Sermon 151. The Condescension of Christ

(No. 151)

Delivered on Sabbath Morning, September 13, 1857, by the

REV. C.H. SPURGEON

at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye throughhis poverty might be rich"-2 Corinthians 8:9.

THE APOSTLE, in this chapter, was endeavoring to stir up the Corinthians to liberality. He desired them to contribute somethingfor those who were the poor of the flock, that he might be able to minister to their necessities. He tells them, that thechurches of Macedonia, though very much poorer than the church at Corinth, had done even beyond their means for the reliefof the Lords family, and he exhorts the Corinthians to do the same. But suddenly recollecting thatexamples taken from inferiors seldom have a powerful effect, he lays aside his argument drawn from the church of Macedonia,and he holds before them a reason for liberality which the hardest heart can scarcely resist, if once that reason be appliedby the Spirit. "My brethren," said he, "there is One above, by whom you hope you have been saved, One whom you call Masterand Lord, now if you will but imitate him, you can not be ungenerous or illiberal. For, my brethren, I tell you a thing whichis an old thing with you and an undisputed truth-'For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he wasrich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.' Let this constrain you to benevolence."O Christian, whenever thou art inclined to an avaricious withholding from the church of God, think of thy Saviour giving upall that he had to serve thee, and canst thou then, when thou beholdest self-denial so noble,-canst thou then be selfish,and regardthyself, when the claims of the poor of the flock are pressed upon thee? Remember Jesus; think thou seest him look theein the face and say to thee, "I gave myself for thee, and dost thou withhold thyself from me? For if thou dost so, thou knowestnot my love in all its heights and depths and lengths and breadths."

And now, dear friends, the argument of the apostle shall be our subject to-day. It divides itself in an extremely simple manner.We have first, the pristine condition of our Saviour-"He was rich." We have next, his condescension-"He became poor." And then we have the effect and result of his poverty-"That we might be made rich." We shall then close by giving you a doctrine, a question, and an exhortation. May God blessall these, and help us to tellthem aright.

I. First, then, our text tells us THAT JESUS CHRIST WAS RICH. Think not that our Saviour began to live when he was born ofthe Virgin Mary; imagine not that he dates his existence from the manger at Bethlehem; remember he is the Eternal, he is beforeall things, and by him all things consist. There was never a time in which there was not God. And just so, there was nevera period in which there was not Christ Jesus our Lord. He is self-existent, hath no beginning of days,neither end of years; he is the immortal, invisible, the only wise God, our Saviour. Now, in the past eternity which hadelapsed before his mission to this world, we are told that Jesus Christ was rich; and to those of us who believe his gloriesand trust in his divinity, it is not hard to see how he was so. Jesus was rich in possessions. Lift up thine eye, believer, and for a moment review the riches of my Lord Jesus, before he condescended to become poor forthee. Behold him, sittingupon his throne and declaring his own all-sufficiency. "If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the cattle on a thousandhills are mine. Mine are the hidden treasures of gold; mine are the pearls that the diver can not reach; mine every preciousthing that earth hath seen." The Lord Jesus might have said, "I can stretch my scepter from the east even to the west, andall is mine; the whole of this world, and yon worlds that glitter in far off space, all are mine. The illimitable expanseofunmeasured space, filled as it is with worlds that I have made, all this is mine. Fly upward, and thou canst not reachthe summit of the hill of my dominions; dive downward, and thou canst not enter into the innermost depths of my sway. Fromthe highest throne in glory to the lowest pit of hell, all, all is mine without exception. I can put the broad arrow of mykingdom upon every thing that I have made.

But he had besides that which makes men richer still. We have heard of kings in olden times who were fabulously rich, andwhen their riches were summed up, we read in the old romances, "And this man was possessed of the philosopher's stone, wherebyhe turned all things into gold." Surely all the treasures that he had before were as nothing compared with this precious stonethat brought up the rear. Now, whatever might be the wealth of Christ in things created, he had thepower of creation, and therein lay his boundless wealth. If he had pleased he could have spoken worlds into existence; he had but to lift hisfinger, and a new universe as boundless as the present would have leaped into existence. At the will of his mind, millionsof angels would have stood before him, legions of bright spirits would have flashed into being. He spoke, and it was done;he commanded, and it stood fast. He who said, "Light, be," and light was, had power to say to allthings, "Be," and they should be. Herein then, lay his riches; this creating power was one of the brightest jewels ofhis crown.

