The Means Which God Hath Devised That His Banished Ones Be Not Expelled
The Substance Of A Sermon, Preached At Providence Chapel, Gray’s Inn Lane; Occasioned By The Death Of Mr. Joseph Bentley, Who Died Suddenly, At Worthing, On The 11th Of The Same Month (1819), In The Twenty-Fifth Of His Age.
By The Rev. Joseph Chamberlain, Of Salem Chapel, Leicester
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”—Ecc. 12:1
“Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”—Matt. 24:44
To The Reader
Previously to my preaching this Sermon I had not the least intention of publishing it; but, having been requested by several friends so to do, and feeling no objection in my own mind, I have complied with that request. The substance of the observations made at the funeral of the deceased will be found embodied in the second head of the discourse, together with the further particulars then delivered; and therefore I have not thought it necessary to make any distinction between the remarks offered on those two occasions, as the one would in many respects have been a mere repetition of the other. As I am not disposed to give flattering titles unto men; so neither, upon mature reflection, am I conscious of having said anything of the deceased which I wish to retract; believing that the word of God, as well as my own conscience, will fully sanction all that I have asserted, and warrant the conclusions I have drawn; having rather restrained than exceeded in the representation here given. The peculiar nature of the discourse may possibly attract the greater attention of the reader; and, should the blessing of God attend the perusal, it is hoped that the glory will be ascribed unto Him to whom alone it is due.
Joseph Chamberlain
August 24, 1819
The Sermon
2 Samuel, ch. 14, ver. 14.
“For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot he gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person; yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him.”
In speaking from these words, I shall, first, observe that God is no respecter of persons, as we read in the text, and then show you from the scriptures whom the Lord does respect.
Secondly, Treat of Death, and of the blessedness of being prepared for it; and state to you in what this preparation lies.
And, thirdly, speak of the means God hath devised that his banished be not expelled from him, and what those means are.
I am, first, to observe from the text, that God is no respecter of persons, and shew you from the scriptures who it is that the Lord does respect.
Sin is the cause of death. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;”—death temporal, spiritual and eternal. “And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” And, “as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation,” all men by nature are dead in sin, dead in law, dead to God, and children of wrath even as others. And how frequently do we see that “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Ecc. 8:11. But it is declared that wickedness shall not deliver those that are given to it; judgment will overtake them. “It is appointed unto all men once to die, and after death the judgment;” therefore it is written, “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.” Ecc. 11:9.
If we are saved, our spiritual judgment must take place in this world; if not, all remains until the last; and, as Christ has declared that “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God,” John 3:5, there can be no salvation without the inhabitation of the Holy Ghost, and regeneration by him. To be in the flesh is to be destitute of the Spirit; and “the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God;” therefore, if not renewed by the Holy Ghost, we must be inevitably lost; as the tree falls so it must die, for there can be no alteration after death. It is declared in the scriptures, Job 37:24, that “God respecteth not any that are wise of heart.” But, as the scriptures are in the sweetest harmony, and never contradict themselves, this passage cannot allude to them that are made wise unto salvation, but to those against whom the wo of God is denounced; “Wo unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.” Isa 5:21. Therefore it must mean such as are elated with their own wisdom, full of consequence, lifted up, proud, and self-sufficient. These things have been the destruction of many in this world, and will be the ruin of multitudes in the world to come.
One of the first lessons, which men are taught in the school of Christ, is to know their own foolishness and ignorance. “Let no man deceive himself; if any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise; for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, he taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” 1 Cor. 3:18,19. Another passage to our purpose will be found in Peter’s first epistle, chap. 1:17: “If ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.” And what is a sojourner but a temporary dweller? Here we have no continuing city, but are seeking one that is to come. This world is not our rest; we are but strangers and pilgrims upon earth, and therefore, as such, are exhorted to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Being strangers upon the earth, we are unknown to the world as the sons of God, the heirs of promise, his adopted children, and as regenerated and renewed by the Holy Ghost. “As unknown and yet well known.” We are well known to the Father, who hath loved us with an everlasting love. We are well known to the Son, as the objects of his choice and the purchase of his blood; “I know my sheep,” says Christ. We are well known to the Holy Ghost, our bodies being his temples. And we are well known to each other, when we speak of what God hath done for our souls, and of the work of grace in our hearts; how it was begun, how it has been carried on, and in what case it now is. The Father judgeth according to every man’s work; and, as there are but two kinds of works in the world, the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit, we must remember that the reward will be at last according to the nature of our works, and not according to the merits of them.
