A Feast for Serpents: Being the substance of a sermon, preached at the Obelisk Chapel, on Sunday evening, March 21, 1813Church, J. (John)
Religion
A Feast for Serpents: Being the substance of a sermon, preached at the Obelisk Chapel, on Sunday evening, March 21, 1813
Church, J. (John)
Sermons, English -- 19th century
It is very probable that this prophecy began to take place upon the
spread of the Gospel in the land of Judea, and in the Gentile world; when
there was a new face of things, so that the whole looked like a new
world. The Gospel ran, had free course, and was glorified—Sinners, of
every sort and size, were converted to God—the Redeemer saw the travail
of his soul, and the Holy Spirit displayed the love, grace, and mercy of
God, in all its glory. The _freeness_ of grace was seen in the objects
it noticed; the _power_ of it was seen in the conquests it gained; its
_sovereignty_ was seen in passing by those who bid fairest in their own
eyes for glory. While grace revealed these things unto babes, others,
not interested in them, heard enough to hate them—rejected them
altogether, and persecuted those who had received them. These
persecutions were attended with many advantages to the saints; none were
hurt effectually, nor any bud of the Tree of Life, nor budding hope,
destroyed in all God’s holy Mountain.
Thus having proceeded to our text, which I shall barely comment upon,
except the clause I first read as a text, this I shall endeavor to
explain.
_First_. _The Wolf shall dwell with the Lamb_—so it reads in the 11th
Chap, of this Book; here it is the same—_shall feed together_; if they
dwell together they must, consequently, feed together. I remark, that it
was the eternal design of God to shew himself to his creatures as the God
of all grace—so the Apostle words it, _that in the ages to come he might
__shew unto us the exceeding riches of his grace and kindness towards
us_, _by Christ Jesus_. This he has done in all ages, in its divine
sovereignty, freeness, and power, upon those characters who may justly be
compared to ravening Wolves, who have worried, and made sad havoc among
Christ’s Sheep. Such bitter persecutors have been called out of darkness
into life, the heart being changed, the life and conduct were changed
too; for this is the design and the conquest of grace. It is to be
lamented that many, while in the world, have been sad opposers of the
doctrines of the Gospel—these take up a profession, and however promising
in appearance, they still oppose the main Doctrines of the Cross. Then,
I ask, what has grace done for them? In a profession they are, but in a
state of reconciliation they are not. But my text tells us, that _the
Wolf and Lamb shall feed together_—that what the Lambs feed on, such the
Wolf should, when God converted them to the truth. Here the Saints are
compared to Lambs, for their harmlessness and innocence; and such they
are in their new-creature state. We may see this passage verified in the
Apostle Paul—he was of the tribe of Benjamin, of whom Jacob said, he
should _ravin as a Wolf_.—Thus did Saul of Tarsus against the Sheep of
Jesus. He harrassed, he made sad slaughter among them. But, oh! the
wonders of grace, that tamed, humbled, and reconciled him to the Saviour
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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