1994 Issue 6 - Christ's Restoring Work - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 1994 Issue 6 - Christ's Restoring Work - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Psalm, LXIX 4-

"Then

I

restored

that which

I

took not away."

No

psalm, unless

t

be th

e

twenty- second,

is

more

frequently

or more

directly referred, in the

New Testament, to the Lord Jesus

Christ. You

may

take the following

citations

as illustrations

. Christ is

here prophetically represen te d as

saying

they that hate

me

without a

cause are more than the hairs

on

mine head: they that would de stroy

me, being mine enemies

wrongfully, are

mighty."

V.4.)

In

the fifteenth chapter

of

the

Gospel of]ohn,

this language is re

produced:

"

But this

come th to pass , that

the word might be

fulfilled that is written

in their law, they hated

me without cause."

In

the

twenty-second

and twenty-third

verses of this psalm

it

is wri tten

: " Le

t thei

r

table become a snare

before them; and that

which should have been

for

iheirwelfare,

letit

become a trap.

Let their eyes be darkened, that

th

ey

see

not; and make their loins

continually shake." Which is cited

by theApostkPaul, in the eleventh

chapter

oChis Epistle to the

R O I h ~ n s " And David saith, let their

tabIe be made a snare (lnd a trap, and

a stiLmbltngblock, and a recompense

unto them : let their eyes

be

darkened,

that they

may

not see, and

bow

down

their back alway. Again,

in the

twenty- first verse of the psalm, we

read

, They

gave me also gall for my

meat; and in my thirst they gave

me

Vinegar

to

drink;" which,

in

the

twenty- seventh chapter

of

the

Gospel of Matthew, is historically

stated :

"They gave him Vinegar to

drink mingled with

gall:

and when

He had tasted thereof He would not

drink. And straightway one

of them ran, and took a

sponge

and

filled it with Vinegar, and put it

on

a

reed, and gave Him to drink."

Under this

view,

the text can only

be explained of the perfect sinlessness

ofourLordJesusChrist,whilst bearing

the iniquity of us all . Though not

responsible for the breach which sin

had made upon the harmony of the

Universe, He comes to restore the same.

It is a theme singularly suitable for our

sacramental meditations this day,and,

without funher preface, I proceed to

show, in at least five paniculars, THIS

RESTORING WORK OF OUR

REDEEMER ."Thenlrestoredthatwh ch

I took

not away:

L He restores, to the law of God,

the honor of which sin had robbed it.

The law is too often regarded in the

light of a code-a collection

of

panicular

statutes, resdngsimplyupontheDivine

wilL Even under this aspect it is

sufficiently glorious; for " the law is

holy, and the commandment holy and

just and good;" and what can be more

majestic than God's solemn assertion

of His supreme

and

universal

dominion? But, in a higher

view

, the

lawis God's exPression of Himself- the

m COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

F

Julyl Augnst, 1994

first concrete revelation of

His

character

and of His attributes. In it wenbt oIlly

see what Jehovah claiffi , but what He

is; and obedience to it is, in reality, the

homage which the soul pays to the

excellence and glory ofJehovah. .

Law is, therefore, strictly a relative

term.

It

pre- supposes a

Being

from

whom this revelation proceeds, and

who stands in the relation of a Ruler

and a Judge. It pre- supposes other

beings upon whom this revelation

terminates,

and

who

stand in the relation

of

subjects capable of

rendering a response to

it. Now,

my

hearers, the

glory of the law consists

in the perfect impresSion

which it produces orthe.

Divine image, upon the

hean that is prepared to

receive it. Ai in

the

Daguerrean art,

photography), the

pencil oflight produces,

upon the plate prepared

for it within the camera,

the perfect fac- simile of

ourselves; every strand

of hair re-produced, the

very arch of the brow, the precise

character

of

the eyes,

the

eJ{act

expression of the lips, the form and

posture of the whole body : just so the

law, as a pencil oflight beaming directly

from

Jehovah Himself, producesupon

a holy hean the perfect impression of

God's character. The highest view of

obedience is not, therefore, as a

collection of independent acts calling

for a separate energy, but the

spontaneous out-giving of the vinue

and holiness of he creatUre-just as the

essence and life of he floweris exhaled

in the fragrance. Thus obedience

becomes the constant worship of the

soul toward God. But, alas

sin

intervened and darkened ntan's nature;

and now, because the sinner's

hean

is

opaque ,

clouded),

there is no


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reflection of

God.

