3J--.J 
 
 .J^. 
 
 LIBRA_RY 
 
 Theoloaieal Semina r v , 
 BV 4905 .R87 1836 v.l 
 Russell, David. 
 ^ Letters, practical and 
 consolatory 
 
 Ii<Hth\ 
 
 No... 
 
THE 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 (tfivlnttun 'B.no'mlttiQt. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 THE REV. HERMAN HOOKER, M. A., 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE " PORTION OF THE SOUL," &c. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^^^xT 
 
 
 LABOHE 
 
 
 
 Philadelphia: 
 
 UELTJCENS. 
 
 WILLIAM 
 
 M 
 
 A R S H A L L AND 
 
 company; 
 
 
 NEW YORK: LEAVITT, LORD & 
 
 CO. 
 
 
 
 
 M DCCC XXXVI. 
 
 
BDHLINGTON, N. J. 
 J. L. Powell, i'riut.r. 
 
LETTERS, 
 
 PRACTICAL AND CONSOLATORY; 
 
 DESIGNED TO ILLUSTRATE 
 
 THE NATURE AND TENDENCY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE GOSPEL. 
 
 BY THE REV. DAVID 'ilUSSELL, D. D. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "A SURVEY OF THE OLD AND NEW COVENANTS," "A VIEW OF THE 
 ADAMIC AND MEDIATORIAL DISPENSATIONS," &c. 
 
 "These things write we unto you, that your joy maybe full."— 1 John i. 4. 
 
 FROM THE FOURTH EDINBURGH EDITION, 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY 
 
 BT 
 
 THE REV. HENRY A. BOARDMAN, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 W. MARSHALL, & CO. 
 
 NEW YORK: LEAVITT, LORD AND CO. 
 
 M DCCC XXXVI. 
 
Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1836, by 
 W. Mahshall & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of 
 the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The following Letters were addressed, for the most part, to persons 
 in affliction. They are not, however, merely consolatory. Sorrow 
 is the fruit of sin, and therefore its true cure lies only in that medi- 
 cinal truth which purifies the heart, and "saves and sets the sinner 
 free." With this conviction, it was the Writer's object in these 
 Letters to state that great truth in the different lights and connec- 
 tions in which it appears in Scripture. The individuals to whom 
 they were written believed that they received benefit from them, and 
 they thought that others might do so likewise.— This is the history 
 of their publication. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY 13 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 ox THE SUFFERIXGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 General observations on the sufferings of Christ — They con- 
 tinued through his life — The nature of those he endured in 
 Gathsemane and on the Cross — Their expiatory design — 
 Were inflicted by God as the lawgiver — Flowed from a sense 
 of the evil of sin and of the Divine displeasure, and from the 
 desertion of his Father — This typified under the law — Were 
 endured in circumstances of shame — Were increased by the 
 powers of darkness, and by many other secondary causes ; 
 and terminated in death 37 
 
 LETTER n. 
 
 ox THE GLOKT OF CHRIST. 
 
 General remarks on the glory of Christ, as illustrated by his 
 sufferings. His glory a striking manifestation of the Di^^ne 
 character — Appears in his resurrection — In his ascension — 
 The completion of the atonement — The Divine approbation 
 of his work — And his ministrations and bliss in the heavenly 
 sanctuary. Was the subject of his prayer and conversation 
 on earth — Demonstrates the perfection of his sacrifice — Is the 
 source of peace before God — of sanctification — of consolation 
 under affliction, and in the prospect of death and eternity, . 56 
 
VIU CONTEiS'TS. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 ON THE INVITATIOXS ANI) PHOMISKS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 The importance of understanding the invitations and promises 
 of the Gospel — The former addressed to men considered as 
 sinners, the latter respect them as believers — Self-examination 
 not designed to find a warrant to go to Christ — This illus- 
 trated by a reference to the manna, the cities of refuge, and 
 the brazen serpent — The happy eftcct of the knowledge of 
 the truth — The study of ihc character of Christ necessary to 
 our sanctification — The great object of faith should be stea- 
 dily contemplated — General reflections 71 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 THOUGHTS ox THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 
 
 Remarks on the Scriptural mode of teaching — The law ought 
 to be fully laid before men, and all false refuges exposed — 
 The Gospel ought to be freely declared to them — Faith in 
 Christ ought to be inculcated at the very first — the danger of 
 stopping short of the Saviour — Every duty should be en- 
 forced in connection with faith in the Gospel — All true holi- 
 ness the fruit of this principle 89 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 ON CHHISTIAN COMFOIIT. 
 
 The most eminent Christians feel imperfections — An error as to 
 comfort and obedience noticed — The proper source of Chris- 
 tian holiness and joy — The evil of mistakes as to this — Two 
 kinds of distress descrilied — The Scriptural mode of comfort- 
 ing the dej«'ctod — The use of self-examination — Holiness con- 
 nected with Christian consolation — Their reciprocal influ- 
 ence-^The use of past enjoyments — Conclusion 107 
 
 ..-^ 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 ON THK PKACTICAL IlSTFLtTENCE OF THE TRUTH. 
 
 The Divine character displayed in the Gospel — Its fitness to im- 
 part peace — Mistakes regarding it — Its influence in promot- 
 ing sanctification — The necessity of Christian watchfulness 
 — Self-righteousness not the only evil of which men are in 
 danger — The promise of Divine aid — Conclusion 128 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 HII^TS ox THE MEANS AND HAPPY EFFECTS OF SANCTIFICATION. 
 
 The Gospel addresses men as sinners as well as sufferers — Its 
 great object is to save from sin — Is not an exhibition of bene- 
 volence only, but of the whole charactfir of God — This essen- 
 tial to the happiness of man — Holiness and happiness insep- 
 arably connected — The importance of the example of belie- 
 vers — The influence of the example of Christ — Christain joy 
 connected with repentance — Conclusion 142 
 
 LETTER VIIL 
 
 ON THE PEHSEVEttANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 H ■ ■ 
 
 The perseverance of believers, a doctrine of Scripture — The 
 abuses of the doctrine noticed — The design, and the proper 
 use of it — Unscriptural views that have been taken of it — Is 
 illustrated by what happened on Paul's voyage to Rome — 
 The nature of filial fear, as connected with it — The danger 
 of presumption — The use of Scripture examples of declen- 
 sion — The connection in which the doctrine is taught in 
 Scripture — Perseverance, not simply the connection of two 
 distinct things, but a continuance in a particular course — The 
 necessity of connecting the means and the end exemplified 
 by the Apostles — Conclusion 159 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 0>- THE MAKNER IX WHICU THE SCHIPTLRKS INTUODUCK THE 
 DiyiXE PURPOSKS. 
 
 Improper manner of considering the Divine decrees — Christians 
 said to be chosen of God, because separated from the world — 
 The purposes of God introducod, to ilkistrate tlic freenoss of 
 grace in the plan of redemption — Designed to confirm our 
 faith in its accomphshment — As an encouragement to Chris- 
 tians in the time of affliction — Intended as a warning to gain- 
 sayers — The gospel is addressed to all — Its invitations rest 
 on the value of the atonement — The ground of condemnation, 
 the rejection of the gospel — The character of the Jews and 
 proselytes, in the days of our Lord and his apostles — The 
 importance of stating truth in a Scriptural manner 182 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 ox THE DEATH OF A IIELATIVE. 
 
 The cliaractcr of Christ, the great spring of consolation — The 
 import of his address to John in the Isle of Patmos — The 
 power of the Gospel in affliction and death — The death of 
 friends ought to be improved — The contemplation of heaven, 
 a means of support — Dark providences will yet be explained 
 — Some causes of this darkness — The nature of Christian 
 patience — This exemplified by Christ — The importance of 
 confidence in God — The blessedness of departed saints, a 
 source of comfort — Tiie duty of cherishing faith, holy joy, 
 and Christian hope — Conclusion 219 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 0\ THE IIENEKIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 Affliction the common lot of mankind — Ought to be improvetl 
 — Designed to sanctify the soul — The means of prcvenling 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 sin — Serve to try the charactei* — Strengthen religious prin- 
 ciple — Fit for extensive usefulness — Are blessed for the pur- 
 pose of av^rakening to a sense of sin and of misery — Lead to 
 acknowledge the hand of God — Make us sensible of our pro- 
 per place — Lead to the Scriptures and the throne of Grace — 
 Teach the uncertainty of earthly things — The happiness of 
 confidence in God when under them — Christians need to have 
 fear as well as love kept alive — The danger of despising the 
 rod, and of fainting under it — Conclusion 232 
 
 LETTER XIL 
 
 ox OTJR lord's answer TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 
 
 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her 
 sons worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 
 And he said unto her. What Avilt thou ? She saith unto 
 him. Grant that these my two sons shall sit, the one on thy 
 right hand and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But 
 Jesus answered and said. Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye 
 able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized 
 wdth the baptism that I am baptized with ? They say unto 
 him, We are able. And he saith unto them. Ye shall drink 
 indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I 
 am baptized with ; but to sit on my right hand, and on my 
 left is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for 
 whom it is prepared of my Father. — Matt. xx. 21 — 23. . . . 254 
 
 LETTER XIIL 
 
 OJf THE DIVERSITY OF DEGREES IN GLORY, 
 
 General remarks — Future blessedness the result of the divine ap- 
 probation, of the approving testimony of conscience, of being 
 blessings to others, and of an enlarged capacity for spiritual 
 enjoyments — The diversity of rewards explicitly taught in 
 Scripture — Consistent with salvation by grace — The works 
 
xii CONTEXTS. 
 
 rewarded, the fruits of divine favor — The reward bestowed 
 for the sake of Christ — Is an addition to the general blessing 
 of redemption — Is a display of the divine love to righteous- 
 ness — Is not an arbitrary gift, but the natural efibcts of exist- 
 ing principles — Conclusion 278 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 ox SOME DimCULTIES RELATIVE TO C0XI3<G TO CUIIIST. 
 
 Difficulty respecting conviction of sin — Relative to repentance 
 The nature of coming to Christ — The state of mind con- 
 nected with coming to the Saviour — Mistake relative to the 
 work of the Spirit — The nature of genuine humility — Con- 
 clusion 
 
 309 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 ON CHIITSTIAN COXFIUENCE IN VRATEn. 
 
 Confidence in prayer the privilege of Christians — Arises from 
 the character of God as a Father — From the atonement — 
 From the intercession of Christ — From the promises of a gra- 
 cious answer — Includes the freedom of speech at the throne 
 of grace — Necessary l)ecause of discouragements — Blessings 
 we are warranted to ask 332 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 The author of the followmg work, is a distinguished Min- 
 ister of the Dissenting Congregational Church in Scotland. 
 He has a large and important pastoral charge, in the town 
 of Dundee, where, it is understood, his efforts have been 
 much blessed in the promotion of pure and evangelical re- 
 ligion. His influence, however, is not limited to the field 
 of his immediate labors. The name of Dr. Russell is fa- 
 miliar to the friends of Christ throughout the United King- 
 dom; and his eminent piety, talents, and usefulness have 
 placed him in the front rank of those celebrated Divines, 
 who are justly regarded as an ornament to his country and 
 an invaluable blessing to the age. His various writings 
 are held in high estimation on the other side of the Atlan- 
 tic, and it is not a little surprising that the extensive circu- 
 lation which they have had there, has not led to an earlier 
 republication of them m the United States. This series of 
 *' Letters" is perhaps the most interesting of all his works. 
 It has passed through several editions within the few years 
 which have elapsed since it first appeared ; and those who 
 may peruse it, will not deem the opinion an extravagant 
 one, that it will hereafter rank with the standard volumes 
 on practical religion, which find a place in every Christian 
 library. 
 
 A reference to the table of contents will evince that the 
 subjects to which these Letters relate, are of the deepest in- 
 terest and importance. The holiness of the Divine law, 
 the ruined condition of man, the sufferings of the Saviour, 
 
XIV INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 the perfect adaptation of the Gospel to our spintual necos* 
 sities, the method by which we may secure an interest in 
 the blood of atonement, the nature of regeneration, the true 
 support under trials, the means of a progressive conformity 
 to the Divine image, and the nature of that rest which re- 
 mains for the people of God hereafter, — these are among 
 the topics discussed in the following pages, and they are 
 obviously topics which concern the present and future \\c\' 
 fare of every human being. There are many other sub- 
 jects on which it is desirable to have just and accurate ideas ; 
 on these it is indispensible. Ignorance and error in other 
 cases, may be harmless; but in respect to these points they 
 are culpable, and may involve the ruin of the soul. — Un- 
 der the full impression of the truth here stated, these Let- 
 ters appear to have been written. The author brought to 
 the work a powerful and discriminating mind, a familiar 
 acquaintance with the word of God, an ample store of 
 Christian experience, and a disposition eminently chastened 
 and sanctified by the influence of those precious truths 
 which he so impressively commends to the devout attention 
 of others. With these qualifications for the task, he en- 
 gages in the discussion of the various questions embraced 
 in the plan of the work, with a constant reference to the 
 spiritual benefit of his readers. He always writes with the 
 seriousness, the dignity, the candor, and fidelity, which be- 
 come a Christian minister, while his familiarity with scenes 
 both of temporal afTliclIon and mental distmss, enables him 
 to enter with the alfectionatc sympathy of a friend, into iho 
 peculiarities of individual cases of perplexity or suffering. 
 The circumstance that most of the Letters were " addressed 
 to persons in aflliction," is a proof of their practical charac- 
 ter, and a pledge that others upon whom the hand of chas- 
 
INTROPTJCTORY ESSAY. XV 
 
 tisement has been laid, may here find something adapted 
 to alleviate their sorrow. At the same time it is proper to 
 guard the reader against the idea which the title of the 
 work might suggest, that these volumes are designed chief- 
 ly for the afflicted, or that they are made up of those fa- 
 miliar counsels which are commonly published under the 
 designation of " Letters." The leading aim of the author 
 is " ^0 illustrate the nature and tendency of the Gospel ,•" 
 and whether he is endeavoring to comfort the mourner or 
 guide the inquiring sinner, to undeceive the self-righteous 
 formalist or animate the humble believer, to show the back- 
 slider his danger or exhibit to the sincere Christian his 
 privileges, he does it by unfolding " the mystery of redemp- 
 tion" and displaying the riches of mercy, which are trea- 
 sured up in the cross of Christ. 
 
 One of the most obvious characteristics of the work is, that 
 
 IT IS DRAWN DIRECTLY FROM THE SACRED SCRIPTURES. 
 
 The light of divine truth is reflected from every page. It 
 is impossible to read a single Letter without perceivino- that 
 the author has studied the inspired writings until the spirit 
 of them has pervaded his whole character and so impressed 
 itself upon his habits of thinking that his arguments and il- 
 lustrations are almost exclusively derived from the word of 
 God. Nor does the excellence of the work in this respect 
 consist in the mere transfer to its pages of numerous quo- 
 tations from the Bible. Dr. Russell makes no display of 
 critical learning, but he is evidently accustomed to examine 
 the Scriptures for himself; all his writings abound with 
 striking observations on important passages, and in some 
 instances familiar texts are placed in a new light and their 
 true meaning shown to be quite different from the common 
 interpretation of them. 
 
XVI INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 As a natural result of this thorough acquaintance with 
 the sacred oracles, the author's views on the various 
 
 SUBJECTS of which HE TREATS, ARE RE3IARKABLY CLEAR, 
 
 JUDICIOUS, AND COMPREHENSIVE. Hc frames no visionary 
 theories ; he indulges in no idle speculations. It is no part of 
 his object to exhibit his own powers or to amuse his readers ; 
 his aim is to do good ; and the means which he employs is 
 the same which was found so efficacious by an Apostle, eigh- 
 teen centuries ago, who said, "We preach not ourselves, 
 but Christ Jesus, the Lord." But while on the one hand he 
 carefully avoids all extravagance of statement, he is, on 
 the other, equally explicit and decided in the representation 
 of what he considers as important truth. He leaves no one 
 at a loss concerning his sentiments, while he enforces and 
 illustrates them with a weight of argument and an array 
 of scripture testimony, which, if they do not in every case 
 carry conviction to the minds of others, will at least prompt 
 them to a profitable examination of their own opinions. — It 
 is believed that few books contain a more enlightened, con- 
 sistent, and attractive exhibition of the nature of genuine 
 piety, than will be found in these Lettei*s. Its source, its 
 elements, its tendencies, and its fruits, are delineated with 
 a fidelity and skill which will command the cordial appro- 
 bation of every intelligent Christian. Many writers err by 
 giving an undue prominence to certain virtues, and treating 
 others of equal importance with comparative neglect : one 
 class are led by their peculiar temperament to insist chiefly 
 on the active duties of iX'ligion, and another t«j dwell on 
 the necessity of cultivating a mild and humble temper and 
 being much engaged in meditation, the study of the Scrip- 
 tures, prayer, and similar exercises. And we observe the 
 same disproportion in the constituent qualities which make 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XVll 
 
 up the individual cases of Christian character around us. 
 Those qualities may all be combined together in each par- 
 ticular instance, but they are combined in proportions as 
 various as the natural or acquired peculiarities of the hu- 
 man species ; and the manifestations of them consequently 
 are as diversified as they can be within the limits of that 
 common bond of union which embraces all who have the 
 image of Christ impressed upon their hearts. The world 
 has seen but one example in which the different elements of 
 Christianity were so mingled as to form a character of per- 
 fect symmetry and spotless excellence. The prismatic 
 colors are not more harmoniously blended in the sun-beam, 
 than were the requirements of the law and the graces of 
 the Gospel in the person of our adorable Redeemer : but no 
 sooner does the light of divine truth penetrate the depraved 
 heart of man, than the reciprocal affinities of its rays seem 
 to be overcome, and though none of them may be absorbed 
 and lost, they are transmitted only as so many broken and 
 scattered emanations, retaining little resemblance to each 
 other or to the pure source from which they spring. It is 
 not supposed that the evils which are here assumed as ex- 
 isting in our moral constitution, can be eradicated by the 
 mere presentation to the mind of a model of perfect excel- 
 lence; but no reflecting person will hesitate to acknow- 
 ledge the value of accurate. Scriptural exhibitions of true 
 religion, whether regarded in their adaptation to the conver- 
 sion of the impenitent or the sanctification of believers. 
 Such an exhibition is contained in these volumes. The au- 
 thor does not indeed undertake to enumerate and describe 
 the whole circle of Christian virtues and duties, but his 
 views of piety will commend themselves to the taste and 
 judgment of every enlightened student of the Scriptures. 
 
XYIU INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 A Christian formed upon the principles here inculcated, 
 would be grave without austerity, serious without morose- 
 ness, cheerful without levity, fervent without fanaticism, 
 meek without timidity, active without ostentation, reverential 
 without gloom — in a word, he would approximate in some 
 humble degi-ee to that sublime and holy standard which is set 
 up in the Bible for our imitation and in conformity to which 
 will consist the eternal felicity of the righteous. 
 
 Another characteristic of this work is, the clearness or 
 ITS DOCTRINAL STATE3IENTS. The title cvinces that the 
 Letters werc designed to be chiefly of a practical nature, 
 but the author was aware that the only way to reform and 
 regulate the conduct of men is to amend their hearts, and 
 hence no small portion of the work is devoted to a consid- 
 eration of those Scripture doctrines by which alone, in con- 
 nection with the special influence of the Holy Spirit, the 
 heart can be radically changed. These topics, however, 
 are not discussed in a formal systematic manner as they are 
 in theological treatises. The writer has availed himself of 
 the liberty proper to epistolary composition, to present ab 
 struse and difiicult points in the garb of familiar phraseol- 
 ogy, and by thus bringing them near, he has divested them 
 of much of that obscurity in which they frequently appear 
 to the common eye. If in his laudable anxiety to make 
 them intelligible to his readers, he has occasionally intro- 
 duced a term or phrase in which we may hesitate to con- 
 cur, it must be conceded that his explanatory remarks on 
 doctrinal topics, are in the main sound and instructive to a 
 degree which will render them to many persons the most 
 valuable part of the whole work. There arc (it may bo 
 said without ccnsoriousness) individuals among the professed 
 friends of the Redeemer, who are satisfied with very inad- 
 
inthoductory essay, xix 
 
 equate views of those doctrines which are the foundation 
 of their hopes, and who, consequently, have Uttle experience 
 of the consolations of the Gospel and put forth no vigorous 
 exertions, for the salyation of others. There are also some 
 intelligent men of the world who complain of the mys- 
 terious aspect in which even fundamental truths are fre- 
 quently presented, and of the difficulty which they find in 
 gaining a clear apprehension of them. To both of these 
 classes the observations above referred to are respectfully 
 commended : to the former, that they may ascertain wheth- 
 er they are building upon the "sure corner stone" which 
 God himself has laid in Zion, and if so, that they may en- 
 deavor to walk worthy of their high vocation ; to the latter, 
 that they may see the reasonableness of those doctrines 
 which they have hitherto rejected, and the reality of that 
 danger which impends over all who refuse to trust in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ for mercy. 
 
 It will not be understood from these remarks that the au- 
 thor of the Letters has withheld or compromised any essen- 
 tial truth, in order to reconcile men to the plan of redemption 
 revealed in the Scriptures. No pride of intellect, or love of 
 novelty, or fondness for speculation, has led him to examine 
 the Bible with a view to discover doctrines which were un- 
 known to the Church in former ages, nor has he presumed 
 to modify those inspired statements which are the most of- 
 fensive to human pride. But he has discussed these subjects 
 in a manner so entirely free from harshness and severity, 
 with so much of the candor of a Christian, the wisdom of 
 a scholar, and the fidelity of an "ambassador for Christ," 
 that his sentiments can hardly fail of producing a favorable 
 impression on any individual who is not prejudiced beyond 
 the possibility of conviction. 
 
XX INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 Again, it is not one of the least excellencies of this work, 
 that while it furnishes a lucid representation of the essential 
 doctrines of the Gospel, it also POI^'TS out their practi- 
 cal TENDENCY AND EXHIBITS THEM AS THE FOUNDATION 
 
 OF CHRISTIAN MORALITY. — It is Dot easy to estimate too 
 highly the value of a sound creed, but many persons have 
 mistaken a firm adherence to "a form of sound words" for 
 "the power of godliness." While the Scriptures insist much 
 on the necessity of faith, they abound quite as much in ex- 
 hortations to obedience. If they declare that " he that 6e- 
 lieveth not shall be damned," they also assure us that " with- 
 out holiness no man shall see the Lord." The amount of 
 their instructions on this subject, is, that where the truth is 
 cordially believed, it will invariably produce " the peaceable 
 fruits of righteousness." Hence the truth is declared to be 
 instrumentally employed in our regeneration and we are 
 said to be "begotten" by it and "made free" (from the pow- 
 er of sin) by it, and it is affirmed by our Saviour to be the 
 means of our sanctification : "sanctify them through thy 
 truth, thy word is truth." Hence, too, disobedience to the 
 truth is spoken of by an Apostle as conclusive evidence of 
 the want of love to God: "He that saith, I know him, and 
 keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is 
 not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is 
 the love of God perfected : hereby know we that we are in 
 him." That an individual may yield a speculative assent 
 to the statements of the sacred writers, which shall be inop- 
 erative as to his conduct and worthless in the sight of God, 
 is not denied in the Bible but expressly asserted ; for we are 
 told of some who "held the truth in unrighteousness," and 
 we are cautioned against cherishing a " faith without works," 
 which is stigmatized as a " dead faith." Examples of this 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXI 
 
 kind have existed in all ages, and they are to be found in eve- 
 ry community and perhaps in every Church. To the perni- 
 cious influence which they have silently and in most cases 
 unconsciously exerted, may be traced in part the prevalent 
 disposition to undervalue the doctrines of the Scriptures as 
 dry abstractions which have little connection with the active 
 duties of life. It is not surprising that men should set lightly 
 by an acquisition which, they imagine, serves only to give 
 an individual "a name to live" while he is manifestly "dead." 
 It is of great importance therefore both as regards profess- 
 ing Christians and unconverted persons, that the doctrines 
 of the Gospel should be faithfully exhibited and their effica- 
 cy (under the administration of the Holy Spirit) in purifying 
 the heart and controlling the life, distinctly asserted and 
 proved from the word of God. And this has been done 
 in the following Letters. The author has dwelt at large on 
 the plenitude of the Divine mercy and the infinite riches of 
 free grace displayed in the work of redemption : he has 
 shown that the salvation of even a single sinner is the fruit 
 of unmerited favor, and that sovereign grace not only provi- 
 ded the great atoning sacrifice which made it consistent with 
 the perfections of the Deity to offer pardon to our guilty 
 race, but secures the actual application of the " blood of 
 sprinkling " to the heart, and constrains us to embrace 
 those precious invitations which we should otherwise reject 
 to our eternal undoing. But while the commencement, the 
 progressive advancement, and the ultimate perfection of the 
 life of God in the soul, are here uniformly ascribed to the 
 Holy Spirit, men are not lefl to infer that they have no- 
 thing to do in order to " work out their own salvation." On 
 the contrary, they are constantly reminded that " the grand 
 object of the Gospel is to assimilate the heart to God by 
 
JXa. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 assimilating us to its own holy character ;" that " the end 
 of religious knowledge, is to subdue the corrupt dispositions 
 of the heart, and to cherish and direct the principles of love 
 to God and our brethren," and that if this end is not gained, 
 the man v/hosc knowledge has puffed him up, is walking in 
 a vain show and " pleasing himself with empty specula- 
 tions." They arc told that " while we live by faith in the 
 Son of God and hold fast the saving truth, we are struck 
 with the manifestation of the Divine glory, the beauty and 
 the excellence of Jehovah, as at once the just God and the 
 Saviour, and as the source and the pattern of all perfection 
 and blessedness ;" tliat in this way " the heart is drawn to 
 him and captivated by his glory in the transporting charac- 
 ter of the God and Father of Christ, and our God and 
 Father through him ;" that " here all that is great and all 
 that is good meet, and produce in our hearts the correspond- 
 ing principles of fear and of love which mutually influence, 
 chasten, and temper each other;" and that thus "we are 
 made to advance in conformity to that which is the ground 
 of our hope and the source of our happiness." — These just 
 and salutary sentiments the author every where inculcates — 
 uniformly evincing the same laudable zeal to guard the in- 
 terests of sound morality as he does to exhibit and defend 
 the doctrines of the Gospel in their purity. 
 
 That the doctrines of grace should be charged with hav- 
 ing a licentious tendency, is no strange thing in our day, 
 since the same objection was urged against the Gospel dur- 
 ing the personal ministry of the apostles. It was contend- 
 ed then, as it has been since, that to make the pardon of 
 sin a mere gratuity and justify men through the imputed 
 righteousness of Clirist irrespective of their own merits, 
 would have the effect to relax the bonds of moral obligation 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXlll 
 
 and encourage the practice of vice. It does not appear 
 that the individuals who first invented this calumny or those 
 who have since adopted it, were such patterns of excellence 
 as to authorize them to stand forth in this way, the self-con- 
 stituted champions of morality, or to entitle them to an 
 elaborate reply. The apostle Paul, however, condescend- 
 ed to notice them on several occasions, and the answer 
 which he has left on record in the sixth chapter of his Epis- 
 tle to the Romans, would, if duly considered, forever 
 silence the cavil of which we are speaking. "How shall 
 we," he asks with emphasis, " who arc dead unto sin, live 
 any longer therein 1" The Christian has not only ceased 
 to love sin, but he hates and shuns it, and it no longer has 
 dominion over him. The enmity of his heart has been 
 slain; he has "put off the old man which was corrupt ac- 
 cording to the deceitful lusts, and put on the new man 
 which after God is created in rio;hteousness and true holi- 
 ness." And although through the remaining imperfection 
 of his nature, he often yields to temptation, and departs 
 from God, he does not allow himself in sin and laments 
 over his inconsistencies with tears of genuine contrition. 
 This mighty revolution in the sinner's character, is wholly 
 overlooked by those who ascribe to the Gospel a demoral- 
 izing tendency. They assume that his corrupt propensities 
 are still unsubdued, that his affections are still fixed su- 
 premely upon the world, and that he is just as averse to 
 holiness and just as prone to sin as he was prior to the 
 period of his forgiveness : whereas he has been from that 
 moment a "new creature." His views, his principles, his 
 desires, his aims, are radically changed. A principle of 
 spiritual life has been implanted in his heart ; he has seen 
 something of the glory of heavenly things; God has be- 
 
XXIV INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 come the chosen portion of his soul; and it is his daily 
 prayer that he may be more and more transformed into 
 the image of his Saviour. — This renovation of character, it 
 is true, formed no part of the meritorious ground of his justi- 
 fication, but it was almost coincident with it in point of time, 
 for we know that in every case " whom God justifies them 
 he also sanctifies." Justification is the act of God towards 
 us; sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, of 
 which regeneration is the commencement. Justification is 
 a change of state ; sanctification a change of character. In 
 the one we are pardoned and accepted as legally righteous 
 in the sight of God, solely on the ground of what Christ 
 has done and suffered for us ; in the other, we become per- 
 sonally righteous through the positive application of the 
 truth to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Justification is 
 complete at once ; sanctification is a gradual and progres- 
 sive work, and will be perfected only when we enter 
 Heaven. 
 
 It is then an adequate reply to the objection which has 
 been mentioned, that the very act of relying upon Christ 
 for salvation, presupposes in every instance a solemn con- 
 viction on the part of the individual concerned, of his guilty 
 and ruined condition. He comes as a suppliant to im- 
 plore mercy. He comes as a criminal to sue for pardon. 
 He comes as a rebel to lay down his arms and submit im- 
 plicitly to the will of his Sovereign. He comes, srcalizing in 
 a faithful degree that he has destroyed himself and that it 
 would be just in God to visit upon him the retributions of 
 his righteous law. With an entire renunciation of all self- 
 dependence, he casts himself upon the mercy of God in Je- 
 sus Christ, with fervent gratitude for the proffer of forgive- 
 ness, supreme love to the Divine character, and an unreserved 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXV 
 
 consecration of himself to the service and glory of the Re- 
 deemer. So far, therefore, are the doctrines on which this 
 view of salvation is founded from being unfriendly to mo- 
 rality, that they are the most efficient shield and safeguard 
 of virtue and piety. They strike at the very root of hu- 
 man pride, by teaching man that he is utterly unable to 
 save himself and can only be pardoned through the merits 
 of that Redeemer whose authority he has always contemned 
 and whose blessings he has all his life perverted. They re- 
 buke licentiousness, by saying to the sinner that " there 
 shall in no wise enter into the New-Jerusalem any thing 
 that defileth or maketh a lie." They break the sknnber of 
 the deceived formalist, by declaring to him that "by the 
 deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified." They 
 purify and elevate the affections, by presenting as their ap- 
 propriate object that exalted Being whom " the heaven of 
 heavens cannot contain," who is " glorious in holiness, fear- 
 ful in praises, doing wonders." They open in the heart a 
 well-spring of gratitude, by revealing the adorable Son of 
 God as now " bearing our sins in his ov/n body on the tree," 
 and now ascending in triumph to the right hand of the Fa- 
 ther " to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." 
 They call into exercise every noble and generous feeling of 
 the soul, by disclosing something of the splendor of that 
 incorruptible, undefilcd, and unfading inheritance which the 
 Saviour is reserving for those who love him. And they 
 secure a life of holy obedience, by making the practical 
 " fruits of righteousness," the evidence and the test of a 
 justifying faith. — Surely it is only through gross ignorance 
 or culpable prejudice that any one can affirm that these doc- 
 trines are not " according to godliness." 
 
 To return from this digression (an apology for which 
 
XXVI INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 may perhaps be found in the importance of the subject to 
 which it relates,) it may be stated as another leading char- 
 acteristic of these Letters, that they abound in solid, 
 
 INSTRUCTIVE, AND SCRIPTURAL OBSERVATIONS ON EXPERI- 
 MENTAL RELIGION. The remarks on doctrinal topics are, 
 as already intimated, ingenious and often profound ; but 
 they are rather incidental to the author's plan than an essen- 
 tial part of it, and always introduced for some practical 
 purpose. The general character of the work is correctly 
 designated by the title : it is " practical and consolatory" 
 in the highest and best sense of those terms. It is confi- 
 dently believed that no work can be found in which the true 
 spirit of the Gospel is more skilfully developed, which is 
 more amply stored with the rich fruits of Christian experi- 
 ence, and which is adapted to be more extensively useful, 
 than these volumes. Dr. Russell has not merely proved 
 that the general tendency of the Scriptures is friendly to 
 morality ; he has delineated with singular ability the re- 
 ligion of the heart, and thrown together a mass of obser- 
 vations on personal piety, which are unsurpassed in excel- 
 lence by any human treatises on practical theology. In 
 showing the perfect adaptation of the Gospel to the neces- 
 sities of our nature — in detecting the sophistries of the 
 depraved heart, exposing its subterfuges, and pointing out 
 its less culpable mistakes — in describing the method by 
 which the sinner becomes eftectually united to the Saviour, 
 solving the doubts and perplexities of the believer, exhibiting 
 the true grounds of Christian joy, and enforcing from 
 evangelical motives the obligations to perfect holiness of 
 heart and life, — this author is certainly inferior to no writer 
 of the present century. In confirmation of this opinion (the 
 correctness of which can be tested only by a perusal of the 
 
INTRODUCTOKY ESSAY. XXVll 
 
 whole work) we may refer to those Letters which relate 
 to *' the method of coming to Christ,^'' and which are de- 
 signed for the especial benefit of those who are inquiring 
 what they must do to be saved. The condition of this class 
 of persons is one of the deepest interest. " They are just 
 arousing from their long slumber of sin and spiritual death, 
 and will now either rise up and run the race that is set 
 before them, or soon sink back again, as those are likely 
 to do who are just disturbed, into a deeper sleep than ever. 
 The Spirit of God is striving with them, and they will yield 
 to his suggestions and give themselves up to be led by his 
 gracious influence, or grieve him by resistance and neglect, 
 and compel him to depart. To remain long as they now 
 are is impossible : their convictions will speedily end in 
 conversion or in greater indifierence, like the blossoms of 
 spring which soon set in fruit or fall to the ground. And 
 should their solicitude subside altogether, it may probably 
 never be revived." * 
 
 The importance of sound and judicious instruction, there- 
 fore, to persons vvho have arrived at this critical period of 
 their history, cannot be too highly appreciated. All who 
 have passed through that season of conflict are aware that it 
 is beset with dangers and difliculties ; and that many of these 
 arise from the want of clear and definite views of the plan of 
 redemption. It is not supposed, indeed, that this is the chief 
 obstacle to the sinner's conversion: his great hindrance, 
 and that which lies at the foundation of all others, is to be 
 found in a depraved heart. " Ye will not come unto me" 
 said our Saviour, " that ye might have life." And accord- 
 
 * See an invaluable little work by the Rev. J. A. James, of Bir- 
 mingham, entitled "TAe Anxious Enquirer after Salvation, direct- 
 ed avd encouraged.^'' 
 
XXVlll INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 ingly wc finrl that those who liave been faithfully instruct- 
 ed in tlio Scriptures, are, until they are renewed by the 
 Holy Spirit, equally averse with others to the equitable 
 claims of the Gospel. Still it is very desirable that the 
 mind of the awakened sinner should be relieved of those diffi- 
 culties winch s])rinij; from the misapprehension of Scrij^ture 
 doctrines and that the path of duty should be made as plain 
 to him as the nature of the case will admit. This, it is be- 
 lieved, has been successfully attempted in the fallowing 
 Letters. Dr. Russell has shown from the Scriptures, the 
 sufficiency of the work of Clirist as the foundation of our 
 acceptance with God and the efficacy of his blood in cleans- 
 ing us from all sin, the total inadequacy of all works of 
 our own to secure for us the Diviiio favor, the unrestricted 
 freeness of the Saviour's invitations, and our absolute need 
 of special grace in order to a cordial acceptance of them. 
 In commenting on these and other kindred topics, he uni- 
 formly aims to exalt the Saviour, and ascribes all the 
 glory of redemption to Ilim who claims it as his rightful 
 due. He skilfully examines the false grounds of confi- 
 dence on which men are prone to rest their hopes for eter- 
 nity, and j)roves that many of the common excuses for de- 
 laying to come to Christ, however specious they may ap- 
 pear, spring from a spirit of self- righteousness. He labors 
 to withdraw the attention of the sinner from liiinself, tliat 
 it may be fixed wholly, and constantly uj)on the Lamb of 
 God, assuring hiin that if he will look with the eye of faith 
 upon the great atoning sacrifice, his spiritual maladies shall 
 be subdued with an energy as mysterious and irresistible 
 as that which restored health and viijor to the d\in<£ He- 
 brews when from every part of their camp they turned an 
 imploring look to the brazen symbol of that Messiah who 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXIX 
 
 was afterwards to be <' lifted up" on the Cross. He guards 
 him against those plausible suggestions of a proud heart, 
 that his sins are too heinous to be forgiven, or that he must 
 postpone his application to the Saviour until he has made 
 himself less imdeservincr of his favor, or that his own merits 
 are to be blended with the pure work of Christ as the basis 
 of his reconciliation with God. In opposition to all the 
 fond conceits of a self-righteous spirit, to the prejudices of 
 an unsound education, and the devices of a carnal world, 
 he exhibits in the light of inspired truth the glorious provi- 
 sion which God has made to meet the evils of the fall — 
 describes its entire suitableness to the exigencies of our 
 condition — and shows that although the treasures of the 
 universe could not purchase it, there is not a child of Adam 
 so unworthy or so obscure that he may not have it, if he 
 applies for it in a proper manner, " without money and 
 without price." 
 
 Equally instructive and satisfactory are the author's 
 remarks on Christian sanctiji cation. He writes in re- 
 lation to the mistakes, perplexities and discouragements 
 of the Christian, like one who can say, " we speak that we 
 do know and testify that we have seen;" and no serious 
 person can fail to be profited by his enlightened and scrip- 
 tural observations on this subject. There is reason to fear 
 that much misapprehension prevails even among professed 
 believers, respecting the nature of the duty inculcated by 
 the sacred writers under every variety of language, to 
 "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ." By some it is assumed that re- 
 ligion consists in a scrupulous observance of outward forms 
 and ceremonies. Others avail themselves of a perverted 
 
 view of the doctrine that the Saviour will never suffer his. 
 3* 
 
XXX INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 sheep to be plucked out of his hand, and derive their com- 
 fort from reverting to the evidences which they suppose 
 they once had of an interest in Christ, although their con- 
 duct during the interval has been quite at variance with 
 the requirements of the Gospel. Another class fancy that 
 the demands of the law have been so modified by the 
 milder dispensation under which we live, that sincerity on 
 the part of the Christian is accepted of God in lieu of per- 
 fect obedience — in other words, that the Christian is under 
 no obligation to keep the whole law, even as a rule of du- 
 ty. Another class, repudiating the gross idea of justifica- 
 tion by works, secretly retain the principle which they 
 imagine they have discarded, and under an erroneous im- 
 pression of the nature of justification, depend upon their 
 private religious duties to complete the ground of their 
 pardon and acceptance with God. Some, forgetting that 
 Divine truth is the appointed means of sanctification, vainly 
 jfiatter themselves that habits of active benevolence may 
 be safely substituted for the humble and diligent study of 
 the Scriptures. Others, falling into the opposite error and 
 assuming with the ancient mystics that eminent piety can- 
 not be cultivated except in a state of comparative seclusion 
 from the world, withdraw from society and take no part in 
 the various schemes of Christian charity for which the pre- 
 sent age is so distinguished. And others — many others — 
 of undoubted piety and usefulness, live far below their 
 privileges and have little enjoyment in religion, because 
 instead of looking to the finished work of Christ, and the 
 promises of the Gospel, for peace and consolation, they 
 live upon their feelings and frames and exorcises, and of 
 course have no abiding comfort. — This enumeration em- 
 braces only a tithe of the common mistakes on the subject 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXXI 
 
 of practical religion, but, brief as it is, it shows how import- 
 ant is the dissemination of sound and able treatises which 
 describe the true nature of piety and furnish such counsels 
 as may both guard the Christian against self-deception and 
 assist him in appropriating to himself the " great and pre- 
 cious promises " of the new covenant. Such a treatise is 
 comprised in these Letters. The condition of the believer 
 in a world of abounding iniquity, whose tendencies are all 
 adverse to holiness, is here accurately delineated, and he 
 is solemnly though affectionately warned of the dangers 
 which beset him on every hand, and especially of those to 
 which he is exposed from his own corrupt heart. The 
 standard of duty which is placed before him, is that which 
 was given to the patriarch Abraham by the glorious Being 
 who appeared to him and said, "I am the Almighty God; 
 walk before me and be thou perfect : " but he is every 
 where taught that " all his sufficiency is of God," and that 
 he can do nothing except in the strength of Him who 
 ** worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 
 The author insists at large on the obligation to cultivate 
 holiness of heart and life, as comprising in itself the essence 
 and the sum of all that constitutes both our duty and our 
 felicity. Instead of sanctioning the too common idea that 
 Christian comfort consists wholly in the peace and the 
 enjoyment which flow from the hope of escaping hell and 
 obtaining heaven, he observes <'True religion is happi- 
 ness in God. Holiness is itself happiness and not merely 
 an accompaniment of it. It is as absurd to say that we 
 can be truly happy without it, as to say we can be well 
 without health or that we can be saved without salvation. 
 Christian sanctity in spirit and in. manners, is not merely 
 an evidence of salvation : it is the very blessing itself." 
 
XXXll INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 As the end at which the believer is to aim is distinctly ex- 
 hibited in these pages, so also the means by which he may 
 make some humble and progressive approximation to tliat 
 end, are faithfully pointed out. Like most other writers who 
 raise the standard of obligation very high, Dr. Russell's 
 estimate of man's capacities and powers is not very flatter- 
 ing to human pride, nor does he give his readers any en- 
 couragement to suppose that they can advance even a sin- 
 gle step towards that standard without supernatural aid. 
 He urges the indispei)sible necessity of a constant study of 
 the sacred volume, in connection with meditation and 
 prayer, and not only recognizes the fact that "all Scrip- 
 tures is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
 for instruction in righteousness," but shows how it is profit- 
 able in accomplishing the renovation of the soul and re- 
 storing it to the image of God. He states and illustrates 
 the point in various ways that the efficacy of Divine truth 
 in sanctifying the heart, lies not in a mere arbitrary ap- 
 pointment of the Deity, but in its perfect adaptation to pro- 
 duce that transformation of character which is essential to 
 our present comfort and future glory. The duty of seeking 
 this entire conformity to God, is enforced by a variety of 
 motives, and chiefly by those which are derived from the 
 character and work of the Redeemer. Dr. Russell loses 
 no opportunity of displaying the cross of Christ. All his 
 views of Christian doctrine centre in the Saviour, and all 
 his exhortations to obedience seem to come from Calvary. 
 He has no sympathy with that frigid philosophy which by 
 assigning to the Son of God a subordinate part in the work 
 of Rcdemi)tion, (albeit still confessing his Divinity,) would 
 not only despoil the Gospel of its glory, but reduce practi- 
 cal religion to a lifeless code of morals or a selfish system of 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXXUl 
 
 rules of profit and loss. His philosophy is of a purer 
 origin and has been baptized 
 
 "in Siloa's brook 
 That flows fast by the oracle of God ;" — 
 
 a philosophy which, enlightened from on high, justly re- 
 gards sin as the greatest of all evils, and the blood of atone- 
 ment as the only means by which it can be removed. 
 Hence the author presents every subject in its connection 
 with the death and mediation of the Saviour. If we would 
 study the attributes of the Deity or understand the spirit- 
 uality and holiness of the Divine law or discover the tur- 
 pitude of sin and the depth of our own depravity, he refers us 
 to the sufferings of Christ. If he instructs the perplexed in- 
 quirer, or admonishes the backsliding professor, or comforts 
 the desponding Christian ; if he arms the tempted, or warns 
 the self-confident, or exhorts the lingering, it is by pointing 
 them all to the cross. In perfect accordance with the repre- 
 sentations of the Bible, he describes the Saviour as being 
 equally essential to the Christian at every subsequent step 
 as at the commencement of his course. "It is his cross," 
 he observes, "that enables us to vanquish the world. There 
 we have the confirmation of the fact that we are by nature 
 children of wrath, and can only be saved through his blood. 
 There we are taught that we are but strangers and pil- 
 grims — that tribulation will assuredly mark our course be- 
 low — but that fellowship with Christ in his sufferings will be 
 followed by fellowship with him in his glory. To a mind 
 fixed with devotion on the cross and sufferings of the Re- 
 deemer, earthly things will be stripped of their attractions* 
 By this means ' the world is crucified unto us and we unto 
 the world.' From the cross we turn to the crown, and the 
 glories displayed on Calvary are connected with the bright 
 
XXXIV INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 glories of Mount Sion. It is here that a pure and spiritual 
 taste is inspired and maintained. Here the false and be- 
 wildering glare of all earthly things is distinctly laid open. 
 No longer do they intoxicate us with delusive joys, or fas- 
 cinate us v.ith their boasted glories. The heart is attracted 
 to Heaven w here the Saviour dwells. We feel the power 
 of liis resurrection in the confirmation of our faith and our 
 hope; in its imparting to us a heavenly temper; in its sup- 
 porting, animating, and purifying us under all our trials." 
 In this way (it might be added) — by the constant contem- 
 plation of the Redeemer in all his offices — by studying his 
 character, listening to his instructions, trusting in his per- 
 fect righteousness, submitting to his authority, and humbly 
 imitating his example, the Christian is purified from sin, 
 weaned from the world, and gradually " changed into the 
 same image from glory to glory as by the Spirit of our 
 God." 
 
 These observations will be sufficient to exhibit the gen- 
 eral spirit and tenor of this v»^ork ; and more than this 
 could not be required in an introduction. Its value, how- 
 ever, is not to be estimated from a statement of a few of 
 its leading characteristics. It is a work replete with 
 thought. Regarded as an intellectual production, it is of 
 a high order of excellence. Few men could present the 
 familiar details of practical piety (a subject on which the 
 best talents of the Church have been employed in every 
 age) in so striking and attractive a light as has been done 
 by the author of these volumes. And what greatly en- 
 hances the worth of the work is, that he has done it through- 
 out in the temper of a Christian, and furnished thereby a 
 happy exemplification of the lessons which he inculcates 
 upon others. While Iiis Letters abound witli original and 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXXY 
 
 instructive remarks, the writer seems to be unconscious of 
 his own power. He never descends from the dignity of 
 his subject to display himself; and if he sometimes grasps 
 topics of peculiar difficulty, it is done without any cen- 
 sorious reflections upon those whose imperfect discussions 
 of them have rather increased than diminished their diffi- 
 culty, and with a view not to exhibit his own superior skill 
 but to vindicate the truth and commend it to the con- 
 sciences of his readers. 
 
 It is certain that no person can read these volumes 
 in a serious and candid spirit without being profited. As 
 the subjects to v/hich they relate are of no local or tempo- 
 rary interest but Identified with the eternal welfare of every 
 individual, so the author's observations on them are adapted 
 to benefit all who would "escape the pollutions of the world," 
 and participate in the privileges of the Gospel of Christ. 
 True piety is substantially the same in every age and coun- 
 try and sect: and notwithstanding the Church is divided 
 into various denominations, it is still one family, with "one 
 Lord, one faith, one baptism." There are certain charac- 
 teristic features belonging to sincere Christians of every 
 name, which are at once a proof of their fraternity 
 and an imperishable bond of union. The private experi- 
 ence of David as delineated in the Psalms, — his tempta- 
 tions and conflicts, his hopes and joys, his sudden alterna- 
 tions of confidence and distrust, his successive seasons of 
 despondency, encouragement, and holy exultation, his con- 
 fessions, his prayers, his purposes of amendment — all this 
 finds a counterpart in the secret history of every child of 
 God, and he actually adopts in giving utterance to his feel- 
 ings the very expressions made use of by the pious King of 
 Israel three thousand years ago. A more striking illustra- 
 
XXXVl INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 lion than this could not be found, of the inspired aphorism. 
 "As in water face answereth to face so the heart of man 
 to man." And it may stand in the place of numerous facts 
 which might be cited, to show that a writer who enters as 
 Dr. Russell has done into the subject of experimental reli- 
 gion, will be sure, if he take the Bible for his guide, to 
 make a work of great practical utility and one that will be 
 prized wlierever the influence of Christianity is felt. The 
 awakened sinner whose case is referred to in these pages, 
 is but the representative of a most interesting class scatter- 
 ed throughout every country where the Gospel is preached 
 — a class all of whom have some of the same ditficulties to 
 encounter in approaching the Saviour, which harrassed and 
 deluded him. The Christians to whom another portion of 
 these Letters are addressed, have made no mistakes and 
 met with no discoura^rements which are not common to 
 their brethren in every land and every denomination. And 
 the individuals whose bereavements are here commemorated 
 have experienced only the ordinary allotments of human- 
 ity ; for there are those in every village and hamlet who 
 can sympathize in their sorrows and would gladly share 
 in their consolation. This work is sent forth therefore as 
 one which deserves not merely to be purchased but to be 
 read by every family. May the Divine blessing attend it 
 and make it extensively useful in promoting the glory of 
 God, the revival of genuine piety, and the enlargement of 
 that kingd m which is " righteousness and peace and joy 
 in the Holy Ghost." 
 
LETTERS, 
 
 PRACTICAL AND CONSOLATORY. 
 
 LETTER L 
 
 ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 General observations on the sufferings of Christ — They continued 
 through his life — The nature of those he endured in Gethsemane 
 and on the Cross — Their expiatory design — Were inflicted by 
 God as the lawgiver — Flow^ed from a sense of the evil of sin and 
 of the Divine displeasure, and from the desertion of his Father — 
 This typified under the law — Were endured in circumstances of 
 shame — Were increased by the powers of darkness, and by many 
 other secondary causes; and terminated in death. 
 
 My dear friend, 
 
 The sufferings of Christ constitute so important a part of 
 Christianity, and are so prominently exhibited in Scripture, 
 that our comfort and deportment in religion must be much 
 influenced by our views of their nature and design. To 
 this subject, allow me to direct your attention in the pre- 
 sent letter. I do not mean to confine myself to the last 
 scene of his sorrows, but to take a general view of the na- 
 ture of all that he suffered. Neither do I intend to dwell 
 on his afflictions, apart from the principles of his character. 
 It is not difficult to see that, in considering the history of 
 his humiliation, we ought to contemplate not only his suf- 
 ferings in themselves, but particularly their causes — the 
 
38 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 admirable principles, motives, and views, which animated 
 him in bearing them ; and also their glorious issue, both as 
 it regards God and man. We ought not, therefore, to view 
 them as we would do any tragical scene; but with a con- 
 stant eye on their peculiar nature, and the character which 
 they served to develop. 
 
 I begin with observing, that it appears from Scripture, 
 the sufferings of our Lord continued through life ; and that 
 his one righteousness includes the whole of his obedience 
 and his death. It is wrong to confine his righteousness to 
 any one part of his humiliation and woe. The Scriptures 
 represent it as including all that he did ; in taking upon 
 him our nature ; in perfectly obeying the divine law ; in 
 submitting to the pains, sorrows, and sufferings, which so 
 grievously afflicted him ; and in giving himself an offering 
 and a sacrifice unto God. These all forni that one work 
 by which the glory of the Divine character is vindicated 
 and illustrated ; the law magnified and made honorable ; 
 and a way opened, through which God appears the just 
 God, and yet the Saviour. 
 
 But though his sufferings continued through life, they 
 were not at all times equally severe. There were times in 
 which he enjoyed comparative ease, and there were seasons 
 of gladness which occasionally brightened the dark and 
 dreary path of his humiliation. He rejoiced in spirit when 
 he saw Salan fall as lightning from heaven, and when the 
 Samaritans were about to acknowledge liim, he said to his 
 disciples that he had meat to eat that they knew not of. 
 As he stood in the room of sinners, it behoved him to suf- 
 fer all those miseries to which they are obnoxious through 
 life; while, at the same time, as God exercises much long 
 sufferinfy and forbearance towards them, and moderates the 
 
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 39 
 
 evils of life, by many instances of kindness ; so, in like 
 manner, the Saviour, when on earth, had not always the 
 same sense of the painful effects of our sins, but sometimes 
 enjoyed a measure of gladness, till the hour and power of 
 darkness came, when the unmixed curse of the violated 
 law of Heaven fell upon his devoted head. How comfort- 
 able is it to us, that his joy arose from the conversion of 
 sinners; that his intervals of gladness were seasons in 
 which the salvation of the guilty was contemplated as the 
 certain and blissful result of his work ! 
 
 But as he had seasons of gladness, so he had also many 
 seasons of extreme distress in the course of his life. Geth- 
 Bemane and Calvary were not the only scenes of his sor- 
 row. Before the last and awful conflict in the garden and 
 on the cross, he exclaimed, " Now is my soul troubled, 
 and what shall I say ?" This marks the deep and distress- 
 ful agitation of his spirit, and must be viewed as similar to 
 what he endured in the night on which he was betrayed. 
 " In the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and sup- 
 plications, with strong crying and tears." '* The days of 
 his flesh" include more than the hour of his agony in Geth- 
 semane, and his distressing hours upon the cross — they 
 must include the entire period of this humiliation, and par- 
 ticularly that of his public ministry. We accordingly 
 find, from the history of these days, that he dismissed the 
 multitude and his disciples, and then retired, not to repose 
 himself, but to pray ; that, rising at a very early hour, he 
 went to a solitary place, and there prayed ; that he went to 
 a mountain to pray ; and continued in that exercise the 
 whole of the night ; and that, w hen he went to the Mount 
 of Olives, after the observance of the passover, it was as 
 he was wont. Compare all this with what is said of the 
 
40 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 nature of those prayers, and of the circumstances in which 
 they were offered, in those psalms in which he is the 
 speaker. His language in Psalm xxii. 2, cannot refer 
 merely to what took place in his last agony in the garden ; 
 for that took place about midnight : and here he says, " O 
 my God, I cry in the c?ai/-time, but thou hearest not ;'* 
 neither can it refer merely to what took place on the cross., 
 because that happened during the day : and here he says, 
 that he cried unto God in " the night season.'''' Nor is 
 this all. The words cannot be confined to any one parti- 
 cular night and day, but are clearly expressive of daily and 
 nightly, continval sorrow, as is confirmed by the expres- 
 sion which follows : " And am not silent ;" or, as in the 
 margin, " there is no silence to me." This mode of speak- 
 ing leads at once to the passages I have quoted respecting 
 his prayers — his continuing in them all night — his doing 
 so on mountains, and in solitary places — and of this being 
 his usual custom. It ought likewise to be obs6;rved, that 
 as the second verse of this psalm cannot be confined to the 
 scenes of Gethscmane and Calvary, so neither can thc^rst ; 
 for these two verses are evidently connected, and form one 
 complaint. He had often, then, by night and by day, thus 
 cried unto God, and had frequently expressed himself in 
 the doleful language which he at last uttered piihlicly on 
 Calvary. In ihe instance already mentioned, which is re- 
 corded in John xii. 27, there is the same state of anguish 
 which is exhibited on the cross, though less in degi-ce. 
 The distress of his soul naturally excited a desire of deli- 
 verance, and he exclaimed, " Now is my soul troubled, 
 and what shall I say ?" This marked the anguish of his 
 heart, and throws light on the language which he imme- 
 diately used — the meaning of which appears to be : " Shall 
 
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 41 
 
 I say, Father save me from this hour 1 No, for I came on 
 purpose for this hour. I will say, Father, glorify thy name, 
 cost me what it may. I ask not the salvation of sinners, 
 at the expense of thy glory. Rather than thy character 
 should be dishonored, 1 bare my breast to the stroke of 
 that sword which thou hast called to awake against me." 
 Thus did the Saviour now suffer, as well as afterwards, and 
 thus did he manifest the spirit which influenced him to the 
 last. This illustrates his complaint, that he had " been 
 afflicted and ready to die from his youth up." It accords 
 with what David says as his type, " My life is spent with 
 grief, and my years with sighing," and shows the import- 
 ance of such of the psalms as contain the substance of the 
 prayers offered up by him on earth. We are in these 
 psalms brought as it were, into his closet, are made the 
 witnesses of his secret devotions, and are enabled to see 
 even the inward workings of his heart. It is affectinor thus 
 to contemplate his feelings and the exercise of his high and 
 hallowed principles, in the presence of his Father. 
 
 The Scriptures, however, do certainly direct us in a par- 
 ticular manner to the last scene of his work and of his 
 woes ; because it was the grand completion of his sufferings 
 and undertaking in the room of sinners. The Evangelists 
 have spoken fully of what he endured during the night on 
 which he was betrayed. The seat of his sufferings at that 
 time was his soul ; for no human hand had as yet touched 
 him. His body, it is true, was greatly affected, but this 
 was occasioned by the distress and angish of his mind. 
 The heaviest bodily affliction is easily borne when the mind 
 is at ease; for "the spirit of a man will sustain his in- 
 firmity ; but a wounded spirit who can bear ?" That, there- 
 fore, which constituted the essence of his sufferings was of 
 
42 
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 a mental kind. He was overwhelmed with sorrow of the 
 most excruciating nature, which made him exclaim, "My 
 soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." Sorrow is 
 the very essence of the curse denounced against sin ; and 
 he who was made "a curse for us," endured it to the ut- 
 most. The sorrows of death compassed him, and the 
 pains of the invisible world got hold upon him, Psalm 
 cxvi. 3. He felt as if besieged with sorrow; so that, to 
 whatever quarter he turned, the bitter cup of anguish pre- 
 sented itself. His anguish was of so deadly a nature, that 
 it threatened the dissolution of his frame even before he 
 had reached the cross, and at last did actually cause his 
 death. 
 
 We are also told that he was sore amazed. — This de- 
 notes a state of the utmost horror and consternation. We 
 know that fear, when raised to the highest pitch, is a most 
 tormenting passion. Often has nature entirely sunk under 
 it. But of all conditions, that of being in the hands of the 
 living God, is the most fearful ; and in his hands the Sa- 
 viour now was. He is likewise represented as being 
 very heavy, or in a state of the deepest dejection and de- 
 pression of spirit, Mark xiv. 33. Now, though we cannot 
 form a proper idea of the weight of his sufferings, we are 
 83nsible that deep horror, accompanied with poignant sor- 
 row and comfortless dejection, must be misery without mix- 
 ture. Let us turn aside, and see this great sight — the Son 
 of God in an agony. See him, in this bitter conflict of 
 nature, starting back, as overwhelmed with horror — struck 
 with amazement and consternation — and encompassed with 
 sorrow and anguish ! See him going backward and for- 
 ward ; at one time kneeling, and at another fulling pros- 
 trate on the ground; seeking for comforters in his disci- 
 
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 43 
 
 pies, and piteously complaining, "What! could ye not 
 watch with me one hour?" — going again and again to his 
 Father, and praying, with increasing intenseness of mind, 
 that this bitter cup might for a time be withdrawn! Con- 
 sider the labors and the strivings of his thoughts; the 
 flaming passions and affections which rushed upon his mind 
 at once; and it will not be matter of wonder that he should 
 have exclaimed, "Save me, O God; for the waters are 
 come in unto my soul. I sink in the deep mire, where there 
 is no standing; I am come into deep waters where the 
 floods overflow me!" His heart was preternaturally fired 
 within him, so as to force a passage through the body for 
 his rarefied blood ; for his sweat was, as it were, great drops 
 of blood falling down to the ground. The agony of his 
 soul must have been bitter beyond conception, when such 
 was its effect upon his body in the open air, at midnight, 
 and when they who were within found it necessary to de- 
 fend themselves against the cold. His firm heart was ready 
 to break, and immediate death was threatened; but know- 
 ing that much remained to be accomplished, it was his 
 prayer that the cu[) might for a time pass from him. His 
 prayer was heard ; an angel appeared to strengthen him ; 
 and he regained composure to act with propriety before his 
 judges and the people, and to suffer what he endured before 
 he reached the cross.* 
 
 On the cross, the scene of Gethsemane was renewed — 
 
 * See Doddridge on Luke xxii. 43, Our Lord did not pray to be 
 entirely excused from sufferings and death. Such a petition had 
 been inconsistent with that steady constancy he always showed, and 
 with his language, in John xii. 27, 28, in which he disowns such a 
 prayer. He speaks of the severity of the present combat which 
 threatened dissolution, before the Scriptures, relative to his last suf- 
 ferings, had been fulfilled. 
 
44 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 the cup was again presented to him, and there he drank it 
 to the very dregs ! On Calvary his distress reached its 
 height, and drew from him the bitter exclamation, *' My 
 God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Mysterious 
 dereUction ! only to be accounted for by the nature of his 
 death. I may here remark, that the ordinary modes of 
 execution are soon over ; but not only was Jesus subjected 
 to the sentence of the law during his whole life, that sen- 
 tence was terminated by the slow mode of crucifixion ; 
 which linserins: mode of death left his mental faculties at 
 full liberty, and so best afforded an opportunity of display- 
 ing to the full the many glories of his character. His pro- 
 tracted sufferings on Calvary called forth the whole quali- 
 ties of his heart, enabled him to show that he laid down 
 his life of himself; and they diffused a sweet savour over 
 his oblation. Here he could not manifest the deep and 
 restless agitation of his heart by going to and fro, and 
 changing his posture, as he did in the garden ; but it was 
 indicated by other circumstances. His words marked it, 
 as did also his countenance. The sun was clothed with 
 darkness; not only as an expression of the Divine dis- 
 pleasure against his foes, and a token of the awful dark- 
 ness of his mind when under the frown of Heaven, but 
 also as an expression of respect for the sufferer, whose 
 mental torture must at that time have " marred his visage 
 more than any man, and his form more than the sons of 
 men ; so that his countenance must have presented a spec- 
 tacle more easily conceived than described. Over this 
 scene a veil was thrown; yet it must have been in some 
 degree apparent.* How soothing, when we think of such 
 
 • See, in connection with this, such passages as Psalm xxii. 6 — 
 8, 14, 15 ; Ixix, 3, 9 ; cii. 3—5, 11, Isa. lii. 14; liii. 3. 
 
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 45 
 
 Bufferings, to consider his prayer for his murderers — his 
 mercy to the malefactor by his side— his minute attention 
 to the prophecies of Scripture — his care for his mother — and 
 the solemn and devout manner in which he endured the 
 inflictions of his heavenly Judge ! 
 
 He at last expired under the curse, not so much in con- 
 sequence of the exhaustion of nature by bodily pain and 
 the loss of blood, (for in the article of death he cried with 
 a loud voice, and Pilate marvelled when he heard of it,) as 
 in consequence of the extreme pressure of mental torture. 
 This was too racking, too exquisite, for nature to support — 
 it literally broke his heart. That sorrow which is the very 
 soul of the curse, terminated his life ; and thus discovered 
 the nature of his sufferings, together with their great and 
 glorious design. 
 
 It must be of the first importance to ascertain the causes 
 of sufferings so great, and so deeply interesting to us. It 
 cannot be that they arose merely from the fear of death. 
 If, to a person so exalted and so distinguished, death itself 
 had been so terrible, how dreadful w^ould it be to us ! In- 
 stead of having set us free fi'om the fear of death, this king 
 of terrors would have been rendered more formidable than 
 ever. But, blessed be God, the dealh of the Redeemer was 
 no common death; we need not, therefore, dread the last 
 enemy. Many of the children of God, who have been 
 naturally timid, and deeply sensible of their guilt and their 
 weakness, have engaged in the last struggle with peaceful 
 hearts, yea, with unutterable gladness, even when death 
 appeared in its most painful and frightful forms. They 
 have met the most cruel deadly tortures with fortitude, and 
 have discovered no dread or dejection ; but, on the contrary, 
 the most placid tranquillity, and even the highest emotions 
 
46 
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 of joy. Whence the difference between the Master, who 
 is all dejection and consternation, even to such a degree as 
 to affect his body in the most extraordinary manner, and 
 the servant, who, in the prospect of martyrdom, exults in 
 the hope of the " crown of righteousness ?" The difference 
 is to be found in ?A is— that Christ died as a sacrifice for 
 sin, and in the peculiar natm-e and measure of the suffer- 
 ings which were necessary to that sacrifice whether we 
 consider the state of destitution to which he was reduced, 
 or what he endured from positive infliction, we cannot but 
 see that his sufferings were as unparalleled as was the 
 character wliich he sustained. He bare our sins in his 
 own body on the tree, that he might redeem us from the 
 curse of the law and the power of death ; that, dying 
 under the weight of the Divine displeasure, tee might be 
 blessed in life, at death, and throughout eternity. Thus the 
 curse is exhausted, and the cup put into our hands has no- 
 thing of wrath in it, but is entirely medicinal, even in its 
 most bitter ingredients. 
 
 It is evident, my dear friend, that the sufferings of Christ 
 arose from the hand of his Father, in the character of Judge 
 and Lawgiver. As such, it became him to express his dis- 
 pleasure against sin ; that, while mercy triumphed, it might 
 not be at the expense of justice, or of the general good. 
 He loved the guilty, and would have had no difficulty in 
 saving them without an atonement, had this been consistent 
 with righteousness, with the glory of his character, the 
 honor of the law, the good of the universe and of the guilty 
 themselves. Christ did not purchase the love of God ; his 
 death is the fruit, and not the price of it. It opened a 
 channel through which the love of God flows to the guilty, 
 in a way at once honorable to him and beneficial to them. 
 
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 47 
 
 There is nothing here bordering on rigor or cruelty ; but 
 a sacred regard to rectitude and the Divine law, united with 
 the warmest benevolence towards sinners. The Saviour, 
 personally considered, was never the object of the Divino 
 displeasure. Even when the hand of God was most heavily 
 upon him, he was the object of Divine delight; and, confi- 
 dent of this, he said, "Therefore doth my Father love me, 
 because I lay down my life for the sheep." But, considered 
 as the representative of sinners, it behoved him to suffer 
 the dismal consequences of the Divine displeasure against 
 their rebellion, so that he must have felt that he suffered 
 the effects of the Divine indignation. 
 
 One great cause of the sufferings of Christ, was the 
 clear perception which he had of the sins of his people, 
 in all their odiousness and malignity. His holy mind was 
 deeply affected by the evil and hatefulness of rebellion 
 against God. Well did he know the high and righteous 
 claims of God on the love and the obedience of all ; and 
 the violated obligations of man, with the tendency and aw- 
 ful effects of sin, were fully before him. Our feelings in 
 regard to sin are blunted by the slightness of our views of 
 guilt; but he had the clearest perceptions of the evil and 
 demerit of transgression, and he hated it with his whole 
 heart. The more dearly he loved his people, the moro 
 would his trouble be increased ; as we are much more af- 
 fected by the crimes of a relative or friend, than by tho 
 crimes of others. Such a view of the evil and hateful na- 
 ture of sin must have been inconceivably painful to the 
 Saviour, when it was not counterbalanced by an equally 
 • clear view of good, which during his last sufferings he had 
 not; because at that time he was lefl to distress mingled 
 with gladness. 
 
48 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, 
 
 In this hour of anguish he had a deej) sense of the Di- 
 vine wrath against sin. Though he was personally the 
 object of the Divine love, he endured that which, to the 
 guilty, is the awful expression of the Divine displeasure. 
 The God of our spirits can easily deluge the soul with sor- 
 row and anguish, even when the spirit is pure, and is the 
 object of his approbation. In such a case, the painful feel- 
 ings cannot be those of a guilty conscience ; and, in the 
 case of our Lord, there could be nothing of this kind. It 
 is utterly wrong to represent his sufTcrings, as in all respects 
 the same with those of the impenitent in the world of woe. 
 They cat of the fruit of their own ways — they are under 
 the dominion of the most sinful propensities — their ungov- 
 ernable passions are for ever excited, and never find grati- 
 fication — ihcy have no self-respect, but arc conscious of per- 
 sonal guilt, and filled with remorse — and their final despair 
 is accompanied with every furious and malignant principle, 
 and with settled hostility to the character and government 
 of God. Nothing of this nature could have place in the 
 breast of the Saviour. He knew, and he confessed, the 
 sinfulness and demerit of man. He acquitted the throne 
 of God, and laid ihe undivided blame on the sinner. Even 
 when he exclaimed, in the bitterness of his soul, " My God, 
 my God, why hast thou forsaken me 7" he murmured not, 
 but said, "Thou are holy." When his heart was broken, 
 and his spirit distracted with agonies passing comprehen- 
 sion, he bowed with profound and cheerful submission to 
 the hand of God, and with perfect resignation drank the 
 whole of the bitter cup. It were equally wrong on the 
 other hand, to infer, from the difierence between his suffer- 
 ings and those of the finally condemned, that his woes 
 were, not of the most intense kind. That difierence arises 
 
THE SUFFERI?«GS OF CHRIST. 49 
 
 from the opposite characters of the parties. Where no 
 difference of character exists, there must be a similarity 
 of suffering or enjoyment. We are apt to connect future 
 punishment with place, to such a degree, as to suppose that 
 the former cannot be endured but in a particular local situ- 
 ation ; but place is only a circumstance, net at all affect- 
 ing the essence of punishment. In as far as Jesus could 
 feel it, he endured the wrath of God due to sin. He was 
 in the hands of the living God, who has access into the 
 innermost recesses of the heart, and can excite a degree 
 of sensibility far exceeding in intcnseness what the mind 
 of man can- possibly conceive. He had the most awful 
 views of God, as the author and the vindicator of the law 
 — as armed with all that judgment which is included in 
 the curse of the Almighty — as in the act of executing the 
 most tremendous threatenings of his word — and as called 
 upon, in his public character, to inflict on the Surety of sin- 
 ners the full desert of iheir attrocious rebellion. It was not 
 death in itself from which he suffered so much ; but death 
 as penal, or as the wages of sin. He contemplated God in 
 the character of the offended Judge ; and, under a sense of 
 his anger against sin, he was filled with dread. His out- 
 ward sufferings were nothing to the distresses of his soul ; 
 of the former we find him accordingly, speaking with the 
 greatest composure, while the latter called forth the most 
 bitter exclamations and the most intense supplications. 
 
 Another ingredient in his cup was the desertion of his 
 Father : of this he speaks in the most plaintive manner. 
 Separation from God is part of the curse : hence Adam 
 was expelled Eden ; and hence, too, the v/icked shall be 
 doomed to depart from the presence of Him in whose fa- 
 vor is life. This may be thought light here, but in the 
 
50 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 other world it causes inexpressible misery. As it forms an 
 essential part of the curse due to sin, it behoved our Lord 
 to experience it when he stood for the guilty. This, how- 
 ever, is a subject awfully mysterious, and on which little 
 can be said. He felt himself given up to the will of his 
 enemies, and to all that sin deserved, without one cheering 
 ray of his Father's countenance to mitigate his distress. 
 This was the summit, the bitterest ingredient of his suffer- 
 ings. If life lies in the favor of God, and his frown be 
 destructive of the bliss of a spiritual being, the sufferings 
 of the Redeemer must have been inconceivably great when 
 the frown of Jehovah fell upon him. The bitter lamenta- 
 tions which this extorted from him discover the feelings of 
 his heart. Although he was kept from utterly sinking, 
 there were seasons when he endured the total absence of 
 Divine joy, and the entire want of every kind of comfort. 
 Not that his mind was aliDays in this state, even in the 
 deepest of his trials ; but this was, on such occasions, and 
 particularly in the last scenes of his suffering, the general 
 state of his soul. To him the sun of consolation was then 
 totally eclipsed. Our depravity, and the weakness of our 
 powers, hinder us from forming adequate ideas of his dis- 
 tress, when deprived of the light of his Father's counte- 
 nance, and doomed to suffer his frown. This is the deep- 
 est misery which man can feel, and misery of which the 
 Redeemer must have been most painfully sensible, in con- 
 sequence of his situation, the greatness of his powers, and 
 the holiness of his character. No evil principle obscured 
 his view of the Divine glory — no sinful bias kept him from 
 perceiving, in the most vivid light, the worth of the Divine 
 favor — and nothing could cool his love to Jehovah, or turn 
 away his heart from him. The more he loved God, the 
 
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 51 
 
 clearer views he had of his glory ; and the more that he 
 delighted in fellowship with him, the greater must have been 
 his sorrow and anguish of heart when the Father hid his 
 face from him. His aversion to this was the language of 
 nature, which must ever be averse to pain; but it was much 
 more : it was also the fruit of piety ; as the more he was 
 devoted to God, the greater must have been his aversion to 
 that which cut him off from the enjoyment of him. The 
 more, too, that he was averse to the cup on such principles, 
 the more glorious does his drinking of it appear, that the 
 Divine law, character, and government, might be honored, 
 and the salvation of sinners thus completely secured. The 
 reluctance of our Lord to the cup, and the distress of his 
 soul when drinking of it, show the strength of his love both 
 to God and man, and admirably manifest the perfection of 
 his character. His sufferings afforded an opportunity for 
 the exercise and display of all that is great and good — of 
 all that can command the highest veneration, the warmest 
 love, and the most heartfelt gratitude. 
 
