DISCOURSE LXXVII. REPENTANCE THE FORERUNNER OF FAITH. Is. XL. 3, 4, 5. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. * THE design of this prophecy is to speak | are for the healing of the nations. Well peace and comfort to an afflicted church. knowing, that to a soul assured of the promises Not only to the Jewish church under a tem- concerning a Redeemer and a Comforter, poral captivity, but to every Christian church, the argument comes with irresistible forceand every faithful soul, detained in the * He that spared not his own son, but deliverbondage of corruption by the tyranny of ed him up for us all, how shall he not with Satan. The outward and visible calamities him also freely give us all things? He that of the body are but very faint shadows of the redeemed us from death, and brought us back inward and spiritual miseries of the soul. Sin from hell, how shall he not, when he sees is the fruitful parent of both; and therefore, fit, † turn the captivity of his people, and remission of sin the only medicine that can bring us back from Babylon? Then a man truly remove either. As to wordly pleasures first begins to show himself a Christian, when and satisfactions,† miserable comforters are through the power of this faith, he can glory they all to a wounded Spirit.‡ We are never in tribulation. This is the effect of that relisure of them, if they could be of any assis- gion only, which informs us, that § the Lord tance. But alas, if, as they fleet up and of Glory was || a man of sorrows; and that it down through the earth, they do happen to § was part of his first sermon, of whom it was come where we are, they can only show us testified by his enemies, that The spake as their inability to help, by || passing by on the never man spoke-** Blessed are they that other side, and leaving us to bleed to death. mourn, for they shall be comforted. †† ComThe Gospel alone can pour the cleansing T fort ye, therefore, my people, saith your God. wine and the healing oil into our wounds, And if God speaks comfort, who shall speak that can make our ** health to spring forth anything else? Speak ye comfortably to speedily, renewed like the morning, after the Jerusalem, the church of God under her captidarkness of the night. Whenever therefore, vity to sin and Satan, and cry unto her, with tt through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, a voice like a trumpet, that her warfare the whole head is sick, and the whole against principalities and powers, against the heart faint, and the church languishes, and rulers of the darkness of this world, is accomdraws near to the gates of death, those plished; for her champion and deliverer physicians of the most high, the Holy pro- the Lord mighty in battle, has taken unto him phets, always administer the strong cordial of the whole armor of God, and is going forth the sure mercies of David, and apply some in human nature, to set up his standard on of the leaves of that Tree of Life, which Mount Calvary. There, victorious through. sufferings, he shall triumph over principalities and powers, cast out the prince of dark Rom. viii. 21. ** Is. lviii S. ‡‡ Is. i. 5. † Job xvi. 2. § Luke x. 33. Ibid. ver. 34. tt Ps. cvii. 39. Is. lv. 3. & Acts xiii, 34. TT Rev. xxii. 2. VOL. II. 51 ness, and display the cancelled hand-writing | entry of the prince of peace, first in the of the law from the top of his cross. Tell majestic humiliation of his incarnation and Jerusalem therefore, and tell it out with joy, sufferings, then in the Almighty power of that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath re- his Word and Spirit, and lastly, in the treceived of the Lord's hand double, or as it is mendous glory of his Father, with his holy in the original, a covering for all her sins. angels. The prophet having thus described the benefits that should accrue to the church from Christ's coming, on a sudden makes a pause, as if he heard a sound at a distance; and upon listening, and finding it to be that sound, which so many prophets and kings had earnestly desired to hear, and had not heard it, the sound of the Gospel, or word actually made flesh, as they knew he was to be, he breaks out in transport-The voice of one crying in the wilderness. This voice, foretold by the prophet, the thoughts of which so filled his soul, that it then sounded in his ears, was the voice of John the Baptist, the herald appointed to precede the king of kings, the pioneer sent to prepare the way before the captain general of our salvation, at the head of the Israel of God, marching through the wilderness, to the heavenly Canaan. This is put out of dispute by St. Matthew's application of the prophecy in the lesson this morning, which I need not repeat. re Next to the voice, comes the place it was heard in, the wilderness. And what should the voice of a Baptist cry in the wilderness, but that the waters of salvation were broke out there, by whose salutary irrigation the wilderness and the solitary place should be glad for them, and the desert should joice, and blossom as the rose! That by these waters §the Lord would comfort Zion, he would comfort all her waste places, he would make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; that though the grass of this world withereth, and the gay and gaudy flower fades even sooner than it does, yet that Tthose that be planted in the house of the Lord, should flourish for ever in the courts of our God! But before Christ by his Spirit could work this mighty work of **turning the wilderness into a fruitful field, a way must be made in it for his reception. And however low and groveling, through the hardness and blindness of their hearts, the notions men now have of spiritual things may be, the pomp and glory of all the courts in the world put together is but dross and dung, when compared with the infinitely transcending magnificence of the public The word signifiies to double back, or fold one thing over another, so as to hide it from sight. † Luke x. 24. Is. xxxv 1. Is. xl. 7. Is. li. 3. TPs. xcii. 13. **Is. xxxii. 15. Prepare ye therefore the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a high way for our God. *Go through, go through the gates, prepare you the way of the people, cast up, cast up the high way, gather out the stones, lift up a standard for the people; behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of world, say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold, thy Saviour cometh, his reward is with him, and his work before him. The making this high way by repentance and the preparations of the heart in man (which Solomon tells us are from the Lord) displays omnipotence, as much as raising a dead body, or creating the world. Behold, says God in the xliii ch. of this same Gospel prophet Isaiah, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth, I will even make a way in the desert. And how wonderful this work was, will fully appear, if we consider the manner in which it was to be effected, and the different steps to be taken before the work was complete. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. In making a way, if any ground is lower than the rest, it must be levelled; if any be crooked, it must be laid straight and direct; if any be uneven, and full of obstructions, it must be made smooth, by clearing them away. The images are taken from nature, but to doubt of the necessity of explaining them spiritually, would betray an ignorance of the things of God, only to be equalled by that of Nicodemus, who, though a learned man, and a master of Israel, for want of having studied the spiritual sense of the types and natural images in his Bible, seriously put this question to our Lord-Can a man, when he is old, enter a second time into his mother's woinb, and be born? To unveil therefore the prophecy before us, and bring forth from this divine treasury the new things of grace contained in the old things of nature, to draw out the Spirit which giveth life from the letter which killeth, shall be the business of the following discourse, in which I shall take the particulars, and explain them in their order. I. Every valley shall be exalted. As the river's side, fenced from the inroads of the enemy, and refreshed with the river which is full of water, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. Having therefore such great and precious promises, let the soul that lies languishing and desponding in sin, cast down to the lowest regions of death with shame and sorrow, rise on the wings of faith and hope to meet its Redeemer, and joyfully accept the pardon he offers. Let the light of this daystar, by his preaching, open upon it the gates of the morning, and send away the spirits of darkness and despair, informing it for its comfort, that this dejection it complains of is a sure argument of its approaching exaltation, since even Christ, because he humbled himself, therefore God highly exalted him. Because he went down to the valley of the shadow of death, therefore is he set upon the holy hill of Zion. And this all Christians have authority from the text to apply to themselves, and make their own case, for not one only, but every valley shall be exalted. the way St. John was sent to prepare by repentance, was in the hearts of men, this must express some change to be wrought in those hearts. And what does it proclaim, but that humility is the way to glory, and *he that humbleth himself for his sins, shall be exalted by the righteousness of Christ, and reign with him over all things in heaven and earth! †Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Nor can there be a more just as well as beautiful description, than that here given us by a valley, of an humble and lowly mind, that dares not exalt itself to the clouds, or glory in its own self-sufficiency, but conscious of its fall by sin, Thumbles itself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt it. In the lowly valleys of the hearts of his faithful people, God Sopeneth the fountains of his grace, and sendeth the springs of his Holy Spirit. These are the valleys that are, for that reason, Tcovered over with the corn of heaven; and there grows by faith the true **lily of the valleys, to whom ††Solomon in all his II. Every mountain and hill shall be glory is not indeed to be compared. Agree-made low.-As the lowly and fruitful valable to this divine method of painting the things of grace in the colors of nature, speaks the bridegroom in the song of songs I went down into the garden, to see the fruits of the valley, to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded-I went down, from heaven, into the garden, the church, to see the fruits of the valley, the productions of the meek and poor in spirit that compose it, to see whether the vine, the true vine, planted by preaching, and watered with the dew of heaven, flourished, and the pomegranates, the manifold and beautifully diversified graces of holiness, budded, and showed themselves. When we see a church or a fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery soul in this condition, we may understand the full force and spirit of what Balaam said, when from the top of Peor he beheld the glorious prospect of the camp of Israel, the then church militant of Christ, abiding in their tents, §§every man in his own order, with the glory of Jehovah, above the brightness of the sun, over the holy tabernacle in the midst of them. How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys, lowly and verdant, are they spread forth, as gardens by leys represent the meek and pious servants of Christ, so do the lofty and barren mountains point out to us the haughty and unprofitable children of this world that oppose him, and set themselves up **against Jehovah and against his Christ. The showers of God's grace and blessing that fall upon them (for the sendeth his rain on the unjust as well as the just) their stony hearts will not receive and admit; which therefore, upon their rejecting them, are given to those that will, and flow down into the valleys beneath. These are nourished and refreshed by them, while the proud sons of earth, that disdain them, have nothing but indignation, for when the thunder of divine wrath shall be roused, they will be the first it will break forth upon. All these mountains and high places of idolatry and infidelity are to be brought down and levelled, to prepare the way of the Lord, and make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Thus the blessed apostle St. PaulSSThe weapons of our warfare are mighty through God, to the pulling down of strong holds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing, that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into cap to heaven and happiness, which he saw before him, through the earthly sacraments and symbols in the sacred garden of Eden, the same to him that the tabernacle and temple were to the Jews, and the church and sacraments are now to us. Had he kept the eyes of his faith steadily fixed upon it, and walked directly on in the path of God's commandments, he had soon arrived at it. But he listened to the suggestions of the devil, who drew him out of it, tivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. When our Lord declared, *he that humbleth himself shall be exalted, he declared at the same time, he that exalteth himself shall be abased. And his virgin mother joined them in the