THE GLORIOUS MAJESTY OF CHRIST'S PERSON. DEAR MR. EDITOR, in us; and as such in the unity of his Person, the whole fulness of the GodIN perusing the cover of the August head dwelleth bodily, substantially, inVessel, your faithful correspondent, Con-herently in him, he possessing in himself science, proved to be to me a faithful monitor; he has spoken loudly and powerfully in the matter that the exaltation of the glorious majesty of Christ's person; the telling out the wonders of his precious blood, and the immeasurable and unsearchable perfections of his righteousness, is what every earthen vessel, whether animate or inanimate, should be engaged in, even in the midst of all the dreadful filth such earthen vessel may contain. And now, Mr. Editor, as your faithful correspondent Mr. Conscience, and mine, have directly met in with each other, and not a jarring sentiment has been advanced by either relative to the great and important point, which has formed the subject of their solemn consideration, and it being unanimously agreed upon between them that in all things Christ shall have the pre-eminence; your Mr. Conscience has faid a necessity on mine, to be a mouth for both, through the medium of the Earthen Vessel, for the exaltation of the all-glorious person of Christ, the righteousness of Emmanuel, God with us; and so, in humble hope that the Spirit of God (whose office work it is to glorify Christ, to lay open to the view of a living faith the all dazzling glories which centre in the incomprehensible person of our Lord Jesus Christ,) will be pleased to lead me and to take me in the visions of God, (Ezekiel xl.) unto this high mountain, I shall proceed to bear a testimony concerning his Person, of whom he himself declared, “All the prophets wrote of me;" and "before Abraham was, I AM;" and Esaias saw his glory when he exclaimed, " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory," and I feel as that my heart is inditing a good matter in the behalf of those who feel themselves brimful of bad matter and manners, while I bear testimony in and through the Holy Ghost, out of an heart made experimentally to know, yet not being able fully to comprehend, concerning his all-glorious Person. As the Christ of God he is one in God and with God, and one with us and Vol. II. Part XXII.-November. every attribute of essential divinity, having said in the days of his flesh" All that the Father hath are mine, and I am glorified in them." The mighty God, the Lord of hosts, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord God omnipotent, the Lord Jehovah; then is he so, that whoso honoureth, worshippeth, and adoreth him, honoureth, worshippeth, and adoreth the Father also, and whoso honoureth not, adoreth not, the Son, honoureth not, adoreth not, the Father; and as Jehovah's Christ, and ours, he has stood eternally united unto us, and we have been in eternal union with him, not by the creation of an human soul before the birth of time, said to be taken then into union with his Person, but in the eternity of his person, as the Christ of Jehovah, who being one eternal now, knows of nothing new, and contemplates nothing old: this Christ of God, as the eternal Logos, or Word, lays eternally in the bosom of the Father in all his divine offices and characters, which he eternally sustained in behalf of the church, who are, and were one in him, and who by virtue of an eternal union are, and ever were, the members of his mystic body, of whom he is the eternal living head, and so they were set up in him as the objects of Jehovah's eternal delight, irrevocable favour, and never beginning never ending choice, according to his eternal purpose and decree in whom they were eternally blessed by "God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he chose them in him before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy and without blame before him in love." He, in his own proper Person, possessing that eternal life which, as the gift of the Father, was given unto the church IN HIM, before the world was, "For this is the record that God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son; he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life."-" And now, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the G g | world he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him ;" as they gaze on him he being seen of angels, as God manifested in the flesh, in no new relationship to the church, filling no new office, sustaining no new character in her behalf, but in her nature manifesting himself as her everlasting Head, Husband, and Representative, Daysman, and Mediator, Lawgiver, and Lawfulfiller, Surety, and Ransom, High Priest, and Sacrifice, Altar and Offering, Sin-burden. bearer and Sin-propitiation, Curse-endurer, and Curse-remover, wrath enduring and hell-suffering Saviour and Redeemer, Lord and God; of whom it is written when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them which were under the law; that we might receive the adoption of sons;" not that we might be made the sons of God thereby, for we are sons of God, by adoption, as an eternal act in him; but that we might receive the adoption of sons; and all the blessings and blessedness thereto belonging, in, through, and by him. And now as