We call men rich, too, who have honor, and though men have never so much wealth, yet if they be in disgrace and shame, they must not reckon themselves among therich. But our Lord Jesus had honor, honor such as none but a divine being could receive. When he sat upon his throne, beforehe relinquished the glorious mantle of his sovereignty to become a man, all earth was filled with his glory. He could lookboth beneath and all around him, and the inscription, "Glorybe unto God," was written over all space; day and night the smoking incense of praise ascended before him from goldenviols held by spirits who bowed in reverence; the harps of myriads of cherubim and seraphim continually thrilled with hispraise, and the voices of all those mighty hosts were ever eloquent in adoration. It may be, that on set days the princesfrom the far off realms, the kings, the mighty ones of his boundless realms, came to the court of Christ, and brought eachhis annualrevenue. Oh, who can tell but that in the vast eternity, at certain grand eras, the great bell was rung, and all the mightyhosts that were created gathered together in solemn review before his throne? Who can tell the high holiday that was keptin the court of heaven when these bright spirits bowed before his throne in joy and gladness, and, all united, raised theirvoices in shouts and hallelujahs such as mortal ear hath never heard. Oh, can ye tell the depths of the rivers of praise thatflowed hard by the city of God? Can ye imagine to yourselves the sweetness of that harmony that perpetually poured intothe ear of Jesus, Messias, King, Eternal, equal with God his Father? No; at the thought of the glory of his kingdom, and theriches and majesty of his power, our souls are spent within us, our words fail, we can not utter the tithe of his glories.

Nor was he poor in any other sense. He that hath wealth on earth, and honor too, is poor if he hath not love. I would rather be the pauper, dependent upon charity, and have love, than I would be the prince, despised and hated, whosedeath is looked for as a boon. Without love, man is poor-give him all the diamonds, and pearls, and gold that mortal hathconceived. But Jesus was not poor in love. When he came to earth, he did not come to get our love because his soulwas solitary. Oh no, his Father had a full delight in him from all eternity. The heart of Jehovah, the first person ofthe Sacred Trinity, was divinely, immutably linked to him; he was beloved of the Father and of the Holy Spirit; the threepersons took a sacred complacency and delight in each other. And besides that, how was he loved by those bright spirits whohad not fallen. I can not tell what countless orders and creatures there are created who still stand fast in obedience toGod. It isnot possible for us to know whether there are, or not, as many races of created beings as we know there are created menon earth. We can not tell but that in the boundless regions of space, there are worlds inhabited by beings infinitely superiorto us: but certain it is, there were the holy angels, and they loved our Saviour; they stood day and night with wings outstretched,waiting for his commands, hearkening to the voice of his word; and when he bade them fly, there was love in theircountenance, and joy in their hearts. They loved to serve him, and it is not all fiction that when there was war in heaven,and when God cast out the devil and his legions, then the elect angels showed their love to him, being valiant in fight andstrong in power. He wanted not our love to make him happy, he was rich enough in love without us.

Now, though a spirit from the upper world should come to tell you of the riches of Jesus he could not do it. Gabriel, in thyflights thou hast mounted higher than my imagination dares to follow thee, but thou hast never gained the summit of the throneof God.

"Dark with insufferable light thy skirts appear."

Jesus, who is he that could look upon the brow of thy Majesty, who is he that could comprehend the strength of the arm ofthy might? Thou art God, thou art infinite, and we poor finite things, are lost in thee. The insect of an hour can not comprehendthyself. We bow before thee, we adore thee; thou art God over all, blessed for ever. But as for the comprehension of thy boundlessriches, as for being able to tell thy treasures, or to reckon up thy wealth, that wereimpossible. All we know is, that the wealth of God, that the treasures of the infinite, that the riches of eternity, wereall thine own: thou wast rich beyond all thought.

