SERMON LIII.

CHRIST'S JOY IN THE CHURCH BEFORE HIS
INCARNATION.

Rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were with the sons of men.-PROVERBS VIII. 31.

THIS chapter contains an authoritative and affectionate address to mankind, uttered by a speaker who is called Wisdom. It is evident from the language of this speaker, and from the description which he gives of himself, that he is a real, and not an allegorical personage: "I love them," he says, "that love ine, and they that seek me early shall find me; but pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth was. When Jehovah prepared the heavens I was there; when he set a compass upon the face of the abyss; when he established the clouds above; when he appointed the foundations of the earth; then was I by him as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were with the sons of men."

No attentive reader of the New Testament need be reminded how strikingly this language corresponds with what is revealed respecting the Word, who was in the beginning with God; who is in the bosom of the Father; of whom the Father said, this is

my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, and who was madeflesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Expositors are therefore doubtless right in saying, as they generally have done, that it is the eternal Word, or the divine nature of Christ, who speaks in this chapter, in the character of Wisdom. In the passage selected for our text, this divine personage gives us an interesting account of his feelings and employments previous to his appearance in the flesh: I was continually rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were with the sons of men. This, my hearers, is a very remarkable passage. Our Saviour, the eternal Word, informs us, that, as soon as the world was made, the habitable parts of it, or the parts inhabited by men, becaine the scene and subject of his rejoicing; and that his delights (the expression is emphatical, denoting his chief delight) were with the sons of

men.

But had he not a heaven in which he might rejoice? Had he not myriads of holy angels in whose society and praises he might delight? He had; and yet it appears that he rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, rather than in heaven; that his chief delights were with men, rather than angels.

This, surely, is not a little surprising; and what renders it more so, is, that he knew the world in which he thus rejoiced would be wet with his tears, and stained with his blood. He knew that the fallen race in which he thus delighted, were enemies to his Father and to himself; and that they would requite his love with the basest ingratitude, put him to a cruel and ignominious death, and persecute his friends with fire and sword. Why then should he rejoice in our earth, and delight in its human inhabitants? It could not be simply because he created them, for he also created heaven and the angelic spirits. It could not be on account of man's intellectual worth and dignity; for in those respects the angels are greatly our superiors. Still less can we ascribe it to any moral excellence possessed by men; for, as has already been observed, they are fallen, sinful creatures. We must, therefore, look elsewhere for the reasons of the feelings and conduct here described; and we shall find them in the plan of redemption. In the world, that plan was to be executed, and men were the objects of it.

This, generally speaking, was the reason why the eternal

Word rejoiced in the habitable parts of the carth, and why his chief delights were with the sons of men. To be more particular, He rejoiced in the world, rather than in heaven,

I. Because it was destined to be the place in which he should perform the most wonderful of his works, obtain the greatest victory, make the most glorious display of his moral perfections, especially of his love, which is the essence of them all; and in the most signal manner glorify his Father. All this he was to do, all this he since has done, in effecting the work of redemp

tion.

We know but little of the work which he has performed in heaven. We know still less of what he may have done in the numberless worlds which appear around us. But we may venture to assert that, whatever he may have done in heaven, or in other parts of the universe, he has never performed any work so great, so wonderful, so glorious to the Father and himself, and so productive of happiness, as the work of redemption.

We are warranted to make this assertion by the declaration of Jehovah, who represents the work of redeeming love, as, of all his works, the most wonderful. We are warranted to make it by the fact that the blessed angels, who must be supposed to know what works he has performed, regard this as the most glorious of all his works, as the work into which they especially desire to look, and which is the most worthy of their admi

ration.

It is the work which in a peculiar manner calls forth the praises of heaven. It is the performance of this work which, in the view of the inhabitants of heaven, renders the Lamb who was slain peculiarly worthy to receive blessing, and glory, and honor, and power.

