01.03. Meditation 3
MEDITATION 3.
"This is my comfort in my affliction" Psalms 119:50
"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him might not perish — but might have eternal life" John 3:16
We learn from the chequered scene of human life, not less than from the plain testimony of Scripture — that there are two principles in the divine character. The one, the principle of love, which delights in the diffusion of happiness, and is averse from the infliction of misery. The other, the principle of holiness and rectitude, which must invariably connect suffering with sin. We see, in the present state, the operation of both principles, in the blended enjoyments and sorrows of human life. And the grand problem is, whether, as in the present state, God’s holiness and justice must forever entail suffering on his disobedient subjects — or, whether his love may not devise a remedy for existing evils, so as to render it compatible with the moral interests of his government to exempt them from punishment, and receive them into his favor?
We cannot venture to state the problem, so as even to imply the possibility of his abolishing suffering while sin continues; or of his love being exercised to the effect of rendering his creatures happy — without regard being had to the interests of his inflexible holiness and justice. We dare not ask, whether God’s love may not triumph over his rectitude; or, whether his benevolent delight in happiness, may not be greater than his holy aversion to sin? Nor could we entertain such a question, would we wish to solve it in the affirmative, for that were to loose the bonds of his government — to reverse the whole principles and methods of his present administration — to subvert the moral constitution of our own being — to array one attribute of God’s character against another — and thus to annihilate every ground of rational confidence, and to introduce universal uncertainty in respect to his government. The present state affords no evidence of such opposition between the benevolence and the holiness of the divine character — and far less of any likelihood that his benevolence will triumph over his holiness. Both are seen to be in operation; and the many proofs of his benevolence with which we are surrounded, so far from assuring us of future exemption from suffering, serve only to augment our anxiety on the subject. For, as suffering to a great extent exists under his government now, notwithstanding his benevolence — the question arises with tenfold interest: may not the same, or still greater sufferings, be awarded for the same reasons hereafter? With the Bible in our hands — no doubt or difficulty on this momentous subject remains. For, while it confirms and illustrates the testimony which his own providence bears to the holiness and rectitude of the divine character — it reveals a scheme of redemption, in which "truth meets with mercy, and righteousness with peace," and by which God can be "faithful and just in forgiving sin;" the "Just God," and yet "the Savior of the guilty;" "just even while he justifies the ungodly." In this stupendous scheme, we know not whether most to admire the inflexible holiness, or the marvelous love which it displays, or the profound wisdom by which both are combined, so as mutually to establish and illustrate each other. For what can be said either of the holiness, or of the love of God, by men — nay, by angels and seraphs — who have beheld them burning bright in the upper sanctuary, and adored them uninterruptedly, in their full measure, in the presence of God himself. Nay, though all parts of God’s universe should concert together, and all intelligent spirits unite in gathering the proofs which nature furnishes, and combining the separate testimonies of all worlds to the holiness and goodness of God — what could be said of either that would outweigh or bear comparison with the import of that single statement, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him might not perish — but might have eternal life!"
God loved the world! From the spontaneous love of God, the plan of our salvation proceeded, that being the source of every blessing which this salvation includes, and of every hope which it warrants or inspires.
Let us meditate on the NATURE of this love. It is not the mere general benevolence which delights in the diffusion of happiness among the obedient subjects of the divine government — nor is it the mere sentiment of compassion with which a benevolent being may be supposed to regard the misery of his apostate creatures, and which might lead him to pity their case, even while he punished their guilt. It is not a mere passive emotion in the divine mind — but an active and operative love, which prompts the purpose, and forms the plan of relieving them. It is the attribute of mercy — mercy that not only relieves the wretchedness — but pardons the guilt of its objects, and which allows not even the most aggravated sinfulness to be a bar to the communication of its blessings. Of this attribute Heaven itself affords no exemplification, for there no sin has ever been forgiven. This world is the theater which God has selected for the manifestation of the glory of his character, as "the Lord God merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity, and transgression and sin." And in what circumstances was this love displayed? When the world was in a state of rebellion against him;
when the human character had been totally changed from its pristine innocence, and had become the very reverse of God’s holiness;
when, instead of being the object of men’s supreme reverence and affection — he was the object of their enmity and dread;
when the holy attributes of his nature, and the moral principles of his government, and the righteous precepts of his law — were all alike distasteful to their depraved minds;
when his sole prerogative, as the Governor and Judge of the world, had been carelessly forgotten, or daringly denied;
when the sublime temple of nature, at whose altar they should have worshiped the one living and true God — was filled with the shrines of idolatry — where his supremacy was virtually denied, or divided among a multitude of false gods;
and when the more sacred temple of the human heart, where God desired to dwell, and to be ministered unto by a train of holy affections — had become a chamber of imagery, filled with a host of wicked passions — a temple, indeed, of spiritual idolatry, where the best of all homage, that of man’s affections, was rendered, if not to idols of gold and silver — yet to the wealth, and honors, and pleasures of the world;
when, in one word, God’s character was hated by man, and man’s character odious to God!
