o ~ 
 
 9 ^^
 
 c^OUxA-u**y
 
 SERMONS, 
 
 PREACHED 
 
 IN THE PARISH CHURCH OF 
 HIGH WYCOMBE. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. CHARLES BRADLEY, 
 
 VICAR OF GLASBURY, BRECKNOCKSHIRE ; AND MINISTER OP 
 ST. JAMES'S CHAPEL, CLAPHAM, SURREY. 
 
 THE NINTH EDITION. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED FOR HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. 
 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 1833.
 
 LONDON : 
 
 IBOT80N AND PALMED, PRINTERS, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 THE EARL OF LIVERPOOL. 
 
 V s7 I? 1 ! ~l*l ." ; TOltl 61 -'^I'^oH 'i ''ij ' 
 MY LORD, 
 
 X 
 
 WHEN an unsolicited instance of your 
 kindness first led me to wish that I might be 
 allowed to offer you this public testimony of my 
 gratitude, I was withheld from making this wish 
 known to your Lordship, by a consciousness of 
 the want of every pretension to literary excel- 
 lence in my intended publication, and by con- 
 siderations connected with the humble station of 
 its author. A little reflection however convinced 
 me, that the hesitation which originated in such
 
 IV DEDICATION. 
 
 objections as these, ought not to have been in- 
 dulged. I recollected that your Lordship sus- 
 tained a higher character, than that of a peer or 
 a statesman ; and I knew that the meanest volume 
 might possess recommendations which a Christian 
 would estimate more highly, than the brightest 
 displays of intellect or the richest graces of lan- 
 guage. 
 
 That these recommendations are to be found 
 in the following pages, is more perhaps than it 
 becomes me to assert ; but they would never 
 have appeared before the public under the sanc- 
 tion of your name, had I not hoped that the 
 principles inculcated in them are those of a book 
 which you venerate, and of a church which you 
 love. The efforts you have made to promote the 
 religious education of the poor, and the zeal you 
 have manifested in extending the circulation of 
 the holy scriptures and in facilitating the public 
 worship of the Almighty, are sufficient indica- 
 tions that the value of these principles is not
 
 DEDICATION. V 
 
 unknown to your Lordship ; and I feel assured 
 that I cannot offer you a more acceptable tribute 
 of the gratitude I owe you, than by earnestly 
 praying that the influence of these sacred truths 
 may daily become more powerful in your breast, 
 and their blessedness more richly enjoyed in your 
 heart. They can do more, my Lord, than render 
 you a benefactor to the church, an ornament to 
 your country, and a blessing to the world. They 
 can make you the servant and the friend of God, 
 the citizen of a kingdom which cannot be moved, 
 and the heir of a glory which fadeth not away. 
 
 I have the honour to remain, my Lord, 
 Your Lordship's very much obliged 
 and most obedient Servant, 
 
 CHARLES BRADLEY. 
 
 High Wycom.be, 
 
 July 1, 1818.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 THE WORSHIPPERS IN THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 
 
 REVELATION vii. 14, 15. These are they which came out of 
 great tribulation, and have wasJied their robes, and made 
 them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they 
 before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in 
 his temple. 
 
 Page 1. 
 
 SERMON II 
 
 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES OF THE HEAVENLY 
 TEMPLE. 
 
 REVELATION vii. 15, 16, 17. Therefore are they before the 
 throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; 
 and he tliat sitteth on the throne, shall dwell among them. 
 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; nei- 
 ther shall the sun light on them, nor any heat ; for the 
 Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, 
 and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and 
 God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 
 
 Page 23.
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 THE DYING CHRISTIAN COMMITTING HIS SOUL TO GOD. 
 
 PSALM xxxi. 5. Into thine, hand I commit my spirit; thou 
 hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. 
 
 Page 46. 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 THE ADVANTAGES OF REMEMBERING CHRIST. 
 
 ST. LUKE xxii. 19. This do in remembrance of me. 
 Page 61. 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 ST. JOHN xiv. 27. Peace I leave with you : my peace I give 
 unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. 
 
 Page 78. 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION SENT TO 
 PETER. 
 
 ST. MARK xvi. 7. Go your way ; tell his disciples and 
 Peter, that he goeth before you into Galilee : there shall ye 
 see him. 
 
 Page 97.
 
 CONTENTS. 1 X 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 EPHESIANS iii. 8. Less than tJie least of all saints. 
 Page 116. 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 THE COMPASSION OP THE HIGH PRIEST OF THE 
 CHURCH. 
 
 HEBREWS iv. 15. We have not an high priest which cannot 
 be touched with t/te feeling of our infirmities, but was in all 
 points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
 
 Page 138. 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 THE- THRONE OF GRACE. 
 
 HEBREWS iv. 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the 
 throne of grace, tlutt we may obtain mercy, arid jind grace 
 to help in time of need. 
 
 Page 155. 
 SERMON X. 
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY xxxiv. 5. So Moses, tlie servant of the 
 Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word 
 of the Lord. 
 
 Page 172.
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON XI. 
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY xxxii. 10, 11, 12. He found him, in a desert 
 land and in the waste howling wilderness ; he led him about, 
 he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As 
 an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, 
 spreadeih abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on 
 her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no 
 strange god with him. 
 
 Page 188. 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING TO THE PROMISED LAND. 
 
 NUMBERS x. 29. We are journeying unto the place of which 
 the Lord said, I will give it you. Come thou with us, and 
 we will do thee good, for the Lord hath spoken good con- 
 cerning Israel. 
 
 Page 207. 
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 
 
 PSALM cxix. 54. TJiy statutes have been my songs in the 
 
 house of my pilgrimage. 
 
 Page 230. 
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 THE BREVITY AND VANITY OF HUMAN LIFE. 
 
 PSALM xxxix. 5. Behold, thou /tost made my days as a 
 hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing before tlwe; verily, 
 every man, at his best state, is altogether vanity. 
 Page 250.
 
 CONTENTS. XI 
 
 SERMON XV. 
 
 THE GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 2 CORINTHIANS iii. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. If t/te ministration of 
 death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that 
 the children of Israel could not stedfastly be/told the face of 
 Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to 
 be done away ; how shall not the ministration of the Spirit 
 be rather glorious ? for if the ministration of condemna- 
 tion be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteous- 
 ness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glori- 
 ous liad no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that 
 excetteth. For if that which was done away was glorious, 
 much more that which remaineth is glorious. 
 
 Page 274. 
 SERMON XVI. 
 
 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE OF THE LOVE OF 
 CHRIST. 
 
 2 CORINTHIANS v. 14, 15. The love of Christ constraineth 
 us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then 
 were all dead; and that he died for all, that they which 
 live, should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto 
 him which died for them and rose again. 
 
 Page 299. 
 
 
 
 SERMON XVII. 
 
 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE OF THE LOV& OF 
 CHRIST. 
 
 2 CORINTHIANS v. 14, 15. The lave of Christ constraineth 
 us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then
 
 Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 were all dead ; and that tie died for all, that they which 
 live, should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto 
 him which died for them and rose again. 
 Page 321. 
 
 SERMON XVIII. 
 
 CHRIST THE HEALER OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 
 
 ST. LUKE iv. 18. He hath sent me to heal the broken- 
 hearted. 
 
 Page 333. 
 SERMON XIX. 
 
 THE TEARS OF JESUS AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. 
 
 ST. JOHN xi. 35. Jesus wept. 
 Page 362.
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 THE WORSHIPPERS INTHE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 
 
 REVELATION vii. 14, 15. 
 
 These are they which came out of great tribu- 
 lation, and have washed their robes, and made 
 them white in the blood of the Lamb. There- 
 fore are they before the throne of God, and 
 serve him day and night in his temple. 
 
 THE figure under which heaven is represented 
 to us in this vision, is that of a temple crowded 
 with worshippers and resounding with praises. 
 The man who loves the tabernacles of the Lord 
 as the saints of old loved them, will view this 
 representation of his future residence with pecu- 
 liar interest. There are indeed seasons in the 
 life of the established Christian, in which the 
 prospect of this heavenly temple brings to his 
 heart a peace and a blessedness which pass all 
 understanding. While his soul, in the secrecy 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 of retirement, is rising on the wings of faith 
 to the footstool of its God, the veil which con- 
 ceals eternity from his sight, seems to be drawn 
 aside, and heaven, with all its glories, opens to 
 his view. He beholds the splendour of the hea- 
 venly house, he hears the songs of its redeemed 
 inhabitants, and deems himself already a partaker 
 in their joy. 
 
 Would we, my brethren, enter into the Chris- 
 tian's secret, and share his happiness ? Our affec- 
 tions must first be fixed where his are fixed, on 
 things above. We must have a treasure in eter- 
 nity, and our conversation must be in heaven. 
 Let us strive then, this very hour, to elevate our 
 minds to the dwelling place of God. While seat- 
 ed in this earthly house of prayer, let us lift up 
 our thoughts to that glorious temple above us, 
 in which all the triumphant church are at this 
 very moment assembled, and pouring forth their 
 praises. There dwells the Saviour who is all our 
 salvation and all our desire, there live the Chris- 
 tian friends who were once dear to our souls on 
 earth, and there, if we are the redeemed of the 
 Lord, when the days of our tribulation are ended, 
 will be our own eternal home. O may we all 
 enter that house of rest ! May we all love to 
 fix our thoughts on it now, and contemplate its 
 blessedness ! May we often experience, within 
 these walls, a foretaste of its joys !
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. O 
 
 The representation which the beloved disciple 
 has here given us of the happiness of the heavenly 
 world, suggests these four subjects for our con- 
 sideration ; a temple, the worshippers in this 
 temple, the nature of their worship, and the 
 privileges they enjoy. We shall however find 
 sufficient matter for our present meditation, if we 
 confine our attention to two of these subjects, the 
 temple and its worshippers. 
 
 I. Let us consider, first, the temple here spoken 
 of. It is a heavenly temple, a holy place, stand- 
 ing not on this perishable world, but having its 
 foundations laid on the everlasting hills of heaven. 
 All other temples have been erected by man, 
 but this temple has been built by Jehovah him- 
 self, to be the eternal dwelling place of his be- 
 loved church, and the seat of his own glorious 
 throne. He dwelt indeed figuratively in the 
 temple at Jerusalem, and had the chambers of 
 his priests surrounding him on every side ; but 
 he dwells visibly in this heavenly house, and is 
 gradually collecting within its walls all the count- 
 less myriads of his saints, and will make them 
 for ever ministering and rejoicing priests around 
 his throne. 
 
 Where this temple is, we know not. We are 
 indeed taught to consider heaven as a state, 
 rather than a place ; but we have reason to con- 
 
 B2
 
 4 THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 elude from the testimony of scripture, that there 
 is some portion of the universe set apart to be 
 the palace of its great King ; that there is within 
 the boundaries of the creation some glorious 
 world, where Jesus in his human form now lives 
 and reigns, and where he will eventually assem- 
 ble, with the " innumerable company of angels," 
 all the sinners of mankind whom his blood has 
 purchased. 
 
 All that we know of this world is, that it really 
 exists, and that it is a world of purity and blessed- 
 ness. Our Bibles indeed tell us something of its 
 glories, and more than our limited capacities can 
 fully comprehend ; but still the most glowing 
 descriptions that language can convey, and the 
 most exalted conceptions to which our imagina- 
 tions can reach, fall infinitely short of that dazzling 
 splendour which fills the courts of the living God. 
 The world which we inhabit, though defiled by 
 sin and under the curse of God, has yet so much 
 order, beauty, and magnificence in it, that we are 
 often delighted and astonished as we contemplate 
 its scenes. What then must be the glory of that 
 world which has never felt the polluting touch 
 of sin, which was prepared before the foundations 
 of the earth were laid for the thrones of the 
 redeemed, and adorned with a full display of 
 Jehovah's unclouded brightness ? Happy are 
 they who dwell in such a temple ! Blessed is
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 5 
 
 the man who is but a doorkeeper in such a 
 house ! 
 
 II. The happy beings who are the worshippers 
 in this splendid temple, are described in the pas- 
 sage connected with the text, and our second sub- 
 ject of consideration leads us to turn our attention 
 to them. 
 
 Who then are these rejoicing worshippers, and 
 whence came they ? Many of them are natives 
 of this heavenly world, and have been for count- 
 less ages ministering servants in this house. 
 These are described, in the eleventh verse of this 
 chapter, as standing round about the throne, and 
 falling before the throne on their faces, and wor- 
 shipping God. But these are not the worshippers 
 referred to in the text. There is another and a 
 more numerous class of priests serving in this 
 temple, singing another and a louder song, and 
 occupying as honourable a place. " These are they 
 which came out of great tribulation, and have 
 washed their robes, and made them white in the 
 blood of the Lamb." 
 
 1. This description reminds us, first, of the 
 former condition of these worshippers. 
 
 It tells us that it was an earthly condition. They 
 were not, like the angels, always in this house. 
 They were natives of an apostate world, and had 
 an earthly origin. The powers of their nature
 
 6 THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 were once far less exalted than those of their fel- 
 low-worshippers, and they were altogether inca- 
 pable of sharing in many of their services. Their 
 spirits were united to a frail body, a body of hu- 
 miliation, taken from the dust of the earth, and 
 rapidly tending to dust again. 
 
 Their condition too was a sinful one. Their 
 great tribulation was brought upon them by the 
 greatness of their sins. Not that they were more 
 sinful than the other inhabitants of the earth 
 which they dwelt on, but they were once as much 
 encompassed with infirmities as any of their bre- 
 thren, as " dead in trespasses and sins." There 
 is not one among them, who was not a transgres- 
 sor while on earth, and who has not to this very 
 hour a remembrance of his guilt. It is this re- 
 membrance which makes their gratitude so fer- 
 vent, and their song so loud. It is this which 
 draws from them so exalted a hymn of praise, 
 that the angels cannot reach its strains, and are 
 forced to wonder at its sweetness. 
 
 They were also in an afflicted condition. Not a 
 single sorrow or care now enters their hearts, yet 
 they were once in " great tribulation." Many of 
 them came out of a state of peculiar distress and 
 suffering. " They had trials of cruel mockings 
 and scourgings, yea moreover of bonds and im- 
 prisonment. They were stoned, were sawn asun- 
 der, were slain with the sword. They wandered
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 7 
 
 about in sheep skins and goat skins, being desti- 
 tute, afflicted, tormented." All of them were in 
 some degree men of sorrows. They were as well 
 acquainted with poverty and want, anxiety and 
 care, as we are now. Their bodies were as weak 
 and as liable to pain and sickness, as our own. 
 Their houses of mourning were as frequent and 
 gloomy, and their graves as dreary and cold. As 
 many spiritual troubles also beset them. They felt, 
 at seasons, the same painful and suspicious fears 
 that we feel ; they were assaulted by the same 
 temptations, stricken by the same arrows, and 
 forced to struggle with the same enemies. Not a 
 single temporal or spiritual sorrow can ever enter 
 into our hearts, which has not been a thousand 
 times felt, in all its bitterness, by these rejoicing 
 inhabitants of the heavenly world. 
 
 Such was the original condition of these wor- 
 shippers ; it was an earthly, a sinful, and a suffer- 
 ing one. 
 
 2. Let us look now at their present condition. 
 Here however our knowledge again fails us. We 
 know what it is to be sinful and afflicted crea- 
 tures upon earth, but we do not know what it is 
 to be holy and rejoicing beings before the throne 
 of God in heaven. In this far distant world, we 
 can neither see all the glories of the temple above 
 us, nor enter into the full meaning of its services. 
 Some particulars however of the present condition
 
 THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 of the redeemed saints, are given us by the be- 
 loved disciple in this vision. 
 
 It is represented to us as a state of peace, a 
 state of freedom from sorrow and from pain. 
 They are " come out" of their tribulation ; they 
 have passed through it, and left it all behind. 
 Their wearisome pilgrimage is brought to an 
 everlasting end. They have exchanged an earth 
 of labour and misery, for a heaven of peace and 
 rest. The billows of adversity which once filled 
 their souls with fear, still swell and rage, but 
 they are all rolling far beneath them, and can 
 never again toss them with their waves. We 
 deem it a mercy to be kept for a day, yea, for an 
 hour, free from anxiety and sorrow ; but some 
 of these worshippers have not shed a single tear, 
 nor been harassed by a single care, for ages. 
 
 Their state is also a state of purity. " They 
 have washed their robes, and made them white in 
 the blood of the Lamb." Without this washing, 
 they could never have been admitted into the 
 heavenly temple, for nothing that defiles has ever 
 entered there. Even in that earthly house which 
 was built for the Lord at Jerusalem, his priests 
 were constrained to wash in the sacred laver, be- 
 fore they approached the mercy-seat which was 
 the symbol of his presence ; and surely he will 
 not admit one who is unclean, to minister before 
 him in his temple above. He that was so careful
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 9 
 
 of the purity of his earthly house, will not suffer 
 his heavenly mansion to be defiled. 
 
 The robes of these priests were once indeed as 
 polluted as ours are now, and neither men nor 
 angels could cleanse them. Ten thousand tears 
 of penitence could not wash them white, nor the 
 blood of martyrdom conceal their stains. How 
 then was their filthiness removed ? By the water 
 of baptism ? All these priests were indeed wash- 
 ed in this water, but it was not this which puri- 
 fied their souls. Daily experience proves that no 
 outward means can remove the crimson stain of 
 sin, or do away its filthiness. While we are con- 
 tending that baptism has this power, thousands 
 around us, who have been baptized in the name 
 of Christ, are giving a death-blow to all our rea- 
 sonings by their worldly and ungodly lives. This, 
 as well as every other ordinance, is indeed some- 
 times made the means of communicating blessings 
 to the soul ; but there is no inseparable connec- 
 tion between the outward visible sign and the in- 
 ward spiritual grace of any sacrament. A man 
 may go to the table of the Lord, and yet not dis- 
 cern the Lord's body there. He may be washed 
 in the water of baptism, and yet be as much " in 
 the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity," as 
 Simon Magus or Judas Iscariot. 
 
 Could we but once be brought, brethren, to 
 see something of the real nature and extent of
 
 10 THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 the depravity which reigns within us, we should 
 be convinced, in that very moment, that no out- 
 ward ordinances can cleanse the soul from its 
 pollution ; that the evil is too powerful and too 
 deeply seated to yield to such remedies as these. 
 We should see that the matter will not admit, for 
 a moment, of doubt or argument. Our feelings 
 would at once refute the most subtle reasonings. 
 
 There is indeed a fountain which has power to 
 wash away sin and uncleanness ; but this is a spi- 
 ritual fountain, and possessing in consequence a 
 spiritual efficacy. These heavenly priests have 
 discovered this sacred laver, and in their song's 
 
 * O 
 
 they point it out to us. We find them always 
 ascribing the change which has passed on them, 
 to one cause, and giving to one Being all the glory. 
 " 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." " They 
 have washed their robes, and made them white in 
 the blood of the Lamb ;" in that blood which, the 
 Bible tells us, " cleanseth from all sin," and 
 which can make the sinner's defiled robes as 
 white as snow. " Therefore," says the text, " are 
 they before the throne of God." This was the 
 reason why the everlasting doors of the heavenly 
 temple were opened to them, while thousands of 
 their fellow-sinners are for ever excluded from its
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 11 
 
 courts " they were washed, they were sancti- 
 fied, they were justified, in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 
 
 When once they had applied to this cleansing 
 fountain, they were brought into a state of pardon 
 and acceptance with God. " He blotted out as a 
 thick cloud their transgressions, and as a cloud 
 their sins." The guilt of their sins, strictly speak- 
 ing, still remains on them. They still deserve, 
 and ever must deserve the wrath of God ; but all 
 their liability to punishment is completely and for 
 ever done away ; so entirely removed from them, 
 that their reconciled God deals with them in hea- 
 ven, as though he remembered their sins and 
 iniquities no more. In this sense, " he does not 
 see iniquity in Jacob nor perverseness in Israel.'* 
 God looks upon his saints as criminals, but he 
 views them in Christ as acquitted criminals, yea, 
 as beloved children ; as having obtained, by an 
 act of grace, a complete and eternal pardon, and 
 received from him a title to richer privileges than 
 their sin had forfeited. They were indeed conti- 
 nually contracting fresh defilement as long as 
 they remained on earth, and were constrained to 
 wash again and again in the same fountain that 
 cleansed their robes at first ; but if this fountain 
 had left the unpardoned guilt of only one sin 
 upon their souls, that one sin would have disquali- 
 fied them for the pure services of the habitation
 
 12 THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 of God, and have barred for ever its sacred doors 
 against their entrance. 
 
 This free and full pardon of their sins is not 
 however the only blessing, which the heavenly 
 worshippers have obtained through the blood of 
 the Lamb. Had this been all, they could never 
 have joined in the worship of the heavenly world, 
 nor sung the songs of Zion. The same fountain 
 that freed them from the guilt of sin, washed away 
 sin itself, freed them from its reigning power, and 
 put a new and holy principle within their hearts. 
 JVot that they were at once brought into a state of 
 perfect purity. As the consecration of some of 
 the Jewish priests was carried on for many days 
 before it was completed, so the purification of 
 these priests was a long and arduous work. Years 
 passed away before some of them were completely 
 sanctified, and made meet to minister among the 
 saints in light ; and they were all harassed to 
 their dying hour, in a greater or less degree, with 
 the struggling corruptions of their evil hearts. 
 But sin could not follow them beyond the grave. 
 As soon as their liberated souls escaped from this 
 world of pollution, they entered a world, where 
 this enemy can never come ; and all is now un- 
 sullied purity and perfect holiness. Their graces, 
 which were so often obscured and tarnished here 
 on earth, now shine forth with unclouded bright- 
 ness and never fading lustre. " Christ," says the
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 13 
 
 scripture, " loved the church, and gave himself 
 for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with 
 the washing of water by the word ; that he might 
 present it to himself a glorious church, not having 
 spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it 
 should be holy and without blemish." 
 
 We may observe, further, that the state of 
 these worshippers in the temple of God is a state 
 of triumph. The white robes in which they are 
 clad, are not their only ornaments. We are told, 
 in the ninth verse of this chapter, that they have 
 " palms in their hands." 
 
 The palm tree, among many of the ancient 
 nations, was an emblem of victory. Hence its 
 branches were used to adorn triumphal proces- 
 sions. The general whose victories the triumph 
 was designed to celebrate, carried a small branch 
 of it in his hand, and was thus recognised as a 
 conqueror. When therefore the redeemed are de- 
 scribed as having " palms in their hands," we are 
 reminded that they were once soldiers who were 
 not ashamed to confess the faith of Christ cruci- 
 fied, but fought manfully under his banner, and 
 by the strength of his arm completely conquered 
 every enemy. The saints on earth indeed are war- 
 ring the same warfare in which these glorified 
 beings were engaged, and are continually obtain- 
 ing victories in it ; but then they must wait till 
 all the days of their warfare are accomplished,
 
 14 THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 before they can have the triumphal chariot and 
 the palm. The soldier never triumphs till the 
 war is ended, and the enemy completely subdued. 
 The saints in heaven have finished the painful 
 conflict, and are now gone up for their reward to 
 Jehovah's temple. And O what blessed triumphs 
 are theirs ! What glorious spoils ! What ever- 
 lasting shouts of victory and songs of joy ! Their 
 triumph is a never ending triumph. Their palms 
 will never wither. Their robes of honour will 
 never fade. The lustre of their crown never can 
 be tarnished. The light of day will be extin- 
 guished, and the stars of heaven be darkened, but 
 the brightness of their glory will be as incorrup- 
 tible as the throne of God. 
 
 3. As we look on these worshippers in heaven, 
 we may observe, thirdly, the greatness of their 
 number. They are said, in the ninth verse, to 
 be " a multitude, a great multitude, a multitude 
 which no man can number." 
 
 But here it may be asked, " Whence can this 
 great multitude come ? We read our Bibles, and 
 we find the people of God spoken of there as 
 a ' little flock.' We look around us in the world, 
 and are sometimes tempted to ask, Where shall 
 a godly man be found? How then shall this 
 great multitude be brought to glory ? From 
 what unknown globe has sovereign mercy fetched 
 them ?" We dare not say, in answer to these
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 15 
 
 enquiries, that all who are now i-ejoicing in the 
 heavenly courts, were once inhabitants of the 
 earth on which we live. The benefits of redeem- 
 ing grace may be as extensive, as the boundaries 
 of the creation. There is however every reason 
 to suppose, that the great multitude of saints who 
 are spoken of in this vision, were originally 
 strangers and pilgrims in this world of sorrow. 
 It is true indeed that the way which leads from it 
 to the heavenly mansions, is represented in the 
 scriptures as extremely narrow ; we see too that 
 there are few walking in it : but it does not there- 
 fore follow, that the greater part of the human 
 race descend by another road to another kingdom. 
 Millions of the children of men are, we trust, 
 carried yearly in their infancy to the realms of 
 light ; and many an aged saint also is seen pa- 
 tiently walking in the path which leads to God, 
 and will soon be standing before him, a rejoicing 
 priest. Satan does not number among his sub- 
 jects all the inhabitants of our globe. The Re- 
 deemer has a people on the earth. He is seeing 
 of " the travail of his soul" in many places and 
 in many hearts, where we see it not. Who can 
 tell how many an humble Christian has been tra- 
 velling to the land of rest, while almost all around 
 him, and even the honoured instrument that first 
 turned his soul to God, have been ignorant of his 
 faith? The man has poured forth alone his
 
 16 THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 prayers and tears. Men have not seen the up- 
 lifted eye, nor heard the secret prayer for mercy ; 
 but the angels of heaven have rejoiced over the 
 weeping suppliant, and at length carried him in 
 triumph to the temple of his God. We know too 
 that before the destruction of this world of sin, it 
 will become " the kingdom of our Lord and of his 
 Christ." A time is rapidly approaching, when 
 the standard of the cross shall be erected in 
 every land, and Jesus of Nazareth reign in every 
 place. We need not fear being solitary inhabi- 
 tants of the heavenly house. God has not built 
 so splendid a temple to be the only blank in 
 his crowded creation. We and all around us 
 may make light of that voice which invites us to 
 enter in, but still the marriage supper of the 
 Lamb will be abundantly furnished with guests. 
 
 A review of the cheering subject which we 
 have thus briefly considered, leads us to observe, 
 in conclusion, that the gospel of Christ does not 
 promise to its followers any exemption from the ca- 
 lamities of life. It tells us that " man is born to 
 trouble," and that the servants of God shall have 
 their full portion of the sorrows of mortality. The 
 Bible does not attempt to cheat us into a profes- 
 sion of religion by false representations. It pro- 
 mises us happiness in heaven, and many joys in 
 the road which leads to it ; but, at the same time,
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 17 
 
 it plainly tells us that this road is a path of trial. 
 All the saints are indeed described as rejoicing, - 
 but then they are said to be " rejoicing in tribu- 
 lation." Their nearness to God has neither re- 
 moved calamity from them, nor blunted their feel- 
 ings when smarting under it. 
 
 Who then are we, brethren, that some special 
 exemption should be made in our favour ? David, 
 and Paul, and every other servant of the Lord, 
 has drunk of the cup of sorrow ; why then should 
 we expect it to be always kept from our lips ? 
 Have we deserved it less than others ? Do we need 
 it less ? Have we fewer sins to be subdued ? less 
 pride, less self-dependence, less earthly-minded- 
 ness, to be rooted out ? Tribulation is the portion 
 of all the redeemed, and we may be quite certain 
 that, if we have ever tasted of redemption, it will, 
 in some shape or other, be our portion. Our Sa- 
 viour tells us so. This is one of the first sayings 
 he addresses to them who follow him, and one of 
 the first truths he generally makes them feel the 
 meaning of, " In the world ye shall have tribula- 
 tion." Let us then prepare to meet our promised 
 trials, and not only to meet them, but to welcome 
 them with cheerfulness and joy. They are de- 
 signed to help us forward in our course, to lead us 
 on in the road which will take us to the temple 
 and the throne of God. "Our light affliction," 
 says one who had tasted of much severer sorrows 
 
 VOL. i. c
 
 18 THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 than ever fell to the lot of any of us, and was 
 quite as capable of forming a true estimate of 
 their nature, " Our light affliction, which is but 
 for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceed- 
 ing and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 There is another reflection suggested to us by 
 the words we have been considering How great 
 is the contrast between the present and the future 
 condition of the followers of Jesus ! 
 
 Those whom the apostle saw in this glorious 
 temple, are all said to have come out of " great 
 tribulation." They were probably some of the first 
 and most persecuted members of the church. But 
 what a blessed and wondrous change has passed 
 upon them ! They were once perhaps wandering 
 about in sheep skins and goat skins ; they are 
 now clothed in white raiment, walking the streets 
 of the new Jerusalem, and treading the courts of 
 its splendid temple. They were once glad to fly 
 for shelter to mountains, caves, and dens of the 
 earth ; they are now occupying everlasting man- 
 sions in Jehovah's house. Those heads which are 
 now encircled with crowns of glory, were once 
 bowed down under a sense of guilt. Those 
 tongues which are now shouting, " Worthy is 
 the Lamb," were once complaining of wretched- 
 ness and sin. Those hearts which are now glow- 
 ing with the most exalted happiness and rejoicing 
 in spotless purity, were once full of corruption, 
 and aching with cares and sorrows.
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 19 
 
 Has such a change as this passed on these 
 once sinful and afflicted saints ; and is there no 
 change awaiting those who are now following 
 the same Lord in the same path of tribulation ? 
 Shall they never exchange a world of suffering 
 for a heaven of rest, a vale of tears for a mount 
 of joy ? O look, my Christian brethren, to that 
 glorious army of martyrs, to that " church of the 
 first-born." See them on their thrones. Listen 
 to their songs of triumph. Soon, very soon, shall 
 you be numbered with them. Only tread in 
 their steps ; wash in that fountain which cleansed 
 them ; keep close to that Saviour in whom they 
 believed ; serve faithfully that God whom they 
 loved and feared ; and your robes shall soon be 
 as white as theirs, your songs as joyful, your 
 crowns as bright. 
 
 But the voice of consolation is not the only 
 language that the Holy Spirit addresses to us 
 in the text. Here is, lastly, a loud call to self- 
 examination. This great multitude may stand 
 before the throne of God, and yet we may not be 
 included in their number. The gates of this 
 heavenly temple may be opened to ten thousand 
 times ten thousand ransomed sinners, and yet 
 closed against us. There is another and a very 
 different house, in which we may be forced to 
 seek an everlasting home. There is the dwelling 
 place of Satan in eternity, as well as the temple 
 
 c2
 
 2(J THE WORSHIPPERS IN 
 
 of the living God. To which of these mansions 
 then are we hastening ? We must soon be lodged 
 for ever in one or the other of them ; which will 
 be our habitation ? Shall we be the ministering 
 priests of Satan or of God ? 
 
 If we would obtain a faithful answer to such 
 questions as these, we must not be content with 
 referring to our present troubles, and drawing an 
 inference from them, that all will in the end be 
 well. Tribulation, it is true, is the portion of the 
 people of God, but it is also the portion of another 
 and a more numerous people, the children of the 
 wicked one. The severest afflictions prove nothing 
 as to our spiritual state and character. We may 
 be amongst the most wretched on earth, and yet, 
 notwithstanding all our sufferings, we may be also 
 amongst the most wretched in the world to come. 
 
 O 
 
 We may resemble the glorified inhabitants of 
 heaven in their former state of tribulation, and 
 yet never be made partakers of their present hap- 
 piness. The question to be asked is not, Whether 
 I have been afflicted ; but, Whether my afflictions 
 have been sanctified afflictions ; whether, through 
 grace, they have taught me to see my spiritual 
 misery and wretchedness ; whether they have 
 made me feel the plague of my sinful heart, and 
 led me to seek for help in a crucified Saviour ; 
 whether they have softened, changed, humbled 
 me. The great question is, Have I washed in
 
 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 21 
 
 that fountain which God has opened for sin and 
 for uncleanness, and have I been really cleansed 
 there ? Is the power of sin giving way, and is 
 the love of holiness gradually gaining strength in 
 my heart ? 
 
 O brethren, how few among us can bear to 
 bring our profession of Christianity to such a test 
 as this ! We have no heartfelt sense of our spi- 
 ritual pollution ; we feel not our need of Christ ; 
 we desire not the washing of his blood. As for 
 inward purity, purity of heart, we seldom think 
 of it, and can hardly understand what is meant 
 by it. But what is that hope of heaven worth, 
 which is not accompanied with this inward purity ? 
 Does not the scripture say, " He that hath this 
 hope in him," a good hope of heaven, " purifieth 
 himself, even as God is pure ?" and do not your 
 consciences testify, that there is no communion 
 between purity and you ? 
 
 Dare not then, in direct opposition to the word 
 of God, to hope for heaven till sin is become 
 hateful to your soul, and perfect holiness the first 
 wish of your heart ; till you have gone with a 
 feeling, penitent, and believing heart, to the foun- 
 tain which infinite mercy has opened for trans- 
 gressors on the cross, and washed your defiled 
 robes and made them white in its sacred laver. 
 This fountain is still standing open for sinners. 
 The Redeemer's work of salvation is not yet com-
 
 22 THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 
 
 pleted. Though he has already carried innu- 
 merable thousands to his house, there yet is room, 
 room for thousands more, room for you. Do you 
 really desire to enter in ? Have you but a willing 
 and an humble heart ? This is all a gracious 
 Saviour asks. Go to his cross. Supplicate his 
 mercy. Believe his promises. And however pol- 
 luted by iniquity, he will sanctify and cleanse 
 you, and make you a pure and rejoicing worship- 
 per for ever in the temple of your God.
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES OF THE 
 HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 
 
 REVELATION vii. 15, 16, 17. 
 
 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and 
 serve him day and night in his temple ; and he 
 that sitteth on the throne y shall dwell among 
 them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst 
 any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, 
 nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the 
 midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall 
 lead them unto living fountains of waters : and 
 God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 
 
 IN the preceding verse of this chapter, the be- 
 loved disciple gives us a short account of the 
 former condition of those, whose blessedness he 
 here describes. He tells us that they were not 
 always in that happy and honoured state in which 
 he saw them ; that they were once inhabitants
 
 24 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 of a ruined world, and had their full share of its 
 cares, its sorrows, and its sins. He tells us also 
 of the means by which the great change that has 
 passed on them, was effected, and ascribes it 
 solely to one cause, the blood of Christ. He then 
 goes on to inform us what the merit of this 
 blood has done for them ; it has washed them 
 from their sins, lifted them out of their great 
 tribulation, and carried them in triumph to the 
 city of their God. Neither is this all. It has not 
 only opened for them the everlasting doors of 
 the new Jerusalem, but placed them in the very 
 palace of its king, made them priests in the hea- 
 venly temple, and the most honoured and blessed 
 among them who worship there. They are " be- 
 fore the throne of God ;" they " serve him day 
 and night in his temple ;" and " he that sitteth on 
 the throne," dwells among them, and wipes away 
 " all tears from their eyes." 
 
 It is plain from the words before us, that 
 heaven, though a place of rest, is not a scene 
 of inactivity. It is a temple, in the services of 
 which all the redeemed saints are constantly and 
 diligently employed. What then is the nature 
 of its services ? and what are the privileges of 
 those who are employed therein ? An angel from 
 heaven, brethren, could not fully answer these 
 questions in the language of mortals ; and if he 
 could, we should not understand him. Before
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 25 
 
 we can form any adequate ideas of the employ- 
 ments and joys of this heavenly temple, we must 
 enter its doors and worship in its courts. We may 
 however see something of its glories in the glow- 
 ing description before us. It leads us to consider, 
 first, the worship of the glorified saints, and, se- 
 condly, their privileges. 
 
 I. What then is the nature of that worship 
 which is offered to the Lord in his holy temple in 
 heaven ? 
 
 We may obtain an imperfect answer to this 
 enquiry, by contrasting the services of its priests, 
 with the polluted offerings of the servants of God 
 below. This view of the subject is, it is true, 
 humiliating, but not humiliating only ; it is, at 
 the same time, calculated to encourage and to 
 cheer our hearts. 
 
 It must however be previously observed, that 
 the worship in this heavenly temple, is not ma- 
 terially different in its nature from the worship 
 of our earthly temples. The saints in glory 
 may, it is true, have faculties and powers com- 
 municated to them, of which we have not, in 
 our present state, the slightest idea, and they 
 may employ these powers in acts of worship, 
 with which we are altogether unacquainted ; 
 but as far as our limited understandings enable 
 us to comprehend the descriptions given us of
 
 26 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 their services, we can see nothing in them of a 
 nature essentially different from our own. Some 
 parts of our present worship may indeed be alto- 
 gether laid aside or greatly altered in a holier 
 world. We shall not have any new sins to mourn 
 over in heaven, and the workings of repentance 
 may consequently never .be experienced there, 
 and the voice of confession be silenced. The 
 soul will undoubtedly be still mindful of its for- 
 mer state of iniquity and vileness, but the re- 
 membrance will have no power to disturb its 
 serenity, and serve only to give an additional 
 sweetness to the purity with which it will be 
 clothed, and fresh energy to the gratitude which 
 its blessedness will excite. 
 
 Prayer too seems to be principally designed for 
 our present state of infirmity and want. It is true 
 that we shall be dependent creatures even in 
 heaven, and as much indebted to the divine good- 
 ness for the blessings of every moment, as we are 
 on earth ; but then we know that even here the 
 rich bounty of God can anticipate our wants ; and 
 he can surely fill the hearts of his servants with 
 happiness hereafter, without keeping them con- 
 tinually as suppliants at his footstool. Prayer is 
 not the only means which he can employ to keep 
 us mindful of our dependence and meanness. We 
 shall stand before the throne, and the majesty and 
 greatness of him that sitteth thereon, will force
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 27 
 
 us to see that no flesh can glory in his presence, 
 and that the station which becomes the highest of 
 his creatures, is the dust. 
 
 But though the worship of the saints is pro- 
 bably the same in its nature in heaven, as it is 
 on earth, yet there is a great difference in the 
 manner in which this worship is offered up in 
 these two worlds a difference so great, that the 
 liveliest earthly worshipper bears but a faint re- 
 semblance to the meanest heavenly one. The 
 same dispositions are in both places brought into 
 exercise, but then these dispositions are freed in 
 the one from all those counteracting feelings 
 which are constantly felt in the other. They are 
 enlivened, and refined, and raised to a fulness of 
 vigour and of joy. 
 
 1. In contrasting the worship of these two 
 worlds, we may observe, first, that the worship of 
 heaven is uninterrupted, constant. " They serve 
 him day and night in his temple." 
 
 We are incapable of this continual worship in 
 our present state. Our feeble bodies require us 
 to give several hours of every night to sleep, and 
 it is only a small part of the day, that the necessary 
 concerns of life will allow us to set apart to God. 
 Even the little time which we are enabled to de- 
 vote to private, family, and public worship, is not 
 all spent in the work in which we appear to be 
 engaged. The cares of the world follow us into
 
 28 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 our closets and our churches, and tie down to 
 the earth the heart which should rise to meet 
 its Lord. When too the soul does disengage 
 itself from its bonds, it is but for a season. If 
 it soars to its native heavens one hour, it sinks 
 down into the dust the next. Its spirits are soon 
 exhausted, and its powers fatigued and weakened. 
 
 It is not thus however in the heavenly temple. 
 They who worship there, never need repose. 
 There is no weariness to put a stop to their ser- 
 vice, nor any cares and anxieties to distract and 
 pollute it. If we, brethren, are ever suffered to 
 join that glorious assembly, all beyond the grave 
 will be one never ending sabbath, and we shall 
 always be in a sabbath-spirit. After millions of 
 ages spent in the delightful service, instead of 
 tiring or fainting, the soul will be hourly acquiring 
 an increase of strength. The very work in which 
 it is engaged, will enlarge and exalt its faculties, 
 and add vigour to its energies. 
 
 2. The worship of the heavenly world is also 
 pure. All who are engaged in.it, are holy wor- 
 shippers. Into whatever assembly the Christian 
 goes here, he must offer up his prayers and 
 praises in company with some who love not his 
 Saviour and who fear not his God ; but there 
 the assembly is composed of those only who 
 are spiritual and holy. Their number is im- 
 mense ; they form a great multitude ; but not one
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 29 
 
 formalist, not one self-deceiver, not one hypocrite, 
 can be found amongst them. And not only are 
 all the worshippers pure, their worship itself is 
 free from all mixture of imperfection and sin. 
 There is no blemish either in the priest or in the 
 sacrifice, but all is " holiness to the Lord." 
 
 3. Their worship too is fervent. 
 
 If we know any thing of real religion, we know 
 that our affections are not always in active exer- 
 cise when we are engaged in the work of prayer 
 or praise. Our hearts are often cold and dead. 
 We strive to raise them up to something like de- 
 votion, but they seem at seasons as though they 
 had lost all feeling, and were become insensible as 
 stones. This deadness must be ascribed partly to 
 the weakness of our nature, and partly to its sin- 
 fulness. The Christian mourns over it, and prays 
 and strives against it, but his efforts will not be 
 always successful. After all his exertions, his 
 heart will sometimes be lifeless and his devotions 
 languid. It is not so in heaven. They who sing 
 of salvation there, sing of it " with a loud voice;" 
 with an exulting and overflowing heart. No 
 coldness of feeling, no deadness of love, distresses 
 their souls. All is fervour and zeal, spirit and 
 life. 
 
 4. Hence the worship they offer is a delightful 
 worship. 
 
 The services of our earthly houses of prayer
 
 30 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 are in some degree delightful. The Christian 
 finds them to be so. He feels it to be " good 
 for him to draw near to God" in them, and is 
 often refreshed, and comforted, and made joyful 
 in his house of prayer. His Sunday is his day of 
 joy as well as of rest. He loves it, and looks for- 
 ward to it through the other days of the week 
 with expectation and delight. In the midst of 
 those cares and vexations which the concerns of 
 the world occasion, he often says, " The sabbath 
 will soon be here ; then shall I go up to the 
 house of my God, and find a refuge from my 
 anxieties and sorrows. My Saviour will meet me 
 in his sanctuary, and I shall forget my poverty, 
 and remember my misery no more. I shall hear 
 of his tenderness and love, and my sorrowful 
 spirit shall be comforted. I shall hear of his 
 bitter agonies and death, and even my cold heart 
 shall burn, and my unclean soul shall hope for 
 salvation." But these expectations of the Chris- 
 tian are not always gratified. The troubles and 
 anxieties of the week too often follow him on the 
 day of rest, and he eats his spiritual bread with 
 tears, and sends up his languid prayers without 
 enjoyment or delight. One sabbath his heart 
 glows with a heavenly joy as he listens to the 
 sound of the gospel ; the next, all seems changed. 
 Ministers appear to have lost their energy, the 
 name of Christ seems robbed of its sweetness, and
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 31 
 
 the gospel no longer retains its savour and its 
 charms. But when once we have entered the 
 courts of the heavenly Jerusalem, and joined the 
 assembly of the saints who worship there, these 
 seasons of mourning will be for ever at an end. 
 All the difficulties of our service will have past 
 away, and every act of worship will be delightful 
 to the spirit, and bring with it " a joy unspeak- 
 able and full of glory." 
 
 5. The service of heaven is, further, a united 
 service. We are told, in the ninth verse of this 
 chapter, that the multitude which fills the hea- 
 venly temple, was taken from " all nations, and 
 kindreds, and people, and tongues ;" and yet these 
 glorified priests form here but one body. They 
 worship in the same temple, and they are all en- 
 gaged in the same work ; the same spirit lives in 
 every soul, and the same song is heard from 
 every mouth. All jarring contentions and frivo- 
 lous distinctions have ceased, mutual prejudices 
 have been forgotten, and sects and parties have 
 been done away. 
 
 Do we, brethren, hope to join this peaceful 
 company in heaven ? Let us first learn to be of 
 one mind here on earth. O what a lamentable 
 difference is there, in this respect, between us 
 and these inhabitants of the heavenly world ! 
 What discordant sentiments and feelings reign 
 among us ! What jealousies and bitter strifes
 
 32 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 interrupt our harmony ! As for divisions, som 
 of us have ceased to regard them as evils, and a 
 spirit of schism and ambition begins to be looked 
 on as a virtue, rather than as a sin. Brethren, 
 " these things ought not so to be." They are sad 
 " spots in our feasts of charity." They savour 
 not of heaven. They are fruits of a tree which 
 has never flourished there. Before we can ever 
 enter yonder world of union and peace, the wis- 
 dom which is from above, must have taught us to 
 
 ' O 
 
 root out pride and malice from our hearts, and 
 bitterness and evil speaking must no longer be 
 suffered to defile our lips. We cannot perhaps 
 be all of the same opinion, but let us at least be 
 of the same spirit ; and let that be " a meek and 
 quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great 
 price ;" let it be the spirit of our Master, who 
 was " meek and lowly in heart ;" who, " when 
 he was reviled, reviled not again ; when he suf- 
 fered, he threatened not, but committed himself 
 to him that judge th righteously." 
 
 6. The worship of heaven is also humble. In 
 the midst of all their glory, the redeemed saints 
 appear in the heavenly temple in the character of 
 creatures and of sinners. We see no presump- 
 tion or pride in their worship, no unholy fami- 
 liarity. The dignity to which they are raised, 
 has not made them unmindful of the greatness 
 of Jehovah, nor of that state of meanness and
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 33 
 
 sin, from which he has rescued them. " They 
 fall down before the throne" when they worship 
 him that sitteth on it, and " cast down their 
 crowns before him." 
 
 The very song which they sing, proves their 
 great humility, and the lively sense which they 
 still entertain of their former sinful condition. 
 They were once employed in working out their 
 salvation with fear and trembling ; but the work 
 has now been done, and a glorious salvation has 
 been obtained. Surely then if ever there was 
 room for boasting, it is now. The battle has 
 been fought ; the victory has been won ; and the 
 warriors in the conflict may surely take some 
 part of the glory. But no ; these triumphant 
 conquerors give all the glory to another. We 
 hear nothing from them of their own patience 
 and labours, their own sufferings and martyr- 
 doms. These are all forgotten, and nothing seems 
 to live in their remembrance, but their former mi- 
 sery and guilt, and the grace and mercy of their 
 God. They cry with a loud voice, saying, " Sal- 
 vation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, 
 and unto the Lamb." 
 
 The worship then which is offered in the tem- 
 ple of God above, is uninterrupted, pure, fervent, 
 delightful, united, and humble. 
 
 II. Let us proceed to consider the privileges winch 
 these heavenly worshippers enjoy. 
 
 VOL. i. D
 
 34 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 1. We may notice, first, the dignity of their 
 station in this temple. They are " before the 
 throne of God." 
 
 We may see something- of the greatness of 
 this honour by looking back to the Jewish taber- 
 nacle, the temple of the Lord in the wilderness. 
 The Israelites in general were not allowed to 
 come near this sanctuary ; and though the Le- 
 vites were permitted to pitch their tents around 
 it, it was only the consecrated priests among 
 them, who dared to enter within it to minister 
 before the Lord. Even these were not permitted 
 to go into every part of the tabernacle. They 
 might go to the altar of burnt-offering, but the 
 holy place where the mercy-seat was, could be 
 entered by the high priest only, and that, not 
 when he pleased, but at a stated period once 
 in the year. Now all this was done to impress 
 on the minds of the Jews a deep sense of the 
 divine purity and greatness ; but it may serve 
 also to shew us the dignity of that station to 
 which redeemed sinners are advanced in the king- 
 dom of Christ. It would have been a miracle of 
 mercy if they had been admitted into the outer 
 courts of this house, where they might have be- 
 held the worship of the angels, and listened to 
 their songs ; but to be admitted into the temple 
 itself, to be placed on an equality with the an- 
 gelic worshippers there, to share in their services,
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 35 
 
 and to be brought close to the throne of Jehovah 
 in the holy of holies surely this is a love " which 
 passeth knowledge." The angels themselves can- 
 not comprehend it. All that we can do is to won- 
 der and adore. 
 
 But let us take a somewhat closer view of the 
 dignified station to which these priests are raised. 
 To be before the throne of God implies that they 
 are admitted to the enjoyment of close communion 
 with him ; that they are brought into his imme- 
 diate presence, and have an intimate, enlarged, 
 and continual intercourse with him ; that they 
 talk with Jehovah as a man talks with his friend. 
 
 Here we worship an unseen God. We could 
 not bear the glory of the divine presence in this 
 earthly state. Even the work of his hands, the 
 sun which he has stationed in the heavens, re- 
 flects more of his splendour than our feeble eyes 
 can bear. But if ever we reach the heavenly 
 courts, we shall see him whom we worship ; and 
 have faculties communicated to us, which will 
 enable us to bear and enjoy the sight. The 
 scriptures plainly intimate to us also, how the 
 Almighty will reveal himself to our eyes. The 
 glorified body of the once crucified Jesus will be 
 the Shechinah in his temple, through which the 
 full brightness of Jehovah will for ever shine 
 forth. Hence we are told that the city in which 
 this temple stands, has " no need of the sun, 
 
 D2
 
 36 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 neither of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory 
 of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light 
 thereof." 
 
 To stand before the throne of God implies also 
 a participation of his glory and happiness, an 
 entering into his blessedness. " In his presence 
 there is a fulness of joy," and all who are admit- 
 ted into his temple, partake of this fulness, and 
 taste of those pleasures which are at his right 
 hand. We cannot describe these pleasures and 
 this joy. All that we know of them is, that they 
 comprehend the happiness of God himself, a shar- 
 ing in his glory, a partaking of his bliss. We 
 shall enter into that joy, the very prospect of 
 which made the Son of his love willingly endure 
 the cross, and despise the shame. " Beloved/' 
 says Saint John, " 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." 
 
 2. The text tells us also of the rich provision 
 which is made for all the wants of the heavenly 
 worshippers. As the priests in the Jewish tem- 
 ple not only dwelt in the house of the Lord, but 
 partook of the sacrifices which were offered therein, 
 so the priests in Jehovah's temple above find in it 
 all the spiritual provision that their souls can 
 desire. 
 
