' f\\t 1 UUII
I
t
. " .
A " *
-
A MEMORIAL
OP
3IINISTERIAL LABOUR.
/
A MEMORIAL
MINISTERIAL LABOUR;
BEING
a ^election of Dtorouroro
DELIVERED IX THE
PARISH CHURCH OF PERTENHALL, BEDFORDSHIRE,
DURING THE TEARS 1823, 1824, AND 1826,
BV
THE REV. WILLIAM MUDGE, A.B.
CURATE OFRAMPISHAM, DORSET.
To stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. -2. PETER iii, 1.
SHERBORNE:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, DY MARKER AND PENNY ; AND SOLD BY HATCHARD,
PICCADILLY; SEF.I EY, FLEET-STREET; AND HAMILTON AND ADAMS, I-ATERNC*-
JtH-HOW, LONDON ; AND BY FENNY AND SON, SHERBORNE.
1827.
Stack
Annex
DEDICATION.
IF respectful deference, unwearied kindness,
and Christian sympathy, call for grateful ac-
knowledgement ; then is the Author of this
Volume under very powerful and constraining
obligation gratefully to acknowledge these truly
estimable qualities in the People of his first and
earliest charge. To them as a proof of his af-
fectionate regard and earnest solicitude for their
welfare, does he dedicate the Memorial of his
labours atPertenhall, beseeching, whilst he does
so, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, to make it a Means of spiritual and
eternal good to not a few of its beloved inhabit-
ants. Their acceptance and beneficial use of his
Work will be sweetly refreshing to the Author's
feelings. And in them there will be, he is sure,
an association of idea and a recollection of cir-
cumstance, that will give to his Volume an
importance and a worth which strangers to Us
2000164
vi DEDICATION.
Author can hardly be expected to appreciate.
This will blunt the edge of unfriendly criticism
and change the countenance of scorn. To live
in the esteem and prayers of a few devoted fol-
lowers of the Lamb is far, very far, preferable
to living in the smile and popularity of a world
the fashion of which passeth away. For such
followers of the Lamb this Volume is principally
designed. That it may revive the memory of
the past, waken anticipation of the future, and
strengthen the present purpose of the soul in the
heaven-ward ways of Truth and Holiness, is
the prayer of
Their once willing servant in the Gospel,
and
Their still faithfully attached friend
And brother in the faith and love
Of Jesus Christ,
W. M.
PREFACE.
YOUNG in years and younger still in grace ; ' small
and of no reputation,' as is the Author of the follow-
ing Discourses, it may seem to argue a want of judg-
ment or of modesty, or of both, in him thus to court
publicity : and more particularly so when it is recol-
lected how many Volumes of Sermons are issuing con-
tinually from the Press ; and Sermons, too, to whose
elegance of diction, beauty of arrangement, and
strength of argument, this Volume makes no pretence.*.
It becomes, therefore, the duty of the Author to
assign the ground of this publication. He might re-
peat the hackneyed phrase of ' the entreaty of friends'
and unaffectedly avow * his extreme reluctance to ap-
pear in print :' but without availing himself of these
or any other similar prefatory expressions, he shall
simply and succinctly state In A. D. 1823 it was
the Author's happiness to be ordained a Minister of
the Church of Christ His ordination was the con-
summation of the wishes, the anxieties, and the hopes
of many a preceding year of his life. With trembling,
indeed ; but, at the same time, with readiness and joy
did he enter on the functions of the Ministerial Office.
Most mercifully was he favoured with acceptance
among the People committed to his charge. For a
long period had that People been privileged to hear
e the joyful sound.' ' Fathers in Christ' had minister-
ed to their spiritual necessities ; and many of them, in
viii PREFACE.
their rich experience of Christian Truth, had eaten
even ' angels' food :' and yet, to their credit be it
spoken, they could listen with patient willingness and
affectionate forbearance to the lispings of a ' babe in
Christ.' The Author laboured not in vain. Very
manij were brought to feel their helplessnesss, to glory
in their Redeemer's excellence, and to walk in all
pleasing. Will it be thought surprising that between
them and their Minister an attachment of the tender-
est and most pleasing kind was begotten ? Respect-
ful and obliging towards himself; and, more than this,
' alive unto God' and ' ready to every good word and
work,' could their Minister do otherwise than cheer-
fully ' spend and be spent' for them ? Could he do
otherwise than love them, and endeavour by every pru-
dent and becoming means to further their best, their
highest and their noblest interests ? He did so, may
he, without any thing like disgustful arrogancy, be
permitted to declare : and hence hearts were united,
sensibilities were blended, and both Minister and Peo-
ple dwelt together blessing and being blessed. Plain
and faithful as were his public Addresses, they loved
his plain fidelity. If faults they had (and where does
fault not mark humanity ?) they desired their detec-
tion ; they wished their exposure, and assayed to cor-
rect them. Will it then, it is again inquired, be
thought surprising that the Author's separation from
his beloved, and worthity beloved, flock, even if that
separation were under circumstances the most favour-
able and auspicious, was painful very painful ?
Painful indeed it was. Nothing short of ' the good
PREFACE. ix
Shepherd's* care for his ' own' and the hope of a re-
union with them in those pastures of glory which
stretch boundlesssly beyond the pastures of grace,
could, he is persuaded, have enabled him to sustain
the trial. Finding himself, eventually, apart and dis-
tant from his once dear People, what could he do for
them ? ' Cannot you select and print for them some
of your Sermons ?' was a thought which one day
crossed his mind when beseeching the eternal Majesty
of heaven to bless and keep them. It was attempted :
the prosecution of the Work was pleasant: it has
been accomplished ; and the Reader is now in posses-
sion of the Author's reason for appearing in print.
The ultimate glory of God in the benefit of his ser-
vants, is the one sole aim and end of the present
Volume. As to the merits or demerits of the Volume
others must judge. The Author is too conscious of
imperfection to suppose himself not liable to censure
and correction : he trusts, however, that censure will
be kind and that correction profitable. Regard hag
been paid to both the selection and the arrangement
of subjects : and the Volume, it is hoped, will be found
to contain a body of scriptural, experimental and
practical divinity. It must not be thought that the
Author's oft repeated quotation of the Articles and
Homilies of his Church is pedantic or affected : he loves
the acknowledged Formularies of the Established
Church : it pities him to find them unknown or little
read ; and both as a Clergyman and a Christian he
cordially quotes and recommends them. Relative to
the Sentiments divulged, explained, or inculcated in
x PREFACE.
these Discourses, the Author trusts they will he found
both scriptural and orthodox. Me has hccn led to
their adoption gradually, even step hy step. Never
could he be forced to acquiesce in any doctrinal state-
ment. The calmest and most sober consideration it
is in his power to give, has preceded its reception and
belief. To ' believe a lie* is bad: to preach a lie is
worse. The Author, therefore, shrinks not to avow
that so far as he can judge, he has gathered his Creed
from the Bible and been taught it by the Spirit of God.
A Commentary on the Bible (though far from insinuat-
ing that he despises a Commentary) he does not pos-
sess nor has ever possessed. He calls no Man ' Mas-
ter.' He assumes no name ; he espouses no party. He
prays and aims to be a simple, affectionate., and useful
Minister of Jesus Christ. If there be any System of
Religious Truth he prefers to others, it is that contain-
ed in the Liturgy &c. of the Church of England
NOT because they are the Liturgy c. of the Church of
England ; but because their statements are accordant
to Scripture, and calculated, at once to humble and
renew the sinner, and to glorify and exalt the Saviour.
This, it is confidently presumed, will be found the
System of the Work here presented to the Public.
Locality will sometimes be perceptible; but that could
scarcely be avoided, nor did the Author always aim
to avoid it. Craving now the indulgence of every
candid and Christian Reader, he commends this
Volume to his perusal, entreating the God of love and
mercy to bless it to the furtherance of his present com-
fort and everlasting salvation.
Parsonage, Ramp? sham, June 30/7/, 1827.
CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE I.
Importance of the Ministerial Office.
1 CORINTHIANS ix, 10. Woe is unto me, if I preach not the
Gospel ! Page 1
DISCOURSE II.
The Divine Law a Test of Character.
1 JOHN iii, 4. Sin is the transgression of the Law. 14
DISCOURSE III.
On Justification.
JOB xxv, 4. How then can Man be justified with God <? . 25
DISCOURSE IV.
Well with the Righteous : III with the Wicked.
ISAIAH iii, 10. 11. Say ye to the Righteous, that it shall be well
with him : for they shall eat the fruit of their doings : Woe unto
the Wicked ! it shall be ill with him : for the reward of his hands
shall be given him. 41
DISCOURSE V.
An Appeal to the Homilies of the Church.
\ SAMUEL xvi, 7. The Lord seeth not as Man seeth ; for Man look-
eth on the outward appearance; but the Lord looketh on Jhe
heart 58
DISCOURSE VI.
The New Birth.
JOHN iii, 7. Yt must bu born again. GO
xii CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE VII.
EselciePs Vision of the Dry Bones.
Ezr.KiF.L xxxvii, 1 10. And the hand of the Lord was upon me,
and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in
the midst of the valley which was full of bones. And caused me
to pass by theai round about ; and, behold there were very many
in the open valley, and lo! they were very dry. And he said
unto me, Son of man, can these bones live ? And I answered, O
Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophecy upon
these bones, and say unto them, ye dry bones, hear the word
of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold,
I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live ; And I
will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and
ye shall live, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I pro-
phesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a
noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone
to his bone. And when I beheld, lo! the sinews and the flesh
came up upon them ; and the skin covered them above ; but
there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, prophesy
unto the wind; prophesy, Son of Man, and say to the wind,
Thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds, O Breath,
and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophe-
sied, as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and
they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great
army. Page 87
DISCOURSE VIII.
Faith and Unbelief in the Son of God ; with their
Consequences.
JOHN iii, 36. He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life :
and he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life ; but, the
wrath of God abideth on him 103
DISCOURSE IX.
The Believer's Refuge.
PHILLIPIANS iii, 8. 9. That I may win Christ, and be found in
him. 117
DISCOURSE X.
Forgetfulness of God : its Evil.
PSALM 50. 22. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear
you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you. .......... 135
CONTENTS. xiii
DISCOURSE XL
The Better Feast.
ISAIAH Ixv, 13, 14. Thus saiih the Lord God, Behold, my servants
shall eut, but ye shall be hungry : behold, my servants shall drink,
but ye shall be thirsty : behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye
shall be ashamed : behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart,
but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of
Spirit Page 150
DISCOURSE XII.
Decision of Character Enforced.
Lu KE xxii, 54. And Peter followed afar off. . . . IffcJ
DISCOURSE XIII.
Care for the Soul.
PSALM 142, 4. No man cared for my soul. 16o
DISCOURSE XIV.
The Sacrament of the Lord 1 s Supper Considered.
\ CORINTHIANS xi, 24. This do iu remembrance of Me 195
DISCOURSE XV.
Consideration of the Lord's Mercies Enforced.
1 SAMUEL Jtii, 21. For, consider how great things he hath done
fur you. 213
DISCOURSE XVI.
Participation of the Lord's Supper Improved.
PSALM 110. 12. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his be-
nefits towai ds me ? 224
DISCOURSE XVII.
Death to (he Believer.
ACTS vit, (K). Aiul whin he had bdid this, he fell asleep.. . . . 240
xir . CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE XVIII.
Youthful Piety.
ECCLESIASTES xii, 1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of
thy youth. Page 253
DISCOURSE XIX.
The Communion of Saints.
1THESSALONIAN6 v, 11. Wherefore, comfort yourselves together,
and edify one another, even as also ye do. 274
DISCOURSE XX.
Gethsemane.
JOHN xviii, 2. Jesus oft-times resorted thither with his disciples.
288
DISCOURSE XXI.
Divine Chastisement conducive to Happiness.
JOB v, 17. 18. Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth :
therefore, despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. For
he maketh sore and bindeth up, he woundeth and his hands make
whole. . . 302
DISCOURSE XXII.
When well with us ; or, a Minister's Inquiry.
2 KINGS iv, 26. Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband ?
is it well with thy child ? And she answered, It is well. . . 314
DISCOURSE XXIII.
Causes and Cure of Religious Declension.
PSALM 85. 6. Wilt Thou not revive us again, that thy People may
rejoice in thee ? 327
DISCOURSE XXIV.
Exhortation to Repentance.
JOEL ii, 12. 13. Therefore, also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even
to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and
with mourning. And rend your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the Lord your God ; for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to an"er, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the
evil. 344
( O \TK\TS.
DISCOURSE XXV.
The Marnier of Lo~cc bestowed upon us.
1 JOHN iii, 1. 2. TUhold, what manner of love the Father hath be-
stuwt-d u pun H*, that we should be called the sous of God; there-
lore the world knoweth us sot because it knew him not. Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be ; but, we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is. Page 357
DISCOURSE XXVI.
Searching the Scriptures urged t
AcTSxvn',11,12. These were more noble than those atThessalonica,
in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and
searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.
Therefore many of them believed 373
DISCOURSE XXVII.
Public Worship : how usually attended.
GENESIS xxviii, 16, 17. And Jacob awaked out of his Bleep, and
he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And
he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place ! this is none
other but the House of God, and this is the Gate of Heaven. 389
DISCOURSE XXVIII.
Family Worship.
GENESIS xviii, 19. For I know him, that he will command his
children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way
of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring
upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. ...... 404
DISCOURSE XXIX.
The Prayer of Jabez.
1 CHRONICLES iv, 10. And Jabez called on the God of Israel,
saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my
coast, and that thint hand might be with me, and that thoti would-
.a keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me ! And God
granted him that which he requested. .. 425
xvi CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE XXX.
The Cross of Jesus.
JOHN xix, 25. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus hi., mother,
and his mother's sister, Mary the wife ofCleophas, and Mary
Magdalene. Page 444
DISCOURSE XXXI.
The Barren Fig Tree.
LUKE xiii, 6 9. He spake also this parable: A certain man had
a fig-tree planted in his vineyard ; and he came and sought fruit
thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his
vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this
fig-tree, and find none: cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground ?
And he answering, said unto him: Lord, let it alone this year
also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it : And if it bear fruit,
well : and if not, then after that thou shall cut it down. . . 462
DISCOURSE XXXII.
Spiritual Influence.
ZECHARIAH iv, 6. Not by might, nor by power, but by iny Spi-
rit, saith the Lord of hosts. t . 457
DISCOURSE I.
IMPORTANCE OF THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE.
I CORINTHIANS ix. 16.
Woe is unto me t if I preach not the Gospel !
IT is with feelings of a new and a peculiar kind that
I now appear before you. Moved, as I trust, by the
Holy Ghost to take the ministerial office on me, I yet
assume it with fear and trembling. Above me, in the
Heavens of glory, sits the Judge of hearts the Dis-
cerner of thoughts and intents : Around me Faith per-
ceives innumerable companies of Angels, and mingling
with them the Apostles, the Prophets, the Martyrs, the
Confessors, of the blood-redeemed Church : Present to
the eye of sense are you, my people, and on me rests,
with awful responsibility, the care of your immortal
souls. Amidst " so great a cloud of witnesses," hovr
shall I act, how acquit myself? Whom shall 1 fear?
Whose glory shall 1 seek ? Whence shall I derive my
strength to labour? How shall I be taught what I
myself must teach ? What incense shall fill my censer,
and what fire shall kindle it? Paul tells me: " Our
sufficiency is of God;"* and what cannot we sustain,
OURSELVES sustained by Power and Grace and Love and
Truth Omnipotent ? Assured of the sufficiency of his
Master's grace, b Paul, though in himself and " in his
Cor. Hi, 5 2 Cor. xii ft.
2 IMPORTANCE Of
bodily presence, weak and contemptible/' yet became
the herald of salvation to the whole Gentile world.'
"Though, therefore/' saysthis great Apostle, <C I preach
the Gospel, /have nothing to glory of:" the glory of
all my labours pertains to Him who condescends to use
an instrument so feeble and unworthy as myself: "for
necessity" the sweet constraining influence of a Sa-
viour's love " is laid upon me ; yea, woe is unto me,
if I preach not the Gospel."
May that gracious Spirit which inspired the senti-
ment and dictated the expression of St. Paul, enable
me also with some measure of appropriate and per-
sonal feeling to say ' Woe is unto me, if / preach not
the Gospel !"
These words naturally lead us to consider
I. The Ministerial Office itself;
And II. The Responsibility which attaches to it :
And I. The MINISTERIAL OFFICE itself:
The office of the Christian minister is tc to preach
the Gospel." This office no man taketh (or ought to
take) to himself, but he only that is called of God. d
Jesus Christ, the great author and subject of the Gos-
pel, called his Apostles severally and particularly to the
office and work of the ministry. To them was the
eommission given to " go into all the world, and to
preach the Gospel to every creature. 6 Hence, they
tf could not but speak the things which they had seen
and heard. " f Each one might with propriety say with
Paul, tc I am ordained a preacher and an Apostle. 5
They authoritatively ordained others <o their office.
Paul committed the ministry of the word as a solemn
ff charge" to Timothy, h and commanded him to "commit
the same to faithful men," 1 To Titus,, too, was autho-
e Rom. xv, 18, 19. d Hebrews v, 4. * Mark xvi, 15-.
Acts iv, 20. B 1 Timothy ii, 7. ' 1 Epis. i, IS.
i 2 Epis. ii,2.
THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. J
rity committed to "ordain elders in every city" of Crete. k
Since the Apostolic days, there has ever been an order of
men "separated," as Paul himself was, from worldly cares
and secular pursuits, " to the Gospel of God," 1 and
whose one grand and exclusive office it is " to preach
the Gospel ;" and doubtless, till the redeemed of the
Lord, the Church of Christ, be presented faultless be-
fore the presence of God's glorious Majesty, will this
office be continued and perpetuated. The Gospel
which we are authorised to preach is " the everlasting
Gospel." It was preached to Abraham. 11 It was
preached in the wilderness of Sinai. It will be
preached till " there shall be time no longer:" nor
even then will " the glorious Gospel of the blessed
God" cease to be the object of grateful contemplation
and adoring wonder to " the principalities and the
powers of Heaven. " p The Gospel will be ''everlast-
ing" in its truth, its value, and its consequences. This
Gospel necessity is laid upon me to preach, and to ijou,
beloved, is the Word of this Salvation sent. But,
what is the Gospel <? And what is it to preach the
Gospel ? The Gospel is " good tidings of great joy ;"
a " Word of Salvation ;" a message of mercy: but,
it can only be tidings of joy to the miserable ; a word
of salvation to the lost ; a message of mercy to the
guilty. Here, then, is at once implied our real
character and situation. The very " Ministry of re-
conciliation" which God has committed to us, shews
that we are miserable, lost, and guilty creatures. But
though the Gospel finds us thus, it leaves us not the
same. It is the wise and gracious means whereby a
wise and gracious God designs to recover us from that
deplorable state into which our sin has brought U3.
As "the Gospel of the Grace ofGod"* it manifests the
Divine favour and love. We see that though sin be
k Ch. i, 5. i Rom. i, I. m R er x ; v> ^
Gal. iii, 8. Heb. iv. 1, 2. p Eph. iii, 10.
i Acts xx, 24.
4 IMPORTANCE OF
" the abominable thing which God hates ;'! jet that he
loves our soulsand " willeth not" our death. As "the
Gospel of Christ," 1 it reveals a Saviour ; an all-sufficient
sacrifice for sin in that Saviour's death, and a life of
endless blessedness and glory as the consequence of
faith in him. As " the Ministration of the Spirit,"'
the Gospel records " the promise of the Spirit" to
work in our hearts genuine and unaffected penitence,
operative faith, lively gratitude,, love to the person of
our Lord, and universal benevolence towards man. As
" the Gospel of Salvation "* it proclaims health to the
brokenhearted, deliverance to the captives, recover)'
of sight to the blind, and liberty to the bound. As
" anew and a better Covenant l ," v the Gospel insures the
fulfilment of every relative and Christian duty. As
" an everlasting Covenant/'" it secures to the Believer
" all things" sure and unfailing mercies. Its oath
and promise are immutable. And as some strong and
powerful odour revives the fainting senses of the body,
so do " the immutable things" of God afford " strong
consolation" to all who flee for refuge to lay hold on
the hope set before them in the Gospel.* " Jehovah
is the hope of his people."* " Christ is our hope/"
He is the Alpha and Omega of our ministrations : " him
we preach," nor can we be Ministers of the Gospel, if
we cease to preach him. 3 " Ourselves" we preach not,
" but Christ Jesus our Lord, and ourselves your ser-
vants for Jesu's sake." b Jesus * f crucified" it is our
office to exalt : and while we " set him forth evidently
crucified among you," his dying love must be motive
sufficient for us to " warn every man, and to teach
every man in all wisdom ; that we may present every
man perfect, in Christ Jesus." c Such, briefly, is the
Gospel; and now, what is it to preach the Gospel?
r Rom. i, 16. 2 Cor. iii, 8. * Eph. i. 13.
T Jer. xxxi, 31, and Heb.viii, b. w 2 Sara.xxiii,5. Heb.xiii,20.
* Heb. vi, 18. y Jer. xiv, 8. 1 Tim. i, 1.
* Acts v, 42. 2 Cor iv, 5. c Col. i, 28.
THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 5
To preach the Gospel is to declare it fully, plainly,
kindly. It is to declare \i fully. " He that hath my
\Vord ,"says God, "let him speak my Word faithfully.'" 1
And Paul, in accordance with this Divine direction,
<( shunned not to declare all the counsel of God," e and
" kept back nothing" that pertained to his office to de-
clare. Equally faithful to our trust must we be. In all
its parts and bearings must we preach the Gospel. Our
system must be that of the Bible. We must call no mem
' Master.' Nothing may we add to, nothing may we
diminish from, the Testament of a dying Lord. Even
if things be spoken that are offensive to man's depraved
nature and carnal mind, and these things be agreeable
to the revealed will of God, we must not shrink from
a full and faithful declaration of them. Such is our
office, that if we seek to please men, we cannot be the
servants of Christ/ Is man depraved and helpless?
Is there NO health in us ? We must fully declare it.
Is the will of God the first moving cause of our salva-
tion? 8 Cometh no man unto the Father but by
Christ ? h Cometh no man to the Son, except the Father
which hath sent Him draw him ?' Is man condemned
because, on account of the perverse and obstinate de-
pravity of his heart, he will not come to Christ ? k Must
we be born anew ere we can see, enter, or enjoy, the
kingdom of God ?' Must all the glory of our salvation
accrue to our only Saviour ? Itl And must the grace
which brings salvation teach us to deny all ungodli-
ness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present world, and to look for the
re-appearing of our Lord, Jesus Christ?" Are these
things so ? Then must we fully and unhesitatingly de-
clare them. In short, my brethren, we, as Paul was,
must be " bold to speak unto you the Gospel of God."
* Jer. xxiii, 28. Acts xx, 27. ' Gal. i, 10, -
s Kph. i, 11. h John xir, (5. ' John vi, 44.
* John v, 40 >Johiii,3. m 1 Cor. i, 20,31.
Titus ii, 12, 1 ;J . 1 Thebs. ii, 2.
6 IMPORTANCE OF
Moreover, we must declare \i plainly not, I mean,
in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which
the Holy Ghost teacheth. p It is the language of human
nature that says, " Speak to us smooth things, pro-
phecy deceits.'" 1 Worded smoothly and disguised
plausibly, many would even receive the truth : But,
no ; the Gospel which we preach is unaccommodating
in its solemn verities; arid therefore must " our speech
and our preaching be not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power." Our Divine Master spake plainly/ Paul,
speaking of himself and his fellow-labourers in the
Gospel, says, tc We use great plainness of speech. *'**
And great plainness of speech must we use, if we would
either destroy the strong holds of the devil, or build
up, on its most holy faith, the Church of Christ. It is
here, we conceive, so many ministers of the Gospel
fail they overshoot the capacities of their hearers
use " high swelling words of vanity" and " so speak
unto the air," and spend their strength for nought,
" In simplicity and with godly sincerity, not with fleshly
wisdom, but, by the grace of God, may we have our
conversation in the world, and more abundantly to
yoa-wards."* If the Law was required to be written
" very plainly,"" surely the Gospel should not be
written or preached in less distinguishable characters.
Plainly, therefore, must it be declared.
But, finally, we must declare it Idndly. The
ministry we sustain is (as we have before intimated) a
ministry of reconciliation. The Gospel reveals a God
of love and mercy. It invites, beseeches, entreats,
sinful and rebellious worms to be reconciled to God.
Its preachers, therefore, should be men of tenderness
and love. Sacred are the sorrows of a penitent. Quick
are the sensibilities of a newly awakened soul. With
these it becomes us to sympathize. With "many tears"
1 Cor. ii, 13. q Isa. xxx, 10. ' John xvi, 29.
2 Cor. iii, 12. 2 Cor. 1, 12. * Deut. xxvii, 8.
THE MINISTERIAL OH ICE. 7
did Paul fulfil his office ; w " with tears he warned ;"*
and " with tears he wrote." y A greater too, than
Paul, offered his "supplications with strong crying
and tears," 2 and with feelings of the tendercst kind He
wept over the murderous Jerusalem.* With somewhat
of the like compassion should we minister the Gospel
of God. Our eyes should run down with tears when
men keep not God's Law. b Day and night should we
weep for the slain of the daughter of our people. If
we must reprove "the enemies of our Redeemer's cross/'
we should do it "even weeping. " a Peace, holiness,
and love should mark the ministerial character. " In
love" should the truth be spoken ; and spoken in love,
however plainly and fully, it will not offend whom it
may be worth our while to please. Truth is lovely,
and suffered to appear in simple loveliness, it will win,
soften, console, and bless. " Good and gracious is the
Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way:"'
Let the minister of the Lord be "good and gracious"
kind and condescending too, and therefore shall h*
also teach sinners in the way.
Such, then, beloved, is the MINISTERIAL OFFICE : It
is to preach the Gospel; and to preach the Gospel
fully, plainly, kindly.
Come we to consider
II. The RESPONSIBILITY which attaches to it:
" Woe, says St. Paul, is unto me, if I preach not the
Gospel:" He imprecates a woe upon himself if he
failed faithfully to discharge his office. Surely, then,
the Apostle must have felt a responsibility of the most
solemn and impressive kind attaching to his office.
And, in fact, there is, however some, Korah, Dathan,
and Abiram-like, aspire to the Priesthood/ and covet
- Acts xx, 19. * Ib. 31. y 2 Cor. ii, 4.
Heb. v, 7. Luke xix, 41. b Ps. 1 19, 13C.
c Jei. ix, 1. d Phil, iii, 18. P*. 25, 8.
f Num. ch. xvi.
8 IMPORTANCE OF
pre-eminence in the Church, God will not be mocked.
No Uzza must put forth his hand to hold the Ark : 8
The sons of Ko hath alone must bear it. 1 ' Awful things
are written against such as run without being sent,
and prophesy without being spoken to.' And " cursed
is the man that doeth the work of the Lord deceit-
fully/' 1 ' and " handleth his Word deceitfully." 1 We
must be " called of God, as was Aaron/' accept-
ably to minister in holy things. ' ' Jesus sent" his
disciples whither he himself would come. " The Hohj
Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the
work whereunto/ have called them.'" 11 Thusthe triune
Jehovah is concerned in provisioning the ministerial
office with teachers and labourers. Happy, then, is
the man who can say with the Prophet, or rather with
Messiah himself, " The Lord God and his Spirit hath
sent me." 1 " Moved to take the office on us by " the
Eternal Spirit," he will qualify us for it: we shall
not run in vain : we shall not prophesy our own
hearts' deceits : we shall have an unction from the
Holy One to teach us all things necessary to be in-
culcated on others: we shall see our office to be su-
perior in dignity and excellence to any earthly calling
whatever : the honour of our Saviour-God ; the sal-
vation of immortal souls ; the promulgation of divine
truth ; the extension of our Zion's borders ; the in-
terests of time and of eternity are all involved in our
office. Who, then, will say that a fearful responsibi-
lity does not attach to it? Who will not rather ask,
" Who is sufficient for it?" And does not all this say
to me ' Be faithful.' "Take heed to the Ministry, thou
hast received that THOM fulfil it ?" Let me, however,
point you to a portion of Holy Scripture most strik-
ingly applicable to ministerial responsibility: " Son
of Man, (says the Word of the Lord in Ezek.
f 1 Chron, xiii,9, 10, h Num. vii, 9. ' Jet. xxiii,21, 40.
k Jr. xlviii. 10. 2 Cor. iv, 2. m Acts xiii, 2.
" Isa. xlviii, 10. Col. iv, 17.
THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE.
xxxiii. 1, 9.) speak to the children of thy people, and
say unto them, \vhen I bring the sword upon the land,
if the people of the land take a man of their coasts,
and set him for their watchman : If when he seeth the
sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet and
warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of
the trumpet, and taketh not warning ; if the sword come,
and take him away, his blood shall be upon his ozcvzhead.
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warn-
ing ; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh
warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman
see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet and the
people be not warned ; if the sword come and take any
person from among them, he is taken away in his ini-
quity ; but his blood will I require at the watchman's
hand." (Now, mark, my Brethren :) " So thou, O Son
of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of
Israel : therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth
and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked,
O wicked man thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not
speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked
man shall die in his iniquity ; but his blood will I re-
quire at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the
wicked of his way to turn from it ; if he do not turn
from his way, he shall die in his iniquity ; but thou hast
delivered thy soul." See here the responsibility of our
office and the indispensible necessity we are under of
discharging it with fidelity ! May we, with this Scrip-
ture full before us, " bring you another Gospel" than
that of the Bible ? May we inculcate our own fan-
cies ? May we {i seek our own things and not the
things of Jesus Christ ?" May we be silent when we
see a sinner exposed to the sword of divine justice, and
treading heedlessly the brink of ruin ? Shall the
watchman of some earthly city, walk his constant
rounds and answer, as the Prophet says, the cry,
"Watchman, what of the night ? Watchman, what of
the night ?" p and shall the Watchman of the new Je-
' ISA. x\ s- 11.
10 IMPORTANCE OF
rusalem, the spiritual Zion, be less alert, and indisposed
to answer the enquiry, "What must I do to be saved?"
If we would be saved "from blood-guiltiness" if we
would be " pure from the blood of all men" 9 if we
would escape te &oe" unutterable, we must be faithful
to our trust, and diligent humbly, earnestly, prayer-
fully, diligent, in the discharge of its solemn and im-
portant duties. But I wish you to see what a clergy-
man should be from the ordination service of your own
church. When authorised to preach the Word of God
and to minister amongst our people, our Bishops and
Fathers say* "We exhort you in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that you have in remembrance, into how
high a dignity, and to how weighty an office and charge,
ye are called : that is to say, to be Messengers, Watch-
men, and Stewards of the Lord ; to teach and to pre-
nionish, to feed and to provide for the Lord's family ;
to seek for Christ's sheep, that are dispersed abroad,
and for his children, \vho are in the midst of this
naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ
for ever." Then follows a mention of lt the horrible
punishment" that will ensue from ci negligence'' in the
ministerial office. Hence we are exhorted " never to
cease our labour, care, and diligence, till we have
done all that in us liefh" for the souls committed to
our care. te Worldly cares and studies" are we to set
aside. " A mind and will thereto" we cannot have
of ourselves : " therefore," it is added, { ' ye ought and
have need to pray earnestly for the Holy Spirit."
" Doctrine and exhortation we must gather out of the
Holy Scriptures, whilst our OWN life must be agreeable
to the same." " WHOLLY," in short, must we " ap-
ply ourselves to this one thing, and draw ALL our cares
* The reader is desired to refer to the ordination service of the
Church itself, and with the exhortation to Priests to mark the
questions which follow it.
P Acts xx, 26.
THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 11
and studies this vat/." How exactly does this accord
with the conduct of those \vho " gave themselves CON-
TINUALLY to prayer and to the ministry of the Word" in
thebestdays of the Christian Church! How beautifully
significant,, too, is that expression of Paul, " OXE firing
I do /" q And how does all this declare the responsibility
of the ministerial office. If " the fruits of the Spirit,"
should be more than usually abundant in any charac-
ter whatever, it is that of the Ministerial. Our own
and others souls to keep : a world of ignorance, preju-
dice, and sin to overcome : a crafty and designing Ad-
versary to detect, expose, defeat : a Saviour to glorify
and serve: " a fiery trial to endure an account of
our Stewardship to give who needs not to tremble in
the view of things like these ? who needs not to cry
mightily for help ? who needs not to say " Lord, help
me!" Here is the "worm Jacob, threshing the
mountains."' Here is the ee earthen vessel" bearing
" riches of grace."* Here is one whom c< they have
made Keeper of the vineyards," who with his careful-
ness for others must keep his " own vineyard" too. 1
Well may not a Hophni and a Phinehas only/ but
even a Moses/ a Jeremiah/ and many a one that la-
bours even " with his spirit in the Gospel," pause with
fearful anxiety to think on the responsibility which at-
taches to the Work of the Ministry. The multiplied
" Fear not" of the Bible alone can encourage and sus-
tain our fainting heart. " Send by whom thou wilt
send" should we say, did not the Lord add, "/ will
go with thee."y " EVEN the youths would faint, and
the young men utterly fail," did we not feel assured
that our Redeemer's strengh would be perfected in our
weakness. Strong, then, IN THE LORD and in the power
of his might, we appear before you ; we dare to sus-
tain our office with all the responsibility attaching to it,
* Phil, iii, 13. r lsa. xli, 15. 2 Cor. iv. 7. 'Cant, i, 6.
* 1 Sam. ii, 2, &c. "Exod. iii, 11. "Jer. i, 6.
> Exod. xxxiii, 14.
12 IMPORTANCE OF
and " by your prayers and the supply of the spirit
of Christ," we will trust to "save both ourselves and
them that hear us." z " Woe is unto me if I preach not
the Gospel f"
Fearing rather I have already intruded too long on
your time and attention, there is yet, however, one ob-
vious REMARK, which, in closing, I beg to make :
If a " woe be unto me if I PREACH not the Gospel,"
woe will be unto you if you RECEIVE not the Gospel !
The word we preach will prove to you either a savour
of life or of death. If it does not prove the one, it
will prove the other. a We shall be "a sweet savour
unto God" in our ministrations of the Gospel, " whe-
ther you will hear or whether you will forbear." Our
master will judge us not according to our success,
but according to ourjidelity. In those whom we in-
gtrumentally " win" to Christ, his " name and word
will be magnified above all things." "Mercy," in
them will be "set up for ever." Where our word is
no " savour of life," but any through wilful blindness
and determined wickedness, ft reject the counsel of
God against themselves," even there we shall not be
other than "a sweet savour unto God," for they
perish not because we blew not the trumpet of alarm,
but because "they choose darkness rather than light,"
and love " the wages of unrighteousness." " Believe,
then, in the Lord your God, so shall he be established :
believe his prophets, so shall he prosper." 5 The
Gospel is a joyful soundr cheering and exhilirating
as the silver trumpet in the year of Jubilee, to them
that know zY. c On the contrary, a woe of untold agony
awaits " the neglect of so great salvation. " d Oh ! that
ye may " savour the things of God !" with meek heart
and due reverence may ye receive his Holy Word! May
we be mutually faithful. While 7 preach Jesus and
him crucified, may you take up your cross and follow
ITitn. iv, 16. 2 Cor. ii, 15, 16. > 2 Chron. w, 20.
Ps. SO. 15. d Heb. ii, 1, 4.
THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 13
Him ! While / profess to act under the guidance and
governance of the Eternal Spirit, may you feel him
working within you both to will and to do ! While I
endeavour humbly to " teach you the good and the
right way/' may I be favoured to go before you in it !
And when the account of your immortal souls is re-
quired of me, may we together stand at our Lord's
right hand, and be it mine to say, " Behold me and
the children whom thou hast given me I"
DISCOURSE II.
THD DIVINE LAW A TEST OF CHARACTER.
I JOHN in. 4.
Sin is the transgression of the Law.
PEOPLE, in general, are little, if at all, aware of their
real state or condition, In the knowledge of the
world and their vocations in it, they must be allow-
ed, commonly, to be sufficiently informed : but in the
knowledge of themselves, of God, of the way of ac-
cess to him and reconciliation with him, of that eter-
nally enduring world whither we are going, and of
our capacity to enjoy its eternally enduring pleasures,
they will be found, on enquiry, miserably wanting and
deficient. Men may even " understand allmysteries"
may range the walks of Science, may follow the Stars
in their courses, may become acquainted with all the
various histories of all the countries of the Earth, and
in short, may "have all knowledge/' and yet, if desti-
tute of ee the Spirit of wisdom," be none other than
'' sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal." The stand-
ard too, by which many judge themselves is erroneous.
ie What will MAN think of me ?" is the language of a
heart alienated from God, and naturally averse to
spiritual excellence. Hence, how often do we hear
persons ft measuring themselves bij themselves, and
comparing themselves, among themselves, and from
the admeasurement and comparison drawing a conclu-
sion favourable to themselves. ' Oh ! we are no worse
than others ; \ve are better than many whom we could
THE DIVINE LAW 15
mention : if it fares not well with us, how will it fare
with them ?' are expressions well befitting such a pro-
cedure. But,, on the authority of an Apostle, we say,
" those who measure themselves by themselves, and
compare themselves among themselves, are NOT WISE."*
te To the LAW and to the testimony : if they speak not
according to THIS WORD, it is because there is NO LIGHT
in them :" b itis because no morning of gracious visita-
tion hath dawned upon their souls, and they, therefore,
in the pride and ignorance of their hearts, laud and
exalt themselves. God's law, and that law especially
as "magnified" in the life and character of his beloved
Son, is the alone legitimate standard to which we must
refer in the examination of our state, and the estima-
tion of our goodness. This is " the glass" in which
alone our " natural face 1 ' may be satisfactorily discern-
ed ; and its testimony concerning us will be the only
true description of our moral likeness.
May our consideration of the Law at this time in-
crease our acquaintance with ourselves, and further
the best interests of our immortal souls ! " Whosoever,"
says St. John, "committeth sin transgresseth also the
Law ; for, Sin is the transgression of the Law"
We purpose to notice
I. The Law itself:
And II. The Transgression of it.
And I. The LAW itself :-
The word " Law" is applied to different things and
used on various occasions in holy Scripture. We read
of a Law written on the heart ; c which means, tlieLasv
of Nature or the Principles of naturalconscience. We
read too of " a Law in our members'" 1 which is the
propensity of our fallen nature to evil. In John
i. 17. we read that " the law was given by Moses;"
2 Cor. x, 12. h I.-a. viii, 20. c Rom. ii, 15.,
d Hom. vii, 3.
1(5 A TEST OF CHARACTER.
and here the law comprehends the moral, the cere-
monial, and judicial precepts of God. "The law"
mentioned in our text, we believe to be the decalogue,
or the ten moral precepts exclusively. This lav?,
therefore, it is which forms the subject of our pre-
sent discussion. Now, concerning God's moral
law, we observe that it was originally graven on
the fleshly tables of man's heart This it was that
constituted man's resemblance to the Deity. " God
created man in his own image,"* that is, in his moral
likeness. There are attributes of the Godhead un-
communicable to the creature. We never read that
man was omniscient or omnipotent : and yet we do
read that " in the image of God created he him " It
must, therefore, be in sentiment, in taste, in judgment,
in enjoyment, that Adam resembled his Almighty
Maker. The same mind was in man as was in God.*
Between them existed a solemn covenant : the only
command expressly revealed in word was, te Thou
shalt not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil ;" f and this was of the prohibitory kind, and
therefore the easier to be kept. Hence the covenant
which existed between the infinite Creator and his
creature Man, is called a Covenant of Works, because
Life was to reward obedience to its precept, Death to
be the penalty of the Law's transgression.^ This co-
venant Adam brake : immediately Life was forfeited ;
Death was incurred ; the Law was erased from the
heart; the Divine likeness lost, and that which was
once the fairest and most beautiful part of God's crea-
tion, became a sinful and unholy thing. The Cove-
nant having been made with Adam as a. public person,
as the father of mankind, not only himself fell by his
violation of God's Law, but his posterity, descending
To this state, it will hereafter appear, the Gospel is designed
to restore us. See Phil. ii. 5.
Geu. i, 27. 'Gen. ii, 17. Rom. v, 12, 20.
A TEST OF CHARACTER. 17
from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him and
fell in the fall of their father. " In Adam all die." h
The law, however, was still in force : its transgression
must be expiated or its penalty endured. It could no
longer be the article of a covenant : It was broken ;
and it could only now condemn. It ceased for ever
to be with us a covenant of works. And to shew us
the greatness of our fall, the depravedness of our na-
ture, the extensiveness of our guilt, God was subse-
quently pleased more fully to reveal his Law. Re-
vealed, however, in what age soever it might be, it
would still be the transcript of the divine mind it
would still manifest the moi'al features of the Deity,
and shew us how glorious once was man, and inta
what misery we are fallen. " I CHANGE NOT,'* saith
the Lord :' His law, therefore, in its requirements,
its obligations, and its penalties,, must, like himself,
be changeless and unalterable. To cl love the Lord
our God with ALL our heart, and soul, and mind, and
strength, and our neighbour as ourselves," can never,
to all eternity, be other than our bounden duty, con-
ducive to our happiness, and perfective of our nature.
And these " two commandments" are the sum and
substance of the Moral Law. The history of the
Law's promulgation, and the several particular precepts
of it, you will find in Exodus xix. and xx, chs.
" God" amidst thunders and lightnings and the sound
of trumpets waxing louder and louder, as indicative
of the Eternal's presence, "-Spake these words.* "He
declared anew his Covenant," not now made with
Man, but with Man's Redeemer; whom ceremonies
and sacrifices, for the time being, were to foreshadow;
f< even ten commandments, and he wrote them on
tables of stone." k " The tables were the work of
God; and the writing was the writing of God." 1 But,
1 Cor. xv, 22. * Mai. Hi, 0. * Dcut. iv. 13.
'Bxod. xxx'n, ]<>.
t8 THE DIVfNE LAW
mark the awful wickedness of the human heart, see
how surely the Law was blotted thence I In the pre-
sence of their God, whilst Moses was with him in the
Mount, and the thunders of Sinai were yet tingling
in their ears, the Israelites " made a calf, and worship-
ped the molten image I" 1 In holy indignation Moses
te cast the tables out of his hand and brake them be-
neath the Mount." m Thus significantly, as we con-
ceive, declaring how in ten thousand instances man-
kind had broken the commandments of their God and
Sovereign. The Law, however, was re- written and
preserved. 11 " Very plainly," too, was Moses required
to transcribe it; and this book of the Law was hence-
forward to be the standard of moral worth and the
directory of human conduct to all ages and genera-
tions. Joshua meditated on it. p Ezra was a "Scribe
in it.'' q It was fe a light and a lamp" in the days of
Solomon/ Isaiah referred to it. 8 " Concerning the
Law of his God," was fault found with Daniel. 1 Jesus
came (i not to destroy, but to fulfil and to establish,
the Law/' v Christ is its "end;'' w and us hath he
redeemed from its curse/ In tranquil and sweet secu-
rity may we, therefore, now contemplate the Law;
view unappalled its pure, spiritual, and strict severity.
We arerm////, as, Moses Wisjiguratk-ely, hid in the cleft
Rock of our Salvation. A fissure in Horeb screened
him from the terrors of the Lord ; a crucified Jesus is
our refuge. y IN HIM we may dare to hear the Apostle
Paul declare, " The Law is holy, and the Command-
ment alluding, probably, to that searching and con-
demning precept, ' Thou shall not covet' holy, and
just, and good." 1 Let us then, from these words, alit^
tie more particularly consider the nature of the Law.
1 Acts vii, 41. m Exod. xxxii, 19. n Exod. xxxiv, 1.
Deut. xxvii, 8. P Gh. i, 8. 1 Ch.vii, 6.
Prov. vi. 23. 8 Ch. viii, 20. * Ch. vi, 5.
* Malt, v, 17. w Rom. x, 4. * Gal. iii, 1?.
y Comp. Exod. xvii, 6, xxxiii, 22, with 1 Cor. x, 4.
1 Rom. vii, 12.
A TEST OF CHARACTER. 19
It is holt/; so holy, that it detects adultery in a
thought/ and murder in a feeling of anger. b Acovet-
ous desire is declartd tobe idolatry, and the object co-
veted an idol. c Well, therefore, may the Apostle say,,,
" The Law is spiritual."* Spiritual, indeed, it is, and
more so than the generality of mankind have any idea
of. Few believe that it has to do with the affections,
purposes, and desires of the inner man no less than with
the conduct of the outer. That it has is clear ; be-
cause, while " Man looketh on the outward appear-
ance, the Lord looketh on the heart."* Our state and
disposition of mind determines our character with
him : and therefore the Law whereby he governs us
must be such as will extend to " the imaginations of
the thoughts/' and to the principles of action. The
Law must, then, like its Author, be pure, spiritual, and
holy.
It is, moreover, just. The Sovereign Lord of all
has a right to the homage and the worship of his crea-
tures. With whatever Law he governs them, their
obedience should be prompt and willing. He must be
just in all thai he brings upon us/ ' Why/ we some-
times hear it said, f Why does the Almighty give us
a Law we find it impossible to keep ? Why not im-
pose on us less rigorous commands?' Why ? because
He could not. Must. not the Law of a righteous Go-
vernor be like himself, just and righteous too ? If the
Law be rigorous in its exactions, and we find it a yoke
grievous to be borne, the fault is in us y not in it.
" God made man upright,"' and ere our uprightness
was lost, the Law was easy to keep, and delightful to
obey. Now " it is weak through the flesh ;" and the
Law cannot do other than require either a perfect, sin-
less, uninterrupted obedience to its commands, or pro-
* Matt. v. 28. b 1 John iii, 15. c Col. iii, 5.
d Rom. vii, 14 e 1 Sam. xri, 7. f Neh. ix, US.
f Ecc. vii, 2y.
20 THE DIVINE LAW
Bounce a righteous sentence of condemnation on our
violation of them. 11
Prut, although the Law be thus holy and just, it is,
nevertheless, good. Itisgood in its origin ; it is good
in its nature ; it is good in its design. It was an un-
speakably precious mercy in God to reveal his mind
and will more fully after his Law had been violated by
Adam. His "goodness" did the Lord proclaim when
he passed by Moses in the Mount.' " Wondrous
things" did David see in God's Law. k Nor will any
one acquainted with the benevolence of the Divine
Character say that " good" is not the word of the
Lord which he hath spoken. In all that He commands
He designs the happiness of his people. Where He
says, ' Do this/ He says in other words, ' Be happy.'
The spirituality of the Law discovers us to ourselves \
the rigour of the Law awakens our fears ; the good-
ness of the Law kindly shuts us up to the faith of Jesus,
Who, then, will not " consent" with Paul, " that it
is good ?" 1 Surely " the Law of the Lord is perfect^
CONVERTING THE SOUL : the testimony of the Lord is sure,
MAKING WISE THE SIMPLE. The Statutes of the Lord
are right, REJOICING THE HEART : the Commandment of
the Lord is pure, ENLIGHTENING THE EYES. The four of
the Lord is clean, enduring for ever ; the Judgments of
the Lord are true and righteous altogether : ." m
Such is the Law : We are to notice
II. The TRANSGRESSION of if.
"The transgression of the Law is Six," Now here
we have an infallible guide to the knowledge of our
real character and our just desert.
We may hence learn our real character. Naturally
we are "lovers of our ownselves; boasters; proud;
heady; highminded.' rn W r e see not the purity and
the strictness of the Divine Law. "Satan hath blind'
B Rora. viii, 3. Exod. xxxiii, 19. k Ps. 119, 18.
1 Rom. vii, 17. Ps. 19, 7, 9. " 1 Tim. in, 2,- 4.
A TEST OF CHARACTER. 31
ed our eyes." Hence we judge ourselves *' rich and
increased with goods ; and know not that we are
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked." 1 ' Our iniquity, like that of Ephraim's, "is
bound up ; and our sin is hid :" q we perceive not its
aggravated depth and extent. Many are; favoured
with a natural amiableness of temper and disposition.
Education, too, polishes the mind and manner. No
gross immoralities may mark the outward conduct. In
transactions too, of a worldly kind, there maybe much
that is really estimable. This glare of external good-
ness suffices. We are pleased with ourselves, and, it
may be, disposed readily to say to many a one whom
we deem our inferior, " Stand by thyself; come not
ivcar to me : for I am holier than thou art." r But not
in our oicn eyes only may we appear to begood; others,
too, "through the ignorance that is in them," may
deem us the same : call us good sort of people, exte-
nuate our vices, and magnify our virtues. Thus are
we deceitful and deceived. But u God seeth not as
Man seeth." "Ye are they which justify yourselves be-
fore men :" but what avails our self-justification ?
"God knoweth our hearts : for that which is highly
esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of
God." s Then it naturally follows that any rule of
conduct, however highly esteemed among men, cannot
be the criterion of our spiritual state. Judged by its
white- washed exterior, the sepulchre may appear fair
and beautiful ; l but what is its state internally ? " Asa
man thinks, so is he." v Do our thoughts rise easily
and spontaneously to God ? Do we find them flowing
in one unvarying tide of love and gratitude, to the
Author of all being and existence ? Is His service our
perfect freedom ? Are His ways and paths to us ways
of pleasantness and paths of peace? Is His Law our
2 Cor iv, 4. P Rev. iii, 17. * Hos. xiii, 12.
r Isa. Ixv, 5. Luke xvi, 15. l Matt, xxiii, 27.
* Prov. xxiii, 7.
23 THE DIVINE LAW
delight?" "Judge i/e," Beloved. Distinguish be-
tween natural, moral, educational, and spiritual good-
ness. The latter alone determines our character with
God. And how deficient in spiritual good we are, the
Law of God will determine. From the opening of
our eyes on the light of Heaven, till they close again
in the darkness of Death, does the Law demand a full,
entire, and undeviating conformity of heart and life to
its precepts. The least possible deviation from the
Law (if we can imagine any deviation from the Law
to be a light or trivial matter) in thought, in word,
in deed, is ,'/?. "^//unrighteousness is sin ;"* and
sin of any kind or degree is a transgression of the
Law, and a transgression of the Law subjects us to its
penalty. Now, who will pretend not to have trans-
gressed the Law ? Is any one amongst us without
sin ? If not, where is our right either to be pleased
"with others' praises or to commend ourselves. See a
description of the natural heart in Mark vii, 21, 22.
Every precept of the Moral Law is equally authorita-
tive and binding. " He that said, do not commit adul-
tery, said ALSO, do not kill. Now, if thou commit no
adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgessor
of the Law." y And the same reasoning holds good of
any other precepts of the moral code Hence it is
that "whosoever shall keep the ivhole Law, and yet
offend in one point, he is guilty of all." z It is the
disposition to offend which the Law condemns : and
hence there may be an universal opposition to the
Law and a determined rebellion against the Lawgiver
himself in the heart, where the conduct is morally de-
cent and decorous. " A breaker of the Law,"* there-
fore, may every child of Adam be denominated. "The
righteousness of the Law" we have lost totally and
for ever in ourselves as a ground of preference and
glory. Ihe "God I thank thee" of the Pharisee, we
* Rom. rii, 22. x 1 John v, 17. > James ii, 11.
* James ii, 10. Rom. ii, 25.
A TEST OF CHARACTER.
*nust totally and for ever disclaim. " In many things
we offend all." b We are conceived in sin : born in
sin : sin is the elen*ent in which we naturally move and
have our being ; we love it : we endeavour to lessen
its enormity: we make it venial and tolerable: the
holy, just, and righteous Law of our dread Sovereign
Me accommodate to our prejudiced and depraxed
opinions: we justify ourselves and despise others: we
say not " Tsmar is more righteous than /," c but, " God
I thank thec that I am not as other mem are :"* all which
tends evidently to shew our real character. We in-
herit only our fathers' degeneracy: their regene racy
they inherited only for themselves. To our original
depravity we have added actual transgression ; and
making the Law of God NOT our own partial opinion,
or the judgment of our felloe-creatures the test of
our character, we shall find it, doubtless, really to be
that of ' miserable sinners.'
And what, as such, is our just desert? This, too,
we were to learn from the transgression of the Law.
And in this particular the world is no less mistaken
than it is respecting our character and state before
God. <( The world loves its own.' 16 It cannot, there-
fore, be expected severely to censure those who love it.
But our Bible says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall
die." f And again, "The wages of sin is death. " B And
in accordance with the Bible our Church says, "The
fault and corruption of the nature of every man de-
serveth God's wrath and damnation.'* This, indeed,
is said of " Original Sin :" but, with equal propriety,
we conceive, it may be said of actual sin : for " Cursed,
it is written, is every one that continueth not in alt
things which arc written in the Hook of the Law to do
tlicm." 1 Here is the thunder of Sinai rolling over our
affrighted consciences. Who, of us all, hath kept the
fe James hi, 2. c Gen. xxxviii, 26, d Luke xviii, 11
* John xv, 10. f Ezek. xviii, 4. * Rom. vi, 23.
k Art. ix. i Gal. iii. 10
24: THE DIVINE LAW A TEST OF CHARACTER.
commandments written in the Law ? Who does keep
them ? Who., by any power or ability in himself, can
keep them ? And if the desert of one sin be death
what must be the desert of multiplied and innumerable
transgressions? Oh ! who would not be interested in
" tlieLaw of the Spirit of Life," that Law which
fc frees us from the Law of sin and death ?" k We have
a Law-fulfiller -even Jesus. 1 Through his obedience
unto death, mercy beams through all the terrors of
Sinai upon the regenerate and believing sinner. Well,
however., is it for us to see our desert, in order that we
may the more gratefully value our deliverance from it.
A view of what we are in ourselves, will tend to shew
us what we were once in Adam, and what we mat/ be in
Christ. In the Seed promised to the woman ; in the
lamb that Abel offered; in the virtual sacrifice of Isaac;
in all the ordinances of the Jewish Church ; in every
sacrificial fire that blazed ; and by every victim therein
consumed, we see at once the justice of an offended
God, the unyielding strictness of His righteous Law,
the shadow of a greater and a more effectual offering,
and the meritorious means of a full and everlasting
recovery from all the consequences of our destructive
fall. While, then, our consideration of The Law it-
self, and of The Transgression of it, constrains us, as
needy creatures, individually to cry, " God be merci-
ful to me a sinner ;" let the Law do for us what the
Baptist did for the multitudes of Judea point us to
our Lord and Saviour cheer our humble, contrite
spirits with the words, " Behold the LAMB OF GOD,
which talceth away the sins of the World!" and en-
courage us to hope that the Law we have trans-
gressed shall be re-written in all its eternal excellence
on our hearts, and we ourselves stand once more and
forever "perfect and complete in all the will of God."
* Rom. viii, 2. 1 Ps. 40, 8.
DISCOURSE III.
ON JUSTIFICATION.
.JOB xxv. 4.
How then can Man be justified with God?
How a Man can be justified with God, is, perhaps,
of all others, the most important enquiry that can
occupy our attention. Some things \ve may be safely
ignorant of or mistaken about : but ignorance or mis-
take about the matter of our justification with God,
will prove ruinous to the peace and safety of our souls.
And yet how lamentably ignorant, how lamentably
mistaken, many people are about it ! and that not only
where the truth lies buried under the rubish of Popish,
Mahomedan, or Heathen error, but in a country call-
ing itself Protestant, and where the pure Word of
Christ is preached and His Sacraments are duly ad-
ministered. It is utterly useless for the Ministers of
Religion to suppose their people to be well or generally
acquainted with the manner of our acceptance with
God. A very little observation will prove the contrary.
All, indeed, will pretend to know it, but, naturally, it
will be found, no one knows it. What, then, is our
duty ? Our duty is to shew you, as easily and simply
as words will allow us, " How a man can bejustijied
26 ON JUSTIFICATION.
with God." And to bring the subject of Justification
full before you at this time, I shall say
J. What Justification is :
II. How a Man cannot be justified :
III. How alone he can be justified :
And IV. Why he can be justified in no other way
than the way in which he is justified.
I am to say
I. What JUSTIFICATION is
Justification is the being accounted righteous though
<ce are not so. We are allowedly depraved and sinful crea-
tures. Naturally and practically, we are such. ' ' The
heart is wicked,"* and since " out of it are the issues
of life"* the streams must necessarily share the impurity
of their source. And however dissimilar we may be
one from another in sentiment, taste, and habit, "the
nature of every man born into the world" is radically
corrupt, " There is (in this particular) no difference,
forall have sinned and come short ofthegloryofGod." c
But, when brought into a justified state, we are treated
as if we were altogether righteous. God " sees no
iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel.'" 1 Our
" sins and our iniquities He remembers no more." 6 In
the pure eye of infinite Holiness itself we appear
"without spot." f The Church collectively will the
Redeemer of sinners " present to himself a glorious
Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,
but holy and without blemish."* Cleansed and puri-
fied, the Church, " as a chaste Virgin," will be united
unto her Lord in the bonds of an everlasting union.
" To her it will be granted to be arrayed in fine
linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is the riglite-
*ousnes$ of saints." 1 ' And whose is this righteousness?
* Jer. Kviii,9. * Prov.iv, 23. c Rom. iii, 22, 23.
d Num. xxiii, 21. e Heb. viii, 12. f 1 Pet. i, 19.
8 Eph. v, 27. h Her. xix, 8,
ON JUSTIFICATION. 27
From whom or whence is it derived f Not surely from
ourselves or any remaining excellence in Human Na-
ture : for "all OUR righteousnesses are as filthy rags,"'
and by our own Confession, " there is NO health in us."
We must, therefore, be accounted righteous, and justi-
fied with God, by other merits than our own. Now to
make this the more simple, and easier to be understood,
let us suppose a person to be suspected of some criminal
deed : he is apprehended and lodged in jail : at a time
appointed, he is brought to the bar and arraigned : he
is charged with the crime; the trial proceeds ; evidence
is heard ; the case is closed : If the prisoner be
proved innocent of the charge laid against him, we
should say, he was acquitted or justified from it: if,
on the contrary, he be found guilty and condemned for
it, he is remanded to his prison, and there, with fear-
ful expectation, to await the execution of his sentence.
In the mean time, some powerful and benevolent in-
dividual intercedes for him with his Prince : " bowels
of compassion" are moved for him : a pardon is pro-
cured ; the guilty criminal is forgiven ; his forfeited
liberty and life restored. Now, though guilty, he
would be treated as not guilty, and if his Prince for-
gave him, no one might dare to punish him. Believ-
ing the tidings of his free forgiveness, joy would take
the place of sorrow in his heart. A grateful sense of
his deliverer's mercy would pervade his mind. Anew
impulse might be given to his moral feelings, and this
once lost and guilty criminal might become an ho-
nourable and a useful member of society and that, ob-
serve, not through any worthiness in himself, for in
himself there was all that was obnoxious to justice;
hut, merely through the clemency of his Prince and
the voluntary interference of his friend. Apply this
to the point we are discussing : We need not suppose
ourselves criminals ; we really are so. We have
transgressed the law ; our transgression of it is sin ;
' Isa. Ixiv, 6.
28 ON JUSTIFICATION.
sin is rebellion against the mind and will of Heaven's
Eternal Majesty, and a sentence of guiltiness hath been
passed upon us. k Our own conscience acknowledges
the justness of it : We are '' tied and bound by the
chain of our sin :" the gloomy horrors of an infernal
jail may justly be assigned to us: to die eternally we
justly merit : but, we have a Friend a Friend mer-
ciful and gracious, a Son dear and only beloved : He
stays the uplifted arm of vengeance, intercedes with
his Father for us, averts our doom, and God, for his
Son's sake, pardons our sins and saves our souls. "To
us is the word of this salvation sent :" 1 We believe
the joyful tidings, and now we poor " rebels/' we
poor " dust and ashes/' we poor "worms," are freely
forgiven all our numerous sins, and treated as if we
had not sinned at all. Marvellous mercy this ! And
is there aught in us to merit it ? O no : it is to "the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" that we must trace it.
His is the righteousness which makes us righteous.
And feel we under no obligation to Him ? Being
"saved from wrath through Him," feel we no sense
of gratitude kindling with sacred energy within us,
and constraining us to live for him who died for us ?
" Justified" and saved, shall we not glorify the Sa-
viour-God who justifies and saves us ? Thus may
we come out of our " prison-house," rejoice in the
free forgiving love of our Almighty and Eternal Lord,
serve him in newness of life below, and anticipate,
with " assurance of hope," the being " presented
faultless before the presence of his glory" above.
Having said what justification is, I come to say
II. How a man CANNOT be justified
(And this I wish particularly to be observed ; be-
cause it is a fact too sure to be denied that many
amongst us are eiiliQt justified, as they think, or expect-
Gal. iii, 10. ' Acts xiii, ;20.
ON JUSTIFICATION.
ing fo be justified, in a way the most unscriptural and
delusive.)
How a man cannot be justified, ha* already partially
appeared from our foregoing remarks : but I mean
more particularly to say how he cannot.
And, first, I say, a man cannot be justified by re-
pentance. The criminal whom we supposed just
now, might be very sorry for his crime ; but his sorrow
for it could not expiate'its guilt. In like manner, we
may feel grieved for our sins ; but our grief can make
no satisfaction for them. Could we shed rivers of tears,
our tears would possess no virtue in them to wash away
a single sin. Judas, from a conviction of sinfulness,
" repented," and even " confessed" his sin : but nei-
ther his repentance nor confession availed him any
thing. And doubtless, too, the fallen Angels, and
those of mankind who have unhappily become their
associates since they fell, bitterly lament their respec-
tive sins ; but their " lamentation and mourning and
woe" come to no end. Now, ask many how they ex-
pect to be justified with God ? and the answer you
will commonly receive will be " By true repentance."
So vague and unsatisfactory are the notions of the ge-
nerality on the all important topic of justification !
And what, on enquiry, is the ' true repentance' whertby
many think to get their sins forgiven and themselves
saved ? It is a repentance that has no truth in it.
is declared to be false and defective by a willing con-
tinuance in sin, and a determined enmity to godliness,
It is the consequence of sin rather than sin itself which
people dread : they dread the consequence, but they
love the sin. All such repentance is vain utterly vain
and worthless. But even the repentance that is true,
and whose fruits evidence its truth, has nothing at
all to do with the matter of our justification in the
sight of God. Deep and hearty soever as our peni-
tence may be, there is no merit in it. It cannot, there-
fore, justify us. It may indeed be a preparation of the
30 ON JUSTIFICATION.
mind for the benefits of justification : it is not justifica-
tion itself.
Again : A man cannot be justified by amendment of
life. To true repentance, many ada, amendment of
life : ' we must mend our lives to be sure ; we must
atone for former faults' In transactions of u worldly
kind, payment for a present purchase will not liquidate
an old debt. So with our sins : no present obedience
can make amends for past transgression. If we could,
from this moment, keep the whole Law, and never
break even one of the least of God's commands again,
there would remain our former sins against us. As to our
making any atonement for them, where is the possibility
of our doing so? What have we, worthy the Divine
acceptance, to offer? If "without shedding of blood,
there is no remission/" 11 where is our Sacrifice? If our
amended life will justify us, whence shall we derive our
ability to amend it ? how change the current of our
affections and propensities ? how do that which is really
and spiritually good ? If it be said, from God : true ;
we answer : but, in receiving aught from him, why
should we boast as if we had not received it ?" Still it
will remain true- " By the deeds of the Law shall no
flesh be justified." They may evidence a justified state:
but they do not, however pure in motive and disinte-
rested in performance, justify us with God.
Further : A man cannot be justified by his sincerity.
Many will say to us e We do offend : how can we help
it? we are fra'u land sinful creatures : nevertheless, we
are very sincere: we mean no harm ; our heart is good.'
This is all delusion : it is the reasoning of a heart "de-
ceitful above all things." '/ \\o\yScripture doth set out
unto us ONLY the name of Jesus Christ, whereby men
mustbesaved." p There are, we know,some heathens who
worship the Devil,and, no doubt, are very sincere in the
m Hcb. ix. 22, "1 Cor. iv. 7. Rom. iii. 20.
v Art, xvi.
ON JUSTIFICATION. SI
worship which they render him : And there are, again-,
others who worship some the Virgin Mary, some
their personal charms, some their wealth, some the
phantom pleasures of a phantom world, and all, we
may believe, very sincerely too : but the sincerity of
ignorance avails nothing to salvation. Do we not,
however, it may be asked, read much of integrity and
uprightness in the Bible? Are not Abimelech, Job,
and David, particularly commended for their integrity? 1
Yes, but God must create the heart anew, ere it can
be true/ And even when created anew, its sincerity
only evidences its new creation, it does not justify the
soul. However sincere, our obedience will always be
imperfect here. " Weighed in the balances we shall
be found wanting ;" 3 and no imperfect righteousness
no obedience that falls an iota short of absolute per-
fection, will justify us with an infinitely holy and
heart-searching God.
Finally, a man cannot be justified by any works what"
ever of his own. ' We must do all we can, and as
well as we can,' is an expression in almost every body's
mouth. Now our Lord says, " When ije shall have
done ALL those things which are commanded you, say i/e,
We are unprofitable servants : we have done that
which was our duty to do." 1 And surely " ^profitable
servants" can have no claim to reward or favour. Be-
sides, who does all he can do ? Doyou? What!doyou
pray as much as you can? meditate as much as you
can ? hear or read God's Word as much as you can ?
attend your public means as much as you can? 1 be-
lieve there is not one of us all but could do much more
than he does, if he were so disposed. Methinks we
should rather beseech God to ' pardon our offences'
than to ' weigh our merits.' Do what they may, peo-
ple will find their own works " a bed shorter than
that a man can stretch himself upon it, and a covering
i Gen. xx. 5, 6 ; Job. ii. 3 ; Ps. 78,72 .
' Ps. 51,10. Dan. v. 27. * Luke xvit 10.
32 ON JUSTIFICATION.
narrower than that he can wrap himself in it." v When
Peter seemed to encourage a partial dependence, at
least, on personal duties, Paul reproved him. w Peter
tacitly acknowledges his error by his silence, and does
not hesitate at a subsequent period to call Paul a "be-
loved brother."* Any thing whatever that affords a
ground of hope to a sinner beside the one foundation
that is laid in Zion is " another foundation" and
f( OTHER foundation CAN no man lay, than that which is
laid." y As to doing all, and as well as we can, and
supposing the merits of Christ will make up our defi-
ciency, it is perfectly absurd, and contradictory to the
whole tenor of Scripture. 2 This we shall presently
more evidently perceive. Suffice it now to repeat, a
man CANNOT be justified by repentance; by amendment
of life ; by sincerity ; nor by any works whatever of
his own. % .
*
This prepares our way to say
III. How alone he CAN be justified?
And how? I cannot tell you in plainer or more
significant language than that of our own Church
tf We are accounted righteous before God only for
the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by
faith, and not for own works or deservings." a Let us
mark these words; they contain, as we believe, the
very marrow of the Gospel. " We are ACCOUNTED
righteous before Godontixfor the merit of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Ghrist by faith, and NOT for our own
works or deserv'ings." Well indeed may our fore-
fathers add, "Wherefore, that we are justified by faith
ONLY is a most wholesome doctrine andvenj full of com-
fort," for here truly is that " feast of fat things"
which a poor self-condemned sinner feels to be de-
lightfully suited to his soul's necessities/ But, are
* Isahh, >.xviii. 20. w Gal. ii. 1116. * ii. Pet. iii. 15;
y i, Cjr. iii. 11. z R om> j x 30 ; Gal. v. 2 4.
Art. xi. i> Isa. xxv. 6.
[ON JUSTIFICATION. 33
these things so ? Can a man be justified with God
by faith only through another's righteousness ? That
your faith may stand not in the \vord of man,
but in the Word of God, turn with me first to Genesis
xv, 6. Here we read, " Abraham believed in the Lord,
and the Lord counted it to him for righteousness."
The Lord promised Abraham " a Seed, in whom him-
self and all the families of the earth should be blessed :"
That Seed was Christ : c and by faith in him (for our
Lord tells us Abraham saw his day, and rejoiced to see
it, d ) was Abraham accounted righteous or justified.
True, James asks/ "Was not Abraham, our father,
justified bij ivorks ?" Yes, before men; when he had
offered Isaac his son upon the altar at Moriah, his faith
was evidenced to be genuine and sincere, and before
men he was manifestly a justified perstm. Cut the
faith for which the Scriptures so justly "celebrate
Abraham was that he exercised twenty years before the
birth of Isaac, and which faith had for its exalted ob-
ject the promised Seed, and which Seed James himself
says, was " imputed to him for righteousness."* A
living faith, as in Abraham's case, will evidence its ex-
istence. It is impossible but it will do so : it is the
germ of holiness; the principle of action Love be-
gets love : affection mingled with gracious conde-
scension, kindles a reciprocal affection. When .our
faith realizes to our understanding and judgment, a
Saviour and a Saviour's sacrifice of himself for the
guilty and condemned, what Isaac is there we would
not sacrifice in return to him ? Shall we think our~
sehes "our souls and bodies," too much to be pre-
sented to a Saviour?* Oh! no: "all things will be
* The reader may peruse at leisure Romans iv. It is an in-
spired commentary on Genesis xr,
e Gal. iii, 16. John viii, 56. Cb. ii, 21.
1 Rom. xii, 1.
D
34 ON JUSTIFICATION.
possible to him that believeth." A liberated captive
will not sigh for his prison again. A ransomed slave
will never voluntarily bind himself to the oar of slavery
again. A sense of mercy will never make sin a trifle,
and induce a wish io sin that grace may abound. No,
no: " we have not so learned Christ." Justification
by faith alone is " a doctrine according to godliness."
Our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished,
and it is only by the comfort of God's grace we can
mercifully be relieved. g And that grace, bestowed
where and on whom soever it will, invariably teaches
us to "deny ungodliness, and to live soberly, righteous-
ly, and godly." Turn with me, too, to Job. xxxiii,
15 30. Elihu speaks of a " Messenger, an Inter-
preter, a Daysman," through whose uprightness the
Lord will be gracious to a sinner, and deliver him from
going down to the pit. Who sees not here " the Mes-
senger of the Covenant/' 11 the Revealer of the Father's
mind and will ?' " I have found a ransom an atone-
ment/' saith the Lord : and for whose justification or
salvation does this avail but the believer's? and what
can give us an interest in it but faith only? Much in
the same manner does Daniel speak , k when he de-
clares "Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself"
By Jesus is a " reconciliation made for iniquity, and
an everlasting righteousness is brought in." And now
this' is, as an unspotted robe, " unto all and upon all
them that believe." 1 Hence in Isaiah Ixi, 10, the be-
liever is represented as saying, " I will greatly rejoice
iu the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God :" and
\vhythis rapturous exultation ?" FOR, He hath clothed
me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me
with the r^be of righteousness, as a bridegroom deck-
eth himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth
K Col. for ir. Sunday in Lent. h Mai. iii, 1.
* John xv, 15. , * Ch. ix,24. ' Rom. iii, 22.
ON .irsnncATi<.
Irefself with her jewels." And whose is this righteous-
ness? for, we observe, it is "THE righteousness/' pre-
eminently and exclusively "///*? righteousness," whereby
a sinner can be justified and shall glory. Paul will
tell us: turn to Rom. iii, 19 22. In verse 19, all the
world of mankind is declared to be guilty, or subject
to the punishment of God. " Therefore," it follows
in verse 20, " by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh
be justified in God's sight : for by the Law is the know-
ledge of sin : (and how can that justify us, which makes
known to us our sinfulness?) But now (verse 21) the
righteousness of God without the Law is manifested,
being witnessed by the Law (or books of Moses,) and
the prophets; even (verse 22) the righteousness of
God which is by faith of Jesus Christ," and this, as
we have before intimated, is " unto all and upon all
them that believe." Hence it appears, the righteous-
ness in which the believer triumphs is " the righteous-
ness of God" that is, of Christ; (for "God was in
Christ reconciling the world unto himself:") and the
means whereby he is interested in the finished work of
his Redeemer is faith, faith alone t faith without tke deed*
of the Laic, faith without our oicn works or deserv-
ings. And this, we have seen, is witnessed by the Law
of Moses, and the writings of the Prophets, to which
we may with propriety add the writings also of the
Apostles. ' ' SURELY, therj, shall one say, " IN THE
LORD hare I righteousness and strength," yea, "!N
THE LORD shall all the Seed of' Israel be justified, and
shall glory. " m " IN THE LORD shall we be saved with
an everlasting salvation," and "justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus/'
I think, then, that our Church is abundantly war-
ranted to inculcate the doctrine of Justification by
faith alone in the merit of Jesus Christ on her MtnF-
icrs f and, through them, on her members : nor can we
Isa. xlv, 24, 25,
36 O.N JUSTIFICATION.
teach any other method of Justification without wrest-
ing the Scriptures and invalidating our trust.
But, why, it may be asked, Why does faith alone,
faith without works, justify us ? Because faith is the
only medium by which we can receive Christ. It is,
as it were, the hand which " puts on Christ/'" and
which uses him as the Prophet, the Priest, the King-,
the All of his believing people. Did the Law require
a perfect unsinning obedience ? Jesus has magnified
its every precept and honoured its every requirement.
Was the blood of ff a Lamb without blemish and with-
out spot" needed to expiate the guilt of our transgres-
sions P" 1 ' Behold that Lamb in Jesus : he was " holy,
harmless, undefiled," and freely did his blood flow
forth in Gethsemane, in the Hall of Pilate, and on
Mount Calvary. We, receiving cordially and be-
lieving practkally, "the record God hath given of
his Son, are justified from all things from which we
could not be justified by the Law." Received and
believed,* 1 the atonement of our dying Lord, heals the
diseases of our sinful souls, cheers our sorrowing
hearts, and constrains us to " do justly, to love mercy,
arid to walk humbly with our God."
Whilst, then, a Man cannot be justified by his re-
pentance, by any amendment of his outward conduct,
by a sincere though imperfect obedience to the Law,
or by any works whatever of his own he CAN be jus-
tified by faith only, by faith simply, in the merit of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
It remains only for me to say
IV. WHY he can be justified in no other way than the
way in which he is justified.
There are many reasons why he cannot: We shall
briefly notice a few.
Rom. xiii, 14. Isa. xlii, 21. P Exod. xii, 1, 14
i Roin. v, U.
ON JUSTIFICATION. 37
I. // is God's determination that " no Jlesh shall
glory in his sight.'" " All flesh hath corrupted His
way :" His Law we have daringly trampled on his
Word we have impiously cast behind us. And yet in
the pride and arrogance of our heart we would, if it
were possible, merit our salvation, and have " whereof
to glory" before God. This pride God is determined
to humble. He therefore bestows a gratuitous, a free,
Salvation. '' Before honour is humility."* The Gos-
pel knows " no difference" between one person and
another whilst in a natural state : it makes " no differ-
ence" between the justification of a moral man and of
an immoral man : it humbles all before it exalts any ;
nor does it allow even an Abraham or a Paul to say,
'This or that part of rny Salvation I myself effected :
the glory of it, consequently, belongs to me.' No: if
it be asked, " Where is boasting, then ?i' The answer
is, "It is excluded." v A man cannot, therefore, be
justified in any other way than the way in \vhich he is
justified.
2. God has determined that his SON ALONE shall le
glorified in the justification of a sinner. Not only must
" the loftiness of man be bowed down, and the haughti-
ness of man be made low," but " the Lord alone must
be exalted. " w <l All men must honour the Son even as
they honour the Father ;" x and again it is written,
" He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 7 Now,
if our righteousness, in the smallest imaginable mea-
sure, justified us with God, our Saviour alone and ex-
clusively could not be exalted in our justification.
" Works of righteousness which we have done," and
not " the mercy of God through Jesus Christ" would
save us contradicting the very declaration of Scrip-
r 1 Cor. i, 27, 29. Gen. vi, 12. Prov. xv, 33.
T Rom. iii, 27. w Isa. ii, 17. * 1 Cor. i,31.
> Jei. ix, 21.
38 ON JUSTIFICATIOX.
ture itself/ God l< hath given Christ for salvation to*
the ends of the earth :" He is all our salvation ; and
therefore must alone be exalted. This is another rea-
son why a man can be justified in no other way than
the way in which he is justified.
3. It is, too, God's determination to (t magnify
his name ami his Word above" all the "philosophy,
vain deceit, tradition of men, and rudiments of the
world." " A council of peace" was held between him
and his beloved Son. a We are ic saved and called not
according to our works, but according to His own pur-
pose and grace which were given us in Christ before
the world began. " b " My counsel shall stand and I
will do all my pleasure/' saith the Lord. Now, " if
righteousness come by the Law/' and we be justified
by our works, the purpose and grace of God will be
frustrated, His counsel will be made void, and all His
pleasure will fail of its accomplishment. The Word of
God, like its all-glorious Author, is "without variable-
Bess." It is the enduring rock, not the yielding sand.
It is itself the system of all pure Divinity. It bows not
to the reason or authority of man : its decisions are
unalterable, and when it says, " By grace are ye saved,
through faith; and that, not of yourselves ; it is the
gift of God/' d it affords another and a powerful rea-
son why a man carc be justified in no other way than
the way in which he is justified.
But 4, and finally, // is a merciful God's most
gracious determination to afford grounds of the most
abundant consolation to the humbled and believing sin-
ner. If we were justified on the grounds of our own
deserving, we should be continually and fearfully ap-
prehensive of our acceptance and safety. We should
never be able to ascertain what merit or how much, of
ours would suffice to justify us: we should therefore
* Tit. iii, 5, a Zech. vi, 13. b 2 Tim. i, 9.
c Isa. xlvi, 10. d Eph. ii,8.
ON JUSTIFICATION. 89
be miserably uncertain about the matter of otir justi-
fication with God. Whereas in "the righteousness af
faith" there is illimitable worth an infinite sufficiency
of merit. Grounding, then, our hope of mercy simply
and entirely on Jesus crucified, " our consolations by
Him abound.'"" " We glory even in tribulations for His
sake." f " We take pleasure, for His sake, in infirmi-
ties, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses. " s " Our hope standeth sure." 1 * A sweet
persuasion grows within us that nothing shall separate
us from the love of God in Christ. 1 A peace that
passeth understanding keeps our heart and mind. The
service of the slave is lost in that of the child. The
Law fulfils its office as " our schoolmaster" teaches
us our need of Christ ; and " being justified by faith,"
we learn to " esteem all God's commandments con-
cerning all things to be right;" his ways become to
us " ways of pleasantness," and it is the very joy of
our hearts to feel that a man can be justified in no
other wa) than the way in which he is justified.
I have now said, what Justification is ; how a man
cannot be justified ; how alone he can be justified ;
and why he can be justified in no other way than the
way in which he is justified : In conclusion, 1 would
only ASK,
Doth this offend ijou ? What! doth it offend you
to be stripped of the fig-leaf aprons or the " filthy
rags" of your own righteousness, and to be clothed
with the garment of Salvation? Oh! yes: I know
full well the doctrine of Justification by faith alone is
offensive to the proud carnality of the human mind. It
is contrary to all the propensities of our fallen nature to
"cease from going about to establish our own righte-
ousness, and to submit ourselves to the righteousness of
God." We would fain be something, do something,
2 Cor. i, 5. f Rom. v, 3. * 2 Cor xii, 10.
h Heb. vi, 19. ' Rom. viii. 39.
40 ON JUST1FFCATION.
deserve something. Earthly good we would rather
obtain by gift than purchase: spiritual good we would
rather buy than receive gratuitously. But " without
money and without price" must we receive ec the riches
of grace" if ever we would be enriched with them.
" Righteousness" is a gift to be received from God
through Jesus Christ. So also is the ''eternal life" to
which it entitles the receiver. 11 Never shall we be jus-
tified with God but in the way of his own appoint-
ment. Condescend, therefore, you must, to accept the
righteousness of your Redeemer, and to make 'his me-
ritorious cross and passion' the all of your dependence,
or never be justified at all. And should you do other-
wise than readily accept what God so freely offers ?
Your rejection of his proffered mercy will but aggra-
vate your guilt. Moral soever as you may be, your
morality will not save you. Can you pretend to be ho-
lier, wiser, or better than Abel, Abraham, Jacob, Sa-
muel, David, Paul, and innumerable others w r hose
names are in the Book of Life ? And yet these were
all justified by faith in Jesus Christ. 1 And to whom
are they now ascribing their Salvation? to them"
selves/ 1 Look and see Rev. v. 12, 14. Let us, then,
be agreed to "humble ourselves under the mighty
hand of God '." Let us pray him to fl search our
hearts" and to discover them to us : Let us say with
Job, ' ' I am vile ;" and cherish a feeling of self-ab-
horrence : then will it rejoice us to hear that our "Re-
deemer liveth ;" in him alone shall we glory ; his
righteousness alone shall we make mention of, and
when with all the redeemed of the earth we shout the
<f Alleluia" of the Heavenly world, it will be our ever-
lasting and never wearying delight to sing " Unto
Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his
OWN blood be glory and dominion for ever and e\er.
Amen."
k Rom. v. 17, vi. 23. Hob. xi,
DISCOURSE IT.
WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS : ILL WITH THE WICKED.
ISAIAH iii. 10. 11.
Say ye to the Righteous, that it shall be well with him :
for they shall eat the fruit of their doings : Woe
unto the Wicked! it shall be ill with him : for the
reward of his hands shall be given him.
t( RIGHTEOUSNESS exalteih a nation, but sin is a re-
proach to any people."* Plainly do we see this exem-
plified in the history of God's once favoured people,
the Jews. fc Haughty" and arrogant in heart, we can-
not wonder that " their tongue and their doings were
against the Lord." In just displeasure took he away
" from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the
staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of
water." Sin occasioned the ruin of Jerusalem and the
fall of Judah. Amidst, however, the general apostacy
of the nation,, some there were who feared the Lord
and thought upon his name. And ever is it found
that" " the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him,
and his ear open unto their cry." Whilst, then, He
commissions his servant to declare " a woe unto the
Prov. xiT, 34.
42 WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS:
Wicked,*' he commands him to say unto the Righteous,
tc it shall be well with him." And since in our days,
no less than in the days of Isaiah, the world of man-
kind is divisible only into two classes, viz. " the
Righteous" and <c the Wicked/' the Minister of the
Christian Zion may believe himself fully authorized to
tell the one, " it shall be well with him," and to say,
" Woe to the Wicked, for it shall be ill with him."
I purpose to notice
I. The Reward of the Righteous:
And II. The Woe of the Wicked.
In noticing
I. The Reward of the Right eons,
We must, ere we notice their reward, inquire who
the Righteous are. The Bible elsewhere tells us,
" There is none Righteous, no, not one." 11 All our
powers and faculties are represented as disordered and
depraved : the throat is an open sepulchre ; the tongue
is deceitful ; asps' poison is under the lips ; the mouth
is full of cursing and bitterness ; the^e^ are swift to
shed blood; the eyes have not the fear of God before
them ; the mind is alienated from him ; the will is not
subject to his Law ; the under star ding is darkened ;
and in few words, " The whole head is sick, and the
whole heart is faint/' and " there is, from the sole of
the foot even unto the head, no soundness in us." c
Even the Apostles themselves were not exempt from
this general corruption of nature. Paul, be it ob-
served, in Eph. ii 3 calls himself and his fellow-la-
bourers in the Gospel " by nature, children of wrath,
even as others." Now, then, what makes the differ-
ence between some and others ? A difference there
is : both Scripture and observation prove it. But,
whence does it arise ? How are any righteous ? see
b Rom. iii, 10. Isa. i,5, 6.
IM. WITH THE WICKED. 43
in the chapter we have just referred to : mark it*
every part ; and you will see that any change what-
ever that is wrought in us, and wherehy we differfrom
others, is to be traced to " the great love wherewith
God hath loved us." " Quickened" from a death tn sin,
brought up from the grave of natural corruption/ the
new-born man will look to Jesus Christ for all his sal-
vation. Unto ' such asfeel in themselves the working
of the Spirit of Christ,, mortifyingthe works of the flesh,
and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly
things/ (I use here the language of our Church, Art.
xvii.) u Christ is made of God righteousness."* He
is <( the Second Adam :" f and in what respect is he so ?
Why, as all men were represented in the first, and
consequently fell in his fall, and became liable to all
the effects of his transgression ; so are all believers re-
presented in the Lord Jesus Christ, the SVcow/Adam,
and consequently are and will be interested in all the
benefits of his obedience and death. After the Holy
Spirit, by his effectual operation on the mind, has con-
vinced any man of sin, humbled his heart, and won his
soul to Christ, that man is '' accounted righteous"
te righteousness is imputed to him also," as it was to
faithful Abraham. 5 And <e as a refiner's fire" will the
Holy Spirit gradually refine, exalt, and purify all those
powers and faculties of the now justified sinner that
were once prostituted to the debasing service of the
flesh, the world, and Satan. '\ his is that " translation
from the power of darkness into the kingdom (the
gracious kingdom) of God's dear Son," h which, who-
soever may be the subject of it, vte may with scriptu-
ral propriety denominate " the Righteous man."
And now we are prepared to notice his Reward,
" Say ye to the Righteous, it shall be well with him : for
they shall eat the fruit of their doings." Faith in the
* Set E/tk. xxxvii, 12. e 1 Cor. i, 30. f 1 Cor. xv,47.
t Kora. iv, '2-3, 24. b Col. i, la
44r WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS:
Gospel, and a conversation according to tlie Gospel's
pure and hallowing doctrines, does insure most cer-
tainly a reward to the Righteous. We cannot, indeed,
imagine that an infinitely glorious Creator can ever be
indebted to a creature, or obligated to reward a crea-
ture's faith and service : nevertheless, there is a " re-
ward of grace," though not ec of debt." God e fa-
vourably alloweth/ mercifully accepts, and will gra-
ciously reward the works of his own Spirit in us. "His
reward is with Him/' 11 wheresoever or to whomsoever
he comes. " In keeping his commands there is a great
reward/ 5 ' There is a satisfaction, a peace, a joy, in
the ways of the Lord, unspeakably precious and de-
lightful. " Verily there is a reward for the righte-
ous :" k " It shall be WELL with him ;" and well with
him in life, in death, and in eternity.
It shall be well with him in life. Is he young ? Is
he another Samuel, Josiah, or Timothy ? Is he another
child crying in the Temple, " Hosanna to the Son of
David ? " He shall, in the Spirit of adoption, and
through a Saviour's mediation, cry unto the sove-
reign and eternal God " My Father, thou art the
guide of my youth." 1 Is he engaged in the necessary
cares and businesses of the world ? He shall be " kept
in the hour of temptation" that shall try the stability
of others, and " prove every man's work of what sort
it is." Is he "small and of no reputation ?" Angels
shall minister unto him. Is he poor? "God hath
chosen the poor of this world :" riches of faith below
and riches of glory in reversion far outweigh in excel-
lence and value every earthly good whatever. Is he
' in sorrow, need, pain, sickness, or any other adver-
sity ?' " The high and lofty One" will " make for him
all his bed in his sickness ;" bow down a listening ear
to " the sorrowful sighing" of his servant ; " be
with him in trouble," and ultimately " wipe away
h Isa. xl, 10. i Ps. 19, 11. k Ps. 58, 11. * Jer. iii, 4.
ILL WITH THE WICKED. 45
all tears from his eyes." Is lie, as was his holy Lord,
"despised and rejected of men ?" Is his " good con-
versation in Christ" falsely accused? Do the wicked
deem him his name, his character, and that on ac-
count of his piety th^ir lawful ic prey ?" m " The Spi-
rit of glory and of God resteth upon him :" the suf-
ferer's cross becomes to him a pledge of the conqueror's
crown. " n Is he aged? Does he tremble beneath the
weight of numerous years ? " Even to hoar hairs will
I carry you" saith the Lord : and "the hoary head
is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of right-
eousness/' In life, and in all life's various periods,
circumstances, weaknesses, and ills, the righteous man
shall prove that "godliness is profitable to all things/'
and "hath hope of the life that NOW is" no less cer-
tainly than f( of that which is to come." p
It shall be well with him also in Death. That which to
Nature is commonly terrible and affrighting, is to the
regenerate man if not always desirable, at least, often
so, and never otherwise than safe and happy. <( It is
gain to die." q " To depart and to be with Christ, is
far better" than to sojourn where we can only gaze
upon a Saviour's glory through darkening mediums/
Brethren, come with me to the chamber of a dying
Saint. All is sweetly solemn. Stillness prevails or
is broken only by ejaculatory prayer and whispered
praise. Draw nigh the sick man's bed. What see
we here? " The Death of the Righteous." Calm-
ness, serenity, humble but triumphant hope, are de-
picted on the now colourless countenance. Hark, a
softening breath declares, " It is well : all is well !"
See, the upraised eyes continue still to speak. They
seem with beseeching earnestness to say " Come Lord
Jesus : Make haste, my Beloved ; and be as the roe or
the young hart upon the mountains of division !"
in Isa. lix, 15. 2 Tim. ii, 12. Prov. xvi,31.
P ITim. iv, 8. f i Phil, i, 21. r Phil, i, 23.
46 WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS:
Welcome death approaches: the scarcely beating pulse
itands still : a momentary pause, and " Death is
swallowed up in victory." " Mark the perfect man
and behold the upright: for the end of THAT man is
peace. '' s Was it his own perfection or uprightness that
thus sustained him ? Oh ! no : it was a consciousness
of the Saviour's presence, an assured persuasion of his
all-sufficiency, a firm belief in the finished work of re-
deeming Mercy, and a sincere desire that the Redeemer
should be glorified " whether by life or by death."
Thus even te in the Earth is the Righteous recom-
pensed," and truly " hath he hope in his Death." 1 And
shall his hope perish with his earthly being ? No : for,
It shall be well with him in Eternity : and how well
it shall be with the righteous man in eternity, "eye hath
not seen, ear hath not heard, nor hath heart of man
(amidst the millions of its conceivings) conceived."'
One indeed was once "caught up into the third Hea-
ven ;" w but he found what he had heard and seen
there to be unutterable in the language of mortality.
Who, then, of us may dare attempt to describe the
glories of the eternal world? O ye Intelligences, ye
Angels, ye Spirits of the Dust made perfect, what are
your wondrous joys, your extatic pleasures, your un-
wearying occupations ? Beloved, \ve must die to
know them. Suffice it for us now to know that the
blessedness of a soul justified by faith and saved by
grace, will be co.mmensurate not with its own, but
with the Redeemer's worthiness, and with those capa-
cities to receive and to enjoy which the Spirit of Christ
hath wakened, exercised, renewed, and purified. With
a mind previously ' drawn up to high and heavenly
things' with "senses" previously exercised to dis-
cern both good and evil/'" the righteous man will be
prepared for the kingdom prepared for him, and therein
shall "be filled with all the fulness of God." What
Ps. 37, 37. i Piov. xi, 31, xiv, 32. v 1 Cor. ii, 9.
w 2 Cor. xii, 4. * Heb. v, 14.
ILL WITH THE WICKED. *<
_x~
though he was " cut down as the grass and faded as a
flower of the field ?" It was only to be transplanted
to a kindlier clime and to bloom more beauteously in
Paradise. What though he was taken away amidst
the smiles and caresses of many who loved him ? He
merely lost those smiles for others that will beam with
everlasting brightness on him. It was well with him
here ; it is better with him now. Now he truly "eats
the fruits of his doings," and these fruits are neither
few nor small. Whatever he did from a principle of
faith and love, God will in no wise forget to acknow-
ledge and reward/ He worked the work, without
which all other works are vain. b He sowed to the
Spirit, and now "of the Spirit he reaps life everlast-
ing." He " sorrowed after a godly sort ;" ''believed
with the heart unto righteousness :" and " brought
forth fruit with patience." It is now, therefore, WELL
with him, and shall be well with hiinybr ever.
Such is the Reward of the Righteous. We come
to notice
II. The Woe of the Wicked.
And, as before we enquired-- -Who were the right-
eous ? so here we must enquire, Who are the wicked?
But is this enquiry at all necessary ? Y es, and not less
necessary, we believe, than it was to enquire concern-
ing its opposite character. For though, in a general
way, people allow themselves to be sinners, yet even
whilst allowing it, there is evidently no consciousness
of sin, no apprehension of its adequate desert, no sor-
row for it, no hatred to it, no concern to know how,
consistently with the attributes of a God "glorious in
holiness," sin may be pardoned and remitted. * We
are all sinners,' is the acknowledgment of the lips :
Jbut, ' we are not so bad as others/ is the secret sen-
timent of the heart. If, however, none but practical
Heb. ri, 10. b John vi, 28, 29.
48 AVELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS :
believers of " the truth as it is in Jesus" are either ac-
counted righteous or are really so, it follows necessarily
that all but them must be wicked. Let not our plain-
ness of speech be condemned. We mean to prove
what we assert. Our Church says, " The condition
of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot
turn and prepare himself, by his OWN natural strength
or good works, to faith and calling upon God.' c And
again, ' Works done before the grace of Christ, and
the inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasing to God,
forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ ;
and ice doubt not but they have the nature of sin :' d And
further, ' Good works are the FRUITS of faith, and FOL-
LOW AFTER Justi/icatioti :' and 'though they cannot en-
dure the severity of God's judgment, yet are they
pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring
out NECESSARILY of a true and living faith, &c.' e IF so
(and shall we gainsay our own accredited formularies?)
if so, what becomes of the so much talked of ' Dignity
of Human Nature, the rationality and moral excellence
of man ?' No man by any power or ability in himself
can turn himself to God : No works done before the
grace and spirit of the Redeemer are imparted, are
pleasing to God : Any thing that makes us to differ
either from our former selves, or the generality of our
fellow-sinners, isthe fruit of faith, and subsequent to our
justification : Then it follows, as a natural consequence,
4hat where the grace and Spirit of Christ are wanting
where there is no justifying faith and corresponding
works, there is the character of the Wicked. But,
will the Bible warrant our conclusion ? Saith the
Scripture this? For however we may venerate the
formularies of our Church, the Word of God must be
the paramount standard of our orthodoxy, and the
rule of our decision. Now, in that Word I find it
Art. x, * Art. xiii. Art. xii.
ILL WITH THE WICKED. 49
written, '* Without ME ye can do nothing?"* What,
then, are those who pretend to do any thing or every
thing without Christ? Will the righteous despise and
reject him? Will they cry "Away with him/' and
refuse to be obligated to his merit alone for salva-
tion? I find it said, moreover, " Without FAITH it
is impossible to please GW." d " All men have
not faith :" those who are destitute of it cannot
please God : must they not, therefore, displease Him;
and are not those who displease God, the wicked?
Again I read, "There is now no condemnation to
them that are in Christ." 6 Is it not here implied that
as surely as there is "no condemnation to them that are
in Christ," there is condemnation to them that are not
in him ? And who are they that aie not in him ?
Them that " walk after the flesh" and " not after the
spirit," in other words, the nicked. And on whom
is that " woe" pronounced we find recorded in Luke
xi. 37 44? On persons who appeared "beautiful out-
wardly." "Their works they did to be seen of men :"
they went "about to establish their own righteous-
ness :" their heart was void of grace, faith, truth, and
love ; and therefore He who knew what was in man,
pronounced a " woe unto" them. Would Jesus Christ
say, ' Woe unto you, ye Righteous ?' But, finally, -
as if to prevent the possibility of mistake relative to the
character of the wicked, we read, in Ps. 9, 17, "The
wicked shall be turned into Plell" and who they are the
same Scripture declares, a "people that forget God."
How common is forgetfulness of God ! How willing-
ly do many forget Him ! Amidst the multitude of
their thoughts, God is not among them all or if
thought on, is thought on only as an object of terror
and aversion. Does not this argue a heart " deceitful
above all things and desperately WICKED ?" And may
not a minister of Religion most truly aver that a mar
John XT, 5. * Hi-b. xi, 6. e Rom. viii, 1.
E
50 WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS :
may be sober, quiet, industrious ; may (as it is almost
universally said) pay all their due ; say his prayers ;
keep his church, and be, in worldly estimation, a good
sort of person ; and yet, YET, in the judgment of God,
and by the decision of the Bible, be a wicked man ?
Judge ye, Beloved. Let us learn to distinguish be-
tween things. Be it remembered that a man may be
comparatively and even morally good, without being
really and spiritually so.
Having ascertained who the wicked are, we come to
notice now their Woe. (i Woe to the Wicked : it shall
be ill with him, and the reward of his hands shall be
'given him." Here the woe of the wicked is called
their " reward ;" and a reward it is : for while "eter-
iial life" is bestowed as a " gift through Jesus Christ"
upon the Righteous, the "woe" of the Wicked is
paid to them as "wages" earned.' "I will reward
them that hate me," saith the Lord. s And again, "I
will reward them their doings." 1 ' Truly, then, may we
say, the self-complacent, the lover of human praise,
the mere negatively good but really wicked man, hath
his reward. (See Matt, vi, 2, 5, 16.) But, ah ! how
all-unlike is it to the Reward of the Righteous! "Say
ye to the Righteous it shall be well with him : Woe to
ihe Wicked, it shall be ill with him 1" And as with the
one it will be well in life, in death, and in eternity, so
with the other it shall be ill in life, in death, and forever.
It shall be ill with the Wicked in life. The Wicked
may, as the Scripture says, " bless himself in his heart,
saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the ima-
gination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst ;"
but te the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall
smoke against that man, and all the curses that are
written in this Book shall lie upon him." 1 Others may
lull his slumbers in thesecurity that deceives him, u say-
* Rom. Ti, 23. & Dcut. xsxii, 41. h Hos. iv, 9.
1 Deut. xxix, 19, 21,
ILL WITH THE WICKED.' 51
ing, Peace, Peace, when there is no peace."" He may
tell you of the goodness of his heart, and point you to
the World's universal approval of his conduct: but
he forgets the " woe" annexed to " all men's speaking
well of us." 1 Riches, honours, pleasures, the wicked
man may possess : his path-way to human view may
seem strewed with enjoyments : smiles on every side
may greet him ; the joys and the sorrows of a multi-
tude be dependent on Jiis notice or neglect, and yet
" in the fulness of his sufficiency, he shall be in the
straits:"" 1 a worm shall gnaw the root of his gourd,
and the faithlessness of his heart in the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, shall be to him the withering blast of all his
pleasures. Is he young? He has but the more time
to " treasure up wrath against the day of wrath." Is
he engaged in business ? Is he prospered in it ? Doth
he begin to "pull down his barns" and to build other
and larger storehouses for bis " goods ?" Still it is
written, " Woe to him that gaineth an evil gain !" a
"The wealth of the sinner" shall ultimately be found
to be "laid up for the just." Do distressand anguish
come upon him ? The world forsakes its votary in the
hour of need. Does a sense of guiltiness sometimes
harass him ? He knows not the Gilead where a Sa-
viour may be found, and that dying love whereby a sin-
ner's sorrows may be healed. 1 ' Is he aged? No
lengthened life of faith, no gracious riches, no spiritual
honours has he attained. But, does he, in the proud
ignorance of the carnal mind, f pray (as many a one
will say) to be delivered ;' adding too, ' I have made my
peace with God !' Awful delusion this! ef There is
NO peace, saith my God, to the Wicked'" 1 NO peace,
save only through the meritorious Cross and Passion of
Jesus Christ/ In fine, the life of the Wicked is one
k Jer. vi, 14. l Luke vi, 26. ra Job.xx, 22.
B Hab. ii,9. Prov.xiii, 22. P Jer. viii,22, Isa. liii, 5.
i Isa. Ivii, 21. r EPli. ii, 12, 17.
52 WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS;
" woeful day," nor is there a period of it, however
marked either by prosperous or adverse circumstances,
wherein it is not ' f ill" with him.
And shall it be otherwise in death ? No : it shall
be ill with the wicked in death. ' I am not afraid to die/
says many a wicked man : ' I wish you were/ is the
mental answer of the pious Minister. The stupid in-
sensibility of the unhumbled unawakened sinner, even
Death itself can scarcely appal. The same self-con-
ceitedness marks the expiring moments as marked the
days of life and vigour. There is no prostration of the
soul before the infinitely holy God. There is no sub-
mission to the righteousness of the all-glorious Re-
deemer. There is no "joy in the Holy Ghost," no
transformation by his power from " glory into glory."
No, none of these things characterize the dying of a
sinner. Brethren, come and see. You went with me
just now to the chamber of the dying saint ; come
with me now to the chamber of the dying sinner.
This is indeed "the house of mourning." Unclose
the darkened window : admit the light. Ah! it falls
upon a soul beclouded with ignorance, unbelief, and
sin. Approach the sick man's bed. ' Is it well with
thee, brother ?' ' I hope so/ t Where rests your
hope ?' ' I do not know/ Shall we tell him ' He
has done no harm, and been very good ?' ft Miserable
comforters" should we be. . But, see, the chills of
death increase : the bridegroom cometh : the soul is
required to meet him ; and where, O where, is the
wedding garment ? Where, O where, is the robe
wherein alone the soul can appear " faultless before
the throne of God ?" The groan of expiring nature
ceases ; motionless becomes the quivering lip "Man
giveth up the ghost and where is he?" s WHERE/* he ?
Here lies the body, the fallen wreck of sin, and soon
to return to its original again, but WHERE is he?
Job.xiv,ia
ILL WITH THE WICKED.
is the man's imperishable part ? where the unrenewed
and unforgiven soul ?
'* How shocking must thy summons be, Death!
To him that is at ease in his possessions;
Who, counting on long years of pleasure here,
Is quite unfurnished for that world to come !
In that dread moment, how the frantic soul
Raves round the walls ot her clay tenement,
Kuns to each avenue and shrieks for help,
But shrieks in vain. How wishfully she looks
On all she's leaving, now no longer her's !
A little longer, yet a little longer,
O might she stay to wash away her stains
And fit her for her passage. Mournful sight !
Her very eys weep blood, and every groan
She heaves is big with horror -. but the foe,
Like a staunch murd'rer, steady to his purpose,
Pursues her close thro' ev'ry lane of life,
Nor misses once the tract, but presses on ;
Till, forc'd at length to the tremendous verge,
At once she sinks to everlasting ruin."
Yes, "to everlasting ruin;"* for while the righ-
teous shall enter life eternal, the wicked shall go away
into everlasting punishment.* And if such be the de-
claration of the supreme and unerring Judge of all,
does it become me to hesitate, or shall I be thought
uncharitable, in saying,
It shall be ill with the wicked for ever ? With no
title to life, he must inherit death. With no meet-
ness for the inheritance of the saints, he must away
to the inheritance of the wicked. If "their worm
dieth not, and their fire is not quenched," he must
* Perhaps it is scarcely necessary to inform the reader that the
lines quoted above are extracted from a very beautiful little Poem
entitled, "The Grave," by Blair. Though no advocate for the use
of Poetry in public discoures, yet on one occasion the Author was
induced to repeat these lines, and that occasion he believes to be
remembered by many ; The lines, therefore, are here inserted,
* Matt, xxv, 40.
54 WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS :
live for ever to endure their horrors. "There is no
repentance in the grave ;" there is no Saviour in Hell.
Read the xvi. chapter of St. Luke. The rich man
was, perhaps, in human view, what many an one is
called now ' a good sort of man :' We do not read
that he was a profane, unjust, or immoral man ; but
" he died, and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in
torments." Between him and the once despised but
pious Lazarus " a great" and impassable "gulf was
fixed." An unalterable and irreversible " CANNOT"
fixes the one in glory and the other in misery :-- nei-
ther could pass to the other. The Popish notion of
purgatory is no doctrine of the Bible. It is the lie of
a " cunning craitiness ;" nor can " the Man of Sin,'
with all his pretended power, circumscribe the "ever-
lasting punishment" of a wicked man by periods of a
hundred, or a thousand, or ten thousand years. No :
Heaven is, and will be, the everlasting abode of the
righteous ; Hell is, and will be, the everlasting dwell-
ing-place of the wicked. It was bad with him here ;
it is worse with him there. And what though the
wicked man lived respectably, and acted wisely, and
laboured diligently, and fared sumptuously, and got
him much of this world's honour and renown ? VV here
is he now? In eternity. And how fares he there?
