Whydidst thou doubt his promised grace Not then as now shall a thought of

THE

Spiritual Magazine ;

OR,

SAINTS' TREASURY.

"There are Three that bear record in heaven; the FATHER, the WORD, and the HOLY GHOST: and these Three are One."

1 John v. T.

Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints"

Jude 3.

FEBRUARY 1833.

JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD.

GOSPEL by John, i. 29: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

Ir is worthy of remark, that every preacher we read of in this blessed book, had one uniform subject: they all, to a man, set forth the Lord Jesus Christ. They knew that nothing was so well pleasing to God; they were persuaded that Jesus was the subject the Holy Spirit would bless; they were sure that Christ known, and Christ lived upon by faith, it would beggar every other object and subject; it would carry them above the foul and filthy workings of inward sin; it would make them dead to this world, and all in it; it would make them happy in heart, joyful in hope, holy in life, and triumphant in death. It is a certain proof that Jesus Christ is not known, and lived upon, when you see persons unhappy: when they are searching into themselves for something to be pleased with, whereon they may ground their hope; it proves they neither believe God's word, nor have they seen Jesus Christ in distinction from all beside, as John did in the words of our text, and it is one of the heaviest burdens, the severest trial, and the greatest mortification to the faithful ministers of Christ, when they come forth on a Lord's day to set forth the Lord Jesus Christ (the only subject that can do poor sinners good), to see the people so inattentive-many of them asleep-but to any other subject all attention; it proves the heart is not right with God, and that such persons are not fit for heaven; for there we shall only have Jesus the God-man to gaze at to all eternity, and surely that, that will be our object VOL. IX.-No. 106.] F

and subject in glory, and that that will constitute our everlasting blessedness there, is a subject worthy our thoughts in this time state. But to open our text, as the Lord may afford help, there are three particulars demand attention: in the first place, we must speak of this blessed one, the Lord Jesus Christ, under the very endearing title of the Lamb of God; secondly, mention is made of that that is the source, yea the fountain of every misery, of every distress, that ever entered into this world, yea, of that that is the cause of all the pain and torment in hell—sin; but, thirdly, we are told, for our everlasting comfort, that this blessed Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world.

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We find that John followed the example of God the Father in setting forth Jesus, by introducing him with a "Behold!" as you may read, Isaiah xlii.: “Behold my servant," &c.; it is a word of admiration, or joy, to call upon standers-by to take notice, or to observe particularly any remarkable event: such as the raining bread from heaven, Exodus xvi. 4, or the promise to Jacob, "Behold, I am with thee," Genesis xxviii. 15; the incarnation of Christ is prophecied of, “ Behold a virgin shall conceive;" and the Lord's people are frequently called upon to look to the Lord Jesus; and here, in the text, they are to behold him as the Lamb of God: and what a miracle of love we are called upon here to see, not only the Lord Jesus Christ set forth as a lamb, but as the Lamb of God. Was ever such a thing known, or even heard of, that the injured party should provide a surety? Did you ever hear of a poor debtor being thrown into prison, and the creditor previously providing a surety to pay all the demand? Did you ever hear of a physician so skilful as to know that his patient would fall into a certain disease, and to provide a perfect cure for it? We have both similies realized in Christ. God, our creditor, provides the Lamb to bear our sins, and to be a sacrifice for them; we may well say, "Behold, what manner of love is this." In the everlasting Councils of Eternity, when the Holy Trinity finally arranged all and every thing concerning creation, redemption, and glorification, in that holy council, in order to display the riches of God's mercy, it was foreknown that mankind would fall into sin and misery, thereby opportunity would be given for mercy to be displayed by each of the divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By Adam, our first parent, falling into sin, and all his posterity in him, elect and non-elect, thereby they broke the holy law of God, and became openly hostile to their Maker; but the utmost misery, sin, and wretchedness, that the people of God would fall into, was all foreseen and foreknown by God, and the second person in the Divine Essence in the Council of Eternity engaged to become incarnate to redeem his bride out of that state of misery the fall would bring her into, and nothing less than the precious blood of Christ was accepted for her redemp

