THE CEDAR OF GOD - Christmas Evans
SERMON X.
THE CEDAR OF GOD.
“Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and plant it upon a high mountain and eminent; in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar; and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell; and all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree, and have exalted the low tree—have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it.”—Ezek. xvii. 22–24.
You perceive that our text abounds in the beautiful language of allegory. In the context is portrayed the captivity of the children of Israel, and especially the carrying away of the royal family, by the king of Babylon. Here God promises to restore them to their own land, in greater prosperity than ever; and to raise up Messiah, the Branch, out of the house of David, to be their king. All this is presented in a glowing figurative style, dressed out in all the wealth of poetic imagery, so peculiar to the orientals. Nebuchadnezzar, the great eagle—the long-winged, full-feathered, embroidered eagle—is represented as coming to Lebanon, and taking the highest branch of the tallest cedar, bearing it off as the crow bears the acorn in its beak, and planting it in the land of traffic. The Lord God, in his turn, takes the highest branch of the same cedar, and plants it on the high mountain of Israel, where it flourishes and bears fruit, and the fowls of the air dwell under the shadow of its branches.
We will make a few general remarks on the character of the promise, and then pass to a more particular consideration of its import.
I. This is an evangelical promise. It relates to the coming and p. 173kingdom of Messiah. Not one of the kings of Judah since the captivity, as Boothroyd well observes, answers to the description here given. Not one of them was a cedar whose branches could afford shadow and shelter for all the fowls of heaven. But the prophecy receives its fulfilment in Christ, the desire of all nations, to whom the ends of the earth shall come for salvation.
This prophecy bears a striking resemblance in several particulars, to the parable of the mustard-seed, delivered by our Lord. The mustard-seed, said Jesus, “is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” So the delicate twig of the young and tender branch becomes a goodly cedar, and under its shadow dwell all fowl of every wing. The prophecy and the parable are alike intended to represent the growth and prosperity of Messiah’s kingdom, and the gracious protection and spiritual refreshment afforded to its subjects. Christ is the mustard plant, and cedar of God; and to him shall the gathering of the people be; and multitudes of pardoned sinners shall sit under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit shall be sweet to their taste.
This prophecy is a promise of the true, and faithful, and immutable God. It begins with—“Thus saith the Lord God, I will do thus and so;” and concludes with—“I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it.” There is no peradventure with God. His word is for ever settled in heaven, and cannot fail of its fulfilment. When he says—“I promise to pay,” there is no failure, whatever the sum. The bank of heaven cannot break. It is the oldest and best in the universe. Its capital is infinite; its credit is infallible. The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, is able to fulfil to the utmost all his engagements. He can do any thing that does not imply a contradiction, or a moral absurdity. He could take upon himself the form of a servant, and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; but he can never forget or disregard his promise, any more than he can cease to exist. His nature renders both impossible. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but his word shall not pass away. Every jot and tittle shall be fulfilled. This is the consolation of the church. Here rested the patriarchs and the prophets. Here reposes the faith of the saints to the end of time. God abideth faithful; he p. 174cannot deny himself. Our text is already partially verified in the advent of Christ, and the establishment of his church; the continuous growth of the gospel kingdom indicates its progressive fulfilment; and we anticipate the time, as not far distant, when the whole earth shall be overshadowed by the branches of the cedar of God.
II. We proceed to consider, with a little more particularity, the import of this evangelical prophecy. It describes the character and mediatorial kingdom of Christ, and the blessings which he confers upon his people.
1. His character and mediatorial kingdom. “I will take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and plant it upon a high mountain and eminent; in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it.”
Christ, as concerning the flesh, is of the seed of Abraham—a rod issuing from the stem of Jesse, and a branch growing out of his root. “As the new vine is found in the cluster, and one saith, destroy it not, for a blessing is in it;” so the children of Israel were spared, notwithstanding their perverseness and their backslidings, because they were the cluster from which should be expressed in due time the new wine of the kingdom—because from them was to come forth the blessing, the promised seed in whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed. The Word that was in the beginning with God, one with God in essence and in attributes, in the fulness of time assumed our nature, and tabernacled and dwelt among us. Here is the union of God and man. Here is the great mystery of godliness—God manifest in the flesh. But I have only time now to take off my shoes, and draw near the burning bush, and gaze a moment upon this great sight.