He is receiung "the reward of his hands." And
what is that ? Think you what it is, ano spare me the
pain of telling you. " Woe" in all its tremendous verity
is poured upon him. No righteousness of faith
shields him from the sword of justice. [So message of
mercy can be despised now no Saviour is "set forth"
in hell no Spirit strives with the rebellious there.
There the fl corruption" which springs from " sow-
ing to the fiesh" is reaped. " The reward" of a sin-
ner's ozen hands is bestowed ; his OWN hands, observe :
for "Goo hath not appointed us to wrath," v nor do
v 1 Thcis. v, 9.
ILL WITH THE WICKED. ^
we read that the " fire unquenchable" was prepared for
man: No; if any man be "a vessel of wrath," he
hath "fitted himself for destruction." (See the Greek
of Rom. ix. 22.) It is " ill with him" simply on ac-
count of the native depravity and sinfulness of his own
heart. " God is love :" He saves ce bi/ grace through
faith :" unbelief in Jesus is the world's condemning
sin : and however " exceedingly great" may be ' ' the
plague" of the wicked, they shall amidst all their blas-
phemies be constrained to acknowledge, " Thou art
righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shaft be,
that thou \liast judged thus :" and the redeemed shall
add, " Even so, Lord God Almighty ; true and righ-
teous are thy judgments"' 1 '
Such, then, is both the Reward of the Righteous,
and the Woe of the Wicked. It remains for me only
to ADDRESS a few words,
I. To the Righteous.
You will perceive that I do not use the term
"Righteous" as a mere complimentary appellation,
or as if I thought it possible for any one to be perfect
whilst sojourning in " a body of sin and death." No:
"there is not a just (that is, a justified) man upon
earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not," y and you
yourselves, I am persuaded, would rather say the "God
be merciful" of the publican, than the "God I thank
thee" of the pharisee. But yet as righteous I address
you, because "ye are perfect through the comeliness"
which the Lord God hath put upon you. z Well, then,
while your "clothing is of wrought gold," you should
aspire to be "all-glorious within."* Christ is made of
God unto us sanctlfication no less than righteousness
and redemption. 1 * "Whom he justifies, them he also
sanctifies." Then seek the benefits of your justifica-
w Matt. xxv. 41. ' Rev. xvi.5, 7 21. y Eccl. vii. 15.
* Ezek. xvi. 14. a Ps. 45, 13. * 1 Cor. i. 30.
c Kom. viii. 30.
53 WKLU WITH THE IHGIITEOUS:
tiou. See these benefits enumerated in Rom. v, 1 5.
Pray ye that you may experience and enjoy them. If
you love your Redeemer, " keep his sayings." Let
your faith be seen in the nature, quality, and abundance
of your works. Be it your delight to "sit still at the
Master's feet." Learn " his doctrine," that you may
"do his will" Pant after "the joy of faith." c The
religion of many never gets beyond doubts and fears:
seek ye its rewards, its comforts, its triumphs. When
the inquiry is made, " Is it well with thee?" be pre-
pared to answer as undauntedly as the Shunammite
answered, " It is well." 1 * Consider Christ, study Him,
and be followers of Him with all the accuracy and ex-
actness possible. So shall your " reward be great :"
in life, in death, and in eternity, it shall be well with
you : " joy and peace in believing" shall be your por-
tion now, and the presence, the approval, and blessing,
of your Redeemer, shall jou inherit for ever hereafter,
2. To the Wicked,
I say, you need not be liars, swearers, sabbath-
breakers, adulterers, and the like, to be wicked men.
The world may have " no evil thing to say of you,"
and yet your heart may not be right with God. But,
if you have no claim to the decencies of moral conduct,
if you love sin and live in it, why, then may you most
certainly conclude that it is ill with you. te A tree is
known by its fruits," and if its fruits be corrupt, the
tree must also itself be corrupt, and unless its nature
can be changed, it will be found fit only for the fire.
And is there no wish within you to be changed ?
Wpuld you rather it should continue ill with you ?
There is a reality awful and unfathomable in the "woe"
impending over you. "Why will ye die?" Here
is a fountain for your uncleanness, a robe for your
Phil. i. 25. d 11. Kings ir. 26,
ILL WITH THE WICKED. 57
nakedness, a mercy-seat for jour cries and prayers :
" Why, then, will ye die ?" Oh! "turn you at my
reproof; so iniquity shall not be your ruin." 6 No-
thing is too hard for the Lord. Take with you words
and say, "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned."'
Despair not. Of the once idolatrous, adulterous, co-
vetous, Corinthians it was said, " Ye are washed, ye
are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." g Still by " faith
in this name," and " the renewing of the Holy Ghost,"
may other poor, guilty, and polluted sinners, be justi-
fied, sanctified, and saved. Then flee ye to ft the hope"
here set before you. Seek with your "form" the
" power of godliness." Tremble at that word in Isaiah
v, 21. " Woe unto them that are wise in their own
eyes and prudent in their own conceits !' J It is ill with
you whilst you are proud and self-sufficient. To Christ
every knee must bow, and every tongue confess. Oh!
that ye may become his "willing people" now in the
day of His power: for says He that "lifteth up His
hand to Heaven and saith, 1 live for ever, IF I whet
my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on
judgment, I will render vengeance to. mine enemies
and will reward them that hate me." h
Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Ghost, the Rewarder of Righteousness, and the
Avenger of Wickedness, be glory, dominion, praise, and
power, for ever and ever. Amen.
Ezek. xviii. 30. ' Jer. xxxi. 18. e 1 Cor. vi. 9, 11.
h Deut. xxxii. 41.
DISCOURSE V.
AN APPEAL TO THE HOMILIES OF THE CHURCH.
1 SAMUEL xvi, 7.
The Lord seeth not as Man seeth : for Man looketh on
the outward appearance; but the Lord looketh on
the heart.
WHEN the really orthodox Clergy of our Church
discriminate between motive and action, heart and life,
God's judgment of our character and Man's ; it not
unfrequently excites surprise and provokes disgust. We
are thought to be " setters forth of strange doctrines"
doctrines new, peculiar, and unnecessary. We ap-
peal almost in vain to the Scriptures for the truth of
our declarations them we are said to wrest. In vain
also do we point to the renovated heart and conduct
of our people, as evidencing the beneficial effect of
our ministrations our people are represented to be
I will not say what, but any thing but what they
should be. Now, in such a case, it is pleasing and con-
soling to have it in our power to refer the congregations
committed to our charge to the acknowledged Writings
of the Martyrs, Confessors, and Reformers of the Eng-
AN APPEAL TO THE HOMILIES. 59
glish Church.* Truth suffers nothing by the lapse of
ages : it is, like its Author, " yesterday, to-day, and
for ever the same." If, therefore, our Latimer, Rid-
ley, Cranmer, FJooker, and others, taught and preached
the Tnth as it is in Jesus, and our sentiments strictly
accord with theirs, shall our doctrines be thought new,
strange, peculiar, and unnecessary ? Whether our
sentiments so strictly accord with theirs as we avow
them to do, you yourselves, my Brethren, shall be the
judges. Referring you to the Homilies of our Church,
I purpose from them, FIRST, To gather a brief summary
of Christian Doctrine ; and, SECONDLY, To draw some
obvious Inferences from it.
I. In our Summary of Christian Doctrine
We shall briefly state, in succession, the great and
essential truths of Christianity, gathering as we proceed
some corresponding statements from the Homilies.
And, first, we believe Man to be a totally depraved
and sinful creature quam longissima,a.s far as possible,
gone from original righteousness.
"We have neither faith, charity, hope, patience,
chastity, nor any thing else that good is, but of God :
and, therefore, those virtues be called the fruits of the
Holy Ghost, and not the fruits of Man. Let us then
acknowledge ourselves before God (as indeed we be)
miserable and wretched sinners." "In ourselves, as of
ourselves, we find nothing whereby we may be delivered
from our miserable captivity, into which we were cast,
through the envy of the Devil, by breaking of God's
commandment in our first parent Adam." Again,
" of ourselves, and by ourselves, we are not able either
to think a good thought or to work a good deed ; so
that we can find in ourselves no hope of Salvation, but
* The Author feels happy in recommending these excellent and
invaluable Writings to his reader. Though, sometimes quaint in
expression, they will well repay attentive and repeated perusals.
They have ever constantly been read among the reading part of the
Authoi'* people.
60 AN APPEAL TO THE
rather whatsoever maketh to our destruction."* Can
words say plainer that "Man's nature is wholly per-
verse and corrupt with sin ?"
Consequent on this will be our utter hopelessness and
helplessness. If " Israel hath destroyed himself/' his
hope and help must be found elsewhere than in him-
self.
"We are all become unclean, but we all are not able
to cleanse ourselves, nor to make one another of us
clean. We are all by nature the children of God's
wrath; but we are not able to make ourselves the chil-
dren and inheritors of God's glory. We are sheep that
run astray : but we cannot of our own power come again
to the sheep-fold, so great is our imperfection and
weakness." "In ourselves, therefore, may not we
glory, which, of ourselves are nothing but sinful. " b
Spiritual Influence, hence becomes absolutely ne-
cessary to regenerate the heart and to convert the
soul.
tc As there are three several and sundry Persons in
the Deity ; so have they three several and sundry offices
proper unto each of them : the Father to create ; the
Son to redeem ; the Holy Ghost to sanctify and regene-
rate" " Where the Holy Ghost worketh, there no-
thing is impossible, as may appear by the inward re-
generation and sanctification of Mankind." " The
Holy Ghost is the worker of our sanctification, and
maketh us new men in Christ Jesus. " e " And in read-
ing God's Holy Word, he not always most profiteth
that is most ready in turning of the Book, or saying of
it without the Book ; but he that is most turned into
it, that is most inspired btj the Holy Ghost, most in
his heart and life altered and changed by that thing
which he readeth." " And in another place Chrysos-
tom saith, that man's human and worldly wisdom or
Homily on the misery of mankind. b Ibid.
Hoiuilv fur Whitsunday.
HOMILIES OF THE CHURCH. 61
science is not needful to the understanding of Scrip-
ture, but the revelation of the Holy Ghost, who in-
spireth the true meaning unto them that with humility
and diligence do search therefore. " d Letthese words
he observed, and read in the recollection of the sneers
of the heterodox at Spiritual Influences.
Man being a fallen helpless dependant creature, can-
not, we affirm, merit any part whatever of his salvation.
" Because all men be sinners and offenders against
God, and breakers of his Law and Commandments,
therefore can no man by his own acts, works, and deeds,
(seem they never so good) be justified and .made
righteous before God." " Let us all confess with
mouth and heart that \ve be full of imperfections : let
us know our own works of what imperfection they be ;
and then we shall not stand foolishly and arrogantly
in our own conceits, nor challenge any part of justifica-
tion by our merits or works."" Our desert of no-
thing but " God's wrath and damnation," is univer-
sally apparent in the Homilies.
Man must, therefore, be justified and saved gra-
tuitously. " Every man of necessity is constrained to
seek for another righteousness or justification, to be
received at God's own hands." " This justification
or righteousness which we so receive of God's mercy
and Christ's merits, embraced by faith, is taken, ac-
cepted, and allowed of God, for our perfect and full
justification." God sent his Son to fulfil the Law
for us, and, by shedding of his most precious blood,
to make a sacrifice and satisfaction or (as it may be
called) amends to his Father for our sins." " God
is beneficial to us without our merits or deserts, of his
own mere mcrci/ and tender goodness, for Christ's sake."
*' Justification is not the office of man, but of God."
" He provided a ransom for us, that was, the most pre-
d Exhortation to reading the SS. * Horn, on the misery of mankind.
62 AN APPEAL TO THE
cious body and blood of his own most dear and be-
loved Son, who, BESIDE this ransom, fulfilled the Law
for us perfectly'' "And so the justice of God and
his mercy did embrace together and fulfilled the mys-
tery of our redemption.'"
Bij faith alone are we interested in this redemption.
" Three things go together in our justification: upon
God's part mercy and grace ; upon Christ's part jus-
tice, that is, the satisfaction of God's justice, or the
price of our redemption, by the offering of his body
and the shedding of his blood, with fulfilling of the
Law perfectly and thoroughly ; and upon our part true
and lively faith in the merits of Jesus Christ, which
yet is not ours, but by God's working in us." "A
true and lively faith is the gift of God, and not man's
only work without God." " Not that this om faith
in Christ, which is within us, doth justify us, or de-
serve our justification unto us:" For " our faith in
Chsist, as it were, saith unto us thus : It is not / that
take away your sins, but it is Christ ONLY; to him
only I send you for that purpose ; forsaking therein
all your good virtues, words, thoughts, and works,
and only putting your trust in Christ." " This doc-
trine advanceth and setteth forth the true glory of
Christ, and beateth down the vain glory of man ;" and
" this doctrine whosoever denieth is not to be account-
ed for a Christian man." 8 Mark this. See of what
importance the doctrine of Justification by faith alone
in the merit of Jesus Christ was in the estimation of
our Reformers.
Believers alone are in a state of acceptance and
safety. " Christ is now the righteousness of all that
TRULY do believe in him. He for them paid their ran-
som by his death. He for them fulfilled the Law in
his life. So that now in him and by him, every TRUE
Christian man may be called a ful filler of the Law ;
f Horn, on salvation* s IbirL
HOMILIES OF THE CHURCH. 63
forasmuch as that, which their infirmity lacketb,
Christ's justice hath supplied.'" 1
And vet the completeness of believers in Christ does
not supersede or make void the necessity of personal
holiness. " The true, lively and Christian faith, is no
dead, vain, or unfruitful thing; but a thingof perfect
virtue, of wonderful operation or working, and strength,
bringing forth all good motions and good works."
" St. Augustine saith, good living cannot be separated
from true faith, which worketh by love. St. Chrysos-
tom saith, Faith of itself is full of good works ; as soon
as a man believeth, he shall be garnished with them."
" The first coming unto God is through faith whereby
we be justified, and without it no good works can be
done." " Do not deceive yourselves, therefore, think-
ing that you have faith in God, or that you love God, or
do trust in him, or do fear him, when you live in sin ;
for then your ungodly and sinful life declareth the
contrary, whatever you may think." " Be sure of
your faith ; try it by your living."'
The faith which is not thus operative and influential
is a dead and useless faith. "Faith is taken in Scrip-
ture in two manner of ways There is one faith which
in Scripture is called a dead faith, which bringeth
forth no good works, but is idle, barren, and unfruitful. k
And this faith, by St. .fames, is compared to the faith
of Devils, which believe God to be true and just, and
tremble for fear; yetthey do nothing well but all evil."
"This dead faith therefore is not the sure and substan-
tial faith which saveth sinners." "Those who fancy
themselves to be set at liberty from all good works, and
may live as they list, trifle with God, and deceive them-
selves, it is a manifest token that they be far from hav-
ing the true and lively faith, and also far from know-
ledge what true faith meaneth." k
h Horn, on salvation. Horn, on faith. k Sermon on faith.
64 AN APPEAL TO THE
Hence no wo?*/cs whatever of a Man destitute of a
true and lively faith are really or essentially good.
" Good deeds are not measured by the facts themselves,
and so discerned from vices ; but by the ends and in-
tents for which they are done." " If a man clothe the
naked, feed the hungry, &c. if he does not so in faith
for the honour and glory of God, they be but dead,
vain, and fruitless works to him." fc That work which
comes not of faith is nothing : where the faith of Jesus
Christ, saith St. Augustine, is not the foundation, there
is no good work, what building soever we make.'*
"All the life of them that lack the true Christian faith
is sin, and nothing is good without Him that is the
Author of goodness/' "Faith gives life to the soul
and worth to works : and they be as much dead to
God that lack faith, as they be to the world, whose
bodies lack souls." ; ' Let no man, therefore, reckon
upon his good works before his faith ; whereas faith
was not, good works were not." 1 Be it here remem-
bered, " the Lord seeth not as Man seeth : the Lord
looketh on the heart."
One other point only shall we adduce. Whilst Sal-
vation is exclusively of grace through faith in Christ,
a Mans destruction is entirely of himself. ie Of our-
selves and by ourselves, we have no goodness, help,
nor salvation; but contrariwise, sin, damnation, and
death everlasting." "Of ourselves comethall evil and
damnation." "The sins of our heart do detile our own
selves." And, therefore, if any man perishes under
the means of grace, he perishes not because God has
decreed his reprobation, for " God willeth not the
death of a sinner" but solely on account of the des-
perate wickedness, the prevailing pride, and the con-
demning unbelief of his own heart.
Such is the summary of Christian doctrine which we
gather from the Writings of the Fathers of our
1 Sermon of Good Works.
HOMILIES OF THE CHURCH. 65
Ohurch. These are the great and essential Doctrines
which we teach. If they were necessary in the minis-
trations of our Reformers, they cannot be unnecessary
in ours. If they were " doctrines according to god-
liness" at amj time, they must be so still. If they were
true once, they must be true now. Truth, \ve have
said, is unalterable. Human nature improves not by
generation ; man, must, therefore, in all ages need a
free and unmerited salvation. From the first trans-
gressor that was saved, to the last that shall be saved,
all must be saved alike. " No man cometh unto the
Father but by Jesus Christ." " No man can call
Jesus, 'Lord,' but by the Holy Ghost." " WITH-
OUT faith it is impossible to please God." ee Faith
worketh by love," " and faith WITHOUT works is dead."
And " if any man entereth not into the eternal rest
which remains for the people of God, it is BECAUSE OF
UNBELIEF." Saith not our Church the same ? Then
judge ye who are the truest friends and most faithful
Servants of the Church those who withhold, weaken,
and neglect, the simple peculiarities of the Christian
Faith, or those who humbly, constantly, and practically
inculcate them.
From our foregoing Summary of Doctrine, \ve come
II. To draw some obvious Inferences :
We infer 1. How lamentably mistaken are the
generality of mankind in their judgment of themselves
and of each other.
Do not people generally rest satisfied with the mere
decencies of exterior conduct ? Have they any idea
of their state before God ? Do they not rather plume
themselves with excellencies that cannot possibly be-
long to them ? Like Israel, they are " as a nation that
did righteousness and forsook not the ordinances
of God," and yet need to be " shewn their transgres-
v
66 AN APPEAL TO THE
sions and (heir sins."" 1 Laodicean-Iike, they say " we
are rich and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing ; and know not that they are wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. " n u Out-
ward appearance" is the guide and rule of their judg-
ment. The corruption of human nature the absence
of all Christian Principle the consequent worth-
lessness of all works however profuse or splendid in
\vorldly estimation and, in tine, all the great essen-
tials of spiritual piety, are lost sight of and deemed
things of little or no value. But this is not to "judge
righteous judgment." "The Lord looketh on the heart :"
He " requireth truth in the inward parts," and no-
thing will our favourable opinion of ourselves or of
each other avail us while we are destitute of faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, and unrenewed in the desires
and dispositions of our souls. _7m^may please the eye
of Samuel; but David is the Lord's anointed. We
may infer, therefore
2. How indispensably necessary are the illuminating
influences of the Holy Ghost.
' In writing the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Ghost
is in nothing more diligent than to pull down man's
vain glory and pride, which of all vices is most uni-
versally grafted into all Mankind.' Never shall we
cordially submit to the humiliating doctrines of our
Faith, unless the Eternal Spirit discover to us their
truth in the corresponding propensities of our sinful
nature. Spiritual things can only be spiritually
discerned : " the natural man," therefore, cannot dis-
cern them. Hence many that arrogate to them-
selves membership with the Established Church,
and possibly " despise others," condemn and even
ridicule those statements which are the peculiar
glory of our Church. Let them, however, as Paul
says, become < f illuminated" p and regenerated by the
Isa. Iviii, 1, 2. " Rev. iii, 17. 1 Cor. ii, 14.
P Heb. x, 32.
HOMILIES OF THE CHURCH.
power and grace of the Holy Ghost, and, we can
dare to say, they will see a propriety and an excellence
in our Doctrines, of which they have now no concep?
tion. They will see the glory of the Eternal Three, the
honour of the One Redeemer, the humiliation of Man's
proud heart, the interests of all true Morality, and
the spiritual being and prosperity of the Church it-
self, all involved in them. Every thing would know
its proper rank and place in the System of Christian
orthodoxy. All would be harmonious in its result
and it would be seen that we deemed our ministrations
efficient only just so far as they humbled the Sinner,
exalted the Saviour, and promoted universal holiness.
Hence we infer,
3. How certainly Religion is an inward and a Spiri-
tual thing. It is the work of the Spirit in the heart.
It consists in the exercise of faith, hope, love, fear, and
every passion and affection of the renewed man. We
mean not to decry forms they are useful and admir-
able in their place, and none more so, we believe, than
those of our own Church: But a religion of mere
form is a body without a soul. The depravity of our
nature must \*zfelt : We must feel ourselves helpless
and weak : feel that apart from Christ we can do no-
thing : acknowledge cordially the justice of our con-
demnation in ourselves: gratefully accept what we do
not deserve : believe with the heart unto righteousness :
serve the Lord with gladness : receive grace to help
us in our times of need (and when shall we need it
not?) out of the treasured fulness of Jesus Christ:
watch and pray : be ever zealously affected in a good
cause, and always on the wing of cheerful duty, (like
the Cherubim in the Prophet's Vision, Isa. vi. 2.) to
execute the will and word of our dear Saviour. This is
something above and beyond the formality of Religion.
Principle alone can effect this. And no where will
you see this experience realized but where ' ' The
Truth" is both unhesitatingly, plainly, and fully de-
68 AN APPEAL TO THE HOMILIES.
clared ; and cordially embraced, believed, and prac-
tised. "The LORD looketh on the heart :" " the root
of the matter" will he examine : the works of full h
will he reward : the believer will he welcome to his
joy, and crown with honour : the kingdom of Heaven
js not open to others : do what they will, " their webs
shall not become garments, neither shall they cover
themselves with their works : their works are works
of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.'" 1
Whence, we infer finally and
4. How tmjy must a man " be born again" ere he
can see the kingdom of God.
A change so great must take place in our views,
feelings, desires, every thing, that it is as if we were
born anew with new perceptions and propensities. The
love of self, sin, and the world must be rooted out ;
the love of God, of holiness, and of Heaven must reign.
"All things must become new." We ourselves must
become "new creatures in Christ Jesus." And this
before we can see either the kingdom of God's grace
below, or the brighter kingdom of his glory above. To
this end is the Gospel preached : bythe "incorruptible
seed, which is the word of God, are we begotten
again ;" and when thus "renewed in the spirit of our
mind," we shall no longer quarrel with the humbling
doctrines of our Church, but love them, and deem
most faithful the Ministers who most faithfully dis-
pense them.
* Isa. lix, 6.
DISCOURSE VI.
THE NEW BIRTH.
JOHN iii, 7.
Ye must be born again.
NICODEMUS was " a Ruler of the Jews," that is, one
of the great Council of the Jewish Nation. He ap-
pears to have been a sincere, but timid enquirer after
truth. He probably had heard of Jesus, and of the
many wonderful works which Jesus did. Not satisfied,
however, with hearing of Him, Nicodemus came to
Jesus. Being come to Him, Nicodemus said, "Rabbi,
we know that thou art a teacher come from God ; for
no man could do these miracles which thou doest ex-
cept God be with him." And do you, then, might our
Saviour think, believe me to be a teacher come from
God, and yet come to me by stealth, as afraid to ac-
knowledge the authority by which I teach and act ?
Without noticing the Ruler's very flattering address,
our Lord immediately replied, " Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, except a man be born again, lie cannot seef
the kingdom of God." Unknowing how this could
be, and perhaps doubting the possibility of the thing,
Nicodemus asked, " How can a man be born when be
70 THE NEW BIRTH.
is old ?*' This only led our Lord still more emphati-
cally to say, " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a
man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
the kingdom of God/' Nicodemus marvelled : but
wherefore should he marvel if Jesus Christ had meant
no more than that a man must be initiated into his
Church, either by circumcision or by baptism ? "Mar-
vel not" continues this gracious teacher of enquiring
souls " marvel not that I said unto you, ye must be
born again." 'As a child of Adam your nature is de-
praved ; your understanding is darkened ; your will
perverted ; your memory tenacious only of evil ideas ;
your heart prone to fix on present and earthly things ;
and therefore unless jour powers and faculties are
changed, enlightened, and renewed, it is morally im-
possible for you either to discern the nature or to en-
joy the pleasures of my Father's kingdom. And such
is the change you must experience, that it is as if you
were to be "born again" born into a state of new
and spiritual being, with new views, perceptions, and
propensities. Be not, therefore, surprised when I so
solemnly and repeatedly aver that <e Ye MUST be BORN
AGAIN/"
Now I trust that you also, to whom I speak, are
come as Nicodemus came, to Jesus, to be taught by
him in the truths essentially necessary to your salvation.
You have heard the answer made by Jesus Christ unto
the Jewish Ruler: but, it may be, like him, you are
"wondering in yourselves f: how these things can be/'
Do not, however, marvel as if it were a thing incredi-
ble or unintelligible, when I say to you, as Jesus said
to Nicodemus "Ye must be born again/' Be your
hearts upraised to God for "an unction from the Holy
One," whilst I endeavour simply to shew you from
these words,
I. What the New Birth is,
And II. Whence arises the necessity of it.
THE NEW BIRTH. 71
I am to shew you,
1. What the NEW BIRTH is
What it is will more evidently appear if we say what
it is not. Baptism is not the New Birth. We do
not doubt but some may be regenerated or born anew
in baptism, but we much doubt whether many be so.
Some few we see are piously disposed from their ear-
liest years, and a heavenly bias might have been given
to their mind in and with the ordinance of baptism ;
but, it is undeniably true, that the generality of bap-
tized persons are openly and notoriously wicked
void, totally void, of all gracions disposition and spi-
rituality of mind whatever. Can we call such rege-
nerated or born again ? We would give to baptism
all the solemnity and importance justly due to it, and
we would charitably hope that the child we baptize 'is
regenerate:' but we cannot think 'the outward and
visible sign' must necessarily, in all cases, be accom-
panied with ' the inward and spiritual grace.' It is
truly 'not only a sign of profession and mark of dif-
ference, whereby Christian men are discerned from
others that are not christened, but it is also a SIGN of
regeneration or new birth, whereby, as by an instru-
ment, THEY THAT RECEIVE BAPTISM RIGHTLY are grafted
into the Church.'* It is a sign to those who receive it
rightly, of greater and more substantial good. This
good is obtained ' by virtue of prayer unto God :' but
how faithless, how heartless, how graceless, are the
prayers of the many that usually circle round our bap-
tismal font! We wonder not that those who most
strenuously maintain the notion of baptismal regenera-
tion, are constrained to allow the necessity, in the ge-
nerality of baptized persons, of a 'renovation' subse-
quent to their baptism. Only let this renovation be
inward and spiritual, and not merely outward and
Article xxvii.
7# THE NEW BIRTH.
formal, and all disputes about the New Birth will end*,
We contend not about words, but things. And that
baptism is not the New Birth and that baptized per-
sons are not therefore necessarily born again, your own.
personal experience will best prove to you. Examine
yourselves, and you will soon see whether ' the old
Adam be dead in you/ and 'the new Adam be living
and growing in you ;' whether you really have been
buried with Christ by baptism, and quickened by the
Spirit into new and spiritual life. Remember the
Teacher of our Faith taught, that a man must be born
fr not of water only, but of the Spirit" also. Of
" water" you may have been born : but are you "born
of the Spirit ?" Have you received baptism 'rightly ?'
With " the washing of "regeneration," there must be
" the renewing of the Holy Ghost:" and it is only
where ' the outward sign' has been accompanied or
followed by ' the inward grace/ that any one is really
* dead unto sin and alive unto righ^eousnes* or, from
* being by nature a child of wrath/ really become
' a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor
of the kingdom of Heaven.*
Moreover, no reformation or alteration of the Life
is the new Birth. Many will say ' We must reform
and alter our lives, in order to be born again.' Amend-
ment of life is the effect, not the cause of regeneration.
Man's condition since the Fall is so utterly weak and
helpless, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by
any ability in himself, to faith in the Gospel, orcalling
upon God. The nature of the corrupt tree must be
changed ere it can produce good fruits. Men may
boast themselves indeed of their relationship to God
and call themselves " trees of his planting:" But he
will say, ' f Wherefore, when I looked that ye should
bring forth grapes, brought ye forth wild grapes ?" b
Fruits there may be fair and honourable in human
* Isa. v, 4.
THE NF.VV BIRTH. 73
view ; on these man may look ; and he can look no fur-
ther ; but " the LORD (be it remembered) looketh on
the heart :" and before him, a reformation or an alte-
ration of the life cannot possibly supersede a conver-
sion of the soul.
Further, a profession of Religion is not the new
Birth. To a sober, honest, industrious life, may be
added an observance of the Sabbath ; attendance at
Church ; giving alms ; partaking of the Communion ;
and, in short, every thing that constitutes a religious
profession; and yetall this may exist \vhere there is no
participation of the Holy Ghost, c no spiritual discern-
ment,' 1 no joy in God, e no freedom from the bondage
of corruption and the fear of man/ no cordial delight
in the Law/ no zeal for works really good, 11 no any
thing that marks the character of a child of grace and
an heir of glory. What was Nicodemus ? A professor
and a teacher of religion; one that entertained fa-
vourable thoughts of Christ (which many an one
called Christian does not) and came to him for in-
struction : and yet to him, and in him to us, did our
Redeemer say, " YE must be born again." And
what was Simon?' A man convinced of sin, appre-
hensive of danger, (something more than many a pro-
fessor amongst us ever felt), admitted by baptism into
the visible Church of Christ, desirous to receive the
Holy Ghost, and yet with all his pretences to godli-
ness, and notwithstanding his baptism itself, most
plainly told that he was " in the gall of bitterness and
the bond of iniquity."
If, then, neither Baptism, nor Reformation of Life,
nora Profession of Religion, be the New Birth, what is
it ? I will tell you what it is : It is a supernatural, an
internal, an universal, a sensible, and a visible change.
Heb. v?, 4. d 1 Cor. ii, 14. e Rom. v, 11.
( 2 Cor. iii,17. Rom.vii, 22. ll Gal. iv, 18.
' Acts viii.
74 THE NEW BIRTH.
It is a supernatural change. We mean by ' super-
natural' that which is above the power of Nature to
effect. As man cannot create so neither can he re-
create himself. The New Birth, therefore, can only bo
effected by the power of God. " Who/' asks the Pa-
triarch Job, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an
unclean ? Not one" is his positive and decisive an-
swer. 11 "Can," asks the prophet Jeremiah, "Can the
Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots?"
Assuming that they cannot, the Prophet anssvers, "So
no more can ye do good that have been accustomed to
do evil." 1 And, says a greater than Jeremiah or Job,
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh" and would
be so however repeatedly born, nor could it possibly
possess other than fleshly or carnal propensities. In
truth, mankind can no more quicke^themselves into
new and spiritual life, than the buried dead can, of
themselves, burst the bands of Death asunder, vacate
their graves, and resume the businesses and cares of
mortal life. In wickedness were we shapen; in sin
conceived; and in us, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth no
good thing. If so, then it follows, "No man hath
quickened his own soul." u And if no man hath quick-
ened, no man can quicken his own soul. It must, there-
fore, be by a supernatural power that any persons are
born again. And so it is written, " It is the Spirit that
quickeneth ; thejlesh profiteth nothing." Spiritual
life is a thing which, as our Church acknowledges, by
nature we cannot have. It is " of the Spirit" as the
Divine and Gracious Agent, and by the Wordas the ap-
pointed means that we are "begotten again. " p The
Spirit works at various times and in various ways as,
and how, and where, " he listeth:" but He is thealone
Regenerator, and the regeneration he effects is univer-
sally a supernatural change.
k Ch. sir, 4. i Cb. xiii, 23. m Ps. 51, 5. Rom. YU, 18.
Ps. 22, 30. o John vi, 63. v 1 Pet. i, 22, 23.
THE NEW BIRTH. 75
It is, too, an internal change. This remark we have
anticipated by saying that no reformation or alteration
of the Life, is the New Birth. We cannot, however,
too particularly insist on the doctrine of an inward
and a spiritual change. Turn to Ezekiel xxxvi, and
26, and you will find God promises us "a new heart
and a new spirit ;" and which new heart and spirit He
will " put within us." And again he says in verse 27,
" I will put MY spirit within you, and causeyou to walk
in my way." Now this was said well nigh 600 )ears
before the Son of God became incarnate, and yet Jesus
Christ preaches and perpetuates the doctrine of a change
of heart and spirit. The word commonly used in
Greek for 'repentance' implies a change of the affec-
tions and dispositions. Paul says, "with the heart a
man believeth unto righteousness." 9 "It is in the heart
the love of God is shed abroad by the Holy Ghost/
Peace, too, rules in the heart of the regenerate. 8 We
are wont to beseech God to f cleanse the thoughts of
our heart,' and that 'we may daily be renewed in the
spirit of our mind.' All which expressions shew that
the New Birth is an internal thing, and that to be really
born again we must be internally changed. As by
generation "the heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked/'* so by regeneration it must be-
come the seat of all piety and truth/ Few, indeed,
think thus. Often do we hear it said 'Practice is every
thing: so that a man's life be good, it little matters
what he believes or thinks.' But, ve say, *' Whatso-
ever is not of faith is sin ;" w and whatsoever proceeds
not from a gracious and spiritual principle, is any
thing but pleasing or acceptable to God.* We must
be "born orthe Spirit" to &? spiritually minded: and
without this spiritual and internal change, no outward
duties will constitute a regenerated character.
<i Rom. x, 10. r Rom.v, 5. Col. iii, 15.
* Jer. xvii, 9. v Ps. 5F, 10. Rom. xiv. 23.
* Art. 13.
7(5 THE NEW BIRTH.
But, I said, the New Birth was an nnherftaJ change.
If the corruption of human nature be deep and uni-
versal, (and who that believes the Bible can doubt its
depth and universality?) our regeneration must be
equally deep and universal. "From all your filthi-
ness and from al/ your idols, will I cleanse you/' is a
gracious God's recorded promise. y Our Prayer is
'perfectly to love Him and worthily to magnify His
holy name.' Now, " the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanseth us from all sin," and on whomsoever it is
" sprinkled, it purgeth the conscience from dead
works ;" z whilst the Holy Spirit, as a hallowing fire,
sanctifies and renews all the powers of the pardoned
and accepted sinner.* We say all the ppwers ; for
where this change takes place, the understanding is
enlightened, the will is subdued, the disposition newly
biassed, the imagination purified, selfishness expelled,
the heart humbled, and, as the unfailing consequence
of all the life reformed. Regenerating grace assimi-
lates man's nature to God's nature, man's will to God's
will, man's mind to God's mind. b In short, we are
" transformed by the renewing of our mind," c trans-
figured* as was Jesus in the holy Mount : we catch
somewhat of his radiancy, and " put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness. " d Surely then where " old things are thus
passed away and all things become new," the change
must be great and universal.
And can this change take place, and the subject of
it remain unconscious of his spiritual birth ? No: it
is a sensible change. The persons in whom it is
wrought are, in general, as sensible of it as of their
* So the word ** transformed" reads in the original.
y Exek. xxxvi, 25. Heb. ix, 14. 1 Pet, i, 2. Heb. x, 22
k 2 Pet. i, 34. Eph. vi, 7. 1 Pet. iv. 1. Rom. xii, 2,
* Eph. iv, 24.
THE NEW BIRTH. 77
existence. I say, in general, because I believe that
some are drawn so easily and gently by the Father,
through the Spirit, to the Son/ that they know not
how or when their minds have been wrought upon :
whereas, commonly, sinners are roused from their death-
ful slumbers by alarm and terror " cut (as were those
under Peter's Ministry. Acts ii. 37 ) to the heart"
constrained to cry for mercy from an agonising sensi-
bility of sin humbled deeply before the Lord and
led to see that but for sovereign favour through the
blood of Christ, they should deservedly be condemned
for ever. Whether "the fire" or "the earthquake" or
"the small still voice," f produce it, conviction of sin is
the same, and discovers the same needs-be for the blood
and righteousness of Jesus Christ, in all true penitents.
When these, in their richness and sufficiency, are per-
ceived,thegraciousness of God will be tasted; 8 the sweet-
ness of his mercy will be felt ; h a principle of spiritual
life will be perceived ; the sincere milk of the word will
be desired ; self will become nothing, the Saviour all
in all ; the formality of religion will be lost in its
power ; the world will appear to be what it really is
while God is not loved in it a passing phantom ; its
good will now be really and thankfully enjoyed, and
beyond it will " glory, honour, immortality, and eter-
nal life" brighten on the believing view oif the truly
converted soul. Can all this take place, we again de-
mand, and the subject of the change be uncon-
scious of it ? Let us suppose some captive wretch to
be brought out of
" Dungeon horrors, darkness and stench,
\\hvre he had lain the worm's inferior :"
place him on some fair eminence where above him
stretch the heavens in azure brilliancy, and around and
Joh yi, 44. 1 Kings xix, 12. * 1 Pet. ii, 3.
h Ps. J00, 21.
78 THE NEW BIRTH.
far beyond his ken the works of nature spread in rich
and beautiful variety: will no gladness thrill through
his recently dejected bosom ? will no trace remain in
memory's "records of his former wretchedness? will
nothing assure him of his deliverance from it ? Most
certainly there will : and as certainly may a child of
God " look to the rock whence he was hewn, and to
the hole of the pit whence he was digged/' 1 and adore
most sensibly the gracious Agent of his deliverance
from it. " A spirit of adoption" will assure him of
his safety and lead him to "joy in the Lord and to
rejoice in the God of his salvation." Some will say,
1 our affections or feelings have nothing to do with
our religion :' they truly have nothing to do with
the religion of those who say so : but the sorrows and
the pains of remorse ; the peace which passeth under-
standing; the hope which maketh not ashamed; hun-
ger and thirst after righteousness ; patience in tribu-
lation are all things to be experienced, perceived,
and//if; and therefore the New Birth must neces-
sarily be if not in its commencement, at least, in its
effects, a sensible change.
And now we are brought, finally, to say, that the New
Birth is a visible change. Demureness of countenance
or peculiarity of dress, is, we believe, no index of the
heart. But where this change is mercifully wrought,
anger, pride, malice, envy, falsehood, disappear ;
and humility, meekness, love, truth, kind and forbear-
ing gentleness, become apparent. As with the wind
which bloweth where it listeth, we hear the sound
thereof, but cannot tell whence it cometh or whither
it goeth ; so is it with every one that is born of the
Spirit. We see the effects of the mighty wind or the
gentler breeze; though we know not the mode of
their operation : In like manner do we witness the re-
ality of spiritual influences, in the effects which they
5 Isa. li, 1.
THE NEW BIRTH. 79
produce. A man's New Birth is evident to himself.
He loves, affects, desires, and seeks spiritual things ;
whereas, he once did not, but felt utterly averse to
them and was ignorant of their intrinsic excellence.
It is evident to others. If one from the remotest cor-
ner of the globe, that had experienced a similar change,
should meet him, there would be a congeniality of
taste and feeling between them. They would meet
each other as brethren. The unregenerate, too,
though they feel at a loss to account for it, observe the
change : They see the drunkard become sober, the
swearer fearing an oath. They marvel, indeed, to see
these things: and because they are themselves con-
demned by the altered conduct of their friend or neigh*
bour, they jnust needs, therefore, to screen and excuse
themselves, *' cast out his name as evil," and say no
matter what, even if it be, " Thou hast a devil and
art mad." k Thus visible, however, is the change
which God the Holy Ghost effects in every true mem-
ber of the Redeemer's holy and Catholic Church.
" For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth
any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a NEW CREATURE;" 1
and <f if any man BE in Christ, he is a new creature ;" m
and has experienced that supernatural, internal, uni-
versal, sensible, and visible CHANGE without which, it
is the declaration of "the Truth" itself, a man can nei-
ther see nor enter the kingdom of God.
Such, then, Beloved, is the New Birth whether you
may have heard it called Regeneration, Renovation, or
any thing else : It comes in the end to this, "ye must
be born again."
I am now to show you
II. Whence arises the NECESSITY of it :
The Necessity of the new birth could easily be shewn
k John x, 20. i Gal. vi, 15. 2 Cor. v, 17.
THE XliW BIRTH.
from many passages of Holy Writ : but without de-
parting from the words of our text, you hear the Lord
Jesus Christ declare "Ye MUST be born again."
Now this necessity arises
] . From the character of Him who declares it ;
And 2. From the New Birth's being absolutely ne-
cessary in order both to our present and eternal hap-
piness.
Consider 1. The character of Him who declares
it. Jesus Christ was with the Father " as one brought
up with him," and everlastingly " his delight."" Jesus
Christ had " a glory" indescribable and unutterable
" with the Father before the World was." " By him
were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that
are in Earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all
things were created by him and for him." 1 ' When
one world fell from its allegiance to its Maker, and
became the apostate and rebellious province of his
great empire, Jesus Christ came personally to re-
claim its miserable people, to expiate, by his own
voluntary sufferings and death, the guilt of their apos-
tacy and rebellion, to dissipate by his instruction their
moral and spiritual darkness, and to be himself the
Exemplar of all he taught mankind. As " a Teacher
come from God," did Nicodemus acknowledge him,
and in this acknowledged character, did Jesus Christ
declare, " Ye must be born again." Circumcision,
(and therefore no other mere initiatory rite) He could
not mean by being born again ; for Nicodemus was al-
ready circumcised, and was by circumcision already
initiated into the Jewish Church ; and yet our Lord
solemnly and repeatedly insists on the Necessity of a
new and spiritual birth. Now, can it be supposed (and
with reverence be it spoken) that Jesus Christ would
teach or preach a lie ? Can it be supposed that he
Prov.viii, 23-30. John xvii, 5. P Col. i, 16.
THE NEW BIRTtf.
Would say what he did not mean ? Did he say ee ye
must be born again," and is there no necessity for our
being " renewed in the spirit of our mind ?" Depend
upon it, as surely as Jesus Christ said " Ye must be
born again," so surely must we be supernaturally, in-
ternally, universally, sensibly, and visibly changed.
Call the New Birth what you please : Believe your-
selves, if you please, to have been born again in your
Baptism ; yet must there be a very great change of
heart experienced, before you can possibly be the true
disciples of Christ, or " set to your seal that his Testi-
mony is true." Born again we must be, or the doc-
trine of Jesus Christ will be proved unnecessary and
delusive : Born again we must be, or be excluded for
ever from the presence of the Lord and from the
glory of his power. " Heaven and Earth may pass
away, but his Word shall not pass away :" " Every
tittle of it shall be fulfilled ;" and we may see the Ne-
cessity of the New Birth from the character of Him
who declares it.
But we may see it (2) From its being absolutely
necessary both to our present and eternal happiness. It
is absolutely necessary to our present happiness. Peo-
ple may pretend to be happy in an unrenewed state,
but really to be so is impossible. The carnal mind,
(that is, the mind unchanged in its affections and de-
sires) is enmity against God, q and whilst that enmity
against God remains, there can be no satisfaction or
enjoyment. "Who will shew us any good ?" is Na-
ture's cry, and from natural principle, all men affect
happiness: but "the light of God's countenance"
alone imparts it, and this it is not the property of na-
ture to affect or value. If earthly riches, worldly
wisdom, or sensual delights, could ever have made a
human being happy, Solomon would have been the
happy man : yet, lo ! this is the vtry man that cries,
v Rom. vHi, 7.
G
82 THE NEW BIRTH.
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." 1 Nor is he singu-
lar in this respect. The unregenerate of 'every age
are constrained to allow, that the world in which we
sojourn is, with all its glory, an unsatisfying, a poor,
and empty thing, without a hope beyond it. This
strongly indicates the necessity of an inward change.
To be inwardly serene amidst outward tumults to be
resigned and cheerful amidst the sorrows, the priva-
tions, and disappointments of life, we must be born
again. And where the new-creating energy of the
Holy Ghost hath " begotten us again unto a lively
hope/' what a different scene of things appears! Be-
fore we wandered in ways erroneous and dangerous :
now we walk in ways of pleasantness and paths of
peace. Before we " hated God/' and " would none
of Him," now we love him, and can say with satisfying
gladness, "The Lord is my portion : whom have I in
Heaven but Thee, and there is none upon earth 1 de-
sire in comparison of Thee." Before we " saw no
form or comeliness" in Jesus Christ: now He is our
"Beloved," and " the Altogether Lovely." Before,
it may be, we could impiously and scornfully mock
the subject of spiritual influences on the human mind;
now our '' Comforter" is " the Holy Ghost," and " we
are not ignorant of Satan's devices." Before we could
(as we believed) reconcile the services and the interests
of ""two Masters;" now we renounce " Mammon,"
and " cleave with purpose of heart to the Lord." Be-
fore "a. name to live" contented us; now we are
"alhe." Before the pleasures of sense were all agree-
able to us ; now those of a purer, nobler, and more
ennobling kind are preferable.** Before Religion was
a gloomy, melancholy thing ; now it is the " one thing
needful" and to sit at the feet of Jesus, and to hear
His word, is "the very joy and rejoicing of our heart."
Thus does " the Spirit witness with our spirits, that
1 Ecc. i, 2.
THR NEW BIRTH. 83
we are the children of God ;" s and the children of God
need scarcely to be told that "the blessing- of the Lord,
it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it."*
And if the New Birth be thus absolutely necessary
to our present, it is no less absolutely necessary to our
eternal happiness. So absolutely necessary is it that
there is no entering Heaven without it. The necessity
of the New Birth arises from the very nature of things.
Supposing it possible for an unconverted man to enter
the kingdom of God, he could not be happy there-
it would be NO Heaven to him. The company, the
employments, the pleasures, the converse, of the place
would be all offensive to him would be all at variance
with his feelings, dispositions, and wants. Would
you see this proved to demonstration? Bring a
worldly, wicked man into a company of serious, godly
people : let them maintain a ee conversation according
to the Gospel of Christ" let them read His Word,
shew forth His praises, and supplicate His mercies.
What would the man whom we have supposititiously
brought among them enjoy of it all? Why, nothing
whatever, and it would be felt as a deliverance from
thraldom to be free from his associates. Then let this
man die : let Him, if it be possible, enter Heaven in
an unregenerate state: what would he do there? how
could he join in the higher praises, and the sublimer
worship of the heavenly world? Would the visible
glory of the Eternal God, or the society of unfallen
angels, or redeemed souls, delight him? No! and
why? Because his nature bears no resemblance to
their's, and his taste savours not spiritual things.
Heaven itself, then, would be a " strange place," and
a place void of felicity to one not " born from above."
But how is it with the spiritually minded man the
"new creature in Christ Jesus" the child of adopting
and regenerating grace, in the world of glory? Is it a
Roir. viii, 10. * Prov. x, 22.
84: THE NEW BIRTH.
"strange place" to him? Oh ! no: it is the land of
his nativity: it is to him a "place beautiful for situa-
tion/' and equally beautiful with its situation is its
society, its converse, its worship, its every thing.
Having passed the waves of this troublesome world,
the Christian gains " the haven where he would be."'*
He does but change his dwelling place not his work
or pleasure. There is indeed this difference, before
he saw " through a glass darkly, now he sees face to
face to face ;" before he communed with an unseen
Saviour, and worshipped with the Church in its mili-
tant and preparatory state; now he enjoys the immedi-
ate vision of his Lord, and worships with the Church
triumphant. Grace is ripened into Glory. The grapes
of Eschol are forgotten in the abundance of Canaan:
the beginnings of happiness are lost in its consumma-
tion. As he that is not " born of the Spirit" cannot
enter into the kingdom of God, so to him that is born
of the Spirit, " an abundant entrance shall therein be
ministered." We, therefore, conclude, that the New
Birth is absolutely necessary both to our present and
eternal happiness.
I have now shewn you, and I hope simply, what tire
New Birth is, and whence arises the necessity of it. A
few words of ADVICE shall close this discourse.
I advise you, then, Beloved, solemnly to enquire
whether you be, in the Scriptural and obvious import
of the expression, born again or not Enquire, I pray
you, into this matter. Seek a practical assurance rather
than a groundless notion of your spiritual birth. Evi-
dence the Word of God affords you, and by it you
may come to some certain knowledge, to some satis-
factory conclusion, relative to your state and hopes.
Do not too surely conclude that because you are bap-
tized that you must therefore necessarily be born again.
It is written-*-nOt He that is baptized' but ' ( He
v Pr. 10-7, 30
THE NEW BIRTH. 85
that is BORN OF GOD, overcometh the world.'"" Now,
what is the world to you ? Is it as an object crucified
and dead to your affections and desires ? Have you
overcome alike its smiles and frowns? Allowing you
have not overcome them, are you in the way to over-
come them ? Again it is written not * He that is
baptized' but " He that is BORN OF Gon, doth not,
cannot, commit sin." 11 Now, how is it with you ? Is
sin, in its every form and kind, odious to you ? Do
you "shrink from it as from the face of a Serpent ?
Cannot you willingly commit it ? Is it the one
" abominable thing" which you " hate" both in your-
selves and others ? Do you mourn in bitterness of
spirit for the woes whichyour suffering Surety endured
for sin ? Again it is written not f Whoso is bap-
tized' but " Whoso heareth and hath learned of the
Father cometh unto Christ. " y Came ye ever unto
Christ ? Come ye to him daily and continually ? Re-
ceive ye ee out of his fulness grace upon grace ?" If
not, can you have "heard and learned of the Father ?"
Finally (for the time would fail us to quote the many
Scriptures which bear upon our subject) it is written
not ' The fruit of baptism' but " The fruit of THE
SPIRIT is lore, Joy, peace, long suffering, meekness, gen-
tleness, faith, &c. x Do these fruits severally and to-
gether grow in your hearts? Do they evidence " that
mind to be in you which was also in Christ Jesus ?"
Enquire, I again beseech you. He was " not a Jew
who was one only outwardly :" Can he be a Christian
that is one only outwardly ? Circumcision ^fofited
little when it was only "outward in the flesh :" Can
Baptism profit more without " a death unto Sin and
a New Birth unto righteousness ?" If, then, that
Birth be a supernatural change, do not fancy you can
renew yourselves: cry rather with David, "Create in me
a clean heart, O GOD, and renew a right spirit within
* 1 John v, 4. * 1 John iii, 9, * John vi, 45. . Gal. v, 22,
86 THE NEW BIRTH.
me." a If it be an internal change, do not conceive
that any mere amendment of the life will suffice. The
axe must be laid to the root of the corrupt tree, and not
merely some of its branches felled. If it be an universal
change, no favourite idol must be retained, no besetting
sin be spared, no one virtue of the new man despised :
"Behold, saith the Lord, I create all things new." 6 If it
be a sensible change, see to it that your acquaintance
with the Truth be not merely of a notional or a
theoretical, but, of an experimental and an influential
kind. If it be a visible change, and "the light of
Life" hath dawned upon you, and made you u chil-
dren of the Light and of the Day," then be your whole
deportment radiant with candour, generosity, truth,
and love. c While though " favour be shewed to the
wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness, and even
in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and
will not behold the majesty of the Lord ;" d let " our
Gospel come to you not in word ONLY, but ALSO in pow-
er, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much, assurance."*
Then shall you ft rejoice in that your names are writ-
ten in Heaven." " Ministering spirits" whom the
pains of your repentance gladdened, shall safely con-
duct you through Death's shadowy vale, and beyond
it in a world of sinless cloudless blessedness shall your
immortal souls "reign in life" with your all-glorious
Creator., Saviour, and Regenerator, for ever and ever.
Ps. 51, 10, b Rev,xxi, 5. c Matt, v, 16.
* Isa. xxvi, 10 e IThess,), 5
DISCOURSE VII.
EZEKIEL'S VISION OF THE DRY BONES.
EZEKIEL xxxvii, 1 10.
And the hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me
out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the
midst of the -alley which was full of bones. And
caused me to pass by them roundabout; and t -behold
there were very many in the open valley, and lo ! they
were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can
these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou
knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these
bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the
word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord God unto
these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter in-
to you, and ye shall live : And I will lay sinews upon
you, and will bring upjlesh upon you, undue shall live ;
and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophe-
sied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there
was a noise t and behold a shaking, and the bones came
together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo !
the sinews and thejftesh came up upon them ; and the
skin covered them above : but there was no breath
in them. Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the
wind ; prophesy, Son of man, and say to the wind,
Thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds t
88 EZEKIEL'S VISION
O Breath, and breathe upon these slain, thai they may
live. So I prophesied, as he commanded me, and the
breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up
upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
I PURPOSE a familiar exposition of this portion of
Holy Scripture. It is singularly beautiful and strik-
ing : and though written at a particular period, and on
a special occasion, it is doubtless written for ^ our ad-
monition" and instruction. While we approve not of
far-fetched and unnatural deductions from the Word
of God, we yet believe ourselves at liberty, with humi-
lity and modesty, to gather instructions from every
part of the Sacred Volume, and to appropriate to our
use whatever "holy men of old spake" or wrote "by
the Holy Ghost." This we deem of importance to be
remarked, because an appropriation of our text to
other and various things, will subsequently be per-
ceived, which could not, of course, be contemplated
by Ezekiel when he penned it. Our remarks, however,
will be those of an obvious and a simple kind ; and in
the stead of any formal arrangement of our matter, we
shall notice the several incidents narrated in our text
as they follow each other in succession.
" The hand of the Lord was upon me,'* says the
Prophet,, "and carried me out in the Spirit of the
Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which
was full of bones." [n various ways was Jehovah wont
to reveal his will to his servants. Visibly did he ap-
pear to Adam a and to Abraham : k with the latter " He
talked asa man talkethto his friend." By an audible
voice he spake to Moses, and to Samuel also. d " In
dreams and visions of the night" he spake to many.
To Daniel and to Peter he thus spake. 6 Paul appears
Gen. iii, 8 u Gen.xviii, 22. Exod, iii, 4
.* 1 Sam, iii, 10 e .Da,,. v ii, 13 Acts x, 17
ur THE DRY BONES. 89
to have been in a kind of rapturous ecstacy when the
Gospel was revealed to him.' John was " in the Spi-
rit," that is, was under the full and powerful influ-
ence of the Holy Ghost, and in himself most spiritually
and devoutly disposed, when " the revelations of Je-
sus Christ" were vouchsafed to him. 5 In like man-
ner was Ezekiel " carried out by the hand of Jehovah,
in the Spirit*' to " the valley of vision," and by the
Spirit's powerful operation on his mind, he was ena-
bled to discern the present degradation of his people, the
means of their regeneration, and their eventual resto-
ration to favour, to honour, and to glory. In none of
these ways does the Lord speak to us. No new reve-
lations of his will are to be expected. His word con-
tains his mind, and there we are to search for it. The
ordinary operations of the Spirit we may, indeed, de-
sire and pray for. These ARE necessary, and without
them it is impossiple for us to discern spiritual things. 11
Here, then, let us beseech " the good hand of the
Lord upon us, and beg him by his Spirit to "guide us
into all Truth."
We notice now a certain valley. This valley is des-
cribed as an " open valley," which we may suppose
to mean a widely extended plain. When Ezekiel pro-
phesied, the Jews were captives in Babylon. Baby-
lon was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and is be-
lieved to have been situated in a large and beautiful
plain. It was by the waters of Babylon Judah's cap-
tives sat and wept when they remembered Zion.' Hither
was the Prophet in vision brought, and in the midst of
this valley did the hand of the Lord set him down.
We need not, however, confine our view to the valley
of Judah's captivity and Ezekiel's vision : we may sup-
pose the valley here described to be the world itself in
which we sojourn : It may in our supposition include
pvery part of the habitable globe, and be bounded only
' 2 Cor. xii, 2 z Rev, i, JO * 1 Cor. ii, 14
* Ps. 137, 1
90 EZEKIEL'S VISION
by the ends of the earth : Our world is a valley of
mourning : often are our harps suspended on the wil-
lows : We are "strangers in a strange place;" and
be situated wheresoever we may, " the valley of the
shadow of death" k stretches boundlessly before us.
Here we are " set ;" and from noticing the valley, we
proceed to notice
The bones scattered over it. These are in number
" many/' " very many/' and in condition " dry/'
"very dry." The bones which Ezekiel saw were
" the whole house of Israel." So fallen, so depressed,
so sorrowful, were they, at this time, that to nothing
could the Holy Spirit compare them, as more aptly
indicative of their state, than to " bones," " very dry"
bones. Contemplate a bone : it has no life : it lies
inert and motionless : its moisture wastes : its sub-
stance perishes. Such was Israel's state. Nor is this
state peculiar to Israel : mankind generally and uni-
versally over all the earth are the same by nature. We
are all in bondage ; we are all oppressed and sorrow-
ful. " From the crown of our head to the sole of our
foot, there is no soundness in us." "Our strength is
dried up." " The multitude of our bones are scatter-
ed at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and
cleaveth wood upon the earth:" 1 and scattered are
they at the grave's mouth in great and profuse abun-
dance. It is calculated that there exist a thousand
millions of human beings. Must we not, then, allow
that there are "very many in the world's wide valley ?"
And what is the spiritual condition of these millions
of human beings ? Of the thousand millions, six
hundred millions are said to be heathens : many mil-
lions are Mahornedans ; some millions are Jews, and
other millions, again, are " worshippers of the beast/' m
and followers of ' ' the Man of Sin." n Of the reraain-
f*H
* Ps. 23 4 i Ps. 141-7 Rev.xiii, 3, 12
" 2 Thess. ii, 3
OF THE DRY BONES. 91
ing millions that bear a Christian name, how few do
we find to be likeminded with Christ ! Are not, then,
the bones of our valley "dry," "very dry?" We
may contract our survey: We need not look abroad
over the world's wide valley : we need only look at
home and over the little spot on which we dwell, and
we shall see many dry, very dry bones about us. In
Egypt, an exceeding great and bitter cry was heard
when the first born of every family was slain : Is
there not many a family in our land where not one of
all its members is spiritually alive ? Are we ourselves
alive ? Are our " bones made fat," and " our souls"
rich and luxuriant " as a watered garden ?" Rather,
are not many of us as dead to God and to the things
of Eternity, as the buried bones of our departed friends
are dead to the world and to the things of Time ?
God, however, in infinite mercy, condescends to notice
us : From His high and lofty dwelling-place, he looks
inquiringly down and says, " CAN these dry bones live ?"
Let us consider this inquiry. The people of Israel
and Judah had lost their existence as a nation : they
were " a people cast out, trodden down, scattered and
peeled." Many of them were indifferent to their
situation, forgetful of the land of their fathers ; un-
mindful of their former glory, and not solicitous to
regain it. " Can they then live ?" saith the Lord to
his servant. The inquiry is to try the faith, <o exer-
cise the hope, and to awaken the desire of Ezekiel. A
Minister of God needs trials to fit him for his office.
Perhaps there are few or none whom the Holy Ghost
moves to take the ministerial office on them but who
are fitted for it by trials of faith, struggles with sin,
and "fightings" with the great enemy of Christ and
his Church. Certainly trials make our Ministry the
more efficient and teach us more sensibly to " weep
with them that weep." It is no little pain to us to
witness the state of our people. We see among them
92 EZEKIEL'S VISION
many "dead in trespasses and sins ;" others with less
consideration than the ox or the ass, p and so altoge-
ther earthly and sensual that they " may well be com-
pared to the beasts which perish. " q We see no desire
in many to come out of Babylon, to regain the gran-
deur of their former greatness/ and to repossess the
Canaan of blissful holiness. We have " continual
sorrow and heaviness in our heart" for them, and
when amidst the fruitlessness of our labours for them
we are asked " Can they live 5 " we can only reply to
the inquiry, as the Prophet did " O Lord God y thou
knowest"
This answer let us notice. God had said to Moses,
" I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me : I
kill, and ! make alive, I wound, and I heal." 8 Eze-
kiel, therefore, had ground whereon, amidst manifold
discouragements, to stay the foot of faith, and to be-
lieve that what was " impossible with Man was pos-
sible with God." Nor have we less ground for faith
in the power of God than Ezekiel had. We are sure
that God could " even of these stones raise up Chil-
dren unto Abraham." To the inquiry, Can they live ?
" we have the answer (marginal reading) of Death in
ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in
God who raiseth the dead.' %i Even such " dry bones"
as we can live when the Lord God wills and commands
it. For our people, too, we look, amidst all our tribu-
lations on their behalf, to our Saviour-God, and "in
the bowels of Jesus Christ, we long" for the commence-
ment of light, and life, and liberty in their souls.
" Wilt thou not, we say, turn again and revive us that
thy people may rejoice in thee?" v " Lord, what wilt
thou have us to do ?"" Shall thine Israel never be re-
deemed ? Shall the years of their mourning know no
Eph. ii, 1. P Isaiah i, 3. o Ps. 49-20.
Gen. xi, 31. Deut. xxxii, 39. l 2 Cor. i, 9r
* Ps. 85-6. * Actsix, 6.
OF THE DRV BONES. $3
close ? Thou knowest they can live, and even " be
born in a day" when Thou pleasest : "Oh! let us
live, and we shall glorify thy Name." Graciously does
the Lord direct the labours of his servant, " Prophesy
upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones,
hear the Word of the Lord."
This direction respecting the bones is very observ-
able. The) were dry, very dry, and yet Ezekiel was
directed to " prophesy upon them." They were to be
addressed as if they possessed sensibility and life : " O
ye dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord." This very
plainly intimates that sinners sinners in whom we can
discern nothing but " a carnal mind" and its insepara-
ble " enmity against God," are to be addressed in our
ministrations of the Word. If mankind be void, ge-
nerally, of spiritual life or perception, it is the fault
and corruption of their nature. And however faulty
and corrupt that nature is, man must still be account-
able for the deeds done in it. If our " bones say not,
Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor
from him that is too strong for him/' w it is simply be-
cause we cry not, " Heal me, O Lord, for my bones
are vexed ;"* and we cry not, simply because we have
no disposition to accept the humbling salvation of the
Gospel. In like manner do many " stop their ears
and harden their hearts" against the preached Word.
Preach, however, we must " upon" the dry bones of
our vallies. ' We preach not to sinners/ say some :
they are ambassadors to the elect, as they pretend :
but Ezekiel, Peter, Paul; and John, all were com-
missioned to "rebuke" as well as to "exhort"
to preach the needs be for penitence in sinners as well
as faith in the elect. A greater than them all preached
repentance/ and still by his Word " God command-
eth all men every where to repent." 1 If we be not to
w Ps. 35, -10. Ps. 6-2. J Mark t, XT
* Ads xvii, 30.
94 EZEKIEL'S VISION
preach to sinners, I wonder who we are to preach to:
for the world, alas! is " full" of them, and alas! also,
they be " very dry." Is it said, " There is a remnant
according to the election of grace ?" A Very true;
there undoubtedly is, and " the Lord knoweth them
that are his:" but since we do not, we must proclaim
" peace as well to them that are afar off, as to them
that are nigh." We must come to the Baby Ion of igno-
rance, unbelief, and sin come to the vale of vision,
and say to the dryest bones we meet with there, "O
ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." " Whe-
ther they will hear, or whether they will forbear" our
commission is the same. Our duty plainly is to
" preach the Word ; to be instant in season and out
of season." We shall be "a sweet savour unto God
both in them that believe and in them that perish ;"*
and though our heart may feel a pang of grief for those
to whom " our Gospel comes in word only," yet are
we encouraged to " prophecy upon them" by the
sweet assurance that, " The hour cometh and now is
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God,
and they that hear shall live." c " Thus saith the Lord
God unto these bones ; Behold, / will cause breath
to enter into you, and ye shall live : and / will lay
sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you,
and cover you with skin, and put breath in you,
and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the
Lord." (See text.) And (t is any thing too hard for
the Lord ?" " Hath he said, and shall he not do it?"
" Hath he spoken, and shall he not bring it to pass ?"
Israel shall live when it pleases Israel's God. "Thy
dead men shall live, together with my dead body (say*
He that was dead and is alive again and liveth for
evermore) shall they arise :" d and, quickened into new
and spiritual being, we poor " dust and ashes" shall
Rom. xi, 5. > 2 Cor. ii, 15. John v, 25.
d Isaiah xs.vi, 19.
OF THE DRY BONES. 95
become " members of a Saviour's flesh and of his
bones." e The great end and design, too, of the Mi-
nistry may be here observed. God could quicken and
regenerate whom He would without man's instru-
mentality or word : but he is pleased to put honour
on his gospel, and to make its Ministers vessels of
mercy and instruments of good to their fellows,
" Thus saith the Lord' is the ministerial watch-word ;
and "the word of the Lord," through the Spirit's
agency, becomes the mighty means of turning man-
kind " from darkness to light and from the power of
Satan unto God." Hence we read, "of his own will
begat he us with the word of truth ;" that is of God's
will as the source of our regeneration, are we born
again by means of the word of truth. " f " Quick and
powerful" is his word when the Holy Ghost falls on
them that hear it. K And in the believing hope that it
will ever prove itself to be " the sword of the Spirit,''
we say to one and all of you, " O ye dry bones, hear
the Word of the Lord :" " Hear and your souls shall
live." Dry ye may be, very dry ; but unless ye might
" have life," God would never have commanded his
word to be preached unto you. 11
Such was the direction given to Ezekiel. Mark
now his observance of it. *' So I prophesied, says he,
as I was commanded." How or in what manner the
dry bones should hear the word of the Lord, did not
trouble Ezekiel. God commanded him to prophesy ;
that was enough : it was for him, without, for a mo-
ment, questioning the wisdom or the propriety or the
utility of the command, to do as he was commanded.
And he did so. And happy is the Minister who, like
the Prophet, can truly say, " So I prophesied AS I was
commanded!" Few, we fear, could do as we find in
Acts xx. 27. Paul did appeal to their hearers and say,
Eph. v, 30. f James i, 18. * Acts x, 44.
h J oh u v, 40.
96 EZEKIEt'S VISION
" I take you to record this day that I am pure front
the blood of all men : for I have not shunned to
declare unto you ALL the counsel of God." It is
only, however, by a faithful declaration of God's
counsel that we can be " pure from the blood of
all men." As we are commanded, so must we
speak. The watchman of the house of Israel must
hear the word at God's mouth, and warn them
from him. 1 And he that hath his word, must de-
clare it faithfully. k The truth which may be least
acceptable, and most opposed to the habits and pur-
suits of our hearers, must we as faithfully declare as
that which is the more agreeable. Human systems
must not warp our judgment, or induce a thought con-
trary to God's Word. Ignorance must be exposed :
Sin must be reproved : Pride must be detected : Self
must be humbled: Christian principle inculcated:
the obedience of faith required. And truly privileged
is that people, who, in their Minister, possess a man
devoted first to the Lord, and then to them, and whose
one sole aim it is, as much as in him lieth, to teach his
people "the good and the right way," and to "save
their souls alive." Such an one shall not labour for
nought and in vain. The will and purpose of God
shall be accomplished, and his " Word shall not re-
turn unto him void."
This will appear in the effect which Ezekiel's pro-
phesying produced. " So," says he, " I prophesied as I
was commanded, and as I prophesied there was a
noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came toge-
ther, bone to its bone. And when I beheld, lo ! the sinews
and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered
them above : but there was no breath in them." '*As
he prophesied" this effect was produced. Bone met
its kindred bone. A trembling apprehension pervaded
them. The whole multitude of bones were chastened
' Exek. in, 17. k Jer. xxiii, 2P.
OF THE DRY BONES. 97
as with pain' and shook by alarm. Flesh and sinews
came upon them and skin covered them above. The
form and fashion of a Man appeared but still there
was no breath to animate the newly organized body.
An effect similar exactly to this may be produced un-
der the ministry of the Gospel. As we preach, im-
pressions may be made ; convictions may be felt ; a
" noise and a shaking" may be heard amongst the dry
bones ; sinners, before careless and unconcerned, may
begin to enquire ; bone may meet its kindred bone ;
knowledge may increase, and profession follow it, and
i/cf no breath may animate the whole. Often do vte
see all the parts of a religious profession almost perfect
and entire : but, on closer scrutiny we find there is no
real sensibility or life. We might suppose a man lying
in yonder field to be only asleep ; when we come to
him we may find him dead. So, many have "a. Name
to live, that are really dead." Many are convinced
that are never converted Many are brought out of
darkness into light, that are not turned from Satan
unto God. ra "A spirit of bondage" may be endured,
where " a spirit of adoption" is never enjoyed. A way
may "seem right unto a man" that does but "seem"
so, and "the end of which is death. 3 " 1 The prophet
saw the bones of the valley brought together and re-
organized ; but there was still no breath in them. In
like manner may we see our people congregated, and
"theyi;vw of godliness" assumed, but no vitality may
be felt no "power'' of godliness experienced. This
the Lord knows, and therefore condescends still further
to direct his servant's labours.
T \\i\s further direction now calls for our attention.
" Prophecy unto the wind, prophecy, son of man, and
say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; come from
the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain
that they may live." Human eloquence, combined
with human effort, may effect somewhat of a moral
1 Job. xxxiii, 19 AoU xxvi, 18 Pror. xiv,|12
II
9& ; EZEKIEL'S VISION
change in a people; but it is not, as we have seen, even
in an Ezekiel's power to impart life to the soul. Hence
was he directed to beseech a breath to come from the
four winds, and breathe upon the slain of Israel that
they might live. Here we observe that " breath," or
"wind," is in Scripture frequently significant of the
Holy Ghost. It is somewhere said, " By the Word of
the Lord were the Heavens made, and all the host of
them by the breath of his mouth r" that is, Jehovah,
the Word, and the eternal Spirit, by their individual
and united energy, created the Heavens and their
host. In John Tii, 8, the Spirit's agency is com-
pared to the wind which bloweth where it listeth,
We are told also, that before our Lord reassumed
his glory, he "breathed" onhis disciples ; p indicating,
doubtless, thereby, that they should receive a por-
tion of that Spirit which was given without mea-
sure unto him, and thus be animated with the breath
of a Spiritual and Heavenly existence. On the day
of Penticost, the Spirit, as "the Spirit of promise,'" 1
came upon the infant Church of the Redeemer
te like a rushing mighty wind," filling the house
wherein they were assembled with his influence, and
the hearts of the Redeemer's followers with joy and
gladness/ Still is this celestial breath necessary to
give vigour to our word and life to our souls. The
word alone and of itself quickens not : for then all our
hearers would be "alive unto God." Nor does the
morality or the wisdom of man give power and unc-
tion to our word : for then would not the most moral
and the wisest be the first to receive the truth ?
whereas they are usually the last. 8 ' Unless the Spirit
be with the heart of the hearer, the Word of the
teacher is barren. Let no man attribute to the teacher
what he understands from his mouth ; for, unless there
' Ps. 33, G. P John xx, 22. q John xv, 26. Eph. i, 1&
Acts ii, 2,46. * Matt, xxi, 31, 32.
OF THE DRY BONES. 9
be an internal teacher, the tongue of the external one
labours in vain. Why is there such a difference in the
sensations of hearers, all hearing the same words? It
is to be ascribed to this special teaching. John him-
self, in his Epistle, teaches the same; 'the anointing
teacheth you of all things.'* This is "the unction"
which alone can give vitality to the soul and reality to
religion. Bones there may be ; sinews, flesh, and skin :
but only God the Holy Ghost can infuse a principle of
animation and existence. ' His presence is living and
powerful; it awakens the slumbering soul : it moves,
softens, wounds, and heals the hard, stony, and distem-
pered heart. It waters the dry places, illumineg*the
dark, inflames the cold, makes the crooked straight,
and the rough ways plain"/ This, be it observed, is no
doctrine of human devising: "Tnus SAITH THE LORD
GOD." It is the LORD GOD who teaches the necessity
ofspiritual influence: it isthe LORD GOB who bids his
servant say, " Come from the four winds. O breath,
and breathe upon these slain that they may live." Let
none, then, fear to call upon "the Lord the Spirit,'*
as if it were derogatory to the Father's glory, or to the
Saviour's honour, to pray to the Hot// Ghost. The
Church of England directly and repeatedly addresses
the Spirit in prayer, and therefore surely fault cannot
justly be found with those of her Ministers who im-
plore his aid, and pray him to make his word effectual
to the regeneration and salvation of their people.
'Though we know not whence he comes or whither
he goes though we feel not his entrance or his exit,
yet,J}-om the motion of our heart, we understand that
he is present.' And since the Holy Ghost is given to
be "ever" with the Saviour's Church, and must ever,
till the time of the restitution of all things, " be the
* Quoted by J. Milner, in his History of the Church of Christ, vol.
I'M, from the Homilies of the Fi ret Gregory. See also in the same
vo'. page 406, a very beautiful extract from Bernards 74th sermon.
100 EZEKIEI/S VISTO\
Spirit of Promise/' how should we be stimulated to
pray for his new-creating influences! how importu-
nately should we cry, Come, O Breath ! how should
we " put Jehovah in remembrance" of his own com-
mand, and pray him, by his omnipresent, all-pervading*,
and eternal Spirit, to breathe upon our slain that they
may live!
To this, I hope, we shall feel encouraged when we
notice the result of Ezekiel's labours. ' ' So I pro-
phesied, says he, as he commanded me, and the Breath
came into them, and -they lived, and stood up upon
their feet, an exceeding great army/' Wonderful re-
sult of Ministerial labour this! But why should we
call it wonderful? Cannot he who first formed man
of the dust, and breathed into him the breath of life,
easily cause him to live anew ? The prophet's hope of
Israel's restoration was now confirmed. In vision he
already saw them freed from their bondage, and re-
stored again to existence as a nation. Their harps were
resumed. The Lord's song was sung not now in a
strange land. Zion once more reared her drooping
head, and the Lord had a people in Israel. And do
we not see the same or similar effects resulting from the
same cause amongst ourselves? Where " the word
comes in the Holy Ghost and with power," are not the
dead revived? Again do " the lame walk and the blind
receive their sight ; the dead are raised," and immortal
souls are saved. r l he Spirit broods over the universal
void, and reduces all things to order, harmony, and
beauty. 1 c From the expulsion of vices, and the sup-
pression of carnal affections, we perceive the strength
of his power: from the discernment and the conviction
of the very intents of our heart, we may admire the
depth of his wisdom : from some little improvement
in our temper and conduct, we experience the good-
ness of his grace: from the renovation of our inward
1 Gen i, 2. original.
OF THE DRY BONES. 1 01
man, we may perceive the comeliness of his beauty :
and from the joint contemplation of all these things,
\ve should tremble at his majestic greatness.' "Trem-
bling rnay at first make our bones to shake ;" v our
bones may be waxen old or even consumed ; w but when
the Lord brings us up out of our grave, (as he promised to
bring his Israel, Ezek. xxxvii, J3,) we greatly, nobly,
live: life assumes a reality unfelt before: we remain
no longer "strangers and aliens," but become "fel-
low-citizens with the saints and of the household of
God." The joys and sorrows, the hopes and fears, the
temptations and consolations of the Lord's people be-
come familiar to us. We triumph in Christ, our "resur-
rection and our life." We "stand (raised up upon
our feet by the Spirit which raised Jesus our Lord from
the dead) fast in the liberty" wherewith we have been
freed. In duty, we feel a liveliness we never felt be-
fore. Our feet move with cheerful willingness obedient
to the will of God. Our baptismal vows cease to be
unmeaning sound. Gladly do we perceive the banner
of love" to wave over us : putting on "the whole ar-
mour of God," gladly do we swell the ranks of the ar-
mies of the true Israel, and gladly now would we
*' spend and be spent" in the service of a crucified Je-
sus. Such is the effect resulting from the Spirit's in-
fluence on the mind of sinful man ! such the delight-
ful consequence of ministerial labour when wrought
"not with the enticing words of man's wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power !"
We have now noticed the several things narrated in
our text the valley ; the bones scattered so abundant-
ly over it; the Lord's inquiry respecting them; the
prophet's answer to it; the direction given him how
to act ; his observance of it ; a. further direction ; and
the result of all his labours ; and I would, in closing,
only SAY,
v, 14 w Sain, xxxi, 10, xxxii, 3 * Cant, ii, 4
102 EZEKIEL'S VISION OF THE DRY BONES.
See here a picture of jour natural state, and the
means whereby alone your state can be bettered and
improved. Ye are morally and spiritually dead
'* dry, very dry." Quicken yourselves ye cannot " No
man hath quickened his own soul/' The Lord God
and his Spirit alone can re-organize and exalt to their
proper and legitimate use your powers and faculties.
Heworksby/ttewzs means he hath devised that his ba-
nished ones be not for ever expelled from him. y " Faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. " z
Then, " O ye dry bones, HEAR the Word of the Lord."
Attend with diligence the ministration of it. A Mi-
nister (as one once said) may pray at home, but he
cannot preach at home. Beware how ye neglect the
preaching of the Word. And while we " prophecy
upon you," join us when we cry, "Come, O Breath !"
Only observe what a continual reference there is in all
our services to the Holy Spirit's agency. Beware of
the glaring (I had almost said, the stupid) incon-
sistency of such as boast of their membership with us,
and yet dare to treat our mention of the Spirit's agency
with contempt. Be ye consistent. Mean your prayers
as well as say them. So will the Lord revive us. In
his own good time will he raise us up, and we shall live
in his sight. We shall come to the Mount Zion with,
singing; everlasting joy shall be upon our head ; we
shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourn-
ing shall flee away.
y 2 Sam. xiv, 14. * Rom. x, 17.
DISCOURSE VIII.
FAITH AND UNBELIEF IN THE SON OF GOD ; WITH
THEl# CONSEQUENCES,
JOHN Hi, 36.
He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life : and
he that believeth not the Son. shall not see life : but*
/ *
the wrath of God abideth on him.
THE separation of the soul from the body is temporal
death ; the approach of which is usually marked by fail-
ure of strength, painful .weariness, increasing debility :
the separation of both body and soul from the Divine
favour and influence in this world is spiritual death ;
the usual symptoms of which are, ignorance of God,
contempt of his Word, worldliness of mind, careless-
ness about the soul and the soul's salvation : the sepa-
ration of the whole man from the Divine presence and
glory in the world to come is eternal death; the ills of
which, we believe, are, hope destroyed, despair pos-
sessed, desire insatiable that can never be gratified, a
sensibility of sin that proves a poisonous arrow in the
very heart of existence, woe unutterable and irremedi-
able. Hence, you sec, there are three kinds of death
temporal) spiritual t and eternal. To all these kinds of
death, Adam and all his descendants in him became
104: FAITH AND UNBELIEF
liable by eating the forbidden fruit. " By one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and .vo death
passed upon all men, for all have sinned.'" 1 Whether
but for sin, we should have died at all, or been subject
to any kind of death, we can hardly say ; probably, I
think, not: for, together with " the Tree of the know-
ledge of Good and Evil," there grew in the midst of
the garden " the Tree of Life," the fruit of which,
when Man was fallen, was guarded, "lest he should
put forth his hand, and take also of the Tree of Life,
and eat and live for ever." b Besides, the threatened
penalty of transgression was death : " in the day tliou
eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." The bodily
life, indeed, of Man was spared ; he did not immedi-
ately return to the dust from whence he was taken :
but Man died spiritually, and in the very day he ate
of the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, the symp-
toms of spiritual death were at once perceivable in
apostate Adam. He shunned his Creator's presence ;
a shame unfelt before suffused his countenance; a dis-
position to extenuate the sinfulness of sin and to exon-
erate self, prevailed within him; impiously did he re-
flect upon his kind and beneficent Creator relative to
Eve as if she had not. been " an help meet for him"-
all which proves how truly Adam had ceased to be
"alive unto God." Die he did spiritually, and die eter-
nally he would have done but for ' ' the seed" in whom
himself and all the families of the earth should be
blessed. And " in Adam all die," d The portrait of
)iis every son and daughter may be seen in Ezekiel xvi,
and Romans 1. We have no wish to aggravate the
evils of fallen human nature or disgustingly to pourtray
them ; but from the records of inspiration it appears
too surely true that "Man is very far, if not rather #,9
far as possible, gone from original righteousness, and
v, 12 > (Gen. iii, 22 * Gen. ii, 17 J 1 Cor. v, 22
IN THE SON OF GOD. 105
is, of his own nature, corrupt and inclined to evil ;"*
" alienated from the life of God," and ' dead in tres-
passes and sins." f Now, in such a case, if the high and
lofty One should deign at all to notice us, it would be,
we might reasonably have supposed, "to appoint us
unto wrath," and to give us up a prey to ' the bitter
pains of eternal death:' but, no! (and here "behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon
us," how free, how rich, how merciful !) " God hath
wo/appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through
our Lord Jesus Christ." 8 Satan, the thief, came to
kill and to destroy: Jesus came that we might have
life, and hate it in a richer and a more abundant mea-
sure than ever life was possessed or enjoyed by man
before. 11 Hence the life we lost in Adarn is restored
in Christ : and now " He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."
In these words we see both the happy consequence
of believing on the Son of God, and the unhappy con-
sequence of not believing on him.
Let us consider
I. The happy consequence of believing on the Son of
God,
And what is the happy consequence of believing on
the Son of God ? It is " Life, everlasting life" to
the believing soul. " As in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive."' Here our Lord Jesus
Christ is presented to us in a point of view in which, I
conceive, we too seldom consider him ; namely, as the
Head or Representative of his people. That he is our
federal Head, in whom we are represented, is clear
from Rom. v. 18. 19. and from all those various Scrip-
Art. ' Eph.ii, 1-amliv, 18 s 1 Thess. v, 9
h John x, 10 j 1 Cor. xv, 22
106 FAITH AND UNBELIEF
tures which speak of our being " circumcised in Christ;"
" crucified in him ;" "(buried with him ;" "risen with
him;" IC found in him ;" "accepted in him;" and
"seated in Heavenly places with him." This we can
only be but as as being represented in him, and as be-
ing 1 also interested in him by a true and lively faith.
Wh it Adam was, we were ; what he did, we did.
What Christ is, believers are, and their's is the plen-
teous redemption that is with him. * He is the God
which of his own mercy saveth us, and setteth out his
charity and exceeding love towards us, in that of his
own voluntary goodness ; when we were perished, he
saved us, and provided an everlasting kingdom for us.' k
" The first man was of the earth, earthy ; the second
man is of the Lord from Heaven. As we have borne
the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image
of the Heavenly." 1 Adam we may call our death :
Opposed to him ; Christ is " our life." " God
hath given to his Son to have life in himself," n and as
having life in himself he is " the head" of all influence
and the source of all spiritual existence to his people.
We " through grace believe" in him. p Faith inter-
ests us in Jesus. The believer's union with him is of
a vital influential kind : and " he that belie veth on
the Son hath life" hath life in his Redeemer, in him-
se^f, i Promise, and in prospect. He hath life in his
Redeemer : " God hath given to us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son." q God gave us life in Adam ;
this we lost : He-gave us life again, and to secure the
gift to his believing children, He gave it not di-
rectly to us, but to us in his Son. Hence is Christ
'the life of them that believe, and the resurrection from
the dead.' The believer, too, has life in himself. Once
he was as dead as others that are still buried in the
k Homily on Mis. of Mank. 1 1 Cor. xv, 47-49
m Col.iii, 4 John v, 25 Col. i, 18
v Acts xv, 11 q Uohnv,ll.
IN THE SON OF GOD. 107
cares and businesses and pleasures of the world : now
he lives. The Spirit of the Lord hath breathed upon
him. He has heard the voice of the Son of God. He
is alive from the dead. He feels other desires than he
once felt : enjoys other things than he once enjoyed.
He now no longer lives or wishes to live without God
in the world. He becomes concerned for his own soul
and for the souls of others. Frequent and earnest en-
quiries about " the way, and the truth, and the life"
stir within him. The followers of Jesus are in his
judgment " the excellent of the earth." To them
his "goodness extendeth." With them he "takes
sweet counsel." The life he now lives in the flesh is by
faith upon the Son of God. He is a lively branch in
the living vine, a lively stone in the living Temple/
This life is both derived from Jesus Christ, and main-
tained by faith in him. The believer's resources are
not in or from himself: te His fresh springs" are in his
Lord, and " out of his fulness do we all receive." Such
an one hath, moreover, life in promise. " He that be-
lieveth shall be saved.'' 8 "I give/' says the Good Shep-
herd, " unto my sheep, eternal life, and they shall never
perish/' 1 And again, " Whosoever liveth and be-
lieveth on me shall never die," v " Exceeding great and
precious promises" are these to the believer. They
are (C the rod and staff" of his mind whilst passing
through the wilderness to Canaan. Amidst his con-
flicts and his failures, the pulse of his spiritual life
sometimes beats feebly : the promise of life, continued
and increasing life, by Jesus Christ, supports him.
Sweeter sound than music knows dwells in the Word,
" He that believeth shall not come into condemna-
tion. " w Cannot He who kindles the spark of spiritual
life, keep it alive even amidst an ocean of natural cor-
ruption ? Shall the promise of a faithful God be
r John xv, 1-1 Pet. ii, 4-5 Mark xvi, 16
1 John x, 26 r John xi,26 w John v, 24
108 FAITH AND UNBELIEF
otherwise than faithful ? Truly, " the mountains shall
depart, and the hills be removed : but my kindness, O
believer, shall not depart from thee, neither shall the
Covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that
hath mercy on thee." x And if so, may \ve not with
propriety say, the believer hath life in prospect ? Yes :
" he that belicveth on the Son hath everlasting life."
In a Paradise, fairer and more beautiful than that of
Eden, will the believer live : and live, not ag he may
do now, a period of three or four score years, but
through everlasting ages ; and not, as now, compassed
with infirmity, oppressed with care, and liable to tem-
poral disease and death, but free, fully and entirely
free, from sin, and therefore fully and entirely free
from sorrow, suffering, pain, and death. All the felici-
ties of a world of glory will he enjoy. Because his
Redeemer lives, he shall live also, yea, and shall live
on with him for ever. The every known, conceivable,
or possible good of the Redeemer's everlasting king-
dom will form the everlasting heritage of the redeem-
ed. Death will be " swallowed up in victory." Death
temporal, death spiritual, death eternal, there shall be
no more. 7 The Grave itself shall te spoiled of its
possessions Every " friend*' of Jesus " shall rise
again." At his bidding " the Earth shall cast out
her dead and shall no more cover her slain." The soul
of the believer, purified and exalted in all her powers
and faculties, shall re-occupy her once sinful, frail, and
perishable, but now re-organized and glorified tene-
ment, and in the immediate vision of her Lord shall
live for ever.
Such will be the happy consequence of believing in
the Son of God.
Let us now consider
II. The unhappy consequence of not believing on him.
Our text tell us and a most solemn declaration it
* Jsu liv, 10 y Rev xxi 4
IX THE SON OF GOD. 109
is <e lie. that bdir-ccth not the Son, ahull not sec life ;
but the icraf/i of God abidcth on hint." Here it is im-
plied, that an unbeliever is spiritually dead ; and con-
tinuing in an unbelieving state, it is declared that he
shall not see life. All those Scriptures which speak of
our being " quickened," " born again," " begotten
anew," and the like, imply a state of previous death.
This slate characterizes every man by Nature : and it
is only by the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit
that anv are raised from the death of sin unto the life of
/
righteousness. There is no impossibility opposing our
becoming acquainted with our state. " Judge your
own selves." Which do you affect most, Self or God ?
Which do you prefer, God's glory or your own ?
Whose will do you choose most readily to do, the
Lord's or your own? Which are dearest to you, the
interests and connexions of Time, or those of Eternity ?
With whom is your sweetest communion held, with
your Saviour or another ? Whose Plan of Salvation
is most congenial to your wishes, the Almighty's or
your own ? When feel you the most lively, when con-
versant with things seen and temporal, or with things
not seen, asyet,and eternal? Judge ye : for where aMan
affects self, and is gratified with human praise; does his
own pleasure without regard to the will and word of
God ; is careful only about what he shall eat and what
he shall drink, and wherewithal he shall be clothed;
knows nothing of communion with Christ ; quarrels
with the holy humbling salvation of the Gospel, and
minds earthly things to the neglect of heavenly that
Man most certainly sits in darkness, and dwells in the
region of the shadow of death. Between him and one
naturally dead, there is a near resemblance. Bring
one naturally dead into the splendour of noon-day
brighlness ; he perceives not its light nor feels its
warmth : offer him the most fragrant odours ; he has
no capacity to enjoy their fragrancy : tend to his" ac-
110 FAITH AND UNBELIEF
ceptance gifts of the most rare and costly kind ; lie
accepts them not : and why ? simply because he is
dead, and therefore has no eye to see, no faculty to
smell, no hand to receive. And now bring one spirit-
ually dead into "the light of the glorious Gospel of
God ;" he neither sees nor feels it. Jesus is come a
Light into the World is risen as the sun of righteous-
ness in our moral and intellectual heaven, andyet men
love darkness rather than light, and that because their
nature and its deeds are evil. Tell the unregenerate
sinner of that " Name which is as ointment poured
forth ;" nothing of all you say will cheer, revive, and
comfort him. Offer him " durable riches and right-
eousness" the joys of faith and the rewards of grace;
he will have no hand, no heart, to accept them : and
why? simply because he is dead and has no gracious
taste, no spiritual discernment. 2 Nor has any one who
is destitute of the Spirit of Christ this gracious taste
and spiritual discernment. People may have " a name
to live/' but " a name to live" is not life. They may
nominally be in Christ and so far be Christian, but un-
less they be really and practically united to him, they
are none other than false and fruitless branches in the
true and living vine. Whilst a Man has no life in
himself, we cannot say that he has life in the Son of
God : In promise, certainly, there is no life for an un-
believer, and therefore there can be none in prospect.
Life we had in the first Adam, and that we lost: Life
we may have in the second Adam, who is the Lord from
heaven, and in no other whatever. There is no third
Adam in whom we may have life. He, then, that be-
lieveth not the Son, does not, cannot, 'shall not, (says
the Baptist) see life. The Holy Spirit (as a Master in
our Israel justly remarks) is the animating Soul of that
Body of which Jesus Christ is the exalted head.
Where his influence is unfelt, there must be death, and
z 1 Cor ii, 14, and Eph iv, 17-19
IN THE SON OF GOD. Ill
where this death prevails, " the wrath of God abid-
eth :" it is the breath of the blast of His displeasure
which scours the land of spiritual desolation. The
wrath of God, it is said, abideth on the unbeliever ;
now to abide it must be already on him. Shall we,
then, be thought uncharitable or needlessly severe, if
we say, " Pie that believe th not is condemned already !" a
Shall we be deemed your enemies because we tell you
the truth? If wesay " God is angry with the wicked
every day ;" saith not the Scripture this? b Solemn as
is the fact, " the vrath of God" is upon every unrege-
rate sinner. And though this expression applies, per-
haps, primarily to those Jews who refused to
acknowledge their Messiah in our Jesus, and to
those Gentiles who despised and rejected him ; yet is
it equally applicable to all persons in all ages who
" believe not on the Son of God." He alone that
hath the Son hath life, he that hath not the Son hath
not life: but the wrath of a holy and a justly offended
God lieth on him. " Destruction and misery are in
his ways, and the way of peace he knows not. ' Af-
fecting " the honour which cometh of man," he has
in it his reward. Walking by sight, invisible realities
he perceives not. In love with self, he loves not the
Lord. Self-complacent, he sees not the glory of a free
salvation. Alive only to this world, he does but live
in it to treasure up for himself wrath in another.
"Wrath awaits him, and death in its threefold form-
its temporal pains, its spiritual maladies, and its eter-
nal horrors, must he suffer. The " shall not" of our
text is irreversible, and such will be the unhappy con-
sequence of not believing on the Son of God.
And are these things so? Then SEE
1 . What is the great and condemning sin of the world.
It is not murder; it is not theft; it is not lying, pcr-
/ * Johu iii, 13 Ps 7-1 1
112 FAITH AND UNBELIEF
jury, blasphemy, or sabbath-breaking ; it is not one or
all of these things together: it is a sin comprehending
all other sins it is UNBELIEF. A man may be no mur-
derer, no thief, no liar, no blasphemer, no sabbath-
breaker ; and yet he may not believe on the Son of
God, and, consequently, be exposed to that terrific sen-
tence, " He that believeth not shall be damned. " c If a
man truly believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, he will
love him : and if any man, says Paul, love him not, let
him be Anathema Mar an- atha, that is, accursed. A These
are truly strong expressions: but they were dictated by
One too wise to err and too good to deceive. In Rev.
xxi, 8, we find " the unbelieving" classed with " mur-
derers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolators, and liars;"
and these together (it is declared) " shall have their
portion in the lake which burnetli with fire and brim-
stone." Awful doom ! but no less just than awful.
For unbelief makes the God of truth a liar, and sets at
nought his counsel ; tramples on a Saviour's blood,
aod scorns his sorrows, woes, and death ; does despite
to the Spirit of grace; counts vain the piety and visi-
onary the hope of the believer ; countenances and en-
courages the wickedness of the worldly and presump-
tuous sinner; bars up, in short, the everlasting doors
of Heaven, and wide unfolds the gates of the infernal
prison. Unbelief is the grief of Heaven and the joy
(if aught like joy be there) of Hell. And yet how
few, comparatively, believe on the Son of God ! 4t is,
we know, too common to conclude that most or all who
name the Name of Christ are believers: but " all men
have not faith:" had they, it would endear to them the
Saviour, and be influential on their heart and life.
\Vere it possible for us to prove that our Jesus never
existed, and that his Gospel was tf a cunningly-devised
fable," no alteration either in the sentiments or the
c Mark xvi, 16 * 1 Cor xvi, 22
IN THE SON OF GOD. H3
conduct of the generality of his professed followers
would ensue : a decisive evidence in favour of our po-
sition that unbelief is the great and condemning sin of
the world. And should the public feachers of religion
fee silent en this momentous topic ? and least of all
the teachers of a Church which so accurately and re-
peatedly insists upon the subject ?* With the courage
and intrepidity of the Baptist should we solemnly de-
clare; " He that believeth not the Son, shall not see
life ; but the wrath of God abidcth on him."
But see
2. What really is the Faith of the Believer. 'The
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (I quote the words of one
before alluded to) quickens the dead in sin : thus
they are made alive to God, and by this uniting cause
and agent they become spiritually one with Christ' and
live by his life. " Of him are we in Christ," and by
him faith is wrought in our heart, and by faith we ap-
propriate Jesus to our use as " made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sancti6catiou, and redemption." This
faith is carefully to be distinguished from the dead in-
operative faith which prevails in the world, and which
James describes in the second chapter of his General
Epistle. It is wrought in the heart tf of, or rather
by, the operation of God " It is lively, vigorous,
and influential " moved/' as our Reformers say,
through continual assistance of the Holy Spirit, to
serve and please God, to keep his favour, to fear his
displeasure, to continue his obedient children, shew-
ing thankfulness again by observing or keeping his
Commandments, and that freely, for true love chiefly,
and not for dread of punishment or love of temporal
reward, considering how clearly, without our deserv-
* See our XVIII and XXIX Article*.
1
11* FAITH AND UNBELIEF
ings, we have received his mercy and pardon freely."
The Son of God is the one great object of our faith :
The just, or justified, live by faith upon him. Like St.
Paul, the believer '"dies daily" to self, the world, and
sin ; and lives increasingly unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. "The soul that has this lively faith,
will be always doing some good work, which shall de-
clare it to be living, and will not be unoccupied."
" Our trust is in God's mercy through Jesus Christ,
and we have a stedfast hope of all good things to be
received through him." * The truths of revelation
we cordially receive, not merely as frue, but as holy,
jusf, suitable, and valuable:' we love them ; delight in
them; live upon them. Christ is our "ALL:" "all
things we count loss" for him: take him from us, and
you extinguish the sun of our system, you destroy the
very source and centre of all our blessedness. " We
have life through his Name," and "though now we
see him not, yet believing in him, we rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory." We never truly lived,
till we were quickened by the power of God : f and the
life we now live in the flesh, we live by faith on Him
who loved us and gave himself for us. Such' is the
language of the true and really Christian Believer, and
from it you may see how totally different is the faith of
one "alive unto God through Jesus Christ" from that
cold, heartless, and uninfluential assent of the many to
the Truth of Scripture.*
And now see, 3, Who alone are secure from the Di-
vine displeasure. And who are they ? Let me ask,
who alone were secure when " the windows of Heaven
were opened, and the fountains of the great deep were
* The reader is particularly desired to read our Homily on Faith*
i Eph. ii, 1.
IN THE SON OF GOD. 115
broken up," and a deluge of water covered the highest
hills and mountains of the Earth? You know that
only Noah and those who were with him in the Ark
were secure. And who of all mankind shall be secure
in " the day of the revelation of the righteous judg-
ment of God?" the day when "the Heavens shall
pass away with a great, noise, when the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, and the earth with all that is
therein shall be burned up?" Who? my brethren:
Why, those only that are found in Christ those only
who believe with their heart on the Son of God. This
we could prove to you from many Scriptures, but let
one, in addition to our text, suffice: Turn to Acts iv,
10 12, and you will read, "By the Name of Jesus
Christ even by him, may we be saved : Neither is
there Salvation in any other : for there is none other
Name under Heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved." Settle it, therefore, in your minds,
and be it a matter of undoubted certainty with you,
that unbelief in Christ will subject and expose the un-
believer to the wrath of God, and that those only will
be screened from righteous retribution who believe on
the Son and are alive in him.
But see, 4, and finally, How we may escape that
zi'rath. The Lord shut Noah in the Ark : the Lord
shuts us up in Christ. 5 Christ is " the Refuge from
the storm" " the Hope set before us :" To this let
us flee, and in him we shall dwell safely. But you
have no faith, you fear, and you cannot believe: Well,
only cry, " Lord I would believe, help thou my unbe-
lief" and the Lord will not despise )our cry. "Call
upon me," is his command; "and thou shalt praise
me," he adds, to encourage your so doing. Faith is
his gift ; h " ask and ye shall receive." 1 The sword
Gen. vii, 16. Gal. iii, 23. h Eph. ii, 8.
' Matt, vii, 7.
116 FAITH AND UNBELIEF IN THE SON OF GOD,
which pierced your Lord shall not awake against you. 1
If ye do truly desire to " flee from the wrath to come,"
" the Spirit which raised up Jesus our Lord from the
.dead,, hath quickened you ;" life ye already have in its
beginnings, and life everlasting shall ye have by faith
ion the Son of God.
> Zech. xiii. 7,
DISCOURSE IX.
THE BELIEVERS REFUGE.
_
PHILLIPPIANS iii, 8 and 9.
That I may win Christ and be found in
THERE is scarcely one of the Inspired Writers but
may truly say with Hosea, <l I have used similitudes."
Similitudes or figures of every varied kind, they
use in their illustrations of things spiritual and hea-
venly. If the Canaan of Promise be described as "the
glory of all lands" and as " flowing with milk and
honey," it affords a resemblance, however faint, of that
"better country" to which Abraham and his believing
seed had "respect," and where flow "rivers of plea-
sures for evermore." If the Lord of that better coun-
try be compared to " the Sun shining in his strength;"
it is because He is ' the Sun and centre of all minds'
the source of light and life and glory to both his un-
fallen and redeemed creatures. If the Church, either
militant or triumphant, be likened to the more sombre 1
Moon, how forcibly does the similitude imply that'
however brightly she may shine, she shines but with
borrowed brightness, and is indebted to her Lord, "the
Sun of righteousness," for all her excellence. Whilst
on Ins heavenward-way, bow fitly may the Christian be
118 THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE.
called ee a stranger and a pilgrim!" and whilst ex-
posed to winds and storms of trial, how befitting his
condition is a Refuge ! This seemingly is the figure
used by Paul in our text : " that I may win Christ and
be found in him." He had, he tells us, (see preceding
context) sheltered in fleshly confidence ; the privileges
of a Jew ; the formality of a Pharisee ; the righteous-
ness of the Law ; prejudiced and infatuated zeal against
serious godliness, and all the arrant pride of an un-
humbled and a blinded heart : but, he had found all
these things severally and together no better than " a
bowing wall and a tottering fence."* 1 hey were, at
best, a poor shelter for his soul. Awakened now from
the dreams of carnal ignorance, Paul felt the worth -
lessness of all his fancied excellencies. These, though
once, as he supposed, a <e gain" to him, he now count-
ed '"loss for Christ." "Yea, doubtless," he adds,
"and I count (on the most mature and calm consider-
ation) all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord; for whom (or
for whose sake) I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ
and be found in him."
Let us contemplate
I. The Believers Refuge,
And II. His Safety in it.
And I. The Believer's REFUGE :
"We mean by the Believer, one that has been con-
vinced of sin ; humbled in spirit ; shewn his helpless-
ness; led to acquiesce in the just judgment of a holy
God, and to allow that he might for ever justly be
condemned for his transgressions of the Law ; shewn,
- '
too, the necessity of other merits than his own to justify
him, and constrained from a sense of the Divine favour
a Ps. 02-3
THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE. 119
and from aprincipleoflove \vhichtheSpiritoflovealone
can inspire, cheerfully and gratefully, in heart and deed,
to walk obediently in " all the will of God:" we mean
by the Believer's Refuge, that in which his soul finds
rest, security, and peace. Now, in order to see more
evidently the superior excellence of the Believer's
Refuge, it will be well to examine the refuges in which,
unhappily, many choose to shelter rather than be found
in Christ. Isaiah speaks of " refuges of lies :' Jl) these
are many and various ; some few of them we shall no-
tice.
There is the refuge of wilful ignorance. ' We are
no scholars,' say many ; * we never had any learning.'
Allowing they were never favoured with the means of
knowlege, and are consequently no scholars: do they
wish to know better ; use they diligence in the use of
the means which they may command? No: ge-
nerally speaking, they do not. Their pretended igno-
rance (for, in truth, they will commonly be found
" wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their oicn con-
ceits/') is a mere excuse for negligence and indiffer-
ence. In this, however, they ignorantly trust, and
foolishly imagine themselves to be secure. But it is
a lying refuge. Wilful ignorance cannot screen the
soul in the day of its visitation. The " one" talent
must be accounted for as well as the "five" talents
and the " two." The " wisdom of this world" does
not " make wise unto salvation," nor is it essentially
necessary to our "knowing God, and Jesus Christ whom
he hath sent." We may be Christians without being
scholars.
There is again the refuge of carnal ease. Many
peopleliveas if the body alone were. to be provided for,
and its indulgence constituted the sum total of their
enjoyment. For that they will ff rise early and late
> Ch. xxriii, 17.
THE BELIEVER'S 'REFUGE.
take rest." So that their " corn and wine and oil
increase" and the temporal wants of themselves and
their families be supplied, they are little concerned
about " treasures in heaven" or provisions for their
deathless souls. I mean not to say that a man ought
not e?en carefully to " provide for those of his own
house;" did he not he would be "worse than an infi-
del :" but I do say that the ease in whieh many pass
the days of the years of their earthly pilgrimage, is
ruinous to the peace and eternal interests of their souls.
They cry " Peace, when there is no peace." Their
peace is like that deadly stillness which those who have
sailed some distant seas, inform us always precedes a
ruinous and destructive storm. " Soul/' say they,
"take thine ease :" but " when they say, Peace and
safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them.''