 To prefigure our Lord's endurance of that separation 
 from God, which is an essential part of the curse, the most 
 remarkable of the sin-offerings were burnt without the 
 camp. As polluted victims, they were removed from the 
 place where God dwelt. In like manner, Jesus suffered 
 without the gate of the holy city, because he was in the 
 eye of the law an unclean victim. This was but an indi- 
 cation of his actual state, as separated from the enjoyment 
 of fellowship with God. He died in an unclean place, 
 where the bones of many of the dead, and these of the 
 worst character too, lay all around: every thing in the 
 place, as well as in the manner of his death, marking 
 him out as dying under the frown of Heaven, and in a 
 
52 
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 state of exclusion from the holy sanctuary of Jehovah. 
 From this sanctuary every thing unclean was excluded 
 under the law; and, in allusion to this, our Lord speaks 
 of his sufferings as a pollution, and in this light they were 
 viewed by the Jews. Every one saw that our Lord's suf- 
 ferings were of no common character. The circumstan- 
 ces attending his bodily sufferings were unprecedented, 
 and their eflects upon his mind were remarkable ; while, 
 on the other hand, the effects of his mental torture upon 
 his body were still more striking. Much must have been 
 visible which was calculated to oficnd those who could look 
 only to the outward appearance, and to give occasion to 
 his enemies to triumph over him. While the people of 
 God, when they cried unto him had been heard and deliv- 
 ered, his prayers were not heard in the same way ; because 
 he suffered lor the guilty in a state of seclusion from the 
 habitation and favor of God. He was treated as a lepri', 
 whose lamentations, instead of meeting with condolence, 
 could only be made in a state of excommunication, and 
 whose malady was viewed as resulting from the immediate 
 visitation of God. The people treated him thus ; because 
 they could not account for his unparalleled sufferings in 
 any other way than that of his being an unparalleled sin- 
 ner; and he himself acted as one unclean in the eye of 
 the law, because he had devoted himself to be a sacrifice 
 for sin. The higher our views are of the perfect purity 
 and holiness of his character, the more deeply impres- 
 sive will be our views of his condition when separated 
 from all delightful fellowship with God, and treated as 
 a polluted victim. This prefigured under the law by the 
 animals offered in sacrifice, which were to be the purest 
 and most perfect in themselves, wliile, in consequence of 
 
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 53 
 
 being substituted in the room of the guilty, they were 
 treated as unclean. From all this legal impurity was our 
 Lord delivered by his expiatory death. 
 
 Connected with this was the shame to which he was sub' 
 jected. Shame forms a part of the curse due to sin. This 
 arises from the nature of sin, which includes in it the con- 
 tempt of excellence, and opposition to all that is good — the 
 perverse abuse of the faculties of the mind ; of the bounties 
 of Providence and the ways of God — which involves in it 
 the most wicked rebellion and the basest ingratitude ; and 
 which manifests the government of the most despicable and 
 hateful propensity. A principle inducing such a character 
 and conduct, must merit the most decided reprobation and 
 the most marked contempt. The conviction that this con- 
 tempt is deserved, must torment the condemned in that 
 world where the clearest light shall be united with the most 
 deep-rooted hostility to all that is good. The Saviour, 
 having appeared in the cause of sinners, was exposed to 
 the keenest reproach and the most galling shame. We 
 ought not to look upon this as a slight part of his woes ; 
 for shame is a most painful emotion, which has driven 
 many from the haunts of men, and to offer violence to na- 
 ture itself. The Redeemer often speaks of the shame 
 and the scorn he endured, and says that " reproach had 
 broken his heart." These bitter consequences and ef- 
 fects of sin account for the manner of our Lord's death. 
 It was necessary not only that he should die, but that he 
 should die in circumstances shameful and degrading : He 
 accordingly died the death of the cross, that being the 
 most shameful death then known among men. He indeed 
 
 knew that he merited not reproach, but praise ; but his cir- 
 
 6* 
 
64 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHKIST. 
 
 cumstances of shame and contempt forcibly impressed him 
 with the baseness and malignity of sin, and the unworthi- 
 ness of those for whom he suffered. 
 
 It is of importance to observe, farther, that our Lord's 
 sufferings were increased by the assaults of the powers 
 of darkness. The serpent bruised his heel, as had been 
 early foretold. There are times when the mind is in a 
 situation very susceptible of trouble and anguish ; and 
 this was the case with the Saviour, when the prince of 
 darkness attacked him. Every fresh calamity laid his 
 mind more open to pain from another ; and at this time ca- 
 lamity came after calamity, and deluged his soul with the 
 most bitter and complicated distress. No wonder, then, 
 that he was filled with a shocking mixture of terror and 
 amazement — of dejection and sorrow. 
 
 I may add, that a number of inferior causes contributed 
 to increase his sufferings. All the evils which sin hath in- 
 troduced seemed to conspire against him. While his soul 
 was overwhelmed with bitter sorrow, and his body racked 
 with the tortures of the cross, he had to endure the mock- 
 ery of the Jews — the conduct of his own disciples, and 
 numerous other circumstances of the most painful nature. 
 All of these, however, the Redeemer traced to God, as well 
 as what came immediately from him. When apprehended 
 by the officers sent to take him, he said, "The cup which 
 my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" The 
 things which led to his death, as well as the death itself, 
 he considered as the effects of the Divine wrath against 
 sin; and, viewing them in this light, he must have had the 
 bitterness of his cup exceedingly increased. It is this view 
 of the many events and circumstances in the death of the 
 
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 55 
 
 Redeemer which makes them illustrative of the nature and 
 the causes of his sufferings, and leads us to perceive the 
 glory of his character. 
 
 Thus did the Son of God endure the curse of the Di- 
 vine law, in suffering that sorrow, dejection, and consterna- 
 tion — that shame and degradation, which marked his ca- 
 reer. He suffered under the frown of the Lawgiver and 
 the Judge of all ; and that in such circumstances, that in 
 the prime of life he died of a wounded spirit. In his 
 death, doubtless, he voluntarily yielded up his life ; but 
 this appeared in his voluntarily submitting to be cut off by 
 means of the awful and deadly pressure of the curse upon 
 his soul, and not merely by a direct act of his own, with- 
 out the intervention of means. Thus sin was expiated — 
 the Divine law magnified and made honorable — the char- 
 acter of God vindicated and fully displayed, and the sal- 
 vation of the guilty completely secured. "It is finished !'* 
 said the wondrous sufferer. Resigning himself into the 
 hands of his God, he exclaimed, "Father, into thy hands 
 I commend my spirit!" and " bowing his head, he gave up 
 the ghost." Thus died he ; at once as a sacrifice for sin, 
 and as "the Prince of life." Let the philanthropy of God 
 our Saviour expand our minds and enlarge our hearts. Into 
 his views let us enter, his character let us imitate, and thus 
 his bliss we shall ultimately possess. 
 
 Praying that He who knows all our afflictions, and 
 hath taken their bitterness away, may be with you and 
 bless you. 
 
 I remain. 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 Yours &c. 
 
LETTER II. 
 
 ON THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 
 
 General remarks on the glory of Christ, as illustratetl by his suffer- 
 ings. His glory a striking manifestation of the Divine charac- 
 ter — Appears in his resurrection — In his ascension — The com- 
 pletion of the atonement — The Divine approbation of his work 
 — And his ministrations and bliss in the heavenly sanctuary. 
 Was the subject of his prayer and conversation on earth — De- 
 monstrates the perfection of his sacrifice — Is the source of peace 
 before God — of sanctification — of consolation under affliction, and 
 in the prospect of death and eternity. 
 
 My deah friexi), 
 
 Havi>-g, in my last letter, made some observations on the 
 sufferings of Christ, I shall now direct your attention to the 
 glory which followed. These two subjects mutually illus- 
 trate each other, and they formed the great topics of pro- 
 phetic teaching. That we may understand the true nature 
 of the glory of the Saviour, it is necessary to advert again 
 to the character in which he viewed God in the time of hia 
 sufferings. lie then contemplated him chiefly as the Law- 
 giver and the Judge of all, highly displeased with the vio- 
 lation of his authority, and as in the act of executinjr the 
 sentence of the law. He viewed death as the wages of 
 sin, and as the infliction of the curse of Jehovah. Tho 
 wrath of God, as revealed in the cross of Christ, gives tho 
 most awful display of Divine justice ; and in the death of 
 the Redeemer, we receive the deepest impressions of tho 
 moral character of God. Here we arc taught, by irresisti- 
 ble evidence, that life lies in the Divine favor, and that the 
 frown of Heaven is the very essence of death. In the 
 
THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 
 
 57 
 
 mortal agonies of Him who expired under the frown of the 
 God of all blessedness, we see the lowest degradation to 
 which human nature can be brought, and the deepest misery 
 to which man can be subjected, as the fruit of sin. 
 
 In the resurrection of Christ there is also a wonderful 
 manifestation of the Divine character. The power dis- 
 played in it is not merely physical, like that which was 
 manifested in the resurrection of those whom our Lord 
 brought from the dead in the days of his flesh. Hence 
 Paul, in his prayer for the Ephesians, labors for words to 
 express the amazing grandeur of that power which was 
 exerted in the Redeemer's deliverance from death. He 
 terms it " the exceeding greatness of the power of God," 
 and "the working of his mighty power." He also leads 
 our attention beyond the resurrection of the Saviour, to the 
 glory bestowed on him in his exaltation to the right hand 
 of God, to the govcrnmcni of ihe Church, and thus of all 
 things for its sake. In raising and glorifying Christ, God 
 must be viewed, not so much as Almighty, but rather as the 
 Lawgiver and the Judge of all, raising and glorifying the 
 Surety of sinners, in consistency with, and infinitely to the 
 honor of, his law and government. The Moral Governor 
 was enabled to act in this manner in consequence of the 
 infinite worth of the sacrifice of Christ, which satisfied all 
 the claims of justice, and fully vindicated and illustrated 
 the character of Jehovah. 
 
 But while the unutterable value of the death of Christ is 
 that from which his reward arose, its worth does not spring 
 from suflJering simply, but from the excellence of the prin- 
 ciples and views which animated the illustrious suflTerer. 
 Hence God, while exercising this power in rewarding 
 Christ, was not only doing what in his public character he 
 
68 
 
 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 
 
 had a right to do, or what he could do, in full consistency 
 with the demands of law and justice; but was at the 
 6ame time expressing the strength of his love to the char- 
 acter of the Redeemer, and the ineffable complacency 
 with which he rests in his work. The meaning of the 
 prayer I refer to appears to be this, — " That the eyes of 
 the mind being freed from error and sin, Christians may 
 clearly discern and rightly judge of the great object of 
 hope to which they have been called out of the world, and 
 of the riches and grandeur of that lot, or place, given them 
 among the saints, as citizens of the heavenly city ; and ap- 
 prehend aright the grandeur of the power of God mani- 
 fested in the behalf, or on account, of his people; that is, 
 the energy of his mighty power which he wrought in 
 Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and glorified 
 him in heaven."* 
 
 Tiic subject spoken of is not the povv-cr exerted in lead- 
 ing us to believe the Gospel, which is doubtless the energy 
 of the Spirit of God ; but the power exerted in our behalf, 
 when the Father raised the Redeemer, and gave him glory 
 as our public Head. The power here displayed is that of 
 raising and glorifying the very Person who had died under 
 the curse and by means of the frown of the Lawgiver. In 
 distinction from that which is merely physical, it may be 
 termed moral power, as expressive of a right in law. Had 
 not the death of the Surety expiated sin, and glorified the 
 
 • Ephcsians ii. 19.— The Apostle is speaking, not of the corre« 
 pondence between the power exerted in the resurrection of Christ, 
 and that exerted in causing us to believe, but of the object of faith— 
 namely, the display of tlic Divine character in raising him on our be- 
 half. This does not derogate from the power displayed in the con- 
 version of sinners, for the latter is of a diflcrcnt kind, and of a higher 
 order, than the physical power exerted in the resurrection of Jesus. 
 
THE GLORY OF GIIRIST. 59 
 
 Divine law — had it not vindicated and illustrated the Divine 
 character — and had it not opened a channel through which 
 mercy might flow to sinners, in consistency with justice, 
 and highly to its glory — in that case the Judge could not 
 legally have released him. But such is the value of the 
 Redeemer's work, and such the glory of his character, that 
 the Moral Governor, under whose awful frown he had died, 
 could with infinite propriety, deliver him from that very 
 death which he had inflicted as the curse of his violated 
 law. In the death of Christ we have an awful display of 
 the power of God in punishing sin ; in his resurrection a 
 delightful exhibition of his power in rewarding righteous- 
 ness. In the cross of the Saviour, we see his soul wound- 
 ed, and that by the hand of God ; but in his resurrection 
 and glorification, we see the same God healing his wound- 
 ed spirit, and gladdening his heart. That soul which was 
 surrounded with bitter and deadly sorrows, is now made 
 exceeding glad with the light of God's countenance. He 
 who was sunk into the deepest wretchedness, is now in- 
 heriting blessedness beyond — infinitely beyond — our most 
 exalted conceptions. The fulness of the Divine delight 
 now rests upon Him, who, as a victim, polluted and accur- 
 sed in the eye of the law, suffered without the gates of the 
 city. He who once was excluded the presence and the 
 house of God, is now in the heavenly holy place, and at 
 the right hand of the Majesty on high. Flow delightful to 
 turn from that preternatural darkness which covered him 
 on Calvary, and which was so expressive of the Divine dis- 
 pleasure against sin, — to his resurrection and his glory, as 
 the most expressive signs of the Divine complacency in his 
 finished righteousness ! How cheering to contrast his 
 misery on earth with his bliss in heaven — the gloom of 
 
60 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 
 
 Gethsemane and the cross, with the meridian sunshine 
 which now encompasses him on Mount Zion — his bitter 
 and heart-rending exclamations in the house of mourning, 
 with his songs of praise in that temple, where the glory of 
 God, as his God and Father, for ever rests. But so oppo- 
 sed to the natural principles of the human heart, is the view, 
 thus given in the resurrection of Christ of the character of 
 God and the condition of man, that nothing short of the in- 
 vincible power of Him who raised him from the dead, will 
 ever bring a sinner to receive it. And it is in his being 
 brought to receive the love of this revelation, that the quick- 
 ening influence of the Spirit of God upon his heart is made 
 manifest. 
 
 In considering the glory of Christ, it is necessary to con- 
 template his ascension into heaven, and the station he there 
 fills. He entered the heavenly holy place as a triumphant 
 conqueror, having overcome Satan, and sin, and death. He 
 ascended amidst the loud and joyful acclamations of the 
 heavenly hosts. He entered the temple in the character of 
 the High Priest, with his own blood, and solemnly offered 
 it unto God. The character which he had displayed in his 
 sufferings upon earth, and which his manifold v/oes had 
 served to illustrate, must have given the greatest weight to 
 what he solemnly declared by his sacrifice in the heavenly 
 sanctuary. He there afresh exhibited the collected excel- 
 lencies which he had manifested on the cross. In the midst 
 of the invisible hosts he vindicated the injured character of 
 God: declared his law to be holy, and just and good ; con- 
 demned sin as exceeding sinful, and laid its undivided blame 
 upon man. The solemn declaration of such a personage, 
 who was so fully competent in every respect to judge in the 
 case— and who, moreover, had suflered unto death — must 
 
THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 61 
 
 have produced the most powerful impressions on the whole 
 of the heavenly worshippers. Thus did he complete tho 
 atonement, and thus did he inspire all around, whether 
 angels or redeemed sinners, with the highest reverence and 
 love for the character of God, the deepest abhorrence of 
 sin, and the most sacred regard to righteousness. 
 
 Having finished this part of his undertaking, God called 
 him to his right hand ; set him on the throne of David, as 
 the king of the spiritual Israel ; and invested him with the 
 government of all worlds, for the sake of his Church, 
 Psalm ex. 1. By this exaltation, Jehovah gave the bright- 
 est display of that infinite complacency with which he 
 viewed the high and hallowed character of the Mediator, 
 and of the delight he felt on seeing the redemption of sin- 
 ners secured in a way so honorable to him, and so suited 
 to them. The songs of angels, and of redeemed sinners, 
 in which the Lamb is declared to be worthy of " all bless- 
 ing, and honor, and glory, and riches," are but an echo 
 of the language of the Father, when he seated him as a 
 Priest upon his throne, and called all orders of creatures to 
 worship and serve him. He delighted in so glorious a de- 
 monstration of his holiness — such security for the ends and 
 honor of his government — such a display of his manifold 
 wisdom and of the riches of his grace — and such a proof 
 and illustration of the full harmony of his perfections, as 
 were furnished by the sufferings and reward of his Son. 
 Must it not, then, be a part, and a great part, of the glory 
 of the Saviour, to be thus acknowledged as worthy of all 
 honor and blessedness by Him who is the best judge of 
 genuine merit? 
 
 In heaven the Redeemer appears as the first-born of the 
 
 family of God, and exhibits in himself that glory to which 
 6 
 
62 TUE GLORY OF CHRIST. 
 
 his redeemed are destined to be conformed. His body is 
 spiritual, glorious, vigorous, and incorruptible, and com- 
 pletely adapted to his exalted station as Lord of all. His 
 spirit is filled with unutterable blessedness in the enjoy- 
 ment of the divine love. He is happy in a constant sense 
 of the divine complacency in his obedience and death, and 
 in his official administration in the heavenly temple. In 
 this temple he sits as Lord, having the whole charge of its 
 sacred services. There he leads the song, intercedes for 
 his people, presents and procures the acceptance of their 
 services, and communicates all the blessing;s of the ever- 
 lasting covenant. There he exhibits to the whole of the 
 heavenly hosts the full effulgence of the divine perfections. 
 In this delightful abode, his redeemed cleave to him with 
 the utmost ardor of love, contemplate his personal and 
 official glory with exquisite delight, and ever triumph in 
 him with the highest exultation. He is blessed in seeincr 
 them blessed, and delights in communicating to them fresh 
 enjoyments, and causing them to participate in all his mani- 
 fold and exalted joys. He exults as he surveys and for- 
 wards his work of salvation. This work he considers his 
 highest glory. All his external grandeur is viewed by 
 him as subordinate and subservient to his mediatorial cha- 
 racter. In a word, the noble — the divine — feelings, which 
 animated him when, for the sake of removing misery, and 
 imparting happiness, he bled, and groaned, and died, are 
 in heaven completely gratified. Thus he sees the travail 
 of his soul, and is satisfied. 
 
 The deep interest taken by the Saviour in the glory 
 promised him, appears in the prayers which he poured out 
 unto God for deliverance from the power of death, and for 
 that life which is now given him. In Psalm xxi. we read 
 
THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 63 
 
 of the request of his lips, and the desire of his heart, as 
 occupied with the blessings of the Divine goodness, — with 
 the crown of glory which he now wears, — with his ever- 
 lasting life as Mediator, — with his being constituted the 
 medium of blessings to many, and with the enjoyment of 
 the li2;ht of his Father's countenance. In Psalm xxii. he 
 fer\-ently prays for deliverance; and he intimates, that, 
 upon his request being granted, he should declare the cha- 
 racter of God to his brethen, in the midst of the general 
 assembhv- and Church of the first-born. He hhnseif blesses 
 God for hearing his prayers, and calls upon the people to 
 join in the delightful e.xercise of praising Hi?n who had not 
 despised the affliction of the afflicted One, but had granted 
 hmi the desire of his heart. He also exults in the pros- 
 pect of all the ends of the earth being blessed with his sal- 
 vation, and made to rejoice in the benefits of his sacrifice. 
 Similar are his prayers and thanksgivings in Psalms Ixix. 
 cxvi. cxviii., in which he declares his sufferings, expresses 
 his gratitude to God, and his assured confidence that he 
 should ultimately triumph in the full and final salvation of 
 his people. 
 
 The interest he took in his future glory appears in the 
 frequent references he made to it v/hen conversing with his 
 disciples, and in his public discourses. We cannot read 
 his history without seeing that eternity was ever before him; 
 that he longed for the time when the Gospel should be 
 preached to all nations; when the way into the holiest of 
 all should be laid open; and when he, in his high charac- 
 ter, as a Priest upon his throne, should unfold what " eye 
 had not seen, what ear had not heard, and what never 
 could have entered the mind of man or of angel." With 
 these views he endeavored to comfort his disciples on the 
 
64 TUE GLORY OF CHRIST. 
 
 night on wliich he was betravcd. Hence he du elt on the 
 
 CD y 
 
 blessed consequences of his entrance into heaven, as they 
 respected the glory of God, his own glory, and the cause 
 of truth and salvation among men. 
 
 Surely, then, it becomes us to take up all these views. 
 If his resurrection declares him to be indeed the Son of 
 God, — if it proves the perfection of his sacrifice ; — if the 
 glory of God is made manifest by it, — it must be at 
 once our duty and our privilege to place unsuspecting 
 confidence in his finished work. If these important truths 
 are still farther demonstrated by his exaltation and glory 
 in the heavenly sanctuary, then all that could be done to 
 satisfy us has been fully accomplished. I need not say 
 that nothing can pacify conscience, upon solid grounds, but 
 that which satisfied the justice of Heaven ; and hcjice the 
 preciousness of that Gospel which demonstrates that Di- 
 vine justice is satisfied, perfectly and for ever. How ani- 
 mating it is to see the Almighty illustrate by facts what he 
 proclaimed from the excellent glory, when lie said, " This 
 is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased." Here 
 he is revealed in the endearing character of " the God of 
 Peace," and from this view of his character springs the 
 liope of the guilty. 
 
 It is in connection with this revelation that he calls upon 
 sinners to come to him through Christ, and promises par- 
 don and eternal life to all who believe his testimony, and 
 who (if I may be allowed the expression) take him at his 
 word, and venture their eternity upon it. It is the know- 
 ledge of those spiritual things that quickens the dead in 
 trespasses and sins. It brings them into a state of lioly 
 fellowship with the Saviour, with whom all who believe 
 are raised and made partakers of a new life. Now, the 
 
THE GLOBY OF CHRIST. 65 
 
 sinner can allow his conscience to depict the true charac- 
 ter of his heart and his sinful ways — he can admit, with- 
 out palliation, all that it can say of the number and aggra- 
 vations of his crimes ; because, however heavy and odious 
 its charges may be, the resurrection and glory of Christ, 
 as by public adjudication, set before him a righteousness al- 
 ready perfectly finished, and honorably rewarded. In 
 the Divine testimony concerning his work and elevation is 
 concentrated the very essence of " the word of reconcilia- 
 tion." Here every perplexing question as to the ground 
 of acceptance is answered in a way which at once gives 
 rest to the trembling conscience, and produces godly sor- 
 row and deep contrition. 
 
 The contemplation of the divine character, as thus man- 
 ifested in the glory of Christ, has the most powerful influ- 
 ence in sanctifying the soul. When we think of the prin- 
 ciples, the qualities, and the deeds, which adorned the cha- 
 racter of our Lord when suffering for sin, and view the di- 
 vine delight in them, displayed in his exaltation, we see 
 what that character is, which calls forth the approbation of 
 Heaven, and conformity to which is essential to happiness. 
 While we find peace in the blood of the cross, we are at- 
 tracted towards God, and our affections captivated, by the 
 excellencies unfolded in the means of our deliverence. 
 Thus the corruption of the heart receives a mortal stroke 
 — we are delivered from worldly lusts — the mind is eleva- 
 ted above every grovelling and ensnaring attachment — and 
 the character is made meet for the inheritance of the saints 
 in light. 
 
 Such is the influence of the Gospel of peace. Having 
 
 found mercy through faith in the blood of Christ, the love 
 
 of God is implanted, a filial dread of his displeasure is felt, 
 6* 
 
66 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 
 
 and an ardent desire of deliverance from sin, and of the 
 divine approbation, is produced. We are thus led to inquire. 
 What shall I render to the Lord for his manifold blessings 1 
 how shall I express my gratitude, and give vent to my love, 
 and become the object of the complacency of my God and 
 Father? In answer to such inquiries we arc directed to 
 the wondrous excellencies of the character of Christy and 
 are taught that such are the principles, dispositions, and de- 
 portment, in which God delights ; and in proof of which we 
 are referred to the exaltation and the grandeur of the Re- 
 deemer as the reward of his work, Phil. ii. 5 — 13. This 
 leads our mind to heaven, and to the glory of the Saviour 
 there ; and excites us to study conformity to his spirit and 
 behaviour, as the great pattern of all that is cxcellennt. 
 There is every thing in this high example to call forth our 
 devoutest affection and constant imitation. Wlio is he 
 whose character has thus been honored of God, and in 
 whom he rests with such delightful satisfaction 1 Is he not 
 our own Friend, Deliverer, and Brother? What called 
 forth the qualities and excellencies thus applauded of hea- 
 ven? what exercised them? what brightened and increased 
 their positive glory ? Was it not his sufferings for us 7 
 What are the principles thus gloriously rewarded? Are 
 they not the principles which moved him to undertake our 
 cause, and to continue his career of free, generous, and 
 disinterested love in our behalf till he could say, " It is 
 finished !" Must we not seek them in that union of mercy 
 and truth, of righteousness and peace, which is displayed 
 in his whole character, and which is the glory of his sal- 
 vation? Yes; we see them in that love to God and zeal 
 for his glory, which moved liim to the firm determination, 
 that, rather than our redemption should be at the expense 
 
THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 67 
 
 of the Divine justice, he would bare his breast to the sword 
 of Heaven, and encounter all its terrors. We see them in 
 that love to men which moved him to veil his glory, to stoop 
 to shame, wretchedness, and death, that he might redeem 
 the guilty and unworthy from merited misery and wrath — 
 We see them in his profound veneration for justice and in- 
 tegrity, united with the most tender compassion for sinners, 
 and unbounded goodness towards them — We see them in 
 his meek resignation to the will of God, his cheerful sub- 
 mission to his appointments, and his patient endurance of 
 all that the Judge saw meet to inflict, united with unquench- 
 able love and zeal, continually burning in the cause of 
 the lost and the unworthy children of men — In a word, we 
 see them in the collected and wondrous excellencies which 
 shone in their highest glory, when, in his obedience unto 
 death, he displayed the character of God as at once just 
 and merciful in perfection. Surely, then, excellencies which 
 were manifested in our ow7i behalf, and for our eternal de- 
 liverance from evil, and our everlasting enjoyment of all 
 good, must command our gratitude and admiration. The 
 sight of that glory which marks the ineffable delight of the 
 Father in these principles must convince us of the strength 
 of his oivn love towards us, and of the exceeding riches of 
 his grace. 
 
 The consideration of the design of the Redeemer's glory 
 is calculated to produce the same result. Has he been 
 raised from the dead 1 It is as the first fruits of them that 
 slept ; so that his resurrection is the pledge of ours. If 
 we think of his glorified body, we know that it is the pat- 
 tern after which these vile bodies shall one day be fashion- 
 ed. If we follow him in his ascent to heaven, and hear 
 the call to admit him as " the Lord, mighty in battle," 
 
68 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 
 
 we see him as the Conqueror of oi/r foes, and as the Cap- 
 tain of our salvation. If we view him as the High Priest 
 entering within the veil, we know tliat he entered as our 
 forerunner, and that he there offered himself, and complet- 
 ed his expiratory work in our behalf. If we look to him 
 when seated as a priest upon his throne, we remember that 
 he hath " made us kings and priests unto God, even his 
 Father ;" that he still intercedes for us; and that he is ever 
 employed in watching over ovr interests, and securing our 
 safety and our bliss. If we look to him as Lord of all 
 worlds, we know that all things are overruled for our good. 
 If we dwell upon his blessedness, we see it arising from 
 the enjoyment of the delightful complacency of the Jeho- 
 vah in his work for us ; and from beholding the blessed 
 fruits of it in our redemption and our blessedness. If wo 
 tliink of his second coming and his glory then to be re- 
 vealed, we remember that he comes to complete our salva- 
 tion, and to consummate our happiness. 
 
 What an attraction is there in the glory of our Head to 
 draw the heart to heaven! How sweet and satisfying to 
 look into the holiest of all, and there to contemplate hi:» 
 majesty and his goodness — the grandeur of liis presence, 
 and the beauties of his character, together with his official 
 ministrations, and the constant and rich communications of 
 his grace! How soothing and animating to behold the 
 countless hosts of the redeemed reccivinij the liberal diffu- 
 sions of his unrestrained bounty, drinking at the fountain- 
 head of all blessedness, and as so many mirrors reflecting 
 tlie lustre of his glorious excellencies! To sec his saints 
 around him, sparkling forth their borrowed glory to his eter- 
 nal praise, must inflame the heart with love the most ar- 
 dent, and fill it with bliss the most sublime and transport- 
 
THE GLORY OF CHKIST. 69 
 
 ing. The hope of this glory must purify the soul ; for it 
 is the hope of seeing the Redeemer as he is, and of being 
 completely like to him. It is the hope of participating in 
 those pure and spiritual pleasures which are at the right 
 hand of God, and in that fulness of divine joy which is in 
 his high presence; and it is the hope of uniting with the 
 heavenly High Priest, and all the heavenly family, in the 
 exalted and hallowed exercises of the heavenly temple. 
 This is not the hope of contemplating mere abstract excel- 
 lence, but of beholding and enjoying glory most interesting 
 to ourselves. Hence Christians are exhorted, as persons 
 risen with Christ, to seek the things which are in heaven, 
 and to set their affections on the glorious objects which are 
 exhibited where he sitteth on the right hand of the Majesty 
 on high. That superiority to the world whicli is essential 
 to genuine religion, springs from faith in the glory of Him 
 w^ho hath abolished death, and hath brought light and in- 
 corruption to light by the Gospel. Shall we have such a 
 Head and Represertative, seated on such a throne, and en- 
 gaged in such ministration for us, and shall we not set 
 our affections on that world 
 
 "Where our best friends and brethren dwell. 
 Where God our Saviour reigns ?" 
 This great object of hope is the source of consolation 
 and support amidst the many and heavy afflictions of life. 
 In the day of adversity the ancient worthies, and the apos- 
 tles of Christ, comforted themselves by remembering, that 
 he who raised up, and glorified the Saviour, would als-o 
 raise up and glorify them. The resurrection of Christ 
 hath begotten us to the lively hope of an inheritance be- 
 yond the grave ; and this animates with joy unutterable and 
 full of glory, even in the midst of manifold trials. When 
 
70 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 
 
 we look within the veil, how poor, insignificant, and un- 
 satisfactory, do the enjoyments of time appear! how slight 
 and inconsiderable do we feel our troubles, when we look 
 to the things which are unseen and eternal ! Every suc- 
 cessive view of these realities delights, elevates, and puri- 
 fies the spirit. The heart, while it dwells on them, is over- 
 come by a sense of their grandeur, and satisfied by the con- 
 viction of their unspeakable worth. The mind is thus 
 calmed. Meek resignation, and patient submission to the 
 chastening hand of the Father of mercies, are cherished, 
 in the full confidence that all is in love, and that the liijht 
 and momentary afflictions of this state are working out a 
 far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. 
 
 These considerations alleviate our grief when bereaved 
 of Christian relatives and friends. In such circumstances 
 we are reminded, that, as Jesus died and rose again, so they 
 who sleep in him shall God bring with him ; that the Lord 
 shall come from heaven, shall redeem his people from the 
 grave, and take them to be for ever with himself. The 
 Christian is enabled to look forward to the day of Christ as 
 that on which his re-union with liis departed friends shall 
 be completed, never more to be dissolved. He is thus en- 
 abled to anticipate his own dissolution, with peace, and 
 hope, and joy. Looking to him who hath died and risen 
 again, he rejoices that he hath overcome death, and that 
 thus it is now a messenger of peace. Jesus died and rose 
 again, that his people might be able to say, "All things 
 are ours, whether life or death;" so that "neither death 
 nor life, things present nor things to come, shall ever sepa- 
 rate from the love of Christ, or from the love of God mani- 
 fested through him." Contcm[)lating the Redeemer, we 
 anticipate the resurrection-morn, when, standing on the 
 
THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 71 
 
 brink of the grave, from which we have just been deliv- 
 ered, we shall exclaim with triumphant rapture, " O death, 
 where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The 
 sting of death is sin ; the strength of sin is the law ; but 
 thanks be to God who hath given us the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." Then, my dear friend, our sun 
 shall no more go down, neither shall our moon withdraw 
 itself; for the Lord shall be our everlasting light, and the 
 days of our mourning shall be ended. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 LETTER IIL 
 
 ON THE INVITATIONS AND PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 The importance of understanding the invitations and promises of 
 the Gospel — The former addresed to men considered as sinners, 
 the latter respect them as believers — Self-examination not design- 
 ed to find a warrant to go to Christ — This illustrated by a refer- 
 erice to the manna, the cities of refuge, and the brazen serpent — 
 The happy effects of the knowledge of the truth — The study of 
 the character of Christ necessary to our sanctification — The great 
 object of faith should be steadily contemplated — General reflec- 
 tions. 
 
 Mt sear friekd, 
 
 It is of great importance to understand the invitations and 
 promises of the Gospel, in order to our perceiving that it is 
 the only source of relief and comfort to a guilty creature. 
 The message of reconciliation finds us in a state of condem- 
 nation and sin. In this state its blessed light rises upon 
 us, and, shining forth in all its glory, reveals the righteous- 
 
72 THE TROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 ness and salvation of Christ as at hand. It invites the 
 guilty to come to the Saviour, and promises the many and 
 precious blessings of redemption to every sinner w ho be. 
 lieves the testimony of Heaven respecting his atonement. 
 Those who arc invited are not a particular class of per- 
 sons, distinguished by certain excellencies or qualifications, 
 but all mankind. They are decribed only by those neces- 
 sitous and wretched circumstances which are common to 
 men. The " weary and the heavy laden," " the hungry 
 and the thirsty," are sinners considered simply as miserable 
 and as longing for happiness. They are addressed, not as 
 sensible sinners, or as hungering and thirsting after Christ 
 and spiritual blessings, but as " spending their money for 
 that which is not bread, and their labor for that which sa- 
 tisfieth not." To such, in all their guilt, are the invita- 
 tions of the Gospel given, and the promise of mercy and 
 eternal life are made to them, considered as coming to the 
 Saviour. 
 
 The invitations of the Gospel are addressed to all — the 
 promises respect believers only. There is a sense, indeed, 
 in which the promises also are addressed to sinners. They 
 are invited to come to Christ, and are promised rest if they 
 comply with his gracious call. The wicked and the un- 
 righteous are called to forsake their ways and their thoughts, 
 and to return unto the Lord, by obeying his counsel ; to 
 hear, that their souls may live ; and they are promised 
 mercy and abundant pardon, as thus returning to him by 
 faith in Christ. The feast of love is prepared, and all aro 
 entreated to partake of it. But it is only by coming to the 
 Redeemer that the mercies of the everlasting covenant can 
 be actually enjoyed, and it is on this supj)osition, or as be- 
 lieving the Gospel, and so turning to God, that they arc 
 
THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 73 
 
 promised them. When promises are made to the guilty, 
 while " far from righteousness," the design is not to com- 
 fort them while continuing in unbelief and impenitence, but 
 to exhibit the cause, or spring of salvation, even the free 
 love of God, and to encourage them to come instantly to 
 the Saviour. Such passages of Scripture show that no 
 complicated process is to be gone through in order to our 
 acceptance; that no holy preparation is requisite; and that 
 no perplexing course of discipline is required, that we may 
 be qualified for an interest into the righteousness and salva- 
 tion of Christ. They show, that, on believing the Gospel 
 the sinner has access into a state of favor with God, and en- 
 joys the blessing of peace with him through resting his 
 hopes on the atonement of Jesus. 
 
 On the other hand, my dear friend, when promises are 
 made to particular characters, as when the vision of God 
 is promised to " the pure in heart," and the inheritance of 
 the heavenly land " to the meek ;" the design is to point out 
 the state of mind necessary to the actual enjoyment of the 
 blessings. This state of mind is not mentioned as the 
 ground or meritorious cause why the blessings in question 
 are bestowed, but as essential to our being meet for deriv- 
 ing happiness from them, and so to their being blessings to 
 us. No sinner has a warrant to consider himself possessed 
 of the blessings exhibited in any promise, which teaches 
 either the cause of salvation or the character of the saved, 
 unless he has believed the Gospel. In the very nature of 
 things, the blessings of redemption cannot otherwise be 
 enjoyed. As after the Jewish high priest had purified the 
 sanctuary, it was open to the Israelites for the following 
 year, so Christ having made full atonement for sin, the 
 way of access to the temple of God is now laid open, and 
 
74 THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 all, wthoiit exception, are warranted to enter through the 
 blood of Jesus. Now, when the testimony of the Gospel, 
 in relation to this common privilege is believed in its true 
 import, the individual, as it were, enters tlie sanctuary, and 
 obtains personally, the actual benefit exhibited to all. 
 
 I beg you to notice that there is a wide difference between 
 sinners being warranted to come to Christ as they are, for 
 the mercies of his covenant and being warranted, while in 
 their sins, to look on those mercies as already theirs. God 
 Is already well pleased in his Son ; and it is a blessed truth, 
 that the blessings of salvation may all be had on believing 
 in Him. But while sinners believe in God as the justifier of 
 the ungodly, they hope for eternal life as in a justified state, 
 and have their hope confirmed by growing meetness for 
 the blessing. The mercies of the new covenant are pro- 
 posed to all, but only believers embrace them. Hence, 
 promises that respect character are of the first moment 
 even to the ungodly, as they teach them that a change of 
 mind, as well as a change of stale, is necessary to happi- 
 ness — that the happiness which can satisfy the heart is to 
 be had only in the favor and fellowship of God ; and that 
 the Saviour alone can communicate that blessedness which 
 meets their necessities, and gratify the cravings of their 
 restless and unhappy spirits. 
 
 While such promises are to be viewed in this light, they 
 ought also to be taken in connection with the other pro- 
 mises of Scripture, in which is exhibited the spring of re- 
 demption. The latter have been called absolute promises. 
 If by this is meant that, not for any thing in us, but ex- 
 clusively for the sake of Christ, we are blessed, then, all 
 promises are in this sense absolute. When they are made 
 to particular characters it is not on account of any good- 
 
THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 75 
 
 ness in them, but for the sake of him through whom all of 
 them are " yea and amen." The promises that respect 
 the cominsr and the work of Christ are absolute, as are all 
 promises of a similar nature ; — but yet promises made to 
 men, as possessed of a certain character, are not properly 
 conditional. It is necessary, for example, that a medicine 
 be used before it can effect a cure, not as a condition, but 
 because, from the very nature of the thing, it cannot other- 
 wise be of service. Promises which respect the Church, 
 considered collectively, and which relate to her future in- 
 crease and extension as a body, are absolute, because they 
 are not directly connected with the character of her present 
 members, but not as opposed to others, as if the latter were 
 properly conditional. All the promises of God are free, 
 whether they respect the cause of salvation or the charac- 
 ter of the saved. On viewing these two kinds of promises, 
 along with the free invitations of the Gospel, it will be seen, 
 that the first genuine comfort of a Christian is obtained by 
 believing in the work of Christ, and not from any thing in 
 himself. It will be found also, that all classes of sinners 
 have the same warrant to go to the Redeemer to receive 
 the blessings of redemption that Christians have to enjoy 
 them. It will be no less evident, that it is by going as we 
 are, to the Saviour, that we are changed in mind, and so be- 
 come possessed of those holy principles and dispositions, 
 which capacitate us for the actual enjoymeni of the bless- 
 ings of mercy: so that, while the necessity of a change of 
 mind is taught, the way in which it is effected is clearly 
 exhibited. I need not remind you, that there is a wide dif- 
 ference between a warrant to take and possess the bless- 
 ings of salvation, and the actual enjoyment of them. The 
 former rests upon the free invitations and promises of God 
 
76 
 
 THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 addressed to the world at large, the latter is the result of 
 embracing them. It may be of imi)ortance to add here, 
 that setting aside the idea of a promise, strictly so called, 
 the expression, " He who believeth shall be saved ;" may 
 be viewed as, properly speaking, a declaration appended to 
 the Gospel as an encouragement to believe it. This ex- 
 *^ pression, taken by itself, is not the Gospel ; for the Gos- 
 pel is the truth which is to be believed in order to salvation. 
 The blessings of the Gospel are said to be a feast made 
 unto all people, so that it may, therefore, well be said, 
 "He that believeth shall be saved," because whosoever 
 really understands and believes it, will accept the invitation 
 of mercy and come to the feast. 
 
 The Gospel produces effects in all who believe it corres- 
 ponding with its nature, and proportioned to the degree in 
 which it is understood and believed. These effects, how- 
 ever, do not constitute our title to the blessings of redemp- 
 tion. If the question is put, " How shall I obtain rest to my 
 guilty soul?" an answer is not to be sought by self-exam- 
 ination ; as if he had no ground for resting on the work of 
 Christ for pardon and acceptance, unless through the me- 
 dium of some good thing in ourselves. We must seek an 
 answer to this question in the Gospel itself, and by looking 
 from ourselves to that which is without us, even to the per- 
 fect sacrifice of the Son of God. 
 
 The power of genuine religion consists in the Gospel 
 dwelling in the heart, and moulding the whole man by its 
 divine energy into a glorious conformity to its spirit. Scrip- 
 tural evidences of faith are never properly employed, then, 
 except when they arc used to ascertain whether we are in- 
 deed living by faith in the work of Christ, and deriving 
 our peace exclusively from it. When conscious that we 
 
THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 77 
 
 are cleaving to his cross, of wliat are we conscious but of 
 fully admitting that we are justly condemned, that salva- 
 tion must be a matter of the purest favor, and that nothing 
 but the work there finished affords us the smallest hope? 
 We are not at such a time comforting ourselves with the 
 thought, that we have done well in thus trusting in the 
 atonement, but we find ourselves shut up in it. Even when 
 we can say, " Lord thou knowest all things, thou knowest 
 that I love thee ;" we are not so much occupied with the 
 purity and strength of our love, as overcome by the unut- 
 terable love of the Saviour to us. 
 
 It is undoubtedly of the first importance to examine our- 
 selves, to ascertain whether we are advancing or declining 
 in true religion, and to discover and correct what may be 
 amiss in our spirit and conduct. The knowledge thus ob- 
 tained of our character and wants, will be the means of 
 exciting us to cleave more closely to the cross of Christ, 
 and to look more fervently to him for the blessings of his 
 grace. There is also an unspeakable pleasure in perceiv- 
 ing, from evident effects of a holy and spiritual kind, that 
 the truth really dwells in us. This is a proof ever grow- 
 ing, that the Gospel is the medicine which cures the disease 
 of sm, and imparts the blessing of spiritual health. It will 
 tend greatly to confirm our faith, while it will gratify the 
 sacred desires of the heart, and excite much gratitude and 
 thanksgiving to God. On seeing the advancement of our 
 cure, we shall be encouraged to continue in his fellowship, 
 and must the more prize his goodness. But we ought not 
 to examine ourselves to ascertain whether the Gospel is 
 addressed to us, and whether we are warranted to expect 
 the blessings of salvation on coming to the Saviour. These 
 blessings are proclaimed as the free gift of God to all who 
 
78 THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 believe, independently of the previous state of their mind, 
 however ungodly and wicked it may have been. Our con- 
 cern, therefore, in the first instance, is not to look into our- 
 selves for evidences of a change of heart, but rather to 
 look to the atonement of Christ, which is the hope set be- 
 fore us, and through which alone all the blessings of mercy 
 can ever be obtained. 
 
 The true evidence of an actual interest in these bless- 
 ings is seen in our believing the full and free declarations 
 of the Gospel to the chief of sinners. It is only, then, in 
 so far as our spirit and actions flow from this faith, that 
 they prove our relation to God ; so that our relief and com- 
 fort, under a sense of guilt and unworthiness, must ever 
 spring from the message of mercy addressed to all indis- 
 criminately.* 
 
 • In reference to this subject I shall quote a passage from the me- 
 moir of the excellent Mr. Henry Martyn. Speaking of a particular 
 affliction, the writer says, " His illness was of some continuance, 
 and in it he was assaulted by a temptation more dangerous than un- 
 common — a temptation to look to himself for some qualification 
 with which to approach the Saviour — for something to warrant his 
 confidence in him, and hope of acceptance from him. Searching 
 for evidences for the purpose of ascertaining -whether -we are in 
 Christ widely differs from searching for them to warrant a boldness 
 of access through Christ ; for this we require no evidence, but need 
 only the passport of faith and our own wretchedness, and, as it is the 
 design of our great adversary (such is his subtilty) to lead us to deny 
 the evidences of faith altogether, so it is his purpose to betray us in- 
 to a mistaken use of them. We find Mr. Martyn at this time ex- 
 pressing himself thus : — ' I could derive no comfort from reflecting 
 on my past life. Indeed, exactly in proportion as I looked for evi- 
 dences of grace, I lost that brokenness of spirit I wished to retain, 
 and could not lie with simplicity at the foot of the cross. I really 
 thought that I was departing this life. I began to pray as on the 
 verge of eternity, and the Lord was pleased to break my hard heart" 
 — Memoir of Mr. Henry Martyn, p. 185. 
 
THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 79 
 
 Allow me to remind you, that, as we never can experi- 
 ence or see the effects of faith till we believe, it must be 
 preposterous to look for them previously to believing. On 
 the same principle it must be vain to look for them if we 
 are not continuing in the faith of the Gospel, or to expect 
 that they will go beyond the measure of our faith in it. 
 Seek, then, a firm and an abiding persuasion of its truth 
 and of its glory. It is not the certainty or the excellence 
 of things considered in themselves, but our persuasion of 
 their certainty and excellence, that affects us. Look up, 
 then, for the Holy Spirit, that he may lead you into all the 
 truth. 
 
 Forget not, my dear friend, that the effects of faith do 
 not form the ground of access to God. I shall endeavor 
 to illustrate this by a few examples. Every one, you know, 
 in the camp of Israel had the same warrant to go out in 
 the morning to gather the promised manna, and to bring it 
 home for his own use. When he had gathered it and eaten, 
 his hunger was satisfied. This was, no doubt, a greater 
 degree of enjoyment than that which he experienced when 
 he barely remembered the promise of the manna, and his 
 consequent warrant to expect it on his going for it. But no 
 one can for a moment imagine, that he could suppose that 
 his appetite for the manna entitled him to go forth in the 
 confidence of obtaining it, or that his enjoyment in partak- 
 ing of it, and the vigor he acquired by it, constituted his 
 right to it. He must have known that it was the gift of 
 God to him, which was confirmed by the miraculous way 
 in which it was provided. In other cases, the means em- 
 ployed by the God of providence often lead the heart from 
 himself, but in this case no visible means were used, so that 
 the direct agency of God was set before the mind. The 
 
80 THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 sensation of hunger led the Israelites to go for tlie manna, 
 but was not his warrant to expect it ; this consisted solely 
 in the promise of God, and the accompanying call to go 
 in search of it. In like manner, a sense of want and of 
 danger leads a sinner to the Saviour, but is not his warrant 
 for expecting relief. It excites him to go to Christ for de- 
 liverance and eternal life, but is not his title to any bles- 
 sing. And as the enjoyment and the vigor which flowed 
 from eating the manna did not form the title of an Israel- 
 ite to it, so, in like manner, the spiritual health and vigor 
 w^hich are connected with the faith of the Gospel by no 
 means constitute the title of Christians to the blessings of 
 redemption. When a sinner believes in Christ he is more 
 happy than when he barely heard that salvation was pro- 
 mised to all who come to him ; but this does not arise from 
 seeing, in the effects of his coming to him, a title to the 
 blessings of the Gospel. He sees his title to these bless- 
 ings in the declarations of God, founded on the work of 
 his Son, and he draws his comfort from the character and 
 the cross of Christ. He does not, under a sense of guilt, 
 draw his consolation from his obedience, as if it were the 
 source of his joy, but, taking it from the work of the Sa- 
 viour, he finds happiness in his obedience as an expression 
 of gratitude to his deliverer — of love to his excellencies as 
 unfolded in the mode of his deliverance — of his desire to 
 resemble that worth which he loves and admires — and of 
 his delight in all that is spiritual and holy. In his devo- 
 tions he is blessed with the enjoyment of fellowship with 
 him whose favor is life — in whose presence, and in con- 
 formity to whose character, there is pure and satisfying 
 joy. Thus every act of obedience has some comfort at- 
 tending it, and holiness and happiness arc found to be in- 
 separable. 
 
THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 81 
 
 I might illustrate the same truth by the case of the man- 
 slayer who fled to the city of refuge. Every such charac- 
 ter had a warrant to flee to such a city in the confidence 
 of there being safe, and this would be a comfort to him 
 when he felt himself in danger. His sense of danger was 
 necessary to induce him to flee, but was not a ground of 
 confidence, nor was it a title to safety. Nor could the 
 sense of security which he felt on entering the place of 
 refuge, or his gratitude for the provision made for it, ever 
 be viewed by him as entitling him to his preservation. 
 Mere distress of mind, then, can be no ground of hope to 
 a sinner any more than the sense of danger in the man- 
 slayer could secure him while without the place of refuge. 
 Neither can the gratitude of a Christian for his deliver- 
 ance, of which his new life is one continued expression, be 
 considered by him as the ground of his interest in the bles- 
 sings of mercy. 
 
 Similar observations may be made on the history of the 
 brazen serpent. Every one who had been bitten with the 
 fiery serpents had reason to expect a complete cure on his 
 looking to the serpent of brass. The belief of this would 
 comfort the mind, when pained, in consequence of being 
 stung. The comfort, however, of the diseased Israelite 
 would be exceedingly increased, when, on looking to the 
 brazen serpent he found himself cured. But his cure could 
 never be viewed by him as his title to look to the serpent /or 
 the cure, as it behoved him to look to it before he could be 
 cured. His disorder could not otherwise be even lessened, 
 and foolish and impious had it been to attempt a cure in 
 some other way before looking as commanded. The health • 
 which followed his looking would be a cause of joy ; would 
 make him bless God for the provision made for his recov- 
 
82 THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 ery, and would show that he had not mistaken the Divine 
 order; but never would he suppose that the blessing was 
 the title to itself. 
 
 In like manner, when a sinner, encouraged by the gen- 
 eral invitations and declarations of the Gospel, first looks 
 to the Saviour, he finds rest to his soul in that which is ex- 
 hibited to all, and, at the same time, he finds a cure. The 
 character of God, as revealed in the Gospel, deeply affects 
 him. Contemplating his rich grace and mercy, as mani- 
 fested in the cross of Christ, his heart is warmed toward 
 the Father of all goodness, and is loosed from sin. That 
 love, which is the health of the soul, is kindled and kept 
 alive by intense and constant admiration of the Divine 
 glory shining in the face of the Redeemer. Conscious that 
 the one perfect sacrifice of Christ, and the Divine promise 
 of eternal life through it, are his whole relief, he is capti- 
 vated by the moral and spiritual glories discovered in his 
 plan of salvation. His spiritual cure is thus begun, and it 
 advances as he lives by faith in the Saviour. His spiritual 
 health, which consists in the love of the Divine character, 
 and in likeness to the Saviour, is invigorated by a steady 
 reliance on the atonement. This health, however, he 
 never can consider as constituting his title to the blessings 
 of redemption. In fact, it is itself the great blessing of the 
 everlasting covenant, and without it no one of them can be 
 properly enjoyed. It is not a mere appendage to salva- 
 tion — it is the very thing. The confidence inspired by it 
 is like that of a man who has found, by experience, that a 
 particular medicine has a salutary effect upon him, and so 
 is led to confide the more in the physician who prescribed 
 it, and the more confidently and assiduously to use it. On 
 every return of his disorder such a man will have recourse 
 
THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 83 
 
 to the remedy, the happy effects of which he had formerly 
 experienced. A healed Israelite, when stung a second time, 
 would again have recourse to the mode of cure prescribed 
 by Heaven, and, on looking afresh to the brazen serpent, 
 would find health and relief. In like manner, when, by 
 our departure from God, and from the word of his grace, 
 we are involved in darkness and distress of mind — when, 
 under a sense of guilt and folly, we are filled with shame 
 and confusion — when sin has reared its head, and our evil 
 principles have gained the ascendency, we ought instantly 
 to go, as at first, to the cross of Christ, and there seek, not 
 onlv forgiveness, but a cure, for his sake. The ne2;lect of 
 the Scriptural doctrine respecting the general invitations of 
 the Gospel, has caused much perplexity to Christians, when 
 roused fi'om a state of declension to a sense of their guilt 
 and their danger. Often has it kept them from instantly 
 employing the proper means of recovery. 
 
 When the real foundation of the Christian's joy and con- 
 fidence in the sight of God is examined, it will be found, 
 that all who are the friends of the Saviour adopt the lan- 
 guage of the apostle of the Gentiles, when he expressed 
 himself with proper warmth on the subject : " God forbid 
 that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." It is by this cross that they are raised above the 
 world, and assimilated to the spirit of heaven. Our faith 
 waxes stronger as we contemplate this wondrous and trans- 
 forming object. Love is thus cherished, and we become 
 more and more like to the God of all goodness. The ha- 
 bitual exercise of this principle casts out slavish and tor- 
 mentinjT fear. When we love and delight in God as the 
 God of salvation, through the honorable medium of the 
 work of Christ — when we rejoice, not only in our relief 
 
84 THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 from woe, but that it is obtained in a way so worthy of the 
 exalted Jehovah — and when all that is like to him enijao-es 
 our complacency ; we cannot but feel that this is the very 
 temper of heaven itself, and are fully satisfied that we have 
 not misapprehended the Divine testimony. Finding our 
 minds to be conformed to the character and will of God, 
 we rejoice in him as our Father. We seek not into the 
 inscrutable secrets of eternity, but rest assured of his love 
 by what we even here know of his goodness. We cannot 
 suppose that we shall be kept in the other world from lov- 
 ing God, in whom we find all our happiness in this. On 
 the contrary, experiencing here, that our bliss arises from 
 contemplating and enjoying God, and from holy intercourse 
 with him and with his people; we rest assured that, as 
 death will make no change in the habits of the spirit, the 
 same must be our employment and our bliss in the world 
 of life and of love. Heaven is more a state, and a certain 
 character, than a place, though, no doubt, it is a place; and 
 the same may be said of hell. Whoever, then, is pos- 
 sessed of a heavenly state and character of mind, has 
 heaven begun already, and is meet for the full enjoyment 
 of it in the other world. 
 
 Permit me, then, to recommend to you to study the work 
 and character of the Saviour as a manifestation of the cha- 
 racter of God. Look to his cross, and to the principles 
 and aims which animated him there, that you may be in- 
 duced to rest on him amidst all your cares, and thus pos- 
 sess that peace which passeth all understanding. In this 
 way it is, that gratitude and love, esteem and admiration, 
 are most effectually cherished, and that the purest and most 
 exquisite delight is made to flow into the mind. In the 
 contemplation of that commanding display of excellence 
 
THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 85 
 
 which calls forth the high approbation of Heaven, the heart 
 is transformed into its likeness, and the sweetest tranquillity 
 and comfort are abundantly enjoyed. 
 
 You will perceive, my dear friend, that my great design 
 in this letter is, to show how free the promises and invita- 
 tions of the Gospel are ; and how fitted, faith in the atone- 
 ment is, to yield peace and consolation to the soul, when 
 distressed with a sense of guilt and the dread of the Divine 
 displeasure. I dwell on this, because I know, from ex- 
 perience, its importance, and that many difficulties are felt 
 by an awakened mind in committing itself to the free mercy 
 of God, as displayed in the Gospel. Here, in opposition 
 to all self righteous plans of seeking peace with God, it is 
 declared, that the atonement of the Saviour is that for the 
 sake of which he forgives the ungodly. — It is testified that, 
 through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, the guilty 
 sinner is accepted, Rom. iii. 23 — 28 ; iv. 4 — 7, and x. 
 4 — 13. This is the sum of the Gospel, and on this the 
 Scriptures dwell as the great truth to be believed. To urge 
 a person to come to Christ, because life is connected with 
 coming to him, while yet scarcely any thing is said of 
 what the Gospel testifies concerning him, is much fitted to 
 perplex. But when the attention is turned to that grace ' 
 which moved him to come into the world, and, which was 
 so signally displayed in his giving himself a sacrifice for 
 sin, the heart is drawn to him with the cords of love, and 
 with the bands of a man. 
 
 To the Saviour, as thus revealed, they call upon all to 
 come. Do not then perplex yourself with questions about 
 the manner of believing, but consider what it is you are 
 called to believe. Instead of disquieting yourself about the 
 manner of coming to Christ, think on him who invites you 
 
86 THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 to come to him — think of his atonement and the love there 
 displayed — think on the many proofs which liave been 
 given of his sacrifice, in his resurrection and glory, and in 
 the many promises of salvation through faith in him. You 
 know that you are no farther conscious of seeing an object 
 than as it affects you ; and, in like manner, you are not 
 conscious of believing any declaration made to you any 
 further than as what you believe impresses you. In the 
 former case, 5'ou are not, when looking at some interesting 
 object, thinking of the manner of your seeing it, but of the 
 thing seen ; and, in the latter, you are not thinking of the 
 manner of believing the declaration credited by you, but 
 of the thing credited. In like manner, in believing the 
 Gospel, the mind is occupied with the thing believed, and 
 not with the manner of believing it. We cannot dwell on 
 thoughts of the mode in which we see an object, without 
 forgetting, in a measure, the object itself; and so, if we 
 are engrossed with questions respecting the right mode of 
 believing, the great truth to be believed is lost sight of, and, 
 being so, it cannot affect us. Of course, there is no w'on- 
 der that then we cease to derive peace, comfort, or purity 
 from it. The mind is conscious of believing the Gospel 
 just in proportion to the degree of its faith, or, in other 
 words, in proportion to the measure in which it is affected 
 by the truth. The great thing, then, is to keep the soul 
 fixed upon the object of belief. If you have committed the 
 charge of your property to an individual of substance and 
 intcfrrity, you do not so much occupy yourself with your 
 having committed it to him, as with his resources and his 
 character. And so it is with the sinner who has, under 
 the influence of faith in Christ, committed to him his ever- 
 lasting all. Believing in the power and the grace of the 
 
THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 87 
 
 Saviour, he places his confidence solely in him and not in 
 any thing whatsoever in himself. 
 
 Study the Scriptures, my dear friend, and particularly 
 such passages as state most clearly the w^ay of acceptance 
 with God in connection with the salutary influence of the 
 truth upon the heart. Do this with a devout mind, look- 
 ing up to him who can guide into all his truth in its genuine 
 simplicity and glory. If, in examining yourself, you see 
 much that is sinful, the remedy is not to be found in poring, 
 with heartless despondency, upon your disorder, or in at- 
 tempting, by resolutions formed in your own strength, to 
 subdue your sins, but in an instant application to the great 
 Physician. " If we confess our sins, God is faithful and 
 just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- 
 righteousness." The stream of godly sorrow may flow in 
 union with peace and joy through believing. Nothing can 
 so melt the heart and conquer sin as a view of the pardon- 
 ing mercy of him who loved us while in guilt and wretch- 
 edness, and who still bears with us and pities us. Having 
 much forgiven, we love much; as did one of old, who 
 washed the Redeemer's feet with her tears, while she thought 
 of the magnitude of the debt which had been frankly for- 
 given her. 
 
 Suffer me to recommend to you these hints. I trust that, 
 whatever difficulties may be felt in committing yourself to 
 the promises of God, according to his gracious invitations 
 in the Gospel, they will vanish before the word of him who 
 is a meek and lowly teacher, and whose compassions never 
 fail. May you enjoy the unspeakable happiness which the 
 atonement and the character of the Saviour are calculated 
 to impart. Few, even of Christians, enjoy what might be 
 experienced. This should lead each to wait simply upon 
 
88 THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 God — to commit all his concerns into his hands — and to 
 cast upon him all that interests him, in the warranted con- 
 fidence that he is willing and able to keep that which is 
 committed to him. Proper attention to the invitations and 
 promises of the Gospel will be found of the utmost advan- 
 tage here. In the hours of darkness and fear, look away 
 from yourself to that which is without you; even the im- 
 mutable and finished work of the exalted Redeemer. Dwell 
 on the precious calls and entreaties addressed to the guilty 
 and unworthy; and look to the faithful promises which se- 
 cure the acceptance of every one who, fleeing for refuge to 
 the blood of Christ, rests his hope of mercy entirely upon 
 it. Such parts of Scripture are addressed to every indi- 
 vidual as particularly as though no one else were on earth ; 
 and they are designed to encourage every sinner to come 
 to the Saviour, just as he is, in the full confidence of a wel- 
 come and gracious reception. 
 
 I have witnessed, with pleasure, the influence of these 
 views on the bed of death. I have seen Christians, amidst 
 the weakness and the pain of a diseased frame, dwell with 
 rapture, and speak with fluency, on the blissful fi-eeness of 
 the many invitations to sinners to come, as they now are, 
 to the Redeemer. In the near prospect of death, they have 
 exclaimed, with the most triumphant feelings, "I am safe in 
 Christ, notwithstanding what I have been, and come to me 
 what may." This has been uttered with an interest and 
 an animation indescribable. The finished and unchange- 
 able work of the Saviour has been constantly referred to ; 
 and, in speaking of it, the mind has risen above itself, the 
 languid countenance has been brightened, and the whole 
 appearance has expressed comfort and joy. Such a scene 
 is truly edifying and refreshing. It affords a striking view 
 
THOUGHTS ON THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 89 
 
 of the true glory of the Gospel ; and makes us witnesses 
 of its power and of its suitableness to the nature, the wants, 
 and the lot of man. Such reliance on the pure mercy and 
 grace of God, where true religion had long dwelt, and had 
 been manifested in no small degree, is fitted to show that, 
 from first to last, the cross of Christ is that in which Chris- 
 tians glory, to the exclusion of every other ground of con- 
 fidence, in the prospect of death, judgment, and eternity. 
 
 I am, &c, 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 THOUGHTS ON THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 
 
 Remarks on the Scriptural mode of teaching — The law ought to be 
 fully laid before men, and all false refuges exposed — The Gospel 
 ought to be freely declared to them — Faith in Christ ought to bo 
 inculcated at the very first — The danger of stopping short of the 
 Saviour — Every duty should be enforced in connection with faith 
 in the Gospel — All true hohness the fruit of this principle. 
 
 Mr DEAK FHIEXD, 
 
 I AM happy to embrace the opportunity to write you a few 
 observations on some of the subjects which are the occa- 
 sion of difficulty to your relative. I am well aware, that 
 some have acted too much in the way that was blamed, 
 and that much evil has been the consequence. Without 
 entering at large into this, I shall give a brief statement of 
 what was the practice of our Lord and his approved serV" 
 ants ; which will show what ought to be done by every in« 
 
 structor, whether in private or public. 
 
 8* 
 
90 THOUGHTS ON 
 
 Their labors are very compendiously recorded ; yet, on 
 a careful search, we shall find that they addressed men on 
 subjects relating to their everlasting peace, as intelligent, 
 accountable creatures, and in a manner calculated to en- 
 gage their liveliest attention. They did not, by unguarded 
 and unqualified assertions, depreciate obedience; but taught, 
 that the whole law of God is binding on every child of Adam. 
 Rom. iii. 19. Gal. iii. 10. They were the messengers of 
 him from whom both the law and the Gospel proceed ; and 
 in their ministry the two were exhibited as in perfect con- 
 cord. The Gospel was announced as good news from 
 heaven to the guilty and depraved ; but this evidently im- 
 plied the truth of heavy and alarming tidings of merited 
 judgment and misery : for where there is no danger, there 
 can be no need of deliverance; and, under the government 
 of the righteous Lord, there can be no unmerited condem- 
 nation. Salvation by grace must necessarily suppose, that 
 our danger is the consequence of guilt ; for there is no more 
 grace in the Gospel than there is of justice in the sentence 
 of the law. Never can we admire the riches of the Di- 
 vine mercy and goodness, without cordially acknowledg- 
 ing the greatness of our demerit ! It must, then, be of the 
 utmost importance, to state to sinners the extent, equity, 
 and goodness of the law of God, that they may see what 
 is the will of the Lawgiver, and what it is the want of which 
 subjects them to the condemnation of Heaven. Isaiah 
 Iviii. 1. Ezek. xxxiii. S. They ought to be told of their 
 absolute ruin by sin : for, if not involved in the dismal con- 
 sequences of guilt, they need not the mediation of Christ. 
 Without any qualifying language, the sacred writers ac- 
 cordingly declared, that "all had sinned and come short of 
 the glory of God." They struck at the root of all those 
 
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 91 
 
 delusive hopes which lulled the guilty asleep in carnal se- 
 curity, whether they arose from the abuse of religious ad- 
 vantages, or perverted views of the Divine law. Rom. iii. 
 9, 10, 11, 23. 
 
 Scarcely any, indeed, are so ignorant, as to assert their 
 perfect rectitude before their Judge ; yet, while they allow 
 that they arc sinners, multitudes are not in the least alarm- 
 ed on that account, because they really have no proper con- 
 viction of sin, nor any just sense of their state as already con- 
 demned. Such characters are free from disquietude under 
 the vague view they have of their sinfulness ; because they 
 confide in their knowledge, attendance on divine worship, 
 outward relation to the Church of God, almsgiving, and 
 abstinence from gross immoralities. Now, it is of the 
 greatest consequence to expose such refuges, and to im- 
 press upon the minds of men what the law demands of 
 them — that they love God with all their heart — that they 
 serve him perfectly in thought, word, and deed^-that they 
 devote themselves to him without the smallest reserve — 
 and that, in all their conduct towards their neighbor, they 
 be guided by genuine affection. Never do the Scriptures 
 Compromise things with sinners; they never require any 
 thing short of full conforniity to the law, under the notion 
 that man is unable to yield perfect obedience, and is there- 
 fore excusable : for this very inability is his crime. It is 
 not physical, but moral ; consisting solely in the want of 
 inclination, and in positive aversion to what is good. No 
 abatement in the requirements of the law can ever be made 
 in consequence of sinful inclinations. If such were the 
 doctrine of Scripture, then, the more a man hates God and 
 the ways of righteousness, the more is he free from blame. 
 It is needless for me say, that this is utterly absurd, and 
 
92 THOUGHTS oif 
 
 is the very opposite of the doctrine of Scripture. It is suf- 
 ficient to render man responsible that he has natural facul- 
 ties which lit him for receiving a revelation of the will of 
 God, so as to understand what he approves and what he is 
 opposed to ; and that no invincible external impediment 
 hinders him from conforming to the law of his sovereign. 
 If, in what he does, he acts voluntarily and cordially, with- 
 out being compelled by another, he surely must be account- 
 able. In Scripture, men are always represented as acting 
 freely and of choice ; and, in consequence, as guilty be- 
 fore God. Psalm Ixxxi. 11. Prov. i. 30, 31. IMankind 
 are thus put on a level, and are declared to be all in equal 
 need of salvation. There are differences among them as 
 to degrees of transgression; but, as the law demands per- 
 fect obedience, that man " who has offended but in one 
 point is guilty of all ;" having failed in that love which is 
 the principle and sum of obedience to all, and having de- 
 spised that authority which enforces the whole. Even but 
 one transgression shuts for ever the door of justification by 
 deeds of law, and subjects the offender to the curso de- 
 Dounced against sin. Gal. iii. 10. 
 
 But while men were thus told of their depravity and guilt, 
 they were told at the same time of the pardoning mercy of 
 God, as it flows to the rebellious through the atonement of 
 Christ ; and that, through faith in this revelation, the for- 
 giveness of sin might be obtained, and eternal life freely 
 enjoyed. They were also informed, that this method of 
 pardoning sin had been adopted, in order that, by its influ- 
 ence on the mind, the power of sin might be broken, and 
 the soul conformed to the pure and holy character of the 
 Saviour. Acts iii. 26. Matlh. i. 21. 
 
 Should a sinner be convinced of his sin, and sensible of 
 
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 93 
 
 his dangerous condition, he will naturally be filled with 
 alarm, and will dread the awful consequences of his crimes. 
 If, in this state of mind, the richness, and freeness of Di- 
 vine grace be perceived, and he be led to abandon all other 
 grounds of confidence, and to flee for refuge to the work 
 of the Redeemer as exhibited in the Gospel, he will find 
 peace to his soul, and will rejoice in the sweet and reviving 
 hope of everlasting life. But if, instead of this, he rest 
 satisfied with giving up some gross immoralities, and ob- 
 serving the external forms of religion, without going, as a 
 guilty and helpless creature, to the cross of Christ, his case 
 is truly to be deplored. It is not enough that persons are 
 distressed in mind — the question is, What does their dis- 
 tress lead them to? Some have very unscripturally told 
 such, that their distress itself manifests a change of heart, 
 and is an evidence that they have obtained forgiveness. 
 Men have too often been believed, when they have said 
 that they felt quite willing to be saved in the way of the 
 Gospel ; yea, were longing most earnestly to be so saved, if 
 it would but please the Almighty to save them ; and they 
 are frequently in such cases exhorted to some preparatory 
 work instead of being at once directed to the Saviour. In 
 conversing with such, we should beware of taking it for 
 granted that they have no doubts as to the Gospel way of 
 salvation, and no unwillingness to be saved according to it, 
 provided God were willing to save them. We ought to la- 
 bor to convince them that they know not the deceitfulness 
 of the heart, and that, if they really understood the Gos- 
 pel, they would be persuaded that the atonement is all-suf- 
 ficient to take away sin ; that God is willing to save every 
 sinner who is willing to be saved through it ; and that, if 
 they perish, it will be because they stumbled at the cross. 
 
94 TIIOrGHTS ON 
 
 Never ought it to be admitted, that the obstruction to be- 
 lieving in Christ consists in any thing distinct from disaf- 
 fection to the Divine plan of salvation. Let this plan be 
 fully stated, and care taken that no resting place be fur- 
 nished them short of the Saviour. At all times, and in all 
 circumstances, the Gospel ought to be clearly and affec- 
 tionately laid before sinners. We need not be scrupulous 
 as to the order in which we state truth, for all its parts are 
 connected with each other. 
 
