THE EXTENT OF THE ATONEMENT
IN ITS
RELATION TO GOD AND THE UNIVERSE.
By the
REV. THOMAS W. JENKYN, D.
D. Including Sections 1 thru 3 ON THE ATONEMENT IN ITS RELATION TO
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE Holy Spirit has been exercising a distinct and
individual agency in every dispensation of moral government,
and the whole exercise of this agency is what I mean by the
work of the Holy Spirit. As the Father, so the Holy Spirit,
exercises no agency but in connection with the great
atonement of the Son. The Father has given all things
mediatorily to the Son, and of these the Holy Spirit takes,
in the exercise of his agency. THE PERSONAL AGENCY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
IN CONNECTION WITH THE ATONEMENT. I. The Holy Spirit has made the doctrine of atonement the
cardinal and principal subject of divine revelation. The primary revelation, immediately after the fall,
announcing that "the Seed of the woman should bruise the
serpent's head," contained the great elements, and the
living germs, of this great doctrine, and foretold a
gracious deliverance from evil, to be effected through
mediatorial interposition and sufferings. All the future and
progressive influences of the Spirit only unfolded, and more
fully developed, the power and beauty of this first truth.
The whole Scriptures are the history of the development of
this doctrine, that, "in all things the atonement might have
the preeminence." The atonement is the sum of every message
from God to man, and the spirit of every promise, the mark
of every prediction, the substance of every ceremony, the
burden of every psalm and spiritual song. In every age, good men become great, in proportion to
their growth in the knowledge of the doctrine of salvation
by a Mediator. I might mention Abel and Noah, Job and
Abraham, men who knew that their Redeemer lived, and who
became great as they had clear views of salvation by ransom,
and thus "saw the day of Christ." Moses was great, as God's
messenger to the Israelites, to expound to them the way of
acceptance with God through a sacrificial Victim. Among the
constellation of the prophets, Isaiah shines a star of the
first magnitude, pointing directly to Bethlehem, more than
any others of his age. I am often ravished with the vision
of Malachi, who, with an eagle's gaze, beheld a beautiful
and glorious system of righteousness and good-will, in the
midst of which he saw the Mediator, as the centre of harmony
to the whole--the SUN of the glorious system. Clearer views of the atonement made John greater than all
the prophets that preceded him. They had seen victims that
brought sin to remembrance every year, and they had
predicted a Victim to come; but he pointed to "the Lamb of
God that taketh away the sin of the world." The apostles
themselves grew in their knowledge of this doctrine, after
the effusion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Before
this day Peter scarcely understood it, especially not when
he said to Christ, "Far be this from thee, Lord." But after
receiving the Holy Ghost, he preached this doctrine clearly
and powerfully, and, taking his stand on the broad basis of
the atonement, he directed all to believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ for salvation. It is in the knowledge of this
doctrine that the apostle Paul appears transcendently great.
So great was his admiration of this stupendous doctrine, in
its length, and breadth, and height, and depth, that he
counted all things but loss and dung for the excellency of
the knowledge of it, and made the cross of Christ his only
boast and glory. All these good men attained to this greatness through the
influences of the Spirit, whose work has always been to
glorify the person and the atonement of Jesus Christ. All
his work is connected with the atonement. All that the holy
men of God have spoken concerning it, is ascribed to his
inspiration. The gospel of the atonement is peculiarly the
ministration of the Spirit. Ministerial gifts for expounding
and exhibiting the atonement, are at the disposal of the
Holy Spirit; and the rejection of the atonement is branded
as speaking and acting against the Holy Ghost. These, and
such considerations, show of what importance the atonement
is held among the doctrines of divine revelation, 1 Pet. i.