" Tremble, then, ye that are at ease ; be troubled, ye
careless ones/' 6 for your state ill comports with the
watchful care, the prayerful diligence, the laborious
love, the patient hope, of a Child of grace. The refuge
of carnal ease shall be proved a lie.
But others shelter themselves in worldly- pleasure.
This is the refuge of the many, and particalaply of
Youth. They are athirst for happiness : forsaking
"the Fountain of living waters," they endeavour to
satiate their desires at the polluted streams of sensual
mirth. They deem Religion a source of gloomy care
and melancholy sadness. The sober joy,, the believ-
ing hope, the tender seriousness, of the Christian, is,
in their view, any thing but pleasurable and desirable.
But pleasure, of whatever kind it be, unblessed with
the presence and the smile of a " reconciled Father in
Christ/' is vain and delusive.. It may seem a flower
to be innocently gathered on our way through life ;
but it conceals a thorn. It may seem a refuge fair and
c Isaaih xxxii, 11*.
THE BELIEVER'S REFUGF. 121
beautiful to behold, but it is a refuge bordering close
on wretchedness and woe. " Who hath woe?" asks
Solomon: " who hath sorrow ? who hath contentions?
who hath babbling ? who hath wounds without cause?
who hath redness of the eyes ? They," he answers, " that
tarry long at the wine 1 " 4 And "-woe unto them that
laugh now," says a greater than Solomon/' for ye shall
mourn and weep."" And " she that liveth in plea-
sure," adds an Apostle of Jesus Christ, " is dead while
she liveth. " f Surely, then, the pleasure in which so
many live, which Jiath a " woe" appended to it, and
which shall issue in fruitlesss mourning and weeping,
can be no safe refuge for a man's immortal souh
There are, too, refuges of a still more deceitful kind
than those we have already noticed. There is one
which, from the peculiarity of its nature, we may de-
nominate the sinner's "stronghold" I mean, self-
rightcousness. Nothing has the Minister of Christ so
much to contend with in his people as a disposition to
seek, to affect, to approve and justify self. Self is
man's golden god. Even after we are regenerate,
this corrupt propensity of our nature doth remain.
Selfishness prevails in all we do or think or say. But
it is the allowance and indulgence of it that endangers
the soul's security. When men are "whole and need
not a Physician," the Physician's skill will not be
valued. When men are satisfied in and with and from
themselves, there will be no desire to "win Christ and
be found in him." And such as are so, are l( blind ;"
they feed "on ashes ; a deceived heart hath turned them
aside ; EO that they cannot deliver their souls, or say,
Is there not a lie in our right hand ?" s This self-com-
placency it is Satan's great endeavour to induce, be-
cause he knows full well its mischievous effects, and
* Prov.xxiii, 29-30 Luke vi, 25 ' I Tim. y, 6
e Isa. xliv. 2U
122 THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE.
how certainly " God resisteth the proud and heholdeth
them afar off." The refuge of multitudes, alas ! it is :
but like every other refuge of man's devising, it will
be found ' ' a house builded on the sand" and whose
ruin must inevitably be "great."
One other refuge we shall notice ere we contem-
plate that of the believer's afalse profession of religion.
Some persons, we believe, deem a profession of religion
becoming or respectable. Some have sinister and world-
ly ends to answer by becoming professedly religious :
others again would ingratiate themselves with their
minister, and be gratified to be reputed for their piety.
Hence the garb of piety is assumed : the language of
religion is acquired, and the (e I am holier than thou"
of the Pharisee, is seen depicted in their whole deport-
ment. This is their refuge. But follow them into
their families ; go with them into their closets, and
what may you see ? You may see all the unholy tem-
pers, angry looks, and sinful negligences of the natural
man. Now could a "a good tree bring forth cor-
rupt fruit ?" Their profession is unsound. They are
" men-pleasers." Their religion is not the religion of
the Holy Ghost, nor is their faith the faith of the Re-
deemer's people. They make them, indeed, a wall ;
but they "daub it with untempered mortar." 11 And
as a poor mud-walled cottage can ill endure the rains
and winds of Winter, so no more will a false profession
of religion endure the righteous scrutiny of God, or
the fiery trial of the Judgment Day.
And now opposed to the foregoing "refuges of lies"
is the Believer's Refuge. And what is it ? It is CHRIST
Christ in his person, Christ in his love, Christ in his
birth, life, work, death, resurrection, ascension, session
at the right-hand of his eternal Father, and his me-
diatorial office there : " that 1 may win Christ," says
h Ezck. xiii, 11
THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE.
St. Paul, "and be found in him.*' Winning Christ
and being found in him must doubtless mean some-
what more than a mere knowledge and profession of
Christianity. We believe many to know and profess
the truth of the Gospel who yet manifestly feel no-
thing of its humbling, cheering, hallowing tendency :
otherwise, why do we pray (as we are wont to do) that
they may be led into it ? The very expressions to "win
Christ" and be "found in him," imply a way-worn
weary traveller's earnest wish to find repose. " It is
written in the Prophets, All the Redeemer's children
shall be taught of God;" (Seelsa. liv. 13, Mic. iv.2.)
and there is no man te that hath heard and learned of
the Father, but cometh unto" Christ.' In all times
and places, Christ has been the refuge of every Hea-
ven-born and Heaven-directed soul. This the whole
inspired volume testifies. To Adam, to Noah, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, was Jesus Christ
the promised "Seed." These all died in the faith of
Christ, and found rest to their souls in him. k " Stran-
gers and pilgrims" here ; they sought another and a
Heavenly country: and as they journeyed through
the wastes of time, their faith became to them
"the Substance of things hoped for/ and the evi-
dence of things not seen." Describing the glory of
Emmanuel, Isaiah says, " Behold a King shall
reign in righteousness, and Princes shall rule in
judgment ; and A MAN shall be as an hiding-place from
the wind and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of
water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in
a weary land." 1 And lest we should be mistaken in our
refuge, and put that confidence in a creature which
the high and lofty One claims as his exclusive ho-
mage, the Prophet declares this refuge from the storm,
this shadow from the heat, to be GOD, JEHOVAH, LORD
/ John vi, 45 k Heb.xi, 13 ' Cb.xxxii, 1-2
THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE.
OF HOSTS. Amos also writes, " The LORD is the hop?
of his people :" n that is, if you will observethe margi-
nal reading of our larger Bibles, " JEHOVAH ?V the
place of repair or harbour'' of his believing Israel.
Then is the Believer's Refuge both God and Man
' perfect God and perfect Man ; of a reasonable soul
and human flesh subsisting : equal to the Father as
touching his Godhead ; and inferior to the Father as
touching his Manhood: Who, although he be God
and Man; yet he is not two, but one Christ ;' and as
"the Christ of God, full of grace and truth," he is
' the strong tower of defence," " the quiet habitation
and the sure resting place" of every one that really be-
lieves in him. " By two immutable things (His oath
and promise) in which it was impossible for God to lie,
we have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to
lay hold on the Hope set before us in the Gospel."
As under the Jewish Dispensation, one fearful and ap-
prehensive of danger, " laid hold on the horns
of the altar," p so under the dispensation of the
Gospel, the alarmed and guilty sinner lays hold on,
Him whom the altar typified and finds in Christ a re-
fuge from all he deserves and dreads. NOT (let me ob-
serve) that even Christ, in all the exalted nature of his
person and all the excellence of his mediatorial work,
is usually the fast refuge to which a regenerate sin-
ner will resort. No: such is the unholy propensity
and disposition of our fallen nature, that we common-
ly fly to our tears, repentances, prayers, duties, or any
thing for refuge from apprehended wrath rather than
to Jesus Christ. But these, equally with wilful igno-
rance, carnal ease, worldly pleasure, self- righteousness,
and mere profession, are ultimately found to be inse-
cure and unkindly refuges. There is no place in them
Is. xxv, 1-4 Ch. iv, 1(5 o Heb. vi, 1*
p 1 Kings ii, 28
TOE BELIEVER'S REFUGE. 125
whereon the foot of hope may rest. The gracious
"Testifier of Jesus" leads whom He teaches to see and
feel that ' other Refuge there is none' save Jesus and
him crucified Jesus and him alive again Jesus and
him ''over all GOD blessed for ever.'"* Weary, at
length, of " going about to establish his own righteous-
ness," the Believer learns meekly and gratefully to sub-
mit to the righteousness of the incarnate God/ Self,
indeed, still lives ; but he "that is Christ's hath crucified
the flesh with its affections and lusts ;" and though not
quite dead, it is dying. The Christian allows not
boasting : he would that every lofty imagination with-
in him were brought low, and would willingly be no-
thing for Christ to be " all in all." Foregoing every
other ground of confidence, the language of his heart
is " That I may win Christ : too long have I stopped
short of him : too long have I been resting in "lying
vanities" hovering in uncertainty and doubt at a dis-
tance from my Saviour-God, as if he were unable or
unwilling to befriend and succour me ; but now I per-
ceive his graciousness and view his loveliness. O, let
me win him and be found in him ! Jesus invites the
weary and heavy-laden to him ; a weary heavy-laden
soul is mine, and therefore, Lord, " I stretch forth my
hands unto thee : my soul thirsteth after thee in a
barren and a dry land where no water is."*
Thus, " the Munition of rocks" becomes the
Believer's strength and salvation. He wins Christ
and is found in him. What are the great and pecu-
liar excellencies of his Refuge, we cannot,
in our present state of imperfect being, adequately
conceive ; One that hud been caught up into the third
Heaven, and been taught the Truth by immediate re-
velation from Jesus Christ himself, declares them to
be "unsearchable."' His Name is "Wonderful" and
* Rum. ix, 5. r Rom. x, 3.
Ps. 143,6. *Jiph.iii,8.
126 THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE.
wonderful are all his works and ways. Uncreated glory
he inherits. Knowledge and power are his in infinite
degrees. His kingdom is divinely spiritual,, pure, and
blissful. The every trembling penitent that applies to
him in the day of his soul's humiliation, Jesus is
"mighty to save.'' In short, "there is no end of his
greatness ;" and all which a sinner could wish to find
in a Saviour may be found in him. Not that a Be-
liever apprehends directly and at once all that for which
he is apprehended of God in Christ Jesus : no ; not so :
this would be to exceed the experience even of Paul
himself : v commonly, years of our spiritual life must
elapse ere we can cordially and unhesitatingly " re-
joice in Christ Jesus." Every child of God, however,
will gradually be led to do so, and to the view of his
enlightened understanding new discoveries of his Sa-
viour's person, love, birth, death, and every thing will
be made as he needs, and is able to bear them. Christ
ever becomes, as Peter says, " precious," or rather
preciousness itself, to " them that believe."^ They
would not but be "found in him" for ten thousand
worlds. He is more to them than the city of refuge
was to the man- slayer in Israel. You probably recol-
lect that in the division of Canaan by Moses and Joshua,
six cities were selected as cities of refuge for any one
who killed his neighbour unawares and hated him not
in time past.* The roads to these cities were requir-
ed to be well kept up, and on posts by the way was
written in characters so distinguishable that " whoso
ran might read" " To your Refuge." Would, then,
one of these six cities be dear as a refuge to the man-
slayer ? Infinitely dearer is Christ to any that are
found in him. No avenger of blood may dare to touch
one " accepted in the Beloved." y The life of "the
.
* Verse 12, of the Context. w 1 Peter 11, 7. * Num. xxxv.
> Eph. i, G.
THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE. 127
High Priest of our profession" secures the Believer
from death : His death only procures him enlargement
and freedom. 2 He wins more and more of Christ con-
tinually ; is found dependant on Him more and more
simply, and longs with all that ' spiritually eat the
flesh and drink the blood of Christ, to dwell in Christ,'
te not having his own righteousness, which is of the
Law," for any ground of hope or personal safety, "but
that which is through the faith of Christ, the right-
eousness which is of God by faith."
Such is the Believer's Refuge : and from contem-
plating his Refuge, let us proceed to contemplate
II. His SAFETY in it.
"When the Almighty " shall lay judgment to the
line, and righteousness to the plummet ; when the
hail shall sweep away the refuges of lies, and the waters
shall overflow the hiding-places" of human contriv-
ance and worldly wisdom, the Believer's will be found
" a quiet habitation and a sure resting place," 8 Whilst
ignorance, ease, self-love, worldly pleasure, and a mere
name to live, crumble into the dust of shame and the
ruin of despair, the Believer's Refuge will outbrave
every trial, and be to him a safe retreat amidst even
' the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds.' Hath
he enemies? They may assail his citadel, but they
shall not fakeit : He is "kept (or garrisoned, as the ori-
ginal imports) by the power of God through faith
unto salvation. " b Are his enemies Mighty? " He
that dwelleth in the secret places of the Most High,
shall abide under the shadow of the ^//-mighty."'
Doth "this present evil world" allure him? Christ
hath overcome the world, and by faith the Christian
overcomes it too. d While passing through it and
1 Jos. xx, 6. * Isa. xxxii, 18. k 1 Pet. i, 5.
c Ps. 91, 1. d John xvi, 33.
128 THE BELIEVERS REFUGE.
contending with it, the promise "Whoso overcometh
shall sit down with me on my throne, even as I also over-
came and am set down with my Father on his throne"
sounds sweetly in the Believer's ear.' It is commanded
him "not to love the world nor the things of the
world," and a SAVIOUR'S commandment is not griev-
ous/ " Fears within and fightings without," demand
perpetual diligence and watchfulness: but " strong
in the Lord," the believer wages a successful warfare,
and the conqueror's palm and robe ever and anon
cheer and animate his hopes. 8 Worldly cares of a
necessary and lawful kind, it may be, frequently en-
gage the attention and occupy the time of a good man :
but 'These, will he say, are not rny divinities/* 1 He
will not bury himself in them, nor say, when disen-
gaged from them, " What have I more ?" He wants
no tabernacle in a world the fashion of which passeth
away. He has no abiding place below, and will ever
feelingly be saying with Israel's sweet Psalmist -"Re-
turn unto thy rest, O my soul."'
Lusteth i\iQJlesh against the spirit ? Doth the Be-
liever feel not merely the frailty, but the depravity
of his nature? He knows that " in Christ was no sin,"
and he has the promise of his Lord that " sin shall
not have dominion over him." k ' Though this infec-
tion of nature doth remain even in them that are re-
generate, yet is there no condemnation to them that
believe and are baptized." The Believer is safe in his
Refuge. In the pure and now glorified human nature
of Jesus Christ, he sees what one day he himself shall
be. Even now is his sin forgiven in its guilt, and de-
stroying, if not perfectly destroyed, in its power. No
Jebusite allowedly lives in the land, however obstinately
he may retain his hold in it. In the atoning blood of
Rev. iii, 21. f 1 John v, 3. f Rev. vii, 9.
> Jud.xviii, 42. * Ps. 110,7. * Rom. vii. U
1 Art, ix.
THE BEUEVER'o REFUGE. 129
his Redeemer, the Believer has a "fountain for his
sin and uncleanness" wherein he may daily and
hourly wash ; m and in his Redeemer, an Advocate
to "bear the iniquity of his holy things."" Some-
times, perhaps, he " groans, being burdened :" he
looks to his Lord and is lightened. So severe, it
may be, are sometimes the contentions between the
opposing principles of flesh and spirit, that he can only
breathe the sorrows of his heart in the " O wretched
man that I am' of St. Paul. p " Who, asks the strugg-
ling Believer, shall deliverine from the body of sin and
death ?" He asks not in vain : the Spirit who groans
unutterable requests within him, leaves him not com-
fortless, but enables him, perhaps in the moment of
his greatest extremity, to say, " / thank God who deli-
rers me through Jesus Christ." Thus does hetrinmph
with thanksgiving inChrist," and shall "always" do so q
For God " GIVETH us the victory through Jesus Christ
our Lord?' "Believing," amidst all our remaining"
imperfections, "we rejoice rejoice in hope rejoice
in hope of glory :" and our very conflicts with sin en-
dear to us our hope, and add to the splendour of our
brightening prospects. Sweet to the believer is the
thought, ' I shall one day be likened to my glorious
Lord and stand perfect and complete in all the will of
God.' s In Christ is there " Salvation with eternal
glory."
But, doth Satan harras and perplex the believer ?
Hath he to "wrestle not with flesh and blood only, but
against principalities and powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
(or wicked spirits ) in high places? 1 He knows that
his Lord and Saviour was " tempted of the Devil,"
and that now from a fellow-feeling Jesus Christ is dis-
posed to " succour them that are tempted. ' T The
" Zech. xiii, 1. n Exod. xxviii, 38. Ps. 34, 5.
P Rom. vii, 24. > 2 Cor. ii, 14. r 1 Cor. xv, 57.
Phil, iii, 21, Eph.vi, 12. Heb. ii, 18.
130 THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE,
Devils are et subject unto Christ." They can do no
more than Christ permits them. To him they crouch.*
And soon may the believer expect the Angel that is to
come down from Heaven, having the key of the bot-
tomless pit, and a great chain in his hand, to bind that
old serpent which is the Devil and Satan/ The saints
in glory " overcame him by the blood of the Lamb ;"
by the same sure and unfailing means shall those who
are yet maintaining the fight of faith, overcome him
too. The armies of the Redeemer's Israel must tri-
umph ultimately. Their GOD is their strength : and
soon will He call them to puttheir feet upon the necks
of their enemies, and award to tbem the glories of the
heavenly Canaan. (See Joshua x. 24, 25).
But, whilst thus contending with the world, the
flesh, and Satan, the Believer, possibly, becomes some-
times cr weary in the greatness of his way." " LEST
he be weary and faint in his mind/' he is commanded
to fc look unto Jesus/' and to "consider him that en-
dured the cross. " y Looking unto Jesus and consider-
ing his cross, the Christian's cross becomes easy and
tolerable. If he (e walks in darkness" darkness so
total that he has te no light," he is still privileged to
* f trust in the Name of the Lord" and to stay his sor-
rowing soul upon his God. z If he be perplexed or
troubled about any affair of moment ; ignorant how
to act or unknowing what conduct to pursue : he may
"commit his way unto the Lord," and if it be really
conducive to his good, " the Lord will bring it to
pass."* If, in a time he is not aware, the Believer be
overtaken by some unthought-of calamity : " The
Name of his Lord is a strong tower ; he runneth into
it and is safe." b The storms which well-nigh over-
whelm others, scarcely affect him. " His heart stand-
eth fast, trusting in the Lord." ct No plague comes
nigh his dwelling." He " dwells safely." Whilst
w Luke viii, 28. Rev. xx, 1, 2. y Heb. xii, 2, 3.
Isa.1, 10. * P. 37, 5. b Prov. xviii, 10.
THE BELIEVER'S RKFUGE. 131
other refuges are proved tobefalseand insecure, Jesus
is " the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.'' Whilst
the many pass their davs in time-consuming, soul-
destroying follies, the Believe/ is satisfied with the ful-
ness of Christ. A fulness of every good he finds in
Jesus : a fulness of mercy, a fulness of love, a fulness
of strength, a fulness of life, a fulness of glory : and
" out of his fulness do we all receive." Here are rich
" provisions by the way." By faith the Christian Pil-
grim lives upon them. Still that he may " win Christ
and be found in him" is his prevalent desire. He
hastens by anticipation to the time when his soull
shall be satiated with fatness and replenished with
goodness, when he shall hunger no more neither thirst
any more, and he shall be " saved IN THE LORD with
an everlasting sahation."*
Such, then, Beloved, is the Believer's Refuge, and
His Safety in it. I would now, to all who believe
among you, SAY, Abide in your Refuge, and Welcome
others to it.
And 1. Abide in your Refuge. lt Abide in me"
says Jesus Christ himself to his believing followers."
Unless the man-slayer abode within the appointed
bounds of his refuge, he became exposed to the sword
of the avenger. If then he valued his life and wished
its preservation, he would surely suffer no trifling thing
to induce him to wander from his retreat. Imitate
the man-slayer in this particular : Abide in Christ.
Nor deem our exhortation needless and unseasonable.
If Man could be beguiled when innocent, much more
may he be so when fallen and depraved. Now, " I fear,
lest by any means, as the Serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from
the simplicity that is in Christ/" Beware, then, of
those things that will corrupt you, and make you other
c John 1C. a Isa. xlv, 17. Rer.vii, 10. John xv, 4.
' 2 Cor. xi,3.
132 THE BELIEVER'S REFTGE.
than simple, humble, holy, followers of Jesus Christ.
Nature will be nature still, nor will " the flesh" be
other than fleshly and carnal in its propensities, till
the morning of the resurrection dawn upon the dark-
ness of the tomb, and the body be built anew from the
dust. Believers have especially to beware of slothful
ease, watchlesssecurity, and spiritual pride. Even David
was not exempt from these evils. " My mountain,
said he, standeth strong ; and I shall never be moved." 6
God hid his face from him and he was troubled. He
said it, he tells us, in his t( prosperity ;" and it was
his prosperity that injured his simplicity. Humbled,
however, for his fault, David presently prays " In
THEE, O Lord, do I put my trust : J3e THOU mi/ strong
rock, for an house of defence to save me." h " Let him,
therefore, among you, that thinketh he standeth, take
heed lest he fall." Beware of every thing like
presumptuous confidence. How experienced soever
you may be, there will come no period in your life of
faith, when you may conclude that you have attained
all you may attain. Never will you spiritually exist
without Christ and a believing union with him. Him
you must daily win and in him be ever found. You
came to him indeed only as you were drawn : You
abide in him only as you are " preserved in him :"'
nevertheless, this does not supersede the necessity of
your " keeping yourselves in the love of God, looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life:" k Your Lord's command is "Watch:" and
we cannot think He would have enjoined watchfulness
Lad there been no occasion for it. In watchfulness,
therefore, and " in all things," be emulous to adorn
the Doctrine of God your Saviour. Let us see that
you are in Christ and partakers of his Spirit, by your
fruits of righteousness. This is the test whereby your
Christianity will be proved. For " he that saith, I
know" him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a
8 P.30, 7. * Ps. 31, 12. * Jndel.
k Jude 21.
THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE. 133
liar, and the truth i not in him. But \\hoso keepeth
his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected :
HEREBY Icnon- ice that ire are in him. Pie that saith he
abide th in him ought himself also so to ICY///', EVEN AS
he walked.'* Then abide in your souls' dear refuge
and beloved retreat, and thus evidence your abiding in
him ; so shall you say " Unto thee, O my strength
will I sing ; for God is my defence, and the God of
my mercy/'" 1 and be prepared to
2. Welcome others to your Refuge. Our experience
of the Divine goodness must be small and our enjoy-
ment of the Divine favour weak and languid, if a fel-
low-sinner's penitence fills not our heart with joy and
gladness. What ! shall angels that never felt the
sweetness of redeeming mercy look down from their
high abode and watch with joyous gratulation the pro-
gress of a soul returning to its God ; and we, the sub-
jects of redemption, feel no or, at best, but a cold and
thankless interest in an event so interesting ? I have
observed, and with sorrow, in persons whose piety we
could not doubt, a shyness and a reserve towards others
that had not, it might be, attained to their knowledge
or to their love of the Truth, not at all to be com-
mended. O, it should not content us to be secure our-
selves : our " desire and prayer for Israel should be
that they may be saved :" and to our desire and prayer
should be added endeavour to save them. With sacred
gladness should you hail and bid " God speed" every
one whom you see " enquiring his way to Zion with
his face thither-ward." With Laban should you say,
" Come in thou blessed of the Lord: why furriest thou
without?" Our once weary and heavy-laden souls
have found rest in Jesus : and ' ' YET there is room.'*
With John should you say, " Behold the Lamb of
God ;" and from a grateful iense of security and ac-
ceptance through his blood, go on to say with Moses,
" Come with us and we will do you good." Thus by
your "good conversation in Christ;" enquirers will
* 1 John ii, 46. Ps. 59, 17.
THE BELIEVER'S REFUGF.
be taught; mourners will be comfored ; Jesus, your
Lord, will be glorified ; and you will with the whole
family of the redeemed in heaven and earth, rejoice
together in one common but all-and-infinitely- glorious
salvation, enjoy the same security in your Common
Refuge, and unite in the same song of (t Worthy is
the Lamb'' with hearts and tongues in sweet and de-
delightful unison to all eternity.
DISCOURSE X.
FORGETFULNESS OF GOD; ITS EVIL,
PSALM 50, 22.
Now consider this, yc that forget God, lest I tear you
in pieces, and there be none to deliver you*
FORGET God? is it possible? What 1 , when we
see his "eternal power and godhead" in all things
above us and around us? If we look up to the Hea-
vens, te the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the
firmament sheweth his handy work." If we look
around us here, "the earth is full of his goodness."
God's is the sun that makes our day; his the moon
that cheers our night. Because he is merciful and true
the varying seasons of summer and winter, seed-time
and harvest, therefore, fail not. He it is that clothes
our vales and hills with fruitfulness ; at whose bidding
the Heavens drop down their dew, and the earth yields
her increase. He, more than all, it is who pitied man
when fallen, loved us when sinful, and saved us when
lost. He it is who gave an only-begotten son to be
" a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory
of his people Israel ;" who hath given us the Gospel
* The Author remembers to have heard, when a child, thjs text
discoursed on : the remarks then made very powerfully
bis mind; some of these way here possibly be repeated.
136 FORGETFULNEHS OF GOD : ITS EVIL.
of Jesus Christ, and therewith his Holy Spirit to un-
fold and apply its mysteries, and to dispose our natu-
rally unwilling hearts to receive its truths. And is it
possible that men should forget this kind and gracious
God ? Yes : certain it is men do forget him, and
forget him, too, to such an extent as they are little
aware. These characters are described in the Psalrn
before us. They may, indeed, take God's covenant in
their moulh ; but they hate instruction, and cast his
word behind them. When they see a thief, they con-
sent to thieve with him, and are partakers with the
adulterer in his crimes. They give their mouth to
evil, and their tongue frameth deceit. They sit and
speak against their brother, and slander their own
mother's son. These things they do, and a merciful
God keeps silence ; because he forbears to avenge the
wrongs they do him, they think him such an one as
themselves regardless of human actions and disposi-
tions ; and because sentence against their evil works
is not executed speedily, they think, forsooth, it will
not be executed at all. But "I will reprove them,
saith the Lord, and set their doings in order before
them." And now succeeds the solemn caution in our
text "Consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear
you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." Forget-
fulness of God is the source of their wickedness, and
this persisted in, will induce a punishment from which
there will be none to deliver.
Now here are three things for our consideration :
I. An Evil spoken of:
II. A Punishment denounced against it:
And III. A Means whereby to remedy the evil and to
avoid the punishment.
There is
I. An Evil spoken of -
The Evil spoken of in our text is. for get fulness of
God. That many do forget God is, unhappily, too
FORGETFULNESS OF GOD: ITS EVIL. 137
easy to be proved. Some there are so foolish as to say,
'* There is no God."* Pharoah-like, they proudly
ask, "Who is the Lord?" and ignorantly say, "I
know not the Lord." b Such particularly are atheists.
They would rather "the Lord God of Israel should
cease from before them." c But you will find on en-
quiry, that they are " become corrupt and are abomi-
nable in their doings," and that therefore they wish
there was no God, and hence in the foolishness of their
heart, they try to persuade themselves that there is
none. Such persons may be said willingly to forget
God.
Many, again, there are who though they believe there
is a God, yet believe not in the God of the Bible. The
God of the Bible is a just, pure, and holy being: lov-
ing righteousness and hating iniquity ; approachable
only by a Mediator and worshipped "in vain" unless
worshipped " in Spirit and in truth:" their God is a
God ' all mercy/ easily appeased when offended, in-
dulgent to human frailty, and, in short " such an one
as themselves" and as their own depraved imaginations
choose to make him. But, the altar, surely of such
persons is reared "To the linknovn God," and it can-
not possibly be said that they remember or revere " the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent."
Others there are who allow that "" doubtless there
is a God that judgeth the earth," and rules his rational
and intelligent creatures by a law "holy, just, and
good :" and yet through the whole course of their
lives have paid no respect to the word, will, or autho-
rity of their Sovereign Creator. With regard, for in-
stance, to the Sabbath, how many have attained, it
may be, to manhood and old-age who have never yet
kept a single Sabbath holy! " Thou shalt keep my
Sabbath, and reverence my sanctuary : I am the Lord." d
And again, " Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy," e saith the Lord. And yet multitudes there are
* Ps. 14, 1. " Exod. v, 2. e Isa. xxx, 11.
d Lev. xix, 30. c Exod. xx, 8.
138 FORGETITLNESS OF GOD : ITS EVIL.
who make little or no distinction between the Sabbath
and another day. They can cheerfully even trouble
and inconvenience themselves, to " find their own
ways and to do their own pleasure on God's holy day ;"
but where is their readiness to do the will and pleasure
of their Lord ? To see a friend or to settle an ac-
count, many will travel miles on the Sabbath : whereas,
they cannot come to the House of Prayer though it
be but a few yards from them. Must not such forget
God?
How common a thing is Sweating! Upon the least
provocation, about things the most trivial and unim-
portant, and often without any provocation whatever,
foul and impious oaths fill the mouths of many. We
can hardly pass through the streets and lanes of our
towns and villages, but oui ears are assailed with dread-
fully profane and terrifying expressions. Men seem
proud to resemble the Devil and to use the Devil's
language. Genteel, it may be in the opinion of some
persons to swear ; but fashion cannot change the tur-
pitude of moral guilt. Can the swearer be said to re-
member God ? Rather, does he not impiously forget
ic/io hath said, " Swear not at all?"
How commonly, too, do we hear the Lord's name
taken in vain ! The name which is above every name
the name which all the hosts of Heaven hallow and
adore the name at which every knee shall bow, is
used as familiarly and irreverently in the conversation
of many people as any word whatever. Now God
has (and for reasons, doubtless, wise and good) forbid-
den the vain mention of his name ; and has, moreover,
solemnly declared He will not hold him guiltless who
dares to do so. Then, surely, those who take the
name of the Lord in vain, must be forgetful of Him.
How eagerly by many arc the pleasures and the fa-
shions i nd the favours of the world desired and sought !
God has said, te Be not conformed to this world, but
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." f
f Rom. \\\, 1.
lORGETFt LNESS OF CUD : ITS EVIL. 139
Now where the mind is devoted to pleasure, to fa-
shion, or to " men-pleasing," is it possible that God
can be supremely loved and gratefully remembered ?
People excuse indeed their worldliness, and say,
' Where is the harm of a little innocent pleasure ? Is
it not allowable and right to enjoy ourselves ?' Yes,
truly, we reply : but, nothing is innocent, nothing is
allowable, nothing is right, in which God is forgotten,
His authority contemned, His glory not designed, and
His blessing not to be expected. And you will very
generally find that those who are the most worldly and
most conformed in disposition and habit to the ways
and customs of the world, are the most forgetful of
God.
But further : Many there are who when the morn-
ing dawns upon them, and they wake from the slum-
bers of the night, rise and go forth to their daily occu-
pations, without ever bowing their knees in humble
adoration of their Almighty Guardian and Protector.
And when the evening closes and the shades of night
once more invite them to repose, they do not think "in
whom they live," by whom they have been strength-
ened for labour, and on whose bounty they daily and
hourly exist. Of this careless forgetfulness of himself
the Lord complains, saying by his servant Isaiah, " The
<> v knoweth his obiter, and the ass his master's crib; but
Israel cloth ntft know, my people doth not consider" 5
May not the Lord justly ask, " If I be a Father, where
is mine honour?'" 1 Could we forget a Father whom we
loved, and whose smile was both the propelling motive
and the approving plaudit of our obedience?
Again, How many Masters and Parents are there
who never call their children and their households round
them for the worship of the God of our Lord Jesus
Christand the Father of mercies ! In many families
God seems totally forgotten. In others he is acknow-
ledged just once a- week : some will just repeat the
t Cb. i, J. > Mai. i, 6.
HO FORGETFULNESS OF GOD: ITS EVIL.
Catechism or it may be read a Chapter and say a pray-
er on a Sabbath evening, and on no other occasion
through the week. Bui, this manifests a very reluct-
ant remembrance of God, if lie deems it any remem-
brance of himself at all. He says in Deut. vi., 6 and 7.
'* These words which 1 command thee shall be in
thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto
thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest
in thine house, and when thou walkcst by the way,
and when thou liest down and when thou risest upS
Must not God, then, most certainly be forgotten by
those who attempt not his worship, read not his Word,
nor endeavour practically to enforce it, statedly and
constantly, in their families ?
Prayer, too, before and after meals is, in many houses,
lamentably omitted. Many sit down to their meals, and
partake of those things which a bounteous God gives
them richly to enjoy without the slightest possible ac-
knowledgment of his mercies. The every good they
possess cometh down from above ; but, alas ! no
thanksgiving goes back to Heaven in return. Some
indeed mutter a something over their board, but there
is plainly no heartfelt remembrance of God in the ser-
vice. There is, commonly, no mention whatever of
the Mediator, by the purchase of whose blood alone
goodness and mercy are bestowed upon us. The lips
of many freeze while uttering the name of Jesus. They
shrink from the utterance of it and instead of it will
say ' Thank Providence or thank Heaven,' ashamed,
in truth, to acknowledge their Redeemer. Whereas,
the precept of the Gospel is, "Whether ye eat or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus"' 1 He that honoureth not the Son, ho-
noureth not the Father that hath sent him. And since
it is the Father's will that all men should honour the
Son, even as they honour himself, those who do not
J 1 Cor. x, 31,
FORGETFULNESS OF GOD: ITS EVIL. HI
so must forget God and treat his will with indifference
and contempt. From I Cor. x, 7 it should seem that
a graceless meal was an idolatrous feast the worship
of an idol-god.
Still nearer to your bosoms and to your consciences
than we have done, might we come: and we would
fain do so, did we not fear too lengthened a discussion
of our first head of discourse. Forgetfulness of God
must already appear to you to be an evil awfully pre-
valent. But, suffer me to ask, do not many forget
God even in his more immediate presence and service?
Even in the great congregation, it may with truth be
said, " God is not in all their thoughts/' 11 A thousand
things come into their minds and find a ready lodge-
ment there, but God is not among them all. Many at-
tend their church merely because it is Sunday, or be-
cause others do so, or because they have, perhaps, no-
thing just now to call them elsewhere, or because it is
one part of their "will-worship" and self-righteous-
ness to keep (as they say) to their Church. But, in
all this God may be forgotten. How many when at
church are too lofty in their imaginations to kneel
while we pray, or to stand while we sing ! Wandering
eyes betray a vacant mind. The utmost inattention
is apparent in many. Their whole deportment mani-
fests forgetfulness of God, and all their religion ter-
minates with the close of the sabbath and its services.
And shall we pretend that there is little or no evil
in this forgetfulness of the glorious and eternal God ?
How does that God himself regard it ? How, I would
know, would you regard the forgetfulness of a child
whom you had tenderly nourished, or a friend to whom
you had shewn gieat and abundant kindnesses ? Would
it not grieve you ? Would you not feel it to be an
evil ? Then, be assured, "an evil and a bitter thing
it is to sin against God," nor can our forgetfulness of
him be otherwise than offensive to him. This will ful-
ly appear whilst we consider
Ps, 10, 4.
142 FORGETFULNESS OF GOD: ITS EVIL,
II. A Punishment denounced against it :
<c Now, consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear
you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." The ex-
pressions " tear you in pieces," and "none to deliver,"
forcibly imply that the Punishment God will inflict on
those who forget him will be sudden, terrible, and
without remedy.
Those who forget God may commonly be observed
to be thoughtlessly secure. They resemble those whom
Gideon smote. 1 Their security is their danger. " When
they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruc-
tion cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child, and they shall not escape."" 1 In Hosea xiii, 6,
the Lord traces Israel's forgetfulness of him to pride
and exaltation of heart, and says, " Therefore, I will
be unto them as a lion : as a leopard by the way will I
observe them : I will meet them as a bear that is be-
reaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their
heart, and there will I devour them like a lion."" Now,
how suddenly does a beast of prey sieze upon its hap-
less victim ! Unconscious, perhaps, of danger, in a
moment it finds itself in the power of a creature
mightier to destroy than itself. Such seems to be the
figure used by the Spirit in our text to convey to us
some idea of the suddenness of the wicked's visitation.
"Their calamity/' says the Prophet, "shall rise sud-
denly;" and often do we see " in an instant, suddenly"
the enemies of the Lord cut off. Little did the chil-
dren of Bethel, when they mocked Elisha; expect to be
torn in pieces : p and little do many that forget God
conceive how soon " a sudden destruction from the
Lord" may come upon them
It is implied also that their Punishment will be ter-
rible. God can make the wicked a terror to them-
selves.* 1 He can appoint terror over them and within
them. r He can himself though to his believing peo-
ple he is the God of all grace and the Father of mer-
1 Jud. viii, 11. 1 Thess. v, 3. n rerees 7, 8.
Isa.xlvii, 11. and xxix, 5. P 2 Kings ii, 24. 1 Jer. xx, 4.
r Lev. \\vi > 16. Dent, xxxii, 2a.
FORGETFULNESS OF GOD: ITS EVIL, 143
cies yet he can himself be a terror to those who for-
get him.* Instead of the smiles, " the terrors of God
do set themselves in array against them/' 1 When the
Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, pierces
to the discerning of their thoughts and intents, or when
their sin finds them out, how do the wicked tremble I
"They are utterly consumed with terrors. " v What ap-
palling terribleness is there in the idea of being torn in
pieces by a lion, a leopard, or a bear ! How surpassing-
ly terrible, then, must be the wrath of an angry God !
With the wicked God is angry every day : w and
though he may forbear for a season to destroy them in
his wrathful displeasure, yet do they live to heap up
wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of
the righteous Judgment of God." And what a wrench,
oftentimes, is the separation of the careless and ungod-
ly from the world by Death ! They are absolutely
torn away from all they value or enjoy. The shadow
of death comes upon them fraught with terrors ; their
very souls are agonized : O might they live ! but no:
a forgotten God will remind them of himself, and be-
cause they forget him in time, they shall remember him
to their utter confusion in eternity. Where the
groans of expiration cease, the bowlings of the damned
commence. Thus we see the Punishment which for-
getful ness of God induces is terrible.
But the bitterest ingredient of the punishment re-
mains to be told It will be without remedy : From it
there will be "none to deliver :" No, NONE to de/ii-cr.
Not the Lord Jesus Christ ; for he says, " Because I
have called, and ye refused ; I have stretched out my
hand, and no man regarded ; but ye have set at
nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof;
I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when
your fear cometh : When your fear cometh as a deso-
lation, and your destruction corneth as a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you : Then
Jer. xvli, 17. * J<ft vi, 4. ' * Ps, 73, la.
" P*. 7, 11. * Rom. ii, T>.
if
H4 FORGETFl LNESS OF GOD: US EVIt,
shall they call upon me ; but I will not answer : they
shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For
that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the
fear of the Lord."* In this world only can deliver-
ance from wrath be obtained: beyond it there is no
Saviour. Nor can Angels save us. They acquiesce in
their Sovereign's pleasure and approve the sentence
which he passes on all who forget him. " True and
righteous are thy judgments" forms part of the song of
the angels and the redeemed in glory . a Nor can )nen
deliver from the wrath to come. In Ps. 49, 7 and 8,
we read, " None of them can bij any means redeem his
brother, or give to God a ransom for him : for the re-
demption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for
ever"* You know one is represented to us as ap-
plying to a redeemed saint for ease and comfort amidst
his woeful torments; but, the application was made in
vain. He could not obtain even "a drop of water to
cool his tongue ;" much less could he be redeemed from
punishment. His punishment was remediless. You
may hear indeed of some who invoke the saints pray
to the deadyor the dead; but it is "a fond thing,
vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of
Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God. " b
It is indeed a doctrine befitting "the Beast/' "the
Man of Sin ;" but it is utterly at variance with the
Word of God, (Matt, iv, 10. for instance) and there-
fore to be utterly rejected and contemned by all whose
rule of faith and conduct is the Bible. Thus it ap-
pears how truly there are " NONE to deliver." " His
calamity cometh suddenly ; suddenly shall the wicked
be broken, and that without remedy."*
And now to confirm what has been advanced, allow
me just to refer you to a text or two of Holy Writ
* Let this text be well considered : Can we w mder at the Pa-
pisti withholding the Spriptures from their laity ?
z ProY. i, 4, &r, a *'-Rev. xvi, 7. b Our xxii Art.
c Prov. vi, 15.
FORGETFULNESS OF GOD: ITS EVIL.
'which contain, in substance, all that we have said. In
Jcr. xxiii. 39 and 40, we read, " Therefore, I, even I,
will utterly forget you; and I will forsake you and
cast you out of my presence : And I will bring an ever-
lasting reproach upon you and a perpetual shame
that shall not be forgotten." Observe these words :
4t I, even I, will do it," saith the Lord God. And
what will he do? Not "forget" those who forget
him merely; but "utterly forget" them: Not " for-
sake'' them merely; but " cant them out of his pre-
sence :" Nat " bring a reproach upon them" which
the lapse of time shall wipe away; but " an everlast-
ing reproach" and fe a shame" of " perpetual' en-
durance " that shall not be forgotten" And again in
Ps. 9, 1 7, we read," The wicked shall be turned into
hell, and all the people that forget "God." Saith the
Lord these things? Shall then his Ministers be blam-
ed for saying them ? Should we fulfil our embassy to
a u world lying in wickedness" and asleep, too fatally
secure, in the arms of the wicked one, did we al-
together exclude " the terrors of the Lord" ftom our
ministrations? Certainly we should not. The thun-
ders of Sinai must alarm before the consolations of
Zion can be felt. And when we declare the punish-
ment denounced against forgetfulness of God, it is ia
order to consider
III. A Means whereby to remedy the evil and to
avoid the punishment.
The means our text prescribes is Consideration-
*' Now, consider this," and do so, " LEST I tear you in
pieces and there be none to deliver." The sinful in-
considerateness of our wicked heart is the occasion of
the evil, and consequently is the ruin of the many who
live and die forgetful of God our Saviour. "Thej
consider not that they do evil." e " They consider not
* Ecc. v, 1.
L
146 FORGETFULNESS OF GOD : ITS EVIL.
in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness,"
saith the Lord by Hosea the prophet/ "Now, there-
fore, thus saith the Lord- CONSIDER. " g Consider your-
selves. Call home to you your vagrant thoughts.
Fix them with scrutinizing earnestness on your state ;
your character; your motives, hopes, and aims. "See
what manner of spirit you are of/' Inquire whether
you remember God at all ; in what way you remember
him, and whether your remembrance of him be sweet,
affectionate, and kind. Thus sweet were the Psalm-
ist's meditations on God. h Low and unprofitable is
your religion, if your thoughts of God be cold, distant,
and reserved. You may judge of your spiritual state
bv your taste or distaste of spiritual things. Then
ft know this and consider it in thine heart." 1
Consider also your obligations to the Author of all
being and existence. How manifold, how various,
liow great, are his mercies! Before you were born
was he mindful of you, and since you were born has he
unweariedly been mindful of you. By mercies daily
multiplied upon you, does he beseech you to be recon-
ciled to him. He commcndeth his love to our consi-
deration ; k and lest we should doubt his loving-kind-
ness and truth, he " spareth not his own Son, but
freely gives him up for us all." 1 Your privilege it is
to eat even " angels' food" ;" for on you doth God be-
stow " the Truth as it is in Jesus," and you does he
" feed in green pastures and lead beside waters of com-
fort." The Lord has, moreover, seta Watchman upon
your walls that dares to sound the trumpet of alarm,
and to warn you of the danger inseparably connected
with forgetfulness of God, and that lest He tear you in
pieces, and the sword of his justice be bathed in your
blood. Then " think of these things," and consider
how surely the very "goodness of God," unless it lead
you to repentance, will increase and aggravate your
*Ch. Vii,2, Hag. i, 5. ' Ps. 104 34. ' Deut.iv,39.
k Rom. v, 8. Rom. viii, 32. m Ps. 78,25.
FORGETFULNESS OF GOD : ITS EVIL.
condemnation. " Consider how great things he hath
done for you."
Consider, too, how lamentably God is forgotten inthe
World. How few remember him at all ! How few of
the few who do remember him, think of him cordially
and gratefully ! Because, then, so many " live with-
out God in the World," it should be your determina-
tion to " remember him in his ways," and habitually to
*' consider the operations of his hands." Do some
fools say in their heart, There is no God ? Ask them,
How came the Universe into being; How they them-
selves exist ; and whether but for the corruption of
their hearts and the abominations of their lives, they
would not most readily allow that there is a God. Do
some doubt whether the Bible be a Revelation of the
Divine Will ? Ask them how far they have examined
its pretences to credibility and the truth of its state-
ments. Sec whether but for the holiness of its pre-
cepts, the sublimity of its doctrines, thetremendousness
of its sanctions, they would not believe and admit the
Bible's every portion. It is the heart, not the head, that
makes our infidels. Is the Sabbath by many unob-
served, and its means neglected? Do you hallow it,
and give the Day, not merely some two or three hours
of it, to devotional and religious duties. Is swearing
common? Let oaths and blasphemies, "foolish jest-
ings and talking," share no part of your conversation*
<( let them not be once named among you" Whenever
you hear an oath, reprove it ; and whilst the swearer
prays to be 'damned/ do you lift up your heart to
God for his soul's salvation.* Is the Lord's Name com-
monly profaned ? O let the mention of that " great
and fearful Name" fill you with solemn awe and reve-
rential dread. Is this present World the all of the
* See Ne. 76 of Series the First of the Tracts of the Religion*
Tract Society. It is peculiarly striking and impressive. See, too,
Ley. xiiv, 1016.
,
1 Sam. xii, 4.
FORGETFULNESS OF GOD: ITS EVIL.
majority of its population ? Affect ye a better portion :
be Marys choice your choice." " Come out from
among" its votaries, " and be separated" from their
ways, vanities, and pursuits. Prefer a Church to a
Theatre,* communion with God, to the " filthy con-
versation of the wicked." What are the pleasures of
sense and sin, to the pleasantness and peace of Piety ?
Earthly pleasures may have, <e as it were, crowns on
their heads:" but they certainly have "stings in the
tails." Do many live without prayer either in their
chambers secretly alone with God, or in their houses
amidst their families ? Do you " enter into your clo-
sets, and shut the door and pray to your Father which
seeth in secret," and let " the voice of praise and
thanksgiving" be heard also in your dwellings, Wher-
ever your tent may be pitched, rear, as Abraham
reared, an altar to the Lord. When lying down and
rising up ; when partaking of the social meal or enr
gaged in necessary and lawful labour f< in all you r
ways apknowledge him," and consider how you may
best promote his glory. In all you are and in all jou
do, let it be seen that you remember God, and thus re-
prove and shame those who live forgetful of him.
But, finally, consider the consequence that must ne-
cessarily result from a sinful forgetfulness of God.
This we have before endeavoured to shew you. Do
* See Styles on the Stage : a small but excellent Work, See,
also, Wilberforce's Practical View, page 194 of the Fourteenth Ed : -
tion. As a Clergyman, the Author begs, too, to refer his reader
to the 75th Canon of his Church ; this will sufficiently warrant his
inculcation of deadness to the World, and a preference of heavenly
to earthly pleasures. The Canon is too long to quote entire ; for
the satisfaction, however, of his reader, the Author will just state
that * Ministers are required not. to give themselves to any base or
servile labour, or to drinking or riot, spending their time idly by
day or by night, playing at dice, CARDS, tables, or any other un-
lawful games .-' Let this be ponsidered. Is it less the Law of
our truly excellent Church than the 73d or any other of our Canons ?
How often (but how falsely) is the 73d said to be impugned!
seldom (in fact) is the 75th regarded !
Luke x, 42. Rev. ix, 10.
rOKGETFLLNESS OF GOD: ITS EVIL/J| H9
not forget the Wicked's being- torn in pieces. Think
upon it. It may produce that pain of heart which
will endear the balm of mercy. See what you deserve,
and think what Jesus suffered. He did not forget
God, nor even amidst the agonies of the cross did he
forget you. tf Father, forgive them !" was his cry.
Realize this scene, and you will be earnest in suppli-
cation for that grace of the Spirit whereby you may
amend your lives and live according to God's holy
Word. And oh ! that you may hereafter feel a fer-
vour which you never felt before, while saying 'From
all evil and mischief; from sin ; from the crafts and
assaults of the devil ; from thy wrath, and from ever-
lasting damnation, Good Lord, deliver us/
DISCOURSE XI.
THE BETTER FEAST.*
ISAIAH Ixv, 13, 14.
Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall
eat, but ye shall be hungry : behold, my servants
shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty : behold, my ser-
vants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: behold,
my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall
cry for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of
Spirit.
IT is observable how frequently in Holy Scripture
mankind are divided into two classes. In one place
they are the sheep and the goats which the good shep-
* It may be well to inform the Reader that this, and the dis-
course immediately following it, were preached the Sunday after
what usually, in a country village, is tenned the Feast Sunday : the
Feast Sunday, be it remembered, is, in most places, the commence-
ment of a week of idleness, drunkenness, and almost general dissi-
pation. Its probable origin may be seen in Milner's Church His-
tory, cent, vi, vol. iii, page 79.
* Matt, xxv, 32.
THE BETTER FEAST. 151
herd will eventually separate, the one from the other."
In another place they are the barren and the fruitful
branches of the true vine. b Again, they are compared
to tares and wheat ; the one of which shall be burned up
and the other gathered into the celestial garner. c They
are described also as walking after the flesh and after
the Spirit/ 1 And "then," says the Prophet Malachi,
"shall ye return and discern between the righteous and
the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that
serveth him not"* In the text, too, the Lord God him-
self clearly distinguishes between his servants and
others. The one shall eat, drink, and rejoice ; the
other shall hunger, thirst, and be sorrowful. Among
many things which characterize them respectively is
this the servants of the Lord are " careful for nothing,
but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving, they make known their requests unto
God., and the peace of God keeps their heart and mind
through Jesus Christ:" Such as " do evil before his
eyes and choose that wherein he delighteth not," are
careful and troubled about many things. The one are
solicitous to seek "first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness/' in the believing confidence that all
other needed things shall be super-added to the gift of
an only-begotten Son and eternal life in him : the other
are desirous mainly to possess "a portion in this life,"
and have little or no concern about a world to come.
The souls of both parties are alike immortal, and ca-
pable alike of immortal joys and pleasures: but the
gratifications of the one as entirely differ from the
gratifications of the other as do their respective desires,
tastes, aims, and hopes. "Behold!" saith the Lord
God; and let our ear be turned with li&tening and
heedful attention to "what the Lord God saith con-
cerning us" " Behold, my servants shall eat, but
b John xv, 1 P. e Matt, xiii, 24- 47. Rom. viii,
CU. Hi, 18,
153 THE BETTER FEAST.
Naturally do these words lead us to consider,
I. The blessedness of those \vho serve the Lord ;
And II. The wretchedness of those who serve him not.
In considering
I. The blessedness of those who- serve* the JLord.
We must observe that the Lord's servants ar they
whose hearts have felt the emptiness of all things here
below; whose souls have been won to Jesus Christ,
and who can feelingly say with Isaiah, " Other Lords
beside thee have had dominion over us; but by thee
only will we make mention of thy Name." f They have
not professedly merely, but really and truly 're-
nounced the Devil and all his works, the vain pomp-
and glory of the World, with all the sinful lusts of the
Flesh.' They found Satan to be a hard master, and
the ways of transgression also to be hard : God's service,
on the contrary, is their perfect and delightful freedom,,
and to do his will on earth as angels do it in the realms
above, is their desire and aim. They deem not them-
selves their own. They are the purchased property
of Him who hath redeemed them to God by his blood.
" Born from above'' they affect a "conversation in
Heaven." While their Lord delayeth his coming,
they " watch." " As the eyes of a servant look unto
the hand of his master, and as the eyes of a maiden
unto the hand of her mistress, (to catch the first inti-
mation of their will and to be ready instantly to obey
their call) so do their eyes wait upon the Lord their
God." s In short, they " serve the Lord with glad-
Dess," and their graciously condescending Lord, "re-
joicing over them to do them good," declares, " My
servants shall eat ; my servants shall drink ; my ser-
vants shall rejoice and sing for joy of heart."
They shall eat. The Lord's servants may be in a
country far removed from holiness and happiness, and
Ch. xxvi. 13. 9 Ps. 123, 2.
THE BETTER FEAST.
where is arisen a mighty famine of spiritual good ; but
"they shall want no manner of thing that is good."
It is with others to "fill their belly with husks;"
they have " bread enough and to spare." Plen-
teous, rich, and various are the provisions of their
" Father's house." Once, indeed, they were "aliens
and foreigners" even as others ; but now they are " fel-
low citizens with the saints and of the household of
God.'' Once they " were as sheep going astray ; now
they are returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of their
Souls." The good of all the Redeemer's kingdom is
their's. Christ, their Redeemer, feeds them. Himself
is their food. 1 ' On him by faith they feed. He is the
true Joseph to whom the true Israel apply for the bread
whereby themselves and their little ones may live.
Like the once poor sorrowing Han nah, iclien her pray-
-erwas heard, "she did eat and was no more sorrow-
ful :" f so the servants of the Lord Jesus, " eat and
are satisfied " They have, as their Redeemer had,
"meat to eat which the world knoweth not of"
They "hunger no more, neither thirst any more/' after
sin, the world, and the world's perishable and passing
good. They taste the graciousness of God. A mo-
ment's recollection before him and in the apprehension
of tilings eternal, affords a diviner joy to their souls
than a thousand years of pleasurable sin would do. They
are satiated with the Divine. goodness, k and filled with
good things. 1 The fruit of the Tree of life is their daily
comfort, and its leaves are for the healing of their sor-
rows. There is not a promise of mercy in the Bible
but affords food to their faith and sustenance to their
souls. In fine, they are " the blessed of the Lord;"
and their heritage is of me, saith the Lord." Indivi-
dually, therefore, may they well reply, " Surely the lot
is fallen unto me in a fair place ; i/c(t, I have a goodly
heritage."
But God's servants shall drink. They may bs in
'
' h John vi, 48 f 1 Sam. i, 10-18 . k Jer.xxxi, 25
1 Luke i, 53 m Hev. xxii, 2
154 THE BETTER FEAST.
" a dry and thirsty land where no water is :" but the
God whom they serve says, " When the poor and
needy seek water and there is none, and their tongue
faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God
of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in
high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys :
I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry
land springs of water."" Of old, he caused a refresh-
ing stream to issue from the rock of flint "to give
drink to Israel his chosen :" and now also would he
work the same gracious and mysterious work again
rather than his servants should not be refreshed and
blessed. Would work it, did I say ? Hath he not
wrought it ? Hath he not " provided some better
thing for us?" The rod of his justice hath smitten
the Rock of our Salvation, and now doth <f a pure ri-
Tcr of water of life, clear as crystal," cheering and ex-
hilarating as the dew of Heavenly blessing, go along
with his people as they journey onward through the
wilderness of the world to the Canaan of promise.
Time was, perhaps, when they too drank of the shallow
and unsatisfying streams of sensual carnal mirth : but
they were bitter waters as were the waters of Marah. 1 *
Drink as much as they would of these streams, they
" thirsted again." Desire remained unsatiated and
the soul unblessed. They felt as Hagar felt when she
sat down so mournfully io the wilderness to see her
child die. q God, at length, pointed them as he pointed
Hagar, to " a flowing well," and now how sweetly
sounds the voice of invitation in the words " Ho !
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and
he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat ; yea,
come, buy wine and milk without money and without
price !" r Where the thirst of desire has been created,
the abounding mercies and consolations of the Gospel
are bestowed. A voice of winning and beseeching
n Isa. xli, 17, 18 Deut. xxxii, 15 v Exod. xv, 23.
i Gen. xxi, 16 19 r Isa. lv, U
THE BETTER FEAST. 155
entreaty, says " Come unto me and drink :'" it is "the
voice of the Beloved." The servants of God are
drawn to him. Fearing at first to come, they cast
about them for " money" or merit to recommend
them to his mercy : Unable to find any, and feeling a
continually increasing "thirst," they, at last, venture
to come " without money and wilhout price." Poor
as they are, Jesus receives them graciously, and be-
comes to them, with all his treasured fulness of bless-
ings, their souls' dear Lord and Saviour. " All their
fresh springs are in Him." And so mercifully does he
deal with them, that they themselves become in heart
and spirit "as a watered garden, and like a spring of
water, whose waters fail not." 8 The Spirit of Christ
in his kindly influences refreshes now the believing
soul, and will eventually " spring up" and issue in
that soul's " everlasting life."* " Living water" does
the Heavenly Master give his disciples to drink ; and
every drop of spiritual comfort which they here enjoy
is to them both a pledge and a foretaste of that fathom-
less shoreless ocean of delight in which their souls
shall hereafter bathe for ever. With what propriety,
then, may we add
The servants of the Lord shall rejoice and sing for
joy of heart ! They may, it is true, be often in cir-
cumstances painful and distressing; "To trouble man
is born :" v but the servants of Christ can " take plea-
sure in necessities and distresses." Their Master's
strength is ' 'perfected," or shewn to be perfect, in their
weakness.* For his sake, therefore, they joy not in
consolations merely, but in tribulations also. Some-
times, it may be, "their sighs are many and their heart
is faint :" x but God " turns and revives them again,
and causes his servants to rejoice in him." Occasional
hunger, painfuliK -ss, and weariness, do but enhance the
value and add relish to the enjoyment of le a feast of
Isa. Iviii, 11 * John iv, 14 v Job r, 7.
2 Cor. xii, 9 Lam. i, 22
J56 THE BETTER FEAST.
fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, a feast of fat
things full of marrow. " y It is ft in the night" the
Lord especially ' c giveth songs." 1 Paul and Silas had,
perhaps, never sung so sweetly, had they not sung
amidst dungeon-horrors and midnight shades. 3 Prisons,
chains, and quaternions of soldiers, cannot affect " the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." The
liberty of His servants is a glorious liberty." There is
no one called in the Lord, even though he be a ser-
vant, but he is the Lord' s freeman* And my servants
shall sing, my servants shall rejoice, is the faithful
promise of a faithful God. " Heaviness may endure
for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." ''Light
is sown for the righteous," and "it springeth up
in their darkness." In all circumstances, they will
"speak good of their Redeemer's Name," and " sing
and make melody in their hearts to the Lord." They
will be telling of all his wondrous works, that his works
and mercies may be known among men. As for their
enemies, they shall laugh them to scorn, whilst among
themselves they shall enjoy a sweet and peaceful union
\vith their Lord, and with each other in him. As for the
poor in spirit ; them that mourn ; the meek ; them
that do hunger and thirst after righteousness ; the
merciful ; the pure in heart; the peace-makers ; the
reviled and the persecuted for Jesus' sake, they are
" blessed." None, indeed, know their blessedness,
but those who feel it: It is (c a joy with which the
stranger intermeddleth not." Even amid the agonies
of life's last conflict, Christian Principle evidenced b}'
Christian conduct, triumphs and rejoices. That con-
flict over, the servants of God shall indeed " rejoice
and sing for joy of heart!" A harp attuned to the
high praises of both redeemed and unfallen multitudes,
shall tell, in strains of the most perfect and unmingled
harmony, the blessedness of the people whose God is
y Isa.xxv, C z Job xxxv, 10 :i Acts xvi, 25.
b 1 Cor.vii, 22 Matt, v, 112
THE BETTER FEAST. 157
(he Lord Jehovah ; yea, the blessedness of the people
\vho have the Lord for their God. d They shall eat ;
they shall drink- ; they shall rejoicd : And when conic
to the heavenly Zion, they shall obtain joy and glad-
ness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 6
Mark, then, the blessedness of God's servants : see
how truly we may say " Happy art thou, O Israel !
who is like unto thee, O people, saved by the Lord ?'"
Consider we now
II. The wretchedness of those who serve Him not
But, alas ! my Brethren, that so fair and beautiful
a theme as that we have just considered, should be, as
it were, deformed by one in every respect its opposite !
One feels almost disposed to close the subject here,
rather than forego our contemplations on the blessed-
ness of the Lord's servants ; but did we, we should
leave half our text unnoticed, and those who serve not
God amongst you might suppose we feared to declare
unto them their wretchedness, One advantage, too,
we trust, will accrue from a prosecution of our subject
you will see the blessedness of God's servants con-
trasted with the wretchednes of those who serve him
not ; and things seen in contrast are usually the most
distinguishable arid impressive. But who are those
that serve not the Lord ? Such as " walk in a way
that is rrot good, after their own thoughts :" Such as
say, "Stand by thyself; come not near to me ; for I
am holier than thon art :" while, notwithstanding their
proud vaunting, they are <f a rebellious people," and
guilty of " abominable things:" Such as "forsake
the Lord, forget his holy mountain, and prepare a
table and furnish drink" (may we not without wrest-
ing them, construe these words to mean a drunken re-
vel ?} for the enemies of the Lord and his Servants:
such as, finally, hear not the voice of the Lord, but
" do evil before his eyes continually, and choose that
wherein he delighteth not." (See context) " Who,
4 Ps. 144, 15. Isa. xxxv, 10 f Deut. xxxiii, 29.
158 THE BETTER FEAST.
say they, is the Lord, that we should serve him ?'* " As
J'or this Man, we wilt not have Him to reign o~cer us."
" Our mouth is our own: Who is Lord over us ?*
Now, the wretchedness of such persons is extreme.
" Thus saith the Lord God, Ye shall be hungry; ye
shall be thirsty ; ye shall be ashamed, and shall cry for
sorrow of heart and shall howl for vexation of spirit."
They shall be hungry. What a craving may we ob-
serve in many a painful and continual craving, after
something unpossessed! There is within them a kind
of aching void. Aware of no higher good, having no
taste for spiritual pleasures, they endeavour to fill
the void which they so sensibly feel within thern, with
earthly and perishable things. If wealth be their idol,
they will " rise early and late take rest" to accumu-
late it. If pleasure be their idol, they will pass days
and nights together in the pursuit of it heedless of
fatigue, danger, or disease, whilst fulfilling so eagerly
the desires of the flesh and of the mind. If a village
feast be the object of expected or immediate enjoy-
ment, this, even this, trifling and vain as are its usual
accompaniments, will occasion more thought, anxiety,
and care, to many than an approaching Communion,
a dying bed, or even an eternal world beyond it.
What endeavour, strenuous endeavour, do we see to
please and to be pleased ; but in vain : " there is no
peace, saith my God, to the wicked :" they shall hun-
ger ; nor shall aught of a mere earthly kind ever be
found fully to satisfy the capacities of an immortal
soul. The worshippers of Mammon may eat indeed,
but " they feed on ashes." No permanent satisfac-
tion flows from carnal indulgence. Amidst this world's
The applicability of Scripture to human sentiment and cha-
racter is a great and decisive evidence of its Divine original. Who
but One that ** knew what was in man," and " searcheth all
things" could have dictated the above expressions ? How exactly
do they accord with the very feelings of the gay and worldly when
advised to abstain from revelling* and such like" destructive
pursuits !
THE BETTER FEAST. 159
sufficiency, a man may be in straits 5 . Dives seemed
to fare sumptuously, and that e~cenj day : but his soul
was lean and wretched. " The true bread" alone can.
nourish and sustain man's better part. Where this
is unknown and unvalued, possess what we may, enjoy
what we may, we neither possess nor enjoy any thing
worth having. Let the " servant of Sin" but become
" the servant of Righteousness/' and we will dare to
say that he will " set to his seal that our testimony is
true :" he will unhesitatingly acknowledge, " I have
eaten ashes as it were bread : I have spent my strength
for nought, and my money for that which satisfieth
not.*" And is not this to starve amidst abundance?
Is not this a state of mind the most comfortless and
wretched ?
Moreover, the Lord says those who serve him not
shall be thirsty. Where worldly, envious, covetous,
desires possess the mind, there is, as it were, a thirst :
but no " excess of riot," no abundance of worldly
good, no amusement however refined or vulgar, will
satisfy them. Like the Grave, they are ever saying,
" Give, give ;" but they never say, ee It is enough."
Every delight of the sensualist may be compared to
the water of Jacob's well, of which " whosoever
drinketh shall thirst again/' It is impossible that any
water but " the water of life" should gladden and re-
fresh our souls. " The god of this world" cannot
guide his people beside " waters of comfort." He
may tell them they are waters of comfort ; allure them
to a participation of them ; and drown their apprehen-
* This acknowledgement has been made more than once to the
Author by persons who have ' kept the Feast t * (as a union with
others in revelling and riot is usually called,) after they have seen
the folly of their ways and been reconciled to God through the
death of his Son. Let one who may read this note " rejoice with
trembling."
* Job xx, 2-2.
160 THE BETTER FEAST.
sion and sense of danger in frivolity and noise : but he
will be found a deceiver, and all his pleasures but so
many drops of " the lake that burneth with fire and
brimstone." Blame not our plainness of speech : shall
we see so many of our fellow sinners forsaking " the
Fountain of Living Waters, and hewing out to them-
selves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no wa-
ter,'"' and shall we refrain from crying, " Ho ! every
one that thirsteth" ho ! every one that is desirous of
happiness, forsake and away with your lying vanities,
and " with joy shall ye draw water from the wells of
Salvation?" \cshalf thirst, while ye drink only of
this world's good. And O how wretched will it be
everlastingly to thirst, and everlastingly to be destitute
of mercy and peace. The rich man we before alluded
to, wanted " a drop of water" in hell, and even that
little favour he could not obtain. Let the drunkard
hear and tremble. Let the sensualist fear and pray.
But, such as serve not God shall be ashamed and
sliall cry for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of
spirit. Shame; sorrow; vexation; sorrow of heart ;
vexation of spirit. What an accumulation of words
to express the wretchedness of the ungodly! However
things and circumstances may blend one with the other
now, and however dimly their consequences may be
discerned, the time is coming when the things of this
world and the realities of an after state, will appear
in their just and proper light. God and Mammon,
with their respective services, wages, and rewards ;
the pleasures of piety and those of sense ; the blessed-
ness of the real Christian, and the wretchedness of the
mere nominal professor of Christianity ; all will easily
and clearly appear. Then how ashamed and con-
founded will the servants of Mammon be ! How wil-
lingly would they that "the mountains and the rocks
of the earth should fall on them and cover them !' ih
But, were it possible for them to be buried beneath the
h Luke xxiii, 30.
THE BETTER FEAST.
ruins of universal nature, yet, possessing a conscious
existence, shame and disappointment would possess
their anguished heart: their "heart" wouid be sor-
rowful, and their "spirit" would be vexed. Where
would now be those foolish sports., those carnal songs,
those ' ' filthy jestings," wherewith they once sought to
gratify and please themselves and others? Alas! they
are exchanged for cries of sorrow and bowlings of
despair. The once-forgotten words of the preacher
" I said of laughter, it is mad ; and of mirth, what
doeth it?"- will now be painfully remembered. The
ungodly will see that " wisdom excelleth folly, as far
as light excelleth darkness." 1 Often now "in the
laughter" of the gay and worldly, " the heart is sor-
rowful ;" and "the end of their mirth," we are sure,
" is heaviness.'" 1 If the votary of pleasure would con-
fess it, there is, not infrequently, amidst his gayest
scenes, an horrible and a dreadful anguish of heart and
soul witnin him. In the secrecy of retirement, in the
stillness of recollection, there is often a smothered
cry of sorrow or howl of vexation. Smiles may beam
upon the public face, and Gallio-like there may be a
"don't care" apparent in the whole outward deport-
ment, but a worm gnaws those smiles at their root, and
within there is "a fearful looking-for of judgment and
fiery indignation." The meek and lowly followers of
the meek and lowly Jesus may be scorned, and their
conscientiousness may be termed precisencss, metho-
dism, or what not : but the enemies of God are con-
strained to allow the excellence of moral and spiritual
worth, and the felt conviction of their mind is ' We
revere, we honour, we approve, your character , and
secretly we wish ourselves like you.' Such is the
wretched bondage of these, "sinners against their own
souls." God curses their blessings. 1 Darkness, with
weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, awaits
'
1 Eccles. ii, 2, 13. k Prov. xiv, 13. Mai. ii, 2.
M
162 THE BETTER FEAST.
them. m They are "wretched, and will, hereafter, be
. but I forego the subject : I was going, how-
ever, to allude to the hereafter destiny of those who
serve not God : but it is enough to repeat They shall
hunger, they shall thirst, they shall cry for sorrow of
heart and howl for vexation of spirit.
Such is both the blessedness of the Lord's servants,
and the wretchedness of those who serve him not: And
that you may the more powerfully feel these things, I
would, in closing this Discourse, ADDRESS
1. Ye who serve the Lord.
And to you I say, Be thankful to the Lord in that
he has made you his people. Ye were once in bondage
to Sin and Satan even as others ; but in the day of your
Redeemer's power, ye became willing to serve a Master
in Heaven. Ye were wanderers, ye are returned. Ye
were slaves, ye are children. Religion was your
drudgery, it is your pleasure. "A portion in this life"
was all vou desired; Christ is now your "all and in
all." Ye are gratefully pleased that "this Man should
reign oter you," and happily would ye ?pend and be
spent in his service. Then may you "eat, drink, and
rejoice." The Lord whom you serve engages to sup-
ply your every want, to accept your every service, and
to reward, infinitely beyond its utmost merit, your
every work of faith and labour of love. A "hundred-
fold" will he repay all that you may lose for his sake.
Though "eternal life" will not be the wages of your
servitude, yet "a cup of cold water" the most trifling
kindness, bestowed in love upon a servant or disciple
of Jesus, ?f shall in no wise lose its reward." Your
eternal life will reward "the travail of the Redeemer's
soul," and be given for the Redeemer's sake to you.
Still, however, the service of love will meet " a reward
of grace," and there is nothing you even design or en-
deavour from faith in Christ and love to him, that will
Mat. viii, 12.
THE BETTER FEAST. 1 63
toe disregarded -or forgotten. If so, how unreservedly,
Jiow cheerfully, how gratefully, should you serve your
Lord! Be careful, then, for nothing. " Bread shati
be given you ; your waters shall be sure." The great
Father and Master of the Universal Church will surely
provide for those of his own household. The "sure
mercies of the tfuerlasting covenant'' are your'a. De-
pend on Jesus for them as your souls may need them.
Trust in his power ami wisdom. He is too powerful
nd wise to be distrusted. You may not always see
the reasons of his conduct towards you ; but " what
ye know not now, ye shall know hereafter." Let him
be the companion and the food of your soul's best feast.
Then indeed shall your "mouth be filled with laughter
and your tongue with praise." "Psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs," shall express the joyous gratula-
tion of your hearts, and ye shall indeed rejoice. Turn
not again, no, not in appearance, to "the weak and
beggarly elements" whereunto so many desire to be in
bondage ; but ''stand fast in your Christian liberty."
Use not that liberty " for an occasion to the flesh :"
but let your inquiry be "Lord, what wouldest thou
have me to do?" and "what your hand findeth to do,
do it with your might," " with good-will doing service,
not as pleasing men, but God who searcheth the heart."
In your social and friendly visits, forget not "whose
servants ye are." Do not be ashamed of Christ and of
his word. " Hold fast the profession of your faith,"
and let the superiority of your religious principle ap-
pear in your indifference to mere worldly enjoyment and
carnal mirth. Think of the mercies of your God ; and
in the recollection of his " exceeding great and pre-
cious promises," "eat, O Beloved, yea drink, drink
abundantly, O Beloved."" So shall you "go from
strength to strength until you appear before the Lord
in Zion :" and when you have reached the city of your
everlasting habitation, "ye shall hunger no more, nei-
u Cant, r, 1.
164; THE BETTER FEAST.
ther thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on
you, nor any heat: For the Lamb who is in the midst
of the throne shall feed you, and shall lead you unto
Jiving fountains of water ; and God shall wipe away
all tears from your eyes."
2. To ye who serve not God,
I say, Think what is your real state and danger.
Your disinclination to God's service, and the willing
surrender of yourselves, your mind, strength, and time,
to the world, very plainly intimates whose you are and
whom you serve. Your wages will correspond with
your servitude: and "the wages of sin is DEATH."
Solomon tauntingly addresseth you, saying, (e Re-
joice, O young man in thy youth, and let thy heart
cheer thee in the days of thy youth ; and walk in the
ways of thine heart, and the sight of thine eyes, but
know thou,jbr all these things, God will bring thee into
judgment. '"* And consider Whose judgment it is you
dare. ' c Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thoti
thunder with a voice like his?" You may, if you
please, " eat, drink, and be merry :" but the world,
with its fashions, friendships, and pleasures, will most
surely fail you ; whilst your hunger, thirst, and sor-
row will remain. If you go into eternity without a
taste of the Redeemer's graciousness, or a relish for
spiritual things, good were ii for you if you had never
been born. Heaven truly is opened its everlasting
doors are unfolded ; but only for believers. " Bless-
ed truly are the dead who die in the Lord " Free
truly are those whom the Son makes free all are slaves
beside. 11 And the portion of a child or servant will
certainly never be awarded to a slave. The glorious
end of man's existence will he lost in you, and its loss
will you mourn with unavailing sorrow and vexation
forever. "Except ye eat the flesh and drink the
blood of the Son of God," you will be found destitute
Rev. vii, 16, 17. i 1 Ectlus. xi, 9* * John viii, 36.
THE BETTER FEAST. 165
of spiritual life. If ye cannot relish the Feast which
the Lord maketh in his holy mountain below, no feast
with the redeemed in glory awaits your coming into
the eternal world. If "the songs of Zion" here afford
no melodious gladness to your souls, you will never join
the " Alleluia" of angels and the spirits of the just
above. Then think on these things. Have no fellow-
ship with the workers of iniquity. Come out from
among them. Seek the renewing, converting, sancti-
fying, grace of the Holy Spirit: "seek and you shall
find." "Let him that is athirst come, and whosoever
will, let him take of the water of life freely." 1 "
' Rev. xxii. 17.
-
.
'3 *
DISCOURSE XII
DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED,
LUKE xxfi, 64.
And Peter Jollowed ajar off.
THERE is a short, but beautiful and comprehensive
description of the Lord's People in the 148th Psalm
which cannot fail, we conceive, to please and interest
every thoughtful and considerate mind: they are de-
scribed as " a People NEAR unto Him." The Lord
their God hath chosen them to be a special People
unto himself/ and they have been brought nigh by the
blood of Jesus. b Their fellowship is with the Father
and with his son, Jesus Christ.' A holy familiarity
subsists between them and the eternal God. Does He
say, " Seek ye my face ?" their hearts reply, " Thy
face, Lord, will we seek." d They are happy only
when the light of his countenance shines brightly on
them. So peculiar a People are they* a People so
peculiarly privileged, that we may well ask with Moses,
" Who is like unto thee, O People ?" f Who, indeed ?
Where shall we find such ? Whom does this near-
ness to God characterise? How few walk with God
as Enoch walked with him ! How few converse with
Dent, vii, 6. h Eph. ii, 13. c 1 John i. 7.
* Ps. 278. 1 Pet. ii, 9. f Dcut. xxxiii, 29.
DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED. 167
God as Abraham conversed with him !* May we not
say as the Apostle said " All men (with but few ex-
ceptions) seek their own things, not the things of Jesus
Christ ?'" 1 True, a profession of piety is not uncom-
mon : there is not a little apparent nearness to God:
In some neighbourhoods religion happens to be preva-
lent : many are awed into a respect for it and for its
accustomed forms : it is, perhaps, reputable to be
pious : a profession of piety is therefore assumed :
many follow the Lord ; but, alas ! it is afar off: there
is a want of decisiveness in the mind and character :
they " endure for awhile, and in time of temptation,
fall away."' Such was Peter's indecision ; and from
the circumstance of his following his Lord afar off, we
shall take occasion to show
I. What is implied in following the Lord
afar off:
IT. What usually induces any to do so :
And III. Why we should determine to follow Him
fully.
We are to shew
I. What is implied in following the Lord afar off *:
It is implied that there is a Lord to follow, and to
be convinced that we ought to follow him. Peter knew
and acknowledged Jesus to be " the Christ, the Son
of the living God;" he felt it, moreover, to be his duty
to follow him ; he, therefore, followed Jesus : but,
how did he follow him ? Why, Peter went with Jesus
to the garden of Gethsemane : there, however, he
could not watch with his Lord " one hour." He went
with Jesus to the Judgment Hall : when come thither,
he " tarried without." John the more affectionate
and now more courageous John, " went out and
brought in Peter :" when within, Peter mixed not
with the friends of Jesus Christ, but with " the ser-
Gen. v, 22, and x?iii, 17 k Phil, ii, 21. k Lukeviii,13
168 DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED,
vants of the High Priest." He followed the Lord, you
observe; but it was *' afar off." And thus to a certain
extent many follow the Lord. They believe that te God
hath anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost
aind with power/'and <f hath exalted Him tobea Prince
and a Saviour :" they therefore 'call and profess (hem-
selves Christians ;' are, (it may be, in their own judg-
ment) very religious, and particularly so on the Sab-
bath and with religious persons ; bow at the name of
Jesus, honour him with their lips^ and with their
mouth shew much love ; but (alas ! for this "jair
shew In the flesh" that a but must follow it) where is
their watchfulness ? where is their self-denial ? where
is their acknowledgement of Jesus Christ in circum-
stances of difficulty and trial ? Peter-like, they follow
the Lord, but it is afar off. Jesus triumphant, riding
into Jerusalem amidst the hosannas of the multitude,
they acknowledge and would make a King ; Jesus suf-
fering, they, along with the same multitude, crucify and
away with. Possibly they observe the Sabbath, and
very likely partake of the Lord's Supper ; but it is
pleasing to them to think there is but one Sabbath in
a week ; and far more joyous and alive are they at
another feast than at <f the Marriage Supper of the
Lamb." ( How unfortunate/ say they, ' is it that the
Sacrament is next Sunday/ when in the week preced-
ing an opportunity offers of attending some theatrical
performance, a card-club, or any thing of the like in-
nocent kind ! Alas! for them, they must either forego
the Sacrament or their amusement: whichever of the
twain they forego, we know full well where their
heart will be. These followers of the Lord would fain
go to heaven would fain be happy after death : In
order to be so, they see clearly that they must be reli-
gious and continue still to be so; but where is their
willingness to be so. k They know not the freedom
which marks the presence of the Eternal Spirit. 1 The
* Ps, 110 3. 2 Cor. iii, 17.
DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED.
Scriptures, perhaps, they read ; but not tf as a mer-
chant seeking goodly pearls, 1 ' or as one would search
for '' a treasure hid in a field." With them, it is a
something towards expiating their guilt or buying sal-
vation. They pray too, and their prayer may be c di-
ligently to keep God's commandments/ ' perfectly to
love him, and worthily to magnify his holy Name :
they may even ask Almighty God for 'such a sense of
all his mercies' as will constrain them to ' shew forth
his praise not only with their lips, but in their lives,
by giving up themselves to his service and walking be-
fore him in holiness and righteousness all their remain-
ing days;' and yet all this solemnity of expression may
be no more than the sound of a tinkling cymbal.
Where is their diligence to " rule themselves after
God's Word ?" Where is there not the perfection
of love," 1 but any real love whatever ? If the Letter
of the Law be observed, how is i\\t Spirit of it regard-
ed ? Where is that total surrender of self body,
soul and spirit, to the Lord, which our Church so
beautifully and clearly teaches and solicits ? Alas !
how many " draw nigh to God with their mouth,
while their heart is far from him." Peter followed
afar off, and so do they. They Cc follow Jesus in
the way ;'' but halt, go back, and turn to the right
hand or to the left, as suits their taste or inclination.
J\ow, as Peter sat, they sit with the Lord at his table ;
presently, they go into companies of worldly and
ungodly people see Jesus betrayed and crucified
afresh, hear his Truth calumniated, and his People
mocked : and yet dare not avow their attachment
to the one or speak a word in vindication of the
other. Know ye not such characters ? Do we de-
scribe mere ideal persons t* You know we do not:
and it is in the temper and conduct of such characters
and persons that you may see What is implied in fol-
lowing the Lord afar off. : Jtilt
"' 1 J;.1)1I IV, 17.
170 DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED.
But surely there must be something sadly ensnaring
and deceptive that prevents our following the Lord
fully. We proceed therefore, to shew
II. What usually induces any to do so :
The circnmstances, situations, and events, which
operate on the mind and influence the choice of the ge-
nerality, are various. But, there are, we conceive,
two things which, in particular, induce many to fol-
low the Lord afar off: These are The fear of man,
and the love of the world.
And (1) the fear of Man. It is a fact which no
true observer of human kind will controvert, that, na-
turally, man glories in what should shame him, and is
ashamed of what should be his glory. This contra-
riety of principle we inherit from the first transgressor.
No sooner had Adam eaten the forbidden fruit but he
\as ashamed and afraid of his Maker. This shame
of God, and its unholy consequent- fear of man, are
common to our fallen nature. I have no doubt but
that one and all of you whom I address can recollect
a period in your earthly being when you have felfc
tf ashamed of Christ and of his Word," and that
through a fearful apprehension of what man might
think or say of you. This was Peter's case. When it
was said to him " Thou art of them" that believe on
Jesus and again, " This man also was with Jesus"
and again, " Of a truth, this fellow also was with
Him, for he is a Galilean" so ashamed was Peter of
his Lord and so afraid of Man's disfavour, that thrice
did he disavow any knowledge of his Master, and to
his third denial of Him, added "oaths and curses."
Alas! may we say, what is man? Had Peter gone
boldly into the Palace of the High Priest had he
feared God rather than man had he owned in the
person of the persecuted and insulted Jesus the Friend
and Saviour of his soul, why, perhaps, he would have
* Gen. iii, 7, 10.
DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED. 171
iliared his Master's sufferings and been taunted and re-
proached as Jesus was : this he feared ; and therefore
from the fear of man, Peter followed afar off. And is
this case singular ? Does it stand the only of its kind
in the records of human frailty and weakness ? By no
means. Half-heartedness in religion is no uncommon
thing. Multitudes shrink from a sincere and candid
avowal of their faith in Christ. With the pious, they
affect piety ; with the impious, they forego their piety,
and wrapping their talent, for a season, in a napkin,
they bury it in the earth, and lose the recollection of a
hereafter reckoning, in the pursuit of mere earthly and
perishable good. They would attend the ministration of
the Truth; but they fear being observed where it is
faithfully ministered. They would read and sing and
pray in their social visits with each other ; but it would
be peculiar, and people would make remarks. They
would like to have family worship, and perhaps occa-
sionally have it, but a stranger's presence is quite a
sufficient pretext for its omission. And whence is this ?
The fear of man is the occasion of it. People follow
the Lord; but care not to be known to do so. They
would rather " all men should speak well of them,"
forgetful of the ' woe" which the friendship of the
world too surely induces. They would worship the
God of Israel, yet fain be allowed to " bow themselves
in the House of Rimmon." p It is true, the Scripture
says, "Fear not them which kill the body, and after
that have no more that they can do ;" but " fear Him,
which, after he bath killed, hath power to cast itito
Hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him :" q but thin por-
tion of the Bible is passed lightly over, and still "in a
a sinful and adulterous generation" are many ashamed
of their Lord/
But we said the love of the world was another
thing whereby many were induced to do so. By the
Luke vi, 26 P 2 Kings v, 18 i Luke xii, 4, 5
r Mark viii, 38
172 DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED.
world is usually meant pleasure, honour, wealth, fame,
or whatever else of a worldly kind satisfies the carnal
mind : by the love of the world is meant a preference
of its good, to the fear, favour, love, and service of
God. The world finds access to our heart by all our
senses. Our heart it finds a congenial soil for all its
vanities. It is, therefore, pursued with avidity and
coveted with earnestness. Personal safety, spiritual
peace, yea, the Son of God himself, is sacrificed for the
world and the possession of its good. But, the love of
the world is not compatible with the love of God.
God's express command is " Love not the world,
neither the things of the world/' 3 " All that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world," 1
and is therefore opposed to God and to his righteous
government. Those, then, who will, at any rate, in-
dulge the flesh, gratify the senses, deify (if we may so
say) their persons, and bow down to the shrine of
ever changeful and insipid fashion, must, as James ob-
serves, constitute themselves the enemies of God and
of his kingdom/ Now, many would fain share the
felicity of the Redeemer's servants bear their palm
and wear their crown ; but they cannot be prevailed
on to forego earthly for Heavenly things, to cease
from things below and to set their affections on things
above. They would look to the cross of Jesus for re-
demption from sin, but not, equally with that, for de-
liverance from this present evil world. w " The cup of
salvation," they will not refuse ; but there is a cup of
a widely different kind which they prefer to, that.
" The songs of Zion" befit the solemnity o the Sab-
bath ; and add a zest to public worship; but other
songs songs that swell not with the praises of Jesus
Christ are sweeter to them. They are exceedingly
afraid of over-much righteousness, but seldom doubt
1 1 John ii, 15 t j^ 17 v Ch. iv, 4, 01 iginaJ
* <Sal. i, 4
DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED. 173
the probability of their not being righteous enough. *
" Lord, Lord," say they to Jesus Christ ; but they do
not the things he commands them. ' I believe* in
Him is their individual acknowledgement ; but "in
works they deny him." They would be disciples of
Christ; but they must keep friends with the Mammon
of Earth. We tell them, and would allure them thi-
ther, of a world of immortal glory : Our word, it may
be, is heeded for a moment ; but there follows no ago-
nizing effort to obtain it. y We tell them of Christ,
and assure them of the blessedness of those " who fol-
low the Lamb whithersoever He goeth" " through
evil and through good report" below, and then through
the blissful realms of His everlasting kingdom : Per-
haps they follow him ; but it is coldly, distantly, for-
mally. There is no decisiveness of principle or cha-
racter. With all their pretences to religion, the root
of the matter is wanting. They are still afar off.
Zoar is in view : but something wins the attention
and obtains the regard, and they linger in the plain
that stretches between Sodom and their refuge. 2 e< The
love of money" may well be called "the root" of this
evil ; and " how hardly shall they that have riches
enter into the kingdom of God !" a I think, then, you
will allow that the fear of man and the love of the
icorld are those things which do usually induce people
to follow the Lord affar off.
It now only remains to shew
I II. Why ice should determine to follow Him fully :
There are many reasons why we should be deter-
mined to follow the Lord fully and unreservedly: mark
the following.
It is diskottourable to God to follow him afar off.
God says, "My son, give me thy heuri\" lie asks
its undivided homage. Nothing nothing whatever,
* Matt, v, 20 y Luke xiii, 24 * Gen. xix, 16
Luke xviii, 2224.
I7i DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED,
must rival him in our-affections. He veils the glories
of his eternal Godhead with humanity, in order to be
more accessible to his creatures. He is in Jesus the
altogether admirable and lovely worthy of our su-
preme regard, our unbounded veneration, our ever-
lastingly increasing love. The alienation of our heart
from him must then be dishonourable to him. If we
refuse him our heart, or allow him only a subordinate
place in our affection, we do " despite unto the spirit
of grace," and manifestly value rather man's favourable
opinion of us, than the approving judgment of our
God. But "who art thou, that thou shouldest be
afraid of a man that shall die, or of the son of man
which shall be made as grass, and forgettest the Lord
thy Maker ?" d God is our Father : "if then, says he,
I be a Father, where is mine honour?" God is our
Master: " if then, says he again, I be your Master,
where is my fear ?" e " One is your Master, even
Christ." f And shall it be thought some great thing
to wait on the person and to execute the will of some
earthly potentate, and a thing mean and dishonourable
to serve the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings ?
Shall it be grateful to us to speak approvingly of some
human master, benefactor, or friend ; and shall we shun
the mention of the all-glorious, all-gracious Master,
Benefactor, and Friend of our souls? No fellow-crea-
ture would thank us for a heartless and unwilling ser-
vice : will the Son of God deem himself honoured by
our following him afar off? He bids us to "take up
our cross daily and follow him," and tells us we "can-
not be his disciples" unless we do so. 8 Not with our
lips merely are we to draw nigh to him and to honour
him, but with our heart. It is " with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness," and subsequently that
" confession is made by the mouth unto salvation." 11
It will avail little to be not far from the kingdom of
A Isa. li, 12, 13. e Mai. i, 6. r Mat'.xxiii, 10<
s Luke xiv, 27, h R m. x, 10.
DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED. 175
God, it we get no further. It is only by a cordial and
entire surrender of ourselves and all our powers to the
Lord, and a simple, sincere, and unaffected deference
to his will, that we can duly honour him. Peter fol-
lowed afar off, and how dishonourable to his Master
was this conduct ! Caleb " followed the Lord fully,"
and how was the Lord honoured in his servant ! { O
Beloved, let these examples admonish us., and be the
saying that is written influential on our hearts ''Them
that honour me, I will honour; and they that despise
me shall be lightly esteemed." k
It is, moreover, ruinous to our peace to be undecided
in religion. I do not believe we can possibly be happy
while we are afar off from Christ. There will be a
painful sense of insincerity, and, consequently, a con-
tinual apprehension of Divine displeasure. The doubts
and fears, the failures and sorrows, of many professed
followers of Jesus Christ, may, we conceive, be truly
traced to double-mindedness in his service. People
may hope by compliance now with the wishes of
one party, and anon with the wishes of another, to
please all parties, and to keep on friendly terras both
with the friends and enemies of the Saviour ; but in
vain : really and decidedly Christian characters will
deem them inconsistent ; and the world will not thank
them for half their heart. In such a case religion will
be endured rather than enjoyed. Peace of conscience
will precariously depend not on the atonement of the
holy Jesus, but on the favour or disfavour of man.
Now, union betwixt light and darkness there can be
none : the one will struggle with the other, till the
stronger dominates. Christ hath no concord with
Belial ; and therefore he that believeth should have
no part with an infidel. 1 Look at Peter : he would
please men ; to do so, he thrice denied his Lord.
True ; " the Lord turned and looked upon Peter/'
and that look of mingled tenderness and reproof
' D'eut. i, 30. * 1 Sam. ii, 30. 1 2 Cor. vi, 15.
167 DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED.
humbled the fallen Apostle, and brought him to
tears of penitential sorrow; but the tears he shed
\vere tears of bitterness and invariably will the same
cause produce the same effect. Distressed soever as
ye may be, there is one question which will gene-
rally discover to you the occasion of your an-
guish ' How do you follow the Lord, fully or afar
off?' Let this then be another argument for decisive-
ness of mind on the side of God and godliness. u The
day of the Lord is near IN THE VALLEY OF DECISION."
To follow the Lord afar off is, finally, injurious to
ike interests of Religion. It not only detracts from
the excellence and satisfactoriness of personal piety,
but it seems to say to a world listening ever to catch
unfavourable rumours of religion, because glad at all
times to find excuses for its negligence and sinfulness
* There is not that in Religion which the Scriptures
declare there is, and which some few profess to find in
it : We do not find in Christ those unsearchable riches,
and in his service those pleasurable joys, which we
thought to have found: His kingdom, He tells us, is
not of this world; we must, therefore, forego the
world we love, and walk by faith in view of a king-
dom to us future and unknown. Those who persecut-
ed Him, too, he tells us, will also persecute us .- now
we would fain reign without suffering with him. And
what is more, we must sit at our Master's feet (how
humbling!) and there whilst we sit, we must learn of
him, notwithstanding all our innate greatness and mo-
ral goodness, to be meek and lowly in heart. Follow-
ing him as we please, does not suffice. With //(how
hard the requirement !) with ALL our heart, and mind,
and soul, and strength, must we love him. We must
forsake ALL to follow him : on this condition only
(how sad !) will he acknowledge us to be his followers.
Deny ourselves, and watch, and pray, we must ; and
that, not statedly (as before a Communion, for in
m Joel iii, 14.
DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED. 177
stance) but daily, hourly, constantly. You need not,
therefore, trouble yourselves much about religion or
wish to be very religious. Jesus of Nazareth is a poor
man: no Worldly honours will reward your following
him, and by our following him so distantly, you may
see we do not very greatly love him or very abundant-
ly enjoy his favour/ And why, we would know, do
you not love him more, and more abundantly enjoy the
consolations that are in him ? It is simply because you
follow the Lord afar off. And can the conduct which
says in effect what we have said in words recommend
religion-? Far from it. It is too true that a reluctant
or an inconsistent profession of religion does very ma-
terial injury to the progress and increase of vital god-
liness. Our own Church says, ' If any man be a dumb
Christian, not professing his faith openly, but cloaking
and colouring himself for fear of danger, he giveth
men occasion, justly and with good conscience, to
doubt lest he have not the grace of the Holy Ghost
within him, because he is tongue-tied and doth not
speak." 1 Whereas, let the same individual " draw
nigh to God," and become cr valiant fo? the truth in the
earth," how surely will "his zeal provoke'very many!"
how many will admire in him the religion of Jesus !
and how many will possibly be excited to say, " We
will go with you ; for we have heard that God is with
you!"
Because then to follow the Lord partially and
hesitatingly, is dishonourable to God, ruinous to our
peace, and injurious to the interests of religion, should
we, therefore, be determined to follow him fully.
I have now shewn you, as I purposed doing, What
is implied in following the Lord afar off, What usually
induces any to do so, and Why we should determine
to follow him fully.
n Horn, for Whitsunday. Zech. viii, 23.
178 DECISION OF CHARACTEPw ENFORCED.
Allow me, in closing, to ENQUIRE,
1. Do you follow the Lord at all ?
Many did not when he was on earth : many do not
now he is in Heaven. The former we deem more ex-
cusable than the latter: for the former saw in Jesus
only "a man of sorrows ;" we know him to be "over
all God blessed for ever:" we bear his name; have
been, by the ordinance of baptism, admitted into his
visible Church ; are bound by covenant-engagements
not to be ashamed of Christ crucified, but manfully to
fight under his banner, against the world, the flesh,
and the devil. Now do you feel the nothingness of
the world, and do you dare its utmost enmity against
your Saviour and your adherence to him ? Do you
mortify the deeds of the body ? Do you maintain a
warfare, offensive and defensive, with your ghostly
enemy, the devil? And is it possible, by your own
conduct and deportment, for all to "take knowledge
of you that you have been with Jesus?" Certainly,
there ought not to be an adult person among you that
did not profess to follow the Lord. Peter wept for
following him afar off. How bitterly will you weep
that follow him not at all! You may choose to find
your own ways, and to do your own pleasure ; but you
will choose those ways and do that pleasure to your
ruin. "If, then, the Lord be God, follow him." p
" Jesus hath left us an example that ye should follow
his, steps."' 1 Then arise and follow him. Come with
the Marys to his cross: gaze belieyingly on Jesus
crucified, and gaze till you can feelingly exclaim
" God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world.'" 1 And again, if My
soul followeth hard after thee : thy right hand up-
holdeth me."* Hence I am led to enquire
* 1 Kings xviii, 21. 1 1 Pet. ii,21. r Gal. vi, 14-
Ps. 63, *.
DECISION OF CHARACTER ENFORCED. 179
2. If you are following the Lord, HOW are youfol-
/uidufr him? Is your heart in your professed subjec-
tion to him ? What motive influences your conduct?
Is your mind (as our xvii Art. says) drawn up to high
and heavenly things? Do you walk, from really
Christian principle, religiously in good vtorks? " Ex-
amine yourselves, I pray you, whether ye be ip the
faith, prove your own selves." 4 It will be sad for you
to think yourselves'/^ the faith, and to be found out of
it. Following afar off will not suffice. It is awfully
dangerous to the soul. " Remember Lot's wife." She
was out of Sodom and on the way to Zoar ; but she
looked, only looked, back, and she became the monu-
mentof indignation. The Israelites, too, in the wilder-
ness of Sinai proclaimed a feast to Jehovah: but their
god was an idol and their feast idolatry. Think too
of the Jews "The temple of the Lord, the temple of
the Lord, the temple of the Lord, said they, are we;"
but tf they were a stiff-necked and gainsaying people."
Think of Demas too: Demas was one that followed
the Lord : twice is he honourably mentioned in con-
junction with Mark and Luke/ and yet Demas forsook
the Apostle Paul, "haying loved this present world." w
Now " these things are our ensamples." They should
warn the every Peter among you. They should lead
you to pray that prayer "Draw me, and we will run
after thee."* Let Peter in his after zeal, intrepidity,
and labour, be to you an example of diligence, fidelity,
and love. Heed the advice which, from a personal ex-
perience of human weakness and redeeming mercy,
Peter gives you ; y and may our Lord Jesus Christ,
' after ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect
stablish, strengthen, sett/eyou :" To Him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
* 2 Cor. xiii,5. T Philem. 24, and Col. iv, 14. w 2Tiin.iv, 10.
* Can. i, 4. y See 1 Epis. r, 9.
CARE FOR THE SOUL,
PSALM 1424.
No man cared for my soul.
THE term 'soul' has various significations in Holy
Scripture. In J Thess. v, 23, 24, it signifies that
mere animal existence which the inferior orders of the
creation possess alike with man. It is taken, too, for
the whole person, both soul and body; as in Gen. xii,,
5, we read that Abram ee took the souls which he had
gotten in Haran," that is, the servants he had pur-
chased and the children which had been born to them
" to go into the land of Canaan." In several places,
it must be understood to mean the life of man. This
is probably the meaning of the term i our text. lf No
man," says David, tf eared for my soul :" that is, na
man valued my life, or endeavoured to preserve it. Saul,
his father-in-law, was become his persecutor : refuge,
David tells us, failed him : with his spirit overwhelm-
ed within him, he fled to the cave of Adullam : a there
he betook himself to prayer cried unto the Lord with
his voice and poured out his complaint before him ;
the burden of which was no man cared for his soul.
The term f soul,' however, is expressive also of man's
rational and immortal part. b This is its general and
common acceptation, and in this sense we shall choose
1. b Matt, x, 28.
^i^ ruit THE SOUL. 181
to use it. Our soul, the wisdom, power, and benefi-
cence of God created: our soul, the blood of Jesus
Christ redeemed : our soul, the grace of the Holy
Spirit draws, purifies, and exalts. Should not, then,
this soul of our's be cared for? "No man/' says the
royal Psalmist, " cared for my soul." Nor is the case
of the Psalmist singular. An awful carelessness for
the soul prevails. This it is our wish to corroct, and
we have chosen the text before us if haply, by the Di-
vine blessing, we may, in some measure, correct it. I
shall say
I. How unusually the soul is cared for.
And II. Why especially it should be cared for.
And I. How UNUSUALLY the soul is cared for will ap-
pear in three or four instances of carelessness for it.
1. How many a Child may say 'My parents cared
not for my soul : They cared for my body, and for my
body's health and preservation: They cared for my
temporal comfort ; they got me bread to eat and rai-
ment to put on : They cared for me when at any time
I lay sick upon my bed ; they spared no trouble to do me
good and to get me well again : but, they cared not for
mi/ SOUL.' Now, may not many a child say this ?
Parents, commonly, are desirous, and very so, to pro'
vide for their children ; to see them well off in life,
and comfortably settled in the world; all which may be
harmless and proper in its place; but, when God gives
children (for " children and the fruit of the womb
are an heritage and gift that cometh of the Lord,"} c He
says in effect, * Educate these little immortal beings
for me: Bring them up in the nurture and admonition
of their Lord : Care for their souls ; care for them
chiefly ; care for them constantly : Tell them I have
redeemed such by the bloodshedding of my Son: Tell
them that though they lie the ruined wreck of sin upon
* Ps. 127. 3.
ARE FOR THE SOUL.
that dust whence their earthly tenement was taken.,
yet that they are capable of a new and a divine nature :
Tell them I have prepared for them that love me such
good things as pass all human comprehension, and
that I require their remembrance of me now in the
days of their youth.' But who does this, my Brethren,
who ? do you yourselves do this ? Few children are,
as were Samuel, Jeremiah, and the Baptist John, sanc-
tified from the womb. Of their own souls, they are
very generally careless. Their carelessness, however,
affords no excuse for the parents not caring for them :
but rather a powerful incentive to parental care.
2. How many a Servant, too, may say, ' No man
careth for my soul.' Servants are, by no means, to
be despised on account of their poverty or servitude.
Honest servitude is honourable. Our holy and merci-
ful Redeemer " made himself of no reputation and
took upon him the form of a servant."* fi As one
that serveth," did He live among men, and in Him have
we all " a Master/' We cannot say that He cares not
kindly for the souls of his servants. Would all other
Masters cared though it were but a thousandth part
as kindly for their servants as Jesus cares for his !
Their kindly care, even then, would not be little. But
is it not so ? may not a servant live now with one
master, and then with another, or through successive
years with one, and yet no man care for his soul ? 1 he
temporal comfort and the bodily health of our domes-
tics may be cared for, and perhaps usually is ; for self-
interest and personal convenience will prompt to this:
but, what has this to do with the soul, and what bear-
ing has it on that eternally enduring world whither
we are going and where the soul is to exist for ever ? A
servant is as capable of knowledge, holiness, and hap-
piness as a master. " God is no respecter of persons."
In his sight the soul of a slave is as precious as the
ioul of the man who may lord it over him. Look
< Phil, ii, 7.
CARE FOR THE SOUL.
183
into Genesis xviii. 19, and mark the Lord's approval
of the patriarch Abraham's u commanding his chil-
dren and his household after him :" and " the foot-
steps of our Father Abraham'' it will appear to be both
our duty and our privilege to follow. 6 It may indeed
be said, * Servants have so much to do ; their time is
so fuliy occupied, we see not how or when we are to
care for their souls.' And have they so much to do?
and is their time so fully occupied ? Then, on these
very grounds should masters more assiduously care
for their souls. As to time, methinks there should be
time with every one to care for the soul. The soul
w to live for ever : and it is in time the soul is to be
fitted for eternity. " Whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap :" if he " soweth to the flesh,
he shall of the flesh reap corruption ;" and only by
" sowing to the Spirit, can he, of the Spirit, reap life
everlasting."' Besides where there is little week-day
leisure, there is the whole of the Sabbath that day so
mercifully "made for man, >>g and designed so kindly
by the World's great Master to further the best in-
terests of man's better part. It is God's express com-
mand that " thy servant may rest as well as thou," k
and you cannot needlessly, (observe, I say, needlessly}
employ a servant about household affairs, worldly busi-
ness, or manual labour, on the Sabbath without vio-
lating the command of God. By the will and word
of the Lord, the soul of every man has a right to the
Sabbath's hallowed moments, means, and mercies. It
may be said again, ' Servants are untractable :' be it
so; in certain instances, they are rude, ignorant, and
lawless ; but their rudeness, ignorance, and lawless-
ness, does not affect a Blaster's duty to care for their
souls. A Master most surely ought to possess authority
in his own house, and whatever may be the disposition
of his dependants, he ought., at least, to 'endeavour the
* Rom. iv, 12. ' fial. yi, 8. t Mark ii, 27.
h Deut. v, U.
184; CARE FOR THE SOUL.
spiritual good of all within the sphere cf his influence.
And I may, I think, dare to say that there cannot be a
daily reading of God's Word, thankful acknowledge-
ments for mercies received, and prayer for other and
more abundant blessings, without good being done.
The attention will be roused and won, the mind will
be impressed, and it may be, in some favoured instances,
the soul will be effectually benefitted. But, even
should not these consequences follow, a servant should
never have to say, ' No one of all my Masters cared
for my soul.'
