The Lord Jesus Exalted to Save

You will recollect, my friends, that last Lord’s day evening we considered these words, and on that occasion we confined ourselves to the first branch of the subject, namely, to the exaltation of Christ with the right hand of the Father. The next branch of the passage is that of His being exalted as a Prince: “Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince.” That is a beautiful passage in which we have the Lord Jesus blessedly set forth in the 9th of Isaiah: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

Look at this, beloved. He is here called the “Prince of Peace,” and it is our mercy, as poor sinners, to have such a Prince as the Lord Jesus Christ. In the prophecy of Isaiah we also read of the covenant of peace: “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord” (Isa. 54:10). Now what is this covenant of peace? It is that of which David speaks as “an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure” (2 Sam. xxiii 5). And it has Christ, the Prince of Peace, for its covenant Head, and not only so, but it has also the blood of this blessed Prince of Peace as its sealing: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Heb. xiii 20) ; and thereby this is a ratified, sealed, and confirmed covenant. And our comfort is everlasting, because it is founded upon this everlasting covenant of our Father, “who has given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace” in Jesus Christ, who is exalted as the Prince of this covenant.

No sooner had this Prince, according to the promise, made His appearance there on earth, born of a woman and under the law—and even while He lies in the stable as the poor Babe of Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger —than angels are dispatched from heaven to give Him a welcome becoming such a mighty Prince. The shepherds heard the song of the Incarnation of the Prince of Peace, and it is this: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men”; for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11, 14). His glorious birth, and His blood-shedding on Mount Calvary; and oh, my friends, where shall a poor, distressed soul look for peace and joy and rest but in this blessed Jesus, exalted at the Father’s right hand as the Prince of Peace?

I recollect a minister visiting a poor woman who knew something of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he asked her, “Have you made your peace with God?” She smiled, and said, “What! have I made peace with God? Oh, no!” “Then,” said he, “it is time you did.” “Ah! but,” said the poor woman, “my peace with God was made seventeen hundred years before I was born.” He asked her how it was that her peace was made so long back. Why, my friends, she had to direct his attention to Christ, the great Prince of Peace, who had made peace for her by the shedding of His blood, whom God has exalted as “a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

Now you shall hear the words of the Prince of Peace—for He is not only so in His glorious Person, and has made peace, but He is also a Preacher of peace, and has left His people His peace as a legacy. In addressing His disconsolate disciples in John 14 He says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me,” and so on; and, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you ; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” When the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ is possessed by the soul of a poor sinner, oh, then there is a joy that is past all understanding. How blessed is his condition when in the sweet enjoyment of this precious peace!

Oh, then, let us see this very night how matters stand before the Lord. Are we at peace, or are we harassed under the oppression of sin, and sighing by reason of our evil hearts and the feeling of our numerous infirmities? Are we tormented by doubts. and fears, perplexed with temptation, and know not; what to do or whither to fly? Oh, let but the Prince of Peace speak to our troubled breast and say, “I have made peace for you, and am the Peace of your eternal spirit,”—then our peace shall be eternal, for it comes by the blood of Christ to our souls; and when that is possessed, there is rest and joy which the world can neither give nor take away.

We have already seen that the peace of the Christian in Christ is gained by the shedding of the Saviour’s blood. Now, you will recollect that on the night God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, they killed the paschal lamb, and ate it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. This was typical of Christ. Not a drop of blood was to fall on the ground or be lost, but it was to be put into basins, and sprinkled on the lintels and the door-posts of the houses of Israel; and on that very night, when the children of Israel were in their habitations, with their shoes on their feet, their loins girded, and their staves in their hands, eating the paschal lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs—oh, awful and solemn is the thought!—the angel of destruction is dispatched from heaven, with the sword of divine vengeance in his hand, passes through the whole territory of Egypt, enters every habitation not sprinkled with the blood of the lamb, and all the first-born of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh to that of the meanest peasant in the land, are cut off. But oh, see; there is peace and rest for the Israel of God. They have the certain assurance of safety and security. As their lintel and door-post are sprinkled with the blood of the lamb, the destroying angel cannot enter their habitations.

I must pause on this point. It is of great importance to a man to be thus sprinkled with the blood of Christ, the Prince of Peace; for then we have no cause to fear the flaming sword of divine justice. Having faith in Him, we sit down as “under the shadow of a rock in a weary land.” He is our Refuge from the storm and our Covert from the tempest (Isa. xxxii 2). There is no rest for a poor guilty sinner but in Jesus Christ’s atoning blood. But having our hope in Him, we are as sure of heaven as if we were there already, for there is no condemnation to that soul that is in the Prince of Peace. No charge can be brought against God’s elect, for Christ their Prince has died for them.