II. The Lord Jesus Christ, then, was rich. We all believe that, though none of us can truly speak it forth. Oh, how surprisedangels were, when they were first informed that Jesus Christ, the Prince of Light and Majesty, intended to shroud himselfin clay and become a babe, and live and die! We know not how it was first mentioned to the angels, but when the rumor firstbegan to get afloat among the sacred hosts, you may imagine what strange wonderment there was. What! wasit true that he whose crown was all bedight with stars, would lay that crown aside? What! was it certain that he aboutwhose shoulders was cast the purple of the universe, would become a man dressed in a peasants garment? Could it be true thathe who was everlasting and immortal would one day be nailed to a cross? Oh! how their wonderment increased! They desired tolook into it. And when he descended from on high, they followed him; for Jesus was "seen of angels," and seen in a specialsense,for they looked upon him in rapturous amazement, wondering what it all could mean. "He for our sakes became poor." Doyou see him as on that day of heaven's eclipse he did ungird his majesty? Oh, can ye conceive the yet increasing wonder ofthe heavenly hosts when the deed was actually done, when they saw the tiara taken off, when they saw him unbind his girdleof stars, and cast away his sandals of gold? Can ye conceive it, when he said to them, "I do not disdain the womb of the virgin;I amgoing down to earth to become a man?" Can ye picture them as they declared they would follow him! Yes, they followed himas near as the world would permit them. And when they came to earth they began to sing, "Glory to God in the highest, on earthpeace, good will toward men." Nor would they go away till they had made the shepherds wonder, and till heaven had hung outnew stars in honor of the new-born King. And now wonder, ye angels, the Infinite has become an infant; he, upon whose shouldersthe universe doth hang, hangs at his mothers breast; he who created all things, and bears up the pillars of creation,hath now become so weak that he must be carried by a woman! And oh, wonder, ye that knew him in his riches, whilst ye admirehis poverty! Where sleeps the new-born King? Had he the best room in Caesar's palace? hath a cradle of gold been preparedfor him, and pillows of down, on which to rest his head? No, where the ox fed, in the dilapidated stable, in the manger, theretheSaviour lies, swathed in the swaddling bands of the children of poverty! Nor there doth he rest long; on a sudden hismother must carry him to Egypt; he goeth there, and becometh a stranger in a strange land. When he comes back, see him thatmade the worlds handle the hammer and the nails, assisting his father in the trade of a carpenter! Mark him who has put thestars on high, and made them glisten in the night; mark him without one star of glory upon his brow-a simple child, as otherchildren. Yet, leave for a while the scenes of his childhood and his earlier life; see him when he becomes a man, andnow ye may say, indeed, that for our sakes he did become poor. Never was there a poorer man than Christ; he was the princeof poverty. He was the reverse of Croesus-he might be on the top of the hill of riches, Christ stood in the lowest vale of poverty. Look at his dress, it is woven from the top through out, the garment of the poor! Asfor his food, he oftentimesdid hunger; and always was dependent upon the charity of others for the relief of his wants! He who scattered the harvesto'er the broad acres of the world, had not sometimes wherewithal to stay the pangs of hunger? He who digged the springs ofthe ocean, sat upon a well and said to a Samaritan woman, "Give me to drink!" He rode in no chariot, he walked his weary way,foot sore, o'er the flints of Galilee! He had not where to lay his head. He looked upon the fox as it hurried to its burrow,andthe fowl as it went to its resting-place, and he said, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but I,the Son of man, have not where to lay my head." He who had once been waited on by angels, becomes the servant of servants,takes a towel, girds himself, and washes his disciples' feet! He who was once honored with the hallelujahs of ages, is nowspit upon and despised! He who was loved by his Father, and had abundance of the wealth of affection, could say, "He thateateth breadwith me hath lifted up his heel against me." Oh, for words to picture the humiliation of Christ! What leagues of distancebetween him that sat upon the throne, and him that died upon the cross! Oh, who can tell the mighty chasm between yon heightsof glory, and the cross of deepest woe! Trace him, Christian, he has left thee his manger to show thee how God came down toman. He hath bequeathed thee his cross to show thee how man can ascend to God. Follow him, follow him, all his journey through;begin with him in the wilderness of temptation, see him fasting there, and hungering with the wild beasts around him;trace him along his weary way, as the Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He is the byword of the drunkard, he is thesong of the scorner, and he is hooted at by the malicious; see him as they point their finger at him, and call him "drunkenman and wine-bibber!" Follow him along his via dolorosa, until at last you meet him among the olives of Gethsemane; see himsweating great drops of blood! Follow him to the pavement of Gabbatha; see him pouring out rivers of gore beneath thecruel whips of Roman soldiers! With weeping eye follow him to the cross of Calvary, see him nailed there! Mark his poverty,so poor that they have stripped him naked from head to foot, and exposed him to the face of the sun! So poor, that when heasked them for water they gave him vinegar to drink! So poor that his unpillowed head is girt with thorns in death! Oh, Sonof Man, Iknow not which to admire most, thine height of glory, or thy depths of misery! Oh, Man, slain for us, shall we not exaltthee? God over all, blessed for ever, shall we not give thee the loudest song? "He was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor."If I had a tale to tell you this day, of some king, who, out of love to some fair maiden, left his kingdom and became a peasantlike herself, ye would stand and wonder, and would listen to the charming tale; but when I tell of God concealing hisdignity to become our Saviour, our hearts are scarcely touched. Ah, my friends, we know the tale so well, we have heardit so often; and, alas, some of us tell it so badly that we cannot expect that you would be as interested in it as the subjectdoth demand. But surely, as it is said of some great works of architecture, that though they be seen every morning, thereis always something fresh to wonder at; so we may say of Christ, that though we saw him every day, we should always see freshreason to love, and wonder, and adore. "He was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor."