But, 3. How many a Neighbour may say, {f No
one careth for my soul." If a Neighbour meet with
some sad accident, or what we usually call, misfortune,
what a concern we all feel for him! how desirous are
we to hear the particulars of the event ! and how wil-
ling, generally, to communicate them unto others !
but, who cares for his soul ? who feels concerned foi
that? Even if it be said a neighbour is '' sick unto
death," or such an one is dying: ' poor thing/ it is*
replied ; and there the matter rests : but the soul is
not dying ; that is about to pass into the world oi
spirits, and where there shall be no more death ; and
who is solicitous aboutits pardon and justification here,
and its safety and acceptance there ? The mere mani-
festation of any carefulness for it, is quite sufficient to
displease many : a doubt of its peace and hope almost
criminal uncharitableness. Now, ought this so to be ?
may we innocently be thus careless for each other's
souls? Let us suppose a plague to be prevailing here:
many are dead and others dying : One there is who
possesses a remedy suited to the disease a remedy,
which, if imparted and applied, would heal and save
the diseased : He refuses or neglects to impart it : Do
you think his conduct neighbourly and kind ? No :
and yet a plague is begun amongst us : the dire conta-
gion spreads : many are dead out of the Lord and
therefore, we are sure, not blessed ; others are dying
daily, and, we may justly tear, ' perishing for lack of
CARE FOR HIE SOUL. 185
knowledge," and yet, Q-i/et, how many a perishing
soul may say, ' No man cares for me !' Oh ! how
unkind it is in one that knows the way of salvation and
experiences the sweetness of pardoning mercy, not to
communicate that knowledge unto others. It is not
our's to say with the murderous Cain, ft Am I my
brother's keeper?" 1 We are our brother's keeper;
" and this commandment have we, that he who loveth
God, love his brother also." k It should be to us a pri-
velege to do a Neighbour good spiritual good espe-
cially, and, if possible, to win his soul to Christ. If,
then, fl great things" have been done for you ; go
home to your house, among your kinsfolk and ac-
quaintance, and tell thenrWho hath done these things
for you, and by you let " the savour of His know-
ledge be made manifest in every place :" 1 So that a
Neighbour whom it isiu jour power to care for, may
not henceforward say, * No man careth for my soul.'
4, and finally, How many a Parishioner may say,
' No Minister careth for my soul !' It is true, we pro-
fess to trust that we are inwardly moved by the Holy
Ghost, and called according to the will of our Lord
Jesus Christ, to take the Ministerial Office on us :
we are exhorted, as Messengers, Watchmen, and Stew-
ards of the Lord, to seek for Christ's sheep which are
scattered abroad ; to teach, to premonish, and to pro-
vide for, the Lord's family ; and warned, too, of the
greatness of the fault and the horrible punishment that
must ensue from a neglect of our people's souls ;* but
where or in whom shall we find all that fervour of
spirit, humbleness of mind, kindness of manner, easi-
ness of access, and unreserved devotion of self, strength,
and time, which should mark a Minister of Jesus
Christ, and the care of immorial souls? Alas! how
rarely found is this ! How many Parishes we see with
* The Author is aware of having quoted these words before : but
he conceives they cauuot be too constantly remembered.
1 Gen. ir, 9, * 1 Johu iv, 21. 2 Cor. ii, 14,
186 CARE FOR THE SOUL.
no resident Minister whatever in them : and oftentimes
where a Minister resides, is it not too apparent that
many a Parishioner may truly say, ' He careth not for my
soul?' Seen on the Sabbath for a few hasty minutes, many
see no more of theirMinister till the Sabbath comes again.
Cared for professionally then, they are cared for no more
through the greater remnant of the week. How beats
the pulse of spiritual life: how fares the soul whether
alive or dead, whether mournful or joyous, whether fed
or starved, whether found and safely lodged in the
fold of Christ or still a wanderer in ' this naughty
world/ is no concern of the gay and worldly minded
Minister.* Think : and you will not dispute our say-
ing. Many a people now are like the Jews of old
" sheep having no Shepherd." Now, I do but notice
this in order to excite gratitude for yourselves and
sympathy for others. More than one Minister have
you whose happiness it is to care for your souls :| and,
* How pitiable is it that any one vested with the character and
the authority of a Clergyman, should manifest more, far more, care
and anxiety about the pedigree of a horse or a dog than for the spi-
ritual birth of his people ! Did the reader ever see 'An Essay on
the Signs of Conversion and Unconversion in Ministers of the
Church ?' By S. C. Wilks, A.M. Printed for Hatchard : Price
3s. See under the head ' recreations.'
f The People here addressed, the Reader should be aware, were,
at this time, under the united (and, that people will justify the re-
mark) affectionate care of the late Rev. T. Martyn, Professor of
Botany iu the University of Cambridge, and the Author. The dear
and venerable man alluded to, was wont to say, 'He did not wish
to live a day longer than he could do good.' Whilst in a conversa-
tion memorable for the spirit, animation, and courtesy, with which
it was conducted, Professor Martyn, once said, ' C/trist crucified
is the only foundation on which we can trust, take that away, and
we sink for ever; but give us that, and we are safe;' and declared
distinctly, with reference to himself, that the cross of Christ was
his only hope : it may, at the same time, as strictly applicable to
him, be said, " When the ear heard him, then it blessed him; and
when the eye saw him, it gave witness to him : because he delivered
the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to
help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon
him; aud he caused the widow's heart to sing for joy."* So truly
Job. xxix. 1113.
CARE I OR THE SOUL. 187
however feeble or unworthy may be our services, 1 be-
lieve there is not so much as one individual of the en-
tire population of our parish that can say, ' our Mi-
nisters care not for our souls.' With self prostrate
in dust and ashes, I would observe that this is no small
mercy. Next to the gifts of his Son, his Spirit, and
his Word, Almighty God himself could not bestow
upon you, this side the eternal World, a greater gift
than "a Minister of his that will do his pleasure,""*
and whose one sole, simple, and sincere desire it is to
" spend and be spent" for your souls. Then, pray ye
that your Ministers may indeed be " men of God,"
and that their care for you all may abound yet more
and more.
From the several instances of carelessness for the
soul, we have now adduced, you may, 1 conceive, see
clearly, How USUALLY the soul is cared for* I come
to say
II. Why ESPECIALLY it should be cared for.
There are many and cogent reasons why especially
the soul should be cared for. Mark the following :
1. The soul should especially be cared for, Because
it is the noblest and most enduring part of the visible
creation. Not till God had created man upon the
earth and breathed into him the breath of life, did he
behold with supreme complacency all things which he
had made, and declare them to be "i;6vv/good.'' n Man
was the master-piece of the Eternal's workmanship.
If we contemplate the body with its various parts
in our venerated Pastor and Father did " faith work by love." May
the Author further be permitted to observe, our People were em-
phatically "one." The Church was usually crowded. Communion
days were indeed "high days." And though the population of the
parish, by the last census, did not exceed 326, yet we numbered 128
communicants four of whom only did not positively belong to UK
as parishioners. The life and labours of Professor Martyn closed
A.D. 1825.
Ps. 103. 21. Gen. i, 31.
188 CARE FOR THE SOUL.
the bones, the flesh, the skin covering it above ; the
veins, the arteries, the blood in its mysterious flow ;
the pulsation, and in short, the every thing connected
-with the human frame, we are constrained to acknow-
ledge ourselves to be " fearfully and wonderfully
made." But what comparison bears the body, with
all its variety of parts, with the soul with that
rational and immortal spirit that actuates and con-
trouls the whole? It is in what regards the soul that
" man is but a little lower than the angels." It is
the soul that reasons, hopes, fears, recollects, antici-
pates. It is the soul that is imperishable : the body
returns to the dust again ; the spirit to him who gave
it. Only a spiritual substance thinks ; think our soul
does ; it must therefore be in its nature spiritual ; and
what is in its nature spiritual must necessarily be im-
mortal. Our's is a "living soul"* and live it will
amidst the decay of nature and after the dissolution of
its earthly tenement. If any thing can add weight to
the testimony of Scripture on this interesting point, it
is that love of life we feel within us and that thrilling
shudder which passes sensibly through our mental
powers at the thought of ceasing finally and for ever
to exist. A dream shews man to be immortal.* And
is it not a fact ascertained most truly that through the
lapse of years, the particles of our body change, so that
the body of the man is not the body of the child, and
yet there is in the individual a continued life and a
conscious sameness ? On what ground can we account
for this, if man hath not within him a living and en-
during soul ? Because, then, of the soul's essensial
and peculiar excellence should it especially be cared for.
2. The soul should especially be cared for on ac-
count of its vast capabilities. The tc soul of a beast,"
of which in Eccles. iii. 21. we read it "goeth down-
* See a beautiful little Poem on * Dreaming-,' Book II. of Olney
Hymns.
Ps. 8. 5 P Gen. ii, 7.
CARE FOR THE SOUL. 1S9
ward," soon arrives to its maturity of existence : it
reaches a point beyond which it cannot go. Not so
a human soul : there comes no period in its existence
at which it may be said <l Hitherto shalt thou go in
thy acquisition of knowledge, holiness, and happiness ;
but no further." No : there will be progress towards
the perfection of being to all eternity. And seeing
that between a creature and its Creator an infinite
distance must for ever obtain, for ever and for ever
will the soul be gaining new and glorious accessions
of immortal blessedness. A period in eternity may
coma when the soul that now reasons, thinks, and acts,
in one of our frail bodies, will reach the knowledge of
a Paul, the lofty fervour of a Son of Amos, the love of
a John, and even the almost godlike knowledge, fer-
vour, love, and felicity, of a Gabriel. Of the soul's
primeval or hereafter dignity, we cannot now speak
particularly. It lies a ruined wreck; its powers
darkened and defiled by sin : but from those powers
though darkened and defiled, we judge it capable of
new " glory, honour, and immortality." Towards it,
there are " thoughts of peace" in Jehovah's heart. q
In love and in pity will he deliver it. r " 1 called
upon thy Name, O Lord," shall many a pool
sinner say, " out of the low dungeon : thou hast
hoard my voice ;" shall be the consequent acknow-
ledgement." " Very gracious is the Lord at the voice
of our cry;" and though the soul even of a believer
may occasionally "cleave to the dust," 1 yet, as being a
"partaker of the Divine Nature," and of spiritual excel-
lence, it shall eventually share a happiness the most
exalted and refined. It is promised to " the pure in
heart, that they shall see God :" v and who can con-
ceive what must be the exquisite and unutterable de-
light of seeing GOD ? seeing the manifested glory of
the Creator's presence ? and experiencing therewith a
i Jer. xxix, 11. r Isaiah Ixiii, 9. f Lam. iii, 55, 50.
Ps. 119. 25. v Matt. T. 8.
190 CARE FOR THE SOO..
transformation of soul into the same image ?* The
things of the Spirit will then be revealed indeed : the
mysteries of Providence, of Grace, and Godliness, will
form the high subjects of inquiry to the soul through
the ever enduring ages of its being : and if so, should
the soul whose capabilities are so vast not be especially
cared for ?
3. It should, moreover, especially be cared for, be-
cause of the price paid for its redemption. The soul's
creation without redemption when fallen and deprav-
ed, would prove a curse rather than a blessing : its
capabilities, too, would but aggravate its woe. This
the soul's Creator knew : He therefare " spared not
his own Son, but freely gave him up for us all;"
and He finds in the life and work and death of his be-
loved Son "a ransom for us." When no other price
could purchase our redemption, the blood of Jesus
Christ availed to expiate our guilt and to procure us
mercy. Hence Peter beautifully remarks " Ye were
redeemed not with corruptible things, as silver and
gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus," y Though,
then, we may see somewhat of the soul's worth in its
nature and from its powers of understanding, memory,
and enjoyment; yet it is in 'the agony and bloody
sweat, in the cross and passion' of its Redeemer that
\ve may most clearly discern its value. We may add
to " the kingdoms of this world and all the glory of
them/' the riches of a thousand worlds like our's, and
they would not equal in value a single soul. It would
cost more to redeem it. Nothing short of the blood
of the incarnate God coul'i effect its redemption, and
make manifest the grace which bringeth salvation to
it. And should that for whose recovery to its origi-
nal, and more than its original, greatness, such won-
drous means are devised, not be cared for ? Shall souls
be precious in God's sight and of no value in our's ?
Do we not see from a consideration of the price paid
* 2 Cor. iii, IS. y 1 Epis. i, 18,19.
CARE FOR THE SOUL.
for their redemption, \vliy especially we ought to care
both for our own and others' souls?
And 4. The soul should especially be cared for, be-
cause if' lost it will remain lost and unredeemed forever.
It was here our nature became depraved ; it is here our
condition must be changed : it is here we fell from
the grace given us in Adam ; it is here we must be
raised again by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Here, or no where, now or never, must we be delivered
from curse and damnation, (I use the language of our
Church, Art. xvii,) and be brought by Christ to ever-
lasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. A soul
may pray in Hell " I pray thee, father Abraham"
is one represented as saying there ; but its prayer will
avail it nothing." Others may pray for it; but equally
unavailing with its own, will be their prayers. Hence
the propriety of the Prophet's counsel, "Seek i/e the
Lord WHILST HE MAY BE FOUND, call if e upon him
WHILST HE is NE.\R." b Now is the day of the Redeem-
er's power; now is he exalted to be a Prince and a Sa-
viour, to give repentence and the remission of sin to
his Israel: now, therefore, tc every one that asketh re-
ceiveth ; he that seeketh findcth ; and to him that
knocketh the door shall be opened." Then "ask,
and you shall have; seek and you shall find; knock
and the door shall be opened unto you." Let the soul
be cared for : time is on the wing : moments steal
swiftly by: eternity approaches: through all its ever
coming ages " there will be none to redeem" the soul
once lost : woe, perpetual woe, will agonize its every
power : unforgiven sin will mar its peace for ever : its
immortality will be its curse, and those powers which
should have been employed in the knowledge, love,
and service of their gracious Donor, will prove but so
many sources of aggravated and unceasing sorrow to
their guilty and condemned possessor. .Surely, then,
Lukexvi,25. b Isaiah Iv, G. < Matt, vii, 7.
192 CARE FOR THE SOUL.
here is another and a powerful reason why we should
care especially for our souls.
And now I have said How usually the soul is cared
for, and Why especially it should be cared for, 1 will
only ADDRESS a few words, first, to all generally, and
then, to some few particularly.
And 1. To all generally , I say, Whoever may not
care for your souls, care for them yourselves. Let each
one of you care for his own soul. Learn to appreciate
its value. See of what it is capable. "Commune
with your own heart and be still." In the stillness
of thought, let "your spirit make diligent search."
Meditate on all the great and glorious truths of Scrip-
ture : meditate especially on God. It is allowed that
converse with superiors tends to elevate the mind and
to refine the manner : much more will this result
from ee fellowship with the Father and with, Jjis Son,
Jesus Christ." Think, too, on the " many great and
exceeding precious promises" God hath given us. It
is by exercising faith on these that you are to " purify
yourselves from all filthiness both of the flesh and spi-
rit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God. " c Jf,
at any time, you feel burdened with a sense of sinful-
ness, say with David, " Lord be merciful unto me :
heal my soul ; for I have sinned against thee." d If,
at any time, your spirit within you be overwhelmed
with sorrow, encourage yourselves in the Lord, as
David did, and say, " Why art thou cast down, O my
soul, and why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope
thou in God : for I shall yet praise him who is the
help of my countenance and my God." e If other re-
fuge fail you, betake yourselves to prayer. If ye be
persecuted for righteousness sake, remember Who
declares you " blessed." If ye be joyous and happy
in the fear and favour of your Lord, acknowledge the
source of your happiness/ When the World would
fc Ps. 4. 4 c 2 Cor. vii, 1. <* Ps. 41. 4.
e Ps. 42. 5. Ps. 23. 3.
CARE FOR THE SOUL. 193
win your hearts from God, and allure you by its spe-
cious good from the paths of watchfulness and care,
say to its tempting vanity " My soul is as a weaned
child ;" f weaned from the world, my soul affects a bet-
ter portion : no present good can satisfy my soul's de-
sires : they go beyond the bounds of time, and range the
periods of infinity: the Lord, therefore, is, and can
only be the satisfying portion of my soul. " He shall
guide me by his counsel, and afterward receive me to
glory. " s Thus though no man may care for your
souls no father, master, neighbour, or minister, yet
may you care for them yourselves, and rejoice ever and
continually in him who carcth unweariedly for "the
souls that seek" and love him.
2. To some particularly, I say, Ye that are Parents,
care for the souls of your children. Seek for them
"first," before any other good whatever, "the king-
dom ofGtfd and his righteousness." Do so in the be-
lieving hope that other and needful things shall be
added to these greater mercies. Say not as is too
commonly said to children, ' There's a good child :'
Good, comparatively and morally, children may be; but
good spiritually none are, save by the grace and spirit
of Jesus Christ. Tell them, rather, how naturally
proud, envious, and wicked even their hearts are. 1 ' Tell
them how holy God is, and therefore how hateful sin,
must be to him. Tell them of Jesus, and how tenderly
he cares for the " little children' who love him. Speak
to them of his Spirit, and the Spirit's office in the eco-
nomy of redemption. Let the Bible be their best
book, and prayer their daily exercise: And let your
parental care be stimulated and encouraged by the say-
ing, " Train up a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old he shall not depart from it."' And ye
Masters, care for the souls of your servants. A master
f Ps. 131. 2. * Ps. 73. 24. h See Prov. xxii, 15.
Prov. xxii, G.
I94r CARE FOR THE SOUt.
should be the priest of his own household. Your de-
pendants are providentially committed to your care, as
ye are ministerially to our's. Then let us be agreed to-
care for our respective charges " as those who must
give account" of their stewardship to the one great and
universal " Lord of all." Give to your servants the
Sabbath, and bring them with you to " the House of
Prayer." Second our labours : aid us in our all-im-
portant duties. " Let brotherly love continue," and
all our neighbours, whom we can benefit, share our
kind and zealous care. Let our religion be the pre-
valence of love : and then will the guardian care of our
soul's only Lord and Master be over us, and our work
given us to do being accomplished., Jesus Christ will
receive our departing spirits with a "Well done,
good and faithful servants, enter ye into the joy of
your Lord."
DISCOURSE XIV.
THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER
CONSIDERED.
1 CORINTHIANS xi, 24.
This do in remembrance of Me.
4b
NOT until he had communicated "all things which
he had heard and received of the Father" not until
he had invited "the weary and heavy laden" to him-
self, and proved his power " to forgive sin" and to
" save to the uttermost" not until he had vanquished
"the principalities and powers of darkness" and "tri-
umphed openly over them/' did our adorable Re-
deemer "bow his head and yield up the ghost." "//
is finished!" was his exclamation on the cross. And
what was finished? " The work which was given him,
to do" the mighty and mysterious work of our re-
demption. This finished, our Lord just went down
into the grave to sanctify the resting place of his be-
lieving members thence he quickly rose, made the
clouds his chariot, and went to repossess " the glory
which he had with the Father before the world was."
" Lift up your heads, O }e gates, and be ye lift up, ye
everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is the King of glory ? The Lord strong and
mighty ; the Lord mighty in battle."* And now that
P*. 24. 7, 8*
196 THE SACRAMENT OF THE
our Lord Jesus Christ "hath overcome, and is seated
with the Father on his throne/' can we suppose him
forgetful of the conflict which he once sustained ?
Does he cease to remember Calvary ? No ; most surely
not : as " a Lamb that had been slain", did he appear
in the mystic visions of the Apocalypse to the beloved
John. b Should those then whose griefs he bare, and
for whose sins he was " stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted/' be forgetful of his ' agony and bloody sweat,
his cross and passion?' Oh! no: and to aid our me-
mory of himself and the love wherewith he loved us-,
our Lord has appointed a peculiar ordinance : this or-
dinance we are enjoined to celebrate ; and the com-
mand which enjoins our celebration of it forms our
text : " This do in remembrance of Me :" and now we
shall inquire,
I. What it is to do :
II. What is required in us worthily to do it :
And III. What are, commonly, the excuses made for
not doing it.
Let us inquire
I. What it is to do :
"Do thisi" and what is this we are to dpP We
read, "The same night in which he was Betrayed,
Jesus took bread ; and when he had given thanks, he
blessed it, and gave to his disciples, saying, take, eat ;
this is (to represent to you) my body, which is (to be)
broken for you : do this in remembrance of me. Like-
wise also he took the cup, and when he had given
thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink ye all of it :
for this is (to represent to you) my blood, (which is)
the blood of the New Covenant, and which is (to be)
shed for many for the remission of sins : this do ye, a&
oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of Me/ re Thus-
was the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ordained.
* Kev. r, G. c Coinp. Matt, xxvi,26 with 1 Cor. xi, 23, &c,
LORD'S SUPPER CONSIDERED. 19?
That it was to be a continued and repeated ordinance
in the Christian Church is, we may ^Vs/ observe, plain :
Our Lord's command is " Do this;" and he evidently
wished and purposed its continuance by saying "as
oft" as ye do it. The circumstances under which the
ordinance was instituted, are peculiarly interesting and
solemn. It was night ; it was " the night ;" the night
of the Lord's betrayal. Jesus sat with his few disci-
ples gathered round him, They were witnessing the
last words, the last looks, the last actioni, of their be-
loved Master. Judas was covenanting to betray him :
this he knew and intimated to the eleven. Sorrow
filled their hearts, and " the hour" of their Lord's se-
verest woe was come. Blood and agony and death
awaited the resigned and lowly Saviour. He was about
to tread, alone and unsupported by human aid, " the
wine-press of the wrath of Almighty God/' and to sus-
tain the burden of the world's atonement " With
strong cries and tears" was he now to contend for the
recovery and salvation of our lost and perishing souls.
With this scene full before him did Jesus take the bread
and cup and bless them, and say to his mourning fol-
lowers " Eat ye, drink ye, all of these ; and this do ye
in remembrance of Me." Perhaps the elements of bread
and n-ine were chosen as being niotst easy to procure,
and as being also the most striking emblems of his
body broken, and his soul poured out, for sin. As
bread and wine nourish and sustain our animal nature,
so do the body and blood of Christ nourish and sustain
our immortal soul. Perhaps, too, the choice of these
things rather than others might be designed to shew
the union which subsists between the faithful.* You
know a loaf consists of grains once separate and apart
* The Author believes himself to be indebted for this idea, and
possibly for some other ideas contained in this discourse, to the Rev.
Edward Bifkersteth's "Treatise on the Lord's Supper." Thai and
the Rer. D, Wilson's " Address to Young Persons previous to their
Jirst communicating:," he has ev<y: found paiiicularly useful auiongf
his people.
198 THE SACRAMENT OF THE
one from the other, and wine is the produce of many
grapes : so are all that love our Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity "one" in him and with each other. 11 How-
ever wide apart may be the lands of their natural
birth ; and however different may be the forms of their
religion, yet are they "all one in Christ," and a com-
munion of a sweet and a gracious kind prevails among
them. The design of this sacred rite was especially to
perpetuate the memory of our Saviour's death. He
knew how earthly our affections were, and how easily
we forget God: He knew, too, that our happiness
would consist in the recollection of his dying love : He
therefore said, <f Do this" ' Do this, my people : I
feel towards you desire and love unutterable : 1 do ear-
nestly remember you : You shall not be forgotten of
Me : Pledges of my remembrance shall await your ac-
ceptance : A something you may do that shall always
remind you of Me : Myself you shall spiritually eat and
drink and whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my
blood, shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up
at the last day.' Shall we call this " a hard saying ?"
Shall we not rather willingly and gratefully do this
which Jesus bids us in remembrance of him? Oh ! if
he had bidden us do some great thing, methinks we
should have done it : how much more, then, when hq
says "Do this: remember Me!"
Let us now inquire
II. What is required in us worthily, to do it :
Agreeably to the catechism of our Church, there is
required in those who partake of her communion,
(1.) Repentance towards God ; (2.) Newness of life :
(3.) Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ: (4 1 .) Thankful-
ness Jor his death: and (5.) Charity with all men.
And (1.) Repentance towards God. By repentance
is meant a wish to undo, if it were possible, what we
d Gal. iii, 28.
LOfUVS StPPER CONSIDERED. 199
have done amiss; sincere sorrow for our fault, and un-
feigned humiliation of soul on account of it. This re-
pentance has a particular reference to God, because it
is his authority we have questioned, his Law we have
violated, his goodness and mercy we have abused.
Hence holy Scripture describes a "god/y sorrow" which
worketh a repentance not to be repented of. e This is
the repentance which we need in order to sit accept-
ably at the Lord's table. "God resisteth the proud,
but giveth grace to the humble." It is "the broken
and contrite heart" which God doth not despise. This
"brokenness .and contrition of heart is the gift of Jesus
Christ, and the fruit of spiritual influence on our
tnind/ And are there none to whom I speak who
4( sorrow after a godly sort .?" none to whom the grace
of repentance and the spirit of conviction have been
imparted? none who "abhor themselves and repent
in dust and ashes?" O yes, I trust there are some
poor prodigals among you coming to themselves, and
purposing in the bitterness of their souls to arise and
return to their Father some self-condemned publi-
cans " standing afar off," not daring so much as to look
heaven-ward, but smiting upon their breasts, and cry-
ing, "God be merciful to me, a sinner" some weep-
ing Magdalens who would wash a Saviour's feet -with
their tears: Well, then, you have the jirst thing re-
quired in us worthily to eat of that bread and to drink
of that cup of which Christ invites you to partake.
Bu,t there is required
(2.) Newness of life. Newness of life it is which
alone evidences repentance to be real and sincere. If
repentance be aa earnest desire to undo, if it were pos-
sible, what we have done amiss, we shall not surely love
to repeat the fault. This I wish you particularly to
observe, because the repentance of the generality al-
iows them to live in sin: than which no clearer proof
can be afforded of the falseness and inutility of their
* 2 CW. vii, 10. * See Act* v, 31. John xvi, 8.
200 THE SACRAMENT OF THE
repentance. When Jesus Christ bestows sensibility of
conscience and a tender sorrow for sin, he disposes the
sinner utterly to " abhor that which is evil." "Hun-
ger and thirst after righteousness" mark invariably the
presence and grace of the Eternal Spirit. In whom-
soever this hunger and thirst are produced, there will
be a stedfast purpose and endeavour to "perfect holi-
ness in the fear of God." "The flesh" indeed will
"lust against the spirit;" but, in its turn, the spirit
will lust against the flesh. 8 And though a truly peni-
tent person cannot always "do the things which he
would/' yet is there a determination of mind within
him to "take heed to his ways and to rule himself
after God's Word." 11 And is it not the purpose and
desire of some of you, Beloved, to amend your lives, and
to evidence the reality of vour penitence by "fruits
meet for it?" Then have you the second thing you
need worthily to do what Jesus Christ commands you.
There is required
(3.) Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit
testifies of Jesus/ and " this is God's commandment
that we believe on his Son Jesus Christ." 11 The means
of faith are, hearing the Word and prayer. 1 In their
use, "the mourner in Zicri" lays hold tremblingly,
it may be, at first on Christ, is led gradually to ' re-
joice in hope," and eventually to see how suited to his
soul's necessities is the Saviour God hath given him.
* God's mercy through Christ' is the ground whereon
the sole of his foot finds rest. Therein his faith, how-
ever lively, becomes, by habitual exercise, livelier still.
Christ is received as he is .revealed. The believing
penitent receives him as his Prophet to instruct, his
Priest to atone, and his King to rule over and within
him. By faith we "put on," "walk in," "live on/'
"joy in/' Jesus Christ. It is the grace which bears
a peculiar reference to a worthy reception of the
e Gal. v, 17. h Ps. 119. 9. '* John xv, 26.
fc 1 John iii, 23. Rom. x, 17. Luke xvii, 5.
LORD'S SUPPER CONSIDERED. 201
Lord's Supper. ' The body of Christ is given, taken,
and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and a
spiritual manner; and the mean whereby the body of
Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is faith.'
None receive the Communion rightly, or worthily,
who do not with faith receive the same. ' The wicked
and such as be void of a lively faith, although they
may visibly and carnally press with their teeth (as Au-
gustine says) the Sacrament of the body and blood of
Christ, yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ/ It
is faith that "discerns the Lord's body, looks through
and beyond the shadow to the substance, through
and beyond the sign to the thing signified." 'The
Faithful' alone are really partakers of it : but, " all
men have not faith," and it may be some to whom I
speak are doubtful whether their faith be " the faith
of (or by, more properly) the operation of God," or
that mere notional assent of the many which avails no-
thing whatever to the peace and safety of the soul.
But do you wish rightly to believe ? Use ye the means
of faith ? Would you obey the first and great com-
mandment of the Gospel ? Would you work that work
of all other works the greatest in itself and the noblest
in its consequences, would you BELIEVE on Jesus
Christ ? v Feel you any obligation to a dying Saviour,
and would you feel more deeply obligated ? IF YOU
WOULD, you have faith : and though it may be " weak"
and " small as a grain of mustard seed," yet the in-
viting voice ot Mercy is, " Come unto Me." We con-
clude, then, you have the third thing required wor-
thily to do what Jesus Christ commands you. But
there is required
(4.) Thankfulness for his death. And can this be
wanting where there is an unaffected sorrow for sin ; a
sincere purpose to avoid it, and a 'lively faith in Christ
our Saviour ?' If a fellow creature do us an act of
kindness, how commonly do we feel our mind pervaded
m Art. xxviii. n Art. xxix. '2 Thess. iii, 2.
P John vi, 29.
202 THE SACRAMENT OF THE
with a sense of thankfulness < And shall we feel less
in the recollection and contemplation of a Saviour's
everlasting kindness towards us ? " Greater love hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends '."** but, "while we were yet sinners, in due
time, Christ died for the ungodly.'" Then, how great
must his love be! And shall not a Redeemer's love,
and that love evidenced in dying for us, excite our gra-
titude? The ordinance which commernmorates 'the
exceeding great love of our Lord and only Master', re-
quires our 'most humble and hearty thanks to God
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, for the death
and passion of our Saviour Christ, both God and Man,
and the redemption of the world thereby:' and it is
\vhile we surround his board that, with more than usual
fervency, we should say, " Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name. Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits :
Who forgiveth all thy sins, and healeth all thy dis-
eases ; Who redeemed thy life from destruction, and
crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercy."*
And feel you nothing of this adoring thankfulness ?
I know you feel not a thousandth part of the thankful-
ness which you should feel : but is it in your heart to
say, "O Lord, I would praise thee ?" Then come and
welcome to the supper of your Lord, come and wel-
come to that gracious Lord who will meet you with
the words " Thou didst well in that it was in thine
heart" to thank me. 1 With this disposition of heart
you have the fourth thing required in order worthily
to do what your Lord commands you in remembrance
of him. The last thing required is
(5.) Charity with all men. The Communion of the
body and blood of Christ is a Feast of love. No en-
mity must approach to mar its loveliness. " li'thou
bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest
i John xv, 13. r Rom. v, 8. Ps. 103, 1. 4.
* 1 Kings riii, 18.
LORD'S SIPPER CONSIDERED. 203
that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there
thy gift before the altar and go thy way : jirst be re-
conciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy
gift."" But there cannot, surely, be love to the Lord
Jesus Christ and an unkindly feeling towards a brother
prevalent in the same heart together. No : the one
would extirpate the other. It pertains to the Christian
to "love his enemies ; to do good to them that hate
him ; and to pray for them which despitefully use him
and persecute him." Nor is it any " strange work" with
him to do so. He is disposed to do it, and it is matter
of unfeigned joy to him when he can "overcome evil
with good," and by heaping coals of fire (that is win-
ning and softening kindnesses) on his head, he can
make a foe his friend.* The religion of Jesus is a re-
ligion of benevolence. Love is its essence. Its Author
is "love;" and lovely, kind and forgiving, will be all
its sincere and devout professors. In their love, they
will embrace " ali men ;" and should an enemy hun-
ger, they will feed him, if he thirst, they will give him
drink." Those of you who would do so, possess the
fifth and final thing you need to come worthily to the
Supper of the Lord.
Where, then, there is repentance towards God, new-
ness of life, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, thankful-
ness for his death, and charity with all men, there is
What is required in us worthily to do what Jesus our
Lord commands us when he says Do this.
We have now to inquire
III. and finally, What are, commonly, the excuses
made for not doing it.
Many and various are the excuses made for not par-
taking of the holy Sacrament. We shall notice only
those which most commonly prevail. And here let me
say, Mark the several excuses as we name them and see
which of them is your own.
* Matt, v, 23. * Roiii. xii, 20.
20* THE SACRAMENT OF THE
Much business and occupation in the world, is a plea
with many persons for their neglect of the Lord's Sup-
per. But is this excuse allowable ? May a man inno-
cently give "all diligence" to provide for the tem-
poral wants of himself and family rather than " to
make his calling and election sure ?" Is it impossible
to be at the same time "diligent in business, fervent
in spirit, serving the Lord ?" " Will it profit you to
gain the whole world" at the sacrifice of your soul, and
your soul's salvation ? May you take this plea with
you to the judgment seat of Christ? Would it aught
avail you there ? No : and better had a man forego a
part, at least, of his worldly care and toil, rather than
not do what Jesus Christ commands him.
We do not feel that perfect charity towards all which
we ought to jeel, is another excuse with some. You
should muse then on the love of Jesus till the fire ot
charity be kindled in your bosoms and every t( root of
bitterness" be consumed within you. What ! shall
we be forgiven our ten thousand talents, and yet refuse
to forgive a fellow-debtor ten ? <f Why do ye not ra-
ther take wrong ?" " He" who loved us while we
were yet his enemies, " was oppressed, and he was af-
flicted, yet he opened not his mouth" to say he felt no
charity towards us. He prayed for his murderers.
Restrain then and lament that vile propensity of our
sinful nature to retain implacably a sense of wrong.
Look to the cross : Think Who hung thereon: Feel
but your obligation to a Saviour, and refuse to be in
perfect charity with all men if you can.
Another excuse is, We are unworthy to come to the
Communion. If your acceptance there depended on
your worthiness, this excuse might with some propriety
be pleaded. But it does not. 'We do not presume
to come to our Redeemer's Table trusting in our own
righteousness.' The more deeply and sensibly we are
acquainted with the deep depravity of our heart and
our consequent unworthiness, the more fit are we for
this and every other mean of grace. It is the sick man
LORD'S SUPPER CONSIDERED. 205
that needs a Physician. Jesus Christ cannot heal those
/
uho believe themselves to be already whole. He is the
Saviour only of "sinners :" it is them he calls " to re-
pentance" and in them alone can he see " of the travail of
his soul." The (spiritually) "poor, and maimed,, and
halt and blind/' he invites to his Supper. "The (spi-
ritually) naked., and miserable, and wretched," he
" counsels to buy of hi m gold tried in the fire and white
raiment, that they may be clothed." And so peculiarly
gracious and merciful is the Lord, that he sells the
privileges and hopes of his kingdom " without money
and without price" on the part of " the poor destitute."
We fear, however, that where the excuse of unwor-
thiness is made for neglect of the Sacrament, there
commonly, the least unworthiness is felt. It is the rag
through which the heart's foul pride appears. Where-
as, for the really unworthy, the sensibly sinful, te all
things are ready," and the servants of the Lord are
abroad to say, 'Come to the feast."
Others again say. They are afraid of not being able,
after receiving the Communion, to line up, as they express
it, to what they profess. Now 1 mean not to say that
fear, under proper restriction and regulation, does not
conduce to watchfulness and diligence, and that it be-
comes not professors of religion to " walk circum-
spectly :" but the fear which many plead as excusing
their approach to the Lord's Table, is ill-timed and
unnecessary. Do they fear not ' living up to' the
sentiments of the Lord's Prayer, or any other of the
many beautiful prayers of our Church ? You call God
your 'Father'; Jesus Christ your 'Lord'; and pray
for ' the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.' You profess
to believe in each person of the eternal Trinity, and to
' give yourselves up' to the service of the one Jehovah
and that at all times and in every service of the
Church : Can you do more in partaking of the Lord's
Supper ? Depend upon it, there is no more professed
at that, than there is every time you say " Our Father
which art in Hearen." If in the "Spirit of adoption."
206 THE SACRAMENT OF THE
you can call God your Father, and you would " walk
with" him, dependent on his goodness, power, and
love, lc as dear children/' the body and blood of
Christ will so strengthen -end refresh your souls as to
enable you to " keep yourselves unspotted from the
world," and to maintain a conversation in it " accord-
ing to the Gospel of Christ."
An excuse of another kind not often indeed made
in word, hut often, we believe, latent in the heart, is,
We must live and act differently from zchat we now do,
if 'we receive the Sacrament. We do most certainly
expect a consistent life and conduct in those who keep
the Christian Passover. We can allow no flagrant sin
in a professed disciple of Jesus Christ to remain unre-
buked. But those who do not live agreeably to the
\Vord and Will of God, most conclusively evince that
they have no real love to his Word and \Vill in their
hearts. If you love sin, and be unwilling to have your
enjoyment of it restrained, you cannot be ' meet par-
takers of God's holy Table.' And if you live in sin,
it is the word of Jesus Christ himself, ye shall die in
it, K and that, observe, whether you partake of the
Lord's Supper or not. A forced participation of it, is
a mockery of its Founder and a profanation of the or-
dinance. No unwilling guest can be a welcome one.
We ask not, then, your presence there till you feel the
exceeding sinfulness of sin, and are desirous to "be
holy as He which hath called you is holy."
The excuse of others is, Some do take the Sacrament,
who do not, as you conceive, live accordingly ; this hin-
ders your so doing. An inconsistent profession of re-
ligion is lamentable in any. But, I ask, Are we the
Judge of inconsistent Professors ? Are they to stand
or fall at our tribunal ? Because some do ill, is that
to afford a pretext for your not doing better ? Per-
haps while you are censuring and condemning them,
they are renewing their attendance at the altar and re-
* John viii, 24.
LORD'S SI PPEK CONSIDERED. 207
peating tlicir supplications there for grace and strength
whereby to controul their passions and to subdue their
sins. Without, by any means, apologizing for inconsist-
ency of conduct in religious professors, we yet think
it to be the bounden duty of all who desire to keep up
a lively sense of God's mercy in Christ, to commemo-
rate thus the Saviour's dying love ; and however others
may act, to lose no opportunity of avowing ourselves
on the Lord's side : If, then, the lives of others offend
you be ye yourselves purer and more brilliant c 'lights,"
and let us " take knowledge of you, that ye have been
with Jesus," by your "abounding in every good word
and work."
A further excuse which some make for neglecting
totally the ordinance of the Lord's Supper (though,
blessed be God, it is not, I trust, in your power to make
it) is, The unworthiness of their Minister : 'our Mi-
nister (say some) is so and so, and does so and so; and
we cannot, therefore, comfortably receive the Sacra-
ment at his hands.' Where this remark is founded in
truth, it is allowedly a most painful circumstance. It
certainly does detract from the pleasure of the ordi-
nance :* but, be it observed, e the effect of the ordi-
nance is not taken away by the wickedness of a Minis-
ter, nor the grace of God's gitts diminished from such
as rightly and by faith do receive the sacraments mi-
nistered unto them ; which be effectual because of
Christ's institution and promise, although they be mi-
nistered by evil men.' y A Minister's unworthiness, then,
cannot be allowed as an excuse for a neglect of the
Lord's Supper. The mantle of love should be thrown
* And not a little. For however poor and illiterate a People may
be, they look for, and rightly so, propriety and consistency in a
Minister. Fidelity, assiduity, attention, ice. &c. are invariably
looked for in the legislative and medical professions. Wherefore
should tltesc things be dispensed with ia the ministerial profession ?
Is it seemly to go from a card table, a fox chase, or a ball-room, to
the celebration of holy mysteries 2'
y Art. vi.
208 SACRAMENT OF THE
over the failures of the man, and the office he sustains be
respected. Still is the great "Master of the Feast,"
by his Word and Spirit, among his believing followers
"as one that serveth." "THou meetest him that re-
joiceth and worketh righteousness: those that remem-
ber thee in thy ways.*" "While the KING sitteth at his
table" well may "the spikenard" of his guests "send
forth the smell thereof*' in its sweetest and most grate-
ful odours. a
But another and a frequent excuse for delay is, We
mean to come, but we must make ourselves wore Jit for
the ordinance ere we can take it. Meaning to do a
thing is not doing it. Besides, " the preparation of
the heart in man is from the Lord." Make yourselves
better you cannot: you have no ability to do it: and
even if you had, and could make yourselves fit to re-
ceive theSacrament, it would be like healing yourselves,
if ye were sick, and then going to a physician for ad-
vice. This excuse will commonly be found the excuse
of ignorance and negligence. When any really FEEL
that there is 'no health in them/ that they are INDEED
unholy and e miserable sinners,' they are just in that
very state of mind in which alone they can receive
" health and cure.'' 6 "The weary and heavy-laden"
Jesus invites to come ; and whosoever cometh thus
weary of sin and heavy-laden with guilt, Jesus will in
no wise " send empty away."
The excuse we have reserved finallv to notice, is the
*/ *
excuse which, perhaps, of all others most commonly
prevails, If we eat and drink unworthily, we shall eat
and drink damnation to ourselves. These words, you
will find, occur in the chapter whence our text is
taken. They are truly weighty and solemn in their
import; but, I apprehend, people are much mistaken
about it, and very needlessly alarmed concerning eat-
ing and drinking unworthily. The word " damna-
tion" in the xi ch. of the 1 Cor. does not mean the
Isaiah Ixiv. 5. * Cant, i, 12. b Jer. xxxiii. 6.
LORD'S SUPPER CONSIDERED. 209
pains of eternal death, but merely judgment, and is so
rendered in other parts of Scripture. This judgment
means some temporal calamity, and for their abuse of
his ordinance did God inflict some temporal judgment
on the Corinthians. It was usual with the earlier con-
verts to the Christian faith, and possibly with the Co-
rinthians themselves, to bring each his own bread and
wine to where the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was
administered. Hence the elements were more than
sufficient; and it sometimes happened the communi-
cants ate and drank to excess, This certainly was
" not to discern the Lord's body" not to prefer the
thing signified to the thing signifying it. "For this
cause many were sickly and weak among them," and
many had either fallen into a cold and spiritless state
of soul, or been visited with death for their sin. This
was the judgment sent upon them. It is not, then,
possible for us to eat and drink unworthily as the Co-
rinthians did. Now, therefore, if any eat and drink
unworthily, it is when they eat and drink ignorantly,
formally, and for some mere secular end or worldly
interest without penitence, without faith, without
thankfulness, without love, without, in short, a full
and entire surrender of self and all the powers of self,
to the "Alpha and Omega" of the rite. Where any
are fearful, apprehensive of danger, and dread to re-
ceive unworthily, they should consult their Minister,*
inquire, and meditate. They would then soon learn
how futile and insufficient is the excuse we are no-
ticing. Numbers there are who "live without God
* The Rubrick requires 'so many as intend to communicate to
certify their names to the Minister, at least some time the day be-
fore.' This is seldom enjoined, and would not be always practica-
ble. The Author invariably requires a notice of any one's intention
to communicate, previous to first communicating. Many advan-
tages attend this plan. Not one of the many whom he has admitted
to communion ever disputed his authority in the matter. Delightful
interviews has he enjoyed with many whom the grace of God con-
strained to ask " Wbat shall I do to be saved ?"
P
210 THE SACRAMENT OF THE
in the world," and whose religion if it may be called
religion at all consists in mere exterior decency of
character, who yet fear no *damnation/ Speak tu
them of the Communion, and tell them Jesus Christ
said, " Do this" ' O they dare not do it ; they fear
eating and drinking damnation to themselves.' Be it,
however, remembered that any sin unrepented of and
unremitted through the sacrifice of the death of Christ,
will assuredly condemn a sinner. And I will leave it
with you to judge whether an habitual neglect of the
Communion be not an habitual violation of a plain,
command.
Such, then, are the excuses commonly made for not
partaking of the Lord's Supper. I confess, I feel al-
most ashamed to have noticed so many.' That there
should be any excuse whatever for not complying with
the dying request of a Redeemer, strongly evinces the
ungrateful baseness of our wicked heart. That Re-
deemer only desires our happiness in our remembrance
and love of himself ; and yet how many willingly for-
get him, and even dare to excuse their willing forget-
fulness of him 1 Surely when the words " Do this in
remembrance of Me," meet their eye or tingle in their
ear, they must feel a sentence of guiltiness and con-
demnation in their conscience. And not to do what
we are so plainly bidden, will surely issue in, "Depart
from me; I know you not."
We have now enquired, What it is to do, when our
Lord and Saviour Rays, Do this; What is required in
us worthily to do it ; and What are, commonly, the
excuses made for not doing it. I would only further
ADD
1. A word of Caution.
To those of you who are about shortly to communi-
cate for the first time,* I would say, Guard against
* There was not ONE Communion during the years the Author
assisted Professor Martyn in the cure of his People without an ad-
dition to the previous number of Communicants.
LORD'S SUPPER CONSIDERED. 211
every thing like distressing fear. You have indeed
been "children of disobedience," but ye are coming
to receive the testimony of a Father's pardon and a
Father's blessing. "Ye are not coming unto the
mount (Sinai) that might not be touched, and that
burned with fire; nor unto blackness, and darkness,
and tempest: but ye are coming unto mount Zion,
the city of the living God, the new Jerusalem, and to
an innumerable company of angels; to the general as-
sembly and Church of the first-born, who are written
in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect ; and to Jesus the
Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling." No longer "aliens," ye are to be "fel-
low-citizens with the saints." Sinful ye may be; but
there is virtue sufficient in the blood of Jesus to "sprin-
kle your heart from an evil conscience." Come, then,
to the communion of his body and blood humbly, not
doubtingly. Come as she came who viashed her Savi-
our's feet with her tears, and that Saviour will receive
you graciously. Look to him as did the dying Thief
and say, " Lord, remember me!" and he will smile in
mercy on you and say, "/ do earnestly remember thee
still ; d and thou shalt never be forgotten of Me " e Pray
him to give you " a cool spirit ;" f and with a mind
serious, humble, contrite, composed, " come to the
marriage." As to ' Preparation books,' there are few
you can use with profit. The Communion Service of
our Church is the best Preparation book I know of.
Read and study that. Get but hold of its meaning,
catch but the fervour of its spirit, and you cannot but
be worthy partakers of that holy Table. To this word
of caution, 1 add
2. A word of Adrice :
To those who have communicated, and regularly do
Heb. xii, 1824. a Jer xxxi, 20. Isa. xliv, 21.
. xvii, 27,
THE SACRAMENT OF THE
communicate, I say, Trim anew the lamp of your pro-
fession : Gird up anew the loins of your mind : Seek to
be ' full -filled with the grace and heavenly benediction'
of your Lord. " He giveth more grace ;" " ask and
receive that your joy may be full." "Be careful to
give no offence in any thing." Seeing how pleased
many are to find an excuse for their negligence in the
misconduct of others, " be sober, be vigilant," and
earnestly solicitous to " cut off occasion from those
who seek occasion" to slander you and to excuse them-
selves. " By well-doing, put to silence the ignorant
remarks of foolish men." Let it rejoice your hearts
to see others that were once " afar off, brought nigh
by the blood of Jesus." Welcome them to your Mas-
ter's Table. " Love as Brethren ; be pitiful ; be cour-
teous :" and the God of love make the remembrance
of Christ's death a source of ever-continually increas-
ing pleasure to your souls !
DISCOURSE XV.
CONSIDERATION OF THE LORD'S MERCIES
ENFORCED.*
1 SAMUEL xii, 24-.
For, consider how great things he hath done for you,
CONSIDERATION at all times becomes us, but espe-
cially so at a season like the present. The present is
a season commemorative of events the most wonderful
that mark the annals of the world. We cannot (I
conceive) but approve the wisdom of our Reformers in
continuing to the Church a day expressly designed to
commemorate them. The day, we allow, is not of
Divine appointment; but surely all who love our Lord
Jesus Christ must feel pleased, and gratefully so, to
have a special and peculiar time appointed in which,
with more than ordinary devotion, to consider the great
things which God in his beloved Son hath done for us.
If the prophet Samuel could say to Israel when the
* This Discourse was delivered on a Christmas Day morning,
and immediately preceding a Communion. A people's mind, in
the Author's judgment, ought ever to be prepared for the celebra-.
tion of the Lord's Supper by a suitable Discourse preceding it.
Great good attends the practice. The Ordinance, it will be found,
sinks in estimation and becomes a mere formal customary thing,
where little or no mention is made of its appointment, design, and
use. It will not weary a CHRISTIAN People to hear a frequent
mention of CHRIST. " We preach Christ crucified," said Paul
of himself and his fellow-labourers : Can their successors do better ?
214 CONSIDERATION OF THE
Lord God had given them a king, passed by their ini-
quity, and vouchsafed them many sweet assurances of
his mercy, " Consider how great things God hath
done for you :" with no less propriety may the Minis-
ter of " the true Israel" take up the Prophet's words
and say, "Consider what great things he hath done
for YOU." We purpose to enquire
I. What great things the Lord hath done for you,
And II. Why you should consider them.
Let us enquire
I. What great things the Lord hath done for you :
Here I must observe, it will be impossible to enu-
merate "the multitude of his mercies :" 1 shall there-
fore only glance at the most gracious and peculiar.
Of the many and great things the Lord hath done
for you, this is the first and greatest He hath chosen
you to be his people. Just as he chose Israel of old to
be a special people to himself,* so hath he chosen you. b
Ye that were not a people, are now a people: It hath
pleased the Lord to make you his people : He hath
madeyou so <f not according to your works, but accord-
ing to his own purpose and grace which were given
you in Christ Jesus before the world began." Ye are
"the called of God" to be "witnesses for Him in the
Earth," and trophies of his grace in the Heavens. On
you as "accepted in the Beloved," the Lord " pour-
eth his benefits" in one rich and overflowing tide of
love and mercy,
You, too, hath he quickened who were dead. " When
thou wast cast out" and "dead in trespasses and sins/'
" he passed by thee, and looked upon thee, and, be-
hold, thy time was the time of love, and he said unto
thee, Live." d And " the life ye now live in the flesh,
* Deut.vii,6. > John xr, 19. e 2 Tim. i, 9.
d Eztk. xvi, 5, 6.
LOttD'S MERCIES ENFORCED. 215
jclive by faith on Jesus Christ." It is a new and spi-
ritual existence. A something stirs within you that
was never felt before. There is an energy of thought,
desire, perception, and enjoyment, that proves vitality.
Your will that was once obstinately depraved and
averse, totally averse, to spiritual good, the Lord hath
won, subdued, and made obedient to himself. You
cannot now but love what God loves and hate what
God hates. His service (which forms the drudgery of
the unregenerate man) is your easy, perfect, and de-
lightful freedom. And those to you are the sweetest
moments of your spiritual life when you can most sim-
ply aad truly say C( The will of THE, LOHD be done."
The Lord, moreover, hath blessed you with alender
-sensibility of conscience. He hath taken " the stony
heart out of you and hath given you a heartof flesh/'*
With your tears for sin, there mingle joys sweeter far
to your spiritual taste than were all the pleasures of sin
to sense. You know what that meaneth, " Sorrowing,
jet alway rejoicing :" { and " your rejoicing is this, the
testimony of your conscience ; that in simplicity and
godly sincerity, not with fleihly wisdom, but, by the
grace of God, ye have your conversation in the world. " ff
You feel what you say and enjoy what you profess.
Once ye professed to know God and in works denied
him : now you really know him, and in your every act
acknowledge him. Once with almost unmeaning; for-
mality ye occupied your wonted sittings in the House
of Prayer hardly knew wherefore ye were come thi-
ther, and expecting, least of all, to meet ^ourGod and
Saviour there: now the House of Prayer is to your
souls a " Bethel" you feel " the Lord to be in this
Place;" and a " PenieP' where the light of God's
countenance shines brightly on you. Conscience is be-
come the enlightened eye of your understanding : the
smallest mote (a thing which, perhaps, the natural man
Ezet. xxxvi, 20. * 2 Cor. vi, 10. e 2 Cor. i, 12,
216 CONSIDERATION OF THE
discerneth not) distresses it ; and on nothing 1 does it
gaze with more intense and rapturous delight than
" the glory of God in the face or person of Jesus
Christ."
Again : You hath the Lord united in one loving and
beloved brotherhood. I may truly say as Moses said,
" Sirs, ye are brethren/" 1 Anger, and wrath, and cla-
mour, and evil speaking cease, in some measure, among
you ; and in their stead, the Lord hath given you, "as
the elect of God, holy and beloved, to put on bowels
of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
long-suffering/" We " behold how pleasant and joy-
ful a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity/' k You can "love your enemies :" and to every
one " that names the name of Christ and departs from
iniquity," you can give " the right hand of fellow-
ship." If one member of your body suffers, ye can
sympathize with it in its sorrow; if one be honoured,
ye can rejoice with it in its prosperity.* How allow-
edly then may we say, "Happy are the people that
are in SUCH A CASE; yea, blessed are the people who have
the Lord for their God !"
But again, the Lord hath united you under one Head,
even his Son, Jesus Christ. Your Ministers are no
more than instruments whereby ye believe : they are
not the Lords of your faith. 1 " One is your Master,
even Christ." He is " Head over all things to the
* These expressions contained no fulsome adulation when spoken,
nor is Ministerial commendation (though to be used sparingly and
with judgment) always used without beneficial effect. St. Paul
commended his converts often particularly the Thessalonians.
(See 2 Epis. i, 3 7.) The truth is Christian principle will inva-
riably produce Christian conduct. " Faith works by love:" and
how necessarily it does so, may be seen in that very admirable Ho-
mily of our Church on ' Good Works.' Let the reader notice par-
ticularly tlie FIRST Part on Fasting. The morals of a people will
ever correspond with their " belief of the Truth."
h Acts vii, 2(5. ' Col. iii, 12. k Ps. 133. 1.
2 Cor. i, 24.
LORD'S MERCIES ENFORCED. 217
Church'' the " Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and
the End" of your faith and hope and love the " All'*
in all your present and everlasting Salvation. " It
pleased the Father that in him should all fulness
dwell." In all respects our Saviour is the Saviour
which we need. If we would have in our Saviour a
God to save and a man to suffer : in Christ the divine
and human natures meet. 1 If we would have "the
government" of all things on his shoulder : it is so. m If
we would that he who saves should judge us, it shall be
so. n If we would " reign in life" behold and share the
glory of our Lord ; the recorded promise is, "Where
1 am, there shall my servants be." Such is your ex-
alted Head, my People : And how cheeringly sounds
the angelic tidings "Unto you is born this day in the
city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." p
Never be it forgotten by you that though, as concern-
ing the flesh, Christ came of the Jewish fathers, yet is
he, notwithstanding his human birth, " over all GOD
blessed for ever." q His power, truth, faithfulness, and
love, are all engaged to succour and befriend you. Be-
cause he lives, you shall live. And while you "rejoice
in Christ Jesus," and experience the blessedness of
communion with him, sure 1 am, you will not refuse to
' bring forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord
of all.'
With his Son, the Lord hath given you another
Comforter, one that is to abide with you not as did
your Lord, a period of three and thirty years, but
" for ever;" for ever till the ransomed of the Lord re-
turn and come to ihe heavenly Zion, and be, like their
Divine and gracious Saviour, crowned with everlasting
joy. The Holy Spirit is among you as the testifier
and gloi ifier of Jesus. It is his office to " take of the
things that are his and to shew them unto you." He
it is who wins your souls to Christ opens to you the
1 1 Tim. iii, 16. m Isa. ix, 6. " Act? xvii, 31.
John xii, 26. f Luke ii, 11. 1 RomJ ix, v.
218 CONSIDERATION OF THE
Scriptures sheds abroad the love of God in your
hearts strengthens you with all needed might in your
inner man enlightens you in darkness and comforts
you in sorrow guides you when doubtful prepares
you for glory, and leads you on toward "the land of
uprightness." Oh! what " great things/' what
clustering mercies, are these ! Feel ye but their value
and importance, and the expression * Take not, Lord,
thy Holy Spirit from us,' will be the prayer not of
your lips only.
Other and great things hath the Lord done for you.
On you he hath bestowed precious means of grace
means, without which all that he hath done for you
might be unknown to you. Ye have means wherewith
few are favoured. Ye will bear me witness that I
have kept back nothing that was profitable for you ;
but (according to the ability given to me) have taught
you both publicly and from house to house, testifying
to all repentance toward God and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ/ You have been warned, reproved, be-
sought, consoled, counselled and advised, almost indi-
vidually : nor has the gracious Bestower of your means
left them unblessed to you. O how sweetly sensible
have you often been of your Redeemer's presence !
how has the Word come to you with power and in
much assurance ! how have you rejoiced in a felt de-
liverance from all wrath and condemnation ! And
even now it is given you once again to circle round
the table of your Lord. May you receive the emblems
of his * most precious body and blood" to your 'great
and endless comfort!' Go with the shepherds to
Bethlehem : gaze on the infant stranger that lies cra-
dled in a manger there ; follow him from that manger
to the cross, and from the cross to glory ; and me-
thinks it will be hard for you to forbear exclaiming,
4 ' What hath God wrought?" " this is the Lord's
doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes."
* Acts xx, 21.
LORD'S MERCIES ENFORCED.
cr Meditate, then, Beloved, on these things." Yea,
think of still greater things than these. There is no-
thing which a God of infinite power cannot do : there
is nothing which a God of infinite love will not do for
his believing and obedient people. Remember " the
Everlasting Covenant" God hath made with you, and
which is " ordered in all things and sure."* Here to
you hath he " given exceeding great and precious
promises/' which are all "yea and amen" to everyone
that believeth ; l hereafter will he give you to partici-
pate his kingdom and his throne/ And the hour ap-
proaches when your enemies shall say of you as Israel's
enemies said of them, " The Lord hath done great things
for them ;" and it will be yours to reply as Israel did,
"Yea, the Lord hath done great things for us, whereof
we rejoice."" And remember too, "the gifts and
callings of God are without repentance:"* free as the
air you breathe ; firm as the everlasting hills ; durable
as the throne of God ; endless in continuance as
eternity.
Such are some few of the great things the Lord hath
done for you. Let us now inquire
II. Why you should consider them :
You should consider them,
(1.) For the humiliation of your souls;
(2.) For the encouragement of your hopes;
And (3.) For the excitement of your thanks.
Consider what great things the Lord hath done for
you
(I.) For the humiliation of your souls. Perhaps
nothing more effectually humbles the soul than a view
of God's gracious goodness contrasted with our deep
unworthiness. When like Jacob, you have been fa-
2 Sain, xxiii, 5. * 2 Cor. 1, 20. * Rev. iii, 21.
w Ps. 126. 2,3. Rom. xi, 29,
220 CONSIDERATION OF THE
voured with rich communications of love and mercy,
you will then find Jacob's language expressive of your
feelings, " I am not worthy of the least of all the
mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed
unto thy servant." y Or when, like Isaiah, you have
seen the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up,
and his train filling the Temple, and heard, as it were,
the seraphims crying one to another, Holy, Holy,
Holy, is the Lord of Hosts ; the whole Earth is full
of his glory : then will you most readily acknowledge
yourselves to be " a people of unclean lips" and pros-
trate your souls most humbly before the infinitely holy
Lord God. 1 The God that is " glorious in holiness/'
will be to you u fearful in praises." Whilst he is
" doing wonders" for you, you will feel sensibly un-
worthy of them. Whilst his "mighty hand" upholds
and blesses you, you will " humble yourselves under"
it. And never are we so secure and happy as when
with lowliness and contrition of spirit " we hold us
fast by God." The " great things done for you," be
it remembered, were, and could, in no wise, be merited
by you, " While we were yet enemies," were they
wrought out for us. Our Church believes and teaches
that no ' works' whatever of our's either make men
meet to receive or to deserve grace : a So effectually
would she humble the pride of human nature. When,
therefore, you consider the graciousness of God's deal-
ings with you, let the consideration of his mercies
humble your souls before him.
But consider them
(2 ) For the encouragement of your hopes. Hath
the Lord done so great things for you ? Hath he not
spared even his own Son ? Then, arguing in the
manner of St. Paul, we say, " He that spared not his
own Son, but delivered HIM up for us all, how shall he
not with him ALSO freely give us all things."* Thus
y Gen. xxxii, 10. Isa. vi 1-5. * Art, xiii.
* Rom. viii, 32.
LORD'S MERCIES ENFORCED. 2*21
may you certainly encourage your hopes in the Divine
goodness. " All things are your's" in promise; and
what the Lord hath promised, a believer may ask.
Every already experienced mercy, should be to you a
plea for other and more abundant mercies. Look at
Abram as he stands before the Lord interceding for
the cities of the Plain. (See Gen. viii. 23 33 )
Every answer to his prayer emboldens him to ask the
more ; and it is observable Abram gives over ask-
ing before the Lord ceases to bestow. Look at
David, too, when he was in the wilderness of Judea :
" O God, says he, thou art my God Because thou
hast been my help, therefore under the shadow of
thy wings will I rejoice." And again, see how beau-
tifully the Psalmist encourages his hopes from a con-
sideration of what had been done for him " Thou hast
delivered my soul from death : wilt thou not deliver
my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in
the land of the living ?" d He had been, you observe,
delivered from death : he prays now to walk before his
Deliverer, and to be upheld in the paths of righteous-
ness and truth. u Go ye and do likewise." The Lord
bids you " open your mouth wide," and to encourage
you so to do, he adds, " and I will fill it." e You are
coming to " the mercy-seat :" bring with you large
petitions : ask what ye will ; and doubt not but " he
who hath delivered, and doth deliver, \\ill yet deliver
you."
And consider what the Lord hath done for you.
3. For the excitement of your thanks. What doth
the Lord especially require of us in return for all his
benefits ? Nothing so much as a grateful acceptance
of them. "What shall I render unto the Lord, in-
quires the Psalmist, for all his benefits towards me ?
1 will take, he says, the cup of salvation, and call upon
the name of the Lord." f And in the last verse of the
c Ps. 63, 7 d Ps. 5fi, 1.3. < Ps. 81, 10
' Ps. HC, 1-213.
222 CONSIDERATION OF THE
50th Psalm, the Lord himself says "Whoso offereth
praise glorifieth me." God is not so "wonderful in
counsel, so excellent in working," or so supremely
happy amidst the halleluias of the heavenly host, but
he bows down a listening and delighted ear to the
whisper of thanksgiving upon earth. " Praise is
comely for the upright." " A joyful and a pleasant
thing it is to be thankful." Thankfulness is the plea-
sure of piety : and to excite your thankfulness con-
sider. While you muse, the fire will kindle in your
heart, and at the last you will speak with your tongue.
The things done for you demand perpetual praise.
" Ponder" on them like the Virgin Mother of our
Lord : Do so till your " mouths praise him with joy-
ful lips/' Draw nigh with faith unto the table of
Jesus Christ. Feed on him by faith in your heart
with thanksgiving. So will " the Father of mercies"
te rejoice over you to do you good ;" and in your hum-
ble, hopeful, thankful, spirits, will he "fulfil all the
good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith
with power."
I have now inquired What great things the Lord
hath done for you, and Why you should consider them.
And dividing you into two parties, I say
1. To those who to-day partake of the Communion,
We hope, Beloved, that you both have considered and
will consider the great things which the Lord hath
done for you. To you " he yet waits to be gracious."
Be, then, all alarm and terror put away from you.
" Have faith in God." Come " upon the multitude
of his mercies" to his altar. "God is Love," and in
love has appointed this holy ordinance for the suste-
nance and comfort of your souls. Love will excuse
infirmity and accept desire. Sinful your heart may
be : but God asks you to give it to him : if he
asks he will accept it : and accepting it, he will renew
and heal and gladden it. And then shall you, with a
heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, go your way
LORD'S MERCIES ENFORCED. 223
" rejoicing for all the wondrous things which ye have
seen and heard."
2. To those who will not to-day partake of the Com-
miurion, I say, We trust that though you turn from us
and go away, some of you will yet leave your desires
and hearts behind you. We do not advise an inconsi-
derate coming to the Communion. No ; by no means.
We would rather much that you should t( sit down
first and count the cost" of a religious profession.
We would have you, however, to consider the great
things God hath done, is doing, and will do for his
servants. Consider them till you " covet earnestly"
to share them. Think how doubtful your Christianity
must be while ye call Jesus " Lord" and " do not the
things which he says." Think as you homeward go,
' Well, I have left many to do what Jesus Christ com-
mands us in remembrance of him : Can / be like
them ? Where is my love to Jesus ? Why am 1 not
prostrate at his table Most in wonder, love, and praise'
in the consideration of his mercies ? Shall I be wel-
comed to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in glory,
if I continue still to slight and neglect it here?'
Thus think and enquire : and it may possibly lead to
discoveries sad, perhaps, and humbling on your part,
but great and merciful on God's part that will in-
duce you to exclaim on every Christmas- Day which
succeeds the present and to exclaim with still new and
increasing fervour, " Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good-will toward men/'
DISCOURSE XVI,
PARTICIPATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER
IMPROVED.
PSALM 116. 12.
What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits
towards me ?
WHEN the Heaven and the Earth were made and all
the host of them, God rested? The mighty energy of
His mighty mind, had produced this material Universe.
With feelings of Divine complacency, ' ' God saw every
thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very
good." 5 Thus (in a degree vastly interior, we must,
indeed, allow ; but thus} it is with ourselves. When
our attention, strength, or time, has been occupied
about anything more than usually important, there is
a disposition in us to rest ; and either to enjoy the sa-
tisfaction of having accomplished our object of to an-
ticipate the result of our labour. This disposition I
believe to be prevalent in many among you at this mo-
ment.* You have been doing a great work: You
have been making a public avowal of your faith in a
* Preached in the evening of a day on which the Sacrament had
been administered ; and on which (if the Author mistake^ not) 116
of his beloved Flock communicated.
Exod. xx, 11. b Gen. i, 31.
PARTICIPATION OF THE LORD'S SI P PER 225
crucified Redeemer : Angels and men, yea, the Lord
of both, have witnessed your " professed subjection"
to Jesus Christ: With more than ordinary solemnity
you have taken " the cup of salvation and called upon
the Name of the Lord:" Now, then, you pause: You
look upward to the world where yourRedeemer reigns,
and you feel, perhaps, that to depart and to be with
Christ, would be "far better" than to sojourn longer
here : You look inward on yourselves, and behold,
with humble and adoring thankfulness, what great
things God hath done for you: Contented, if it be his
will to "abide in the flesh" and therein to serve your
Lord, you look around you here and enquire how you
shall best fulfil your duties; how most surely "pay
that ye have vowed ;" how most surely, amidst the ne-
cessary cares and businesses of life, keep alive the ar-
dour of the fire which grace hath kindled in you ; how,
in sho*t, " adorn in all things the Doctrine of God our
Saviour." In this state of calm tranquillity and sober
joy, the question " W licit shall I render unto the Lord
for all his benefits toward me ?" naturally presents
itself. Accommodating this text to our purpose, let
us consider
I. The benefits to be derived from a worthy
participation of the Lord's Supper.
And II. The duties immediately connected with our
partaking of it.
We are to consider
I. The BENEFITS to be derived from a worthy partici-
pation of the Lord's Supper.,
These are great and estimable. We mean not to
say they are necessarily derivable from a participation
of the Ordinance : The Ordinance is appointed for
'* the Faithful' only; and by ' the Faithful' only are
' the body and blood of Christ verily and indeed taken
and received in the Lord's Supper/ To those, then,
who worthily partake of it, there is derived
226 PARTICIPATION OF THE
(1.) A stronger Jaith. We, in our present state of
imperfect being, are creatures of sense. Any thing;
risible and tangible, therefore/ makes a much more
powerful impression on our mind than mere abstract
truths or spiritual things. Hence, when we see the
bread broken and the wine poured out, we can more
sensibly realize the facts implied the body and blood
of Jesus Christ broken and poured out for sin. Our
faith becomes "theevidence of things not seen." And
as we exercise it on the work, the life, the death, the
love of Jesus, our faith "grows," and, in some fa-
voured seasons, " grows exceedingly" The Holy
Spirit especially blesses meditation on "the cross of
Christ" to our "furtherance and joy of faith." Like
as Abraham after he had offered the ram in sacrifice
in the stead of his Son, was " strong in faith, giving
glory to God ;" so the Christian Worshipper, after a
worthy participation of the commemorative Supper of
his Lord, "waxes stronger and stronger." He be-
comes more simply and entirely dependent on "the
dying of the Lord Jesus." With lessening hesitation
lie grounds his eternal all on the atonement of the Son
of God. He receives evident and sensible pledges of
his Saviour's love. His faith becomes to him " a sub-
stance" a felt reality, the worth of which is "Jar
more precious than of gold that perisheth." This is
one benefit to bederived from a believing participation
of the body and blood of our Saviour, Christ.
Another is (2.) A more full persuasion of the Di-
vine favour. Some pretend we cannot be persuaded
of the Divine favour, and. that as to any persuasion of
God's love toward us and our acceptance with him,
it is all enthusiasm, nonsense, or something worse. But
Avhat says St. Paul ? *' I am persuaded that neither
life nor death shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." c And
what mean we when we pray for 'such a sense of
c Rom. viii, 38, 39.
LORD'S SUPPER IMPROVED. 227
God's mercies,' as will fill our hearts with thankful-
ness, and dispose us unreservedly to serve and honour
Him ? When, by the Holy Spirit's quickening and
regenerating power, we become sensible of our sinful-
ness and aware of our desert, we are ready almost to
conclude, "There is no hope." d We struggle, how-
ever, for deliverance : we " hope even against hope :
and under the gracious guidance and efficacious influ-
ence of the Holy Spirit our trembling hope gradually
ripens into sweet persuasion : and when, by faith, we
take the holy Sacrament, this persuasion becomes more
full and general. We learn to "joy in God" Our
conviction of his favour becomes as real and percepti-
ble to our souls, as the kindness of any earthly friend
would be to our bodily senses. We " walk in love;"
and though all beside should frown upon us, yet the
smile of a u reconciled Father in Christ" would make
us gladsome and happy.
A further benefit will consequently be (3.) An in-
crease of love to Jesus Christ and to each other. We
are naturally averse to Jesus Christ : no one naturally
wills that this man should reign over him : it is, too,
the Enemy's one great effoit to keep us apart from
Christ and ignorant of him. But, when we have found
pardon and peace through his blood, how can we but
desire and love him ? Now, it is in the Communion
of his body and blood that Jesus Christ, in a more pe-
culiar and gracious manner, presents himself to our
acceptance and our love. Our mind's eye sees him
t( led away to be crucified :" we follow him in thought
to Calvary: we behold him there suspended between
the Heavens and the Earth as an outcast from both ;
his hands and feet and head lacerated and torn with
wounds ; his body besmeared with blood, and his soul
the seat of agony and woe unutterable. " Lovcst thou
me ?" seems the enquiry wherewith this scene is prsg
nant : "Lord," reply our grateful hearts, "Thau
* Jer. ii,2*.
PARTICIPATION OF THE
knowest all things ; Thou knowest that we love thee."
And this love, though it falls, confessedly, far short of
what we owe a dying Saviour, will yet, we trust, be
increased in us ever more and more.' And to each
other, also, we feel more and more attached as partak-
ers together of that <c one bread." The bond of union
with our Head and with each other becomes closer and
dearer on each participation of the sacred Supper. We
"love as brethren" and as "heirs tog-ether of the
grace of life." We are children of the same Father ;
lovers of the same Lord ; partakers of the same Spi-
rit ; and beyond us lies the same eternal rest in glory.
A savour of Christian love will mark the character and
the converse of every worthy communicant. A radi-
ance of simple unaffected kindness will beam around
him, similar somewhat to the glory which beamed in
Moses's face after he had been communing with God
on Horeb.
Another benefit to be derived from the Lord's Supper
is, (4.) ^lore deadness to the World. To those who
know how duly to value it, this is no small benefit.
Alive as we naturally are to all of a temporal kind that
concerns us, it is a benefit indeed to have our affections
deadened to things below, and our minds drawn up
and centred in higher and more enduring good. This
a participation of the Sacrament is calculated to effect.
We, when worthily partaking of -it, ' in heart and
mind thither ascend whither our Saviour Christ is gone
before us:' We " enter, by the blood of Jesus, into
theholiest of all ; and from a contemplation of " things
not seen as yet," we become, in a measure, weaned in
affection and desire from things visible and temporal.
Mere earthly riches, pursuits, and customs, become
tasteless and insipid. They will be valued only so far
as our own or others' good and our Redeemer's glory
can be promoted by them. We learn what that mean-
eth, " I am crucified unto the world and the world is
e 1 Cor. x, 17.
LORD^S SUPPER IMPROVED.
crucified unto me." 1 We stand like the Virgin Mo-
ther gazing on our crucified Redeemer, and his cross
effects our crucifixion to all beside himself. It is true,
we still have cares, and must fulfil our relative and so-
cial duties , but our souls will be on the wing for some
holier kindlier clime than this. 8 We shall long to
" eat bread with our Lord in his Father's kingdom,"
and wish rather to know all the " blessedness" to be
derived from " the marriage Supper of the Lamb" in
lieaven. h Those of you who are experimentally ac-
quainted with religious truth, will allow that in so
saying, " I speak forth the words of truth and sober-
ness ;" and that deadness of feeling towards this "pre-
sent evil world," by whatever means derived, is a truly
estimable benefit.
Another benefit, we may observe is, (5.) Greater
courage in the profession of our Faith. We are, in the
earlier stages of our spiritual life particularly, exceed-
ingly timid. I have known many who have wished to
reprove a sin, to confess Christ and their attachmentto
him, and to recommend religion to the love and prac-
tice of others ; who yet dared not, from fear and timi-
dity BO to do. Modesty, humility, and meekness, are
commendable in all, and peculiarly amiable in youthful
Christians; but these graces of the Spirit must not be
confounded with "shame of Christ and of his words."
Circumstances often occur which render a courageous
profession of our faith absolutely necessary, and wherein
reserve would be criminal. Now, a participation of
the Lord's Supper is a public avowal of our faith. We
therein renew our baptismal engagement to ' fight
manfully under the banner of Christ: ' our enemies
themselves expect us to be true to our Lord, and faith-
ful to our vows: In the recollection of this, we "wax
valiant in fight," and become more and more enabled
to "give to every man that asketh us, a reason of the
hope that is in us," This is a great benefit. It tends
( Gal. vi, \ s Isaiah xl, 31. Rev. xii, 9.
230 PARTICIPATION OF THE
considerably to relieve the mind of fearful apprehen-
sion, and we lose, that dread which a fear of our Re-
deemer's being ashamed of us must necessarily, where
it exists, produce. Thus we learn to be "good sol-
diers of Jesus Christ ;" and, varying the expression a
little, we may say "They that have used this ordi-
nance well purchase to themselves great boldness in
the Faith."'
Connected with the foregoing benefit, there will be
(6.) A stronger confidence in dufy. Superiority to
both the censure and approval of man is very desira-
ble. It should be with us "a small matter to bejudg-
cd of mans judgment." And yet how common is it
even for those whose piety we cannot question, to be
afraid of their duty ! They love, it may be, the great
and useful Societies of ourLand ; and would, too, most
willingly attend their Annual Meetings : but, they
dread singularity. They worship God in their fami-
lies: but, a stranger's presence will interrupt the duty.
They love that ministration of the Word which most
thoroughly humbles them and most exclusively exalts
their Lord : but, man's disfavour is "the lion in the
way' and they want resolution to dare it. This sinful
diffidence, a believing participation of the Communion,
tends to remove. The' body and blood of Christ
"strengthen" the soul. We become ashamed of our
shame. The promise "In quietness and confidence
shall be your strength," is fulfilled to us. k We
" cease from Mem:" neither his smiles nor frowns
greatly move us. We cease from ourselves : " having
no confidence in the flesh, we rejoice in Christ Jesus." 1
Our duty becomes our pleasure ; and now " though an
hostencamp against us, our heart shall notfear : though
war should rise against us, in this will we be con
fident." m
* 1 Tim. ui, 13. k Isaiah xxx, 15. ' Phil. Hi, 3.
* Ps. 27. 3.
LORD'S SUPPER IMPROVED. 231
And with all the benefits already specified, there
will be (7.) A more assured hope of heavenly glory.
In the Communion, we contemplate our Lord not only
as " wounded for our transgressions and bruised for
our iniquities/' but also as "entered within the vail,"
and reigning now the triumphant conqueror of all our
foes, and the almighty Saviour of our souls. We re-
ceive fresh pledges of his love, and renewed assurances
of his mercy. Still sweetly soundsthe word of promise,
" I will receive you to myself: because I live, ye shall
live: where I am, ye shall be." Our Saviour tells us
he is gone to "prepare a place for us." What will
be the peculiar and essential excellence of that Place,
we know not. It is enough for us to know that JESUS
CHRIST is preparing it. Where reigns " the Prince of
the Kings of the Earth/' "the Heir of all things,"
" the only begotten of the Father," must surely be
** beautiful for situation," and " the glory of all lands."
"With Him forever" are his followers to be. Whilst
here, 'means of grace' are given us to confirm our
1 hope of glory.' Some, indeed, dread the mention of
assurance : but had there been any thing dreadful in
it, would the Scriptures have enjoined us to " shew the
same diligence to tbejfuli assurance of hope unto the
end ?''* or should we read as we do in Colossians ii, 2,
of assurance^ full assurance, riches of the full assurance,
and all riches of the full assurance ? Certainly not.
The more simply, truly, and gratefully, we " discern
the Lord's body" in the Ordinance of his appointment,
and depend on that Lord himself, the more assured
will our hope become. ''The work of righteousness
will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quiet-
ness and assurance for ever."
Then A stronger faith A more full persuasion of
the Divine favour An increase of love to Jesus
Christ and to each other More deadness to the
world Greater courage in -the Profession of our
Faith A stronger confidence in duty and A more
"Johnxiv, 2. u Ileb. vi, 11. Isaiah xxxii, 17,
232 PARTICIPATION OF THB
assured hope of heavenly glory, are the special Benefits
to bederived from a worthy participation of the Lord's
Supper. And if so, with what propriety may the
Believer ask, " WHAT shall 1 render unto the Lord for
all his benefits toward me ?"
Let us, then, consider
II. The DUTIES immediately connected icith our pur-
taking of it.
We should not shrink from a consideration of our
duties : for though " without Christ, we can do no-
thing;'' yet "through his strengthening us, we can do
all things." The benefits of our Lord toward us, will
make our returns of love and service easy and delight-
ful. An affectionate child will feel it to be his " meat
and drink" to do a Father's will. One that loves his
Lord, will cheerfully keep his sayings. Disinterested
benefits beget returns of kindness.
It is, then, our duty, as immediately connected with
our participation of the Lord's Supper.
(1.) To mortify sin. It should not satisfy us to fell
the brunches of the corrupt tree ; we should be so-
licitous to lay the axe to its root. The very remains
of sin should be hateful to us and will be hateful to
us if we believe our sins to be the thorns, the nails,
the spear, which pierced our Lord. We are not
forgiven to go and sin again. 1 * No ; this is not
\vhat we are to render unto the Lord for his for-
giving and redeeming mercy. Sin in its every kind
and degree must be mortified. The very ( ' appearance
of evil" must be avoided.* 1 Even in things lawful and
allowable, self-denial must sometimes be exercised.
This is a means whereby more easily to overcomethings
unlawful. "All things," said Paul, "are lawful for
me; but all things are not expedient ;" r and even this
great and gifted Apostle found it necessary to "keep
under his body," lest after all his acquirements, expe-
* John v, 14. i I Thes. v, 22. c 1 Cor. vi, 12.
LORD'S SIPPER IMPROVED. 233
riences, and enjoyments, " he himself should be a cast
away." 8 Let then the most gifted and experienced
among you make no truce with sin ; but see to it that
sin has no dominion over you. Wage with it a cease-
less and perpetual warfare. Mortify and lament your
sin of heart, of lip, and life, till you are "presented
faultless before the presence of God." Pray ye that the
body and blood of your Lord, may indeed make clean
your sinful bodies and souls, and that in both, through
them, ye may be preserved unto everlasting life
" blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(2.) To renounce the tcorld, is another duty incum-
bent on us us partakers of the Lord's Supper. I do
not believe it possible to be religious, and to love the
world. By the vor/d, I do not mean the scenery of
Nature that is beautiful and charming ; nor do I
mean that we should not endeavour honourably to
possess, and gratefully to enjoy, if possessed, a worldly
competency: but I mean that we should not be the
slaves of sense, the dupes of fashion, or the lovers of a
world whose god is the devil, and whose votaries are
not only "earthly and sensual" in their aims, pursuits,
and pleasures, but (as an inspired Apostle would say)
" devilish." 1 The followers of One "whose kingdom
was not of this world," should affect some better por-
tion. There is little in this world suited to the taste of
one who ' verily and indeed' feeds in his heart by
faith on Christ Jesus. Let us not, then, by undue
compliances, sanction the ways and follies of it. We
have professedly renounced them : let us sincerely do
so. " Ephraim should say, What have I any more to
do with idols?"* Shall 1 celebrate a feast to Jehovah,
and forthwith go with the multitude to dance and
shout around the altar of an idol-god ? w Shall the
' How happy I am to see you !' of the world be in my
lips ; and the '/ hate your presence' be the covert sen-
* 1 Cor. ix, 27. * 2 Cor. iv, 4. James iii, 15,
* Ilos. xjv, b. w Exocl. xxxii, 5, G.
PARTICIPATION OF THE
timent of my heart? Shall I from the fear of " man
that is a worm" x sacrifice my character, my peace of
conscience, yea, more, *' crucify my Lord, the Son of
God, afresh?" Shall I have ought more to do with
these things? With regard, too, to our worldly cir-
cumstances, it is our duty " in whatsoever state we
are, therewith to be content/' God bids us to be
" careful for nothing." It is his to provide ; and what-
ever his provision for our temporal wants may be, it
should be our's richly and gratefully to enjoy it.
Those of us who worthily partake of the Communion
of the body and blood of Jesus, have " meat to eat
which the world knoweth not of." In the strength
of this should we go on from conquering to conquer,
cheered and encouraged in all our conflicts with those
oft-repeated words "To him that overcometh"
"To him that overcometh !" y Only let us remember
why our Redeemer suffered/ and it will be no painful
duty to renounce the world.
(3.) To walk by faith, is another duty following im-
immediately from the one just noticed. If we are to
renounce this world, with all its idle pomp and un-
meaning vanity,* we should live and walk by faith in
" another, that is, an heavenly country." The King ;
the righteousness ; the glory ; the joy ; the pure and
unmingled pleasure, of that heavenly country, should
all be the objects of our believing regard and hope. If
by partaking of the holy Supper our faith has been in-
creased, it is that we might exercise it the more. It
will increase still by exercise. The established Believer
feels and enjoys what younger disciples have no con-
* 'Renunciation of the Devil and all his works, the pomp and
vanity of this wicked world' forms the first part of our baptismal
engagements : who do we find most ready to renounce these things
those who believe themselves to have been regenerated in their bap-
tism, or those who have really been born "not of water only," but
"of the Spirit" also ? "WHERE the Spirit ofiheLordis^UERK
is liberty." (2 Cor. iii, 17.)
* Job xxv, 6. y Rtv. ii ami iii. * Gal. i, 4.
LORD'S SI Pl'ER IMPROVED. 235
ccption of. What one, however, has attained, others
may attain. What though <( eye hath not seen, nor
car heard, nor heart of man, amidst its innumerable
conceivings, hath conceived, the things which God
hath prepared for them that love him? God, never-
theless, revealeth them to us by his Spirit :" a and a
spiritual perception of them will cast a shade over all
sublunary things, and quicken desire after immortality.
When the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened, he saw
" horses of fire and chariots of fire" round about him-
self and his master, where before he had seen nothing. b
And thus is it with us also. When "the eyes of our
understanding are enlightened," we see what we never
saw before/ and by this new and spiritual light, we
are to pursue that upward way which leadeth unto a
world of life and blessedness. <f We walk, says Paul, by
faith, and not by sight ;" d and "the just, says he
again, quoting the words of Habakkuk, shall live by
faith." c The life which Paul himself lived in the flesh,
after he became a Christian, was "by faith of Jesus
Christ." f Can we do better? Forgetting, then, the
things that are behind, let us reach forth to the things
that are before, nor count ourselves to have attained
while there remains any thing to be attained.
(4.) To K-ah-h and pray, is another plain and obvious
duty as consequent on our approach to the Lord's
Table. We stand not so habitually on our watch-
tower as we should do. It is because we watch not,
that we therefore so generally lose the fervour of our
religion the savour of our holy things, and fall so
quickly into a cold and listless state of soul. If we
would insure a continuance of the benefits we derive
from the Communion, we must watch and pray.
" Men ought alway to pray and not to faint." Satan
is jealous of our happiness and watchful to destroy it.
It is only by sobriety, vigilance, and prayer, that we
1 1 Cor. ii, 9, 10. b 2 Kincs vi, 17. c Eph. i, 18.
* 2 Cor. v, 7. Htb. x, 38. f Gal. ii,20.
PARTICIPATION 01- THE
can detect his subtility and defeat his malice. ' Re-
straining prayer, we cease to fight:' our hands hang-
down ; our knees wax feeble ; and our armour be-
comes tarnished and useless. Prayer is the divinely
appointed means of grace and strength to the soul
" the golden pipe" whereby the " unction from the
Holy One" is conveyed to the heart A Christian
cannot but pray ; but he should be careful to "pray
tilii'fitjs Kith MA, prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
tmd i? atch ing thereunto with all perseverance " K The
more we abound in watchful prayer, the more hea-
venly-minded and the happier we shall be. Can we
sin, can we be angry, can we be tempted with evil,
\vhile our hearts are engaged in Communion and fel-
lowship with God? And will it not, if we inquire,
be found that we then lose the zest of our mercies
when we are watchless and prayerless ? Then let us
in the ordinance of his appointment, think, on our
every renewed participation of it, that we hear our
Saviour say, " What I say unto you, I say unto you all y
WATCH."
(5.) To glorify Christ, need I say, is our duty?
Surely it becomes not the duty merely, but the pri-
vilege of a forgiven and redeemed sinner to glorify his
Redeemer. But, alas ! how prone are we naturally
to shun the cross! There is a strange backwardness
in us to confess Christ and to avow ourselves his
friends. O let us seek to possess the confidence of faith
and the assurance of hope in him ! What! after an
approach to his Table after a declaration of our faith
in his cross and passion as that ALONE whereby we ob-
tain remission of sin and eternal life after a surren-
der of ' ourselves, our souls, and bodies,' to him and to
his service, shall we hesitate or refuse to " speak good
of his Name?" Can our faith, our persuasion of the
Divine goodness, our love to Jesus and each other, our
deadness to the world, our hope of glory, be increased
s liph vi, 18.
LORD'S SUPPER IMPROVED 237
and strengthened if we willingly endeavour not to
glorify our Lord and Saviour ? Let us, then, bo
agreed to honour Christ by the dependence of our
heart, the praises of our mouth, and the obedience of
our life. Let every benefit done toward us induce
the inquiry, What shall I render unto the Lord? Let
all his benefits together constrain us to resolve with
David,, " While 1 live will I praise the Lord : I will
sing praises unto my God while I have my being.'" 1
" Ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify God
in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.'"
Make, at least, the effort to do so. If the Lord hath
done great things for your souls, invite others who
fear him to come and hear from vou what he hath done
H
for them. Say to them, (< O magnify the Lord with
me, and let us exalt his name together :'' k and if you
feel diffident and afraid to speak of the glorious
honour of his Majesty, and of his wondrous works, 1
cry, " Open thon mi/ lips," and you shall soon add,
" And nu/ mouth shall shew forth thy praise*' After
Supper, Jesus and his disciples "sung an hymn:" "in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, let us sing and
make melody in our hearts to the Lord." So will the
Lord be magnified in us, and to us will be fulfilled the
promise, " Whoso confesseth me before men, him will
1 also confess before my Father and his Angels."
We have now considered The benefits to be derived
from a worthy participation of the Lord's Supper, and
The duties immediately connected with our partaking
of it. I will only further SAY
(I.) To the Communicants among you, Meditate on
those particular benefits which God has bestowed on
you. Do so individually. The text, you observe,
says, "What shall / render unto the Lord for all his
benefits toward me ?" You will then see what are
your peculiar mercies, and be excited "according to
11 Ps. 140. 2. i 1 Cor. vi, 20. t Ps. 3-1. 3.
i Ps. 145. 5. "' Ps. 51. lo.
238 PARTICIPATION OF THE
your several ability" to render unto the Lord adora-
tion, worship, and service. Whether your talents be
ten, five, or one, you will "neither be barren nor un-
fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
But, however graciously you are or may be blessed, I
would say, Still be humble. Benefits, through our
natural weakness and depravity, sometimes become
snares. Remember Who maketh vou to differ, and
/
that thereis nothing of good which you have not re-
ceived. Beware of spiritual pride: it is a subtle sin,
and easily creeps into the heart. On the other hand,
Envy not one the other's gifts. You should not wish
to be like one another; at least, only just so far as
you resemble Christ. Your Lord is your Exemplar :
his steps you are to follow. You may profitably speak
one to another of your joys and sorrows ; your hopes
and fears. You may, too, reprove a brother when re-
proof is needed ; but only " with meekness and in a
spirit of love." Pray with and for each other, you
also may ; and so keep alive among you the power and
vigour of religious principle. Now you have pre-
sented yourselves to the Lord, ye may go forth in de-
pendence on his aid, to the fulfilment of every Chris-
tian duty enquiring, as ye go, in the secrecy of be-
lieving thought, and the calmness of felt devotion,
" What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits
toward me?" and determined to do a somewhat for
Him who has done so much for you.
(2.) To the non-communicants among you, I say, What
are you rendering to the Lord for all his benefits?
It is to no purpose as it respects you that God hath
"made a marriage for his Son," and sent his servants
to say, fi Come, for all things are now ready." You
excuse your coming : yea, more, it may be, you con-
temn the feast, and despise those who partake of it.
But, let me ask, Will your farm or your oxen or your
intimacies with the world, avail you any thing without
the pardoning love and mercy of God ? Be assured,
repent and believe you must if ever you would be
LORD'S SUPPER IMPROVED.
saved. I wish, at your leisure, you would read and
consider Luke xiii, and 3, and Mark xvi, and 16. Love
the Lord Jesus Christ you must, and evidence your
love by keeping his sayings you must, or you will ne-
ver " see the felicity of his chosen or rejoice in the
gladness of his people." Look at 1 Cor. xvi, 22, and
John xiv, 15. \Ve pity our 'enemies, persecutors,
and slanderers ; and pray our God to turn their hearts.'
O that your hearts may be turned, and that ye may
render hencefor\vard according to the benefits done
toward you !
DISCOURSE XVII.
DEATH TO THE BELIEVER.*
ACTS vii, GO.
And when he had said this, he jell asleep.
" GOD so loved the world that he gave his only be-
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should
not perish, but have everlasting life." In the gift of
his only begotten Son, God's promise of a Seed that
should "bruise the Serpent's head," or in other words,
" destroy the works of the Devil," was graciously ful-
filled. In the person, the work, the character, the
kingdom, of Jesus Christ, we see all the types of the
ceremonial Law embodied, all the commandments of
the moral Law obeyed and magnified, and all the pre-
dictions of the Prophets accomplished. These are, as
it were, severally and together, the Star which, ap-
pearing in the Heavens of love and mercy, points out
to us "a Saviour which is Christ the Lord." Among
the manifold purposes of his incarnation, it was, doubt-
less, one to illumine the dark and shadowy vale of death
to direct our anxious inquiry and our earnest hope
* This Discourse was delivered on the Sabbath following the in-
terment of a poor man, who in his 86lh year became, as we believed,
savingly acquainted with " the truth as it is in Jesus." It is
transcribed purposely to bring- some events connected with the death
alluded to, to the remembrance the grateful remembrance, as the
Author trusts, of a few who may favour this Discourse with a
perusal.
flEATH TO THE BELIEVER.
to an eternal state and an immortality of being beyond
the transitory state in which we dwell and the period
which terminates our existence here. This purpose
was answered mercifully in the martyr Stephen. Ste-
phen was a man " full of faith and of the Holy Ghost."
He was a devout believer in Jesus Christ, and one ar-
dently zealous for the glory of his Lord. Persons of
various countries and professions disputed with him :
but, none of them all were able to resist the wisdom
and the spirit wherewith he spake. This roused their
enmity and provoked their pride. Hence they were
induced to suborn men to accuse Stephen of blasphemy.
He appeared before the Council to answer the accusa-
tion of his enemies, and so full of holy love and spiritual
joy was the soul of this Christian champion, that all
who sat in the Council, looking stedfastly upon him,
beheld his face as it had been the face of an angel.
His answer to the charge brought against him we have
in Acts vii. It failed to convince, to soften, or to win
his calumniators : and, as usual with those who " hate
the Light because their deeds are evil," they resolved
at once to silence and destroy their victim : "they cast
him out of the citv and stoned him. And thev stoned
/ >
Stephen calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, re-
cieve my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with
a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
And when he had said thls t adds the sacred Historian,
he fell asleep"
We will now inquire
I. What death is to the Believer ;
And II. Whence it is he dies so calmly.
In inquiring,
I. What death is to the believer,
We observe that it is H sleep ; a. peaceful sleep ; a
sleep from which he wifl awake ; and, finally, a sleep
into which j when once awakened) he will Jail again no
more,
ft
DEATH TO THE BELIEVER,
Death is to the believer a sleep. This is the simple
and beautiful term by which the inspired writers de-
signate death. The term conveys to us an idea of the
placidity and calmness m which a believer dies. Be-
fore Christ came., a future state of immortal being 1 wa&
revealed, indeed, and believed ; but not so distinctly
revealed aod so fully believed, as it was after the birth
and ministry of our Lord. Abraham saw the day of
the Redeemer and looked for an heavenly country ;
Jacob waited for his Lord's salvation ; Job knew that
his Redeemer lived and that he should in his flesh see
God ; David anticipated a re-union with his departed
son, and expected to join him in a world of spirits;
but it was reserved for Jesus Christ more fully to de-
clare the reality of that heavenly country, the nature
and the means of the Lord's salvation, the certainty of
the body's resurrection, and the re-union of believers-
with their Head and with each other in a world of
light and glory. A believer's death is now no more
than the transition of the soul from a tabernacle of
clay to a " house not made with hands." The day of
his natural life declines ; the shadows of its evening
fall around h m ; wearied and exhausted nature needs
repose ; its strength is weakness, yea, it may be, labour
and sorrow, and in the appointed moment the believer
falls "asleep." Nor is it a troublous rest: no; it is
a peaceful sleep. "Mark the perfect man, and be-
hold the upright, for the end of that man is peace."*
The stroke of death the pain of dying, is, as it were,
the kind alarm which leads a child to shelter and
repose in the bosom of Paternal love. Since the Re-
deemer died, death hath been abolished. By descend-
ing, too, into the grave, he hath dispelled the grave's
dark horrors, and sanctified the resting-place of his
dear and believing people. Thus is that saying ful-
filled, " O death, I will be thy plagues ; O grave, I
be thy destruction. " b The grave, therefore, is
a Ps. 37. 37. * Hos, xiii. 14 r
DEATH TO THE BELIEVER.
now no more than the bed where all that can die of a
believer rests in peaceful hope. No cares disturb him ;
no pains, no fears, no doubts, molest him. Peaceful
sleep his ashes, whilst his soul is peacefully at ease
where " there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, and where there shall be no more pain." c
A fairer, holier, and therefore happier, world than
our's receives the believer till all that could die of him
has slept its destined sleep and wakes again : For hia
death, we observe, is but a sleep, and a sleep from
v/fic/i he shall oicake. " I heard a voice from Heaven,
saying," and what said the heavenly voice? "Blessed
are the dead :" and wherefore blessed ? Because
" they rest from their labours and their works do fol-
low them ;" and because, too, " them that sleep in Jesus
will God bring with him" from the chamber of the
tomb d The night of death will pass away ; the morn-
ing of the resurrection dawn, and " the dead in Christ
shall rise." "The righteous shall have dominion over
them (/. e. their enemies, and among their enemies, Sin,
Satan, Death, and Hell) in the morning." 6 " Lazarus
shall rise again" said "the Resurrection and the Life" to
the sorrowing Martha : and at his bidding Lazarus
arose. In like manner, in what age soever the believer
slept in Jesus, he shall " rise again/' Nothing shall
resist the voice which says ce Come forth." " Death
and the grave must yield up their dead." "That
which was sown in weakpess, shall be raised in power;
that which was sown a natural, shall be raised a spiritual
body." The pains and the diseases of the believer
shall be felt no more. He shall come forth from his
chamber, rejoicing as the sun, to pursue a sinless,
cloudless, glorious, course : There shall be night no
more ; nor need of the sun or of the moon to lighten
him : for the former things are pa&sed away, and the
Lord shall be his everlasting light, and his God hi*
glory. Hence we are led to observe that the believer's
xi. 4. d Rev. xiv. 13. t Thss, iv, 14. e Ps.49. 14.
DEATH TO THE BELIEVER.
death is a sleep into ic/tick when once awakened, he will
fall again no more. No, no more for ever ! tc Death hath
no more dominion over" twist our Lord : Death shall
have no more dominion over owe- that believes and loves
a-n-d server him, and is u risen together witb him." As
surely as "He that was dead is alive again and liveth
for evermore," so surely shall the Believer live for ever.
IH the new heavens and the new earth '* there shall be,
says the beloved John, no more death."* No : the pu-
rified and ennobled powers of a redeemed Saint, will
be too vigorous ever to need repose. Enfeebled age ;
woFn-otrt strength ; wasting disease ; tears of separa-
tion ; pangs of dissolution ; funereal pomp-; theslumt-
toers of death ; will never be wititessed or experienced
in the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour.
No "second death" awaits the Believer. Eternal life
i* tl>e gift of God in his dear Son ;; and " whoso liveth
and belie veth- ia hrrn shall never die." "The Right-
eous hath hope in his death :" that hope contains the
germ of immortality, and beyond the sigh of expiration
that germ shall bloom in rich, luxuriant, and unfailing
blessedness.
Such is Death to the Believer. We come n.ow to
enquire
II. Whence it is he dies so calmly.
And whence 1 is it ? Simply because he is a Believer.
By faith he becomes interested in all the benefits which
result from ' the meritorious cross and passion' of
Jesus Christ. He believes, as? the hearers of Apollos
did " through grace, " g and by faith he lives upon the
treasured and exhaustless fulness of his Lord. While,
therefore, viewed in Nature's light, there is a some-
thing terrible in Death, yet faith 1 in a crucified and
exalted Saviour, spoils Death of its apparent terror,
and discovers through 1 its momentary gloom a land of
Kev. xxi. 4. See,- too, cti. ixii. 1 5.- % Acts xviii. 27.
DEATH TO THE BELIEVER. 245
light and life and glory. Hence Paul desired "rather
to depart/' and was assured that it would be " gain to
die." Hence Stephen also with a calmness and com-
posure the most dignified and beautiful, " kneeled
down" amid the stones his murderers were showering
on him, and after praying for the remission of their
sin, he closed his eyes and calmly slept in Jesus. Now
like the martyr Stephen, the Believer partakes of the
Holy Ghost ; sees Jesus standing on God's right hand ;
and has a Friend to whose care he way commit his de->
parting spirit.
And ( 1 . ) He partakes of the Holy Ghost. Stephen
was "filled with the Holy Ghost:" Some measure of
the same Divine and Gracious Spirit does every Be-
liever possess. He it is who makes the Word of
truth effectual for the regeneration and conversion of
the soul. He it is who shews a man his sinfulness ;
humbles him on account of it; wins him to Christ;
disposes and enables him to glory only in the cross ;
draws lip his mind to high and heavenly things ; leads
him to see how good is the will of the Lord concern-
ing him, and how surely in keeping God's command-
ments there is a great reward. Happy, because holy,
to the Believer are the ways of Piety. Swiftly obe-
dient is he, because obedience to him is sweet. At-
tractless and tasteless are the things of sense, because
he walks and lives by faith. He feels a stranger here
and waits to see "the* land that is very far off" far
off and infinitely removed from sin, sorrow, pain, and
death ; and where his te King reigns in his beauty." 1 *
Then, what has the Believer to fear from Death ?
What is there to prevent his falling calmly to sleep ?
He sees " the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ;"
he sees it, too, in the humiliation of his own soul and in
the renovation of his own heart : he "looks up sted-
festly into Heaven," and anticipates with humble con-
b Isa. xxxiii. 17,
246 DEATH TO THE BELIEVER.
fidence a personal possession of its blessedness. The
Spirit which conies to convince the world of sin, to
testify of Jesus, and to win and sanctify the soul, will
take with him back to the throne of God and of the
Lamb every sinner that shall " believe with the heart
unto righteousness.'' If so, then has the Believer
cause to reckon Death amongst his treasures,' and to
look with patient resignation and cheerful hope for
"the rest which remains for tiie people of God."
But (2.) Pic sees Jesus standing on God's right hand
not indeed us the martyr Stephen Mas favoured to
see him, visibly, but \>y J'ailh. And whilst the Be-
liever sees the Son of Man thus standing on the
right hand of God, he recollects the Saviour's
prayer that " where He is those who believe on him
may be also." k Him the Father heareth alway
with acceptance and delight ; and whatsoever he may
ask, the Father will doubtless vouchsafe. In a per-
suasion of this sweet truth, the Believer may smile in
Death, and even desire rather to close his eyes on all
terrestrial things. He that was " delivered for our of-
fences and raised for our justification," now " ever
liveth to make intercession for us." In dust he lay;
from the dust he rose ; now he livetb, and is, he
says, "alive for evermore." ' If then, may the Believer
say, I die with my Lord, I shall also live with him :
The Spirit which raised up Jesus my Lord from the
dead shall also quicken my mortal body : this mortal
shall put on immortality : I shall not die, but live : I
have an Advocate with the Father : spiritual blessiogs
in heavenly places await me : a blood-bought crown,
a golden harp, victorious palms, and conqueror's robes,
are reserved for me beyond the Grave ; why, then,
should 1 fear to die ? why fear to die even a Martyr's
death, since, amid the murderous persecutions of his
enemies, the believing Stephen died so calmly ?' Oh !
* 1 Cor. iii. 22. k John xvii. 20. 24.
DEATH TO THE BELIEVER.
what an antidote to the fear of Death should be tl6
sure undoubted fact of Jesus being at the right hand
of God. " For the suffering of Death, he was, in-
deed, made a little lower than the angels;" but now
do we see him " crowned with glory and honour:"
-and looking heavenward, the Believer may fearlessly
close his eyes on things troublous at best and afflictive,
to open them in a world of cloudless glory and unsul-
lied purity. And in life's last conflict, when the sleep
of death steals over him, he has
(3.) A Friend, to whose care he may commit his de-
parting spirit. Either with David he may say, tc Info
thy hands I commend in if spirit, for thou hast redeemed
it, O Lord, God of truth?' or with Stephen,
" Lord Jesus, receive mij Spirits' Unspeakably pre-
cious is this privilege. Our earthly friends may, in their
love, go with us to the verge of the valley ef the shadow
of death ; but there the dearest tics must be severed, and
a last adieu be bidden. One there is, however, that
can be with us in the shadowy vale, support and cheer
us through it, and while our eyes are closing in death,
can give to our souls such brightening views of celes-
tial glory as will enrapture our departing spirits and
fill them with desire to wing their upward flight. As
amidst the ocean's billows, the shipwrecked mariner
clings with increasing earnestness to the floating
plank, so amidst the agonies of dying the Believerlays
a firmer hold upon the hope of life in Christ. He sees
his Lord above him in the world of blessedness;: and
whilst he hears the gracious words, " Fear not, for I
am with thee ; be not afraid, for I am thy God.: When
thou passest through the waters, they shall not over-
flow thee : Thou art mine ; I have called thee by thy
name : Nothing shall by any means hurt you : Be-
cause I live ye shall live, and where I am, ye shall
be" how certainly may he commit the keeping of his
soul to Jesus! "Receive my spirit" may he cry;
1 Ps. 3L Su Isa. idiiu
248 DEATH TO THE BELIEVER,
and " very gracious will the Lord be to him at the
voice of his cry." m And when he hath said this, se-
renely, hopefully, happily, may he fall asleep. " So
doth the Lord give his Beloved sleep;"" 1 and hence it
js the Believer dies so calmly.
