Oh! have ye not need of this great salvation? Shall I tell you that Christ is courting you to embrace it; that he putteth on all his most glorious robes, and manifesteth himself unto you, as a suitor making offer of himself, and of his great salvation? O tell me! have ye seen him? Or do ye think to see him this say? What robes had he on? There are five glorious robes wherewith he clothes himself, when he condescendeth to manifest himself to his people. First, he cometh to his own with the garments of salvation, according to that word, Zech. ix. 9, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation. Nay, your King is come here to-day, and will ye not fall in love with him, when he is clothed with the garments of salvation? Can ye ever have a more conquering sight of Christ than when he is clothed with such an excellent robe, and offering you salvation? Secondly, He appeareth to his own sometimes in a garment dyed in blood, according to that word, Isa. lxiii. 1, Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments in blood, as one that treadeth the wine-fat? And now I say to thee that will not look to Christ, when he appears in the garments of salvation, have ye a heart to refuse him that hath fought such a combat for you; who hath trode the wine-press alone, and hath stained all his garments with the blood of his enemies? Or is there any here who dare refuse this salvation, when they see how he treadeth his enemies in anger, and trampleth them in his fury, and thus sprinkleth their blood on his garments? O tremble at this sight, and seek quarters from him in time, or he shall dye his garments with the blood of thy immortal soul. Thirdly, Christ appeareth unto his own, being clothed with those humble robes of condescendency, when he came in the similitude of sinful flesh. O! what a sight was that, to behold the Prince of Heaven clothed with our nature? What a sight was that to behold him, that was clothed with light as with a garment, to be clothed with our infirmities? Ye he condescended to clothe himself thus, that we might have access unto him, and be partakers of his gift. O! can we refuse him, when we have thus pressed him to put on beggars'-weeds, that he might say to worms, ye are my brethren, and my sisters. Fourthly, Christ sometimes manifesteth himself, being clothed with the garments of beauty and ravishing majesty; such was the sight that the spouse got of Christ, Cant. ii. 3, As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons; and Cant. v., when she saw him, white and ruddy, and the standard-bearer of ten thousand; such was that joyful sight of him, when his garments were as the light, and white as the snow, which he had at the transfiguration, when those glorified ones did come, as it were, ambassadors from the higher house to make him a visit. Fifthly, Christ sometimes appeareth to his own in robes of dreadful majesty, and terrible highness and loftiness, when that soul, upon the first sight of him, remains dead, and there remains no more life in them; such was the sight that Daniel got, in his x. chap., and such was the sight that John got of Christ, Rev. i. 13. –18. And I would ask at all that are here, what a sight have ye got of Christ to-day; in which of all these robes have ye seen him? It is true, we are not now to look for the extraordinary sights of him; but ye, if ever thou hast seen him in any of his wooing robes, sure he hath appeared matchless, and how shall ye then refuse him?Andrew Gray, "On the Great Salvation," in The Works of the Reverend and Pious Andrew Gray (Aberdeen: Published by George King, 1839), 93–94.
Bio:
Wiki
No comments:
Post a Comment