Part 4 (1/2)
The metaphor is taken from the employment of a miner who digs deeply into the caverns of the earth that he may find its treasures; and by their appropriation enrich himself. The prophets were not satisfied with the mere knowledge of the fact that the mine existed, and that its contents were more brilliant than any of Golconda, and beyond the price of rubies.
They went to dig for themselves; and seizing the precious pearls of truth, they enriched and beautified and enn.o.bled their own character, until their s.h.i.+ning became too glorious for earth: they were then translated to heaven to sparkle amid eternal suns.h.i.+ne, and burn in glory for ever. How solemnly does the Great Teacher's injunction sound in our ears--”Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me.”
(ii.) The _earnestness_ of their search. They ”enquired and searched _diligently_.” This word is forceful and signifies to trace out or explore thoroughly. The idea which the apostle intends to convey is thought to be this: ”they perceived that in their communications there were so great and glorious truths which they did not fully comprehend, and they diligently employed their natural faculties to understand that which they were appointed to impart to succeeding generations.” There is much of simplicity and power in the account which Daniel gives of his own _search_. ”In the first year of” the reign ”of Darius”--”I (Daniel) _understood by books_ the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I _set my face_ (marking earnestness and diligence and resolve) unto the Lord G.o.d to seek by prayer and supplication” the meaning of these things. You are not surprised at the visit of the man Gabriel, who was caused to fly swiftly; and, touching him at the time of the evening oblation, said, ”O Daniel I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. I will show thee that which is noted in the Scriptures of truth.”
Now, if the prophets had thus with earnest diligence to search out the meaning of their own predictions, what but our capacity should be the measure of our toil? Nor is this labour to be confined to the pulpit.
”The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.” If you want to know the meaning of your Bible, you must prayerfully study it. ”These in Berea were more n.o.ble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
Here then is our Student: himself a study for all who are anxious to comprehend this book. There are only three orders of being by whom G.o.d has spoken to the world: Christ; the angels; and _men_. And among these men the prophets hold the first rank. At an early period--the elements of religion being already revealed--a new method of communicating truth was employed; and man rose from the position of an _observer_, to the dignity and majesty of the prophet. In some instances he is removed at once into this office without previous training. But generally G.o.d walks among ”the schools of the prophets;” and laying his hand upon the chosen one, He bids him go forth. His very call seems to const.i.tute him an extraordinary man. Both his appearance and actions make him singular.
He stands alone. The mountain or the sequestered vale is his abode; and he is only seen among men when he has some message from G.o.d. Clothed in his sackcloth, he appears at the court, the city, and the village; and having p.r.o.nounced the coming woe, or stated the imposed duty, or offered pardon, he mysteriously disappears; and is seen no more, till the burden is again upon him, and forces him to come forth and speak. There is a fire in his eye, but it is inspiration, not wildness. There is a majesty in his gait, as though he is either great himself, or is employed by one who is. There is a solemnity of countenance and a n.o.bility of manner, which say that he is not often among mortals, but dwells in a higher sphere. In language which more fully pertains to us as Christians, his ”conversation is in heaven.” Carried up by the Spirit perhaps to the summit of the mountain which covers his retreat, views of the future break upon his vision. His eye burns; his lips quiver; his bosom heaves.
And opening his mouth, he pours forth in more than angelic cadences, the designs of G.o.d concerning men, and kingdoms, and the human race. It may be that to himself all this is a mystery. He therefore gathers up every utterance, and carries them to his mountain home. In that consecrated cave he spreads out the panorama; and lifting up his eyes to heaven for light, he traces the picture to see what ”the Spirit of Christ which was in” him ”did signify.”
”Sweet is the harp of prophecy; too sweet Not to be wronged by a mere mortal touch, Nor can the wonders it records be sung To meaner music, and not suffer loss.”
II. THE THEME.--It is here presented in a twofold aspect. First, in its _entirety_: and secondly, in one of its _branches_.
1. The great subject of prophetic enquiry is _salvation_. ”Of which _salvation_ the prophets have enquired and searched diligently.”
(i.) In its _nature_. Is there a word in universal language which has as much meaning in it as this word salvation? It takes within its range all time and all eternity. Though specially designed for man, it has its influence upon every order of being G.o.d has made, and presents the most glorious manifestations of G.o.d himself which the world possesses. It glares upon sin with indignation, but throws its arms of mercy around the sinner; offers to him a deliverance from the guilt and power and pollution and inbeing of evil; gives him the favour and image of his Maker; a.s.sures to him victory over his final adversary; introduces him to, and acquits him before the great white throne; and arrays him in all the glories of an everlasting heaven.
To understand it fully comes not within the range of angelic intellect; and yet it demands our highest regard, as it has had the attention of enquiring prophets. 'Tis true they had not the light upon it that a better dispensation has given to us. It is not to be expected that they should be penetrated with its glory as we ought to be; but they were so impressed by its grandeur, that their thoughts were raised above all merely temporal deliverances, and they felt that their own interests were wrapped up in the theme. ”And thus,” we are told, ”did this sweet stream of their doctrine, as the rivers, make its own banks fertile and pleasant as it ran by, and flowed still forward to after ages; and by the confluence of more such prophecies, grew greater as it went, till it fell in with the main current of the gospel in the New Testament both acted and preached by the Great Prophet himself whom they foretold as to come, and recorded by his apostles and evangelists, and thus united into one river clear as crystal. This doctrine of salvation in the Scriptures hath refreshed the city of G.o.d, his Church under the gospel, and still shall do so till it empty itself into the ocean of eternity.”
