The Judgments of Providence in the Hand of Christ, Sermon 1
The Judgments of Providence in the hand of CHRIST.
Ezekiel X. 2.
And he ſpake unto the Man clothed with linnen, and ſaid, Go in between the Wheels, even under the Cherub, and fill thy hand with coals of fire from between the Cherubims, and ſcatter them over the City: And he went in in my ſight.
FOR the underſtanding theſe dark and awful words we muſt know, 1. who the Man is here ſpoken to, clothed with linnen; 2. who ſpeaks to him; and then 3. conſider the meaning of the thing commanded him and done by him.
1. The Man here ſpoken unto, clothed with linnen, is no other than the Man CHRIST JESUS; the eternal Son of God appearing in faſhion as a man; that Son of man whom the FATHER hath made ſtrong for himſelf, and who is now ſet down on the right hand of GOD, our High prieſt and King, both to make interceſſion and alſo to execute judgment.
We read of the ſame Man before preſiding over the executioners of the wrath and judgments of God; Chap. 9.2. And behold ſix men came from the north, every man with his ſlaughter weapon in his hand, and One man among them was cloathed with linnen. HE was not one of the ſix, but they were miniſters and ſervants under Him, and obeyed his orders. Here are ſix Angels the miniſters of the GOD MAN Mediator, hearkening to the voice of his word, to do his pleaſure while he performs the whole counſel and purpoſe of GOD.
In the ninth Chapter this glorious Perſon clothed in linnen is the miniſter of mercy, v. 4. employed to go thro' the city and to ſet his mark on the men that ſighed and cried for the Abominations done therein. In this tenth Chapter he appears as the miniſter of GOD's vengeance, as will preſently be ſeen. And theſe two are indeed the ſumm of thoſe Offices which CHRIST executes as Mediator between GOD and man: He effectually ſaves the Elect of GOD from ſin and wrath, and then he executes judgment on all the reſt, who will not be ſaved from ſin by him.
CHRIST appears here in his prieſtly Office, clothed in linnen; for the Prieſts of old were ſo clothed; the white linnen being ſignificant of purity and holineſs; their profeſſion thereof, and their bonds to it. The ſpotleſs holineſs and ſhining righteouſneſs of CHRIST is the thing here repreſented. As we read, Revel. 19.8. The fine linnen is the righteouſneſs of the ſaints. But here the linnen clothing is the righteouſneſs of the Holy JESUS himſelf. He clothes believers in his own righteouſneſs, and makes them prieſts to GOD, and they ſhall walk with him in white.
CHRIST is here a prieſt upon his throne, the judge and the prieſt together. This is the Man, the ſinleſs man, more than a man.
2. This Man is ſpoken to: HE ſpake unto the Man clothed with linnen and ſaid. It is God the Father, the ſupream Majeſty, who here ſpeaks to CHRIST, as his Servant whom he upholds, his Elect in whom his heart delighteth. The voice and words came from the Throne, ſays the firſt verſe. Then I looked (ſays the Prophet) and behold in the firmament that was above the head of the Cherubims, there appeared over them as it were a ſapphire ſtone, as the appearance of the likeneſs of a THRONE; and HE ſpake unto the man clothed in linnen, &c. That is, the enthroned MAJESTY in the heavens, HE ſpake: GOD THE FATHER Almighty he ſpake to his Only begotten Son, the Man CHRIST JESUS. And now
3. Let us hear the things ſaid, and let him that heareth underſtand: Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and ſcatter them over the city.
You muſt know that the day of the deſtruction of Jeruſalem was now at hand, even the burning of the City and Temple by the army of the king of Babylon. Zedekiah was now king of the remnant of Judah, his reign was ſhort and his ruine at hand; and the deſtruction of the city by fire is the thing here repreſented and foretold. Burnt it was by Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, but who did it? why CHRIST the king and judge of the church and of the world. The Man the ordained judge, he goes in between the wheels; for he turns them all, high and dreadful as they are; He fill'd his hands with coals of fire from between the cherubims, for they had profaned his altars and his temple; and then he ſcattered the coals over the defiled city and ſanctuary, which was once Holineſs to the LORD.
