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xVUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OE \ 
 
 WILLIAM N E I L L, D. D. 
 
 <^ckcti()u fxtfm U^ ^mnm^, 
 
 BY iriE 
 
 Rev. J. H JONES, D. D., 
 
 PASTOR OF TUK SIXTU I'KLSBTTEKIAN CHURCH, rUILADEH'UIA. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 
 821 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 1861. 
 
Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the 
 year 1861, 
 
 By JAMES DUNLAP, 
 
 In the Office of the Clerk of the District Court for the 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
Tii. ? 
 
 PEEFATORY NOTE. 
 
 The reason for preparing this Narrative is thus given by the 
 author himself: it is "to note down and arrange some recollections 
 of my past life, for the gratification of my children and other 
 friends when I am gone; and also for the purpose of celebrating 
 the goodness of Divine Providence towards one who was exposed, 
 from early childhood, to the hardships of orphanage, and the 
 temptations of the world; and who, without earthly guardian 
 vested with authority, was left to follow the propensities of a way- 
 ward and depraved heart. Truly a Father of the fatherless and a 
 Judge of the widoivs, is God in his holy habitation." 
 
 It will be the common regret and disappointment of the readers 
 that it is so short ; that one whose life had been so useful, and so 
 long, should have written no more of what he had known, and felt, 
 and done, which surviving friends would gladly read. The small 
 service which we render, in preparnig it for the press, is done at 
 the suggestion made by our friend not many days before his death. 
 It came into our hands in the well prepared state, as respects the 
 composition and arrangement of facts, in which it is given to the 
 reader. Not a few are yet living, who had the privilege of enjoying 
 his ministry, who will read the Sermons of their lamented pas- 
 tor and friend with scarcely less interest than they have read 
 his Life. As the narrative was suspended by the writer a few 
 years before his death, we have appended the discourse preached 
 in commemoration of his life and character, in which are mentioned 
 the most important events of the latter part of his life to its close. 
 It is an inadequate tribute of aflFectionate respect to a loved and 
 honoured predecessor in the same pulpit, where his memory is 
 still fragrant. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY of the Rev. William Neill, D. D., 1—68 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE, by Dr. J. H. Jones, 69-86 
 SERMONS. 
 
 Self-Denial a Christian Duty, 89 — 102 
 
 Heavenly Mansions, 103 — 115 
 
 The Christian's Creed and Triumph, 116 — 128 
 
 Enoch's Walk with God, 129—140 
 
 The Wanderer Reclaimed, 141 — 152 
 
 How TO Obtain Eternal Life, 153 — 166 
 
 Temperance : its Necessity and Obligation, 167 — 179 
 
 A Convenient Season, 180 — 193 
 
 The Happy Man, 194—204 
 
 The Good Old Way, 205—218 
 
 The Glory and Majesty op God, 219—231 
 
 The Conversion op Saul of Tarsus, 232 — 248 
 
 Choose WHOM ye WILL SERVE, 249 — 261 
 
 Divine Guidance, 262—272 
 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 I BEGIN to note down and arrange some recollections 
 of my past life, for the gratification of my children 
 and other friends when I am gone ; and also, for the 
 purpose of celebrating the goodness of Divine Provi- 
 dence towards one who was exposed, from early child- 
 hood, to the hardships of orphanage, and the tempta- 
 tions of the world, and who, without earthly guardian 
 vested with authority, was left to follow the propensi- 
 ties of a wayward and depraved heart. Truly, *'a 
 Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows, 
 is God, in his holy habitation." 
 
 My parents were born and raised in Chestnut 
 Level, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. All that I 
 know of them is from report, as I have no recollection 
 of either of them. My father, William Neill, or Neel, 
 (as the family then spelt the name,) was of L'ish 
 descent, and my mother, Jane Snodgrass, if I am 
 rightly informed, was, by at least one branch of her 
 parentage, of Scottish lineage ; so that the family, like 
 many of the early settlers of Pennsylvania, were deno- 
 minated Scotch-Lnsh. 
 
 When on a visit to my Chestnut Level relatives, 
 1 
 
2 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 some years ago, I was shown the spot where my 
 father's residence once stood. It was marked by a 
 shapeless pile of stone, in a field, as if to remind the 
 traveller of the transitory nature of his earthly abode. 
 "We have here no continuing city, but we look for 
 one, which hath foundations, whose builder and maker 
 is God." In the year 1775, if I mistake not, the 
 family including four children, Dorcas, Mary, John, 
 and Jane, removed to the west of the State, Alle- 
 gheny county, where my father purchased two farms, 
 one on each side of the Monongahela river, a few 
 miles from Pittsburgh, then called Fort Pitt. The 
 family lived on the place southwest of the river, two 
 or three miles from what is now called McKeesport, 
 and eight miles from Pittsburgh ; there my youngest 
 sister Margaret and myself were born — she in the 
 year 1776, and I in the spring of 1778 or '79 ; the 25th 
 of April was fixed on as the day, although there is 
 some uncertainty about the year and day, owing to a 
 deficiency in the record, for those were troublous 
 times. It was in the midst of our Revolutionary 
 struggle. The hostile Indians were committing fre- 
 quent and fearful depredations — destroying property, 
 and murdering the inhabitants all along our frontiers. 
 They usually made their way into the white settle- 
 ments in small parties, under cover of night and the 
 forests ; and, perpetrating their deeds of plunder and 
 blood, retreated to their lurking-places before a sufii- 
 cient force could be rallied to arrest them. The chief 
 reliance of the people for safety was on their fire- 
 arms and block-houses, a rude kind efforts constructed 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 8 
 
 of logs, and capable of being defended by a few armed 
 men in the inside. On any alarm of an Indian incur- 
 sion the women and children repaired to these for- 
 tresses with all speed, while the men went in pursuit 
 of the enemy. 
 
 To the barbarity of one of these marauding parties 
 of savages my father fell a victim. The circumstances 
 in brief, as I have gathered them from credible tradi- 
 tion, were these. In the spring of 1779 or 1780, he, 
 with my mother and my brother, then a lad of some 
 eight or nine years, and myself, an infant of a year 
 old, together with my uncle, John Neill, and a part 
 of his family, passed over to the farm on the opposite 
 side of the river, eight miles from the ordinary resi- 
 dence of the family, in order to put in a spring crop. 
 While there, another brother, Adam, from Lancaster 
 county, arrived on a visit, and with the intention of 
 moving his family out in case he liked the country. 
 The next morning after his brother's arrival, my 
 father and he went out to look after their horses, and 
 were both shot down and scalped by the Indians, 
 within sight of the house. The other brother, John, 
 upon hearing the report of the guns, suspecting what 
 had happened, took his rifle, and ran in the direction 
 of the sound, exclaiming, "There they are — turn out, 
 turn out!" This involuntary exclamation, it has 
 always been thought, was the means, in the hand of 
 a kind Providence, of saving those who were in the 
 house from being massacred. The savages, taking the 
 alarm, fled to a neighbour's of the name of Marshall, 
 at some distance, murdered three of his sons, and 
 
4 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 after an unsuccessful attempt to set fire to Lis house, 
 escaped from the neighbourhood with their scalps and 
 other booty, unmolested and in bloody triumph. My 
 mother, carrying me in her arms, fled with the rest of 
 the family party to the block-house, distant about a 
 mile, crossing several high fences in the way. My 
 murdered father and uncle were buried in one grave, 
 and in each other's arms. Well do I remember the 
 spot ; for I have often looked upon it with pensive 
 emotions. It is a hillock, formerly shaded by a clump 
 of trees, near a fine spring, on what our family used 
 to calHhc "Long Run Farm," from a small stream of 
 that name which passes through it, two or three miles 
 west of Long Run meeting-house, and the like dis- 
 tance south of the turnpike road, and about half-way 
 between Pittsburgh and Greensburg. The place of 
 my father's sepulchre is thus minutely designated, that 
 if any of the relatives or descendants, in time to 
 come, should wish to see it, they may know where it 
 is to be found. 
 
 Upon the disastrous death of my father, the family 
 broke up housekeeping, and the children were located 
 among their friends. My mother's health, under the 
 pressure of care and sorrow, declined rapidly. She 
 survived my father, I think, but about three years. 
 Iler remains lie interred near the Lebanon Church, a 
 few miles from the old homestead. I was now, at 
 about four years of age, placed in the family of an 
 uncle, Robert Snodgrass, three miles south of Pitts- 
 burgh, where I passed six years of my boyhood, in a 
 manner by no means favourable to intellectual or 
 
REV. 
 
 moral improvement, doing light work on the farm, 
 and attending a common country school, at the dis- 
 tance of two or three miles. I used to be terribly 
 afraid of wolves, bears, and panthers, in passing to 
 and from school, there being great numbers of those 
 ferocious animals prowling about the rugged hills and 
 dense forests in that part of the country. Deer, wild 
 turkeys, pheasants, quails, and various other species 
 of game, were also very abundant, and constituted an 
 important item in the provisions of most tables. 
 
 My uncle lived remote from a place of public wor- 
 ship, Pittsburgh being the nearest place where the 
 gospel was preached statedly ; but the river being in 
 the way, the family scarcely ever went thither to 
 attend worship. I remember my uncle and aunt went 
 occasionally on horseback to a church, distant some 
 four or five miles ; but I have no recollection of having 
 attended public worship while I was a member of the 
 family, excepting now and then in the summer season, 
 w^hen there happened to be preaching at a farm-house, 
 or in a neighbouring wood. Nor was there any regu- 
 lar attention to family religion ; religious books were 
 scarce, and there were no Sabbath-schools; so that, 
 at ten years old, I was almost as ignorant of the doc- 
 trines of the Gospel, and of the duties which I owed 
 to my Creator and Redeemer, as any tawny child of 
 the forest. 
 
 At the age of ten or eleven, with consent of the 
 
 parties concerned, I left my uncle, and went to my 
 
 oldest sister's, Mrs. Sampson, in the Forks of Yough ; 
 
 but no one having authoritative control of me, I 
 
 1* 
 
6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 became a wandering, wayward, homeless orphan boj; 
 and but for the unseen and unheeded guardianship of 
 Divine Providence, I must have gone speedily to ruin. 
 I lived now with one sister, and then with another ; 
 and, for a year or two, with my brother, who then 
 owned and occupied the place where my father's 
 bones rest. At length, having attended school so 
 much as to be able to read, write, and use figures a 
 little, I became a clerk in the store of John Dayly, a 
 near neighbour of one of my sisters, and who proved 
 a friend to me, as he was an example of industry and 
 probity, and gave me some knowledge of the mercan- 
 tile business, on a small scale. With this worthy man 
 I remained but a short time, when, having reverted to 
 my idle and migratory way of life,'^ I received, by 
 favour of Providence, an offer of a clerkship in the 
 store of David White,^ a respectable young man, who 
 had recently commenced business in Canonsburgh, 
 Pennsylvania. This offer I promptly accepted, and 
 its acceptance took me away from my near kindred, 
 from whom I have been separated ever since, except 
 occasional visits. 
 
 My father's earthly estate fell into careless hands, 
 and was badly managed, so that it never amounted to 
 much. We were all obliged, therefore, to be indus- 
 trious, and practise economy. Let my children note 
 this, and avoid indulging a discontented and murmur- 
 ing spirit, if Providence shall see fit to keep them in 
 straitened circumstances. Let them not make haste 
 to DC rich, but let them be industrious and honest, 
 keeping their expenditures within their means; and 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 7 
 
 may the lively oracle impress their hearts — " Godli- 
 ness, with contentment, is great gain." 
 
 I went to Canonsburgh, as near as I can recollect, 
 about the year 1795, pursuant to the offer before 
 mentioned. There, though it was a religious atmos- 
 phere, and a place of good moral influences, I was at 
 first thrown into company and a way of life not at all 
 favourable to my spiritual interests. Mr. White was 
 a gay young man, not remarkably attentive to his 
 business, or to the conduct of those about him; in 
 consequence of which habits he ultimately failed, and 
 became poor. I was equally reckless — a child of 
 nature, addicted to folly, and wholly destitute of the 
 wisdom that is from above. But God soon laid his 
 hand heavily, but, I trust, mercifully upon me. 
 Attending a country dance, very common in those 
 days, even around Canonsburgh, after being much 
 heated by the engagements of the evening, I got wet, 
 returning home at the midnight hour, and took a cold, 
 which brought on a fever that threatened my life. 
 This was the severest and longest illness I ever had; 
 it lasted from six to eight weeks. During a part of 
 the time I was deranged in mind, and unconscious of 
 what was passing; but when my reason returned, I 
 felt that I was in forlorn and awful circumstances; 
 away from all my kindred, in a strange place, and in 
 a small room, attended only by a young and inexpe- 
 rienced girl; wasting and sinking under a violent 
 fever, induced by my own folly; apprehensive of 
 death, but unprepared to die; my physician visiting 
 me not oftener than once a week, for he lived at 
 
8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 Washington, seven miles distant, and I knew not 
 whether there was any one resident nearer. I watched 
 the setting sun through the window, day after day, 
 and cried literally and bitterly unto the Lord for 
 help, promising, with many tears, that if he would but 
 raise me up, and give me space, I would repent, and 
 live to his glory. He heard my cries, and raised me 
 up. But, alas ! for sick-bed resolutions ! They are 
 but the expressions of fear, and are seldom kept. 
 Upon the restoration of health, I recovered in some 
 degree my relish for folly and sin ; but I was not left 
 entirely to despise the chastening of the Lord, or to 
 forget how terrific death appeared to me, when con- 
 scious that I was an impenitent and Christless sinner. 
 I was more guarded and cautious than before, and 
 occasionally paid some attention to religious duties; 
 but it was some eighteen months or two years after 
 this, before I took any decisive steps for the renun- 
 ciation of my sinful ways, and the dedication of 
 myself to God. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. McMillan preached statedly two miles 
 from town, and very frequently on the Sabbath even- 
 ings in the old Academy in the village. I began to 
 attend pretty constantly upon his ministrations. He 
 was a very faithful and alarming preacher, and aimed 
 directly at the heart and conscience. Under his 
 thundering voice and sound doctrine I have often 
 been roused, terrified, and melted to tears. Sometimes 
 he made me angry, and I felt tempted to quit hearing 
 him; but, upon the whole, I began to find out, under 
 his preaching, that I was a sinner, and that it was 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 9 
 
 indeed a fearful thing to be in a state of condemna- 
 tion with the Tvrath of God abiding on me. His man- 
 ner was rough, and rather repulsive. I remember he 
 passed me once, on his way to church, when I was 
 engaged in shooting pigeons, (it was a fast-day, if I 
 recollect rightly,) and addressing me in a stern man- 
 ner, said: "It is an audacious and unseemly thing 
 for a sinner on the broad road to hell, to be killinc^ 
 innocent birds by the way." Harsh as the remark 
 was, it had some effect in convicting me of sin and 
 danger. 
 
 When it became known that I was beginning to be 
 thoughtful on the subject of religion, the pious stu- 
 dents of the Academy took opportunities of con- 
 versing with me, and, by degrees, drew me into their 
 society and to their prayer-meetings. This was of 
 great service to me in my ignorance of divine things 
 and under my incipient convictions. I now betook 
 myself to secret prayer and the serious reading of the 
 Bible, and was punctual in my attendance on public 
 worship. I became, in a word, deej)ly concerned 
 about the salvation of my soul,' and soon made ar- 
 rangements to quit the service of Mr. White and 
 devote myself to study, with a view to the ministry, if 
 I should become, hopefully, a subject of redeeming 
 grace. This was an important movement, and it cost 
 me some anxious thoughtfulness. My patrimony was 
 small, quite inadequate, I knew, to the expense of a 
 good education, and I had no wealthy relatives to 
 look to for aid; yet, after serious deliberation, I 
 resolved, with a sort of vague trust in Divine Provi- 
 
10 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 dence, to make the attempt, and proceed as far as. I 
 could. Accordingly I entered the Academy and 
 opened my Latin Grammar, if my memory serves me 
 "well, in the year 1797. But as yet, I had no satis- 
 factory evidence of a change of heart. My solicitude 
 on the subject, however, continued, and, of course, I 
 sought the society of the pious, and threw myself in 
 the way of good influences; "following on," as it is 
 expressed in Scripture, " to know the Lord" — seeking 
 him in the ways of his appointment as opportunities 
 off'ered. I began to relish religious services, and to 
 esteem the Sabbath a blessing, and the courts of 
 God's house amiable. With these feelings I often 
 walked eight or ten miles to be present on sacramental 
 occasions, in neighbouring congregations, which were 
 generally very solemn, and in which the exercises 
 were usually continued for several days in succession. 
 It was on one of those blissful occasions that, I 
 humbly hope, I was enabled to commit my soul to 
 Christ, renouncing all confidence in the flesh, and 
 acquiescing joyfully in the glorious gospel plan of 
 salvation by free grace. I do not attach undue im- 
 portance, I trust, to time and place in the matter of 
 conversion; but there is a time^ and there is a 'place, 
 when and where the regenerate soul is born into the 
 kingdom, and there are some cases so strongly 
 marked in relation to both, that they can never be 
 forgotten. It is a great change ; it is from darkness 
 to light, from enmity to love, from a state of death in 
 sin to that of spiritual life and peace with God, 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ. Such a change, with 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 11 
 
 some of its attendants or associations of time, place, 
 and means, will be very likely to be had in grateful 
 remembrance. But I would be far from making these 
 circumstances, striking as they are in some instances, 
 essential to all cases of genuine conversion. God is 
 not confined to specific modes or means in his work 
 of mercy; but we may humbly tell what he has done 
 for our souls, and should remember, if we can, where, 
 and when, and by what means he rescued us from im- 
 pending ruin. However different may have been the 
 experience of others, I, for one, cannot soon forget 
 the circumstances in which the Lord appeared in the 
 plenitude of his gracious power to my soul, and, as I 
 trust, changed my mournful state. It was on a tran- 
 quil summer's evening, away from human view, in the 
 closet of a dense wood, at the eventide hour for secret 
 devotion, after attendance on the services of the sanc- 
 tuary, and while Divine truth was yet bearing down 
 upon conscience, alone with God, I felt guilty, and 
 confessed that 
 
 "If my soul were sent to hell, 
 God's righteous law approved it well." 
 
 My heart was burdened. I was without strength, and 
 yet without excuse; means were inefiicient, the arm of 
 human power was withered, and could not be stretched 
 forth without Divine aid. What could guilty help- 
 lessness do, but cry for mercy ? There was the throne 
 of grace, and thence there seemed to issue a voice 
 fraught with good tidings of great joy, *' My grace is 
 sufficient for thee;" "My strength is perfected in 
 
12 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 weakness;" "Come unto me, all ye that labour and 
 are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." It is 
 enough. The word is with power and in demonstra- 
 tion of the Spirit. The deaf ear is unstopped, the 
 dark mind enlightened, the will subdued, the heart 
 softened, and the whole soul sweetly won over to God, 
 on his own terms, and "Christ is all, and in all." Can 
 all this be a delusion? I think not. The individual 
 may be deceived, for "the heart is deceitful above all 
 things, and desperately wicked." We should look 
 well to our experience, testing it by the word of 
 truth, which liveth and abideth for ever. Nor is re- 
 generation to be regarded as releasing us from the 
 obligation of "giving all diligence to make our calling 
 and election sure." It is but the commencement of 
 the Christian warfare. We are to watch and pray, 
 and labour in our Lord's vineyard, pressing onward 
 toward the mark, for the prize of our high calling 
 of God in Christ Jesus. The conscious debtor to free 
 grace, will, as opportunity serves, keep the Redeem- 
 er's commandments. 
 
 Thus it was, in some humble degree, with the sub- 
 ject of this narrative. Though his feelings have been 
 variable, and his failings great, he has never entirely 
 relinquished his hope in God. I am what I am, in 
 regard to Christian attainments, and official faithful- 
 ness. My sole dependence for usefulness, acceptance, 
 and heaven, is the mercy of God, through the merits 
 and mediation of Christ; and I humbly hope, that He 
 who has called me by his grace, will keep me by his 
 power, through faith unto salvation. 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 13 
 
 Reader, I ask you very seriously, not whether your 
 experience tallies with that just narrated, but whether 
 you have indeed experienced "the renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost, and the washing of regeneration." And 
 you should not rest easy till you can answer the 
 question in the affirmative; for you know who has 
 said, "Except a man be born of water and of the 
 Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 
 
 I was admitted to the communion of the Presbyte- 
 rian church in immediate connection with the church 
 of Chartiers, Washington county, then under the pas- 
 toral care of the Rev. Dr. John McMillan. And now 
 I pursued my studies with more diligence, and, as I 
 trust, from better motives than before. I was a 
 member of the Academy about two years and a half. 
 My time was spent very agreeably, and not altogether 
 miprofitably. The society of the pious students was 
 delightful; and there were families whose dwellings 
 were Bethels, where we often met for prayer, and 
 praise, and religious conference. There was as much 
 of the primitive spirit of Christianity among us as I 
 have ever witnessed since. Upon the occurrence of 
 slight alienations between the brethren, we wxre in 
 the habit of making mutual concessions, and going, 
 together with our difficulties, to the throne of grace. 
 We "kept the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
 peace." It was quite a common practice with us, in 
 taking our morning and evening walks, to go two and 
 two together, to some sequestered spot, and there to 
 unite in prayer. These were refreshing exercises, 
 2 
 
14 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 and exceedingly favourable to our proficiency in 
 study, and growth in grace. 
 
 In the autumn of 1800, I took leave of Canonsburg, 
 for the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, in com- 
 pany with my friend and fellow-student, John Boggs. 
 We equipped for the journey on horseback, intending 
 to sell the nags on our arrival, which we did. A little 
 incident which occurred on the way may be mentioned 
 as illustrating the happy influence of the habit of 
 acknowledging God in all events. We were to call 
 on Boggs's father, who resided some distance off the 
 direct route, in the edge of Virginia, not far from 
 Martinsburg. Crossing the Potomac river, a little 
 before sunset, and finding, on inquiry, that the dis- 
 tance was greater than we expected, we became appre- 
 hensive that we should not be able to reach Mr. 
 Boggs's that night ; and, although our pathway was a 
 blind one, we determined to proceed as far as possible. 
 Night fell upon us ; our dim path utterly failed, and 
 we found ourselves in a dense forest, in profound 
 darkness. What was to be done? Must we stay in 
 the bush over night? No; our horses would suffer 
 or be lost, and we were not accustomed to such expo- 
 sure. We resolved, therefore, (call it fanaticism, or 
 what you will,) to look to God, and do what we could 
 to get forward. Drawing our horses' heads close toge- 
 ther, we united in prayer for Divine guidance and 
 protection. Our minds became composed; we took 
 courage, and pressed onward through a pathless wild- 
 erness, leaving our animals to pick their own way; 
 for it was impossible for us, in such circumstances, to 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 15 
 
 judge of the points of the compass. We had not pro- 
 ceeded far, when the barking of a dog gave signs that 
 we were approaching a human habitation. It was a 
 gladsome sound, and w^e said, "The Lord hath heard 
 the voice of our supplication." Whether it was so in 
 fact, or not, it was pleasant and proper for us to 
 ascribe our deliverance to Him whose tender mercies 
 are over all his creatures, and whose ear is ever open 
 to our cries. Upon reaching the spot, we found there 
 was no room for us; but receiving directions to a 
 place called Bath, I think, some miles ahead, we 
 pressed forward, and found quarters for the remainder 
 of the night. Our accommodations were rough, but 
 we were thankful for them ; and at an early hour the 
 next day, we arrived at the dwelling of my compan- 
 ion's father, where we were received and entertained 
 for several days, with every mark of cordiality and 
 kindness. 
 
 Resuming our journey college-ward, we arrived at 
 Princeton just at the opening of the winter session. 
 It was a time of bustle; and the scene was new, and 
 rather appalling to us green boys, from beyond the 
 mountains. However, we endeavoured to mind our 
 own business — appeared before that formidable body, 
 "the Faculty;" delivered our letters; and were 
 examined, and admitted — Boggs, as he was ahead 
 of me in preparatory studies, to the Junior class; 
 and I into the Sophomore, for which I was hardly 
 prepared. My age and apparent sedateness, I be- 
 lieve, turned the scale in my favour with the good 
 President and Professors. The Rev. Dr. Samuel 
 
16 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 S. Smith was then President. I think there were 
 but two Professors — Dr. John Maclean, (father of 
 the present Vice-President,) Professor of Mathe- 
 matics, Chemistry, &c., and the venerable William 
 Thomson, Professor of Languages — with two Tutors, 
 viz. Benjamin B. Hopkins and Cyrus Riggs. 
 
 Boggs and I were assigned a room together in Col- 
 lege, and we were mutually helpful to each other in 
 our studies, and in our endeavours to maintain a 
 Christian spirit and deportment. But our principles 
 and the strength of our attachment to Christ were put 
 pretty severely to the test. Many of the students 
 were dissipated and shockingly profane, and there 
 were very few professors of religion then in the Insti- 
 tution. We kept up weekly prayer-meetings, how- 
 ever, and had the usual privileges of public worship 
 on the Sabbath; but we had to bear a heavy cross, and 
 watch unto prayer assiduously against conformity to 
 the world. College is a fiery furnace to piety, and 
 where there is not a predominance of Christian influ- 
 ence, a place of imminent peril to the morals and souls 
 of reckless and inexperienced youth. 
 
 My own means of support being inadequate, I, like 
 many others, was admitted, through the recommenda- 
 tion of friends, to a participation in the interest of 
 the "Leslie Fund" of the College, (a noble endow- 
 ment established by a benevolent gentleman of that 
 name,) without which I could not have met the ex- 
 penses of my collegiate course. To that fund I am 
 indebted to this day; I acknowledge the obligation, 
 and it would give me pleasure to pay back all that I 
 
REV. 
 
 D. D. 17 
 
 drew from it, if I felt able. Hitherto it has not seemed 
 convenient to do so; and whether, with my large 
 family, and the poor flock which I am now serving, 
 very much at my own charges, I shall ever feel able 
 to discharge the obligation, is extremely doubtful. If 
 any of my children should find themselves, by favour 
 of Providence, in easy circumstances, after I am gone, 
 I should wish them to refund the principal at least, so 
 that the benefits of the endowment may be extended 
 to as many, and be continued as long as possible. 
 Such charities, wisely administered, are blessings to 
 the world, and may be reckoned among the pleasant 
 fruits of civilization and Christianity, especially of 
 the latter. 
 
 My first winter in college was not pleasant on 
 several accounts. I had entered a class for which I 
 was not well prepared, and, of course, had to study 
 more closely than was either agreeable or safe in 
 regard to health and good spirits. However, by dint 
 of application, sitting up late, and rising early, and 
 denying myself more than was meet of out-door exer- 
 cise, I succeeded in making up my deficiencies, and 
 obtained a pretty erect standing in my class, which I 
 kept to the end of my course. But that which an- 
 noyed me most was the riotous conduct and gross 
 intemperate habits of a large proportion of the stu- 
 dents. Not only were the ordinary mischievous tricks 
 of idle, unprincipled boys, practised nightly, but there 
 were plots and insurrectionary movements at which the 
 orderly and conscientious were obliged, by an over- 
 
18 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 whelming and menacing majority, to connive, and 
 sometimes, seemingly, to approve of. I was once so 
 far involved as to be present, thougli silent and inac- 
 tive, at a disorderly meeting. I have always re- 
 proached myself for it since; I ought to have resisted 
 and protested against sin, had it even 'been unto 
 blood. This is one of the grievous evils incident to a 
 public education, where a large number of young men 
 are housed together, and the major part are of profli- 
 gate manners. The well-disposed, especially if they be 
 timid, are sometimes oppressed and actually coerced 
 into sin, in violation of their consciences. Our disor- 
 ders came to a crisis, or rather resulted in a fearful 
 catastrophe, early in the spring, (March, 1802,) viz. 
 the destruction of the College edifice, except the thick 
 stone walls, by fire, together with a valuable library, 
 the gatherings of many years. It was a tremendous 
 confiagration ; the fire was applied in the belfry, by 
 the servant, no doubt, who rang the bell for dinner, 
 at the instigation of a club of abandoned youth. The 
 supposed ringleader in this foul affair was from the 
 State of New York ; he left the place soon after the 
 deed was perpetrated, lived several years encompassed 
 by clouds of suspicion, and died a worthless man. By 
 the munificence of its friends the College was soon 
 repaired, and we had better order. I became more 
 reconciled to college life, as I got used to the course 
 of study, and proved the truth of the maxim, ''Labor 
 vincit omnia,'' Finding myself able by diligence to 
 redeem time from class studies, I added considerably 
 to my small means of support by giving private in- 
 
KEV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 19 
 
 structlon to such students as had certain ^udies to 
 make up in order to gain a full standing in their 
 classes. There are many ways in which an indigent 
 youth may help himself in getting an education, if he 
 be diligent and moderate in his expenditures. Dur- 
 ing my senior year my private tuition fees amounted 
 to more than a hundred dollars. 
 
 Having completed the ordinary course of college 
 studies, I was graduated in September, 1803, and im- 
 mediately chosen a tutor, which office I accepted and 
 held for two years. And now the question of a pro- 
 fession for life came up, and was to be settled. From 
 the time when I thought I first tasted that the Lord 
 is gracious, I had kept the gospel ministry in view as 
 the work to which I felt most inclined, and in which 
 I supposed I could best glorify God and promote the 
 good of mankind. As Providence had throvfn no ob- 
 stacle in my way, and as my preference for that sacred 
 office was clear and decided, I determined upon it, 
 and set myself to seek it by an appropriate course of 
 study, trusting that as I had found grace to believe 
 the gospel for myself, so I should obtain mercy to be 
 faithful in proclaiming it to my fellow-sinners. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Henry Kollock was then pastor of 
 the Presbyterian church in Princeton, and volunteer- 
 ed his services, as a teacher of theology, to as many 
 as chose to attend on his instructions. Of this privi- 
 lege I availed myself, so far as was consistent with 
 my duties as tutor. The office of a tutor was, at that 
 time, very laborious, so that with official duties and 
 theological pursuits, I was fully occupied; hands, 
 
20 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 head, and heart. My health would have failed under 
 the pressure, but for the care that I took to pass all 
 the brief intervals of study in healthful exercise out 
 of doors, and in social visits. With my colleagues 
 in the tutorship and fellow-students, John Johnson, 
 Andrew Thompson, Alfred Ely, John M. Bradford, 
 and Selah Woodhull, I took sweet counsel. We kept 
 mutual watch of each other, and dwelt together in 
 delightful unity. Walking was our chief exercise, 
 and it is upon the whole, the safest and best that 
 students can take. Campus amusements are gene- 
 rally pursued with too much violence and rivalry, to 
 be useful either to body or mind. There were a few 
 families of my acquaintance about Princeton that I 
 visited frequently, and with great pleasure and profit, 
 particularly Colonel Beatty's, and the Yan Dykes, 
 John and Matthew. In these hospitable mansions I 
 spent many an agreeable Saturday afternoon, and 
 always returned from such friendly visits, to sober 
 and responsible labours with renewed vigour. 
 
 At the end of two years, I resigned the tutor's 
 office, having resided in the College in all, five years, 
 three as an undergraduate, and two as a tutor. This 
 was an interesting portion of my life. Truly, Nassau 
 Hall is my Ahna Mater, I am a member of the 
 "Whig Society," and Whig Hall is, to this day, one 
 of the most endeared and cherished spots in my 
 remembrance, about that venerable seat of learning. 
 Her present prosperous condition is, to me, as to all 
 her faithful sons, a source of high gratification. She 
 owes her good repute, and wide sphere of honourable 
 
D. D. 21 
 
 usefulness, chiefly to the Christian influence that has, 
 from the days of our fathers, clustered about her; 
 and particularly, to the deep interest taken in her 
 welfare by Christians of the Presbyterian Church. 
 She is, at present, ojQficered by good men, capable, 
 faithful, and true; may their successors, to the latest 
 generation, be men like-minded! 
 
 In the autumn of 1805, the 2d or 3d of October, 
 having passed the usual trial, for the purpose, I was 
 licensed to preach the gospel, by the Presbytery of 
 New Brunswick. My text was, " God forbid that I 
 should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and 
 I unto the world." Thirty -one years ago last fall! 
 Alas, how little I have done for the glory of my dear 
 and adorable Master since then ! Had I my ministe- 
 rial life to live over again, would I not spend it to 
 better purpose? Perhaps not; but I think I would 
 endeavour to live nearer to, and depend more entirely 
 upon, the Divine source of all evangelical efficiency. 
 But the thirty-one years of opportunity are gone, 
 and registered in God's book of remembrance, where 
 they will be found, in evidence for or against me, 
 when called to give an account of my stewardship. 
 ! when I go up to the final judgment, may I obtain 
 mercy of the Lord, and be found to have been made 
 accepted in the Beloved ! 
 
 On the fifth day of October, 1805, I was married 
 to Elizabeth, second daughter of Matthew Van Dyke, 
 near Princeton, New Jersey. Having some weeks 
 previous to my licensure received an invitation to 
 
22 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 Cooperstown, New York, to preach in the place then 
 recently resigned by the Rev. Isaac Lewis, we set off 
 immediately for Whitesboro', where my wife's sister, 
 Mrs. Carnahan, resided, and whose husband, the Rev. 
 James Carnahan, now Dr. Carnahan, and President 
 of Princeton College, was pastor of the united Pres- 
 byterian churches of Utica and Whitesboro'. Leav- 
 ing Mrs. Neill at her sister's, I repaired to Coopers- 
 town, the first scene of my labours in word and doc- 
 trine. In the course of the next summer, I received 
 a call from the congregation, which, being accepted, 
 I was ordained to the work of the sacred ministry, 
 and installed pastor of the church in that place, by 
 the Presbytery of Oneida, November, 1806. This 
 was to me a new and solemn undertaking; the exer- 
 cises on the occasion were deeply affecting to my 
 mind ; I felt that I was accepting a charge for which 
 I was in myself quite incompetent; but having 
 learned, in some measure, where my life-springs lay, 
 I accepted the charge, not without fear and trembling, 
 but with hope, saying, "our sufficiency is of God." 
 
 The field to be cultivated here was large, and gave 
 promise of much fruit ; but great labour, it was mani- 
 fest, must be expended on it. The church had been 
 but recently formed, and it was the only church of 
 any denomination within several miles around; the 
 people were a good deal scattered, and there was a 
 demand for much visitation and frequent preaching 
 in the neighbourhood; and to one who was but slen- 
 derly furnished for the work, it was no slight service 
 to prepare and deliver two, and often three sermons 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 2S 
 
 on the Sabbath, and lecture once or more every week 
 in some of the surrounding settlements, besides at- 
 tending funerals, and performing other pastoral duties, 
 in a widely extended congregation. But by giving 
 myself unreservedly and exclusively to the duties of 
 the holy vocation, with the counsel and assistance of 
 a pious and excellent session, the gospel had free 
 course, and there was a gradual, quiet, and encourag- 
 ing ingathering of souls to the visible kingdom, and, 
 as we hoped, to the fold of the Chief Shepherd. 
 Hitherto the people had not enjoyed the convenience 
 of a suitable place for public worship, but held their 
 meetings on the Sabbath in an Academy, which soon 
 became too contracted for their accommodation. 
 Within eighteen months or two years after my com- 
 ing among them, they erected and completed, in a 
 neat style, a church edifice which would accommodate 
 eight or nine hundred persons. I purchased a com- 
 fortable dwelling for a small price, and we lived hap- 
 pily, and had all the necessaries, and some of the 
 conveniences of life, on a salary of six hundred dol- 
 lars a year. 
 
 In Cooperstown my two first children were born, 
 viz., William Van Dyke and Elizabeth. The place 
 was, in many respects, a very desirable residence. 
 The cheapness of living, the good taste, social disposi- 
 tion, industrious and correct habits of the inhabitants 
 were strong recommendations. The village is beauti- 
 fully located at the outlet of Lake Otsego, the source 
 of one of the main branches of the Susquehanna, the 
 noblest river of Pennsylvania. The town was pro- 
 
24 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 jected bj Judge Cooper, the then owner of the soil, 
 and the father of Cooper the >well-known American 
 novelist. This said novelist was, for a time, a private 
 pupil of mine. lie was rather wayward, cordially 
 disliked hard study, especially of the abstract sciences ; 
 was extravagantly fond of reading novels and amus- 
 ing tales. He became a fine writer — describes admi- 
 rably — is quite at home in rural scenes and the inci- 
 dents of a seafaring life. In Cooperstown and the 
 romantic region around it, he laid the scene of his 
 best novel, "The Pioneers." His Judge Temple in 
 this work personates his father. The Judge pos- 
 sessed some charming traits of character; he was of 
 simple, easy manners, very social, friendly, and hos- 
 pitable. I shared largely in his kindness and hospi- 
 tality while in his neighbourhood. His princely 
 mansion stood at the head of a long, wide avenue, 
 facing the lake, in the midst of ornamental and fruit 
 trees. It is now, I think, torn away, and replaced 
 by a more splendid dwelling, occupied, if I am rightly 
 informed by his son, James Fennimore, the only sur- 
 viving son. His daughter, Mrs. Pomeroy, and her 
 excellent husband, are among my most esteemed 
 friends. Otsego lake is a beautiful sheet of water, 
 nine miles long from north to south, and averaging a 
 mile in width, bounded by lofty and rugged hills on 
 the east and west. It contains fine white perch of a 
 large size, and what the people there call lake-fish, 
 still larger; but they keep in deep water, and are 
 difiicult to catch. The valley below, and most of the 
 land on the small water courses, is very fertile, and 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 25 
 
 some of it highly cultivated. Upon the whole, 
 Cooperstown is a delightful place, much improved 
 since my time there. I left it with regret, and 
 scarcely more than half my own consent. 
 
 In the summer of 1809, I received a call from the 
 First Presbyterian Church in the city of Albany, to 
 succeed the Rev. Dr. John B. Romeyn as their pastor. 
 This brought before me a question of serious import. 
 The call appeared to be unanimous. The meeting at 
 which it was prepared had been moderated by the 
 Rev. Dr. Nott, their former minister, who accompa- 
 nied it with a letter expressive of his opinion and 
 wish that it should be accepted. I held it under 
 advisement for some weeks, looking upon the people 
 of my charge, every time I met them, with tender 
 emotions, and sometimes with a tearful eye. At 
 length I resolved to accept, with permission, and 
 accordingly resigned my charge, under the sanction 
 of the Presbytery, and removed to Albany in Sep- 
 tember, 1809. In taking this step, I yielded to con- 
 siderations which, I fear, have, in many instances, 
 too much influence on such occasions, such as a more 
 ample support, a wider field of usefulness, &c. It may 
 be, pride and ambition had something to do in the 
 change. Had I remained in Cooperstown content- 
 edly, and been faithful, bread would have been given, 
 and water made sure to me and my household, and I 
 should probably have been as useful and happy as I 
 have been, with all the movements I have made. My 
 first pastoral charge had engaged my first pastoral 
 affections, and had given me strong proof of their 
 3 
 
26 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 confidence and kind regards ; and the parting scene 
 was really a painful one. I preached them a farewell 
 sermon from the text, 2 Cor. xiii. 11: "Finally, 
 brethren, farewell; be perfect, be of good comfort, 
 be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love 
 and peace will be with you." The house was a 
 Boelmn, and no one wept more bitterly than did the 
 preacher. 
 
 Never shall I forget the feelings that struggled in 
 my breast, as we ascended the long hill, from the 
 bank of the incipient Susquehanna, while the smooth 
 lake and tranquil village faded and diminished away 
 from our lingering, retrospective view. Why, said I 
 to myself, sunder such endeared and sacred ties ? But 
 the relation is dissolved, and we must go forward and 
 abide the consequences. That which is done, cannot 
 be undone. Man deviseth his way, but the Lord 
 directeth his steps, and often, overrules our wrong- 
 doings for good. But if we do wrong, we shall suffer 
 for it. "See that ye walk circumspectly; not as 
 fools, but as wise, redeeming the time." "Be ye, 
 therefore, not unwise, but understanding what the 
 will of the Lord is." 
 
 We had been settled in Albany but a few weeks, 
 when God laid his afflictive hand heavily upon us, in 
 mercy; and, as I trust, for the purpose of fatlierly 
 chastisement. Mrs. Neill was taken ill, and after a 
 short but severe and unyielding sickness, died, Novem- 
 ber 12, 1809, and left me in charge of two infants, 
 the youngest but five months old. This seemed at 
 the time grievous; but grace accompanied the rod. 
 
REV. WILILAM NEILL, D. D. 27 
 
 and made the stroke comparatively easy and sup- 
 portable. " I know, Lord, that in faithfulness 
 thou hast afflicted me." The funeral was all arranged 
 and the expenses of it borne by the congregation. 
 The mortal remains were laid to rest in the burying- 
 ground belonging to the church, where they are 
 covered by a tomb, bearing an inscription taken from 
 Watts, with dates and a brief memorial. She was 
 amiable and exemplary in all the relations of life; 
 gave evidence, while living, of faith in Christ, and 
 died peacefully, and in hope of a glorious resurrection 
 unto everlasting life and blessedness, through the 
 merits of the redeeming Saviour. 
 
 I was very fortunate in procuring Mabel Abbey, 
 then resident in East Hartford, Connecticut, to keep 
 house for me, and take care of my children; which 
 duties she performed to my entire satisfaction, and 
 much to her own credit. She is still in my family; 
 and should she survive me, I commend her to the care 
 and kind attentions of the widow or children I may 
 leave behind me, to cherish and protect her in sick- 
 ness and old age, as her circumstances shall require. 
 She has accumulated a little fund, by yearly savings 
 from the fruits of her industry, which makes her quite 
 easy and independent as to the means of support for 
 the remainder of life. 
 
 My situation in Albany was, in most respects, a 
 pleasant and comfortable one. The salary, at first 
 seventeen hundred and fifty dollars, was subsequently, 
 when the expense of living was increased by the war 
 with Great Britain, raised to two thousand. This was 
 
28 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 an ample support. There were, moreover, frequent 
 gratuitous expressions of remembrance ; and marriage- 
 fees constituted, by usage, an important perquisite. 
 I remember that on one New-year's occasion, a few of 
 my people presented me with a gift of seven hundred 
 and fifty dollars in cash ; and this present led me into 
 the only speculation of any consequence that I ever 
 perpetrated, and which did fail most egregiously. I 
 never before had possession of so much money for 
 which I had no immediate use, and wished to invest 
 this handsome gratuity for the benefit of my family 
 at a future time. Money was then flush, and real 
 estate rose suddenly to a factitious and enormous 
 pitch. The provident council of the city took occa- 
 sion to sell out, at auction, a great many city lots on 
 the outskirts of the town, on credit, to be paid for by 
 easy instalments, taking care to fix a quit-rent of 
 three dollars on each lot per annum, ad infinitum as 
 to time. This, with the other usual taxes, made these 
 fo-Je-valuable spots of ground, for the most part in 
 the bush, a mile or two from the Hudson river, very 
 expensive property. But it was a mania; the city 
 was going to spread westward rapidly, and purchasers 
 were soon to realize their own, with usury. By the 
 advice of friends, in whose judgment I had full con- 
 fidence, I ventured, with scores of others, and bought 
 seven lots, lying side by side, and stretching from 
 street to street — an acre of ground. I cleared and 
 fenced it, paid instalments, interest, and rent, as they 
 fell due. But the bubble soon burst ; the said lots, 
 and all such property, fell at the close of the war to 
 
29 
 
 little or no value. Upon calculation, I found my 
 seven hundred and fifty had cost me some eighteen 
 hundred dollars. I offered to surrender them to the 
 corporation on their own terms ; but no. At length, 
 sick of paying rent, I tried to give them away; and 
 even on these terms, years passed before I could get 
 them off my hands. It is not long since I succeeded 
 in getting rid of them, literally for nothing ; having 
 paid dear indeed for wit enough to have no more to 
 do with hazardous investments. It seems a pity that 
 the generous New-year's present had not been better 
 managed. But thus it was; and perhaps the disap- 
 pointment was designed by Providence for good. Had 
 this my first adventure succeeded, I might have been 
 induced to try others of a similar character, to the 
 detriment of my own spiritual interests and of the 
 success of the ministry. 
 
 As a field for ministerial usefulness, no place in the 
 country seemed at that time to possess more advan- 
 tages than Albany. There was then but the one 
 Presbyterian church in the city, and as it was the 
 seat of justice and legislation for the State, the con- 
 gregation was large, and in all respects highly respect- 
 able and interesting. It comprised men of the first 
 standing in society for intelligence and piety. It 
 required constant vigilance and exertion to satisfy the 
 just and reasonable demands of such a charge. I 
 did what I could, with Divine assistance, and God 
 smiled upon the effort, so that my labour was not 
 in vain in the Lord; but I felt that it was peculiarly 
 3* 
 
80 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF THE 
 
 trying to be the successor of such men as Nott and 
 Romeyn. 
 
 Soon after my settlement I instituted a Bible-class, 
 one of the first that was formed in the United States, 
 and before my removal I had the pleasure to witness 
 the happiest fruits from this mode of instructing the 
 youth of my charge. The members of the Bible-class 
 very generally became hopefully subjects of renewing 
 grace, and connected themselves in communion with 
 the church. We had accessions to the communion, 
 less or more, on every sacramental occasion, and fre- 
 quent seasons of refreshing from the presence of the 
 Lord, but no strongly marked revivals of religion dur- 
 ing my time. 
 
 In the rapid growth and prosperity of the city, 
 our congregation increased, so that our place of 
 worship became too strait for us. There was mani- 
 festly a want of more Presbyterian room. This 
 being seen and acknowledged by all concerned, a 
 united effort was made, in which a few comparatively 
 young and enterprising men took the lead, to erect 
 an edifice for a second church. It was accomplished 
 in a handsome style, and with great expedition. I 
 ofificiated at the laying of the corner-stone, and 
 preached at the dedication of the house to the worship 
 of God. The Rev. John Chester, then of Hudson, 
 was invited to take the pastoral charge of this new 
 organization. He accepted the call, and was installed 
 pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Albany, 
 in the year 1813, if I mistake not. A portion of the 
 eldership and communic-''T^t« of the first church was 
 
31 
 
 set off to form the nucleus of the second ; and this was 
 done with good feeling and unbroken harmony. I 
 have often looked back to this enlargement of the 
 borders of our Zion with great satisfaction. Chester 
 was a man of a lovely spirit. There were no jealousies 
 between him and me, and no unhallowed strife, so far 
 as we knew, between our respective charges. We 
 both grew and prospered in peace and amity, under 
 the benignant smile of the Chief Shepherd. The new 
 church drew into its communion many persons that 
 had hitherto been unconnected with any denomination, 
 and the vacated pews in the first church were soon 
 filled by new comers ; so that visible Presbyterianism 
 nearly doubled in strength during the seven years of 
 my stay in that city. 
 
