Part 2, Chapter 2: The Grace of Christ's Person

What it is, wherein we have peculiar fellowship with the Lord Christ. This is in grace. This proved. John 1:14, 16, 17. 2 Corinthians 13:14. 2 Thessalonians 3:17, 18. Grace, of various acceptations. Personal grace in Christ proposed to consideration. The grace of Christ as mediator intended. Psalm 45:2. Song of Solomon 5:9. Christ how white and ruddy. His fitness to save from the grace of union. His fullness to save. His suitableness to endear. These considerations improved.

Having manifested that the saints hold peculiar fellowship with the Lord Jesus, it next follows, that we show wherein it is that they have this peculiar communion with him.

Now this is in GRACE. This is everywhere ascribed to him by the way of eminency (John 1:14). He dwelt among us, full of GRACE and truth. Grace in the truth and substance of it. All that went before was but typical and in representation: in the truth and substance, it comes only by Christ. Grace and truth is by Jesus Christ (verse 17). And of his fullness we receive GRACE for GRACE (verse 16), that is, we have communion with him in grace; we receive from him all manner of grace whatever, and therein have we fellowship with him.

So likewise in that apostolical benediction, wherein the communication of spiritual blessings from the several persons unto the saints, is so exactly distinguished; it is GRACE that is ascribed to our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 13:14). The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all.

Yes, Paul is so delighted with this, that he makes it his motto, and the token whereby he would have his epistles known (2 Thessalonians 3:17, 18). The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, so I write, the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Yes he makes these two, GRACE be with you, and the Lord Jesus be with you, to be equivalent expressions; for whereas he affirms the one to be the token in all his epistles, yet sometimes, he uses the one only, sometimes the other of these, and sometimes puts them both together. This then is that which we are peculiarly to eye in the Lord Jesus, to receive it from him, even GRACE, gospel grace, revealed in, or exhibited by the gospel. He is the headstone in the building of the temple of God, to whom GRACE, GRACE, is to be cried (Zechariah 4:7).

Grace is a word of various acceptations. In its most eminent significations it may be referred unto one of these three heads,

1. Grace of personal presence and comeliness. So we say a graceful and comely person, either from himself or his ornaments. This in Christ (upon the matter) is the subject of near one half of the book of Song of Solomon: it is also mentioned (Psalm 45:2). You are fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into your lips. And unto this first head in respect of Christ, do I refer also that acceptation of grace, which in respect of us, I fix in the third place. Those inconceivable gifts and fruits of the Spirit which were bestowed on him, and brought forth in him, concur to his personal excellency, as will afterward appear.

2. Grace of free favor and acceptance. By this grace we are saved: that is, the free favor and gracious acceptation of God in Christ. In this sense is it used in that frequent expression, if I have found grace in your sight: that is, if I be freely and favorably accepted before you. So he gives grace, (that is, favor) to the humble (James 4:6; Genesis 39:21; chapter 41:37; Acts 7:10; 1 Samuel 2:26; 2 Kings 25:27, etc.).

3. The fruits of the Spirit, sanctifying and renewing our natures, enabling unto good, and preventing from evil, are so termed. Thus the Lord tells Paul, his grace was sufficient for him: that is, the assistance against temptation which he afforded him (Colossians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 8:6-7; Hebrews 12:28).

These two latter, as relating unto Christ, in respect of us who receive them, I call purchased grace, being indeed purchased by him for us; and our communion with him therein, is termed a fellowship in his sufferings, and the power of his resurrection (Philippians 3:10).

Let us begin with the first, which I call personal grace, and concerning that do these two things.

- 1. Show what it is, and wherein it consists, I mean the personal grace of Christ. And - 2. Declare how the saints hold immediate communion with him therein.

To the handling of the first, I shall only premise this observation. It is Christ as mediator of whom we speak: and therefore by the grace of his person, I understand not

1. The glorious excellencies of his deity, considered in itself, abstracting from the office which for us, as God and man, he undertook.

