1992 issue 7 - sermons of benjamin palmer: "the gospel, the power of god" - counsel of chalcedon

8/12/2019 1992 Issue 7 - Sermons of Benjamin Palmer: "The Gospel, The Power of God" - Counsel of Chalcedon

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pardon. is secured. The delusion is

confirmedby,the

false analogies

which

are ' ,drawn from governments

administered

by men. If these,

confessedly liinlted n d i m ~ c t may

yetexerciseadispensingpowetfuserting

asidethepenaltyof1aw; hOwmuchmore

may that government

do

thesame, which

is perfect in its

character,

and

absolute

in

itsdOlninion .We do not stop to cousider

that ,thiS perfection itself

creates

the

dlfficulty

in

the case.

An ill..jointed

machine may not be the

worse

for its

irregular .movements, which

are

in a

sense allowed and provided for;

whilst

one that

is Perfect

in

its

structure

flies to

pieces, as soon' as it

deviates

a baiTs

breadth from

itS original course.

It must

be remembered that the Divine ' aw;

springing; as it

does,

from

the

nature'of .

God,mustinvariablyandexactlyeJ$ess

His perfections. Its inextinguishable

vitality and force are due, not simply

to

its being the utterance of His

sovereign

will,

but to its being theexpOsition ofHis

holy character. All i s a t t r i b t ~ a r e i n it,

to be announced and

to

be vindicated.

They leap fonh upon transgression aIld '

pursue the criminal, justas the lightning

fIashes;p1lt

from

an

angry

cloud ,

They

cannot be held in

abeyarlCe, any more

than

mortal power can seize the

thunderbolt and imprison it again in the

cloud whence it has

escaped.

If then

the

holiness, the justice and the nuth of God

unite in pronouncing death upon the

transgressor, where

is the

room for

pardon. untiltheseveryattributesequally

coneurin the

provision'

of

mercy? Here

is the problem to be solved:

how shall

a

holy God pardon the sinner, when that

same holiness

decrees his

punishment?

How shall the law, which exactly

expouncjs

the

character of

God, set the

attributes ofhisnature

ilt vatiance? How

is it possible,

in

the administration of a

govemmentwhichadmitsofnodeviation

from nuth, thatmercyshall findachannel

foritsoutflow; except

thatchanne1

be cut

in the granite rectitude which underlies

the law itself: It is just this, in the

Apostle'smind,which makes the Gospel appointment

of

the Son, by the Father, to

the power of

God to salvation; "for

undertake the work , of human

therein,"headds,

"is the

righteousness of redemptioll

God revealed from faith

to faith v.

n

But

this redemption consisls

in the

l.ettisbreakthistruthintoitscomponent endurance of the

curse;

and

how shall

parts.

the

Divine suffer

and die?

Nay more,

I.

Power is displayed

in

constituting

how shall the great coturadiction ,

be

the substitute

who shall take the siMer's compassed of bringing Him

under

the

placeundetthelaw. Itshouldbeaccepted jurisdiction

of

the4lw, w40 is supreme

asanaxlom,thatthelawisunchangeable

oirer

it and from

whose

nature,

as their

like

its Author

Whom

it discloses. It

can

fountain

and source, issue

its

eternal

never in a single particular, recede from distinctions of right and wrong as

its original demand. Ifviolated, it must recognized by the human

conscience?

be repaired; through an

atonement,

in Tnese interrogatories plunge us into

the

the

penalty through

a vicalious

mystery of the

incarnatipn-" he

great

obedience

in

the

,precept.

Upon this nrystery

of godliness,

God manifest in he

point, there

is

not room for the slightest

flesh.'

I Tun. 3:16) Behold the power

dispute. The law cannot be

dishonored

which brings

together,

in the

person

of

,throughitssubjects.IfpardonbepossibIe, ' jesusChrist,theDivineandthelnu:nan-

itisnottintillawhasvindlcateditsclaimsthat

which

is

above

law

to

glorify,

ane

in the':

personof

a sUbstitute who that which

is

under law

to

obey-that

undertakes

the calise

of

the guilty. Thus

whichcan ptotecttheinterestsofheaven,

mercy and truth are

met

together. (Ps:

and that

which can

represent

the wants

75:10) Grace pr,ovides the Daysman, of eanh that which can assen the

while justice acknowledges the prerogative

of

mercy, and thatwhichcan

satisfaction which

he

rendeIS,

meet the

exactions

of justice.

View the

. ' , Buthere the

dilIlcultyemerges,

which stretch

of omnipotence over

the whole

wisdom

and

power

must

combine

to

compaSs of being,

and , he

bringing

surmount.

