458. MAL 4:2. CHRIST THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Mal_4:2. Christ The Sun Of Righteousness
"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings."’97Mal_4:2.
The sacred waters, in exhibiting the character and work of Jesus, are compelled to adopt the language of metaphor, and by referring to the various objects of nature, faintly to set forth his beauties and glory. The earth, and sea, and sky, are exhausted of their wonders, to accomplish this great design. The rock exhibits his stability and strength. The vine his fruitfulness and the lily rose his purity and beauty He is the pearl of great price. The fountain of living water. He is the morning star; and the true light’97the light of the world. In the text, the prophet Malachi exhibits him as the sun of righteousness &c. Notice,
I. The Metaphor.
"The sun of righteousness." Jesus may be fitly likened to the sun,
1. On account of his unity.
In creation we have many stars’97many seas’97many trees and flowers; but there is only one sun. He has no compeer,’97no rival or assistant illuminator. So in the celestial world there are many angels, seraphim and cherubim, of various ranks, and orders, and offices, but there is only one essential Son of God,’97one Jesus,’97ore mediator between God and man,’97the man Christ Jesus.
2. On account of his greatness and magnificence.
The accounts given by astronomers of the orb of day, as to his size, are sublime and overwhelming. The centre of the solar system, he appears the monarch of the whole, diffusing his glories around. Now Christ is most emphatically the Most High. Higher than the sons of men. His greatness is unsearchable. His nature is above the nature of angels. His name is greater than theirs. His throne is the most exalted, and around him move all the shining ranks of glory, and his brightness fills heaven with joy and gladness.
3. On account of the universality of his influences.
The beams of the sun are common to every part of our world, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. He shines upon the mountain and the valley. Upon the sterile desert and the fruitful vineyard. Upon the monarch’s palace and the peasant’s cottage. How applicable to the sun of righteousness! He is God’s great gift to the whole world. Designed for the benefit of the universal family of man. The Saviour of all men, but especially of them that believe. He has shone upon every part of our earth. Asia, Africa, Europe, and America, have alike enjoyed his gladsome rays. He shines on men irrespective of their earthly distinctions; the beggar is free to enjoy his light, while kings come to the brightness of his rising.
4 On account of the nature of his benefits.
(1) He is the fountain of light. Clouds, and darkness, and night, are chased before him. He introduces light and day. So, also, the sun of righteousness, he banishes the shades of night, and introduces the moral and spiritual day. To him we are indebted for the light of knowledge, the light of happiness, the light of holiness, and the light of heaven.
(2) He is the source of beauty. The various hues and tints of flowers and plants, are owing to their absorbing, in different quantities, the peculiar properties of light Without his rays, nature would be one vast and gloomy blank. So Christ is the source of all moral and spiritual beauty. He transforms the mind into the divine image. He arrays the soul in all the celestial beauties of holiness.
(3) He is the cause of vegetation. The light and rays of the sun are necessary for the fruitfulness of the earth. He removes the dreary, barren appearance of winter, and produces the enlivening spring, the fruitful summer, and the gathering of autumn. All the fruits of righteousness are produced by Christ. "Without me ye can do nothing." Hence he is not only called the sun of righteousness, because of his essential purity, but also because he maketh his people righteous. He is made unto them "wisdom, righteousness," &c. He makes the stony heart soft and fertile, until it brings forth fruit as the garden of the Lord. Observe,
II. The Declaration.
"The sun of righteousness shall," &c. Now, as the sun of righteousness,
1. He arose upon our world in the day of his nativity.
The hemisphere had been faintly illumined by the stars of types, sacrifices, and prophecies, all of which were precursors of approaching day, the day of the world’s light and redemption. At last the eventful period arrived, the fulness of the times when God sent his Son, &c. Then Zacharias sang, "Through the tender mercy of our God," &c., Luk_1:78. Thus he brought life and immortality into light, &c.
2. He arises upon the benighted mind in the day of conversion.
He opens the eyes of blind sinners. When they feel their misery, and cry to him, &c. Night ends, darkness is dispelled, and the day of grace begins in the soul, 2Co_4:6.
3. He will arise upon the world in the day of his second advent.
Hence we read of the brightness of his coming. His glorious appearance. "Behold, he cometh with clouds," &c. Then will be the morning of the saints’ coronation. His rays will enter every grave, and irradiate every sepulchre. Then he will come to be glorified in his saints, and admired by all them that believe Notice,
III. Those who will be benefited by the Saviour’s Rising.
"That fear his name." Now, the fear referred to is a holy filial fear, which produces a regard for his authority and laws. Such a fear as is associated with love and obedience. Like Noah’s. Where this is not, Christ will be rejected, and his benefits despised. Not to fear him, is a sign of an unbelieving and rebellious mind. This fear the penitent has, and is tremblingly alive to his safety. This fear the believer has, and he cherishes it, and ever keeps it in his heart.
Application
1. Are you the characters?
2. Has Christ arisen upon you?
3. There is no saving light but that which he communicates.
Autor: JABEZ BURNS