We have now inquired what Death is to the Be-
liever, and whence it is he dies so calmly.
Permit me, in conclusion, my Brethren, to EXHORT
you
1, To awake from the slumbers of sin:
Hovr many, alas ! are there " dead in trespasses
and sins !" How many with no spiritual life what-
ever within them ! Such, while they continue so,
cannot possibly " sleep in Jesus" or " die in the
Lord." You must be enlightened with " the light
of life," if ye would be peaceful and happy when
the curtains of death are drawn around you. As,
therefore, Paul said to the careless among the Ephe-
sians, so say I to you " Awake thou that sleepest,
and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee
lis:ht." u Do not be saying in your heart, "A little
more sleep, a little more slumber, a little more fold-
ing of the hands to sleep." Take care lest your
sleep in sin be perpetuated till you sleep in death.
Take care lest when rt many of them, who sloep in
the dust of the earth awake," you rise not to shine
as the firmament and as the stars for ever and ever,
but, to shame and everlasting contempt.? You may
suppose it time enough jet to enquire into your
spiritual state, character, and situation. Because
the Bridegroom tarrieth and the Lord delayeth his
coming, you may therefore, you conceive, securely
" slumber and sleep :" but, O, remember, the (f Be-
hold, he cometh !" may be said in a moment of which
P?. 127. 2. Ch. v. 14. Piov. vi. 10.
p Dun, xii. 2.
DEATH TO THE UELIEYER. 249
you arc not aware ; and when ye should be ready to
go forth to meet him, what an awful discovery will it
be to find you have "no oil in your vessels," and
yourselves all-unprepared for the marriage Supper
of the Lamb ! The unbeliever will know no sweet
repose in death. He is represented as being " driven
away in his death ;" >l and whither is he driven ? On
the shore of what world will his immortal spirit land ?
Which will he swell, the halleluias of the blessed or
the bowlings of the damned ? " If he die, shall he
live again ?" Shall even the hope of life alleviate the
pains of "the second death?" Shall the unregenerate
unforgiven soul find rest or repose in hell ? No : he
may seek death seek to lose all conscious being, but
he shall not find it/ I would, then, that ye should
"give no sleep to your eyes, or slumber to your eye-
lids" until you are "alive from the dead," and recon-
ciled to God through the death of his Son. " Awake,
O sleeper, and call upon thy God," if so be thou
mayest yet live the life, and die the death of a Be-
liever in Jesus.
I exhort you
2. To believe on tlic Lord Jesus Christ.
Be not satisfied with the notion that such an one
as Jesus Christ exists, or that he is the Saviour of the
world, and therefore as a thing of course, your Sa-
viour. His being a Saviour and the Saviour of others,
will avail you nothing unless you knov him to be your
Saviour. In the days of health and strength, while
imagination places death far from you, you may not
deeply feel your need of Jesus Christ : but, however
men may live without him, it is dreadful to die with-
out him. With him and by faith in him, even a Mar-
tyr, as you have seen, could die in peace ; without
him, to die peacefully in the true sense of the word,
is impossible. There must be a simple affiance in the
Lord's atoning blood, an affectionate deference to his
i Fiov. xiv, oi. ' [lev. ix, 6.
250 DEATH TO THE BELIEVER.
l, and a believing dependence on his power, ere you
can " die the death of the Righteous." We must
come to him now if we would go to him hereafter.
Believe, then, on the Lord Jesus Christ. If it be
hard and contrary to Nature to believe on him, cry,
"Lord help thou our unbelief: Lord increase our
faith ;" and you will sooxi find that " nothing is too
foard for the Lord." Let what has so lately happened
among you enforce my exhortation- You have seen
both the flower nipped in the bud* green in the
morning, in the evening cut down, dried up, and wi-
thered ; and you have seen (if we may so say) the
sturdier oak that had endured the winds and storms of
fourscore years and six, laid prostrate in the dust.
What say these things ? They say that " man
which is born of woman hath but a short time to live :"
that though a man may reach to fourscore years, yet
is life, at its utmost period, but as " a vapour which
appeareth for a little while and then vanisheth away."
And yet in this little while, how great is the work we
have to do! Ask ye, "What shall I do that I may
work the works of God?" I answer, "This is the
work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." 3
Then, be doing it. I do assure you that it is a work
which even the longest life will not suffice perfectly to
do. He to whom we have before alluded told me his
lengthened life seemed to be almost nothing when he
reviewed it. I lately stood beside his dying bed, and
it is from watching the closing slumbers of a dying
man, that I come to tell you that NONE BUT CHRIST can
make a death-bed happy, that NONE BUT A BELIEVER in
Christ can die happily. Christ was the " All" of his
dependence whose passing bell so lately met your ear.
f Blessed and heavenly/ did he call his Saviour, and
with his almost expiring breath did he say, ' There is
* Allusive to an Infant's death which occurred the day after J. L.'s
John vi. '28. 29.
DEATH TO TIIL BEL1EVKR.
none else can do me good.' " And when he had said
this, he fell asleep" asleep, we hope, in Jesus ; and
will, we trust, be found, at least * a little one" in the
Redeemer's everlasting kingdom. Think now of this ;
and may ye be " of those ic/io believe to the saving of
the soul /"
I exhort you
3. and finally, To do now what you purpose doing.
te Now is the accepted time :" now is the Lord dis-
pensing mercy and salvation. Delay is the parent of
bitter regrets. Bitter were his regrets who has just
been taken from us. I recollect his calling himself
one day, while tears of anguish rolled down his fur-
rowed cheeks, ' A poor, miserable, wretched man for
not remembering his Creator and Saviour all his life
long.' ' Can God (he added) have mercy upon me?
Will Christ receive my soul ? Oh ! that I had sought
and served him from my youth up! 1 * Beloved, this
powerfully speaks to you all : to you, ye aged ; to you,
ye young ; to you, ye friends of the deceased. If be
could speak to you from the eternal world, me-
thinks he would say to one and all of us, " What thy
hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there is
no work or device in the Grave whither ye are hasten-
ing." And here let me observe if a few more weeks
of health and strength had been added to the earthly
life of this poor man, he would probably have approach-
ed the Table of his Lord : There now he has never
been ; and be assured his neglect of the holy Com-
munion was any thing but consolatory to his depart-
ing spirit. Hear this, ye that despise, or lightly re-
gard, or willingly neglect, the sacred Mysteries of our
Faith. Beware how death comes and finds you forget-
ful of your Lord's command ; and ifye desire to remem-
ber " the dying of the Lord Jesus," and, as ft bought
with ? price, to glorify Him in your bodies and in your
* From my youth up," 1 was a favourite expression of J. L's.
252 DEATH TO THE BELIEVER ;
spirits which are his" delay no longer : pray for grace
M hereby to bring your good desire to good effect so
shall your last end be honourable to your Lord, and
blessed to yourselves :
" 4 peaceful sleep ;
A gentle wafting to immortal rest,"
DISCOURSE XVIIL
YOUTHFUL PIETY,
ECCLESIASTES Xll, 1.
Remember now thij Creator in the days of thy youth,
PIETY is amiable and lovely in all., but peculiarly
so in young people. It gives an excellence and a
worth to character which education of the most va-
ried and costly kind cannot give without it. It is
piety, rather than birth or wealth or learning, that
gives (he most pleasing polish to both the mind and
manner of our youth. It is eertainly conducive to
their highest and noblest interests ; for why else should
its adoption come recommended to us both by Scrip-
tural precept and example ? We may gather, I con-
ceive, from Scripture, that though " His tender mer-
cies are over all his works," yet the Lord's loye to-
wards the young is a very gracious and peculiar love.
In Isaiah xl and 11 he is compared to a Shepherd who
whilst he leadeth his sheep leadeth the elders of his
people, carrieth h lambs carrieth the little ones of
his Jlock in his bosom, and foldeth them in his arms.
When too, "the High and Lofty One" humbled him-
self, took upon him our nature, and became "the Man
Christ Jesus/' we find him regarding children with
peculiar favour, reproving those who would have kept
them from him, and saying, "Suffer little chil-
dren to come unto me ana forbid them not, for of such
254 YOUTHFUL PIETY.
(and like such, in their dependence, humility, meek-
ness, and teachableness) is the kingdom of God. " a Re-
peatedly also are youth exhorted to be pious in holy
Scripture : and among the many exhortations to youth-
ful piety with which the Bible is stored, our text forms
one of a singularly apt and beautiful kind. " Remem-
ber remember now- remember now f/u/ Creator
remember now thy Creator in the duijs ojthy ijouth."
Favour me, then, with your attention while I en-
deavour
I. To say wherein Youthful Piety consists :
II. To obviate some Objections to it :
III. To state some Reasons for it :
And IV. To recommend it earnestly to the Young
among you.
As we discuss these several heads, the subject of
Youthful Piety will come fully, And, I trust, profit-
ably under our consideration. I will endeavour
I. To say wherein YOUTHFUL PIETY consists:
It consists in a ready, filial, and grateful remem-
brance of God a remembrance which induces ac-
quiescence in the Divine will and subjection to it.
<f This is God's commandment, That we should believe
on the name of his Son Jesus Christ," b and " this also
is the will of God, even our sanctification." c The
grace of faith which produces the fruit of holiness,
constitutes real piety. God himself describes the piety
of youth in a verse well known to some of you*
" Wilt thou not from this time crv unto me, My Fa-
ther, thou art the Guide of rny youth ?" d " My Fa-
ther!" cried through the atoning blood of Jesus
* This text had been previously discoursed on, and that with very
beneficial effect to the souls of some Young- Persons.
* Matt, xix, 13, 15. *> 1 John iii, 23. c 1 Thess. iv, 3.
a .'er. iii, -k
TOOTHFUL PIETY. 255
Christ, and in the Spirit of adoption, is Youthful
Piety.
But it will more easily appear wherein Youthful
Piety consists if \ve instance the family of a truly
Christian Parent. As a truly Christian Parent, he will,
of course, have the well-being of his children very
nearly at heart. In all his conduct towards them ; in
all his treatment of them ; in all he requires of them,
he will design only their improvement and happiness.
His children may not always be told the reasons of the
Father's conduct towards them, or be satisfied as to its
wisdom and propriety : but this, if they be meek,
yielding and submissive, will not much concern them,
nor will it be otherwise than pleasant and delightful to
honour and obey a Father whom they love. Now r
their Father may know them to be in a world of sin
and danger: Calling tohimone of his youthful charge,
we may suppose him to say, ' My child, you live in a
wicked ensnaring world ; its people are generally vain,
and foolish ; its ways are frivolous and absurd ; its
friendships are hypocritical and delusive ; its god is
the Devil; him and all his works you have promised
to renounce ; I must require you, therefore, not to af-
fect the world, not to court its society, or to desire its
pleasures.' What duteous child would question the
Father's judgment or refuse to acquiesce in the Fa-
ther's will ?
The Father too may see the youthful mind of a
child set with intense delight upon some mere trifle.
He watches fora favourable moment, and says, f Come
here, my child ; you seem greatly pleased with that
trifle : now listen to me ; go and throw that thing into
the fire, and I will give you something really valuable/
The countenance of the child is clouded. It has yet
nothing in the stead of what it so much loves and
and longs to retain. The Parent, however, must be
obeyed : He is known to be too kind to require any
thing for his children's hurt : With, perhaps, a sor-
rowing heart and a tearful eye, the trifle is thrown
256 YOUTHFUL PIETY.
away; the Father's promise is believed and his com-
mand obeyed : When it pleases him, he fulfills his
word; the child becomes fully satisfied with his good-
ness, and enjoys with mingled feelings of surprise and
pleasure, the richer good it has acquired.
A child may, moreover, be sick, and, to human
view, declining for death. A tender Parent is all-
anxious to ease and save him : He prepares a medicine:
it maybe bitter and nauseous to the taste: there may
be, at first, unwillingness on the part of the child to
take it. ' My child, may we suppose the Father to
say, you are very ill; you must die without relief: 1
have procured a medicine which, if you will take it,
may do you good : Do, I intreat you, take it.' Possi-
bly with hesitation and reluctance, it is taken ; it avails
for good ; pain* is alleviated ; ease is afforded ; health
is restored, and the life is saved. What now will be
the feelings of such a child towards its Parent ? Will
the Father's love be forgotten ? Surely not; but ra-
ther a deeper and a more grateful remembrance of the
Father and the Father's love will be felt within the
bosom of the child. Or should, unhappily, the child
fce forgetful of its Parent and his kindness abuse au-
thority, or act contrary to known commandments, the
Father's "loving correction" shall humble it, bring
its fault to remembrance, and induce a purer and more
earnest desire to tc walk in all pleasing" than was ever
felt before.
Now, let the Father we have supposed be tc the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ/ 1 and the child
we have supposed be the child of God's gracious adop-
tion, and the conduct we have described will be
Youthful Piety.
The Lord Almighty says to his every son and daugh-
ter <f Come out from among the wicked and be sepa-
rated from them : touch not the unclean thing: love
not the world, neither the things of the world :
have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of dark-
ness,, but rather reprove tlrem ; follow not the multi-
YOUTHFUL PIETY. 257
ttide to do evil : a companion of fools shall be destroy-
ed : the wicked shall be turned into hell : the Sodom
of iniquity shall be burned up : Come, therefore, out of
her my Children: I will receive you, and be a Father
to you." This is the heavenly Parent's call to his dear
family : ' they through grace obey the calling,' and
so become " a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
God sees, too, that his children's affections too easily
centre in " things below :" He bids them, therefore,
to deny themselves, to forsake, in willingness to do so,
even all that they have, and to follow Him. c He pro-
mises, however, to repay his children a hundred-fold
whatever they may give up or deny themselves for his
sake. d They believe their Father wishes them to give
up or to deny themselves nothing which would be pro-
fitable for them to keep or to enjoy. They love his
will : they believe his promise : though, therefore, any
thing of a worldly, pleasurable, or sinful, kind, be dear
to them as <e a right hand," they away with it. And
what in its stead do they find? When God fulfils
* c the good pleasure of his goodness" towards them,
his children find themselves possessed of more "durable
riches" and sublimerjoys than any, the utmost possi-
ble, indulgence of the senses could afford,
Again, the Eternal Father finds mankind in a state
of abject wretchedness and ruin no health in us and
our souls " sick unto death." He comes, and with
the bowels of a most beseeching tenderness yearning
towards us, he says, " Why will ye die?" 6 ' My wis-
dom hath devised a salvation for you, that at once
expiates your guilt and satisfies my justice: I have
found a Ransom : See your Atonement in the blood-
shedding of my Son : Honour him with the assurance
of your hope and the confidence of your faith: Glory
only in your Lord, and you shall prove my power to
save you to the uttermost.' At first, it may be, with
Luke xiv, 33. d Mark x, 2i), 30, Eztk. xxxiii, 11
I
258 YOUTHFUL PIETY.
trembling hesitation the word of this salvation is re-
ceived ; subsequently it is embraced with more cordial
and grateful readiness, and presently the before sicken-
ing dying soul becomes renovated, exalted, purified,
in all her powers and faculties. The rebel becomes a
child; and will the child forget the grace that makes
him such ? Will there be no remembrance of the Fa-
ther of all his mercies ? No delight in his presence?
No love to his Word his day his ways and people?
Assuredly there will : for what child that loves his
Father, will not love his Father's presence, society,
converse, every thing? Should a child of God, how-
ever, be " overtaken in a fault," and thereby " grieve
the Holy Spirit of God," the chastisement of love
shall humble him ; and when humbled, the Lord will
restore comforts to him, and by the grace of God he
shall rise again, amend his life, and walk more circum-
spectly than he walked before.
This, then, Beloved, we call Youthful Piety : It
consists, you see, in a humble, affectionate, and obe-
dient remembrance of our Creator. And can there
possibly exist objections to it? Why, it would be
Leaven on earth if all mankind were pious if all men,
every where, remembered now their Creator. Objec-
tions, however, to a thing cannot make that thing un-
worthy our attention and regard : nay, rather, they
sometimes, when examined, tend to prove the value of
it. Having, therefore, shewn whereinr Youthful Piety
consists, I proceed
II. To obviate some, OBJECTIONS to it :
(1.) It is time enough yet, say some, for our Youth
to be pious. This objection goes on the supposition
that our Youth have yet many days and years to come :
but how know we what a day or even an hour may
bring forth? Yesterday is passed and cannot be re-
called : to-morrow we cannot insure : the present mo-
ment only is our's, and this, if lost, will be lost for
ever. Delay, therefore, is hazardous in the extreme.
YOUTHFUL PIETY. 259
It is " with fear and trembling" we are enjoined to
"work out our salvation:" how dreadful, then, must
be indifference and unconcern about it ! Besides, who
but our GOD, our Maker, our Redeemer, our Sancti-
fier, should have the prime and vigour of our lives?
Shall we give the best and earliest of our days to our-
selves, to our temporal interests or worldly plea-
sures, and the mere dregs of our earthly being, with
their commonly attendant weakness, weariness, and
\vorthlessness, to our Creator? Will ye call this an
acceptable offering to the Lord? Is not this, rather,
to offer the lame and the blind and the halt upon his
altar ? The youngest of us all is not too young to die ;
can he then be too young to remember now his Cre-
ator ? "I love them, says the Wisdom of God, who
love me ; and they that seek me early shall find me."
(2.) Youth is the time of enjoyment, say others:
Young People should enjoy themselves. True : and is
there nothing to enjoy in the favour and friendship of
our Creator? Nothing to enjoy in freedom from the
guilt and power of sin ? Nothing to enjoy in a con-
scious redemption from a hell of everlasting woe, and
a hope full of immortal blessedness? Nothing to en-
joy in being good and doing good ? And is there any
time comparable to youth for the enjoyment of these
things ? Besides, what, instead of those things, are
the things which usually young people are allowed in
enjoy? Why, they may give the reins to passion, seek
pleasure wherever they can find it, spend their days
and nights in dissipation, not concern themselves about
religion and religious duties, but forget their Creator,
contemn his authority, and cast his law behind them :
and all this we are to be told is enjoyment, and ' best
befitting the days of early life.' How surely does
" the natural man discern NOT the things of the Spirit /"
What, I ask, is there in the things of sense to satisfy
the desires of an immortal soul? Will aught in them
gratify the oul in its hereafter recollections ? Can
augbt but piety afford^ either youth or age any real
260 YOUTHFUL PIETY.
satisfaction and enduring pleasure? No: without
this, " vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, ALL is
vanity."
(3.) Religion is very well and suitable for old age
and infirmity, is an objection to Youthful Piety nearly
allied to the foregoing. So it is : but is it, therefore,
unsuited to health and youth? The young are alike
liable to disease and sickness with the aged. Take
away religion, and what would you substitute for it ?
Can any thing but religion sooth a distressed and
wearied mind, cheer the gloom of a sick or dying
chamber, and smooth the descent to the vale of death ?
The experience of ages is accumulated in proof of the
power of religion to cheer and sustain the mind amidst
the pains, the weaknesses, and distresses of mortality.
Philosophers may laugh and infidels may scoff at
Piety and its sacred influence ; but their laughter and
their scorn evidence them to be fools and madmen/
It will be found that nothing but the fear and love of
God will carry us honourably and safely through the
scenes of active life, save us from the sins and dangers
which surround us, and make our old age cheerful and
respectable.
(4.) We can repent and be religious some future time t
will young people themselves sometimes say, when ex-
horted to remember now their Creator. But to re-
pent when we will is not in our power. Repentance
is the gift of Jesus Christ, g and he may withhold to-
morrow what we refuse to ask to-day. " Now" are
you, ye young, required to remember your Creator.
He does not say, Forget me ten, twenty, or thirty
years, and then remember me. No, he asks your re-
membrance of him now. His spirit will not always
strive with man. h Your meaning to be religious, ad-
mits the propriety of your being so : your not being so
is sinful : for "to him that knoweth to do good and
doctli it not, to him it is sin." " Repent, therefore,
* P$. 75. 4. s Acts v, 31. h Gen. vi, 3.
YOUTHFUL PIETY. 261
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
when the times of refreshing shall come from the pre-
sence of the Lord."
(5.) Piety is a melancholy tiring, it is often further
urged. But how is it, let me ask, people so very ge-
nerally resort to religion in sickness and at the approach
of death ? Would they do so if there were nothing
but melancholy and gloom in religion ? Did this fact
never strike you ? Does it not argue that there must
be a something in piety not to be found in any thing
beside ? And can we suppose that something an occa-
sion of sadness and distress ? Besides, who are they
that say it is ? Not the pious, but such as never felt
the power of godliness and the joy of faith. Are they,
then, to be believed who tell us of what they cannot
possibly be judges ? Listen rather to the children of
God, and they will tell you from sweet experience that
" Wisdom is the principal thing," and that " her ways
are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace.'*
There was "great joy" in Samaria as soon as the Gos-
pel of Jesus Christ was heard, received, believed, and
loved, there. h Some measure of the same joy will ever
invariably accompany a sincere "belief of the Truth."
Was the society or the converse of a kind and benevo-
lent parent ever known to make a child unhappy ? If
piety in its present imperfect exercises tends to make
us melancholy, how shall we endure its purer and sub-
limer exercises in a future world, and that uninter-
ruptedly forever? If the remembrance of our Creator
saddens and dejects our spirits here, O how abjectly
wretched will they be before the throne of God and
of the Lamb !
(6.) Piety induces low and vulgar habits, it has, too,
been said : it spoils gentility and makes the poor fa-
miliar. This objection betrays in those who advance
it, great ignorance of Scripture and ofScriptural piety.
No : the Gospel which we preach inculcates the purest
u Acts viii, 8,
YOUTHFUL PIRTV.
morality, tempers the most gracious, demeanour thfr
most affable, behaviour and manners the most cour-
teous. Piety gives to gentility its finest polish, and to
poverty its noblest ornament. In the kingdom of our
Lord Jesus Christ, lowliness of mind is true nobility,
and simplicity of deportment true politeness^ If the
eternal Father condescends to adopt into his family a
child, poor and illiterate soever as he may he, does it
feecome us to slight and contemn him on account of his
poverty and ignorance ? Ought we not rather to ac-
knowledge in such an one a brother ? One that shares
with us the riches of the same unmerited favour, and
that shall inherit, equally with the greatest born, the
most affluent and teamed, the same kingdom and throne
and crown of glory? However high or wise our
Youth may be, a remembrance of their Creator wilt
prove to them the richest heritage and the truest wis-
dom. " The fear of the Lord, THAT is wisdom, and to
depart from evil is understanding"
But (7.) It will incur reproach, and possibly injure
reputation ; and it may also retard advancement in life
to be pious too soon, is the final objection to Youthful
Piety we shall choose to notice. O how human na-
ture must be fallen, for a remembrance of our Creator
a deference to the will and love to the commandments
of our heavenly Father, to incur reproach ! How sor-
did must be the views of a parent who seeks FIHST for
his children amj object below <c the kingdom of God
and his righteousness!" And how must "thehononr
which cometh of man" be desired and valued above
* : the honour which cometh of God only" where there
exists the fear erf disrepute on account of piety ! But,
be it so : the carnal mind hates the truth, and affects
to despise those who love it : but, is man to be feared
rather than God ?' If any who love the Lord are sub-
jected to peculiarity, whose fault is it? Is it not their's
who "forget God" and make 'Self and the aggrandize-
> Matt. x,28.
YOUTHFUL PIETY. 203
ment of self their one great and exclusive aim ? If we
differ in taste, sentiment, feeling, desire, and hope,
from the worldling, the " would-be rich," and the sen-
sualist, it should be to us matter of devout thanks-
giving, and one pleasing proof to our minds that we
are "born of God," and really his children. "If,"
says the once despised Jesus, and poor Immanuel, "ye
were of the world, the world would love you : but be-
cause ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you
out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." k
Let it hate you, thou Youthful Christian: it hated
your Lord before it hated you : and if you suffer with
him whether in the word or by the conduct, of the
world, you shall also reign with him, and acquire that
honour and advancement which the words " Come
ye blessed children of my Father," so abundantly
imply.
Having now endeavoured to obviate some objec-
tions to Youthful Piety, I come
III. To state some REAsoNsybr // .'
There are many and powerful Reasons for Piety in
early life : Mark the following :
(1.) It is reasonable in itself. When the Holy Spirit
by the Apostle Paul, beseeches us by the mercies of
God to present ourselves, as living sacrifices, holy and
acceptable to him, he calls our so doing a ^reasonable
service." 1 And surely it can be none other than rea-
sonable that a creature should remember his Creator ;
a redeemed creature his Redeemer ; and an immor-
tal creature that immortality which awaits him. We
execrate ingratitude one towards another : is there no-
thing execrable in an ungrateful forgetfulness of our
Maker? Soon, then, as reason dawns, should it be
exercised in acquiring the knowledge of God, and of
Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. If Piety be ever a
reasonable thing, it cagnot be unreasonable in Youth.
k John xv, 19. l Rom. xii, 1.
264 YOUTHFUL PIETY.
(2.) God requires if. It is GOD who says, "Re-
member now thy Creator in the days of thy Youth."
f( My son, says he again, give Me thy heart ;" Let me
be throned in your affections and desires : (< I will not
give my glory to another : Thou shalt have no other
gods but me : It is good for a man to bear the yoke in
his youth ; take, therefore, my yoke upon you." Now,
"will a man rob God?" Yet, " ye have robbed me,"
may God justly say to those of our Youth who forget
him and refuse him the homage of their heart. They
rob him of the best, because the earliest, of their time
and strength. God requires our remembrance of him
for our good. " Great peace," says the holy Psalmist,
"have they that keep thy law ; and nothing shall of-
fend them." When, therefore, the Father of our
spirits says, et Remember ME," he says in effect, "Be
peaceful and be happy." In this way, then, O young
man, mayest thou "rejoice, and let thy heart cheer
thee in the days of thy Youth."
(3.) The mind when young is more susceptible of im-
pression. There is in youth a susceptibility of mind,
very rarely to be found in grown or elderly people.
Well known it is to those who are at all conversant
with aged persons, how hard, in general, it is to make
them understand things. Whereas, the truths of Re-
velation plainly and affectionately stated, will often
produce impressious of a most pleasing kind in earlier
life and on the more youthful mind. A character will
thus be formed of sterling and substantial worth.
Where a filial fear of God becomes the grand and rul-
ing principle of action, the reply of the young man
Joseph will be present in the hour of temptation and
trial "How can I do this great wickedness and sin
against God ?" n Nature, indeed, and sense, will still
be opposed to truth and holiness : but the corruption
of Nature will yield to the prevalence of grace ; and
w Ps. 119. 165 n Gen. xxxix, !).
YOUTHFUL PIETY. 265
the "babe" will eventually attain to "manhood," and
become <f a father in Christ."
(4.) Piety in Youth gives a proper bias to the affec-
tions. We are no advocates for the Religion from
which the affections are excluded. Jesus Christ most
certainly meant them to be exercised in the Religion of
his followers : why else does he require us to " set
our affections on things above ?" and why else does St.
Peter speak of love to an unseen Saviour, and joy in
him, through faith, unspeakable and full of glory?
Now, we all know how prone we are to set our affec-
tions on things below, and where they have been long
centred in " things seen andtemporal/' how hard do
we find it to fix them on " things not seen and eter-
nal !'' With youth, therefore, it must be less difficult
to cultivate a religious taste, and to maintain a hea-
venly conversation. " The desire of our soul is to thy
Name and to the remembrance of thee," says Isaiah. p
Happy is it where the bias of the affections and desires
is thus "God-ward." It does more to refine and ex-
alt both mind and manner than birth, or wealth, or
rank, or mere human teachingever did or can do. And
sure we are when the affections are fixed on God in
Christ, nothing will be loved or desired but what is really
good : and were all things wanting save one, that one
would lead even a little child to say " The LORD is
my portion ; I shall not want :" ' I love my God and
am loved of him : and in him I find my rest, my hea-
ven, my all.'
(5.) The world will be viewed in a true light. The
real character of the world's ensnaring and deceptive
vanities cannot be seen but by the light of Truth.
Where the Truth is believed and felt, there wUl cease
to be a relish for mere worldly pursuits and pleasures.
They will sit'ken and disgust a soul affectionately
mindful of ftsf Creator, and truly alive to the joys of
Religion. This to those who " remember God in his
1 Fpis. i, 8. P Ch. xxvi, 8.
266 YOUTHFUL PIETY.
ways," will be no hard saying. Now, the world is, al-
lowedly, a great enemy to young 1 persons. They are
not yet acquainted with it. There is in its riches,
friendships, and honours, a seeming good a some-
thing to be desired to make one happy : but, only let
our Creator be remembered, only let the realities of an
eter#/world be perceived, only let "the joy and peace
of believing" be experienced, and the good which this
world could give us becomes trivial and unimportant.
True ; by many a one this would be thought a calamity
did it happen to their child or children, but they would
think so only because they themselves were the ser-
vants of Mammon, and " lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God." To what must we ascribe that zest
for carnal joy that fondness for dress that aspiring
to be something when we are nothing that ambition
to ape superiors that shame of poverty and poor re-
lations that discontent with the station of life wherein
a just and gracious God hath placed us, but to a want
of 'Piety ? Can we, then, be pious too soon ? Can
we too soon renounce the world in our desire and
heart? Can we too soon be mindful of our Creator ?
(6.) Piety in ijouth lays a foundation for placidity
and calmness in age. The lapse of years deepens and
matures religious principle. The youthful Christian
grows in grace and in the knowledge of his Lord and
Saviour. Faith increases ; hope strengthens ; love
abounds. Does he pray, " O God, thou hast taught
me from my youth ; and hitherto have I declared thy
wondrous works : Now also when I am old and grey-
headed, O God, forsake me not :" q The answer of
God says to him, " Even to your old age 1 am he; and
even to hoar hairs will I carry you : 1 have made, and
I will bear ; even I will carry and will deliver you." r
What gracious promises are these ! how rich 1 how
precious ! Amidst the infirmities of age ; in the ab-
sence of many that were the companions of Youth,
i Ps, 71. 17, 18. T Isaiah xlvi, 4.
YOUTHFUL PIETY. 267
and the friends of rnaturer life, " I am he" saith the
Lord; your unchanging and ever faithful God: "I will
carry you ; I will bear you ; I will deliver you." Who
to insure this " fatherly goodness" in age, would not
remember now his Creator in the days of his Youth ?
Look at a good old man ; how venerable and interest-
ing is the object! The silvered brow ; the softened
manner ; the upraised eye ; the cheered and illumi-
nated countenance ; the resigned scul, and the earnest
hope, all bespeak him ripe for immortality. " AH
the days of my appointed time, says he, will I wait,
till my change come :" 3 and when his change is come
how truly may he add, " I have waited for thy salva-
tion O Lord !"' " Other foundation save Jesus
Christ" can no man, indeed, lay; but to have built on
him " the gold, the silver, and the precious stones"
of a holy, religious, and useful life, will secure in life's
declining dajs, and beyond the period of our earthly
being a free and rich reward/
(7.) Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour will be more
abundantly honoured by the devotion of our Youth to
his service. It is a poor return for all his mercies to-
wards us, and all his sorrows on our account, to give
the Lord the last moments of a useless life. Did he
create us, and when fallen redeem us, and are we under
no obligation to remember him ? Should not our
children still cry, " Hosanna to the Son of David?"
Is it possible to love a Redeemer too ardently, or to
serve him too gratefully ? Alas ! how sadly in general,
is he forgotten I how heartlessly worshipped ! how
scarcely loved 1 Whereas, let but our Youth remember,
worship, love, and serve him, and how much would be
done for the good of his chosen, the furtherance of his
kingdom, and the glory of his name! There is a
vigour of thought, a* warmth of feeling, a flow of bene-
volence, in early life, which when devoted to the ser-
vice of the Lord, makes that service energetic and
Jobxiv, 14. * G.n.xlix, 18. * 1 Cor. iii, 11, 14.
268 YOUTHFUL PIKTT.
delightful. Kindly disposed is the Lord Jesus Christ
towards " little children ;" and though in glory now,
he does not despise the feeblest effort to please and
honour him. Josiah in the eighth year of his age,
" thought upon the Lord :" Timothy "from a child"
had known the Holy Scriptures: and for others' en-
couragement to remember him, the Lord hath said by
Samuel, " Them that honour me, 1 will honour :
whilst those who despise me shall be lightly esteem-
ed.""
Then because Youthful Piety is reasonable in it-
self; because it is required by God ; because the
mind when youngis more susceptible of impression ;
because piety in youth gives a proper bias to the af-
fections; because the woild will be viewed in a true
light ; because piety lays in youth a foundation for
placidity and calmness in age; and because, finally,
the Saviour will be more abundantly honoured by the
devotion of our youth to his service, should Youthful
Piety be cherished and cultivated in life's very earliest
days.
And having stated these Reasons for it, permit me
now
IV. and lastly, To recommend it earnestly to the Young
among you.
To every individual Young Person amongst you, I
would say, <c Remember now thy Creator, in the days
of thy youth/' Be it your solemn and determined pur-
pose to do so. If, unhappily, you have suffered child-
hood and youth to pass away in forgetfulness of God,
O ! forget him now no longer. Remember him in
your maturer years, and let not age come on you, and
find you still forgetful of him. You are exhorted to
remember your Creator in the days of your early life
" while the evil days come not and the years draw nigh,
when thou shalt saij , I have no pleasure in them" Dap
w 1 Sam. ii, 30.
YOUTHFUL PIETY. 269
of evil may await you; days of weariness and painful-
ness ; days of sorrow and distress ; and ere your life in
the body closes, years may be added to it in which
nothing of a worldly kind can be enjoyed : How well
then would it be for you to have a Friend, a Saviour,
a Comforter, in God ! How sweet to feel the eternal
Spirit's consolations ! How cheering amid the gloom
of these days or years of evil to be assured that u the
Sun of Righteousness" was risen, and that though
hidden now behind some passing clouds, he would ap-
pear anew with healing in his beams ! Then, remem-
ber noiv your Creator. Cherish a filial fear of your
great Father. Remember and forget him not. True;
you may both hear and adduce objections to your so
doing : but, what are they t Will they bear the test
of Scripture ? Can they invalidate your obligations
to remember your Creator ? Do they even satisfy
yourselves ? Does there not a something whisper that
you ought to remember God ? Is there not a latent
purpose within you sooner or later to do so t ? Then,
why not " now ?" You have before you several Rea-
sons stated for piety in youth : Have these no weight
with you ? Let, them, 1 pray you, dwell upon your
mind. Consider to whom you are indebted for your
being: Who brought you through your infant dan-
gers: Who now asks your remembrance of him, and
why he says, Remember Me. Add to the rich mer-
cies of your creation and preservation, the richer
mercies of redemption. Was your Creator and
Preserver obligated to become your Redeemer?
Could he not " by any means clear the guilty,"
other than by himself becoming " a man of sorrows
and acquainted with i-^rjypf," living a life of priva-
tion and poverty, and dying an accursed death ?
and shall your hearts remain forgetful of him and un-
moved towards him ? Shall your youthful ardour not
kindle into the fire of love in the service of a Saviour-
God? Will you refuse to remember him in his ways ?
What though elder persons,, and possibly your parenti
270 YOUTHFUL PIETY.
themselves, may seem to have forgotten their Creator
in the days of their youth, and to be forgetful of him
still ; they are no example for you. God says, Do not
ye forget me: let me be remembered in your youth.
And what though your parents or others should dis-
courage or disallow religion in you, and to do so,
should urge one or all of the objections to Youthful
Piety we have just noticed, you are to obey God rather
than man : even a parent's command is not to be obeyed
when it comes in competition with the word and will
of God.* It is because so many of our elders are evi-
dently unmindful of God, that therefore you, ye young,
should especially remember him. Let me observe, too,
the piety of a child has not unfrequently been a means
of spiritual and eternal good to a parent or an elder
member of a family. In one instance I have known,
the parents would most willingly have crushed the
very beginning of piety in a child : but that child has
been privileged to see a wondrous change in both his
parents, and been gladdened to hear the acknowledge-
ment ' There is no time like youth to serve the Lord.'
t( Whoso is wise and will consider these things,
even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the
Lord."" It is not true that piety spoils the native
cheerfulness and buoyancy of the youthful mind. The
sorrows of penitence may indeed becloud the brow and
solemnize the manner for a season, but when brought
* In repeated instances has the Author known a child's becoming
pious deemed by the parents almost the greatest possible calamity
that could happen to their offspring. Pitiable blindness ! Many a
young person gets whirled about to watering-places, is forced into
company, &c. &c. to cure religious melancholy. How absurdly ri-
diculous ! Quietness and the Bible better befit such. It is not re-
ligion, but the want of it, that makes any one unhappy. As helps
to young inquirers, the Author has found ' Buck's Guide to the
Young Christian,' and 'The Refuge,' by the Author of ' A Guide
to Domestic Happiness,' very useful. See also ' A Guide for True
Pilgrims,' by S. Beaufoy.
* Ps. 107. 43.
YOUTHFUL PIETY. 271
to Jesus, though there may be the weakness and help-
lessness of him of whom we read in Matt, ix, 2, yet will
the words, "Son be of good cheer, thy sins be for-
given thee," "put joy and gladness into his heart,"
and he will " go on his way rejoicing" not perhaps
as once he did, in the vain and empty frivolities of the
world, but in the pardoning mercy and redeeming
love of his Creator. And can any joy be compared
unto this joy ? Is not this ' that sun-shine of the
breast' without which a gloomy desolation reigns
through all our powers? Study then to make it your
own by a grateful remembrance of your Creator now
in the days of your youth. And should any through
pride, or ignorance, or prejudice, or all together, op-
pose, vilify, mock, and condemn your remembrance of
him, do not " strive" with them, but " be gentle
unto all men ; apt to teach" as and when opportunity
shall be afforded ; " in meekness instructing those that
oppose" both their own and your soul's best interests ;
" if God peradventure will give them repentance to
the acknowledging of the truth." y It is " with meek*
ness and fear" we must " be ready to give to every
one that asketh us, a reason of the hope that is in us."*
Youth should oftener wait to be asked "a reason"
than to force one. Firmness of principle should
be tempered with modesty and reservedness of
speech. Another ground also there is whereon I
would earnestly recommend early piety. A time there
is with all when tc man goeth to his long home
and the mourners go about the streets" when "the
silver cord of life is loosened" when the dust returns
to dust again, and the spirit to Him who gave it :" In
that time would you not that God should remember
you ? " remember you with the favour he beareth
towards his people?" Assuredly you would : but can
you expect him to do so while you are forgetful of
him ? Tbink how agonized and tormented will be
2 Tim. ii, 25, * 1 Pet. iii. 15.
272 YOUTHFUL PIETY.
the minds of such as come to the door of Mercy, say-
ing, *' Lord, Lord, open to us," and to whom the
Lord will answer, " Depart from me, 1 know you not !"
Then, knock betimes. Fulfil your baptismal vows :
" pay that ye have vowed." Give your young hearts
up to God. Use with earnest diligence the Means of
grace wherewith he so kindly favours you. Ask ye
what these Means are ? I answer, Meditation ; a
Prayer ; b Reading the Word of your Creator ; c At-
tending his public Ordinances; 4 andspiritual Conver-
sation with any older and more experienced thanyour-
selves. e "This do and ye shall live" live, by "the
supply of the Spirit of Christ," a life of joy and use-
fulness and peace in this world, and in the world to
come a life of near and everlasting communion with
the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. If there
be in any of you a wish to be godly, and yet a princi-
ple of opposition struggling against it, O cry unto the
Lord for help: " mighty to r>ave" does he reveal him-
self to you; and while he bids you to remember him,
he will give you increasing grace to do so. " Ask and
ye shall have." Listen not a moment to the reasonings
of the carnal mind, the insinuations of the Enemy, or
the ill-timed and mis-judging advices of wordly and
ungodly people. Resolve with Joshua that, come
what will, you "will serve the Lord." ** Only be
strong and of a good courage:" only decide Whom
you will serve and Who shall have the earliest and the
warmest affections of your heart, and you will present-
ly feel triumphantly superior to every thing that would
oppose your Youthful Piety. Reproach for Christ's
sake would not move you. Love toyour Lord would
bear, hope, believe, and endure, all things. You would
feel as those felt who once departed from the presence
of an iniquitous council " rejoicing that they were
Gen. xxiv, 63. Ps. 39. 3. b Ps. 40. 1, 3. Ezek. xxxvi, 37.
c Jer. xxiii, 29. John v, 39. Heb. iv, 12.
* Acts x, 33, 34. Heb. x, 25. e Mai. iji, 16, 18.
YOUTHFUL PIETY. 273
counted worthy to suffer for a Saviour's sake/ and
then v ill your experience confirm the saying ''BLESS-
ED is the man that f ear eth the Lord, and that delight-
eth greatly in his commandments ;" K nor will you to all
eternity regret remembering your Creator now in the
days of your youth.*
* This Discourse, when delivered, closed with a reference to t'le
then recent decease of S. M. The Author was wont to write less of
the Application than any other part of his Discourse: (not that he
deems the Application of teas importance than any other part of a
Discourse, for his judgment is quite the reverse) the closing re-
marks, therefore, of this and some other Discourses in this volume,
are either altogether omitted or very succintly stated. He would
just observe that whilst S. M. was a visitant in his Parish, it pleased
God, under a discourse from, " Young Men likewise exhort to be
sober-minded,' 1 powerfully to impress and awaken her soul. From
being gay and worldly, she became serious and godly. Mason's
" Believer's Pocket Companion" tended considerably to improve and
enlarge her views of Christian Truth. That Truth was beautifully
adorned in S. M.'s whole deportment during a very long and painful
illness, and more particularly so in her resigned and peaceful death.
Her almost expiring words were--'O that the young would remem-
ber their Creator in the days of their youth !' May those to whom
her memory is dear experience the blessedness of so doing !
' Acts v, 41. s Ps. 112* 1.
T
DISCOURSE XIX.
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS.
1 THESSALONIANS v, 1 1 .
Wherefore, comfort yourselves together, and edify
one another, even as also ye do.
' THE Communion of Saints' forms one of the articles
of our faith. We profess therein as firm a belief as
we do in the existence of Gqd the Father Almighty ;
the mission, work, life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ; or the personality and influence of the
Holy Spirit. But, the profession of a truth and the
experience of it, are widely different things. It would
be well if all who say they believe in the Communion
of Saints, felt what they said. It is much to be feared
that when many are repeating the Apostle's Creed,
God sees a lie upon their lips sees that they neither
know nor care to know the import of the words they
utter. Justly may he say with reference to such as he
said with reference to Israel, <e I have heard the voice
of the words of this people, which they have spoken :
they have well said all that they have spoken : O that
there were such an heart in them \"* Of you, Beloved,
we hope better things, and trust that " with your
hands" aad voice, you " lift up your heart to God in
the heavens.** To youthen we would say in the lau-
Dent. Y, 28, 29. *> Lam. iii, 41.
THE COMMUNION* OF SAINTS. 275
guagc of Paul to the Thessalonian converts, "Where-
fore, comfort yourselves together and edify one ano-
ther, even as also ye do." In making a few remarks
from these words, we shall do so under the two follow-
ing heads :
I. The Communion of Saints:
II. The Advantages of it.
And I. The Communion of Saints.
Ere we notice their Communion, it will be well to
sav whom we mean by Saints. By Saints, then, we
mean those who have been convinced of sin ; shewn
their lost and ruined state ; drawn to Jesus Christ ;
and are now living under the sanctifying influences of
the Holy Ghost. These are the Saints. Or, if you
would know who the saints are, mark this they are
they whom the servants of Mammon .and the lovers of
pleasure usually call so in derision. If you see any
truly desirous of salvation ; using with earnest diligence
the means of grace; professing subjection to the Lord
Jesus Christ; studious in all things to serve and honour
him ; going about, as did their gracious Lord, doing
good ; loving their enemies and praying for those who
despitefully use them or persecute them you may be
sure there is a something in them which others have
not, a something which the worldly and ungodly can-
not define and therefore deride. But who that is
blessed with spiritual discernment, does not see that
such persons are, as David would call them, "the Ex-
cellent of the Earth," or as Daniel says, " the Saints
of the Most High ?" " We all, with open face behold-
ing as in a glass the glory of the Lord,, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory, by the Spirit
of the Lord." c Is there any thing in a resemblance
to infinite excellence to provoke disgust or to excite a
sneer ? ' Doth not our Baptism represent unto us our
2 Cor. ili. 18,
276 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS.
profession, which is, to follow Christ and to le made
like unto him f" Doth it, then, become any member
(much less any Minister} of our Church to say, ' I hate
Saints?' While, however, " the carnal mind is enmity
againstGoo," we must not wonder at its enmity against
God's servants, and their godliness. There is also
another mark whereby the Saints may be known :
They will not be forward to arrogate the title to them-
selves. They are "called to be Saints," and would be,
as "the called of God," "holy in all manner of con-
versation :"* but so sensible are they of their sinful-
ness ; so convinced of the imperfection attaching even
to their holiest things, that they dare not think them-
selves to have attained, either that they are already
perfect, but fear, and perhaps sometimes greatly fear,
that they have little or no claim to the honourable dis-
tinction and implied felicity of a Saint.* " The
Lord, however, knoweth them that are his/' and in
them- he will eventually " fulfil all the good pleasure
of his goodness, and the work of faith with power."
Such, then, are the Saints: and now what is their
Communion ? It is an union of heart with Christ and
with one another: a secret and invisible friendship that
binds them all together in and with their common
Lord. They are one in him. 6 They are children of
one Father; lovers of one Saviour ; partakers of one
Spirit; heirs of one kingdom, and when that kingdom
comes, they will together sing one song, and their one
unwearied and everlasting song will be "Unto Him
that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own
blood ; and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God
and his Father to Him be glory and dominion for
ever and ever. Amen." f Their Communion is confin-
ed to no Church, to no age, to no people, to noplace.
* See this idea prettily treated in a little Poem subjoined to this
Discourse. It is said to be written by the Rev. J. Marriot.
* 1. Pet, i, 15. John xvii, 21. f Rev, i. 5. 6,
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 277
It is the breath which animates that 'Congregation of
Faithful Men amongst whom the pure Word of God is
preached and the Sacraments are duly administered ac-
cording to Christ's ordinance/ live when and where
soever they may. g Like the air we breathe, it is found
every where, and is confined no where.* If the grace of
our adorable Lord visits, renews, and sanctifies some
poor Indian or African, that might be a thousand or
five thousand miles off; and the same grace visits, renews
and sanctifies any poor sinner amongst ourselves : let
those two gracious persons meet, and there would be a
communion between them.f They would be found to
alFect the same things, to avoid the same things, to feel
the same things, to desire the same things. They would
seem to have but one heart, and between them there
would bean union if not of Name or Church or Peo-
ple, at least of Spirit. They would "love as bre-
thren,", and as brethren would "dwell together in.
unity." The same lowliness of mind; the same sense
of personal un worthiness ; the same love of the same
Saviour ; the same deadness to the world ; the same
disposition to be holy in heart and deed ; the same bias
of soul towards that new heaven and new earth where-
in dwelleth righteousness, will invariably characterise,
with more or less distinctness, every one whom the
Holy Ghost inspires and regenerates.
The intercourse of the Saints is very gracious and
familiar. Like the Disciples on their way to Emmaus,
they have " certain communications one with ano-
ther" as they walk their Heaven-ward way, whilst Je-
sus himself not unfrequently draws nigh and walks with
them expounds to them the things which Moses and
* See Bishop Pearson on the article 'Communion of Saints' in
ins invaluable Work on the Creed.
<.
f This idea is elsewhere repeated in this Volume: the Author
dots uot study novelty so much as utility of expression
Art. xix.
278 THE COMMUNION OP SAINTS.
the Prophets wrote concerning him, and shews how
the Messiah ought to have suffered, and through suf-
ferings to repossess his glory. h Feelings, desires,
hopes, joys, and sorrows, with which the people of the
\vorld are totally unacquainted, form the subjects of
their converse. In vain would the Saints go to those
\vho know not the grace of God in truth whose minds
had never been drawn up to high and heavenly things,
to tell what they felt or wished or loved or enjoyed.
The worldly could not commune with them : they
know nothing of what, perhaps, with no little pride
and self-complacency they profess to believe ' the
Communion of Saints/ They would marvel to hear
such things. It would seem to them like talking in
an unknown tongue ; and they would say, probably,
somewhat like Festus said to Paul, " Much Religion
doth make thee mad." Whereas, Saints zvith Saints
can interchange their minds ; feel in so doing a de-
lightful freedom of thought and speech, and while thus
" communing one with another," they find the hours
too short in which to tell of the great things the Lord
hath done for their souls. Themselves their joys and
griefs, their failures and triumphs, their fears and
liopes : Their Lord hiscondescension, goodness, love,
and truth : His Kingdom and Doctrine how most ef-
fectually they may further the one and adorn the other :
Their Heritage in its future and all-glorious perfec-
tion, by turns engage the attention and occupy the
converse of the Saints. True, indeed, circumstances
may sometimes occur that will interrupt for a passing
monieut their usually harmonious concord : Though
they are Saints and walk as friends taking sweet coun-
sel together, yet perfection marks not their earthly be-
ing. While "GOING ON to perfection," the depravity
of Nature doth remain even in them that are regene-
rate, and although we may be baptised and born again
in Christ, yet do we offend in many things, and fail of
u Luke xxiv. 17.
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 279
that perfect and uninterrupted communion which the
Saints will in an after state enjoy.' Their " commun-
ing, h<5 wever will be of peace," and in desire, at least,
they will ' hold the Faith in unity of spirit, in the
bond of peace, and in righteousness of life.' Envy and
.strife will cease. All will agree to " hold the Head,"
and all will " rejoice in hope" of an everlasting union
with their common Lord and with each other. No
discordant notes shall flow from the harps of the re-
deemed in glory no cloud of ignorance shall darken
their intellectual vision, no opposing principle in na-
ture shall retard their progress towards perfection,
there. All will " apprehend that for which they are
apprehended of God in Christ tfesus," and all will be
"holy and without blame before Him in love."
Such, then, Beloved, is the Communion of Saints.
We come to notice
II. The Advantages of it.
The Advantages of it are numerous and valuable.
"We shall confine our attention to those mentioned in
our text : These are comfort and edification : " Where-
fore comfort yourselves together, and edify one ano-
ther, even as also ye do."
k\\&, first, There is comfort in the Communion of
Saints.
The holy and believing followers of Christ are, by
no means, exempt from trials and sufferings here. In-
deed tkeir trials and sufferings are often more and
heavier than those of others. They have a spiritual
warfare to maintain ; self to deny ; a cross to bear ; a
heart naturally averse to good to govern ; a subtle and
powerful enemy to contend with ; a world alluring in
its pretences, and deceptive in its arts, to overcome :
and amidst all opposing difficulties to maintain a con-
versation according to the Gospel of Christ. The
j Arts. ix. and xv.
280 THE COMMl NION OF SAINTS.
Lord does not bestow his grace and spirit without
meaning to exercise his gifts. <c Whom I love, he says,
I rebuke and chasten. " k Abraham would never, pro-
bably, have been the Father of the Faithful, had he
not been required to offer in sacrifice his beloved Son.
He was " strong in faith," and his faith was se-
verely tried. And so it is with " the children of
faithful Abraham." They are oft times troubled,
perplexed, persecuted, and cast down. 1 But, by com-
munion with each other they comfort themselves to-
gether. As when one member of the Redeemer's body
is honoured, all the members rejoice with it ; so when
one suffers, all sympathize and suffer with it. And as
in our own body, if one member be weaker and less ho-
nourable, as Paul says, than another, upon that we be-
stow more abundant honour and attention : so in the
Church, the weakest, the most tried and sorrowful
Saint, shares the most abundant love and kindness of
his fellow-saints. They comfort themselves together
strengthening the weak hands and confirming the
feeble knees. In consolation;" in pity; in prayer ; p
in every thing, the Saints have, by love, a fellowship
that sweetly gladdens and refreshes them. How often,
it may be, have some of you, my people, been "weary
and faint in your mind ;" dejected and distressed on
account of remaining, and sometimes, perhaps, prevail-
ing, corruptions; mournful because your soul's Belov-
ed had withdrawn his sensible presence ; and ready
almost to say ''There is no hope : I am sore let and
hindered in running the race that is set before me ;
I am feeble and sore smitten : unworthy of //,
who will show me any good ?" In such a case you
have renewed your communion with the Saints, and
your communion with them has filled you with new
life and love and joy. You have been comforted by
the mutual faith both of you and them. You came,
k Rev. iii. 19. * 2. Cor iv. 8. 9. m See 1. Cor. xii
1. Thts. iv. 18 f Rom. xii. 10. 1C, P Eph.vi.18,19.
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 281
perhaps, among them sorrowing ; you went your way
rejoicing. "The spirit of heaviness" has been ex-
changed for "the garment of praise.'" 1 You have
said with holy David, " It is good for me to have been,
in trouble ;" r and I have no doubt but the comfort you
have occasionally found from the society and converse
of the Lord's people, has been to you a foretaste of
Heaven's eternal blessedness itself. You have felt like
" a giant refreshed with wine," nor thought you then
that your enemies were at all too many or too mighty
for " the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" to overcome.
Your afflictions, too, have felt " light" and in dura-
tion momentary, compared with that " eternal weight
of glory" which enemies and afflictions are designed
to "work out for you." 5 Be, then, agreed to cherish
still all the amity and friendliness of brethren one to-
wards another, and thus continue still to comfort your-
selves together."
Secondly, There is the Advantage of edification at-
tending the Communion of Saints.* They not only
comfort themselves together, but they edify one ano-
ther. This is especially the case where people cannot
read, or have little leisure to do so. A man, however
poor and ignorant he may be, may, by conversation
and intercourse with pious Christian brethren, attain,
under the enlightening and hallowing influence of the
Spirit, an experimental and a practical acquaintance
\vith all the saving Truths of Revelation. If there be
but desire to learn, "a viayfaring man, though a
fool" as it regards worldly wisdom, "shall not err
therein." And not merely in the commencement of
the spiritual life, but throughout all its succeeding
stages, even till grace be consummated in glory, may
the Saints edify one another. Some may more deeply
* The Rev. C.Davy's "Plain Discourse on the Nature, Evidences,
and Means of Edification,!' is very excellent. Sold by Seeley,
London.
i Isa. hi. 3. ' Ps. 119. 71. 2 Cor. iv, 17.
282 THE C03IMUNION OF SALNTS.
fed their native depravity ; some may more sensibly
enjoy the love of Christ; some may be favoured with
more abundant measures of his Spirit ; some may
have a livelier faith ; some clearer and more exten-
sive views of Divine Truth, for " there are diver-
sities of gifts:" but the gifts of every man are
given to "profit withal." Hence in the Church
of Christ, "the hand cannot say to the foot, I
have no need of you, nor the foot to the hand I have
no need of you/' We are all, as members of one body,
needful to each other, and all our gifts and attain-
ments, tend to the perfecting of the saints and the edi-
fying of the body of Christ." 1 Sometimes it is hum-
bling, sometimes encouraging, sometimes consoling,
always edifying, to commune with believers in Jesus.
Communion with them exceedingly furthers growth in
grace. " Every one pleaseth his neighbour to edifica-
tion.'^ l( Things wherewith one may edify another"
become more and more familiar to all. Such an in-
terchange of thought, feeling, and affection, produces,
sometimes, a friendship as endearing as that which
subsisted between Jonathan and David. w Thus do
the Saints bv communion with their Lord and with
/
each other in his love, "build themselves up in their
most holy faith," and together "grow up in their
Lord in all things." Is it not so, Beloved ? Does not
your experience confirm our statement ? Have you
not learned many auseful lesson from Communion with
the Saints ? And do you not believingly hope that
the "top stone" of your salvation will presently be
"brought forth," and the fellowship of the Church
below be exchanged for the more immediate vision of
your Lord, and holier communion with his redeemed
people in the world above ? " Wherefore, then, com-
fort yourselves together and edify one another, even as
also ye do."
4 Epb. iv, 12 v R onu XVj o * 1 Sara, xxiii, 16.
COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 283
Having now offered these remarks on (he Commu-
nion of Saints, and the Advantages of it ; I would RE-
COMMEND to you, in conclusion, these two things 1.
Religious Intercourse, and 2. Devout Retirement. I
recommend to you (1.) Religious Intercourse.
Observe,, I say religious intercourse ; for there is an
intercourse which seems to be religious, and that
really is not so. Many can talk about Religion and re-
ligious things ; but they cannot (if we may so say)
talk Religion itself. Many professing godliness are
wanting in Christian Communion. How freely do
people of the world communicate their ideas to each
other ! Should the people of Jesus Christ be less
communicative ? How unweariedly do many talk of
their temporal affairs, pursuits, aims, and hopes !
Should those whom the Lord calls to be saints, and
endues with the riches of his grace, be silent ? We
are exhorted to "let our conversation be alway with
grace, that it may minister grace to the hearer :" Is it
so ? Do we converse "for the use of edifying ?" I
do not say we should always be forcing our religious
sentiments or opinions upon others : 1 do not say we
should ever be communicating our heart-experiences
to any one who would be pleased to listen to them : to
do so would be imprudent ; but this I do say the bent
of our mind should appear in all our intercourse with
others. With those, however, whose thoughts are
cleansed and whose dispositions are renewed by the
inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, it should be to us a
sweet and valuable privilege to " tell of the loving-
kindness of the Lord/' and all those things whereby
one may comfort and edify another. Look unto Je-
sus : Every thing afforded him subject for profitable re-
mark. A net cast into the sea ; a sower going forth
to sow ; fields whitening to the harvest ; water drawn
from a well ; the grave of a friend all were remarked
on by him. And surely if we were more like-minded
with our Lord, we should more commonly and
fearlessly " speak good of his name," tell of his
284 THE COMMUNfON OF SAINTS.
wondrous works, and see in all his works and ways
and mercies a something to acknowledge and be
thankful for. " We cannot, said the Apostles, but
speak the things which we have heard and seen."*
O that we may feel the like necessity ! Then, in
your occasional and social meetings, cherish a
Spirit of piety and devotion. Speak of solemn things
in a solemn way. While the ungodly and the
irreligious shun not to avow by all their commu-
nications with each other whose they are and whom
they serve, do you not be ashamed of Christ. " Love
as brethren : be pitiful : be courteous." f< Let love
be without dissimulation : Abhor that which is ev.l ;
cleave to that which is good." " Be kindly affection-
ed one to another, with brotherly love, in honour pre-
ferring one another." Our wish is that you should
abound more and more in love, in zeal, in faith, in
hope, in every thing that befits your " high calling of
God in Christ Jesus." Go on to comfort yourselves
together and to edify one another even as also YE DO.*
You may yet comfort and edify each other in the ways
of holiness and truth till your Lord should have said
to one and all of you " Come up higher." We would
have you while you sojourn here to lf warn them that
are unruly, to comfort the feeble minded, to support
the weak, and to be patient towards all men.'* So shall
you, as it becometh Saints, " rejoice evermore, pray
* Truly applicable were these words to the people here addressed.
Very soon after the commencement of the Author's ministry among
them, some few of them voluntarily met at each other's cottages for
mutual reading 1 and prayer, after the toils and labours of the day were
closed. They consulted their Minister as to the propriety of their
so doing, and were entirely willing to be guided in their plan of de-
votions. This simple and unobtrusive Means of grace became in-
creasingly liked, and proved most beneficial to the souls of many. It
was observed once a week in eight or ten different Cottages in so
many different parts of the Parish successively. If this Means needs
a sanction, the Reader may find it in Mai. iii, 16 18. Mat. xviii,
19,20.
* Acts iv, 20.
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 285
without ceasing, in every thing ' at all times and in
all places/ as your Communion Service says give
thanks/' and prove this to be " the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you."
Having recommended Religious Intercourse, it only
remains for me to recommend
(2.) Devout Retirement.
Without devout retirement, the life and power of
religion cannot be maintained. Nothingbut occasional
communion with our own heart and with the Lord in
secret can counterbalance the influence of the world
and the world's necessary cares upon our mind. In-
tercourse with others even on religious accounts,, will
grow wearisome, unless we gird up the loins of our
mind and trim the lamp of our profession at home. It
is, too, in their closet that the Saints are privileged
with the most abundant communications of the Divine
presence and favour. Jesus Christ would not have
said " But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy
closet" had not very gracious and peculiar blessings
been connected with so doing. The " closet" may be
any place where we can get alone with God. " Isaac
went out into the field at even-tide to meditate :" that
was his closet. Joshua went, by night, into a valley
to pray for Israel's success while contending with their
enemies: that was his closet. Peter went up to the
house-top to pray ; and there did " He who seeth in
secret" meet and commune with him. In like man-
ner may you make any place your closet, and even in
the secrecy of thought may you realize your Saviour's
presence and commune with him. Though he be " the
High arid Lofty One that inhabiteth Eternity /'yet says
he, "will I dwell with him also that is of a lowly and
contrite spirit." Our union then is sweetest both with
our Brethren and our Lord, when our minds are most
thoughtfully recollected. In such a moment we covet
not the wealth of worlds. \Ve see the nothingness of
280 THE COMMUXIOX OF SAINTS.
all things without God. " Our soul is satisfied, as it
were, with marrow and fatness." Our strength is re-
newed as the eagle's : we mount Heaven-ward in de-
sire and hope : and we have even to be "patient unto
the coming of the Lord." It becomes a trifle to suffer
shame for his sake The being called ' Saints' inspires
the wish that we may be found really such. We re-
joice to differ from our former selves and the generality
of our fellow-sinners. Our hearts yearn with pitying
tenderness towards those who so affectedly pretend to
pity us. It is unspeakably delightful to feel the quick-
ening and reviving influences of the Spirit on our
minds ; and we would not for a thousand or ten thou-
sand honourable and right honourable earthly honours
forfeit our saintship and lose the Spirit's love and grace
and comfort. ' God hath given us of his Spirit:"
follow., Beloved, Ihe drawings of his Spirit when he
would lead you into sacred solitude. " My soul fol-
loweth hard afterth.ee/' said David : So let your^'s.
You have read the lives of Janeway, Brainard, Mar-
tyn, and others who now through faith and patience
inherit the promises : Do you not remember what they
thought of devout retirement ? what they enjoyed alone
with God ? Then come ye into the secret chamber :
Do so purposely to meet God there : Let your fellow-
ship be with the Father and with his Son, Jesus
Christ : Be often silently lifting up your heart in
prayer prayer for yourselves; your families; your
neighbours ; your Ministers ; your fellow saints ; yea,
for the whole Church of your Redeemer here and
every- where. Hence you will become blessed with all
spiritual blessings. As "children of light/' your path
shall lead you into perfect day. From the Mount of
Communion with God, you will descend to engage
anew in the scenes of active life with your soul and
character irradiated with Christian loveliness, and
while you are " saved in the Lord with an everlasting
salvation," that Lord also himself will be "glorified ia
his Saints and admired in all that believe.'*
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 287
And now, <e the Communion of tlte Holy Ghost be
Kith you all. AMEN."
LINES ON THE SCORNFUL APPELLATION OF THE
TERM 'SAINT.'
A Saint ! O would that I could claim
The privileg'd, the precious name,
And confidently take my stand
The lowest in the saintly band !
Would that the terra in scorn applied,
As well the test of truth could bide,
As kingly salutation, giv'n
In mock'ry to the King of Heaven 1
A Saint ! and what implies the name
Thus banded in Derision's game ?
Holy and separate from sin,
To good, nay, e'en to GOD akin.
Is such the meaning of a name,
From which the Christian shrinks with shame ?
Yes ! dazzled with the glorious sight,
He owns his crown is all too bright.
And ill might Son of Adam dare
Alone such honor's weight to bear ;
But fearlessly he takes the load,
United to the Son of God.
A Saint ! ah ! sooner give some sign,
Some seal to prove the title mine :
And warmer thanks shalt thou command.
Than bringing kingdoms in thine hand.
Oh ! for an int'rest in that Name
When hell shall ope its jaws of flame ;
And scorners to their doom be huil'd,
While scorned Saints shall judge the World I
How shall the name of Saint be priz'd,
Tho' now rejected and despised ;
When Truth shall witness to the Word,
That none hut Saints shall see the Lord !
DISCOURSE XX,
GETHSEMANE. 1
JOHN xviii, 2.
. Jesus off-times resorted thither with his disciples.
IN the future and everlasting kingdom of the Re-
deemed, the one subject of their unwearied contempla-
tions and their ceaseless songs, will be the worthiness
of the Lamb that was slain. The great, the amazing,
work of human Redemption, is that thing into which
the angels desire to look; but which, even they, with
all their enlarged and comprehensive powers, cannot
fully conceive or understand. The love of the Re-
deemer to the objects of his redeeming favour " pass-
eth knowledge."* Its " riches" are " unsearchable."
If, for a moment, we realize the thought of God's co-
equal, co-eternal, Son assuming our nature : if we
place the Lord Jesus Christ before us, contemplate
* Those who heard this Discourse will not need to be reminded
that it was preached on the Sabbath immediately preceding the
Author's very severe illness in 1824. The kind anxiety the tears,
the prayers, the attentions manifested by his Beloved People on
that occasion, will never cease to be most gratefully remembered by
him. It may be well also here to remark that Discourse the xxi.
was preached when the Author was convalescent, and Discourse the
xxii. on his return to his people after an absence of four weeks. He
prays for that People individually in the words of the 20th Psalm.
Eph. iii, 1&.
GF.THSEMASE. 289
his person, and think on his character, work, life,
death, resurrection, and ascension, our thoughts are
lost in adoring wonder and reverential awe. Indeed
the more we think of him his life of privation and
sorrow, his death of ignominy and woe, and what both
his active and passive obedience was designed to ac-
complish, the less we seem to perceive of " the breadth
and length, the depth and height" of our Redeemer's
love. All those things which our Lord both did and
suffered should we contemplate. It is well, however,
not to attempt too much at once; but to confine our
attention to some one particular incident, and to think
on others as seasons and opportunities allow. Our
present subject of contemplation will, therefore, be
The Saviour's retirement previous to his betrayal and
crucifixion.*
Jesus was resolved to go with his Disciples and
Friends to Jerusalem. 1 " With " desire He desired" to
eat the Passover with them there. It was while cele-
brating \viththem the Paschal supper that he instituted
the Ordinance which was to perpetuate the memory
of his death till his re-appearance in the clouds of
heaven, After supper he took a towel and girded
himself; poured water into a basin; and washed his
disciples' feet thus significantly taking upon him
"the form of a servant." He now announced his in*
tended departure from the world to his followers.
Observing that announcement to fill their hearts with
sorrow, he told them of his Father's house, wherein
were many mansions, and where he himself would
kindly prepare a place for them. He assured them,
moreover, of the expediency of his departure in order
that another and an abiding Comforter might come to
* This Discourse was preached on the Sunday before Easter day
and was intended to precede Discourses on the Crucifixion and Re-
surrection of Christ : but the illness alluded to in the last note frus-
trated the Author's plan.
* John xi, 8.
V
290 GETHSEMANE.
them. And when he had prayed both for his imme-
diate followers, and all them also who should ever
thereafter believe on him through their word, he went
forth, we are told, with his disciples over the brook
Cedron, where was a garden, into which he entered
with his disciples : And Judas also knew the place,
for Jesus oft-times resorted thither with his disciples.
In leading jour contemplations on this interesting
fact, I shall notice
I. The Place whither our Lord resorted with
his disciples :
And II. The Purpose for which he resorted with
thera thither.
I notice
1. The Place whither our Lord resorted with his
disciples.
It was a Garden. This garden, we learn from
Matthew xxvi, 36, was called Gethsemane. It was so
called, perhaps, on account of the Olives growing on
the adjacent hill ; or on account, more probably, of
its own rich and beautiful luxuriance. It was, doubt-
less, a retired and lovely spot. It seems plainly to
have been a very favourite place with our Lord : for
" Jesus oft-times resorted thither/' Often, it may be,
after the wearying labours of the day, did Jesus retire
for rest and quiet to lone Gethsemane. Often might
its soothing stillness be interrupted by his cries and
prayers for our deliverance. There might his liberal
soul devise the liberal things of our salvation. There
might he more familiarly and graciously instruct the
first Heralds of the Cross in the mysteries of that Gos-
pel they were subsequently to preach to others. But,
above all, there may we believe our adorable Redeemer
anticipated his " treading, alone and unsupported, the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God." He knew that the burden of the world's atone-
GETHSEMANE. 291
ment was upon him he knew that he must tread the
winepress alone alone achieve our recovery from sin,
degradation, and ruin. 'Here, then, might he think
as he resorted to Gethsemane, ' here am I to suffer:
here am I to agonize for man's redemption : here am
I to receive a cup which may not pass from me except
I drink it : here have 1 a baptism of blood to be bap-
tized with, and how am I straightened till it be accom-
plished !' Nor is it a matter of little or no moment
that Jesus was wont thus to resort to a Garden. A Di-
vine and peculiar providence over-ruled and con-
trouled every the most inconsiderable event of our Re-
deemer's life : we connot, therefore, doubt but his re-
sorting to Gethsemane was a providential circum-
stance. It was in a Garden that the first Adam'ate of
the forbidden fruit, and thereby brought upon himself
and all his offspring the displeasure of a justly offended
God : In what place more appropriate could the second
Adam sustain the wrath we merited and redeem the
souls of his seed, than a Garden ? The Garden of
Eden was a Garden of Pleasure : all was satisfying
good and pure enjoyment there. Man's gracious
Maker placed him in it to " till and dress it :" but
alas ! he proudly aspired to be "as God/' and thence
was driven. In perfect contrast to this, Gethsemane
was a Garden of Woe : it was night when Jesus re-
sorted thither : there was the humiliation of the High-
est to restore our rebel race to honour and felicity, nor
did our Lord go forth from thence till he could go
forth as the prevailing Intercessor and the Almighty
Saviour. Though, then, in Eden we unhappily fell,
in Gethsemane we triumphantly rose. In the one man
had alienated himself from God ; in the other a door
of access to him and communion with him was opened
to us again. In the one the curse was first of all pro-
nounced ; in the other the blessing was contended for
and won. Such was the place whither Jesus so oft
resorted. His disciples, we may easily conceive, loved
the hallowed spot: for "with his disciples" did Jesus
292 GETHSEMAXE.
oft resort thither. And who of all his true disciples
will not love Gethsemane ? What though it be lonely
and retired? What though the chills and glooms of
night surround us ? With Jesus, the Christian feels
secure and happy. "In his presence is fulness of joy."
Waters, clearer and sweeter far than those which re
freshed Gethsemane, gladden and refresh the believing
soul. These flow from " the throne of God and of the
Lamb," and are indeed waters of comfort and streams
of quietness. Jesus loves to see his disciples with him in
a " solitary place, apart" from the turmoil and uproar
of a world that receives him not he loves especially
to be with them in Gethsemane ; and thither espe-
cially do " those Ministers of his who do his pleasure"
love to lead their people. Thither, Beloved, may you
oft resort, and there may your souls hold felt commu-
nion with your present though unseen Saviour !
Having led you to contemplate the Place whither
our Lord resorted with his disciples, I come to notice
II. The Purpose for which he resorted with them
thither.
It was to suffer. This we have already intimated :
but, a more particular mention of the Purpose for
which Jesus resorted to Gethsemane, will not, we
trust, be other than profitable to our souls.
Jesus cometh and with him his disciples into the
Garden. To eight of them he says, " Sit ye here,
while I go and pray yonder." Three Peter, James,
and John, he takes with him into a farther and more
secluded part of the Garden. These had seen his glory
on mount Tabor had seen him there when his face
and raiment shone with lucid brightness, and his es-
sential deity was discoverable through the veil of his
humanity : They were now to witness his sorrow in
Gethsemane. Now it was he " began to be, ia a
Key. xxii, 1. Ps. 23. 2 f
<;ETHSEMAXE. 293
manner he had never been before, sorrowful says
<he Evangelist Matthew/ and ''sore amazed," says the
Evangelist Mark. e " My soul, says the suffering Sa-
viour to the chosen three, is exceeding sorrowful, even
unto death." His "soul" was the seat of agony ; a
deadly anguish bowed down and overwhelmed hix
"soul.'' It was " sorrowful" yea, "exceeding sor-
rowful ;'' sorrowful " ecex unto death." But where-
fore, you will perhaps say, was our Lord thus sorrow-
ful ? Did not the Hebrew youths dare, unmoved, the
utmost fury of their murderous enemies ? f Did not
Daniel feel composed and tranquil in the lion's den?
Was not Paul ready riot only to be bound but also to
suffer death in the cause of righteousness and truth ? s
Has not many a martyr triumphed amidst the flames of
martyrdom, and rose to glory through wrongs and suf-
ferings the most appalling and terrific ? Yes: but
these had not the purpose to accomplish which was to
be accomplished by the Son of God. The sufferings
of Christ were the sufferings of the innocent for the
guilty, were the required atonement for sin, were
the ransom-price of our redemption, the payment of
that debt whereof we had " nothing to pay." Our
adorable Jesus was the Lamb which God provided him-
self for a burnt offering. His blood was at once to
expiate our guilt, to satisfy the demands of infinite
justice, to display a holy God's unalterable hatred to
sin, and his unbounded and everlasting love to sinners.
To effect this gracious purpose did Jesus Christ be-
come our suffering Surety, and therefore it was that
his soul was so exceeding sorrowful sorrowful even
unto death.
The Sacred History now goes on to say " Jesus
went a little further" into the shades of the Garden,
" and kneeled dozen." 11 Nor that alone ; so great was
the sorrow of his soul, so intense were tuVfeelings, that
" he fell on the ground*' and whilst prostrate " on his
* Ch.xxvi,37. C!i xiv, 33. ' Dan.iii and vi.
* Acts xxi, 13. u Luke xxii, 41.
294 GETHSEMANE.
face,*' he prayed that if it were possible his hour ot
suffering and wue might pass from him. 1 How wonder-
ful was this ! HE to whom " every knee shall bow,"
himself a petitioner on his knees ! HE before whose
awful and majestic presence "the heavens and the earth
shall flee away" prostrate on his face ! Hcthat is the
source and centre of all happiness and glory to his
whole intelligent creation, praying that an hour of
darkness and sorrow might pass from him ! Surely the
purpose for which this was endured must be all-worthy
an infinitely good and gracious God to devise and
execute. Surely, too, the application of that purpose,
when devised and executed., to a sinner's soul, must be
all-sufficient for the soul's necessities. O how should
Gethsemane win our regards and thoughts ! how
should we love to " tarry here and watch" with Je-
sus ! But, hark : the Sufferer prays ; " O my Father,
if it be possible, if thou be willing, remove this cup ;
let it pass from me : nevertheless, not as 1 will, but as
thou wilt." k But, it might not pass from him or be
removed : Jesus came not to do his own will, but the
will of that forgiving God who sent him. Had this
hour with its cup of woe passed from him, how then
had the Scriptures been fulfilled ? How had human
guilt been expiated ? How had the flaming sword
which guarded the tree of life been sheathed? What
blood of atonement could have sprinkled the mercy-
seat, cleansed our heart from an evil and condemning
conscience, and opened for us a way of access into the
holiest of all? Jesus therefore resigned his to his
Father's will. The cup indeed contained a portion of
wrath's extremest bitterness : nature shrunk from its
agony : it would fain that this cup should pass from
it : but our Lord's divinity sustained his humanity,
and, amidst the extreme of suffering, enabled him to
say " Not my will, but thine be done." O let our
' Matt, xxvi, 39. Mark xiv, 35.
k Matt, xxvi, 39, with Luke xxii, 42.
GETflSEMANK. 295
too often murmuring and repining hearts hence leam
to be submissive. " Should it be according to thy
will" concerning any thing, when the Redeemer ac-
quiesced so readily in his Father's will concerning his
cross and passion ? Rathei let us say, " The cup
which my Father hath given me, shall 1 not drink it?"
and remember, however bitter may be its contents, it is
a Father who gives us the cup, and who will, if we ask
him, enable us to drink it.
Jesus now "cometh to his disciples and findeth them
asleep." What an additional grief to his holy soul
was here ! The presence of a kind and watchful friend
in sorrow is cheering and consoling ; but Jesus must
suffer alone unwatched, unheeded. Even to the so
lately zealous and courageous Peter, is he necessitated
to say, " Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch
with me one hour?" 1 True; our Lord pities the
weakness and unprofitableness of " the flesh ;" but
whilst he does so, he exhorts his followers to "watch,
and pray." " Let us not, then., sleep as do others ;
but let us watch and be sober." We are tarrying with
Jesus now in dear Gethsemane: let us watch with him.
Cold and listless must be the soul that can slumber and
be careless in Gethsemane. Jesus is but a littleyonder
suffering agreeably to the Divine purpose and grace,
and effecting by the greatness of his might "the de-
termined counsel" of his Father, and the eternal sal-
vation of our souls. How grieved does Christ appear
when he says, " Could ye not watch with me?" Let
us beware how we grieve him " afresh" by a watch-
less prayerless spirit.
" He went, we read, away again" retired again
into his sacred solitude to pray. In prayer he repeated
the same words. Still extreme was his suffering, and
determined was his purpose: Still does he prevail to
endure the hour and to drink the cup : Still we hear
the voice of resignation in the words " Thy will be
Mark 14. 37.
296 GETHSKMAiNE.
done." He knew that if lie failed in enduring now
the wrath our sins deserved, we must have borne that
wrath for ever : He knew that if he brake not now
the head of our great Knemy, we should have con-
tinued still the dupes of Satan and the slaves of Sin :
he therefore struggles on, nor yields till his own
Almighty arm brings salvation to him.'" Again does he
return to his Disciples: but, finding them asleep
again, he now leaves them undisturbed, and goes and
prays "the third time, saying the same words." This
third prayer brought him " an angel from Heaven/'
"who appeared to him and strengthened him. His soul
might possibly be refreshed by " the joy that was set
before him" of glorifying his Father's attributes, and
redeeming immortal though lost and perishing sinners.
He might be reminded, too, of the satisfaction he
should feel when he should see his Seed around his
throne in the prolonged days of his eternal kingdom,
and the pleasure of the Lord should for ever prosper in
his hands. A gracious strength, however, is seldom
communicated to the soul without being exercised.
It was after the angel's appearance that our Lord,
"being in an agony, prayed more earnestly ;" and then
it was that "his sweat was, as it were, great drops of
blood falling down to the ground." Now was the
decisive moment come : Now were the enemy's
fiercest advances made : Now was the all of our sal-
vation to be gained or lost for ever : but with his in-
creasing "agony," Jesus "prayed more fervently;"
and though in the wondrous contest, his " sweat was,
as it were, blood," yet did he triumph, the principa-
lities, and the powers of Hell, fell prostrate, their
hour was borne, justice was satisfied, a ruined world
was saved. With ?' strong cries and tears," indeed,
did our Lord contend ; but he prevailed. Agonize,
indeed, he did ; but he triumphed. His blood, too,
bedewed the soil of Gethsemane; but it cried not
Isa. Ixiii. 5. n Hrb. xii, 2. Isa. liii, 10. 11.
Luke xxu. 44.
GETHSEMANE. 297
with a voice like that of Abel's for vengeance on the
murderous Cain, but rather " Father forgive them !"''
And what a scene was here ! A God incarnate " tra-
vailing in the greatness of his might" to accomplish a
purpose, the accomplishment of which would bring
everlasting honour to the blessed Godhead, fill the
heavenly hosts with wonder, and every contrite sin-
ner's heart with joy. Well may we love the place
where Jesus resorted with his Disciples, and well may
we delight to linger in contemplation on the purpose
there effected.
Jesus cometh to his still slumbering followers and
announces to them his immediate betrayal : " Behold,
he is at hand that doth betray me: Rise! let us be go-
ing :" and "while he yet spake, lo ! Judas and with
him a great multitude" came to apprehend him.
With a mind softened by sorrow and rendered now all
submissive to his Father's will, Jesus advanced to meet
them ; and knowing the glory that should follow his
further humiliation, meekly resigned himself to their
power. And " he was led as a Lamb to the slaugh-
ter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he
opened not his mouth."
But we will not now, my Brethren, follow our suf-
fering Lord beyond the bounds of Gethsemane. Let
us " tarry here" awhile ; and ere we quit the place of
our Redeemer's agony and bloody sweat, let us pause,
and solemnly enquire how we may best improve our
visit there, and the sorrows which we have there beheld.
I think, then, we may clearly perceive
( 1 .) The real nature of Sin.
Sin Sin, which the generality of mankind make so
light of, was the occasion of all the woe which we have
contemplated in Gethsemane. Though God willeth
not the death of a sinner he yet hateth his sin. As the
essentially good, just, and holy God, he cannot but
condemn and punish the transgression of his good, just,
P Htb. xii. 24.
298 GETHSEMANK.
and holy Law. Condemn and punish sin he will. His
Law must be magnified either by the obedience the
sinless obedience, of his creatures, or bj a full, perfect,
and sufficient atonement for their violation of it. This
atonement it was not in our power to make. The
Lamb through whose bloodshedding the destroying
Angel will pass over us, must be " without spot or
blemish." This Lamb we find in the person of our
Lord : He is emphatically "Jesus Christ Me righteous."
There is a virtue, therefore, in his blood infinitely
available for the remission of human guilt. In the
very means of mercy, however, we see " the exceeding
sinfulness of sin," and God's utter. abhorrence of ini-
quity. In the woe of Jesus Christ, there is depth of
suffering which we may indeed contemplate, but which
\ve shall, perhaps, never fully understand : Then what
must SIN be ? In the watery deluge that once drowned
the world ; in the fiery ruin that awaits it ; and in the
"everlasting burnings" beyond the wreck of nature,
we see, in some measure, what Sin is : but it is in the
sufferings of the Son of God, we more distinctly per-
ceive its turpitude. Then, O ye that love Sin, live in
Sin, "make a mock of Sin," look yonder : Who is he
that lies stretched on the ground in agony and blood?
It is Jesus : Who hath thus "smitten him and puthim
to grief ?" God ; "it pleased the Lord io bruise him :"
For what purpose ? To expiate the guilt of your trans-
gressions. And whilst, O Sinner, )ou continue will-
ingly and wilfully in sin, you " crucify to yourself the
Son of God afresh." Every oath a swearer utters;
every Sabbath a Sinner breaks ; every thought a man in-
dulges that is contrary to the will and Word of God, is,
as it were, a thorn, or a nail, or a spear, which pierces
Jesus Christ afresh. Be it, too, remembered that
though no gross immoralities may mark the outward
life and conduct, yet that not loving Christ, is sin : q not
loving his Word and the Communion of his body and
i 1 Cor. xvi. 22.
GETHSEMANE. 299
blood, is sin: r not yielding one's self a living sacrifice
unto God, is sin : s not living soberly, righteously, and
godly in this present world, is sin:* not endeavouring
the good of the Redeemer's servants and followers, is
sin: v Sins of omission no less than sins of commission,
did Jesus suffer for : and unless our sins are remitted
by faith in his atoning blood, the woe which he endur-
ed for an hour, we must endure for ever. Then look
unto him whom ye have pierced and mourn for him as
ye would mourn the loss of a firstborn or an only son. w
Go with your Lord to Gethsemane, nor ever quit the
Garden of his Passion till you have learnt to abhor
both yourselves and your iniquities, and proved the
power of a Saviour's blood to cleanse you from all
your sin.
May we not also perceive
(2.) The proper antidote to Suffering?
This is acquiescence in the Divine will. Suffering
is, more or less, the lot of all God's favoured People.
" What son is he whom the Father chasteneth not ?"
And shall the children of the everlasting Father be
\vithout chastisement? No: "whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth, and correcteth every son whom he re-
ceiveth." Tribulation is the way to " the rest which
remaineth for us," x " Through sufferings, was the
great Captain of our Salvation perfected. " y We have
contemplated the anguish of his soul in Gethsemane,
and with how much propriety might he say, " Behold
and see ; was ever sorrow like unto my sorrow, which
is done unto me, wherewith the Lord afflicted me in
the day of his fierce anger?" 2 And how did Jesus
Christ endure the fierce anger of the Lord ? By ac-
quiescing in his Father's will, and begging with re-
peated earnestness that his Father's will, and no will in
opposition to it, might be done. Here is our Exemplar
' John vi. 53. Rom. xii. 1. * Tit. ii. 12.
v 1. Johu iii. 17. w Zech. xii. 10. x Acts xiv. 22.
y Heb. ii. 10. * Lam, i. 12.
300 GETHSEMANE.
in trying and afflictive circumstances. Have we fel-
lowship with our Lord in his sufferings? Let us not ag-
gravate our sorrows by l( fretting against the Lord."
Let us not professedly say, " Thy will be done," and se-
cretly affect our own. No affliction happens by chance
to the disciple of Jesus. He is " greatly beloved/'* The
" very hairs of his head are numbered." No one may
do him harm, but Jehovah's eye is sensibly touched.*
Saul persecuted the members of Christ's body upon
earth ; the Head in glory felt it. c Then, it will be our
truest wisdom, under all dispensations, however
troublous, to say, "It is the Lord: let him do what
seemeth him good." This will tend materially to alle-
viate our sorrows consolation will mingle with our
suffering, and being " saved from wrath through
Christ," all other trials will be light we shall " be-
lieve verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land
of the living;" and anticipate a full and everlasting
deliverance from pain and trouble when our now tri-
umphing Saviour shall have brought us with himself
to glory.
But, I think, we may perceive
(3.) and lastly, The privilege of prayer.
It is at all times a privilege to pray, but it is more
especially so in seasons of tribulation. In this also, as
in every thing pertaining to the Christian character,
our adorable Redeemer " hath left us an example."
How often did he retire to " a solitary place apart to
pray !" How did he " pour out his heart" in lone
Gethsemane! Again and again did he pray ; nor did
he cease to pray but with his expiring breath. His
prayers increased in depth of feeling and fervour with
his increasing agony. Though not, indeed, answered
in the particular matter of his prayer, yet was he an-
swered in a way the most consistent with the Divine
wisdom and prudence. And how pained was he with
v Dan. ix. 23. b Zech. ii. 8. c Acts ix. 5.
GKTHSEMANE 301
the conduct of his followers ! Again and again did he
exhort them to watch and pray: and wherefore? Be-
cause he knew full well how much watchfulness and
prayer would avail for their good. I fear this same
Jesus comes and finds too many of us careless and re-
miss. Perhaps some there are that cannot watch with
him one hour, and others that are not disposed to watch
with him at all. O vile ingratitude! Would it be
deemed a privilege to ask some earthly Potentate a fa-
vour when and as often as we pleased ? How much
greater should we deem the privilege of " access with
boldness to the throne of grace !" Let us cease, Be-
loved, to go about telling our wants and cares and sor-
rows to the world, and let us say as David said, " When
my soul is in heaviness, I will complain unto my GOD ;"
and do as did David's Son, pray the more earnestly as
our troubles increase. Troubles may be coming upon
you that you are little aware of.* The pains of disso-
lution may be nearer to you than you suppose. Stand,
then, each of you, on your watch-tower : " Be ye alwaj
ready" ready to obey the voice which will soon say to
us all " Rise, let us go hence:" and when ye go
hence, may it be to follow your gracious and redeem-
ing Lord not to a Gethsemane of woe and .blood,
but to a paradise of unmingled pleasure, untold fe-
licity, and ceaseless praise!
* How truly verified ! Never will it be forgotten how forcibly
these words recurred to the Author's mind when recovering from a
state of insensibility on the morning of the Thursday after the de-
livery of this Discourse. Amidst the most agonizing pains, the
Passion of his Lord was the cordial that cheered and comforted him
Let the reader cherish the memory of a suffering Saviour.
DISCOURSE XXI.
DIVINE CHASTISEMENT CONDUCIVE TO HAPPINESS.
JOB V. 17, 18.
Behold, happy is the man whom God correctcth : there-
fore, despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
For he maketh sore and bindeth up, he woundeth and
his hands make whole.
How changeful and various are the incidents of hu-
man life ! How like are we, my Brethren, to " strang-
ers and sojourners upon Earth !" how subject to vicis-
situde ! how exposed to danger ! how liable to sick-
ness, painfulness, and weariness ! Now, it may be,
the Sunshine of happiness beams brightly on us ; our
way is pleasant and our prospect fair : Anon the sky
of our prosperity gathers blackness ; thick and lower-
ing clouds compass us about ; our hands hang down ;
our knees wax feeble, and privation, suffering, and
death, mark the way we go. Corrected, chastened,
wounded and made sore, have we lately been. It is,
however, permitted us to " rejoice from our sorrow."
The kindness of God's mercy and truth again cheers
and animates our recently sorrowing and afflicted hearts.
After a painful separation from you by dangerous ill-
ness, and a consequent suspension of our delightful la-
bours, I meet you once more in the flesh and am privi-
leged, though perceptibly, in much weakness and with
DIVINE CHASTISEMENT 303
much trembling, to say to you in the words of Eliphaz
to the afflicted Job, " Behold, happy is the man whom
God correcteth : therefore despise not thou the chast-
ening- of the Almighty. For he maketh sore and
bindeth up, he woundeth and his hands make whole,"
I purpose to inquire
I. When the correction of the Almighty con-
duces to our happiness :
And II. Why, consequently, it should not be de-
spised.
I am to inquire
I. When the correction of the Almighty conduces to
our happiness.
t{ Behold happy is the man whom God correcteth .'"
We are wayward sinful creatures. Correction we all
need. Our Almighty God and Father is at no loss for
ways and means to correct us, when there is a "needs-
be" for correction. The accidents, the pains, the
diseases, to which we are liable, are very various. Both
our minds and bodies are subjected to them ; and at
God's bidding the every faculty of our souls, and the
every organ of our bodies, may become an instrument
of correction to us : And this correction, sanctified by
the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, becomes to us
a means of happiness when
It induces thought. It is surprising with what lit-
tle thought we generally live. Of our temporal well-
being what we shall eat, what we shall drink, and
wherewithal we shall be clothed, we can think very
readily: but, of our souls, of God, of spiritual sub-
jects, and eternal things, how hardly can we think at
all ! Now, when the correction of the Almighty is
upon us, it leads us to say, " Wherefore hath the Lord
done thus ?"* and to pray, " Shew me wherefore thou
Deut. xxix. 24.
304 DIVINE CHASTISEMENT
contendest with me." b Hence thoughtful ness deepens
and increases : and when our minds are the most
sobered, when our thoughts are the most solemnized
and collected, we shall feel the happiest, and be then
the least unwilling for our te every thought to be
brought into subjection to Jesus Christ."
Correction conduces to our happiness also when it
reminds us of our frailty. We forget how frail we
are forget how soon the silver cord of life may be
loosened, the eyes grow dim, the cheeks colourless,
the limbs nerveless, the heart's pulsation cease, and the
whole frame of our clay tabernacle be levelled with
its parent dust. Now, " Godknoweth our frame ; he
remembereth that we are dust :" d to remind us of the
same humiliating truth, he wounds and makes us sore.
" O," says our merciful God, " O that they were wise,
that they understood this, that they would consider
their latter end!" 6 And the consideration of our lat-
ter end avails much to moderate our attachment to a
world the fashion of which passeth away, and from
which we ourselves are hastening. Happiest shall we
feel when most sensible of our Nature's frailty,and most
filled with the hope of immortality dead to the world
and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
But correction further promotes our happiness
when if induces more earnest prayer. Though we may
" love the Lord because he hath heard our voice and
our supplication,"' and though it may be our supreme
felicity to meditate on God and to commune with him,
yet is it no easy matter to keep alive the power and
ardour of religion in the soul. Nothing but habitual
watchfulness and prayer nothing but habitual com-
munion with God by faith in Christ, will do it. To
this we are naturally averse, and this natural aversion
doth remain even in them that are regenerate. 81 Few
of us, I believe, there are who know not, by painful
* Job x, 2. c 2 Cor. x, 5. a Ps. 103. 14.
Deut. xxxii, 29. Ps. 110.1, s Gal. v. 17.
CONDUCIVE TO HAPPINESS.
experience, how cold and formal, how negligent and
careless, we may become in prayer. Sometimes, like
David, we say in our hearts, " My mountain standeth
strong ; I shall never be moved :" To correct this
false security, God " hideth his face, and we are
troubled." 11 And happy are we if by our trouble we
be roused to greater and more importunate earnestness
in prayer. Even if wave follows wave, and "#//God's
billows and storms pass over our souls," still happy are
we if with our increasing agony, we pray, as did our
Lord and Saviour, " more fervently."* The cry of
" the poor destitute" the groan of the contrite spirit,
is music in Jehovah's ear. He only wounds that he
may heal, and corrects that his Name may be glorified
by our return to him with weeping and with supplica-
tion. "When he leads us into the wilderness, it is to
speak comfortably to us. 1
God's correction, moreover, conduces to our happi-
ness when it raises our minds in desire and fee/ing
above sublunary things. The soul, chastened and
corrected here, affects the rest which remains for her
hereafter. We view beyond the tearful vale in which
we sojourn, a world where nothing that defileth en-
tereth, and where, consequently, all is pure unmingled
blessedness. But who of all that are "taught of
God," is not occasionally constrained to adopt the
Psalmist's language f My soul cleaveth to the dust,"
and mournfully to cry " Quicken thou me according
to thy word ?" k To quicken us, God corrects us, and it is
his "loving correction" that "shall make us great."
We learn thereby to "walk by faith." The realities
of an eternal world being perceived, the occurrences
and pursuits of this world become, comparatively, tri-
* A purposed allusion is both here and elsewhere in this Dis-
course made to the preceding 1 Discourse on Gethsemane. That
Discourse was still fresh in the recollection of the many who were
listening to this. May it continue to be so!
Ps. 30, 7 Hos. ii, 14 k Ps. 119,25
X
306 DIVINE CHASTISEMENT
yial and unimportant. We admire the choice of
Mary, and choose the same. 1 ' In heart and mind we
thither ascend whither our Saviour Christ is gone be-
fore us/ And in such a frame as this we can set to
our seal that " Happy is the man whom God correct-
eth" that " it is better to be of a lowly spirit with the
humble, than to divide the spoil with the proud."
But lastly His correction promotes our happiness,
when it endears to us the Lord Jesus Christ. There is
no pain, no loss, no any thing, whereby God corrects
us, but tells us we are sinners. Our suffering is the
fruit of sin ; and when our sin in the universality of its
extent and the depth of its malignity, is discovered to
us, O how all-precious and all-desirable does Jesus
Christ become! As in the deluge, the ark was the
one only Refuge from the watery ruin, so when the
storms of God's displeasure pass over us, Christ is the
one only Saviour in whom we may " dwell safely from
the fear of evil." And dear soever as might be the
Ark to Noah and his family, Jesus is infinitely dearer
to the humbled, sorrowing, and believing sinner.
fr God," we read, ec so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son" for its redemption : And
never, perhaps, do we so fully and so gratefully ap-
preciate that gift as when we are racked with pain,
worn with disease, and when, standing on the verge
of time, we are about, expectantly, to wing our way
into the eternal world. Then INDEED it is happiness
to feel the Saviour precious then INDEED does his
preciousness appear to be, as it really is, vastly and
unutterably great.
Where, then, the correction of the Almighty in-
duces thought ; reminds us of our frailty ; leads to
more earnest prayer ; raises our minds in desire and
feeling above sublunary things ; and endears to us the
Lord Jesus Christ; it certainly becomes a matter of
thankfulness not to be "without chastisement:" and
i Luke x,. 42
CONDUCIVE TO HAPPINESS. 307
where these consequences, in any measure, result from
" the chastening of the Lord," there surely we may
say witli Eliphaz, ** Behold, happy is the man whom
God correcteth !"
Proceed we now to inquire
II. Why, consequently, it should not be despised.
It might almost suffice to say, Because it is condu-
cive to our happiness. But we observe further, The
chastening of the Lord should not be despised.
(I.) Because if is the chastening of a Father.
tl Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth," and that " even as
a Father the son in whom he de/ightet/i." m A beauti-
ful instance of his fatherly correction is afforded us in
the character of Ephraim. "Is Ephrairn my dear
son ? is he a pleasant child ? for since I spake against
him I do earnestly remember him still ; therefore my
bowels are troubled for him ; I will surely have mercy
upon him, saith the Lord."" A loving Father does
not " n'illingly afflict" a child, or cause him needless
grief: He is necessitated to do so by the child's un-
tovvardness, and even while he corrects him, "bowels
of compassion" yearn most tenderly towards him. "In
wrath God remembers mercy." Judgment is his
"strange work;" mercy his le delight." Are we,
then, ' in sorrow, trouble, pain, sickness, or any other
adversity?' Let us not despise the chastening of the
Lord. The Father of our spirits chastens us "for our
profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness" and
happiness. Amidst our severest sufferings God is our
Father still : and to his dear and adopted children he
will ever be "the Father of mercies" and "the God of
all comfort."
But let none despise the chastening of the Almighty
(2.) Because, thmigh almighty to kill and to de-
stroy, God is yet almighty to save and to deliver. He
may (and we for our evil deeds do most worthily de-
Prov. iii, 12 Jer. xxxi, 1820 Heb. xii, 9 10
308 DIVINE CHASTISEMENT
serve the chastisement) withdraw his gracious presence,
take from us all sensible comfort, and " make as
though he heard us not :" but " his arm is not short-
ened that it cannot save, nor is his ear heavy that it
cannot hear." A Father may "make as though he
heard not" the cry of a corrected child : nevertheless,
the cry of a broken and a contrite heart will gratify
and delight him. The humbled soul shall prove that
" God is love." And while God is " able to save to
the uttermost," need his troubled children to despair
of salvation? \Vitness Lot in Sodom: Isaac when
virtually offered in sacrifice : Jacob when met by
Esau : Israel in Egypt and during their forty years
sojourn in the wilderness : David when pursued by
the infuriated Saul : Peter when imprisoned at Jeru-
salem, and expecting his execution on the morrow :
Paul at Thessalonica, and innumerable others whose
names are in the Book of the Lord's remembrance.
Often is 'man's extremity God's opportunity/ and by
ways and means peculiarly his own, does the Lord
God of Israel fight for Israel. And however seem-
ingly against us things may be, we shall eventually
prove that saying true, " All things shall work to-
gether for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to his purpose."" 1 Then,
wherefore should our heart fail us under the chasten-
ing of the Almighty ? Wherefore should his chas-
tening be despised ?
Another reason why it should not be despised, is
(3.) Because God designs our spiritual good thereby.
This was the end or design of the Lord in all the af-
flictions of his servant Job. Severe as his afflictions
were, yet " the Lord was very pitiful, and of tender
mercy/" 1 and never, perhaps, had Job said, <c 1 abhor
myself'," and " I know that my Redeemer liveth" had
lie not been so severely afflicted. In like manner, the
Lord woundeth us, and maketh us sore, purposely far
P Rora. viii, 28 . James v, 11
CONDUCIVE TO HAPPINESS. "09
the manifestation of his own eternal power and good-
ness first in the humiliation and then in the salvation of
our souls. He perfects or magnifies his strength in
our weakness. He empties us of self, to fill us with
his Spirit. He tries our faith to prove its precious-
ness. What, then, ''though it he tried with fire,"
yet if it he "found unto praise and honour and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ," shall we despise the
" fire" that tries and purifies it ? r God discovers to
us our poverty, that we may desire and value " the
exceeding riches of his grace." He gives us to feel
" a sentence of death in ourselves" that we may the
more willinglyand gratefully accept " the eternal life
which he hath given us in his Son." He embitters
our temporal good for the furtherance of our spiritual
good ; and hence appears the excellence of the coun-
sel " My son, despise not thou the chastening of the
Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him."
Again, it should not be despised
(4 1 . ) Because Christ our Redeemer went before us to
glory through sufferings. Him do we "esteem stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted :" and can we expect to
pass on our way through life without chastisement ?
Is it not well for the Disciples to be as their Lord ?
Yes, truly: and, accordingly, we are "-predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his Son/** and "it
is given us (CIVEN us, as a peculiarly gracious and dis-
tinguishing privilege) not only to believe on him, but
also to suffer for his sake." 1 Then happy are we if
with Paul we have "fellowship with our Lord in his
sufferings !" Nothing should we despise that tends to
make us like Jesus Christ. Our tribulation may be
*' much," but if through it we enter the kingdom of
Heaven, a moment in glory will amply compensate a
life of trouble here. " Many sons" will the Almighty
Father bring with " the Captain of their salvation to
glory through sufferings."* Let not, then, those suf-
* 1 Pet i, 7 * Rom. Tiii, 29 * Phil, i, 29
* Htb. ii, 10
310 DIVINE CHASTISEMENT
ferings be despised which liken us to the Lord our
Leader arid Commander. " If we suffer, we shall also
reign with him."
A final reason we shall name why the chastening of
the Lord should not be despised, is
(5.) Because it tends to meet en us instnimentalhjfor
glory. While the cross and passion, the atonement
and worthiness, of the Lamb, form the alone merito-
rious ground of our justification, acceptance, and
peace ; jet do we need a meetness for " the inheritance
of the saints in Light." There must be a prepared-
ness of mind for its society, its converse, and its employ-
ments. This is no where so readily acquired as in
the School of affliction. In this School the Spirit
teaches : and suffering is that " rod of correction"
whereby he drives foolishness from our hearts. w When
do we feel so weaned from the world, when so fully
sensible of the world's emptiness and nothingness,
when so simply dependant on a Saviour, when so en-
tirely satisfied with a Saviour's treasured and exhaust-
less fulness, and when so earnestly desirous of another,
that is, an heavenly country, as when wo are in cir-
cumstances of sorrow and distress ? Look, at your
leisure, into 2 Cor. iv. 15 18., and 1 Pet. i. 6, 7. and
Rev. vii. 9 17. You will hence see that "all these
things are for your sakes," for <f the trial ofyour faith,"
" the perfecting ofyour hope," " the furtherance of
your joy," the " separation of the precious from the
vile" within you, and, consequently, the preparation
ofyour souls for glory. 1 have heard of one who en-
dured the severest pains with meekness, and while look-
ing unto Jesus for " mercy unto eternal life," obseiv-
ed, ' Every pang I feel does but increase my weight
of glory : let me, then, suffer on, nor dare to despise
the chastening of the Lord.'
I have now inquired, When the correction of the
Almighty conduces to our happiness ; and Why, con?
w Prov. xxii, 15
CONDUCIVE TO HAPPINESS. 3J1
sequently it should not be despised. I can only fur-
ther ADDRESS
( I .) Those of you who may hitherto have despised
the chastening of the Lord.