 Has want then ever found its way into this
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 37 
 
 kingdom of happiness ? Can its glorified inha- 
 bitants need any provision ? The inhabitants of 
 heaven are, in one sense, just as needy as any of 
 the dwellers upon earth. The highest angel that 
 treads its courts, is as dependent upon the Al- 
 mighty, as the feeblest insect. In this respect, 
 all the creatures in the universe are on an equality. 
 They who are before the throne of God, are in- 
 deed said " to hunger no more, neither thirst 
 any more ;" but then it is plain from the following 
 verse, that they have many desires which require 
 to be gratified ; else why does the Lamb feed 
 them, and lead them unto living fountains of 
 waters ? They are strangers to that hunger 
 which arises from want, and implies some painful 
 sensation ; but they are not strangers to that hun- 
 gering and thirsting after God, which arises from 
 love to him, and includes in it the most earnest 
 desire for the enjoyments of his presence. Their 
 happiness consists in having all their spiritual 
 desires kept in unceasing exercise, and in having 
 them fully gratified. They still thirst after the 
 water of life, and it is supplied to them largely 
 from those rivers of pleasure, which flow around 
 the throne of Jehovah. They still hunger after 
 spiritual food, and their table is spread with pro- 
 visions gathered from " the tree of life, which 
 stands in the midst of the paradise of God." 
 The happiness which results from this pro-
 
 38 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 vision made for their souls, is uninterrupted and 
 unmixed. Nothing can enter their habitation to 
 disturb or mar it. " Neither shall the sun light 
 on them, nor any heat." " God shall wipe away 
 all tears from their eyes." They shall have an 
 eternity of joy without one moment's sorrow, an 
 immortality of bliss without one moment's pain. 
 Their happiness too is everlasting. They are 
 not supplied out of a cistern which may be broken 
 or exhausted, but from a fountain which can 
 never fail. " The Lamb which is in the midst 
 of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead 
 them unto living fountains of waters." All our 
 enjoyments here are precarious ; even our spiritual 
 delights are often transitory; but let our souls 
 once ascend into the heavenly kingdom, and we 
 shall be far beyond the reach of precariousness 
 and change. The temple which we shall inhabit, 
 defies the hand of time to destroy or touch 
 it. No earthquake can shake it, no fire consume 
 it, no tempest beat it down. It is an everlast- 
 ing habitation, " a house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens." The rest too into 
 which we shall enter, will be " quietness and 
 assurance for ever." The joy which will be upon 
 our heads, will be everlasting joy. Millions of 
 years will roll away, but we shall be still resting 
 from our labours, we shall be still growing in 
 blessedness and glory. " Thy sun shall no more
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 39 
 
 go down," saith the Lord, " neither shall thy 
 moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be thine 
 everlasting light ; and the days of thy mourning 
 shall be ended." 
 
 Observe too that the hand from which these 
 heavenly worshippers receive this rich provision, 
 this uninterrupted, full, and never ending happi- 
 ness, is the same hand that snatched them from 
 destruction, and gave them all the mercies they 
 received on earth. It is the Lamb, who feeds 
 them ; it is the Lamb, who leads them unto 
 " living fountains of waters." Though seated on 
 the throne of the universe, Jesus still sustains 
 the character of their Saviour. He appears in 
 his glorious temple as " the Lamb that was 
 slain," and delights to minister there to his ran- 
 somed church. He once shared in their sorrows, 
 and, to comfort and cheer them, he fed them 
 " in green pastures," and made them to lie down 
 " beside the still waters ;" he now shares in their 
 joys, and feeds them in far richer pastures than 
 they ever saw below ; he leads them, not to the 
 streams, but to the living fountains, of consolation 
 and bliss. 
 
 There is no happiness either in heaven or earth, 
 in time or eternity, which does not proceed from 
 the once crucified Jesus. He is as much the 
 spring of all the glory of heaven, as of the pardon 
 and grace bestowed on sinners upon earth. It is
 
 40 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 this reflection, which so much heightens all the 
 
 7 O 
 
 joys of eternity, and makes the thought of them 
 so sweet to the Christian's soul he will receive 
 them from Christ ; they will come to him from 
 the hand of his beloved Lord. 
 
 From this brief consideration of the worship 
 and privileges of the heavenly temple, we may 
 deduce a few practical inferences. 
 
 There is one reflection which must immediately 
 force itself on our notice No man can be happy 
 in heaven, who has not first learned to delight in 
 the worship of God. The text plainly tells us 
 that the happiness of eternity consists in this 
 worship, and in the spiritual privileges connected 
 with it. If then we have no taste for these 
 things, if the service of God be wearisome to us 
 and the blessedness resulting from it without 
 power to delight us, from what unknown source 
 do we expect to derive that fulness of joy which 
 we hope for in heaven ? Of what river of plea- 
 sure do we expect to drink ? There are no sen- 
 sual delights to be found within its courts. The 
 heaven of the Bible is not a Mahometan paradise. 
 It is a Christian temple ; and all the joys it has to 
 communicate, must be found in its pure and spi- 
 ritual services. It has no other blessedness to 
 boast of, no other pleasures to bestow. We must 
 either find happiness in these things, or, in the
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 41 
 
 midst of rejoicing angels and saints, we shall be 
 wretched, and sigh again for the enjoyments of 
 the earth we have left. 
 
 How then do we at present stand affected to- 
 wards this temple and its services ? Could we 
 find happiness in them ? Does the prospect of 
 them enkindle our desires ? If we were this very 
 moment to be removed from this earthly house of 
 God to his temple above, should we be satisfied 
 there ? Alas, brethren, how many of us would 
 find its heavenly courts just as irksome and weari- 
 some, as we now find this house of prayer ! We 
 should be as dissatisfied with the one, as we are 
 with the other. We should have no other song 
 in heaven than this, " What a weariness is it ! 
 When will this sabbath be gone ?" Death will 
 make no material, no radical alteration in our 
 tastes and desires. What we love in time, we 
 shall love in eternity. What is hateful to us now, 
 will be hateful to us then. We must have a relish 
 for the happiness of angels now, or we shall be 
 utterly incapable of enjoying it hereafter. Heaven 
 must be begun in our worship below, if we expect 
 to partake of its blessedness above. 
 
 And here we are brought to the same conclu- 
 sion that every religious subject will bring us to, 
 if we seriously consider it some great change 
 must take place within us before we can be happy 
 with God ; a change, not of sentiments and opi-
 
 42 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 nions merely, but a great moral change, a change 
 of dispositions and affections. We must be born 
 " again of the Spirit ;" we must be " renewed in 
 the spirit of our minds." 
 
 We may infer, secondly, from the employments 
 and privileges of the priests in the heavenly 
 temple, the great importance and blessedness of 
 the worship of God here on earth. This worship 
 is not merely a duty which the Christian is com- 
 manded to perform ; it is a privilege which it is 
 permitted him to enjoy. The work of praise is 
 the work of heaven ; it is therefore an honour- 
 able and blessed work ; a work, which can make 
 the meanest of the sons of men resemble, in some 
 degree, the angels of God, and give him a fore- 
 taste of their joys. That life is the happiest, which 
 is the most devoted to this employment. That 
 man is the holiest and the nearest to heaven, who 
 has the greatest love for it. 
 
 If then we would pass through the world in 
 holiness and peace, and go, when we leave it, 
 to a kingdom of glory, we must begin the work 
 of heaven here on earth, and become the spiritual 
 worshippers and ministering priests of the living 
 God. The everlasting priesthood of all the re- 
 deemed saints who are now before the throne, 
 was begun here. Here their robes were washed; 
 here their hearts were cleansed ; here they were 
 anointed by the Spirit of grace, and consecrated,
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 43 
 
 and set apart for God ; here they began the wor- 
 ship and the song which are now employing them ; 
 and here they first tasted of the joy which now 
 fills their hearts. Here too, if ever we would 
 join their society, our own priesthood and wor- 
 ship must begin ; nay, if we are really Christians, 
 here they have already begun. We are already 
 come to " the heavenly Jerusalem, to the innu- 
 merable company of angels, and to the general 
 assembly and church of the first-born." We have 
 already shared in the work of the New Jerusalem, 
 and had a foretaste of its happiness. 
 
 May the prospect which has been vouchsafed 
 to us of the worship and blessedness of its temple, 
 animate us in the work we have begun, and lead 
 us to aspire after a greater resemblance to its 
 rejoicing inhabitants ! May it stir us up to make 
 their chief employment our own ! Praise is the 
 great work which employs the saints in heaven, 
 and ought to be the great work of the saints on 
 earth. Our wants constrain us to pray, and it is 
 our interest and duty to pray without ceasing, 
 but praise is as much the duty of a priest, as 
 sacrifice or prayer. We have as much to praise 
 God for, as we have to pray to him for. Our 
 mercies are, if possible, more numerous than our 
 wants. Our duty then is plain. It is the same 
 that Saint Paul has marked out for us ; " In every 
 thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in 
 Christ Jesus concerning you."
 
 44 THE WORSHIP AND PRIVILEGES 
 
 The last reflection suggested to us by the text 
 is this How desirable is death to the spiritual and 
 heavenly-minded worshipper of God ! The temple 
 we have been contemplating, with all its holy 
 services and glorious privileges, is very near us. 
 Distant as that world may seem, on which its 
 foundations stand, the hand of death can in a 
 moment place us in its courts, and surround us 
 with its splendours. 
 
 Who then that loves the worship of the Lord, 
 does not wish to die, that he may go and appear 
 in this house before his God ? Our souls long 
 for the enjoyment of his presence even in his 
 earthly temples ; early have we sought him there, 
 and desired above all things " to see his power 
 and his glory, as his saints have seen them in his 
 sanctuary." Shall we then be unwilling to leave 
 this world of tribulation and of sin, that we 
 may stand " before the throne of God," " serve 
 him day and night in his temple," and have God 
 continually dwelling among us, and the Lamb 
 feeding us ? Have we no desire to exchange the 
 imperfect and polluted worship of earth, for the 
 pure services and glorious privileges of heaven ? 
 Have we no wish to be where Abraham and Paul 
 are worshipping, where David is singing ? Have 
 we no longings after the society of the friends we 
 loved on earth, and who are waiting for us to 
 join their songs in heaven ? " We took sweet
 
 OF THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE. 45 
 
 counsel " with them here below, and our united 
 worship often made our hearts burn within us ; 
 but we shall derive far greater joy from mingling 
 our praises with theirs in the land above. No 
 coldness will be there to disturb our friendship, 
 nor any cares, or anxieties, or separations, to in- 
 terrupt it. We shall have no wanderings to 
 mourn over in our united prayers, no deadness of 
 spirit in our praises. The meanest redeemed sin- 
 ner that enters the temple which has received 
 their souls, will sing a louder and a sweeter song, 
 than the brightest archangel there. The angels 
 have never tasted of pardoning grace and redeem- 
 ing love. They may say, " Worthy is the Lamb 
 that was slain," but they cannot say, "Worthy is the 
 Lamb that was slain for us." They cannot sing this 
 song of the redeemed ; " 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."
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 THE DYING CHRISTIAN COMMITTING HIS SOUL 
 TO GOD. 
 
 PSALM xxxi. 5. 
 
 Into thine hand I commit my spirit; thou hast 
 redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. 
 
 THESE words were spoken by David in an hour 
 of trouble. His enemies were seeking to destroy 
 him ; he knew that his life was in danger ; and 
 he here flies for refuge to his God. He commits 
 his spirit or life into his hands, in the full per- 
 suasion that the same power and goodness which 
 had often rescued him before, would rescue him 
 again, and uphold and preserve him. 
 
 The words of the text then were originally 
 the words of an afflicted saint, committing his 
 natural life to the care and disposal of his God. 
 We shall however be doing no violence to them, 
 if we consider them as the language of a depart-
 
 THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 47 
 
 ing Christian, commending his immortal soul 
 to his heavenly Father. We know that they 
 were thus regarded by Christ, for he made them 
 his dying prayer. His martyr Stephen too em- 
 ployed them in the same sense, and fell asleep 
 with them in his mouth. Thousands of Chris- 
 tians also have been heard to utter them on the 
 bed of death. When flesh and heart have failed, 
 they have taken them as their support and their 
 solace, their prayer and their song. 
 
 Viewed in this sacred light, they may lead us 
 to enquire, first, with whom the dying Christian 
 wishes to entrust his soul ; secondly, what is im- 
 plied in his committing it into the hand of God ; 
 and, thirdly, what warrant or encouragement he 
 has thus to entrust it to him. 
 
 I. With whom then does the dying Christian 
 wish to entrust his soul ? The text tells us that 
 he is anxious to commit it into the hand of God. 
 
 There are only two beings who can take charge 
 of the soul when it leaves the body. The one is 
 the Lord of glory ; the other is the prince of 
 darkness. Into the hands of one of these beings 
 our souls must go when we die, and with one of 
 these we must spend eternity. 
 
 Now men in general manifest the greatest in- 
 difference towards both of these beings ; or if 
 they are not altogether indifferent towards them,
 
 48 THE DYING CHRISTIAN 
 
 they have no deep, no abiding concern about 
 them. They hope that when they die, their souls 
 will go to God, and they profess to have a fear of 
 sinking into the dwelling place of Satan ; but of 
 what nature are these hopes and fears ? They 
 do not touch their affections ; they do not influ- 
 ence their conduct. They feel and act, not as 
 creatures full of hopes and fears about eternity, 
 but as creatures who have nothing to do with 
 
 O 
 
 eternity, who are equally indifferent about God 
 and Satan, equally regardless of heaven and of 
 hell. We are troubled and concerned about our 
 bodies, anxious to secure them from every trifling 
 inconvenience and danger ; but as for our souls, 
 we care not how we endanger them, nor into 
 whose hands they fall. 
 
 If we were really Christians, brethren, this 
 indifference would pass away. The soul would 
 become tremblingly alive to its present condition, 
 and full of the liveliest hopes and fears about its 
 future destiny. It would make an immediate 
 choice between God and Satan. It would feel 
 the greatest abhorrence of the one and his dreary 
 kingdom, and as deep and fervent a desire for the 
 other and his glory. It would fly for safety to its 
 God, and cast itself into his gracious hands. 
 Hence, through life, all our hope and confidence 
 would be placed in the Almighty ; all our desires 
 would centre in him : and in death it would be
 
 COMMITTING HIS SOUL TO GOD. 49 
 
 the same. Our first fear would be, lest our soul 
 should take its flight to the dwelling of Satan ; 
 our highest hope, that it may find shelter in the 
 bosom of its God. This dread of hell, this long- 
 ing after heaven, would acquire renewed energy 
 as we drew nearer the grave and eternity ; and 
 when at length our dying hour approached, with 
 what an earnest desire should we long to be in 
 our Father's hands ! not in his kingdom merely, 
 not in his temgle only, but in his hands, in his 
 arms, in his bosom ! With what an energy of 
 feeling should we say, with a dying Saviour, 
 " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit !" 
 
 II. The God of heaven then is the Being with 
 whom the Christian wishes to entrust his soul. 
 What therefore is implied in his committing it into 
 his hands in a dying hour ? 
 
 1. There is evidently implied in this act of 
 faith, a firm persuasion that the spirit will outlive 
 the body, that it is an immortal spirit. 
 
 If the soul did not survive the body, or if the 
 Christian had not a firm persuasion that it sur- 
 vived it, it would be but a mockery of God to 
 profess to commit it to him. Before this profes- 
 sion can be sincere, there must be in the mind a 
 full conviction of its own immortality ; not that 
 feeble hope of it which is drawn from reason, nor 
 yet that common belief of it which professes to be 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 THE DYING CHRISTIAN 
 
 founded on the Bible ; but a heartfelt belief and 
 conviction of it. The soul must not only know, 
 but feel itself to be immortal. It must 'have no 
 more doubt of the fact, than it has of its own 
 existence. 
 
 The Christian is not brought to this sense of 
 the endless duration of his soul by the light of na- 
 ture, or by a process of reasoning. These may 
 satisfy a merely speculative enquirer, but they 
 can never satisfy the man who is alive to the im- 
 portance of eternity, and makes it the subject of 
 his hopes and fears, as well as of his enquiries. 
 Death and the grave laugh to scorn what we call 
 natural religion. There corruption performs her 
 work in triumph ; and he who rejects the Bible, 
 must look on and despair. It is the gospel only, 
 which brings " life and immortality to light ;" 
 and it is by an honest belief in the gospel, that the 
 Christian first learns really and habitually to re- 
 gard himself as the heir of eternity. As he grows 
 in faith and grace, this conviction is strengthened 
 and established by the experience of his own 
 heart, till at length he has a witness of its truth 
 within him, and tastes " the powers of the world 
 to come." 
 
 2. In committing the soul to God in a dying 
 hour, there is implied also a high value for the 
 soul, a regarding of every thing else as worthless, 
 when put in competition with it.
 
 COMMITTING HIS SOUL TO GOD. 51 
 
 Not that it is sinful to feel, when we are about 
 to die, some degree of concern about our bodies. 
 Nature will often prevail even here, and cause 
 our poor dust and ashes to become objects of our 
 care. But then, if we are really Christians, this 
 care for our bodies will be as nothing, when com- 
 pared with our concern' for our souls. Whether 
 we are buried here or there, whether our bones 
 moulder away in this grave or in that, are points 
 of but little interest. Where will my soul be 
 lodged ? in hell or in heaven ? with Satan or with 
 God ? This is the great subject of the dying 
 Christian's enquiries. His soul is his treasure, 
 and it is his main solicitude and care to have that 
 safe in the hands of his Lord. He does not, it is 
 true, wish to lose the casket ; he would rather 
 have it preserved ; but as for the jewel, that must 
 be saved. 
 
 3. There is implied too in this expression, a 
 lively sense of the serious and awful nature of death, 
 a conviction of our need of support and protec- 
 tion in a dying hour. 
 
 This is an hour, brethren, from which nature 
 shrinks. The grave and the worm are appalling 
 to the heart, and fill it with fearful apprehensions. 
 " Through fear of death," thousands are " all 
 their lifetime subject to bondage." From this un- 
 due degree of fear the Christian is delivered. The 
 terrors of the grave are so touched by the conso- 
 
 E 2
 
 52 THE DYING CHRISTIAN 
 
 lations of the gospel, that they lose their power 
 to harass and affright. But still, even to the 
 Christian, it is a serious, a solemn thing to die. 
 There are a thousand things connected with death, 
 which clothe it with awful importance. Some 
 indeed, who have made a profession of religion, 
 have thought it a mark of a high degree of grace 
 to make light of this last enemy of man ; but 
 there is reason to fear that the Bible would call 
 this boasted grace a high degree of insensibility 
 or folly. No man will think lightly of death, who 
 has ever thought himself near death. Let sick- 
 ness and disease, let that dreadful weakness and 
 sinking which generally precede death, once 
 touch his frame, and he will feel that he needs an 
 almighty arm to support him. The soul, in such 
 an hour, will cling more closely to its God. 
 There may be faith, there may be hope and joy, 
 there may be the language of David, " Though I 
 walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
 I will fear no evil ;" but there will still be the 
 language of prayer ; " Leave me not, neither for- 
 sake me, O God of my salvation." 
 
 4. There is implied, lastly, in committing the 
 soul to God, a belief that God Is willing to receive 
 the soul, as well as able to protect it. 
 
 There must be a sense of reconciling, pardon- 
 ing love in the heart, before we can in good ear- 
 nest commend our souls to God in our dying
 
 COMMITTING HIS SOUL TO GOD. 53 
 
 moments. There must have been a previous ac- 
 quaintance with him as a God in Christ ; as a 
 God " pardoning iniquity, transgression, and 
 sin ;" as a God who is our covenant God, our re- 
 conciled Father, our mighty Redeemer. Hence 
 it is, that to a dying saint the cross of Christ be- 
 comes so precious. He no more dares to cast 
 himself into the hand of God without looking to 
 the atoning sacrifice of his Son, than he dares ap- 
 proach a consuming fire. But when he sees the 
 infinite worth of that atonement, when he thinks 
 of the all-prevailing efficacy of that sacrifice, he is 
 enabled to say with humble confidence, " Lord 
 Jesus, receive my spirit." 
 
 III. But what encouragement, what warrant has 
 the Christian thus to commit his soul into the hand 
 of God? This is our third enquiry, and the text 
 answers it ; " Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord 
 God of truth." 
 
 1 . The psalmist here tells us, first, that God is 
 the Christians Redeemer ; that he has purchased 
 his soul, acquired a property in it, and made it 
 his own. 
 
 The souls of all men are, in one sense, the pro- 
 perty of God. They are his by creation. But 
 man makes himself over by sin to another lord ; 
 he goes into voluntary captivity to Satan ; and 
 becomes his property and his slave. This is the
 
 54 THE DYING CHRISTIAN 
 
 natural state of all men, and this was once the 
 state of the servants of God ; but they have now 
 been delivered from this vile bondage. The 
 Father of their spirits has paid the price of their 
 freedom ; and hence he has acquired a more en- 
 dearino- claim to them, than he had before. He 
 
 o ' 
 
 is now their Redeemer, no common Redeemer, 
 paying a common price for their ransom, redeem- 
 ing them " with corruptible things such as silver 
 and gold ;" but a Redeemer who has paid for 
 them a price more costly than all the riches of the 
 universe, even " the precious blood of Christ, as 
 of a Lamb without blemish and without spot." 
 We know not the reasons which led the Almighty 
 to purchase so worthless a people at so costly a 
 price ; but we know that he has thus dearly pur- 
 chased them ; that he gave up for a season the 
 richest treasure in heaven, that he might have a 
 people on earth to shew forth his praise. 
 
 This wonderful display of divine love is our en- 
 couragement to commit our souls to God in the 
 hour of death. " O Lord," the dying Christian 
 may say, " I am thine ; save me. I am not only 
 thine by creation, but thine by purchase ; thou 
 hast bought me with a price. True, I am vile and 
 worthless, but thou hast redeemed me ; and wilt 
 thou refuse to take the wretched soul which thou 
 hast ransomed? Wilt thou cast away that for 
 which thou hast paid so dear ? Shall that which
 
 COMMITTING HIS SOUL TO GOD. 55 
 
 the blood of thine own Son has purchased, be de- 
 spised ? O Lord, thou hast redeemed me ; and 
 into thy hand I will commit my spirit." 
 
 2. The second ground of encouragement men- 
 tioned in the text, is the faithfulness of God. He 
 is here characterized as the " God of truth," as 
 one faithful to his word and engagements. 
 
 Now this expression sends us back to some pre- 
 vious transaction between God and the Christian ; 
 to some promise or pledge which Jehovah has 
 given to him, and which his faithfulness constrains 
 him to regard. It reminds us of that covenant, 
 by which the Lord Jehovah graciously binds him- 
 self to cast out no guilty sinner who comes to him 
 through his Son ; to pardon the sins of every con- 
 trite believer in his blood ; to take him as his 
 child ; to receive his soul in the hour of death, 
 and to save it in the day of judgment. As soon 
 as the sinner once embraces by faith the offered 
 mercy of the gospel, these promises become his 
 own as much his own, as though they were im- 
 mediately addressed to him from the throne of 
 God. Will the Lord then fail to make good the 
 words of his lips ? Will the God of truth forget 
 the promises of his covenant, in those awful sea- 
 sons when the fulfilment of them is most needed ? 
 Is he u a man, that he should lie ; or the son of 
 man, that he should repent ?" No. " The Lord 
 thy God," says the prophet, " he is God, the
 
 OD THE DYING CHRISTIAN 
 
 faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy 
 with them that love him." When he sees a trem- 
 bl'ng sinner whom he has redeemed and whom he 
 has engaged to save, coming to him in the fearful 
 hour of death, with all the confidence of a child 
 desiring to cast itself into a parent's bosom, he 
 cannot refuse to receive such a supplicant; he 
 cannot hesitate to take the treasure which he 
 wishes to commit to his hands. A message of 
 love shall be sent down from heaven to that sin- 
 ner's heart. He shall hear a voice saying to him 
 in the bitterness of death, " Fear not ; I have re- 
 deemed thee. Thou art mine." 
 
 The subject which we have thus briefly con- 
 sidered, may remind us, first, of the great value 
 uf Christian faith ; its value, not merely as it 
 saves the soul from everlasting destruction, but as 
 it saves it from fear and despair in a dying hour. 
 
 We must all die, brethren, and those of us who 
 have felt much of bodily weakness, know that it is 
 a fearful thing to die. Others may for a season 
 think lightly of death, but the hour will come, 
 when we shall be all agreed on this point, that 
 the soul of a dying sinner needs comfort and sup- 
 port. Now a simple, honest, heartfelt belief in 
 the gospel can bring this support and comfort to 
 him ; it can make the pillow of a death-bed easy ? 
 it can do for a dying sinner many sweet offices
 
 COMMITTING HIS SOUL TO GOD. 57 
 
 which nothing else can do for him ; and enable 
 him to die as peacefully, as the wearied labourer 
 lays down his head to sleep. This is the same 
 faith that first leads the sinner to flee for refuge 
 to the Saviour, that afterwards purifies his heart 
 and regulates his life. It is that faith which is 
 the gift of God, and which must be sought for by 
 humble, fervent prayer. It is a gift which can 
 make the most sinful man holy, the most wretched 
 man happy, the most needy man rich. It can 
 save the vilest sinner from destruction, and carry 
 his soul in triumph to the temple of his God. 
 
 Here too in the text, is a source of comfort 
 under the loss of friends. 
 
 Our friends may have been wrested from us by 
 the hand of death ; they may have been taken 
 from our arms ; but if they are the redeemed of 
 the Lord, where are they now? In the arms and 
 in the bosom of their God. And are they not 
 better there, than in such a world as this ? Are 
 they not happier with' God, than they could be 
 with us ? If a wish could bring them back again 
 to the scene of their former cares, and pains, and 
 troubles, would you dare to offer it ? Would you 
 dare to bring their glorified spirits from that ful- 
 ness of joy which is at God's right hand, to that 
 state of sorrow and tribulation in which you are 
 struggling ? O no ! Rejoice then that they are 
 gone to God. If you could but know all their
 
 58 THE DYING CHRISTIAN 
 
 blessedness, your tears of sorrow would be turned 
 into tears of joy. You would take down your 
 harps from the willows whereon you have hung 
 them, and sing a new, and fervent, and lasting song 
 of gratitude and love. 
 
 We may draw another inference from the words 
 before us. If the believer may safely commit his 
 soul into the hand of God, how confidently may he 
 commit into the same hand all other things I 
 
 It is a strange fact, that some among us, who 
 seem to trust God for the salvation of our souls 
 and for the concerns of eternity, have not yet 
 learned to trust him for the preservation of our 
 bodies, and the concerns of this mortal life. We 
 live too much by sense and too little by faith, and 
 hence proceeds that unbelief which brings so 
 many harassing anxieties and so much sin into 
 our souls. We should struggle against this un- 
 belief; we should mourn over it ; and humble our- 
 selves on account of it. We should endeavour to 
 trust God as implicitly for time, as we do for eter- 
 nity. Can we commit our souls into his hands, and 
 yet refuse to trust him with our lives, our comforts, 
 our families ? He has not only said, " He that be- 
 lieveth, shall be saved ;" but he has said also, 
 " Thy bread shall be given thee, and thy water 
 shall be sure." He has written this plain decla- 
 ration in our Bibles ; " All things work together 
 for good to them that love God."
 
 COMMITTING HIS SOUL TO GOD. 59 
 
 We are taught, lastly, by the words of the text, 
 the great importance of our becoming now the re- 
 deemed of the Lord. 
 
 We all need this redemption. A very little 
 acquaintance with the Bible and our own hearts 
 would convince us, that we are not in that state 
 in which, as immortal and accountable creatures, 
 we ought to be ; that some great change must 
 take place in our condition and character, before 
 we can be happy with God. It is only the gos- 
 pel of Christ, which can effect this change. In 
 the redemption proposed to sinners in this gospel, 
 the ground of our peace in death and of our hope 
 in eternity, must be laid. If we are not made 
 partakers of this redemption, we may profess on 
 the bed of death to commit our souls into the 
 hand of God, but he will spurn the offering. The 
 soul indeed must fall into his hands as a Judge 
 and Avenger, but it must go into other hands for 
 its wages and reward. If we serve Satan here, 
 no matter how decently and decorously we serve 
 him, we must live with him and suffer with him 
 in another world. Our souls may have what our 
 neighbours may call a happy release from the 
 body ; our dust may be honoured by as pompous 
 a funeral, as folly and pride can furnish ; but our 
 souls will perish. We shall go from death to 
 judgment, and from judgment to a world of an- 
 guish. O then who would not seek redemption
 
 60 THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 
 
 now ? There is no safety, no hope, no salvation, 
 without it. Every unredeemed sinner will be a 
 lost sinner. 
 
 But where is this redemption to be found ? No 
 prayers, nor tears, nor fancied works of goodness, 
 can purchase it. The most decent and righteous 
 are as unable to pay the price of it, as the most 
 profane and sinful. It is treasured up in Christ, 
 and must be sought at his cross. There all who 
 would have it, must seek it ; there all who seek it 
 with an humble and contrite heart, shall obtain it, 
 and with it all the riches of grace and all the 
 treasures of glory.
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 ^p 
 
 THE ADVANTAGES OF REMEMBERING CHRIST. 
 
 ST. LUKE xxii. 19. 
 
 This do in remembrance of me. 
 
 1 o be remembered when we are dead, by those 
 whom we love, seems to be one of the strongest 
 desires that nature has implanted in our hearts. 
 Hence, when we are about to die, tokens of affec- 
 tion are given and bequeathed to our friends ; 
 and after our death, our graves are preserved 
 and memorials erected to perpetuate our names. 
 Neither is there any thing sinful in this desire. 
 Jesus himself felt and indulged it. When he 
 took his last farewell of the beloved disciples 
 who had been his companions upon earth, we 
 find him anxious that they should not forget him, 
 and instituting a memorial of his dying love. 
 " He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, 
 and gave unto them, saying, This is my body
 
 62 THE ADVANTAGES OF 
 
 which is given for you ; this do in remembrance 
 of me." 
 
 Neither was it by his first disciples only, that 
 our Lord wished to be remembered. He still de- 
 sires to live in the hearts of all his people, and 
 says to each of us this very day, in his word and 
 in his ordinances, " Remember me." O then let 
 us keep this dying request of Jesus ever in our 
 minds, and strive to embalm him in our hearts ! 
 
 To assist us in this work of gratitude and love, 
 let us enquire, first, what is implied in remem- 
 bering Christ ; secondly, why he has left us this 
 command to remember him; and, thirdly, what 
 are the benefits resulting to ourselves from an 
 habitual remembrance of him. 
 
 I. We are to enquire, first, what is implied in 
 remembering Christ. 
 
 1. There is evidently implied in this remem- 
 brance a knowledge of him, a previous acquaint- 
 ance with him. 
 
 We cannot be called upon to remember an 
 object with which we are altogether unacquainted, 
 or a person whom we never knew. Neither 
 can we with any propriety be said to remember 
 Christ, till we have in some degree become ac- 
 quainted with him, seen his excellency, and ad- 
 mired his loveliness.' 
 
 Nor is it a superficial knowledge of the Sa-
 
 REMEMBERING CHRIST. G3 
 
 viour, that will lead us to an habitual remem- 
 brance of him. It is the friend whom we have 
 known intimately, that lives in our memory, while 
 the mere acquaintance is soon forgotten. We 
 must therefore not only have heard and read of 
 Christ, but have often had him before us. We 
 must have been, as it were, in his society, and 
 tasted the sweets of friendship and communion 
 with him. He must have occupied much of our 
 thoughts, have entered into our hearts, and been 
 lodged in the deepest recesses of our minds. 
 
 2. Hence to remember Christ implies, secondly, 
 a heartfelt love for him. 
 
 Who are the persons we remember ? Those 
 whom we love. It is the departed parent and 
 child, the lost husband and wife, whose memory 
 we love to preserve, and over whose graves we 
 can still weep. Thus, if we would remember 
 a dying Saviour, we must first learn to love him ; 
 to love him, not with a cold veneration merely, 
 but with a lively, heartfelt, tender affection ; with 
 a love which will make us often think of him, 
 often talk of him, pray to him, and praise him. 
 We must love him as that poor woman loved 
 him, who " washed his feet with her tears and 
 wiped them with the hairs of her head ;" as that 
 noble Paul loved him, who counted all things 
 but loss that he might win him, and who could 
 stand up among weeping friends and say, " I am
 
 64 THE ADVANTAGES OF 
 
 ready not to be bound only, but also to die for 
 the name of the Lord Jesus." 
 
 3. Hence to remember Christ implies also a 
 frequent and affectionate recalling of him to our 
 minds. We are not merely to recollect him and 
 think of him, when we hear others speak of him, 
 and when we are in his house or at his table; 
 we are to maintain an habitual remembrance of 
 him; to carry him constantly about with us in 
 our hearts wherever we go ; to have him as our 
 companion in all our employments, pleasures, 
 sorrows, and cares. 
 
 This remembrance too must be affectionate ; it 
 must interest the feelings, and touch the heart. 
 It will not indeed always affect us in the same 
 degree, for we are not always equally susceptible 
 of the same tender impressions. The heart of 
 even the established Christian is often cold and 
 dead, so dead that nothing seems to have power 
 to move it ; but even in its coldest seasons, a 
 thought of Jesus will sometimes warm and enliven 
 it. The remembrance of his dying love restores 
 the soul to its wonted feeling, and reanimates its 
 lifeless powers. There are indeed seasons in the 
 Christian's life, in which the thought of his Sa- 
 viour comes to his heart like a live coal from the 
 altar, and brings with it a warmth, a feeling, and 
 a joy, which an angel might be almost willing to 
 come down from heaven to share.
 
 REMEMBERING CHRIST. 65 
 
 Without some degree of this affection, our re- 
 membrance of Christ, however frequent, is an 
 empty, formal thing. It is no criterion of sincere 
 love to him, and proves nothing as to our cha- 
 racter. The faithful wife, when she thinks of a 
 husband in the grave, does not think of him 
 with cold indifference. A tender parent does 
 not think unmoved of the mouldering corpse 
 of a beloved child. Religion must be tasted 
 and felt, brethren, or it is nothing worth. If it 
 does iiot get into our affections, it will never save 
 our souls. 
 
 To remember Christ implies then a previous 
 acquaintance with him, a heartfelt love for him, 
 and a frequent and affectionate recalling of him 
 to our minds. But who is there among; us. 
 
 O ' 
 
 that thus remembers his Lord? And yet if we 
 do not in some degree thus remember him, 
 we can have no reason to think that we are in 
 the number of his redeemed. If we feel for 
 the dying Jesus in the same way only, as we 
 feel for the death of a common acquaintance or 
 a man who is almost a stranger to us, we can 
 surely draw no other conclusion, than that we 
 are equally unconnected with him, equally es- 
 tranged from him. 
 
 II. Let us proceed to enquire, secondly, why 
 Christ has left us this command to remember him. 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 66 THE ADVANTAGES OF 
 
 1. He has done this for a reason which ought 
 greatly to humble us. He has said, " Remem- 
 ber me," because he knows that we are prone to 
 forget him. 
 
 It might indeed have been supposed that such 
 a Saviour could never for one hour, no, nor yet 
 for one moment, be out of a dying sinner's mind ; 
 that his last thoughts in the evening, and his first 
 thoughts in the morning, would be welcome 
 thoughts of Christ ; but is it so with us, brethren? 
 Alas, no ! There is reason to fear that many of 
 us seldom or never think of Christ at all, unless 
 when we are reminded of him on the sabbath in 
 his house. We do not indeed endeavour or per- 
 haps wish to forget him at other times ; but our 
 heads and hearts are too full of other things to 
 leave room for Christ to enter into them. The 
 cares and business of the world occupy all the 
 energies of some among us, and dissipation and 
 amusements engross the trifling minds of others. 
 And how is it with those who have begun to think 
 and act, in some degree, as rational and immortal 
 beings ? Are not their hearts also ever ready to 
 turn aside to vanity ? Even they can often suffer 
 the meanest trifles to intrude into the place of a 
 dying Jesus : and when they have any devout and 
 lively remembrance of his love, it is but for a 
 moment ; the savour of it is soon gone, and light- 
 ness and vanity succeed.
 
 REMEMBERING CHRIST. 67 
 
 What a cause for humiliation is here ! Why 
 do we not all abhor ourselves for this base 
 ingratitude ? When we have buried a friend 
 whom we love, though he is no better than a 
 creature formed of dust, we carry him about in 
 our hearts, and every thing which disturbs our 
 remembrance of him, is for a long time sickening 
 to the soul ; and yet Jesus, our best and heavenly 
 Friend, is forgotten ; his agony and bloody sweat, 
 his cross and passion, and all he has done and 
 suffered for us, can find no abiding lodging place 
 in our remembrance. What reason for shame is 
 here ! And what a call for prayer ! Nor is this 
 all. Here is a warning also. Am I thus prone 
 basely to forget my Saviour ? O then let me fly 
 from every scene, from every society, from every 
 pursuit, which has a tendency to lead my thoughts 
 from him. Let me remember this infirmity of my 
 sinful heart, and watch and pray against it, mourn 
 over it, and dread to increase it. 
 
 2. But our proneness to forget Christ is not 
 the only reason, why he has commanded us to 
 remember him. He has given us this command, 
 because he desires to be remembered by us. True, 
 he is now in the very highest heavens, seated on 
 a throne raised to an immeasurable height above 
 the thrones of angels, with all the exalted spirits 
 that fill the realms of glory, worshipping at his 
 footstool ; and yet his eye is fixed on a people 
 
 F 2
 
 68 THE ADVANTAGES OF 
 
 on the earth, and his soul is as mindful of them, 
 as when he groaned for them in the garden, or 
 bled for them on the cross. Unworthy as they 
 are, he loves them ; mean as they are, he is not 
 ashamed still to wear their form, and to call them 
 brethren. He forgets the songs of angels to listen 
 to their sighs and prayers. It is his delight to 
 minister to their wants, to protect them in their 
 dangers, and to comfort them in their sorrows. 
 Yea, even when they forget him, he thinks on 
 them ; he watches over and pities them, when 
 they are turning aside to vanity, and as soon as 
 they have tasted the bitterness of their wanderings, 
 " he restoreth their soul, and leadeth them again in 
 the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." 
 Nowhe does this, and more than this, for his people, 
 simply because he loves them; and if he thus loves 
 them, he would not surely be forgotten by them. 
 By his word and ordinances, he tells them that he 
 would not, and urges them to think of him. 
 
 What a stoop then is this for such a Being 
 to make ! and what an honour is here conferred 
 on creatures such as we ! How ought it to ele- 
 vate our affections and excite our love ! Shall 
 he who made the worlds, desire to be remem- 
 bered by us, and we forget him ? Shall he who 
 " inhabits the praises" of eternity, call us bre- 
 thren, and yet shall we forget such a brother in 
 such a place ?
 
 REMEMBERING CHRIST. 69 
 
 The great reason however, why Christ has 
 commanded us to remember him, is this he 
 knows that we cannot think of him without de- 
 riving much benefit to ourselves. 
 
 III. What then are the advantages resulting from 
 an habitual remembrance of Jesus ? This is our 
 third subject of enquiry ; let us proceed to con- 
 sider it. 
 
 1. The first of those benefits which flow from 
 a remembrance of Christ, is comfort to the soul, 
 when wounded by a sense of sin. 
 
 What can be more relieving, what more cheer- 
 ing, to the heart of a mourning sinner, than to 
 think of a Saviour who "was wounded for his 
 transgressions and bruised for his iniquities ?" to 
 remember one whose blood " cleanseth from all 
 sin ;" who has already saved thousands of the 
 guilty sons of Adam, and who is still inviting all 
 the weary and heavy laden of his sinful race, to 
 come unto him for pardon and for rest ? It is 
 sweet to think of such a Saviour as pouring out 
 his soul an offering for sin, but it is still more 
 sweet to think of him as at this very moment ap- 
 pearing before God for us ; standing as the Lamb 
 that has been slain before his throne, and still 
 bearing in his sacred body the marks of his suffer- 
 ings and death. This surely must be a source of 
 strong consolation to the soul that is really mourn-
 
 70 THE ADVANTAGES OF 
 
 ing for sin. Here is something to lean on ; some- 
 thing which can bear the weight of a sinner's 
 doubts, and fears, and cares. Only let us once 
 be brought to lean on it, and we shall have 
 strength and peace in every hour of trial. The 
 heavens and the earth may be destroyed on ac- 
 count of the sin which has defiled them, but we 
 shall be safe ; our souls will be unhurt in the 
 mighty wreck. 
 
 2. An habitual remembrance of Christ has a 
 tendency also to elevate our affections, to lead us 
 to set them "on things above, and not on things 
 on the earth." 
 
 If we have a lively remembrance of an absent 
 friend, our hearts will often be where he is; 
 before we are aware, our thoughts will involun- 
 tarily take to themselves wings, and go to him. 
 Thus we cannot have a remembrance of Christ 
 in our hearts, without having those hearts often 
 in heaven. If we could but habitually carry 
 him in our minds, the world would lose much 
 of its power over us. We should have little 
 time and less inclination to share in its vanities. 
 Our souls would no longer cleave to the dust; 
 they would soar to their resting place, and 
 centre in their God. We should almost live the 
 life of angels upon earth ; and all our words and 
 conversation, our whole conduct, would savour 
 of heaven.
 
 REMEMBERING CHRIST. 71 
 
 3. This heavenly-mindedness would lead us 
 to a third benefit resulting from a remembrance 
 of Christ patience and comfort in our afflictions. 
 
 This is the use the apostle makes of this 
 remembrance in his epistle to the Hebrews. 
 " Consider him," he says, " that endured such 
 contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye 
 be wearied and faint in your minds." Consider 
 what he suffered, the greatness, the intensity, of 
 his agonies. Consider how he suffered ; how 
 patiently and cheerfully. " He was oppressed 
 and he was afflicted : he was brought as a lamb 
 
 * O 
 
 to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her 
 shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. "- 
 Consider why he suffered. " He had done no 
 sin, neither had any guile been found in his 
 mouth." " He died the just for the unjust, 
 that he might bring us to God." These con- 
 siderations, if they had their proper effect on 
 our minds, would repress all disposition to im- 
 patience and murmuring, when we are in afflic- 
 tion. Did Christ, who was altogether sinless, 
 suffer so much, and surfer so patiently, and 
 that for such a being as I am ? And shall I, 
 who am altogether guilty, be impatient and com- 
 plaining in the hour of my light afflictions? 
 What are my sufferings, when compared with 
 my Saviour's agonies ? Let me then be ashamed 
 of my complaints. Let me endeavour to get the
 
 72 THE ADVANTAGES OF 
 
 lamb-like spirit of my Master. Let me strive 
 to change my murmurs for praises, my sighs for 
 songs. 
 
 4. The remembrance of Christ tends 'also to 
 keep alive within us a holy hatred of sin. 
 
 Nothing makes sin appear half so hateful, as 
 the cross of Christ ; nothing so effectually checks 
 it when rising in the soul, as the thought of a 
 dying Saviour. Did Jesus suffer for my sins ? 
 Was he wounded and bruised for my iniquities ? 
 And shall I trifle with sin ? Shall I play with 
 it, as though it were a harmless thing ? It nailed 
 the man who is the equal of Jehovah, to a cross ; 
 and has it no cross, no sting, no dreadful curse, 
 for my soul? Was it for my sins that Christ 
 died? And cannot I deny a single lust, or resist 
 a single temptation, for his sake? O let me 
 never crucify the Son of God afresh ! Let me 
 turn my back on every scene and every society, 
 which would tempt me thus to pierce rny Saviour. 
 Let me watch and pray against iniquity. Let 
 me steel my soul against all its treacherous 
 pleasures. It may for a moment seem sweet to 
 my foolish heart, but it cost my Saviour tears 
 and blood. 
 
 Such are some of the advantages resulting 
 from an habitual remembrance of Christ, and 
 only some of them. This remembrance is cal-
 
 REMEMBERING CHRIST. 73 
 
 culated also to increase our love for the Re- 
 deemer, to excite in us a stronger spirit of obe- 
 dience to his commands, to reconcile us to death, 
 and to enable us to look forward to eternity with 
 joy. Who then in a world so full of sin, of sor- 
 row, and temptation, would not desire to remem- 
 ber Christ ? But it is no easy task, brethren, to 
 remember him. It is an easy thing to fill our 
 hearts with vanity, but it is hard indeed to fix 
 in them the remembrance of a Saviour's name. 
 None but God can enable us to perform the 
 work. He only can imprint on our hearts the 
 name of Christ, and he only can preserve it 
 there. The vanities of every passing hour can 
 and often will efface it ; and God himself must 
 write it again and again, or Jesus will be forgotten. 
 Here then we may see our need of prayer ; but let 
 us not stop here. 
 
 We may see our need of exertion also. Must 
 we know Christ, before we can remember him ? 
 Then let us seek to know him ; to get every day 
 a closer and more heartfelt acquaintance with his 
 excellencies, his offices, and his ways. We may 
 study Christ and his gospel for ages, and yet find 
 in them much to learn. There is a depth in them, 
 to which the minds of angels, after ages of en- 
 quiry, have never yet penetrated, and a height to 
 which they have not climbed. Let the Bible 
 then, which testifies of Jesus, be often in our 
 hands, and still more often in our hearts.
 
 74 THE ADVANTAGES OF 
 
 Are we prone to forget Christ ? Then let us 
 not only avoid, as much as possible, every thing 
 that seems calculated to increase this propensity, 
 but let us also seek after those things which have 
 a tendency to counteract and overcome it. Let us 
 often speak to one another of Christ. Our social 
 parties would be much more delightful and much 
 more rational too, if the name of Jesus were more 
 often heard in them, his gospel more frequently 
 spoken of, and his memory more affectionately 
 cherished. We love to talk of relatives and 
 friends who are mouldering in their graves ; why 
 then is a dying Redeemer always to be forgotten ? 
 Is there no savour in his memory ? Are there no 
 sweet associations connected with his blessed 
 name ? All our employment and happiness in 
 heaven will be to speak of him and sing of him ; 
 and surely we might begin this work of heaven 
 here, and find happiness in it also, if we were not 
 wanting to ourselves. 
 
 But if we would habitually remember Christ, 
 let us not forget the command given us in the 
 text ; " This do in remembrance of me." We 
 soon forget objects which are removed from our 
 sight ; and our Lord, who knows and pities this 
 weakness of our nature, has given us an abiding 
 memorial of himself. He has appointed an or- 
 dinance for this very purpose, to remind us of 
 his love. The sacrament of the Lord's supper 
 is not designed to blot out our iniquities, as many
 
 REMEMBERING CHRIST. 75 
 
 suppose ; but simply to remind us of a dying 
 Saviour. It was ordained, as our church tells us, 
 for a continual remembrance of the sacrifice of the 
 death of Christ. There we see Jesus " evidently 
 set forth" before our eyes " crucified among us;" 
 so plainly set forth, that if we have any serious- 
 ness of spirit, we shall find it difficult not to see him. 
 And yet from this ordinance many of us can often 
 turn away without a struggle or a sigh. What 
 does this conduct prove ? Our humility ? the 
 tenderness of our conscience ? Alas ! brethren, 
 it proves much more clearly that the dying re- 
 quest of a crucified Redeemer is either forgotten 
 or despised. We do not so treat a departed pa- 
 rent or friend. His last requests are cherished in 
 the memory, and we almost dread to violate or 
 neglect them. How is it then that Jesus only is 
 despised, when he says, " This do in remem- 
 brance of me?" There is reason to fear that we 
 must find an answer to this enquiry, not in a 
 tender conscience, but in a cold, careless, worldly 
 heart. There the evil lies, and there the remedy 
 must be applied. Ministers may reason with us 
 and expostulate, but our hearts must be changed, 
 before we shall go to the Saviour's table with a 
 desire of remembering him there. The love of 
 the world and of sin must be rooted out of them, 
 and all their energies and affections fixed on God. 
 Deem not these hard sayings. It is a mere
 
 76 THE ADVANTAGES OF 
 
 trifling with the matter to stop short of this view 
 of it. The heart must be won to Christ before 
 sacraments and ordinances will be loved by us, or 
 be made beneficial to us. If Christ is not re- 
 membered in them, and remembered too with af- 
 fection, they will be useless ; they will bring no 
 comfort, no holiness, with them ; they will leave 
 us just as they find us, trifling and reckless, 
 earthly and sinful. The consequence of such a 
 state is obvious. It is as sure and certain too, as 
 it is plain. If we do not remember Christ, he 
 will in the end cease to remember us. We need 
 him now, but we shall need him much more soon ; 
 and in that great day of our need which is fast 
 approaching, he will act towards us, as we act to- 
 wards others when we forget them he will take 
 no interest in any thing that concerns us. He will 
 leave us to be our own defenders and saviours, to 
 plead our own cause at the bar of God, and to keep 
 off with our own feeble arm the stroke of ven- 
 geance. He will leave us to perish. 
 
 We may not think much now of the misery of 
 being thus forsaken. We may now have no spiri- 
 tual feelings, and no dread of spiritual evils. But 
 the dream of life will soon be ended, and we shall 
 awake in a world, where our dormant powers will 
 be roused to action in all their energy, either by 
 that fulness of joy which fills the minds of exalted 
 ungels, or by the bursting wrath of an insulted
 
 REMEMBERING CHRIST. 77 
 
 God. We shall then be forced to feel that there 
 is nothing more desirable for an immortal being, 
 than to be remembered by the Lord of glory in his 
 kingdom, and nothing more dreadful than to be for- 
 gotten by him there. If he were to forget us even 
 here in this world of mercy, we should be undone. 
 Thousands of our fellow-creatures might remem- 
 
 D 
 
 ber us, and millions of angels come to our help, 
 but all the inhabitants of earth and of heaven 
 could not supply the place of a departed God. 
 All their united efforts could not keep for one 
 moment our bodies from the grave, nor our souls 
 from destruction. 
 
 Who then among us can bear the thought of 
 being forgotten by the Lord Jehovah ? Which of 
 us will dare to forget him, and be easy ? O may 
 we all be led this very hour to his throne ! May 
 each of us offer there this simple prayer, which 
 has never since the day of his agony been offered 
 to him in vain, " Lord, remember me !"
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 ST. JOHN xiv. 27. 
 
 Peace I leave with you ; my peace I give unto you : 
 not as the world giveth, give I unto you. 
 
 I.HAT the Son of God might become the " mer- 
 ciful and faithful High Priest" of his church, " it 
 behoved him to be made in all things like unto 
 his brethren ;" not only to clothe himself in their 
 outward form, but to take upon him also their 
 inward nature. Hence in contemplating the 
 wonderful history of his life, we see him influen- 
 ced by the same affections that influence ourselves, 
 and manifesting the same dispositions. From his 
 cradle to his grave, we behold in him the Son of 
 man, as well as the Son of God. 
 
 When he " knew that his hour was come, that 
 he should depart out of this world unto his Fa- 
 ther," we find him feeling and acting as many of
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 79 
 
 his brethren have felt and acted on the bed of 
 death. He thinks of the beloved friends from 
 whom he is about to be separated, and is troubled 
 in spirit at the thought of leaving them. He calls 
 them around him to take of them a last farewell. 
 In the most gentle and affectionate terms that lan- 
 guage can supply, he tells them of the scene of 
 sorrow through which he is about to pass ; as- 
 sures them that death itself shall not separate 
 them from his love ; strives to cheer them with 
 the hope of one day seeing him again ; gives 
 them his dying blessing ; and at length, " lifting 
 up his eyes to heaven," he commends them to his 
 Father's care, and supplicates for them the richest 
 blessings. 
 
 Neither were these the only respects in which 
 the dying Jesus acted as the dying man. When 
 his end drew near, he maBe, as it were, his will 
 and testament, and would not suffer the last inter- 
 view with his disciples to close, before he had re- 
 minded them of the precious gifts which he pur- 
 posed to bestow upon them. Houses and lands 
 indeed, silver and gold, he had none to give ; but 
 he bequeathed to them a treasure far more valua- 
 ble than splendid mansions and extensive territo- 
 ries ; a treasure which silver and gold could never 
 buy. " Peace," he says, " I leave with you ; my 
 peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, 
 give I unto you."
 