And now do you observer who they are that the Lord does respect: they are those whose hearts are humbled by grace, in whom the Holy Spirit hath operated as a spirit of meekness; are lowly, and have mean thoughts of themselves; who feel the plague of the heart, which preserves from a censorious spirit; and are least in their own eyes, and last in their own account; broken-hearted under a feeling sense of sin, esteeming others better than themselves. To them the Lord hath respect.—“Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly; but the proud he knoweth afar off.” Psal 138:6. And Paul gives a beautiful description of these lowly ones—“Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” We have, moreover, a further account of those to whom the Lord hath respect, being told that in process of time both Cain and Abel brought their offerings. “And the Lord had respect to Abel and his offering; but unto Cain and his offering he had not respect.” Gen. 4:3,4,5. And Paul informs us that Abel offered in faith; on which account his was a more excellent sacrifice than Cain’s. “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” Abel offered his lamb in faith, looking to the promised seed, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And, as it was then, so it is now; “without faith it is impossible to please God.” There is no coming to God but by a mediator—“Kiss the Son,” saith he, “lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way.” Psal 2:12. Our sins being expiated by the blood of Christ, and atoned for by his sacrifice,—our souls being justified by his righteousness, and having a saving, experimental knowledge of him; his name, who hath given himself for us an offering, and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour, Eph. 5:2, is as ointment poured forth; and the promise of God is, “I will accept you with your sweet savour.” Ezek. 20:41. Cain comes with his sheaf, trusting in a broken law, without any regard to the promised seed, or faith in him; on which account he was rejected. God out of Christ is a consuming fire. Cain is wroth, and his countenance falls. These two, Abel and Cain, set forth the heirs of promise, Rom. 9:7. Gal. 3:29. The children of the free woman, Gal. 4:31. And the bond family, or children of the flesh, of whom it is written that they cannot please God, Rom. 8:8. Neither are they the children of God, Rom. 9:7.
We have seen, then, that God is no respecter of persons, and who it is unto whom he will have respect. “For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person; yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him.” Therefore I was
Secondly, to treat of Death, and of the blessedness of being prepared for it; and state to you in what this preparation lies. Death, which is God’s awful sentence, entered upon the commission of sin: with this Adam was threatened in case of disobedience; “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Gen. 2:16,17.
Adam, the federal head of all mankind, sinned; the body became mortal, subject to a variety of diseases, and may be said to be always dying, and shall die at last. “Dying, thou shalt die.” Death holds and exercises his universal power, reign, and dominion, by virtue of sin; paying no regard to any, high or low, rich or poor, young or old. “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war.” Ecc 8:8. But death to the believer is not a penal evil, being turned into a sleep; and to the saint it is the gate of life. Sin entered, and death by it, with the numerous train of afflictions and miseries that issue in it.
There are three things to which the life of man is compared; the flower, the shadow, and the vapour. “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.” A man may be one of God’s covenant people, a righteous man, and one of the objects of his choice, and yet be subject to afflictions, which may be various, severe, and of long continuance; for “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” Ps 34:19, “He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down.”
The flower flourishes for a little time, looks very beautiful and gay; but no sooner is it come to its full bloom than it begins to wither, decay, and die away. And, “As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth; for the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.” Psal. 103:15,16.
The shadow is a vain, empty thing, declining and passing away; and therefore fitly resembles the life of man; “He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.” Job 14:1,2.