 Not long after my settlement in Albany, the 
 *' Board of Trustees of Union College" saw fit to con- 
 fer on me, partly, as I suppose, in compliment to the 
 respectable people of my charge, the honorary title of 
 D. D. This was altogether unexpected by me, and it 
 was a distinction to which I felt that I had no special 
 claim; but coming from such a source, I could but 
 accept it, and endeavour to fulfil the expectations of 
 those who conferred it. In regard to these factitious 
 distinctions among ministers of the gospel I am free 
 to say, after many years' observation, that they are at 
 least inexpedient and undesirable. They are often pro- 
 cured by undue influence, and bestowed without proper 
 discrimination; their tendency is to stir up jealousies 
 and invidious comparisons among brethren, and they 
 really seem to answer no valuable purpose. Thero 
 
32 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 is less importance attached to them now in public 
 opmion, than some years back, and as the primitive 
 spirit gains ground, they will probably go into disuse. 
 They seem particularly unbecoming in our church, 
 where ministerial parity is a distinctive characteristic. 
 Besides, there is certainly a meaning in our Saviour's 
 counsel, "Be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your 
 Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." 
 
 In the year 1812, our Theological Seminary at 
 Princeton, New Jersey, was founded. In this enter- 
 prise I took a lively interest, and my people contri- 
 buted liberally towards its endowment, as they have 
 done ever since for its support. I visited several 
 other congregations, at different times, to solicit 
 aid for it, and collected and paid into its treasury, as 
 near as I can now ascertain, from twelve to thirteen 
 thousand dollars, from first to last. I have had the 
 pleasure of being a member of its Board of Direc- 
 tors from its foundation, with the exception of a year 
 or two, when my re-election failed, in a warm contest 
 for the mastery in its government between the Old 
 and New-schoolmen — a distinction that has sprung up 
 among us and troubled us not a little of late years. 
 The Institution is now under the control of the Old- 
 school, and favoured, as it is, with the services of an 
 able and devoted set of Professors, five in all, it is a 
 bulwark in our Zion, and likely to prove a rich bless- 
 ing to the American church. For soundness in the 
 faith, and for efficiency in promoting intelligence, 
 zeal, and piety among the rising ministry, it stands 
 first and highest among the numerous similar institu- 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 33 
 
 tions in our country. May a gracious Providence 
 save it from being perverted amidst the distractions 
 and contentions of our divided and unhappy church ! 
 
 When the American Bible Society was formed, I 
 was one of the delegates from Albany, to the conven- 
 tion that met in the city of New York, in- May 1816, 
 for the purpose of organizing it. Dr. Elias Boudinot, 
 of Burlington, New Jersey, was its most munificent 
 patron, and was elected its first President. I shall 
 never forget the pertinent and pithy remarks of Dr. 
 John M. Mason, on that occasion. In meeting some 
 puny scruples that had been just uttered, in regard to 
 the expediency of an organization, combining men of 
 various and conflicting views in religion, he repeated 
 the old adage, that "God never built a church, but 
 the devil set about building a chapel," and added, 
 that " his Satanic majesty was no doubt in the con- 
 vention, self-commissioned, and ready with pen and 
 inkpot, not to ratify, but to hlot out, whatever might 
 be passed in favour of the circulation of the Book — 
 the Bible, of whose holy power he was extremely 
 jealous." And as an instance of the license which a 
 popular speaker has, to say what another may not 
 say with impunity, he remarked in reference to our 
 differences, on minor points of Christian belief and 
 practice, that we had better let one another alone; 
 for said he, "Although a wise man will bear to be 
 rebuked, and that sharply, for a great and acknow- 
 ledged moral delinquency, yet you may not tell him, 
 even if it be true, that his nose wants wiping." This 
 society is truly catholic in its constitution and aim. 
 
34 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 It has done nobly, in preventing a famine of the 
 word of God, not only in America, but in foreign 
 lands. In the competition of voluntary associations, 
 that have arisen within a few years, it has not received 
 so large a share of public favour as it deserves. 
 Divine Providence will put its resources and energies 
 in requisition ere long, we trust, in filling the earth 
 with the knowledge of the Lord. 
 
 On the 25th of February, 1811, I was married to 
 Frances King, second daughter of General Joshua 
 King, of Ridgefield, Connecticut. Our first child, 
 Catharine, died in infancy, June 15th, 1812. 
 
 In reviewing this portion of my ministerial life, I 
 find much, very much occasion for thankfulness, and 
 and for humiliation, and self-condemnation. For 
 thankfulness to the Author of all good for domestic 
 happiness, ample means of support, and for a wide 
 and fertile field of usefulness. In these respects, 
 I had all that a minister of the gospel could reason- 
 ably and consistently desire. But ! what cause of 
 self-abasement it is, to reflect how inadequately I 
 appreciated my privileges, and how very imperfectly 
 I improved my opportunities of doing good — how 
 negligently and superficially the field assigned me 
 was cultivated — how exceedingly I failed to "make 
 full proof of the ministry," in winning souls to my 
 dear, and ever blessed Master! I immured myself 
 too much in my study, trying to make elaborate and 
 acceptable discourses — often appeared in the pulpit 
 with depressed spirits, and read my sermons too 
 closely — was not enough among my people, visiting 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 85^ 
 
 and preaching from house to house — had too much of 
 the fear of man about me, in the declaration of God's 
 truth — gave old sermons, with slight alterations, too 
 often, a part of the day, to save the toil of writing 
 new ones. I was not always so plain and urgent as 
 an ambassador of Christ should be — did not agonize, 
 and watch unto prayer, for the salvation of souls, as 
 I ought to have done, under a sense of official respon- 
 sibility to God. The remembrance of these and the 
 like defects, is painful ; but they are recounted for my 
 own humiliation, and recorded as a warning to those 
 who shall come after me in the sacred ministry. 
 *^ Enter not into judgment, with thy servant, 
 Lord!" "Shouldst thou mark iniquity, Lord, who 
 could stand?" 
 
 In the summer of 1816, I received a call from the 
 Sixth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia to become 
 their pastor. This was a new organization, that grew 
 out of a secession of a portion of the members of the 
 Third Church of that city, at the settlement of the 
 Rev. E. S. Ely as pastor. The division was at first 
 attended with bad feelings, hard speeches, and wrong- 
 doing probably on both sides; but the difficulties 
 were finally adjusted amicably, and those who chose 
 to leave the old place of worship, with others who 
 joined them in the enterprise, erected a neat and 
 commodious church edifice on Spruce street near 
 Sixth street. After serious consideration, I was in- 
 duced to accept this call, and accordingly, upon being 
 released from my Albany charge, I took leave of the 
 congregation in a discourse from Heb. xiii. 8: "Jesus 
 
36 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever" 
 — the immutability of Christ a source of consolation 
 to his people. Again I had occasion to feel the ten- 
 derness of the pastoral relation, and the pain atten- 
 dant on its dissolution. In making this movement, I 
 was not influenced by the love of money, for the 
 salary offered was the same in amount as that which 
 I was receiving. But my health being delicate, some 
 advantage was anticipated from a removal southward, 
 and some relief was expected from close study, in the 
 use of a stock of written sermons on hand, which 
 could easily be adapted to a new scene. There was 
 something attractive, also, in the idea of being in- 
 strumental in gathering and training a large congre- 
 gation, in a new house, in the midst of a dense popu- 
 lation. Pennsylvania, also, was my native State, the 
 home of my kindred, the resting-place of my parents* 
 ashes, and intimately associated with my youthful 
 recollections and first religious impressions. These 
 and the like motives prevailed; but although they 
 seemed at the time to be good and sujfficient, I must 
 confess, that I now regard them, on a serious review, 
 as of very questionable validity. The pastoral rela- 
 tion should not be dissolved without high and potent 
 reasons. 
 
 We removed to Philadelphia in the month of Sep- 
 tember, and I was installed early in November. The 
 people generously bore the expense of our removal, 
 and received us with every mark of kindness. I 
 entered upon their service in word and doctrine with 
 encouraging prospects, and, I trust, with renewed 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 37 
 
 resolution, by the grace of God, to devote all my 
 feeble energies to the work of the ministry and the 
 salvation of souls. Our congregation was at first 
 small, and we filled up but slowly, amidst the strong 
 competition of so many churches of the same denomi- 
 nation. But that which operated against our rapid 
 growth more powerfully than perhaps any other 
 cause, was the determination of the First Presby- 
 terian Church to erect a spacious and elegant edifice 
 for worship within a square of us. That people had 
 hitherto worshipped on Market street near Second; 
 but the business of the city crowding upon them, they 
 sold out, and procured a location on Washington 
 Square. They were then, as they are still, a nume- 
 rous, respectable, and wealthy congregation; their 
 pastor, the Rev. Dr. J. P. Wilson, was a man of 
 talents, and held in high estimation; and, as it was 
 expected that their new house would be tasteful and 
 attractive, many families in the neighbourhood waited 
 to see it completed, and eventually, finding the locali- 
 ty equally convenient, chose to connect themselves 
 with the First Church rather than the Sixth; whereas, 
 had the former been more remote, they would proba- 
 bly, as a matter of convenience, have joined us. We 
 were not disposed to complain of this as a grievance, 
 but we felt it to be a hindrance to our increase ; and 
 we verily thought that our beloved sister, of mature 
 age and full strength, might have secured her own 
 interests quite as well had she been a little more 
 regardful of our infancy, and by selecting another 
 locality allowed us more room for action and growth. 
 4 
 
38 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 The good understanding between the two churches 
 was not essentially disturbed by this occurrence, nor 
 would the fact have been noticed in this narrative, 
 were it not a matter of some importance, in the erec- 
 tion of new churches, to consult the convenience of 
 the population, and avoid encroaching on each other's 
 natural limits. The injunctions, "Look not every 
 man on his own things, but every man also on the 
 things of others" — "Study the things that make for 
 peace, and things whereby one may edify another" — 
 are applicable to congregations as well as to indi- 
 viduals. 
 
 During my time in Philadelphia, there was a good 
 degree of harmony among the churches, and but little 
 diversity of opinion on theological subjects among 
 our ministers; yet there was not that free and fre- 
 quent exchange of pulpits which seems to me desira- 
 ble in the same denomination. By a free exchange 
 on a part of the Sabbath, the people may enjoy, to 
 some .extent, the public labours of all the pastors, 
 while acquaintance and good feeling are promoted, 
 and united influence made more effective. Non-inter- 
 course begets shyness and suspicion, tends to inde- 
 pendency, weakens the ties that unite associated 
 churches, and is altogether anti-Presbyterial. The 
 venerable Dr. Wilson, mentioned above as pastor at 
 the time of the First Church, was remarkably recluse 
 in his habits, (feeble health was his apology,) made 
 no social calls, seldom or never exchanged pulpits, 
 and seemed reluctant to receive favours or attentions 
 from his brethren, and, indeed, from any one, though 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 39 
 
 he was a man of courteous manners and a friendly 
 heart. 
 
 I remember calling to see him once, when he was 
 indisposed. He was sitting up, with pen in hand, 
 and a huge folio of "The Fathers" open before him. 
 After an agreeable interview of fifteen minutes, I 
 made a movement to leave him ; when, taking down a 
 volume from a shelf near him, he wrote my name in 
 it, saying, " I am going to give you this for coming 
 to see me." Now, such a punctilious attention to the 
 principle of a quid pro quo, even when, as in this 
 case, connected with undoubted kindness, is unfa- 
 vourable to social intercourse; for who would not 
 hesitate to call often upon a friend that evinced a 
 disposition to pay for his visits ? The example of this 
 good man, for he was esteemed by all who knew him, 
 had some influence in limiting that freedom of inter- 
 course which I like to see, and which I believe is 
 friendly to the peace, and edification, and harmonious 
 action, of churches holding to the same creed, and 
 professedly aiming at the same thing. 
 
 In Philadelphia, as in Albany, I had a large and 
 interesting Bible-class, composed chiefly of females; 
 and the results of this mode of instructing the youth 
 were here, also, happy and ericouraging. In due 
 course of time all, with a very few exceptions, were 
 admitted to the communion of the church, and have 
 since given good evidence that they received the 
 truth in the love of it, and are governed by its divine 
 authority. In conducting the exercises of the Bible- 
 class, we followed no jsystem of questions, but read 
 
40 AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF THE 
 
 the portion of Scripture assigned with care, and then 
 proposed such questions as seemed calculated to bring 
 out the doctrines and practical lessons which it com- 
 prised distinctly — opening and closing the meetings 
 with prayer and singing. It was my custom to cate- 
 chize the children of the congregation once a month, 
 assembled in the lecture-room for the purpose, and in 
 the hearing of as many of the parents as could be 
 induced to attend. The Assembly's Shorter Cate- 
 chism was committed to memory by the children, and 
 this was our text-book in my endeavours to make 
 them acquainted with the truths and duties of the 
 Christian religion. 
 
 Family visitation I attended to as fully as seemed 
 practicable and consistent with domestic engagements. 
 On this important branch of pastoral duty I have 
 never been able to satisfy myself. The great difficul- 
 ty is to get families together on week-days, and free, 
 even for half an hour, from the ordinary interruptions 
 of business and social calls. Visiting the sick and 
 afflicted, I always found useful, and generally accept- 
 able. 
 
 Soon after my settlement in Spruce street, we 
 formed an association, composed of females, in aid of 
 the Theological Seminary at Princeton, which we 
 called "The Phoebean Society," after that Phoebe 
 whom Paul the apostle mentions with commendation as 
 a servant of the church at Cenchrea, and a succourer 
 of himself and others engaged in the work of the 
 ministry. This society has done, and is doing, nobly. 
 It has contributed annually towards the support of 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 41 
 
 indigent young men preparing for the ministry at 
 that institution, with a zeal and liberality highly 
 creditable to its members. They have for many 
 years paid the interest of two scholarships, i. e., have 
 sustained two students in succession, and from year 
 to year, in that important part of their preparation 
 for preaching the gospel. To one of their scholar- 
 ships they were pleased to annex the name of the 
 subject of this Memoir, and to the other, that of the 
 Rev. Samuel G. Winchester, their present beloved 
 pastor. 
 
 Ever since I have been in the ministry, I have 
 endeavoured to train the people of my charge to 
 habits of liberal attention to all evangelical enter- 
 prises, especially those which are immediately con- 
 nected with, and controlled by, our own Church; and 
 I have had the pleasure to know, from the records of 
 the church, that the three congregations which I 
 served for a time, have been uniformly exemplary in 
 their regular and generous contributions to objects 
 intimately connected with the general interests of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom. Ministers may do much, and 
 on them rests a serious responsibility in this matter. 
 "Like priest, like people;" if a pastor is either too 
 selfish or too timid to call upon his people for their 
 prayers, and pecuniary aid in behalf of objects beyond 
 their own immediate precincts, he contributes, indi- 
 rectly at least, to make them stingy, selfish, and 
 comparatively useless members of the visible body 
 of Christ. 
 
 My situation in Philadelphia was very agreeable, 
 4* 
 
42 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 and I trust my labours there were not altogether in 
 vain in the Lord. We had peace and concord, and a 
 gradual ingathering of souls, though we never had 
 any special revivals of religion. The congregation 
 was incumbered with a debt of some six thousand 
 dollars, which made it rather difficult for them to 
 meet their pecuniary engagements. I therefore vol- 
 untarily relinquished two hundred dollars a year of 
 my salary, for the last two or three years of my time 
 with them. We still had a comfortable living, though 
 the family had now grown large. There were a few 
 families among our people that presented us, from 
 time to time, with acceptable and valuable tokens of 
 remembrance, which lightened our necessary expen- 
 ditures very considerably; and our excellent and 
 esteemed family physician. Dr. Henry Neill, now a 
 ruling elder in the First Church, attended us faith- 
 fully and assiduously, during the whole eight years 
 of our residence in the city, without charge for his 
 professional services. For this generous and labori- 
 ous kindness I do still feel that we are deeply indebt- 
 ed to him. 
 
 In the summer of 1820, the infant, John Seip, son 
 of the late Dr. Frederic Seip, of Natchez, Mississippi, 
 was placed in my family and under my care, by a 
 singular dispensation of Providence. The circum- 
 stances were these : Dr. Seip died at Natchez a little 
 anterior to this date. Mrs. Seip, with John, her only 
 child, came on to Philadelphia in very feeble health, 
 and soon after her arrival, became very ill. Being 
 desirous of leaving her child in a family where he 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 48 
 
 would be likely to receive kind attention and be reli- 
 giously educated, and getting some knowledge of me 
 through an early acquaintance of hers, and a member 
 of my church, she conceived a strong desire to leave 
 John under my guardianship, to be raised in my fam- 
 ily as one of my own children. I had never seen her, 
 nor any of her family, and was from home at the 
 time ; but at her urgent request, her friend wrote to 
 know whether I would accept the charge. I hesi- 
 tated, but finally wrote home, that under the circum- 
 stances I could not refuse. On my return I found 
 that the mother had deceased soon after the receipt 
 of my letter, and that she had consigned John to 
 my care, on such terms as should suit my judg- 
 ment; there being property enough, and her brother, 
 Dr. Andrew Macreary, of Natchez, being the execu- 
 tor of the estate and legal guardian of the child. 
 
 At my request, the compensation for the entire 
 superintendence of the child was referred to three 
 gentlemen, viz., Robert Ralston, Esq., General Cad- 
 walader, and Rev. Dr. J. J. Janeway, who fixed it at 
 two hundred and fifty dollars per annum. This was 
 agreed to, and has not been altered since. John has 
 grown up in the family as a tender plant; has been a 
 pleasant boy, and is very dear to me and all the 
 family. He is now nearly of age, and is coming into 
 possession of a handsome estate. May God save him 
 from the infatuating influence of outward wealth, and 
 give him an interest in the imperishable riches of 
 redeeming grace. I have done what I could for him. 
 He knows what is right, and possesses an affectionate 
 
44 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 and amiable disposition ; but he is as yet a child of 
 nature. The Lord give him a new heart and a right 
 spirit. that his soul may be saved through the 
 redemption that is in Christ ! He has always treated 
 me with filial piety and respect; and I have a pleasing 
 confidence that he will not forget or neglect my child- 
 ren, if he survive me, when they shall become orphans, 
 and when I shall have gone the way of all the earth. 
 May no root of bitterness ever spring up to mar their 
 friendly fellowship! 
 
 And now, before resigning the pastoral charge, for 
 the third, and probably the last time, I will record 
 briefly my views of the office and work of the Christian 
 ministry. This office I of course regard as the most 
 useful, the most desirable, and the most responsible 
 that can be borne by man. Its design is to proclaim 
 salvation to a ruined world, on the basis of the media- 
 tion of Jesus Christ, God's beloved and only begotten 
 Son. Every minister of the gospel comes to men as 
 an ambassador of Christ, to treat with them on the 
 momentous subject of their reconciliation to God. 
 The ground of hope is laid in the atoning blood 
 and perfect, imputed righteousness of the Redeemer. 
 The terms are easy, and well adapted to the helpless 
 misery of sinners — "repent, and believe the gospel." 
 The grand comprehensive means are the word and 
 ministry of reconciliation. The efficient Agent is the 
 Holy Spirit. The ambassador's book of instructions 
 is the Bible, and his object twofold — the conversion 
 of the wicked, and the edification of the pious; 
 and in discharging the duties of his office, he is to 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 45 
 
 apply the appropriate means witli all his energy and 
 skill, in humble and prayerful reliance on God for 
 success. 
 
 The highest aim of this office is to save souls. Now 
 God is pleased, through the preaching of the gospel, to 
 save them that believe ; and one saved soul is of more 
 worth than the whole of the material creation. Hence 
 we see that the office is the most useful; it is also the 
 most desirable. That office is certainly the most 
 desirable which affords the best opportunity of doing 
 good. In this respect, no station will bear comparison 
 with that of the minister of Christ. He has it in his 
 power, under Divine favour, to promote the temporal 
 and eternal interests of mankind in a degree that is 
 indefinite and immeasurable. The office is highly 
 desirable also, as regards the minister's own happi- 
 ness. It brings him into close and constant inter- 
 course with God, the Source of bliss, in looking to 
 him for assistance, and giving him thanks for success. 
 In a word, the ministerial relation has endearments 
 and enjoyments connected with it, which are incom- 
 parable and indescribable. But this office is most 
 responsible; interests are staked upon the faithful 
 performance of its sacred functions, which surpass 
 our most vigorous conceptions. No considerate man, 
 therefore, would assume it, uncalled of God ; nor will 
 any one, when graciously inclined to it, undertake it 
 in his own strength: "Our sufficiency is of God." 
 
 The work of the ministry, then, is good, pleasant, 
 and weighty. The leading requisites for it are piety, 
 aptness to teach, and intellectual culture. No man 
 
46 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 should venture to engage in this holy work, without a 
 consciousness of love to Christ, and delight in his 
 service ; for how can we consistently recommend to 
 our fellow-sinners a Saviour, whom we do not love 
 and know to be precious and worthy of all confi- 
 dence? Nor should a man rely altogether on his 
 own judgment in regard to his fitness for this great 
 work. He should take counsel, and submit himself 
 to the scrutiny of others, entering upon the office, as 
 did Timothy, through the laying on of the hands of 
 the Presbytery. The motives that should impel a man 
 to the faithful and diligent discharge of his ministerial 
 obligations are the. most cogent that can be ima- 
 gined. Gratitude to the Redeemer, a concern for the 
 glory of God, compassion for the souls of men, the 
 pleasures of a conscience void of ofi'ence, and a desire 
 to meet the approbation of our blessed Master in the 
 day of judgment, urge us to be honest, active, impar- 
 tial, and untiring in the execution of the duties of 
 our stewardship. 
 
 In reviewing my life and labours as a minister of 
 Christ, I find much reason to be humbled before God. 
 Would that I had been more laborious, zealous, and 
 urgent in my appeals to men's consciences. But op- 
 portunities once past and gone cannot be recalled; 
 nor are regrets for neglected advantages of any avail, 
 except as they lead to repentance and reformation. 
 Let me, then, double my diligence for the little rem- 
 nant of life that may remain to me ; and may the next 
 generation of preachers, warned by the lamented 
 deficiencies of their predecessors, be careful to take 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 47 
 
 time by tlie forelock, and work with all their might, 
 and with a burning zeal for God and souls, while the 
 day lasts. " The night cometh, in which no man can 
 work." 
 
 In the summer of 1824, I received an invitation to 
 become the successor of Dr. John M. Mason, in the 
 Presidency of Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Penn- 
 sylvania. This call was unsought and unexpected by 
 me. After some consideration, I determined to de- 
 cline; but on second thought, and further advice, I 
 concluded to accept the offer, and accordingly re- 
 signed my pastoral charge, took leave of the people, 
 and removed to Carlisle in September, 1824, having 
 been pastor of the Sixth Church, Philadelphia, eight 
 years. Without recounting the motives that actuated 
 me in making this' change, I would only say, that I 
 am now, and have long been doubtful about the cor- 
 rectness of my decision. On review, the reasons that 
 prevailed do not appear to me to have been strong 
 and pressing. The substantial proofs of affectionate 
 regard which I received from the people of Spruce 
 street on leaving them, stirred up in my bosom tender 
 and pensive feelings, as if I was going away from 
 good friends and leaving a comfortable home. But 
 the deed was done — the formal tie was dissolved. I 
 was committed, and must away. 
 
 On entering upon my new scene of labour I found 
 things in rather a low and unpromising plight. It is 
 true that Dr. Mason's fame, together with the re- 
 spectability of the Professors associated with him, 
 had attracted public attention, and enlisted the favour 
 
48 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 of the community in some degree in behalf of the 
 Institution. But the College had been closed for 
 a long time previously, and the Doctor's health did 
 not permit him to remain connected with it quite two 
 years, when the public confidence was again shaken 
 by his resignation. The funds were inadequate to 
 the support of the establishment, and when I went to 
 the place there were but from forty to fifty students 
 in the Institution. However, I resolved to identify 
 myself with its interests and do what I could, in con- 
 junction with the gentlemen who were on the ground 
 before me, for its thorough resuscitation and enlarge- 
 ment. 
 
 My first winter in Carlisle was peculiarly trying. 
 Amid the cares and duties of the College, I was 
 taken sick, and confined to my chamber six or eight 
 weeks. Well do I remember my feelings, as I lay 
 upon a sick bed, looking through the window upon 
 the dreariness of a hard and seemingly long win- 
 ter. The recollection of past pleasures was pain- 
 ful and depressing to my spirit. The beloved and 
 afiectionate flock that I had recently left; my pulpit, 
 my Bible-class, and our sweet communion seasons, 
 rushed upon my remembrance, and seemed to chide 
 me for having left my proper place through fickleness 
 and vain desires. All this may have been weakness, 
 or selfishness, or the want of courage; but I record 
 facts as they really were, that others may profit by 
 my errors, and learn to heed the good old maxim, 
 "Let well enough alone." 
 
 On the recovery of my wonted health I took 
 
D. D. 49 
 
 courage, determined to feel at home, and give myself 
 fully and heartily to the duties of my station. A cor- 
 respondence was opened with several Academies, and 
 many congratulations and good promises were received. 
 An annual allowance of $3000, for the term of seven 
 years, from the State treasury, was obtained by dint 
 of hard pleading and perseverance, by an act of the 
 State legislature, in behalf of the College, on condi- 
 tion that a report of the state of the Institution should 
 be laid before that body yearly, till the expiration of 
 said term. This relieved our present necessities, and 
 was beneficial in some respects, but it operated badly 
 in the long run, as it impaired our independence, and 
 consequently, relaxed our discipline, as will appear in 
 the sequel. 
 
 We now went on prosperously; the classes filled 
 up until we had about one hundred students, besides a 
 flourishing preparatory school, which was as great a 
 number as we could well accommodate. When I 
 became connected with the Institution, there were 
 three Professors, viz., Henry Vethake, Esq., Profes- 
 sor of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics; Rev. 
 Joseph Spencer of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
 Professor of the Latin and Greek Languages; and 
 Rev. Alexander McClellan of the Dutch Church, 
 Professor of Moral Philosophy, Mental Science, and 
 Rhetoric. In the course of a little time we had an 
 accession of two more, viz.. Dr. John Finley, Pro- 
 fessor of Chemistry and Physiology, and the Rev. 
 Lewis Mayers, of the German Reformed Church, Pro- 
 fessor of German Literature. Thus the Faculty con- 
 5 
 
60 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 sisted of six members, and the course of study was as 
 liberal and comprehensive as in most colleges of our 
 country. 
 
 The President was charged with the religious in- 
 struction of the young men in Natural Theology, the 
 Evidences of Christianity, and such Bible instruction 
 on the Sabbath as should be deemed suitable in such 
 an Institution. He was also expected to aid the 
 Professor of Languages, if necessary, and, in a word, 
 to take such part in the business of instruction as 
 should be found convenient and for the general inter- 
 ests of the College. This was a bad arrangement. 
 Every teacher in a public seminary of learning 
 should have his place and duties definitely assigned 
 by statute, so that he may know his responsibilities, 
 and not interfere with the appropriate duties of his 
 associates. 
 
 The sun of prosperity had not beamed upon us 
 long, when we began to feel the effects of certain 
 constitutional evils, which ultimately proved disas- 
 trous. These were — first, a participation of the 
 Board of Trustees in the exercise of discipline. The 
 Faculty could admonish, reduce to a lower class, or 
 suspend delinquents temporarily from the privileges 
 of the Institution; but they had not the right of 
 expelling a disorderly student without the sanction of 
 the Trustees. Of course, the subjects of discipline 
 were always disposed to make their appeal, directly 
 or indirectly, to the higher court; and from their 
 ex 'parte statements of their case, which they had 
 opportunities of making in the families of Trustees 
 
D. D. 51 
 
 resident in the borough, a sympathy was enlisted 
 in their favour, and the authority of the Faculty was 
 put in jeopardy. The Trustees, indeed, had too 
 many meetings, and interfered too much (from good 
 motives, doubtless,) with the internal police of the 
 College. The government ought to be vested wholly 
 in the President and Professors, and from their deci- 
 sions there should be no appeal, except to the ulti- 
 mate tribunal in all free States, public sentiment. 
 
 In the second place, the College was too catholic. 
 It was open to the sons of parents of all religious 
 persuasions, down to atheism itself. Consequently 
 the wishes of parents must be consulted in regard to 
 attendance on religious instruction, whether in class 
 studies, or in the duties of the Sabbath. The stu- 
 dents could not all be required to attend the lectures 
 in the College chapel on the Lord's day; they were 
 allowed to go to the churches in the village where 
 they could be best suited, and if there was none of 
 their persuasion, they were not obliged to attend any. 
 It is easy to see how such an arrangement would ope- 
 rate. "With many the Sabbath was a day of indo- 
 lence and mischief. True, we had Bible-class exer- 
 cises and Lectures on Biblical History in the College 
 every Sabbath; but attendance on these services 
 being voluntary, they were much neglected, and of 
 very limited influence. Young men in whose educa- 
 tion the principles of true religion form no part, may 
 be expected to be insubordinate, immoral, and vicious; 
 for religion is the basis — the only solid basis — of 
 correct morals. Any institution for the training of 
 
52 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 youthj in the absence of religious principles, however 
 extended and richly endowed it may be, is a great 
 evil in the community. 
 
 In Dickinson College it was an object to have in the 
 Faculty and in the Board of Trustees, men of different 
 religious denominations. Hence we had, occasionally, 
 jealousies, suspicions, and contests for the pre-emi- 
 nence. On one occasion, in the election of Trustees, 
 it so happened (whether by concert or not, was the 
 question,) that the vacant seats were filled by gentle- 
 men of one religious sect. This raised the hue and 
 cry, sectarianism! religious domination! &c., and was 
 used as a handle by which we were dragged before 
 the Legislature of the State, where a tedious and 
 vexatious investigation was had, without convicting 
 anybody of misdemeanour, for there was no evidence ; 
 but the effect was to fix suspicion upon us, and raise 
 a strong prejudice against us, from which we never 
 recovered in my time. 
 
 A third evil, in our case, was dependence on legis- 
 lative aid, created by the annuity mentioned before, 
 and conditioned, as it was, on an annual report. 
 This tended to unnerve discipline, as it constituted, 
 in some sort, a high court of appeal from our doings, 
 and opened upon us the mouths of fault-finders 
 throughout the length and breadth of the Common- 
 wealth. But for this dependence on, and responsi- 
 bility to, the Legislature, we had not been arraigned 
 on a vague and unfounded charge of sectarianism, 
 and subjected to the injurious consequences that 
 ensued. Let no institution of learning surrender its 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 53 
 
 independence for the sake of money or popular favour. 
 Better be poor and small, and win public patronage 
 gradually by fidelity, zeal, and perseverance. The 
 Legislature of the State, from the elements of which 
 it is composed, is unfit to judge wisely in regard to 
 the complicated business of instructing and governing 
 youth. In the case of institutions endowed by the 
 State, supervision is right and useful ; but let it be 
 vested in a smaller and less heterogeneous body, 
 selected with due reference to the requisite qualifica- 
 tions for such an office. 
 
 In view of these facts, and after a good deal of 
 observation and experience, I give it as my deliberate 
 judgment: 1st. That in all seminaries of learning, 
 great and small, the teachers should be the governors. 
 2d. That those seminaries, other things being equal, 
 will do best for themselves, and best for the com- 
 munity, that are in the hands and under the control 
 of some one denomination of Christians. The extreme 
 of Catholicism is practical atheism. The fear of 
 impressing on the minds of youth sectarian views, 
 tends powerfully to the exclusion of all religious influ- 
 ence from their hearts; and to educate our children 
 without religion, is unfaithfulness to them, treachery 
 to God, and ruin to the republic. 3d. That the less 
 dependent schools and colleges are on State bounty, 
 the better for them, and for the pupils, and for the 
 cause of sound learning. 
 
 ^ In a free country, it is perhaps best that institu- 
 tions of science, and literature, and religion, like indi- 
 viduals, should rise into prosperity and repute by the 
 5* 
 
64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 excellence of their principles, and by their own well- 
 directed efforts. Numerous schools and colleges, pro- 
 ducing a generous competition, are preferable in our 
 country to a few overflowing with pupils, and flushed 
 into neglect of duty, or connivance at the idleness 
 and immoralities of the youth consigned to their care. 
 There is a propensity in colleges, as in other corpo- 
 rations, to monopolize and engross the business. This 
 is inconsistent with republican principles, and inaus- 
 picious to the professed design — moral and intellectual 
 culture. The more young men you collect together 
 in one place, for the purpose of education, the more 
 difficult it becomes to maintain order among them, 
 and to do justice in the matter of instruction. The 
 modest and weak are crowded into the background, 
 and are often obliged to bear in silence the insolence 
 of the bullies ; they hide behind one another, tempt, 
 and in some instances coerce each other into disorder 
 and vice, which no supervision, however vigilant and 
 active, can possibly prevent. What shameful out- 
 breakings occur occasionally in our most crowded and 
 popular institutions ! 
 
 In Dickinson College, when our number was short 
 of a hundred, w^e had a rebellion which it cost us no 
 little trouble to quell, and which ultimately proved 
 disastrous to the institution. The occasion was the 
 suspension of a young man for insubordination to one 
 of the Professors ; the combustible materials took fire 
 quickly, 9;nd the flame soon pervaded the whole mass. 
 They insisted on the restoration of their fellow-student, 
 alleging that the Professor was mainly in fault. They 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 55 
 
 were of one mind, so far as we could judge, and came 
 into the chapel, when called for worship, growling like 
 mastiffs. Remonstrance, warning, and affectionate 
 entreaty, were tried upon them in vain. They per- 
 sisted, and it became necessary, for the maintenance 
 of authority, to dismiss the whole of them, under 
 censure, not to leave the town, but with an assurance 
 that on the following day they would be re-admitted, 
 if they chose, on reflection, to comply with the terms 
 that should be proposed. Accordingly, most of them 
 were restored, on acknowledging their fault and pro- 
 mising good behaviour for the future ; but some half 
 dozen held out pertinaciously, and we were obliged to 
 suspend them. This brought on a correspondence 
 with parents and guardians, that cost us weeks of 
 painful labour; and by the partial representations of 
 the affair that went abroad, a clamour was raised 
 against us as tyrannical, &c. 
 
 We never recovered from the effects of this insur- 
 rection; indeed, one of its remote effects was that the 
 whole Faculty left the College, and it was closed for 
 several years. Not long since it was transferred to 
 the Methodist Episcopal brethren, under whose man- 
 agement it seems to be rising, and bids fair to be 
 useful. May the smiles of a propitious Providence 
 rest upon it, and make it a blessing to the country 
 and the world ! 
 
 The winter of 1828-29 was a time of deep and 
 various affliction with us. Besides the Colleore trou- 
 
 o 
 
 bles, my dear daughter, Maria, was gradually sinking 
 under an incurable disease. She became ill early in 
 
56 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 the autumn, and died on the 4th of April, 1829. 
 Evening after evening I passed in her sick chamber 
 with intense solicitude, endeavouring by reading, con- 
 versation, and prayer, to prepare her for the approach- 
 ing issue. It was a mournful, but, I trust, an instruc- 
 tive school to me and to the family. She was aware 
 of her condition, and full of inquiries about death and 
 its consequences, which I answered as well as I could, 
 by reading to her select and appropriate passages of 
 Scripture. Her end was peaceful, and not without 
 hope. She was remarkably affectionate and intelli- 
 gent, and of an interesting age. None but those who 
 have experienced the like, can conceive how painful it 
 was to part with her. But God took her, and sus- 
 tained us under the bereavement ; he is righteous, and 
 praised be his holy name! Her mortal remains 
 repose in the burial-ground of Carlisle. In August, 
 1829, my daughter, Elizabeth, was married to David 
 N. Mahon, M. D., of Carlisle. 
 
 After Commencement, the last of September, 1829, 
 my connection with the College being dissolved, I 
 accepted the office of Corresponding Secretary and 
 General Agent of the Board of Education of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, and entered immediately on the 
 duties of the station, my family remaining in Car- 
 lisle. In September, 1830, we removed back to Phi- 
 ladelphia, that being more central and convenient for 
 the business in which I was now engaged. The duty 
 of training young men for the work of the gospel 
 ministry, and of providing for the wants of the indi- 
 gent, had long been felt, and had always received 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 57 
 
 some attention in our church ; but the mode of accom- 
 plishing this desirable object, now adopted, was at 
 that time new, and thought by many to be of doubtful 
 issue. There were fears, prejudices, and rival insti- 
 tutions in the way, so that, during my connection 
 with the Board, we did little more than consult the 
 church, invite the cooperation of the Presbyteries, 
 and prepare the way for a thorough prosecution of 
 the important enterprise. 
 
 Every step was taken cautiously, and we proceeded 
 on a small scale, watching the indications of Provi- 
 dence, and seeking the favour and united aid of our 
 brethren. As the field opened before us, and the work 
 accumulated upon our hands, finding that the duties 
 were too heavy for my feeble health, I resigned the 
 station, after occupying it about two years, in the 
 autumn of 1831. The Rev. John Breckinridge was 
 appointed my successor, and coming to the work with 
 his eminent qualifications, and taking hold with a 
 strong hand and a determinate purpose, the institu- 
 tion prospered, and is now doing, under favour of 
 Divine Providence, great and good service to the 
 cause of Christ. I am still a member of the Board, 
 and feel a deep interest in its success. It is the 
 natural ally of the Board of Missions, and constitutes 
 one of the main springs of the evangelical action of 
 our ecclesiastical body upon this fallen world. Being 
 thus released from all local engagements, I accepted 
 an invitation to Germantown, where I now write, to 
 serve a feeble church of our connection, as a stated 
 supply. Accordingly in September, 1831, we removed 
 
58 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 hither; and here we are surrounded with comforts, 
 though in circumstances different from what we have 
 been used to. 
 
 Two considerations operated mainly in bringing me 
 to this place. 1st. I was anxious to resume the min- 
 isterial work as my sole employment. Germantown 
 was the first place that offered ; and though poor and 
 unpromising, it was within the Lord's vineyard, and 
 Providence seemed to say, Go. 2d. My dear and 
 lamented friend, John S. Henry, Esq., whose family 
 residence was here, expressed his earnest wish that I 
 should come, promising a liberal contribution towards 
 my support, which he more than fulfilled while he 
 lived; for he died December 10th, 1835, deeply and 
 extensively regretted.* The Domestic Missionary 
 Board of the General Assembly have given from one 
 hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars per annum, 
 since I have been here, and several benevolent indi- 
 viduals have given something, so that with what the 
 congregation find themselves able to do, from time to 
 time, amounting perhaps to from two to three hundred 
 dollars a year, together with my own small means, 
 and good economy, we live comfortably. My son, 
 William Van Dyke, is living in Virginia, married to a 
 daughter of Dr. Thomas Triplett, Surgeon in the 
 Navy. My younger children are going forward with 
 their education, and I trust my labour is not in vain 
 
 * My youngest son I named for my dear friend, John S. Henry, 
 •whose death was a grievous affliction to his family, and an irrepa- 
 rable loss to us, and to the church. How mysterious are the ways 
 of Providence ! 
 
EEV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 59 
 
 in the Lord. " Godliness, with contentment, is great 
 gain." We purpose remaining here till Divine Provi- 
 dence shall seem to us to say, "Arise and go hence." 
 Our cup, since our residence here, has been a mixed 
 one, but the predominant ingredient has been mercy. 
 
 Soon after our settlement in the place, the life of 
 one of my daughters was threatened for many weeks; 
 but by the blessing of God on the untiring attention 
 and skilful treatment of our esteemed physician. Dr. 
 Samuel Betton, she was restored to her usual health. 
 Immediately on her recovery her mother began to 
 decline in health, and after a lingering and pro- 
 gressive illness of eight or nine months, she died 
 October 13th, 1832. 
 
 On the 15th day of April, 1835, I was married to 
 Sarah S. Elmer, only daughter of Dr. Ebenezer 
 Elmer, of Bridgeton, New Jersey. 
 
 The state of religion in this place, though lament- 
 ably low, has been apparently better this winter than 
 usual. There has been for some months past a more 
 than ordinary attendance on public worship. Our 
 Sabbath-school is growing, and the cause of temper- 
 ance is making some progress. I preach and visit 
 pastorally about as much as I ever did, though in a 
 much more limited field; am doing some good, I hope, 
 by the distribution of religious tracts and papers; and 
 we are looking and longing for a season of refreshing 
 from the presence of the Lord. I sometimes think 
 God has placed me here to test my attachment to the 
 blessed Master's work, out of the way of being influ- 
 enced by its temporal emoluments. Well, if it be so, 
 
60 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 and I am enabled to stand the test, it is good to be 
 here. The lowest place in the kingdom is a post of 
 honour high enough for me; and I think I can hon- 
 estly say, that I do love the service of God in the 
 gospel of his Son, aside from the worldly advantages 
 and popular favour, which in some situations are 
 connected with it. Yet I may be deceived. Lord, 
 save me from every refuge of lies, and fix my heart 
 and hope on the deep, and broad, and firm foundation 
 of grace, which is laid in Christ, the anointed holy 
 King of Zion ! 
 
 And now, praying that what has been written may 
 be useful when it comes to be read, if, indeed, it shall 
 ever see the light, and thanking God for the good 
 effect the review has had on my own mind, I arrest- 
 the current of the humble narrative, on this second 
 day of February, 1837. If anything should occur 
 hereafter worthy of note, it can be added by another 
 hand, if mine should be suddenly and unexpectedly 
 rendered incapable of writing. 
 
 January 2d^ 1840. — Three years ago, this day, I 
 began to write these memories, and having brought 
 the narrative down to February 2d, 1837, it was there 
 arrested, with the intention of resuming it, should my 
 life be spared. Now, at the opening of another year, 
 finding myself and family in comfortable circum- 
 stances, I raise my Ebenezer in honour of the Divine 
 mercy, and proceed to note down a few particulars 
 which occurred in the course of the last three years. 
 
 The year 1837 passed off quietly, and without any 
 events woi-thy of special note, but the next is memo- 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 61 
 
 rable. Early in the spring I took a lot of ground on 
 rent, with the view of erecting a building on it, for 
 the double purpose of a lecture-room and a young 
 ladies' seminary. In this enterprise I received assist- 
 ance from a few generous friends ; the house was com- 
 pleted and in use by the beginning of winter. We 
 worshipped in it on Wednesday evenings, and the 
 school went into operation immediately with encour- 
 aging prospects; but, in the course of a year or 
 eighteen months, we built a lecture-room adjoining 
 the church edifice, and I transferred the school to a 
 lady, who was to have purchased the house, but fail- 
 ing to do so, I changed it into a dwelling, and after- 
 wards sold it at some discount. 
 
 September ISth, 1838.— My dear Elizabeth, wife of 
 Dr. D. N. Mahon, of Carlisle, died. This was a pain- 
 ful stroke to us all, and a breach in our circle of loved 
 ones which is irreparable. She was the only daughter 
 of my first wife, and a woman of great w^orth, not only 
 to her family and friends, but to the church of God, 
 in w^hose prosperity she took a great interest. 
 
 In May of this year (1838,) occurred the great 
 schism in our church, at the meeting of the General 
 Assembly. The preceding Assembly had exscinded 
 four Synods as incurably unsound. This act was 
 disregarded by the Presbyteries concerned ; but when 
 their commissioners to the Assembly of this year 
 presented their credentials and claimed seats, they 
 were rejected; whereupon they retired and organized, 
 claiming to be the Constitutional Assembly, com- 
 monly known since as the New^-school body, though 
 6 
 
62 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 clinging to the old style and title. What followed is 
 well known, and by many on both sides was deeply 
 lamented. Litigation, evil surmisings, and sad alien- 
 ations, gave occasion to the enemies of Christ to 
 reproach his cause, and served as a stumbling-block 
 to many. 
 
 I always thought, and think now, that milder mea- 
 sures would have answered better, and been more for 
 edification. True, discipline had been neglected, and 
 serious evils had crept in among us, both in doctrine 
 and order ; but our system is recuperative, and would 
 have recovered its energy in a few years, had its prin- 
 ciples been applied by regular process. God is over- 
 ruling our evil action, however, and both branches of 
 the body may be regarded now as in a healthful and 
 growing state. I prefer the Old-school, with all its 
 faults ; but the dividing-line, when drawn, threw very 
 many dear disciples and noble churches on the other 
 side. 
 
 The root of the evil was a Plan of Union, adopted 
 in 1801, by our General Assembly and some of the 
 New England associations, for the gathering in of 
 churches in Western New York; which produced, in 
 process of time, a mongrel style of discipline — a com- 
 promise between Presbyterian order and Congrega- 
 tionalism — well-meaning, but ill-judged. This compact 
 was annulled on our part rather unceremoniously, 
 which gave great offence. The New-school men clung 
 to it, but of late they find it does not work well. 
 
 February 3c?, 1853 — at Philadelphia. I will now 
 bring these notes to a close, if possible, before I stop. 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 63 
 
 In the autumn of 1842, we made arrangements to 
 return to Philadelphia; and mj friend, the Rev. 
 Thomas B. Bradford, hearing of my intention to 
 leave, signified his willingness to take the place. I 
 introduced him ; he preached, and was accepted una- 
 nimously as stated supply. 
 
 From the foregoing statement, it will be seen that 
 I was eleven years stated supply at Germantown. 
 And here it is natural to ask. What were the fruits of 
 my labours during this period? Not great, indeed, 
 but yet worthy of notice, to the praise of Divine 
 grace. When I entered that uninviting field, the 
 church had but a nominal existence. There were 
 three ruling elders, with one deacon, and a few com- 
 municants, hard to find, scattered and disheartened. 
 I looked after them, and found that several, whose 
 names were enrolled, had died or moved away. I 
 preached to the few that could be collected, twice on 
 the Sabbath, lectured on Wednesday evenings, and 
 opened a rotary prayer-meeting on Friday evenings; 
 and thus we moved on very slowly, but harmoniously. 
 I introduced the keeping of sessional records, which 
 was a new measure there; as they had not been used 
 to anything more than a register of members, admis- 
 sions to the Lord's table, baptisms, marriages, and 
 deaths. It was a day of small things, yet we grew 
 by little and little, with ebbings and Sowings ; for the 
 population was sparse and fluctuating. Presbyterian- 
 ism was at a ruinous discount, and materials for a 
 church of that name very scarce. The few church- 
 going people in and about the town were Lutheran, 
 
64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 German Reformed, Methodist, Episcopalians, Men- 
 nonists, &c. Great numbers were of no creed, and 
 passed the Sabbath in visiting and amusement; some 
 continued their secular pursuits. A few men of wealth 
 and leisure gave all their influence in favour of prac- 
 tical infidelity, and against the Bible. 
 
