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The Exaltation of Christ
A Sermon Delivered on Sabbath Morning, November 2, 1856, by the
REV. C.H. SPURGEON
At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."Philippians 2:9-11.
I almost regret this morning that I have ventured to
occupy this pulpit, because I feel utterly unable to preach to you for your profit. I had
thought that the quiet and repose of the last fortnight had removed the effects of that
terrible catastrophe; but on coming back to the same spot again, and more especially,
standing here to address you, I feel somewhat of those same painful emotions which
well-nigh prostrated me before. You will therefore excuse me this morning, if I make no
allusion to that solemn event, or scarcely any. I could not preach to you upon a subject
that should be in the least allied to it. I should be obliged to be silent if I should
bring to my remembrance that terrific scene in the midst of which it was my solemn lot to
stand. God shall overrule it doubtless. It may not have been so much by the malice
of men, as some have asserted; it was perhaps simple wickednessan intention to
disturb a congregation; but certainly with no thought of committing so terrible a crime as
that of the murder of those unhappy creatures. God forgive those who were the instigators
of that horrid act! They have my forgiveness from the depths of my soul. It shall not
stop us, however; we are not in the least degree daunted by it. I shall preach there
again yet; ay, and God shall give us souls there, and Satan's empire shall tremble more
than ever. "God is with us; who is he that shall be against us?" The text I have
selected is one that has comforted me, and in a great measure, enabled me to come here
to-daythe single reflection upon it had such a power of comfort on my depressed
spirit. It is this:"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."Philippians
2:9-11.
I shall not attempt to preach upon this text; I shall only make a few remarks that have
occurred to my own mind; for I could not preach to-day; I have been utterly unable to
study, but I thought that even a few words might be acceptable to you this morning, and I
trust to your loving hearts to excuse them. Oh, Spirit of God, magnify thy strength in thy
servant's weakness, and enable him to honour his Lord, even when his soul is cast down
within him.
When the mind is intensely set upon one object, however much it may by divers calamities
be tossed to and fro, it invariably returns to the place which it had chosen to be its
dwelling place. Ye have noticed in the case of David. When the battle had been won by his
warriors, they returned flushed with victory. David's mind had doubtless suffered much
perturbation in the mean time; he had dreaded alike the effects of victory and defeat; but
have you not noticed how his mind in one moment returned to the darling object of his
affections? "Is the young man Absalom safe?" said he, as if it mattered not what
else had occurred, it his beloved son were but secure! So, beloved, it is with the
Christian. In the midst of calamities, whether they be the wreck of nations, the crash of
empires, the heaving of revolutions, or the scourge of war, the great question which he
asks himself, and asks of others too, is thisIs Christ's kingdom safe? In his own
personal afflictions his chief anxiety is,Will God be glorified, and will his honour
be increased by it? If it be so, says he, although I be but as smoking flax, yet if the
sun is not dimmed I will rejoice; and though I be a bruised reed, if the pillars of the
temple are unbroken, what matters it that my reed is bruised? He finds it sufficient
consolation, in the midst of all the breaking in pieces which he endures, to think that
Christ's throne stands fast and firm, and that though the earth hath rocked beneath his
feet, yet Christ standeth on a rock which never can be moved. Some of these feelings, I
think, have crossed our minds. Amidst much tumult and divers rushings to and fro of
troublous thoughts our souls have returned to the darling object of our desires, and we
have found it no small consolation after all to say, "It matters not what shall
become of us: God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow."
This text has afforded sweet consolation to every heir of heaven. Allow me, very briefly,
to give you the consolations of it. To the true Christian there is much comfort in the
very fact of Christ's exaltation. In the second place, there is no small degree of
consolation in the reason of it. "Wherefore, also, God hath highly exalted
him;" that is because of his previous humiliation. And thirdly, there is no small
amount of really divine solace in the thought of the person who has exalted Christ.