10-12. II. In the arrangements of this great scheme, the work
was assigned to the Holy Spirit of forming the character of
the Mediator, that he might be a fit person to make
atonement. It is not meant here to refer to the divine character of
the Mediator, but to the character of his mediatorial
person, as God and man, or the Word made flesh. Suppose the
question to be asked in heaven, "Who will be suitable to
make this atonement?" The reply would be, "Not one of the
rebels, for that would savor of rebellion--the person must
be perfect in the sight of God, and yet a friend to
sinners." None but the "JUST" could be admitted to die for
the unjust. An intercessor or advocate for sinners, must
have a relative worthiness of his own to plead; and such has
"Jesus Christ, the righteous." The formation of this
worthiness of mediatorial character in the person of Christ
is ascribed to the Holy Spirit, Isa. xi. 1-5, lxi. 1-3. When the Holy Spirit is said to have been given to
Christ, I understand that the peculiar attributes ascribable
to the Third Person in the Blessed Trinity were made to
assemble and appear in the character of the Son. In the
scriptural revelation of the mediatorial economy, there is a
perceivable individuality of character ascribable to the
Father, which is not to the Son; and to the Holy Spirit,
which is not to either. When Christ appears in majesty and
glory, authority and goodness, he is "the express image of
the person" of the Father. When he appears in knowledge and
wisdom, truth and holiness, grace and kindness he is "the
express image of the person" of the Comforter. The formation of the character of this mediatorial
personage is the greatest work of the Holy Spirit. It is
greater than forming the character of holy men. It is a work
unique in the universe. As there is no person like Christ,
embodying in himself all the gradations of existence in the
universe, so there is no character like his, embracing the
graces of all intelligences. To form this character,
therefore, is a work of more grandeur and glory, than the
sanctification of a sinner. It will give greater glory to
the Holy Spirit than any and all of his other works. All
intelligences will know with admiration, that it was through
the Eternal Spirit that Christ offered himself without spot
to God. III. The doctrine of the atonement is the great means
which the Holy Spirit employs in his administrations in the
world. It is by his agency that the benefits of the atonement
are applied to the salvation of sinners. This application by
the Holy Spirit is as necessary to salvation, as the
atonement of the Son, and the love of the Father. Without
the sovereign good-will of the Father, salvation would not
have been contemplated: without the atonement of the Son,
salvation would not have been honorable to the divine
government: and without the influences of the Spirit, it
will never be actually effected. "It is convenient for you"
the Lord says, "that I go away; for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you.--When he is come, he will
convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment.
He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall
show it unto you." John xvi.7-14. If Christ had not "gone away" to suffering and death, to
Gethsemane and Calvary, the influences of the Comforter had
not come unto us; nor would he have been supplied with solid
and honorable grounds for comforting us. The atonement of
"Christ crucified," is the great doctrine employed by the
Spirit to prove the glory of Christ, and to win the
revolters of our world to allegiance and obedience. "He
shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." "He will
go to Bethlehem and Calvary, and take of mine--he will take
the history of my undertaking, and explain the principles of
my atonement; and will convince the world, and lead you unto
all truth." This doctrine is "the sword of the Spirit,"
which he delights to wield. This will open the heart, when
the lightnings of Sinai, and the flaming sword of the
cherubim, shall have failed. This is the doctrine which the
Holy Spirit delights to honor, as has been proved in the
experience of thousands of God's witnesses in the history of
churches, and congregations, and in the narratives of
missionary labors. If Christ be lifted up, and his atonement
openly exhibited, sinners will be drawn and captivated; but
on every church, and on every religious institution, that
will not honor the atonement, the Holy Spirit fixes the
stigma or "Ichabod," the glory is departed. IV. To secure and honor the designs of the atonement is
the great end and aim of the administrations of the
Spirit. The great aim of the Holy Spirit in all his operations,
is to bring sinners to use the atonement as a medium of
access to God, and to plead it as a ground of pardon. "He
shall glorify me," that is, "my atonement shall be magnified
and made honorable in the sight of the world, by his
agency." All the work of the Holy Spirit tends to bring men
to think highly of Christ, and of his atonement. He will
never take of the things of Christ, to give men low and
degrading thoughts of them. If any have low thoughts of
Christ, and his atonement, let them not be ascribed to the
Holy Spirit, whose work it is to glorify Christ; "for every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the
flesh," that is, is become incarnate, "is not of God." Under the gospel dispensation the Holy Spirit argues the
cause and pleads the claims of Jesus Christ to all the
honors which he has received in heaven, and to all the
obedience he demands on earth. Of these things he will
convince the world. There has been a controversy between God
and the world. The world was placed under moral government,
and against this government the world has rebelled;
nevertheless God continues to enforce his claims, and still
men oppose and refuse them. This controversy is of long
standing, and is still pending; and the Holy Spirit is the
agent sent to the world by the Father and the Son to argue
the case, and to decide the controversy. When this advocate,
this Arguer, will come, he will make the world see what it
never saw before; he will convince the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment. In whatever way the Spirit comes, whether by the word, or
by miracles, or by gracious influences on the heart, his aim
is to promote the ends of the atonement, in the condemnation
of sin, and the salvation of sinners. The WORD gives clear
views of the evil of sin, and brands unbelief as the
blackest rebellion against Christ. It reveals the glories of
Christ, and claims the highest honers as due to him. It
unmasks the malignity of Satan, and threatens eternal
destruction to all his allies. MIRACLES have never favored
