JESUS AND HIS SEED

2 Samuel 22:51: “He sheweth mercy to his Anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.”

To say a word or two relative “to David and his seed for evermore,” observe, that not only is this salvation given to Christ, and secured only in Christ, and intended to glorify Christ in his perfect work, but it is to descend to his seed, it belongs to them, and they are all interested in it. “To David and his seed for evermore.” Now then, it will surely become a point of the first importance, “Do I really belong to David’s seed?” There is no salvation without this. Come, beloved, try this matter very seriously. Very many persons are somewhat proud of naming their lineal descent, especially if they can go a good many generations back to some dignified and renowned name and certify, on good authority, that they are the descendants of such or such an illustrious person. Why, it is hardly worth while to spend our time upon such matters; but it is worth while to show our lineal descent from Christ. “His seed.” There is identity between Christ and his seed, and therefore it is of vast importance that the descent should be ascertained with satisfaction. There is a tribe, a race of men, there is a portion of Adam’s posterity, which has been from everlasting identified with Christ, as part of himself, “chosen in him,” “united to him,” “accepted in him,” “accepted in the beloved,” “predestinated with him,” “given to him,” and he “given to them,” “betrothed to him,” and ultimately “married to him.” All these are scriptural phrases, and they are nowhere applied to the world . I beg your close attention to this. In the precious book of God, a prominent line is uniformly drawn, from the beginning to the end, between the seed of Cain and the seed of Abel, between the seed of Esau and the seed of Jacob, between the seed of Ishmael and the seed of Isaac, between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Uniform and marked attention is paid to this throughout the word of God. And here lies the grand, and, I fear, in many instances, the fatal mistake, made by mortals in reading the Bible. They read it as if it were a kind of public handbill or newspaper; as if it had no description of character, no address, no peculiar intention or design, but was a kind of public prospectus, a revelation that might or might not be of use to anybody or everybody. I candidly confess that I would rather close my Bible, never to read it more, than read it after that fashion. I find all through this blessed Book—”My people,” “My people,” “My people,”—”ye” and “they.” The difference between the Church and the world is uniformly marked out, and instead of poor vain mortals trying to amalgamate what God has distinguished, trying to unite what God has separated, they had far better employ their time in finding out to which family they belong. You cannot alter God’s decree; you cannot alter God’s arrangement of things. It therefore becomes a point of the first importance to ascertain to which family you do belong. There is such an identity between Christ and his seed, that all which the Father gave him in his mediatorial character is given to them. These are his own words: “The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” There is such an identity between Christ and his seed, that all the sins of his seed are transferred to him who suffered for them; and all the obedience, merit, and righteousness, that belong essentially to him, are given to his Church, to his seed, and are emphatically, personally, and eternally theirs. There is such an identity that heaven would be no heaven without either. If Christ were not there, there would be no heaven to his seed; if his seed were not there, he would not enjoy heaven himself. Yea, there is such an identity, that the love of Deity is the very same to both. O righteous Father, thou hast, “loved them as thou hast loved me.” Is it not, then, of vast importance, that you and I should know whether this salvation belongs to us, whether we are thus identified with Christ, whether we thus stand in union with him? “How shall we know it?” you say. By this one thing; and I will only mention one here for brevity sake —by being his offspring. This is the real meaning of the word “seed.” Try this point as it regards your Christianity. Is it the offspring of Deity? Will God own himself the Father of it? Did it descend from heaven? Is it a part of the Divine nature? Is it a participation of the life of God? All the religion in the world is not worth a straw, without this life. Well, this brings me to the point of greatest importance: who are the seed of Christ, interested in his salvation? They obtain a life from God, which was from eternity hid with Christ in God; and in the fulness of time is produced in them under the ministry of the Holy Ghost—the life of God in the soul. Keep to this point for a few moments. I am very desirous that every one of my hearers should be able to ascertain whether he belongs to Christ’s seed. The seed of Christ are “born, not of the will of the flesh, nor of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God;” they are the recipients of a life which once they did not possess. Do not be deceived, beloved, by those who . tell you, that personal godliness. consists not in any new communication. I declare, that when I read that, my blood chilled, and especially when I found that it was written by a minister, that read godliness consists, not in anything newly communicated, but in the reviving, improving, instructing, and training of principles and faculties before possessed. Ah, my brethren, this is Paganism, put into a Christian form. Pagans and Papists understand as much about religion as that. We know—I mean, we who have been taught of God—we know, that “if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature” —not an amended creature; we know that Christ is in him unless he be reprobate; we know that power from above has been communicated; a Divine and holy and deathless and perfect principle; as saith the Holy Ghost by the apostle Peter, “That by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature.” It is not a mere bestowing of anything external; but it is the communication of life, it is the progress of God, the Holy Spirit in his immediate work upon the soul; in fact, it is nothing more nor less than the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost coming and taking up their abode in the heart of the sinner. Nothing short of this is Christianity. Well now, if you have not this, do not claim to belong to Christ’s seed, for Christ’s seed possess his nature, his life. And hence the promise runs—”I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.”

They are identified; and it is not possible to separate them. Now just investigate this point a little. When, where, how, were you “turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God?” Hast thou any remembrance, hast thou any knowledge of the fact? Is it really proved to demonstration, that thou art not of the seed of the serpent, that thou hast an ardent attachment to Jesus? These are the persons to whom the salvation belongs; and these are the persons who may really get up to their tower.

This seed of Christ can never be extinct, never be lost. Changes most appalling have succeeded one another, in ages gone by: the apostolic dispensation gave place to pastoral operations, and pastoral operations were blessed of God, many souls being “born of God.” They were chased, hunted, murdered by millions under Pagan persecution. Pagan persecution not being able to carry into effect its wishes, gave place tamely to those more ferocious bloodshounds, the Papists. When Constantine assumed the sovereignty — the most awful thing which ever took place in the church of God since Christ came upon earth— then came in Popery to try to get rid of the seed of Christ, and to destroy that which Pagan persecution had left. But Christ had has seed still; and he has his seed now. And because Popish persecution could not succeed, free will — though not openly so vile — would fain poison all the seed of Christ. But amidst all that Papists, Pagans, and Pharisees can do, Christ’s seed shall never be extinct. They shall have their lineal descent; instead of the fathers shall come up the children, and instead of the children shall come up theirs, and the children’s children shall testify to the greatness, the preciousness, and the glory of God’s salvation in Christ. They can never be lost. They may be hunted out of the world, to all human appearance, and, no doubt, many will be again by martyrdom — but not one shall be lost. Those priestly curses of the earth, who have seen martyrs to the stake, have, generally, not been contented with venting their infernal rage against the poor body, but have pronounced curses on the souls of their victims. But the curse never came; the punishment was inflicted on the body, but Christ took care of his own; he carried the soul from the stake at the ‘ moment of its departure. All the Popish priests in the world could not fix one curse upon an elect vessel of mercy. Secure in Christ he can never, never be lost, never cursed, never banished from his presence: for thus it is written: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

May the Holy Ghost put power into the few remarks which have thus been made, and to the name of Israel’s triune God be all the glory.

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