I have thought that there is one peculiarity about the poverty of Christ, that ought not to be forgotten by us. Those whowere nursed upon the lap of want feel less the woes of their condition. But I have met with others whose poverty I could pity.They were once rich; their very dress which now hangs about them in tatters, tells you that they once stood foremost in theranks of life. You meet them amongst the poorest of the poor; you pity them more than those who havebeen born and bred to poverty, because they have known something better. Amongst all those who are poor, I have alwaysfound the greatest amount of suffering in those who had seen better days. I can remember, even now, the look of some who havesaid to me when they have received assistance-and I have given it as delicately as I could, lest it should look like charity-"Ah,sir, I have known better days." And the tear stood in the eye, and the heart was smitten at bitter recollections. The leastslight to such a person, or even too unmasked a kindness, becomes like a knife cutting the heart. "I have known betterdays," sounds like a knell over their joys. And verily our Lord Jesus might have said in all his sorrows, "I have known betterdays than these." Methinks when he was tempted of the devil in the wilderness, it must have been hard in him to have restrainedhimself from dashing the devil into pieces. If I had been the Son of God, methinks, feeling as I do now, if that devil hadtempted me, I should have dashed him into the nethermost hell, in the twinkling of an eye! And then conceive the patienceour Lord must have had, standing on the pinnacle of the temple, when the devil said, "Fall down and worship me." He wouldnot touch him, the vile deceiver, but let him do what he pleased. Oh! what might of misery and love there must have been inthe Saviour's heart when he was spit upon by the men he had created; when the eyes he himself had filled with vision lookedon himwith scorn, and when the tongues, to which he himself had given utterance, hissed and blasphemed him! Oh, my friends,if the Saviour had felt as we do, and I doubt not he did feel in some measure as we do-only by great patience he curbed himself-methinkshe ought have swept them all away; and, as they said, he might have come down from the cross, and delivered himself, and destroyedthem utterly. It was mighty patience that could bear to tread this world beneath his feet, and not to crush it,when it so ill-treated its Redeemer. You marvel at the patience which restrained him; you marvel also at the poverty hemust have felt, the poverty of spirit, when they rebuked him and he reviled them not again; when they scoffed him, and yethe said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He had seen brighter days; that made his misery more bitter,and his poverty more poor.