It is compared likewise to a vapour, which arises out of the earth or water, and expires almost as soon as it exists; is fleeting, carried here and there, and returns to the place from whence it came. Hence the apostle James asks, “What is your life? it is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14.
Furthermore, it is compared to a tale that is told, in which some things are pleasing, and others truly distressing; “We spend our years as a tale that is told.” Psal. 90:9. And in the text death is compared to water, which being spilt sinks into the ground, and therefore cannot be gathered up again. So also man is laid in the earth, and the place that has known him knows him no more.
Everything being vain and uncertain in this life, shews us the necessity of attending to the exhortation of the same apostle; “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that;” ver. 15. How awfully and strikingly are these scriptures, and many more, exemplified in the death of our very dear friend and brother, whose remains we have recently committed to the ground! “There is a time to be born, and a time to die.” The term of life cannot be protracted; as it is fixed by God, it is finished by Providence. “Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth?” Job 7. The time when, the manner how, and the place where, together with all things that lead to it, are settled according to the decree of God. “He hath determined our days; the number of our months are with him; and he hath appointed our bounds, so that we cannot pass.” Job 14:5. Therefore it is needful to attend to the counsel of our Lord Jesus Christ; “Take heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is.” Mark 13:33.
The deceased, as a son, was every thing which a parent could desire.—As touching his Morals, he was without doubt a pattern.—As a Friend, he was dearly beloved by all who knew him.—And, as a Master, highly esteemed by all who were in his employ. His love and affection to me was Wonderful; and, on the other hand, I can truly say that he was very pleasant unto me. 2 Sam. 1:26.
But, as the scriptures declare that man in his best state is altogether vanity, Psal. 39:5; and well knowing the aversion that the deceased had, when living, to encomiums being passed upon the creature, I forbear saying more on this point, having thus briefly given his just character. But it will, doubtless, be gratifying to many now present to hear something respecting his spiritual state. And perhaps no one knew more of him, or was more in his secrets, than myself. He was one, as far as I have light and judgment to discern, who was brought to remember his Creator in the days of his youth. Ecc 12:1. I have been intimately acquainted with him ever since he was twelve years of age. It is some years since he wrote his first letter to me on the subject of religion, which was to inform me of the troubled, disquieted and distressed state he was in, which arose from the Saviour’s words being continually on his mind; “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3. He was deeply sensible of the fall of man, of the depravity and pollution of human nature; and frequently complained to me, both in writing and in conversation, of the hardness of his heart, of the carnal enmity of his mind, and the stubbornness of his will. And we know that it is light that makes manifest: it is God that searcheth the heart, and makes a man know what are his thoughts. At other times I have seen him tender, meekened, truly broken, and contrite. And it is God that takes away the stony heart, and gives an heart of flesh. He has, at different times, spoken to me of the sermons he had heard which gave him encouragement, and of the hope he had. He was particularly attached to the ministry of the late Rev. Wm. Huntington; was much benefited by it, and lamented his loss exceedingly, and never forgot his ways in Christ Jesus. Once, in the course of Providence, he had a particular interview with him; after which Mr. Huntington mentioned him to me in very favourable terms, and was ever after partial to him.
He was one of those of whom you have often heard me say, that I felt much for them under the loss of so powerful a ministry.—I mean those who were fearing that the harvest was passed, the summer was ended, and they were not saved. Jer. 8:20. And, indeed, I always have felt, and do still feel, more for such tender ones than for those who sat under Mr. Huntington’s ministry for twenty, thirty, thirty-five, or thirty-eight years; and who, for the time, ought to have been teachers, rather than need one to teach them again, particularly such an one as myself.
