Reprobate
silver shall men call them, because the
Lord hath rejected them.
Lord hath rejected them.
Childrens - The Creation
In England, the difficulty would be to say what it is not
used for. There are India rubber great coats, India rubber clogs,
boots, &c. It is a most valuable gift to man.
Ebony is the darkest of woods, and very durable: it is a native of
the East Indies.
Then there is the Sandal-wood tree; the llose-wood; the Brazil-wood,
of a beautiful red; the Box-tree; with many others, all most useful to
man. But I stayed longer among the trees of the English forest, as
being more familiar to us.
And now, my dear children, I must conclude this long letter; and
long as it is, it is only a brief outline of the subject;--my anxiety,
you know, is, that in our walks it may not be the mere beauty and
loveliness of creation that we should admire; but, searching into these
manifold gifts of God,* we may see goodness and loving-kindness
? The parts of vegetation I here dwell upon, are those more immediately in
relation to man; but if I introduced the animal creation at large as benefited, both
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92
THE CREATION.
crowning all his works. How sweet is that language of David; and
especially in this busy month of harvest:--" Thou visitest the earth,
and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which
is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided
for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest
the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers': thou blessest
the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness;
and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wil-
derness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. " (Ps. lxv. 9--12. )
Believe me, my dear children,
Your affectionate Father.
in their dwelling-places, food, and medicine, the subject would be endless. The
trees, grasses, flowers, fruit, herbs and leaves, both green and dry, all aflbrd a
boundless variety to them; for the Lord opens his hand, and fills all things living
with plenteousness. And in winter, when all nature seems at rest, then strength is
gathering for the spring. And how wonderful is the mutation of nature! --look at
that heap of dried leaves and all kinds of things swept together: death seems to
reign there; but it is for a time only; for in the spring (that great type of resur-
rection) all this apparent hideous deformity shall nourish the seeds sown therein,
and they shall spring up in every form of'fruitfulness and beauty--sown literally
in weakness, raised in power.
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? THE CREATION.
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LETTER VI.
AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE UNTO A MERCHANT MAN, SEEKING
GOODLY PEARLS: WHO, WHEN HE HAD FOUND ONE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE,
WENT AND SOLD ALL THAT HE HAD, AND BOUGHT IT. --Matthew xiii. 45, 46.
My dear Children,
I was struck, some months since, in reading the account of the
ceremony that takes place in the Brazils when a slave finds a
diamond; * and it brought forcibly to my mind the passage in our
Lord's ministry, concerning " the pearl of great price;" for though the
analogy is not perfect in all its parts, yet in its great features it is.
And who can tell the emotions of the poor slave as he holds up the
precious gem and claps his hands, exulting in his prize ? and who can
look unmoved on his intense anxiety, until he hear the word from the
Administrator's lips,--" It has been weighed in the balance, and has passed
the demand:" there is no speck orflaw in it;--the slave is free I Life
? See Appendix.
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THE CREATION.
is in that word. So in the pearl of great price:--beyond price,--it
more than answers the demand for freedom (for the Lord magnified
the law and made it honourable); there is no speck or flaw in it, for
he was the beloved Son in whom his Father's soul delighted; for the
Lord was well pleased for his righteousness' sake. (Isaiah xlii. 1, 21;
Matt. xii. 18. ) The possessor of this precious pearl is free--he is freed
by the great Administrator, who purchased his freedom by his own
life ;* and now be goes forth to work indeed--not for life, but from life,
and clothed with beautiful raiment, the gift of God; a habitation
awaits him, of joy unspeakable, and full of glory. If, when the
tidings reached the Islands of the West, that England had wiped away,
at a national expense of 20,000,000/. , the great blot of slavery from
her laws, and had decreed that all born in her dominion should be free,
the joy was unbounded, how much more should the Christian rejoice
when the glorious proclamation is gone out, " God so loved the world
that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish, but have everlasting life? " (John iii. 16, 18. )
This is indeed freedom; and God gave not for the redemption the
most glorious thing he had created;--that would have failed, and been
utterly without avail;--but he spared not his Son, his only Son, but
gave him up for us all. (Rom. viii. 32. ) O dear children, think on
this; and whilst you rejoice (and every one ought to rejoice) that the
? " Feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. "
Acts xx. 28.
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? LETTER VI.
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man-stealer has been stopped, both in the taking of his prey, and in
the market, yet rejoice still more when the strong man armed, that
kept the city of man's heart, is bound and cast out, and the Holy
Spirit has taken his place, dwelling in, and ruling over the new-
born man, sealing him unto the day of redemption.