The Father is represented as preparing a body for his Son. He goes to the quarry to seek a stone, a foundation stone for Zion. The angel said to Mary:—“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” The eternal lays hold on that nature which is hastening downward, on the flood of sin, to the gulf of death and destruction, and binds it to himself. Though made in the likeness of sinful flesh, he was holy, harmless, and undefiled. He did no p. 175iniquity, neither was guile found in his mouth. The rod out of the stem of Jesse is also Jehovah our righteousness. The child born in Bethlehem is the mighty God. The Son given to Israel is the everlasting Father. He is of the seed of Abraham, according to the flesh; but he is also the true God and eternal life. Two natures and three offices meet mysteriously in his person. He is at once the bleeding sacrifice, the sanctifying altar, the officiating priest, the prophet of Israel, and the Prince of Peace. All this was necessary, that he might become “the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.”
Hear Jehovah speaking of Messiah and his kingdom:—“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his anointed. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree by which he is to rule his redeemed empire.” That decree, long kept secret, was gradually announced by the prophets; but at the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, Jehovah himself proclaimed it aloud, to the astonishment of earth, the terror of hell, and the joy of heaven:—“Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Come forth from the womb of the grave, thou whose goings forth have been from of old, even from everlasting. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. I will exalt thee to the throne of the universe, and thou shalt be chief in the chariot of the gospel. Thou shalt ride through the dark places of the earth, with the lamps of eternal life suspended to thy chariot, enlightening the world. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Let no man withstand him. Let no man seek to stay his progress. Herod, Pilate, Caiaphas, stand off! clear the way! lest ye be crushed beneath the wheels of his chariot! for that which is a savor of life to some, is to others a savor of death; and if this stone shall fall upon you, it shall grind you to powder!”
Behold, here is wisdom! All other mysteries are toys in comparison with the mystery of the everlasting gospel—the union of three persons in the Godhead—the union of two natures in the p. 176Mediator—the union of believers to Christ, as the branches to the vine—the union of all the saints together in him, who is the head of the body, and the chief stone of the corner—the mighty God transfixed to the cross—the son of Mary ruling in the heaven of heavens—the rod of Jesse becoming the sceptre of universal dominion—the Branch growing out of his root, the little delicate branch which a lamb might crop for its food, terrifying and taming the serpent, the lion, the leopard, the tiger, and the wolf, and transforming into gentleness and love the wild and savage nature of all the beasts of prey upon the mountain! “And such,” old Corinthian sinners, “were some of you; but ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God.” And such, my brethren, were some of you; but ye have been made a new creation in Christ Jesus; old things are passed away, and all things are become new. Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. He is one with the Father, and ye are one in him; united and interwoven, like the roots of the trees in the forest of Lebanon; so that none can injure the least disciple of Christ, without touching the apple of his eye, and grieving all his members.
2. The blessings which he confers upon his people. “It shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar, and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell; and all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree, and have exalted the low tree—have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish.”
Christ is a fruitful tree. “The tree is known by his fruit. Men do not gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles. Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and every evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” This is a singular, supernatural tree. Though its top reaches to the heaven of heavens, its branches fill the universe, and bend down to the earth, laden with the precious fruits of pardon, and holiness, and eternal life. On the day of Pentecost, we see them hang so low over Jerusalem, that the very murderers of the Son of God reach and pluck and eat, and three thousand sinners feast on more than angels’ food. That was the feast of first-fruits. Never before was there such a harvest and such a festival. Angels know nothing of the delicious fruits of the tree of redemption. p. 177They know nothing of the joy of pardon, and the spirit of adoption. The bride of the Lamb alone can say:—“As the apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me also to his banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”
These blessings are the precious effects of Christ’s mediatorial work; flowing down to all believers, like streams of living water. Come, ye famishing souls, and take, without money and without price. All things are now ready. “The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, both new and old.” Here is no scarcity. Our Elder Brother keeps a rich table in our Father’s house. Hear him proclaiming in the streets of the city, in the chief places of concourse:—“Come to the festival. There is bread enough, and to spare. My oxen and my fatlings are killed. My board is spread with the most exquisite delicacies—wine on the lees well refined, and fruits such as angels never tasted.”
