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Title: Plain Parochial Sermons - preached in the Parish Church of Bolton-le-Moors
Author: Slade, James
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Plain Parochial Sermons - preached in the Parish Church of Bolton-le-Moors" ***
Transcribed from the 1831 C. J. G. and F. Rivington edition by David
Price, ccx074@pglaf.org
[Picture: Public domain book cover]
PLAIN
PAROCHIAL SERMONS,
PREACHED IN
THE PARISH CHURCH OF BOLTON-LE-MOORS,
BY THE
REV. JAMES SLADE, M.A.,
_VICAR OF BOLTON_, _AND PREBENDARY OF CHESTER_.
* * * * *
LONDON:
C. J. G. AND F. RIVINGTON, ST. PAUL’S CHURCH YARD.
1831.
* * * * *
BOLTON:
PRINTED BY J. GARDNER.
* * * * *
TO THE CONGREGATION
OF THE PARISH CHURCH OF BOLTON,
THESE SERMONS
ARE INSCRIBED AND DEDICATED,
WITH AFFECTIONATE REGARD,
BY THEIR PASTOR AND FRIEND,
J. S.
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE author has been repeatedly urged to print a volume of his Parochial
Sermons; and perhaps he owes some apology to those friends, whose kind
advice, on this head, has been for years neglected. He was apprehensive,
that the interest, excited by his discourses from the pulpit, would not
be adequately revived by their appearance in print; or at most, that they
would be impressive only upon those who had heard them: and he moreover
thought, that the christian world was already provided with more than a
sufficiency of such publications. However, whether these opinions be
well founded or not, he has been at length prevailed upon to defer to the
wishes and judgment of others.
It is almost needless to observe, that the Sermons were written without
any, the most distant, view to publication; they pretend to nothing, but
the simple and earnest inculcation of christian principle and practice;
and as this is the author’s sole object, so does he pour forth his humble
prayer, that what, by God’s help, he has planted and watered, may, by
God’s blessing, be increased to the glory of His own great name, and the
edification of His Church.
CONTENTS.
SERMON I.
AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEST AND ARISE FROM THE DEAD.
EPHESIANS v. 14.—Wherefore He saith, Page 1
Awake thou that sleepest, and arise
from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light.
[Preached January 10th, 1830, 1st
Epiph., {vii} and at Chester
Cathedral, August 1st, in the same
year.]
SERMON II.
THE UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST.
EPHESIANS iii. 8.—The unsearchable riches of Christ. 20
[Preached January 9th, 1831, 1st Epiph.]
SERMON III.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLOOD.
GENESIS vi. 7.—It repented the Lord, that He had made man 38
upon the earth and it grieved Him at His heart; and the Lord
said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face
of the earth.
[Preached February 6th, 1825, Sexag.]
SERMON IV.
THE PRESERVATION FROM THE FLOOD.
GENESIS vi. 8.—Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 56
[Preached February 13th, 1825.]
SERMON V.
DO THIS GREAT WICKEDNESS AND SIN AGAINST GOD,
GENESIS xxxix. 9.—How then can I do this great wickedness 76
and sin against God?
[Preached March 6th, 1825, 3rd Lent.]
SERMON VI.
ON THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS.
LUKE xxiv. 32.—And they said one to another, Did not our 95
heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way,
and while He opened to us the Scriptures?
[Preached April 13th, 1828, 1st Easter, and at Chester
Cathedral July 12th, 1829.]
SERMON VII.
IF THEY HEAR NOT MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
LUKE xvi. 31.—If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, 114
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the
dead.
[Preached June 1st, 1823, 1st Trin.]
SERMON VIII.
PERFECT LOVE CASTETH OUT FEAR.
1 JOHN iv. 18,—There is no fear in love, but perfect love 134
casteth out fear: because fear hath torment; he that feareth
is not made perfect in love.
[Preached June 16th, 1822, 2nd Trin.]
SERMON IX.
HUMBLE YOURSELVES UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD.
1 Peter v. 6.—Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of 154
God, that He may exalt you in due time.
[Preached June 19th, 1825, 3rd Trin.]
SERMON X.
THOU ART THE MAN.
2 Samuel xii. 7.—And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. 172
[Preached July 14th, 1822, 6th Trin., and at Chester
Cathedral July 6th 1823.]
SERMON XI.
THE WAY OF THE LORD EQUAL.
EZEKIEL xviii. 25.—Ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal. 189
Hear now, O house of Israel; is not My ways equal? are not
your ways unequal?
[Preached October 10th, 1824, 17th Trin.]
SERMON XII.
THE NEW MAN.
EPHESIANS iv. 24.—That ye put on the new man, which after 209
God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
[Preached October 13th, 1822, 19th Trin.]
SERMON XIII.
THE WEDDING GARMENT.
MATTHEW xxii. 2.—The kingdom of heaven is like unto a 230
certain king which made a marriage for his son.
[Preached October 31st, 1824, 20th Trin.]
SERMON XIV.
WALK WORTHY OF THE LORD, BE FRUITFUL AND INCREASING.
COLOSSIANS i. 10.—That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto 252
all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and
increasing in the knowledge of God.
[Preached November 9th, 1823, 24th Trin. and at Chester
Cathedral, August 20th, 1826.]
SERMON XV.
THE WORD OF THE LORD PRECIOUS.
1 SAMUEL iii. 1.—The word of the Lord was precious in those 271
days; there was no open vision.
[Preached December 9th, 1827. 2nd Advent]
SERMON XVI.
DISTINCTIONS TO BE MADE ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT.
MATTHEW xxiv. 40.—The one shall be taken and the other left. 290
[Preached December 12th, 1824, 3rd Advent.]
SERMON XVII.
GOD MADE MAN UPRIGHT; MAN MAKES HIMSELF MISERABLE.
ECCLES. vii. 29.—Lo, this only have I found, that God hath 310
made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.
[Preached August, 1828, and at Chester Cathedral, June 28th,
1829.]
SERMON XVIII.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD REVEALED TO THEM THAT FEAR HIM.
PSALM xxv. 14.—The secret of the Lord is with them that fear 329
Him; and He will shew them His covenant.
[Preached November 19th, 1826, and at Chester Cathedral,
July 29th, 1827.]
SERMON XIX.
RESIST THE BEGINNINGS OF EVIL TEMPTATION.
PROVERBS iv. 14, 15.—Enter not into the path of the wicked, 349
and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by
it, turn from it, and pass away.
[Preached October 10th, 1830.]
SERMON XX.
THE LOVE OF CHRIST FOR THOSE WHO DO THE WILL OF GOD.
MARK iii. 35.—Whosoever shall do the will of God, the same 366
is My brother and My sister and mother.
[Preached February 3rd, 1828.]
SERMON XXI.
ON SEEKING OUT THE WORKS OF THE LORD AND PRAISING HIM.
PSALM cxi. 1, 2.—I will give thanks unto the Lord with my 385
whole heart; in the assembly of the upright and in the
congregation.
The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that
have pleasure therein.
[Preached November 23rd, 1828.]
SERMON XXII.
DILIGENCE AND PERSEVERANCE IN THE CHRISTIAN RACE.
PHILIPP. iii. 13, 14.—Brethren, I count not myself to have 404
apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
[Preached March 28th, 1830, and at Chester Cathedral,
September 5th, in the same year.]
SERMON I.
AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEST.
EPHESIANS v. 14.
_Wherefore_, _he saith_, _Awake_, _thou that sleepest_, _and arise
from the dead_, _and Christ shall give thee light_.
IN this chapter the Apostle has been reminding his Ephesian converts of
the state in which they were, before they had received and obeyed the
call of the gospel. The people of Ephesus were highly endowed, in the
world’s estimation, not only with riches, but also with talent and
learning, and refinement; with all the arts and ornaments of civilized
life. And yet, how does St. Paul describe them in the 8th verse? “Ye
were sometimes darkness;” how in the 12th? “For it is a shame even to
speak of those things which are done of them in secret.”
Here, you observe, we have a remarkable declaration from the mouth of an
Apostle, that a people, however talented and learned, were still wrapt in
the mantle of darkness, with regard to their real good and happiness;
with regard to their religious and moral condition. Whatever nature had
done for them, to whatever eminence they had been raised by art or
industry, they were left far short of the object which it concerned them
most to attain—an acquaintance with God, a knowledge and practice of His
law; a peace with Him and with their own consciences. So far were they
from this, that their characters were stained with the most debasing
vices; their secret sins were too abominable even to be mentioned.
Thus we see how little the instructions and advantages of this world have
to do with reforming the conduct, or amending the depraved heart of man.
And what was true in this instance, is true in all; there is no teaching,
there are no rules of prudence, no maxims however wise, no manners
however polished, that can cleanse the heart of its natural
unrighteousness, and curb its natural propensity to evil: give what you
may, educate as you may, man, if left to his own wisdom and strength,
will remain what he is by fallen nature, a weak, a wayward, and a wicked
being; an enemy to holiness and to God. There may be a shew of wisdom
“falsely so called;” there may be a refined conversation and a polished
outside; but there will always be uncleanness remaining within. The evil
principles may wear a dazzling veil, and the vices may be clothed in
fashionable garments, but they will be evil principles and vices still.
There is but one means by which the darkness of nature can be scattered,
and that is by the light of God’s truth; but one means by which the evil
spirit of the natural man can be cast out, and that is by the Spirit of
God. The blessed Jesus came into the world to reclaim and redeem it from
the grossness in which it was sunk; to open a new scene of things; to
impart a new life; to banish the thick cloud of error and of sin, in
which the world hopelessly and irrecoverably lay; and to raise it to the
knowledge and service, the favour and blessing of an offended God. This
is the description of the happy effects which the gospel is intended and
fitted to produce; “the people that walked in darkness have seen a great
light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath
the light shined.” {4} All, without the gospel, are in this miserable
condition, whatever they may think of themselves: all who sincerely
embrace it, are enlightened and happy, however poor and humble, and of
whatever else they may be ignorant.
Poor and humble did I say? It is to them, that this light is the most
easily, and frequently, and effectually communicated. The prosperous and
the great too often resemble the wealthy Ephesians, “having the
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the
ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;” {5}
revelling in the self-sufficiency of their earthly comforts, proud of
their acquirements, fond of their own way, they disdain to be taught the
humbling truths of the gospel from a fellow-creature like themselves: and
often has the minister of the gospel to be thankful to his Lord and
Master, that, when he finds his message rejected and despised by his
wealthier hearers, it still makes its way into the hearts of some of the
poor: grieved he is indeed, that those, who ought to know it best and
love it most, should be so deluded by worldly vanities and follies, as to
continue, amidst all their advantages of education, in spiritual darkness
and death; set against the messenger, because hating the truth of his
message: yet, is it a comfort to him, sincere and unspeakable, that he
meets with more success among the ignorant, as they are called, and the
children of the poor: that there he finds wisdom, “the wisdom which is
from above;” and there he finds friends among the friends of God.
It was so in the Apostle’s day; and with some bright exceptions, it has
been the same in every day: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that
not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are
called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world, to confound
the things that are mighty: and base things of the world, and things
which are despised hath God chosen; yea, and things which are not, to
bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his
presence.” {7}
All these observations have been made, to connect and explain the first
word of the text, _wherefore_; “wherefore, he saith, awake thou that
sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
Inasmuch as it is impossible for thee to know and to please God, to
attain unto holiness and happiness, to save thy soul, by the light of
nature, (for nature is in fact, of itself and for such a purpose, no
light at all,) turn to the way, which is opened to thee by the shining of
the Sun of Righteousness; to that one way, which is opened alike for all
mankind, rich and poor, learned and unlearned; turn to thy Redeemer, in
humble faith and hearty desire, and “He shall give thee light:” learn of
Him and He shall teach thee all that thou needest to know: seek of Him,
and He shall guide thee into all righteousness and truth; lean on Him,
and He shall support thee, through all the course of thy earthly
pilgrimage; and conduct thee in peace and safety to thy journey’s end.
“Wherefore, he _saith_;” there is no particular passage in the Old
Testament, in which these words of the text are found; but they seem to
allude to several expressions of similar import, in the prophecy of
Isaiah. In the 26th chapter, there is a passage which describes the
deliverance of God’s people from a state of degradation, both political
and spiritual, under the figure of a resurrection from the dead: “Thy
dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake
and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and
the earth shall cast out the dead.” {8} And again, in the 52nd chapter:
“Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful
garments, O Jerusalem, the Holy city; for henceforth there shall no more
come in to thee the uncircumcised and the unclean; shake thyself from the
dust; arise and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of
thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion: for thus saith the Lord, ye have
sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money:” {9a}
a powerful call upon the Jewish people to cast away their transgressions,
through which they had been brought into a state of grievous captivity,
and to throw themselves on the Lord’s mercy, and return to the Lord’s
service, that He might break their bonds asunder, and visit them with His
salvation. One more passage there is, to which the Apostle clearly
alludes, in the opening of the 60th chapter: “Arise, shine, for thy light
is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, the
darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the
Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” {9b}
Here the prophet foretels the glorious dawn of gospel light, and calls
upon the Church to arise and behold it, shining from afar; to behold it
with the eye of faith; to look forward to that Saviour, that great
“fountain for sin and uncleanness,” which the law and the prophets did
all with one voice proclaim. The prophet adds, “And the gentiles shall
come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” The first
coming of the gentile world was visible in the footsteps of the wise men,
who came “from the east to Jerusalem,” {10} to worship the infant Jesus:
and ever since our Lord’s return to the heavens, the gospel has been
preached to all nations; and accepted, more or less, by the kings and
potentates of the earth.
And, as the prophet called on the people of old, to awake and arise and
turn to the coming light, so St. Paul invited and animated his converts
and their brethren, to awake and behold the glory of the Lord, after it
had been fully revealed to the dark and sinful world; and so do the
ministers of Christ, in every age, call upon their hearers to arouse from
their benighted and lost condition, and let this light shine upon their
understandings and hearts, and direct them in the way of life and
salvation. For grieved are we to say, that notwithstanding these bright
beams of grace and truth have been so long pouring forth their splendour
upon the earth, yet are there many dark corners; and many eyes awfully
closed against the light: and still more grieved are we to say, that even
in the land where these beams have shone brightest, even in this land,
vast numbers yet remain total strangers to their enlightening influence
and converting power: numbers who have had the benefit of being educated
under the gospel, who have witnessed its happy effects; who have seen
what it has done for their relations, or friends, or neighbours, have yet
ungratefully and disdainfully turned away from the heavenly light, and
“walked on still in darkness;” have sided with the world and Satan and
sin, and resisted the salvation of their souls.
O, that they could be brought, O for the grace of God’s Holy Spirit to
bring them, to listen to the warning words of that merciful Saviour, to
whom, if they now continue to despise Him, they will one day lift up
their hands in vain: these are His words, “if the light that is in thee
be darkness, how great is that darkness.” {12} If, after all the
gracious offers of pardon and life, which thy Redeemer has made thee, by
His own mouth, and the mouth of His messengers, thou still choosest
unforgiveness and death, going on in the heedlessness of thy impenitent
heart, and wantoning in sin, how dreadful is thy condition! how
infinitely more dreadful, than if the voice of mercy had never sounded in
thine ears. Be convinced: let the love of thy Saviour work upon thee;
let the love of thine own immortal soul move thee to fly unto Him, the
great, the only, the everlasting Redeemer. Leave thy way of misery and
ruin, and turn to Him for comfort and deliverance. Turn, while thou hast
the power; the night is fast coming. Thou knowest not how many more
sabbaths, how many more invitations and warnings, will be vouchsafed:
many thou hast had already; enough of them thou hast already slighted.
Come, ye that are strong, for the strong are often laid low; come, ye
that are young, for the young are not always spared; come, ye aged, for
your hour of trial _must_ be nearly run out. Come all, while ye may, to
the Lamb of God, for acceptance and for blessing: there is no safety, and
no hope in any other: and no hope in Him, when the door is once shut; “we
pray you, in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” {13}
The text says, “Awake thou that sleepest;” it means, awake from the sleep
of sin; and very fitly is the state of the sinner compared to a state of
sleep: he is quite insensible of his true, his awful condition; he fears
not, perceives not, the doom that is awaiting him. Satan has bound up
his senses; the eyes of his understanding are closed, and his knowledge
of good and evil is utterly prevented. He is to the spiritual world,
what the sleeping man is to the natural, unconscious of what is going
forward to his advantage or his injury. Speak to him of mercy, he hears
not: “sing him one of the songs of Sion,” it is all in vain: speak to him
of divine wrath, of eternal punishment; to what purpose, while his ear is
closed? The whispers of conscience, the counsel of friends, “the tongues
of men or of angels,” are alike unprofitable, while a deep sleep is cast
upon the soul.
And there is a further resemblance: the sinner dreams, of happiness
arising from worldly prosperity, from plenty and pleasure: and as the
brain of a poor or disconsolate man, in a state of sleep, is often filled
with ideas of such things, and he awakes and finds them sadly untrue;
awakes from his pleasant dreaming to his state of drudgery and
discomfort; so is the sinner often constrained to feel and confess, that
his notions of happiness were no better than a dream; that they were
unsubstantial and unreal, promising much and bringing little: still he is
unconvinced; pursues his course of trifling, his disappointed dreamings,
till at length he awakes in another world, and thoroughly perceives the
wretchedness of his condition, which it is then too late, impossible to
change. From this dreadful, fatal sleep of sin, the gospel is designed
to rouse us: and I pray God, that our conscience may be effectually
alarmed and awakened; that we may be alive and active in perceiving and
following “the things that belong unto our peace!”
The text says further, “Arise from the dead;” from the death of sin; from
the state of misery and ruin, in which ye insensibly lie. Here is
another significant figure: the impenitent sinner is not only plunged
into a condition of helpless wretchedness, but he has no energy to
recover from it, no quickening or effectual desire of better things; no
more perception of spiritual interests, of heavenly objects, than a
corpse has of the natural world. When once the breath has left the body,
the busiest scenes of earth can affect it no longer; nothing can “charm
the dull cold ear of death:” when the breath of a divine life is not in
the soul, when the new-creating spirit of God is not received and
cherished, the beauty of holiness and the all-important interests of a
spiritual and eternal world produce no effect upon the forlorn
understanding and the deserted heart: no representations of spiritual
truth can move the heavy ear of a besotted and determined sinner; none,
while he is resolved, so to remain: not even the voice of the Son of God,
“charm He never so wisely.” Till the heart be moved to repentance, till,
the faculties of the soul are recovered from the fascination of stupor
and sin, no living impression can be made, even with all the force that
truth can carry. How often do we find this to be the case! how often
does the sinner acknowledge the justice, the certainty, the necessity of
what is urged upon him, but without any alteration in his character;
without any effectual or lasting alteration. His heart is unchanged: the
slave of sin; dead in sin; not alive or open to the force of truth, to
the doctrines of righteousness or salvation.
Infatuated sinner! thine own conscience accuses thee; thou believest that
there will be a world to come, a world of recompence, and yet thou
turnest not to prepare for it; pray, when thou fearest; pray, when thou
thinkest of these things; cry earnestly to thy Saviour, that he may
deliver thee from this “gall of bitterness and this bond of iniquity;”
pray for the convincing, converting, life-giving Spirit, that He may “set
thine heart at liberty” from the thraldom of sin; and thus enable thee to
listen to the call of the gospel, and turn thy feet in earnest to the
Redeemer of thy soul. For if thou listenest and turnest not, “dead thou
art while thou livest;” and when thou diest, eternally dead; dead to all
comfort and happiness for ever; dead in a world of woe.
But if we will (and God grant that we all may) awake and arise, “Christ
will assuredly give us light:” “He is the true light, which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world;” {18} ready to shine upon every
soul, to lighten it in darkness and quicken it in death. Believe in Him,
and live in Him, and the clouds of ignorance shall be scattered away; and
the drowsiness of the soul shall be cast off; and the cold heart of the
natural man shall be warm with life again. In the midst of this world’s
temptations and trials, troubles and perplexities, we shall see our way
clear, our way to the heavenly Jerusalem; a brightness, the brightness of
God’s presence, will be resting upon our souls; the world sees it not,
but we shall see and enjoy it every hour: dark things will be made light,
and “crooked things will be made straight, and the rough places plain:”
we shall be living above the world, for “our life will be hid with Christ
in God:” {19} cheerful we shall be when nature is sad: inspirited when
nature is languishing; full of praises and thanksgivings when nature is
mourning.
Say, Christian people, have ye never seen the triumph of faith over
nature’s weakness and Satan’s power? have ye never, in the hour of trial,
witnessed that the Saviour was near? never observed the fainting spirit
animated and sustained? never beheld the closing eye, of the dying saint,
beaming with heavenly fire; and the pale features lighted up with the
smile of satisfaction and composure and peace? If ye have not, the dying
Christian will shew you these things—go to his bed, and learn the lesson;
go, and catch the hope, that “Christ will give you light.”
SERMON II.
THE UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST.
EPH. iii 8.
_The unsearchable riches of Christ_.
THERE is no passage, in the whole range of Scripture, in which the
benefits and blessings of the gospel are more strikingly and fully
represented, than by these few words: it is elsewhere described as the
“pearl of great price,” as “the treasure that fadeth not away,” as “the
true riches;” but here, as if in addition to the former descriptions, it
is called, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, “the unsearchable
riches of Christ:” impossible for men, impossible for angels to search
out and discover its full excellency and value. The more it is examined,
and the more it is experimentally known, the more is the believer
convinced of the propriety and truth of this description; without a deep
enquiry indeed, without a vital experience of its blessedness, it is not
for any one to understand even the nature of its transcendent riches; to
the world at large they are known only by name: but the sincere
Christian, who makes them his own, is brought to admire their
inexhaustible fulness; and to perceive, how utterly they extend beyond
his comprehension, how highly they are removed above his loftiest
thoughts and his most ardent imagination: “eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God
hath prepared for them that love him.” {21} They lie entirely out of the
reach of the natural man; and even the spiritual man does but imperfectly
understand them.
These unsearchable riches it was the province of St. Paul especially to
declare unto the gentile world, that is, unto the world at large, when
the offer of them had been rejected by the Jewish nation: in consequence
of which blessed communication to the gentiles, the knowledge of them was
conveyed, in process of time, to our favoured land.
Many learned persons have believed, that St. Paul himself preached in
this island; of this, however, there is no certain evidence; it is enough
for us to know, that we are partakers of the benefit of his preaching,
that the sound of the gospel, which he sent “forth into all lands,” has
long ago reached us; and that we are now in the full enjoyment of this
inestimable privilege. He declares, in the chapter, before us, that
Jesus Christ, by express revelation, made known to him the great mystery,
the unfathomable purpose of His mercy; “which in other ages was not made
known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto the holy Apostles
and Prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and
of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.”
Unto me, he says, “who am less than the least of all saints, is this
grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ. And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which, from the beginning of the world, hath been hid in God,
who created all things by Jesus Christ.” {23}
You perceive here the object of the Apostle’s preaching; it was, that all
mankind, we among the number, might be brought acquainted with the
glorious scheme of eternal redemption, and be made partakers of its
unspeakable blessings. And is there a heart so cold, as not to beat with
gratitude, in the remembrance of such mercy; as not to take an interest
in such a testimony of divine love? If we knew no particulars respecting
it, the very announcement and promise of an infinite treasure, of a
treasure in the mansions of eternity, were sufficient to awaken our most
profound attention: it often does so, when carried by the missionary to
the heathen and the stranger; they, who never heard before the good
tidings of salvation, are arrested by the voice of the messenger, and
hang upon his lips with a longing anxiety, and receive his message to the
comfort of their souls: and can we remain unmoved by such considerations;
we, who know the purport of the heavenly message; we, who profess to
believe that it is sent for our everlasting salvation from sin and death;
to reconcile us to an offended God, to deliver us from the intolerable
bondage of Satan, to make us happy while we live, happy when we die,
happy for ever in another world, in the kingdom of heaven? Though the
mercy is too great to be adequately understood, though “the love of
Christ passeth knowledge,” shall this prevent us from contemplation and
enquiry? shall we not rather, on this very account, entertain a more
fervent desire to understand and know, of this mystery of goodness, all
that is possible to be known? Whoever, indeed, has not this desire,
cannot take any lively interest in the revelation which he professes to
believe, cannot have sincerely embraced it; knowing, as he does, the
subject and purpose of the gospel, he is in a worse situation than many
an ignorant heathen; his heart more hard and unimpressible; his eyes more
closed against the light; his affections more difficult to be roused and
engaged. May the Lord touch the heart of all such heedless professors;
or the very publicans and sinners, the darkest and most despised of the
earth, will “enter into the kingdom of heaven before them.”
Hoping that we all are deeply concerned in this important matter, that we
do place a most exalted value on the riches of Christ, and earnestly
desire to partake of them, I beg that we may enter together, with humble
minds and spiritual desires, into some examination of their nature and
excellency; and enquire in what respects, and for what reasons, they are
unsearchable.
1. In the first place, what is the foundation of all our blessedness and
all our hope, as the redeemed and adopted children of God; as brought
from a state of enmity and rebellion, into favour with Him; as having any
claim upon His mercy; any prospect of recovering our lost happiness, of
saving our souls alive? What, I say, is the foundation on which we
expect these marvellous acts of grace? It is, that the everlasting Son
of God left “the glory which he had with the Father before the world
was,” {26a} and “took upon Him the form of a servant,” {26b} the nature
of man: it is, that the “Word, who in the beginning was with God and was
God,” “was made flesh” and came and “dwelt among us, full of grace and
truth.” {26c} Here then, in the very outset, is unsearchable mercy; the
immensity of the divine Redeemer’s condescension and love! Who can
search, who can understand it? “It is higher than heaven, what canst
thou know” of it? Admire thou mayest, and adore and love; but it is
beyond the stretch of thy created powers to conceive, beyond the capacity
of any creature. The great truth is revealed and the work is
accomplished; and here thou must leave it, in humble faith and
overwhelming emotion.
2. We may consider, in the next place, the preciousness, the value, the
efficacy of the incarnation and sufferings of our Redeemer. All the
attributes of the Godhead are perfect and infinite; His holiness and
justice, as well as His mercy. Man, by transgression, fell into a state
of unholiness; his nature became corrupt; his understanding debased, his
affections and passions and desires all sinful; as such he could not
possibly be accepted or blest by the infinitely holy God, by Him “who is
of purer eyes than to behold iniquity:” he became, to borrow the language
of men, vile and hateful in God’s sight; he resembled Satan and the
wicked spirits, who fell, for their transgression, from the heavens. And
so, with regard to justice; the infinitely just God could not, without
some means of atonement or satisfaction, shew favour to a disobedient,
offending, rebellious creature; it was contrary to His essential
character and nature so to do: nor can we form any true idea of the value
of that sacrifice, on the part of another, which could be held sufficient
to reconcile the great Jehovah to a creature “laden with iniquity:” the
displeasure being infinite, the distance and separation between God and
His creatures infinite, the sacrifice must be infinite also, and
exceeding the bounds of our comprehension. And yet, strange to say,
though the means of the sinner’s re-admission, to the favour and blessing
of a holy and just God, must of necessity be beyond our powers of
conception, there are persons, who object to the Christian doctrine of
the atonement, solely on the ground of its being incomprehensible. But
we, my brethren, “have not so learned Christ;” we are ready to bow with
thankfulness to the revelation of the great Jehovah, by whose
unsearchable wisdom and mercy the plan of our redemption was formed: we
are ready to acknowledge with reverence, that “great is the mystery of
godliness; God was manifest in the flesh.” {29a}
3. Intimately connected with this consideration is the recollection of
God’s exceeding love towards us, in that “while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us.” {29b} In our very state of guilt and rebellion it
was, that He came into the world; that He did and suffered so much, “to
seek and to save that which was lost.” Suppose that man had never
transgressed; and that God had sent an angel, to shew him the way to a
happier and higher condition, than that in which he was created: this
would have been an act of free and undeserved mercy; but that He should
have sent His beloved Son, to “suffer for sins, the just for the unjust,”
{29c} to be born and to tabernacle in a world of guilt and sorrow; to be
exposed to rejection and scorn, to indignity and cruelty; to endure the
conflicts of Satan and the bitterest agonies of death; this was indeed an
act of love, surpassing the bounds of thought; a mystery of goodness
“into which angels desire to look,” but cannot penetrate. Every
believing soul must be overpowered by such a contemplation; must be lost
in wonder, love, and praise.
4. Nor can we learn the manner or degree, in which our merciful Lord is
at this moment bestowing blessings upon His Church, and upon every
individual believer. When He ascended up to heaven, His work of
mediation was not finished; He then took upon Him the office of
interceding for His people in all ages: presenting their prayers, and
desires, and all their services, for acceptance at the throne of grace;
pleading His merits for them; observing all their necessities and wants;
and sending His holy spirit and His holy angels, to minister to their
infirmities: not a wounded spirit, but He is still ready to bind up and
heal; not a sigh from a contrite heart, but He knows and answers; not a
child of ignorance, but He is willing to instruct; not a returning
prodigal, but He meets; not a prayer or thanksgiving, not a godly thought
or wish, of a sincere worshipper and pious servant, but He accepts and
blesses: He is ever with us, though unseen; with us by His providence and
grace; “about our bed and about our path;” pouring his benefits upon us,
temporal, and spiritual: yea upon all His people, at every moment of
time, throughout the whole world. We are lost in this mystery of
mercy—we can but believe, and gratefully apply the benefit to our souls.
5. And what are the privileges of Christ’s redeemed people? What their
present state, what their glorious inheritance? How unsearchable both
the one and the other! The humble believer, the repenting sinner, the
sincere and faithful servant derives, from the fountain of mercy which is
opened unto him, a perpetual stream of increasing satisfaction and
delight; he finds, that “there is no end thereof;” that it is a fountain,
which he never can fathom. The sense of pardon and reconciliation with
God affords a comfort to his soul, which flows the more abundantly, the
longer he dwells upon it; as he journies onward in the way of salvation,
his hopes are more enlivened, and his fears more calmed; even when he
began to walk with his God, he felt that all around him was joy, and
deemed his recompence in this life amply sufficient; but, at every step
he advances in communion with his God and Saviour, he perceives more and
more that “His ways are ways of pleasantness and all His paths are
peace;” {32} and this experience will be enlarged the longer he lives,
even beyond his present anticipation. The word of God has fresh stores
for him every day; of knowledge, of comfort, and of grace: the Spirit of
God has fresh supplies; to succour his infirmities, to elevate him in
prayer and meditation, to guide him in perplexity, to strengthen him in
trial, to console him in trouble and affliction, to raise him above the
world, and place his affections in heaven. Thus will his joy in the Lord
increase, till he comes to the end of his pilgrimage: and, in the end,
the riches of redeeming love will be infinitely enhanced: who shall
number or declare them? Which of us can now understand the preciousness
of a Christian’s hope, the comfort of a Christian’s peace, at that hour,
when his soul is struggling for departure? Who can now enter, as the
dying man does, into the vast difference between the bright hope of being
saved, and the gloomy fear of being lost; between the prospect of being
for ever with the Lord, and the dismal foreboding of the terrors of the
evil one? We have now but a slight conception of the feelings and views,
in that momentous hour; but we shall one day know: God grant that the
knowledge may be peace!
And if we die in peace, then shall we be more than ever convinced of the
truth of the text; we shall then perceive, how little we comprehended, in
our mortal state, of the blessedness of the saints at rest, of “the rest
that remaineth for the people of God.” And, at the resurrection, other
scenes will follow, with more abundant tokens of confirmation: who can
conceive the happiness of rising with the just; of hearing with joy the
trumpet of the archangel; of beholding, with an eye of rapture, the
beaming of that glorious morn; of meeting the smile of a compassionate
Judge and Saviour; of being called to His right hand, “come, ye blessed
of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world:” {34a} what mind on earth is equal to these things?
And then will succeed the consummation of our felicity, “the new heavens
and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness;” {34b} the enjoyment
of the presence of God and the Lamb; the personal sharing of the service,
the honour, and the delight of angels and archangels, through all
eternity. Of this we cannot pretend to form an estimate in our mortal
condition; while the veil is hanging before our eyes; the holy Spirit, by
many a sublime image, lifts our imagination as high as it can be carried;
but still, the representation must be feeble, when compared with the
glorious reality; after all that has been said, if we arrive at the
heavenly city, the appearance will be new, the happiness new to us all.
Unsearchable it is now, unsearchable it will be then; a wonder of love
that will never be satisfied, a mansion of glory that will never be
completely surveyed.
But we shall doubtless behold, on seeing “face to face,” more of the
fulness of the riches of Christ; shall penetrate further into that
mystery of divine love, which planned the merciful work of our redemption
before the foundation of the world; shall see more of the meetness of the
Saviour’s sufferings; of His mighty conquest over sin and death; of the
greatness of His kingdom and the “majesty of His glory.” We shall then
see and admire that now invisible bond, by which the whole company of the
Lord’s servants and people, heavenly and earthly, have been sustained and
kept together: how men below, and saints at rest, and angels in heaven,
have been bound in spiritual union, through all the ages of time; how the
vast multitude of holy creatures in the universe have felt a common
interest and benefit in their blessed Lord. {36} When they are all
assembled together in adoration round His throne, we shall know more of
this endearing bond; it will then be manifest, and be perfected for ever.
I need not attempt to go further; certainly none of us will deny the
unsearchableness of the riches of Christ. Certainly every one of us is
ready to exclaim, O that I may be partaker of them; all this world, nay,
a thousand worlds are nothing in comparison. These riches are now
offered to you: they are waiting your acceptance; receive them with all
your heart, and they are yours; you do not expect them to be forced upon
you; you do not expect this happy portion without choosing it, without
prayer and without striving for it; ask earnestly, seek diligently, and
it shall be yours; your inexhaustible treasure, in time and to eternity.
SERMON III.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLOOD.
GENESIS vi. 6. 7.
_It repented the Lord_, _that He had made man upon the earth and it
grieved Him at His heart_; _and the Lord said_, _I will destroy man_,
_whom I have created_, _from the face of the earth_.
THE expression in the former clause of the text has, to some persons,
afforded matter of surprise; and certainly the language is remarkable;
representing the Almighty as repenting of the work of creation, and
grieved at the heart, not merely on account of the wickedness of man, but
that he was ever made. Yet the language, when properly considered, is no
more remarkable, than that of numberless other passages in Holy Writ; it
is stronger perhaps; it may carry the customary mode of speech somewhat
further; but that is all. We are perfectly aware, that the Godhead is
incapable of being affected and changed by contrary passions, as we are;
the purpose of Jehovah is fixed, upon the basis of infinite wisdom, from
everlasting to everlasting; nothing can occur, of which He was previously
ignorant; nothing to afford any grief or uneasiness; “known unto God are
all His works from the beginning of the world;” {39} and it is impossible
for us to interpret the text, or any similar phrase, according to the
sense in which we understated such words, when applied to creatures like
ourselves.
It was absolutely necessary for the inspired writers, in describing the
nature and dealings and dispensations of God, to have recourse to such
terms, as we are in the habit of using towards one another. His constant
observance of us is represented by saying, that the _eye_ of God is upon
all our ways; His gracious readiness to answer our prayers, is
represented by saying, that His _ear_ is ever open: but who ever supposes
that eye or ear, or any bodily parts, are possessed by the Godhead? So
neither are we to impute to God, who is a pure spirit, any bodily
passions; though He is said to love and to hate, to be angry and to be
pleased. Of course it only means, that the effect of any particular
conduct or transaction of His creatures upon Him, is similar to what it
would be upon us, when under the influence of our natural passions; that
He rewardeth good, as we do, when we love or are pleased; and punisheth
evil, as we do, when we hate or are angry. The text merely intimates the
measure, which the Almighty was determined to adopt, in consequence of
the great and universal wickedness of mankind; of their having so far
fallen from the noble end of their creation.
Having tried many gracious methods of indulgence with them, and sought to
reclaim them by every probable and possible means, and having found that
His goodness and forbearance, instead of “leading them to repentance,”
only hardened them in guilt, He now saw fit to change His overtures of
mercy into the sentence of condemnation; and to send a deluge for the
destruction of that people, who would not “turn and live:” and this is
all that can be intended by God’s repentance and grief.
But it happened in those days, as it has too frequently happened with the
sinful and rebellious ever since, that the people believed not the
threatenings denounced against them; whether they doubted the power of
God to inflict so extraordinary a punishment; or whether they built their
hopes upon the vain expectation of His mercy; or whether the wickedness
of their hearts and lives led them entirely to cast off the belief of God
and His word, and to plunge unheeding into the gratifications and
pollutions of vice; whatever were the operating motive, “they would not
turn and seek after God.” Yet these infatuated people were not lost for
want of further instruction and admonition. God mercifully thinks of His
creatures, though they are forgetful of Him. He had raised unto them
preachers of righteousness; and sent His Holy Spirit to work upon their
consciences, to convert them from the delusions of evil, to teach them
the knowledge of His ways, and persuade them to desist from their work of
self-destruction. But there is a day, to nations as well as to
individuals, beyond which the goodness and patience of God will no longer
forbear: “My spirit,” says He, in the chapter before us, “shall not
always strive with man.” It had been working in the human heart, ever
since the fall; inspiring His servants to point out the way of salvation;
and struggling with the wayward inclinations, the perverse opposition of
His creatures; to mortify the power of sin, and lead them to recover the
favour and happiness, which their first parents by transgression had
lost. But it shall not _always_ strive; and the approaching termination
of their trial was thus graciously declared to this “disobedient and
gainsaying people.” God spake thus by the mouth of Noah: “The days of
man (the time which I will allow, to see if ‘haply he will repent and
seek after Me,’) shall be a hundred and twenty years.” {43a} All this
period was to elapse between the denunciation of the divine vengeance and
its execution; and to this St. Peter alludes, when speaking of “the
long-suffering of God, that waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was
preparing;” {43b} while Noah himself, the great “preacher of
righteousness,” warned all around him of the certainty and the terror of
this impending calamity. All entreaties, however, and warnings, and
threatenings; all present mercies and past experiences, were vain. They
despised the faith and rejected the preaching of the patriarch, and
ridiculed his preparation of the ark; but they could not “make the word
of God of none effect;” His judgment overtook them in the midst of their
rebellious career; the flood came at the appointed time; desolation was
spread over the face of the earth; and all its inhabitants, with the
exception of one family, were indiscriminately involved in the
wide-wasting ruin.
Let us pause for a moment, to apply the consideration of this part of the
history to ourselves. To all who are wilfully walking in the ways of
sin, the good and gracious God is continually addressing His warning and
expostulating voice; by His holy word, abounding with the most awakening
admonitions and awful examples; by His appointed ministers, superadding
their feeble endeavours to inculcate the doctrines and set forth the
terrors of that word “by line upon line and precept upon precept;” by
various occurrences in life, by reverses and privations and afflictions
and sickness and death; by the strivings of the Holy Spirit, and the
alarms of conscience; by flashing at intervals, in vivid colours, the
conviction of an hereafter upon the mind and heart; and compelling the
sinner to see, whether he will heed it or not, the peril and the
dreadfulness of his situation. Of all who hear me there cannot be one,
but has experienced, more or less, these manifestations of mercy and of
terror: Are there not some by whom they have been disregarded? We have
all of us been instructed and reminded and admonished, in a great variety
of ways; have we “profited withal?” Have we been awakened from the
dreams of sensual pleasures, from the stupor and infatuation of sin? Can
we now lift up our hearts in sincerity to God, and thank Him that we have
been brought, by this or that warning, into nearer and holier communion
with Him; to serve Him in righteousness and truth, and to seek, in right
earnest, the salvation of our souls? If it be otherwise with us, if we
have neglected the seasons of grace, or if we have returned, after a
temporary humiliation and conviction to the vanity of our former habits
and pursuits, let us, if we believe the word of God, lay seriously to
heart the solemn declarations on this head, with which that word
abounds—that there is a limit prescribed even for the divine compassion
and forbearance; a period marked out, beyond which God will not manifest
His favour, “though it be sought with tears;” beyond which, “His spirit
will not strive with man;” and whenever that spirit shall be withdrawn,
the conscience will become hardened, the understanding benighted, and the
sinner “given over to a reprobate mind.” God allows, indeed He has
already allowed, to every one of us, abundant space and opportunity for
repentance, as He did of old to the ante-diluvian race; and if we, like
them, are negligent of His merciful admonitions, we must expect, like
them, to go on from one degree of wickedness to another, till the
“measure of our iniquity be filled;” till we are hurried into everlasting
perdition.