 Still we held on quietly, and, at one time, we really 
 had a refreshing from the Lord, and received as its 
 fruits some twelve or fourteen persons to the commu- 
 nion of the church on a sacramental occasion. We 
 built a comfortable lecture-room, and had a flourishing 
 Sunday-school. At my suggestion, a subscription was 
 opened to procure a congregational library, and we 
 kept it in the lecture-room. . It was small at first, but 
 very select, containing some of the choice works pub- 
 lished by our Board of Publication. Such a library, 
 under proper regulations, should be in every church. 
 "Give attention to reading," is addressed to all peo- 
 ple, as well as ministers. Reading, hearing, preach- 
 ing, and prayer, are mutual helpers of each other, and 
 if rightly used, will be found to be greatly conducive 
 to our growth in grace, and the knowledge of God our 
 Saviour. 
 
 During my stay among them, the people increased 
 in number and strength, manifested a good degree of 
 zeal in the cause of missions, temperance, and the 
 colonization enterprise on the western coast of Africa. 
 They contributed, as they felt able, for the support of 
 the gospel at home and abroad. There was a debt of 
 long standing pressing upon us. In my farewell dis- 
 course, I urged the necessity of paying off this incum- 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 65 
 
 brance; and my successor, Mr. Bradford, did them 
 good service by his strenuous and successful efforts to 
 get them out of debt, and off the Missionary Board. 
 
 They are now (1853) a strong, self-sustaining 
 church, and have an excellent pastor, the Rev. Henry 
 J. Yan Dyke, in whom they are all well united ; and 
 at Chestnut Hill, the upper part of the town, there 
 has been a church organized with good prospects, 
 under the ministry of the Rev. Roger Owen. They 
 have erected a chaste and commodious house, which is 
 nearly ready to occupy; and I see now, that my hum- 
 ble labours were not in vain in the Lord among this 
 people ; they were thus kept together till the day of 
 their prosperity came, by favour of Providence. By 
 the rapid increase of people in and about Philadel- 
 phia, Germantown has become a large and beautiful 
 village, and we have now, instead of one feeble church, 
 two of considerable strength with fine prospects. 
 " Who hath despised the day of small things ?" 
 
 Since my return to Philadelphia I have been fully 
 occupied in serving vacant churches, and acting as a 
 missionary in some of the charitable institutions of the 
 city, particularly the "AVidows' Asylum," and one of 
 the "Magdalen Asylums," where I have seen with 
 pleasure the benign influence of the gospel on the 
 afflicted and the lowly. Though I have neither had, 
 nor wish to have, a special pastoral charge, since leav- 
 ing Germantown, yet I have continued in the work of 
 the ministry, not only in compliance with my ordina- 
 tion vows, but from preference, and from a deep and 
 settled conviction of its Divine appointment and benign 
 6* 
 
6Q AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
 
 bearing on the temporal and eternal interests of man- 
 kind. Besides preaching almost as much as in former 
 years, I have written, and delivered twice, a course of 
 lectures on the "Evidences of Christianity," pre- 
 pared and published a volume of "Lectures on Bibli- 
 cal History" to the time of Joshua, and a "Practical 
 Exposition of the Epistle to the Ephesians;" besides 
 occasional discourses and fugitive pieces. Yet, alas ! 
 how little have I done, and how imperfectly, for. my 
 dear Lord and Saviour, who has died for me, and 
 given me the sweet hope of forgiveness and eternal 
 life! 
 
 Here Dr. Neill's account of himself ends, in a man- 
 ner so abrupt as to indicate that it was not finished. 
 Not many days before his death he expressed re- 
 gret that he had not resumed his narrative, and 
 brought it nearer to the close of his life. But the 
 seven years that followed this last record of his own 
 pen, were characterized by experiences and deeds 
 which would be more faithfully written by others than 
 by himself. There was a gradual increase of Chris- 
 tian zeal and earnestness in doing good. His prayers, 
 addresses, and sermons, during this period, equalled 
 those of the best days of his ministry, in strength of 
 thought, in propriety, correctness of language, ar- 
 rangement and argument, while th-ey greatly excelled 
 them in earnestness, pungency, directness, and unc- 
 tion. The writer listened to no preacher whom he 
 
REV. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 67 
 
 had the privilege to hear, with more uniform interest 
 and edification than to Dr. Neill. His strong sympa- 
 thy and hearty cooperation in what, with so much 
 fitness, is called the *' Great Awakening" of our times, 
 were apparent to all. Those who heard his prayers 
 and his affectionate and earnest exhortations, will not 
 forget them while they live; That his delicate frame 
 should have had such power of endurance, could 
 labour so long, and accomplish so much, is evidence of 
 the special care of that Providence on which he habitu- 
 ally relied. He was well aware of his feeble hold on 
 life, and not only conversed familiarly with his friends 
 about his death, but was habitually so prepared, as to 
 live divested of all fear. The calm, dispassionate, 
 and collected manner in which he delivered his last 
 messages to friends, and gave directions concerning 
 his funeral, reminded one of the parting instructions 
 of a father about to leave his family for a week, or 
 for only- a night. In Dr. Neill's death we saw nothing 
 of the ^'king of terrors." When not engaged in con- 
 versation with others, his mind was filled with hea- 
 venly meditations, while the precious doctrines and 
 promises of the gospel were repeated with an almost 
 supernatural copiousness and fluency. They came to 
 him with an adaptedness and pertinency that indi- 
 cated a special ministry of the Comforter in suggest- 
 ing them. His physical sufferings, which at times 
 were very severe, extorted no expressions of impa- 
 tience or complaint. His habitual language, when- 
 ever we were at his bedside, was that of submission, 
 thankfulness, and praise. For several hours that pre- 
 
68 AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ETC. 
 
 ceded the last, he was apparently unconscious of what 
 was passing around him; and when the time of his 
 exit came, at three o'clock on the morning of the 8th 
 of August, 1860, it was made so gently, that the exact 
 moment was not perceived. 
 
 The interment of Dr. Neill was postponed till the 
 13th, when it was conducted in accordance with the 
 instructions that had been given by himself. It was 
 deemed a just tribute of respect to one who had been 
 held in so high esteem, that a discourse should be 
 preached commemorative of his labours and life. 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE OF THE 
 
 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF REY. DR. NEILL, 
 By JOSEPH H. JONES, D. D. 
 
 FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST, AND TO DIE IS GAIN. 
 
 Philippians i. 21. 
 
 When Cicero had readied the age of sixtj-one, he 
 ■wrote in five books his "Tusculan Disputations.'* 
 They are a discussion of five difi'erent questions in 
 heathen philosophy, relating to the happiness of human 
 life. The first of these books treats of death — in which 
 all the skill of his eloquent and graceful pen is put in 
 requisition to divest the last enemy of his terrors, 
 and make his readers think that "to die is gain." He 
 condemns suicide, and any agency of a man in pro- 
 curing his own death, and teaches a better morality 
 on this and several other subjects than many who 
 have borne the Christian name. But all his argu- 
 ments fail to convince. He says that " Cato exulted 
 in the opportunity of dying when his time came;" 
 but he mentions no good reason why. " That the life 
 of a philosopher is but a continuous meditation on 
 death." But when he attempts to tell us what the 
 philosopher hoped for after death, we wonder that 
 he should have thought of it so much, or have cared 
 
70 COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE 
 
 to think of it at all. No ; the teachings of this illus- 
 trious Roman do not suggest a single hint to allay 
 the slavish fears of the dying. He could not speak 
 "with authority;" he knew not what to say. He 
 "wanted light on this occult subject. Cato's freedom 
 from fear, therefore, was not intelligent; it was 
 studied or pretended, and not real. It belonged only 
 to those who, like the author of our text, were taught 
 in a better and more enlightened school, to assure us, 
 not only that "death is gain," but for whom it is 
 gain, and why or how it is gain ; — to show some sup- 
 port or rational basis on which a truth of such 
 unspeakable importance can rest. All this we find 
 in the new philosophy of our apostle, which connects 
 the end of life with its antecedent works and faith; 
 which couples the man's gain at death with Christ, 
 to whom he has been united in life. 
 
 Those who are accustomed to read the Scriptures 
 critically and in different versions, are aware, that 
 there is a slight discrepancy among them in relation 
 to the passage before us. Calvin says, that its precise 
 meaning has been mistaken by both translators and 
 expounders. He would render it, " Christ is my gain 
 whether in life or in death." Some other versions 
 translate it in the same way. But while these 
 learned men difi'er, to some extent, in changing Paul's 
 language into their own, they agree essentially in 
 their ideas of his meaning — that the gainful death 
 he speaks of, was the legitimate result of his peculiar 
 life. For him "to die was gain," because "to live 
 was Christ." 
 
BY REV. DR. JOSEPH H. JONES. 71 
 
 All that the apostle designs to teach, therefore, 
 may be set forth with sufficient fulness for the pur- 
 pose of this discourse, by a brief exposition, 
 
 I. Of the sort of life here referred to ; and 
 
 II. Of the gain by such a death as follows it. 
 Every hearer has doubtless noticed the unusual 
 
 phraseology in which this wonderful existence is 
 expressed. "For me to live is Christ;" which, as 
 describing Paul's alliance to his Master, and teaching 
 a great truth of Christian experience, is perfectly 
 intelligible. But taken into any diiferent connection, 
 for the purpose of setting forth the relation of other 
 disciples to their head, it is an unwarrantable sole- 
 cism. Antigonus, one of the kings of Macedonia, 
 was an enthusiastic admirer of Zeno, the founder of 
 the Stoic philosophy; but who that desired to express 
 this high regard would say, that for him to live was 
 Zeno ? Nor would it have struck the ear less strangely 
 for one to have said, that for Xenophon to live was 
 Socrates, because the former was such an earnest be- 
 liever and advocate of this great teacher's doctrines. 
 But nobody thinks it anomalous, either in thought or 
 diction, when the Apostle says, that "for me to live 
 is Christ." His meaning is discovered and is readily 
 understood as descriptive of a certain experience 
 which is known to be a reality, though incapable of 
 being adequately set forth in any form of words. 
 
 Every disciple of Christ is a witness to its truth. 
 It is the most significant and comprehensive mode 
 possible, of describing his thoughts of Christ, his de- 
 pendence on Christ, his obligations to him, and his 
 
T2 COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE 
 
 hopes from him as the Alpha and Omega of his 
 salvation. 
 
 Among the many thoughts which this language 
 comprehends, the apostle would recognize Christ as 
 being, 
 
 1. The Source of Ms life. 
 
 As the body imparts life to the limbs — as streams 
 live upon the fountains from which they issue — as 
 the vine is the source of life to the branches — so 
 were all of Paul's life-springs in Christ. This deriv- 
 ing of life from Christ, or living on him, is taught in 
 the symbols of the sacramental table, alluded to in 
 John vi. 63, where it is said, *' Except ye eat the flesh 
 of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no 
 life in you." Another idea embraced in this lan- 
 guage of Paul is, 
 
 2. That to advance Christ's kingdom was the main 
 purpose and object of his life. 
 
 It was the continued motive, irresistible and endur- 
 ing, which led him onward, from the beginning of 
 his Christian life to its end. "What things were 
 gain" to him — all the wealth and worldly honour that 
 awaited him as a popular leader among the Pharisees, 
 he "counted loss for Christ." To preach His gospel, 
 he did not shrink from the exhausting labours — 
 stripes above measure, beatings with rods, stonings, 
 shipwrecks, perils of waters, perils of robbers, perils 
 of his own countrymen, perils by the heathen ; in the 
 city, in the wilderness, in the sea, and among false 
 brethren, of which he writes so graphically in his 
 second Epistle to the Corinthians, xi. 23 — 27. None 
 
BY REV. DR. JOSEPH H. JONES. 73 
 
 of these things moved him ; neither did he count his 
 life dear unto himself, so that he might finish his 
 course with joj, and the ministry which he had re- 
 ceived of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of 
 the grace of God. Acts xx. 24, 25. Another mean- 
 ing conveyed by this language of Paul is, 
 
 3. That the highest happiness of his life was de- 
 rived from communion with Christ; and hence his 
 trials, severe and appalling as they would have been 
 to most men, did not frighten him nor impair his 
 enjoyment. His happiness was drawn from such a 
 source, that no changes in his circumstances could in 
 any sensible degree affect it. He could sing, and 
 praise Grod, with as much joy fulness in the dungeon 
 at Philippi, as in the house of Lydia. 
 
 Christ was the spring of all his joys, 
 
 The life of his delights, 
 The glory of his brightest days, 
 
 And comfort of his nights. 
 
 When he stood in disgrace before Agrippa, the gazing- 
 stock of a heathen multitude, he was not unhappy; 
 nor would he have then exchanged places with his 
 royal judge, even if he could. And to mention but 
 a single thought more — Paul's language implies an 
 abiding impression 
 
 4. That his own honour was identified ivith the 
 cause of Christ. He felt the liveliest sympathy on 
 every indignity done to his beloved Master, or to 
 any of his true disciples. Who that reads his epistles, 
 can fail to see that, with the apostle John, he had 
 "no greater joy than to hear that his children walked 
 
 7 
 
74 COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE 
 
 in truth," (3 John 4;) and no greater sorrow, than 
 "when they relapsed into sin, and covered themselves 
 and the Christian cause with dishonour. Their integ- 
 rity, consistency, and perseverance in their appro- 
 priate duties, were his life. "Now we live," he says to 
 his endeared brethren at Thessalonica, "if ye stand 
 fast in the Lord." As an affectionate father shares in 
 all that touches the honour of his children, so did our 
 illustrious apostle, and so does every other friend of 
 Christ feel himself to he personally interested in all 
 that concerns his fellow-disciples, or their glorious 
 Head. 
 
 Such, very imperfectly expounded, is the meaning 
 of Paul in this peculiar language descriptive of his 
 life. Nor need any, who can say in such an accepta- 
 tion, "for me to live is Christ," falter in adopting 
 the triumphant clause that follows, "to die is gain." 
 
 II. But to what special advantage does the Apostle 
 refer as the issue of such a life? "To die," as the 
 hearer well knows, is to undergo a change which is 
 proverbial for its terror. Among all the fearful 
 things from which our nature shrinks, this holds the 
 preeminence, and is fitly styled by Bildad the Shu- 
 hite, their "king." It is this which makes the exist- 
 ence of thousands so bitter, that they regret their ever 
 having entered the world, such is their tormenting 
 dread of going out of it. Death is the alloy which 
 makes the finest gold dim. It is the "dead fly" 
 in the sweetest "ointment of the apothecary." It is 
 the portentous hand that writes "tekel" on all our 
 worldly gains. Nor have the terrors of this enemy 
 
BY REV. DR. JOSEPH H. JONES. 75 
 
 been overrated in relation to those who are unpre- 
 pared to meet him. Death to them is the end of 
 privileges and means of grace. He that is unchanged 
 and is morally "filthy" at death, must be "filthy still" 
 to all eternity. If lost then, he is lost for ever. And 
 O the thought, how inefiably dreadful ! of being shut 
 out from heaven, and of having our never-ending 
 existence in all the sins and sufi'erings, and the godless 
 companionship of hell ! We have said that the way 
 to escape the terrors of an accusing conscience and 
 banish the fear of death, has eluded all the searchings 
 of human philosophy. The secret was not found in 
 the almost three hundred systems of the ancients men- 
 tioned by Varro. But it was first brought to light 
 in the heaven-disclosed science of this inspired volume. 
 This is a new system of truth, hitherto unknown, con- 
 taining the chief duty, as well as the "chief end of 
 man," in which death is an essential element. A new 
 song of joy and triumph is put into the mouth of 
 trembling humanity. Her tears are wiped away; 
 her days of mourning are ended, and the "king of 
 terrors" becomes an angel of mercy. If death be the 
 loss of some things to such a man as Paul, it is the 
 gain of others, that are infinitely greater and better. 
 
 1. It is a happy release from all the natural evils 
 of life; from all the trouble that "man is born 
 to," as the sparks fly upward; from sickness, op- 
 pression, care, anxiety, melancholy, heart-ache ; from 
 all that can give pain to the body or disquiet to the 
 soul. Such a death "is gain," because, 
 
 2. It is the end of all the spiritual evils of life. 
 
76 COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE 
 
 of all conflicts with "the world, the flesh, and the 
 devil." It is the hour of the soul's triumph over 
 every adversary, and the "fight of faith" is now 
 ended for ever. There are no more struggles with 
 an evil heart of unbelief; with its apathy, wander- 
 ing aflections, its envy, jealousy, pride, malice, and 
 uncharitahleness. The Divine image, which was lost 
 at the apostasy, is now restored, and the child of God 
 at death becomes perfect as his Father in Heaven 
 is perfect. But death is gain in a higher and more 
 important sense than that. 
 
 3. It is to depart and he with Christ, But what 
 this language comprehends in all its import— what 
 it is to be with Him and like Him ; to be a sharer 
 in his happiness and glory, who can tell but they 
 who know what it means by their personal experi- 
 ence? Eye hath not seen nor ear heard it, and 
 when the apostle returned from the "third heaven," 
 where he had enjoyed it for a season, he wanted the 
 powers of speech to express it. The things he saw, 
 and heard, and felt, were "unutterable." But we are 
 dwelling too long in our exposition, which was de- 
 signed to be only a preface to what you have been 
 invited to hear this evening, of one in whose Paul-like 
 life and death the apostle's words were so well ex- 
 emplified. 
 
 And in preparing this tribute to our departed 
 friend, it is gratefully acknowledged that we have 
 been greatly aided by his own suggestion of our 
 teit. More than a year before his death, when in the 
 enjoyment of his ordinary health, the request was 
 
BY REV. DR. JOSEPH H. JONES. 77 
 
 made that, should such a service as we now render 
 fall to the lot of the speaker, these words of Paul 
 should be the text. To any preacher who had known 
 Dr. Neill intimately, the passage would have occurred 
 umprompted, as affording the most appropriate theme 
 for such an occasion, that he could select. We need 
 not remark, that the wish was expressed with perfect 
 modesty, and without the least savour of complacency 
 in his Christian attainments, by which he would seem 
 to liken himself to Paul. No man was ever more 
 backward to make either his personal religion or his 
 official labours the topic of conversation, much less of 
 boasting; but when referred to in our private inter- 
 course, I know not how often he has dwelt in the most 
 disparaging terms on his numberless delinquencies, 
 neglected opportunities of usefulness, and sins of 
 omission. And yet, who that ever enjoyed the benefit 
 of his ministry, heard his sermons, and witnessed his 
 daily conduct, ever doubted that Christ was his life, in 
 every acceptation of that strong language, as inter- 
 preted in this discourse; that Christ was habitually 
 recognized as the source of his life? To advance 
 Christ's kingdom was the main object of his life. 
 The highest enjoyment of his life was derived from 
 communion with Christ. His honour was identified 
 with the cause of Christ. Indeed, our text is so 
 exact a description of Dr. Neill's life, that when I 
 have expounded its meaning, I seem to myself to 
 have accomplished all that this service requires. It 
 is the biography of our lamented friend in epitome. 
 What need be added, what can be added, to make our 
 7* 
 
78 COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE 
 
 narrative complete, wlien we have said that for him *'to 
 live was Christ?" It comprehends every moral excel- 
 lency and every good work that our minds can con- 
 ceive or our tongues express. It embraces every detail 
 that we wish to hear or know of his private, domestic, 
 social, and official life. It is enough to say, that in 
 each and every department, in every relation and sta- 
 tion of life, for him "to live was Christ." His pre- 
 cepts were the rule of his life, and His holy example 
 was the pattern of his life. To exemplify these re- 
 marks by the number of facts which might be cited 
 from his Autobiography, would only be the anticipa- 
 tion of what you may soon have the privilege of 
 reading. All, therefore, that the hearer would ex- 
 pect or desire on this occasion, is only an expression 
 of opinion, or a delineation of such traits of character 
 as the writer of his own memoirs would of course 
 omit; such, for example, as those which relate to 
 himself as a father, a husband, and a member of 
 society. But the integrity, tenderness, and fidelity 
 with which he performed the duties of these several 
 relations is too well known to most whom I address, 
 to make such an account more than a rehearsal 
 of what is as familiar to themselves as it is to the 
 speaker. They all know him to have been of a most 
 tender spirit, charitable to the infirmities and weak- 
 nesses of others, ever ready to forgive their faults 
 and injuries to himself, and utterly incapable of re- 
 sentment. 
 
 Dr. Neill was liberal in his contributions to the 
 poor who needed clothing or bread, and had a lively 
 
BY REV. DR. JOSEPH H. JONES. 79 
 
 sympathy with indigent students in pursuit of educa- 
 tion, as has been significantly proclaimed since his 
 death, by the bequest of two hundred dollars, (all that 
 he could well afford,) to the College at Princeton, for 
 the aid of beneficiaries. This he regarded as the 
 paying of a debt of honour, contracted when a student 
 there. He also gave one hundred and fifty dollars as 
 an expression of his sympathy with disabled ministers 
 in need, and the suffering widows and orphans of 
 deceased ministers. 
 
 Such gifts, in view of the donor's limited means, 
 are bountiful. They are the "two mites" mentioned 
 in Luke xxi. 21, that in Christ's esteem are more than 
 the costly offerings of the rich, and evince a stronger 
 love for him. He had written "holiness to the Lord" 
 on all his possessions, which he kept in hand only so 
 long as he needed them to furnish him his daily bread ; 
 and then he cast not a small proportion of them all 
 into the treasury of the Lord. The most of his theo- 
 logical books were left to the Ashmun Institute, as an 
 expression of his interest for the welfare of the Afri- 
 cans among us. Other bequests bear similar testi- 
 mony to Dr. Neill's generosity of heart. 
 
 He was also affectionate and urbane; uniformly 
 dignified and courteous, never descending to what was 
 frivolous, and unbecoming the manners of a Christian 
 minister and a true gentleman. He suffered, at vari- 
 ous periods of his life, the sort of physical indisposi- 
 tion to which scholars and persons generally of seden- 
 tary habits are peculiarly subject, by which the spirits 
 are often, depressed, and the temper tried; yet his 
 
80 COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE 
 
 graces were made to shine the brighter by these attri- 
 tions between the flesh and the spirit — conflicts which 
 are inseparable from the experience of every person 
 of susceptible nerves and imperfect health. 
 
 Dr. Neill was an industrious and successful student, 
 with intellect and acquisitions which procured him an 
 elevated place among scholars. His triumph over the 
 obstacles which in youth impeded his way to an edu- 
 cation; his appointment to the post of teacher in the 
 College of New Jersey at Princeton, immediately after 
 receiving his bachelor's degree; his early and con- 
 tinued acceptance and success as a preacher to con- 
 gregations as intelligent and discriminating as any in 
 our land; his election to the high place of President 
 of the College at Carlisle; the respect shown in the 
 literary honours that were conferred on him, unsoli- 
 cited by friends ; his influence in the numerous lite- 
 rary, philanthropic, and religious institutions of our 
 land, which he helped to originate and sustain; the 
 manifest interest and favour with which he was always 
 heard in our ecclesiastical assemblies, when he arose 
 to speak — are all so many testimonials to the superi- 
 ority of his mental powers, his weight of character, 
 and the high respect in which he was held as a man 
 of letters and a minister of the gospel. 
 
 The same view of Dr. Neill's talents, various read- 
 ing, and scholarly culture, is sustained by his pub- 
 lished works. His Lectures on Biblical History, and 
 Practical Exposition of the Epistle to the Ephesians, 
 evince a critical and enlightened study of the Scrip- 
 tures, a chaste and classical pen, a thorough under- 
 
BY REV. DR. JOSEPH H. JONES. 81 
 
 standing of the doctrines of our faith, and a com- 
 mendable zeal to proclaim and defend them. The 
 character of Dr. Neill's mind, his taste, and the 
 extent of his reading, were exhibited in his library, 
 which contained some of the best works, theological 
 and miscellaneous, in our language. Nor could any 
 one enjoy his confidence, hear his opinions, read with 
 care his writings, and not receive a deep impression 
 of his excellent judgment, sound sense, extensive 
 knowledge, and many gifts, which might have justly 
 raised him to the higher places of honour held by 
 persons of less modesty and pretence, without a 
 moiety of his merit and qualifications. 
 
 Dr. Neill, it is well known, was constitutionally 
 cautious and conservative ; yet he was kept from the 
 extremes of party, not by timidity, but by principle. 
 He was not a man of indecision ; not vacillating, 
 nor a trimmer, as all will bear witness, who recol- 
 lect the bold and independent tone of his public 
 addresses; but he was, from conviction, a man of 
 prudence, in a sense of that ambiguous term, which is 
 honourable and healthful. He could not withdraw 
 his confidence from a brother, "for whom Christ 
 died," because he could only say "Sibboleth;" but 
 he gave the hand of fraternal fellowship to all who 
 loved the same Saviour, and whose hopes of salvation 
 rested on the same foundation with his own. 
 
 Nor did any difference of opinion between himself 
 and others on matters of ecclesiastical policy, impair 
 the respect or confidence of either. "You know my 
 feelings on the subject of Christian union," he said, 
 
82 COMMEMOKATIVE DISCOURSE 
 
 in one of our last interviews, '^how low I hold sec- 
 tarian names and forms about which Christians differ, 
 compared with those glorious truths in which they 
 agree. I wish to have these sentiments published 
 at my funeral." Then followed his instructions, to 
 select from different denominations those clerical 
 brethren who should be invited to take part in that 
 solemnity. Thus proclaiming, in the arrangements 
 for the last official service which they would ever 
 be able to render, the Catholicism of his heart. 
 "Though dead" he would yet "speak," and make 
 this post mortem declaration of a love for Christ's 
 disciples, which was paramount to all the modes by 
 which their discipleship was declared. But to give 
 an adequate view of the life of a minister who was 
 spared so long, who filled so many useful and im- 
 portant posts, doing, in his humble, unostentatious 
 way, so much good, belongs to his biographer. It 
 cannot be compressed within the limits of a sermon. 
 But the fact is not to be overlooked, as an en- 
 couraging example to ministers in advanced age, that 
 Dr. Neill's last years were among the most useful of 
 his life, and, as he said to the speaker, the happiest. 
 At no former period were his "labours more abund- 
 dant" according to his strength, his habits more devo- 
 tional; never was he more "fervent in spirit," instruc- 
 tive in conversation and preaching, or more eloquent. 
 No part of his labours since his return to the city, 
 has been more useful than his ministrations among 
 the inmates of some of our institutions of philan- 
 thropy. The infirmities, sorrows, and sins that he 
 
BY REV. DR. JOSEPH H. JONES. SB 
 
 ■witnessed in his visits of mercy, touched his heart, 
 and elicited its liveliest sympathies. His conver- 
 sations, and familiar instructions, at the Asylum for 
 Widows, were peculiarly edifying, judicious, and 
 comforting. No mourners beyond the circle of his 
 kindred are so sincere, and feel so much bereaved 
 by Dr. Neill's death, as they. His impromptu 
 address in the Synod of Philadelphia, at their last 
 meeting in this city, and that before the American 
 Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, in 
 October last, will never be forgotten by any one 
 who heard them. His many discourses uttered with- 
 out manuscript in our hearing, his conversational 
 discourses in the lecture room, and at the com- 
 munion table, could not be surpassed in tenderness, 
 simplicity of manner, and richness in evangelical 
 truth. Indeed, these delightful meetings with our 
 departed friend and teacher have been so recent, 
 that we have not begun to realize that we shall see 
 and hear him no more; that we shall never again 
 listen to those prayers of unsurpassed excellence, 
 so humble, so penitent and earnest, so well expressed, 
 conveying in the most appropriate language the 
 thoughts of every devotional heart in the assembly; 
 that we have seen for the last time, that tall and 
 venerable form, bending over the low desk to the 
 sacred volume, on account of his imperfect vision. 
 That we shall never more take his hand, and receive 
 his affectionate greetings, brings back a solemn 
 reality which has seemed more like a vision. 
 
 Such an illusion is promoted by our recurrence to 
 
84 COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE 
 
 the surprising calmness and self-possession with which 
 he withdrew. His freedom from all that fear of 
 death, by which he had been at times disquieted during 
 his life ; his perfect readiness for the sundering of all 
 earthly ties which had been so tender and so strong ; 
 his directions, so deliberately given, concerning the 
 time, place, and mode of his interment ; the persons 
 to officiate; his funeral sermon; the psalm to be sung; 
 the preparation for the press of the modest and too 
 brief memoir of his life; the unruffled composure with 
 which he bade his beloved friends and kindred fare- 
 well ; were all exemplifications of our text, and proofs 
 of its sustaining power. Nothing but an assurance 
 that "to die was gain" could have given such support 
 and composure to his soul, when flesh and heart were 
 failing. Such a death, fellow-survivors, is of untold 
 importance to us, as another demonstration both of 
 the reality of religion, and of its efficacy in that last 
 hour, when mere physical courage quails, the strongest 
 heart faints for fear, and philosophy becomes a fool. 
 Think of the horror with which some of the stoutest 
 boasters of their courage have shrunk from the grave, 
 when contrasted with such a tranquil, hopeful, joyful 
 exit as his. Think how the scoffer of Ferney left the 
 world, compared with the triumphant departure of 
 Paul. 
 
 But while our meditations on the happy end of our 
 ascended friend are full of comfort in view of his 
 "gain," we cannot be unmindful of our "loss." I am 
 well aware of the levity with which the unthinking 
 world are accustomed to speak of death, especially in 
 
BY REV. DR. JOSEPH H. JONES. 85 
 
 the case of those who have lived to a great age. 
 Detached as it is in their mind from its moral results, 
 it is regarded as only one of those physical changes in 
 nature, which come of course, and we must all look for 
 — a mere common place event, not to be noticed too 
 seriously, and one which it is bootless and foolish to 
 lament. Alexander Pope, the poet and wit, thus 
 discourses concerning his own departure, which occur- 
 red at the age of fifty-six. "When I think what an 
 inconsiderable little atom every single man is, with 
 respect to the whole creation, methinks it is a shame 
 to be concerned about the removal of such a trivial 
 animal as I am. The morning after my exit, the sun 
 will rise as bright as ever, the flowers will smell as 
 sweet, the plants spring as green. The world will 
 proceed in its old course, people will laugh as heartily 
 and marry as fast as they used to do." All this is very 
 true, but while the world is moving on in its usual care- 
 lessness and unconcern, what has become of the de- 
 parted soul ? Has it gone to a state of sorrow or of 
 joy? Is our friend to be for ever happy or miserable? 
 Has he gone to heaven — or where is he ? The old dis- 
 ciple, of whose death the world speaks so slightingly, 
 may have come to his grave as a shock of corn in his 
 season, and it is well with him. But who is to take 
 his fallen mantle, offer his prayers, give his faithful 
 exhortations, exhibit his godly example? The trea- 
 sures of heavenly wisdom which are invested in every 
 enlightened Christian of four-score, are beyond any 
 appreciable value. To his family, his congregation, 
 and to the public at large, the loss is not to be re- 
 8 
 
86 COMMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE. 
 
 paired. God grant, my fellow-mourners, that the 
 burden of our loss may be lightened in some degree 
 by our recollections of his teachings, of his exemplary 
 living, and especially in the answer of his prayers. 
 To myself, the loss of this valuable helper in my min- 
 istry is great. It fills me with emotions which no 
 tongue can utter, when I think that I am left the only 
 survivor of the four pastors who have filled your pul- 
 pit; that Dr. Neill has joined the company of Ken- 
 nedy and Winchester; and how soon the sacred place 
 shall cease to know the speaker, is a grave secret 
 which Omniscience reserves to himself. 
 
 May the great Watchman and Shepherd of Israel, 
 a symbol of whose presence hovered between the 
 wings of the cherubim, be ever present with his 
 servant, and with the people to whom he ministers. 
 Touch their lips, and inspire their hearts, God, 
 whenever they approach thy mercy-seat in prayer. 
 Endue us all more plentifully with thy grace, that 
 with our ascended friend and brother, we may at 
 last depart in peace, with his hope in our hearts, 
 and his words on our lips, "for me to live is Christ, 
 and to die is gain." 
 
SEEMONS 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Kev. WILLIAM NEILL, D. D. 
 
SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, 
 let him deny himself. — Matthew xvi. 24. 
 
 By many this is accounted a hard saying. Hence 
 the vain attempt to confine its application to the 
 apostles and primitive disciples of our Lord: or if 
 this cannot be made out satisfactorily, then its mean- 
 ing must be frittered down to suit the corrupt pro- 
 pensities of the human heart. But the terms of 
 discipleship are not changed; and it is idle, danger- 
 ous, and wicked, to employ an ingenious criticism 
 in opposing or explaining away the obvious meaning 
 and express testimony of God's word. The law 
 bears upon all — it is promulged in comprehensive 
 terms — "If any man will come after me, let him 
 deny himself." There is no alternative, brethren; 
 as we would be the followers and friends of Christ, 
 we must submit to his laws, and surrender ourselves 
 to the influence of his grace. 
 
 Self-denial, it is freely admitted, is not in itself 
 pleasant, nor does it possess any intrinsic merit or 
 efficacy. But the Saviour requires it; and were we 
 8* 
 
90 SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 unable to discover the reasonableness or necessity 
 of the requirement, his authority has undisputable 
 claims upon our obedience. But the goodness of 
 God forbids us to suppose that he would wantonly 
 or needlessly grieve the children of men. He who 
 has given understanding to man, can promulgate 
 no laws which are not founded on reason and equity. 
 This inference flows irresistibly from the Divine 
 perfection. It is no doubt correct in the case before 
 us. Our blessed Lord commands us, as we would 
 follow him, and share in his salvation, to deny our- 
 selves. Let us see whether we cannot discover 
 enough to satisfy us that the command is holy, just, 
 and good. Be it carefully observed, then, 
 
 I. That the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world 
 to save sinners. Had he come to place himself at 
 the head of a race of innocent beings, then, and in 
 that case, protection and defence would have been 
 sufficient. Discipline, restraint, and self-control, for 
 aught that we know, might not have been necessary. 
 But as the case is, protection alone will not answer 
 the end proposed. The Saviour finds us in a state 
 of sin and misery. He finds us far gone — gone 
 beyond the reach of an angel's arm, and sinking 
 under a deadly disease. To save us, therefore, he 
 must prescribe the proper remedies, and unless we 
 follow his prescriptions a cure is not to be expected. 
 It is a maxim in the healing art, universally admitted, 
 that "inveterate diseases require powerful, and some- 
 times very painful applications." 
 
 Now when the depravity of our nature is taken 
 
SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 91 
 
 into the account, who does not see the necessity of 
 self-denial? We are not upright — our passions and 
 appetites have, by the sad apostasy, obtained the 
 ascendency. They are not, naturally, disposed to 
 follow the dictates of reason. They are turbulent, 
 clamorous, and headstrong, and, if not restrained, 
 they will precipitate us into ruin. It is the pro- 
 vince of self-denial, through help obtained of God, 
 to reduce them to order and subordination, and it is 
 impossible to make any advances in holiness without 
 exercising self-discipline. It is, in short, a principal 
 means of attaining to all those tempers and disposi- 
 tions which compose the character of a good man. 
 To illustrate this remark, let us descend to par- 
 ticulars. By nature we are prone to love and serve 
 the creature more than the Creator. This is wrong. 
 How is the evil to be corrected? By refusing to 
 follow this propensity of our nature — by setting 
 our affections on things above, not on things which 
 are on the earth. Here is need of self-denial. We 
 are naturally proud. But pride is not becoming a 
 dependent sinful creature; and we are just so far 
 humble as we refuse to indulge pride. We are 
 naturally inclined to avenge an injury — the language 
 of the unrenewed heart is, "revenge is sweet." But 
 the gospel says, "avenge not yourselves," and our 
 Lord has set us an example of forgiveness, that we 
 should follow his steps. Here is work for self- 
 denial. 
 
 We are naturally selfish, avaricous, covetous. But 
 our Divine religion requires us to devise liberal things; 
 
92 SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 to regard them that are in bonds, as being ourselves 
 also in the body ; to stand ready for every good word 
 and work, and to give alms of such things as we 
 have. Here again is work for self-denial. We are 
 prone to waste our time in idleness, or vain and trifling 
 pursuits. But the gospel calls upon us to redeem 
 time; to give all diligence to make our calling and 
 election sure; to be sober, and watch unto prayer. 
 And if we would secure the true riches, we must 
 refuse to gratify the desires of the flesh; we must 
 dissent from the usages of the world, and follow 
 Christ. Thus we see the necessity of self-denial re- 
 sults from the corruption of our nature. It is indis- 
 pensable; it lies at the foundation of the Christian 
 character; it is, if I may so speak, the process by 
 which we are to be transformed in the spirit of our 
 minds, and restored to the Divine likeness ; and, with- 
 out exercising it, we shall in vain expect to arrive at 
 the stature of a perfect man in Christ Jesus. 
 
 II. Another argument in favour of self-denial may 
 be deduced from the design of Christianity. What is 
 this design, my hearers, as it relates to us? What is 
 it, but to free us from the dominion of sin ; to purify 
 our hearts, and bring us into a state of communion 
 and fellowship with God; to produce and cherish 
 those dispositions and tempers which shall fit us for 
 the felicity of heaven ? What, then, are those quali- 
 ties which go to prepare us for the happiness of hea- 
 ven ? You will find a specimen of them in the fifth 
 chapter of the Gospel by Matthew: humility, meek- 
 ness, repentance, purity, heavenly-mindedness, peace, 
 
 1 
 
SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 93 
 
 patience, and resignation to the Divine will. On each 
 of these traits of character the Saviour pronounces a 
 benediction; and we cannot dispute their excellence, 
 without rejecting the gospel, and opposing our own 
 judgment to the decisions of infinite wisdom. Now 
 every one of these dispositions has its opposite in our 
 corrupt hearts. And in so far as we yield to these 
 opposites, we refuse to fall in with the design of 
 Christianity, which is to elevate our affections and 
 sanctify our souls. 
 
 III. The necessity of self-denial will appear still 
 more clearly, if we consider the influence which the 
 body and its animal appetites have upon the soul and 
 its moral qualities. It is observed by a judicious 
 writer,* " that the fall of man seems to have con- 
 sisted very much in the subjection of the soul to the 
 power and dominion of the body ; as the characteristic 
 mark of his restoration through Christ is the reduc- 
 tion of the body under the power and dominion of the 
 soul. For thus the Scriptures describe the whole 
 process as a contest between the flesh and the spirit, 
 ending, after many struggles and vicissitudes, in the 
 victory of the latter." This observation is supported 
 by a saying of the ancients: "The corruptible body 
 presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle 
 weigheth down the mind." 
 
 This being the case, how careful should we be, my 
 hearers, not to indulge our animal appetites to the 
 degradation of our intellectual and moral powers. 
 
 * Bishop Home. 
 
94 SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 The body is by Divine apppintment tbe soul's ser- 
 vant ; and it is justly entitled to all needful nourish- 
 ment, in meat and drink. But if it be pampered to 
 excess, it will refuse obedience; and when it once 
 obtains the mastery, it is, of all masters, the most 
 sottish and inexorable. Indeed, it will be found inva- 
 riably true that the excessive gratification of our sen- 
 sual appetites blunts and benumbs the intellectual 
 faculties. Let a man, for instance, indulge freely in 
 eating and drinking, in the intermission of public 
 worship on the Sabbath, and he will be less disposed 
 to go to the house of God in the afternoon than he 
 was in the forenoon ; and if he does go, he will be 
 more inclined to sleep, than to pray and hear the 
 gospel. 
 
 We see, then, that the Christian doctrine of self- 
 denial is founded on the constitution of our nature. 
 We are composed of two parts, soul and body. 
 These, though possessed of distinct qualities, and 
 capable of a separate existence, are closely united, 
 and exert on one another a mutual influence. And 
 he who prefers his rational to his animal nature, 
 must take care of his soul; and in doing this he will 
 find it absolutely necessary, in many instances, to 
 deny and mortify the body with its affections and 
 lusts. Thus St. Paul reasons, "Therefore, brethren, 
 we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the 
 flesh; for 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." Rom. viii. 12, 13. 
 
 lY. The last argument that we shall adduce in 
 
SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 95 
 
 support of the doctrine of self-denial, we derive from 
 the fact, that it is the price set upon everything 
 that forms the object of man's pursuit. It is not 
 peculiar to the Christian life. Let a man select 
 ■what object he pleases, if he will prosecute it with 
 zeal and effect, he must exercise self-denial. And 
 really, however paradoxical the remark may seem, 
 there are not wanting witnesses who can attest, that 
 the self-denial of sinners is often more painful than 
 that which is required of the Christian. See the 
 miser, whose aim it is to add continually to his 
 piles of minted dust. He denies himself, not only 
 the pleasure of helping the needy, and making the 
 widow's heart sing for joy, but the conveniences, and 
 even necessaries of life. He lives in constant fear 
 of being robbed, and, in many instances, dies hugging 
 his chest, in fearful apprehension of coming to want. 
 The gamester denies himself sleep, which, to the 
 honest labouring man, is sweet, and resigns the 
 plaudits of a good conscience, which, to the up- 
 right in heart, are better than rubies. He finds it 
 often necessary to refuse to his hunger and thirst 
 their wonted supplies, to maintain a steady hand 
 and a clear head, for the purpose of cheating with 
 adroitness, and so as to escape detection. The 
 courtier of popular favour applies himself with sup- 
 pleness and cringing to the prejudices, whims, and 
 vices of his fellow-mortals. . what toils, what 
 anxieties, what mortifications, and disappointments 
 he is doomed to endure! All that is manly, all 
 that is independent, all that is dignified, all that is 
 
96 SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 honourable in the human character, must be sacri- 
 ficed — to what? a name, fleeting as the air, a 
 bubble, a vanity, a thing of nought ! 
 
 The votary of fashion land amusement is often 
 borne down to weariness and yawning with the 
 giddy whirl of changing modes of dress and manners. 
 The theatre, the ball room, and the splendid party, 
 are not unfrequently followed with a disgust and 
 languor of spirits, which extort from the bosom of 
 folly the bitterest execrations against the inexorable 
 laws of custom. how much to be pitied, as well 
 as blamed, are they who resign the ease, and half 
 the simple sanctified pleasures of home, and go in 
 chase of happiness in public and brilliant entertain- 
 ments, where neither nature nor nature's God ever 
 intended it should be found ! 
 
 But not to mention other characters, who, in the 
 service of their respective masters, are obliged to 
 make great and painful sacrifices — tell me, hearers, 
 is it reasonable, is it fair, to account the Lord Jesus 
 Christ a hard Master, because he requires us, on 
 becoming his followers, to deny ourselves? Can we 
 avoid self-denial, serve what master we may? Is not 
 the doctrine founded on the depravity of our hearts, 
 the design of the gospel, the constitution of our 
 nature? and does it not correspond with what we see 
 constantly practised by all descriptions of persons, in 
 pursuing their several favourite objects? And, when 
 we take into account "the prize of our high calling of 
 God in Christ Jesus," and compare this with those 
 things for which so many spend their strength, and 
 
SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 97 
 
 deprive themselves of rest, who would hesitate to 
 comply with the Divine requirement, "If any man 
 will come after me, let him deny himself"? The 
 duty, rightly understood, is not, as some affect to 
 represent it, repulsive to the dictates of good sense 
 and right reason. It is not a cant phrase, without 
 rational meaning. It is a term of sober and signifi- 
 cant import, expressive of a temper without which no 
 man can be a Christian. "It does not consist in 
 denying what a man is, or what he has; in refusing 
 favours conferred on us in the course of providence; 
 in rejecting the use of God's creatures; in being care- 
 less of life, health, or family ; in macerating the body, 
 or abusing it in any respect ; but in renouncing those 
 pleasures, profits, connections, and practices, which 
 are prejudicial to the true interests of the soul, and 
 offensive to God." 
 
 As all the faculties of our nature are deranged and 
 vitiated by the fall, so they all furnish occasion for 
 the exercise of self-denial. Thus the understanding 
 is to be so far denied as not to lean upon it, inde- 
 pendent of Divine instruction: "Trust in the Lord 
 with all thy heart," says Solomon, "and lean not 
 unto thine own understanding." Pro v. iii. 5. The 
 will is to be denied, so far as it opposes the will of 
 God: "Wherefore, be ye not unwise," says Paul, "but 
 understanding what the will of the Lord is." Eph. 
 V. 17. The aff'ections are to be denied, when they 
 claim inordinate indulgence: "Mortify your members 
 which are upon the earth," says the same apostle; 
 "fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil 
 9 
 
98 SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry; 
 for which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on 
 the children of disobedience." Col. iii. 5, 6. The 
 honours of the world and the praise of men are to be 
 rejected, when they come in competition with our 
 duty to God: "By faith, Moses, when he was come 
 to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's 
 daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the 
 people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for 
 a season: esteeming the reproach of Christ greater 
 riches than the treasures of Egypt." Heb. xi. 25, 26. 
 Our own righteousness is to be denied, so as not to 
 depend upon it. Like St. Paul, we are to account all 
 things but loss in comparison with Christ, and desire 
 to be found in him, and to be saved through his right- 
 eousness and merits. In a word, everything that is 
 sinful in itself, or that militates against our growth in 
 grace, is to be denied: "For without holiness no man 
 shall see the Lord." Heb. xii. 14. 
 
 Having now seen the grounds and nature of the 
 duty, let us attend to the inducements to practise it. 
 These are many and various. We shall confine our 
 attention at present to the authority, the example, 
 and the promises of Christ. We have the authority 
 of Christ in our text. He here proposes self-denial 
 as an indispensable term of discipleship. And as he 
 is always of one mind, we may not expect that any of 
 the laws of his kingdom will ever be changed. They 
 are the result of the combined counsels of wisdom, 
 justice, and mercy. He knows what is in man. He 
 knows the deplorable state to which sin has reduced 
 
SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 99 
 
 US, He knows what means are most fit to be used for 
 our salvation from sin. The infinite benignity of his 
 heart forbids us to suppose that he would impose a 
 needless burden or arbitrary restraint on his disci- 
 ples ; and verily his authority is not to be contemned 
 with impunity. It is the will of God, that all men 
 honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. 
 His will is made known to us, not as a matter of spe- 
 culative curiosity, but as a law of duty, having for its 
 sanction the worm that never dies, the fire that is not 
 quenched, and the wrath of the Lamb. If we do not 
 the things which he commands us, we prove ourselves 
 his enemies. If we refuse to follow his prescriptions, 
 when he comes to us in his gospel, as the Physician 
 and Saviour of our souls, we pour contempt on his 
 Godhead, reject his mercy, and resolve to die in our 
 sins. And for this triple crime of having outraged 
 his authority, despised his grace, and ruined ourselves, 
 he will reckon with us at a future day: "For we must 
 all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ." 
 
 Secondly, consider his example as a motive to self- 
 deniaL Of his example, in this respect, you have an 
 inimitable picture drawn by the pencil of inspiration, 
 in the Epistle to the Philippians ii. 5 — 8: "Let this 
 mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus ; who, 
 being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to 
 be equal with God; but made himself of no reputa- 
 tion, and took upon him the form of a servant, and 
 was made in the likeness of men. And being found 
 in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became 
 obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." 
 