There is another circumstance to which I will refer—it is that of Rahab, the harlot. She having hid the spies, the children of Israel made a covenant with her that her house should not be destroyed with the rest of the inhabitants of that cursed city, and the house was to be known by a scarlet line in the window, which should insure her safety. So that this woman, and her kindred who were with her in the house, had peace, while all the rest were in fear and consternation. When the children of Israel entered Jericho the people fled in consternation. And why was this? Because the terror of the Lord God of Israel had fallen on them. As the woman said to the spies, “Their hearts are like water, because they have heard of the great things God had done for them by bringing them out of Egypt, dividing the waters of the Red Sea, giving famous cities into their hands.” They trembled. But the woman trembled not, and all that were with her had peace and rest (Josh. 2:18; 6:25).

And so, my friends, will it be on the great judgment day, when Christ comes riding on the clouds of heaven, and the trumpet of the resurrection begins to sound. The enemies of God will then feel dread and consternation, and will say to the rocks and mountains, “Fall on us!” but Jesus will be the Prince of Peace and the glory of His people. All the church of God will claim Him as their Elder Brother; and, looking with faith, will stand with firmness and boldness, and will lift up their heads in triumph, and cry, “I see Him come! It is our Friend and Mediator, Saviour and Redeemer”; and Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace to His church and people, shall claim them as His own, while those who would not have Him to reign over them shall be driven back into the shades of everlasting sorrow.

Hearken to the voice of this Prince, my friends, once more. He says, addressing His disconsolate people that are near and dear to Him, “In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” He says, “In Me ye shall have peace.” Now, flesh and blood do not like tribulation. You and I, planning to get on in the world, never form crooked plans, but smooth plans, straight plans, and so on. But the Prince says, “In the world ye shall have tribulation”; and “it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps,” but “a good man’s steps are ordered by the Lord.” He leads the blind through paths they have not known, and makes darkness light before them, and crooked things straight and says He will never leave them nor forsake them (Isa. xlii 16). But the misery of it is that sometimes we are for doing the work of this Prince of Peace ourselves. We are for making the crooked things straight, and the rough places plain; but let us not attempt to do the work of the Prince, but leave Him to do it, and let us only watch His hand; and however thorny our paths may be, let us trust our affairs entirely to His guidance, for He is an able and a just Prince, and all power in heaven and earth is in His hands; and by Him the crooked will soon be made straight, and the rough places plain.

The church of God in this world, my dear friends, is like a vessel on a boisterous sea, and the members of His church have to buffet with storms and tempests as they pass along, and sometimes they “reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man” ; but when we get a sight of the Lord, then there is a little peace and rest, but not else. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee” (Ps. 55:22); for He is our Pilot, and will steer the vessel safely into the haven of eternal peace.

It is indeed a mercy to be under the protecting care of this Prince of Peace. Through faith in Him, the billows of life shall drop harmless at our feet, when ready to overwhelm us.

Perhaps some of you may know something about the sea. In Luke viii, 23, we find Christ had gone to sleep. “But as they sailed He fell asleep; and there came down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish ! Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.” You see here, my friends, the disciples awoke their Prince with terror and dis may. He arose with a countenance calm and serene; and with majesty and power on His brow, He takes a survey. The wind roars, the storm increases, and seems to threaten destruction every moment. The Prince speaks, “Be still !” The elements obey, the face of the waters is changed, and there is a calm.

Oh, my friends, have we not often felt such a storm raging in our own bosoms? We shall never have peace till we come to our Prince; and when we look to Him with the eye of faith, we shall hear His heavenly voice, saying, “Be still!” and all will be calm.

Then observe again, Christ is not only called the “Prince of Peace,” but also the “Prince of Life.” This description is given of Him in a most solemn and striking manner by the apostle Peter, at the time Peter was questioned by the elders of the Jews, in reference to the powers and ability by which a lame man was healed. Peter disclaims all power in himself by which the cripple was restored, but describes all power to Christ. I will read you two or three verses from Acts 3. “And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?” No, no, my brethren; there is no power in us. Then he goes on to say, “The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you,”—then comes the verse to which I will direct your attention—”and killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses.” Now, you see, Peter charged the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, on the Jews; he says, “But ye have killed the Prince of Life.” What! killed the Prince of Life? What did they kill? Why, they killed the body of the Prince and no more, for that was all they could do. You see, then, they nailed Him to the accursed tree, exhibited Him as a spectacle to men, angels, and devils. He died this shameful, ignominious death, was laid in the cold and silent grave for three days and nights, but saw no corruption. He has risen again, and is now exalted to the right hand of the Father in glorious majesty.