No doubt, when the threatenings of the Almighty began to be executed;
when the mighty waters were descending from above, and rising in billows
from the deep below; when these people saw the ark, whose building and
preparation they had despised, floating in security upon the surface of
the waters, gladly would they have been admitted: no longer did they
question the power of God, or the truth of His word; or hold in contempt
the preaching of His prophets; earnest then, no doubt, was their
supplication for mercy; and they must have wished, in the bitterness of
their hearts, that they had listened to the declarations and instructions
of that holy minister of God, who was provided with a refuge; who was
escaping unhurt amidst the rolling of the waves, which threatened _them_
with immediate and inevitable destruction. But their conviction came too
late; the days of reconciliation were ended; the door of the ark was
shut; never to be opened again, till the flood had wrought its vengeance,
and exterminated the sinners from the earth.
Has not the like, the parallel of this dreadful case, been frequently
discovered by ourselves? Have we not seen, or at least heard of persons,
who have held out impenitently all their lives long against every means
of grace and reclaim, by which they have been visited, and then at last,
when suddenly overtaken by a sickness unto death, have distressfully
desired that comfort and refuge, which they have never appeared to find?
Their attention has been called, their eye directed to the ark of
salvation, the gospel of the blessed Jesus; but having taken no interest
in it before, having discarded and rejected it, they have seemed to
behold it only in dismay and despair. Man, it is true, is not an
adequate judge in such a case; he could not possibly decide, whether they
were saved or not; but there was fear all around; their friends were
denied the consolation of persuading themselves, that the door of mercy
was opened; the sinner cried in agony, but there was no visible sign,
that the cry was heard; no respite to the afflicted conscience; and no
repose upon the countenance, that betokened the blessedness of peace.
Suppose not, that this is a scene pourtrayed for the mere purpose of a
momentary excitement or present effect; it is a true description of what
has too frequently occurred; and it falls indeed, as every representation
must fall, infinitely short of the terrible reality. Readily can we
imagine the sufferings and sorrow and distress of the people, who were
drowning, with the ark before their eyes; and must we not conclude, that
the impenitent sinner under the gospel, when he comes to die, will
behold, with even deeper feelings of anguish, the ark of righteousness
into which he has never sought to enter; when he finds or fears, that the
overflowings of ungodliness are sinking his soul to ruin, can any
description exaggerate, can any description equal, the wretchedness of
his condition?
The very idea and contemplation of these things may well lead us, with
all sincerity and fervour, to implore the grace of God, while it is so
freely offered, and to “seek Him while He may be found;” and O that it
may lead us gladly and unfeignedly to embrace the covenant of safety,
which is graciously propounded to us in the gospel; and to “give all
diligence” to fulfil every condition which that covenant contains. We
shall not, if we value our eternal welfare, think it sufficient not to
“deny the Lord that bought us,” not to despise the means which He has
provided for our preservation and deliverance; we shall turn to Him with
all our heart, grateful for the means of salvation, and anxious to employ
them all. “Lord what wilt Thou have me to do?” {50a} “Speak, Lord, for
thy servant heareth;” {50b} this is the language that befits a sinner,
who has no hope but in God’s covenanted mercy.
“Our time is in the Lord’s hands;” we know not, if little or much remain:
Arise, defer not a day. His spirit is now striving within us; to purify
our affections, to change our corrupt nature, to form the christian
principle and temper in our souls; let us then, without doubt or delay,
humbly and thankfully concur with His holy operations, and strive with
Him, while we may: not lingering and loitering about the ark with
thoughtless indifference, as if our minds were not made up, whether it be
worth while to enter; but, in the full and perfect and abiding
persuasion, that it is the only refuge for man, let us secure, as far as
it is possible, our rest and habitation there; and then we need not fear
the overwhelming of the waters, come they ever so suddenly or ever so
soon; we shall be raised above them all, unhurt and undismayed; we shall
ride safely and triumphantly over the foaming billows; and settle at last
upon the heavenly Ararat, the “mountain of the Lord of Hosts,” the
everlasting abode of tranquillity and bliss.
But of this happy termination we shall have occasion to speak more at
large, in another discourse; when we come to treat of the character of
Noah, and the circumstances of his wonderful preservation. In the mean
time, let us observe, that the deluge is a subject of most awful
consideration; not merely in itself, as sweeping away into perdition
almost all the human race, and changing the very form and structure of
the globe; but also as being a resemblance and emblem of other
visitations of an offended and avenging God:—in the first place, of the
overthrow of Jerusalem, and the miserable and general destruction of its
rebellious people. “As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of
the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they
were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took
them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be;” {53a} so
unlooked for, so amazing, so disastrous to His enemies.
This stupendous event may also be regarded as typical of another period,
infinitely surpassing all the rest in terror and in awe;—the coming of
Christ to judge the world, to execute His final vengeance upon those who
would not be reclaimed by His mercy. The face of nature will then be
destroyed by another process; by a direful and universal conflagration.
“By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out
of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being
overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are
now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the
day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” {53b} “Nevertheless we,
according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, (a new
state) wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that
ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in
peace, without spot, and blameless.” {54a} All that have ever lived
shall be summoned again into existence; the righteous to be separated,
and “caught up to meet the Lord in the air,” {54b} and to be conveyed
into the regions of eternal blessedness; the wicked, to perish, to die,
not a bodily but a spiritual death; to be consigned together to a place
of banishment and wretchedness and horror and despair. The miserable
unbelievers and the obstinate transgressors, in the days of Noah, shall
then return to the earth from which they were swept away; not to enjoy
again their revelry and licentiousness; not to be favoured with another
day of grace; but to receive, with all their companions in evil, with all
that have ever “followed their pernicious ways,” the full and eternal
recompence of their deeds. This will indeed be a day of desolation, “of
lamentation and mourning and woe,” of “weeping and wailing and gnashing
of teeth;” of which awful day no words, no example, no past event, nor
even imagination itself, can afford an adequate representation.
God Almighty grant, that we may never know its terrors; that we may
profit from the warnings and experience, which are mercifully vouchsafed
unto us; may embrace, with all our hearts, the covenant of salvation into
which we have professedly entered; and, amidst the wreck and ruin of the
world, may be delivered with an everlasting deliverance, for the sake,
and through the merits, of that omnipotent Saviour, who was with Noah in
the ark; who has guarded, and will continue to guard, the ark of His
Church in all ages; whose mercy and truth are pledged for the final
preservation of His faithful people: God Almighty grant this blessing
unto us all, through the aid and operation of that “Holy Spirit, whereby
we are sealed unto the day of redemption.” {55}
SERMON IV.
THE PRESERVATION FROM THE FLOOD.
GENESIS vi. 8.
_Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord_.
IN a former discourse, your attention was called to the execution of
divine vengeance upon the sinful race of man, by the tremendous
visitation of a universal deluge; I would now direct your contemplation
to another point of view; to a fulfilment of the gracious promises of God
made to a distinguished believer and a faithful servant; to his
preservation from the general ruin; to the covenants of mercy established
with him; to the blessings and deliverances thus proclaimed and typified
to the Church of God in all ages.
Noah, be it first observed, was possessed of that principle, which is the
sure and only foundation of true righteousness; and to which the Almighty
has, in every age, manifested His especial favour—the principle of
_faith_; of a settled, vital, influential belief in the sovereignty, the
providence, and the word of God: he doubted not the truth either of a
threatening or a promise, and withheld not the obedience, which his
belief implied or required. Of this St. Paul assures us; “By faith Noah,
being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared
an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world,
and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith;” {57} he
condemned the world, inasmuch as his example, his preaching, and his
deliverance furnished matter of accusation against them; he pointed out
and led the way to a place of safety; he escaped destruction, and the
rest of the people might have escaped also; and thus he proved, that they
justly perished in the unbelief and obstinacy of their hearts. Hence he
became the heir of those promises and that happiness, to which the
righteous believer, by God’s mercy, is entitled; he was blessed, not
merely with that temporal preservation, which the ark afforded him in the
flood; but also with that spiritual and heavenly salvation, of which the
ark was an emblem and a sign.
And further; Noah is described, in the verse following the text, as “a
just man and perfect in his generations.” His faith, as we have already
intimated, was not, like that of many professors of religion, a mere
outward and formal assent; it resided in his heart, as well as in his
understanding; and shewed itself in his disposition, his character, and
his life. Believing in the goodness of God, he loved Him; in the power
and justice of God, he feared; in the infallible truth and authority of
God, he obeyed. With an enlightened reason and conscience, he studied
the duty of ordinary life; his duty to God and man; and he performed it
faithfully. “He was perfect in his generations;” not that he had
attained unto absolute, positive perfection; for that is impossible to
any mere man, in his fallen condition; it was only “the man Christ
Jesus,” the incarnate God, that was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners;” {59} but Noah, in the midst of a “disobedient and
gainsaying people,” was sincere and upright; he lived in no wilful or
habitual opposition to his God; he had that degree of perfection, which
is the mark and fruit of genuine faith; and shews, that the frail
creature is brought into a state of acceptance with his Creator. He
engaged heartily in the cause of religion; there was nothing in the
world, which he was not ready to renounce for it; there was no ordinance,
nor command of God, which it was not his unbending purpose to obey;
desirous was he “to serve Him, in holiness and righteousness all the days
of his life.” And therefore it is yet further said, that “he walked with
God;” {60a} “setting the Lord (as David speaks) always before him;” {60b}
living in a perpetual sense of the divine presence; acting as under the
continual observation of that Almighty Being, who was acquainted with all
his ways; and whose word was “a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his
path.” {60c} He walked in communion with God, by his life and
conversation, as well as by faith, and meditation, and prayer; and he
preached to a “backsliding and stubborn generation,” by his example as
well as by his word.
We cannot wonder, that such eminent holiness and obedience, shining forth
in the midst of so much profligacy and corruption, were honoured with the
signal favour of Almighty God. A righteous character, which is always
“of great price in the sight of God,” is peculiarly honourable in an age
overspread with impiety and guilt. The man, who stands forth to maintain
the cause of God against a universal host of enemies; who is untainted by
the moral contagion which is every where diffused around him; who
perseveringly opposes the mighty stream of iniquity, which is ready to
overwhelm his soul; that man is a spectacle for angels to behold with
joy; and one in whom the holy God Himself is well-pleased; he is as “a
light shining in a dark place,” made more conspicuous and attractive by
the surrounding gloom. Such was Noah; and God distinguished him
accordingly by especial tokens of favour and blessing: for He said,
“Behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy
all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every
thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my
covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy
wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.” {62a}
A question has been raised respecting the nature of the covenant here
intended; but the words themselves, taken in connexion with the subject,
would lead us to conclude, that the covenant to be established, in the
first instance, was a covenant of safety in the ark, during the flood;
and this sense is abundantly confirmed by the same word being afterwards
used in the 9th chapter, when God made His promise to the patriarch, that
the world should never again be so destroyed: “Behold, I establish my
covenant with you, and with your seed after you, and with every living
creature that is with you—neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by
the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy
the earth.” {62b} Yet, though this was the immediate import of the
covenant, it probably had, like the ark itself, a further and a typical
signification, which is thus very admirably expressed by one of the best
commentators; “I will most certainly make good the promise I have
formerly made to thee, of preserving thee and thy family from the said
destruction; and further I will make good, in due time, to thee or thy
seed after thee, _all_ those covenants or promises, which I have made to
mankind from the beginning of the world, and which remain to be made
good; especially the grand covenant concerning the promised seed, of
Messiah: to which end, I will certainly preserve thee and thy family from
the destruction I am now bringing on the rest of mankind.” {63}
The first covenant made by God with Adam, was a covenant of works, of
unsinning obedience; this was broken, and thence came death. The second
covenant made with Adam, was that of grace and salvation by Jesus Christ,
who should “come in the fulness of time;” this latter covenant was
confirmed with Noah, the representative of mankind in the new world after
the flood; and the covenant, thus renewed with him, was to extend to all
his posterity; to generations unborn, to all that would become, as he
was, “heirs of the righteousness which is by faith.” Through him,
deliverance was preached to the people before the flood; through him,
everlasting deliverance from sin and death was promised to believers in
every future age. In the covenant, therefore, made with Noah, all
mankind have an interest, an especial interest at this day; the promised
deliverer, whom Noah represented, is come; we “have seen the salvation of
our God;” the gospel of peace is proclaimed; and nothing is wanting but
our faithful acceptance of it.
Proceed we now with the history of Noah’s preservation: “The waters
prevailed exceedingly upon the earth (a hundred and fifty days), and all
the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered—and all
flesh died that moved upon the earth, Noah only remained alive, and they
that were with him in the ark. And the ark rested in the seventh month,
upon the mountains of Ararat.” {65} Thus was the divine promise
literally fulfilled, and the fidelity of the patriarch signally
acknowledged and rewarded. What must have been the emotions of this holy
man, as he was floating, through the long eventful period, upon the
surface of the raging waters! How deep and lively his conviction of the
adorable goodness and the perfect truth of God! How fervent his
gratitude, how sublime his joy, at escaping unhurt amid the desolation of
the world! How indescribable his feelings of horror and of awe, at the
sufferings of those countless multitudes, who were perishing around him;
over whose lifeless bodies he was riding in peaceful security, reserved
to be the father of a new-born world! Similar to these are the
impressions of every sincere believer, on beholding both the providential
and spiritual dispensations of the Lord. Deeply is he convinced of the
“goodness and severity of God;” of His goodness to the righteous, His
severity to the disobedient and evil: Every divine promise and every
denunciation of divine judgment have been fully accomplished in due
season; “not one jot or one tittle of the word of God has failed.” The
Christian, moreover, by his own experience, can testify the truth and
loving kindness of God: he has sought and found a refuge in the ark of
salvation, in the gospel of peace; he has been taken out of a corrupt and
troubled world, and raised above it; so that, while the billows of
adversity have been rolling all around, and the overbearings of iniquity
have every where prevailed, he has felt himself in a state of security;
inclosed by divine mercy “on the right hand and on the left;” protected
by the power of Jehovah; all things, even the most unruly elements,
“working together for his good:” when “the rain descends, and the floods
come, and the winds blow,” he hears and sees it all without dismay; nay,
with gratitude to his heavenly Preserver; hoping and believing, that the
waves of trouble are bearing him to the celestial Ararat, upon which he
shall alight, in God’s appointed time, and “find rest unto his soul.”
But, in the midst of his satisfaction and joy, there is a consideration,
which strikes a damp upon his soul, and fills him with grief and terror;
it is, the miserable condition of those his fellow-creatures, who have
been regardless of their salvation and have perished: the Saviour
“called, but they would not answer;” He assured them of the coming
desolation, but they would not take heed; He offered them mercy, but they
turned away: and the flood came upon them unawares; and it is painful to
think of them, where they now are, and how many they have been. And not
only for those who are gone, but for numbers still living, does the
charitable Christian also feel: it is not for him to be forward in
judging, not for him to condemn; “he hopeth all things, and believeth all
things;” but when he sees multitudes around him manifestly walking in the
“broad way of destruction,” he cannot help feeling both pity and pain;
especially if any of his neighbours or friends be found in this awful
state of heedlessness and sin; especially if any who are near and dear
unto him. He cannot help grieving for them; they will have, at least,
his tears and his prayers. Would that such sinners might feel for
themselves, what others feel for them; would that they might turn and
live! Their case is not like the case of those who were perishing in the
flood; they are not yet consigned to destruction; would to God that they
might turn and live!
At length, “the waters were dried up from off the earth, and the face of
the ground was dry.” “And Noah went forth” out of the ark, and “builded
an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings upon the altar,” in
thanksgiving for his miraculous preservation; “and the Lord smelled a
sweet savour;” {69} He accepted the incense of the sacrifice, approved
and honoured the piety and gratitude of Noah.
In all our deliverances and escapes, in all the benefits and blessings we
receive at the merciful hands of God, let us never fail to imitate this
bright example of righteousness: be it our first, our immediate act, to
waft unto the skies the incense of adoration and praise. The faithful
and observant Christian does indeed perpetually notice the interposition
of divine Providence in his behalf; and he never fails to render the
tribute of his heart at least, if not of his lips, to the great
Deliverer: but besides this, there are few of us, who have not, in some
striking instances, been wonderfully rescued from imminent danger and
destruction; preserved in frightful accident, or raised from a sickness
which was seemingly unto death. Has the favour been duty remembered with
gratitude? Did it bring us on our knees before the throne of mercy? Did
we present our offering with that humble sense of our own unworthiness,
and that devout acknowledgment of God’s love, which gave us just reason
to believe that the offering was accepted, through Jesus Christ our Lord?
And ever since, has an altar been raised in our hearts; have our
affections been dedicated to God, as a memorial of the past deliverance,
and a fulfilment of the purpose for which we were mercifully spared?
And there is a deliverance greater and mightier than all, of which every
faithful servant in the gospel is enjoying, at once, both the hope and
the benefit; a deliverance, of which Noah’s was a type, from the bondage
and penalty of sin; from eternal misery, and ruin. Are we penetrated
with a sense of this marvellous mercy? Do we worship our great Redeemer
in spirit and in truth? Do we love Him with all our heart and soul? Do
we proclaim abroad our gratitude and love, in the presence of a
contemptuous world? Noah was immediately and powerfully reminded of the
divine goodness accorded to himself, by beholding the face of nature all
desolate and void: and thus, when we behold around us the dismal ravages
of sin, and contemplate, with the eye of faith, the ruin which they will
finally bring, are there not afforded to _us_, exulting as we are in the
hope of our own redemption, abundant memorials of the favour of God to
ourselves? “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless
His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His
benefits: who redeemeth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with
loving kindness and tender mercies.” {71}
My brethren, if we would find, as “Noah found, grace in the eyes of the
Lord,” we must be like him, in faith and obedience, in “faith which
worketh by love.” We must be ready, at the divine command, to leave the
“pomps and vanity of a wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the
flesh,” and prepare the means of our deliverance, in the way which God
mercifully points out. We must dare to be singular in the midst of a
gainsaying and reviling people; and maintain our integrity in the face of
a backsliding age. If, in the hour of danger and destruction, we would
have God for our deliverer and friend, we must seek Him and serve Him,
whilst we are in health and safety: thus will He be our portion in life,
in death, in judgment, and for ever.
We are hereby led, in the last place, to consider the promise and pledge,
which God was pleased to afford to the patriarch immediately after the
flood; that “the waters would no more become a flood to destroy all
flesh.” “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a
covenant between me and the earth—and I will look upon it, that I may
remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature
of all flesh that is upon the earth.” Whether there had ever been a
rainbow before the flood, is a point that cannot absolutely be
determined; probably not; but if there had been, it makes no difference;
the bow was then consecrated to be the token of a covenant of mercy,
between God and man; and whenever the descending shower and the darkened
sky recal to mind his former vengeance on the ungodly, we may take
comfort on beholding this bright display of majesty and beauty, “this
faithful witness in heaven;” {73} our hearts may then be gladdened by the
remembrance and assurance of God’s everlasting love: we behold the seal
of heaven, ratifying the promise of divine favour: and the believer may
justly regard it, not only as a token of security against a future
deluge, but also as a hopeful intimation of God’s mercy in all the storms
of this mortal life, in every threatening flood. We may view it, with
delighted eyes, as a blessed memorial of the truth and faithfulness of
that Almighty Protector, whose word is pledged for the preservation of
His people, at all times and under all possible circumstances. His
mercies, of providence and grace, can never fail; and an earnest of these
mercies we may discover, when we look upon the bow in the cloud; it is,
in a secondary sense at least, emblematical of God’s everlasting covenant
with His faithful people, that He will “never leave them nor forsake
them.”
Nor is it without authority, that we are thus extending the import of
this heavenly sign: St. John in one of his beatific visions, “looked and
behold a door was opened in heaven, and behold a throne was set in
heaven, and there was a rainbow round about the throne.” {75} The saints
in light are thus represented as beholding the abode of their God,
encircled with the token of His covenanted mercy; an evidence to them,
that they have finally escaped the devastation of the world; that the
floods and storms have for ever subsided; that none of the imperfections
and troubles and dangers, from which they have been rescued, shall ever
again disturb their mind or mar their happiness.
Hear then, in few words, the conclusion of the whole matter: let the
destroying deluge awaken in us, by divine grace, a living conviction of
the infallibility of God’s word, of the certain “perdition of ungodly
men;” let the deliverance of Noah and his family assure our hearts in the
expectation of the glorious redemption of every believer and servant of
God.
Let us enter the ark of salvation, prepared by our great Redeemer; enter
and abide there; and we shall be carried triumphantly over the stormy
elements of the world; and be conducted “unto the haven where we would
be:” the dove will bring unto us the olive branch of peace; and the
transcendent beauty of the celestial rainbow shall appear without a
cloud, and bless our souls with the perfect assurance of eternal safety
and joy.
SERMON V.
DO THIS GREAT WICKEDNESS AND SIN AGAINST GOD.
GENESIS xxxix. 9.
_How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God_?
THE history of Joseph, by whom these memorable words were uttered, is
full of interest and instruction. He presents unto us the splendid and
rare example of a person advanced, from the lowest estate, to distinction
and wealth and power; and yet preserving his piety and integrity
unimpaired. Not all the luxury and blandishments of a court of
unbelievers could tempt him to forget that gracious almighty benefactor,
by whom he had been rescued from danger, and raised to prosperity and
greatness. We all know how apt are the understanding and heart of man to
be captivated and corrupted by the enjoyment of earthly pomp and
pleasure, under any circumstances; but especially when they are attained
by a sudden and unexpected elevation. Joseph had been cruelly left by
his brethren in a state of utter destitution. Taken out of the pit into
which they had inhumanly cast him, he was sold as a slave to a company of
people, who were passing by, and carried into Egypt; by accident, as it
appeared, but really under the guidance and direction of an all-wise
providence, to accomplish the wonderful purposes of His divine will.
The scriptural account of his rapid rise to favour and eminence, in this
his new abode, is exceedingly striking; and shews the especial regard
which the Almighty bears for His righteous and faithful servants; there
is no situation of life too obscure for the notice of His all-seeing eye;
none too low for Him to interpose in behalf of His people, and exalt them
to usefulness and honour. “Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and
Potiphar an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought
him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in
the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord
was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his
hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him; and he
made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his
hand.” {78}
Thus favoured and advanced, this holy man never forgot, as too many do,
that gracious Being, to whose loving kindness he was indebted; instead of
growing vain of his superiority, as if he had raised himself merely by
his own talent or industry, he referred all his blessings to God’s
bountiful providence, and rendered unto Him the return of a grateful and
faithful service.
It was not long before his fidelity was put to the trial; and the manner
in which he escaped the snare, that was laid for him, affords a
remarkable proof not only of his integrity, but of his faith, his piety,
his religion, his gratitude and love to God: the only principles upon
which any dependence can be placed in the temptation of an evil hour.
Joseph, when powerfully solicited to betray the confidence, and despoil
the honour of his master, might have contented himself with declaring the
numberless acts of kindness which he had received at Potiphar’s hand; the
recompence of faithfulness which he owed for them all; or the fear of
bringing upon himself disgrace and ruin, by so atrocious a crime;
considerations indeed, which actually had no small influence and weight
upon his mind. But he goes much further, and appeals to a higher
authority, to a nobler principle; to one which was calculated to give
unto every minor consideration a tenfold effect; to secure the
performance of that duty, which reason and honour and conscience
suggested; he appealed to his God, from the fountain of whose mercy he
had derived all his benefits and blessings; and to whom therefore, his
sincere unswerving obedience was unreservedly due. Like every pious and
good man, he remembers and regards the human ties by which he is bound;
and instances, in feeling language, the kindness and estimation of his
earthly master; “Behold, my master wrotteth not (knoweth not) what is
with me in the house, and he hath committed all things that he hath to my
hand; there is none greater in this house than I.” {80} But then this
man of God, after thus recounting the signal favour which had been shewn
him by an earthly master, does not rest his duty upon saying, ‘how can I
abuse the unbounded confidence reposed in me; how can I prove myself so
unworthy of my lord?’ But immediately, as if it were the habitual
suggestion of his mind, elevates his thoughts and affections to his
master in heaven; to Him, who had put it into the heart of Potiphar thus
to distinguish and bless him; to Him, by whose grace alone he had been
what he had been, a faithful and dutiful servant; and by whose gracious
interposition “all things had worked together for his good.” For such
surpassing mercy poured down upon him from heaven, he could not bear the
thought of making so base a requital; and exclaimed in the energy of his
soul, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” Resting
upon such a principle, the triumph of his virtue was complete; it enabled
him to disregard whatever evil consequences might ensue; and to stand
against the subtlest wiles of the tempter, and under circumstances of
imminent peril, a noble monument of the power of religion; upright in his
duty to God and man.
Much edification may the Christian gather from the narrative before us;
and happy would it be for the Christian world, if the principle, here so
splendidly illustrated, were in fuller operation. It might indeed be
thought, that with the superior knowledge we enjoy, of the transcendent
mercy and goodness of God, of the extent and bounty of His providence, as
well as the riches of his grace; that, with the clear revelation of the
divine will, the glorious manifestation of gospel light, to us so
abundantly vouchsafed; that, taught as we have been to look upon God as
our reconciled Father in Jesus Christ, as the “author and giver of every
good gift” in this world, and the spring of all our blissful hopes of an
inheritance in the brighter world to come; it might have been thought,
under these superior advantages and means of grace, that in all the
events of life, in every temptation and trial, our affections would be
certainly raised, above every earthly consideration, to the high and holy
God; that, when we are pressed with the solicitations of evil, it would
immediately occur to our minds and enter into our hearts, how abhorrent
the offence must be to that perfect and glorious Being, in whose image we
are professedly recreated; how grievous to that Holy Spirit, in whom we
ought to live and walk; how disgracefully and basely unworthy of those
spiritual privileges, to which we have been restored; of the great
mercies we have already received; and the still greater we are yet
expecting, from the redemption which hath been wrought for us by the ever
blessed Jesus; it might be concluded, that Christians, when tempted to
injury and evil, would immediately refer the matter to the blessed word
and will of their divine master, and exclaim, with a pious and grateful
feeling, “how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
Yet, is it not notorious, that a great, an overwhelming portion of the
inhabitants of this enlightened land, are governed in a very small, if in
any degree, by this pure sense of spiritual and religious obligation?
Commonly, when they are solicited to sinful gratifications and pursuits,
“God is not in all their thoughts:” whether they yield or not, depends
partly upon the strength of their natural inclination; partly upon the
light in which the sin may be regarded by the world around them; upon the
extent to which it may affect their worldly reputation; upon what they
may calculate to gain or lose by their conduct. The law of custom has
manifestly a greater influence than the law of God; nay, what are called
the _rules of honour_, which, in many instances, are flagrantly repugnant
and opposite to the divine will, (and might rather be called the rules of
_dishonour_,) are appealed to, in a Christian country, as the arbiters of
right and wrong; while the “honour that cometh from God only” is totally
disregarded and forgotten. And even of those, who are unacquainted with
the precise terms of these fallacious rules, what multitudes are there,
whose practice and conduct are determined by considerations merely human;
who will be guided by a feeling of gratitude to an earthly benefactor,
and yet have no sense or remembrance of the favour of an all-merciful
God; who will be deterred from evil by the dread of offending an earthly
superior, that has power only over the body, and yet possess in their
hearts no fear whatever of Him, “who is able to destroy both body and
soul in hell.” Where there are no better guides, no higher inducements
than these, “to refuse the evil and to choose the good,” we cannot be
surprised at the licentiousness and corruption, which so unhappily
prevail; nor even at the flagrant and shameless commission of that
calamitous sin, which Joseph rejected with such holy disdain. Against
the impetuous desires and cravings of the flesh; the assiduous entreaties
of wicked companions; and the beguiling charms, which Satan so well knows
how to spread over all the ways and works of evil; against all these
combining together, it cannot be expected, that any human motives or
maxims, any earthly feelings alone, should be able successfully to stand.
Not that such motives or maxims or feelings are to be despised or
disregarded; not that any just or lawful consideration, however trivial,
should be overlooked, which may be instrumental, in any degree, to
preserve us from evil. Far is it from being the design of the gospel, to
supersede the dictates and rules of reason; the workings of conscience;
or the influence of natural affection, of hope and joy and gratitude and
love; the gospel purifies all these motives, and guides them aright, and
directs the exercise of them into the proper channel. But even the best
of them, with the sincere Christian, are as nothing when compared with
his religious principle, with the faith and fear and love of God: when
tempted to sin, he thinks of that Holy Being, with whom he has entered
into covenant; of that gracious Redeemer, who hath endured so much for
his sake, who hath brought him into the way of salvation, by whose favour
he is enjoying “the life that now is, and the promise of that which is to
come;” he thinks of the Holy Spirit, “by whom he has been regenerated and
made a child of grace;” he would not quench that sacred flame and energy,
by which his corrupt nature has been enlightened and purified; from which
“all good desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed;” by
which his soul is animated with the inspiring hope of beholding his God
face to face, in perfect righteousness and everlasting glory. He loves
to please, he cannot bear the thought of offending, the Lord of majesty
and mercy; and looks to Him for strength in the hour of trial. The
constant habit of thus lifting up, in the spirit of prayer, the thoughts
and affections to God; the full and abiding persuasion of His manifold
mercies to the faithful, of His terrible judgments to be executed upon
the disobedient and the impenitent sinner, will always be found the
surest, the only sure, preservative from sin.
And how can that man, who believes, with all his heart and soul, in the
glorious revelation of the Gospel; in the miseries which he may thereby
escape, and the happiness which he may attain; in the means ordained for
his accomplishment of these momentous purposes; how can he fail or cease
to maintain a lively remembrance of the goodness and wisdom and power of
God? Will he not “set the Lord alway before him;” and under the
countenance and protection of his Saviour, and in the awful presence of
his Judge, will he not feel himself powerfully actuated to restrain and
resist every guilty inclination, and to decline from the danger and
dishonour of every evil way? “How can I do this great wickedness and sin
against” my Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier—the Almighty God, whose I
am, and whom I serve?
This reflection is also calculated to excite our attention to the duties
of this holy season, {89a} prescribed by the Church for our christian
improvement; the duties of self-examination and repentance. Convinced,
that every wilful sin renders us unworthy of acceptance with that God,
“who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity,” let us retire into our
chamber and take our private hour, and cast a searching eye over our
character and life, intent upon discovering every stain and blemish; let
us “see if there be any wicked way in us,” and pray fervently to be “led
into the way everlasting.” {89b} Let the sinfulness of our condition by
nature, the sinfulness of our thoughts and words and works, pass in
review before us; nor let the soul ever rest content, till we have made
our peace with God;—by an humble abasement under the sense of our
undeservings; by unfeigned sorrow for the past; by a holy, steady, entire
resolution, to watch more carefully, and walk more circumspectly; by
laying aside “every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.”
{90a}
When we duly think of the long-suffering and forbearance of our offended
Father; of His great mercy in “sparing us when we deserved punishment;”
sparing us to repent of our faults and follies, to advance in holiness
and righteousness, to further the everlasting interest of the soul;
surely we shall then be penetrated with a deep sense of the divine
compassion; and the goodness of God “will answer its blessed purpose and
lead us to repentance.” {90b} ‘How can I persist in abusing the patience
which has borne with me so long? How shall I continue to neglect any
duty, which so merciful a God has commanded, for the edification and
salvation of my soul? How shall I rebelliously cherish any sinful
indulgence, which is opposed to His holy law; and thus forfeit my claim
to that heavenly inheritance, which my Saviour has died to procure for
the true believer, for the penitent and contrite in heart? How can I do
less than abhor the sin, which His blood was shed to expiate and cleanse
away; less, than delight and advance in the way of righteousness which He
has opened to me;’ even till “I come unto the measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ.”
Reflections, deliberations, resolutions such as these, sincerely formed
and cherished, would very effectually, by divine grace, assist us in
attaining that disposition of mind and heart, which might lead us
habitually to raise our thoughts to God, under every circumstance, and at
every time of temptation. There would thus be cast around us a sacred
wall of defence; a perpetual barrier against the inroads of Satan and of
sin; and if at times they should, when we are suddenly thrown off our
guard, break in upon the heart and lay it waste, they would speedily be
expelled, and the breach would be healed without delay. Thus we shall
become more jealous over ourselves, more circumspect and watchful; we
shall never feel easy, while betraying, into the hands of the enemy, the
merciful and glorious work of God. With a love for His goodness, a
reverence for His truth, and a fear of His judgments, abiding in the
heart, we shall fly from every approach of evil, and dwell in safety
beneath the shadow of His wing: “we shall be enabled to withstand in the
evil day, and having done all to stand.” {92}
It is our distinguished privilege to be enlightened by the “wisdom which
is from above,” to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His
might:” God forbid that we should return to the “beggarly elements of the
world,” and seek to draw our principles and strength from this polluted
source. Had we never been blessed with the light of revelation, we must
have been content with such means of duty, as our dark state afforded: we
must have been governed and guided like the heathen, whom we now pity.
But, as we are supremely favoured with the knowledge of the true God, as
“our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ;” as
the Holy Spirit is given to “help our infirmities;” let us, in every
temptation, remember our infinite obligations to the great and merciful
Jehovah, and trust in the sufficiency of His almighty power.
After thus “walking with God as friends;” having, for the sake of His
friendship, struggled with our evil propensities; having despised the
vanity and folly, and renounced the love of the world, we shall
experience more and more, the value of His favour, and the fulness of His
grace; serving Him in humble gratitude, we shall be acknowledged as His
own peculiar people, and He will be our God; in all perplexities we shall
find Him our guide, in all trouble our comfort and support; amid the
crooked paths of vice He will “make our way plain before His face;” the
“snare will be broken and we shall be delivered;” He will honour us among
men; “such honour have all His saints;” and this will be an earnest of
our everlasting honour in His heavenly abode, in perfect friendship and
communion with Him, in that blessed place where sin and temptation will
be no more, “where nothing that defileth can enter.”
SERMON VI.
ON THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS.
LUKE xxiv. 32. _And they said one to another_, _Did not our heart
burn within us_, _while He talked with us by the way_, _and while He
opened to us the Scriptures_?
THIS is a portion of one of those affecting and instructive pieces of
history, with which the sacred scriptures every where abound.
After the resurrection of Jesus, on the very same day, two of His
disciples were journeying together to a village called Emmaus, a few
miles distant from Jerusalem. And as they went, “they talked together of
those things which had happened.” And certainly never was there
furnished to disciples an occasion of more interesting conversation.
They were at no loss for a subject; their feelings were deeply moved,
their circumstances most peculiar; they had just been bereaved of their
Lord; and were left, as they thought, helpless and hopeless upon the wide
world: they had been attending the sad scene of His sufferings; and
doubtless had been witnessing his awful crucifixion; abundance of matter
therefore, was afforded them for reflection and discourse. But besides
this, they had heard the report of their Lord’s resurrection; and as they
did not at all understand the purport of it, appeared indeed scarcely to
believe an event so extraordinary, they were probably consulting what to
expect, or what to do. “And it came to pass, that, while they communed
together and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them. But
their eyes were holden, that they should not know Him.” {96} Either He
assumed a different form, or He supernaturally influenced their sight,
that they should not at first recognize Him.
Jesus, let us observe, appeared to the disciples, while they were engaged
in holy meditation and converse; and thus, though no longer visible in
the world, He may still be expected, at all times, to favour His true
disciples in a similar manner. While they are conversing upon the things
belonging to His kingdom, upon the wonders of His love, and the riches of
His grace, upon their high privileges and expectations, upon the
doctrines and precepts of His holy word, upon the duties and experiences
of their earthly pilgrimage, upon their walk with God here, and their
hope of dwelling together with Him for ever hereafter; while they are
musing and discoursing of these things, the blessed Jesus will join
company with them, though unknown and unseen; and will shed over their
conference a holy and heavenly benediction. A reproach it is to vast
numbers of His professing disciples, that they are not more anxious to
embrace such opportunities of enjoying the favour and presence of their
Lord; that many, even intimate friends and near relations, amid the
endless variety of their subjects of conversation, are scarcely ever
found to exchange a sentiment or a word, upon the most interesting and
important of all topics; the love of their Lord and the edification of
their souls. Eagerly do they embrace every opportunity of ministering to
the passing amusement, or the temporal welfare, of each other; the only
subject, which appears to be forbidden ground, is the subject of an
eternal life to come, their spiritual well-being here and hereafter.
But let me not be misunderstood on this point; I am not speaking of the
promiscuous intercourse of society; not of religious discussions or
allusions amid the ordinary business of life; not of that irreverent and
dangerous habit, into which same believers have been incautiously
betrayed, of detailing to one another their continual and familiar
experiences; I am speaking of the private and sober communing of
christian friends, who are dwelling together, or journeying together, as
the disciples to Emmaus: and truly, “with the bible in their hands and
the Saviour in their hearts,” it is wonderful how they can forbear from
spiritual intercourse. If the everlasting truths of the gospel have made
a deep impression upon their minds; if, for the promises therein
revealed, it is their object to live and to die; if they have one common
hope of their calling, “one thing needful” which occupies their
affections; if they have the same exalted view of a glorious kingdom in
heaven; if they are living together in love, and comforting themselves,
that the holy bond shall never be broken, that it shall be renewed in a
happier world and last for ever; then it would be strange if their
thoughts and their conversation should never turn upon a subject of such
overwhelming interest; upon a topic so abundantly fruitful in materials
for mutual edification. The idea of the Lord being present with us in
our conferences is an animating and ennobling idea: but we cannot expect
His holy presence in the scenes of vanity and frivolity; nor can we
expect it at any time, if the thought and desire of Him be altogether
excluded. From the cold moralist, or the worldly-minded disciple, from
those who have no practical concern for the gospel or for their souls, we
need not look for a word of spiritual communication; it is abhorrent to
their feelings and inconsistent with their notions; but the sincere
Christian should “think on these things.” “The world will love its own,”
and follow its own; its own friends and maxims and ways: but “we are not
of the world,” and better fruit is expected from us.
But to return to the history before us. Having listened for a time to
the earnest discourse of the disciples, Jesus at length, as if a
stranger, enquired into the subject, which engrossed their minds and
rendered them so sorrowful: “And the one of them whose name was Cleopas,
(the same, it is thought, as Alpheus, who was the father of two Apostles
and nearly related to our Lord Himself,) answering, said unto Him, art
thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things, which
are come to pass there in these days?” “And he said unto them what
things?” said it, probably, with a view of giving them an opportunity of
declaring their opinions, upon what had taken place, as also upon Himself
and the nature of His kingdom: “and they said unto Him, concerning Jesus
of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word, before God and
all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to
be condemned to death, and have crucified Him. But we trusted, that it
had been He who should have redeemed Israel; and beside all this, to-day
is the third day since these things were done.” {101} They concluded,
that their bright hopes of redemption were extinguished, were all dead
and buried with Jesus: even though they had heard of His rising again,
according to His own promise, which they had just alluded to, still they
had no expectation of holding any further intercourse with Him, of any
further display of His power in their behalf.