It is alas ! no happiness to you to have been cor-
rected. God hath once, yea twice, and it may be,
oftener, laid his chastening hand upon you : In body
you have been diseased and pained ; in mind distressed
and alarmed : but, so far from being the happier for
it, you are, perhaps, only the more careless and indif-
ferent. It is now a light thing with you to make
promises of amendment, and to forget them. The
day of your visitation passes away, and together with
it all that was felt and promised. But, O remember,
God's Spirit will not always strive with man. There
is a possibility of becoming " past feeling" and being
" given over to a reprobate mind." " Consider, then,
your ways/' Recollect the purposes of your mind as
you have lain upon your beds of sickness, and when a
day of gloom and sorrow hath passed over you. Think
how nearly your Minister hath been taken from you,
and deem it a mercy that your Watchman is permitted
once more, at least, to sound in your ear the trumpet
of reproof and warning. Believe me, as he lay upon
the bed of languishing, he was often " horribly afraid"
for some of you.* He cannot wish for you a greater
good than that you may feel wounded in spirit for
your sins, and burdened in conscience with a sense of
your sinfulness. Better for you, whatever pains you
may feel, better for you to be pained now, than for you
hereafter to hear that fearful word addressed to you,
" Behold, ye despiscrs, and wonder, and perish /" y If
you perish, you will wonder indeed at the folly of do-
* Ps 119, 53* y Actsxiii, 41
* Which see. This text was much on the Author's mind with reference \a
some of his People, and with reference to one hi particular. The faith and love
of many were the joy ; the irreligion of others, the serrow, of his heart.
312 DIVINE CHASTISEMENT
spising and neglecting the chastisements of the Al-
mighty. But may grace be given you truly to repent
and unfeignedly to believe his holy Gospel ! So shall
you by personal experience prove the happiness of the
man whom God correcteth, and say with the Psalmist,
11 Before I was afflicted, I went astray ; but now have
I kept thy word. It is good for me that I have been
afflicted ; that I might learn thy statutes. Let my
heart be sound in thy statutes ; that 1 be not ashamed."*
I address (2.) Those of you who may be in any
trouble.*
Whatever may be your trouble, " despise" it not.
Murmur not against any dispensation of the Almighty.
Think that ' behind a frowning Providence, he hides
a smiling face/ God loves you and therefore chastens
and corrects you. It is your own infirmity if you think
his mercy can come to an end or his promise fail. 1 It
is to exercise your graces that the Lord afflicts you.
Remember the sorrows ye witnessed in Gethsemane.
<r Ye have not yet resisted unto blood." Be thankful
that your trouble is not the punishment of your sins ;
that that was endured for you by your suffering surety,
and that now there can be no affliction which the Be-
liever in Jesus should not deem " light and momen-
tary/' It is to conduce to your happiness, that ye are
Bounded, corrected, and made sore. You are bidden
to " behold" that it is so. Then " be not faithless,
but believing." The greater your conflicts are, the
more glorious will be your victory. The deeper your
temporal sorrows are, the louder will be your eternal
praises. " Weep not for me" though I cannot but
feel most sensibly your sympathy. I am indeed taken
from you ; but, it may be, only for a season. I shall
* Brooks's ' Mute Christian under the Smarting Hod,' is an ex-
cellent little book. Every page is consoling.
* Pa. 110, 677150 * Ps. 11, 810
CONDUCIVE TO HAPPINESS. 313
leave with you your Bible yea, rather, the Bible's
Alpha and Omega, the Lord Jesus Christ. Him you
may love : Him you may commune with : with Him
you may walk. While you ask for your Minister " a
prosperous journey," he will not cease to " commend
you to God and to the Word of his grace," and to
pray that we may all, one with another, reach that
happier World where He who maketh sore, bindeth
up, and He who woundeth will make whole for even
SUBMISSION.
Submissive to thy will, my God,
I all to thee resign ;
And bow before thy chast'ning rod ;
I mourn, but not repine.
Why should my foolish heart complain
When Wisdom, Truth, and Love,
Direct the stroke, inflict the pain,
And point to joys above?
How short are all my sufferings here !
How needful every cross !
Avaunt my unbelieving fear,
Nor call my gain my loss.
Then give, dear Lord, or take away,
I'll bless thy sacred name,
My JESUS yesterday, to-day,
Forever, is the same.
DISCOURSE XXII.
WHEN WELL WITH US; OR, A MINISTER'S INQUIRY.
2 KINGS iv, 26.
Is if well with thee ? is it well with thy husband? it it
well with thy child? And she answered. It is well.
FOR the particular occasion of these words, I must
refer you to their preceding context.* You will find
that a great and honourableWoman residing atShunem,
a city in the Tribe of Issachar, kindly entertained from
day to day, the Prophet Elisha. "What is to be done
for tbee ?" said Elisha, willing, by some means or
other, to recompense her hospitality. She cared not
to be spoken of to the King or to the Captain of his host :
<l I dwell, she said, among my own people/* and was
contented to remain retired and obscure among them.
Gehazi, however, Elisha's servant, answered, saying,
" Verily she hath no child." Elisha then propheti-
cally declared that by that time next year she should
embrace a Son. A Son was born to her. With many
a tender feeling we may easily suppose this pious Mo-
ther to have nursed her infant boy. Doubtless she
watched over him with the utmost maternal fondness,
and anticipated with earnest desire and hope the un-
foldings of reason, the maturity of years, and the obe-
825
WHEN WELL WITH US: 315
dience of filial love, in her darling child. But O,
how invariably is tribulation the path-way to glory !
this Shunammite's Son dies; his soul is required of
him, and that, ere he passes the bounds of playful boy-
hood : his Mother, in the recollection of the Prophet
and theProphet's promise, carries his now lifeless corpse
to where the Man of God was wont to rest, and laid
it on his bed. She then went out to go to Elisha.
Meeting with her husband, he dissuaded her, alleg-
ing as a reason that it was " neither New moon nor
Sabbath." And she said, " It shall be well." So she
came to where she might probably find the Man of
God, and Elisha seeing her afar off said to Gehazi,
"Behold, yonder is that Shunammite : Run now, I
pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with
thee? is it well with thy husband ? is it well with thy
child ? And she said, It is well/'
Such, briefly, was the occasion of our text. Now,
without particularly adverting to the case of this pious
woman or to the history of that holy man who found a
lodging in her house, I would say, as affectionately
solicitous of your welfare, Is it well with you ? My
heart's desire and prayer whilst I have been away and
distant from you, ("God knoweth") hath been that it
might be well with you: and now it is permitted me
again to minister in holy things among you, allow me
to enquire, " Is it well with thee? i* it well with thy
husband ? is it well with thy child ?" And may it be
your's, my beloved People, feelingly and truly to reply,
"It is well !"
There are two Inquiries which may very properly
head our present Discourse: FIRST, When may it be
said to be really well with us ? and SECONDLY, Whe-
ther it be thus well with you?
Let us enquire
FIRST, When may it be said to be really well with us?
It may be said to be well with us when we have food
and raiment, when our flocks and herds increase t when
316 WHEN WELL WITH US:
our hills and vales stand thick with corn ; when health
flows through our veins and mantles on our cheeks ;
when our habitations are the abodes of quietness and
comfort, and when the neighbourhood in which we
dwell is social, kind and friendly : but, if this is to be
well, and we are no better than " this World's good*'
can make us, we are well only for time, and as it re-
spects our frail and perishable bodies. In this sense, it
was well vuth Dives. Dives was a rich man : he was
clad with purple and fared sumptuously every day :
but amidst all his seeming sufficiency, he was really
wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
What was his joy? Where were the riches of his
soul ? Did he " hunger and thirst after righteous-
ness ?" Was he clad in ' the marriage garment re-
quired by God in holy Scripture ?' Did he see aught
that was amiable and lovely in Religion ? Was he
equal we say not in worldly wealth, wisdom, and ho-
nour ; but in excellence of character, in sterling
piety, and exalted hope, with the scorned and ne-
glected beggar that lay at his lordly gates ? As it re-
spected the body, it seemed well with Dives ; but
how fared it with his soul ? Temporally it seemed
well with him ; but was it well with him in Eternity ?
For it to be really well with us, therefore, we must
come to things which concern the soul, and which
have a reference to that Eternal World whither we
are going.
Have what we will without God, without Christ,
without his gracious Spirit, and a hope inspired by
him, of immortal glory after death, we have nothing
really worth having : Whereas, want what we will
with God, with Christ, and with that hope the Holy-
Ghost inspires, we have all that can make us really
happy in time and for ever. And thus it may be as
well, shall I say ? yea, rather infinitely better with a
poor pious man in a cottage, than it is with a rich un-
godly man in a palace. So "faithful and worthy of
all acceptation is the saying, that Godliness is profit'
OR, A MINISTER'S INQUIRY. 317
able unto all things, having promise of the life that nois
is, andofthutictiich is to come." ti
Mark, then, what follows : It is well with us if oar
soufc have been awakened ; if we have found forgive-
ness ; if the Lord Jesus Christ be precious to us ;
and if we be now walking in newness of life.
By nature we are all "dead in trespasses and sin." c
Our Church acknowledges herself to be totally desti-
tute of spiritual health, and prays in her Burial Service
to be 'raised from the death of sin unto the life of
righteousness.' In this state the Gospel finds us.
Speaking by his Word, God says, " It is high time to
awake out of sleep :" d " Awake, therefore, thou that
sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light."' This voice quickeneth whom God plea-
seth ; light is communicated ; darkness passes away,
and the soul is awakened from its slumbers in igno-
rance and sin. Roused from our former apathy and
carelessness, we begin to see that however well we
once thought it with u, it is well no longer. Our secu-
rity was danger ; our life was death. We were walk-
ing on the brink of a fathomless gulph. We were
enemies to God. Amidst all our professions of Chris-
tianity, we perceived not the loveliness of its Founder,
we enjoyed nothing of its humbling yet ennobling
Spirit. Our morals, however specious, were all un-
sound : they wanted "the unction of the Holy One"
to give them vitality and worth ; and we doubt not
but they were sinful before God/ Our sins which
we imagined to be few and venial, are numberless
and heinous. Hell, from beneath seems moved to
meet us at our coming ; and in the anguish of our heart
we cry with the affrighted Jailor, "What must I
do to be saved ?" Our souls being thus awakened,
we shall be led earnestly to desire forgiveness.
Now, it is well with us if ise have found forgive-
*> 1 Tim. iv, 8, 9. c Eph. ii, 1, aid Cd. ii, 13.
A Rom. iii, .11 Eph v, 14. ' I rov. xv, 89
318 WHEN WELL WITH US:
ness. Forgiveness of sin may le found. " Your sins
and your iniquities will I remember no more/' is the
gracious promise of a gracious God : s and, " We
have redemption through his, that is, the Sa-
viour's blood, even the forgiveness of' Sins," h is
the unhesitating declaration of St. Paul. ' The
forgiveness of sins* forms, too, an Article of our
Creed ; though alas ! very few, we fear, of the
many who profess to believe in it, really enjoy a con-
sciousness of God's forgiving love. It is the privilege
only of the Believer to do so, and it is well with us if
we can look up to the eternal God as to our reconciled
Father in Christ. The rebellion of a child is forgotten
by a Father in the overflowing abundance of a Fa-
ther's love: but the children of God themselves will
et remember and forget not how they provoked the
Lord:" Indeed, they are bidden to remember and to
forget not their provocations :' and, " My soul," will
they individually say, " hath them still in remem-
brance and is humbled in me :" k but yet, while they
are humbled in the remembrance of their sins, they will
rejoice in the mercy that spares and forgives them.
And if we have obtained mercy, the Medium of mercy
will be precious to us ; and if the Lord Jesus Christ be
precious to us, it is well with us really and truly well.
He comes to the penitent and sorrowing sinner, and
brings with him spiritual health and cure. He binds up
the broken heart ; pours into its wounds the wine and
oil of comfort ; heals its every care ; renews its every
thought ; and makes it an habitation for himself, through
the Spirit. 1 He draws the affections and desires of the
soul heaven-ward. He enriches his people with "dur-
able riches and righteousness." He calls them " Bre-
thren" and "Friends." Himself becomes their joy in
sorrow, their strength in weakness, and their life in
death. " To them that believe, he is precious :" m and
g Heb. viii, 12. '> Eph. i, 7. > Deut. ix, 7.
* Lam. iii, 20. i Eph, ii, 22. TO 1 Pet. ii, 7,
OR A MINISTER'S INQUIRY. 319
well it must be with all who feel his preciousness. True ;
they may have troubles to endure, and crosses to sus-
tain ; but amidst and under them, it is well. Jesus is
with his Disciples in the ship, and though he may suffer
the winds and waves to be tempestuous, yet can he,
when he pleases speak the storm into a calm and bring
his followers to " the haven where they would be."
And if Christ be precious to us if we feel our obliga-
tions to his love, obedience to him will be sweet and
easy. And if we be now walking in newness of life, it
is well with us. Naturally, our conversation is "ac-
cording to the course of this world, according to the
Prince of the power of the air, the Spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom
also we all had our conversation in times past."" After
the humiliation and justification of our souls by the
Holy Spirit of our Lord, our conversation is according
to the Gospel, "in simplicity and godly sincerity." We
cannot willingly offend a Friend whom we love One
whose kindnesses are great and unwearied, and whose
pitying mercy hath passed by numberless slights and
provocations.
"Talk they of morals ? O thou bleeding Lamb,
"The grand morality is love of Thee."
The "redeemed of the Lord" will delight to do his
will. They will " have respect unto all God's com-
mandments," and deem his "commandments con-
cerning all things to be right." Every sin will be
hated; every virtue will be loved. { Necessarily/
says our Church, and necessarily do we maintain, will
'good works spring out of a true and lively faith. ' p Ho-
liness is the element of the new-born soul ; and " what-
soever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and
of good report," will be the things which the new-
born soul will invariably and constantly affect, prefer,
and value. q
* Eph. ii, 23. * 2 Cor. i, 12. r Art. xii-
* Phil, iv, 8.
320 WHEN WELL WITH US:
If then our souls have been awakened ; if we have
found forgiveness ; if Christ be precious to us ; and if
we be walking in newness of life if, in short, we be
practically acquainted with these things, it is well, and
really well with us.
Suffer me now to enquire
SECONDLY, Whether it be thus well with you ?
You may, as you have seen, be well as it respects
this world and your abiding in it. Your bodily health
may be good, and you may have many years and much
enjoyment in apparent prospect before you. Your
worldly circumstancess too may be prosperous, and
you may be adding field to field and house to house
pulling down your barns and building greater, and
laying up goods in store for a long while to come.
But, is it well with your souls? Would it be well
with you, do you think, if God were now to require
your souls of you ? Inquire, I pray you. Have your
souls been ever yet awakened from the sleep of spiritual
death ? Have you ever yet experienced a transition
from Nature's gross and palpable darkness into the
divine and marvellous light of grace ? r Did the
prayer { Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O
Lord/ ever come with warmth of feeling and ear-
nestness of desire from your heart ? Do you feel
the daily renewing of the Spirit? Do all ignorant
prejudices, all evil passions, and all corrupt affections,
die in you ; and do all things belonging to the Spirit
live and grow in you ? Are the eyes of your under-
standing opened to discern the nature, the evil, and the
consequence of sin ? See you your danger whilst
without God and without his pardoning mercy in the
world? If you have been thus awakened, it is well :
if not, you cannot to our inquiry," " Is it well with
thee?" reply in the words of the Shunammite, "It is
well"
* 1 Pet. ii, 0*
OR, A MINISTER'S INQUIRY. -321
Again : Felt you ever your need of mercy / Has
a sensibility of your guiltiness ever constrained you to
seek for mercy ? Have you, like her who had lost one
of her ten pieces of silver, sought for it " till you have
found it ?" Is your heart " sprinkled from an evil
conscience ?" Do you daily prove the power of a
Saviour's blood to cleanse you from all sin ? People
often talk of God's mercy, and say ' The Lord is mer-
ciful :' So he is ; but have you tasted the sweetness of
his mercy ? Rather, do not some of you make the
Lord's mercifulness an excuse for carelessness and al-
most a plea for sin ? If so, it cannot possibly be well
\\ith you. On the contrary, if you have desired and
sought and found forgiveness, or (to come down to
the lowest movement of spiritual existence) if you are
desiring only and seeking to find forgiveness, it is and
shall be well with you. In the language of my gra-
cious Lord I say to you, " Ask and you shall receive;
seek and you shall find ; knock and the door shall be
opened unto you." ' Miserable sinners' ye may be :
but ' the holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, the three
Persons and the one God' of our worship and adora-
tion, will surely have mercy upon you. " I know that
it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear
before him." s
Further : What do you love most ? Christ or the
world? Christ or worldly pleasure? Christ or the
increase of your temporal wealth and honour ?
Christ or yourself? What is your chief joy? The
Christian " rejoices in Christ Jesus:'" Is he the ob-
ject of your rejoicing? Inquire: for the object in
which any one finds most satisfaction and pleasure,
will commonly discover that person's real taste, dispo-
sition, and character. " Know ye, then, any thing of
"joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ?" See
ve Christ's suitability to your soul's necessity ? Fed
s Ecc. viii, 12. ' Pliil. iii.tt.
32*2 WHEN WELL WITH US :
ye his preciousncss ? Which would ye accept if I
could offer you in the one hand a million of silver or
gold, and in the other Christ and his righteousness ?
Which could you lose most readily, your earthly all
or your interest in the Son of God ? Whilst his
people are " a crown of glory and a royal diadem" to
him, he is " for a crown of glory and for a. diadem of
beauty" unto them : v He is admired in them,, and they
are saved in him. " The Lord's delight is in them
that fear him ;" and them that fear him delight in the
Lord. " The joy of the Lord is their strength :" w and
when his countenance shines brightly on them, it af-
fords a more abundant and sublimer gladness to their
hearts than any increase of corn and wine and oil
could do. x Does your experience confirm our testi-
mony? If it does, it is well with you ; if not, and
you see " no form or comeliness in Jesus Christ, that
you should desire him," you cannot to our inquiry
answer, " It is well."
Lastly: In what way are you living.? The way in
which we live will most clearly evidence whether we
have been awakened, forgiven, and " accepted in the
Beloved/' or not, and, consequently, whether it be
well with us or not. Now, inquire : Is your conver-
sation lf a good conversation in Christ ?" Is the Lord's
Day a delight to you ? Is his Word pleasant to your
taste, yea, (t sweeter than honey or the droppings of
the honey-comb ?" Is prayer your daily and continual
practice ? A Christian, we believe, cannot live with-
out prayer: Can you? Is it with you a privilege to
approach ' the throne of the heavenly grace/ and to
pour out your hearts before him that sits thereon ?
With humble boldness do you supplicate salvation
there ? Does your life accord with your prayers ?
This it is that manifests a new and altered state of
mind. If there be a change wrought by the Spirit of
God within, there will soon be a change perceptible
* Isa. xxviii, 5. Ixii, 3. w Neh. viii, 10. x Ps. 4, 67.
OR, A MINISTER'S INQUIRY. 323
without. "The tree will be known by its fruits :"
" Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles ?" y
Are honesty, sobriety, temperance, meekness, brotherly
kindness, yea, all the fruits of a new and gracious Na-
ture, apparent in you ? If they be, then are ye "trees
of righteousness," and it is well with you. May ye be
more and more fruitful in the ways of your Lord!
"Herein, he says, is my Father glorified, if ye bear
much fruit :" z May you, under the Spirit's quicken-
ing and hallowing influences, carefully avoid every
thought, every word, every deed, that would dis-
honour the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and may ye be solicitous unweariedly to walk worthy
of the vocation wherewith ye are called ! And O that
those of you to whom it must conclusively appear
that it is not well, may be stirred up to cry, " Heal
me, O Lord, and I shall be healed ; save me, and I
shall be saved :" a Then will the Lord become your
" praise," and whatever may be your earthly circum-
stances, jou will look Heaven-ward and say, "It is
well."
I have now inquired, When it may be said to be
really well with us, and Whether it be thus well with
you. And I shall close by COMMENDING the piety of
the Shunammite Woman to your notice and imitation.
"It is well!" said this woman in reply to the in-
quiry, "Is it well with thee? is it well with thy hus-
band? is it well with thy child ?" What sweet sub-
mission to the will of God does this answer evidence?
She had lost her son, and that son her only child : Her
heart was wrung with grief (and what heart but feels
when filial and parental ties are severed ?) She had
yet to announce her infant's death to its fond Father,
and before her lay a childless cheerless remnant of hu-
man life : and yet she says, " It is well." Hence you
may learn that piety consists in suffering no less than
y Matt, vii, 16. * John xv, 8. Jer. xvii, H.
WHEN \VKI,L WITH US:
in doing the will of God. To suffer the will of Got!
is more difficult than to do it: consequently, the re-
signation of our will to the Divine will in sorrowful
and afflictive circumstances, indicates higher attain-
ment in pious and devout affection than active and
pleasant obedience does. To this advance in piety
should you aspire. It is well when, like St. Paul, we
can take pleasure not only in easy and cheering cir-
cumstances, but in weaknesses, necessities, and dis-
tresses for Christ's sake, knowing that the confidence
of our hearts in sorrow will exalt and honour him more
than when mercy beams with uninterrupted bright-
ness on us. This pious woman (as in the commence-
men of our Discourse we intimated) went to Elisha :
She fell with prostrate reverence at his feet : The man
of God came with her to her house : " He prayed
unto the Lord" to reanimate the now lifeless body of
the Shunammite's son : His prayer is heard : and the
delighted mother again embraces her beloved child.
All was well : and she knew that amidst the darkest
dispensations of his Providence, God was still, to those
who feared and served him, the God of truth and
love. Then " Who is among you that feareth the
Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walk-
eth in darkness and hath no light ? Let him trust in
the name of the Lord and stay upon his God. J>b "The
mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed ; but
.my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall
the Covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord,
that hath mercy on thee.'" Dare to believe that "//
things shall work together," though you see not how
or by what means they shall do so, for your good.
Mysteriously ashe sometimes works, you shall eventu-
ally say, " The Lord hath done all things well."
Distressing as was the death of the Shunammite's son,
yet He that smote him had thoughts of love towards
him. God's design was gracious, though the means
Jsa. 1, 10. l Ib. liv, 10.
OR, A MINISTER'S 1NQIIRY. '125
uf its accomplishment were painful. Be then the
Psalmist's determination your's, " 1 will bless the
Lord at all times ; his praise shall continually be in
my mouth. " d Say to every one who would discourage
your believing confidence in God, " It shall be well/'
With herself, her husband, and her child, the Shu-
nammite said it was well. Beautiful instance of
Family Piety this ! See here, ye mothers, ye fathers,
ye children, how with one heart and one mind, ye
should serve the Lord. One family among you has
been bereaved of an infant child : " Vexed in spirit"
may its dear parents be: but, is it not well with him ?
Would you bring his young immortal and now happy
spirit back to our world of suffering again ? O no ;
God might permit the return of the Shunammite's son
for the confirmation of her faith, and the increase of
her piety and devotion: but, in the light and conso-
lation of a more full and perfect revelation, it should
be your's resignedly to say, " I shall go to him, but he
shall not return to me." Pray ye to be made " as a
little child, 1 ' and then shall ye also enter the Redeem-
er's deathless and all-glorious kingdom. Be it the
endeavour of every wife and of every husband among
you to fulfil each one severally, and both harmo-
niously, their respective duties. Seek that it may be
really well with both yourselves and children. And
now that your usual means are with your Minister re-
stored to you, use them with new and earnest dili-
gence. As the Shunammite in her sorrow went to
Elisha, so do you make your Minister your friend.
Whilst " we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus
the Lord," we yet avow ourselves "your servants for
Jesus sake" Let us altogether be agreed to imitate
the imitable virtues of God's dear people, and be readv
under all the various calamities incident to our mortal
being, with meekness and lowliness of heart, to say,
"It is the Lord : let him do what seeiucth him i-ood."
O
d IV. 3-1. 1.
326 WHEN WELL WITH US:
Aud may the Lord, agreeably to his promise, " pour
his Spirit upon your seed and his blessing upon your
offspring/' 6 and enable you, ' to the praise of the
glory of his grace," to say from one generation to
another, " It is well ! It is well 1"
Isa. xliv, 3
DISCOURSE XXIII.
CAUSES AND CURE OF RELIGIOUS DECLENSION.
PSALM 85. 6.
Wilt Thou not revive. us again, that thy People maij re-
joice in Thee.
A KNOWLEDGE of the times and circumstances in
which many of the Psalms were written, is of great im-
portance, of so great importance indeed, that they
cannot, we are sure, be rightly or fully understood
without it. It is thus with reference to the 85th Psalm,
and to the verse especially which we have selected for
our text.
You well know that God called Abraham out of Ur
of the Chaldees, and led him to sojourn in aland which
he should afterwards possess for an inheritance. To
Abraham, Isaac was born : to Isaac was born Jacob :
Jacob had twelve sons, and these, from being the
founders of the twelve Tribes of Israel, are usually
termed the twelve patriarchs : the Patriarchs, moved
with envy, sold Joseph, their brother, into Egypt :
This circumstance eventually brought Jacob and all
his family thither. Thence, after a period of 430 years,
did the Lord bring out their descendants by the minis-
try of Moses and Aaron : With a high hand and a
stretched-out arm did He bring them through the
depths of the Sea, and ultimately into the Promised
Land. There they lived a prosperous and peculiar
328 CAUSES AND CUKE 01
people through successive ages. They declined, how-
ever, in purity of principle and integrity of heart, and
fell, consequently, into grossly sinful and idolatrous
practices. Their Scribes and Teachers became proud,
envious, factious, and malicious men. The glory of
their religion was lost in the earthliness of their views
and conduct. " Other lords, rather than the God
of their fathers, had dominion over them. To correct
their propensity to idolatry, God suffered their Land
to be invaded, their city, Jerusalem, to be taken, and
their beautiful temple to be destroyed. Multitudes
were carried captive to Babylon. They continued in
captivity 70 years, till cured, at length, of their prone-
ness to apostacy, God raised up for them a Deliverer,
Under the conduct of Ezra and Nehemiah, many of
them returned to Canaan. In Ezra i,2 4, you will iind
the Proclamation of Cyrus permitting their return, with
directions and authority to rebuild their once-famed
city and temple. Now, it was after the publication
of this decree, and in circumstances such as we have
related, that the 85th Psalm was composed. Thus it
begins " O Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy
land ; thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people; thou
liast covered all their sins ;" and then it goes on to de-
scribe the Author's exulting joy in the pardpning and
restoring mercy of the Lord ; and, arguing on the
ground of already experienced goodness, he asks,
" Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may
rejoice in thce?" We may suppose them on the way
to Canaan ; we may suppose them wearied in the
greatness of it : How natural, then, docs it scern to say,
" Wilt thou not revive us again ?"
But, my Brethren, these words are as descriptive of
our spiritual 9$ they were of the Jews' temporal condi-
tion. We were captives not indeed to a Babylonish
Monarch, but, to "the god of this world," "the
prince of the power 1 of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience :" We were
RELIGIOUS DEC'LENSION. 339
strangers not indeed in the land of Assyria, but,
" aliens from the common- wealth of Israel, and strang-
ers to the Covenants of Promise :" We groaned under
a cruel and oppressive bondage not indeed of a cor-
poreal, but of a spiritual kind ; Our hands and feet
were free, but our minds were fettered : And, just as
Cyrus issued a decree permitting the Jews to return
to Canaan, so has our Saviour-God " proclaimed li-
berty to the captives and the opening of the prison to
the bound." Many of us have professedly (t come out
of Babylon" renounced the world, and are on our
way to the celestial Canaan, " the Jerusalem that is
above." It may be also, we are " weary and faint in
our minds," and find it in our hearts to say, " Wilt
thou nut revive us again, that thy people may rejoice
in thee ?"
In further opening and discussing our subject, I
shall put my remarks under the two following heads:
I. The Causes of Religious Declension ;
And II. The Means of Spiritual Revival.
We notice
(1.) The CAUSES of Religious Declension :
That Religion does, both in Churches and Individuals,
often-timcs, decline, is, I conceive evident both from
Scripture and from Experience. The Scripture speaks
of some that "did run well," but were hindered, so that
they did not "go on to obey the truth."* It speaks,
too, of a man dispossessed of the devil, and describes
his mind as " empty, swept, and garnished," but the
powers of darkness repossess their empire over him,
and " the last state of that man is worse than the
first.*' 11 We read again of some who " through the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
escape the pollutions that are in the world, and are
yet " again entangled therein and overcome." Of
Gal. v, 7. b Mat. xii, 44. c 2 Ptt. ii, '20.
330 CAUSES AND C'URE OF
the Ephcsian Converts, we read, <c they had left their
first love," and of the Laodiceans they were become
lukewarm, " neither cold nor hot.'" 1 Experience
also evidences the same decline in Religion. How
commonly do religious professors complain of having
lost their first love ! They lose that warmth of feel-
ing, that ardour of desire, that buoyancy of hope, that
sweet and delightful consciousness of the Divine fa-
vour, which commonly marks the earlier stages of real
and spiritual piety. Our affections languish, our ex-
pectations cool, our views grow dim, and often in the
language of Job do we sigh, " O that I were as in
months passed, as in the days when God preserved me ;
when his candle sliincd on me, and when by his light
I walked through darkness !" e I have known some so
to decline in religion, as almost to wish they had made
no profession of it at all. Now, whence is this ? What
are the Causes of this Religious Declension ? Usually,
we believe, they will be found the following :
(1.) Remissness in secret duty. The great and
learned Doddridge observes that Religious Declen-
sion may almost invariably be dated from the Closet.
Persons may be interrupted and hindered in secret
duty, but this widely differs from a willing and unre-
gretted omission of it. The religion of the heart must
necessarily languish, when the heart ceases to com-
mune with itself and with its God in secrecy and re-
tirement. Prayer in the Church, in the Family, or in
the Social Circle, does not do away with the necessity
of Prayer alone with God. Hasty, thoughtless, care-
less, private devotion, will, on inquiry, be found fatally
ruinous to the interests of the soul.*
(2.) Inattention to God's Word. God's Word is the
food of our spiritual existence : inattention to it,
* la the delivery of this Discourse much was said, that cannot
ht re be repeated. The reader may enlarge in thought upon the se-
veral particulars here but briefly stated.
d Rtv. ii, 4, and iii, 10. c Job xxix 2, -3, &c
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 331
must, therefore, starve the soul. We say not that
poor uneducated people could read and understand
every thing the Bible says ; few or none, however
learned, can do this : but when that which was once
" the very joy and rejoicing of our heart," 6 becomes
insipid or tasteless to us, our religion must decline. It
is a sure sign of ill health when we nauseate our cus-
tomary food. The same simple and unadulterated
truth must nourish our after progress in the Christian
life as nourished its beginnings. We must never have
done with our Bibles, till all the Bible's verities be
wrought in our heart's experience, and our souls are
blessed with the fruition of all its promises. It is in
his Word our Shepherd speaks, and inattention to it,
will make his voice inaudible, and his voice unheard,
we shall " stumble upon dark mountains/' and wan-
der we know not whither.
(3.) Neglect of self-examination. It is impossible
but religion will decline unless its increase and perfec-
tion be desired and sought. And to insure its increase
and perfection, we must often be examining ourselves.
Religion in the human heart is just like a tender
plant in an unkindly soil : Unless it be watched, and
watched carefully too, it will wither and decay. There
is nothing in our nature congenial to it ; but rather
every thing that is opposed to its prevalence and
growth. " The root of the matter" must be " dug
about and dressed ; examined with circumspection
and care, and watered with Heavenly influences, if we
would " grow in grace and in the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour. Where the inquiries, What am
I ? How am I ? Where am I ? arc neglected, religion
will imperceptibly, it may be, but surely and really,
decline.
(4.) Allowed indulgence of some favourite sin. Per-
haps all have a sin which more easily besets them, as
St. Paul says, than others/ If this be spared and in-
c Jer. xv, 16 ' Heb. xii, 1.
332 CAUSES AND CURE OF
dulged, it will make prayers praycrless, and praises un-
meaning sound. It will prove another Aclian's wedge
of gold or Babylonish garment in our tent. 8 It will
prevent our warring a good and a successful warfare.
The native evils of our heart will prevail against us,
and our piety will become a poor, spiritless, joyless
thing. Our Lord's direction is to " cut off a right
hand and to pluck out a right eye" to exercise the
severest and most painful self-denial, rather than by
the retention and indulgence of any favourite sin to
"grieve his Spirit/' and thereby to subject ourselves
to exclusion and banishment from his presence and the
glory of his power. Often may it most pertinently be
said to one whose religion languishes, and whose soul
lt mourns sore as a dove," fe Has thou not procured
this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord
thy God, when he led thee by the way?" 1 '
(5.) Indifference to Public Means. Some persons
pretend to get above and beyond Public and Stated
Means : but this is mere spiritual pride and a delusion
of the Wicked One. In no stage of Christian Piety
are we to " neglect the assembling of ourselves toge-
ther." We are to " wait for the loving-kindness of
the Lord in the midst of his Temple." We are to
" keep holy day with them" that do so, till we ex-
change mortal for immortal worship. " Faith comes
by hearing," and it is " where two or three are gather-
ed in his name" that Jesus Christ has promised his
special presence. Religion has its public as well as
its private ordinances ; and if a trifling illness, the care
of a child, or the provision of a dinner, be allowed
frequently to detain us from "the great congregation,"
our Religion will soon become formal, cold, and list-
less. I believe it is from an infrequent or a constrain-
ed attendance on Public Means that many a religious
professor is necessitated so often and so feelingly to
cry, " My leanness ! My leanness !" s
See Josh, vii. i Jer. ii. 17. ' Isa. xxiv, 10.
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. .333
(0.) There is one other cause of Religious Declen-
sion which \e will denominate Self-complacency.
People become seriously impressed, they apparently re-
pent, reform, and, in the judgment of charity, they
are " converted from the error of their ways." It
may be they have sorrowed for their sins, prayed for
mercy, and gone just so far in religion as to persuade
themselves that they are now in no danger of hell, and
pretty sure of heaven. But, alas for them ! here they
rest, and here they fall into a careless, dark, unprofit-
able state of mind. If there was ever any real vitality
in their Religion, it now droops and dies. To the eye
of sense it may still seem fair and beautiful, but it
wants one thing GROWTH, and where growth in grace
is wanting 1 , there will soon remain a body without a
soul, a form unblessed with the power of godliness.
Mark, then, the usual CAUSES of Religious Declen-
sion Remissness in secret duty Inattention to God's
Word Neglect of self-examination Allowed indul-
gence of some favourite sin Indifference to Public
Means, and Self-complacency. And having noticed
these, we come to notice
II. The MEANS of Spiritual Revival :
The Means we shall specify are those which the
Scriptures alone will warrant. These, we hope, many
among you, Beloved, will be pleased to learn : for,
even we ourselves need a revival of God's work
amongst us and within us need a " Season of re-
freshing from the presence of the Lord." We, per-
haps do not feel all that earnestness in the use of
Means, that "joy and peace in believing," that
pleasure in religious exercises, that delight in God,
that sweet and almost impatient " looking for of
Christ" and glory, which we once felt. "We see
not our tokens" of spiritual prosperity, 1 and how rarely
now do we hear the inquiry, " Sirs, what must I do
' Ps. 74. 9.
334 CAUSES AND CURE OF
to le saved?" Well, therefore, may we take up the
words of Judah and say, "Wilt thou not revive us
again ?" And we are encouraged to expect a Spi-
ritual Revival, because " yet doth the Lord devise
Means whereby his banished be not expelled from
him."" Some of these I now proceed to notice.
Would you experience a Spiritual Revival ? Then
FIRST or ALL Recollect Yourselves. Recollection
is a great and valuable mean of spiritual good. Our
minds, through intercourse with the world, through
worldly and even necessary cares, and sometimes, it
may be, through an undue and improper indulgence
of the bodily senses, become dissipated and thought-
less. We feel weary and oppressed. Our zest for
heavenly things and employments is lost. We may in-
deed, like Gideon's army, be pursuing, but it is faintly.
Now, in such a case recollection will avail us much.
In Psalm 86 and llth verse is a prayer just suited to a
weary soul's necessity, " Unite my heart to fear thy
name:" unite my heart; gather up its scattered
thoughts ; unite its fallen and bewildered powers, and
let me live in the recollection and fear of thy dread
Majesty. Pray this prayer, and get your heart thus
united and recollected before God, and you shall yet
again be revived and feel yourselves "strong in the
Lord and in the power of his might. "
SECONDLY Humble yourselves. " Humble your-
selves, says the Spirit by St. Peter, " under the mighty
hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." 1 '
Humiliation of soul on account of our backslidings
certainly becomes us. " The mighty hand of God"
must justly punish our unwatchfulness and negli-
gence : but " He delighteth in mercy," and " He
shall save the humble person.'" 1 It is well to humble
ourselves even with fasting or abstinence from what, in
ordinary circumstances, would be allowable gratifica-
Acts xvi, 30. n 2 Sam. xiv, 14. Jud. viii, 14.
P 1 Epis. v, G. i Job xxii, 29.
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 335
lion. "I humbled my soul, says David, vtithfasfhig and
prayer." r And this will be found an effectual mean
to induce a genuine unaffected sorrow for sin and a
tender affectionate seriousness of spirit. God himself
condescends most graciously to encourage our use of
this mean, saying, " If my people, which are called
by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin." s
And with a renewed sense of God's forgiving and re-
deeming mercy, there will be new life and love and
fervour in his service.
THIRDLY Surrender yourselves anew to the Lord.
cc Give me thy heart," is the Lord's reasonable demand :
and I do not believe that while there is any reservation
of the heart for self or the world, there can possibly be
real and enduring happiness. Hesitation there may
be, and perhaps usually is in the earlier stages of spi-
ritual life, in surrendering ourselves to God ; but,
doubtless, the more simply and the more entirely, we
are enabled to do so, the more holy, the more happy,
and the more lively, we ;hall be. It is of great avail
to the soul's prosperity to be ever and anon devoting
self anew to the Lord. Never, certainly, is a Believer
so " satisfied, as it were, with marrow and fatness," as
when he can most truly say, ie O God, THOU ART MY
GOD ;" 1 *' and never, we are sure, arc we so sensibly
" alive unto God" as when we practically feel the im-
port of the words, u Ye are bought with a price :
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God's." v "I beseech you, therefore, Bre-
thren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bo-
dies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service."" And when you
* See a striking and beautiful Paper in Mrs. Howe's * Devout Ex-
ercises of the Heart' on these words.
r Ps. 35. 13, with which see also Ps. 69. 10, and Joel ii, 12.
' 2 Chron. vii, 14. Ps. 63. 1. v 1 for. vi, 20.
w Rom. xii, 1,
336 CAUSES AND CURE OF
\vant a Prayer of self-dedication, think of that in our
Communion office wherein we say, ( And here we
offer and present unto thee ourselves, our souls, and bo-
dies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto
thee.' Pray this Prajer as well as say it, and "the
consolations of God" shall not be " small with you." 5
FOURTHLY Give ipur selves unto extraordinary
prayer. We may not be able to command much lei-
sure : but, in the busiest life, time may be found to
pray. Have we more to concern us than David had ?
And yet he says, " / give myself unto prayer."* In
addition to his prayers, " seven times a-day" did
David f< praise the Lord."* Surely then it can be no
impossibility for us to pray. In hearfmny vie often be
looking heavenward, and the more frequently we do
so, the more constantly shall we be favoured with the
quickening and reviving influences of the Holy Spirit.
Should we, unhappily, be " so feeble that we cannot
speak," we may yet " look unto Jesus." " The sor-
rowful sighing of the Saints" reaches his ear ; and if
we only think believingly, " Lord, it tliou wilt, thou
canst make me whole," " the Lord will fulfil the de-
sire of them that fear him." "Return says he, ye
backsliding children, and I will heal your backslid-
ings." a And to the inquiry, t( Wilt thou not revive
us again ?" the Lord says, Yes ; " I will restore health
unto thee, and will heal thee." b Then where religion
has at all declined, and any have, in any measure, been
" beguiled from the simplicity that is in Christ," ex-
traordinary and earnest prayer, will be found a most
beneficial mean of good. Our strength will, thereby,
be renewed as the eagle's ; we shall run and not be
weary, walk and not faint. Even if our declension
be such, that we have little or no inclination left to
pray, yet let us make the effort ; and though we may
bow a very reluctant knee, and may be very straightened
x Job. xv. 11. y p s . ]()9, 4. / p s . 119, 1G4.
a J(r. iii, 22. h Jer. xxx, 17 'Isa. xl.31.
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 337
in desire, yet it may be the Lord " will have compas-
sion upon us," and so comfort and revive our souls
that it shall again become our felt determination, " I
will not let thee go except thou bless me." b Then
" Take with you words, and return unto the Lord :
say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us
graciously."' So will the Lord hear and cause you to
rejoice in him anev?.
FIFTHLY Attend with constancy your Public Means.
An irregular attendance on the public ordinances of
Religion is the occasion of much injury to yourselves
and discouragement to your Minister. Our office
is not to preach to walls and benches, but to im-
mortal souls, and to edify our people in the faith and
practice of the Gospel of Christ. It is cheering and
encouraging when we can say to a listening multitude
of attentive hearers, " O come, let us sing unto the
Lord, let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our sal-
vation." Would we, then, see our Zion rear her
drooping head? Would we " see Jerusalem in pros-
perity all our days," and the Saviour's blood-re-
deemed Church adorned and beautified with the fruits
and graces of the Spirit ?* Would we see " love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek-
ness, and temperance" increasing within us as indi-
viduals, and amongst us as a people ? Let ug " not
forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the
manner of some is." d Rather be it gladsome to our
souls, when any say to us, " Let us go unto the house
of the Lord." 6 Amiable and lovely are his Taberna-
cles, The more constantly we tread their hallowed
floor and gaze upon his " glory so as we have seen it
in his sanctuary," the more assuredly shall we " go
* Thornton on ' The Fruits of the Spirit' was a Book much read
aud liked amongst the People here addressed.
b tj(n. xxxii. 20. c Hos. \\v. 2, * Heb, x. 25,
Ps. 122 1.
Z
338 CAUSES AND CURE OF
from strength to strength/' and grow in preparedness
of mind for the purer worship and the sublimer joy of
the eternal Zion. From your closet should you come
into the congregation of the Faithful ; and from the
use of public means should you retire to your closet
again. Then would "the Lord be as the dew unto
Israel : Israel would grow as the lily, and cast forth
his roots as Lebanon : They would revive as the corn,
and grow as the vine:" or in other words, " be nei-
ther barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ."*
SIXTHLY Apply to yourselves what you hear and
read of' God's Word. t( I have a message from God
unto thee" said Ehud to Eglon -, s and individuality
of character will the Ambassador of Christ study to
address in his announcement of the Gospel. And,
therefore, " I will hear what the Lord God saith con-
cerning me" should be your individual determination
whensoever you hear and read the Scriptures. It is
the fault of many to hear and read for others. ' That
suits such an one : This suits such an one/ is often
the silent language of our heart whilst we are hearing
and reading the Word. Whereas, we should rather
say ' Does this speak to me? Does it condemn any
thing in my conduct? Does it command a something
which / do not ? Does it promise any thing that /
want?' In this way should we hear and read the
Scriptures. When hearers of the Gospel become
fastidious and critical, they grow cold and dull. A
corrective " leanness" is sent into their souls,' 1 and a
word " sharper than any two-edged sword" is neces-
sary to " try the thoughts and intents of their heart,"
to pierce and humble them. Suffer, then, the Word
you hear to come home to yourselves : Do so, and
"your profiting shall appear unto all."'
And LASTLY Cherish mutual and brotherly kind-
ness. Communion one with another in the way of
* Hos. xir. 6. 7. with 2. Pet. i. 8, e Judges Hi. 20.
h Ps. 106. 15. i J. Tim. iv, 15,
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION.
godliness, is sweetly refreshing to the soul. " Did
not our heartburn within us/' said the Disciples when
Jesus drew near and walked with them on the way to
Emmaus. k You remember our Discourse on ' The,
Communion of Saints:'* I would merely, therefore,
now observe that *' as iron sharpenethiron, so doth the
countenance of a man his friend." 1 See in the third
and fourth chapters of Ezra how the Jews encouraged
and strengthened one another in rebuilding their city
and temple. In like manner may you be tf building
yourselves up on your most holy faith." Let us pray
both with and for each other. Let our er communing
be only of peace." If a brother be <e overtaken in a
fault/ 1 do not let us spurn him from our society and
converse : It is enough that he is fallen ; do not let
us trample on him. " Consider thyself, lest thou also
be tempted" and fall. " Bear ye one another's bur-
dens, and so fulfil the Law of Christ." His Law or
Commandment is, " That ye love one another, as he
hath loved you :" And, " By this, he says, shall all
men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one
to another." Under all spiritual distresses, let us re-
member that our lt God doth not afflict willingly ;"
and that, therefore, we should forbear to aggravate
each other's woe. " He that hath torn will heal us ;"
and it should be our pleasure to "comfort one another."
Would we, then, that " He who hath shewed us
great and sore troubles, should quicken us again, and
bring us from the depths of the earth ?" Would we
that our Lord should revive us " increase our
greatness and comfort us on every side ?" Let us
use the Means of Spiritual Revival : and wherein-
soever our Religion has at all declined, let us Recol-
lect ourselves Humble ourselves Surrender our-
* Discouree XIX. of this volume.
k Luke xxiv. 32. ' Prov. xxvii,'17. m Jude 20.
" Gal. vi. 2. John xiii. 34. 35. Ps. 71; 20. 21.
340 CAUSES AND CURE OF
selves anew to God Give ourselves to extraordinary
prayer Attend with constancy our Public Means
Apply to ourselves what we hear and read of God's
Word, and Cherish mutual and brotherly kindness.
"Come, then, and let us return unto the Lord; for
he hath torn and he will heal us ; he hath smitten and
he will bind us up. After two days, he will revive
us : in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall
live in his sight." p
I have now noticed both The Causes of Religious
Declension, and The Means of Spiritual Revival.
And, protracted as our remarks may seem, I yet feel
unwilling to conclude without; adverting briefly to the
ADVANTAGE of a revived and cheerful state of mind.
I observe that this Advantage is great and estima-
ble. To ourselves it will be so. We shall " rejoice"
in the Lord anew. A new impulse will be given to
our religious feelings and affections. We shall " de-
light ourselves in the Lord," whilst our love one to-
wards each -other will more and more abound. Qur
Piety will be pleasant, active, and benevolent. We
shall enjoy with deeper gratitude our glorious free-
dom. The prospect of " that goodly heritage" to
which through the blood and righteousness of Christ,
we are entitled, as our future and all-blissful dwel-
ling-place, will make the wilderness in which we BQ-
journ tolerable. And, eventually, as Judah came to
the land of their fathers, so shall we come to " the
new Jerusalem." " We shall obtain joy and gladness ;
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Others,
too, will share the Advantage of our revival. Seeing
how lowly, how forbearing, how kind, how cheerful,
are ttye followers of Jesus ; they will be constrained
to think favourably of thatgracious Lord who " taketh
pleasure in the prosperity of his servants/' and to al-
low the excellence of that Religion which can make a
P Up*, vi. 1. 2.
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION 341
Fallen sinful creature so holy, so contented, so happy*
Saints will be edified ; timid Professors encouraged;
Mockers silenced ; Sinners convinced and won.
And, more than all, the Lord Jesus Christ, our " God
over all," will be magnified by our liveliness and zeal
in his service. He is not honoured by our grovelling
in the dust of sense and sin. It is not his wish that
we should walk in darkness. The doubts and fears^
the murmurs and complainings, of a declining state,
are not the songs which the children of Zion are called
to sing. If our harps hang on the willows of some
Babylonish stream, it is our sin that hath hung them
there. It is because we hearken not unto him, that
God casts us away, and we become Wanderers and for-
saken. 41 But if, when he goes and turns from us, we
acknowledge our sin and seek his face, he will turn
again and revive us, and cause us to rejoice in him.
And how free and unmerited will be the renewal of
our joy ! And how sedulously should we cherish
and preserve it for the honour of its gracious Donor!
Every mean in our power should we use to " honour
the Son." Emphatically is lie "the Restorer of the
breach." His Name it is that is " as ointment poured
forth" to revive the weary and oppressed. His Spirit
it is that must give efficacy to Means and revive us in
the use of them. Him, therefore, should we aim to
glorify in our professed subjection to him, and devo-
tion to his service. " Forgetting the things that are
behind, let us reach forth to the things that are before,
and press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus.'" And now, may the
Lord cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspira-
tion of his Holy Spirit ; increase in us true religion * t
fulfil us with his grace and heavenly benediction ;
make our Piety a lively, energetic, influential princi-
ple ; and give it to burn with still increasing purity
i Hos, ix, 17* r Phil* iiu 13. 14.
342 CAUSES AND CURE OF
and ardour till our deathless spirits shall be summoned
to the world of everlasting life and love and glory !
NOTE.
ALTHOUGH Self-examination forms no particular Head among
the Means of Spiritual Revival specified in the preceding- Discourse,
it is nevetheless implied in them all. The subjoined Form of self-
inquiry is with deference submitted to the Reader's notice as one
calculated to assist the weakness of the flesh, to clear up the state of
the soul, and to further its best and noblest interests. Of course,
its every particular should be separately and successively thought
upon.
1. MYSELF
.1. By Nature :
2. Grace ; and herein
My understanding ;
will;
affections ;
desires ;
purposes ;
And prospects both in time and in eternity.
II. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ;
My views of him ;
dependence on him ;
obedience to him ;
faith in him ;
'looking for him ;
And praying to him.
III. THE WORLD :
My feelings towards it ;
enjoyment of it ;
expectations from it ;
abiding in it ;
And dying to it.
IV. THE CHURCH :
My attachment to it
zeal for its prosperity ;
" regard to its Ministers ;
prayers for all Christian Societies ;
the Heathen ;
Jews ;
And universal prevalence of Christ's
[kingdom.
RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 343
V DEATH ;
My views of it ;
. meetness for it ;
hope in it ;
expectations beyond it.
And VI. THE END PROPOSED IN THIS SELF-SCRUTINY :
My acquaintance with myself and spiritual state ;
soul's deeper humiliation ;
And Redeemer's more abundant honour and exaltation.
DISCOURSE XXIV.
EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE.
JOEL ii, 12, 13.
Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me
with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weep-
ing, and with mourning, And rend your heart and
not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God;
for lie is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and
of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
THE time"in which the Prophet Joel wrote these
words was remarkable. His people had greatly cor-
rupted themselves. Sore and afflictive judgments were
coming upon them. The day of their visitation was
hastening on its way fraught with Divine displeasure.
Fire was to devour the pastures, and flame to burn up
the trees of the wood ; the rivers were to be dried up
and the flocks to be consumed. a Together with these
threats of desolation, however, the Prophet was bidden
to warn his people of their danger and to call them
to repentance. " Blow ye," said the Lord, " Blow
ye the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in rny
holy mountain ;* let all the inhabitants of the land
tremble ; for the^day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh
at hand." b Thus mercy mingles with displeasure, and
we see that amidst his severest judgments, "the Lord
a Ch. i, 19, 20. b Ch. ii, 1,
EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE. 345
our God is a merciful God," "not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. " c
Nor does this apply exclusively to the people among
whom the Prophet Joel sounded an alarm and blew a
warning trumpet, [t applies equally to us : for we
all are naturally " a stiff-necked and rebellious peo-
ple." Upon the careless and ungodly now no less
than in other and earlier times, "a day of darkness
and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness/'
rapidly approaches. " The day of the Lord is great
and very terrible." The sinners in Zion shall be
afraid ; fearfulness shall surprise the hypocrites. Still,
however, does the Lord in the Gospel of his Son, say,
" Repent," and beseech sinners, by the Heralds of his
mercy, to be reconciled unto Him/ "Now command*
eth he all men, every where, to repent." 6 He wills
not their death, nor hath he any pleasure at all that
they should die/ " Therefore also now, saitli the Lord,
turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fast-
ing, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend
your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the
Lord your God ; for he is gracious and merciful^ slow
to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of
the evil."
Now in these words, vte have, I conceive, plainly
declared
I. A duty:
II. The manner of its performance :
And III. Our encouragement to perform it.
We have declared
I. A DUTY.
This duty is To turn unto the Lord: (C turn ye
even unto me, saith the Lord." Here is at once im-
plied our alienation from the Lord our God, or our
b 2 Pet. iii, 9. c Isa. xxxiii, 14. * 2 COT. v, 20.
e Acts xvii, 30. ( Eztk. xviii, 23,
346 EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE.
natural state. And we need only say that we are
turnedyrow HIM, to say that we are fallen, depraved,
and sinful creatures { miserable sinners/ as we are
wont continually to acknowledge in the prayers and
confessions of our Church. In being turned . from
God, we are turned from light to darkness, from holi-
ness to sin, from blessedness to misery, from God to
Satan. One of our Homilies, speaking of Man in his
natural unchanged state, calls him 'half a beast and
half a devil/ alluding probably to Eph. ii, 3. Our Re-
formers in so saying might have said with Paul, " We
use great plainness of speech:" but, though plain,
can we doubt its truth ? Said not even the Psalmist,
" So foolish was I and ignorant, I was as a beast be-
fore thee ?" s and does not " the God of this world
blind the minds of them that believe not," and " rule
in all the children of disobedience ?" il Do we na-
turally delight either in God or in his Law ? Do we
not rather feel averse to both ? On the contrary, do
we not find it easy to " fulfil the desires of the flesh
and of the mind ?" And wherefore, but because it is
congenial with our taste and disposition to do so ? Is
it not the very language of human nature that says,
" Make the Lord God of Israel to cease from before
us?" 1 and again, " Depart from us ; for we desire not
the knowledge of thy ways ?" Now, then, our duty is
to "turn" from this state of alienation unto Him
from whom we have so deeply revolted " even unto
ME, saith the Lord God." We are not to turn from
one evil way to another, from one idol to another, from
one religious profession to another ; but unto GOD.
From him we have turned ; to him we must return.
But, 'How/ you will perhaps say to us; 'How is this ;
Have we not been told that we can no more turn or
convert ourselves to God, than the buried dead can,
of their own accord, rise up and walk ?' Yes ; you
* P*. 7.3. 22. i. 2 Cor. iv, 4. i Isa. xxx, 11.
k Job xxi, 14.
EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE.
have been told so ; and we still say that the condition
of man since the Fall is such that we cannot, by any
strength or ability in ourselves, turn ourselves to God.
Nevertheless, our inability to turn ourselves to Him,
does not lessen or do away with our obligation to do
so. There is a propriety in the exhortation "Turn ye"
which our sinfulness and consequent weakness, cannot
invalidate, It is, you observe, Almighty God himself
that exhorts us to turn unto him : our inability to do
so is our sin. And when any duty is enjoined upon
us, it is enjoined not because we are able of ourselves
to fulfil it, but because God is minded to shew us the
deep depravity of our fallen nature, and how surely
"without Him, we can do nothing."
* We cannot think a gracious thought,
We cannot feel a good desire,
Till He who spake the world from nought
The pow'r into our hearts inspire :
And then we in the Spirit groan,
And then we give Him back his own.'
His grace by Christ must prevent (or go before] us,
to renew our will and make it good, and must work
with us when we have that will. 1 Means of grace the
Lord hath appointed and bestowed upon us, whereby
we may obtain grace to do what he requireth of us.
" Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord :" " I can do all
things, and therefore this, may the contrite and be-
lieving sinner say, through Christ who strengthened
me." When an Almighty Saviour works within us
te both to will and to do," it becomes quite possible
with us to " work out our own salvation/" 11 "With
fear and trembling" with humble, earnest, persever-
ing diligence, indeed, it behoves us to labour : at the
same time, we may labour with assurance of ultimate
success, and everlasting triumph. To his penitent
and returning people, the Lord says, " How shall 1
Art, x. Phil, ii, 1-2, 13.
348 EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE.
put thee among* the children, and give thee a plea-
sant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations ?
and I said, Thou shalt call me, My Father ; and shaft
not turn away from we." And again the Lord says,
" I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and
/ will not turn away from them, to do them good." 11
Delightful promises ! Once returned unto the Lord,
ye shall not turn from him again ; nor will a forgiv-
ing faithful God turn away from you or cease to do
you good. Persuaded of this, our duty becomes our
privilege, and daily would we "take with us words
and turn unto the Lord our God."
Such being the duty enjoined, we come to notice
II. The MANNER of Its performance
" Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and
with fasting , and with weeping, and with mourning:
And rend your heart and not your garments, and turn
unto the Lor d r your God."
Observe, first, it is " with the heart" we are re-
quired to turn unto the Lord. No mere change of
opinion, reformation of life, or profession of godliness,
will suffice. Be it always remembered that " the
Lord looketh on the heart." If the heart be not right
with him, nothing is right. Many professedly turn
to God; but, their profession is the " Hail Master"
of Judas: they kiss him merely to betray him. Many
seemingly turn to God on the Sabbath in the ordinary
Services of the Church ; but of whom Gorl might
justly complain, <l This people draweth nigh to me
with their lips, and honoureth me with their mouth t
but their heart is far from me." p Now, such are ' dis-
semblers with God,' and to them God says, " In vain
do ye worship me."
Moreover, it is with our whole heart that we must
turn unto the Lord our God " turn ye unto me with
all your heart," is his command. Many persons, we
11 Jer. iii, 19. xxxii, 40. Acts viii, 21. P Matt, xv, S.
EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE. 349
believe, would turn to him, if they might do so with
part of their heart only, reserving some part of it for
themselves, the world, and sin. But, God will brook
no rival. No other lords beside him must have do-
minion over us. " Ye shall find me, when ye shall
seek for me with all your heart/' is the Lord's recorded
promise.* 1 It is with all the heart, with all the mind,
with all the strength, and with all the soul, we are
taught even in our infant days, the Lord our God
must be loved. This is the first and the great com-
mandment. 1 ' Let not, then, the Ministers of Jesus be
blamed as requiring too much of their People and as
making the way of life needlessly narrow and difficult :
with "#//your heart" does God himself require you
to turn unto him : Can we do more ?
And when the heart, with all its affections, motives,
and desires, returns to its rightful owner, there is no-
thing which delights its Owner more than to see it
touched with tender contrite sorrow. If angels joy
over one sinner that repenteth, we may well suppose
the Lord of angels to feel a peculiar pleasure when a
lost and wandering soul is found. Brought to him-
self, and restored to the enjoyment of his Father's fa-
vour, his Father will be for ever glorified and exalted
in him. Does the Lord see a poor sorrowing penitent
at his feet, imploring mercy and craving to be saved ?
He says, " I will surely have mercy upon him. " And
sweetly assured are we by Zephania, " He will save ;
he will rejoice over thee with joy ; he will rest in his
love ; he will joy over thee with singing." 8 While,
then, a sinner here below is turning " with fasting,
and with weeping, and with mourning" to the Lord,
there is joy in Heaven over him.
" With fasting" are we directed to turn unto the
Lord. I do approve of using such abstinence as will
tend, through grace, to bring the body into subjection
to the spirit, and further the life and power of religion
i Jer. xxix, 13. r Matt, xxii, 38. * Ch. iii, 17.
350 EXHORTATION TO REPEXTANCE.
in the soul. It is, doubtless, a mean whereby the
heart may more thoroughly be humbled, and more en-
tirely turned unto God. It may be (and, alas! too
surely is) unpopular in these days of degeneracy to in-
sist on this : but, it is plainly our duty to fast. ' Yes'
some would say to us f to fast from sin.' True ;
this is our duty at all times; but from what Jesus
Christ says in Matt, yi, it is clear he expected his fol-
lowers occasionally to abstain from meat, or what
usually would be a lawful gratification of the appetite.
He himself fasted. 1 His disciples, on one occasion,
could not eject a devil, and the reason assigned for it
is, because that kind of demon went not forth but by
prayer and fasting but by unusual means, and means
which probably the disciples were not, at that time,
exercising/ David fasted. w Daniel also andCornelius
fasted. x All the first followers of Christ, in short,
were " in fastings often. ' >y It is a means of grace
which the really devout of every age and place have
been wont to use. Our Church requires it of all her
members: and sure I am where occasional abstinence
is practiced, it will be found a most effectual means of
softening the mind into a tender seriousness, quicken-
ing the soul in the ways of Piety, and elevating the de-
sires and hopes above temporal and perishable things.
If fasting should induce mourning and weeping, a joy
will mingle with our sorrow of a diviner and a sub-
limer kind than any joy the worldling knows. The
tears of repentance bring their own relief; and much
soever as may be felt while we mourn and weep for
sin, we shall wish to feel still more. Self-denial is a
primary requisite in the religion ot Jesus Christ. 2 A
meek and lowly spirit is what the Saviour engages to
teach all that come to him and sit with modest teach-
ableness at his feet. a " A broken and a contrite heart"
* Matt, iv, 2. ^ Mark ix, 29. w 2 Sam xii, 16.
* Dan. ix, 3. Acts x, 30. y 2 Cor. xi, 27.
* Luke ix, 23. a Mutt, xi, 29.
EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE, 351
is that sacrifice which the Lord least of all despises. 1 *
Indeed, brokenness and contrition of heart, is that
rending of the heart which he requires of us. Among
the Jews it was usual to express vehemence of feeling
or iatenseness of grief, by rending the garments : but
" rend your heart," saith the Lord, "and not your gar-
ments" No external acts unaccompanied with inward
feeling constitute contrition. We oft times hear peo-
ple speak of a broken heart : but this is not that un-
affected sorrow for sin which the Lord despises not.
"The sorrow of the world worketh death" it is
<( godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto life."
The penitence of a truly contrite spirit, is widely dif-
ferent from the despair of the worldling. Hope and
joy mingle with the one; gloominess and horror com-
pose the other. Tears may bedew a Magdalen's or a
prodigal's cheeks : but they will be tears for having
wept no sooner, and these will the God of love and
mercy wipe away. Sorrows may possess the soul and
fears may distract the conscience ; but they will be as
the passing remnant of the storm which precedes the
Sun of righteousness ere he breaks in new and resplen-
dent glory on the humbled and returning sinner. The
heart may come with fasting, weeping, and mourning
to tiie Mercy- seat; but the blood of atonement awaits
it there, and He that sits thereon hath said, "I will
bring it health and cure.' 50 "O Israel," will he say,
"O sorrowing soul, thou hast destroyed thyself; but
in Me is thy help." d " Return unto Me, and I will
return unto you:" 6 " and whosoever cometh unto me,
I will in no wise cast out."
In this manner, then, tf let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts : and let
him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy
upon him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon," f And now from noticing The Manner in
b Ps. 5L 17 c Jerxxxiii.G * Hos. xiii. 9
Mai. iii. 7 f Isa. Iv. 7
352 EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE.
which the duty enjoined is required to be performed,
we notice
III. and finally. Our ENCOURAGEMENT to perform it.
" Turn ye unto me with fasting, and with weeping
and with mourning, and rend your heart and not your
garments, and turn unto the Lord your God FOR He
is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." Beautiful
words, my Brethren, these ! Their every syllable
breathes balm, consolation, and encouragement, to the
wounded Spirit. GRACIOUS MERCIFUL SLOW to an-
ger and O/'GREAT (O how great !) kindness, is the Lord
our God. Beautifully accordantis this language with
the Almighty's Revelation of himself to Moses whilst
Moses was hid in the cleft of the rock at Horeb. g And
all this loveliness of character do we see embodied in
the Man Christ Jesus. He is Emmanuel God ma-
nifest in the flesh. The fearful ness of Jehovah is veiled
in the goodness of Jesus. The Eternal Spirit says,
" Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you:"' 1
and draw nigh we may, assuring our heart of a gracious
reception, a merciful acceptance, a rich and an abun-
dant blessing. *' The Lord is nigh unto them that are
of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite
spirit."' "His secret also is among them that fear him,
and he will shew them his Covenant.'" 1 Is there, then,
among you one weeping penitent ? one weary sin-
ner ? one mournful soul ? Thus saith the Lord to
such an one, I am gracious : the riches of my grace
are given you in my Son : Come, taste my gracious-
ness : What want soever you may feel, I am (< the
God of all grace/' and therefore of that very and par-
ticular grace you need. I am "in Christ reconciling
the world unto myself:" Rend then your heart and
not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God,
ExoU, xxxiv, 10 h j ame8 ; Vf g i M Ps34, IS
k Ps 25, 14
EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE, 353
and ye shall find me gracious.' O what a sweet and
an attractive radiancy does the Christian Faith cast
around the character of the eternal Deity ! and how
should the assurance of hisgraciousness encourage our
individual return to him !
But, let me further ask : Is there one to whom T speak
that feels the weight and burden of his guiltiness ? one
that can feelingly and truly say, ' The remembrance
of my sins is grievous to me ; the burden of them is
intolerable ?' one whose bosom swells with unutter-
able prayer for mercy ? To that one God says, " I
am merciful: Come now and let us reason together,
saith the Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool." ra Groan ye may
" for anguish of spirit and tor cruel bondage :" but
He who saw with determination to deliver the afflic-
tion of Israel in Egypt, sees your sorrows also, and
kindly says, " I know them."" He will deliver you
too, for " his mercy is ever more and more towards
them that fear him." Vengeance, truly, is his ; and
he will recompence fury to his adversaries ; but in the
contrite and humble spirit " mercy shall be set up
and magnified for ever." Where he is gracious, the
Lord is merciful. Mercy spares whom grace redeems.
And it is the sweetest portion of our Message to any
lost and perishing fellow sinner whom we invite to
return unto the Lord, to assure him that the Lord to
whom we invite his return is merciful. Merciful !
Merciful! is the Lord your God: Oh! that ye may
taste the sweetness of his mercy !
Hut, ' O (does some poor heart-broken penitent ex-
claim) I have sinned so long and often ; 1 have turned
so entirely away from God ; I am so sinful ; I can only
dread a holy God's displeasure, and can scarcely hope
for mercy.' To such an one God says, "I am SLOW to
anger andqfoK.EA.T kindness." Judgment is a strange
m Isaiah i, 18. Exod. ifl, 7.
2 A
354 EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE
work with me : You fear me because you think of me
only as (i hating iniquity, transgression, and sin ;" and,
from the essential holiness of my nature constrained to
do so: but, look at me in your Mediator and Re-
deemer : think of the blood that streamed on Calvary :
think of the purpose for which it flowed : and though
humbled for your crimes, and mournful for Him you
pierced, you will not despair of mercy. Swift as an
arrow might my anger wound you ; but it is slow and
reluctant in its approaches to you. Your guiltiness
indeed is great : but my kindness is greater still : and
" With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you.'*
I smote your surety ; I cannot smite you too. " Look
unto me and beyesaved." p Need we aught more to
encourage us to " arise and go to our Father ?" Let
us beware how we dishonour him by doubting the
slowness of his anger and the greatness of his love.
It must not be doubted for a moment that "the Lord
is long suffering to us- ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repent-
ance/" 1 and that " his goodness is infinite."
Still, however, some trembling inquirer may say,
' Well ; but awful threatenings are pointed against
me : how shall I escape them ? ' Escape them ! easi-
ly : for u the Lord repenteth hi m of f be evil" and will
never execute his threatenings of displeasure on "the
souls that seek him." He repented of the evil he
thought to have inflicted on the Ninevites when the
ministry of Jonah led them, with fasting and with
weepingand with mourning, to humble themselves be-
fore him/ And " Who knovveth," asks the Prophet
Joel immediately after our text, " Who knoweth if he
will return, and repent, and leave a blessing behind
him P J And for whom would a blessing be left ? For
those, doubtless, who turned and sought him with
desire and fervency, and whose souls were humbled
o Isaiah liv, 3. P Isaiah xlr, 22. * 2 Pet. iii, fr
Jonah iii, 10.
EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE. 355
with fasting and weeping; and mourning. And would
not the blessing of the Lord enrich, console and pros-
per its favoured possessors for ever? And need they
fear the execution of God's threatenings upon them ?
Most surely not. Then fear thou not whosoever thou
art that would turn unto the Lord your God. Be not
discouraged. Cry, " Turn thou me and I shall be
turned." If any say, " Hold thy peace :" cry thou "so
much the more, Thou Son of David have mercy on
me." s Doubt not but he will soon command thee to
be brought unto him, and when he says, " What wilt
thou that 1 shall do unto thee ;" thou niayest ask what
thou wilt, and it shall be done for thee. Thy sinsshall
be whelmed beneath oblivion's wave, and "the days of*
thy mourning shall be ended." "For, thus saith the
High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose
name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the
heart of the contrite ones/"
Such is The duty ; The manner of its performance;
and Our encouragement to perform it, as declared in
the text before us. In closing, MARK
The dreadful consequence of final impenitence..
Let us suppose a sinner never to turn unto the Lord <
never to humble himself with fasting and weeping and
mourning for his sins : Let us suppose him to resist all
the beseeching intreaties of a merciful and gracious
God to repent and to believe the Gospel : Let us suppose
him to despise and reject the Saviour, to grieve the Spi-
rit, to quench theSpirit's influence, and to go on in the
perpetual love of himself, the world, and sin : Let us
suppose him, finally, to die in this state of hardened im-
penitence, O who can conceive the consequence of
a life and death such as we have supposed ? What de-
spairing horror, what agonizing dread, must seitfc art
* Luke xtiii, 39. * Isaiah Iv ii,I&
350 EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE.
imforgiven soul in the moment of its departure hence!
Fain would it, doubtless, turn unto the Lord ; but
" the door is shut" and no knock can open it. Fast
would it now, and weep and mourn, and that with
bitterness, if fasting, weeping, and mourning would
avail it aught : but, no; the cries and groans of peni-
tence in hell reach not the ear win not the notice, of
a slighted and forgotten God. Mercy is withheld;
vials of wrath are poured forth. Refuse the finally
impenitent may, the cup of God's displeasure : but,
'* it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup to drink,
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Ye shall CERTAINLV
drink. 3)i If any man soweth to the flesh, he shall of
the flesh, reap corruption. What he sows, he shall
reap. If he bow not to Jesus here, he shall kneel to
him hereafter. If he weep not now for sin, he shall
weep in hell. If he obtain not mercy and find not
grace in this world, the God of grace and mercy will
cease to be such in the world of future retribution.
And never Mill he repent him of the evil he thinks to
do to the finally impenitent: no, never: for while
" the righteous shall go into life eternal, the wicked
shall go away into everlasting punishment." "There-
fore, also, now saith the Lord, turn ye even unto me."
" Turn ye, turn ye ; for why will ye die ?" " Blessed,
truly, are them that mourn: for they shall be comfort-
ed." Gracious, kind, and merciful, is our God. " If
ye will return, return/' is his message to us. Oh !
then, let us arise and go unto our Father : "We, as
workers together with him, beseech you that ye receive
not the grace of God in vain." We warn you from
him : and we bid you mark the consequence of final
impenitence in hope that you yourselves will truly re-
peat and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel.
v Jer. xxv, 2S.
DISCOURSE XXV.
THE MANNER OF LOVE BESTOWED UPON US.
1 JOHN iii, 1, 2.
Behold, ichat manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us, that we should be called the sons of God :
therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew
him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and
it doth not ijet appear what we shall be; but, we know
that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for
we shall see him as he is.
THERE is a worth, a grandeur, a blessedness, in Re-
ligion, of which people in general have little or no
conception. Many think Religion very well in its
season, and some time or other, it may be, they
purpose to be religious. If the convenient season
ever comes, a somewhat more regular attendance on
Public Ordinances ; a more frequent perusal of the
Scriptures ; a little reformation of the outward con-
duct, and perhaps an occasional participation of the
Communion, quite suffices them, and constitutes the
sum total of their Religion. As to the amazing mys-
teries of the Christian Faith, and their practical influ-
ence on the heart and life, they remain in dark and
dismal ignorance. Indeed it is wonderful, and can
only be accounted for on the ground of our natural
depravity, that we have eyes' to see any thing but the
things which belong to our peace ; ears to hear any
THE MANNER OF
thing but the true sayings of God, and attention to
give to any thing rather than to that " one thing"
\vhich alone is really essential and absolutely necessary.
Say I this of myself? Is there no proof for our as-
sumption? Observe and see. How many are there
who can give most entirely and heartily six days of
the week to the world and to their worldly occupa-
tions and pursuits, and who yet find it hard to give
one, two, or three hours of the Sabbath to spiritual
and heavenly employments! How many are there,
too, who can give great and continued attention to
reading of a light and frothy kind, who yet take up
the Bihle with reluctance and read it as they would
read a dry uninteresting book ! How many, again,
are there who can sit with raptured willingness till
the midnight hour in a theatre, or some other resort
of fashionable folly, and see and hear the veriest, most
filthy and abominable trash, who would yet be pained
and wearied and inconvenienced to sit an hour in the
house of God, and under the ministration of his " glo-
rious Gospel !" And notwithstanding all this glaring
inconsistency, we must not, forsooth, dispute the title
of such inconsistent persons to the Christian name,
nor be allowed to doubt the reality of their religion.
But, Ministers of the Truth must be faithful. Amidst
all the arrant ignorance, the cruel prejudice, the cold
formality, and the self-devised piety, of the world,
they must "lift up their voice," and "spare not" to
unfold the deep deceivings of the carnal mind, to
make manifest the daik disguises of hypocrisy, to de-
tect and, if possible, to defeat the subtle devices of the
enemy, and to guide the humble and devout inquirer
into the truth of God. We must be imitators of Him
who in boundless and eternal mercy said, '-Behold
me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by
his name a rebellious people, which walked in away
that was not good, after their own thoughts."* '* BE-
a Isa. l.\v, 1, 2.
BESTOWED UPON US. 359
HOLD !" must we say to a thoughtless and deceived
generation, if haply they may be roused to inquiry
and concern, and " God, peradventure, will give them
repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth." 1 *
" Behold, then, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of
God : therefore the world knoweth us not because it
knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we
know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is."
In these words we see somewhat of the nature and
excellence of real Religion ; and from them we shall
be led to notice
I. The manner of love which the Father
hath bestowed upon us :
II. The consequences which flow to us from
that love :
And III. The attention with which the whole
should be regarded.
Let ns notice
I. The manner of love which the Father hath be-
stowed upon us.
God himself is "love." A more sublime idea,
an idea more pregnant with simple grandeur and bliss-
ful truth, was never couched in words, than when the
beloved disciple said, "Goo is LOVE" But our con-
cern at present is not with God as being love in his es-
seiyce, or in himself "the altogether lovely;" but ra-
ther with the manner of love be hath bestowed upon
us. This we say is
(1.) A sovereign love. God is a sovereign " the
great and only Potentate." He has, therefore, a right
to act as a sovereign and to bestow his love where,
b 2 Tiin. ii, 25,
360 THE MANNER OF LOVE
when, and on whom he pleases. Thi? he does without
accounting to any one for his bestowment of it. He
" called Abraham alone" from amongst his idolatrous
kindred/ " Jacob, says God, have 1 loved., but Esau
have I hated :" the one shall inherit a land flowing
\vith the milk and honey of rich and profuse abun-
dance ; the mountains and the heritage of the other
shall be laid waste for the dragons of the wilderness.* 1
We are saved according to a " purpose" formed in
Jehovah's mind before the foundation of the world
was laid. 6 ' We are chosen in Christ out of mankind,
to be brought by him to everlasting salvation as ves-
sels made to honour. 3t And in his choice, God acts
sovereignly, bestowing his love, as we have said, when,
where, and on whom he pleases. Without, in the
smallest measure, infringing on the responsibility ot
the creature, or his hereafter judgment t ' according
to the deeds done in the body :" Admitting, too, with
the utmost readiness, that Almighty God has " no
pleasure in the death of him that dieth," whilst " his
tender mercies are over all his works :" his love is, ne-
vertheless, confessedly, peculiar and distinguishing;
though, however peculiarized and distinguished some
may be, we admit not that injury is done to others.
Where all deserve to perish, no one has a right to com-
plain. God will be justified when he speaketh, and
clear when he judgeth.* There is not now an indi-
vidual member of the Saviour's holy and catholic
Church but will cordially adopt the language, " We
love him, because he FIRST loved us:"* h and in the day
of the consummation of all things, when God's sove-
reign love shall be fully manifest, it will doubtless be
the acknowledgement of all "Thou art righteous, O
* If the Reader think otherwise, he is at liberty to love God first
he can.
c Isaiah li, 2 * Comp. Rom. ix, 13, with Mai. i, 2. 3.
2 Tiro, i, 9. f Art. xvii. * Ps. 51. 4.
h Uohuiv, 19.
BESTOWED UPON US. 361
Lord, which art, and wast, and shall be, because thou
hast judged thus : Great and marvellous are thy works,
Lord God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways,
thou King of Saints."'
(2,) The love which the Father bestows upon us is
a gracious love. He bestows it : we neither earn nor
merit it. There could be nothing in sinful unholy
creatures to win the favourable loving-kindness of a
God "glorious in holiness" and supremely blessed.
Nor could sinful unholy creatures do aught either to
avert displeasure or to deserve grace. k The promise
of a Seed that should bruise the serpent's head, was
given even without solicitation on the part of man
and with the same gracious freedom was that promise
subsequently renewed in after ages, until the pre-ap-
pointed moment when the celestial Visitant said to the
virgin mother, " Thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."'
And still are " all concluded under sin." "There is
no difference" naturally in our state, and there would
be none but for the manner of love our Almighty Fa-
ther hath bestowed upon us. The people of Israel
found grace in the wilderness : m and it is " the grace
of God which bringeth salvation 3 ' to his people in
every age." Graciously doth he deal with us; gra-
ciously doth he grant us his Law ; graciously doth he
take away our iniquity, and graciously doth he receive
us. So that we may salute the every child of God's
gracious adoption, and say in the words of the Angel
to Mary, (f Hail, thou that art highly favoured !" or
in the words of the Angel to Daniel, " O man, greatly
beloved :" And sure we are every one so adopted and
beloved will readily acknowledge with St. Paul, " By
THE GRACE OF GOD I am what I am." 9
But (3.) the love which is bestowed upon us is a
redeeming love. " God so loved the world that he
s Rev. xv, 3 and XT i, 5. h Art.xiii. ' Luke i, 31,
m Jt:r xxxi,2. n Tit. ii, 11.
Gen.xxxiii, 11, Ps. 119.29,andHos.xir, 1. P ICor.xv, 10.
362 THE MANNER OF LOVE
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him might not perish, but have everlasting life.' ?q
.And the Son of God " gave himself for us, that he
might redeem us." r u And hereby perceive we the
love of God (the Son), because he laid down his life
for our sakes."" This is the wondrous proof of Di-
vine love. Had we been merely told that the Father
loved us with a sovereign and a gracious love, we
might, indeed, have been gratified and pleased with
the tidings ; but possibly a doubt whether the infi-
nitely holy God could love such utterly unwor-
thy creatures as we feel ourselves to be, might have
marred our gratification and pleasure. As it is, we
are assured our Father loves us. Christianity is "a
dispensation of the grace of God ; m and in the volun-
tary humility, the suffering life, and ignominious death,
of Jesus Christ, we see how much he loved us with
what manner of love, and how mercifully he designed
our redemption from sin and wretchedness. Yes ; in
our Redeemer's incarnation in the dangers of his in-
fant days in the persecutions of his maturer years
in the anguish of Gethsemane in the mockery of
Herod's judgment-hall in the thorny crown the
scourge, the cross and all its untold agonies, we see
the manner of love wherewith our Father loved us.
We see it, too, in the mission of the Spirit to quicken
and regenerate our souls. We see it in that Eden of
delight which stretches prospectively before us into
realms of glory. We see it in the deadening of our
affections towards things seen and temporal and the
drawment of our minds Heaven-ward. We see it in all
these things, and in the every of his multiplied mercies,
that "in his love and in his pity he redeems us." v
(4.) The Father's love toward us is, finally, an
everlasting love. "From everlasting to everlasting is
God's mercy upon them that fear him." w We may
Johniii, 16. ' Tit. ii, 14. * 1 John iii, 16.
* Eph.iii.2. v Isa. hiii, 9. w Ps. 103. 17.
BESTOWED UPON US. 363
heap millions of ages upon millions of ages, and
through and beyond them all will the love of God to-
wards his redeemed and believing people be extended.
True ; he will remind us of our base original point
us to " the rock whence we were hewed and to the
hole of the pit whence we were digged, and " cause
us to know our abominations" but, he will say,
" Now when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in
thine own blood, I looked upon thee, and, behold,
thy time was the time of love ; and I spread my skirt
over thee, and covered thy nakedness : yea, I sware
unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith
the Lord God, and thou becamest mine. I washed
thee: I anointed thee: I clothed thee: I decked
thee: thou wast exceeding beautiful: thy renown
went forth among the heathen for thy beauty; for it
was perfect through my comeliness that I put upon
thee, saith the Lord God." x In accordance with this
peculiarly striking Scripture, Paul says, " while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us," y while we were
yet " ungodly," "polluted in our own blood," mo-
rally and spiritually unclean, did our Almighty Father
love us ; because he loved us he "drew us (for " no man.
cometh unto the Sonexceptthe Father which hath sent
}rim,(/raic him," z ) as with the cords of loveand with the
bonds of a man" to his Son. a In Christ we are accepted,
and in him we are " complete." 5 The meek and lowly
does God beautify with salvation. Over them he
" rests in his love, and rejoices even with singing:"
and of them individually does he say, " I have loved
thee with an everlasting love, THEREFORE with loving-
kindness have I drawn thee." d Hence whom the Lord
loved, he still loves, and will love on for ever. It
cannot be that the Lord should forget to be gracious,
or that his promise should fail. It is our own infir-
x Ezek. xvi, 6 14. y Rom. v, 8. z John vi, 44.
* Hos. >i, 4, b Eph. i, 6. Col. ii, 10. Ps. 149, 4,
11 Jer. xxxi, 3,.
364 THE MANNER OF LOVE
mity if we think the contrary. 6 The life he given us
in and through his Son is an eternal life ; and through
its eternally enduring ages will God bestow his love
in still richer and more abundant measures on the
souls of the Redeemed.
Mark, then, the manner of love which the Father
hath bestowed upon us ; It is a sovereign, a gracious,
a redeeming, an everlasting love.
\Ve notice
II. The consequences which flow to us from that
love :
The consequences which flow to us from the sove-
reign, the gracious, the redeeming, and theeverlasting
love of the Father, are inconceivably great and glori-
ous. Two only are named in our text: to these we
shall confine our attention. These two consequences
are the one, Present adoption into God's family : the
other, Future restoration to his image.
There is, first, Adoption into God's family : " that
we should be called," says St. John, <v the sons of God "
God has a family a family of happy and rejoicing
children/ In Cor. vi, 18, we read of the "sons and
daughters of the Lord Almighty." A name even bet-
ter than that of sons and daughters is promised to them
who keep the Sabbaths of the Lord and take hold on
his Covenant.? And " because ye are sons," says Paul
to the Galatian converts, " God hath sent forth the
Spirit of his Son into your heart, crying, Abba, Fa-
ther !" h This is that " Spirit of adoption" 1 which
reveals the Father's love, sheds abroad a reciprocal af-
fection in the regenerate heart, testifies of Jesus, loos-
ens the bands of wickedness, sets the oppressed pri-
soner free, seals us unto the day of our full redemption,
and " witnesses with our spirits" that we are really and
truly the adopted children of the eternal Father. And
e Ps. 77. 8. t Eph. iii, 15. * Tsa. Ivi, 4. 5.
h Cb. iv, 6. ' Horn, viii, 15,
BRSTOWED UPON US. 365
what a privilege is this ! Who can conceive its value ?
who can describe its glory ? " CHILDREN OF GOD, and
if children, then HEIRS : heirs OF GOD, and JOINT HEIRS
\VITH CHRIST." And of what are his children heirs ?
Of "glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life." O
world in which we sojourn, what are your riches, titles,
pleasures, friendships, compared with this? O how
all-inferior are ye to "the goodly heritage" of the
sons of God ! And observe, <f Beloved : now are
we sons of God," now are we such ; it is a present
consequence of our Father's love. If cur earthly
Sovereign were to stoop from his exalted throne,
and notice kindly one of your poor children ; adopt
him, provide for him, and confer upon him some
earthly dignity ; it would occasion much remark and
gratulation, doubtless, among the friends and neigh-
bours of your child: but how beneath the condescend-
ing goodness of the Lord and the glory of his adopted
children, would this be ! It is true, our ennobling
privileges, our unfettered hopes, our brilliant pros-
pects, come not under the observation of the world :
" the world knoweth us not." It knew not God when
he "was manifest in the flesh." " He came unto his
own, and his own received him not." It cannot, there-
fore, be expected that his children should be known
and received. In fact, they are commonly despised
and rejected. Their motives are misjudged and deemed
insincere ; their conduct is misrepresented and con-
demned. As to their peace, and joy, and hope; the
source of their placidity, and the end of all they suffer,
the world is totally ignorant. It is, however, because
the world is swayed by the Prince of darkness, and its
pitiable subjects ''know not the Lord," that therefore
" it knoweth us not " But, blessed are the sons ofGod,
though the world be ignorant of them and acknowledge
them not. With personal appropriation can they look
up to the dread I AM, " the Lord of lords, and the
King of kings," and say, " Our Father." With con-
scious joy do they possess " the redemption that is in
366 THE MANNER OF LOVE
Christ Jesus." Love is the habitual disposition of
their mind. Kindliness is the sphere in which they
move. They tr walk with God as dear children ;"
and in the world they are as the blossoms of the rose
which cheer and enliven the world's moral and spirit-
nal desert. k Religion with them is no outward un-
meaning thing; itis a felt and powerful reality. We
admit, indeed, that in our present state of imperfect
being, we are but heirs not possessors fully of our
goodly heritage. We are under " tutors and govern-
ors now under discipline and correction : but when
"the time appointed of our Father is come/' we shall
inherit all that the sons of God are " by grace through
faith" entitled to possess. For, as another conse-
quence which flows to us from our Father's love,
there is
Secondly, a Future restoration to his image: "it doth
not yet appear what we shall be how great, how ho-
ly, how happy ; but we know that, when he shall ap-
pear, we shall be like him : for we shall see him as he
is." In his image, we were originally formed ; to
his image it is our Father's purpose to restore us. " In
the image of God created He man:" " To be con-
formed anew to the image of his Son," are we declared
to be predestinated. 1 It is now the great Regenerator's
office to renew within us the moral likeness of the
Deity : by and by the Saviour whom we look for from
Heaven, will appear and "change our vile body, that
it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.'" u
"The time of the restitution of all things" approaches;
the new Heavens' and the new Earth's Creator is on
his new creating embassage ; the* if Behold, I create
all things new" will soon meet the listening ear of his
dear children ; the morning of an endless day will soon
dawn upon the dark and dreary tomb, and as it hastens
on its way, the every child of God may say, " As for
Isaiah xxxv, 1. ' Gen. i, 27. Rom. riii, 29.
Phil. iii r 21.
B ESTO \V E D U P N US. 307
me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be
satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. " n Satisfied
shall we be with our God and with all his dealings to-
wards us: satisfied with ourselves; with our abode;
with our company; with our employments; fully
and for ever satisfied. We shall " see God." We
shall "see him AS HE is." Nor that alone : the bea-
tific vision will be transforming in its influence upon
us. As the excellencies of the Godhead become ma-
nifest to our adoring gaze, we shall become like the
excellence we adore. Thinjt who it is that says this :
it is John ; it is the loving and beloved Disciple that
Disciple who had witnessed the transfiguration of his
Lord on the holy mount ; that had seen the new Je-
rusalem ; had seen the multitude of the redeemed from
the Earth, and heard their voice as it had been the
voice of many waters or of mighty thunderings, saying,
Alleluia! it is he who says Cf when we see him we
shall be like him." And, O, who can conceive what
these few and simple words imply 1 Ponder over them
as much and long as we please, our meditation must
close with the acknowledgement of John, " It doth
not yet appear what we shall be." It must suffice us
now to know that when we see our Lord, we shall be
like him. Mansions; kingdoms; crowns ; await the
sons of God in glory. Their inheritance is " an inhe-
ritance in light." What makes our world a world of
suffering and sorrow ? The darkness of ignorance
and sin. What will make our Heaven hereafter?
The presence of God and of the Lamb. " God is
Light :" " the Lamb is the Light thereof:" His chil-
dren are " children of light and of the day." " There
shall be," says St John, " no night there." No :
the brilliancy of an eternal noon prevails in Heaven.
We shall there " know even as also we are known" -
be " perfect as our Father is perfect," and " holy as
He who hath called us is holy." "As we have borne
* Ps. 17. 15 Rev. xxii, 5
368 THE MANNER OF LOVE
ihe image of the earthy, we shall also hear the image
of the heavenly." This world may not know us, ac-
knowledge us, love us: we shall be known, acknow-
ledged, and beloved there. That world will know us
because it knows our Lord. He is well known there
as the sun and centre of celestial blessedness : and
we shall, too, be known as the objects of our Father's
sovereign, gracious, redeeming, and everlasting love.
The uttermost of his salvation shall we prove, and joy
for ever in the consequences of that love which the Fa-
ther hath bestowed upon us.
Having noticed The manner of love which the Fa-
ther hath bestowed upon us, and The consequences
which flow to us from that love ; it remains only to
notice
III. And finally, The attention with which the whole
should be regarded.
We may be sure that, in general, where the word
" Behold" occurs in Scripture, there is a something
annexed to it worthy of our closest attention. And
to what with more propriety could " Behold" be af-
fixed than to the manner of love which the Father
hath bestowed upon us and to the consequences which
flow to us from it ? With reverent and profound at-
tention, then, let us regard these things. Whilst the
religion of the many is so superficial and defective, let
us seek to have our minds imbued with the Spirit of
the Gospel. To this end, I would say, Do not be sa-
tisfied with any attention with which you may regard
the truth unless it deepens your humility, strengthens
your confidence, and excites your love.
Your attention should deepen your humility. (< As
the elect of God, holy and beloved," we are exhorted
to put on ''humbleness of mind."* Contemplation on
undeserved favour tends materially to produce this.
The more we see of God ; his love ; his truth ; his
P Col. iii, 12.
BESTOWED UPON US. 3G9
grace and faithfulness, the more lowly in our own eves
shall we become. It was when the Lord God was
"pacified toward Israel/' that Israel was to " remem-
ber and be confounded, and never open his mouth any
more because of his shame/" 1 In like manner, if we
have any evidence of God's love within us if our
heart be sprinkled from an evil conscience if we enjoy
a consciousness of the Divine favour, and feel at peace
with all above us and about us, it should lead us each
to say, ' Why me, Lord, why me ? Why pass by the
angels that kept not their first estate, and assume my
nature? Why pass by, too, millions of my fellow-
creatures, and fasten thy regards on me? Why do /
choose thee while so many reject thee ? How am /
within the door of mercy, whilst others neither knock
for admittance nor care to come when called? What
has changed me from a rebel to a child? Why does
the cross of Jesus so comfort and delight my soul,
while many with indifferent heedlessness crucify him
afresh ? Why do / look for thine appearing, Lord,
while many dread thy coming? O why am I thus,
and whence is my Lord so gracious and merciful to
me ? y Reasoning such as this will tend to deepen
your humility. You will lie low before the Lord.
Grateful and admiring wonder will fill your souls. The
manner of love bestowed on you will appear to be as
it really is, a marvellous mercy. Like Abraham you
will confess yourselves to be " but dust and ashes. " r
Like Jacob you will say, " I am not worthy of the
least of all the mercy and of all the truth thou shewest
me. J " . Like Paul you will feel yourselves to be " less
than the least.'" With Zechariah you will exclaim,
"How great is his goodness!"* or with John, " Be-
hold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us I"
i Ezck. xvi, 63. r Gen. xviii, 27 Ib. xxxii, 10.
Eph. iii, 8 v ' Ch. ix. 17.
2 U
THE MANNER OF LOVE
Your attention also should strengthen your confi-
dence. We are very far from recommending a pre-
sumptuous confidence^ Some persons, it pities us to say,
ean talk of the love a-nd the grace of God with great
fluency of expression, and much apparent earnestness
of manner, and yet evidence a very unhwmbled spirit
and live a very unchristian life. Now, this we call a
ruinous self-deception : or might, perhaps, more pro-
perly denominate, a satanic delusion. No : the grace
of God which bringeth salvation teacheth us to deny
ALL ungodliness and worldly lusts. Every man that
hath a hope in God, purifieth himself, even as he is
pure : v and such an one may most surely confide in
the power and love and mercy of the God for whom
he waits and in whose likeness he trusts to awake.
Doubts and fears do not certainly honour a Father
of mercies and a faithful God. Their indulgence,
we believe to be sinful, because they implicate the
veracity of God, and oppose the prevalence of. his
Spirit's consolation. To increase, then, your confi-
dence, contemplate attentively the manner of love be-
stowed on you. Think how free, how full, how
changeless, is that love. Think of your present adop-
tion into God's dear family, and your prospective
glory. To your weakness, oppose your Redeemer's
strength ; to your sinfulness his righteousness ; to your
poverty his riches; to your doubts his promises. Think
how ye were loved while yet ye were aliens, foreign-
ers, and strangers both to your God and to his cove-
nant. Mark the 11 and 19 verses of the chap, whence
our text is taken, and be ambitious to say as unhesi-
tatingly as- the beloved disciple said ' We KNOW ;
we KNOW." Only behold the love of God and see
yourselves interested in its consequences, and then may
you believe yourselves addressed in that beautiful pas-
sage, wherein your Father himself speaks to his adopted
children, saying, " Be strong and of a good courage:.
v See Context.
BESTOWED UPON US. 371
tie strong and very courageous ; be not afraid, neither
be thou dismayed ; for the Lord thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest." w " I know," should you
individually aspire to say, " I know whom I have be-
lieved, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day."*
In that day will you receive your ' perfect consumma-
tion and bliss both in body and soul/ and prove that
thrice repeated declaration true '''And my people
shall ne'cer be ashamed."' 3
Your attention, in fine, should excite your love.
" The love of Christ" was the grand and constraining
principle of St. Paul's conduct. It was his apology
to those \vho thought his and his fellow-labourer's zeal
excessive. 2 And it is this, only this, principle of
love, that will make obedience willing and delightful.
Whatever, then, will, as a means, increase our love to
our God and Saviour, should be greatly valued and
carefully improved. Now, the Holy Ghost will bless
to you devout and earnest attention to the manner of
love bestowed upon you. While you muse, the fire
will kindle." It is here the religion of the generality
is so defective : it wants the ardour and the warmth
of love. The works of a watch, however exquisitely
made, will not answer their intended end without a
mainspring : In like manner, the forms of religion,
however apostolical or correct, will avail but little, if
love do not animate the whole. How, do you ask,
can we love an unseen Saviour ? I answer, easily. If
one whom we never saw nor had an opportunity of
seeing, did us a kindness, spake favourably of us, and
bestowed on us, through another's mediation, some
needed help, should we not feel, when informed of his
beneficence, the kindlings of a grateful affection in our
heart towards him ? Suppose this friend to be our
Almighty Father : let us think upon his love in
w Jos. i, G. 9. * 2 Tim. i, 12. y .Tool ii, 2T,27.
2 Cor. v, 14. 15, Ps. 39. 3.
372 THE MANNER OF LOVE BESTOWED UPON US.
Christ Jesus towards us : could we do so long, un-
moved ? Should we not rather realize the sentiment
of Peter in his 1 Epis. i, 8 ?* And from contem-
plating our Father's love in Jesus towards us, we our-
selves should become lovely lovely in temper, lovely
in conduct. Enemies would again be compelled to
say, * See how these Christians love one another !'
Our religion would be deep, energetic, and influen-
tial. It would then be no difficulty to forego every
thing that is opposed to a Father's will and pleasure.
His word ; his day ; his ways ; his children, would all
be loved. Suspect your regard to the love bestowed
upon you, while you yourselves remain cold and unaf-
fected. Meditate upon it till you can truly say, in
(he language of a favourite hymn,
"Jesus, my soul adoring bends
To love so full, so free :
But may I hope that love extends
* Its sacred power to me ?
What glad returns can I impart
For favours so divine ?
O take my all my worthless heart,
And make it only thine."
* The Author knows nothing more admirable on the admission,
use, and exercise of the affections in Religion than Section 11 r 'h;i{>-
ter III. of Wilberforce's Practical view of Christianity. To this the
Reader is referred.
DISCOURSE XXVI.
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED.
ACTS xvii. 11. 12.
. These were more noble than those at Thessalonica, in
that they received the Word with all readiness of
mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether
these things were so. Therefore many of' them be-
lieved*
IN the xvi. chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we
have some account of Paul and Silas's travels. After
visiting the cities of Derbe and Lystra, and travelling
through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia, they came
into-'-'Macedonia. At Philippi, a large and beautiful
city of Macedonia, they halted. Persecution, however,
awaited these Preachers of the Gospel there. Though
a certain woman named Lydia, whose heart the Lord
opened, attended unto the things which were spoken
by Paul, yet others whose iniquitous gains were en-
dangered, rose up together against Paul and Silas,
and committed them as troublers of their city to the
common prison. Stripes, however, imprisonment,
and scorn, cannot greatly affect the happiness of be-
lievers in Jeeus. " At midnight Paul and Silas prayed,
and sang praises unto God." Nor was God inatten-
tive to the voice of their prayer and the melody of
Uicir praisfe. Miraculously did he interpose for the
374 SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED.
delivery of his servants : and through his wonder-
working power, the Jailor himself was constrained to
bring Paul and Silas forth, and to inquire, " Sirs,
what must / do to be saved ?" Leaving him and
all his house converts to the faith and love of Jesus
Christ, they called on the pious Lydia ; saw their few
despised brethren ; comforted them, and departed,
Passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they
came, we read in the xvii. chapter, to Thessalouica,
where was a Synagogue of the Jews, and where Paul,
as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sab-
bath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures.
Here, too, was the enmity of the carnal mind roused
and excited against the holy humbling truths of the
Gospel. A regular process of persecution was com-
menced against Paul and his companion. This envious
and malicious interference, induced the Brethren im-
mediately to send away Paul and Silas by night unto
Berea, (another city of Macedonia) who coming
thither, went as they were wont, into the Synagogue
of the Jews. Now, The Bereans were more noble than
those of Thessalonica, In that they received the Word
with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures
daily whether these things were so. Therefore many
of them believed.
This is the passage of holy Writ we purpose to con-
sider ; in our consideration of it, we shall mark particu-
larly these three things :
I. The disposition of mind with which the
Bereans received the Word :
II. The conduct which it led them to pursue :
And III. The ejfect which their pursuit produced.
Let us mark
I. The disposition of mind with which the Bereans
received the Word.
They <l received the Word with all readiness of
mind." The aversion which humaii nature feels to
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED. 375
the Truth of God was destroyed in the Bereans. They
felt their helplessness and were willing to be led. Dis-
satisfied with tkeir present imperfect views, they prayed
for further and more satisfactory information.* By
revelation, Paul assuredly gathered that the Lord had
tailed Silas and himself to preach the Gospel unto them.
Coming to Berea, they found the Bereans assembled in
the house of God. They were together presentbefore the
Lord to " hear words whereby they might be saved."
The mind of the hearer was as soil prepared for the
seed ready to receive what the Preacher should be
disposed and influenced to say. Paul, doubtless, re-
membered among the Bereans his determination to
" know nothing save Jesus Christ and him crucified."**
If he, by no means, gloried in any thing, save only the
cross of his Divine Master, we may naturally suppose
that Paul " preached Christ" Christ \n all his essen-
tial excellence and peculiar glory; Christ in all the
variety of his characters and offices ; Christ in all the
aboundings of his love and truth and mercy, unto the
Bereans. Many things which Paul might say, were
probably new to them : apparently, too, opposed to
their sentiments and contrary to their habits and pur-
suits ; but, such was the docility and teachableness of
their mind, that they were willingly content to be
hearers not teachers, learners not Judges. They were
assembled to get good to their souls, and to be made
wise unto salvation. This was the disposition where-
with the Bereans received the Word ; and this ought to
6e, let me observe, the disposition of mind with which
all should hear it. But, is IT? Is not, rather, the
Ministry of the Gospel usually attended with little or
no readiness of mind to receive it? If it were other-
wise, whence is it so few, comparatively, receive the
Word, or get any real and enduring good by our mi-
nistration of it? We preach the fall of man, his
Acts chap, xvi, 9. 1(X b 1 Cor. ii. 2.
376 SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED.
apostacy and ruin ; but, who believe and feel them-
selves fallen, " alienated from God by wicked works,"
and, while destitute of a personal interest in the only
Saviour, ruined and lost for ever? We declare the
nature, the prevalence, and the consequence of sin ;
but, who feels its " exceeding sinfulness," and " flees
from the wrath to come" as he would fly from a pile
of burning buildings? We publish " glad tidings"
tidings of great and joyous import tidings which
\vould honour an angel from the realms of glory to an-
nounce; but, " Who," (may we with Isaiah ask)
" Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed?" We assure our hearers
of the transitoriness of all things here below, and point
their hopes and expectations to a world of eternally
enduring friendship, pleasure, and enjoyment ; but,
who s loosens from earth the grasp of fond desire'
and affects that fulness of joy and those ever flowing
rivers of delight which are at God's right hand in
glory? And why is this? why is our Word so inef-
fectual ? It is because our hearers have so little readi-
ness of mind to receive it. The minds of the generality
are either as soft a water or as hard as rock. If you.
dip your finger in water, an impression will be easily
made : the moment you withdraw your finger, the im-
pression vanishes. You may, too, pour water upon
a rock, but it all runs off; it never penetrates and
fructifies the stone. In like manner, many hearers of
the Word are easily impressed, whilst others remain
hardened and unmoved : but the impression of the
former is evanescent, and the latter continue still
"the stony ground" whereon sow what we will, no
fruit is brought forth unto perfection.
Now, it is this too easy or too careless disposition
\vhich we wish to correct. In order to correct it, suf-
fer me to remark, that as surely as the preaching of the
Word is a weighty and important thing, so surely is
c Ch.liii. 1.
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED. 377
Hie hearing of if. People too commonly think a
Sermon to be a thing of course ; and consequently,
hearing a Sermon becomes also a thing of course.
They have little idea that they themselves are spoken
to in it, and that Almighty God sends, by his Ministers'
instrumentality, a message unto them individually.
Hence, our Word is heard, and heard, it may be, with
somewhat of a grateful feeling; but almost im-
mediately and without any painful reluctance, it is
forgotten. No " honest and good heart" receives it.
It finds no lodgement in a memory tenacious of spiri-
tual ideas. It is not recollected and digested in the
thoughtful seriousness of the soul. It vibrates with
the Preacher's voice upon the ear, and with the
Preachers voice it dies away. d We fear the Word
is gone from many a hearer's mind ere the threshold
of the Church is passed. And if, without the
walls of our sanctuary, in any place where an
ignorant and misjudging World conceives we are not
specially licensed to " rebuke, to reprove, to ex-
hort," and to persuade, we presume to speak on the
great and glorious things we are commissioned to pro-
claim, ' O,' it is said, ' we do not want your preaching/
Now is this becoming ? Is this to ' receive with meek
heart and due reverence God's holy Word ?' Is it treat-
ing the accredited 'Messengers, Watchmen, and Ste-
wards of the Lord' with even common respect? Does
it not, rather indicate a mind all unready for the seed
of Divine Truth ? Can there be in such hearers of the
Word the disposition of the Bereans? " Judge your
own selves.' 1 " Be not hearers of the Word only."
Do as the Bereans did : hear impartially ; hear teach-
ably ; hear with readiness of mind to receive what
you hear; hear for your edification in the faith of Je-
sus Christ ; hear for eternity ; hear as those who must
one day account to the Lord and Master of our As-
semblies for all you hear.
a Ezek. xxxiii, .3033.