How glittering must the breast-plate of Aaron have looked with
those twelve precious gems set therein, in the curious embroidery of
the blue, purple, scarlet, and gold, of the Ephod; which, with a chain
of wreathed gold, was fastened to the two shoulder-pieces, wherein
were also two precious stones, and the names of the twelve tribes
engraved on both. The names also of Christ's children, the Israel of
God, are engraved on his heart: and are more precious to him than
the glowing ruby, the sparkling diamond, the sapphire, the jasper,
and all the gems on Aaron's breast-plate: indeed, he calls his people
his jewels, his peculiar treasure. (Mal. iii. 17. ) The affection of the
High Priest, and the power of the High Priest, are wreathed in one,
as set forth by the golden chain that fastened into one the precious
stones on the heart and shoulders of Aaron; and there is never
a moment that the Lord Jesus, the great High Priest of the true
Israel,--circumcised with the circumcision made without hands--does
not bear every one, even to the least little child that loves him, on
his heart. Not a sigh, nor a tear, nor a grief is forgotten; the hairs
of their heads are all numbered by Him that feedeth the young ravens
when they cry, and that watcheth over the sparrow: therefore they
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96 THE CREATION.
may not--they must not let go their confidence; for they are of " more
value than many sparrows. " (Luke xii. 7. )
As twelve* precious stones shone in the breast-plate of Aaron; so
also twelvef precious stones formed the foundation of the Holy City,
and, with the exception of four, they were the same in each case, and
were doubtless emblematic of the exceeding value of the family of
God. When, then, my beloved children, you look on any of these
precious stones, think of that breast-plate of Aaron, and ask if your
name is on the High Priest's heart, before God, and whether you have
found the Pearl of great price, and sold all that you have to possess it.
(Matt . xiii. 45, 46. )
I have been oftentimes much struck with that solemn, but yet most
gracious prophecy of our Lord in Mai. m. \ " And he shall sit as a
refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi,
and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord
an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and
Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in
? The names of the precious stones
in the breast-plate of Aaron.
Twelve Tribet. Ex. xxviii. 17.
Sardius Topaz Carbuncle
Emerald Sapphire Diamond
Ligurite Agate Amethyst
Beryl Onyx Jasper
t The names of the precious stones
in the foundations of the Holy City.
Twelve Apostles. Rev. xxi. 20.
Jasper Sapphire Chalcedony
Emerald Sardonyx Sardius
Chrysolite Beryl Topaz
Chrysophrasus Jacinth Amethyst
t See Appendix.
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? LETTER VI.
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former years. The figure of a refiner is one of the deepest interest:
--the refiner never leaves the crucible; the precious metal is of too high
a value: as it purifies, it gets clearer and clearer, until at last the
scum or dross is gone, and the image of the refiner is reflected as in
a glass, in the molten gold; and this was the thing desired. So our
blessed Lord never puts his children into the furnace of affliction, but
to purify them; to purge away the dross, and make them more like him-
self: and this accomplished, the crucible is removed. How forcibly
does the patriarch Job allude to this: " He knoweth the way that I
take; and when he hath tried me, / shall come forth as gold. " (Job
xxiii. 10. ) The value of the word of God, and its infinite purity, is
also beautifully illustrated by this figure. The words of the Lord are
pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
(Ps. xii. 6. ) And again, the law of thy mouth is better unto me
than thousands of gold and silver. " (Ps. cxix. 72. ) So also ver. 127,
" I love thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold. " Dear
children, is David's language yours ? can you thus speak of God's
blessed word ? This is how a man on the eve of execution would
speak of the Queen's proclamation of pardon when read in his ears--
all language would fail to tell its value. But the word of God pro-
claims tidings far above an earthly pardon; even forgiveness in the
precious blood of Jesus. And the soul that receives these good tidings
can say, passing on beyond the gold, even the gold of Ophir, " the
price of wisdom is above rubies, and all the things thou canst desire are
F
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? 98
THE CREATION.
not to be compared to her: length of days is in her right hand--
in her left hand riches and honour; her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace. " (Prov. iii. 15--17. ) And again in chap.
viii. , " My fruit is better than gold, yea, than much fine gold : I lead
in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment;
that I may cause them that love me to inherit substance. " (Ver. 19--21.
See also ii. 4. ) We have often read the 60th chapter of Isaiah*
together. It contains a passage of exceeding beauty:--the pro-
phet is evidently describing the tribes of Israel, in the last days,
rising up into the favour of God; the days of their widowhood past,
and their sorrows gone. " Thou shalt also suck the milk of the
Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know
that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One
of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver,
and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers
peace, and thy exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be
heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou
shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. " Any comment
of man on this word would but weaken it,--" Happy is the people
that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord. "
? The Canticles, or Songs of Solomon, also abound in illustrations from the
precious stones and metals; likewise the Revelation of St. John. Eph. v. 32,
where the Lord is revealed as the heavenly Bridegroom, the Church the Bride, is
a key to the former; and a deep spiritual acquaintance with the Tabernacle and
Temple service, would surely throw much light on the latter.
