Looking unto Christ 2
Back to SERMONS Samuel Davies
II. Urge you to look to him by several weighty considerations.
This is the great duty of both saints and sinners, and consequently of everyone in all ages and places, even to the ends of the earth. It is the duty of sinners to turn away their eyes from beholding vanity—and fix them upon this attractive—but, alas! neglected Saviour! It is the duty of sinners to turn their attention from the trifles of time—to the great Anti type of the brazen serpent, who is lifted up that a dying world may open their eyes, just closing in death, and look and live!
And saints, whose eyes have been turned to this glorious object, ought to fix them more intensely upon him—to take larger surveys of his glory, and to renew their affectionate trust in him.
I would premise, that when I exhort SINNERS to look to Jesus, I would not intimate, that they are able to do this of themselves. No! I am very sensible, that all the exhortations, persuasions, invitations, and expostulations that a feeble mortal, or even the most powerful angel in heaven, can use with them will have no effect—but vanish into air, without the efficacious operation of almighty grace! And yet such exhortations are neither useless, improper, or unscriptural: they tend to convince sinners of their inability to believe, which is necessary to their believing aright; and it is while such arguments are addressed to their understandings, that the Holy Spirit is accustomed to work upon their hearts. Hence they are so often commanded in Scripture torepent, to believe in Christ, to look to him, to make them a new heart, etc. I would add, that when I express the duty enjoined under the metaphor of looking, I hope it will not lead any of you into gross ideas as physical eyesight, since the import of it has been so fully shown.
The arguments to enforce this important evangelical duty can never be exhausted; and therefore I must confine myself to those which this copious text furnishes us with, which, when resolved into particulars, will stand thus:
It is salvation we are called upon to pursue.
It may be obtained upon the easiest terms, without any personal merit, namely, by a look!
It is Immanuel, the incarnate God—who commands and invites us to look!
And he is the glorious and affecting object—to which we are to look!
And our looking shall not be in vain, for he is God, who engages to save those who look to him!
And it is in vain to look elsewhere for salvation, and needless to fear that his grace should be only be for others; for as he is God, so there is none else—and we in particular are invited, being especially meant by the ends of the earth.
1. It is salvation which is here offered. "Look unto Me—and be saved!" Look—and be saved! Salvation! Oh most wonderful, transporting sound! Amazing! that ever it should be heard by our guilty ears!
Sin, my friends, has exposed us to the curse of the divine law, to the loss of heaven, and all its joys; yes, and of earth too, and all its entertainments: for death, the consequence of sin—will rend us from them.
We must languish and pine through an endless duration without a drop of bliss—if we are punished according to our demerit. We are also subject to the torturing agonies of a remorseful conscience, to be cut off from the earth by the sword of justice, and swept away by the broom of destruction into the regions of horror and despair, there to consume away a long, long eternity—in inextinguishable flames, in remediless, intolerable torments, in the horrid society of devils and damned men, who shall mutually promote and join in the general roar of torture and desperation!
This, sirs, is our just, our unavoidable doom—unless we obtain a saving interest in the salvation of the Lord. But salvation brings us a complete remedy, equal to our misery!
"Look unto Me—and be saved!" Salvation contains a title to the divine favour, and consequently to all the joys of heaven! Salvation contains a perfect deliverance from all the torments of hell!
And shall we not then regard and obey the voice that cries, "Look unto Me—and be saved!" Is it not fit those should perish without remedy, who hear the offer of such a salvation with indifference? How shall we escape—if we neglect so great salvation?
Were we now under a sentence of condemnation to death, by an earthly court, and were going out one after another to the place of execution, and should some welcome messenger, with a general pardon in his hand, come with joyful speed into this assembly, and proclaim salvation; salvation! to all that would accept it on the easiest terms—what a shout of general joy would burst from this assembly! What changed faces, what tears of thankful joy, would appear among us!