100 SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 No self-denial that we can be required to exercise, 
 will bear a comparison with this. The blessed Master 
 disrobed himself of his glory, and assumed the fashion 
 of a man, and the form of a servant, voluntarily, and 
 for the sake of sinners. Whereas, with us, the duty 
 involves our interest; our case requires it; it is 
 designed for our good: "He that humbleth himself, 
 shall be exalted." The mouth of the Lord hath 
 spoken it. 
 
 my hearers, when we contemplate the Divine 
 Redeemer, in his native majesty; when we behold 
 him, the express image of the Father, encompassed 
 with angels, illumining all heaven with the beams of 
 his glory ; and then view him it that state of match- 
 less humiliation to which he submitted for our sake, 
 can we, for a moment, refuse any sacrifices of self- 
 indulgence to such a Master? Ah, Christian, what- 
 ever may be your temptations; whatever obloquy, 
 scorn, and contempt you have to meet, in adhering to 
 your duty; whatever injuries, neglects, or insults 
 from your fellow-men you have to forgive; whatever 
 hindrances and persecutions you have to meet with in 
 the service of your Lord, they are but as the small 
 dust of the balance when compared with the contra- 
 diction of sinners, the sorrows and sufferings which 
 he endured, and to which you owe all your hopes of 
 pardon, perseverance, and eternal life. "Consider 
 this, lest you be weary and faint in your minds." 
 Do not refuse to follow him, because he requires you to 
 deny yourselves. No obstacles stopped him, when 
 engaged in working out your redemption. If your 
 
SELF-DENIAL A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 101 
 
 trials be great, your temptations violent, and your 
 corruptions strong, you have the promise of "grace 
 sufficient." And here you have a third motive to the 
 duty of self-denial. 
 
 It is not a work which you are required to do in 
 your own strength. He who enjoins the duty, pro- 
 mises all needful aid in performing it. Here is the 
 ground on which you may confidently hope for ulti- 
 mate success. " When I am weak, then am I strong," 
 is Divine philosophy. This is St. Paul's philosophy. 
 Hence the bold declaration, "I can do all things 
 through Christ, who strengtheneth me.": .Hence, too, 
 those seeming paradoxes which he utters in relation 
 to himself and fellow-sufierers for the word of God 
 and the testimony of Jesus : " As unknown, and yet 
 well known ; as dying, and behold we live ; as chasten- 
 ed, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; 
 as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, 
 and yet possessing all things." 2 Cor. vi. 9, 10. 
 
 then. Christian, with such helps, promises, and 
 encouragements, how can you fail of success, unless 
 you neglect to avail yourself of the resources which 
 are placed in your offer ? But remember, without these 
 Divine succours, you will make but a feeble and inef- 
 fectual resistance to the enemies of your salvation. 
 "Without me ye can do nothing," contains more use- 
 ful instruction than you can find in many volumes of 
 casuistry. In the work of self-denial, as in every 
 other duty, "our sufficiency is of God." 
 
 Let us now recapitulate what has been said. Self'^ 
 denial is an indispensable term of Christian disciple- 
 9* 
 
102 SELF-DENIAL A CRHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 ship: "If any man will come after me," &c. It con- 
 sists in the renunciation of self-confidence; in the 
 utter abandonment of all those passions, pursuits, and 
 pleasures which impede the sanctification of our hearts, 
 or interfere with our duty to God, our Saviour. The 
 necessity of it arises out of the degeneracy of our 
 nature; it is not an arbitrary or needless law. The 
 glorious design of the gospel scheme of salvation to 
 restore us to communion with God requires it ; and it 
 is a price set on all moral and religious attainments. 
 The duty of exercising it is enforced by the authority, 
 the example, and promised grace of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 
 
 (a communion sermon.) 
 
 "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also 
 in me. In my Father's house are many mansions : if it were 
 not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and 
 receive you unto myselfj that where I am, there ye may be 
 also." — John xiv. 1 — 3. 
 
 These words were addressed to the apostles by our 
 blessed Lord very soon after he had instituted the 
 holy ordinance which we are now to celebrate, in 
 commemoration of his death. To those who had 
 been favoured with his personal friendship and 
 counsels, the address must have been in a high 
 degree interesting and consolatory. But we shall 
 consider it as intended for the benefit of his fol- 
 lowers in every period of his Church. In this point 
 of view the subject, it is hoped, will be useful to 
 many, and not unsuitable to the business before us. 
 ■ A series of observations, unfolding the sense of 
 the passage, with some practical reflections adapted 
 to the present occasion, is all that I propose in this 
 discourse. 
 
 I. "Ye believe in God: believe also in me." The 
 
104 HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 
 
 apostles believed in God as the Creator and Pre- 
 server of all things. They believed in the testimony 
 of the prophets respecting the promised Messiah. 
 But now when he, who they expected should re- 
 deem Israel, was about to be cut off by a violent 
 and ignominious death, their faith in him was in 
 danger of being diminished. In propagating his 
 gospel, and maintaining his cause, they had a world 
 of opposition to encounter. To be deprived of his 
 company and animating example — to be obliged to 
 meet the prejudices of Jews, the idolatry of pagans, 
 and the pride of philosophy, without the aid of his 
 personal influence, was a sore trial. This the Saviour 
 foresaw, and endeavoured to provide against it. 
 With all the tenderness of a father and a friend, he 
 exhorts them not to give up their confidence in him. 
 It was expedient, indeed, that he should go and 
 leave them for a time. He must be delivered into 
 the hands of sinners — he must die — his blood must 
 be shed for the remission of sins. But this was 
 necessary to the attainment of the great end for 
 which he had become incarnate. It had been pre- 
 dicted by the prophets, and therefore his death, as 
 the fulfilment of prophecy, instead of weakening, 
 should confirm their faith in him, as the Lord their 
 righteousness, and the propitiation for their sins. 
 *'Let not your heart be troubled:" as if he had 
 said, let not the gloomy prospect of my death oppress 
 your spirits. I have counted the cost of the great 
 work in which I am engaged. I must give my life 
 a ransom for many; but I shall not be holden of 
 
HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 105 
 
 death; after three days I will rise, as I have said, 
 and meet you in Galilee. You shall find that I am 
 the faithful and true witness. I have power to lay 
 down my life, and I have power to take it up 
 again. Be not faithless, therefore, but believing. 
 Think not that I am going to deceive you. Heaven 
 and earth shall pass away, but my word shall 
 not fail. 
 
 Christians, apply this observation to yourselves. 
 If you are indeed Christ's followers, as you profess 
 to be, he says to you, ''Let not your hearts be 
 troubled; ye believe in God; believe also in me.'* 
 You doubtless have your fightings without, and fears 
 within. Whence arise these distressing apprehen- 
 sions? Are they not attributable to the weakness 
 of your faith in Christ ? Your Saviour has told you 
 that his yoke is easy, and his burden light. He has 
 invited you to come unto him that you may find 
 rest to your souls. You have come; but you have 
 not found that uniform satisfaction and comfort 
 which you expected. When you examine and try 
 to ascertain whether you bear the marks of true 
 discipleship, you are often oppressed, and ready to 
 sink under the fearful apprehension, that you have 
 neither part nor lot in the great salvation. And 
 instead of saying with the apostle, "I know whom I 
 have believed," you complain, with the poet: 
 
 'Tis a point I long to know, 
 
 Oft it causes anxious thought: 
 Do I love the Lord, or no ? 
 
 Am I his, or am I not ? 
 
106 HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 
 
 If I love, why am I thus ? 
 
 Why this dull and lifeless frame ? 
 Hardly, sure, can they be worse. 
 
 Who have never heard his name. 
 
 Lord, decide the doubtful case; 
 
 Thou who art thy people's Sun ! 
 Shine upon thy work of grace, 
 
 If it be indeed begun! 
 
 Whence these mournful complaints? Is it not 
 because you do not believe in Christ, as you believe 
 in God? Faith in God, without regard to the Medi- 
 ator of the new covenant, cannot give comfort to a 
 fallen creature, under a sense of his sin. If you 
 would have joy in believing, and rise above the 
 terrors of eternal death, you must commit your souls 
 into the hands of your Redeemer, with entire and 
 unqualified confidence. Hear his word, then, and lay 
 hold of the hope which it sets before you: "I am 
 the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh 
 to the Father, but by me. Without me, ye can 
 do nothing. Ye believe in God; believe also in 
 me." Do you feel your insufficiency for the duties 
 required of you as a professor of the gospel? Are 
 you sensible of your unworthiness to approach the 
 table of the Lord? You are unworthy; and it is 
 well you feel it. But Christ is worthy. In him the 
 Father is well pleased. Venture forward, therefore, 
 in his name. Plead his righteousness, and trust in 
 his merits. He ever liveth to make intercession for 
 us. He has passed through this vale of tears; he 
 has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; the 
 
HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 107 
 
 everlasting doors have been lifted up ; and the hea- 
 vens have received him from the sight of mortals ; but 
 he is still touched with a feeling of our infirmities — 
 his delight is with the sons of men, and to every 
 humble follower his language is, "My grace is suffi- 
 cient for thee: ye believe in God, believe also in me." 
 II. Observe the familiar and satisfactory style in 
 which the Saviour speaks of the heavenly state. 
 He calls it his Father's house. "In my Father's 
 house," says he, "are many mansions; if it were not 
 so, I would have told you." The apostles, from their 
 Jewish habits and education, had heretofore indulged 
 a hope that the Messiah would set up a temporal 
 kingdom. In this temporal kingdom, they expected 
 preferment and distinction. This was the grand error 
 of the nation. Hence the cross of Christ became to 
 the Jews a stumbling-block. When the time came 
 in which the Redeemer must lay down his life and 
 pour out his blood for the salvation of his people, this 
 visionary idea of wordly distinction was to be given up. 
 And, as the minds of the disciples might not, as yet, 
 be well established in the doctrine of the immortality 
 of the soul, their Lord endeavours, on this interesting 
 occasion, to direct their attention to that state of 
 perfect bliss which remains for the people of God in 
 the world to come. He points them to heaven — the 
 house — the delightful, glorious residence of his Father, 
 and their Father. There, says he, are many man- 
 sions. Behold a house not made with hands, eternal 
 in the heavens ! In that happy house there is ample 
 room — the apartments are numerous, and of various 
 
108 HEAVEm.Y MANSIONS. 
 
 dimensions — suited to the various capacities and pious 
 attainments of my followers. There is a heaven, a 
 place of rest, of safety and triumph, where you shall 
 exchange the cross for a crown, the sigh of mourning 
 for the song of triumph. Your hope of future bliss 
 shall not be disappointed. "If it were not so, I 
 would have told you." As if he had said. Have I 
 not proved myself a faithful teacher ? And can you 
 suppose that I would deceive you on so important a 
 point as that which involves your eternal life? I 
 came from the bosom of the Father. I have a delight- 
 ful remembrance of the glories of the upper world. 
 In my gospel I have brought life and immortality to 
 light; and as soon as I shall have finished the work 
 assigned me in the covenant of mercy and grace, I 
 "will return to heaven in your name, and in the name 
 of all who shall believe in me to the end of time. I 
 will enter into the holy of holies with my blood and 
 righteousness. These shall avail for the admission of 
 my humble followers. As the High Priest of your 
 profession, I will bear upon my breast the names of 
 the faithful. In due time, the redeemed of all nations 
 shall come to the heavenly Mount Zion, with joy and 
 triumph, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 
 "I go to prepare a place for you." 
 
 Here, then, communicants, let me suppose you to 
 be Christians indeed, and call upon you to cherish 
 the hope of a blessed immortality. You are Christ's 
 and Christ is God's. At present you travel through 
 a wilderness, where you share in the sorrows and 
 hardships incident to the human family. But what 
 
HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 109 
 
 signify the trials and fatigues of a journey to those 
 who are drawing near home, with the certain expecta- 
 tion of everything that is soothing and comfortable ! 
 Heaven is your home; God is your Father; Christ, 
 who deigns to call you brethren, is preparing a place 
 for you in that holy, happy house, where you are to 
 obtain the end of your faith, even life everlasting- 
 With you, it is not a matter of doubtful disputation, 
 whether you shall live after the present life. You 
 receive it as an indubitable truth, on the testimony of 
 Jesus, who is emphatically styled the faithful and true 
 witness. "Because I live, ye shall live also." Seize 
 this truth then, believer, and let it cheer you in the 
 house of your pilgrimage. Everything on earth is 
 transient and unsatisfying. Here the fairest flower 
 fades; the finest prospects are soon beclouded; the 
 soundest health must yield to the infirmities of age; 
 the strongest intellect fail; the richest inheritance be 
 relinquished ; the tenderest ties of nature be dissolved ; 
 and all the pleasures of the world terminate in disap- 
 pointment and the grave. But on the objects of your 
 faith and hope, eternity impresses reality and incompa- 
 rable worth. The Saviour, whose death you are now to 
 commemorate, lives for ever; and he lives for you: 
 **Your life is hid with Christ in God." With a hope 
 full of immortality, and a heart overflowing with gra- 
 titude, you may sing, as you pass along the journey 
 
 of life, 
 
 "Now to the sliming realms above, 
 
 I stretch my hands, and glance my eyes ; 
 for the pinions of a dove 
 To bear me to the upper skies ! 
 
 10 
 
110 HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 
 
 There from the bosom of my God, 
 
 Oceans of endless pleasure roll; 
 There would I fix my last abode, 
 
 And drain the sorrows of my soul." 
 
 III. Observe, thirdly, the Saviour's determination 
 to complete the happiness of his disciples: "And if I 
 go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, 
 and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there 
 ye may be also." Think not. Christians, that your 
 Lord will leave the work of your redemption unfin- 
 ished. He does nothing in vain. His grace is incor- 
 ruptible seed; whom he loves, he loves unto the end. 
 He will conduct you safely through all the dangers of 
 the way, and put you in possession of the promised 
 inheritance. There are two cases in which he comes 
 again, and receives his people unto himself. 
 
 First, he comes to them individually at death. 
 Here it is that he draws near, and affords support and 
 comfort in time of need. it is a consolatory thought, 
 my hearers; for we must die. "Dust thou art, and 
 unto dust thou shalt return." And who can think of 
 dying without wishing to die in the Lord? Poor, 
 feeble mortal, canst thou think of meeting the king of 
 terrors in thy own strength ! Be assured thy courage 
 will fail thee; and thou wilt then feel thy need of Him 
 who is the resurrection and the life ! The weakest 
 believer may say with David: "Though I walk 
 through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear 
 no evil ; for thou art with me ; thy rod and staff, they 
 comfort me." Yes, Christian, if you cleave to him, fol- 
 lowing him from a principle of love, in the way of his 
 
HEAVENLY MANSIONS. Ill 
 
 commands and ordinances, he will come graciously near 
 you in a dying hour ; he will take you in from a world 
 of storms to the haven of eternal rest, where you shall 
 see his face and sing his praise who has loved you and 
 washed you from your sins in his own blood. 
 
 But there is another case in which the Saviour 
 will come again and receive his followers unto him- 
 self. He will come in power and great glory, at the 
 end of the world ; when his gospel shall have been 
 preached unto all nations; when the ends of the 
 earth shall have received his salvation; when he 
 shall have seen of the travail of his soul and be 
 satisfied; when the designs of his mercy shall have 
 been accomplished among our fallen race; when the 
 Jews shall have been gathered into the gospel fold, 
 with the fulness of the Gentiles; then, "to them 
 that look for him, will he appear a second time, with- 
 out sin unto salvation." When he came to his people 
 individually at death, he received their souls only 
 unto himself, but now he will receive their bodies 
 also. When this corruptible shall be so modified 
 as to be incorruptible, a re-union is to take place 
 between the body and its immortal tenant. The 
 bodies of the pious are the temples of the Holy 
 Ghost, and not one of them shall be lost. So St. 
 Paul teaches us in his Epistle to the Philippians, 
 "Our conversation is in heaven, from whence we 
 also look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; 
 who shall change our vile body, that it may be 
 fashioned like unto his glorious body; according to 
 the working whereby he is able even to subdue all 
 
112 HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 
 
 things unto himself." blessed and happy day, 
 when our Divine Redeemer shall come to collect 
 the thousands of his people into his Father's house! 
 There shall be the best society, the most exalted 
 employment, with fulness of joy, and pleasures ever 
 more ! There the spirits of just men made perfect, 
 shall join with angels in pouring forth the highest 
 praises to Him that sitteth upon the throne, and to 
 the Lamb for ever. There will be Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob, the prophets, the apostles, and martyrs, 
 with the redeemed of all nations, engaged in the 
 same delightful work. My hearers, will you be 
 there? Would it afford you pleasure to be where 
 Jesus displays his glories, and cheers the souls of 
 his people with the holy pleasures of heaven? Do 
 you love him, believe in him, and keep his com- 
 mandments? Remember, the mansions of bliss are 
 prepared for those who are made "meet for the 
 inheritance of the saints in light." The vessels of 
 mercy are "afore prepared unto glory." Heaven 
 has no charms for the ungodly; it can give no hap- 
 piness to those who love sin. Indeed, my hearers, 
 so essential is holiness, that St. Paul teaches us that 
 without it no man shall see the Lord. 
 
 Communicants, you expect, when done with this 
 world, to go where Jesus is. You indulge a hope 
 that he is now engaged preparing a place for you in 
 his Father's house. You trust he has bought you 
 with his blood, and quickened you by his Spirit. 
 You expect to realize the promise, "Where I am 
 there shall my servant be also." How shall you 
 
HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 113 
 
 express your gratitude to Him -who has given you 
 these cheering hopes and glorious prospects? Is it 
 a hard condition, that you should be required "to 
 deny yourselves, and take up your cross, and follow 
 Christ? Can the service of such a Master be a 
 weariness? No, no, says the true disciple; "his 
 love constraineth us"! It is this that makes "his 
 yoke easy and his burden light." Come, then, to 
 his table, under the constraining influence of his love. 
 Come, express your sense of obligation, by a cheer- 
 ful compliance with his dying request, "This do in 
 remembrance of me." 
 
 " The love of Christ constraineth us ; because we 
 thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead ; 
 and that he died for all, that they who live, should 
 live, not unto themselves, but to him who died for 
 them, and rose again." This should be the judgment 
 of every professed disciple of Christ. " Herein is my 
 Father glorified," says he, "that ye bear much 
 fruit." Yes, Christians, it is your proper business, 
 and ought to be your constant aim, to glorify God 
 with your bodies and spirits, which are his. Let not 
 the corrupting influence of a wicked world obliterate 
 from your minds the law of redeeming love. While 
 busied with the afi'airs of this life, forget not whose 
 you are, and whither you are going. Every day, 
 every moment is bringing your redemption nearer and 
 nearer. You are, at present, in a vale of tears ; but, 
 yet a little while, and your Saviour will come and 
 receive you graciously into those places which he is 
 10* 
 
114 HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 
 
 now preparing for you. Be it, then, as your meat 
 and drink to do the "will of your Father who is in 
 heaven. Examine yourselves whether ye be in the 
 faith; give all diligence to make your calling and 
 election sure. 
 
 But, my hearers, are you all interested in the love 
 and friendship of the Lord Jesus? Can you all look 
 up to God, and indulge, on good grounds, the cheering 
 hope that Christ is interceding for you at the right 
 hand of the Father, that he owns you as disciples, 
 and that he will say to you, at the last day, '' Come, 
 ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
 pared for you from the foundation of the world?" 
 Alas ! I fear some of you cannot lay claim to these 
 high privileges, on scriptural authority ! And should 
 this be the case with any who now hear me, let them 
 know, assuredly, that it is a fearful thing to live with- 
 out God in the world. Dear friends, we bring no 
 railing accusation against you ; but we entreat you, by 
 the mercies and by the terrors of the Lord, to repent, 
 to lay hold of the hope set before you in the gospel. 
 As ambassadors for Christ, we pray you be reconciled 
 to God. If you are not united to Jesus by a true 
 faith, you are living in a state of condemnation. 
 Hear the Redeemer's own words on this point: "He 
 that belie veth not, is condemned already." God has 
 given you space for repentance, and has set before 
 you an open door. A great salvation is offered to 
 you freely, without money and without price. But 
 your day of grace is passing while I address you. 
 
HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 115 
 
 Your Sabbaths, your sanctuary privileges, and your 
 sacramental seasons will soon be over; and should 
 death arrest you in a Christless state, then will be 
 brought to pass upon you that fearful saying, " He 
 that is filthy, let him be filthy still." "Behold, now 
 is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of sal- 
 vation !" 
 
THE 
 
 CHRISTIAN'S CREED AND TRIUMPH. 
 
 "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that 
 Jesus is the Son of God? — 1 John v. 5. 
 
 These words place before us, at one view, the Chris- 
 tian's creed and triumph. He believeth that Jesus is 
 the Son of God — this is his creed. He overcometh 
 the world — this is his triumph. 
 
 Let us examine this creed, and try to ascertain the 
 import of the victory which it secures. The language 
 of our text evidently supposes that there are evils to 
 be met with in the world ; and that faith in Jesus the 
 Son of God, is the only means by which these evils 
 can be surmounted. This is an idea that pervades 
 the New Testament. The world lieth in wickedness. 
 Its spirit, its manners, and its maxims, are hostile to 
 godliness; and whosoever permits himself to be car- 
 ried along by the current of its fashion, must not 
 only sustain loss, but, in the end, be utterly ruined. 
 Hence Paul the apostle charges us, "Be not con- 
 formed to this world ; but be ye transformed by the 
 renewing of your minds, that you may prove what is 
 that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." 
 
THE christian's CREED AND TRIUMPH. 117 
 
 To the good man, this world presents a scene of trial. 
 It abounds in dangers and troubles, against which 
 faith in the Redeemer affords the only sufficient de- 
 fence: "In the world," says the Divine Saviour, "ye 
 shall have tribulation ; but, be of good cheer, I have 
 overcome the world." To true believers, this passage 
 is full of the richest consolation, while to the ungodly 
 it is unintelligible and uninteresting; for it is the 
 believer, and the believer only, that can participate 
 in the benefits of Christ's victory over the world. 
 Let us inquire, then, 
 
 I. What is implied in believing that Jesus is the 
 Son of God? It is a concise and comprehensive 
 expression of evangelical faith. This, my hearers, is 
 a subject of vast importance in the Christian scheme 
 of redemption. It implies two things, viz., credit and 
 trust. Faith^ in the general acceptation of the term, 
 has relation to testimony. Cfospel faith has immedi- 
 ate and special relation to the testimony of God 
 respecting his Son. This testimony of God we have 
 in the Bible. Here we are assured that Christ Jesus 
 is the only Saviour of our fallen race; that he is able 
 and ready to save to the uttermost all that come to 
 God by him; that he has removed every obstacle 
 which opposed our salvation; that he has wrought 
 out a righteousness every way answerable to the 
 demands of the Divine law; that he has shed his 
 blood for the remission of sin, and made provision for 
 its ultimate and entire extirpation from the soul that 
 confides in him. The first and most obvious exercise 
 of faith is to believe this testimony. That is, to 
 
118 THE christian's CREED AND TRIUMPH. 
 
 believe that Jesus Christ is just such a glorious per- 
 sonage — such an able, willing, and compassionate 
 Saviour, as the sacred oracles pronounce him to be. 
 But faith includes another very important idea, viz., 
 trust, A mere assent to what the Scripture teaches 
 respecting Jesus Christ, is nothing more than an act 
 of the understanding; or a kind of historical faith, 
 which may have little or no sanctifying influence on 
 the heart and life: "With the heart man believeth 
 unto righteousness." Rom. x. 10. And in order to a 
 hearty reception of the truth, as it is in Jesus, the 
 sinner must feel his sinfulness, and need of a Saviour. 
 So long as he remains unimpressed with a sense of 
 his guilt, he cannot perceive the necessity of embrac- 
 ing Christ. 
 
 Hence it is that the tidings of salvation are treated 
 with indifference by so large a portion of mankind. 
 Many persons consider the gospel as a very decent 
 system of religion, who cannot bear to be urged to 
 repentance, and an entire surrender of themselves to 
 Christ. What is the reason? Because their con- 
 sciences have never been impressed with a conviction 
 of sin. This insensibility to the evil of sin, and the 
 awful danger to which it exposes the transgressor, has 
 always been a hindrance to the success of the gospel. 
 The Redeemer has taught us in his word, that no one 
 will accept of salvation, who does not feel himself a 
 helpless and guilty creature. "The Son of man,'* 
 says he, "is come to save that which was lost — they 
 that are whole need not a physician ; but they that 
 are sick." "I came not to call the righteous, but 
 
THE christian's CREED AND TRIUMPH. 119 
 
 sinners to repentance." But when sin is felt to be 
 exceeding sinful, the soul cleaves to Christ, and con- 
 fides in him as its all in all. 
 
 The plan of redemption, through the mediation of 
 Jesus, the Son of God, appears not only true and wise, 
 but gracious and necessary. Observe here, the dis- 
 tinction between saving faith and a barren, joyless 
 profession. The merely nominal Christian may en- 
 tertain a high degree of respect for the Saviour; he 
 may yield a cold assent to the truths of the gospel; he 
 may even be a strenuous advocate for orthodox senti- 
 ments; but his religion consists in orthodoxy; it 
 never touches his heart, or sanctifies his affections. 
 AVhereas every article of the true believer's creed has 
 a practical and sanctifying influence on his temper 
 and conduct. He not only believes, but obeys the 
 truth. And, in keeping his Lord's commandments, 
 he finds great reward. Christ is precious ; his yoke 
 is easy, and his burden light. The true principle of 
 evangelical obedience is to be found in those remark- 
 able words of Paul: "The love of Christ constraineth 
 us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, 
 then were all dead : and that he died for all, that they 
 which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, 
 but unto him who died for them and rose again." 
 2 Cor. V. 14, 15. 
 
 This trust in the Redeemer, and devotion to his 
 service, necessarily presupposes the admission of his 
 Divine character. For what man of common sense 
 would entrust his soul, with all its immortal interests, 
 to a mere creature ? I could not feel secure in build- 
 
120 THE christian's CREED AND TRIUMPH. 
 
 ing my hopes of pardon and eternal life, even on an 
 angel. The brightest seraph in heaven can do no 
 more than his duty. He cannot make atonement for 
 the smallest transgression of the Divine law. But 
 when I find Jesus, the Son of God, set forth in the 
 sacred Scriptures as the Lord our righteousness and the 
 propitiation for our sins, believing the infallible word 
 of inspiration, I feel no hesitation in reposing entire 
 confidence in him. I know that Jehovah Jesus is able 
 to save; that his atonement is of infinite efficacy; 
 that his grace is sufficient, and his promise sure and 
 infallible to all who hope in his mercy. Do not think 
 it strange, my friends, that God requires you to 
 believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, on pain of everlast- 
 ing misery. The whole gospel of our salvation pro- 
 ceeds on the melancholy fact that man is a guilty, 
 ruined creature. And that faith, on which the sacred 
 Scriptures lay so much stress, is something more than 
 an assent to the truths of God's word. It implies a 
 personal appropriation of Jesus, and the benefits of 
 his redemption.- It involves a dependence on his 
 righteousness for justification, and an application to 
 the sacrifice of his blood for pardon, together with an 
 unreserved surrender of ourselves to Christ, as our 
 King, our Lord, our Master, our Defender, and the 
 Captain of our salvation. Jesus is the Son of God in 
 a sense which is inapplicable to any other being in 
 the universe. He is the only begotten, the brightness 
 of the Father's glory, and the express image of his 
 person. He is God manifest in the flesh, and over all, 
 blessed for ever. His name is precious, as ointment 
 
THE christian's CREED AND TRIUMPH. 121 
 
 poured forth. His death gave life to the world, his 
 blood was shed for the remission of sins, and his 
 righteousness is unto and upon all them that believe. 
 "Blessed are all they who put their trust in him!" 
 
 My hearers, do you believe that Jesus is the Son of 
 God? Do you believe him to be the only Mediator 
 between God and man? Do you believe that he is 
 Immanuel, uniting in his sacred person the seed of 
 Abraham, and the essence of the adorable Godhead? 
 Do you believe what the prophet says of him? "He 
 was wounded for our transgressions ; he was bruised 
 for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our peace was 
 upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we 
 like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every 
 one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him 
 the iniquity of us all." In a word, do you believe 
 that he is able and willing to save you, and have you 
 committed your souls to him, in a covenant never to 
 be forgotten? Is your faith an operative principle? 
 Is it attended by peace with God, and productive of 
 good works? Put these questions to your consciences. 
 "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith." 
 
 Having taken a cursory view of the Christian's 
 creed, let us 
 
 II. Attend to his triumph. "Who is he that 
 overcometh the world, but he that believeth that 
 Jesus is the Son of God?" It is not without good 
 reason that the apostle gives this challenge. The 
 true believer does obtain a triumph with which no 
 other conquest will bear a comparison. It is a com- 
 plete victory over the world, and all the evils with 
 11 
 
122 THE christian's creed and triumph. 
 
 which it abounds. "Thanks be to God, who always 
 causeth ns to triumph in Christ." 
 
 The Christian has many troubles and dangers to 
 meet with in this world, but his blessed Lord causes 
 him to triumph over them all. He is not exempt 
 from the common calamities of life; but he has one 
 peculiar advantage, God is with him in his afflictions, 
 and makes all things work together for his ultimate 
 good. We know that affliction is good and necessary 
 for us, so long as we are in the body. This is one 
 of the means which God employs to prepare a people 
 for his praise. And that his people may neither 
 despise his chastening, nor faint when rebuked of 
 him, he has given them promises of succour suited 
 to all cases that may occur, however distressing. 
 Hence they are directed to account it a blessing 
 when they fall into divers trials; for by these trials 
 God intends to prove that their faith is more pre- 
 cious than gold which perisheth. '' Call upon me 
 in the day of trouble, saith the Lord, I will deliver 
 thee, and thou shalt glorify me." "My grace is 
 sufficient for thee." "I will never leave thee, nor 
 forsake thee." When these and the like promises 
 are fully credited, and their consolations realized 
 by the believer, he can interpret Paul's language, 
 when he says, "Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;" 
 and sing with the prophet Jonah, "I will sacrifice 
 unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving — salvation 
 is of the Lord." In all ages God has proved him- 
 self to his people a very present help in time of 
 need. Whatever affliction he sends upon them, his 
 
 I 
 
THE christian's CREED AND TRIUMPH. 123 
 
 blessing accompanies it. So we hear them testify- 
 ing, ^' We know that all things work together for 
 good to them that love God." They knew it from 
 his promise, and they felt it by experience. Hence 
 we find them triumphant in the severest persecutions 
 for righteousness' sake. "If God be for us, who 
 can be against us? 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? Who 
 shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It 
 is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth? 
 It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, 
 who is even at the right hand of God, who also 
 maketh intercession for us." 
 
 The disciple of Christ is a believer in the par- 
 ticular providence of God. "Are not two sparrows 
 sold for a farthing; and one of them doth not fall 
 to the ground without your heavenly Father?" 
 "The hairs of your head are all numbered." This 
 doctrine is happily calculated to give relief to the 
 pious mind under the heaviest trials. "Whom the 
 Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son 
 whom he receiveth." What, may the Christian say, 
 what if I am called to suffer the loss of all things? 
 What if I suffer in my person, in my family, or 
 estate? What if I am to part with kindred and 
 friends? It is my heavenly Father's will. He 
 knows my frame. He sees what is best for me. If 
 he is pleased to visit with the rod, I am sure that 
 infinite goodness dictates and directs every stroke 
 that his hand inflicts. He has admitted me to the 
 
124 THE christian's creed and triumph. 
 
 adoption of children, and why should I be offended 
 on receiving the treatment of a child ? If he corrects 
 me, it is for his glory and my improvement. " Shall 
 I receive good at the hand of God, and shall I not 
 receive evil also?" "No chastening, for the pre- 
 sent, seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; neverthe- 
 less, afterwards, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of 
 righteousness unto them which are exercised there- 
 by." Heb. xii. 11. And, "I reckon that the suffer- 
 ings of this present time are not worthy to be com- 
 pared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." 
 Rom. viii. 18. 
 
 Such is the believer's triumph over the common 
 afflictions of this life; equally decisive is his victory 
 over the temptations and allurements of the world. 
 Against these insidious enemies of his salvation he 
 sets a watch, and makes his continual prayer to God, 
 **Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from 
 evil!" The blessed Saviour, who was tempted in all 
 points, like as we are, knows how to deliver them that 
 are tempted: and to those who trust in him, he always 
 administers relief in times of danger. He has taught 
 his disciples that the Prince of the power of the air is 
 a defeated adversary, that if they resist him, he will 
 flee from them. He has taught them, also, that the 
 promises of the world are fallacious, and its enjoy- 
 ments transient and unsatisfactory. He has taught 
 them that one thing is needful ; that true religion is 
 the pearl of great price, and that all else is chaff, 
 driven and scattered by the wind. He has given to 
 the minds of his followers a new and heavenly direc- 
 
THE christian's CREED AND TRIUMPH. 125 
 
 tion; he has created in them a thirst for glory, 
 honour, and immortality, which causes them to look 
 with comparative contempt on all inferior things, and 
 with utter abhorrence on those sensual indulgences 
 which war against the soul. Earthly minds may 
 and will live after the flesh, and pursue earthly 
 things; but the heaven-born soul cannot live upon 
 husks; it aspires after the celestial manna, and pants 
 for the waters of the sanctuary. 
 
 Try yourselves, professing Christians, by this crite- 
 rion. If you prefer Jerusalem to your chief earthly 
 joy — if you account a day in God's courts better than 
 a thousand in the tents of wickedness and folly, there 
 is ground to hope that you are born of the Spirit, and 
 that the good work which has been begun within you 
 will be carried on till the day of Jesus Christ. But, 
 if the glare of wealth, if titles and distinctions among 
 men, if the frivolous amusements, and fashionable 
 dissipations of the world engross more of your atten- 
 tion, and afford you more pleasure than the ordinances 
 of God, and the sober duties of your religious profes- 
 sion, you have awful cause to fear that your faith is 
 not the faith of God's elect. That faith which does 
 not regenerate the moral taste of its possessor, and 
 supply him with new objects of pursuit, and open to 
 him new and sanctifying sources of enjoyment, is 
 radically defective; it is the shadow, without the 
 substance — the name, without the thing — a creed, 
 connected with no triumph. 
 
 The Christian's grand triumph is that which he 
 obtains over the fears of dying. "By one man sin 
 11* 
 
126 
 
 entered into the world, and death by sin; and so, 
 death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." 
 *'It is appointed unto men once to die." It is an event 
 incident to us all. Death is inevitable; and to the 
 worldling it is an object of unutterable terror. Here, 
 then, we have abundant reason to bless God, who 
 causeth us to triumph in Christ, the second Adam, 
 the Lord from heaven! Forasmuch as they whom 
 he came to redeem ^'were partakers of flesh and blood, 
 he also took part of the same, that, through death, he 
 might destroy him who had the power of death, ^. e., 
 the devil ; and might deliver them who, through fear 
 of death, were, all their life-time, subject to bondage." 
 Yes, ten thousand blessings on his precious name! 
 He became bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, 
 that he might subdue the king of terrors, and teach 
 his followers to say, with Paul, "For me to live is 
 Christ, and to die is gain!" He died for our sins, 
 and rose again as the first fruits from the dead. In 
 his glorious resurrection we have the most complete 
 demonstration that he plucked away the sting of 
 death. He raises us from the grave of sin, and 
 quickens us to newness of life. He has taught us 
 that, if these bodies were dissolved, "we have a build- 
 ing of God — a house not made with hands, eternal in 
 the heavens." The sting of death is sin — but sin once 
 removed from the conscience, the song of triumph 
 breaks from the lips of the dying believer, " grave, 
 where is thy -victory? death, where is thy sting? 
 Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
THE christian's CREED AND TRIUMPH. 127 
 
 Hearers, would you wish to share in the Chris- 
 tian's joyful prospects at the close of this mortal 
 life? Have faith in Jesus, the Son of God. Sur- 
 render yourselves to his service. Seek by fervent 
 prayer, and by a diligent attention to all gospel 
 means, to be washed, and sanctij&ed, and justified, 
 in the name of the Lord, and by the Spirit of our 
 God. We could produce you a thousand witnesses 
 that infidelity, either professed, or practised upon, 
 invariably brings men to a miserable end. If you 
 live after the flesh, and are governed by the spirit 
 and maxims of the world, you cannot expect to die 
 either safely or comfortably. To die ! — blessed is the 
 exclusive privilege of him who dies in the Lord. It 
 is in Christ, and in Christ only, that any of our 
 fallen race can triumph in a dying hour. " Seek 
 the Lord, therefore, while he may be found; call 
 upon him while he is near." Risk not the immortal 
 interests of your souls on the dubious result of a 
 death-bed repentance. Amidst the cares and vanities 
 of this world, forget not that you are travelling to 
 the house appointed for all the living. While you 
 have Sabbaths and sanctuary privileges, improve 
 them for eternity. These opportunities of securing 
 the true riches will soon be past, and you will have 
 to account for them all at the judgment-seat of 
 Christ. Examine well the ground of your hopes 
 for the world to come. If you profess to be the 
 disciples of Jesus, try to feel, at all times, the obli- 
 gations of redeeming love. If ye be risen with 
 Christ, seek those things which are above. If you 
 
128 THE christian's creed and triumph. 
 
 are redeemed sinners, you are debtors to grace, but 
 not to the flesh, that ye should live after the flesh. 
 "Put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the 
 new man, which, after God, is created in righteous- 
 ness and true holiness." And, if any of you are 
 living without God, and without hope in the world, 
 be persuaded to lay hold on the hope set before 
 you in the gospel. You know, sinner, that the world 
 will, by and by, abandon you. Why should you 
 continue to serve it? Believe in the Son of God; 
 devote yourself to his service, and he will never leave 
 nor forsake you. While I once more repeat in your 
 hearing the messages of his mercy, may the Spirit of 
 all grace incline your heart to receive the truth, in 
 the love thereof. " Him that cometh unto me I will 
 in no wise cast out." "Behold, I stand at the door 
 and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the 
 door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and 
 he with me." "All things are now ready." "And 
 the Spirit and the bride say. Come; and let him 
 that heareth say. Come ; and let him that is athirst 
 come; and whosoever will, let him take the water 
 of life freely." Amen. 
 
ENOCH'S WALK WITH GOD. 
 
 And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him. 
 Genesis v. 24. 
 
 In all ages of the world the righteous have been few 
 in comparison with the multitude of evil-doers. There 
 have always, however, been some that feared the Lord, 
 and thought upon his name. Even in the antediluvian 
 world, we find, here and there, a pious character. 
 Such was Enoch, the son of Jared, and the seventh 
 from Adam of whom we have any account in Scrip- 
 ture. The sacred historian says but little respecting 
 him; that little, however, is much to his credit. It 
 furnishes us with an example worthy of imitation, 
 and teaches us that the service of God is not a vain 
 thing. 
 
 The first thing that claims our notice is Enoch's 
 manner of life. "He walked with God." These four 
 words give us a short, but comprehensive and expres- 
 sive description of a pious deportment. True piety 
 impresses the heart with a deep and solemn sense of 
 the majesty, goodness, and omnipresence of God. 
 It opens a delightful intercourse between the believing 
 
130 ENOCH'S WALK WITH GOD. 
 
 soul and the infinite Father of spirits. It creates a 
 love of holiness, and a hatred of sin; a hungering 
 and thirsting after righteousness, a panting for God — 
 the living God — which nothing short of heaven and 
 eternal glory can satisfy: and God indulges his 
 children, even in this dark world, with the light of 
 his countenance, and the comforts of his grace. 
 Hence they love to cultivate a sense of his presence, 
 and all those acts of worship which promote a devo- 
 tional spirit, are regarded by them, not only as 
 duties, but as privileges. In the works of his hand, 
 and the acts of his providence, they contemplate the 
 perfections of Jehovah. In the closet, around the 
 domestic altar, and in the courts of his house, it is 
 the prevailing desire of their hearts to feel the 
 gracious influence of his Spirit, enlightening their 
 minds, subduing their sins, and preparing them for 
 the inheritance of the saints in light. By serious 
 meditation, by prayer, by reading and hearing his 
 word, by conversing with his people, by celebrating 
 the ordinances of his grace, they aim habitually to 
 live "as seeing Him who is invisible." Thus they 
 walk with God ; they carry the thoughts of him into 
 all the concerns of life. In everything, by suppli- 
 cation and thanksgiving, they make known their 
 wants and express their gratitude to him. They cast 
 their cares upon him ; they commit their souls to him, 
 as to a faithful Creator. He receives them into 
 his family, and gives them the Spirit of adoption, 
 whereby they cry, "Abba Father." 
 
 But, seeing mankind are by nature the enemies of 
 
ENOCH'S WALK WITH GOD. 131 
 
 God, sold under sin, and liable to the curse of the 
 Divine law, how are any of them recovered from the 
 snare of the devil, and restored to this happy state of 
 intercourse and favour with their Maker ? By grace, 
 extended to the guilty through the mediation of Jesus 
 Christ. By this means Enoch was redeemed from the 
 power of sin, and enabled to please God. The apos- 
 tle Paul tells us that it was through faith that this 
 eminent man of God attained all his excellence, and 
 all his high privileges. He received with confidence 
 and joy the Divine testimony; he entertained a firm 
 persuasion of what God had then revealed respecting 
 the fall and recovery of man. He had the faith of 
 God's elect, and being justified by faith, he had peace 
 with God ; he lived a cotemporary with Adam three 
 hundred years. With him he, no doubt, often con- 
 versed, and joined in religious worship. From him, 
 as well as from various other sources, he had an 
 opportunity of learning the character, the law, the 
 government, and perfections of God. That gracious 
 promise, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the 
 serpent's head," could not have been unknown to him. 
 The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world 
 formed the basis of his hope. Like Abraham, he saw 
 the Messiah's day, and rejoiced. He felt and bewailed 
 his sinfulness; he revered his Maker and sought his 
 blessing, in the use of such means of religious im- 
 provement as had been prescribed by Divine authority. 
 The great outlines of redemption, by the sacrifice of 
 the cross, to be ofi'ered in due time, were revealed to 
 his believing mind; he saw enough of the glory of 
 
132 ENOCH'S WALK WITH GOD. 
 
 Christ to secure liis faith, to inspire him with hope, 
 and to engage his best affections. We are authorized 
 to speak thus of Enoch's hope in Christ, not only by 
 what is said of his faith in the eleventh chapter of 
 Hebrews, but also by a passage in the Epistle of Jude, 
 at the fourteenth verse; "And Enoch, also, the 
 seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, i. e., (of cer- 
 tain bad characters of whom the apostle is speaking,) 
 saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand 
 of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to 
 convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their 
 ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed; 
 and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners 
 have spoken against him." 
 
 Here is a prophecy, purporting to have been uttered 
 by Enoch ; and as it is not to be found in the Old 
 Testament, curiosity naturally asks, where the apostle 
 found it. The probability is, that St. Jude took it 
 from a roll of traditions held in high veneration by 
 the Jews. And, though the quotation does not prove 
 the authenticity of the whole volume from which it is 
 taken, yet, to us, who receive the New Testament, as 
 given by inspiration of God, it clearly proves the fact 
 that Enoch was a prophet, and that he foretold the 
 second coming of our Lord to judgment. Hence we 
 may fairly conclude that he was not ignorant of the 
 Divine purpose, that the Son of God should appear in 
 the flesh to take away sin by the sacrifice of his own 
 blood; to finish transgression, and complete a right- 
 eousness which should be unto and upon all them that 
 believe. In the faith of this precious truth Enoch 
 
ENOCH'S WALK WITH GOD. 133 
 
 walked with God, enjoyed a peace with heaven, and a 
 hope of glory which all the wisdom and treasures of 
 the world could not give, and of which all the scoffers 
 of the age in which he lived could not deprive him. 
 If any of you, my hearers, are living in sin, strangers 
 to pure fellowship with God, allow me to urge you to 
 seek these blessings with all diligence, in that blood 
 which cleanseth from all sin. Implore forgiving 
 mercy and recovering grace through the sacrifice of 
 the cross. ^'Be reconciled to God; for he hath made 
 him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we 
 might be made the righteousness of God in him." 
 You may dream of peace, and happiness, and heaven, 
 on the ground of your Own comparative or fancied 
 goodness, but know assuredly that the whole w^orld is 
 become guilty, and that without the shedding of blood 
 there is no remission. " Woe to him that striveth 
 with his Maker!" There is no walking with God; no 
 fellowship with the Father of your spirits ; no pardon ; 
 no peace; no heaven for you, till Christ is formed in 
 you the hope of glory. "The carnal mind is enmity 
 -against God." "The ploughing of the wicked is sin, 
 and God is angry with them every day." "How can 
 two walk together, except they be agreed?" Frail, 
 dependent creature — poor miserable sinner, cast away 
 the weapons of your rebellion. Touch the sceptre of 
 peace; lay hold of the hope set before you; hear the 
 accents of mercy; receive with faith and love the 
 tidings of grace, and the offers of infinite condescen- 
 sion. "Behold," saith the Saviour, "I stand at the 
 door and knock ; if any man hear my voice, and open 
 12 
 
134 ENOCH'S WALK WITH GOD. 
 
 the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and 
 he with me!" 
 
 Those of you who have been brought into the 
 blessed state of fellow-citizens with the saints, and 
 of the household of God, need not be told that you 
 obtained this inestimable privilege through the merits 
 of Christ. You know by happy experience that he 
 is made of God unto you wisdom, and righteousness, 
 and sanctification, and redemption. You, who were 
 once afar off, have been brought nigh by the blood 
 of sprinkling; you have been made accepted in the 
 beloved; and you can join the apostle Paul in that 
 impassioned burst of gratitude to redeeming love, 
 "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is 
 crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Restored 
 to the favour of God, through faith in his dear Son, 
 it is now your business, your duty, and your privi- 
 lege, to walk with, to keep near the throne of his 
 grace, and rejoice beneath the covert of his parental 
 wing. To assist and encourage you in so doing, 
 let me call your attention for a few moments to- 
 Enoch's example. It is recorded and held out to 
 us, as an inducement to go and do likewise. He 
 walked with God; which implies several particu- 
 lars; as. 
 