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LETTER VI.
99
Sometimes the figures are in judgment; and then, in allusion to
the sternness of the metals, instead of the clouds dropping the fertile
showers and the gentle dew; the earth yielding her thirty, sixty, and
hundred fold; the word concerning the obstinate and obdurate Israel
is," I will break the pride of your power: and I will make your heaven
as iron, and your earth as brass; and your strength shall be spent in
vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees
of the land yield their fruits. " (Lev. xxvi. 19, 20. )
And so in Jeremiah vi. , where, under the imagery of refuse rejected
metals, the judgments of God are thus awfully described: " They are
all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron;
they are all corrupters. The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed
of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not
plucked away.
Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the
Lord hath rejected them. "
The Rock is a figure frequently used in Scripture to denote stability
and protection. In the song of Moses, which closed his forty years'
ministry in the wilderness, how striking are these words:--"Because
I will publish the name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness unto our
God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judg-
ment; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. "
(Deut. xxxii. 3, 4. ) The figure is also again introduced in ver. 15,
18, 30, 31; all denoting the same thing--great stability and per-
fection. But that which gives the Rock the deepest interest to the
f2
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100
THE CREATION.
christian mind, is the application of it in 1 Cor. x. 3, 4; from which it
is manifest that the rock, the water of which followed Israel through
the wilderness, as well as the manna that came down from heaven, set
forth the Lord Jesus. Yes, my dear children, He was the angel
(the angel of the covenant) that was with his people in the wilderness,
guiding all their ways. (Acts vii. 38. ) He was also the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, (Rev. v. 5;)--the true High Priest, (Heb. iii. 1;)--the Lamb
of God, (1 Pet. i. 19;)--the Vail, (Heb. x. 20;)--the golden Mercy-seat,
(Rom. iii. 25;)--the Bread which came down from heaven, (John vi. 33;)
--and the Rock that followed. (1 Cor. x. 4. ) Truly he was the Alpha
and Omega of the church in the wilderness in type and shadow, as he
is to the church now in reality and substance. (Rev. i. 11. )
Sometimes the church of God is set forth as a temple; then the
stone--the tried stone--the sure foundation--the precious corner-stone
Jehovah laid in Zion, even that stone on which was engraven the
seven eyes, only gets its answer in our blessed Lord; for other
foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, even Christ Jesus,
(compare Isa. xxviii. 16 and Zech. iii. 9 with 1 Pet. ii. 6;) and he
that builds on this foundation can never fail; for though the storm
beat vehemently against his house, it falls not; it is founded on a
rock--the Rock of Ages. (Luke vi. 47, 48. )
The Rock is also blessedly introduced, as the emblem of protection
and shade; and the traveller in an open plain can well understand the
beauty of the text, when, reaching some towering rock, he shelters
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? LETTER VI.
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himself beneath its shade from the fervent heat of the sun. Such is
the Lord: " the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. " (Isa. xxxii. 2. )
Sometimes in our walks in Ireland, we came between two heights,
where the impending rocks seemed to threaten us with destruction;
nothing could be more awful, and we were glad to escape; and yet,
when the sixth seal opens, and the Lamb of God is manifested, that
countenance that beamed with compassion when he said, "Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do," (Luke xxiii. 34,)
shall then be covered w ith wrath; and so terrible will be the sight,
that the wicked, high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, shall call
on the mountains and rocks to fall on them, to hide them from the wrath
of the Lamb. (Rev. vi. 12--17. )
The wrath of the Lamb! There is something inconceivably awful
in this scripture; indeed, the three characters in which the Lord Jesus
was and is now manifested in mercy, will then be changed into
judgment; for the Son will be angry, (Ps. ii. 12,) the Lamb will be
wroth, (Rev. vi. 17,) and the Man will be Judge. (Acts xvii. 31; Rev. xx.
11, 12. ) 0 my beloved children, may each of you "to-day, while it is
called to-day," flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before you.