 80 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 What then is this peace of which the Saviour 
 here speaks ? In what manner has he given this 
 blessing to his saints ? These enquiries are natu- 
 rally suggested by the words before us, and they 
 are enquiries which have surely a claim on our 
 attention. We do not refuse to listen to the words 
 of a dying friend. We examine with more than 
 common interest, the will and testament of one 
 who has nothing but perishable riches to leave 
 behind him. Let us not then turn away our ears 
 from the parting words of Jesus, our best Friend. 
 Let us not look with indifference on the last will 
 of him, who has all the eternal treasures of earth 
 and heaven at his disposal. Let us open it with 
 some sense of its vast importance ; and before our 
 eyes are closed in death, may we all see our names 
 written in it, and become the inheritors of its ever- 
 lasting riches. 
 
 I. What then is the blessing which Christ be- 
 queaths to his disciples ? It is peace. 
 
 Now if there is any word which can excite 
 pleasing sensations in the human breast, it is this 
 word. If there is any blesing truly desirable, it is 
 this blessing. It is as sweet to the children of 
 men, as the long wished for shore to the mariner 
 who is wearied with the labours of the ocean. It 
 is as reviving, as the warm breezes of the spring 
 to the man who has just risen from a bed of sick-
 
 THE LEGACY OP CHRIST. 81 
 
 ness. How welcome are the tidings of returning 
 peace to a nation which has been long accustomed 
 to the sound of war ! How beautiful the feet of 
 them who publish it ! What gladness fills every 
 heart ! what joy sits on every countenance ! 
 what praises and thanksgivings are heard from 
 every tongue ! 
 
 But it is not amongst mankind only, that peace 
 is thus highly esteemed. It is declared by the 
 Almighty himself to be among the things which 
 he calls good ; one of the most precious mercies 
 which he gives to his faithful servants. To bring 
 down this blessing from above, was the great ob- 
 ject of our Saviour's appearing on the earth. To 
 this end was he born, and for this cause came 
 he into the world, to establish " the covenant of 
 peace ;" to preach " the gospel of peace ;" to say 
 unto Zion, that " her warfare is accomplished," 
 that peace is restored between her and her of- 
 fended Lord. Hence the prophecies which an- 
 nounced the coming of the Messiah, spoke of him 
 under the character of " the Prince of peace." 
 Hence, when he was at length born in the city of 
 David, peace on earth was proclaimed by the re- 
 joicing angels, and connected with the glory of 
 their God. Hence too, when he was about to 
 leave his beloved disciples and to lay down his life 
 for sinners, peace was the precious legacy he left 
 them. And what was his language after he was 
 
 VOL. i. c
 
 82 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 risen from the dead ? No sooner did he appear 
 among his dejected followers, than the sound of 
 peace was again heard. Jesus said unto them, 
 " Peace be unto you." 
 
 What then is this peace ? Is it an exemption 
 from the calamities of life, from sorrow and afflic- 
 tion ? What says the great Giver of it ? " Ve- 
 rily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep, 
 and lament, and be sorrowful." " In the world 
 ye shall have tribulation." 
 
 Is it peace with the world, an exemption from 
 its hatred and persecution ? How then shall the 
 scriptures be fulfilled? "The servant," says 
 Christ, " is not greater than his lord. If they 
 have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." 
 " If ye were of the world, the world would love 
 his own ; but because ye are not of the world, but 
 I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the 
 world hateth you." 
 
 1. The peace which Jesus came down from 
 heaven to bring, is not an unhallowed peace with 
 a sinful world ; it is peace with God, reconciliation 
 with that great and holy Being " in whom we 
 live, and move, and have our being." 
 
 The man who inherits this precious legacy, 
 was once the enemy of the Lord. He was one of 
 those, of whom the Almighty says, " My soul 
 loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me." 
 He hated God, and God could not love him.
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 83 
 
 He might indeed look on him with pity, but he 
 could not regard him with approbation and de- 
 light. This warfare is now for ever at an end. 
 The sinner's heart, the sinner's character, are 
 changed. The enmity of his carnal mind has 
 been subdued. He has gone, as a repentant 
 prodigal, to the throne of his heavenly Father, 
 and has received a welcome and a pardon there. 
 " Being justified by faith, he has peace with God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ." A covenant 
 of peace has been entered into between the King 
 of heaven and his once rebellious subject ; it has 
 been confirmed and sealed ; and he has pledged 
 his faithfulness and love, that it shall be " a per- 
 petual covenant that shall not be forgotten." 
 
 2. From this covenant of peace results another 
 blessing comprehended in the Saviour's legacy 
 peace in the soul, peace of conscience, inward 
 serenity and rest. 
 
 This is a blessing which none but Christ can 
 give, and none but his renewed people receive. 
 Others may indeed seek it ; they may rise early 
 and late take rest to obtain that which they think 
 will purchase it ; but they spend their " money for 
 that which is not bread," and their " labour for 
 that which satisfieth not." They may perhaps 
 find something which they may for a moment 
 mistake for it ; they may grasp the shadow, and 
 imagine that they have found the substance ; but 
 
 c 2
 
 84 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 until a man Has been cleansed from his sins by 
 the blood of Jesus, until his heart has been 
 " sprinkled from an evil conscience" by the same 
 blood, he must remain as far off from true peace 
 of mind, as he is from God. He may possess the 
 peace of Jonah who slumbered in the storm, a 
 peace which is the token of approaching death ; 
 but he must become an humble, believing sup- 
 pliant at a Saviour's cross, before he can enjoy 
 any peace that is worth possessing. " There is no 
 peace, saith my God, to the wicked." It is his 
 people only, who dwell in " a peaceable habi- 
 tation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting 
 places." 
 
 The peace which Christ bequeathed to his 
 people, is further styled his peace. " My peace," 
 he says, " I give unto you." It is the same peace 
 that he himself enjoys ; the same peace that kept 
 his soul tranquil in the midst of all his sorrows 
 upon earth ; the same glorious rest into which he 
 is now entered in his Father's kingdom above. 
 
 As the precious oil that was poured on the 
 head of Aaron, went down to the skirts of his 
 garments, so the joy poured on Jesus as the 
 Head of his church, descends to all his members, 
 and the meanest of his people share in his ful- 
 ness. He is gone into the kingdom of peace, as 
 the forerunner of his saints. They are said to be 
 " raised up together with him, and made to sit
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 85 
 
 together in heavenly places." They have, in some 
 degree, already entered into the joy of their Lord. 
 Even in this house of their pilgrimage, they re- 
 ceive at seasons " the first fruits of the Spirit," a 
 portion of the happiness of their glorified Re- 
 deemer, a foretaste of the eternal rest which re- 
 maineth for the people of God beyond the grave. 
 Thus then the peace spoken of by Christ in the 
 words before us, is, first, peace with God, a share 
 in that friendship which subsists between him 
 and his well beloved Son ; it is, secondly, inward 
 peace, peace of mind, peace of the same kind, as 
 that which Christ himself enjoys in his kingdom 
 of glory. It is indeed inferior to it in degree, 
 but it is of the same nature, and flows from the 
 same living fountain, as the happiness of heaven. 
 
 II. Let us now proceed to enquire, secondly, in 
 what manner this precious peace has been given by 
 the Redeemer to his people. 
 
 The word which is here translated " give," may 
 be understood as signifying to bequeath, to give 
 by will or as a legacy ; and it is in this sense 
 probably, that it was used on this occasion by our 
 Lord. Neither is a long train of reasoning neces- 
 sary to convince us of the propriety and beauty of 
 this term. A little attention to the circumstances 
 connected with the text, will shew us at once its 
 meaning and its force.
 
 86 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 What was the situation of Christ when he ut- 
 tered these gracious words ? It was the situation 
 of a man who sees himself standing on the brink 
 of the grave, and who bequeaths to his friends all 
 that he is possessed of, before he is taken from 
 them. The Saviour knew that the hour of his 
 departure was at hand, and he here leaves to his 
 beloved disciples those blessings, which, as the 
 Mediator of the church, he had at his disposal. 
 
 1 . The property which a man conveys by a will 
 or testament, must be his own estate, his own pro- 
 perty ; and he must also have a right of transfer- 
 ring it to others. Thus the peace which Christ 
 bequeathed to his disciples, was his own peace, a 
 property to which he had an undoubted claim, 
 and which he had also the power of conveying to 
 others, of disposing of by will or in whatsoever 
 manner he pleased. His blood purchased this 
 property, his righteousness obtained it for his 
 church. The price indeed was costly ; all the 
 angels in heaven, with their united riches, could 
 not have paid it ; but Jesus bought the blessing ; 
 he .bought it by parting for a season with his 
 throne and kingdom, with his honour and glory. 
 He was the only being in the universe rich enough 
 to purchase reconciliation for his people, and ra- 
 ther than that his people should perish, he cheer- 
 fully became poor for them, that they " through 
 his poverty might be made rich." Hence the
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 87 
 
 apostle says that " God hath appointed him heir 
 of all things for his church ;" and that " it hath 
 pleased the Father, that in him should all fulness 
 dwell." Hence we find him bestowing the most 
 precious blessings that he himself enjoys upon 
 his children. " I appoint unto you," he says, 
 " a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto 
 me." " To him that overcometh, will I grant to 
 sit with me on my throne." 
 
 2. The peace which Jesus gives to his disci- 
 ples, is like a legacy in this respect also it could 
 never have been received and inherited, if the great 
 Giver of it had not died. 
 
 " Where a testament is," says the apostle, 
 " there must also of necessity be the death of the 
 testator ; for a testament is of force after men are 
 dead, otherwise it is of no strength at all, while the 
 testator liveth." A man may leave to his friends 
 abundant riches and treasures, but these gifts will 
 profit them nothing till after he is dead ; it is his 
 death which gives them a title to the property, 
 and puts them in possession of it. Thus if Jesus 
 had not died, the blessings which he bequeathed 
 to his people, would never have been theirs. 
 He might have said, " Peace I leave with you," 
 but there would have been no peace for them. He 
 might have said, " I go to prepare a place for you 
 in my Father's house," but not one sinner would 
 have entered the heavenly mansion ; all the
 
 88 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 countless hosts of "just men made perfect," who 
 are now singing " Worthy the Lamb," around 
 the throne in heaven, would have been cursing 
 the Being who mocked them, in the regions of 
 despair. The blood of Jesus is the only claim, 
 which a race of guilty creatures can offer to the 
 offended Sovereign of heaven. It is only by 
 means of his death, that they who are called, can 
 receive the eternal inheritance promised to them. 
 
 But notwithstanding these points of resem- 
 blance, there is something peculiar in the testa- 
 ment of Christ. " Not as the world giveth," 
 he adds, " give I unto you." 
 
 This language may be designed to remind us, 
 that the blessings which Christ has left to his 
 followers, are widely different in their nature 
 from those things which men leave to their 
 friends, far more valuable, more satisfactory, and 
 more durable. They are more valuable. Men 
 may leave behind them much silver and much 
 gold, stately mansions, pompous titles, and proud 
 distinctions ; they may give to their heirs crowns 
 and kingdoms ; but what do these things profit 
 them ? What is their value, when compared with 
 peace of conscience, with the friendship of the 
 Almighty ? They cannot make a man happy even 
 in the day of prosperity ; while the legacy of 
 Christ, even in the darkest night of adversity, 
 can " satisfy the longing soul, and fill the hungry
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 89 
 
 soul with goodness." Other legacies are all tem- 
 porary ; the hand of time and of death wrings 
 them from our eager grasp, almost as soon as we 
 have obtained them ; but the gifts of Christ are 
 all eternal. When heaven and earth shall pass 
 away, there is not one of them that will perish, 
 or be plucked out of its possessor's hand. They 
 will remain precious as ever, when every earthly 
 treasure shall be heard of no more. 
 
 From the imperfect view which we have thus 
 taken of the cheering words before us, the hum- 
 ble and believing Christian may see the security 
 and stability of the divine promises. Pardon and 
 peace, grace and glory, are not only promised, 
 but bequeathed, to him by the unalterable will 
 of Christ, his Lord. The Testator is now dead, 
 the testament is in force ; and though it were 
 but a man's testament, " no man disannulled! 
 or addeth thereto." " Let not" therefore " your 
 heart be troubled," brethren, " neither let it be 
 afraid." Possessed of such blessings as these, 
 peace in your own consciences and peace with 
 your God, let your souls " magnify the Lord," 
 let your spirits " rejoice in God, your Saviour." 
 Let the possession of these treasures cheer you in 
 the want of every earthly good. Though poor 
 and afflicted, let them make you more joyful, than 
 the happiest heir to the most splendid riches. In
 
 90 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 every hour of trial and of sorrow, in every season 
 of poverty and anxiety, think of the legacy of 
 Christ, and be comforted. 
 
 Do you say that you are strangers to the peace 
 of Christ, although you have reason to cherish an 
 humble hope that you have been made partakers 
 of his saving grace ? If you are habitually going 
 in sincerity and truth, with humility and faith, to 
 the fountain which divine mercy has opened for 
 sin and uncleanness, if you are really seeking 
 there freedom from the defiling power of sin, as 
 well as salvation from its fearful consequences, 
 you cannot be destitute of peace with God. He 
 never has regarded, he never will regard, with 
 any thing short of the tenderest love, the sinner 
 who is the beloved of his Son, who has been 
 washed with his blood and sanctified by his Spirit. 
 
 You may indeed be humble, believing Chris- 
 tians, and yet be strangers to that inward peace 
 which Christ has bequeathed to his people ; but 
 there is only one reason to be given, why you are 
 strangers to it you will not lay claim to and 
 possess it. A man may have a precious legacy 
 bequeathed to him, and he may be so infatuated 
 as to refuse to accept it, or so indolent as to neg- 
 lect the proper means of possessing himself of it; 
 but still the legacy is his. It is his own folly, his 
 own indolence only, that keep it from his hands. 
 The very same causes, my Christian brethren,
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 91 
 
 united with " an evil heart of unbelief," may keep 
 you strangers to the peace of God. It was from 
 all eternity the property of your Saviour ; by his 
 agony and bloody sweat, by his cross and passion, 
 he has acquired the right of giving it to whomsoever 
 he will ; he has not only promised, but he has be- 
 queathed it to all who seek and love him ; he has 
 put his dying will and testament into your hands 
 in his gospel ; he has bid you examine this will, 
 and told you how to know whether your names 
 are written in it ; he has died a cruel and bitter 
 death, that there may be no impediment nor 
 delay in your obtaining his precious peace ; he 
 invites, he urges you to take it, and to enter into 
 his joy ; the Lord Jesus Christ has done this, 
 and more than this, to make you peaceful and 
 happy ; and yet you are strangers to his peace, 
 and unacquainted with his blessedness. " How 
 can these things be ?" Either there is unfaith- 
 fulness in the Holy One of Israel, or there is 
 something wrong in you. Search well your 
 hearts, and judge whether your want of peace 
 arises from some defect in the will of Jesus, or 
 from some evil in yourselves ; whether you have 
 not abundant reason to trace your despondency 
 to unbelief, to slothfulness, to a carnal and worldly 
 mind. 
 
 Although the pride of your heart may prevent 
 you from at once discovering it, be assured that
 
 92 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 the cause of your doubts and perplexity is to 
 be found in yourselves, and not in the faithful 
 Jesus. Endeavour then to find where the evil 
 lies, and, in dependance on divine grace, strive to 
 root it out. Use the means appointed to establish 
 yourselves in the faith ; labour to grow in grace 
 and knowledge. Bring your hearts and lives 
 more frequently to the test of scripture ; pray 
 more fervently ; use more diligently all the ap- 
 pointed means of grace ; watch more against sin; 
 endeavour to get clearer ideas of the freeness and 
 fulness of the covenant of grace ; strive to stir up 
 your languid desires after spiritual blessings; seek 
 for these blessings, not as things desirable merely, 
 but as things indispensable to your happiness ; 
 not as things beyond your reach, but as things at- 
 tainable ; above all, look less to yourselves, and 
 more to the great Redeemer ; and the day-star 
 shall in the end arise in your hearts. " The peace 
 of God shall keep your hearts and minds." " Your 
 peace shall be as a river, and your righteousness 
 as the waves of the sea." 
 
 But have all amongst us a right thus to lay 
 claim to the Saviour's legacy ? Are we all war- 
 ranted to rejoice in our title to this precious gift ? 
 There is reason to fear that the greater part of us 
 have no more claim to it, than we have to crowns 
 and sceptres. Before we can have a title to it, 
 we must be united to Christ by a living faith ;
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 93 
 
 we must become his people, his children ; we 
 must seek our peace in him, and in him alone ; a 
 great moral change must take place within us ; our 
 affections must be withdrawn from the world and 
 sin, and fixed on holiness and God ; we must be 
 born again of the Spirit, and be renewed after the 
 divine image. " There is no peace to the wicked;" 
 the wicked have not only no title to this blessing, 
 but they are altogether incapable of enjoying or 
 receiving it. " Their minds are like the troubled 
 sea, when it cannot rest." 
 
 And if God had not made this declaration, our 
 own experience must have led us to a conviction 
 of the same truth. Happiness has been the one 
 great object which we have been seeking ever 
 since we were born ; all the energies of our minds, 
 and all the strength of our bodies have been em- 
 ployed in the pursuit of it ; and yet we are not 
 happy. We seem to be receding from the object 
 of our labours, rather than drawing nearer to it. 
 It is true that we are sometimes as happy for an 
 hour, as the happiest insect that sports in the 
 summer sun. Our efforts to stifle reflection are 
 successful, and we are enabled to banish from our 
 minds every thought, which, as rational and im- 
 mortal beings, we might be expected to cherish 
 there. But what does this profit us? We are 
 the next hour a prey to disappointment, weari- 
 ness, discontent, and a galling consciousness of
 
 y4 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 our own littleness. In spite of ourselves, the 
 mind will resume its hated work : thoughtfulness 
 
 7 O 
 
 will seize upon us ; and conscience will make its 
 voice to be heard. The consequence is, that ex- 
 istence becomes an almost intolerable burden. 
 Our hearts ache for relief, and we fly in search of 
 it to those very pursuits of sin and folly, which 
 we are conscious will again leave us to our own 
 wretchedness. 
 
 Thus have we gone on from day to day, " seek- 
 ing rest and finding none," If then we have 
 been strangers to peace in the season of health 
 and prosperity, can we expect to be less un- 
 happ^ in the day of affliction, and in the hour 
 of sickness and of death ? This day and this 
 hour may be much nearer to us than we are 
 aware. We may indeed hardly see how it is 
 possible for affliction or death to touch us. The 
 amusements and business of the world may even 
 have kept every thought of them out of our 
 minds ; but neither business nor amusements can 
 always keep sickness out of our houses, or death 
 out of our chambers, or sorrow out of our hearts. 
 There are a thousand unsuspected avenues by 
 which grief can enter the soul. Are we then 
 prepared to receive it as a guest ? Is there any 
 thing within us, which will almost welcome it 
 into our bosoms, mingle itself with it, and turn it 
 into peace ? Are we possessed of any thing
 
 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 95 
 
 which can make the hour of tribulation an hour 
 of joy ? Infidelity cannot do this. Scepticism 
 never yet soothed one afflicted soul to peace, 
 never lightened it of one sorrowful care, never 
 smoothed the pillow of one dying man. Atheism 
 has indeed been permitted to bestow on some 
 of its most depraved and hardened victims, an 
 awful insensibility ; it has enabled a man to trifle 
 like a child even in the prospect of immediate 
 death, and to be as thoughtless on the brink of 
 the grave, as " the brute beasts that have no un- 
 derstanding." But this insensibility, so far from 
 being a blessing, is one of the heaviest curses that 
 can be drawn down upon a sinner's head. <fcuch 
 a peace would be well exchanged for the anguish 
 of remorse. It is a death-warrant to the soul, the 
 forerunner of eternal destruction. It is the re- 
 ligion of the cross only, which can quiet the mind 
 without degrading or brutalizing it. It is the 
 gospel only, that can say to the agitated soul, 
 " Peace, be still." 
 
 Turn then, brethren, from the lying vanities of 
 a sceptical and foolish world, and seek with your 
 whole heart the peace of Christ. Seek, at the 
 cross of Jesus, reconciliation with your offended 
 God. Seek an interest in that blood which 
 " cleanseth from all sin." " Draw near with a 
 true heart, in full assurance of faith," to this 
 fountain of blessedness ; and you shall at length
 
 96 THE LEGACY OF CHRIST. 
 
 find rest to your wearied souls. " Having- your 
 hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience," a peace 
 shall be poured out on you, " which passeth all 
 understanding ;" a peace which none of the cala- 
 mities of life can materially affect ; a peace which 
 will keep your souls serene amidst the wreck of a 
 perishing universe ; a peace which will endure for 
 ever in the kingdom of your God.
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION SENT 
 TO PETER. 
 
 ST. MARK xvi. 7. 
 
 Go your way ; tell his disciples and Peter, that he 
 goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see 
 him. 
 
 IN the history which the Holy Spirit has given 
 us of the life of Christ, there are many circum- 
 stances related, which appear, on the first view, 
 to be altogether unimportant. We consider them 
 as not designed to convey to us any instruction, 
 and pass them over as too trifling to occupy our 
 attention. Here however we err. The Lord Jesus 
 Christ never uttered one unmeaning saying; there 
 is not a single action of his life recorded in the 
 scriptures, which is not of some importance to us, 
 and which may not furnish us with a useful lesson. 
 We may apply this remark to the words before us. 
 
 VOL. I. II
 
 98 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S 
 
 On the third day after the crucifixion of Jesus, 
 three faithful women came to his sepulchre, with 
 the design of shedding their last tear over his 
 remains, and of paying to them the last kind 
 offices of love. The Saviour however had left 
 the tomb, and as the women were entering it 
 with mingled sensations of surprise, doubt, and 
 joy, an angel appears to them, tells them that 
 their beloved Master was risen, and commands 
 them to carry the joyful tidings to his comfortless 
 disciples. But in the command that was given 
 them, we find one disciple singled out from the 
 rest; " Tell his disciples and Peter." Now this 
 circumstance may appear at first to be hardly 
 worth a moment's consideration ; but let us not 
 make light of it ; let us rather attentively consider 
 it, and entreat the Spirit of God to make it the 
 means of imparting instruction to us. 
 
 In directing your attention to this circumstance, 
 I purpose to consider, first, the person to whom 
 the message in the text was particularly sent; 
 secondly, the Being who sent it ; and, thirdly, the 
 messengers who were the bearers of it. 
 
 I. To whom was this message particularly 
 sent ? To Peter. 
 
 And who was Peter, that he should be thus 
 singled out from among the disciples ? By what 
 was he distinguished from the other ten, that he
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. 99 
 
 should be thus honoured ? We know that at the 
 period when he received this message, he was 
 distinguished from them by a pre-eminence, not 
 in merit, but in guilt. . But two days before, he 
 had denied his Master, when his Master was about 
 to die for him. " All the disciples forsook him 
 and fled," but Peter went farther, and added the 
 guilt of falsehood, curses, and oaths, to the base- 
 ness of desertion. His sin was of the first magni- 
 tude, of a crimson die. It had too this peculiar 
 aggravation, that it brought a scandal on the 
 church, when the church seemed least able to 
 bear it. The Shepherd was smitten, the sheep 
 were scattered ; and this was the season in which 
 Peter dishonoured his Lord, and denied his con- 
 nection with his persecuted followers. 
 
 This then was the man to whom the risen Jesus 
 specially directed his angel to send this joyful 
 message. Had the faithful John who adhered to 
 him in his sufferings and stood by his cross, been 
 thus singled out, it might have excited no sur- 
 prise ; but for Peter, the treacherous Peter, to be 
 thus honoured, seems indeed mysterious. Who 
 can fathom the depth of the Saviour's love ? Who 
 can measure his unbounded grace ? 
 
 Was Peter singled out then on account of his 
 peculiar guilt ? God forbid. Never let us at- 
 tempt to magnify the grace of God by making 
 that abominable thing which he hates, a recom- 
 
 H 2
 
 100 THE NEWS OF CHRISES 
 
 mendation to his favour. It is true that he is 
 ready to pardon the greatest, the vilest sinner 
 who really seeks his pardon ; it is true that he 
 has sometimes shewn the riches of his grace by 
 making a heinous sinner a holy saint ; but are 
 we therefore to " sin that grace may abound ?" 
 Does the greatness of the sinner's guilt plead with 
 the greatness of divine mercy ? Never. Sin may 
 draw down vengeance from heaven on a trans- 
 gressor's head, but never has it drawn down mercy 
 and grace. 
 
 Why then, it may again be asked, was Peter 
 thus distinguished and honoured ? We have hi- 
 therto taken only a partial view of his conduct ; 
 let us more closely examine it. 
 
 Peter was not only a great and scandalous 
 sinner, he was also a penitent, mourning sinner. 
 Scarcely had he denied Jesus in the hall of Pilate, 
 when a look of love and pity from his injured 
 Master melted his heart, and filled him with the 
 deepest sorrow. We do not see him trifling with 
 sin, making light of his transgression, and at- 
 tempting to excuse or palliate it. We do not find 
 him comforting himself with the thought that he 
 was a disciple of Christ, and therefore might sin 
 without fear ; that though a heinous transgressor, 
 he was a child of God, and could not be finally 
 cast away. We see in him nothing but self-loathing 
 and contrition, sorrow and tears. Saint Matthew
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. 101 
 
 says that " he went out and wept bitterly ;" and 
 Clement, an ancient Christian writer, relates, that 
 throughout all his future days, every morning 
 when he heard the cock crow, he fell down on his 
 knees ; and, with tears streaming from his eyes, 
 supplicated pardon for his dreadful sin. 
 
 Here then we see that it was not the guilty 
 Peter who was thus honoured ; it was the sor- 
 rowful, contrite Peter. It was not his cursing 
 and oaths, which brought this mercy to him, but 
 his penitence and tears. There is no comfort then 
 in this scripture for the careless, hardened sinner ; 
 no comfort for the self-righteous sinner ; no com- 
 fort for the man who, in the midst of his iniquity, 
 feels no self-abhorrence, no deep contrition, for 
 his guilt. There is no comfort for such characters 
 as these ; but there is the sweetest comfort for the 
 broken-hearted transgressor. If there be such a 
 sinner here, may God, the Holy Spirit, enable 
 him to derive peace and hope from this instance 
 of his Saviour's love ! May he " draw water with 
 joy " out of this well of consolation ! 
 
 II. That those among us who are thus mourn- 
 ing for sin, may be cheered and strengthened, let 
 us proceed to consider, secondly, the Author of 
 this message, the gracious Being who sent it to this 
 fallen disciple. 
 
 We are told that it was brought to the women
 
 102 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S 
 
 by an angel ; but he brought it from Jesus, the 
 risen Jesus, the same Jesus who is now seated on 
 the throne of the universe, and who will one day 
 come in the clouds of heaven to be our Judge. 
 
 1. Such a message under such circumstances 
 may teach us, first, that Christ had just the 
 same compassionate heart after his resurrection, 
 that he had before it. Death changed the na- 
 ture of his body ; the corruptible temple was 
 made an incorruptible building ; but death did 
 not make the least change in his heart ; it did not 
 alter the dispositions of his soul. We saw him 
 before his crucifixion weeping at the tomb of La- 
 zarus, and shedding tears over the impending mi- 
 series of Jerusalem ; and now after his resurrection 
 from the dead, we see that his first concern is not 
 to receive the congratulations of his friends or to 
 put to shame the boasting of his enemies, but to 
 dry the tears of a fallen disciple, and to speak 
 peace to his troubled mind. 
 
 Here then every spiritually-minded Christian 
 may find a spring of consolation. Jesus, my Sa- 
 viour, he who measures out to me my daily por- 
 tion of sickness and of health, of sorrows and of 
 joys ; he who is ever appearing as my Advocate 
 at the throne of my God this Jesus has the same 
 pitying heart in heaven, that he had on earth. He 
 can still enter as deeply into all the workings of 
 my fearful, fainting soul. He is still touched with
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. 103 
 
 the feeling of my infirmities. He still looks on 
 the people who seek him, with the same tender- 
 ness, sympathy, and love. 
 
 2. The message sent to Peter shews us, se- 
 condly, that the risen Jesus looks more on the 
 graces, than on the sins of the penitent Christian. 
 He seems to have thought more of Peter's sorrow, 
 than of his curses ; more of his tears, than of his 
 oaths. 
 
 Thus too did he act towards his servant Job. 
 We read the history of his life, and we see it 
 stained with much that is evil. Complicated as 
 his sufferings were, and great as was the submis- 
 sion which he manifested under them, we are at 
 seasons almost disposed to condemn him for his 
 murmurings, rather than to admire him for his 
 patience. And yet we do not find God condemn- 
 ing this man. He calls him " a perfect and an 
 upright man ;" and when his friends impeach his 
 integrity, he descends in a whirlwind from hea- 
 ven to reprove their injustice, and to vindicate the 
 character of his servant. After the lapse of a 
 thousand years, we find him exercising the same 
 tender mercy towards this sorrowful saint. He 
 calls upon us by his apostle James to remember 
 " the patience of Job," while he says not a word of 
 his impatience, his murmurings and complaints. 
 
 We know not indeed how a Being of infinite 
 purity can thus look with delight on any thing
 
 104 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S 
 
 which he finds in any sinner's heart ; but the 
 scripture repeatedly tells us, that though they are 
 sinners, " the Lord taketh pleasure in them that 
 fear him, in those that hope in his mercy ;" that 
 the Redeemer is satisfied with " the travail of his 
 soul ;" that he delights in the graces of his church, 
 and greatly desires her beauty. The reason may 
 be, that he sees so much of the desperate wicked- 
 ness of our hearts, as to make him contemplate 
 with pleasure the least good his grace enables us 
 to bring forth. The natural barrenness of the 
 soil may lead him to admire the fruit it produces. 
 Who would not value a flower which he should 
 find blooming on a rock, or throwing its fragrance 
 over the sands of a desert ? 
 
 Though we cannot comprehend all the riches of 
 Jehovah's love, we may however believe the plain 
 declarations of his word. He tells us there, that 
 " a book of remembrance is written before him 
 for them that fear him, and that think upon his 
 name." He tells us too, that though he does not 
 remember the sins of his people, he records in 
 this book all their graces ; that there is not a de- 
 sire in the heart of the humble, which he does not 
 regard ; that he sees the tears of the contrite, and 
 treasures them up as though they were precious 
 pearls ; that they cannot give even a cup of cold 
 water to one of his children, but he lays up for 
 them a reward. While he sees such things as
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. 105 
 
 these in his people, he will not cast them away on 
 account of the sinful infirmities which still cleave 
 to them. He will not despise the gold, because it 
 is not wholly purified from the dross. He will not 
 burn the wheat, because it is still mixed with the 
 chaff. 
 
 Are we then to conclude that God sees no sin 
 in his people, or that, seeing their sin, he is not 
 displeased by it ? Are we to suppose that he is 
 an indifferent spectator of their transgressions, or 
 become altogether blind to them ? God forbid. 
 Such a conclusion would militate against some of 
 the plainest declarations of his word, as well as 
 against the whole course of his dealings with his 
 church. It would impeach the perfection of his 
 divine nature, his unalterable omniscience and his 
 infinite holiness. If there could be sin in one of 
 his creatures, and he not see it ; if there could be 
 sin in any part of the universe, and he not be dis- 
 pleased at it ; he would cease to be the God of 
 the Bible, and we should be without a revelation 
 of his will. Both his word and providence would 
 be alike a riddle. O could the afflicted Jacob, 
 the mourning David, the dying Moses, or the 
 weeping Peter, hear some modern professors of the 
 gospel speak of that bitter thing which planted 
 so many stings in their hearts, and drew down so 
 many sorrows on their heads ; how would they 
 wonder and tremble ! They would tell us, in
 
 106 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S 
 
 opposition to all the cunningly devised systems 
 of man, that none of the sins of his people pass 
 unnoticed by God, no, nor yet unpunished ; that 
 although he may shew himself unbounded in mercy 
 towards them, he will make them feel that he is 
 a holy Saviour, and force the world to see that he 
 hates their iniquities. 
 
 A jealous God, brethren, has ever visited the 
 transgressions of his children with the rod, and 
 their iniquity with stripes. Thus has it been 
 in every age and with every member of his 
 church, and thus it was in the instance before us. 
 Christ sends to Peter a message of comfort ; but 
 did he suffer his sin to pass unnoticed or un- 
 punished ? No ; he has recorded it to his everlast- 
 ing shame in his holy word. Even to this very 
 day, wherever his gospel is preached throughout 
 the whole world, there also the treachery of his 
 disciple is published. The sin is forgiven, but 
 the remembrance and the shame of it still re- 
 main. 
 
 3. We may observe, further, that Jesus some- 
 times vouchsafes to the believer when bowed down 
 with extraordinary sorrow, more than ordinary 
 comfort. He who is the Comforter of his church, 
 singles him out as the particular object of his 
 grace, and stoops down from heaven to bind up 
 his broken heart. A joyful message is sent to 
 all the sorrowful disciples, but Peter is peculiarly
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. 107 
 
 a mourner, and he receives from his Master a 
 special and more personal message of joy. Such 
 a message seemed necessary to restore him to his 
 former peace. It is not a light thing, that will 
 quiet the conscience of the Christian, after he has 
 been overcome by temptation. The storm which 
 sin occasions in his soul, cannot easily be soothed 
 into a calm. The wells of salvation, from which 
 he had before drawn water with joy, seem now to 
 be utterly empty, or barred up against him ; all 
 the common means of comfort have lost their 
 power ; and the mourning Christian wants some 
 special interposition of grace and mercy, before he 
 can again cherish in his heart a hope of pardon 
 and acceptance. 
 
 In the mysterious riches of his goodness, the 
 Lord sometimes vouchsafes to his saints, in these 
 seasons, peculiar consolations. He recalls their 
 soul, " tossed with tempest and not comforted," 
 from the contemplation of its own depravity, and 
 tells it to look again with the eye of faith on the 
 cross of his Son. In the midst of their sighing 
 and tears, he leads them to their Saviour, enables 
 them to cast on him the heavy burden of their sin, 
 and leaves them rejoicing in his salvation. He 
 does not indeed hastily chase away their sorrows ; 
 they are often left to feel much of the bitterness 
 of their sin, and to mourn long over its shame ; 
 but, in the end, the darkness which transgression
 
 108 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S 
 
 has spread over their souls, is generally dispersed ; 
 the day-star arises in their hearts, and the night of 
 their mourning is ended. Year after year the 
 fallen David had his sin ever before him, and 
 watered his couch with his tears ; and yet a God 
 of pardoning mercy met him at length, and 
 brought peace to his soul. These were the last 
 words of David, the son of Jesse, "Although my 
 house be not so with God, yet he hath made 
 with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all 
 things and sure ; for this is all my salvation and 
 all my desire." 
 
 4. By sending to his fallen disciple this mes- 
 sage, Jesus reminds us also, that the contrite sin- 
 ner may draw much comfort and hope from his 
 resurrection. 
 
 What was the joyful message that he sent to 
 Peter ? It was this, that he was risen from the 
 dead. Peter also, in the first chapter of his first 
 epistle, seems to make a distant allusion to the 
 means by which his heart was restored to its wont- 
 ed peace. " Blessed," says he, " be the God and 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according 
 to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again 
 unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ from the dead." This too was the saluta- 
 tion with which the primitive Christians cheered 
 each other under their sufferings ; on the morn- 
 ing of every sabbath, these joyful words were
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. 109 
 
 heard in their assemblies from every mouth. "The 
 Lord is risen." 
 
 How is it then, brethren, that we draw so little 
 comfort from a fountain, from which these early 
 saints drew so much ? The great reason is, we 
 do not go for it there ; we do not endeavour to 
 know the power of the Saviour's resurrection ; we 
 do not understand its importance, or feel its efficacy. 
 If it were duly considered by us, properly un- 
 derstood, and effectually applied by the Holy 
 Spirit to our minds, we should see that it is able 
 to cheer the most dejected soul, and to put life 
 and spirit into the faintest heart. 
 
 4 
 
 III. Let us now take a hasty view of the mes- 
 sengers who were employed to bear this message. 
 
 1. It was entrusted first to an angel. Saint 
 Mark describes him as " a young man," but Saint 
 Matthew calls him " the angel of the Lord." 
 
 But why should an angel be called on to carry 
 such a message as this ? The feet of the hum- 
 blest messenger with these glad tidings of good 
 would have appeared beautiful upon the moun- 
 tains, and would have been hailed with acclama- 
 tions of joy. It pleased Jesus however to entrust 
 the news of his resurrection to a heavenly mes- 
 senger. He had heard the multitude of his hea- 
 venly hosts exulting with joy, when they were 
 allowed to make known his birth to the wonder-
 
 110 THE NEWS OF CHRISTS 
 
 ing shepherds; he had experienced their sym- 
 pathy in the wilderness, in the garden, and pro- 
 bably on the cross; and now he singles out one 
 from their number to proclaim his triumph over 
 death and the grave. Neither was it a common 
 angel, that he chose ; it was " the angel of the 
 Lord," his own angel, the highest and most fa- 
 voured archangel in his courts. 
 
 Mark too how this dignified messenger seems 
 to rejoice in his work, and to think himself ho- 
 noured by it ! He descends from heaven to take 
 his station at the tomb, as one bringing the news 
 of a triumph, and arrayed in its emblems. " His 
 countenance was like lightning, and his raiment," 
 like a conqueror's robe, " was white as snow." 
 
 Now this glorious spirit was employed on this 
 occasion by Jesus, not only to do honour to him- 
 self, but to teach us a lesson. He would teach 
 us by it, that the breach between us and the angels 
 is healed. 
 
 The angels were originally the friends of the 
 inhabitants of the earth. They had a different 
 place of residence, but they were the children of 
 the same common parent and members of the 
 same family, and there was between them and us 
 a sweet communion and friendship. But when 
 man by his disobedience forfeited the favour of 
 God, he forfeited with it the love of the angels. 
 Sin disunited heaven and earth, destroyed the
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. Ill 
 
 harmony between them, and put an en d totheir 
 intercourse. This separation however was not an 
 eternal one. We are no sooner reconciled to God 
 by the blood of his Son, than we become recon- 
 ciled to the angels also. As holy and faithful 
 beings, they were constrained to take part with 
 Jehovah in his controversy with man, and they 
 now rejoice to welcome back again to his family 
 the pardoned rebel. Hence says the apostle, when 
 speaking of the Redeemer, " It pleased the Father 
 that in him should all fulness dwell ; and, having 
 made peace through the blood of his cross, by him 
 to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I 
 say, whether they be things in earth or things in 
 heaven." The angels therefore again regard us as 
 friends, and love us as brethren. Nay, more ; 
 they are made our ministering servants, and do 
 not disdain the office. We are told that they are 
 " sent forth to minister unto them who shall be 
 heirs of salvation." 
 
 And is it not a cheering reflection, brethren, 
 that in all our trials, sorrows, and difficulties, not 
 only is Jesus with us, but his angels also are round 
 about us, and ready to guard and help us ; the 
 same angels that fed Elijah in the wilderness, 
 that released Peter from prison, that cheered Paul 
 in the storm, and comforted and strengthened the 
 Saviour in the hour of his agony ? 
 
 But this thought is serious as well as cheering.
 
 112 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S 
 
 Am I always surrounded by the holy angels of 
 God ? Are they the constant witnesses of my 
 conduct ? Do they see all the actions of my sin- 
 ful life, and hear all the words of my unclean lips ? 
 O how often then have I grieved them ! Into what 
 scenes and into what society have I taken them ! 
 O let me for the future reverence my heavenly 
 attendants ! Let me watch my actions, and words, 
 and thoughts, that I may grieve them no more. 
 Never let me dare to lead them again into scenes 
 of vanity and sin. 
 
 We may learn also from the appearance of an 
 angel on this occasion, that the contrite sinner is 
 peculiarly an object of love to the heavenly hosts. 
 We are told that " there is joy in heaven over a 
 sinner that repenteth," and here is a confirmation of 
 the saying. The angel of the Lord has compassion 
 on the weeping Peter, and rejoices to take to him 
 a cup of consolation. 
 
 What a lesson for ministers, what a lesson for 
 every Christian, is here ! It is a heavenly work 
 to comfort the sorrowful. The angels delight in 
 it; they are willing to leave heaven to be em 
 ployed in it. Shall we then despise it ? Shall we 
 turn away from the brother who is mourning for 
 sin, and leave no word of comfort behind us ? No. 
 Let us bear one another's spiritual burdens, and 
 " so fulfil the law of Christ." Let us take up 
 the words of the angel, and say to all who are
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. 113 
 
 broken in heart and enquiring for a Saviour, 
 " Fear not ye ; for I know that ye seek Jesus 
 which was crucified." 
 
 2. But the angel of the Lord was not the only 
 messenger employed to convey the news of Christ's 
 resurrection to Peter. Three poor women receive 
 the message from the lips of this heavenly herald, 
 and carry it to the mourning penitent. 
 
 It might have been supposed that Christ would 
 have made known his resurrection first to Pilate 
 and Herod who had crucified him, and to the 
 Jews who had rejected him. He would thus 
 have convinced them of their guilt, and wiped off 
 the scandal of his cross. But if the punishment 
 of his enemies and the vindication of his own 
 character appear for a season to be forgotten, we 
 shall surely find the risen Jesus anxious to put 
 honour upon his disciples, and shewing himself 
 first to them. But no ; the first tidings they hear 
 of his triumph come from Mary Magdalene, and 
 from two other women, her companions in poverty 
 and meanness. O what a reproof must this have 
 been, not to Peter only, but to all the apostles! 
 And how richly had they merited it ! Peter had 
 denied him, and they had all forsaken him and 
 fled. But these faithful women had never de- 
 serted him. Throughout his life, they were ever 
 near him ministering to his wants ; and in his 
 death, nothing could divide them from him. With 
 
 VOL. i. r
 
 114 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S 
 
 a fortitude which fills us with admiration and al- 
 most with wonder, they stood near his cross, wit- 
 nessed his agonies, and heard his dying groan. 
 After his death, none of the cowardly apostles 
 came near the mangled body of their Master, but 
 these women assisted at his burial, and followed 
 him to the grave. And when his funeral was 
 over, they sat down over against his sepulchre to 
 weep, and could be prevailed on to leave it only 
 by the duties of the sabbath. Neither was their 
 labour of love yet ended. " In the end of the 
 sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first 
 day of the week," the very first moment their 
 duty to God allowed them to testify their affec- 
 tion for their Friend, we see them going again to 
 his sepulchre with." sweet spices, that they might 
 anoint him." 
 
 Here then we may perceive the reason why 
 these three women were thus distinguished. They 
 had been first in love, and affection, and service ; 
 it was but right therefore, that they should be 
 first in honour and reward. " Them that honour 
 me," saith the Lord, " I will honour ; and they 
 that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed." 
 
 There is something remarkable too in the hasty 
 manner in which these women were sent with 
 the tidings of Christ's resurrection to Peter. We 
 are told by Saint Matthew, that the angel invited 
 them to attend the sepulchre of their risen Lord,
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. 115 
 
 and to see the place where he lay ; but scarcely 
 had they taken a glance at the empty tomb, when 
 they were hastily sent away from it. " Go your 
 way," said the angel, " go quickly and tell his 
 disciples and Peter, that he is risen from the 
 dead." They accordingly "departed quickly from 
 the sepulchre with fear and great joy, and did 
 run to bring his disciples word." Why then were 
 these women thus hastily dismissed ? There was 
 nothing sinful in the feelings which a view of the 
 tomb of their Saviour was likely to excite ; but 
 they were not suffered to stay there to indulge 
 them, that we might be taught that pious feelings 
 must lead to pious actions ; that religious medita- 
 tion must often give way to the active duties of 
 life. It is good and sweet to think of Christ, but 
 it is better to act for Christ. " He is the best 
 servant," says an old writer, " not that delights to 
 stand in his master's presence, but that carefully 
 minds and diligently goes about his master's 
 business." 
 
 One active Christian, brethren, is worth a thou- 
 sand merely contemplative admirers of the gospel. 
 It is the working servant, that receives wages ; it 
 is the fighting soldier, that has for his reward a 
 triumph and a crown. Religious actions must 
 indeed have their origin in religious affections. 
 The religion of the gospel cannot live in the heart, 
 which has not first learned to think and to feel. 
 
 i 2
 
 116 THE NEWS OF CHRIST'S 
 
 But then what are those feelings worth, which 
 have no influence on the disposition and the con- 
 duct ? They may resemble the workings of the 
 pious heart, but there is no real piety in them, 
 none of " the power of godliness." It is one thing 
 to have a studious mind or a lively imagination, 
 and another thing to have Christ in the soul, " the 
 hope of glory." It is very possible too, even when 
 the great realities of religion have been lodged in 
 the mind, to raise one duty to an undue pre-emi- 
 nence over others, to give to the exercises of de- 
 
 7 c3 
 
 votion a portion of that time, which ought to be 
 devoted to works of charity and labours of love. 
 We can never be too earnest then in watching 
 our treacherous hearts, and bringing all their 
 workings to this simple standard of the gospel, 
 " By their fruits ye shall know them." We can 
 never be too earnest in our endeavours to resem- 
 ble him who " went about doing good ;" in aiming 
 to bring forth much fruit to the glory of God. 
 
 Go your way then, you who, like these women, 
 profess to seek a crucified, and to rejoice in a risen 
 Jesus ; go your way, you who, like Peter, know 
 what it is to mourn for sin, and to receive pardon 
 and comfort from a merciful Saviour ; go your 
 way, and bind up the broken heart, and speak 
 peace to the troubled soul ; go and comfort others 
 with the comforts, wherewith you yourselves have 
 been comforted of God ; go and publish to a world
 
 RESURRECTION SENT TO PETER. 117 
 
 of sinners, by all the means which a bountiful 
 Providence has placed within your power, those 
 joyful tidings which have been sent to you in your 
 Bibles ; go and send this good news round a pe- 
 rishing world, that " Christ Jesus came into the 
 world to save sinners ;" that whosoever cometh to 
 him shall " in no wise" be cast out ; that all who 
 are weary and heavy laden with the burden of 
 their griefs and sins, may come to him and find 
 rest to their troubled souls.
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 EPHESIANS iii. 8. 
 Less than the least of all saints. 
 
 THE man who has left us this record of himself, 
 was one of the holiest and most exalted saints 
 that ever graced the Christian church. He seems 
 to have entered more into the spirit of his Mas- 
 ter, than any of his followers, and to have re- 
 ceived from him more abundant honour. And 
 yet in the midst of his attainments, even while 
 standing on the eminence to which divine mercy 
 had raised him, we find this distinguished apostle 
 humbling himself in the dust. He who has been 
 for ages the delight and admiration of the church, 
 here styles himself " less than the least of all 
 saints ;" and as though even this were too honour- 
 able a name for him to bear, we see him, in 
 another place, abasing himself still more; he deems
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 119 
 
 himself unworthy to be called an apostle, and 
 takes this as his more appropriate title, " The 
 chief of sinners." 
 
 This deep humility in a saint of this exalted 
 eminence, may well excite our admiration ; but 
 let not admiration be its only fruit. It invites 
 us to go and sit at his feet, and learn of him. 
 It calls upon us to be more " meek and lowly 
 in heart ;" to have a more abiding sense of our 
 meanness, unworthiness, and guilt ; to walk more 
 humbly with our God. 
 
 With these objects in view, let us enquire, 
 first, in what the humility of Saint Paul consisted ; 
 and, secondly, by what means that spirit of self- 
 abasement which reigned in him, may be habitu- 
 ally maintained in our own hearts. 
 
 I. In what did the humility of Saint Paul con- 
 sist? How did it manifest itself? The slightest 
 acquaintance with his character leaves us no 
 room to suspect that it consisted in words only. 
 There is such an appearance of simplicity and 
 honesty in his writings, that they give us at once 
 a full conviction that the humility which appears 
 in his language, was to be found also in his heart 
 and life. A reference to his writings will con- 
 sequently be just as satisfactory, as a reference to 
 his history, and perhaps as instructive. 
 
 1 . We cannot take even the most hasty glance
 
 120 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 at the writings of this apostle, without at once 
 noticing the entire submission of his mind to the 
 gospel of Christ, the simple and hearty reception 
 which he gave to every divine truth. 
 
 He had naturally just the same proud heart 
 that we have, and hated the humiliating doctrines 
 connected with the cross of Christ, as much as 
 we hate them. Nay, they were more offensive to 
 him than they are to us. They were opposed, 
 not only to those common workings of pride 
 which we all feel, but to a multitude of prejudices 
 peculiar to himself, or to the age and country in 
 which he lived. He was a Jew, he was a scholar 
 of Gamaliel, he was a man of strong intellectual 
 powers ; and yet all the prejudices of the Jew, 
 all the pride of the scholar, and all the dictates 
 of worldly wisdom, were torn out of his heart ; 
 and the once proud and haughty Saul is seen 
 sitting at the feet of the carpenter's son, humble 
 and teachable as a little child. Read his epistles 
 to the Romans and Galatians, brethren, and see 
 how low the grace of God can humble the proudest 
 mind. We do not find him endeavouring, in 
 these epistles, to accommodate the doctrines of 
 the gospel to his former opinions, reducing and 
 qualifying them to make them square with the 
 feelings of the Jew or the pride of the philo- 
 sopher; he receives them, in all their humiliating 
 force, with simplicity and godly sincerity. Every
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 121 
 
 imagination, " every high thing " which had so 
 long exalted itself in his mind " against the 
 knowledge of God," seems to be utterly cast down, 
 and every thought brought " into captivity to the 
 obedience of Christ." 
 
 This entire submission of the mind to God is 
 no common attainment. It is no trifling change 
 of heart, no common humility, that will lead a 
 man to it. We love to bring the declarations of 
 God to the standard of our corrupt reason before 
 we receive them. If they are opposed to this 
 standard, we too often endeavour to wrest them 
 from their meaning ; and when they will not bear 
 to be thus misinterpreted, we do not hesitate to 
 disbelieve and reject them. Thousands who seem 
 as though they could have triumphed over the 
 depravity of the flesh, have fallen a sacrifice to the 
 corruption of their understandings, and the pride 
 of their own foolish minds. 
 
 2. The writings of Saint Paul prove the great- 
 ness of his humility by shewing us, secondly, that 
 the highest spiritual attainments could not make 
 him forget his meanness and guilt. 
 
 There are indeed some professors of the gospel 
 risen up in our day, who would object to such a 
 test of humility as this. They seem to regard it 
 as the very perfection of religion to forget their 
 iniquities, and to look upon themselves as spotless 
 in the sight of God. But mark the difference
 
 122 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 between such professors and this humble Paul. 
 He knew as much of the fulness of redemption as 
 any of us, and had tasted as much of the savour 
 of the grace of Christ. He had been taken up too 
 into the third heaven, and beheld there glo- 
 rious revelations which had never been beheld be- 
 fore by mortal eye ; and heard there words 
 which it is not lawful or possible for a man to 
 utter. And yet what was his language ? What, 
 in the midst of these attainments and honours, 
 was his opinion of himself? Did he forget his 
 sins ? Never. Throughout every period of his 
 life, his guilt seems as present to his mind, as at 
 the hour of his conversion. " I was," he says, 
 " a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious." 
 And lest we should suppose that he thought only 
 of his former iniquities, he says, " I am the chief 
 of sinners." " I am carnal, sold under sin." 
 
