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SERMON XVIII.

THE WORK OF CHRIST

Luke. iv. 18, 19.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor: he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty, them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

THESE, I need scarcely say, are the words of the prophet Isaiah, spoken by him in the spirit of prophecy, concerning the office of the Messiah, and here claimed by Christ as relating to himself, and descriptive of his own work. When he was at Nazareth, perhaps for the first time after he had entered on his mission, he went, as he had done in other cities, into the synagogue; and the fame of his preaching and miracles having gone before him, the minister out of respect or curiosity, or following the common practice on such occasions, invited him to read and give his exhortation to the people. "And there was delivered unto

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him the book of the Prophet Isaias; and when he had opened the book, he found" (in the sixty-first chapter, which was probably the lesson of the day,) "the place where it was written, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor: he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and gave it again to the minister, and sat down," according to the custom among the Jews in teaching; whereas, in reading the Scripture, they stood, by way of distinction and reverence. "And the eyes of all that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." How he continued this discourse we are not informed; but the purport of it is evident from the opening. It shewed the of fice in which he himself was engaged, to be the very same with that which the prophet had described; and it explained the gracious nature of that office, for we are told that the hearers "bare him witness," (assenting probably to the justice of his claim as the Messiah,) and "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth;" at the beneficent nature of the mission which was represented as his own.

The whole of our Lord's address on this occasion would, doubtless, have been invaluable. But though we are not gratified with this discourse, yet, from his other sermons upon record, from the general object of his mission, and from the discourses and writings of his inspired Apostles, we may collect, at least in substance, what he would probably say, concerning the persons here described and the gracious office of their Redeemer.

I. Our first inquiry, then, shall be respecting the character or circumstances, of the persons described in my text.

It seems clear that this whole passage is metaphorical; for allowing that a literal sense may be applied to parts of it with propriety, yet there are other parts which will not bear that sense. He did, indeed, preach the Gospel to those who were literally the poor of the world; and gave sight to those who were naturally blind; yet he did not literally open the doors of prisons, to give deliverance to captives; nor did he literally demand the year of jubilee for his nation, at which the prophet glanced when he spoke of "the acceptable year of the Lord.”

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Assuming, therefore a metaphorical signification of the words, we must consider what kind of figurative bondage, or blindness, or poverty, corresponds best with those various offices of mercy, for which Messiah came: and we shall be at no loss to discover this, when we reflect that he came to be a Saviour from sin; and that the state of sinners is frequently illustrated in Scripture by the very images which the prophet here employs.

I would observe, however, that the various illustrations here used appear not to represent different states or characters, but to give different views of the same moral condition. He who, with reference to the power of his sins, is called a captive, may, with respect to the ignorance and darkness of mind which his sin produces, be considered as one deprived of sight.-These images serve only to present, under different aspects, the sad state of those whom Christ came to deliver, and the blessed effects of that deliverance. With regard to these persons, they seem to describe two things: their actual condition, and the sense which they themselves entertain of it.

1. Their actual condition is represented as very deplorable: for what image can express greater misery than that of captives treated with the barbarous rigour of those times; immured in dungeons; loaded with fetters; bruised with stripes; perhaps like Zedekiah, the unfortunate king of Judah, deprived of sight as well

as liberty. Yet this is a very just image of every man's condition, who is under the power of sin. He is a slave to the most cruel tyrant; a prisoner under the most awful condemnation; a captive, tied and bound with the chain of his sins. To drop the metaphor-he is one exposed to the wrath of an offended God; continually increasing the load of his guilt; the sport of various evil passions, which possess and harass his degraded mind; having his understanding depraved by sin; the dupe of Satan's artifice, and the victim of his power and malice; such, in short, that if he repent not, the vengeance of heaven must overtake, and consign him to eternal punishment.

2. Yet it is possible that there may be this state of sin, comprehending all these awful circumstances of misery and danger, without any concern about it, or even any distinct perception of it. A poor captive indeed, confined in prison, cannot well be insensible tothe misery of his condition, nor wholly unconcerned for his deliverance; but a sinner, whose state is justly compared to his, may be destitute of all such feelings: and this is, in fact, the case with the generality of sinners. They are unconcerned about their sins. They are not afraid of God's judgments. They see little or nothing to be lamented in their condition. They are not only "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked," but morally dead withal: quite insensible to the misery of such a state.

This, however, is by no means the case with the persons here represented. Images are used with respect to them, which describe their mind as deeply touched with the sense of their unhappiness. They are not only captives, but they are broken-hearted in their bondage. The good news of redemption is to be preached to them; which would be no glad tidings to those who felt not the weight of their chains: the year of jubilee is to be proclaimed, when all the oppressed were set free: which would be most acceptable to those who were most sensible of their calamity.

And this description of the persons who shall be benefited by the salvation of Christ is perfectly just, and corresponds strictly with the whole tenor of Scripture on the subject. They are represented in Scripture as being sensible of the misery of a sinful state, and desirous to be freed from it. They are "the sick," who "need a physician;" they are "the thirsty," who are invited to "drink of the water of life;" "the weary," who shall enjoy their Saviour's "rest." It is the longing soul which shall be satisfied, and the hungry soul which shall be filled with goodness. "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, then the Lord will hear them, and open rivers to them in high places." "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness," (it is written,) "for they shall be filled." "Whosoever asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." "He that cometh unto me," saith Christ, "I will in no wise cast out:" and if any are excluded, it is because "they will not come" to him, "that they may have life.”

All such expressions denote the true Christian temper, that which our Lord inculcated under the names of humility and poverty of spirit; and which both Christ and his Apostles meant by the more significant word "repentance." It includes a consciousness of demerit; a due sense of the evil of sin, of compunction for its offence, and of shame for its defilement; a sincere detestation of it, and anxiety to be delivered, both from its guilt and from its power. This is the disposition supposed in my text, and also explicitly required in the New Testament, as a necessary preparative for faith in Christ, and for an interest in his salvation.

This frame of mind may comprehend different degrees, or even kinds, of uneasiness on account of sin. The metaphors which are here used, illustrate these. It is one kind of distress to feel the pressure of poverty; it is another to endure the yoke of bondage; and a third, to lose the organ of sight. So, various circum

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