 Instead, however, of being exhorted to go at once, and 
 as they are, to the compassionate Redeemer, such persons 
 aa I now speak of, as well as those who are at ease, are 
 sometimes advised to wait at the pool of ordinances ; and 
 are assured that, in so doing, the Lord will meet them and 
 bless them ; as if they were willing, but unable to embrace 
 the Gospel. This is far from imitating the Saviour, who 
 represented the belief of the truth respecting himself, as 
 the great thing to which sinners should at once be called. 
 John vi. 28. It proceeds on the principle, that they are not 
 required immediately to believe and embrace the truth. 
 The consequence is, they feel relieved from what is deem- 
 ed "a hard saying," namely, that they ought instantly to 
 return to God by Jesus Christ, as perishing sinners, and 
 are thus lulled asleep. In fact they are led to imagine, 
 that all required of them is, to attend the means of grace, 
 and to wait the issue. Hence they often get quite uncon- 
 cerned, and indulge in the vain dream, that they are dis- 
 charging their whole duty, while in reality they are grati- 
 fying their sinful and impenitent hearts. The only reason 
 why they do not instantly turn to the Saviour, is the very 
 reason why they ever disobeyed the Divine law. Aver- 
 sion of heart from God is equally the cause of both; and 
 
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 95 
 
 what is this but the essence of sin? Is it not the very thing 
 they are called to repent of; and how, then, can it justify 
 or excuse them? Such characters are not willing to be 
 saved in the way of the Gospel. They mistake that de- 
 sire of deliverance natural to man, for a desire to be saved 
 in the way in which God saves the guilty ; while they are 
 far from bowing to the humbling truths and spiritual dis- 
 coveries of the Gospel. iVo^7^m^ hinders them from com- 
 ing at once from the cross, but the depraved principles of 
 the heart, and an aversion to the Divine method of saving 
 sinners. 2 Thess. ii. 10 — 12. This view of the inability 
 of men to bow to the truth is fitted to convince them of 
 their utter depravity; for they are thus presented with a 
 most affecting discovery of their "enmity against God." 
 
 It is of importance to observe, my dear friend, that the 
 words "can" and "cannot", are used in Scripture, as in 
 common life, to express willingness or unwillingness. The 
 expression, " No man can come to me," means the very 
 same thing with this other, " Ye v/ill not come to me." In 
 our ordinary intercourse we are accustomed to say, " I 
 cannot listen to you ;" or, "I cannot do what you wish," 
 when all we mean is, that we are strongly disinclined to 
 do so. Thus our Lord said to the Jews, " Why do ye not 
 understand my speech, even because ye cannot hear my 
 word" — that is, they could not hear it. So natural is this 
 language that even children use it. Every one knows that 
 there is a radical difference between that kind of inability 
 which is independent of the inclination, and that which is 
 owing to nothing else. The former is not culpable ; the 
 latter is the very ground of culpability. The Scriptures 
 proceed on these principles ; and, instead of addressing 
 any as willing, hwi physically unable, to follow the Divine 
 
96 THOUGHTS ON 
 
 will, they address all as only morally unable — that is, un- 
 icilling to do so, and, of course, as criminal in the sight of 
 God. They never attempt to relieve sinners by lowering 
 the claims of the law, or so modelling the Gospel as to 
 meet their evil inclinations. — They at once call upon them 
 to repent and believe in Christ. Whatever may be their 
 uneasiness of mind, nothing but faith in the atonement can 
 properly remove it. So long as they feel excused from an 
 immediate return to God, they will not despair of help from 
 themselves. But when fully convinced of the true nature 
 of their character and state, they will be led to cast them- 
 selves on sovereign mercy flowing through the Saviour. 
 This is the prayer of faith, and it will be heard. 
 
 We are not warranted to comfort such in any other way 
 than by setting before them the cloud of evidence which 
 accompanies, and is contained, in the Gospel. The only 
 good news we can inform them of is, that Christ " came 
 into the world to save sinners;" that he hath made com- 
 plete atonement for sin; that, in his sacrifice, Jehovah is 
 well pleased ; and, that whosoever believes in him shall be 
 saved. Let the invitations of the Gospel be clearly stated, 
 as arising out of the character and work of Christ, and ad- 
 dressed to all indiscriminately, for the very purpose of re- 
 moving every discouraging apprehension. Surely, if this 
 revelation fails to give relief, it must be because it is not 
 credited ; and the reason why it is not, is, that it is hated. It 
 is at our peril to comfort the sinner by pointing to what he 
 feels in himself, which, however painful it may be, if he 
 does not embrace the truth as far as it is made known to him, 
 and go to the cross of Christ, can be nothing more than 
 impenitent distress. What the issue may be we cannot 
 tell ; .but it becomes us to direct him at once to the Saviour 
 
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 97 
 
 of sinners, and to beware of so instructing him as to lead 
 him to rest satisfied in any refuge short of the work of 
 Christ ; which has often happened when men were led to 
 imagine that services performed by them, while in unbelief, 
 would be acceptable to God. 
 
 I am far from supposing, that distress of mind is in itself 
 sinful. This it never can be. In itself it is neither good 
 nor evil. It is but the instinctive feeling of every percipi- 
 ent being when in adverse circumstances. It is not, indeed, 
 the object of complacency, but neither is it the object of 
 blame. The sinner, when under it, is not on that account 
 the object of approbation ; but, as a sufferer, he is the ob- 
 ject of pity. Even the irrational animals are represent- 
 ed when in pain and in want, as the objects of the com- 
 passion of God. And surely his rational creatures are 
 not less so when mere distress is felt and expresssd by 
 them. They cannot but desire deliverance from evil, and 
 this desire the Gospel benevolently meets, by declaring, 
 that " God so pitied the world that he gave his only begot- 
 ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
 but have everlasting life." God, it is true, regarded men 
 simply as exposed to misery, whether sensible of their state 
 or not ; but surely a sense of it does not lessen his com- 
 passion, — must it not rather call it the more into exercise? 
 In such circumstances, concern about the state of the soul 
 is often the means of leading to inquire after the Gospel, 
 and to search the Scriptures for relief. The sinner in this 
 acts rationally, and his conduct ought to be encouraged. 
 But when he begins to imagine that, in his distress, there 
 is something good that will recommend him to mercy ; and, 
 when on being favored with a scriptural statement of the 
 
 truth, he does not immediately embrace it, but rests satis- 
 9 
 
98 THOUGHTS ON 
 
 fied with exercises which are consistent with impenitence 
 and unbelief, he has commenced a course of self-righteous 
 labor. The consideration of his danger, his anxiety for 
 relief, and his diligent examination of the Scriptures, to as- 
 certain what they teach, ought never to be confounded with 
 exercises in themselves sinful; but, the moment that he 
 deems himself safe, because he is thus impressed ; or aims 
 at doing or feeling something from whence he may derive 
 peace, instead of submitting to the Gospel of Christ, he then 
 sets himself in opposition to the Divine plan of salvation. 
 Through faith in the atonement, and in no other way, is 
 he called to look for acceptance. In vain does he attempt 
 to excuse his unbelief by saying, " I cannot comply with 
 this ; my heart is too hard ; ask of me any thing else, and 
 I will do it." In vain does he comfort himself with the 
 notion, that he is not so bad as those who neglect this and 
 the other precept; and transgress this and the other prohi- 
 bition of the Divine law. The question is not, is he as bad 
 as others? but, has he sinned? or is he sinning at all? Pass- 
 ing the discussion of points such as this, it is readily grant- 
 ed him, that there are degrees of positive wickedness; but, 
 let him remember, that, while a man is under the power of 
 an impenitent and unbelieving heart, there is not a particle 
 of positive holiness in his services, however serious he may 
 be. What then, can be said to him but this? "Believe in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and so submit to mercy." The un- 
 belief of his heart is not merely a misfortune — it is a crime. 
 He is not in Scripture called merely to something that is 
 to be done previous to faith, but to faith itself. 
 
 The Gospel of Christ is not meant for the mere exter- 
 nal reformation of men. Matth. xxiii. 25 — 28. Its great 
 object is, to change the mind, and so to correct the deport- 
 
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 99 
 
 ment. The duties enjoined by the Saviour and his apos- 
 tles included the service of the heart. Luke xi. 39, 40. 
 Obedience to their instructions was inseparably connected 
 with the enjoyment of eternal life. They exhorted men to 
 repent, (i. e. to change their mind,) and to believe the Gos- 
 pel. In the course of their instructions they inculcated all 
 kinds of duties, and reproved all manner of transgression ; 
 but all that they enjoyed was to be done from the heart, 
 and, if not, sin had been committed, instead of duty dis- 
 charged. They know nothing of duties, the discharge of 
 which should consist with the estrangement of the soul 
 from God. Now, the inability of sinners to believe in 
 Christ is not greater than their inability to obey any other 
 precept : so that there can be no proper reason why they 
 should be called instantly to other duties, and not instantly 
 to believe the Gospel. In vain do any exhort them in the 
 first instance to this or the other service of obedience, but 
 not yet to faith in Christ : for they are no more unable to 
 believe the Gospel than they are to perform such services, 
 and equally unable to do the latter as the former — why, 
 then, this distinction? In both cases there is the same 
 aversion of heart, and in this lies the cause of all disobe- 
 dience, whether it respect the law or the Gospel. If dis- 
 inclination be the sole cause of unbelief, shall we act as if 
 it were excusable? If so, is not disobedience to the law as 
 excusable? and where, then, could there be sin at all? I 
 speak not you will observe, of confining ourselves to a par- 
 ticular order, in stating divine truths — I mean, that all 
 should be connected with the cross. 
 
 In the instructions delivered by our Lord and his apos- 
 tles, we find every duty enforced on their hearers. The 
 precepts of the divine law are employed for the purpose of 
 
100 THOUGHTS ON 
 
 vindicating the character and administration of God, to 
 convince men of sin, to show them their need of a Sa- 
 viour, the nature of salvation, and of the holy character 
 which it is the design of the Gospel to produce and cher- 
 ish. Such a way of stating the precepts of the divine law 
 is connected with the doctrines of the Gospel of peace, 
 either expressed or implied. Men are thus taught the na- 
 ture and fearful magnitude of their guilt; their hopes and 
 their fears are thus addressed in a way highly calculated to 
 impress them ; and they are shut up to the one way of de- 
 liverance revealed in the Gospel. Acts iv. 12, and xiii. 
 40, 41 ; John viii. 24. As they cannot cease to exist, but 
 must live while the Almighty and the living God shall live, 
 they are called, by every consideration, to embrace the 
 cross of Christ, and to commit their eternity to his finished 
 work and his gracious promise. It is at their peril to trifle 
 with this message of mercy, to delay one moment, or to 
 seek salvation in any other way. 
 
 Though the Scriptures, my dear friend, know nothing of 
 duties acceptably or spiritually performed before the faith 
 of the Gospel, or which do not include or imply it, they do 
 not wait till a man believes in Christ before they exhort 
 him to other exercises. Isaiah Iv. 6, 7; Luke iii. 19; Acts 
 xxvi. 20. Such exhortations are explained by the argu- 
 ment of Paul, when speaking of the promise, that, whoso- 
 ever should call on the name of the Lord, should be saved, 
 he says, " How can they call on him in whom they have 
 not believed ?" and by his conduct in reasoning with Felix 
 concerning justice, temperance, and judgment to come, in 
 connection with declaring " the faith," or the Gospel " of 
 Christ." His doctrine and his practice show, that every 
 duty is to be enforced on the conscience, but always along 
 
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 101 
 
 with a statement of that truth which alone can produce 
 obedience. The fact is, the whole of the law of God is 
 binding on man as he stands, and every neglect of its re- 
 quirements, and disregard of its prohibitions, exposes him 
 to the wrath of God ; and therefore all its demands may, 
 and ought to be, pressed upon every man, in whatever con- 
 dition. Independently, then of the Gospel, it is the duty 
 of all men to obey the divine law ; independently of their 
 being believers, it is their duty to do so ; and they sin in 
 every instance in which they do not : but never till they be- 
 lieve the Gospel will they indeed do their duty. 
 
 The message of reconciliation is the instrument employed 
 to change the heart, to purge from sin, and to implant 
 those principles through which, exclusively, acceptable 
 obedience can be yielded. Hence all exhortations to duty 
 are connected with the doctrine of the cross. Faith, then, 
 is not by any means the ground of ohligation to obey, but 
 is that which inclines us to obedience. Hence the Gospel, 
 as a display of mercy in harmony with justice, is to be 
 preached, in order that, being believed, men may be ac- 
 quainted with the character of God, and come under the 
 medicinal influence of this revelation. Till we believe it, 
 whatever be our external decency, or our preparatory 
 services in order to fit us for coming to Christ, we still re- 
 main hostile to God, and in love with sin. Good works 
 are not required to prepare for faith, or to procure eternal 
 life, as if redemption were in any way by deeds of law. 
 The very root of a solid and universal change in the heart 
 is faith in the Gospel. Reformation ought to be instantly 
 begun by the sinner, not as preparatory to, but in and along 
 with, believing. All good works are the fruits and the 
 
 tokens of faith, but cannot go before it. If by faith in the 
 9* 
 
102 THOUGHTS ON 
 
 Gospel " the heart is purified," and if it be the truth that 
 sets " free from sin," it follows, that they who have not 
 really received the love of it, and who, of course, are not 
 under its influence, must still be impure in heart and the 
 slaves of unrighteousness. Such " cannot please God," 
 Rom. viii. 8, because their principles, pursuits, and aims, 
 accord not with his. 
 
 The very design of the Almighty in calling on men to 
 believe the Gospel is, that, by believing it, they may come 
 under its transforming power, and be led to admire and 
 imitate his character as revealed in it, and thus to seek their 
 happiness in himself. If this end can be gained without 
 faith in the cross, then, in so far as a change of character 
 is concerned, Christ has died in vain. Such, however, is 
 our state, that it cannot. To say that, though it cannot be 
 wholly gained without the reception of the Gospel, it may 
 be so in a measure, is to confound that external correctness 
 which is the effect of a partial view of the truth, with the 
 change of heart which fits for the kingdom of Heaven. 
 This change is, indeed, but imperfect, even in the most 
 eminent Christians ; but still there is a renovation of heart. 
 Divine energy begins the work, and also completes it. 
 This energy, however, is not the ground of obligation to be 
 holy; it only excites to obedience: for what it produces was 
 antecedently our duty. It leads us " in the way that we 
 should go." 
 
 The influences of the Holy Spirit are designed to open 
 the mind to the glory of the Gospel, to overcome our na- 
 tural hostility to it, and to bring us by faith under its as- 
 similating influence. They arc not matter of debt, then, 
 but of favor. Hence, we are taught to pray for Divine 
 teaching under a deep sense of our natural if^norance ot 
 
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 103 
 
 Divine things, and our strong aversion to them. Luke xi. 
 9 — 13. Psalm cxix. 18. When taught of God, we are 
 drawn to the Saviour, and so find rest. How precious that 
 peace of conscience which arises from a view of the trans- 
 cendent glory of the character and finished work of Christ, 
 through faith in which, without one good quality in us, we 
 are brought into the heavenly family, and into the closest 
 fellowship with him who loved us and gave himself for us ! 
 Blessed is the new spiritual character we thus acquire, in 
 being brought to enjoy what God enjoys, to enter into all 
 his views, to feel one with him in all that he does, to be 
 happy in seeing his will done, and in doing it ourselves, 
 and to be fully satisfied in the contemplation and the enjoy- 
 ment of his glory. The faith of the Gospel inspires us 
 with that love to Christ which is the health of our spirits, 
 which raises above all difficulties, imparts holy courage and 
 elevation of soul, makes duty to be esteemed a privilege, 
 and causes obedience to flow as the spontaneous effusion of 
 gratitude : thus uniting the glory of God with our highest 
 happiness. Such are the noble, and, shall I say, generous, 
 principles of action produced by the truth. 
 
 The character thus formed is connected with eternity. 
 The Gospel makes men better relatives and more useful 
 members of society ; but it is degraded when viewed chiefly 
 as an instrument of promoting the temporal good of the 
 community. Mistakes as to this have caused many cor- 
 ruptions of its doctrines. To gain the latter object, when 
 they doubted of saving the soul, many have too much 
 adapted their instructions to the propensity of man to rest 
 in mere external deeds and observances. It were well for 
 such to consider, that even the secondary object they have 
 in view is best promoted by a full and just statement of the 
 
104 THOUGHTS ON 
 
 Gospel. Such is its nature, that it influences not a little, 
 many who do^ not embrace it. This influence must arise 
 from its commending itself to the conscience ; and, if so, 
 the more scripturally it is stated, the greater will be the 
 effect. This will appear evident from an observation of the 
 different degrees of external morality produced in different 
 places according to the degree of simplicity with which the 
 Gospel is taught. Compare the greater part of the Eu- 
 ropean continent with this country, and countries similarly 
 favored, and mark how the restraining influence of the 
 doctrine and practice of Christianity keeps pace with its 
 purity. "Christianity will inconceivably ameliorate the 
 present condition of the world, but it is only when she is 
 allowed to develop the energies by which she sanctifies and 
 prepares its inhabitants for a better. Let her be urged to 
 forget her celestial origin and destiny; to forget that she 
 came from God and returns to God; and, whether she be 
 employed by the artful and designing to establish a spiritual 
 empire and dominion over mankind, or by the philan- 
 thropist, as the means of promoting their civilization and 
 improvement, she feels equally injured, and takes her 
 departure, leaving nothing but a base and sanctimonious 
 hypocrisy in her room."* The beneficial principles exer- 
 cised by a Christian as a member of society, while they 
 add to his usefulness here, are employed to cherish all that 
 can make him meet for the heavenly world. He is sow- 
 ing seed which will produce life everlasting. In all that 
 he does, his eye ought ever to be on the harvest ; for the 
 scenes of this w orld arc but subordinate to the eternal des- 
 tiny of the soul. 
 
 * Hall's Address to Eustace Carey. 
 
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 105 
 
 You will perceive, my dear friend, that faith in the work 
 of Christ is hut a means to an end. It is designed to pro- 
 duce true holiness. We are all sinners, and if pardoned 
 and accepted, we must be so of pure unmerited favor, 
 through the atonement and intercession of Christ. But 
 while, through faith in him, we are put in possession of 
 the blessings of pardon and admission into the family of 
 God, we are, by this very faith, in some measure made 
 meet for the exercises and enjoyments of his temple. This 
 is a method of justification which has the most transform- 
 ing effect. Surely, when we contemplate the Saviour mag- 
 nifying ihe law and making it honorable, we cannot but 
 esteem it, and keep aloof from every thing that has but the 
 appearance of disregarding it. When we think of his 
 obedience, can we cease to be active in his service? Must 
 not the study of his character assimilate us to him, and 
 enable us to mortify every evil principle? It is natural for 
 us, when conscious of guilt, and afraid of judgment, to be 
 particularly struck with the goodness of God, as it appears 
 in the exceeding riches of his grace in redeeming us from 
 wrath; but when we contemplate the whole scheme of re- 
 demption, we are no less, yea more, struck with the love 
 of God as it appears in saving us from sin itself. The end 
 is worthy of God, and the means are admirably suitable 
 and glorious as well as illustrative of his manifold wisdom. 
 Indeed, it were vain to pardon a sinner, and receive him 
 into favor, without changing his mind. Such a man could 
 not enjoy the privileges of the divine family, and even hea- 
 ven itself would, to him, be as hell. He could not enjoy 
 the society, engage in the exercises, nor relish the plea- 
 sures, of the place. Even in the seat of happiness, where 
 
106 THOUGHTS ON THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. 
 
 there is fullness of joy, such a character would be miser- 
 able. Holiness is thus placed in its proper situation, as 
 the grand object of God in the plan of grace. This view 
 of the design of the Gospel shows, that it has never been 
 discerned in its true glory, nor felt in its genuine power, 
 by such as take occasion from it to indulge in sin. 
 
 Never till our persons are accepted through Christ can 
 our services be so ; but when we are ourselves accepted in 
 the beloved, our services are accepted for his sake, and in 
 this way God expresses his delight in the work and cha- 
 racter of his Son, of which our obedience is the fruit and 
 the likeness. Obedience, then, is yielded, not in order to 
 obtain forgiveness, but to express gratitude for having ob- 
 tained it ; it is not yielded to merit eternal life, but to ex- 
 press the gratitude of the heart to him who hath given it 
 to us of pure favor through the atonement of his Son. It 
 is an expression of delight in the character of him who 
 justifieth the ungodly for the sake of the Redeemer; it is 
 the fruit of conformity to God; it is, in short, happiness in 
 God and in spiritual things, and it makes meet for the full 
 enjoyment of him in the world of purity, holiness, and 
 love. The spirit is promoted by glorying exclusively in 
 tlie cross of Christ, and living by faith in him. In his 
 cross we see mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, all 
 united. Here sin is seen to be in itself most hateful, and 
 revolting to every proper feeling. It is by this that the 
 heart is broken and made contrite ; that the transgressor 
 sees at once his disease and the remedy ; his danger and 
 the way of escape ; and is taught to put up from the heart 
 the important petition, " God be merciful to me a sinner." 
 It is here that the heart receives the impression of the cha- 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 107 
 
 racter of Christ, and becomes assimilated to the spirit of 
 the heavenly world. 
 
 That the Lord may keep you, and guide you into all 
 truth, is the prayer of, 
 
 My dear friend. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 ON CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 
 
 The most eminent Christians feel imperfections — An error as to 
 comfort and obedience noticed — The proper source of Christian 
 holiness and joy — The evil of mistakes as to this — Two kinds 
 of distress discribed — The Scriptural mode of comforting the de- 
 jected — The use of self-examination — Holiness connected with 
 Christian consolation — Their reciprocal influence — The use of 
 past enjoyments — Conclusion. 
 
 My DEAn fhiexd, 
 
 I PROPOSE, in this letter, to advert to what you wrote me 
 respecting that lively feeling of the power of our Lord's 
 character, and that comfort in the truth, the want of which 
 is lamented by many. I begin with reminding you, that 
 the very highest Christians are deeply sensible that they 
 are not influenced by the Gospel as they ought to be : and 
 this causes to them much pain and self-reproach. Nothing, 
 however, can remedy this but a devout reliance on the 
 work of the Redeemer, and the steady contemplation of 
 his gracious character, accompanied with humble and fer- 
 vent prayer to him who teaches, sanctifies, and animates 
 
108 CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 
 
 the heart. In all cases the Saviour is the source of peace 
 and consolation to his people. He communicates these 
 blessings by enlightening their minds in the knowledge of 
 the great truths of his word, and particularly those that 
 respect his sacrifice and official administration. It is, then, 
 by keeping the Gospel constantly in view that the heart 
 comes under its transforming energy. 
 
 There is an error often committed here on which I shall 
 say a few words. I refer particularly to it, because the 
 principle it includes has not seldom been at the bottom of 
 unscriptural views of the nature and spring of Christian 
 comfort and obedience. It is this: Many come to the 
 Scriptures with the same views as those which actuated the 
 young man who came to our Lord with the question, 
 " What good thing shall I do, that I may inherit enternal 
 life?" Now, the Bible was never intended to answer this 
 question. It is, indeed, answered in Scripture ; but for the 
 purpose of showing, that, in order to be justified by law, a 
 man must, throughout his life, have been perfectly conformed 
 in principle, thought, word, and deed, to the whole of its 
 demands; and that whoever has broken it but in one in- 
 stance is guilty of all. Of course, the answer to it is de- 
 signed to " shut us up," to the plan of salvation revealed 
 in the Gospel, and not by any means to inspire us with the 
 hope of being justified by law. It tells us how man would 
 have been justified had he continued obedient ; but not how 
 a sinner can be accepted. The great question which the 
 Scripture was meant to answer is, " How can God justify a 
 sinner in consistency with his holy character, the righteous 
 claims of his law, and the general good?" 
 
 It is evident that, when a person's great object is to have 
 the first of these questions answered, his comfort and peace 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 109 
 
 must be very unsteady. When he puts the question, "Am 
 I a child of God?" his meaning is not, " Have I beUeved 
 the Gospel of Christ?" or, in other words, is it indeed the 
 truth? but, "Have I done enough to procure for me eternal 
 life ?" and, according to the view betakes of his attainments, 
 must be his peace or his disquietude. In all his devotional 
 services, and in all his obedience, his great concern is to 
 establish his claim to the favor of God, and to the happi- 
 ness of heaven ; and in his exertions he may be very earn- 
 est, while he has utterly mistaken the design of that book 
 which he considers to be a revelation from God. Such a 
 character cannot understand how a perishing prodigal can 
 obtain forgiveness, and be filled with peace, on his yielding 
 to the call, "Repent, and believe the Gospel." He treats 
 the enjoyments of such converts as the fruit of error and en- 
 thusiasm. Conscious that he has himself no real happi- 
 ness, he manifests the spirit, and virtually adopts the lan- 
 guage, of the elder brother in the parable, " Thou never 
 gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends." 
 He turns from the friend of sinners ; refuses life from him 
 as a matter of favor; and clings to his own self-righteous 
 schemes. In some instances, impressed by what they hear 
 of the happiness of others, and despairing of attaining the 
 like, such characters sink into despondency. 
 
 In opposition to these most erroneous and destructive sen- 
 timents, the Scriptures address all as condemned in the sight 
 of God ; they bear witness to the dignity of the Redeemer's 
 nature and the perfection of his atonement ; and declare, 
 that every one who receives their testimony shall be saved. 
 The faith of this is the root of all real liveliness in reliorion 
 and of all genuine enjoyment. The sinner is thus freed 
 
 from the distressing agitation caused by his fruitless efforts 
 10 
 
110 CHRISTIAN COMFORT'. 
 
 to make his peace with God ; and, finding rest in the work 
 of the Saviour, he engages with life and animation in the 
 course of obedience. 
 
 The Spirit bears witness in the Scriptures to the import- 
 ant truth, that every child of God becomes such by "faith 
 in Christ Jesus," and not by works of law. Gal. iii. 7 — 26. 
 Now when, with a true heart, we can say that the Divine 
 declaration concerning Christand his work is really believed 
 by us ; and that his atonement is indeed that on which we 
 rest, as the sole foundation of our confidence before God ; 
 we may take comfort from the promise of forgiveness and 
 eternal life to all who believe. This is not to make faith it- 
 self the ground of our confidence. It is only to take com- 
 fort from the exact correspondence that we find between 
 the thing we believe, and the disclosures of the word of God 
 in reference to Christ. Then do we enjoy the consolation 
 of the Spirit's testimony in the Scriptures, that, to as many 
 as believe in him, Jesus gives, " the privilege of becoming 
 the sons of God;" and so can rejoice, that, " as children, 
 we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." We must 
 first of all derive our confidence from the general declara- 
 tions of the Gospel, before any other part of Scripture can 
 afford us relief. This enjoyment is always proportioned to 
 our conviction of our need of mercy, and the degree of stea- 
 diness with which we cling to the cross of Christ. Every 
 Christian finds that, in all circumstances of distress, and in 
 all his difficulties, however long he may live, he must either 
 lose his comfort and peace altogether, or receive these en- 
 joyments in connection with confidence in the same truths 
 which relieved him at first. The life of faith consists in 
 continuing to count it " a true saying, and worthy of the 
 most cordial reception, that Christ Jesus came into the world 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT. Ill 
 
 to save sinners;" in building our hope of mercy on his sa- 
 rifice; and in drawing from it our peace and our happiness 
 under a sense of guilt, and in the view of eternity. 
 
 In believing in the work of Christ we are induced to re- 
 nounce every false hope, and to count all things but loss, 
 that we may win him, and be found in him; that we may 
 know more of his excellence ; and that we may be more 
 conformed to his character. In judging the God of the 
 promises to be faithful, perplexity as to the subject of accept- 
 ance with him is banished from the mind. In contemplat- 
 ing the glory of the Redeemer's person, expiation, and 
 kingdom ; the offices he executes ; the relations he bears to 
 his people ; his administration in providence ; the riches of 
 his grace; and the many truths and blessings connected 
 with such subjects, we shall find constant enjoyment, and 
 matter for everlasting triumph. It is extremely difficult, 
 indeed, owing to the corruption of our hearts, to attain and 
 to preserve this spiritual and happy state of mind ; but let 
 us ever look to the Father of mercies for his aid. Let us 
 dwell upon his love and his rich grace, as displayed in ex- 
 hibiting all the blessings of the Gospel to us while ungodly, 
 without strength, and ready to sink in the pit of misery. 
 Hither let us return from all our wanderings for rest, and 
 here let us abide as the seat of happiness. 
 
 It not seldom happens that, owing to the weakness of 
 their faith, and from the want of clear, scriptural, and sim- 
 ple views of the Gospel of peace, Christians are deficient 
 in vigor and usefulness. Now, though a person, whose 
 views of Divine truth are very obscure, may be truly a 
 Christian, his comfort must be small and very unsteady. 
 It is at once his duty and his interest to pray fervently to 
 God for his illuminating Spirit, and to meditate upon that 
 
11;3 CnRISTIAX COMFORT. '^ 
 
 redemption which is the theme of the heavenly songs, and 
 the great excitement to heavenly activity. In particular, he 
 ought to dwell on the work and character of the Redeemer, 
 and on the free invitations and promises of the Gospel. 
 Thus he will find, that a Christian is one who is pardoned 
 and received into the lamily of God for the sake of the atone- 
 ment of Christ. He will tind, too, that he is placed herc 
 in a state of training for immortal glory by means of faith 
 in the Gospel, and by the various events of life, as made to 
 bear upon his mind, so as to illustrate Divine truth, and im- 
 press it upon the heart. The natuix? and design of Chris- 
 tian obedience will thus be understood ; the beautiful har- 
 mony of Scriptuiv will commend itself to the lieart ; and 
 rest will be tound in its faithful testimony. This testimony 
 declares, that, whatever be the number or the nature of 
 our transgressions, there is no necessity for us to attempt 
 the expiation of sin — that it is vain, and even sinful, to d 
 so. Nothing as to the ground of pardon and acceptance 
 remains to be done. On the contrary, the Gospel athrms, 
 that the only work through which the guilty can be saved 
 is already tinished : and that, believing in this, the sins of 
 the most unworthy are blotted out, and their persons ac- 
 cepted. Such is the nature of the message of mercy that 
 he who discerns its genuine import has abundant reason to 
 conclude, that never would the facts of which it testifies 
 have either taken place or have been promulgated had it 
 not been the will and the design of God that every individ- 
 ual who came to the knowledge of its precious truths should 
 be saved by it. It cannot be that the God of all goodness 
 would teach any man how the Lawgiver could be just and 
 yet honorably justily a sinner without actually conferring 
 the precious boon. Never can it be that God will thus tan- 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 113 
 
 talize any of his creatures. The explicit declarations of 
 Scripture that all who know and believe the Gospel shall 
 assuredly be saved, confirm this statement. Every indivi- 
 dual, then, may plead this published amnesty, for it is an 
 amnesty of the most general nature, every individual is call- 
 ed upon to accept of the boon which is thus set before and 
 brought to his door. And this acceptance is no more of 
 the nature of a condition entitling to the blessing, than is the 
 act of a beggar who receives or accepts the alms of benev- 
 olence. It is only appropriating to himself that benefit 
 which is proclaimed to all, and which thus comes to be pos- 
 sessed by him individually considered. 
 
 It often happens that, on hearing this, inquirers feel as if 
 it were an act of presumption, in a state of guilt and un- 
 worthincss, to enter at once into the enjoyment of the 
 blessings of salvation, by believing the testimony of God : 
 and hence a course of preparatory obedience is commenced. 
 Now, the fact is, the presumption lies in the very opposite 
 direction. It lies in supposing, that, in course of time, by 
 their repentance and reformation, they shall become more 
 worthy of receiving salvation through Christ; and in wait- 
 ing till they shall be so before they apply to him. This is 
 going in the very face of the clear declaration of God, that 
 all, from first to last, is the fruit of free favor, whether in 
 respect of the price of redemption, or of obtaining an ac- 
 tual interest in its blessings. Nothing can be more pre- 
 sumptuous than to imagine, that the benefit of the work of 
 Christ can be merited by those who are sunk in guilt and 
 depravity ; and to call in question the truth of God, who 
 has solemnly declared, that he is well pleased in the sacri- 
 fice of his Son, and that his blood is sufficient to take away 
 
 sin. The truth of these declarations cannot be distinctly 
 10* 
 
114 CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 
 
 seen by those who seek, by some previous work, to pre- 
 pare themselves for an actual interest in the righteousness 
 of Christ. 
 
 Permit me here, my dear friend, to advert to another 
 thing connected with proper views of Christian comfort, 
 and the spring of Christian obedience. It frequently hap- 
 pens that persons, professing religion, are in great distress 
 because of sins which they have committed after having 
 derived peace, as they think, from the Gospel. Distressed 
 they certainly ought to be, and he who is not, must be a 
 stranger to genuine repentance. With regard to this, how- 
 ever, it is of importance to observe, that distress of mind 
 may arise from two sources. In the one case, it is merely 
 selfish, as it springs solely from a fear that the evils com- 
 mitted are inconsistent with a state of acceptance with God. 
 The blessing which the subjects of this fear connect with a 
 state of salvation, is almost entirely confined to a change 
 of state; though they think certain good feelings and dis- 
 positions necessary to entitle them to it. They have no 
 true regard to the divine glory, or to spiritual bliss. The 
 question with them is not, " Have I confidence in nothing, 
 as the ground of acceptance, but the work of Christ ?" It 
 is, " Have I done what is necessary to warrant me to look 
 to his righteousness for deliverance from future misery?" 
 [t is, doubtless, a duty for Christians to examine themselves 
 as to the effect which the Gospel has upon their hearts and 
 deportment ; and they must certainly be concerned about 
 their own salvation. But what I refer to, is the practice 
 of those who can never take comfort from what the Sa- 
 viour has done, except when they have acted in a manner 
 which they think right — when they have remarkable free- 
 dom in prayer — or when they have found their affections 
 
CnSISTIAN COMFORT. 115 
 
 lively and warm. In such cases they are quite elated ; 
 their hopes are high, and their confidence great, because 
 they think themselves qualified for, an interest in Christ. 
 But when they have fallen into some sins which burden 
 their conscience, they are in the deepest agitation and alarm ; 
 not from the thought of having sinned against the God of 
 all goodness, which is the true spring of genuine contrition, 
 but solely because, by this, their hopes of heaven are dark- 
 ened. They mourn, merely because they cannot look 
 upon themselves as Christians; and this they, indeed, have 
 good reason to question, when such is the sole cause of 
 their pain. All that can be said to such, respecting the 
 freeness and the richness of divine grace, even to those who 
 have hitherto deceived themselves, can yield them no peace. 
 They cannot think of resting on the work of Christ, till 
 their affections are again warmed ; and till they can per- 
 suade themselves that they are reformed to such a degree, 
 as to warrant them to think they are now Christians, or, at 
 least, possessed of the prerequisites necessary to justify an 
 application to the Saviour. They are, of course, rather 
 angry with themselves than truly sorry that they have 
 sinned against heaven. Sin is thus viewed, not as opposed 
 to the glory and the will of God, but as a hindrance to the 
 enjoyment of pleasurable feelings, and the indulgence of 
 the vague hope of happiness hereafter. Now, disquietude 
 and fear of this kind are removed, not by looking, as guilty 
 and ruined sinners, to the cross of Christ, but by the re- 
 turn of warm feelings, and a supposed reformation of con- 
 duct, attained by very different means than by faith in 
 Christ. 
 
 I beg you to observe, that, when I speak of their warmth 
 and their reformation as attained by other means than the 
 
116 CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 
 
 truth, I am far from meaning that, even when these are 
 produced by the Gospel, they are the ground of peace to 
 the conscience. By no means. Our peace arises from 
 that which is without us — the perfect work of the Saviour. 
 It is the office of the Spirit to testify of this, and, by the 
 truth concerning it, to warm and purify the heart. When 
 the effect of his influence is put in the room of the sacrifice 
 of Christ, the nature and design of his work are lost sight 
 of, and the simplicity of the Gospel is marred. All I mean 
 by such expression is, that, even that on which such rest, 
 cannot, in any sense, be acceptable to God, and, of course, 
 it is no recommendation to his favor. This is corroborated 
 by the fact, that when even the fruit of the Spirit's energy, 
 and not simply the atonement, is made the resting-place of 
 the conscience, the glory of the truth is obscured. 
 
 Something of this tendency is, at times, found in Chris- 
 tians ; but it is sinful. It evinces weakness of faith, and 
 confused views of the Gospel ; it must be attended with 
 great perplexity and embarrassment; and cannot but im- 
 pede scriptural diligence and obedience. Not that real 
 Christians will rely on the effect of the truth as their war- 
 rant to trust in the atonement, but that they are in danger, 
 when enjoying the fruits of the Gospel, of having the one 
 eye, as it were, turned to those fruits, as a kind of en- 
 couragement to expect the blessings of forgiveness and ac- 
 ceptance, even while the other eye is looking to the Saviour 
 himself alone. There is often such a mixture of self- 
 righteousness operating in a manner which is scarcely per- 
 ceived and which the individual would never avow even to 
 himself. 
 
 The other case of distress to which I refer, arises from 
 a Christian feeling keenly the guilt of having sinned against 
 
 _■!'. 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 117 
 
 the Father of mercies, whose loving kindness is ever flow- 
 ing, and is displayed in the forgiveness of his many daily 
 offences, and in the constant advancement of his bliss. 
 This is not felt merely when he dreads wrath. Even when 
 the way of peace is most clearly seen, and the hope of 
 eternal life is most lively, this sorrow is keenest. The 
 Christian readily condemns himself. He mourns, and is 
 in bitterness, especially when he thinks of the exceeding 
 riches of that grace which hath provided for him an Advo- 
 cate who ever liveth, and hath thus made provision for his 
 salvation, notwithstanding his many wanderings from God. 
 This is as a fire within him, kindling every holy affection. 
 When he again has recourse to the great High Priest in 
 the house of God, and while he thus finds peace to his 
 soul, instead of indulging in sloth, he becomes more active 
 and fervent. The overwhelming goodness and mercy of 
 his Father produce shame and self-loathing, in union with 
 strong consolation, and good hope through grace. 
 
 Do you, my dear friend, ask, What, then, is to be said 
 to those who are bowed down, and daily distressed in spirit, 
 by guilt and anxiety? It must be granted to such, that 
 their distress is in itself well founded — that, however deep 
 may be their view of their sins and demerit, it is not equal 
 to the real state of their heart. But, granting this, let the 
 Gospel of Christ be considered as it is exhibited in Scrip- 
 ture. Let them put the question to themselves, " Do not 
 the words of eternal life preach salvation even to the chief of 
 sinners V Do they not declare that he, who was lifted up 
 on the cross, can at once pardon and cleanse from all sin ? — 
 Do they not proclaim peace through the propitiatory work 
 of Christ, even to them who are far off? — Why, then, do 
 
118 CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 
 
 I not relinquish every false refuge, and cast myself, as a 
 perishing sinner, on Christ for salvation ? 
 
 Should a person be persuaded that hitherto he has been 
 an unbeliever ; be it so. Deeply as in this case he ought 
 to feel, and must do, if at all properly impressed, let him 
 now believe. He ought not to stand demurrinsj, as if some- 
 thing must be brought with him to recommend him to the 
 Saviour ; but should, as a helpless sinner, come as he is to 
 him, willing to receive, as a gift, all that He has to bestow. 
 Many, who have long been distressed, and striving for re- 
 lief, have found peace by the discovery that they were seek- 
 ing it, " not by faith, but as it were, by the works of the 
 law." Their true character has been laid down to them, 
 and they have found that nothing was between them and 
 absolute perdition but the atonement of Christ. They have 
 then been taught of God, that, whatever may have been 
 their guilt, the blessings of the Gospel are exhibited as his 
 free gift to all who believe, and so have been led to the 
 Saviour "for life." 
 
 If any who have appeared to know the truth, are dis- 
 quieted in mind, let the same Gospel be declared to them, 
 which preaches peace to the chief of sinners, on believing 
 in Jesus. Let each ask himself, " Do I believe the Scrip- 
 tures to be the word of God? If they are, indeed, the true 
 sayings of Heaven, and if all my confidence is placed on 
 the one perfect work of the Redeemer, then let me rejoice 
 in the blessed truth which I believe. — Let me commit my- 
 self to the Saviour, who invites me to come to him. — Let 
 me, with confidence, make all my wants known to my 
 Father, and look, through the blood of Christ, for the faith- 
 ful accomplishment of his i)romises." To the Saviour all 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 119 
 
 are assuredly called, and even entreated to go, with the 
 firmest persuasion, that to them, guilty as they may be, the 
 blessings of mercy shall be given. 
 
 Self examination, I wish you to remember, is enforced, 
 not for the purpose of originating hope and peace under con- 
 victions of guilt, or of restoring them, when lost through 
 declension into sin. It is designed to ascertain what it is 
 on which we are resting our hope before God — to detect 
 false confidence and peace — to confirm that trust which 
 has its foundation in the blood of Christ — to increase Chris- 
 tian joy by the discovery of the sanctifying influence of 
 the Gospel — to ascertain the progress we are making — and 
 to discover and correct what is wrong. It will be found 
 useful, also, when we are falsely accused. It was so to 
 Job, to David and, to Paul, who, under the reproaches of 
 men, were happy in the testimony of a good conscience. 
 It is an infirmity of our nature, too, that, under particular 
 kinds of afflictions, we feel a strong propensity to contem- 
 plate rather the dark than the bright side of things, and to 
 sink into dejection and despondency. In such circumstan- 
 ces, self-examination, if we are indeed, influenced by the 
 truth, may prove at once a cause of correction and of com- 
 fort ; because it may make manifest the healing cfiicacy of 
 the doctrine of the cross on our diseased souls, and to es- 
 tablish our faith in it, and cause us to cling to it with great- 
 er interest. The Gospel is fitted to impart joy as soon as 
 it is believed, and in proportion as it is- believed, it will do 
 so if not counteracted by some neutralizing influence. But 
 a man may draw a kind of peace, from a system which, 
 though he deems it the Gospel of Christ, is in fact a sys- 
 tem of error. The Jews founded their confidence on an 
 erroneous view of the covenant with Abraham and the law 
 
120 CHRISTIAN C03IFORT. 
 
 of Moses, and men may now do so on a false view of the 
 New Testament Scriptures. Hence, they often warn men 
 against error, by calling on them to judge of their princi- 
 ples by their fruits. 
 
 There are kinds of dejection, however, arising from the 
 propensity to look to the dark rather than to the bright 
 side of things, and from constitutional distemper in body 
 and mind, which unfit for self-examination. The body re- 
 quires the physician, and the mind would be unhinged by 
 intense thought, and in danger of forming very false con- 
 clusions in this condition of morbid and painful feeling. 
 Let the Gospel itself be stated in the simplest manner, and 
 let the afflicted be taught to dwell on it, that the truth may, 
 by the divine blessing, effect what the case will allow. This 
 is the more necessary, in consequence of the propensity 
 such have to dwell on the more profound and difficult parts 
 of Scripture. It never can be unsuitable to state the first 
 principles of the Gospel ; for, whatever may be the charac- 
 ter of the individual, it is fitted to do good. Physical dis- 
 orders, indeed, it cannot remove. It never was designed 
 to do so; and it derogates not from its joyful nature, that 
 it cannot counteract their painful efTects. But, where the 
 principle of piety is really in the mind, it will call it forth, 
 and, where it is not, it is the only thing which can im- 
 plant it. 
 
 But, passing this, if at any time we find, on self-exam- 
 ination, that the truth is healing our souls, we become in- 
 creasingly satisfied that we are not deceiving ourselves; 
 that it is, indeed, the truth which we have believed ; and 
 that it is the grace of God on which our confidence is 
 fixed. If we are living by the faith of the Son of God, we 
 shall see, in some measure, of the effects of the truth ; 
 
 ^P^' 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 121 
 
 though, on examining ourselves, we shall see much, also, 
 that is calculated to humble us. This is fitted, however, to 
 lead us to cleave, with renewed eagerness, to that truth, the 
 healing power of which we, in some degree, feel. The 
 views obtained of our evils and deficiencies may prove of 
 the highest advantage ; while the proofs we have of the 
 sanctifying influence of the wholesome truths of the Gos- 
 pel will afford us joy. 
 
 Such joy is far from being inconsistent with the deepest 
 humility. Christain lowliness of mind by no means im- 
 plies that we are unconscious of what the grace of God 
 hath effected in us. The Scriptures suppose, that Chris- 
 tians are aware that they differ from others ; and the ad- 
 dresses there made to them proceed from the principle, that 
 they are distinguished by the divine goodness. Humility, 
 then, is not founded on ignorance of what God hath wrought 
 in us. It springs from proper views of the grace which 
 hath made us to differ. Feeling that flesh and blood hath 
 not revealed the truth to us, and that we owe all we are to 
 the same grace which gave the Saviour, we adore our Fa- 
 ther who is in heaven ; and while we are abased in the 
 dust before him, we are grateful for what he hath done in 
 us, as well as for us. His character and his love appear 
 in the former as well as in the latter. While joy arises, 
 in the first instance, from believing the testimony of God, 
 it is preserved by continuing in the faith, and is increased, 
 in proportion as we act and suffer under its medicinal and 
 sanctifying influence. 
 
 Self-examination, then, is of the utmost importance. It 
 serves to ascertain whether we are holding fast the truth 
 or letting it slip — whether we are growing in grace or 
 
 backsliding from God, which it must be of the greatest mo- 
 ll 
 
122 CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 
 
 ment to consider. It is an error, however, to have re- 
 course to this, under the fear which hath torment, for the 
 purpose of obtaining deliverance from despondency or de- 
 jection under a consciousness of guilt and declension. 
 Should we do so, and seek relief by contemplating the fea- 
 tures of our own character more than the work of Christ ; 
 and, particularly, if we judge of our character by the es- 
 timation of our friends, who may have very mistaken views 
 of us and of the truth, we are going from the great found- 
 ation, are putting the feelings of our minds, and the opin- 
 ions of our friends, in the room of the great work finished by 
 the Son of God, and of the Gospel which reveals it. When 
 we rest on the atonement, and derive from it all our hope, 
 we are called to examine what effects it produces, and to see 
 that its genuine influence be felt. But if, instead of exam- 
 ining ourselves when we have a sense of peace through the 
 sacrifice of Christ, we only do so when laboring under a 
 sense of guilt, in order to discover in our love, repentance, 
 or disobedience, a reason for rest to the conscience, we are 
 putting these evidences in the place of the atonement. As 
 the effect cannot be before the cause, we cannot be pos- 
 sessed of the fruits and tokens of genuine religion till we 
 have believed in Christ. Of what are they fruits and evi- 
 dences, but of faith in his finished work, and of confidence 
 in it, as the sole ground of acceptance with God ? No ef- 
 fects in us, then, can be proofs of our relation to the Sa- 
 viour, unless they be such as we know to be produced by 
 faith in his cross. The degree, also, in which such effects 
 are found, will be in proportion to the simplicity and stea- 
 diness of our trust in him. With this, too, will our com- 
 fort correspond. If his work is not the beginning and 
 fountain-head of our confidence, the exceeding great and 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 123 
 
 precious promises of the everlasting covenant can yield us 
 no scriptural or permanent consolation. Nor is it enough 
 that we once believed in him ; we must continue in the 
 faith. Our duty and our privilege is to hold fellowship 
 with our Lord now, and not merely to remember that we 
 did so formerly. Israel daily gathered manna, but what 
 they gathered yesterday would not serve them beyond it, 
 for it would not keep. Yet the recollection of what they 
 had gathered formerly would encourage them to go and 
 look for more. And, in like manner, the recollection of 
 the work of God on the soul formerly will not sanctify it 
 to-day, any more than present hunger can be allayed by 
 recollecting the idea of what we formerly feasted on ; but 
 yet it will be found very useful in encouraging us to return 
 to the food which once nourished us, and to the fountain, 
 where our former thirst was assuaged. It is only in so far 
 as it is calculated to regain our former sensations, that the 
 remembrance of them can be of service. In a time of de- 
 clension, it will be deeply humbling to look back; and, if 
 it be the means of recovering our affection towards sacred 
 things, it will be truly salutary. But if we dream of gain- 
 ing peace by a mere recollection of past affections, while 
 at present we are cold and insensible, we shall be sorely 
 disappointed ; or, which is worse, we shall become the vic- 
 tims of a delusive satisfaction. The Psalmist called to 
 mind his song in the night ; he communed with his own 
 heart ; his spirit made diligent search ; but all would not 
 do; he found no relief till he said, "This is my infirmity: 
 I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most 
 High ; I will remember the works of the Lord." So let 
 us turn from unavailing inquiries, and fix our minds on 
 that wonderful work and deliverance, of which the ancient 
 
124 CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 
 
 works of the Lord in Israel, and the deliverances vouch- 
 safed them, were but figures. It is thus that the mind is 
 elevated and enlivened — that the affections are warmed and 
 captivated — and that the whole soul is stirred up to bless 
 and to magnify the character of the Saviour. Such is the 
 way in which scriptural peace and comfort must originate. 
 There is in some minds a morbid solicitude for lively emo- 
 tions as an end. It is true, indeed, that many exercises of 
 piety cannot be performed without emotion, but then the 
 emotion is merely accessary, a necessary quality of the 
 thing pursued, and not itself, the object of pursuit. Cer- 
 tain kinds of enjoyment in religion are made by not a few, 
 the direct and immediate object of all their services, and 
 they are in consequence unnaturally stimulated, in order 
 to emotion, while the claims of duty are too often neglect- 
 ed, or have but a secondary place. They hunt after ex- 
 citement ; plain wholesome truths have no charms for them, 
 and as in other cases, the cordial which exhilarates their 
 spirits at one time leads to their proportional depression at 
 another. 
 
 Allow me to remind you, that Christian consolation is 
 designed as a means to promote active Christian holiness. 
 Having found rest to our souls where the divine justice 
 found rest, the mind is awakened to a sense of the abun- 
 dant goodness and rich grace of God ; and is impelled, by 
 the delightful and yet powerful influence of love and grat- 
 itude, to serve him with all the he-art, and cheerfully to 
 suffer for his sake. It is of the first importance to remem- 
 ber, also, that this consolation is increased by obedience. . 
 When we keej) tlie j)ath of duty, and obey the command- 
 ments of our Lord, the truth, under the influence of whicli 
 we obey, is the more fixed in the heart; and the service of 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT. 125 
 
 him who loved us and gave himself, for us is found to be 
 itself happiness. Not only will Christian principles pro- 
 duce good acts, but those acts will increase the principles. 
 These two have a reciprocal influence. In living by faith, 
 we embrace a system of motives, which daily increase in 
 power by their habitual operations. Every event, and 
 every action, is made the means of an accession of strength 
 to the great sources of obedience. James ii. 22. 2 Pet. 
 i. 5— 11. 
 
 On the other hand, if we let the truth slip out of our 
 minds, we shall fall into sin ; and the longer we continue 
 in the path of disobedience the more will the truth be for- 
 gotten. Before we can recover our lost peace, sin, like the 
 accursed thing in the camp of Israel, must be cast out. I 
 refer not to sins of infirmity, nor to the imperfections which 
 attach to the best services of the most spiritual Christian ; 
 I speak of an allowed habit of inconsistent and sinful con- 
 duct ; of a cold and earthly state of mind ; and of evils 
 which are not the effect of a sudden and powerful tempta- 
 tion, but the result of a course of secret declension from 
 spirituality of mind, and devout intercourse with God. The 
 man who can maintain his confidence, and boast of his hap- 
 piness, while in such a condition, must be hardened indeed. 
 It becomes God to frown upon us in this state, by withhold- 
 ing the light of his countenance. In the very nature of 
 things, indeed, we cannot, in such circumstances, have spi- 
 ritual happiness. The remedy is to retrace our steps, and 
 return to God by renewed faith in Christ. We must seek 
 rest as we sought it at first. In vain do we seek to recov- 
 er liveliness and ardor in religion, if we keep not the cross 
 of Christ constantly in view. It is a conviction of his grace 
 
 and mercy which influences the heart with love to him, and 
 11* 
 
126 CHRISTIAN COMFORT 
 
 binds it to him with the bonds of ardent attachment and 
 permanent gratitude. It is the believing contemplation of 
 the Gospel which mortifies sin, and produces all the fruits 
 of Christian obedience. But, beware as I have already 
 hinted, of thinking that nothing short of lively emotions or 
 rapture is worthy of the name of joy. The powers of the 
 mind will bear only a certain degree of exertion, with ad- 
 vantage, go beyond this, and they are injured. There is a 
 calm sunshine of the soul, an even tranquil and serene tem- 
 per of mind which may well be called the "peace of God 
 which passeth all understanding." The former state will 
 in this world, be at best but fluctuating, whereas the latter 
 may be permanently maintained. 
 
 The recollection of past enjoyments, when, in living by 
 faith, sin was more bitter to us than death, and the Saviour 
 was felt to be a refuge from all evil, and the source of all 
 happiness, will serve to show at once our folly and our guilt. 
 Have we, indeed, left the God of our mercies, and returned 
 to vanity ? If so, how aggravated is our sin ! Is this our 
 kindness to our friend ? Surely, the remembrance of past 
 joys, instead of relieving, must add torture to the heart. 
 Psalm Ixxvii. 3. They remind us of the goodness of God, 
 and of our base ingratitude. Yet, blessed be his name, he 
 invites us to return to him. We are not straitened in him, 
 but in our own bowels. Though, like lost sheep, we have 
 gone astray, and are entangled in our own corruptions, let 
 us look to " the good Shepherd, that he may restore our 
 souls." Let Calvary again occupy our hearts. 
 
 Turn then, my dear friend, to what the Saviour did, and 
 to the divine delight in his character, as expressed in his 
 glory ; and thus, I trust, your difficulties will vanish. What 
 the magnet is to the steel, will the truths, the promises, and 
 
CHRISTIAN COMFORT 127 
 
 the character of God, as exhibited in the work and kingdom 
 of the Saviour be to genuine religion. They will call it 
 forth ; and, besides this, they will exercise and strengthen 
 it. This appears a plan too simple, and we naturally aim 
 at something more complex. Thus the very simplicity of 
 the method is that which makes it so difficult for us to adopt, 
 and keep by it ; and hence, much of the oppostion of the 
 heart to the truth. This is illustrated by the history of 
 Naaman the Syrian, who, in order to his cure, expected to 
 be called to do or witness something great in the eyes of 
 the world, and not merely to go and wash in Jordan. The 
 same principle still blinds the minds of " the wise and the 
 prudent of this world" to the plain but humbling doctrines 
 of the cross. Matth. xi. 25, 26. It is thus that they are hid 
 from the proud, and revealed unto babes. 
 
 •It is delightful to be enabled to cast our all upon God, 
 and submissively to live by faith in Christ. In order to this, 
 much prayer is necessary. I mean not merely stated devo- 
 tion, but a spiritual and devotional state of mind. The hearts 
 of the children of God need not be discouraged. The Re- 
 deemer knows their wants, and feels for them with the ten- 
 derest sympathy. On him, then, cast all your cares, and 
 ask of him all that you need. He can comfort and strength- 
 en you, and cause the spirit of bondage to give place to the 
 spirit of adoption. Look to him, that he may dissipate your 
 darkness, still the inward disquietude of the soul, and pour 
 his richest blessings into your heart ; for he giveth liberal- 
 ly, and never upbraideth. His cross subdues the power of 
 sin, and cherishes every holy principle. How sweet it is to 
 take our place there, and to enjoy all which it sowondrous- 
 ly displays ! I am, &;c. 
 
LETTER VI. 
 
 ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE OF THE TRUTH. 
 
 The Divine character displayed in the Gospel — Its fitness to impart 
 peace — Mistakes regarding it — Its influence in promoting sanctifi- 
 cation — The necessity of Christian watchfulness — Self-rigliteous- 
 ness not the only evil of which men are in danger — The promise 
 of Divine aid — Conclusion. 
 
 Mr DEAR rniEND, 
 
 I SHALL now direct j^-our attention to some general observa- 
 tions on the practical influence of the truth. I begin with 
 remarking, that the character of our Lord is the genuine 
 character of Jehovah. God is in himself invisible to us. 
 The most correct description of him, unless illustrated by 
 facts, could make but a feeble impression. The mind must 
 be aided in its conceptions, of his glory by a palpable man- 
 ifestation of his attributes. Such a display is afforded of 
 his character in the person and the work of the Saviour. It 
 is given in the whole history of his life, but its full splen- 
 dor appears in his atoning sacrifice. Indeed, the very name 
 of the Redeemer was, in the mindsof the sacred writers, 
 inseparably linked with that illustrious act by which he 
 poured out his soul unto death. Not that they confined 
 their attention to the closing scene of his life ; they connect- 
 ed with it all that preceded, and viewed him, throughout 
 the whole of his humiliation, as gradually advancing towards 
 the wondrous completion of his sacrifice. His character, at 
 all times, bore on it the impress of divinity, which gives the 
 highest importance to his history. In reading the displays 
 of his power — his deeds of high benevolence — his feelings 
 
THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE OF THE TRUTH 129 
 
 of tenderness, sympathy, and compassion — his unwearied 
 course of self-denied exertion — and his unparalleled and pro- 
 tracted sufferings, we have before us the history of God in 
 our nature, and see his perfections in a light the most famil- 
 iar and engaging. The brightness of the divine glory is 
 represented to us in our own nature, and through the me- 
 dium of human feelings, affections, and passions ; so that, 
 instead of being dazzled with its lustre, we can contemplate 
 it with the deepest interest, and the utmost steadiness. In 
 his cross, the Almighty is seen combining all that is pro- 
 found in wisdom and understanding — all that is awful in 
 holiness, justice, and judgment — and all that is attractive in 
 love, mercy, and grace. In the man of sorrows, we see 
 wisdom clothed with the most engaging meekness and gen- 
 tleness; and the granduer of Almighty power softened by 
 the most tender compassion, and the most generous love. 
 While his sufferings attract our special interest, it is not pain 
 or misery so much that commands our attention, as afflic- 
 tion and calamity, dignified by the most cheerful resigna- 
 tion, and the most enlightened and willing submission to the 
 will of Heaven. In them is united, with the most distressing 
 and complicated woes, all that is sublime and elevated — all 
 that is pure and holy — and all that is amiable and attrac- 
 tive. Here is a mind infallible in judgment — to which the 
 Almighty is fully known — to which all beings and worlds 
 stand clearly revealed — a mind, in a word, occupying the 
 highest vantage-ground — pouring contempt on all that the 
 worms of the earth call glorious — and giving itself up to all 
 that men count wretched and disgraceful. Ought we not, 
 then, to enter into the views of the Saviour, and hail a rev- 
 elation so honorable to God, and so admirably fitted to in- 
 sure our safety and our happiness 1 In his wondrous work 
 
130 THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE 
 
 we see the curse of the law exhausted, and divine wisdom 
 employed in harmonizing the exercise of righteousness and 
 mercy. While justice and holiness are displayed in their 
 highest glories, they are transformed into sources of bless- 
 ings to the most guilty of sinners. 
 
 Permit me, then, to lead your attention for a moment to 
 the fitness of such an exhibition to impart peace to the 
 trembling conscience. If guilt is the parent of fear, this 
 view of the cross and character of Christ, exhibiting the 
 God of truth and of purity as at once the just God and the 
 Saviour, must be calculated to tranquillize the heart, when 
 dreading the tremendous consequences of sin. Many, 
 alas ! seek peace by lowering the character of God and the 
 demands of his law ; so as to suit what they imagine to be 
 their actual or possible attainment. And when, even after 
 this, they cannot persuade themselves that they are what 
 they ought to be, they trust to the divine benevolence, as if 
 it were allied to weakness. They forget that, as the moral 
 ruler of the world, it behoves God to maintain the honor 
 of his law and government; so that, while sin is pardoned, 
 it may not appear to be connived at ; and that, while the 
 sinner is forgiven, he may also be sanctified by the very 
 means of his deliverance from wrath. 
 
 There are also numbers who err in a different way. 
 When alarmed by deep convictions of guilt, the mind is 
 apt to dwell on the most tremendous views of the Almighty. 
 He is contemplated only as armed for vengeance, and as 
 frowning in awful wrath from the tribunal of judgment. 
 His character is considered as marked by all that is severe 
 and unrelenting ; unsoftened by any touches of mercy and 
 loving kindness. Such a view of God must fill with the 
 most tormenting fear and slavish dread. Now, the Gos- 
 
OF THE TRUTH. 131 
 
 pel meets every such false notion, and declares that God, 
 while he is light, is also love. It exhibits the most delight- 
 ful harmony between mercy and justice, goodness and holi- 
 ness, in the salvation of sinners. 
 
 The self- righteousness of the heart opposes this method 
 of salvation, not only by directly seeking eternal life by 
 works of law, under the notion that we are not so low and 
 helpless as to need salvation in a way so humbling, but 
 also in other forms. Thus, sometimes when conscious of 
 guilt, and alarmed by the dread of wrath, the mind feels 
 as if it were an act of presumption to expect mercy in its 
 present state. It refuses to admit the consolations of the 
 Gospel till it can think better of itself. This is a spurious 
 humility ; for it proceeds on the principle that, before we can 
 receive the blessings of salvation, we must, at least in some 
 measure, be worthy of them. Now, what is this but the 
 spirit of self-righteousness opposing the pure Gospel of 
 Christ ? It is needless to distinguish between seeking justi- 
 fication wholly and partially by merit. The latter is as in- 
 consistent with a cordial submission to the divine method 
 of justification as the former. On the same principle, it is 
 vain to distinguish between seeking redemption indepen- 
 dently of the work of Christ, and seeking to qualify our- 
 selves by previous good dispositions for obtaining the for- 
 giveness of sin through that work. The latter is only a 
 more refined way of opposing the humbling doctrines of 
 the cross. 
 
 Permit me, my dear friend, here to refer to a particular 
 class in whom the evil of such a system is exemplified. 
 They are awakened to a sense of guilt — are, in a measure, 
 sensible of the importance of religion — and feel the vanity 
 of the world. They are far from being profane ; yet they 
 
 % 
 
132 THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE 
 
 know not the genuine Gospel of Christ. They observe the 
 forms of religion, and maintain a correct exterior deport- 
 ment; but pursue a joyless and gloomy course, not seeing 
 how a sinner can obtain the benefit of the work of the Sa- 
 viour through believing the Gospel. They accordingly 
 endeavor to obtain this benefit by exertions of their own. 
 Through a want of knowledge, however, of the powerful 
 influence of Gospel motives, they fail in their attempts at 
 obedience; and, while they unavailingly struggle against 
 the evil of their hearts, they are not seldom driven to a 
 state bordering on distraction. Hard is the yoke, and over- 
 whelming is the burden, to such ! They feel that there is 
 something wrong, and often inquire how relief may be 
 found. Their counsellors, also, frequently put them in an 
 improper direction; and what is still more to be lamented, 
 they are started or offended when the simplicity of Scrip- 
 ture truth, and the richness and freeness of divine grace, 
 arc clearly set before them. They have* been led to as- 
 sociate a salvation by grace with licentiousness, and are 
 therefore afraid to listen to an unrestricted proclamation of 
 mercy. They are deceived by false representations of the 
 tendency of what is, in fact, the uncorrupted Gospel of 
 Christ. In many instances, ihcy mistake speculatists and 
 unholy pretenders for real friends of such doctrines. In 
 other instances, they confound the scriptural statements of 
 tlie truth with statements which, by mistake in some cases, 
 and with a bad design in others, are called by the same 
 name; but which are, in fact, very ditferent. It is not sur- 
 prising that, to such persons, the blessings of the Gospel 
 bhould appear unattainable, and its joys a forbiddcd par- 
 adise. The consequences to themselves, as well as to 
 othctrs arc most pernicious. The worst views are thus given 
 
OF THE TRUTH. 133 
 
 of the nature and the fruits of genuine religion. The care- 
 less consider them as religious characters ; and observing 
 their dark and comfortless spirit, their joyless and heavy- 
 course, and mistaking all this for the fruit of piety, they 
 are stumbled and hardened. How different from these are 
 the fruits of genuine religion ! 
 
 Good were it for characters circumstanced as I have 
 mentioned, did they turn their undivided attention to the 
 pure testimony and promise of God, and venture their all 
 on the word of him who cannot lie. In vain do they at- 
 tempt to make their peace with Heaven. Christ is our only 
 peace-offering. With his expiring breath he declared that 
 his work was finished; and the blessed truth is confirmed 
 by his resurrection and his glory. Through this " he hath 
 come and preached peace." To whom is the proclamation 
 of forgiveness made? Let the prayer of our Lord for his 
 murderers, and his commandment to preach the Gospel 
 first to them, answer. The design of his coming, which 
 was not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance ; 
 his conduct in associating with publicans and sinners, which 
 drew down the reproaches of the self-righteous, Luke xv. 2.; 
 his admirable parables of the lost sheep, the lost piece of 
 money, and the prodigal son, all illustrate the direct and 
 explicit declarations of his immediate ambassadors, that 
 there are none excluded who do not exclude themselves. 
 1 Tim. i. 12—16; Rom. x. 11, 12, 13. The ground of 
 acceptance is the one propitiation of Christ ; and, in order 
 to an actual interest in that propitiation, no previous work, 
 no preparatory process, is necessary. All are called, with- 
 out delay, to believe the testimony of God concerning his 
 Son ; and, in believing it, the blessings of redemption are 
 
 received. This is language which we understand. We 
 12 
 
134 THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE 
 
 know what it is to receive a testimony in other cases, and 
 that the effect produced by it always corresponds with its 
 nature ; there can therefore be nothing incomprehensible in 
 the mode of receiving the testimony of Heaven. 
 
 I shall now direct your attention to another class of 
 characters. There arc some that, upon the whole, rest for 
 acceptance on the work of Christ ; but who, through indis- 
 tinct and confined views of the Gospel, are yet very much 
 perplexed. Owing to this, they also suffer considerable dis- 
 tress of spirit, and, in some measure too, give an unlovely 
 and injurious representation of religion. It is matter of 
 deep regret when any, of whom we have reason to hope 
 well, discover jealousy of more scriptural statements of the 
 truth. It is painful to sec them associating with such state- 
 ments an encouragement to laxness in obedience, and mis- 
 taking them for doctrines of another description. Some- 
 times they are injured by an improper manner of stating 
 the truth, into which mistaken and injudicious friends have 
 occasionally fallen. At other times they are stumbled by 
 the sinful spirit of some professed adherents to such views 
 of the Gospel, who, while they have the word of God in 
 their mouth, are strangers, at least in a great measure, to 
 its sanctifying influence. It were well for such to consider, 
 that stumbling blocks, of a similar nature, occur among 
 those who, in words, arc one with themselves. They do 
 not deem this fact an objection against the truth of the 
 Gospel, when urged by an enemy of revelation; and 
 neither ought objections, from similar facts, to be held valid 
 in the other case. Such is the corruption of the human 
 heart, that the most sacred truths are fequently abused. 
 They were so when the apostles preached, and the same 
 evil may be expected now ; but still, where the Gospel is 
 
OF THE TRUTH. 135 
 
 really received, it will be " the power of God to salvation." 
 It doubtless becomes Christians to examine the Scriptures 
 with care, to bring every thing to this test, and to abide by 
 the principle, that, as the Spirit of God sanctifies the soul 
 by the truth, so, the more fully its true glory is known, the 
 greater will be its influence. Did such but see the truth 
 clearly ; did they cordially embrace it in its native sim- 
 plicity, and cast themselves wholly on the grace and work 
 of the Saviour, their disquietude would cease. When the 
 mind thus reposes on him, he is found to be a " refuge 
 from the storm, and a covert from the tempest ; as rivers 
 of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock 
 in a weary land." Then is the suitableness of the Gospel 
 felt, and then do we experience how ample and free is the 
 remedy which it provides. From slavish dread we pass 
 into a state of peace, of confidence, and of hope — God is 
 contemplated as an affectionate Father — the love of Christ 
 is seen, and its constraining power is felt — the law of 
 Heaven, the sum of which is love, is written upon the 
 heart — the soul is freed from the influence of this world, 
 and is, in a measure, moulded into conformity to the will 
 of its Lord. Rom. viii. 15 ; 2 Cor. v. 14 ; Gal. vi. 14. 
 
 In the same way in which the mind is at first changed, 
 must its progressive sanctification be promoted. As in vain 
 we struggle against the evils of our heart while keeping 
 aloof from the Saviour, so, after we have come to Christ, 
 we must continue to live by faith in him; for otherwise 
 there will be a poverty of motives, and our progress will 
 be stopped. When we find, in consequence of this, our 
 exertions fail, we are apt to be discouraged. But surely 
 it is not difficult to see the cause of our failure. If aware 
 of the claims of the divine law, we must be convinced that 
 
136 THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE 
 
 it is not the mere knowledge of duty — the mere dread of 
 evil consequences — the vague hope of happiness — or the 
 strength of our vows and resolutions — but more liberal 
 and powerful principles, that can give us the victory over 
 sin. Luke i. 74 ; 2 Cor. vii. 1 ; 1 John iv. 19. 
 
 Painful means arc often necessary to cure us of the 
 strange propensity we feel to depart from the faith of the 
 Gospel, even after we have been " taught of God." The 
 great remedy consists in keeping up the devout and steady 
 contemplation of the Saviour. It is his cross that enables 
 us to vanquish the world. There we have the confirma- 
 tion of the fact, that we are by nature children of wrath, 
 and can only be saved through his precious blood. There 
 we are taught that we are but pilgrims and strangers — that 
 tribulation wull assuredly mark our course below — but that 
 fellowship with Christ in his suftcrings will be followed by 
 fellowship with him in his glory. To a mind fixed with 
 intenseness and devotion on the cross and sufferings of the 
 Redeemer, earthly things will be stripped of their attrac- 
 tions. By this means "the world is crucified to us, and 
 we unto the world." From the cross we turn to the crown, 
 and the glories displayed on Calvary are connected with 
 the bright glories of Mount Sion. It is here that a pure 
 and spiritual taste is inspired and maintained. Here the 
 false and bewildering glare of all earthly things is dis- 
 tinctly laid open. No longer do they intoxicate us with 
 delusive joys, or fascinate us with their boasted glories. 
 The heart is attracted to heaven, where the Saviour dwells. 
 We feel the power of his resurrection in the confirmation 
 of our faith and our liope ; in its imparting to us a heavenly 
 temper ; in its supporting, animating, and purifying us un- 
 der all our trials. 
 
OF THE TRUTH. 1S7 
 
 In contemplating Christ, we fix on a pattern of perfec- 
 tion ; for in him we see how the Almighty himself would 
 live; nay, which is more, how he actually did live among 
 men. We cannot equal his comprehensive views of all 
 connected with this and the invisible world ; but we see his 
 estimate of both ; and, in proportion to our faith in him, 
 and our attachment to him, are we moulded in conformity 
 to his word and character. Our wisdom lies in entering 
 into all his views on every subject ; so as to esteem and 
 despise, to love and to hate, to pursue and to shun, in every 
 case, precisely as he did. Every principle of generosity 
 and of piety ought to influence us to follow him, and to 
 take up his cross ; submitting with cheerfulness, when ne- 
 cessary, to the loss of all that is dear to us. As we are 
 saved by free and everlasting love, we must blush at the 
 thought of our rebellion against such goodness, and feel 
 ourselves drawn to walk humbly with our God. Did Jesus 
 live a life of pain and sorrow, of affliction and toil, and can 
 we decline to follow him? Can we deem it too much that 
 the servant should be as the lord? — Far be it. Let our all 
 be given up to him who gave even himself for us. Never 
 let us indulge the unworthy thought, that too much can be 
 resigned for him who for us veiled his glory, and gave his 
 life for our redemption. Small, indeed, must be our great- 
 est returns of gratitude, when compared with the benefits 
 and with the sacrifices he made to procure them. Say, 
 then, is there not every thing in him to engage the heart, 
 and to fill it with all that can purify and satisfy it? 
 
 Allow me, my dear friend, in connection with this, to 
 
 make a few remarks on the importance of vigilance and 
 
 circumspection. Since the life of a Christian lies in the 
 
 Divine favor, and in the fellowship with Heaven, surely 
 12* 
 
138 THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE 
 
 every one who feels this must value the blessing, and will 
 be afraid of whatsoever has a tendency to deprive him of 
 it. This fear is quite different from distrust of the good- 
 ness or the promise of God. Ephes. vi. 10 — 20; 2 Pet. i. 
 4 — 11. His goodness appears, not in giving us happiness 
 independently of holiness, but by connecting it with fellow- 
 ship with himself. Indeed, in no other way, with rever- 
 ence be it said, can he bless us with true enjoyment. The 
 fear I speak of must be associated with love ; for, in pro- 
 portion as we love God, we must dread his frown, and, of 
 course, avoid whatever would displease him. It is also 
 connected with the enjoyment of happiness in spiritual 
 things ; for, the more happy we are in holy pursuits, the 
 more shall we be afraid of whatever would produce car- 
 nality of mind. It springs from a deep conviction of our 
 own weakness and depravity. Experience deepens this 
 conviction ; for often have we found ourselves broken down 
 at what we deemed our strongest point. The feeblest and 
 most trifling temptations have foiled us. Frequently do we 
 find that, from a state of comparative activity and enjoy- 
 ment in the service of God, we imperceptibly sink into a 
 state of coldness and sloth. Here the recorded failures of 
 the ancient worthies are highly instructive. 
 