same manner together in her divine song-†He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and hath exalted them of low degree. This being the spiritual meaning of bringing every mountain and hill low, we may assign the reason why, in most of the prophetical de-pretending to show him a better, pleasanter, scriptions of the advents of Christ, we see the mountains falling before him, because 1 the mighty power and spirit of the Gospel was to overthrow and lay prostrate all the strong towers and fortresses that Satan had built in the hearts of men. Oh that thou wouldest rent the heavens and come down, says the prophet Isaiah, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence. And the §Psalmist prophetically describing this great event, under images taken from the history of old Israel, says-O God when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness, in the high way there prepared, the earth shook, the heavens also dropped, even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel; which shaking, St. ||Paul says, signified the removing of those things which were shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Lastly, the prophet Isaiah in his 1st chap. puts the explanation of this image beyond all doubt, for he speaks of the loftiness of man, and the height of the mountains, as the same thing. The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud, and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low, and upon all the mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and the loftiness of inan shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day -i. e. Christ only, and those who have been humble like him, shall be raised, and all the high towering sons of earth laid for ever low in their original dust. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low. and shorter road, than that appointed, and comes from heaven, but the glorious light] of the sun; the vapors that obscure it arise from earth. The world is the weight so much complained of upon the spirits, with whose cares and enjoyments the soul clogs her wings, and then wonders she cannot ascend singing to heaven. Those who have once got rid of that, can *sing in prison at midnight, such a song, as shall shake the foundations of the prison, open all the doors, and unloose the bands of them that were bound. And yet, how difficult do we find it to rejoice at home in our Father's house, or even to own, that fit is meet we should every one of us make merry and be glad, for this our brother, nay, our own soul, was dead, and is alive again, was lost, and is found! Oh that we should thus requite the exceeding great love of our master and only Saviour, Jesus Christ, thus dying for us, that he might lead us forth by the right way, and go before us himself, as it is written-§I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight. Yea, and all that are his sheep indeed, even now know his voice, and hear him saying unto them, this is the way to glory-**Deny yourselves, take up your cross, and follow me, firmly relying on the eternal truth of my word, that if you are only disposed to renounce your own will, and do mine, you shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God. When the valley of humility and self-dejection is exalted by faith in me, and the mountain of pride and self-sufficiency brought low in your hearts, the crooked shall instantly be made straight before you; as well as IV. The rough places plain.-Which is the last particular, and finishes the whole. For when the low ground is raised, the high levelled, and the whole marked out with a line and made straight, nothing remains but to clear away all obstructions, and make it smooth and plain. Thus in the text before cited out of the lxii. chap. of Isaiah, after the proclamation is made-Cast up the high way, the next words are, gather out the stones, i. e. all the obstructions, and stumbling-blocks, that the devil has thrown in the way of Christians, and make even paths for their feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; and then §§the wayfaring men, though fools in the eye of the world, as we see every one is of course, when he begins to be wise in the sight of God, shall not err therein. God shall so *hold up their goings in the path of life, that their footsteps shall not slide, to cause them to fall, either into voluptuousness, or infidelity, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life. The simple and humble Christian, who has believed his Redeemer to be God, shall see that he is so, by the infinite mercy and love displayed in his salvation; while the profligate sensualist that has blasphemed him, and the learned infidel that has reasoned himself into Arianism, and proved God a creature by metaphysics, shall be dreadfully convinced, that none but omnipotence can inflict the torments they feel. Happy those, who turn not aside after these deceivers, these-I will venture, with an apostle, to call them-these damnable heretics, who deny the Lord that bought them, who either deny that they are bought, or that the person who bought them was the Lord. Thrice happy those, who escape their snares, and follow the steps of the Glory of the Lord, him who is the brightness of his Father's glory, that has been revealed to Israel in the tabernacle of his body, and is gone before his people to the promised land, to take possession for them. Him let all flesh behold, on him let every man fix the eyes of his faith. And a more magnificent view of him than is drawn by the prophet in the description now explained, cannot be conceived. imagine we see an high way made through the wilderness of the world, the prospect terminated by the heavenly Jerusalem. On each side of this way, the whole race of mankind, all the fallen sons of fallen Adam assembled, impatiently waiting to see him, who is §the desire of all nations, pass along it to his celestial palace. pected hour is now come, the glory of Jehovah is revealed from heaven, and makes his entrance upon it. in human nature; walks steadfast and upright along it, overcoming all the opposition he meets with from the world, the flesh, and the devil, who endeavor, but in vain, to pervert his steps. For a while we lose sight of him, descending to the valley of the shadow of death, until finally triumphant over death and the grave, we behold him ascending the true Mount Zion in the Jerusalem which is above, and send our acclamations before him, claiming a right of entrance, and requiring the doors to be thrown open for his reception into the temple of God in heaven -Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be * Ps. xvii. 5. 2 Pet. ii. 1. Let us The long ex † 1 John, ii. 16. |