It was CHRIST's own hand did it: The flaming brands in the hand of the Chaldeans were the coals in his hand: They did but perform His holy word and will and dreadful pleaſure. They were the ſtaff of his indignation.
Finally obſerve, how readily and fully CHRIST executes the will of the FATHER in them whom he ſaves, and in them that periſh. Has the FATHER ſaid to Him, "Go ſet a mark on ſuch and ſuch to ſave them? He does it: Ezek. 9.11. And the man clothed with linnen reported the matter, ſaying, I have done as thou haſt commanded me. Or doth the FATHER ſay to CHRIST, "Go ſet the city in flames? He does it; The Prophet ſaw him go; He went in (ſays he) in my ſight. See alſo the 6 and 7 verſes.
Now the thing to be remarked is, That the burning coals, the diſpenſation of Judgments, are put into the hand of the Man clothed with linnen, and ſcattered by Him: Which teaches us this Doctrine— "That the preſent Judgments of Providence are put into the hand of CHRIST, and come forth from his hand.
But when I ſay the Judgments of Providence, it can't be meant in excluſion of the diſpenſations of Mercy and Grace; which as they do equally belong to the kingdom of Providence, ſo the adminiſtration of them is equally in the hand of CHRIST. Nor when we ſay that the diſpenſation both of mercy and of judgment is from the hand of the LORD JESUS, can this be underſtood in excluſion of, or derogation from the FATHER and the HOLY GHOST, as if the kingdom of Providence were not always in their glorious hand: For the glorious Perſons in the GODHEAD are one in eſſence and in operation. And altho' there is a ſpecial Mediatorial Kingdom committed to the SON, which takes in the whole Adminiſtration of the kingdom till the conſummation of all things, when the whole myſtery of GOD ſhall be finiſhed; yet the FATHER worketh hitherto in and by the SON, and ſo doth the HOLY GHOST with and from Him; and this in a way of Sovereign dominion. 1 Cor. 12.11. All theſe worketh that one and ſelfſame SPIRIT, dividing to every man ſeverally as He will.
The SPIRIT of GOD is therefore repreſented as guiding all the motions of Providence, together with the SON OF MAN, in the viſions which Ezekiel had of the living creatures and of the wheels, Chap. 1.12, 19, 20. The living creatures (i. e. the Cherubims or Angels, miniſters in the executing of the Divine will) went ſtraight forward whither the SPIRIT directed them; and the wheels (the courſe of nature) followed them: Whitherſoever the SPIRIT went, they went; for the SPIRIT of life (ſo the Hebrew is) was in the wheels. So that we do not exclude the agency, power and ſovereign influence of the HOLY SPIRIT, in the judgments or mercies of Providence, when we ſay that theſe are put, into the hand of CHRIST; For the Man clothed with linnen is in the midſt of the ſame Wheels together with the SPIRIT of life; And while the SPIRIT lifts up the wheels, and the Cherubims act under his immediate direction; lo above the firmament appears the Throne, and the likeneſs of a Man upon it, with a rain-bow over his head, and fire from his loins down-ward. Ezek. 1.27, 28.
Having premiſed this guard on the ſacred Truth before us, I come now to the proof and illuſtration of it, in the plaineſt manner I can. And becauſe it is a Truth known only by Revelation, and capable only of Scripture proof, I ſhall therefore argue
1. from Scripture affirmations,
2. from Viſionary Repreſentations,
3. from Inſtances or Facts related,
4. from other great Doctrines of Chriſtianity which infer the Truth I am upon; ſcil, "That the judgments of Providence are put into the hand of CHRIST, and come forth from his hand.