Whilst the

Jaw

beams

as

before, pouring down the revelation

of the Divine glory, there is no image

produced; and thus the law is robbed

ofits

honor.

Jesus Christ,

in

His incarnation,

appears as the typical and repre

sentative

man;

and

renders

an

obedience, the true ideal of that which

was originally due. Nay more-

assuming the nature of

precept; which cannot be affirmed of

the obedience of any other being,

except of the Redeemer Himself. Or

look at the completeness of this

obedience; enabling the Savior

to

say

it is finished, and give up the ghost

an obedience which was rounded

within a period, and held

up

in its

entirety

as

the perfect measure of the

law in all its exactions; whereas the

determining the nature and measure

of that obedience which, through all

eternity, the law will continue to exact

of those who are

under

its jurisdiction.

Well might the prophet, therefore, say,

the Lord is well pleased for His

lighteousness' sake; He will magnify the

law,

and make

it

honorable.

( sa.

xlii:

21.) Rendering an obedience which is

greater than the aggregate obedience

of all the beings that God

man, who is the lowest of

those intelligent beings of

whom we

have any

knowledge, He includes

the intervening grades;

and, His obedience is the

ideal of that which was

due from all the creatures.

He gathers the light of this

law of God upon the

mirror of His heart, and

reflects from His perfect

human soul the exact

likeness of God's holiness.

He ascends

to

Heaven with

this typical and repre-

this obedienceof the Lord

Jesus Christ is forever exhibited

in

heaven from

the

throne which

the Mediator sits

as

determining

the

nature and measure

of that

obedience

which

through all

eternity, the law will continue to

exact of

those

who are under

its

jurisdiction.

ever created, and which,

because

of

its ideal and

typical character, stands

over against the law as

the exact exposition of t,

the Redeemer may truly

say

then

I

restored

that

which took not away.

II. Our Lord Jesus

Christ has restored to His

people that image of God

from which they have

fallen. Thisimageispanly

NATURAL

consisting in

the

faculties of

intelligence and of will

with which

man was

entative obedience, and

holds it up before the Father, and

before the holy angels, and before all

the redeemed in glory; that through

eternity, they may behold the moral

excellence ofJehovah, and the honor

of he law, which is the exposition ofit.

It would lead me into too much

detail, if I should undertake this

morning to dwell upon the peculiar

properties of this obedience of Chlist,

which render it so transcendently

glorious.Yetwithout a glance at these,

we shall perhaps fail to see how Christ

restores to the law that which He took

not away. Look, if you please, at the

voluntaJiness of Christ's obedience

voluntary, not in the sense that it is

cheerfully rendered- but in the higher

sense that it

was

wholly optional with

Him either to render or to withhold it.

Look, again, at its universality- an

obedience

to

the whole law, as strictly

rendered to the penalty as to the

obedience ofall other beings in heaven

and upon earth, is an obedience forever

continuing and never brought

to

a

conclusion. Look at itas the obedience

of the God-man; who, by virtue of the

hypostatic union, brings all the

perfections of His divine nature to

flood with glory all

that

was

accomplished in the human. And,

lastly, look at this obedience as it is re

producedin all the redeemed; who, by

virtue of it, are justified forever in the

sight of God. And then say if this

typical being, including all creatures

in

that human nature which

He

has

assumed, does not,

by

this ideal

righteousness, render to the law the

honor which was originally due from

angels and from men.