 The fact is, that an enlarged view of the mer- 
 cies of God in Christ Jesus must humble the soul, 
 must remind it continually, not only of its former 
 guilt, but of its present vileness. The Christian 
 is always the lowest in his own esteem, when his 
 hope in divine grace is the highest. He is always 
 the poorest in himself, when he sees himself the 
 most rich in Christ. 
 
 3. The sense which the apostle had of his own 
 sinfulness, did not however prevent him from 
 seeing and acknowledging what divine grace had
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 123 
 
 done for his soul, and what it had enabled him 
 to do for God. He sometimes mentions these 
 things in his writings, but he never mentions 
 them without affording us another proof of his 
 lowliness of heart a marked anxiety to give all 
 the glory of all his labours and attainments to 
 God. We never find him taking any part of the 
 praise to himself, but always expressly disclaim- 
 ing it. He seems afraid of ascribing something 
 to his own merit or power, and of robbing his 
 Saviour of his honour. Lest the glory of Jesus 
 should be lessened, he takes the crown of excel- 
 lency off his own head, and, like the angels in 
 heaven, he casts it down before the throne of the 
 Lamb, as though he were unwilling, as well as 
 unworthy, to wear the meanest crown in his pre- 
 sence. Thus we find him saying of himself in his 
 first epistle to the Corinthians, " I am the least 
 of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an 
 apostle, because I persecuted the church of God : 
 but by the grace of God I am what I am ; and his 
 grace which was bestowed upon me, was not in 
 vain, but I laboured more abundantly than they 
 all ;" and then he adds, as though he had said too 
 much, " Yet not I, but the grace of God which 
 was with me." 
 
 4. The humility of Saint Paul was manifested 
 also in the low opinion which he had of himself, 
 when compared with his Christian brethren. He
 
 124 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 speaks not, in the text, the unmeaning language 
 of compliment, but the language of godly since- 
 rity. The apostle wrote as he felt. His lowliness 
 of mind had really taught him to esteem others 
 better than himself. When he takes a view of his 
 own character, he seems to find in himself nothing 
 but infirmity and sin ; but when he looks at 
 others, all their failings are out of his sight, and 
 he sees only their excellencies. 
 
 This spirit of charity was the natural result of 
 the apostle's humility. The man who walks hum- 
 bly with his God, will always be distinguished 
 by it ; he will always deem his own guilt pecu- 
 liarly aggravated, and greater than that of any of 
 his brethren. The reason is obvious. He sees 
 the iniquity which dwells in his own heart, while 
 the corruptions that are struggling in the hearts 
 of others, are hidden from his view. He has an 
 intimate knowledge of the sins of his own life, 
 but a remote and slight view of the sinful conduct 
 of others. A wounded man feels the pain of his 
 own wound, while he can only guess at the pain 
 of his suffering neighbour. Hence we find, that 
 true humility, while it brings to light our own 
 sins, is ever sure to cover a multitude of the sins 
 of others. The man who is the most sensible of 
 his own failings, will always be heard to talk the 
 least of the failings of others. It is the proud 
 man, the proud professor of the gospel, who is the
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 125 
 
 reviling man, the censorious professor. Pride 
 takes a pleasure in bringing to light the infirmities 
 of others, that itself may be exalted ; while humi- 
 lity delights in contemplating their excellencies, 
 that it may be cast down by them still lower, and 
 be led to imitate their graces. 
 
 5. The humility of Saint Paul consisted, lastly, 
 in his simple dependence upon Christ. 
 
 If ever man had any thing in himself, in which 
 he might safely hope, it was surely this apostle. 
 Read the account he gives us of himself before 
 his conversion. " Circumcised," he says, " the 
 eighth day ; of the stock of Israel ; of the tribe of 
 Benjamin ; a Hebrew of the Hebrews ; as touch- 
 ing the law, a pharisee ; concerning zeal, perse- 
 cuting the church ; touching the righteousness 
 which is in the law, blameless." 
 
 And what had he to boast of after divine grace 
 had brought him to a knowledge of the gospel ? 
 If we would obtain an answer to this enquiry, 
 we must not refer merely to his journey ings and 
 labours in the cause of Christ, to his " weari- 
 ness and painfulness," his " watchings and fast- 
 ings," his " hunger and thirst," his " cold and 
 nakedness :" we must ascend into heaven, and 
 count the number of those rejoicing saints who, 
 through his means, have been saved from destruc- 
 tion ; we must estimate the glory which their re- 
 demption will for ever throw around the throne
 
 126 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 of Jehovah. When we have done this, we shall 
 know something of what Saint Paul had to lean 
 on. And yet what is it that we find him actually 
 depending on, actually hoping in ? His graces 
 as a Christian ? His labours as an apostle ? His 
 success as a minister ? He seems to shrink from 
 the very thought. We find in him the most sim- 
 ple trust, the most undivided reliance, on the free 
 mercy of his Saviour. He seeks the salvation of 
 his soul, as though he were indeed the greatest of 
 sinners, the vilest of the children of men. 
 
 The source of this simple reliance on Christ 
 must be sought for in that humility, in that deep 
 and abiding sense of his own unworthiness, which 
 the Holy Spirit had lodged in the apostle's heart. 
 This was the one great reason why all the 
 powers of his mind, and all the strength of his 
 body, were employed in making known the salva- 
 tion of the cross ; this was the reason why he 
 endeavoured with so much fear and trembling to 
 secure it for himself he felt, more perhaps than 
 any other sinner ever felt, his wretchedness, his 
 helplessness, without it. It was this, which made 
 him so cheerfully " suffer the loss of all things, 
 that he might win Christ." It was this, which 
 made him so anxious to renounce all confidence in 
 his own righteousness, and seek so earnestly that 
 righteousness which is through the faith of Christ. 
 It was this, which made him glory so much in the
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 127 
 
 cross of Jesus, and desire so ardently to be found 
 in him. 
 
 Without this deep conviction of the guilt and 
 helplessness of our state, and that humility of 
 spirit which flows from it, all that Christ has done 
 and suffered for sinners will profit us nothing. 
 Our proud hearts will never stoop to accept his 
 terms of salvation. We shall either scoff at his 
 gospel, and openly trample upon the blood which 
 gives efficacy to its promises, or we shall corrupt 
 and disfigure it. We shall not love it in its sim- 
 plicity. In one shape or other, self will be intro- 
 duced into it, and made the ground of our confi- 
 dence. We may have too much knowledge of the 
 scriptures to think of purchasing the glories of 
 heaven by the decency of our conduct, or the be- 
 nevolence of our hearts, or the usefulness of our 
 lives ; but we may place the same self-righteous 
 dependence in fancied excellencies of another 
 kind, that our brethren around us are placing in 
 these. We may rest our hope of acceptance with 
 God on our faith, our knowledge of the gospel, our 
 convictions of sin, our frames and feelings, or 
 even on our pretended humility ; and as effec- 
 tually ruin our souls, as though we hoped for sal- 
 vation from our almsgiving and prayers. Nothing 
 but a heartfelt sense of our sinfulness and wretch- 
 edness will lead us to the cross of Jesus, and keep 
 us near it. Dependence on Christ must flow
 
 128 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 from humility of heart. If we are destitute of the 
 one, we shall be destitute also of the other. We 
 must know our need and danger, before we shall 
 seek a remedy or look around for help. It is the 
 sick man, who applies to a physician ; it is the 
 man who feels that he cannot heal himself, that 
 lets his physician do with him whatsoever he will ; 
 it is the man who feels the pain of his sickness 
 the most severely, that goes to his physician the 
 most frequently. 
 
 II. These then are some of the marks of true 
 humility, which may be traced in the character of 
 Saint Paul. Other proofs of the lowliness of his 
 mind might be mentioned, but we must proceed 
 to enquire, secondly, by what means that spirit of 
 self-abasement which reigned in his heart, may be 
 habitually maintained in our own. 
 
 But in making this enquiry and others of a 
 similar nature, let us never forget that we have no 
 power in ourselves to do any thing as of our- 
 selves. We are not able to plant a single grace 
 in our hearts ; and when any spiritual seed has 
 been planted there, we have no power to keep it 
 alive, and cause it to bring forth fruit. Every 
 grace is the gift of God, his free gift, a gift as 
 freely bestowed, as the rain that comes down from 
 heaven. If then we imagine that we can humble 
 our own proud hearts by our own strength, we
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 129 
 
 shall be disappointed. That pride which is the 
 curse of our nature, has struck its roots too 
 deeply within us, for any human arm to pluck it 
 thence. 
 
 But though we are thus impotent in ourselves, 
 the Holy Spirit generally works his purposes of 
 grace by the use of means, and through these 
 means he allows, yea, he commands us to seek his 
 grace. He has thus given us ample encourage- 
 ment to endeavour to stretch forth the withered 
 arm. His invitations and commands afford us 
 the strongest assurance, that he is at this very 
 moment seated on a throne of grace, waiting 
 there to be gracious, and ready to pour down 
 his richest spiritual gifts on the head of every 
 praying sinner. Are we then earnestly desir- 
 ing a more humble frame of mind ? " Let us 
 lift up our eyes to those everlasting hills from 
 whence cometh our help." Let us seek it of God ; 
 and entreat him to bestow it on us through those 
 means and channels in which his servant Paul 
 obtained it, and through which he is hourly be- 
 stowing it on a thousand seeking hearts. 
 
 1. One of these means must immediately occur 
 to our minds ; it is this a frequent remembrance 
 of our former iniquities, and an abiding sense of 
 our present corruptions. 
 
 This consciousness of guilt was not only one of 
 the effects of Saint Paul's humility, it was the 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 principal root from which it sprung. In the 
 midst of his greatness, he remembered Saul of 
 Tarsus, and was humbled. He thought of the in- 
 firmities which still cleaved to him, and was con- 
 strained to abase himself before his God. 
 
 We are much inclined to turn away from this 
 contemplation of our sinfulness. It is humilia- 
 ting, it is painful to us, and we endeavour to per- 
 suade ourselves that it is unnecessary. Because 
 God has graciously promised to deal with us as 
 though he remembered our iniquities no more, we 
 are tempted to think that he has really forgotten 
 them, and that we need no longer have them in 
 remembrance. Here however we err. The re- 
 deemed and sanctified servant of God has just as 
 much need to have a lively sense of his transgres- 
 sions, as the most hardened and defiled sinner. 
 Any system of religion, brethren, which tends in 
 the least degree to make the soul regard itself in 
 any other light than as altogether vile and sinful, 
 is not the religion of the Bible. It may seem on 
 the first view to magnify the Saviour, but it will 
 most surely lower our conceptions of him. It may 
 appear calculated to bring comfort to the soul, 
 but it is much more calculated to bring to it per- 
 plexity, conceit, and pride. The simple gospel of 
 Christ, while it exalts the Holy One of Israel in 
 the very highest degree, sinks the sinner, even the 
 converted sinner, to the very lowest. Who ever
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 131 
 
 thought more highly of Christ, than Paul ? and 
 who ever thought more lowly of himself? 
 
 However high your attainments in religion may 
 be, look therefore, with this great apostle, " to 
 the rock, whence ye were hewn ; and to the hole 
 of the pit, whence ye were digged." Think of the 
 many hours, and days, and years, you once spent 
 in the service of the world and Satan. Perhaps 
 too you can remember the time, when you treated 
 religion with derision. It opposed your sinful 
 practices, and you hated it ; it wounded your 
 pride, and you scorned it. You delighted in pour- 
 ing contempt on the gospel of Christ, and on all 
 who appeared to you really attached to it. Think 
 too of the sins by which you have been denied 
 since you began to seek heavenly things. Has 
 your conduct during the latter years of your life 
 been always " such as becometh the gospel of 
 Christ ?" Have you always walked as " children 
 of the light ?" Alas, no ! Into how many out- 
 ward iniquities have some of us fallen, and of how 
 many inward transgressions are we all conscious ! 
 A disgraceful catalogue of sins might easily be 
 enumerated, that would make us appear hateful 
 to ourselves ; and if our sins are objects of ab- 
 horrence to ourselves, what must they be to that 
 holy Being, in whose sight the heavens are not 
 clean ? He has seen them ; he remembers them 
 all. He has " set our misdeeds before him, and 
 
 K 2
 
 132 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 our secret sins in the light of his countenance." 
 Let this reflection lead us also to remember our 
 iniquities. Let it influence us to strive daily to 
 discover our own imperfections, what is amiss in 
 us and wherein we are defective. Let us think 
 more of what we want, than of what we have at- 
 tained. Instead of being ready to pride ourselves 
 on our knowledge and goodness, let us rather sit 
 down and mourn that we are still so ignorant, still 
 so corrupt. Remember, my Christian brethren, 
 what you once were ; remember what you still 
 are, notwithstanding all that divine grace has 
 done for you : and if you can then find cause for 
 pride and boasting, " Your spot is not the spot of 
 my children," saith the Lord. 
 
 2. If we would habitually maintain an humble 
 frame of mind, we must have a lively sense of the 
 freeness and fulness of divine mercy, of that mercy 
 which God has bestowed upon us through his 
 Son. 
 
 Saint Paul had tasted of this mercy. It had 
 enriched his soul, and made him the most zealous 
 preacher of its glad tidings, that ever graced the 
 church of God. He seems to have had deeper 
 and more enlarged views of its unsearchable 
 riches, than any other saint ; and yet never was 
 any man more humble than he. 
 
 Nothing indeed softens and humbles the heart, 
 like a sense of pardoning mercy and redeeming
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 133 
 
 grace. The Christian can sometimes think of his 
 manifold iniquities, and be but little affected by 
 the remembrance ; but a thought of the love of 
 Jesus towards his guilty soul generally touches 
 and abases him. It was pardoning mercy, that 
 made the poor woman who had been a sinner, 
 fall down at the feet of her Saviour and weep. 
 It was mercy, that made David exclaim, " Who 
 am I, O Lord God, and what is mine house, that 
 thou hast brought me hitherto ?" It is mercy, that 
 still makes the heart of many a sinner lowly and 
 contrite. 
 
 Fix your thoughts then, brethren, more fre- 
 quently and more closely on that wonderful love, 
 wherewith the Father has loved you. Think of 
 its beginning in the councils of eternity. Think 
 of its freeness, its greatness, its unchangeableness. 
 Think of that depth of misery from which it has 
 raised you, and of that height of blessedness to 
 which it is gradually lifting you. If such thoughts 
 as these never humble you, write bitter things 
 against yourselves, and deem yourselves strangers 
 to the grace of Christ. 
 
 3. The Christian will also find his humility 
 increased by frequently meditating on the infinite 
 purity and majesty of the living God. 
 
 It is a sight of the divine greatness and ho- 
 liness, which enables us to see our own meanness 
 and guilt. It is this, that brings to nought the
 
 134 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 glory of man and stains his honour. It was this, 
 that drew from Isaiah so touching an acknowledg- 
 ment of his pollution. " Woe is me !" he ex- 
 claimed as he saw the Lord sitting on his high 
 and holy throne ; '' Woe is me ! for I am undone ; 
 because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell 
 in the midst of a people of unclean lips ; for mine 
 eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." It 
 was this, that made Job abhor himself, and re- 
 pent in dust and ashes. It was this too, which 
 made Saint Paul so conscious of his own im- 
 perfections. In his way to Damascus, he saw 
 something of the glory of Christ, and when he 
 was taken up into the third heavens, he un- 
 doubtedly saw more of it than it was lawful 
 for him to utter. The effect which the view 
 that had been vouchsafed to him, left upon 
 his mind, may in some degree be seen in the 
 first chapter of his epistle to the Hebrews, and 
 in his epistle to Timothy, where he calls Christ, 
 " The blessed and only Potentate, the King of 
 kings and Lord of lords; who only hath im- 
 mortality ; dwelling in the light which no man 
 can approach unto ; whom no man hath seen, 
 nor can see." If we then would walk humbly 
 with our God, let us set him always before us in 
 his spotless holiness and awful greatness. With 
 the Bible in our hands and a fervent prayer in 
 our hearts, let us endeavour to behold him that
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL, 135 
 
 is invisible ; and even the distant prospect of the 
 divine glory to which our feeble eyes can reach, 
 will constrain us to feel that no flesh can glory in 
 Jehovah's presence. 
 
 4. A due sense of the great importance of an 
 humble spirit will also have a tendency to keep us 
 low in our own eyes. 
 
 The grace of humility is not a merely ornamen- 
 tal grace, a something which it is desirable, but 
 not absolutely necessary, to possess. It lies at 
 the very root of all true religion. It is the source 
 from which almost every spiritual grace must 
 spring. Where this is wanting, every thing is 
 wanting. We may appear very religious and 
 have a high reputation for godliness, but if self- 
 abasement be not the corner-stone of the spiritual 
 temple, if the building rest not on this foundation, 
 it is raised upon the sand. The house may be 
 beautiful and even splendid ; it may appear to the 
 spectator firm ; but when the rain descends, and 
 the floods come, and the winds blow and beat 
 upon that house, it will assuredly fall, and great 
 will^be the fall of it. 
 
 Humility too can adorn the house, as well as 
 support it. " The Lord giveth grace to the hum- 
 ble," and not grace only, but honour and glory. 
 There is no mansion which he loves so well, as 
 a sinner's humbled heart. Yea, that " high and 
 lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 holy," dwells, not only " in the high and holy 
 place," but " with him also that is of a contrite 
 and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the hum- 
 ble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." 
 
 Humility also can do much for a man in the 
 present life. It can enable him, as it enabled 
 Saint Paul, " in whatsoever state'' he is, " there- 
 with to be content ;" it can fill his heart with 
 thankfulness ; it can keep him dependent upon 
 his God ; it can teach him how to bear the enmity 
 and reproach of a persecuting world ; amidst all 
 the ruffling storms of life, it can preserve within 
 his breast a heavenly calm. 
 
 5. If we would become more lowly in heart, 
 we must, finally, look more to Christ than we have 
 hitherto looked to him. We must look to him for 
 humility. We must regard him as our only 
 Sanctifier, as well as our only Saviour. We must 
 apply to him to subdue the pride of our hearts, as 
 well as to blot out their sins. 
 
 We must look to him also as a bright example 
 of humility. Compared with his self-abasement, 
 the humility of Saint Paul sinks into nothing. 
 As we look on the Babe of Bethlehem ; as we 
 behold the Master laying aside his garments, and 
 girding himself, and stooping down to wash his 
 disciples' feet ; as we follow the Man of sorrows 
 to the cross, and witness the degradation which 
 he suffered there ; the lowly Paul is no longer
 
 THE HUMILITY OF ST. PAUL. 137 
 
 thought of. We see the Son of God humbling 
 himself in the dust. We see the King of heaven 
 disrobing himself of all his glory, and clothing 
 himself in the mean and wretched garments of 
 fallen man. It was at the feet of Jesus, that the 
 apostle learned how to abase himself; and there 
 also, if we would have our lofty spirits humbled, 
 he sends us. " Let this mind be in you," he says, 
 " which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in 
 the form of God, thought it not robbery to be 
 equal with God, but made himself of no repu- 
 tation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
 and was made in the likeness of men ; and, being- 
 found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, 
 and became obedient unto death, even the death 
 of the cross."
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 THE COMPASSION OF THE HIGH PRIEST OF 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 HEBREWS iv. 15. 
 
 We have not an High Priest which cannot be 
 touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but 
 was in all points tempted like as we are, yet 
 without sin. 
 
 1 HIS is one of the most gracious and encouraging 
 declarations in the word of God. It has cheered 
 many a fainting heart, and restored many a wan- 
 dering soul to peace and hope. In the verse pre- 
 ceding it, the apostle speaks of Jesus, the great 
 High Priest of the church, as the Son of God ; as 
 having passed into the far distant heavens, and 
 entered into his glory. He speaks of him here 
 as the Son of man ; as being still the same com- 
 passionate Jesus that he was on earth, with a 
 heart as tender, and a love as strong.
 
 THE COMPASSION, &C. 139 
 
 That we may draw scriptural comfort from his 
 words, let us enquire, first, of what infirmities he 
 is here speaking ; secondly, what is implied in 
 Christ's being touched with the feeling of them ; 
 and, thirdly, what reasons we have to believe that 
 he really exercises this strong compassion. 
 
 I. We are to enquire, first, what infirmities are 
 spoken of in the text. 
 
 The apostle calls them " our infirmities," the 
 infirmities of himself and of the Hebrew Chris- 
 tians to whom he was writing. His words must 
 consequently be applied, in their full sense, to 
 the true Christian only, to the man who, like 
 Saint Paul, has been " washed, sanctified, and 
 justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by 
 the Spirit of our God." In one sense indeed the 
 ascended Jesus is touched with the infirmities of 
 all mankind ; he pities and often relieves them, 
 when suffering under them. But it is the sorrow 
 of his beloved church, which affects his heart the 
 most, and calls into exercise its deepest tender- 
 ness. 
 
 Still however the question recurs, With which 
 of the many infirmities of his servants is Jesus 
 touched ? And to this we may answer with con- 
 fidence, that he is touched with all of them. 
 All outward infirmities are the subjects of his 
 compassion poverty and want, hunger and
 
 140 THE COMPASSION OF THE 
 
 thirst, weariness and pain, sickness and death ; 
 and not only these natural evils, but all the cala- 
 mities which a persecuting world can heap on the 
 church contempt and disgrace, hatred and in- 
 justice, " cruel mockings and scourgings," 
 " bonds and imprisonment." All our inward in- 
 firmities also, are comprehended in the apostle's 
 words perplexity and trouble, fear and terror, 
 grief and anguish, the temptations of the world 
 and of Satan, a sense of the wrath of God. With 
 all these sources of suffering, Christ himself 
 was exercised or tempted, and the misery that 
 flows from them, he doubtless can still commise- 
 rate. 
 
 II. Let us go on to enquire what is meant by 
 his being touched with the feeling of them. 
 
 The double negative which the apostle has 
 employed in the text, is much stronger and more 
 expressive, than a direct affirmative would have 
 been, and seems to imply a livelier assurance, a 
 deeper conviction, of the fact. Here also it must 
 be observed that the word which is rendered 
 " touched with the feeling of," signifies to suffer 
 with another, to share his sorrows, to sympathize 
 with him under them. We are taught then by 
 this expression, that Christ sympathizes with his 
 people, just as one man sympathizes with another; 
 that he still retains all the affections of the human
 
 HIGH PRIEST OF THE CHURCH. 141 
 
 heart, and still delights to exercise them. We 
 do not indeed attempt to say how these affections 
 are exercised in a Being who is God as well as 
 man ; but though we may not always be able 
 fully to explain the declarations of God, yet if we 
 have humble and simple hearts, we can believe 
 them, and rejoice in the gracious truths they con- 
 tain, and adore the goodness of that Father of 
 mercies, who has caused them to be written in his 
 word for our comfort and salvation. But let us 
 take a closer view of this divine compassion. 
 
 1 . It evidently implies a knowledge of our injir- 
 mities. The expression used by the apostle inti- 
 mates that Christ sees, and notices, and remem- 
 bers them. 
 
 And his knowledge of them is an accurate, a 
 perfect knowledge. Our infirmities may be as 
 numerous as the sands on the sea-shore ; but none 
 of them escape his notice. They may be more 
 than we can number, but he numbers them all, 
 and has the account of them ever before him. 
 There is not one of them so small, as to be 
 deemed unworthy of his regard ; not one so 
 great, as to make him unwilling to concern him- 
 self in it. 
 
 His knowledge too is experimental, as well as 
 accurate. He knows by experience what our 
 trials are, for he has borne and carried them. He 
 has felt their weight, and pressure, and smart,
 
 142 THE COMPASSION OF THE 
 
 and still remembers every painful feeling with 
 which they wrung his soul. 
 
 2. This accurate and experimental knowledge 
 produces another effect implied in Christ's being 
 touched with a feeling of our infirmities sympa- 
 thy, a tender compassion for us while suffering 
 under our trials. We often know and see the 
 afflictions of one another, without our knowledge 
 
 ? O 
 
 producing any effect upon our minds ; but it is 
 not so with Christ. Our infirmities interest and 
 touch him. And this not in a slight degree. His 
 sympathy is a strong sympathy. When a good 
 man sees another in distress or misery, though 
 he be a stranger, he is moved with compassion 
 towards him ; but if the sufferer, instead of being 
 a stranger, be a beloved relative or friend, he 
 feels a much livelier interest in his sorrow, and 
 is more deeply affected with his condition. Thus 
 the Lord Jesus Christ feels for us, not merely as 
 we are objects of pity, but as the objects of his 
 tenderest love. He feels for us as his own be- 
 loved people, as those whom he has purchased 
 with his blood, and whom he regards as the 
 choicest treasures he possesses. He feels for 
 his people, as a brother feels for his brethren, 
 as a father for his child, as a husband for the 
 wife of his bosom. 
 
 The sympathy of Christ is as abiding too, as 
 it is strong. It is a constant, never failing sym-
 
 HIGH PRIEST OF THE CHURCH. 143 
 
 pathy. He does not have pity on us one hour, 
 and neglect us the next ; he does not weep with 
 us in this trial, and turn away from us in that ; 
 no ; he shares every sorrow with us ; and as long 
 as we are encompassed with infirmities, so long 
 will his compassion be exercised towards us. Nay 
 more ; he will sympathize with us, when all our 
 infirmities shall have past away ; he will share in 
 our joys in heaven, as well as in our sorrows upon 
 earth. Even in his kingdom above, whatever af- 
 fects us will affect him. He now mourns with us 
 in our sorrow, and he will there sing with us in 
 our joy. 
 
 3. To be touched with a feeling of our infir- 
 mities, implies, further, a readiness in Christ to 
 succour us under them. 
 
 The sympathy of Christ is not a merely senti- 
 mental thing. It is not that fashionable and much 
 applauded sensibility, which can weep over mi- 
 sery, and yet not stretch out a hand to relieve it. 
 It is an active principle. It leads the Saviour to 
 do for us all that, consistently with our welfare 
 and his glory, he can do ; to give us all the help, 
 and support, and comfort, which we need under 
 our afflictions, and, as soon as possible, a happy 
 issue out of them. He is indeed a wise, as well 
 as a tender Friend ; and he will not remove any 
 infirmity from us one moment before it will be 
 well for us to have it removed ; but then as long
 
 144 THE COMPASSION OF THE 
 
 as we are afflicted, he is afflicted. While we are 
 suffering, he is suffering also. Let this satisfy us. 
 Let it bring comfort to our souls under affliction, 
 and convince us that help and deliverance will 
 come in their proper season. 
 
 III. We may now proceed to enquire, thirdly, 
 what reasons we have to believe that Jesus is still 
 exercising this love and compassion towards the 
 infirmities of his saints. It is so great and won- 
 derful an act of condescension, that many a faith- 
 less heart may be ready to doubt its reality, or at 
 best be slow to believe it. We seem to want 
 something to encourage us to the belief of a fact 
 so strange to reason, so far above all expectation, 
 so much beyond all we could hope for or even 
 think of. The apostle however has given us in 
 this epistle abundant confirmation of the truth of 
 his assertion. 
 
 1. He tells us, first, that this was one of the 
 ends for which Christ took our nature upon him, 
 that he might be touched with its infirmities. 
 
 We read in the beginning of the chapter which 
 follows the text, that every high priest taken 
 from among men, must " have compassion on the 
 ignorant, and on them that are out of the way ; 
 for that he himself also is compassed with infir- 
 mity." It was necessary for Jesus therefore to be 
 made such a high priest as this. ' Wherefore,"
 
 HIGH PRIEST OF THE CHURCH. 145 
 
 says the apostle in the second chapter of this 
 epistle, " in all things it behoved him to be made 
 like unto his brethren, that he might be a merci- 
 ful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining 
 to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the 
 people ; for in that he himself hath suffered, 
 being tempted, he is able to succour them that 
 are tempted." His assuming our nature did not 
 indeed increase his mercifulness as God, for that, 
 before his incarnation, was infinite ; but it ena- 
 bled him, as man, to pity from experience. He 
 submitted to our infirmities, that he might not 
 only be merciful to us as a God of mercy, but 
 tender-hearted and compassionate towards us as a 
 Brother and a Friend. Now this being one of the 
 ends for which he became man, the constant exer- 
 cise of his sympathy is no more to be doubted, 
 than his incarnation itself. He was made man 
 not only that he might suffer for us, but that he 
 might suffer with us ; and as long as he remains 
 the great High Priest of the church, our sorrows 
 will be his sorrows, our trials his trials, and our 
 joys his joys. 
 
 2. The same truth will be evident, if we re- 
 member that it is a part of the Saviour's office as 
 the High Priest of his church, to be touched with 
 a feeling of its infirmities. 
 
 The appointment of the Levitical high priest, 
 as we learn from the passage of scripture which 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 THE COMPASSION OF THE 
 
 has already been referred to, had mercy and com- 
 passion in its very design. One branch of the 
 duties of his office had a reference chiefly to God, 
 and consisted in offering sacrifices to him ; while 
 the' other had a reference principally to the 
 people, and consisted in feeling for them, in being 
 touched with a compassionate sense of their in- 
 firmities and sins. Hence the names of the twelve 
 tribes were to be written upon the breast-plate of 
 the high priest when he went into the holy of ho- 
 lies, to remind him that it was his duty to remem- 
 ber all his brethren in the sacrifices and prayers 
 he offered there. 
 
 The same office Jesus has undertaken to sus- 
 tain for ever in the Christian church, and bound 
 himself to perform its duties. He has taken 
 upon himself an unchangeable priesthood in the 
 heavenly temple above, and will never be un- 
 faithful to those covenant-engagements into which 
 his love for his church led him to enter. He is 
 gone into the holy of holies with the names of all 
 his saints written on his heart, and he will for 
 ever remember there all their wants. He delights 
 to do all the will of God ; and he will not surely 
 neglect that part of it, which is connected with 
 the safety, the comfort, and the happiness, of the 
 people whom he has suffered so much degradation 
 and misery to save.
 
 HIGH PRIEST OF THE CHURCH. 147 
 
 The text which we have thus briefly considered, 
 will suggest to us a few practical inferences. 
 
 It reminds us, first, that the church of Christ 
 has never lost a privilege which has once been 
 granted to it, without receiving a greater. 
 
 The sacrifices and intercession connected with 
 the offices of the Levitical priesthood, were great 
 and valuable blessings, and many of the Jews 
 hesitated to embrace Christianity from a fear of 
 losing the benefits resulting from them. Hence 
 the apostle labours with a marked anxiety to 
 convince them, that so far from losing any of 
 their privileges by welcoming the gospel to their 
 hearts, they would have them all confirmed to 
 them, and unspeakably improved. 
 
 Had they sacrifices for sin under the law ? He 
 tells them that under the gospel they should have 
 the same, even the blood of the eternal Jesus, a 
 far more noble and effectual sacrifice than thou- 
 sands of rams or ten thousands of rivers of oil. 
 " Christ," he says, " being come an High Priest 
 of good things to come, by a greater and more 
 perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is 
 to say, not of this building ; neither by the blood 
 of goats and calves, but by his own blood ; he 
 entered in once into the holy place, having ob- 
 tained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood 
 of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, 
 sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying 
 
 L2
 
 148 ,THE COMPASSION OF THE 
 
 of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of 
 Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered 
 himself without spot to God, purge your con- 
 science from dead works to serve the living God?" 
 Had the Israelites under the law a high priest, 
 whose office was the life and glory of their 
 worship ? The apostle assures them that the 
 gospel of Jesus would not deprive them of this 
 privilege ; that all his followers have a High 
 Priest ministering and interceding for them in 
 the heavenly temple above, one " who is holy, 
 harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and 
 made higher than the heavens ; who needeth not 
 daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, 
 first for his own sins and then for the people's, for 
 this he did once when he offered up himself. For 
 the law maketh men high priests which have in- 
 firmity ; but the word of the oath, which was 
 since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated 
 for evermore." 
 
 Let us then never fear for the church of Christ. 
 From the creation of the world, the dispensations 
 of heaven towards it have been continually 
 changing, but by every change the church has 
 been a gainer ; and thus it will continue to be to 
 the end of time. Clouds may indeed rise at seasons 
 to darken its prospects, but they are always big 
 with mercy ; and will shower down a thousand 
 blessings on the church, as they roll over it.
 
 HIGH PRIEST OF THE CHURCH. 149 
 
 There is also in the text a never failing source 
 of consolation for every afflicted saint, a spring of 
 comfort, which will reach to every sort of trial, 
 and that too at every season. We are told that 
 Jesus, our great High Priest, " was in all points 
 tempted like as we are." 
 
 Are we tried with poverty ? Are we sometimes 
 so poor as to want even the necessaries of life ? 
 We cannot be poorer than the ascended Jesus 
 once was. Though he is now seated on a throne 
 in a glorious temple, there was a time when he 
 had not where to lay his sacred head. 
 
 Are we ill-treated in the world, misrepresented, 
 reproached, and hated ? Jesus too has suffered 
 hatred and reproach. " He was despised and 
 rejected of men," stricken, wounded, and bruised. 
 
 Have we been bereaved by death of our friends? 
 Does our sorrow spring from the grave of a moul- 
 dering parent or child, husband or wife ? Jesus 
 has stood by a grave, and groaned in the spirit as 
 sorrowfully as we, and wept as bitterly. 
 
 Are we friendless in the world, standing alone, 
 abandoned and forlorn ? How many friends had 
 Christ? A few poor fishermen. And how did 
 they act, when he most needed their friendship ? 
 They " all forsook him and fled." 
 
 Do our sorrows flow from spiritual causes? 
 from harassing temptations or the loss of religious 
 consolations ? The Son of God is no stranger to
 
 150 THE COMPASSION OF THE 
 
 such sufferings as these. He was tempted; he was 
 exceeding sorrowful ; he was forsaken by his God. 
 
 However diversified our trials may be, our High 
 Priest has felt the smart of them all. He has 
 tasted of all the sorrows of life and all the pains 
 of death, and knows by experience how to be 
 touched with a feeling of them. 
 
 What a source of consolation then is here 
 opened to every dejected spirit ! In all my troubles 
 and sorrows, Christ is near me, and pitying me, 
 and suffering with me. My poor body may be 
 racked with pain, my heart may ache, and my soul 
 be filled with fear and anguish ; but Jesus, my 
 Saviour, sees all my trials ; he has experienced 
 them, and knows exactly what I am now feeling 
 under them. While I am complaining, he is, 
 as it were, hanging over me, and weeping with me. 
 O then let me take contentedly my cup of suffer- 
 ing, and cheerfully drink the bitter draught! Let 
 me take up my cross, and rejoice to bear it, though 
 it may seem heavy to my feeble frame. Let me 
 look unto Jesus, and be comforted. 
 
 There is also in the text encouragement for 
 every penitent shiner who desires to return to God. 
 
 Can such a Saviour as this, with such a heart, 
 ever refuse to receive one contrite transgressor 
 who casts himself on his mercy ? Can he turn 
 away from one trembling soul ? Can he push back 
 the perishing sinner who flies to his cross for refuge?
 
 HIGH PRIEST OF THE CHURCH. 151 
 
 Sooner could a mother refuse to have compassion 
 on the son of her womb. Venture then to this 
 Saviour, brethren, and make trial of his com- 
 passion. He already knows all your misgivings 
 and fears ; he is touched with the feeling of them, 
 and is anxious to chase them all away. Take to 
 him your weary and heavy-laden souls ; commit 
 them into his hands ; and you shall find in him 
 the richest comfort and the sweetest rest. 
 
 The subject we have been considering reminds 
 us, further, of the duty of feeling one for another, 
 of making each other's sorrows our own. 
 
 To have Christ for his compassionate High 
 Priest, is the Christian's privilege ; to imitate his 
 compassion, is the Christian's duty ; not a duty 
 which may be dispensed with, but a duty which 
 he will most assuredly be led to perform and de- 
 light in, as soon as the love of God is shed abroad 
 in his heart. O that the meekness, and gentle- 
 ness, and tenderness, of Jesus may constrain us 
 all to be pitiful and kindly affectioned one to 
 another ! His compassion would produce this effect 
 in us, if we were really " followers of him as dear 
 children." The reason why we are censorious, 
 and uncharitable, and hard- hearted, is simply this 
 we have not the spirit of Christ, and are none 
 of his. Never let us deem ourselves Christians, 
 till we bear some faint resemblance to our com- 
 passionate Master. The religion which he puts into
 
 152 THE COMPASSION OF THE 
 
 the heart of his followers, softens the character, 
 sweetens the temper, enlivens all the tender affec- 
 tions of the soul, and fills it with kindness and 
 with love. 
 
 The apostle calls upon us in the text, finally, 
 to holdfast the prof ession of our faith. This indeed 
 seems to be the great end, for which he alludes, 
 in the passage before us, to the sympathy of Jesus. 
 " Seeing then," he says, " that we have a great 
 High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, 
 the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." 
 He then proceeds to tell us for our encouragement, 
 that this Jesus is touched with the feeling of our 
 infirmities ; that the ascended Saviour knows all 
 the difficulties, all the trials and struggles, which 
 we meet with in the profession of his religion, and 
 is ready to help us in them all ; to strengthen us 
 when weak, to refresh us when weary, to make us 
 more than conquerors when tempted. 
 
 The apostle well knew the liability of his fellow- 
 Christians to turn away from the faith of the 
 gospel, the great danger which they were in, of 
 becoming apostates from the truth. The mere 
 nominal professor of religion thinks nothing of 
 this danger, and cannot perhaps be prevailed on 
 even to acknowledge it ; but the real Christian 
 sees it, he feels it hourly, and is sometimes ready 
 to tremble on account of it. He is travelling the 
 road, and sees all the dangers which surround it;
 
 HIGH PRIEST OF THE CHURCH. 153 
 
 while the other has never entered in at its strait 
 gate, has never taken one step in its narrow path, 
 and knows nothing of its difficulties. The wonder 
 is, not that this or that man should turn aside 
 from " the way which leadeth unto life," but that 
 any feeble sinner should persevere in it to the 
 end, so as to be saved. 
 
 The true Christian therefore wants comfort and 
 support under this fear and danger of departing 
 from the living God, and the text gives him all 
 he can wish for. His Redeemer knows his in- 
 firmities. He sees all the ruggedness and dangers 
 of the path in which he is treading. Will he then 
 look on with indifference, and not help his beloved 
 saints ? Will he suffer them to sink while striv- 
 ing to draw near unto himself? No ; their foot 
 may well nigh slip, but the Lord will place un- 
 derneath them his own everlasting arm, and save 
 them from falling, and sustain them. " My sheep," 
 he says, " shall never perish, neither shall any man 
 pluck them out of my hand." " Fear not, little 
 flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give 
 you the kingdom." 
 
 Here then, my brethren, is our safety and our 
 comfort a leaning on Christ, a resting on his 
 compassion, his faithfulness, and his power. If 
 we rest simply on his almighty arm, we are as 
 safe in the midst of our dangers, as though there 
 were not a single danger in our path. If we rest
 
 154 THE COMPASSION, &C. 
 
 any where else, we are undone. No matter how 
 near we may seem to have ascended to heaven, 
 we shall sink into hell. Where we go for pardon, 
 there we must also go for perseverance, and there 
 we shall obtain it. " Let us then lay aside every 
 weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us; 
 and let us run with patience the race that is set 
 before us, looking unto Jesus the author and 
 finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set 
 before him, endured the cross, despising the 
 shame, and is set down at the right hand of the 
 throne of God."
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 
 
 HEBREWS iv. 16. 
 
 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of 
 grace, that we may obtain mercy , andjind grace 
 to help in time of need. 
 
 IN the two preceding verses of this chapter, the 
 apostle sends our thoughts upwards to heaven. 
 He shews us Jesus as having passed thither in 
 the character of our High Priest, as pleading for 
 us before his Father's throne, and as being still 
 " touched," in the midst of the splendours around 
 him, " with the feeling of our infirmities," and 
 bearing a part of all our sorrows and trials. From 
 this cheering representation of the Saviour, the 
 exhortation in the text is drawn. " Let us there- 
 fore," he says, " come boldly unto the throne of 
 grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace 
 to help in time of need."
 
 156 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 
 
 Let us enquire, first, what those blessings are 
 which are spoken of in these words ; secondly, 
 where they are to be obtained ; and, thirdly, how 
 they are to be sought. And O may he that sits 
 on this throne of grace, send down his Holy 
 Spirit from on high to rest upon us, and to take 
 up his abode in our hearts ! 
 
 I. We are to consider, first, the blessings spoken 
 of in the text. 
 
 1. The first of these is mercy, pardoning mercy, 
 reconciling mercy, saving mercy. This mercy is 
 ever needful. The brightest saint needs it, as 
 well as the greatest sinner. We need it every 
 hour of our life, and in every action of our life. 
 Whatever difference there may be amongst us in 
 other respects, here we are all on an equality. We 
 must all obtain mercy, great mercy, free mercy, 
 or we must perish. 
 
 The apostle mentions this blessing first, be- 
 cause till it is made ours, we have no ground 
 to hope for any other spiritual gift. Pardon 
 is introductory to all the other blessings of the 
 gospel. We must go to God as a Saviour, 
 before we can go to him as a Comforter and a 
 Friend. We must apply to him to pardon our 
 sins, before we can apply to him to cheer and 
 strengthen. our souls. 
 
 2. The second blessing spoken of in the text is
 
 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 157 
 
 grace, supporting, helping grace, " grace to help 
 in time of need." 
 
 All our times are times of need. There is not 
 a moment of our life, in which we are not poor 
 and altogether needy. But there are certain sea- 
 sons, in which we especially need grace to help 
 us. A time of affliction is one of these seasons, 
 when our souls are ready to faint within us, and 
 our hope to perish. A time of temptation is ano- 
 ther, when sin seems to be forcing its way into 
 the mind, and the corruptions of our depraved 
 hearts stand ready to welcome it. There are sea- 
 sons of perplexity and anxiety, which are times 
 of need ; seasons of coldness, deadness, and spi- 
 ritual desertion ; seasons of despondency on ac- 
 count of sin, when the bewildered soul looks 
 around for comfort and finds none, and is ready 
 to fly even to despair as a refuge from its fears. 
 A time of death too is a time of need, when our 
 bodies are about to be broken to pieces and our 
 souls to enter eternity, to go into that untried and 
 unknown world of spirits, where all is either un- 
 mixed anguish or perfect bliss. 
 
 In these times of need, nothing can help us, but 
 grace. It is grace only, that can subdue our cor- 
 ruptions, resist temptations, warm our hearts, and 
 bring strength, comfort, and hope, to our troubled 
 souls. 
 
 The language of the apostle seems to imply,
 
 158 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 
 
 that the grace which we are principally to seek, 
 is grace for present, and not for future need. We 
 are to come to the throne for grace " in time of 
 need." There is a strange propensity in some 
 minds, to be continually anticipating these times 
 of need, to be incessantly looking forward to 
 future trials and difficulties, and thus to bring dis- 
 tress into the mind by a premature anxiety about 
 the morrow. We often find ourselves enquiring, 
 " O what should I do, if this or that affliction 
 should befall me ? How would my poor soul bear 
 to have this or that friend taken from me ? to be 
 reduced to poverty ? to have to struggle with 
 pain, and sickness, and death ?" 
 
 Now this anxiety about future trials is often 
 sinful. It occupies too much of our thoughts ; it 
 has its origin in distrust of God ; it silences the 
 voice of thankfulness, and leads to gloominess 
 and discontent. " Take no thought for the mor- 
 row," says Christ, " for the morrow shall take 
 thought for the things of itself." Grace to help 
 shall come when it is needed ; but why should it 
 come before ? We shall have grace to suffer in a 
 suffering season, and grace to die in a dying sea- 
 son. As our days are, so shall our strength be. 
 The Bible gives us this assurance, and the expe- 
 rience of some among us has fully confirmed it. 
 We have looked forward in the days that are past 
 to trials, and shuddered at the prospect. These
 
 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 159 
 
 dreaded trials however have come, and come per- 
 haps with aggravations which we never thought 
 of. We have been reduced to the poverty we 
 shrunk from ; the disease and pain which we 
 dreaded, have seized our frames ; our friends have 
 been taken from us, the very friends, it may 
 be, that we thought we could least spare ; and 
 what has been the consequence ? Has our soul 
 sunk as we expected it to sink ? No. It has 
 risen stronger and stronger, and soared higher 
 and higher, and at length bounded, as it were, 
 over the trial, and left us a wonder to ourselves. 
 
 What then does this teach us? Humiliation 
 for the time that is past, and trust for the time to 
 come. It tells us, when we find our souls begin- 
 ning to be anxious about grace for future emer- 
 gencies, to stop them short by asking whether we 
 have all the grace that is necessary for our present 
 need ; whether, at the present moment, we do not 
 want grace to root out unbelief from our minds, 
 and to teach us submission to the will of God. 
 
 II. Let us now go on to enquire, secondly, 
 where this mercy and this helping grace are to be 
 obtained. The apostle sends us for them to " the 
 throne of grace." 
 
 1. He tells us to seek them at a throne: he 
 sends us therefore to a God of majesty. Thrones 
 on earth are designed for those who are of the
 
 160 THE THRONE OF GRACE. ~~^ 
 
 greatest glory among men, and he who sits on the 
 throne of heaven, is the most glorious Being in 
 the universe ; " the Father of an infinite ma- 
 jesty." 
 
 A throne indicates too that the God who sits 
 on it, is a God of dominion and sovereignty ; that 
 he reigns over the universe, and is its lawful and 
 supreme Governor ; that all the creatures in this 
 lower world, the sun and the stars in the firma- 
 ment, and all the angels in heaven, are under him 
 as his subjects. " The Lord," says the psalmist, 
 " hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his 
 kingdom ruleth over all." 
 
 o 
 
 A throne implies also that he is a God of 
 power, of infinite, almighty power, in the universe 
 over which he reigns. As the kingdom and the 
 glory are his, so is the power also. There is 
 nothing which he cannot perform. He could in 
 a moment dash to pieces the millions of worlds 
 which his hand has formed, and in a moment 
 create a million more. All the spiritual part of 
 his creation is as much under his control, as the 
 material. He can bend at his will the minds of 
 men and of angels, and make them subservient to 
 his purposes of grace. 
 
 " But this majesty, this sovereignty, this power," 
 it may be said, " are nothing to me. They bring 
 no comfort to my heart. They rather repel than 
 invite. They excite terror rather than hope.
 
 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 1G1 
 
 They tell me that God is glorious, while I feel 
 that I am vile as the dust I tread on ; that he 
 has a claim on my allegiance and service, while I 
 know that I have been a rebel against him, and 
 been serving another lord ; that he has power to 
 take vengeance on the sinner, while I am con- 
 scious that I have hourly broken his laws." 
 
 2. The apostle meets this objection, and goes 
 on to call this great and glorious throne a throne 
 of grace. 
 
 It has been supposed that there is an allu- 
 sion in this expression to the mercy-seat in the 
 temple. This mercy-seat was the golden cover 
 of the ark. At each end of it was a cherub, 
 and between these cherubim the Lord was said 
 to sit or reside, as on a throne. This view of 
 the text would recall to the mind of the expe- 
 rienced Christian many interesting subjects of 
 contemplation, but it will perhaps be more ge- 
 nerally profitable to consider the language of 
 the apostle in a more obvious point of view. 
 
 When the apostle sends us to a throne of 
 grace, he reminds us that he who sits upon this 
 throne, has mercy and grace at his disposal; 
 that he has removed out of the way all impe- 
 diments to the exercise of his goodness ; that 
 he can now be gracious to a world of rebel- 
 lious sinners in a way consistent with his ho- 
 nour, and shew himself a God of mercy with- 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 
 
 out tarnishing the glory of his other perfections. 
 The awful display of his infinite holiness and 
 fearful justice, which Jehovah gave to the uni- 
 verse on the cross of Christ, can leave none of 
 his creatures at liberty to suspect that he has 
 ceased to be the hater of iniquity, when he re- 
 deems from destruction and carries to heaven the 
 sinful children of men. They are the trophies 
 of his holiness and justice, as well as the mo- 
 numents of his mercy and grace. The splen- 
 dour which their salvation throws around his 
 throne, was unknown to the creation before 
 they were redeemed, and will for ever eclipse the 
 glory of all his other works. Hence, though we 
 have sinned against him, God can now pour upon 
 us the richest blessings of his goodness, and at 
 the same time bring glory to himself by the 
 exercise of his mercy. He can give us, in the 
 most free and honourable manner, pardon for 
 our sin, strength for our weakness, and comfort 
 for our sorrow. 
 
 The expression used by the apostle tells us 
 also that God not only has mercy and grace at 
 his disposal, but that he is willing to bestow them 
 on the sinners who seek them. The place on which 
 he sits, declares his willingness. If he presented 
 himself to us on a seat of judgment, a tribunal 
 of justice, we might conclude that he was ready 
 to discharge the offices of a judge, that he was
 
 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 163 
 
 sitting there to execute judgment. When there- 
 fore he leaves this tribunal, and presents himself 
 to us on a throne of grace, we may surely con- 
 clude that he is ready to shew grace and mercy ; 
 that he is willing to receive the petitions of the 
 sinful, and to dispense help to the needy. 
 
 This expression shews us also the manner in 
 which the Lord exercises his mercy and grace. 
 It tells us that he dispenses these blessings freely 
 and royally. 
 
 He dispenses them freely. If God i| a sove- 
 reign on a throne, it cannot be consistent with his 
 honour to receive ought for his benefits. Even 
 an earthly monarch considers it a degradation to 
 take a price of his subjects for his favours. Will 
 the great Sovereign of heaven then demand a 
 price for his mercy of such poor, mean subjects 
 as we are ? Never. All his acts of mercy are 
 acts of grace, of pure, unmerited grace. They 
 must be so, or we could never receive them. 
 Whatever is required, we have nothing to give ; 
 for sin and misery are all we can call our own. 
 
 God is ready to bestow his grace royally, 
 magnificently, as well as freely. When he de- 
 scribes himself as a king seated on a throne 
 of grace, he assures us that he will give like a 
 king ; that he will bestow upon us not a few 
 trifling gifts, but such as are answerable to his 
 greatness and magnificence. We dishonour him 
 
 M 2
 
 164 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 
 
 therefore, if we do not expect great things at his 
 hands. We must not regard the Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ as a common benefactor. He 
 is ready to give us not merely mercy to deliver, 
 but grace to exalt us; "exceeding abundantly 
 above all that we can ask or think," 
 
 But here it may be said, " What if God has 
 mercy and grace at his disposal, and is ready to 
 give them thus freely and royally; is he not a Be- 
 ing too great and too high to be approached by 
 me? I need these blessings, and God maybe ready 
 to bestow them according to his sovereign will ; but 
 where is the sinner who will dare to go to so high 
 a God, and ask for them?" The expression which 
 the apostle uses, mee.ts this objection also. It tells 
 us that the Lord is willing to be asked for his mercy 
 and grace, and that too by the meanest sinner. 
 