If this

substitute

be sought

together

itS twO opposite poles; being

among the

creatures,

then his obedience infinite, uncaused, eternal, as it

is

found

is duefor himselfand cannot

be

set

over in God being

finite, conditioned,

to

the

account of

another.

It

canhave

no created,

as it

is

found

in

man

intriilsic merit,

bywhich to

secure the

the

bare conjunction of these

salvation of the

lost. It

is

destitute of , extremes iil the one person of the

value, except

as

it

may

ensure his

Mediator, shoiJ.tdsufficientlyitupressus

individualacceptancebeforeGod; whilst with the power that

accomplishes it;

but

the

impossibility

6f

supererogation baIS we

have not yet touthed the

core of

the

the transfer ofhis righteoUSllesS into the

mystery.

The humanity ofChrist might

possession of another.

Clearly then

the

have

been created, precisely as that of

eye

of

the

lawgiver must

range above Adam

in

the beginning.

This however

created beings-and findwithinHisown would not

have

put

Him

in

relation with

pavilion oEUght, and lying in His own our race; nor would the right of

bosom, the

substitute

who

can

interpose

redemptionbe

vested

in

one

so totally

a

the assistance which shall

be

effective. stranger to our

blood.

This

suhstirute

What sreqUIred, is

the

obediencle

of

one must not

only be man,

but a

member

of

not

himself

a

subject

of law,

and with

theC1asswhomHecomestoredeem. He

whom

it

shall be entirely optional to must not only be created, He must be

assume the

obligations

ofanoiherpany. born of

man.

Yet how shall He

be

This dlfficulty, I need scarcely

remind

brought under this

law

of descent, and

you,

finds its

solutiOn

in the

tripeISOnal

yet escape the terrible inheritance

of sin

subsistence of the Deity-'-a ld in the which comes by derivation

to

all

others

18 I

11IE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

I

July/Angost, 1992


3/7

of he

race?

Beholdanothermanifestation

ofpowerinthatsupernaturalconception

in the womb of a virgin, estopping

the

entail of sin by making him

only "the

seed of the woman".

And

Ole angel

answered andsaid

untv her, the Holy Ghost

shall wme upon

thee,

and the power oj the

Hig}1est sludl overshadow thee; therefore

also

that

holy thing.

whfch shall

be

born oj

thee, shall be called the Son

ofGod. (Luke

1:35,

compared wim

Gen. 3:15)

Thus

doublyis powerrevealed, in

the

union of

Christ'sDivinitywiththehumanilywhich

it

assumed,

and in the supernatural

creation of that which yetmust

conform

to

the

conditions ofa natural birth.

But when

the

Divine and

the

human

are made to co-existin

the

one person of

our

Lord, what

shall be the relation in

which

they

mutually stand?

Shall

the

Divine

overshadow and oppress the

human? or shall

the

human

absorb the

Divine? orshaU

they

standapartwithout

mixture or confusion, yet so blent in the

unity

of the

complex person

that, by

a

communication of properties,

what

is

done in either shall be held as done in

both?

Wonderful

power of God,

which

holds

together those

contrarteties in

one

consistent and truthful paradox

Wonderful

constructiveness

of

grace,

by

which

the

rtghteousness

wrought

is

alike

human in

the

nature that renders it, and

Divine in

the

nature which

glortfies

it

The

rlg}1teousness revealed from faith tv

faith, whereby the Gospel

of OIrtst

becomes

thepowerofGoduntvsalvationl

2. Power is displayed

in

sustaining

Chrtst's

humannatureunderthepressure

of the penalty.

I

am unable

to see

how

Jesuscouldbe a propersubstituteforthe

guilty, unless He actually sustained

the

curn: beneathwhichthey aycondemned.

Nor

do the

expressions of Scrtpture,

touching this point, warrant any

modificationinthepenalcharacterofthe

suffertngs which

He

endured. Judge

for

yourselves, my hearers, the import of

language like this: ForHe hath

nuule

Him

tv be

sin

for

us

who knew no sin,

that

we

might

be

nuule the righteousness

of

God in

Him

"(IICor.5:2l

Oirtsthathredeemed

us from

the curse

of

the law, being

nuule a

curse

for

us;Jor

it

is

written, cursed

is every

one

thathangethonatree.

"(

Gal:

3: 13)

Who

his

own

selfbare our

sins in

his

own body on

the

tree, that

we, being dead

10 sins,

should

live unto righteousness; by whose stripes

ye

were

healed. I Peter

2:24)

Accordingly,

the expressions are

most

intense which

describe

the reality

of our

Lord's distress, insufferingfortheguilty.