Nay, my brethren, this obedience

of the Lord Jesus Christ is forever

exhibited in heaven from the throne

upon

which the Mediator sits,

as

endowed;

but

principallyMORAL in

the direction and bent of these powers

in

lighteousness

and

holiness. Paul

says in his epistle

t

the Ephesians:

put

on

the new man, which after God

is created in righteousness and true

holiness. Sin defaces the natural image

of God, impairing and corrupting those

powers with which,

as

intelligent and

accountable beings, we are endowed;

and ithas destroyed thatoriginal purity

of nature, in which this moral image

was found. But Christ, as I have already

shown, reproduces this lost image of

Himself- typical of what man was at

the first, and of what man shall be

made through grace to be

in

the

kingdom of glory. In him, who was

holy, harmless, undefiled,

and

separate from sinners, there is found

once more a perfect reflection

of

that

image ofGod which was stamped upon

man at the beginning.

July August, 994 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 5


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This is

not

alL He proceeds now to

transfer this image from Himself to us;

through the agency of the Holy Ghost.

This Person of the adorable Godhead,

who

in

the original creation was the

author

of

all beauty as wellas of all life,

becomes the Quickener, to breath once

more the life

of

God into the soul

which is dead

in

sin. And this life,

which He communicates in the new

birth,

is

the life which Christ has

redeemed from forfeiture

corruptible

seed,

but of

incorruptible, by

the word ofGod

which

liveth and abideth

forever.'

(I Pet. i: 23). As an artist

transfers the image of a living person

upon

the canvas before him,

so

does

the Holy Spirit complete in us the

likeness to our blessed Lord. The

featureswhich belong

to

Him are

copied in us, and become the attributes

with which our own religious character

is adorned. In the whole process of

death He transfigures the believer and

makes him "meet for the Saints'

inheritance in light." And what my

brethren shall be said

more,?

Only this:

that, on and forever, the redeemed in

heaven shall sit by the side of their

Lord- rejoicing in the open vision of

His face, through which they are

changed into

His image from

glory

to

glory.

Beloved,

hnow

are we the sons of

God,

and it

doth

not yet appear what we

shqll be

butwe

now thatwhen

under

the law;

and

which

makes all those to whom it s

dispensed to become "new

creatures

in

Christ jesus."

Oh, the brightness ofDivine

truth, when you place the

doctrines

of

Grace together,

so that they reflect each upon

the'other "New creatures in

Christ jesus" What is it

shonofanewcreation, when

the dead sinner lives again

~ s an artist

transfers

the

image of livin person

upon

the

canvas before him,

so does

the

Holy

pirit

complete

in

us

the

likeness

to our blessed Lord.

He

shall appear,

we

shall be

like Him;forwe shall see

Him

as He

is

I. john

iii:

2.

Have

we

the mental

enlargement to take

in

the

grandeur of the conception?

It is not only the image of

God in the soul, which sin

had defacedanddestroyed;

but t

is

that image

graciously renewed


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whichhadbeen so vainly assailed. The

history of the collision itself must

furnish evidence that the foundation

of

law were only more

firmly

established, through the rebellion it

had extinguished.

Perhaps, we have never tasked

ourselves to consider the majesty of

power

which the

Almighty has

displayed in His treatment of fallen

man. It was not the first, but the second

rebellion, whichhad broken the repose

of the Universe. When the Angels

unfurled the standard of revolt in

Heaven, the audacity and the guilt

were almost

immeasurable.

But

Jehovah seemed content with the

simple exhibition of His power and

His Holiness. The guilty angels were

hurled from the glory of His presence

into everlasting

fire,

which is expressly

said to have been prepared for them.

(Matt.

xxv:

41.) But this was all the

development of the Divine resources

which the first rebellion called forth. It

was sufficient, and it was awful;

but

it

was

not

the completest exhibition of

power that was possible with God.

The second rebellion ensued, hinging

upon

the first.

t

was the insurrection

of a race inferior

in

degree, and who

were solicited to the act by the earlier

transgressors. These, perhaps, were

mitigations which made

mercy

possible.

At

any rate,

in

the sublime

consciousness of His strength, God

would

not

repeat simply the exhibition

of his power; but,

in

the grandeur of

His ofown repose, made the revelation

of His grace

in

he bosom of His justice.