2. Nor the outward appearance of his human nature, neither when he conversed here on earth, bearing our infirmities, (whereof, by reason of the charge that was laid upon him, the prophet gives quite another character, Isaiah 52:14) concerning which some of the ancients were very poetical in their expressions: nor yet as now exalted in glory; a vain imagination whereof, makes many bear a false, a corrupted respect unto Christ, even upon carnal apprehensions of the mighty exaltation of the human nature, which is but to know Christ after the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:19), a mischief much improved by the abomination of foolish imagery. But this is that which I intend; the graces of the person of Christ, as he is vested with the office of mediation: his spiritual eminency, comeliness and beauty, as appointed and anointed by the Father unto the great work of bringing home all his elect unto his bosom.

Now in this respect the Scripture describes him as exceeding excellent, comely, and desirable, far above comparison with the chiefest, choicest, created good, or any endearment imaginable.

Psalm 45:2. You are fairer than the children of men, grace is poured into your lips. He is beyond comparison, more beautiful and gracious than any here below. The word is doubled to increase its significancy, and to exalt its subject beyond all comparison. Says the Chaldee Paraphrast: Your fairness, O King Messiah, is more excellent than the sons of men. Pulcher Admodum prae filiis hominum. Exceeding desirable. Inward beauty and glory is here expressed by that of outward shape, form and appearance; because that was so much esteemed in those who were to rule or govern. Isaiah 4:2. The Prophet terming of him the BRANCH of the Lord, and the fruit of the earth, affirms that he shall be beautiful and glorious, excellent and comely; for in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9).

Song of Solomon 5:9. The spouse is enquired of as to this very thing, even concerning the personal excellencies of the Lord Christ her beloved. What is your beloved (say the daughters of Jerusalem) more than another beloved O you fairest among women, what is your beloved more than another beloved? And she returns this answer verse 10. My beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousand. And so proceeds to a particular description of him by his excellencies, to the end of the chapter, and there concludes that he is altogether lovely verse 16, whereof at large afterwards. Particularly he is here affirmed to be white and ruddy, a due mixture of which colors, composes the most beautiful complexion. He is white in the glory of his deity, and ruddy in the preciousness of his humanity. His teeth are white with milk, and his eyes are red with wine (Genesis 49:12). Whiteness (if I may so say) is the complexion of glory; in that appearance of the most high, the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9), it is said, his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head as pure wool. And of Christ in his transfiguration, when he had on him a mighty luster of the deity, his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light (Matthew 17:2), which in the phrase of another evangelist, is, as white as snow, so as no fuller on earth could white them (Mark 9:3). It was a divine heavenly surpassing glory that was upon him (Revelation 1:14). Hence the angels and glorified saints, that always behold him, and are fully translated into the image of the same glory, are still said to be in white robes. His whiteness is his deity, and the glory thereof. And on this account, the Chaldee Paraphrast ascribes this whole passage unto God. They say (says he) to the house of Israel, who is the God whom you will serve? etc. Then began the congregation of Israel to declare the praises of the Ruler of the world: and said, I will serve that God who is clothed in a garment white as snow, the splendor of the glory of whose countenance is as fire. He is also ruddy in the beauty of his humanity; man was called Adam from the red earth whereof he was made. The word here used points him out as the second Adam, partaker of flesh and blood; because the children also partook of the same (Hebrews 2:14). The beauty and comeliness of the Lord Jesus in the union of both these in one person, shall afterwards be declared.

2. He is white in the beauty of his innocency, and holiness, and ruddy in the blood of his oblation. Whiteness is the badge of innocency and holiness. It is said of the Nazarites for their typical holiness, they were purer than snow, and whiter than milk (Lamentations 4:7). And the Prophet shows us, that scarlet, red, and crimson, are the colors of sin and guilt, whiteness of innocency (Isaiah 1:18). Our beloved was a lamb without spot or blemish (1 Peter 1:18). He did no sin, neither was there any guile found in his mouth (1 Peter 2:22). He is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners (Hebrews 7:24), as afterwards will appear; and yet he, who was so white in his innocency, was made ruddy in his own blood: and that two ways. Naturally, in the pouring out of his blood (his precious blood) in that agony of his soul, when thick drops of blood trickled to the ground (Luke 22:24), as also when the whips and thorns, nails and spears, poured it out abundantly: there came forth blood and water (John 19:34). He was ruddy, by being drenched all over in his own blood. And secondly, morally, by the imputation of sin, whose color is red and crimson. God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). He who was white, became ruddy for our sakes, pouring out his blood, an oblation for sin. This also renders him graceful: by his whiteness, he fulfilled the law, by his redness he satisfied justice: this is our beloved, O you daughters of Jerusalem.

