19. Glory of God greatest in the gospel

Glory of God greatest in the gospel

(1.) The glory of God was in Adam; for Adam had the image of God upon him, and had communion and fellowship with God; but there is greater glory now shining in the gospel, in Jesus Christ, to poor sinners. For when man stood in innocency, God did good to a good man, and God was amiable and friendly to a friend. Adam was the friend of God then. Now to do good to him that is good, and to maintain sweet communion with a friend, this is good indeed, and it was a great glory of God’s mercy that he would raise such a creature as man hereto. But now in Jesus Christ there is a further glory of mercy; for here God doth good to ill men, and the goodness of God is victorious and triumphant over the greatest misery and the greatest ill of man. Now in the gospel God doth good to his greatest enemies herein, as it is Romans 5:10. God set forth and commended gloriously his love, that ’when we were enemies, he gave his Son for us. Therefore here is greater glory of mercy and love shining forth to fallen man in Christ than to Adam in innocency.

(2.) The glory of God shines in the heavens. ’The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handiwork,’ Psalms 19:1. Every creature hath a beam of God’s glory in it. The whole world is a theatre of the glory of God. But what is the glory of creation, of preservation, and governing of the world, to the glory of his mercy and compassion that shines in Christ? The glory of the creature is nothing to this; for all the creatures were made of nothing; but here the glory of mercy is such in Christ that God became a creature himself.

(3.) Nay, to go higher, to the angels themselves. It is not philangelia, but philanthropia that outshines all.* God is not called the lover of angels. He took not upon him the nature of angels, but the nature of man; and man is the spouse of Christ, the member of Christ. Angels are not so. They are but ministering spirits for the good of them that shall be saved. Christ, as it is Ephesians 1:21, when he rose again, he was ’advanced above all principalities and powers,’ therefore above the angelical nature. Now Christ and the church are all one. They make but one mystical body. The church is the queen, and Christ is the king. Therefore Christ mystical, the church, is above all angelical nature whatsoever. The angels are not the queen and spouse of Christ. So the glory of God’s goodness is more to man, to sinful man, after he believes and is made one with Christ, than to any creature whatsoever. Thus God hath dignified and advanced our nature in Jesus Christ. Comparisons give lustre. Therefore this shews plainly unto us Christians that the glory of the mercy and love and kindness of God to man in Christ shines more than his glory and mercy and kindness to all the creatures in the world besides. Therefore here is a glory with an excellency. On the other side, nothing more terrible than to consider of God. Out of Christ, what is he but a ’consuming fire’? Hebrews 12:29. But to consider of his mercy, his glorious mercy in Jesus Christ, nothing is more sweet. For in Jesus Christ God hath taken upon him that sweet relation of a Father; ’The Father of mercy, and God of all comfort,’ 2 Corinthians 1:3. So that the nature of God is lovely in Christ, and our nature in Christ is lovely to him. And this made the angels, who, though they have not increase of grace by Christ, yet having increase of comfort and glory, when Christ was born, to sing from heaven ’Glory to God on high,’ &c., Luke 2:14. What glory? Why, the glory of his mercy, of his love, of his grace to sinful men. Indeed, there is a glory of wisdom to reconcile justice and mercy together, and a glory of truth to fulfil the promise. But that that sets all attributes for our salvation on work was mercy and grace. Therefore that is the glory of God especially here meant. For as we say in morality, that is the greatest virtue that other virtues serve, so in divinity, that attribute which others serve is the greatest of all. In our salvation, wisdom, yea, and justice itself, serves mercy. For God by his wisdom devised a way to content justice, by sending his Son to take our nature, and in that nature to give satisfaction to justice, that there might be a harmony among the attributes. To make some use of this.