concerning the Person of the God Man Christ Jesus, not by conversion of his divinity into humanity, nor by admixion of the two natures in the One Person of Emmanuel, the glorious fact of his being eternally united unto me, and my being eternally united unto him, constitutes the fundamental basis of our being glorified together; for so this union stands according to his own words when addressing the Father, "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one." And by this one offering, when he offered himself without spot to God, and died the just for the unjust, he hath perfected for ever them which are sanctified; and oh! The wonders of his precious blood to tell, The precious blood of Christ, Emmanuel! Why, fellow Conscience, if you have felt the power, the efficacy, the cleansing virtue of it, you can join me in declaring it is the blood of God; And while the wonders of this blood we tell, We do declare it saved us both from hell. Is there a conscience burdened sore with sin? We say, and say the truth, this blood makes clean, so efficacious is it in itself, that it requires not one single tear, nor an ocean of tears of ours to be mingled or mixed with it in the matter of peace with God, or of a peaceful conscience, so completely satisfactory is it that in itself it satisfied the whole and sole demands of the inflexible and unbending sword of divine justice when it stood forth flaming, and red, incensed against Christ, as our vicarious surety, as he was found made to be sin for us, for So precious is this sin atoning blood, So meritorious it is in itself, that it requires nothing, no nothing, to be added to it, neither of repentance, nor faith, nor good works, to render it acceptable unto God as a propitiatory sacrifice for sin; seeing propitiation was made or effected by it before we had any actual being, and consequently ere one single act of repentance, faith, or good works could be found in us; and as it is said, not the things which go into a man defileth the man, but the things which come forth out of the man defileth the man, so vice versa, or contrariwise, it may be said, not the things which flow out of the man, such as repentance, faith, and good works, cleanseth the man, but that which enters into the man; the precious blood of Christ being drank by the mouth of a living faith; this cleanseth the man; for "how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot unto God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" And so we say soul-feelingly, this blood of Christ received by living faith cleanseth the soul and saves from second death; and so powerful, and full of virtue is this wondrous blood, that in itself, in the high court of heaven, it proclaimed in soft yet loudest accents, complete atonement, entire justification, full discharge and honourable acquital in peace before the throne of God for all in whose behalf it had been shed; the blissful sound of which proclamation vibrating as from Jehovah's throne filled the innumerable host of heaven with such ecstatic joy, that heaven's high arches rang with shouts of sovereign grace, and Jesus's dying love, even unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. As all the tenants of that blissful place, Rejoice in song to praise redeeming grace; And while Jehovah in it joins them, too, The joy, the theme, the song, is ever new. And, O, wondrous precious blood! so powerful and full of virtue it is, that in the court of conscience, while the poor sinner stands there law-condemned and self-condemned, while law-accused, devilaccused, self-accused, and Holy Ghost condemned, expecting nothing but death and damnation, the sentence having gone forth against him, as he is enabled by the power of the Holy Ghost to plead the blood alone, and finds it to be his only plea, while under the very sentence of death, it proclaims pardon, liberty, and a gaol delivery; for by it "the prisoners are sent forth out of the pit wherein is no water, even by the blood of the everlasting covenant." Thus, conscience, You and I, are bound to tell, This precious, precious blood broke ope' our cell; [hell; And sent us forth from bondage, death, and And O, wonderful truth, as concerning this wondrous blood, though it requires all its efficacy, merit, virtue, and power, to cleanse one single sin from the conscience of a poor sinner, yet it hath cleansed, doth cleanse, and will cleanse, all the innumerable crimes of unnumbered myriads, who constitute the chosen, redeemed, regenerated family of God: it being in itself a sufficient atonement for sins past, sins present, and sins to come; for it is to this Jehovah is looking, and this is ever present in his mind, who hath said "When I see the blood, I will pass over you;" and though we cannot see the blood, which is sprinkled on the lintel and side posts of the door, yet he beholds it, and it is still a true token unto us as we by precious faith, and not by sight, are enabled to believe and rejoice that it is there, it is a true token unto us that we are safe and secure, even while the destroyer is going forth to destroy wherever this blood is not found and concerning its virtue this is retained under all and every circumstance, and can we not bear witness that when fresh contracted, accumulated guilt has defiled and