 When he offers himself to us on a throne of 
 grace, he gives us the strongest assurance which 
 he can give us, that he will admit dust and ashes 
 into his presence ; that he will hear and answer 
 prayer ; that it is the very season, the very op- 
 portunity, to carry our requests to him, and to 
 have them granted. He " sits" upon this throne, 
 he abides and dwells there, for this very purpose, 
 that he may be always ready to receive our peti- 
 tions. He "waits " there to be gracious. 
 
 III. In what frame of mind then does it be-
 
 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 165 
 
 come us to approach him ? How are we to seek 
 of him mercy and grace? This is our third en- 
 quiry, and this the apostle answers. " Let us 
 come boldly unto the throne of grace." 
 
 The sense in which he here uses the word 
 "boldly," may be inferred from the expression 
 with which it is connected, "the throne of grace." 
 
 1. It is plain, first, that if God is seated on 
 a throne as a God of majesty and power, this 
 boldness must be altogether different from fear- 
 less presumption or irreverent freedom. The 
 glory of Jehovah when seated on a throne, even 
 though that throne is a throne of grace, is 
 enough to make creatures whose " habitation is 
 in the dust" and who are " crushed before the 
 moth," fear before him, and approach him with 
 reverence. " God is greatly to be feared in the 
 assembly of the saints, and to be had in reve- 
 rence of all them that are round about him." 
 " The Lord reigneth, let the people tremble. He 
 sitteth between the cherubim, let the earth be 
 moved." 
 
 There is in some professors of the gospel, an 
 unhallowed familiarity with the sacred name of 
 God, which makes some of their brethren trem- 
 ble. They seem to forget both his character and 
 their own ; to forget that he is that " high and 
 lofty One who inhabiteth eternity," and they 
 sunk almost to a level with the brutes that pe-
 
 166 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 
 
 rish. They appear as though they thought it 
 a mark of a high degree of grace to bring down 
 Jehovah from his lofty throne, and to degrade 
 him to a level with themselves. Beware, my 
 brethren, of this unholy boldness. It is not the 
 offspring of grace, but of ignorance and pride. 
 We stand before the throne of God as sinners ; 
 what we ask for there is mercy ; and surely the 
 conviction that we are sinners and need mercy 
 ought to fill us with abasement, with reverence, 
 and godly fear. We are criminals suing for a 
 pardon ; our boldness then must be the boldness 
 of an humble penitent, cherishing in his heart a 
 lively sense of his meanness and a deep convic- 
 tion of his guilt. 
 
 2. The boldness of which the apostle speaks, 
 is opposed also to self-will, and must conse- 
 quently include in it submission to the will of 
 God. If he is a sovereign on a throne, we must 
 give him, in our approaches to him, a sovereign's 
 authority. We must go to him as those who de- 
 sire to be wholly subject to him, to be govern- 
 ed by his wisdom and ordered by his will. What- 
 ever we ask for, we must ask for it with this 
 prayer on our lips and in our heart, "Father, not 
 my will, but thine be done." 
 
 3. This boldness is opposed further to restraint 
 in prayer, and implies an humble and holy free- 
 dom in our addresses to God. If we are habi-
 
 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 167 
 
 tually living in his faith and fear, we may come 
 to his throne, not as strangers and foreigners, but 
 as those who are of his household. We are not 
 to go to him as a harsh master and unfeeling ruler ; 
 we are not to appear before him, as the slave ap- 
 pears before his tyrant ; but we are to go to him 
 as children to a father, a forgiving father, a ten- 
 der-hearted, yea, a heavenly father. If we could 
 but always approach him in this spirit, how sweet 
 would be our fellowship with him, how success- 
 ful our petitions ! Nothing would appear to us 
 too great, nothing too trifling, to lay before him. 
 We should pour out our hearts before him ; open 
 to him our every want, and fear, and sorrow; 
 and find in him the sweetest sympathy and the 
 tenderest love. 
 
 4. This boldness is opposed lastly to distrust 
 and unbelief, and includes a persuasion that God 
 has grace to bestow and is willing to bestow it, 
 and that we are authorized to ask for and expect 
 it. It is the boldness of faith, which the apostle 
 recommends; a confidence, not in our own merits, 
 but in sovereign mercy ; a faith in Jesus, and such 
 a faith in him, as triumphs over fears and suspi- 
 cions, and rises to the confidence of hope. 
 
 This confidence is quite consistent with that 
 humility which becomes us as sinners ; indeed it 
 is closely connected with it. At the very moment 
 when the Christian is enabled to exercise the
 
 168 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 
 
 greatest boldness in his wrestling with God, he 
 has a far deeper sense of sin than he has at other 
 seasons, a livelier conviction of his own utter vile- 
 ness. The Christian's life is indeed a riddle, a 
 mystery, to the merely speculative professor of 
 the gospel. It brings together so many different 
 and apparently opposite affections, and so sweetly 
 and yet so strangely blends them together, that 
 he who has not experienced " the power of god- 
 liness," cannot comprehend it. O that our un- 
 derstanding may be opened to understand the 
 mysteries of the Christian's hidden life, and our 
 hearts softened and enlarged to enjoy its secret 
 pleasures ! 
 
 From a review of the subject we have been 
 considering, we may learn how mercy and grace 
 may be obtained. They are to be obtained by 
 prayer. But this implies more than appears on 
 the first view. It implies that we deeply feel our 
 need of mercy and grace. It implies, not a mere 
 acknowledgment only that we are sinners, not 
 a cold sense that we need mercy ; but such a con- 
 viction of our sin and necessity, as fills our souls, 
 interests our feelings, abides with us wherever we 
 go, and daily sinks deeper and deeper into our 
 minds. Without this, our prayers will be empty 
 breath, our religion a lifeless form. 
 
 Here it is where thousands err. Their religion
 
 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 169 
 
 has not their own utter vileness and helplessness 
 for its foundation. Hence there is no abiding 
 spirit of prayer in them, no settled love to Christ, 
 no clinging to the cross, no cleaving to God. 
 This deeply seated sense of poverty and guilt 
 must precede every real prayer for mercy. The 
 heart must be humbled, as well as softened. Till 
 this point is gained, nothing is done. Here then 
 let us begin. Let this be our first prayer, that we 
 may have a heartfelt sense of our need of mercy 
 and grace. If we have but this, brethren, O 
 who can tell how ready God is to receive, how 
 willing to pardon and to help us ? Could we 
 but once see and feel the thousandth part of his 
 willingness to bless us, we should want no further 
 encouragement to lead us at once with boldness 
 to his throne. 
 
 Here too we may see apart of our vast obli- 
 gations to the cross of Christ. 
 
 How was this throne of grace erected? By whom 
 was it built? Who prevailed on infinite Justice to 
 sit and reign on it? We know the answer Jesus 
 who died for us, and rose again, and is now seated 
 on the right hand of God. It was the blood of the 
 Lamb that was slain, which first made the throne 
 of God a throne of grace to sinners; it is the Lamb 
 that was slain, who still keeps it such. Though 
 the building of this throne cost us nothing, it 
 cost the man who is the fellow of Jehovah,
 
 170 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 
 
 tears and groans, a life of misery and a death 
 of anguish. Who then that feels his need 
 of mercy and grace, can make light of Jesus 
 Christ, the Saviour? Who can hear of his dying 
 love, and yet despise it ? 
 
 We may infer, lastly, from the words before 
 us, that the man who lives without prayer, lives 
 without the mercy and the grace of God; that 
 he who has never sought these blessings at a 
 throne of grace, is utterly destitute of them. 
 How then am I living? If I am a stranger to 
 secret, humble, heartfelt prayer, my character is 
 awful, and my state is perilous. I stand before 
 the Almighty as an unpardoned, ungodly sinner. 
 I am under the curse of the God who made me, 
 and the object of his just abhorrence. What 
 then will be my future condition, if I die in such 
 a state? Where will my soul go, if death should 
 come upon me, and find me destitute of mercy 
 and grace ? It must go into devouring fire and 
 everlasting burnings. How is it then, that know- 
 ing and believing myself to be thus ready to 
 perish, I can still live day after day without 
 prayer ? How is it that I am not hourly going 
 for mercy to the throne of grace? My heart 
 tells me that though I in some degree know that 
 I need mercy, I am indifferent about obtaining it. 
 If I could go to the throne of an earthly sovereign, 
 and get a splendid estate or a proud title by
 
 THE THRONE OF GRACE. 171 
 
 merely asking for it, I should at once go, I should 
 immediately be found there ; but what are titles 
 and estates, when compared with what God has to 
 give, with mercy and grace ? They are nothing. 
 My reason tells me that they are nothing. And 
 yet I cannot bring my senseless heart to seek 
 these precious gifts of God. Let me strive then 
 to get this desperately wicked heart awakened, 
 softened, and changed. It is a dreadful evil within 
 me ; let me no longer trifle with it, lest it destroy 
 me. Let me take it to Jesus, that it may be made 
 a new and holy heart. Let me no longer keep 
 from this blessed Saviour. I will this very hour 
 begin to pray. This very hour shall see me a 
 weeping suppliant in the dust before his throne. 
 There will I lie, and pray, and plead ; there 
 will I seek mercy and grace ; there will I smite 
 on my breast, and say, " God be merciful to me, 
 a sinner."
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY xxxiv. 5. 
 
 So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in 
 the land of Moab, according to the word of 
 the Lord. 
 
 THE chapter of which these words are a part, 
 contains a short but remarkable account of the 
 death and burial of Moses. To lead the chil- 
 dren of Israel to the land of Canaan, this faith- 
 ful servant of God had abandoned the fairest 
 prospects of honour in the court of Pharaoh, 
 and endured for forty years unceasing trials 
 and difficulties in the wilderness ; and now at 
 length, when the object of all his labours seems 
 about to be attained, when he has arrived on 
 the very brink of Jordan and within sight of 
 the promised land, the hand of death removes 
 him from the world, and leaves to us another
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 173 
 
 striking instance of the mysterious nature of the 
 ways of God. 
 
 The circumstances connected with his death 
 are as interesting as they are remarkable, and 
 " they are written here for our admonition, upon 
 whom the ends of the world are come." Let us 
 then direct our attention to them, and endeavour 
 to draw from them instruction in righteousness. 
 
 I. The first truth of which they remind us, is 
 this The Sovereign of the world can carry on his 
 purposes in it without the help of man. 
 
 Who was this Moses, whose death is here re- 
 corded? He was a man of the most eminent 
 talents and most exalted piety. He had been for 
 forty years the leader of the hosts of Israel, and, 
 during the whole of that long period, their honour 
 and safety, their meat and their drink, their very 
 existence, seemed to depend on him. 
 
 At what period was this Moses taken from this 
 people ? At the very period when he seemed 
 most necessary to them. Under his guidance 
 they had overcome the dangers of the wilderness, 
 but they had now to encounter still greater 
 dangers. They had to pass over Jordan, to 
 fio-ht with enemies stronger and more numerous 
 
 o o 
 
 than themselves, to drive them from their oefmtry, 
 and to establish themselves in it. In this critical 
 and dangerous situation, when every eye was
 
 174 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 turned to him for direction and assistance, and all 
 their hopes of success were centered in him, their 
 illustrious leader was taken from them, and all 
 their prospects appeared at once blasted and de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 How mysterious was this dispensation ! And 
 yet, brethren, the occurrences of every day are 
 involved in almost equal mystery. A great and 
 difficult work is to be accomplished in the church 
 or in the world, and the Lord raises up and 
 prepares an instrument for performing it. He 
 calls him out into actual service ; he crowns his 
 efforts with astonishing success ; but in the midst 
 of his work, at the very period when he seems 
 most necessary for the completion of it, he re- 
 moves him from the world, lays him silent and 
 inactive in the grave, and finishes his work with- 
 out him. 
 
 Do we ask why he acts thus ? why he thus 
 breaks in pieces the instrument before the work 
 is done ? He does it to teach us our nothingness 
 and his greatness ; to shew the world, that al- 
 
 O ' ' 
 
 though he is pleased to employ human instru- 
 ments, he does not need them ; to let his crea- 
 tures see, that even if the hosts of heaven should 
 cease to obey his word, he could form other hands 
 to do his work, or accomplish his purposes without 
 any instrument at all. He does it to bring the 
 hearts of his people to a closer and more simple
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 175 
 
 dependence on himself. He dashes to pieces the 
 cistern, that they may go to the fountain. He 
 breaks the reed, that they may be led to rest on 
 the rock of ages. 
 
 While therefore the King of Zion sits on his 
 holy hill, we have no reason to fear for the safety 
 of the church, or for the honour of our God. 
 Israel passed over Jordan and triumphed over all 
 their enemies, without Moses. The church of 
 Christ also shall stand, and shall be established 
 in the earth, though she may seem to be without 
 a helper or a friend. Her lights may disappear, 
 her ministers may be removed, and her enemies 
 may rejoice ; but " God is in the midst of her, 
 she shall not be moved ; God shall help her, and 
 that right early." As for her enemies, " he will 
 clothe them with shame, but upon himself shall 
 his crown flourish." 
 
 II. We are taught, secondly, by the history 
 before us, that sin is exceedingly hateful in the 
 sight of God, and that he will mark it with his 
 displeasure even in his most beloved servants. 
 
 Why was Moses commanded to go up unto 
 the mountain of Nebo, and die ? Although 
 he was an hundred and twenty-three years 
 old, he still retained all the vigour of youth, 
 and seemed warranted to expect many years of 
 life and usefulness. " His eye was not dim, nor
 
 176 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 was his natural force abated." Why again was 
 not this eminent saint allowed to pass over Jor- 
 dan, and to enter with his brethren the land of 
 Canaan ? He had been a faithful servant of God. 
 He had given up for him all the pleasures and 
 honours of Pharaoh's court. He had chosen and 
 cheerfully endured affliction and reproach with 
 his people, and esteemed them " greater riches 
 than the treasures of Egypt." He had made 
 these sacrifices and suffered these trials, that he 
 might obtain an inheritance in the promised land ; 
 and now, when arrived after years of anxiety and 
 labour on its borders and earnestly desiring to 
 enter it, he is not allowed so much as to set 
 a foot on it, but is removed from the world. 
 Why was this holy man thus treated by a 
 righteous God ? The scriptures inform us. He 
 had sinned against that God. Though distin- 
 guished by a uniform course of meekness and 
 faith, he had on one occasion spoken unadvisedly 
 with his lips, and manifested in his conduct anger 
 and unbelief. The children of Israel had mur- 
 mured at Kadesh for want of water, and to 
 silence their murmurs, the Lord commanded 
 Moses to speak unto one of the rocks around 
 them, and promised that at his word it should 
 bring forth water before their eyes. But the 
 agitated prophet exceeded his commission. Moved 
 with indignation, he called the murmuring peo-
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 177 
 
 pie rebels ; and instead of speaking to the rock, 
 he smote it twice, as though he doubted the 
 efficacy of a word, and thought his rod necessary 
 to effect the miracle. "Hear now, ye rebels," 
 he cried, " must we fetch you water out of this 
 rock ? And he lifted up his hand, and with his 
 rod he smote the rock twice." 
 
 This was the offence of Moses, the only 
 offence recorded of him ; and though this ad- 
 mitted of many excuses, and was repented of 
 almost as soon as it was committed, the divine 
 indignation was kindled against him and Aaron, 
 and they were both condemned to die in the wil- 
 derness. , ' 
 
 How forcibly then does this history remind us, 
 that we have to do with a God of awful holiness 
 and fearful righteousness ; with one who will 
 not bear with sin, though it be in the dearest 
 and most distinguished of his saints ! Moses and 
 Aaron among his priests, and Samuel and David 
 among them that call upon his name, even these 
 favoured men must be visited with judgments, 
 when they dare to turn aside from his holy ways. 
 It is true that his loving-kindness he will not 
 utterly take from his ransomed people, nor suf- 
 fer his faithfulness to fail ; yet if they break his 
 statutes and keep not his commandments, he 
 has pledged himself to " visit their transgressions 
 with the rod and their iniquity with stripes." 
 
 VOL. i. N
 
 178 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 Where he forgives, he will not wholly spare. 
 He may so pardon the sin, as not to inflict on 
 the sinner eternal condemnation ; and yet he may 
 take a severe vengeance on his iniquities. He acts 
 thus, that he may prevent any abuse of his grace, 
 that he may manifest the holiness of his nature 
 and his law, that he may excite watchfulness and 
 circumspection in his people, that he may reprove 
 and warn the ungodly sinner. 
 
 Let us learn therefore, whatever our characters 
 may be, to abhor and dread that which is evil. 
 Are you serving and fearing God? Remember 
 that God has other punishments for sin besides 
 the woes of eternity ; ; and these punishments, 
 if you dare to sin, will be poured out upon your 
 head. Are you living without God in the world, 
 strangers to holiness and grace? Remember that 
 one transgression excluded the faithful Moses 
 from Canaan; what then will be your doom, laden 
 as you are with so many sins, and so hardened 
 in guilt? God cannot endure sin even in the 
 people who fear him, without testifying his sore 
 displeasure against it; will he then bear with it 
 in you? in you who despise his mercy, as well as 
 mock at his laws? in you who brave his ven- 
 geance and defy his power? "If these things 
 be done in the green tree," will nothing be done 
 in the dry ?
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 179 
 
 III. We may learn, further, from the circum- 
 stances attending the death of Moses, that the 
 afflicted servant of God is generally enabled to 
 submit with resignation to the chastisements of his 
 heavenly Father. 
 
 Moses anxiously wished to enter Canaan, and, 
 as we are informed in the third chapter of this 
 book, he at first besought the Lord to revoke the 
 sentence past upon him. But when this request 
 had been once denied him, he acquiesces in the 
 justice of the sentence, and not a murmur escapes 
 his lips. As his end approaches, he devotes the 
 greater part of his time to admonishing Israel, 
 and instructing them in the things of God. He 
 at length receiveS4 the command to go up to the 
 top of Pisgah and die, and no sooner is it re- 
 ceived, than it is obeyed. With the praises of 
 God in his mouth, he ascends the hill, and cheer- 
 fully meets his end. 
 
 Here then we may learn a lesson of meek sub- 
 mission to the will of God. It is not indeed 
 wrong to feel the smart of afflictions. Insensi- 
 bility under them is not only unnatural, but sin- 
 ful, for it subverts the purposes for which they 
 are sent to us. Moses felt sorrow and pain, when 
 he was forbidden to enter Canaan ; and a greater 
 than Moses had his soul troubled at the thought 
 
 o 
 
 of approaching suffering. 
 
 Neither is it wrong to beseech the Almighty to 
 
 N 2
 
 180 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 withdraw from us the chastisements with which 
 he has visited us. Moses besought the Lord that 
 he might be allowed to go over Jordan ; and what 
 was the language of the suffering Jesus ? " O 
 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from 
 me." This was the beginning of the Saviour's 
 prayer, but mark how he ended it ; " Neverthe- 
 less not as I will, but as thou wilt." " O my 
 Father, if this cup may not pass away from me 
 except I drink it, thy will be done." We see no 
 insensibility here, no despising of the chasten- 
 ing of the Lord. We see, on the contrary, the 
 liveliest, the deepest feeling. But then this feel- 
 ing is attended with a spirit of entire submission. 
 Let the same spirit live and reign in you. It 
 carried Moses to the top of Pisgah ; it led Jesus 
 to the cross. Entreat the Spirit of God to fix it 
 in your hearts ; and it will lead you rejoicing 
 through all the changes and chances of your wea- 
 risome pilgrimage. It will lighten the burden of 
 sorrow; it will cheer the hour of sickness; it will 
 enable you to go down to the grave in peace. 
 
 Aim to have no will, brethren, but the will of 
 God. Learn to put this question to yourselves, 
 "Should it be according to my mind ?" Learn to 
 take these words of the prophet into your lips, 
 "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because 
 I have sinned against him." What, though you 
 are poor, and sick, and afflicted; are you not sin-
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 181 
 
 ners? and ought you not to wonder that your 
 afflictions are so light, while your sins are so 
 heavy? "Wherefore doth a living man complain, 
 a man for the punishment of his sins ?" "It is of 
 the Lord's mercies, that we are not consumed, 
 because his compassions fail not." Every breath 
 we draw is a wonder of mercy, a miracle of pa- 
 tience. If we know any thing of our real cha- 
 racter, we must acknowledge that we deserve 
 all the piercing anguish of eternity. O then let 
 us never murmur against the Lord, because he 
 sends us the light afflictions of time ! 
 
 IV. This history reminds us also, that the death 
 of the servants of God, with all the circumstances 
 connected with it, is ordered by the Lord. 
 
 Moses is commanded on a certain day to go 
 to Pisgah, a certain place, and there to wait the 
 approach of death. After his eyes were closed 
 in death, even his lifeless body was not forsaken. 
 Perhaps to prevent the Israelites from paying 
 idolatrous worship at his tomb, as well as to do 
 honour to his servant, it was buried in some un- 
 known place by God himself. 
 
 Equally " precious in the sight of the Lord, is 
 the death of all his saints." Not only s the will 
 of God concerned in the general sentence of 
 mortality pronounced upon them, but death al- 
 ways receives from him a particular commission,
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 before he dares approach to hurt them. It is 
 the Lord that appoints the time, the manner, and 
 the place, of their departure ; and he determines 
 these by rules of unsearchable wisdom, as well 
 as of love. There are undoubtedly great and 
 wise reasons, why the death of every saint is 
 appointed at this or that particular season, and 
 in this or that particular manner; why some 
 trees of righteousness are soon removed from 
 the world, and transplanted into the paradise of 
 God green and young, while others are suffered 
 to remain here to a good old age. These reasons 
 however are at present hidden from our eyes; but 
 what we know not now, we shall know hereafter, 
 and, in the meanwhile, all things are working to- 
 gether for our good. With this assurance let us 
 be satisfied. Our times are in the Lord's hands ; 
 he measures out every day to us ; and will not 
 allow death to touch us, till the hour he appoints 
 for our change is come. Our Bibles tell us that 
 he disposes of the meanest and smallest concerns 
 of our life; how much more then of life itself! 
 If a hair of our heads cannot fall to the ground 
 without our Father, much less can we ourselves 
 fall without him. We may conclude therefore 
 that we shall go down to the grave at the very 
 moment and in the very manner, that will be 
 most conducive to the honour of our Redeemer 
 and the welfare of our souls.
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 183 
 
 V. The last truth of which the text reminds 
 us, is this The people of God may confidently ex- 
 pect from him support and comfort in the hour of 
 death. 
 
 Moses had sinned against the Lord, and though 
 his sin had been pardoned as far as regarded 
 another world, he must die. Yet the God against 
 whom he had sinned, did not suffer his servant 
 to close his eyes without a manifestation of his 
 loving-kindness towards him. He met him on 
 the summit of the hill, where he had appointed 
 him to die; he " spake unto him there, as a man 
 speaketh unto his friend ; " and shewed him all 
 the country of Canaan. He saw the land of pro- 
 mise stretching itself before his eyes, and whilst 
 gazing on the prospect, he fell asleep. But O 
 what a blessed transition did he experience ! He 
 is taken indeed from one of the fairest earthly 
 prospects that ever eye beheld; but his soul flies 
 to the enjoyment of a still fairer inheritance, eter- 
 nal in the heavens. He loses sight of the plains 
 of Canaan and the goodly tents of Jacob, but he 
 sees the plains of heaven and the throne of God. 
 
 Thus did the Lord cheer the heart of Moses 
 in the hour of death, and thus does he generally 
 cheer his servants. It is indeed a fearful thing to 
 die. Even the righteous often shrink from the 
 dreary path which is to lead them through the 
 grave to their desired home, and wish that heaven
 
 184 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 could be entered by some other way. All at- 
 tempts to reconcile nature to her own dissolution 
 are vain. Who can love to be, as it were, torn in 
 two ; to have a wide separation made between the 
 soul and the body; to have one part of him in an 
 eternal world, while the other is lying in oblivion 
 in the earth, and turning to corruption and to 
 dust? In such an hour, flesh and heart must 
 fail; the soul must need support; and they 
 who fear the Lord, shall find all the grace and 
 help they need. He who was with Moses, will 
 be with them, as " the strength of their heart 
 and their portion for ever." The Lord has said 
 to each of his saints, "I will never leave thee, 
 nor forsake thee;" and surely this promise will 
 not be broken at the very time when the per- 
 formance of it is most needed. What was the 
 language of the believing David to his God ? 
 " Though I walk through the valley of the 
 shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou 
 art with me: thy rod and thy staff they com- 
 fort me." 
 
 But God often does more than vouchsafe his 
 presence to his dying saints. He sometimes opens 
 their eyes, and gives them a distant prospect of 
 the glories of the heavenly Canaan, as he shewed 
 to Moses the plains, the vallies, and the palm- 
 trees, of the promised land. How often has the 
 soul of the dying Christian seemed to rise to
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 185 
 
 heaven, even before it could disengage itself from 
 the body ! It has been carried to Pisgah, raised 
 above the earth; and heaven, with all its glories, 
 has burst upon its view. 
 
 If you, brethren, would enjoy this blessedness 
 on the bed of death, strive to obtain it now. 
 Strive to rise above the present scene, and to 
 look forward to the eternal Canaan. Think of 
 the riches of that goodly land, and your nearness 
 to it. The sighs and struggles of the wilderness 
 are drawing to an end, and you are about to 
 dwell " in a city which hath foundations, whose 
 builder and maker is God." Think of the great- 
 ness of the change which awaits you. How 
 wonderful the transition! to pass in a moment 
 from this wretched world to the glorious skies! 
 to go from obscurity to honour, from weariness 
 to rest, from sorrow to joy, from a dungeon to 
 a throne ! 
 
 Does a change like this really await us ? Dare 
 we look to it for comfort in the hour of death ? 
 To answer this question, we must ask another 
 How are we living now ? If we would die the 
 death of the righteous, we must first learn to live 
 the life of the righteous. If we would die with 
 Moses on Pisgah, within sight of the promised 
 land, we must first, like Moses, turn our backs on 
 a tempting and ensnaring world, and live a life of 
 faith on the Son of God. It is an easy thing for
 
 186 THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 the most ungodly to flatter themselves that they 
 shall die in peace and be safe in eternity ; but 
 shall God descend from heaven to fill with joy, 
 and to inspire with triumphant hope, the heart, 
 which has always been shut against his faith and 
 fear ? Shall the angels of light be commissioned 
 to convey to their unsullied abode, the soul which 
 delights only in sin and uncleanness ? Shall 
 heaven throw open its gates to admit the child of 
 hell ? Never. " The wicked shall be cast into 
 hell, and all the people that forget God." " The 
 righteous hath hope in his death, but the wicked 
 is driven away in his wickedness." 
 
 Lay these things to heart, brethren. You must 
 soon die ; and if you continue to live as the 
 greater part of mankind around you are living, 
 death will be to you an hour of misery, and the 
 beginning of an eternity of anguish. Expect to 
 die, not as Moses died, but as thousands are daily 
 dying, stupid and unconcerned, or groaning with 
 terror and remorse. Your bodies will be com- 
 mitted to the tomb and moulder in the dust, but 
 the bitterness of death never will be past. The 
 pangs of sickness and disease may be ended, 
 but the pains of eternal death will never know 
 an end. 
 
 Make then your choice. Determine either to 
 enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season and the 
 anguish of destruction throughout eternity ; or
 
 THE DEATH OF MOSES 187 
 
 choose rather to suffer affliction for a season with 
 the people of God, and receive with them the 
 recompence of an everlasting reward. God has 
 joined these things together, and we cannot sepa- 
 rate them ; indeed, if we are really Christians, 
 we shall not wish to separate them. We shall 
 " esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches" 
 than all worldly treasures and enjoyments, and 
 shall rejoice to " go forth unto him without the 
 camp, bearing his reproach." We shall feel that 
 " here we have no continuing city," and we shall 
 " seek one to come." We shall " desire a better 
 country, that is, a heavenly," and we shall live as 
 strangers and pilgrims on the earth. This dead- 
 ness to the world, this longing after heaven, are 
 inseparably connected with a peaceful death and 
 a happy eternity. If the grace of God has im- 
 planted these things in our hearts, we shall " die 
 the death of the righteous," and our " last end 
 will be like his." We may not indeed see so 
 much of Canaan on this side the river of death, 
 as Moses saw of it ; but we shall see as much of 
 it on the other side. We shall enter the goodly 
 land, and have our inheritance in it with the 
 Israel of God.
 
 SERMON XL 
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY xxxii. 10, 11, 12. 
 
 He found him in a desert land and in the waste 
 howling wilderness; he led him about, he in- 
 structed him, he kept him as the apple of his 
 eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, flutter- 
 eth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, 
 taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the 
 Lord alone did lead him, and there was no 
 strange god with him. 
 
 THESE words are a part of that sublime song 
 which Moses addressed to the children of Israel? 
 a short time before his death. Having called 
 heaven and earth to witness that his words were 
 faithful and true, he tells them that though they 
 were " a perverse and crooked generation," they 
 had ever been the peculiar objects of Jehovah's 
 regard; that when he first divided the earth
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 189 
 
 among the tribes of men, though ages were to 
 pass away before Israel could be numbered among 
 the nations, he had even then marked out for 
 them the land of Canaan, and appointed the boun- 
 daries of other kingdoms with a reference to their 
 possession of it. In the words of the text he re- 
 minds them, that, in conformity with his design of 
 settling them in the land he had thus destined for 
 them, the Almighty had brought them out of 
 Egypt, saved them from the hands of their 
 enemies, supplied their many wants, and led 
 them through the difficulties and dangers of the 
 wilderness to the borders of Canaan. 
 
 His beautiful description of the loving-kindness 
 of Jehovah towards the church in the wilderness, 
 may be applied, with equal propriety, to his deal- 
 ings with his people in every age. Scripture 
 itself warrants the application. We ourselves, 
 brethren, if we have indeed taken Christ for our 
 Saviour and our Guide, are as much concerned 
 in this declaration, as Israel of old ; we are as 
 much distinguished and honoured, as they. We 
 are the portion of the Lord ; we are the lot of his 
 inheritance. Let us rejoice in that love where- 
 with the Father has loved us ; but let us not be 
 high-minded. The gracious words before us are 
 calculated to humble, as well as to cheer us. 
 They remind us indeed of the goodness of God 
 towards his saints, but then they remind us also
 
 190 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 of our natural state of degradation and guilt. 
 We may derive from them therefore two subjects 
 of consideration ; the state in which the Almighty 
 finds his servants, and the manner in which he 
 acts towards them. 
 
 I. What then is the state in which Godjinds his 
 servants? The text tells us that he found the 
 Israelites " in a desert land, in the waste howling- 
 wilderness." 
 
 1. Their condition therefore, if viewed as a 
 picture of the original condition of man, teaches 
 us, first, that the people of God were by nature at a 
 great distance from him. It represents them as 
 once a great way off from their Father's house. 
 Between him and them, it says, was a dreary 
 waste, which it appeared impossible for them ever 
 to pass. The enemies of God by wicked works ; 
 transgressors of that unalterable law which de- 
 clares that " the soul that sinneth, it shall die ;" 
 the willing slaves of Satan ; tied and bound with 
 the chain of a thousand lusts ; with all their 
 affections fixed on sin, and all their desires turned 
 from God how shall they find him, how approach 
 him? All who have been brought nigh to 
 God by the blood of Christ were once thus 
 far off from him : and he who has not felt this 
 to be his state, is yet a stranger to the grace of 
 Jesus.
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 191 
 
 2. The condition of the Israelites in the wil- 
 derness was, further, a destitute condition. 
 
 They were in a desert land, in a waste and 
 barren wilderness. The provisions which they 
 brought with them out of Egypt, were exhausted 
 almost as soon as their journey was begun, and 
 the desert afforded them no prospect of a supply. 
 Without food, without water, without a place 
 where to lay their heads, " hungry and thirsty, 
 their soul fainted in them." 
 
 And were not the people of God once as 
 destitute as these Israelites ? Let us look back, 
 Christian brethren, to the days that are past. 
 We imagined that we had need of nothing, but 
 what was our real condition ? We were wretched 
 and miserable, poor and naked, ready to perish. 
 The world appeared fair before us ; it promised 
 us much, and we were willing to credit it. Fools 
 that we were, we tried it ; but what could it do 
 for us ? It gave us, among its briars and thorns, a 
 few flowers to amuse us, but it left us starving for 
 want. It brought us no pardon for our guilt, no 
 peace for an accusing conscience, no deliverance 
 from the grave, no refuge from hell. It left us 
 destitute, forlorn, and wretched. 
 
 3. The state in which the Almighty finds his 
 people, is, thirdly, a state of danger. 
 
 The wilderness was dangerous to Israel, as well 
 as barren and desert. It was a " howling wilder-
 
 192 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 ness," full of ravenous beasts, which roamed about 
 it with hideous veilings. It was a " terrible wil- 
 derness, wherein were fiery serpents and scor- 
 pions." The defenceless Israelites had to contend 
 also with formidable enemies. Many of them pe- 
 rished by the arms of Sihon and Og, and many 
 more by the allurements of Balaam and Balak. 
 
 Equally dangerous is the condition of the ser- 
 vants of God in the world. It is the territory of 
 an enemy who goes about " seeking whom he 
 may devour." They are the inhabitants of a 
 country which is at war with the only Being 
 who can bestow mercy and grace on their souls. 
 They are surrounded by thousands who have 
 formed a league with the prince of darkness to 
 rob the Redeemer of his jewels, and to drag to 
 destruction the people whom he is anxious to 
 save. It is indeed impossible to contemplate 
 without wonder the escape of any sinner from 
 the dangers which surround him in the world. 
 The more we know of our own hearts, of their 
 earthly and sensual nature ; the more we know 
 of the world, of its unconquerable hatred to vital 
 godliness, and its almost irresistible influence over 
 our own minds ; the more shall we tremble at 
 the greatness of the danger from which we have 
 been rescued, dread the snares which surround us, 
 and wonder at our escape. 
 
 This then is the state in which the Lord Jeho-
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 193 
 
 vah finds his people in the world. It is a state of 
 distance from God, of the greatest want, of the 
 most fearful danger. This is the wretched wil- 
 derness into which we and all mankind have wan- 
 dered, and from which none but an almighty arm 
 can deliver us. We may not indeed be aware of 
 our condition. We may feel no want, and suspect 
 no danger. Our bodies may be clothed and fed. 
 We may deem all our spiritual necessities supplied. 
 And yet, brethren, our souls may be in a desert, 
 in a wilderness that borders upon hell. 
 
 II. Let us now proceed to our second subject 
 of consideration, and enquire in what manner the 
 Almighty acts towards his people in this wretched 
 and dangerous condition. 
 
 His conduct towards them is illustrated in the 
 text by the conduct of the eagle towards her 
 young. This bird is said to bear a peculiarly 
 strong affection to her offspring, and to manifest 
 this affection in a very extraordinary manner. 
 When she considers them sufficiently strong to 
 leave their nest, she stirs it up or disturbs it, in 
 order to induce them to quit it ; and, at the same 
 time, she flutters over them, that they may be en- 
 couraged to try their wings, and be instructed in 
 the use of them. If these means do not succeed 
 in drawing them from their nest, it is said that 
 she spreads abroad her wings, and placing her 
 
 VOL. i. o
 
 194 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 young on them, she soars with them into the air, 
 and then gliding from under them, she compels 
 them to endeavour to bear themselves up, and 
 attempt to fly. If however she perceives that 
 they are unable to sustain themselves in the air, 
 she darts under them, and receiving them again on 
 her wings, prevents their fall, and places them 
 once more in their nest. 
 
 This beautiful similitude strikingly illustrates 
 the tenderness with which the Almighty led Israel 
 from Egypt to Canaan, and the loving-kindness 
 which he still manifests towards all who seek him 
 in the wilderness of this world. It shews us what 
 he does for them, and how he does it. 
 
 1. It shews us what God does for his people. 
 
 It tells us that he afflicts them. As the eagle 
 disturbs her young in their nest, so the Lord 
 suffers not his children to remain at ease in the 
 world ; but renders them dissatisfied with it, and 
 thus leads them to seek a better country. 
 
 Is affliction then a blessing ? It was so to 
 Israel. Their nest was stirred up in Egypt ; 
 there the arm of a cruel tyrant was lifted up 
 against them ; and what was the consequence ? 
 They desired and obtained deliverance from the 
 house of their bondage. They were dealt with 
 in the same manner in the desert. He who had 
 opened a passage for them through the Red Sea, 
 could have made the waste and howling wilder-
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 195 
 
 ness blossom as a rose before them, and led them 
 along- a fruitful and pleasant path to Canaan. 
 But such a path would have ruined Israel. The 
 foolish people would have lingered in the country, 
 built their tabernacles in it, and thought no more 
 of the promised land. 
 
 But why need we enquire of these favoured 
 people whether it is good for a sinner to be 
 afflicted? Cannot our own experience decide the 
 question ? Give it what name we may, be it in 
 its nature joyous or grievous, is not that a bless- 
 ing, which makes us dissatisfied with worldly 
 enjoyments and worldly sins and follies ? Is not 
 that a blessing, which forces the wandering pro- 
 digal to think of the home he has forsaken, and 
 brings him back again to his father's arms ? O 
 brethren, if poverty and sorrow, if perplexity and 
 trouble, if pain and sickness, will but wean our 
 hearts from this wretched earth, and cause our 
 souls to long .for heaven ; if they will but force 
 the heart to feel, and the tear of penitence and 
 love to flow; if they will but promote and 
 sweeten our communion with God, and make 
 us more meet for the enjoyment of him in his 
 kingdom; let us ever regard them as blessings, 
 let us welcome them as friends ; let us be thank- 
 ful for tribulation. When tempted to consider 
 our light afflictions as evils, let us look back on 
 the days that are past, and let each of us put 
 
 o 2
 
 196 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 these questions to himself Where should I have 
 been now, what would have been my present 
 character and condition, if my God had never 
 visited me with suffering and sorrow? What 
 would have been my hope? what my eternal home? 
 
 The figure in the text teaches us also that the 
 Lord guides the people who are the lot of his 
 inheritance. 
 
 When the eagle has stirred up her nest, she flut- 
 ters over her young as their instructor and leader ; 
 and thus, we are told, the Lord led Israel about 
 and instructed him. In a miraculous cloud and pil- 
 lar, he went before him in the pathless desert, and 
 led him "by a right way to a city of habitation." 
 
 Now we need a guide to heaven, as much as 
 these Israelites needed a guide to Canaan. We 
 have wandered to an awful distance from God, 
 and though a way back to him has been opened, 
 we know not where to find it nor how to walk 
 in it. But as soon as we feel the misery and 
 evil of our wanderings, he who came down from 
 heaven to seek and to save the lost, vouchsafes to 
 be our conductor. He takes us by the hand, and 
 leads us on step by step through a world of mi- 
 sery, till he brings us into a world of glory. Not 
 that we can always discern his guiding hand, or 
 always perceive that the road in which he is lead- 
 ing us, is the road to God. The path of life is 
 often a mysterious path, and he who walks in it,
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 197 
 
 will soon be taught that he must walk by faith 
 and not by sight. Our ignorance makes it mys- 
 terious; but when we have arrived at the end of 
 it, and look back on "all the way wherein the 
 Lord our God has led us in the wilderness to 
 humble us and to prove us," we shall see that we 
 have been led by the right and the best way to the 
 land of rest. "I will bring the blind by a way 
 that they knew not, saith the Lord. I will lead 
 them in paths that they have not known. I will 
 make darkness light before them, and crooked 
 things straight. These things will I do unto them, 
 and not forsake them." 
 
 We are reminded, further, by the words of 
 Moses, that the Lord preserves his people, watches 
 over and defends them. 
 
 The eagle does not desert her feeble young when 
 she sees them sinking in the air, but flies to their 
 aid, and bears them up on her wings. Neither did 
 he Father of Israel desert his children in the wil- 
 derness. "He kept them as the apple of his eye." 
 He visited them indeed with judgments, but he 
 suffered none of their enemies to harm them ; and 
 as for his own judgments, they were for the 
 greater part only fatherly chastisements. 
 
 Thus also does he continue to watch over his 
 spiritual Israel. The Christian pilgrim has still 
 the mighty God for his Preserver, as well as for 
 his Guide. Surrounded by a thousand dangers,
 
 198 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 and forced to war with a thousand enemies, as 
 long as he is conscious of his own weakness and 
 flies to his God for refuge, he is as safe, as though 
 there were not a single danger or a single enemy 
 in his path. And what, if he be led into new 
 and untried scenes of difficulty and sorrow? 
 What, if he be brought into fiery afflictions ? 
 They may alarm, but they cannot injure him. 
 They may instruct and benefit him, and help him 
 forward on his sacred journey, but they cannot 
 tear his soul from the hand of God. 
 
 There are indeed some seasons in the Chris- 
 tian's pilgrimage, in which he finds it difficult to 
 believe that God has not forsaken him. Affliction 
 heaped upon affliction presses on his head ; the 
 consolations which he once enjoyed, are with- 
 drawn; his way seems hedged up with thorns; 
 and all aronnd him is mystery and darkness. 
 And yet at the very moment when he is well nigh 
 borne down with the weight of his sorrows and 
 perplexities, and can scarcely lift up a last and 
 almost despairing cry for help, he feels the ever- 
 lasting arm of Jehovah placed underneath him; 
 he sees his before invisible hand guiding him in 
 the wilderness; he hears his voice saying to his 
 fainting soul, u Fear thou not, for I am with thee; 
 be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I have re- 
 deemed thee ; I have called thee by thy name ; 
 thou art mine. When thou passest through the
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 199 
 
 waters, I will be with thee ; and through the 
 rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou 
 walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned? 
 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." 
 
 2. But in what manner does the Lord thus 
 afflict, guide, and defend his servants ? 
 
 He exercises his mercy towards them con- 
 stantly. Not that he is ever afflicting his children. 
 It is true that he loves them too well to with- 
 hold affliction from them when they need it ; but 
 he will never continue it one moment longer 
 than their spiritual wants require. But though 
 his afflictive mercies may endure only for a sea- 
 son, his guiding and preserving care is never 
 withdrawn from his church. " He withdraweth 
 not his eye from the righteous," says Job. 
 "Behold," says David, " he that keepeth Israel 
 neither slumbereth nor sleepeth." In some season 
 of perplexity and fear, Zion may say, " The Lord 
 hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten 
 me ; " but what is the answer of Zion's God ? 
 " Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she 
 should not have compassion on the son of her 
 womb ? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I 
 forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon 
 the palms of my hands ; thy walls are continually 
 before me." 
 
 The Lord exercises his mercy towards his ser- 
 vants patiently. With what patience and gen-
 
 200 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 tleness did he lead his ancient people to Ca- 
 naan? 
 
 Numerous as were their provocations, for forty 
 years the guiding pillar never forsook them. Its 
 progress too was regulated according to the weak- 
 ness and infirmities of the people whom it was 
 leading. When they were weary, it rested ; and 
 when they were collecting their manna, preparing 
 and eating it, it stood still and hurried them not. 
 
 And does not this pillar remind us of the pa- 
 tience and gentleness of one, who " feedeth his 
 flock like a shepherd, who gathereth the lambs 
 with his arm and carrieth them in his bosom, 
 and gently leadeth those that are with young ? " 
 No other guide could be thus patient towards us. 
 The meekest man upon earth, yea, the most com- 
 passionate angel in heaven, could not thus bear 
 with us. Our continual arid aggravated provo- 
 cations would soon force them to leave us. But 
 God does not leave us ; Christ does not forsake 
 us. He who once " bore our sins in his own body 
 on the tree," bears with our infirmities now ; 
 and when the Christian recollects how long and how 
 patiently he has borne with him, and how gently 
 and tenderly he is leading him to glory, his heart 
 is filled with wonder, and his tongue ready to 
 sing aloud with praise. 
 
 The similitude in the text reminds us, lastly, 
 that the loving-kindness which God exercises
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 201 
 
 towards his people, he exercises with delight, 
 with the same pleasurable feelings with which a 
 tender-hearted parent watches over and provides 
 for his child. What the Almighty does for his 
 pardoned children, he does, " not grudgingly nor 
 of necessity," but bountifully and cheerfully, with 
 the affection of a father as well as the liberality 
 of a prince. The Bible tells us that the Lord 
 11 delighteth" in the mercy which he pours out 
 on them that seek him, and " waiteth " and, as 
 it were, longeth " to be gracious " unto them. 
 It warrants us to conclude that his chief delight 
 is not in the angels who surround his throne with 
 rapturous hallelujahs, but in that broken-hearted, 
 contrite sinner, who comes to him fearing his 
 name, mourning over his rebellion against him, 
 and thirsting for his salvation. " The Lord 
 taketh pleasure," says the psalmist, " in them 
 that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." 
 And this is the promise which he himself makes 
 to his servants by his prophet, " I will rejoice 
 over them to do them good, and I will plant them 
 in this land assuredly, with my whole heart and 
 with my whole soul." 
 
 The review which we have thus taken of the 
 goodness of God to his ancient people, is cal- 
 culated to remind his spiritual Israel of many 
 grounds of consolation and thankfulness. It
 
 202 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 suggests to them also a lesson which they some- 
 times find it difficult to learn, but which, when 
 it is once learned, can keep the most troubled 
 soul in peace. It calls upon them to trust im- 
 plicitly in God, and it shews them a solid foun- 
 dation on which to build their confidence. It 
 assures them that the Lord will not suffer his 
 portion to be lost, nor his inheritance to be im- 
 paired; that he will not suffer the people whom 
 he has formed for himself, and on whom he has 
 lavished so much grace, to be ruined by the ca- 
 lamities of this life, or touched by the miseries of 
 another. He has already removed the sorrows of 
 eternity far from them, and as for " the afflictions 
 of this present time," the text declares that he 
 has turned them into blessings. It tells us that 
 the trials which seem so grievous to us, are only 
 a part of our purchased inheritance ; that our 
 heaviest sorrows are among our highest privileges. 
 Surely then it becomes us to receive every cup 
 of affliction at least with patience and submission. 
 It becomes not a child to indulge a fearful, dis- 
 consolate, murmuring spirit, while receiving 
 blessings from the hand of a father. O if there 
 be a creature in the universe, who has reason to 
 trust in God and to hope in his mercy, it is that 
 inhabitant of the earth, whom affliction has stop- 
 ped in his thoughtless career of sin, whom sorrow 
 has taught to pray, whom adversity has led to
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 203 
 
 seek in Christ a refuge, a Comforter, and a 
 Saviour ! Instead of drawing from painful trials, 
 frowning- providences, and perplexing difficulties, 
 grounds for fear, such a man has reason to rejoice 
 exceedingly in tribulation, to weep with grati- 
 tude, and to burn with love. Though he is in the 
 waste and howling wilderness of the world, there 
 is not an angel in heaven so rich in mercies as he, 
 nor so beloved by his God; none whose inheri- 
 tance in eternity is more glorious or more secure. 
 As long as he continues to love and fear the 
 Lord, he has not only his mercy and goodness to 
 encourage him, he has his faithfulness, yea, his 
 oath and his eternal purpose, to rejoice in. In 
 every hour of suffering and sorrow, he has these 
 words of his Saviour to think of and depend on ; 
 " Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good 
 pleasure to give you the kingdom." He has these 
 words of the psalmist, to think of and use as his 
 own ; " Surely goodness and mercy shall follow 
 me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in 
 the house of the Lord for ever." "I am continu- 
 ally with thee, O Lord; thou hast holden me by 
 my right hand. Thou shalt guide me by thy 
 counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." 
 
 But there is another class of persons to whom 
 the subject before us speaks ; yea, it speaks to us 
 all, and calls upon us to enquire whether we have 
 any part in the blessedness we have been con-
 
 204 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 templating, whether the happiness of Israel is 
 our own. It is not all mankind, to whom the 
 Lord is thus rich in goodness. "His tender mer- 
 cies indeed are over all his works," and there is 
 not a sinner living on the earth, who is not a mo- 
 nument of his goodness, and a marvellous in- 
 stance of his mercy. But then the loving-kind- 
 ness which is spoken of in the text, is that special 
 loving-kindness, that peculiar mercy, which he 
 manifests only to his spiritual Israel; to those 
 whom he has chosen in Christ out of mankind, 
 and brought, by his grace, out of that state of 
 distance from him, of danger and want, in which 
 he found them, into a state of union with him- 
 self, of pardon, security, and peace. Now if we 
 are included in the number of these happy peo- 
 ple, we have felt ourselves to be in a guilty, and 
 consequently in a needy and perishing condition ; 
 and we have fled to Christ as ruined sinners to a 
 Saviour. We have learned to hope in him, and 
 to tread in his footsteps. We have his Spirit 
 reigning within us, and we are in some degree 
 like him. If we have been visited with afflictions, 
 they have done more for us, than fill our breasts 
 with sorrow and our eyes with tears ; they have 
 softened our hearts, taught us more of our sinful- 
 ness and weakness, weaned us from the world, 
 and made us long for heaven. If these feelings 
 have not been excited within us, and if these
 
 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 205 
 
 fruits of the Spirit are not visible in our disposi- 
 tions and lives, we are not the portion of the 
 Lord, we are not the lot of his inheritance. The 
 God of Israel is not leading us to heaven, but we 
 are following another guide to another and a very 
 different place. We have Satan for our leader, 
 and the land of darkness for our home. 
 
 And yet, brethren, it is awful to think how 
 easy many of us remain under such guidance, and 
 with this dreadful prospect before us. We are 
 far more careless and unconcerned, though tra- 
 velling in the road to destruction, than they are, 
 who are journeying to a land of life and rest. 
 Whence arises our lightness of heart ? Have we 
 really made a wiser choice than the people of 
 God? Is the guide we have chosen a better guide 
 than Christ? Has he a stronger arm to protect 
 us ? Does he afford us greater consolation, and 
 will he lead us to a happier place ? Alas, no ! 
 Destruction and misery are in his ways, and his 
 footsteps go down unto death. It is our thought- 
 lessness, not our security, which keeps us so easy. 
 It is our awful insensibility, which hardens our 
 hearts, and blinds our eyes to the evils that sur- 
 round us. But this thoughtlessness and this in- 
 sensibility will not last for ever. When the journey 
 of life is done, they will come to an everlasting 
 end, and we know by what they will be suc- 
 ceeded by the pangs of that worm which dieth 
 not, and of that fire which is not quenched.
 
 206 THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO ISRAEL. 
 
 Strive then to be serious and thoughtful now, 
 when seriousness may be made the means of 
 leading you to Christ, and thoughtfulness to hea- 
 ven. Pray for a feeling heart. Welcome the 
 bitterest afflictions which, through grace, may 
 force you to think of your souls and eternity. 
 Be thankful for every thing which has a tendency 
 to render you dissatisfied with the ways of sin, 
 and to lead you to seek the paths of wisdom and 
 God. These paths are lying open before you, if 
 you have but a sincere desire to walk in them ; 
 and there is a Holy Spirit appointed and waiting 
 to lead you to them, to guide your wandering 
 feet into the way of peace. Commit yourselves 
 therefore to his gracious guidance. Seek it by 
 prayer. You will not seek it in vain. He will 
 restore your wandering soul, and lead you "in the 
 paths of righteousness for his name's sake." He 
 will instruct you, as he leads you about; and 
 when he has taught you all that the waste and 
 howling wilderness is designed to teach you, he 
 will remove you from its agitating scenes, and 
 place you in the peaceful and blessed paradise 
 of your God.
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING TO THE 
 PROMISED LAND. 
 