3. His endearing excellency in the administration of his kingdom, is hereby also expressed: He is white in love and mercy unto his own; red with justice and revenge towards his enemies (Isaiah 63:3; Revelation 19:13).

There are three things in general, wherein this personal excellency and grace of the Lord Christ does consist.

- 1. His fitness to save, from the grace of union, and the proper necessary effects thereof. - 2. His fullness to save from the grace of communion: or the free consequences of the grace of union. - 3. His excellency to endear, from his complete suitableness to all the wants of the souls of men.

1. His fitness to save: his being a fit savior suited to the work: and this I say is from his grace of union. The uniting of the natures of God and man in one person, made him fit to be a savior to the uttermost. He lays his hand upon God by partaking of his nature (Zechariah 13:7), and he lays his hand upon us, by being partaker of our nature (Hebrews 2:14, 16), and so becomes a daysman or umpire between both. By this means, he fills up all the distance that was made by sin, between God, and us, and we who were far off, are made nigh in him. Upon this account it was, that he had room enough in his breast to receive, and power enough in his spirit to bear all the wrath that was prepared for us: sin was infinite only in respect of the object, and punishment was infinite in respect of the subject. This arises from his union.

Union is the conjunction of the two natures of God and man in one person (John 1:14; Isaiah 9:6; Romans 1:3, 9:5). The necessary consequences of which are: 1. The subsistence of the human nature in the person of the Son of God, having no subsistence of its own (Luke 1:35; 1 Timothy 3:16). 2. [illegible], that communication of attributes in the person, whereby the properties of either nature are promiscuously spoken of the person of Christ, under what name soever, of God or man, he be spoken of (Acts 20:28; Acts 3:21). 3. The execution of his office of mediation in his single person, in respect of both natures: wherein is considerable, [illegible], the agent, Christ himself, God and man; he is the *principium quo* [illegible]; the principle that gives life and efficacy to the whole work. And then 2. the *principium quod*; that which operates, which is both natures distinctly considered. 3. The [illegible]; the effectual working itself of each nature; and lastly the [illegible], the effect produced, which arises from all, and relates to them all; so resolving the excellency I speak of, into his personal union.

2. His fullness to save, from the grace of communion, or the effects of his union which are free, and consequences of it, which is all the furniture that he received from the Father by the unction of the Spirit, for the work of our salvation. He is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him (Hebrews 7:26), having all fullness to this end communicated to him; for it pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell (Colossians 1:19). And he received not the Spirit by measure (John 3:34), and from this fullness, he makes out a suitable supply to all that are his; grace for grace (John 1:16). Had it been given him by measure we had exhausted it.

3. His excellency to endear, from his complete suitableness to all the wants of the souls of men. There is no man whatever, that has any want in reference to the things of God, but Christ will be to him that which he wants: I speak of those who are given him of his Father. Is he dead? Christ is life (Colossians 3:4). Is he weak? Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30). Has he the sense of guilt upon him? Christ is complete righteousness, the Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6). Many poor creatures are sensible of their wants, but know not where their remedy lies. Indeed whether it be life, or light, power or joy, all is wrapped up in him.

This then for the present may suffice in general to be spoken of the personal grace of the Lord Christ. He has a fitness to save, having pity, and ability, tenderness and power to carry on that work to the uttermost; and a fullness to save, of redemption and sanctification, of righteousness and the Spirit; and a suitableness to the wants of all our souls, whereby he becomes exceeding desirable, yea altogether lovely, as afterward will appear in particular. And as to this in the first place have the saints distinct fellowship with the Lord Christ, the manner of which shall be declared in the ensuing chapter.

