JARRING INTERESTS OF HEAVEN RECONCILED, &c. Colossians i. 20.—And by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. The reconciliation of Things in Heaven, is the part of the text which I shall attend to. Let reverence and humility possess my heart, while I develop the character of the Deity—and let all who hear me, at awful distance bow. All the changes that have taken place from the beginning until now, and all that will take place hereafter, give to the Almighty no new ideas—furnish him with no novel matter for consideration. Things which are past, present, or to come, with men, are all in the eternal now of the great Jehovah, and yet he speaks of himself (in anthropopathia) as if thoughts and designs entered his mind in a train of succession. The Divine Being is not composed of parts, or possessed of passions like men; he, nevertheless, in condescension to our weakness, speaks of himself as having head, eyes, ears, face, mouth, nostrils, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, feet, bosom, back, heart, soul, etc., as also being jealous, angry, contrary, pacified, reconciled, having his anger turned away, etc. Our text implies a contention in heaven, and that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ undertook to reconcile the contending parties to himself, by Jesus Christ, and that Jesus obtained a peace among all the jarring interests in heaven, by the blood of the cross. The particulars to be attended to, are, 1st. To explain the cause of this contention. 2nd. To nominate the parties at variance, together with their respective pleas. 3rd. To point out the person by whom, and the means by which this reconciliation was effected. First. I am to explain the cause of this contention. The Creator of the heavens and the earth, and all things therein, is a free, sovereign agent. He owes neither existence nor obedience to any other being. He is under obligation to nothing which we can conceive of, except the innate law of his nature, and the voluntary words of his mouth, neither of which stand opposed to his infinite freedom. But all rational creatures owe their existence and obedience to their Maker; of course they are not free agents, any further than that they are left free in their wills, for they are all of them accountable to God for their works and words. The law of God is the eternal rule of right, binding on all rational creatures, and is, in all periods, places and conditions, that which is proper for them to do, and that which tends to their own happiness. It may, therefore, be called, with propriety, the moral law of perfect order. It prohib its nothing but what is injurious to men—it enjoins nothing but what leads to their felicity. Any transgression of this perfect rule is sin, for sin is said to be a transgression of the law. No action of man, which is not contrary to the holy law, can be called sin. Man, did, at first, by some cause, as unaccountable as inexcusable, abuse the freedom of his will—pervert his moral agencybreak over the law of due order, and sin against his God. By one man sin entered into the world. Man, by sin, not only commenced rebel against his God, but, like an electric shock, it affected all his mental and physical powers, so that his transgressions increased like arithmetical progression. Angels were placed upon a footing of such independence, that neither the guilt nor misfortune of one could be transferred to another. But all the human race were to proceed from one progenitor, in a succession of procreation. If, therefore, the guilt of a crime, committed by a father, cannot be transferred to his child, yet the misfortune can, and generally is. In the case now before us, it is universally transferred. This rebellion of man, against his God, is that which gave rise to the contention in heaven, implied in the text. When this contention began in heaven, (to speak after the manner of men,) the great I AM arraigned the criminal man, and summoned all the contending parties to appear and make their pleas, before the great white throne of divine glory. Which leads me, Secondly. To treat of the contending parties and their pleas. The holy Law began. "My rise is not from revelation, although that does me honor: throughout the sacred volume I hold conspicuous rank, and have been magnified and obeyed by the son of God. But my origin is from the great scale of being itself, so that, if there had been no revelation among men, honor and regard would have been my due.* Yet with all the sacred majesty due to my character, man, the dependent creature, has risen in rebellion and disregarded my voice: not only in one instance, but * Though I am treating of events which took place before the world was peopled, and the law given to man, yet my arguments run through time, and treat of men and things. So God calls things that are not as though they were. |