Well, then, might our divine Redeemer rejoice in the world where the greatest of his works was to be performed. He had from eternity rejoiced in the plan of it, and in contemplating its execution. Still more, were it possible, would he rejoice to see the world which was to be the scene of its performance, start from nothing into existence; to see preparation then making for the great work, and to mark the several parts of the earth in which the principal events connected with it would take place. II. Our divine Redeemer rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, because they were the destined residence of his then future

church. Christ loved the church, says an apostle, and gave himself for it. He gave himself for it because he loved it; loved it before it had a being. He calls the things which are not, we are told, as though they were. He could love the church before it was created, no less easily then than he can love it now. Agreeably, he says to it, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, that is with a love that has existed from eternity; therefore with loving kindness will I gather thee.

In consequence of this everlasting love to his church, he rejoiced in the world which was to be its residence, while preparing for heaven, rejoiced to visit it, as we are pleased to visit the habitations of our children or friends. For this reason he rejoiced in all the habitable parts of the earth; for they are all destined to be filled with his disciples. Every where churches are to be established. And to his omniscient eye, which saw' the end from the beginning, every habitable spot on earth was made to appear interesting by some event connected with his church, of which it was to be the scene. As he walked invisibly through the world, immediately after its creation, he would say: Here the first martyr will seal the cause of truth with his blood. From this spot, Enoch, and from that, Elijah, shall bo translated to heaven. Here Abraham shall pitch his tent, and build his altar, and rejoice in my gracious visits. There I will conduct my people through the wilderness; on that mount I will appear, to give them my law; at its foot, I will meet my servant Moses, and converse with him, face to face, as a man talketh with his friend. And while he thus marked the future scenes of all the great events in the history of his church, innumerable other places would be rendered pleasing to him by the foresight of less important, indeed, but still highly interesting events. Here, he might say, some trembling penitent will begin to find relief in prayer. There, I will first reveal myself to some broken-hearted sinner, and listen to the joyful praises and thanksgivings which he will in consequence pour forth. On this spot, one of my ministering servants shall preach my gospel with power and success; and on that, a temple shall rise, where many shall be taught to know and love me; where a numerous church shall be trained up for heaven, where I will often meet and commune with them at my table.

In this part of the world, also, though destined to remain

long uninhabited, and destitute of the gospel, he rejoiced. He saw all the temples which now adorn our land, all the churches which he here established. Nor did this house of God, or this church escape his notice. He knew of whom it would be said, this man was born to glory there. He saw this day, saw you, my Christian friends, listening to these truths, and meeting around his table; entered every spot where you or any of his people would reside; where habitations would be erected, in which prayer would be offered up in his name. He not only saw all his churches that now exist, but all that will exist hereafter. He saw the Ethiopian stretch out his hands to God, and the isles waiting for his law. He saw the Jews coming in with the fulness of the Gentiles; he saw the whole earth filled with the glory of God, as the waters fill the sea. All this he saw, for he enabled his prophets to predict it. And while he saw this, he heard all the prayers and praises which would be uttered by his people, in all ages and parts of the world, so that the whole earth, immediately after its creation, while all was solitary and still, resounded to his ear with praises, thanksgivings, and songs of joy. Is it then strange, that, seeing and hearing this, he should rejoice in the habitable parts of the earth, even more than in heaven; in heaven, which, if I may venture to say it, would appear comparatively empty, till his beloved people were brought in to share it with him.

III. While our divine Redeemer thus rejoiced in our world, rather than in heaven, his chief delights and pleasures were with men, rather than with angels. They were so,

1. Because he intended, in the fulness of time, to assume our nature, and become himself a man. He is called the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world; because before the world was created, it was determined and foreseen that he should be slain. For the same reason, he may be said to have been a man, before the foundation of the world; because it was determined that he should become so; that he should be made flesh and dwell among us. In consequence of this, he felt, if I may so express it, related to man; felt that he was their brother, bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh, feelings which he could not, with equal reason, exercise towards angels. A heathen writer represents one as saying, I am a man, and therefore cannot but feel interested in any thing which relates to