 Such views of our danger will induce us to trust in the 
 Saviour, to lay firm hold of his promises, and to hold fast 
 the truth as our only hope ; and thus shall we be saved from 
 the fear which hath torment, and be enabled to endure un- 
 to the end. Of distrustful fear we have an awful exam- 
 ple in the Israelites, who, through unbelief, fell short of 
 the promised inheritance. Ilcb. iii. and iv. We fall into 
 the same error, when we refuse to take refuge in the favor 
 of God, and in his faithful promise — when we are afraid to 
 
OP THE TRUTH. 139 
 
 place unsuspecting confidence in the sacrifice of Christ — 
 and when we so fear, that we shall not obtain the victory 
 over sin, as to sink into despondency and consequent inac- 
 tivity. In this case we must be deeply sinning against 
 God ; and, to our own incalculable injurj^, rejecting the 
 merciful invitations of the Saviour. Such a state of mind 
 will lead, either to a course of self-righteous labor to make 
 our peace with God, or to abandon, in despair, all concern 
 about salvation. From this state of wretchedness the Re- 
 deemer came to deliver us. He imparts to us a filial spirit, 
 and under its influence, we are enabled to "cleanse our- 
 selves from all kinds of iniquity, and to perfect holiness in 
 the fear of God." 2 Cor. vii. 1. 
 
 It is an error to suppose that self-righteousness is the 
 only evil of which we are in danger ; for depravity ope- 
 rates in a vast variety of ways. From sin of every kind 
 the Lord delivers us by putting his fear in our hearts. We 
 greatly need this ; for, the moment we get self-confident, 
 and our exertions languish, we naturally and rapidly de- 
 cline into an earthly spirit. Constant watchfiilness, and a 
 perpetual effort against sin, must be kept up. The world 
 is around us and within us, and, to resist it, requires an 
 incessant conflict ; for the suspension of the struggle, even 
 one day, will add vigor to our enemy, and weaken our 
 strength. The recollection of our sinfulness, and liability 
 to be influenced by objects of sense together with our fee- 
 ble principles of resistance, ought to convince us that we 
 have no safety but in wakeful vigilance and constant exer- 
 tion. Hence, we ought to confide in God, who alone is 
 able to preserve us in all dangers. Confidence in him 
 ought ever to be united with the utmost diligence in the use 
 of the means of sanctification, and with the consideration 
 
140 THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE 
 
 of every motive that can influence the heart. The Sa- 
 viour tells us to be of good cheer, for he hath overcome 
 the world. He is our shepherd, and never shall we want. 
 He never slumbers nor sleeps. Like the shepherds of 
 Judea, he exercises a nightly, as well as a daily vigi- 
 lance over his flock. In him, then, let us put our trust, and 
 never let self-confidence for one moment prevail. Thus 
 did David sinij of his love and of his care ; when blcndini^, 
 with pious feelings of gratitude to the Redeemer, the fond 
 recollections of his youth, he gave vent, in the 23d Psalm, 
 to the delightful emotions of his heart. 
 
 Forget not that the Spirit of God is promised to all who 
 ask him, and that, through him, the Saviour strengthens us 
 for all things. In the day of trial and of conflict, when you 
 feel afllictions and evils, recollect that you have a High 
 priest, of the most kind and compassionate character. You 
 are not left alone, so that a sense of weakness need not dis- 
 courage you. He who hath called his people by his grace 
 will bear with them, meekly and patiently, all the way. 
 Even Moses failed in this. Numb. xi. 15 ; but our high 
 priest and leader will no more cast us ofl' than " a nursing 
 father" would cast away a child for its crying or froward- 
 ness. To raise still higher our views of his fond affection, 
 it is compared to the warmest attachment " of a mother." 
 Isaiah xlix. 15, IG, and Ixvi. 14. He was himself tried, 
 and knows, from experience, what aid and care we need. 
 Much, indeed, there is in us that is fitted to provoke him 
 to cast us ofC. Our frequent transgressions — the coldness 
 and instability of our hearts — the heavy aggravations of 
 our sins — all tend to illustrate that long suffering which 
 bears with us notwithstanding. There is not a day but we 
 sin against him ; yet he freely forgives, and richly blesses 
 
OF THE TRUTH. 141 
 
 US. What a mercy to have such an advocate with the 
 Father ! In looking afresh to his propitiatory blood, that 
 same mercy, which at first relieved us, again flows to us ; 
 and, in going to the ihrone of grace for all blessings, as 
 the reward of his work, and the fruit of his intercession, 
 we obtain the desire of our hearts. 
 
 I conclude with reminding you, that one great encour- 
 agement in the Christian course is the prospect of sharing 
 in the bliss and the glory of the Saviour. Was his spirit 
 cheered amidst all his distress by the bright prospect before 
 him, and shall not the prize set before us animate our 
 hearts ? A hope so exalted should induce us to yield our- 
 selves entirely to him, and to purify ourselves because he 
 is pure. Have we already the earnest of this blessedness; 
 and shall we grieve the Holy Spirit by indulging in sin, 
 and thus deprive ourselves of all true enjoyment 7 Living 
 in the daily and devout contemplation of the things of 
 God, we shall enjoy a happiness which will cure us of at- 
 tachment to the momentary and delusive pleasures of time, 
 and increase our desire for the pure and the unchanging 
 joys of the world of light. Let that love and holiness, 
 and peace be sought which satisfy the redeemed above ; 
 and even now we shall progressively increase in that bliss 
 which shall be enjoyed in perfection in the temple of God. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER VII. 
 
 HINTS ON THE MEANS AND HAPPY EFFECTS OF 
 ^ SANCTIFICATION. 
 
 The Gospel addresses men as sinners as well as sufierers — Its great 
 object is to save from sin — Is not an exhibition of benevolence only, 
 but of the whole character of God — This essential to the happi- 
 ness of man — Holiness and happiness inseparably connected — The 
 importance of the example of believers — The influence of the ex- 
 ample of Christ — Christian joy connected with repentance — Con- 
 clusion. 
 
 Mt hear FKIEXD, 
 
 In my last letter I called your attention to a general view 
 of the practical influence of the truth, and in this I shall 
 suggest to you some additional hints on the means and hap- 
 py cflccts of sanctification. We ought never to forget that 
 we are, not only sufTcrers, but also criminals. Wc need 
 not merely consolation, but deliverance from the power of 
 sin. This should be seriously pondered. There is a way 
 of speaking and acting in relation to the Gospel, wliich con- 
 verts it into little more than a proclamation of forgiveness, 
 and throws into the shade its principal glory. It is, indeed, 
 a glorious provision for the happiness of man ; but this ob- 
 ject it effects by delivering us not merely from the curse of 
 the law, but from our spiritual maladies, and conforming 
 us, in principle and deportment, to the pure and holy cha- 
 racter of God. Christian comfort is frequently represented 
 as if it consisted wholly in the peace and the enjoyment 
 which flow from the hope of escaping hell, and obtaining 
 heaven. Such comfort arises merely from the natural sat- 
 
OF SANCTIFICATION. 143 
 
 isfaction which must be felt in deliverance from pain, as 
 such, and the hope of some kind of enjoyment when obliged 
 to quit this world. But the fact is, true religion is happi- 
 ness in God. Holiness is itself happiness, and not merely 
 an accompaniment of it. It is as absurd to say, that we can 
 be truly happy without it, as to say we can be well with- 
 out health, or that we can be saved without salvation. 
 Christian sanctity, in spirit and in manners, is not merely 
 an evidence of salvation ; it is the very blessing itself. 
 
 We ought to remember, that the same thing which ex- 
 hibits the pardoning mercy of God, and delivers from the 
 fear of woe, is that which purifies the heart. Precious is 
 the recollection, that the cross which is the foundation of 
 our hope, is the means of humbling us ; and that the same 
 truth which imparts to us the joy of deliverance, fills with 
 that genuine sorrow and heartfelt contrition which lie at the 
 root of all true piety. Faith in the Gospel, and holiness of 
 character, are not merely two things lied together, so to 
 speak ; for the latter emanates from the former. The seed 
 in the ground and the plant above it are not united by a 
 mere external bond, but are connected by nature ; and so 
 it is with the seed of divine truth and Christian excellence. 
 What is our passage through this life, but a state of mo- 
 ral and spiritual discipline, by which the God of all grace is 
 training us up for the blessedness of heaven, by the gradual 
 acquisition of that holiness of character which is essential 
 to our happiness there ? The final result of the plan of mer- 
 cy is strikingly illustrative of its grand object. In the ce- 
 lestial world its work is accomplished, and there its nature 
 and its issue are fully manifested. The heavenly temple is 
 the seat of perfect bliss ; because there the principles, the 
 tastes, and the pursuits of the heart are all pure and spirit- 
 
144 THE MEANS AND HAPPY EFFECTS 
 
 ual. There the whole of the society arc one in judgment, 
 affection, and pursuit, with their God and Father, and with 
 their elder brother. In their social intercourse there is, in 
 consequence, the utmost harmony, and the purest affection. 
 There the genius of the Gospel is clearly seen — its spirit is 
 felt; and the most sacred and endearing union with God, 
 and with one another, is experienced to be its natural re- 
 sult, in all in whom it dwells. Happiness is found to be 
 proportioned to the degree in which the mind is positively 
 conformed to Jehovah, who is seen to be the perfection of 
 beauty, the source and the centre of all excellence and 
 blessedness. 
 
 Were the redeemed in heaven to be told that, by trans- 
 gressing the divine law, their happiness would be increased; 
 and that, in being freed from its yoke, their pleasures would 
 be multiplied ; they would be struck with the ignorance 
 which could dictate the suggestion — would, from the heart, 
 pity it — and would at once repel it, with holy indignation, as 
 impious in the extreme. With the utmost energy they would 
 exclaim, that sin was in itself wretchedness, as well as the 
 just cause of the Divine indignation. With holy rapture 
 they would declare that obedience and devotion formed the 
 very element of genuine bliss ; and that conformity to the 
 will of God was the very spring of all their exalted and un- 
 utterable joys. It were in vain to address to them the lan- 
 guage which has sometimes been virtually used on earth, 
 namely, that the love of God, being the love of one who is 
 unchangeable, is, of course, immutable ; and that, therefore, 
 it does not depend on otedience, but may be enjoyed inde- 
 pendently of it. In this way have many reasoned, and so 
 abused and distorted the Gospel of peace. 
 
 The grace of God, however, is very difTerent from capri- 
 
OF SANCTIFICATION. 145 
 
 cious fondness. There was nothing, indeed, in us to at- 
 tract the divine complacency ; but, on the contrary, every 
 thing fitted to excite the divine abhorrence. — Mere wretch- 
 edness called forth the pity and the generous compassion of 
 God; and, influenced by pure commiseration, he gave his 
 Son to be a sin offering for us. — On him we had no claim ; 
 he loved us, " because he loved us ;" and in all he was self- 
 moved. But, still, to say that there was no goodness in us 
 to excite the divine sympathy, and to say it was altogether 
 without reason, only so it was, and so it must be, are very 
 different indeed. The grace of God ought not to be viewed 
 as a mere declaration of the divine goodness, on the ground 
 of which we are warranted to say, "God has revealed his 
 love to me — I am the special charge of his providence — 
 nothing can hurt me — and, of course, I may live as I please, 
 for, do what I may, all shall be well with me at last." 
 Should such a principle govern the mind ; instead of being 
 conformed to the divine character, and walking humbly 
 with God, the soul would be the seat of all that is proud 
 and rebellious. 
 
 The divine glory and our complete salvation are in the 
 plan of mercy inseparably connected. We cannot, in a 
 proper sense, seek the latter more than the former; for 
 what is salvation but a participation of the divine nature ? 
 Heaven is not merely something without us, it is the union 
 of the heart with God ; and our happiness is not simply 
 received from his hand, so to say ; it is happiness in Him, 
 being the enjoyment of Himself. 
 
 It is not a simple declaration of the divine love that 
 changes and gladdens the heart. That which renovates 
 and blesses it, is the exhibition of the divine love, in con- 
 nection with all and each of the divine excellencies, which 
 13 
 
146 THE MEANS AND HAPPY EFFECTS 
 
 is given in the Gospel. — In the plan of redemption through 
 Christ, there is a manifestation of the divine character, 
 which exalts the whole of the divine perfections, so as to 
 produce in our minds the most full and delightful compla- 
 cency in the united glories of Jehovah. His love appears 
 in the most dignified form, infinitely removed from every 
 thing like weakness, and associated with all that is venera- 
 ble. Here purity, as well as love; justice as well as mercy; 
 holiness, as well as grace ; and truth, as well as good- 
 ness, are displayed in their unsullied glory. This mani- 
 festation of love is quite different from that vague view of 
 it to which I have just referred ; and which, whatever flash- 
 es of selfish gladness and spurious gratitude it may call 
 forth, can never excite the love of the divine holiness and 
 rectitude, nor command the high esteem and profound ven- 
 eration of the heart. Never can such a false view of the 
 divine love produce the union of the utmost confidence, and 
 the deepest humility — of the warmest gratitude, and godly 
 fear. There may be a gleam of comfort enjoyed from a 
 persuasion hastily adopted, that sin is forgiven, while there 
 is no sense of the glory of that medium through which the 
 blessing is promised. In such a case, the individual thinks 
 only of safety, and cares not though, in order to the bestow- 
 ment of pardon, the divine law were relaxed, and the glory 
 of heaven dishonored. To a genuine Christian, again, 
 the salvation of Christ is endeared, because it is obtained 
 in a way so honorable to the character and government 
 of God. 
 
 The mere declaration of the divine benevolence, then, 
 cannot impart genuine happiness — there must, in order to 
 this, be a display of the whole character of God. His grace 
 is not to be viewed as an end to which every thing else La 
 
OF SANCTIFICATION. 147 
 
 to be made subservient ; but, on the contrary, as a means 
 to an end. It must be viewed as it is united in the Gospel, 
 with all of the divine excellencies ; and as united with them 
 for the very purpose of bringing the soul back to God, and 
 producing in us corresponding principles. When this stu- 
 pendous manifestation of the divine glories is perceived and 
 felt, our spirits come to be in union with the will of God — 
 our souls re-echo the languao-e of his heart — and we sound 
 the praises of his matchless excellencies. We thus know, 
 from experience, that his service is perfect freedom ; and 
 that he is the happiest and most honored worshipper who is 
 most like to the God of salvation. Sin comes to be associ- 
 ated in our minds with the murder of the Son of God — with 
 the compassion of him who did not spare him — and with 
 the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. We are led 
 to seek, not an undefined happiness, but blessedness, result- 
 ing from the exercise of those hallowed principles which 
 adorned the character of our best and tried benefactor. We 
 already find it to be our highest bliss below to enjoy a fore- 
 taste of this exalted joy. In proportion as we participate 
 in the feelings and the exercises of the man of sorrows, do 
 we grow in meetness for the company of those pure and 
 exalted spirits who encircle the divine throne. Even now 
 we are citizens of the heavenly city ; we are members of 
 the great family named of the God and Father of Christ, 
 and have an interest in all their enjoyments. The Gospel 
 hath drawn aside the veil which covers the world of glory, 
 and calls upon us, as characters whose citizenship is in 
 heaven, to unite with the heavenly angels, the ancient wor- 
 thies, and with all the company of heaven, in praising Him 
 who sitteth upon the throne, and in adoring the Lamb. 
 Is this, indeed, our high privilege; and shall we be indif- 
 
148 THE 3IEANS AND HAPPY EFFECTS . 
 
 ferent to such bliss, and to the pleasures, — the unspeakable 
 pleasures — connected with access into the holiest of all? 
 In the first instance, there must be much of a sense of deliv- 
 erance and safety in our happiness, and in the spring of our 
 love ; for the happiness and the love of ci;eatures in our 
 guilty circumstances, must originate in a sense of the divine 
 goodness. But if genuine, our love to God for his good- 
 ness, and our joy in the sense of security, will produce love 
 to him on account of the glory of his character, as dis- 
 played in the Gospel, and delight in himself as the spring 
 of our happiness. The blessings of his grace lead us to 
 their source, and we prize the giver more than his gifts, for 
 the latter come to be valued chiefly as tokens of the love of 
 him who is the supreme object of our delight. 
 
 It is in this way that the love of God is revealed in the 
 happiness of men. It is thus that we, who at first were 
 but the objects of pity and compassion, come, by a renova- 
 tion of mind, to be the objects of complacency. When 
 first we found mercy, we admired the free and tender com- 
 j)assion of God, — the generous and disinterested love of 
 the Redeemer ; and, while we adored the divine goodness, 
 it was the grief of our hearts that he who had thus pitied 
 and compassionately relieved us, could not view us with 
 complacency, as characters amiable in his sight. The de- 
 sire of our hearts was, to resemble him who loved us, and 
 gave himself for us. Gratitude excited this desire— admi- 
 ration and esteem excited it. The question was put, " How 
 shall I express the feelings of my heart for mercies so 
 great, and still flowing towards me?" In reply, we were 
 directed to the precepts of the Saviour : These enjoin no- 
 thing but what he himself exemplified. Obedience to them 
 is the same as conformity to his character. The grateful 
 
OF SANCTIFICATION. 149 
 
 and holy desires of the heart are thus met and satisfied. 
 In proportion as these sacred principles are cherished, is 
 the service of Christ found to be its own reward. The 
 mind is not satisfied with the forgiveness of sin and the 
 hope of heaven, but it pants afi:er bliss, in conformity to 
 the will and character of the Saviour : Indeed, no mind 
 that is not fixed on spiritual things as its nourishment can 
 be happy. How delightfully does David, in the 119th 
 Psalm, sing of his blessedness in studying and keeping the 
 law of his God. In his eyes, not all the boasted wealth 
 and grandeur of the world was once to be compared with 
 this. Never let the sophistry of a foolish heart and a vain 
 world, beguile us out of this happiness. Let every faculty 
 be roused into exertion ; and let our desire and our aim be, 
 that every revolving day of this fleeting scene may exhibit 
 our growing conformity to the will of our Lord. Let his 
 transforming character engage our hearts ; and, in each 
 successive period here, let it inscribe on us a new feature 
 of the heavenly worshippers, who see his glory, and are 
 assimilated to him. It is thus that we shall attain the great 
 object of our ambition, which is full conformity to the Re- 
 deemer ; and that we shall attract the full complacency of 
 his heart. 
 
 Delight in being the objects of his approbation and com- 
 placency is far from being a self-righteous satisfaction : It 
 is the delight of one who, having had much forgiven, loves 
 much : It is the happiness of a heart anxious to express 
 gratitude and esteem, and transported in having had an op- 
 portunity of giving vent to its emotions, in ways which meet 
 the wishes and the taste of the much loved and respected 
 benefactor : It is the bliss of a mind, fired by love for 
 
 excellence, and happy in being in some measure assimilated 
 13* 
 
150 THE MEANS AND HAPPY EFFECTS 
 
 to its glory : It is the transport of one who, while he rests 
 his all for eternity on the cross of Christ, listens to the 
 precious promise of the everlasting covenant, " I will put 
 my laws in their minds, and write them in their hearts ;" 
 and trusts not in his own strength, but in the grace of God. 
 Such a character sees and rejoices that the great design of 
 God, in redeeming the guilty from the curse, is to conform 
 them to liimself ; and so to bless them with that exalted 
 and hallowed enjoyment which results from fellowship 
 with him. 
 
 The justification of Abraham was an instance of free 
 mercy, and of pure compassion ; but his blessedness ad- 
 vanced as he became " the friend of God :" It was in that 
 likeness to God — that union of heart with him — that sweet 
 fellowship with him — that entire confidence in him, which 
 so eminently distinguished him — and in that complacency 
 and delightful apj)robation with which Jehovah himself re- 
 garded him, that his blessedness was completed. The di- 
 vine love to Christians is still, in the first instance, pure 
 compassion ; but the great object of the divine pity is, that 
 they may be brought to happiness in the enjoyment of holy 
 fellowship with God. The stupendous display of the di- 
 vine perfections in the cross of Christ has all the force of a 
 pattern to guide, and a motive to inspire. With this in our 
 eye, obedience becomes easy. We do not dread merely 
 the consequences of sin ; we hate it, and revolt from it, as 
 combining all that is base — all that is opposed to worth — 
 and all that is incompatible with the feelings of gratitude 
 and aficction. This raises us above the fear of man ; en- 
 dears to us the love of the Saviour ; cherishes the love of 
 him in the heart ; and assimilates us to the glorious charac- 
 er of God. When illuminated by the brightness of this 
 
OF SANCTIFICATION. 151 
 
 glory, a spiritual taste is acquired — divine things are re- 
 lished — they are experienced to be in themselves truly 
 good and satisfying : they are felt to be the source of de- 
 lightful rest ; and all of them being traced to God, fellow- 
 ship with him is ardently sought, and carefully kept up. 
 
 The revelation of the divine glory is the medicine, the 
 virtue of which is made manifest, in its conquest of the 
 corrupt inclinations of the heart ; in its curing the disorders 
 in the affections ; subduing the hostility of the mind to God; 
 and bringing our whole nature into subjection to his will. 
 When this influence predominates (alas ! that it so little 
 does so,) it attracts the heart of the sinner to the Saviour — 
 it charms his soul — it wins his affections — and becomes a 
 bond of union the most endearing, and the most firm. The 
 mind becomes assimilated to its Lord, who fills every heart 
 in which he dwells, with the very spirit and disposition of 
 heaven. This work, indeed, is very imperfect here ; but 
 it .will be perfected hereafler. Even now, it is proportioned 
 to the measure of our faith. 
 
 We accordingly see a very high degree of it in the an- 
 cient worthies, and in the primitive Christians. Time would 
 fail, were I to attempt to point to you the many passages 
 of Scripture, in which we are furnished with examples of 
 the power of the Gospel. Now, the divine word is the 
 same to us that it was to those who, through faith and 
 patience, are inheriting the promises. We have the same 
 Saviour ; his love is as warm now as when he suffered on 
 the tree ; his promises are immutable ; his grace cannot 
 fail ; and his mercy endureth for ever. We have the same 
 free access to the throne of grace that was granted to them ; 
 and we are assured, that whatsoever we ask in the name 
 of Christ we shall receive. 
 
152 THE MEANS AND HAPPY EFFECTS 
 
 With these privileges before us, let us, my dear friend, 
 think of the multitudes already before the throne, who have 
 been brought "out of great tribulation, and have washed 
 their robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
 Lamb." Let us contemplate the faith and patience of the 
 approved servants of God, of whom a great cloud is ex- 
 hibited to us in Scripture. This is not inconsistent with 
 the constant contemplation of the Saviour, for the Scrip- 
 tures have united the consideration of his character with 
 that of his people. Their example will serve to encourage 
 us to form our character on his ; for their success mani- 
 fests the practicability of a considerable degree of likeness 
 to it, and is fitted to exite us to emulate those who derived 
 all their excellence from that very grace which is freely ex- 
 hibited to ourselves. There are but few that attain the 
 height at which they aim, and hence men, in every case, 
 ouficht to take a high standard. It will be well for us to 
 study the characters of those who have been most distin- 
 guished lights in the Church of Christ. Let us also study 
 the excellencies of the most eminent of our departed Chris- 
 tian friends, and the most consistent living characters. 
 There are numbers who, though upon the whole truly re- 
 ligious, can hardly be taken as examples : There are others 
 who seem as if they lived on the borders of the two king- 
 doms — the kingdom of Christ, and that of Satan. They 
 seek to unite the service of God with that of Mammon — 
 an attempt at once vain and criminal. There are not a 
 few of sweet dispositions, amiable tempers, and benevolent 
 deportment, who arc strangers to the power of religion. 
 Its forms they observe ; they are willing to converse on it ; 
 they do so with a degree of seriousness, and cannot be said 
 to liavQ violent prejudices against it ; while yet they have 
 
OF SANCTIFICATION. 153 
 
 not in truth, been imbued with its spirit. Such we ought 
 to treat with the greatest kindness and affection, manifest- 
 ing towards them the meekness and gentleness of Christ. 
 They are not, however, patterns for our imitation. In cer- 
 tain respects, indeed, they may, — for not seldom do such 
 act a part which may put some who are genuine Christians, 
 but possessed of what is termed a bad natural temper, very 
 much to the blush. Besides, whatever in any person is in 
 itself good and praise-worthy, ought to be imitated. Phil, 
 iv. 8. But I speak of the duty of taking for our pattern, 
 those who are, or were, the most distinguished for excel- 
 lence — the brightest examples of piety — persons by whom 
 we may be elevated to a more devotional spirit — a more 
 heavenly state of mind — and a more holy conversation. 
 We stand in need of every excitement which can be had 
 in the stimulating influence of fervent piety, and active ex- 
 ertion — in the instructive and edifying example of a spirit- 
 ual mind — and in the consoling and animating display of 
 patient and happy suffering. Such characters shed a light 
 on our path to glory. 
 
 [t is our happiness to have many such set before us in 
 Scripture ; and in following them we cannot be misled, be- 
 cause their character stands approved of Heaven. But in 
 as far as others now resemble them, and in as far as our 
 departed friends and relatives were like to them, we are 
 called to imitate them also. The emulations to be culti- 
 vated among Christians are altogether different from the 
 unlovely rivalries which obtain in the world. It is for us 
 to aim at being like in real excellence to those who have 
 finished their course, and to strive who shall be most like 
 those whose characters now most exemplify the character 
 of Christ. The men of the world dwell upon great earthly 
 
154 THE MEANS AND HAPPY EFFECTS 
 
 characters, to resemble whom they propose as their highest 
 ambition. Christians ought to learn from this, and so hal- 
 low the principles which others abuse or carry not to their 
 proper objects. If the irreligious avail themselves of the 
 numbers who wage war with God, to harden their hearts 
 and stifle the voice of conscience ; shall not we be animated 
 by the example of the many who have been the warm and 
 the devoted servants of the Saviour? Let their zeal and 
 their activity put us to the blush, cause us to shake off sloth, 
 and with renewed ardor to follow the Redeemer. When 
 we think of the departed, shall we not bless God on their 
 behalf? While we recollect their death, and stand by their 
 graves, let us seek to participate in their triumph, and to 
 unite in their song. They served God here, and now they 
 are with him. They and we are not parted for ever. 
 When we bade them farewell, and they replied in the same 
 accents, it was not bidding each other an eternal adieu — it 
 was in the delightful hope of meeting again where no fare- 
 wells are known — where the pang of separation shall never 
 be felt. Now, it is by following them " in faith and in 
 patience," that this hope is realized. 
 
 This spirit of imitation accords with the tenor of revela- 
 tion; in which we are taught, not by words only, but in a 
 particular manner by actions and events. There is not a 
 temper, disposition, or action, required in Scripture, that is 
 not realized before us in the history of the saints. The 
 whole is seen in one view in the wondrous character of 
 Christ. Here there is no flaw — no dancer of makinsj a 
 failing for an excellence, or evil for good. It is only so far 
 as others resem])le him that they are to be imitated. Such 
 is human nature, that we need, and are greatly profited 
 by, the example of fellow creatures ; but the Saviour claims 
 
OF SANCTIFICATION. 155 
 
 our special attention, and with him all others should be 
 compared. Indeed, one great benefit derived from the ex- 
 ample of fellow Christians arises from the opportunity and 
 means it affords us of comparing the Saviour with them, 
 and so bringing him more directly before us, and impress- 
 ing his character more upon our hearts. He is himself, 
 then, the great pattern of all excellence; and he it is whom 
 we ought steadily and constantly to follow. To him obe- 
 dience, at once implicit and enlightened, may be yielded. 
 In him we see every excellence, both in doing and in suf- 
 fering — every holy temper and disposition — every deed of 
 piety and benevolence, — all flowing from the most sacred 
 and exalted love to God, and the warmest love to man. 
 His mind ever rises above the present scene : There is a 
 constant abstraction and elevation of soul marking the most 
 heavenly temper of heart. In a word, from first to last — 
 throughout the whole of his trying course of sorrow and 
 exertion, and eminently at the final consummation of his 
 woes — he was all that he taught. 
 
 This is our model : To this character it is the wise and 
 gracious appointment of our Father that we should be con- 
 formed. It is not mere freedom from flagrant sin, nor even 
 a life irreproachable in the eyes of mankind, that consti- 
 tutes conformity to the Saviour. Even should this be ac- 
 companied by many amiable and beneficial qualities, and 
 much that is in itself good and praiseworthy ; still, if we 
 have nothing more, we shall fall short of exemplifying the 
 character of him in whom God delighteth. To be like to 
 him, it behoves us to copy his whole character — to imbibe 
 his principles and views — to judge as he did of God, of 
 the divine law, of sin and holiness, of this world and that 
 which is to come, of the true dignity and happiness of man, 
 
156 THE 3IEANS AND IIAPPY EFFECTS 
 
 and of the whole plan of redemption : To be like him is to 
 feel that God is in the right, and that we are in the wrong ; 
 and that had he left us to our desert, we had righteously 
 perished in our sins: It is to imitate him in his love to God, 
 his zeal for his glory, his attachment to his cause, his rea- 
 diness to do and to suffer whatever he required, and to feel 
 with him that the loss of the divine favor is the ruin of 
 happiness; It is to imitate him in his love to his bitterest 
 enemies, and in his patient and meek resignation in the 
 midst of the heaviest pains, injuries, and reproaches : It is 
 to copy his generous disregard of personal ease and enjoy- 
 ment, and his constant kindness to others, even while he 
 himself was in a paroxysm of distress. It is like him to 
 be determined and firm in adhering to truth, and persever- 
 ing in the path of duty, however great and many the diffi- 
 culties which we may have to encounter : It appears in 
 humbly and gratefully acquiescing in the plan of of redemp- 
 tion through his blood ; and in glorying in it as an exhibi- 
 tion of the divine character, which reflects the highest 
 honor on God, while it provides for the salvation of sin- 
 ners : In a word, it is like him to be of one mind with 
 God ; and so to drink at the fountain-head of enjoyment — 
 to participate in the blessedness of the Almighty himself, 
 and to have every power of the soul transformed into his 
 likeness. Say, then, are not conformity to the Redeemer 
 and genuine happiness inseparably connected? Arc they 
 not in many respects the very same thing? 
 
 I shall refer you, my dear friend, once more to the im- 
 portant consideration, that it is not the mere declaration of 
 the divine benevolence that is the cause of happiness. Hap- 
 piness is imparted not merely by securing the sinner from 
 danger, but by renovating his mind, and imbuing it with 
 
OF sanctification. 157 
 
 the sacred principles of the Saviour's character. The joy 
 of a Christian is not that of a rebel, who, through the 
 weakness, the partiality, or the mistaken affection of his 
 king, has obtained a pardon and escaped punishment; and 
 who, having got beyond the reach of his prince, can in se- 
 curity add, without fear, one act of continued rebellion to 
 another. Far be it. It is the happiness of a rebel, who 
 not only has been freely pardoned, but is cordially recon- 
 ciled to his kind and righteous sovereign ; who is brought 
 to see the enormity of his crimes — is deeply humbled, and 
 filled with heart-felt contrition because of them ; and who, 
 while he bitterly repents of his folly, and is ashamed of 
 his baseness and ingratitude, possesses peace which pass- 
 eth understanding; and so is overcome by the wondrous 
 and free favor of his much injured prince. Such a cha- 
 racter admires that medium through which he can confide 
 in his sovereign as a father, and approach him with free- 
 dom. Though forgiven of his king, he cannot forgive 
 himself: His mind is in union with the will of his Lord ; 
 and his heart is melted and subdued by that unmerited kind- 
 ness and grace, which, in the work of propitiation, are 
 joined with the most sacred regard to principle and excel- 
 lence : His heart is anxious to be found in the path of duty 
 and obedience, that he may at once express his love, grat- 
 itude, and esteem ; and enjoy that happiness which he now 
 sees to be inseparably connected with conscientiously keep- 
 ing his place as a subject. 
 
 Such is the medicinal effect of that display of the divine 
 character which is made in the Gospel. For the very pur- 
 pose of thus curing our spiritual maladies was the love of 
 Heaven thus wondrously manifested. The doctrine of jus- 
 tification by faith is the moral means of effecting our con- 
 14 ^ 
 
158 THE MEANS AND HAPPY EFFECTS, ETC. 
 
 formity to the holy and spiritual character of God, — or, in 
 other words, our sanctification. The man who abuses the 
 doctrine of divine grace, by making it an encouragement 
 to sin, is totally a stranger to its true nature. What ho 
 calls the grace of God is quite a different thing from what 
 the Scriptures mean by it. But though the truth be thus 
 perverted and abused, never let us become suspicious of it. 
 Still it is the power of God to salvation, because it exhibits 
 the only effectual motives to holiness, and the only efficient 
 means of implanting and cherishing all spiritual tempers 
 and dispositions. That which it aims at, is not the mere 
 exterior decency and correctness of deportment which is 
 often put for the whole of morality, and is the summit of 
 mere human attainments : Its object is to subject the whole 
 man to God, and to assimilate his nature to the divine. 
 
 Surely, when we contemplate the character of the Friend 
 of sinners — when we listen to him, as, from his cross, he be- 
 seeches us to abandon sin, as the ruin of our happiness — 
 when we hear him entreating us to consider his many and 
 complicated woes, and learn from them the evil and the 
 tremendous consequences of transgression — when we turn 
 to his glory, and see the source of his present blessedness 
 — .when we hear the applauding voice of his Father, and 
 then hearken to his gracious invitations and earnest entrea- 
 ties to come and freely partake of the blessings of salvation ; 
 we must feel impelled by an influence, at once sweet and 
 commanding, to forsake all and follow him. 
 
 May your mind ever be imbued with the high and hal- 
 lowed prinriplns of the Saviour, and ever feel their elevat- 
 
 'ui'i and purifying influence. 
 
 I remain, &:c. 
 
LETTER VIII. 
 
 ON THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 The perseverance of believers, a doctrine of Scripture — The abuse 
 of the doctrine noticed — The design, and the proper use of it — 
 Unscriptural views that have been taken of it — Is illustrated by 
 what happened on Paul's voyage to Rome — The nature of filial 
 fear, a^ connected v^'ith it — The danger of presumption — The use 
 of Scripture examples of declension — The connection in which 
 the doctrine is taught in Scripture — Perseverance, not simply the 
 connection of two distinct things, but a continuance in a particu- 
 lar course — The necessity of connecting the means and the end 
 exemplified by the Apostels — Conclusion. 
 
 M 
 
 T DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 I SHALL now, agreeably to your request, write you some 
 remarks on the subject of the final perseverance of Chris- 
 tians. This is a doctrine of great importance ; and mis- 
 takes regarding it have occasioned no small perplexity to 
 many. Without further preamble, I beg your attention to 
 the express promise of the Saviour, that such as believe in 
 him shall never finally perish. "My sheep," says he, 
 " know my voice, and I know them, and they follow me : 
 and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never 
 perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand." 
 Now, faith in Christ, considered in a general view, includes 
 faith in his promises, as well as in his sacrifice. You will 
 perceive that this promise is one of the first importance ; 
 and that confidence in it, as well as in his atonement, is the 
 duty and the privilege of his people. The Apostle Paul 
 accordingly comforts the Christians at Corinth by the con- 
 sideration, that " God would confirm them to the end, that 
 
160 THE TERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 they might be blameless in the day of Christ ;" or, in other 
 words, would preserve them in the faith and obedience of 
 the truth. He expresses his confidence in the Philippians, 
 on the evidence of their patience and Christian diligence, 
 as believers of the Gospel ; and his happiness that he, who, 
 of his sovereign love, and for his own glory, "had begun 
 in them the good work, would perfect it until the day of 
 Jesus Christ." Peter likewise addresses Christians as chil- 
 dren, " kept by the power of God through faith unto salva- 
 tion." These, and such like passages of Scripture, declare 
 that what God has of his free favor begun in believers, 
 he will preserve and finish: They include a promise, that 
 he will richly impart to them the gracious influence of his 
 Spirit, to subdue the evils of the heart, to keep them from 
 fulling, and to secure their everlasting bliss. 
 
 The intercession of Christ, on the night in which he was 
 betrayed, includes a prayer, that " all who believe the word 
 of the Apostles" may become partakers of that blessed union 
 in judgment, affection, and pursuit, which subsists between 
 the Father and the Son — a prayer that his people may be 
 kept in the name of his Father, or in the faith of the divine 
 character, as revealed in the Gospel, — a prayer for their 
 complete sanctification through the truth, — and a prayer 
 for their final glorification in the heavenly temple. Now, 
 his intercession is always prevalent ; and, if so, Christians 
 must participate in all for which he prays in their behalf. 
 Precious is the privilege of such an advocate. 
 
 I am aware that this doctrine has been abused ; but there 
 is a wide difference between a doctrine which in itself, and 
 from its very nature, is calculated to do harm, and one 
 which is only the occasion of injury in consequence of be- 
 ing abused by the depraved principles of man. When mis- 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 1 61 
 
 understood, or perverted, it is in fact made a new doctrine, 
 essentially different from what it is in reality. You will 
 perceive that, in such a case, it is not the doctrine in its 
 true nature that does harm, but as distorted and completely 
 changed. There is not a doctrine in Scripture which has 
 not been more abused by the hypocrite or the licentious : 
 but are we on this to give them up 1 Far be it. Let us 
 rather study more closely their native glory, and great de- 
 sign, as exhibited in the Gospel; and hold them fast, as of 
 practical and salutary use. 
 
 I wish you, my dear friend, particularly to consider that 
 the doctrine in question is designed to animate and encou- 
 rage the heart to cleave to the Redeemer ; to continue in 
 the faith and hope of the truth, to endure afflictions and per- 
 secution with patience, and to wait, in the exercise of Chris- 
 tian obedience, for the coming of our Lord. In our journey 
 heavenward we have to encounter many enemies and diffi- 
 culties ; but we are assured that our Lord will be with us to 
 watch over, to guide, and to defend us — that he will pro- 
 vide for us all that we need, — and that he will secure our 
 admission to the heavenly temple at the end of our course. 
 What so animating to the Christian soldier as the promise 
 of a final and decisive victory] Such a promise, you will 
 easily see, can only be designed to encourage the hearts of 
 the faithful ; and what, then, can a traitor have to do with 
 it ? The persuasion that the aid of Heaven will be abun- 
 dantly and seasonably afforded, is well fitted to raise us 
 above the fear of man, and of all opposition ; because it leads 
 us to repose in the power, the wisdom, and the goodness 
 of him who hath said, that he will never leave us nor for- 
 sake us. The promises, threatenings, and exhortations of 
 
 the word of God are intended to be powerful means of guard- 
 *14 
 
162 THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 ing against apostacy, and stimulating to that perseverance 
 to which they relate. We are not, and cannot 1)C com- 
 pelled to persevere ; but, under the influence of the Divine 
 Spirit, the word of God excites us to continue to the end, in 
 the hope of eternal life. In the midst of all your fears, then, 
 look to him who hath promised to be with you ; and take 
 encouragement from the grace and the faithfulness of his 
 character. Be animated by his word to be diligent in obe- 
 dience, and to meet with humble boldness the difficulties of 
 your course. Remember that, when the Israelites heard 
 of walled cities and of giants in the land of promise, they sin- 
 ned in not looking simply to the promise of their God, and 
 so giving way to the most distrustful and desponding fears. 
 It was for them to turn from all the difficulties of which 
 they heard (even granting all of them to exist) to the con- 
 templation of the power, the truth, and the goodness of the 
 God of Abraham, who had pledged his word, yea his oath, 
 that his seed should inherit Canaan. Caleb and Joshua 
 were men of another spirit : Their language was expressive 
 of that confidence in God which destroys all tormenting 
 fear of opposition, and stimulates to exertion. Whatever 
 leads us to simplicity of reliance on the Saviour, has indeed 
 been blessed to us. It becomes us to learn from all events ; 
 and to seek that every thing may cause us to cling with 
 greater earnestness to him who loved us, and gave himself 
 for us. 
 
 However much you feel afraid in consequence of the fre- 
 quent risings of corruption within, and from aflhctions and 
 temptations from without, ever commit yourself to the pow- 
 er, the faithfulness, and the abundant grace of the Redeem- 
 er. Whatever awe may strike you as you think of death, 
 judgment and eternity cleave with greater firmness to the 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIAXS. 163 
 
 finished work of Christ ; and rest upon it your all. In liv- 
 ing by faith in his atonement, you will find that the delight- 
 ful persuasion of his ability and willingness to keep that 
 committed to him against that day, and the conviction that 
 your labor in his work " shall not be in vain," instead of 
 leading you to indulge in sloth, will stimulate you to abound 
 in all holy and self-denying exertions. In contemplating 
 the immutability of the love of God, and reflecting on the 
 delightful fact that he hath pledged his being and perfec- 
 tions for our safety and our bliss, you will find your love 
 to him powerfully excited, and your heart bound by every 
 tie to be his wholly and for ever. Never forget that salva- 
 tion must be traced to the free grace of God, and must be 
 carried on and perfected by it. Were it either begun or 
 maintained by the unaided efforts of man, it were indeed a 
 hopeless and a heartless work. Despair in that case were 
 certainly the natural effect of a proper view of our charac- 
 ter and danger. But blessed be God that the work is his 
 own. Would it not be to the dishonor of his name, were 
 he to fail in the performance of his promise, or in the exe- 
 cution of his plan? The salvation of his people is an object 
 ever before him : On the accomplishment of it he is ever 
 intent ; and never can he cease to carry it forward to per- 
 fection. 
 
 1 have adverted to the abuse of this doctrine ; and shall 
 now beg your attention to some very unscriptural views 
 which have been given of it. Men have virtually been 
 taught, that such as have at any time had reason to think 
 themselves Christians, will continue to enjoy all the bless- 
 ings of redemption, independently of their continuing in the 
 faith and the obedience of the Gospel. Hence numbers have 
 been led to say, that they " shall have peace though they 
 
164 THE PERSEVERAXCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 walk after the imagination of their own hearts." Among 
 professors of religion, there lurks much of this unhallowed 
 spirit. It proceeds upon the principle, that pardon is the 
 great thing in salvation : and that deliverance from hell is 
 the sum of redemption. Such sentiments arc most unwar- 
 rantable and dangerous. Eternal life is never represented 
 in Scripture as merely a future blessing. It is enjoyed even 
 in the present state; and in the discourses of Christ, the 
 promise of it precedes that of a blessed resurrection. " This 
 is," says he, "the will of him that sent me, that everyone 
 which sccth the Son and bclieveth on him, may have ever- 
 lasting life ; and I will raise him up at the last day." And 
 again, "Whoso cateth my flesh and drinketh my blood 
 hatli eternal life ; and I will raise him up at the last day." 
 The great thing meant by salvation in Scripture, is deliver- 
 ance from sin itself, and restoration to the image of God. 
 Instead of occupying but a subordinate place, this forms 
 the very highest part of redemption. It is the ultimate end; 
 and the doctrine of justification by grace forms the moral 
 means towards the attainment of this consumation. 
 
 The error 1 now refer to is most flattering to the human 
 mind. From a natural unwillingness to give up the hope 
 of happiness in heaven, men arc easily induced, even when 
 there is nothing in thx^ir present dispositions or deportment 
 in accordance with the will of God, to look for relief to 
 what they have formerly felt. They endeavor to persuade 
 themselves that they were then in a state of acceptance with 
 God ; and that, therefore, according to their views of the 
 doctrine of perseverance, they never can perish, — even 
 should they at present be slothful, and indulging in sin. 
 Now, this is manifestly absurd in itself, as well as at vari- 
 ance with Scripture. What is salvation but the deliver- 
 
THE PERSEVECANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 165 
 
 ance of the soul from sin 1 and how then can a person be a 
 partaker of it while under the government of iniquity? The 
 thing is utterly impossible. It is like saying that a man is in 
 health who is at the very moment the subject of a mortal 
 malady. 
 
 The error of which I now speak, is the very evil against 
 which we are warned in the solemn admonitions contained 
 in the tenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians. 
 We are there admonished not to trust in past attainments 
 and enjoyments, even granting them to be genuine ; and 
 are taught that any use made of the doctrine in question, 
 besides that of an encouragement to continued and self-de- 
 nying obedience, is not faith in God but unfounded pre- 
 sumption. The Saviour hath said, that his people shall 
 not perish ; but they are preserved by his power throvgh, 
 and not independently of faith. 1 Peter i. 5. They per- 
 severe by his not permitting "their faith to fail." The 
 promise is not that such as believe once, or for a time only, 
 shall be saved. On the contrary, while it is declared that 
 "the just shall live by faith," it is also said, " but if any 
 man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." 
 Heb. X. 38. Just here means justified, as is evident from 
 the application of the passage to the doctrine of justifica- 
 tion, Rom. i. 17; Gal. iii. 11, 12 ; and the meaning is, that 
 the justified are such only as believe; and, farther, that as 
 they are justified by faith without works at first, so they 
 continue to enjoy life, by continuing under the influence of 
 faith as the ruling principle of their hearts. The life which 
 they live is " by the faith of the Son of God," Gal. ii. 20, 
 or, in other words, they " believe," that is, they continue 
 to believe, " to the salvation of the soul." A life of faith 
 is a habit and not something merely transient. And it is 
 
168 THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 connected with the enjoyment of life or blessedness in its 
 highest sense. This accordingly is set in opposition to 
 drawing " back unto perdition." If Christians were to 
 cease to believe and to be influenced by the Gospel, they 
 certainly would perish ; and when they do in a measure 
 leave the truth and depart from God, they are in the way 
 which, in itself, leads to destruction ; for the object and the 
 tendency of sin, in them as well as in others, is to drown 
 them in perdition. This arises not from the mere will of 
 God, but from the nature of things. The very essence of 
 spiritual life lies in the love of God, and from this all true 
 happiness springs ; so that, if the mind is estranged from 
 God, the blessings of salvation cannot be enjoyed. To be 
 carnally minded is, in itself, death ; for under the power of 
 sin there can be no bliss here ; and it is the cause of that 
 misery which shall afllict the finally condemned. The 
 reason why sin does not terminate in destruction in the case 
 of Christians, is not that it is different in its nature or ten- 
 dency in them from what it is in others, but that a timely 
 stop is put to its progress by repentance. Hence the ex- 
 hortation, "Destroy not him with thy meat for whom 
 Christ died," Rom. xiv. 15 ; and the declaration, " Through 
 thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish," 1 Cor. 
 viii. 11. The conduct blamed will cause our brother to 
 stumble, or, in other words, to do what his conscience con- 
 demns. This, on reflection, will be the cause of grief to 
 him, — and perhaps to such a degree, that, in the language 
 of Solomon respecting heaviness of heart, he may be 
 " ready to perish." This conduct to him is calculated also 
 to destroy the principle of piety in his heart ; for the ten- 
 dency of sin is towards apostacy. That it docs not issue 
 in this, is not owing to the nature of what our brother 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 167 
 
 through us has been induced to do, but to the grace of God. 
 It follows, that we are as criminal in endangering his soul, 
 by leading him to do what has a tendency to destroy him, 
 as though he actually perished. Our conduct must be 
 judged of by its natural effect, and not by the preventing 
 energy of divine grace. 
 
 You will see from this, that the faith, or conviction, of 
 their danger in letting the truth slip, and in declining from 
 God, is conducive to the safety of Christians, as much as 
 is their persuasion of their security in abiding in Christ. 
 God fulfils his promises by " putting his fear in our hearts, 
 that so we may not turn away from him." Jer. xxxii. 40. 
 The means and the end are thus connected. 
 
 I shall endeavor to illustrate this by a reference to what 
 happened to Paul on his voyage to Rome. He had the ex- 
 press promise of God that he and all in the ship should be 
 preserved ; and yet, when the seamen were about to leave 
 the vessel, he said, that except the mariners remained on 
 board "they could not be saved." Acts xxvii. 21 — 31. 
 Now, did this imply any doubt of the divine promise ? Far 
 from it. He knew that the promise was to be fulfilled, not 
 without, but by means of the seamen, — and, believing this, 
 he insisted on their being kept in the vessel. The persua- 
 sion that there was danger if they left the ship, was not in- 
 consistent with faith in the promise ; because it was not a 
 promise that, happen what might, they should be preserved ; 
 but that, through the exertions of the seamen, they should 
 be saved. It may be said, " had Paul and the others 
 perished, the promise had failed ;" but it may on the same 
 principle be affirmed that, had the Apostle and they been 
 saved without the aid of the mariners, the purpose of God 
 had failed, because it was just as much his purpose to save 
 
168 THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 them by means of the seamen as it was his purpose to save 
 them at all. If they had faith in this — that by tlic aid of 
 the mariners they were to be preserved — it is evident that 
 this belief, instead of making them say, "We need not 
 mind the use of means," must have had the very opposite 
 effect. They would be encouraged, on the one hand, to 
 use the means, because they had the assurance of success ; 
 and, on the other, they would be kept from neglecting them, 
 because they knew that without them they could not be 
 saved. 2 Kings xx. 5, 6, compared with verse 7. 
 
 Let me ask you, then, to apply this to the present sub- 
 ject. It is the promise of God that they who abide in Christ, 
 by continuing in the faith of the Gospel, shall certainly be 
 saved. If they were saved without continuing in the Sa- 
 viour, the purpose of God were disannulled, exactly as in 
 the case of the Apostle and the seamen. It is with them 
 as it was with the generation of the Israelites *that left 
 Egypt. The promise to them of the land of Canaan, was 
 connected with their believing God. This is evident from 
 the reasons assigned for their coming short of it ; which 
 are thus summed up by the Apostle, "So we see that they 
 could not enter in because of unbelief." The promise, 
 then, had not failed, for God had not said that lie should 
 give them the land at any rate, but only in the way of their 
 believing in his power, faithfulness, and goodness. In like 
 manner, the confidence of Christians is not a persuasion 
 that they shall be saved at all events, but that tliey shall 
 be so ill the way of " continuing in the faith, and being un- 
 moved from the hope of the Gospel." Hence the exhorta- 
 tion, "Take heed, lest there be in any of you an evil heart 
 of unbelief, in departing from the living God." Confident 
 trust, in the promise of safety in abiding in Christ, and a 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 169 
 
 conviction that we must perish if we depart from him, will 
 lead us to take refuge in the grace of God, and to place our 
 dependence on the finished work of the Redeemer, — even 
 when we see most clearly, and feel most deeply, our guilt 
 and our demerit. This is illustrated by the case of a man- 
 slayer who had fled to a city of refuge. Numb. xxxv. 
 25 — 28. Fie knew that, while there, be was safe, and this 
 would give him joy. But it would not banish the fear of 
 danger if he left the place of refuge. His apprehension 
 of danger, therefore, would keep him in the city to which 
 he had fled, till the death of the high priest, because till 
 then he was not in safety any where else. 
 
 While we thus believe the promise of safety in continu- 
 ing in the truth, we shall feel jealous of ourselves, be- 
 cause conscious that there is much within us that is opposed 
 to a life of faith in the Son of God, and that we are ever 
 prone to depart from the very source of our mercies. The 
 dread of being deceived is one of our chief guards against 
 unbelief and self-deceit. And if God has said to us " be not 
 deceived," it cannot be wrong in us to watch against every 
 species of deception. There is no inconsistency between 
 this and confidence in the word and the grace of God. The 
 very experience of the mutability and deceitfulness of our 
 hearts will impel us to keep firm hold of the testimony of 
 Heaven, and to trust in the arm of omnipotence. When 
 " the fear arising from a sense of the deceitfulness of our 
 hearts produces despondency and distrust, we have fallen 
 into the sin of the Israelites, when, from the dread of thb 
 inhabitants, they refused to go up to the conquest of Ca- 
 naan ; But when this fear causes us to cleave the more 
 closely to the Saviour, and cling with the greater eager- 
 ness to that truth which saves the sinner, we derive much 
 15 
 
170 THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 benefit from the humbling conviction of our depravity. 
 Despair of success will keep us from the use of means, 
 because the use of them is not expected to be of service ; 
 while, on the other hand, presumption will keep us from 
 the use of them, because we deem ihcm unnecessary. 
 Thus, though these two in many things difler, they in some 
 respects perfectly accord. Hence the importance of blend- 
 ing a holy fear and jealousy of ourselves, with confidence 
 and hope in God. 
 
 I need not say that the fear I speak of is not that which 
 arises from distrusting the promises of Heaven : It is tho 
 fear of letting the divine word slip out of our hearts ; and 
 proceeds from a deep sense of the evil principles which 
 lurk in our breasts, and the consequent danger of our giv- 
 ing way to temptation. Connected with it is a spirit of 
 watchfulness and caution, against all from without and from 
 within, that would mar our enjoyment, and lead to trans- 
 gression : It includes the fear of indulging in sin, as in- 
 compatible with fellowship with God here, and the hope of 
 enjoying him hereafter ; and springs from delight in his 
 favor, and from a supreme desire of communion with him 
 as the chief joy of the soul. This may be explained by 
 the principle of self-preservation, which, in regard to natu- 
 ral life,is of the highest importance. The love of life im- 
 pels us to avoid every thing that endangers it. Now, 
 spiritual life lies in the divine favor, and in holy likeness 
 to God ; and all who enjoy it are impressed with its im- 
 portance, and jealous of every thing which would rob them 
 of tho comfortable sense of it now, and the full enjoyment 
 of it hereafter. As, when we see bodily danger, the in- 
 stinct of self-preservation is at once called forth, and exerts 
 itself in avoidinsj or avertini^ it ; so the fear of which 1 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 171 
 
 now speak operates instinctively in the hour of peril ; and 
 is proportioned to the degree in which we abound in the 
 love of God, in reverence for his will, and in attachment 
 to heavenly things. This principle, in substance, existed 
 in our innocent first parents, and was addressed in the 
 threatening of death ; and therefore ought not to be con- 
 demned as criminal, or as inconsistent with Christian con- 
 fidence ; but cherished as the means by which God keeps us 
 from departing from him to sin and to vanity. Peace in the 
 first instance is derived simply from the Gospel before 
 there has been time or opportunity for bringing forth its 
 fruit, but to maintain peace while habitually living in sin is 
 very unwarrantable. We may fairly adduce the evils of 
 the habitual sinner as evidence that whatever he may think 
 or profess, he is not believing the Gospel of God, but some- 
 thing very different from it, though called by its name. 
 
 The grace of God appears, not in placing us where no 
 enemy can assault us, but in making us, feeble as we are, 
 *' more than conquerors." In some respects he subdues 
 our enemies by his immediate interposition ; but in others, 
 he does so by strengthening us to obtain the victory. The 
 great adversary was bruised on Calvary, but he is destined 
 to be so under our feet likewise. And this manner of ef- 
 fecting our deliverance is more strikingly illustrative of his 
 power and goodness than if our agency were utterly ex- 
 cluded. The very captives of Satan, and the deluded vo- 
 taries of sin and of the world, are, through divine grace, 
 made the means of utterly defeating them. Never, then, 
 let us think of laying aside our armour, either from dis- 
 trustful despondency or vain confidence ; but, trusting in 
 our leader, let us keep the field. If the flock of Christ are 
 in no danger, there is no need for the vigilance and the 
 
172 THE PERSEVEKANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 power which the Scriptures ascribe to him. As the Cap- 
 tain of Salvation, he were in that case far from entitled to 
 the praise of conducting his redeemed through manifold 
 perils to the realms of bliss ; and the union of confidence 
 in him with unremitting activity, were no partof the Chris- 
 tian character. How unworthy of him, and injurious to 
 us, arc such notions ! 
 
 When professors of religion begin to think that sin can- 
 not hurt them — that their relation to God as his children, 
 their experience of his love in time past, and their high 
 privileges, render sin less dangerous to them than to others, 
 there is much reason for alarm. When they imagine, 
 that, though they may suffer some degree of correction in 
 this life, yet, as all their transgressions, past, present, and 
 future, are forgiven, they need not feel as if they could ex- 
 pose them to the wrath to come, — they are in the utmost 
 danger of losing proper views of sin, and of indulging in 
 indifference and hardness of heart. Characters who rea- 
 son thus, often abuse what is related of the falls of tho 
 people of God ; as if because individuals of eminence among 
 them went far astray and were reclaimed, we were not 
 under any great necessity of keeping strictly by the nar- 
 row way to life. Such narratives, it ought to be remember- 
 ed, are designed to answer two salutary purposes : The first 
 is, to warn us that we arc in constant danger of departing 
 from God, whatever may be our attainments ; and so to ex- 
 cite a spirit of self diffidence, humility, and vigilance, to in- 
 duce us to continue in close fellowship with God, and to 
 keep us in the use of those means which are app<Dinted for 
 our preservation : The second is, that, in case we should 
 have backslidden from him, we may be kept from sinking 
 into utter despair; that, if we have stumbled, we may not 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 173 
 
 continue on the ground, and spend our time in lamenting 
 our fall, without looking to him who can raise us up, re- 
 store our souls, and cause us to "walk in the paths of 
 righteousness for his name's sake." Psalm xxii. 3. Rev. 
 ii. 5. In a word, that " we may repent, and do our first 
 works." We are told accordingly, not only of the falls of 
 such as feared God, but also of their bitter grief and great 
 alarm ; of the divine displeasure with them ; and of their 
 restoration through renewed faith and repentance. If David 
 was not bruised and fractured by his fall, why does he pray 
 " make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which 
 thou hast broken may rejoice." If not filled with a dread 
 of divine abandonment, why does he say, "Cast me not 
 away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from 
 me." If he had not lost the consolations of God, why 
 does he say, " Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and 
 uphold me with thy free Spirit." If he had not been struck 
 dumb, why does he say, " Open thou my lips, that my 
 mouth may show forth thy praise." Never then let it be 
 said that sin cannot hurt a believer: "The thing that David 
 had done displeased the Lord." 
 
 When a person says, " there is no telling how far peo- 
 ple may go astray and yet be Christians," he takes a most 
 ruinous view of the divine word. The Scripture may be 
 compared to a laboratory, containing a great variety of med- 
 icines, but the use of which requires great skill; as, how- 
 ever useful some of them may be in certain cases, they 
 might be hurtful in others. When a Christian is surround- 
 ed with temptations, and begins to fear, that he shall be 
 overcome, let him turn to the promises of aid and of pre- 
 servation, and be encourageds by them, not to be idle, but 
 to continue the conflict in the hope of victory. When, 
 
174 THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 again, he loses his first love, and sinks into self-indulgence 
 and sin, let him listen to the many solemn warnings against 
 declension and apostacy, and be roused by the threatening 
 of the divine word to " remember whence he has fallen, 
 and to repent, and do his first works." If in the latter 
 case he shall look to the promises of preservation, and 
 make them a pillow for his sloth, he is on ground the most 
 dangerous, and has gone far, very far, from God. The 
 salutary effect produced by the promises on a mind influ- 
 enced by the truth, is impaired in a backslider by sinful 
 indulgence. His fears need to be alarmed, and his vigi- 
 lance revived, by the solemn warnings and awful threaten- 
 ings of Scripture. The Scriptures do not warrant him to 
 say, that a jjerson may go this and the other length, and 
 yet be a Christian : They never answer such questions as 
 this, " How far may I go in conformity to what is not right, 
 and yet have the root of the matter within mel" They do 
 not attempt, on the other hand, to mark out exactly how 
 far men may go in religion, and yet come short of future 
 glory. Such questions they do not particularly answer, 
 that we may learn not to presume on past sensations and 
 enjoyments, but may be led to " watch and pray, lest we 
 enter into temptation." 
 
 Consider, in connexion with this, the address of our Lord 
 to his disciples, — in which even his particular friends are 
 roused to a sense of personal danger. He called upon 
 them, as well as the unenlightened multitudes around him, 
 " not to be afraid of them that could kill only the body, but 
 to fear him who could cast both soul and body into hell." 
 He declared " that whosoever was ashamed of him, or of 
 his words, should be disowiicd of him at his second com- 
 ing;" And he has also taught them, that the unwatchful 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OP CHRISTIANS. 175 
 
 and unfaithful servant should be condemned by him at last. 
 He knew the temptations which were before them, and the 
 natural desires of the heart, by which they might be in- 
 duced to deny him. Against this danger he not only ex- 
 hibits to their view the prospect of being acknowledged by 
 him at last, but the prospect also, that, by denying him, 
 they should incur the misery of being disowned by him. 
 See also the language of the Apostles, who, while they ex- 
 hibit the blessings of the Gospel to all in the way of invi- 
 tation, in order to induce them to come to Christ, address 
 believers on the necessity of continuing to come to him 
 through life. They show the importance of such admo- 
 nitions to Christians, by mixing promises and threatenings 
 here, as well as in their addresses to the world. Their 
 exhortations and warnings are intended to teach us, that 
 the present and future enjoyment of eternal life is connect- 
 ed with our continuing in the faith, and not with believing 
 for once merely, when we first come to the Saviour. 
 
 This conection is not arbitrary, but natural. What is 
 the blessing of salvation but the spiritual health of man 7 
 It cannot, then, in the nature of things, exist where sin pre- 
 dominates. What will it signify to me that the saints shall 
 persevere, if I am not persevering ? No well-grounded con- 
 fidence can be maintained by looking back to the past, and 
 drawing encouragement from what we have formerly felt 
 and done, if we are not continuing in the faith of the Gospel, 
 and pressing forward in the Christian course. Past sen- 
 sations can no otherwise be evidences to us of a change of 
 mind, than as the recollection of them excites the same 
 views and exercises afresh. This is what we are taught 
 in the recorded example of Paul, and in the reasoning em- 
 ployed on the fate of the Israelites in the wilderness. We 
 
176 THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 see in the Apostle himself the necessity of pressing for- 
 ward to the prize, and of holding fast the truth ; and arc 
 the more interested, that, from his own feelings of the im- 
 portance of the subject, he speaks in a way much fitted to 
 impress. He calls upon all to be like-minded with himself, 
 who, though persuaded that the Lord would preserve him 
 to his heavenly kingdom, "kept under his body," and la- 
 bored that he might be " approved of by his master at his 
 coming." 
 
 The Hebrews, accordingly, are reminded of their fa- 
 thers, who, on the banks of the Red Sea, sang the song of 
 Moses, and confessed their faith in God — who reached the 
 very border of the promised land, and yet fell short of it. 
 They loathed the manna, as we are apt to loathe spiritual 
 blessings. They were discouraged because of the way, as 
 we arc ready to fail when assailed with trials and reproach ; 
 They " despised the pleasant land," as we are prone to dis- 
 regard the prize of eternal life: They did not believe in 
 the God of Abraham as able to give them Canaan, as we 
 are apt to say, " It is in vain to serve God." The duties 
 and the conflicts of the Christian course often, alas ! be- 
 come irksome to us; and we seek around for a system 
 more agreeable to llcsh and blood, if we do not openly 
 relapse. 
 
 By carefully examining the Scriptures I have referred to, 
 and others of a similar nature, you will perceive that the 
 sins even of believers naturally expose to death. The en- 
 couragement held out to them is, not that their present or 
 future transgressions arc already pardoned, but that there 
 is a throne of grace erected, and that on the ground of the 
 perpetually efficacious sacrifice and prevalent intercession 
 of Christ, they shall be forgiven, on their going again to 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 177 
 
 his Father in his name. That mercy which we are called 
 to seek, is deliverance from merited death ; and our present 
 and future peace before God must be sought by the same 
 means by which we at first found forgiveness and enjoy-* 
 ment. 
 
 It is well to remember how we have felt, and acted, and 
 suffered, when walking in the truth. This the Hebrews 
 were exhorted to do when in a state of declension. Then 
 the Saviour was found *' a refuge from the storm, and as 
 the shadow of a great rock in a weary land ;" then sin was 
 hated and holiness cultivated; and, if God were glorified 
 and his favor possessed, all was happiness. If we have 
 gone aside from him, and have lost our firmness, it becomes 
 us to take the alarm ; to go afresh to the Redeemer ; and 
 again seek our happiness in fellowship with Heaven. 
 
 In reference to what you say of the threatenings of Scrip- 
 ture, I would remark, that there is no contrariety betvv^een 
 them and the promises of God ; and that the belief of 
 the former must produce salutary fear, as the belief of 
 the latter produces hope. Neither is there any contra- 
 riety between the fear I have mentioned and the firmest 
 confidence in the Gospel ; but both are opposed to confi- 
 dence in ourselves, and in past attainments, while we are 
 not persevering in the faith. It is by no means incompat- 
 ible with happiness any more than the principle of self-pre- 
 servation is incompatible with the enjoyment of natural life. 
 When in travelling we come up to any thing which may 
 endanger life, we instinctively step aside, or take some other 
 means to avoid it. Now, in doing this, we may feel quite 
 calm and happy, though certainly nothing less than the 
 fear of injury, or perhaps even death, is the actuating prin- 
 ciple. The fear of the avenger of blood would keep the 
 
178 THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 manslayer from leaving the city of refuge, but would not 
 mar his peace while he remained in it. In like manner, 
 the fear of perishing keeps a Christian from departing from 
 Christ, but does not mar his peace and his joy while he con- 
 tinues in the faith of ihc Redeemer. What are the threat- 
 enings of God but expressions of love, by which we are af- 
 fectionately warned of the inseparable connection which 
 subsists between sin and misery, and are kindly reminded 
 of the connextion which subsists between holiness and hap- 
 piness? It is not correct, then, but very wrong, to look on 
 the thrcatenings of heaven as austere, and on the influence 
 of them as opposed to the effect of the promises and the 
 influence of love. Love is seen even in the thrcatenings of 
 Scripture, as they do the work of mercy ; and in fact imply 
 the opposite promises. If we love fellowship with God, 
 the fear of losing his happiness, arising from his thrcaten- 
 ings, will serve to make us cleave to the truth, and to walk 
 more humbly with him. In this case, the very denuncia- 
 tions of God do the work of love ; and manifest by their cflect 
 that they flow from kindness, and not from vindictive wrath. 
 When I speak of fear in this way, I am far from deny- 
 insj that there is such a thin^ in Christians as dread of dan- 
 ger, merely as danger. Neither do I deny that this feeling 
 is of any service. There are limes when even a Christian 
 may need to be awakened by very painful fear. If he has 
 wandered from God he needs to be roused to a sense of his 
 danger. If the manslayer, for example, had lost the dread 
 of the avenger of blood, and had, therefore, left the city ol' 
 refuge, ihc sight of the avenger would awaken his fear ; 
 and if an attempt was made to lay hold of him, it would 
 rise yet higher. Now, would not this fear lead him to run 
 again to the citv of refuge ? In like manner, if we leave the 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 179 
 
 Saviour, fear must be excited to cause us to return to him. 
 And as the manslayer, on getting again into the city of 
 refuge would again have his terror expelled, and his peace 
 restored, so a Christian, on coming afresh to the Saviour, 
 again finds rest. In this state of imperfection, the Lord 
 does not leave our obedience merely to the generosity and the 
 gratitude of the heart. Excellent as are these principles, and 
 naturally as they flow from the Gospel, even the most em- 
 inent of Christians are not always powerfully influenced 
 by them; and, at best, their influence is not perfect. Till 
 that which is perfect is come, we shall have need of our 
 fears, as well as our hopes being stimulated ; and both are 
 provided for in the plan of redemption through the cross. 
 It is, however, our duty, and will be found a privilege, to 
 aim at that state of mind, in which the more excellent prin- 
 ciples of obedience govern the heart and regulate the life. 
 I beg your attention to one point connected with this sub- 
 ject, which is of the first moment. Perseverance can never 
 mean simply an arbitrary connection between two distant, 
 or distinct thins^s. The very term sio;nifies continuance in 
 a particular course. The way which leads from any place 
 to the capital of a kingdom, will conduct the traveller to it, 
 provided he persevere in his journey, — but not otherwise. 
 It is not enough that he enter on the road, and for a little 
 walk in it; he must continue in it, otherwise he can never 
 reach the place of his destination. In like manner, Chris- 
 tian perseverance does not mark an arbitrary connection 
 between faith on our first coming to Christ, and the prize 
 of eternal life in heaven; it connects these two by means of 
 the whole intermediate course. The Scriptures say, " The 
 righteous shall hold on his way;" not that he shall get safe 
 to his journey's end, let him wander which way he pleases. 
 
180 THE PERSEVERANCE OF CnRISTIANS. 
 
 False notions on this subject join together a beginning and 
 an end, and leave the intervening space to be filled up as 
 the sinful heart may incline. Perseverance is thus consid- 
 ered as a mere continuance in safety. How opposite is 
 this to the truth ! The very wordj as I have said, is ex- 
 pressive of continued progress, with a view to a particular 
 end. What is it, then, to persevere, but to continue to walk 
 in the same course on which we have entered? And if so, 
 no person can take comfort from the doctrine, properly 
 understood, who is not himself at the time persevering in 
 faith and obedience. In this way only can we enjoy the 
 blessinsj of salvation. 
 
 On this principle go all the instructions of the apostles. 
 When men made a scriptural profession of the faith, and 
 when, as far as man could judge, their spirit and deport- 
 ment corresponded, they were received into the first church- 
 es as acknowledged Christians, and as such were addressed 
 in the apostolic epistles. They were there taught, that real 
 Christians should be preserved to eternal life ; but never 
 did the writers connect with this doctrine a supposition, 
 that they could not be mistaken in the favorable opinion 
 they had once formed of particular characters. The more 
 that they grow in knowledge and in the fruits of obedience, 
 the more did the apostles rejoice, — and the greater was 
 their confidence in them. But the servants of Christ had 
 often many fears, because they were aware of the many 
 temptations to which the disciples were exposed ; and be- 
 cause they saw numbers who once appeared to walk in the 
 truth, turn aside to sin. In some such cases, they for a 
 time " stood in doubt," and feared " that they had labored 
 in vain," Gal. iv. 11, 20; and when characters of this kind 
 were not reclaimed, they disowned them. 1 Tim. i. 20. 
 
THE PERSEVERANCE OF CHRISTIANS. 181 
 
 In other cases, the character was at once proved to be bad, 
 and then instant expulsion took place. 1 Cor. v. 13. In 
 all instances of apostacy, they said — " they went out from 
 us, because they were not of us." 1 John ii. 19. These 
 declensions did not prove that Christians had fallen away, 
 but that they who had thus gone back had never been gen- 
 uine disciples. Still the apostles addressed men as they 
 appeared to be at the time; never ceasing, however, to 
 warn them of the necessity of continuing in the faith. They 
 taught them that it was no strange thing if some drew back; 
 yet they expressed their full confidence respecting the final 
 salvation of such as manifested their faith by standing fast 
 in the truth. They did so on the ground of the promise, 
 that the true flock of Christ shall never perish. Faith in 
 this promise was perfectly consistent with fear as to indi- 
 viduals; just as faith in the absolute promise that Israel as 
 a nation should inherit Canaan would not be overturned 
 by the fall of multitudes in the wilderness. The persua- 
 sion that true Christians shall be preserved, is quite differ- 
 ent from a persuasion that all who profess to be such shall 
 finally be saved. Hence the care that was taken to guard 
 against declension. 
 