sin, but have demonstrated and aggravated its daring
hardihood. They were wrought in the name of Christ, and
confirmed his testimony against the world. They have
exhibited him who had the power of death, as conquered, and
have showed all things as subservient to the gospel. His
gracious INFLUENCES always destroy sin, honor the
righteousness of the Saviour, and vindicate the eternal
condemnation of all who rebel against God. Whatever be the topic on which the blessed advocate
argues, whatever be the manner of his operations, he never
loses sight of the atonement of the Son of God. In whatever
light we contemplate his character, whether as Arguer or
Sanctifier, Guide or Comforter, Earnest or Seal, the
atonement is connected with the whole of his offices and
ministration. In all things he is "the Spirit of Christ." He
does not build but where the atonement has prepared the
foundation; he does not cleanse, but in the laver of the
atonement; he does not plead, but where the atonement
furnishes an argument; nor does he guide, but where the
atonement has opened a way. THE INFLUENCES OF THE SPIRIT RENDERED
ACCESSIBLE TO ALL BY THE ATONEMENT I. The influences of the Spirit are exhibited in the
Scriptures, as exactly adapted to meet the case of
sinners. When we see, in the whole government of God, that "one
thing is set over against another," we judge rightly when we
conclude that one is designed for the other. The Scripture describes the state of man as requiring
these influences of the Spirit. "The natural man discerneth
not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned." "The carnal
mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be." "No man can come unto me except
the Father draw him." These passages do not mean that the
powers of man are insufficient for the designs of probation,
and for the discharge of duties--but that the fact will turn
out, that they never will be exercised in discharging duties
without divine influences. They teach that man's opposition
to God, and indisposition to what is good, are so inveterate
and perverse, that nothing will conquer them, but the
influences of the Spirit. Man is darkness, and darkness can,
by no process, produce light; he is dead, and the dead
cannot quicken himself; the state of his mind is enmity
against God, and enmity can never work itself into love. A
foreign influence is necessary to produce a change: and the
means of Light, of Life, and of Peace must come from God,
for they will never come from man. Divine influences are exhibited as fitted to meet such a
case of perverse inefficiency. "I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of
flesh; and I will put my spirit within you, and CAUSE you to
walk in my statutes," Ezek. xxxvi. 27. If any person were to
exhibit to you bread when you are hungry, medicine when you
are ill, pardon when you are condemned, liberty when you are
in bondage, you would reasonably conclude from their fitness
to you, that you may obtain them, that they are all
accessible to you. II. The Scriptures declare that God, for Christ's sake,
is disposed and ready to distribute most bountifully every
blessing that a sinner needs for his salvation. One evangelist speaks of the readiness of God to give us
"good things;" and another says, "If ye being evil, know how
to give good things to your children, how much more will
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him." Man needs this Holy Spirit, and God expresses himself
ready to supply his need. The rich and copious abundance of
the influences provided, show with what pleasure he will
grant them. You need a supply that is infinite and
uninterrupted--and here it is. God said to Abraham, "Walk
before me and be perfect." Well might he have said, "Who is
sufficient for these things?" God said, "I am God
ALL-SUFFICIENT." Faith bowed its assent, and said, "That is
enough." So for you, it has pleased the Father, that in
Christ all fullness should dwell in a cistern low enough for
you to reach, and capacious enough to satisfy all your
wants. Here, then, is an all-sufficient treasury, an undecaying
plentitude of influences. Here is a spring unexhausted and
inexhaustible, an undrained fountain, whose fullness is
never diminished by the largest communications. "My God will
supply all your need by Christ Jesus," was the language of
Paul, who had drawn largely upon this resource. The copiousness of the provision of divine influences is
a proof that they are accessible, otherwise the full and
public exhibition of them would be a vain parade. See in
nature and providence, the light that you have is more than
you can appropriate, the time given to you is more than you
can employ, and the health you have is much more than you
improve. Why is this? It is to give you a hint of the bounty
and liberality of God in diffusing all his blessings. Will
he who is thus profuse in providence be slack and niggardly
in gracious influences? "Is the Spirit of the Lord
straitened?" No, answers the apostle, "ye are straitened in
yourselves." The incapacity for more, and the reluctance for
more, is in you. Oh, what influences you have neglected, or
abused, or thrown away! Where is the man who has improved
all the suggestions of the Spirit? No hearer of the gospel
can ever persuade himself that he perishes because divine
influences are not accessible to him. III. God has established a system of means to enable
sinners to participate in the influences of the Spirit. If we wish for the divine blessing or the divine
influences for the growth of a plant, or for the support of
our life, we know well that there are certain means
established for securing them, and that it would be sheer
madness to expect the influences without the use of such
means. The establishment of such means proves that the
necessary influences are accessible and attainable if we
really wish for them. Gracious influences are also communicated in a stated
course, not arbitrarily or capriciously, either as to time,
manner, or degree. I would not say that God has bound and
limited himself to this stated course; what I mean is, that
he Will NEVER fail this arrangement. The Holy Spirit has
been pleased to pledge his blessings to certain rules, and
this neither diminishes the grace nor destroys the freedom
of them, any more than in natural influences. The blessings
which descend on the labors of the farmer or a physician do
not lose their grace and freedom because they are conveyed
in a stated course. The establishment of an aqueduct proves
that a supply of water is intended, and that of a pump that
water is to be had; so the establishment of "means of
grace," i. e., means containing grace, proves that grace is
obtainable. These means must be used. No man will become religious as
a stone gets warm in sunshine, or wet in a shower of rain.