(ii.) This salvation _in its provision_, is _of grace_. ”Who prophesied _of the grace_ that should come unto you.” The apostle does not mean to say by this clause, that there is something in the theme _exclusively_ adapted to those to whom he wrote. But we understand him to mean, in general terms, that the ancient seers searched diligently into that system of mercy, which should in after times, and under the Christian dispensation, be more fully revealed.
The word ”grace” may have reference to _the manner_ in which this scheme should be made known; intimating that it was by _divine favour_ that the new economy supervened upon the old. But we take it rather to denote _the gospel salvation itself_. It is altogether a system of grace. In its projection; in its development; in its accomplishment; in its application; in its final consummation, it is all of grace. ”By grace ye are saved.”
We are not among the number of those who doubt or deny the entire and absolute fall of man. Whatever good there was in him was then destroyed; whatever evil there is in him, was then induced. He is fallen in mind and soul and body. Physically, morally, spiritually, he is a wreck. But was no vestage left of that divine image in which he was created? Not one. No lingering desire to regain his glory and the position he had lost? None. Was he altogether dead to virtue and his Maker's claims?
Yes, altogether. But was his nature so far polluted as that no trace of his original purity could be discovered? Not a trace to be seen even by an Omniscient eye. And was there left to him _no_ inherent power to do that which is good? None whatever. ”From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”
Then see his position. If his fall, which is so entire, is his own act, he is as much amenable to his Maker as he was before. The fact of his fall will not lesson his obligations: nor will it impose upon G.o.d any necessity to show mercy. He therefore stands before his Judge a condemned criminal; and the course which the Judge shall take is entirely within himself. There is nothing which can force Him to show favour. If He say, die, He is as justly glorious as He was before. If then, there is _no_ obligation upon G.o.d to save: and if He _does_ determine to be gracious, the salvation _must be_ of grace. Oh, is it possible to conceive the solemnity of that moment when the destinies of untold millions were in the balance? Can you picture the suspense of heaven and h.e.l.l when waiting Jehovah's fiat? Surely for the moment the pulse of nature throbbed not; heaven's music ceased to flow, and the howl of the pit was hushed. Then G.o.d, on his azure throne, holding in one hand the sword, and in the other the sceptre, stretched out the sceptre saying, ”Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom.”
Your salvation is of grace. You are required to _pray_; but you are saved by grace. You are required to _believe_; but you are saved by grace. You are required to _labour_; but you are saved by grace. You are required to _suffer_; but you are saved by grace. You will have to _die_; but when you stand a spirit glorified before the throne, it will be by grace.
(iii.) Salvation in _its object_ is the soul. ”Receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your _souls_.” By the soul we understand the immaterial principle or spiritual part of man; which though united with the body, is perfectly distinct from it.
As to its _nature_, it is possessed of intelligence, volition, sensation.
It has capacities for enjoyment and suffering: for both good and evil.
Its _immortality_ is a.s.sured to us by the mouth of G.o.d. It may be lost.
With all its dignity and glory, it may be for ever crushed by the divine hand, but never destroyed. While, however, it may be lost, it may be saved. The grace which can calm its fears, and satisfy its hopes, and purge its impurity, and consummate its bliss is now manifested. How insignificant does everything appear when compared with _its_ salvation.
The blotting of the sun, the desolation of an universe is a trifle when put in the balance with an immortal spirit. Let the sceptic doubt its immortality, and the atheist deny, and the scoffer jest; but let us look forward to the judgment-seat and beyond it, for ”the soul, immortal as its sire, shall never die.”
(iv.) Salvation, _in its attainment_, is _by faith_. ”The end of your faith.”
There is no article of our religion more plainly revealed than this--”By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of G.o.d. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but hath eternal life. He that believeth shall be saved.” Faith is the simplest operation of the mind; and may therefore strictly be said to be incapable of definition.
Still it is easy to say what is meant by the term when applied to personal salvation. It means the trust of the heart on the atonement of Christ, as the condition of pardon. ”With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” It is however of the highest importance that the thought of its _simplicity_ be made prominent. Let us not undervalue religious knowledge; for to some extent it is absolutely necessary. But do not mystify the plan of mercy, and perplex the anxious seeker by requirements which the gospel has not made prominent. Many a poor sinner exercises faith in Christ who cannot give a philosophical disquisition as to its nature. It is not necessary to be thoroughly acquainted with the science of optics in order to see. A man may look through a telescope before he can define the refraction or reflection of light. Now all that is included in the word salvation hangs on this simple condition.
The question may be regarded perhaps more nice than wise as to _why_ such a condition should have been appointed; and yet it will sometimes force itself upon the thoughtful mind. The answer to it must in great measure be conjectural, but may we not suppose that _one_ design of it was to do away with the last vestige of self-righteousness in man? If Moses had struck the rock with something more powerful than the little rod, the gus.h.i.+ng of the waters might have been attributed to his own strength. If Jericho had been taken by a regular siege, the glory of its conquest would have been ascribed to military science and the prowess of arms. If some heavy conditions had been imposed upon the sinner, he would have _claimed_ his pardon.
”But, 'how unlike the complex works of man, Heaven's easy, artless, unenc.u.mbered plan, No meretricious graces to beguile, No cl.u.s.tering ornaments to clay the pile.
From ostentation as from weakness free, It stands like the cerulean arch we see, Majestic in its own simplicity.
Inscribed above the portal from afar, Conspicuous as the brightness of a star, Legible only by the light they give, Stand the soul-quickening words--Believe and Live.'”