Yet, even then, "God Loved the World." Not surely because he could regard the character of men with delight — far less because their conduct had deserved his favor, for their character was regarded by him with utter abhorrence, and their conduct had exposed them to his righteous judgment. But while he hated and condemned their sin — no malice mingled with that hatred — and no revenge dictated that condemnation. On the contrary, he pitied their case, even while he abhorred their guilt! And, in the exercise of a free, generous, and sovereign love, he resolved to seek and to save the lost! And what was the MEASURE of that love which he felt, and which the scheme of redemption unfolds? What man, what angel, what seraph, will undertake to measure it, when this one clause is added, "God SO loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son!" To comprehend the full import of such words, we must be able to enter into those feelings of ineffable love with which the Father regards his only begotten Son — a Son, the same in substance, and equal in power and glory with himself, and possessing, along with the divine attributes of almighty power and omniscient wisdom — a character in all respects the same as his own — a character of unspotted holiness, and infinite benevolence and love — a Son, too, held in honor and high estimation in Heaven, where angels and seraphim adored him as their Creator and Lord — and who, from the beginning, was "his delight, rejoicing always before him."
Mysterious and incomprehensible as, to our limited capacity, many parts of this sublime subject may appear — we cannot fail, at least, to be convinced, that no form of words could possibly express a greater amount of love than the simple statement, that "God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son." This love will be still farther enhanced in our estimation, if we consider the benevolent design of God in giving his Son, and the beneficial results of that gift to his believing people. It was that those who believe might not perish! In common with the rest of mankind, they were in danger of perishing. They had already within them the seeds of perdition, and the sentence of death stood recorded against them. They were enemies to God in their hearts, and their enmity was manifested by the frequent transgression of his law, and a constant estrangement of affection from his character and service. And, as immortal creatures, destined to live forever, and about to enter, in a very short period, on a state of righteous retribution — they had no solid ground of hope that their eternity would be a happy one. But, on the contrary, had reason to fear, that there lay before them an everlasting state of guilt, debasement, punishment and despair. It was God’s design in sending his Son to deliver them out of that estate of guilt and danger — to open up a way of escape, and to rescue them, by the operation of his grace, from the power of those evil passions, which, had they been perpetuated, would necessarily have issued in the miseries of eternal Hell. And when we consider the odious nature and debasing tendency of sin, and the amount and duration of that punishment which God has denounced against it — oh! how grateful should we be for the least intimation of God’s willingness to save us from it! And how much more grateful, when we are assured that our deliverance from it is one of the objects which God has most at heart. We cannot suppose that he takes pleasure in the death and destruction even of the guilty — when we are assured that "he gave his only begotten Son, that we might not perish." The magnitude of the danger to which we were exposed, and the awful nature of the punishment which awaited us — may well awaken our profoundest admiration of that love which has opened up a way of escape. But even this is not all. God’s love is not exhausted, nor his benevolent design completed — by redeeming his people from guilt and suffering. It points to a higher end, even their exaltation to a state of perfect blessedness — that they "might have eternal life." The Gospel of Christ not only states the consoling fact, that "there is forgiveness with God," and that "he has no pleasure in the death of a sinner" — it conveys also the cheering news of an endless life beyond the grave — a state not only of conscious existence — but of perfect uninterrupted and endless felicity — provided and secured by the mediation of Christ, for every one that believes on his name. Their preparation for this glorious state was one of the objects of the Savior’s mission, and, by his grace, a new spiritual life is put within them which shall never die — but which shall grow with their growth and strengthen with their strength, until it issues in life eternal. It declares that our present life is but a pilgrimage, during which we are to prepare for entering on the full privileges of children in our father’s house, and the enjoyment of that rich inheritance which belongs to them in Heaven. It declares that death, so far from annihilating the immortal spirit, or impairing its energies, or introducing it into a dark and troubled scene of doubt, or despair, or punishment — is, in the case of every believer, the birthday of the soul, when, being released from the body, it is born into immortality, and placed at once in the presence of God and his angels! And in order to fit us for a prospect so lofty and boundless, Christ has declared it to be the grand end of his mission . . .