Only from this entrance that has been made into the description of him with whom the saints have communion, some motives might be taken to stir us up to it, as also considerations to lay open the nakedness and insufficiency of all other ways and things, to which men engage their thoughts and desires. Something may be now proposed. The daughters of Jerusalem, ordinary common professors, having heard the spouse describing her beloved (Song of Solomon 5:4, 10), instantly are stirred up to seek him together with her; chapter 6:1, "Where is your beloved turned aside, that we may seek him with you?" What Paul says of them that crucified him, may be spoken of all that reject him, or refuse communion with him. Had they known him they would not have crucified the Lord of glory: did men know him, were they acquainted in any measure with him, they would not so reject the Lord of glory. Himself calls them simple ones, fools and scorners, that despise his gracious invitation (Proverbs 1:24). There is none despise Christ, but only they that know him not; whose eyes the god of this world has blinded that they should not behold his glory. The souls of men do naturally seek something to rest and repose themselves upon; something to satiate and delight themselves with, with which they hold communion; and there are two ways whereby men proceed in the pursuit of what they so aim at. Some set before them some certain end; perhaps, pleasure, profit, or, in religion itself, acceptance with God; others seek after some end, but without any certainty, pleasing themselves now with one path, now with another; with various thoughts and ways, like them (Isaiah 57:10), because something comes in by the life of the hand, they give not over though weary. In what condition soever you may be, either in greediness pursuing some certain end, be it secular or religious, or are wandering away in your own imaginations, wearying yourselves in the largeness of your ways, compare a little what you aim at, or what you do, with what you have already heard of Jesus Christ. If anything you design be like to him, if anything you desire be equal to him, let him be rejected as one that has neither form nor comeliness in him; but if indeed all your ways be but vanity and vexation of spirit in comparison of him, why do you spend your thoughts for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfies not?

You that are yet in the flower of your days, full of health and strength, and with all the vigor of your spirits, do pursue some one thing, some another: consider I pray, what are all your beloveds, to this beloved? What have you gotten by them? Let us see, the peace, quietness, assurance of everlasting blessedness that they have given you? Their paths are crooked paths, whoever goes in them shall not know peace. Behold here a fit object for your choicest affections; one in whom you may find rest to your souls: one in whom there is nothing will grieve and trouble you to eternity. Behold he stands at the door of your souls and knocks: O reject him not, lest you seek him and find him not; pray study him a little; you love him not because you know him not. Why does one of you spend his time in idleness and folly, and wasting of precious time, perhaps debauchedly; why does another associate and assemble himself with them that scoff at religion and the things of God? Merely because you know not our dear Lord Jesus: oh when he shall reveal himself to you, and tell you he is Jesus whom you have slighted and refused, how will it break your hearts, and make you mourn like a dove, that you have neglected him; and if you never come to know him, it had been better you had never been: while it is called today then harden not your hearts.

You, that are perhaps seeking earnestly after a righteousness, and are religious persons, consider a little with yourselves: has Christ his due place in your hearts? Is he your all? Does he dwell in your thoughts? Do you know him in his excellency and desirableness? Do you indeed account all things loss and dung for his exceeding excellency? Or rather, do you prefer almost anything in the world before it? But more of these things afterwards.

What it is in which we have peculiar fellowship with the Lord Christ. This is in grace. This proved. John 1:14, 16, 17. 2 Corinthians 13:14. 2 Thessalonians 3:17, 18. Grace, of various meanings. Personal grace in Christ proposed for consideration. The grace of Christ as Mediator intended. Psalm 45:2. Song of Solomon 5:9. Christ how white and ruddy. His fitness to save from the grace of union. His fullness to save. His suitableness to endear. These considerations applied.

Having shown that the saints hold distinct fellowship with the Lord Jesus, we next need to show in what it is that they have this particular communion with Him.

This is in grace. It is ascribed to Him throughout Scripture with special emphasis (John 1:14): He dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. Grace in its truth and substance. Everything that came before was only type and shadow — the reality and substance comes only through Christ. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (verse 17). And from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace (verse 16) — that is, we have communion with Him in grace; we receive from Him all manner of grace, and therein we have fellowship with Him.

The same is true in that apostolic benediction where the communication of spiritual blessings from the several persons to the saints is so precisely distinguished — it is grace that is ascribed to our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 13:14): the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Paul is so struck by this that he makes it his motto, and the identifying mark by which he wanted his letters recognized (2 Thessalonians 3:17-18): the salutation of Paul in my own hand — the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. He actually treats 'grace be with you' and 'the Lord Jesus be with you' as equivalent expressions, for while he says one is the identifying mark of all his letters, he sometimes uses one, sometimes the other, and sometimes both together. This then is what we are particularly to look for in the Lord Jesus and receive from Him — grace, gospel grace, revealed in and offered through the Gospel. He is the capstone in the building of the temple of God, to whom 'Grace, grace!' must be cried (Zechariah 4:7).