“Then he said unto them, O fools (O unwise and blinded people) and slow
of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken; ought not Christ
(ought not your Messiah prophesied of old) to have suffered these things
and enter into His glory?” {102} Is it not clearly foretold by your
prophets, by Isaiah especially in his 53d chapter, that the redeemer of
Israel should be “despised and rejected of men,” should bear “their
griefs and carry their sorrows,” “should be led as a lamb to the
slaughter, should be numbered with the transgressors,” should make “His
grave with the wicked (should die with malefactors) and with the rich in
his death,” (should be buried in the sepulchre of the rich,) and after
that “prolong His days,” and then that “the pleasure of the Lord should
prosper in His hand?” According to your own prophecies then, and in
order to their fulfilment, has not Jesus done that, as Messiah, which He
was required to do? Instead of being offended, and giving up the cause,
ye ought to be fully convinced, that He is “the Christ, the son of the
living God.” {103a} Then, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He
expounded to them in all the sacred scriptures the things concerning
Himself.” {103b} How enlightening and convincing must this discourse
have been! But it is not preserved to us: with so complete a body of
information and evidence, it did not please the Almighty to favour the
world. We are left to gather the instruction by diligent observation and
study; and thankful may we be, that there still remain most abundant
sources of satisfactory knowledge on this head; that the prophecies and
types of the Saviour in the Old Testament, when compared with their
fulfilment, are sufficiently clear for the conviction of every honest and
well-disposed mind.
After this, the disciples “drew nigh unto the village whither they went;
and Jesus made as though He would have gone further. But they
constrained Him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the
day is far spent. And He went in to tarry with them.” {104a} And thus
He still favours His disciples, and will do as long as the world stands;
when they heartily desire His abiding presence, it will never be denied;
wherever the place or whatever the occasion, their Lord, if wished for
and welcome, will be of their company: in the domestic circle, in the
converse of friends, in the sacred hour of solitude; “when thou sittest
in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest
down, and when thou risest up.” {104b} We have only to lift our thoughts
to Him; “to set Him always before us; and He will be at our right hand,
that we shall not be moved.” {105a} At all times He will be found “a
present help;” but especially when we are associated or assembled in
remembrance of Him. Such is the promise of His word: “where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them:”
{105b} gathered together for consultation, for worship, for any holy
purpose.
Jesus, when He had entered into the house with the two disciples, acted
in a manner which served to bring Him to their knowledge: “As He sat at
meat with them, He took bread and blessed it, and brake and gave to them;
(though a supposed stranger, He appeared as the head of the family;
blessing and distributing, as His custom had been at their ordinary
meals:) And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him: And He vanished
out of their sight;” {105c} immediately left them to ponder upon the
amazing things which they had heard. “And they said one to another, Did
not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and
while He opened to us the Scriptures?”
Cleopas and his friend were unquestionably favoured beyond the common lot
of disciples: to hear the sacred oracles explained by Him, who was at
once the subject and fulfilment of them; by Him, through whose spirit the
prophets and holy men of old all spake; to hear them perfectly explained
and illustrated by the voice of the Son of God, might well make a vivid
impression upon their minds, and fill their bosom with fervent and
rapturous delight: Yet, though we cannot be so singularly blessed, there
may be communicated to us a measure of that knowledge, which these
disciples enjoyed; there may be imparted to us no inconsiderable portion
of the same holy animation.
Our merciful Lord, on withdrawing His visible presence from this world,
sent, according to His promise, another Comforter; a Comforter, who
should “guide His people into all truth;” should “give them a right
judgment in all things,” and spread a holy influence over their
affections and desires. And now, when we are reading His word, when
musing upon it with devout meditation, and conversing with one another
upon its exalted truths, its heavenly purposes, its abundant promises and
blessings; and now, when we hear the word from the lips of those
ministers, who, however unworthy in themselves, are commissioned to speak
in His great name, our hearts may burn within us, and “our eyes may be
opened to behold wondrous things out of His law;” {107} we may still be
powerfully impressed, if we have, what we are taught by our church to
pray for, “grace to hear meekly the word, and to receive it with pure
affection, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit.”
May I not appeal, in justification of these remarks, to some of you here
present? Have not your minds, when intent upon the doctrines of the
gospel, and taking a view of heavenly things, been sometimes visited with
a holy illumination, which has seemed to raise you above the world, and
to make you feel more sensibly, that “you have your conversation in
heaven?” {108} Have not the ties of earth been loosened, while your soul
was expatiating on the deep things of God, on His wisdom and power and
love, on the dealings of His providence and grace, on the glories of His
eternal presence? Have you not, in some such moments, been so impressed,
as to return to the world with a degree of reluctance; and, like the
disciples at the transfiguration, almost tempted to say, of your
spiritual and heavenly visions, “it is good for me to be here?” These
are no enthusiastic imaginations; they are the sober and solid effects of
the realized presence of our Redeemer; they are the burnings of heart, of
which the disciples spake; they are the foretaste of our knowledge and
joy and light and life above. Doubtless they are to be encouraged with
humility and sobriety; doubtless they may degenerate into enthusiasm; for
there is no spiritual good, which may not be abused: but the fear of
enthusiasm is not to hinder us in gathering comfort and delight from the
study of scriptural truth, from holy and exalted meditation. The world
may call it weakness and folly; for it cannot be understood by the world;
but the Christian knows for it a better name; and few eminent Christians
have there been, who would not readily bear witness to the truth of these
things, who have not felt the inspiriting, uplifting power of divine
contemplation.
And this, like all other exercises of true faith and piety, is of great
practical importance; it is fruitful in righteousness to all who “think
soberly;” it serves them, when they return to the busy scenes of earth,
as an animation to duty; it purifies their affections and renders the
world little in their eyes; it arms them for conflict, and reconciles
them to trouble: in the midst of trials, of disappointments and
bereavements, of struggles and difficulties, of frowns and oppositions,
they remember, with thankfulness and comfort, the spiritual joys they
have experienced, and expect to be blessed with them again: yes, in their
darker hours, they remember, that the Sun of righteousness, has shone
brightly upon them, and the beams are still reflected; though they cannot
at present perceive Him so clearly, though He seems, like Jesus with the
disciples, to have “vanished out of their sight,” He has left a glory
behind, and will again visit them with the fulness of His favour; and
they go on their way “not faithless, but believing.”
To those who have been thus in the habit of pious and scriptural
meditation; of intently dwelling upon the sublime mysteries, and the
gracious promises, and the noble examples, and the striking histories of
the word of God; to them it is needless to recommend a continuance of the
good work; it is a christian obligation, which they can never think of
declining; and besides this, the delight and improvement, which it
affords, are its own sufficient recommendation. But upon all, who have
unhappily neglected this their great privilege and duty, I would most
earnestly press the importance of attending to this point, as a matter of
bounden necessity. It is not enough to form an acquaintance with the
leading truths of the gospel, as a matter of faith and profession; there
is much to be learnt upon a nearer inspection, much indeed that can never
be learned without it; much to enlarge and exalt the understanding; to
renew the heart and regulate the life. The necessary intercourse, which
most of us have with the world, is of a lowering and defiling nature;
estranging the heart from a love of holiness and of God: and in order to
correct this evil, scriptural study and spiritual consideration, as well
as fervent prayer, are indispensable.
Let not any day pass over your heads without some portion of the Bible,
some subject of divine revelation, being brought distinctly to your view.
The exercise will interfere with none of your earthly duties, but will
help you in the performance of them all; will smooth whatever there be of
ruggedness in your way; will strengthen you in the hour of temptation,
and comfort you in perplexity and trouble. Many an encouraging promise
and many an enlivening assurance will recur to your memory; and “a word
in season how good is it:” examples of suffering and patience, of
striving and perseverance, of warfare and triumph, will kindle in your
breast an emulous ardour, and you will say, ‘By the help of the Lord, I
will “go and do likewise.”’ Thus will the Bible be a never-failing
source of strength and consolation all the day long; as the waters, which
flowed from the flinty rock, accompanied and refreshed the Israelites,
ever and anon, in their journey through the wilderness, so will your
spiritual musings, suggested by the very hardships or troubles of life,
be a perpetual stream of refreshment to your souls, even “in a dry land
thirsty land, where no water is.” {113a}
And by this means you will be preparing and training your souls for a
happier communion with the Saviour in another world; where all the
dealings of His providence, and all the wonders of His grace, will be
more fully and gloriously manifested. And if the heart of the Christian
now burn within him, at the contemplation of heavenly truth and redeeming
love; now, in his frail tenement of clay; how unspeakable will be his
delight, when these things are revealed to his pure spirit, in the realms
of perfection and bliss. Then will he know more of “the love of Christ
which passeth knowledge;” then will he see more of “the length and
breadth and depth and height” {113b} of the mystery of mercy; he will see
God “face to face” and “know even as he is known.”
SERMON VII.
IF THEY HEAR NOT MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
LUKE xvi. 31.
_If they hear not Moses and the Prophets_, _neither will they be
persuaded_, _though one rose from the dead_.
LET us advert to the occasion on which these words were delivered, to the
parable of which they form a part. The case there presented to us by the
description of the rich man is unhappily of frequent occurrence in every
age. Surrounded by all the luxuries that wealth could furnish, he looked
for nothing beyond them: how many fellow mortals there were near his
dwelling, deprived of the necessities, while he was revelling in the
superfluities of life, was no care, no consideration of his; the selfish
enjoyment of this world entirely absorbed his affections, and threw a
veil over all expectation of a world to come: satisfied, that he had
“goods laid by for many years,” he imagined that he had nothing to do,
but to “eat, drink, and be merry.”
But such ignorance and insensibility did not prevent him from being
called to account; such forgetfulness of his latter end did not retard
the evil day. He died—and was buried, we may conclude, with costly
preparation answerable to the splendour in which he had lived. This
however, was the last service which his riches were able to render him;
and melancholy it was, when contrasted with the state, in which his soul
was existing, while his treasures were employed in doing honour to the
lifeless body. He found in that state, what he might have discovered
before, that riches, if selfishly employed in purposes of vanity and
pleasure, are a deadly snare; that earthly indulgences, if pursued with
excess, to the neglect of duty towards God and man, instead of being a
blessing, are paving the way to misery; he found, “what an evil and
bitter thing it is,” to squander the favours of heaven without
remembering “the author and giver of every good gift.”
Perceiving therefore, by sad experience, his own deplorable condition, he
is represented as being moved with a feeling of pity for his brethren:
his first anxiety, indeed, was naturally for himself—for some
alleviation, at least, of the wretchedness of his fate; but when he was
informed that such desire was fruitless, that even the assuagement of his
pain was impossible, that there was no means of conveying even a drop of
water to cool the thirst upon his tongue, that the great gulf was finally
and irremoveably fixed, he then hoped that something might be done for
his brethren who were still surviving; they had not yet passed the
boundary of life and grace; and therefore he entreats that, while the
far-spent day was shining upon them, Lazarus might be despatched from his
abode of bliss, to warn them of the untimely end to which they were
hastening; and induce them effectually to repent before “the night should
come, in which no man can work.” {117a}
Abraham’s answer is, “they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear
_them_.” A messenger from the court of heaven could tell them nothing
new; they are already acquainted with their duty and the consequences of
neglecting it: Jehovah has revealed unto them His blessed will, and
clearly made known what is required of them, “to do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with their God.” {117b} His covenant with
their fathers, and the promulgation of His law, have been attested by a
series of signal miracles, which they do not pretend to dispute; and in
every page of their history are recorded God’s promised blessings to the
good, and the execution of His vengeance upon the evil; and, therefore,
in as far as knowledge is concerned, they have all the intelligence that
can be desired.
But the wretched man, in the agony of his own feelings, and the earnest
desire to preserve his family from such woe, still pursues his request.
“Nay, father Abraham;” but, though they have neglected the ordinary calls
of heaven, assuredly, if so astonishing an admonition were granted to
them, as that of one risen from the dead, they would be thereby persuaded
to repent. Then follows the answer of the text, “If they hear not Moses
and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from
the dead.” And thus the conference ended.
From this conclusion of the parables two important observations may be
drawn _first_, that if men fail to be convinced and converted, to be led
to their God and their duty, by those sufficient means of grace which are
already vouchsafed to them, they would not be likely to yield to any
extraordinary means; and, _secondly_, that no such additional means are
to be expected.
1. In all cases of spiritual and practical unbelief, in all cases where
the declarations of the Almighty are disregarded, the fault lies not so
much in the understanding as in the heart. The revelations of heaven are
at variance with those interests and pursuits, which the heart is
inclined and resolved to retain; and on this account, and by this means,
the mind is prejudiced and set against such revelations, and they are not
fully and implicitly believed. They call men to the love and practice of
holiness, to which our degenerate nature is averse; the pleasures of sin
are preferred, and the voice of God is unheeded: they teach us, that all
earthly objects and possessions, in themselves, are vain, and call us to
prepare for an everlasting inheritance above; the sensual and
worldly-minded think and feel, that “it is good for them to be here,” and
are not disposed to place their affections upon the promise of an
hereafter. We none of us professedly disbelieve the revelation of
heaven, any more than the brethren of the rich man did; and therefore I
need not stay to argue the point on that ground. The doctrine before us
is this, that men, professing to believe, to have received abundant
evidence of the truth, and yet refusing to act upon that belief, would
not be induced so to act, by any violent appeal to their senses or
natural powers, even though it were the work of a divine interposition in
their behalf.
What do we believe? That, after this life, which experience tells us
must soon terminate, and which may, at any moment, be unexpectedly and
suddenly brought to a close, we shall immediately enter upon another and
an eternal state of being; and that our condition, in the endless life to
come, will be happy or miserable, according to the manner in which we
have passed our short pilgrimage upon earth, whether in a belief of the
gospel or in unbelief; in obedience or disobedience; in holiness or sin.
Now, if we really and vitally believe these truths, their importance is
so striking, that nothing could possibly suggest to the mind a weightier
consideration. And if these truths be only superficially credited, it
must be owing to some corrupt and perverted affections, which throw a
veil over the understanding, and render it proof against all moral means
of conviction. Perhaps some strange and startling occurrence, such as
the re-appearance of a friend from the dead, might forcibly affect the
imagination for a time; and, filling us with alarm and apprehension,
might fill us also with vehement resolutions of amendment: but the
imagination is a weak principle to build upon; the impressions it
receives are commonly very transient; they gradually wear away on the
presentation of fresh images, in our commerce with the world: and if
there be not a solid spiritual conviction, in the mind and heart, of the
awful realities of an hereafter, if the conviction does not rest upon the
divine evidence accorded by the Spirit and the word of God, the effects
of sudden surprise or consternation will soon vanish away; the latent
dispositions of the soul will break forth again; the old habits, of
recklessness and evil, be reassumed; the world again victorious.
For the truth of these things, I appeal, if not to yourselves, (as in
many instances, I reasonably may) but if not, to those around you. How
many examples have occurred, within the compass of your own experience,
of extraordinary visitations having produced but a very short-lived
influence upon the heart and character? How often have we seen the
careless awakened by an alarming sickness, by an approach of the king of
terrors, (which can hardly be supposed less convincing than an angel from
heaven, or a spirit from the blest), and yet awakened only to return, on
the removal of danger, to the slumbers of insensibility and sin. The
solemn promises, which the terrified sinner made to his friends, his
minister, and his God, were but the offspring of fear; the creatures of
imagination; born only for the moment; soon disappearing, when the crisis
was past.
And when the stroke of death has actually fallen upon a relative or
friend, we have sometimes seen it overwhelm the soul of a heedless
survivor, and bring him to himself, to serious thought and repentance; he
began to sit loose to the remaining interests of life; he looked with
anxiety to the world unknown, and formed resolutions of devoting his
years to a constant provision for futurity; but all to no ultimate
purpose; the subject had sued for his attention before, and been
rejected. When his affections have had time to cool, he finds that no
new importance has really been given to the truth; the evidences of it
rest as they did; others have lost friends as well as he; it is the
common lot of mortality; and he cannot keep alive the impression for
ever; the world must be attended to; and one object after another
continues to gain an ascendancy, till his new-born hopes and fears are
extinct; till his principles and conduct and views return to their old
level, from which they will in future become the more difficult to be
raised.
It is unnecessary for me to insist, that this is no ideal picture, drawn
for the mere occasion of placing the subject in a strong light; your own
acquaintance with the world may furnish you with living resemblances of
it; and it is unhappily the lot of Christian Ministers, who have more
frequent opportunity of witnessing such impressions, to observe, in the
end, their repeated and lamentable failure; to perceive how far they fall
short of lasting conviction and salvation.
Well, therefore, in the affectionate and faithful discharge of our duty,
may we call upon our hearers to weigh, in the dispassioned hours of
health and tranquillity, the nature and the moment of those divine
truths, which the gospel clearly reveals unto man; to judge rightly and
truly of their everlasting import; and to embrace them, from the
undeniable evidence already presented, with all the heart and all the
soul. We call, however, upon our hearers, not as if the vital impression
depended upon themselves alone, upon the exercise of their own judgment
or the workings of their own conscience. We call upon them to pray for,
and be guided by, the mighty operation of the Spirit of God: He is ever
ready to enlighten and instruct and quicken and determine them; giving us
His grace, “that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we
have that good will.” {125} Listen to His teaching; obey His godly
motions; follow up the convictions which He brings to the mind and heart.
Light enough is perpetually given, to guide you into all truth; live in
the light; walk in the light.
Thus, indeed, every additional admonition, which a gracious God may be
pleased to vouchsafe unto us, will be turned to good account; our faith
will be confirmed, our affections purified, our knowledge increased, our
resolutions strengthened and settled; “unto him that hath, shall more be
given;” the sincere and pious believer will advance, at every call, a
step nearer to his Saviour and his God; the still small voice of heavenly
warning will be heard, even amidst the ordinary occurrences of life; the
wonderful dealings of providence and the manifold means of grace will be
turned to godly account; the instructions and examples of the living, and
the contemplation of the saints at rest, will alike afford materials for
spiritual edification. But if the great call to liberty and life be
habitually neglected, to liberty from sin and shame, and life to holiness
and glory, then the mind and heart are not in a condition to take
advantage of occasional excitement; it strikes, but it does not overcome;
it rouses, but the stupor returns.
2. Proceed we now to the second observation which may be drawn from the
text, that when men reject the abundant evidence of truth, and the
gracious invitations of heaven already given, when they have resisted the
strivings of the Spirit of God, they are not to expect Him to deviate
from the ordinary rules of His providence and grace, for the sake of
removing their wilful blindness, and overcoming their perverseness and
obstinacy.
It is a part of the divine economy, in the salvation of man, that he
should of his own free will, by the grace of God preventing and
assisting, “refuse the evil and choose the good:” and therefore man is
not to expect from the Almighty any such interference in his favour, as
might absolutely overrule his will, and compel him to hearken and obey.
God’s infinite mercy is sufficiently manifested in His offer and promise
to save those rebellious sinners, who listen to the teaching of His
Spirit, who are willing to be saved in His own appointed way. To save
those who quench the light afforded them, who discover no such
willingness, who unthankfully turn away and refuse the inestimable gift
presented to them, would be in direct opposition to the whole tenour of
the word of God. And experience concurs with Scripture to inform us,
that no such extraordinary interposition is generally vouchsafed. The
Jews, in our Saviour’s time, had read of the miracles of Moses and the
prophets, professed to credit their inspiration, and their mission from
on High; they had seen the astonishing miracles of Christ Himself; and
might, if they would, have perceived the fulfilment of their prophecies
in Him; many of them were eyewitnesses to the signs and wonders attendant
upon His crucifixion; to the earthquake, and the supernatural darkness,
and the rending of the veil of their temple; nor could they deny His
resurrection from the dead. Against all this body of evidence, against
all the means of conviction, they persevered in their rejection of Him.
And the time came, when no further testimonial was to be granted; they
were left “to fill up the measure of their fathers;” they died in their
sins.
In addition to all these opportunities and advantages afforded to the
Jew, we enjoy, at this day, the fulness of the manifestation of the
gospel; the real nature of the Messiah’s kingdom is clearly and
completely revealed unto us; the blessings of the gospel are set before
us, in the most conspicuous and glorious light; we have all the
certainty, which mortals can have, of a world to come; all the knowledge
which our imperfect faculties could receive, of the nature of that world;
and all the means of grace and hopes of glory. And if by all these
mercies we are not convinced and persuaded, we can have no right or
reason to look for any preternatural or overpowering interposition, even
from the goodness and long-suffering of God. Rather may we fear that
judicial infatuation, so frequently alluded to in Scripture, of the
closed eye, the dull ear, and the gross obdurate heart. O let the
sinner, instead of flattering himself with the delusion, that some
extraordinary thing will one day be happening to him, which shall
disengage him from earth, and fix his thoughts on heaven and eternity, O
let him rather apprehend that the time is approaching, when the measure
of his iniquity shall be filled up, and God will be no longer found.
I am not asserting, that such signal interferences have never been
vouchsafed; that such loud awakenings have never been successful: I mean,
that they are not in the ordinary course of divine providence, and are
not to be expected. I mean to say, that where the grace of the gospel is
continually resisted in the heart and life, the careless recusant is
seldom reclaimed through the medium of any extraordinary visitation;
whether of sickness, of accident, or any terrible calamity. The man, who
entrusts his soul to the hope and operation of such occurrences, is
placing it in imminent jeopardy. Whoever will save his soul alive, let
him, without delay, “seek the Lord, while He may be found, and call upon
Him while He is near;” {130a} peradventure God may “laugh at his
calamity, and mock when his fear cometh.” {130b}
And in other ways also does the same evil principle work, the same evil
habit of “resisting the grace of God:” many persons, who express
themselves thoroughly convinced of the truth of the christian revelation,
and the absolute necessity of a spiritual obedience and a holy walking
with God, put off their work of righteousness, from year to year, in the
hope, not of any great or appalling event, but that some new
circumstances may arise, which shall make it more convenient for them to
renounce the world, and attend, without let or hindrance, to the
salvation of their souls; they will have gained a sufficiency of earthly
comforts, or they will be tired of the world; they will be growing old
and feeble, and naturally more inclined to think of heavenly things. But
this is only the same temptation as the former, presented in another
shape; the “convenient season” is hoped for in vain; Satan never suffers
us to be without a hindrance, real or imaginary; our attachment to the
world does not wear off; we grow older without growing more religious,
without drawing nearer to God; and we never are, it is impossible we
should be, _naturally_ disposed to “turn and seek after Him:” thus the
delusion goes on; and we “will not be persuaded;” and thus, too
frequently, the “expectation cometh utterly to an end for evermore.”
There is no trusting to anything, but the _present_ conviction and
determination, but the instant and unreserved “obedience of the heart
unto righteousness;” “to-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your
hearts.” {132}
In conclusion, I call upon you to think on the condition of the rich man
in torment. His anxiety for a special interference in behalf of his
brethren is represented as useless to _them_, but it may be salutary to
_us_: It may assure us of the wretchedness of that place, to which he was
condemned; may incline us, by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, to
value and improve His gracious gifts, while they are mercifully bestowed;
may determine us, while we have the all-sufficient light of the gospel,
to be guided thereby into the way of peace; we may learn from this awful
lesson, that if (God forbid that it should be so) but _if_ any of us
should be similarly doomed, we shall mourn for ourselves, and be anxious,
that the companions we have left may be our companions no more; let us
take heed for ourselves, and be anxious for one another in time, while
the heed and anxiety may be crowned with success; may lead us to seek and
find God’s favour and mercy, and so “escape from the wrath to come.”
SERMON VIII.
PERFECT LOVE CASTETH OUT FEAR.
1 JOHN iv. 18.
_There is no fear in love_, _but perfect love casteth out fear_:
_because fear hath torment_; _he that feareth is not made perfect in
love_.
OF all the sources of happiness, which the merciful God has opened to us,
the most pure and abundant are the feelings of affection and love. I
appeal, for the truth of this, not to the understandings, but to the
hearts of those that hear me; and they will at once testify, unless
corrupted and perverted by selfish or vicious habits, that such, even
with regard to earthly happiness, is undoubtedly the fact. Persons
indeed of inferior principle, of irregular and irreligious lives,
frequently draw from this source the most considerable portion of their
pleasure, whatever abatements it may receive from their sin and folly:
and when the passions are attempered, and the affections purified and
exalted, by the influence of our holy religion, by the refining energy of
the spirit of God, the delight naturally and necessarily becomes
proportionably greater. “To love one another” is not only our first
earthly duty, as injoined by the Saviour, but also our highest interest
and advantage, as contributing to the happiness of all.
If then so much enjoyment is derived by mankind from the exercise of
mutual love, how much more from the love of God—the pure, the gracious,
the ever blessed God; “who loadeth us with His benefits;” who made us
what we are, and gave us what we have; who created us for His glory, who
redeemed us from sin and death, who sanctifieth all that trust in Him,
that they may be happy for ever: in a word, whose goodness to us knows no
bounds, but those which are set by our own perverseness and ingratitude.
Almighty and most merciful Father, “whom have I in heaven but Thee? and
there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.” {136} “Graft in our
hearts the love of Thy name;” we cannot love Thee as Thou hast loved us;
but give us the grace to love Thee with holy sincerity; with that devout
and reverent affection, which shall render all other objects of desire
comparatively indifferent to us, and make us satisfied with Thy favour,
whatever else we want; which shall calm our apprehensions, when we think
of an hereafter; and allay the uneasiness which arises in our breasts,
when we reflect upon Thine infinite holiness, and our own degenerate
condition.
Perhaps it may be imagined, that this is a state of blessedness
attainable by few, if any, upon earth: some may urge the text against us,
and say that this blessedness is promised only to perfect love, which
mortals can never hope to attain; and that it is inconsistent with those
numerous passages of Scripture, which admonish us of the necessity of
fear; that in the admirable collect of our Church for this day, {137} we
are instructed to pray for “a perpetual fear and love of God’s holy
name.” How then can we possess the love which casteth out fear? I will
endeavour to reply to these observations; and pray God that we may all
derive, from the consideration of this subject, a more true and lively
and abiding sense of the nature and necessity of that love towards Him,
which, as His adopted children and the inheritors of His kingdom, we are
absolutely bound to entertain.
Unquestionably true it is, that the fear of God is, and ever has been,
indispensable to all His faithful servants; as well under the mild
dispensation of the gospel, as under the severer discipline of the law.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” {138a} “Surely his
salvation is nigh them that fear Him.” {138b} “Unto you that fear my
name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise, with healing in His wings.”
{138c} And accordingly the Apostle observes, “In every nation, he that
feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” {138d}
“His mercy is on them that fear Him, from generation to generation.”
{138e} But what is the nature of this fear? It is not a slavish
principle, not a disturbing and distressful feeling. It consists in an
awful sense of God’s glorious perfections; of His divine Majesty,
unspotted purity, infinite knowledge and power; of His presence pervading
every part of the creation, even the very mind of every intellectual
being; such a sense, as to fill us with the deepest humility, perceiving
ourselves unworthy even to stand in the sight of Him, “who is of purer
eyes than to behold iniquity;” such a sense, habitually impressed upon
the heart, as inclines and constrains us to “follow the good” which He
loves, and “depart from the evil” which He abhors.
And this principle is plainly and entirely consistent with the sincerest
love: our love indeed is powerfully increased by the reflection, that our
heavenly Father, of whose attributes we form conceptions so awful and
sublime, should condescend to bestow such regard upon His frail and
fallen, His disobedient and rebellious children; it may teach us to
exclaim with the liveliest emotions of gratitude, as well as with humble
adoration and astonishment, “Lord, what is man that Thou art mindful of
him, and the son of man that Thou visitest him?” {139} Good reason,
therefore, had the framers of our Liturgy, for directing us to implore
the united influence of a perpetual fear and love of God’s holy name.
But the fear spoken of in the text is of another kind; it relates to
uneasy and distressful apprehensions respecting our acceptance with God;
to a feeling of doubt and distrust, whether we are, in deed and in truth,
partakers of the gracious promises of the gospel; whether we are living
in a state of reconciliation with God; whether we have within us that
earnest of the Holy Spirit, which is the pledge and seal of our
redemption; whether, in a word, we are objects of God’s favour here, and
have a well-grounded hope of his mercy hereafter.
That this is the state of mind represented to us by the beloved Apostle,
is clear from his own reasoning; “for fear,” says he, “hath torment:” now
the fear of God, as above described, has no torment at all; it makes us
humble, and fills as with reverential awe, but it tends to comfort and
peace. We could not entirely love a Being, whose manifestation inspired
us with terror and dismay; and this is the very reason why many, when
they come seriously to consider their condition, are filled with
confusion and alarm; because they do not love God in sincerity and truth:
their affections have been set on the world; and therefore their title to
salvation, upon the terms proposed to them in the gospel, is clearly
insufficient; they have served other masters, and have reason to tremble
for their reward from the great Lord and Master in heaven; they have
employed their talents for other purposes, than those for which they were
committed, and therefore, when they think of making up their accounts,
their lord presents himself as “an austere man,” exacting more than they
will be able to render: no man can heartily love God, without an entire
obedience of the heart; this they have never shewn, and therefore have
never loved Him: how then can they expect His favour; how can they
reflect upon their condition with composure and comfort?
Truly is it said, that such fear hath torment; for of all the uneasiness
which the mind can suffer here, the most painful is that, which is
produced from an apprehension of “the terrors of the Lord;” better not to
have known the greatness of the salvation promised, than to neglect the
means of securing it; better not to have heard of an hereafter, than to
have a reasonable dread upon the spirits, what that hereafter shall be.
They who have greater cause for fear than for hope, must, if they are
given to meditate and look forward, find it cast a dismal shade over
every scene and prospect of life; they may contrive to drown their
serious thoughts, in the midst of worldly pursuits and intemperate
pleasures; but this is only for the passing hour; they cannot possibly
think, that their condition is thus really improved. But why take so
much pains to mitigate or conceal a misery, which it is in our power, by
God’s gracious mercy, effectually to prevent? Escape from these torments
of the conscience by a sincere devotedness to the service of your
Almighty Father, in the gospel of His beloved Son; by cherishing in the
heart that “perfect love for Him, which casteth out fear.”
Yet is this possible, it may be said, for weak and imperfect man? Is it
not rather a state at which we should aim, than one at which we can ever
hope to arrive? Certainly the imperfect creature can never attain to
actual perfection in any moral or spiritual duty; but his will and desire
may be perfect, though his service is not; and in this sense, the duty of
perfect love is equally binding upon all believers. It is a very common
persuasion, and dangerous as it is common, that the standard of christian
duty is raised much higher in the gospel, than it is necessary for the
generality of Christians even to think of reaching; that some of the
commands, there given, are intended only for the chosen few, more eminent
than the rest of mankind in spiritual attainments; and thus too many
professing disciples of our Lord, imagining themselves not bound by such
extensive obligations, are content with measures of obedience, infinitely
less than those, which are positively required; content with a state of
heart and life, far short of that, which the gospel recognises and
injoins. But this is a mere delusion, to suit the wayward fancy and the
corrupt inclination of man: where do we read in the Bible of such
limitations and exceptions? Where do we find one set of rules for
eminent Christians, and another for Christians in general? Are not all
its precepts, and all its principles, and all its instructions, of
universal obligation? When the Saviour promised His divine blessings to
“the poor in spirit,” to them that “hunger and thirst after
righteousness,” to “the pure in heart;” were the conditions intended only
for the disciples around Him on the mount? Were they not also designed
for His followers in every age? And when the Lord commanded Moses to
“speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto
them, Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy,” {144} does the
precept concern only the people of old? Is it not equally applicable to
Christians? Yea, it is urged upon us all by the mouth of an Apostle.
{145} The same is true of every spiritual doctrine, every moral command
recorded in the Book of Life: there is no means of grace, no measure of
obedience ordained, which a Christian can safely neglect.
Whatever, therefore, be meant in the text by _perfect_ love, that love it
is the bounden and necessary duty of us all to attain and to cherish.
And what is really meant by this expression, may be most readily and
fully understood from a precept of the divine law, as confirmed and
enforced by our blessed Redeemer; “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with
all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength.” This
is the love described in the text; perfect in _kind_, as admitting of no
rival principle, of no competition with “the world or the things that are
in the world,” with any or all of them together; imperfect in _degree_,
on account of the infirmity of our faith, of the weakness and corruption
of human nature.
We cannot be at a loss to understand this distinction; yet it may be
further illustrated by an example from ordinary life. The most
affectionate and dutiful child will fail occasionally to please and obey
its parent; but there will be a constant desire and endeavour to please:
to have excited the parent’s displeasure, will bring uneasiness and
sorrow; and therefore the violations of duty will be neither wilful nor
habitual. And this sincere affection, for a kind and good parent, never
ceases to produce delight; the child indeed, feeling so much respect and
reverence, will be afraid of offending, afraid of the unworthiness,
afraid of the dishonour; yet the service of obedience is rendered from
choice, and not from constraint; with emotions of joy, with a grateful
endearment of soul: slavish terror there is none; it is banished by the
overpowering principle of love.
The case is similar, with respect to the love of God: whoever, from a
sense of the relationship which he is privileged to bear to the almighty
and gracious Creator; whoever, from a contemplation of the high and holy
perfections of the Godhead; whoever, from a perception of the divine
goodness and mercy, does truly love the great and glorious Lord of all,
will constantly delight to serve Him; sensible indeed of his manifold
weaknesses and deficiencies, and thereby brought to grieve, and rendered
the more fearful to offend; but still entertaining no doubt, that his
services, imperfect and unworthy as they are, are accepted at the throne
of grace, through the merits of his Redeemer, and as the fruit of faith
in His prevailing name. For no earthly consideration would he exchange
this heavenly joy and satisfaction; and no earthly event or dispensation,
however afflicting, can drive him even to distrust, much less to despair.
Though nature feels her bereavements and her troubles, his faith is
strong; and it assures him, that the very chastisements of the Lord are
inflicted in mercy. “Who,” says the Apostle, “shall separate us from the
love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.” {148}
In speaking, however, of the holy confidence, with which we are inspired
by the sincere love of God, far would I be, as far as possible, from
confounding it with that self-sufficient and presumptuous tone into which
some persons have been unbecomingly betrayed, when describing their
spiritual condition. Humility is the foundation of the Christian’s
confidence: he trusts, only because he is “strong in the lord, and in the
power of His might;” he is sufficient, only because “all his sufficiency
is of God.” And the purer his love, and the higher his attainments, the
more humbly and modestly does he speak of them: he talks not of
certainty, “as if he had already attained,” but delights himself with
“full assurance of faith,” {149a} with “full assurance of hope;” {149b}
his is not an extravagant joy, proceeding from the arrogant assertion of
an elective claim, but a holy tranquillity of soul, arising from faith in
the Redeemer’s undeserved mercy; from unfeigned love to the most
benevolent and perfect Being; and reposing itself upon the unchangeable
promises of Jehovah.
We do not question, my brethren, the claims of Almighty God to our
perfect love. Is He not our Creator? and could He have formed us with
any other design, than to make us happy? If reason could have doubted
this truth, revelation makes it clear. And are we not preserved, every
moment of our lives, by His infinite wisdom and mercy and power? And
though we are forgetful of His sustaining hand, still He feeds us with
the bounties of nature; and invites us to partake of the riches of His
grace. What are the greatest blessings, which a human being, which any
creature could possibly desire? To be delivered from evil, and to enjoy
everlasting good. And did not the adorable Son of God take upon him the
infirmities and sufferings of our mortal state, to redeem us from misery,
and exalt us even to glory? And does not the Holy Spirit condescend to
dwell in our tabernacles of flesh, that He may cleanse us from every
sinful defilement, “purify unto Himself a peculiar people zealous of good
works,” {150a} and make us “meet to be partakers of the inheritance of
the saints in light?” {150b} Could we, even if we had been worthy, have
desired, have imagined for ourselves, blessings so great and favours so
exalted, as those which the good and gracious God is showering down upon
us? Shall we not then be inclined, from every consideration, shall we
not be determined, by God’s grace, to love this heavenly benefactor with
all our heart—from a principle of gratitude; from an admiration of divine
perfection; from the inspiring hope and prospect of our eternal
salvation? Yes, let us give unto Him, not that divided affection, which
is the vain offering of a degenerate and degraded world; but the full and
unreserved energies of the soul. If a portion of our heart be engrossed
by any other object, we are not the true people of the Lord; we render
Him not a reasonable or acceptable service; our love is embittered with
fear; with a fear that has, and will have, torment. Lord, let our
affections be altogether devoted unto Thee; pour Thy spirit of love into
our hearts, for the sake of Him “who loved us and gave Himself for us;”
we cannot love Thee here upon earth as we would do, but be pleased to
accept what Thou enablest us to give, the tribute of a sincere heart; and
let it be to us a never-failing source of humble confidence and holy
comfort; so that we may anticipate the joyful hour, when we shall be
removed, from this imperfect state of being, to a purer and happier
world; where, with affections exalted and understandings enlarged, we
shall render Thee a more delightful and laudable service; with angels and
archangels, and all the company of heaven.
“God is love;” and when the veil of the flesh is laid aside, and we are
admitted into His glorious presence, “we shall be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is;” {152} then will our felicity be complete, complete for
ever; then, in the fullest sense of the words, we shall be “made perfect
in love.” Here then, without a question, our true happiness lies; here
is our all: let us pray that we may never lose sight of it; that the
desire, now kindled, may never be extinguished; that every “heart may
there be fixed, where true joys are to be found, through Jesus Christ our
Lord.”
SERMON IX.
HUMBLE YOURSELVES UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD.
1 PETER v. 6.
_Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God_, _that He may exalt
you in due time_.
THERE is nothing, which more peculiarly marks the character of the
faithful Christian, than the manner in which he submits himself to the
appointments and dispensations of his God. The worldly and carnal spirit
either frets and repines under the visitations of misfortune, or is
disconsolate and cast down; or, at the best, bears up with a mere animal
fortitude against them: it finds no comfort to flee unto, but such as is
afforded by the vain world, in which it has already met with vexation und
disappointment; and if the world is unable to secure a continuance in
prosperity, still less is it able to provide a refuge in the dismal days
of sorrow.
So lamentably indeed has this truth been experienced by many, that they
have been driven to the fallacious and fatal expedient of attempting at
once to drown their cares in intemperance; they have found nothing in the
world sufficient to satisfy their reason, or to soothe their irritated
feelings; and therefore have destroyed their faculties, that they might
not reflect; and cut short the thread of that life, which they imagined
themselves unequal to support: and some indeed have had recourse to a
more speedy and awful means of delivering themselves from the burden of
mortification and grief; ill prepared as they were, their own hand of
violence has hurried them into the presence of their Judge. And even
they, who have been preserved from these most miserable extremities, have
sufficiently testified by their conduct, that the world has nothing
satisfactory to offer, for the healing of a wounded spirit, or the
removal of a load of sorrow.
Religion, the religion of the gospel, is the only source from which true
comfort or support can possibly be drawn; and we see her triumphs
manifested in the most blessed and remarkable manner when the faithful
servant of God is overwhelmed with trouble; we perceive his mind in a
state of tranquillity, under a conviction, that the Lord “doeth all
things well;” and remembereth mercy, no less in chastisement, than in the
time of prosperity; his unquiet emotions are subdued into holy subjection
to the divine will; his affections are set the more earnestly on things
above; the vanities of earth have lost their hold; and there ariseth in
the heart that “peace of God, which passeth all understanding.”
They who have been much conversant with scenes of sickness or of sorrow,
cannot fail to have observed the truth of these remarks, to have been
struck with the vast difference in the behaviour of men, in proportion as
they have imbibed the true spirit and principle of the gospel. Some we
have seen dismayed, disturbed, and restless; with nothing in their
countenance, but vexation or anguish; others, cheerfully bearing up under
the evils which have befallen them; and, by their expressions of joyful
resignation, delighting and comforting the friends, who were shedding
over them the tears of sympathy; the power of the word of God, the “joy
of the Holy Ghost” has been visible in their very features. Those
persons, who have beheld such an example, have been favoured with an
instructive lesson, which they should “grave on the tablet of their
heart;” a lesson teaching them, faithfully and forcibly, where to look
for aid in the reverses and afflictions of life.
Yet, in order to lead us more effectually to cultivate, and to reap the
benefit of, this heavenly frame of mind, let us now consider the bearing
of the apostolic charge in the text, “Humble yourselves under the mighty
hand of God.” Here we may discover powerful reasons intimated, why we
should bring ourselves into a state of entire submission to the divine
will, and rest satisfied and resigned under every dispensation. The hand
of God is mighty: He is the sovereign Lord of all; has an absolute right
to dispose of His creatures, according to His good pleasure; and is alone
able both to know and to do, what their several necessities require.