He must be an Agent as well as a subject. He must use the
appointed means. The connecting link between divine
influences and human agency is hid in the hand of God, but
he has revealed enough to show us that, according to his
arrangement of the universe, he cannot convert a man unless
that man exercise his own agency. When "cannot" is ascribed
to God, of course, it is meant that such a thing cannot come
to pass without changing the course of nature. For instance,
as we find the world, he cannot make a man live, unless he
breathe, or see, unless he open his eyes. In the like manner
he cannot effect faith unless the sinner himself believes,
or repentance unless the sinner himself repents. If this be
disputed, the disputer must show that in the production of
faith and of repentance it is God himself that believes and
repents, and not the sinner. In all the arrangements of
gracious influences, the agency of man only reaches the
means. It is the divine influence that effects the entire
product in the mind, and there meets the Divine influence.
Isa. lxiv. 5. IV. Men are commanded to live under the influence of the
Spirit. This then I say, "Walk ye in the Spirit." It is utterly
unreasonable to command a man to walk in sunshine at
midnight; therefore the commands of a just God that men
should walk in the Spirit, suppose that the influences of
the Spirit are accessible to them. "While ye have light,
believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light."
Here the light is declared to be accessible, even to those
who were walking in darkness. The command, "Walk ye in the
Spirit" is urged with all seriousness and authority. A
command, thus given, and thus pressed, supposes that the
influences of the Spirit shall go forth, as necessary to the
persons thus concerned. Indeed, divine influences are used
as a reason to urge upon men the great duty of using their
agency in holy exertions. "Work out your salvation with fear
and trembling, FOR God worketh in you to will and to do of
his good pleasure." The argument is, work, for God works;
use your agency, for God is using his; labor in your
salvation while divine influences may be obtained. Work OUT
that which God works IN YOU. V. Men are blamed for not possessing the influences of
the Spirit. Jude mentions some characters with deserved reprehension
and blame, as "not having the Spirit." My reader may have
thought himself, ere now, blamable for many things, but
never yet thought himself blamable for "not having the
Spirit." This is, evidently, charged upon these characters
as a blame, a crime, a reproach. Yet they were not
blameworthy if the influences of the Spirit were not
accessible to them, but arbitrarily suspended, or
capriciously withdrawn. The sluggishness and the inactivity
of man is always charged upon himself; and if these
influences were not accessible to him, to be without them
would be his misfortune rather than his crime, and he would
be an object of pity rather than of blame. God, both for his
own glory, and for the other ends of probation, has not left
the matter so, as that man may say, "I did not obey, it is
true; but it is not my fault, for the influences necessary
to obedience were not to be obtained, or they were
arbitrarily withdrawn and held back; and therefore, I could
not help it." VI. The most ample encouragements are given to prayer for
obtaining divine influences. It would be the height of unreasonableness and mockery to
teach men to pray for an incommunicable, and an ungrantable
thing. If man is taught by God to ask for a thing, it is an
assurance that that thing is of great concernment to him,
and is certainly obtainable by him. Prayer for the influences of the Spirit is encouraged
from the nature of God, Luke xi. 13. God will give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him, as readily and promptly as
parents give bread to their children. There are, indeed,
fathers who have not a father's love, but this unnaturalness
belongs not to our heavenly Father. He pities us as a father
pitieth his children: and pity in him is pity in eternal and
inexhaustible plenitude. He is invariably "plenteous in
mercy." Suppose a child had to undertake a business, or a
trade, at the request of his father, he would say, "I know
my father--if I attend to my business, all needful supplies
will be forthcoming--I shall not fail or break, for he has
promised to supply me in every time of need." We know that a
father, if he were able, would not fail such a son. Thus
should every man argue, and feel persuaded, that in prayer
and the use of means, the "supply of the Spirit" shall not
be lacking. God has given many exceeding great and precious promises,
that he will supply all our need. "The Spirit" is the
foremost promise of the New Testament, and it is thus made
prominent, because if this be fulfilled, all the others will
follow. All these are "yea and amen in Christ to the glory
of God," because the "God that cannot lie," has confirmed
them by an OATH, that we might have strong consolation. All
such solemn declarations would be vain pompousness, if these
strong consolations were not truly accessible to us. VII. The Scriptures represent the influences of the
Spirit as much accessible to every sinner, as is the
atonement of the Son." We have seen that the atonement makes the salvation of
all men possible, and that it is the duty of every man to
believe that the death of Christ is available for his soul
in propria persona. The same train of argument might be
successfully used, as to the relation of man to the
influences of the Spirit, for an accessible remedy supposes
the cure accessible, and an accessible city of refuge
supposed the safety accessible. The atonement of Christ is the medium and the honorable
ground for dispensing and communicating the influences of
the Spirit. Gracious influences, like all sovereign favors,
come to the sinner through the blood of Jesus Christ. The
Lord Jesus himself dispenses these influences by an
authority founded on his atonement. "If I depart, I WILL
SEND him to you." He fulfilled this promise most signally on