Grace is a word with several meanings. In its most important uses, it falls under one of these three categories:

1. The grace of personal presence and beauty. We call a person graceful or attractive, whether from their own nature or their adornments. This is in Christ the subject of nearly half the book of Song of Solomon, and is also mentioned in Psalm 45:2: You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips. Under this first category with respect to Christ I also place what, with respect to us, I assign to the third. The extraordinary gifts and fruits of the Spirit that were bestowed on Him and brought forth in Him contribute to His personal excellence, as will appear later.

2. The grace of free favor and acceptance. By this grace we are saved — that is, the free favor and gracious acceptance of God in Christ. In this sense it is used in that common expression, 'if I have found grace in your sight' — meaning, if I am freely and favorably received before you. In this sense He gives grace — that is, favor — to the humble (James 4:6; Genesis 39:21; 41:37; Acts 7:10; 1 Samuel 2:26; 2 Kings 25:27).

3. The fruits of the Spirit — sanctifying and renewing our natures, enabling us to do good, and keeping us from evil — are also called grace. In this sense the Lord tells Paul that His grace was sufficient for him — meaning the strength He provided against temptation (Colossians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 8:6-7; Hebrews 12:28).

These last two, as they relate to Christ with respect to us who receive them, I call purchased grace — since He purchased them for us. Our communion with Him in these is described as a fellowship in His sufferings and in the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10).

Let us begin with the first, which I call personal grace, and about it do two things.

1. Show what it is and what it consists of — I mean the personal grace of Christ. And 2. Declare how the saints hold immediate communion with Him in it.

Before treating the first, I offer one preliminary observation. We are speaking of Christ as Mediator, and therefore by the grace of His person I do not mean:

1. The glorious excellencies of His deity considered in itself, apart from the office He took on for us as God and man.

2. Nor the outward appearance of His human nature — neither as He lived here on earth bearing our infirmities (of which the prophet gives a very different account on account of the burden laid on Him, Isaiah 52:14), about which some of the early writers were rather too poetic in their descriptions; nor as He is now exalted in glory. A mistaken imagination about this latter has led many into a false and distorted regard for Christ — a merely fleshly reverence based on carnal impressions of the greatness of His exalted human nature, which is simply to know Christ according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:19), a damage greatly increased by the corruption of foolish religious images. What I mean is this: the graces of the person of Christ as He is clothed with the office of Mediator — His spiritual excellence, beauty, and comeliness as appointed and anointed by the Father for the great work of bringing all His elect into the Father's arms.

In this respect, Scripture describes Him as supremely excellent, beautiful, and desirable — incomparably beyond the finest created good or any other attraction imaginable.

Psalm 45:2: You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips. He is without comparison — more beautiful and gracious than any earthly being. The expression is intensified to lift its subject above all comparison. The Aramaic translator says: Your beauty, O King Messiah, surpasses the sons of men. Exceedingly desirable. Inward beauty and glory is here expressed through outward form and appearance, because in those days great personal beauty was highly valued in rulers and leaders. Isaiah 4:2: the prophet, calling Him the Branch of the Lord and the fruit of the earth, declares that He shall be beautiful and glorious, excellent and comely — for in Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9).

Song of Solomon 5:9. The bride is asked directly about the personal excellencies of her beloved, the Lord Christ. 'What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved?' (ask the daughters of Jerusalem). She answers in verse 10: my beloved is dazzling and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. She then proceeds to describe Him by His excellencies through to the end of the chapter, concluding that He is altogether lovely (verse 16) — which will be treated at length later. Particularly He is here said to be white and ruddy — a fitting blend of which creates the most beautiful appearance. He is white in the glory of His deity, and ruddy in the preciousness of His humanity. His teeth are white with milk and His eyes are red with wine (Genesis 49:12). Whiteness — if I may say so — is the color of glory. In that appearance of the Most High, the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9), His garment was white as snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. And at Christ's transfiguration — when the full brightness of His deity shone through — His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light (Matthew 17:2), described by another Gospel writer as white as snow, so that no launderer on earth could make them that white (Mark 9:3). It was a divine, heavenly, surpassing glory that was upon Him (Revelation 1:14). For this reason, the angels and glorified saints who always behold Him and have been fully transformed into the image of that same glory are always described as clothed in white robes. His whiteness is His deity and the glory of it. On this basis, the Aramaic translator applies this entire passage to God, paraphrasing it as the house of Israel declaring the praises of the Ruler of the world: I will serve that God who is clothed in a garment white as snow, the radiance of whose glorious face is like fire. He is also ruddy in the beauty of His humanity. Man was called Adam from the red earth from which he was made. The word used here points to Him as the second Adam, a partaker of flesh and blood — because the children also shared in the same (Hebrews 2:14). The beauty and loveliness of the Lord Jesus in the union of both these natures in one person will be described further later.