laid heavy on the conscience; its power, its efficacy, its virtue, has been proved by us, and in us, again, and again, and again, and again? When by the fresh application of this precious blood we have sung, Oh wondrous fountain! Jesus' precious blood Has been, and still is found a cleansing flood, Why, Mr. Editor, death and destruction have heard the fame of this wonderful blood with their ears, while the prey hath been taken out of the jaws of the mighty, and the lawful captive has been delivered. True it is, Mr. Conscience, our cross must be borne, and it is this wondrous blood, the blood of his cross, which alone can succour, which alone can comfort the cross-bearing child of God; true it is, we must taste of this cup; but While we taste this bitter, bitter cup, Our souls rejoice to know he drank it up, With all its dregs, and bitterness, and gall, That curse and wrath should never on us fall. And now to declare his righteousness, to declare I say, at this time and in this way, his righteousness, that he (an infinitely holy God) might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus, Let contemplation stretch her wings, and try Into angelic righteousness to pry; While they in creature righteousness have stood, His is the very righteousness of God. And he being the Lord our righteousness, in him we shine more bright, complete, and fair, than angels ever shine or ever were. Oh, the immeasurable, unsearchable perfection of his righteousness! If we bring together all the vast amount of holiness and perfection existing among elect angels, who have kept their first estate, and add to this the original rectitude and holiness our first father possessed, when he came forth from the hands of his Maker, in comparison with the perfection of Emmanuel's righteousness, all their splendid and dazzling glories fade and die, even as the glory of the dim candle dies and fades away before the rays of the material sun at dazzling noon; and well may Conscience call the perfection of Emmanuel's righteousness immeasurable and unsearchable, seeing we have no rule of measurement we can adopt to measure it by, save the infinite perfection of deity; and herein we are lost, for, who by searching can find out the Almighty to perfection? Surely there is nothing in heaven, nor in earth, comparable with it, no other than a drop of the bucket can compare with the mighty ocean itself; angelic righteousness fails, and created holiness falls infinitely short to compare with it. In every act which our Emmanuel was engaged in, working out righteousness for us in his own proper person, he had to do with and to satisfy the demands of a broken and fiery law. And, O, my soul, with sacred wonder tell, Thy Jesus has for thee, done all things well. So that concerning this righteousness, the wrought out righteousness of our Emmanuel, it is sufficient to answer, yea, it has eternally answered, all the demands of an infinitely holy God, as declared in and by his holy and justly demanding law, the same being imputed to the sinner's account, its infinite perfections are such as makes the vilest sinner just: however sinful, vile, polluted, and hell-deserving that sinner may feel himself to be in himself, yet the length and breadth of this righteousness, being put on him by Jehovah, through a living faith, as a spotless robe, hides all his high sins, and all his low sins, from the view of God, so that sins towering to the skies, and transgressions reaching even to the gates of hell's most dismal cave; all these, through, and in, the imputed righteousness of Emmanuel, are completely annihilated, For if from heaven's high gate to hell's most dismal cave, This righteousness of Jesus had not power to save, Then, then, might hell rejoice, and heaven in silence mourn, And Jesus' work of love to his own breast return: "But as sin hath reigned unto death, even so shall grace reign through righteousness, (even the imputed righteousness of Emmanuel,) unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." As a rope it can only fit a naked back, and to prove the suitability of it, the sinner must be stripped to his very skin. Ah! says the soul, that is cutting work; so it is, but as dear HART says, Whate'er men say, It is the way. Yet it is hard work to the flesh, aye! and cutting work to the spirit too, to have all its duties and tears, its groanings and sighings, its joyous and sorrowful frames and feelings, in the matter of justification before God, all cut up as with a stroke, and put far away out of sight before the throne of God, and For a living soul to stand By thousand dangers scared, That this testimony concerning the all-glorious Person, wonderful blood, and perfect righteousness of Emmanuel, may in the hands of Jehovah the Spirit be made a blessing, and a matter of consolation, yea, a means of deliverance to some poor soul, who is or may have been, now for a long time feelingly damned by the law, and in the court of his or her conscience for whose sakes, in connection with the glorification of Jehovah Jesus it has been given, is the earnest and fervent desire of one who has soul-feelingly realised the blessedness of these truths, and desires to live and to die exclaiming, Jesus is all in all to me, His precious blood has made me free, In this my guilty