378 SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED.
From consideriug The disposition of mind with which
the Bereana received the word, we come to consider
II. The conduct which it led them to pursue.
They " searched the Scriptures daily" in order to
see whether the things affirmed by Paul were really so
or not. The Scriptures which the Bereans possessed
\vere merely the Writings of Moses and the Prophets.
From them, however, they had learned thutGod would,
sooner or later, " break the Serpent's head," that is,
destroy the power of Satan, by some mysterious one
emphatically denominated, "'tim Seed of the Woman."*
They knew also that God would, in due time, raise up
for them, among their brethren, a Prophet that should,
like their great Lawgiver, Moses, found and promul-
gate a new dispensation of grace and mercy : f that " in
his love and in his pity he would redeem them, and
that by a far more signal redemption than either their
redemption from Egypt or from Babylon : s that unto
them a child should be given and a son be born whose
name should be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the
mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of
Peace ; b that this Prince or Messiah should be cutoff,
but, not for himself: 1 that on the third day after his
decease, he should rise again ; k that notwithstanding
all the opposition of men and devils in combination to
prevent it, he should yet reign as the King of Zion ;'
have a people to serve and honour him ; m and whilst
exalted to the right hand ot the Majesty on high,
there should be given Him dominion, and glory, and
a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages,
should serve him. n They could find too in their Scrip-
tures God's recorded promise to create the heart anew;
to succour the tempted and to save the humble person ;"
to call his servants by a new name ; p to send preachers
Gen. iii, 15. f Deut. xviii, 15. 8 Jer. xxxi,31, &c
h Isaiah ix, G. ' Daniel ix, 26. k Hos. vi, 2.
i Ps. 2. G. m Ps. 110. 23, n Dan. vii, 14,
Isaiah lix, 19. v Isaiah Ixii, 2
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED. 379
of his Word abroad into the earth ; q to pour out his
Spirit upon all flesh ; r to create all things anew and
once again to restore, order, harmony, friendliness and
beauty, throughout the visible creation. 9 These things
the Bereans knew, and therefore they " searched the
Scriptures" to see how far and in what respects the
statements of St. Paul accorded with the written Word
of God. Nor did they indolently do so : So cautious
were they about receiving what they heard, and so de-
sirous that whatever they received should be strictly
analogous to the Truth, that they searched the Scrip-
tures "daily." They heard the Word and it was their
wisdom to be assured of its Divine original, and ul-
timate design. Using, with lowliness and sincerity,
the only infallible Means of information, that sweet
promise which their sweet Psalmist records, was ful-
filled to them " The meek will He guide in judgment ',
the meek will he teach his tcay."* So true it is, " They
that will do the will of God, shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God." v
Now here I cannot but say, "Go ye and do like-
wise." Here is an example of earnest and devout en<-
quiry worthy of our closest imitation. Paul and Silas
were inspired by the Holy Ghost to teach what they
taught, and were, consequently, preserved from error
in their communication of the Gospel : And yet the
Bereans searched the Scriptures, and that sedulously,
to see whether Paul's Word agreed with God's Word,
and the things he spake were agreeable to scriptural
truth. Much more, then, ought ye to pursue this con-
duct. We come, indeed, duly authorised and com-
missioned to preach the Gospel to you : but we can
boast no e^roordinary inspiration, and therefore we
may err. Bring then what you hear from us to your
Bible. In addition to the Scriptures of the old Testa-
ment, you have the Scriptures of the New. These
together form that " testimony" to which the Bible's
Author himself directs you to refer. w Then, when we
<i Dan. xii, 4. r Joel ii, 28 Isa. xi, 59. Ixv, 17
* Ps. 25, 9. v Johuvjii, 17. w Isaiah viii, 20.
380 SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED.
tell you, as we plainly and unhesitatingly do, that you
all, without exception, are fallen, sinful, unholy, crea-
tures ; search the Scriptures for the truth of our asser-
tion. w When we say that carnal ungodly men the
" wise in their own conceits/' the worldly, the
" high minded, and the lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God;" need not go to hell to be condemned,
because they *'are condemned already ;" see if it be so
or not.* When, moreover, we require in you a great
moral and spiritual change a change so great and
absolutely necessary, that without it you can neither
"joy in God" and delight yourselves in Him on earth,
nor be admitted into the immediate presence of the
Lord in glory ; search and inquire whether a word
more authoritative than our's says not the same. p
When we insist on the necessity of repentance and such
a repentance as is inducive of unfeigned faith in the
Gospel and an entire change of outward conduct ;
look and see if He in whose Name we speak requires
not the same.* When, too, we tell you that Christ is
" all in all" a sinner's justification and salvation ;
take not our Word for it : Search the Scriptures, and
see if it be not written there as with a sunbeam that
nothing, NOTHING, but the worthiness of the Lamb can
give us a title to life and happiness." When we af-
firm that holiness personal holiness, conformity of
mind and conversation with the mind and Word of
God, as that alone which can evidence a justified state,
and fit the soul for Heaven, is necessary; let your Bi-
ble determine our position. 11 When we assure you
that there is in the cross of Jesus Christ an atonement
for sin of vast and illimitable sufficiency and worth
that in the bleeding wounds ot Him who suffered on
it, the contrite soul may find repose and comfort; that
w Gen. vi, 5. Jer.xvii, 0, Gal. v, 1921.
* Jojiu iii, 18. 1 Co.r. vi, 9, 10. y John iii, 1 7.
z Joel ii, 12, 13. Luke xiii,3. Acts iii, 19.
* Acts iv, 12. 2 Cor. v, 21. Gal. ii, 21,
b Heb. xii, 14. Jam. ii, 14-20,
!
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED. 381
peace of conscience ; hope, yea, assurance of hope ;
motive to obedience ; joy in sorrow ; life in death, and
triumph in eternity, are all derivable from a Saviour's
blood and righteousness; why, heed not what "certain
lewd fellows of the baser sort" may say, but inquire
and see for yourselves whether these things be so or
not. c And when all our teaching comes sanctioned
and enforced by the tremendous verities of an here-
after reckoning, and we solemnly declare that if lost,
the soul must remain lost and undone for ever, and
that it is only by a cordial and practical reception of
the Word, it can be saved from guilt and condemna-
tion ; why, surely, methinks you should not but search
the written Records of inspiration and carefully in-
quire how far our assertions accord with them. Then
SEARCH them : nor do so reluctantly, as though it were
a labour or a task to do so, but diligently, and that
"daily," and as if your everlasting all depended on
your right apprehension and belief of the truth. Let
me ask If you received a letter from a dear and dis-
tant friend, would it lie long unopened by you ? If
you could not read it, would you not be desirous
that some one should read it to you ? And if
there chanced to be in it " some things hard to be
understood," would you not, if it were in your power
to do so, ask somebody to explain them to you ? You
know you would. How should this, then, shame and
confound many of us when we think of our neglected
Bible ! Therein we have many letters letters of un-
speakable value letters filled with " exceeding great
and precious promises" and these letters come to us
from our soul's eternal and unchangeable Friend ; and
yet, O yet, how coldly do we receive them ! how neg-
ligently do we read them ! how commonly do we
slight and forget their sayings ! Much of the holy
Scriptures might be heard by many who could not,
perhapss read them for themselves: but, alas! how
f Rom. \v, 13. Epl. ii, 14. John xiv, 27.
382 SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED
many a Minister reads the Word of God to almost
nobody, rather than to a listening multitude of atten-
tive hearers. And when we are ready and willing
(according to the ability our Lord hath given us, and
so far as we ourselves are taught) to answer the in-
quiry, " What is Truth?" how many will ask a hun-
dred questions about comparative trifles, rather than
say as the Jailor at Philippi said fi Sirs., what must I
do to be saved ?" Then would you know whether the
things we affirm be agreeable to the Scriptures or no ;
" Search" them ; and that not merely on a Sunday, as
if our religion and our search after religious truth,
were to be confined to the walls of the Church and to
the hours of the Sabbath; but " daily." The Be-
reans " searched the Scriptures daily:" this was the
conduct they pursued : do you pursue the same. Say
not ' We have no time: 5 You have time to be idle?
you have time to talk ; you have time to read other
books ; find time to read the Word of God. Remem-
ber, that alone is truth which will endure a Scriptural
test. It is Scripture too that will try our principle*
and conduct in the judgment of the last day. Then
see to it whether these things be so ; nor rest satisfied
without a well-grounded persuasion of the reality of
your religion and the safety of your state.
Such was the conduct which the hearers of Paul pur-
sued : and it now only remains for us to notice
III. The effect which their pursuit produced : -
" Therefore many of them believed." " Also," we
are informed "of honourable women who were Greeks,
that believed, and of men not a few." Delightful ef-
fect of honest and impartial inquiry after Truth f
Well worthy of our particular attention is this. Some
will say to us : ' We cannot give ourselves faith : The
Word of itself cannot profit us : How many hear the
things you preach to whom they do no good what-
ever/ True; but the Word is in our power to use:
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED. 383
we may hear and read and search it, if we please. And
hearing, reading, and searching the Scriptures is a
means of faith? and it is in the use, not in the neglect
of the means that God communicates the grace of faith.
We allow, many do hear the things which we affirm,
to whose spiritual good they apparently avail nothing ;
but, how can they profit ? there is within them no
readiness of mind to receive the truths we preach, nor
any disposition or inclination to search the Scriptures
whether these things be really so or not. Th rule of
inspiration is to, " Compare spiritual things with spi-
tual ;"* and from a comparison of one with another
to become " fully persuaded in our own mind'* con-
cerning every thing which the Word of God reveals-,
inculcates, and requires. Bearing too in mind " the
Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End" of
all revelation searching in the field of Scripture for
the hid treasure of Christian knowledge, and willing
every where to find the gracious and almighty Friend
and Lover of our souls, the Scriptures will prove there
ability to make us wise unto salvation/ " The power
of the Highest will rest upon us" " open to us the
Scriptures," and " open also our understandings to
understand the Scriptures." Hence our spiritual be-
ing will be sustained and perfected on the fulness,
the richness, the preciousness, of the Word of God.
Unhappily, ignorant and pernicious prejudices arc
entertained by some persons against the Truth.
They know it not, nor care to know it : they
believe it not, nor care to believe it. Unkindly
rumours, it may be, reach them concerning the GospeF
and the Gospel's professors, and immediately, with-
out any thing like the liberal and prudent inquiry of
the Bereans, they are offended. Like the Jews and
others at TUessalonica, they are pre-disposed against
the truth. If they hear it, they hear it suspiciously;
and having no readiness of mind to receive it, they
* Rum, x, 17. e 1 Cor. ii, la- < 2 Tim. iii, 15.
384 SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED.
condemn it without further solicitude or concern
about it. Because our manner is to " reason out of
the Scriptures," and to maintain with constancy the
needs be for Christ's humiliation, sufferings, resurrec-
tion and intercession, therefore if an uproar is raised ;"
the " decrees of Ccesar" are declared to be impugned,
and the ministry of the Gospel is vilified and contemn-
ed. But, does conduct such as this become any who
professedly assume the name and character of Chris-
tian ? How different was the conduct of the noble-
minded Bereans ! We see them attending their Syna-
gogue ; hearing with respectful deference the things af-
firmed by Paul ; treasuring them carefully in their me-
mories ; returning to their homes not quarrelling
with the matter of what they had just heard or vuth
the manner of its announcement (for Paul himself tells
us that his t( bodily presence was" inelegant, we may
suppose ; f< weak and contemptible" he calls it) not
abusing the Apostle as a "setter forth of strange doc-
trines ;" not hardening their heart and closing their
eyes against the Truth but examining all they had
received by the written Word, and that daily with
much anxiety and carefulness. The effect which, as
it were, naturally resulted from such pleasing and im-
partial conduct was " many of them believed,'' and
"therefore" believed, inasmuch as they used the pro-
per and ligetimate means of belief. Thus while the
enemies of the Lord and of his Christ, were hardened
in sin and confirmed in unbelief, the Bereans became
humble, holy, happy, and devoted followers of the
Lamb. Nor can we doubt but the same means, used
with the same openness to conviction and readiness to
receive the Word, would produce the same effect at
any time and in any place. We should believe indeed
did we but search the Scriptures daily, in God's ap-
pointed way, in meekness, and with readiness of mind.
There would then be something more than mere assent
to the Word among our hearers. There would be a
spiritual perception of the truth ; a personal interest
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED.
in it ; a sweet and grateful enjoyment of it. Our
hearers would not be ^forgetful hearers :" and hear-
ing under the powerful and efficient " unction of the
Holy One," their faith would increase, and ripen gra-
dually into a full and entire credence of all the Bible's
verities The prayer of Jesus Christ would be an-
swered in the believers of his Gospel " Sanctify them
through thy Truth ; thy Word is Truth :" e and " hav-
ing its many and precious promises, you would cleanse
yourselves from all filthiness both of the flesh and
tf
spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear ofGod." h O that
thus it might be ! We would not, Beloved, I again
repeat, that " your faith should stand in the word of
man, but in the Word of God." Man is weak and
fallible: God " cannot lie." Examine then the things
ye hear. Wisdom is promised to them that search
for it. 1 If ye haply find " the Wisdom which cometh
from above/' it will prove its excellence. The mock-
eries of the fool, the arguments of the infidel, the
sneers of the worldling, will not move you. Like the
Eternal's Friend, you will be "strong in faith, giv-
ing glory to God." k "Haters of God" and "dcs-
pisers" of his Truth, there were in the Apostles' days :
" A Seed of evil doers'' there still exists, and will exist
till the Lord shall consume them with the brightness
of his coming." 1 Care not, however, for their " re-
vilings." You are expressly told that " revilers shall
not inherit the kingdom of God :" m In that kingdom
they shall not molest you. " Consort," whilst here,
" with them that believe," and part with your life ra-
ther than with "the Truth as it is in Jesus*" Let
its sacred depository be dear to you. " Blessed is he
that readeth, and they that hear the words of this
Book, and keep those things which are written there-
in.'" 1 This the Spirit saith of one portion of the holy
e John xrii, 17. h 2Cor, vii,l, ' Prov. ii, 4.
fc U-m iv, 20. ' 2Ths. ii, 8. Cor. vi, 10.
" K-v. i, 3.
9 G
386 SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED
Volume in particular ; but doubtless it may be said
with equal propriety (if every other. And herein you
observe an union betwixt hearing, reading, and keep-
ing the sayings of God's Book. If you hear without
reading, or hear and read without keeping them, you
will hear and read in vain and to little purpose. It is
when our Word fails of any practical effect fails to
induce your search of the Scriptures fails to further
within you the joy of faith, the patience of hope, and
the labour of love, that our " strength is spent for
nought and in vain." Our desire and prayer for you
therefore, is that you may receive the Word with all
readiness of mind ; search the Scriptures daily whe-
ther the things you hear be accordant to them, and
assure us of your cordial reception of the Truth by
" walking before the Lord in all pleasing."
Having considered the three things we proposed,
viz. The disposition of mind with which the Bercans
received the Word: the conduct which it led them
to pursue; and the effect which their pursuit pro-
duced there is only one closing OBSERVATION that I
beg to make :
See wherein true nobility consists. The Bercans
were "more noble than those of Thessalonica :" and
wherefore ? Because they heard, received, and searched
the Word of God and became humble believers and
professors of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, reli-
gion by many persons is thought to be well enough
for poor people, common people, illiterate people ;
just as if religion did not become people of birth, for-
tune, and education. So far, however, is religion
from being a mark of a low and vulgar mind, the
wonder is how any one possessing plain common sense,
can choose to be otherwise than religious. It is faith
in the Bible and an experimental acquaintance witli i(s
truths, that allies us to " the mighty God," ennobles
and refines the soul's capacities, and fits it for an eter-
nity of glory. It is quite erroneous to suppose that
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES URGED. 387
circumstances of a mere adventitious kind wealth,
honour, influence, and the like, constitute true no-
bility. There is a nobleness of' soul, which nothing of
an earthly kind can possibly bestow. We must be
*' born of the Spirit ;" we must possess that " wisdom
whose fruit is better than gold, yea, than Jine gold, and
whose revenue than choice silver :" we must " seek the
honour which comcth of God only ;" we must " deny
ourselves" and "bring our body into subjection " to
be truly great and noble. It is a remark we some-
times hear, ' Your communicants are for the most
part the poorer classes and your hearers the lower or-
ders.' Be it so ! and if this be a by- word of reproach,
let their wealthier neighbours partake of our Commu-
nion and silence it. And admitting our hearers to be,
generally, ' the lower orders/ be it so ! the "common
people," we are told, heard our Lord and Master
gladly, and "to the poor," as being a privilege of a
peculiarly gracious kind, "the Gospel is preached."
And by whom the Gospel is most readily receivcdtoo,
Paul tells you in I Cor. i, 26. Soon will every human
distinction vanish. "The fashion of this world pass-
cth away." Where, eventually, will be our superiority
to others ? No superiority will remain but what the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ confers. The names
of all his people shall be found though not, it may
be, blazoned in the annals of this world, yet " written
in the Hook of Life." No deeds of valour, no splen-
did exploits, may have been, wrought by them, nor
ever been reported with their names around the lis
tcning earth ; but to have subdued the kingdom oi
darkness ; to have conquered self; to have wrought
righteousness ; to have fought the good fight of faith,
and to have walked humbly with their God, will make
their memorial blessed for ever, and be to them honour
and renown when Earth's most illustrious trophies and
most gorgeous distinctions shall be l<)st in forgetful-
ness and ruin. A poor but pious follower of the Lamb
may live unnoticed and die un regretted : no assiduous
388 SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES ttRGEIX
friends may watch around his couch ; no human be-
ing mark the ebbing of his life away, nor sculptured
stone point out his body's resting place : but, celestial
spirits invisibly watch over him, and his Lord will not
forget to raise him up at the last day. Learned he
might not be : but if he received the Word with rea-
diness; if he searched the Scriptures, and through
faith in Christ Jesus, became wise unto salvation ; all-
inferior to his wisdom will be the knowledge which
mere worldly science can impart. Then, my poorer
Brethren, be contented with your lot. If ye be wil-
ling to* receive the Tfuth, and will be careful to adoni
it, yours' \ill be the noblest Father, the noblest patri-
mony, the noblest estate, and the noblest name. Je-
sus, your Lord, when he became Immanuel, "became
poor." He, too, was " despised and rejected of men."
Great, however, good, and holy was he in his lowest
and most degraded condition : and now the sorrows
and griefs of his humiliation are passed away, he reigns
"the Prince of the Kings of the Earth:" "All power
in Heaven and in Earth is his :," tf Riches unsearch-
able/' honours and rewards eternal, has he to be-
stow ; To you is "the Word of his salvation sent :"
Receive it only, and it shall ennoble you for ever, and
with the glories o-f your Redeemer's kingdom in your
view, you will not, I am sure, be slow to say, "God
forbid that I should g.lory r save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world."
"Brethren; the grace ofom* Lord Jesus Christ l><.
with yow* Spirit. A MEN. ' y
DISCOURSE XXVII.
PUBLIC WORSHIP : HOW USUALLY ATTENDED.
GENESIS xxviii, 16, 17.
.And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely
the Lord Is in this place ; and I knew it not. And he
tcv/.v afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place !
this is none other bat the House of God t and this if
the Gate of Heaven.
THERE is a something so awfully grand, so mysteri-
ously sublime, in the essential existence, the exalted
nature, the moral character, and the infinitely glorious
attributes of God ; that, in every place, where it
pleaseth him to put his Name and to manifest his pre-
sence, a solemn drear must fill the soul of every really
devout and enlightened worshipper. " How dreadful
is this place!" exclaimed the patriarch Jacob, when a
sense of the Divine presence and majesty came upon
him.
Jacob had recently quitted his father, Isaac's, dwell-
ing-place: He was journeying now to Haran: As he
journeyed, he lighted, we are informed, on a certain
place an'd tarried there all night, because the sun was
set. Jacob made the ground his couch and a stone his
pillow. In dreams and visions of the night, he seem-
ed to sec a ladder set upon the earth, the top of which
reached to heaven. Thereon the angels of God, as
ministering aud guardian spirits, were ascending and
390 PUBLIC WORSHIP:
descending, whilst above and beyond them stood the
Lord. And the Lord said unto Jacob, " I am theGod
of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac ; the
land whereon thou liest, to thee will 1 give it, and to
thy seed ; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth,
and thou shalt spread abroad to the west and to the
east, and to the north and to the south : and in thee
and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be
blessed. And, behold, I am with fhee, and will keep
thee, in all places whither thou gocst, and will bring
thee again to this land ; for I will not leave thee, until
I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."
* f And Jacob awaked out of his sleep," awed, we may
easily conceive, by a sense of the grandeur, the sove-
reignty, the benignity, of the eternal God; and he
said, "Surely the Lord is in this place ; and I knew it
not." And from a perception, doubtless, of the Lord's
glory and a recollection of his own unworthiness,
<f Jacob was afraid, and he said, How dreadful is this
place ! this is none other but the House of God, and
this is the Gate of Heaven." In grateful memorial of
the Divine goodness and the mercies so graciously pro-
mised to himself and seed, the Patriarch " rose up
early in the morning, and took the stone that he Imd
put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured
oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that
place Beth-el," that is, The House of God.
Now, my Beloved Brethren, the presence of God
is not confined to the place where Jacob lay, nor is the
pillar which Jacob consecrated the only memorial of
the Lord's majesty and mercy. "The Lord is in this
place ; this is none other but the House of God, and
this is the Gate of Heaven.' 5 True ; you will perhaps
say: God is in every place : and therefore God is here.
Allowedly, God is in every place: "the heavens are his
throne, and the earth is his footstool ;" and "Where,"
lie himself inquires, "Where is the House that ye
build me? and where is the place of my rest? For
all those things hath my hand made, and all those
HOW USUALLY ATTENDED. 391
things have been, saith the Lord."* Can Immensity
be circumscribed ? Can One that is above all and in
all and through all, dwell in houses made with hands?
No ; surely not : Nevertheless, God is peculiarly and
especially present with some persons in some places.
In Eden, while it remained a Garden of innocence and
pleasure, " the Lord God walked," and most proba-
bly in a form visible and apparent to the senses of our
first Parents. With Abraham, in the plains of Mam re,
"the Lord talked as a man talketh to his friend :" and
on one occasion we are expressly told, " the Lord went
up when he had left communing with Abraham ;'"' and
wherefore should this be stated if the Lord went not
-chilli} up into the heavens of his glory ? He dwelt
visibly also amongst the Israelites, first in the Taber-
nacle of Moses, and afterwards in the more sumptu-
ous and magnificent Temple of Solomon. He was once
personally present among men in the Man Christ Je-
sus, and still is he spiritually the same wherever, over
all the earth, " two or three are gathered together in
his Name." The Lord has his Day, his House, his
Word, his Ministers. " As a Spirit 5 ' wonderful in
counsel; fearful in praises ; glorious in holiness ; and
dreadful in power he requires to be " worshipped in
spirit and in truth/' by all that professedly supplicate
around his throne. His throne is indeed " a throne
of grace:" the blood of atonement precedes our ap-
proaches to it ; but yet He that sits thereon will be
served "with reverence and godly fear," and "I will
be sanctified," he says, "in them that come nigh me." c
But, is he ? Is this the mode of worship which obtains
among the millions who ( call and profess themselves
Christians ?' Do they come to the House of God with
a holy dread upon their minds? Do they enter the
Gate of Heaven awed by the presence of the Lord
within it? Can they truly say, The Lord is in this
place and \vc know it?
Jsaiuh ixvi, 1,2. '' Gen. xvii, 22, c Lev, x, 3.
392 rtmic WORSHIP:
That you may not deem our interrogations needless
or our judgment of our fellow-sinners uncharitable,
1 will appeal to yourselves, and in the prosecution of
our subject, I will ask you these two questions : FIRST,
How do people usually come to the House of' God ?
and SECONDLY, How ought they to come /*
FIRST, I ask you, HJW do people usually come to the
House of God?
We should suppose that when the hour of Prayer
arrives when the bell, tolling its appointed summons,
tells us that the House of God is opened and the Gate
of Heaven unfolded, we should all, with the utmost
care, prepare to meet our God, and to "come up to
his holy hill and to his dwelling." We should sup-
pose that one and all of us would be saying " I am
coming before the holy Lord God : I am about to ap-
proach the footstool of the King immortal : His eye
will discern my most latent purposes : iniquity is an
abhorrence to him : He will not be mocked with im-
punity : My prayers must be expressive of my feelings,
my praises of my gratitude. Wherewith shall I come
before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God?
Who shall mediate between us ? and what Days-man
shall lay his hand upon us both, as partaking at once
of the Divine and Human natures? What atoning
blood shall bespeak me favour, and sprinkle my heart
from an evil conscience r What odorous incense shall
mingle with my worship, and procure it acceptance in
the holiest of all ? Who shall help my infirmities?
WJiat are the wants of my soul ? Is it my soul's de-
termined purpose not to let the Angel of the eternal
Covenant depart until he bless me ? Will this earthly
Palace of my God lead me in desire and expectation
forward to the Jerusalem that is above the House
which human hands made not, and where sits Jehovah
throned in awful grandeur and in dazzling holiness ?
Feel I a wish, a warm and fervent wish, to ascend by
Jesus Christ into the hcaveus ; to pass the celestial
HOW USUALLY ATTENDED. 393
portals, and fobow with adoring reverence before <he
throne as one among the hosts of the redeemed?
Were it now said to me, " Come up hither," am 1
ready ? Is my soul arrayed in the garment of Salva-
tion, and prepared in reeollectedness and love to sing
the hymn of, "Thanks be to God who giveth us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ ?" With con-
sideration and care similar somewhat to this should we
doubtless obey a summons to some noble or princely
dwelling-place : but, do we come to " the courts of
the house of our God" with any thing like this consi-
derate carefulness ? O Beloved, I would we did. But,
if people do not come thus, how do they come ? Ap-
pealing, remember, to yourselves, I ask, do they not
come thoughtlessly, prayerlessly, faithlessly ?
Do they not come thoughtlessly ? Sobriety of mind
and gravity of deportment are repeatedly enjoined in
Scripture.* 1 These ought at all times to mark the
Christian character : How much more should they do
so when we come to the House of God, and into the
more immediate presence of the Lord of hosts. But,
alas ! may we not fear that few, very few, when they
attend the public services of the Church have any so-
ber and becoming thoughts of the great and glorious
object of all religious homage and adoration? Do they
bring before the Lord the one only availing Sacrifice
for sin ? Do they think through whose merits and me-
diation alone, they can be favourably regarded and
mercifully accepted? A Jew presumed not to appear
before God without a sacrifice : how many a Christian,
so called, presumes to come before Him without aught
like a believing regard to Christ, " the Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world." People
consider not that God can be gracious only in his Son.
Usually, too, they will be found ignorant of their
spiritual necessities : and though they say, 'O come,
let us worship and full down and kneel before the Lord,
d Titus ii, 2 C.
394 PUBLIC WORSHIP:
our Maker ;" yet (hey do not fall down before Him ;
they are too lofty in their imaginations to kneel at all
in his presence, and their worship is such that God
may well ask, "Who hath required this at your hands?"
and say to such worshippers, " Bring no more vain ob-
lation?." The ear may listen to another's voice, and
the lips may repeat the language of another's prayer,
but where is the heart? Where is that thoughtful re-
collcctedness without which all our devotion is pre-
tence and mockery ? Thoughtlessness may be seen
depicted in the every look and movement of the majo-
rity of our Congregation. Most truly may many a
one say, when the services of our Church are over,
" The Lord was in this place, and [ knew it not."
And whence arises this painful circumstance ? Peo-
ple do not recollect themselves. From worldly con-
cerns or family cares, they rush at once into the House
of God. No solemn pause precedes their entry into
the Gate of Heaven. " Very greatly to be feared/' is
Jehovah : but no fear of his dread majesty rests upon
their souls. '* To be had in reverence of all that are
round about Him," is the Lord Almighty : but how
often does a wandering eye, a listless apathy, a vacant
stare, and even a composure of all the powers to sleep,
betray a mind void, totally void, of reverence and
godly fear ! Brethren ; " examine yourselves: See
whether ye be clear in this matter : See whether you
yourselves are so thoughtful, so serious, so devout in
heart and spirit, as ye should' be when you come to the
House of God and to the Gate of Heaven.
But, I ask, moreover, Do not people usually come
prayerlessly ? We say not that all could come from
kneeling in their closets to kneel again in Church :
but, may we not fear, many do not who could ? Were
we expectantly going to the Court of some human Po-
tentate either to render homage or to supplicate fa-
vour, how many inquiries, how much anxiety, what
Isaiah "i, 12,13.
HOW USUALLY ATTENDED 395
studious recollection of our errand, would doubtless
pass within us! But where are the the inquiries,
where is the anxiety, where the studious recollection
of the many before they enter the house of God and
approach the throne of grace ? Alas ! their hearts are
prayerless. Their souls go not forth to God in fer-
vency of desire : they pray not for his Spirit's out-
pouring ; for the lightening down of his Almighty
arm in our midst ; for the prevalence and success of
the glorious Gospel ; for the humiliation of the proud
and the consolation of the humble ; for the detection
of error and the reception of truth ; for the destruc-
tion of every idol-god, and the exclusive exaltation
of " the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ/'
<c For these things will I be inquired of saith the Lord,
to do them for you." 6 People inquire not for them,
and therefore they are not done. And as no prayer
precedes their visit to the House of God, so no prayer
passes with them through its gate or marks the re-
sumption of their wonted sittings in it. What a pre-
tence to devotion is the momentary covering of the
face by many with the hat or hand ! How all-unlike
is it to the veiling of the cherubic faces in the Temple
where sits the Lord of Hosts upon a Throne high and
lifted up ! f Does this act, in the generality of our
worshippers, indicate the engagement of the soul in
communion with its God ? Instead of prayer for the
Divine presence, assistance, and blessing ; ought not
many a one to be praying on his entry into the House
of God, for the pardon of his late, hurried, and heed-
less attendance there ? Can we wonder that the minds
of many are distracted by vain and worldly thoughts
during the solemnities of worship ? Is it surprising
that the Sabbath is a weariness to many, and their souls
remain all-unblessed and unre freshed by all its means
and mercies ? Here again, rny Brethren, examine
yourselves. Ye are now gathered within the walls of
c Ezek. xxxvi, 37. f Isaiah vi, 2.
396 PUBLIC WORSHIP:
your Fane : Did you ere you came hither pray to the
God whose House you fill ? Came ye hither prayer-
fully ? Looked ye to your feet, and were ye more
ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools ? s
Walked ye as friends to the House of God, taking
sweet counsel together : h Feel you the Lord to be in
this place? Know ye him to be so? And is it in
your heart to say with Jacob, " How dreadful is this
place! this is none other than the House of God, and
this is the gate of Heaven '." Inquire and see whe-
ther it be with prayer and supplication ye come before
the Lord.
But I have further to ask, Do not people usually
come faithlessly ? Of some we read, "The word
preached did not profit them, not being mixed with
faith in them that heard it :'" and of the Israelites
when they were come to the very borders of the pro-
mised Land, we are told, " they could not enter in
because of unbelief."* And why does not the word
preached profit more that hear it now ? For precise-
ly the same reason " not being mixed with faith in
them that hear it." And why, when so many come
to these earthly Sanctuaries of our God, do they not
enter his celestial Courts and worship in " the holiest
of all ?" " because of unbelief." It is proved to
many, as evidently almost as light is distinguishable
from darkness, that they are WRONG that if they live
and die in their present unchanged state, they must
inevitably perish that whoever may be the children
of God, they are not that whoever may know and
value the true medium of communication between
Heaven and earth, they do not ; and yet, notwith-
standing all their knowledge and conviction, they con-
tinue, through their faithlessness, urihumbled still.
Sometimes, it may be, they feel somewhat of the power
of the Truth, and for a season are apprehensive of
g EccJ,v, 1. ' Ps. 55. 14. j Ileb. iv, 2.
* Ibid iii, ID.
HOW USUALLY ATTENDED. 397
wrath and clanger ! but it is only for a season, just as
when the faithless among the armies of Israel saw the
earth open and swallow up Korah, Dathan, and Abi-
ram, they trembled and were afraid ; and on the
morning of the very next day, became as faithless and
careless as before. 1 If the word of God be really be-
lieved, the belief of it will be influential on the heart
and conduct. If, too, prayer be really sincere, the pe-
titioner will not be contented without an answer to his
prayer. Do not indifference about the recollection of
the Word and unconcern about the acceptance and
vouchsafement of prayer, argue a lamentable faith-
lessness of heart? Can we assure ourselves that the
generality of hearers hear with the readiness of the
noble-minded Bereans to receive what they hear? Is
it possible for us to find it in those who can nod and
bow and converse and sleep in the very House of God,
and while God's sovereign and eternal Majesty is being
invoked, worshipped, and adored ? Judge ye. " Ex-
amine your own selves, whether ye be in the faith :
prove your own selves.""" Have ye faith in God ?
Is your confidence chastened with humility ? Is your
faith maintained in vigorous and lively exercise when
you come to appear before the Lord in Zion ? Come
ye prepared to hear "not the word of man but the
word of God ?" Do its great truths fill you with so-
lemn dread ? Do ye " tremble" at them ?" Do they
really profit you, and, mingled with faith in your
heart, do they nourish your spiritual being, and wing
your soul with fervour and desire to behold the glory of
God in the new and everlasting habitations of the
heavenly world ? Inquire, and " be not faithless,
but believing."
I think, then, you will admit that people usually do
rome thoughtlessly, praycrlcssly, and faithlessly, to
the House of God. And though all are certainly not
alike thoughtless, prayerlcss, and faithless, yet all
1 Num. xvi,. 31 41. m 2 Cor. xiii, 5. Isaiah Ixvi, 2.
398 PUBLIC WORSHIP:
would do well to inquire how far in these things they
fall short, and how much nearer they might approach
the spirit of good old Jacob's words " How dread-
ful is this place ! this is none other than the House of
God and this is the Gate of Heaven."
Having asked you How people usually do come to
the House of God, I come to ask you
SECONDLY, How ought they to come ?
And how ? In a way directly the reverse of that in
which they do come. Ought they not to come with
thought, with prayer, witbjfaf'M ?
And (1.) With thought? " How long, says God,
shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thce ?" Such is
the infirmity and weakness of our nature that " vain
thoughts" will ever and anon be springing up within
us : but the Lord would not that we should harbour
them would not that they should find a lodgement
in our heart. And if at no time they should find a
lodgement there, much less should they when we join
in the public services of our Faith, and come before
the presence of God. On an occasion so interesting
and so solemn, ought our mind to be tc as water spilt
upon the ground that cannot be gathered up ?" Ought
it not rather to be held in thoughtful recollcctedness ?
Should not people say when coming before the Lord,
' Tarry O world, tarry our families, tarry every earthly
thing and care tarry here, while I go yonder and
worship.' 1 * Should not ourselves; our wants; our
already accumulated obligations to Divine favour ;
and our entire dependence on the freeness, the fulness,
the perpetuity, of that favour, be considered ? Should
not the grandeur, the holiness, the faithfulness of God ;
the person, the work, the death, the intercession, of
Jesus Christ ; and the gracious condescension, the
forbearing kindness, and unfailing love of the Spirit
Jer.iv, 14, P Gen. xxii, 5.
HOW USUALLY ATTENDED. 399
all, by turn, engage our thoughts when we come to
this holy place ? Distressing, truly, is the thought-
lessness of the many. If ye see it to be so, take care
that ye come hither as ye ought. I have an answer
to my question, ' How ought people to attend the
House of God ?' in your own conscience : take good
heed then to yourselves and come with thought.
But (2.) Should not people come with prayer.
" My house, says God, shall be called an House of
Prayer/" 1 It is where two or three are gathered to-
gether in his name, that he promises his especial pre-
sence : and again he says unto us, " If two of you shall
agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall
ask, it shall be done for them."' Then ought we not to-
assemble ourselves before the Lord prayerfully ? Alas !
we fear too. many of our congregations do not know
what prayer is. May not a person saij prayers, and that
for many years of his life, andyet not pray all the while ? s
Is not the religion of many mere "bodily exerciser*"
May there not be an attendance on Means and a devout
posture of body in their use, and yet the heart at the
same time remain cold, unaffected, averse to God, and
unconscious, totally unconscious, of grateful commu-
nion with him ? We find Prayer denominated in Scrip
ture, " crying," el calling," "pleading," "wrestling,"
<e groaning ;" all which terms imply fervour of desire,
almost unutterable request, and, real importunity of
soul with God. Jacob wrestling with the Angel (the
Angel, doubtless, of the everlasting Covenant; that is,
the Lord Jesus Christ) on his return from Haran;*
Nehemiah before the king Artaxcrxes; v Peter when
fearfully sinking in the waters of Tiberias ; w the Publi-
can when abased and humbled, he cried, "God be mer-
ciful to measinncr;"* thcTJhicf when amidtheagonios
of death, hc^cried, " Lord vc/n ember me ;" y arc all illus-
n Isa. Ivi, 7. r Matt, xviii, 19. s Mark xii, 40.
1 Gen. xxxii, 2432- v> Chap, ii, 4. w Matt, xiv, oO.
* Luke xviii, 13. > Luke xxiii, 42.
400 PUBLIC WORSHIP:
trative examples of ef effectual fervent prayer." Therr,
" after this manner pray ye." If the House of God
betheHouse of prayer,ought ye not tocome within its
gates prayerfully disposed ? When it is said, " Ask
and ye shall receive ;" ought we not to ask a vouch-
safement of the Divine presence ? ought we not to ask
"an unction from the Holy One" wherewith empow-
ered the Word may prove an arrow of conviction unto
some, and a message of consolation unto others ? u I
beseech thee, said Moses, shew me thy glory :" And
God shewed him His "goodness" plenteously.* "O
God," said David, "thou art my God ; early will 1
seek thee: my soul thirstesh for thec, my flesh longeth
for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is ;
to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee
in the Sanctuary ;" a and whilst he thus "panted after
God as the hart after the water brook," and medi-
tated thus prayerfully upon Him, David's soul was
"satisfied as with marrow and fatness/' Know ye
what this meaneth ? See ye that in like manner ought
our souls to thirst after God ? Then come before
him with prayer prayer for the manifestation of his
glory to your souls in the face of Jesus Christ : b prayer
for the ingathering of his Church-: prayer that the
"Hosanna" of our children may increasingly abound,
and the " HaDeluia" of their fathers be ceaselessly
repeated. If ye see and admit that in the Spirit of
prayer people ought to come to the house of God, take
care that you yourselves come prayerfully. Be prepared
to add a sincere amen to the many rich and compre-
hensive prayers of your Church : so shall the sure mer-
cies of the Lord enrich, refresh, and bless you. Par-
don ; peace ; help ; comfort ; victory ; triumph ;
glory; yea, " WHATSOEVER ye ask in prayer, believing,
ye shall receive." .
And lastly, ought not people to come \v\\\\ faith to
the Mercy-seat ? ''Without faith it is impossible to
' Exod. xxxiii, 18. Ps. 63. 1,2. b 2C 1 oi\iv,f>,
HOW USUALLY ATTENDED. 401
please God : for lie that cometh to God, must believe
that he is that he exists, in order to come to him ;
and that God is a Rewarder of them that diligently
seek him, in order to encourage his coming to him*
It is as faith is in lively and vigorous exercise that God
is apprehended and felt to be really present. It is by
faith we embrace the proffered mercies of salvation.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is received by faith.
His righteousness is " the righteousness of faith :" by
faith we therewith clothe our souls, as we attire our
bodies in their usual habiliments with our hand. And
it is when we ask in prayer for things, believing that
we have them, that we receive them. d Unless, there-
fore, people attend their Church with faith, their
prayers will be formal and listless ; their expectations
few ; their desires low and grovelling ; and the
Word they hear will profit them little or nothing.
By faith we walk and by faith we live. Ought not,
then, persons to attend the public worship of Al-
mighty God under a realizing sense of spiritual and
eternal things? Ought they not, at least, to en-
deavour to do so ? Ought not the believer's pre-
vailing wish to be breathed in the holy Psalmist's
language " One thing have I desired of the Lord,
that will I seek after ; even that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the
fair beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his tern pic ?"J
Ought these things so to be? Allow ye their propri-
ety ? Know ye these things ? Then, " happy are ye
if ye do them !" And may ye be found to be " of
those who believe to the saving of the soul !" With
thought, prayer, and faith, ought people to come to
the House of God. And now I have asked you how
usually they do come and how they ought to comc $ I
cannot close without suggesting one or two obvious
REMARKS :
Heb. xi, 6. u Mark xi, 24. Ps. 27. 4.
2 D
402 PUBLIC WORSHIP:
And (1.) Sec the true reason why many profit so lit-
tle from their Means of grace. Many express surprise
that they cannot attend their Means with more profit
than they do ; their minds wander: their memories
are bad: they cannot retain what they hear ; and so
on. But, we apprehend, their surprise would cease,
in some good measure, if they would only consider the
manner in which they attend their Means. Where is
their thoughtfulness ? their prayerful ness? their
faithfulness ? What sense have they of the Lord's
presence and glory ? Where is their dread, their re-
verential dread, of a just and holy God ? Where is
the ardour of their desire to "see Jesus ? " where
the simplicity of their faith in Him? Alas! where?
"The Lord is in this place, and they know it not."
"This is the House of God, and this is the gate of Hea-
Yen;" but they feel not " how dreadful is this place/'
No previous private prayer prepared the heart for so-
cial worship. Their spirit made no diligent search,
and hence thesouPs necessities are not known. World-
lincss was dominant, and now eternal realities recede
from view. The hour or two of public duty passes
away, and such characters as we have supposed, go
from the courts of the Lord, unsatisfied, unrefreshed,
unblessed. Is it not so, Brethren ? Is there no one
amongst you whose experience corroborates what I
say ? Then see the true reason why so many profit so
little from their Means of grace. Let me not, how-
ever, leave you discouraged : I would remark
(2.) How abundantly you might profit by u more
thought fill, praijerjul, and faithful use of your Means.
Only "stir up the gift that is in you," and exercise
yourselves in thought, in prayer, and faith, and your
"profiting shall appear unto all." The Spirit's unc-
tion will "teach you of aM things/' You shall feed
on the plentcousuess- of your Father's House, and
"drink of his pleasures as of a river" of unfailing and
satisfying goodness. Herewith you may "prove" the
HOW USUALLY ATTENDED, 403
Lord, and sec "if He will not open you the windows
of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough to receive it." f " All" that
you may ask ; "above all ;" "abundantly above all;"
yea, "exceeding abundantly above all that you can
either ask or think," will the Lord do for his praying
believing servants. 6 With all "spiritual blessings" hath
he blessed us in Christ Jesus: "Ask and receive that
your joy may be full." Love your "Beth-el.'' Re-
member God is here. Hither come and be ever con-
tinually rearing another and a still more grateful
" Ebenezer" in memorial of the abounding mercies
both vouchsafed and promised to you. If "the Lord
loveth the gates of Zion," do you also love them : If
he loves them "more than all the dwellings of Judah,"
do you love them rather than any thing and place be-
side. If the Lord is for his majesty and holiness
" very greatly to be feared;" O do you pause ere you
approach his footstool, and be solicitous, earnestly so-
licitous, to worship him " in spirit and in truth."
Forget not the only Mediator. Jesus is the ladder
Jacob saw : no man cometh to the Father but by him :
no man can pass the gate of the new Jerusalem but
by him : On him think : In the name of Jesus pray :
On him in your heart believe. By him it is our God
" hath sent redemption unto his people :" in him
"God hath commanded his covenant forever : Holy
and reverend, therefore, is his name." 1 ' May ye hal-
low and revere his name ; reverence his sanctuary ;
come henceforward thoughtfully, prayerfully, faith-
fully before him ; be abundantly blessed in the use of
all your Means, and eventually be made "pillars in
the temple of your God," to go out again no more
for ever !
f Mai. iii, 10. e Eph, iii, 20. Ps. 111. 9,
DISCOURSE XXVIII.
FAMILY WORSHIP.*
GENESIS xviii, 19.
For 1 know him, that he will command his children and
his household aj'ter him, and they shall keep the way
of the Lord, to do justice and judgment ; that the
Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath
spoken of him.
Do you, my Brethren, read the Word of God and
pray in your families? I repeat the quesjion; Do
you read the Word of God and pray in your families ?
Though not, allowedly, specified with particularity in
the sacred Scriptures, Family Worship is, nevertheless,
universally acknowledged and implied in them. Ho-
nourable, truly, is the testimony which the Searcher of
hearts bears to the character and conduct of his ser-
vant Abraham. Worthily is he called, "The father
of the faithful," and " the friend of God." Justified
himself by faith : blessed with a sweet consciousness
of the Divine favour, and happy in the right ways of
the Lord, Abraham was solicitous that the spiritual
good which he enjoyed should be shared by his house-
hold, and be perpetuated among his children from one
* See Chapter vii. of * A Treatise on Prayer,' by the Rer. Ed-
ward Bickersteth. To this the Author acknowledges himself much
indebted for several particulars mentioned in this Discouise,
FAMILY WORSHIP. 405
generation to another, and assure to them the promises
of God when his grey hairs should have been brought
down with gladness to the grave. He therefore
"commanded his children and his household after
him." And since "they that are of faith, the same
are the children of Abraham," 1 it behoves me to ex-
hort you, " if ye be Abraham's seed, that ye do the
works of Abraham.'^ That you may, then, command
your children and your households after you, that they
may keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judg-
ment, and that the Lord may bring upon you that
which he hath promised let me be favoured with
your attention, while I endeavour simply to shew you
I. The obligation we are under to maintain
Family Worship :
II. The advantages derivable from so doing :
And III. The excuses made for neglecting it.
I would shew you
I. The OBLIGATION we are under to maintain Family
Worship
And here we first of all observe that Family Wor-
ship is a thing reasonable in itself. Shall the father
of a human family be respected in his person, acknow-
ledged in his authority, and loved for his paternal
kindness ; and shall the one common Father of all,
the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier of our spirits,
and the God of all our mercies, be unrespected, unac-
knowledged, unloved? Is it reasonable that we avow
our gratitude for mercies of a national and a personal
kind, and not for those of a social or a family kind ?
Shall monuments be reared to our earthly fathers,
friends, and deliverers ; and shall we forbear to rear
an altar to our God and Saviour ? As "our reason-
able service," I think we are obligated for a family's
mercies, to offer up a family's worship.
Gal. iii, 7. b John Tiii, 30.
400 FAMILY WORSHIP.
But this argument for the obligation we are under
to maintain Family Worship, receives additional
strength when we consider that there is not, it is be-
lieved, a people upon earth, huwever uncivilized, rude,
and ignorant, who do not acknowledge some Being
superior in power, authority, and influence to them-
selves, and on whom they are dependent. How uni-
versally prevalent are sacrifices, and how common,
too, among the heathen are household deities. Surely,
then, with our purer faith, our more enlightened
views, and greater civilization, it ill becomes us to neg-
lect the worship of Almighty God in our families.
With our multiplied privileges, 1 conceive we are
proportionally obligated to acknowledge their boun-
teous and merciful bestower.
Moreover, Family Worship comes recommended to
us by many scriptural Examples. Joshua's well
known determination was " As for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord." c David, when he brought
the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-
cdom, and set it in the midst of the tent which he had
pitched for it, " returned to bless his house." A Job,
fearing lest his sons in the unchecked gaiety of their
hearts, should blaspheme the Lord, " rose up early in
the morning and offered sacrifices for them all," and
" thus did Job continually"* Cornelius was " a de-
vout man one that feared God with all his house, and
prayed to God alway." f We read of the Saviour's
praying with his disciples as wll as for them, 6 and
often did he privately instruct them. We read, too, of
" the Church that is in Nympkas* house" and of " the
Church in Philemon's house;" to the one of which
Paul sends a friendly salutation, and to the other wishes
" grace and peace from God our Father, and from the
Lord Jesus Christ," 1 ' Now these Churches were none
other than ' congregations of faithful men' house-
c Ch xxiv, 15. A I Chroru xvi, 43. e Ch.i, 5.
f Acts x, 2. s Luke ix, 18. b Col. iv, 15.
FAMILY WORSHIP. 407
huhk, in which the worship of God was maintained.
And if we are to be " followers of them who through
faith and patience inherit the promises,'* and above
all, of our Lord and Saviour, I think we cannot but
feel under a solemn and positive obligation to worship
God in our domestic circle.
But, let us more particularly contemplate the patri-
arch Abraham's commanding his children and his
household after him. His family piety obtains the ap-
proval and commendation of Jehovah himself a com-
mendation that most clearly indicates the mind of God
concerning Family Worship. We see the finger of
the eternal Father pointing us to this illustrious exam-
ple of domestic piety ; and whoso hath ears to hear
may hear him saying "Go and do ye likewise."
Wherever Abraham's earthly dwelling place was fix-
ed there he built an altar to the Lord. This he did in
the plains of Mamre : this he did again when he re-
moved to a mountain on the east of Bethel.' Daily,
doubtless, did he instruct his children in the altar's
mystic rites, and point his household to THE LAMB
which he knew the Lord would in after ages provide
himself for a burnt-offering. 11 The advent of Jesus
Christ was indeed to Abraham " as a morning spread
upon the mountains," mixed as yet with gloom and
only dawning ; but " he saw it and was glad. 3 ' 1 " The
way of the Lord" was to pass by transgression ; to for-
give freely and to save gratuitously : and all with
reference to a SEED that should be born to Abraham
and a Covenant of peace made with him. Savingly
acquainted with this great Truth was Abraham ; and
" justice and judgment" were the necessary fruits of
his faith. Hence, He to whom all hearts are open and
the most secret springs of action are discernable, testi-
fied of his servant " I know him, that he ivill com-
mand his children and his household after him :" and
thus commanded, " they/' as their great Progenitor
i Gen. xii. 7, 8. " Gen. xxii. 8. ' Johu viii' 56.
408 FAMILY WORSHIP;
had done, " shall keep the way of the Lord, to do
justice and judgment," saith the Lord. Prayer and in-
struction in Abraham's family went hand in hand to-
gether. Most significantly were they owned and
blessed ; and now is this example of domestic piety be-
fore us, stamped with the approving sanction of Al-
mighty God. Are we, then, under no obligation to
maintain it ? How can we possibly be " the children
of faithful Abraham," if we walk not in our Father's
footsteps ? Abraham's faith will lead to Abraham's
practice : and vain will be all our pretences to piety
if there be not an harmonious union betwixt our be-
lief and conduct. It is " with ALL prayer," that is,
with all manner of prayer ; domestic as well as public
and private -believers are exhorted to " pray alway." m
" Prayer" is to be made for the glory and universal
triumph of our Saviour-God " continually" and
(< daily (it is prophetically declared) shall he be
praised."" If "all the families of the Earth are to be
blessed in him ;" surely all those families of the Earth
that are already blessed in him, should deem it
their honour and their privilege to serve and wor-
ship him. If day bij day, we are taught to ask
our daily bread ; surely it is implied that day by
day we arc under ever continually increasing ob-
ligation to adore and thank the Faithful Donor of
it. If man be born rude and untractable as " a wild
ass's colt:" if " foolishness be bound up in the heart
of a child, " p and " as soon as we are born, we go
astray and speak lies ;" q why, then it becomes the im-
perative duty of the Masters, the Parents, and the
Elders of our families to instruct their children and
dependents in " the way of the Lord" and the truths
of the Lord's revealed will. And indeed unless they
will care for the moral and religious welfare of their
households, no others can care effectually for them.
m EI>!I. vi. 18. * Ps. 72. 15. " Job. xi. 12.
P Prov. xxii. 15. i Ps. 58. 3.
FAMILY WORSHIP. 409
A fearful responsibility attaches to parental and ma-
gisterial authority. Used with prudence, it becomes
a mighty means of good : neglected or abused, a fear-
ful consequence awaits it. The souls of children and
servants are committed to our care: In " the nurture
and admonition of the Lord" are they required to be
brought up : this it is scarcely possible to do without
regular and constant daily devotions in the family.
As I have said before, so say I now again, every man,
should be the priest of his own household : every house-
hold should know its fixed and determined seasons for
the gathering of its members around the altar of God ;
and every member of every household should be in-
structed in the nature, use, efficacy, and value of
Christ's atoning sacrifice, and taught that " without
shedding of blood there is no remission" of sin ; and
unless, as Abraham was, we be "justified by faith,"
we shall never be justified with God at all. O Be-
loved, let these things sink down into your ears. Be
it remembered that we have all a Master in Heaven
a Master to whom we must all one day account for
our several and respective talents ; and awful is that
saying we find written in Jeremiah x. and 25, "Pour
out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not,
and upon the families that call not upon thy Name. 9 '
Methinks this Scripture, added to our foregoing re-
marks, obliges us, in a manner the most solemn and
impressive, to maintain the Worship of God in our
houses. "The families that call not upon God's
Name," are herein ranked with " the heathen that
know <fcim not :" and upon them equally will the
Almighty " pour out" pour out, as a ruinous and
desolating torrent, his just and holy anger. Equally,
did I say ? Nay ; shall it not be more tolerable for
the heathen and their families in the Day of Judgment,
than for many who live like heathens in a Christian
land ? r Let us, then, consider this : and hencefur-
r - Mat. x 15. Luke x. 14.
410 FAMILY WORSHIP.
ward be cc thanksgiving and the voice of melody/*
reading of the Word and prayer, heard and observed
in all our habitations.
I hope you will be still further encouraged to adopt
the plain and obvious duty of Family Worship, while
I shew you
If. The ADVANTAGES derivable from so doing
These are, I believe, incalculably great. It would
far exceed the time usually allotted to our public mi-
nistration of the Word very particularly to enumerate
them or to dilate upon them. We must,, therefore,
briefly, notice those of a most striking and important
kind.
The continuance and prevalence of piety, is, in some
measure, assured by Family Worship. Instruction
given to the younger and dependent members of a fa-
mily, in a kind, familiar and condescending way, is
seldom, perhaps never, given wholly in vain. In se-
veral successive generations, we see the beneficial ef-
fects of Abraham's commanding his children and his
household after him. Sec in Genesis xxiv. how beau-
tifully the fear and love of God shone forth in the cha-
racter of his elder servant. Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph,
were all men of God : they kept " the way of the
Lord and did justice and judgment." Failures and
infirmities, indeed, marked their conduct: (and when
or where is human nature otherwise than sinful and
depraved ?) but they were men of probity and truth.
Now, would we that our children and others over
whom we have influence, should keep the way of the
Lord, and carry onward to succeeding years and ge-
nerations the knowledge and the love of God ? Let us
use the means and we may reasonably expect the end.
INlost certainly, it is not with us to convert the souls
of those committed to our charge ; but, we may
tf teach them the good and the right way :" we may
tell them they are sinners, and as such, exposed to
wrath while uuforgiveu : we may tell them Who is
FAMILY WORSHIP. 411
the Friend and Saviour of sinners ; how they may be
reconciled to God ; how become " new creatures ;"
how " fulfil all righteousness;" be holy in desire and
purpose here, and altogether so hereafter. This it is
in our power to do : Obligated we are to do it ; and
with prayer for the Divine approval of our labours and
blessing on them, we may hope our families will per-
petuate the knowledge of the only true God and Je-
sus Christ whom he hath sent, when our heart hath
ceased to beat and our tongue to speak. On the con-
trary, how can we reasonably expect our successors on
the stage of human conduct to tread the paths of ho-
liness and truth, when their fathers before them trod
the ways of worldliness and error? Will they, can
we hope, live vftAQodapd with him walk in near and
sweet communion, if we live without him and refuse
him the homage of our heart? Surely not: if then
we would that piety should continue and prevail, let
us command whom we may to worship with us the
God in whom we liveand move, and on whom we are
dependent for our life and breath and all things.
Family Worship, too, when prudently conducted
is attended with this advantage, It tends to promote
unity and peace. A joyous and pleasant thing it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity : s and what, un-
der God's approving smile, will tend more effectually
to produce and to preserve this unity as the regular
observance of domestic worship ? Why is it, we may
be allowed to ask, Why is it so many are continually
troubled with the misconduct and perverseness of chil-
dren and dependents ? Why ! because the blessing of
the Lord rests not in its softening, hallowing, uniting,
influence on their households; and that blessing they
have not because they ask it not. Can peace be found
where the Son of peace dwells not ? l Can light and
love and harmony prevail where the source and spring
of all heavenly affections is unheeded and unknown?
Ps. 133. 1. Lukex.G.
412 FAMILY WORSHIP.
Can we be "one'' otherwise than as united in Christ
Jesus ? "Where envying and strife is," and envying
and strife will commonly be found where Christ is not
''there is confusion and every evil work." v Whereas ;
let the holy Scriptures be daily read, and God be wor-
shipped in a simple, humble, Christian manner, and
this will allay, at least, if not entirely remove, those
unhappy passions to which our common nature is lia-
ble, and which, more or less, are too apparent in every
family. 'I am to join in Family Worship by and bye/
is a reflection which has not infrequently confined an
unkindly feeling to the breast, prevented the utterance
of a threatening word, smoothed the brov of anger,
and added subsequent fervour to thanksgiving for de-
liverance from it. Where can family sins be better
confessed and lamented than at a family altar ? Where
can family sorrows be brought with more propriety
before "the God of all comfort" than in a family cir-
cle ? And where, in all the world, will you find that
sweet union of heart that oneness of pursuit, aim, and
enjoyment that prevailing desire of the each to pro-
mote the happiness of the whole, unless it be in " an
household of faith," an household regulated by Chris-
tian rule and devoted to the service of the Lord?
Another great advantage resulting almost necessa-
rily from the practice of Family Worship is The pre-
servation of a sense of divine and spiritual things. We
are all by nature disposed to evil and indisposed to
good. Children, in general, are very thoughtless and
inconsiderate. Servants, too, and domestics, though
commonly apt enough to acquire a knowledge of the
occupations and duties pertaining to their respective
callings, will yet be found slow and dull in the appre-
hension of religious truths and things of an intellec-
tual kind : But the regular return of Family Worship
says (silently, indeed ; but not on that account the
less effectually) 'There is a God: There is a Being
in our midst, invisible, truly, to our bodily organs, but
T James iii. 16
FAMILY WORSHIP. 413
spiritually present, and privy to all our thoughts and
purposes : On this Being are we all dependent : Our
duty it is to worship him : Accountable are we to him
for all we think, or say, or do : a world of retribution
awaits our departure hence : notwithstanding, there-
fore the irreligion and ungodliness of the many, there
must yet be a tremendous reality in all that concerns
the soul and the soul's salvation.' This lt small still
voice" it will be impossible for the most ignorant and
careless members of our household not occasionally to
hear. And when it is heard, incalculable good may re-
sult trom it. Our worship may seem to be unheeded
at the time ; but seeds of truth and knowledge may be
sown that shall in after years spring up and bear the
fruits of righteousness. ' My father/ or ' My master
used to read and pray in the family where I lived and
when I was young/ has more than once been a suffici-
ent stimulus to a child or to a servant to do the same.*
But a further advantage derivable from Family
Worship is The efficiency it gives to ministerial la-
bour. Our labour does not so effectually avail for our
people's good as, we trust, it otherwise would do, be-
cause the parents and masters of our people do not
more generally follow our public ministrations with
their private admonitions. Every head of a family is
bound to " provide for those of his own household :*'
and which, with most anxiety and carefulness ought
he to provision them, things temporal or spiritual ?
Wherefore is he vested with authority if it be not to
use and to inprovc it ? He is to " command" his chil-
dren and his household ; he is to command them
" after him" himself is to be their exemplar, and to
lead the way to the mercy-seat of the one great Lord
and Master of us all. As there was a Church in the
* In repeated instances has the Author found among ihe adult po-
pulation of his Parish the beneficial efl'cct of having lived in praying
families. Many have acquired all their knowledge of religious truth
(instiumentally of couisr) from the Family Worship of tluir I'urtut
or Master.
414 FAMILY WORSHIP.
house of Nymphas and Philemon,, so should there be
in his house. Like Job he should plead " continu-
ally" the merit of the death of Christ both with and
for his household. From worshipping the Lord in his
sanctuary, he should, like David, " return to bless his
own house." And did this conduct more generally
prevail, we believe verily, Ministers would not have so
often and so mournfully to ask, " Who hath believed
our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord re-
vealed ?" v or, again, to complain, " I have laboured
in vain, and spent my strength for nought/"" If our
elder hearers the Parents and Masters of our pa-
rishioners, applied to themselves what they heard ;
treasured it in their own hearts and memories ; and
made it subsequently the matter of inquiry and con-
versation among their children and servants, O how
materially would their so doing aid and further our mi-
nistration of the Word ! And if in the every household
that composes the population of our parish, the voice
of supplication was daily heard, the Bible was daily
read its holy doctrines believed and its commands
observed, and thanksgiving with the voice of melody
acknowledged dail) the gracious and abounding mer-
cies of the Lord, O how certainly would this tend to
the prosperity of our common Zion and promote the
interests of piety and morality amongst us ! " 13y
reason of me," the spiritual senses of our people would
acquire a nice discernment of good and evil. Our
" babes in Christ" would become children ; our chil-
dren would become " young men ;" and our young
men " fathers."" Thus " all who desire the sincere
milk of the Word would grow thereby," and be qua-
lified for the reception of stronger and more substan-
tial food. y
And, whatever advantage the worship and service
of God in our families Jailed to produce, our pcr-
T Isa. liii 1. w Ib. xlix. 4. x 1 John ii. 12, 13.
y I Pet. ii, 2,
FAMILY WORSHIP. 415
formancc of a plain and acknowledged duty would
brins: with it its own reward. As in Psalm xixth and
O
1 1th verse, we read, " IN keeping God's commandments
there is a great regard" a present consciousness of
integrity, a present " delight in the law of God after
the inward man ;'' and the "reward of grace" in a
world of future and eternal blessedness. Abraham
commanded his children and his household after him :
they kept the way of the Lord ; they did justice and
judgment, and the Lord brought upon Abraham that
which he had spoken of him. " Abraham, after a life
of faith and love continued through an hundred three-
score and fifteen years, gave up the ghost, and died in
a good old age, an old man, and full of years ;" and
when he had been gathered to his fathers, " God
blessed Isaac his son," and through successive genera-
tions did the blessing of the Lord rest upon Abra-
ham's seed. 2 In like manner, if it be in our heart to
say, " Now, therefore, let it please thee to bless the
house of thy servant ; that it may be before thce
for ever; for thou blessest, O Lord:" then may
we believingly add, "and il shall be blessed for ever."*
"ForGod is not/' saysSt.Paul, "unrighteous to forget
your work aud labour of love, which ye have shewn
towards his name, in that ye have ministered to the
saints aud do minister. And we desire that every one
of vou do shew the same diligence to the full assurance
' O
of hope unto the end. That ye be not slothful, but
followers of them who through faith and patience in-
hr-rit the promises." 1 * On every child of faithful
Abraham the Lord will bring that which, in the ful-
nrss of his love towards us in Christ Jesus, he hath
spoken. While the curse of the Lord shall be in the
house of the wicked, he will bless the habitation of
the just.'
Such arc some of the many advantages derivable
from Family Worship. I was to shew you
* (MMI.XXV, 8 II. 1 Chron xvii, 27.
b Heb. vi, 10 12. c Piov. iii, 33.
416 FAMILY WORSHIP.
III. and finally, The EXCUSES made for neglect-
ing it.
These, we hope, those of you who neglect the wor-
ship of God in your families will observe ; and hence
perceive that the excuses which will satisfy us will not
satisfy God, nor, by any means,, lessen our obligation
to fulfil a plain and necessary duty.
An excuse made by many for neglecting Family
Worship is Want of ability to pray in tlie presence of
others or to lead a family's devotions. We have no
talents or gifts, say they, for the work : we should
only expose ourselves. Now, it so happens that this
is almost the only case in which people pretend to have
a very mean opinion of their own abilities. They
will not uncommonly be found to entertain a very high
opinion of their own abilities in most other matters ;
but, when required to " command their children and
their households after them, 3 ' O they have no ability
to do so. But, admitting you have not ability to do
so, you may seek and ask it. " Lord," said the disci-
ples of Jesus, " teach us to pray," and he taught
them. d I doubt not, however, but some of you may
sincerely desire to teach your households " the way
of the Lord," and to pray with your children and do-
mestics daily : but, you fear you have not ability ; you
want courage to begin ; a false shame hinders you.
Now, let me ask, Does the heart pray ? Is the eye
single ? Would you in simplicity serve your Lord
and benefit your families ? Would you that God
should be for salvation around you and a glory in the
midst of you ? Then, fear not. Hope and be undis-
mayed. The God whom you would serve, does not
regard "excellency of speech" or fluency of expres-
sion : He looks on the heart ; he notices purpose and
dchire. And if, on trial, you could not express your
sentiments and feelings with becoming readiness and
d Luke xi, 1.
FAMILY WORSHIP. 477
propriety, you could use a Form of prayer.* There
is nothing whatever objectionable in the use of a Form
of Prayer, simply and scripturally worded. The lan-
guage of our Liturgy, with variation where necessary,
is admirably adapted to express either our wants or
our acknowledgements, either our joys or our sorrows,
before the Lord. " If there be first a willing mind,
it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not
according to what he hath not." e Then, a pretended
want of ability cannot excuse the worship of God in
our families.
Others, again, will say, We fear being ridiculed:
we fear we shall be thought too strict and precise.
This excuse oftentimes has great weight with those
who urge it. So many neglect Family Worship that
we are necessitated to be peculiar if we adopt it.
Here, however, I observe The irreligion of the mul-
titude should be a powerful incentive with us to che-
rish religious habits and the fear of God in our houses.
Look at Abraham : he stood almost the alone wor-
shipper of God in a sinful world. And though all
around us spurned from their dwellings every vestige
of domestic piety, it affords no reason why we should
do the same. Whom are we obligated to for all our
mercies man or God ? If to God, which are we ob-
ligated to fear and worship ? Is "the curse" which,
as a poisonous bane, is in the house of the wicked
to be preferred to " the blessing which maketh
rich and addeth no sorrow with it ?" If you are
thought peculiarly strict and precise, ought you
not to be so when you recollect what a gracious
* This discourse led to the adoption of Jenks's Prayers, edited
by the Rev. C. Simeon, of King's College, Cambridge, among some
ol the Author's people. He detms it an excellent manual of devo-
tion. A less expensive one, and therefore one more within the
reacli of the poorer classes, is that of * Prayers for every day in the
Week' by the Religious Tract Society.
i 2 Cor. viii, 12.
2
418 FAMILY WORSHIP.
and merciful Lord you serve ? Do you not know
that ho te gave himself for us, that he might redeem
us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a pecu-
liar people, zealous of good works ? of And should
it not he cause of devoutest joy that we may be so pe-
culiurhj the friends and servants of Jesus Christ?
" The way of the Lord" is ten thousand times more
pleasurable and delightful than the way of the world.
Man may fro-wn disdainfully upon us scout our Fa-
mily Worship think it beneath him to kneel with us
around our family altar and by every unkind look and
gesture in his power may contemn our religious ser-
vices : but what matters it if our God smiles approv-
ingly upon us, and bestows npon us his fear, his truth,
his love, and all the riches of the full assurance of his
faith ? Those who make the ridicule of a fellow-worm
an excuse for neglecting to command the daily attend-
ance of their children and others under their autho-
rity, to the worship of God, would do well to consider
what is written in the viii. chapter of St. Mark, and
the 38 verse. Let me add, too, this equally applies to
those persons who, in general, it may be, have Family
Worship, but when they have a friend or stranger
with them in their house, unaccustomed, as they sup-
pose, to the service, they omit it. This betrays a fear
of man, and a shame of Christ and of his words, totally
unbefitting a profession of religion. What ! ashamed
of our God ! ashamed of our relationship to "the King
eternal, immortal, invisible!" ashamed of his wor-
ship! ashamed of what will constitute our "eternal
excellency," and be our employment through ever-
lasting ages \ O shame on our shame : Let not the
fear of being ridiculed evermore excuse or prevent the
worship of God in our families.
Another excuse urged by some is, We have no time:
A parent or a master wilt often say, * Myself and
household are always occupied : we are engaged in
* Tit. tt, 14,
FAMILY WORSHIP. 410
business early and late,, from morning till night : wo
liavc.j consequently, no time for assembling ourselves
to read and pray.' Bring this excuse to the Bible.
Abraham had flocks and herds exceeding many, and
very much cattle. Job, too, had the same. Joshua
was the Leader and Commander of all the armies of
Israel, David occupied a throne, and had all the
cares of government on his mind and yet all these
fathers and heads of families, numerous as were their
possessions and their concerns, found time to com-
mand their children and their households after them.
Besides, if you are so exceedingly engaged in your
worldly callings, you ought especially to maintain the
life and power of godliness in your several and re-
spective dwellings in order to counteract the influ-
ence of so much worldly care on the minds of your
children and others. But, have you really no lei-
sure ? none for amusement ? none for trifling occu-
pations ? none for vain, giddy, and babbling visit-
ants? Then, how dare you presume to say that you
cannot collect your households a few minutes morning
and evening for the worship and service of God ?
"Why give all your time to provisioning a perishing
body with perishable good ? Why not give some few
of its fleeting moments, at least, to the soul's instruc-
tion and to the claim, the just and righteous claim, of
a good and gracious God upon your heart, and mind,
and strength, and time, and all ? Would it be matter
of little consequence in succeeding years for our chil-
dren to know the way of the Lord, to love the paths of
holiness and truth, to exercise judgment and justice,
to be useful and honourable members of human so-
ciety, and then "fellow-citizens'* with their fathers of
"the Jerusalem that is above?' 5 Had they not better
even to lose some portion of their temporal wealth or
comfort, than to forego the probable advantages of
domestic piety ? But, in fact, we believe a want of
time for Family Worship proceeds, in most cases, from
a dislike to the duty, or an improper management of
420 FAMILY WORSHIP.
lime. If yon appoint stated and determined seasons,
\vhich shall be found most convenient, and keep to
them regularly, you will find it to be as easy to collect
your family together, and as indispensable to have re-
gular family devotion, as it is to have your daily meals.
Difficulties will vanish before Christian determination.
Children and servants will expect it: and there will
be felt a disagreeable loss if Family Worship be omit-
ted. Time will be found for it. Whatsoever may be
done or left undone, God will be worshipped : and
where thus worshipped amidst opposing difficulties and
in a Christian spirit, God will again become "the
glory of his servant's house." 3 His smile will prosper
labour, and labour will endear rest and repose in the
bosom of Divine benevolence. I am aware, those sons
or servants engaged in agricultural pursuits could not
always attend the morning's worship : but none need
be absent from the worship of the evening. Want of
time, then, cannot be allowed as an excuse for not wor-
shipping God in our families.
Sometimes we hear an excuse of this kind alleged
Some part of my household would oppose me : One or
more of my family would dislike Family Worship ; it
would be a restraint on them. No well-managed
child or servant would complain of a Parent's or a
Master's well-exercised authority over him. The
household of a Christian father will revere and honour
liim. His whole deportment will assure them that he
mainly affects their good, and requires nothing of them
but what will ultimately promote their happiness. As-
sured of this, they will need no entreaty to kneel with
him at a throne of grace, nor will they turn away from
Him who speaketh to them in his Word from heaven.
Should you; however, be unhappily opposed by any
member of your household, and one or more should
slight the worship of God in your family's devotions,
still maintain your authority; "command" obedience
s Zcch, xii, 7,.-
IAM1LY WORSHIP. 421
to your wish, and however opposed, be firmly resolved
that as for you and your house, you will serve the
Lord. Give nothing up that concerns your duty. Be
determined in your care of the immortal souls which
compose your household. Heed not the scowl of dis-
content or the sneer of scorn. " Be pitiful." Per-
haps it is your own fault, in part, that your children
and dependents are not more respectfully subservient
and obedient to you. Think Who can make them all
they should be. Seek for them as well as for yourself
" the kingdom of God and his righteousness :" Do so
" believing verily" that all other things, needful to
your happiness, shall be given to you with the king-
dom and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Then with
holy David shall you say, " I will sing of mercy and
judgment, unto thee, O Lord, will 1 sing:" and be
enabled in the strength of tho Lord to add, " 1 will
walk within my house with a perfect hcart." u
A final excuse we shall notice is this Fear of per-
sonal restraint. This excuse, if we mistake not, lies
at the root of almost every other. Let the heart be
examined, and many a one will find there e I am
fearful of a restraint upon myself: I am afraid if I
have daily Family Worship in my house, I shall not
be able to indulge myself and enjoy the world as I am
disposed to do : More will be expected from me then,
than is expected now: I must be consistent: If I say
Hallowed be thy Name, I must not take the name of
God in vain : If I read Swear not at all, I must not
swear myself : If I tell my children and servants to
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, they must
not see their father and their master living in the pro-
fanation of it : If I tell them to do justice and judg-
ment, I must not be otherwise than just and true my-
self: If I command my children and my household
after me, I ought to precede them in the way of the
Lord, and to lead to the due fulfilment of every relative
* Ps. 101. 2.
422 FAMILY WORSHIP.
and Christian duty: This I am not disposed to do,
and therefore it excuses my neglect of Family \Yor-
ship.' Now, this we do not suppose to be often
spoken in word : but is it not too often the language
of the heart ? And if it be, think what a mark this is
of a man's spiritual state ! How does it evince a most
lamentable hardness of heart and contempt of God's
commandment ! How does it countenance the world's
forgctfulness of its Maker, and say to the many of its
families who are glad to excuse their negligence,
*' What is the Almighty that we should serve him, and
\vhat profit should we have, if we pray to him ?"'
And how may this impediment to domestic piety be
done away ? By becoming ourselves what our house-
holds should be. Let us " acquaint ourselves with
God." Let us pray him to make known unto us 1m
" way" to " make plain his way before our face,"
and to enable us to walk steadily and consistently
therein. k " Wait on the Lord : be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thy heart : wait, I say, on the
Lord." 1 He can effect our deliverance from every
thing that hinders the prevalence of piety in our own
hearts and amongst those committed to our charge.
He can bring us into a "glorious liberty" of thought
and action. He can make our houses " Beth-els" and
the daily worship of himself the sweetest and most
grateful employment of our lives " And behold,
says God, I stand at the door and knock : if any man
hear rny voice, and open the door, I will come in to
Jiim, and will sup \vith him, and he with me." m
Trusting now that your excuses for neglecting Fa-
mily Worship are invalidated and silenced ; that you
are desirous, too, of the advantages derivable from it,
and convinced of the obligation you are under to
maintain it, I come, in conclusion, to RECOMMEND m
ADOPTION TO
i Job xxi, 15. k Ps.25. 1 &. ' Ps. 27. 14.
Kev. iii, 20.
FAMILY WORSHIP. 4*23
From Ibis day let God be worsbippcd in your fami-
lies. O my People, tbink bow pained your Minister
must feel as be goes out and in among you, and passes
by now here, now there, and yonder another of your
dwellings, where the voice of praise and supplication
never sounds where mercy is never asked and thanks
are never given. Do you not see how greatly pained
and discouraged we must feel ? Whereas, how pleased
and encouraged should we be, were we assured that
in all your dwellings there was reared an altar to our
common Lord ! Then, O ye who hitherto have neg-
lected I will not say this duty merely, but this high
and ennobling privilege neglect it now no longer.
Masters and parents, give unto your servants and chil-
dren that which is just and equal, knowing that ye
also have a Master and a Parent in heaven. Believe
yourselves bound by solemn obligation to conduct your
families' worship. Let your children grow up ha-
bituated to the service. When you engage your ser-
vants, let it form a part of your stipulation with them
that they shall be at home at your seasons of devo-
tions, and attend those seasons orderly. Let the
Word of God be daily read in your houses. If practi-
cable, let "a Psalm or Hymn or Spiritual Song"
sometimes enliven your worship. And close with
Prayer. Pray, as I have said, with a Form of prayer,
if you cannot pray without. Use whatever helps you
need rather than be prayerless households. Let a few
moments recollection always, if possible, precede ycur
engagement in family duty. It is a good plan previ-
ously to meditate on some portion of holy Scripture :
while you thus muse, the fire vi ill kindle, and at the last
you will speak with your tongue." What comes warm
from your heart will warm the hearts of others : what
affects you, will affect them. Jesus will appear in your
midst and say, " Peace be to you." He will bring on
you that which he hath spoken. He will pour on you
Ps. 39. 3
424 FAMILY WORSHIP.
his Spirit. "The savour of his knowledge" shall in-
crease. " THE WAY will be glorified in you. So
shall ye hasten the new heaven and the new earth's
creation. The holy city shall he seen coming down
from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned
for her Husband ; and angels in the mightiness of their
strength shall say, " BEHOLD, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall
be his people, and God himself' shall be with them and
be their God."*
O that ye, to whom I speak, may come with the
many that shall come from the east and from the west ;
from the north and from the south, and may ye sit with
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the holy, tri-
umphant, and everlasting kingdom of the great God
our Saviour, Jesus Christ! To him be dominion,
glory, praise, and power, now and evermore. Amen.
Rev. xxi, I 3.
DISCOURSE XXIX,
THE PRAYER OF JABEZ.
1 CHRONICLES iv, 10.
And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that
thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast,
and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou
wouldest keep me from cvil r thatit may not grieve me!
And God granted him that which he requested.
THERE are among the many things written in holy
Scripture for our admonition and instruction, several
remarkable instances of the acceptableness and preva-
lence of fervent prayer. Abraham interceded six times
for the cities of the Plain, and was answered after each
renewal of his prayer.* Jacob wrestled in prayer with
God for a blessing, and the wrestling Jacob became
the prevailing Israel. 11 Hezekiah under sore affliction
prayed for the prolongation of his life, and fifteenyears
were added to the days of the years of his pilgrimage.
Hannah, whose peculiar portion was a praying spirit,
asked a son : a son was given to her. d Jehosbaphat,
the pious king of Judah, when his dominions were in-
vaded by the Ammonites and others, summoned his
* Gen. xviii, 23, '' Ib. xxxii, 28. c 2 Kings, xx, 2.
d 1 Sum i, 1120.
426 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ.
nobles, his people, and even mothers with their little
ones, about him : solemnly placed both himself and
them under the Divine protection, and prayed for suc-
cour and deliverance : wonderfully was he both suc-
coured and delivered: 6 Daniel prayed for the restora-
tion of his brethren from captivity : " whiles he was
yet speaking in prayer/' an answer was vouchsafed to
him.* When Peter was confined and even bound with
chains within his prison-walls, prayer procured him
freedom and enlargement. 5 Nor less remarkable than
those just specified, was the Prayer of Jabez, Who
Jabez was from whom descended or to whom related,
we cannot positively determine. We learn only from
the verse immediately preceding our text, that he was
an honourable man, more honourable than his brethren ;
and that his Mother called him Jabez because she bare
him in sorrow.* In what respects Jabez was more ho-
nourable than his brethren, or on what grounds his
birth was so sorrowfully commemorated by his Mother,
we are not informed. This, however, we certainly
know, and this is what we are chiefly concerned to
know relative to this honourable man "Jabez called
on the God of Israel." The God of Abraham and of
Isaac and of Jacob, was his God. No graven image
won the homage of Jabez : he poured out his requests
to no dumb and powerless idol. A child of grief, he
knew the one gracious and merciful Refuge of the dis-
tressed and afflicted soul. Possibly the calamities which
had befallen himself or family, had tended to increase
and deepen the ardour of his piety. Importunity in
prayer is a touch-stone whereby all pretences to reli-
gion may be surely tried. It is well when the heart
feels unutterable things . h In the prayer of Jabez,
there seems to have been more felt than words coulcl
* The name Jabez signifies sorrowful.
2 Chron. xx, whole ch. * Ch.ix, 20. 8 Acts xvi, 5 16.
h Rom. viii, *JG.
THE PRAYER OF JABEZ. 427
express. There is in it a depth of feeling, a fervency
of desire, which I fear, few of us, favoured as we arc
with clearer Revelations of God's will and moreabun-
dant means of grace than Jabez was, experience or
enjoy in our approaches to the Mercy-seat. " 0V
says he, tf that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and en-
large my coast, and that thine hand may be with me t and
that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not
grieve me!" And large as his petitions were, full and
comprehensive as were his desires, " God granted him
that which he requested."
Now, without insisting particularly on the necessity,
the duty, and importance of Prayer; I mean easily and
simply to notice, FIRST, The Prayer before us, and
SECONDLY, Our encouragement to pray the same.
In noticing
FIRST, The Prayer before us.
We shall mark its several petitions as they follow
each other in succession. And, first, in calling^ upon
Israel's God, Jabez says, " Oh, that thou wouldest
bless me indeed !" What ardour of expression do
these few words contain ! "Bless me :" " Bless me:"
"Bless me indeed:" " Oh, that thou wouldest bless
me : and " Oh ! that thou wouldest bless me indeed.
This good man percieves a worth in the blessing of
his God infinitely surpassing all his earthly honour and
pre-eminence. For this he pants. His very soul goes
forth in desire unspeakable to possess it. 'Oh ! that
I might be blessed : Oh ! that 1 might be blessed in-
deed: Oh! that I might see the felicity of God's
chosen, and triumph with them in the fruition of their
hope.' Thus Jabez prayed. Honourable he was, and
more honourable than his brethren ; affluent, we may
suppose, in worldly circumstances, and happy amid
the smiles and caresses of all who like him called on
the God of Israel : but, would this suffice him ? no :
"the honour which cometh of man," Jabez felt to be
a trivial and an unsubstantial thing : he therefore,
428 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ.
sighed for "the honour which comcth of God." Man
blessed him: but calling upon the Lord, he says, "Oh!
that THOU wouldest bless me." Nor can zoe, my Bre-
thren, too sedulously seek, too importunately ask, the
blessing of Almighty God. We may conceive our-
selves to be "rich and increased with goods:" we
may be honourable among our fellows : many may re-
gard our presence, our influence, and authority, with
respectful deference: but all these are adventitious
things: the most worthless of our kind may possess
them, and all the while the blessing of the Highest
may not be upon us. And what if God be angry with
us ? What if he smile not in mercy on our souls ?
His blessing alone maketh truly rich. 1 It is as he
blesseth us that our way is prosperous. 11 We must be
blessed of him to be really great and good. 1 Ought we
not then to ask and seek that we may receive and find
God's blessing ? Let us cry, " Oh, that thoti wouldest
bless me:" and again, <S J3 less me, even me also, O my
Father /" Assured we may be that our Heavenly Fa-
ther hath not " one" merely, but many a blessing to
bestow on the soul that calls upon him." 1 " With all
spiritual blessings are we blessed in Christ Jesus :" n
Surely, then, we should not with less importunity than
Jabez beg the Lord to bless us : and " I wot that
whom HE blesseth, is blessed." Blessed "indeed"
shall we be: blessed in our down-sitting and our up-
rising; blessed in our basket and our store; blessed in
the city and in the field; blessed in our going out and
our coming in ; the Lord will open to us his good
treasure, and we shall be blessed in the experience of
his grace ; we shall be above only and shall not be
beneath : yea, the Lord will establish us an holy people
to himself, as he has covenanted with us in our Surety,
and all people of the earth shall see that we are called
by the Name of the Lord, and are those whom the
Lord hath blessed.'"
1 Pi-uv. x. 22. k Isa. xlviii. 15, ' Mat. xxv. 34.
> n Gen. xxvii. :jl 38. n Eph. i. 3. " Dcut. xxviii. 1 13.
THE PRAYER OF JABE7. 429
Jabez next prays for et enlargement of coast." What
he particularly means by this petition, we do not pre-
tend to say. It might possibly relate to territory, and
Jabcz might pray this prayer for the more convenient
accommodation of his dependents, and his flocks and
herds.* Be this, however, as it may, without by any
means wresting the sacred text, we may understand it
to me an enlargement of heart, increase of devotional
feeling towards God, and a more enlarged capacity to
receive and to retain his blessing. There is a corres-
pondency of experience in the saints of every age. " One
and the self-same Spirit" works that experience, and
though it may be very various in its joys and sorrows,
and its hopes and fears, yet is its origin and its end the
same. Though not in his God, Jabez might feel
" straightened" in himself, as many a servant of the
Lord docs now. Well befitting such a state is the
petition, "Enlarge my coast." And who of us all
docs not need to present this petition before the Lord ?
Who of us all needs not more grace whereby more feel-
ingly to enter into I he meaning of Isaiah's beautiful ex-
pression "The desire of our soul is to thy Name and
to the .remembrance of thee ?" p Even when our
soul's desire is God-ward, and we do remember him,
how straightened do we oft times feel ! how bounded
are our views! how confined our desires! how low
and few our hopes ! Well then does it behove
us to ask "'a more abundant entrance into the faith,
the hope, and the love of " the common salvation."
God commended Solomon's choice of wisdom, rather
than silver and gold, reputation and honour ; and gave
him much " largeness of heart.'"* If, then, any of us
lack wisdom, let us ask it of God. r Let us pray for
still deeper and more humbling views of our native
si n fulness : Let us ask for still clearer and more ex-
hilirating views of Jesus Christ, and the Saviour's suit-
* Genesis xiii, G. makes our supposition not improbable.
*
P Ch. xxvi 8. ( i 1 Kings iii. 9. and iv. 29. ' Jaints i. 5
430 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ,
ability to the sinner's necessity : Let us beg for
brighter, more vivid, and more realizing perceptions
of unseen realities : Let us, in fine, in words much
loved by some of you, say,
" Give me the enlarg'd desire
And open, Lord, my soul ;
Thy own fulness to require,
And comprehend the whole.
Stretch my faith's capacity,
Wider and yet wider still ;
Then with all that is in thec,
My gladsome spirit fill."
For this did Paul bow his knees unto the Father of
pur Lord Jesus Christ, and this with holy fervour did
lie supplicate for his dear Ephcsian converts. 8 And
in this way may our coast be immeasurably enlarged.
We "have a goodly heritage:" let us not be con-
tented to tarry on its borders. Much yet remains to
be possessed. Let us go up and possess it. We are
well able when our Almighty Lord is our Guide and
Guardian. None may dispute our right to what he
gives us ; and when he says " To you will 1 give
this land," we may confidently pray this prayer of Ja-
bez, " Enlarge my coast."
The third petition which Jabez prefers is, "And that
thine hand may be with me." Hand in the language
of Scripture has a great variety of meanings. Where
it occurs, the context will usually determine its proper
signification. Here, as in numerous other parts of
the sacred Volume, it imports the sovereign power
and strength of the Lord or, perhaps, the union of
his goodness and ability to succour and befriend the
soul that r.erves him. Jabcz, doubtless, felt himself
to be in himself a weak and helpless creature : (and
who that is "taught of God" does not?) he there-
fore made not gold his confidence, nor confided in the
multitude of his riches. "1 will not trust in my bow,"
f E-h. iii. 1419.
THE PRAYER OF JABEZ. 431
might he think ; " neither shall my sword save me." 1
" I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness," is God's gracious promise to his be-
lieving child : v and gratefully might Jabez say, " Thy
right hand shall save me." And better shall we find
it to put our trust in the Lord, than to put any confi-
dence in man, or in creature-counsels. We can only
be secure in Divine protection. It is when "the Lord
God of Israel fights for Israel," that Israel alone can
prevail. He that blesses and enlarges the praying
soul, must maintain its life, recruit its strength, supply
its wants, cheer its hopes, and eventually terminate its
conflicts in victory and triumph. How earnestly then
should we implore "the good hand of our God upon
us !" It is only as his hand is upon us that we can
prosper. Of the isles it is said "On mine arm shall
they lean :" and may we not cherish the most simple
and entire dependence on the arm of the Lord ? Is it
shortened that it cannot save? Does it not sustain
" as a very little thing" the mountains and the hills of
the earth ? x Does it not hold the sun and the moon
and the stars in their courses ? y Does it not uphold
the inhabitants of the eternal world in their blessed
allegiance to their Lord? Hath it not bound the
powers of darkness with chains they cannot sever?
Hath it not ever continually from the beginning sus-
tained the weakness and preserved the soul of the
believer ? z Hid in the hollow of Jehovah's hand,
can any pluck us thence ? a In all times of our
tribulation may we pray, " Let thine hand help mc." L>
In the hour of nature's dissolution, may we cry, "Into
thy hand I commend my spirit." And as our spirit
wings its upward flight, cheerfully may we sing, "The
right hand of the Lord docth valiantly : the right
hand of the Lord is exalted : the right hand of
Lord doeth valiantly !" d
* Ps. 44. 0. v i sa . x )j, 10. w P s 138. 7.
* Isa. xl, 15. v Ib. xl, 20. z Dtut.xxxiu, 27.
John x, 28. >' I's. 1 10 173. c Ib. 31. 5.
* Ib. 118. 15, la
432 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ'
Jabez goes on, finally, to add, " And that thoti
wouldest keep me from evil that it may not grieve
me." Evil applies to sin ; to suffering as the conse-
quence of sin ; and to the evil one through whose
temptation we have sinned. Our nature is de-
praved ; our heart is deceitful ; and through our de-
pravity and self-deception, wealth, honour, and hu-
man approval, become snares to us. What should
have been for our profit, tends to our loss. To
this Jabez might feel himself particularly exposed.
He felt that he could not keep himself that his own
resolutions and endeavours were not alone sufficient to
deliver him from evil or the grief it would occasion
him. His petition therefore is, " Oh ! that THOU
wouldest keep me." He wished the Lord to keep
him : to keep him lowly and contrite in the days of
outward comfort, and to be himself his shield and
buckler in the seasons of spiritual conflict. He want-
ed that view of the Divine perfections which would
assure him that all things, however apparently opposed
to his good, should ultimately prove beneficial to him.
Hence, he would not " sorrow without hope" nor be
" greatly moved" amidst the ever varying movements
of human affairs. And who can deliver us from evil
that it grieve us not, but the God of Jabez ? Though
we may be blessed and enlarged and protected, yet
who of us all is not liable to temptation, to sorrow, to
personal sickness, and to bereavements of various and
distressful kinds ? Would we then from all these
seeming evils see the hand of the Lord still adducing
good ? Would we be delivered from the almost
numberless evils that too surely lodge within us ?
Would we tread on the powerful maliciousness of that
evil one who as a roaring lion goeth about seeking
whom he may devour? Would we that the venom of
sin should be extracted, and the nature " of temporal
calamity be changed ? Would we be secure in times
of wealth and resigned in times of tribulation ? Let
us pray our covenant-God in Christ to keep us. It is
THE PRYY'ER OF JABE7. 433
only the Lord that can safely keep us ; and lie can so
keep us from evil that it shall not grieve us. " The
Lord, it is declared, will deliver his servant in the day
of evil. " e " There shall no evil happen to him" but
through the grace of our Lord, it shall prove a good/
Every humble follower of Jesus may go on his way,
saying as he goes, " I will fear no evil for thou art
with me :" ff and no sooner will he have reached the
gates of the heavenly Zion, but " sorrow and sighing
shall flee away," and he himself shall be crowned
with fadeless joy and everlasting gladness. Satan him-
self will God bruise under our feet shortly.' 1 Not his
utmost hate will grieve us while we can truly say,
" My Beloved is mine, and lam his; I know in whom
I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to
keep that which I have committed unto him." 1 Blessed
witli a Saviour's help; assured of a Saviour's love;
and kept by a Saviour's power, we may " rejoice in
hope, be patient in tribulation, continuing instant in
prayer." " Who is he that condemneth, since it is
the Christ, that died?" " Who shall separate us from
the love of God" since that love the floods of our
ungodliness could not quench ? k The promise of Him
who keepeth Israel with ceaseless and wakeful watch-
fulness is " l,the Lord, do keep it: I will water it every
moment, lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day." 1
We may surely, then, believe that " if any hurt a praying
follower ofJesus, they hurtthe apple of Jehovah'j eye,"'"
and hence we gather how confidently we may ask him
to "keep us from evil that it may not grieve us.*'
Such was the Prayer of Jabez : And from noticing
its several petitions, we proceed to notice,
SECONDLY, Our encouragement to pray the same.
" And God granted Jabcz that which he requested"
say the concluding words of our text. God blessed
Ps. 41. 1. ' Ib. 91. 10. e Ib. 23. 4.
Rom. xvi, 20. Cant, ii, 10. 2 Tim. 112.
k Cant, viii, 7. ' Isaiah xxvii, 3, "' /cell, ii, 8.
2F
434 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ,
him, and blessed him indeed ; God enlarged his coast ;
God mightily defended him ; God kept him from evil
so that it did not grieve him : and does not the vouch-
safement of Jabez' prayer encourage us to pray the
same? Does it not show us,
That God keareth prayer ?. Great and glorious as
the God of Israel is, yet does he bow down a listening
ear to the voice of human supplication. The cry of
distress he especially heeds. A "Jabez" "a child
of sorrow," may the every son and daughter of fallen
Adam be denominated. When sensible of our wretch-
edness, we " pour out our complaints before the Lord
and shew him of our trouble/' " he heareth us." He
heard the intercession of Abraham for the cities of the
Plain. He permitted Jacob to prevail and to obtain the
blessing which he so passionately desired. He listened
to the sore mourning of Hezekiah and commissioned a
Prophet to assure him that his prayer was heard. He
marked the silent movement of Hannah's lips, and ful-
filled her heart's desire. Jehoshaphat he enablec to
put to flight an Alien's armies by prayer. Daniel was-
heard in the " beginning of his supplication," and an
angel of swiftest wing came down tosay, "Thy pray-
er is heard." Prayer won the ear and moved the hand
of high Omnipotence to bring Peter through bars and
>;ates of iron, and to set him in the midst of praying
brethren. Jabez, called on God and all that he re-
quested was vouchsafed to him. And is it not a sweet
and delightful truth that the God of Jabez, the God
ot all the worthies we have just enumerated, is OUR
God ? that happily we are not worshippers of a god
which having eyes seeth not, and having ears heareth
not ? Disclaiming all other lords, we acknowledge the
one true and eternal Lord. Him we honour as God
our Father, God our Saviour, and God ourSanctifier.
We find in him our best Friend, our mightiest Pro-
tector, our most sympathizing Brother*" His favour,
n Pror. xviii 24.
THE PRAYER OF JABEZ. 435
consciously possessed, forms the all in all our happiness.
We believe him to be acquainted with all our ways and
wants and cares. " He that planted the ear, shall he not
hear ? Pie that formed the eye, shall he not see ?" He
that formed the heart with all its faculties of percep-
tion all its sensibilities and powers, shall not he know,
perceive, and feel? How encouraged, then, should
we be to pray unto the Lord our God ! " Hear us, O
our God," should wesay; p and rest in the assured
persuasion, "My God will hear rne." q "This is the
confidence we have in him, that, if we ask any thing
according to his will, he heareth us : And if we know
that he heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that
we have the petitions that we desired of him. 01 " For,
docs not the prayer of Jabez shew us, moreover,
That God answereth prayer ? Mark the several
prayers we have repeatedly alluded to, and see how
signally, how readily, how graciously, they were an-
swered. ' How know you, we get sometimes asked,
whether our prayers be heard or no?' *' We KNOW
that God heareth us," because " we KNOW that we hare
the things petitioned for." No angel, indeed, nor pro-
phet is sent to say that our prayers are heard : but, a
consciousness of their acceptance and vouchsafement
pervades our mind a consciousness, the reality of
which no praying soul can doubt. The Divine Nature
is "without variableness or shadow of turning :" if
God was yesterday gracious to the souls that sought
him, he is the same to-day, and will be so Tor ever. If
with complacency and delight he listened to the pray-
er of Jabefl and granted him that which he requested,
he will listen with equal complacency and delight to
the voice of our supplication. He pardoneth, hejusti-
fieth,heconsoleth, he sa"veth, the man of prayer. Abun-
dantly beyond all that we can think or ask, he docth
for us. Jesus not with the blood of bulls and of
Ps. 94. 9. P Nth. iv, 4. 1 Mic. vii, 7.
' 1 John v, 14, 15.
436 THE PRAYER OF JABE7.
goats, but with his own, is entered into the holy place,
that is, into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us. The Spirit also helpethour infirmities.
The promise runs, " Ask what ye will and it shall be
done for you:" and, therefore, "When I call upon
thee," may the Believer say, "thou wilt answer me." 3
We call not upon a Baal, saying, " O Baal, hear us ;"
and where then can be " neither voice nor any to answer
us:" but we call on "the God of Israel" a God who
mercifully declares, "Before they call, I will answer:
and while they are yet speaking, 1 will hear." 4 " Let
us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time
of need." v
But does not the Prayer of Jabez encourage us tc-
hope, That God will grant us that which we request of
him ? When the holy Spirit brings the soul into near
and endearing communion with its reconciled Father
in Christ, that question seems to meet us in all our ap-
proaches to him. " What wilt thou that I shall do unto
thee?"" or that permission "Ask what I shall give
thee :"* Wouldest thou be blessed, wouldest thou thy
coast should be enlarged ? wouldest thou that my
hand should be with thee ? and that no evil should
grieve thee ? ." Ask and you shall receive." When
my designs were hid in dark and shadowy rites, Jabez
prayed and I granted him that which he requested :
Can you imagine me to be less gracious now my de-
signs are rip'ened into effect and deed? O how should
this encourage us "by prater and supplication with
thanksgiving to make known our requests unto God !"
He is the Lord, and changes not. y His goodness is a
shoreless fathomless ocean and faileth not. The
" wonders which he doeth" and hath ever done " for
the children of men" flow from it.* Our emergencies
are as great and our enemies as numerous as were those
Ps. 80. 7. -t 1 Kings xviii, 2G. Isa. Ixv, 24.
v Heb iv, 1C. w Mark x, 51, * 1 Kings iii, 5.
y Mai iii,. 6. Ps. 107, 8.
THE PRAYER OF JABEZ. 437
of Jabez. His blessing alone can refresh and satisfy
our souls. It is only where he commandcth his bless-
ing, that there is "life for ever more."" All will be
desolate sterility where that is not. Our nature is
equally depraved and weak with that of Jabez: the
world is still as it ever was since the first transgression,
the enemy of truth and godliness : The same dan-
gers attend on wealth and honour as attended them in
the days of Jabez : and Satan is as powerful and ma-
licious now as when Jabez lived below : unless there-
fore tf the hand of the Lord be with us," we shall
fail in warring a successful warfare, and consequently
shall fail also of the conqueror's crown. The God of
Israel only can extract the venom of evil and keep us
composed and cheerful amidst the various ills of mor-
tal life. Let us ask him to do so. Numerous, truly,
our wants and weaknesses may be numerous as the
moments that make up our days and years ; but the
tender mercies of our God are numberless. " All
things are your's ;" but " for them I will be enquired
of, saith the Lord, to do them for you. " b "And
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing it shall be
done for you." Deep then soever and comprehensive
as our requests may be, we are encouraged to hope
that our God will grant them.
Having noticed now the Prayer before us and our
encouragement to pray the same : I would ADDRESS,
1. Any among you vho may live without prayer :
But is it possible for any born in a Christian land,
favoured with Christian Sabbaths, Means, and Minis-
ters, and themselves denominated Christian, to live
-without prayer? O yes, very possible. Fact too
surely proves that thousands do so. To multitudes you
may say, ' Do you pray ?' and they will be constrained
to answer 'No.' Put the question only to your
neighbours, and you will soon be thoroughly convinced
Ps. 133. 3. b 1 Cor. iii, 22. Ezck. xjuvi, 37.
438 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ.
that we have not a few baptized infidels amongst us.
Now., my Brethren, no words are sufficiently strong to
express the danger of a prayerless soul. Prayer is the
breath of the " new creature in Christ Jesus;" and
that man who does not pray has not yet begun spiri-
tually to exist. And where there is no spiritual exist-
ence, the soul must be wholly in bondage to corrup-
tion and enslaved by sense and sin. Remaining in this
State, it must be lost for ever. I believe it quite as
easy for the Devil himself to go to Heaven as it is for
a prayerless unregenerate man to go there. No sooner
are we " alive unto God" -no sooner are we con-
scious of our sinfulness arid aware of our desert, but
there will be a cry for mercy. When sensibly con-
demned in ourselves, we shall value a Saviour. Feel-
ing our helplessness, we shall be saying, " Oh ! that
thou wouldest keep me and that thine hand may be
with me." Where this is all unknown and all unfelt,
there reigns " the darkness of the shadow of death/'
Hear this ye prayerless sinners ! " O that mine head
were waters and my eyes fountains of tears, that I
might weep day and night," while ye weep not for
yourselves. O how clearly manifest it is that \e
"know not the Lord" that no Spirit of adoption
cries within you " Abba, Father" that ye value not
the mercies of the Everlasting Covenant- that Jesus
is still unlovely in your eyes that ye are aliens from
the commonwealth of Israel and can entertain no
scriptural hope in this world of glory in another. Say
not, ' We have no learning and therefore cannot pray :'
A starving wretch needs not learning to ask for food: A
beggar knows full well how to crave our charity. You
could easily ask some temporal good, if by asking
you could have it. Say not again, ' We have no
itime to pray :' In whose hand is your breath, and Who
adds to the number of those nights and days through
which you prayerlessly live ? O let not " the
stork in the heaven know her appointed time, and the
turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time
THE PRAYER OF JABEZ. 439
of their coming" and you yourselves be ignorant of
the cc judgment of the Lord," and indisposed to know
it. e Ye are fallen creatures ; condemned sinners ;
perishing immortals ; ye therefore ought to pray. Ye
need God's ' special grace' to awaken, to convert, to
purify and save your souls : this you are taught to
pray for :* You ask not: therefore you receive not.
Then " take with you words, and return unto the
Lord." Live not another day without calling upon
the God of Israel. If his blessing be not upon you,
his how shall I speak it? his curse will attend jou.
If his hand be not with you, it will be against you. If
He enlarge you not, you will be bound and enslaved
for ever. If He saves you not from evil, evil will
grieve you unutterably. If, on the contrary, you come
another self-condemned and guilty prod'gal to your Al-
mighty Father, he will meet you in love and abundantly
pardon you. If there be the cry of penitence in your
lips, the gracious Saviour will not spurn you from
him. " Behold, he calleth tbee" : " O taste and see
how gracious the Lord is ; blessed are all they that-
put their trust in him !" But I would speak to
2. Amj among you who may pray formally.
There are many who maintain a form of daily wor-
ship. If we ask them whether they pray, ' O yes, say
they ; we say our prayers every day.' But we much
fear the prayers of many are formal, customary, un-
meaning things. That they are so, may too easily be
proved. Prayer with them induces self-complacency:
it is, they think, so much done towards the purchase
of salvation and eternal life : it is, too, a something
which, they hope, will recommend them to God's fa-
vour and compensate for their sins. Thus they pray
not as a condemned criminal for mercy, or as a perish-
* Question in the Catechism before the Lord's Prayer.
e Jtr. viii, 7.