Wherefore God also"although men despise him and cast him
down"God also hath highly exalted him."
I. First, then, IN THE VERY FACT OF CHRIST'S EXALTATION THERE IS TO EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN A
VERY LARGE DEGREE OF COMFORT. Many of you who have no part nor lot in spiritual things,
not having love to Christ, nor any desire for his glory, will but laugh when I say that
this is a very bottle of cordial to the lip of the weary Christian, that Christ, after
all, is glorified. To you it is no consolation, because you lack that condition of heart
which makes this text sweet to the soul. To you there is nothing of joy in it; it does not
stir your bosom; it gives no sweetness to your life; for this very reason, that you are
not joined to Christ's cause, nor do you devoutly seek to honour him. But the true
Christian's heart leapeth for joy, even when cast down by divers sorrows and temptations,
at the remembrance that Christ is exalted, for in that he finds enough to cheer his own
heart. Note here, beloved, that the Christian has certain features in his character which
make the exaltation of Christ a matter of great joy to him. First, he has in his own
opinion, and not in his own opinion only, but in reality, a relationship to Christ,
and therefore he feels an interest in the success of his kinsman. Ye have watched the
father's joy, when step by step his boy has climbed to opulence or fame; ye have marked
the mother's eye, as it sparkled with delight when her daughter grew up to womanhood, and
burst forth in all the grandeur of beauty. Ye have asked why they should feel such
interest; and ye have been told, because the boy was his, or the girl was hers. They
delighted in the advancement of their little ones, because of their relationship. Had
there been no relationship, they might have been advanced to kings, emperors, or queens,
and they would have felt but little delight. But from the fact of kindred, each step was
invested with a deep and stirring interest. Now, it is so with this Christian. He feels
that Jesus Christ, the glorified "Prince of the kings of the earth." is his
brother. While he reverences him as God, he admires him as the man-Christ, bone of his
bone, and flesh of his flesh, and he delights, in his calm and placid moments of communion
with Jesus, to say to him, "O Lord, thou art my brother." His song is, "My
beloved is mine, and I am his." It is his joy to sing
"In the blood with sinners one,"
Christ Jesus is; for he is a man, even as we
are: and he is no less and no more man than we are, save only sin. Surely, when we feel we
are related to Christ, his exaltation is the source of the greatest joy to our spirits; we
take a delight in it, seeing it is one of our family that is exalted. It is the Elder
Brother of the great one family of God in heaven and earth; it is the Brother to whom all
of us are related.
There is also in the Christian not only the feeling of relationship merely, but there is a
feeling of unity in the cause. He feels that when Christ is exalted, it is himself
exalted in some degree, seeing he has sympathy with his desire of promoting the great
cause and honour of God in the world. I have no doubt that every common soldier who stood
by the side of the Duke of Wellington felt honoured when the commander was applauded for
the victory; for, said he, "I helped him, I assisted him; it was but a mean part that
I played; I did but maintain my rank; I did but sustain the enemy's fire; but now the
victory is gained. I feel an honour in it, for I helped, in some degree, to gain it."
So the Christian, when he sees his Lord exalted, says, "It is the Captain that is
exalted, and in his exaltation all his soldiers share. Have I not stood by his side?
Little was the work I did, and poor the strength which I possessed to serve him; but still
I aided in the labour;" and the commonest soldier in the spiritual ranks feels that
he himself is in some degree exalted when he reads this"Wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:" a renown above
every name"that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow."