I. I argue from plain Scripture affirmations. And ſuch I take the following places to be: Pſalm 2. I have ſet my King upon my holy hill of Zion: I will declare the decree; the Lord hath ſaid unto me, Thou art my SON, this day have I begotten thee: Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermoſt parts of the earth for thy poſſeſſion: Thou ſhalt break them with a rod of Iron, thou ſhalt daſh them in pieces like a potters veſſel. Be wiſe now therefore O ye kings, be inſtructed ye judges of the earth: ſerve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling: Kiſs the SON, leſt he be angry and ye periſh from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little: Bleſſed are all they that put their truſt in him. The ſum of this Pſalm is CHRIST's dominion over the kingdoms of men and his judgments on them. In vain do the rulers or people of them take counſel together, and rage againſt the LORD, and againſt his ANOINTED: He ſhall ſpeak to them in his wrath and vex them in his ſore diſpleaſure.
The like to this is the 110. Pſalm: The LORD ſaid to my LORD, ſet thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footſtool: The LORD ſhall ſend the rod of thy ſtrength out of Zion; rule thou in the midſt of thy enemies: — Thou art a prieſt and king for ever, at my right hand, and ſhalt ſtrike thro' kings in the day of thy wrath; ſhalt judge among the heathen, and wound the heads over many countries. Here the judgments of Providence are put into CHRIST's hand, in words as plain and full as can well be utter'd.
At his firſt manifeſtation to Iſrael, John the baptiſt told them that his Fan was in his hand: Matth. 3.12. And He himſelf ſaid to them For judgment am I come. Luke 12.49. I am come to ſend fire upon earth; and what will I if it be already kindled? In what a ſovereign manner is this ſaid? as indeed having the coals of fire in his hand, to ſcatter them where he would. Agreeably he ſaid again, All power is given to me in heaven and on earth. This power muſt take in that of all the preſent judgments of Providence. As he told the Jews, John. 5.22, 27. That the FATHER had committed all judgment to the SON, and given him authority to execute judgment, now and hereafter, becauſe he was the Son of man. The ſame thing is in effect ſaid over and over to the Chriſtian Churches in the ſecond and third Chapters of the Revelations of St. John. All theſe are plain Affirmations that the judgments of Providence are in the hand of CHRIST, and come forth from his hand.
II. We have viſionary Repreſentations of this in the Book of God. My text is ſuch, wherein is repreſented to the Prophet under the form of a Man clothed in linnen with his hands full of burning coals, the burning of Jeruſalem by the power and vengeance of CHRIST. And in the firſt Chapter of this Prophecy we have the ſame Viſion of a Man upon a Throne, over and above the Cherubims and the wheels, with a rain-bow of peace over him, and yet from his loins downward a burning fire. The fire is as much the token of judgment and wrath, as the rain-bow is of grace and mercy: And the MEDIATOR cannot be truly repreſented to us but by both together; being equally glorious in his holineſs and mercy. He is clad with zeal as with a cloke, while he is arrayed in the garments of ſalvation. The fire about the loins of the Son of man is alike ſignificant of his executing judgment, as the coals in his hand.
Nebuchadnezzar ſaw him in the form of a Stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which ſmote the Image of Idolatry and brake it in pieces, and it ſelf became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Dan. 2.44.
Zechariah ſaw a Man riding upon a red horſe, and he ſtood among the myrtle trees which were in the bottom, and behind him a troop or hoſt of horſe, red ſpeckled and white: i. e. Angels the executioners of God's purpoſes, whether in a way of judgment, noted by the red, or in a way of mercy ſignified by the white, or of a mixt nature, noted by the ſpeckled.
But theſe viſionary repreſentations of the Son of man with the judgments of Providence in his hand are more abundant in the Book of the Revelations. So John ſaw him in the midſt of the golden Candleſticks, his feet as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the ſound of many waters, and out of his mouth a ſharp ſword.