In this agreeable character, my brethren, I have the honour and the happiness of appearing among you this day. I proclaim salvation from the Lord—to dying men; salvation to all who will look unto him for it. And I would not make the offer to the air, or to the walls of this house—but to rational creatures, capable of consenting and refusing. I therefore request you to look upon it as a proposal made to you; to you men, to you women, to you youth and children, to you Negroes, demanding a speedy answer. Will you look to Jesus? Or will you hide your faces from him? Will you not think him and his salvation worth a look? Which leads me to observe,
2. This salvation may be obtained upon the easiest terms, without any personal merit, namely, by a look!
LOOK—and be saved! And this metaphor implies that no merit is required in us to procure this salvation. It is as cheap a cure as that which the Israelites obtained, by looking to a brazen serpent. The salvation is wrought already; Christ would not separate his soul and body, and put an end to his pains, until he could say, It is finished! And all required of us, is a cheerful acceptance: and what terms can be easier?
It is true that we are required to abstain from sin, and be holy, in order to enjoy this salvation; but can this be thought a hard term? It is impossible in the nature of things—that you should be saved in a course of sin; for one great part of the salvation consists in deliverance from sin. This is the deadly disease which must be healed, in order to your happiness. And how, then, can you expect to be saved from sin—while you indulge in sin? Would you not think your physician made easy prescriptions to you, if he assured you of recovery, when you were sick, upon condition that you would abstain from poison, and confine yourselves to a wholesome diet? Holiness is as necessary to happiness, as temperance to health! And though sinners, like drunkards, think this a hard imposition—yet it cannot be altered, without a change in the immutable Deity.
Therefore submit to the terms of salvation: they are as low, as easy as the nature of things will permit. They are not the rigid, arbitrary impositions of an austere being—but the mild, unavoidable requisitions of an indulgent and wise God, acting according to the reason of things. If salvation was offered to you, upon condition of your making an infinite satisfaction for your sins—you might be hopeless at the proposal; for even almighty grace could not enable you to do this: for this you could not do without being advanced above the rank of creatures, and endowed with infinity, which you are physically incapable of.
But grace can dispose you to consent to the terms of the gospel; grace can turn your eyes to look to Jesus, for you are onlymorally incapable of this; that is, you are unwilling, you are sinfully averse to it.
Come, then—look and live! The lowness of the terms aggravates the guilt of a non-compliance with them. What do those deserve—who do not think a salvation purchased with the blood of a God—is worth a look? What drudgery do you endure, what hardships do you voluntarily undergo, to procure some of the foolish toys of this world? What a difficult regimen will you submit to, what nauseous potions will you take, for the recovery of the health of your mortal bodies? And will you not take the trouble of a look for the salvation of your immortal souls? How eagerly will you accept the offer of any temporal advantage! And will you neglect this invitation to look and live? Especially, when,
3. It is Immanuel, our incarnate God, who invites and commands you to look to him, and be saved! You may trifle with the commands of a usurper, and reject the treacherous invitations of an enemy; but dare you trifle with the injunctions, dare you refuse the gracious invitations of our supreme King and heavenly Friend? That it is Christ who here calls us to look to him, is evident from the application of this context to Christ by the apostle: "To this end Christ both died and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." Rom 14:9-11. Which words, according to the Hebrew, you find in the verse following my text. See also Philippians 2:9-11.
Moreover the characters here predicted concerning the Lord Jehovah, most properly belong to Christ, according to the dialect of the New Testament; "Surely, shall one say, in the Lord I have righteousness and strength." Now we know that Christ is everywhere represented as our righteousness and strength, "In the Lord shall the seed of Israel be justified," verse 24, 25, which is spoken most properly of Christ, through whom alone we can be justified. It is therefore the voice of our Immanuel that sounds so delightfully in our text. It is his voice which spoke this goodly universe into being out of its original nothing; which said, "Let there be light; and there was light!"
And dare we disobey his voice by whom all things were created? Col. 1:16. He spoke us into being, and we obeyed; and shall we, when blessed with existence, resist his almighty call? It is his voice whom angels obey; Gabriel, and all his flaming ministers, fly at the first hint of his sovereign pleasure. Nay, universal nature hears his solemn mandate, and all her laws are observed, or cancelled according to his pleasure. Events natural and supernatural are equally easy to him. And is this the majestic voice which sinners hear sounding in the gospel—and yet disregard? Is this he whom they make so light of, as not to give him a look? Amazing presumption!