the day of Pentecost. He then showed that he had received
gifts for men, and he issued them forth in such wide-spread
largesses, and so soon after his departure, that the world
might see the connection between them and his death and
ascension. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF DIVINE INFLUENCES
FOUNDED ON THE WORTH OF THE
ATONEMENT. By "Divine Influence" I mean that power which is the
CAUSE, where Conversion is the EFFECT. Conversion is
produced through the instrumentality of means, but not by
them as such. There is a power anterior to the means, and
superior to the means;--but, in the production of conversion
as an effect, it works in and by the means, and thus becomes
the original and the true cause of conversion. When "Sovereignty" is ascribed to this Divine Influence,
the word is not meant in the sense of arbitrary and
capricious. It is strictly "sovereign:"--simply on the
ground that God was not required in justice to exercise it
in moral or spiritual causation--and also on the ground that
sinful man had no claim to it. The eternal arrangement for the introduction of its
agency was arbitrary, and depended solely on the sovereign
pleasure of God. In this sense, therefore, its "sovereignty"
was perfectly arbitrary. But, as we have seen under the
second section of this chapter, this influence is now
exercised in a stated course, and according to fixed and
certain rules. Their original arrangement and introduction
were purely sovereign and arbitrary, according to the good
pleasure of God's will; but now their exercise and
manifestations are regulated and secured by fixed laws, for
they have been made matters of promise. They are, for
instance, promised to prayer, for our Father who is in
heaven will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. They
are, in fact, promised to any applicant, and to every comer,
for the rule of their communication is, "Whosoever will, let
him come and take of the water of life." I. It is an awful fact, that unless God exercise his
gracious influences on the hearts of men, not one of the
human race will ever take of the benefits of the atonement,
and consequently no flesh would be saved. The Doctrine of Christ is--"No man can come unto me,
unless my Father draw him." This drawing of the Father is
not a physical operation, but a moral process. His method of
drawing is by the powerful and attractive Truths which he
exhibits concerning his Son. Where these Truths are not
present, as among the heathen, and among people ignorant or
negligent of the gospel, there can be no drawing to Christ.
Until, therefore, these truths are made known, no man can
come to Christ, because nothing but the gospel is the power
of God to save them. Wherever the gospel is faithfully
preached, there God is actually drawing by the attractions
of the Cross, and by the strivings of his Holy Spirit.
Hence, when the hearers of the gospel remain notwithstanding
unconverted, their non-conversion is owing, not to the
deficiency of the means, nor to the absence of saving power,
but to the persistence with which they resist the Holy
Ghost. In the opening of the heart, Christ is the first to
"stand at the door and knock." If any man open the door to
give him admission to the heart, the result is due, not to
the man that opened, but unto Him who first knocked. Men slight and neglect the atonement not because they
have no power or ability to avail themselves of it, but
simply because they have no inclination or disposition to
make any use of it. They cannot choose death without
possessing, and exercising the very powers that would enable
them to choose life. It is a most grievous error to suppose
that unless divine grace dispose these powers aright, man is
not accountable and blamable for exercising them wrong.
Divine influences are not in the list of the elements of
human accountableness. The justice of God has supplied man
with grounds sufficiently firm and broad to hold him
accountable without divine grace. Man ought to do his duty,
to love God, believe in Christ, obey his word, whether he
have grace or not. If "not having the grace of God" is a
good plea for not doing one's duty--the less a man has of
the grace of God, the less is he obliged to obey God; that
is, the more wicked a man is, the less and less is it his
duty to be good; the less thankful a child might be to his
parents for distinguished favors, the less it is his duty to
thank them. Besides, the very man that tries to palm this
plea as an excuse with God, will never allow it to avail
with himself from his fellow-man. Suppose his child or
apprentice to say to him as an excuse for neglecting his
commands, "If I had the grace to obey you, I would; but as I
suspect that God has not given me grace to obey you, I hope
you will excuse me." Suppose again, a man who refuses to pay
him a sum of money that is due, to say, "If I had grace to
be honest and upright I would be so, but as God has not
given me grace to do so, have me excused." This very man who
puts off the claims of God with such a flimsy plea, would
spurn all such excuses, and would treat him according to his
ability to do right, and would actually make his want of
disposition to be honest, an aggravation of his offence. The
whole Scriptures declare that God will judge mankind on the
same principles. All mankind are, of themselves, so opposed to the designs
of the mediation of Christ, and so inclined and disposed to
persevere in sin, that until they are affected by divine
influences in their own personal case, not one of all the
human race will be saved. Yet their rejection of salvation,
or in other words, their refusing to be saved, is solemnly
pronounced by God to be a conduct criminal, blamable, and
condemnable. That without divine influences mankind would let the
atonement sustain a total and eternal failure, may be proved
from the nature of the case--from facts in the past history
of man--from the doctrine of the Scripture concerning divine
influences-and from the impossibility of accounting for the
conversion of a sinner on any other principle. It is in the physical and moral constitution of the