They, therefore, who profess themselves His people, are bound, by that
very profession, unreservedly to submit to His sovereign disposal: “Shall
the clay say to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou? O Lord, Thou
art our Father, we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we all are the
work of Thy hand.” {158} He who created, He who redeemed us, He to whom
alone we can look for sanctification and life, should and will maintain
the dominion over us: He that gave us our being, must be able, and cannot
be unwilling, to “give us all things needful both for our souls and
bodies.” We understand not how He formed us from the dust of the earth;
so neither can we understand the methods of His providence; but, as “the
life is more than meat,” so may we trust His goodness and His power, to
preserve, in the best and wisest manner, the being of those, who seek His
protection and submit to His government. A wise son yields to an
affectionate father, even in points where he cannot comprehend the entire
wisdom of his discipline and correction; yields, not only because
experience has taught him the benefit of subjection, but also for the
sake of obedience to a father, who is entrusted with the guidance of him,
and has a right to be obeyed; much more should we, the adopted children
of the Most High, bow with meekness and reverence before an Almighty and
heavenly Father, though we altogether comprehend not the purpose of the
trials, which He bringeth upon us: they are chastisements of mercy, of
whatever kind they be, and moreover are ordained by Him, who has the
entire undisputed right of dominion over us.
Another consideration here suggested is, that all resistance is vain;
“the mighty hand of God” is uncontrollable. Utterly weak and fruitless
were all the assembled powers of the universe, combined against His wall:
what can a frail creature do, child of the dust, akin to the worm? If
God strikes, who shall stay or avoid the blow? Whatever visitation He is
pleased to send, to a family or to an individual—of sickness, of
calamity, of death—there is no keeping it out of the dwelling; it may be
softened by resignation, it may be removed, and even blessed, by prayer;
but we cannot hinder the accomplishment of God’s will. In the language
of the pious Hannah, “The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down
to the grave and bringeth up—He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and
lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and
to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth
are the Lord’s, and He hath set the world upon them. He will keep the
feet of His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by
strength shall no man prevail.” {161a}
Yes truly; the afflicting hand of God is mighty in operation, both to the
wicked and the good; the former are constrained to feel, though they will
not heartily or practically acknowledge, that there is no dependence to
be placed on the schemes or exertions of man; no trusting, that
“to-morrow will be as this day and much more abundant.” {161b} When
“riches shall have made themselves wings and have flown away;” {161c}
when the favourite or the friend have been cut off; when the bodily frame
is under the influence of alarming disease; then the sinner, if he be not
spiritually humbled, will, at least be made sensible, that there is a
power which can lay him low; the conviction is forced on his mind, though
he may refuse to act upon it; his conscience is smitten, though he will
not obey its emotions; it assures him of the vanity of human devices, of
human dependencies and strength, though it fail to incline him to his
God.
How blessedly different the effect of the mighty hand of God upon the
sincere Christian! Even the heaviest affliction, the most untoward or
adverse occurrence, produces, when he comes to reflect, a salutary
influence on his mind and heart. Perceiving that it is the natural
tendency of a smooth uninterrupted course, to make him rest satisfied
with earthly enjoyments, and draw aside his attention from the sublimer
delights and the more substantial interest of heavenly things, he
acknowledges, not only with acquiescence, but with gratitude, the severer
dispensations of providence; he knows, that his faith must be tried and
his patience made perfect; it is the very object for which he is placed
in this transitory state of existence; he therefore implores his gracious
Father, to sanctify to him the crosses and disappointments below, and
make them minister to the completion of his happiness above; whatever
they are, they are less than his transgressions deserve; whatever they
are, they are “of God’s sending,” to lead him to reflection and
repentance; and very efficacious are they for the fulfilment of this
merciful purpose; perhaps the only means by which he could have been
preserved from falling, amidst the snares and temptations that surround
him. The Christian is ready to confess, and many we have heard with
thankfulness confessing, that of all the mercies received from the hands
of God, the most distinguished, because the most effectual for his
salvation, are the vicissitudes and troubles of life: how many a sincere
believer, by the discomfiture of his earthly prospects, has been led to
fix his heart more intently and stedfastly, upon the unchangeable
felicity of heaven; how many, at the death of a friend, have sought more
earnestly and experienced more abundantly, “the power of the spirit of
consolation;” and have thereby been led to transfer their affections to
that blessed world, where christian friends shall meet, and never
separate again. How many, by the infirmities of the body, have been
admonished and persuaded to make a better provision for the health and
well-being of the soul! The hand of God has been mightily laid upon
them, to rescue them from the tyranny of sin and Satan, to place them in
the enjoyment of “the perfect law of liberty,” manifested in the gospel;
to save their souls alive.
Let us not regard the various calamities that befal us, of whatever
nature they may be, as the mere result of human design or contingency;
for whether they be occasioned by our own imprudence and neglect, or by
the instrumentality of an evil world, they are permitted and ordained by
a wise and merciful God, to draw us nearer to Himself; to teach us the
utter insufficiency of all earthly interests and possessions; and to
raise our thoughts to the glory of an eternal kingdom. And if we receive
them in a christian spirit, they will never fail to answer their high and
holy purpose. Let us therefore watch and pray, that we may duly consider
every calamitous day as a sacred opportunity, as a season of grace, as
the rod of our Almighty Father to chastise us from sin: let it call us to
deep meditation and contrition, to serious examination of heart; for it
is only by the religious and spiritual observance of such seasons, that
we can ever hope to derive from them improvement and comfort.
Remark and remember the language of the text, “Humble _yourselves_ under
the mighty hand of God;” it is not enough that we be humbled, in a
worldly sense, by the stroke of misfortune; that is a consequence, which
may of necessity ensue: the loss of possession may drive us into needy
solitude; the loss of health destroy our energy and activity; the loss of
reputation bring us to shame; the loss of friends oblige us to mourn,
from the very feelings of nature; but all this while, there may be no
humility of heart, no self-abasement, no voluntary humiliation under “any
of the dispensations of heaven:” the “hand of God hath touched us;” but
we may not, nevertheless, be vitally touched ourselves, with a proper
sense of the trials, which He has called us to endure: we must fall low
before His footstool; we must bend our knees in humble fervent prayer; we
must implore the aid of His Holy Spirit, to open our understandings, that
we may perceive the graciousness of His dealings with us; and to enlarge
our hearts, that we may take the full benefit of His “loving correction;”
we must unfeignedly and fully confess, on our own part, that unworthiness
and iniquity, which excited God’s displeasure, and required His
afflicting visitation; and that mercy, on God’s part, which seeketh to
reclaim us from error; to “purge our conscience from dead works;” to make
us more alive to the “things which belong unto our peace;” to lead us
from the vanities of time to the momentous realities of eternity.
If we thus improve the sorrowful events that await us, we shall find a
happy deliverance from them all; and it is the only possible means, by
which we can be happily delivered: this the text implies; “Humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, _that He may exalt you_;” that
you may thus be rendered meet to partake of His mercy; that He may visit
and comfort you in your low estate; and make it instrumental to your
spiritual exaltation. If you murmur or complain, or do but naturally
mourn; if you manifest only the frettings of a worldly disposition and
temper, your case thereby becomes still more grievous and intolerable;
the heart is vexed by its vain and rebellious strivings; “the sorrow of
the world worketh misery and death.” You are thus preventing the
benediction of heaven from descending upon you; you are closing up the
avenues, through which the grace of God may find its way into the heart;
you are neglecting that remedy, by which alone the stricken soul can be
healed, by which your trouble may be converted into a blessing. Embrace
the proffered means; humble yourself beneath the burden, with “a godly
sorrow,” for the sin that has brought it; bend yourself beneath the storm
of heaven, and the Sun of righteousness will soon shine forth, and cheer
you with His brightest beam; “the God of consolation,” your Redeemer,
your unchangeable friend, “the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever,”
will turn your darkness into light; your “weeping will endure but for a
night, and joy will come in the morning.” {168}
Or, if it be not literally so; if deliverance come not so speedily as you
desire or expect, it will assuredly come in God’s “due time;” He may
wait, to try the strength of your patience and your faith; may seem for a
season, as though He heareth not your prayer; but rest assured, He does
hear, and the answer is preparing: the wise and benevolent author of four
blessings knows best when to bestow them; depend upon His mercy, and
trust Him for the time: the delay will be nothing, as compared with the
comfort when it arrives: the very delay will minister to the fulness of
your joy: you will perceive the truth of the divine character, as drawn
by the pencil of the prophet; you may apply the prophetic description to
yourself; “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great
mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee
for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee,
saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” {169}
God will exalt every humble and faithful servant, in due time, even in
this world; not perhaps to earthly greatness and honour; but, what is
infinitely more important, to the height of His own blessed favour; to
the delight of a peaceful reconciliation with Himself; to the happiness
of an approving conscience; to a “hope full of immortality:” and, after
death, He will crown that hope with a glorious consummation; will exalt
that servant to the skies; far beyond the reach of change, of trouble, or
of fear. The Christian, like the Captain of his Salvation, “will be made
perfect through sufferings;” like Him, when the combat is over, will
receive the crown of glory, and sit down for ever at the right hand of
his Father and his God.
He will then more fully see and admire the gracious dealings of his
merciful God and Saviour; will see, what reason he had to be thankful for
the chastisements of heaven; how they have trained and prepared his soul
for the happiness of the blest; how wonderfully they have ministered to
the fulness of his joy. Bear then patiently; bear, I ought to say,
thankfully, what the Lord layeth upon thee; it is His hand that “worketh
all in all,” His hand of might and mercy. Thou canst not always trace
His designs and operations; if thou couldst, where would be the exercise
of thy faith? But if thou wilt believe and trust Him, if thou wilt bow
and submit, He will thus exalt thee in due time, when thou art ready,
when thy trial is completed, when thy appointed work is done. This is
the seed-time; sow, and thou shalt see it spring up; labour, and wait for
the harvest; “they that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” {171}
SERMON X.
THOU ART THE MAN.
2 SAM. xii. 7.
_And Nathan said to David_, _Thou art the man_.
THE parable, of which these words are a part, is admired, even for its
elegance and simplicity, by every one who is capable of appreciating its
merit. It serves also to illustrate, in the clearest manner, the
advantage of this mode of instruction; which is intended, in the first
place, by a lively representation of the productions of nature, or the
incidents of common life, to convey an adequate notion of a truth or
doctrine in easy and familiar terms; and to leave a more striking
impression of it upon the memory and the heart. The parable has a
further advantage: the instruction it affords is not at once unfolded to
the mind; the attention and the feelings are first awakened, by the
relation of some interesting occurrence, apparently unconnected with the
object in view; by which means, an assent is gained over to the side of
truth, before the understanding has had time to be prejudiced, by the
workings of self-love, or the disinclination to religious admonition.
Such was precisely the case with the parable before us. Had Nathan
addressed to David a direct and formal expostulation, it is probable that
the king would have considered his interference as intrusive and
impertinent; would have either driven him from his presence, or have been
prepared, by some plausible excuse, to cast a veil over the hideousness
of his crimes. But the royal offender, though he could readily palliate
his own atrocity, could not bear to hear of cruelty in another. When it
was reported to him, that there were two men in a city, the one rich and
the other poor; that the rich man, when there came a traveller unto him,
spared to take of the abundance of his own flock, and of his own herd,
and took from the poor man a little ewe lamb, which was all he had in the
world; took it from him under the most affecting circumstances; “for he
had bought and nourished it up, and it grew up together with him and with
his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and
lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.” When the king heard
all this, his feelings were violently excited, “his anger was greatly
kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, as the Lord liveth, the
man that hath done this thing shall surely die.” {174} This was the
moment for making the application: and judge of David’s shame and
confusion of face, on finding that all his pity, and all his anger, and
all his condemnation, had in truth been directed against himself: “Thou
art the man.” He could not help perceiving, that great as was the
cruelty, which he had been reprobating in the case laid before him, he
had been guilty of still greater himself: though he had the whole kingdom
for the exercise of his legitimate choice, he would rather deprive an
humble servant of the only object of his conjugal affection, deprive him,
by becoming, in the first instance, accessary to his murder.
We may here observe, how terrible is the infatuation of sin. It might
have been thought that David, if he had not immediately perceived the
full intention of the prophet in laying this parable before him, would at
least, from an instantaneous recollection of his own notorious guilt,
have treated, with some degree of lenity or forbearance, the barbarity of
which Nathan appeared to be complaining; that he would not so soon have
denounced against a delinquent, so much less heinous than himself, the
utmost severity of punishment. But, as if his own conscience were clear,
he immediately exclaimed against the imagined offender, as a wretch unfit
to live; he does not appear to have been awakened to a sense of his own
crimes, till he heard the overwhelming application, “Thou art the man.”
Such is generally the fascination of sin; it darkens the understanding,
and deadens the conscience, and renders men insensible to their real
condition. It is the great object of the enemy of our souls, an object
in which he too often fatally succeeds, to make us blind, not only to the
heinousness and danger, but also to the very existence of guilt: so that,
however acute we may be in perceiving the transgressions of others, and
however severe in reprobating and condemning them, we are, in very
frequent instances, utterly regardless of our own. Many, it is to be
feared, there are, who persist in a course of sin day after day, and year
after year, without once feeling any lively or serious compunction; while
they have frequently, in that time, been reproachfully animadverting upon
the mote which they have detected in their brother’s eye.
Perhaps of all the temporal consequences of sin, the operation of this
evil habit is one of the most calamitous; for it not only prevents us
from a repentance of the past, but serves as an encouragement to our
reckless perseverance in sin; it destroys the very principle of vital
religion; removing entirely from our hearts the love and fear of God; and
filling us with “envy, hatred, and malice and all uncharitableness.” Let
David’s infatuation be a warning to us, let it induce us to take diligent
heed, lest we be irreclaimably “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin;”
lest the conscience be at length so entirely seared, as to become callous
to the very perception of iniquity; as to make us “call evil good, and
good evil; to put darkness for light, and light for darkness; to put
bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.” {177}
Before, however, we further proceed to the practical inferences which may
be drawn from this subject, it may be proper to notice some irreverent
and reproachful remarks, which have been made on the flagrant crimes of a
person so distinguished as David. Is it possible, some have urged, that
such guilt, and such hardihood in guilt, could have been found in the
“man after God’s own heart?” {178} But this honourable appellation, be
it observed, was given to David, not on account of his moral or spiritual
purity, but on account of the excellence of his character as a king; he
was so named in opposition to Saul, who had acted in wilful disobedience
to the divine commands, and therefore, in the administration of his
government, was not a man after God’s own heart; that is, he did not (as
David did, in this particular,) perform God’s will.
Again, it has been said, could an inspired person possibly fall into such
a complication of evil? Miraculous inspiration, we answer, was not given
to the sacred pen-men, as a certain preservative from the corruption of
sin, but to enable them to reveal the will of God; to guard them, in this
respect, from error; and to “guide them into all truth:” their carnal
appetites and passions were not supernaturally overruled; they still had
their choice between good and evil; though revealing to mankind the holy
law of God, they might themselves neglect the duties which it injoined:
many instances are recorded of the abuse of spiritual gifts, many
examples of their consisting with unholiness and transgression. The very
chief of the apostles intimates to us the personal care and watchfulness
and labour which were necessary, “lest, having preached to others, he
himself should be a castaway.” {179}
Not but that David’s guilt was most deplorably inconsistent with his high
character and office, and was a dishonour to religion itself; I am only
shewing, that it was not incompatible with the appellation which he had
received, and the high and holy functions which he was called to
discharge. And be it remembered, to David’s honour, that though his sin
was aggravated, his confession of it was full and unreserved; that he
most humbly and religiously submitted to the penal retribution of his
offended God; that his repentance was bitter and sincere: it was “a
repentance indeed never afterwards repented of:” continually was his harp
attuned to the bewailing of his own depravity; continually was he
descending from the lofty strains of thanksgiving and joy, and pouring
forth in the abasement of his soul, the doleful notes of mourning and
lamentation.
And, in truth, there was abundant cause; for the crimes of David afford
one of the most melancholy instances of the violation of conscience, of a
departure from the service of the Most High. Let it fill us with
humility and fear. If so eminent a servant of God could fall into such
abominations, how deeply concerned, how “instant in prayer,” how vigilant
and careful should we be, lest our feet be betrayed into evil! We see to
what criminal and dangerous excess human nature may be led, if we fail to
cherish the grace of God; and are abandoned to the government of our own
corrupt desires, and the tyranny of our spiritual adversary. To the
lukewarm and the wavering I need scarcely say, that without greater
seriousness and circumspection, they will assuredly be overthrown: but
let me also admonish the faithful Christian; him, who appears to be
safely pursuing the even tenour of his way; who may be led, by the
regular and habitual discharge of religious duties, into a state of
presumptuous confidence and slumbering security; him I would admonish,
from the instance of David, “that the heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked;” {181a} that it may, when most implicitly
trusted, most dangerously betray; let David teach “him that thinketh he
standeth to take heed lest he fall.” {181b}
Some perverse and worldly-minded persons have made a very different use
of the lamentable case before us; it has encouraged them in wilful
transgression; it has served them as a “cloak for their sin.” Surely,
say they, if David could so flagrantly transgress, how can we be expected
to preserve our integrity? If he was accepted of God, indulgence would
readily be extended to the comparatively trifling offences of inferior
servants. True; we cannot be perfect; we may hope for pardon; but we are
not, on that account, to sin presumptuously; not to offend, because God
is merciful: this did not David. Whoever deliberately sins from the hope
of God’s mercy, is taking the surest was to deprive himself of that
mercy. There is frequently great error in the notion of trifling
offences: no offence is trifling in the sight of an infinitely holy God:
much less any wilful offence. The magnitude of a fault chiefly depends
upon the circumstances under which it is committed; much more readily
could we urge an excuse for him, who is heedlessly or suddenly borne away
by impetuous passion and carnal desire, than for him, who presumes
deliberately to trample upon the law of God, because another has been
forgiven. Shall we thus abuse the mercies of redeeming love? “Shall we
continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that
are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” {183} Would we find the
favour that David did, we must seek it, like him, in the true spirit of
penitence and devotion; we must “confess our wickedness, and be sorry for
our sin:” we must hate the works and workers of iniquity: we must imitate
David, not in his crimes, but in his repentance and reformation.
Let us learn another lesson from the history before us; let it teach us
the importance of being always disposed and ready to receive spiritual
counsel; of being in the habit of applying to ourselves every opportunity
of improvement, with which we may be blessed. Too many, like David, are
extremely backward to receive an intimation of their own errors, and to
avail themselves of the benefit of reproof. They are sufficiently
quick-sighted in discovering the applicability of reproach, to their
neighbour; without even suspecting that it may suit their own case and
condition. How many have acknowledged the propriety and force of
admonitions and rebuke, which they have heard in the house of God,
without ever taking them home to their own breasts; and this undoubtedly
is one cause, why the voice of public instruction produces, in general,
so little effect upon the characters and conduct of men. While they are
pleased to imagine, that the representations and censures of the preacher
are suited to others rather than to themselves, no wonder that they
retain their neglectful, sinful, unprincipled habits, in defiance of
every remonstrance, and every warning. Instead of torturing their
ingenuity, to discover to what particular persons in the congregation a
discourse may be most fitly and beneficially applied, let them rather be
anxious to inquire, how far it may be accommodated to their own case; and
to all those, who presume to make a further inquiry, who are looking
around for the delinquencies of their neighbour, we would say, restrain
thy wandering eye, and look within, “Thou art the man.”
A readiness to take advantage of religious instruction, is one of the
surest evidences of a christian spirit, and one of the greatest blessings
that a Christian can enjoy. It manifests a christian spirit, inasmuch as
it shews an humble sense of our own failings and imperfections, and an
anxious desire to recover from them all; to “grow in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” {185} It is one of the
greatest blessings to the Christian, because there is seldom a day,
seldom an hour that passes, from which he may not derive some spiritual
benefit. While the reckless and self-conceited, who dwell with
complacency upon their state and character, perceive not any counsel
adapted to their wants, the humble-minded are gathering edification from
every thing around them; from all they hear and all they see: doubtless,
it must be so; for how can they, who think themselves whole, discover the
need of a physician, how can they apply a remedy?
Suffer me to entreat you, in conclusion, that whenever you are seriously
impressed with a conviction of evil, or the neglect of any christian
duty, you will carry home the impression, to have its full effect upon
the heart. For want of this care and this habit, many a salutary lesson,
that strikes for the moment, is afterwards thrown away, unheeded and
forgotten: and thus the very means of grace, which are ordained to
recover us from sin, and enable us to “work out our salvation,” become
the instruments of confirming us in error and guilt. The mind, which is
continually accustomed to receive and to neglect religious instruction,
may be thereby brought into a heedless and torpid state, from which it is
well nigh impossible to be roused. Not that any thing “is impossible
with God:” but I appeal to experience, and ask, whether it is not a
notorious matter of fact, that many amongst us have for years uniformly
persevered, in the same neglect of christian duties, the same worldly
principles, the same evil courses, the same habits of intemperance and
licentiousness and profaneness; and it will not be denied, that they
have, in these years, frequently heard the voice of expostulation, and
perceived the justice, the force, and the importance of it. Then why are
they still unreclaimed?—because they have never followed up the
conviction of “Thou art the man.”
God grant, that this admonition may have its full effect upon us; that we
may go and meditate, and pray; pray daily for the blessing of an humble
and a teachable heart; pray for God’s grace, to correct all our sinful
follies, and supply all our deficiencies. Probably, my brethren, we have
been “leaning too little upon the hope of this heavenly grace;” we have
been relying upon our own perception of right and wrong, our own choice
and decision, our own feeble resolutions; if so, no wonder that we have
failed, in our work of repentance and spiritual change. “Turn Thou us
unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned:” {188} here lies our hope and
our strength, in the renewing influence of the Spirit of God. As we do
desire, so let us fervently pray, that we may, in our course of
penitence, imitate the example of the royal psalmist, and let contrition
“have its perfect work;” that we may, here below, with heart and soul,
join in the pious and repentant strains of David’s harp, and thus may be
admitted to sing to other harps hereafter, in the chorus of the Redeemed
above.
SERMON XI.
THE WAY OF THE LORD EQUAL.
EZEK. xviii. 25.
_Ye say_, _the way of the Lord is not equal_. _Hear now_, _O house
of Israel_; _is not my way equal_? _are not your ways unequal_?
THE main purport of this chapter was, to obviate some objections which
had been groundlessly entertained against the dealings of God with His
people. They were at that time suffering in a state of captivity; and
the calamities attendant upon it had been threatened long before, as a
punishment for the sins of their ancestors. The Jews, therefore,
assuming that this was the only cause of divine vengeance; imagining, in
the blindness and pride of their hearts, that there were no delinquencies
of their own to deserve such retribution, presumed to charge the Almighty
with injustice, for this visitation of His wrath.
The prophet, in the opening of the chapter, thus remonstrates with them:
“What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel?”
(concerning the evils with which it is afflicted,) that ye say, in the
language of accusation and reproach, “the fathers have eaten sour grapes
and the children’s teeth are set on edge?”—thereby meaning, that the
present generation are unjustly punished for the transgressions of their
forefathers. “As I live, saith the Lord, ye shall not have occasion to
use this proverb any more in Israel.” I will make so visible a
discrimination between the righteous and the wicked, between those who
tread in the steps of their wicked progenitors, and those who take
warning by their examples, that you shall not have any further occasion
to use this proverb amongst you.
The Jews, in this as in many other instances, misunderstood and perverted
the dispensations of the Most High. God had declared, that He would
“visit the sins of the fathers upon the children,” and that He “would
shew mercy unto thousands of those that loved Him;” from which they
inferred, that worldly calamities, in the one case, and prosperity in the
other, constituted the sole recompence, which they were severally to
expect: they supposed, that when a nation was punished, on account of the
general depravity, no respect was had to the different merits of
individuals, of which that nation consisted; and that, when a people were
prospered and exalted, as the reward of righteousness, they were all, of
necessity, the objects of divine favour. Whereas, these temporal rewards
and punishments formed but a part of the dispensation, under which they
were placed. God had far other means in store, to bless the faithful and
to afflict the transgressor. Under every visitation, His unerring eye
could discern between the evil and the good; the one, however prosperous
in a worldly point of view, He could mortify and humble; and the other,
in whatever evil they might be involved, He could favour and bless.
But there was still another consideration, to which the Jews, though they
practically disregarded it, were specially directed; a consideration,
which might have taught them, how the seeming irregularities, of which
they complained, would be completely rectified; it was that of a final
judgment, of a world to come. Their prophet Isaiah expressly says of the
transgressors, that “their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire
be quenched.” {192a} And Daniel more particularly intimates the awful
difference between the conditions of the righteous and the wicked in a
future state; “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake: some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt.” {192b} But the Israelites “had eyes and saw not, ears and
heard not;” {193a} they listened only the temporal promises of God, and
excluded from their minds the prospect of a final retribution, of a
kingdom to come. The prophet awakens them to this consideration in the
4th verse, “Behold, saith the Lord, all souls are Mine:” as they are all
equally My creatures, so My dealings with them shall be without prejudice
or partiality; “The soul that sinneth, it shall die:” this denunciation
could not possibly be understood of temporal death; for that, they knew,
must pass equally upon all: it must relate to a final execution of
judgment, to future misery and destruction. The Jews were familiar with
this form of speech and this application of it: of wisdom it is said,
“They that hate me, love _death_.” {193b} “There is a way that seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of _death_.” {193c} A
similar mode of speech, we may observe, frequently occurs in the New
Testament also; in which we continually find expressions and figures
borrowed from the Old: “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if
ye, through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
{194a} And, in the book of Revelation, mention is made of the _second
death_; {194b} a term which was in use among the Jews themselves, though
not found in their inspired writings. And in the same sense, we shall
perceive, the figure is repeatedly employed in the chapter before us.
The prophet therefore vindicates the justice and equity of God on two
substantial grounds: he directs his murmuring and rebellious people to
consider, that they were visited with calamity for their own
transgressions, as well as for those of their forefathers; and he refers
them to the future and final judgment of the Almighty, in which the
prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings of the righteous alike
terminate; in which both shall receive their just and everlasting
recompence. “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither
shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the
righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be
upon him.” “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith
the Lord God, and not that he should return from his ways and live?”
{195}
The passages last mentioned may introduce to our notice two
considerations, most distinctly and forcibly stated in the latter part of
this chapter, in both of which we are very deeply and peculiarly
interested; they are these; that if the wicked repent of their evil ways
and turn heartily to God, they shall be forgiven and received into His
favour; but that if the righteous fall away, they shall be condemned and
perish: on the one hand, there is ample encouragement to the sinner to
return; on the other, an awful admonition, to the righteous, of the
necessity of perseverance unto the end. How gracious the instruction in
either point of view! If it were not for the heavenly assurance of the
offer of pardon to all, without partiality or exception, many a flagrant
transgressor, when brought to a sense of his sin and shame—his conscience
pierced with the remembrance of so manifold offences against a just and
holy God, his soul over-burdened with the load of guilt—might sit down
disconsolate and despairing in the shadow of death: and if it were not
for a warning voice, bidding them, as they hope for salvation, to
persevere, the righteous, when assailed by temptation, might at length be
induced to yield, under a presumption, that their former obedience, that
the good deeds they had already performed, would turn the balance in
their favour, and procure for them acceptance at the tribunal of God,
though they were ultimately found in the way of evil. Into this error
the Jews had actually fallen; and do, as it is affirmed, continue unto
this day; and others might “follow their pernicious ways.”
Each of the important doctrines, which we are now considering, is
declared by the prophet in the most explicit and unequivocal terms. “If
the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep
all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely
live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed,
they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath
done, he shall live.” {197} None of his former transgressions shall
exclude him from the privileges and blessings of God’s people; he shall
be freely and fully received, without reproach, into a gracious covenant
with his God. This condition of acceptance manifestly implies a vital
belief in the sovereignty and mercy of God; for without this, none would
be encouraged to turn unto Him with the hope of forgiveness and favour:
“He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is the
rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” {198a} “The just shall live
by his faith;” {198b} and the duties which the prophet prescribed to his
people, as the means of saving their souls alive, were evidently regarded
by him as the fruit of that faith. Thus, therefore, they were left
without excuse; no longer able to say, “that the way of the Lord was not
equal;” for so far from having decreed to involve them all in the same
indiscriminate punishment, He was willing, nay desirous, of admitting
into His favour even the most disobedient and abandoned amongst them.
Although in a state of miserable bondage, He would either “break their
bonds asunder,” and provide them with a place of refuge; or He would make
their bodily afflictions minister to the well-being of their souls. If
the light of His countenance shone upon them, happy was their lot in the
darkest hour of suffering and privation: and if they did not live to
enjoy a restoration to the privileges of their own land, still might they
rejoice, in the prospect of being restored to their forfeited inheritance
in the mansions of eternal peace. Would they but forsake the idols,
after which they were gone astray, and turn to “love the Lord their God
with all their heart and soul and strength,” “ceasing to do evil, and
learning to do well,” though “their sins were as scarlet, they should be
as white as snow; though they were red like crimson, they should be as
wool.” {199} Surely none but the obstinate and rebellious, none but the
hardest and most ungrateful heart, could complain of the dealings of God.
Wonderful indeed was the patience which had borne with them so long;
adorable the mercy which was still held out for the encouragement and
return of a backsliding people.
Under the gospel dispensation, the same gracious doctrine is yet more
fully revealed. “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous.” {200a} “If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from _all_
unrighteousness.” {200b} “The Lord is long-suffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that _all_ should come to
repentance.” {200c} Texts indeed there are without number of the same
merciful import; and numerous also are the examples, recorded in Holy
writ, in which the Saviour vouchsafed His loving kindness and favour to
the weary and heavy-laden sinner; “seeking and saving those that were
lost;” and thus affording us the most ample assurance of the truth of His
own gracious promise, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
{200d} Are there any amongst us, my brethren, who have not yet made
their peace with God; any, whom Satan hath hitherto held fast in “the
gall of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity;” who feel the wretchedness
of their condition here, and are alarmed at the expectation of what may
come hereafter? May “the goodness of God lead them to repentance!”
However deep and dangerous the wounds which sin has made in their hearts,
there is “balm in Gilead,” if they will earnestly seek it, and apply it
to their souls: their offended Lord is still “waiting to be gracious;”
and though they have been prodigally wasting his bounty in riotous
living, yet if they be at length pierced to the heart by the misery to
which it has brought them, and be truly desirous of returning to their
peaceful home, and be ready, with all humility and contrition, to
acknowledge their unworthiness, and to seek again the divine favour, from
which they have been so unhappily estranged, then they will be received
even with welcome; if but one sinner return, there “will be joy in
heaven;” and the family of the blest will hail his reception; and his
wanderings shall be mentioned no more. “Awake thou that sleepest and
rise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” {202}
But let not this gracious offer of mercy be abused; let it not act as an
encouragement to a continuance in sin, under a notion that
transgressions, however multiplied and aggravated, may be, at any future
day, repented and forgiven. The grace of repentance, like every other
good gift, cometh from God; and the proffered mercy, which is long and
obstinately rejected, may be, and often is, withdrawn. If we will not
hear, while the Almighty now speaks; if we will not answer, while He is
now calling, “the ear may become heavy that it cannot hear,” and we may
be left to perish in our sins. One word more; think of the many sudden
departures; you are not without awakening and awful examples; your eye
may be closed in death, while it is turned away from your God; or if you
should be permitted to experience a few days’ alarm, God alone knows what
effect it may produce upon the heart. Seek Him “in health and wealth;”
the work is of amazing magnitude and everlasting importance; it demands
all your vigour, all the unclouded faculties of your soul.
And let those who have embraced the blessed gospel, in sincerity and
truth, who are believing in the name of Jesus for salvation, and “are
fruitful in every good word and work,” ever bear in mind the absolute
necessity of persevering in the good and holy cause. For of what service
can it be, to begin the race with animation, and to pursue it, for a
season, with ever so great activity, if they loiter before the end, and
relinquish their exertions “for the prize of their high calling?” “When
the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and committeth
iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man
doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not
be mentioned; in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin
that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” Here also we must allow,
that “the way of God is equal.” {204} For surely it argues the most
depraved and abandoned state of mind and heart, to depart from our God
and our Redeemer, after having been once convinced of the truth and the
blessedness of His holy religion; having “tasted how gracious the Lord
is,” having experienced the guidance and comfort and support of his
all-powerful spirit, having had our “hopes full of immortality,” having
enjoyed a foretaste of the happiness of heaven, after all to fall away,
and prefer to these exalted objects, the miserable pleasures, the base
indulgencies, the perishable possessions of earth! A change so
disastrous must reduce the understanding and heart into the worst
condition of which they are capable. It is the evil spirit, which had
been once cast out, returning to his abode, with seven other spirits more
wicked than himself, and dwelling there, as in a settled home, and the
last state of that man is worse than the first. {205a} The Apostle
represents the matter to us in this light: for so difficult is it for a
person, in such a state, to be worked upon by any consideration, that he
describes it, in his strong language, as an actual impossibility: “it is
impossible, (he says) for those who were once enlightened, and have
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to
come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance;”
{205b} and then he adds the reason, “seeing they crucify to themselves
the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame;” they maintain the
horrid principles and character of those who “crucified the Lord of
glory;” they deliberately renounce his friendship, and become “enemies to
the cross of Christ;” they cast a shameful reproach upon Him, infinitely
greater than it is possible for those enemies to do, who were never
admitted into the privilege and happiness of His favour. Fain would we
hope, that this is a case of rare occurrence; but it is possible, or why
should the prophet and Apostle have represented it? “Therefore, let him
that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall;” {206a} “let him give
all diligence to make his calling and election sure.” {206b} “The just
shall live by his faith: but if _that man_, (however faithful and just he
has been) draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him;” {206c} this
is the proper translation of the passage. God Almighty of His infinite
mercy grant, that the words which follow this text, addressed by the
Apostle to the faithful disciples of old, may be realized by all of us
here; “we, (says he,) are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but
of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Pray to God without
ceasing for grace to persevere: His Holy Spirit, if sought and cherished
and used, will enable us to be faithful and to overcome, will “make us
more than conquerors, through Him that loved us.” {207a}
In conclusion then, I ask, “is not the way of the Lord equal?” And of
those, who presume to arraign it, are not the ways unequal? Equal and
merciful do all the ways of God appear, whenever they can be traced;
equal and merciful they are, whether they can be traced or not. “O man,
who art thou that repliest against God?” {207b} “Shall not the judge of
all the earth do right?” {207c} Humble thyself, and accept His proffered
mercy: Hear His words; “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of
the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” {207d} Salvation is
all that the sinner can desire; and surely he can repose, without doubt
or distrust upon the all-wise, all-merciful, omnipotent God.
Understanding and experiencing, in so many instances, the divine wisdom
and mercy, we can have no difficulty in believing, that God “doeth all
things well.” “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for
us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” {208a}
Most unreasonable, most ungrateful would it be to question or complain.
No true believer does so: he is thoroughly convinced of the truth of
God’s word, and the equity of God’s dealings and dispensations. This is
his concern, this the great purpose resting in his soul, to be reconciled
to God in His own appointed way; to be made an inheritor of His eternal
kingdom. He knows, and it is enough for him to know, that “the grace of
God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men;” {208b} he
believes, and he acts upon the belief, that “the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanseth us from all sin;” {208c} he seeks to “wash and be clean,” and
faithfully waits for the promised blessing: “Verily there is a reward for
the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeth the earth.”{208d}
SERMON XII.
THE NEW MAN.
EPH. iv. 24.
_That ye put on the new man_, _which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness_.
IN treating of these words, it shall be my first object to explain their
real nature and import. St. Paul has been describing, in this chapter,
the character of the unregenerate Gentiles, who “walked in the vanity of
their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the
life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the
blindness of their heart.” And this description applies, with almost
equal force and truth, to a considerable portion of those who have “named
the name of Christ:” though they acknowledge with their lips the truth
and obligation of the christian religion, they still “walk in the vanity
of their minds.” As to any saving view of the truth, “the understanding
is _yet_ darkened:” and though their ignorance be removed, with respect
to a revelation of the divine will, they are as far as ever from “the
life of God;” though the mind is enlightened with the knowledge of the
fact, the blindness of the heart remains.
The Apostle proceeds to say of his Ephesian converts, “but _ye_ have not
so learned Christ”—“if so be, that ye have heard Him” (or rather, as the
phrase may properly imply, _forasmuch_ as ye have heard Him) “and have
been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus.” And what had they heard,
as necessary to their salvation by His name, and what is the truth they
had been taught?—“that ye put off, concerning the former conversation
(the former life and conduct), the old man, which is corrupt, according
to the deceitful lusts” (the worldly principles and the sinful habits
above described, to which you were addicted before your conversion); and
“be renewed (or made new) in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on
the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness;” the change thus produced being so great and important as to be
compared to a new creation; the inner man being totally different from
what he was before. It is said, moreover, that the new man “is created
_after God_ in righteousness;” this is fully explained by the same
Apostle, in his Epistle to the Colossians, where he is treating on the
same subject; he there speaks of the converts being renewed “after the
image of Him who created them.” {211} At the creation of Adam, God is
represented as saying, “Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness,” that is, in perfect innocence and purity. Thus was Adam
formed, perfectly upright and holy: by disobedience his nature was
changed; he became sinful and unholy; and this change was entailed upon
all his posterity. The object, therefore, of the new creation is to
restore in us, as far as we are now capable of it, that image of divine
righteousness, which man lost by the fall. On considering, then, the
holy nature of God, we are at once made acquainted with that change, in
the natural man, which the gospel teaches and requires; we are brought to
perceive and acknowledge that “true holiness,” which as Christians we are
bound to desire and attain.
The same truth may be said to have been substantially revealed to the
servants of God under the old dispensation: there is no express mention
indeed of a new creation of the individual; but the prophets every where
assert, what is similar in effect, that no wicked person, without hearty
repentance and an entire change of character, must expect the divine
favour. To this purpose is the language of Isaiah: “Wash you, make you
clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to
do evil, learn to do well.” {213a} The unclean and unrighteous cannot
stand before God. “As I live, saith the Lord God, (by the mouth of
Ezekiel) I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the
wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways;
for why will ye die, house of Israel?” {213b} The prophet thereto
plainly intimating, that notwithstanding all that goodness and
long-suffering of the divine nature, which is expressed in a most
compassionate invitation, and is confirmed even by the solemnity of an
oath, yet if sinners did not “turn from their evil ways,” there was no
remedy, but they must die. And the same prophet on another occasion,
uses language very similar to that of the text; “I will put a _new_
spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart out of their
flesh—that they may walk in my statutes and keep mine ordinances, and do
them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” {214a}
Agreeably to this, the same people are subsequently exhorted, to “cast
away from them all the transgressions whereby they had transgressed, and
to make them a new heart and a new spirit.” {214b} However therefore,
the New Covenant doth exceed the Old, with regard to the clearness of its
manifestations, and its fuller dispensations of grace, yet are there in
both of them the same consistent terms of reconciliation and salvation
for rebellious man; in both are injoined the same purity of spirit, and
integrity of character; this is the plain, uniform, infallible intimation
of both, that “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” {214c}
That the people of old were but partially awake and alive to the great
change required to be wrought in them, from sin to righteousness, from
the love of evil to the love of good, from a “bondage unto the elements
of the world” to the glorious liberty of the children of God, is too
fully proved from the complaints of patriarchs and prophets and holy men
of every determination. The sound of the gospel, thank God, has now gone
forth into all lands, and brought “life and immortality to light;” it has
awakened many nations, who lay fast bound in the slumbers of spiritual
death; but whether it has vitally and savingly awakened a greater
proportion of those, to whom the glad tidings have been revealed, is a
matter of reasonable doubt. At least, if we compare what man is by
nature, with what he may be and ought to be by divine grace, it must
appear, from the life and conduct of the great majority in the christian
world, that they have by no means attained that renovation of spirit and
principle and character, which can entitle them to the appellation of new
creatures.