Moreover, the Christian knows not only that there is this unity in design, but that there
is a real union between Christ and all his people. It is a doctrine of revelation
seldom descanted upon, but never too much thought ofthe doctrine that Christ and his
members are all one. Know ye not, beloved, that every member of Christ's church is a
member of Christ himself? We are "of his flesh and of his bones," parts of his
great mystical body; and when we read that our head is crowned, O rejoice, ye members of
his, his feet or his hands, though the crown is not on you, yet being on your Head, you
share the glory, for you are one with him. See Christ yonder, sitting at his Father's
right hand! Believer! he is the pledge of thy glorification; he is the surety of thine
acceptance; and, moreover, he is thy representative. The seat which Christ possesses in
heaven he has not only by his own right, as a person of the Deity, but he has it also as
the representative of the whole church, for he is their forerunner, and he sits in glory
as the representative of every one of them. O rejoice, believer, when thou seest thy
Master exalted from the tomb, when thou beholdest him exalted up to heaven. Then, when
thou seest him climb the steps of light, and sit upon his lofty throne, where angels' ken
can scarcely reach himwhen thou hearest the acclamations of a thousand
seraphswhen thou dost note the loud pealing choral symphony of millions of the
redeemed; think, when thou seest him crowned with lightthink that thou art exalted
too in him, seeing that thou art a part of himself. Happy art thou if thou knowest this,
not only in doctrine, but in sweet experience too. Knit to Christ, wedded to him, grown
into him, parts and portions of his very self, we throb with the heart of the body; when
the head itself is glorified we share in the praise; we felt that his glorification
bestows an honour upon us. Ah! beloved, have you ever felt that unity to Christ? Have you
ever felt a unity of desire with him? If so, you will find this rich with comfort; but if
notif you know not Christit will be a source of grief rather than a pleasure
to you that he is exalted, for you will have to reflect that he is exalted to crush you,
exalted to judge you and condemn you, exalted to sweep this earth of its sins, and cut the
curse up by the roots, and you with it, unless you repent and turn unto God with full
purpose of heart.
There is yet another feeling, which I think is extremely necessary to any very great
enjoyment of this truth, that Christ is exalted. It is a feeling of entire surrender of
one's whole being to the great work of seeking to honour him. Oh! I have striven for
that: would to God I might attain unto it! I have now concentrated all my prayers into
one, and that one prayer is this, that I may die to self, and live wholly to him. It seems
to me to be the highest stage of manto have no wish, no thought, no desire but
Christto feel that to die were bliss, if it were for Christthat to live in
penury and woe, and scorn, and contempt, and misery, were sweet for Christto feel
that it did not matter what became of one's self, so that one's Master was but
exaltedto feel that though, like a sear leaf, you are blown in the blast, you are
quite careless whither you are going, so long as you feel that the Master's hand is
guiding you according to his will. Or rather to feel that though like the diamond you must
be cut, that you care not how sharply you may be cut, so that you may be made fit to be a
brilliant in his crown; that you care little what may be done to you, if you may
but honour him. If any of you have attained to that sweet feeling of
self-annihilation, you will look up to Christ as if he were the sun, and you will say of
yourself, "O Lord, I see thy beams; I feel myself to be not a beam from theebut
darkness, swallowed up in thy light. The most I ask is, that thou wouldst live in me, that
the life I live in the flesh may not be my life, but thy life in me, that I may say with
emphasis, as Paul did, 'For me to live is Christ.'" A man that has attained to this,
never need care what is the opinion of this world. He may say, "Do you praise me? Do
you flatter me? Take back your flatteries: I ask them not at your hands; I sought to
praise my Master; ye have laid the praises at my door; go, lay them at his, and not
at mine. Do ye scorn me? Do ye despise me? Thrice happy am I to bear it. If ye will not
scorn and despise him!" And if ye will, yet know this, that he is beyond your
scorn; and, therefore, smite the soldier for his Captain's sake; ay, strike, strike; but
the King ye cannot touchhe is highly exaltedand thou ye think ye have gotten
the victory, ye may have routed one soldier of the army, but the main body is triumphant.