Christ is a tree of protection to his people. This cedar not only beautifies the forest, but also affords shade and shelter for the fowls of the air. We have the same idea in the parable of the mustard seed:—“the birds of the air came and lodged in the branches thereof.” This is the fulfilment of the promise concerning the Shiloh:—“to him shall the gathering of the people be.” It is the drawing of sinners to Christ; and the union of believers with God.
“All fowl of every wing.” Sinners of every age and every degree—sinners of all languages, colors, and climes—sinners of all principles, customs, and habits—sinners whose crimes are of the blackest hue—sinners carrying about them the savor of the brimstone of hell—sinners deserving eternal damnation—sinners perishing for lack of knowledge—sinners pierced by the arrows of conviction—sinners ready to sink under the burden of sin—sinners overwhelmed with terror and despair—are seen flying to Christ as a cloud, and as doves to their windows—moving to the ark of mercy before the door is shut—seeking rest in the shadow of this goodly cedar!
Christ is the sure defence of his church. A thousand times has she been assailed by her enemies. The princes of the earth have set themselves in array against her, and hell has opened upon her p. 178all its batteries. But the Rock of Ages has ever been her strong fortress and high tower. He will never refuse to shelter her from her adversaries. In the time of trouble, he shall hide her in his pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide her. When the heavens are dark and angry, she flies, like the affrighted dove, to the thick branches of the “Goodly Cedar.” There she is safe from the windy storm and tempest. There she may rest in confidence, till these calamities be overpast. The tree of her protection can never be riven by the lightning, nor broken by the blast.
Christ is the source of life and beauty to all the trees in the garden of God. Jehovah determined to teach “the trees of the forest” a new lesson. Let the princes of this world hear it, and the proud philosophers of Greece and Rome. “I have brought down the high tree, and exalted the low tree—have dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree to flourish.” Many things have occurred, in the providence of God, which might illustrate these metaphors; such as the bringing of Pharaoh down to the bottom of the sea, that Israel might be exalted to sing the song of Moses; and the drying up of the pride and pomp of Haman, that Mordecai might flourish in honor and esteem. But for the most transcendent accomplishment of the prophecy, we must go to Calvary. There is the high tree brought down to the dust of death, that the low tree might be exalted to life eternal; the green tree dried up by the fires of Divine wrath, that the dry tree might flourish in the favor of God for ever.
To this, particularly, our blessed Redeemer seems to refer, in his address to the daughters of Jerusalem, as they follow him, weeping, to the place of crucifixion. “Weep not for me,” saith he. “There is a mystery in all this, which you cannot now comprehend. Like Joseph, I have been sold by my brethren; but like Joseph, I will be a blessing to all my Father’s house. I am carrying this cross to Calvary that I may be crucified upon it between two thieves; but when the lid of the mystical ark shall be lifted, then shall ye see that it is to save sinners I give my back to the smiters, and my life for a sacrifice. Weep not for me, but for yourselves and your children; for if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? I am the green tree to-day; and behold, I am consumed that you may flourish. I am the high tree, and am prostrated that you may be exalted.”
p. 179The fire-brands of Jerusalem had wellnigh kindled to a flame of themselves, amid the tumult of the people, when they cried out—“Away with him! Crucify him! His blood be on us, and on our children!” O wonder of mercy! that they were not seized and consumed at once by fire from heaven! But he whom they crucify prays for them, and they are spared. Hear his intercession:—“Father, forgive them! Save these sinners, ready for the fire. On me, on me alone, be the fierceness of thy indignation. I am ready to drink the cup which thou hast mingled. I am willing to fall beneath the stroke of thy angry justice. I come to suffer for the guilty. Bind me in their stead, lay me upon the altar, and send down fire to consume the sacrifice!”