Of how many may it be said, (and their own consciences will bear witness
to the truth of the accusation,) that their thoughts are ordinarily
flowing in much the same channel, their passions yielding to the same
excitements, and their pursuits directed to the same end, as they would
have been, had the pure doctrines and precepts of Christ never been
promulgated. Vast numbers, in the visible Church of Christ, who profess
some regard for religion, instead of raising their affections to the
standard of the gospel, are seeking to _bring down_ the immoveable
standard of the gospel to _them_: and greater numbers still, of reckless
men, bestow not so much as a thought upon that spiritual change, which is
absolutely essential to the christian character. For what is the
religion of thousands amongst us?—merely, if I may so call it, that
traditionary acquaintance with divine things, which is acquired in
infancy; that outward assent to evangelical truths, which was handed down
to them by their forefathers; a cold respect for the shadow, without any
concern for the substance: they are content to observe the forms of
religion, because they have been accustomed so to do, and their
neighbours do the same; and to attend to what are called the decencies of
life, because they would otherwise be disreputable; to crimes and to
holiness strangers perhaps alike; satisfied to do no worse, than they see
the multitudes around them doing; and resting their claim to God’s favour
on a few moral pretensions, or even on the absence of scandalous
immorality; probably looking for exemption from the penalties of the
divine law, because their transgressions have never been such, as to
expose them to the scourge of the law of man.
This, however deplorable, is a true description of no inconsiderable
portion of our christian land; to none of _us_, we may hope, is the
description strictly applicable; but it is too probable, that there are
many amongst us, who partake more or less of the character here
delineated; who practically regard the christian religion as a system to
be accommodated to their dispositions and habits and pursuits of life,
and not as demanding a total alteration in their views and tempers and
motives of action. Though their thoughts are directed to objects, far
above those of “the heathen who know not God” and though their morality,
upon the whole, be of a higher order and a purer cast, yet are their
affections willingly led captive by the ensnaring vanities and engrossing
interests of this lower world: heaven is the object of their settled
creed, but it is not the main purpose to which their endeavours are
anxiously and daily directed; in balancing between this or that pursuit,
their thoughts are intent only upon providing for “the meat that
perisheth,” without any enquiry or concern, how they may best provide for
“that which endureth unto eternal life.” {218} And the morality, on
which they so complacently rest, has frequently no connexion whatever
with the christian faith; referable rather to philosophy than the gospel,
to “the praise of men than the praise of God.” Hence it follows, that
their moral obedience is lamentably defective; extending only to the
performance of those duties, which least oppose their inclination or
their temporal advantage; while even such duties are but imperfectly
discharged. Their self-government is wretchedly defective; the controul
of their thoughts, the mastery over their passions, the command over
their tongue, are attainments which they seldom bind it upon their
conscience to acquire. And though they be turned from idols to worship
the living and the true God, the fruit of their service, as well as the
irregularity of it, affords but too clear a proof, that they “worship him
not in spirit and in truth.” However improved, in their moral character,
by their acquaintance with the christian religion, they cannot possibly
have imbibed its spirit; nor have arrived at that happy change of the
natural man, which can be denominated by a new creation. They are
working out, or rather seeking to work out, their salvation on maxims of
human expediency, and in accommodation to human interests; not with “fear
and trembling,” lest they should lose the inestimable prize; they are not
evincing, that it is “God that worketh in them both to will and to do.”
{220}
I have thus enlarged, on the presents occasion, upon the enormous
deficiencies of christian character, because it is of great importance
for us to understand, what is not accordant with the principles of the
gospel, as well as what is: it is of vital consequence, that we should be
thoroughly aware of the insufficiency of that spirit and view, of those
maxims and motives of those habits and observances, which pass current
for religion in the world.
We cannot put on the new man, unless we put off the old; and we cannot
put off the old, unless we thoroughly understand in what it consists.
The work is too commonly supposed much easier and much less
comprehensive, than it really is: many vicious habits may be corrected,
without any essential or fundamental alteration of character. A man may
become weary of the pursuits, disgusted with the follies, worn and sated
with the profligacies of life; he may find his circumstances
impoverished, his reputation impaired, his worldly interest obstructed:
and such considerations as these may generate a purpose of moral reform.
Or the sinner may feel himself oppressed with the increasing weight of
years; infirmities are coming fast upon him; and his conscience, in many
a whisper of fear, tells him that something should be done, some
preparation made, for the world to which he is hastening, for the account
which he will speedily be called to render. The idea of dying with those
depravities, to which he has clinged through life, is awful and
insupportable. The more flagrant of them are accordingly corrected; and
the rest, which are less startling and disquieting, are undisturbedly
retained. In all this there is no change of principle, no vital
alteration: the old man continues; less hideous in features and outward
appearance, but the very same in reality. With this partial renovation
the mind is satisfied; the conscience is becalmed; the sinner dies.
Through the “deceivableness of unrighteousness,” through the wiles of
Satan and the evil propensity of our own hearts, we are always in danger
of being too easily content with our spiritual condition; we look too
much to the outward and visible form, and too little within; to little to
the habitual principle, the constraining motive, the cast of character:
and it is in this, that the difference between the old and the new man,
in the christian world essentially consists. Suffer me to point out
again a few of the broad lines of distinction. The old man, whatever of
religion he may profess, lives principally for himself and the world; he
may think of religion, and speak of it, and pray for it with the lips,
but it has no dwelling place in his heart, is not the business of his
life. However observable, in many respects, his moral deportment may be,
his character is seldom consistent. From some evil pursuits he abstains,
in others he wilfully and constantly indulges; some evil passions are
kept in creditable order, others are let loose; some duties he
professedly performs, and others he professedly omits. And nothing is
done with a true christian motive, or christian view; nothing from a
sense of absolute and uncompromising obedience to the will of God. Nor
is it surprising, that there should be such deficiencies and
inconsistencies in his character; he has no principle or means, by which
he can possibly walk uprightly with his God. He does not “believe with
the heart unto righteousness;” he does not seek, nor desire, to “live in
the spirit and walk in the spirit;” there is no life in his devotion, no
sincerity in his prayer: he “asks not faithfully” for repentance and
holiness, and they cannot be “effectually received.” He is not disposed
to bring his understanding and heart into subjection to the divine will.
He studies not that holy word, which ministers the principle of a divine
life, and the spirit of obedience to the soul. He lives for earth and
not for heaven. He is too proud to be taught the humiliating doctrines
of revelation; too full of himself, to bow implicitly to his Redeemer.
In a word, nature is his book and not the Bible; the world is his teacher
and not the Spirit of God; earthly and not spiritual subjects are the
delight of his heart; he walks not “by faith, but by sight.”
The new man is the reverse of all this; he humbles himself, as a sinner,
at the foot of the cross, under a deep sense of his own guilt and the
divine mercy; desirous only to be reconciled and saved; he constantly
studies the mysteries God’s word, with a submissive understanding and an
obedient heart; he rests his only hope on the merit of a Redeemer, whose
promises and whose law he receives with all his mind and soul and
strength; he prays “without ceasing” for the Holy Spirit, is directed by
His teaching, supported by His power, and comforted by His heavenly
illumination. Doubtless he must live _in_ the world, and _by_ the world,
as well as other people; but he does not live _for_ the world; his heart
is not there, his delight is not there; he is a redeemed pilgrim,
journeying in a far country, returning to his Father’s house; and his
heart is musing on the “many mansions” there, and full of the inspiring
influential hope, that one of them is prepared for him.
Such holy principles are continually manifested by a determination of
purpose, a decisiveness of character, a devoted spirit of uniform
obedience to the revealed will of God. As the conscience bears witness,
so does the life: “the tree is known by its fruit;” all evil affections
are resolutely mortified, all sinful pleasures and pursuits utterly
abandoned. The sincere Christian, the new man, has an earnest desire and
care upon his soul, to be “righteous before God, walking in all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” {226a} For this
blessing he daily prays; in this work he daily advances: “loving the Lord
God with all his heart,” and “loving his neighbour as himself,” he is of
all men the most inclined, as he is assuredly the most bound, to “live
soberly, righteously and godly in this present world.” {226b}
These remarks suggest the necessity of further admonition on this head.
Many persons have been led to entertain enthusiastic notions on the
subject of the new man, the new creation, the new birth. They have
supposed it principally to consist in certain inward experiences or
feelings, which they have been enabled to trace to some particular event
or period: the Holy Spirit, as they believe, then beginning, for the
first time, to work upon their understandings and hearts; and thus
leaving an indelible impression, the seal of their redemption, the
earnest of their certain acceptance with God. Far are we from denying,
that such sudden conversions may and do take place: still farther from
denying that, whether sudden or gradual, a change from the old to the new
man is attributable to the aid of a divine energy and power. It is,
properly speaking, a new creation; the imparting of a new nature: and
cannot be effected without the hand of the original Creator: without the
operation of that Spirit, which “moved upon the face of the waters,”
which “breathed into the nostrils the breath of life, so that man became
a living soul.” {227a} Our Liturgy has correctly and fully embodied the
testimony of scripture, on this as on other points: we are taught to
pray, that God will “_create_ in us new and contrite hearts.” This
blessing must proceed from that Holy Spirit, who still in His ordinary
dispensations, as formerly in His miraculous gifts, “divides unto every
man severally as He will;” {227b} not as it were capriciously, but
according to His own infinite wisdom and goodness, as He judges expedient
to the case of each individual. But this divine grace is not
communicated for the mere purpose of producing a glowing affection, a
familiar experience, an enraptured view of spiritual things: nor can any
inward feelings alone prove that such grace has been administered at all:
the proof must be manifested, in the way pointed out by the text: the new
man “is created, after God, in _righteousness and true holiness_.” A
holy character and a righteous life are the proper and indispensable
evidences of such a change; a faithful walking with God, a sober
self-government, an upright dealing with all mankind.
I counsel you, my brethren, in the language of truth and the spirit of
affection, to be content with no other evidence: equally far be you
removed from that carnal profession of the gospel, which despises or
neglects the mighty change required of every sincere believer; and from
those fanciful notions of spiritual experience, which leave the heart and
the character arrayed in the spotted garment of sin: both in the one case
and the other, you will be “grieving the spirit,” and “quenching the
spirit.” In your principles and life, as well as in your views and
affections and desires, “let old things pass away, and all things become
new;” {229a} “put off the old man with the deceitful lusts,” and thus let
the new man be put on. “Abhor that which is evil: cleave to that which
is good.” {229b} This is the method ordained of God, by which we are to
“work out our salvation;” this our plain, this our necessary duty. Pray
we fervently, strive we diligently, that we may be thus effectually
turned from sin to holiness, “from darkness to light, from the power of
Satan unto God.” {229c}
SERMON XIII.
THE WEDDING GARMENT.
MATT. xxii. 2.
_The kingdom of heaven is like unto certain king which made a
marriage for his son_.
IT is my intention, in this discourse, to explain the several particulars
of the parable before us; which may be regarded, in the _first_ place, as
descriptive of the dispensation of the gospel to the people of Israel and
the world at large; and, in the _second_ place, as instructing us in that
peculiar fitness necessary to all, who shall be admitted to enjoy the
privileges and happiness of the kingdom of God.
The state of the gospel, our Saviour informs us, may be compared to the
conduct of a king at the marriage of his son; or rather, as the meaning
is, at the marriage _feast_ which he gave on that occasion: the
circumstances which might, in that case, be supposed to occur, aptly
represent a variety of particulars belonging to the gospel dispensation.
Before, however, we enter upon the parable, it may be remarked, that
spiritual blessings are frequently set forth in the holy scriptures,
under allusions to feasting and refreshment. Thus Solomon of old:
“Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: she
hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also
furnished her table. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which
I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of
understanding.” {231} And thus the prophet Isaiah, in describing the
state of the gospel: “In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto
all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat
things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” {232a} And
thus our blessed Lord Himself: “I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My
Father hath appointed unto Me, that ye may eat and drink at My table in
My kingdom.” {232b}
1. Let us now proceed with the parable: “He sent forth his servants to
call them that were bidden to the wedding (feast); and they would not
come.” This probably alludes to the first period of the promulgation of
the gospel; under the preaching of John the Baptist and of the earliest
disciples; the former endeavouring to prepare the hearts of men for the
kingdom and coming of Christ; and the latter proclaiming His glorious
arrival, preaching the truth of His gospel, and confirming the word by a
display of miraculous power. But the Jews had been a carnal people,
“holding the truth in unrighteousness;” and they refused to give ear to
those holy instructions, which called upon them to “lay the axe to the
root of all sin,” and to “bring forth fruits meet for repentance.” {233a}
This it was that prevented them, not only from a cordial acceptance of
the gospel, but even from a fair examination and inquiry; they would not
listen to such doctrine; their heart was decided against it: to this it
was owing, these carnal habits and views, that when their Messiah came,
they were not ready to receive Him in the way which He required. Ready
enough were they to admit Him in their own way; agreeably to their own
notions and desires, as an earthly conqueror, as the dispenser of
temporal blessings and rewards; but not as the abolisher of sin; not as a
preacher of righteousness; not as a herald, announcing to them the
necessity of holiness in this world, and the inheritance of glory in the
world to come. Not all His amazing miracles, not all His fulfilment of
their own prophecies, not all the power of His word, could convince their
understandings; because they had “an evil heart of unbelief:” {233b} and
therefore, notwithstanding His awful warnings, His earnest and
affectionate invitations, “they would not come” unto Him, that they might
find rest unto their souls.
Here we behold, as in a glass, the real ground of every rejection of the
Saviour in every age; it is not because men deny His excellency, or His
power, or His mercy, or the greatness of His kingdom: it is because they
“love this present evil world,” and the “god of this world hath blinded
their minds,” {234a} through the deceitfulness of sin. Even though
eternal salvation is offered them, and they do not disbelieve it; still,
awful to think! the Saviour is rejected for perishable interests and
sensual indulgences. “He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned
him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, is there not a lie
in my right hand?” {234b} Men walk on in darkness because they love it;
and they “love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.”
{234c}
2. But the Jews were not yet cast off, without further admonition and
entreaty. “Again He sent forth other servants, saying, tell them who are
bidden, behold I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are
killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage” feast. But
“they made light of it,” and offered a variety of groundless excuses.
This may chiefly refer to the fuller manifestation of the gospel, after
the resurrection and ascension of our blessed Lord; for the parable, as
we shall more clearly perceive in the sequel, is partly of a prophetic
nature; and intended to represent to the Jews their persevering spirit of
obstinacy, and the punishment which would ensue; that some of them at
least, when the fulness of the time should come, might be struck with the
force of this predictive representation, and be converted to the “truth
as it is in Jesus.”
Every thing requisite for the sumptuous feast was liberally provided: in
the days of the apostles, abundant indeed was the confirmation of the
truth and doctrines of the gospel; bright the manifestation of heavenly
glory, that was shed abroad upon it. Then were strikingly fulfilled the
words of their prophet Joel; “I will pour out My Spirit upon all
flesh—also upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour
out My Spirit.” {236} Accordingly the gifts of the Holy Ghost—were
openly poured forth, and mighty were the deeds done and the words spoken
by His servants, under the operation of His marvellous power: the old
dispensation was fully brought to bear upon the new: it was shewn how the
character of Jesus corresponded, in His birth and life and death and
resurrection and ascension, as well as in His offices of Priest and
Mediator and King, with various prophecies and types exhibited in the
ancient scriptures. The benefits and blessings of the christian
dispensation were more particularly and largely set forth: the feast was
fully displayed before them, in all its rich and magnificent abundance.
Many were then induced to enter into the guest chamber, and partake of
the heavenly repast; but many more, the Jewish nation at large, made
light of it, and went their way. And not only so: not only was the
invitation unheeded and despised; but the remnant, that is, some who were
not content with disobeying the call, “took his servants, and entreated
them spitefully and slew them;” persecuted the disciples even unto death.
3. We now come to a part of the parable, which must of necessity receive
a prophetic interpretation: “When the King heard thereof, he was wroth,
and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up
their city.” This plainly points out the Roman armies ravaging Judea,
destroying Jerusalem, and putting the inhabitants to the sword; an event,
which did not take place till many years after. Neither, in truth, is
there mention made, in the gospel history, of the Jews having slain any
of the disciples, whilst their Lord was with them. They were murderers
of the Son of God, and of many of His apostles and disciples after Him;
thus “filling up the measure of their iniquity,” and drawing down upon
themselves, and their nation at large, the most tremendous visitation of
divine wrath, ever inflicted in this world upon a rebellious people.
4. We are next carried forward to another period in the gospel
dispensation; a period in which we ourselves are deeply and peculiarly
interested; from which we date all the spiritual mercies and advantages,
all “the means of grace and hopes of glory,” which have been vouchsafed
to our souls. “Then saith the king to his servants, the wedding (the
wedding feast) is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.”
The Israelites who were honoured, as the people of God, with the first
invitation and call to the gospel, shewed themselves unworthy of it, by
their ungrateful and obstinate rejection. “Go ye therefore into the
highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage” feast: go
ye, as we may interpret the words of our Lord, go ye, My ministers and
messengers, into the world at large, and carry My invitation to the
Gentiles; to as many as ye shall find; and proclaim to them that My table
is spread for all: since the people, who were first bidden, have “not
heard when I spake, nor answered, when I called,” the “kingdom of heaven
is now thrown open to all believers,” so that “whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved:” My kingdom shall no longer be
confined to one peculiar race; the time is come, when the blessedness of
it shall be diffused abroad as “the waters cover the sea:” I am ready to
“make a covenant with all flesh”—a covenant of peace—of benefits and
mercies, such as their “eyes have never seen, nor ears heard;” the
universal banquet is spread; bid them all to come. “So those servants
went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they
found, both bad and good: and the wedding (table) was furnished with
guests:” for it was not unusual, we must observe, in those countries, for
men of the highest rank and distinction to admit to their tables, on
remarkable occasions, persons of the lowest condition.
And this part of the parable also was representative of a future period;
for though Christ had received homage from some in the Gentile world, and
had signified His favour to others as well as the Jews, it could not be
said, that the blessings of His gospel were at that time distinctly
offered to the world at large. By St. Peter, in the first instance, in
the case of Cornelius, and afterwards more fully by St. Paul, the Apostle
of the Gentiles, were the good tidings universally announced and spread.
This accords with the invitation in the parable, where we find that no
exceptions were to be made: the “servants gathered together all, both bad
and good;” thus, to men of all characters and descriptions the gospel was
indiscriminately preached: the best greatly needed it; and even to the
worst the door of grace and repentance was opened.
Doubtless, there are vast differences in the characters of unregenerate
men, of the very heathen “who know not God.” Some will use, more
faithfully than others, the feebler light of natural religion; and thus
arrive at a higher state of moral rectitude and respectability. But
whatever comparative excellence any one may attain, in such a state, he
is at best a polluted sinner: fallen from the favour and family of God;
without the power to rise and return; the inheritor of sin and death,
without the means of salvation. God must be reconciled, and the gate of
mercy thrown open; or the sinner must perish. And it is for the offended
God alone, to appoint the means of reconciliation; and proclaim the
conditions of pardon and mercy. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, is
the only means of deliverance; by His incarnation and sacrifice has
atonement been made for man; “there is no other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved;” {242a} “other foundation can no man
lay.” {242b} The moralist must lay aside his vain pretensions, and
humble himself at the foot of the cross; must come to the Saviour and
learn of Him; come and be “baptised for the remission of sins;” come,
that his character may be essentially changed by the Spirit and the word
of God; that he may have new desires, new affections, new principles, new
prospects: and many of “the children of this world,” amiable in their
disposition and reputable in their conduct, deceive themselves in this
matter; perceive not their need of a Saviour, “trusting in themselves
that they are righteous;” good in their own eyes, good in the estimation
of their neighbours, they undervalue and neglect the gospel; and
therefore still continue “dead in trespasses and sins.”
But the bad as well as the good were gathered together; not only to
those, whose conduct had been honourable among men, and whose characters
were fair; but to notorious delinquent, yea, even to the worst of
sinners, the door of the guest-chamber is open; all are invited; all, if
they will comply with the conditions and rules of the feast, shall be
fed; publicans and sinners, extortioners and unjust, disobedient and
reprobate, all are the objects of the Saviour’s mercy; “Come unto me, all
ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The
invitation is free and universal; none who rightly seek admission, shall
be excluded. This exactly agrees with the language of the evangelical
prophet: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he
that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat.” “Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the
Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will
abundantly pardon.” {243a} “The fountain is opened for sin and for
cleanness;” {243b} “wash you, make you clean;” laden as ye are with
iniquity come but to your Saviour, in sincerity and truth, with a
contrite and repentant heart; come, as He has invited you; look to the
all-sufficiency of His sacrifice; believe in Him for justification and
life; be ready to learn of His example and to receive His spirit and His
law into your heart, and you shall be admitted to His holy banquet, and
be made welcome at His table; you shall find comfort in the presence of
your Lord, and in them “that sit at meat with you.”
5. We are now led to the last and most striking part of this parable:
the king came in to see the guests; to see whether they conducted
themselves worthily of his entertainment, and appeared in the dress which
he had provided, for such as were unable to furnish themselves. And
thus, with regard to the heavenly feast, the guests are strictly and
constantly accountable for their behaviour. Our blessed Lord watches the
demeanour of all who profess to accept His invitation in the gospel;
observes, how every one, who is “admitted into the fellowship of His
religion,” fulfils the conditions required of him. Nor is it the
external demeanour alone, which engages His notice and inspection; He
sees through the innermost windings of every heart, and will infallibly
“judge righteous judgment.” No violation of His will, in thought, or
word, or deed; no insincerity or deceitful appearance can possibly remain
undetected.
“When the king came in—he saw there a man who had not on a wedding
garment. And he said unto him, friend, how earnest thou in hither, not
having a wedding garment?” The man could not pretend to offer an excuse:
he knew the rules of the feast, and had wantonly neglected them; he was,
like many other ungrateful people, regaling himself upon a benefactor’s
bounty, but shewed him no respect or regard: being therefore
self-condemned, “he was speechless.” Thus will it be with every
negligent and disobedient Christian, when the Lord comes to make enquiry
into his character: to justify himself, he will feel to be impossible;
thoroughly has he known his Lord’s will, and full often has his
conscience reproved him for not performing it: there will be nothing left
for him, but unavailing sorrow and speechless remorse.
“Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot; and take him
away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.” Cast him, from the lighted chamber, to the darkness
of the night without, where he shall bitterly regret the pleasures he has
so foolishly lost. Sad emblem of that state, whose sadness can be known,
here upon earth, only by emblematical representation, only by such
figures as “outer darkness,” as the “worm that never dies,” and “the fire
that never shall be quenched;” a darkness of mind, in the utter regions
of despair, without a ray from heaven to cheer it; the worm of anguish
preying upon the soul; and a fire burning, whether without or within, or
both; raging yet not consuming. God grant, that we may hear only of this
wretched state “by, the hearing of the ear;” that our eyes may never
behold it; that none of us may be consigned to this abode of unredeemed
and unredeemable misery: and, that we never may, let us “walk worthy of
our vocation;” of the Lord of that heavenly feast, of which we are
professing to partake. Put on, my brethren, the wedding garment of the
gospel; put it on, or intrude not into the presence-chamber of your Lord;
dread the doom of the hypocrite and the despiser; pretend not to partake
of the heavenly feast, to expect any of the blessings of the gospel,
unless ye consent and seek to be clothed with the raiment provided by
your King; with all those christian graces and virtues, which He will
enable you to obtain.
If indeed it depended upon ourselves, “miserable and poor and naked” as
we are, to provide a suitable covering; if the sinner were required to
produce, from his own store, the raiment of holiness and righteousness,
and thus make himself acceptable to his Saviour and his God; then would
he have much reason to urge for his unworthiness and deficiency: for he
has no means of making any such provision; he has not “wherewith he shall
come before the Lord:” his heart is corrupt; his character is unholy; and
he has no power to change them. But the provision does not depend upon
ourselves; what the Lord commands us to be clothed with, He has
mercifully prepared: He gives His Holy Spirit, to change the heart and
reform the character; to enable us to “put off the old man with the
deceitful lusts, and to put on the new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness.” This spiritual clothing the Lord
offers to all His followers; and woe be to those, who refuse or slight
it: for this is a contempt of His divine mercy; a defiance of His
authority and command: the expectation of His favour, on such terms, is
adding insult to presumption. If we do make a profession of belonging to
Him, let us not thus foolishly cast away our hope; let us not deceive
ourselves by imagining, that we can possibly maintain a title to the
privileges and blessings of the gospel, whilst we are living in the
neglect of those ordinances and laws, which the Lord has graciously
appointed as the means of our acceptance with Him. They who neglect the
means, will assuredly lose the end; will be numbered among the despisers
of their Saviour’s mercy.
And in order to keep alive in our minds that deep concern, which so
momentous a subject demands, frequently let us be meditating upon that
awful hour, when the King shall come in to visit and inspect His guests:
His eye shall be upon every one, and every one’s eye upon Him; imagine
yourself then in the guest-chamber without a wedding garment; ready and
desirous to sink into the earth; but there will be nothing to cover your
guilt and shame: though you have entered in with the other guests, and
taken your station at the feast, you will be called out from among them,
and everlastingly separated from the goodly company. A garment you would
then, no doubt, most willingly accept; but it will be too late; it should
have been accepted when offered; the season of grace will be past; the
time for judgment will be come.
My brethren, you have professedly accepted the invitation of your Lord;
you have entered into the guest-chamber; and if you be not already
clothed with the spiritual apparel, provided by His grace and mercy,
delay not an instant to apply for it: the King may come sooner than you
expect; I pray that He come not, before you are ready to meet Him. And
where is this garment to be found? Seek His Holy Spirit; search His Holy
word: you will then not fail to find it, and He will dispose you to put
it on. Repent and believe; love and obey: “cease to do evil, learn to do
well;” thus “adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things.” And
then you will finally be admitted to the heavenly feast; to the marriage
supper of the Lamb; to the company of angels; in the courts of uncreated
light—“for the glory of God doth lighten them, and the Lamb is the light
thereof;” {251a} “In whose presence is fulness of joy, and at whose
right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” {251b}
SERMON XIV.
WALK WORTHY OF THE LORD, BE FRUITFUL, AND INCREASING.
COL. i. 10.
_That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing_, _being
fruitful in every good work_, _and increasing in the know ledge of
God_.
ONE of the great objects of St. Paul, in writing his epistles, appears to
be considerably overlooked by the christian world at large: it was, to
lead those churches and communities, in which the true foundation of
Christianity had been laid, to build upon it a corresponding character
and life. Certainly, a great portion of the epistles is occupied in the
assertion and explanation of christian doctrine; and this, principally,
with a view to remove certain errors and prejudices, which the members of
some churches had entertained; and upon which they had requested the
apostle’s decision. But well knowing how apt the human mind is to rest
satisfied with speculative views and persuasions, he never omits to
remind his converts, that much more was necessary than the profession of
a true faith; that in vain would their opinions be rectified, unless
their heart was also changed; that though they had “all faith and all
knowledge,” it would “profit them nothing,” unless the graces and virtues
of their holy religion were signally manifest in their lives.
There is scarcely an epistle, in which the apostle does not labour, with
the most intense desire, with the most full and repeated and peremptory
injunctions, to press upon them this momentous consideration: there is
not, in the word of God, a more complete digest and code of christian
duty, than in the writings of St. Paul; and yet they are, by many, almost
exclusively regarded as an exposition of deep and mysterious doctrines;
as if this were the sole end and purpose for which they were composed.
Well would it have been for the christian world, if as much attention had
been paid to the practical, as to the theoretical subjects in these
divine oracles: we should not then have witnessed so many disputations,
in which charity has been lost sight of, nor so much of the “form of
godliness without the power;” so many religious terms and denominations,
of which the ignorant have understood little but the name: we should have
had less of sect, of party, of invidious distinctions of any kind; and
more of vital religion amongst us. But it is now, as it ever was, with
fallen and degenerate man; he is fonder of exhibiting the powers of his
understanding, of exciting his feelings, and of displaying the pride of
spiritual knowledge, than of reforming his principles and regulating his
conduct: he has therefore directed his view to the mystery of the
foundation, and overlooked the directions for raising and completing the
superstructure.
Not that the various revelations of doctrine, in the writings of St.
Paul, are by any means to be lightly regarded; nor that they do not
demand the most reverential attention and profound enquiry: it is of high
importance for us to attain a “right judgment in all things:” yet
doubtless it would tend more to the edification of Christians in general,
if they took greater heed to the rules and precepts of the divine law, to
the evidence and fruit of their faith; and to all that neglect them, we
would say, “these things ought ye to have done, and not to leave the
others undone.”
The passage of scripture, from which we are now discoursing, will
exemplify these remarks. St. Paul, in the very opening of his epistle,
assures the Colossians, that since the day he heard of their conversion,
he did “not cease to pray for them and to desire that they might be
filled with the knowledge of the will of God, in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding; that they might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,
being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of
God.”
1. “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord.” It is scarcely possible for
the most cursory observer not to perceive, that the faith of the gospel
cannot be truly embraced with indifference; that the christian name is
not a mere honorary or professional title, independent of obligations and
of consequences. As the Bible is rich in promises, so is it also clear
and necessitating, in the conditions upon which those promises are made:
as the Redeemer has freely offered unto us the benefits of His cross, so
has He as plainly injoined upon us the indispensable duty of “taking up
our own cross daily,” and “following the blessed steps of His most holy
life;” as He has reconciled us unto the Father, and again adopted us into
the blessed family above, so are we required, if we have any part or lot
in this matter, to be-have as children, who have recovered the forfeited
privileges of their glorious inheritance, and “have their conversation in
heaven.” As we have been “bought at so great a price,” we must continue
the subjects and the property of the “Lord that bought us.”
No man, whose nature, whose principles, whose affections, whose life,
remain unchanged; no man, enthralled by the pleasures and devoted to the
pursuits of a thoughtless and corrupt world, can justly consider himself
as an actual partaker of the covenanted mercies of God. He may have been
admitted by baptism into Christ’s visible church; he may hope to render,
at some future day, his baptismal privilege available to salvation; but
every page of God’s revealed word would forbid him to regard himself as
an accepted “inheritor of the kingdom of heaven,” while his life is
palpably at variance with the conditions upon which that inheritance is
vouchsafed; while it is contradictory to the laws, and totally
inconsistent with the blessings, which the Saviour has proclaimed to
mankind. Every man must not only perceive from the gospel, but be
assured by his own reason and conscience, that such divine mercies
absolutely require and imply some degree of worthiness; some
correspondence in his views, his temper, and his conduct.
Worthy indeed, in the fullest sense of the word, of such transcendent
love and favour, of life and immortality, of everlasting honour in the
presence of the pure and perfect Creator, the degenerate creature can
never be; he has sinned; and “the wages of sin is death.” But there is a
fitness, which the Christian, by divine help, must attain; a humility and
contrition of heart; a sincere belief in God’s mercy through Christ; a
grateful sense of God’s undeserved goodness; a desire of recovery from
the ruin of his fallen nature; and withal, a true spirit of acquiescence
in those means of grace, and that revealed law, ordained to bring the
sinner to his Maker; and this conformity, in the character of man, is
frequently represented in scripture by the name of _worthiness_: he
becomes worthy in this respect, inasmuch as he fulfils the conditions of
the gospel covenant, and is thereby rendered a fit object of God’s free
mercy: without this character he would be unworthy, inasmuch as he would
shew himself unmoved by the marvellous loving-kindness of his Saviour;
would shew, that he had no real value for the blessings, which the gospel
places within his reach; no regard for the revelation and ordinances of
God. It is an observation as true as it is common, that the holy gospel
designs not to save us _in_ our sins, but _from_ them; we must therefore
be made willing and desirous and careful, to subdue the prevalence of
sin, or we cannot attain unto salvation; and if the dominion of evil be
subdued, there will grow up, in our hearts and lives, the manifold fruits
of righteousness.
Such was the worthiness, which the apostle prayed and laboured to produce
in the early disciples; and if, without this, we are hoping to be
accepted of the Lord, “we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not
in us.” The meetness indeed, of which we are speaking, is not
exclusively our own; it must “be wrought in us of God;” still it is to be
sought by prayer, and improved with diligence: “We are not sufficient of
ourselves to think any thing, as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of
God;” {260} yet God will not fail to supply us with the means, if we pray
for them and use them faithfully.
To this statement I request your especial attention; because there are
professing Christians, who take an improper view of this important
matter. Conscious of their own unworthiness in point of _merit_, they
are apt to overlook that worthy _fitness_, of heart and character and
life, which is necessary for every sincere follower, of Christ. The
proclamations of their own undeservings, and their Saviour’s free love,
are sometimes so loud and frequent, as to lower in their minds the sense
of moral and spiritual obligation, as to make them relax in their duly to
God and man; as if they were privileged to offend, because they extolled
the Saviour, and debased themselves. This is a vain and a fanatical
spirit: Christ alone is worthy to save; but we must endeavour, by His
sanctifying aid, in all things to be made more and more worthy of the
exceeding “riches of His grace.”
2. And, in order to encourage us in the goodly work, the Almighty, whose
happiness is infinite and incapable of increase, graciously represents
Himself as _pleased_, even with our imperfect services: “That ye might
walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.” “Though the heavens are not
pure in His sight,” yet does He condescend to “visit man” with His
favour, and “to regard the son of man,” who serveth Him, with an
approving eye: He is pleased, because it is the fruit of the sinner’s
reconciliation, by the death and sufferings of His beloved Son: for His
sake, even the feeble struggles of the Christian, in the way of duty, if
they be resolute and determined, are an acceptable service; even the
spark of goodness, if it glow with sincerity in the bosom, is honoured
and rewarded.
This is an animating consideration: we observe the effect naturally
produced in the mind of man, even by the approbation of a
fellow-creature, whom he regards as his superior; what holy satisfaction
then, and complacency and delight, may we not derive from the persuasion,
that our humble services are favourably viewed by the all-wise and
almighty God, who recompenses every one according to his work: if God be
pleased, whose displeasure shall we fear? If “God be for us, who shall
be against us?” And O, that we may never forget, that it is one of the
great purposes of the gospel, to render us, infirm and imperfect as we
are, pleasing unto Him, through the merits and intercession of our
Redeemer; by “walking worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called.”
{262}
3. The apostle proceeds, in the text, to open and extend his view of
evangelical righteousness. It consists not in that partial cultivation
of spiritual affections, in that modified selection of particular duties,
with which the christian world is so prone to be content: it obliges the
believer to “be fruitful unto every good work.” This is a point, in
which vast multitudes, in the christian church, lamentably and
notoriously fail; in which many fail, who make a considerable profession
of their zeal for religion; and comply, to a certain degree, with most of
its obligations. There are some pleasures or pursuits, which, though
they do not pretend to reconcile them with the law of God, they still
perseveringly retain. Upon the whole, they professedly adopt the
ordinances and requisitions of the gospel: but there are some more
unpalatable than others; some to which they feel an unconquered
repugnance: and these they leave out of their religious system
altogether; to these they never so much as resolve to conform. And thus,
they fail to manifest, (what is confessedly the most difficult, yet the
most important of all christian attainments,) a surrender of the heart to
God. Their own inclination, their own judgment, and not the divine will,
is the rule and standard of their conduct; and no doubt, if they felt
this strong reluctance to the duties which they do perform, these also
would be equally neglected: in other words, no part of their obedience
rests upon a true foundation: it proceeds not from a sincere belief in
the truth and authority of God’s word. All the injunctions, all the
precepts of the gospel are obligatory alike; all equally declarative of
the divine will, and equally necessary to the spiritual renovation of
man. And those injunctions and precepts, with which we are the least
disposed to comply, do in fact require our peculiar attention and
observance; because they point out to us the natural blemishes, which
stand most in need of repair; because they shew where the greatest danger
lies, of our being deficient in that complete change, of principle and
affection and character, which the infallible word of truth has declared
to be indispensable.
St. James assures us, that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
offend in one point, he is guilty of all:” {265} he who reserves to
himself any particular indulgence or pursuit, which is clearly at
variance with the will and word of God, obeys not, in any thing, from a
real christian motive; and shews himself ready, if a sufficient
temptation were offered, to disobey in any and every point. It is true,
that there is no “good work,” which the Christian performs with uniform
unvarying obedience; but neither is there any, in which he does not
sincerely desire and endeavour “to be fruitful;” there is no act of
righteousness, to which he is a stranger; no “besetting sin,” which he is
unwilling or unmindful to cast away: though the good fruit, to his
sorrow, does too frequently fail, after all his unqualified labour; yet
the unprofitable branch is pruned again, and watered by the tears of
repentance, and fructified with the dews of heaven, and bears another
day. He believes, and fears, and “loves the Lord his God with all his
heart and all his soul and all his strength;” and therefore, though there
are many imperfections, there is no reserve in his obedience.
4. The latter clause of the text directs us to a very distinguishing
feature in the christian character: “Increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Knowledge must evidently here be taken, in a larger sense, to signify a
lively comprehension of religious doctrines and duties, a practical
understanding of the will and ways of God. In this knowledge it is
absolutely essential that the true believer should be continually
advancing: the objects of his faith are of such deep and overwhelming
interest, that the longer they are studied and pursued, the more they
will, of necessity, captivate his thoughts and strike root into his
heart: the more he seeks for the treasures in God’s word, the more he
will find: the more he knows of God, the more he will desire and delight
to know: feeling the comfort and happiness of a reconciliation with his
Maker, he is ever anxious to obtain a nearer and holier communion with
Him; sensible of his absolute and entire dependence upon the Redeemer’s
mercy, he is ever leaning upon Him with new satisfaction, with a growing
spirit of confidence and complacency; the more he thinks of heaven, the
more “his affections are set on things above;” the more he thinks of the
wretchedness of the rejected, the further he flies, in terror, from their
dreadful abode. The consequence of all this must be, a progressive
“victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil;” a daily improvement
“in all virtue and godliness of living.”
And there is yet another consideration; as we value and use the gracious
gifts of God, they are increased and multiplied unto us; “whosoever hath,
to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance;” {267} the lamp
shines brighter, that is to guide his feet; and his heart is ever
quickened with fresh energy and zeal, by the influence of the Holy
Spirit; thus he goeth on from grace to grace, from strength to strength,
“from glory to glory.”
The apostle, therefore, in praying that the converts might be increasing
in the knowledge of God, is praying that they might have the invariable
mark and earnest of a sincere and genuine faith. How little does this
point seem to be considered! How many content themselves without any
regular advancement, without any advancement at all; they cannot, after
all the flattery with which they contrive to deceive themselves, be
persuaded in their minds, that they grow decidedly better as they grow
older: a year, perhaps many years ago, they were as religious, as
fruitful in piety and good works, as they are now: no increase of
spiritual knowledge, no new grace, no fresh habit of obedience, no
additional exertions to mark the lapse of time; no passion subdued, no
unholy pursuit abandoned, no vice mortified and forsaken. Wherever this
is the case, the gospel has not been sincerely received into the heart;
it has not been felt as the “power of God unto salvation;” it has not
been, as it is designed to be, an effectual instrument of righteousness
to the soul. To those, who remain in so careless and indifferent and
unimproving a condition, we must say, that “our preaching has been vain,
and their faith is also vain.”
Possibly there may be some amongst us, who never yet bestowed an adequate
attention on this important point; if any such there be, I would urgently
exhort them, as they tender the salvation of their souls, to neglect this
point no longer; deeply to enquire without delay, whether they “are
growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.” {269} Let them enter with earnestness upon this necessary
consideration; let it be frequently repeated: Is my faith increased and
strengthened? Is my character more holy, my conduct more upright? Does
my temper improve? Are my passions better regulated; my thoughts more
spiritual; my devotions more pure and fervent; my affections more
detached from the world, more fixed on God and heaven? My life and
conversation, are they more accordant with the precepts and the example
of my Saviour?