And further, it is his voice which shall pronounce the final sentence upon the assembled universe. He now sits exalted upon a throne of grace, scattering blessings among his subjects, and inviting a dying world to look to him and live! But before long he will put on majesty and terror, and ascend the throne of judgement . From thence he will speak, and omnipotence will attend his Word to execute it. From thence he will pronounce, on all who hear and obey his call now; and neither earth nor hell can repeal the joyful sentence, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world!"
And on those who will not now look to him, he will pronounce that dreadful sentence, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!" Depart from me; "away, away, from my blissful presence, you cursed creatures, never, never, to see me more." And though they can now resist the voice of mercy—yet then they must obey the dreadful orders of justice, and shrink confounded from his face, and sink into hell.
We, my friends, must all mingle in that vast assembly, and hear our doom from his lips: and can we, in the serious expectation of that day—refuse his call to look to him now? Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him; and how shall we stand the terror of his face, if we now treat him so contemptuously?
These considerations show, that the call in my text is the command of authority, and therefore that our neglect of it is disloyalty and rebellion!
But, oh! there is a more melting, a more endearing consideration still. It is the voice of our Beloved, it is the gracious invitation oflove! It is his voice who heard the cry of our helpless misery: who, though equal with God, and possessed of infinite, independent happiness, emptied himself, and took upon him the form of a servant. He often looked up to heaven with strong crying and tears in the days of his flesh for us. For us he spoke many a gracious word, still upon record! For us he wrought many a miracle! For us he travelled many a fatiguing journey, and endured hunger and thirst, and all the calamities of poverty! For us he was reproached, belied, persecuted! And oh! for us he sweat and groaned in Gethsemane! For us his back was furrowed with scourging! For us his face defiled with spitting! For us his head bruised with buffetings, and pierced with thorns! For us he was nailed to the cross! For us he hung in ignominy and torture! For us he shed his blood, he breathed out his life! For us his side was pierced! For us the Lord of life lay in the dust of death!
And oh! blessed Jesus, after all his love, after all these sufferings, will not men afford you one affectionate, believing look when you exhibited yourself in the gospel, crying with a loud and loving voice, "Behold me! behold me! Look unto me—and be saved?" Oh sirs, can you reject the invitation of such a Saviour? Are you capable of such horrid ingratitude? He bespeaks your attention with dying groans; his wounds preach from the cross and cry, "Look unto me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth!" There he was lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness; that whoever believes in him, though in the agonies of death, should not perish—but have everlasting life! And can we neglect the invitation of such a Saviour, in such circumstances? Shall a guilty world always find something else to look upon, so that they cannot spare a glance to the blessed Jesus? With what pious horror must angels behold such a sight! And may not the earth shudder to support such impious ingratitude?
4. It is Immanuel we are to look to. "Look unto me!" He who issues the command—is the glorious and attractive object we are called to behold. The adorable glories of a God, and the milder beauties of a perfect man, meet in his person. His glories attract the admiring gaze of angels, and charm the attention of the happy immortals above. The survey of his perfections is the source of all their bliss, and will furnish all their powers with ecstatic employ, through the revolutions of eternal ages!
And will not worms look up from the dust to him? Shall every sordid trifle engage their intense contemplation, while they hide their faces from this glorious Immanuel, as though he had no form or loveliness?
There is an infinite variety of objects within the compass of the creation which attract our attention. Our eyes are charmed with the splendour of the day, the midnight glories of the starry arch, the verdure of the spring, the majesty of mountains, the beauties of human faces: nay, there is not a trifling curiosity in nature but engages our observation. But all the glories of the universe are but the faint reflections of his; they are but obscure copies of his underived excellences. And shall we be charmed with the transcript, and take no notice of the original? Does the contemplation of the works of nature afford such exquisite entertainment to philosophic minds, and shall not every mind be transported in the survey of Immanuel's uncreated glories? But if all these considerations fail, surely the love of Christ must constrain you! He has exhibited himself to your view this day in a vesture dipped in blood. He has emblematic-ally passed before you crowned with thorns, and covered with blood; and as Pilate said to the Jews, to melt them in compassion, so say we to you, Behold the man!
