p. 109 | THE PLAN OF SALVATION

Publishing Committee · Rochester, N.Y. · Oct 11, 1853

THE PLAN OF SALVATION.

An Allegory.

‘BRETHREN, if I were to represent to you in a figure the condition of man as a sinner, and of his recovery by the death of Christ, I should represent it somewhat in this way: Suppose a large grave-yard, surrounded by a high wall, with only one entrance, which is by a large, iron gate which is fast bolted.— Within these walls are thousands and tens of thousands of human beings, of all ages and of all classes, by one epidemic disease bending to the grave. The grave yawns to swallow them, and they must all die. There is no balm to relieve them; no physician there; they must perish. This is the condition of man as a sinner. All, all have sinned, and the soul that sinneth, it shall die. While man was in this deplorable state, Mercy, the darling attribute of Deity, came down and stood at the gate, looking at the scene, and wept over it, exclaiming, “Oh that I might enter! I would bind up their wounds, I would relieve their sorrows, I would save their souls!” When Mercy stood weeping at the gate, an embassy of angels, commissioned from the Court of Heaven to some other world, passing over, paused at the sight, and Heaven forgave that pause; and, seeing Mercy standing there, they cried, “Mercy, Mercy, can you not enter? Can you look upon this scene, and not pity? Can you pity, and not relieve?” Mercy replied, “I can see;” and in her tears she added, “I can pity, but I cannot relieve!” “Why can you not enter?” “Oh,” said Mercy, “Justice has barred the gate against me, and I cannot, must not unbar it.” At this moment Justice himself appeared, as it were to watch the gate.—The angels inquired of him, “Why will you not let Mercy in?” Justice replied, “My law is broken, and it must be honored. Die they, or Justice must!”—At this there appeared a form among the angelic band like unto the Son of God, who, addressing himself to Justice, said, “What are thy demands?” Justice replied, “My terms are stern and rigid. I must have sickness for their health; I must have ignominy for their honor; I must have death for life. Without shedding of blood there is no remission.” “Justice,” said the Son of God, “I accept thy terms. On me be this wrong, and let Mercy enter.” “When,” said Justice, “will you perform this promise?” Jesus replied, “Four thousand years hence, upon the hill of Calvary, without the gates of Jerusalem, I will perform it in my own person.” The deed was prepared and signed in the presence of the angels of God. Justice was satisfied, and Mercy entered, preaching salvation in the name of Jesus. The deed was committed to the patriarchs, by them to the kings of Israel and the prophets; by them it was preserved till Daniel’s seventy weeks were accomplished. Then, at the appointed time, Justice appeared on the hill of Calvary, and mercy presented to him the important deed.—“Where,” said Justice, “is the Son of God?” Mercy answered, “Behold him at the bottom of the hill, bearing his own cross;” and then she departed and stood aloof at the hour of trial. Jesus ascended the hill, while in his train followed his weeping Church.—Justice immediately presented him with this deed, saying, “This is the day when this bond is to be executed.” When he received it, did he tear it in pieces, and give it to the winds of heaven? No, he nailed it to the cross, exclaiming, “It is finished.”—

“London Jewish Expositor.”

But we ask, has all this in any way, so affected God’s law, that we are free to violate the precept which it advocates? By no means; for Paul says in one of his epistles, “I will that thou affirm constantly that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.” Titus iii. 8. The good works we are to maintain, we understand to be, the discharging of all our duties. Says the wise man, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” But says the objector, Paul tells them, in Titus iii. 9, to “Avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.”—Therefore, it cannot be, that the good works they were to perform, were the keeping of the commandments. It would not follow, because we were to avoid foolish questions about the law, that we were to say nothing about it. If this proves anything, it would prove that the subject was discussed and they were teaching the people in relation to the law; but were to avoid foolish questions. Often

when we go out to preach God’s truth, we are met in the same way with foolish questions, but endeavor to avoid them. Says the same Apostle, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Or as presented in the quotation from Evans, Because Jesus has died to satisfy Justice, that the gate might be unbarred for Mercy to enter; it would not follow that the wall around the whole grave-yard had been thrown down, so that suffering ones could escape or help themselves without the aid of Mercy. Nay, although Mercy is within the enclosure, Justice still watcheth, that those who will not hear Mercy cannot leave the enclosure, but must suffer the same as though Mercy had never entered. Faith in Jesus does not make void the law; for when we come to Jesus, and ask him to pardon us we must believe on him, and believe that he died for us; when we come thus to him, we must first feel our want, which is a pardon of our transgression of the law. “We establish the law,” by admitting it still to be in existence, or else we would not come to Jesus to be pardoned for our transgression of it.

Stern Justice still lives, although we have satisfied its claims, not in ourselves, but by faith in the work performed by our Great High Priest the Son of God, who was made a little lower than the angels, but is now seated at the right hand of God, a Mediator for us. Heaven’s arches ring with songs of joy and praise that Justice can still be satisfied, and yet guilty man find pardon. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance.” Luke xv, 7.

Rochester, N. Y., Oct., 1853.