 First, a deep sense of dependence on his Maker, 
 not only as a creature, but as a subject of Divine 
 grace. Under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, he 
 had learned his own frailty. He knew that all his 
 springs were in God; and felt no hesitation in 
 
ENOCH'S WALK WITH GOD. 136 
 
 acknowledging that it was fit and proper for God's 
 intelligent creatures to lean upon him for support, 
 and look to him as the Author of all good, and the 
 only inexhaustible source of happiness. Hence the 
 law of God, and not his own will, or the maxims of 
 the world, would become of choice the rule of his 
 conduct. No doubt a large majority of those around 
 him minded earthly things, neglectful of the Lord 
 that made them ; making a mock of sin, and holding 
 in derision the few pious whose conduct reproved, 
 and whose light exposed the deeds of darkness that 
 characterized that age of degeneracy and sin. But 
 Enoch was not one of those who deemed it safe 
 to follow a multitude to do evil. He had more 
 respect for the law of his God than for the practice 
 of his neighbours. He was willing to sacrifice the 
 smiles of the world to the approbation of his Maker. 
 He felt, also, that he was sanctified but in part; 
 that he must look to God for the completion of the 
 work which Divine grace had begun in his soul. 
 This sense of dependence would naturally beget a 
 holy jealousy of himself, and produce a tender con- 
 cern to avoid temptation, to flee the company of 
 the wicked, and to give himself to watching and 
 prayer. 
 
 Do you, my Christian brethren, endeavour in this 
 way to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ? You have solemnly engaged to 
 renounce sin, and serve God in newness of life. 
 What effect have the loose manners and licentious 
 maxims of the world, upon your religious vows and 
 
136 Enoch's walk with god. 
 
 pious resolutions made in your closets, or at the 
 table of your blessed Lord? Do you not sometimes 
 find yourselves yielding to the opinion, that common 
 practice cannot be greatly wrong, or seriously dan- 
 gerous? Amidst the hurry and pressure of earthly 
 pursuits, do you not often forget what manner of 
 spirit you ought to cultivate? When conscience 
 checks you, and admonishes you not to forget the 
 Rock that begat you, or the Saviour that bought 
 you, does not Satan, or your own backsliding hearts, 
 suggest an apology: "We would act otherwise; but 
 company seduces; we cannot help yielding to the 
 importunity of friends ; we must do a little as other 
 people do, or else we must needs go out of the 
 world." Ah, Christians, and is this the way in 
 which you expect to perfect holiness in the fear of 
 God? Is this the way to fall in with the gracious 
 designs of your Saviour, who redeemed you with his 
 blood, that you might be unto God a peculiar people, 
 zealous of good works? Do you not know who has 
 said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny 
 himself, and take up his cross and follow me ? Have 
 you forgotten the exhortation, "Be not conformed 
 to this world; but be ye transformed by the renew- 
 ing of your minds, that ye may prove what is that 
 good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God?" 
 "Quench not the Spirit." "If any man love the 
 world, the love of the Father is not in him." Though 
 you may forget your vows, God will not forget them. 
 Call to mind, then, your obligations to redeeming 
 love. Cherish a sense of your dependence. By 
 
Enoch's walk with god. 137 
 
 the grace of God you are -what you are. As ye 
 have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in 
 him, with the same self-diffidence, the same faith, 
 the same abhorrence of sin, and the same zeal for 
 his glory. 
 
 Another means which Enoch, no doubt, used to 
 maintain a close and comfortable walk with God, 
 was to consider himself continually in the Divine 
 presence ; to endure, like Moses, as seeing Him who 
 is invisible. An ancient philosopher advised his 
 scholars, as a means of confirming their virtuous 
 habits, to fancy themselves, at all times, in the 
 presence of some person of high respectability and 
 eminent piety. The wisdom of this rule is readily 
 perceived. Few persons are so fool-hardy as not to 
 feel restrained and awed by the presence of good- 
 ness. Substitute the only wise God in the place of 
 the philosopher's good man, and the efficacy of the 
 rule must be vastly increased. God searches the 
 hearts and tries the reins of the children of men. He 
 beholds and abhors sin, in thought and purpose, no 
 less than in word and deed ; and we are for ever in his 
 presence. Darkness and light are both alike to him. 
 He is privy to all our ways and designs ; all things are 
 naked and open to the view of Him with whom we 
 have to do. "Thou God seest me." Let us carry 
 this thought with us, brethren, wherever we go, or 
 whatever we do. If we forget God, vanity or sin 
 will occupy our minds, and temptation will easily 
 overcome us. If we would walk with God, we must 
 regard his presence as a pavilion round about us. 
 12* 
 
138 Enoch's walk with god. 
 
 We may be deprived of outward privileges by a 
 variety of causes, but nothing, except sin, can inter- 
 rupt our intercourse with the Father of our spirits. 
 The Lord is a sun and shield to his people; and 
 will give both grace and glory to them that walk 
 uprightly. 
 
 Again, Enoch, in maintaining a walk with God, 
 doubtless abounded in prayer and praise. He loved 
 God ; his affections were placed on things above. He 
 had many wants to be supplied, and enjoyed many 
 blessings, for which to give thanks. This sense of his 
 wants and obligations would draw him frequently to 
 the throne of grace. And, my hearers, have not we 
 equal need and equal encouragement to draw near to 
 God, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to 
 help? Is the Lord's arm shortened, that it cannot 
 save, or his ear heavy, that it cannot hear ? No ! 
 "God is the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever." 
 The same grace that enabled Enoch to lead a holy 
 life, will be imparted to you, if you feel your need of 
 it, and ask it in the name of Christ. Eellowship with 
 God was not a privilege peculiar to Scripture charac- 
 ters. It is the privilege of every true penitent and 
 sincere believer in Christ, to draw near the Father of 
 mercies, with full assurance of hope. "Pray without 
 ceasing." "Ask, and ye shall receive." "If ye, 
 being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your 
 children ; how much more shall your Father who is in 
 heaven give the Holy Spirit unto them that ask 
 him!" 
 
 But what was the result of Enoch's walk with God ? 
 
ENOCH'S WALK WITH GOD. 139 
 
 We are told, in a few words, in a style of force 
 and sublimity peculiar to the sacred volume, "He 
 was not, for God took him;" or, in the language of 
 Paul, "by faith Enoch was translated, that he should 
 not see death; and was not found, because God had 
 translated him: for, before his translation, he had 
 this testimony, that he pleased God." Heb. xi. 5. 
 He was suddenly removed from this world of sin and 
 sorrow, without sickness, or any of the pains of disso- 
 lution. As it shall be with the living in the day 
 of judgment, his body was changed and immortalized, 
 and conveyed by the angels into that blissful state, 
 where is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore. 
 
 What a signal token of Divine favour! What 
 encouragement it affords to faithful and patient con- 
 tinuance in well-doing ! You do not expect, indeed, 
 my Christian brethren, to be translated to heaven 
 in the manner of Enoch, or Elijah: you will have to 
 endure the decay of nature, and pass through the 
 agonies of death. But if, like Enoch, you walk with 
 God, unto all well-pleasing, he will take you to him- 
 self, and entrance shall be ministered unto you abun- 
 dantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. While your bodies rest in their 
 graves till the resurrection, under the guardian care of 
 angels, your spirits shall return unto God who gave 
 them. "Be ye followers of them, who, through faith 
 and patience, are now inheriting the promises." As- 
 pire after glory, honour, and immortality. Be ani- 
 mated by the shouts of victory that flow from the lips 
 of those who, through grace, have attained to the 
 
140 Enoch's walk with god. 
 
 heiglits of glory, where tlie j reign with Christ, as kings 
 and priests unto God the Father. My dear hearers, 
 one and all, a price is put into your hands, with which 
 you may secure the good part that shall never he 
 taken from you. then, let not the transient cares 
 and engagements of this dying world deprive you of 
 the true riches ! Your souls are of more value than 
 all the gold of Ophir and the gems of India. Secure 
 their salvation by laying hold of the hope set before 
 you in the gospel. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and you shall be saved. Rouse up from your native 
 lethargy ! It is high time to awake out of sleep. The 
 day of grace is passing while I address you; the 
 scenes of eternity will soon burst upon us with un- 
 rivalled splendor and ineffable interest. The Bride- 
 groom is coming, and, immediately on his arrival, 
 they that shall be found ready, will go in with him 
 to the marriage supper, and the door will be shut! 
 Amen! 
 
THE WANDEEER RECLAIMED 
 
 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the 
 Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.— 1 Petbr ii. 25. 
 
 We have in this passage of sacred Scripture the 
 natural state of mankind, justly and strikingly con- 
 trasted with that into which they are brought by the 
 grace of God. By nature we are "as sheep going 
 astray;" our wandering begins early. "We go 
 astray," says the Psalmist, "as soon as we are 
 born;" and we continue to press onward, in the ways 
 of sin and death, till redeeming mercy visits our 
 hearts, and turns our feet from the paths of the 
 destroyer. Then, happy change! we are con- 
 vinced of our folly, our danger, and our guilt; and 
 are sweetly and effectually constrained, by the influ- 
 ence of all-conquering grace, to bow to the authority, 
 and resign ourselves to the protection and guidance 
 of "the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls." 
 
 There are two particulars in this text that claim 
 special notice, viz. 
 
 I. The unhappy state of an unconverted sinner. 
 
 II. His restoration to the favour and protection of 
 God the Saviour. 
 
142 THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 
 
 I. The unconverted sinner is described in our text 
 as a lost and wandering creature: "Ye were as sheep 
 going astray." The point of comparison between the 
 sheep and the sinner is a propensity, common to both, 
 to forsake the right way, and to pursue heedlessly the 
 paths of misery and ruin. And who that reads the 
 Bible, and is in any measure attentive to what passes 
 around and within him, can hesitate for a moment to 
 acknowledge that man, in his unsanctified state, is 
 exceedingly neglectful of the law of his duty, and 
 prone to forsake his own mercies ? Nor is this per- 
 verse inclination peculiar to any one age or descrip- 
 tion of mankind. "All we, like sheep," says the 
 prophet, "have gone astray; we have turned, every 
 one to his own way." Isa. liii. 6. Yes, my hearers, 
 this propensity to wander in the mazes of sin and 
 folly, is one of 'the strongest and deepest features in 
 the character of our fallen race ! By nature we are 
 all "as sheep going astray." Let us acknowledge 
 the humbling truth. The more deeply we are affected 
 by it, in reference to ourselves, the more likely we 
 shall be to appreciate and admire the grace which 
 provides for our restoration to the verdant pastures 
 and peaceful ways of the good Shepherd. 
 
 Let us not hastily conclude that we are in the right 
 way, because we do not associate with certain classes 
 of wanderers, whose particular course may have been 
 determined by peculiar circumstances. So various 
 and multiform is errdr, that "every one may pursue 
 his own course," and yet be "as sheep going astray." 
 The way of transgressors is broad, comprising within 
 
THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 143 
 
 its limits innumerable pathways suited to all manner 
 of depraved taste ; and however the ways of sin differ 
 in other respects, they all agree in leading men away 
 from God, the source of blessedness, and in con- 
 ducting infatuated wanderers to the dreary regions 
 of despair and perdition. "There is a way that 
 seemeth right unto a man ; but the end thereof are 
 the ways of death." Prov. xiv. 12. "Destruction and 
 misery are in their paths : and the way of peace have 
 they not known." Rom. iii. 16, 17. "There is none 
 that seeketh after God; they are all gone out of the 
 way." Rom. iii. 11, 12. 
 
 These testimonies of sacred Scripture are abund- 
 antly confirmed by facts with which we are all but too 
 well acquainted. Observe the tempers and practices 
 of mankind, from infancy up to old age, and what a 
 melancholy spectacle of waywardness and wandering 
 do they exhibit! With what difficulty are children 
 trained to habits of industry, kindness, and honesty ! 
 What disrelish, what aversion, do youth generally 
 manifest in regard to devotional exercises and reli- 
 gious duties ! How are their imaginations charmed, 
 and their hearts drawn away from God and holiness, 
 by the pleasures and pageantry of the world! In 
 riper years, when maturity of judgment might be 
 expected to correct the vagaries of passion, what 
 ambitious contests do we often witness for distinction, 
 which must all vanish at death, and leave the victor 
 and the vanquished, the prince and the poor man, on 
 a perfect level ! And among the aged, to whom the 
 pursuits of ambition are impossible, how many do we 
 
144 THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 
 
 see sinking into the grave without God, and utterly 
 destitute of the Christian's cheering hope of a blessed 
 immortality ! 
 
 But, perhaps, we may be ready to congratulate 
 ourselves that we do not belong to any of these 
 classes of wanderers. We are not haughty and self- 
 willed. We are not seeking great things for our- 
 selves. We are endeavouring to be content with the 
 allotments of Providence, and are careful to cherish 
 a humane disposition, and to establish and deserve the 
 character of honest men and good citizens. So far, 
 it is well. But then, my hearers, God looks at the 
 heart. How is it with us, in regard to heart-wander- 
 ings? We are taught in Scripture, that "the heart is 
 deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." If 
 this be wrong, all is not right. " Keep thy heart with 
 all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Prov. 
 iv. 23. Is God uppermost in our thoughts ? Do we 
 love to meditate on his precepts, and find our chief 
 delight, our richest consolations in his promises? Is 
 his glory a prominent object in all our plans and en- 
 terprises ? Alas, for our fallen nature ! How often, 
 when outwardly engaged in the most solemn acts of 
 religious duty, do we find the heart going after its 
 idols! Many a foolish excursion has it taken this 
 morning, even since we have been here, in God's 
 house. I appeal to your consciences, hearers; is it 
 not so? I appeal to Scripture: "They come and sit 
 before me as my people, (saith the Lord,) but their 
 heart is after their covetousness." Ezek. xxxiii. 31. 
 "An evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living 
 
THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 145 
 
 God," is the source and spring of all our wanderings. 
 T^is is the deep-rooted malady of our nature; and 
 until it is cured, we are all "as sheep going astray.'* 
 Thanks be to God, for the provisions of redeeming 
 grace ! Many a wandering heart has been reclaimed, 
 and filled with peace and joy unspeakable; and the 
 expostulatory voice is still heard from the sacred 
 word, "Turn ye, turn ye ; for why will ye die?" Let 
 us, then, attend a little to the sinner's restoration to 
 the favour and protection of God, the Saviour. 
 
 11. This is the second particular in the text, which 
 claims our special notice — "but are now returned 
 to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." Who is 
 the Shepherd and Bishop of souls ? And how is the 
 return of the guilty wanderers brought about? For, 
 my hearers, our wanderings are not only pitiable, but 
 blameworthy. In forsaking the good ways of the 
 Lord, we have dishonoured and insulted him ; we have 
 preferred the creature to the Creator, and have paid 
 to idols that homage which is due only to Him, who is 
 over all blessed for ever. And the Holy One of 
 Israel is jealous for his honour, and will not give his 
 glory to another. If He, from whom we have re- 
 volted, ever receive us back to favour, we may rest 
 assured it will be in a way that shall not impair the 
 claims of justice, or the majesty of his holy law. 
 Hence the necessity of a Mediator, a Daysman, one 
 who is qualified to effect a reconciliation in a way that 
 shall discountenance sin, and, at the same time, main- 
 tain the rights of Divine government. Such a one is 
 the Lord Jesus Christ ; and he is the Shepherd and 
 13 
 
146 THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 
 
 Bishop of souls. He says, "I am the good Shep- 
 herd;" " I am the door ; by me, if any man enter in, 
 he shall be saved;" "I am the way, the truth, and 
 the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by 
 me." Here, brethren, is the chosen, and consecrated, 
 and only medium of our return to the favour and pro- 
 tection of our Heavenly Father. Jesus, the Son of 
 God, is eminently qualified to perform the office of 
 Mediator ; for, while he is bone of our bone, and 
 flesh of our flesh, he is also the brightness of the 
 Father's glory, and the express image of his person; 
 and, in him, it hath pleased the Father that all ful- 
 ness should dwell. Accordingly, he not only com- 
 miserates the sinner, and does and suffers whatever is 
 needful to reclaim and save him; he, also, entertains 
 and manifests a just regard for the holiness and 
 authority of the Creator. Such a Redeemer is Christ 
 the Lord — the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. 
 To him let us repair, confident that he is "able to 
 save to the uttermost all that come to God through 
 him." And, that we may be induced to put our trust 
 in him, let us consider his mediatorial work in a few 
 of its most important particulars. 
 
 1. He has shed his blood for the remission of sins. 
 This is alluded to in the verse preceding our text; 
 "By whose stripes ye were healed." In the fifty- 
 third chapter of Isaiah, it is said, "The Lord hath 
 laid on him the iniquity of us all:" and again, "For 
 the transgression of my people was he stricken." 
 The apostle Peter urges Christians to a holy life, by 
 assuring them that they were redeemed by "the 
 
THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 147 
 
 precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb, without 
 blemish and without spot." 1 Peter i. 19. This 
 blood of atonement being shed, forgiveness of sins 
 is offered to the chief of sinners. Yes, hearers, 
 through the efficacy of this one offering, the guilt of 
 our wanderings may be pardoned; and let it never be 
 forgotten, that without the shedding of this blood, 
 which cleanseth from all sin, there could have been 
 no remission. But blessed be God for his unspeak- 
 able gift, " in whom we have redemption, through his 
 blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches 
 of his grace." The Shepherd and Bishop of souls, 
 then, has opened a fountain in which we may wash 
 and be cleansed from the sin of our past wanderings. 
 
 2. He has magnified the law of God, and, in obey- 
 ing it perfectly, has wrought a righteousness, which, 
 by imputation, is unto and upon all that believe, for 
 justification: so that God can be just, and yet be the 
 justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. This righteous- 
 ness is perfect and available because of the infinite 
 dignity of the Redeemer ; and it is imputable to the 
 believer, or capable of being reckoned his, in law 
 and justice, because it has been wrought out by 
 Christ, expressly for his people, while obeying and 
 suffering, the just for the unjust, as their volun- 
 tary substitute, that he might bring them to God. 
 Hence, in every sinner that is freed from condemna- 
 tion, and restored to the Divine favour, "grace reigns, 
 through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus 
 Christ, our Lord." Rom. v. 21. Thus the redemption 
 price is paid, and everlasting righteousness procured, 
 
148 THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 
 
 by the interposing grace of the Redeemer, without 
 the agency, and even without the knowledge of the 
 bewildered, wandering sinner ; and such is the stupe- 
 fying influence of sin, that the poor infatuated crea- 
 ture is quite insensible to the danger of his condition. 
 If, therefore, the work of the Shepherd and Bishop of 
 souls were to cease here, it would be ineffectual. No 
 change would be produced in the character or conduct 
 of those who are going astray as lost sheep. But the 
 work does not cease here. The only wise God does 
 nothing in vain, nothing by halves ; none of his under- 
 takings prove abortive. "Whom he did foreknow, he 
 also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of 
 his Son." Bom. viii. 29.. We observe, 
 
 3. That the Good Shepherd looks after, searches 
 out, and brings back that which is lost. He publishes 
 the glad tidings — liberty to the captives, and the 
 opening of the prison to them that are bound. . He 
 visits the wanderers by his Spirit, arrests their atten- 
 tion, apprizes them of their error, convicts them of 
 sin, turns their feet into the way of life, and applies 
 to their souls the redemption which he has wrought. 
 Now this part of the great work of our deliverance 
 is accomplished by a Divine agency, no less than 
 those parts which have been just noticed. But in the 
 application of gospel blessings, sinners are made sen- 
 sible of their misery, and need of a Saviour. Their 
 wills are not forced; but they are made willing in 
 a day of gracious power ; and, through sanctification 
 of the Spirit and belief of the truth, they are gradu- 
 ally made meet for the inheritance of the saints in 
 
THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 149 
 
 light. They work out their own salvation with fear 
 and trembling; because God works in them, both 
 to will and to do that which is well-pleasing in his 
 sight. 
 
 That this view is just, will appear by attending to 
 that branch of the text on which this article is 
 founded — "but are now returned," &c. Observe, it 
 is not ye have returned^ as it would be if the return 
 were effected by the wanderer's own unaided efforts. 
 "Ye are returned" is the passive form of an active 
 verb ; and its import is equivalent to ye are converted, 
 or restored, or caused to return. But our statement 
 does not depend on the construction of a single text. 
 Hear the language of prophecy by the mouth of 
 Ezekiel, xxxiv. 11, &c. : "Behold, saith the Lord, I, 
 even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out. 
 I will deliver them out of all places where they have 
 been scattered in the cloudy and dark day : I will 
 seek that which was lost, and bring again that which 
 was driven away." Hear the voice of the redeeming 
 Shepherd himself: " The Son of Man is come to seek 
 and to save that which was lost." Luke xiv. 10. 
 And again, he says, " Other sheep I have, which are 
 not of this fold, (^. e., not Jews by birth,) them, also, 
 I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and 
 there shall be one fold and one Shepherd." John x. 16. 
 The same doctrine is taught in the parable of the 
 lost sheep, Luke xv. 4, 5. The shepherd goes 
 after the wanderer till he finds it; and when he has 
 found it, he does not merely show it the way, and 
 command it to return, and then leave it exposed to 
 1^^ . 
 
150 THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 
 
 the voracious beasts of the forest; but he lays it on 
 his shoulders, and bears it homeward rejoicing. This 
 representation is just and striking. Man, left to 
 himself, unawakened, unrenewed, and unaided bj the 
 life-giving Spirit of God, will never return from the 
 error of his way, or lay hold on the hope set before 
 him in the gospel. Mere moral suasion can have 
 no saving effect on souls that are dead in trespasses 
 and sins. A new heart and a right spirit are indis- 
 pensable to salvation ; and these are the fruit of the 
 washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost. "By grace are ye saved, through faith, 
 and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." 
 Such, my hearers, is our dependence on free grace. 
 Let us not indulge the notion that we can turn from 
 our sins at any time when we may judge it convenient. 
 This is one of Satan's most popular maxims. " Can 
 the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his 
 spots?" "Not by might nor by power; but by my 
 Spirit, saith the Lord." Let your prayer to God be, 
 " Turn thou me, and I shall be turned ; draw me, 
 and I will follow after thee ; wash me, and I shall be 
 clean." But we observe, 
 
 4. The Shepherd and Bishop of souls performs for 
 his flock all that which is implied in these significant 
 and expressive titles. He guides, and feeds, and 
 oversees, and defends them. He leads them into 
 green pastures, and by still waters. His eyes are 
 continually upon them for good, and his ears are open 
 to their cries. To the weak he gives strength, and to 
 
THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 151 
 
 the heavy-laden rest and peace. The wanderer is 
 restored, the sick healed, and the lambs are carried 
 in his arms. They all hear his voice and follow him, 
 and he gives them eternal life ; and none can pluck 
 them out of his hand. Happy flock ! May we all 
 know by experience the blessedness of those who 
 " are returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of their 
 souls!" 
 
 Two or three reflections from what has been said, 
 will close the discourse. 
 
 1. Let sinners consider, that so long as they per- 
 sist in treating with neglect the gospel and its gra- 
 cious provisions, they wander farther and farther from 
 the fountain of life, and do really slight their own 
 best and most precious interests. Dear fellow-immor- 
 tals, the capacities and desires of your souls can never 
 be filled and satisfied with the unsubstantial pleasures 
 of the world. The grand end of your being is to 
 glorify God, and enjoy him for ever; and if through 
 negligence and sin you fail of this most desirable 
 attainment, disappointment and ruin will be your 
 inevitable portion. Think of your frailty and depen- 
 dence on Him who made you. You have forsaken the 
 fountain of living waters, and in a little while your 
 broken cisterns will utterly fail you. If you are not 
 returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of souls, you 
 will continue to go astray, as lost sheep, till your feet 
 stumble on the dark mountains, and your fall will be 
 tremendous, in proportion to the calls and mercies 
 that you have slighted and despised. 
 
152 THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 
 
 2. Let those who have been reclaimed from their 
 wanderings cherish a grateful sense of their obliga- 
 tions to the good Shepherd, who not only died for 
 them, but sought them out, and brought them within 
 the safe inclosure of his consecrated fold. Chris- 
 tians, never forget the horrible pit and the miry clay 
 whence your feet have been taken ! 
 
HOW TO OBTAIN ETEENxlL LIFE. 
 
 From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no 
 more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also 
 go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom 
 shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. — John vi. 66 — 68. 
 
 In all ages of the churcli there have been some to 
 whom the doctrines of the gospel have proved a stum- 
 bling-block. Our Lord, in the chapter from which our 
 text is taken, had been teaching the principles of his 
 religion in figurative language. He knew that many 
 of his professed followers entertained very superficial 
 views of him and his kingdom, and that they associ- 
 ated with his true disciples from unworthy motives. 
 In order, therefore, to correct their mistakes, and pre- 
 vent a consequent disappointment of their expecta- 
 tions, he gave them to understand, that, though con- 
 stantly about his person, and permitted to behold his 
 miracles, they could not come to him and give their 
 souls up to him, without a Divine influence upon their 
 hearts: "No man can come to me, except the Father 
 which hath sent me draw him," verse 44. And 
 that they might be convinced that faith in him was 
 something more than a cold assent to the precepts 
 
154 HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 
 
 of his gospel, he represented the benefits of his atone- 
 ment under the idea of bread; and taught them that 
 they must eat his flesh and drink his blood, before 
 they could obtain the remission of their sins, or a title 
 to eternal life. Taking his words literally, they mur- 
 mured and said, "This is a hard saying, who can hear 
 it?" These false-hearted disciples were inexcusable 
 in taking offence at our Lord's doctrine, because he 
 explained his meaning, and taught them that his lan- 
 guage was not to be taken in its literal sense, as 
 appears from a fair interpretation of verses 61, 62, 63: 
 " When Jesus knew, in himself, that his disciples mur- 
 mured at what they had just heard, he said unto them, 
 Doth this offend you?" That is, do you consider my 
 doctrine incredible and stumble at it ? " What, then, 
 if ye shall see the Son of Man ascending up into hea- 
 ven where he was before?" Would you then understand 
 what was meant by the bread of life coming down 
 from thence, as the food of the world ? Or would you 
 then believe that I came from heaven, notwithstand- 
 ing the objection you have made as to the meanness of 
 my parentage? Thus Christ plainly intimated his 
 intended ascension, and in the meantime, as a key to 
 the whole of his discourse on this occasion, he added, 
 *'It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth 
 nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are 
 spirit, and they are life:" which an eminent commen- 
 tator* explains thus : " As in the human frame, it is 
 the indwelling soul that quickens every part of it — 
 
 * Dr. Doddridge. 
 
HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 155 
 
 and the flesh, how exactly soever organized and 
 adorned, if separate from the soul, profits nothing, 
 but is an inactive and insensible mass ; so, also, the 
 ■words which I speak unto you are spirit ; that is, they 
 are to be taken in a spiritual sense, and then you 
 will find they are life to your soul ; whereas, to take 
 them in a literal sense would be equally unprofitable 
 and monstrous." But this explanation, it seems, was 
 not satisfactory. These disciples, like many in our 
 own times, wanted a religion of forms and outward 
 appearances; .they would believe nothing that was 
 mysterious, or that transcended the limits of reason; 
 and, particularly, they revolted at the idea of depen- 
 dence on Divine grace. " From that time, therefore, 
 they turned back, determined no longer to follow a 
 master who taught such unintelligible doctrines, and 
 who gave no countenance to their self-righteous and 
 secular views." 
 
 What the number of these apostles was, we are not 
 informed; they were many, however; and our Lord 
 deemed it proper to improve the occasion, by putting 
 the question pointedly to the twelve apostles, "Will 
 ye also go away?" This question did not proceed 
 from any apprehensions that he might be totally 
 forsaken. The Saviour knew what was in man. He 
 knew perfectly well who was to betray him, who 
 would deny him, who would forsake him, and who 
 would adhere to him amidst all perils. It was 
 designed for the good of his apostles, to make them 
 examine the grounds of their attachment to him. 
 He wished them not to begin to build without count- 
 
156 now TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 
 
 ing the cost; he would neither force them nor 
 entice them to follow him. They must make up 
 their minds on the evidence before them, and look 
 forward to consequences. He wished them, if they 
 did continue in his service, to do so from a conviction 
 of duty. He would not deceive them either as to 
 the nature of his religion, or the consequences of a 
 firm adherence to his cause. If they determined to 
 serve him, they must calculate on hardships and 
 cruel mockings, which nothing but a love of truth, 
 and a consciousness of duty could patiently endure. 
 Observe the candour and honesty of the Saviour. 
 Impostors always accommodate themselves to the pre- 
 judices and flatter the passions of those whom they 
 wish to proselyte. But the Son of God resorts to 
 no such unworthy means for the promotion of his 
 cause. He states explicitly the terms of discipleship. 
 He keeps nothing back, ofiers no palliatives, holds 
 out no lure to selfishness, or sensual desires. He 
 points out the sacrifices, the sufi'erings, the labours, 
 and self-denials attendant on his service; and in 
 view of these discouragements, says to the twelve. 
 Will you follow me? See, yonder are many persons 
 going away, off"ended at the terms of discipleship; 
 will you go with them, or are you resolved deli- 
 berately to continue in my service? "Will ye also 
 go away?" The true believer abhors the thoughts 
 of apostasy. Accordingly, Peter answers, in the name 
 of the other eleven, charitably thinking them of one 
 mind with himself, "Lord, to whom shall we go? 
 thou hast the words of eternal life." This is an 
 
HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 157 
 
 important sentiment. To illustrate and impress it 
 more deeply upon your minds, is my design in this 
 discourse. I say to impress it 7nore deeply upon your 
 minds; for I take it for granted that you all believe 
 with Peter, that Jesus Christ teaches the true way 
 of obtaining eternal life. Whether this belief has 
 all that influence upon your hearts and your con- 
 duct that it should have, is best known to yourselves 
 and your Maker. 
 
 Jesus Christ in his gospel has set before us the 
 doctrines to be believed, and the precepts to be 
 obeyed, in order to the attainment of eternal life. 
 This proposition is evidently comprised in our text. 
 Let us set our minds to the serious consideration of it* 
 
 I. The essential and fundamental doctrines to be 
 believed are few, but vastly important. They are 
 entitled to our chief attention, and they are taught 
 so fully and plainly in the New Testament that he 
 who runs may read. They are such as these — the 
 entire depravity of our nature ; our absolute need of 
 a Divine influence to renew and sanctify our hearts ; 
 the mediatorial character and work of Jesus Christ, 
 his Divinity, incarnation, atonement, resurrection, 
 ascension, and intercession for his people; and the 
 necessity of confiding in his merits as the sole ground 
 of our justification and acceptance with God; a 
 general judgment and a future state, in which the 
 wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, 
 and the righteous be confirmed in eternal glory. 
 These are some of the leading doctrines of the Chris- 
 tain faith; they are intended to be received as prin- 
 14 
 
158 HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 
 
 ciples of action ; and it is by a faithful adherence to 
 these principles, that the disciples of Christ may 
 hope to be enabled, through grace, to adorn the 
 doctrine of God their Saviour in all things, and to 
 enjoy communion with the Father of their spirits. 
 These doctrines, I am well aware, are lightly esteemed 
 even by some who bear the Christian name. But 
 they are taught and inculcated in the sacred writings, 
 in terms as decisive and explicit as language can 
 express them. They are, in fact, so intimately inter- 
 woven in the tenor and entire substance of Chris- 
 tianity, that they cannot be rejected without sapping 
 the foundation of our immortal hopes. 
 
 Now suffer me to urge you to a firm belief of, and 
 steady attachment to the doctrines of Christ. They 
 comprise the essence of that revelation of mercy, 
 which it has pleased God to bestow upon a guilty 
 world — an authentic and satisfactory solution of the 
 momentous question, "What shall I do to be saved?" 
 The redemption of sinners by the blood of Christ 
 is the distinguishing feature of the gospel. Let us 
 receive the Divine message with cordiality and grati- 
 tude. Either to despise or neglect the way of sal- 
 vation through Christ, is a certain indication of an 
 ungrateful and degenerate mind. Men talk foolishly 
 of the sufficiency of natural religion. The utmost 
 aim of natural religion is to teach the natural per- 
 fections of God. But the most luminous display of 
 the Divine power, wisdom, and righteousness, cannot 
 infuse hope into the guilty heart, or soothe the 
 troubled conscience. Our sad apostasy has produced 
 
HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 159 
 
 an embarrassment and perplexity in our prospects, 
 which nothing but an express assurance of forgive- 
 ness can remove. We find ourselves a race of misera- 
 ble oflfenders. And how our Creator and rightful 
 Lord might see fit to dispose of us, is a question on 
 which the light of nature could give us no certain 
 information. "For who hath known the mind of the 
 Lord; or, being his counsellor, hath taught him?" 
 But the words of the Divine Saviour solve the diffi- 
 culty; the silence of ages is broken; the darkness 
 of reason gives way to the light of the Sun of 
 Righteousness; and we behold the astonishing spec- 
 tacle, "God in Christ, reconciling the world unto 
 himself!" 
 
 If you wish, then, to have a good hope, seek it in 
 Christ: learn of him, trust in him, commit your 
 souls to him, and you have all the perfections of the 
 adorable Godhead engaged for your eternal safety. 
 " In him you have the knowledge of salvation by the 
 remission of sins, through the tender mercy of our 
 God, whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited 
 us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and the 
 shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of 
 peace." Let us not then flatter ourselves, that we 
 may disregard the words of Christ with impunity. 
 If we turn away from Him who addresses us from 
 heaven, we do it at our peril. He came from the 
 bosom of the Father, and claims, amid ten thousand 
 witnesses, to be "the way, the truth, and the life." 
 He has the words of eternal life — neither is there 
 salvation in any other. Turn away from him, and 
 
160 now TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 
 
 ■where will you go, with any hope of forgiveness and 
 acceptance with God? To philosophy? It may amuse 
 you with fine theories and waking dreams; but it 
 cannot atone for your sin, or enlighten before you 
 the valley of the shadow of death. To the law ? It is 
 inflexible, and makes no allowance for the smallest 
 sin; its language is, "Cursed is everyone that con- 
 tinueth not in all things that are written in the book 
 of the law, to do them." To Moses? He will send 
 you back again to Christ ; for he wrote of him as that 
 prophet which the Lord God should raise up, that all 
 men might hear and obey him. Will you not then 
 receive the truth from the lips of Him who came a 
 light into the world, that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not abide in darkness ? He is a teacher com© 
 from God. His credentials are clear; his words are 
 spirit and life; his promise is extensive and sure: 
 "Him that cometh unto me, I will in nowise cast 
 out. If any man thirst, let him come unto me and 
 drink. I am the bread of life : he that cometh to me 
 shall never hunger ; and he that believeth on me shall 
 never thirst." 
 
 II. Christ, having the words of eternal life, pre- 
 scribes the path that leads to glory. He is our Law- 
 giver; he promulgates and interprets his laws, and 
 requires obedience as the test of our attachment to 
 his person: "Ye are my friends," says he, "if ye do 
 whatsoever I command you." 
 
 It is not my intention to go into particular specifi- 
 cation of the precepts of the gospel. They are much 
 better known than practised. The single point to 
 
HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 161 
 
 ■which I now invite your attention, is the inconsistency 
 of living according to the course of this world, while 
 w'e profess to acknowledge the authority of Christ. 
 The conduct which he requires of his disciples is dif- 
 ferent from that of the world in general; and that 
 the Christian name can be of no avail, except when 
 joined with Christian practice, is an obvious and indis- 
 putable truth. When I admit that Jesus Christ is a 
 Divine teacher, clothed with Divine authority, and 
 qualified to lead me to heaven and eternal glory, I 
 implicitly engage to regulate my conduct and temper 
 by the rules which he prescribes. And if it be not 
 my constant aim to live up to this engagement, I fall 
 under the cutting reproof, "Why call ye me Lord, 
 Lord, and keep not my sayings?" 
 
 Duplicity in religious concerns cannot be practised 
 with success ; for " all things are naked and open to 
 Him with whom we have to do." Now, any person 
 who reads the gospel of Christ with the least atten- 
 tion, must observe that we are there required to 
 exercise repentance towards God, and faith in the 
 Redeemer ; to renounce all sin ; to avoid conformity 
 to the world ; to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war 
 against the soul ; to be sober, and watch unto prayer ; 
 to set our affections on things above, and not on things 
 on the earth ; to have our conversation in heaven ; to 
 take up our cross, and follow Christ ; to break off all 
 connections and pursuits which impede our growth in 
 grace ; to lay aside every weight, and run the race 
 that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. These and 
 the like precepts, though not to be so rigorously inter- 
 14* 
 
162 HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 
 
 preted as to interfere with the social and active duties 
 of life, certainly require us to seek the glory of God 
 and the sanctification of our souls, in a course of con- 
 scientious obedience to Christ, and devotion to the 
 interests of his kingdom. 
 
 The religion of Christ is an active religion. It has 
 fair claims to our best affections; and it furnishes 
 employment for the longest life. Its blessed Author 
 went about doing good. He had no time to spend in 
 a state of indecision and hesitancy between duty and 
 folly, virtue and vice. And they that are joined to 
 the Lord are of one spirit. They resemble him in 
 temper and conduct. It is the law of his kingdom : 
 "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none 
 of his." I do not address myself to professed unbe- 
 lievers, whose hopes and wishes are bounded by the 
 narrow limits of this short life. The practice of such 
 persons may be consistent with their principles ; but 
 it is an awful consistency, in rejecting that life and 
 immortality which are brought to light in the gospel. 
 My aim is to correct a mistake too prevalent among 
 those who admit the truth of Christianity. The mis- 
 take to which I allude is this — that a kind of neutral- 
 ity in religion is wiser and safer than an open and 
 decided attachment to the cause of Christ. It is 
 alleged that a man may have faith quietly, and to 
 himself. Were this notion to prevail, it would inevi- 
 tably strip the Christian church of its visible form. 
 Had it obtained among the apostles and primitive 
 Christians, there would have been no ministry of 
 reconciliation; no churches, no baptism, no com- 
 
HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 163 
 
 munlon of the body and blood of Christ. We would 
 have had no assembling of ourselves together for 
 public worship, which St. Paul charges us not to 
 forget, though it is the manner of some to forget or 
 neglect. The truth is, this notion of having faith to 
 one's-self is, for the most part, intended as an apology 
 to conscience for being ashamed of the gospel of 
 Christ. He who has the words of eternal life, says : 
 "Ye are the light of the world: neither do men light 
 a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candle- 
 stick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the 
 house. Let your light so shine before men, that they 
 may see your good works, and glorify your Father 
 which is in heaven." 
 
 Another mistake, nearly allied to the one just no- 
 ticed, is, that a life not marked with any open vice, 
 cannot be a sinful life, and cannot fail to meet the 
 approbation of God. If the gospel required nothing 
 more than negative goodness, and had no respect to 
 the state of the heart, this opinion would be, at least, 
 plausible. But, on the principles of Christian morals, 
 to do nothing, is often to do a positive evil, and to 
 incur a positive punishment. The slothful servant, in 
 the parable, is pronounced wicked, and treated as 
 such. In the case of the barren fig-tree, also, our 
 Lord teaches, by a significant action, the same doc- 
 trine: "Cut it down." Why? Not because it bears 
 bad fruit; but because it bears none. The famous 
 Athenian lawgiver declared, that " to stand neuter in 
 dangerous commotions of the State, was a crime 
 against the State." The same principle is recognized 
 
164 HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE, 
 
 in the kingdom of Christ. " He that is not with me 
 is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, 
 scattereth abroad." 
 
 "Will ye also go away?" Many, from one pretence 
 and another, have turned their backs upon Christ, 
 determined to have nothing to do with him and his 
 religion. I now put the question to you, my hearers, 
 in his name. And should any of you feel inclined to 
 answer, Yes, I would submit to you a few previous 
 questions, to which I entreat you to pay serious atten- 
 tion. Are you sure that death is an eternal sleep ; 
 that this mortal shall not put on immortality; and 
 that you will never be roused by the voice of the 
 archangel, and the trump of God, to stand before the 
 judgment-seat of Christ? Or, if you believe in a 
 future state, are you fully satisfied that you need no 
 expiation of your sins ? Are you willing to appear 
 in the presence of your Maker and plead your own 
 cause, before inflexible justice and immaculate purity ? 
 Are you sure, after candid investigation, that the 
 Bible is a tissue of falsehood and cunningly devised 
 fables? Are you sure that Jesus Christ . . . But I 
 dare not proceed farther. If you are prepared to 
 answer these questions in the affirmative, then, in- 
 deed, to be consistent, you must go away. We will 
 follow you with the eye of compassion, and sound 
 after you this tender expostulation of Heaven's mercy: 
 *'Turn ye, turn ye; for why will ye die!" But I 
 hope in God, with Peter in the text you will all 
 answer, " To whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words 
 of eternal life." You believe that Jesus is the only 
 
HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 165 
 
 Saviour. You see no gleam of hope from any other 
 quarter. Receive, then, a short advice, intended to 
 assist you in making a right application and improve- 
 ment of our subject. 
 
 If you find yourselves to be sinners, helpless and 
 guilty, without righteousness or strength of your own ; 
 if you wish a happiness suited to the capacities of 
 immortal souls; if you perceive that Christ is such a 
 Saviour as you need, and that the truth of his gospel 
 is founded on such sort of evidence as no man on 
 earth was ever yet deceived by trusting to, in any 
 other case, then repose entire confidence in him. 
 Receive his doctrines in love. Question not the effi- 
 cacy, the all- sufficiency of his atonement. Cast your 
 polluted souls beneath the droppings of his blood, and 
 they shall be cleansed from all sin. Lay hold, by 
 faith, on his righteousness, and it shall be unto and 
 upon you for justification. " He that hath the Son of 
 God, hath life. There is now, therefore, no condem- 
 nation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not 
 after the flesh, but after the Spirit." So, also, in 
 regard to practice. If you feel that longing after 
 immortality which, supported by reason and confirmed 
 by revelation, more than intimates that you are chil- 
 dren of eternity; if, on comparing things temporal 
 with things eternal, you are convinced the pains and 
 pleasures of this life are not fit to be compared with 
 the rewards and punishments of the life to come, then 
 follow Christ, let who will go away from him. Prove 
 to your own satisfaction that your faith is a living, 
 victorious, Divine principle. Seek no compromise be- 
 
166 now TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. 
 
 tween the precepts of the gospel and the maxiiiis of 
 the world. Be not staggered at the question, " Have 
 any of the rulers believed on him?" Not many wise 
 men after the flesh, not many noble or mighty 
 are called; enough are called, however, to secure the 
 suffrages of intellects of the first order. If you 
 belong to a little flock, it is that little flock to which 
 it is the " Father's good pleasure to give the king- 
 dom." 
 
TEMPERANCE: 
 
 ITS NECESSITY AND OBLIGATION. 
 
 Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. 
 Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incor- 
 ruptible. — 1 Cor. ix. 25. 
 
 There is, in this passage of sacred Scripture, a mani- 
 fest allusion to the celebrated Isthmian games, which 
 were celebrated in the neighbourhood of Corinth. 
 The athletes, ^. ^., those who took part in the exercises 
 of the stadium, were required to observe the strictest 
 regimen in their meals and drinks. This was deemed 
 essential to the vigour and agility of their bodies; 
 and to this they cheerfully submitted, in the hope 
 of obtaining those honorary premiums which were 
 awarded to the successful competitor. Prom this 
 custom St. Paul draws an argument in favour of 
 that self-government and discipline of the passions 
 enjoined upon Christians, and which is so important 
 to the attainment of the prize of their high calling. 
 
 "Every man that striveth for the mastery is tem- 
 perate in all things." From the constitution of our 
 nature, temperance is indispensably necessary to suc- 
 cess in any enterprise. So judged the managers of 
 
168 NECESSITY AND OBLIGATION 
 
 these Grecian games; so judged the great apostle 
 of the Gentiles ; and we are sure that his judgment 
 was right, for it was formed under the influence of 
 the Spirit of truth. To give force to his argument 
 he goes on to remark, "Now they do it," i.e.^ these 
 combatants are temperate in all things "to obtain a 
 corruptible crown," a wreath composed of fading and 
 perishable leaves; "but we an incorruptible," a crown 
 of righteousness and glory, that fadeth not away. 
 The apostle's argument is this: If they who seek 
 the applause of their fellow mortals, and who strive 
 to gain an insignificant, fading crown, submit to be 
 temperate in all things ; if they observe the strictest 
 abstemiousness, renouncing every sensual indulgence 
 which tends to debilitate their bodily powers; if they 
 voluntarily endure hardships, and are content with 
 whatever kind of discipline may be deemed proper 
 to qualify them for "running so that they may 
 obtain ;" if they do all this, knowing, at the same 
 time, "that they who run in a race run all, but one 
 receiveth the prize;" shall not Christians, to whom 
 God opens the rich treasures of his grace, and to 
 whom he profi'ers glory, honour, and immortality, 
 be temperate in all things? Will not they give up 
 all corrupting gratifications, and mortify those lusts 
 of the flesh which war against the soul, to secure an 
 incorruptible crown, a sure and permanent inherit- 
 ance, commensurate with the existence, and suited 
 to the growing capacities of an immortal spirit? 
 Nothing is more reasonable, and it is as needful as 
 it is reasonable. It is the law of the Lord's house, 
 
OF TEMPERANCE. 169 
 
 a law which from which none of his disciples need 
 look for a dispensation. "If any man," says he, 
 "will come after me, let him deny himself, and take 
 up his cross, and follow me." 
 
 The duty inculcated in our text, my hearers, is 
 temperance — "temperance in all things." By which, 
 in its extended sense, I understand the right govern- 
 ment of our passions and appetites. That temper- 
 ance, or which is the same thing, self-government and 
 self-denial, is a Christian duty, none will dispute, 
 who understand the nature and design of Chris- 
 tianity. It is deplorable that any who admit the 
 obligation of the duty, should live regardless of its 
 dictates. But it is so. Christ is often wounded in 
 the house of his professed disciples; while his gospel 
 is unjustly charged with th^ir failings and their 
 crimes. To be temperate in all things is not, indeed, 
 an easy duty. In our fallen nature it meets with 
 a repellent principle, which, if a man be not in- 
 fluenced by that faith which brings all the powers 
 of the soul into subjugation to the laws of Jesus 
 Christ, will not only dispute its authority but utterly 
 reject its claims. Hence it comes to pass, that men 
 have the hardihood at once to deny their obligation 
 to be temperate, and turn away with scorn from the 
 religion which prescribes the duty. They allege that, 
 as our passions and animal desires form a part of our 
 nature, there can be no harm in gratifying them. 
 Our native propensities were intended to be indulged; 
 to indulge them, therefore, is but to obey the law of 
 our nature. This is plausible, but it is not sound 
 15 
 
170 NECESSITY AND OBLIGATION 
 
 reasoning. Let ns trj if we cannot detect its 
 sophistry. 
 
 To this end we propose, in the first place, to prove 
 that the necessity of temperance results from the 
 depravity of our nature. Secondly, that the exer- 
 cise of this virtue is favourable to happiness. Thirdly, 
 urge the motive presented in the latter clause of our 
 text, "now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, 
 but we an incorruptible." 
 