2. He is white in the beauty of His innocence and holiness, and ruddy in the blood of His sacrifice. Whiteness is the emblem of innocence and holiness. Of the Nazirites, set apart as types of holiness, it was said they were purer than snow and whiter than milk (Lamentations 4:7). And the prophet shows that scarlet, red, and crimson are the colors of sin and guilt, while white is the color of innocence (Isaiah 1:18). Our beloved was a lamb without spot or blemish (1 Peter 1:18). He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). He is holy, innocent, undefiled, and separate from sinners (Hebrews 7:24), as will appear further. And yet He who was so white in His innocence was made ruddy in His own blood — in two ways. First, physically: in the pouring out of His precious blood in the agony of His soul, when thick drops of blood fell to the ground (Luke 22:44), and again when the whip and thorns, nails and spear, poured it out abundantly — blood and water flowed from His side (John 19:34). He was made ruddy by being drenched in His own blood. Second, in a moral sense: by the imputation of sin, whose color is red and crimson. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He who was white became ruddy for our sake, pouring out His blood as an offering for sin. This too makes Him beautiful: by His whiteness He fulfilled the law; by His redness He satisfied justice. This is our beloved, O daughters of Jerusalem.

3. His endearing excellence in the exercise of His kingdom is also expressed here: He is white in love and mercy toward His own, and ruddy in justice and judgment toward His enemies (Isaiah 63:3; Revelation 19:13).

There are three things in general that make up this personal excellence and grace of the Lord Christ.

1. His fitness to save — from the grace of union, and its necessary consequences. 2. His fullness to save — from the grace of communion, that is, the free consequences of the grace of union. 3. His excellence to endear — from His complete suitableness to every need of the souls of men.

1. His fitness to save — His being the kind of Savior perfectly suited to the work. This comes from the grace of union. The uniting of the natures of God and man in one person made Him fit to save to the uttermost. He lays His hand upon God by sharing His nature (Zechariah 13:7), and He lays His hand upon us by sharing our nature (Hebrews 2:14, 16), and so becomes the mediator and daysman between both. By this means He bridges all the distance that sin created between God and us — and we who were far off are brought near in Him. For this reason, there was room enough in His breast to receive, and power enough in His spirit to bear, all the wrath prepared for us. Sin was infinite in respect of its object, and punishment was infinite in respect of its subject. This all flows from His union.

Union is the joining of the two natures — God and man — in one person (John 1:14; Isaiah 9:6; Romans 1:3; 9:5). The necessary consequences of this are: first, that the human nature subsists in the person of the Son of God, having no independent subsistence of its own (Luke 1:35; 1 Timothy 3:16). Second, the communication of attributes in the person — whereby the properties of either nature are appropriately attributed to the whole person of Christ, whatever name He is given, whether God or man (Acts 20:28; Acts 3:21). Third, the exercise of His office of Mediator in His single person in respect of both natures. Here we must consider: first, the agent — Christ Himself, God and man — who is the principle that gives life and power to the whole work. Second, both natures as the distinct instruments through which He operates. Third, the effective working of each nature. And finally, the effect produced — which arises from all and relates to all — thus grounding the excellence I speak of in His personal union.

2. His fullness to save — from the grace of communion, or the free consequences of His union — which is all the equipment He received from the Father through the anointing of the Spirit for the work of our salvation. He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him (Hebrews 7:26), having had all fullness communicated to Him for this purpose, for it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell (Colossians 1:19). He received the Spirit without measure (John 3:34), and from this fullness He supplies all who belong to Him — grace upon grace (John 1:16). If it had been given to Him in limited measure, we would have exhausted it.