1 am poured out

like

water, and

all

my

bones are

out

ofjoint;

my heart

is lihe

wax:

it is melted in midst ofmy

bowels.

CPs 22:

14)

Save

me,

0

God; for

the

waters are

come in

untv my soul. I sink in

deep mire,

where

there is no

standing:

I

am

come intv

deep waters, where the

floods

overflow me.

Reproach

hath brohen my heart, and I

am

full

of

heaviness;

and

I loohed for some

tv

take pity,

but

there was

none;

and

for

corriforters,

but

Ifound none.

(Ps.

69:1,2,

20)

Such is the pathetic strain with

which prophecy anticipates his

sorrow;

noris that

of

history

less

sad in

depicting

its fulfillment. The Apostle speaks of of

the strong

crying and

tears

with

which He

offered

prayers and

supplfcations

untv Him

that

was able tv save Him from death.

CHeb.

5:7) The

evangelist

records

the

anguish of

Gethsemane, when

His

sweat

was

as

it

were

great

drops

of

blood falling

down tv the ground. (Luke

22:44) Not

less significant was the

great

horror of

darkness at

the crucifixion,

not

the

bitter

Wail

, my God, why hast thou

orsaken

me."

(Luke 23: 44,46)

How could that which

was merely

human in Chrtst abide the full infliction

of

his Father's wrath? This question

gathers deeper emphasis when it is

COnsidered that the redeemer

was

the

only being in all the universe against

whom this judicial displeasure of God

was everlet outatonce, and laiddown in

bulk. Even

the

spirits in hell have an

etemity in which their sorrow can be

brokeninpans,

as

they are

able

to sustain

the pressure. But

this

sufferer

must

be

able to say

"it

is finished;

as

He

went

through, in that

one

hour of darkness

and desertion, to

the

very bOllom of

\he

curse. Had not the human been upheld

by the

Divine, must it not have sunk in

utter exhaustion beneath

the

weight of

that wrath which measures out the just

desert of

sin?

Behold the tokens of that

power by which He was mysteriously

sustained, in the ministry ofangels sent

twice to strengthen him after the

temptation in the wilderness, and after

the

agony

in the garden (Matt. 4: 2; Luke

22:43)

We

know not how this strength

was, through such agency, conveyed to

his

sinking

frame:

but it

is the

symbol of

agreat

fact;

thatwithout the intervention

ofDivineaid, thesufferermusthavebeen

consumed by the heat of that anger

which

unrepressed burns

to

the lowest

hell.

He knelt; the

Savior

knelt and prayed,

When

but

His

Father's

eye

Looked

through

the lonely garden'S shatk,

On

that

dread agony:

The Lord

of

a

above,

beneath,

Was

bowed with

sorrow

unto

death.

The

sun

set in a eaiful hour,

The

slars might weD grow

dim,

When

this nwrtality had power

So

to

o'ershadow

Him I

ThaI He who

gave

man's breath might know

The

very

depths ofhuman

woe.

He proved

them all;

the d o u b ~ the

strife,

The i n ~

perplexing

dread,

The misrs that hang o'er parting life,

All gathered

rOWld

his

head:

And

the Deliverer knelt to r y-

Yet

passed it

that

cup, away.

It

passed not,

t1wugh

the stonny

wave

Had

sWlk beneath His tJ:ead;

It

passed

n o ~ I1wugh to Him

the grave

Had

yielded up

irs dead.

But

there

was sent

Him

from

on

high,

A

gift

ofstrength for

man

to

die.

3. Therewasvastexhibitionofpower

inexaltingHim, through the

resurrection,

to universal Mediatotial authority and

rule.

Thisresurrectionand thisexaltarion

are expressly claimed to have been

July/August, 1992 t THE COUNSEL ofOtalcedon t 19


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accomplished bymight: according, says

the Apostle, tn the workingo His mfghlY

power, whichHe wrought

in O t r i s ~

when

He

raised him rOm the dead, and

set

him

at

His awn

rigftt hand In the

heavenly

places;

far

abave

all

prindpaltly and

power,

and

might, and dominion,

and every

name

that

is

named, not only In

,this

wotld but

also in

that

which

is

tn

come.

(Eph.