Oh, my friends, hearken to that voice of His in the chapter I read to you to-night (Rev. i.). It is the voice of our Prince, who suffered death, that we might live. Our Prince says, to stimulate our souls from earth to heaven, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore.” So our Prince is not a dead Prince. No, though He died, “the Just for the unjust,” He is alive, and lives in the high court of heaven as the Prince of Life; and for this reason He says, “Behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death.” Thus Jesus Christ was victorious over the grave, and is now exalted to the right hand of the Father, and is the Prince of Life as well as the Prince of Peace. Now, my friends, this part of our subject is of vital importance. I have endeavoured to show you that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Life—that is, He is the life of His saints, church, and people. Now, my brethren, I give you time to ponder this, and may it yield consolation to your souls. I say, the life of Christ is the life of every saint of the Most High God. I repeat it, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Life, and the saints’ God; and those who have this Prince for their life will never die till their Prince dies; and when will He die? Oh (blessed word), never; for it is written, “Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec,” who was both Priest and King (Heb. v. 6; vii. 2, 3). Now, I speak not of the body of God’s Son; no, His body died; but I speak of His spiritual life, the life of God in the soul; and the life of God in the soul is that of the Lord Jesus Christ; He is the Life of every one of His subjects.

Now, you shall have the testimony of the apostle Paul, first, by the way of doctrine, and also by way of experience. Hearken to what he says to the church at Colosse, by way of doctrine (iii. 3, 4) : “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our Life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” So you see that Christ is here represented as the Life of the mystical body, the church. Now hearken unto Paul in reference to his experience: “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live”; that is, “not as in former times I lived, a natural life, but I live now that life of grace which Christ gives.” Oh, my friends, may we all say, like Paul, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet it is not I that live, but Christ, the Prince of Life and glory, lives in me. My life is now by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal. ii. 20).

Oh, cheer up, brethren, you that complain of hard hearts, tribulation, harassing doubts and fears. If you have the Lord Jesus Christ, you have the root of the matter in you. He is the Light of life in your souls; they shall never die while He lives. Hear His gracious voice: “Blessed are the people who know

the joyful sound” (Ps. 1xxxix. 15). “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John xiv. 19). He is the Head; there is no spiritual separation. He is the Head of the body, and the body is the church; and as the members of the natural body can only live by being united to the head, so Jesus Christ is the Head of spiritual life, and we live in Him, by Him, and through Him. How do these things affect you, my friends? Do they not bear your soul up to Jesus Christ, now sitting at the right hand of God, but who reigns on earth as the Prince of the saints and the life of His people?

A subject of this Prince cannot live without prayer. He must pray; it brings in the food which nourishes his spiritual life. And this Prince is the life of prayer; and He is also the life of reading. There is no reading the Word of God with any comfort without Christ. And I well know by experience, my friends, that He is the life of preaching. I sat in the vestry quite faint, before I came into the pulpit; I seemed like a post, and felt as if I had nothing to say. I said to myself, “What shall I say to this people?” But, oh, my friends, I have had a glimpse of the Prince! He has opened my lips and enabled me to preach to you. He is the life of preaching. No life in religion without the Prince. As the body without the soul is dead, so religion is dead without Christ. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last of it (Rev. i. 11, 17).

But I must conclude. I will now just refer you to Rev. i. 5. Christ is there called “the Prince of the kings of the earth.” You see, my friends, He is called a Prince-king over all crowned heads and potentates. They all hear His voice, for He is a great Prince over all the kings of the earth. What does this glorious Prince say? “By Me kings reign, and princes decree justice” (Prov. viii. 15). All things are in His hands. The nobles of the earth are subject unto Him; He lifts up one and pulls down another. He is God omnipotent, triumphs over all, and He is the Prince of Peace, keeping them in perfect peace whose minds are stayed on Him (Isa. xxvi. 3).

But, to conclude, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you know this Prince of Peace? Do you know the character of this Prince? It is often said, “As rich as a prince”; so likewise He is very rich, none have so many honors as He. All blessings and trasurers are at His disposal, and He is ready to give them to all who ask Him. Oh, then, acknowledge Him, receive Him, remember Him, come to Him for mercy and consolation, and enjoy His peace in your souls for evermore. Amen.

A Sermon by

Let them pretend what they please, the true reason why any despise the new birth is because they hate a new life. He that cannot endure to live to God will as little endure to hear of being born of God.

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