Now is the day of grace, and now there is rejoicing in the presence of
the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke xv. 10. )
I alluded to the Harvest in my last letter, and promised to enlarge
on it a little in this. We saw the High Priest wave the sheaf of first-
fruits the morning after the sabbath, which sheaf had been reaped
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102
THE CREATION.
previous to the sabbath, and laid up during the sabbath. This the
Spirit of God, in 1 Cor. xv. 23, explains to us ; and passing beyond
the offering of thanksgiving for the temporal harvest, (though that is
most blessed in its place,) we see in that wave sheaf the Lord Jesus
raised from the dead;--gathered previous to the sabbath--laid up during
the sabbath--and raised up on high the morning after the sabbath, the
first-fruits of an abundant harvest. To this the Psalmist alludes, for
the original word is the same. There shall be a handful, an omer of
corn in the earth, on the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall
shake like Lebanon. (Ps. lxxii. 16. ) Jesus was the true corn of wheat
that fell into the ground and died, and brought forth much fruit. If
he had not died, he would have remained alone; but he died, and
rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
(Rom. xiv. 9; 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17. )
If you search the Scriptures, my dear children, you will find abun-
dance of passages where the figures taken from the creation of this
third day, are used by the Holy Spirit to set forth divine truth, but
perhaps in none more than in the Psalms. I would call your attention
particularly to those commencing at Ps. xcvi. and extending to Ps. c.
Ps. xcvi. and xcviii. , and xcvii. and xcix. , seem to go together; the
two previous ones being the exhortation to the church to sing the
hymn of triumph; and the two latter, the song itself. The scene is
explained by Rom. viii. 22, 23: " For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only
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LETTER VI.
103
they, but ourselves also which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even
we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,
the redemption of our body. " But when the Second Adam, the Lord
from heaven, shall be manifested, and all his saints with him, he will
take unto himself his great power and reign, (Rev. xi. 15,) and then will
all creation rejoice. Nothing can exceed the triumph of the Psalms
I have alluded to:--" Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be glad ;
let the sea roar and the fulness thereof; let the field be joyful and all
that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the
Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; he shall judge
the world with righteousness, and his people with truth. " (Ps. xcvi.
11--13; see also Ps. xcvii. 6--9. ) You remember, my dear children,
how beautifully our favourite poet Cowper speaks of this glorious
period--the times of restitution. (Acts iii. 21. )--
" O scenes surpassing fable ; and yet true!
Scenes of accomplished bliss ! which who can see,
Though but in distant prospect, and not feel
His soul refreshed with foretaste of the joy?
Rivers of gladness water all the earth,
And clothe all climes with beauty: the reproach
Of barrenness is past: the fruitful field
Laughs with abundance; and the land, once lean,
Or fertile only in its own disgrace,
Exults to see the thistly curse removed;--
The various seasons woven into one,
And that one season an eternal Spring. "--Winter Walk at Noon.
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THE CREATION.
But not only do the Psalms, under these sublime similitudes, thus
speak of the glories of the latter day; they also set forth the more re-
tired walk of the individual believer. How sweet is that description in
Ps. i. of the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord:--" He shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit
in his season: his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper. " (Ver. 3. ) In winter, as in summer, the Christian bears
his leaf; and the Lord ever watches over him, and prospers him in his
ways. One more Psalm I cannot but refer to, as it is among the
earliest in my remembrance:--" The righteous shall flourish like the
palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be
planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our
God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat
and flourishing; to shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in him. " (Ps. xcii. 12--15. )
The &ew Testament does not so abound in figurative language as
the prophetical parts of the Old, though indeed the instruction of our
blessed Lord was greatly after this order. The parable of the sower,
and all the parables of Matt. xiii. --the scenes of every-day life--are
used in spiritual instruction. And in that solemn word spoken on the
Mount of Olives, but a few hours before the crucifixion, how forcible
is the instruction from the similitude of the vine ! Christ is the true
Vine; the Father the Husbandman; his people the branches. There
is no fruitfulness but by continually abiding in him. Fruitfulness is
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? LETTER VI.
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the effect of union, not the cause of it. The barren, fruitless branches
are cut away; and men gather them, and they are burned: but he
that abideth in Jesus bears much fruit. The true Christian delights
to do his Father's will; he delights to abound in good works; but he
does not do them to be saved; but being saved he does them ;--it is
his meat and drink to do his heavenly Father's will. There is no
true morality but by union with Jesus, and then it abounds; and the
Christian's standard is found in the Lord's exhortation, " Be ye there-
fore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. "
(Matt. v. 48; John xv. )
But ere I close this letter I must call your attention to one most
beautiful figurative passage in the prophecy of Ezekiel, chap. xvii. ,
as it so vividly sets forth the glory of the Lord Jesus in the latter
days:--under the parable of two great eagles, long winged and full of
feathers, the one cropping a sprig of the loftiest cedar of Lebanon,
and transplanting it to a city of merchants, and then sowing the seed
of the kingdom in a fruitful field, and it springing up a vine of low
stature; and the other strengthening this vine, which shot forth her
branches towards him: the Lord sets forth the vain* attempts of the
king of Babylon to raise up, and the king of Egypt to succour
another branch of the house of Judah, when the Lord had, in Jehoia-
kim, (who had filled up the cup of his iniquity, by burning the word
* The temporary reign of Jeboiakim, for three months, (who was then led captive
to Babylon, according to the fourth verse,) was Satan's subtle but vain attempt
to thwart the purposes of God.
used for. There are India rubber great coats, India rubber clogs,
boots, &c. It is a most valuable gift to man.