One soldier seems to be smitten to the dust, but the Captain is coming on with his
victorious cohorts, and shall trample you, flushed with your false victory, beneath his
conquering feet. As long as there is a particle of selfishness remaining in us, it will
mar our sweet rejoicing in Christ; till we get rid of it, we shall never feel constant
joy. I do think that the root of sorrow is self. If we once got rid of that, sorrow would
be sweet, sickness would be health, sadness would be joy, penury would be wealth, so far
as our feelings with regard to them are concerned. They might not be changed, but our
feelings under them would be vastly different. If you would seek happiness, seek it at
the roots of your selfishness; cut up your selfishness, and you will be happy. I have
found that whenever I have yielded to the least joy when I have been prepared to feel
acutely the arrows of the enemy; but when I have said of the praises of men, "Yes,
what are ye? worthless things!"then I could also say of their
contempt"Come on! come on! I'll send you all where I sent the praises; you may
go together, and fight your battles with one another; but as for me, let your arrows
rattle on my mailthey must not, and they shall not, reach my flesh." But if you
give way to one you will to another. You must seek and learn to live wholly in
Christto sorrow when you see Christ maligned and dishonoured, to rejoice when
you see him exalted, and then you will have constant cause for joy. Sit down now, O
reviled one, poor, despised, and tempted one; sit down, lift up thine eyes, see him on his
throne, and say within thyself, "Little though I be, I know I am united to him; he is
my love, my life, my joy; I care not what happens so long as it is written, 'The Lord
reigneth.'"
II. Now, briefly upon the second point. Here also is the very fountain and well-spring of
joy, in THE REASON OF CHRIST'S EXALTATION. "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted
him." Why? Because, "he being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and because obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him." This of course relates to the manhood of our Lord
Jesus Christ. As God, Christ needed no exaltation; he was higher than the highest,
"God over all, blessed for ever." But the symbols of his glory having been for a
while obscured, having wrapped his Godhead in mortal flesh, his flesh with his Godhead
ascended up on high, and the man-God, Christ Jesus, who had stooped to shame, and sorrow,
and degradation, was highly exalted, "far above all principalities and powers,"
that he might reign Prince-regent over all worlds, yea, over heaven itself. Let us
consider, for a moment, that depth of degradation to which Christ descended; and then, my
beloved, it will give you joy to think, that for that very reason his manhood was highly
exalted. Do you see that man
"The humble Man before his foes,
The weary Man and full of woes?"
Do you mark him as he speaks? Note the
marvellous eloquence which pours from his lips, and see how the crowds attend him? But do
you hear, in the distance, the growling of the thunders of calumny and scorn? Listen to
the words of his accusers. They say he is "a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, a
friend of publicans and sinners;" "he has a devil, and is mad." All the
whole vocabulary of abuse is exhausted by vituperation upon him. He is slandered, abused,
persecuted! Stop! Do you think that he is by this cast down, by this degraded? No, for
this very reason: "God hath highly exalted him." Mark the shame and
spitting that have come upon the cheek of yonder man of sorrows! See his hair plucked with
cruel hands; mark ye how they torture him and how they mock him. Do you think that this is
all dishonourable to Christ? It is apparently so; but list to this: "He became
obedient," and therefore "God hath highly exalted him." Ah! there is
a marvellous connection between that shame, and spitting, and the bending of the knee of
seraphs; there is a strange yet mystic link which unites the calumny and the slander with
the choral sympathies of adoring angels. The one was, as it were, the seed of the other.
Strange that it should be, but the black, the bitter seed brought forth a sweet and
glorious flower which blooms for ever. He suffered and he reigned; he stopped to conquer,
and he conquered for he stooped, and was exalted for he conquered.
Consider him further still. Do you mark him in your imagination nailed to yonder cross! O
eyes! ye are full of pity, with tears standing thick! Oh! how I mark the floods gushing
down his checks! Do you see his hands bleeding, and his feet too, gushing gore? Behold
him! The bulls of Bashan gird him round, and the dogs are hounding him to death! Hear him!