nature of man, that what he is unwilling to do, he never
will do. Hence the Scriptures speak of that which a man is
unwilling to do as a thing impossible to come to pass. When
Christ charges the Jews with this unwillingness, he
represents their coming to him as impossible. "Ye will not
come to me that ye might have life," for "how can ye believe
which receive honor one from another;" "no man can come unto
me unless my Father draw him." When we say that a kind
father never can murder his own child, or never will murder
it, our meaning is, that such an event will never come to
pass. We do not mean that the thing is physically impossible
in itself. So when we say that no sinner will, of himself,
come to Christ, we do not mean that he has not the mental
power to come, but that such an event will never
transpire--for the enmity of the human heart against God
never will change itself to friendship. If, therefore, the
change take place, it must be by an influence foreign to
man's original faculties; and yet an influence with which
these faculties must coincide and cooperate. This statement of the case of man is corroborated by an
unbroken chain of facts in the history of mankind. The ages
and generations gone by, do not furnish one instance of a
man who has ascribed his conversion from sin to his own
agency and goodness of heart. All such persons recorded in
the Scriptures plainly declare, that it is God that made
them to differ; and the theme of their song in heaven is,
"not unto us, 0 Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give
glory." The cases are innumerable in which the best means
have teen tried and exhibited in vain, though they were
means adapted, and intended, and adequate to succeed with
men. Witness the ministry of Noah, of Moses in the
wilderness, of Isaiah, and of the Saviour himself. These
means, though they were verily means of grace, did not
profit them to whom they were exhibited; not because the
word was not "able to save," but because it was not
credited, "it was not mixed with faith in them who heard
it." Heb. iv. 2. But to them who believed, to them who
partook of the grace of the means, to them, through the
divine influence in the means, POWER was given to become the
sons of God. The success, therefore, which was productive of
such infinite good, cannot be ascribed to the exercise of
the human will in believing, but to the demonstration of the
Spirit and of power, in the means of grace. The Holy Scriptures invariably ascribe the success of
means and instruments to divine influences. Their language
is, "It is God that worketh in you to will and to do." "We
are His workmanship in Christ," "You hath He quickened,"
etc. All the instances of conversion mentioned in the
Scriptures are ascribed to God, e. g., those of Zaccheus,
Paul, Lydia, etc. The Bible also teaches us that prayer to
God for the exercise of divine influence is one means of
obtaining success. If man change himself, it is to man the
prayer ought to be made, and not to God. To address a prayer
to God for the conversion of any man, is an acknowledgment
that such a conversion is to be effected by his grace and
Spirit. On any other principle than the gracious communication of
divine influences, it is impossible to account for the
conversion of man. The theory of "common grace" will not
account for it, for it leaves the question behind it, "How
comes one man more than another to make a right use of this
"common grace." The self-determining power of the will, will
not account for it, for the will of man cannot alter the
character of the means of grace, though it may be influenced
by the force of those means. To think that conversion is an
accident that happened by chance, is an insult to a wise God
that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,
and is the efficient cause of every good thing in the
universe. God alone changes the heart. II. God has an independent right to exercise divine
influences in what degree, and on whomsoever, he pleases,
according to the counsel of his own will, and the
arrangements of his own wisdom. In all the disputes against the exercise of this
sovereignty in the arrangements for man's salvation, the
condition and character of mankind as condemned criminals
worthy of death, are always forgotten. At the bottom of
every reasoning against the sovereign dispensation of divine
favor, there always lurks a supposition that man has some
claim upon his Maker; and on such data time will never see
an end to the dispute. Upon the supposition that everyman is unworthy of any
favor from God, the question in dispute is very simple. It
is this--"Has God a right to show a kindness to any person
that does not deserve it?" Probably there is not a man on
the earth that will deny that God has such a right; most
assuredly there is not a man that would consent to abide by
such a denial, that God should show him no more favor than
he deserved. Captious cavillers, who forget their condemned
character, will still dispute, "Is it just that such a right
should be exercised?" This objection supposes such a right
to belong to God, but doubts its justice when exercised.
This objection is the shell of a theological monstrosity
unparalleled in hideousness. It supposes that God will
exercise his right in a wrong manner. It is worse, for it
supposes that God's right to confer benefits on the
undeserving is A RIGHT TO DO WRONG. The disputant supposes
that it is wrong in God to confer favors upon any of his
creatures beyond their due, and in the whole argument
forgets, that he himself is a condemned, and undeserving
character. Take an illustration of this. Suppose Newgate, or any
other prison, to be thronged with criminals under sentence
of death, and regarded by all honest men as justly
condemned. It is known in the Constitution of the realm,
that the king has the prerogative of reprieving and
pardoning any criminal he pleases. The actual exercise of
this prerogative to pardon has no injurious aspect upon the
condition of the condemned criminals. Rather, the existence
and exercise of such a prerogative is pure and entire good.