 I. The necessity of temperance results from the 
 depravity of our nature. A certain modern philoso- 
 pher, with much more of the pride than of the light 
 of philosophy, has ventured to make the following 
 assertion: "To imagine that the gratifying any of 
 the senses, or the indulging any delicacy in meats, 
 drinks, or apparel, is of itself a vice, can never enter 
 into a head that is not disordered by the frenzies of 
 a fanatical enthusiasm." This doctrine may go down 
 readily enough with those who are not in the habit 
 of distinguishing between sound and sense, between 
 bold assumption and solid argument. But it will not 
 satisfy a man of sobriety and discernment. It is 
 undeniable that the gospel of our salvation prohibits 
 intemperance under the most fearful penalty. The 
 laws of our Lord's kingdom are pointed and positive 
 on the subject, and are not to be disregarded with 
 impunity. "Avenge not yourselves; vengeance is 
 mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." "Therefore, 
 brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live 
 after the flesh ; for if ye live after the flesh ye shall 
 die; but if ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the 
 
OF TEMPERANCE. 171 
 
 deeds of the body ye shall live." Now it is not 
 supposable that our blessed Saviour would lay his 
 followers under any needless restraint. Indeed, he 
 tells us himself, that "his yoke is easy and his burden 
 light." That is, as easy and as light as our miserable 
 circumstances and his merciful design of purifying 
 us unto himself will admit of. Why then does he 
 require us to restrain, to deny, and govern our 
 natural propensities? Because we are depraved 
 creatures. Because, ever since the fall of Adam, 
 our passions and sensual appetites have exerted an 
 undue influence over our reason and conscience, and 
 aim at nothing short of the entire dominion of the 
 soul. 
 
 Let the fact, then, of man's depravity be admitted. 
 He is not upright; his mind is disordered. Sin has 
 produced anarchy and confusion in the soul. The pas- 
 sions and affections do not move in quiet subordina- 
 tion to the higher principles of reason and conscience. 
 We have evil desires and wayward propensities, which 
 will either govern us, or we must govern them. The 
 truth, my hearers, lies within a narrow compass, and 
 may be expressed in a few words. The heart of man 
 is depraved. This depravity consists very much in 
 the predominance of the inferior over the superior 
 powers of the mind. Reformation commences by the 
 restoration of reason to the throne, and conscience to 
 her due influence, the direction of the passions to 
 their proper objects, and the subjection of the whole 
 man to the law and authority of God. In effecting 
 this radical change in our minds, man's moral agency 
 
172 NECESSITY AND OBLIGATION 
 
 is not superseded. The sinner is still free.and account- 
 able; commanded to work out his own salvation with 
 fear and trembling, while God works in him both to 
 will and to do. Hence our obligation to be temperate 
 in all things, to control our passions, to restrain our 
 appetites, and abstain from fleshly lusts. Self-dis- 
 cipline must be maintained; and, however painful 
 and diflScult it may be, it is not to be given up. It is 
 salutary, it is necessary. The Saviour requires it, 
 not in the wantonness of power, but in the exercise of 
 his redeeming mercy. To the philosophical remark, 
 therefore, that there can be no harm in gratifying our 
 senses and appetites, because in so doing we obey the 
 law of our nature, we are prepared to reply, and the 
 reply is short. Were we upright, as God made man 
 at first, then virtue would consist in following our 
 natural inclinations, because these inclinations would 
 tend only to good ; but, as we are fallen and depraved 
 creatures, and as our inclinations are consequently 
 often wrong, and our passions always exorbitant in 
 their claims to indulgence, to follow our inclinations, 
 and yield to our passions, is the certain road to 
 complete degradation and everlasting ruin. Thus 
 much for the necessity of temperance. It arises out 
 of the corruption of the human heart. The remedy 
 which the Saviour, like a good physician, applies to 
 our souls is not more severe than the disease under 
 which we labour requires. 
 
 II. We proposed, secondly, to show that the exer- 
 cise of this virtue is favourable to happiness. And 
 this, we think, will not be a difficult task. Look at 
 
OP TEMPERANCE. 173 
 
 the miseries which its opposite, intemperance, pro- 
 duces. "From whence," saith the apostle, "come 
 wars and fightings among you ? Come they not hence, 
 even of your lusts, which war in your members?" 
 Whence, my hearers, come murders, robberies, oppres- 
 sion, and fraud? Whence come breaches of friend- 
 ship, violations of the marriage covenant, and the 
 seduction of the innocent? Whence comes the loss 
 of health, reputation, and fortune, to individuals? 
 Whence come the penury, the disorder, the feuds and 
 broils, the wretchedness, the infamy, of many fami- 
 lies, once the abode of peace, the pride of their neigh- 
 bours, and the hope of the church ? These are the 
 effects, these the trophies of head-strong passion and 
 unbridled appetite. In fact, my hearers, happiness is 
 not to be enjoyed under the misrule of intemperate 
 passions. 
 
 Consider the subject in what point of light you 
 please, this conclusion will force itself upon you with 
 irresistible evidence. Look at the man of an angry 
 and waspish temper. What is he? Can he be happy 
 whose bosom is a stranger to peace and the soothing 
 charities of social intercourse? Can he be happy 
 whose language and conduct are calculated to make 
 all around him miserable — the tyrant of his family, 
 and the scorn and scourge of his neighbourhood? 
 Take the envious man ; his soul is the seat of discon- 
 tent and malevolence; his brother's success is his 
 misfortune. A stranger to good-wiir and the sweet 
 sympathies of human kindness, he lives wretched, and 
 dies unloved and unlamented. The same may be said 
 15* 
 
174 NECESSITY AND OBLIGATION 
 
 of revenge, ambition, jealousy, and the other strong 
 passions. When indulged, they not only destroy the 
 peace of the mind that cherishes them, but spread 
 confusion and misery wide as the sphere of their in- 
 fluence. 
 
 The indulgence of our sensual appetites is equally 
 hostile to happiness. Take an instance. Behold the 
 man who is yielding to an inordinate fondness for 
 intoxicating liquors, and you see one who, in so far as 
 he gives in to this pernicious habit, resigns his health, 
 his peace, his intellect, his reputation, his usefulness, 
 and, though he may not suspect it, his hope of hea- 
 ven. It is painful to touch upon so humiliating a 
 subject in a Christian assembly, because it seems to 
 imply the existence of a vice among us, not only 
 unworthy the Christian name, but degrading and re- 
 proachful to the character of a man. But we dare 
 not forbear. The Spirit of truth has declared une- 
 quivocally, that no drunkard shall inherit the king- 
 dom of God. You see it is a sin which, if persisted 
 in, will exclude a man from heaven. 
 
 Perhaps there may be some among us who are falling 
 heedlessly and imperceptibly into this vice. Should 
 there be such, let them take seasonable warning. Let 
 them pause and repent, and correct a habit which, if 
 not speedily corrected, will fasten upon them as im- 
 movably as the Ethiopian's skin, or the leopard's 
 spots. Let those young men who seem to think it 
 allowable to indulge freely in the inebriating draught 
 on some rare and special occasions, be admonished, 
 that in tampering with drunkenness they are sporting 
 
OF TEMPERANCE. 175 
 
 with danger. That is an admirable precept, "Beware, 
 lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness 
 of sin." Sensual pleasure is one of sin's most insin- 
 uating and deceptive forms. In this character the 
 syren plays her part with fatal success. By her fas- 
 cinating arts she decoys and ensnares the unsuspect- 
 ing victim, while she conceals the hideous scorpions, 
 the quenchless fires, and deathless worm, that follow in 
 her train. 
 
 The time would fail us to do justice to the subject. 
 And, indeed, it is a subject on which argument would 
 be useless. Drunkenness is a vice of notorious and 
 preeminent turpitude. It preys alike upon body and 
 soul. It debases our nature; obscures the brightest 
 powers of intellect; robs a man of his best enjoy- 
 ments, and compels him at last to give up his hopes 
 of heaven. In short, the mischiefs of intemperance 
 are incalculable, and may be eternal. To guard 
 against these mischiefs, let us resolve, with St. Paul, 
 to keep under our body, and bring it into subjection. 
 There is no alternative; if we do not govern our 
 passions and appetites, they will govern and ruin us. 
 The task is a difficult one; but let us call in the aid 
 which Divine grace has provided for us. 
 
 Christianity has a right to require a stricter com- 
 mand over the lusts of the flesh, and a higher sanctity 
 of manners, than any other religion, because it affords 
 to its votaries ample assistance and glorious rewards. 
 "We can do all things through Christ, who strength- 
 eneth us." With this sure word of promise, who 
 
176 NECESSITY AND OBLIGATION 
 
 "would despair of success ? Can any one who believes 
 the gospel, account it useless to mortify the deeds of 
 the body, and restrain his sensual appetites, when 
 they who strive for the mastery in the most trivial 
 contests, and for the silliest rewards, submit to be 
 temperate in all things? "Now they do it to obtain 
 a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible." 
 
 III. The prize, my hearers, for which you are 
 called upon to strive, is worth contending for. It is 
 the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 
 It is the richest that Heaven can bestow. It implies 
 whatever is desirable, with whatever is suitable to 
 complete the felicity of an immortal soul. And the 
 question will soon be decided whether we shall obtain 
 it or not. Our characters are forming for eternity. 
 The irrevocable sentence will soon go forth, " He that 
 is filthy, let him be filthy still." Time rolls on like a 
 resistless torrent; the pleasures of sense will soon be 
 over. "The things which are seen are temporal, but 
 the things which are not seen are eternal." "Labour 
 not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which 
 endureth unto everlasting life." Corruptible crowns 
 wither on the brow, and blast the hopes of their vota- 
 ries. The voice of Divine mercy calls upon us to 
 choose the good part, that shall never be taken from 
 us — an incorruptible crown, a fulness of joy, an eter- 
 nal heaven. Let none say, despairingly. Our passions 
 have gained the mastery ; our habits of intemperance 
 have become fixed and unconquerable. Make the 
 attempt humbly, but resolutely, .and you will find 
 
OF TEMPERANCE. 177 
 
 Omnipotent grace sufficient for you. Your guilt may 
 be great, and your danger is certainly imminent ; but 
 the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin, and the 
 grace of God is sufficient to enable you to relinquish 
 all bad habits, and resist all temptations. And, 
 consider, I beseech you, the folly, the madness, of 
 expecting the heavenly prize, while you continue in 
 sin! Sin is a native of hell; and whomsoever it gov- 
 erns, it carries, in the end, to its own place. If ever 
 you are saved, you must part with all sin. So long 
 as you retain a relish for sinful indulgences, heaven, 
 where all is pure and holy, were you admitted there, 
 must be to you a place of bondage and intolerable 
 restraint. 
 
 As you would be happy, useful, and respected in 
 this world ; as you would wish to die in the exercise 
 of a good hope; as you would mingle in the songs 
 of the redeemed; as you would see God and your 
 Saviour, and be blessed in his presence for ever, "be 
 temperate in all things." My young friends, I have 
 brought this subject before you, not because I have 
 any reason to think that intemperance prevails among 
 you in any remarkable degree ; but because I know 
 that persons, at your age, and in your circumstances, 
 need to be seasonably and solemnly warned of its 
 baneful influence. It has ruined thousands, in rela- 
 tion to both worlds. That it may not ruin any of 
 you; that none of you may yield yourselves to its 
 degrading and accursed dominion, is my earnest 
 desire and prayer to God. Your safety will much 
 
178 NECESSITY AND OBLiaATION 
 
 depend on your steering clear of its first approaches. 
 For your assistance against this insidious enemy of 
 all righteousness, usefulness, and peace, let me submit 
 to you, in conclusion, two short pieces of advice. 
 
 1. Give your attention regularly to some useful 
 occupation. Idleness is the mother of a numerous 
 and hateful progeny of vices. It invariably nourishes 
 our worst and most dangerous passions, and almost 
 always induces intemperance of one sort or other. 
 If you yield yourselves to her soft embraces, she will 
 either lull you to sleep in the spring and seed-time of 
 of life, or drench you with the maddening draughts of 
 intoxication, as a miserable refuge for your ennui, or 
 the gnawings of an empty, besotted, unoccupied mind. 
 Those of you, therefore, who will soon have completed 
 your domestic training, will do well to bend your 
 minds to those studies and pursuits which have an 
 immediate bearing upon the business which you may 
 select. Remember that this life is short ; and in its 
 relation to that which is to come, it is too precious to 
 admit of our spending much of it in amusement, or 
 even in miscellaneous pursuits which have in view no 
 definite object. 
 
 2. If you wish to be temperate in all things, and in 
 all circumstances, and from right motives, ask of 
 God, with all importunity, and in the name of Christ, 
 that he will give you a holy heart, a tender sense of 
 duty, and a deep, fixed, and unconquerable abhor- 
 rence of sin, in its varied and deceitful forms. The 
 restraints of honour, of self-respect, of self-interest, 
 
OF TEMPERANCE. 179 
 
 may for awhile keep you from gross outbreakings of 
 sin; but, believe me, nothing, but the grace of God, 
 through the redemption that is in Christ, can reno- 
 vate your fallen nature, eflfectually rescue you from 
 the wiles of Satan, the wickedness of your own hearts, 
 and the snares of the world, and make you meet for 
 the inheritance of the saints in light. May God 
 bless you, and save you, to the praise of his glorious 
 grace ! 
 
A CONVENIENT SEASON 
 
 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to 
 come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; 
 when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. — Acts 
 xxiv. 25. 
 
 We have in these words something to admire, and 
 something to deplore. The conduct of the apostle 
 is admirable, that of Felix is deplorable. The former 
 is worthy to be imitated by the ministers of religion, 
 the latter should be carefully avoided by all men. 
 St. Paul now stood charged with the high crimes of 
 sedition, profanation of the temple, and sundry viola- 
 tions of the law of Moses. The high-priest, and 
 the Sanhedrim, the supreme ecclesiastical council of 
 the Jewish nation, were his prosecutors. Tertullus, 
 an insidious barrister, who seems to have been equally 
 regardless of humanity and truth, was employed to 
 manage their cause. Paul stood alone at the bar of 
 the Procurator, with whom it rested to condemn or 
 acquit him. What a temptation this to keep back 
 the solemn and awakening truths of the gospel ! In 
 such circumstances any but a good man would have 
 used flattery and artful management. But the cause 
 
A CONVENIENT SEASON. 181 
 
 in wliich the apostle was engaged needed none of tlie 
 helps which sin could afford. He preferred a good 
 conscience to the favour of man ; and faithfulness to 
 his adorable Master was too high a price to pay for 
 life itself. When permitted to speak in his own 
 defence, he declared his innocence, and challenged 
 his accusers to substantiate their allegations. He 
 affirmed that his religious opinions were perfectly 
 consistent with the writings of Moses and the pro- 
 phets; that his late journey to Jerusalem had been 
 for the purposes of charity and devotion; that his 
 entrance into the temple was attended with no tumul- 
 tuous proceedings; nor had he entertained any sedi- 
 tious designs against the civil authority or peace of 
 the State; protested his constant care to have been 
 to have a conscience void of offence towards God and 
 man ; and boldly asserted that his enemies could not 
 prove the things whereof they accused him. In, all 
 the firmness of conscious truth and rectitude, he 
 appeals to his persecutors, "Let these same here say, 
 if they have found any evil doing in me ; except it 
 be for this one voice that I uttered, standing among 
 them, Touching the resurrection of the dead, I am 
 called in question by you this day." After hear- 
 ing his defence, Felix, under pretence of hearing 
 farther evidence in the case, ordered the prisoner to 
 be held in safe keeping, with permission, in the mean 
 time, to receive the visits of his friends. 
 
 After certain days, the sacred historian informs 
 us, "Felix sent for Paul, and heard him concerning 
 the faith in Christ." The Roman governor, and 
 16 
 
182 A CONVENIENT SEASON. 
 
 the adulterous Drusilla, who was a Jewess, having 
 heard many rumours about Christianity, .were, it 
 seems, desirous, from motives of curiosity, to hear 
 what could be said in its favour by this extraordinary 
 man. Paul, always ready to publish and defend the 
 gospel, complied with their wishes. But his dis- 
 course proved to be of a very different kind, no doubt, 
 from what was expected. The historian may not 
 have recorded all that he said on the occasion. From 
 what is related, we find that Paul was a practical and 
 pointed preacher. To gratify an idle, speculative 
 curiosity, seems to have been regarded by him as an 
 unworthy aim. He kept in view the character and 
 conduct of his audience. Regardless of the trappings 
 of oratory, which often disguise the truth, and prevent 
 its effect by blunting its edge, his grand object in all 
 his discourses was to convict of sin and persuade to 
 holiness. 
 
 Accordingly, instead of entertaining his noble 
 auditory with an elaborate defence of the Christian 
 faith, he addresses them on subjects calculated to 
 alarm their fears, awaken in them a sense of guilt, 
 and produce a reformation in their sentiments and 
 manners. The character of Felix was notoriously 
 bad. Two historians, Tacitus and Josephus, agree in 
 representing him as a man of cruelty and wickedness. 
 Licentiousness and avarice constituted the odious and 
 conflicting features of his private character. His 
 government was a continued scene of injustice and 
 oppression. Of the wicked companion of this wicked 
 man nothing need be said. She was the lawful wife 
 
A CONVENIENT SEASON. 183 
 
 of Azizus, king of Emesa, whom she abandoned. 
 Her sin has long been proverbial ; so that, by common 
 consent, Drusilla is but another name for whatever 
 is most depraved and hateful in the conduct of her 
 sex. Such were the principal persons before whom 
 the apostle was now called to speak. And it will be 
 readily admitted that the topics on which he chose 
 to expatiate, were not at all calculated to flatter or 
 conciliate the favour of his hearers. He reasoned of 
 righteousness, before the man whose public character 
 was tarnished with cruelty and oppression; of tem- 
 perance and judgment to come, before those who were 
 living in a state of unblushing incontinence, unmind- 
 ful of death, and a day of fearful retribution. Admi- 
 rable example of Christian heroism and ministerial 
 fidelity! In the fervour of his zeal for the honour 
 of his Lord and the salvation of souls, he forgets 
 that he is a prisoner, and loses sight of the effect 
 which the plainness and pungency of his reproofs 
 might have upon upon his personal safety. Here is 
 the noble spirit that should influence all who preach 
 the gospel of Christ. 
 
 Personalities are never to be used in the pulpit. 
 They invariably offend the pious, and confirm the 
 prejudices of the wicked against the cause of truth 
 and goodness. But he who does not study the cha- 
 racter of his hearers; who does not adapt his style 
 to their capacities, and level his discourses against 
 the sins to which they are addicted, greatly mistakes 
 the nature of his business, and falls far short of the 
 grand design of the sacred ministry. There is a wide 
 
184 A CONVENIENT SEASON. 
 
 difference between respect for an audience, and a 
 temporizing regard to the persons of men. The 
 former is never to be neglected. The latter is wholly 
 inadmissible. Such appear to have been the views 
 of St. Paul on this subject. Accordingly, we find 
 him everywhere, even in circumstances of external 
 danger, with the utmost plainness, urging all men, 
 both high and low, to abandon their sins, and "flee 
 from the wrath to come." This method is to be pre- 
 ferred, not only because it was the method of Christ 
 and his apostles, but also because it is the most suc- 
 cessful. It is not always, however, attended with 
 success. For, my brethren, unless the word of life 
 be carried to the heart by a Divine influence, the 
 eloquence and fervour of an angel would be of no 
 avail to the saving of a soul. Of this fact we have 
 a striking exemplification before us. What effect 
 the reasoning of Paul had upon Drusilla we are not 
 informed. On Felix it had a powerful effect. In 
 him, though a great sinner, conscience still retained 
 a degree of sensibility, which had he cherished, and 
 had he yielded to the impressions of sacred truth, his 
 trembling might have issued in a saving change of 
 heart and of life. But he loved his sins, and could not 
 consent to part with them at present. The partial 
 glimpse which the apostle's reasoning had given him 
 of his guilt and danger, filled him with fearfulness, 
 and he hastened to bring the interview to a close. 
 The faithful monitor for whom he had sent, that he 
 might hear him concerning the faith in Christ, was 
 interrupted and dismissed with a "Go thy way for 
 
A CONVENIENT SEASON. 185 
 
 this time; when I have a convenient season I will 
 call for thee." 
 
 Infatuated man! why not hear the messenger of 
 God through, and decide for yourself upon the ques- 
 tion respecting the faith in Christ without farther 
 delay? No doubt his numerous and weighty engage- 
 ments of a secular nature, were pleaded as a sufficient 
 apology for the postponement of concerns which 
 reason and conscience told him demanded his most 
 serious attention. But the momentous affairs of sal- 
 vation and eternity were, for a while at least, to give 
 place to the trifles of time ; perhaps the gratification 
 of a sensual appetite, or the attainment of some ima- 
 ginary good, incompatible with the Christian temper. 
 What an affecting picture of the folly and depravity 
 of man! "When I have a convenient season, I will 
 call for thee." 
 
 And did Felix ever find this convenient season, on 
 which he hazarded his soul, and the imperishable glo- 
 ries of heaven ? That he did, there is not a particle of 
 evidence to be found in the history of his after con- 
 duct. We find him, indeed, conferring with Paul 
 after this, but it was in hopes of obtaining money, for 
 which he would have released him. We hear no 
 more of his trembling, or wishing to hear anything 
 farther respecting the faith in Christ. Disappointed in 
 his avaricous views, he resolved, in all the wantonness 
 of power, to hold in imprisonment for two years, a 
 man against whom had not been proved the semblance 
 of a crime ; and, at last, upon being recalled from the 
 government for his own crimes, he left Paul bound, 
 16- 
 
186 A CONVENIENT SEASON. 
 
 from the base motive of courting the favour and grati- 
 fying the malice of the Jews. What complicated 
 iniquity — what deliberate wickedness ! How affecting 
 to observe, that the deep impressions of truth made on 
 the heart of a sinner sometimes tend, through his 
 own neglect, to aggravate his guilt and prepare him 
 for the fearful doom of being beaten with many 
 stripes ! 
 
 My hearers, I have presented to you the conduct of 
 Felix, not for your imitation, but for your avoidance. 
 You see he promised w^ell. The force of gospel truth 
 reached his conscience, and he trembled at the danger 
 of his state. But refusing to give due attention to 
 the subject at the proper time, his good impressions 
 gradually wore off, and he became hardened through 
 the deceitfulness of sin. His case is recorded for 
 our admonition. We have a solemn lesson to learn 
 from it. It teaches us that procrastination in reli- 
 gious concerns is a destroyer of souls. This is a spe- 
 cies of self-deception which thousands are practising 
 on themselves, in the face of Scripture, conscience, 
 and reason. It is a kind of madness common to per- 
 sons of all ranks, and at every period of life. The 
 young cannot become religious on account of this, 
 that, and the other frivolous accomplishment, or 
 fashionable amusement, which engages their pursuit, 
 or occupies their mind. The middle aged, full of 
 business, eagerly grasping at the world's treasures and 
 distinctions, cannot embrace the faith in Christ, be- 
 cause they have no time to spare for reading, medita- 
 tion, prayer, and the duties of piety. The old and 
 
A CONVENIENT SEASON. 18t 
 
 infirm cannot, because in them the habits of sin have 
 grown inveterate. By each class, in turn, the mes- 
 sages of grace and the awakening impression of God's 
 word are dismissed with the maxim of Felix, " Go thy 
 way for this time; when I have a convenient season, 
 I will call for thee." How shall we account for so 
 general a compliance with the spirit of a maxim so 
 manifestly false and delusive ? Undoubtedly its source 
 is to be found in the extreme depravity of the human 
 heart. By nature we do not love to retain God in 
 our thoughts; for the exalted pleasures of devotion 
 we have no relish. The things of the Spirit are fool- 
 ishness to us; nor can we discover their glory and 
 excellence, because they are spiritually discerned. 
 Hence the common preference given to the pleasures 
 of sin. And in the indulgence of this depraved bias, 
 our fears are quieted by the fallacious opinion that, 
 when the pleasures of the world abandon us, we can 
 easily obtain religion enough to save us from hell, and 
 furnish us with a title to heaven. But really this 
 opinion ought to be given up, at least by those who 
 believe the Scriptures speak truth. To become reli- 
 gious, in the gospel sense, is to become a new crea- 
 ture ; to undergo an entire change of heart, and enter 
 on a new course of life. The lively oracles of God 
 tell us that we are "dead in trespasses and sins," and 
 ascribe our regeneration expressly and exclusively to 
 God, who worketh in us, both to will and to do of his 
 good pleasure. 
 
 It is said by some that a man may become religious 
 whenever he pleases. There cannot be found a more 
 
188 A CONVENIENT SEASON. 
 
 absurd and deceptive sophism; for the will is the seat 
 of human depravity ; and if not operated upon by a 
 Divine influence, it must eternally retain its perverse- 
 ness and opposition to God. This fact furnishes no 
 solid objection to the use of means. The same pas- 
 sage of sacred writ that assures us it is God that 
 worketh in us, commands us to work out our own sal- 
 vation, with fear and trembling. The gospel is to be 
 preached, the word is to be read, and prayer is to be 
 made without ceasing. The good seed is to be sown, 
 Paul is to plant and ApoUos to water ; but it is God's 
 prerogative to give the increase. There is a certain 
 course of conduct in which the Divine blessing is to be 
 expected, and he who does not pursue this course may 
 look for a curse. The man who neglects the means 
 of grace, under pretext of not being able to change 
 his heart, not only challenges the displeasure of his 
 Maker, but ofi'ers an insult to his own understanding, 
 and outrages common sense. From our complete 
 dependence on God for a right temper of mind, the 
 plain and legitimate inference is, that we should seek 
 it of him in the way he has prescribed. 
 
 Suffer me, then, in the conclusion of this discourse, 
 to submit to you a few remarks on the unreasonable- 
 ness, ingratitude, and danger of waiting for a more 
 convenient season than the present, to embrace the 
 Saviour and enter cordially into his service. I doubt 
 not that to many of you these remarks will not apply, 
 because you have made up your minds and chosen the 
 good part. But, if there be any whose consciences 
 tell them they are not, in religion, what they ought to 
 
A CONVENIENT SEASON. 189 
 
 be; any who have hitherto put off their convictions 
 with a promise to call for them at some future period, 
 their serious attention is affectionately solicited to the 
 following considerations. 
 
 First, this procrastinating spirit — this waiting for a 
 more convenient" season to become religious, is unrea- 
 sonable. What does the word of God teach you — that 
 word which you cannot reject without casting away 
 with it the hope of immortality ? It teaches you that, 
 by nature, you are under the condemnatory sentence 
 of God's law; that, except you repent, you shall perish ; 
 that, without holiness, no man shall the Lord ; that, 
 except you are born again, you cannot enter into the 
 kingdom of God ; that you go astray from the womb ; 
 that, till you believe and obey the gospel, you have 
 neither part nor lot in the great salvation. These things 
 you admit, and yet when God, by his word, his provi- 
 dence, or Spirit, calls you to reflection and thought- 
 fulness, you say, " Go thy way for this time ; when I 
 have a convenient season, I will call for thee." Is 
 not this unwise in the extreme? You do not act thus in 
 other concerns of far less moment. When taken sick, 
 you lose no time, spare no pains, to have the disease 
 checked at its commencement. Should a skilful phy- 
 sician offer you his services, at such a crisis, would 
 you put him off, as you do that Divine Saviour 
 who proffers to heal all your diseases, and restore to 
 your soul perfect moral health and vigour ? Suppose 
 an estate left you by the bequest of a friend, and you 
 are informed, that unless measures are taken to get 
 possession of it immediately, you will be in danger of 
 
190 A CONVENIENT SEASON. 
 
 losing it, would you say to the friendly adviser, " Go 
 thy way, it will be time enough at a more convenient 
 season"? The answer is obvious. And is the pearl 
 of great price so trifling an object in your estimation, 
 that you are willing to risk it on an imaginary conve- 
 nient season which you may not live to see? Do you 
 not know that the present is the only time you have 
 any right to count upon ? The future belongs to God, 
 and he tells you expressly, that "now is the accepted 
 time, and day of salvation." Is happiness your aim? 
 And do you not know that for the attainment of this 
 object of universal pursuit, the advantages are on the 
 side of piety, with regard to both worlds ? " Godli- 
 ness is profitable unto all things, having promise of 
 the life that now is, and of that which is to come." 
 Wisdom's ways are pleasant, and her end glory and 
 honour. But the way of transgressors is hard, and 
 their end infamy and ruin. Are you afraid, then, of 
 being safe and happy too soon? Can you, without 
 incurring the imputation of folly, continue longer 
 feeding on husks, and rejecting the food of angels, 
 that bread of life which cometh down from heaven ? 
 
 Secondly, there is extreme ingratitude in post- 
 poning the claims of religion. That son who riots on 
 the bounty, disobeys the commands, and presumes on 
 the clemency of a kind and indulgent parent, is justly 
 considered disingenuous and wicked. He who can 
 trifle with parental solicitude and kindness, must be 
 in the last stage of depravity. Are you, then, under 
 no obligations to the Father of mercies ? Your sin has 
 rendered you obnoxious to his wrath, and he might 
 
A CONVENIENT SEASON. 191 
 
 ong ago have cast you off as cumberers of his ground; 
 but, instead of this, he has rescued you from a thou- 
 sand dangers, and provided for you a thousand unme- 
 rited and unsolicited comforts. Through all the 
 windings of a prodigal life, he has commissioned mes- 
 senger after messenger to pursue you, and give you 
 assurance of his tender regard, and readiness to 
 receive you back again to the honours and privileges 
 of his house. Often as you have rejected his author- 
 ity, and refused to subnait to his wise and gentle con- 
 trol, still he is reluctant to abandon you; and while 
 you are making haste to get beyond the reach of his 
 voice, he sends after you this heart-melting expostula- 
 tion of mercy: "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? 
 How shall I deliver thee, Judah?" "Turn ye, turn 
 ye, for why will ye die?" 
 
 And can you treat the kindly counsels of such a 
 Parent with coldness and neglect? Have you not 
 grieved his Spirit and exercised his patience long 
 enough? You intend returning to your duty, and 
 hope for a restoration to his favour, when your con- 
 venient season arrives; but after so long a course of 
 disobedience, how will you approach him? What 
 excuse will you offer for contempt of authority and 
 abuse of mercy ? Will you tell him, that because of 
 the freeness of his grace and compassion, you ven- 
 tured deliberately to try his forbearance; that from 
 his overflowing goodness, you took encouragement to 
 continue longer in sin than you would have done, had 
 he been a hard master, and strict to mark iniquity ? 
 0, what disingenuousness, what presumption, what 
 
192 A CONVENIENT SEASON. 
 
 blackness of ingratitude is this ! How can you trifle 
 with the mercy on which you are dependent for life 
 and salvation ? 
 
 Consider, in the last place, the danger of putting 
 oif the things which belong to your everlasting peace. 
 As the path of the just shineth more and more to the 
 perfect day, so evil men wax worse and worse. It is 
 a fearful truth, taught in Scripture, and confirmed by 
 experience. The habit of sinning may become uncon- 
 querable. What says the word of God? "Can the 
 Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? 
 Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do 
 evil." What says your own experience? Do not 
 some of you now listen, with indifference, to Divine 
 truths, which once produced in you the tenderest 
 emotions, and the fullest purposes of amendment? 
 And is there no danger of the gospel proving to you 
 a savour of death unto death? Will the Redeemer 
 always knock at the door of your hearts? Has not 
 God forewarned you, that his Spirit shall not always 
 strive with man? "Ephraim is joined to his idols; 
 let him alone." This tremendous sentence passed, 
 the case of the impenitent sinner is hopeless, and 
 nothing remains but a fearful looking for of judgment 
 and fiery indignation. 
 
 Now, admit the possibility that God may leave you 
 to fill up the measure of your iniquity; that he may 
 withdraw from you the awakening and regenerating 
 influence of his Holy Spirit ; that he may leave you 
 to your refuges of lies; and how can you neglect 
 religion in this day of your merciful visitation ? Hear 
 
A CONVEI^'IENT SEASON. 193 
 
 the compassionate Saviour's lamentation over that 
 devoted city, once the glory of the whole earth, but 
 whose destruction admonishes us to beware lest a pro- 
 mise of entering into rest being left us, any of us 
 should seem to come short of it: "0 Jerusalem, Jeru- 
 salem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest 
 them that are sent unto thee ; how often would I have 
 gathered thy children together, even as a hen gather- 
 eth her chickens under her wings ; and ye would not ! 
 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate!" The 
 things which belong to your peace are hid from your 
 eyes! 
 
 Dear brethren, think not that these are the repre- 
 sentations of a disordered imagination. They are the 
 words of truth and soberness; let them sink down 
 into your hearts. Be admonished to give all diligence 
 to make your calling and election sure. "He that 
 hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith 
 unto the churches." "Behold, now is the accepted 
 time ! Behold, now is the day of salvation !" " What- 
 soever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; 
 for there is no knowledge, nor device, nor wisdom, in 
 the grave, whither thou goest." 
 
 IT 
 
THE HAPPY MAN 
 
 Blessed is the man that walketli not in the counsel of the nngodly, 
 nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the 
 Bcornful. — Psalm i. 1. 
 
 This Psalm seems to have been designed as a 
 preface to the whole book. Like the sermon on the 
 mount, it begins with a benediction. It establishes a 
 marked distinction between the righteous and the 
 wicked, and sets before us, in striking contrast, the 
 felicity of the one, and the misery and ultimate ruin 
 of the other. The character of the happy man is 
 described, first, negatively. "Blessed," or, as the 
 word signifies, happy ^ "is the man that walketh not in 
 the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way 
 of sinners, nor sitteth in the'^seat of the scornful." 
 Here is what may be called the climax of wickedness ; 
 beginning in a want of suitable sentiments towards 
 God, and terminating in open contempt for his au- 
 thority and grace. 
 
 By the ungodly, in this gradation, we understand 
 those persons who, in the Scripture sense of the 
 phrase, live without God in the world; persons who, 
 though they may be honest and humane in their 
 intercourse with their fellow-men, are, nevertheless, 
 
THE HAPPY MAN. 195 
 
 destitute of evangelical faith and piety. They acknow- 
 ledge the existence of a God, and a future state of 
 rewards and punishments. They abhor vice, applaud 
 virtue, are strenuous advocates, and, in some instan- 
 ces, examples of good morals, so far as the social 
 duties are concerned. But still they are ungodly. 
 They favour the cause of morality, not so much from 
 a regard to the authority and glory of the Creator, 
 as from a conviction of its salutary influence in pro- 
 moting the peace of society, and the general happi- 
 ness of human life. The distinguishing principles of 
 revealed religion are neither understood nor relished 
 by them. The Bible account of man's apostasy, 
 guilt, and dependence on free grace, for his recovery 
 from the pollution and dominion of sin; the necessity 
 of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, of faith in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, of pardon through the sacrifice of 
 his blood, and justification by the merit of his right- 
 eousness, are doctrines with which they have no 
 experimental acquaintance, and for which they enter- 
 tain no serious or reverential regard. Accustomed to 
 "think more highly of themselves than they ought to 
 think," they cannot readily give in to the prophet's 
 declaration, " The heart is deceitful above all things, 
 and desperately wicked" — nor to the apostle's, "The 
 carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not sub- 
 ject to the law of God, neither, indeed, can be." 
 Self-complacent and wise in their own conceits, they 
 are strangers to that humility and self-abasement 
 which the gospel inculcates. Having never been 
 transformed by the renewing of their mind, they 
 
196 THE HAPPY MAN. 
 
 know nothing of that joj in the Holy Ghost, of that 
 communion with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus 
 Christ, which the sacred Scriptures represent as at 
 once the evidence, the glory, and the privilege of 
 vital godliness. Their views of Divine Providence 
 are vague and inefficient. Kegarding it as general, 
 not condescending to individual concerns, they find 
 hut little inducement to pray, or acknowledge God in 
 the common events and duties of life. Thus, they 
 live without God : he has no place in their affections. 
 They feed upon his bounty from day to day; but 
 render him no thankful acknowledgments. Their 
 plans, their wishes, and their hopes are all worldly, 
 selfish, and contracted. In short, they are the 
 ungodly, who, "through the pride of their hearts, will 
 not seek after God." 
 
 It is easy to see that the counsel or advice which 
 such persons might give on religious subjects would 
 not accord with the dictates of Scripture. However 
 plausible, philosophic, and seemingly rational, its 
 direct tendency would be to flatter the native vanity 
 of our hearts, and keep us from the Saviour, under 
 the delusive idea that we stand in no need of his sal- 
 vation. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the 
 counsel of the ungodly." He who would keep himself 
 unspotted from the world^ and obtain an interest in 
 the Christian plan of redemption ; he who would wish 
 to experience the renovating grace of the gospel, and 
 secure a part in the inheritance of the saints in light, 
 had need to beware of the "wise, the scribe, and the 
 disputer of this world." "The wisdom of the world 
 
THE HAPPY MAN. 19T 
 
 is foolishness with God." "Godliness is profitable 
 unto all things; having promise of the life that now 
 is, and of that which is to come." "The Lord hath 
 set apart him that is godly for himself — "but the 
 waj of the ungodly shall perish" ! 
 
 "Nor standeth in the way of sinners." Here is 
 the second step in the downward road of sin. By 
 sinners, in this connection, we understand the openly 
 vicious, in contradistinction to the mere moralist, who, 
 though destitute of saving grace, is often a useful 
 member of society. The waT/ of sinners means their 
 practice, and to stand in their way, is to join them in 
 their fleshly indulgences and evil deeds. Happy the 
 man that shuns their company, and loiters not in the 
 place of their concourse! Vice, however commonly 
 practised, has few advocates. Its influence is so 
 palpably destructive of the peace, happiness, and dig- 
 nity of mankind, as well in their individual capacity, 
 as in their social state, that no person of common 
 sense will venture deliberately to vindicate the way of 
 sinners. But alas ! what numbers there are who 
 connive at it, and occasionally, at least, partake of its 
 forbidden fruits and fancied pleasures ! This is mat- 
 ter of deepest regret to the friends of piety and good 
 morals. Solitary wickedness must, necessarily, be 
 limited in its pernicious eff'ects. Public sentiment, 
 decidedly and strongly expressed, would soon drive it 
 back to its lurking-places, where, deprived of nutri- 
 ment, it must pine away and die. But if we stand in 
 the way of sinners — if we associate with them now 
 and then, though with no intention of continuing in 
 17* 
 
198 THE HAPPY MAN. 
 
 their society, we thereby give them countenance ; we 
 practically say to them, " Your way is good, and safe 
 enough; we should have no objections to going all 
 lengths with you, did our circumstances permit." Is 
 not this to bid the wicked God-speed? Do we not 
 thus become partakers of their sins, and accessory to 
 their ruin? 
 
 There is an abominable sentiment, which passes 
 by far too current even with men who are not 
 remarkably deficient in their moral deportment. It 
 is this: "Some bad practices, or sinful indulgences, 
 may be encouraged, or, at least, connived at, with a 
 view to prevent greater evils." Here are certain sins, 
 prohibited indeed by laws both human and Divine, 
 but they must be spared, lest when removed some- 
 thing worse may occupy their place. This is one of 
 the devil's most ingenious maxims. It is a maxim 
 that operates immeasurable mischief. It contains 
 an apology for whatever vice happens, for the time 
 being, to be fashionable and prevalent. It contri- 
 butes largely to perpetuate and screen several sins 
 of a scarlet colour and crimson hue ; sins punishable 
 by the laws of the land, and which, therefore, if per- 
 mitted to pass unpunished, become the sins of the 
 land, and provoke the just judgments of Heaven. 
 Christian morality knows nothing about sparing one 
 class of sins for the sake of keeping out others. It 
 knows no necessary moral evils which it does not 
 propose to remedy. St. Paul's charge is, "Have no 
 fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but 
 rather reprove them." 
 
THE HAPPY MAN. 199 
 
 But he who stands in the way of sinners not only 
 encourages them in their evil deeds, but places him- 
 self voluntarily under a course of training for the 
 seat of the scornful. That "evil communications 
 corrupt good manners," is an article of inspired truth, 
 confirmed by the experience of ages. Society pro- 
 duces a similarity of manners, with much the same 
 certainty and uniformity, that consanguinity does a 
 family likeness in the size, complexion, and features 
 of the body. It is on this principle that Solomon 
 declares, "A companion of fools shall be destroyed." 
 Voluntary association supposes a congeniality of dis- 
 position; and all men have naturally a sinful pro- 
 pensity, which only wants occasion and a little 
 excitement to call it forth into action. Should it 
 be asked here, whether we may not become Chris- 
 tians by imitating the pious, and frequenting their 
 company, we answer, no: because in this case their 
 exists no congeniality of disposition. "That which 
 is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is 
 born of the Spirit is Spirit." There is, indeed, a 
 form of godliness, which may be assumed or acquired 
 by imitation; but the power, the transforming, the 
 sanctifying, the elevating power of true religion, is 
 of supernatural origin. The new man in Christ is 
 not self-created. "By grace are ye saved, through 
 faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of 
 God." Good men, however, possessing in common 
 a gracious principle, though in unequal degrees, 
 may derive great benefit from associating. "Iron 
 
200 THE HAPPY MAN. 
 
 sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the counte- 
 nance of his friend." Prov. xxvii. 17. 
 
 Brethren of the same family, dwelling together 
 in unity, may be greatly helpful to each other. 
 They may exhort, comfort, encourage, and provoke 
 one another to love and good works. The social 
 principle is the same in the wicked; but it operates 
 in a different direction. The use which they make 
 of it, is to banish the fear of God, and stifle the voice 
 of conscience. Their aim is to keep each other in 
 countenance, while fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. 
 "Come," say they, "let us eat, and drink, and be 
 merry; let us deck ourselves with rose-buds, ere they 
 be withered; let us indulge every passion, and give 
 care and thoughtfulness to the wind." 
 
 To the human heart, already predisposed to every 
 moral malady, such language is generally irresistible. 
 And many, very many have been lured on, by pro- 
 mises of liberty and pleasure, to their utter and ever- 
 lasting undoing. In fact, my hearers, the only safe 
 maxim in regard to criminal association is, "Touch 
 not, taste not, handle not." "The way of sinners" is 
 down hill. If you associate with the profane, you 
 will soon adopt their dialect ; if you hang around the 
 gambling table, you will soon be a gambler ; if you 
 visit the dram shop, you cherish an appetite that 
 will issue in drunkenness ; one violation of the Sab- 
 bath paves the way for another, and another still 
 more flagrant; if you frequent the theatre, and 
 acquire a relish for its entertainments, you will soon 
 disrelish the exercises of God's house; for they are 
 
THE HAPPY MAN. 201 
 
 contrary the one to the other. Let all, then, hut 
 especially the young and inexperienced adventurer 
 into life, listen with reverence to the monitory dic- 
 tates of heavenly wisdom: "My son, if sinners entice 
 thee, consent thou not; walk not thou in the way 
 with them; refrain thy foot from their path; for 
 their feet run to evil, and make haste to- shed blood. 
 Shun the house of the strange woman ; it is the ante- 
 chamber of hell; it inclineth unto death; none that 
 go unto her return again; neither take they hold of 
 the paths of life." Prov. i. and ii. "Blessed is the 
 man who standeth not in the way of sinners." 
 
 "Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." The 
 scornful are those monsters in the moral world who 
 set their face against the heavens, and treat with 
 contempt and levity the awful realities of religion and 
 eternity; and to sit in their seat, is to join them in. 
 their low and blasphemous ribaldry. This is the last, 
 the lowest, and the most hopeless stage of human 
 infamy and folly. Few, one would fondly hope, ad- 
 venture, in this enlightened age, to scoff at the well- 
 authenticated and long-tried truths of the Christian 
 faith. The being and providence of God are so 
 clearly apparent, in the visible creation, and in the 
 great events of the present age, that none but a fool 
 would be guilty of saying in his heart, " There is no 
 God." And the truth of Christianity is attested by 
 such a cloud of witnesses, and strikes the candid mind 
 with so much force of evidence, that professed unbe- 
 lief seems to have no rational ground to stand on. 
 We are forewarned, however, that there should be 
 
202 THE HAPPY MAN. 
 
 "scoflfers in the last days, walking after their own 
 lusts." 2 Pet. iii. 3. 
 
 It is pleasing to observe that infidelity has no indi- 
 vidual subsistence given it in the system of prophecy. 
 "It is not a beast; but a mere putrid excrescence, 
 which, though it may diffuse death through every vein 
 of the body over which it grows, yet shall die along 
 with it." Its enormities effect its own overthrow. 
 Indeed, it is impossible that a system which wages war 
 with the good sense, the order, the refinement, the 
 charity and civilization of the world, should long 
 escape the execration and contempt of all honest and 
 discerning men. "It is, in no shape, formed for per- 
 petuity," says a learned and pious writer, (Hall;) 
 "sudden in its rise and impetuous in its progress, it 
 resembles a mountain torrent, which is loud, filthy, 
 .and desolating; but being fed by no perennial spring, 
 is soon drained off, and disappears. We flatter our- 
 selves, its day is near a close ; and that it will never 
 again assume the attitude of an assailant. That reli- 
 gious and generous influence which now pervades 
 every section of the habitable globe, which is sending 
 the heralds of the cross to and fro; which is giving 
 the lively oracles of revealed truth to all nations in 
 their own tongues, reminds us of the angel in the 
 Apocalypse, 'flying through the midst of heaven, 
 having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that 
 dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, 
 and tongue, and people; saying with a loud voice, 
 Tear God, and give glory to him ; for the hour of his 
 judgment is come; worship him that made heaven and 
 earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.' '* 
 
THE HArPY MAN. 203 
 
 To embrace the principles of infidelity, and become 
 scoffers of Divine things, is to sacrifice our peace of 
 mind and hope of immortality to the dreams of a dis- 
 tempered brain ; it is to throw away the refined plea- 
 sures of devotion and the ineffable comforts of faith 
 in a risen Saviour, for the sordid gratification of appe- 
 tites and passions, at once debasing to all that is 
 noble, and destructive to whatever is cheering in the 
 character and prospects of man. The man who 
 rejects and scoffs at the gospel of Jesus Christ, for- 
 sakes his own mercies, and seals his own ruin. He 
 scorns that scheme of redeeming grace, which the 
 Scriptures reveal, without pretending to have dis- 
 covered any other way of pardon and acceptance with 
 God. He aims, with a sort of wanton inhumanity, to 
 extinguish the light of the Sun of Righteousness gra- 
 ciously vouchsafed to guide us to heaven. He spurns 
 and strikes from his lips the only cup of consolation 
 put into the hand of fallen man, to soothe the broken 
 spirit amid that flood of sorrow and wretchedness 
 with which sin has deluged our guilty world. He dis- 
 credits the testimony of the only wise God, corrobo- 
 rated by a thousand undeniable facts ; he tramples on 
 the blood of atonement; challenges the wrath of hea- 
 ven; turns away from Him who has the words of 
 eternal life, and resolves to die in his sins, cherishing 
 the delusive, damning hope, that death is an eternal 
 Bleep. Verily, " This is the condemnation, that light 
 hath come into the world, but men love darkness 
 rather than light, because their deeds are evil." 
 