It had been so easy for Him to

overthrow a conspiracy which was

stronger, that He could afford

in

this to

cherish thoughts ofpity. Poweris never

felt

to be so strong, as when it is serene

in

its action. Whilst the law laid its

arrest

upon

the transgressor a

Redeemer stepped from the bosom of

the Deity, and stooped beneath the

curse to bear it away forever.

"Oh, the

depth ojthe riches

both

oj he wisdom and

knowledge of

God How

unsearchable are

His

judgments, and His ways pastJinding

out "

(Rom.xi 33.) Intheverymoment,

when to the eye of the creature the

heavens and the earth were shaken to

their center, Jehovah saw fit to bring

out

the

hidden

attributes of His

character,

and

to show Himself the

God oflove Just then, in the majestic

consciousness of His power to deal

with all sin, He chose

to

produce from

the depths ofHis own heart the mystery

of grace- to exhibit the boundless

stretch of His compassion,

and

the

infinite reach of His love.

This display of mercy would, of

course, beno evidence of power, unless

truth and justice were conserved. But

in

the

methods by which Grace

achieved the wondrous reconciliation,

not the shadow ofsuspicion could rest

upon

the

integrity of the Divine

Government. There were resources of

wisdom by which,

in

the mighty plan,

"mercy

and

truth should

meet

together,

righteousness

and peace

should kiss

each

other."

CPs. Ixxxv:lO.)

In every case,

the extension of executive pardon has

been

an

act of grace founded solely

upon "the redemption that is

in

Christ

Jesus."

By

this,

"Cod's

righteousness

is

declared; that

He might be

just,

and the

justifier

ofhim

which believeth in

Jesus."

(Rom. iii:26.)

All

the redeemed who

upon the earth tell the stOlY of the

Cross, and all the glorified who in

Heaven chant the song, "worthy is the

Lamb that was slain," are wimesses of

God how deep He has driven the pillars

of His Empire, and how impreguable

it stands even

under

an administration

of mercy.

My

brethren, doyou not sometimes

rejoice

in

the atonement of our Lord,

beyond the interest you feel in it

because of your

own

personal

salvation? This

indeed would

be

ground enough for all the praise your

hearts could render to Him who has

"redeemed you

to

God

by His blood,

and

hasmadeyouunto

Godkings

andpriests."

(Rev. v: 9.)Yet there is a view opening

beyond this, so glorious in its majesty,

that the mere selfishness of

our

own

individual interests

is

lost in

contemplating the total results of our

Lord's mediatorial work It is, that "He

appeared in

the

end oj

the

world

to

PUT

W Y SIN

by

the sacrifice

of

Himself."

(Heb. ix: 26.) In that hour,

when

He

hung, a willing

man

upon the tree, He

'finished

the

transgression

and

MADE

N END OF SINS." (Dan. ix: 24.) In

His death was sealed

the

death of sin,

that

it

should

not

continue its ravages

upon the universe of God. Provision

was made for its final banishment to

the pit ofeternal darkness, where Satan

and his angels are held in chains until

the judgment of the great day. When

the consummation of this scheme of

Grace is reached, the decree, which

banishes the wicked from the presence

of God

and

the glory of His power, will

emancipate all worlds through God's

wide empire from the future contact

and defilement ofsin. Glorious jubilee

of grace when Christ shall come with

the clouds of Heaven

and

shall sit

upon the throne of His glory-

when He

shall pronounce

upon

sin its ust doom,

and bind it in prison forever-when

the

triumphant Conqueror shall proclaim

the universal reigu of righteousness

and

peace

in

the complete

establishment and supremacy oflaw

forever exempt from trial and assault.

Does not Christ then, by His work

of redemption, establish upon eternal

foundations the throne of His Father?