And will you turn away from him regardless, or view him with as much indifference as though he were a malefactor? What is this but to join the Jewish rabble, "Away with him! away with him! crucify him! crucify him!" He has virtually said to you as to Thomas, "Look into my hands, and behold the print of the nails; and look into my side, and behold the stab of the spear, which opened a fountain of life for you!" And can you deny an affectionate look to such an object? He hangs conspicuous on the cross, his nerves racked, his bones disjointed, his heart melting like wax, while streams of blood run down his sacred body; and it is in this posture we are to look upon him. In this posture, as it were, he issues forth his gracious invitation, "Look unto me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth!"
And is there a mortal so hardy, so ungrateful, as to refuse an affectionate look to him in such circumstances? Shall he complain, with David, his type, "I looked for some to take pity: but there was none!" Psalm 69:20. "I looked on my right hand, and beheld—but there was no man that would know me; no man cared for my soul." Psalm 143:4.
Blessed Jesus! shall you take up this complaint over creatures for whom you bled and died? over creatures who owe all their hopes to you? May not the whole creation be struck with consternation at the complaint? Why are not the miraculous solemnities that attend your death renewed? Why do not the earth tremble, the rocks rend, the sun put on the livery of a mourner, to see a dying God and a careless world! The Creator, the Saviour of men, in agony, in blood; and his guilty creatures asleep, and not affording him so much as a look of love and compassion! Were ever such horrid incongruities pronounced at a breath, or united in one sentence!
But the cross is not the only place where we should look upon him. Lift up your eyes to the heavenly glory: there you may behold him who tasted of death—now crowned with glory and honour! His head, which was once crowned with thorns—is now adorned with a crown of glory! His face, which was once bruised with blows, and disgraced with spitting—now shines brighter than the sun in his meridian glory! His hands, that were once nailed to the cross—now sway the sceptre of the universe! His feet, that were cruelly pierced—now walk the crystal pavement of heaven! He who was insulted by Jews and Gentiles, he at whom they wagged their heads—is now adored by all the heavenly hosts, who congratulate his exaltation, and cry with united voice, "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!" Revelation 5:11, 12. This is the voice of ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands in that world where Jesus is best known.
And shall we break the harmony of the universal choir? Shall we not echo back their song, and reply, To him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (which is more than he did for the fallen angels) to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen. Revelation 1:5, 6.
Shall we not look to him whose glory attracts the eyes of all the celestial multitudes, and congratulate his exaltation? We have cause indeed to rejoice in it; for oh! he is exalted—that he may have mercy upon us, Isaiah 30:18. He has ascended the throne—that he may thence scatter blessings on a guilty world beneath him. He retains his great love, and the tenderest affections of compassion towards the lowest of his people. He is now pleading their cause in the court of heaven, and preparing a place for them. From thence he exhibits himself to our intellectual view, and invites us to look to him. And can we slight such glory and love united? Are our natures capable of such infernal ingratitude? Oh, let us look to him, especially since it shall not be in vain, for,
5. He is able to save us—upon our looking to him. "Look unto me—and be saved, for I am God!" This is annexed as the reason of the duty enjoined; and what can give us greater security of salvation upon our compliance? "If God is for us, who shall be against us? If God justifies us—who can condemn us? It is his right to constitute the terms of salvation, and he has almighty power to save all who comply with them. It is that God, who threatens to punish sinners—who here promises to save them upon their looking to him. And what glorious encouragement, what strong consolation does this afford us! Is there a creature here so full of unbelieving despondency, as seriously to think that even Jehovah cannot save him? Surely not! Therefore look and be saved, for it is God himself, who undertakes to save you. And he can do exceeding abundantly more for you—than you can ever ask or think. Your sins may be mighty—but not Almighty! Your guilt may be great—but the blood of God can expiate it! The obstructions in your way may be numerous and insuperable to you—but he can reduce a mountain into a plain before you! You are feeble, helpless things, but "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint!" Isaiah 40:28-31
6. Look to him alone—for there no others who can save you. This implies that there is no other Saviour, and that this sole Saviour is almighty, and therefore able to save.