 As you would escape this fearful condemnation, 
 
204 THE HAPPY MAN. 
 
 embrace the truth, as it is in Jesus. "He is the 
 way, the truth, and the life." Neither is there salva- 
 tion in -any other. His gospel sets before you the 
 only good hope. Lay hold of it. His cross is the 
 tree of life; his blood cleanseth from all sin; and his 
 righteousness is unto and upon all them that believe. 
 taste and see that the Lord is gracious. Blessed 
 are all they that put their trust in him ! 
 
 We may infer from this subject, the importance of 
 a speedy and unreserved devotion of our hearts to the 
 Lord. Evil men wax worse and worse. The moral 
 malady of our nature becomes more and more invete- 
 rate and alarming, till its power is broken by the 
 regenerating grace of the gospel. He who walks in 
 the counsel of the ungodly, walks in the direct and 
 downward road to the seat of the scornful. Believe 
 it, till you embrace the Redeemer by a true faith and 
 devote yourselves to his service, you recede from the 
 path of life, and forsake your own mercies. Multi- 
 tudes of mankind become confirmed infidels through 
 negligence, and stupid inattention to the high claims 
 and impressive calls of the gospel. They indulge 
 their dreams of a more convenient season to become 
 religious ; they tamper with the remonstrances of con- 
 science; listen to the maxims of the ungodly, and 
 linger about the haunts of sinners, till the long in- 
 sulted Spirit of grace leaves them to fill up the mea- 
 sure of their iniquity; and then is brought to pass 
 the saying that is written, "Ephraim is joined to his 
 idols; let him alone!" 
 
THE GOOD OLD WAY. 
 
 Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the 
 old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall 
 find rest for your souls. — Jeremiah vi. 16. 
 
 Mankind are very apt to be captivated with new 
 things, or ingenious discoveries. Indeed, the love of 
 novelty is a constituent principle of the human mind ; 
 and, while restricted to its proper province, it is not 
 only innocent, but useful. It prompts to industrious 
 enterprise, and prevents that morbid and inglorious 
 listlessness which makes man a burden to himself and 
 a nuisance to society. It has also the effect of recon- 
 ciling us, in some degree, to the vicissitudes of life by 
 the hope which it inspires, that, in every change of 
 circumstances, there will be something pleasant, be- 
 cause there will be something new. But this passion, 
 like every other, when indulged beyond its legitimate 
 extent, produces serious evils. It, not unfrequently, 
 makes people discontented with the situation in which 
 Providence has placed them, creates a hankering 
 after new occupations, prompts to hazardous experi- 
 ments, overlooks the common bounties of Heaven, 
 18 
 
206 THE GOOD OLD WAY. 
 
 and often produces a disrelish for the sober and daily- 
 duties of our station. On the subject of religion, the 
 indulgence of a passion for novelty is attended with 
 extreme danger. God's method of saving sinners is 
 the same now as it ever has been, and ever will be. 
 As in his nature, so in his plans and purjJt)ses "there 
 is no variableness nor shadow of turning." But 
 God's way- of salvation is humbling to the pride of 
 our hearts. It lays man in the dust before it raises 
 him to glory. It cuts up, by the root, our self-will 
 and self-dependence, stops the mouth of boasting, and 
 puts the crown on the head of the Redeemer. To 
 human vanity this is unacceptable and repulsive; 
 hence men are perpetually striking out new inven- 
 tions, eager to find some scheme of religion which 
 will better accord with their natural propensities, 
 prejudices, and habits. Hence that guilty and hope- 
 less class of men, characterized by an apostle as 
 " ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge 
 of the truth." 2 Tim. iii. 7. This evil disease had 
 deeply infected the tribes of Israel in the days of 
 Jeremiah. The Holy Land, at this time, swarmed 
 with teachers, self-commissioned prophets, who "pro- 
 phesied by Baal, and walked after things of no 
 profit," a sort of spiritual quacks, who healed the 
 hurt of the daughter of God's people slightly ; saying. 
 Peace, peace, when there was no peace. Their doc- 
 trines were new ; they were innovators on the estab- 
 lished rites of worship, setters-forth of strange gods. 
 The people, seduced by the charms of novelty, em- 
 braced their doctrines, and walked in their ways. 
 
THE GOOD OLD WAY. 207 
 
 The consequences were shame and inquietude, corrup- 
 tion of manners and idolatry. To remedy these 
 evils, the Lord, by the mouth of his prophet, addressed 
 to them the advice in our text. It is couched in 
 figurative language, taken, probably from the conduct 
 of a wise and prudent traveller, who, anxious to make 
 progress, and avoid the painful toil of retracing his 
 mistaken steps, inquires carefully for the right way: 
 " Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old 
 paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and 
 ye shall find rest for your souls." 
 
 The passage presents us with several interesting 
 and important ideas. It teaches, 
 
 First, that there is a good and safe way to heaven. 
 
 Secondly, that it is an old way, and that, as we 
 would find it, we should apply to those sources of 
 information that have been proved to be faithful and 
 authentic by travellers who have gone before us. 
 
 Thirdly, that having once ascertained the right 
 way, we should walk in it; and, to encourage our 
 diligence in so doing, a promise is added of "rest for 
 souls." A brief and practical illustration of these 
 points, is all that we propose in this discourse. 
 
 First, there is a good and safe way to heaven and 
 eternal glory. This consoling truth might be fairly 
 deduced from the fact, that our race was not consigned 
 to ruin immediately on our apostasy from God. The 
 rebel angels were cast down from the heights of 
 heaven, and reserved in chains to the judgment of 
 the great day. They were allowed no respite, so far 
 as we know, because no redemption was designed for 
 
208 THE GOOD OLD WAY. 
 
 them. But man is spared; the race is continued; 
 one generation passeth away, and another cometh. 
 Why this forbearance? Why this opportunity for 
 the propagation of evil, if the Creator did not intend 
 to repair the ruins of the fall; if he did not mean to 
 provide and reveal a way in which we might be saved 
 and regain his blissful favour? He waits, not to 
 aggravate our guilt, but to be gracious. Accordingly 
 mankind, though conscious of sin, and subject to sore 
 tribulation, are, nevertheless, subjects of hope. All 
 are eager in the pursuit of happiness. Even the 
 libertine, who believes in no future state, whose 
 heaven lies within the contracted limits of this short 
 life, and whose maxim is, "Let us eat, and drink, and 
 be merry, for to morrow we die," has frequent mis- 
 givings of mind and twinges of conscience. "The 
 fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." It is 
 not his deliberate belief and sober conviction, but the 
 wish of his heart; he tries to hope there is none, 
 because he fears to meet him in judgment. So the 
 man of flesh, and the slave of sensual appetite, is 
 sometimes agitated by emotions which tell him he has 
 a soul, and that it is destined for other worlds, and 
 capable of far other pleasures than those which are 
 common to man and beast. 
 
 But all who have not advanced so far in the career 
 of practical impiety as to make it their interest that 
 there should be no hereafter, do long for immortality, 
 and for a happiness that shall endure through eternal 
 ages. This sentiment is so prevalent, that it may be 
 regarded as one of the distinguishing characteristics 
 
THE GOOD OLD WAY. 209 
 
 of man. These things afford strong presumptive 
 evidence, that our existence does not terminate with 
 the dissolution of the body. But whatever darkness 
 rested on the subject previous to the Christian revela- 
 tion, the New Testament puts it beyond a doubt. 
 Life and immortality have been brought to light 
 through the gospel ; and as there is a future life, the 
 strong and unconquerable desire which every human 
 being feels for happiness, indicates that there is some 
 way in which he may attain to such a kind and degree 
 of felicity as suits his immortal nature. For satis- 
 factory evidence that God provided such a w^ay, we 
 are wholly indebted to the sacred oracles. Let us 
 then inquire for this way, and endeavour to ascertain 
 where and what it is. 
 
 Second, this is the main duty enjoined in our text. 
 " Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old 
 paths, where is the good way." We are not to pro- 
 ceed heedlessly along the journey of life. We are 
 to ponder our path, and consider well whither it will 
 conduct us. Like a wise traveller, we are at the 
 outset to stand, to contemplate results, and to ask; 
 lest we waste our time, exhaust our strength, and miss 
 our aim. Ways and paths being mentioned here in 
 the plural number, do not warrant us to believe that 
 there are more ways than one to heaven. There is 
 one good way specified. For this we are to inquire. 
 *^It is an high way," says the prophet, "and it shall 
 be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not 
 pass over it, but the redeemed shall walk there;'* 
 and it is so plain, "that wayfaring men, though fools, 
 18* 
 
210 THE GOOD OLD WAY. 
 
 shall not err therein." Isa. xxxv. 8. Most of you 
 have, no doubt, observed winding by-paths in the 
 neighbourhood of some public roads, and which lead 
 the traveller, though through some inconveniences, 
 to the same place, as would the high-way by a safer 
 and more direct route. These paths in the bush, 
 stretching along now at a less and then at a greater 
 distance from the main road, may help us to dis- 
 tinguish between the good way and those other ways 
 and paths mentioned in our text. The example of 
 good men seems to be alluded to. But the best of 
 men are not perfect in this world. Even the patri- 
 archs and prophets, whose names are recorded on the 
 sacred pages, and whose faith and predominant spirit 
 we are called upon to imitate, did not walk uniformly 
 in "the way of holiness." Their paths, however, lay 
 not very remotely from the good way, and they may 
 be of great use to those who are desirous of finding 
 it. As you would find the good way to heaven and 
 eternal glory, observe the old paths, and consult the 
 old travellers who have passed the wilderness before 
 you. Antiquity, other things being equal, is fairly 
 entitled to our reverence and respect. Modern refine- 
 ments, and ingenious novelties, should be admitted 
 with great caution. There is often in them more of 
 the curious, than of the useful; more of the pride of 
 learning, than of the sobriety of wisdom ; more of the 
 glare of philosophy, falsely so called, than of that 
 fear of the Lord which is the beginning of knowledge. 
 If you wish to know how you should conduct 
 in the various stations and changing scenes of life, 
 
THE GOOD OLD WAY. 211 
 
 look at those pious men of whom the world was 
 not worthy. Go forth by the footsteps of the 
 flock, and be followers of them who, through faith 
 and patience inherit the promises. See Enoch; 
 "he walked with God; and he was not; for God 
 took him." See Noah, a preacher of righteousness, 
 who, admonished of God, prepared an ark to the 
 saving of his house ; and who, on becoming the father 
 of the new world, embraced the first opportunity of 
 presenting his thanksgiving to the great Author and 
 Preserver of life. See Abraham, quitting his country 
 and kindred at the command of God. His route was 
 marked with altars, and sacred memorials of the 
 Divine munificence and mercy. See Joseph holding 
 fast his integrity in the midst of corruption, flattery, 
 and splendor. See Moses, preferring the society 
 and afflictions of the people of God, to all the luxuries 
 and honours of Pharaoh's court. See David, the 
 beloved king, amid the cares of royalty, delighting in 
 the devotional exercises of the sanctuary, esteeming 
 "the statutes of the Lord more than gold, yea, than 
 much fine gold; sweeter, also, than honey and the 
 honeycomb." But why need we increase the cata- 
 logue? These, and a cloud of other witnesses for the 
 truth, "all died in faith, not having received the 
 promises, but having seen them afar ofl", and were 
 persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed 
 that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." 
 These all walked in the old paths of righteousness, 
 faith, and piety, "desiring a better country, that is, an 
 heavenly ; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called 
 
212 THE GOOD OLD WAY. 
 
 their God; for lie hatli prepared for them a city." 
 Heb. xi. 13—16. 
 
 But what is that "good way" by which sinful men 
 are conducted to the holy city of the living God? 
 Take an answer to this question from the New Testa- 
 ment: "Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not 
 whither thou goest ; and how can we know the way ? 
 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, 
 and the life : no man cometh unto the Father, but by 
 me." John xiv. 5, 6. When man became a sinner, he 
 was expelled from the garden of Eden, the emblem of 
 heaven; and a flaming sword, which turned every 
 way, was placed at its entrance, to keep the way of 
 the tree of life. That delightful communion with his 
 Maker, to which he had been accustomed, in a state 
 of innocence, was interrupted, and he was driven 
 forth, a wretched outcast from the presence of the 
 Lord. And had he been abandoned in this fallen 
 state, his case must have been for ever hopeless. He 
 had violated the covenant, and subjected himself to 
 the penalty of the law. Acceptance, on the ground 
 of his own obedience, now became impossible. God 
 is holy; and holiness can have no fellowship with sin. 
 To effect a reconciliation, to satisfy the rightful claims 
 of justice, and open a way whereby the rebel might be 
 restored to his allegiance, his duty, and his happiness, 
 the Lord Jesus Christ assumed the office of Mediator; 
 and in this character he is "the way, the truth, and 
 the life;" — "the way" to heaven, by the sacrifice of 
 his blood, by the purity of his doctrine, the energy of 
 his Spirit, and the attractive influence of his high and . 
 
THE GOOD OLD WAY. 213 
 
 holy example; — ^'the trutli," or substance and end of 
 the typical system of things, persons, and offerings, 
 as well as the completion of prophesy, and the end of 
 the law; — "the life" — the restorer and supporter of 
 spiritual communion with the Father of spirits, the 
 true bread which came down from heaven, to give life 
 unto the world. This doctrine pervades the Bible, 
 and is to be found, either directly or indirectly, on 
 almost all its hallowed pages. *^ Other foundation can 
 no man lay," says Paul, "than that is laid, which is 
 Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. iii. 11. "This is the stone," 
 says Peter, addressing the Jewish rulers, "which was 
 set at nought of you builders, which is become the 
 head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any 
 other; for there is none other name under heaven, 
 given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 
 iv. 11, 12. 
 
 It is needless to multiply quotations. The merits 
 and mediation of Jesus Christ is, unquestionably, 
 according to the Scriptures, the way in which God 
 justifies and saves sinners of the human race. To 
 him give all the prophets witness; to him the patri- 
 archal and Mosaic rites and ceremonies point, as to 
 one common centre. "This is the good way;" a way 
 marked and consecrated by redeeming blood. It is 
 an old and well-tried way ; it has been travelled by 
 thousands of thousands, ever since the apostacy of 
 man. It is a way of holiness ; the unclean shall not 
 pass over it. But it is a highway — the highway to 
 glory, honour, and immortality, provided by the great 
 King of heaven and earth ; and all his rebellious sub- 
 
214 THE GOOD OLD WAY. 
 
 jects may travel in it freely, who are disposed to 
 return to their rightful Sovereign, and are anxious to 
 regain his propitious smiles and paternal guardian- 
 ship. 
 
 Thus we have arrived at the third particular in our 
 text: "Walk therein." To walk in Christ, implies, 
 
 1. An unqualified reliance on him, and an entire 
 confidence in him, as the Lord our righteousness and 
 strength. This reliance and confidence in him we are 
 warranted to exercise, by the testimony of God's 
 word, and by the experience of his people in all ages 
 of the world — Jesus Christ, "the same yesterday, to- 
 day, and for ever." He is the Saviour of all men, 
 especially of them that believe. He was the hope, 
 the strength, the joy of the patriarchs, the prophets, 
 and the apostles. In him the blessed martyrs walked, 
 and walked safe and happy, even while their bodies 
 were wrapped in flames, or torn in pieces by ferocious 
 beasts of prey. And in him may you trust, with the 
 most perfect and undivided confidence. He is the 
 Messenger and Mediator of the covenant — the King 
 of Zion, the Redeemer of Israel, and the hope of the 
 Gentiles; the root and the offspring of David, the 
 bright and morning star; the Prince and Saviour, 
 exalted to the third heavens, to give repentance and 
 remission of sins. In one word, he has all power in 
 heaven and on earth; and he is able to save to the 
 uttermost all that come to God by him. 
 
 2. We are to walk in this "good way" by faith. 
 That faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, 
 and the evidence of things not seen, is the divinely con- 
 
THE GOOD OLD WAY. , 215 
 
 stituted medium through which you are to draw, from 
 the Redeemer's fulness, all needful grace, strength, 
 and comfort, in your journey to the skies. You 
 remember how closely his little family of disciples 
 adhered to his person during his visible continuance 
 on earth. How often and how kindly he quieted 
 their fears, solved their doubts, and cheered their 
 hearts by the gracious benediction, " Peace be unto 
 you." By faith you may enjoy the same benefits. 
 "Where two or three are gathered together in my 
 name, there am I in the midst of them." These are 
 his own words. Let them be engraven on your hearts; 
 and let the truth which they convey, induce those who 
 fear the Lord, and think upon his name, to speak 
 often one to another, and pour forth, at the throne of 
 grace, their joint supplications, with thanksgiving. 
 And when, in your individual capacity, you are strug- 
 gling against the enemies of your salvation, remember 
 he is a Friend near at hand, and mighty to save. 
 And what he once said to Paul, by a voice from 
 heaven, he says to you, from the volume of inspira- 
 tion: "My grace is sufficient for thee — my strength 
 is made perfect in weakness." Let the lives which 
 you now live in the flesh, be by the faith of the Son 
 of God. 
 
 3. "Walk in this good way," by an open profession 
 of your dependence on Christ, and a conscientious and 
 affectionate attendance on all the ordinances which he 
 has appointed for your spiritual nourishment and 
 growth in grace. Seek no by-paths ; take the high- 
 way, the way of holy obedience; congregate with the 
 
216 THE GOOD OLD WAY. 
 
 little flock, and feed in their pastures. Why, in the 
 name of Heaven ! should any one, whose entire hope 
 is in the Rock of Ages, be ashamed to acknowledge 
 the truth before men? To be ashamed of Him who 
 died for us ; who ever liveth to intercede for us : of 
 him whom angels delight to honour ; of him who holds 
 the keys of heaven and hell; who is to decide our 
 destinies in the day of judgment — is the folly and 
 reproach of our nature! Many of you have acted 
 thus, alas ! too long. Do no more so wickedly. The 
 time is short; life and privileges are precarious. 
 "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
 might." Walk in the good way, by filial confidence, 
 faith, and affectionate obedience; and the promise is 
 sure and unequivocal. 
 
 4. "Ye shall find rest for your souls." The 
 Saviour has interpreted this promise, and has applied 
 it in a manner which precludes all doubtful disputa- 
 tion: "Come unto me all ye that labour and are 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Who will 
 accept this gracious invitation? It is given in view 
 of our restless and unhappy condition as sinners. It 
 is given as much in truth and earnestness as if the 
 incarnate Son of God were standing visibly before 
 you. Who, then, will accept it? The Saviour and 
 Judge of the world asks you, through lips of clay. 
 What say you, awakened souls, who begin to feel 
 weary and heavy laden with the burden of your sin ? 
 Why will you not come to Jesus, and repose your 
 weary head on the bosom of infinite power, and all- 
 sufiicient grace ? Here is an open fountain, the true 
 
THE GOOD OLD WAT. 217 
 
 Bethesda, in which you may wash and be clean. 
 Here is a munition of rocks, where you may take 
 shelter from the flaming sword of incensed and inflexi- 
 ble justice. "Christ is the end of the law for right- 
 eousness to every one that believeth, and his blood 
 cleanseth from all sin." 
 
 What say ye, amiable worldlings, who are trying 
 to keep ignorant of the malady of your nature, by a 
 perpetual round of business and pleasure? I know 
 you have not found that kind of rest which suits the 
 vast desires of your immortal souls. And try as you 
 may to keep far from you the thought of death and 
 judgment, yet a little while, and you will die: your 
 sources of earthly happiness will fail you. Suppose 
 the king of terrors should find you uninterested in 
 redeeming mercy. How will you dare to send your 
 spirit from this gospel land, back to God who gave it, 
 in all its unpardoned sin and moral defilement ? How 
 will you feel, when about to enter the lonely grave, 
 unconscious of an interest in Him who is the resurrec- 
 tion and the life ? Will you not be greatly solicitous to 
 know what is to become of you, upon quitting this 
 transient world of sense? Yes, you will, if you be 
 not deprived of reason, or cursed with a seared con- 
 science. Would it not be desirable, to be able to 
 say, with Paul the apostle, "I know whom I have 
 believed"? "For me to live is Christ, and to die is 
 gain"? Come to Jesus, then, that you may find rest 
 to your souls. You may make out to dispense with 
 his holy supports, during the short term of your 
 prosperity; but remember the days of darkness, for 
 19 
 
218 THE GOOD OLD WAY. 
 
 they shall be many. If you live in impenitence and 
 sin, you will probably die so; and if you die Christ- 
 less, you will be "cast into outer darkness; there 
 shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 What say you, my young friends ? You are going 
 abroad, on life's troubled ocean. You need a Divine 
 guide. Your minds are full of schemes for worldly 
 honours, pleasures, and distinctions. But, know that 
 the world is a mocker. If you want a friend who 
 will stand by you in all the exigencies of life and 
 death, come to Christ. He only can give you genuine 
 rest; and now is the best time to accept his kind 
 offer. To-morrow may be too late ! 
 
THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 
 
 I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and 
 his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims : each 
 one had six wings,- with twain he covered his face, and with twain 
 he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried 
 unto another, and said. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the 
 whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved 
 at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 
 Then said I, Wo is me ! for I am undone ; because I am a man of 
 unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: 
 for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew 
 one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, 
 which he had taken with the tongs from ofi'the altar: and he laid 
 it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips ; and 
 thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. — Isaiah vi. 1 — 7. 
 
 We have here a most sublime and impressive repre- 
 sentation of the glory and majesty of the Go(} we 
 worship. The whole is a vision, or symbolical exhibi- 
 tion. This was one of the modes in which God was 
 wont formerly to reveal himself, and make known his 
 will to men. The immediate design of this vision 
 seems to have been to animate the prophet with zeal 
 and faithfulness in discharging the arduous duties of 
 his ofifice. The effect which it had upon him is very 
 observable in his readiness to bear that tremendous 
 
220 THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 
 
 message of Jehovah to a guilty people, recorded In 
 the ninth and tenth verses of the chapter before us. 
 He hears the voice of the Lord inquiring for a mes- 
 senger: "Whom shall I send; and who will go for 
 us?" With promptitude and pious firmness he replies, 
 "Here am I, send me." The passage is instructive, 
 and will afford us matter for several devout and use- 
 ful reflections. 
 
 X "I saw the Lord," says the prophet, "sitting upon 
 a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the 
 temple." This august view of the Divine glory was 
 exhibited in the temple — that holy place in which God 
 delights to meet with his people ; where he is used to 
 instruct inquirers and comfort mourners with the con- 
 solations of his grace. This appearance, like all 
 others of the Diving Being, in human form, was in 
 the person of Immanuel, God-with-us, the second per- 
 son in the adorable Trinity. The Evangelist John, 
 in the twelfth chapter of his gospel, alludes to this 
 vision of the prophet, and says, expressly, "These 
 things said Isaias when he saw the glory of Christ 
 and spake of him." Verse 41. "No man hath seen 
 God. at any time," i. e., as an absolute God; "the 
 only begotten Son, he hath declared him." "It was 
 the unanimous sense of the ancient church," says 
 Bishop South, "that all the Divine appearances in 
 the Old Testament were made by the Son of God, by 
 whom all the affairs of the church were ordered from 
 the beginning." It was the Divine Saviour, then, 
 that Isaiah calls Lord, or Jehovah. It was Jesus that 
 the prophet saw, in mystic vision, "sitting upon a 
 
THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 221 
 
 throne, high and lifted up;" Jesus whom the prophet 
 Daniel saw, on another occasion, and describes as the 
 ancient of days, ^' whose garment was white as snow, 
 and the hair of his head like the pure wool. A fiery 
 stream issued and came forth from before him; thou- 
 sand thousands ministered unto him; and ten thou- 
 sand times ten thousand stood before him." Dan. vii. 
 9, 10. What an exalted idea do these prophetic 
 visions afford us of the Lord Jesus ! By him the pro- 
 phets were inspired, his messages they delivered to 
 the world, and of his person, ofiices, and kingdom, they 
 spake in strains of holy rapture. Isaiah here saw 
 him ''sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up;" 
 striking emblem of that throne, on which, at the 
 great day, he will judge the quick and the dead; 
 when every eye shall see him, and they who pierced, 
 and they who despise him, will be covered with shame 
 and overwhelmed with terror. 
 
 "And above it," i. e., above and round about the 
 throne on which Jehovah sat, "stood the seraphim." 
 These are believed to be the first and most glorious 
 order of angelic spirits. They are called seraphim, 
 i. g., fiery beings, probably in allusion to the purity of 
 their nature, and the power and rapidity with which 
 they execute the commands of the Almighty. They 
 stand before him, ever ready to do his pleasure. 
 More than twelve legions of these flaming ministers 
 would have flown to the relief of the Saviour, when 
 betrayed into the hands of sinners, had he but given 
 command. But he neither needed nor wished their 
 assistance, on that occasion, for he had power to lay 
 19* 
 
222 THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 
 
 down his life, and he had power to take it again. 
 These glorious beings are furnished each with six 
 wings. "With twain," says the prophet, "he covered 
 his face." So resplendent is the glory of God, so pure 
 his nature, and so august his majesty, that even the 
 spotless seraphim in heaven dare not approach him 
 but with veiled faces, in token of profoundest humility. 
 From hence let us sinful mortals, who dwell in houses 
 of clay, encompassed with infirmity, learn to draw 
 near the mercy-seat of our God, in his earthly courts, 
 with the deepest self-abasement, encouraged by the 
 intercession and covered with the righteousness of Him 
 who is our shield and our hope. 
 
 "And with twain he covered his feet." This seems 
 to have been intended as a mark of reverence due to 
 the infinite majesty of heaven and earth. And un- 
 questionably every species of levity and indecorum is 
 unseemly and criminal in the presence of God. Let it 
 be remembered, then, that God is specially present 
 and jealous of his honour, in houses and places conse- 
 crated to his solemn worship. Let the sentiments of 
 the holy patriarch be deeply impressed on your minds 
 whenever you enter these hallowed courts of the Lord's 
 house : " Surely God is in this place, and I knew it 
 not; for this is none other than the house of God, 
 and the gate of heaven." "The Lord will be had in 
 reverence of all them that are round about him." In 
 this temple he sits upon his throne of mercy and 
 grace, high and lifted up ; his train fills the house, and 
 his eye observes every attendant — nor thought, nor 
 secret purpose escapes his notice. He marks with 
 
THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 223 
 
 infinite abhorrence the hypocrite, the caviller, the 
 careless, and the contemptuous sleeper. If you would 
 be benefitted by your attendance, or accepted in your 
 sanctuary services, lay aside the defilement contracted 
 by your contact with the world ; put ofi", as concern- 
 ing the former conversation, the old man and his 
 deeds; cover your feet in renunciation of your own 
 works; wash you; make you clean in the blood of 
 sprinkling ; for the place whereon you stand is holy 
 ground ; drive out the buyers and sellers ; clear your 
 hearts of all earthly cares and impure desires; this 
 house is the house of prayer. When you enter it, there- 
 fore, salute him that dwelleth therein, by devout ejacu- 
 lation, and address yourselves with attention and seri- 
 ousness to his service. It is the presence-chamber of 
 the King of kings and Lord of lords. Here your 
 Maker speaks to you in the sweet accents of grace, 
 and permits you to speak to him with the voice of 
 prayer and praise. "Jehovah is in his holy temple, 
 let all the earth keep silence before him." ^ 
 
 "And with twain he did fly." This intimates to 
 us the prompt alacrity with which these exalted 
 spirits obey the orders and perform the will of their 
 Almighty Creator. They glory in acting as the 
 ministering servants of the Most High. His service 
 is their freedom and their delight. Those who re- 
 volted from the rightful authority of their Maker, fell 
 in the vain attempt to become independent, and 
 shake off their allegiance to the Sovereign of the 
 universe. To be safe and happy, all intelligent 
 creatures, angels as well as men, must be subject to 
 
224 THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 
 
 the control and obedient to the commands of their 
 Creator. Those angelic spirits which kept their first 
 estate kept it by obedience, and they are represented 
 as standing before the throne of Jehovah, ready to fly 
 at his command to all parts of his immense dominion. 
 Let us go, and do likewise. We, too, are the servants 
 of God: if we refuse obedience, we prove ourselves 
 rebels, and shall certainly fall under sentence of 
 eternal condemnation. He has made known to us his 
 will in the Holy Scriptures ; we are to fulfil his com- 
 mandment by hearkening to the voice of his word. 
 In imitation of the seraphim, let our obedience be uni- 
 versal, prompt, and cordial. The law of our duty is 
 made so plain in the New Testament that he who 
 runs may read. "Christ is the end of the law for 
 righteousness to every one that believeth; we have 
 redemption through his blood; neither is there salva- 
 tion in any other." This is the message which he 
 now delivers to you from the oracles of truth. Re- 
 ceive the good tidings thankfully; lay hold of the 
 hope set before you. Receive the atonement ; accept 
 the righteousness which is received by faith in the 
 Son of God. Why should any refuse to obey and be 
 blessed? Why turn a deaf ear to the voice of mercy, 
 which cries, "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?" 
 To believe in Him who came to seek and to save that 
 which was lost, is to do the work which God requires, 
 and secure the good part that shall never be taken 
 from us. Set your hearts to this work. "It is not a 
 vain thing, because it is your life." 
 
 "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, 
 
THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 225 
 
 holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of 
 his glory." Observe the delightful employment of 
 these happy spirits. They are so filled with a sense 
 of the Divine glory that they cannot refrain from 
 pouring themselves forth in strains of the highest 
 praise. This threefold repetition of the epithet Holy, 
 is considered by most commentators, and, I think, 
 justly, as containing an allusion to the three persons 
 in the Godhead. Angels admire the work of man's 
 redemption. They admire the holiness of the eternal 
 Father in requiring satisfaction to injured justice; 
 the holiness of the incarnate Son in redeeming his 
 people from their sins, at the expense of his own 
 blood; the holiness of the Spirit in creating them 
 anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, and fitting 
 them, by sanctification, for the holy employments of 
 a holy heaven. 
 
 " Lord of hosts." This is one of the distinguishing 
 titles of the Divine Being. It is emphatically ex- 
 pressive of his authority over, and right to the 
 homage of all creatures in heaven and earth. Angels 
 form a part of his hosts. They are all ministering 
 spirits ; all employed at his pleasure on errands either 
 of vengeance or of mercy. The stars, and all the 
 celestial orbs, make another part of God's hosts. 
 "He bringeth out their host by number," says the 
 prophet; *'he calleth them all by their names; through 
 the greatness of his might and the strength of his 
 power, not one of them faileth." Isaiah xl. 26. All 
 the powers of nature, all the phenomena of this lower 
 world, may be regarded as the servants of the Lord of 
 
226 THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 
 
 hosts. The hearts of princes and people, of good 
 men and bad men, are under his control, and subject 
 to his power, when he sees fit to exert it. He 
 maketh the wrath of man to praise him, and the 
 remainder of wrath he restrains. Hell trembles, and 
 heaven rejoices at his matchless power. Let sinners 
 know assuredly, it is a fearful thing to fall into the 
 hands of this holy Lord of hosts. And let saints 
 below join saints and angels above, saying, "Thy 
 kingdom come," till the whole earth shall be filled 
 with his glory. 
 
 " And the posts of the door moved at the voice of 
 him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke." 
 What an affecting display of Divine power! At 
 every response of the seraphim the pillars of the 
 temple were shaken, and at length the holy place was 
 filled with smoke. This part of the vision seems to 
 have been designed to impress on the prophet's mind 
 an awful sense of the majesty and glory of God; 
 that, in the comparison, he might see his own vileness, 
 and inefficiency, without Divine assistance, for the 
 work in which he was engaged: at any rate, the 
 whole representation had a powerful effect upon him. 
 We find him in the next verse acknowledging his own 
 sinfulness, and' that of the people among whom he 
 laboured, in the humblest terms of contrition and self- 
 abasement. 
 
 "Then, said I, woe is me ! for I am undone; because 
 I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst 
 of a people of unclean lips : for mine eyes have seen 
 the King, the Lord of hosts." He had now been 
 
THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 227 
 
 contemplating the glory of the Lord; he had listened 
 to the profound adoration of the seraphim; he had 
 seen the posts of the door shaken, and the temple 
 filled with smoke. He was convinced that a God of 
 such spotless purity, transcendent glory and power, 
 ought to be worshipped and served in the beauties of 
 holiness. This conviction, accompanied with a pun- 
 gent sense of his own deficiency, humbled him in the 
 dust. The case of the prophet is not a singular one. 
 Just views of the character and laws of God invariably 
 produce humility. This is the test by which we may 
 distinguish Divine illumination from that unsanctified 
 knowledge that pufieth up. Job, in the heat of con- 
 troversy, labouring to repel the charges brought 
 against him by his vexatious friends, was left to make 
 use of some rash and irreverent expressions respecting 
 the dispensations of Providence. But when Jehovah 
 speaks to him from the whirlwind, and reveals his 
 power and glory, Job falls before him in lowly pros- 
 tration of soul, and we hear him exclaiming, "Behold, 
 I am vile ; what shall I answer thee ? I will lay my 
 hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I 
 will not answer ; yea, twice, but I will proceed no far- 
 ther. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear ; 
 but now mine eye seeth thee: wherefore I abhor 
 myself, and repent in dust and ashes." So, when 
 Peter beheld the power and authority of his Master 
 displayed in the extraordinary draught of fishes, he 
 fell at his feet, and cried out, "Depart from me, for I 
 am a sinful man, Lord!" So, when any sinner 
 gets a glimpse of the beauty of the Lord, and the 
 
228 THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 
 
 purity and spirituality of that law which he has 
 transgressed, and then turns his eye inward upon his 
 own heart, he cannot but cry out, with fear and 
 trembling, "Woe is me, for I am undone!" 
 
 Who can view sin in the light of God's word, and 
 not blush and be confounded for having indulged it? 
 Who can view it in the light of the cross of Christ, 
 and not mourn and be in bitterness, as one that 
 mourns for a first-born, or an only son? Hence it is 
 that persons of unimpeachable moral character, under 
 deep and serious impressions, are brought to consider 
 themselves as the chief of sinners, and can hardly be 
 persuaded that there is any hope in their case. Their 
 good lives, which they once reflected on with com- 
 placency, are no longer viewed as aff'ording the least 
 ground of dependence. They see that in all things 
 they have offended and come short of the glory of 
 God. Judging their hearts and conduct by the law, 
 and the testimony of God, they are forced to give 
 sentence against themselves. The heart is found to 
 be deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. 
 Sins are discovered, and evil propensities felt, which 
 words cannot tell. Formerly, the same sins, the 
 same failures, the same evil thoughts, passed un- 
 observed. Now the light of Divine truth shines upon 
 them, they are seen in their genuine deformity, and 
 seem to set themselves in array against the penitent, 
 as if to overwhelm him in utter despair. Thus we 
 hear St. Paul acknowledging, "The law is holy, 
 just, and good; but I am carnal, sold under sin." 
 And again, "I was alive without the law once, but 
 
THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 229 
 
 "when the commandment came, sin revived, and I 
 died." Once he had entertained favourable thoughts 
 of his moral conduct and religious character; but 
 when his mind was enlightened to behold the glory 
 of God, in the face of Jesus Christ, he condemned 
 himself as the chief of sinners! nay, after all his 
 attainments, and abundant labours in the cause of 
 his Lord and Master, he accounts himself less than 
 the least of all saints. But, humble penitent, while 
 you view, with dismay and terror, the enormity of 
 your sin, look by faith to the altar of sacrifice, and 
 the blood of sprinkling. While the prophet lies 
 humbled under a sense of his vileness, a seraph is 
 commissioned to raise him up, and put a new song in 
 his mouth. 
 
 " Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a 
 live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the 
 tongs from off the altar, and he laid it upon my mouth, 
 and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine 
 iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged!" It is 
 well remarked by a pious commentator, "that, as the 
 scene of this vision was the temple, the altar of burnt 
 offering was full in view, on which the daily sacrifices 
 were consuming by the fire that came down from 
 heaven. The blood of innocent victims shed in sacri- 
 fice, and their bodies consumed to ashes, that guilty 
 men might be pardoned and blessed, were constant 
 declarations that sinners deserve to die, and that 
 deliverance could be obtained only by faith in the 
 promised Redeemer — * the Lamb slain from the foun- 
 dation of the world.' From this altar one of the 
 20 
 
230 THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 
 
 seraphims took a live coal, and applied it to the 
 prophet's lips, assuring him at the same time, that 
 his iniquity was taken away, and his sin purged." 
 A welcome message, indeed, to a sinner sinking under 
 the pressure of his sins. We may observe, here, the 
 way in which gospel relief is administered to the peni- 
 tent. Not by persuading him that his sins are small, 
 and that God will not require satisfaction: but by 
 leading the soul, laden with guilt, to the fountain 
 opened for sin and defilement. No attempt was made 
 to persuade the prophet that he thought too unfavour- 
 ably of himself; on the other hand, the seraph seemed 
 to admit that he was, indeed, a man of unclean lips, 
 but assured him that his iniquity was forgiven, and 
 his sin purged, through faith in the Lamb of God. 
 
 Let us hence learn to go ourselves, and lead 
 others, under a sense of guilt, directly to the puri- 
 fying blood of the Redeemer. If we obtain peace 
 from any other quarter, it will prove fallacious. 
 Come, then, awakened and trembling sinner, try the 
 efficacy of the great gospel propitiation. Renounce 
 every other dependence. Confess that you have 
 ruined yourself, and, without Divine help, are utterly 
 undone. Repair to the atoning blood of Christ — 
 cast yourself into the arms of his mercy, believing 
 that he is both able and willing to save all that come 
 to God by him, and you will soon rise above your 
 desponding fears, and obtain a good hope through 
 grace. Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away 
 the sin of the world! He is the author and the 
 finisher of faith. Believe his wordj trust his grace; 
 
THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. 231 
 
 lay hold on the skirts of his garment. "Ask, and 
 ye shall receive ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and 
 it shall be opened unto you." While the infinite 
 power and majesty of Jehovah fill your soul with awe 
 and reverence, let his grace and condescension com- 
 fort your heart, and secure your confidence. He is 
 the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, 
 and of great kindness. There is forgiveness with 
 him, that he may be feared. "Now, then, we are 
 ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech 
 you by us, we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye 
 reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin 
 for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the 
 righteousness of God in him." Amen ! 
 
THE 
 
 CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 
 
 And Saul, yet" breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the 
 disciples of the Lord, went unto the high-priest, and desired of 
 him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any 
 of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring 
 them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near 
 Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light 
 from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying 
 unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, 
 "Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou 
 persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And 
 he trembling, and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me 
 to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, 
 and it shall be told thee what thou must do. — Acts ix. 1 — 6. 
 
 Everything in the life of St. Paul is interesting 
 and instructive. He was a person of great natural 
 endowments, highly improved by the advantages of 
 education. He seems to have been formed by nature 
 to take an active and decided part in whatever cause 
 he espoused. Tarsus, a city in the province of 
 Cilicia, was the place of his nativity. His parents, 
 who were Jews, sent him to Jerusalem, probably at 
 an early period of life, that he might enjoy the 
 instructions of Gamaliel, the celebrated Jewish doctor. 
 
CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 233 
 
 Here, by the force of habit, the influence of his tutor, 
 and his connection with the sect of the Pharisees, 
 he contracted a strong attachment to the Mosaic 
 institutions. And as he could not bear to hear of 
 the abolition or insufficiency of the ritual observances, 
 he imbibed with the first rudiments of his education 
 a spirit of inveterate opposition to Christianity. " He 
 verily thought," as he himself expresses it, "that he 
 ought to do many things contrary to the name of 
 Jesus of Nazareth." Accordingly, his first appearance 
 in the sacred story is in the character of a persecutor. 
 When Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was put 
 to death, Saul consented to the murder, and kept the 
 clothes of those who stoned him. After this we are 
 told, "he made havoc of the church, entering into 
 every house, and haling men and women, committed 
 them to prison." He confesses that he imprisoned 
 and beat in every synagogue them that believed. He 
 appears, in short, to have been set upon the total 
 extirpation of the poor afflicted followers of Christ. 
 He went great lengths in this nefarious work, before 
 it pleased God to interpose and show him the mad- 
 ness of his conduct. But he was a chosen vessel. 
 In the eternal counsels of God, it had been deter- 
 mined that he should bear the unsearchable riches 
 of Christ to the Gentiles. His call to the apostleship 
 was long delayed ; but at last it is revealed and made 
 effectual. 
 
 In the passage of sacred history before us, we see 
 this gross offender, in the height of his destructive 
 career, arrested, humbled, and laid low at the feet 
 20* 
 
234 CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 
 
 of Jesus. His case, duly considered, will give us 
 occasion to blush for the corruption of human nature; 
 to admire the sovereignty of Divine grace; and 
 acknowledge the salutary eifects of this grace upon 
 the converted sinner. After a brief illustration of 
 the several verses which constitute our text, we shall 
 close the discourse with a few practical reflections. 
 
 I. ^'And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and 
 slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto 
 the high-priest, and desired of him letters to Damas- 
 cus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this 
 way" — i. e., of the Christian faith and profession — 
 "whether they were men or women, he might bring 
 them bound unto Jerusalem." How furious the rage, 
 how cruel the designs of this enemy of the cross! 
 Such was his bitterness against the Saviour and his 
 followers, that with every breath he poured forth the 
 virulence of his heart in menaces of slaughter and 
 death. One can hardly help asking. What had the 
 disciples of Christ done to excite the hatred of this 
 polished pupil of Gamaliel? The answer is at hand. 
 He was a proud, self-confident sinner, who, ignorant 
 of God's righteousness, went about to establish one of 
 his own. The gospel scheme, if true, proved his 
 expectations to be vain. In order, therefore, to check 
 the progress of a system so humiliating to the pride 
 of a Pharisee, its adherents must be harassed, and, if 
 possible, exterminated from the earth. To accom- 
 plish this end, the champion of the Mosaic ritual 
 comes forth in all his vengeance. Not content that 
 his efforts should be confined to Jerusalem and its 
 
CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 235 
 
 neighbourhood, he volunteers his services abroad. 
 Learning that some of the disciples of the Lord had 
 found their way to Damascus, the capital of Syria, 
 and were there propagating their tenets, he resolved 
 to pursue them, "even to strange cities." And that 
 nothing may be wanting to give effect to his infamous 
 design, he applies to the high-priest, who acted as 
 president of the Jewish Sanhedrim, for letters* to the 
 rulers of the synagogues in Damascus, commanding 
 them to take measures to apprehend all, both men 
 and women, without regard to age or sex, who avowed 
 their attachment to the despised Nazarene, that they 
 might be brought bound to Jerusalem, for condign 
 punishment. The project, no doubt, met the cordial 
 approbation of the high-priest and the grand council 
 of which he was the head. 
 
 Saul, we may suppose, was furnished with the 
 desired credentials; and that he might execute his 
 commission with the greater confidence and prompti- 
 tude, a band of armed soldiers accompanied him. But 
 we pause, and ask. For what is this extraordinary 
 apparatus ? Is an enemy approaching ? or are they 
 convicted criminals who have escaped from public 
 justice, that are to be pursued? Ah! who would not 
 blush for human nature, on contemplating these pre- 
 parations, when he considers that they are directed 
 against the mercy and grace of God, displayed to a 
 perishing, guilty world ! It is the Gospel, which con- 
 tains everything that is honourable to God, and pre- 
 cious to the sinner! It is the Gospel, which repeals 
 the only Saviour of fallen man, and the only effica- 
 
236 CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 
 
 cious sacrifice for sin ! It is the Gospel, which pub- 
 lishes good tidings of great joy unto all people, that 
 these combined efforts of Saul and the high-priest, 
 the Sanhedrim and the soldiers, are intended to arrest 
 and destroy, to extirpate from the earth. 
 
 But how foolish and impotent are the most vigor- 
 ous exertions, and the best laid schemes of mortals, 
 when 5^posed to the counsels of the Almighty ! Poor, 
 trembling disciples, you may dismiss your fears; for 
 the Captain of your salvation is mighty to save. He 
 can, in a thousand different ways, disconcert the most 
 artful plots of your enemies, and effect your deliverance 
 from the most appalling dangers. Of this consoling 
 fact you are now called to behold an illustrious veri- 
 fication. 
 
 Saul and his company had come" near the place of 
 their destination, no doubt elated with sanguine hopes 
 of the success of their mission, when an extraordinary 
 occurrence completely blasted their expectations and 
 covered them with shame. "And, as he journeyed, 
 he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shined 
 round about him a light from heaven ; and he fell to 
 the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, 
 Saul, why persecutest thou me?" 
 
 We do not stop here to notice the various opinions 
 that have been advanced respecting this light which 
 dazzled the eyes of the persecutor, and caused him to 
 fall prostrate on the ground. We would only observe 
 that as the event took place at noonday, a circum- 
 stance not noticed here by the historian, but men- 
 tioned afterwards by Saul himself, and as an articu- 
 
CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 237 
 
 late voice proceeded from the midst of the light, it 
 is surely absurd to suppose, as some do, that it was 
 merely a flash of lightning. We are astonished, 
 indeed, that it was not lightning, charged with a 
 thunderbolt of death. We wonder that the eyes of 
 this notorious sinner were ever opened again, but to 
 see himself encircled by the flames of Tophet. But 
 he was a chosen vessel, soon to be prepared for the 
 Master's use. Without hesitation, we believe it was a 
 miraculous light, and that it proceeded immediately 
 from the glorified body of Jesus Christ, whose coun- 
 tenance St. John describes by the brightest emblem 
 in the universe, "The sun shining in his strength." 
 But hark! from that efi'ulgent, overwhelming light, 
 there issues a voice ; and it is the voice of mercy — 
 "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" What a 
 penetrating question ! Every syllable is emphatic ; the 
 energy that accompanies it is omnipotent. It pierces 
 the obdurate heart of the haughty Pharisee, and 
 forces from the flinty rock the waters of penitence. 
 And who is this, that looking from the heavens, sees 
 all that is done upon earth? Who, but the Omniscient 
 Redeemer — the Angel of the Covenant that appeared 
 to Moses, first in the burning bush, and afterwards on 
 Mount Sinai, in the midst of supernatural thunder and 
 lightning? He that speaks from the clouds, and calls 
 the persecutor by name, must be a Divine personage. 
 Of this Saul, himself, seems to have been fully con- 
 vinced ; though it had not yet entered his mind that 
 Jesus of Nazareth was the speaker. Him he had 
 long been accustomed to consider an impostor, had 
 
238 CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 
 
 loaded his name with obloquy, and was now endea- 
 vouring to rid the world of his deluded disciples. But 
 how must he have been surprised when, to the anxious 
 question, "Who art thou, Lord?" he received for 
 answer, "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest"! As 
 if the insulted Saviour had said, "I, who appear 
 before thee with such undeniable marks of dignity, 
 am no other than the despised Nazarene against whom 
 thy rage is ultimately aimed ; for I consider the in- 
 sults and oppression inflicted on my faithful disciples 
 as ofifered to myself." A solemn warning this, to all 
 who reproach the pious, disturb their devotions, or 
 oppose their attention to the ordinances of the gospel. 
 Christ is touched with a sense of the ill-treatment, 
 as well as with a feeling of the infirmities of his peo- 
 ple. The union between him and them is intimate. 
 He is the vine; they are the branches. He is the 
 head ; they are the members of his body — the church. 
 Though himself in heaven, far beyond the reach of 
 the destroyer, he is not unmindful of his followers, 
 who are making their way to him through great tribu- 
 lation. He is their sun and shield — their ^ggun, to 
 enlighten their path, and warm their souls in the 
 dark and stormy day — their shield, to cover them 
 from the shafts of malice, and fend off the fiery darts 
 of the wicked one. Trust in the Lord, therefore, ye 
 righteous, and rejoice in your union with Christ. 
 They are his own words; "Because I live, ye shall 
 live also." Your enemies may prove as thorns in 
 your sides, to try your faith, and make you long for 
 the heavenly rest; but your souls they cannot injure, 
 
CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 239 
 
 your crown no one taketh from you. "Your life is 
 hid with Christ, in God." Let those who take 
 counsel together, and set themselves against the Lord 
 and his anointed, know assuredly that their efforts 
 are vain. Their own feet will be taken in the net 
 which they are spreading for others. The blows 
 which they aim at Christ and his ca^use, like the 
 arrows which the foolish Scythians shot at the sun, 
 will recoil upon their own heads with redoubled vio- 
 lence. 
 