440 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ.
ing soul to be saved but to please themselves and to
gratify the natural pride of the carnal mind. If other
proof were wanting of formality in the prayers of
fnany, one thing there is that indisputably proves it
they look for no answer to their prayers : they are not
concerned to obtain what they ask for ; yea, more, if
God were to bestow on many the things they ask for,
they would be disconcerted and surprised, and be ready,
with more than usual earnestness, to beg him to re-
sume his gifts. We might instance this in almost
every prayer of the formalist. When asking God to
write all the commandments of the Law in his heart;
to be enabled diligently to keep them ; to be alto-
gether and unreservedly devoted to the Saviour's glory ;
and so on : Does he mean all this ? Does he think
that God will do as he has prayed him ? Does he
wait and watch and long to be answered ? No! no-
thing like it : and hence we may be excused for saying
that our belief is, the benches of the Church pray just
as earnestly as some who situpontbem. ' O,' we some-
times hear it said ; ( \ say my prayers ; and I go to
Church.' Beloved, saying prayers is not. praying, nor
is going to Church prayer. 1 could tell ycu of one
that attained to three score years and ten, and who
after he was seventy -years of age, acknowledged that
though he had kept his Church and said his prayers
for many years of his long life, yet he believed that till
then he had never prayed at all. I would this was
an uncommon case. Now, with " the form of sound
words which ye have received to hold," my desire is
that you should " pray with the spirit and with the
understanding also." God must be worshipped
spiritually, to be worshipped acceptably.* 1 He must
not be to us an " unknown God." We must conceive
worthily of him. The terrors of the offended Deity,
must 'be lost in the mildness, the mercifulness, the
loveliness, of a pitying and redeeming Saviour. "God
A Juhii iv, '24.
THE PRAYER OF JABEZ. 441
is In Christ reconciling the world unto himself." It
is by Christ and through the Sjririf, that we have ac-
cess to the Father. When, therefore, you come be-
fore the Lord, it must beintheway of his appointment.
Sincerity of purpose and desire must mark your ap-
proaches to him . Not only must you well say your forms
of devotion, but there must be a heart correspondent
with them/ You must mean what you say, and expect
(with deference to the Divine will) what you ask.
Prayer is the habit of a regenerate soul. It is the
sigh, the groan, the wish, of the lowly and contrite
spirit. We do not decry forms; we use them and ap-
prove of them : but rested in, they are dangerous,
and unaccompanied with the power of godliness, they
are useless. Real religion is an inward thing : and I
am solicitous that you carefully examine the nature of
your prayers, why you say them, and what you expect
from them, in order to judge correctly concerning the
reality of your religion. See that you come not short
of vital and influential "fellowship with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ." I say finally and
3. To amj of you who do truly pray,
" Continue instant in prayer," " always, like
Bpapbras, labouring fervently in prayer," and like
Jabcz, crying, " O that thou wouldest bless me!" I
am aware that many who do truly pray are wont to
say, ' Ah ! we pray, as we trust ; but, alas ! our pray-
ers are so few, so cold, so straitened ; we feel so many
misgivings ; the doubts and fears of our wicked heart
so oft prevail, that we much fear our prayers are not
heard, that God sees how we dishonour him by dis-
trusting him ; how our minds wander, and how impa-
tient we sometimes are because our wants are not so
soon supplied, as our vain hearts would have them.'
Is this the language of one or more among you? Then
certainly has God poured a Spirit of grace and of sup-
e Eph. ii, 18. f Deut. v, 28, 21).
442 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ.
plications on you. You do truly pray. Your aver-
sion to formality and your desire to be sincere, evi-
dence the Holy Spirit's presence in your heart. Fear-
ful you may be ; but hopeful you should be. It is
well if you see that but for ' ' the blood of sprinkling"
your duties would as certainly condemn you as your
sins. This leads you simply to rely on Jesus and him
crucified. Through him alone you expect to be
blessed, enlarged, and kept from evil. And whilst you
ground the all of your dependence not upon your
saying prayers and keeping to your Church, though
that you will do from purer motives and far nobler
ends, but on the merits and mediation of a Saviour
you may " open your mouth wide and God will fill it."
If you can find in yourselves the character to which
any promise is annexed, you may ask with assurance
of success the mercy promised. Am I, for example,
"weary and heavy-laden?" Am I weary of sin and
heavy-laden with its guilt? Then may I come to Je-
sus Christ, and in him I shall find " rest." 5 The same
reasoning holds good with reference to every other
promised blessing, and a praying soul may go on to
ask every blessing that suits its character and necessity.
God granted Jabez all which he requested : and even
more than all we can either ask or think, can God do
for us. Then, pray on. Remember Who " bears the
iniquity of your holy things. " Can human fears pre-
vail to drown "the strong cryings" of Jesus Christ?
Lives he not to make intercession for us ? And though
for the trial of our faith and in order to increase our
importunity in prayer, the Lord " may make as though
he heard us not," yet the "O/z/ that thou wouldest
bless me" of an adopted child most surely reaches the
eternal Father's ear, and when it pleases him in his
wisdom and mercy to notice it, he will bless that child
" indeed. 33 Does a Jabez a child of sorrow, pray ?
" I will satiate, saith j our God, the weary soul, and
* Matt, xi, 28.
THE PRAYER OF JABEZ. 443
replenish every sorrowful soul." Surely then l< ye
ought alwai/ to pray and nut to faint ." Even though
the mercy ye supplicate be delayed in its bestowment:
yet, "wait for it ; it \vill surely come: it will not
tarry" beyond the moment when it shall most refresh
you. " My God, may you say, we know t/iee." h You
know him to be true, powerful, and kind : You know
that he heareth prayer and answereth it : You know
that he can do all things for you, and if ye will " watch
and pray," you shall one day with high and rapturous
praise declare " There failed not aught of any good
thing, which the Lord had spoken unto the house of
Israel; all came .to pass." 1
h Hos. viii, 2. * Jos. xxi, 45.
NOTE.
The subjoined Address to the Holy Spirit will presently be re-
cogniz'ed by many. It was penned by its now sainted Author on a
blank leaf of the Common Prayer Book, and presented by him to
one of his domestics. It is inserted here as applicable iu subject to
the three preceding Discourses :
Holy Spirit, when in pray'r
I bow the knee, O be thou there ;
With heavenly thoughts my soul inspire,
Fill me with true l>evotion's fire :
"Whether in Secret I implore
Assistance from thy sacred store ;
Or with the Household train unite
In social worship morn and night ;
Or in God's holy Temple raise
My hands and heart in pray'r and praise
Come, Holy Spirit, be my guard
E'en till 1 reach my free reward,
And joyful haleluias sing
\Vith saiuls before uiy Saviour-king.
T. M. jEtat. 88.
DISCOURSE XXX.
THE CROSS OF JESUS.
JOHN xix, 25.
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and
his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and
Mary Magdalene.
THE cross of Jesus ! what an interesting, and, if we
may so say, what a painfully pleasing subject of con-
templation is it to all who love a crucified Redeemer.
The cross of Jesus ! The mere mention of the cross
of Jesus moves the sympathies and concentrates the
regards of every tender and enlightened spirit. There
is nothing in heaven above or in earth beneath no-
thing in either the volume of nature or the volume of
inspiration, that possesses half the excellence of the
cross of Jesus. No glory remains in any thing by rea-
son of the glory which excels in that. Fathomless
depths of wisdom are contained in it: wonderfully
gracious are its effects. .Sung, doubtless, are its tri-
umphs in all worlds ; and hymned, doubtless, will Je-
sus be "as a Lamb that was slain/' through all ages.
The cross which his "betrayers and murderers"
thought was to stigmatize him with infamy, is become
the ensign of his renown. The preaching of it is the un*
furled standard around which " all nations and kin-
dreds and people and tongues" shall ultimately bega-
THE CROSS OF JESUS. 445
thcrcd.* Inasmuch as the Son ofGod "became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross ;" inasmuch as
he \i as "a reproach of men and despised of the people ;
laughed to scorn ; poured out like water ; enclosed by
the assembly of the wicked ; pierced in his hands and
feet," and still more severely tried by the withdraw-
ment of his Father's presence; therefore "shall all
the ends of the world remember and turn unto the
Lord ; and all the kindreds of the nations shall wor-
ship before hirn." b By his cross shall they stand., and
in the contemplation of the woes endured thereon, find
rest and peace of soul. " And I, said the Lord him-
self, if 1 be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men
unto me. And this said he, signifying what death he
should die." May it be given us, my Brethren, to
feel the attractive influence of our Saviour's death, and
may we love with Mary his mother, and Mary the wife
of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene, to stand by the
dying Jesus !
Our text we purpose to consider, first, with reference
to the individuals spoken of in it ; and secondly, with
reference to ourselves : Let us consider it,
I. With reference to the individuals spoken of in it :
" Mary,- the mother of Jesus ; JVIary, the wife of
Cleophas; and Mary Magdalene," are the individuals
spoken of as standing by the cross of our Lord. Mat-
thew, Mark, Luke, and John, all take particular no*-
tice in their respective histories of the women who
ministered unto Jesus, followed him to Calvary, and
stood by the cross whereon he suffered. St. John only
mentions three of them by name. He does so, perhaps,
as writing subsequently to the other Evangelists, and
as having himself stood with the Marys by the cross
of Jesus and observed them there. They were, more-
over, persons peculiarly characterized and therefore
* Isa. Ixii, 10. b Ps. 22. 27. John xii, 32. 33.
440 THE CROSS OF JESUS.
also worthy to be specifically mentioned. Mary, the
mother of Jesus, would naturally feel a deep and solemn
interest in all that befel ber divine and gracious Son.
To her, as the chosen daughter of faithful Abraham,
it had been said, " Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee : blessed art thou among wo-
men. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb
and bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name Jesus. " a
Though lowly born and cradled in a manger, angels
had carolled his birth, and the virgin mother had seen
gifts, "gold, frankincense, myrrh, "presented withpro-
foundest adoration to her child. To her and his reputed
father Jesus had been meekly subject. She herself had
sung " My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit
hath rejoiced in God my Saviour:" and therefore nei-
ther her exposure to danger, nor the mockery of a rude
and lawless rabble, nor the melancholy sadness of the
passing scene, could keep her from the Saviour's cross.
Mary the wife of Cleophas was one of the pious and
devoted women who ministered to the temporal wants
of our Lord. It is not determined in the original whe-
ther she was the wife, mother, or daughter of Cleophas:
but it is generally believed she was his wife, and that
he was also called Alpheus, and was the father, as this
Mary was the mother, of James, and Joses, and Si-
mon, and Judas, who are therefore called our
Lord's brethren or kinsmen. 6 Be this, however, as it
may, she was ardently and devoutly attached to her
Lord. She had followed him with alacrity ; had
ministered to him cheerfully ; had hung delighted
on the gracious words which proceeded out of his
mouth ; had witnessed his power to heal and to for-
give and save ; and how could she but stand by
his cross ? The other Mary, called also Magdalene,
is supposed by some to have been a woman of Magdala,
a large and populous town : and therefore denominat-
ed Mary Magdalene, or Mary of Magdala : but, we
d Luke i, 2831. e Mat. xii, 4G. Murk vi, 3.
THE CROSS OF JESUS. 447
incline rather to think that this individual is the same
we read of in thcviith. ch. of St. Luke's Gospel,, and who
so remarkably lay at the Redeemer's feet, washed them
with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her
head. She had been a notorious sinner. Her sins
were many. Disdained and contemned she was by
those who knew her. She, however, became convinced
of her sinfulness : Jesus she heard to be the Friend of
sinners : To him with contrition and tears she came :
the proud and impious Simon despises her: the meek
and lowly, the kind and holy Jesus, graciously re-
ceives her ; acknowledges her love, assures her of her
forgiveness, and bids her go in peace. So truly do
" publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God"
before the lovers of their own selves, and the righteous
in their own conceit. And where, with more pro-
priety, could a Magdalene be found than by the cross
of Jesus? With feelings peculiarly her own with
much love, because much was forgiven her would
Mary Magdalene gaze on the pierced and dying Jesus.
f There/ might Mary the mother of Jesus say, ' There
dies my Sou, my dear and duteous Son ; the promised
Seed ; the Desire of nations ; the Saviour of a perish-
ing world ; the Lord of life to dying souls :' And
c There/ might his mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Cleophas, say, ' There dies my Friend ; the Friend to
whose wants I have so gladly ministered ; the Friend
whose presence ever cheered my heart ; whose voice
was music in mine ear, and whose word was the food
and sustenance of my faith and hope :' but, ' There,'
might the Magdalene say, ' There dies my Saviour ;
there dies that condescending Lord who spurned not
from his feet a sinful, guilty, polluted, worm : there
dies that Lord whose forgiving love bade my sorrows
cease, wiped my tearful eyes, and blessed me with a
peace unfelt in the ways of worldliness and sin ' Who
cannot but admire the generous zeal and the courageous
constancy of these pious followers of Jesus! In their
view the ignominy of the cross was lost. Through all
448 THE CROSS OF JESUS.
its shame, they saw the glory of Divine humiliation
and redeeming mercy. As they stood by it, no other
object of the visible creation could win their regards
and contemplations. The cross of Jesus ! O with
what tenderness, with what deep and adoring wonder,
did it inspire them. Their Saviour's every look, every
deed, every word, would, we can easily imagine, be
indelibly graven on their heart. His cross alone would
they henceforward and only glory in. When, by the
Spirit's testimony they should see more fully the rich-
ness, the fulness, the preciousness, of the Atonement,
still dearer to them would be the cross of Jesus. They
would see their eternal all involved in the mysterious
scene before them. Should any insolently ask them,
' Was not your Jesus crucified ? Was he not crucified
with thieves and malefactors ? Was he not reviled and
mocked, spit upon and crowned in derision with a
wreath of thorns ? Did any of the chief priests or
rulers believe on him ?' Yes ; they would answer,
our Lord was crucified : well do we remember stand-
ing by his cross : but well do we remember too how
dimly shone the sun even at noon-day : what darkness
covered the land for several hours : how the ground
quaked beneath us, and the rocks of Calvary rent
asunder; and do not these things bespeak Majesty in
distress, and the putting forth of godlike power for the
achievement of some mighty and wondrous enterprise?
Why shook creation, if in Jesus the Creator did not
die? Why, when the centurion and they that were
with him watching Jesus, saw what was done, why did
they fear ? Was it not their own acknowledgement,
" Truly this was the Son of God ?" And what if the
chief priests and elders believed not on him ? shall
their unbelief make our faith of no effect ? We be-
lieve and are sure that Jesus was numbered with trans-
gressors and nailed to the accursed tree and crowned
with thorns, and subject to the cruel hatred and need-
less barbarism of his creatures, in love to his creatures'
souls, and for the expiation of his creatures' guilt ;
THE CROSS OF JESUS. 449
and as in us, so in all who shall ever hereafter believe
on him, you may see the powerful and gracious effects
of his cross. Our Lord marked the attendance of these
women on his crucifixion. To his mother he said,
" Woman ;" commending her to his beloved disciple,
and bidding her to behold in him a son. As if he
had said, ' Bear towards him the affection of a ten-
der mother; and yield me up resignedly to the
glory that awaits me/ It was to Mary Magdalene
that he first appeared on the morning of his resur-
rection from the dead. And the husband of the
other Mary was one of the two disciples that sub-
sequently walked so sorrowfully to Emmaus, and to
whom Jesus drew nigh and expounded all things
written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets con-
cerning himself. The Lord Jesus well knows those
who love him ; and with complacency, doubtless, did
lie mark Mary his mother ; and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene,
standing by his cross.
From considering our text with reference to the in-
dividuals spoken of in it, let us consider it
II. With reference to ourselves :
And first it will be proper to observe, that the
cross the crucified Jesus the streaming but aton-
ing blood which the Marys with their bodily eyes
beheld, we behold by faith. They Mere actual spec-
tators of the marvellous scene: we are believers only
in it. Nor will others' witness of the death of Christ,
supersede the necessity of our belief of it. Each one
of us individually must look unto Jesus and experience
redemption in his blood for himself. Just as in th.e
wilderness of Sinai, when the children of Israel were
for their provocation bitten by serpents : the look of
one to the serpent of brass which Moses was com-
manded to set up and affix to a pole, would not heal
another ; so no more will the Marys staudiug by the
2 G
450 THE CROSS OF JESUS.
cross avail any thing to our salvation, unless we stand
by it too. Noticing, then, the text with reference to
ourselves, I ask
. Would we have our sins for green ? Let us stand by
the cross of Jesus. Though by " wicked hands he
was crucified and slain," yet is hrs death the myste-
rious means of our forgiveness. "Him hath God set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood." 6
His life he laid down for our sakes/ The just for the
unjust did he suffer. And through him is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins. g Then would we
that our heart should be sprinkled from an evil con-
science ? Let us come to the blood of sprinkling.
Unhappily, when we feel our guiltiness we are prone
to resort to other expedients for pardon rather than
come immediately and directly to the cross of Jesus.
But all unavailing do we prove them. Other sacrifice
for sin, there is none save the dying of the Lord Je-
sus. And why should we hesitate to desire and ex-
pect forgiveness through it? If the death of Christ
satisfies the offended justice of the high and holy One,
ought it not to satisfy us and to assure us that "with
the Lord there is mercy, and with our God plenteous
redemption?" Who can conceive the infinitude of
love that is hid in the atonement of the blessed Jesus ?
Angels in the loftiest range of their intellectual powers,
cannot grasp it. "It passcth knowledge." Believe
we this ? Then may the every individual believer
amongst us bow with heedful and delighted attention
bis ear to the voice which says " Deliver him from
going down into the pit ; for 1 have found a ransom." h
Again: Would tec have our sins subdued? Let
us stand by the cross of Jesus. We know full well
what it is to have been led captive by the Devil at his
will. Perhaps even now sin has often times dominion
over us. Corruption is prevalent and grace decays.
R'jm iii, 25. ' John x, 11. e Acts xiii, 38.
h J ob xxxiii, 24.
THE CROSS OF JESUS. 451
Hut, let us realize the woe of Gethscmanc and the cross
of Calvary. Let us see with what agony and tears and
blood our Jesus strove to deliver us from " the Law of
sin and death, and to bring us under a Dispensation
of grace and mercy. In the recollection of the cross,
let us remember the promise, " I will subdue all thine
enemies."' There is with him " a power whereby He
is able even fo subdue all things to himself." k Our will,
our mind, memory, and imagination, he can bring into
sweet and entire subserviency. And nothing will so
effectually loosen " the bands of wickedness/ 5 as con-
templation on the cross. ' You must resolve againit
sin/ would many say ; 'and do your utmost to over-
come it/ Resolve against sin we should ; but never
shall we overcome it but by the blood of the Lamb. 1
It is that which cleanseth from the guilt and rescueth
from the power of sin. In view of a bleeding Saviour,
we shall become pure and holy. His cross will make
us virtuous and moral, and while we stand thereby,
with assurance of faith may we pray this prayer
" Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniqui-
ty, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of
his heritage ? he retaineth not his anger for ever, be-
cause he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he
will have compassion upon us ; he will subdue our
iniquities ; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea." m In this way may " Holiness to
the Lord" characterise every really gracious disciple
of the holy Jesus.
I ask, moreover, Would we be softenerf into peniten-
tial sorrow ? Would we feel that tenderness of spirit
which brings with it its own peculiar and delightful
solace ? Let us stand by the cross of Jesus. Oh ! it is
sweet to feel the meltings of a grateful tenderness at
the feet of Jesus. This is promised to the house of
David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." How
1 Chrou. xvii, 10. k Phil. Hi, 21. ' Rey.xii, 11.
Micah vii, 18. li). u Zcch sii, 10.
452 THE CROSS OF JESUS.
were ihe sensibilities of the Marys moved as they stood
and mourned for him whom \ve have pierced ! Sorrow
for the sorrow of Jesus is true repentance. Many la-
ment the consequences of sin in both themselves and
others, but without any adequate sense of sin's exceed-
ing sinfulness or any tenderness of spirit in the remem-
brance of a Saviour's cross and passion. It is natural
to shrink from pain and to dread the occasion of it. It
is not in nature to " be in bitterness for Jesus and to
mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son."
Tender-heartedness is learned at the cross When we
can most feelingly enter into the condescending kind-
ness, and the dying love of Christ, then shall we our-
selves be most truly kind, tender, and affectionate. Our
mercy towards each other will resemble the mercy of
God towards us all. That is emphatically " tender:"*
and happy are we if, from the cross of God's beloved
Son, we have acquired a pitiful, compassionate, con-
trite, and lowly temper.
Further : Would we preserve ease and peacefulncss of
mind? Let us stand by the cross of Jesus. Legal fears,
recollected or repeated sins; failures in duty ; continued
consciousness of imperfection ; to which may be add-
ed, also, outward and temporal cares ; family bereave-
ments, and all the various ills that mark an unrighte-
ous world, will frequently disturb our quiet, and inter-
rupt the mind's placidity. Now, nothing will so ef-
fectually quell the mental strife as meditation on the
death of Christ. Wild may be the war of conflicting
opinions, and contrariety may pervade all human
schemes and devisings ; but, "Thou wilt keep him
(may the Christian believer, appealing to his Saviour-
God, exclaim Jin pei feet peace whose mind is stayed on
thce. Trust ye, then, in the Lord for ever ; for in the
Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.'.' 11 His strength
is rock : all is sand beside. When sensible of our frail-
ty ; when weary of the world's unmeaning converse
Luke i, 78. i 1 Isa. xxvi, 3. 4.
THE CROSS OF JESt'S. 453
and disgusted with its shallow and formal friendships;
when mournful because, perhaps, one dear to us as our
own souls is lost to us ; or, in fine, when any of the
various ills to which humanity is liable press sore upon
us, Ictus "look unto Jesus." The influence of his
cross will benignly tranquillize our perturbed spirits.
Armed with the same mind that was in our Lord, the
radiancy of hope will cheer the gloom of our passing
trouble ; and beyond the cross on which we gaze, we
shall perceive a world " where the wicked cease from
troubling and the weary are at rest*' where tears shall
be wiped away, and all shall be quietness and assur-
ance for ever. It will commonly be found, on inquiry,
that then are we the least composed and tranquil when
most forgetful of Jesus and him crucified. Let expe-
rience then tend to induce us to "hold us fast by God."
And when we find ourselves at a darkening distance
from him, let us beware how we hesitate and delay to
" arise and go to our Father." Many think to heal
their backslidings by deeds and essays of their own,
and by other means than the cross of Jesus to restore
tranquillity and peace within them : this is wrong : an
immediate and direct return to the Friend.and Saviour
ofoursoulsshouldbe determined on. Asat the first "re-
demption even the forgiveness of sins," was found in
"the blood" of Christ, so must it ever be till we are
without fault. before the throne of God. It is here
many, through their own hearts' simplicity or the mis-
taken advices of pretending teachers, oftentimes need-
lessly distress themselves, and perpetuate the anxieties
of their minds. From the beginning to the consum-
mation of our piety, the cross of Jesus must be both
our peace restorer and preserver. By the blood of his
cross hath Jesus made peace. Thereby we nre called
to peace ; thereby we have peace ; and thereby we
regain peace when, through infirmity or temptations,
we have lost it. " Peace then be with you from God
the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, and may
it " keepyour hearts and minds through Jesus Christ!"
for " By his stripes we arc healed."
454 THE CROSS OF JESUS.
I would ask also, Would we be crucified to i
Let us stand by the cross of Jesus. What was the
world, either in its smiles or frowns, to Mary the mo-
ther of Jesus, to his mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Cleophas, or to Mary Magdalene ? In the dying of
their Lord, they seemed to die: temporal things were
receding from their view, and all the invisibles of eter-
nity were crowding round them. Would we it were
thus with us ? It is the cross of Jesus that alone can
deaden our affections toward this world and waken
our anticipations of another. Our old and sinful na-
ture must be affixed to his cross to be crucified in its
affections and lusts. Paul could say, " I am crucified;"
but it was "with Christ;" and though he lived, yet it
was not so much himself that lived, as Christ influ-
encing his hea^t and subduing his heart's desires and
thoughts for him and within him. When any feel it
to be hard to give up some carnal pleasure or some
worldly advantage that is not compatible with a pro-
fessed subjection to Jesus Christ, let them inquire whe-
ther they recollect his cross? how lately they stood
beside it ? and whether they ought not cheerfully to
sacrifice their all for him, who gave himself & sacrifice
for them ? "Will the haunts of sinful dissipation be de-
sired, if "the place where Jesus was crucified" be
loved? Will ff wages of iniquity," gains of unright-
eousness, be coveted, in the believing recollection of
him who ''though he was rich, yet for bur sakes be-
came poor?" Some indeed are wont in terms the most
glowing and with an eloquence that for a moment
fascinates and delights the ear, to describe the perish-
ableness of the world, the vanity of its good, the un-
certainty of its wealth, the necessity and excellence of
self-denial, and the almost infinite amiablcness of mo-
ral virtue : moved and won with all this " wisdom of
words" may their hearers be, but their worldliness will
remain uncured and there will be a return to all the
love, the gaiety, the care, and sinfulness of the world
again. And why ? Because Jesus Christ is not evi-
THE CROSS OF JESUS. 455
dently set forth crucified among fhern. There is no
mention of the cross. Though the vail of the Temple
be rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the
way into the holiest of all made accessible and plain,
jet a vail remains unrent upon the mind ofevery natu-
ral man, and the way of truth does he not know.
Hence (and solemn is the fact) "the preaching of the
cross is to them that perish foolishness :" only " unto
us which are saved it is the power of God." q By
the foolishness , however, (and "the foolishness of God
is wiser than men") of its preaching, God saves them
that believe. And its preaching it is that will " cru-
cify our old man with its deeda" and dispose us to af-
fect things spiritual and eternal. Wonderful revolu-
tions of sentiment and feeling does the cross effect ;
while " the wise and the scribe and tht disputer of
this world," see their wisdom nullified and their un-
derstanding brought to nought.
As by the light of opening day,
The stars are all conceal'd;
So earthly pleasures fadeaway,
When Jesus is reveal'd.
And as Jesus our Lord " endured the cross, de-
spising its shame," Would we take up our cross daily
aud follow him ? It is the cross that he endured which
will enable us to do so. Let us, then, stand by the
cross of Jesus. Let us mark its every varied suffer-
ing. See the Saviour bound and scourged. See him
reviled and set at nought. Hear the taunts and
mockeries of his enemies Observe how he faints be-
neath the wood whereto he is presently to be affixed
with nails. " I thirst/' says he : " gall mingled with
vinegar' 5 is given him to drink. " Was ever sorrow
like unto his sorrow ?" Was ever innocence so
caluminated ? Was ever love so scorned ? Was ever
sin's malicious enmity to holiness so meekly borne ?
How truly was he " a reproach of men and despised
1 Cor. i, 18.
456 THE CROSS OF JESUS.
of the people !" c But this offended not the Marys ;
they stood by the cross of Jesus. " Let us go forth
therefore unto him without the camp,' 5 stand by his
cross, and bear his reproach. 8 A cro.ss every faithful
follower of Christ must take up. Fidelity to him must
almost necessarily insure <c persecution :" hence the
Scripture so pointedly and undisguisedly declares,
te All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall gutter
persecution"" It is, confessedly, painful to endure
the neglect and unkindness of friends : the more open
and abusive virulence of foes, and all the many signifi-
cant looks and pitiable expressions of some whom we
even esteem, and whose souls we would fain win to our
Lord. In, however, the contemplation of a Saviour's
sorrows, our sorrows will be forgotten. When we
think of the Jews saying " Away with hitn, crucify
him ;" and stand by him as he hangs amidst the re-
vilings of the multitude, O it will be quite possible
meekly to suffer our names to be cast out as evil, and
with Jesus to say, " This is their hour." Our hour
will come : and when those feet that once were nailed
to the cross shall tread the clouds of heaven, and those
hands that once held a reed in mockery shall hold the
scales of an unerring judgment, and those eyes that
once were closed in death shall meet us brilliant with
love and glory, then "shall our innoccncy appear clear
as the light and our just dealing as the noon-day."
rt Father, forgive them," did Jesus cry ? and shall we
not u forgive every one his brother their trespasses ?
Let us rather " take wrong." Let us quell the every
complaining of our heart with, ' Did not Jesus suf-
fer ?' " Therefore let us both labour and suffer re-
proach ;" and " esteem" with Moses *' the reproach
of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt,"
or, could we even command it, the wealth of worlds.
Would we love our Lord ? Let us stani by his
cross. Boundless is the love we owe him. Infinitely
' Ts. 22. 6. * Heb. xiii, 13. ' 2 Tim. iii, 12
THE CROSS OF JESU?. 457
below his desert do we esteem him. This we often
feel, and it grieves us. Many persons sorely complain
of their want of love to God : ' they do not love him
as they would : and on this account they fear God
does not love them.' Think of the cross : go, behold
its woes and sorrows : Can you doubt the love of him
whose blood streams from it? Why does he die ? "for
the joy set before him" the joy of magnifying his
Father's attributes, and rescuing immortal souls from
death. " In his love and in his pity does he redeem
us." Shall I be permitted to observe that herein, I
think, we err ? we look too much at our love to Jesus,
and too little contemplate his love to us. Our love?
what is it at most ? A spark of affection amidst an
ocean of ignorance and sin and folly. The love of
Christ to us, what is it ? A fathomless abyss affec-
tion immeasurable as eternity. Now which, is it
reasonable to suppose, will comfort us the most to
think on, our love or his ? Which carries along with
it the brightest and most irresistible evidence of love;
some deed of kindness which we may do a fellow man
or the death of Christ for the redemption of a ruined
world ? Which should we then regard with most
complacency? which should our thoughts revert to
with the greatest frequency? "Behold, says God,
my servant whom I uphold ; mine elect, in whom my
soul delighteth." v Let us obey this commandment.
Surely if the mind of God himself delights so sensibly
in his beloved Son, well may we delight ourselves in
him. And whilst we thus behold our Lord, we shall
be led to love him. The Spiiit which testifies of him
will " shed abroad his love in our hearts ;" and with-
out our being so solicitious about it, " the love of
Christ (whether in this expression his love to us or our's
to him, be meant) will constrain us ; and we shall thus
judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead :
And that he died for all, that they which live should
v Isaiah xlii, 1.
458 THE CROSS OF JESUS.
not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him
which died for him and rose again. "*
Finally, Would zve go down at once with resigned
tranquillity and cheerful hope into our grave? Let us
stand by the cross of Jesus. Be situated where we
may, and however luxuriantly our Garden may smile
around us, there is in it a sepulchre, which we must
all one day tenant. The grave is appointed for all liv-
ing : if we descend into it from mount Calvary, we
shall find it spoiled of terror. "Jesus hath vanquished
the principalities and powers of darkness, and tri-
umphed over them openly in his cross. To his cross
he nailed as abrogated and annulled, " the hand-
writing that was against us and contrary to us" and
to our safety." In brief, Jesus " hath destroyed death
by destroying him that had the power of death, that
is, the Devil." " Life and immortality are brought to
light by the Gospel." Immutable promises secure
that life with its immortal blessedness to all who glory
only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The shame
which he endured procures us honour. His thorny
crown procures us diadems of beauty. His death pro-
cures us life. Renewed after his image and made like-
minded with our Lord, our's will be successively the
cross, the grave, the skies. There is but one short
step a little pause between mount Calvary and
Heaven. Those who, with the mother of Jesus,
his mother's sister, and Mary Magdalene, stand by
the Saviour's cross, are ripening fast for the throne
and kingdom of the Saviour's glory. And those
who sung when Jesus rose, " Lift up your
heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up ye everlasting
doors; and the King of glory shall come in;" will
sing the same jubilant and triumphant strain on every
new accession of number to the hosts of the redeemed :
for " Where I am, there shall also my servants be," is
the promise of Jesus Christ,and if angels rejoiced over us
w 2 Cor. v, 14. 15. * Col. ii, 14.
THE CROSS OF JESUS. 459
when penitent, and ministered to us when heirs of sal-
vation, we cannot suppose their joy and gratulation
on our behalf to cease when our souls, with their gar-
ments washed in the blood of the Lamb, are about to
join their choir, and to enter on the unalienable pos-
session of their goodly heritage. O no ! they will
rather swell our halleluias and lead us not to a cross
where hangs our soul's Beloved in agony and blood-
but to a throne whereon he sits in a dazzling and un-
created majesty "the Lord mighty in battle'' the
Lord who loved us even unto death the Lord who
subdued our enemies within us and without us the
Lord who drew us to himself disposed us to love his
cross and enabled us to sustain our own the Lord
who swayed over us a kind and gracious Sceptre, and in
whose presence and approval we are now to find our
rest, our heaven, our all.
NOTE.
If the following Hymn, selected from the Hymn-Book of the
United Brethren's Protestant Episcopal Church, tends to recommend
that very devotional Manual of Christian Poetry to the Reader's no-
tice, the end of its insertion here will be answered. It forms the
85th of the Collection, and is translated from the German .-
I.
O HEAD so full of bruises,
So full of pain and scorn,
'Midst other sore abuses
Mock'd with a crown of thorn !
O head ere no\fr surrounded
With brightest Majesty,
In death now bow'd and wounded !
Saluted be by me.
460 THE CROSS OF JESUS.
II.
Thou countenance transcendent,
Thou life-creating Sun
To worlds on thee dependent ;
Now bruis'd and spit upon !
How art thou grown so sallow !
How are those gracious eyes,
"Whose radiance knew no fellow,
Clouded in cruel wise 1
III.
Thy cheeks, through heavy dolor,
Are raarr'd, fall'n, and wan;
Thy lips, depriv'd of color,
Spoke heav'nly truth to man ;
Thy body, ah ! how wasted,
Death's horror did reduce
Thy strength, and quite exhausted
ilach drop of vital juice.
IV.
Lord, what thee tormented,
Was my sin's heavy load !
1 had the debt augmented
Which thou didst pay in blood :
Here am I, blushing sinner,
On whom wrath ought to light ;
thou my health's beginner !
Let thy grace cheer my sight.
V.
Own me, Lord, my Preserver,
My Shepherd, me receive ;
1 know thy love's strong fervor
By all thy pain and grief.
Thou richly hast supplied
My soul with heav'nly food,
For which I've often sighed,
Thy holy flesh and blood.
VI.
I'll here with thee continue,
(Though poor, despise me not)
I'm one of thy retinue :
As were I on the spot,
When, earning my election,
, Thy heart-strings broke in death ;
With shame and love's affection
I'll watch thy latest breath.
THE CROSS OF JESUS. 461
VII.
what a consolation
Doth in my heart take place,
When I thy toil and passion
Can in some measure trace;
Ah ! should I, while thus musing
On my Redeemer's cross,
E'en life itself be losing-,
Great gain would be that loss.
VIII.
1 give thee thanks unfeigned,
O Jesus ! Friend in need !
For what thy soul sustained
Whenthou for me didst bleed:
Grant me to lean unshaken
Upon thy faithfulness,
Until from hence I'm taken
To see thee face to face.
IX.
Lord, at my dissolution
Do not from me depart,
Support, at the conclusion
Of life, my fainting heart ;
And when I pine and languish,
Seiz'd with death's agony,
O by thy pain and anguish
Set me at liberty.
X.
Lord, grant me thy protection,
Remind me of thy death
And glorious resurrection,
When I resign my breath :
Ah then, though I be dying,
'Midst sickness, grief, and pain,
I shall on thee relying
Eternal life obtain.
DISCOURSE XXXI,
THE BARREN FIG TREE
LUKE xiii, 6 9.
He spake also this parable: A certain man had
a Jig-tree planted in his vineyard ; and he came
and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then
said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Be-
hold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this
Jig -tree, and Jind none: cut it down; why cumber eth
it the ground ? And he answering, said unto him,
Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about
it, and dung it ; And if it bear fruit, well : and if
not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
THIS passage of holy Writ is called a parable. A
parable is a kind of figurative speech, in which one
thing is said and another thing is meant. To teach
by parable was the usual mode of instruction among
the wise men of the East. They taught thus to excite
inquiry in the minds of their hearers, and when their
hearers could not thoroughly comprehend what was
said, they would come to their teachers to be informed.
Thus it was with our Lord and his disciples. Jesus
spake many things unto them by parables, and without
a parable, particularly in the earlier stages of his Mi-
nistry, spake he not unto them : and those of you who
are conversant with the Gospel history will recollect
how often the disciples came subsequently to Jesus,
saying, " Explain to us such and such a parable.'/
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 463
Now, my Brethren, Jesus Christ yet speaks in his
written Word, and therein lie speaks to us also by para-
bles: but need we not often Philip's question to the
Treasurer of the Ethiopian Queen to be put to us
" Understandest thou what thou readest?" We hear
and read the sayings of Jesus Christ; but truly may
we say, like some of old, " We cannot tell what he
saith." And why is this? It is because we do not
pray, " Lord, open to us this parable: Open thou our
eyes that we may see the wondrous things of thy
Word." We do not sit with seriousness, with thought,
with prayer, over our Bibles, and therefore the Bible
is a sealed book to us. Your presence, however, indi-
cates, I would fain believe, a wish to know what the
parable before us means, and we will now proceed to
uotice, in regular succession, its several incidents.
And, first of all, we notice a vineyard, wherein a
certain man had -a fig-tree planted. As amongst our-
selves, gardens and orchards abound ; so in the hill
country of Judca, vineyards abounded. The goodly
boughs of the vine were wont gracefully to overshadow
and adorn the heights of that once favoured land. We
may readily suppose the planter of a vineyard to feel
a peculiar interest in the work of his hands. How
patiently would he wait for the pleasant fruit ! how
carefully would he prop the tender branches ! and
when some among his many vines were waxen old,
how kindly would he screen them from the stormy
wind and tempest ! Behold here a picture of the
Church of God. " Ye are God's husbandry," ye are
God's vineyard, and therein, though " wild by nature,"
hath it pleased the Heavenly Husbandman to plant
you. By baptism are we admitted into the visible
Church of Christ. Therein we stand as trees which
the Lord's right hand hath planted. Whilst the mil-
lions of mankind are growing in the wilds and deserts
of heathen ignorance and superstitious folly, it is our's
to dwell in a Christian country, to belong to a Christian
community, to bask in the bright and ever bright-
464 THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
ening beams of mercy and truth, and to be (at least
nominally and professionally) " the vineyard of the
Lord of hosts. "
We notice now the Owner's inspection of his vine-
yard. " He came," we read, into his vineyard.
Which of us, possessing a garden, does not occasion-
ally come into it? pass inquiringly from one part of it
to another ? from one tree to another ? from one herb
to another ? Do we not so especially when "the winter
is past ; the rain is over and gone ; the flowers appear
in the earth ; the time of the singing of birds is come,
and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land ? when
the fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines
with the tender grape give a good smell ?" a In like
manner does God inspect his Church ; nor is there a
single individual member of it upon whom his watch-
ful and inquiring eye does not rest. He knows us al-
together. He is amongst us now. At this moment is
the Lord God walking among the trees of his Garden :
and, but for our sin which we contracted in the fall of
Adam, and have since committed in ourselves, we
should hear the voice of the Lord God, and be willing
that in the cool of every day he should come into his
vineyard and mark our growth in grace and in the
knowledge of his Son. But, although we see him
not, "God is, nevertheless, in this place." " His eye
beholds and his eyelids try the children of men." He
passes now from one of us to another, and with a
scrutiny the most exact and penetrating does he in-
spect the thoughts of every heart amongst us.
He marks the tree which may have weathered the
storms of a century's better half, and observes the suck-
ling beneath its shade, and from both does he expect
its proper and its seasonable fruit. He comes seeking
fruit ; he comes, if haply he may find in us any thing
corresponding with his forbearance and goodness to-
wards us.
Caut. ii, 11*- 13.
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 465
We in the next place notice the discovery of f/ir
barren tree. The planter came into his vineyard seek-
ing fruit on the fig-tree he hail planted there; but
found none. We, perhaps, go into our garden and
amid the rich luxuriance that prevails around us, we
see a tree which puts not forth its buds: no bursting
germs bespeak a fulness of blossom or waken anticipa-
tion of future fruitfulness. We remember, it may be,
that last year it bore us little or nothing, and now there
is still less probability of its bearing. We may have
digged about it and dressed it : yea, and because it
was a barren tree we may have taken the more pains
with it to make it fruitful. But, alas! after all our
labour, the tree is barren still. Who of us all may not
behold in this worthless plant the semblance of him-
self? O how has our most gracious Planter and
Keeper cared for us ! how has he watered us with the
dew of his blessing ! how has he comforted us on every
side ! how has he beamed forth in the face of Jesus
Christ with beseeching tenderness upon us ! how has
he dressed us, warned us, threatened and caressed us !
In what a fruitful hill has he planted us ! How, too,
has he gathered up and removed all the opposing diffi-
culties that barred our access to himself and hindered
our fruitfulness in his ways! Justly may God appeal
to ourselves and say, " What could have been done
more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?" b
What indeed? And yet, O yet, after all he is con-
strained to say, " Behold, these three years 1 come
seeking fruit on this tree and find none." And may I
not ask, Has God come to many a one of us seeking
the fruits of penitence and faith and love these three
i/ears ONLY ? We should think three years a long time
to wait for the budding of a tree : but, O the marvel-
lous longsuffering of our God ! he has come these ten,
twenty, thirty, forty, and even fifty years seeking fruit
on some of us, and yet found none. Now again he
b Isa. v, 4,
2 II
[THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
comes and finds us barren still. Is there not one and
another to whom I speak that is discovered to himself
to be the barren tree? All nature revives at the bid-
ding of its Lord : Summer and winter, seedtime and
harvest, come and go in regular and beautiful succes-
sion, and you remain still the same. Fruits, you will
gay, you bear : Yes; but while you are apart from
God and unreconciled to him through the death of
his Son while you know nothing of union with
Christ, and the Spirit's quickening agency, your fruits
can only be sour grapes grapes of which no use can
be made, and in which God can take no delight. Uu-
regenerate nature is in every person and in every age
what Moses told the Israelites they were "the vine
of Sodom." And the vine of Sodom will not be found
to produce the grapes of Eschol. Hence, notwith-
standing all the boasted fruitfulness of the natural
man, he is in fact the barren fig-tree still. " Israel
is an empty vine ; he bringeth forth fruit to himself." a
Let us, in the next place, notice the Owner's deter-
mination respecting it. We see he determined to " cut
it down." Now, what if we Jiad come three years
successively into our Garden, and found that year after
year some favourite plant was dried up and withered,
or, at most, that our tree bore us only leaves and fruits
of a very inferior quality and useless kind? What
should we feel towards it ? What should we think ?
Should we not probably say in our heart, ' I'll cut
this tree down or pluck it up : it is no use here : it
does but cumber the ground and occupy the room of
a better and a more fruitful plant?' Would not this
be our reasoning? Then such is God's determina-
tion respecting every tree in his vineyard that bears
him no fruit. Why, he asks, cumbereth it the ground ?
Will it after years of barrenness bear any thing agree-
able to my will ? Will it not rather, after all I have
done or could do for it, remain the same ? Cut it,
e Deut. xxxii, 32. d Hos. x, 1.
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 467
therefore, down : Cut it down, my servant : Dress it
no more : Let it alone : Let it alone my Spirit ; no
longer strive with it : Let it alone my Minister ; no
longer warn, beseech, and threaten it : Let it alone
Conscience ; no more do thou require repentance,
faith in the Gospel of Jesus., and works that shall evi-
dence that faith's reality : Cut it do&n, and as the tree
falls, so let it lie. Such is the Owner's determination
respecting the barren fig-tree : but, O Beloved, " we
have an Advocate with the Father," and we therefore
proceed to notice
The intercession made for the barren Jig-free :
" Lord," says the Dresser ofthe vineyard, " let it alone
this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it"
use other and more abundant means with it, in order,
if possible, to induce fruitfulness. Let us suppose
ourselves walking in a Garden in company with a
friend : As we pass along, we come to a vine that
bears us nothing, or to a tree that we deem worthless
a mere cumberer of the ground. We say to our
friend, ' I mean to cut this tree down : it is little use
to me here : it will afford fuel for the fire/ Our friend
looks and inspects the tree, and says, * Let it be for a
while, another year or so : I'll dress it : it is not quite
dead : there are a few buds : perhaps there may be
blossoms and fruits in them : the tree is youthful ; it
has not seen so many summers yet as others of its fel-
lows may have done ; perhaps, after all the care and
labour lost upon, it will bear/ What, my Brethren,
would this be? Would it not be intercession for the
barren-tree ? Then just so do your Ministers inter-
cede for you. As the Dressers of Jehovah's Vineyard,
we cry, Lord, let our barren trees alone: Spare them
yet another year, till we shall more abundantly have
laboured for them. But, more than all, does the one
Mediator bet ween God and man, the Man Christ Jesus,
stay the up-lifted arm that might justly fell us and pro-
cure us space for repentance, Yes, O ye, who cumber
468 THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
the ground of the Church, Jesus maketh intercession
for you. Therefore it is that God is so longsuflering
to you-ward. For his sake is another hour, another
day, another year, added to your fruitless and mispent
lives. The nature of the corrupt tree may hence
through forbearing kindness and tender mercy, yet be
changed. O that the Spirit's new-creating energy may
move in the means, and make the means of conversion
effectual for their end ! But, remember, ye hitherto
Unfruitful professors of the Christian name, your day
of reprieve is on the wing. What though you be
spared " another year ?" that year will close, and how
know you that ye shall see its termination ? The axe
of righteous indignation may smite your root ere ano-
ther day is added to your life. Many are already
smitten. Saw you never a tree cut down even in the
prime and vigour of its strength ? Think as you pass
along the adjoining )ard how many a tree, once young
and bidding fair to bring forth fruit as any among
yourselves, lies scattered there : And why are you not
numbered with the fallen dead ? Why, as cumberers of
the ground whereon you stand, are ye not cut down ?
O why ? Because Jesus " liveth to make intercession
for us ;" and you are spared, if haply in the use of gra-
cious means ye may bring forth the fruits of a holy and
a religious life. But if, after all, the barren tree con-
tinue barren still, we must notice lastly
The final resolve of its Owner should it continue un-
fruitful. "If it bear fruit, well : and if not, then after
that thou shalt cut it down." Would it not gratify
any one of us to see a tree that we had taken much
care to cultivate, and which we once thought to be
dead or dying, bud forth anew, and in due season re-
pay our labour and toil on its account, by yielding
frpit ? Just so, Jesus Chrit says it should be well if
even after years of barrenness, we produced the fruits
of grace. Unspeakably well would it be with us.
There yvoifld be joy in heaven over a sinner that re-
THE BARREN FIG-TREE. 469
pcnted after fifty, sixty, or even eighty years hardi-
hood in sin, aversion to God, contempt of his Word,
and disobedience to it. Jesus would see of the travail
of his soul, and deem himself compensated for all his
sorrows and for all his labours, by the fruitfulness of
faith in a converted sinner. The Holy Spirit would
joy to qualify and meeten such an one for glory. The
riches of God's grace would be exceedingly magnified
in him. Our desert world would possess in him another
whose deed of kindness should cheer and bless it. Well
it should be with him, and no more should it be said
" The vine is dried up and the fig-tree languisheth." e
But if our remaining days be idled away ; if notwith-
standing all our means of knowledge and improve-
ment ; if after all, " evil thoughts, adulteries, forni-
cations, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, de-
ceit, laciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, fool-
ishness," do still proceed from within and come out of
a man's heart, then after that, he shall be cut down/
Both the Righteous and their Lord shall approve the
judgment. The interceding Saviour himself will say
to his eternal Father " Cut him down." The deadly
presence and the noxious shade of the wicked man
shall not always darken and deform the Church of
God. God will thoroughly rid his Church of all but
trees of righteousness. A name to live where deadli-
ness of soul is dominant, will not preserve us. The
leaves of mere profession will not abide the scrutiny of
God : nothing short of vital, deep-rooted, and heart-
felt godliness will satisfy him. Those there are who
(as the Prophet remarks) seem to bear " two or three
berries on the outtermost bough" just fruit enough
to catch the eye of a passing stranger, who yet raust
rank among the barren trees: for, come to the inner-
most branches come to the feelings, the affections,
and the desires of the soul, and alas I what barrenness
of love to Jesus, what barrenness of joy and peace
Joel i, 12. l Mark vii, 21 2&
4*0 THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
in believing, what barrenness, in short, of Christian
principle and Christian experience, will you find !
Alas ! we fear that many a blooming and yet fruit-
less professor will come down. As children of sin-
ful Adam, we are all "turned into the degenerate
plant of a strange vine :" g unless we become rege-
nerate all our fruits will be sour and nauseous : and
cut down shall we certainly be if we live and die un-
changed. And what, let me ask you, what would you
do with a dead and worthless tree which you might fell
in your garden ? To what purpose would you most pro-
bably apply it ? Would you not deem it fit for your fire,
and use it as a fire-material ? And does not Jesus say,
" Bring hither these mine enemies that would not
I should reign over them, and slay them hew them
in pieces before my face ?" And will he not more-
over add, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlast-
ing fire prepared for the Devil and his angels ?" Thus
you see the barren fig-tree that will ultimately, after
all the favour shewn to it, be found barren still, will
be deemed fuel for the fire: and "who among us
shall dwell with everlasting burnings ?' Ml " Every
tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down
and cast into the fire ;"' but " who shall stand when
Ood doeth this ?"
Such is the Parable: and now we have noticed the
vineyard wherein a certain man planted a fig tree : the
Owner's inspection of it: the discovery of the barren
tree: the Owner's determination respecting it: the
intercession made for it ; and the final resolve of its
Owner should it continue unfruitful : the DESIGN with
which Jesus spake this Parable may very properly fur-
nish us with some closing remarks.
At a particular season some there were who told
our Lord of the Galiheans whose blood Pilate had un-
justly shed while they were worshipping with sacri-
Jer, ii, 21. ll Jsa, xxxiii, 14. ' Matt, iii, 10.
THE BARREN FIC-TREE. 471
fice in the Temple. " Jesus answering said unto them,
Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above
all the Galilaeans because they suffered such things ? I
tell you, Nay : but except ye repent, ye shall all like-
wise perish. Our Lord then further alludes to a cir-
cumstance which had happened at Jerusalem and
whereby eighteen persons were deprived suddenly of
their lives. He then asks again, " Think ye that they
were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem ?
I tell you, Nay : (and again does Jesus solemnly re-
peat) but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
And the more powerfully to impress the necessity of
repentance on the mind of his audience, " he spake
a/so this parable" which we have just considered.
The design, therefore, of the parable is evidently to
inculcate a great moral and spiritual change a re-
pentance originating in the heart and diffused in its
effects through all the outer conduct. The use we
should make of others' sufferings is not to judge
and to condemn the sufferers as though they were
guiltier and more sinful than ourselves ; but to examine
our own lives, and by a speedy repentance and a
timely humiliation of soul to prevent our own destruc-
tion. Jesus advises each one of us all to look to him-
self: for repentance is the only means whereby to
avert the punishment which individually we deserve.
Unless we repent, we must perish. Let us, then, con-
sider our ways. Let us think how much and long we
have been privileged with means and ordinances : how
often we have been dug about and dressed : and how
many a year, notwithstanding, we have been found
fruitless and barren. A people's continued unfruitful-
ness under ministerial care and culture, damps, in time,
ministerial intercession for them. God is provoked to
bring his judgments unavoidably upon them. Then
"repent ye and believe the Gospel." Say ye, ' We can-
not change our own hearts?' True; you cannot:
but " is any thing too hard for the Lord ?" Say ye
again, ' Our hearts are hard an (I insensible: we can-
472 THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
not feel as we desire and wish we could.' They may
be, and harder than the stones ye tread upon : but r
" I will take the stony heart out of your flesh and I
will give you an heart of flesh/' is God's most gracious
promise. Say ye further, ' We cannot cease from sin :
we are tempted and overcome/ Did you ever try or
do you try to cease from sin ? In whose strength do
you essay to do so ? Go ye not voluntarily into tempta-
tion ? Can we marvel then that sin should have do-
minion over you ? Your strength is weakness : but,
if, like the stripling David, you will go forth in the
Name of the Lord of hosts, Goliaths great and power-
ful soever as they may be, shall fall before you. Cease
from sin you must : Changed in spirit and disposition
you must be: If ye have grown grey headed in the
vineyard of the Lord, and be still void of spiritual
fruits, ye must be altered men, or the Lord will cut
you down. Say I this of myself? It is the loving
Friend of publicans and sinners who says, "Except
ye repent, ye shall perish :" " Except ye be converted
and become as little children, ye shall not enter into
thekingdom of heaven." 1 Deep and solemn is the import
of the word conversion. It means no less than a cor-
rupt tree's becomingagood tree. The very nature of the
tree must be changed. In vain shall we look for grapes
from a thorn, or figs from a thistle. There must be a
renovation of the inner man, a recreation of light,
knowledge, taste, affection, aim, arid hope within us.
Wild we are by nature, as St. Paul remarks : our natu-
ral fruits at best are poor, and ' we doubt not but
they have the nature of sin.' We must then be gather-
ed off" our own stock and grafted anew. Jesus is the
" true vine :" and to resemble him, we must be par-
takers of his nature. Through union and communion
with him, we must receive out of his fulness. His
Spirit's fruits can only appear where his Spirit operates.
" The righteous (and who can be righteous but as
justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified
4 'Malt. xviii,3.
THE BARRKN FIG-TREE. 473
by the Spirit of our God) shall flourish as a palm tree:
he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that
be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in
the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth
fruit in old age ; they shall be fat and flourishing."*
Then pray ye for the converting and renewing grace
of the Spirit. Your branches shall then unfold, and
your boughs be laden with fruits " holy and accept-
able to God by Jesus Christ." Your beauty shall be
stately and majestic as the olive tree, and your smell
fragrant and odorous as Lebanon. 1 Israel shall no
longer bring forth fruit to himself: himself shall be
humble, contrite, and meek : his Lord alone shall be
exalted, because from him is his fruit found. And
i\ver will that Lord cut down a soul that loves and
serves him : never shall a believer in Jesus become fuel
for the devouring fire : never shall the penitential sor-
row that issues in conversion be aggravated by the
gnawing of the worm that dieth not and the fury of
the fire that is not quenched. When the angel of
God shall obey the mandate, " Thrust in thy sharp
sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth ;
for her grapes are fully ripe" no humble and for-
given sinner shall be gathered into the winepress of
the wrath of God. ra Let this encourage the most
graceless and fruitless soul among you to repent. I
trust he to whom your hearts are open, sees it to be
the rising purpose of your soul to go and with perse-
vering earnestness to beg him to dig about you and ta
dress you, to spare you yet another year and in his
love to save you. O if you knew your danger as a
fruitless tree, you would know something of God's for-
bearing mercy towards you. If ye felt your barren-
ness, jou would be filled with wonder and amazement
to find yourselves spared and preserved so long. O
that ye may yet become " a noble vine !" n May the
Lord pity your desolations! "Return, we beseech
k Ps. 2. 1214. i IIos. xiy. 6. * Rev. xiv, 18. 19.
n Jer. ii. 21.
474 THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
thee, O God of hosts ; Look down from Heaven, be-
hold, and visit this vine ; and the vineyard which thy
right hand hath planted, and the branch which thou
madest strong for thyself." Brought out of Egypt,
and planted in the Canaan of the Christian Church,
may ye eventually be planted in the holier happier
climes of Heaven, and through the untold ages of
eternity be adducing still more and more abundantly
the fruits of righteousness and praise ! " And beside
this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue ;
and to virtue knowledge ; and to knowledge temper-
ance ; and to temperance patience ; and to patience
godliness ; and to godliness brotherly kindness ; and
to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be
in you, and abound, they make you thatye shall neither
be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. But he thatlacketh these things is blind,
and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was
purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather,
brethren, give diligence to make your calling and elec-
tion sure : for if ye do these things, ye shall never
fall : For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you
abundantly even proportioned toyour fervour,watch-
fulness, and fruitfulness into the everlasting kingdom
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. " p To him, as
" the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen/*
o Ps. 80. 1415. P 2 Pet. i. 511.
DISCOURSE XXXII,
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
ZECHAUIAH iv, 6.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the
Lord of hosts.
THE Jews had been captives in Babylon. The years,
however, wherein they were to suffer adversity, were
passed away. A decree was issued permitting their re-
turn to Canaan. When returned to the land of their
fathers, they began to build anew their once glorious
but now fallen and desolate Temple. Its foundation
was laid amidst the tears of some who remembered the
grandeur of the former Building and the joyous accla-
mations of others to whom that grandeur was un-
known. 1 The builders, it appears, proceeded but tar-
dily in their work. They grew weary of it, (so prone
alas ! is man to weariness in well-doing) and even ex-
cused their negligence, saying, " The time is not come,
the time that the house of the Lord should be built."
To reprove them came "the word of the Lord by
Haggai, the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye,
to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house to lie
waste ?" The people trembled at the Prophet's word,
and ' ' came and did work in the house of the Lord of
hosts, their God." b And still further to encourage
Ezra iii, 1013. b Hag. i chap.
476 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
their prosecution of the work, Haggai is again com-
missioned to announce the advent of Messiah as " The
Desire of all nations" and to declare, "The glory of
this latter house shall be greater than of the former ;
and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of
hosts. " c To Haggai succeeded Zechariahinthe pro-
phetical office. To the daughter of Zion, Zechariah
says, "Sing and rejoice; for, lo, I come ; and 1 will
dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord." And in-
asmuch as the Jews builded the Temple only as they
were supernaturally influenced and encouraged to do
so, the whole glory of the work would exclusively per-
tain to God, and on this no less than on every similar
occasion, "his own arm would bring salvation to him:
" This, therefore, is the word of the Lord by Zecha-
riah the prophet, unto Zerubbabel, saying, Nof by
might, nor bij power, but bij my Spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts :" that is, not by the might or the power of man,
should the house of God be builded ; but, by the
powerful and efficacious influence of the Holy Spirit.
And thus it is with God's spiritual house " whose
house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the
rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." d We do not
naturally affect union with Christ or with each other
in him: yea, rather, we are naturally averse to "build
upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets,
and on Jesus Christ as being himself the chief corner
stone. Not therefore by might nor by power in our-
selves, shall we ever " be fitly framed together or grow
unto an holy temple in the Lord/' No: If ever we
be " builded together for an habitation of God," it
must be "through the Spirit. } ' c And if we be builded
together as "the church of the living God J> through
the agency of the eternal Spirit, the whole glory ofthe
work will accrue to its divine and gracious Agent, and
it will be found that though "every house is builded
by some man or instrument, yet he that buildeth all
Hag-, ii, 8. 9, <* Heb. iii, 6. Eph ii. 2022.
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
things is God." f " Not by might, nor by power, but
by my Spirit, saitli the Lord of hosts."
Our subject, then, you perceive is Spiritual Influence.
It is, confessedly, a subject of a mysterious kind, and
one requiring to be handled with modest deference and
scriptural judgment : nevertheless, it is a subject also
of a very delightful kind, and one involving the most
essential ingredients of experimental piety. In fur-
ther discoursing on Spiritual Influence, we shall en-
deavour to shew its necessity, its nature, and its evi-
dence.
And I. Its necessity.
That spiritual influence on the human mind is ne-
cessary, will, we conceive, abundantly appear from the
following statements.
"God made man upright:" "in the image of God
created he man :" and so nearly did man resemble his
Almighty Maker that his Maker himself took pleasure
in the contemplation of his creature's excellence. Man
was holy, and therefore happy. In near and sweet
communion with his Lord did he live. All his powers
were subservient to his will, and his will was in entire
and grateful unison with God's will. From this state
of exalted blessedness, man, beguiled by the subtlety
of Satan, fell ; and in falling lost the image in which
he was created, and became an alien and an outcast
from the Divine presence and favour. ' Thereby it
came to pass that as before he was blessed, so now he
was accursed ; as before he was loved, so now he was
abhorred ; as before he was most beautiful and pre-
cious, so now he was most vile and wretched in the
sight of his Lord and Maker : instead of the image of
God, he was now become the image of the Devil ; in-
stead of the citizen of heaven, he was become the
bond-slave of hell, having in himself no one part of
his former purity and cleanness, but being altogether
' Htb. iii, 4.
478 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
spotted and defiled ; insomuch that now he geemed to
be nothing else but a lump of sin, and therefore by the
just judgment of God was condemned to everlasting
death '* Hence originates the aversion which man's
sinful nature feels to a pure and holy God. Union
betwixt holiness and sin, there cannot be. "The car-
nal mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject
to the Law of God, neither indeed can be." g This
enmity against God marks the state of every child of
sinful Adam. As is the root, such must the branches
be : as is the fountain, correspondent to it must be the
streams that issue from it. We are conceived and
born in sin ; and till we are " born again," we are ut-
terly incapable of renewed communion with our God.
Is there, then, no necessity for Spiritual or superna-
tural influence ? Is there power or might in us whereby
\ve can, alone and unassisted, overcome our hatred of
holiness and our love of sin ? Who shall take us
away the impediment that bars our willing access unto
God, and hinders a sincere and cordial delight in all
his righteous will ? "Not by might, nor by power ;
but, by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."
But, let us be somewhat more particular. Whence,
I would ask, come all the ambitious rivalries, the en-
vious strifes, the unjust dealings, the cruel oppressions,
which abound in almost every period and country of
the world? "Come they not hence, even of the lusts,
that war in our members ?" h And can any thing
short of Almighty Agency controul those lusts, and
and renovate the passions and propensities of human
nature ? Men may boast of the freedom of their will ;
but the will, in whatever respects it may be free, is
* Homily on the Nativity. O how earnestly to be wished it is
that this Doctrine and its consequences were preached in every pul-
pit of our Land ! What a happy revolution of sentiment and man-
ner might we not see ! Surely it would gladden the very spirits of
our sainted fathers.
x Horn. viii. 7. h Jauu iv. 1,
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 4?9
disinclined to good and powerless to perform it. To
" choose the good and to refuse the evil," we readily
admit to be our duty : but where is our inclination
and our ability to do so ? As well and with equal suc-
cess may we attempt the practice of holiness without
" a new heart and a right spirit," as the children of
Israel make brick without material for so doing. 1 And
who save the one infinitely wise and powerful Creator,
can renew the heart and recreate its principles ? To
create is the prerogative of Deity : " not by power,
therefore, or might," in ourselves can we be "created
anew," and made " lively stones" in the " living tem-
ple" of our God ; but, " by my Sprit, saith the Lord
of hosts."
" Wherefore, then, it will be said, serveth the
Law ?" What is its use ? Wherefore was it given ?
' It was added, we answer, because of transgres-
sions." k " The Law is not made for a righteous
man but for the lawless, and disobedient, for the
ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and pro-
fane," for, in short, any species of offender, and on ac-
count of any departure in moral principle and con-
duct from the perfect will of God. 1 The very exist-
ence of a written Law implies man's depravity and
weakness. "Where no Law is, there' is no trans-
gression:" 1 " and where transgression is, the Law dis-
covers it ; n yea, the Law entered that the offence
might abound," and the whole world of mankind be
shewn its guiltiness before God. Now with all our
pretended regard to morality, and all our deference to
the Commandments, we feel, if we will candidly con-
fess it, utterly incompetent to fulfil the Law : its spi-
rituality we are averse to : its strict requirements of-
fend us ; and there are not wanting seasons in our in-
tellectual being when we would fain pluck the Law-
giver from the throne of his high authority, and in the
angry rebellion of our unhumbled heart, remodel the
* Exod. v, 7, 8. k Gal. iii, 19. ' 1 Tim. i, 9.
m Rom. iv, 15. b lb. iii, 20. " Ib. v, 20.
480 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
Law which he has promulged agreeably to our ovva
wishes and abilities. In truth, this is actually done
by those who view the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a re-
medial Law, teach a conditionary justification, and
require a sincere obedience in order to our accept-
ance and forgiveness. But cordial delight in the
Law as "holy, just, and good," there can be none
without a gratuitous pardon and a conscious freedom
from condemnation ; nothing need we to recommend
us to a Saviour, and no obedience whatever of our's
avails for our forgiveness and acceptance. God "jus-
tifieth the ungodly," and " the Law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus maketh us free from the Law of sin
and death :" and now is "the righteousness of the
Law fulfilled" in those who confide simply in the death
of God's beloved Son as a sacrifice for sin, and "walk
not after the flesh but after the Spirit." 11 And how
can the bias of the flesh be changed and a man become
* f spiritually minded" otherwise than by a spiritual
influence upon him ? With all the power and might
he can command, may a man aim to keep the precepts
of religion, but he will never really love them but
" by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." We must
be " partakers of the Divine nature" ere we can glory
in its holiness.
Is it notj moreover, universally admitted that
mankind can easily and readily set their affections on
things below, whilst it is with painful difficulty
they can send a single thought before them to the
world of spirits ? How freely can we think and care
and toil for our mortal ; how scarcely can we
bestow any thing like becoming thought or careful-
ness or labour on our immortal part ? Most certainly
is it so {f we cannot see afar off." What concerns
our temporal ease, honour, and comfort, we are
quick to discern : the country where our Jesus reigns,
and which is declared to be " very far off/' and away
F Roui, viii, 2
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 481
from sin, from suffering, and from all that characterizes
our present tarrying place, we have no eyes to see.
Now, " since the world began, was it not heard that
any man opened the eyes of one born blind.'" 1 Is there
power in man to do so ? If not, can any save the Lord
the Spirit clear our mental vision, give to our soul
spiritual discernment, and draw our heart with its
conceivings and its desires heaven-ward ? And with-
out this holy and heaven-ward bias of affection, shall
we be found fit for heaven when our clay tenement
crumbles into dust ? In all its faculties is the soul
disordered. Its will, as we have before intimated,
is averse to good and prone to evil. Its understanding
is darkened. How strangely tenacious of vain and
impure ideas, and how treacherously forgetful of those
of a spiritual kind, is its memory ! Does not its imagi*
nation revel in obscenity ? Does not its conscience
sleep or waken but to little purpose ? Earthly and
base are its desires. It knows not the Lord, nor cares
to know him. It would form a God all-merciful and
void of justice. Jesus Christ it would fain acknow-
ledge not. Boastful of its ovin power and might, it
looks not beyond itself for supernatural aid. The
precious bloodshedding of the holy Jesus wins not its
regard, and possibly the hallowing and renewing
agency of the Holy Ghost affords it matter for mockery
and scorn. Is there then, again I ask, no needs-be for
Spiritual Influence? Can any less powerful Agent
than the Spirit of God re-organize our faculties and
adduce harmony, loveliness, and order, from all the
confusion that prevails within us ? Hewn from na-
ture's rock, must we not be fashioned anew ere we
can know a grateful and obedient union with the
" elect and precious corner stone, the tried and sure
foundation which God hath laid in Zion ?" r
Men may pretend to moral excellence, and even to
much liveliness and zeal in religious duty ; but " not
i John ix, 32. r 1 Pet. ii, 5, 6,
2 I
482 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE,
by might nor by power" of tbeir own can they attain
to it. Various motives may induce propriety of con-
duct : Worldly policy ; love of reputation ; dread of
Divine displeasure, and fear of an hereafter reckoning 1 ,
all may do so. Witness the self-inflicted tortures and
the painful privations of the heathen devotee : witness
the seclusion, the maceration, the abstinence, and the
penance of the popish monk. What strenuous efforts
do they make to be, as they fondly imagine, holy : but
all in vain : Man may be pleased for his approval's
sake : God may be feared where he is not loved. A
" voluntary humility" may feed our self-complacency.
The world may be renounced in pretence whilst it is
desired in the heart. le No evil thing," it may be, can
be said of many, who yet know nothing of " joy in the
Holy Ghost/' and those "groanings" of the Spirit
with which the Spirit maketh intercession for us. 6
Paul speaks of "joy before God/' and Peter of "glad-
ness and exceeding joy : >n this cannot be known till
we can look up with some small measure, at least, of
hope and assurance to God as reconciling us to him-
self in the person of Jesus Christ. We can "walk
with God as dear children" only as et the Spirit itself
beareth witness with (or to) our spirits that we are in-
deed his children." The power and might of man
may go far in acquiring knowledge and correctness of
outward deportment; but no one can savingly know
the truth and be really holy, but as " taught of God"
and sanctified by the Holy Ghost. " No man khoweth
the Son, but the Father ; and no man knoweth the
Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will re-
veal him."* Cf No man can call Jesus, Lord, but by
the Holy Ghost."* " He taketh of the things that
are his and sheweth them unto us." x " His under-
standing is infinite." y " He searcheth all things ;
yea, the deep things of God." 2 And therefore ' as
Rom.viii,26,andxiv. 17. * 1 Thess. Hi, 9, and 1 Pet. iv, 13.
* Luke x, 22. w 1 Cor. xii, 3. x John xvi, 14.
y Ps. 147. 5. ' ICor.-ii, 10.
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 483
for the works of the Spirit, the fruits of faith, charita-
ble and godly motions, if a man have any at all in
him, they proceed only of the Holy Ghost, who is the
alone worker of our sanctification, and maketh us new
men in Christ Jesus.'* "Not by might, nor by power,
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."
We might instance the commonly and plainly ap-
parent inutility of ministerial labour ; the unprofit-
ableness of means, and a variety of similar circum-
stances, all tending to prove the necessity of Spiritual
Influence : but that necessity is now, we conceive,
fully established, and we therefore proceed to shew you
II. Its nature :
And here be it premised that we do not feel our-
selves called upon to explain the mode or manner of
the Spirit's influence on the mind. The existence of
the fact is sufficient for our purpose. The Holy Ghost
in his nature and operations our Church believes to
be ' incomprehensible. 'f He is " excellent in work-
ing, wonderful in counsel, and his footsteps are not
known. " And why need we desire to know them ?
We are contentedly ignorant of many things. How
our own mind operates on our body, we know not.
How the acorn contains in itself the germ of after life,
and how that germ expands into the stately and luxu-
rious tree, we know not. In like manner " the wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou nearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth : so is even/ one that is born of the
Spirit."* Our spiritual being in its commencement,
its progress, and its consummation, is mysterious : but
' the more it is hid from our understanding, the more
ought it to move all men to wonder at the secret and
* Homily for Whitsunday.
j- Alliauasian Creed : which see.
a John iii, 8.
484 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE,
mighty working of God's Holy Spirit. 5 Of this we
may he persuaded the nature of the agency will cor-
respond w.th the nature of the Agent. Now ' as to
the Spirit's nature, it is altogether one \\ith God the
Father and God the Son ; that is to say, spiritual,
eternal, uncreated, almighty : yea, to be brief, the
Spirit is God and Lord everlasting. * And corres-
pondent to his high and essential excellence will be
the holy Spirit's influence. The office he sustains in
the economy of human redemption is infinitely glo-
rious ; and as the Justifier of Jesus and the Regene-
rator of the world, will he be infinitely and for ever
glorified.
One other remark may be necessary ere we notice
the nature of Spiritual Influence : it is not miracu-
lous ; it is not, we mean, such an influence as enabled
the Prophets to foretell future events to conceive so
sublimely and to express their conceptions so beauti-
fully, as, from their Writings, we are sure they did : it
is not, moreover, such an influence as enabled the
Apostles and others in the earlier, ages of Christianity,
to acquire languages without previous study, to heal
diseases by a touch, and to raise the dead with a word.
Whatever may hereafter be when, as Isaiah says, the
Church shall strengthen her stakes and lengthen her
cords, and the millions of mankind shall be gathered
within her pale, extraordinary or miraculous influence
we do not now expect.* Influence only of an ordi-
nary and a necessary kind do we contend for, and that
only in an ordinary way and the use of ordinary means.
Passive we may be in our regeneration by the Spirit
of God ; and the act of our regeneration may be in-
volved in deep and wonderful mystei iousness, but it is
when " asking for the way" and " waiting in the way,"
* Compare Joel ii, 28, 29 with Acts ii, 1 21, and it will ap-
pear that the promised outpouring of the Spirit was very partial
on the day of Pentecost : those on whom the Spirit then came
cannot possibly be the " all flesh" of which the promise is in-
clusive.
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 485
that the Lord " tcaclicth us his way" and " bringcth
us to himself by a way that we know not " b
And now we are prepared more particularly to no-
tice the nature of the Holy Spirit's influence. It is
then, we first of all observe, quickening in its nature.
" It is the Spirit that quickeneth."* The Gospel of
Jesus is " the ministration of the Spirit.'" 1 Thereby
it is that any are quickened who were dead in tress-
passes and sins." e And the Spirit, as a sovereign
Agent, " quickeneth whom he will." If we be " be-
gotten again unto a lively hope/' "of his own will
begat he us by the Word of truth. " f God may speak
"once or twice," as an occasional thing, "in a dream
or in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falletli
upon man, in slumberings upon the bed;" and that
in order to "seal instruction on the heart, to withdraw
man from his purpose, and to keep back his soul from
the pit." g He may, too, by some sudden catastrophe
or alarming providence, powerfully impress the human
mind and effectually benefit it ; but usually the Spirit
operates by " the Word of truth," and it is certainly
by " the Word of truth" that all religious principle
and experience must ultimately be tried. That it is
which we find called "the incorruptible seed/" 1 and
wherefore is it so called ? Because in its effects it
liveth and abideth for ever. It unites us to "the last
Adam," who, as " as a quickening Spirit," becomes
the source of spiritual life to all his believing members.
Thus are we, together with our Lord, " put to death
in the flesh and quickened by the Spirit:" 1 and un-
speakably happy is it for the man who with Israel's
sweet singer can truly say, " Thy Word hath quick-
ened me."* Such an one is a living member of " the
true Tabernacle'' 'the Tabernacle which " the Lord
b Jer. 1, 5. Isa. xxvi, 8. Ib. xlii, 16. and Ps. 25. 9.
2 Cor. iii, 0. d 2 Cor. iii, 8. Eph. ii, I.
1 Pet. i, 'J. James i, 18. Job. xxxiii, 16 18.
1 Pet. i, 2.J. i 1 Ptt. iii, 18, * Ps. 11<J. 00.
486 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
pitched and not man." 1 And as often as he prays,
i( Quicken me in thy way," shall the Spirit's quicken-
ing influence invigorate and strengthen him anew.
That influence is, moreover, enlightening in its na-
ture. The human mind is surprisingly inapprehcnsive
of spiritual things. But why need we say surprisingly
so? Walk we not naturally "in the vanity of our
minds ?" Is not our "understanding naturally dark-
ened ? and are we not alienated from the life of God
through the ignorance that is in us, because of the
blindness of our heart ?" m Experience corroborates
our assumption. It is a painful fact that endowments
of the rarest kind, talents of the most splendid and
commanding order, may be possessed, and yet their
envied possessor may be " alienated from the life ot
God/' ignorant of the things of God, reluctant to re-
ceive and slow to apprehend them ; and although, it
may be, familiar with fC all knowledge and all mys-
teries," yet blindness remains upon the mental vision,
and he knows not God, and Jesus Christ whom he
hath sent. Now where the Spirit quickens, he en-
lightens. Where all worldly science fails, " he com-
mandeth and it is done." And as the Word empow-
ered by him quickens when dead, so by him arc our
understandings opened to understand the Scriptures.
Truth then acquires a radiancy and a glory never dis-
cerned before. Once " we saw men as trees walking"
things were invisible or but dimly seen : now we " see
all things clearly." 11 Full, mighty, and powerful were
we wont to wield the sword of argument and to main-
tain our own opinion : now our every lofty imagina-
tion is brought low, and we confessedly admit, that not
by might nor by power of human intellect can we ob-
tain a knowledge of the Truth, but only by the Spirit
of the Lord of hosts.
That Spirit's influence is also renewing in its nature,
" Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
i Htb. viii, 2. m Ej.h. iv, 17, 18. B Maik viii, 26.
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
but according to his mercy, God savcth us, by the
washing; of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost." The impartation of life to the soul is a work
perfect and complete in itself : but the developemcnt
of the new man's faculties and powers is gradual and
progressive. Quickened we may be certainly and ab-
solutely ; yet " the inward man is renewed duij bij (/(ti/." p
Years elapse ere the child of nature attains ito man-
hood and to the strength of manhood : in like manner
the child of grace "knows but in part," and without
attaining it in the days of the years of his earthly pil-
grimage, he "goes on to perfection." And herein
lies the grand secret of holiness. Men vainly endea-
vour by their own power and might to make them-
selves holy. Moral duties are enjoined, and much
" fair shew in the flesh" is made: but no hallowing
and renewing principle gives it real worth and sub-
stantial excellence. Now " whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him,
and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. }>q Ask
ye what that seed is? Peter tells us it is " the Word
of God." This Word is "incorruptible:" it instru-
mentally begets an abiding life in the soul, and be-
comes a principle or habit of universal graciousness
and holiness.' Thus, what the heathen devotee or the
popish monk or the mere moralizer of any age or
place cannot by any unaided efforts of their own, ac-
complish, is accomplished "by my Spirit, saith the
Lord of hosts." By his renewing influence, we poor
sinners whose hearts by human generation are stony
and unrighteous, become fair and beautiful as et the
polished corners of the Temple." "The house of the
Lord is renewed." 3 Our ** flesh becomes fairer than
a child's: we return to the days of our youth: we
pray unto God we come nigh in sweet communion
with him and he is favourable unto us." 1 "The new
Titus iii, 5. P 2 Cor. iv, 16. 1 1 John iii, 9.
r 1 Pet. i, 2325. * '2 Cbron. xxiv, 4. l Job xxxiii, 25. 20.
488 SPIRITUAL IM'LTJENCE.
man is renewed in knowledge after the image of him
that created hirn." T And wherein consists that image ?
"In righteousness and true holiness. " w 7/w holiness,
indeed, must that be which is wrought hy the Holy
Ghost, and participates the glorious excellency of the
infinitely glorious and holy God. "Let," says St.
Paul, "that mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus:"* Now in Christ Jesus there was a lowly, a
heavenly, a prayerful, a kind, and submissive mind :
and the same mind, in some small measure, at least, of
its unparalleled and unequalled excellence will every
one born of the Spirit possess: and where this mind
prevails, will there be, can there be, that loose, unheed-
ed, and immoral conduct which so many fear (or pre-
tend to fear) will result from a full and plain announce-
ment of "theGospel of the grace ofGod ?" Impossible.
With the Saviour's mind, there will be, so far as it is
imitable, the Saviour's conduct. With our understand-
ing enlightened ; our will renewed; our imagination
purified ; the bias of our affections changed, and our
conscience illuminated and enabled clearly to distin^-
jguish between what is spiritually good and evil, shall
we feel ourselves at liberty to " sin that grace may
Abound ?" Does not the mere supposition of such an
anomaly, rouse the indignant feelings, of the new man
within us, and provoke us with somewhat of an Apos-
tle's fervour to exclaim "God forbid ! In thevery
nature of things he that is "of one Spirit with the
Lord" must see and judge and feel and desire and hate
and love, whatever the JLord does. Failures in judg-
ment and in conduct, there may be, through the re-
maining sinfulness and weakness of " the old man"-r-
our fallen and sjriful nature but, it is in the grace of
the Holy Spirit to renew and perfect us : and "if the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell
in us, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also
quicken ouv mortal bodies by (or because of) his SpU
* Col. iii ? 10. * Epb. iv, 24. * Phil, ii, 5,
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 489
rit that dwcllcth in us :" y And because of our present
partial and our hereafter entire renewal ; " therefore,
brethren, we arc debtors" and under powerful and ne-
cessary obligation <r to the flesh/' shall I say, " to
live after (he flesh ? no ! " for if ye live after the flesh,
ye shall die, (whatever may be your moral attainments
in it:) but if ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live." And mortify the
deeds of the body, ye can "not by might, nor by
power of your own, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord
of hosts."
Need we now say that Spiritual Influence is sancti-
fying in its nature ? Wherefore is the Spirit so em-
phatically denominated * Holy ? y Not because he is
holier than the Father or the Son from whom he pro-
ceeds, but because it is peculiarly his office to sanctify
or make holy the chosen and redeemed people of God.
Hence, sanctification is the renovation of the heart and
a consequent reformation of the life. And this sanc-
tification assures us of our election, of our acceptance
and of our forgiveness in Christ. For all who expe-
rience the sanctifying influence of the Spirit, leading
them, as it led Job, to loathe sin and to abhor them-
selves on account of it; drawing them also into sweet
communion and fellowship with the Father and the
Son, \ve are bound to give thanks alway, as bre-
thren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from
the beginning chosen them to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth :
"W hereunto he calls them by the Gospel, to the ob-
taining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 Read
we that by power and might in man, he can sanctify
himself ? Is it the will of man even his sanctification ?
No : all that is good and holy in us, we trace to the
will of God : and if we be justified, it is in the name
of the Lord Jesus, if we be washed and sanctified, it
is by the Spirit tf our God. a And thus " by my
y Row. viii, 11. ' 2 Thts, ii, 13. * J Cor. vi, 1J.
490 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts," arc principles of the
purest and most ennobling kind wrought in the human
heart, and morals that will endure a scriptural test in-
sured in human conduct. " The temple of God is
holy, which temple ye are," and when " the head stone
thereof shall be brought forth, it will be with shout-
ings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." b " HOLINESS TO
THE LORD" shall be graven on the fore-front of the
Lord's every servant ; and they as " an holy priest-
liood'^ shall " offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable
to God by Jesus Christ." 6
Consoling also is the Holy Spirit's influence in its
nature. The sorrows of the saints are numerous, and
sometimes distressingly severe. In tears did the Jews
]ay the foundation of their temple and amidst manifold
discouragements did they build it. How mournfully
does even Jeremiah complain ! d How sorrowful was
Daniel though a '* man greatly beloved I'' 6 How, in
later days, has a Luther fainted through excess of men-
tal agony, and a Scott approached the frontiers of the
eternal world with fear and trembling !* And thus,
in his measure, does every child " endure chastening."
lf In the world," said the world's great Saviour to his
followers, " ye shall have tribulation/" " Through
much tribulation," says a Disciple of Jesus, "must we
enter the kingdom of Heaven." Remaining sin ; im-
perfect holiness ; aptness to decline in watchful vigi-
lance; the slight of friends ; the enmity of the ungodly ;
and, more than all, the temptations of One wise to do
evil, and bent with inveterate maliciousness to "de-
ceive, if it were possible, the very elect," are things that
trouble us. But, he whom Christ hath sent to be ever
with his people while they live below is most signifi-
* See Milner's chap, in the Hist, of the Church entitled Luther's
Temptations ; also the closing part of the Revd. T. Scott's Life.
* 1 Col. iii. 17. Zech. iv. 7. c 1 Pet. ii. 5. * Lara, i. 121.
Ch. x..2, 3.
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 491
eantly called, " The Comforter." By his Spirit " the
Lord buildcth Zion,and comforts all her waste places.' 3 '
Our Lord Jesus Christ " comforts our hearts." 8
Walking- in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort
of the Holy Ghost, the Churches of Christ find rest,
are edified and multiplied. 11 Most sweetly refreshing is
the Spirit's influence : We have waived all explanation
of his mode of operating on our mind : but let the
sterility and barrenness of winter disappear ; let " the
time of the singing of birds arrive and the flowers ap-
pear in the earth :" O how freshening and reviving
to our senses are the perfumes and melodies of Spring!
And what produces them ? At the bidding of its
Lord, the sun shines forth with warmth and power in
his beams : the softening breeze sweeps over the face
of Nature, and presently where all was wintry cheer-
lessncss the desert rejoices and blossoms as the rose.
We see, we feel, and we enjoy it, though the mysterious-
ness of the fact our understanding cannot unravel.
Thus in the world of intellect and grace, comforts may
abound where tribulations abounded. When human
succour fails when the soul of the believer sighs,
"There is none to comfort me ;' and is led to take shel-
ter in God ; that promise is fulfilled that says, " I will
speak comfortably to her." k Then will the heart re-
joice anew : New strength will invigorate its powers,
new joy will make more willing its willingness to obey,
and the consolations of God will not be small with
us. Thus " through the supply of the Spirit and
by his cheering and strengthening agency, " the
righteous hold on their way and wax stronger and
stronger." As the oak by tempests gets more firmly
rooted, so they by their trials become " rooted and
grounded in love :" " stablished, strengthened, set-
tled ;" " rooted and built up in Christ, and stablish-
ed in the faith." 1 Jeremiah, amidst all his complain-
Isa. li. 3. e 2 Thess, ii. 17. h Acts ix. 31.
1 Laiu.i. 21. kjios. ji. 14. 1 Col. ii. 7.
492 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE
ings was favoured with joy in liis heart. Daniel was
filled with admiration of the Divine goodness. Luther
and Scott, with their every brother in the realms of
glory, vanquished every foe and overcame every temp-
tation ere their brows were circled with " the crown
of righteousness." In like manner shall every regene-
rate sinner triumph. "The God of hope will fill us
with all joy and peace in believing, that we may abound
in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost/" 11
The builders of the second temple were weakened and
troubled in building by the people of the land ; this
was permitted to discover to them their powerlessncss :
when they wrought "according to the good hand of
their God upon them," they wrought successfully, and
singular to say, their very enemies were induced to
further them, and the rebuilding of the house of their
God." So shall it be in the Church of our Redeemer.
" The wrath of man shall praise him," and the consol-
ing influence of the Spirit shall unite the several mem-
bers of his mystical body in one loving and beloved
brotherhood. We shall be one with Christ, and Christ
will be one with us : we shall dwell in him and he will
dwell in us. Of him will the Spirit testify. His
things will the Spirit shew us, and " by my Spirit,
saith the Lord of hosts," will I with everlasting kind*
ness have mercy on you.
Which leads me finally not that all is well nigh
said of what we could say on the nature of Spiritual
Influence, for the subject is exhaustless in matter and
endless in delightful contemplation ; but for both your
and my own convenience, I must finally observe, The
nature of the Holy Spirit's operation on the mind is as-
suring. Can we be the subjects of his quickening, en-
lightening, renewing, sanctifying, and consoling influ-
ence, and yet remain unassured relative to our state
and safety ? If a doubt could be admitted on the
point, the Word of God must nullify it. " The effect
m Rom. xv. 13. Ezra iv. 4, vii. 28, and viii. 36,
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 493
of righteousness of both imputed and in-wrought
righteousness conjointly, we may believe, shall be, says
the Holy Ghost, speaking by the Prophet Isaiah,
(juiehicss ami assurance for ever." " And hereby,
says the same glorious Spirit by St. John, we know that
we are of the truth and shall assure our heart before
him"* Assurance of heart before God is the brightest
gem of experimental piety. Long may it be with
some ere they attain it ; and others in whose piety
fearfulness and doubtfulness preponderate, may not at-
tain it till they appear before God in the heavenly
Zion ; but attainable it is, and under the assuring in-
fluence of our gracious Sanctificr, we may attain it.
*' The Spirit's witness" is a sweet reality, however
much it may be mocked by any whose fancied power
and might are sufficient for them. The Word of lift;
is to be tasted and handled.* 1 There must be the sub-
stance of reality in what we taste and handle : and
" those who, by reason of use have their senses exer-
cised to discern both good and evil," become by pro-
gressive acquisitions of knowledge and experience
"fully persuaded in their own mind" concerning all
the great and saving truths of the Gospel. Perse-
vering in the paths of rectitude and holiness, they
trust to "endure to the end." Enduring to the end,
they shall most certainly " receive the end of their
faitb, even the salvation of their souls." Not by might,
indeed, nor by power in themselves do they expect to
persevere ; but by the Spirit of the Lord. By him
they live: In him they walk; and he they believe
able to " build them up and to give them an inherit-
ance among all them that are sanctified."'
Such, then, is the nature of Spiritual Influence :
e Such, says the Church of England, is the power of the
Holy Ghost to regenerate men, and as it were, to bring
them forth anew, so that they shall be nothing like the
Ch. xxxii. 17. i' 1 Epis. iii. 19. 1 1 John i. 1.
r Acts xx. 32.
494 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
men they were before.' And is there aught in this
statement " contrary to sound doctrine ?" Speak we
not " the words of truth and soberness ? Do we in
the remotest possible manner invalidate the interests
of sound morality ? Do we not well to ascribe all
good desires in man to him who alone is good, and all
ability to bring good desires to good effect not to
might or power in ourselves, but to the Spirit of the
Lord of hosts ? Grant our proposition the consent you
feel : admit the needs-be for Spiritual Influence ; and
hear us of your clemency while I endeavour to shew you
III. and lastly, Its evidence :
This it will be of essential importance to declare,
because the influence under which many act and by
which they profess to be guided, is undoubtedly bad.
" When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard
that the children of the captivity builded the temple
unto the Lord God of Israel ; then they came to Ze-
rubbabel and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto
them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God, as
ye do. But Zerubbabel and the rest of the chief of
the fathers said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with
us to build an house unto our God." 8 Here was an
apparent zeal for God : but it was all unsound ; the
Spirit of the Lord of hosts did not inspire it. Jehu
cried, too, ft Come see my zeal for the Lord :" but his
avowed zeal for the Lord was the mere impulse of a
proud unhumblcd heart, and Jehu " took no heed to
walk in the Law of the Lord God of Israel." 1 Kence
it should seem that a professional regard for God, for
his cause and service, may very possibly exist where
" the root of the matter," as Job would call it, is
wanting. The evidence, therefore, of which we are
about to speak, must differ widely from a Jehu's con-
ductandall similar conduct that springs from mere na-
tural principle. Respecting, too, the really regenerated
character, it may be well here to remark, that he may
* Ezraiv. 2 3. * 2 Kings x, 1G 31.
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 405
grieve the Holy Spirit .and quench the evidence of his
favour/ However powerful and mighty his opera-
tions may have been, sin will occasion a withdrawment
of his influence, and negligence will overpower and
weaken every apprehension of his presence, so that a
man shall walk in darkness and have no light. Were
not the gifts of the Holy Ghost abused by the Co-
rinthians? and yet the Corinthians were a people
"justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and sancti-
fied by the Spirit of our God." Their privileges be-
came their snare. See in Paul's first Epistle to them,
and particularly in its xiv. chapter, how surely it will
be found an evil and a bitter thing to sin against God
and to neglect the due improvement of his mercies.
We need then, I conceive, evidence of a clear, scrip-
tural, and abiding kind, whereby to judge of the Spirit's
influence on our mind. And nuch an evidence will
doubtless eventually be afforded wheresoever the
Spirit effectually and savingly operates. This we pro-
ceed to shew you.
*O how shall I know that the Holy Ghost is within
me?' some man perchance may say. Forsooth, as the
tree is knoxn bt/ its fruits, so also is the Holy Ghost.
The fruits of the Holy Ghost are these: love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness,
meekness, temperance, and the like. Contrariwise,
the deeds of the flesh are these : adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, wantonness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
debate, emulation, wrath, contention, sedition, heresy,
envy, murder, drunkenness, gluttony, and such like.
Here is now that glass, wherein thou must behold thy-
self, and discern whether thou have the Holy Ghost
within thee, or the spirit of the flesh. If thou see that
thy works be virtuous and good, consonant to the pre-
script rule of God's word, savouring and tasting not
of the flesh, but of the Spirit, then assure thyself that
thou art endued with the Holy Ghost: otherwise, in
v Eph. iv. 30. 1 The*, v. 19.
496 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
thinking well of thyself, thoti dost nothing else but de-
ceive thyself. )w
"This testimony is true/' and affords an excellent
general evidence of Spiritual Influence. But we will
adduce some few particular circumstances that will
stamp with unequivocal certainty the reality and the
worth of that influence.
An immediate effect of supernatural and efficacious
agency is conviction of sin. A mere natural man has
no conception of the heinousness of moral guilt.
Hence spring all the softening and extenuating titles
whereby we often hear sin excused and tolerated All
will readily acknowledge themselves to be sinners, but
few are sensibly conscious of their sinfulness. " In or-
der/' says the venerable Newton, " to a due convic-
tion of sin, we must previously have some adequate
conception of the God with whom we have to do. Sin
may be feared as dangerous or disgraceful without this;
but its nature and demerit can only be understood by
being contrasted with the holiness, majesty, goodness,
and truth, of the God against whom it is committed."
This conviction the Spirit by his power and might pro-
duces, agreeably to the declaration of Jesus Christ:"
and where it is produced, sin will be unutterably odi-
ous. The awakened and enlightened soul will oft
times "groan being burdened." The mere "motion
of sin" will be hateful to it. It will shrink with hor-
ror from the commission of sin. When the things that
it would, it does not ; and the things it would not, it
does, most aptly befitting its condition will be the
" O wretched man that I am !" of St. Paul/ Fall even
te seven times a day" may a just man ; but inasmuch
as he falls reluctantly, he shall rise again/ Ere the
truths of the Word be perceived in their stability and
excellence, much erroneous conduct may mark the ear-
lier stages of our spiritual life. Much and laboured
w Hoin. for Whitsunday. x John xvi. 8. y Rom. vii, 24.
* Prov. xxiv, 1G. Mic. vii, 8.
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 497
effort may be made to controul corrupt affection and
prevailing sin ; but to little purpose. By prayer, by
repentance, and by reformation, we would fain avert
displeasure and insure regard. Any thing would we
do or suffer to be free from sin. Self we loathe ; and
though sometimes we proudly arrogate to ourselves
power and might, yet we presently detect the evil and
" repent in dust and ashes. Now this experience
strongly evidences the gracious presence of the Holy
Spirit. It cannot be counterfeited : it is the work of
God in the soul. An unrcgenerate man will contemn
it. It would be to him the gloom and melancholy of
religion. But, let him know that a saving conviction
and consequent hatred of sin, however humiliating and
painful it may be, will issue eventually in pardon and
peace : it is the wound which endears the Divine Phy-
sician : it is the tear which the Lord will treasure : it is
the stroke which hews us from Nature's quarry ere we
arebuilded together for the inhabitation of God.
Another evidence of Spiritual Influence will be
A ceaseless restlessness of' soul till mercy and forgive-
ness be obtained. A person as yet but imperfectly ac-
quainted with religious truth, and as yet also appre-
hensive of wrath and danger on account of sin, will,
as we have intimated, resort to duties prayer, fasting,
alms-deeds, and so on for comfort and satisfaction.
Injudicious and mistaken friends or teachers may ad-
vise repentance for the past, and a strict adherence to
the Law in future : but " miserable comforters*' will
they be. After the putting forth of all the power and
might a sinful creature can command, he will find
himself unable to keep and to fulfil the broad and spi-
ritual commandments of the Moral Code. Every
repeated failure will fill him with new alarm and ter-
ror : and must necessarily do so ; for as the Law can-
not afford us inclination or ability to keep it, so nei-
ther does it console us in our violation of it. It is, at
best, " the Ministration of condemnation ;" and " by
2 K
498 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
the deeds of the Law can no man living be justified."
This the Holy Spirit leads the quickened and enlight-
ened soul to see. When this is seen, the soul will be-
gin to see and feel its need of a Saviour a Saviour
that can heal its sorrows and give it rest and peace.
Jesus Christ is known and believed to be that Saviour :
but need I not some qualification for him ? will now
be the inquiry of the troubled heart. May I come to
him just as I am ? Must I not bring with me some-
what of good to recommend me to him? Somewhat
of good is sought and endeavoured : Long and arduous
sometimes is the effort to subdue sin and to amend and
improve the conduct: but, where the Spirit of the
Lord teaches, all that human might can affect affords
no real rest or satisfaction. The dove will be going
to and fro in the earth, till it discovers the ark, and is
sheltered kindly in its friendliness and quiet. It will
eventually be found that " God justifieth the ungodly ;" a
that " Jesus hath received gifts for men ; yea, for the
rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among
them ;" b and that holiness, which the convinced and
humbled sinner so sensibly needs, is not required as a
Condition, but promised as a Gift, and secured infalli-
bly as a Consequence of faith in Christ, and union, by
the Spirit's quickening, enlightening, and renewing
power, with the Son of God. Now and not till now
will there be true and enduring comfort. Light will
beam upon the anxious heart. The sinner will venture
to come before God in the Name of Jesus. Diligence
will be used in all appointed means. Belief increases.
We see that Jesus Christ is not only able but willing
to save tis to the uttermost ; and this seen, the soul finds
"joy and peace in believing." Amidst occasional fear
and much remaining imperfection, the " peace of God"
will, nevertheless, " keep our heart and mind through
Jesus Christ." This peace will evidence the reality of
the Spirit's operation : others, confessedly, may pre-
* Rom. iv, 5. b Ps, 68. 18.
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 499
tend to it: but the peace of moral obedience and
conditionary justification will be found void of all gra-
cious agency and therefore destitute of intrinsic ex-
cellence.
A further sure and unfailing evidence of efficacious
influence is A supreme valuation o/' Jesus Christ,
It is the glory and the honour of God the Holy Ghost
to " testify of Him." The multitude of the Christian
world may assume the Name of Christ from the re-
spectability attaching to it : they may compliment
their Master, too, by an occasional obeisance: but
" no form or comeliness will they see in him to desire
him." The world's sufficiency is in itself. It is quite
easy with the worldling to make his peace with God
at any time whensoever it may suit his convenience
and inclination to do so. Our text he reverses, saying,
' By my power and the might of mine arm, and not
by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts.' Amidst all the
confusion of sentiment and conduct that prevails, he
can build, as he fondly dreams, a tower whose top
shall reach to heaven, and whereby he shall climb to
the high abodes of bliss, and fare as well as those who
" enter by the Door" into rest and glory. Spirit
of the Lord what means it ? " We know not,
may many truly say, whether there be any Holy
Ghost." Can we wonder, then, that the Lord tfesus
Christ should be unknown to such or despised and re-
jected by them ? No, verily ; and to be consistent,
they ought to renounce the Christian Name, and to
stand forth before all in all their naked and infidel un-
regencracy. Whereas, to the man whom the Holy
Ghost makes Christian, Jesus will be all that is ami-
able, all that is lovely, all that is desirable, fie will
be found in every page of inspiration. He will bo
loved in all his offices. His power will be seen in
every star that twinkles with the myriads of its fellov
in the heavens : his smile will be discovered in every
/lower that blooms and lavishes its sweets upon our
senses : his goodness will appear in the happiness
500 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
of his every creature : his grace in the redemp-
tion of every redeemed sinner ; unparallclled ex-
cellence in his blood and the glory of eternity in hia
righteousness. The Spirit makes him "all" in the
Believer's all. And though the Lord Jesus Christ
may not directly and at once become thus supremely
valuable tp our souls, yet, if we be truly under a Spi-
ritual Influence, he will become so ; and his be-
coming so, will be to our souls a most precious evi-
dence of acceptance, pardon, and safety. I would
you should read Romans viii, 14 18. Doubtful and
worthless is all religion that savours not of Christ.
Empty and poor will all ministrations of the Word
be, wherein Christ obtains little or no mention.
Never will the hearts of the millions of mankind be
bowed down as the heart of one man, till " the Lord
alone be exalted." Works acceptable to God and
pleasing in his sight, there can be none without the
grace of Christ and the inspiration of his Spirit/ 1
Blessed, therefore, is the man who by the supernatural
agency of the eternal Spirit can cordially adopt the
Apostolic language, " 1 am crucified with Christ ;
nevertheless, 1 live ; yet not 1, but Christ liveth in
me ; and the life which 1 now live in the flesh, I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and
gave himself for me.""
One other evidence only of Spiritual Influence shall
be adduced ere we bring our remarks to a close, and
that is, A prevailing desire to be holy. Every thing
that evidences the regenerating grace of the Spirit in-
volves this desire : all his operations terminate in our
restoration to the image and favour of God. Holiness
is essential to his nature : sanctifying is the nature of
his influence ; and " hunger and thirst after righteous-
ness" will invariably predominate in the soul he quick-
ens and renews. We do not begin in the Spirit and
end in the flesh. Sin, as we have seen, is unutterably
= Jsa.ii, 17. d Art. xiii. Gal. ii,20.
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 501
odious to the new-born soul. It is that which beclouds
its views ; depresses its hopes ; darkens the "glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ;" and hinders the
progress of the soul in love and knowledge : Its oppo-
site will therefore be ull-aiid- in finitely- desirable.
Whilst the mere moralist adorns himself with the de-
cencies of exterior conduct, and is contented with the
approval of man, the Christian Believer pants to be
holy within, and to stand perfect and complete before
God. Not, be it observed, that he expects his nature
scripturally called "the old Adam to be renewed
and sanctified ; that he does not expect to be holy
till 'tis built anew from the dust of death : but he
wants " the new man," the heaven-born nature, the
seed of unfailing life and salvation, to grow stronger,
more pure, and more prevalent within him. Grounded
on Christ, he wishes to " grow up in him." He looks
and begs for more and more of the Spirit's transform-
ing influence. Not by might nor by power in himself
does he stand : no : "kept by the power of God through
faith, he " stands fast holding the beginning of his
confidence firm unto the end." And the thought,
4 / shall be holy' ever and anon cheers him whilst con-
flicting with sin, the world, and Satan. Now, where
this desire is prevalent, there prevails the Spirit's hal-
lowing agency ; and gathering as he onward goes
fresh laurels for his Redeemer's crown, the Christian
conqueror shall ultimately be welcomed to the world
wherein dwelleth righteousness, and he himself shall
be altogether righteous, with, " Well done, good and
faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
I have now shewn you, Beloved, as I purposed, the
necessity, the nature, and the evidence of Spiritual In-
fluence. I wish you candidly and impartially to con-
sider our remarks. Mysterious as it may be, I have
endeavoured to bring the subject simply and practi-
cally before you. It involves, you see, the very es-
sence of real Christianity. It contradict:, nothing
502 SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.
which your Bible tells you : it harmonizes with its
every truth. You see, too, how surely your own
Church is founded on the Apostles and Prophets, Je-
sus Christ himself being its chief corner stone. Its
every service acknowledges the fact and beseeches the
aid of Spiritual Influence. All its Ministers profess
to be ( moved by the Holy Ghost 7 to assume the minis-
terial office : nor will one of all its Ministers so moved
forbear to insist on the necessity, the nature, and the
evidence of the Spirit's influence. I have done what
I could, and now is my work with the Lord and my
judgment with my God. Various and contrary as hu-
man opinions are slighted and contemned, too, as the
experiences of the saints may be, the Church of Christ
goes onward, nevertheless, to prevail and triumph.
Noiseless may be her progress, as the Temple of old was
in its construction : f but sure is her hope ; faithful is her
Lord, and all-powerful the Spirit that animates, sus-
tains, and comforts her. Abroad is the glorious Gospel
of the blessed God proclaimed. Accessible is its truth
to multitudes in their native languages. Messengers,
on the swiftest wings of love, are saying to Earth's
most debased and sinful children, "Why will ye die ?"
" I will pour out of my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts/ 1
is the promise that propels to deeds of greatness, and
acts of noble and ennobling kindness. Assured of suc-
cess we labour. To our God we give the glory. By
him alone have we will to serve and strength to en-
dure. And while we joy in hope as possessing the ear-
nest of the Spirit, and are sealed ourselves unto the day
of redemption, let us, as Nehemiah and his associates
did, " arise and build." ' Let us beg God of his great
mercy so to work in all men's hearts, by the mighty
power of the Holy Ghost, that the comfortable Gospel
of his Son Christ may be truly preached, truly received,
and truly followed in all places, to the beating down
sin, death, the pope, the devil, and all the kingdom of
f I Kings vi, 7;
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE. 503
Antichrist, that like scattered and dispersed sheep be-
ing at length gathered into one fold, \ve may in the end
rest all together in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, there to be partakers of eternal and everlasting
life, through the merits and death of Jesus Christ oiir
Saviour/
FINIS.
1URKER AND PENNY,
MERCURY-OFFICE, SHEUBOKNE,
ERRATA.
PAGE 46, in line 24 (from the top), for !)<' read Just.'
5l' 10 leave out ' the' before straits.
_ 106 5 leave out ' as.'
131 12 for ' soull' read ' soul.'
178 17 for ' own' read ' whole.
. 247 14 omit the comma after ' Lord.
303 5 for ( , ) put ( . )
360, in the note, insert ' if before ' he can.
303
360, in the note,
361 1 for ' shall' read ' snalU
382 17 for (?) put ( ; )
399 8 for ( . ) put ( ? )
427 17 for ( . ) put ( , )
469 10 for ' deed' read
486 30 for ' wont' read
deeds.'
once.'
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