III. Well, now we come to the third point-WHY DID THE SAVIOUR COME TO DIE AND BE POOR? Hear this, ye sons of Adam-the Scripturesays, "For your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be made rich." For your sakes. Now, when I address you as a great congregation, you will not feel the beauty of this expression, "For your sake." Husband and wife, walking in the fear of God, let me take you by the hand and look you in the face, let me repeatthose words, "for your sakes he became poor." Young man, let a brother of thine own age, look on thee and repeat these words, "Though he was rich,yet for your sake he became poor." Gray-headed believer, let me look on you and say the same, "For your sake he became poor." Brethren, take the word home, and see if it does not melt you-"Though he was rich, yet for my sake he became poor." Beg for the influences of the Spirit upon that truth, and it will make your heart devoutand your spirit loving-"I the chief of sinners am, yet for my sake he died." Come, let me hear you speak; let us bringthe sinner here, and let him soliloquize-"I cursed him, I blasphemed, and yet for my sake he was made poor; I scoffed at hisministers, I broke his Sabbath, yet for my sake was he made poor. What! Jesus, couldst thou die for one who was not worththy having? Couldst thou shed thy blood for one who would have shed thy blood, if it had been in his power? What! couldstthou diefor one so worthless, so vile?" "Yes, yes," says Jesus, "I shed that blood for thee." Now let the saint speak: "I," hemay say, "have professed to love him, but how cold my love, how little have I served him! How far have I lived from him; Ihave not had sweet communion with him as I ought to have had. When have I been spending and spent in his service? And yet,my Lord thou dost say, 'for thy sake I was made poor.'" "Yes," saith Jesus, "see me in my miseries; see me in my agonies; seeme in my death-all these I suffered for thy sake." Wilt thou not love him who loved thee to this great excess, and became poor for thy sake?

That, however, is not the point to which we wish to bring you, just now; the point is this, the reason why Christ died was, "that we through his poverty might be rich." He became poor from his riches, that our poverty might become rich outof his poverty. Brethren, we have now a joyful theme before us-those who are partakers of the Saviour's blood are rich. Allthose for whom the Saviour died, having believed in his name and given themselves to him, are this dayrich. And yet I have some of you here who can not call a foot of land your own. You have nothing to call your own to-day,you know not how you will be supported through another week; you are poor, and yet if you be a child of God, I do know thatChrist's end is answered in you; you are rich. No, I did not mock you when I said you were rich: I did not taunt you-you are. You are really rich; you are rich in possessions; you have in your possession now things more costly than gems,more valuable than gold and silver. Silver and gold, have I none, thou mayest say; but if thou canst say afterward, "Christis all," thou hast outspoken all that the man can say who had piles of gold and silver. "But," thou sayest, "I have nothing."Man, thou hast all things. Knowest thou not what Paul said? He declares that "things present and things to come, and thisworld, and life and death, all are yours and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." The great machinery of providence hasnowheel which does not revolve for you. The great economy of grace with all its fullness, is yours. Remember that adoption,justification, sanctification, all are yours. Thou hast everything that heart can wish in spiritual things; and thou hasteverything that is necessary for this life; for you know who hath said, "having food and raiment, let us therewith be content."You are rich; rich with true riches, and not with the riches of a dream. There are times when men by night do scrape goldandsilver together, like shells upon the sea shore; but when they wake in the morning they find themselves penniless. But,yours are everlasting treasures; yours are solid riches. When the son of eternity shall have melted the rich man's gold away,yours shall endure. A rich man has a cistern full of riches, but a poor saint has got a fountain of mercy, and he is the richest who has a fountain. Now, if my neighbor be a rich man, he may have as much wealth as everhe pleases, it isonly a cistern full, it will soon be exhausted; but a Christian has a fountain that ever flows, and let him draw, drawon forever, the fountain will still keep on flowing. However large may be the stagnant pool, if it be stagnant, it is butof little worth; but the flowing stream, though it seem to be but small, needs but time, and it will have produced an immensevolume of precious water. Thou art never to have a great pool of riches, they are always to keep on flowing to thee; "Thybreadshall be given thee, and thy water shall be sure." As old William Huntingdon says, "The Christian has a hand-basket portion.Many a man, when his daughter marries, does not give her much, but he says to her, 'I shall send you a sack of flour one day,and so-and-so the next day, and now and then a sum of gold; and as long as I live I will always send you something." Sayshe, "She will get a great deal more than her sister, who has had a thousand pounds down. That is how my God deals with me;hegives to the rich man all at once, but to me day by day." Ah, Egypt, thou wert rich when thy granaries were full, butthose granaries might be emptied; Israel was far richer when they could not see their granaries, but only saw the manna dropfrom heaven, day by day. Now, Christian, that is thy portion-the portion of the fountain always flowing, and not of the cistern-full,and soon to be emptied.