It is not a prerogative to inflict tortures on them, but its
very design and aspect is to confer good. Suppose such a
prerogative not to exist--the exclusion of it would not
improve the condition or better the prospect of any one
criminal. You therefore get no accession of good by
excluding the king's prerogative. But allow it to be
introduced, and you immediately secure a splendid amount of
good. Suppose the king, in the exercise of his prerogative,
to pardon any number out of them, who will ask him for it as
"an act of grace," and you gain so much good. Will the
gaining of so much good be really a wrong to the rest, who
will not consent to ask him? Try to answer these questions.
"How does this good wrong them? Does it make their case
worse? Does anything befall them, after all, worse than what
was justly due to them? Would they have been better off, had
there been no prerogative exercised?" Your conscience will not answer these questions in the
affirmative, but your heart says, "I should not LIKE the
king to save other offenders and pass by ME." Yes, that is
the real truth, that is an accurate statement of the case.
All your opposition to the exercise of divine sovereignty
proceeds from what is implied in the little word "ME." And
yet, why not you? Have you not deserved to die? Have you any
claims upon this prerogative? Is God not to exercise his
prerogative, because you do not LIKE others to have more
benefits than you? Examine yourself, and you will discover
that it is only when you do not consider yourself as a
criminal condemned, that you quarrel with the exercise of
God's sovereign prerogative. God is perfectly independent of the whole universe, and
all-sufficient for his own happiness and glory. It is the
glory of his nature and of his character, that all the good
in the universe is the product of his own good pleasure, and
that he works and produces good freely, without constraint,
and without necessity. His grace is free, unbiased and
uninfluenced. He can give or withhold his favors without any
impeachment of his character. He can confer his benefits,
when, how, and on whom he pleases. God always claims to
himself the free exercise of his sovereign right, to have
mercy on whom he will have mercy. He could neither see, nor
foresee, any good in man that should induce or deserve this
exercise of sovereignty, for God hath chosen men unto
obedience, and not for obedience; and that they might be
holy, and not because they were so. If he exercised this
prerogative in consequence of any previous good in man, his
grace would be turned into distributive justice, salvation
would be of works, and boasting would not be excluded. If
God exercises no sovereign prerogative, but only acts
according to previous conditions in man, then the glory of
his grace would depend on the capricious will of man, and he
would be doing and working nothing for the reason that it
was the good pleasure of his will. The Scriptures assure us
that this sovereignty is exercised not according to works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to God's own
counsel and good-will. III. The atonement is an honorable ground for the
exercise of sovereignty in the special communications of
divine influences, to them who believe. The whole mediatorial work of Jesus Christ is so worthy
and so meritorious that it deserves that measures should be
taken to ensure it from entire failure. It is not to be
expected, in the administration of moral government, that
God should give us an account of his sovereign measures, or
to supply us with direct reasons for the discriminating
specialty that is visible in the communication of divine
influences. It is enough for us, that is, it is enough for
all the ends of our accountableness, to be assured, that God
is under no more obligations to provide divine influences
for us, than he was to provide an atonement for us. But
having made the provision, and settled the arrangement, it
is announced that as the benefits of the atonement are
available to all applicants, so the supply of the Spirit is
accessible to all who "ask" it. Nevertheless God has condescended to "set forth" the
infinite dignity and transcendent worthiness of the
atonement, as supplying an honorable ground, and a just
vindication, for the appointment of specialty in divine
influences. The atonement is a measure of such ineffable
worth, that it inherently deserves that its ends should be
accomplished; and that it should not be, like other measures
and expedients in divine government, liable to entire
failure. To this splendid expedient God has, through the
church, called the attention of principalities and Powers in
heavenly places; and all these Intelligences watch the
movements of this measure, and diligently observe its
bearings on the interests of the universe. If, then, a
measure of such grandeur and dignity entirely fall., the
universe may, in amazement, ask the Creator, "What wilt thou
do to thy great name?" The entire failure of the Eden dispensation would have
clouded the divine character, had it not been rescued by the
introduction of a compensative atonement. The entire failure
of the Sinai experiment would have reflected dishonor on the
divine glory, but it was redeemed by the establishment of a
"better Hope." But if the atonement itself ENTIRELY fail,
what shall then vindicate the honor of the wisdom, and
power, and grace of God? How awfully disastrous will be the
upshot of moral government! It would shatter every world in
the empire of God, and stun all intelligences "in all the
places of his dominion." The disastrous upshot would not have been effectually
prevented by leaving the atonement entirely to the liberty
of free agents; for in such hands the failure would be
entire and total. The arrangement of its success, therefore,
is entrusted to the sovereignty of divine grace, and not to
the sovereignty of human capriciousness. This arrangement
makes the measure of success certain to him that believes.
