Fourth Title of Christ: The Desire of All Nations
“And the Desire of all nations shall come.” Hacear 2: 7.
Tue chapter preceding our text is mainly spent in reproving the negligence of the Jews, who, being discouraged from time to time, had delayed rebuilding the temple, and in the mean time employed their care and cost in building and adorning their own houses; but at last being persuaded to set about the work, they met with this discouragement, that such was the poverty of the time that the second structure would no way correspond with the magnificence and splendor of the first. In Solomon’s days the nation was wealthy, now it was poor; so that there would be no proportion between the second and the first. To this discouragement the prophet applies the relief, that whatever was wanting in external pomp and glory should be more than recompensed by the presence of Jesus Christ in this second temple, for “the Desire of all nations,” said he, shall come into it; which, by the way, may give us this useful lesson, that the presence of Jesus Christ gives a more real and excellent glory to places of worship than any external beauty whatsoever can bestow upon them. Our éyes, like the disciples, are apt to be dazzled with the goodly stones of the temple, and in the mean time to neglect and overlook that which gives it the greatest honor and beauty.
In these words we have both a description of Christ and an index pointing at the time of his incarnation: he is called “the Desire of all nations;” and the time of his coming in the flesh is plainly intimated to be while the
Method. 12 second temple should be standing. Here then we find just cause to bemoan the blindness that is happened to the Jews, who, owning the truth of this prophecy, and not able to deny the destruction of the second temple many hundred years since, yet will not be persuaded to acknowledge the incarnation of the true Messiah.
Christ, called “the Desire of all nations,” was to come into the world in the time of the second temple, and after grievous concussions and revolutions which were to make way for his coming; for so our prophet here speaks, ‘I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come,” to which the apostle alludes, Heb. 12: 26, applying this prophecy to Jesus Christ, here called the ‘Desire of all nations;” putting the act for the object, desire for the thing desired. As in Hzek. 24:16, ‘“‘the desire of thine eyes,” is the desirable wife of thy bosom; so here the “Desire of all nations” is Christ, the object of the desires of God’s people in all nations of the world. From this we learn that;
The desires of God’s people in all kingdoms, and among all nations of the earth, are and shall be drawn out and fixed wpon the Lord Jesus Christ.
The merciful God, beholding the universal ruin of the world by sin, has provided a universal remedy for his own elect in every part of the earth. Christ is not given to any one nation in the world, but intended to be God’s salvation to the ends of the earth: ‘There is neither Greek nor Jew, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all, and in all.” Col. 2:11. In the explication of this point two things must be inquired into: why Christ is called the Desire of all nations; and upon what account the people of God, in all nations, desire him.
I. Way Ee Is caLLED THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS, and what that phrase may import; and there are divers things that are supposed or included in it.
1. That God the Father has appointed him as a remedy for the sins and miseries of his people in all parts of the world. So in the covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son the Lord expresses himself, ‘It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” Isa. 49:6. So that prophecy, ‘He shall sprinkle many nations.” Isa. 52:15. If God had not appointed him for, he could not be desired by all nations.
And indeed, herein the grace of God admirably shines forth in the freeness of it, that even the most barbarous nations are not excluded from the benefits of redemption by Christ. This is what the apostle admires, that Christ should be “preached unto the Gentiles,” 1 Tim. 3:16, to people who seemed to be lost in the darkness of idolatry. Even for them Christ was given by the Father. “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Psalm 2:8.
2. Christ, the Desire of all nations, plainly indicates the sufficiency there is in-him to supply the wants of the whole world. As the sun in the heavens suffices all nations for light and influence, so does the Sun of righteousness suffice for the redemption, justification, sanctification, and salvation of the people of God all over the world. “Took unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” Isa. 45: 22.
3. It implies the reality of godliness. It shows that religion is no fancy, as the atheistical world would persuade us; for this appears in the uniform effects of it upon the hearts of all men, in all nations of the world, that are truly religious. All their desires, like so many needles touched by one and the same loadstone, move towards Jesus Christ. Were it possible for the people of God of all nations, kindreds, and languages in the world to meet in one place, and there compare the desires and workings of their hearts, though they never saw each other’s faces, nor heard each other’s names, yet, as face answers to face in a glass, so would their desires after Christ answer to each other. All hearts work after him in the same manner; what one says, all say: these are my troubles and burdens, these my wants and miseries; these my desires and fears: one and the same Spirit works in all believers throughout the world; which could never be if religion were but a fancy, as some call it.