tion-a precious price; they must have been a precious people to have cost so dear; yes, and they are precious in God's sight: he calls them his treasure, his jewels, his portion; and what Esau said of Jacob, is true of them, "God has blessed them, and they shall be blessed." But to speak of our Christ as the Lamb. He is again, and again, set forth by the figure of the Lamb, and doubtless, often to remind us of his blood shedding and sacrifice. Abraham had sweet views of him, Genesis xxii., "God will provide a lamb," &c. Lambs were often used, yea, daily offered, morning and evening, under the Mosaical dispensation; a striking item of Christ's most precious bloodshedding and death. Isaiah speaks of his willingness to suffer, "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter." I am not able to define the properties of a lamb: we know its nature is docile, and a very innocent creature it is, and of great use in the creation and providence of God, for food and for clothing; but all shadows fall short, all similitudes fail, all types vanish away, when set in compare with our Jesus, who is the substance and the antitype, and who eclipses the whole creation of God; and we have this blessed one to set before God at this time; and a lamb is not more easy to approach than our Jesus, the Lamb of God; and the benefits (though great) that accrue to mankind from the lamb which serves for food and clothing, are nothing in compare to the blessings the Lord's beloved derive from the sacrifice of Christ, and the glorious robe of his righteousness, which is food to their immortal minds, a covering for their souls, and which Jehovah, the Father, ever views with delight, and smells a sweet savour in. John knew the blessed one; he knew that all the types pointed to Jesus, that all the shadows set him forth; he thought it great grace that so great a personage should come to him to be baptized; he never had such a candidate as this illustrious one, the Lord from heaven, nor never was such a baptizing in this world: and John, in taking a view of him, who he was, from whence he came, his errand into the world, the love of his heart that moved him to come, the honours he came to confer, the blessings to bestow on poor needy sinners, such as shedding his heart's blood for them to atone for their sins, working out a righteousness for them, John, in thus viewing him, might well say, "Behold the Lamb of God." My friends, Jesus Christ opened up such a mine of mercy when he came into this our world, that astonished the angels of God's presence. A rich mine indeed. Here is a treasury of grace unfolded, as must surpass all human conception; and the ministers of Christ, in their ministration, set forth this matchless Jesus before their people. If a great personage, a crowned head, were to pass through this place to-day, what anxious waiting there would be, how desirous each would be to get a sight of him: we have the King of kings, the Lord of lords, yea, the Most High God-we

may truly say a greater than Solomon is here we have the husband of the church and people of God, the Sovereign Majesty of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things, the Saviour of sinners. This precious book is full of him: in describing his beauty, in setting forth his rich and royal grace, in giving a display of his amazing love to poor sinners; his great salvation is here declared; what princely pardons he has bestowed on some of the vile apostates of Adam's race, of what a long list of black sinners he has snatched as brands from the burning, of what numerous scarlet-crimson sins he has cleansed the souls of his people from; and, indeed, his whole life was one continued display of God-like grace. It was to bring to light the hidden transactions of divine love, agreed on in the everlasting settlements of grace, and to divulge the secret that lay hid in God's breast from all eternity, Jesus Christ brought the treaty of peace from the court of heaven; and all the articles are in our favour; and he sends forth his heralds to proclaim perpetual peace and amity between the Most High God, the Sovereign Majesty of heaven, and poor sinners.

I may be addressing some disconsolate soul at this time, distressed beyond measure, through the apprehension they have of their inward depravity, and know not where to fly for relief. The person who is the subject matter of our text, can give you relief; he is the Lamb of God for this purpose, to relieve sinburdened souls.

But we proposed, secondly, to speak of the cause of all our miseries, sin. And what is contained in sin, no one can express; for one sin, thousands of the angels of God's presence were cast down to hell, reserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the Great Day. All the dreadful catastrophies that so frequently occur, the awful corruption of the times, is the sad effect of sin. The picture of human depravity is drawn to the life by an infallible Apostle, Ephesians ii. first three verses. Doctor Goodwin calls it "the sea of corruption; a dead sea; all the ravages of death are the effect of sin. The torments of the damned spring from the same source, as before hinted. Sin was the cause of those bright intellectual spirits, the angels, being turned out of heaven. When an intimation was given that the nature of man would be exalted into union with the Second Person in Deity, and consequently to be an object of worship, their lofty minds would not stoop to it; this is generally allowed by sound divines to be the cause of their ejection from the Divine presence; they could not brook to see their nature passed by, and for God the Son to take upon him our nature; but surely the Judge of heaven and earth does right. Sin is the cause of thousands, and millions of mankind being sent to the bottomless pit. Sin nailed our Jesus to the cross; and his standing up as the surety of his people, and bearing the punishment due to their sin, procured