Having solved the problem of grace,

He solved it for all eternity. The last

and complete disclosure of the Divine

perfections

and

will has been made to

His creatures

under

triaL Law has

fulfilled all

its

functions,

in

the

revelation of the Law- giver. Hence

forth sin is to

be

known only

in

Hell,

where it is imprisoned forever. Angels

and the

Redeemed, confirmed in

holiness and blessedness forever, will

never bring their willand competition

Julyl August

994

THE COUNSEL

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Chalcedon i

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with

the

Divine supremacy, but will

express the whole energy of heir nature

in obedience

and

worship. The history

of

time has

been

dark stained

and

scarred

by

he

marks ofsin; but, thanks

to God, the history is short. Eternity

will succeed, " unmeasured by the

flight

of

years;"

and

its history will

be

bright with

the

holiness of God,

reflected in the characterand life of he

myriadsupon myriads who shall walk

before Him

in

white. Well may Jesus

say, I restored

that

which I

took

not

away. He had no agency

in

our mad assault againSt the

authority and power of His

Father. But He came as the

sinner s

representative to

restOre

that

which the sinner

hadattempted to destroy. We

sought to undermine the

throne ofJehovah and bring

it

to

its

fall. Christ has

rendered

it

impossible that

this throne shall

ever

be

assailed through

the

eternity

to

come.

IV.

The Lord Jesus has

restored the broken

fellowship between the creatures. Sin

is essentially divisive. Its schismatic

tendency was disclosed

in

Eden, even

from the first. The fiery Cherubim,

guarding

the

way of the tree oflife, lest

the sinner should touch sacrilegiously

the seal

of

he covenant

he had

broken,

was an

emblem alike

of

man s

separation from God and from all holy

beings

in

the universe. They held the

flaming sword and turned its glittering

blade to the guilty, as willing

instruments to execute the penalty

which disobedience had incurred. And

where in

human

history have you

found an exhibition of sin, which did

not

interpose fences and bars against

human fellowship? It drives

men

in

their selfishness, to break down or to

overleap all the defenses oflaw- and,

in

the

promotion of

individual

interests, to disintegrate society, and

bring order and government to an

end. But Christ comes as the restorer

of this broken fellowship; and

in

the

completion of the scheme of grace, we

see saints and angels responding to

each other in the parts they severely

sustain

in

the chants of the heavenly

temple.

It is a glorious truth indeed, to

announce the hannony of he creatures

as the corollary of reconciliation with

God. It is a marvelous triumph of grace

to subdue the schism which sin has

made. But the marvel willbe singularly

enhanced,

if

you will consider the

method

by

which

this universal

reconciliation

is

accomplished. We

might suppose

it

enough that

man

should

be

made holy, and thus

be

fitted to hold communion again with

the angels

of God. The mutual

attraction would be deemed sufficient

to explain their gravitation to each

other and their joint participation in

the worship and fellowship of heaven.

Can

it be

that "grace doth much more

abound" even above this? Yes, my

hearers, the Redeemernot only restores

the fellowship, but

renders it

impossible that it should ever be broken

again, by bringing angels and the

redeemed into one body in Himself.

Having made peace

through the

blood of

His

Cross,

y Him

to reconcile

all

things

to Himself;

by Him,

say,

whether they be

8 TIlE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon Julyl August 994

things

in earth,

or

things in heaven.

(Col. i: 20.) God

hath

highly exalted

Him

andgiven

him anamewhichis above

every name; that at

the name

oj jesus

every knee

shouldbow,

of hings in

heaven

and

things

in earth, and

things under

the

earth. (Phil. i i 9,10.) The

recapitulation

of

all holy beings

in

Christ, constituting one spiritual body

of which He is the Head, is affinned in

too many

scriptures

for me this

morning to cite. For this cause, I

bow

my

knees

t the

Father ofour Lordjesus

Christ, of whom the whole

family in heaven and earth

is

named. (Eph. iii: l4,15.)

''When He raised Him from

the dead, and set Him at His

own right handin the

heavenly

places, far above all

prindpality,

and

power, and

might, and

dominion,

and

every

name

thatis named, not

only

in this world, but also

in

that which is to come; and

hath

put

all things under His

feet, and gave Him to

be the

Head

over

all

things

to the

Church which

is

His body, the

fullness of

Him

that filleth all in

all.