Ebony is the darkest of woods, and very durable: it is a native of
the East Indies.
Then there is the Sandal-wood tree; the llose-wood; the Brazil-wood,
of a beautiful red; the Box-tree; with many others, all most useful to
man. But I stayed longer among the trees of the English forest, as
being more familiar to us.
And now, my dear children, I must conclude this long letter; and
long as it is, it is only a brief outline of the subject;--my anxiety,
you know, is, that in our walks it may not be the mere beauty and
loveliness of creation that we should admire; but, searching into these
manifold gifts of God,* we may see goodness and loving-kindness
? The parts of vegetation I here dwell upon, are those more immediately in
relation to man; but if I introduced the animal creation at large as benefited, both
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92
THE CREATION.
crowning all his works. How sweet is that language of David; and
especially in this busy month of harvest:--" Thou visitest the earth,
and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which
is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided
for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest
the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers': thou blessest
the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness;
and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wil-
derness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. " (Ps. lxv. 9--12. )
Believe me, my dear children,
Your affectionate Father.
in their dwelling-places, food, and medicine, the subject would be endless. The
trees, grasses, flowers, fruit, herbs and leaves, both green and dry, all aflbrd a
boundless variety to them; for the Lord opens his hand, and fills all things living
with plenteousness. And in winter, when all nature seems at rest, then strength is
gathering for the spring. And how wonderful is the mutation of nature! --look at
that heap of dried leaves and all kinds of things swept together: death seems to
reign there; but it is for a time only; for in the spring (that great type of resur-
rection) all this apparent hideous deformity shall nourish the seeds sown therein,
and they shall spring up in every form of'fruitfulness and beauty--sown literally
in weakness, raised in power.
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? THE CREATION.
93
LETTER VI.
AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE UNTO A MERCHANT MAN, SEEKING
GOODLY PEARLS: WHO, WHEN HE HAD FOUND ONE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE,
WENT AND SOLD ALL THAT HE HAD, AND BOUGHT IT. --Matthew xiii. 45, 46.
My dear Children,
I was struck, some months since, in reading the account of the
ceremony that takes place in the Brazils when a slave finds a
diamond; * and it brought forcibly to my mind the passage in our
Lord's ministry, concerning " the pearl of great price;" for though the
analogy is not perfect in all its parts, yet in its great features it is.
And who can tell the emotions of the poor slave as he holds up the
precious gem and claps his hands, exulting in his prize ? and who can
look unmoved on his intense anxiety, until he hear the word from the
Administrator's lips,--" It has been weighed in the balance, and has passed
the demand:" there is no speck orflaw in it;--the slave is free I Life
? See Appendix.
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THE CREATION.
is in that word. So in the pearl of great price:--beyond price,--it
more than answers the demand for freedom (for the Lord magnified
the law and made it honourable); there is no speck or flaw in it, for
he was the beloved Son in whom his Father's soul delighted; for the
Lord was well pleased for his righteousness' sake. (Isaiah xlii. 1, 21;
Matt. xii. 18. ) The possessor of this precious pearl is free--he is freed
by the great Administrator, who purchased his freedom by his own
life ;* and now be goes forth to work indeed--not for life, but from life,
and clothed with beautiful raiment, the gift of God; a habitation
awaits him, of joy unspeakable, and full of glory. If, when the
tidings reached the Islands of the West, that England had wiped away,
at a national expense of 20,000,000/. , the great blot of slavery from
her laws, and had decreed that all born in her dominion should be free,
the joy was unbounded, how much more should the Christian rejoice
when the glorious proclamation is gone out, " God so loved the world
that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish, but have everlasting life? " (John iii. 16, 18. )
This is indeed freedom; and God gave not for the redemption the
most glorious thing he had created;--that would have failed, and been
utterly without avail;--but he spared not his Son, his only Son, but
gave him up for us all. (Rom. viii. 32. ) O dear children, think on
this; and whilst you rejoice (and every one ought to rejoice) that the
? " Feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. "
Acts xx. 28.
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? LETTER VI.
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man-stealer has been stopped, both in the taking of his prey, and in
the market, yet rejoice still more when the strong man armed, that
kept the city of man's heart, is bound and cast out, and the Holy
Spirit has taken his place, dwelling in, and ruling over the new-
born man, sealing him unto the day of redemption.