 When Paul warns even such as he most affectionately 
 esteemed for the truth's sake, it cannot have been from any 
 particular jealousy of them, but from jealousy of human 
 nature. He has, by his solemn admonitions, even to cha- 
 racters of the highest eminence, taught us, in the most im- 
 pressive manner, that the means and the end ought never 
 to be separated. He had full confidence in Timothy ; yet 
 how solemnly does he warn him of the danger of departing 
 from God, and of the necessity of continuing in the faith, 
 
 the love, and the obedience of the truth. In his doctrine 
 16 
 
182 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 we clearly see, that while our title to eternal life is inde- 
 pendent of deeds of law, the actual enjoyment of the bless- 
 ing is necessarily connected with obedience ; for what is 
 holiness but likeness to the law of heaven? and what is 
 eternal life but happiness springing from conformity to 
 the character and will of God, as displayed in that Gospel 
 which hath " magnified his law, and made it honorable ?" 
 I have thus, my dear friend, given you my views of the 
 subject you mentioned. If these hints shall be of any use 
 in furthering your edification, it will be gratifying to me, 
 and will cause thanksgiving to God. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 ON THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES INTRODUCE 
 THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 
 
 Improper manner of considering the Divine decrees — Christiana 
 said to be chosen of God, because separated from the world — The 
 purposes of God introduced, to illustrate the freeness of grace in 
 the plan of redemption — Designed to confirm our faith in its ac- 
 complishment — As an encouragement to Christians in the time 
 of affliction — Intended as a warning to gainsayers — The gospel 
 is addressed to all — Its invitations rest on the value of the atone- 
 ment — The ground of condemnation, the rejection of the gospel — 
 The character of the Jews and proselytes, in the days of our Lord 
 and his apostles — The importance of stating truth in a Scriptural 
 manner. 
 
 Mr DEAR FUIEXn, 
 
 With a view to assist you in your endeavors to be useful, 
 I shall now suggest to you some general remarks on the 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 183 
 
 leading connexion in which the Scriptures introduce the 
 subject of the Divine purposes. You are right in thinking 
 that many an inquirer has been exceedingly injured by 
 being led to pry into the s'ubject of election, instead of 
 beino- occupied with the unrestricted calls and invita- 
 tions of the Gospel. No man obtains the blessings of re- 
 demption, by believing that he is elected of God, or that 
 Christ died for him, in distinction from others, but by be- 
 lieving the broad declaration of Scripture, that the Saviour 
 "died for sinners," and "for the ungodly," and that his 
 atonement is sufficient to cleanse from all sin. This blessed 
 testimony every one is called to believe, in order to his sal- 
 vation, without waiting till any preliminaries are settled, 
 respecting the decrees of the Almighty. — Christians have 
 obtained the blessings of mercy in the way of coming to 
 the Saviour, not as persons chosen of God, but as poor, 
 guilty, and helpless sinners, having no plea but what arises 
 from his work, and from the promise of life through him. 
 
 In accordance with this, a writer, whose views of the 
 subject in question will not be suspected of being too low, 
 has said that "election is often put for selection or separat- 
 ing by calling." In this way, he interprets the expression 
 in Rom. viii. 33, "Who shall lay any thing to the charge 
 of God's elect?" understanding it of those who, in verse 
 30, are said to be actually called, and against whom, as 
 persons actually justified in time, no charge can be so laid 
 as to subject them to condemnation : and he refers to 
 Isaiah xiv. 1 ; xlviii. 10; Ezek. xx. 5, and John xv. 19, in 
 proof of the application of the word in question to occur- 
 rences in the present state. (Beart on the Law and the 
 gospel, part ii. page 151.) 
 
 I remarked in a former letter, that the change of mind 
 
184 THE MANNER IN AVniCII THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 which separates Christians from tlic world, is oflcn ex- 
 pressed by their being said to be called and chosen of God, 
 out of the kingdom of darkness into that of Christ. The 
 terms elect and chosen, and words of similar import, are 
 accordingly sometimes applied to the conversion of the soul 
 in time, and not to the transactions of eternity. John xv. 19. - 
 1 Peter i. 2; ii. 9. Thus, in Colossians iii. 12, Christians 
 are called upon to act as elect persons : that is, as appears 
 from the connexion as persons separated from the world by 
 a change of state and of character, which change it be- 
 hoved them to manifest by a corresponding spirit and de- 
 portment. Thus, too, we read of thfe faith of God's elect, 
 that is, of those who had believed through grace. Titus ii. 1. 
 Accordingly, the term is used to express the excellence of 
 the Christian character. Thus, by the elect sister, John 
 means an excellent sister (2 John 13.); and Paul sends his 
 salutation to Rufus as one chosen in the Lord, that is, an 
 excellent Christian. — Rom. xvi. 13. I mention this view 
 of the subject, to show you the importance of being guided 
 in the interpretation of Scripture, by the sense of every 
 particular passage, and not by mere sound. In the last 
 quoted passage, the reference is obviously to something in 
 the character of Rufus, by which he was distinguished even 
 among disciples. 1 need not tell you, that I am far from 
 meaning that such is alwa3'^s the import of the term in ques- 
 tion: but as my object is to show the connexions in which 
 the Scriptures introduce the purposes of God, I wish to dis- 
 tinguish those passages which do not directly introduce 
 them, from such as do, because the subject cannot other- 
 wise be properly illustrated ; and, besides, it is of great im- 
 portance to give to every passage of Scripture its proper 
 application. 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 185 
 
 When the Scriptures speak of salvation, in connexion 
 with the choice and fore-appointment of God, they often 
 refer to the general plan of redemption, as a plan, accord- 
 ing to which men are saved, not in consequence of merit, 
 or birth, or external privileges, as the unbelieving Jews 
 imagined, but o^ free favor. The Jews, unhappily, con- 
 sidered the blessings of Messiah's kingdom as exclusively 
 theirs, in virtue of their descent from Abraham, their 
 privileges under the Mosaic law, and the observance of 
 its rites. They allowed, indeed, that Gentiles might ob- 
 tain some of the blessings of his kingdom, but only by 
 becoming members of the Jewish commonwealth, and the 
 observance of their law. In opposition to these notions, 
 the apostles, in many passages of their writings, teach that 
 the plan of salvation was fixed before the division of man 
 into Jews and Gentiles took place, yea even before man- 
 kind existed. Eph. iii. 8 — 11. 1 Pet. i. 20 — 25. 
 
 The design of such passages is not to introduce discus- 
 sions about the secret counsels of heaven, and perplexing 
 questions respecting individuals, but to teach, in. opposition 
 to those who confined the blessings of the kingdom of God 
 to such as enjoyed the privilegs, and walked in the observ- 
 ance of the Mosaic law, that the plan on which salvation, 
 and all heavenly blessings, were to be imparted, was fixed 
 before that law was established, and entirely independent 
 of it ; that is, it was fixed to be of pure'favor, and not by 
 the works of any law whatever. Acts xv. 9 — 11, 14 — 18. 
 
 The reasoning employed on this subject applies to every 
 
 law, and establishes the doctrines of free justification 
 
 through faith in Christ, in opposition to justification by law, 
 
 whether in whole or in part. Though the apostle makes a 
 
 particular reference to the Jewish claims, yet his argument 
 16* 
 
186 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 embraces the whole controversy between God and man, on 
 the subject of acceptance, because it is founded on the na- 
 ture of things, and, therefore, applies equally well to every 
 principle of a false religion, and every perversion of the 
 true. — The question, then, is not confined to the Jewish law, 
 though the disputes about that law gave occasion to the 
 more full discussion of the subject of acceptance with God. 
 1 Tim. i. 7—11. 
 
 The spirit of such passages of the epistles of Paul as 
 Rom. iv. 9 — 16, and Gal. iii. 8, 9, 17, 18, which treat of 
 the way of acceptance, is that of many of those which 
 speak of the divine pui*poses. In the former of these he 
 shows that Abraham was justified before his circumcision, 
 and of course, not by it ; and that the priority of the 
 covenant which includes the Gentiles, to the giving of the 
 law of Moses, proves that the blessing freely promised is 
 not obtained by obedience to that law, but by faith in the 
 promise. The argument in the latter passage is similar ; 
 and, like the former, it establishes a general principle, viz. 
 that redemption is not to be obtained by obedience to any 
 law whatsoever, as well as not by obedience to the Mosaic 
 law in particular, but by free grace through faith. This 
 general principle is most decidedly established in those 
 passages where we are taught, that the plan of redemption 
 was fixed to be of pure grace, not only before the promul- 
 gation of the law of Moses, but before the earliest of the 
 ages or dispensations, yea, even before the foundation of 
 the world. 2 Tim. i. 9. Titus i. 2, 3. Eps. i. 4, 5, 9—11. 
 Col. i. 25—27. 
 
 The design, then, of such parts of Scripture, is to teach 
 us, that the most ungodly may by divine grace obtain the 
 blessings of salvation ; since the whole depends, not on 
 
INTEODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 187 
 
 human merit, or upon any thing which naturally distin- 
 guishes one man from another, but on the free and the 
 sovereign pleasure of Heaven. The door of mercy is thus 
 set open, and those who to human view are the most un- 
 likely to be subjects of the kingdom of Christ, are as wel- 
 come to him as are others. — The blessings of redemption 
 are not the birthright of any, but are bestowed without the 
 smallest regard to the limitations dictated by the pride and 
 the bigotry of men. Hence the reasoning used in the 9th 
 chapter of the epistle to the Romans, to show, that, as the 
 temporal inheritance, which was a figure of the heavenly, 
 did not go by birth, but as Jehovah pleased, so the spiritual 
 blessings of the kingdom of Christ were not to be viewed 
 as coming by birth but by choice, that is, free favor, and of 
 course to Jews and Gentiles without difference. Rom. ix. 
 7_-16,24,25, 26. 
 
 It is of importance to remember, that the temporal in- 
 heritance could not be given but to one only, so that, if 
 Isaac got it, Ishmael could not; and if Jacob got it, Esau 
 could not. Only one could be the head of that people from 
 whom the Messiah was to come ; but the spiritual inherit- 
 ance may be enjoyed by countless multitudes. Here, then, 
 as in the case of types in general, there are points of dif- 
 ference as well as of resemblance. To all, without ex- 
 ception, the spiritual blessing is preached, and all may 
 enjoy it on believing the Gospel. Accordingly, the con- 
 demnation of the unbelieving Jews is declared to be the 
 result of their own guilt, in rejecting Him whom God had 
 laid as the sole foundation of acceptance with Heaven. 
 Rom. ix. 31 — 33. It was this, and not some deed of ex- 
 clusion, which was the cause of their ruin ; for none are 
 excluded who do not exclude themselves. The great ob- 
 
188 THE MANNER IN V.'IIICII THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 ject of ihe apostle in this and in the eleventh chapter, is to 
 establish what he teaches in chap. iii. 22 — 24, and x. 12, 
 13, namely, that salvation is of pure grace, and that this 
 grace is proclaimed indiscriminately to all men, of what- 
 ever class or character. I do not mean merely that these 
 j)assages are in harmony, for I need not tell you that there 
 is no inconsistency between any one part of Scripture and 
 another. I mean that in the former, he makes the princi- 
 ple that salvation is the fruit of pure grace, to bear upon 
 certain special reasonings of the Jews, and by a train of 
 argument he infers from this principle, that the blessings 
 of he kingdom of heaven are bestowed by God according 
 to the sovereign pleasure of his goodness. The object is 
 at once to refute the particular notions of the Jews, and to 
 establish the general truth that in every case salvation is 
 the gift of the self-moved love of the Almighty. In a word, 
 it is to establish the principle taught the Israelites by Mo- 
 ses, when he told them, that the guilt of the Canaanites 
 was the cause of their expulsion, and the sovereign favor of 
 God the reason why the seed of Abraham should inherit 
 the land. Deut. ix. 4, 5. In this sovereignty, however, 
 there is nothing like caprice : for there are reasons in tho 
 Divine mind for every step which is taken ; but in many 
 cases they arc not revealed unto us, so that we must refer 
 them to the will of God. 
 
 The Scripture doctrine of election, then, is but another 
 name for the doctrine of free grace. It teaches that all are 
 righteously condemned, that none can have the smallest 
 claim upon God, and that the divine gifts are the fruit of 
 unmerited favor and of God's own free choice. It is in- 
 troduced, therefore, for the purpose of teaching Christians 
 to cherish humility and gratitude, by impressing them with 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 189 
 
 the conviction, that to the divine mercy and free bounty 
 they are indebted, not only for the gill; of the Redeemer, but 
 also for that gracious influence of the Holy Spirit which in- 
 clined their depraved hearts to embrace the Gospel. 1 
 Thess. i. 2—5. Ephes. i. 3, 4. 1 Cor. i. 27—31. This 
 latter consideration shows why it was that the apostles, 
 when they directly introduced the subject, did it almost ex- 
 clusively in their addresses to believers, instead of dwell- 
 ing on it in their general preaching. 
 
 Another reason for representing this plan as thus fixed, 
 is, that it is calculated to confirm our faith in the accom- 
 plishment of the divine promises, and so to promote our 
 comfort and obedience. It is as if the sacred writers had 
 said, — "This is no upstart plan which we are preaching 
 to you — it is not the result of momentary caprice; our gos- 
 pel proclaims an old and an immutable purpose ; doubt not 
 then its accomplishment, but be animated by the sure and 
 certain hope, that all shall be fulfilled." Acts xxvi. 22, 23. 
 Rom. xvi. 25, 26. This is included in what is taught in 
 Rom. xi. 29, where we are told, that the gifts and calling 
 of God are without repentance, or change, in the author of 
 the plan of mercy ; and it is included likewise in the argu- 
 ment in Gal. iii. 17, that the promise previously made, the 
 law given after could not disannul. 
 
 We need not hesitate, then, to commit our all to the Sa- 
 viour, and to confide in this plan of redemption ; for it is 
 no novel scheme, but the result of an ancient purpose, to 
 the accomplishment of which, all the dispensations under 
 which the church has been placed, and all the events of 
 providence, are made to be subservient. It follows, that 
 when we see the freeness of divine grace, as displayed in 
 this plan of salvation, and the complete security of all 
 
190 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 who trust in it, we have obtained the knowledge of the 
 great thing which it is the design of the Scriptures to teach 
 us by what they say on this subject. Rom. xi. 6. Con- 
 nected with this is the encourajTcmcnt which Christians 
 have to persevere in the faith and obedience of the gospel. 
 They are animated by the assurance thus afforded them, 
 that they shall never be forsaken, and that their labor shall 
 not be in vain, but shall terminate in a glorious triumph. 
 2 Tim. i. 8, 9, 10. 1 Cor. i. 8, 9. 
 
 Sometimes the subject is introduced to inculcate the ne- 
 cessity of personal holiness. Thus Christians are remind- 
 ed that such is the character which God hath approved, and 
 that they have been chosen by Him, not because they were, 
 but that they might be holy. Ephes. i. 6. 1 Pet. i. 2. 
 The end of their election is holiness, and both the end and 
 the means arc included in the purposes of Heaven. This 
 doctrine is never introduced but for practical ends, and it is 
 perverted when taught abstracted from those distinct prac- 
 tical purposes. Any view of it which leads us to be neg- 
 ligent in duty, or to fancy ourselves free from moral re- 
 sponsibility, must be wrong, because it cannot be good or 
 profitable to tiie characters of men. 
 
 The subject is introduced likewise, in order to encourage 
 Christians amidst the afflictions of life. Thus, in the eighth 
 chapter of the epistle to the Romans, the apostle shows, that 
 all who believe, whether Jews or Gentiles, arc the children 
 of God, and joint heirs with Christ of the heavenly inher- 
 itance. But as the Saviour went to glory through much 
 tribulation, so the degree in which we shall enjoy it will 
 be proportioned to the degree of our conformity to him, as 
 a patient sufferer. Affliction, accordingly, has been the lot 
 of the Church of God from the very beginning ; and even 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 191 
 
 the apostles and others, who had the first or most excellent 
 fruits of the Spirit, suffered the pressure of affliction, and 
 panted for the second coming of Christ, when their salva- 
 tion and bliss should be completed. In the midst of all 
 their infirmities, however, they were supported ; for all 
 things were made to work together for good to them who 
 loved God, and were called out of the world, according to 
 the divine purpose of fitting them by sufferings for the hea- 
 venly kingdom. For whom he did foreknow, or previously 
 regarded with particular favor, and designed to elevate to 
 the most exalted bliss, he fore-appointed to sufferings; that, 
 being conformed to the image of the first-born of the fam- 
 ily, who was a man of sorrows, they might by this means 
 be made meet for being conformed to him in glory. And 
 all who shall thus be exalted he calls out of the world to 
 confess the truth, and to suffer for its sake ; and whom he 
 thus calls by the belief of the truth, he justifies, by pardon- 
 ing their sins, and giving them a title to eternal life ; and 
 whom he thus honors, he glorifies at last, after having, by 
 the sufferings of this state, tried, exercised, and strength- 
 ened the principles of piety in their minds, and so fitted 
 them for the glory to be revealed. Such a view of the 
 subject is well calculated to encourage Christians to the ex- 
 ercise of patience, and to fill them with joy in all their trib- 
 ulations. 
 
 I have not the most distant intention to circumscribe the 
 proofs of the divine sovereignty in dispensing the blessings 
 of grace. So far from this, the view which has been given 
 of the passages of Scripture referred to, establishes the 
 principle that God has a right to dispense his favor as he 
 sees good. My only wish is, to show how the Scriptures 
 teach this important truth, and the uses to which they have 
 
192 THE MANNER IN AVIIICU THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 applied it. It is a truth which, when scripturally understood, 
 is fitted to awaken the ungodly ; and, at the same time, in- 
 stead of being calculated to discourage the awakened sin- 
 ner, it is expressly exhibited for the very purpose of en- 
 couraging the most guilty and unworthy to cast themselves, 
 as they are, into the arms of this sovereign and rich grace 
 of God. It solemnly reminds the sinner, that he is entirely 
 at the divine mercy, and strips him of every self-righteous 
 hope, but removes every cause of despair, and invites the 
 most self-condemned to the mercy-scat. 
 
 Such are the consolatory and practical views with which 
 this subject is introduced in Scripture, — views far removed 
 from abstract discussion, and from the perplexing and un- 
 availing, and even impious, curiosity in which numbers in- 
 dulge on subjects which arc not aniong the things revealed 
 unto us. It is edifying to observe how the apostles unite 
 the display of free mercy and rich grace in the plan of re- 
 demption, with the salutary influence of the ills and trials 
 of life in cherishing the principles of piety, and accom- 
 plishing the designs of God. 
 
 There is still another connexion in which this subject 
 is introduced — namely, when circumstances required that 
 gainsayers should be told that the gospel was certain of 
 success, whatever they might expect, and however much 
 they might oppose and despise it ; and when the people of 
 God need to be comforted under the depression of the cause 
 of truth. Of the former we have a strong example in 
 Matth. xi. 26, 27. The things said to be "hid from the 
 wise and the prudent of this world," are so, not by any 
 positive act of God upon their minds, but by the very plain 
 and simple manner in which they arc revealed. At this 
 the self-conceited lake ollence ; and, in consequence, they 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 193 
 
 are often left to their own vain delusions, while those whom 
 they despise are led by the simplicity of divine truth, through 
 the blessing of Heaven, to the knowledge and faith of the 
 humblino; doctrines of the cross. The desio;n of our Lord 
 was to awaken the proud and the self-sufticient to a sense 
 of their danger, and to convince them that, if they were 
 wise, they should be so for themselves, or they should reap 
 all the advantage ; but that, if they scorned, they alone 
 should bear it, or the loss should be all their own ; for of 
 them the Saviour was completely independent.* Thus, 
 when the Jews were taking offence at the doctrine concern- 
 ing himself as the Bread of Life, he proceeded to say, "All 
 that the Father giveth me will come to me ;" which was like 
 saying, " Though ye believe not, but reject me, yet shall I 
 not be wanting of subjects : my cause must prosper, and 
 my kingdom shall be established and extended ; for such 
 is the will of God, that my undertaking cannot be fruit- 
 less and I shall not lose my reward, do what you may." 
 These thoughts animated his mind, and so ought they to 
 encourage the minds of his people. But to show that he 
 was far from meaning that there were any excluded from 
 mercy who, as perishing sinners, should come to him for 
 life, he immediately added, "And whosoever cometh to me, 
 I will in no wise cast out." John vi. 37. In like manner 
 he said, after the warning I have just referred to in the 
 gospel by Matthew, " Come unto me, all who labor and are 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest." It is true that 
 these truths are often elsewhere directly taught ; but it is 
 a very common thing in Scripture to introduce the same 
 
 * The doctrine as taught by him " is not designed to supersede 
 universal invitations : but to provide against their being universally 
 unsuccessful." Fuller's Dialogues and Essays, page 149, 
 17 
 
194 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCxlIPTURES 
 
 truths in some new connexion, and to apply ihcm to some 
 special object. And hence the wonderful adaptation of the 
 word of God to different characters and states of mind. 
 This indeed is one special means of augmenting that prac- 
 tical tendency by which it is distinguished. Why then ob- 
 ject, on this ground, to the view which has now been given 
 of the passages in question. 
 
 Full and free forgiveness is provided for all who come 
 to him ; and however many turn to God in the name of 
 Christ, they shall undoubtedly be accepted of him, for the 
 sake of that atonement which he hath made for sin. The 
 gospel is commanded to be preached to every creature; 
 and without a single exception, whosoever believeth it shall 
 be saved. But while all are invited to come to the Saviour, 
 such is the enmity of the carnal mind — such the perversion 
 of the human heart, that sinners obstinately refuse to come. 
 What is it, then, that can give us confidence, and inspire 
 us with hope, in proclaiming the truth to such? Here the 
 Scriptures direct us to the purpose of God, and encourage 
 us, as Paul was encouraged, when it was said to him, " Be 
 not afraid, but speak, for I have much people in this city." 
 Acts xviii. 10; and xxviii. 28. Isaiah xlii. 4; and liii. 10, 
 11, 12. The design of such passages is to show, that God 
 hath secured the gospel against being universally rejected, 
 and not to represent any as excluded from its mercy. The 
 question at last will not be, " IIow were you led to come?" 
 but '■'■did you come?" Every one who comes has the 
 promise of being accepted. Let the encouragement thus 
 given us to declare the truth be received, and, at the same 
 time, let not the door be shut unto any. 
 
 In connexion with this, it may be proper to notice, that 
 this subject is introduced to prevent the Jewish believers 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 195 
 
 from being stumbled when they saw the unbelief and the 
 consequent rejection of their kinsman. V/e accordingly 
 find, that, in order to convince them that these things were 
 not proper causes of surprise, the apostle shows that the 
 rejection of the gospel by the great body of the Jews had 
 been distinctly foreseen and predicted by God, Rom. x. 19 
 — 21; xi. 10, 11, 20 — 32; that therefore the plans of 
 Heaven were not marred, nor had the word of God failed 
 — neither had he been, as it were, disappointed, and laid 
 under the necessity of calling the Gentiles in order to rec- 
 tify an ill-devised scheme. So far from being a sudden or 
 an after thought, the calling of the Gentiles was a part of 
 his original purpose, and quite in accordance with the free- 
 ness of the gospel. 
 
 The universal proclamation of mercy rests upon the in- 
 finite value of the atonement of Christ, — in which there is 
 such a fulness of satisfaction as is sufficient for the salvation 
 of the whole, were the world to believe in him. In conse- 
 quence of the infinite worth of the sacrifice of Christ, no- 
 thing connected with the moral government of God hinders 
 any sinner from returning to him ; and upon this ground 
 sinners are indefinitely invited to return to him through 
 Jesus Christ ; and herein lies the great difference between 
 them and fallen angels, in the present state. The infinite 
 worth of the death of Christ, and not their ignorance of the 
 divine purposes, is the basis on which men are indiscrimi- 
 nately called on to come to the Saviour. Indeed, it were 
 unworthy of God to make ignorance the ground of obliga- 
 tion. We ought not to confound a moral constitution with 
 a merely civil transaction ; and thence nicely calculate the 
 proportion between the measure of sufi^erings and the ex- 
 tent of forgiveness, which must lead to low and contracted 
 
196 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 views of the mediation of Christ. Sin is a crime against 
 the Moral Governor of the world, and satisfaction for it re- 
 quires to be made on public principles, and not on those 
 which regulate private contracts among men. \\'hen 
 Christ is said to have given himself a ransom for us, the 
 meaning is, that, in consequence of what he has done in 
 our behalf, we are delivered from the desert of our sins, as 
 righteously as a debtor is delivered from the demands of 
 law when his debt is paid. Let the atonement ever be 
 viewed in its true granducr, as " a general manifestation of 
 the righteous character of Ciod, and a general vindication 
 of his justice in the remission of sins, sufficient to maintain 
 his authority unimpaired, and to make his law honorable, 
 and, from its nature, fitted to give hope to tlie most guilty 
 of mankind." Luke xxiv, 4G, 47. Acts x. 43. 1 Tim. ii. 6. 
 Let no perplexing thoughts be indulged relative to the 
 extent of the death of Christ. The necessity for the par- 
 ticular nature of his atonement arose, not from the number 
 of persons to be redeemed by it, but from the judicial effect 
 of sin itself. Nothing less could have been sufficient for 
 the redemption of any one of them — nor could any thing 
 moi'e have been requisite for the redemption of all sinners, 
 supposing all of them were saved. And while none are 
 justified as elect — but as mankind sinners, who are betaking 
 themselves to this atonement and righteousness by faith ; all 
 of these are warranted to do so, wherever the gospel comes. 
 Such is the intrinsic sufficiency of our Lord's dtath, his 
 atonement and righteousness, that there is a ground of suf- 
 ficient validity and extent for the most free and extensive 
 call of the gospel to sinners of mankind."* W'lvai vindi- 
 
 • Sacred Contcinplations by Adam Gib, p. 237. 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 197 
 
 cates one act of pardon, then, will vindicate many. That 
 which sinners are called to believe remains an eternal truth, 
 whether they credit it or not. [t respects the full sufficien- 
 cy of the blood of Christ to take away the sins of every 
 child of Adam who comes to it for relief, and the free ac- 
 cess which every sinner has to it, however great may be 
 his guilt and demerit. Rom. iii. 22 — 26. 2 Cor. v. 18 — 
 21. 1 John i. 7, and 2 John i. 2. Had more been saved 
 than actually will be, his sufferings had not been greater 
 than they were. There can be no defect of sufficiency in 
 his sacrifice, for any more than infinitely meritorious it 
 could not be, and hence the Scriptures contain the most 
 unlimited invitations to all to confide in his atonement. 
 
 It ought never to be forgotten, that the first Christian 
 teachers never indulged in perplexing subtilties, but were 
 occupied with matters of vastly greater moment ; and often 
 warned their disciples against a disputatious turn of mind. 
 They teach us that the condemnation of the impenitent at 
 last will not turn upon any such principle as that of a deed 
 of exclusion ; for no such thing exists. Their condemna- 
 tion will rest upon their wilful rejection of the gospel, 
 which proclaimed to them the all-sufficiency of the atone- 
 ment, and through which they had been saved had they 
 believed in it : And, on the other hand, such as are in that 
 day called to everlasting life, will not be so, simply on the 
 ground of some secret purpose, but as persons whose prin- 
 ciples and character have been changed by believing in 
 Christ ; and who in consequence are children of God, and 
 meet for the kingdom of heaven. How painful it is to hear 
 a person, when blamed for a fault, say, " I could not get 
 past it, for it was a part of my lot." Does not this senti- 
 ment steel the heart against a conviction of guilt I 
 17* 
 
198 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 The vessels of wrath, or the unbelieving Jews, we are 
 told, were fitted to destruction. Now, it appears from the 
 connexion, that the verb is in the middle voice, and, of 
 course, that the meaning is that they had jitted themselves 
 to destruction by their rejection of the gospel. Rom. ix. 
 22. And by parity of reasoning, all who act as did the 
 unbelieving Jews, fit themselves for perdition, for the case 
 of the Jews is introduced to establish and illustrate a gene- 
 ral principle. No man will be condemned at last because 
 God has appointed him the perdition, nor because God has 
 not appointed him to be saved, but because of his own 
 wickedness. The salvation of sinners is invariably as- 
 cribed to the good pleasure of the will of God — that is, his 
 free and self-moved love, or his sovereign will ; Ephes. i. 
 9, ii. 4 ; but the misery of the condemned is never ascribed 
 to his mere good pleasure, but always to their own guilt 
 and rebellion. No man will be able to say at last, " 1 am 
 doomed to misery, just because it is the will of God that I 
 should be so." If the condemned could persuade them- 
 selves that their doom was the effect of the mere will of a 
 superior power, then hell would in a great measure cease 
 to be hell. But the bitterness of their misery will arise 
 from the conviction that they are justly condemned, and 
 that they are only reaping the fruit of their own deeds. 
 
 The sovereignty of God should never be confounded 
 with his sujjremacy. The former is the right he possesses 
 to bestow good of any kind, in any degree, and in what- 
 ever manner he pleases, not only where there is no claim, 
 but where there is the greatest demerit. It is as absurd, 
 then, to speak of the sovereign justice as of equitable 
 mercy. In punishing sin, God acts as a Judge, and ac- 
 cording to the claims of Justice and the sanction of his 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 199 
 
 law ; but in the bestowing of salvation, though he acts in 
 consistency with the law, and in a way highly honorable to 
 justice, he acts as a sovereign benefactor who dispenses his 
 favors according to his pleasure. The sum of the whole 
 is, that when men suffer they do so because they have sin- 
 ned, and therefore deserve punishment ; and when they are 
 saved and blessed, they are so of free and sovereign fa- 
 vor. Justice gives to all, without respect to persons, what 
 is due to them, whether it be good or evil ; but sovereignty 
 is restricted to the communication of good only, and good 
 too that is undeserved. 
 
 To represent God as impelling men to sin, or as doom- 
 ing them to perdition, by an act of mere sovereignty, ir- 
 respective of their character and conduct, is deeply to re- 
 proach him. It is to proceed upon an erroneous view of 
 what his sovereignty is, and virtually represents it as tan- 
 tamount to a right to be unjust. The evil and the danger 
 of a principle such as this I need not stop to exhibit. The 
 friends of evangelical doctrine are often charged with hold- 
 ing such sentiments ; but the charge is unjust. 
 
 According to the idiom of the Scripture language, words 
 of an active signification are oflen used to express, not the 
 doing of the thing said to be done, but the permission, or 
 the prediction of it. Rev. xi. 2, and xiii. 5. Thus it is said, 
 that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh, when all that is 
 meant is, that he suffered him to take occasion from the re- 
 spite granted him, or from his being " raised up," that is, 
 preserved, to harden his heart himself. Exod. vii. 3, com- 
 pared with viii. 15 — 32. Rom. ix. 17, 18. It is true that 
 God might have cut him off at the commencement of his 
 wicked career, instead of removing from time to time the 
 judgments which successively were poured on him, and 
 
200 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 thus in liis forbearance and long-suffering sparing him. 
 And it is also true, that had God done the former, Pharaoh 
 would not have had the opportunity of sinning as he did, 
 and his misery had not been so great. But was it not an 
 act of kindness to remove the judgments which had been 
 sent? If Pharaoh abused this to the hardening of his 
 heart, was not he alone to blame ? Might not God over- 
 rule this obstinacy of his for the manifestation of his pow- 
 er, in causing the world to see, in the punishment of such 
 insolent wickedness, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the 
 hands of the living God ? In Scripture the imperative is 
 often used in the sense of the future, as in Gen. ix. 1. 
 Deut. xxxii. 49, 50. Zccli. xiii. 7. compared with Matth. 
 xxvi. 31. Ezek. xxxix. 17, 18. Matth. x. 13. Now, in 
 translatinn; a lancuao-c, the idioms of which are different 
 from those of that in whicli we wish them to be understood 
 — the idioms ought not to be retained, for if they are, the 
 meaning of the words is not given. Isaiah, for instance, 
 is told to go and make the heart of Israel fat, and to make 
 their ears heavy, and to shut their eyes ; when the mean- 
 ing is simply, that he should forctcl that they themselves 
 would close their ears, and shut their eyes, and harden 
 their hearts. Isa. vi. 9, 10. Matth. xiii. 15. Acts xxviii. 
 26, 27. Thus, too, Jeremiah is said to have been set to 
 overthrow and to establish nations, because he was to pre- 
 dict their overthrow and establishment ; and Ezekicl tells 
 us, that lie came destroy the city, when he means that he 
 only came to foretel its destruction. Ezek. xliii. 3. In a 
 word, when God is said to harden n)on, the meaning is, 
 that he permits them to abuse his long-suffering, to the 
 hardening of their own hearts. Rom. ii. 4, 5; ix. 22. 
 Neh. ix. 16, 28, 29. 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES,^ 201 
 
 You mention that the Scriptures speak of some as re- 
 probate characters. With regard to this, it is sufficient to 
 say, that if you examine the connexions of the passages 
 where this expression occurs, you will find, that without a 
 single exception the reference is to what takes place in time, 
 and not at all to an eternal transaction. The term repro- 
 bate signifies disapproved ; and accordingly the word ap- 
 proved, is used as its opposite in 2 Cor. xiii. 7. It is used 
 to denote vile affections, base principles, odious dispositions 
 and conduct, which are all connected with an undlstin- 
 guishing and perverse judgment, and must necessarily be 
 abhorred of God. Jer. vi. 30. Rom. i. 28. 2 Tim. iii. 8. 
 Titus i. 16. 
 
 The divine disapprobation of such characters is express- 
 ed by it; but even to them the gospel is preached, and the 
 promise of salvation will be fulfilled to them on their be- 
 lieving in Christ. Indeed, the term, though generally ap- 
 plied only to more than ordinary offenders, is applicable to 
 all men, for all have sinned; and, in the sight of God, are 
 consequently all disapproved. 
 
 It is deplorable to see men still, as of old, perverting the 
 word of God to their own destruction, — sitting at ease in 
 sloth and sin, and trusting in one form or another to the 
 supposed orthodoxy of their creed. Many in this country 
 are like the Jews, who professed to be looking for the Mes- 
 siah, but rejected him when he came. Such ought seri- 
 ously to be warned of their danger. The Jews, and pros- 
 elytes to the profession of their faith from among the Gen- 
 tiles, professed to worship the true God, and to be waiting 
 for the promised Saviour: Now, had they improved the 
 means of grace which they enjoyed, they would have un- 
 derstood in some measure his character, and would have 
 
202 THE MATsNEt? I?{ WHICH THE SCRIITURES 
 
 had their minds influenced by faith in it, so that when they 
 heard the gospel of Jesus they would have believed in him, 
 as the Redeemer of whom Moses and the prophets wrote. 
 Some of them were thus influenced, and of consequence, 
 were waiting for the consolation of Israel, and looking for 
 redemption in Jerusalem. Luke ii. 25, 38. Such char- 
 acters readily embraced Jesus as the Messiah ; as soon as 
 they heard him they knew his voice, and followed him as 
 their promised shepherd, as ho himself declared. John x. 
 4 — 14. But others, though they were of the house of Is- 
 rael, or proselytes to the Jewish religion, yet, not being 
 children of God, rejected him ; and hence our Lord's 
 words, " Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed 
 me, for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writ- 
 ings, how shall ye believe my words?" The cause of their 
 unbelief was solemnly declared when he said, "He that 
 is of God heareth God's words : ye therefore hear them 
 not, because ye are not of God." Hence, the following 
 contrast is stated between the character of his people and 
 that of his enemies : — " But ye believe not, because ye 
 are not of rny sheep ; as I said unto 3'ou, my sheep hear 
 my voice, and 1 know them, and they follow me." Here 
 their present character, and not the divme purpose, is re- 
 ferred to, as accounting for their conduct : In this last pas- 
 sage, the people of Christ are called his sheep ; not in re- 
 ference to the purpose of God, but as actually called out 
 of tlic world, and renewed in their minds. Tbcy arc, ac- 
 cordingly, represented as knowing and listening to his 
 voice, and as following him when he calls them. In this 
 sense the Jews in general were not his sheep, so that his 
 meaning in the passage referred to is, " Ye believe not, be- 
 cause ye are not of those who are waiting for the consola- 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 203 
 
 tion of Israel, as I said unto you (in verses 3, 4, and 5,) 
 my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they fol- 
 low me." Thus we have two classes set before us, — the 
 one having been enlightened, and in some measure sancti- 
 fied, by means of the truth taught in the Old Testament, 
 believed in our Lord as soon as they heard of his charac- 
 ter, and had time to consider it ; us in the case of Anna, 
 Nathaniel, and Joseph of Arimathea, among the Jews ; 
 and Cornelius, among the Gentiles. The other class, al- 
 though they had the same means of grace, continued blind 
 to the true character of God, and that of the Messiah ; and, 
 of course, when they heard the gospel they rejected it. 
 
 Much is said in Scripture of these two classes ; and im- 
 portant are the lessons which may be learned from their 
 history. To separate these two bodies and to manifest 
 them, was one great object of our Saviour's ministry. 
 John ix. 39. He was like a refiner's fire and like fuller's 
 soap. Mai. iii. 2. He served as a mark for contradiction, 
 that the thoughts of many hearts might be disclosed. His 
 coming brought men to the test, and showed what charac- 
 ter and disposition they were of. The feelings with which 
 this subject is treated is a call to us seriously to ponder it. 
 In the thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, 
 there is a contrast stated betwixt the conduct of those who 
 contradicted and blasphemed the gospel, and that of those 
 who believed it. Verse 45. The former judged themselves 
 unworthy of everlasting life — that is, by their conduct and 
 language they passed sentence on themselves, as unsuit- 
 able subjects for the kingdom of God. Verse 46. The term 
 unworthy must here be explained by the sense in which 
 the term worthy is used in the following passages: — 
 " Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be 
 
204 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCBIFTUKES 
 
 accounted worthy to escape all these things, and to stand 
 before the Son of Man." Luke xxi. 80. "That ye may 
 be counted worthy of the kingdom for which ye also suf- 
 fer." 2 Thcs. i. 5—11. "They shall walk with me in 
 white, for they are worthy." Rev. iii. 4 In these, and such 
 like passages, it does not mean deserving, as if the parties 
 addressed could merit the blessings of the gospel ; for no 
 one, not even the most holy of the redeemed, can merit 
 eternal life ; but it means suitable siihjecis for, or meet for 
 the blessings mentioned. According to this, the term un- 
 worthy here must mean unmeet hv, and so is descriptive of 
 that wickedness of character which manifested that they 
 were, in fact, his most bitter enemies, although, as pos- 
 sessed of the means of grace, it was humanly, j^pcaking, 
 to be expected, that they would in principle and character 
 be suitable subjects for the kingdom of the Messiah, and 
 that, as such they would instanly embrace his gospel. 
 
 It is the manner of God to speak in the manner of men, 
 who have their expectations of fruit raised when they plant 
 in a well-cultivated soil. Thus Moses speaks of it as a 
 strange thing that the Israelites should continue blind and 
 impenitent, aflerthe means which had been used to reclaim 
 them. Deut. xxix. 2 — 4. Our Lord also represents the in- 
 habitants of the cities where he labored as acting most un- 
 reasonably, and as most inexcusable, because they had 
 advantages more than sufficient to have brought them to 
 repentance had they not wickedly abused them. Matt. xi. 
 20 — 24. They thus verified the prophetic language of 
 Isaiah, who parabolically represents the advantage of Israel 
 as the inclosed and highly favored vineyard of God, the 
 abuse of those advantages, and the consequent aggravation 
 of their guilt and j)unishment. God is represented by him as 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 205 
 
 looking that his vineyard should bring forth grapes ; but it 
 brought forth wild grapes. Isa. v. 1—4. Nothing can be 
 more plain than that the Jews are considered as enjoying 
 advantages more than sufficient for their being a righteous 
 people, had they been of a right temper. God, so to speak, 
 had a right to expect that when his Son appeared his own 
 would receive him ; but we see that in Antioch, as in other 
 places, they did not. Matt. xxi. 37. 
 
 The particular object of the historian here, is to show, 
 not so much how the people at large received the gospel, 
 as how it was received by those who previously were 
 worshippers of the true God, without uniting wiih the 
 Jewish people; and such there appears to have been amono- 
 those called by the general name of Gentiles, in verses 42 
 and 48. Proper attention to the general scope of the nar- 
 rative, will serve to show that such v/as one principal ob- 
 ject of the writer. Respecting the reception of the gospel 
 on the part of the idolatrous Gentiles, very general lan- 
 guage is used, it being merely said, "the word of the Lord 
 was published throughout all the region." Such ihen, of 
 the worshippers of the true God as, by means of the truth 
 taught in the Old Testament, and the grace of God ac- 
 companying it, were in readiness for the kingdom of Gcd, be- 
 cause, instead of looking for a temporal kingdom, they were 
 looking for eternal life, were, of course, disposed to receive 
 the new covenant revelation respecting it, as soon as stated 
 to them. In other words, they who, by the means I have 
 mentioned, were previously possessed of principles which 
 accorded with the clearer revelation of the apostle's gospel, 
 and which, of course, prepared for a cordial reception of it, 
 at once believed it, and looked for the mercy of the Lord 
 
 Jesus Christ unto eternal life, so clearly brought to hVht 
 18 ^ t. b 
 
206 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 through his resurrection and glory, and promised to all his 
 people, as the gift of God through him. The reception oi* 
 one part of truth prepares for the reception of another; 
 and the neglect or rejection of smaller degrees of it, paves 
 the way for an obstinate rejection of greater. 
 
 I speak at present, you will observe, of the meaning of 
 this part of Scripture, and of its precise bearings on the 
 subject in question ; and I wish to impress your mind and 
 my own with a sense of the duty and importance of a con- 
 scientious improvement of the blessings we enjoy. The 
 view I have given of the passage, is substantially that which 
 is given by Dr. Doddridge, who, with many others, thinks 
 that the word from which that here rendered "ordained" 
 comes, and which in 1 Cor. xv. 15, is rendered "addicted," 
 and in several places "appointed," generally signifies, in 
 its passive form, "men who, having been appointed for 
 some military expedition, and set in their proper office, as 
 we render it, Luke vii. 8, are drawn up in battle array for 
 that purpose. So that it expresses, or refers, he says, at 
 once to the action of their commander in marshalling them, 
 according to the plan he has formed in his own mind, and 
 to their own presenting themselves in their proper places, 
 to be led on to the intended expedition." And he adds, 
 "that this he takes to be precisely its sense here." The 
 passage has been used to darken the doctrine of the grace 
 of God, by representing the disposition of mind referred to 
 as the result of mere human agency ; but this arises from 
 not considering the different parts of the narrative in con- 
 nexion with themselves and with the rest of Scripture. It 
 is evident from Scripture, and from the nature of the case, 
 that every one who embraced the aposth.-'s revelation, was 
 led by divine influence to do so, according to the gracious 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 207 
 
 purpose of God to call them, and list them (as it were) in 
 their proper places under the great Captain of Salvation. 
 There is a wide difference, however, between the truth of a 
 doctrine, and its being the truth directly taught in a particu- 
 lar passage ; and my object is to show that the passage in 
 question by no means justifies abstract discussions on the 
 subject of the eternal purposes of Heaven. It is one thing, 
 too, for a particular truth to be implied in a passage, or to 
 be legitimately inferrible from it, and another for it to be 
 the direct object of the passage to teach it. "We surely 
 cannot suppose, that all in that place, who ever were to em- 
 brace the gospel, did soa^ that time, and that their number 
 was then summed and shut up." This were utterly at 
 variance with the history of the progress of the truth, for 
 we always find that some were led to embrace it at one 
 time, and some at another. — But it is perfectly natural to 
 conclude, that all who had previously received that mea- 
 sure of the Old Testament truths, which they knew, would 
 instantly embrace the clearer discoveries of those very 
 truths which now was afforded them. 
 
 A contrast is stated between those who, like the great 
 body of the Jews, were looking for an earthly deliverance, 
 and those who were waiting for spiritual and everlasting 
 salvation and blessedness. The former took offence at the 
 holy and the humbling testimony of the apostles, but the 
 latter found in it the very thing after which they panted ; 
 and hence they received it with joy. To them it was as 
 the opening of a well of living water, of which they drank 
 to the satisfying of their souls. The great body of such 
 characters were among the Gentiles ; and thus reminds us 
 of what is stated in Matt. viii. 10. and John xii. 20, 21. 
 
 In the case of those who rejected the Saviour, there was 
 
208 THE MANJVER IN WlllCn THE SCRIPTUKES 
 
 given an awful and humbling display of human depravity 
 in the midst of the moans of grace, and amidst loud and 
 warm professions of piety. In the case of those wlio em- 
 braced the gos])el, we have a display of /rce and ejjicaciovs 
 grace, by which they were taught of God, and led to the 
 Redeemer of sinners. The former perished in their sins ; 
 and particularly, because they rejected the message of re- 
 conciUation, — the latter will ever ascribe their reception of 
 the truth to the free mercy and unmerited favor of God, 
 " from whom all lioly desires, all just counsels, and all good 
 works, do proceed :" Not unto us, they will say, but unto 
 thy name be the glory of the whole of our salvation from 
 first to last. That same grace which gave the Saviour, led 
 all of them, and still leads every sinner who is saved, to 
 the knowledn-e of the truth. 
 
 This history contains a most solemn admonition to all, 
 to see that they understand and embrace whatever mea- 
 sure of truth is made known to ihem, and to beware of 
 hardening the heart, by perverting, resisting, or neglecting 
 the revelation of God. There is nothinn; in it like saving 
 to men, ye may believe and be saved at any time, and so 
 leading them to take the season of repentance, as it were, 
 into their own hand, nnd thus to evade immediate attention 
 to the trutli. Its language on the contrary, is, " Yet a littlo 
 while is the light with you ; walk while you have the light, 
 that ye may be the children of the light." John xii. 35, 30. 
 Jesus sat as a refiner among the Jews, and he separated 
 between the precious and the vile ; and the same is still in 
 a measure done by liis word; and the day is coming when 
 a final separation shall be made. Mai. iiil 2, 3. 
 
 It will be found in that day, that there were no appointed 
 bars, no obstacles to be surmounted in approaching the 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 209 
 
 God of mercy and love, but the obstinacy and perverse- 
 ness of sinners themselves, — nothing but what is properly 
 their own, and not in any sense from God. What then 
 ought sinners to do, but to cast themselves on the sovreign 
 mercy of God, with whom " there is a propitiation, that he 
 may be feared?" The way to the Saviour is not full of 
 obstructions, arising from some defect in his grace, his pow- 
 er, or the value of his work, but is quite plain and open, 
 and the voice of mercy is, " Walk therein." It is the un- 
 believing who, in the pride of their hearts, say, " We will 
 not walk therein." Jer. vi. 16. 
 
 It is of the utmost importance to consider every subject 
 in the connexion in which it is introduced in Scripture. 
 And a careful examination will show that there the subject 
 of the eternal purposes of Heaven is never introduced in an 
 abstract manner. To allude to the well-known remark of 
 Mr. Newton, the bearings of that subject diffused an influ- 
 ence over all their instructions, but were generally speak- 
 ing, to be found no where in the lump. Nothing is taught 
 in the word of God that has not a tendency to influence us 
 practically, and to conform our character to his. 
 
 Every man who admits the omniscience and omnipo- 
 tence of God, and his right to dispense his sovreign favors 
 as he sees meet, admits principles which necessarily imply, 
 that known unto him are all his works from the beginning ; 
 and of course admits the substance of the Scripture doc- 
 trine of election. Yet every such man feels that he is a 
 free agent, and this feeling is stronger than a thousand ar- 
 guments. If, however, we attempt fully to reconcile these 
 things, and to find out the link which unites them, we shall 
 find that ^ew can follow us far, and that we oflen mistake 
 
 mere terms for ideas. Ought we not, then, instead of per- 
 
 18* 
 
210 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 plexing ourselves and others with curious inquiries on the 
 subject, to confine our attention to the practical purposes 
 which both serve in the Bible. 
 
 There is a wide difference between the doctrines of the 
 gospel, as embodied in the Scriptures, and as exhibited in 
 a dry abstract manner, or dwelt upon as detached dogmas. 
 The Jews, in the days of our Lord and his apostles, gloried 
 in their; ancicd privileges, as the chosen people, and hence 
 were filled with a spirit of self-conceit, and of the most ma- 
 lignant contempt towards the Gentiles. They fancied them- 
 selves to be chosen not by mercy but hy favoritism, and of 
 this they boasted. Their pious ancestors, however, viewed 
 their separation from the world in a very different light ; 
 and on them it had a hiimhliug effect. Similar are the ef- 
 fects produced now by the various and opposite views 
 which arc taken of the subject in question. Let it be viewed 
 apart from the doctrine of the cross, and the worst con- 
 sequences will follow. It is well to mark the use made by 
 the apostles of every doctrine they taught. What is suited 
 to one state of mind may be ill adapted to another. This 
 consideration, no doubt, guided the spirit of wisdom in 
 framing the general structure of revelation so as best to fit 
 it for general use. Should a thing be in itself connected 
 with the nature and administration of the Almighty, yet, 
 if it cannot, in our circumstances, be of real advantage to 
 us to dwell upon it, there is reason to expect that his word 
 will be silent on it. There are, accordingly, things which, 
 though they result from every right view of the perfections 
 of God, the Scriptures do not, strictly speaking, teach, 
 much less dwell upon. They leave them as they are: 
 and, instead of occupying our minds with what is calcu- 
 lated to perplex, they point us to those things which at once 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 211 
 
 enlighten, purify, and comfort. They lead not to the in- 
 scrutable secrets of eternity, or to what we cannot here, 
 and perhaps not hereafter, in the least degree comprehend, 
 but direct us to what may in a considerable measure be un- 
 derstood, in this life, and which, when understood, will in- 
 fluence our principles and character, so as to promote our 
 conformity to the image of God, and our true and perma- 
 nent blessedness. 
 
 In the history of the labors of the apostles we find them 
 invariably dwelling on the unfettered invitations of the gos- 
 pel, as the means of bringing sinners to the Saviour. They 
 expatiate in the most promiscuous assemblies on the per- 
 fection and all-sufficiency of the atonement — they in the 
 most unrestricted manner call upon all to believe their tes- 
 timony ; and in the name of God they solemnly assure 
 every man, that, on beleving it, he shall be saved. They 
 never appear in the least degree fettered in proclaiming a full 
 and a free salvation to all classes and descriptions of men. 
 We never find them addressing promiscuous audiences, or 
 audiences consisting chiefly of unbelievers, on the subject 
 of the divine purposes. With these, men have nothing to 
 do. It is for them to receive the plain declarations of Hea- 
 ven relative to their guilt and demerit, and the free and 
 suitable salvation of the gospel. And while, on the .bare 
 ground of the general expression of love to mankind, which 
 appears in the gospel that is preached to all, the sinner 
 comes to Christ, and through Him to the feast that is pre- 
 pared for all people, and so enters on the enjoyment of the 
 blessings of mercy, he traces this change in his mind to 
 the special or discriminating love of God towards him in 
 particular, and to Him he gives the glory. The word of 
 the gospel having come to him with power, and with the 
 
212 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 demonstration of tlie Holy Ghost, so as to produce much 
 assurance of its trutli, he thus comes to know his election 
 of God, which is further confirmed by his growing sancti- 
 fication. 1 Thess. i. 4 — 9. Let it not be forgotten, then, 
 that this is the result of his having been led to come to the 
 Saviour on the common warrant of the gospel that is 
 preached to all without any distinction. 
 
 The gospel addresses men simply as sinners, and not 
 as included in a particular purpose, and the faith of the 
 gospel is not the belief of one's election, but the belief of 
 the testimony of God concerning the perfection and all-suf- 
 ficiency of the work of the Redeemer; and if so, why per- 
 plex the hearers of the gospel with discussions which, how- 
 ever difTerent our design may be, will almost infallibly lead 
 them to dwell on the unrevealed secrets of Heaven, rather 
 than on the blessed message of reconciliation. JMany of 
 them can understand the difference between beins: saved in 
 any measure by their own deeds, and being saved entirely 
 through Christ, who are really incapable of at all follow- 
 ing discussions on the subject in question. Many, too, 
 who hnve received the love of the saving truth, are natu- 
 rally incapable of going far into abstract reasonings on 
 these subjects, without being stumbled, not only as to hu- 
 man responsibility, but even as to the doctrine of the grace 
 of God. Now, were they treated as they are in Scripture, 
 and not in an abstract manner, the same dilficultics would 
 by no means be felt. 
 
 It has been very justly remarked, that " Theology, pro- 
 perly so called, consists of necessary truths and revealed 
 truths ; its principles, in other words, consist of facts. 
 The origin of that class of truths which arise from the 
 very nature of things, is not in revelation, though it has 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE TURPOSES. 213 
 
 furnished the light by which alone they were clearly dis- 
 coverable ; and supplies the strongest possible confirmation 
 of their antecedent existence. All metaphysical specula- 
 tions respecting the origin of evil, the nature of free will, 
 the consistency of the divine prescience with the freedom 
 of moral agency, and, in general, the causes and essences 
 of things, are foreign from what is substantially a system 
 of facts, involving practical consequences of an infinite 
 value. Take away, for instance, from the gospel system 
 the proposition, that all men are sinners, and it is without 
 meaning, yet it is not responsible for the fact. The state 
 of man is not, indeed, clearly discoverable by the light of 
 nature, but yet true antecedently to the revelation which 
 confirms it. Discussions, therefore, on the subjects just 
 mentioned, are out of place when introduced in connexion 
 with the gospel remedy, and it were v/ell if those metaphy- 
 sical, or, indeed, rather physical controversies, which have 
 obtained regarding them, were treated as relating to a sys- 
 tem which, though implied or assumed in revelation, has 
 not been originated by it." It is on these principles that 
 the Scriptures rather take certain things for granted than 
 directly teach them, even though they arise necessarily out 
 of the attributes and perfections of the divine nature. 
 
 The views, dear friend, now stated respecting the Scrip- 
 ture manner of treating those subjects, serve to show the 
 wisdom of the ambassadors of Christ, who gave to every 
 one his portion in due season, whether they were yet in the 
 world, or but just called out of it, or Christians of some 
 standing, and of some considerable eminence in the faith of 
 Christ. They considered well what was likely to be of 
 most service, and what was likely to be injurious. What 
 in one state of mind becomes a stimulant, may in another 
 
214 THE MA^'NER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 induce torpor. The great thing is tlie state of the heart, 
 whether really honest or the contrary. To one whose 
 affections are in a healthful state, and whose powers are in 
 constant action, the apostolic views of these things will be 
 salutary. But to those who are beginning to see the light, 
 and who, through mental infirmity, and perhaps rooted 
 prejudices, cannot bear such discussions, they may be very 
 stumbling and perplexing. When even a Christian sinks 
 into a morbid state, what was once of service may become 
 injurious. There were many things which even the disci- 
 ples of Christ could not for a time bear, and the apostles 
 fed similar characters among the first Christians with milk, 
 and by no means with strong meat. When they declared 
 "the whole counsel of God," they did so because they 
 "kept back nothing that was profitable.'''' Acts xx. 20. 
 There was nothing like sinful compromise, but a wise adap- 
 tation to the attainments of their hearers. To such es- 
 pecially whose hearts have not been reconciled to God, 
 another mode of instruction had been highly injurious. The 
 attention of unbelievers of the gospel, when occcupied with 
 the subjects in question, is turned from the particular truths 
 which in a special manner are addressed to them, and 
 which alone can reconcileihe heart unto God. The justly 
 esteemed Mr. Scott has well observed that they are not at 
 all proper subjects to insist on when we speak to sinners, 
 or to newly awakened persons. It is true that we may 
 have before us a great variety of characters at the same 
 time, but if acquainted, as we ought to be, with the har- 
 mony and connexion of the truth of the Scripture, pro- 
 perly impressed with the great object of our instructions, 
 and alive to our need of divine teaching, we shall be ena- 
 bled to give every one his portion in due season, without 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. 215 
 
 keeping back one iota of truth which our circumstances 
 require to be declared. A rash and an unguarded manner 
 of stating doctrines of Scripture is a very different thing 
 from declaring " the whole counsel of God " in its harmony 
 and just connexion. The former may suit the humor of 
 the speculatively orthodox, and the latter may call forth 
 their spleen, but fidelity requires that no compliance be 
 made with prejudices such as theirs. It is possible so to 
 misplace even the truths of the Bible, as to present a very 
 different system from that of the apostles, and a system 
 which will, as by an opiate, lull in the false security of a 
 torpid, a careless, and a speculative mind. 
 
 Abstract discussions about the " purposes of God," are 
 very different from the preaching of Christ and him cruci- 
 fied. They may lead to all the difficulties which have tor- 
 mented speculators on the old question of liberty and ne- 
 cessity, but by which no man, not an incurable speculative 
 metaphysician, was ever perplexed for a single moment. 
 Not that the least particle of Christian truth should be sac- 
 rificed, but that whatever place any doctrines hold in the 
 discourses of the apostles, when addressing mankind at 
 large, should be given the same truths in our first exposi- 
 tion of the gospel to uninformed characters ; and that what- 
 ever place any doctrines hold in their addresses to Chris- 
 tians in their various situations, the same place should be 
 given them when our object is to carry Christians gradu- 
 ally forward to a full acquaintance with the subjects of rev- 
 elation. This amounts to nothing more than beginning 
 with first principles ; for it is with the gospel as with the 
 sciences, into which no person can deeply enter without 
 being well acquainted with their rudiments. What is it but 
 " rightly dividing the word of truth, and giving to every 
 
 
216 THE 3rANNER IN MIIICH THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 one his portion in duo season?" 1 Tim. ii. 15. Luke xii. 42. 
 All the truths of Scripture are important but their impor- 
 tance is relative. If they are misplaced, they not only ceaso 
 to profit, but prove actually injurious. They are in fact in 
 some respects converted into errors, whon taught in con- 
 nexions, and for purposes dificrcnt from those in relation 
 to which they are taught in the Scriptures. The subject 
 in question ought certainly to have a place in teaching, but 
 let it be the place that is given to it in the sacred oracles. 
 And how small is the place which it there occupies, when 
 compared with the constant reference which th& facts and 
 arguments of revelation bear to the persons and glory of 
 Christ — the atonement made by his blood — ^^justification by 
 faith — the work of the Holy Spirit — and all the personal 
 and relative duties of life ! — [Life of Mr. Scott the Commen- 
 tator, p. 627, 628, and 440, 447. 
 
 Let the inquirer, then, be directed, in the first instance, 
 to those passages of Scripture which treat most particularly 
 of the state and character of man, and of the nature and 
 design of the gospel. If he perceive the genuine glory of 
 the message of inercy, without perplexing himself whh 
 untaught questions, he will rest satisfied that a revelation 
 such as this could only have been given with the design of 
 saving cycry one who should become really acquainted wilh 
 it. Not that he ought to rest in first principles, but that he 
 should be well informed in them, as the best means of for- 
 warding his progress from them to perfection. The great 
 truths of the gospel are brought down to ihc capacity of 
 the weakest, but their glory is seen in gradually bringing 
 the child to maturity of knowledge. 
 
 I am far from moaning that maturity of Christian know- 
 ledge consists in being able to discuss the questions which 
 
INTRODUCE THE DIVINE PURPOSES. , 217 
 
 have been agitated about what relates to the purposes of 
 Heaven. This were to fritter down the stately and well 
 compacted body of Christianity to the knowledge of a 
 number of insulated metaphysical points, which, in this 
 abstracted form, so far from having a salutary influence 
 on mankind, can hardly fail to be pernicious. I mean, 
 that Christians should study the oracles of God, and 
 advance from elementary principles to the knowledge of 
 the whole branches of the gospel system, in all their bear- 
 ings and connexions. This ought to be done with a pro- 
 found prostration of mind before God, and with that 
 chastened feeling and deep humility which lead to implore 
 illumination from above, and to maintain a constant de- 
 pendence on the aid of the Divine Spirit. 
 
 With regard to what resj^ects the pu^-poses of God, it is 
 but little that we can know of them. Our excursions are 
 here in particular very narrowly bounded. When we con- 
 sider that the nature of God passes our most exalted com- 
 prehension, we must be convinced that the analogies taken 
 from human counsels, purposes, and contrivance, to illus- 
 trate his modes of knowledge and procedure, are very 
 inadequate to the subject. It is true that the information 
 afforded us by these means, is just so far as it goes, but it 
 must be very imperfect. We are therefore cautioned 
 against discussions which are too high for us. An ungo- 
 verned curiosity, and a lofty pride of understanding, are 
 as offensive to God as an indulgence in sordid and gross 
 pleasures ; and the subject of the former must, in order to 
 the enjoyment of heaven, be made humble and modest, as 
 well as the slave of the latter must be purified. It is at 
 once the duty and the privilege of a Christian to repose in 
 
 19 
 
 ■*■ 
 
218 THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SCRIPTURES, ETC. 
 
 the full confidence of faith upon the unerring rectitude, 
 wisdom, and goodness of God, whatever difficulties he may 
 feel on the subjects in question. 
 
 Let me exhort you to mark what subjects the Scriptures 
 dwell most frequently and largely upon, and give them the 
 chief place in your thoughts and conversation. The great 
 design of the gospel is to restore us to spiritual health ; and 
 to this end its different parts are admirably adapted. It is, 
 however, of great moment that they be properly blended 
 together. If the different ingredients of a medicine are not 
 properly mixed and proportioned, its virtue is lessened, if 
 not totally lost ; But if all its ingredients are properly com- 
 pounded, there is full scope given for the exercise of its 
 whole medicinal qualities. If, in like manner, the doctrines 
 of Scripture are viewed in their proper connexion, they 
 will produce and cherish the health of the soul, but if 
 otherwise, they will induce and cherish spiritual disorders. 
 It is with the soul as it is with the body ; the preservation 
 of a healthful constitution requires much caution and care; 
 for some things which at one time are useful, may at 
 another be injurious ; and hence the need of wisdom in 
 applying the truths of Scripture to the varied and ever- 
 varying circumstances of the present state. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 |4^ 
 
^ 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 
 
 The character of Christ, the great spring of consolation — The import 
 of his address to John in the Isle of Patmos — The power of the 
 Gospel in affliction and death — The death of friends ought to be 
 improved — The contemplation of heaven, a means of support — 
 Dark providences will yet be explained — Some causes of this dark- 
 ness — The nature of Christian patience — This exemplified by 
 Christ — The importance of confidence in God — The blessedness 
 of departed saints, a source of comfort — The duty of cherishing 
 faith, holy joy, and Christian hope — Conclusion. 
 
 Mr DEAH FIIIENI), 
 
 I CANNOT but again express my sympathy with you under 
 your recent bereavement, and shall now, as formerly, direct 
 your attention to the character of our Lord as the best 
 spring of consolation under the losses and the afflictions of 
 life. It is our unspeakable comfort that the Saviour has 
 risen fi'om the dead, and has thus been manifested as "the 
 first born among many brethren." In the redeemed family 
 he is called " the first born," as a title of dignity and au- 
 thority, because of the privileges which, in ancient times, 
 and by divine direction, were the birthright of the elder 
 brother. In this endearing relation does he stand to us 
 amidst all our infirmities and trials. He is "bone of our 
 bone, and flesh of our flesh." He has a tender and an af- 
 fectionate feeling, as our brother, for all our v/ants and in- 
 firmities, and is ready to relieve and assist us. He is, in 
 particular, "the first born from the dead," and in this cha- 
 racter he bears a relation to his people even when in the 
 
 ^y^mki 
 
220 THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 
 
 grave; and is engaged to watch over their dust, and to 
 " raise them at the last day." Yes ; death is far from dis- 
 solving the relation between him and his brethren — their 
 very dust is dear to him. His ressurrection is at once the 
 pledge and the pattern of that of his redeemed. In his ex- 
 alted state he has "the keys of hell," that is, of the unseen 
 state of departed spirits, — and "the keys also of death," 
 that is, of the grave. 
 
 The Redeemer, then, is Ruler in the other world as well 
 as in this. It was by exhibiting himself in this light to 
 John in the Isle of Patmos, that he sou2;ht to comfort him 
 when overwhelmed w ith terror at his august appearance. 
 He appeared to the beloved disciple in a dress like to that 
 of the Jewish high priest, and in the midst of the seven 
 golden candlesticks, to intimate that he officiated as a priest 
 in the temple of God. Rev. i. 12 — 18. He appeared, at 
 the same time, in such glory, as clearly exhibited his in- 
 finite dignity and grandeur as Emmanuel, the excellencies 
 of his mediatorial character, and his inconceivable elevation 
 as Lord of the Church, and of all worlds. In a word, he 
 appeared in the body of his glory, as ho now sits " on the 
 right hand of the Majesty on high." This was too much 
 for John in liis present state of frailty to bear. Though 
 "he was the beloved disciple" who had often leaned on his 
 breast at table, he was overwhelmed with fear, and fell at 
 his feet as dead. This fear arose parlly from a sense of 
 guilt, and partly from human weakness. He was not al- 
 together ignorant of the personage whom he saw ; for we 
 find from what took j)lace on the Mount of Transfigura- 
 tion, that the appearance of our Lord's body was changed 
 without ])reventing his disciples from recognising him, and 
 of this display of the glory of the Redeemer John had been 
 
THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 221 
 
 a witness. In his present state of astonishment, he could 
 not, however, think with composure on what he beheld. To 
 settle all doubts, and to satisfy him that this was a real ap- 
 pearance of his Lord, and an appearance not in anger, but 
 in love, the Saviour kindly laid his right hand upon him, 
 and affectionately said, "Fear not; I am the first and the 
 last, and the living one : and was dead, and behold 1 am 
 alive for evermore. Amen ; and have the keys of hell and 
 of death." 
 
 The various emotions of the Apostle's heart were thus 
 tenderly met, and his fears graciously dispelled. Did a 
 consciousness of guilt appal him, and invest death with ter- 
 rors, he was thus directed to that one perfect atonement 
 which the Saviour has made for sin — to the dignity of his 
 person as the everlasting God in our nature, as the great 
 cause of the infinite value of his death — to his love, as 
 manifested in suffering and dying for sinners — to his vic- 
 tory over death, in his resurrection, as the great proof of 
 the divine acceptance of his sacrifice — to the abolition of 
 the power of death — to the incorruption which was brought 
 to light by his triumph over the grave — to his eternal life 
 in the heavenly temple — to his glorious government as Lord 
 of all worlds — and to his priestly grandeur in the sanctuary. 
 By all this does the Saviour calm the trembling conscience, 
 dissipate the dread of death, and enlighten the gloom of 
 the grave. These views, indeed, had long supported the 
 mind of the apostle ; but at present the unexpected and 
 glorious vision of his Lord had quite overwhelmed him, so 
 that he required them to be again distinctly set before him. 
 
 Did John recoil at the thought of entering the world of 
 
 spirits, and appearing in a new and untried state ? Jesus 
 
 exhibits himself as the forerunner of his people, who has 
 19* 
 
222 THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 
 
 gone to heaven as " the first fruits of them that slept," and 
 " to prepare a place" for his redeemed. He declares that 
 he has the government of both worlds, so that, in passing 
 from this to the other, we are not leaving his dominions. 
 He is there as well as here, and is ready to receive and 
 welcome us on our arrival. Nor is this all ; he will also 
 be with us in the waters of death, to guide, comfort, and 
 support us. Thus arc the clouds dispelled which over- 
 spread the invisible world. The way into the holiest is 
 laid open by our great high priest who hath entered "into 
 Iieavcn itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." 
 Was John unable, without supernatural aid, to look upon 
 the glory of his master ? Surely when strengthened, as he 
 now was, to behold that which "flesh and blood, as at 
 present constituted, cannot inherit," he must have been ele- 
 vated beyond conception. He contemplated in the Saviour 
 what he should behold when " absent from the body," and 
 "present with the Lord;" and what he himself should be, 
 when death shall have been swallowed up in victory. He 
 who now stood before him had the supreme dominion in all 
 worlds, and so could open the gates of paradise to the souls 
 of his sheep, after guiding and supporting them with his 
 rod and staff in the dark vale of the king of terrors; and 
 should at last open their graves, and call them in the em- 
 bodied state to the heavenly glory. 
 
 We are thus directed by the Saviour to his God and 
 Father, as our CJod and Father; and to his home, as our 
 home. Though we are at a distance from our Father's 
 house, we are not the less the childen of his family. We 
 are, indeed in a foreign land ; yet, as the veil of the sanc- 
 tuary is now removed, we, by fliith, see its glory and listen 
 to its songs. The mercy -seat is no longer concealed, and 
 
THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 223 
 
 the ministrations of the great high priest are disclosed to 
 our view. Heb. ix. and xi. 22. This is admirably calculat- 
 ed to attract our hearts ; and when contemplated as ex- 
 hibited in the revelation of peace, must excite us to unite 
 in the hallowed services of the sacred temple. Well may 
 our spirits be elevated on the death of our brethren in 
 Christ, when, as they are removed from us, we by faith 
 see them joining this glorious assembly. Sweet, in such 
 circumstances, are the words of our Lord and his apostles, 
 entreating us not to let our "hearts be troubled," and "not 
 to sorrow as those who have no hope," but are left to the 
 darkness that naturally covers the grave, and overwhelms 
 the heart with its gloom. John xiv. 1. 27 ; 1 Thess. iv. 
 13 — 18. Delightful is the encouraging call to indulge the 
 hope of meeting our departed Christian friends in the world 
 of light and of love, because, " as Jesus died and rose again, 
 so all who sleep in him will God bring with him." Such 
 discoveries are well calculated to sooth the mind in the hour 
 of affliction. 
 
 The address of the Saviour to John is fraught with con- 
 solation to us, and may well fill us with peace and with 
 joy in the nearest prospect of dissolution. Yes ; when 
 death prevails over nature, and all power of speech fails, 
 even then the eyes often speak the gratitude and the glad- 
 ness of the heart, arising from a view of the glory of the 
 finished work of Christ, and of the divine delight in it, as 
 expressed in his resurrection and his heavenly elevation. — 
 Enlightened and impressive views of these blessed objects 
 tranquillize the heart of the Christian, and fill it with joy. 
 Here, then, is that which, when distincly seen, can sus- 
 tain the mind under all its weakness, and support it under 
 the heaviest pressure. Certain afflictions may, indeed, so 
 
224 THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 
 
 affect the spirit, as for a time to deprive it of the consolation 
 of the truth, just as the mind of John was unhinged by the 
 vision ; but let the cause of this be removed, and the truth 
 clearly unfolded, and its influence will be felt. 
 
 Such manifestations of the power of the Gospel arc con- 
 firming and animating. They arc so many lights, illumi- 
 nating even the darkest of the gloomy paths which occur 
 in our progress to the heavenly glory. Natural feelings 
 are not forbidden ; but let them not keep you from looking 
 to him, who, though "the first and the last, and the living 
 one," is full of the tcnderest sympathy and compassion. Mys- 
 terious, indeed, are many of the dispensations of Heaven ; 
 but in the midst of the most intricate and complex move- 
 ments of providence, look to him who " has tlie govern- 
 ment upon his shoulder," Isa. ix. 6 ; is guiding every event 
 in infinite wisdom, and is making all his visitations "work 
 together, for good." Think of the " rainbow that is around 
 the throne," and reflect on this token of the perpetuity of 
 " the covenant of peace." He who hath ratified this cove- 
 nant lives to accomplish its many and precious promises. 
 He can and will give you strength equal to your day, and 
 preserve you to his heavenly kingdom, — where your every 
 tear shall be wiped away, and death at last be swallowed 
 up in victory. 
 
 Seek, then, that friends may not sicken and die in vain. 
 Let every pleasing recollection, every sentiment of esteem, 
 and every feeling of aflection, which you fondly and warmly 
 cherish, and every hope and holy anticipation in which 
 you indulge, unite in leading you to him whose grace made 
 them what they were, that you may resemble their excel- 
 lence, and participate in their joys. In all your mournful 
 yet pleasing musings on their character, seek that, while 
 
THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 225 
 
 you the more feel your loss, as you recount their many 
 valuable qualities, you may find in the work and excel- 
 lencies of the Redeemer all that can satisfy and purify the 
 soul. In the enjoyment of fellowship with Heaven, the 
 sudden cry, that the Saviour cometh, will delight you as 
 the blissful salutation of mercy, calling you to the banquet 
 of heavenly and everlasting love. 
 