3. His excellence to endear — from His complete suitableness to every need of the souls of men. Whatever any person lacks in relation to the things of God, Christ will be to them exactly what they need — I speak of those given to Him by the Father. Is someone spiritually dead? Christ is life (Colossians 3:4). Is someone weak? Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30). Does someone feel the weight of guilt? Christ is complete righteousness — the Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6). Many poor souls are aware of their needs but do not know where their remedy is. Yet whether it is life, or light, or power, or joy — all of it is wrapped up in Him.

This may be enough to say in general about the personal grace of the Lord Christ. He has a fitness to save — with compassion, and ability, with tenderness and power to carry that work through to the uttermost. He has a fullness to save — of redemption and sanctification, of righteousness and the Spirit. And He has a suitableness to every need of all our souls, making Him supremely desirable — indeed altogether lovely, as will appear in detail later. The saints have distinct fellowship with the Lord Christ first and above all in this, and the way in which they hold that communion will be described in the chapter that follows.

From this entrance into the description of the One with whom the saints have communion, some motivations can be drawn to stir us up to it — and also to expose the emptiness of all the other things and pursuits to which people give their hearts and desires. The daughters of Jerusalem — ordinary, common professors — having heard the bride describe her beloved (Song of Solomon 5:4, 10), are instantly stirred up to seek Him along with her: 'Where has your beloved gone, that we may seek him with you?' (Song of Solomon 6:1). What Paul said of those who crucified Christ may be said of all who reject Him or refuse communion with Him: had they known Him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. If people truly knew Him, they would not so readily reject the Lord of glory. He calls those who despise His gracious invitation simple ones, fools, and mockers (Proverbs 1:24). No one despises Christ except those who do not know Him — those whose eyes the god of this world has blinded so that they cannot see His glory. Human souls naturally seek something to rest on and find satisfaction in — something to delight in and commune with. People pursue this in two ways. Some fix on a clear goal — perhaps pleasure, profit, or in the realm of religion, acceptance with God. Others drift toward some vague end, without any settled purpose, pleasing themselves now with one path, now with another, with varied thoughts and pursuits — like those in Isaiah 57:10 who wear themselves out but will not stop because every so often they find a little something along the way. Whatever condition you are in — whether you are eagerly chasing some fixed aim, whether worldly or religious, or wandering aimlessly in your own thoughts, exhausting yourself in the broad roads of your own devising — compare what you are pursuing and what you are doing with what you have heard of Jesus Christ. If anything you are aiming at is like Him, or anything you desire is equal to Him, then reject Him as one with neither beauty nor appeal. But if everything you pursue is only emptiness and chasing the wind in comparison to Him — why do you spend your thoughts on what gives no bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?

You who are in the flower of your years, full of health and strength, each pursuing something with all the vigor of your spirits — consider, I ask, what are all your beloveds compared to this beloved? What have you gained from them? Tell me — what peace, what quietness, what certainty of everlasting blessing have they given you? Their paths are crooked; whoever walks in them will not know peace. Behold here a fitting object for your finest affections — One in whom you may find rest for your soul; One in whom there is nothing that will grieve or trouble you to eternity. He stands at the door of your souls and knocks. Do not reject Him, lest you seek Him and not find Him. Give Him a little thought. You do not love Him because you do not know Him. Why does one of you spend time in idleness and folly — wasting precious hours, perhaps in outright moral destruction? Why does another keep company with those who mock religion and the things of God? Simply because you do not know our dear Lord Jesus. Oh, when He reveals Himself to you and tells you that He is the Jesus you have treated with contempt and refused — how it will break your heart, and make you grieve like a dove, that you neglected Him. And if you never come to know Him, it would have been better you had never existed. While it is still called today, do not harden your hearts.

You who are perhaps earnestly seeking righteousness, who consider yourselves religious — consider quietly within yourselves: has Christ His proper place in your heart? Is He your all? Does He occupy your thoughts? Do you know Him in His excellence and loveliness? Do you truly count all things loss and refuse for the surpassing worth of knowing Him? Or do you actually prefer almost everything in the world over Him? But more of these things later.