But remember, O saint, that thy wealth does not all lie in thy possession just now; remember thou art rich in promises. Let a man be never so poor as to the metal that he hath, let him have in his possession promissory notes from rich and truemen, and he says, "I have no gold in my purse, but here is a note for such-and-such a sum-I know the signature-I can trustthe firm-I am rich, though I have no metal in hand." And so the Christian can say, "If I have no richesin possession, I have the promise of them; my God hath said, ' No good thing will I withhold from them that walk uprightly,'-thatis a promise that makes me rich. He has told me, 'My bread shall be given me, and my water shall be sure.' I can not doubthis signature, I know his word to be authentic; and as for his faithfulness, I would not so dishonor him as to think he wouldbreak his promise. No, the promise is as good as the thing itself. If it be God's promise, it is just as sure that Ishall have it, as if I had it."

But then the Christian is very rich in reversion. When a certain old man dies that I know of, I believe that I shall be so immensely rich that I shall dwell in a place thatis paved with gold, the walls of which are builded with precious stones. But, my friends, you have all got an old man to die,and when he is dead, if you are followers of Jesus, you will come in for your inheritance. You know who that old man is, heis very often spoken of in Scripture; may theold man in you die daily, and may the new man be strengthened in you. When that old man of corruption, your old nature,shall totter into its grave, then you will come in for your property. Christians are like heirs, they have not much in theirminority, and they are minors now; but when they come of age, they shall have the whole of their estate. If I meet a minor,he says, "That is my property." "You can not sell it, sir; you can not lay hold of it." "No," says he, "I know I can not;but itis mine when I am one-and-twenty, I shall then have complete control; but at the same time, it is as really mine now asit ever will be. I have a legal right to it, and though my guardians take care of it for me, it is mine, not theirs." Andnow, Christian, in heaven there is a crown of gold which is thine to-day; it will be no more thine when thou hast it on thyhead than it is now. I remember to have heard it reported that I once spoke a metaphor, and bade Christians look at all thecrownshanging in rows in heaven-very likely I did say it-but if not, I will say it now. Up, Christian, see the crowns all ready,and mark thine own; stand thou and wonder at it; see with what pearls it is bedight, and how heavy it is with gold! And thatis for thy head, thy poor aching head; thy poor tortured brain shall yet have that crown for its arraying! And see that garment,it is stiff with gems, and white like snow; and that is for thee! When thy week-day garment shall be done with, this shallbe the raiment of thy everlasting Sabbath. When thou hast worn out this poor body, there remaineth for thee, "A housenot made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Up to the summit, Christian, and survey thine inheritance; and when thou hastsurveyed it all, when thou hast seen thy present possessions, thy promised possessions, thine entailed possessions, then rememberthat all these were bought by the poverty of thy Saviour! Look thou upon all thou hast, and say, "Christ bought them for me."Look thou on every promise, and see the bloodstains on it; yea, look too, on the harps and crowns of heaven, and readthe bloody purchase! Remember, thou couldst never have been anything but a damned sinner, unless Christ had bought thee! Remember,if he had remained in heaven, thou wouldst for ever have remained in hell; unless he had shrouded and eclipsed his own honor,thou wouldst never have had a ray of light to shine upon thee. Therefore, bless his dear name, extol him, trace every streamto the fountain; and bless him who is the source, and the fountain of everything thou hast. Brethren, "Ye know the graceof our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might berich."

IV. I have not done, I have three things now to say, and shall say them as briefly as possible.

The first is a doctrine; the doctrine is this: If Christ in his poverty made us rich, what will he do now that he is glorified. If the Man of Sorrowssaved my soul, will the man now exalted suffer it to perish? If the dying Saviour availed for our salvation, should not theliving, interceding Saviour, abundantly secure it?

"He lived, he lives and sits above,

For ever interceding there;

What shall divide us from his love,

Or what shall sink us in despair?"

If when the nail was in thine hand, O Jesus, thou didst rout all hell, canst thou be defeated now that thou hast grasped thescepter? If, when the thorn crown was put about thy brow, thou didst prostrate the dragon, canst thou be overcome and conquerednow that the acclamations of angels are ascending to thee? No, my brethren, we can trust the glorified Jesus; we can reposeourselves on his bosom; if he was so strong in poverty, what must he be in riches?