1:

19-20

Even were itnot distinctlystated, itmust

necessari1ybeinferred from thecharacter

oftheworkitself. WhatIessthancreative

pOwer

can restore arumation to the

waStingflesh;holditbackfromcrumblirtg

into dust, arreSt the spirit in

its

separate

flight far into the unseen World, and re

establish the m ~ e r i o u s link by which

the ; two ate married in

immortalwedlock? Whata

stupendous trausformation .

of the properties

of

matter,

in hat which is recQrded of

the

Lord s

body after

the

resurrection;and howwete

the

laws. of

nature

apparently contravened, in

the visible ascension of that

body through the clouds

inlq heaven? True, there

is

a ~ T a l b o d y

and thtteis a

sRfrit:ual,J:xJdy'

I

Cor, 15:

44

and

both

unques

tionably have their own

governance. But it is "the

natural body which

alone we

know on

earth;

and the spiritual body

is

thiu

which succeeds it by a marvelous

transfiguration. What muSt be the

resource.sof r i.tpOVv Crbyv rhich tl-te one

is converted into the other?

Think further, i f you

please,

of the

changewroughtinwhatispurelyhuman

in

Christ

Jesus when, in company with

the Divine, itis

seated

at the right hand of

the MajeslY oil high; (Heb 3: Acts 2:33

and5:3l)andisthereexaltedtouniversal

priesthood and royal

supremacy,

It

is

not as theSon of God

alone

,but

equally

as the Son of man, that thelordsaiduntn

my

Lord

sit

thou atmy righthllnil, until I

makethineenemtes thyfDOt tool. "(ps 110:1)

It

is not for me to expand, much

less

to

explain,

the thought. The suggestion

of

It suffices to fill the soul

'with

adoring

wonder: How it is that

God's

power

confederates the

human nature in

Chtist

with the Divine, in a state of exaltation

and

of glory:- how "this

man,"

Christ

Jesus, shall have capacity to

"judge

the

wond inrighteousness, whereofwe

have


5/7

a paradox? Only He, whose promise to

the

Son is thy people shall be willing in dIe

day o hy

power.

Ps.

110:3)

'1tiswritten

in the prophets, and

they shall

be all

taught

ofGod:everyman therefore

thathathheard,

and hath

leamedof the Father, cometh

unto

me.

Oohn 6:45) Stupendous

as

the

revolution

is,

when the sinner

is turned

from

darkness

to

light and

rom

the

power

o

Satan unto God -thehandwhich works

the change must not inftinge the

laws

which

govern

the complex

movement

of

man's spiritual nature.

The

new life, like the spirit

of the

living creatures in thewhee/s

of

Ezekiel's

vision

(1:20)

is

breathed into the delicate

machinery,

making every

pan of it

vital

with a new

energy, but not disturbing

the rule of its action

prescribed from the

beginning. The thoughtsare

t

be brought

into

captivity

to

the obedience of Christ, (II

Cor.

10:5); but without

contravening the funda

mental laws of thought

established by God himself

in the human mind.

The

affections

are

t

be set on

things

above,

(Col.

3:2)'but

it must be through themagnetism

of

that

grace

which sweedy draws them, by the

law of

affinity,

from

eanh

to heaven. The

will mustbe subdued to the

obedience

o

faith; but it mustbe by the powerof that

lovewhichattractsitchoice,asthewannth

of

the sun breeds

life

in the buried seed

and brings it out

from

the frozen

soil.

Behold the power of God in the new

birth; through namre subduing

namre,

to

work out the

grace

which

is

above

nature.

2.

There is power in preserving the

Christian amid the temptations, and

under the disdpline,

of tills

unfriendly

world.

he

old writers

were

accustomed

to compare grace in the hean, with a

spark of fire upon the bosom of the

ocean. The depths open beneath

it;

yet

it comes up

fOlm

its

grave

in the waters,

glowing with its life and heat still.

Mountainwavesliftitup, untilitsparkles

like a star upon the

sky;

but the

floods

cannot quench it. With all the enmity of

water against fire, the little

coal

lives on

and outrides the

fury

of the tempests.

The

figure

is not too strong to illustrate

the power of endurance

God has

lodged

in the grace which He has planted in the

human soul. In the midst of what

unfriendliness it is capable of surviving

It breathes the

foul air

of the sin inbred

within us, and the choke-damp of our

namral corruption

does

not

kill it. Even

the

fumes

which come up

from

the

depths of our own depravity, do not

extinguish the life so wonderfully

preserved. It encounters the shock of

deadly temptations without, which

overwhelm but

do

not destroy. Noah

risesupfromhisdrunkennesstoworship

God by

sacrifice

upon ills altar of earth.

Jonah remms

from

his

guilty flight

to

Tarshish, to call

Nineveh

to

repentance.