The last time I was in London, he was speaking to me of the fear he had of being drawn aside through the allurements of the world, the corruptions of nature, and the temptations of Satan. But God has, in mercy, prevented this, and set him far enough out of the reach of them all. “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken from the evil to come.” Isa. 57:1. Grace in the heart is some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to form or infuse the new man within. This new man is an assemblage of grace; and consists of light, life, faith, fear, hope, reverence of God, and many other graces which are mentioned in the scriptures. Many of these were very perceptible in him, and they are the things which accompany salvation. It was desirable, had it been in the will of God, that he had said something more on these matters before his departure. But, while lamenting that his being so suddenly taken away prevented this, these scriptures occurred to me; “Being confident of this very thing, that he, which hath begun a good work in you, will carry it on and perform it until the day of Christ.” Phil. 1:6. “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever; forsake not the work of thine own hands.” Psal. 138:8. “I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” Gen. 28:15. And at the same time this passage came with great power, “He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness; because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. ” Rom. 9:28. Immediately I was satisfied, and my soul bowed to his sovereign will; and so it does now.
This good work consists in enlightening the understanding, quickening the soul to feel its lost estate, subduing the will, renewing the mind, informing the judgment, taking away the stony heart, giving an heart of flesh, and forming Christ therein the hope of eternal glory. It is this that qualifies a man for the performance of good works; without this there are no good works in the sight of God; and it is this which makes a man a good man. This begun work does not consist in any outward thing: “The kingdom of God,” says our Lord, “is within you;” and we have an experience of it as standing in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. And this good work he will perform in that way and at the time of life which is most pleasing in his sight, “for the child shall die an hundred years old.” Isa. 65:20. See also 1 Kings 14:12,13.
I have been much with our deceased brother and we have travelled many hundred miles together. I observed him very narrowly, and cannot call to mind that I ever saw any thing in him unbecoming the gospel of the Son of God, or that he ever uttered a sentence contrary to the truth, or which grated upon my ears. God had given to him, though young, a correct judgment, and the spirit of a sound mind. And I always perceived that, wherever he went, he chose for his companions the most grave, savoury, and experimental Christians; they were his favourites; and he had a particular reverence for all those whom he believed to live in the fear of God: to them he cleaved closely, and his delights were with the excellent of the earth; which is one of the first things perceived in them in whom the fear of the Lord is implanted. Love to the brethren is an evidence of having passed from death to life: for “by this,” says Christ, “shall all men know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another!” “Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord;” and they that sleep in Jesus, the Holy Ghost informs us, God will bring with him.
We have committed the body of our brother to the ground, where it must remain until the resurrection morning, “in the which all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation:” but, believing that he will be among the former, we sorrow not as those that have no hope. I have no more doubt of seeing him again, than I have of my now standing before you. He was in my heart to live and die with him.
Speaking of the resurrection of the body, the apostle Paul says, “It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption;” and therefore, being immortal, can die no more. “It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory and therefore there will be a glory put upon both body and soul. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.” “You are,” says Christ, “in the resurrection, as the angels of God in heaven; ” and therefore the body will be able to move with the greatest agility from place to place. “It is Sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body;” not a spirit, but spiritual; the body being subject to the soul, and capable of the highest services of God. Christ will then shew us plainly of the Father, and we shall bask ourselves to all eternity in the open visions of God.
And now, as the Saviour has told us to take heed, to watch and to pray, as we know not when the time is, may we be ready as a people prepared, who are waiting for the coming of their Lord, that when he shall return from the wedding we may open to him immediately. To the same effect the prophet also speaks in these words, “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” Amos, 4:12. Which preparation lies, as before observed, in being regenerated and renewed by the Holy Ghost; in being effectually called by his grace, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus; having a love to the Saviour, and faith in him; being pardoned by his blood, justified in his righteousness, our conscience purged, the love of God in our hearts, and being blessed with the witness of the Holy Ghost. It is that Spirit who thus illuminates the understanding, quickens the soul, subdues the will, in forms the judgment, renews the mind, influences the affections; works faith, which deals with the atonement; purifies the heart, and puts the blessing of peace into the conscience. This is the preparation to which we are exhorted; and this passage therefore is not spoken to us in an hostile manner, but in the way of friendly counsel and caution, “Prepare to meet thy God.”
