THE MERCY OF MERCIES

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 5, 1858

THE MERCY OF MERCIES.

—The good Flavel has a sermon, [Luke i, 27,] in which he exhibits Christ as the mercy of mercies to lost man. In this sermon, the following beautiful comparisons occur:

“Jesus Christ is an incomparable and matchless mercy; ‘as the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons,’ says the enamored spouse. Cant. ii, 3. Draw the comparison how you will between Christ and all enjoyments, you will find none in heaven nor on earth to equal him. He is more than all externals, as the light of the sun is more than that of a candle. Nay, even the worst of Christ is better than the best of the world; his reproaches are better than the world’s pleasures. Heb. xi, 22. He is better than all spirituals, as the fountain is more than the stream. He is more than justification, as the cause; more than sanctification, as the person himself is more than all peace, all comfort, all joy, as the tree is more than the fruit. Nay, draw the comparison betwixt Christ and things eternal, and you will find him better than they; for what is heaven without Christ? Ps. lxxiii. ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee?’ If Christ should say to the saints, Take heaven among you, but as for me, I will withdraw myself from you; the saints would weep, even in heaven itself, and say, Lord, heaven will be no more heaven to us, except thou be there, who art by far the better half of heaven.”