 NUMBERS x. 29. 
 
 We are journeying unto the place, of which the 
 Lord said, I will give it you. Come thou with 
 us, and we will do thee good, for the Lord hath 
 spoken good concerning Israel. 
 
 I HE place referred to in these words, was the 
 promised land of Canaan. The Israelites were 
 now preparing to leave mount Sinai, and to renew 
 their journey through the wilderness to this long 
 wished for country. Before however they finally 
 leave the mount, we find Moses endeavouring to 
 prevail on Hobab, his brother-in-law, to accom- 
 pany them in their pilgrimage, and to share in the 
 promised advantagesof their future home. " Come 
 thou with us," he says, " and we will do thee good, 
 for the Lprd hath spoken good concerning Israel."
 
 208 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 Such was the primary meaning of the words 
 before us; but the general tenor of scripture 
 when referring to the journey of the Israelites 
 through the wilderness to Canaan, will perhaps 
 justify us in viewing them in another and a more 
 spiritual light. They may be considered as af- 
 fording us a simple but striking emblem of the 
 state and conduct of the Christian in the world. 
 He is here in a wilderness; the Lord has promised 
 him beyond it a land of rest; he is journeying to 
 this land, and would have all men become his 
 fellow-travellers in the way which leads to it. 
 
 Viewed in this light, the text furnishes us with 
 three subjects of consideration ; the place spoken 
 of in it ; the conduct of the Christian with respect 
 to this place ; and the advice which he gives to 
 others as he journeys towards it. 
 
 I. The place spoken of in the text is Canaan, 
 a type of heaven, that far distant but better 
 country which all the Israel of God have ever 
 regarded as the scene of their blessedness and 
 their home. 
 
 1 . Hence it is, first, a much wished for place. 
 It is a place to which the Christian is journeying, 
 and consequently a place which he wishes to 
 reach. Like the saints of old, he desires " a 
 better country, even a heavenly." He is really 
 anxious to be in heaven, and would gladly leave 
 the world and go there.
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 209 
 
 This desire is not natural to us. As long as 
 our hearts remain in an unrenewed state, we feel 
 nothing of this earnest longing after heaven. We 
 are in fact altogether indifferent about it. We 
 know indeed that we must die, and we wish 
 to go to heaven when we die ; but why do we 
 wish to go there ? Because we love heaven, and 
 are thirsting for its joys ? No ; because we can- 
 not remain any longer upon earth, and are not 
 willing to endure the pains of hell. If we could 
 remain here, though we feel that we are in a 
 wilderness, here we should be anxious to remain, 
 and be content to let heaven be peopled from 
 some other world. Only let us stay on the earth, 
 and give us our full share of its vanities, plea- 
 sures, and riches, and we will willingly leave to 
 the angels the joys of the heavenly kingdom. 
 
 The cause of this indifference must be sought 
 for in the earthliness and sensuality of our minds. 
 We have lost that holy and heavenly principle 
 which was at first implanted in our souls, and are 
 become almost as low and grovelling in our de- 
 sires as the brutes that perish. 
 
 Now the gospel provides a remedy for this 
 earthly-mindedness. It speaks to us not only of 
 mercy to save the soul, but of grace to change the 
 heart. It offers to bring back to the mind the 
 principle it has lost, to lift its affections from the 
 world, and to fix them on heaven and God. 
 
 VOL. i. p
 
 210 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 Nothing but the gospel can effect this change, 
 and none but the man who loves the gospel, has 
 experienced it; yea, none other heartily desires it. 
 It would mar all the sensual enjoyments of every 
 other man, throw a sickening draught into his cup 
 of pleasure, and make him turn with disgust from 
 his much loved follies. Others may talk of heaven, 
 and say that they wish to be there ; but the re- 
 newed Christian is the only man in the world, who 
 understands the nature of its joys, and habitually 
 and heartily desires to have a place in its courts. 
 If we ask how it is that he has thus learned to 
 thirst after that which all other men despise, the 
 answer is plain he is born from above, and he 
 wants to breathe his native air, and to share in the 
 enjoyments of his native land. 
 
 2. The text reminds us too, that heaven is a 
 promised place. " We are journeying unto the 
 place, of which the Lord said, I will give it you." 
 
 The heavenly Canaan is as much a land of 
 promise, as the earthly Canaan was. It has been 
 as often and as solemnly promised to the spiritual 
 seed of Abraham, as that goodly land was to his 
 natural seed. " This is the promise," says the 
 apostle, " that he hath promised us, even eternal 
 life." And this promise has been made, not only 
 to the believer, but to a greater than he on his 
 behalf. In the councils of eternity, heaven was 
 made over to the anointed Saviour, as an eternal
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 211 
 
 dwelling place for his ransomed church. "In hope," 
 says Saint Paul, " of eternal life, which God that 
 cannot lie, promised before the world began." 
 
 This divine promise is indeed the ground on 
 which the Christian rests all his hope of life and 
 immortality. The light of nature and the dictates 
 of reason, tell him, it is true, that there may be a 
 world beyond the grave, but it is the Bible which 
 assures him that " verily there is a reward for the 
 righteous;" it is the promise given him in the 
 Bible, which leads him to look, with Saint Peter, 
 for "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwel- 
 leth righteousness." He knows that if he has 
 really " fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set 
 before him" in the gospel, he is the heir of a pro- 
 mise which has been confirmed by the oath of 
 Jehovah, and which has " the immutability of his 
 counsel" to ensure the fulfilment of it. He draws 
 from it therefore " strong consolation," and derives 
 from it a hope which is " as an anchor to his 
 soul, sure and stedfast." 
 
 But why has the Almighty given the Christian 
 this precious promise of everlasting life ? Not 
 because the Christian has merited this or even the 
 smallest blessing at his hands, but simply for this 
 purpose, to magnify the riches of his grace. 
 
 3. Hence we may observe that the country 
 which is promised to the believer, is the free gift 
 of God. It is a place, concerning which the Lord 
 has said, " I will give it you." 
 
 P2
 
 212 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 The Israelites were frequently warned against 
 supposing- that the land of Canaan was marked 
 out for them on account of any goodness which 
 the Lord saw in them ; and the people who are 
 travelling to the heavenly country, are as often 
 reminded that it is not in consequence of any 
 merit or righteousness of theirs, that they will be 
 allowed to enter into it. Eternal life is always 
 represented in the scriptures as the gift of God 
 through Jesus Christ, our Lord ; not as a gift 
 partly merited, but as a gift wholly undeserved, 
 given to the believing sinner as freely as the rain 
 which falls down from heaven, is given to the 
 earth. " By grace are ye saved," says the apos- 
 tle, " through faith ; and that not of yourselves, 
 it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man 
 should boast." 
 
 This is a very humbling truth, brethren, and a 
 truth which we are very unwilling to believe. 
 We do not like the thought of entering heaven on 
 such terms as these. We know indeed that we 
 are sinners, and we are willing to be treated in 
 some degree as sinners, and could even consent to 
 be saved partly through grace ; but then we are 
 not willing to be sunk so low, as to be accounted 
 utterly undeserving, utterly worthless ; yea, it is 
 to be feared that the greater part of mankind 
 would rather lose heaven, than receive it solely 
 as a gift of mercy.
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 213 
 
 This truth however is as important as it is 
 humbling. All the other truths of the gospel rest 
 on it. It lies at the very foundation of all true 
 religion, and no man is a Christian, who has not 
 a heartfelt conviction of it. It must find its way 
 into the understanding and affections, or the soul 
 must be lost. We must not only perceive the neces- 
 sity of entering the kingdom of God in the same 
 humiliating way as the pardoned criminal on the 
 cross entered it, but be willing to enter it in this 
 way, rather than in any other. We must approve 
 this way, love it, yea, glory in it. 
 
 But though heaven is thus a free gift to the 
 Christian, it is still, in one sense, a purchased 
 possession. It was obtained for him by a costly 
 price, even by the blood of him who now reigns 
 in its courts, and gives it all its joys. Christ pur- 
 chased the church with his own blood, and with 
 the same price he purchased for his church an 
 "inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, eternal in the 
 heavens." 
 
 This then is the place spoken of in the text. 
 It is a much wished for place, a promised place, 
 and a place which is the free gift of God. 
 
 II. Let us proceed to consider, secondly, the 
 conduct of the Christian with regard to this place. 
 
 It is evident that this heavenly country has 
 little or no influence on mankind in general. We
 
 214 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 profess to believe that there is such a land some- 
 where in the universe, but we think and act just 
 as though it could no where be found. If heaven 
 were to be blotted out from the creation, or if an 
 impassable gulph were to be fixed between it and 
 the earth, our dispositions, our aifections, and our 
 conduct, would, in too many instances, remain the 
 same as they are now. But this promised land 
 has a real and abiding influence on the people of 
 God. They seek it; they travel towards it. "We 
 are journeying unto the place, of which the Lord 
 said, I will give it you." 
 
 1. To be journeying to heaven implies an ac- 
 tual entrance into the path which leads to it. 
 
 The Christian's desires after this goodly land 
 have not ended in a few lazy wishes and languid 
 prayers. They have excited him to action. The 
 man has been roused from his spiritual unconcern ; 
 he has been led to see the vanity of the world and 
 all it possesses ; he has begun to make enquiries 
 about a way to some better country; he has been 
 shewn and taught this way by the Spirit of God; 
 in the strength of the same Spirit, he has actually 
 entered in at its strait gate, and become a traveller 
 towards Zion. 
 
 Hence it is plain that the Christian, at the very 
 commencement of his course, gives up the world, 
 turns his back on Egypt, and sets his face towards 
 Canaan. No man must think himself a Christian
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 215 
 
 traveller, till he has done this. Heaven and the 
 world are places directly opposed to each other 
 in the holy scriptures. We are repeatedly warn- 
 ed against the folly of seeking both at the same 
 time. We are plainly told that it is impossible 
 to be travelling to the one, while we are dwelling 
 contentedly in the other. 
 
 2. To be journeying to heaven implies also 
 perseverance in seeking it. 
 
 It is not the entering into a high road, that will 
 bring a man to the end of his journey, but an 
 active and continued travelling along it. Nothing 
 less than forty years of patient labour and exertion 
 brought Israel to Canaan. The kingdom of hea- 
 ven must be sought with the same perseverance, 
 or we shall never arrive there. We must travel 
 on in "the narrow way which leadeth unto life," 
 as well as enter it. 
 
 We are too apt, brethren, to forget this truth. 
 We seem to think that religion is the business of 
 a few days or weeks only; that when we have 
 passed through a certain train of feelings, and 
 embraced a certain system of doctrines, all is 
 done and over; that the work of conversion is 
 finished, our salvation completed, and heaven 
 made our own. But how unscriptural are these 
 thoughts ! The Bible plainly tells us that our 
 whole life must be a life of faith, of repentance, 
 of wrestling and warfare. It intimates to us that
 
 216 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 the oldest and strongest servant of God has just 
 as much need to "work out his salvation with 
 fear and trembling," as the youngest and weak- 
 est; that he has just as much need of sorrow 
 for sin, of earnest prayer, of continual applica- 
 tion to the cross, of the most striving exertion. 
 
 7 O 
 
 The Bible goes still farther. 
 
 3. We are warranted to infer from it, that if 
 we are journeying to heaven, we have not only 
 kept in the road which leads to heaven, but have 
 actually made a progress in it; that, instead of 
 declining, we are growing in grace ; that we are 
 gradually becoming more and more meet to be 
 partakers of heaven, the nearer we draw to it. 
 
 " The path of the just," it says, "is as the shi- 
 ning light, that shineth more and more unto the 
 perfect day." "The righteous shall hold on his 
 way, and he that hath clean hands, shall be 
 stronger and stronger." There is no standing 
 still in religion. We are either slowly climbing up 
 the hill of Zion, or rapidly hurrying down it. If we 
 are conscious that we are not gradually ascend- 
 ing it, we can surely have no reason to hope that 
 we shall ever reach the city of God on its sum- 
 mit. 
 
 It is however an easy thing to be aware of 
 having lost our " first love," and yet to retain our 
 presumptuous confidence. It is an easy thing to 
 be for years strangers to the tear of penitence,
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 217 
 
 and to feel nothing of the energy of faith, and 
 yet to rank ourselves still in the number of the 
 elect. But the only religion which will bring 
 peace to a man's heart in the hour of affliction 
 and death, and bear the fiery trial of the day of 
 judgment, is that which is on the whole a growing 
 religion ; which deepens day by day the workings 
 of repentance and faith within us ; which enlarges 
 year by year our views of our own depravity and 
 Jehovah's grace ; which makes the fire of devo- 
 tion burn with a purer and brighter flame the 
 longer it remains on the altar of the heart, and 
 fixes the soul more and more closely on its God. 
 We are not indeed to suppose that this religion 
 never receives a temporary check, or that the man 
 who possesses it, is always aware of its progress 
 in his mind; but we have the authority of scrip- 
 ture for concluding, that, notwithstanding occa- 
 sional declensions, it is habitually going on unto 
 perfection ; that it is a plant which will strike its 
 roots deeper, and send its branches higher, and 
 bring forth in its season more abundant fruit, till 
 it is removed to the paradise of God. 
 
 4. There is implied also in journeying to the 
 heavenly Canaan, a Jixed determination to arrive 
 there. The expression intimates decision of cha- 
 racter; a willingness to sacrifice every thing, so 
 that the soul may be saved and heaven won. 
 
 Now this is not a common frame of mind, and
 
 218 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 yet the scriptures give us no reason to think that 
 we are going to heaven, if we do not possess it. 
 It is true, the Bible says that heaven is the free 
 gift of God, and that no man can do any thing 
 whatsoever towards meriting it; but yet this sa- 
 cred volume as plainly declares that the gift will 
 be bestowed on him only who is making it the 
 great business of his life to obtain it. Half mea- 
 sures are seldom attended with the desired suc- 
 cess even in the common affairs of life; but how 
 much less likely are they to succeed, when flesh 
 and blood are to be wrestled with and overcome, 
 when the immortal soul is to be saved, and a 
 crown of eternal glory to be obtained! 
 
 Are we then, my brethren, making it the one 
 thing needful, the great object of our hopes and 
 fears, to enter into the kingdom of God ? If this 
 is indeed our conduct, we shall find that we have 
 no time to trifle, as the world around us is trifling. 
 We shall act like men on a journey which requires 
 diligence and haste. We shall appear among our 
 brethren as strangers and pilgrims, and declare by 
 our conduct that we are seeking another country. 
 We shall obey that command of the Bible, which 
 calls upon us to " lay aside every weight and 
 the sin which doth so easily beset us, and run 
 with patience the race that is set before us; 
 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our 
 faith."
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 219 
 
 III. In thus prosecuting his sacred journey to 
 heaven, it is evident that the Christian must 
 necessarily separate himself from many of his 
 brethren, with whom he would otherwise have 
 contentedly associated. But although he is con- 
 strained by the command of his God and the very 
 nature of the work in which he is engaged, to 
 come out from among the ungodly and worldly, 
 he does not consider himself as unconnected with 
 them, nor does he cease to regard them as bre- 
 thren. Moses dared not return with Hobab to his 
 idols, yet we find him manifesting the greatest 
 anxiety for Hobab's happiness. " Come thou 
 with us," he says, " and we will do thee good." 
 
 1. If we regard this invitation as the advice of 
 the Christian traveller to his fellow-sinners around 
 him, it implies, first, that he has a sincere and 
 earnest desire to bring them into that path to hea- 
 ven, which he has himself entered. 
 
 The Christian is not, he cannot be, a selfish 
 being. That very love which saves him from 
 spiritual and eternal death, constrains him to "live 
 no longer unto himself;" it enlarges his soul, and 
 fills it with the purest and most exalted benevo- 
 lence. As soon therefore as he begins in good 
 earnest to seek heaven for himself, he begins to 
 desire that others also may seek it. He wishes 
 for companions in his pilgrimage, and he invites 
 and urges all around him to join him in his jour-
 
 220 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 ney; yea, there is not a human being on the 
 earth, whom he would not rejoice to see treading 
 the same way of pleasantness in which he is walk- 
 ing, and sharing with him the blessedness of the 
 same path of peace. 
 
 We are sadly negligent, brethren, in the per- 
 formance of this duty. We seem indeed to have 
 almost forgotten that it is our duty to be deeply 
 and tenderly concerned for the eternal happiness 
 of others. We think it wrong to suffer their bo- 
 dily wants to remain unrelieved, but as for the 
 wants of their souls, we hardly think of them. 
 We may indeed lament at seasons their ignorance 
 and folly, and when they die, we may wish that 
 they had died Christians; but sighs and wishes 
 are not all that Christ requires at our hands. He 
 reminds us of what he has done for our own 
 souls. He points to the manger and the cross, 
 and tells us to let the same mind be in us, that 
 was in him. He bids us deny ourselves for the 
 salvation of our brethren, to labour in the work, 
 and, if need be, to suffer contradiction, shame, 
 and reproach, rather than desist from it. 
 
 And even if this command had not been ex- 
 pressly given us, a regard to our own happiness 
 might have suggested it to us. If we succeed in 
 persuading others to join us in our journey to 
 Canaan, we win souls, not only to Christ, but to 
 ourselves also ; we increase the number of those
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 221 
 
 \vho are the fellow-helpers of our joy. Those 
 whom we prevail on to travel with us, " may be 
 to us instead of eyes;" they may guide us, assist 
 and comfort us, in our wearisome pilgrimage. We 
 shall take " sweet counsel together, and walk unto 
 the house of God in company." Who can tell 
 how much we shall be animated by their love and 
 zeal? how much the languid spirit of devotion 
 within us will be quickened by their burning 
 hearts? how much we shall be cheered in our 
 spiritual trials by their sympathy and prayers ? 
 And O who can say what our reward will be when 
 we enter heaven? "They that be wise," says the 
 scripture, " shall shine as the brightness of the 
 firmament; and they that turn many to righteous- 
 ness, as the stars for ever and ever." 
 
 Neither is success in this labour of love so diffi- 
 cult to be attained, as our slothful and faithless 
 hearts sometimes represent it. It is true that the 
 chain which ties our brethren to the world, is too 
 strong to be broken by our feeble arm ; but there 
 is a Holy Spirit who has strengthened many an 
 arm weak and feeble as our own, and enabled it 
 to deliver many a wretched sinner from his bond- 
 age. A sense of our weakness is indeed one of 
 the very best qualifications with which we can 
 begin this arduous work; but then let us remem- 
 ber also, that with "the Lord Jehovah is everlast- 
 ing strength;" that this almighty Being is himself
 
 222 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 interested in our success ; that he desireth not the 
 death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn 
 from his wickedness and live ; that he has said to 
 every one of us who is seeking his glory and the 
 salvation of his sinful creatures, " Fear not, thou 
 worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel ; I will help 
 thee, saith the Lord and thy Redeemer, the Holy 
 One of Israel. Thou shalt thresh the mountains, 
 and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as 
 chaff." 
 
 We may remember too for our encouragement, 
 that many who have at first turned a deaf ear to the 
 invitations and warnings of pious friendship, have 
 at length listened to them. The bread has been 
 cast upon the waters, and we have thought it lost, 
 but after many days it has been found again. 
 We are told that Hobab refused at first to accom- 
 pany Moses to Canaan. He said unto him, "I 
 will not go, but I will depart to mine own land 
 and to my kindred ;" yet Moses was not discou- 
 raged by this refusal. He still entreated, and 
 reasoned, and promised ; and there is some ground 
 to suppose from a passage in the fourth chapter 
 of the book of Judges, that he finally prevailed. 
 Let his success encourage us to be as zealous and 
 persevering as he was, and to be as unwilling to 
 take a denial. Our feeble efforts may be blessed 
 at a time when we least expect a blessing ; yea, 
 though we may go down to the grave without
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 223 
 
 seeing the fruit of our labours, our labours may 
 not be in vain. Our words may be remembered, 
 when we are almost forgotten, and the soul of our 
 friend may be saved ; our child or parent, our 
 husband or wife, may be snatched as a brand from 
 the burning, and may be through eternity our 
 companion in glory, our joy and our crown. 
 
 2. The invitation of Moses intimates also that 
 the Christian is tenderly concerned for the spiritual 
 welfare and happiness of his fellow-travellers, as 
 well as for the repentance and salvation of the 
 wandering sinner. 
 
 Moses not only said to Hobab, " Come thou 
 with us," but he adds to this invitation a pro- 
 mise, " We will do thee good." " We will not 
 make light of you or neglect you ; we will not 
 regard you as a stranger after you have joined 
 the camp of Israel, but we will treat you as a 
 brother and a friend." " And it shall be, if thou 
 go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness 
 the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do 
 unto thee/' 
 
 The spirit which dictated these words, is the 
 same spirit that reigns in every Christian's heart, 
 He desires to do good not in an ungodly world 
 only, but also in his Redeemer's church. Hence 
 he watches over his fellow-pilgrims in their jour- 
 ney, not that he may gratify a proud and censo- 
 rious spirit by the discovery of their failings, but
 
 224 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 that he may decide the wavering among them, stir 
 up the slothful, comfort the feeble-minded, and 
 support the weak. Like his compassionate Mas- 
 ter, he enters into the difficulties, fears, and sor- 
 rows, of those who are travelling to Zion ; he 
 bears their burdens, and " so fulfils the law of 
 Christ." 
 
 3. We may infer, lastly, from this invitation, 
 that if we would ever reach the kingdom of God, 
 we must join ourselves now to the people of God. 
 
 " Come thou with us " was the advice given to 
 Hobab. It was only in company with the Israel- 
 ites, that he could share their privileges, and 
 enter into the land which had been marked out 
 for their inheritance; and it is only in the society 
 of those who fear the Lord, that we can taste of 
 the consolations of our God, and draw near to his 
 kingdom. There is no going to heaven in com- 
 pany with those who are going to destruction. 
 
 Here then is a lesson for the young. In form- 
 ing your connections and choosing your associates, 
 take those only for your friends, who will consent 
 to walk with you in the way to heaven, and who 
 give you reasonable ground to hope that they will 
 help you forward in your journey to it. It is 
 quite sufficient to have the workings of your own 
 worldly hearts to struggle with on the road. You 
 will always find enough in their temptations to 
 lead you from the path, without calling in to their
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 225 
 
 aid the example and enticements of ungodly com- 
 panions. 
 
 And even if this were not the case, even if 
 we could take the thoughtless and sinful as the 
 friends of our youth without being impeded by 
 them in our course, would it be wise to choose 
 for our most beloved associates upon earth, those 
 whom we should dread to meet in another world ? 
 with whom we should tremble to have our portion 
 in eternity? It is painful to say farewell, even 
 for a short season, to those whom we love ; is 
 there no pang then in bidding an eternal adieu to 
 our bosom friends at the grave ? is there no an- 
 guish in shuddering at the very thought of meet- 
 ing them again ? We may see in some of the 
 lovers of pleasure around us much to admire, and 
 something perhaps to commend; their conduct 
 may be decent, their dispositions amiable, and 
 their society pleasing ; we may love their cheer- 
 fulness and mirth ; but in a few fleeting years all 
 these things will have passed away, and nothing 
 will be left to us from our intercourse with them, 
 but the mournful consciousness that we have 
 friends in eternity, whom we shall see no more ; 
 that we have friends gone into a world, where no 
 sound of joy has ever yet been heard, nor one 
 ray of hope ever dawned. 
 
 It is evident therefore that our present happi- 
 ness, as well as our future safety, is connected 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 22G THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 with the companions to whom we unite ourselves. 
 Our duty then is plain. Let us love our fellow- 
 sinners and seek to do them good ; but if they are 
 determined not to accompany us to heaven, let us 
 not, for the sake of their society and friendship, 
 accompany them to destruction. It may some- 
 times be difficult to avoid connecting ourselves 
 with them ; many reasons may be brought forward 
 to persuade us that it is impossible ; but let us 
 oppose to all the dictates of cowardice, indiffer- 
 ence, and worldly policy, these plain words of the 
 scripture, "The friendship of the world is enmity 
 with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend 
 of the world is the enemy of God." "Be ye not 
 unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for 
 what fellowship hath righteousness with unright- 
 eousness ? and what communion hath light with 
 darkness ? and what agreement hath the temple 
 of God with idols ? for ye are the temple of the 
 living God. Wherefore come out from among 
 them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and 
 touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive 
 you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall 
 be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord al- 
 mighty." 
 
 Such are some of the truths, of which the words 
 of Moses in the text are calculated to remind us. 
 It now remains that we apply them to ourselves.
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 227 
 
 There is one enquiry which seems to be at once 
 suggested to us by the things that we have heard. 
 We are called upon by them seriously to ask 
 whither we are journeying. We know that we 
 are going to the grave. This is a journey which 
 we began as soon as we were born, and we have 
 been ever since unceasingly pursuing it. But 
 what is the grave ? It is not the final end of our 
 journey; it is not our home. It is only a narrow 
 pass out of time into eternity. There are two 
 other worlds lying beyond it, a world of everlast- 
 ing blessedness, and another of never ending mi- 
 sery. To the one or the other of these worlds, we 
 are all hourly drawing nearer. We shall soon 
 arrive in one of them, and be lodged in it as our 
 eternal home. O then, brethren, let us put this 
 question seriously to ourselves Whither are we 
 journeying ? Which of these kingdoms of eter- 
 nity are we approaching ? Are we standing on 
 the borders of heaven or on the brink of hell ? 
 If we are living as mankind in general live, this 
 question is very easily answered we are hasten- 
 ing to a world of misery. " Wide is the gate," 
 says Christ, " and broad is the way that leadeth 
 to destruction, and many there be which go in 
 thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is 
 the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be 
 that find it." The destruction to which the broad 
 way we are treading in, will lead us, is not in- 
 
 Q 2
 
 i 
 
 228 THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEYING 
 
 deed the destruction of our being, but it is the 
 destruction of our well being ; it is not the loss 
 of our existence, but the loss of every thing 
 which can make that existence a blessing. It is 
 the utter, the everlasting destruction of our hap- 
 piness, and the beginning of an eternity of un- 
 mixed misery. O what a gloomy end to his 
 journey for a weary traveller to reach ! O how 
 wretched a home ! 
 
 But have we reason to think that we are not 
 walking in this broad way of misery ? Have we 
 turned from it with fear and trembling, and are 
 we journeying along the narrow path of life ? 
 Then let the promise in the text animate us, and 
 excite us to diligence in our Christian course. 
 We are journeying to the place, of which the 
 Lord has said, " I will give it you." The way 
 may be narrow, desolate, and dreary ; our diffi- 
 culties may be great, and our weakness still 
 greater; but if we lean on that everlasting arm 
 which is underneath us, and "run with patience 
 the race that is set before us," we are sure of 
 heaven at the end of our journey. Neither can 
 that end be far distant. A few swiftly flying 
 hours will bring us to it, and then we have only 
 to pass over Jordan, and the heavenly Canaan 
 will be ours. Though our course may be weari- 
 some, we shall finish it with joy. As the ran- 
 somed of the Lord, we " shall return and come
 
 TO THE PROMISED LAND. 229 
 
 to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy upon our 
 heads." We " shall obtain joy and gladness, 
 and sorrow and sighing shall" for ever "flee 
 away."
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 
 
 PSALM cxix. 54. 
 
 Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of 
 my pilgrimage. 
 
 1 HE author of these words appears to have been 
 David. They were probably written towards the 
 close of his life, and seem to have been drawn 
 from him by a review of his past trials and mer- 
 cies. Happy is the man who can look back on 
 the years that are gone, and take this declaration 
 as his own ! That man's sorrows will soon be 
 ended ; his songs of joy will last for ever. He 
 may be an afflicted, weeping pilgrim in a wilder- 
 ness now ; but he will be a rejoicing inhabitant of 
 a paradise soon. 
 
 The words of the psalmist naturally suggest to 
 us three subjects of consideration ; the light in 
 which every good man regards the world ; the
 
 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG. 231 
 
 cheerfulness which he enjoys as he passes through 
 it ; and the source from which this cheerfulness 
 is derived. 
 
 I. The light in which David regarded the 
 world, was that of a foreign country, through 
 which he was travelling to his native land. He 
 speaks of it as the house or place of his pilgrim- 
 age. The world is often represented under this 
 image in the sacred scriptures, and every man 
 who is a Christian indeed, feels the justness of 
 this representation. It comes home at once to 
 his heart, and he wishes always to cherish the 
 feelings which it is calculated to excite. It tells 
 him of something which he loves to hear his 
 small connection with this world, and his deep 
 interest in another. 
 
 1. We may learn from this representation of 
 human life, that the world is a place which the 
 Christian has ceased to love. He once loved it. 
 Its maxims and pursuits, its vanities and plea- 
 sures, were suited to his depraved affections. He 
 felt himself at home, in a house which he loved, 
 and only wished that he could dwell in it for ever. 
 The dream however is ended. The man is now 
 awake, and views the objects around him in their 
 proper colours. A great moral change has taken 
 place within him. His principles, his dispositions, 
 and his affections, have undergone a radical alter-
 
 232 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG 
 
 ation. He loves not "the world, neither the things 
 that are in the world." They have lost their 
 charms. Pleasures, amusements, and pursuits, 
 which were once the first objects of his esteem, 
 are now tasteless, wearisome, sickening to his soul. 
 
 But whence has this change proceeded? From 
 the disappointments that embitter, and from the 
 calamities that harass, the life of man ? No ; 
 these indeed he feels in common with other men, 
 but these things have no power to wean the heart 
 from the world. They have made monks and 
 hermits, but they have never made one Christian. 
 
 2. The follower of Jesus regards the world as 
 a place which cannot make him happy. The reason 
 why he has ceased to love it, is simply this it is 
 not suited to his taste ; it cannot provide the food 
 which his renewed soul desires. He wants the 
 bread and the water of life, and the world offers 
 him nothing better than husks and ashes. 
 
 The taste of that man who is indeed a servant 
 of Christ, is set very high. He has desires in his 
 heart which reach to heaven, and which nothing 
 short of the happiness of heaven can satisfy. 
 Even in this life, he must be made happy in 
 just the same way as the angels are made happy, 
 or he is a stranger to blessedness. He must eat 
 of the same spiritual bread that they eat of, and 
 drink of the same cup that they drink of, or he is 
 still hungry and thirsty, and his soul is fainting
 
 IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 233 
 
 within him. He is born from above, and he wants 
 the pleasures of his native land. The world can 
 satisfy the brutes that perish ; it can satisfy at 
 times the lover of pleasure and the sensualist ; 
 but it cannot satisfy the Christian. 
 
 If then we profess to be the followers of Christ, 
 let us remember, not only that we must not seek 
 our chief happiness here, but that we cannot. It 
 is not enough to be separated from the world ; 
 we must be weaned from it, lose our love of it, 
 " be transformed by the renewing of our mind." 
 
 3. The words of the psalmist teach us too, 
 that the Christian regards the world as a place 
 in which he must expect to meet with trials and 
 difficulties. 
 
 A pilgrim in a foreign country reckons on in- 
 conveniences, and prepares to meet them. If he 
 cannot have things altogether to his mind, he sub- 
 mits. If he is treated with neglect, it gives him 
 not much concern. He is but a pilgrim ; and he 
 looks forward to his home as the seat of his com- 
 forts and the place, of his rest. 
 
 Thus also the Christian expects trials in the 
 house of his pilgrimage, and prepares to expe- 
 rience them. He makes up his mind, when he 
 first enters the path which leads to God, to deny 
 himself and take up his cross. Looking on the 
 world as a fallen world, he wonders not that he 
 finds it a scene of suffering and misery; and he
 
 234 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG 
 
 claims no exemption from the common lot of man. 
 The Bible gives him no promise of worldly ease 
 and prosperity. It places his paradise in scenes 
 beyond the grave, and plainly tells him, that he 
 must "through much tribulation enter into the 
 kingdom of heaven." 
 
 4. We may observe, further, that the world is 
 a place which the Christian expects soon to leave. 
 It is "the house of his pilgrimage," not his home. 
 He not only knows that he must die, but he acts 
 consistently with his knowledge he prepares to 
 die. He endeavours to loosen the cords which 
 attach him to the world, and to be ready to quit 
 it at a moment's warning. Nay, he is anxious to 
 quit it. He is a weary pilgrim, who longs to be 
 at home. How often does his heart ache for rest, 
 and sigh for the peace of his Father's house ! And 
 yet he travels on in his wearisome journey without 
 a murmur. He is indeed heard at seasons to wish 
 for the wings of a dove, that he may fly away and 
 be at rest; but, the next moment, he checks the 
 impatient prayer, and his language is, "All the 
 days of my appointed time will I wait till my 
 change come." 
 
 My brethren, are these feelings ours ? Is this 
 the light in which we regard the world ? Is it the 
 house of our pilgrimage? Have we ceased to 
 love it, and to expect happiness from it? Do we 
 look on it as a place of trial and difficulty? Are
 
 IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 225 
 
 we willing to leave it, that we may go home to 
 heaven ? If we are Christians indeed, the world 
 is really thus crucified unto us, and we unto the 
 world. Though living in it, we are not of it. 
 We are travelling to heaven, and so travelling 
 there, as to make the men of the world see that 
 we regard the earth merely as our dwelling place 
 for a season ; that we are seeking a better country 
 than any which occupies their thoughts, even a 
 heavenly. 
 
 O that these dispositions abounded in all our 
 hearts, and had a greater influence on our con- 
 duct! We cannot be Christians without them. 
 This deadness to the world and this heavenly- 
 mindedness are not merely ornamental graces; 
 they are absolutely essential to the Christian cha- 
 racter. Nothing can supply the want of them, 
 no zeal for the truth, no form of godliness, no fan- 
 cied experience of its power. And yet by nature 
 we are utterly destitute of these dispositions. 
 There is nothing spiritual and heavenly in us. 
 We are altogether earthly and sensual. Heaven- 
 ly-mindedness is as much the gift of God, and as 
 much the work of his Holy Spirit, as repentance 
 or faith. It must be sought for also in the same 
 way. If we would possess it, we must first learn 
 to feel our need of it and earnestly to desire it; 
 and then we must go and ask for it, as a gift of 
 mercy, at a throne of grace.
 
 236 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG 
 
 II. Let us now go on to our next subject of 
 consideration, the cheerfulness which the Christian 
 enjoys in the house of his pilgrimage. The text 
 tells us that he has songs in it; " Thy statutes," 
 says David, "have been my songs in the house 
 of my pilgrimage." 
 
 It has been supposed that there is an allusion 
 in these words to one of the Jewish customs. 
 We are informed that the Israelites repaired three 
 times in the year from the extremities of their 
 country, to worship the God of their fathers in 
 the temple at Jerusalem; and that they had songs 
 composed for these occasions, which they sung at 
 certain intervals as they travelled along. 
 
 Thus the Christian pilgrim is represented as 
 singing in his pilgrimage, as journeying on to 
 Zion " with songs and everlasting joy upon his 
 head." It may indeed seem strange that such a 
 pilgrim in such a world should find any cause for 
 joy, yet we know that he does at seasons go on 
 his way rejoicing. He takes down his harp from 
 the willows; and, even in this strange land, he 
 can sometimes pour forth a song of the sweetest 
 joy, gratitude, and love. 
 
 1 . His song is a heartfelt song. 
 
 True religion is something more than a round 
 of ceremonies, or a system of doctrines. It has 
 its seat in the heart, and calls into exercise all its 
 affections. Hence the Christian's joy is a deeply
 
 IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 237 
 
 seated joy. It is not a smile on the countenance, 
 whilst sorrow is striving to hide itself in the breast. 
 It is not that lightness of mind, that dissipation of 
 thought, to which worldly amusements give rise. 
 Neither is it a merely intellectual gratification. 
 It is the joy of the mind; the peace of the soul; 
 a joy which can live in retirement, and which 
 flourishes the most, when it is removed at the 
 greatest distance from the gaiety of the world. 
 Serious reflection dashes to pieces the worldling's 
 happiness. It cannot bear the secrecy of the closet 
 and the darkness of midnight. But the Christian's 
 God gives him songs in the night, and as for re- 
 tirement, it increases his blessedness. He loves 
 his closet, and is sometimes so happy there, that 
 he almost forgets that he is an inhabitant of this 
 suffering earth. 
 
 " But," it may be asked, " is not this joy of a 
 very suspicious nature ? We admit that some 
 who profess to love the gospel, seem to be pecu- 
 liarly cheerful and happy, but does not their 
 cheerfulness proceed from a distempered imagi- 
 nation, from heated passions, from delusive fan- 
 cies ? In short, is it not the effect of enthusiasm, 
 rather than of sober piety ?" If enthusiasm, my 
 brethren, can make a man holy and happy in a 
 world so sinful and wretched as this, it would be 
 well for us all, if we were this very hour to be-
 
 238 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG 
 
 come decided enthusiasts. But the Christian's 
 joy is not an enthusiastic joy. 
 
 2. His song is a rational, as well as a heart- 
 felt song. He has really cause for joy. He can 
 give a sober, reasonable account of the sources of 
 his happiness. He can tell us of the pardon of 
 sin, of reconciliation with God, of salvation from 
 hell, of a promise of heaven. If the poor exile 
 is allowed to exult, when he has escaped from 
 captivity ; if the condemned criminal is permitted 
 to leap for joy, when he receives the news of a 
 reprieve ; why do we require the perishing sinner 
 to stand unmoved, when he hears of redemption 
 and a pardon ? It cannot be. Infidelity and un- 
 godliness may require this at a pardoned sinner's 
 hands, but reason calls upon him to sing aloud 
 with joy ; to be " zealously affected always" in 
 that good thing which he has chosen as his 
 portion ; to "joy in God through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, by whom he has received the atonement." 
 Reason tells him that the religion which gets 
 into a man's affections, and warms his heart, and 
 makes him habitually happy, is the only rational 
 religion, the only religion which is worth con- 
 tending for or seeking. While she calls upon 
 the atheist and sceptic to indulge gloominess and 
 fear ; to look on death with horror and on eter- 
 nity with dismay ; she says to the humble, pray-
 
 IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 239 
 
 ing, believing church of Christ, " Ye shall go out 
 with joy, and be led forth with peace ; the moun- 
 tains and the hills shall break forth before you 
 into singing, and all the trees of the field shall 
 clap their hands." 
 
 " But of what nature," it may again be asked, 
 " is this heartfelt, rational joy which the Chris- 
 tian is said to feel ? We see those who seem to 
 possess it, abstaining from every thing likely to 
 make them happy. They condemn and avoid 
 whatever is cheerful, and appear to welcome 
 every thing that is wearisome and gloomy. As 
 for those innocent and rational amusements which 
 constitute the chief pleasures of life, they appear 
 to pour contempt on them, and to regard them 
 with a feeling bordering on disgust." But here 
 we .mistake the Christian's character. He will 
 never be found to despise any pleasures which 
 are really innocent and rational. He is as much 
 attached to them as other men, and draws from 
 them a much greater degree of delight, than they 
 afford to others. But then he can never think 
 those amusements rational, which are adapted 
 solely to the sensitive part of man, and many of 
 which a brute may enjoy in common with him- 
 self. Neither can he deem those pleasures inno- 
 cent, which directly oppose the precepts of his 
 Bible and his God ; which have a tendency to 
 excite affections and lusts that he has been com-
 
 240 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG 
 
 manded to crucify, and has solemnly promised 
 and vowed to renounce ; which are accommo- 
 dated to the pomps and vanities of this wicked 
 world ; which have been applauded by all the 
 foolish and wicked, and condemned by all the 
 wise and pious, in every age of the church ; which 
 bring him into the society of the most profane and 
 vicious, and separate him from the company of 
 the most godly and virtuous of mankind ; plea- 
 sures, from which he himself would tremble to be 
 summoned to the grave and the judgment-seat of 
 a holy God. 
 
 3. As for the nature of his happiness, we may 
 observe, further, that the Christian's song is a 
 divine song. The joy which fills his heart, de- 
 scends from heaven, and comes down from the 
 throne of God. It has its origin in things above 
 the world, and is but little affected by its changes. 
 Poverty cannot silence the song which it pours 
 forth. It can sing the praises of its God as loudly 
 and as sweetly in a prison and at midnight, on a 
 bed of sickness and in the hour of death, as in the 
 day of gladness and the hour of health. It must 
 indeed seem strange in its nature to the mere 
 man of the world, for a " stranger intermeddleth 
 not with it." He has no capacity for receiving it 
 or comprehending its nature. Even if he were 
 taken to heaven where this joy fills every heart, 
 he would wonder at the happiness around him,
 
 IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 241 
 
 deem himself in a strange and stupid place, 
 and wish again for the vanities of the world he 
 had left. 
 
 To make this subject plain to us, let us take 
 our Bibles, and read the account which is there 
 given us of heaven. After seriously contempla- 
 ting the glowing descriptions set before us, let 
 us ask ourselves what ideas of heaven we have 
 obtained. We think it a happy place perhaps, 
 because we read that there will be no sorrow 
 there, no crying, no pain ; but this is nearly all 
 we have learned of it. Were we to be asked in 
 what the positive happiness of heaven consists, we 
 should find a difficulty in answering the question, 
 and perhaps could give no answer whatever to it. 
 Now if the Bible had spoken of riches and honours 
 in heaven, of houses and lands, of sensual amuse- 
 ments and delights, of the song and the dance, of 
 festivity and mirth ; in short, if the Bible had ex- 
 hibited to our view a Mahometan paradise, there 
 would have been something tangible in the des- 
 cription, and we should have been able to form 
 some adequate conception of its happiness. Apply 
 this observation to the subject .before us. The 
 Christian seems to be destitute of joy ; and why? 
 Not because he is really destitute of it, but because 
 his joy is a divine, and not an earthly or a sensual 
 joy. It is a joy of exactly the same nature, as 
 that which reigns in heaven ; and it must therefore 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG 
 
 be altogether hidden from those who are not hea- 
 venly minded. 
 
 We cannot be too often reminded that true re- 
 ligion makes a great change in the heart. It takes 
 from it many old desires and affections, and im- 
 plants in it many new ones. It opens the mind to 
 receive spiritual ideas and spiritual enjoyments. It 
 gives it a new taste. When therefore the truly re- 
 ligious man takes his Bible, and reads the des- 
 criptions which the Holy Spirit has there given 
 him of heaven, he sees something real in them, 
 something infinitely desirable. He understands 
 something of the meaning, and tastes something 
 of the sweetness, of "being for ever with the 
 Lord ;" of " standing before the throne of God, 
 and worshipping him day and night in his temple;" 
 of " seeing him as he is ;" of " awaking up in his 
 likeness, and being satisfied therewith." 
 
 To what conclusion then does this bring us ? 
 It brings us to this conclusion, that if we have no 
 joys but those which the world affords us, if we 
 have no taste for spiritual delights, we have no 
 true religion, no connection with Christ, no meet- 
 ness for heaven. O brethren, it is awful not to 
 find religious things pleasant things. It is awful to 
 find the sabbath a weariness, the worship of God 
 irksome, the sound of the gospel joyless. O let 
 this simple and oft repeated truth reach every 
 ear, and sink deeply into every heart there is
 
 IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 243 
 
 no plainer mark of an unrenewed, unpardoned 
 soul, than the love of the vanities of this present 
 evil world, and an indifference to the great realities 
 of eternity. 
 
 III. " But how," it may be asked, *' is this 
 heartfelt, rational, and heavenly joy communicated 
 to the Christian's soul ? Whence does he derive 
 it?" The text answers this enquiry, and reminds 
 us of our third subject of consideration, the source 
 of the Christian's joy. 
 
 " Thy statutes," says David, " have been ray 
 songs in the house of my pilgrimage." " I have 
 found thy statutes to be right, rejoicing the heart. 
 The precepts and promises of thy word have been 
 the source of my blessedness, as well as the theme 
 of my song." 
 
 Here however it must be observed, that the 
 holy scriptures have no power in themselves to 
 make the Christian pilgrim happy. Thousands 
 read and hear them without deriving, or expect- 
 ing to derive happiness from them. To the Holy 
 Spirit all the joy of the Christian must be traced 
 as its Author, but one of the principal means 
 which he makes use of to communicate this gift, 
 is the word of God. 
 
 1. The Bible rejoices the Christian's heart by 
 telling him, first, that, though a pilgrim in a 
 foreign land, he shall have all his ivants supplied. 
 
 R 2
 
 244 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG 
 
 He finds in this blessed book the sweetest pro- 
 mises of all he can need or wish for in his jour- 
 ney. Wearied and dispirited by its difficulties, 
 he reads here that he is not alone in the world ; 
 that his heavenly Father is with him ; that his 
 Saviour is bearing a part of his trials, and sharing 
 all his sorrows ; that the angels of heaven are 
 commissioned to watch over him, and to keep 
 him in all his ways. With these assurances he 
 is satisfied, yea, he is refreshed and comforted. 
 He goes on his way with joy in his heart, and 
 this song in his mouth ; " The Lord is my shep- 
 herd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie 
 down in green pastures ; he leadeth me beside 
 the still waters. He restoreth my soul ; he lead- 
 eth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's 
 sake. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow 
 me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the 
 house of the Lord for ever." 
 
 2. The Bible brings joy to a Christian's heart 
 by reminding him of the end of his pilgrimage, 
 even his home, and that a peaceful, glorious, and 
 heavenly home. 
 
 How sweet is the thought of home to the tra- 
 veller who has been long absent from it ! How 
 does the hope of again beholding it and its be- 
 loved inhabitants, support him in his journey, 
 and enable him, though wearied, to travel on with 
 cheerfulness ! With such a prospect, the Bible
 
 IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 245 
 
 supports and cheers the Christian traveller. He 
 learns from it that heaven is not a fable ; that 
 there is something real beyond the grave ; that 
 there is a mansion prepared for him, yea, a throne 
 and a crown awaiting him in the realms of eternity. 
 He is told too that he shall soon take a last fare- 
 well of this strange land, with all its cares, and 
 sins, and sorrows ; that he shall see face to face 
 that Saviour whom his soul loves ; press to his 
 heart the fellow-pilgrims whom he has parted with 
 on earth ; join the great company of ransomed, 
 purified, and rejoicing saints, and have robes as 
 white as theirs, and palms as green. Who then 
 does not love the Bible, that can read in it of such 
 a home as this, and look forward to it as his own ? 
 
 3. But the scriptures not only tell the Christian 
 of this heavenly home, they cheer his heart by 
 pointing out to him the way which leads to it. The 
 word of God is " a lamp unto his feet, and a light 
 unto his paths." He feels that he is very igno- 
 rant and needs a guide, and he finds in the Bible 
 just such a guide as he needs, one that is designed 
 fox the ignorant, and able to make wise the sim- 
 ple. He takes it therefore as his map through 
 the wilderness of the world, as his chart across 
 the troubled sea of life. 
 
 4. The same scriptures too, that tell the Chris- 
 tian of his home, and point out to him the way 
 which leads to it, give him the assurance that he
 
 246 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG 
 
 shall soon be there. They remind him of the love, 
 the power, and the faithfulness, of him who has 
 said, " My sheep shall never perish, neither shall 
 any man pluck them out of my hand." They 
 assure him, that if only he will lean on the al- 
 mighty arm of Christ, he " shall hold on his way," 
 and grow stronger and stronger as he advances in 
 his course. In the midst of his weakness and 
 fears, they tell him of a multitude of pilgrims who 
 were once travelling the same path in which he 
 is treading, and travelling it too with the same 
 trials and fears, but who are now walking the 
 streets of the new Jerusalem, and rejoicing in its 
 glorious temple. The Bible is not leading him 
 through an untrodden path. It says to him, " Be 
 followers of them who through faith and patience 
 inherit the promises." " Take the prophets who 
 have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an ex- 
 ample of suffering affliction and of patience." 
 " Consider him that endured such contradiction 
 of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and 
 faint in your minds." 
 
 The subject which we have thus briefly con- 
 sidered, shews us, first, the reason why so many 
 professors of Christianity are habitually gloomy 
 and comfortless. They do not love the statutes of 
 the Lord ; they do not seek their happiness in 
 them. There is a well of consolation near them,
 
 IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 247 
 
 but they turn away from it. They seek happiness 
 in themselves, and forget to seek it in their Bible 
 and their God. The only way to be happy, my 
 brethren, in such a world as this, is to have the 
 Bible often in our hands and still oftener in our 
 hearts ; to meditate upon it ; to understand what 
 David means when he says, " O how I love thy 
 law ! it is my meditation all the day." " I will 
 meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto 
 thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes ; 
 I will not forget thy word." 
 
 The text calls upon us also highly to value 
 the scriptures; to esteem them "more precious 
 than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also 
 than honey and the honey-comb." If David and 
 Job, who had but a small portion of the word of 
 God, esteemed it more than their necessary food, 
 and took it as their heritage for ever ; if these 
 ancient saints so highly valued this precious book 
 and so much rejoiced in it, how ought we to prize 
 it, who have it enriched with the clear, the " ex- 
 ceeding great and precious promises" of the pro- 
 phets, of the evangelists and apostles, and of 
 Christ himself! Surely we should "bind it 
 about our neck, and write it upon the table of our 
 heart" 
 
 We are reminded also in the text of the extent 
 to which we should endeavour to circulate the scrip- 
 tures. They are designed to bring comfort to the
 
 248 THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG 
 
 sorrowful, and peace to the wretched. Wherever 
 therefore sorrow and wretchedness are found, 
 there the Bible is wanted, and there it is our duty, 
 if possible, to send it. Wherever a sigh is heaved 
 or a tear shed in the habitation of misery, there 
 we are called on to send the word of consolation 
 and the gospel of peace. 
 
 We ftiay infer, lastly, from the subject on which 
 we have been meditating, that the spirit which be- 
 comes the Christian pilgrim, is a cheerful and 
 rejoicing spirit. Let the infidel and the ungodly 
 man be gloomy ; but let not that man be cheer- 
 less, who has the Bible for his comforter, Christ 
 for his Saviour, God for his Father, and heaven 
 for his home. Let him examine the book which 
 contains the charter of his privileges ; let him turn 
 over its leaves, and not a word of sorrow can he 
 find addressed to him throughout its sacred pages. 
 Pardon and peace, hope and joy, comfort in death 
 and triumph in eternity these are the blessings it 
 pours into his bosom, and tells him to call his 
 own. It is true that it reminds him that he is a 
 pilgrim on the earth, and teaches him to cherish 
 within his breast the remembrance of this fact ; to 
 let it moderate his desires after earthly things, 
 wean him from the world, and enable him to bear 
 with fortitude its sorrows and trials : but then it 
 tells him also, that " the sufferings of this present 
 time arc not worthy to be compared with the glory
 
 IN HIS PILGRIMAGE. 249 
 
 which shall be revealed in us;" that though we 
 
 7 O 
 
 may " receive the word in much affliction," we 
 should receive it also "with joy in the Holy 
 Ghost." The Bible makes spiritual joy our duty, 
 as well as our privilege. It calls upon us to " serve 
 the Lord with gladness, and come before his pre- 
 sence with a song ;" to let the world see that we 
 have found that peace of mind in the gospel of 
 .Christ, which they cannot find any where else ; 
 that there is something real in religion, something 
 which can enable a man to spurn the pleasures of 
 time and sense, and rejoice in a crucified Jesus 
 " with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 THE BREVITY AND VANITY OF HUMAN LIFE. 
 