But the topics of enquiry are too numerous to be mentioned; I will only
add, that the sincere believer sets the “prize of his high calling”
continually before him; and advances to it, in holiness and
righteousness, every day; keeps advancing till his race is run; and thus,
when his toil is over, receives the crown of victory, and “enters into
the joy of his Lord.”
SERMON XV.
THE WORD OF THE LORD PRECIOUS.
1 SAM. iii. 1.
_The word of the Lord was precious in those days_; _there was no open
vision_.
FROM Moses to Samuel, a period of several hundred years, there was no
prophet regularly appointed; particular revelations were made to
individuals, and occasional messages from heaven were publicly delivered
to the people; but there was no acknowledged prophet, to whom they might
at all times resort, to know the mind and will of God; or, as it is
described in the text, “there was no open vision.” The natural
consequence was, that such intimations of the divine will, as were then
given, made a deeper impression; they were more highly valued and more
eagerly sought for, than when the gift of prophecy, in after ages, became
more common. When the word of God abounded, it was received with
indifference; when rarely vouchsafed, it was intently desired.
Such is perpetually, and on all occasions, the perverseness of man:
blessings of every description are estimated, not according to their
excellence, but their rarity; not according to the ease, but the
difficulty, with which they are to be obtained. And further, when in
possession of a blessing, we are often utterly insensible of its value;
we abuse it in thoughtless excess, and are ready to squander it away; but
the moment it is departed, we discover our blindness and folly; and would
give, perhaps, all we have, to bring the treasure back again. Meat and
drink and raiment, the air we breathe, the sun and the shower, excite no
spirit of gratitude, and by many are scarcely received and remembered as
blessings; but in the days of famine and of pestilence, amidst the
warfare and desolation of raging elements, these benefits and mercies are
painfully acknowledged, and ardently desired. Again: the advantages of
civil and religious liberty make little impression upon the hearts of
those, by whom they are fully and uninterruptedly enjoyed: it is under
the iron arm of intolerance and oppression; it is in the dungeon and the
mine, that the excellency of these privileges is learned. And thus it is
of domestic happiness and comfort: the value of home is frequently not
appreciated, until it is forsaken and lost; the worth of a friend, even
of the nearest relative, is sometimes but lightly considered, till he
“goes hence and is no more seen.”
These observations are also illustrative of the feelings and conduct of
men, in regard to their spiritual privileges and blessings. While the
light of divine revelation is shining upon their dwellings, pointing out
to them the way of salvation, and opening the prospect of a glorious
immortality, they shut their eyes, and turn away into the fatal paths of
sin and misery, to the darkness of eternal death; but when their
opportunities are lost, when “the evil days are come upon them,” and
there is no instructor or counsellor or comforter to be found, they
perceive the preciousness of the time and the talents, which have been
heedlessly thrown away; and would give the world, if they possessed it,
for what they were once unwilling to make the smallest sacrifice.
We are apt to express a wonder at the obstinate indifference of the
people of Israel to their religious advantages and instructions; we are
astonished, that they could forget their miraculous deliverances by the
hand of Moses, and the manifold revelations vouchsafed through him for
their knowledge and guidance; and that almost every divine communication
to them, in after ages, should have been but the forerunner of guilt and
apostacy: yet in truth, the history of Israel is but too faithful a
picture of the people of God in other times and other countries; by no
means excluding our own. The word of God has not been accounted
precious, in proportion to the extent to which it has been diffused; the
Bible has not been, in too many instances, the most highly prized, where
it has been most widely circulated; nor have the ministers of the gospel
been always most attentively and devoutly heard, where they have
increased and multiplied. Before the age of printing, when the copies of
the sacred word were comparatively few, the Christian, who was so happy
as to possess one, commonly regarded it as a treasure; or if he could
obtain a part only, by the labours of the pen, even a gospel or an
epistle, it was considered as a “pearl of great price.” And afterwards,
in the days of ignorance and persecution, when the sacred scriptures were
withheld from the people by a blind and bigotted priesthood, the thirst
for divine knowledge, for these streams of life and salvation, was
inconceivably great; men sought them and treasured them at the peril of
their lives. In these dark days, and long after, the public preachers of
the word were few; and people flocked from distant quarters to hear the
good tidings proclaimed. Having no regular supply of spiritual food,
they sought it out with earnestness where they might; “the word of the
Lord was precious in those days;” and “beautiful upon the mountains were
the feet of Him,” who came to “lighten their darkness,” and to deliver
the message of salvation to their souls.
How widely different from this is the case in our day. Copies of the
Holy Scriptures are multiplied beyond all calculation: not a village,
scarcely a dwelling, where they are not, or may not be procured: and,
instead of any persecuting power, forbidding the use of them, every
possible encouragement is afforded, and every means devised by which they
may be adequately understood. And such, under the divine blessing, has
been the success of those means, that the greater portion, even of the
poorest in this favoured land, are able to discover for themselves the
light of life; to apply it for their guidance and comfort and eternal
salvation.
And with respect to the preaching of the gospel, though it is not yet
sufficient for the demand of our extended population, still it may be
truly described as general throughout the land. Although, for “the
plenteous harvest, the labourers are too few,” still are they every where
abroad. And if it be objected, that “the word of truth is not always
rightly divided,” yet are there portions of it uniformly read, in every
christian assembly, on the Lord’s day; and in our own incomparable
Liturgy, no inconsiderable part of the divine word, of its saving
doctrines and duties, is actually embodied.
So much for our holy congratulation, for the honour and glory of our
land, for the rich abundance of spiritual privileges and blessings,
which, under the favour of almighty goodness, we have the happiness to
enjoy. It were well, if the sequel of our subject afforded equal ground
for rejoicing; that it equally redounded to our honour. But here there
is a dark cloud resting, which casts over the scene a melancholy gloom.
The value set upon the word of God, its preciousness in the heart of man,
is not proportioned to the frequency and the fulness of its
communication. It is in almost every dwelling, but not in every dwelling
esteemed and loved; not devoutly treasured, not eagerly and diligently
read, as it used to be in the days of scarcity. How many who possess it,
perhaps superbly ornamented, in a variety of forms, and with goodly
interpretations, seldom open it; seldom in comparison with its high and
everlasting importance, for their enlightenment and edification: possibly
it may be read on the Lord’s day as a cold customary exercise, and by
vast numbers not even on the Lord’s day; they are positively unmindful of
the sacred treasure, unconscious that it is so much as in their
possession. No change of heart, no lively faith, no spiritual strength
is derived from its exalted doctrines; no purification of the affections
from its means of grace; no regulation of the life and character from its
perfect law of righteousness. How should there be, when it is laid by,
idly, carelessly, and contemptuously.
The Bible is grievously neglected both by rich and poor. The rich too
seldom spare any of their abundant leisure, in storing their minds with
the riches of heavenly wisdom; other books, of worldly interest or
amusement, absorb almost their whole attention; an unimproving, nay
injurious publication, the foolish dream of fiction, will be seized and
read with avidity, whilst the oracles of eternal truth are treated with
an indifference, that borders on disdain. The poor, it is true, have but
little leisure; sufficient however, if that little were diligently used,
to enable them to acquire a considerable knowledge of their Bible; but
the great multitude of them seek their refreshment from other sources;
from the pollutions of earthly pleasure. We might have expected better
things: having fewer worldly possessions and comforts, it might be
thought, that the poor would gladly supply such deficiency by the
attainment of spiritual blessings; by raising their hopes and affections
to the imperishable treasures of a brighter world to come: but it is too
often found otherwise: the enjoyments of earth, however unsatisfactory
and even debasing, are preferred to the abundant consolations and
happiness of the gospel.
Thank God, there are many bright exceptions to these remarks, both
amongst the rich and the poor; the number is great, and we hope
increasing, of those to whom “the word of the Lord has been precious;”
who have “received it with gladness;” who have “believed with the heart
unto righteousness;” who “have seen the salvation of their God.” But
still, when we cast our eyes upon the vast and reckless multitude, we are
ready to weep over it and to say, O that ye would know, even ye in this
your day, the things that belong unto your peace; before they be hid for
ever from your eyes.
From this lamentable neglect of the word of God, we may readily account
for the want of religious principle, for the decay of religious
character, for the overspreading of corruption and vice, so notorious in
the christian world. The astonishing circulation of the Bible through
this country, of late years, might have reasonably led us to hope for a
signal diminution of irreligion and crime. And God forbid, we should be
of the number of those who maintain, that _no_ such advantage has been
derived from this dissemination of the word of life. But even the most
sanguine person will not contend, that this holy exertion, this spiritual
culture has produced a corresponding fruit: thousands of those, who have
free access to the Bible, are lying, if not in utter darkness, at least
in the shadow of death. And what is the cause? The scriptures are not
valued in proportion to their extended circulation; they are not read
with humble reverential attention, as the holy word of God; not
understood or desired, as the fountain of light and life; not sought as a
means of spiritual reformation and righteousness: and therefore, we may
expect a greater prevalence of iniquity; as a judgment of the just and
offended God, for so flagrant an abuse of the knowledge of salvation.
And thus with regard to the preaching of His word: where is that vehement
desire, that deep interest, that holy concern to profit withal, which was
observable in the days when preachers were few? We do not say, that it
is utterly extinguished; but certainly not proportioned to the
opportunities vouchsafed. How many in this our place and neighbourhood,
refuse to travel, even the shortest distance, to hear the gospel; and of
those who professedly go to hear it, not a few are led by mere curiosity
or custom. How do we stand condemned by many a less favoured people!
There are indeed lands, at this day, still thirsting for the knowledge of
their God and Saviour; lands, to which it has but just been carried,
where it is only beginning to be understood; and _there_ the people will
instantly repair at the very sound of the good tidings, and wait with
eagerness upon the footsteps of the missionary, who bears in his hand the
sacred treasure; but _here_, where the messengers are in every place,
where the ministers of reconciliation abound, here are awful numbers, who
never enter the house of God, for the single purpose of hearing His word:
the gift is continually offered, without trouble or risk, “without money
or price;” and, therefore, it would seem, perversely despised.
Similar remarks may be made, concerning all those divine ordinances and
means of grace, with which this privileged land has been so richly
provided. The public worship of Almighty God, the holy sacraments of our
Church, the instruction afforded to her children, the means of private
devotion and godly advancement, all these are pressed upon the notice and
acceptance of all; it is not enough to say, that we are invited; we are
_urged_ to the participation of these abundant blessings; yet how often
are we urged in vain. At this moment, in some of our countries or
dependencies abroad, where Churches are sparingly scattered, and the
visits of ministers are few and long between, these divine ordinances are
coveted with a painful anxiety, and no opportunity is ever lost: here, in
the mother country, is the fountain of blessings, and the “streams are
ever flowing withal;” but thousands esteem not these waters of life, and
many never care to taste them.
It is impossible, that the truth of these observations can be denied; and
to every sincere and serious Christian the subject must afford a painful
reflection. And well does it become us all, each in our several
vocations, to exert our utmost power for the abatement of so crying and
alarming an evil. Many of us, I trust, are gratefully sensible of the
goodness and love of God, in having so liberally bestowed upon our land
the blessings of the word of life; grateful from the experience of its
inestimable benefit to our own souls: let each then in his station, and
according to his influence and ability, recommend the word to those
around him; and assist in waking a slumbering people to a sense of the
glorious opportunities awaiting them. Many, from their education and
rank, have it in their power to contribute largely to the success of this
glorious cause, to become instruments of righteousness and salvation to
their lost fellow-creatures: and the poorest may do much in this blessed
work; they may train their families in the study of the Bible, may lead
them to adore the God of mercy and of truth, and to save their souls
alive; considerable also is the impression, which, by prudence and
friendly care, they might make upon their poor neighbours; bringing them
to join together in happy union, for the perusal of that word, which is
their common interest and hope; which would elevate them above the
troubles of a stormy world, would lead them to “lighten one another’s
burdens,” and to “go on their way together rejoicing.” And, to say the
least, every one has the power to recommend the holy scriptures by the
light of his own example; by shewing, on all occasions, his love for the
Saviour’s marvellous goodness; by duly reverencing and reading the word
of truth; and manifesting the blessedness thereof, in the decided change
of his own heart and temper, in his own character and life. And all such
recommendations, let me add, the Lord is demanding at our hands, in
return for His unspeakable mercy.
My brethren, let us suppose, that it should please God, for the
heedlessness of this nation, to deprive us of the privilege and blessing
of the Bible; and to declare, that the neglected ministry of His word
should be continued no longer: we should undoubtedly regard this as the
direst calamity, which could possibly befal us; we should immediately and
cheerfully consent to any sacrifice, by which so dreadful a token of
divine wrath might be averted. Then let us be consistent; and whilst we
do enjoy this invaluable favour of heaven, let it be cherished and
improved. Let the gospel, instead of being less precious to us, on
account of its universal publication, and its facility of attainment, be
therefore prized the more; and while we adore the Lord of mercy for
diffusing this heavenly benefit through our dear and native land, let the
treasure be laid up in our own bosom: what is intended for the good of
all, is intended for the good of each: to bless God for giving the gospel
to our country, and to undervalue or neglect it ourselves, is folly and
hypocrisy; but too many individuals, amounting indeed to a large portion
of our christian community, are guilty of this folly, and thus exposing
the land to judgment, thus endangering “the ark of God.”
All of _us_, my brethren, do I trust feel thankful to our God and
Saviour, who hath honoured us, unworthy as we are, with the revelation of
His word, and hath “brought life and immortality to light:” whatever
others then may do, let our sense of the gracious gift be undeniably and
duly shewn: let us daily have recourse to this holy word, as “the lamp of
our feet and the light of our paths:” be it our constant prayer for the
spirit of God to open our eyes that we may understand, and our hearts
that we may reverence, the wonders of His holy law; that it may be the
object and study of our lives, to walk in all those means of grace, which
it holds forth for our redemption from sin and death; for our safe
passage through this transitory world of trial, to an eternal world of
happiness and glory beyond the grave. If we hear and read and mark and
learn, in the spirit of devotion and prayer, we shall continually find
new treasures of mercy opening to our view; new and unlooked-for stores
of knowledge; new affections and dispositions; new hopes and prospects,
in the promises of the blessed Jesus: the word will be a blessing to us
through life and even to our journey’s end; a sure guide amid the dangers
of prosperity, a powerful support in the day of trouble, an inconceivable
comfort when we die. But if we prize it not in life, how can we expect
consolation from it in death? On the contrary, our spirits will be
weighed down by the grievous remembrance of inexcusable neglect. Be wise
in time; lay up in store the good foundation: the word, having been all
along precious, will be increasing in value to the last; even until it
leads us to the “open vision” of eternal day.
SERMON XVI.
DISTINCTIONS TO BE MADE ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT.
MATT. xxiv. 40.
_The one shall be taken and the other left_.
IN the chapter before us, our blessed Lord is describing to His disciples
various circumstances, which should attend the destruction of Jerusalem;
an event, which has been generally regarded by the christian Church, as
representative of the proceedings of that more awful day, when Christ
shall appear at last to judge the universal world, “in righteousness and
truth;” and “render unto every man according unto his works.”
Many false teachers had arisen, even in those early days of the gospel,
pretending to set forth the signs of Christ’s coming to take vengeance on
His enemies; and therefore the disciples had requested of their Master
some certain information on this momentous topic: they “came unto Him
privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be
the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered
and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you: For many shall
come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye
shall hear of wars, and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for
all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation
shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall
be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these
are the beginning of sorrows.” {291}
Our Lord proceeds to detail a great variety of other circumstances which
should occur, some of them belonging to the desolations of Judea, some to
the future judgment alone, and some to both these events; of which latter
kind is the description connected with the text: “There shall be two in
the field; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be
grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken and the other left:” that
is, though destruction shall fall upon the Jewish nation at large, for
their rebellion against God, their resistance to the clear evidence of
the gospel, their shedding of the blood of His beloved Son, yet shall not
all be equally involved in the same calamity and perdition. Divine
providence will then make a distinction between those, who have
obstinately rejected and maliciously persecuted the Saviour and His holy
religion, and those, whose hearts have been opened to the reception “of
the truth as it is in Jesus;” who, being convinced and converted, have
become His faithful followers.
And though the whole race be so intermingled, one amongst another, by the
various offices and duties and relations of life, that to the eye of man
there may be no distinguishable difference amongst them; yet the
all-seeing God, who “is a discerner of the thoughts of the heart,” will
not be misguided by any outward appearances; will perceive a very
manifest difference in characters seemingly alike: will infallibly know
whom to punish and whom to spare. As in the overthrow of Sodom and
Gomorrah, He singled out, and selected for preservation, one righteous
person, (and for his sake, a portion of his family also,) so, in the
storm of vengeance about to fall upon the devoted city of Jerusalem, He
would, in many signal instances, make the same merciful distinction. And
the declaration, thus made, was calculated at once to comfort and
encourage the faithful, and to alarm the conscience and check the
presumption of the wicked.
The intimation here afforded of the perfect knowledge and the just
discrimination of the Almighty, in regard to His judgments upon the
Jewish people, applies with peculiar force and truth to His perfect
dealings with all mankind, at the last great day. Although, when
Jerusalem was destroyed, it is undoubtedly true, that the faithful
disciples of Jesus were generally delivered, yet it cannot be supposed
that, in so extensive an overthrow, all the Christians, and all their
innocent children, without any exception escaped. But when Christ shall
sit upon His throne of judgment, not one undeserved victim shall there
be; and not one, who “has sinned against the light,” shall escape with
impunity. All those inequalities, which are unavoidable in the present
constitution of things, shall then be made right and recompensed. The
murdered innocent shall be requited with a robe of glory; and the
prosperous sinner be abased with scorn and infamy.
How necessary, how indispensable, for the assertion and execution of
divine justice, is the appointment of such a tribunal! How unequally are
deserts distributed in this probationary world!—very often in cases, of
which we ourselves may form an adequate opinion. Not unfrequently do we
observe the righteous, doomed to extreme poverty and affliction and
suffering; and though they be most graciously comforted and supported
under their several burdens, we can hardly imagine, that such alleviation
is all the requital they are to receive: and in truth, what is the
principal source of their comfort and support? Is it not the hope of a
happy termination? Is it not the prospect of entering into an
everlasting rest, of being for ever delivered from sorrow and pain, in
the presence of their Saviour and their God? And can we believe, that
this blessed expectation, vouchsafed as the solace of their woes, will
end in disappointment and nothingness? Does it not point to a day, in
which their bright hopes will be more than realized in the merciful
sentence of their Judge; in their reception, at His hands and through His
merits, of “an eternal recompense of reward?”
And thus, on the contrary, frequently do we see the unprincipled and the
profligate enjoying the favour of the world, and rising to no
inconsiderable eminence of earthly prosperity: their crosses and
vexations and troubles no doubt they have, as the natural fruit of
irreligion and vice; as the retributive chastisement of an offended God;
“sowing in corruption,” they do certainly more or less reap in sorrow;
but still, if there were no other state, their lot would be,
comparatively at least, much happier than they deserve; and therefore
_their_ condition also leads us to expect, and fearfully does it betoken,
a day of fuller retribution; when the infinite justice and truth of God
will be finally and perfectly vindicated.
Many cases, like these, of suffering virtue and prosperous vice, we are
able clearly to discern: so broad are the lines, so prominent the
features, that we can scarcely be mistaken: but perhaps there are many
more cases, of which we can form no adequate opinion at all; neither in
any instance, could we pretend to award or ascertain the exact degree of
merit due to any individual. When we speak of merit, we do not mean to
intimate that any action, in itself, is deserving of reward; we regard
works of righteousness, only as the fruit of faith in a crucified
Redeemer. But this fruit is much more abundant, and much more excellent,
in some than others; and sometimes, when it makes the fairest shew, the
quality is inferior. By merit then, we here mean the faith and behaviour
of a Christian; or, that behaviour by which the faith is manifested;
that, to which God has freely promised a reward, for the sake of our
great Redeemer. According to the faith, will the fruit be, both in
quality and abundance; and according to the fruit will be the gracious
reward; which reward He alone can determine and bestow, who discovers the
secret springs of the character and conduct of every man living.
The value of an action depends upon the spirit and principle, with which
it is performed; and of these things no one can perfectly judge, but the
searcher of the heart. Even in the christian community, many words and
deeds there are, obtaining applause from men, which will be condemned by
the omniscient God, as having proceeded from unworthy motives, and being
but the garb of hypocrisy; many persons there are, in whose respective
demeanour we may be able to trace no very marked lines of difference, who
yet differ most essentially, when measured by the scale of infinite truth
and justice: all these secret distinctions will be clearly brought to
light at the great inquiry on the judgment-day; every one will then
appear in his true character; the veil of deception will be for ever torn
aside; and of those, who seem alike to us in the present life, we shall
find that one will be taken and another left; one taken to glory, and
another left to shame and wretchedness and ruin.
It may be useful to mention a few instances, in which we may be deceived
in our comparative estimate of men. Even with regard to the fundamental
principles of religion, to a real belief in the truths of the Bible, to
the essentials of a christian character, it is possible that we may form
very mistaken opinions concerning many around us. It is true, that
insincerity and deceit are commonly, sooner or later, in some degree
detected; it is difficult to be always dissimulating, and acting a part;
some evil fruit, some inconsistency does generally betray the hollowness
of hypocritical pretensions: still however, it is not always so; and
doubtless there are some,—out of the number of those persons, whom we are
in the habit of considering as equally resting their hopes upon the true
foundation, equally believing in Jesus Christ for pardon and salvation,
equally zealous in the maintenance of His holy religion and attentive to
the ordinances,—some there are, who differ materially from others, in the
unerring judgment of God. They may repair to the same place of worship,
perhaps with the same degree of regularity, but with very different views
and impressions: we can judge only of the outward appearance, of the
posture of the body or the moving of the lips; it is for the Lord to look
upon the posture of the soul and the offering of the heart. Many, no
question, come to the House of God from very unworthy motives and for
very unworthy purposes; and frequently they do not escape the observance
of _man_; but _man_ cannot penetrate into the case of every individual;
to the eye of Jehovah alone are “all things naked and open;” He sees and
judges, _who_ come unto Him in humble faith; who approach His tabernacle
is a pious frame and temper, with holy affections, with integrity of
heart; who “worship Him in spirit and in truth.” My brethren, it is an
awful consideration: but from the same Church, the same christian
society, the same assembly of worshippers, “one shall be taken and
another left.”
Again, with respect to a discharge of the ordinary duties of life, there
may be much real, though little seeming difference, in the characters of
many, with whom we are daily acquainted. Punctuality and diligence,
though always commendable and useful for the public good, may be, in as
far as the person himself is concerned, of little value in the sight of
God; our acceptableness with God, in this matter, depends upon the
principle and the view and the spirit, with which the business of life is
conducted: it may be carried on merely for the sake of self-interest; of
gain, reputation, and pleasure; without any religious feeling or purpose
whatever, without a single prayer offered up for heavenly assistance and
blessing, without a word of thanksgiving or acknowledgment: or, on the
other hand, we may proceed to our daily employments and pursuits, “strong
in the Lord and in the power of His might;” imploring and depending upon
His grace; “doing whatever we do for His glory;” active and diligent and
faithful, from a sense of love and duty to Him, for the sake of obeying
the law of our blessed Redeemer, and thus bringing forth the fruit of
faith unto perfection; “living soberly, righteously and godly in this
_present_ world,” {302a} with the continual hope and expectation of a
glorious world to come. Now, whether industry be the work of religious
principle, or whether it arise merely from selfish and earthly views,
_we_ are often unable to decide: but God knoweth all the thoughts of man;
and therefore can assign, to every action and habit and pursuit, its true
origin and its due reward; and many persons, it will be found at last,
who have gone forth together unto their labour, who have been engaged in
the same occupations, have toiled together as companions in life, will be
separated when the day of full inquiry comes; the one, having “sown unto
the spirit,” shall be _taken_ to enjoy the fruit of life everlasting; the
other, having “sown unto the flesh,” shall be _left_ to “reap
corruption.” {302b}
Similar observations will of course hold good, with regard to the
practice of particular virtues. They, “who give alms only to be seen of
men;” who dispense their bounty from any other principle, than that of
love to their Saviour; for any other purpose, than to serve God and to
benefit their fellow-creatures; they “_have_ their reward” already—the
only reward, which they are caring to seek—the applause, the good will,
or the esteem of mankind: and they must not expect, on the latter day,
the reward which they seek not; the approval of their sovereign Lord; the
praises and blessings of christian charity. Again, they who exercise the
virtues of honesty or sobriety, merely for the sake of worldly expedience
or reputation, will likewise “have their reward” all the reward they are
to expect, in this life. Christian faith and christian principle are the
only foundations, upon which a Christian can surely and successfully
build; they, who build upon them, will be taken to see the goodly fabric
perfected in heaven; whilst every work, which is raised upon “other
foundation,” will be left to desolation and devouring fire.
And even they, who have communed together, through their earthly
pilgrimage, in the bonds of familiar intimacy; who have been united all
their lives long, by the nearest and dearest ties of kindred; even they
will be subject to the same discriminating judgment at the last. If they
have been bound together in the holy bonds of the gospel, as well as of
family affection; if they have been faithful brethren in the Lord, as
well as in the flesh, “walking with God as friends,” it will be well;
then, as they “were lovely and pleasant in their lives, in their deaths
they shall not be divided:” {304} together shall they go to heaven, and
be admitted to enjoy a more delightful communion with each other, in the
happy paradise above. But if it be otherwise, if such friends be of
opposite characters; the one “carnally” the other “spiritually minded;”
then, their ends must be opposite also; “death” is the portion of one,
“life and peace” {305a} of the other: their union therefore must be
dissolved. The world may regard all the members of a family, as nearly
alike in character; but the difference may nevertheless be great; and the
distinction, in another world, will be great also. The wicked parent
shall see its innocent offspring no more; the pious father shall not
deliver the undutiful child, nor the obedient child its rebellious
father; {305b} each can save but his own soul. How feelingly and
powerfully does this consideration appeal to christian families;
admonishing them, to regard not the present only, but the everlasting
welfare of each other; to “edify one another” in holiness and godly love;
lest, after they have been so intimately connected together upon earth,
while the one is taken to felicity and glory, the other be left to
“mourning, lamentation and woe.”
How are christian parents bound, to watch over the offspring they so
tenderly love! Watch they do, with continual anxiety, for the temporal
benefit of their children, for all that can minister to their comfort and
honour and advancement in life: they rejoice in the joy of their
children, and weep when their children weep: but O how infinitely more
important is the provision for eternity: earthly ties will soon be
broken; how important, that we should provide for a happy renewal of
intercourse and love hereafter! Parting now, to meet no more, were
enough to break the heart; but the bright prospect of a re-union in
paradise consoles and reconciles; forbidding us “to sorrow as those who
have no hope.” See then, ye christian parents, to the nurture and
training of the “olive branches round about your table;” bestow, upon
their spiritual well-being, an especial and exceeding care; that ye may
behold them “flourishing in the house of the Lord” above: that, whether
ye be taken from them, or they from you, there may be comfort in the
parting. See, all christian relatives and friends, by whatever name ye
are endeared; see that ye live not in worldly, but heavenly affection:
instructing, admonishing, animating one another in the profession of the
true faith and the exercise of all godliness; that so your converse and
communion may never be embittered by the fear of eternal separation.
Lastly, let the truth, here declared by the infallible word of God, check
the presumption of the careless and the wicked; and give comfort and
encouragement to the faithful. The worldling may fancy, because no great
distinction, between him and others, is made upon earth; because he
perhaps can see no great reason for such distinction; that, therefore, he
shall escape in the end; but in the day when “God will judge the secrets
of men by Jesus Christ,” {307} when “every one shall receive the things
done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or
bad,” {308} he will find, that an immeasurable distinction will be made
between him “that hath served God, and him that hath served him not;”
between him, whose heart has been given to his Creator and Redeemer, and
sanctified by the Spirit of grace, and him, who has only made it his
object to maintain a decent appearance in the world. If we do believe in
the final judgment, if we believe in the perfect truth and justice of the
Almighty, we must conclude, that this fearful difference will be made.
And if it were so dreadful a calamity, to be left to fall in the
tremendous overthrow of Jerusalem, what will it be, to be left an
everlasting-prey to the tortures of Satan and of sin?
But let the true believer, the righteous servant of God in Jesus Christ,
take encouragement and comfort: there is no exercise of faith, no holy
meditation, no fervent prayer, no religious deed, no pious intention or
design, however secret from the eyes of men, which can escape the notice
of their heavenly Father: though justice is not, cannot be, done to their
characters here; though sometimes the greatest injustice and injury and
wrong; yet shall they be triumphantly and gloriously vindicated at the
last: though they be on earth forsaken or oppressed, though they bear the
burden of private affliction or public scorn, in a “world which is not
worthy of them,” they shall be visited and acknowledged and received at
the last; shall lift up their heads with honour and with joy, and be
admitted into a kingdom, which is more than worthy of all their faith and
all their constancy; the Redeemer has marked them for His own; He will
single them out, on the last day, from the crowd of countless multitudes,
as objects of his compassion and favour; will take them into the arms of
His mercy, and so “they shall be forever with the Lord.” {309}
SERMON XVII.
GOD MADE MAN UPRIGHT; MAN MAKES HIMSELF MISERABLE.
ECCLES. vii. 29.
_Lo_, _this only have I found_, _that God hath made man upright_,
_but they have sought out many inventions_.
IN this remarkable book, Solomon discusses the various earthly means
employed by the human race, for the attainment of happiness; and he
decides upon the utter insufficiency of them all. Nor is he to be
regarded as making the enquiry from mere matter of speculation, but as
declaring to the world the result of his own experience, as well as the
counsels of the Most High. Exalted to the very summit of worldly
prosperity and greatness, and learned in all the arts and sciences, he
possessed advantages, in the pursuit of happiness, far beyond the common
lot of mortality; if it were to be found upon earth, he would have been
sure, in himself or some of his favoured dependents, to have made the
discovery. But he declares, by many remarkable repetitions, his utter
inability so to do; he gives up the matter as hopeless and impossible;
“all, (even the fairest and the best of human schemes,) is vanity and
vexation of spirit;” “that which is crooked cannot be made straight, and
that which is wanting cannot be numbered.” {311}
And this conclusion corresponds with the experience of mankind in every
age: happiness has always been their object; philosophers have laid down
rules for its acquirement, and every variety of expedient has been tried;
but all in vain; there is no permanent pleasure or satisfaction upon
earth: independently of the crosses and vexations from without, by which
it is so continually disturbed, there is something in the constitution of
man, in the present state of his mind and heart and affections, by which
the attainment of happiness, from temporal means alone, is positively
forbidden.
The royal preacher, thus convinced of this truth, turns his thoughts to a
solution of the case, and sums up his observations, on the conduct and
condition of man, in the words of the text. Instead of arraigning, like
some bold and impious cavillers of our day, the wisdom or goodness of the
Creator in the introduction of evil into the world, he gives the true
account of the matter; and lays the blame where alone it is due, upon the
disobedience and degeneracy of man. And in so doing, he bears testimony
to the truth of one of the most important communications made to us in
the revealed word of God—the original innocence and the fall of our first
parents. This fact has been daringly called in question by certain
professed believers of divine revelation, by some who boast themselves
peculiarly entitled to the christian name. Anxious to exalt the moral
excellency of human nature, and to disprove the doctrine and necessity of
the atonement, through the prevailing efficacy of the Saviour’s
incarnation and sufferings, such vain disputers absolutely deny, in the
very face of God’s word, that any such total and dreadful change has ever
taken place in the state of mankind; they contend, that our
understandings and affections are now the same, as when we came
originally from the hands of our Creator. It appears, however, that the
_wisest_ of men took a different view of this momentous subject; that he
received the Mosaic account, recorded in the opening of the book of
Genesis, according to its plain and natural interpretation; and he has
delivered to us his judgment, by the inspiration of that Holy Spirit,
under whose guidance it was impossible for him to err.
Solomon introduces his declaration upon this point in a very awakening
manner; in a manner frequent with the inspired writers, when about to
deliver a sentence of peculiar weight and importance; “Lo, this only have
I found;” behold, attend to this truth; this is the result of my
observations, this the “conclusion of the whole matter,” this the
explanation of all the evil and unhappiness in the world, that “God hath
made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions;” that man was
created innocent by the wise and merciful Author of his being; formed for
pure unalloyed enjoyment; and the marring and misery, which he
experiences, are solely attributable to the change induced by his own
apostacy and rebellion; to his seeking out ways and means of happiness,
contrary to the will and appointment of his Creator. “God saw every
thing that He had made, and behold, it was very good;” {314} and man, the
lord of creation, was not less fitted than the objects around him, to
answer the good and gracious purposes of heaven. So God “created man in
His own image; in the image of God created He him; male and female
created He them;” {315} in the image of holiness, and therefore happy.
How far man has fallen from this state of uprightness, is a question
which has caused much difference and contention in the christian world;
some persons, from a desire of exalting the free grace of God, declare
that the divine image in man was totally corrupted and lost by the fall;
that there remains, in his unregenerate nature, no spirit or particle of
excellency, no perception of what is good; that his nature is a mere
chaos of disorder, a mass of decay, which is altogether incapable of
producing any thing but “confusion and every evil work.” On the other
hand, it is contended, that the wreck of man’s nature was but partial;
that there remains a considerable disposition to practice, as well as
approve, “whatsoever things are pure and honest and lovely and of good
report;” that man is still able, by his own judgment and strength, in
many things to please God and to serve Him. It does not fall within our
purpose, on the present occasion, to attempt any accurate adjustment of
this difference; but we may observe, that it is dangerous to insist upon
either extreme. A belief, that man can will or do nothing, is apt to
lead to a persuasion that he has nothing to will or do; that his
salvation is a work totally independent of himself; a measure of grace
absolutely forced upon him: and a belief, is that man able of himself to
“refuse the evil and to choose the good,” that he “knows how to walk and
to please God,” creates a spirit of self-righteousness, at once
destructive of the sinner’s hope; preventing his dependence upon the
all-sufficiency of God, and subversive of the truth of the gospel.
A faculty of discernment between good and evil, for the moral government
of man, is evidently vouchsafed to his unrenewed nature; and a power, in
dependence upon the divine teaching, to accept or reject the proposals of
mercy and grace, does surely remain to us, or else the numberless
exhortations of God to the sinner appear to be of no benefit and no
meaning: and who can reasonably suppose, that sinners would have been so
frequently and severely condemned, for refusing that grace, which they
were positively incapable of accepting. The language of our ninth
Article on this point appears to be most temperate and unobjectionable:
“Man is very _far gone_ from original righteousness, and is of his own
nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the
spirit.” With this statement we may rest content.
One of the many bitter fruits of the fall is, that man no longer seeks
his happiness in God, where alone it can be found, but in ways of his own
devising, in the crooked ways opened to his view and imagination by the
destructive enemy of his soul; no longer in innocence and holiness and
obedience, but in vicious inclinations and pursuits, “in the lust of the
flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life;” {317} in those
very principles and means, which brought “death into the world and all
our woe:” it is no wonder, therefore, that happiness, from a search like
this, should not be found. They, who search in this manner, are like the
wicked spirit, “walking through dry places, seeking rest and finding
none;” like the dove of Noah, in the overwhelming of the waters, roving
about on weary wing, and finding no resting place for the sole of her
foot. Nor is it possible for man to be blessed again with perfect peace,
peace without any interruption or alloy, until he be altogether restored
to “the image of Him that created him:” the nearer he approaches to that
restoration, the more he will assuredly possess of true satisfaction and
delight; but the blessing can never be complete, till the original
defilement be utterly purged away, till his understanding is enlarged for
a full knowledge of the good and great and glorious Creator; till he can
be brought to love and serve Him without any mixture of infirmity; till
he returns not only to His favour, but into His immediate presence, in
the second Eden, of eternal bliss.
Still may man enjoy, even upon earth, no inconsiderable degree of peace
and happiness. The promises and blessings of the gospel impart a “joy
and gladness” to the believer, and fill him with comfort, which the world
can neither give nor take away: the avoiding and abhorring of evil will
prevent those painful reflections, which inhabit the mind of the reckless
sinner: the life of faith in a merciful Saviour, the worship and service
of God, the works of piety and love, the walk of uprightness and
integrity, though accompanied with imperfections, and, therefore, with
abatements of comfort, yet do infallibly produce a great tranquillity of
soul, and unspeakable emotions of holy joy; the sincere Christian
contemplates his present condition with happy, though humble persuasion
of acceptance with his God; and looks forward with an animated exulting
hope of the perfect consummation of his felicity, in another and a better
world. The trials and troubles of this life do indeed still continue;
yet they have no power to harm, and therefore none to distress him; he
“casts his burden upon the Lord.” But in the natural, unrenewed,
unconverted world, there is no such redeeming principle, no qualification
of evil, no pure sources of delight: let the votaries of earthly
enjoyment seek it with what ardour and devotedness they may, it is a
phantom which is ever eluding their grasp; flitting before their eyes in
the shape of promises and visions, but never in substantial possession.
It is indeed sadly instructive, to consider the numberless devices to
which men are driven, in their search after happiness, when once they
have forsaken the faith and fear of God; how busy they are in the
invention of new scenes and pursuits; quitting one after another, as each
deceives and fails; how they are wearing and wasting away the little span
of life, in vain experiment and profitless enquiry. How are the opulent
contriving their multiplied means and opportunities of enjoyment, with
all their splendour of establishment, and a train of dependents obedient
to their will! And if we could form a judgment by outward appearances,
we might be inclined to pronounce them happy: but under this beautiful
veil, with all this pomp of circumstance, many a corroding care, many a
mortified desire, many a bitter disappointment, lie constantly concealed.
To envy the rich, as if they were the certain possessors of comfort and
ease, is one of the greatest of all mistakes and follies; happiness must
dwell in the mind and the heart; it must depend altogether upon the state
of mind and heart; it is not to be purchased with money; money, we must
grant, may be made to minister to it, but this must entirely depend upon
the disposition, the spirit, the manner, in which it is used: the
smallest pittance upon earth, possessed in the faith of the gospel, in
the fear and love of God, produces infinitely more enjoyment, than the
countless treasures of those, who seek or spend or save them, with a view
to themselves and this world alone.
Some are revelling in the dreams of ambition; and imagine, that if they
could attain a particular eminence, they should be happy: but the road is
steep and slippery, toilsome and dangerous; and the summit, if ever they
reach it, is not a land of repose, not the habitation of contentment and
peace; “seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.” {322}
Ambition is always dissatisfied; if not the most unclean, it is one of
the most tormenting spirits in the bosom of man; and yet it is fondly and
generally cherished both by rich and poor. Be humble; be moderate; be
content; if thou wouldest be happy.
In what are called the pleasurable scenes of life, it is unnecessary for
me further to insist, how vainly we rove in quest of substantial delight:
this indeed is a truth still more level to the experience of us all; it
is a path we have often trodden, but never I think with satisfaction.
Witness the continual changing, the endless variety of amusements, which
are found necessary in order to relieve satiety and disgust, necessary
even when they are innocent; and in sinful pleasures, in lust and
intemperance of every kind, it is needless to tell you, there can be no
peace; health is impaired and the conscience is burdened; they are like a
two-edged sword, cutting on both sides, destroying both body and soul.
The force of these arguments may be made to appear from another
consideration; for whatever delusions may be practised upon men, to
induce them to reckon and build upon earth alone; to trust for happiness
to their own inventions, to human schemes and devices; yet will they
never, in their serious moments, contend for the wisdom of their choice;
or say, that their expectations have been answered; they will never, when
they come to die, recommend to their friends, assembled round their bed,
the course which they pursued, as a sure foundation of comfort in their
lives, and peace in their latter end; the dying father will not recommend
it to his children, nor the dying brother to his brethren. No: it will
then be seen, either by the tears of bitter remorse or the agonies of
unrepented guilt, that the way of the world was “the broad way that
leadeth unto destruction;” that the soul can never find rest, till it
returns to the forsaken paths of righteousness, to the lost image of its
God.
