for Sodom, Jesus was with
him, for one of the highest and noblest employments of a Christian is that of
intercession, and it is when he is so engaged that he will be likely to obtain a sight of
Christ. Jacob was engaged in wrestling, and that is a part of a Christian's duty to
which some of you never did attain; consequently, you do not have many visits from Jesus.
It was when Joshua was exercising bravery that the Lord met him. So with Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego: they were in the high places of persecution, on account of
their adherence to duty, when he came to them, and said, "I will be with you, passing
through the fire." There are certain peculiar places we must enter, to meet with the
Lord. We must be in great trouble, like Jacob; we must be in great labour, like Joshua; we
must have great intercessory faith, like Abraham; we must be firm in the performance of
duty, like Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego; or else we shall not know him ,whose goings
forth have been of old, from everlasting;" or, if we know him, we shall not be able
to "comprehend with all the saints what is the height, and depth, and length, and
breadth of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,"
Sweet Lord Jesus! thou whose goings forth were of old, even from
everlasting, thou hast not left thy goings forth yet. Oh! that thou wouldst go forth this
day, to cheer the faint, to help the weary, to bind up our wounds, to comfort our
distresses! Go forth, we beseech thee, to conquer sinners, to subdue hard hearts-to break
the iron gates of sinners' lusts, and cut the iron bars of their sirs in pieces! O Jesus!
go forth; and when thou goest forth, come thou to me! Am I a hardened sinner? Come thou to
me; I want thee:
"Oh! let thy grace my heart subdue;
I would be led in triumph too;
A willing captive to my Lord,
To sing the honours of thy word."
Poor sinner! Christ has not left going forth yet. And when he goes forth, recollect, he goes to Bethlehem. Have you a Bethlehem in your heart? Are you little? will go forth to you yet. Go home and seek him by earnest prayer. If you have been made to weep on account of sin, and think yourself too little to be noticed, go home, little one! Jesus comes to little ones; his goings forth were of old, and he is going forth now. He will come to your poor old house; he will come to your poor wretched heart; he will come, though you are in poverty, and clothed in rags, though you are destitute, tormented, and afflicted; he will come, for his goings forth have been of old from everlasting. Trust him, trust him, trust him; and he will go forth to abide in your heart for ever.
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