Thus have I briefly, but faithfully, delivered to you some of the things which I knew of our departed friend and brother. And, from my personal knowledge of him, compared with the word of God, I form my opinion; thus comparing spiritual things with spiritual, which I conceive to be the only proper rule of judging, both for others and ourselves.
I am to speak, thirdly, of the means God hath devised that his banished be not expelled from him, and what these means are.
To be banished, literally, is to be forced away, or driven from a country. Ezra 7:26. God’s banished ones are poor, outcast sinners, who by their crimes are deprived of original righteousness and happiness, and reduced to a most shameful, helpless, and destitute condition; or saints deprived of the sensible presence of God, being in a comfortless state, and labouring under affliction, temptation, and trouble. Poor outcast sinners are those, who are quickened to feel, and enlightened to see, their lost, helpless, perishing, state by nature: these are gathered to Christ Jesus. “The Lord God, which gathered the outcasts of Israel, saith, Yet will I gather others to him besides those that are gathered unto him.” Isa. 56:8. And again, “The Lord doth build up Jerusalem, and he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.” By Jerusalem is signified the covenant of grace, and God’s elect in it, which are gathered to him in effectual vocation. And that by which we know that we are gathered to him is feeling our souls in the sweetest union with Christ, under the influence of his Spirit, which testifies of him, and takes of the things which are his, and shews them plainly unto us. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. ” 1 Cor. 6:17. He walks in that truth which makes him free, enjoys the liberty of the sons of God, and experiences his service to be perfect freedom. “The Lord doth build Jerusalem.” And the prophet informs us that the Lord shewed him four carpenters; “Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head; but these are come to fray them.” Zech. 1:20,21. Now, if we consider that a carpenter is a builder, it at once throws a beautiful light upon this scripture; “There is a set time to favour Zion, and when the Lord shall build up Zion he shall appear in his glory.” Psal. 102:16. He shines into the heart, giving the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Moreover, it is said of Christ, “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” Zech. 6:12,13. In this scripture the counsel of peace between the Father and the Son is spoken of, in which the means were devised that his banished be not expelled from him. Furthermore, Paul speaks of all the building being fitly framed together in Christ, and growing unto an holy temple in the Lord. “In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Eph. 2:22. The fourth description of builders are God’s ministering servants, “I, as a wise master builder,” says the apostle, “have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon; but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” 1 Cor. 3:10.
These outcasts are such as feel their sickness and their wound. None feel their need of, or seek after, the good Physician, but those that are sensible of their perishing state, feeling that, “from the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores.” Isa. 1:6. These come to the Saviour; to them “the great trumpet shall be blown;” that is, the gospel shall be preached; “and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.” Isa. 27:13. To these the promise is made, “I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.” Jer. 30:17. And, as no man seeketh after these, God hath promised to do this work himself: “I will seek my sheep, and search them out.” Not an hoof will be left behind. All that are given to Christ shall come to him. He is the saving health of all nations; and it is his blood, applied by the Spirit, that heals the wounded conscience.
“Yet doth God devise means that his banished he not expelled from him.” When Adam fell, God ejected man from Paradise; an emblem of that state of alienation in which all men are by nature. “So God drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Gen. 3:24. All men are alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, be cause of the blindness of their heart; and it is in consequence of this alienation that all who are destitute of the Spirit’s teaching hate the life and power of godliness in the soul. This state of alienation is sorely felt by all those who are rightly taught of God, as is also the awful distance to which sin has separated them from him, and their utter inability of themselves to come to Christ; therefore God hath promised that he will “seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away.” Ezek. 34:16. The Lord has thus devised means that his banished be not expelled from him. See them also in this scripture: “And you, that were sometime alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled, in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, and unblameable, and unreproveable in his sight.” Col. 1:22. Here are the means devised, through the death of Christ, that they, which were afar off, through his sufferings might be made nigh. “But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Eph. 2:13. And, having the heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, they draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, in the new and living way consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, his flesh: and, taking the gospel lamp, which is salvation by grace, they go forth in the exercise of faith, hope, and love, to meet the heavenly Bridegroom.
“Yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him.” To devise is the act of giving or bequeathing by will. A deviser is also an inventor, a contriver. The covenant of grace bears the name, and has the nature, of a testament or will. “God was in Christ,” or with Christ, “reconciling the world,” that is, the elect world, “unto himself.” He was in Christ contriving the scheme of reconciliation. His thoughts were “thoughts of peace, and not of evil.” Jer. 29:11. The counsel of peace was between the Father and the Son. He entered into a covenant of peace with Christ, which covenant he declares shall stand fast with him. Psal. 89:28. And, under the influences and operations of his Spirit, the elect are brought into the happy experience of every covenant blessing. That by which the objects of his choice are made known in this world is, the outpouring of his Spirit upon them; for, “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.” Rom. 8:9. And in the fulness of time fixed and agreed upon in the counsel of peace, and everlasting covenant of grace, God sent forth his Son to make peace; our sins were laid upon him, and he bare them in his own body on the tree. Thus God was reconciling the world; in the death of Christ the law was honoured, justice satisfied, wrath appeased, and everlasting righteousness brought in, and reconciliation for iniquity made by him upon whom the chastisement of our peace was laid.
“Yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him.” Which device was, not to impute the trespasses of the elect unto them; this was what he resolved upon in the eternal counsel of peace. 2 Cor. 5:19. Furthermore, he appointed our redemption by him, and our sanctification through him. Again, God’s banished ones signifies saints deprived of his sensible presence, labouring under afflictions and trouble; the heaviest cross, to one who knows what it is to enjoy communion and fellowship with God, being a suspension of the divine presence. Yet, even in this case, means are devised, although we at times are saying, I shall not see him. Moses entreats the Lord, “If I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee; and I beseech thee shew me thy glory. And the Lord said unto him. Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock; and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by.” Exod. 33:21,22. This rock was typical of Christ, the rock on which the church is built; and by the cleft of it may be meant his bleeding wounds. Here believers dwell by faith; for no where do the attributes of God shine so conspicuously as in a crucified Saviour.—“Before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you. Every perfection and attribute of God harmonizes in the salvation of our souls by him; while in the cleft of this rock the Lord passeth by before us, proclaiming his covenant name, which is merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth,” &c. Exod. 34:6. Every part of which we have an experience of. This covenant name Christ declares to the objects of his choice, who are the gift of the Father to him. “I have,” saith he, “declared to them thy name.” And, as we frequently lose the enjoyment of it, he says, “I will declare it, that the love where with thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:20. This work he performs again and again. And, when the Holy Spirit operates upon his own implantation, and brings forth every grace into exercise, the blessings contained in that covenant name are again renewed and enjoyed.
“Yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him.” Christ hath redeemed us from death, and ransomed us from the power of the grave. At death the spirit returns to God that gave it, and the body to the dust, as it was, remaining under the power of death until the resurrection morning: then death, which is the last enemy, shall be destroyed: “O death, I will be thy plague; O grave, I will be thy destruction.” Hos. 13:14. Jesus Christ triumphed over this enemy, pursuing him to his last quarters.—“Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” And, rising triumphantly from the grave, he led captivity captive. When he appears the second time, the dead in him shall rise first. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.” And I have not a doubt that our dear departed friend and brother, whom we committed to the ground on Thursday last, will appear among them. Is he not then blessed that hath part in the first resurrection? “Then also shall be brought to pass the saying which is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“Yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him.” And the last transforming work of the Holy Ghost will be that of raising the bodies of the saints in the image of Christ. “But, if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Rom. 8:11. Christ will then present us to his Father. “Behold me, and the children which thou hast given me.”—These shall go away into everlasting life. And I firmly believe that many of you who are here present will be found in this happy and blessed number; wherefore comfort one another with these words.
God bless what I have spoken, and I add no more.
Joseph Chamberlain (1778-1856) was a sovereign grace Independent preacher. He served as pastor for the church meeting at Salem Chapel, Leicester.
Further Study
