5. The doctrine of his incarnation, whereby he became the sub- ject of all that glory which we inquire after, was revealed, although not so clearly as by the Gospel, after the actual accomplishment of the thing itself In how many places this is done in the Old Testa- ment I have elsewhere declared; at least I have explained and vin-
UNDER THE OLD TESTAMENT. 351
dicated many of them (for no man can presume to know tliem all),- — " Vindicige Evangelicse." ^ One instance, therefore, shall here suffice; and this is that of the same prophet Isaiah, chap. ix. 6, 7, " Unto us a child is bom, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Coun- sellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and wdth justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." This one testi- mony is sufficient to confound all Jews, Socinians, and other enemies of the glory of Christ. I do acknowledge that, notwithstanding this decla- ration of the glory of Christ in his future incarnation and rule, there remained much darkness in the minds of them unto whom it was then made. For although they might and did acquiesce in the truth of the revelation, yet they could frame to themselves no notions of the way or manner of its accomplishment. But now, when every word of it is explained, declared, and its mystical sense visibly laid open unto us in the Gospel, and by the accomplishment exactly an- swering every expression in it, it is judicial blindness not to receive it. Nothing but the satanical pride of the hearts of men, which will admit of no effects of infinite wisdom, but what they suppose they can comprehend, can shut their eyes against the light of this truth.
6. Promises, prophecies, predictions, concerning his person, his coming, his office, his kingdom, and his glory in them all, with the Avisdom, grace, and love of God to the church in him, are the line of life, as was said, which runs through all the writings of the Old Testa- ment, and takes up a great portion of them. Those w^ere the things which he expounded unto his disciples out of Moses and all the Pro- phets. Concerning these things he appealed to the Scriptures against all his adversaries: " Search the Scriptures; for they are they which testify of me." And if we find them not, if we discern them not therein, it is because a veil of blindness is over our minds. Nor can we read, study, or meditate on the writings of the Old Testament unto any advantage, unless we design to find out and behold the glory of Christ, declared and represented in them. For want hereof they are a sealed book to many unto this day.
7. It is usual in the Old Testament to set out the glory of Christ under metaphoincal expressions ; yea, it aboundeth therein. For such allusions are exceedingly suited to let in a sense into our minds of those things which we cannot distinctly comprehend. And there is
' The " Vindicia3 Evangelicse " is a work which Dr Owen wrote in reply to Biddle the Socinian, and which will be found in another department of this edi- tion of his works. — Ed.
852 THE GLOEY OF CHRIST
an infinite condescension of divine wisdom in this way of instruction, representing unto us the power of things spiritual in what we natur- ally discern. Instances of this kind, in calling the Lord Christ by the names of those creatures which unto our senses represent that excel- lency which is spiritually in him, are innumerable. So he is called the rose, for the sweet savour of his love, grace, and obedience ; — the lily, for his gracious beauty and amiableness ; — the pearl of price, for his worth, for to them that believe he is precious; — the vine, for his fruit- fulness ; — the lion, for his power ; — ^the lamb, for his meekness and fit- ness for sacrifice; with other things of the like kind almost innu- merable.
These things have I mentioned, not with any design to search into the depth of this treasury of those divine truths concerning the glory of Christ : but only to give a little light unto the words of the evan- gelist, that he opened unto his disciples out of Moses and all the Pro- phets the things which concerned himself; and to stir up our own souls unto a contemplation of them as contained therein.
CHAPTER IX.
The Glory of Christ in his intimate Conjunction with the Church.
What concerns the glory of Christ in the mission of the Holy Ghost unto the church, with all the divine truths that are branched from it, I have at large declared in my discourse concerning the whole dis- pensation of the Holy Spirit. Here, therefore, it must have no place amongst those many other things which offer themselves unto our contemplation as part of this glory, or intimately belonging thereunto. I shall insist briefly on three only, which cannot be reduced directly unto the former heads.