 In your present trial, seek to abound in the precious 
 fruits of patience and devotion. Dwell on the words of 
 eternal life, as the source of that ineffable consolation which 
 raises the mind above the infirmities of the body, and yields 
 unutterable bliss in the prospect of beholding the glory of 
 the Lord, and participating in his hallowed joys. He can 
 impart such views of the heavenly state, as the seat of all 
 that is glorious and blissful, because the abode of the God 
 and Father of the redeemed family, and of him who loved 
 us and gave himself for us, as shall disarm death of its ter- 
 rors, and change it into an object of desire. Let the Gos- 
 pel of Christ " dwell richly" in your mind, and you will 
 be freed from all painful anxiety about the result of your 
 trials, by the confidence which it will inspire towards him 
 who in wisdom and love is guiding every event. Let no- 
 thing keep you from that blessed word which cherishes 
 peaceful resignation, and can subdue all that would disturb 
 the repose of the heart, or unduly agitate the soul with sor- 
 row. There is a placid serenity, and an unrepining, yea, 
 even a cheerful submission, attainable through lively and 
 steady faith in the cross, and in fellowship with him who 
 there suffered and died. By these is the Gospel adorned, 
 and our heavenly Father glorified, while the heart is com- 
 pletely satisfied. 
 
 Forget not that the cup given you is filled and mingled 
 
226 TUE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 
 
 by the hand of your Father. However bitter it may be, it 
 is full of blessing, " for not a drop of the curse is there." 
 Rom. viii. 28, 35—39 ; 1 Cor. iii. 21—23. He who cov- 
 ereth his throne with darkness, and whose ways are to us 
 often inscrutable, is he who hath tenderly and affectionately 
 said, " No, I will not leave thee ; no, no, I will not forsake 
 thee." No fewer than five negatives arc here employed 
 to shut out fear and distrust and to assure us of the pre- 
 sence and the care of our Father. You may, then, on the 
 ground of these reiterated assurances, commit your life to 
 him with the firmest confidence; happy in the thought, 
 that in the world of light all will be made plain. Then 
 you will, from the heart, bless him fur all his goodness; 
 and for this, as especially manifested in your heaviest af- 
 flictions. Let this consideration hush to silence all the agi- 
 tations of your heart. 
 
 Cherish, with these views, that submissive and patient 
 spirit w hich flows from confidence and affection ; and which 
 is altoo-ether different from the constrained submission of 
 necessity, accompanied, as it often is, with the sullcnness 
 of obstinacy. Christian resignation is not extorted. It is 
 the cordial acquiesence of an enlightened and afiectionate 
 child, who loves and confides in his Father, even when he 
 thwarts the fondest wishes of his heart. It is the same 
 with that holy disposition and cheerful resignation, dis- 
 played by the Redeemer, when he bowed to the will of Hea- 
 ven, and drank of his bitter cup, with a full submission to 
 him who had mingled its whole afllictive ingredients. His 
 heart, though bleeding with tortures the most agonizing, 
 and overwhelmed willi anguish inconceivable, ever felt a 
 perfect and cheerful acfpncsccnce in tlic will of God. 
 Pause for a moment, and think, how great must have 
 
THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 227 
 
 been the warmth of the love of Christ, when he assumed 
 our nature — bore our sorrows — and for us, under agonies 
 unutterable, yielded up his life. Here we see at once the 
 foundation of our hope, and the high and holy pattern we 
 are called to imitate. Never cease to dwell upon this, for 
 even in the midst of heaven, where we shall see him in 
 his glory, we must look back to Calvary that we may be- 
 hold, in their brightest lustre, the wonders of his character. 
 Yes : It is in " the hour and power of darkness," when he 
 was encompassed with grief, and overwhelmed with rest- 
 less agitation of heart, that the true glories of the Saviour 
 appear. Then in a special manner, did he endure the curse 
 that we might " inherit a blessing." Here you will learn 
 how it is that we are destined to be made meet for the in- 
 heritance of his kingdom ; and how it is that the Lord man- 
 ifests his love to his children. The first-born of the family 
 went from the cross to the crown ; and as he humbled him- 
 self to become in all things like to us here, so it is his will 
 that we should in all things be made like to him hereafter. 
 — Well can he enter into all your feelings in the day of 
 your distress. Think of this, and turn to that temple 
 where he now reigns and officiates as our Priest; where, 
 from the tenderest love, he still watches over his people, — 
 and from whence he continues to display to them the great- 
 est of blessings in the richest profusion. 
 
 You may, in the midst of all the darkness of the heaviest 
 affliction, look to him " as your light and your salvation," 
 and so shall all gloom be dispelled, and a pleasing and glo- 
 rious brightness be shed upon your path. This will teach 
 you what the bliss of the Christian is, when he waits upon 
 God, and views him with unpresumptuous confidence as his 
 Friend his Father, and his all-sufficient portion, amidst the 
 
228 THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 
 
 devastations of the most bereaving trials. Soothing, indeed, 
 will you find it, to rest on the promises of the covenant of 
 peace, — to wait with cahn serenity for " the crown of life," 
 and to repose your heart on him "who is able to keep all 
 committed to him against that day." Though at present 
 his ways are obscure, remember that he has said, " What 
 thou knowest not now, thou shalt know herealler." Blessed 
 are they who are freed from that excessive sorrow which 
 unnerves and weakens the mind, and delivered also from 
 that insensibility which fosters presumption and carnality 
 of heart. From both the Saviour can deliver us. He can 
 and will give you, in answer to fervent and importunate 
 prayer, his Holy Spirit, — through whom the mind is ena- 
 bled to exercise that patience, which is equally removed 
 from the evil of despising the chastening of the Lord, on 
 the one hand, and of fainting under his rod, on the other. 
 Though bereaved of those who were in the height of their 
 influence and usefulness, and ready to wonder at the mys- 
 terious ways of Providence, and to question their wisdom 
 and their goodness, be not discouraged. Remember that 
 much of the darkness of Providence arises from our inca- 
 pacity to form an extensive judgment. We see but a very 
 small part of the divine operations; and judge rashly of 
 the whole, by the portion which comes under our view. 
 Much of this obscurity arises from the powerful excitement 
 of our passions, which darkens our mind by the character 
 of our dciires and our aversions ; and so unfits us for calm 
 and deliberate reflection. Not a little of it arises from the 
 seeming contrariety of Providence to our interests, and to 
 the promises of Heaven. Such views of our lot must un- 
 fit us for forming an impartial judgment. It is for us, then, 
 
THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 229 
 
 under a deep sense of our weakness and unworthiness, to 
 wait upon God, and to leave it to him to act as his wisdom 
 and his love shall direct. 
 
 Reflect on the blessedness of the departed in the heavenly 
 temple. When in this world, they were happy in the en- 
 joyment of the divine favor. In circumstances of the deep- 
 est affliction, they found joy in the Gospel ; and in the pros- 
 pect of death, they had the sure and certain hope of being 
 immediately with their Lord, and of a blessed resurrection 
 at his second coming. These blessings and exalted hopes 
 animated their hearts with sacred and sanctifying delight. 
 On this I need say no more ; for at the death-bed of her who 
 is gone, you witnessed, in circumstances the most interest- 
 ing, what in vain I should attempt to describe. But, happy 
 as she and others of your departed friends were on earth, 
 unspeakably greater is their happiness in heaven. Now 
 they are perfectly freed from all sin, care, and temptation : 
 sorrow and sighing have for ever fled away ; they are sat- 
 isfied in beholding and enjoying the presence of their Re- 
 deemer, and in contemplating the glory of their God. Let 
 us not grieve immoderately, since they are blessed beyond 
 measure in that happy state of ineffable and durable joy; 
 of constant and animated devotion ; and of increasing pro- 
 gression, in all that is great, and in all that is good. 
 
 Permit me to recommend to you the exercise of constant 
 and strong faith in God. Leave futurity to him : to us it 
 is wisely veiled. Our ignorance, however, respects the al- 
 lotments of lime more than the interests of eternity. We 
 know that " the end is everlasting life," though we know 
 not the length nor the nature of the way ; We know not 
 the time or the manner of our death ; but we know that 
 
 he who passed this Jordan, when the waters overflowed 
 20 
 
230 THE DEATn OP A RELATIVE. 
 
 and the storm raged, will be with us in the river — will di- 
 vide the waters, and guide us along a smooth, a dry, and a 
 safe path. We cannot tell what it is to die ; but we know 
 that one will be with us who has himself died, and that 
 death will usher us into the house of our Father. Remem- 
 ber that this world is a state of pilgrimage. All that is 
 granted here we should consider as but accommodations 
 on our way home ; and of all the troubles with which we 
 meet we may say, these are but the inconveniences of a 
 journey in a land of strangers. When we view our trou- 
 bles as only the inconveniences incident to a state of pil- 
 grimage, we are comforted and sustained by the thought 
 that all of them will soon be over, and by the recollection 
 that, in the mean time, they are hastening our progress 
 homeward. 
 
 Cherish the spirit of that humble and holy joy in God, 
 and in divine things, which strengthens the heart and re- 
 commends the Gospel. Let the words of your God be the 
 theme of your songs as your pilgrimage advances. This 
 " joy of the Lord" will renew your strength for the journey, 
 and your path will become "like the shining light, which 
 shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Set your 
 heart on the treasures of bliss and of glory which arc with 
 the Saviour. You must have felt that the removal of a 
 friend to a distance is followed by a feeling of loneliness : 
 Much more will the death of a friend or beloved relative. 
 You now feel that the world is not what it was. In such 
 circumstances the mind follows the departed with the deep- 
 est interest ; Heaven, so to speak, becomes more attractive, 
 and the world has not its wonted charms. The very dusi 
 of the dead is dear to us, and we go " to the grave to weep 
 there." At the grave of a Christian, however, sorrow is 
 
THE DEATH OF A RELATIVE. 231 
 
 mingled with hope ; for while we weep, we hear, with holy 
 and animated pleasure, the voice which says, " Blessed 
 are the dead who die in the Lord." It is our consolation 
 that, while we think of the death of the Redeemer, we can- 
 not go to his grave to weep : He hath left it, and hath gone 
 to glory in a spiritual body. In regard to him, our hearts 
 are not divided between what is in the tomb and what is in 
 heaven. He hath risen a triumphant conqueror, and is 
 now on high in the embodied state. Shall we not follow 
 him, then, in our thoughts, affections, and desires 1 
 
 " Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, 
 and will not tarry." Let us, then, stir up all our courage 
 and all our energies ; for, after a night of darkness and of 
 weariness, " the morning is spread upon the mountains" — 
 " the day is at hand :" — " Now is your salvation nearer than 
 when you believed." Has the storm been heavy and te- 
 dious ? be not on this account discouraged, for the land is 
 in sight, and few struggles more will conduct you to a safe 
 harbor. Lift up, then, the hands which hang down; in 
 faith and patience fight the good fight; and, with the steadi- 
 est eye on your leader, run the race which is set before 
 you. If your path is rugged, and your heart ready to fail 
 you, as you follow those who have gone before you, and 
 recal to memory the scenes of other days, and the images 
 of friends and relatives gone to return no more; let this 
 excite you to cling with deeper interest to that Gospel which 
 assures you that "the Captain of Salvation" will be with 
 you to the end, and that you shall yet see those who have 
 departed where the Saviour himself is. There he will be 
 your and their chief joy, " and exceeding great reward." 
 In this pensive but yet pleasing retrospect, and in this bless- 
 ful anticipation of being ever with the Lord, and with the 
 
232 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 endeared objects of your natural and Christian afTection, 
 
 let all your sorrows be lost ; and be animated to proceed, 
 
 with growing zeal and activity, in the honorable and the 
 
 heavenly race of faith. 
 
 I remain, &c. 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 ON THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 Afflictions the common lot of mankind — Ought to be improved — 
 Designed to sanctify the soul — The means of preventing sin — 
 Serve to try the character — Strengthen religious principle — Fit for 
 extensive usefulness — Are blessed for the purpose of awakening 
 to a sense of sin and of misery — Lead to acknowledge the hand 
 of God — Make us sensible of our proper place — Lead to the Scrip- 
 tures and the Throne of Grace — Teach the uncertainty of earthly 
 things — The happiness of confidence in God when under them — 
 Christians need to have fear as well as love kept alive — The dan- 
 ger of despising the rod, and of fainting under it — Conclusion. 
 
 Mr DEATl FniE.VD, 
 
 I FEEL for you under your trials ; and, with a view to your 
 comfort, I mean to suggest to you in this letter some re- 
 flections on the benefits that may be derived from afHiction. 
 In this world we are ever exposed to tribulation, and it of- 
 ten comes upon us unexpectedly. We speak indeed of 
 the instability of all eartiily things, but are not sufiicicntly 
 aware of our constant jeopardy. We indulge the flatteries 
 of hope in regard to ourselves, even when we witness the 
 sudden and the heavy calamities of others. Much disci- 
 pline in the school of aflliction is necessary to cure us of 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 233 
 
 this propensity to dream of security in the face of so many 
 proofs of the uncertainty of every thing helow. Often have 
 the brightest prospects been unexpectedly darkened, and 
 hopes apparently the most warranted have been sadly dis- 
 appointed. This has been done to shake our confidence in 
 the present scene, and to prepare the mind for the will of 
 God. Trials, the bare idea of which is sufficient to make 
 us shrink, may yet be found necessary to the healing of 
 our souls. 
 
 When visited with affliction, we ought fervently to seek 
 that it may be blessed to us. He who chastens us does it 
 in love : he has graciously invited us to call upon him in 
 the day of trouble; and has promised to hear our prayers, 
 and to grant us what his wisdom and his goodness shall 
 dictate. Deeply we ought to feel the hand of our God, — 
 with profound humility we ought to bear it, — and with meek 
 resignation we ought to bow to his will. Instead of sink- 
 ing into despondency because our earthly lot is distressing, 
 it becomes us to bless the Lord that he will not leave us 
 to ourselves, nor suffer us to make present enjoyments our 
 rest; but, by withering our earthly joys, he points us to a 
 better happiness. If our path is dark, let this cheer us — 
 there is a bright morning on its way: if change after change 
 come in sad succession, the covenant of peace is an ever- 
 lasting covenant, and of its blessings nothing can bereave us. 
 The great design of affliction is to sanctify us. God chas- 
 tens us " that we may be made partakers of his holiness ;" 
 he effects this by correcting us for our transgressions. In 
 this way he restrains our impetuous passions, purges away 
 our pollutions, and embitters to us the ways of sin. He 
 wounds that he may heal : " he prunes the branches of the 
 
 true vine, that they may become more fruitful." When 
 20* 
 
234 THE BE^'EFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 his people "break his laws, and keep not his command- 
 ments, he visits their iniquities with a rod, and their sins 
 with chastisement." When we are runnino; from the foun- 
 tain of living waters, and seeking cistern after cistern, he 
 in mercy destroys these, one after another, to cure us of 
 our folly. When any earthly object steals our heart from 
 himself, he breaks our idol before us, and makes its vanity 
 manifest. We then feel that this is indeed " a dry and a 
 thirsty land;" a land of death and of darkness. But he 
 who caused the wreck of our earthly joys, did it that he 
 might lead us to take our stand on the sure foundation of 
 his word: he who broke our cisterns and withered our 
 gourds, designed thus to lead us to fountains of living wa- 
 ter, and to the refreshing shade of the paradise of God. 
 Not that he stands in need of our services, but because that 
 without him we must be miserable. His love to us, and 
 his desire that we may be happy, ^\•ill not allow him to suf- 
 fer us to be deceived and destroyed. He cannot think of 
 leaving us to make the world our portion : but, even at the 
 expense of the most painful aftlictions, will call us from 
 that which is not, to substantial and permanent blessedness. 
 Often do we seek rest in that which cannot yield it — often 
 do we leave the only refuge from the storm, and betake 
 ourselves to the sands ; and so may exj)ect to be visited 
 with tempests and inundations. We need checks and dis- 
 appointments to our pursuits and our hopes, that we may 
 learn by experience that we have no true happiness but 
 in God — no home but heaven. Even in these storms his 
 love is made manifest. A voice is heard saying, " It is I, 
 be not afraid." Tiius the heart is at once humbled and 
 tranquilized. Sharp afllictions refine the soul. Should our , 
 inordinate desires be gratified, our earthly hopes and ima- 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 235 
 
 ginations fed, and our sinister ends secured, we should die 
 of this indulgence. But he who loves us will not suffer 
 this. He frames his dispensations according to our real 
 wants, and not according to our foolish wishes. Were his 
 love cold, or were it but foolish fondness, he would act 
 otherwise; but in that case we should be ruined. 
 
 Afflictions are designed to prevent, as well as to recover 
 from sin. Should we in the day of trouble be unable to 
 discover any particular transgression in which we have in- 
 dulged, we ought not to question the goodness of God ,• for 
 he sees the future in the present. We may not have form- 
 ed and worshipped any particular idol, but he saw that we 
 were about to do it — he saw a train of circumstances com- 
 mencing, which, owing to our habits, tempers, and disposi- 
 tions would be a snare to us; and he determined to prevent 
 the evil. Prevention surely is better than cure; and mer- 
 ciful indeed must it be to render the pursuit of sin bitter and 
 difficult. Hezekiah was suffered to fall into pride; but 
 Paul was prevented from doing so by "a thorn in the 
 flesh." Which of these two cases, then, is the most desir- 
 able, and which of them affords the highest demonstration 
 of love? The second, surely. If we are about to go astray, 
 is it well that God " hedges up our way with thorns," and 
 " builds a wall," that he may make our wanderings from 
 him preplexing, embarrassing, and painful ? Hosea ii. 6, 7. 
 In his providence he removes us from this or the other situa- 
 tion, where we might have been corrupted : he breaks en- 
 snaring friendships — keeps from forming improper connex- 
 ions — removes or embitters worldly comforts ; and sends 
 disappointments and trials, to keep us humble, holy, and 
 watchful. He withdraws us from our purpose, because it 
 would destroy us. Job. xxxiii. 17. In reviewing the course 
 
236 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 of a gracious Providence, wc may see many salutary in- 
 stances of this nature ; and the retrospect ought to excite 
 a spirit of confidence and of gratitude towards him, who 
 preserved us from M-liat would at once have dishonored his 
 name and deeply injured ourselves. 
 
 Af^ictions are designed to he trials likewise : they are 
 so with a special view to the discovery of our disorders, in 
 order to their cure; and the exercise of our holy principles, 
 in order to their crrowth. Tribulation oflen calls forth the 
 latent corruptions of the heart : the mind feels the workings 
 of impatience; the heart frets, murmurs, and repines, 
 against the painful providence of Heaven ; earthly attach- 
 ments are found to be strong, and the spirit of rebellion 
 seems to gain vigor. We startle, as if our trials had caused 
 those evils ; whereas they have only brought to light what 
 had always been within, but in a state of concealment. 
 Our faith and confidence are thus brought to the test, and 
 we find, to our shame, how apt we are to distrust the God 
 of our mercies. We are led, like Ezekiel, from one evil 
 to another ; and hear the voice which said to him, "Son of 
 man, I will show thee yet more and greater abominations 
 than these." 
 
 Alllictions serve to discover our natural wretchedness 
 and our utter helplessness. In the time of overwhelming 
 distress and deep agitation, we often feel unable even to 
 address the hearer of prayer, and are ready to write bitter 
 things against ourselves, and to look on this as a token of 
 the heavy displeasure of Heaven. The design of our hea- 
 venly Father, however, is to convince us of our ignorance, 
 depravity, and weakness — to make us feel our utter wretch- 
 edness in ourselves, and our entire dependence on him. 
 We need to be cured of self-confidence, to have our idols 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 237 
 
 broken before us, and to be led to implicit reliance on God. 
 There are times in which we feel so happy in the enjoy- 
 ment of fellowship with him, that we think the loss of any 
 earthly comfort would be borne with comparative ease. 
 But when the delight of our eyes is removed, we feel that 
 our life was much bound up in the creature, and are sur- 
 prised at the discontent of our hearts. We pray that the 
 Lord would humble and sanctify us ; and he answers us, 
 not merely by the soft and gradual influence of his truth, 
 but by employing afflictions to illustrate it to us, and to im- 
 press it on our minds. We are thus made to feel more of 
 the evils of our spirit, and the more to prize the remedy. 
 We may have wondered at the conduct of others when in 
 certain circumstances ; but when beset with the same temp- 
 tations ourselves, we may have acted a much worse part. 
 This, though it ought not to lessen our impressions of the 
 evil of sin, ought to teach us candor and humility. 
 
 Thus is the Lord "proving us" for our good. Deut. 
 viii. 2, 16. If, indeed, we sink into despair; if we con- 
 tinue to pore upon the evils which affliction has discovered, 
 without going at once to the Physician; if we struggle 
 against them in our own strength ; or if we begin to make 
 our sense of vileness, and our supposed humility, a sort of 
 foundation for hope and confidence — of course we have not 
 profited by the discovery, but have become worse than be- 
 fore. But if the discovery of our evils has deepened our 
 sense of the depravity of our nature ; if it has endeared to 
 us the rich and the free pardoning mercy of God ; if it has 
 led us afresh to the blood of the cross for the remission of 
 our sins ; if it has endeared to us the character of Jesus, as 
 a Saviour from sin j and if it has led us to him for a com- 
 
138 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 plctc cure — then has it been truly salutary. Being thus 
 made sensible of our many wants, and led to see the entire 
 suitableness of the Gospel to our condition in all its extent, 
 we learn to live more simply by the faith of Christ; and 
 to cherish an humble and d(.votional spirit, in the exercise 
 of every Christian principle, and the practice of cvey 
 Christian duty. We are taught by this means to unite con- 
 fidence in our leader with the utmost vigilance against temp- 
 tation and snares, and with unremitting activity in the 
 service of him who loved us and gave himself for us. 
 
 But afflictions do not only discover our evils : they try 
 our religious principles, and so make them manifest. They 
 serve to show the reality and the measure of our piety. 
 When Abraham was called to offer up his son, his faith in 
 God, and his sacred regard to his will, were made mani- 
 fest. But the design was not simply to make them mani- 
 fest, but to exercise them ; and so to increase their vigor, 
 and add to his joy. In the day of prosperity, there is not 
 the same scope for the manifestation of those principles 
 which constitute the soul of genuine religion as there is in 
 the day of adversity. In the season of trial our earthly 
 props arc shaken, or removed; and it is seen how far wo 
 have learned to seek our all in God, and our God in all. 
 
 I am led to remark, in connection with tliis, that afflic- 
 tions enlarge our views, increase our desire of spiritual 
 things, and capacitate us for more ample measures of di- 
 vine graee, and degrees of sacred joy. Paul was called 
 to uncommon trials ; but he liad corresponding support and 
 consolation. Strong as was his faith, and ardent as was his 
 piety, they admitted of farther degrees; and the increase 
 of the hallowed principles of genuine religion was far more 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 239 
 
 than an equivalent for all the extremities he endured. This 
 is one great thing taught us in his beautiful description of 
 the benefit of affliction, in Rom. v. 3, 4, 5. 
 
 In relation to this, I would remind you that when afflic- 
 tions thus strengthen piety, and are connected with more 
 than proportionate joy, they fit for kinds and degrees of 
 usefulness for which we could not otherwise be qualified. 
 This consideration animated Paul under all his distresses. 
 It was his joy that he was afflicted, not merely for his own 
 sake, but that he might be taught by experience how " to 
 comfort others with the same comfort with which he had 
 been comforted of God." The consolation he received 
 was endeared to him, by the thought that the benefit of it 
 might be reflected on others. But, besides the particular 
 case of comfort in trouble, there is a general principle here 
 stated ; namely, that afflictions are not always direcly in- 
 tended for the correction of evil, or for the prevention of 
 it ; but are meant to qualify for more extensive and varied 
 usefulness, whether in comforting those that are cast down, 
 or in otherwise profiting our brethren. We, of course, 
 ought to be concerned, not only that ourselves, but that 
 others also, may be blessed by our trials. Throughout 
 the Scriptures this generous spirit is inculcated and cherish- 
 ed. The troubles of Joseph prepared him to be the saviour 
 of Egypt, and of his father's family. The sohtude and 
 circumstances of Moses, when secluded at Mount Horeb, 
 fitted him to be the leader of Israel. The trials of David, 
 after he was anointed, prepared him for the government of 
 the kingdom of God. But, above all, did not the humilia- 
 tion of the Saviour himself qualify him in certain respects 
 for his glory? Heb. ii. 17, 18. 
 
 One way in which the afflictions of Christians are of 
 
240 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 general utility, is the display which they afford of the 
 power of divine grace, and the happy influence of the Gos- 
 pel in sustaining and animating the mind under the heaviest 
 trials. That this manifestation may be made of the nature 
 and tendency of genuine religion, the Lord calls his people 
 to manifold trials ; and deeply ought we to feel our respon- 
 sibility in the hour of tribulation. On us observation is 
 fixed, and the Gospel is judged of by our deportment. 
 Facts impress more than mere statements. We profess to 
 have special resources under the afllictions of life. We 
 declare also, that it is at once our duty and our privilege 
 to bow with cheerfulness to the will of God. We have, 
 then, a post of honor to maintain, and it becomes us to 
 prove, that, though sorrowful, we are always rejoicing. 
 The spirit and the behaviour of heavily afflicted Christians 
 have awakened attention to the truth ; have reclaimed the 
 irreligious ; have strengthened the weak, and encouraged 
 the timid. Is not, then, an afflictive event to be prized as 
 a means of usefulness, by the illustration it may afford of 
 the nature and the blessedness of genuine piety, and the 
 consequent recommendation of the Gospel to the attention 
 of others ? But as time is connected with eternity, the af- 
 flictions of this state are also designed to fit us for the 
 world of light and of blessedness, and for high degrees of 
 glory and happiness there. 
 
 Such are some of the views in which affliction is repre- 
 sented in Scripture. Keeping them in your eye, suffer me 
 to suggest to you a few general observations connected 
 with the subjet. The trials of time are often blessed, for 
 the purpose of awakening us to a sense of sin and of 
 wretchedness. The evils of the heart and of the life, the 
 temptations incident to particular circumstances, and the 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 241 
 
 many dangers which attend this state of vanity, are all 
 made to rise before the mind, and deeply to impress it. 
 Thus were the brethren of Joseph profited by the embar- 
 rassing circumstances in which they were placed in Egypt. 
 Gen. xlii. 21. In the same way was Manasseh humbled, 
 and brought to repentance. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 — 13. In- 
 stead of seeking to evade the charges of conscience, we 
 then admit them to be just. We murmur not at the stroke 
 of Heaven, but confess that we are punished less than our 
 iniquities deserve. The mind is opened to perceive, and 
 the heart to embrace, that resting place, and that full pro- 
 vision, which the Gospel hath provided. It is truly a bless- 
 ing to have the spell broken, and the enchantment dis- 
 solved, which have so long enslaved us, — and so blinded 
 us, that the real state of things has been hid. When the 
 soul is led to the Saviour, is made to wait upon him, and 
 to cast itself upon his mercy ; however painful the means, 
 the end compensates for all. When the heart is made to 
 cling to the cross of the Redeemer, and to build its whole 
 hope upon his finished work, there is much cause for thank- 
 fulness to God, who, rather than suffer us to sleep in sin 
 and in false security, awakened us by trouble, and gave us 
 rest in himself, — rest which abides in the midst of trials 
 the most acute and the most protracted, and which shall 
 issue in life everlasting. 
 
 The way in which affliction operates upon the mind of a 
 sinner when first led to the truth, is, in many respects, 
 similar to that in which it sanctifies the soul of a Christian. 
 In neither case can the evils of life, of themselves, change 
 the heart; but in both, the mind is led to that which, when 
 believed, works effectually in renovating the whole man. 
 21 
 
242 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 Permit me, then, to call your attention to some of the ways 
 in which affliction becomes profitable. 
 
 Trials are of use in leading us to consider and to ac- 
 knowledge the hand of our God. Job, in the day of his 
 affliction, rose above second causes ; and said that he who 
 had taken away, was he who had given; and blessed his 
 name. The recollection of the hand of God made the 
 Psalmist keep silent, and bowed his mind to the m ill of 
 Heaven. David, when reproached by Shimei, looked up 
 to him who had permitted him to do so ; and this calmed 
 his heart, and cherished a spirit of forgiveness. Nothing 
 happens to us by chance ; we arc not left fatherless ; for 
 the providence of God is concerned in our trials. We are 
 apt, in our journey, to slop at second causes, whether the 
 occurrences of the way are what we call prosperous or ad- 
 verse. It is humbling that we so oflcn walk on without 
 meeting God, and that the very instruments which he em- 
 ploys, come between us and himself. This must be highly 
 dishonorable to him ; and must deprive us of the benefit of 
 affliction, while it converts prosperity into the means of 
 cherishing the most unhallowed princi})les. Against this 
 we ought vigilantly to guard, under the firm conviction 
 that his glory and our happiness are inseparably connected. 
 If he remove from us our earthly comforts, it is that we 
 may sec their nature, and be led to aspire after that which 
 is certain — that " better part which shall never be taken 
 from us." Sweet is the privilege of being able to look to 
 God as a Father, and to every event as coming from him 
 who loved us and gave himself for us. 
 
 The afflictions of life have profited us when they have 
 made us sensible of our proper place before God; when 
 ihcy have enlarged our views of liis lioly character and 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 243 
 
 his righteous law, and have led us to humble oursevles 
 under his mighty hand. It is essential to our real happi- 
 ness to be in our proper station, and to take pleasure in be- 
 ing so. Whatever tends to humble us, and to prove us, 
 tends to do us good in our latter end. When reduced to 
 situations in which human aid is felt to be powerless, and 
 so obliged to cast ourselves on God, we feel our weakness 
 and dependence. Under the loss of our earthly comforts, 
 we feel our littleness, and that we are not worthy of the 
 least of his mercies ; and we bow to his will, in the confi- 
 dence that, in his own way, and at the proper time, he will 
 lift us up. We ai-e taught to think more soberly, and to 
 bless the Lord that we are not wholly consumed : We ac- 
 knowledge the righteousness of God, and become more 
 watchful against sin and the many temptations incident to 
 this state of vanity. 
 
 The troubles of this state are blessed as means of lead- 
 ing us to the word of God. They throw much light on 
 Scripture ; while it at the same time throws much light on 
 them. In the hour of t^ial it is found to be a guide, a pre- 
 servative from sin, and the source of great consolation. 
 The promises of God are found to be truly precious ; and 
 he himself is proved to be an all-sufficient portion in the 
 absence of all earthly good. The Scriptures appear in a 
 new light, and we search them with a new spirit. Our ex- 
 perience of their complete adaptation to the state and the 
 wants of the soul, increases our knowledge of their worth 
 and their import. In circumstances the most trying to na- 
 ture, the heart is delighted with the bright light thrown on 
 the character and the ways of God ; and is made to rejoice 
 in the glory, and to feel the power of his truth. The soul 
 is particularly occupied with the work and administration 
 
244 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 of the Saviour; and is gratified in surveying a plan of re- 
 demption, so honorable to God, and so suited to the state 
 of man. 
 
 When we are led by our affliction to the throne of grace, 
 in the name of the Redeemer, we find at once relief, com- 
 fort, and purity. We go, not merely from a cold sense of 
 duty, but from a sense of want and of danger ; and because 
 we find all our happiness in God. In the hour of trial we 
 feel our weakness, and our devotions are quickened by the 
 death of our earthly joys. Are we afflicted? Let us pray. 
 He who invites us to him will satisfy the longing soul, and 
 fill the hungry soul with goodness. In the day of pros- 
 perity we are ready to forget God ; but the storms of ad- 
 versity shake off our sloth, languor, and indifference, and 
 awaken the flame that was ready to be extinguished. So 
 it was with David, whose devotion was most ardent in the 
 deserts and in the deep waters of tribulation. None of his 
 Psalms breathe a more elevated and spiritual strain of piety 
 than those which he wrote in the wilderness. In prosper- 
 ity, while at the fountain head of public means, he is far 
 from aj)pcaring to the same advantage. Blessed then, must 
 that trial be, which has led us to the hearer of prayer. 
 
 I speak not merely of prayer for deliverance from trou- 
 ble. We ought not to seek rclief simply, but relief in con- 
 nexion with the honor of God. It was in this way that the 
 suffering Redeemer implored aid and deliverance in the 
 days of his affliction. We cannot, and ought not, to be in- 
 sensible to pain ; and we may desire and use means for re- 
 lief, provided that we do so in submission to the will of 
 God. We may be heard, though n<jt released from trou- 
 ble, by being granted a imicli higlicr blessing, — namely, 
 grace to support us under our trials, and to make tlicm sal- 
 
THE BENEFIT OP AFFLICTION. 245 
 
 utary to our souls. The very compassion of our Father 
 may keep him from removing the bitter draught. It be- 
 comes us to remember that creatures entice the heart, and 
 steal it away, as if they could impart happiness ; and that 
 afflictions are sent to stop us in our wanderings from gen- 
 uine enjoyment, and to bring us back to God, the only 
 spring of all true blessedness. Painful as may be our dis- 
 tresses, they are not sent to bereave us of happiness ; but 
 to fill us with that bliss which is real and permanent. 
 Hence our prayers for deliverance ought to be accompa- 
 nied with complete resignation to the providence of God. 
 
 Affliction has profited us when it served to be a monitor. 
 In the day of prosperity we are ready to forget God and 
 our duty, but adversity reminds us of our ingratitude, of the 
 opportunities we have neglected, the mercies we have de- 
 spised, and the blessings we have lost. We are by this 
 means in mercy roused from our lethargy, and are excited 
 to double our activity. We hear the voice which says, 
 " The night is far spent, the day is at hand ; let us there- 
 fore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the 
 armor of light. 
 
 We need to be taught the uncertainty of our most valued 
 
 enjoyments, that we may be enabled to enjoy them with a 
 
 Christian spirit. We are taught this, not by reading and 
 
 hearing only, but by means of afflictive providences. They 
 
 serve to bring us into a proper state of mind for receiving 
 
 instruction, and they make us feel what the Scriptures so 
 
 strikingly describe. We are made to see that all our earthly 
 
 enjoyments hang upon a breath — that this scene of vanity 
 
 is poor indeed — that the Saviour is our only portion and 
 
 resting place — and that the heavenly temple is our true 
 
 and everlasting home. Our Father will not indulge us to 
 21* 
 
 '^r 
 
246 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 our ruin : but, loving us more than wc do ourselves, he de- 
 feats our plans, destroys our fairest and firmest fabrics, 
 wins our affections away from vanity, and gains them to 
 himself. 
 
 AVc derive benefit from aflliction when wc maintain our 
 confidence in God under its heaviest pressure. In cases 
 the most critical, and, in our view, hopeless, he has the best 
 opportunity for the demonstration of his power, his wisdom, 
 and faithfulness : and for laying a solid foundation for the 
 faith and the hope of his people. He takes pleasure in 
 those wlio hope in his mercy : and he so arranges his dis- 
 pensations as best to put our confidence to the test : Hence 
 he led Israel by a circuitous way to Canaan, and exercised 
 their faith in " a land of deserts and of pits — of scorpions 
 and fiery flying serpents." There they were made to feel 
 their dependence on God, and had an opportunity of en- 
 tirely trusting him. In such circumstances we ought to 
 rely upon him ; and, in the confidence of faith, to consult 
 him. We ought never to forget, that, though wc know not 
 the particular design of each of his dispensations singly, we 
 well know his grand and ultimate object : — it is " to do us 
 good in our latter end," that is, in our future and eternal 
 state, [t ought to be enough to us that he has promised to 
 be with us, and to do us good. On his word all may be 
 ventured. Abraham acted thus, when he hoped against 
 hope, — when he turned from all that friends could say — 
 from all that the common course of events indicated; and 
 left the whole in the hand of God, in the firm persuasion 
 that the promise should be fulfilled. 
 
 Though the language of Scripture be general, it is a])pli- 
 cable to all the varied and ever-varying circumstances of 
 the whole family of God. On this principle the promise of 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 247 
 
 the divine presence made to Joshua is applied to Christians. 
 Joshua i. 5 ; Heb. xiii. 5, 6. We need not a personal rev- 
 elation : To look for any thing of this kind is quite enthu- 
 siastic. Christians doubtless have often their attention di- 
 rected to particular passages of Scripture, and have the 
 happiness of drawing from them what they were meant to 
 impart ; but it is the truth contained in them, and not a 
 presumption of their being an immediate revelation to the 
 individual, that produces the effect. The Scriptures speak 
 only of characters ; and if we answer to these charcters, 
 we may and ought to consider all that is addressed to them 
 as addressed to ourselves. The people of God form one 
 great family, and the promises made to one are made to all, 
 as far as their circumstances are similar. There are many 
 general assurances in Scripture of the divine favor and 
 kindness, on w^hich our minds ought ever to rest, and which 
 we ought ever to plead at the throne of mercy. Never let 
 us limit the Holy One of Israel ; but, amidst seeming im- 
 possibilities, follow the father of the faithful when he offered 
 up Isaac, reasoning thus — " The Lord who hath promised 
 to bless the nations in the seed of this my son, is able to 
 raise him from the dead, though consumed to ashes." 
 When all our props are removed, and we are called to walk 
 in darkness, then is the time for discovering our confidence 
 in God, by committing every thing to him. W^hen the dry- 
 ing up of the streams of earthly comfort has had the effect 
 of inducing us to seek our all in him, we have reason to 
 say, that in love he hath afflicted us. Earthly joys are 
 transient, and oflen leave a sting behind them ; but the joys 
 of a Christian are pure and progressive. 
 
 I would here remind you, that there are cases in which 
 the most eminent of the children of God need to have fear 
 
248 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 as well as love kept alive, ^^^o have cxam})les of this in 
 Jacob, David, and Ilczckiah, with many more. The af- 
 flictions of life serve to keep up a holy fear of our Father : 
 He will not suffer us to wander without being recalled by 
 tribulation : He treats us as children in training for heaven. 
 The discipline of his family includes correction for our 
 faults, and the frowns of a Father arc truly hard to bear. 
 The fear of them serves to keep us steadfast in his way. 
 It is not affliction, merely as such, that a Christian dreads, 
 but as the correction of a Father, which, while it expresses 
 his love, also expresses his displeasure. It is well when 
 the smarting discipline of the rod embitters to us the ways 
 of sin. The design of our Father is to expel from us the 
 poison of depravity ; and since we know not all the vari- 
 ous modes in which the disorder operates, we are not com- 
 petent judges of the means he employs. His corrections 
 are adapted also to the place we are destined to occupy, 
 and to our particular tempers, liabits, and dispositions as 
 connected with it. Now, we know not all that our Father 
 has in reserve for us in heaven, and so cannot be compe- 
 tent judges of the education he gives us on earth. It is for 
 us, then, to bow to his will with cordial confidence and re- 
 signation. 
 
 We are warned, you know, against two evils — that of 
 despising the chastening of the Lord, and that of fainting 
 under it. We are chargeable with the former when we do 
 not acknowledge the hand of God in our trials — when we 
 deem them too contemptible to be feared — when, thinking 
 lightly of them, we ask not that aid, without which they 
 cannot be endured with a proper spirit — when we do not 
 look to them as flowing from love to our souls, from dis- 
 pleasure against sin, and from an earnest desire to deliver 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 249 
 
 US from it, — when we look only to creatures for the aid 
 which we need — when we refuse to abandon the evils we 
 are pursuing — and when we stubbornly refuse to feel and 
 to bow to the will of God. When the heart thus wanders 
 from God, affliction, instead of being salutary, becomes 
 deeply injurious. 
 
 On the other hand, we ought not to faint under the rod. 
 We are in danger of running; into this error, when endea- 
 voring to avoid the former. In our haste and impatience, 
 •we become incapable of calmly considering all circumstan- 
 ces. That we may be preserved from fainting, it is neces- 
 sary that we grow in faith ; for it is unbelief that causes 
 us to sink in the day of adversity. While Moses looked 
 to " him who is invisible," and had his eye on "the recom- 
 pense of reward," he cheerfully endured his many and 
 heavy trials. When the attention of Peter was occupied 
 with the waves only, he instantly began to sink ; but had 
 he kept his eye upon his Lord, and had he thought of his 
 character, his mind would have remained in peace, and 
 his security would not have been questioned. We should 
 beware of so thinking on our afflictions as to exclude the 
 contemplation of our Lord. We err thus when we pore 
 constantly on our trials, without looking to the bright side 
 of the cloud. In this case we assuredly will put a wrong 
 construction on the ways of God, and deprive ourselves of 
 the great encouragement afforded us in Scripture, even in 
 times the darkest and most distressing. The most eminent 
 of the servants of God have erred in this way. Moses did 
 so when " he spake unadvisedly." Even the intrepid Eli- 
 jah failed when obliged to wander an exile. Jeremiah 
 fainted when he suffered under Pashur. Jacob did so when 
 he said "all these things are against me." And David, 
 
250 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 
 
 when he dreaded that " he should one day perish by the 
 hand of Saul." How closely do our. feelings and steps of- 
 ten resemble these! 
 
 We faint under our troubles when we are overcome by 
 surprise and overwhelmed by perplexity — when we give 
 way to dejection and despondency — when we utter heart- 
 less complaints, to the discouragement of the weak — when 
 we refuse to be comforted — when we overlook our remain- 
 ing comforts — when we become indifferent about the afllic- 
 tions of others — when we become unfit for, or neglect, the 
 duties of our station — and when we indulge in improper 
 views of the dispensations of God, as inconsistent with his 
 love, character, and word. In this state of mind, we are 
 ill danger of acting as did Jonah when his gourd was with- 
 ered. Instead of confiding in God, we become so en2;rossed 
 with our trials, and so absorbed in meditation on our afllic- 
 tions. that we overlook and forget the only thing that can 
 relieve and gladden the heart. 
 
 Let me exhort you to rise above every thing of this kind, 
 and imitate David when he " encouraged himself in the 
 Lord his God." 1 Sam. xxx. G. Seek an increase of faith 
 that your mind may dwell on things unseen and eternal ; 
 that spiritual things may ever impress your heart ; and 
 that, in beholding the way in which the Lord leads his re- 
 deemed, you may be led to give him your entire confidence. 
 You have before you a great cloud of witnesses, who have 
 left their testimony to the faithfulness and the goodness of 
 God, amidst tlic many evils which they suffered here, but 
 which they have overcome through the energy of fiiith. 
 Tlic men of this world look only at the things of time, 
 and no wonder that they are overwhelmed by the troubles 
 of this scene ; but Christians look beyond them to that 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 251 
 
 world where their elder brother already is, and where they 
 hope soon to be. Miserable, indeed, are they whose views 
 are bounded by time ; in whom the sorrow of the world is 
 deeply seated ; and in whose spirit it is working death ! 
 Think of Ahab, Haman, and Saul; and turn to the many 
 daily instances of wasting constitutions and broken hearts 
 which the face of society presents — and then dwell on the 
 blessedness of that spirit which bows to the will of God, 
 and finds, even in manifold trials, joy unspeakable and full 
 of glory. 
 
 We ought ever to remember in the day of affliction that 
 we suffer less than our iniquities deserve, that the Lord is 
 righteous, for we have sinned, and that it is of his mercies 
 that we are not consumed. It will not do, however, to 
 dwell only on considerations like these, for though we suffer 
 little compared with what is denounced by the law, it is pos- 
 sible that we may suffer more than we would be able long 
 to endure. It is therefore of the first moment to dwell on 
 the promises of a speedy release from our trials. The 
 patience to which we are called is the "patience of hope." 
 "Be patient," say the Scriptures, " for the coming of the 
 Lord draweth nigh." 
 
 It is not the man who is exempted from tribulation, but 
 the man that endures it, that is pronounced blessed. Take 
 for your example your brethren and companions in tribula- 
 tion. Trace the footsteps of the flock, and you will find 
 that all of them have trodden the path of tribulation. In 
 reading the Scriptures, you will find yourself most inter- 
 ested in the histories of those whose career was the most 
 dark and distressing. In the school of affliction the prin- 
 ciples of piety are called forth, tried, and strengthened; as 
 were the excellencies of the Saviour himself. Look to the 
 
252 THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTIOX. 
 
 cloud of witnesses ; but look particularly to him, and see in 
 his example, the blissful result of heavy and manifold trib- 
 ulations. Happy is he, you will then say, whom the Lord 
 corrcctcth ; who, by the losses and the crosses of time, is 
 induced to take God for his portion ; who is weaned from 
 earthly hopes and worldly dependencies; and is determin- 
 ately turned to God as the fountain of his happiness. Pre- 
 cious, indeed, is aflliction when it cherishes that self-deny- 
 ing, subdued, and heavenly temper of mind, which is the 
 very life of genuine religion ; which insures both safety 
 and blessedness in this valley of tears ; which purifies and 
 strengthens the heart ; and which assimilates to the charac- 
 ter of the Saviour, and to the spirit of their celestial temple. 
 There are qualities of heart which may flourish in seasons 
 of prosperity, but the spirit of which I now speak is best 
 cherished in adversity. It is in the valley of humiliation 
 that those principles grow which assimilate us the most to 
 the Man of Sorrows. We are not qualified for a higher 
 degree of glory than the degree of aflliction which we can 
 patiently bear. 
 
 Should you be called to duties arduous and painful — ac- 
 cording to your day shall be your strength. He who 
 brought his people to the Red Sea, and allowed them to be 
 hemmed in, did so to manifest his power and his goodness. 
 His people were called to stand still and see his salvation. 
 They were called at the moment, of all others the most 
 critical, to go forward. They did so, with the sea before 
 them, in the confidence of safety. It was "to them ac- 
 cording to their fuith;" for he who had called them to go 
 forward spake and opened a way in the waters. This is 
 written for our comfort and instruction. He is the same 
 now that he was then. When called to difficult circum- 
 
THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 253 
 
 stances, let the Lord be our confidence. There is nothing 
 in this bordering on thoughtlessness, insensibility, or enthu- 
 siasm. We have the word of our God before us, and there 
 we see the work and the character of Christ; and believ- 
 ing in this, we act under the influence of principles the 
 most rational. The faith of this raises us to the hope of 
 the second coming of the Saviour, and in the prospect of 
 it we are patient and happy in all our tribulations. As the 
 husbandman waits for the fruits of harvest, so do we wait 
 for the fruits of our faith and our afflictions. With us the 
 word of our God ought to be an end of all doubt; and con- 
 fiding in it, we ought to establish and compose our hearts, 
 in the expectation of that blessed day when the Redeemer 
 " shall come to be glorified in his saints, and admired in 
 all them that believe." The great thing is to have the 
 Lord himself ever before us ; to feel and act under the 
 constant conviction that he is ever present with us; and to 
 remember that soon, very soon, we shall be called to his 
 bar. When, through faith, we maintain a resigned and 
 devout spirit, success will follow us in all our ways. But 
 when we fail to persevere in the course of faiih and of pa- 
 tience, we shall suffer, as did Moses and Aaron, when, for 
 their evils, they were corrected of God. Num. xx. 7 — 12. 
 When the Saviour dwells in our hearts as the object of in- 
 tense regard, and we continue in the contemplation of our 
 future prospects through him, the mind is elevated above 
 all the interests and the afflictions of time. — We acquire 
 much of the spirit of the many who have travelled the 
 same course before us, and in circumstances far more dis- 
 tressing than any in which we have been placed. That 
 which supported them can also support us ; and in the faith 
 22 
 
254 OUR lord's answer 
 
 of that word in which they trusted, we shall, as they did, 
 
 finish our course with joy. 
 
 May the God of all consolation bless to you the ways of 
 
 his providence, by making them all work together for your 
 
 present and everlasting good. ]\Iay you find comfort here 
 
 in the heaviest trials : and grow in meetness for that state 
 
 in M'hich sorrow and si^hinir are unknown, and where 
 
 bliss unmingled ever flows. 
 
 I remain, &c. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 ON OUR lord's answer TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 
 
 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children, with her sona, 
 worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he 
 said unto her, What wilt thoul She saith unto him, Grant that 
 these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand and the other 
 on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Yo 
 know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I 
 ehall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am bap- 
 tized with? They say unto him. We are able. And he saith 
 unto them, Yc shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with 
 the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand, 
 and on my left, is not mine to give; but // shall be ffiven to them 
 for whom it is prepared of my Father. — Matthew xx. 21 — 23. 
 
 Mr DEATl KniEM), 
 
 In my last letter I endeavored to illustrate the goodness of 
 God, by showing you some of the benefits w hich may be 
 derived from aflliction. You would observe that I kept in 
 view the important consideration, that they arc designed 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 255 
 
 to affect the character, so as to make meet for heaven. 
 With a special eye to this, I shall now make some remarks 
 on the reply of our Lord to the request of the sons of Ze- 
 bedee. 
 
 The disciples James and John, through the medium of 
 their mother, expressed a desire that they should be granted 
 the honor of sitting, the one on the right and the other on 
 the left hand of their Lord in his kingdom. The request 
 included not merely situations of rank or dignity in gen- 
 eral, but the two chief official situations in his kingdom — 
 not merely a h'gh degree of happiness, but the honor of 
 being his principal ministers. This appears from the repe- 
 tition made, in the 27th and 28th verses, of the rule of 
 precedency which he formerly established, when the dis- 
 ciples were disputing which of them should be greatest ; 
 and from the reference which he makes, in verse 25th, to 
 the princes of the Gentiles. It appears also from a similar 
 reference made on the night in which he was betrayed, con- 
 nected with the promise then given them, that they should 
 sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. It is 
 evident that they had very mistaken notions of his charac- 
 ter and glory : They thought of an earthly kingdom, while 
 his kingdom is spiritual. But our Lord, without directly 
 entering on the subject of their prejudices, took occasion 
 from their request to exhibit his sufferings as the means of 
 initiation into office, and to state the principles on which 
 the honors of his kingdom should be bestowed. He had 
 no worldly honors to bestow on them. The only promo- 
 tion which he had to give was to be obtained by suffering 
 and self-denial. Life itself was to be sacrificed for it. 
 What glory, therefore, could he now have in his eye, but 
 
256 OUR lord's answer 
 
 that of the heavenly and future world ? The disciples, alas ! 
 were too much occupied with present things. 
 
 Looking on them, he felt for their ignorance; and in a 
 very gentle and affectionate manner ti)ld ihcm, they were 
 not aware of what they asked. His keen feelings on the 
 occasion, arose from the inseparable connection which he 
 well knew subsisted between his sufferings and his advance- 
 ment to the throne of his kingdom. They had touched a 
 subject, to him, of the most tender interest. The princi- 
 ples in man which associate ideas had their influence on 
 him as well as on us ; and the thoujrht of the riiiht and 
 the left hand of his throne, led his mind to the awful scenes 
 which he had to encounter before he could ascend it. He 
 had but lately predicted his sufferings, and never were they 
 absent from his thoughts ; but still, particular occurrences 
 did at times make them press with more than ordinary 
 power upon his mind. The present was a circumstance 
 much calculated to do so. He now thought of them as the 
 direct appointment of God, in the character of an offended 
 Lawgiver, — as a token of his sacred and mediatorial cha- 
 racter, — as an essential part of his consecration to his hal- 
 lowed office, — and as necessarily distinguished by unutter- 
 able severity. He at the same time thought of the resem- 
 blance which his people must bear to him as a ])aticnt and 
 submissive sufferer, especially in tiibulation for the sake of 
 the Gospel, before they could be qualified for the honors, 
 and particularly for the highest honors, of liis kingdom. 
 Feeling in this way, lie asked his disciples if they could 
 with a proper spirit, go through the ])revious sufferings 
 necessary to fit iheni for the places they desired : could 
 they drink of his bitter cup of affliction? — could they bo 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. • 257 
 
 baptized with his baptism of sufferings, as those must be 
 who shall be exalted in his kingdom ? They conceived that 
 he spake only of such sufferings as they had already wit- 
 nessed in him — they were engrossed with the hopes of gran- 
 deur and authority, and so did not enter into his meaning — 
 they also confided too much in their own strength ; and 
 hence were' led to reply, that they could. 
 
 Our Lord, without directly charging them with their am- 
 bitious spirit, and their utter unfitness, whilst they retained 
 their present views, for such sufferings, or with their er- 
 roneous notions of the whole matter, replied, that they 
 should indeed participate in a measure in his sufferings ; but 
 that the honors of his kingdom were not to be conferred 
 on the ground of personal or private friendship, so to say, 
 but on public grounds. As man, he had his particular at- 
 tachments, though always becoming his character, and 
 John, one of the petitioners, was the beloved disciple; but 
 in the distribution of the honors of his future kingdom, no 
 private feelings which belonged to him merely as a man, 
 would in the least degree guide him. The places which 
 they asked were prepared of his Father for those two of 
 his disciples who, by means of the deepest participation 
 with him in patient submissive suffering, in the cause of 
 truth, and in obedience to the will of God, should be found 
 best qualified for them. He did not mean to say, as the 
 supplement indicates, that the places in question were not 
 his to give : he meant that they were his to give, but that, 
 in giving them, he should be guided, not as they thought, 
 by private reasons or mere human friendship, but by public 
 reasons ; not taken from an arbitrary appointment, but 
 from the purpose of his Father, who had destined them for 
 22* 
 
258 J, 
 
 the two who should most resemble in character the beloved 
 of his soul. 
 
 This appointment, then, is grounded on the connection 
 between character and blessedness. Accordingly, he does 
 not mention the two by name, but simply describes them 
 by their lot, and by their resemblance in principle and spirit 
 to himself. He tells us that they who shall fill the stations 
 in question, shall be the two of his followers who, by being 
 most afllicted here, have had their princij)les of piety and 
 of benevolence severely tried, and by this means most 
 called forth and invigorated ; and have thus become most 
 like in moral and spiritual excellence to him who is now a 
 priest upon his throne. The strictest impartiahty will mark 
 the decisions of him to whom all judgment is committed. 
 He refers particularly to sufferings borne in a course of la- 
 bor for the truth of God ; but the principle upon which he 
 proceeds is capable of a general application. The Corinthi- 
 ans had reason to rejoice in those common afflictions which 
 •were designed to prevent their being "condemned with the 
 world." Wiicn even the ordinary calamities of life cherish 
 and strengthen the })rinciples that adorned the character of 
 Christ, they of course increase our meetncss for heavenly 
 glory. It is the end and the effect we are to consider, and 
 not barely the means. Such as are most distinguished by 
 positive holiness shall be best qualified for the highest sta- 
 tions in that kingdom ; the honors and rewards of which 
 are invariably proportioned to the degree in which its sub- 
 jects are conformed to him who, as the first-born of the 
 family, is seated on the throne of his Father. Hence the 
 Scriptures have connected our fellowship with him in suf- 
 fering, with our fellowship with him in glory. Rom. viii. 
 17; 1 Pet. iv. 13. 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. - 259 
 
 This was proposing to tliem a noble object of ambition, 
 in the pursuit of which, instead of being corrupted, they 
 should be purified. The Gospel does not aim at the extir- 
 pation of the sense of honor and the desire of glory ; for 
 man was originally formed for honor and dominion in a 
 state of innocence ; and the Scriptures set before us the 
 hope of glory, honor, and immortality, as an incentive to 
 duty. Rom. ii. 7. The promise of God is, "Them that 
 honor me, I will honor ;" and the Saviour says, " If any 
 man serve me, him will my Father honor." Shame and 
 disgrace are accordingly represented as among the most 
 painful things in suffering. Psalm Ixix. 7 — 21. Heb. xii. 
 2, and xi. 36. The sense of honor and the desire of glory 
 like every other principle in human nature, have become 
 corrupted. They are occupied with sinful and earthly 
 things. Men " glory in their shame," and are ashamed of 
 that which constitutes true glory. 
 
 It is the law of Christ's kingdom, however, that he who 
 will be the greatest must be the servant of all. He must 
 imbibe the spirit, and to act upon the principles, of him who, 
 though Emmanuel, came, not to be ministered unto, but to 
 minister; yea, to give his life a ransom for many. We 
 see in the Saviour what true glory is. It is not in the least 
 like to what men admire ; but is indeed the very opposite 
 to it. Glory is moral and spiritual excellence, in its exercise 
 and display, and in the honor which it justly commands. 
 In a perfect being, the degree of this moral and spiritual ex- 
 cellence corresponds with the degree of his natural faculties. 
 What is the divine glory, but the infinite moral beauty and 
 granduer of Jehovah ? It is this which, when displayed to 
 intelligent beings, excites the emotions comprehended in 
 giving glory to his name. The intrinsic worth of his holy 
 
260 OUR lord's answer 
 
 and wise, righteous and gracious perfections, entitle him to 
 all possible love, admiration, and homage. Now, in the 
 Saviour every uncreated and created excellence is to be 
 found : in him all of them are disi)laycd ; and to him, in 
 consequence, every knee shall bow. It is in his character, 
 as the image of the invisible God, that the supreme perfec- 
 tion of moral worth is seen ; and hence he is termed " the 
 brightness, or the efTulgence of his glory." 
 
 Jesus stands at the head of the new creation, as did 
 Adam in the old. In the new heaven and the new earth 
 of the second Adam, we see the lost dominion of man more 
 than restored. In him the language of the eighth Psalm is 
 verified, as we are fully taught in the epistle to the Hebrews. 
 Heb. ii. 6 — 10. In us it will likewise be verified, when 
 we are conformed to him in glory ; and to this consuma- 
 tion the Psalm obviously points. Our lost dominion is des- 
 tined to be restored and extended through the wonderful me- 
 dium of His liumiliation, and by our conformity to the 
 principles unfolded and glorified by its means. He "was 
 manifested in the flesh" and " made under the law," in 
 order that, in the character of a servant, he might be per- 
 fected for all that government with which he is now in- 
 vested. In imitation of him, we are called to take up the 
 cross, and, as convicted criminals, to admit the equity of 
 llie sentence which dooms us to death; and, abandoning 
 all hope founded on this passing world, cheerfully to fol- 
 low him in the path of sorrow and liumiliation to the hea- 
 venly kingdom, it is thus that we are to deny ourselves 
 to all the false glory of the world, and to seek that which 
 is lieavenly and divine. In being conformed to the Man of 
 Sorrows, who, amidst reproach and scorn, endured iho 
 cross, despising the shame, and in being thus conibrmcd to 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 261 
 
 the divine character unfolded by him, we attain true glory; 
 because we by this means attain genuine excellence, have 
 the principles of the Saviour exercised in us, and are ena- 
 bled to display them. With this is connected heavenly en- 
 joyment ; for, in beholding the various manifestations of 
 the glory of God, and as so many mirrors reflecting his 
 image, we find ourselves supremely and divinely blessed. 
 How different is the judgment of God from that of man? 
 The traduced disciples of the Saviour will be found the only 
 honorable characters on earth in that day, when all shall 
 be seen in a just light. Then the proud and the ambitious 
 of this world, in whose praises history has abounded, will 
 be found mean and contemptible, and covered with shame 
 while the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the king- 
 dom of their Father. 
 
 Our Lord, then, presented to his disciples the noblest ob- 
 ject of ambition : he sought to cure them of that spirit which 
 led them to look for an earthly kingdom and for earthly 
 honors — which had led one of them to rebuke him when he 
 spoke of his suffering and death ; and which led all of them 
 at last to stumble at his reproach and crucifixion. The me- 
 thod he took was that of instructing them in the true nature 
 of his character and kingdom. He illustrates this by direct- 
 ing them to the means by which he should ascend the 
 throne ; and by teaching them, that the way to their hon- 
 ors was the same as his — namely, that of humilit}^, patient 
 sufferinfj, and deadness to this world. This was connected 
 with the exhibition of a glory and a blessedness, infinitely 
 exceeding the boasted but delusive honors and joys of which 
 they were in quest. His eye was upon the joy which was 
 set before himself, even the ineffable blessedness which he 
 now posseses in contemplation and enjoyment of the divine 
 
262 THE lord's answer 
 
 character, as displayed in his own work, and in the salva- 
 tion of his people. Now, this is happiness, wliicli is con- 
 nected with the highest moral excellence and dignity, which 
 worth of character commands that honor which holy intel- 
 ligences invariably pay to spiritual glory. 
 
 He afterwards drew a contrast between the kingdoms 
 and rulers of this world, and the dignities, offices, and bless- ^^ 
 ings of his kingdom. In it personal or independent dignity 
 and privileges were to be unknown. The greatness of the 
 greatest is connected by him with the duty of condescension 
 and service to the least ; and this rule of precedency is en- 
 forced by the strongest of all motives — the consideration of 
 his own humiliation. The lesson was not fully received 
 by them at the time ; but when the Holy Spirit brought his 
 words to their remembrance afterwards, they came to " glory 
 exclusively in his cross ;" and " to rejoice that they were 
 counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." They 
 taught their brethren, that the way to the kingdom of their 
 Father lay " through manifold tribulations'' — that the king, 
 their elder brother, had gone that way — that the way was 
 at once safe and honorable, since he had gone before them, 
 and was still with them, to preserve and to guide them — 
 and that, as they now "had fellowship with him in suffer- 
 ing," so they should ultimately " participate in his glory." 
 By these considerations did they excite their brethren, and 
 stir up their own minds, to seek, "by patient continuance 
 in well doijig, for glory, honor, and immorlalily." Thus 
 did they seek to withdraw the mind from the transient phan- 
 toms of time, by exhibiting an infinitely grander prospect 
 than this world can furnish. Here is an object, in the pur- 
 suit of which the noblest and the most hallowed ambition 
 has an " infinite latitude and scope;" an ambition which, 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 263 
 
 the more that it is indulged, assimilates us the more to the 
 God of all excellence. 
 
 You will perceive that our Lord does not sa}^, that no 
 such places as the two requested should be granted to any. 
 On the contrary, his answer implies that some two of his 
 disciples should certainly obtain them, though who they 
 shall be, the day of judgment only shall declare. I need 
 not say, then, that the enjoyment of different degrees of 
 glory, and of eminence in honor and dignity, shall certainly 
 obtain in the heavenly world. It must be evident from the 
 answer of our Lord, that such distinctions form a part of 
 the arrangement of God, and are indeed the natural effect 
 of existing character, in that world where bliss is the result 
 of the very nature of things, inasmuch as there, existing 
 principles will be followed by corresponding effects and con- 
 sequences. He teaches us that the trials of life are meant 
 for our good ; because they are designed to assimilate us 
 to God, by cherishing, exercising, and so invigorating those 
 sacred principles which include the elements of blessed- 
 ness. They serve to conform us to the Saviour, in whom 
 there is all in which Jehovah delights ; and thus do they 
 serve to augment our happiness in the world of light, ho- 
 liness, and love. 
 
 I would here call your attention more particularly to the 
 view which the Lord, in this passage of Scripture, gives of 
 his glory. He has his eye on his official dignity as a priest 
 upon his throne, and on what was necessary to his initiation 
 into office. In order to his being qualified for the official 
 glory in question, and in order to his subsequent investi- 
 ture with it, it behoved him to submit to suffering and to 
 death. Both qualification for and investiture with office 
 are, in Scripture, included in consecration to it ; and henco 
 
264 OUR LORD S A?fS\VER 
 
 much of the importance which is attaclicd to the solemn 
 dedication of official characters. By the haptism of his 
 own blood, as was prefigured by the purification of the 
 priests at their consecration, was the Saviour fitted for, and 
 set apart to, the office of a priest, and that of a mediatory 
 king. In him these two offices are united; Zech vi. 13 ; 
 Hcb. vii. 17 ; and hence he connects his sufferings on earth 
 with the wliole of his mediatorial glory.* 
 
 He refers also, when he calls his sufl"erings a baptism, 
 to their uncommon and awful severity. M'hcn we con- 
 sider that by consecration, is meant not only appointment 
 to, but likewise qualification for, office, there appears an 
 obvious reason for adverting particularly to the heavy and 
 severe nature of his many and complicated distresses. By 
 means of them, he was to be fitted for the high official sta- 
 tion which ho now holds in heaven, and also for the exalted 
 blessedness of which he is there possessed. From the very 
 first of his life below, he was as Emmanuel, and, as im- 
 maculately pure in character, qualified for the work he had 
 undertaken ; but as his sufferings called forth, and gave 
 occasion for, the display of every positive excellence, they 
 perfected his consecration. In proportion, of course, to 
 their weight, severity, and complicated nature, was the 
 measure in which the glorious principles of his character 
 were tried ; the brightness of the lustre with which they 
 shone, and the degree in which they were invigorated. 
 They were in a certain sense, like " fire to refine the gold ;'* 
 for though they could not purge away dross or pollution, 
 
 ♦ JSeo Hebrews ii. 10, and v. 9, compared with cliap. vii. 28, wliero 
 ihe word rendered "perfect" in the former passafjos is rendered 
 "consecrated ;" and withcha[). ii — 9, where suflcring is connected 
 with his dominion. 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 265 
 
 of which there was none in the immaculate Saviour, they 
 served to increase the positive preciousness of his moral 
 and spiritual glories. As he grew in stature and in intel- 
 lectual endowments, so did he in every holy and benevolent 
 principle. The hallowed excellencies of his character were, 
 in particular, eminently increased, through the means of 
 his sufferings ; for in him, as in us, that law of nature by 
 which the trial and exercise of a principle adds to its vigor, 
 had its uniform influence. Viewins:, then, the excruciatinsc 
 sorrows and inconceivable agonies which awaited him, he 
 calls them a baptism, — to express at once their sacred and 
 overwhelming nature. Even under the immediate hand of 
 God, his love to his Father, his zeal for his glory, his ven- 
 eration for his excellence, his abhorence of sin as opposed 
 to his will, and his love to righteousness as the ornament 
 of his perfections, were all in full and highest exercise, and 
 in the most vivdd light exhibited the glory of his character. 
 His love to God was not exercised merely in circumstances 
 of ease and enjoyment, but burned with the warmest fer- 
 vor and the brightest lustre under all the floods of tribula- 
 tion that the mighty hand of Heaven poured upon his soul. 
 It glowed in his breast even under the heaviest sorrows, 
 and the deepest depression which the divine dereliction 
 could produce in a mind sustaining at the very time the 
 attacks of earth and of hell. Never, surely, was love so 
 tried : never was it so displa3^ed. 
 
 Here shone also the kindred flame of love to men, even 
 in all their guilt and pollution. His sufferings must have 
 excited in his mind the most lively ideas of his people, and 
 of the miseries to which they were liable. Their charac- 
 ter also must have been viewed by him with the deepest 
 
 concern. His love, however, did not decline when thus 
 23 
 
266 OUR lord's answer 
 
 tried. On the contrary, the benevolent feelings of his 
 heart were the more excited and invigorated. Hence the 
 Scriptures dwell particularly on his cross and agonies, as 
 affording the most advantageous station for taking a distinct 
 view of his illustrious character. In this way was he 
 fitted for the situation he now fills as a priest upon his 
 throne. 
 
 He entered heaven as the first-born among many breth- 
 ren ; and there he exhibited the very lineaments of the in- 
 visible God, in fully unfolding the views, dispositions, and 
 principles, which governed himself in the days of his flesh. 
 Here too, he, by the same means, depicted the character of 
 man; the nature and issue of sin; and the nature and ob- 
 ject of the divine law. In exhibiting his love to God and 
 his love to sinners, as manifested in his sacrifice, he se- 
 cured the confidence of all in his lieavcnly ministrations. 
 By these principles, as developed and brightened in the fur- 
 nace of aflliction, and by his relation to both parties, was 
 he qualified for the great work of mediating between the 
 lawgiver and the guilty children of Adam. When in the 
 invisible world of angels and departed spirits, ho in cfl!ect 
 declared, that not the smallest part of his unparalleled woes 
 could have been spared ; that, in all his pangs, and in all 
 his agonies, he bowed to the will of God ; unquestionably 
 his declaration must have come home to all hearts with ir- 
 resistible energy ; must have enlarged their views of the 
 divine character ; and must have added to their joys. In 
 this consunnnationof his ex])iatory work God delights, and 
 has expressed his delight and approbation by calling him 
 to the throne of his glory. 
 
 Connected with his advancement to honor, is his ad- 
 vancement to bliss. Ilis soul now rests in the full and 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 267 
 
 everlasting enjoyment of the divine perfections manifested 
 in his own work. He is capacitated for this joy as Me- 
 diator, by means of his unutterable sufferings ; because 
 they brought him into the nearest and most intimate union 
 with the divine character, and illustrated its glory. The 
 principles exercised by him when afflicted by his God, con- 
 tain the very elements of his present happiness. As Em- 
 manuel, he exhibited the effulgence of the divine glory in 
 his obedience unto death ; in his official ministrations he 
 still displays it; and in that, which is thus manifested, his 
 soul rests with ineffable delight. The praises of the celes- 
 tial temple exhibit the foundation of his glory and the 
 spring of his joys. The purport of the heavenly song of 
 the redeemed is, " By how much he humbled himself and 
 suffered on earth for sinners, by so much lethim be exalt- 
 ed and blessed in heaven." He who emptied himself of 
 power, and assumed the form of a servant ; who, though 
 rich, for our sakes became poor; who stooped to become 
 the object of scorn ; who was crucified through apparent 
 weakness ; and who became a curse for us — is declared 
 worthy to receive all power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
 strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Such is the 
 song of all holy creatures ; and such is the judgment of God, 
 the best judge of excellence, and the best acquainted with 
 the Redeemer. All serve to show that his glory and his 
 bliss arise from his humiliation and his woes on earth. 
 
 Allow me, my dear friend, to connect these views with 
 the two important considerations, that there will be different 
 degrees of glory among the redeemed in heaven ; and 
 that the way in which they shall be fitted for their several 
 stations there, will be that of being in their measure con- 
 formed to the character of the Man of Sorrows. The two 
 
268 OUR lord's answer 
 
 wlio sliall sit on his right hand and on his left hand, shall 
 be the two who shall have drunk most deeply of his cup 
 of affliction, and shall have been most baptized with his 
 baptism. On the same principles, the redeemed in general, 
 from the highest to the lowest in the kingdom of heaven, 
 shall be fitted in their measure for the stations they shall 
 respectively fill. The light afflictions of this present mo- 
 mentary scene, not only are followed by, but actually 
 '■'•worlied out, a far more exceeding and an eternal weight 
 of glory." They do so, by drawing the mind from created 
 objects to the cross of Christ and its transforming dis- 
 coveries ; and so inducing it to make " unseen and eternal 
 things" its constant and delghtful aim. If the afflictions 
 of life work out for us far higher blessedness, I need not 
 say that there must be a diversity of glory in heaven. It 
 is true that the apostle is not comparing the future glory of 
 one Christian with that of another, but rather the afllictions 
 of life with future blessedness : Yet, as the latter is said to 
 be wrought out by the former, there must be a proportion 
 between them. The passage then indirectly teaches, that 
 there shall be a diversity of degrees in future glory. It is 
 evident that, if the Christian who is removed from earth 
 almost as soon as he receives the truth, shall possess the 
 same weight of glory with those who have suffered long 
 and severely in the cause of God, it cannot be said that the 
 trials of the latter have wrought out for them what they 
 shall enjoy. In that case, their bliss were quite irrespec- 
 tive of their sufferings. 
 
 In proportion to the measure in w liich we are conformed 
 to the hallowed principles which the sufferings of the Sa- 
 viour called forth and exercised, is the measure in which 
 we are capacitated for high degrees of conformity to him 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 269 
 
 in glory. The same means which brightened his charac- 
 ter are necessary to purify and sanctify ours. It is the bat- 
 tle that tries the courage of the soldier : It is adversity that 
 proves the character, and shows what we are. Nor do the 
 sufferings of hfe serve only for the display of our princi- 
 ples ; they contribute also to their growth. Every principle 
 in the mind is invigorated by frequent exercise. Resist- 
 ance and opposition call forth the powers of the soul, and 
 give birth to exertion. Every victory we obtain increases 
 our strength and our courage, and prepares us to renew 
 the conflict. When the character is perfected, we shall not 
 need to be afllicted ; then we shall dwell where there is no 
 sorrow nor pain. 
 