And thanks to the unspeakable mercy of God in Christ Jesus, the way of
recovery is abundantly made known; the kingdom of heaven, with all its
joys and treasures, is opened to every believer. Wisdom has come down
from above, to tabernacle with sinful man; to lighten his darkness, and
to rejoice his soul; and “_her_ ways are ways of pleasantness, and all
her paths are peace”—pleasantness and peace to those, who seek them with
their whole heart, implicitly and devotedly, as manifested in the
gracious revelation of their God.
But unhappily, in the way of religion also, in their professed walk of
faith, men will be seeking out many inventions of their own, instead of
submitting themselves, with simplicity and godly sincerity, to the gospel
of Jesus Christ. They are seeking to accommodate His divine law to their
corrupt inclinations and indulgences, to the maxims and fashions and
interests of an ensnaring world: and thus they fail of the happiness,
which they were led to expect. No wonder, that they find not the
christian promises realised; that they fall short of the comfort, as they
do of the obedience of faith. To the believing in our crucified Lord,
with all the heart and soul; to “the seeking first His kingdom and His
righteousness;” to the “forsaking all and following Him;” to “the spirit
of God dwelling in us, and mortifying the deeds of the body;” to the
sincere desire after holiness “as He is holy;” to “the fulfilling of the
law of righteousness;” to a living hope of “the inheritance that fadeth
not away”—to these things, the promise of life is made; of joy and favour
here, and eternal felicity hereafter; but if we, in dependence upon our
own vain inventions, seek to be blessed in any other way; with a less
entire belief, and a less holy profession, and a less devoted obedience,
and a less exalted hope, we must not complain or wonder, if we lose our
object and aim; “Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap; he that soweth unto the flesh, shall of
the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the spirit, shall of
the spirit reap life everlasting.”
The merciful God, when He created man innocent and happy, graciously
revealed to him the means, by which his innocence and happiness might be
preserved; and shewed thereby, that they were inseparable, that the loss
of the one would be the loss of the other. “The Lord God commanded the
man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for
in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” {327a} And
no sooner had Adam disobeyed, no sooner was his innocence forfeited, than
his happiness was gone; he found to his sorrow, as he would not believe
to his comfort, the truth of his Creator’s word: and thus miserably ended
the first covenant of God with man, the covenant of obedience and works.
Under the covenant of grace, by the blessed and eternal Son of God, it is
revealed to us, with equal clearness, how the lost happiness of man is to
be recovered; “the way we know:” “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved;” {327b} “set your affections on things above, not on
things on the earth:” {327c} this is the way, call it by what name you
please—a condition, or a means; it is the only way: happiness, here or
hereafter, is attainable in no other. For this, we have the assurance of
that word, which we have seen, under the first covenant, awfully
fulfilled; of that word, which can never fail. My brethren, I cannot
doubt, that we are all of us convinced of this truth: then let us pray
fervently and faithfully, that the conviction may live in our hearts;
that we may, from this day forward, go to “the fountain of living waters,
and not hew out for ourselves broken cisterns, that hold no water;”
{328a} that we may renounce the vanity of all human inventions, and seek
our happiness in God, and God alone. “Be not conformed to this world;
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind; that ye may prove,
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God:” {328b} that ye
may “have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” {328c}
SERMON XVIII.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD REVEALED TO THEM THAT FEAR HIM.
PSALM xxv. 14.
_The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him_; _and He will
shew them His covenant_.
THE secret of the Lord means, that which cannot be known unless the Lord
reveal it; and the phrase here implies, an intimate knowledge of the
divine perfections, of the dealings and dispensations of God; a holy and
vital communion with Him; an entire trust in His providential care and
government; together with that peace, which always dwells in the bosom of
a true, penitent, pious believer. All this, including, as it does, a
full acquaintance with the doctrines and duties, the privileges and
comforts of the life of faith, is called “the secret of the Lord,”
because it is hidden from the natural man, and cannot possibly be
comprehended or discovered without divine revelation.
Such knowledge and such blessings are not the growth of earth; they are
not the produce of the human intellect or the human heart; they must come
by spiritual communication, from the fountain of wisdom and truth. When
man was driven from the bright abode of paradise, his understanding was
darkened; losing the favour, he lost the image of his Maker, and thus
became naturally estranged from those holy thoughts and affections, which
constitute his chief happiness and glory. Nor is it possible for him to
recover this spiritual frame of mind, these heavenly views, this holy and
happy acquaintance with God, unless the hand, by which the image was
originally stamped, repair the wretched ruin in which it now lies.
Whoever would know the ways of God, must be taught of God; to all, who
are not so taught, they are impenetrably secret. Thus spake the wisest
of men; “The Lord giveth wisdom, out of His mouth cometh knowledge and
understanding. Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and
equity; yea, every good path.” {331a} And thus the apostle, “Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the
things which God hath prepared for them that love Him;” {331b} that is,
man, in his natural state, of ignorance and rebellion against God, cannot
form a notion of the value of heavenly blessings; of the enlarged views,
the sublimed affections, the sustaining comforts and joys, attainable by
an inheritance of the divine promises, both here and hereafter. But, as
the apostle proceeds, “God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for
the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. For what
man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in
him; even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God;” as
we exercise our thoughts and judgment upon human matters, by the help of
human reason, by the natural powers of the mind, so must we attain the
knowledge of divine matters, by the aid of a divine spirit; by a holy
illumination and guidance; not indeed by miraculous illapses, but still
by the distinct and actual operation of heavenly grace, silently
producing its effects upon the understanding and heart.
The pride of man, the disputer of this world, does not submit to this
proposition and teaching; perhaps commonly regards them in the light of
enthusiasm; he has no notion, that there are any secrets in religion,
which his own skill and judgment are not sufficient to reveal; he
disbelieves every thing, which he cannot comprehend or feel; and affects
to throw a shade of discredit and contempt upon all those religious
sentiments and affections, to which he is a stranger. There are not a
few such persons in the christian world; who profess to believe all the
doctrines of the Bible, and to know all that need or can be known, and
yet never submit themselves to, scarcely can be said to pray for or
desire, the aid and direction of Almighty God; who imagine, that their
liberal education and their common sense entitle them to pass a full and
adequate judgment upon all spiritual subjects; and to form a correct
notion of all spiritual privileges and blessings.
This is a dangerous and fatal error; a most unfounded presumption; a
gross ignorance of the very element and nature of evangelical truth: such
persons only judge of the word of God, of the ordinances and benefits of
religion, as they would judge of any mere human history; of any worldly
occurrence or advantage: they take, what they are pleased to call, a
rational view of Christianity; but the only view, which deserves the name
of rational, is, not that which appeals to reason alone, but that which
is according to truth; according to the acknowledged revelation of God’s
sovereign will. Let us again hear the apostle: “Which things also we
speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy
Ghost teacheth.—But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned.” {334} The merely rational
man, therefore, is a carnal man; not indeed an absolute stranger to the
word of grace, but unenlightened by it; he has no true taste for holy and
divine things; it is altogether impossible for him to appreciate their
merits, or to know any thing of their practical effects.
A familiar instance or two may serve to illustrate this truth. How can
any man, who neglects the worship of God, pretend to decide upon its
importance and utility? How can he presume to deny its comfortable and
salutary influence upon the soul, its powerful efficacy upon the
character and life? It is a matter of experience; of which he therefore
is unqualified to judge.—He that is a stranger to the grace of God in his
heart, may despise those, that regard it and live by it, as fanatical
persons, who are deluded by visionary ideas and groundless assurances:
but he is only judging others by himself; and it would be marvellous
indeed, if he, who is avowedly living without the influence of divine
grace, should bear witness to the benefit and happiness which it
confers.—What can the intemperate man know of the blessings of
temperance? Nothing: except by the want of them.—What can the covetous
man know of the pleasures of benevolence and liberality?—the licentious
of the excellence of purity, or the ignorant of the treasures of
wisdom?—Because the sinner, when overtaken by sickness or affliction,
declares that he derives no comfort from religion, are we therefore to
conclude, that religion has no comforts at all? Could we think it
probable, that the promises of the gospel would afford consolation to
him, in an evil hour, when he had all along been an alien to their
nature, when they had been unheeded or despised?
It is quite clear, that the benefits and blessings of our holy religion,
that the knowledge of God’s word, the power of His Spirit, and the
effects of His ordinances, must ever remain a secret to those, who have
no intercourse with these things, and set their hearts against them. And
whenever the Christian hears his conduct condemned, or his hopes
undervalued, by such persons, he may treat them, not with proud disdain,
but with a holy disregard: whatever their station in society may be,
whatever their learning, whatever their reputation for judgment in
worldly affairs, upon spiritual or scriptural matters their opinion is of
no weight or worth.
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.” The fear of the
Lord, in this passage, as in many others of Holy writ, denotes the sum
and substance of religion; it implies a sincere faith and trust in God,
an awful sense of His majesty, an humble and anxious enquiry after the
knowledge of His will, with a holy determination of obedience. And, in
addressing these words to a christian congregation, we may understand
them as implying that fear and service of God, which proceed from a vital
belief in the whole of His revealed law, in the gospel of His ever
blessed Son, our supreme Lawgiver and King; as implying moreover an
entire concurrence in all the measures ordained for our salvation. The
fear of God, though common to all believers under every divine
dispensation, will vary in its operation and extent, according to the
nature and fulness of their dispensation; it will lead them to believe
and love and obey, according to their knowledge, to their opportunities
and means of grace, and therefore the believer in the gospel shews the
working of this holy principle in the full bearing of evangelical fruit.
All who so believe and live, shall have the secret of the Lord abundantly
revealed; “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that
loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father; and I will
love him and will manifest Myself unto him. The Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all
things.” {338} The humble disciples of Christ are blest in all their
researches after divine truth and knowledge: when they contemplate the
perfections of the Godhead, their capacities are enlarged, their
affections devoutly engaged, their hearts disposed to profit withal. A
deep sense of the majesty and power of Jehovah leads them to reverence
Him; a sense of His justice leads them to walk uprightly; of His
omnipresence, to live holily; of His goodness, to serve Him with
gratitude and love. Whilst the cold philosopher, whilst the
worldly-minded and the sinner view these great subjects only with a
theoretical eye, without any moral or religious improvement, the
spiritual believer is powerfully moved and affected; and walks in the
light of truth every day and hour.
In their devotional exercises, the faithful servants of the Lord are
peculiarly blessed; are made sensible of His presence and His power.
When they pour forth their prayers and praises at the throne of grace;
when they thus hold a nearer communion with their reconciled God, a
heavenly tranquillity and delight are spread over their souls; they know
and feel their connexion with “the Father of spirits,” and they rise from
their devotion with an humble confidence, that the tribute of their heart
has been accepted; that their fervent supplications will be answered, in
God’s appointed time and way, through the merits and intercession of a
merciful Redeemer. To these inspiring hopes and persuasions the
impenitent sinner is an utter stranger: if he prays at all, it is but the
outward service of the lips; there can be nothing of the spiritual
principle of devotion, and therefore nothing of its fruit.
Again: when the humble pious believer sits down to the study of the
Bible, with a pure desire to discover and perform the holy will of God;
to be nourished with the bread of life; and to draw, from the fountain of
truth, the waters of eternal salvation; the grace of the Holy Spirit is
with him, to remove the veil from his corrupt heart, and thus to open and
enlarge his understanding: by this means he perceives “the wondrous
things” of the divine law, and applies them for his own personal
edification and comfort. The true import of the doctrines, there
contained, is progressively unfolded to his view; and the full bearing,
of every precept and rule of life, is pressed with increasing force and
authority upon his heart. He admires and reverences the holy book; he
loves all that it contains; his soul is rapt in the contemplation of the
stupendous mystery of goodness and godliness; it elevates his prospects
and affections above this lower world; he has “tasted the good word of
God, and the powers of the world to come;” {341} he beholds, with the eye
of faith, his inheritance in the skies; and this his heavenly view
brightens as he advances.
Every sincere Christian can bear witless, that his acquaintance with the
word of life is continually improving; that in every page, and almost in
every passage, he is perpetually discovering fresh truth and beauty,
fresh obligations and delights. Of all this, the carnal-minded and the
sinner are profoundly ignorant; to them the Bible is comparatively a dead
letter: they see little of its harmony or its excellency; and where they
do see, it has no lively or permanent effect upon their heart; no more,
than any other book, of history, or morality, or amusement.
The righteous are not free from suffering and pain, from trials and
afflictions; but then they enjoy, under every visitation, a source of
comfort and satisfaction, which the thoughtless votaries of this world
cannot possibly experience. There dwelleth, in their hearts and minds,
the peace of God; and that must ever be the gift of God, which He will
never bestow upon His enemies; the peace of God, which fills them with a
holy calm, and reconciles them to every thing. In seasons of trouble,
the triumphs of the gospel are especially manifested; and the “secret of
the Lord” especially revealed. The soul is in a more impressible
condition; more ready to learn of Him, who “was meek and lowly of heart;”
and therefore more capable of the enjoyment of His promised rest.
“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” {342}
The sensual and the proud are disappointed and mortified and rebellious
under the various troubles of life; the Christian receives them in a
different spirit, as tokens of his heavenly Father’s love; and tokens of
love he finds them to be. They, who “walk by sight,” are ever
complaining of hardships and inequalities in the world; they who “walk by
faith,” can perceive in them all the sovereign and gracious hand of the
Almighty, who “doeth all things well.” They, who live upon the favour of
the world, must always be rendered unhappy by its frowns; but the
Christian lives above it, and cares little for any opposition or evil
report: he is fortified and comforted by a secret power, and protected by
an invisible arm: and this power shall continue with him, if he continue
faithful, even unto the end. When his journey through the wilderness is
about to terminate, when he has arrived at the borders of the flood, and
is entering upon the shores of the heavenly Canaan, when nature sinks and
the soul is departing, then does the Lord reveal himself, in a manner not
to be seen and not to be told: there is a hidden energy, a light within,
a sustaining spirit, a mysterious and merciful communion with the Lord of
life and death. This indeed is an awful secret, and one which the guilty
can never know; which none can know, who do not, with all their heart and
soul, embrace the promises of salvation revealed to them in the gospel:
the foretaste of heavenly rest, like the rest itself, remaineth only for
the people of God. They who have so feared and loved the Lord, as to
have served Him with a good conscience and with integrity; they who have
so believed and trusted in their Saviour, as to have followed
whithersoever He led, as to have sacrificed every unholy gratification
and pursuit, for the love of His name and for the “one thing needful,”
they shall find, in their latter moments, a peace known only to
themselves, a joy with which no “stranger can intermeddle.” The Lord
will effectually “shew them His covenant:” they were made by baptism
“members of Christ and children of God,” and became thereby entitled,
through the free mercy of God in Jesus Christ, to an “inheritance in the
kingdom of heaven;” having abided in that covenant, and walked faithfully
therein, they will never doubt, but God will assuredly perform His part;
and He will give them a full insight into the blessings, which He has
covenanted to bestow; they have all along entertained a lively
apprehension of the nature and principles of this holy covenant, and of
their own correspondent obligations; its holy promises and its gracious
rewards have been through life the solace of their souls; and it
continues, yea increases, to the last; not indeed enjoyed in perfection
here below, but enjoyed as the earnest and pledge of the fulness of their
eternal felicity.
In this manner, my brethren, “acquaint yourselves with God,” and come to
the true knowledge of His perfections and His ways, and live in the
animating ennobling hope of a brighter manifestation of His glory
hereafter—in this manner, by a spirit of humble, faithful, entire
dependence upon Him, through the mercy of Jesus Christ; by fervent
importunate prayer for the illumination and aid of the Holy Ghost; by
“seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness by loving Him
with all the heart and soul,” and “walking in His fear all the day long.”
Thus are we to be taught of God, thus only can we acquire a capability
and disposition to be taught; thus growing in grace, we grow in wisdom,
in holy experience, in happy communion with our Lord and Saviour.
Receive this instruction, “high and low, rich and poor, one with
another;” it is equally necessary for all. Unless this spiritual lesson
be learnt, the stores of human science, the treasures of human wisdom,
are vain and worthless; they can impart no knowledge, no true and saving
knowledge, of the ways and dealings of the Most High; they cannot bring
the sinner to his Maker: on the contrary, they prevent and hinder him, by
ministering a spirit of pride and self-sufficiency. If thou wouldest
know God, fear Him, and be taught of His Spirit and His word; this is His
own appointed means, and there is no other. And ye poor, unlearned as ye
may be, seek the Lord in this way, and ye shall assuredly find Him: His
secret shall be with you; and He will graciously teach you more, than you
can attain from all the world besides; more than the wisest can learn in
any other way.
“The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they
stumble: but the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth
more and more unto the perfect day.” {347} The Lord revealeth Himself
unto the righteous, day by day; they grow in wisdom, as in years: the
nearer they approach to the completion of their hopes, to the end of
their earthly pilgrimage, to their heavenly and eternal kingdom, the
clearer will be their knowledge, and the more delightful their
anticipations; even until that day, when the veil of the flesh shall be
utterly removed, when they shall “see their God face to face, and know
even as also they are known.” {348}
SERMON XIX.
RESIST THE BEGINNINGS OF EVIL TEMPTATION.
PROVERBS iv. 14, 15.
_Enter not into the path of the wicked_, _and go not in the way of
evil men_. _Avoid it_, _pass not by it_, _turn from it and pass
away_.
THIS is one of those short, comprehensive, moral directions, with which
the holy Scriptures abound, for our safe conduct in life; directions,
that are seldom attended to with the earnestness, which their importance
demands. Studied such words should be, with devout meditation and the
spirit of prayer; imprinted on the memory, fixed in the heart. We are
apt to trust too much to generalities in religion; we do not sufficiently
concern ourselves with its individual precepts and practical admonitions.
And I wish now to enlarge upon this point, before we enter into a
consideration of the text; hoping that it may induce you, by God’s help,
“to take heed how ye hear” such lessons of instruction.
For the attainment of a religious character, and the means of walking
holily and uprightly in our course through life, doubtless the main thing
is, to establish sound principles in the heart; and without such
principles all the rules and helps in the world will prove of little
avail; never to be depended upon in the hour of temptation and trial.
Accordingly we find, in the word of God, these mainsprings of action
continually insisted on, as of the highest necessity to be settled in the
soul. A true, a right faith is inculcated, as the great foundation of
all spiritual obedience; a vital faith in God, as our Creator, Redeemer,
and Sanctifier; a faith in His revealed word, in all the great doctrines
of life and salvation there propounded to fallen man; a faith in the
necessity of obeying all the commandments therein delivered for the
formation of our character and the regulation of our lives; a faith in
the world to come, after the death of the body; a world depending, for
happiness or misery, upon our choice and conduct here. The love of God
and the fear of God are also laid down as most powerful principles of
thought and action; as spreading an influence over the whole of our
behaviour.
Still however, the establishment of these first principles is not of
itself sufficient for the complete direction and government of our lives.
So manifold and various are the temptations to which we are exposed; so
numerous the trials we are called to bear, that particular instructions
and commands are also needful for us, in order that we may be prepared to
meet the different circumstances which are perpetually arising, in order
that we may be taught how to reduce our principles to practice; and to
apply the declaration of God’s will to our ordinary intercourse and
experience with the world.
For this purpose, we find the old scriptures every where abounding with
rules, for the performance of every duty, and the avoidance of every sin:
for the immediate service and worship of God, for the discharge of every
honest and honourable obligation we owe to our neighbour; for the
correction of all those evil affections and passions, to which the
corrupt heart of man is so lamentably prone. Nor in the new testament,
where the foundation of faith is more clearly and broadly laid down, are
such rules less frequent, or less urgently enforced. We might indeed
expect, what actually is the case, that as a clearer and fuller
revelation, that as a higher principle and view, would require a more
holy and perfect observance, a greater purity and integrity and
blamelessness of character, therefore the several duties demanded of us,
in our walk with God, would be laid down and marked with the greater
accuracy. Accordingly we do find, for this purpose, “line upon line and
precept upon precept” repeated and urged with the greater fulness and
particularity; that we may not, by any unholiness or deficiency in our
conduct, disgrace that more glorious revelation, with which we have been
favoured as believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look at His own
blessed discourses, especially His sermon on the mount; look at the
epistles, which His servants, inspired by the Holy Ghost, have left for
our guidance and government; and see what full instructions they contain,
for our duty to God and our duty to man. It is wonderful, for how many
cases they provide; for how many instances in our daily experience; how
they teach us, on the one hand, the practice of every virtue, shew all
the bearings of it and the steps that lead to it; how they caution us, on
the other, against every besetting sin; how they point out the manner, in
which it gains an influence over us, and cut it up by the root.
I have embraced the present opportunity of enlarging on this point, with
a view of awakening your attention to, and inducing you to study and
treasure up, the various scriptural rules for holy living: I have done
this, because many suppose, that the fixing of a good principle—of faith,
for instance,—is all that is requisite; if it were so, why should so many
rules have been given in that holy book, in which there can be nothing
unnecessary or superfluous? God, who knows the heart and all the ways of
man, knew how wise and needful it was, to deliver express admonitions and
exhortations to each individual duty; that our faith might not be vague
and unprofitable, but abounding in fruit, in the fruit of holiness unto
everlasting life.
But it is time now to turn to the text, which furnishes us with one of
the most important cautions for our safe and christian government. It
might be thought, that every true believer in that blessed Redeemer, who
came “to cleanse him from all unrighteousness,” would have such a horror
of sin, as effectually to secure him from its dominion; as to prevent us
from the necessity of admonishing him against its fascination and its
power; but such unhappily is far from being the case. Many, who make a
considerable profession of the gospel, are betrayed into grievous
inconsistencies; many, who set out with promising hopes and good
resolutions, are led astray and overcome; many, for want of attending to
the warning given in the text, for want of narrowly watching the
beginnings of evil. Feeling a sincere and decided abhorrence of the
grosser sins, they expose themselves without fear to slighter
temptations; should they be, in some small matter, inveigled and led into
the path of error, it is expected that they shall instantly perceive
their danger; that they shall repent and be forgiven, and be more guarded
and resolute for the time to come.
But they have not formed a proper estimate of the seducing nature of sin;
they know not how the power of the tempter increases with every success:
instead of their being alarmed and disgusted with the first commission,
they become, from the corruption of their nature, the more captivated and
seduced: it is easier for the enemy to draw them on to the second step,
than it was to persuade them to the first; their conscience becomes more
easily silenced and reconciled; they begin to think, that the strictness,
for which they once contended, is not so requisite; they become
accustomed to evil; make excuses for it; take delight in it; are
flattered with the empty praises and congratulations of their new
companions; and proceed by degrees to abandoned and ruinous lengths. The
fact is, that they have been all the while provoking the Spirit of the
Lord to desert them: He was grieved at their very first departure, from
the path of innocence and integrity; it shewed a carelessness of the ways
of God; it argued, that His fear and His love were declining in their
heart: with every renewed commission of evil, the Spirit was more and
more quenched, till at length He left them to themselves; weak, helpless,
incapable of resistance; in the dominion of the enemy, slaves of sin.
What I am here describing, has been the miserable experience of thousands
of unwatchful and irresolute Christians; who have fallen into the snare,
yea at last into the ruinous abyss of evil, from which they have never
afterwards escaped, because they were too “wise in their own conceits”
and too confident in their own strength, to take a warning against the
peril of yielding to the first temptation; because they ventured into the
borders of forbidden ground, and were insensibly led on to the fatal
lengths, which they once held in abomination.
How many a youth have we known, trained from his earliest infancy in the
holy principles of the gospel, the hope and the promise of his anxious
parents, the joy of his family and friends, yet, from incautiously
listening, on some unsuspected occasion, to the advice of an evil
counsellor, and induced to make experiment of some unhallowed pleasure,
thereby shaken in his integrity and thrown off his bias; prevailed upon
to repeat the pressing indulgence; thence to proceed to others; till, in
the end, the character has been totally changed,—marred, corrupted,
ruined. It seemed but a little matter that first courted his consent;
what, though sinful pleasures did surround him in his new scene and his
new company, he, poor innocent youth, had no intention of joining in
them; was determined to stand aloof. For a while he did so; and
maintained the pious and virtuous and christian habits, in which he had
been trained; the habits of prayer, and holy reading, and holy
meditation, and uprightness of conduct: but he began to give way, to
“fall from the stedfastness of his faith in Christ;” {358} one religious
observance after another was broken in upon; one scruple after another
overcome; till at last he was stripped of every portion of the garment of
righteousness, and left “miserable and poor and naked,” with nothing to
hide his wretchedness and shame; the dishonour of his father, the grief
of his mother’s heart; disowned by his family, disowned by his God: a
misery to himself; dying the death of a sinner. And whence came all this
load of misery upon him?—on account of his first unguarded yielding.
This representation has been but too frequently verified: yet not to the
young only has such heedlessness proved a snare and destruction. We may
see its consequences ravaging around us almost every day; in persons of
every age and condition. How many a sabbath-breaker has contracted his
dreadful habit from a very small beginning of neglect? At the first he
was tempted very occasionally to absent himself from the House of his
God; to indulge now and then, extremely seldom, in worldly pleasure; or
to engage, in a thoughtless hour, in the dispatch of worldly business;
but his affection and reverence for the holy day by degrees grow colder,
and the temptations became stronger: the Lord’s House was, in a great
measure, forsaken; the Lord’s day became his day of dissolute pleasure;
or his day of business and accounts, as best suited his condition; and
hence followed, as it must of necessity, the total decay of religious
principle and religious character.
Thus it is also, in a remarkable degree, with the vice of intemperance;
no man proceeds to its abominable and fatal extremities all at once: but
no man, whatever his principles may have been, is secure from its
horrible influence, if he is once tempted habitually to depart from the
holy rules of sobriety; however seldom the habit may be at first
indulged. It is indeed especially true of this awful vice, that if the
enemy once gains a footing in the heart, he seldom leaves it, till the
heart is his own.
Thus it is, once again, with evil company of every description; it is
ensnaring beyond all suspicion, and beyond all calculation: wicked or
worldly companions infuse their venom, into the mind and the bosom,
gradually and insensibly: even if they have no intention so to do, as in
truth they too often have, their very presence and conversation and
habits are so corrupting, that it is impossible for any one, who is
familiarly acquainted with them, to escape the contagion; in fact,
whoever seeks, or whoever tolerates such company, has a lurking
disposition to evil, though it may be unperceived and unsuspected by
himself. Flee from every approach to this treacherous and dangerous
ground, as you would “flee from the wrath to come.”
From this statement, which indeed is but imperfect and feeble in
comparison with the magnitude of the evil, against which I am seeking to
warn you, my hearers; from this you may be better prepared, by God’s
grace, to receive and value and apply the important admonition of the
text: you will observe how particularly, how urgently, with what
repetition, what varied forms of expression, the wise man delivers his
charge; so delivers it the more, because he speaks feelingly, from
dear-bought experience; because he himself had been lamentably ensnared,
for want of attending to it in his own case.
Let us hearken to the counsel of this inspired and experienced guide: he
says, “Enter not into the path of the wicked;” never be prevailed upon to
set your foot on this forbidden ground; “go not in the way of evil men,”
trust not yourself in their company or in any of their goings: further he
says, “Avoid it,” avoid this ensnaring way; be at pains to keep clear of
it; use your utmost watchfulness to discover it; go in another direction,
in the way of the upright and holy. And, as if this caution were
insufficient for his purpose, he adds, “Pass not by it;” suffer not
yourself even to approach it, to look upon it; lest you be beguiled by
its false charms, and unwarily led to desire them. Not willing yet to
cease from admonishing, in order to make a yet deeper impression, he
concludes, “Turn from it and pass away;” the instant you perceive it,
turn round with the dread of danger; as you would if you discovered
yourself on the edge of a precipice, in fear of falling headlong; turn at
once, and pass decidedly and quickly away.
In obedience to these rules, my brethren, consists our great security,
under the guidance of infinite wisdom and the support of almighty power:
the grace of God is ever ready to be bestowed, ever at hand to “preserve
us from falling;” but God expects and requires us, in the use of this
grace, to employ every means of prudence, and to strive with a holy and
unbending resolution: this grace is afforded for the very purpose, that
we may so watch and work; and if we do not thus improve it, with
circumspection and diligence, it will be withdrawn. Never so much as
listen to any sinful proposal, to any doubtful invitation; stay not to
reason upon it at all; turn away with holy jealousy; never suffer the eye
to dwell upon a forbidden object, to dwell even for a moment; through the
eye it may find a passage to the heart, and inflame it with unlawful and
hurtful desire: resist at once; the first victory is the easiest, as well
as the surest. Say to the temptation, as your Lord said to the tempter,
“get thee hence, Satan;” “flee from him and he will flee from
you”—“escape for thy life.”
And here I must add an observation upon the means, by which we may be
enabled to follow this momentous advice of the wisest of men. We must
“watch and pray, that we enter not into temptation;” {364} we must go
forth into the world in the spirit of watchfulness and prayer; praying,
not only that we may have the grace to watch, but also when the trial
actually arises, when we are watching. In the presence of temptation, or
if we do but perceive or suspect that it is coming, let the soul be
lifted up to the “Lord of all power and might;” let the language of the
heart, if not of the lips, be poured forth in pious aspiration to God; if
it be but a word, a wish, or a thought, it will be clothed with strength,
and minister a stedfastness to the mind and heart. We are thus animated
by the assurance of divine support, and fixed in our holy determination
of resistance to all evil. Much depends, for safety and success, upon
this habitual spirit of devotion; it is our buckler and shield in every
moment of conflict; without it, we are standing, in the feebleness of
nature, before the mighty enemy of our souls; ready to “be taken captive
by him at his will.” {365a} “Be ye therefore sober (that is, be serious)
and watch unto prayer;” {365b} and thus “go forth conquering and to
conquer.”
SERMON XX.
THE LOVE OF CHRIST FOR THOSE WHO DO THE WILL OF GOD.
MARK iii. 35.
_Whosoever shall do the will of God_, _the same is my brother and my
sister and mother_.
FROM this, and one or two other passages in the gospels, it has been
sometimes imagined, that our blessed Lord set no value on the common
relationships, the natural ties, the tender endearments of life; and that
He intended to teach His disciples, by His own example, to neglect such
considerations altogether; as if all Christians had an equal claim upon
our affection; as if the spiritual brotherhood were the only object
worthy of our regard; as if parents and brothers and sisters were merely
upon a footing with the rest of mankind. This notion is entirely
erroneous; it is a mistaken conclusion from the words and conduct of our
Lord.
His own example, on several occasions, has afforded a sanction to the
feelings of private friendship, as well as of family affection. How
deeply was He moved at the death of Lazarus! “Jesus wept, then said the
Jews, behold how He loved him!” {367a} And of our Lord’s disciples we
read, that there was one, treated with peculiar tenderness and regard;
one, “who leaned on His bosom;” {367b} one, distinguished by the high and
honourable name of the “beloved disciple.” And this disciple, the
evangelist St. John, has drawn one of the most striking pictures of an
affectionate family, ever represented to the eye and the heart of man:
“There stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother’s sister,
Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw
His mother, and the disciple standing by whom He loved, He saith unto His
mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy
mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”
Jesus not only loved and protected His mother through life, but was
solicitous to provide for her future well-being, even amidst the agonies
of the cross; commending her to His dearest personal friend; and by way
of effectually securing _his_ regard and _her_ confidence, He calls John
the son, and Mary the mother: Behave to each other as mother and son; and
it is all I can ask or require. This must be admitted as a proof, that
Jesus felt most tenderly and peculiarly for His nearest earthly relation:
and it shews, that those passages, which have been supposed to favour a
contrary opinion, have been wrongly interpreted.
Let us now consider the circumstances which led to the declaration in the
text. It appears, that the earnestness and perseverance of Jesus in
teaching the people, notwithstanding the opposition of the Pharisees, had
given disquietude to His friends and brethren, that is, to His near
relations, some of whom did not believe in Him. They seem to have
desired Him to forbear and discontinue His ministry at that particular
time, supposing that He had exceeded the bounds of prudence; and it
further appears, that they had induced Mary, His mother, to concur in
this improper design; which conveyed a reflection upon His wisdom, and
the perfection of His character. They came, therefore, when He was
teaching the people; and, not being able to approach Him for the
multitude, they sent to speak with Him. But Jesus, aware of their
intention, answered by enquiring, who His mother and brethren were;
thereby intimating, that they had no right to interfere on such an
occasion, nor had any authority over Him in respect of His important
work; that His spiritual affection to His disciples, in the advancement
of their eternal interests, was greater than any natural affection, which
He bore to His relations, in a mere earthly point of view; that His love
to men’s souls had the greatest consideration and weight with Him; that
even His mother was nearer to Him as a true believer, than on account of
her natural relationship; and that His brethren would derive no advantage
or favour from Him, if they were not also believers.
Jesus then proceeded to declare, that His true disciples, even though
they had no connexion with Him by the natural tie of blood, would be
regarded in the light of relations; would be the objects of His sincere
affection and esteem; “He looked round on them which sat about Him, and
said, Behold My mother and My brethren, for whosoever shall do the will
of God, the same is My brother and My sister and mother.” We cannot but
observe, that these words are addressed, not merely to the disciples of
that day, but to every individual Christian throughout the world;
_whosoever_, of any age or nation, should do the will of His heavenly
Father, by hearing, believing, obeying His revealed word, by embracing
the gospel of salvation, he would, in life, in death, in judgment, and
for ever, be honoured and blessed; even as the brother, sister, or mother
of Him, who is the Lord of all, and the King of glory.
How encouraging, how delightful an assurance, to be persuaded, that in
all our difficulties and troubles, in all our bereavements and desertions
and afflictions, through this vale of tears, we have a friend, a
relation, at the right hand of God, the omnipotent Redeemer; who is
advanced, after His earthly humiliation, to the throne above, for the
very purpose of “receiving gifts for men;” and of distributing them for
the relief and assistance of all His loving and faithful brethren. How
fortunate do the needy children of men esteem themselves, if they have a
kind relative or friend in a high quarter; one possessed of honour and
wealth and power. They feel themselves ennobled by the connexion; and
are raised above the fear and apprehension of want, by a confidence in
his influence and generosity. But what are the highest and greatest of
earthly relatives, in comparison with the glorious everlasting Son of
God; with Him who “hath put all our enemies under His feet;” with the
“high and holy one that inhabited eternity?”
Earthly friends may and do fail, often when they are most needed; an
untoward occurrence, a groundless displeasure arises; and all our
expectations from them are suddenly swept away. But with Jesus “there is
no variableness, neither shadow of turning:” He searches our hearts; and
as long as they are really and stedfastly united with Him, no casualties,
no outward appearances can estrange us from His favour. Earthly friends
die, one after another; and often at a time, when they are become most
dear and most necessary to us; but Jesus liveth for evermore; and the
union, we form with Him, is in no danger of being severed by any change
of time or circumstance; but goes on progressively and perpetually
increasing. The very disasters, which often tend to disunite us from our
earthly friends and brethren, serve but to bind us the more closely to
the Saviour; in adversity, in poverty, in contempt, in persecution, we
find Him the nearer and dearer; always most ready to succour us, when
most wanted and desired: always ready, and always able. So that, if the
whole world were to fail us, His abiding favour would more than
counterbalance all the evils of our lot. “When even my father or my
mother forsaketh me, the Lord taketh me up;” {373} He is in the stead of
parents, in the stead of all: “the Father of the fatherless, and the God
of the widow;” the Lord of consolation, and the Lord of love. The
upholding of His Spirit will sustain our infirmities; one beam of His
gracious mercy will cheer all the darkness, which the world casteth over
our souls.
The disciples of Jesus experience His friendly comfort every day and
hour: even if there were no other world than this, they feel themselves
abundantly blessed in their connexion with Him, by His present affection
and grace; but there _is_ another world; where their joy and love will be
continued, and their union with Him perfected in glory. He is called, in
gracious condescension, “the first-born among many brethren;” {374a} He
has suffered and died and triumphed and risen again, risen “as the first
fruits of them that sleep;” {374b} and His brethren, “who endure unto the
end,” shall also rise from the sleep of death, and “see Him as He is, and
be like Him:” {374c} they shall “be the children of God, being the
children of the resurrection.” {374d}
And “do not our hearts burn within us” at the representation of this
blessedness? Do we not desire the honour, the privilege, the advantage,
the excellency of being thus united, in a bond of holy endearment, to the
glorious Son of God, to the Saviour of our souls? Undoubtedly we do:
unless our understandings be so darkened and our affections so depraved
and debased, that we are incapable of choosing between good and evil,
that we “put darkness for light and light for darkness.” There cannot be
one amongst us, who does not profess to set a value upon the favour and
friendship of his Lord; upon the relationship which, as christians, we
are graciously permitted to bear to Him. Not one of us would go to rest,
content and happy, with the prospect of being deprived of this
distinguished and heavenly blessing. Let us know and remember then, that
our relationship to Him is not like that of earthly families, a mere name
which we have inherited from infancy; and which will necessarily continue
without our care or concern. We became related to Him by our baptismal
covenant; but there must be something more than baptism; something more
is required than a mere profession, than an outward belonging to His
visible church, in order to our being acknowledged as His brethren.
Brethren by name all of us are; nay, we have been spiritually admitted
into holy connexion with Him: but Jesus regards those only, as accepted
members of His family, who believe in Him with all their heart and soul;
who look to Him, with a single, entire, and constant dependence, for life
and salvation; those, who “are daily renewed in the spirit of their
minds;” and desire and strive to bring all their affections into a
righteous subjection to Him and His holy law; those, in a word, “who do
the will of God.”
We cannot sufficiently reprobate the practice of those persons, who
boastfully claim the Saviour as their “familiar friend,” without an
abiding concern and a strenuous endeavour to walk as He walked, in all
the ways of spiritual and moral integrity. Consider, I pray you, His own
clear text on this point: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments:” {377}
there can be no other evidence of our saving interest in the Lord, but
that which He Himself has established. His true disciples and brethren
must bear His image; and not the marred, corrupted, hideous likeness of
the author of sin and death. This it is, to be spiritually and
effectually incorporated into the family of Jesus Christ; thus is our
relationship to be proved and cherished: he that walketh as a brother and
a friend, will be owned as such; he, that faileth so to walk, will be
disowned and cast away, whatever his pretensions: “better had it been for
that man if he had never been born;” better still, if he had never been
born “of water and the spirit;” if he had never “named the name of
Christ.” Let us then faithfully remember, not only the joys and
privileges of the brethren of our Lord, but the means also, which are
absolutely necessary for the proof and establishment of this holy title;
the conditions, the evidences, and the duties of so high and happy a
state.
And from our Lord’s example in the instance before us, we may gather
several particulars for our instruction in life: He gave His relations to
understand, that it was not so much the natural tie which He valued, as
the spiritual; not, as we have already explained, that He was devoid of
natural affection, but that the spiritual bond was of so much higher
importance in His esteem. In applying this principle for our adoption
and regulation, certainly great allowance must be made, and sound
discretion used; allowance for our mutual infirmities; and discretion,
for the sake of preserving domestic harmony and peace. Far be it from
us, to disclaim and renounce every one of our family, who liveth not as a
faithful follower of Christ; he has a natural hold upon us, which must
not be harshly or hastily broken.
Independently of a universal feeling of benevolence for all mankind; it
is evidently the will of God, that the different members of each family
should be especially attached together, for the sake of promoting each
other’s interest and comfort; and thus of contributing to the good of
society at large; to the increase of the general stock of happiness, and
the diminution of evil.