Elijah lifts himself from fretful

despondency under dle Juniper

tree, to

hide

ills

face in the mantle at the voice of

God onMt. Horeb.

David

recovers from

his adultery, to exclaim against thee, thee

only, have sinned, and done

this evil in thy

sight.

(Ps 51:4) Peter arrests

ills

profane

oath underthe rebuke ofhis Master'seye,

and

goes

out into the darlmess to


6/7


7/7

5.

Perhaps

one step

is gained

nearer

the sinner, when I add that his present

conviction

of

sin, and

distressingsense

of

inability,

are

but the

first steps of

the

returning

prodigal,

under

the drawing

of

almighty

love.

It

is

not a

pleasant

expetienceas

yet,

to be

lUdelyawakened

from

our

dreams

ofsecutity and

peace-

to

lose

the mantle ofself

complacency

in

which

we were

wrapped-to besttipped

bare, and left in the shame of our

nakedness-to

stlUggle

with frantic zeal

fora tighteousness of our

own, only to

be

strangled under the sense of our utter

helplessness

towards

all

good:

this is an

expetiencelittleshort

of the misery ofthe

damned. But then

they

that

are

whole

need not a

physician:

and the

cry for

a

healer, under a cruel sense of

disease,

is

preliminary

to

the

cure. If

God's Spitit

has touched thee, sinner, with this

conviction

of

your guilt and lUin-if he

sense of your inability cuts

you off

from

theworsethanuselessattempttoestablish

you own tighteousness--then some

important steps

have

been

taken

in

the

tightdirection. It

s

by just suchpractical

knowledge,

stubbornly

gained

in

the

school ofexpetience,thattheHolyGhost

usually

teaches

the soul its

need

of a

ivine Savior that one comes to

recognize the power of God unto

salvation.

Take

courage then,

and cry

the

more importunately; in the hope that

"He

who hath begun a goodworkinyou,

w ll

perfonn it until

the day of

Jesus

Chlist.

(Phil.

1:6). Atlastitmustbemade

plain to

you,

that

the

only

hope

for

a

lost

sinneristhefuctthatthereispowerwithGod

to save

unto

the uttennost; and that the

promise

of

salvation is freely

offered to all

who w ll

''take

hold of

His strength,

and

makepeaoewithhlm.

(Is.

27:5)

My

hearers, the

glOly

of the

Gospel,

in exhibitingGod's

resources, challenges

both your athniration and acceptance.

Howextreme the

folly

ofsuperseding, or

amending it

by

devices

of

our

own

How

much

worse

the guilt of

denying,

or

rejecting

it

It appeals

directly to

every

fuculty

in man, which renders him

the

crown of the lower creation.

It

lays its

credentials

before

human

reason, to be

adjudicated. Itsubmitsitsclaim toman's

intelligence,

to be approved-to man's

judgment, to

be embraced. It appeals to

man's consdence,

as

that by which it

shall be

purged-to man's

affections,

as

that

by which they are to

be

blessed. It

calls

upon

man's

honor, thatby it

he may

repairthe

wrongs he

has

done

to

the

law.

There is

not a sentiment in

man's bosom

from

which it does not demand a

response; not an instinct which it

does

not

challenge

as

an inlet to

blessings it

would confer.

I

dare

not

close

this

synopsis

without

a caution; perhaps itmayprove a

word of

warning. There is

another

display of

God'spower, whichmaynot bea

"power

unto

salvation."

Nowitisassodatedwith

love, is

under the direction of

grace,

and

worksoutpardonandlifetothewretched.

But then itwill be linked with justice,will

be

under

the

direction of wrath, and

will

work

"everlasting destlUction

from

the

presence of the Lord and

from

the glory

of his power."

(II

Thess.

1:9)

Oh, that

men could discern the

tie

by which

the

two

are

bound together

the

logic

of

that

necessity,

by which

"he

that being

often reproved, hardeneth hisneck, shall

suddenlybe destroyed, and that without

remedy. (Prov.

29:

1)

Power cannot be

ttilledwith.

Its

return stroke will be that

of the lightning, more

fatal

in its

flash

backwardto the skies than when its keen

edge first

cut the cloud.n

TIlE IRSr

PARAGRAPH OF HIS

SERMON IS

PARAPHRASE OF

PAlMER.'S FIRST TWO PARAGRAPHSBYJOE

MORErnAFT.

ermon Tapes

July/August, 1992 TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon

23

1992 issue 7 - sermons of benjamin palmer: "the gospel, the power of god" - counsel of chalcedon

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