 There is indeed one great difference between the Re- 
 deemer's sufferings and ours : his afflictions not only per- 
 fected the display, of his character, and are a pattern to us ; 
 they also made atonement for sin ; whereas the sufferings 
 of his people can never in the smallest degree expiate trans- 
 gression. The only expiatory sacrifice is that of Christ ; 
 on it his redeemed rest their hope, and from it they derive 
 their peace. But having believed the Gospel, and having 
 found rest to their souls in the blood of the cross, the desire 
 of conformity to their Lord is powerfully excited. This 
 desire is gratified by maldng the afflictions, and indeed all 
 the events of life, the means of trying and exercising the 
 principles of piety and benevolence ; and so of forming and 
 finishing that holy character, which it is the desire of Chris- 
 tians to possess, and with which happiness is inseparably 
 connected. 
 
 The blessedness of the redeemed is not the same with 
 that enjoyed by man in paradise : it springs from the cha- 
 racter of God as unfolded in the Gospel, and which could 
 23* 
 
270 OUR lord's answer 
 
 never have been fully developed but by such means as the 
 cross of Christ exhibits. It is happiness resulting from a 
 character formed in the school of aflliction. Not that the 
 mere endurance or pain will sanctify the soul : far from it. 
 On the contrary, afllictions often harden the heart. But 
 when, through the Divine blessing, they lead to the Gos- 
 pel, and so cherish the hallowed principles which adorned 
 the humiliation of Christ, they serve in us, as well as in 
 him, to complete the character ; and so to increase our 
 capacity for that bliss \vhich fills the celestial temple, and 
 is a participation in the happiness of God. 
 
 If, then, the most exalted in heaven shall be those of the 
 family of God who have had most fellowship with the Sa- 
 viour as a sufferer ; we see at once how it is that " whom 
 the Lord lovcth he chastencth, and how he scourgeth that 
 son most severely whom he intends most to honor and to 
 bless." He does this with a view to eternity ; and not 
 merely with a general view to their future good, but with 
 an eye to their individual character, and to the particular 
 place he designs for them in the heavenly temple. He 
 acts from love the most wise and ardent, and overlooks 
 their prcsent momentary feelings from a kind regard to 
 their eternal glory. Surely this is well calculated to excite 
 our love to him, to call forth patience and confidence, and 
 to produce meek resignation and animating joy. His eye 
 is ever upon us ; and all the painful trials of life with which 
 we are visited, will work together for our good both here 
 and in the world to come. 
 
 You may perhaps suppose, my dear friend, that many 
 have scarcely any afflictions, who yet appear to be eminent 
 Christians. There is a mistake here. This is a world of 
 evil and of pain ; and many who appear to have but little 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 271 
 
 to annoy them, have not a few unseen distresses. Tribu- 
 lation is not confined to sickness, disease, losses, and the 
 many visible disappointments of life. Could we look into 
 the breasts of the most prosperous, we should see proofs 
 of this. "The heart knoweth its own bitterness." I wish 
 you to observe, however, that it is not merely the quantum 
 of affliction that regulates the measure of glory, but the 
 spirit with which it is endured. Two men may have the 
 same degree of affliction, while one of them bears it with 
 but little of Christian principle, and the other with a high 
 measure of the mind of Christ. One man may have a 
 great burden of tribulation, and another may have com- 
 paratively but light trials to bear. The latter, however, 
 may profit more by his afflictions than the former. The 
 very weight of his trials may occasion in the one much of 
 an improper spirit, while the humility, the diffidence, and 
 the piety of the other may be called forth and exercised in 
 " casting his lighter burden on the Lord." Afflictions do 
 not of themselves sanctify : They are but means : and the 
 effect depends on the Divine blessing. Of course, the kind- 
 ness of God is seen, not in the measure of affliction only, 
 but in what, through his blessing, it is made to produce. 
 
 It is delightful to follow the Saviour as he advances 
 through his suflferings to that bliss and that glory into 
 which he hath gone, as our forerunner. If for us he hath 
 gone to heaven by the path of affliction, ought not we to 
 follow him? Shall we seek for glory, and refuse or be un- 
 willing to go to it in the way in which he went to it ? Is 
 there not a happiness in sharing his lot 7 Ought not every 
 principle of generosity to induce us cheerfully to follow him 
 in his course of tribulation? Nor is this all. In the day 
 when his glory shall be revealed, how shall we rejoice in 
 
272 OUR lord's answer 
 
 being called to communion with him in his exalted bliss ! 
 The disciple who bears the greatest resemblance to him 
 who is the first-born of the redeemed family, and the ex- 
 press image of the divine character, is the child whom the 
 King dclightcth to honor, ^^'^ith this prospect in view, we 
 may well be reconciled to our trials here; and rejoice in 
 the demonstrations of the divine goodness given in embrac- 
 ing our eternity in tlic events of time ; and in afflicting us, 
 that we may be made partakers of his holiness. What, 
 then, is it to seek by patient continuance in well doing, for 
 glory, honor, and immortality ? It is not to look for mere 
 pomp or empty dignity. It is to seek to add knowledge to 
 knowledge of the most exalted and hallowed nature, strength 
 to strength in every holy principle — feature to feature of 
 the divine character; in a word, it is to persevere, in ad- 
 vancing to the highest intellectual and moral perfection. 
 What is this but to aim at the possession of genuine excel- 
 lence of character, and of that heavenly glory which is not 
 merely something without us, but is the imion of the soul 
 with God, and such communion of views — such endearing 
 intercourse, and such oneness of heart with Ilim, as will 
 assimilate our nature lo Ilis, and admit us to fellowship with 
 Ilim in his blessedness ? 
 
 There is anolher view of the connection between present 
 evils and future bliss, to which I beg your attention. We 
 are in the habit, you know, of judging of the present by 
 contrasting it with the past. On tliis principle the misery 
 of the rich man in the parable is represented as aggravated 
 by the remembrance of his former condition of case and 
 enjoyment ; and the bliss of Lazarus as in some measure 
 increased by the recollection of his afflictions on earth. 
 Present bitters will make future sweets the sweeter: The 
 
TO THE SOINS OF ZEBEDEE. 273 
 
 difficulties of the way in which we have been led — the la- 
 bors, conflicts, sufTerings, and hardships to which we were 
 called in this valley of tears — and the losses and disap- 
 pointments incident to this fleeting scene, will heighten 
 our happiness, and endear to us our peace, security, and 
 triumph. 
 
 The redeemed are accordingly represented as blessing 
 God for their redemption, "out of every kindred, and 
 tongue, and people, and nation ;" Rev. vii.; which implies 
 a retrospective view of their several conditions on earth, 
 and that each remembered the various circumstances of 
 his lot. Indeed, if, at the tribunal of Christ, all our works 
 shall undergo a scrutiny, those works must be brought to 
 our remembrance ; and with them every thought, sensa- 
 tion, and word, with which, as motives and consequences, 
 they were connected ; so that in the nature of things, the 
 knowledge which we have acquired here can never be lost. 
 If not lost, it must answer some useful purposes ; among 
 which the one I now refer to may not be the least. 
 
 This serves also to illustrate the subject of different de- 
 grees of glory. The innumerable multitude of the redeem- 
 ed have not all experienced the same kinds and measures 
 of affliction, — yea, perhaps, no two have in every respect 
 sustained the same trials : It must be evident, then, that 
 their recollections in heaven will be exceedingly diversified. 
 The kind of enjoyment resulting from such recollections 
 cannot be the same in all ; for, surely, it will not be said, 
 that in heaven there shall be any mistakes as to the past, 
 any more than as to the present. Nothing merely ideal 
 shall there enter into the causes of our happiness. 
 
 I shall not advert to another circumstance in the reply 
 of our Lord, which throws light on the subject of diversi- 
 
274 OUR lord's answer 
 
 ties in future blessedness. lie represents heaven as a so- 
 cial state, and the redeemed as formin"; an organized 
 body, in which different members perform different func- 
 tions. The two disciples asked, as I have said, not merely 
 the highest degrees of enjoyment, but of official rank ; and 
 the answer of our Saviour certainly admits that something 
 analogous to distinctions of the kind shall obtain in heaven. 
 Indeed, the very nature of a social state requires this : I 
 mean not the formal distinctions of office, strictly so called, 
 but distinctions sufficiently resembling these to justify the 
 use of the language descriptive of the one in illustrat- 
 ing the nature of the other. In order to the enjoyment of 
 the benefit of society, it is not enough that there is a multi- 
 tude in the same place ; There must besides this be an in- 
 terchange of thought, sentiment, and feeling. If all have 
 in every respect the same original and acquired endow- 
 ments — if the talents of each have been exercised in pre- 
 cisely the same way — if each one has the same degree of 
 knowledge, and the same measure of every positive excel- 
 lence — if the same emotions are, to the same extent, in 
 every breast — and if all have the very same recollections, 
 it must be evident that, in such a body, every individual 
 would see but himself in his brother : no new idea could 
 be communicated by one to another ; no new sensation 
 could be excited, and of course no new enjoyment impart- 
 ed. There would be a perfect monotony; and the friend- 
 ship strengthened by companionship would be unknown. 
 The happiness enjoyed would be independent of social inter- 
 course. Such is not a state, surely, in which could be en- 
 joyed the perfection of that which is necessary to gratify 
 our natural and strong desire of society. 
 
 But in the other view of the subject, there is seen a found- 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 275 
 
 ation for the perpetual growth of each individual in every 
 possible excellence, through the constant exercise of every 
 faculty and of every principle of the mind. In heaven, as 
 well as on earth, social intercourse will form a medium 
 through which we shall be enabled to serve one another; 
 for when other means of usefulness shall fail, because no 
 longer necessary, " love shall abide for ever." Yes ; in 
 heaven that love which " abideth," will, in a social state, 
 have wide and everlasting scope for unremitting exertion, 
 — and so shall we share in the bliss of him whose love is 
 unceasingly in action. There the body of Christ will be 
 completely organized ; and the different members in their 
 respective places will, as guided by the great head, contrib- . 
 ute to the good of the whole. Heaven is a state of acti- 
 vity, a place where happiness is communicated, as well as 
 enjoyed, — and of course must include the delightful and 
 everlasting union of obedience to the two great and insep- 
 arable commandments of the law. 
 
 Sweet is this view of heavenly bliss ! It does not in the 
 least interfere with the delightful prospect of having all 
 in God ; for each of his people will be a mirror in which 
 he will be seen ; and in contemplating the redeemed com- 
 pany, who, in reflecting the likeness of their elder brother, 
 will reflect the image of their God, the divine glory will be 
 enjoyed, and will also have an increasingly transforming 
 influence. There the enjoyment of God, and fellowship 
 with his people, will reciprocally affect and increase each 
 other. 
 
 The sum of the whole is — that future bliss will spring 
 from character. This character must be formed here ; for 
 the happiness of heaven is but the perfection of that holi- 
 ness which, even in this world, distinguishes the people of 
 
276 OUR lord's answer 
 
 God. Every thing in this arrangement is honorable to the 
 Saviour, and reflects the highest lustre on the glory of his 
 kingdom. How delightful the contemplation of his gran- 
 duer as a Priest upon his throne, surrounded by the innumer- 
 able hosts of the saved, who have all b:en made kings and 
 priests by fellowship with him ; and who all, from the two 
 on his right hand and on his left, down to the least in the 
 kin^rdom of heaven, " cast their crowns at his feet !" Let 
 this animating prospect, which is at once so worthy of God, 
 and so adapted to our immortal spirits, stimulate us to un- 
 remitting exertion. However painful and distressing our 
 lot may be; whatever may be the sacrifices we are called 
 to make — all sinks into utter insignificance when compared 
 with this. How soothing the thought that, in proportion 
 to the measure of our present afflictions, and the degree in 
 which they conform us to the Redeemer in principle, will 
 be our height in glory and in bliss ! 
 
 Allow me to comfort you with these words. — Study with 
 interest this cheering subject, and seek that the Lord would 
 enable you to imbibe all the consolation it is fitted to im- 
 part. Meditate on the cross and glory of Christ, and pray 
 that all the events of life may serve to work out for you a 
 far more exceeding and eternal weight of blessedness. Live 
 by faith in the atonement, and be like Paul, determined to 
 endure and sacrifice all, that by any means, however pain- 
 ful or costly, you may attain the bliss connected with the 
 resurrection of the dead. This will know no end. Every 
 step in it will be a promise of bliss yet greater, and an ear- 
 nest of glory )'et higher. He who is the fountain of this 
 blessedness is the same of whom it is said, "Canst thou by 
 searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty 
 unto perfection?" Who then can set a limit to the extent 
 
TO THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE. 277 
 
 of that fulness of happiness to which the redeemed may as- 
 cend in their incessant approaches to him who dwells in 
 light inaccessible and full of glory 1 Or who will say that 
 a limit can be set to the degree in which their souls can be 
 irradiated with his lustre, and reflect his likeness? Is there 
 not room for an eternal progress in the knowledge and en- 
 joyment of, " Him who is, who was, and who is to come ?" 
 May we not be for ever brightening with advancing mora 
 glories, to the honor of Him with whose holy beauties we 
 shall be adorned? 
 
 Look then for the day when all darkness shall flee away, 
 and when the effulgence of the light of the divine favor 
 which shines upon the Saviour, will fill you with unuttera- 
 ble delight. Praying that the Lord may be with your 
 spirit, I remain, &c. 
 
 24 
 
LETTER XIII. 
 
 ON THE DIVERSITY OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 
 
 General remarks — Future blessedness the result of the divine appro- 
 bation, of the approving testimony of conscience, of being bless- 
 ings to others, and of an enlarged capacity for spiritual enjoyments 
 — The diversity of rewards explicitly taught in Scripture — Consist- 
 ent with salvation by grace — The works rewarded, the fruits of 
 divine favor — The reward bestowed for the sake of Christ — Is an 
 addition to the general blessing of redemption — Is a display oftho 
 divine love to righteousness — Is not an arbitrary gift, but the natu- 
 ral effect of existing principles — Conclusion. 
 
 Mr DEAR TRTEXD, 
 
 I HAVE sometimes licard you speak of the difTcrcnt degrees 
 of glory which shall be enjoyed in lieavcn. There is some- 
 thing very gratifying to the mind in an inquiry of this na- 
 ture ; and I am satisfied that the views wJiich you and I 
 entertain respecting it, have a clear support in the constitu- 
 tion of the divine government and in the Holy Scriptures. 
 There is notliing in the diversity of rewards inconsistent 
 with the doctrine of salvation by grace. No creature cer- 
 tainly can ever merit any good thing at the hand of tho 
 Creator. I do not mean sinful creatures only, but even 
 such as liave continued uniformly obedient. Their facul- 
 ties are the gift of free bounty, and the blessings they enjoy 
 arc the same. Tliey must ever be under the liighest obli- 
 gations to love and serve God ; and w hen they have dis- 
 charged every duly, they arc required to say, " We are un- 
 profitable servants." This liowevcr, is not inconsistent 
 with Christians bein;^ rewarded according to their works. 
 
THE DIVERSITY OP DEGREES IN GLORY. 279 
 
 The nature of the reward itself, and the circumstances con- 
 nected with its bestowment, will shov/ this. 
 . All the saved are alike redeemed through the atonement 
 of Jesus ; they are all equally the children of God through 
 union with him ; and, as such, they are all joint heirs of 
 God with him. It does not follow, however, that the en- 
 joyments of each will be to the same extent. Are not they 
 all as much the purchase of the same blood, and heirs of 
 the same inheritance now as they shall be hereafter ? and 
 yet they are far from being upon an equality. If their 
 common privileges are consistent with the diversity which 
 we see in this life, are we to suppose that their enjoyment 
 in the next must, in all respects, be the same, because of 
 their interest in those privileges ? In the nature of things 
 this cannot be. Redeemed infants, for example, are washed 
 in the blood of the Lamb, and will sing eternally the praises 
 of redeeming grace ; but their sensations cannot in all re- 
 spects be the same as shall be felt by Christians who have 
 actively served God in their day and generation. An in- 
 fant snatched from the womb to the grave, may be happy 
 in the contemplation and praises of divine grace ; but sure- 
 ly cannot experience the transporting feelings of Paul, when 
 he appears with his numerous converts as his joy and 
 his crown. Unless we admit this, how can there be any 
 meaning in those passages of Scripture which speak of the 
 happiness of such as have been honored to turn sinners 
 unto God ? The thief called upon the cross, entered that 
 day into paradise, and was blessed with the presence and 
 enjoyment of Jehovah ; but not having been spared to as- 
 sociate with the people of God, to minister to them, and la- 
 bor with them, he cannot participate in the sensations of 
 those who have long labored and suffered in the cause of 
 
280 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 truth. In Ihc very nature of things, then, there must be a 
 ditrercnce betwixt the enjoyments of some and those of 
 others. 
 
 In order to understand this subject, it is of the first im- 
 portance to distinguish between a change of state and a 
 change of character. In regard to the former, all Chris- 
 tians are on a level. The latter, however, admits of a dis- 
 tinction between freedom from sin, and the degree of posi- 
 tive excellence ; and though all are certainly equal as to 
 the former, they may not be so in respect of the latter. It 
 ought ever to be remembered also, that Christian services 
 are not paid as a price for a reward: they are the free of- 
 ferings of love and of gratitude, and the spontaneous ex- 
 pression of regard to worth. The reward is found m the 
 service, and will be perfectly enjoyed when the principles 
 which now excite to obedience shall have reached maturi- 
 ty, and shall have found full scope in the world of light. 
 If there be an exquisite pleasure found in ])leasing even but 
 an earthly friend, must there not be a still higher gratification 
 in serving, in however humble a manner, the Deliverer of 
 our souls and the Auihor of all our mercies? Is there not an 
 exquisite pleasure in expressing veneration for worth, and 
 particularly the worth of our best and tried Benefactor? 
 
 The reward, my dear friend, of the kingdom of heaven, 
 will partly consist in the divine approbation of our services. 
 The Scriptures ofien mention this branch of it. Mai. iii. 
 IG; Matth. x. 32, and xxv. 21, 23. Even in this life wc 
 feel ha|)py when our conduct meets the approbation of 
 those whom we esteem : how much morc delightful must 
 it be to have the approbation of him whoso understanding 
 is infinite, and whose love to righteousness and truth cor- 
 responds with their excellence? Our joy in the address, 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 281 
 
 " Well done, good and faithful servant," will be heightened 
 in the day of Christ by the clear perception we shall have 
 of the wisdom, rectitude, and dignity of Jehovah. We 
 shall then know the value of his smiles, and prize them the 
 more. There is something exquisitely pleasing to an in- 
 genuous mind, in having an opportunity of expressing and 
 manifesting gratitude to a benefactor ; and this pleasure 
 must be increased when such expressions are acknow- 
 ledged and applauded. Now, the circumstances of the 
 righteous fully correspond with these views. Here their 
 deeds are often unnoticed, — their alms are not seen of 
 men, — many benevolent acts they perform in silence, — and 
 much of their intercourse with God is in secret : here also 
 their words are often misconstrued ; many of their best 
 deeds are turned to reproach ; their principles and motives 
 are misrepresented, and their characters traduced. But 
 how honorable will be the viev/ given of them in the day 
 of Christ ! Then the iudsmcnt of God concernino- their 
 works and their character will confound the ungodly. He 
 will bring to light their secret deeds of piety and mercy, 
 and will set in its proper light all that had been misrepre- 
 sented. Then will the Lord vindicate his people, and it 
 will be seen and confessed by all, that the righteous is more 
 excellent than his neighbor. Matth. x. 25, 26 ; 2 Cor. iv. 5. 
 It must be evident, however, that different portions of 
 com.mendation must be awarded to various deo-rees of ex- 
 cellence. Among the children of Israel, Caleb and Joshua 
 stood pre-eminent ; they not only upon the whole followed 
 the Lord, but they followed "him fully;" and a suitable 
 mark of distinction was granted them. Abraham was 
 called the friend of God : Moses is praised for one excel- 
 
 lence, and David for another: Enoch was distinguished, 
 24* 
 
282 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 even among the faithful of his day, and was translated to 
 lieaven without tasting death : among the seven thousand 
 who had not bowed to the image of Baal, Elijah was con- 
 spicuous ; and, as a mark of approbation, as well as for 
 other purposes, he too was translated : all the eleven disci- 
 ples were objects of our Lord's complacency; but Peter, 
 James, and J(thn, were particularly so, and accordingly 
 they were distinguished by special favors. On the mount 
 of transfiguration they exclusively obtained a view of tho 
 glory of their Lord, and of the high honor conferred on 
 Moses and Elijah. Of these chosen three, again, John was 
 the most esteemed by his master. And when we think of 
 the character of Christ, we must be satisfied that tho man 
 who was most like to himself must have been "thedisciplo 
 whom Jesus loved." Similarity of disposition appears par- 
 ticularly in the tenderness and afTeclion which distinguished 
 John. Who can fail to sec this in his narrative of tho 
 death and resurrection of Lazarus, and in his epistles, 
 where the spirit of love breathes in every line? Ilis soul 
 and that of the man Christ Jesus were knit togctlier. Ho 
 had the principal place of honor, and leaned on the bosom 
 of his Master at table. 
 
 In reading the epistles to the seven Asiatic Churches, wo 
 find that some of them arc praised for many excellencies, 
 while at the same time they arc blamed for certain defi- 
 ciencies and eviis ; and that others received unminglcd ap- 
 probation. But among the former class, some arc jiraised 
 for this excellence, and others for that — some are blamed 
 for one thing, and some for another ; and of the latter tho 
 commendation bestowed upon the one Churdi is not the 
 same with that Ix^stowed u|)on its neighbor. The nieasuro 
 of approbation is proportioned to the degree in which they 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 283 
 
 were free from sin, and to the kinds and the measure of 
 the excellencies of their character. In the day of the Lord, 
 all our sins shall be declared forgiven ; but as what needs 
 pardon cannot be approved of, so the defects and the evils 
 found in us must prevent us from receiving the same de- 
 gree of approbation with those who have walked more con- 
 sistently. In so far again as our character shall be ap- 
 proved, forgiveness will not be called for : and in propor- 
 tion to the excellence of our principles and deportment, and 
 to the degree in w^hich we have been distinguished by them, 
 will be the award of our applauding Judge. 
 
 In the parable of the pounds, Luke xix. 13 — 26, the re- 
 ward of the servants is represented as proportioned to the 
 measure of the profits they had gained. The sum given 
 to both was the same, but their improvement of it was dif- 
 ferent. The one, accordingly, w^hose pound had gained 
 ten pounds had the government of ten cities given him ; 
 while he who had gained but five pounds received the gov- 
 ernment of but five cities. In so far as the future reward 
 consists in approbation, it is proportioned, as in this parable, 
 to the degree of diligence and fidelity, — the different de- 
 grees of glory being marks of different degrees of com- 
 placency. But where, as in the parable of the talents, 
 Matt. XXV. 14 — 30, there is a difference in the original num- 
 ber bestowed, while each is faithful to what he receives, 
 then, in so far as the reward consists in approbation, all are 
 on a level. But though the divine commendation is a part, 
 and a verj^ delightful part of the reward, it is not the wh-ole 
 of it ; so that in other respects the difference of talents will 
 be connected with different degrees of positive bliss. This 
 distinction it is of importance particularly to remember. It 
 is clear from these parables that future blessedness will not 
 
284 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 be the direct result of one cause only, but of several. One 
 Christian, then, may have an equal share with another of 
 what flows from some of these, though not an equal measure 
 of what proceeds from others of ihcm. In the moral as 
 well as in the natural world, God does nothing without 
 some ulterior end. When, therefore, he enables a Chris- 
 tian to attain a high measure of that excellence which is 
 the object of his greatest complacency in heaven as \vell 
 as on earth, he must design by this means to bring him to 
 that state of future glory for which his character hath fit- 
 ted l)im. 
 
 We are taught in Scripture, my dear friend, that another 
 part of heavenly blessedness will consist in the approving 
 testimony of conscience. In the present life this is a source 
 of heartfelt joy. Paul often found it so when he was re- 
 viled, 2 Cor. i. 12, and vii. 2, 3. No outward circum- 
 stances can disturb the peace which it yields. Now the 
 pleasure arising from it must be in proportion to our sense 
 of the value of truth and integrity ; and the strength of our 
 conviction that the Lord has every claim upon our obedi- 
 ence. In the other world, our perceptions of these will be 
 clear and impressive; and our happiness will of course be 
 proportionably great. Beholding the glory of God, wc 
 shall be delighted that we were in any way honored to serve 
 liim. Knowing our obligations to the Redeemer, who loved 
 us and gave himself for us, it will gladden our hearts that 
 we were in any measure enabled to express our gratitude, 
 and to proclaim his goodness. 
 
 It will greatly enhance this part of our bliss that our 
 good works shall be adduced, not only as proofs of our 
 faith and love, but to refute the calumuics of his enemies ; 
 and to vindicate the character and tendency of that Gospel 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. ' 285 
 
 which they have represented as a system leading to licen- 
 tiousness. How pleasing will he the testimony of con- 
 science to our having walked so as to adorn the doctrines 
 of Christ ! How delightful to have been enabled thus to 
 vindicate the character of God, and to justify the decisions 
 of Heaven in the breasts even of the condemned ! When 
 we shall see the Saviour in all his excellence and glory, 
 how transporting the reflection that we have been honored 
 to bear his image, and to forward that for which he bled 
 and for which he reigns ! It must be clear, from every 
 just view of Christian principle, that when we come to see 
 the magnitude of our deliverance, and of the prize of eter- 
 nal life, the measure of this part of our bliss must keep 
 pace with the degree in which we have been enabled to servQ 
 and glorify the Redeemer. 
 
 This reward will also consist In the happiness of seeing 
 others profited by our labors and sufferings. Paul exulted 
 in the prospect of this. He looked with triumph to the day 
 when he should appear with the seals of his ministry, " as 
 his joy and crown of rejoicing." To a benevolent and 
 philanthropic mind, such a reward must be unspeakably 
 delightful. It is pleasing to be employed in relieving even 
 the bodily wants and distresses of men. The pleasure re- 
 sulting from this no sensualist or selfish character can un- 
 derstand. How delightful to be eyes to the blind and. feet 
 to the lame, a stay to the fatherless and the orphan, and a 
 comfort to the heart of the widow ! But what is this when 
 compared with the deliverance and bliss of the soul ? Every 
 thing that shows the value of an immortal spirit — the im- 
 portance and indispensable necessity of the salvation of 
 Christ — the excellence and glory of heavenly bliss — to- 
 gether with the glorious eflects which flow from the redemp- 
 
286 THE DIVEESITY 
 
 tion of the guilt}^ must heighten our estimation of this re- 
 ward. Nor need any Christian, however obscure, say that 
 this is an honor to which it were in vain for liim to aspire. 
 Every individual has a sphere of action ; and success is 
 not the favored lot of one class only. Let all labor in thier 
 respective circles; and, through the divine blessing, they 
 shall participate in the joy of those who turn many to God. 
 A holy walk, a word seasonably dropt, or an advice ten- 
 derly and faithfully given, may issue in leading one or more 
 to the Saviour. James v. 19, 29. These may lead others, 
 by whom again more may be benefitted ; and the work 
 may go on progressively to the end of all things. This 
 cannot fully be seen while we arc below; but the result 
 will appear to our joy in the world of light. In the day of 
 the Lord, all that has flowed from our conduct, our exer- 
 tions, and our sacrifices, will be discovered and acknow- 
 ledged, to the unspeakable augmentation of our bliss. John 
 iv. 36,37,38. 
 
 While ilie primitive servants of God ascribed the whole 
 success of their labors to him, they did not overlook their 
 own instrumentality. They were far from magnifying 
 themselves, but they magnified their office. The more 
 they felt the importance of their work, the more did they 
 labor with humility and zeal. The moment we undervalue 
 the use of menus, our exertions decline, and we sink into 
 apathy and slothfulness. But when we diligently employ 
 the talents we possess, and improve the opportunities wo 
 enjoy, we may anticipate, in dependence on the divine 
 blessing, the most important results. Thus Paul, in the 
 prospect of visiting the Christians at Rome, said, " I am 
 sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the full- 
 ness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ." This con- 
 
OP DEGREES IN GLORY. 287 
 
 fidence was founded on the experience he had of the power 
 of the truth, and of the presence of God to give it effect 
 in his hands. Rom. xv. 29; 2 Cor. x. 4, 5, and 11 — 16. 
 While the apostles and others labored together in the vine- 
 yard of God J and in building the temple, each expected a 
 reward which he mio;ht call "his own ;" because it should 
 be " according to his oiim labor." Paul, addressing the 
 Corinthians, says, *' Now he that planteth and he that wa- 
 tereth are one ; and every man shall receive his own re- 
 ward, according to his own labor. For we are fellow la- 
 borers of God : Ye are God's husbandry ; ye are God's 
 building." The planter and v/aterer are said to be one, 
 because they jointly carried on one work, and were actu- 
 ated by the same godlike and benevolent aim. The con- 
 fident hope of the apostle was, that God would not forget 
 their labors of love, but would certainly treat each accord- 
 ing to his services. There is great precision used in dis- 
 tinguishing the reward of Paul from that of A polios ; the 
 reward of Cephas from that of both, and that of the whole 
 three from the reward promised every underbuilder. Now, 
 why all this reasoning, and this exact proportioning, if all 
 are to be alike rewarded, irrespective of different kinds, 
 lengths, and degrees of labor and of sufiering ? 
 
 Paul, speaking of those who had been converted by his 
 means, calls them " his work in the Lord," " his joy and 
 his crown," and " his rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus." 
 Such as labored in the Gospel were warned by him to take 
 care of adding improper characters to the churches. They 
 were told, that those added to them by their instrumenta- 
 lity should, if they stood the test, be their joy and crown 
 of rejoicing; but if they did not, they should " suffer loss," 
 in as much as they would not have the fruits of their la- 
 
288 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 bor to present, " perfect in Christ Jesus."* On this princi- 
 ple, Paul warns his beloved Philippians to hold forth the 
 word of life, that he might in the day of Christ rejoice that 
 he had not run in vain, neither labored in vain. These 
 declarations accord with the promise, that " they who turn 
 many to righteousness, shall shine as the stars for ever and 
 ever." They are fitted to animate not public characters 
 only, but all Christians, with zeal for the best interests of 
 men. Let every one, then, do in this work what he can, 
 in tlie hope of a blessed and godlike reward. 
 
 There must be a great ditTcrence between the enjoyment 
 of the man who enters heaven without having profited even 
 one soul, and that of him who is accompanied by a flock of 
 converts from the world, or of believers who had been edi- 
 fied and comforted by his means. In the latter case, they 
 crowd around him as he enters, or follow him in succes- 
 sion into that world where "not a cup of cold water given 
 to a disciple, in the name of a disciple, shall pass unre- 
 warded." This is to enter into the joy of our Lord — even 
 that joy, the prospect of which animated him to endure the 
 
 • In 1 Cor. iii. 7 — 20, (the passage referred to liere,) Paul is not 
 spcakinj^ of doctrines, but cliaracters. He represents the (Church as 
 a building, and there is here no mixture of metaphor. Every Chris- 
 tian is a living stone in this sacred temple; and particular churches 
 ought to consist only of such as appear to be united to Christ, the 
 foundation-stone. If any undcrbuildcrs shall add to the Churches 
 characters who arc not Christians, they are adding materials, which, 
 like wood, hay, and stubble, are unfit for such edifices. They will 
 not stand the fire of the future judgment. The precious jewels and 
 unperishing metals of which the Church of Christ is composed, as 
 we see in Isaiah liv. 11 — 13; Kev. xxi. IG — 24, will alone stand this 
 test. Shoidd a laborer have erred, through ignorance or inadvert- 
 ancc, ho himself shall be saved, — provided he stand the trial, by 
 which he, as well as his work, must be tried. 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 289 
 
 cross and to despise the shame. In proportion to our love 
 to the divine character, and our benevolence towards men, 
 must be the bliss resulting from such a scene. This made 
 Paul willing to remain in this world of evil, while he knew 
 that in other respects it was better to depart and to be with 
 Christ. In this act of self-denial, he displayed a highly re- 
 fined and elevated soul ; a spirit, the very reverse of what 
 is low and mercenary ; and a temper of heart the most de- 
 vout and benevolent. — Love is to be estimated by the gran- 
 deur, the capacity, and the duration of its object, — and what 
 can equal that which regards the salvation of souls ? 
 
 This reward includes in it an enlarged capacity for con- 
 templating and enjoying divine things. There is an in- 
 creasing meetness for the heavenly world attainable here. 
 Those who have drunk most deeply into the spirit of Jesus 
 have a proportionate capacity for comprehending the height 
 and the depth, the breadth and the length, of the building 
 of mercy. They are the more fitted for entering into the 
 wonders of redeeming love, and for receiving the fulness of 
 God. It is not, indeed, conceivable what connexion our 
 future state could have with our present, if the attainments 
 which we acquire here were to be absolutely useless here- 
 after. In the government of his creatures, the Almighty 
 invariably makes one acquirementt he means of gaininfT an- 
 other. His wisdom always adjusts the means in a fit pro- 
 portion to the end he designs, and likewise adapts the end 
 to the means he employs. The present state, accordingly, 
 is the seed time ; the future will be the harvest. All that 
 we do, and all that happens to us here, has an effect 
 upon our views and our dispositions. Every instance of 
 this kind leads to another, so that we are always in pro- 
 gress, either to greater degrees of evil, or higher degrees 
 25 
 
290 
 
 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 of good. In regard to both, there are great difierences 
 among men here, and as the same connexion between ex- 
 isting attainments and future progress will be continued, 
 there must be differences amona: them hereafter. Differ- 
 ent degrees of glory will naturally result from a diversity 
 of capacity for entering into the deep things unfolded in 
 the Gospel. This appears to be what is taught in the par- 
 able of the pounds, where the pound of the slothful servant 
 is said to be given to him whose one had gained ten. He 
 whose principles had been most exorcised, had attained a 
 proportionally greater fitness for still higher and more ex- 
 tended services and lienors ; and on this account it was 
 meet that to him, rather than to another, this additional 
 means of improvement should be given. We are here pre- 
 sented with two characters of equal talents, but whose 
 talents have not been equally exercised, so that the attain- 
 ments of the one arc much beyond those of the other. And 
 as every degree of attainment capacitates for still greater 
 acquirement, we are very properly taught that, as the mind 
 becomes imbued with divine things, and rises in excellence, 
 new means for exercise, and consequently additional bless- 
 edness, will be granted to it. In the heavenly state, there 
 will be room for the perpetual exercise and improvement 
 of Christian principle. The object of knowledge and en- 
 joyment is infinite ; and such is the nature of an immor- 
 tal spirit, that it cannot be happy unless perpetually ad- 
 vancing. If, then, the mind shall be for ever enlarging, it 
 is not conceivable how our happiness could be relatively 
 perfect, if in heaven our knowledge of God and his ways 
 were to be absolutely stationary. From the first moment 
 of our introduction to it we shall indeed be freed from all 
 contrariety to the Saviour; but positive resemblance to him 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 291 
 
 is capable of perpetual increase, as our minds are expanded, 
 and his glorious character unfolded. Since the happiness 
 of an intelligent and spiritual being arises from the new 
 discoveries of truth, and from the exercise of holy princi- 
 ples in appropriate actions, the consciousness of such a 
 perfection of mind, and of objects for its exercise, as qual- 
 ifies for perpetual progress in knowledge and piety, must 
 excite the strongest sensations of joy, as opening the pros- 
 pect of interminable bliss. 
 
 I am here led to make a remark or two on the parable 
 of the talents. As the pound of the slothful servant was 
 given to the more faithful of the two rewarded servants, 
 so, in the other case, the talent of the unfaithful servant is 
 given to him who had the most talents, but who had not 
 greater fidelity than the other — in fidelity they were equal. 
 We are taught by this, that among even the faithful serv- 
 ants of God the degree of positive holiness will keep pace 
 with their endowments, and with the degree in which they 
 have been spiritually exercised. Apply this to the diver- 
 sity of mental powers. I do not mean that such are the 
 only talents intended ; but they doubtless form one kind of 
 them, and I refer to them merely for the sake of illustra- 
 tion. Holiness is just that love which is the fulfilling of 
 the law ; and that being is perfectly holy who loves God to 
 the full extent of his rational faculties, whether weak or 
 stronof. The love of an angel, whose faculties are far su- 
 perior to those of a man, must far exceed in positive strength 
 the love even of the man who is perfectly holy, because the 
 mental strength of the latter is greatly inferior to that of 
 the former. Now, when, as in this parable the man of su- 
 perior endowments, and filling a situation suited to them, 
 is equally faithful with the man of inferior talents, his posi- 
 
292 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 tive moral excellence as far exceeds that of the other as 
 does his intellectual strength. He, of course, is capaci- 
 tated for still higher attainments; so that it is meet that to 
 him should be granted the additional talent of the unfaith- 
 ful servant. It deserves consideration, too, that, as persons 
 of dificrcnt intellectual vii^or will have different decrees of 
 positive affection for the same interesting object, so, wliere 
 they arc favored witli the very same blessings, the one will 
 feel a greater interest and enjoyment in them than the other. 
 They both have the privilege of the same care and protec- 
 tion; but each values the blessing in proportion as he com- 
 prehends its worth. A child may be the heir of a rich in- 
 heritance as well as a man, but his views of its worth, and 
 consequently his happiness, cannot equal those of the lat- 
 ter; and, in like manner, the sons of God must be happy 
 in their privileges only in proportion to the extent of their 
 comprehension of their excellence and glory. All the re- 
 deemed in lieaven are equally freed from sin and from pain ; 
 but as bliss is not merely salvation from evil, but the en- 
 joyment of positive good, so he whose capacity of enjoy- 
 ment is greatest, inconsequence of superior talents perfectly 
 sanctified^ must, in access to and union with an infinite 
 good, have the greatest blessedness. 
 
 It is evidant from this, that thougjh it is not intellectual 
 but moral perfection which is exhibited in Scripture as our 
 fmal blessedness, and though the qualities of the heart form 
 the highest distinction among intelligent beings, yet there 
 must be a proportionate degree of understanding. It is only 
 when separated from, and compared with, moral and spir- 
 itual excellence, that the Scriptures contemn it. 
 
 " The disciple whom Jesus loved," was distinguished not 
 only by a tender and an affectionate spirit, but as a " son 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 293 
 
 of thunder," and we accordingly find that along with Peter 
 and James, he was a principle speaker and laborer in the 
 defence and propagation of the Gospel. The book of the 
 Revelation shows the man as well as the spirit which in- 
 spired him. 
 
 The man who is inferior in intellect, but superior to his 
 neighbor in holiness, is doubtless the character to be pre- 
 ferred : The former is but a means — the latter is the end, 
 and with the degree of it blessedness is connected. It is 
 difficult, I may add, to have great powers without trusting 
 in them: Every outward advantage has unhappily a ten- 
 dency to nourish pride, and requires a proportionate degree 
 of grace to counterbalance it : Hence it is only when exer- 
 cised on sacred things that such powers are the means of 
 augmenting the bliss of the possessor. It is also true that 
 many of the wise and intelligent of this world are blind to 
 the Gospel, while numbers who, in comparison, are but 
 babes, understand and receive it. But still, since piety can- 
 not even exist without a degree of intellect, and as, even in 
 a perfect character, the measure of the former cannot ex- 
 ceed that of the latter, it must be evident that, where the 
 two keep full pace with each other, there positive holiness 
 and blessedness must be the highest. 
 
 Accordingly, though the Saviour never made a show of 
 his intellectual granduer, but, on the contrary, always gave 
 the preference to moral and spiritual greatness, he at the 
 same time frequently blamed his disciples for not exercising 
 their powers of understanding. Matth. xv. 16 ; xvi. 9 — 11. 
 
 All, however, will be happy in perfection, because hap- 
 py in proportion to their capacity for bliss ; All vessels will 
 be full ; but, being of different dimensions, all cannot con- 
 tain the same quantity. Holiness, it ought to be remem- 
 25* 
 
294 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 bered, is not merely a negative, but a positive quality — I 
 mean, it does not consist merely in the absence of sin. 
 This is, properly speaking, purity, not holiness. All the 
 redeemed will be equally pure in the sense of being equally 
 delivered from sin ; but holiness, in addition to this, is a 
 positive spiritual likeness to God. The degree of this de- 
 pends, among other things, on the natural talents of the in- 
 dividual, and on the degree in which they have been exer- 
 cised in Fpiritual pursuits. When the principles of piety 
 have been cherished and exercised, they strike their roots 
 the deeper. A work in morals is not an act without a mo- 
 tive — it is a principle carried into exercise. Now, it is a 
 law in nature, that the more a principle is exercised, it be- 
 comes the stronger: If so, since holiness and happiness are 
 inseparably connected, the more we are like to God in cha- 
 racter, the more must we be like to him in bliss ; the more 
 holy we arc, the higher must be our place in the heavenly 
 temple. 
 
 There is doubtless a difTercnce in the degrees of conform- 
 ity to our Lord here; and the Scriptures never give the 
 most distant hint that heaven will annihilate all the dissim- 
 ilarities which subsist among Christians in the present 
 world, but clearly teach the reverse. There will be one 
 on the right and another on the left hand of our Lord in 
 his kingdom ; and these places will be given in consequence 
 of the character formed on earth. Though it will not hold 
 in every respect, there is a sense in which the higher en- 
 joyments of the heavenly temple will be ultimately the at- 
 tainment of the least in the kingdom. Not that they will 
 come to equal those who arc now the greatest in the king- 
 dom but that, as the latter will continue to ascend higher 
 and higher, so will the former, and that, of course, the 
 
OP DEGREES IN GLORY. 295 
 
 places now filled by the one class will come in certain re- 
 spects to be filled by the other. Along this interminable 
 line of divine excellence, the redeemed in heaven will all 
 have room to proceed. The most exalted there are still 
 advancing towards glory, such as creatures can attain; 
 but which is nevertheless at an infinite distance from that 
 hallowed fountain of divine perfection, from whence all life 
 and blessedness continue to proceed. The more elevated 
 pleasures will thus in a measure be successively laid open 
 to every individual as he becomes capable of enjoying them, 
 in the general progress towards that glory which no cre- 
 ated being can ever fully attain. Of the increase of the 
 government of Christ as king of the Church and of the 
 peace and the happiness of his subjects, there shall be no 
 end, because his everlasting administration will furnish 
 fresh and progressive displays of the infinite glory and per- 
 fection of Jehovah, and afford fresh and growing causes of 
 blessedness to his people. The redeemed will 'or ever and 
 ever continue to advance, and advance nearer and nearer 
 to the sun of the divine glory, will become more and more 
 beautiful by its lustre, and will more and more fully at once 
 reflect and enjoy the splendor of the divine excellence and 
 grand uer. What can equal the elevating thought that be- 
 fore us, in the enjoymeut of the infinite Jehovah, there is 
 the prospect of perpetually progressive bliss ? May not the 
 jeast in the kingdom of God rejoice that he shall yet reach 
 higher glory than that of him who is now the greatest? 
 
 Keeping these remarks in view, allow me to refer you 
 to some passages of Scripture which bear upon the subject. 
 In the history of the Evangelists, our Lord promises a pe- 
 culiar dignity to the apostles. Luke xxii. 28 — 30. Matth. 
 xix. 28. They are told that in his kingdom they would 
 
296 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 sit upon twelve thrones, for the purpose of ruling the twelve 
 tribes of Israel, or the Church of God. He refers to their 
 apostolic character, in which to this hour they continue to 
 give law by their writings to the disciples of Christ. It is 
 of importance to observe, that this honor is connected with 
 his approbation of their faithful and constant adherence to 
 him amidst all his temptations, lie felt attached to those 
 who had manifested such attachment to him in the season 
 of trial. " Ye are they who have continued with me in my 
 temptations," said he, with deep interest ; and then prom- 
 ised them the nearest friendship with himself, and the hon- 
 or of ruling in his kingdom. This part of Scripture estab- 
 lishes the principle which regulates the bestowment of glory 
 in the Church of Christ. Nor ought we to confine the hon- 
 or referred to the present scene : we are taught in Scrip- 
 ture that the wall of the heavenly city has twelve founda- 
 tions, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the 
 Lamb. There is a connection, therefore, between the hon- 
 or of the apostles and the future state of the Church ; 
 though the great thing exhibited in this last passage is cer- 
 tainly the connection between the Church, and the eternal 
 truths of the Gospel, as preached by the apostles. When 
 we think of their many failures while they were compan- 
 ions of our Lord in his trials — of his high claims on their 
 obedience and attachment, and remember too that he was 
 the author of their strength to suffer, and their will to serve, 
 as well as of the truths they taught, we must be satisfied 
 that the whole is a matter of unmerited favor. 
 
 We are taught by our Lord, that he who, having nothing 
 more to give, cheerfully gives but a cup of cold water to a 
 disciple of his when in want, shall not go without some re- 
 ward : that he who is kind to " a righteous man," or a man 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 297 
 
 distinguished for public labors in the cause of piety, and so 
 the more exposed to persecution, shall, for the greater risk 
 run in entertaining such a character than in being attentive 
 to the obscure individual called "one of his little ones," re- 
 ceive a reward suited to the degree of principle thus called 
 forth and exercised : and that he v.ho received "a prophet," 
 or an inspired ambassador of Christ, who would naturally 
 be the very butt of persecution, should, in consequence, re- 
 ceive a reward proportioned to the danger incurred by shel- 
 terino- and honorino; a character so obnoxious to the world. 
 I need not say that this is far from implying any indifference 
 towards the first of these as compared with the second, or 
 towards the latter as compared with the third. The prin- 
 ciple proceeded on, is, as I have said, the greater proof 
 given of regard to the Saviour, in the greater risk that is 
 run in the one case than in the other. 
 
 When Paul is exhorting Gentile Christians to assist their 
 Jewish brethren, he enforces the duty of liberality, by de- 
 claring that he who in this service sowed sparingly should 
 reap also sparingly. The general principle of which I am 
 now speaking is thus established ; and though it is here ap- 
 plied to the blessings of this life, it does not appear that it 
 is so exclusively. It seems to include spiritual blessings, 
 and these in the future as well as in the present world. 
 The same duty in substance is enforced in the epistle to the 
 Galatians, by a similar argument ; and the application of 
 it to futurity there, is beyond a doubt. 
 
 The same principle explains all those passages in which 
 Christians are exhorted to " lay up treasures in heaven ;" 
 to "lay in store for themselves a good foundation against 
 the time to come ; to have respect to the blessed recom- 
 pense of reward ; and to elevate their hearts under all the 
 
298 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 reproaches and persecutions which may befall ihem for the 
 sake of the Redeemer, by looking for the reward prepared 
 for them in heaven. It ought not lo be thought that this 
 bears hard on some, nor ought any thing like envv to be 
 felt. Such a state of mind is inconsistent with a proper 
 conviction that the blessings of heaven arc all llie result of 
 the most unmerited grace. Among the redeemed in heaven 
 there can bo nothing of this kind ; indeed there will be no 
 room for it: for all will be perfectly happy, inasmuch as 
 each will have what is exactly suited to liim, and to the full 
 extent of what he can receive. 
 
 God, we arc told, is not unrighteous, or unfaithful to his 
 promise, to forget our work and labor of love shown to- 
 wards his name. Hence he will refer, at the day of judg- 
 ment, to the deeds of kindness and benevolence done to 
 liis poor and distressed people, as delightful proofs of love 
 to the Redeemer liimself, and as genuine fruits of faith 
 in the Gospel. Nothing, however, of the nature of meri- 
 torious retribution is set before us in such representations 
 of judgment. Eternal life is the gift of God, through 
 Clirist. But having obtained admission in the family of 
 God, we are also made meet for its exercises and enjoy- 
 ments by a change of mind ; which change is progressive 
 while we are here, and keeps pace with our advancement 
 in obedience. Thus, at the last day, God will manifest at 
 once the exceeding riches and freeness of his grace, and 
 his love of righteousness and holiness. Tiic saved will 
 trace all to the favor of God ; while, on the other hand, all 
 creatures shall see and acknowledge the fitness of his pro- 
 cedure in judging every one according to his works.* 
 
 • 'I'iicrc is nothing in the P;iral)Ic of the Lal)orcrs (Matt. xx. 1.) 
 wlio received every man a penny, at all inconsistent with this view of 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORF. 299 
 
 Permit me, my friend, now to suggest some remarks on 
 the consistency of this view with the doctrine of salvation 
 by grace. It is of great moment to remark, that the works 
 which are rewarded are themselves the fruits of divine 
 favor. Paul says, that he labored more than all the apos- 
 tles ; but he adds, " yet not I, but the grace of God which 
 was with me." If, then, what is done be entirely owing 
 to divine grace, the reward must be quite gratuitous. The 
 free favor of God is strikingly seen in the different mea- 
 sures of endowments, time, opportunities, and success that 
 are bestowed on different individuals. One man is pos- 
 sessed of strong powers of mind — another is as a child: 
 
 future glory. It is not the design of this parable to represent directly 
 the reward of llie redeemed in the day of Christ, 'i'hey who are 
 said to have labored from the morning, and who murmured against 
 the householder, cannot be Christians; for they are put last, and, 
 though called, are not chosen, which clearly implies that they are not 
 children of God. The disciples had been promised the honor of 
 sitting on thrones in the kingdom of Christ; and this promise was 
 associated by them with the common notion of their countrymen, 
 that the Jews had a peculiar title to the blessings of his reign. While 
 they expected the chief places for themselves, they thought that all 
 other honors would be enjoyed by their countrymen, to the exclusion 
 of the Gentiles, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. 
 To correct this error, our Lord stated the general principle, that the 
 first as to advantages should be last as to attainments; and then illus- 
 trates it by this parable, in which he taught them, that the Gentiles, 
 who were called long after the Jews, should, as to acceptance with 
 God and admission into his Church, be placed on a level with the 
 Israelites; and that while the bulk of the latter should reject the 
 Gospel, many of the former would receive it. This, he says, would 
 call forth the murmurs of such as thought themselves righteous, and 
 despised olhers, as we know it did. As the Gentiles should thus be 
 
300 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 one is placed in a public and useful station — another moves 
 in a private and narrow circle : one is honored to turn 
 many to righteousness — another is useful on a small scale. 
 The man of splendid talents, however, is sometimes very 
 unsuccessful, while the comparatively weak are much 
 blessed in their labor. The man, too, who is employed in 
 what are called great things, some times falls into a snare, 
 w^hile another, who dees the small and common things of 
 his sphere with a great spirit, rises in true excellence. 
 
 accepted of God and received into his family without regard to pre- 
 vious distinctions, so the situations to which they should rise in his 
 family should correspond with the degree of positive likeness to the 
 Saviour, which they should acquire, without regard to their birth. 
 It is, however, of the former, or of acceptance with God, that the 
 parable directhj treats ; though the latter, or the rule of their eleva- 
 tion in the kingdom, is evidently implied. The instruction commu- 
 nicated respects the question of justification, though the rule as to 
 this goes upon a principle which illustrates that of the future re- 
 wards of Christians. The door of acceptance with God through 
 faith in Christ is equally open to all, however dilTcrcnt their previous 
 character may have been. All who enter receive the same blessing. 
 But, in perfect consistency with this, we are elsewhere explicitly 
 taught what is here left to be inferred — namely, that the particular 
 place occupied by each in the kingdom of heaven shall be the result 
 of the particular measure which each shall attain of positive con- 
 formity of character to the Redeemer, without regard to any other 
 distinction. Of this likeness to himself Christ speaks in Matthew 
 xix. 29, where conformity to him as a sufferer is introduced. This 
 parable then, instead of militating against what I have stated, serves 
 to confirm it. Compare Matthew xix. 30, with chap. xx. 16, chap, 
 xxii. 14, and Luke xiii. 30. The whole accords with the general 
 tenor of our Lord's parables, in which a certain degree of light only 
 is thrown on their subjects, the lull disclosure of their glory being rc- 
 ecrvcd till the outpouring of his spirit. 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 301 
 
 Hence faithful menial servants, or rather bond slaves, are 
 promised "the reward of the inheritance." It ought also 
 to be remembered, that it is the intention which our Lord 
 chiefly regards ; and that he will reward his devoted and 
 faithful servants according to what they would have done if 
 they could. In the eternal world, then, the last as to talents 
 and advantage will in many instances be the first. In some, 
 again, talents of the first order are accompanied, as in the 
 instance of the Apostle Paul, with proportionally great and 
 ardent piety, and followed by extensive usefulness. In 
 such instances of the union of greatness and goodness 
 there is much that interests the heart, and glorifies God. I 
 may here add, that one is called in early life, is preserved 
 to old age, and favored with many opportunities of serving 
 God ,• while another is called on the brink of the grave, or 
 snatched from the womb to it. The one is honored to la- 
 bor and suffer long in the cause of Christ— the other has 
 no opportunity of doing either. All this we must trace to 
 the mysterious government of heaven. The future glory 
 of some will, of course, far surpass that of others ; but this 
 will afford no cause for boasting, for the whole will be 
 traced to pure favor. 
 
 There must certainly be an intimate connection between 
 our present and our future state, for otherwise there would 
 be such chasms and abrupt transitions in the progressive 
 course of the divine government, as are quite opp°osed to 
 all that has appeared in any of the works of heaven. Cir- 
 cumstances will, no doubt, be changed, new sources of en- 
 joyment will be opened, and the relations connected with 
 this imperfect world will give place to others of a nobler 
 kind, but the essential elements of happiness shall remain 
 
 for ever. If, then, the essential principles and felicity of 
 26 
 
302 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 the redeemed must be the same in heaven as on earth, the 
 difference consisting only in the degrees of their perfection ; 
 it follows, that the exercise of Christian principles here is 
 a preparation for the exercise of them in more perfect re- 
 lations in the heavenly country. The dispensation of time, 
 therefore, and that of eternity, arc connected as correspon- 
 dent and contiguous links in the great plan of the Al- 
 mighty ; and the relations and things of the former are so 
 regulated as to be preparatory to the latter. 
 
 It is evidently a mistake, then, to confine the grace of 
 God to one point. Some speak as if it were confined to 
 the deliverance of the guilty, and their admission into 
 heaven. It is not so ; for it is also displayed in the differ- 
 ent circumstances and attainments of the saved below, and 
 in the different degrees of their glory above. If the whole 
 of the blessings of the everlasting covenant be the fruit of 
 undeserved favor, surely God may communicate them in 
 such measures as he pleases. AVe have no reason to com- 
 plain because we are not angels, nor have the lowest angels, 
 any reason to do so, because they arc not on a level with 
 the highest of the heavenly spirits. As little cause is there 
 for objecting to a diversity among the redeemed. In fact 
 the varieties which obtain among all the works of the Al- 
 mighty, form a proof that all his gifts are the fruit of free 
 bounty. This future reward, then, instead of obscuring 
 the lusture of divine grace, must itself be resolved into that 
 grace, and is a striking continuation and display of its 
 richness and its glory. 
 
 The reward in question is given, I would here remind 
 you, not for our sakes, but for the sake of Christ. As our 
 persons are accepted for the sake of the beloved, so are our 
 works. Jesus says, " lie that lovcth me shall be loved of 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 303 
 
 my Father:" He also says, "The Father himself loveth 
 you, because ye have loved me." Such as give a cup of 
 cold water to a disciple of his, because he belongs to him, 
 shall not lose their reward. The reward, then, is not given 
 as the retribution of merit to us, but as a public testimony 
 of the love of God to his Son — of his approbation of his 
 character, and his complacency in his sacrifice. Were a 
 person to rew^ard our friend because of that friend's love 
 to us, he would by this means give a striking proof of his 
 own affection for us. In proportion to the greatness of the 
 reward, compared with the littleness of what our friend 
 had done for us, would be the proof of affection and esteem 
 afforded to us. "Ye are my friends," said the Saviour, "if 
 ye do whatsoever I command you." Every expression of 
 friendship, were it but the gifl of a cup of cold water to a 
 disciple, because of his relation to Christ, shall be acknow- 
 ledged by his Father. The reward of the righteous is in- 
 tended, then, for the honor of the Saviour. What can we do 
 for him that is worthy of notice? and yet the reward is un- 
 speakably great. What an honor does God put upon his 
 Son, when every expression of love to him, and the least 
 service performed, is so liberally rewarded! This, instead 
 of militating against grace, exhibits its glory; Here it is 
 seen expanding and perpetuated. 
 
 Another thing illustrative of this subject is, that this re- 
 ward is conferred to display the divine love to righteousness 
 and truth. Jehovah is distinguished for his love of recti- 
 tude and integrity; and it is his aim to impress his crea- 
 tures with this view of his character. The rewards granted 
 his creatures are employed as means of illustrating his 
 name to created intelligences. For example, had Adam 
 continued obedient, he would have been rewarded accord- 
 
304 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 ing to the implied promise of his God. lie could not, how- 
 ever, liave pleaded any merit ; for nothing more than duty- 
 had been done. The reward would have been only an ex- 
 pression of love to holiness. The holy angels have no- 
 thing to boast of; but in developing and ministering in the 
 accomplishment of the plan of redemption they have been 
 rewarded by increasing knowledge of God, and progres- 
 sive bliss in the enjoyment of him ; and their happiness will 
 be yet more augmented. This manifests the divine love to 
 righteousness. The same is true of llie redeemed from 
 among men. In the service of God there is a present re- 
 ward arising from the very nature of the thing itself, and 
 at the end this will be vastly increased; but, instead of 
 elating with pride, it will raise their views of the gracious 
 and holy character of God: It Mill serve also to silence 
 the wicked, and to justify the administration of Heaven. 
 
 This reward is bestowed in addition, if I ma}'^ use the 
 expression, to the redemption from wrath, and from sin, ob- 
 tained through the atonement. Should a prince pardon 
 and raise to honor and wealth an attrocious and worthless 
 rebel, the pardoned criminal would be bound by every tie 
 to become an obedient subject. Should he be so through 
 life, it would not be said that he had repaid the kindness of 
 his king ; but if the prince, in addition lo his pardon, were 
 to reward him munificently for every piece of service, 
 surely the grace which originally forgave him, would be 
 displayed more than ever. The Lord pardons sinners 
 freely, without difference. Of pure grace, he takes them 
 into his family and gives them eternal life; and that this 
 may never even scan to be repaid, he gives an exceeding 
 great reward for every, even the smallest, piece of service 
 done by them. A reward so circumstanced, in place of 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 305 
 
 obscuring the grace of God, is one special means of illus- 
 trating its absolute freeness: It displays the unbounded 
 goodness of Jehovah ; and must command the homage, 
 the love and the gratitude of his people, throughout eter- 
 nity. 
 
 There is a difference between forgiveness and legal "ac- 
 ceptance in the Beloved," considered as a change of state, 
 and that gracious reward which is connected with personal 
 excellence of character. To hear he Judge say, " Thy 
 sins are forgiven thee," is to listen to a highly consoling 
 declaration, but to hear him say, "Well done good and 
 faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of of thy Lord," is 
 to receive an inconceivable addition to our blessedness. 
 
 Every man, then, in the future state, will reap fruit an- 
 alogous in kind to the seed which he now sows. The state 
 on which all will enter on leaving this world, will corres- 
 pond with their fixed principles, their habitual dispositions, 
 and their predominant character. Future blessedness is 
 not an arbitrary gift, but necessarily arises from the prin- 
 ciples which animate the hearts of believers. Future mis- 
 ery likewise will be, not an arbitrary infliction, but the na- 
 tural result of sin. The degree of it will be proportioned 
 to the degree of transgression and of depravity. Prov. i. 31. 
 We are taught in Scripture, that the sins of believers are 
 blotted out, and yet that all shall be judged according to 
 their works. In regard to this I would remind you, that 
 men shall be judged according to the kind and the measure 
 of their works. The former will be the test of character, 
 and the latter will show the degree of the character dis- 
 closed. The sinful deeds of the condemned will prove, 
 that, when on earth, they believed not in nor loved the Sa- 
 viour ; and they shall be treated accordingly. On the other 
 26* 
 
306 THE DIVERSITY 
 
 hand, the good deeds of the righteous will show that love 
 to Christ, flowing from faith in him, was the governing 
 principle of their conduct. The measure of those works 
 cannot, however, be ascertained without comparing with 
 them their sins and deficiencies. The degree of approba- 
 tion to be expressed by the Judge must be determined, that 
 the consequent reward may be seen by all to be the natural 
 result of the degree in which they resembled the Saviour. 
 All their sins will be declared forgiven, and so they will 
 *' find mercy in that day ;" but the measure of praise must 
 keep pace with the measure of their obedience. The whole 
 reward, indeed, has its origin in mercy, but it will also be 
 expressive of righteousness and faithfulness. 
 
 The events of this passing scene derive an importance 
 indescribable, from their coimexion with the formation of 
 our character. There is not an action or a word, not even 
 a thought, that has not an influence in moulding our prin- 
 ciples, and these principles will fix our lot for eternity. In 
 heaven, holiness and happiness will perfectly correspond. 
 They will do so, because every evil, natural and moral, 
 shall be removed, and the principles which were here plant- 
 ed in a strange soil and an unfriendly clime will there flour- 
 ish in the garden of God, and under a more genial sky. 
 This is the seed time, and as we now sow we shall then 
 reap. When I speak of future happiness and misery as 
 arising from character, I am far from excluding the direct 
 interposition of Ilcavcn. In regard to the righteous, the 
 direct agency of God will be employed in giving them such 
 a body, and in placing them in such circumstances as shall 
 best aflbrd scope for the exercise of their principles, and 
 for the enjoyment of their blessed result. In regard to the 
 ungodly, his hand will be employed in placing them in such 
 
OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 807 
 
 circumstances as shall fully allow their evil propensities to 
 produce their natural and unhappy fruits. This shows the 
 consistency between ascribing our future situation to cha- 
 racter on the one hand, and to the direct agency of our 
 Judo-e on the other. Sin and misery are not in all respects 
 the same thing, but they are inseparably connected; and so 
 it is with holiness and happiness : And the hand of God is 
 seen in arranging every thing, so as to mark their insepa- 
 rable connexion. The judicial and natural effects of cha- 
 racter are thus united. 
 
 While we, then, build our hope of pardon and acceptance 
 on the finished work of Christ — no more depending for 
 these blessings on our duties than on our transgressions — 
 let us bless God for what he hath wrought in us, and seek 
 much of that spirit which animated the apostle when he 
 said " I count not my life dear unto me, if I may but finish 
 my course with joy." Delightful indeed was his state of 
 mind, when, not with pharisaical self-complacency, but with 
 humble gratitude, he exclaimed, " I have fought a good 
 fight — I have finished my course — I have kept the faith. 
 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
 ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at 
 that day ; and not to me only, but unto all them also who 
 love what shall accompany and follow his appearing." 
 Thus did he exa'lt in the thought that he had been enabled 
 in any measure to live to the honor of his much loved God. 
 
 Fired with the same spirit, let us ever be diligent. We 
 ought to be ambitious of having the happiness of casting 
 many crowns at the feet of the Redeemer. Never let us 
 indulge the unworthy and ungenerous thought, that if we 
 but get to heaven, nothing more need be minded. I here 
 refer, not to that humility of mind which leads us, under 
 
308 THE DIVERSITY OF DEGREES IN GLORY. 
 
 a deep sense of guilt and demerit, to feel ourselves utterly 
 unworthy of the very least of the divine mercies, and to 
 say from the heart that the very lowest place in heaven 
 were an astonishing gift of mercy, for surely we ought 
 ever to feel thus ; but I refer to that disposition which, being 
 satisfied with deliverance from misery, and with a vaoue 
 hope of happiness in heaven, cares not for the glory of God, 
 and is indillercnt to the good of others. When the prodi- 
 gal intended only to jisk the place of a servant, he mani- 
 fested the humility of his spirit and likewise love to his fa- 
 ther, for he felt that to be under his roof and under his eye, 
 would be genuine happiness : But when his father treated 
 him not as a servant but as a son, would this fill him with 
 pride? Far from it. Humble as he was before, this would 
 make him much more so. The exuberant kindness of his 
 much injured parent would quite overwhelm him. And 
 when tlie sinner who feels that the lowest place in the house 
 of God is a blessing inconceivably great, is elevated to an 
 exalted station in the heavenly temple, will he not, instead 
 of being thereby filled with pride, be the more penetrated 
 with a sense of his own unworthincs.--^, and of the infinite 
 goodness of Jehovah ? 
 
 Even should a slothful professor of religion get there, he 
 must enter as a solitary individual — he could have no fruits 
 of his labor — his conduct could not be applauded, nor could 
 he participate in the joy of having served his Redeemer on 
 earth. Let it not be said, that it is selfish and mercenary 
 to labor and sufl^er in the hope of this reward. Is it selfish 
 to covet the approbation of God? Were it not the greatest 
 selfishness to be indificTcnt to it ? Is it selfish to seek the 
 approving testimony of conscience ? Is it selfish to exult 
 in the happiness of others ? Is it selfish to rejoice in en- 
 
DIFFICULTIES HELATIVE TO COMING TO CHRIST. 309 
 
 largcd and transforming views of the worth and elevation 
 of Christ, and in being honored to manifest the riches of 
 the divine cbaracler and glory? Surely it is not. Moses 
 had respect to the recompense of reward, Heb. xi. 26 ; Je- 
 sus himself was animated by tlie joy which was set before 
 him. Let us, " be stedfast and immoveable, always abound' 
 ing in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor shall 
 
 not be in vain in the Lord." 
 
 I remain, &c. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 ON SOME DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE TO COMING TO CHRIST. 
 
 Difficulty respecting convictions of sin — Relative to repentance — The 
 nature of coming to Christ — The state of mind connected with 
 coming to the Saviour — Mistake relative to the work of the Spirit 
 — The nature of genuine humiUty — Conclusion. 
 
 Mt deau friexd, 
 
 Permit mc to refer to what I have already written to you, 
 respecting the simplicity and suitableness of the Gospel of 
 Christ ; and, in connexion with it, to make a few more ob- 
 servations on the difficulties which you mentioned to me 
 when I last had the pleasure of seeing you. Through the 
 divine blessing, this may be the means of invigorating your 
 faith and adding to your joy. 
 
 I begin by directing your attention to tlie difficulty you 
 mentioned, respecting conviction of guilt. Some are much 
 disquieted, from a fear that they are not sufficiently con- 
 vinced of sin to warrant them to go to the Saviour, in the 
 confidence of obtaining mercy. This proceeds upon the 
 
310 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 principle, thai a certain degree of conviction, and a particu- 
 lar measure of alarm, are necessary as a sort of qualifica- 
 tion for pardon. This, however, is by no means the case. 
 There is a wide diflerence between what a sinner is called 
 and warranted to do, and what, in point of fact, he will do. 
 Every sinner is invited to come to Christ, and has a war- 
 rant on the ground of the divine promise to expect mercy 
 on his going to him. Convictions of guilt and of dangers 
 form no part of the warrant to go, they only excite him to 
 do so. A sense of sin leads to seek pardon ; and a sense 
 of danger leads to seek safety ; and where the need of these 
 blessings is not felt, the sinner feels no excitement to apply 
 for them ; but neither the one nor the other is, in the least, 
 a qualification entitling to them. ^^ 
 
 I am far from meaning that convictions of guilt are in 
 themselves self-righteous. The subject of them may err 
 as to the way of obtaining relief; but the convictions them- 
 selves are founded on truth, and are what ought to be felt. 
 Not a few having been convinced of guilt, and filled with a 
 fear of the divine displeasure, have despaired of relief from 
 any thing in themselves, but have been kept from giving 
 way to utter despair by something they have heard of the 
 Gospel ; and from some glimmering of hope, have been led 
 to seek for relief, to search the Scriptures, and to inquire 
 after the truth. These exercises are not in themselves sin- 
 ful, though at the time the glory of the Gospel is not dis- 
 cerned, for the truth has never been properly before them, 
 and they cannot be said to be opposing it. So far from 
 this, it were sinful not to cherish such convictions — it were 
 to stifle the voice of conscience, and so to rebel against the 
 light. The cry of mere distress, as uttered by the Jews on 
 the day of Pentecost, and by the Philippian jailor, is quite 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 311 
 
 dilferent from the supplications of arrogance and proud 
 self-sufficiency. The former excites pure pity, the latter 
 calls forth the divine indignation. There is an obvious 
 distinction between the natural and necessary desire of hap- 
 piness and deliverance from pain, and the criminal wishes 
 and self-righteous pursuits which flow from voluntary and 
 sinful principles. The former is essential to every rational, 
 yea every animal being, and forms no part of the depravity 
 of our nature. Its moral character is entirely derived from 
 the direction of its exercise. It may take a wrong direc- 
 tion, and often is connected with what is sinful yet in itself 
 it is but an instinctive feeling ; and it is of importance to re- 
 member this in dealing with awakened inquiries. 
 
 I mean not by this, that such characters are free from 
 the principle of self- righteousness, for this is natural to every 
 man ; but this principle does not consist in convictions of 
 sin, and a desire of relief. But when such begin to think 
 that their conviction of guilt, and their consequent fears, 
 are in some sense meritorious : or at least that they form a 
 qualification for obtaining the benefit of the work of Christ, 
 they become self-righteous in all their prayers, and tears, 
 and services. Convinced of sin it becomes them to be ; 
 and hardened, indeed, are they who are not afraid because 
 of it — but can this be a ground of confidence ? It is passing 
 strange, that men should deem it meritorious to be sensible 
 that they are sinners, and should build a degree of hope on 
 the circumstances of being convinced of rebellion against 
 God. When a person imagines that before he can come 
 to Christ, for salvation he must have, as a qualification^ a 
 certain measure of convictions of sin, he has doubtless be- 
 gun to make a righteousness of that very thing which ought 
 to humble him in the dust. 
 
312 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 You will perceive that there is a wide difference between 
 that necessary principle which impels a creature to seek its 
 own enjoyment, and the principle of love to God, which 
 unites it to the Creator as the source of its happiness. The 
 former is a universal natural instinct : the latter, not being 
 a necessary principle, is in its exercise voluntary. There 
 is a wide difference likewise between the principle of enmi- 
 ty against God, and the natural aversion from pain Vvhich 
 is common to all creatures. These distinctions explain the 
 difference between the supplications which the Scriptures 
 condemn, and the mere cries of a wretched creature for 
 mercy. The former must be positively sinful, but the lat- 
 ter are in themselves neither good nor evil. Such calls for 
 relief cannot be objects of complacency, but they may be 
 objects of pure benevolence. These two things are quite 
 distinct. 
 
 Some, it is true, before they have believed in Christ, have 
 been the subjects of deep conviction of guilt, and of the 
 most overwhelming fears ; but these did not qualify them 
 for obtaining pardon. Peter would have more hope of a 
 good issue when his hearers were roused and alarmed, than 
 had they remained insensible, because their excitement 
 might lead them to seek deliverance in the Gospel ; but he 
 could not encourage them to hope for mercy except in be- 
 lieving in Christ. When the Gospel came to be seen by 
 them, its suitableness to their wretched circumstances at 
 once struck them, and, from a sense of guilt and of want, 
 they were led to ffee to the Saviour for pardon and peace, 
 but till they did so, they were not, in respect of positive 
 holy dispositions, the least nearer the kingdom of heaven 
 than before. It was not of the spirit of the scribe who an- 
 swered our Lord discreetly, but of his confession that the 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 313 
 
 love of God was of more value than multiplied sacrifices, 
 that our Lord spoke, when he said that he was not far from 
 the kingdom of God. He meant that if this sentiment 
 were followed out by him, (as it ought conscientiously to 
 have been,) it would lead him to embrace the Gospel. 
 Others, again, have been first convinced of sin, by hearing 
 and reading of the death of Christ as an atonement for it. 
 They came to see their disease in perceiving the nature of 
 the remedy provided for it by the great Physician. In fact, 
 the Gospel itself declares the guilt and danger of men, so 
 that the belief of it involves a conviction of our lost and mis- 
 erable condition. As the death of Christ was designed to 
 honor the law, this conviction of guilt may be said to have 
 been effected by it — not indeed as nakedly stated, but as 
 magnified by the atonement. In the order of nature, a 
 conviction of sin must precede an application to the Sa- 
 viour ; but in some cases the one precedes the other but for 
 a short time ; and in others the latter so very speedily fol- 
 lows the former, that they appear to the mind as one com- 
 plex exercise. They are the more likely to be viewed in 
 this light, because the mind at such a time is otherwise em- 
 ployed than in attending to its own operations. In the case 
 of the Jews on the day of Pentecost, we see deep convic- 
 tions of guilt in havivig murdered the Prince of life, and 
 we see deep anguish arising from the dread of wrath ; but 
 when the Gospel was unfolded to them, they found instant 
 peace and joy in believing. We see a similar scene in the 
 case of the jailor at Philippi, who, in the course of a short 
 time, passed from a state of insensibility to a state of alarm ; 
 and from that to a state of enlightened confidence. God 
 does indeed often employ the dread, and in some cases the 
 
 horror, which arises from a conviction of guilt, to arouse 
 27 
 
314 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 the sinner from security, and finally to lead him to the Sa- 
 viour : But the length of time, during ^vhich this state of 
 mind lasts, varies in different individuals, and so does the 
 degree of distress ; and whether the time be long or short, 
 or the distress great or small, there is nothing in cither that 
 qualifies for mercy. 
 