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" The earth startles with affright. A God is
groaning on a cross! What! Does not this dishonour Christ? No; it honours him! Each of the
thorns becomes a brilliant in his diadem of glory; the nails are forged into his sceptre,
and his wounds do clothe him with the purple of empire. The treading of the wine-press
hath stained his garments, but not with stains of scorn and dishonour. The stains are
embroideries upon his royal robes for ever. The treading of that wine-press hath made his
garments purple with the empire of a world; and he is the Master of a universe for ever. O
Christian! sit down and consider that thy Master did not mount from earth's mountains into
heaven, but from her valleys. It was not from heights of bliss on earth that he strode to
bliss eternal, but from depths of woe he mounted up to glory. Oh! what a stride was that,
when, at one mighty step from the grave to the throne of The Highest, the man Christ, the
God, did gloriously ascend. And yet reflect! He in some way, mysterious yet true, was
exalted because he suffered. "Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name." Believer, there
is comfort for thee here, if thou wilt take it. If Christ was exalted through his
degradation, so shalt thou be. Count not thy steps to triumph by thy steps upward, but by
those which are seemingly downward. The way to heaven is down-hill. he who would be
honoured for ever must sink in his own esteem, and often in that of his fellow-men. Oh!
think not of yon fool who is mounting to heaven by his own light opinions of himself and
by the flatteries of his fellows, that he shall safely reach Paradise; nay, that shall
burst on which he rests, and he shall fall and be broken in pieces. But he who descends
into the mines of suffering, shall find unbounded riches there; and he who dives into the
depths of grief, shall find the pearl of everlasting life within tis caverns. Recollect,
Christian, that thou art exalted when thou art disgraced; read the slanders of thine
enemies as the plaudits of the just; count that the scoff and jeer of wicked men are equal
to the praise and honour of the godly; their blame is censure, and their censure praise.
Reckon too, if thy body should ever be exposed to persecution, that it is no shame to
thee, but the reverse; and if thou shouldst be privileged, (and thou mayest) to wear the
blood-red crown of martyrdom, count it no disgrace to die. Remember, the most honourable
in the church are "the noble army of martyrs." Reckon that the greater the
sufferings they endured, so much the greater is their "eternal weight of glory;"
and so do thou, if thou standest in the brunt and thick of the fight, remember that thou
shalt stand in the midst of glory. If thou hast the hardest to bear, thou shalt have the
sweetest to enjoy. On with thee, thenthrough floods, through fire, through death,
through hell, if it should lie in thy path. Fear not. He who glorified Christ because he
stooped shall glorify thee; for after he has caused thee to endure awhile, he will give
thee "a crown of life which fadeth now away."
III. And now, in the last place, beloved, here is yet another comfort for you. THE PERSON
who exalted Christ is to be noticed. "GOD also hath highly exalted him." The
emperor of all the Russians crowns himself: he is an autocrat, and puts the crown upon his
own head: but Christ hath no such foolish pride. Christ did not crown himself. "GOD
also hath highly exalted him." The crown was put upon the head of Christ by God; and
there is to me a very sweet reflection in this,that the hand that put the crown on
Christ's head, will one day put the crown on ours;that the same Mighty One who
crowned Christ, "King of kings, and Lord of lords," will crown us, when he shall
make us "Kings and priests unto him for ever." "I know," said Paul,
"there is laid up for me a crown of glory which fadeth not away, which God, the
righteous judge, shall give me in that day."
Now, just pause over this thoughtthat Christ did not crown himself, but that his
Father crowned him; that he did not elevate himself to the throne of majesty, but that his
Father lifted him there, and placed him on his throne. Why, reflect thus: Man never highly
exalted Christ. Put this then in opposition to it"God also hath highly
exalted him." Man hissed him, mocked him, hooted him. Words were not hard
enoughthey would use stones. "They took up stones again to stone him." And
stones failed; nails must be used, and he must be crucified. And then there comes the
taunt, the jeer, the mockery, whilst he hangs languishing on the death-cross. Man did not
exalt him. Set the black picture there. Now put this, with this glorious, this bright
scene, side by side with it, and one shall be a foil to the other. Man dishonoured
him; "God also exalted him." Believer, if all men speak ill of thee, lift
up thy head, and say, "Man exalted not my Master; I thank him that he exalts not me.
