I should not have made the pause of a moment over this word, neither have deemed it necessary to have said aught by way of explaining a name so familar, had it not been for the special relationship of this character, when considered in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, But looking up to him as the Husband of his people, in the union of our nature, it becomes a most interesting subject, and demands the clearest apprehension by every true believer in Christ. Now the Scriptures with one voice concur in the relation of the fact itself. "Thy maker is thine husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy. One of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall he be called." (Isaiah 54:5) And to the same amount do all the Scriptures declare. (See Jeremiah 3:14; Hosea 2:19-20) And the New Testament writers follow up the same blessed doctrine, telling us, that Christ "took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham." (Hebrews 2:16) Indeed as the Surety and Sponsor of his church and people, it became essentially necessary that he should take our nature,"and be in all things tike to his brethren, sin only excepted." Agreeably to all this, as settled in the council of peace before all worlds, he stood up as the covenant-head and husband of his people. As the husband of his church he under took to pay all our debts to God which by sin we had incurred; he engaged to disannul all our former contracts, and to divorce our poor hearts, which sin, Satan, and the world had captivated, and by his Holy Spirit to win over our affections, and make us willing in the day of his power. He engaged both for our debt and for our duty, and promised, as the husband of his church, that he would beat down all our foes before our face, and at length bring his bride home to "the marriage-supper of the Lamb in heaven."
These were among the obligations into which the Son of God put himself, when at the call of his Father he came forth the bridegroom of his church. And when the fulness of time was come, Jesus came, full of grace and truth, and in his holy gospel proclaimed the wonderful proposal, that the Son of God, desired to woo our nature and unite it to himself, in grace here, and glory hereafter. He sent all his servants also with his royal decree, that God the Father had made a marriage for his Son, and now expected that the bride should make herself ready. A thousand, and ten thousand love tokens, the Lord Jesus accompanied his offer of marriage with to his spouse the church. And when, at any time, in a single instance, he hath by his Holy Spirit espoused and united a soul to himself, he gives a dower, and an interest in all that belongs to him; and after continued manifestation of his unalterable love and affection to his fair one, made fair in his comliness, he at a length brings home, to his house in heaven, his bride, where she lives with him forever. Happy and blessed is it, in any and in every single instance, when the church can look up to Jesus and call him Husband, and say as of old: "This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem!" (Song of Solomon 5:16)