And this, the design of a merciful Providence, which is manifest to our
common reason and our common feelings, is abundantly verified and
enforced by the holy word of God. The fifth commandment in the law
distinctly recognizes and requires the exercise of domestic affection;
and it is repeatedly confirmed, under the gospel covenant, by the pen of
an inspired apostle. That apostle has farther declared, that “if any
provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he
hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” {379} And the
sense of this precept may be properly extended, to sanction and command
all those peculiar offices, of kindness and countenance and support,
which the members of a family can perform for each other. Under ordinary
circumstances therefore, if there be no opposing necessity, the natural
tie is to be respected by the Christian, and bound upon his conscience
and his heart.
Nor is such a connexion to be dissolved, but in cases of extremity; for
this among other reasons, that there is always a hope, of the recreant
and abandoned becoming, by the mercy of God, at length reclaimed and
converted; and of this great blessing the pious relative may be made an
instrument, by his fervent prayer, his affectionate counsel, and the
constant influence of his good example.
But all this hinders us not from looking, with a very different eye, upon
the spiritual and the worldly relation; upon the good and the evil;
though both may be objects of our kind personal offices, the nature and
degree of our affection may vary most exceedingly. Our love for the
truly christian relative has a fervour, a purity, a delight, which
nothing but the mutual working and spirit of religion can possibly
generate: the happiness proceeds from that sacred, heavenly source, from
which both of us draw our principles and hopes; from the consciousness of
our common interest in the great Redeemer, and our common relationship to
Him: we are both “members of Christ and children of God;” inheritors of a
better kingdom; to which we are journeying together, and of which we love
to be discoursing; it is a bond of union, which nothing can separate; not
distance, not death: for this is the great consideration, the great
enhancement of our joy and comfort, that the love which we are bearing
for one another, in the kingdom of grace, shall be renewed and matured in
the kingdom of glory. And unless there be this principle of attachment
between relations, this common faith and hope, this exercise of piety and
godliness, this interchange of holy affection, all other attachments,
however requisite for this world, are but time-serving and poor: death
will be the dreadful extinction. But when the natural affection is thus
combined with the spiritual, and draws its nourishment from it, they
produce together a happiness, which none but such relations can know.
And further, we are taught by this example of Christ, that every sincere
believer, with whom we are made acquainted, with whom we have
intercourse, is to be treated as a brother; whatever be his situation in
life, he is an object of affection far more noble and delightful, than
any human tie can possibly produce; and is entitled to our best and most
benevolent services. We may not be familiarly associated; we may not
dwell with him as with an earthly relative; there may be a distance of
rank between us; but we love and honour him, for the Lord’s sake and his
own sake, as one of God’s redeemed people, with whom we hope to dwell in
love for ever; and therefore our soul delighteth “to communicate with him
and to do him good.” Pity that there is not, in the christian world,
more of this spirit of the blessed Jesus; more friendly sympathy and
brotherly interchange; more regard for one another, as members of the
same holy family; the rich for the rich, the poor for the poor, the rich
and poor for each other. Far different would be our condition in this
world, if all were thus regarding, thus feeling for, thus helping one
another. Why is it not so? For the want of a true christian faith and
principle. If the tree were good, the fruit would be thus beautiful.
My brethren, allow me affectionately to recommend this subject to your
private and most serious consideration; to your daily prayers; as a
subject, in which your own interest in the Saviour is deeply involved; as
a subject, intimately connected with all your best promises and hopes, in
this life and the life to come. And may the God of love shed His spirit
abroad amongst us, and “pour into our hearts this most excellent gift of
charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues.” Has Jesus, our
common Lord and Master, our heavenly and eternal King, declared, of every
faithful disciple, that “the same is to Him, as a brother and sister and
mother?” Then remember His example, and remember His words, “_as_ I have
loved you, that ye love one another:” remember them, or you will be
forgotten by Him: “love the brotherhood,” or you do not belong to Christ;
your profession is hypocrisy. “Walk in love, as Christ hath loved you;”
let it be your daily walk: the reward is great, in every point of view;
great upon earth, in present comfort and peace and honour; greater on the
latter day, in the approving declaration of your Lord; “Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto Me:” {384} greatest in heaven, where we shall be made “perfect in
love;” in the love of God, and of the holy angels, and all His redeemed
people, for ever and ever.
SERMON XXI.
ON SEEKING OUT THE WORKS OF THE LORD AND PRAISING HIM.
PSALM cxi. 1. 2.
_I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart_; _in the
assembly of the upright and in the congregation_.
_The works of the Lord are great_, _sought out of all them that have
pleasure therein_.
ONE of the greatest hindrances to the Christian life, in the true
believer, is his perpetual intermixture with the world, his constant
occupation with the business of his daily calling, with earthly pleasures
and pursuits. The world, in its very nature, in the spirit which it
breathes, in the cares which it engenders, in the temptations which it
spreads, stands in opposition to the gospel, to the Christian’s walk with
God; it unfits his mind for spiritual contemplation; it gives him a
disrelish for holy delights; it calls aside his thoughts from God, from
heaven, and from heavenly things; and makes him forget his obligation to,
and dependence upon, the merciful and over-ruling providence of the Most
High.
And yet it is undoubtedly our duty to live in the world; to partake, in a
certain degree, of its pleasures, as well as of its labours and cares.
It is the will and decree of God, that mankind should provide “by the
sweat of their brow” for their subsistence and well-being in life:
integrity and industry in the exercise of our calling are among the
appointed means, by which we must “Work out our salvation.” Since
therefore we are obliged to mix with the world, our great object should
be, to guard against its engrossing and corrupting influence; to retain
all our possessions in a spirit of humble and constant reliance upon the
sovereign power and disposal of the Almighty; to be lifting up our
hearts, in the course of our daily employment, above all secular
concerns, to the author of our being, to the giver of our talents and our
time, to the judge of all our actions. And besides, some portion of each
day must be distinctly set apart for holy reading, meditation, and
prayer. Without such rules and observances, the christian principle
cannot possibly be maintained; faith and zeal will grow cold, the
communion with God be gradually impaired, the affections estranged, and
the obedience destroyed.
These remarks may serve to introduce an exposition of the 2nd verse of
the text. “The works of the Lord are great:” yet great as they are, they
cannot be understood nor perceived by those, who are absorbed in earthly
ideas and pursuits. The attention will thus be entirely drawn off from a
contemplation of the works of Jehovah; and the mind will entirely rest
upon its own labours and objects. To our own hand and our own arm, to
our own skill and enterprise, to our own advantage and honour, we shall
refer all the transactions of life, and all the success and enjoyment
with which we are blessed. The dealings of our heavenly Father, both
with ourselves and with the world around us, will be utterly overlooked;
and however we may believe, as a speculative truth, that His “providence
orders and governs all things both in heaven and earth,” we shall be in
no way improved or affected by that belief; in fact, we shall have no
real or practical persuasion of His providential government: we shall be
blind to His manifold mercies vouchsafed to ourselves, to our brethren,
and to the Church at large.
The works of the Lord must be “sought out;” that is, they must be
mindfully and diligently observed, in order to their being adequately
understood; nay, if we would know any thing of their vastness or their
excellency. We must be continually looking beyond human motives, human
exertions, human experience, if we would in any measure, comprehend or
perceive the merciful interpositions and dealings of God. We must be in
the constant habit of connecting the ordinary operations and occurrences
of life with a higher power, with the counsel and government of heaven; a
gracious promise is given, that “all things shall work together for good
to them that love God;” and we must be always endeavouring to trace this
working, and observe the striking manner in which this effect is
produced. We shall thus be able to perceive, how continually our
merciful Father is watching over us, is crowning our honest designs and
labours with success, and is bringing good even out of evil itself. We
shall perceive, how wonderfully He directs us to the most suitable means
of accomplishing our laudable purposes: how He over-rules those events,
over which we had no controul, for our benefit and prosperity; how He
raises up to us friends and fellow-workers, when we least expected them;
and provides us comforters, where we looked for none; how, in the season
of danger, of which we are not even aware, He spreads over us the shield
of safety, and we come forth unhurt; how He compels the designs, even of
our enemies themselves, to minister in the end to our advantage; how, in
the various calamities and sorrows, privations and disappointments,
sicknesses and pains, which He does permit to befal us, He brings us
consolation under them, and makes us to see and acknowledge, that what we
lamented as a grievance, is turned into a signal blessing. And whenever,
in any of our concerns or experiences, we fail to trace the mercy of God,
it is, for the most part, because we do not sufficiently seek it out;
because we are resting in our own short-sighted views; because we are
“walking by sight and not by faith,” in “the flesh and not in the
spirit;” desiring benefit in our own ways, and not humbly discerning the
ways of the Lord; impatient under the means, and not considering the end;
looking at the earthly instrument and agent, and forgetting the prime
Mover of all.
What I am seeking to recommend to you is this, not a mere principle or
matter of belief, but the importance of a constant, daily observance of
the events and transactions of life, in reference to the almighty power
and goodness of God. It is a point not attended to, even by many sincere
Christians, as it ought to be; as to the generality, day after day passes
by, without any such reference at all. Every thing proceeds, in their
notion and view, from their own will and work, from the good or evil
working of others; and they are affected accordingly; rejoicing or
complaining, elevated or cast down. They have no consideration of the
great Ruler and Preserver; they might almost be said to “live without God
in the world;” it amounts, at least, to a practical disowning of His
providence.
But I must repeat, that even from many sincere Christians this great
influential doctrine does not receive all the attention, which its
importance demands. They are convinced, that “the works of the Lord are
great;” that His mighty operations are continually manifested, in the
moral and spiritual government of mankind; but they do not sufficiently
carry this conviction into their own daily walk in life. Far would we be
from implying, that such reflections ought, in any way, to interfere with
our circumspection or diligence in worldly concerns; or that we are
familiarly to mix up religious observations with ordinary business or
pleasure; but we should have a mind and heart ever open to perceive the
gracious interpositions and visitations of heaven; we should be alive to
every providential deliverance from accident or danger, both in ourselves
and others: to the vouchsafement of every blessing, both temporal and
spiritual. And they, who are thus disposed and ready, will find many
opportunities drawing them to God: many circumstances and events, which
they once regarded somewhat in the light of chance, they will then
clearly ascribe to the sure, though silent working of that invisible
power, by which every thing in the universe is governed and sustained.
But the works of the Lord are “sought out” by those only, “who have
pleasure therein:” and this will explain to us the true cause, why such
lamentable numbers of professed believers seldom or never seek them out
at all. They have no _pleasure_ in their thoughts upon the Almighty:
they love Him not, serve Him not with a devoted and delighted heart;
their conscience is uneasy and self-condemning, and therefore they
reluctantly turn their thoughts to their great Sovereign and Judge; it is
rather a pain than a pleasure to them, so to do. “Loving the world and
the things of the world,” they have no taste for spiritual enjoyment of
any kind: in extraordinary emergencies, when the interference of an
over-ruling power is irresistibly thrust upon their notice, they do not
refuse to join with their brethren in acknowledging the fact: but as for
searching out His ways and dealings in their daily experience, they are
decidedly disinclined and averse to it; the injunction of such a practice
is repugnant to their views and feelings and desires.
Nor can any, but the pious and faithful servant of God, find delight in
this holy and profitable exercise: and the longer he lives, the more
clearly he perceives the hand of the Almighty in every thing; in
discomfiting the evil and blessing the good: he sees and admires the
wonders of grace, as well as the wonders of providence, vouchsafed to
others as well as himself; to the Church in all ages. He reads, in the
word of truth, of the signal manner, in which the Lord has delivered His
people from the foundation of the world; not only by the miraculous
interposition of His omnipotent arm; but also in the ordinary course of
His dealings with them. How merciful and manifold have been His ways of
enlightening them when in ignorance, and converting them when in sin.
How pitifully and patiently has He borne, not only with their
infirmities, but with their guilt and rebellion; and graciously reclaimed
them from the path of error and ruin, by the mercies of His chastising
rod. Nor do the defeat and destruction of wicked men afford less
decisive proof, than the deliverance of the righteous, of the greatness
of the Lord’s works: the whole history of the Church shews Him to have
been great in justice, as in mercy: and, we may add, in truth also.
Often indeed have the promises of divine favour, and the denunciations of
vengeance, been fulfilled in the most unexpected and marvellous manner;
by instruments apparently altogether unequal to the momentous object
designed. But “the Lord worked for His people; and there is no restraint
to the Lord to save by many or by few.” {395}
And amongst his friends and brethren in the Lord, the christian also
beholds many satisfactory and encouraging instances of the working of
heavenly power: he sees them advancing in their spiritual course,
steadier in principle, and improved in character, “growing in grace and
in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” And wherever he
observes the increase of true religion, there he also finds, to his
heart’s delight, a correspondent increase of contentment and happiness;
the power of the gospel is manifest before him, in the altered characters
and lives of men; and in all this, he perceives and admires the gracious
operations of a merciful God.
But the christian is best acquainted with himself; studies the most
narrowly his own conduct, and life; he judges indeed, with deep humility,
of the manifestation of divine power in his behalf, sincerely conscious
of his undeservings; still he can truly bear witness that in his own
case, his own experience also, the works of the Lord have been great.
Though still far, in spirit and in character, from what he ought to be
and would be; he finds himself continually gaining the mastery over his
evil affections and habits, and drawing nearer to God; perpetually
advancing in holiness, as in knowledge; more “hungering and thirsting
after righteousness, and more filled;” taking more delight in spiritual
ordinances, and shewing the fruit of them in his life and conversation.
And when he considers his own sinful nature, and the powerful enemies
opposed to him, he cannot but ascribe this change in his heart, this
improvement in his conduct, to the mighty workings of heavenly grace.
Unworthy as he is of God’s favour, he does find a well-spring of comfort
established in his soul; comfort at all times, especially in the hour of
tribulation; either he is provided with the means of deliverance, or the
tribulation itself is converted into a blessing. He is also made in many
ways, the instrument of benefit to others, to his family or friends; and
every door of usefulness that is opened to him, he gratefully
acknowledges to be opened of the Lord. In all the good he receives or
does, and all the evil he escapes or prevents, he traces the power and
mercy of his God; “not unto me, O Lord, not unto me, but unto Thy name be
the glory and the praise.” Thus he imitates the conduct of the Psalmist,
recorded in the text; “I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole
heart:” it is not a formal service, not a partial tribute, not a
reluctant offering: all the powers of his understanding and all the
affections of his soul are employed in magnifying the majesty and
loving-kindness of the “author and giver of every good gift.”
And the grateful Christian imitates the Psalmist yet farther; he does not
hide the sense of God’s goodness within his own bosom; nor confine the
mention of it to the narrow boundary of his closet; but declares it
openly as opportunity serves; first of all “in the assembly of the
upright,” or, according to the better version of the Prayer Book,
“secretly among the faithful;” in the company of his family and his
religious friends. When he has experienced or observed the peculiar
mercies of his almighty and merciful Father, he delights to speak of
them; though with humility, yet with fervour and joy. Such is the
natural disposition of man, when he feels deeply the obligation of
benefits conferred: if an earthly friend has enriched or favoured him, he
thankfully makes mention of the kindness: and shall he do less for the
abundant, the infinite goodness of his God? Shall he not rejoice to
proclaim it in the very overflowing of his heart?
There are persons, who would draw a line of distinction between the two
cases; and say, that our obligations to God should be felt only, and our
obligations to man should be both felt and proclaimed. It is probable,
that such observations, however sincerely made, generally proceed from
the want of spirituality of heart: there is an aversion to the
introduction of religious topics, however sober or seasonable. That they
are often indiscreetly introduced, often in a spirit of
self-righteousness, and fanatical pretension, we cannot deny: but the
abuse of any holy exercise is not to prevent us from the use. Look at
the recorded lives of any pious Christians, of those who are held up to
us as patterns of righteousness, whom in fact we profess to admire; and
see how ready and forward they were, on all occasions, to speak of the
manifold works which God had wrought for them, of the kindness which they
had experienced at His hands. The Psalms are full of such expressions
and resolutions: the text is a decided instance: let it have its effect
upon us: let every one who has been favoured of the Lord, delight to be
“talking of His doings:” not intrusively, not boastingly, as if he were a
special favourite of heaven; as if he would make it appear, that the Lord
were kinder to him than to others: but with simplicity and singleness of
mind. The true believer abhors the two extremes, of spiritual pride on
the one hand; and of cold-hearted insensibility on the other. He feels
himself all undeserving of the bounty of the Lord, and is astonished that
it should be so bestowed upon _him_, who is “not worthy to gather up the
crumbs under his master’s table;” but the bounty _is_ bestowed, and he
cannot let it pass unnoticed or undeclared.
Again, the Psalmist says, “in the assembly of the upright and in the
congregation.” He vows, that not only in the company of his faithful
friends, but also in the great congregation, in the holy temple, the
power and mercy of Jehovah shall be publicly proclaimed. {401} Not that
any particular acts, of providence or grace, could be there mentioned by
name; but that the thankfulness, which he feels for them, would put new
life and energy into his praises, in the House of God. And this also we
shall do well to imitate; this we shall assuredly imitate, if we have the
true spirit of faith and piety. At all times, the sincere worshipper has
so powerful a sense of the divine goodness in his heart, as to preserve
him, in his public thanksgivings, from indifference and languor; but
there are times, when he is visited with peculiar favour, with signal
deliverances and blessings; and the remembrance of them will inspire him,
when he next visits the temple of the Lord, with more than ordinary
ardour; “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh;” and as
his love and gratitude rise, his tribute of praise will ascend, in a
loftier strain, to the fountain of mercy, to the throne of grace.
And God will hear him, and accept the free-will offering; he will return
from worship in a holier frame, and with a more heavenly temper; the
incense which he has been wafting to the skies, will leave a fragrance
behind, and spread to his character; and he will be rendered meet,
through the grace and intercession of his Redeemer, for further
manifestations of divine love. And O still better fruit, still happier
effects of his devout thanksgiving! he will be preparing his soul for
more exalted praises in the world to come, amid the countless multitude
of worshippers, in the courts of the Lamb; where the holy-angels and the
glorified saints shall rejoice together, in seeking out and recounting
the surpassing love of God to His church and people, to His universal
creation in all ages. Exulting in the light divine, and sharing together
the blessedness of the Saviour’s triumph, praise shall be their constant
employment; and the vaults of heaven shall eternally echo with this their
joyful theme, “Great and marvellous are Thy works. Lord God Almighty;
just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of Saints.” {403}
SERMON XXII.
DILIGENCE AND PERSEVERANCE IN THE CHRISTIAN RACE.
PHILIPP. iii. 13, 14.
_Brethren_, _I count not myself to have apprehended_; _but this one
thing I do_, _forgetting those things which are behind_, _and
reaching forth unto those things which are before_, _I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus_.
FROM what St. Paul had said in a few verses before, he feared, lest he
should have seemed to make himself sure of salvation, without the
necessity of any further anxiety or labour; as if he might rest quietly
satisfied with his present views and attainments; and had nothing to do,
but to wait for the certain result. And truly, if such confidence and
relaxation could ever have been justified, it must have been in the case
of this apostle; witness the sacrifices which he had made for the gospel;
his unswerving and invincible faith; his holiness of character; his
unparallelled labours; and the many signal marks of divine blessing, with
which he had been distinguished.
But still, he was far from presuming in this way; and the resolution
which he expresses in the text, and the account which he gives of his own
spirit and conduct, may furnish us with a very suitable lesson, and teach
us the absolute necessity of continued watchfulness and diligence and
perseverance unto the end; may teach us, that we are not, as the prophet
Ezekiel expresses it, to “_trust_ in our own righteousness;” {405} in any
principles we have formed, any views we have entertained, any holiness we
have acquired, any experiences with which we have been blessed; and thus
grow heedless and secure: but, that the further we advance, the more we
must be convinced of the need of exertion; the more we shall find to do,
and the more we shall be enabled to do: who loiters, loses; loses the
advantage of the ground he has gone over; loses the means of a victorious
and successful accomplishment.
It will be improving, to those, who listen with humble and teachable
hearts, who spiritually receive the word of God as the teaching of the
Spirit of God, if we repeat a considerable portion of the important
passage connected with the text; let us begin then with the 7th verse.
“What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ, yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, (all earthly things) and do count them but dung, (as mere
refuse and worthlessness) that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship
of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death, (by dying to sin
that I may live to God;) if by any means I might attain to the
resurrection of the dead,” (to that perfect felicity, to which the saints
are admitted at the resurrection.) From these words, it might have
appeared to some, as if the apostle had expected his great object to be
already accomplished; as if he had arrived at a state of faith and
holiness, by which he had actually secured this felicity, independently
of any further vigilance or labour: and therefore he immediately adds, by
way of caution and correction: “Not as though I had already attained,
either were already perfect; but I follow after, (keep following after
the object before me,) if that I may apprehend _that_, (may lay hold of
_that_ prize,) for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus;” (for
which He, as it were, has graciously laid hold of me, arresting me in my
course of blindness and obstinacy, as a malignant persecutor of Him and
His gospel.) Then follows the text; “Brethren, I count not myself to
have apprehended;” I reckon not upon the prize as actually won; however
high and fervent my hope, however undoubted my assurance of ultimate
success, I cannot be careless, I must not diminish my anxiety or
activity; my hope can only be sustained in proportion to my vigour in the
contest; success must depend upon my unbending resolution and unabating
constancy: the victory is not gained in the middle of the course, and
cannot be gained till it is finished.
Many of us, no doubt, are aware, that the apostles, as well as our
blessed Lord, were in the habit of drawing their observations and modes
of instruction from the common transactions of daily life; from the
circumstances, by which they were surrounded; from the manners and
customs of the people, amongst whom they sojourned. Thus, when our Lord
called Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen, to be His disciples, He
said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” And St. Paul, on
the occasion before us, alludes to certain games or sports, generally
celebrated, and highly esteemed by the people, whom he was addressing.
One of these games was the foot-race, in which a number of competitors
contended together for the prize; and, in the result of which, they and
their friends were deeply interested. Severe was the previous training,
which it was necessary for them to undergo; and great and persevering the
exertion necessary, in order to gain the prize. It would readily occur
to their minds, that if the racer, who was out-stripping his opponents,
were so to please himself by the advantage he had gained, by thinking of
the ground he had successfully gone over, as to relinquish his efforts,
as to stop and look back upon his wonderful feats, and indolently enjoy
his satisfaction, that, by such folly he would soon lose his superiority,
that his past endeavours would have been to little or no purpose; it
would be perfectly manifest to them, that nothing could ensure his
success, but the continuance of that activity, which had placed him
foremost in the trial.
Agreeably to this view and this figure, the apostle took his resolution,
and formed his principle and conduct in the christian race. “This one
thing I do;” this is the unswerving purpose of my soul, this the plan and
object by which my whole course is constantly regulated; “forgetting
those things which are behind, and reaching forth, (stretching out and
forward all the faculties of my body and soul) to those things which are
before, I press toward the mark.” Great and successful as his
attainments already were, he did not dwell upon them with a complacence
and security, which should induce him to relax; on the contrary, he
forgot them, in the comparison and prospect of the exertions which yet
remained.
And how much less reason have we, my brethren, to be satisfied with our
past character, with any thing that we have already achieved. Woe to me!
(may many of us say,) how large a portion of my time has been consumed in
indifference and trifling! how long was it before I earnestly set out in
the race at all! and even after it was begun, I proceeded carelessly and
supinely, as if the prize had not been worth contending for. How idly
and insufficiently did I prepare for the contest; expecting to gain the
victory without a sacrifice or a struggle! yea, and perhaps the best of
us may look rather with shame than satisfaction upon our christian
attainments: how much further might we have advanced, than we have done,
if we had commenced the good work in earlier life, or been more diligent:
how much more enlightened might our minds have now been, had we more
fervently sought, and more implicitly yielded to, the teaching of the
Spirit of God; had we been more frequently and earnestly “searching the
scriptures,” more devout in meditation and more constant in prayer: how
much more purified our hearts, and “cleansed from all unrighteousness,”
by a more sincere and unqualified subjection to the divine will; how much
higher our affections elevated, had they been more conversant with
heaven; how much more firmly and blamelessly our feet have been fixed in
the way of God’s commandments, in all the blessed ordinances of the
gospel, in the narrow path of life eternal, had we been more zealously
and faithfully walking with God. Nearer should we have been drawn to
Him, in holier and happier communion, had we not been so long, and so
often, cold and remiss.
No, my brethren, we have no reason to be dwelling, with such delight and
confidence, upon the progress we have already made, as to feel ourselves
privileged to be content. In no case, would this be considered the
evidence of a true christian principle or view; in no case, would it be
the means of safety; nor even consistent with the hope of salvation; no,
not even in an apostle; much less in us, whose faith is so weak, whose
knowledge so moderate, whose resolutions so wavering, whose attainments
so comparatively poor. On the contrary, we should sorrow over our past
failings; be deeply affected on considering how far we have come short of
what was required of us; and heartily desire and pray, that the grievous
remembrance may stimulate us to fresh endeavours, with a “new heart and a
new spirit;” that so we may be “reaching forth to those things which are
before.” All that we have well done, and all that we have left undone,
should have, for this purpose, the same effect; experiencing the blessed
consequences of our holy labour, on the one hand, we should be animated
and encouraged to persevere in the conflict, that we may gather thereby
additional comfort and success; and sensible of our deficiencies, on the
other hand, in a work of such inconceivable and everlasting importance,
we should be anxious to repair our neglect; and thankful for our
opportunity of “redeeming the time,” and making further advances.
Thank God, whatever our negligence may have been, all is not lost; the
course is yet before us, and we may go onward in the spirit and strength
of the Lord; the prize is yet before us, and it may be won. But it
requires a full purpose of heart, a fixed determination, an undaunted
courage, a strenuous exercise of every faculty and every nerve: all that
we are, and have, must be devoted to the securing of the one great
object. All the talents of reason, with which our Creator has endued us;
all the energy of grace, with which our souls are supplied, must
incessantly be brought to bear upon our high and holy calling. We must
be daily and hourly proceeding; no lingering, longing looks upon the
world we are leaving behind us; no loitering amid its vanities and
follies; no backsliding to its sinful pleasures and pursuits; no
declining from the strict line of duty, as if it were become wearisome,
as if it were not fully believed to be right or requisite: “the just
shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no
pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition;
but of them who believe to the saving of the soul.” {415}
St. Paul says, “I press toward the mark;” alluding to the mark, or line,
drawn across the end of the course, to shew where it terminated. The end
of our course is death; that is the mark, to which we must constantly
press; never, till we reach it, can our striving be over, can the victory
be gained. If we perceive ourselves languishing or weary, if the enemy
of our souls would tempt us, as he undoubtedly will do, to indolence or
repose, let us instantly pray to our Almighty Father, for a double
portion of His Holy Spirit, and he will enable us to renew our vigour,
and maintain our stedfastness. Yea, though the race be so protracted,
that our limbs may be growing feeble with age, and our vital energies
decaying, still we shall be inspirited with a courage and strength, that
will be found abundantly sufficient; and as we near the end, our hopes
will rise, and our prospect will brighten; the weakness of nature will be
assisted and compensated by a merciful increase of faith; and we shall
press onward, through the latter part of the trial, with holier
confidence and fuller expectation.
And all this, “for the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus.” What
was it, that led the people of former days, to enter into the list, and
engage in the race? Why were they content to undergo such previous
hardships and privations, in order to qualify them for the task? Why did
they exert themselves in the contest, so laboriously and painfully, as if
willing to sacrifice their lives in the struggle? It was for a little
crown of withering leaves; for the honour of their countrymen’s applause;
and the approval of their families and friends. How then do they put to
shame the negligent and indifferent christian; him that refuses to train
and labour for the conflict of life, for the cause of salvation! What is
our prize? what are our objects? “an incorruptible crown,” a “crown of
glory that fadeth not away;” an eternal inheritance in the heavens; the
approbation of all good men; the welcome acclaim of a “multitude of
angels which no man can number;” the approval, the everlasting reward of
the Judge of our christian race. Are not these objects worthy of our
supreme regard? Is not this worth contending for? Does it not demand
all our attention, all our anxiety, all our watchfulness and diligence
and labour? Should not our whole soul be devoted thereto? Ought it not
to be, comparatively speaking, the sole purpose, for which we care to
live and hope to die?
Especially when we consider the consequences of our failure, in this
great enterprise and work. He that lost the earthly race, lost little;
perhaps it was somewhat of an honour for him to have contended at all:
but he, who loses the christian race, loses every thing; loses his own
soul, his precious immortal soul; defeat will be ruin, eternal misery and
perdition. He that lost the earthly prize on one occasion, might run for
another on a future day: but when once the spiritual race is run, when we
have arrived at the mark, at the goal, at the gate of death, no further
trial will then be vouchsafed; there will never be another opportunity.
Anxiously perhaps we may desire it; and resolve, as we find ourselves
approaching to the border of eternity, that if we could be permitted to
continue our race for a little season, we would “use all diligence” for a
successful termination; to gain the great prize we appear to be losing:
but the desire will be vain. We knew the nature of the prize before; we
knew what was necessary in order to gain it; we declined and refused; we
chose the broad and easy way of idleness and sin: the night will be come,
and there will be no more working.
O that before, that long before this time shall come, all our hearts may
be thoroughly fixed upon the high calling of our God; upon that blessed
revelation of the gospel, which calls us to life and immortality. O that
the heart of every hearer may be fixed this day, so as never to be
diverted from the holy and heavenly purpose; so as to be filled with a
zeal and ardour, that shall never be extinguished; with invincible
courage, and irremovable confidence; so that we may never “be weary of
well-doing,” but persevere unto the end.
The Saviour, on His lofty throne, calls us by _His word_, which announces
the glorious prize and the conditions of the race; by _His spirit_,
“which is striving with us;” by His _heralds_ and _messengers_, warning,
animating, exhorting, persuading; He promises strength for the contest
and victory in the end, to all who will engage in the great cause, with
earnestness and sincerity. Awake, arise, we have nothing to fear: “the
Lord is with us; who shall be against us?” who shall let or hinder?
Listen, listen to the invitation and the promise! Take them for your
government and your comfort; “so run as to obtain;” so, that on arriving
at the end of the christian course, you may be calmly delighted to
behold, with the eye of faith the crown of victory and of glory, ready to
be placed upon your head. Often indeed are we permitted to behold the
evident superiority of grace, at the latter hour; the peculiar accordance
of divine mercy and strength, triumphing over the weakness of expiring
nature: many pious Christians have then openly exhibited the most
undoubted and convincing tokens of heavenly assurance and support; their
Lord thus manifestly affording them an anticipation of their “crown of
rejoicing,” and cheering them before their dissolution.
At this awful hour, there may be, and doubtless are, differences of
spiritual experience in different individuals: but whatever, when we are
ceasing to labour, be the foretaste of that rest, “which remaineth for
the people of God;” whatever, when we are setting our foot upon the goal,
be the outward and visible sign of approaching glory; sure we may be, if
faithful unto death, that we shall soon enter upon that rest and that
glory; but a small moment is remaining: the prize is ready at our
departure: heaven will rejoice over us; the spirits of just men made
perfect, (many whose names we have honoured, some whom we have seen and
loved) will rejoice over us; and _we_ shall rejoice with them for ever.
* * * * *
FINIS.
* * * * *
J. GARDNER, PRINTER, BOLTON.
FOOTNOTES.
{vii} These Sermons, though written for particular Sundays, are most of
them generally applicable; indeed all of them, with very slight
alterations or omissions.
{4} Isaiah, ix. 2. Matt. iv. 16.
{5} Eph. iv. 18.
{7} 1 Cor. i, 26–29.
{8} Isai. xxvi. 19.
{9a} Isai lii. 1–3.
{9b} Isai. lx. 1–3.
{10} Matt. ii. 1.
{12} Matt. vi. 23.
{13} 2 Cor. v. 20.
{18} John i. 9.
{19} Col. iii. 3.
{21} 1 Cor. ii. 9.
{23} Eph. iii. 5–9.
{26a} John xvii. 5.
{26b} Philipp. ii. 7.
{26c} John i. 1. 14.
{29a} 1 Tim. iii. 16.
{29b} Rom. v. 8.
{29c} 1 Pet. iii. 18.
{32} Prov. iii. 17.
{34a} Matt. xxv. 34.
{34b} 2 Pet. iii. 13.
{36} Col. i. 12–20.
{39} Acts xv. 18.
{43a} Gen. vi. 3.
{43b} 1 Pet. iii. 20.
{50a} Acts ix. 6.
{50b} 1 Sam. iii. 9.
{53a} Matt. xxiv. 37–39.
{53b} 2 Pet. iii. 5–7.
{54a} 2 Pet. iii. 13, 14.
{54b} 1 Thess. iv. 17.
{55} Eph. iv. 30.
{57} Heb. xi. 7.
{59} Heb. vii. 26.
{60a} Gen. vi. 9.
{60b} Psal. xvi. 8.
{60c} Psal. cxix. 105.
{62a} Gen. vi. 17, 18.
{62b} Gen. ix. 9–11.
{63} Wells’s Paraphr. on Gen. vi. 18.
{65} Gen. vii, viii.
{69} Gen. viii. 13–21.
{71} Ps. ciii. 1–4.
{73} Psal. lxxxix. 37.
{75} Rev. iv. 1–3.
{78} Gen. xxxix. 1–4.
{80} Gen. xxxix. 8.
{89a} The season of Lent.
{89b} Ps. cxxxix. 24.
{90a} Heb. xii. 1.
{90b} Rom. ii. 4.
{92} Eph. vi. 10–13.
{96} Luke xxiv. 15, 16.
{101} Luke xxiv. 18–21.
{102} Luke xxiv. 25, 26.
{103a} Matt. xvi. 16.
{103b} Luke xxiv. 27.
{104a} Luke xxiv. 28, 29.
{104b} Deut. vi. 7.
{105a} Ps. xvi. 8.
{105b} Matt. xvii. 20.
{105c} Luke xxiv. 30, 31.
{107} Psal. cxix. 18.
{108} Phil. iii. 20.
{113a} Psal. lxiii. 1.
{113b} Eph. iii. 18, 19.
{117a} John ix. 4.
{117b} Micah vi. 8.
{125} Art. x.
{130a} Isaiah lv. 6.
{130b} Prov. i. 26.
{132} Heb. iii. 15.
{136} Psal. lxxiii. 25.
{137} Second Sunday after Trinity.
{138a} Psal. cxi. 10.
{138b} Psal. lxxxv. 9.
{138c} Malach. iv. 2.
{138d} Acts x. 35.
{138e} Luke i. 50.
{139} Psalm viii. 4.
{144} Lev. xix. 2.
{145} 1 Peter i. 15.
{148} Rom. viii. 35–39.
{149a} Heb. x. 22.
{149b} Heb. vi. 11.
{150a} Tit. ii. 4.
{150b} Col. i. 12.
{152} 1 John iii. 2.
{158} Isaiah xlv. 9, lxiv. 8.
{161a} 1 Sam. ii. 6–9.
{161b} Isaiah lvi. 12.
{161c} Prov. xxiii. 5.
{168} Psal. xxx. 5.
{169} Isaiah liv. 7, 8.
{171} Psal. exxvi. 5.
{174} 2 Sam. xii. 1–5.
{177} Isaiah v. 20.
{178} 1 Sam. xiii. 14; Acts xiii. 22.
{179} 1 Cor. ix. 27.
{181a} Jeremiah xvii. 9.
{181b} 1 Cor. x. 12.
{183} Rom. vi. 1, 2.
{185} 2 Pet. iii. 18.
{188} Lament. v. 21.
{192a} Isaiah lxvi. 24.
{192b} Dan. xii. 2.
{193a} Jer. v.2; Is. vi. 10.
{193b} Prov. viii. 36.
{193c} Prov. xiv. 12.
{194a} Rom. viii. 13.
{194b} Rev. ii. 11. xx. 14. Pol. Syn. in loco.
{195} Ezek. xviii. 20–23.
{197} Ezek. xviii. 21, 22.
{198a} Heb. xi. 6.
{198b} Habbak. ii. 4; Rom. i. 17; Gal. iii. 18; Heb. x. 38.
{199} Isaiah i. 18.
{200a} 1 John ii. 1.
{200b} 1 John i. 9.
{200c} 2 Pet. iii. 9.
{200d} John vi. 37.
{202} Eph. v. 14.
{204} Ezek. xviii. 24.
{205a} Luke xi. 24–26.
{205b} Heb. vi. 4.
{206a} 1 Cor. x. 12.
{206b} 2 Pet. i. 10.
{206c} Heb. x. 38.
{207a} Rom. viii. 37.
{207b} Rom. ix. 20.
{207c} Gen. xviii. 25.
{207d} Isaiah xlv. 22.
{208a} Rom. viii. 32.
{208b} Tit. ii. 11.
{208c} 1 John i. 7.
{208d} Psalm lviii. 11.
{211} Col. iii. 20.
{213a} Isaiah l. 10.
{213b} Ezek. xxxiii. 11.
{214a} Ezek. xi. 19, 20; xxxvi. 26.
{214b} Ezek. xviii. 31.
{214c} Lev. xix, 2; Numb. xvi. 5; Heb. xii. 14.
{218} John vi. 27.
{220} Phil. ii. 12, 13.
{226a} Luke i. 6.
{226b} Tit. ii. 12.
{227a} Gen. ii. 7.
{227b} 1 Cor. xii. 11.
{229a} 2 Cor. v. 17.
{229b} Rom. xii. 9.
{229c} Acts xxvi. 18.
{231} Prov. ix. 16.
{232a} Isaiah xxv. 6.
{232b} Luke xxii. 29, 30.
{233a} Matt. iii. 8–10.
{233b} Heb. iii. 12.
{234a} 2 Cor. iv. 4.
{234b} Isaiah xliv. 20.
{234c} John iii. 19.
{236} Joel ii. 28, 29; Acts ii. 17, 18.
{242a} Acts iv. 12.
{242b} 1 Cor. iii. 11.
{243a} Isaiah lv. 1–7.
{243b} Zechar. xiii. 1.
{251a} Rev. xxi. 23.
{251b} Psalm xvi. 11.
{260} 2 Cor. iii. 5.
{262} Eph. iv. 1.
{265} James ii. 10.
{267} Matt. xiii. 12.
{269} 2 Pet. iii. 18.
{291} Matt. xxiv. 3–8.
{302a} Tit. ii. 12.
{302b} Gal. vi. 8
{304} 2 Sam. 1. 23.
{305a} Rom. viii. 6.
{305b} Ezek. xviii. 20.
{307} Rom. ii. 16.
{308} 2 Cor. v. 10.
{309} Thess. iv. 17.
{311} Eccl. i. 14, 15.
{314} Gen. i. 31.
{315} Gen. i. 27.
{317} 1 John ii. 16.
{322} Jer. xlv. 5.
{327a} Gen. ii. 16, 17
{327b} Acts xvi. 31.
{327c} Col. iii. 2.
{328a} Jer. ii. 13.
{328b} Rom. xii. 2.
{328c} Rom. vi. 22.
{331a} Prov. ii. 6. 9.
{331b} 1 Cor. ii. 9.
{334} 1 Cor. ii. 13, 14.
{338} John xiv. 21–26.
{341} Heb. vi. 5.
{342} Matt. v. 4.
{347} Prov. iv. 18, 19.
{348} 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
{358} Col. ii. 5.
{364} Matt. xxvi. 41.
{365a} 2 Tim. ii. 26.
{365b} 1 Pet. iv. 7.
{367a} John 11. 35, 36.
{367b} John xiii. 23; xxi. 20.
{373} Psal. xxviii. 10.
{374a} Rom. viii. 29.
{374b} 1 Cor. xv. 20.
{374c} 1 Joh. iii. 12.
{374d} Luke xx. 36.
{377} John xiv. 15–21.
{379} 1 Tim. v. 8.
{384} Matt. xxv. 40.
{395} 1 Sam. xiv. 6.
{401} I will make my thankful acknowledgments to the Lord, not only with
my lips, or with some slight affections of my mind, but with all my heart
and soul; and that not only in the private society of those good men,
whom I am more intimately acquainted withal, but in the public
congregation of all His people.—_Bishop Patrick_.
{403} Rev. xv. 3.
{405} Ezek. xxxiii. 13.
{415} Heb. x. 38, 39.
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