there that ambition when unguided by benevolence will not do !* เ But Jesus is born; prophecy has been fulfilled; his empire has commenced, and he will reign over all the nations of the earth. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.'t *Josephus thus sums up the character of Herod: 'He was a man universally cruel, and of an ungovernable anger; and though he trampled justice under foot, he was ever the favorite of fortune. From a private station, he rose to the throne. Beset on every side with a thousand dangers, he escaped them all; and prolonged his life to the full boundary of old age. They who considered what befell him in the bosom of his own family, pronounced him a man most miserable; but to himself he ever seemed most prosperous, for, of all his enemies, there was not one whom he did not overcome.' † Psa. ii. 1-8. XXXV. HEAD. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.' 1 Cor. xi. 3. WE are here presented with a very interesting passage, the design of which appears to be to show the relation in which Christ stands to man; the pre-eminence of sex, and the connection existing between Jesus and God. Christ is considered as the head in a variety of senses. I. Head of man. II. Head of the church. III. Head of the corner. IV. Head of all principality and power. From such phrases, we may well infer a fullness and sufficiency in the Saviour. 'For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is at the head of all principality and power.'* I. Head of man. Adam stands at the head of the intellectual and moral creation; Jesus at the head of the spiritual creation. The metaphor is finely carried out by the Apostle in his epistle to the church at Ephesus: But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ from whom the whole body fitly joined : * Col. ii. 9, 10. together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.'* Let us look at this in its bearing upon our future destiny. It is well known that when any member of the body suffers, not only the head, but every member suffers with it. 'Saul of Tarsus went forth "breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord."+ It was immediately felt by their Head in heaven, who accused the young zealot of persecuting Him. Let "a cup of cold water" be given-let the smallest act of kindness be done to the least of Christ's little ones, -he receives it as done to himself.' It would seem, therefore, that if any one member of the human family is rendered miserable forever, it will affect Jesus and the whole humanity. So that the doctrine of endless misery would involve the misery of the Redeemer and the whole human race. It may be replied, that this is the reasoning of an opponent, and that a believer in the doctrine alluded to is not accountable for all that may be drawn from his premises. Let it be shown then wherein such reasoning is unwarranted by the word of God. If the metaphor will not bear all this, let its limits be fixed, that we may no longer go beyond the truth. That there is a sympathy between man and man, and between Jesus and the human race, is evident from many parts of Revelation. Angels are also represented as taking an interest in the destiny of mankind, and even the fulness of their joys seems in some † Acts ix. 1. * Eph. iv. 15, 16. measure to depend on the return of sinners to God: 'There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.'* But we dare not, for want of time, and the immensity of such a theme, pursue the thoughts that crowd upon us. Our limits are marked out and cannot be exceeded. II. Head of the Church. It would appear from several expressions in the epistles that the church is considered as the body of Christ: 'And he is the head of the body, the church;'+ 'And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.' From him the church receives light, life and intelligence. The church has no other ruler or head than Jesus Christ. His authority there is paramount to all other authority in creation. There he stands as supreme, and ever will stand till the consummation of all things, when 'God shall be all in all.' Christ 'loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that it should be holy and without blemish.' In connection with the phrase 'head of the church,' Christ is called the 'Saviour of the body,' which evidently means that he is the Saviour of the church. * Luke xv. 10. To those who would see this thought finely illustrated and eloquently enforced from this passage, the writer would recommend the reading of a Discourse entitled, 'Sympathy for Man in Distant Places of Creation,' by THOMAS CHALMERS, D. D., p. 96; Phil., 1830. † Col. i. 18. Eph. v. 23. Eph. i. 22, 23. § Eph. v. 25-27. The Apostle presents the sacred connection existing between Christ and the church by the marriage institution, Ephes. v. 32. There is, however, in all comparisons designed to show the connection between Christ and the human race, certain limits beyond which we cannot go with propriety. The marriage institution ends with death, but the connection between Christ and his church remains the same through all time, for Jesus hath conquered death. Glorious and transporting thought! Death may sever the earthly ties formed by man; but he cannot break up the connection existing between Jesus and his church. We may, therefore, look forward with confidence to the day when the Saviour and all his church shall meet in heaven, to the glory of God. III. Head of the corner. This occurs in a quotation of our Lord from the prophets. 'Did ye never read in the Scriptures,' said he to the Pharisees, that 'the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?'* Various are the emblems employed by the Saviour, and the sacred writers, to represent the connection existing between him and the human race. Here is presented a metaMankind are the phor taken from Architecture. building; Christ is the corner stone. All rest on him, and though rejected by the wisdom of this world, he has been placed at 'the head of the corner,' by the Great Builder of the universe; and there he will stand till the building is completed, and when finished, all will cry, Grace, grace unto it.† IV. Head of all principality and power. This *Matt. xxi. 42. † See title FOUNDATION. |