Now this is wrought by the preaching of the gospel, ' he shall declare judgment to the Gentiles.' All grace comes by declaring ; ' The gospel is the power of God to salvation,' Rom. i. 16. Let but the gospel (which is God's judgment how men shall be saved, and how they shall walk in obedience by way of thankfulness to God) be declared, and all that belong to God shall come in, and yield homage to it, and be brought in subjection. The devil in the antichristian state knows this well enough. Therefore he labours to hinder the declaration of judgment by all means ; he will not have God's judgments but men's traditions declared. He knows the declaring of God's judgments will breed an alteration quickly in men's dispositions : For when he saith, he shall declare judgment to the Gentiles, he means the conse- quent as well as the thing, he shall so declare judgment that they shall yield spiritual obedience and come in and be saved.
Let the devil do his worst, let all seducers of souls do their worst, if they would but give way to the preaching of the gospel, let but judgment be declared, let God's arm be stretched forth in delivering the truth, he would soon gain souls out of the captivity and bondage of Satan. They know it well enough ; therefore by all the ways they can, they stop the preaching of the gospel, and disgrace and hinder it, and set up men's traditions instead
A DESCRIPTION OF CHRIST. 29
of the gospel. But I will not enlarge myself farther upon these words, but go on to the next.
He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. — These words set down the mild and sweet and amiable manner of Christ's carriage upon earth. Here, in his first coming to work the great work of our redemption, he did not cany the matter in an outward glorious manner, in pomp ; but he would have his miracles concealed ofttimes and himself hidden. His Godhead was hid under the veil of his manhood. He could not have wrought our salvation else. If the devil and the world had known Christ to be as he was, they would never have made those attempts against him. Therefore, considering he had such a dispensation to work our salvation as a king, priest, and prophet, he would not cry and contend and strive, he would not come with any great noise.
Now, here is an opposition to the giving of the law, and likewise to the coming and carriage of civil princes. You know when the law was given all the mount was on fire, and the earth thereabout quaked and trembled, and the people fled. They could not endure to hear the voice of God speaking in the mount ; there was such a terrible smoke and fire, they were all afraid. Thus came Moses. Now, did Christ come as Moses ? Was the gospel dehvered by Christ as the law was, in terrors and fears ? Oh, no. Christ came not in such a terrible manner, in thunder and hghtning ; but the gospel, it came sweetly. A dove, a mild creature, lit upon the head of Christ when he was baptized, to shew his mild manner of carriage ; and he came with blessing in his mouth in his fii'st sermon of all : 'Blessed are the poor in spu-it, blessed are they that moui'n, blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness,' Matt. v. 3, 4, 6. The law came with curses : ' Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the law to do them,' Gal. iii. 10. Christ came in another manner; the gospel was delivered in a mild, sweet manner. Chi'ist, as an ambassador, came sweetly to entreat and beseech. There is a crying, indeed, but it is a crying out of love and entreaty, not a shouting in a terrible manner as was at the giving of the law, no, nor as at the coming of other civil princes into a city, with shouting and noise of trumpets, with pomp, and state, and great attendants. Christ came not into the world to execute his kingdom and ofiice in such pomp and noise as it is said of Agi'ippa, Acts XXV. 23, ' He came with great pomp.' So worldly princes carry things thus, and it is needful in some sort. People must have shows and pomp ; the outward man must have outward things to astonish it withal. It is a policy in state so to do. But Christ came in another manner. He came not to make men quake and tremble that came to speak and deal with him. He came not with clamour and fierceness ; for who would have come to Christ then ? But he came in a mild, and sw^eet, and amiable manner. We see a little before the text (ver. 16), upon occasion of the inference of these words, he commands and chargeth them that they should not discover him and make him known. When he had done a good work he would not have it known. Now, there are three things especially insinuated m this description, * He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the street.' That Christ should not be outwardly glorious to pubhsh his own excellency, nor contentious ; he should not cry nor quarrel, nor he should not be clamorous, if he had any wrong, to be all on fire presently, but he should be as a meek lamb, he should make no noise, he should not come in vainglory or clamour, &c.