How glittering must the breast-plate of Aaron have looked with
those twelve precious gems set therein, in the curious embroidery of
the blue, purple, scarlet, and gold, of the Ephod; which, with a chain
of wreathed gold, was fastened to the two shoulder-pieces, wherein
were also two precious stones, and the names of the twelve tribes
engraved on both. The names also of Christ's children, the Israel of
God, are engraved on his heart: and are more precious to him than
the glowing ruby, the sparkling diamond, the sapphire, the jasper,
and all the gems on Aaron's breast-plate: indeed, he calls his people
his jewels, his peculiar treasure. (Mal. iii. 17. ) The affection of the
High Priest, and the power of the High Priest, are wreathed in one,
as set forth by the golden chain that fastened into one the precious
stones on the heart and shoulders of Aaron; and there is never
a moment that the Lord Jesus, the great High Priest of the true
Israel,--circumcised with the circumcision made without hands--does
not bear every one, even to the least little child that loves him, on
his heart. Not a sigh, nor a tear, nor a grief is forgotten; the hairs
of their heads are all numbered by Him that feedeth the young ravens
when they cry, and that watcheth over the sparrow: therefore they
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96 THE CREATION.
may not--they must not let go their confidence; for they are of " more
value than many sparrows. " (Luke xii. 7. )
As twelve* precious stones shone in the breast-plate of Aaron; so
also twelvef precious stones formed the foundation of the Holy City,
and, with the exception of four, they were the same in each case, and
were doubtless emblematic of the exceeding value of the family of
God. When, then, my beloved children, you look on any of these
precious stones, think of that breast-plate of Aaron, and ask if your
name is on the High Priest's heart, before God, and whether you have
found the Pearl of great price, and sold all that you have to possess it.
(Matt . xiii. 45, 46. )
I have been oftentimes much struck with that solemn, but yet most
gracious prophecy of our Lord in Mai. m. \ " And he shall sit as a
refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi,
and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord
an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and
Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in
? The names of the precious stones
in the breast-plate of Aaron.
Twelve Tribet. Ex. xxviii. 17.
Sardius Topaz Carbuncle
Emerald Sapphire Diamond
Ligurite Agate Amethyst
Beryl Onyx Jasper
t The names of the precious stones
in the foundations of the Holy City.
Twelve Apostles. Rev. xxi. 20.
Jasper Sapphire Chalcedony
Emerald Sardonyx Sardius
Chrysolite Beryl Topaz
Chrysophrasus Jacinth Amethyst
t See Appendix.
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? LETTER VI.
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former years. The figure of a refiner is one of the deepest interest:
--the refiner never leaves the crucible; the precious metal is of too high
a value: as it purifies, it gets clearer and clearer, until at last the
scum or dross is gone, and the image of the refiner is reflected as in
a glass, in the molten gold; and this was the thing desired. So our
blessed Lord never puts his children into the furnace of affliction, but
to purify them; to purge away the dross, and make them more like him-
self: and this accomplished, the crucible is removed. How forcibly
does the patriarch Job allude to this: " He knoweth the way that I
take; and when he hath tried me, / shall come forth as gold. " (Job
xxiii. 10. ) The value of the word of God, and its infinite purity, is
also beautifully illustrated by this figure. The words of the Lord are
pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
(Ps. xii. 6. ) And again, the law of thy mouth is better unto me
than thousands of gold and silver. " (Ps. cxix. 72. ) So also ver. 127,
" I love thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold. " Dear
children, is David's language yours ? can you thus speak of God's
blessed word ? This is how a man on the eve of execution would
speak of the Queen's proclamation of pardon when read in his ears--
all language would fail to tell its value. But the word of God pro-
claims tidings far above an earthly pardon; even forgiveness in the
precious blood of Jesus. And the soul that receives these good tidings
can say, passing on beyond the gold, even the gold of Ophir, " the
price of wisdom is above rubies, and all the things thou canst desire are
F
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? 98
THE CREATION.
not to be compared to her: length of days is in her right hand--
in her left hand riches and honour; her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace. " (Prov. iii. 15--17. ) And again in chap.
viii. , " My fruit is better than gold, yea, than much fine gold : I lead
in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment;
that I may cause them that love me to inherit substance. " (Ver. 19--21.
See also ii. 4. ) We have often read the 60th chapter of Isaiah*
together. It contains a passage of exceeding beauty:--the pro-
phet is evidently describing the tribes of Israel, in the last days,
rising up into the favour of God; the days of their widowhood past,
and their sorrows gone. " Thou shalt also suck the milk of the
Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know
that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One
of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver,
and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers
peace, and thy exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be
heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou
shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. " Any comment
of man on this word would but weaken it,--" Happy is the people
that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord. "
? The Canticles, or Songs of Solomon, also abound in illustrations from the
precious stones and metals; likewise the Revelation of St. John. Eph. v. 32,
where the Lord is revealed as the heavenly Bridegroom, the Church the Bride, is
a key to the former; and a deep spiritual acquaintance with the Tabernacle and
Temple service, would surely throw much light on the latter.