4. Christ, the Desire of all nations, implies the vast extent of his kingdom in the world. Out of every nation ‘under heaven some shall be brought to Christ, and to heaven by him; and though the number of God’s people, compared with the multitudes of the ungodly in all nations, be but a remnant, a little flock, and in that comparative sense there are few that shall be saved; yet considered absolutely and in themselves, they are a vast multitude which no man can number. ‘‘ Many shall come from the east, and from the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt.8:11. In order to this, the gospel, like the sun in the heavens, encircles the world. It arose in the east and takes its course towards the western world; rising by degrees upon the remote, idolatrous nations of the earth; out of all which a number is to be saved. Even ‘ Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God.” Psalm 68:31. And this consideration should move us to pray earnestly for the poor heathen who yet sit in darkness and the shadow of death; there is yet hope for them.
5. It shows that when God opens the eyes of men to see their sin and danger, nothing but Christ can give them satisfaction: it is not the fertility, riches, and pleasures the inhabitants of any kingdom of the world enjoy that can satisfy the desires of their souls. When God touches their hearts with the sense of sin and misery, Christ and none other is desirable and necessary in the eyes of such. persons. Many kingdoms of the world abound with riches and pleasures, and to many of them scarcely any thing is left to desire that the world can afford. Yet all this can give no satisfaction without Jesus Christ, the Desire of all nations, when once they come to see the necessity and excellence of him: then take the world who will, they must have Christ, the desire of their souls.
But there lies an obyection against this truth, which must be solved. ‘If Christ be the Desire of all nations, how comes it to pass that Jesus Christ finds no entertainment in so many nations of the world, among whom Christianity is hissed at and Christians are not tolerated?”
We must remember, the nations of the world have their times and seasons of conversion. Those that once embraced Christ have now lost him, and idols are now set up in the places where he was once worshipped. The sun of the gospel is gone down upon them, and now shines in another hemisphere; and so the nations of the world have their distinct days and seasons of illumination. .The gospel, like the sea, gains in one place while it loses in another; and in the times and seasons appointed by the Father, they come successively to be enlightened in the knowledge of Christ; and then shall the promise be fulfilled, “Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful.” Isa. 49: T.
Let it also be remembered, that though Christ is rejected by the rulers and body of many nations, yet he is the desire of all the people of God dispersed and scattered among those nations.
Il. We are to inquire upon wHaT accounT CHRIST BEcoMms THE DesiRE oF ALL Nations, or of all those in all the nations of the world that belong to the election of grace. And the true reason is, because Christ only has that in himself which relieves their wants and answers to all their need.
1. They are all, by nature, under condemnation, Rom. 5: 16, 18, under the curse of the law; against which nothing is found in heaven or earth able to relieve their consciences but the blood of sprinkling, the pure and perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus: and hence it is that Christ becomes so desirable in the eyes of poor sinners all the world over. If any thing in nature could be found to pacify and relieve the consciences of men from guilt and fear, Christ would never be desirable in their eyes; but finding no other remedy but the blood of Jesus, to him shall all the ends of the earth look for righteousness and for peace.
2. All nations of the world are polluted with sin both by nature and practice, which they shall see and bitterly bewail when the light of the gospel shall shine among them; and the same light by which this shall be discovered will also discover the only remedy of this evil to lie in the Spirit of Christ, the only fountain opened to all nations for ’ sanctification and cleansing; and this will make the Lord Jesus incomparably desirable in their eyes. O how welcome will he be that cometh unto them, not by blood only, but by water also. 1 John 5: 6.
3. When the light of the gospel shall shine upon the nations, they shall see that by reason of sin they are all barred out of heaven; that those doors are chained against them, and none but Christ can open an entrance for them into the kingdom of God: that no man cometh to the Father but by him, John 14: 6, neither is there any name under heaven given among men whereby they must be saved, but the name of Christ. Acts 4:12. Hence the hearts of sinners shall pant after him as a hart panteth for the water-brooks.
Inrerence 1. Is Christ the desire of all nations? how vile a sin is tt then in any nation, wpon whom the light of the gospel has shone, to reject Jesus Christ! These say, “Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.” Job 21:14. They thrust away his worship, government, and servants from among them; and in effect say, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” Luke 19: 14. Thus did the Jews, they put away Christ from among them, and thereby judged themselves unworthy of eternal life. Acts 13:46. This is at once a fearful sin and a dreadful sign. How soon did vengeance overtake them like the overthrow of Sodom. Orlet it be for a warning to all nations to the end of the world. He would have gathered the children of Israel under his wings as a hen doth her brood, even when the Roman eagle was hovering over them, but they would not: therefore their houses were left unto them desolate, their city and temple made a heap.