The servant should not be above his master, nor the servant above his lord, nor he that is
sent greater than he that sent him."
"If on my face for his dear name,
Shame and reproach shall be;
I'll hail reproach and welcome shame,
For he'll remember me."
God will remember me, and highly exalt me after all, though man casts me down.
Put it, again, in opposition to the fact,
that Christ did not exalt himself. Poor Christian! you feel that you cannot exalt
yourself. Sometimes you cannot raise your poor depressed spirits. Some say to you,
"Oh! you should not feel like this." They tell you, "Oh! you should not
speak such words, nor think such thoughts." Ah! "the heart knoweth its own
bitterness, and a stranger intermeddleth not therewith,"ay, and I will improve
upon it, "nor a friend either." It is not easy to tell how another ought to feel
and how another ought to act. Our minds are differently made, each in its own mould, which
mould is broken afterwards, and there shall never be another like it. We are all
different, each one of us; but I am sure there is one thing in which we are all brought to
unite in times of deep sorrow, namely, in a sense of helplessness. We feel that we cannot
exalt ourselves. Now remember, our Master felt just like it. In the 22nd Psalm, which, if
I read it rightly, is a beautiful soliloquy of Christ upon the cross, he says to himself,
"I am a worm, and no man." As if he felt himself so broken, so cast down, that
instead of being more than a man, as he was, he felt for awhile less than man. And yet,
when he could not lift finger to crown himself, when he could scarce heave a thought of
victory, when his eye could not flash with even a distant glimpse of triumph,then
his God was crowning him. Art thou so broken in pieces, Christian? Think not that thou art
cast away for ever; for "God also hath highly exalted him" who did not exalt
himself; and this is a picture and prophecy of what he will do for thee.
And now, beloved, I can say little more upon this text, save that I bid you now for a
minutes meditate and think upon it. Oh! let your eyes be lifted up; bid heaven's blue veil
divide; ask power of GodI mean spiritual power from on high, to look within the
veil. I bid you not look to the streets of gold, nor to the walls of jasper, nor to the
pearly-gated city. I do not ask you to turn your eyes to the white-robed hosts, who for
ever sing loud hallelujahs; but yonder, my friends, turn your eyes,
"There, like a man, the Saviour sits;
The God, how bright he shines;
And scatters infinite delight
On all the happy minds."
Do you see him?
"The head that once was crowned with
thorns,
Is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns
That mighty Victor's brow.
No more the bloody crown,
The cross and nails no more:
For hell itself shakes at his frown,
And all the heavens adore."
Look at him! Can your imagination picture him? Behold his transcendent glory! The majesty of kings is swallowed up; the pomp of empires dissolves like the white mist of the morning before the sun; the brightness of assembled armies is eclipsed. He in himself is brighter than the sun, more terrible than armies with banners. See him! See him! O! hide your heads, ye monarchs; put away your gaudy pageantry, ye lords of this poor narrow earth! His kingdom knows no bounds; without a limit his vast empire stretches out itself. Above him all is his; beneath him many a step are angels, and they are his; and they cast their crowns before his feet. With them stand his elect and ransomed, and their crowns too are his. And here upon this lower earth stand his saints, and they are his, and they adore him; and under the earth, among the infernals, where devils growl their malice, even there is trembling and adoration; and where lost spirits, with wailing and gnashing of teeth for ever lament their being, even there, there is the acknowledgment of his Godhead, even though the confession helps to make the fire of their torments. In heaven, in earth, in hell, all knees bend before him, and every tongue confesses that he is God. If not now, yet in the time that is to come this shall be carried out, that ever creature of God's making shall acknowledge his Son to be "God over all, blessed for ever. Amen." Oh! my soul anticipates that blessed day, when this whole earth shall bend its knee before its God willingly! I do believe there is a happy era coming, when there shall not be one knee unbent before my Lord and Master. I look for that time, that latter-day glory, when kings shall bring presents, when queens shall be the nursing mothers of the church, when the gold of Sheba and the ships of Tarshish, and the dromedaries of Arabia shall alike be his, when nations and tribes of every tongue shall
"Dwell on his name with sweetest
song,
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on his name."