In the 19. Chap. of that book, John ſaw a Man upon a white horſe, and in righteouſneſs he doth judge and make war: His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many Crowns, and he was clothed in a veſture dipt in blood, and his Name is called the WORD OF GOD: And the armies in heaven follow him, clothed in fine linnen white and clean, — Lo the livery of CHRIST, which the heavenly hoſts wear, the executioners of his judgments upon men, ſuch as becomes his righteous and ſpotleſs adminiſtration. As He himſelf is clothed with linnen, ſo his armies follow him in fine and white linnen. Did you ever hear of an Army ſo clothed before? an army of Angels and holy ones! of pure and ſpotleſs Spirits, the miniſters of his holy judgments!
III. I come now to give you ſome Scripture Inſtances, or Facts related, in which CHRIST has appeared unto men with the Judgments of Providence in his hand. And I will take theſe ſacred Stories in their order, as they ly in the Book of GOD.
The firſt is the Judgment of GOD on wicked Sodom: With reſpect to which we read of three men (i. e. two Angels attending CHRIST their Lord and ours) who appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, as he ſat in his tent-door, in the heat of the day. Gen. 18.1. Abraham as ſoon as he ſaw them ran to meet them, bowing himſelf to the earth; and perceiving that One of the three appeared much the Superior of the other two, he addreſſed himſelf in a particular manner, and with a more eſpecial reverence to Him, and ſaid, My Lord, If now I have found grace in thy ſight, paſs not I pray thee from thy ſervant. It was this Chief of the heavenly Gueſts that ſaid to Abraham, v. 10. I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life, and Sarah ſhall have a Son: At the hearing of which when Sarah laughed, it is ſaid v. 13. And the LORD ſaid to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh? So that this Perſon was the LORD himſelf, in faſhion as a Man; and the other two were Angels, his ſervants and miniſters, who waited on him in this his deſcent to our earth.
But there was a more ſpecial reaſon of His coming down, and theirs with Him, than this viſit to Acraham; as it preſently appeared. For as Abraham bro't them on their way after their courteous viſit was over, the LORD ſent the two Angels on their way to Sodom, to deliver righteous Lot and to burn up the cities of that polluted plain; But he ſtopt ſhort Himſelf, and told Abraham how great the cry of the ſin of Sodom was before him. Then Abraham ſtood before the LORD, and drew near to him, and made, that moſt awful and reverend Interceſſion for mercy on the wicked place, which will be famous in the Church for ever; And the LORD granted him his petition till he could not preſume to ask further. And then the LORD went his way, and Abraham returned to his place.
The mean while the heavenly Meſſengers reached Sodom, and found as we all know, and the next morning the LORD rained brimſtone and fire from the LORD out of heaven. Gen. 19.24. The Lord the SON rained the fire from the Lord the FATHER, who worketh by the Son. It was not the two Angels that rained the fire; No, It was the LORD who ſtood with Abraham when theſe went on their way. It was the Lord CHRIST, and He did it from the FATHER, who hath committed all judgment to him.
Here now was my Text exemplified in the very letter of it. Thoſe burning coals of fire which were ſcattered over the cities of the valley in Abraham's time, came from the hand of the SON OF GOD, the Man CHRIST JESUS. That fiery judgment and deſolation, the image of the devouring eternal fire and everlaſting burnings, came from thoſe gracious arms which had juſt before embrac'd Abraham, and all his ſpiritual Seed in him. — Go, ſaid the FATHER to Him, go in between the wheels, the high and dreadful wheels of my all-governing Providence, and fill thy hand with fire and brimſtone, and ſcatter it down in a rain of furious flames upon the accurſed cities, and burn them up together: And it was done.
The ſame hand that burnt Sodom, the Alient from his Covenant, did afterward burn Jeruſalem, the holy City.
This inſtance alone is a ſufficient Illuſtration of my text, and a Demonſtration of the Truth before us, That the Judgments of Providence are in CHRIST's hand, and come from Him.