2. If Jesus Christ be the desire of all nations, how incomparably happy must that nation be that enjoys Christ in the power and purity of his gospel ordinances! If Christ under a veil made Canaan a glorious land, Dan. 11:41, what a glorious place must that nation be which beholds him with open face in the bright sunshine of the gospel. O my country, know thy happiness and the day of thy visitation: what others desired thou enjoyest: provoke not the Lord Jesus to depart from thee by corrupting his worship, longing after idolatry, abusing his messengers and oppressing his people, lest his soul depart from thee.
3. If Christ be the desire of all nations, examine whether he be the desire of your soul in particular, else you shall have no benefit by him. Are your desires after Christ true spiritual desires? Reflect, I beseech you, upon the frame and temper of your heart. Can you say of your desires after Christ as Peter did of his love to Christ? Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that Idesire thee. Try your desires, as to their sincerity, by the following tests:
Are they ardent? Has Christ the supreme place in your desires? Do you esteem all things but dross in comparison of the excellency of Jesus Christ your Lord? Phil. 3:8. Is he to you as the refuge-city to the man-slayer? Heb. 6:18; as a spring of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land? Isaiah 32:2. Such vehement desires are true desires.
Are your desires after Christ wiversal; is every thing in Christ desirable in your eyes? The hypocrite is for a divided Christ; he would be called by his name, but trusts in himself. If his holiness and government, his cross and sufferings are desirable for his sake, such universal desires are right desires.
Do your desires after Christ lead you to effort, to use all the means of accomplishing what you desire? You say you desire Christ, but what will you do to obtain your desire? If you seek him carefully and incessantly in all the ways of duty; if you will strive in prayer, labor to believe, cut off right hands and pluck out right eyes, that is, be willing to part with the most profitable and pleasant ways of sin that you may enjoy Christ, the desire of your souls, then are your desires right.
Are your desires after Christ permanent, or only a sudden fit which goes off again without effect? If your desires after Christ abide in your heart, if your longings are at all times for him, then are your desires right. Christ always dwells in the desires of his people; they can feel him in their desires when they cannot discern him in their love or delight.
Will your desires after Christ admit no satisfaction, nor find rest anywhere but in the enjoyment of Christ? then are your desires right. The soul that desires Christ can never be at rest till it come home to Christ. 2 Cor. 5:2, 6; Philippians 1: 23. The devil can satisfy others with the riches and pleasures of this world, as children are quieted with toys; but if nothing but Christ can satisfy and terminate your desires, surely such desires are right.
Do your desires after Christ spring from a deep sense of your need of Christ? Has conviction opened your eyes to see your misery, to feel your burdens, and to make you sensible that your remedy lies only in the Lord Jesus? then are your desires right. Bread and water are made necessary and desirable by hunger and thirst. By these things try the truth of your desires after Christ.
4. Do you indeed, upon serious trial, find in you such desires after Christ as above described? O bless the Lord for that day wherein Christ, the desire of all nations, became the desire of your souls; and for your comfort, know that you are happy «nd blessed souls at present.
Blessed in this, that your eyes have been opened to see both the want and worth of Christ. Had not Christ applied his precious eye-salve to the eyes of your mind, you would never have desired him; you would have said, “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is nc beauty that we should desire him,” Isaiah 53:2; or as they to the spouse, “What is thy beloved more than another beloved?” Song 5:9. O blessed souls, enlightened of the Lord to see those things that are hid from them that perish! You are blessed, in that your desires after Christ are a sure evidence that the desire of Christ is towards you. We may say of desires as it is said of love, we desire him because he first desired us: your desires after Christ are inflamed from the desires of Christ after you. You are blessed, in that your desires shall surely be satisfied: ‘Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matt.5:6. ‘The desires of the righteous shall be granted.” Prov. 10:24. God never raised such desires as these in the souls of his people to be a torment to them for ever.
You are blessed, in that God hath guided your desires to make the best choice that ever was made, while the desires of others are eagerly set upon gaining riches, pleasure, and honor in the world. Any good will satisfy some men. Happy soul, if none but Christ can satisfy thee. Psalm 4:6. You are blessed, in that there is a work of grace certainly wrought upon thy soul; and these very desires after Christ are a part thereof. Blessed, in that these desires after Christ keep thy soul active and working after him continually in the way of duty. One thing have I desired, that will I seek after. Psalm 27:4. Desire will be a continual spring to diligence and industry in the way of duty; the desire of the end quickeneth to the use of means. Prov. 18:1. Others may fail asleep and cast off duty, but it will be hard for those to do so whose souls burn with desire after Christ. You are also blessed, in that your desires after Christ will make death much the sweeter and easier to you. I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, which is far better. Phil. 1:23. When a Christian was once asked whether he was willing to die, he returned this answer: Let him be unwilling to die who is unwilling to go to Christ. And much like it was that of another, I refuse this life, to live with Christ.