Sometimes I hope to live to see that
all-auspicious erathat halcyon age of this world, so much oppressed with grief and
sorrow by the tyranny of its own habitants. I hope to see the time, when it shall be said,
"Shout, for the great Shepherd reigns, and his unsuffering kingdom now is
come"when earth shall be one great orchestra of praise, and every man shall
sing the glorious hallelujah anthem of the King of kings. But even now, while waiting for
that era, my soul rejoices in the fact, that every knee does virtually bow, though not
willingly, yet really. Does the scoffer, when he mouths high heaven, think that he insults
God? He thinks so, but his insult dies long ere it reaches half-way to the stars. Does he
conceive, when in his malice he forges a sword against Christ, that his weapon shall
prosper? If he does, I can well conceive the derision of God, when he sees the wildest
rebel, the most abandoned despiser, still working out his great decrees, still doing that
which God hath eternally ordained, and in the midst of his wild rebellion still running in
the very track which in some mysterious way before all eternity had been marked as the
track in which that being should certainly move. "The wild steeds of earth have
broken their bridles, the reins are out of the hands of the charioteer"so some
say; but they are not, or if they are, the steeds run the same round as they would have
done had the Almighty grasped the reins still. The world has not gone to confusion; chance
is not God; God is still Master, and let men do what they will, and hate the truth we now
prize, they shall after all do what God wills, and their direst rebellion shall prove but
a species of obedience, though they know it not.
But thou wilt say, "Why dost thou yet find fault; for who hath resisted such a will
as that?" "Nay, but O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the
thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter
power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto
dishonour? What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured
with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make
known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto
glory." Who is he that shall blame him? Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! He
is Godknow that, ye inhabitants of the land; and all things, after all, shall serve
his will. I like what Luther says in his bold hymn, where, notwithstanding all that those
who are haters of predestination choose to affirm, he knew and boldly declared, "He
everywhere hath sway, and all things serve his might." Notwithstanding all they do,
there is God's sway, after all. Go on, reviler! God knoweth how to make all thy revilings
into songs! Go on, thou warrior against God, if thou wilt; know this, thy sword shall help
to magnify God, and carve out glory for Christ, when thou thoughtest the slaughter of his
church. It shall come to pass that all thou dost shall be frustrated; for God maketh the
diviners mad, and saith, "Where is the wisdom of the scribe? Where is the wisdom of
the wise?" Surely, "Him hath God exalted, and given him a name which is above
every name."
And now, lastly, beloved, if it be true, as it is, that Christ is so exalted that he is to
have a name above every name, and every knee is to bow to him, will we not bow our knees
this morning before his Majesty? You must, whether you will or no, one day bow your knee.
O iron-sinewed sinner, bow thy knee now! Thou wilt have to bow it, man, in that day when
the lightnings shall be loosed, and the thunders shall roll in wild fury: thou wilt have
to bow thy knee then. Oh! bow it now! "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish
from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little." O Lord of hosts! bend the
knees of men! Make us all the willing subjects of thy grace, lest afterward, we should be
the unwilling slaves of thy terror; dragged with chains of vengeance down to hell. O that
now those that are on earth might willingly bend their knees lest in hell it should be
fulfilled, "Things under the earth shall bow the knee before him."
God bless you, my friends, I can say no more but that. God bless you, for Jesus' sake!
Amen.
This sermon was preached following the disaster at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens
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