 PSALM xxxix. 5. 
 
 Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth, 
 and mine age is as nothing before thee ; verily, 
 every man, at his best state, is altogether vanity. 
 
 IHESE simple words have an energy in them, 
 which none but a dying man can fully under- 
 stand. We may indeed have felt something of 
 their meaning, as we have heard them read over 
 the corpse of a beloved friend, but then this feel- 
 ing has been neither deep nor lasting. We have 
 heard the death-bell toll, we have followed the 
 ashes of a fellow-mortal to the tomb, and we have 
 perhaps breathed a sigh or shed a tear to human 
 vanity; but we have not long retained the im- 
 pression to which the mournful scene has given 
 rise. The cares or pleasures of the world have 
 again called for our whole attention, and we have
 
 THE BREVITY OF HUMAN LIFE. 251 
 
 again given it them. In one short day perhaps, 
 we have forgotten that man is mortal and that his 
 life is vanity. We have forgotten that the words 
 we have heard read over our departed friend, 
 must soon be read over our own cold remains; 
 that the same death-bell will shortly toll for us ; 
 that our poor bodies must soon be the tenants of 
 a grave as silent and as dark as his. 
 
 In compassion however to our thoughtless 
 hearts, the Almighty sometimes steps out of the 
 track of his ordinary dealings with us, and forces 
 these truths on our recollection. By some sudden 
 and awful stroke, he makes his providence preach 
 them to us in a voice so loud, that all must hear 
 it, and so plain, that all must understand it. 
 
 Such a blow has been lately struck within our 
 own borders.* That dark and mysterious provi- 
 dence which the mind neither of men nor of angels 
 can penetrate, has sent death, in one of its most 
 affecting forms, into the very happiest of our 
 palaces; and now calls upon a whole nation to 
 look on, and remember that man, even in "his 
 best state, is altogether vanity." 
 
 The sad particulars of this solemn event are 
 familiar to us all. They have fastened themselves 
 
 * This sermon was preached November 19, 1817, being the 
 day on which the lamented PRINCESS CHARLOTTE of Wales 
 was interred.
 
 252 THE BREVITY AND VANITY 
 
 on every mind, and have deeply affected every 
 heart. Of its consequences to our country, we 
 know nothing. They are all hidden behind the 
 veil of futurity, and no human sagacity can pene- 
 trate them. There may indeed be mercy in the 
 afflictive dispensation, but as far as our feeble 
 eyes can reach, we see nothing but judgment for 
 England in the stroke. O how loudly does it call 
 upon every inhabitant of this sinful land to hum- 
 ble himself before the Lord, and " to turn to him 
 in weeping, fasting, and in praying!" 
 
 It is not however my wish to call your attention 
 to the political causes of this event. Neither will 
 I pain your feelings by attempting any panegyric 
 on her who has been made the subject of this 
 mysterious providence. She is now removed far 
 beyond the reach of any praise of ours ; or if her 
 departed spirit is still permitted to hover over the 
 country that she loved, she will find a panegyric, 
 stronger than words can give, in the throbbing 
 hearts and streaming eyes of a mourning land. 
 Instead of dwelling on that conjugal affection and 
 filial piety, that train of virtues, which graced her 
 character and endeared her to us, let us rather 
 strive to see our own nearness to that world whi- 
 ther she is gone. Let us view this solemn visita- 
 tion as dying men. It addresses us in this cha- 
 racter, and speaks to us a language which affects 
 not a nation only, but a world ; not time only,
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 253 
 
 but eternity. O may the Spirit of God send home 
 its sacred lessons to every heart ! 
 
 The psalmist's words lead us to consider, first, 
 the reasons why the fleeting days of life are called 
 our days ; secondly, the shortness of these days ; 
 and, thirdly, their vanity. 
 
 I. Why then does the psalmist call the days of 
 life our days? 
 
 There is not one of them which we can strictly 
 call our own. The stream of time keeps rolling 
 on, and not the smallest portion of it can we hold 
 within our grasp. 
 
 1. But still the fleeting days of life may be 1 
 called our days, because they bring to us innume- 
 rable mercies as they hurry on. We cannot stop' 
 them, but there is* not one of them, that is not 
 commissioned to drop many mercies on our heads 
 as it passes over us ; mercies for our bodies, mer- 
 cies for our families, mercies for our country, 
 mercies for our souls. 
 
 2. These days too may be called our days, be- 
 cause they are days in which we are allowed to work 
 for eternity. 
 
 We shall live for ever, but we shall not for ever 
 have the power of benefiting or injuring our 
 souls. There is no work of conversion beyond 
 the grave, no work of salvation in eternity. There 
 are no means of grace in that unknown world, no
 
 254 THE BREVITV AND VANITY 
 
 Bible, no ministers, no renewing Spirit, no invi- 
 ting Saviour, no saving cross. All our work must 
 be done before we come to the grave, or all be- 
 yond it is one never ending night, " in which no 
 man can work." All that a poor sinner can do for 
 his immortal soul, must be done in that short span 
 of time which intervenes between the cradle and 
 the tomb. 
 
 3. The days of our life may be called our days, 
 because they are days for which we must hereafter 
 give an account. We have no real property in 
 their hastening hours. They are one after another 
 lent to us to be returned again. They are lent us 
 to be employed for their Master's use. "Take 
 this," he says with every hour that he gives us, 
 " and occupy till I come." Every moment that 
 fills up the measure of our time, comes to us like 
 a messenger from another world, marks our con- 
 duct, and then hastens back with its report to the 
 throne of God. 
 
 Before that throne, brethren, is an ever open 
 volume, in which all our sad abuse of time is re- 
 corded. Every sinful act of our lives is written 
 there, every hasty word, and every unholy thought. 
 Thousands of sins which we have long forgotten 
 or never thought of, are still as fresh in that aw- 
 ful record, as at the very moment when they were 
 committed. They are all waiting there to meet 
 us again at the bar of God. Where then is the.
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 255 
 
 man among us, who can seriously think of such a 
 book as this, and feel no " searchings of heart " 
 at the thought ? O if we could but be allowed to 
 take one glance at one of its dark and crowded 
 pages, with what trembling haste should we fly to 
 a dying Saviour, and cling to his cross ! The re- 
 cord of his sins for only one day, would be enough 
 to fill the heart of the most careless among us 
 with fear and trembling for his whole life. 
 
 II. Let us proceed to consider, secondly, the 
 shortness of these days which the psalmist calls our 
 own. "Behold," he says, u thou hast made my 
 days as an hand-breadth, and mine age is as no- 
 thing before thee." 
 
 We all know that when we speak of the short- 
 ness of anything, there is always implied in the term 
 a comparison with something else of longer duration. 
 
 1. Hence we may observe that our days are 
 short, when compared, first, with the period once 
 allotted to the life of man. 
 
 Immediate death was the sentence denounced 
 against the sin of our first parents. "In the day 
 that thou eatest thereof," said the Lord, " thou 
 shalt surely die ;" but the patience of God lingered 
 nine hundred years before he demanded of the 
 first criminals their forfeited lives. Their imme- 
 diate successors too enjoyed, for the greater part, 
 nearly as long- a respite. We count our years at
 
 256 THE BREVITY AND VANITY 
 
 the most by scores, but the men before the flood 
 reckoned theirs by centuries. At an age when we 
 are sinking into the grave, they were but just en- 
 tering upon life. Their glass generally ran on 
 for nearly a thousand years, while " the days of 
 our age are three score years and ten ; and though 
 men be so strong, that they come to four score 
 years, yet is their strength then but labour and 
 sorrow; so soon passeth it away, and we are gone." 
 
 2. Our life too seems short, when compared 
 with the duration of many objects around us. 
 
 The same sun that now shines upon us, shone 
 more than five thousand years ago on our fathers. 
 The moon that enlivens our nights, has seen nearly 
 two hundred generations of men rise and fall. 
 Even the works of our own hands remain much 
 longer than we. The pyramids of Egypt have 
 defied the attacks of three thousand years, while 
 their builders sunk perhaps under the burden of 
 four score. Our houses stand long after their tran- 
 sient proprietors are gone, and their names forgot- 
 ten. Where is now the head that planned, and 
 the hands which built, this house of God ? They 
 were all reduced to ashes five hundred years ago. 
 The very seats we sit on have borne generations 
 before they bore us, and will probably bear 
 many after us. The remains of those who once 
 occupied the places we now fill, are under- 
 neath our feet, and we must soon join them in
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 257 
 
 their vaults to make room for other generations. 
 Before another century has begun its course, these 
 walls will resound with other voices, other feet 
 will tread these courts, and another race of men 
 will say of us, " Our fathers ; where are they ?" 
 
 3. How striking too does the shortness of life 
 appear, when compared with the eternity of God! 
 "Mine age is as nothing before thee," says the 
 psalmist; " nothing in comparison of thee." 
 
 The existence of the Lord Jehovah never had 
 a beginning, and can never have an end. "From 
 everlasting to everlasting," he is God. Compared 
 with the eternity which he inhabits, the longest 
 life shrinks into a mere point, a nothing. Indeed 
 no duration of time, however long, will bear the 
 comparison. Thousands and millions of years are 
 no more here, than a day or an hour. If we take 
 as many years as there are grains of sand upon 
 the sea-shore, and as many more as there are par- 
 ticles of dust in this huge globe of earth, and 
 bring into one reckoning all these multitudes of 
 years, the mighty sum bears no more propor- 
 tion to eternity, than a moment, a twinkling of an 
 eye, bears to ten thousand ages. Such a calcula- 
 tion confounds the mind by its immensity; but 
 the whole amount would be a mere point, yea, 
 less than a point, in the reckoning of eternity. 
 
 4. We may see something also of the brevity 
 of life, if we compare it with the work we have to do. 
 VOL i. s
 
 258 
 
 The eternity of which we have been speaking,' 
 is our own. When God gave us life, he made us 
 heirs of it. The immense inheritance has been 
 entailed upon every one of us, and we must spend 
 it either in the height of happiness or in the depth 
 of misery. Now the present life is given us to 
 lay up a treasure for this eternity ; to work out, 
 by the power of divine grace, a salvation which 
 shall stretch itself through its countless ages. 
 Great as this work is, multitudes of the human 
 race have performed it. They have been strength- 
 ened by Christ, and, though utterly helpless in 
 themselves, they have now obtained a treasure in 
 eternity, with which the collected riches of a world 
 cannot for one moment be compared. We our- 
 selves also must work out this great salvation, 
 and work it out too in this short life, or live for 
 ever in hopeless misery. 
 
 Viewed in this solemn light, as the only season 
 of preparation for eternity, to what a fearful im- 
 portance does time at once rise ! How ought we 
 to value its fleeting hours ! Its shortness makes 
 it infinitely precious. Tell a man that he has only 
 a day to labour in order to secure food, and ease, 
 and happiness, for a hundred years, and mark 
 how that man will prize every moment of that 
 short day ! how intent he will be upon his work ! 
 how dead to every other object! Invite him, un- 
 der such circumstances, to the song and the dance j
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 259 
 
 call him to scenes of revelry and dissipation; offer 
 him the richest baubles the world can give; and 
 the man will spurn them from him ; all the haunts 
 and pursuits of vanity will be sickening to his 
 soul. How is it then, brethren, that we who have 
 but a few short days to live and to prepare for 
 eternity, can be so idle and so easy? How is it 
 that we have so much time to spare for the 
 world, for vanity and sin ? 
 
 This view of life shews us too the vast impor- 
 tance of every thing we say and do in it. All our 
 words and actions are connected with eternity by 
 a chain which never can be broken. We shall 
 hear of every one of them again in an eternal 
 world. They are seeds planted' in heaven or in 
 hell, and are producing for us there, this very hour, 
 either the sweetest or the deadliest fruits. 
 
 If we thus compare human life with the period 
 once allotted to it, with the long duration of many 
 objects around us, with the eternity of God, and 
 the all important work of laying up in Christ a 
 treasure for eternity, we shall be constrained to 
 acknowledge that the psalmist's complaint is not 
 an unmeaning one ; that our days are indeed as 
 an hand-breadth and our age as nothing. 
 
 Observe too that in making this comparison, 
 we have given to life its longest duration. We 
 have said nothing of the countless thousands of 
 the human race, who are daily cut down in the 
 
 s 2
 
 260 THE BREVITY AND VANITY 
 
 maturity of manhood and the bloom of youth. 
 One half at least of those who enter this world 
 of death, are called out of it before they have 
 seen seven of its years. We have said nothing 
 of the stroke which can reach the infant before it 
 sees the light, and lay the mother in the dust, 
 though shielded by health, and strength, and 
 youth. Neither have we said any thing of the 
 time that is consumed in sleep, and in procuring 
 the supplies necessary for our existence. Many 
 hours of all our nights are hours of oblivion, and 
 many of our days are days of nothingness. Take 
 these from human life, and how poor a pittance is 
 there left ! If however we pass over all these 
 things in silence, and give to life all the hours and 
 advantages it can lay claim to, the conclusion is 
 the same it is "a shadow that departeth;" a 
 flower that "in the morning is green and groweth 
 up, and in the evening is cut down, dried up, and 
 withered ;" " it is a vapour that appeareth for a 
 little time, and then vanisheth away." 
 
 Plain as this truth appears, it is by no means 
 easy to get it permanently fixed in our minds. 
 We acknowledge the shortness of life, and yet 
 when we look forward to years to come, our feel- 
 ings strangely belie our words, and life seems to 
 stretch itself out a long extended line. But what 
 do we know, brethren, of the years that are to 
 come ? We must go for an estimate of life to the
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 261 
 
 years that are past. We know something of them 
 from experience. What then is their language ? 
 Ask the man who is bending under the weight of 
 four score years. He will tell us, that " the days 
 of the years of his pilgrimage" have been " few 
 and evil ;" that his lengthened life appears to him 
 only " as a tale that is told." 
 
 Mark too the silence with which the few years 
 allotted to us pass away. They make no noise as 
 they roll over our heads. The stream of time 
 flows on with the profoundest stillness. It passes 
 by us, and we see it not. All that we know is, 
 that it has passed us; and we can only wonder 
 that it should so soon be gone. If we look back 
 to that part of our life which has already run its 
 course, we can retrace but very little of it. We 
 remember it only as we remember a dream. It is 
 full of confused images which we cannot distinctly 
 recollect, and which serve only to perplex and be- 
 wilder the memory. And yet the events of these 
 years, which we now so indistinctly remember, 
 once called into exercise all the energies of our 
 minds. Some of them filled us with delight, and 
 some harassed us with vexation and grief. All 
 however from our cradle to the present hour, 
 seems now but little better than one humiliating 
 blank : and just the same, a few months hence, 
 will the present time appear to us, crowded as it 
 now is with pleasures, cares, and fears.
 
 262 THE BREVITY AND VANITY 
 
 There is also another painful thought connected 
 with the silent rapidity of time the longer we 
 stay in the world, the swifter does its flight ap- 
 pear. A year to a man is not more than six 
 months to a child. Our days seem to rush on 
 with a more silent and rapid motion the nearer 
 they draw to the goal of death, as though they 
 were eager to bear us away to our destined eter- 
 nity. The fact is, that time, correctly speaking, 
 is> nothing more than a succession of ideas ; these 
 ideas are less numerous, and the impressions they 
 make less deep and permanent, in old age than 
 they are in youth ; and consequently the road of 
 life has fewer marks to remind us of our progress. 
 
 III. But here perhaps it may be said, " What 
 if the period of life is thus transitory ? Man is a 
 great and noble being, and has powers that enable 
 him to crowd into this short existence a conse- 
 quence and dignity suited to his greatness." The 
 words before us however speak no such language. 
 There is another truth declared in them, which 
 pours contempt on all human greatness. They 
 tell us, not only of the shortness of life, but of the 
 vanity, the utter nothingness, of man. This is the 
 testimony they give ; " Verily, every man, at his 
 best state, is altogether vanity." 
 
 And is the Bible the only teacher of this humi- 
 liating truth ? No. The events of every day, the
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 263 
 
 observation and experience of almost every hour, 
 speak the same language. With what a mighty 
 voice, my brethren, is the solemn truth now 
 sounded in the ears of every inhabitant of this 
 land j There is a tomb opened to-day, that sends 
 it home to our very hearts. 
 
 1. It shews us the nothingness of man, by 
 forcing us to remember the precariousness and. little 
 worth of all the earthly blessings we call our own. 
 There is not one of them, which we can be sure of 
 retaining even for an hour. Have we a beloved 
 child, our only hope and solace in a dreary world ? 
 Death, before we are aware, may strike a blow 
 which will leave us childless. Have we a wife, 
 endeared to us by innumerable offices of love ? 
 She may be a corpse to-morrow. O how loudly 
 does such a stroke as this call upon us to have 
 no idols upon earth, to sit loose to the dearest 
 earthly connections, and to cling closely to our 
 God ! A husband or wife, parents or children, 
 are wretched substitutes for the rock of ages. We 
 rejoice over them in the morning, but " the wind 
 passeth over them in the evening, and they are 
 gone." 
 
 The same mournful scene shews us too the little 
 use which earthly blessings are to us, while we 
 retain them. Who more blessed with all the 
 world can give, than she whose loss has filled our 
 land with weeping ? And yet what could it all
 
 264 THE BREVITY AND VANITY 
 
 do for her in the hour of need ? Neither the skill 
 of physicians, nor the tears of a beloved husband, 
 nor the prayers of a trembling nation, could keep 
 off even for an hour the hand of death, or mitigate 
 its terrors. Why then do we so much love so 
 weak and vain a world ? 
 
 2. We may be reminded of the nothingness of 
 man, by looking also at the utter vanity of all his 
 schemes and prospects. 
 
 We are ever cherishing the most extravagant 
 hopes, and creating in our imagination the most 
 visionary prospects. We are the mere creatures 
 of a day, while ages would be wanting to execute 
 what we amuse ourselves with planning. But 
 how often are we forced to observe the abrupt 
 termination of human schemes ! Man dies, and 
 " his expectations perish." Years were wanting 
 to complete his plans, but they are all cut off in 
 a moment. The thread is snapped asunder, almost 
 before he has begun to wind it. We daily see 
 that one man builds, but another inhabits the 
 house ; one sows, but another reaps the corn. 
 " Man heapeth up riches, but he cannot tell who 
 shall gather them ;" and as for his honours, the 
 laurel fades as soon as it is placed upon his brow, 
 and the applauses of a world, if he obtains them, 
 are soon no more to him, than the wind that 
 blows over his grave. 
 
 Who can tell how many hopes and projects
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 265 
 
 will be buried within that tomb which has been 
 opened to-day? The hand that was so often 
 stretched out in deeds of mercy, is now motion- 
 less ; the head that seemed destined to wear a 
 crown, is now encircled by a shroud ; the generous 
 heart that once glowed with the thought of scat- 
 tering blessings round a nation, is cold as a stone. 
 All the thousand fond anticipations connected 
 with the name of Mother, are buried in the tomb. 
 O let the thoughtless young among us, who are 
 planning schemes for the time to come, look here, 
 and see the utter vanity of all human expectations. 
 They may say within themselves, " To-day or to- 
 morrow, I shall go here or there, and do this or 
 that ;" but what answer does this coffin send them ? 
 " Thou knowest not what shall be on the morrow. 
 Thou mayest die to-day." O my friends, press 
 home this answer to your hearts. Which of 
 you is thinking with delight of the hour, that 
 shall again bring you to the arms of some much 
 loved friend or parent ? The next tidings which 
 that parent hears of you, may be, that you are 
 numbered with the dead. Which of you is ex- 
 pecting with a trembling hope to be hailed a 
 Mother ? Before that sound may reach your ears, 
 you and your babe may say to corruption, " Thou 
 art my father ; : * and to the worm, " Thou art my 
 mother and my sister."
 
 266 THE BREVITV AND VANITY 
 
 The very general terms in which the psalmist 
 speaks in the text, are also deserving of our notice. 
 He does not say that some men are vanity, but 
 " every man ;" not the poor and the ignorant, the 
 feeble and the old only, but "man at his best state;" 
 and not only is every man vanity, but " altogether 
 vanity." 
 
 His language is as strong too, as it is general ; 
 " Verily," says he, " every man is vanity." He 
 speaks of it as an incontestable fact, as the result 
 of his own actual experience. 
 
 The young and the healthy then, the wise and 
 the learned, the rich and the great, are all inclu- 
 ded in this saying. Every man is ready to think 
 himself exempted, but we are all on an equality 
 here. No rank, however elevated, can lift us 
 above the common vanity of man, nor any degree 
 of poverty sink us below it. The palace is as 
 much the habitation of disappointment, infirmity, 
 and disease, as the cottage ; and the robes of 
 royalty, and the tattered garments of beggary, 
 are alike preludes to the shroud. " All flesh is 
 grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of 
 grass." The flower may be finer in its texture 
 than the common grass ; its colours may be more 
 gay, and its properties more useful ; but it grows 
 in the same soil, it has a common root, a common 
 nature, and a common end. It is exposed to the
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 267 
 
 same scorching heat, the same frost, and the same 
 scythe. When " the grass withereth, the flower 
 fadeth." 
 
 We have thus taken a hasty review of the pic- 
 ture which the psalmist has given us of human 
 life. It would, under any circumstances, suggest 
 to us the same inference, but when viewed in 
 connection with the mournful occasion which has 
 brought us here, how forcibly does it remind us 
 all of the great duty of consideration ! 
 
 We are all most awfully careless, brethren, 
 about every thing which relates to the soul and 
 eternity. This carelessness is inherent in our 
 nature, and no power but that of God can root 
 it out. And yet we could not have within us a 
 more fatal enemy than this. Inconsideration is 
 as ruinous to the soul, as any sin can be. The 
 God of mercy is acquainted with this bane of our 
 nature ; and in compassion to our souls, he em- 
 ploys his providence to awake us out of this dread- 
 ful sleep. Has then the mournful stroke which 
 is yet fresh in our memories, produced this effect? 
 It has filled our eyes with tears and our hearts 
 with grief; but has it made us feel the precarious- 
 ness of all our earthly blessings ? the vanity, the 
 shortness, the uncertainty, of our own lives? the 
 nearness of eternity to our own souls ? Has it 
 made us think and act as dying men ? Has it led
 
 268 THE BREVITY AND VANITY 
 
 us to put such questions as these to our hearts 
 Am I prepared to die ? Is the great business of 
 life begun? Have I made the days which have 
 passed over me, my days, by employing them in 
 seeking the treasures of salvation ? I see that I 
 must soon be in eternity ; what have I to hope for 
 there ? What is stored up for me in that everlast- 
 ing home ? My Bible tells me that the pursuits 
 of the world and sin can only lay up wretchedness 
 in eternity for my soul; in what other pursuits 
 then have I been engaged ? Have I been making 
 a serious business of religion ? Has it occupied 
 more of my thoughts, than all earthly objects 
 have ? Do I know what is meant by that deep 
 humility and self-renunciation, that renewal of the 
 heart, that simple trust in the cross, that deadness 
 to the world, that dedication of the whole man to 
 God, which my Bible tells me must be found in 
 me, before I can be prepared to die ? If I know 
 nothing of these things, what is my state ? what 
 are my prospects ? My life is vanity ; what will 
 be my eternity ? 
 
 A few such simple questions as these, pressed 
 home to our consciences in the secrecy of retire- 
 ment, would make us all confess, that a thought- 
 less sinner in such a world as this, is a wonder in 
 the universe. To see the daily ravages of death 
 around us, to be standing on the brink of the 
 grave, to have our feet on the borders of eternity,
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 269 
 
 and yet to be unconcerned about the never ending 
 realities of that world which stretches itself be- 
 fore us, and to be absorbed in the wretched vani- 
 ties of that little spot of earth which lies behind 
 us where is the being, not a partaker of our 
 thoughtless nature, who does not wonder at our 
 folly and mourn over our wretchedness ? 
 
 The subject we have been considering reminds 
 us, secondly, of the great evil of sin. 
 
 Transgression and death both came into the 
 world together; the one is only the appointed 
 wages of the other. " Thou hast made my days," 
 says David, " as an hand-breadth." He tells us 
 here that it was not mere chance which made our 
 years so few, and our life so full of vanity. He 
 traces up the shortness of our days to the anger 
 of an offended God. 
 
 That holy Being who "inhabiteth eternity," 
 will not suffer creatures such as we, to violate 
 with impunity his sacred law. No sooner had 
 man sinned against him, than he made a solemn 
 display of his infinite justice by passing a sen- 
 tence of mortality on our race. It is sin, which 
 has lodged the seeds of death in our frame, and 
 corrupted our nature. It is sin, which fills our 
 graves, and lays generation after generation in 
 the dust. O how inconceivable must be the mao;- 
 
 o 
 
 nitude of that evil which could make a God, so 
 rich in mercy, display such fearful vengeance !
 
 270 THE BREVITY AND VANITY 
 
 Let us then ever connect our sin with our mor- 
 tality and nothingness. Let every pain that we 
 feel in our mortal bodies, let every sick bed that 
 we visit, let every corpse we see, and every knell 
 we hear, remind us of the malignant nature of 
 this evil, and teach us to regard it as the great 
 enemy of man. 
 
 Another serious thought follows closely upon 
 this if sin is so dreadful a thing in this world of 
 mercy, what will be its terrors in a world of un- 
 mingled justice ? If it has brought disease and 
 pain, corruption and death, into my body here, 
 what will it bring into my soul there ? Brethren, 
 lay this thought to heart, and may it lead you, 
 this very hour, to that long heard of and long 
 despised fountain of a Saviour's blood, which only 
 can cleanse your soul from sin. This great evil 
 requires a great remedy; and the Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ has provided one of never fail- 
 ing and boundless efficacy. " He hath sent his 
 Son to be the propitiation for our sins ;" and this 
 mournful providence is a call to us from his 
 throne to hasten to the Saviour, whom his love 
 has provided. O may the Holy Spirit incline our 
 hearts to listen to the call ! May none of us des- 
 pise this great salvation ! 
 
 We may infer also from the words before us, 
 the necessity of a simple, undivided trust in God, 
 
 We all feel that we need a helper, and we are
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 271 
 
 prone to look'to one another for the help we need ; 
 but how unwise is it for an immortal being to 
 place his dependence on a creature who is so 
 near the grave, and who, " in his best state, is 
 altogether vanity ! " We go to a broken cistern, 
 when we need a fountain. We place our arm on 
 a feeble reed, when we need the support of an 
 everlasting rock. The natural consequences of 
 this conduct are obvious ; we are daily experien- 
 cing them. Our lives are filled with disappoint- 
 ment and vexation. Either our prop is knocked 
 from under us, or it sorely pierces the hand which 
 leans on it. But no man ever yet trusted in God 
 and was disappointed. There is no weakness, 
 no vanity, no death, in him. 
 
 How loudly is the Almighty now calling us off 
 from every earthly ground of dependence, by that 
 solemn dispensation which has assembled us here 
 to-day ! He has laid in the dust one who seemed 
 destined to be a blessing to our land. He appeared 
 to have formed the instrument with peculiar care, 
 and yet we have seen him dash it to pieces in an 
 hour. The language of this afflictive stroke is 
 plain. It calls upon us to "cease from man, 
 whose breath is in his nostrils." It says to us, 
 "Put not your trust in princes, or in the son of 
 man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth 
 forth; he returneth to his earth ; in that very day 
 his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the
 
 272 THE BREVITY AND VANITY 
 
 God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the 
 Lord his God." 
 
 It is true indeed that the man who has the 
 strongest trust in the Almighty, cannot fathom 
 this mysterious act of his providence ; but then 
 it is enouo-h for him to know that Jesus, his Sa- 
 
 o * 
 
 viour, sits on the throne of the universe, and 
 makes " all things work together for good" to his 
 beloved church. Though he cannot see his God, 
 he can trust him. If we are partakers of this 
 spirit, if we have attained this simple dependence 
 upon God, the blow which our country has sus- 
 tained, however grievous, will not disquiet us. 
 The kingdoms of the world are as much under 
 the care of God, as the sheep of his own little 
 flock ; yea, as his own eternal heavens. They 
 are not outcast orphans, discarded by their hea- 
 venly Father, but provinces of his immense em- 
 pire; and he constantly watches over and manages 
 all their affairs. Our own England is the object 
 of. his tenderest care. He has " graven her upon 
 the palms of his hands ; her walls are continually 
 before him." " God is in the midst of her ; she 
 shall not be moved. God shall help her, and 
 that right early." True, we have lost an arm of 
 flesh ; but the everlasting arms of Omnipotence 
 are still underneath us. Let it be our concern to 
 be the reconciled children of Jehovah in Christ 
 Jesus, and amidst all the changes and chances of
 
 OF HUMAN LIFE. 273 
 
 this mortal life, we shall be safe. " God will be 
 our refuge and strength ;" and this shall be our 
 song ; " The Lord of hosts is with* us ; the God 
 of Jacob is our refuge." 
 
 The subject we have been considering reminds 
 us, lastly, of the folly mid danger of indecision. 
 
 The period of life is too short, and the work we 
 have to do in it is too great, to allow us to hope 
 for any thing from half measures. The case calls 
 for the most prompt and unqualified decision. It 
 tells us that to defer is to be in danger; that to 
 hesitate is to be undone. How then shall we 
 bring our worldly hearts to this . entire devoted- 
 ness to God, to this earnestness in religion? 
 Experience tells us that no resolutions of ours 
 can effect the work. It bids us trust to no reso- 
 lutions ; but to lie low, as weak, helpless, and 
 guilty sinners, before the Saviour's cross. There 
 is the source, not of pardon only, but of ever- 
 lasting strength. There may be found victory 
 over the world, temptation, and sin; a life of 
 happiness ; a death of peace ; and an eternity 
 of joy. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 SERMON XV. 
 
 THE GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 2 CORINTHIANS iii. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. 
 
 If the ministration of death, written and engraven 
 in stones, was glorious, so that the children of 
 Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of 
 Moses for the glory of his countenance, which 
 glory was to be done away ; how shall not the 
 ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious ? 
 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, 
 much more doth the ministration of righteous- 
 ness exceed in glory. For even that which was 
 made glorious, had no glory in this respect, by 
 reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that 
 which was done away was glorious, much more 
 that which remaineth is glorious. 
 
 IHE authority of Saint Paul, as a minister of 
 Christ, was so much undervalued by some of the 
 Corinthian converts, that he was often obliged to
 
 THE GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 275 
 
 vindicate his own personal character among them, 
 and to magnify the dignity of his office. The 
 epistle before us was written partly with this ob- 
 ject in view. In furtherance of it, the apostle 
 draws in the text a contrast between the Mosaic 
 and Christian dispensations, and shews how far 
 the ministry of the one excels that of the other, 
 by proving the superior glory of the gospel above 
 the glory of the law. 
 
 In endeavouring to derive instruction from his 
 words, let us consider, first, the description which 
 he has here given us of the law; secondly, his 
 description of the gospel ; and, thirdly, the supe- 
 rior glory of the one, when compared with the other. 
 
 I. The words of the text afford us, first, a 
 description of the law. 
 
 We are not however to understand by this term 
 that original law only, which is the universal law 
 of God's kingdom, the law of the whole creation ; 
 but rather that particular modification of it, which 
 was given to the Israelites on mount Sinai, and 
 which formed a principal part of the Mosaic dis- 
 pensation. But as there is no essential difference 
 between the moral part of this dispensation and 
 the original law of God, they may, with the 
 greatest propriety, be spoken of as one and the 
 same law; and the words before us may be ap- 
 
 T 2
 
 276 THE GLORY 
 
 plied to the one, with as much propriety as to 
 the other. 
 
 1. Now the apostle calls this law " the minis- 
 tration of condemnation." Not that it at once 
 condemns all who are under it, irrespective of 
 their obedience or disobedience to its commands. 
 The angels have been under it from the hour of 
 their creation, and yet we know that a great part 
 of them have never been condemned by it. But 
 being a "holy, just, and good" law, it cannot 
 connive at sin. It requires perfect, sinless obe- 
 dience in all who are under its authority; and it 
 consequently condemns the creature, as soon as 
 the creature becomes a sinner. Its plain and un- 
 equivocal language to the Israelites was this, and 
 it is the same to every rational being in the 
 universe, " Cursed is every one that continueth 
 not in all things which are written in the book of 
 the law, to do them." It is evident therefore, 
 that the Israelites, and all who have been par- 
 takers of human nature since it was defiled by 
 sin, must be subject to this curse, must be under 
 the condemnation of this law, must as sinners be 
 brought in guilty before God, and stand before 
 him as condemned criminals. 
 
 2. Hence the apostle calls this law " the minis- 
 tration of death." Its sentence is a sentence of 
 death. All who are condemned by it, are con-
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 277 
 
 ned to die. This is its invariable decree ; 
 " The soul that sinneth, it shall die." 
 
 Natural death, the death of the body, is a part 
 of this sentence, but it is not all of it. A more 
 dreadful part is the death of the soul; not its 
 annihilation, but that spiritual death -which makes 
 us so careless about spiritual things in this world, 
 and that eternal death which includes in it the 
 utter loss of all that can render existence a bles- 
 sing in the world to come. This death is nothing 
 less than being cut off for ever from God, the 
 fountain of happiness ; and connected by an 
 eternal chain with that dreadful being who is the 
 source of all misery. 
 
 Now from this death, from the execution of 
 this sentence, the law provides no resource. It 
 flows indeed from the divine goodness, and was 
 instituted and is maintained for purposes which, 
 in their ultimate consequences, are purely bene- 
 volent; but then it has nothing to do with mercy; 
 it is a law of pure, unmingled justice. Sacrifices 
 for sin, it is true, were added to it under the 
 Mosaic dispensation of it; but these must not be 
 considered as possessing any inherent power to 
 remove its curse, or to atone for the transgres- 
 sions committed against it. They were merely 
 typical of that great sacrifice for sin, which was 
 to form a part of another and more glorious dis- 
 pensation. They could not expiate guilt, they
 
 278 THE GLORY 
 
 could not save the soul. Saint Paul declares in 
 the plainest terms, that "it is not possible that 
 the blood of bulls and of goats should take away 
 sins;" and even the more enlightened of those 
 who lived under this dispensation, saw that it was 
 in vain to "come before the Lord with burnt 
 oiferings ; " that the high God could not be 
 " pleased with thousands of rams or ten thou- 
 sands of rivers of oil;" that he would not take 
 even their " first-born for their transgression, the 
 fruit of their body for the sin of their soul." 
 
 The sinner therefore, under this law, becomes, 
 on his very first transgression, a condemned sin- 
 ner, a hopeless sinner. He has the curse of a 
 holy God upon him, and he is without any means 
 whatsoever of removing it. Justly therefore does 
 the apostle call it " a ministration of condemna- 
 tion and of death." 
 
 II. But what names does he apply to the gospel, 
 or the Christian dispensation ? He calls it " the 
 ministration of the Spirit," and " the ministra- 
 tion of righteousness." 
 
 1. It is " the ministration of righteousness." 
 We all know what righteousness implies. It 
 is a conformity to some moral standard, to 
 some law; and the law here alluded to by the 
 term, is the very law we have been considering ; 
 not that modification of it merely, which was
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 279 
 
 given to the Jews, but that universal and 
 eternal law on which the Mosaic dispensa- 
 tion was built, and agreeably to which all 
 the dealings of God with his rational creatures 
 are regulated. 
 
 It has indeed been supposed that the scriptures 
 occasionally speak of some other law, of some 
 new and less rigorous rule of life, which God has 
 given as a remedial law to fallen man ; but this 
 opinion must be traced to mean and erroneous 
 ideas of God. It is opposed to the whole tenor 
 of scripture, as well as to many of its plainest 
 declarations; and when brought to the test of 
 reason and common sense, it appears altogether 
 absurd ; yea, it is blasphemous ; for what does it 
 imply ? Nothing less than this, that the all-wise 
 Governor of the universe made some grand mis- 
 take when he originally gave his law to this part 
 of his creation ; that in consideration of our de- 
 pravity, he is now constrained to repeal it, and to 
 issue a new one. It makes the supposed ability, 
 or rather the inclination, of a corrupt and change- 
 able creature, the rule of his duty and the 
 standard of his obedience. In fact, it removes 
 from the throne of the universe a God of infinite 
 wisdom, goodness, and purity ; and places on 
 that glorious throne a mutable and capricious 
 being, one who can look on sin with indiiference, 
 and tolerate and almost sanction that dreadful
 
 280 . THE GLORY 
 
 evil, which has filled so fair a part of his creation 
 with wretchedness. 
 
 A very little serious reflection on this sub- 
 ject will be sufficient to convince us, that God 
 could never give to any one of his creatures any 
 other law, than that which requires perfect obe- 
 dience and spotless purity ; that this is the only 
 law of his moral government, and must be as 
 unalterable and eternal, as his own unchangeable 
 throne. This law and no other is alluded to 
 in the text, and it is in reference to this law, that 
 the apostle calls the gospel a " ministration of 
 righteousness." He does not call it so simply or 
 chiefly because it enjoins and secures the prac- 
 tice of righteousness among men, but for another 
 and a higher reason because it provides for the 
 penitent and believing sinner a complete satisfac- 
 tion for the offences he has committed against the 
 law of God, and an obedience perfectly commen- 
 surate with its demands. It tells him of one who 
 has redeemed him " from the curse of the law, 
 being made a curse" for him. It assures him 
 that God has sent forth his own eternal Son, 
 " made of a woman, made under the law, to re- 
 deem them that were under the law," to remove 
 its sentence from them, and to save them from 
 condemnation and death. 
 
 But the gospel goes still farther. It tells the 
 ransomed and pardoned penitent, that he who
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. . 281 
 
 endured the curse of the law for his sinful soul, 
 fulfilled its. demands in his stead; that though 
 his God regards him, and must ever regard him, 
 as a sinner, yet for the sake of an obedience 
 wrought out by another on his behalf, he will 
 treat him as though he were righteous, and raise 
 him to heaven. If we ask the name of this great 
 and gracious Friend, this, he tells us, is the name 
 whereby he shall be called, " The Lord our righte- 
 ousness." And he has taught his apostle to give 
 us this testimony concerning him, that " Christ 
 is the end of the law for righteousness to every 
 one that believeth." 
 
 Thus the gospel reveals to us a way by which 
 sin may be pardoned and the sinner saved, in 
 perfect consistency with the undeviating rectitude 
 of Jehovah's moral government, and the honour 
 of his inviolable law. This way of pardon 
 and salvation is not opposed to the law; it 
 does not make it void ; so far from it, that it is 
 grounded on it ; it establishes its authority ; it 
 magnifies it and makes it honourable ; it gives it 
 the highest and most awful sanction it is capable 
 of receiving. 
 
 2. But the apostle applies another name to the 
 Christian dispensation, and calls it " the minis- 
 tration of the Spirit/' He gives it this name on 
 account of the great out-pouring of the Spirit 
 with which this dispensation commenced, and the
 
 282 THE GLORY 
 
 abundant communication of the same Spirit with 
 which it has ever since been attended. 
 
 Not that we are to suppose that the church 
 under the dispensation of the law, was entirely 
 destitute of this Spirit. It was solely through 
 his gracious and powerful influence, that Enoch 
 walked with God and Noah feared him, that 
 Abraham believed in him and Moses served him. 
 It was he, who filled the souls of the prophets, 
 and enabled them to foretell with such wonderful 
 accuracy the advent, the death, and the glory, 
 of the Messiah. But the great and general effu- 
 sion of the Spirit was reserved for a brighter and 
 more glorious day of grace. The Son of God, as 
 the Mediator of his church, purchased on the 
 cross all the fulness of the Spirit ; and when he 
 ascended into heaven, he obtained the ministra- 
 tion of it, and gave that full display of its power, 
 which filled Jerusalem with astonishment on the 
 day of Pentecost, and added to his persecuted 
 church in one hour three thousand souls. He has 
 ever since been bestowing the same gift, in a 
 greater or less degree, on the world ; and has 
 proved his gospel to be the ministration of an 
 almighty Spirit, by the moral wonders which it 
 has wrought among men. 
 
 And this thought should much endear the gift 
 of the Holy Spirit to all who are made partakers 
 of it. It is the purchase of Christ ; his donation ;
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 283 
 
 the legacy which he bequeathed to us when he 
 left the world ; the gift which is to be our com- 
 forter in his absence, and to abide with us till he 
 comes again to take us to heaven. 
 
 III. Let us now proceed to our third subject of 
 consideration, the superior glory of the gospel above 
 that of the law. 
 
 The apostle does not assert that the Jewish dis- 
 pensation had no glory. He speaks of it, on the 
 contrary, as a very glorious dispensation. It had 
 a glorious author, even the King of heaven and 
 the Monarch of myriads of worlds. The object 
 of it was glorious. It was designed to unfold 
 many of the attributes of Jehovah, which the 
 works of creation were not calculated to display ; 
 to shew forth his infinite justice, purity, and ma- 
 jesty. It was published in a glorious manner, in 
 the midst of thunderings and lightnings, and all 
 the magnificence of terror ; and when it was first 
 written, it was not suffered to be transcribed by 
 any human hand, but it was written by the finger 
 of God on tables of stone hewn out by himself ; 
 and after it was written, it reflected so dazzling a 
 lustre on him who was appointed to carry it to 
 them, that " the children of Israel could not 
 stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory 
 of his countenance." 
 
 But notwithstanding all this display of magni-
 
 284 THE GLORY 
 
 ficence, the glory of the law sinks into nothing 
 when compared with the gospel. u That which 
 was made glorious," says the apostle, " had no 
 glory in this respect, by reason of the glory which 
 excelleth." 
 
 The names which are here applied to the law 
 and the gospel, shew us at once the propriety 
 of this language. The one is the ministration of 
 righteousness and of the Spirit ; it provides for 
 the justification and sanctification of the sinner, 
 while the other provides for neither ; it is the 
 ministration of condemnation and death, and 
 leaves the sinner to perish. But the superior 
 glory of the gospel may be elucidated by other 
 considerations. 
 
 1. // offers greater blessings to man, than were 
 offered by the law. 
 
 The Mosaic dispensation had a reference prin- 
 cipally to the present life, and most of its pro- 
 mises were temporal promises. And if we go 
 back to the original law on which this dispensa- 
 tion was founded, we shall find that it had not 
 those blessings to offer even to the most righte- 
 ous, which are offered in the gospel to the most 
 sinful. Its language to the creature is, " This do, 
 and thou shalt live ; thou shalt remain in thy 
 present state of blessedness, and shalt still enjoy 
 the same decree of divine favour, of which thou 
 
 O * 
 
 art now possessed." It is useless to ask what
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 285 
 
 the present condition of man would have been, if 
 he had never broken the law given to him. It 
 would undoubtedly have been a state of hap- 
 piness. But the gospel offers to his fallen race 
 far richer blessings, than were forfeited by the sin 
 of Adam. It offers us not an earthly paradise, 
 but a heavenly one ; not the trees of Eden, but 
 " the tree of life, which is in the midst of the pa- 
 radise of God." The covenant of works found 
 man in a state little lower than the angels ; and it 
 promised him, as long as he was obedient to its 
 precepts, to keep him there. The covenant of 
 grace finds him degraded almost to an equality 
 with the devils ; and yet it offers to raise the 
 meanest of his race to a participation of the glory 
 and happiness of the Son of God. The gospel 
 does not merely tell us of the pardon of sin, of 
 deliverance from the curse of the law, of salvation 
 from hell ; it lifts up our eyes to the everlasting 
 hills of heaven, and tells the redeemed sinner to 
 hope for a mansion there, a crown and a throne. 
 It bids him stretch his imagination to the very 
 utmost ; and when he has heaped together all 
 the joys which his imagination can suggest, it 
 tells him that greater joys than these may be his 
 own ; that his heart has not even yet conceived 
 the things which God has prepared for the sinner 
 who loves him. It places within his reach a share 
 of that very joy which satisfies the Redeemer for
 
 286 THE GLORY 
 
 " the travail of his soul," and more than compen- 
 sates the many woes of his life, and the bitter 
 sufferings of his death. Well therefore may it be 
 called " a better covenant, established upon better 
 promises." 
 
 2. We may see more of the comparative glory 
 of the gospel by recollecting, secondly, that it 
 not only offers to man richer blessings than the 
 Mosaic dispensation had to offer, but it offers 
 these blessings more extensively. 
 
 The promises of the law were confined to one 
 nation only, and that not a numerous one ; and 
 even of this nation, it was but a little remnant 
 that inherited the spiritual benefits of the dispen- 
 sation under which they lived. The blessings of 
 the gospel, on the contrary, are thrown open to 
 all the world without distinction of nation, sect, 
 or person ; and there is not a sinner breathing on 
 the earth, who may not come and take its richest 
 mercies freely, " without money and without 
 price," as soon as he hears of them. The field 
 of the law was the land of Judasa ; the field of 
 the gospel is the whole world. Already has the 
 publication of it been the means of saving unnum- 
 bered millions, whom the Jewish law, had it con- 
 tinued to the present day, would have left to 
 perish. In every part of the globe, thousands 
 have experienced the saving efficacy of its re- 
 deeming grace, and multitudes are daily ascend-
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 287 
 
 ing from the once dark corners of the earth to the 
 light of heaven, and are swelling there its chorus 
 of praise. 
 
 And yet extensively as the gospel has diffused 
 its blessings and its conquests, the faithful word 
 of prophecy assures us that it will diffuse them 
 still more extensively. It has already spurned 
 the narrow sphere of a single land, but all the 
 kingdoms of the world are destined to be the scene 
 of its triumphs and its glory. A time is rapidly 
 approaching, when the King of Zion shall be the 
 King of the whole earth ; when " every knee shall 
 bow to him and every tongue confess" him to be 
 the Lord. How many years or ages must roll 
 away before this period arrives, we know not ; 
 but there is reason to hope that we ourselves 
 have seen the dawn of this glorious day. In our 
 own honoured land a spirit has been excited, and 
 from it has gone forth a voice, which have filled 
 the Christian church with the liveliest expecta- 
 tion. In the troublous times of contention and 
 war, England has lifted up the banner of the 
 cross, and has been calling a perishing world to 
 salvation and to God. The ignorant and the 
 vicious, the lukewarm and the selfish, have beheld 
 her efforts and decried them ; they have deemed 
 her labours of love the mere phrenzies of an en- 
 thusiastic age ; but the hand of the Lord has 
 been with her to strengthen her, and God, even
 
 288 THE GLORY 
 
 her own God, has given her his blessing. Already 
 have her own borders been gladdened with more 
 abundant means of grace, than ever land pos- 
 sessed before ; and she has received many an 
 earnest of future triumphs on foreign shores. 
 Only let the sacred flame which Christian love 
 has enkindled, be kept burning on her altars, and 
 the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in her 
 hand. Her success cannot be doubtful. It may 
 be distant, but it is sure. The way of the Lord 
 shall a be known upon earth, and his saving 
 health among all nations." The people shall 
 " be glad and sing for joy ;" and " all the ends 
 of the earth shall remember themselves, and turn 
 unto the Lord." 
 
 3. The gospel has a greater influence, on the 
 hearts of men, than the Mosaic dispensation ever 
 had, and is consequently more glorious. 
 
 That dispensation published to the Israelites a 
 pure and holy law, but it had no power to touch 
 their sinful hearts, and to cause them to love and 
 obey it. It gave them precepts, promises, and 
 threatenings ; but it could do no more. It was 
 not " the ministration of the Spirit," and the con- 
 sequence was, that it left the greater part of them 
 as rebellious and idolatrous as it found them. 
 The gospel, on the contrary, was no sooner pub- 
 lished, than it made glorious and surprising changes 
 in the characters and lives of multitudes who
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 289 
 
 embraced it. It was preached by poor and illite- 
 rate men, but it made the ungodly tremble, and 
 the hard-hearted weep. It induced the proud to 
 give up the praises of men, and to take in ex- 
 change for them the reproach of Christ. It se- 
 lected its friends out of the fiercest ranks of its 
 enemies ; and they who were violent persecutors 
 one day, became willing martyrs the next. 
 
 Under the influences of the Spirit, the gospel 
 still proves itself possessed of uncontroulable 
 power over every one who truly receives it. It 
 pierces the conscience, it softens the heart, it pu- 
 rifies the soul. The lover of pleasure hears it, 
 and becomes a lover of God. The thoughtless 
 trifler is struck by it, and, for the first time in his 
 life, begins to think and pray. The sensualist, as 
 he listens to its sayings, tears his lusts out of his 
 heart ; and the man who before loved and served 
 the world, turns his back on it, tramples its sins 
 and follies underneath his feet, and fixes his eyes 
 on heaven. Thus has the gospel brought thou- 
 sands to righteousness, whom the moral law could 
 not have reclaimed ; and thus has it proved its 
 superior glory by its superior influence over the 
 hearts of men. 
 
 4. The glory of the gospel is greater than that 
 of the Jewish dispensation, because it is a glory 
 which will last for ever. 
 
 This appears to be the principal ground of su- 
 
 VOL. i. u
 
 290 THE GLORY 
 
 periority on which Saint Paul insists in the text. 
 He tells us, in the seventh verse, that all the glory 
 of mount Sinai was to be done away ; and again, 
 in the eleventh verse, he says, " If that which was 
 done away was glorious, much more that which 
 remaineth is glorious." 
 
 Not that we are to infer that the moral law is 
 or ever will be abolished. The apostle does not 
 refer in these words to the law itself; but to that 
 ministration of it which was established by Moses, 
 and to those peculiar rites and ordinances which 
 were connected with it under the Jewish dispen- 
 sation. This dispensation was, in fact, designed 
 to be introductory to the gospel. It was intend- 
 ed, as the scriptures inform us, to be " our 
 schoolmaster to bring us to Christ ;" to shew to 
 the Israelites their need of a sacrifice and a Sa- 
 viour, and to point out the Messiah to them as 
 the great atonement for sin. When therefore the 
 Messiah appeared, the design of the ceremonial 
 law was answered, and it became a useless form. 
 
 But the gospel is not thus temporary in its 
 nature. Its duration will be commensurate with 
 the existence of the world, yea, with the ages of 
 eternity. It is called " an everlasting covenant ;" 
 " a perpetual covenant, that shall not be forgot- 
 ten." It is described as a covenant built on 
 Christ who " abideth for ever," and partaking of 
 the stability of its foundation.
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 291 
 
 5. Tlie gospel is a brighter display of the divine per- 
 fections than the law, and is therefore more glorious. 
 All the attributes of Jehovah which were displayed 
 in the one, are displayed also in the other, and 
 that in a clearer and more glorious light. 
 