5. Let me exhort and persuade all to make Jesus Christ the desire and chowe of their souls. This is the main scope and design of the gospel. And Oh that I could effectually press home this exhortation upon your hearts. Every creature naturally desires its own preservation; do not you desire the preservation of your precious and immortal souls? If you do, then make Christ your desire and choice, without whom they can never be preserved. Jude 1. Do not your souls earnestly desire the bodies they live in? How tender are they of them, how careful to provide for them, though they pay a dear rent for these tenements they live in. And is not union with Christ infinitely more desirable
than the union of soul and body? O covet union with him; then shall your souls be happy when your bodies drop from them at death, 2 Cor. 5:1, 3; yea, soul and body shall be happy with him for evermore.
How do the men of this world desire the enjoyments of it. They rise early, sit up late, eat the bread of carefulness; and all this for very vanity. Shall a worldling do more for earth than you for heaven? Shall the creature be so earnestly desired, and Christ neglected? What do all your desires in this world benefit you, if you go Christless? Suppose you had the desire of your hearts in these things, how long should you have comfort in them if you have not Christ?
Does Christ desire you, who have nothing lovely or desirable in you? And have you no desires after Christ, the most lovely and desirable one in both worlds? How absolutely necessary is Jesus Christ to your souls! Bread and water, breath and life, are not so necessary as Christ. “One thing is needful,” Luke 10: 42, and that one thing is Christ. If you fail in your desires in other things, you may yet be happy; but if you have not Christ, you are undone for ever. How great are the benefits that will redound to you by Jesus Christ! In him you have a rich inheritance settled upon you: all things are yours when you are Christ’s. 1 Cor. 3:22. All your well-grounded hopes of glory are built upon your union with Him. 2 Cor. 1:21. If you have not Christ, you must die without hope. Suppose you were at the judgment-seat of God, where you must shortly stand, and saw the terrors of the Lord in that day; the sheep divided from the goats; the sentences of absolution and condemnation passed by the great and awful Judge upon the righteous and wicked; would not Christ be then desirable in your eyes? As ever you expect to stand with comfort at that bar, let Christ be the desire and choice of your souls now.
6. Do these considerations put thee upon this inquiry, How shall I get my desires kindled and inflamed towards Christ?
Alas, my heart is cold and dead, not a serious desire stirring in it after Christ. To such I offer the following directions:
Redeem some time every day for meditation; get out of the noise of the world, Psalm 4: 4, and seriously bethink yourself how the present state of your soul stands, and how it is likely to go with you for ever: here all sound conversion begins. Psalm 119: 59.
Consider seriously that lamentable state in which you came into the world; children of wrath by nature, under the curse and condemnation of the law; so that either your state must be changed, or you must inevitably be damned. John 3:3. Consider the course you have taken since you came into the world, proceeding from ini. quity to iniquity. What command of God have you not violated a thousand times over? What sin is committed in the world that you are not one way or other guilty of before God? How many secret sins lie against you, unknown to the most intimate friend you have? LHither this guilt must be separated from your souls, or your souls from God to all eternity.
Think upon the severe wrath of God due to every sin: “The wages of sin is death” Rom. 6:23. And how intolerable must be the fulness of that wrath, when a few drops sprinkled upon the conscience in this world are so insupportable, that it has made some choose strangling rather than life; and yet this wrath must abide for ever upon you, if you have no interest in Jesus Christ. John 3: 36,
Ponder well the happy state they are in who have obtained pardon and peace by Jesus Christ, Psalm 32:1, 2; and seeing the grace of God is free, and you are set under its means, why may not you also enjoy it?
Seriously consider the great uncertainty of your time, and the preciousness of the opportunities of salvation, never to be recovered when once past. John 9:4. Let this provoke you to lay hold upon those golden seasons while they are yet with you, that you may not bewail your folly and madness when they are out of your reach.
Associate yourselves with serious Christians; get acquainted with them, and beg their assistance; beseech them to pray for you; and see that you rest not here, but be frequently upon your knees begging of the Lord a new heart.
In conclusion of the whole, let me beseech and beg all the people of God, as upon my knees, to take heed and beware lest by the carelessness and scandal of their lives they quench the weak desires beginning to kindle in the hearts of others. O shed not soul-blood by stifling the hopeful desires of any after Christ.
Blessed be God for Jesws Christ, the Desire of all nations.