sin polluted soul shall Spotless, for ever justified, at God's W. SKELTON, S.S. On Genesis ii. 10. Lord, while I tread this desert through, Thou died to make the wounded whole; This is the garden of the Lord, Opening of New Baptist Chapel, At Billesden, Leicestershire, on Thursday, October 8th, 1846, called Salem Chapel. Jesus Christ." Living stones, living souls, raised up out of nature's grave, by the power of the Holy Ghost, in regeneration. Therefore, think more of these living stones, and the true worship of God in this place, than you do of bricks, mortar, and this temporal building. This glorious and mysterious temple, shewn to Ezekiel in vision, was a figure of the true and spiritual church of God, in THE origin of this chapel is as follows:Mr. WILLEY had been preaching in a General Baptist Chapel, in the above village, some few years. But the Lord was pleased to turn him from that natural religion-free-which God will dwell for ever. "A habitawill, and universal redemption, to preach the sovereign, eternal, unchangeable, love of God in Christ Jesus; so the General Baptists cast him out, and treated him rather scornfully, as the old pharisees treated the poor blind boy, when the Lord Jesus had opened his eyes. Through the indefatiguable exertions of Mr. WILLEY, and his friends, a neat and commodious chapel has been erected at the cost of about £340: Collections at the opening were liberal; but there now remains a debt on the chapel of about £200. Should any rich brother feel a zeal for the Lord God of hosts, and a desire to assist the young cause of truth, here is an opportunity for him to do good. Mr. JAMES WELLS, of London, was announced to open the chapel; but through severe indisposition he was prevented. The disappointment was keenly felt by many who came from all parts to hear this valiant man of God unfurl the banner of the cross; and proclaim, as he is wont to do, with all boldness, the unsearchable riches of Christ. Some of the ministers present were solicited to preach on the occasion, but declined. However, a young volunteer, (Mr. SKEY, late of Waddesden,) kindly accepted the service of the afternoon. He read for his text 2 Kings, xxv. 27, 28, 29. The intention of the preacher was to shew that Jehoiachim, king of Judah, in captivity, was a type of all Israel, and when brought out of prison, have kind words of peace and love spoken unto them, the rags of their own righteousness changed for the robe of Christ's righteousness; and that they have the bread of heaven given to them as their daily allowance, all the days of their life, even to eternity. This is the substance in a few words. In the evening of the day, Mr. GARRARD, of Leicester, read, prayed, and amplified a little on a few verses in the former part of Ezek. xliii. He said " My dear friends, if you have divided from the General Baptists for truth's sake, and for the glory of God, you have done well in building this house; but, remember, God's house is not made of dead stones, bricks, and mortar : God's house is "a spiritual building of living stones, built up a spiritual house to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, by tion for God." Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Cor. iii. 16.) If we would see the glory of God, we must be led by the Spirit to see Jesus. The brightness of the glory of God's justice is seen in the death of a bleeding dying Lord Jesus, the only sacrifice for our sins; the death and blood of the Lord Jesus, the only sacrifice that put away our sins, and removed the curse from the elect church of God. But, "the glory that excelleth," is the gospel glory in this house; "the ministration of life." The love, power, and glory of God, which Ezekiel saw, as the morning dawn, and sun rising in the east, when "the glory of the Lord came from the way of the east;" when life, light, love and mercy, in the face of the risen Lord Jesus, in his glory, breaks in at the windows of a poor, dark, distressed, law-condemned sinner's soul, called from death to life, from darkness to light, from bondage to the liberty of the glorious gospel of Christ. This is the glory that fills the house. "We beheld his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." When Ezekiel saw this glory he fell on his face, "and the queen of Sheba, fainted and had no strength left in her, when she saw the glory of Solomon and his court :-"behold a greater than Solomon is here," when Jesus is revealed in the soul of a poor sinner. Ezekiel goes on to say"And the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house, and I heard his voice out of the house, and the man stood by me." Here is the God-man, the glory-man, Christ Jesus, standing by the wedded soul, as its glorious bridegroom for ever. On another occasion it is said, that the glory of the Lord filled the house so that Moses could not enter in to minister." The glorious revelation of Jesus in the soul, with his blood, love, righteousness, and glory, shuts out death, curse, and condemnation, by Moses and the law. Thus, may the glory of the Lord, the glory of Jesus, and his love, fill this house, and the worshippers in this house, that ye have builded, even the glory of the Lord God of Israel. To conclude Mr. BLOODSWORTH of Leicester preached from Eph. v. 25, 26, 27. |