These spiritual blessings are given to us " in
Christ"—
[All of them without exception are the purchase of his blood, the fruit of his intercession, and the gifts of his grace. They are all treasured up in him ; and when He is given to us, they are made over to us, as the ore in the mine. They were all given to Him, in the first instance, as our head and representative, and can be possessed by us only as we are
b See the margin.
found in him. Are we chosen? it is " in him." Are we pre- destinated to the adoption of children? it is "in him." Are we accepted ? it is " in him." Are we forgiven ? it is " in him." Are we brought into one body? it is " in him." Have we obtained an inheritance ? it is " in him." Are we " sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, as the earnest of that inherit- ance?" it is "in him." Are we blessed with all spiritual blessings ? it is " in him," and in him alone. O that we were more sensible of our obligations to Christ in reference to these things ! Is it not surprising, that any one can read the passage before us, and overlook Christ, who throughout the whole of it is represented as the "All in all?" Let this be borne in mind ; that, whilst all is traced to the Father as the original source, all must be referred to Christ as the procuring cause, and be received from Christ as the fountain-head : and it is only by receiving Christ himself that we can ever partake of any one of his benefits.]
Having noticed the benefits given to us in Christ, we proceed to shew,
II. In what way he has communicated them to us —
On this depends, in a great measure, the debt of gratitude we owe him. If in the bestowment of them he has been forestalled by earnest solicitations on our part, and been prevailed upon only by the great and meritorious services which we have ren- dered to him, then, though we have reason to bless him, we have also reason to bless ourselves, and may justly claim for ourselves some part of the honour of our own salvation. But he has communicated these blessings to us,
1. In a way of sovereignty —
[He is a Sovereign ; and it is only of his own will and pleasure that he has formed any creature whatsoever. We feel his sovereignty in this respect. Let any man ask himself, ' "Why was I created at all? Why formed a man, and not a beast ? Why was I born of Christian, and not of heathen, parents ? Why under the meridian splendour of Gospel light, and not in the darker ages of the Church ? Why was I pre- served in life, whilst millions have closed their eyes upon this world as soon as they were brought into it? Why was I en- dued with intelligence, whilst so many are in a state of idiotcy, and devoid of reason ? ' To all such questions there is but one answer ; " Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." And this is the true answer that inust be given to all inquiries
2092.] THANKS FOR GOD's GRACE AND MERCY. 269
respecting the spiritual blessings which he has bestowed upon us : they are all the fruit of his free and sovereign grace : " He has chosen us from before the foundation of the world," and " predestinated us to the enjoyment of them." He has done this purely " of his own will and pleasure :" and in doing it, he has consulted nothing but his own gloiy : it has been " according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace0." Yet, whilst his predestination of us is the result of " his good pleasure which he has purposed in himself," and can be referred to nothing but " his own purpose and grace," we are not to imagine that he is actuated by a mere arbitrary volition ; for it is a volition founded in " coun- seld," though the reasons by which he is actuated are unknown to us. Were this doctrine dependent only on a single expres- sion, we should speak of it with the more diffidence : but, in the passage before us, it is as the warp, which pervades the whole piece : it cannot, like the woof, be separated, and made to give way to some more palatable sentiment : it is impossible for any man to read the passage with an unprejudiced mind, and not to acknowledge, that this is its obvious import; and that nothing but the most determined efforts of ingenious and laboured criticism can extract from it any other meaning.]