(Eph. i: 20,23.)

Let

this testimony suffice for the

fact itself, that we may give ourselves

to adoring wonder of the riches of

grace which it displays. Saints and

angels not only brought into one, but

into one in Christ How indissolUble,

then, the bonds of fellowship

established between them Each must

be dissevered from their common

Head, before

He

canbe separated from

the other. And

how

is this fellowship

glorified, as a fellowship in Christ

reflecting the communion which each

is pennitted to hold with the Father

and with His

Son,]

esus Christ (IJ

ohn

i:

3.) If we meditate upon the broad

and sure foundation which is laid for

the fellowship in Heaven, between

thosewhoshallforeverbethemembers

of one glOriOUS body in Christ, we are


6/7

as much astonished at the method of

grace, as at the grace itself. Grace ripens

into glory before

our view, when its

privileges are secured to us

upon

a

tenure, and by a method, which

constitute us sharers in our Lord's

exaltation

and

reward.

V.

Last of all, Jesus restores the

channels through which the Divine

benevolence may eternally flow to

those whom He has redeemed. There

is an obstinate

and

willful

determination

with men

to

cast

themselves

upon

the general goodness

of the Deity, irrespective of His justice

or His holiness. When the Scriptures

insist

upon

faith

in

Christ and

repentance of sin as

necessary

conditions of he Divine favor, - with

an audacity which would be sublime,

i f

it were not so wicked, they are

accused of putting

an

impeachment of

His prerogative,

and

a diminution of

His glory, to insist that He must regard

the character of His subjects in the

dispensation of His favor. How strange

perversion of God's greatness and

majesty, if

it

be viewed as disabling

im

from all moral discrimination

between those who approach His

throne How monstrous the inference

from the infiniteness of the Divine

wisdom and power, that His love must

flow without distinction to all His

creatures, even though they shouldbe

in rebellion against His authority

Unquestionably God is infinite In

all His perfections; and it would be a

treasonable thought

that

should

venture to impose human limitations

upon anyone

of hem. But may He not

be allowed some discretion

in

their

exercise?

May

therenotbe obstructions

to the outflow

of

His benevolence,

which shall need to be removed? What

if he holiness and ustice of Godshould

themselves interpose barriers, which

shall require all the resources

of

grace

to take down? Ah, my impenitent

friends, if you could but know how

entirely you are indebted to this grace,

for all the blessings you enjoy The

dispensation under which you live, is

a dispensation of mercy. You have

not

been left hopelesslyunder the curse of

the broken law. In the very hour ofthe

Fall, a promise ofredemption broke

in

upon the despair, which else would

have shrouded this

eanh

in darkness

forever. Had

not

a scheme of grace

supervened, the creature might have

lived his briefspan- but life would have

been

unmitigated tottllre, anticipatory

ofthe deeper terrors of the Hell which

should succeed. At the very moment

the sinner is trampling under foot the

Cross of the Saviour, he owes to the

sufferingand passion of hat Cross the

bread which he eats from day to day,

the clothing with which

he

invests his

fonn,

and

all the comfons

and

joys

of

domestic life and love.

But Christ comes

and

opens these

closed channels.

By

His expiatory

sufferings and death, He removes the

obstructions interposed by Divinejustice.

Nay, in th greamessofHischarity, He

makes the channelbroaderand deeper

than it was before; and the fullness of

the Father's love may flow in an eternal

stream upon those who were guilty

and lost,

but

are now

in

Him the

recipients of blessedness

and

joy in

God's presence and kingdom forever.

In these

five

paniculars, Christ

restored that which He took not away.

He restores to the law, the honor of

which sin

had

robbedit. He restores to

His people that image of God from

which they had fallen. He restores

stability to God's throne, that it shall

be incapable of assault through all the

etemitytocome. He restoresthe broken

fellowship between the creatures, and

heals forever in Himself the schism

which sin had made. He opens again

the channels throughwhich the divine

favor may flow foreverto the redeemed

in heaven. In view ofall which we can

put a deeper emphasis on the

declaration ofthe text, "then I restored

that which I took not away."