It was done. I heard a great voice from heaven:—“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd! Kindle the flame! Let off the artillery!” Night suddenly enveloped the earth. Nature trembled around me. I heard the rending of the rocks. I looked, and lo! the stroke had fallen upon the high tree, and the green tree was all on fire! While I gazed, I heard a voice, mournful, but strangely sweet:—“My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me? My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. One may tell all my bones. Dogs have compassed me about; strong bulls of Bashan have beset me. They stare at me; they gape upon me with their mouths; they pierce my hands and my feet. Deliver my soul from the lions; my darling from the power of the dogs!”
“It is finished!” O with what majestic sweetness fell that voice upon my soul! Instantly the clouds were scattered. I looked, and saw, with unspeakable wonder, millions of the low trees shooting up, and millions of the dry trees putting forth leaves and fruit. Then I took my harp, and sang this song:—“Worthy is the Lamb! for he was humbled that we might be exalted; he was wounded that we might be healed; he was robbed that we might be enriched; he was slain that we might live!”
Then I saw the beam of a great scale; one end descending to the abyss, borne down by the power of the atonement; the other ascending to the heaven of heavens, and lifting up the prisoners of the tomb. Wonderful scheme! Christ condemned for our justification; forsaken of his Father, that we might enjoy his fellowship; p. 180passing under the curse of the law, to bear it away from the believer forever! This is the great scale of redemption. As one end of the beam falls under the load of our sins, which were laid on Christ; the other rises, bearing the basket of mercy, full of pardons, and blessings, and hopes. “He who knew no sin was made sin for us”—that is his end of the beam; “that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”—this is ours. “Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor”—there goes his end down; “that we, through his poverty, might be rich”—here comes ours up.
O sinners! ye withered and fallen trees, fuel for the everlasting burning, ready to ignite at the first spark of vengeance! O ye faithless souls! self-ruined and self-condemned! enemies in your hearts by wicked works! we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God! He has found out a plan for your salvation—to raise up the low tree by humbling the high, and save the dry tree from the fire by burning up the green. He is able to put, at the same time, a crown of glory on the head of the law, and a crown of mercy on the head of the sinner. One of those hands which were nailed to the cross blotted out the fiery handwriting of Sinai, while the other opened the prison-doors of the captives. From the mysterious depths of Messiah’s sufferings flows the river of the water of life. Eternal light rises from the gloom of Gethsemane. Satan planted the tree of death on the grave of the first Adam, and sought to plant it also on the grave of the second; but how terrible was his disappointment and despair, when he found that the wrong seed had been deposited there, and was springing up unto everlasting life! Come! fly to the shelter of this tree, and dwell in the shadow of its branches, and eat of its fruit, and live!
To conclude:—Is not the conversion of sinners an object dear to the hearts of the saints? God alone can do the work. He can say to the north, give up; and to the south, keep not back. He can bring his sons from afar, and his daughters from the ends of the earth. Our Shiloh has an attractive power, and to him shall the gathering of the people be. Pray, my brethren, pray earnestly, that the God of all grace may find them out, and gather them from the forest, and fish them up from the sea, and bring them home as the shepherd brings the stray lambs to the fold. God alone can p. 181catch these “fowl of every wing.” They fly away from us. To our grief, they often fly far away, when we think them almost in our hands; and then the most talented and holy ministers cannot overtake them. But the Lord is swifter than they. His arrows will reach them and bring them from their lofty flight to the earth. Then he will heal their wounds, and tame their wild nature, and give them rest beneath the branches of the “Goodly Cedar.”
Christmas Evans