 "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." 
 This is a proverbial saying, taken from a well- 
 known custom of applying goads to oxen, for the 
 purpose of urging them on to the draught; which, 
 if they resist, they only wound themselves. The 
 case is the same with sinners who oppose the gos- 
 pel, and resist the means that are used for their 
 conviction and conversion from the paths of the 
 destroyer. The pricks which Saul resisted, were, in 
 general, the testimony of the prophets, the miracles 
 wrought by Christ in proof of his Divine mission, and 
 all the evidences that attended the first introduction 
 of Christianity into the world ; but, particularly, the 
 preaching, the admonitions, the patience, the meek- 
 ness, and dying testimony of St. Stephen. 0, how 
 many pricks and goads have gospel-despisers of our 
 own times to resist, before they can fill up the measure 
 of their iniquity, and make their way to hell ! The 
 religious instructions received in childhood, the allur- 
 ing example of the pious, the threatenings and prom- 
 ises of the Bible, the dispensations of Providence, the 
 
240 CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 
 
 crosses, the pains, and sicknesses which themselves 
 experience; the deaths of their relations and acquaint- 
 ances, the preaching of the gospel, the warnings and 
 invitations delivered from the pulpit, the prayers and 
 intercessions offered at the throne of mercy in their 
 behalf, the admonitions, and occasional forebodings of 
 conscience, a^d the strivings of the Holy Spirit, with 
 which they are sometimes indulged, are all intended 
 to stimulate them to duty, and rouse their attention 
 to the things which belong to their everlasting peace. 
 But these means of grace they resist, and, in so doing, 
 treasure up for themselves wrath against the day of 
 wrath, and the revelation of the righteous judgment 
 of God." 0, may the compassionate Redeemer 
 speak to our hearts, with an energy like that which 
 accompanied his address to Saul ! that, like Saul, we 
 may bow to his authority, and throw ourselves into 
 the arms of sovereign mercy ! 
 
 "And he, trembling and astonished, said. Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said 
 unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be 
 told thee what thou must do." Wonderful, indeed, 
 was the condescension of the Lord, in thus reasoning 
 with one whose heart was enmity and bitterness against 
 him. It was owing to the Saviour's merciful long 
 suffering that he did not "make bare his arm," to 
 destroy the persecutor, and leave him a monument of 
 his righteous vengeance. But so it is ; he spoke in 
 mercy; his word was with power, and the call was 
 effectual. Saul immediately submitted, with deep 
 repentance, not presuming to offer a syllable, by way 
 
CONVERSION OP SAUL OF TARSUS. 241 
 
 of apology for his outrageous conduct. An awful 
 sense of his guilt, accompanied by a view of the glory 
 of Jesus, whom he had so daringly insulted, at first 
 overwhelmed him with grief, and almost drove him to 
 despair. But to whom could he apply, with any hope 
 of relief, but to Him, who, he was now convinced, is 
 mighty to save? He resolved, therefore, to try the 
 efficacy of an humble petition. Self-condemned, self- 
 diffident, and sensible of his perishing need of Divine 
 teaching, he cries out, in the language of entire sub- 
 mission, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 
 Thus resigning himself unreservedly to the grace and 
 disposal of the Almighty Redeemer, he obtained for- 
 giveness, and was directed to go into Damascus, to 
 be further instructed in his duty, by one of those very 
 disciples of the Lord, whom he had intended to carry 
 bound to Jerusalem. 
 
 Behold here the invariable effect of Divine grace 
 upon the converted sinner. The language of Saul 
 is the language of every real convert. "Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do?" His first concern is to 
 get a clear and satisfactory view of the way in which 
 pardoning mercy can be extended to the penitent, 
 returning rebel. Next the claims of gratitude are 
 felt and acknowledged. Since this gracious Saviour 
 has bought me with his blood, and has an indisputable 
 right to my undivided service, how would he have me 
 employed? How can I- honour him? What can I 
 do to promote his cause? By what means can I 
 contribute my mite to diffuse around me, and send 
 abroad in the earth the sweet savour of his name, 
 21 
 
242 CONVEBSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 
 
 ■which has become to me "precious as ointment poured 
 forth"? Are my present habits of life, the business 
 in "which I am engaged, the order of my family, 
 the company I keep, and the manner in "which I 
 spend my leisure hours, and dispose of my possessions, 
 such as comport "with the precepts of his gospel? 
 Are all my pursuits, my connections, my dealings 
 "with mankind, my speculations, and plans for en- 
 hancing my fortune, such as "warrant me to expect 
 the blessing of my Lord and Saviour on everything 
 I do? Will the manner in "which I no"w live and act 
 afford me a pleasing retrospect on the bed of death ? 
 Lord, assist me in these inquiries ; enable me to rectify 
 •whatever is "wrong, either in my conduct or temper, 
 and show me "what thou "wouldest have me to do. 
 These and the like questions claim the attention, 
 not only of young converts, but of every professor of 
 the Christian religion. 
 
 In Saul's being directed to go into the city to be 
 instructed fully in the doctrines of the gospel, and 
 the principles of duty, "we see the honour "which 
 Christ confers on his own institutions. This poor, 
 convicted Pharisee, -who had now become as a little 
 child, that he might be made "wise unto salvation, 
 ■was conducted into Damascus blind, a striking em- 
 blem of the darkness of his understanding in Divine 
 things. After three days' blindness, spent in fasting 
 and prayer, a disciple of the Lord was sent by express 
 commission to restore his sight, and confirm him in 
 the Christian faith. Ananias, a minister of the 
 gospel, was commissioned to teach this disciple of 
 
CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 243 
 
 Gamaliel, what were the first principles of the oracles 
 of Gpd. Under his ministry Saul was enlightened, 
 comforted, filled with the Holy Ghost, furnished with 
 miraculous powers, and recognized as a member of 
 Christ's church, by receiving the ordinance of bap- 
 tism. Let none, then, despise or neglect the insti- 
 tuted means of religious instruction. Let all attend 
 on the preaching of the gospel, and the dispensation 
 of its other ordinances, with seriousness, and docility 
 of mind. " Then shall ye know, if ye follow on to 
 know the Lord," in the way of his appointment. 
 
 But to return to the case of Saul. We have seen 
 him, with the torch of persecution in one hand, and 
 the death-warrant of the Lord's disciples in the other, 
 with a bsgid of armed soldiery in his train, leaving 
 Jerusalem like a man of blood, breathing forth threat- 
 enings and death. We have followed him, with min- 
 gled emotions of pity and indignation, to the suburbs 
 of Damascus, the intended scene of slaughter. There 
 we have beheld him suddenly and unexpectedly 
 arrested, humbled, convicted, and led into the city, 
 as a captive of sovereign grace. And now, to our 
 utter astonishment, and contrary to all human calcu- 
 lation, we behold him, with the temper of a little 
 child, in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus ! 
 
 And here we might close this discourse, in devout 
 admiration of the power and grace of the Son of God, 
 displayed in producing such a marvellous change in 
 such a marvellous sinner! Who is this that prays? 
 Is Saul also among them that call on the name of the 
 
244 CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 
 
 Lord Jesus? What is become of his bloodj designs 
 against the disciples at Damascus ? Where is th^ fury ' 
 of the persecutor ? Surely the prophet spoke as he 
 ■was moved by the Holy Ghost; for here we see, "the 
 wolf dwells with the lamb, and the leopard lies down 
 with the kid," no longer seeking to hurt or destroy. 
 Could this effect be produced by natural causes? As 
 well might you attempt to convince me that the waters 
 of yonder river can be made to flow backward in its 
 channel ; that the tornado can be arrested in its furi- 
 ous progress by the resistance of a straw; or that the 
 sun can be obstructed in his course without the mira- 
 culous interposition of Divine power. "It is the 
 Lord's doing; and it is marvellous in our eyes." 
 "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of i^rael, who 
 only doeth wondrous things : and blessed be his glori- 
 ous name for ever." Ps. Ixxii. 18, 19. 
 
 We will close the discourse with a few practical 
 reflections. 
 
 First, what a convincing proof does the conversion 
 of Saul afford us of the truth and Divine original of 
 our holy religion ! Perhaps no single argument has 
 given infidels more uneasiness than this. They never 
 have been able, and we are confident they never will 
 be able to dispose of it, even to their own satisfaction. 
 The only way in which they can get rid of it, is to 
 pronounce the whole of the history which relates to 
 the case a cunningly devised fable. But this is mani- 
 festly unfair and foolish. With men of common sense 
 and a sound mind, assertion will not pass for reason- 
 
CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 245 
 
 ing, nor will a stroke of profane wit frighten them out 
 of their religion, or sweep away the pillar of their 
 best hopes. 
 
 I regret that time will not allow me to place this 
 argument in that impressive shape of which it is sus- 
 ceptible. All that I can say upon it, at present, 
 must be condensed within a very small compass. 
 When I consider Saul's education, the strength of his 
 mind, and the force of his reasoning apparent in his 
 writings; when I take into view his pharisaical prepos- 
 sessions, his firm attachment to the Mosaic rites, his 
 prospects of preferment among his own nation, his 
 early and inveterate opposition to the gospel ; when I 
 look at him leaving Jerusalem, and bending his course 
 towards Damascus, with the deliberate determination 
 of destroying the disciples of the Lord ; when I see 
 him, on his way, smitten to the earth by an overpow- 
 ering light beaming from the heavens, and hear the 
 voice of Jesus addressing him from the midst of that 
 light; when I see him conquered, and hear him 
 acknowledge the conquest; when I see him changed, 
 and totally changed, led by the hand into the city, 
 blind, humble, and penitent; when I look at him 
 receiving instruction from Ananias, with the meekness 
 of a child; when I keep my eye upon him till his 
 sight is restored, till I see him baptized in the name 
 of Jesus, filled with the Holy Ghost, armed with 
 miraculous powers, going forth under the banner of 
 the cross, proving to all, both Jews and Gentiles, that 
 Jesus is the Christ, preaching the faith which he so 
 21* 
 
246 CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 
 
 lately laboured to destroy ; when I follow him from town 
 to town, from province to province, from Asia into 
 Europe, and from Europe back again to Asia, endur- 
 ing every conceivable privation, accounting all things 
 but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, 
 glorying in his cross, and esteeming it an honour to 
 suffer reproach and persecution for his name, and at 
 last, sealing his testimony with his blood, the argument 
 drawn from his case, in confirmation of the Christian 
 faith is, to me, absolutely irresistible and conclusive. 
 If Paul be regarded as an honest and intelligent man, 
 his declarations prove, incontestably, that our religion 
 is Divine. He affirms that he received it by inspiration 
 of God, and not by human teaching. He preached it 
 with zeal and success before he had any communica- 
 tion with the other apostles ; and yet he and they coin- 
 cided substantially in their account, both of facts and 
 doctrines. Now to what shall we ascribe this exact 
 agreement, but to the influence of Heaven ? Will it 
 be said that Paul was an impostor ? By what motives 
 could he have have been induced to leave his party 
 and forni such a scheme of deception ? Did he seek 
 wealth, honour, power, or sensual gratification ? No ; 
 these were not among Christians. Was he an en- 
 thusiast? No; none farther from it. He felt and 
 manifested a noble ardour which arose from a con- 
 sciousness of truth and rectitude. 
 
 But perhaps he was deceived by others. By 
 whom? Not surely by the disciples of Christ. With 
 them he had had no communications, and had left 
 
CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 247 
 
 Jerusalem on purpose to harass and destroy them. 
 Nor by his former associates; for they would have 
 put him to death for deserting their cause. The 
 circumstances of the case leave no room for collusion. 
 The only rational conclusion, then, is that he was 
 constituted an apostle by the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 that the doctrine which he preached is a revela- 
 tion from heaven, worthy of God, and suitable for 
 man. 
 
 A second reflection is the sovereignty of God in 
 providing for the exigencies of his people. The pros- 
 pects of the Church have seldom been more unpro- 
 mising than when Saul set out for Damascus. The 
 disciples were oppressed, and harassed beyond mea- 
 sure. Their number was small; and as to wealth 
 and talent, they had neither. The spirit of persecu- 
 tion threatened to carry all before it. But, behold, 
 how easily Jehovah can blast the hopes, and baffle 
 the designs of his enemies ! We see here the cham- 
 pion of Judaism, and the avowed enemy of the 
 cross, not only checked and defeated, but completely 
 changed; and the whole force of his great mind 
 directed to build up the cause, which till now he had 
 been assiduously labouring to destroy. In view of 
 this fact, let the friends of Christ and his gospel take 
 fresh courage. The Church of God is bought with 
 precious blood. She is founded on a rock, and the 
 gates of hell shall not prevail against her. The 
 anointed Son of the Most High sits upon God's holy 
 mountain. Blessed and safe are all those who put 
 their trust in him. 
 
248 CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 
 
 Thirdly, learn from this subject the freeness and 
 efficacy of Divine grace. Let the conscience smitten 
 penitent, who trembles under a sense of his guilt, 
 have immediate recourse to that blood which cleanseth 
 from all sin. Let him listen to the testimony of this 
 same Saul, speaking from experience, and under the 
 inspiration of God; and let him be no longer faith- 
 less, but believing: "This is a faithful saying, and 
 worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came 
 into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 
 Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me 
 first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suifering, 
 for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe 
 on him to life everlasting." 1 Tim. i. 15, 16. 
 
CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 
 
 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day 
 whom ye will serve. — Joshua xxiv. 15. 
 
 These words form part of the valedictory address of 
 Joshua to the people of Israel. About to resign his 
 post as their leader, and foreseeing the danger to 
 which they were exposed from the idolatry of the 
 nations among whom they were now settled, he 
 assembled all the tribes, with their religious and civil 
 officers, at Shechem. Here, after recounting to them 
 the wonders which God had wrought in their behalf, 
 he gives them a most solemn charge to pay a strict 
 reo^ard to the statutes of the Lord, and abstain from 
 every form of idolatrous worship ; warning them, at 
 the same time, of the consequences of a revolt from 
 their rightful sovereign, and pressing upon them the 
 necessity of an immediate and decided choice of the 
 God whom they will serve. "And if it seem evil 
 unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day 
 whom ye will serve." "All Scripture is given by 
 inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for 
 
250 CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 
 
 reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteous- 
 ness." The passage which we have chosen as the 
 foundation of the present exercise, appears to me, 
 when taken in its general application, to reprove 
 those persons who are halting between two opinions; 
 those hesitating characters to whom the service of 
 God seems evil, i. e., hard and unreasonable, but who 
 are yet afraid openly to renounce his claims to their 
 obedience. If this be the case with any of you, 
 attend, if you please, while I endeavour to influence 
 your decision on this interesting and momentous 
 subject. The text suggests to us three particulars, to 
 which your attention is now requested. 
 
 I. We must serve some master. 
 
 II. We ought to serve God, rather than any other. 
 
 III. We should choose whom we will serve with- 
 out delay. 
 
 I. We must serve some master. If we refuse 
 allegiance to our lawful sovereign, we unavoidably 
 become the slaves of some tyrannical usurper. This is 
 proved from Scripture, and from the nature and 
 constitution of man. The Scriptures uniformly divide 
 mankind into two classes — the servants of God, and 
 the servants of sin ; and they teach us that a revolt 
 from God is always followed by a more abject subju- 
 gation to some other master. Thus, says the apostle, 
 "while they promise them liberty, they themselves 
 are the servants of corruption ; for of whom a man is 
 overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage. 
 Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves 
 
CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 251 
 
 servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey, 
 whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto 
 righteousness?" To the same effect is the language 
 of God to the Israelites: "Because thou servedst not 
 the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness 
 of heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore 
 shalt thou serve thine enemies, which the Lord shall 
 send against thee, in* hunger, and in thirst, and in 
 nakedness, and in w^ant of all things ; and he shall 
 put a yoke of iron upon thy neck until he have 
 destroyed thee." Is not all this verified in the 
 unhappy experience of sinners? Are not those per- 
 sons who take the most pains to make proselytes to 
 impiety, and who promise their followers a complete 
 deliverance from the trammels of education, and the 
 scruples of conscience, themselves the most pitiable 
 drudges of Satan? Yes; they have performed his 
 service, and worn his fetters, till they are become 
 insensible of their bondage ; till mistaking the shadow 
 for the substance, they glory in their imaginary 
 liberty. These men resemble the Jews, who boasted 
 to our Saviour that they were Abraham's children, 
 and were never in bondage to any man; while they 
 forgot Egypt and Babylon, and felt not the yoke 
 of Caesar, which was then pressing upon them. 
 
 A slight acquaintance with our own constitution 
 will convince us that we were not formed for indepen- 
 dence. We must pay homage; we must worship 
 something as God. Man is an active being, and his 
 exertions will be directed to some end. He is depen- 
 dent, and must have some support, either real or 
 
252 CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 
 
 imaginary, on which to rest. He is insufficient for 
 his own happiness, and will seek it in something 
 external. He has a soul of vast desires, and having 
 forsaken the fountain of living waters, he will hew 
 out for himself broken cisterns, which can hold no 
 water. In a word, his affections must be placed 
 supremely on some object; and it is the very nature 
 of love to subject us, in some 'degree, to the object 
 beloved. And whatever engrosses our affections, and 
 is the object of our main pursuit, assumes, in our 
 estimation, the place of God, and becomes our idol. 
 It is unquestionable — if you do not serve the Lord 
 who made, and who governs all things, you must serve 
 some of his enemies. If you be not the servant of 
 Jesus Christ, you are the slave of some unhallowed 
 passion. If you be not the subject of humility, you 
 are the abject vassal of pride. Let a man once yield 
 himself to the dominion of any inordinate passion, 
 and where is his boasted liberty ? See the avaricious 
 man; his money is his God: and what sacrifices is he 
 not obliged to make to it ! To it are consecrated his 
 early and his late hours. His love of gain forbids 
 him all that luxury which the liberal man enjoys in 
 relieving the wants of the needy. It denies him 
 even the necessaries and conveniences of life ; he lives 
 poor and despised, and dies unnoticed and unla- 
 mented. 
 
 The votaries of sensual pleasure and libertinism 
 complain that the service of Jesus Christ requires too 
 much self-denial ; while they, at the same time, submit 
 to laws the most arbitrary and unreasonable. The 
 
CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 253 
 
 laws of the gospel, which require us to love God, to 
 do unto others as we would they should do unto us ; 
 which require us to keep ourselves unspotted from the 
 world, studying to preserve a conscience void of 
 offence towards God and man, appear to many per- 
 sons altogether intolerable, while they yield an implicit 
 and cheerful obedience to the laws of opinion, of 
 extravagance, and of folly. Did the service of my 
 Master make it necessary for me to renounce any of 
 the endearing relations, or rational enjoyments of 
 life; if it required me to adopt expensive modes of 
 living, which would involve myself and connections in 
 wretchedness and want ; if it required me to sacrifice 
 all that is easy and natural in my manners, to forms 
 and ceremonies which are studied and artificial; if it 
 required me to hazard my own life, and the life of 
 my neighbour, for an offence given, perhaps, inadvert- 
 ently; if it denied me the pleasure of overcoming 
 evil with good; then, indeed, I should consider it 
 irksome; then would I sigh for deliverance from 
 obedience to laws so harsh and despotic. "But we 
 have not so learned Christ." These are the require- 
 ments of your master, ye men of the world; these 
 are the self-denials, these the low s.ervices which the 
 world imposes on all its subjects. Since, therefore, 
 you cannot remain neutral; since you must obey some 
 master, we plead for God, and entreat you to engage 
 in his service freely and cordially. We come to the 
 second division of our subject. 
 
 II. We ought to serve God rather than any other 
 being. His commandments are not grievous, biit joy- 
 
254 CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 
 
 ous. He will give grace and glory; and no "good 
 thing will the Lord withhold from them that walk 
 uprightly." "My yoke is easy, and my burden is 
 light," says the blessed Redeemer. But I blush for 
 human nature, when I consider that arguments are 
 necessary to induce men to engage in the reasonable 
 and delightful service of their God and Saviour. 
 Hear, heavens, and be astonished; give ear, 
 earth, and tremble; for the Lord hath spoken: I 
 have nourished and brought up children, and they 
 have rebelled against me! 
 
 I am at a loss, not for motives, but to know what 
 motives to select and propose to you. Consider, in 
 the first place, the obligations which you are under 
 to God. Creating goodness, providing munificence, 
 and redeeming love, bind you by the most sacred 
 ties to serve the Lord. But a few years ago you 
 had no place in existence. Who gave you, not only 
 a being, but so high and so honourable a grade in the 
 scale of being? The answer is obvious. You have 
 a soul susceptible of the purest enjoyment, and which 
 is endued with immortality. Who thus distinguished 
 you from the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the 
 air? In whom do you live and move? Whose air 
 do you breathe, whose sun warms you, whose bounty 
 feeds you, whose earth supports you? Who pre- 
 serves your health, while others are sick ? Who pro- 
 longs your life, and gives you space for repentance, 
 while others die around you? Who sent his Son to 
 seek and to save you, when lost, and guilty, and help- 
 less? In the hour of death, when heart and flesh 
 
CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 255 
 
 shall fail, who do you expect will be the strength 
 of your soul, and your portion for ever ? From whose 
 mercy do you hope for pardon and salvation ? and in 
 whose heaven do you hope to spend an eternity of 
 bliss? The answer to these queries is plain and 
 indubitable. If then there is such a thing as justice, 
 and if it consists in rendering to every one his due, 
 be just, and you must serve God. If there is such 
 a thing as gratitude, and if it consists in a readiness 
 to make a suitable return for favours received, be 
 grateful, and you must be religious. Consider who is 
 the Author of your life, your happiness, and your 
 hopes; and let me "beseech you, therefore, brethren, 
 by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies 
 a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, 
 which is your reasonable service." 
 
 Consider, also, the end for which God employs 
 you in his service. The devil and the world would 
 enlist you in their service, from interested and selfish 
 views. But in this respect, who is a God like unto 
 the Lord? Does he wish to display his grandeur, 
 and reap advantage from the increase of his sub- 
 jects? "Can a man be profitable unto God, as he 
 that is wise may be profitable unto himself?" "Is it 
 any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous; 
 or gain to the Most High that thou makest thy way 
 perfect?" No, no; he stands in no need of you, 
 but he knows that you stand in perishing need of 
 him. "0," says he, "that there were such a heart 
 in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my 
 commandments always, that it might be well with 
 
256 CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 
 
 them, and with their children for ever." Our Heavenly 
 Father wishes jou to serve him here, that you may 
 be fitted to enjoy him hereafter. By the humble 
 forms of worship which he has established in his 
 Church militant, he intends to prepare you for taking 
 part in the more exalted services of* his everlasting 
 temple above. He does not require you to obey 
 him that he may derive advantage from your obedi- 
 ence, but that he may bestow upon you innumerable 
 blessings under the idea of a reward. And by what 
 strong and lively images do the Scriptures describe 
 the reward which remains for the righteous! It is 
 a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ; 
 it is a city which hath foundations, whose builder 
 and maker is God; it is a kingdom which cannot 
 be shaken; it is a crown of glory which fadeth not 
 away. He has given you exceeding great and pre- 
 cious promises, to engage and encourage you in his 
 service; and these promises are yea, and amen, in 
 Christ Jesus. " Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, 
 Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hun- 
 gry; behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall 
 be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye 
 shall be ashamed ; behold, my servants shall sing for 
 joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, 
 and shall howl for vexation of spirit." "Even the 
 youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men 
 shall utterly fail ; but they that wait upon the Lord 
 shall renew their strength ; they shall mount up with 
 wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, 
 and they shall walk and not faint." And does not 
 
 I 
 
CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 257 
 
 the experience of God's real servants, attest his faith- 
 fulness to these engagements? If not, why do they 
 persevere in his service? Why do they not return 
 to the country whence they came? Ask them, and 
 they will tell you, that having tasted of the grapes 
 of Eshcol, they no longer sigh for the leeks and 
 onions of Egypt. It is true, they will acknowledge 
 to you. We have often to mourn and lament; the 
 service of our Master, however, is not the cause of 
 our grief, but our want of perfect conformity to his 
 will, is what pains us. We are nevertheless cheered 
 with the hope, that our sorrow shall be turned into 
 joy. When the world frowns, we are not dismayed; 
 for our Saviour has forewarned us, that in the world 
 we shall have tribulation. Our God sometimes smiles 
 upon us, and in our darkest seasons, he orders our 
 lot, and makes all things work together for our 
 greatest good. "Heaven," says one, "will more 
 than make amends for these troubles of the way 
 thither." And when told that his happiness was all 
 future, "No," he replies, "I have now foretastes 
 and earnests of my heavenly inheritance. I feel a 
 peace which passeth all understanding; and sometimes 
 I rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 In his earthly sanctuary, I behold his power and 
 his glory. In my closet, I find it good to draw near 
 my God. His statutes are my song in the house of 
 my pilgrimage, and I rejoice in his word, as one that 
 findeth great spoil. Once I thought like you. I 
 supposed if I began a religious course, I should never 
 have another happy day; but I never had a happy 
 22* 
 
258 CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 
 
 day before. I have found nothing of the fetters and 
 bondage of which I had heard, and by which I had 
 been disgusted. His service has been perfect free- 
 dom ; and none of his commands are grievous. And 
 could I now lay open my soul! could I make you 
 see as I see, and feel as I feel! taste and see 
 that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that 
 trusteth in him." 
 
 And now having shown you that it is more reason- 
 able, and more advantageous for you to serve God 
 than any other master, let me press upon you the 
 necessity of an immediate and decided choice. 
 
 III. We should without delay choose whom we will 
 serve. ^'If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, 
 choose you this day whom ye will serve." Remember 
 the time is fast approaching, and may now be much 
 nearer than we imagine, when a marked distinction 
 will be made between him that serveth God, and him 
 that serveth him not. I am the more urgent on this 
 point, because I believe that could you be brought to 
 make a decisive choice, you would choose the good 
 part, which shall never be taken from you. The 
 world is filled with almost-Christians, and there is 
 awful reason to fear that many who are now halting 
 between two opinions, will at last strive to enter in, 
 and shall not be able, because they did not engage 
 in the service of God with full purpose of heart. 
 Are you in some measure convinced that it is your 
 duty to serve the Lord? Why not enter upon his 
 service with all your hearts now, without farther 
 delay? Are you discouraged by the obstacles which 
 
CHOOSE WHOM YE WILL SERVE. 259 
 
 lie in the way? But when will these obstacles 
 diminish? Are you afraid to encounter the frowns 
 of the world ? But when will the world, which lieth 
 in wickedness, be favourably disposed to real godli- 
 ness? Do you fear the diflSculty of changing your 
 manner of living, or the mode of your family govern- 
 ment? Be assured this difficulty is every day in- 
 creasing. But still you wish a little more time to 
 consider on the subject. Pray, when will you deter- 
 mine? The next year, the next month, to-morrow? 
 We have nothing to do with to-morrow. We know 
 not what a day may bring forth. Choose you this 
 day, " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not 
 your hearts." While you are hesitating, God may say 
 of you, ^'None of these men who were bidden, shall 
 taste of my supper." The arrows of death fly thick 
 on every side of you, and have you made a covenant 
 with death? are you at an agreement with hell? 
 Perhaps the feet of them who have buried thy neigh- 
 bour are at the door to carry thee out.^ "Awake, 
 thou that sleepest; arise from the dead, and Christ 
 shall give thee light." Will none of you realize that 
 pleasing prophecy which has for many ages excited 
 the prayers, and encouraged the hopes of the pious ? 
 ''One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall 
 call himself by the name of Jacob ; and another shall 
 subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname 
 himself by the name of Israel." 
 
 It is high time for us to awake out of sleep; the 
 night is far spent, the day is at hand. Many of us, 
 it is to be feared, have been serving the flesh and the 
 
260 CHOOSE whom ye will serve. 
 
 lusts thereof all our days. Surely it is now time that 
 we begin to serve the Lord who made us. The time 
 of our probation may be much nearer a close than we 
 imagine ; and nothing is more certain, nothing is more 
 reasonable, than that he who refuses to serve God 
 here, should be excluded from his presence and enjoy- 
 ment hereafter. But perhaps you are ready to say 
 to me, as the people of Israel said to Joshua, "God 
 forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other 
 gods." Would to Heaven this were the firm purpose 
 of your souls ! I do not suppose that any of you bow 
 down to idols made with men's hands; but I neverthe- 
 less fear that many of you are justly chargeable with 
 a species of idolatry no less dangerous. "No man," 
 says our Saviour, "can serve two masters; for either 
 he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will 
 hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot 
 serve God and mammon." From this declaration, it 
 is plain that you may serve mammon to the neglect of 
 God; for both together cannot be obeyed. Wealth, 
 power, honour, fame, sensual pleasure, gay amuse- 
 ment, constitute what we usually express by the term 
 mammon, or the world, when opposed to religion. 
 Here then are the two masters that claim dominion 
 over us — God and the world. One of them we must 
 serve, both we cannot; because their dispositions and 
 their commands are diametrically opposite to one 
 another. The world invites us to indulge all our 
 appetites without control; to entangle ourselves in 
 the cares and distractions of business ; or to give our- 
 selves up entirely to pleasure, amusement, and every 
 
CHOOSE WnOM YE WILL SERVE. 261 
 
 kind of luxurious indulgence. These are the services 
 which one master requires. But there is another 
 Master, whose injunctions are of a very different 
 nature. That other Master is God; and his com- 
 mands are, to give him our hearts; to love him with 
 all our heart, soul, mind, and strength ; to be tempe- 
 rate in all things; to make our moderation known 
 unto all men ; to fix our affections on things above ; 
 to have our conversation in heaven; to cast all our 
 cares upon him, and to take up our cross, and follow 
 Christ. 
 
 You see, then, it is impossible to obey two masters, 
 whose orders are so contradictory. Now, whether you 
 should serve a world which lieth in sin and ignorance, 
 rather than your Maker and Redeemer, let reason 
 and common-sense decide. Our Creator expects to 
 reign absolute in our hearts. He will not be served 
 by halves ; he will not accept of a divided empire ; he 
 will not suffer us to halt between two opinions; we 
 must make a choice, and cleave to the one side or the 
 other. Therefore, "if the Lord be God, follow him; 
 but if Baal, then follow him." 
 
DIVINE GUIDANCE 
 
 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will 
 lead them in paths that they have not known : I will make dark- 
 ness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things 
 will I do unto them, and not forsake them. — Isaiah xlii. 16, 
 
 Spiritual blindness is one of the sad effects of our 
 apostasy from God. We were formed, originally, in 
 the image of our Maker, and that image consisted 
 partly in knowledge — a true and correct knowledge 
 of Him who made us, of the duty which we owed him, 
 and of the happiness to be enjoyed in his favour and 
 service. But, ever since our first parents ate " the 
 fruit of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 
 brought death into the world, and all our woes," 
 " darkness has covered the earth, and gross darkness 
 the people." " The God of this world hath blinded 
 the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of 
 the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, 
 should shine unto them." 2 Cor. iv. 4. And what 
 renders our case the more deplorable is, that we natu- 
 rally "love darkness rather than light." We are 
 willing to remain ignorant of our duty, because we 
 have no disposition to perform it. And were the 
 Father of lights to leave us to follow the bias of our 
 
DIVINE GUIDANCE. 263 
 
 depraved hearts, our ignorance must inevitably issue 
 in the shades of eternal death. But, blessed be God, 
 who, in tender mercy, hath caused the day-spring 
 from on high to visit us, to give light to them that sit 
 in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our 
 feet into the way of peace ! how much to be ad- 
 mired is the condescension of the high and lofty One 
 in the conduct of his redeeming grace ! Self-moved 
 and unsolicited, he comes, by his Holy Spirit, to 
 recover us from the ruins of the fall. He finds us not 
 only lost to all sense of duty and gratitude, but utterly 
 unacquainted with the malignity of our disease and 
 the process by which an effectual cure may be expect- 
 ed. He graciously undertakes to heal our maladies, 
 to reclaim our wanderings, to impart to us the light of 
 life and the joys of salvation. ''I will bring the 
 blind by a way that they knew not ; I will lead them 
 in paths that they have not known." This saying is 
 verified, 
 
 I. In the conversion of sinners. Here God's ways 
 are not as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts. 
 Persons generally expect to be translated from dark- 
 ness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, 
 by a sudden and sensible, but joyous and delightful 
 operation of Divine grace upon their minds. They 
 fancy that the change will be attended with such 
 strong marks and evidences as shall afford them an 
 assurance of their interest in the Redeemer, and in- 
 spire them at once with joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory. But, in this instance, God moves in a myste- 
 rious way. He brings them to himself in a way which 
 
264 DIVINE GUIDANCE. 
 
 they knew not. He wounds to heal, and humbles to 
 exalt. He apprizes men of their danger, and then 
 presents them with a suitable remedy. He gives 
 them a view of the corruption of their nature, and 
 fills them with shame and sorrow for their sin. He 
 shows them the purity and majesty of his law, and by 
 setting their iniquities in array before them, makes 
 them sensible that they deserve to be punished. He 
 charges home guilt upon the conscience and makes 
 them feel the plague of their own hearts. He presses 
 upon their minds the obligations of duty, and, at the 
 same time, convinces them of their insufficiency to 
 perform one holy act, or put forth one right desire. 
 When they would do good, evil is present ; when they 
 attempt to pray, they find it a strange work ; their 
 doubts and fears, with the remembrance of their past 
 neglect of God, drive them back from the throne of 
 grace. Satan assails them with his fiery darts, their 
 attention is diverted, their minds are harassed with 
 evil thoughts, and they are sometimes ready to yield 
 to despair and turn back to perdition. Yet an 
 awakened conscience will not permit them to live easy 
 in the neglect of known duty. They are straitened 
 in their own bowels, their understandings are envel- 
 oped in darknes.s, their wills are obstinate, their souls 
 cleave to the dust, and they are often constrained to 
 cry out, with fear and trembling, " What shall I do 
 to be saved?" 
 
 Thus they are conducted "in a way which they 
 knew not." But this is the way in which God 
 ordinarily brings back the blind to the Shepherd and 
 
DIVINE GUIDANCE. 265 
 
 Bishop of their souls. The three thousand, who were 
 pricked in their hearts, on the day of Pentecost, 
 probably did not regard their conviction of sin as 
 a token of the Lord's mercy. But it so turned out. 
 "They who gladly received the word were baptized; 
 and, continuing daily, with one accord, in the temple, 
 and breaking bread from house to house, did eat 
 their meat with gladness and singleness of heart; 
 praising God, and having favour with all the people.'* 
 The jailor at Philippi, under his first awakening im- 
 pressions, was tempted to destroy himself; but, in due 
 time, he was made to rejoice, "believing in God, with 
 all his house." 
 
 II. This saying is verified in the experience of 
 the pious. They are conducted, by the providence of 
 God, in paths which they have not known. The life 
 of Christians is far from being a life of uninterrupted 
 joy and peace. They who expect the crown of 
 righteousness without contending for it, will find 
 themselves in a mistake. It is true, "the ways of 
 wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths 
 are peace;" but the most eminently pious still bear 
 about with them a body of sin and death. Here is a 
 source of great trouble and solicitude. The depth of 
 iniquity in the heart is not discovered all at once, 
 and every new discovery gives fresh uneasiness ; and 
 God often permits his people to be in heaviness 
 through manifold temptations. The heart is treacher- 
 ous; and the world, with its painted pleasures, is 
 constantly opposing their growth in grace. The 
 streams of depravity flow in all directions; and, 
 though persons w^hose dispositions are congenial to 
 23 
 
266 DIVINE GUIDANCE. 
 
 the spirit of a ^Yorld that lieth in wickedness, sustain 
 no conflict, experience no trial from this quarter, yet 
 those who are born of God, and are breathing after 
 holiness, are deeply affected with the opposition, and 
 realize the Saviour's declaration: *'In the world ye 
 shall have tribulation." 
 
 By the dispensations of his providence, also, God 
 often leads his people in paths which they have not 
 known. How mysterious his conduct towards Israel ! 
 He had taken them under his special care. He was 
 their Ruler, their Protector, and Guide ; yet they were 
 allowed to wander amid dangers and discouragements 
 for forty years in the wilderness. How distressing 
 the case of Job ! How complicated and overwhelming 
 his afflictions ! Verily he was led in paths which he 
 had not known ; and the difficulty of reconciling pro- 
 vidences with promises, impelled him, on several 
 occasions, to charge God foolishly. "Is it good unto 
 thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest 
 despise the work of thy hands, and shine upon the 
 counsel of the wicked?" Job x. 3. "If I be wicked, 
 woe unto me ; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift 
 up my head. I am full of confusion ; therefore see 
 thou mine affliction, for it increaseth. Thou huntest 
 me as a fierce lion : and again thou showest thyself 
 marvellous upon me." Job x. 15, 16. The result 
 proved the blindness of Job, and illustrated the Divine 
 goodness: "The Lord blessed the latter end of Job 
 more than his beginning." St. James's decision in 
 the case, is full of piety and useful instruction: 
 "Behold, we count them happy which endure: ye 
 have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the 
 
DIVINE GUIDANCE. 267 
 
 end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of 
 tender mercy." James v. 11. The experience of 
 Joseph is also in point. God intended, from the 
 beginning, to make him ruler over his brethren ; but 
 antecedent to his exaltation, he permitted him to be 
 greatly afflicted and depressed. He fell a victim to 
 fraternal jealousy; was sold by his own brethren, and 
 dragged into Egypt as a slave, and was there cast 
 into prison on a false accusation. He languished for 
 years, a stranger in a strange land; but in due time 
 the purpose of Heaven was developed, when it became 
 evident that the path in which this good man had 
 been led, though covered with clouds and darkness, 
 was, nevertheless, the right way. 
 
 Not to mention other instances, the Saviour him- 
 self was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. 
 In bringing many sons to glory, he was made perfect, 
 through suffering. In short, the subjects of Divine 
 grace find themselves, from first to last, conducted in 
 a way which they knew not, and in paths which they 
 have not known. In regeneration, all things become 
 new; and, during the progress of sanctification, many 
 things in the conduct of Providence appear dark and 
 mysterious. But the next clause of our text contains 
 a promise, at once animating and consolatory : 
 
 III. "I will make darkness light before them, and 
 crooked things straight." The convinced sinner, and 
 the young convert may take encouragement from 
 this promise. It seems intended to induce such to 
 give all diligence to make their calling and election 
 sure. " Then shall ye know, if ye follow on to know 
 the Lord." The good work may have been begun, 
 
268 DIVINE GUIDANCE. 
 
 where it is, yet, far from being completed. The dawn 
 of the morning precedes the full blaze of noon-day. 
 The light is the same in kind, but inferior in degree. 
 All that are born of God are influenced by the same 
 spirit, and are impelled by similar hopes and desires; 
 but all may not have arrived to the same stature, or 
 possess equal light and strength. The Scriptures 
 speak of little children, young men, and fathers in 
 Christ. They who have but just begun to breathe in 
 the new world, cannot comprehend all the wonders 
 with which they are surrounded. The infant arrives 
 by progressive steps to the maturity of manhood. 
 The heavens and the earth might have been created 
 in an instant by the Almighty; but he saw fit to 
 spend six days in doing what he could have accom- 
 plished, by the word of his power, in a single moment. 
 The designs of Providence are unfolded gradually. 
 Several ages were occupied in completing the work of 
 redemption. Let not the young Christian, then, be 
 discouraged, if he does not attain suddenly to the 
 stature of a perfect man in Christ. However defi- 
 cient in knowledge and emper you may now be, if 
 the Spirit of the Lord lias lacome your Teacher, he 
 will make you wise unto salvation. In the mean 
 time, be docile, be diligent, search the Scriptures, be 
 often at the throne of grace. Let not your minds 
 be distracted by intricate and abstruse points in 
 religion. A speculating and disputatious spirit is 
 extremely unfavourable to your proficiency in the 
 Divine life. You should direct the whole force of 
 your mind to the plain doctrines and duties of the 
 gospel. Look narrowly into your own bosoms. "Ex- 
 
DIVINE GUIDANCE. 269 
 
 amine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith." Try 
 to ascertain what spirit you are of. Rest not easy, 
 waste not your time on other subjects, till you find 
 drawn upon your souls those features which mark the 
 new man, in Christ Jesus. Contemplate the law of 
 God in its purity, spirituality, and awful sanctions. 
 Consider what sin is : the transgression of the law, or 
 any want of conformity to it ; ingratitude to your most 
 bountiful Benefactor; disobedience to your Heavenly 
 Father; treason against the Great King of heaven 
 and earth. Meditate much and deeply on the love of 
 God, as it is manifested in^the gift of a Saviour. Fix 
 your attention closely on the mediatorial character of 
 Jesus Christ. He is "the end of the law for righteous- 
 ness to every one that believeth" — make him your 
 righteousness. He is our wisdom — let his word dwell 
 in you richly. He is the propitiation for our sins — 
 his blood cleanseth from all sin; go, wash in this 
 fountain, it is the true Bethesda. In one word, " He 
 is the way, the truth, and the life." Commit your- 
 selves to him in well-doing; prove your respect for 
 his authority by keeping his sayings, and he will 
 give you the light of life, and you shall not be con- 
 founded, world without end. "I will make darkness 
 light before them, and crooked things straight." 
 
 Yes, Christians, though clouds and darkness, diffi- 
 culties and dangers lie along the path to heaven, 
 these clouds shall be dispersed, and all your trials 
 shall conduce to your peace and comfort in the issue. 
 Even in this vale of tears, you have frequently occa- 
 sion to acknowledge that it is good for you to be 
 afflicted. And what you know not now, you shall 
 
270 DIVINE GUIDANCE. 
 
 know hereafter. The light of glory, reflected back 
 on those mysterious paths in which you are now 
 travelling, will constrain you to acknowledge the 
 goodness of God, and to sing through eternal ages, 
 "Just and true are all thy ways, thou King of saints !" 
 If your Heavenly Father permits you to fall into 
 divers temptations now, it is for the trial of your 
 faith, and for the display of his power and grace in 
 rescuing you from the snares of the adversary. He 
 regards you as trees of his own planting; and, if he 
 prune you, it is that you may be the more fruitful. 
 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to 
 such as keep his covenant, and do his commandments. 
 They shall realize the promise, "I will make darkness 
 light before them, and crooked things straight." 
 
 But, perhaps, you are sometimes fearful that God 
 may yet leave you to perish. Dismiss the unworthy 
 suspicion. God will not despise the work of his own 
 hand, neither will he leave it unfinished. His kindly 
 regards for his people are permanent and unalterable. 
 Hear how he speaks in the conclusion of our text: 
 " These things will I do unto them and not forsake 
 them." He may, indeed, seem to forsake them for a 
 season; but he will never utterly abandon them. 
 He says, "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." Isa. liv. 7, 8. The 
 Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to 
 perish. 
 
 Paul says, " I am persuaded that neither death, nor 
 
DIVINE GUIDANCE. 271 
 
 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 sepa- 
 rate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord." Rom. viii. 38, 39. 
 
 If God had meant to leave you to die in your sins 
 and perish, he would not have convinced you of your 
 depravity, and filled your minds with those anxious 
 desires to glorify and enjoy him. Contrition of soul, 
 solicitude to know your duty, and a relish for the 
 things of religion, are not the fruits of nature, neither 
 are they the productions of Satan. He who hath 
 wrought these dispositions in you, is God ; and he does 
 nothing in vain. He cannot deny himself; he will 
 cherish the seed which he has sown, and gratify the 
 holy longings which he has imparted to the soul. "Be 
 not faithless, then, but believing." Be strong in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and hope unto the end. The path 
 in which God is leading you is not strewed with flow- 
 ers; but it has been trodden by thousands, who are 
 now walking the golden streets, and rejoicing in the 
 light of heaven. It is one which, though beset with 
 thorns, and sometimes enveloped in darkness, leads to 
 glory, honour, and immortal felicity. Yet a little 
 while, and your faith shall give place to vision, and 
 your mourning be turned into joy unspeakable and 
 full of glory. He who hath begun the good work in 
 you, will perform it till the day of Jesus Christ ; till 
 that happy day to be followed by no night, when you 
 shall join the triumph of angels and the spirits of the 
 just made perfect. 
 
 Finally, if the view which we have taken of this 
 
272 DIVINE GUIDANCE. 
 
 subject be correct, it is plain that those persons who 
 are still walking in the old beaten path of depraved 
 nature, are strangers to a work of grace on their 
 hearts, and have not yet taken one step heavenward. 
 "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." 
 God conducts his people in a way which they have 
 not known. This conquest of redeeming mercy is not 
 achieved without a struggle between the flesh and the 
 Spirit. The truth is fully established by the testimony 
 of holy writ, and by the experience of the pious in all 
 ages of the world. "Examine yourselves, whether ye 
 be in the faith." If you are in religious matters now 
 what you have always been, you have fearful reason 
 to conclude that you are in the gall of bitterness and 
 in the bond of iniquity. I know that- the Scriptures 
 speak of some who were "sanctified from the womb;" 
 but the meaning is that they w^ere designed and raised 
 up by Providence for some special service in the 
 church, not that they were so pure and blameless as 
 not to need the renewing grace of God, which turns 
 men from darkness to light, and conducts them to 
 glory in a way to which they are by nature strangers. 
 
 THE END. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 
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 GAYLORD 
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 PRINTED IN U.S.A.