The next thing was a question, that question was a simple one. My hearer, hast thou been made rich by Christ's poverty? Thou sayest, "I am good enough withoutChrist; I want no Saviour." Ah, thou art like her of old, who said, "I am rich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing,whereas, saith the Lord, 'Thou art naked, and poor, and miserable.'" O ye that live by good works, and think that ye shallgo to heaven because you are as good as others; all themerits you can ever earn yourselves, are good for nothing. All that human nature ever made, turns to a blot and a curse.If those are your riches, you are no saints. But can you say this morning, my hearers, "I am by nature without anything, andGod has by the power of his Spirit taught me my nothingness."

My brother, my sister, hast than taken Christ to be thine all in all? Canst thou say this day, with an unfaltering tongue,"My Lord, my God, I have nothing; but thou art my all?" Come, I beseech thee, do not shirk the question. Thou art careless,heedless; answer it, then, in the negative. But when thou hast answered it, I beseech thee, beware of what thou hast said.Thou art sinful, thou feelest it. Come, I beseech thee, and lay hold on Jesus. Remember, Christ came tomake those rich, that have nothing of their own. My Saviour is a physician; if you can heal yourself, he will have nothingto do with you. Remember, my Saviour came to clothe the naked. He will clothe you, if you have not a rag of your own; butunless you let him do it from head to foot, he will have nothing to do with you. Christ says he will never have a partner;he will do all, or none. Come then, hast thou given up all to Christ? Hast thou no reliance and trust save in the cross ofJesus?Then thou hast answered the question well. Be happy, be joyous; if death should surprise thee the next hour, thou artsecure. Go on thy way, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

And now I close with the third thing, which was an exhortation. Sinner, dost thou this morning feel thy poverty? Then look to Christ's poverty. O ye that are to-day troubled on accountof sin-and there are many such here-God has not let you alone; he has been plowing your heart with the sharp plowshare ofconviction; you are this day saying, "What must I do to be saved?" You would give all you have, to have an interest in JesusChrist. Your soul is this day sorebroken and tormented. O sinner, if thou wouldst find salvation, thou must find it in the veins of Jesus. Now, wipe thattear from thine eye a moment, and look here. Dost thou see him high, where the cross rears its terrible tree? There he is.Dost see him? Mark his head. See the thorn-crown, and the beaded drops still standing on his temples. Mark his eyes; theyare just closing in death. Canst see the lines of agony, so desperate in woe? Dost see his hands? See the streamlets of bloodflowingdown them. Hark, he is about to speak. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!" Didst hear that, sinner? Pause a momentlonger, take another survey of his person; how emaciated his body, and how sick his spirit! Look at him. But hark, he is aboutto speak again-"It is finished." What means he by that? He means, that he has finished thy salvation. Look thou to him, andfind salvation there. Remember, to be saved, all that God wants of a penitent, is to look to Jesus. My life for this-if youwill risk your all on Christ, you shall be saved. I will be Christ's bondsman to-day, to be bound for ever, if he breakhis promise. He has said, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." It is not your hands that will saveyou; it must be your eyes. Look from those works whereby you hope to be saved. No longer strive to create a garment that willnot hide your sin, throw away that shuttle; it is only filled with cobwebs. What garment can you weave with that? Look thouto him,and thou art saved. Never sinner looked, and was lost. Dost mark that eye there? One glance will save thee, one glancewill set thee free. Dost thou say, "I am a guilty sinner?" Thy guilt is the reason why I bid thee look. Dost thou say, "Icannot look?" Oh, may God help thee to look now. Remember, Christ will not reject thee; thou mayest reject him. Remember now,there is the cup of mercy put to thy lip by the hand of Jesus. I know, if thou feelest thy need, Satan may tempt thee notto drink,but he will not prevail; thou wilt put thy lip feebly and faintly, perhaps, to it. But oh, do but sip it; and the firstdraught shall give thee bliss; and the deeper thou shalt drink, the more of heaven shalt thou know. Sinner, believe on JesusChrist; hear the whole gospel preached to thee. It is written in God's Word, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."Hear me translate it-He that believeth and is immersed shall be saved. Believe thou, trust thyself on the Saviour,make a profession of thy faith in baptism, and then thou mayest rejoice in Jesus, that he hath saved thee. But remembernot to make a profession till thou hast believed: remember, baptism is nothing, until thou hast faith. Remember, it is a farceand a falsehood, until thou hast first believed; and afterwards, it is nothing but the profession of thy faith. Oh, believethat; cast thyself upon Christ, and thou art saved for ever! The Lord add his blessing, for the Saviour's sake. Amen.