 It is with this as with disappointments in worldly pur- 
 suits. By such disappointments many are driven to over- 
 whelming despondency ; and others again are led by them, 
 through the divine blessing, to inquire for a better portion. 
 But because many are led by worldly bereavements and 
 crosses to seek for peace in the Saviour, it surely does not 
 follow that such calamities are qualifications necessary to 
 warrant a sinner to go to him, or that every one must be 
 afflicted before he can come to him. So far from this, 
 though many are led by afflictions to the Saviour, there are 
 others who, in the enjoyment of prosperity, have been 
 drawn to him, and have found mercy through him. An 
 instance of this kind we have in the case of Zaccheus, and 
 another in that of the Ethiopian Eunuch. 
 
 These remarks apply to deep and prolonged distress of 
 mind, arising from convictions of guilt. Because this has 
 been experienced by many, it does not follow that it is a 
 process which must be gone througfi^'by all. The truth is, 
 had such believed in Christ sooner than they did, or even 
 at the very commencement of their trouble of mind, they 
 had been as welcome to the blessings of salvation then, as 
 when they actually embraced the Gospel. They had the 
 same invitation then as when they did go to Christ ; it was 
 their sin that they did not go sooner, yea at the very first. 
 The reason why they did not, was an aversion to the hum- 
 bling and holy truths of the Gospel, united with a self 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 315 
 
 righteous principle. This they are brought to see when 
 they believe in Christ. They are convinced of sin because 
 they did not sooner believe in him, and they find that the 
 use they made of their distress contributed to blind them. 
 
 That there is no necessary connection between distress 
 of mind and being brought to believe in Christ, is evident 
 from the fact, that not all who trembled under the dis- 
 course of Peter on the day of Pentecost, but only a part of 
 them, " gladly received the word." It is true, that without 
 a sense of what renders the salvation of the Gospel neces- 
 sary, it cannot be believed ; but, though by means of the 
 distress and alarm I refer to, God often leads to a welcome 
 reception of the truth, they do not in themselves contain 
 any holy advances towards it on the part of the sinner. 
 They respect the state of the intellect and the conscience ; 
 not that of the heart. Convictions of sin arising from the 
 law, frequently lead either to despondency on the one hand, 
 or to a delusive hope on the other. The slavish terrors re- 
 sulting from the former, and the groundless confidence ex- 
 cited by the latter, are of course no infallible signs or prog- 
 nostics of conversion. Such convictions may issue in it, 
 but often they do not : Witness the casse of Felix, Judas, 
 and Saul. Of themselves, they cannot reconcile the heart 
 to God and his word ; but, on the contrary, they sometimes 
 call forth the most unhallowed ideas of both. It is with 
 these as with the afflictions of life, which, although blessed 
 to many, others have felt most keenly, and yet have after- 
 wards forgotten them, and gone into every vanity. When 
 such sensations are experienced, the hand of God may be 
 ordering them in subserviency to the designs of his mercy, 
 which are afterwards to be manifested ; but, I need not say 
 that the subject of these fears has not been subdued, while 
 
316 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 the Gospel is not received by him, as far as lie is made ac- 
 quainted with it. Why, then, act as if a particular pre- 
 paratory course of tormenting dread must necessarily pre- 
 cede faith in Christ ? 
 
 There are some, however, who have had partial views 
 of tlioir guilt sufficient to cause pain, but accomi)anicd with 
 a half persuasion that they were Christians, who have been 
 awakened to a sense of their true character, by occurrences 
 which proved to their full conviction that they were yet 
 strangers to the truth. Their perplexity arose from an at- 
 tempt to reconcile the evils which they saw in themselves, 
 with the existence of true religion, and not really from 
 deep convictions of guilt. Had these partial convictions 
 been followed up by them as they ought to have been, they 
 had not remained so long in suspense. Their suspense 
 terminated when, on honestly lookinfj back on their course 
 of life, they saw that there was nothing even in their re- 
 ligious services, as well as their other practices, but one 
 scene of unbelief and wickedness. They found themselves 
 shut out from all hope in themselves, but at the same time 
 they were made to see the infinite glory of the atonement, 
 and so were in mercy led to the Saviour for refuge. Their 
 encouragement to go to him did not, however, arise from 
 their deep consciousness of guilt, but from the perfection 
 of his work, and from the grace of the Gospel. 
 
 Every man, I may here add, knows in some measure, 
 that he is a sinner — he feels that this is a world of suffer- 
 ing ; and he more or less feels an apprehension of some- 
 thing future, and ought to obey the light he has received. 
 He is, of course, so far in a state of readiness for hearing 
 and at once believing the Gospel ; connected, as the state- 
 ment of it ought ever to be, with a statement of the equity 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 317 
 
 and the goodness of the divine law, the exceeding sinful- 
 ness of sin, the liability of the sinner to the divine curse, 
 and his utter insufficiency to deliver himself. I may re- 
 mark, too, that some, like Timothy, have known the Scrip- 
 tures from their childhood, and have been early and grad- 
 ually brought to see their disease and the remedy. Such, 
 of course, may not have had the same deep convictions of 
 guilt as some others, and the transition from their natural 
 condition to a stale of acceptance with God may not have 
 been so striking. 
 
 The general principle that the operations of divine grace 
 are not limited to one plan, is established by this fact in 
 the history of Timothy, and may therefore be applied to 
 other classes of characters. Accordingly, there are cases 
 not unlike this even among persons more advanced in life. 
 With such the work is very gradual, so that the same 
 marked changes do not appear in them as in others. 
 
 Awful sensations, however, do not always flow from real 
 convictions of personal guilt, as is evident from their ef- 
 fects. It ought not to be forgotten, that some take a plea- 
 sure in alarming addresses, not from regard to the truth, 
 but partly because they like to be excited, and partly be- 
 cause their righteousness consists in the strength of their 
 sensations. The principle at the bottom of the former 
 reason is similar to that which leads many to witness an 
 awful scene from the pleasure they feel in any strong ex- 
 citement, and is very different from that alarm which arises 
 from a real conviction of guilt, by the word of the living 
 God ; and the principle at the bottom of the latter, is that 
 which leads a man to trust in himself that he is righteous 
 and to despise others. Accordingly the fact is, that the 
 alarming address is oflen applied to others, rather than to 
 27* 
 
318 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 the person himself, who is trusting to the excitement he 
 is under, and has no small self complacency in contrast- 
 ing it with the calmness of those to whom he applies what 
 is said. 
 
 In reference to this suhject, as well as with regard to af- 
 fliction, allow mc to refer you to the cases of Zaccheus and 
 of the Ethiopian Eunuch, and also to those of the deputy, 
 Sergius Paulus ; and of the Jews whom Paul met at Rome. 
 In these there is not the same process seen as in the case 
 of the Jews on the day of Pentecost, and that of the Philip- 
 pian jailor. Indeed, it is vain to reduce all to one method. 
 All are hrought to see their lost and guilty condition ; that 
 there is full salvation to be had through the one perfect 
 work of Christ ; and that in no other way can this blessing 
 be obtained. The whole are led, though not all exactly in 
 the same manner, to rest their eternal all on the grace of 
 God, as it flows to sinners through the atonement of his 
 Son, and to live by faith in him. Let this always be kept 
 in view, and let not Jehovah be Hmited to one mode of pro- 
 ducing a change in the heart. 
 
 It appears, then, that though a sense of sin is necessary 
 to lead a sinner to apply to the Saviour for relief, and though 
 a very great degree of it has sometimes been employed in 
 order to excite to go to him, yet it is not a qualification 
 warranting to do so ; that no particular measure of convic- 
 tion and alarm is a prerequisite ; that it is enough as to 
 the act itself, if the sinner be led to go to the Redeemer, 
 whether the measure of conviction be great or compara- 
 tively small, or whether it be just a feeling of wretchedness 
 and unhappiness, which, though easily conceived, it may 
 not be easy to express ; and that in believing the Gospel 
 itself, there is included a conviction that we are lost and 
 guilty sinners. 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 319 
 
 Connected with this, is the difficulty you feel relative to 
 repentance. The mistake arises from the principle which 
 has led numbers to withhold the invitations of the Gospel 
 till the sinner is, as they think, sufficiently alarmed and 
 humbled because of sin, and then to introduce them as 
 something to which he is entitled. Thus to limit the pro- 
 posal of the blessings of mercy is to act very differently 
 from the inspired messengers of Heaven. It may have 
 the appearance of wisdom, but it defeats its own end, by 
 turnincr the mind from the atonement, and from the grace 
 of the Gospel, to something in itself. It is true, that though 
 no man is justified on account of his humility and contrition, 
 it is only such as are humble and contrite in heart that can, 
 in the very nature of things, relish or enjoy the blessings 
 of Redemption ; but still the invitations of mercy are ad- 
 dressed to all indiscriminately. The promises of the con- 
 solations of God are made to sinners considered as bowing 
 to his will ; but it is by means of the goodness exhibited 
 in the unlimited invitations of the Gospel, by the rich pro- 
 vision that is made for the salvation and bliss of believers, 
 and by the wonderful medium through which the divine 
 grace flows to the guilty, that the rebellious heart is sub- 
 dued. Now, as it is in believing the Gospel that true peni- 
 tence is exercised, it cannot be a prerequisite to our being 
 called to believe it and to come to the Saviour. For a sin- 
 ner to think that he ought not to embrace the Gospel till he 
 be more deeply humbled and penitent, is but a specious 
 deceit of an evil heart. 
 
 Repentance is not a condition of obtaining salvation — it 
 is a branch of salvation itself. Considered in a general 
 view, it is that entire change of mind which takes place 
 when a sinner is converted to God. This change, when 
 
320 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 spoken of in relation to the divine testimony, is termed 
 " repentance to the acknowledging of the truth ;" when 
 spoken of in relation to the Almighty, it is called repent- 
 ance towards God; and when viewed in relation to sin,Jt 
 is called "repentance from dead works." If, then, it be a 
 change of mind to the acknowledging of the truth, it of 
 course must include faith in it. This is that part of the 
 change which respects the Gospel ; and it must be connect- 
 ed with that branch of it which respects the views and the 
 affections of the heart " towards God." In so far as this 
 change relates to sin, it includes a change of sentiment re- 
 garding it — a change of feeling towards it — and a change 
 from hardness or impenitence of heart to sorrow because 
 of it. I need not tell you that this is very diiferent from 
 the notion that repentance is just a feeling of regrct, or re- 
 morse, for sin ; and even from that which confines it to 
 heartfelt sorrow for it. It includes, indeed, sorrow for 
 every transgression, but only as a part of the change which 
 takes place on receiving the truth. The whole included in 
 this repentance was preached by John, the harbinger of 
 our Lord, by " saying unto the people that they should be- 
 lieve on him who should come after him — that is, on Christ 
 Jesus." Surely, then, it cannot be a prerequisite warrant- 
 ing an application to the Saviour ; and what is true of it as 
 a whole, applies in particular to that sorrow which is an 
 essential part of it. 
 
 It is only by looking on Calvary, and on the beauty of 
 holiness as exemplified by him whom our sins pierced, that 
 our sense of guilt and of demerit is deepened, and that we 
 are made to mourn for sin with genuine and heartfelt con- 
 trition. Instead, then, of refusing comfort because our 
 previous convictions and our sorrow for sin were but slight, 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 321 
 
 let the mind now dwell on the cross of Christ. It is this 
 display of the unbounded goodness of God towards us, 
 notwithstanding our guilt and impenitence, that softens the 
 hard heart and melts the soul into tenderness. Ezekiel xvi. 
 62, 63 ; Jeremiah xxxi. 19 ; Zechariah xii. 10. There we 
 see that law honored which we have so often violated ; and 
 the exceeding sinfulness of sin is read in the overwhelm- 
 ing woes of the Redeemer. The mind takes its station 
 here, and contemplates the flowings of mercy in the blood 
 of the Saviour. Looking with the deepest interest on the 
 Lamb of God, we see the love of his heart in his manifold 
 sufferings. Convictions of guilt flash upon the mind, when 
 we take our stand at Calvary : there, love and grief, hope 
 and joy, unite their streams, and become sweetly blended, 
 Luke vii. 36—50. The heart is not distracted — its very 
 weakness is met; for that same object which impresses 
 most deeply a sense of the danger consequent on sin, gives 
 the most reviving views of the divine mercy and love. 
 
 I beg you to notice, that there is nothing in these state- 
 ments which can sanction the practice of addressing those 
 as Christians v/ho do not give evidence of a change of mind. 
 Some do so as soon as alarm is felt, and others when the 
 word is received with joy, but both are in the wrong. Holi- 
 ness of character is not necessarily connected with a strong 
 or a sudden excitement : the question is — From what does 
 it spring ? Care ought to be taken that while the Gospel is 
 stated without resei-ve, the wounds of the sinner may not 
 be healed slightly. It is an awful thing to buoy up with 
 presumptuous hopes such as are deceiving their own souls. 
 It is in vain that they dwell upon the agony of distress 
 which preceded their emotions of joy, for if they are not 
 building their confidence on the basis of the work of Christ, 
 they are yet far from God. 
 
322 DIFFICULTIES KELATIVE 
 
 Let me now call your attention to the difficulty you men- 
 tioned relative to the nature of coming to Christ. In Scrip- 
 ture, believing in him, and coming to him, are expressions 
 used interchangeably; strictly speaking, the latter is the 
 effect of the former, Heb. xi. 6 ; but so closely are they 
 connected, that the one involves the other. Still, however, 
 the distinction between them is explanatory of their nature. 
 When a sinner is persuaded of the truth, that salvation is 
 to be had through Christ, and that in no other way can he 
 be delivered from absolute ruin, he comes to him for the 
 precious blessing, or, in other words, he commits himself 
 to him, or trusts the salvation of his soul in his hands. On 
 hearing the invitation, " Come unto me and I will give you 
 rest," instead of fixing on the word coming, and desiring 
 to know how to perform this act aright, that he may find 
 rest from the consideration of having done it well, he fixes 
 his eye on the word me, and says, "Docs Christ say, come 
 to me? To him, then, will I go." In coming to the Sa- 
 viour, then, he is not engaged in speculating on the act of 
 coming as an exercise of the mind, but is occupied with 
 the character of him to whom he comes, and with liis 
 gracious invitation to cast his all up(jn his perfect atone- 
 ment. Jn His work and character he sees all his salvation 
 and all his desire; and in His unfettered invitation he finds 
 abundant assurance of a free welcome. The result is, that 
 this sense of the free and exuberant love of the Saviour ex- 
 cites him to trust his all in His hand ; and in doing so his 
 soul finds rest. 
 
 Connected with this, is what you said respecting that 
 fervor of affection and desire which accompanies an appli- 
 cation to the Saviour. Perhaps, my dear friend, you are 
 striving to gain the effect, without dwelling sufiicicntly on 
 the cause. I need not tell you, that faith in that Gospel 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 323 
 
 which preaches peace to the very chief of sinners is the 
 principle from which all holy affections proceed. It is so 
 because of the glorious nature and assimilating influence of 
 the truth believed. Let your mind, then, be carried be- 
 yond its own exercises, to the attractive object of its faith ; 
 for in no other way can the effects you desire be produced. 
 The emotions of the mind must be excited by some exist 
 ing cause which we either perceive ourselves, or hear of by 
 the credible testimony of others. Thus the joy of the shep- 
 herds arose from what they had heard and seen, and the 
 joy of Jacob arose from the fact declared to him, and not 
 from reflecting on the feelings of the heart. And the peace 
 and the consolation of a Christian arise in the first instance 
 from the object of faith, or, in other words, from what God 
 has testified in his word. 
 
 Saving faith is the belief of the saving truth ; for the ef- 
 ficacy of faith arises from the thing believed. In believing 
 it, we see nothing to encourage us before God, but his plain 
 testimony concerning the all sufHciency of the atonement 
 to take away sin, and his promise of eternal life to all who 
 believe in it. When convinced of the fulness, freeness, and 
 suitableness of the salvation of Christ, the heart, with all its 
 thoughts and affections, comes to be completely engaged 
 with it. Being persuaded that he has done all that is ne- 
 cessary as the ground of salvation to sinners, we rest on 
 his work; and we feel attracted to the Gospel, because it 
 contains all that is requisite to gladden and purify our spirits. 
 The more that we feel the necessity of this salvation, and 
 the more that we see of its interesting nature, the more 
 must we cling to and exult in the Saviour. These work- 
 ings of the affections, the desires and the feelings of the 
 heart, naturally flow from the belief of the Gospel ; and in 
 
324 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 vain do we look for them while the great spring of them is 
 forgotten. To expect that these warm affections will spring 
 up into lively exercise while faith is weak, is to forget their 
 connection with it as the principle from which they proceed, 
 and to look for the fruit without the due culture of the tree. 
 Such mistakes frequently arise from confounding faith with 
 its effects, — a practice by which the beauty and simplicity 
 of the Gospel arc exceedingly marred. 
 
 When the Scriptures represent Christians as running to 
 the Saviour, as leaning upon him, and laying hold of him, 
 they exhibit in a most natural manner the effects of faith 
 in him. The truth is involved in obscurity when we at- 
 tempt to explain faith from such figures, instead of explain- 
 ing, as is most rational, the figures from it. When exposed 
 to the storm, for example, how eagerly does the traveller 
 flee to an open shelter : In the time of extreme danger, with 
 what pleasure do we run to a place of safety ; and with 
 what affection do the needy go to a generous benefactor 
 upon his kind invitation. Such cases serve to illustrate 
 the feelings and the workings of the heart on believing the 
 Gospel, in which Christ is exhibited as " a refuge from the 
 storm and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in 
 a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary 
 land." It is easy to see how love and desire, hope and 
 gratitude, delight and holy activity, will all spring from 
 faith in the message of mercy. The heart, however, is at 
 the time engaged in reflecting on the objects which occa- 
 sion its feelings, rather than on the feelings themselves. 
 But while the peace and the joy of a Christian spring, in 
 the first instance, simply from what is testified in the gospel, 
 yet the consideration that his character and feelings have 
 undergone a change by the influence of divine grace, is lit- 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 825 
 
 ted to increase and to confirm his joy, inasmuch as it shows 
 the glory of that goodness which opened his mind to the 
 truth, inclined his heart to embrace it, and is continuing by 
 means of it to meeten him for the inheritance of the saints 
 in light. Gratitude and esteem, love and holy activity, 
 come thus to be the more cherished, and the assurance of 
 hope, in consequence of the increase of faith, by exercise 
 comes to be proportionally strengthened. 
 
 These exercises, then, are not prerequisites to our going 
 to Christ, but are the effect of going to him on the warrant 
 of the Gospel itself. When faith is weak, and the Gospel 
 but dimly discerned, these holy fruits are proportionably 
 small. There may indeed be a natural movement of the 
 animal affections by the new objects about which they are 
 exercised ; but this warmth and false luxuriance are very 
 different from the real growth of heavenly dispositions. 
 The way to increase their genuine warmth and real vigor, 
 is to look at all times to that from which they proceed, and 
 to continue and abound in the active exercise of the princi- 
 ples produced by it. I speak not, you will perceive, of 
 simply looking on the cross and character of Christ as if 
 nothing more were necessary, but of acting in all cases 
 with these in our eye. Confidence in him, and unremitting 
 activity, ought ever to be united. The life of a Christian 
 is not a life of mere contemplation, but of assiduous dili- 
 gence : — His diligence, however, is stimulated by looking 
 to " the Author and Finisher of our faith." His faith is 
 increased by its being thus exercised by active obedience, 
 for it is a law in nature, that the exercise of a principle 
 adds to its strength. It is easy, then, to see how the growth 
 of this assurance of hope is connected with our giving all 
 
 diligence to add to our faith all holy dispositions and ser- 
 
 28 
 
326 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 vices ; for if, by this means, our faith is invigorated, it fol- 
 lows that as the assurance of hope is proportioned to that 
 of our faith, so, whatever strengthens the latter, must also 
 strengthen the former. The hope of eternal life is thus 
 made to rest, not on our obedience, but on the object of our 
 faith, because it keeps pace with the measure of our faith 
 in that object. 
 
 I beg here to call your attention to a very common error 
 among inquirers after the truth, and to which I think you 
 referred. It is that of waiting till they shall find some 
 change, or good disposition, wrought in them by divine in- 
 fluence, before they will come to Christ, or take comfort 
 from the Gospel. In opposition to this, and every self- 
 righteous course, the Scriptures teach, that the finished 
 work of Christ, exclusive of every exercise of man, is that 
 for the sake of which God justifies a sinner ; and that the 
 first scriptural consolation received by the believer arises 
 from the Gospel, and not from reflecting on the feelings or 
 chann;e of his own mind towards it — though doubtless his 
 comfort is increased and continued by the influence of the 
 truth upon his character. According to what I have stated, 
 this change, and all good dispositions, are ol)lained in com- 
 ing to him. As it is only, however, by surrounding objects 
 appearing to a man previously blind, that he knows the 
 blindness of his eyes to be removed, so it is by the resitU 
 that we come to know of divine influence. The spirit of 
 God inclines the heart to go to the Saviour, and to renounce 
 all other grounds of confidence, lint that which inclines 
 a sinner to go to him, and that which calls liiin to go, and 
 warrants him to hope for j)ar(lon on his going, are ([uite 
 distinct. No consciousness of any internal or external 
 qualification whatsoever is necessary to authorise any sin- 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 327 
 
 ner to apply to the Saviour. The general and the indefinite 
 calls of the Gospel, in which sinners are described merely 
 by their guilt and their necessities, form the ground on 
 which they are warranted to go to him in the confidence of 
 obtaining mercy. It is in leading the mind to these, and 
 to the work of Christ, that the Spirit acts. It must be a 
 great mistake, then, to place the consciousness of his work 
 between us and the free salvation of the cross. The effect 
 of doing so has in some cases been, that even when every 
 false confidence was abandoned, and no help was expected 
 but from Christ, the mind has been long kept in perplexity 
 from not seeing that any sinner may go to him for mercy. 
 The influence of the Spirit is not something of which we 
 have a distinct and an immediate perception. There are 
 no new faculties given us ; those we have are only direct- 
 ed by him to their proper objects. Sanctification is not ef- 
 fected by immediate inspiration. No new revelation is 
 made ; the mind is only taught by the Spirit to discern and 
 to receive the truths already recorded in Scripture. 1 Pet. 
 i. 22, 23. His agency is not perceived or felt separate from 
 the influence of the word of God upon our minds and our 
 affections ; it is known only by its effects. The word and 
 the Spirit are not, indeed, the same; they are in themselves 
 quite distinct. The word, however, is the medium through 
 which he works. John xvii. 17. The mode in which he 
 operates is beyond our comprehension ; but whatever it 
 may be, we can have no sense of his operations separately 
 from the workings of our minds. His gracious influence 
 mingles itself, as it were, with the reasonings, motives, and 
 persuasions of his word. At the time that we are taught 
 by him, it is the thing taught, and not the teacher, that en- 
 grosses the heart. On reflecting on the effects, however, 
 
328 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 we trace the whole to him, and give him the glory. When 
 the mind is occupied with discussions about the mode of 
 his operations, it is turned from the great objects exhibited 
 by him, and so ceases to feel their power. If, on the other 
 hand, we forget our own weakness, and do not constantly 
 rely on the promised aid of the divine Spirit, we are cherish- 
 ing a principle directly opposed to that meek and humble 
 temper of heart in which God delights, and a principle 
 which must blind us to the truth. Beautiful is the sim- 
 plicity of Scripture, in which we are directed to the Gospel, 
 as that by which he works ; and to the throne of grace for 
 liis necessary and gracious influences. John iii. 5, with 
 verses 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. 2 Thess. ii. 13. Activity and 
 dependence are thus united ; and while we arc sanctified, 
 God is glorified. 
 
 No one, then, ought to be distressed, as if he had not 
 been the subject of this influence, because he cannot tell, 
 from an immediate perception of it, how it is exerted ; nor 
 sliould any one boast of divine impulses apart from the 
 power of the truth. Neither should any delude themselves 
 by waiting for some extraordinary impressions, before they 
 will apply to the Saviour. Let the Gospel, then, be con- 
 templated by you with an humble and devout heart, and in 
 dependence on the promise of divine teaching ; and let its 
 gracious calls be at once yielded to, in the faith of accept- 
 ance through Christ. The belief of it will produce ac- 
 ceptable principles and acts of obedience. These acts of 
 obedience will tend to increase the knowledge of tbe truth, 
 and this increasing knowledge will invigorate you for duty ; 
 so that faith and obedience will be found to have a recip- 
 rocal influence, they will act and re-act the one upon tho 
 other. 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 329 
 
 Be not misled by a false humility, which feels as if it 
 were improper to expect the blessings of the everlasting 
 covenant in your present condition. The spirit of this 
 spurious humility we see in Peter, who, when our Lord 
 condescended to wash the feet of his disciples, said, "Lord, 
 dost thou wash my feetl" and again, "Lord, thou shalt 
 never wash my feet." Peter in this showed a deep sense 
 of the dignity and the greatness of his Master, and of his 
 own insignificance. He did not, however, dwell sufficiently 
 on the purity and the holiness of Christ, and his own guilt 
 and demerit as a sinner. Hence our Lord led his attention 
 to that spiritual purification of which he stood in need. In 
 doing so, the Saviour had his eye on what he should have 
 to suffer, in order to the purification of the souls of men; 
 and when Peter at last came to see what was included in 
 the language of his Lord, he would deeply feel for the er- 
 roneous views he had formed. If it were too much for our 
 Lord to wash the feet of his disciples, what would it be to 
 suffer what Gethsemane and Calvary witnessed ; to endure 
 the desert of sin ; and to expire under the curse of the di- 
 vine law ? True humility consists, not in deeming it an act 
 of presumption to expect, or receive, the blessings of hea- 
 ven, and for that reason declining the acceptance of them ; 
 but in feeling that, great and many as they are, they are 
 all necessary ; and that wonderful as is the medium through 
 which they flow to us, no other could have sufficed. The 
 question with us ought not to be, are not the blessings of 
 redemption too great for our deserts? but, can we do with 
 less? The least of the divine mercies is beyond our de- 
 serts, but the greatest of them is not beyond our neces- 
 sities, God hath already given his Son, and nothing is 
 
 too great to be given through him. In feeling that such is 
 
 28* 
 
330 DIFFICULTIES RELATIVE 
 
 our guilt, and such our wretchedness, that unless all the 
 mercies of the new covenant are granted us, we must 
 perish ; and in gratefully receiving what the abundant good- 
 ness of God hath provided, we manifest that true humility 
 which the Scriptures extol. 
 
 The heart, on viewing the astonishing means by which 
 redemption is provided, admires the riches of divine grace; 
 and, conscious that nothing less could have answered the 
 end, feels itself shut up to this method of salvation, and is 
 subdued by the overpowering influence of graiitude. Thus 
 David, when the Lord made him many promises, which 
 included the salvation of the Messiah, went into the sanctu- 
 ary and humbly worshipped God, saying, that such was 
 not "the manner of man ;" — that when he thought of him- 
 self and of his father's house, he was lost in wonder at 
 what had been promised. His humility was not of that 
 spurious kind which would have led him to refuse the bless- 
 ings in question, as too much for him to receive : on the 
 contrary, it appeared in his praying, that it might be to him 
 "according to the word of his God," and that the whole 
 of the promised blessings might in due time be fully com- 
 municated. Such is the humility which all ought to feel 
 and to manifest. 
 
 Pray, as did the disciples, for an increase of your faith. 
 Luke xvii. o. Do it with an importunate lieart ; encouraged 
 by the call and the promise of the Saviour, who feeds his 
 flock like a kind and a faithful shepherd. He conducts 
 them with the utmost tenderness and care; and with a wise 
 and aflcjctionate regard to their age, strength, and situation. 
 He does not overdrive, or leave the least of them behind. 
 Such of them as cannot keep pace with others, he waits 
 upon >\ ith all patience and kindness, and leads them softly 
 
TO COMING TO CHRIST. 331 
 
 along. Those who cannot walk at all, he takes up in his 
 arms ; and, in a manner the most engaging, " carries them 
 in his bosom." Such are the beautiful images employed to 
 represent the tenderness of his heart, and his affectionate 
 concern for the very feeblest of his people. 
 
 Be not, I entreat you, discouraged or cast down because 
 you meet with difficulties ; but persevere. Wait upon the 
 Saviour and implore his aid. In the most eminent Chris- 
 tians there is a conflict. They all feel much within that is 
 evil : all of them are obliged to maintain constant vigilance ; 
 and not one of them expects complete rest in this world. 
 This is far from lessening their sense of the evil of sin ; 
 but it keeps them from despondency. They know that the 
 truths of Scripture are written " that they sin not," and this 
 preserves them from presumption ; but they know also that, 
 if unhappily they do sin, there is an advocate with the Fa- 
 ther ; and this leads them with humble hope to the throne 
 of grace, for mercy to pardon, and grace to help in time 
 of need. It is with them, as with a person who is afflict- 
 ed with a disorder of which he does not expect to be ever 
 perfectly cured, but which may be kept under by a particu- 
 lar regimen and medicine. If he neglect these means of 
 keeping it in check, it instantly gains vigor. Or, if he do, 
 or take any thing which will counteract iheir influence, the 
 same effect will follow. His safety, of course, depends on 
 his continuing without intermission in the use of the pre- 
 cautions and the medicine adapted to his malady. In like 
 manner, the Christian does not expect to be perfectly free 
 from sin in the present life ; but, by continuing to apply the 
 remedy provided in the Gospel, he, in a measure, keeps sin 
 under, and gradually subdues it. If, on the other hand, 
 he let the truth slip out of his mind, or has recourse to other 
 
332 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 
 
 means of deliverance, then sin instantly gains strength. 
 You will perceive from this, that our safety lies in living 
 constantly by the faith of the Son of God. Let a life of 
 faith, then, be your aim. With your heart turned to hea- 
 ven for assistance, seek to be progressively sanctified, and 
 " look for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eter- 
 nal life." 
 
 I am, 6lc, 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 ON CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 
 
 Confidence in prayer the privilege of Christians — Arises from the 
 character of God as a Father — From the atonement — From the 
 intercession of Christ — From the promises of a gracious answer — 
 Includes freedom of speech at the throne of grace — Necessary be- 
 cause of discouragements — Blessings we are warranted to ask. 
 
 Mr DEAH rillEXD, 
 
 I HAVE repeatedly recommended to you the exercise of 
 prayer, and shall now lead your attention to the duty, and 
 the privilege, of coming to the throne of grace with filial 
 confidence and freedom of speech. — Prayer is the very life 
 of genuine religion. It serves to maintain in the mind a 
 devout sense of our entire dependence on God, of his right 
 to govern us, and of our deep responsibility as his creatures 
 and his redeemed children. It is calculated to excite the 
 most profound veneration, and the deepest self-abasement 
 and contrition of heart ; while it endears to us the charac- 
 ter of Christ, and increases our desire of conformity to his 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 333 
 
 spirit. It relieves, sanctifies, and enriches the soul ; fits for 
 the thankfiil reception of the blessings of Heaven ; and pre- 
 pares us at once for the duties, the conflicts, and the varied 
 circumstances of this life, and for holy fellowship with God 
 in that which is to come. 
 
 The throne to which we are called, is denominated a 
 " throne of grace." Had it been merely a throne of glory, 
 and still more had it been a throne of judgment, we might 
 well have been filled with alarming fear and with slavish 
 dread. But as it is a throne of grace, we may approach 
 it with composure and confidence. It were, indeed, at 
 once dishonorable to God and injurious to ourselves, did 
 we come to it with rude audacity, or coarse and trifling fa- 
 miliarity. That boldness which the Gospel warrants is 
 opposed, not to holy veneration and godly fear, but to ser- 
 vile dread and distrustful despondency. Heb. iv. 16, com- 
 pared with chap. xii. 28, 29. It is such confidence as is 
 adapted to the case of a suppliant imploring mercy and 
 unmerited favor, under a consciousness of guilt, and filled 
 with contrition. It arises from nothing in ourselves, but 
 from the gracious character and the wondrous love of God; 
 and consists in a confident persuasion that as we are allow- 
 ed, yea invited and besought, to come to him, we may as- 
 suredly expect a cordial reception. 
 
 He whom we address is our Father. This is a most en- 
 dearing relation, and fraught with abundant consolation. 
 It serves to aid our conceptions of the divine goodness, but 
 yet it cannot do justice to the subject. Conceive in your 
 mind the bowels of compassion, which fill the breast of an 
 affectionate friend and an indulgent parent, and then think 
 of the perfection of all that is kind and amiable in the 
 heart of the Father of mercies. He gives with the heart 
 
334 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 
 
 of a parent, not reluctantly, but with cordial pleasure, 
 even with all the love, tenderness, and bounty, which this 
 character supposes. Matth. vii. 7 — 11. Earthly parents 
 may be unnatural ; a woman may forget her sucking child, 
 but he will never forget his children. Isaiah xlix. 14 — 16. 
 He tenderly pities them ; and even when he afflicts them, 
 it is the yearning bowels of a Father, and with a view to 
 their profit. AV'e should certainly approacli him with filial 
 confidence and sacred boldness, did our faith correspond 
 with this view of his relation to us; in which he so far 
 condescends to our weakness as to excite our trust in him, 
 by an appeal to the feelings of a parent's heart. He knows 
 all our circumstances and wants; he is ever with us; and 
 is ever able to relieve us. He delights in showing mercy ; 
 and never does he upbraid with guilt, with favors formerly 
 conferred, or with the frequency of our applications. He 
 will, with the utmost readiness, forgive our sins; purify 
 our hearts ; keep us from evil ; give us strength for duty ; 
 patience under suflcring ; in due time deliverance from 
 trouble ; and, finally, everlasting life. " Fear not, my dear 
 flock," said the Saviour, " your Father is delighted in giving 
 you the kingdom." He gives it with all his heart ; it grati- 
 fies his very soul to confer it ; and will he not, then, cheer- 
 fully give all that is necessary on the way to it ? 
 
 The confidence which this view of the divine character 
 inspires, is exactly that which, as sinners, we need. Sin 
 at one time was viewed as nothing ; it was difficult to ex- 
 cite our fear, and to convince us of our need of mercy. 
 We rushed headlong with presumptuous boldness. The 
 stupor of insensibility was mistaken lor the peace of God. 
 When, however, we are brought to see it in its true light, wc 
 can hardly be persuaded that God will forgive it, and re- 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 335 
 
 ceive us into favor, and so are in danger of perishing with 
 the fearful and unbelieving. To meet this state of mind, 
 and to gain our confidence, he has revealed himself as mer- 
 ciful and gracious — as full of pity and compassion — and 
 as abundant in goodness and truth. He adapts his dispen- 
 sations to our necessities and our fears, and seeks to re- 
 cover our alienated minds by the overflowings of his good- 
 ness. He has even given up his own Son unto suffering 
 and death, that he might " commend his love toward us," 
 in all our guilt and demerit. Much has been done, that 
 the heirs of promise might have strong consolation, who 
 have fled for refuge to the hope set before them. And why 
 has he done all this ? but because, till we are brought to 
 trust in him, we cannot come to him with a proper spirit, 
 and cannot be conformed to him. 
 
 Admirably fitted are the discoveries of the divine good- 
 ness, and the gifts of divine love, to attract us to God, and 
 to cherish the most assured hopes of all that is good in it- 
 self, and adapted to our condition. Animated by this, we 
 may come to the throne of grace with holy and steady con- 
 fidence. We are apt to view God as rather unwilling than 
 otherwise, to communicate the blessings of his covenant ; 
 and to consider what is bestowed as drawn from him by 
 the interposition of Christ : But the whole of the mediato- 
 rial works of the Saviour is the fruit, and not the cause of 
 his love. The opposite view must destroy all confidence, 
 and infuse a spirit of jealousy and suspicion. Scriptural 
 apprehensions of his character lead us to him as one cheer- 
 fully disposed, yea delighted, to do us good. 
 
 I shall now call your attention to another ground of con- 
 fidence in approaching unto God — namely, the boundless 
 merit of the atonement and character of our great High 
 
336 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 
 
 Priest. He is the way to the Father. Our state and cha- 
 racter require that all intercourse between God and us 
 should be through a mediator ; and we arc accordingly 
 called to approach him in the name of Christ. To come 
 to God in his name, is to draw near to the throne of grace 
 as guilty sinners, disclaiming all confidence in ourselves, 
 and pleading exclusively the worth of his character and 
 sacrifice ; and looking for all that we ask, as the reward 
 of his work. 
 
 The Throne of Grace means the Mercy Seat. The re- 
 ference is the covering of the Ark in the Mosaic Sanctu- 
 ary ; on which, and towards which, the blood of atonement 
 was sprinkled. Here God sat as propitiated : Here he 
 could display his mercy and his grace, in consistency with 
 the purity and the holiness of his character. This was an 
 expressive emblem of the Redeemer, by whose atonement 
 the curse of the law has been removed, and whose sacri- 
 fice has become an honorable medium of the forgiveness 
 of sin, and of communion with God. As the Jewish mercy- 
 seat or propitiatory was the medium of mercy, and of fel- 
 lowship with Heaven for the ancient worshippers, so Christ 
 is the great medium through which we have access to God, 
 and through which he communicates of his goodness to us. 
 It was towards the mercy-scat that the Israelites directed 
 their prayers. Josh, vii, 6. 1 Kings viii. 29, 30. Dan. 
 vi. 10. This was not from a superstitious regard to the 
 place, but because there God dwelt as the God of peace, and 
 because their services could not be accepted, except through 
 the Messiah, of whom the Ark was an expressive figure. 
 In New Testament language, it was looking to God through 
 a Mediator. In drawing near to the throne of God, we 
 ought to trust to the precious blood of Christ. However 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 337 
 
 unworthy we are, the Saviour is worthy to receive all glory 
 and blessing. In proportion to our knowledge of his work 
 and character, and the steadiness of our reliance on his 
 sacrifice, will be our enlargement, confidence, and happi- 
 ness in devotion. From him our hope springs, and it is 
 " in believing in him that we are filled with joy and with 
 peace." 
 
 But consider not only the atonement of Christ, but like- 
 wise his intercession. He pleads for us; he presents our 
 services; and he obtains for our prayers, audience and ac- 
 ceptance. Even after a rebel has been pardoned by his 
 prince, he will feel afraid to enter the presence of his sove- 
 reign ; and will be anxious that he, through whose media- 
 tion he obtained forgiveness, should take him by the hand 
 and present him to the king. So is it with us. We could 
 not be admitted into the divine presence by ourselves, but 
 the Mediator introduces us by kindly presenting us to God. 
 Ephes. iii, 12. 1 John ii. 1, 2. This meets the fears of 
 the returning sinner, and the discouragements of the timid 
 and dejected Christian. The intercession of the Saviour 
 is always prevalent, and it embraces all our concerns. Our 
 prayers are very defective ; we know but little of our wants 
 and our dangers, — but the gracious Advocate within the 
 veil is perfectly acquainted with the whole. When, like 
 Peter, we see not the approaching evil and danger, he does ; 
 and he prays for us that our faith may not fail. He asks 
 that we may be blessed with all necessary blessings below, 
 and at last with all the mercies of the everlasting covenant. 
 Since, then, we have such a friend and a brother in the 
 heavenly temple, we may approach the divine throne with 
 confidence, resting assured that through him we shall re- 
 29 
 
338 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN TRAYER. 
 
 ceive the desire of our hearts. How fitted is this view of 
 his character to encourage, revive, and satisfy the soul ! 
 
 Let me also remind you of the many promises that the 
 Lord will hear the prayers of his people. Psalm Ixv. 2 ; 
 cxlv. 18, 19. Prov. iii. 6. Isa. Ixv. 24. John xiv. 13, 
 14. These promises have been illustrated by a succession 
 of examples, all admirably calculated to banish the fears 
 which a sense oC guilt and of demerit frequently suggests. 
 The history of the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles, 
 is full of such examples. Nor are they confined to such 
 eminent characters ; for in every age the Lord has heard 
 his people, however feeble they may have been, and what- 
 ever were the circumstances of their lot. John was told, 
 that the incense offered up in heaven accompanies the 
 prayers of aZZ saints. Through the intercession of Christ, 
 signified by the incense, they are received and answered. 
 When we engage in this duty, and continue in it in a proper 
 spirit, we come to know, from our own experience, that the 
 Lord never said to his people, " Seek ye my face in vain." 
 This serves to increase our confidence, and to endear to us 
 the privilege of prayer. With these things before us, we may 
 well follow the apostolic exhortation, — to draw near with 
 a true heart in the full assurance of faith, happy in deliv- 
 erance from a sense of unpardoned guilt, and in the confi- 
 dence of acceptance with God, through the purifying virtue 
 of the blood of sprinkling. Through the Mediator, we have 
 access even into the holiest of all, and there he himself 
 ever livcth to make intercession ; so that we may at once, 
 with confidence and humility, triumph over the fears of 
 condemnation. 
 
 But this boldness includes not only confidence of success 
 in our petitions, but full freedom of speech in addressing 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 339 
 
 God. This liberty of speech is expressive of intimate and 
 endearing fellowship with him as a Father, and is one of 
 the privileges of his family. We are not kept at an awful 
 distance, as if we were strangers ; but, like children, we 
 have free access to him at all times, and in all circumstan- 
 ces. In every thing we may make our requests known to 
 him, for there is nothing he will think too insignificant to 
 be laid before him. To him, then, we may completely un- 
 bosom ourselves, and freely and fully unfold what we could 
 tell no earthly friend, however near and dear to us. Yes 
 — to him we are exhorted to pour out our hearts, when so 
 burdened with cares and anxieties, or with griefs and 
 alarms, that we know not how to bear them, and are ready, 
 with a bosom full of sorrow and perplexity, to sit down 
 and mourn over our lot. Psalm Ixii. 8 ; Phil. iv. 6, 7. 
 
 Distressing it must be to sit deploring our fate, and say- 
 ing, " What shall I do !" But there is no reason whatever 
 for thus giving way to sad lamentation and despondency. 
 We are encouraged to go to the Lord with a heart full of 
 grief, and tell him of our distresses — to keep nothing back, 
 but to pour all our complaints into his merciful bosom — to 
 make him our counsellor and friend — and on him to cast 
 our every burden and care, in the confidence that he careth 
 for us, and will sustain and bless our souls. Psalm Iv. 22 ; 
 1 Pet. V. 7. This relieves the mind. Having told him of 
 all our cares, anxieties, and distresses, w^e feel calmed and 
 encouraged : " the peace which passeth all understanding" 
 guards the heart : we rest on God as one who knows all 
 our state ; and feel satisfied that it is for us to keep the path 
 of duty, and to leave all events with Him. How sweet 
 thus to be enabled to recline with humble confidence on 
 the boaom of our Father, and calmly to fall asleep in the 
 
340 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN TRAYER. 
 
 absence of all corroding care and disquieting anxiety \ 
 When the mind is stayed on God, wc feel serene and sat- 
 isfied in the wildest storms, and the darkest dispensations. 
 In the deepest afllictions he can soothe the mind and 
 strengthen the heart. " The waves may beat, and the tem- 
 pest roar, but the anchor of hope fixed in the heavenly tem- 
 ple will be a complete preservative." 
 
 The Grounds of confidence to which I have referred vou 
 are particularly necessary, because of the many discour- 
 agements we meet \n ith in the exercise of prayer. To a 
 few of these I beg your attention. We are under the ne- 
 cessity of daily struggling with an evil heart of unbelief, 
 and resisting temptations to depart from God : we are con- 
 scious of many errors, and feel how feeble are our efibrts, 
 and how small is our progress in the Christian course. 
 Smoothly as we proceed in the absence of temptation, wc 
 have to lament that when our temper is crossed, or any 
 thing opposes our natural bias, we instantly stumble. When 
 thus conscious of guilt wc feel ashamed ; our minds are 
 shaken, we feel shy, and are in danger of fleeing from God, 
 instead of going to him and fully confessing our sins and 
 demerit. In the case of some heinous offence, we must in 
 particular be filled with the deepest concern, and we will 
 naturally feel afraid to approach the throne of our God. 
 Deeply, without question, we ought to feel our guilt and 
 our baseness; and it becomes God to frown upon us in 
 such circumstances, by withdrawing the joys and the con- 
 solations of his love. Indeed, in the very nature of things, 
 joy must be interrupted, and confidence marred, at a time 
 such as this. No earthly resources can then cahn the con- 
 science or tranquiUize the heart. " To be conscious of liv- 
 ing in transgression of the will of God made Adam miser- 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 341 
 
 able even when in Paradise. What was Eden to him when 
 he heard the voice of God — Adam, tchere art thou ? " 
 Painful fear, if the heart be not hardened, must follow the 
 absence of the truth from the mind as necessarily as dark- 
 ness follows the setting of the sun : and while sin is indulged, 
 the truth cannot be influencing the heart. Indifference in 
 regard to the will and the glory of God, cannot be accom- 
 panied with the consolations of his spirit. 
 
 We err, however, in supposing that, in circumstances 
 like these, it were presumption to pray, and that it is our 
 duty to refrain from it : for the greater our transgressions 
 have been, the more necessary it is to confess them, with 
 our eyes turned to the sacrifice of Christ, and with fervent 
 supplications for mercy in his name. We need not be 
 afraid to do so, for he who knows what we need before we 
 ask him, hath expressly invited us to return to him imme- 
 diately, through Christ; and hath declared that, if " we 
 confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 
 and to cleanse us from all Unrighteousness." Here, then, 
 there is much need for caution ; for if, on the one hand we 
 are prone to indulge in a false and self-righteous peace, we 
 are also naturally averse to keep by the only way in which 
 the genuine peace and joy of the Gospel can be had. 
 
 To the Saviour then let us go for pardon and purity. If 
 we keep guilt in our bosom, it will only make it rankle. 
 Dangerous as a wound may be at first, it will become much 
 more so if neglected : If allowed to fester, it may end in a 
 gangrene, and so in death. Wisdom calls for immediate 
 application to the physician and to the prescribed remedy. 
 Never can peace be recovered but by utterly despairing of 
 help from ourselves, and falling as sinners into the arms of 
 free and sovereign mercy. 
 29* 
 
342 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 
 
 David for a time refrained from confessing his guilt, and 
 though he might not entirely abandon devotion, he had no 
 enjoyment in it. He was a stranger to peace, and the prey 
 of vexing recollections, till he went to God, and frankly- 
 acknowledged his iniquity, and supplicated forgiveness. 
 When he thus went to the throne of grace, he obtained 
 mercy ; and with deep feeling, and in language expressive 
 of his own experience, he wrote the thirty-second Psalm, 
 which commences with a declaration of the blessedness of 
 the man whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin 
 is covered. Nor did he rest here : He had supplicated the 
 complete cure of his spiritual maladies, and he now blesses 
 God for hearing him, and expresses the sense he had of the 
 blessedness of the man in whose spirit "there is no guile*" 
 The spirit of duplicity which had led him to conceal his 
 guilt, and virtually to deny it, and which kept him from 
 going to God and fiilly confessing it, had now been sub- 
 dued. The confession of sin jn the hope of mercy, and 
 gratitude for reconciliation, were connected with simplicity 
 of heart. Sweet indeed in such a case is the message of 
 reconciliation through that blood which has been sprinkled 
 on the heavenly-mercy scat, and through which we again 
 obtain, as at first, pardon and acceptance! This is quite a 
 different thing from working up ourselves into a persuasion, 
 that because God is unchangeable all is well, whatever be 
 our spirit or deportment. Such a persuasion is utterly 
 presumptions, and partakes not of that confidence which 
 arises from a fresh application to the fountain opened for 
 sin and uncleanness. Against every kind of presumption 
 it becomes us to watch with the most assiduous care. Let 
 no dread however deter us from going to God, with our 
 eyes fixed on the work and mediation of his Son. This 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 343 
 
 will melt and purify the heart. How bitterly must we 
 weep when Jesus looks on us with kindness, even after we 
 have denied him. 
 
 Another discouragement arises from the prevalence of 
 sloth and indifferance. We often feel little fervor — little 
 spirituality — little of the exercise of faith and of love. The 
 mind, feeling cold and earthly, deems it improper to pray. 
 In such a case we ought doubtless to feel deeply, and to 
 be humbled in the dust. They are not to be envied, but 
 pitied, who are unconcerned about the state of their minds, 
 whether carnal or otherwise, and who boast of their cor- 
 rect notions of divine truth, while far from being anxious 
 to glorify God. But still, the remedy is not to be found in 
 keeping back from the throne of our God, because we are 
 sunk into a state of great insensibility to things unseen and 
 eternal, but in drawing near to him with the greater con- 
 cern ; convinced that the more weak and lifeless we are, 
 the more we need the communications of his grace. If 
 we refrain from prayer, from reading the Scriptures, and 
 from the institutions of Christ, because we feel not that life 
 and comfort which we desire, we are putting from us the 
 only things which can cure us of the evil we deplore, and 
 produce that spiritual state of mind afler which we are 
 seeking. Prayer lends to subdue evil habits, and it exer- 
 cises and strengthens holy dispositions : It is also an ap- 
 pointed means of obtaining assistance from above. Let no 
 sense of weakness, then, no temptations, no fears, keep 
 from the throne of grace. 
 
 The spirit thus cherished is the same with that which 
 keeps many a trembling sinner from coming to the Saviour, 
 till he can persuade himself that he is better, and so more 
 fitted for mercy. The language of Scripture to such a 
 
344 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRATER. 
 
 character is, " Go to the Physician as you arc ;" and simi- 
 lar is its language to every Christian who keeps back from 
 God, because his mind has become lukewarm or insensible. 
 Should an individual question his Christianity, let him re- 
 member that the Gospel addresses us, not as converted nor 
 as unconverted, but as sinners. If he cannot approach 
 God as a child of his family, let him do it with the prayer 
 and the spirit of the publican. Indeed, even a Christian 
 in the enjoyment of the highest consolation, does not come 
 to the throne of grace on the ground of his being a saint, 
 but as still a guilty creature in himself. Have we sinned 
 against God, and arc we still addressed in the Gospel? 
 Surely, then, the question with us ought to be, " Are the 
 testimony and the promises of the Gospel true?" If we 
 doubt their truth, our business is with the evidences of their 
 divinity, and not with evidences in ws of a change of mind. 
 If we suppose, that because faith is the fruit of divine 
 influence, and we have no sense of that influence, it is there- 
 fore in vain for us to think of believing, we have forgotten 
 that the power to believe does not consist in some active 
 energy in the mind, but arises from the fulness and clear- 
 ness of the evidence of the truth impressing it. Let the 
 Gospel itself, therefore, occupy the soul, that its glory may, 
 through the divine blessing, influence our hearts : Let the 
 heart dwell on the character of God, the work and interces- 
 sion of Christ, and on all that the cross discloses: Let it 
 be devoutly turned to the heavenly Teacher, that the soul 
 maybe revived, and all that is within us brought under the 
 transforming influence of redeeming goodness. To this 
 remedy let us have recourse at once, for the longer wo 
 delay the worse shall we become. 
 
 We are ready to be discouraged, also, in the time of deep 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAPEE. 345 
 
 and distressing affliction, and in circumstances of extreme 
 difficulty. Seeing no visible means of relief, we give way 
 to despondency, and think it is vain to call upon God for 
 what he seems to have denied us. It were well for you 
 when discouraged in this way to turn to the cloud of wit- 
 nesses that have gone before you, and to study their cha- 
 racters. Think of the many and great perplexities and 
 entanglements through which they were carried-: Observe 
 how they were preserved when ready to fall and to faint — 
 how they were aided and strengthened when ready to des- 
 pond — and how they were delivered in circumstances the 
 most perilous and calamitous. Think of the ark in the 
 midst of the deluge — of the rock and the manna, of the 
 cloud and the pillar in the wilderness : Think of the passage 
 through the Red Sea and through Jordan, and of the many 
 interpositions of a gracious Providence which marked the 
 history of the chosen people. See the ancient worthies, 
 through faith, stopping the mouths of lions, quenching the 
 violence of fire, and happy in God, though destitute, af- 
 flicted, and tormented : See Abraham giving up Isaac, and 
 Moses enduring as seeing him who is invisible : Turn to 
 the apostles and primitive Christians, and mark the strength 
 of their faith, and the constancy of their devotion, in cir- 
 cumstances the most trying to nature. In these narratives 
 we see the character and the privileges not of strangers, 
 but of our own family : They are our brethren and com- 
 panions in tribulation. That which supported and ani- 
 mated them is equally free and sure to us, so that we may 
 well imitate them, who, through faith and patience, are now 
 inheriting the promises. Let all, then, be left in the hand 
 of your God: Trust in him at all times, be your condition 
 
S46 CURISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 
 
 what it may. He is a refuge that never fails ; and it is his 
 delight to aid the helpless, to deliver the afilicled, and 
 relieve the distressed. 
 
 This discouragement becomes greater, if, having often 
 and long prayed, an answer is delayed. The time fixed 
 by God, is, however, the fittest: It is for him to order our 
 lot, and to his will it becomes us to bow: His promises 
 cannot fail.; he is but bringing his plans to maturity. Long 
 did Abraham wait for Isaac, and long did his family wait 
 for Canaan; and still longer did the Church wait for the 
 Redeemer. He waits, and causes us to wait, for the proper 
 season. When it comes, all will be fulfilled. I speak of 
 things which are promised, and not of things which, though 
 he may give, he hath not said he will ; far less of things 
 which it were sinful to ask. With reo-ard to thincrs in 
 
 o o 
 
 themselves good, but which he hath not promised, it be- 
 comes us to pray with deep submission to his will, because 
 the things in.question may not be good for vs. 
 
 I would here remark, too, that much of what is said in 
 Scripture of waiting on God has a respect to express 
 promises of events connected with the great promise of the 
 Messiah. For him, and for all that was preparatory to his 
 coming, did the people of God under the Old Testament 
 wait : In like manner we arc now waiting for his second 
 coming, and for all the events, of whatever kind, which arc 
 to precede it; and are praying for what is promised in con- 
 nection with this solemn event. Christians arc, accord- 
 ingly, in the New Testament, directed to the blessed hope 
 of the appearance of Christ as the close of their conflict, 
 and the consummation of their bliss. For this they look and 
 wait, and so have their hearts purified and animated under 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 347 
 
 all their trials and labors. I need not say, then, that pas- 
 sages of Scripture which speak of waiting on God ought 
 not to be indiscriminately applied to favors expected in this 
 life ; though, doubtless, the general principle, that God is to 
 be waited on, is established by them, and calls for attention. 
 Though, in regard to what is not promised, we should not 
 get the very things we ask, we may obtain what is better, 
 as you know was the case with Moses. We may not get 
 ease, but we shall be profited : bodily I'elief may not be 
 obtained, but the heart may be enriched with more than we 
 could ask or think. At all events, prayer will be found a 
 blessing, as a means of sanctifying the soul, and fitting it 
 for the bliss of heaven. 
 
 There are times when we are plunged into immoderate 
 sorrow, and so are enfeebled and distracted. We have an 
 example of the efiect of this in relation to watchfulness and 
 prayer, in the three disciples who witnessed the agony of 
 our Lord in the garden. They were quite overwhelmed 
 with grief, and were found by the Saviour sleeping, for sor- 
 row. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. The 
 weakness of the bodily frame was not of itself sinful ; but 
 as it might become a snare, and so the occasion of sin, vigi- 
 lance was required, that so the mind might rise above it, and 
 not be unfitted for the duty of the moment. Nature must 
 feel, and it is not sinful to feel ; but our feelings ought to be 
 guided and regulated by an enlightened judgment. If we 
 give way to the spirit which nurses melancholy, and ceases 
 not to brood over all that is gloomy, we shall become quite 
 heavy with the stupifying influence of desponding sorrow: 
 and, looking entirely to the dark side of things, we shall 
 feel indisposed for devotion, and leave the throne of our Fa- 
 ther. Such a spirit is the bane of all confidence. God is 
 
348 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 
 
 viewed as a hard master ; and the mind, being quite un- 
 nerved, cannot find pleasure in his service. Such is the 
 influence of the mind on the body, and of the body on the 
 mind, that if, in such circumstances, they are not watched, 
 we may soon refuse all consolation, and write the most 
 bitter things against ourselves. See how David, in the 42d 
 and 43d Psalms, again and again, calls upon his soul to 
 dismiss its dejection and its gloom, and to go to God ; trust- 
 ing in his goodness, and hoping for all that his wants re- 
 quired, and the covenant of God contained. In this 
 struggle between the convictions of the judgment and the 
 feelings of the heart, and between faith and unbelief, a 
 striking, consoling, and salutary example is exhibited. It 
 sometimes happens that, through the dejecting influence of 
 trouble, the truth, even when the judgment admits it, fails 
 to impart corresponding comfort. The origin of this is but 
 an infirmity, yet it ought to be watched and repressed, for 
 though not in itself criminal, it may become an inlet to evil. 
 It is easy for a person in health and prosperity to tell the 
 afllicted of the promises of the Gospel, but it is quite a dif- 
 ferent thing to lay firm hold of them in the day of heavy 
 and perplexing calamity. Still, however, it is for us to 
 maintain a conflict, as David did, and as the three disciples 
 ought to have done, with such infirmities of nature. The 
 latter were exhorted to pray, that their weaknesses might 
 not betray them ; and the former poured out his soul unto 
 God, and so found relief. 
 
 Allow me to turn your attention to the great things for 
 which we are called to pray. We are exhorted to implore 
 mercy* We need this as guilty sinners, and as the sub- 
 jects of aflliction and tribulation. In the former character 
 we need forgiveness, and shall do so while in the body. 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 349 
 
 Our best services are stained with sin, and daily are we 
 transgressing. The prayer of Paul for Onesiphorus, in 
 which he poured out all his heart, was, that he might "find 
 mercy of the Lord in that day." Blessed, indeed, is the 
 privilege of access to the throne of grace, where the Sa- 
 viour ever pleads, and from whence forgiveness is freely 
 dispensed to all who come to God by him. 
 
 But we need also the merciful support and sympathy of 
 our great High Priest, as the subjects of affliction. He is 
 touched with the feeling of our infirmities, in consequence 
 of having been himself tried in all points as w^e are, yet- 
 without sin ; and it is in connexion with this view of his 
 lot, that we are encouraged to come to the throne of grace 
 with confidence. It is not of the first approach of a sinner 
 to the Saviour that the Apostle here speaks, but of the daily 
 and repeated access of believers to him, for the constant 
 assistance and support which they need. We receive 
 mercy, not only when we obtain forgiveness of sin, but also 
 when we are granted all that gracious consolation and suc- 
 cor which our circumstances of distress and difficulty re- 
 quire. This is called mercy, because it springs from the 
 tender pity and compassion, the kindness and the benignity 
 of God ; and from the sympathizing tenderness of the com- 
 passionate and tried intercessor who is within the veil. The 
 Saviour is not only willing to relieve us, but so warmly 
 feels for us, and tenderly "pities us in all our distresses, be- 
 cause he hath, in our world and in our circumstances, suf- 
 fered as we suffer. 
 
 That you may be encouraged to draw near with confi- 
 dence for this blessing, look to the days of the Man of sor- 
 rows, and contemplate his many heavy and complicated 
 woes. Think of his whole Hfe of pain, and ponder v/ith 
 30 
 
350 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER« 
 
 the deepest interest what Calvary discloses ; and learn from 
 all his wondrous history that we have an High Priest, who 
 can have compassion on the ignorant and on ihcm who 
 are out of the way. Mark his confidence of God in the 
 midst of all that seemed to oppose it, and certainly tried it 
 to the ulmost. Survey the workings of the generous and 
 disinterested affection of his heart ; and remember that all 
 this he endured, that he might by his own experience in 
 our nature, know and feel the difficulties and the trials con- 
 nected with the lot of his people. In approaching the throne 
 'of grace, the recollection of these things will impart hum- 
 ble and holy boldness. The thought of them ought ever 
 to be connected with the cheering consideration, that, 
 though in the highest heaven, he hath not dropped our in- 
 terests. There with the most unremitting attention he 
 watches over us, and affectionately says, *'0n me let all 
 thy wants lie." Even amidst the grandeur and adorations 
 of the celestial kingdom, he listens to the prayers of each 
 individual of his people; and is delighted in protecting and 
 blessing the very meanest and the feeblest of liis beloved 
 family. 
 
 We are called to go to the throne of our Father not only 
 for mercy, but for^race to help in time of need. Season- 
 able grace, or grace adapted to all our circumstances, and 
 according to our wants, is mean. The reference is not to 
 the acceptance of our persons, but to that special assistance 
 which we need in particular situations, and which we ob- 
 tain on special applications, to the fountain of all good. 
 Of this, the free favor of God" is the source; and all of it 
 is to be sought as the gift of unmerited bounty. This grace 
 assimilates the mind to its Author, and so fits us for our 
 condition, relations, and trials. Every moment are we in 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER, 351 
 
 want of spiritual blessings, and of course we constantly 
 stand in need of the grace of God. There are circum- 
 stances, however, in which we particularly require it, and in 
 which we specially feel our weakness and dependence. It 
 is our duty, therefore, and also our privilege, to ask sea- 
 sonable help, in the hope of receiving all that is adapted to 
 times and situations. 
 
 In the day of prosperity we need grace to keep us hum- 
 ble and watchful, spiritual and heavenly, in our views, dis- 
 positions, and deportment. He who preserved Joseph and 
 Daniel, in places the most slippery, can keep us from fall- 
 ing in situations the most flattering to nature. Even in the 
 day of prosperity. Job was exhibited by God as a remark- 
 able example of piety. Many, however, have fallen before 
 it, and become awful monuments of the bewitching influ- 
 ence of the objects of sense. Hence the need of fervent 
 prayer for the aid of divine grace. 
 
 In the day of adversity we need to be kept patient, sub- 
 missive, and contented. — We need grace to make affliction 
 the means of reclaiming us from the devious paths of folly 
 and of sin ; of calling forth every latent energy of the soul, 
 and promoting our faith, our hope, and our love ; of wean- 
 ing us from all undue attachment to this world of vanity; 
 and of fixing our hearts on God as the only happiness of 
 our souls. The grace of our heavenly Father can make 
 adversity quicken our progress in the ways of obedience, 
 enable us to be useful to others, and form us for the inher- 
 itance of the saints in light. V/e are prone either to de- 
 spise the rod, or to faint under it ; and in vain do we dream 
 of acting with propriety, by means of a supposed stock of 
 wisdom and strength gained by experience. Without fresh 
 and special assistance we shall certainly fall. 
 
352 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 
 
 I do not mean that a mature Christian has learned no- 
 thing in the course of his progress — far from it; but that 
 whatever he has learned, it will be of no use to him without 
 the divine blessing. God works by means, but their suc- 
 cess depends upon himself. The acquired endowments of 
 the most advanced are but means by which He acts, and, 
 of course, without his gracious blessing they cannot produce 
 the desired effect. The grace of God alone can make afHic- 
 tion the means of bringing forth "the happy fruit of righte- 
 ousness," by cherishing that self-denying, meekly resigned, 
 and heavenly temper of heart which adorned the charac- 
 ter of Christ, and which is the ver)'- essence of holiness, 
 and the happiest state of mind at once for this world and 
 for that which is to come. The troubles of life when thus 
 blessed, invigorate the principles of genuine religion, pre- 
 pare for the sacrifice of our own will, habituate us to the 
 contemplation of things unseen and eternal, and lead us to 
 aspire after spiritual enjoyments. Let us, then, pray that 
 in the day of trial, we may receive that grace which can 
 make affliction the means of attaining ends so exalted, 
 holy, and blissful. 
 
 This will be found particularly necessary, when we are 
 assailed with reproach and opposition for the sake of reli- 
 gion. In this case wc have in a special manner fellowship 
 with Christ in his sufferings, and we may confidently look 
 to him for support and for comfort. Then, too, in a par- 
 ticular manner, we are called to follow Him, whose glories 
 shone in their brightest lustre when in this cause he became 
 obedient unto death. 
 
 In the time of temptation we need special aid from above. 
 If you are tempted by the things or the men of the world, 
 by the flesh or by Satan, imitate the servants of Christ, 
 
 J 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 353 
 
 who in such circumstances became fervent in prayer; com- 
 mitted themselves to him who had overcome in their cause; 
 — without whose permission nothing could assail them ; — 
 and who was able to preserve them. He himself was 
 tempted, but he overcame by faith in the divine word, — 
 and he hath promised that, through the same means, we 
 too shall be victorious. 
 
 When called to arduous and self-denying duties, we stand 
 in special need of aid from on high. Abraham, when called 
 to leave his kindred and his home, and, still more, when 
 called to offer up him in whom the world was to be blessed, 
 is an example of this. — Moses and Aaron were often thus 
 tried ; and Caleb and Joshua had a very difficult part to 
 act on the return of the spies, and the murmuring of the 
 children of Israel. The Apostles and their assistants were 
 frequently engaged in duties the most embarrassing and 
 trying. Their minds, however, were supported by the en- 
 couraging reflection, that they could do all things through 
 their Lord who strengthened them. When we are placed 
 in situations of difficulty, and have duties seemingly oppo- 
 site to perform, and duties requiring great wisdom, meek- 
 ness and firmness, and also many sacrifices, let us have 
 recourse to him who learned the difficulties connected with 
 obedience, by the things which he suffered. Heb. v. 8. 
 
 Prayer for assistance in duty ought to be connected with 
 the faithful discharge of it. If we regard iniquity in our 
 hearts, the Lord will not hear us. In relation to what I 
 have said of waiting for an answer, I would remark, that 
 to continue doing what is wrong, because we are praying 
 and waiting for the removal of the occasion of our error, 
 is quite inconsistent with the word of God. In this way not 
 a few act, and iiiistake that for waiting for an answer to 
 
354 CIIKISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PKA^EE. 
 
 prayer. Is not this saying, that one part of the will of 
 God is in opposition to another ? — Is it not saying, that evil 
 may be done in order that good may come ? And is it not 
 sanctifying sin itself, as if the cause of Him who is infinite 
 in wisdom and almighty in power, as well as immaculate 
 in holiness, could require for its support a temporary breach 
 of his own laws. Whatever may be said of his overrul- 
 ing evil l^or good, his providence is not the rule of our duty. 
 It is for us, as little children, to learn the will of God from 
 his word ; to obey it with alacrity ; in the way of obedience 
 to pray for his kingdom ; and to leave all consequences 
 with him. All our calculations about usefulness, while ne- 
 glecting the will of Heaven, resolve themselves into the wis- 
 dom of this world. 
 
 Forget not, my dear friend, that we are very incompe- 
 tent judges of what we really need. We are too apt to be 
 guided by our feelings, rather than by our judgment. Our 
 heavenly Father knows what we need, and he consults our 
 profit more than our feelings : He looks into eternity, and 
 arranges our lot so as best to secure and increase our en- 
 joyment of bliss in the world to come, — when all his glory 
 shall be displayed, and his ways vindicated. The Lord 
 heareth prayer ; and though you may not always obtain 
 the very thing you ask, yet you will obtain what he sees to 
 be better for you. Paul prayed thrice, that his trouble might 
 be removed : It was not removed, but yet his prayer was 
 heard. His Lord said to him, " My grace is sufficient for 
 thee ; for my strength is displayed in thy weakness." This 
 satisfied the apostle, so that he said, "Most gladly, there- 
 fore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power 
 of Christ may be displayed in me." This, so far from 
 being an objection against the love of God, is a most strik- 
 
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER. 355 
 
 mg proof of it. Earthly parents may, and sometimes do, 
 hurt their children, by giving them all that they ask; but 
 our heavenly Father is infinitely wise, and he manifests his 
 Jove in a way worthy of his wisdom and knowledge. He 
 is a sun and a shield ; and what is truly good for us he 
 will assuredly give. 
 
 There are many things which tend to our hurt, con- 
 cealed under such circumstances which to our view have 
 no connexion with them, but yet they are all known to 
 God ; and being so, he denies one thing, not on its own ac- 
 count, but because it would lead to other things which might 
 hurt us. This should teach us to submit to his will, and 
 to exercise the most willing resignation to the dispensations 
 of his providence. He may allow one calamity to over- 
 take us, to preserve us from a greater, or to pave the way 
 for the bestowment of the very greatest of blessings. We 
 see but a short way, but his eye at one glance sees through 
 eternity. Hence it is that He is not so moved as we are by 
 present events : He views present occurrences as they stand 
 in relation to futurity ; and he acts accordingly. This is 
 a consolatory thought, and ought to lead us to this conclu- 
 sion, that what he is pleased to give, we should enjoy with 
 gratitude ; and that what he is pleased to inflict, we should 
 bear with patience. 
 
 In this world of vicissitudes we may expect changes in 
 our lot ; and at such seasons we require much grace, that 
 we may conduct ourselves as becomes pilgrims and stran- 
 gers, who are heirs of the heavenly inheritance, and are 
 waiting for the Lord from heaven. A change in circum- 
 stances o'len detects what was not in the least suspected. 
 Such a time is truly a time of need. Often has it occa- 
 sioned a departure from the truth j but it has also been 
 
356 CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE IN PRATER. 
 
 blessed as a means of leading to it, and of growth in the 
 knowledge of it. 
 
 In anticipating futurity, and, in particular, our dissolu- 
 tion, we need to look with deep seriousness to the guide of 
 our lot, and to the conqueror of death Our great High 
 Priest is able and ready to lead, comfort, and support us 
 with his rod and staff, while passing the valley and the 
 shadow of death, and to conduct us to the abodes of perpet- 
 ual peace, happiness and glory. Psalm xxiii. 4 ; Jonah ii. 
 In the last hour we may be sorely tried ; but if we " look 
 again to the holy tempk;" of our God and our deliverer, 
 we shall find that the wondrous and gracious the scenes 
 exhibited on the heavenly mercy-scat, connected as they 
 are with the Cross and the appearance of the Lamb there 
 slain, will dissipate the gloom of the grave, and enable us 
 to glory in the warmth and the perpetuity of that love, from 
 the benefit of which neither death nor life can separate us. 
 Blessed, indeed, in that hour, is the hope of the heavenly 
 inheritance, where neither sin nor sufferinir shall ever be 
 known ; and where the voice of praise and of thanksgiving 
 shall forever be heard ! How delightful the thought, that 
 the whole of the celestial city will be a temple for God and 
 the Lamb, where the glory of Jehovah shall shine in its 
 utmost effulgence in the face of the Redeemer, illuminatinfr 
 every part of the Sanctuary, and transforming every wor- 
 shipper into his image ! 
 
 That the enjoyment of this blessedness may be your 
 happy lot, is the prayer of. 
 
 My Dear Friend, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 END OF VOLUME FIRST. 
 
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