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LETTER VI.
99
Sometimes the figures are in judgment; and then, in allusion to
the sternness of the metals, instead of the clouds dropping the fertile
showers and the gentle dew; the earth yielding her thirty, sixty, and
hundred fold; the word concerning the obstinate and obdurate Israel
is," I will break the pride of your power: and I will make your heaven
as iron, and your earth as brass; and your strength shall be spent in
vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees
of the land yield their fruits. " (Lev. xxvi. 19, 20. )
And so in Jeremiah vi. , where, under the imagery of refuse rejected
metals, the judgments of God are thus awfully described: " They are
all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron;
they are all corrupters. The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed
of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not
plucked away.
Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the
Lord hath rejected them. "
The Rock is a figure frequently used in Scripture to denote stability
and protection. In the song of Moses, which closed his forty years'
ministry in the wilderness, how striking are these words:--"Because
I will publish the name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness unto our
God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judg-
ment; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. "
(Deut. xxxii. 3, 4. ) The figure is also again introduced in ver. 15,
18, 30, 31; all denoting the same thing--great stability and per-
fection. But that which gives the Rock the deepest interest to the
f2
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100
THE CREATION.
christian mind, is the application of it in 1 Cor. x. 3, 4; from which it
is manifest that the rock, the water of which followed Israel through
the wilderness, as well as the manna that came down from heaven, set
forth the Lord Jesus. Yes, my dear children, He was the angel
(the angel of the covenant) that was with his people in the wilderness,
guiding all their ways. (Acts vii. 38. ) He was also the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, (Rev. v. 5;)--the true High Priest, (Heb. iii. 1;)--the Lamb
of God, (1 Pet. i. 19;)--the Vail, (Heb. x. 20;)--the golden Mercy-seat,
(Rom. iii. 25;)--the Bread which came down from heaven, (John vi. 33;)
--and the Rock that followed. (1 Cor. x. 4. ) Truly he was the Alpha
and Omega of the church in the wilderness in type and shadow, as he
is to the church now in reality and substance. (Rev. i. 11. )
Sometimes the church of God is set forth as a temple; then the
stone--the tried stone--the sure foundation--the precious corner-stone
Jehovah laid in Zion, even that stone on which was engraven the
seven eyes, only gets its answer in our blessed Lord; for other
foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, even Christ Jesus,
(compare Isa. xxviii. 16 and Zech. iii. 9 with 1 Pet. ii. 6;) and he
that builds on this foundation can never fail; for though the storm
beat vehemently against his house, it falls not; it is founded on a
rock--the Rock of Ages. (Luke vi. 47, 48. )
The Rock is also blessedly introduced, as the emblem of protection
and shade; and the traveller in an open plain can well understand the
beauty of the text, when, reaching some towering rock, he shelters
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? LETTER VI.
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himself beneath its shade from the fervent heat of the sun. Such is
the Lord: " the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. " (Isa. xxxii. 2. )
Sometimes in our walks in Ireland, we came between two heights,
where the impending rocks seemed to threaten us with destruction;
nothing could be more awful, and we were glad to escape; and yet,
when the sixth seal opens, and the Lamb of God is manifested, that
countenance that beamed with compassion when he said, "Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do," (Luke xxiii. 34,)
shall then be covered w ith wrath; and so terrible will be the sight,
that the wicked, high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, shall call
on the mountains and rocks to fall on them, to hide them from the wrath
of the Lamb. (Rev. vi. 12--17. )
The wrath of the Lamb! There is something inconceivably awful
in this scripture; indeed, the three characters in which the Lord Jesus
was and is now manifested in mercy, will then be changed into
judgment; for the Son will be angry, (Ps. ii. 12,) the Lamb will be
wroth, (Rev. vi. 17,) and the Man will be Judge. (Acts xvii. 31; Rev. xx.
11, 12. ) 0 my beloved children, may each of you "to-day, while it is
called to-day," flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before you.
Now is the day of grace, and now there is rejoicing in the presence of
the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke xv. 10. )
I alluded to the Harvest in my last letter, and promised to enlarge
on it a little in this. We saw the High Priest wave the sheaf of first-
fruits the morning after the sabbath, which sheaf had been reaped
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102
THE CREATION.
previous to the sabbath, and laid up during the sabbath. This the
Spirit of God, in 1 Cor. xv. 23, explains to us ; and passing beyond
the offering of thanksgiving for the temporal harvest, (though that is
most blessed in its place,) we see in that wave sheaf the Lord Jesus
raised from the dead;--gathered previous to the sabbath--laid up during
the sabbath--and raised up on high the morning after the sabbath, the
first-fruits of an abundant harvest. To this the Psalmist alludes, for
the original word is the same. There shall be a handful, an omer of
corn in the earth, on the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall
shake like Lebanon. (Ps. lxxii. 16. ) Jesus was the true corn of wheat
that fell into the ground and died, and brought forth much fruit. If
he had not died, he would have remained alone; but he died, and
rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
(Rom. xiv. 9; 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17. )
If you search the Scriptures, my dear children, you will find abun-
dance of passages where the figures taken from the creation of this
third day, are used by the Holy Spirit to set forth divine truth, but
perhaps in none more than in the Psalms. I would call your attention
particularly to those commencing at Ps. xcvi. and extending to Ps. c.