to raise human nature out of the debasement into which it has fallen;
to purify, and elevate, and refine its noble faculties;
to restore man not only to the friendship — but also to the likeness of God, in whose image he was created;
to cleanse him from the pollution of a world that lies in wickedness — and so to present him faultless and blameless before the presence of God. This he does by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and by means of the truths contained in his Word. And in the new spiritual life thus given, every believer has within him . . .
the germ of life eternal;
the first dawn of that glorious light in which he is to live and have his being forever;
the commencement of that course of progressive improvement and happiness, which shall have no interruption and no end — and which death, so far from disturbing, shall serve to advance, by placing him in circumstances where the highest exercise of his faculties, and the largest acquisitions of knowledge — shall be combined with enjoyment of the purest happiness, and the noblest society in the universe!
Considering the capacities of man, may we not ask, with befitting reverence, what higher proof could God himself have furnished of his love?
If it was an act of great benevolence on the part of God, that he communicated existence at all, even for an hour to the insect, or for a few years to man upon the earth — then how much more that he made man immortal?
If we adore his benevolence in providing a liberal supply for the physical needs of his creatures — then how much more should we admire his goodness, when the needs of our rational and immortal nature are the objects of his regard?
If exemption from calamity, so long as we live on the earth, is a ground of gratitude — then how much more the exemption of the soul from the burden of guilt, and the danger of punishment, its promised deliverance from the whole host of evil passions, and the numerous sufferings which follow in their train?
And, above all, if the prospect of health or preferment in this world should make us thankful — then how much more that boundless prospect of eternal life, wherein our faculties shall be forever improving, and our happiness, nay, our very capacities of happiness, increasing forever?
What more shall we say? that God was so resolved on this, that, when nothing else could secure it, "he gave up his only begotten Son."
It may be asked: Why did God give up his only begotten Son? What necessity existed for so costly a sacrifice? Might not the mere intimation of his kind intentions towards us, conveyed through one of his commissioned servants, have served to remove our fears, and to establish for us a ground of hope? Had God been a being of mere compassion, and had we been regarded in no other light than as the objects of his pity — this course might perhaps have been adopted, although we should thus have been deprived of the noblest proof of the strength and ardor of that affection which burned in the divine mind towards us.
But, besides being a God of mercy, he is also the inflexible moral governor and judge of men; and, besides being the objects of his pity, we were the responsible subjects of his government, and amenable to punishment for our crimes. As his moral government was to continue forever, and as, wherever it extends throughout the universe, it is based on the principles of rectitude and retribution, it was necessary to guard against any dishonor being put on that law, which is a transcript of his own holy character, and the rule of his universal and eternal jurisprudence.
Hence God would not cancel its threatenings, nor relax its authority, nor mitigate its requirements — even when he had formed the purpose of saving the sinful. But, on the contrary, he made the manifestation of his forgiving mercy the occasion of a brighter display of the holiness and justice both of his character and law. For this purpose, he entered into a covenant with his only begotten Son — choosing him as the substitute of the guilty, whom he designed to save; laying upon him the responsibility of their guilt, and exacting from him the penalty which they had incurred, and engaging, in return, to impute to them the merit of his sufferings and obedience, and to deal with them according to his deserts. And this was done, that while his forgiving mercy was manifested in giving up his Son, and, for his sake, receiving his people into favor — his unbending equity might be displayed, and his law magnified and made honorable, by the vicarious sufferings and death of their surety. As no proof of his love could be greater than the act of giving up his Son, so surely, no proof of his holiness and justice could be stronger than what arises from his not sparing that Son when he stood in the place of the guilty. What greater honor could, in the nature of things, be paid to the law, than what was implied in the voluntary submission of God’s own Son to its demands?