But I come to a ſecond Inſtance, which is the Judgment of GOD upon the wicked Cananites, the Nations which GOD rooted out by fire and ſword before the Children of Iſrael. I might have nam'd the plagues that deſtroyed Egypt; for it was CHRIST who appeared to Moſes in the buſh on fire and ſent him to Pharaoh. But the latter inſtance of his appearance to Joſhua before Jericho may ſuffice, becauſe the viſion which he then had ſufficiently tells us from whoſe hand the deſtructions of Egypt, and all the Judgments on Iſrael in the wilderneſs, had come. For to be ſure the ſame hand that deſtroyed the Cananites executed alſo the other judgments.
Now the ſtory of CHRIST's appearing to Joſhua with the judgments of Providence in is hand, you have in the 5. Chap. v. 13, 14, 15. And it came to paſs when Joſhua was by Jerico, that he lift up his eyes and looked, and behold there ſtood a MAN over againſt him, with his ſword drawn in his hand, and Joſhua went unto him and ſaid, Art thou for us, or for our adverſaries? And He ſaid, Nay, but as Captain of the Hoſt of the Lord am I now come. And Joſhua fell on his face to the earth and did worſhip, and ſaid unto Him, What ſaith my LORD unto his ſervant? And the Captain of the Lord's Hoſt ſaid to Joſhua, Looſe thy ſhoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou ſtandeſt is holy: And Joſhua did ſo.
Here was a Man in form, but more than a man, the mighty SON OF GOD himſelf, who afterward took our fleſh, and took the name of Joſhua, JESUS, a Saviour, the Captain of our ſalvation. He is the Captain of all the Lord's hoſts, in heaven above and on earth below; the King of Iſrael, and Joſhua's Lord. He appeared here with a drawn ſword in his hand, for the defence of his Church and for the ſlaughter of their enemies.
Joſhua fell on his face and worſhipp'd him, as Abraham had done in his day with fear and trembling. And becauſe he permitted this, we know certainly that he was no meer Angel of God; for then he would have forbid it. But this Man in appearance received the profound worſhip of Abraham, and requir'd it from Joſhua, who fell proſtrate before him with awful reverence, faith, love, attention and ready obedience; and ſaid unto Him, What ſaith my LORD unto his ſervant? It became him to fall, and ſay thus, before the LORD OF HOSTS and Him only. Juſt as when GOD called to Moſes out of the buſh, the ſervant hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon GOD.
It was the ſame GOD of Iſrael who now appeared to Joſhua in the form of a Man, and had appeared to Moſes in the form of devouring fire. We know him to be the ſame GOD, becauſe the ſame word of command is given to Joſhua that was before given to Moſes, Put off thy ſhoe from thy foot, for the place whereon thou ſtandeſt is holy.
Doubtleſs as ſoon as Joſhua heard theſe words, he knew that it was the ſame LORD GOD whom his maſter Moſes had ſeen at Horeb; even the GOD of Abraham, of Iſaac and of Jacob. See Exod. 3.4, 5.
But why did He now appear to Joſhua? It was to execute judgment, the wrath of God upon the nations of Canaan, whoſe iniquity was now full. He threw down the wall of Jerico, and commanded it to be burnt with fire. A ſword or a coal in his hand is the ſame thing. He fill'd his hand with judgments, and made Joſhua the dreadful executioner of them upon all the devoted nations of that goodly Country. It is the viſion of the ſame JESUS, Revel. 19.13. with his drawn ſword and veſture dipt in blood, who will hereafter burn the Romiſh Jerico; when all the fowl that fly in the midſt of heaven ſhall be called to the ſupper of the great GOD, to eat the fleſh of Kings and the fleſh of Captains, and of mighty men, and of all men, both bond and free, ſmall and great. Then the Cananites ſhall be a ſecond time rooted out with great fury, and the Church of GOD a ſecond time ſhall enter into reſt, be enlarged and edified. Even ſo LORD JESUS come quickly.