Ps. xcvi. and xcviii. , and xcvii. and xcix. , seem to go together; the
two previous ones being the exhortation to the church to sing the
hymn of triumph; and the two latter, the song itself. The scene is
explained by Rom. viii. 22, 23: " For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only
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LETTER VI.
103
they, but ourselves also which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even
we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,
the redemption of our body. " But when the Second Adam, the Lord
from heaven, shall be manifested, and all his saints with him, he will
take unto himself his great power and reign, (Rev. xi. 15,) and then will
all creation rejoice. Nothing can exceed the triumph of the Psalms
I have alluded to:--" Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be glad ;
let the sea roar and the fulness thereof; let the field be joyful and all
that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the
Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; he shall judge
the world with righteousness, and his people with truth. " (Ps. xcvi.
11--13; see also Ps. xcvii. 6--9. ) You remember, my dear children,
how beautifully our favourite poet Cowper speaks of this glorious
period--the times of restitution. (Acts iii. 21. )--
" O scenes surpassing fable ; and yet true!
Scenes of accomplished bliss ! which who can see,
Though but in distant prospect, and not feel
His soul refreshed with foretaste of the joy?
Rivers of gladness water all the earth,
And clothe all climes with beauty: the reproach
Of barrenness is past: the fruitful field
Laughs with abundance; and the land, once lean,
Or fertile only in its own disgrace,
Exults to see the thistly curse removed;--
The various seasons woven into one,
And that one season an eternal Spring. "--Winter Walk at Noon.
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? 104
THE CREATION.
But not only do the Psalms, under these sublime similitudes, thus
speak of the glories of the latter day; they also set forth the more re-
tired walk of the individual believer. How sweet is that description in
Ps. i. of the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord:--" He shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit
in his season: his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper. " (Ver. 3. ) In winter, as in summer, the Christian bears
his leaf; and the Lord ever watches over him, and prospers him in his
ways. One more Psalm I cannot but refer to, as it is among the
earliest in my remembrance:--" The righteous shall flourish like the
palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be
planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our
God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat
and flourishing; to shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in him. " (Ps. xcii. 12--15. )
The &ew Testament does not so abound in figurative language as
the prophetical parts of the Old, though indeed the instruction of our
blessed Lord was greatly after this order. The parable of the sower,
and all the parables of Matt. xiii. --the scenes of every-day life--are
used in spiritual instruction. And in that solemn word spoken on the
Mount of Olives, but a few hours before the crucifixion, how forcible
is the instruction from the similitude of the vine ! Christ is the true
Vine; the Father the Husbandman; his people the branches. There
is no fruitfulness but by continually abiding in him. Fruitfulness is
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? LETTER VI.
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the effect of union, not the cause of it. The barren, fruitless branches
are cut away; and men gather them, and they are burned: but he
that abideth in Jesus bears much fruit. The true Christian delights
to do his Father's will; he delights to abound in good works; but he
does not do them to be saved; but being saved he does them ;--it is
his meat and drink to do his heavenly Father's will. There is no
true morality but by union with Jesus, and then it abounds; and the
Christian's standard is found in the Lord's exhortation, " Be ye there-
fore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. "
(Matt. v. 48; John xv. )
But ere I close this letter I must call your attention to one most
beautiful figurative passage in the prophecy of Ezekiel, chap. xvii. ,
as it so vividly sets forth the glory of the Lord Jesus in the latter
days:--under the parable of two great eagles, long winged and full of
feathers, the one cropping a sprig of the loftiest cedar of Lebanon,
and transplanting it to a city of merchants, and then sowing the seed
of the kingdom in a fruitful field, and it springing up a vine of low
stature; and the other strengthening this vine, which shot forth her
branches towards him: the Lord sets forth the vain* attempts of the
king of Babylon to raise up, and the king of Egypt to succour
another branch of the house of Judah, when the Lord had, in Jehoia-
kim, (who had filled up the cup of his iniquity, by burning the word
* The temporary reign of Jeboiakim, for three months, (who was then led captive
to Babylon, according to the fourth verse,) was Satan's subtle but vain attempt
to thwart the purposes of God.