What a spectacle to men and angels! the Son of God submitting to that law in his own person, acknowledging the justice of its threatenings by enduring them, and the equity of its precepts by obeying them, and declaring his holy determination to uphold its authority, and to establish it forever, even at the very time when his love prompted him to deliver his people from its condemning power!
It was in this sense that God gave up his Son — he "gave him to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins." It was to manifest "grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal life," that Christ consented to become man; and it was "that God might be just, while He justified the ungodly," that Christ was "wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities," and that "He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." This glorious scheme of salvation, therefore, while it is pervaded by the golden principle of divine love, is yet founded on the principles of eternal justice. In it "truth met with mercy, and righteousness with peace," and the full satisfaction which it provides for the claims of divine justice, may well serve to silence every doubt or misgiving which, notwithstanding the benevolence of God, might be awakened in our minds, by a consideration of the holiness and justice of the divine administration.
Thus, both under the economy of providence, and under that of grace, the holiness and the love of God, so far from being inconsistent with, or opposed to one another — are, by an admirable arrangement of divine wisdom, made mutually to illustrate and enhance each other.
Under the scheme of providence, there are many enjoyments which bespeak the love of God — and many sorrows which bespeak his justice; and every reflecting mind must feel, in looking on the chequered scene of life, that the greater God’s love is — the more righteous also is his justice; and the more righteous his justice — the more wonderful his love — since, notwithstanding the one, suffering prevails, and, notwithstanding the other, many blessings are bestowed. In like manner, in the cross, God’s love appears in the gift of his only begotten Son; but his justice also in the awful death which the Savior endured. And we feel that if God had not been gracious, we would have less revered the justice which demanded it — and that, had he not been just, we should less have esteemed the love which prompted the sacrifice of his only Son. The consolation which may be drawn from the cross, is the only thorough remedy for sorrow — the only abiding antidote against despair. That consolation arises, partly, from the manifestation which is there made of God’s disposition and character, as the Lord God merciful and gracious; and from which we may draw the precious assurance, that "if God spared not his own Son, but freely gave him up to the death for us all — much more will he, with him also, freely give us all things." It arises partly, also, from the assurance, that One has undertaken our cause, who is both able and willing to help us, and with whom the Father is ever well-pleased. And, finally, from the fullness and completeness of that redemption which he has wrought out. This scheme of redemption is complete in all its parts, and adequate to the supply of all our needs. Being framed by the unerring wisdom of God, and sealed with the precious blood of his Son, and administered by the agency of his Holy Spirit — its efficiency is guaranteed by every attribute of the divine nature; and while it throws an interesting light on the present scene, it is a system which stretches forward into eternity, and presents a remedy, not only for every present sorrow, but also for every future fear.
What sin is there which this redemption will not expiate?
What sorrow is there which this redemption cannot soothe?
What need is there which this redemption cannot supply?
What fear is there which it may not dispel?
What holy hope is there which it does not sanction?
What attribute of God is there which it does not illustrate?
What human exigency is there for which it does not provide?
It is consolatory, too, to know, that while this redemption is infinitely full, it is also freely offered to all; and this is intimated in these words, which contain the very sum and substance of the Gospel, "Whoever believes in him shall not perish." Whoever — where, then, is the sinner that is excluded from this salvation? Where the man who is not warranted to repose his confidence in the Savior? "Whoever," be he rich or poor, young or old, prosperous or afflicted, learned or unlearned, yes, comparatively righteous or desperately wicked — still that word is enough for him. It holds out a warrant and an encouragement to the most abandoned and forlorn; and this warrant is confirmed by the assurance, that "He came to call not the righteous — but sinners to repentance," and that whoever "comes unto him, will never be cast out."
Glorious scheme of salvation! Well may the angels desire to look into it, and well may they hence derive an increase to their knowledge of the manifold wisdom of God! Far more should we make it the theme of our profoundest meditation, and seek to comprehend and embrace it in all its fullness, since it is God’s own plan for abolishing sin and its consequent evils. It is a plan which, whether we view it in reference to the character of God which it unfolds, or in reference to the benefits which it confers on all who embrace it — will ever seem the more beneficent and wise, in proportion as our knowledge and experience of its provisions and practical effects are enlarged; and which, to men, and angels, and seraphim, will be the theme of exhaustless meditation and praise, in that blessed world where its glorious issues will be unfolded, and its benefits fully enjoyed.