Would that I could persuade the

unconvened in this house, of their

indebtedness to the Gospel Would

that I had power to put the thought

in

suchlanguage as would melt

the

heart

What can uninspired man say, that

shall be half so impressive as Paul's

tender argument

in

the second

of

the

Romans? "Or, despiseth thou the riches

of His goodness and forbearance and

long suffering;

not

knowing that the

goodness

of

God leadeth thee

to

repentance?" If the appeal to our

generous gratitudeshould fail ofeffect,

what shall the reckoning be hereali:er

at the judgment? Alas Only consider

that the Redeemer shall

then be

the

judge; who must exact the penalty of

all who have spumed His mercy,

"treasuring

up

unto

themselves wrath

against the day ofwrath and revelation

of the righteous judgment of God."

(Rom. 5.)Even the devils have never

sinned against the Divine mercy,

or

taken license from His grace

to

trample

upon

His law. The sinners

utter

insensibility to the goodness

0

f God is

the perpetual scandal

of

this apostate

earth.

If

he last proofbe demanded of

the hardness of he sinner's heart, let

it

be found in this fatal insensibilityto all

the benevolence

and

tenderness

of

God

in the Gospel of His Son.

I do not care to speak now of God's

terroTS. I do not allude, today,

to

that

judgment which He will pronounce

upon the guilty before His bar. But

when the very breath you draw, is the

gift ofHis kindness, - when every beat

of your pulse is the testimony to His

patience- when the

common

comfons

and joys oflife are the blessings ofHis

constant providence-how can a being,

with intelligence to know and with a

heart to

feel,

fail

to

respond to the

magnanimity whichloads the criminal

with benefits who only deserves to be

loaded with chains With all our

familiarity with

the

dreadful fact,

indignation and shame mingle with

astonishment in overwhelming the

July August.

199-4

THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 9


7/7

mind

that

contemplates it. "Be

astonished, a ye Heavens, at this, and

be

horrib ly afraid, be ye very desolate,

saith the Lord: for my people have

committed two

evils-

they

have

forsaken me, the fountain of living

wll.ters, and hewed them out cisterns,

broken

ctsterns, that can hold

no

water." (Jer.ii: 12,13.)Year after year,

until you come to gray hairs, almost

standing in the presenceofthe]udge,

yet reckless of all these obligations

under

which you lie to the charity of

Godc

Oh

sinner,

it

is a fearful memory

indictment I beseech you to measure

its impon. And whilst God's children

gather, today, around their Master's

board, consider

your

debt to the

Saviour's cross which makes all this

goodness possible

to

you, and let this

goodness of God lead you,

at

last, to

the repentance which you have so long

withheld.

But howeverit shall be with others,

my brethren in the Lord, let us rejoice

in the mercy ofour Redeemer; and as

we

sit

at

His table, let us praise Him for

the great salvation." One of the

sweetest aspects of grace is that

it

makes the things to be for us, which

before were againstus. It is the work of

the Restorer to take the sin whichwe

mourn, but which He has forgiven,

and make

it

quicken our pace in the

journey to heaven. Our miscarriages

and falls over which

we

have wept as

wounds inflicted upon Him, Hemakes

to contribute strength and courage to

us in the conflicts which yet remain.

The accusations of the injured law,

which He has satisfied, become

n

His

hand the pledges ofour final salvation.

When We

shall

presently hold

communion with Him through His

body broken and

is

blood shed, let

us rejoice not only n the grace by

which we are saved,

but

also

n

the

tender and loving way

in

which that

grace comm ends and secures to

us

the

blessings of eternal life. Though we

come weeping to His table, under the

memory of our grievous shortcomings

and sins, the Restorerbidsus rejoice in

His power to blot them out forever,

and to

f ll

us with blessedness

unspeakable and full of glory.

Q

10

THE COUNSE.L of Chalcedon July August, 1994

Documents

1994 Issue 6 - Christ's Restoring Work - Counsel of Chalcedon