"It is of faith, that it might be Of GRACE, that the promise
may be SURE to all the seed." All who believe the doctrine of divine influences take it
for granted, that the atonement is capable of entire
failure, for they assert that the blood of Christ will save
none unless the Spirit convey its efficacy. This is the very
thing we are now pleading for. Nothing can prevent this
entire failure but the determination of God to exercise
saving influences, to make some men differ from others, and
to Give unto them, for the sake of Christ, to believe in
him. And God's great defence against the charge of
arbitrariness or capriciousness in this sovereign specialty,
is, that the atonement of Christ DESERVED that it should not
entirely fail. If any sinner be disposed to complain of God
in thus conveying the benefits of the atonement in any
special case, conscience must flash the conviction in the
breast of that sinner, that God has only used for its
designed purpose that very atonement, which the sinner had
been invited and commanded to use for that purpose, but
which he voluntarily rejected, and spurned as the
off-scouring of all things. IV. The exercise of divine sovereignty in the special
operations of divine influences is an HONOR to the
atonement. The Christian church has been deluged with boisterous
discourses and turbid volumes to prove that the specialty of
divine sovereignty is a disgrace to the atonement. Against
this most formidable flood I would unfurl a banner lifted-up
by the band of the Redeemer himself. "In that hour, Jesus
rejoiced in Spirit, and said, I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes;
EVEN so, FATHER, FOR SO IT SEEMED GOOD IN THY SIGHT." Luke
x. 21, 22. The Lord Jesus Christ views the difference in the
spiritual conditions of men as the special product of the
sovereign agency of God; and considers the exercise of
divine sovereignty as a perfectly satisfactory account of
the matter. He further regards this sovereign specialty as a
positive "good" to the universe, and as entitling God to
"thanks" and praise. It is true that this count of the
matter shocks the hearts, and disturbs the theological
systems, of many good Christians, but it does so, only so
far as their hearts and theological sentiments differ from
the heart and the doctrine of Jesus Christ. This view of the
case perfectly satisfied Christ; why, then, does it not
please you? "Let the mind that was in Christ be also in
you." There are four considerations that ought to induce us to
rest satisfied in the sentiments which satisfied Christ. 1. The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly understood this
subject. "No man knoweth the Father but the Son." He
thoroughly KNEW the mind and the plans of his Father. The
sentiments which he expresses in the above passage, are not
his guesses and conjectures--but he completely knew the
whole truth of the case. If the argumentum ad verecundiam be
valid anywhere, it must be here. 2. The Lord Jesus Christ was perfectly benevolent. As a
benevolent Being he would not be satisfied with any measure
that was wrong, unjust, and injurious, in any of its
bearings. If the specialty of divine influences were such a
measure in reality, he would not have approved of it. He
viewed the exercise of divine influence as a source of
happiness to the world. "It seemed GOOD in thy sight." God
knows what is really "good" and Christ knew what was "good"
in the "sight of God." The exercise of gracious influence is
"good" in the sight of God; why is it an evil in your sight?
You are not a better judge than he is of what is truly
benevolent. 3. The Lord Jesus Christ was altogether holy. As a holy
Being he could not be pleased with what was unholy in
itself, or had an unholy tendency. He could not be pleased
with anything that would cause sin, or that would supply an
apology for sin. There are systems of theology that suppose
that this is precisely the case with this doctrine of
gracious specialty. Many argue that it produces heedlessness
and licentiousness, and that it is an excuse for living in
sin. It should, however, be remembered that this is the
"sovereignty" of theological systems--not the sovereignty of
God as revealed in the Scriptures. In that, Christ, who knew
his Father's sovereignty, saw no aspect or tendency of the
kind--and we must allow that what had, or what had not, a
holy tendency was distinctly known to him. 4. The Lord Jesus Christ was deeply interested in the
subject. It was by the exercise of this gracious influence
that he was to see of the travail of his soul. He never
thought that his harvest would have been larger and more
splendid if it had been left to the self-determining
sovereignty of the human will. He regarded it as more sure
in the hands of his Father. Divine sovereignty settles every
jewel in the mediatorial diadem. This arrangement made
Christ happy. Why does it not make you happy? One of the
parties, Christ or you, must be wrong! Bethink ye--You often
read of his toils and labors, of his sorrows and tears, you
never hear of his rejoicing but this ONCE, and then it was
in his views of divine sovereignty! This glorious subject
made him "rejoice in spirit." It unfolded "the joy that was
set before him." For the exercise of sovereignty, he
"thanked" his Father, the Lord of heaven and earth. He
considered these special displays of sovereignty as
exhibiting God worthy of all gratitude, praise and glory.
That God should exercise his sovereignty to secure the
designs of the atonement against utter failure, the Lord
Jesus Christ considered as an honor conferred on his
mediatorial undertaking. The clear and ample manifestations
which the--exercise of divine influence gives of the entire
character of God,--the immense and magnificent accession of
happiness which it brings to the universe,--the full
consistency of its operations with the honors of infinite
justice, surround the CROSS with a halo that is ineffable,
and "full of glory."