It is only a God who is able to work our salvation. Men, angels, all creatures are unequal to the task. They cannot satisfy divine justice for our sin; they cannot subdue our corruptions, and sanctify our hearts; nor conduct us safely through all the dangers and temptations which surround us. We in particular, are utterly incapable of these wondrous things! It is not in the power of our hand to save ourselves. And if you will not look to Christ—then to whom will you look? "Call now—if there are any who will answer you; and to which of the saints, to which of the angels, will you turn?" You are shut up to the faith in Christ as the ONLY way to salvation; you have no alternative but to look to Christ—or sink to hell. There is no salvation in any other. And will you rather be without a Saviour—than look to him as such? Why, what evil has he done? Why such strange aversion you have to your best Friend, who is able to save to the utmost! And as none else can save—so He alone is able to save, because he is almighty God.
There is no God besides, to reverse his will; but whom he blesses—is blessed indeed. He is head over all things to his church. He limits the power, controls the rage, and baffles all the infernal schemes of the powers of hell. The hearts of men, of kings, are in his hand—and he turns them wherever he pleases. None, therefore, shall pluck his sheep out of his hand; but he will give unto them eternal life. Look then to HIM, poor, trembling weaklings, who are daily putting your life in his hand, and often dismally forebode your own destruction, and the victory of your enemies. Trust in the Lord, Jehovah; for in his arm is everlasting strength!
7. And lastly, look to him, for you are particularly invited, being especially meant by those in the ends of the earth. Apromiscuous call may not be regarded so much as a particular invitation directed to us, as it were, by name. We dwell in a continent that may be called the ends of the earth with peculiar propriety; and though America was unknown in Isaiah's time, and not in his thoughts when he uttered these words—yet no doubt that omniscient Spirit, who inspired his lips, had a reference to it. It is true the words may be taken figuratively, as referring to the Gentiles in general, who might be said to be in the ends of the earth with respect to the favourite land of Judea, which was situated near the middle of the then known world, on the borders of Asia, near where it joins with Europe and Africa.
Those in the ends of the earth seem also to suggest to us the ideas of poor outcasts in a helpless condition, as the Gentiles then were, without the knowledge of God and the means of grace. And if we take the text in this sense—it still refers to us who are the posterity of heathen. But methinks there is a particular beauty and propriety in it, taken literally; "Look unto me, and be saved, you who dwell in the remotest ends of the inhabited earth! Look unto me, you Americans, you Virginians!" Oh what a joyful sound! Not many years ago we or our near ancestors came from the old continent of Europe or its adjacent islands; and the Lord has driven out the heathen from before us, and planted us in their stead. We left his church and the favourite lands where his gospel had shined for ages, and came among savages that never heard of the name of Jesus—but dwelt in darkness and the shadow of death. But lo! he sends his gracious invitation after us to the ends of the earth, "Look unto me—and be saved!"
In the days of Isaiah, God was mindful of America, he was mindful of Virginia, and treasured up a rich invitation, until it should be inhabited, and in need of it. And shall we not regard it? shall we not regard his voice crying in this wilderness? Indeed if any other blessings were worthy to be compared with those of the gospel, I might observe that he has not been kind to us in this respect only. He has turned this wilderness into a fruitful field: the residence of savages and wild beasts—into a mart of nations. "He has blessed us also, so that we are multiplied greatly; and he suffers not our cattle to decrease." See Psalm 107:36-38.
We may borrow the words of Moses, in Deuteronomy 32:10-14. But, alas! We have waxed fat, and kicked against God, like well-fed horses against their proprietor. We have turned his blessings—into occasions of sinning. We have increased in guilt and impiety—in proportion to our increase in riches and the arts of life. And it is an instance of divine patience—that may astonish even heaven itself, that so ungrateful a land has not been visited with some signal judgement from God!
But our iniquities are not yet full, and we hope that there are more than ten righteous people among us, whose prayers stand in the gap, and prevent the eruption of Divine vengeance. But perhaps our day is at hand, and then, though Noah, Daniel and Job, should stand before God—yet his heart will not be turned towards us. "Do you thus requite the Lord, oh foolish people and unwise! Is not he your Father who bought you? Has he not made you, and established you?" Deuteronomy 32:6.
But to abuse the gospel is the greatest of all crimes. It is this that ripens a people for ruin, and fills up the measure of their iniquity! God will easier bear with the abuse of any mercy—than with the contempt of his Son. Therefore, look unto him, and be saved, O you ends of the earth!
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