The Precious Things of God

A FELT conviction of the preciousness of the Saviour has ever been regarded by enlightened ministers of the gospel as constituting a scriptural and unmistakeable evidence of the existence of divine life in the soul; and in moments when neither time nor circumstance would admit of the close scrutiny of a theological creed, or a nice analysis of spiritual feelings and emotions, the one and simple inquiry upon which the whole matter is made to hinge has been — “What is your experience of the worth of the Saviour? is Christ precious to your heart?” And the answer

to this question has been to the examiner the test and the measure of the sours sjDiritual and vital cliano-e. And how jumper that it should be so. In proportion as the Holy Spirit imparts a real, intelligent sense of personal sinfulness, there will be the heart’s appreciation of the value, sufficiency, and preciousness of the Lord Jesus. An enlightened and thorough conviction of the nature and aggravation of the disease, will enable a I>hysician to form a just conception of the remedial process by ;vhich it may be arrested and cured. We estimate the force of a motive power by the strength ».f the body It propels. ‘J’hus, as the conviction of our lost and undone condition deepens, as sin’s “exceeding sinfulness “unveils, as the purity and extent of God’s law opens, as the utter heipiessncss and impotence of self is forced upon the mind, the glory, the wurih, the suitableness, ana the preciousness of Jesus will, through the teaching of trie Spirit, piosunt itsolf vividly to tliC mind and heart, as constituting the one oj jv “oundation and hope of the soul. The Bible ra-^gnises but two specific and distinctive characters — the Sinner — the Saviour; and all others are but modifications uf these. The saint is but the .dinner convertef]^ justified, pardoned, adopted, sanctified, saved, glorified. And all the official relations sustained by Christ in the economy of salvation are but so many varied and beautiful forms of the one Saviour, of whom it is said, “Neither is theie salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven give7i among men whereby we must he saved.” Thus, then, as you feel your sinfulness, you will estimate the fitness and suitableness of the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. There will be a perfect agreement between your consciousness of guilt and your believing apprehension of the excellence of the Atonement to meet your case. Your sinnership and Christ’s Saviourship will harmonise and dovetail in exact and beautiful fitness and proportion. Oh, what a divine and blessed arranoement is this! With what grandeur, yet with what simplicity, does it invest the scheme of salvation 1 What solemnity, yet what hope, does it throw around the present and the future of the soul! It seems to fathom the lowest depth of my sinfulness, while it lifts me to the loftiest height of God’s grace.

In a volume designed to place before its readers a few of the precious things of God’s revealed word, we commence, as is most proper, with the foimdation and source of them all — the dignity, luortli, siiitahility, and preciousness of Christ. The great truth upon which we are about to expatiate is announced in the words ])laced at the head of this chapter — “Unto yon therefore which believe He is precious!’ In the unfolding of this subject may there rest upon the writer and the reader the fresh anointing of the Holy-Ghost, even Him of whom Jesus said, “He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and sJiall shew it unto you;” that, while we treat of a j)recious Saviour, His preciousness may be felfc in our hearts, filling the whole soul with penitence, faith, and love. We propose, in the present chapter, to group our thoughts around two specific views of the subject — the preciousxess of Christ — and the character of those to whom He is precious.

We commence with a consideration of Christ’s personal preciousness — His 2:)reciousness in Himself. It is the conviction of Christ’s personal dignity and worth that gives to faith such a substantial realisation of the greatness and jireciousness of His work. We have need, beloved, to be cautioned against an error into which some have fallen — of exalting the work of Christ above the person of Christ — in other words, not tracing the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice to the essential dignity of Christ’s person. The Godhead of the Saviour admitted — His atoning death becomes a fact of easy belief Once concede that He who died upon the cross was “God manifest in the flesh,’” and the mind will experience no difficulty in admitting that that death was sacrificial and expiatory. The sufferings and death of a Being so illustrious must be in harmony with an object and in connexion with a result of equal dignity and momentousness; and where will there be found such an object and such a result as the SALVATION of man? The brilliant achievements of a general rushing to the rescue of a beleaguered garrison may so exalt his personal genius and valour as to invest his name with a glory peerless and immortal; but the reverse of this holds good with Christ. There had been no glory in His achievements, no significance in His work, no efficacy in His blood, had there been no divine dignity and worth in His person. And, had He not taken a single step in working out the salvation of man — had He reyaired no breach, wept no tear, endured no agony, shed no blood in the redemption of His Church, — had He, in a word, conferred not a solitary blessing upon our race — He still had been the Eternal Son OF God, divine, peerless, glorious — the object of supreme love, adoration, and worship by all celestial beings and through all eternal ages. While, then, His sacrificial work illustrates His marvellous grace and love to sinners, that work owes all its acceptance and efficacy to the value imparted to it by the essential Deity of His person. Thus, it is the personal preciousness of Christ that imparts an official preciousness to His work.

Who, then, is the Lord Jesus Christ? In common parlance, men term Him, “our Saviour’* But do the great body pause and reflect who Christ really is? Do they regard Him as the Creator of this world — of all worlds? of their being — of all beings? Do they consider that ‘’all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made V If so, would they not give Him divine homage, since that which creates must be antecedent to and above the thirg created, and therefore must be pre-existent and divine? But what a grand and glorious truth is this to the believing soul — the absolute Deity of the Saviour — the essential Godhead of Christ! How it endears Him to the heart as the Rock of ages upon which its hope is built! How precious must be every evidence of the divine strength, stability, and durability of that basis upon which the believing sinner reposes his whole salvation. Precious, then, is Christ as God. Precious in His Deity — precious as a distinct person in the adorable Godhead — precious as “God over all, blessed for evermore.” But pause, Christian reader, for a moment, in wonder and praise before this august truth. If there be a spot where we should put off the shoes from our feet, surely it is this. AYith what profound reverence, with what silent awe, yet with what adoring love should we contemplate the Godhead of our Pvcdeemer! But for that Godhead we had been for ever lost! His obedience to the law, His satisfaction to the justice of Jehovah, had been of no efficacy or avail, save only as it partook of the authority, dignity, and virtue of His higher nature. Do not question the existence of the fact because of the mystery of its mode. How Jehovah could become incarnate is a wonder we shall never, in this state of limited knowledge, fully understa,nd; enoigh that it is so. Let reason reverently adore, and faith implicitly trust.

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