 In this point of view, the mount of Sinai, with 
 all its dreadful magnificence, sinks into nothing, 
 when compared with the spot on which the Son 
 of God gave up the ghost. The cross of Christ 
 threw a lustre over the justice, the holiness, and 
 the majesty, of God, which these attributes never 
 had before; and gave them a glory, which the 
 destruction of a whole world of sinners under the 
 curse of the law, never could have given them. 
 It was on this cross also that divine mercy was 
 first displayed to a wondering universe ; and it 
 was here that redeeming grace seemed to burst 
 into existence. These perfections had been from 
 eternity in the mind of Jehovah, but his creatures 
 saw them not ; they knew nothing of them, till 
 they were discovered on the cross of their suffer- 
 ing King in all their infinite extent and boundless 
 magnificence. Here also was seen unsearchable 
 wisdom, glorifying itself in a plan of salvation by 
 which all the perfections of the Deity are called 
 into exercise, and all acting in perfect harmony, 
 none of them eclipsing or darkening the others, 
 but all mingling their beams, and shining with 
 united and eternal splendour. 
 
 u 2
 
 292 
 
 THE GLORY 
 
 These then are some of the points in which the 
 gospel excels the Mosaic dispensation. It is the 
 ministration of righteousness and of the Spirit, 
 while the law is the ministration of condemnation 
 and of death. It offers greater blessings to man, 
 than were offered by the law ; it offers these 
 blessings more extensively ; it has a greater in- 
 fluence on the hearts of mankind ; its glory is of 
 longer duration ; and it is a brighter display of 
 the attributes of God. It now only remains that 
 we deduce from this subject a few of the reflec- 
 tions which it naturally suggests. 
 
 How honourable an office is that of a minister of 
 
 \ju j if 
 
 Christ! The contrast in the text was drawn to 
 shew the greatness of the dignity conferred on 
 him, and the title which it gives him to the respect 
 and love of mankind. They who brought to the 
 Israelites a law of condemnation and of death, 
 were thought worthy of honour; but of how 
 much greater honour shall they be thought worthy, 
 who are commissioned to make known to their 
 brethren the gospel of peace ; that gospel which 
 discovers to the universe the glory of God, and 
 opens to a perishing world a way to heaven ! 
 There is not an angel above us, who would not 
 rejoice to come down to the earth on such an 
 errand as this, and deem himself honoured above 
 his fellows by the work. O that every minister
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 293 
 
 of Christ made his dignified employment the 
 great source of his happiness ! O that his bre- 
 thren were ready to give him the affection and 
 reverence which God has made his due ! May 
 all the people of our Zion learn to value the 
 faithful minister of the gospel ! and to all her 
 ministers may this grace be given, that they may 
 love to preach among her people " the unsearch- 
 able riches of Christ !" 
 
 How great is the privilege which we enjoy in 
 living under the dispensation of the gospel! 
 
 We have often heard of the great love of God 
 to his people of old, and we have sometimes almost 
 envied them the peculiar privileges they enjoyed; 
 but what were their privileges, when compared 
 with ours? They lived under a ministration of 
 condemnation and of death, but we are living 
 under a ministration of the Spirit and of righte- 
 ousness. They had to learn all that they could 
 learn of the way to heaven, from types and figures ; 
 but " we with open face behold as in a glass the 
 glory of the Lord," and see plainly marked out 
 before us the path of life. Noah and Abraham, 
 Moses and David, had promises to hope in ; but to 
 us these promises have been fulfilled. " A rod" 
 has " come forth out of the stem of Jesse, and a 
 branch" has grown " out of his roots." The Mes- 
 siah has been lifted up as an ensign to the people. 
 He has risen as the Sun of righteousness on a be-
 
 294 THE GLORY 
 
 nighted world, and in him the nations of the 
 
 O ' 
 
 earth are blessed. Our eyes see and our ears hear 
 what many prophets and righteous men, age after 
 age, desired to hear and to see, but were not able. 
 Let us rejoice then in our superior privileges. 
 Let us be thankful for them. Let us be con- 
 cerned to improve, and dread to abuse them. 
 Let us remember these words of the apostle, 
 " See that ye refuse not him that speaketh ; for 
 if they escaped not, who refused him that spake 
 on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we 
 turn away from him that speaketh from heaven." 
 
 How great a debt of gratitude and praise does 
 every Christian owe to his crucified Lord 1 
 
 It was Christ, who turned the ministration of 
 death into a ministration of life and peace. It 
 was Christ, who brought down glad tidings of 
 good from heaven, and purchased the influence of 
 the Spirit for mankind. All our spiritual bles- 
 sings flow from him. Our adoption is by him. 
 Our redemption and remission of sins are through 
 him. Through Christ, God hears our prayers, 
 and gives us freedom of access to his throne. 
 Through Christ, he justifies and sanctifies us. 
 Through Christ, he blesses and saves us. Our 
 freedom from the law too must be ascribed to the 
 same source. We were not free born, but Christ 
 with a great price, even the price of his own 
 blood, purchased our freedom. It was he, " who
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 295 
 
 blotted out the hand-writing of ordinances that 
 was against us, which was contrary to us, and 
 took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." 
 Let us therefore exalt the Saviour, and be ever 
 ready to testify our obligations to him. Let us 
 shew by the love and honour we bear him, that 
 he is dear to our hearts; that we are not ashamed 
 of him ; that we have learned to glory even in his 
 reproach. 
 
 How unwise are they who hope for pardon and 
 salvation, on the ground of their partial and defec- 
 tive obedience to the law of God ! 
 
 This law has nothing to do with pardon ; it has 
 no salvation to confer. Condemnation and death 
 are the only boons it has for the sinful. Its un- 
 varying language from the moment in which time 
 first began to the present hour, is this, and through 
 eternity it will remain the same, " The soul that 
 sinneth, it shall die." Have you then never 
 sinned ? Can you appeal to the great Searcher 
 of hearts, and call him to witness that you have 
 never left undone that which he has commanded? 
 that you have never done that which he has for- 
 bidden ? Can you say before him, that no one 
 action of your life has been sinful ? that no word 
 of your lips has been an idle word ? that no 
 thought of your heart has been malicious, envious, 
 or unclean ? You feel that you must shrink from 
 such an appeal as this ; and yet the law requires
 
 269 THE GLORY 
 
 this appeal from you, before it can bless you. It 
 can sanction and reward none but the spotless. 
 The angels may hope in it, and be happy ; but 
 the sinner who would be saved and blessed, must 
 seek the salvation he needs far from this law 
 He must flee from mount Sinai to mount Zion. 
 He must see that " blackness, and darkness, and 
 tempest," surround the one, while mercy and grace 
 dwell only on the other. 
 
 Renounce then, brethren, the hope you have so 
 long and so fondly cherished, and seek another 
 and a better hope in " the glorious gospel of the 
 blessed God." Pray for an humble and believing 
 heart ; and that which the merit of all the angels 
 in heaven could never purchase, shall be freely 
 given you by God. Your sins shall be blotted 
 out ; you shall be reconciled and brought nigh to 
 God by the blood of Christ ; you shall be saved 
 in the Lord with an everlasting; salvation. 
 
 o 
 
 How ignorant are they of the gospel of Christ, 
 who make the influence of the Spirit the object of 
 their scorn ! 
 
 The words before us plainly imply that from 
 the ministration of the Spirit, the gospel of Christ 
 derives much of its glory ; and yet what do some 
 among us deem this Spirit ? A glorious reality ? 
 No ; a fancy, a dream, a thing to be scoffed at, 
 ridiculed, and despised. We acknowledge here 
 perhaps that his sacred influence is a reality and
 
 OF THE GOSPEL. 297 
 
 a blessing, and we profess to pray for it ; and then 
 we go home, and teach our children and our 
 neighbours to gainsay and deride it. Now what 
 is this conduct, but wretched hypocrisy and de- 
 plorable folly ? It is treating with contempt that 
 which God esteems glorious. It is mocking at 
 that which is the greatest blessing of heaven. 
 Let the starving man scoff at the food offered 
 him ; let the dying man ridicule the only medi- 
 cine which can save his life ; let the sinking ma- 
 riner jest with the rope thrown out to save him ; 
 but never, brethren, let us scoff at the influence 
 of the Spirit; never let us do "despite to the 
 Spirit of grace." 
 
 How anxiously should every hearer of the gos- 
 pel desire that it may be made the ministration of 
 the Spirit to himself! that he may experience 
 its softening and purifying influence in his own 
 heart ! 
 
 What is the ministry of the gospel without this 
 influence ? An empty sound ; a cold, lifeless, 
 powerless thing. But what is it with it ? The 
 power and the wisdom of God ; the awakener of 
 the thoughtless, the sanctifier of the ungodly, the 
 comforter of the sorrowful, the saviour of the 
 soul. Without this influence, we shall hear the 
 gospel, trifle, and perish ; with this influence, we 
 shall hear it and live. There is no blessing that 
 we need more than we need this, and there is
 
 298 THE GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 none which God is more ready to give. He sits 
 on a throne of grace, that he may bestow it on 
 the sinful children of men, and there is not a sin- 
 ner upon earth, who is not warranted to approach 
 his throne, and to supplicate it at his hands. May 
 we have a heart to seek it ! May we be made 
 partakers of it ! May our experience and conduct 
 prove the gospel of Christ to be the ministration 
 of the Spirit and of righteousness, "the power of 
 God to salvation !"
 
 SERMON XVI. 
 
 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE OF THE LOVE 
 OF CHRIST. 
 
 2 CORINTHIANS v. 14, 15. 
 
 The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus 
 
 judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; 
 
 and that he died for all, that they which live, 
 
 should not henceforth live unto themselves, but 
 
 unto him which died for them and rose again. 
 
 THIS text may be considered as a summary of 
 Christian faith and practice. All the great truths 
 of the gospel are comprised or implied in it, and 
 it delineates the practical effects which a sincere 
 reception of these truths never fails to produce. 
 Happy is the man who can enter into the mean- 
 ing of these words, and has a heartfelt knowledge 
 of their truth ! 
 
 I. Among the many subjects of consideration
 
 300 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 which the text suggests to us, the condition to 
 which sin has reduced man, appears to be the first. 
 
 1 . This the apostle describes as a condition of 
 peculiar wretchedness. " If one died for all," he 
 says, " then were all dead." 
 
 Now this testimony concerning us sends us 
 back to the scene of man's first transgression, and 
 brings to our remembrance the sentence which 
 was passed on him when he first became a sinner. 
 " In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt 
 surely die," was the plain declaration of God, but 
 man despised it ; he ate and died. He did the 
 dreadful work which his enemy had given him to 
 do, and he and all his posterity have received its 
 wages. We are dead. 
 
 The death which sin has thus brought on our 
 fallen race, is something more than the death of 
 the body ; it is a moral death, the death of the 
 soul. The scriptures often describe our spiritual 
 state under this figure, and they could not have 
 employed a more natural or expressive one. It is 
 a figure too which is easily understood. 
 
 We all know that a man, when dead, is inca- 
 pable either of action or enjoyment. He might 
 yesterday have been possessed of much strength 
 of body, and have prided himself on great energy 
 of mind ; we might have seen him happy in the 
 enjoyment of a thousand blessings ; but now all is 
 over. The objects which busied him, and the
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 301 
 
 things he delighted in, still remain unchanged 
 around him, but he heeds them not ; he lies un- 
 moved in the midst of them all. The occupations 
 of the world cannot rouse him to action, nor the 
 pleasures of life wake him to joy. 
 
 It is thus with our souls. They are dead. 
 They have lost their spiritual life, and are become 
 incapable of spiritual employments and delights. 
 They still retain all their original faculties, as the 
 dead body retains for a season its original mem- 
 bers, but then the living principle which once 
 animated them and called them into exercise, is 
 gone. Heaven and hell are still awful realities ; 
 the one is as desirable as ever, and the other as 
 fearful ; but the soul has lost its feeling, and we 
 are become alike indifferent to both. We hear of 
 them, and we believe their existence, but this is 
 all. They do not move us ; they have no prac- 
 tical influence on our minds. 
 
 2. The figure which the apostle makes use of, 
 shews us also the hopelessness of our condition. 
 We are not dying, but dead. We are not like a 
 tree which, though withered, may be brought into 
 a situation where the sun may shine and the rain 
 descend on it, and revive it. We are rather like 
 those trees, of which it is said that they are 
 " twice dead, and plucked up by the roots." The 
 spiritual life of the soul is utterly extinct. Matter 
 of fact proves that it is totally gone. We have
 
 302 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 all the means of spiritual restoration which a 
 dying sinner could ask for. We have sabbaths 
 and Bibles to awaken us ; we have ministers to 
 quicken us ; we have afflictions to arouse us ; we 
 have mercies innumerable to affect us. And what 
 effect have all these means of grace produced ? 
 Do the dry bones live ? Are our souls quickened, 
 and forced to think and feel ? Alas, no ! We are, 
 for the greater part, still dead, as dead to spi- 
 ritual and eternal things, as though there were 
 not a sabbath in our year, or a Bible in our land. 
 But this spiritual insensibility is not all that 
 the scriptures mean by the death of the soul. It 
 is an earnest of the fruit we are to reap from our 
 transgressions, rather than the fruit itself. There 
 is a day approaching, in which the full wages of 
 sin will be given us. The spiritual death which 
 now incapacitates us for the services and enjoy- 
 ments of heaven, will end in eternal death ; not in 
 annihilation or nothingness, but in a living death; 
 in those unknown and bitter pains, to which no 
 earthly sufferings can be compared, but the pangs 
 of the dying. These will at once call into action 
 the dormant powers of the soul. These will em- 
 ploy all its strengthened faculties in the eternity 
 before us, and leave not a moment for peace or 
 
 joy- 
 Observe too that it is not some or a small 
 
 part of mankind, who are in this wretched and
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 303 
 
 hopeless condition. The language of the apostle 
 extends to all. It includes the decent and the 
 virtuous, as well as the profligate and the vicious ; 
 the man who calls himself after the name of 
 Christ, as well as the heathen who has never 
 heard of his name. " If one died for all, then 
 were all dead." 
 
 The death which the great Governor of the 
 universe has made the wages of sin, is not the 
 consequence of great and complicated iniquities 
 only. It follows sin of every description, and 
 guilt of every degree. The first act of trans- 
 gression we ever committed, brought this curse 
 on our souls, so that the condition of any one of 
 us is, by nature, the condition of us all. We are 
 all criminals condemned to die, and left for execu- 
 tion ; respited indeed for a season by the clemency 
 of our Judge, but still liable every moment to be 
 called on and hurried to judgment. 
 
 II. The words of the apostle lead us to notice, 
 secondly, the interposition of Christ on the behalf 
 of man. " He died for them and rose again." 
 
 Observe who it is that is here said to have had 
 compassion on man. This Christ was no other 
 than the eternal Son ; the being who framed the 
 world, and built the skies, and gives to his own 
 glorious heaven all its joys and splendours. It 
 was he who had existed from all eternity en-
 
 304 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 throned in light, and had never known in that 
 eternity one moment's humiliation, pain, or sorrow. 
 Observe how this Being interposed for man ; 
 what he did for him. " He died." And how 
 much, brethren, is comprehended in this ex- 
 pression ! what mysteries of grace and love ! If 
 we would see something of its meaning, we must 
 lift up our eyes to the heavens above us, and be- 
 hold the Son of God descending for the first time 
 from his throne amidst wondering angels, and 
 withdrawing himself from their sight. We must 
 then bring down our eyes back again to the 
 I earth, and behold "the high and lofty One" who 
 I had hitherto inhabited eternity, dwelling here ; 
 | appearing on our own sinful globe, in our own 
 degraded form. He is seen at first lying in a 
 manger as a helpless babe. A few years after- 
 wards, we find him in a state of suffering, as well 
 as of degradation ; wandering about on the earth 
 which his hands had formed, without a place in 
 it " where to lay his head ; ; ' " despised and re- 
 jected" by all who behold him, and persecuted by 
 thousands who pour contempt on his greatness, 
 and thirst for his blood. And how did this de- 
 gradation and these sufferings end ? Did he at 
 length throw off the form which concealed his 
 divinity, and shew himself to an astonished world 
 in the glory of his greatness ? No. We see him 
 wounded and bruised, crucified and slain ; ending
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 305 
 
 his sorrows as a malefactor, and expiring on a 
 shameful cross. 
 
 Observe further for whom this death was en- 
 dured. He died for man. Not that he died in 
 the same spiritual sense in which we are de- 
 scribed as dead ; or that he endured those pains 
 of eternal death, which are the desert of our sin. 
 It was a natural death only which he underwent ; 
 and though his soul was racked with anguish 
 greater than man could bear, there were some of 
 the peculiar torments of the accursed, which he 
 did not taste. He died on the behalf and in the 
 stead of man. His sufferings effectually rescue 
 those who believe in him, from the punishment 
 due to their guilt, and are therefore spoken of in 
 the scriptures as an equivalent, and are called a 
 " ransom" and a " price ;" but we must not give 
 a pecuniary meaning to words which were de- 
 signed to convey only a moral signification. We 
 must not infer from this language, that Christ 
 suffered on the cross just the same agonies that 
 his people must otherwise have suffered in the 
 kingdom of despair. The scriptures no where 
 warrant such an inference ; and it would not be 
 difficult to shew that it involves in it at least a 
 moral, if not a natural impossibility. It becomes 
 us to speak with the greatest caution on every 
 subject connected with this great " mystery of 
 godliness ;" but we may perhaps venture to assert, 
 
 VOL. i. x
 
 306 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 that if only one sinner was to have been redeemed 
 by the blood of Christ, it would have pleased the 
 Father to have laid just as much grief on his be- 
 loved Son, as he laid on him for the salvation of 
 all the world. He would have made just as grand 
 a display of his holiness, and as fearful a manifesta- 
 tion of his justice. 
 
 Hence we are told in the text, that Christ "died 
 for all ;" in other words, that " he made on the 
 cross by his one oblation of himself once offered, 
 a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, 
 and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world." 
 Not that we are to infer that the sins of the whole 
 world, or of any one sinner in the world, are ne- 
 cessarily pardoned in consequence of the death of 
 Christ. All we are to conclude is this that in 
 consideration of the sacrifice of Christ, the Al- 
 mighty can now pardon every sinner whom his 
 infinite goodness inclines him to pardon, without 
 sullying the glory of his character as the Gover- 
 nor of the universe, or impairing the authority of 
 his law. 
 
 I am aware, brethren, that it has been asserted, 
 and by some who profess to have peculiarly clear 
 and exalted ideas of the glory of Christ, that the 
 atonement which he has offered for sin, was an 
 atonement of limited worth ; that it was an im- 
 perfect sacrifice ; of sufficient efficacy indeed to 
 enable the Almighty to pardon all the transgres-
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 307 
 
 sions of a few sinners, but insufficient to enable 
 him, consistently with his attributes, to blot out 
 the iniquities of others. No opinion however can 
 be more unscriptural than this, or more dis- 
 honourable to the Redeemer. It militates against 
 many of the plainest declarations of the Bible ; it 
 impeaches the veracity of him who calls a whole 
 world of sinners to the cross of his Son ; it impairs 
 the glory of the gospel ; it limits the Holy One 
 of Israel. The humble Christian, he whom an 
 attachment to human systems has not yet cor- 
 rupted from " the simplicity that is in Christ," 
 shrinks from an opinion so bold and strange, and 
 wonders that any of his fellow-Christians can 
 have so faint a sense of the dignity of their Re- 
 deemer, as to allow it for one moment to be har- 
 boured in their breasts. He presumes not to mark 
 out the men who will be savingly benefited oy 
 the death of his Lord ; but he knows that his 
 blood " cleanseth from all sin ;" that it is able to 
 justify the ways of Jehovah to his creatures, 
 though he were to pardon and save ten thousand 
 sinful worlds. 
 
 " What then," it may be asked, " becomes of 
 those declarations of scripture, which seem to 
 imply that it is only a chosen people on the earth, 
 who will be made partakers of the saving efficacy 
 of the cross ? Are they to be blotted out of our 
 Bibles ? Or are we to wrest them from their 
 
 x 2
 
 308 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 meaning and explain them away, before we re- 
 ceive them ?" In no wise. All the declarations 
 of the Bible are u the faithful and true sayings of 
 God ;" and none of them, however offensive to 
 human pride, are to be disbelieved or qualified 
 by man. The doctrine which ascribes unlimited, 
 infinite efficacy to the atonement of Christ, is not 
 opposed to one of these declarations. It is per- 
 fectly consistent with them all ; with those which 
 tell us that the flock of Christ is a little flock 
 chosen out of the world, as well as with those 
 which call on all the ends of the earth to look to 
 the cross and be saved. 
 
 It is plain that there may be treasures in the 
 mines of the earth, sufficient to enrich all who 
 live on it, and yet but few of the inhabitants of 
 the earth may be enriched by these treasures. 
 And is it not equally possible that there may be 
 undiscovered riches in Christ, a treasure of grace 
 in an infinite God, sufficient to save a universe of 
 sinners, though many are suffered to despise his 
 salvation and perish ? Is the balm of Gilead un- 
 able to heal, because the wounded sufferer refuses 
 to have it applied ? Shall the deep and over- 
 flowing river of life be said to be empty, because 
 we refuse to drink of its waters, and perish with 
 thirst ? Is the Holy One of Israel to be limited, 
 because his creatures pour contempt on the glo- 
 ries he offers them, and choose instead of them
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 309 
 
 the pleasures and wages of sin ? As well might 
 a man contend that the sun has ceased to shine 
 around him, because he closes his eyes against 
 its light ; or that food is unable to support his 
 body, because he objects to receive it. The suffi- 
 ciency of a remedy to remove an evil, is one 
 thing ; the application of the remedy to that evil, 
 is another. The death of Christ is able to save 
 every sinner, but it is the will of God that the 
 contrite and believing sinner only should be inter- 
 ested in its saving power ; therefore the penitent 
 believer only is saved. 
 
 Christ died for all ; he made on the cross so 
 awful a display of the divine holiness, that the 
 Most High can now pardon sin wherever he finds 
 it, without militating against the honour or 
 authority of his moral government ; this is the 
 doctrine taught in the text. In dispensing his 
 mercy, the Almighty passes by the angels that 
 sinned ; he leaves them as awful monuments of 
 his justice ; while he sets his love on a people 
 on the earth, and carries them to heaven as mo- 
 numents of his redeeming grace. " He chooses 
 them in Christ out of mankind, and he brings 
 them by Christ to everlasting salvation as vessels 
 made to honour ;" this is the doctrine of sove- 
 reign grace. Both these doctrines are plainly 
 taught us in the scriptures ; they are both the 
 doctrines of our church. Whatever contrariety
 
 310 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 we may see between them, he who wrote the 
 scriptures, sees none. He has left them upon 
 record in his word, and he calls upon us to re- 
 ceive and believe them ; not to contend for them 
 as the tenets of a sect or the badges of a party, 
 but to embrace them as the faithful sayings 
 of God ; not to view them merely as subjects of 
 speculation and controversy, but as designed to 
 produce a practical and holy effect on our hearts 
 and lives. 
 
 But the interposition of Christ on the behalf 
 of man was not confined to dying for him. " He 
 rose again." 
 
 Had Christ only died for us, his death would 
 not have materially pn^fited us ; at least, it 
 would not have effectually rescued us from our 
 lost condition. It might have saved us from 
 eternal death, but we should still have been 
 spiritually dead. It might have procured heaven 
 for us, but we should have been incapable of 
 sharing in its services and joys. The blessed 
 Jesus therefore, after he had opened a way for 
 the salvation of his church by his death on the 
 cross, began to prepare and qualify his church 
 for the enjoyment of that salvation. He rose 
 again to complete the work which he had begun. 
 He returned to heaven in the same character 
 in which he left it, as the Saviour of sinners. 
 Nearly two thousand years have past since he
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 311 
 
 gave up the ghost on Calvary, but not a moment 
 has past in which he has not been employed 
 in the salvation of his church. God exalted him 
 to be a Saviour, and he is faithful to the office 
 he has received. He delights in communicating 
 to sinners the spiritual life which they have lost ; 
 in calling them out of the world, convincing them 
 of sin, leading them to his cross, comforting them 
 in their sorrows, making them meet for their eter- 
 nal inheritance, and leading them by " a way 
 which they know not," to the kingdom he has 
 purchased for them. 
 
 III. The next subject of consideration sug- 
 gested by the text, is the .principle or motive from 
 which the interposition of Christ on our behalf 
 proceeded. 
 
 The apostle traces it in the text to love. " The 
 love of Christ constraineth us." It was not an 
 act of justice. We had no claim whatsoever on 
 the compassion of Christ. Instead of expecting 
 him to come down from heaven as a Saviour to 
 die for us, we have reason to wonder that he had 
 so long delayed to come down as a Judge to con 
 demn, and as an Avenger to destroy us. 
 
 Neither did his interposition proceed from a 
 regard to his own honour only. He was "glorious 
 in holiness" and " fearful in praises" long before 
 we were created ; and as for the lustre which he
 
 312 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 has shed around his throne by the redemption of 
 man, there were other sinners in the universe for 
 whom he could have died, and whose salvation 
 would perhaps have shewn forth his praise as 
 brightly and widely as ours. He has never yet 
 needed the aid of any of his creatures to make 
 him a glorious God. 
 
 It was love alone, free and unmerited love, 
 which brought Christ down to the earth. It was 
 
 O 
 
 love, which caused him to dwell on this accursed 
 world as a man of sorrows, and to take so large 
 a share of its degradation and miseries. It was 
 love, which made him so willing to be " despised 
 and rejected of men," and to be bruised and 
 l, put to grief by his God. It was love, which 
 enabled him to bear the exceeding great trouble 
 of his soul in the garden, arid the mysteriously 
 racking agonies of the cross. All that he suffered 
 for us when on earth, and all that he has been 
 since doing for us in heaven, he has done and 
 suffered solely for this one reason, because he 
 loves us. 
 
 This is the divine attribute to which all the 
 blessings of redemption must be traced. This is 
 the attribute which shines with the brightest lustre 
 in the gospel of Christ. The work of redemption 
 reveals to us treasures of wisdom and power. 
 Matchless wisdom devised its stupendous plan, 
 and infinite power executed it ; but it was love,
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 313 
 
 which called this wisdom and this power into ex- 
 ercise. It was love, which made these attributes 
 so glorious to God, and the instruments of such 
 rich blessings to man. 
 
 IV. But although the interposition of Christ on 
 our behalf proceeded solely from love, it was never- 
 theless designed to answer a great and gracious 
 purpose. The apostle accordingly points out to 
 us in the text, the end which Christ had in view in 
 dying and rising again for man. It was this 
 " that they which live, should not henceforth live 
 unto themselves, but unto him which died for 
 them and rose again." 
 
 This language plainly implies that by nature 
 we are all living to ourselves ; that our own will 
 is the law of our actions, and our own gratifica- 
 tion, our own interest or pleasure, the end of 
 them. It is not thus with some of the rational 
 creatures of God, neither was it always thus 
 with man. The selfish and independent principle 
 within us, is one of the sad fruits of our depra- 
 vity. It is a part of that spiritual death, that 
 alienation from God, which sin has spread over 
 the soul, and which nothing but a new birth unto 
 righteousness can remove. It is directly opposed 
 to our happiness, for all the happiness of the 
 creature is derived from the service of the Crea- 
 tor, and all his blessedness Hows from a conformity
 
 314 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 to the divine law and will. It is also in the high- 
 est degree hateful to God. We shew by it that we 
 do not consider him as having any claim on us or 
 our services. It is an open denial of his authority 
 as the Sovereign of the universe. It is an act of 
 rebellion. 
 
 Now the design of Christ in dying for man was 
 to root out this selfish principle from his heart ; 
 to save him from it ; to bring the rebel back 
 again to the forsaken service of his heavenly King. 
 The gospel finds us in a state of bondage to Satan, 
 and it delivers us from it ; but it does not leave 
 us lawless ; it does not make us our own masters. 
 It sanctions and strengthens all the original obli- 
 gations which we are under as creatures to serve 
 the God who formed us, and it gives him a new 
 and more endearing claim on our services. He 
 has bought us with a price ; he therefore deems 
 us his own, and calls upon us to glorify him " in 
 our body and in our spirits which are his." He 
 points to the cross and the tomb, and tells us that 
 it was " for this end Christ both died, and rose, 
 and revived, that he might be Lord both of the 
 dead and the living." 
 
 Shall we then hesitate to admit the lawfulness 
 of a title, obtained by so much degradation and 
 suffering ? Shall we rob the blessed Jesus of the 
 purchase of his blood ? Shall we keep back from 
 its proprietor so worthless a possession, after it
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 315 
 
 has been purchased by him at so costly a price ? 
 No. We are not our own. We cannot be our 
 own. If we have ever tasted of redeeming grace, 
 we shall not even wish to be our own. As for 
 living to ourselves or to the world, the very 
 thought of it will be a grief and shame to us. It 
 will be the first wish of our soul to be entirely de- 
 voted to God ; to consecrate to him every action 
 of our life and every thought of our heart; to give 
 to him every moment as it flies. 
 
 V. Such was the end which Christ had in view 
 in dying for man ; but has this end been answered? 
 Have the sinners whom he has redeemed, ceased 
 to live unto themselves ? and are they really 
 living " unto him which died for them and rose 
 again ?" The text answers this enquiry, and 
 reminds us, lastly, of the influence which the 
 interposition of Christ on the behalf of man has 
 on his people ; of the effect which his dying love 
 produces in the hearts and lives of those who 
 really believe in him. The apostle says that 
 it " constraineth" them. " The love of Christ 
 constraineth us." 
 
 There is much meaning and force in this ex- 
 pression. It signifies to bear away, to carry on 
 with the force and rapidity with which a torrent 
 hurries along whatever it meets witli in its course. 
 As the word is used here, it implies that the love
 
 316 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 which Christ has manifested for man, has a mighty 
 and irresistible influence on the hearts of his ser- 
 vants ; that it fills their whole soul, and forces 
 them, as it were, to obey its dictates. 
 
 1. It intimates that it lays hold of their affec- 
 tions ; that it touches their hearts, and calls into 
 the liveliest exercise every feeling within them. 
 
 It has indeed been contended that the religion 
 of Christ has nothing to do with the affections; 
 that to look on his cross and be moved by the 
 sight, is enthusiasm and weakness ; that a sinner 
 who is going into eternity, ought to hear the 
 tidings that hell is escaped and heaven won, with 
 as much coolness, as a man at his ease would 
 examine a mathematical problem. But what 
 are we to think of such an opinion as this? In 
 what light are we to regard the men who maintain 
 it ? Shall we say that they are sober-minded, 
 rational Christians ? Reason and Christianity 
 disclaim the alliance. They pronounce that reli- 
 gion only to be rational, which calls into action 
 the hopes and the fears of a man ; and that 
 Christianity only to be genuine, which fills the 
 heart to the full with feeling, and puts into it a 
 love which "many waters cannot quench, nor 
 many floods drown." He who can look with cold 
 indifference on the blessed Jesus lying on the 
 4- ground in the garden of Gethsemane, and crying 
 out in the extremity of his anguish for deliver-
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 317 
 
 ance ; he who can see him patiently bearing his , 
 cross, and quietly yielding his sacred body to 
 be tortured on it ; he who can hear him uttering 
 his mysterious complaint to his Father, and pierc- 
 ing the air with his dying groans ; he who can 
 contemplate such a scene as this, and remember 
 that all these sufferings were endured for his 
 worthless, rebellious soul, and yet remain unaf- 
 fected at the thought such a man, brethren, may 
 be a decorous, an upright, a useful man, but he is 
 not a Christian. He may have " a form of god- 
 liness," but he knows no more of its power, than 
 the ground he treads on. He may have a high 
 reputation for wisdom in the world, but in the 
 estimation of God he is a very fool. 
 
 But while we do not undervalue lively affec- 
 tions in religion, let us not overrate them. It is 
 possible for the heart to be affected by the love of 
 Christ in dying for sinners, just as it is affected 
 by the contemplation of any other noble and 
 generous act, and yet the heart remain a stranger 
 to itself and to God. The feeling may be strong, 
 but it may be a merely natural, and not a spi- 
 ritual feeling. There may be no more religion 
 in it, than in the feelings which are excited, and 
 in the tears which are drawn forth, by some of 
 the narratives of history, or the pictures of ima- 
 gination. 
 
 2. Hence we must observe further, that the
 
 318 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 love of Christ influences the conduct of his ser- 
 vants, as well as excites their affections. It not 
 only makes them feel, it makes them act for 
 Christ. It teaches them to do good, as well as 
 to praise and to pray. It changes their life, as 
 well as their heart. 
 
 There was a time, when they thought that 
 religion required of them only a certain measure 
 of devotedness to God. They thought it possible 
 to serve him too well, as well as to love him too 
 much. But now nothing appears too afflictive to 
 be endured for his sake ; no act of self-denial too 
 painful to be undertaken ; no labour of love too 
 arduous to be performed. They were before cold 
 and formal worshippers of the Lord, or at best 
 lukewarm and hesitating professors of the gospel; 
 but now the love of God has been shed abroad in 
 their hearts, and given a decision, a life and a 
 soul, to their religion. It has made them active 
 Christians, decided Christians, laborious Chris- 
 tians. There is no more halting between two 
 opinions ; no more striving to serve God and 
 mammon ; no more conferring with flesh and 
 blood. There is an open avowal of their attach- 
 ment to their crucified Lord, a glorying in his 
 reproach, a holy reverence for his laws, a willing- 
 ness to spend and be spent for his sake. 
 
 Will any one say that these things are not to 
 be found in the world ? that the love of Christ
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 319 
 
 never has produced and never will produce such 
 effects as these ? Look at the history of the man 
 who wrote the words in the text. Follow him 
 through the course of his life. Contemplate the 
 sacrifices he made, the trials he endured, the 
 labours of love he performed. Behold him suf- 
 fering the loss of all things, and taking the loss 
 with joy. Hear him singing at midnight in a 
 prison the praises of his God. View him boldly 
 preaching Christ in his chains. Trace him 
 through his scourgings, shipwrecks, and perils ; 
 hear him exclaiming in the midst of them all, 
 " None of these things move me ; neither count 
 I my life dear unto myself." Behold the man ; 
 and see what a triumph for the gospel was here ! 
 And what was it that obtained this glorious 
 triumph ? What made Saul of Tarsus so noble 
 a spectacle to angels and to men ? It was love ; 
 love for the Saviour who had died for him, and 
 the God who had redeemed him. And is the 
 power of this principle lost ? No. It is reigning 
 in the hearts of thousands around us, and pro- 
 ducing the most blessed effects in a thousand 
 places, where we little suppose it to exist. We 
 may know nothing of the men whom it governs, 
 and may hear nothing of their zeal for the Lord ; 
 they may never be found in the societies in which 
 we delight, and may be treated by us and our 
 associates as the very refuse of mankind and
 
 320 THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 
 
 " the offscouring of all things ;" but the influence 
 of the love of Christ is felt, in all its energy, in 
 their houses and cottages ; the voice of prayer 
 and of praise, of peace and of joy, is heard in 
 their habitations. There the power of religion 
 is seen, and there the works of righteousness 
 abound. There man is holy and happy, and 
 there God is worshipped and feared.
 
 SERMON XVII. 
 
 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE OF THE LOVE 
 OF CHRIST. 
 
 2 CORINTHIANS v. 14, 15. 
 
 The love of Christ constraineth us, because we 
 thus judge, that if one died for all, then were 
 all dead; and that he died for all, that they 
 which live, should not henceforth live unto them- 
 selves, but unto him which died for them and 
 rose again. 
 
 1 HE truths brought before us in this declaration, 
 are the most important that the Bible contains. 
 The chief of them are these five ; the wretched 
 and hopeless condition to which sin has reduced 
 man ; " Then were all dead ;" the interposition 
 of Christ in his behalf; " He died for all ;" the 
 principle or motive from which this interposition 
 proceeded ; " The love of Christ ;" the end 
 which Christ had in view in it ; "That they which
 
 322 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 live, should not henceforth live unto themselves, 
 but unto him which died for them and rose 
 again ;" and then, lastly, the influence which 
 this amazing effort of love exercises on the hearts 
 and lives of all true believers ; " The love of 
 Christ constraineth us." An attentive considera- 
 tion of these truths will suggest to us several 
 practical inferences. 
 
 I. The first is this The conduct of a Christian 
 is closely connected with his principles, with his 
 religious opinions, with the doctrines he believes. 
 The text represents it as influenced by the judg- 
 ment which he forms of the great truths of the 
 gospel, and produced by the reception which 
 he gives to these doctrines. 
 
 And yet it is often asserted that it matters not 
 what doctrines we believe or what creed we 
 embrace, so that our dispositions are holy and 
 our lives sober and righteous. In one sense the 
 assertion is true. We admit that holy dispositions 
 and a godly life constitute the sum and substance 
 of genuine religion ; that the man in whom these 
 are found, is a servant of God and an heir of 
 heaven. But how are these holy dispositions to 
 be produced ? How is the life to be made thus 
 conformable to the righteous law of God ? This 
 is not a trifling work. These effects are too 
 great to be produced without an adequate cause.
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 323 
 
 Where then shall we look for this cause ? Can 
 we find it in carelessness, in ignorance, in un- 
 belief? No. It can be found only in a right 
 knowledge of God and of ourselves ; in a simple 
 and heartfelt belief of the Bible ; in an unfeigned 
 reception of the great truths of the gospel. 
 Right dispositions and right conduct can proceed 
 only from right principles. These are the springs 
 of action ; and as long as we are destitute of these, 
 neither our tempers nor our conduct will bear to 
 be tried by the standard of God's holy law. 
 
 The reason why many of us hold the great 
 truths of the gospel in such low estimation, is 
 simply this we are not striving to do the will of 
 God ; we are not practical Christians ; we are in- 
 dulging unhallowed dispositions, and living care- 
 less and worldly lives. We desire not the fruit, 
 and the consequence naturally is, we pour con- 
 tempt on the tree which produces it. The 
 Christian, on the contrary, highly values these 
 doctrines, because he has been taught their 
 practical efficacy. He desires to be holy, and 
 he therefore prizes the springs and the means of 
 holiness. He has felt the constraining influence 
 of the love of Christ ; and as long as he knows 
 that his happiness is centred in the service and 
 enjoyment of his God, he will hold fast the 
 profession of his faith ; he will rejoice in " the 
 glorious gospel of the blessed God." 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 II. The text leads us also to infer that they are 
 not Christians, whom the love of Christ does not 
 Influence. They may call themselves after the 
 name of the Saviour who bled for them, but they 
 have not the distinguishing characteristic of the 
 people who belong to him ; they are not con- 
 strained by his love ; they are not living " unto 
 him which died for them." 
 
 This devotedness to Christ is essential to the 
 Christian character. Nothing can supply the 
 place of it ; no correct system of opinions, no 
 zeal for doctrines, no lively feelings, no tears or 
 prayers. As long as we stop short of this, we are 
 destitute of spiritual life, we are " dead in tres- 
 passes and sins." " Every one that loveth," says 
 Saint John, " is born of God and knoweth God ; 
 he that loveth not, knoweth not God." The end 
 of Christ in dying for us cannot be defeated. If 
 through faith we are become savingly interested 
 in his death, the effect of the love which he mani- 
 fested in it, is certain we are affected by it ; we 
 are constrained by it. " We are alive unto God 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 Are we then thus influenced by the love of the 
 dying Jesus ? We may admire the character 
 which this love has a tendency to form ; we may 
 delight in tracing its effects in the apostles and 
 martyrs of the primitive church ; we may be gra- 
 tified by contemplating its quickening and trans-
 
 OF THK LOVE OF CHRIST. 325 
 
 forming efficacy in those around us ; but these 
 are not the turning points. Is my own soul 
 affected ? Does the love of Christ force my own 
 hard heart to feel, and my own dry eyes to weep? 
 Have I experienced in my own breast its enliven- 
 ing, warming, constraining power ? Has it sanc- 
 tified my dispositions and changed my conduct ? 
 Am I making the glory of my Saviour the great 
 business of my life ? Are his people dear to me ? 
 Do I make his cause my cause ? In the midst of 
 my many infirmities and sins, is my family, are 
 my neighbours, constrained to see that I am not 
 acting as though I deemed myself my own, but 
 as though I regarded myself the servant of a holy 
 Redeemer, who has bought me with his blood ? 
 Happy are we, brethren, if we can press home 
 such questions as these to our hearts, and have 
 the testimony of our conscience that our Christian 
 profession will bear to be tried by them. These 
 are " the things which accompany salvation." 
 These are the things which will bring a man 
 peace at the last, and bear the fiery trial of death 
 and of judgment. 
 
 III. The words of the apostle remind us, fur- 
 ther, of the superior excellence of the religion of 
 Christ ; its excellence, not only as it saves the 
 soul, but as it affords to man a new, a nobler, 
 and a more powerful motive to obedience.
 
 326 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 This motive is love, love to a dying Lord ; 
 a motive unheard of in the world before the pub- 
 lication of the gospel of Christ. And what 
 motive can be nobler ? It appeals to the finest 
 feelings of the soul, to the most generous emo- 
 tions of the heart. As for its efficacy, it is 
 stronger than that of all other motives combined. 
 The world has heard for ages of the beauty of 
 virtue and the deformity of vice. The hopes and 
 the fears of mankind have been appealed to, by 
 promises of reward and threatenings of punish- 
 ment in eternity. And what has been the result ? 
 Men have lived, for the greater part, just as they 
 would have lived if these things had never been 
 heard of. Here and there indeed an appearance 
 of virtue has been produced ; even a form of god- 
 liness has been put on, and man has become 
 superstitious and wretched. But has the heart 
 been touched ? Have the sins of the heart been re- 
 strained ? Has passion been subdued ? Has pride 
 been rooted out ? Has selfishness been overcome ? 
 Has there been a single human being prevailed on 
 by these motives to live no longer unto himself, 
 but unto the God who created him ? Not one. 
 It is the love of Christ only, which can effect such 
 a work, and win such a triumph as this. It is 
 the love of Christ only, which can reach the heart 
 of a man, root out its sins, and give its affections 
 to God. Our duty then is plain. It is to get the
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 327 
 
 love of Christ shed abroad in our hearts ; and 
 when we have received this gift, to seek that it 
 may be preserved to us and increased. 
 
 We profess to lament our selfishness, brethren, 
 and to mourn over our unfruitfulness and cold- 
 ness. Here then is a remedy provided. Here 
 is a principle which will make our hearts burn 
 within us, and bring forth in our lives all the 
 fruits of the Spirit. If your professions and sor- 
 row are sincere, seek this principle, have recourse 
 to this remedy ; apply for a sense of this love at 
 the throne of grace. You cannot obtain a more 
 useful gift from heaven, or a sweeter comforter. 
 It will enable you to face any difficulties, to 
 weather any storms, and to endure any sufferings, 
 so that your God may be honoured, and the name 
 of your Saviour praised. It will overcome ini- 
 quity and lusts within you ; it will render even 
 self-denial easy ; it will make your duty your 
 delight. It will soothe your soul in affliction, 
 strengthen it in trials, cheer it in death, and ex- 
 pang! it with joy in eternity. 
 
 IV. The text also plainly accounts for the pe- 
 culiar conduct of Christians. 
 
 In whatever age or country he may live, the 
 man who is a Christian indeed, will always have 
 something peculiar in his conduct. There will 
 be an outward, as well as an inward difference
 
 328 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 between him and others. Now this difference 
 cannot be concealed from the world. It will be 
 visible and marked, and the men of the world will 
 be sure to discover it. The most io-norant and 
 
 O 
 
 vicious of them will be offended and perhaps 
 incensed by it. They will impute it to hypocrisy, 
 to enthusiasm, to fanaticism ; to every source 
 which they deem dishonourable and base. Others 
 will view it with a mixture of pity and admiration. 
 They cannot altogether approve it ; they are 
 forced to ascribe it in some degree to mental 
 weakness ; but they are at the same time convinced 
 that the men are sincere and in earnest, and that 
 they are acting under the influence of some secret 
 and powerful motive peculiar to themselves. They 
 cannot ascertain the nature of this motive. They 
 are sure it exists, but it baffles all their efforts 
 to discover and comprehend it. Now the text 
 points out the secret spring of the Christian's 
 conduct, and solves the difficulty. Indeed it was 
 written for this very purpose. 
 
 Influenced by the arts of the false apostles, 
 who, by tolerating their corruptions, had intro- 
 duced themselves into their church and obtained 
 their confidence, some of the Corinthians began 
 to cool in their attachment to their early and 
 faithful teacher. His earnestness in rebuking 
 iniquity offended them, and they first ceased to 
 love, and then proceeded to censure him. The
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 329 
 
 character of Paul was not however a very vulner- 
 able character. They could not accuse him of 
 hypocrisy. His spotless integrity and disinter- 
 ested zeal would have at once repelled such an 
 accusation. They charged him therefore with 
 being beside himself, with acting under the in- 
 fluence of enthusiasm and madness. The apostle 
 did not directly deny the charge. With an ad- 
 dress and dignity altogether his own, he seems to 
 admit it, and then traces the conduct that filled 
 them with so much wonder and displeasure, to a 
 cause which at once vindicated his earnestness 
 and reproved their lukewarmness. This was the 
 answer with which the noble apostle repelled 
 their accusation ; " Whether we be beside our- 
 selves, it is to God ; or whether we be sober, it 
 is for your cause ; for the love of Christ con- 
 straineth us." 
 
 Here then the source from which the peculiar 
 conduct of the Christian originates, is laid open. 
 It is the constraining love of Christ. It is this, 
 which bears him away like a torrent, and leads 
 him to feel and to act, while others are coldly 
 speculating and disputing. It does not make him 
 an enthusiast or a fanatic ; it does not deprive 
 him of humility and meekness, prudence and wis- 
 dom ; but it burns like a fire within him, warming 
 him to energy and zeal ; and it renders him a
 
 330 THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE 
 
 blessing to the world, and an honour to the religion 
 of his Lord. 
 
 Dare not then, brethren, to censure the conduct 
 which flows from a principle so hallowed. Con- 
 demn fanaticism and intemperance wherever you 
 find them, but revile not the zeal which has 
 the love of God for its source. It is a sacred 
 thing, and there is danger as well as folly in as- 
 sailing it. Instead of rashly condemning the warmth 
 of the Christian, enquire how it is that so much in- 
 difference and apathy are to be found in your own 
 temper and conduct. Ask how it is that profess- 
 ing to serve the same God, and to hope in the same 
 Saviour, you are spending your days in worldly 
 vanities, while he is spurning all the follies of the 
 world, denying himself, taking up his cross and 
 following; Christ. The conclusion to which such 
 
 o 
 
 enquiries will bring you, will be humiliating. You 
 will discover that while you have been suspecting 
 the religion of your neighbour, you ought to have 
 suspected your own. You will find that your con- 
 duct has been different from his, because the state 
 of your heart has been different ; because you have 
 wanted that spiritual life which has quickened 
 and animated him. You will feel yourselves to be 
 spiritually dead ; strangers to pardoning grace ; 
 strangers to the power of redeeming love ; stran- 
 gers to religion, to Christ, and to God.
 
 OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 331 
 
 But what, if these conclusions be humiliating 
 and painful ? Is it not better to be humbled 
 here, than to be condemned hereafter ? Is not 
 the pain of a broken and contrite spirit easier to 
 be borne, than the pains of eternity ? Paul him- 
 self was once forced to open his mind to such 
 convictions as these. He too was constrained to 
 see himself ungodly, unpardoned, and perishing, 
 after having for years deemed himself righteous 
 and blameless. And did he ever regret the dis- 
 covery ? Never. As long as he remained on 
 earth, he always spoke of it as a marvellous in- 
 stance of mercy ; and when he thinks of it now, 
 the thought adds fresh warmth to his gratitude 
 and gives a new burst to his song. Could he 
 now speak to us from his heavenly throne, he 
 would tell us that the convictions against which 
 we are struggling, are the very convictions 
 which were once lodged in his own soul ; that 
 they were the beginning of his spiritual existence, 
 the forerunners of his present blessedness and 
 joy. He would tell us that there is not a ran- 
 somed sinner exulting around him, who has not 
 tasted of their bitterness and shame ; and he 
 would call upon us to welcome them into our 
 hearts, as messengers sent to us on an errand of 
 mercy from heaven. Why then should we refuse 
 them admission ? Why should we any longer 
 resist the Holy Ghost ? Let us cease to cavil and
 
 332 THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 
 
 dispute, and learn to pray. Let us entreat the 
 Father of mercies to open our hearts to the hum- 
 bling influence of his life-giving Spirit. Then 
 shall we experience the transforming power of 
 the love of Christ ; the efficacy of that grace 
 which brings to the soul righteousness and peace, 
 hope and salvation.
 
 SERMON XVIII. 
 
 CHRIST THE HEALER OF THE BROKEN- 
 HEARTED. 
 
 ST. LUKE iv. 18. 
 He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted. 
 
 IHESE gracious words proceeded out of the 
 mouth of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth. 
 He declares in them the errand on which he came 
 down to the earth, and points out to us the work 
 which, as Mediator of his church, he still de- 
 lights to perform. Never was any messenger sent 
 forth from heaven on so merciful an errand as 
 this. Never was the eternal Son employed in a 
 more blessed and honourable work. 
 
 In meditating on the words which the Saviour 
 has here applied to himself, we may consider, 
 first, the distressed condition of the persons spo- 
 ken of in them ; secondly, the reasons why they 
 are brought into this condition ; and, thirdly,
 
 334 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 the encouragement which the declaration before 
 us is calculated to afford them. And may that 
 Holy Spirit who has caused this gracious say- 
 ing to be written for our learning, so bless our 
 meditations on it, that all the mourning and con- 
 trite amongst us may be enabled to bear this tes- 
 timony concerning it, " This day is this scripture 
 fulfilled in our ears !" 
 
 I. The condition of the persons spoken of in 
 the text is one of extreme distress and misery. 
 They are broken-hearted. All their happiness is 
 gone. All their hopes are blasted. Nothing is 
 left to them but wretchedness and despair. 
 
 The world has many such sufferers in it. 
 The calamities of life are daily breaking a thou- 
 sand hearts, and bringing down multitudes of 
 the children of men with sorrow to the grave. 
 Now all these sons of affliction Christ is ready to 
 heal ; but the greater part of them are either ig- 
 norant of him, or refuse to avail themselves of his 
 aid, choosing despair and death rather than the 
 healing balm provided for them in his gospel. 
 It is however the spiritually broken-hearted who 
 are the special objects of the Saviour's compas- 
 sion ; they who are brought by spiritual trials 
 into the same state of despondency, as that into 
 which others are brought by worldly calamities. 
 These are the sufferers to whom the text princi-
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 335 
 
 pally refers. It seems to speak of them as 
 labouring under a painful disease, as fainting and 
 sinking beneath the power of sin, that spiritual 
 malady which has polluted, racked, and destroyed, 
 so many immortal souls. 
 
 1. It implies that they have a sorrowful con- 
 sciousness of the existence of this evil within them. 
 They feel sin to be deeply lodged in their hearts, 
 and they are filled with shame and grief at the 
 thought of having so loathsome a disease raging 
 there. But it was not always thus with them. 
 They were once light-hearted. They had the 
 same cause for spiritual sorrow, which they have 
 now, but they were not sensible of its existence. 
 They thought but little of their iniquities, and 
 when they did think of them, it was without feel- 
 ing or seriousness. " Dead in trespasses and 
 sins," they were strangers to spiritual sorrows and 
 joys. But now the Holy Spirit has quickened 
 them, and awakened them to a sense of their 
 wretched condition. They find that there is no 
 health in them. They feel themselves to be 
 miserable sinners. They are pricked to the heart 
 by a consciousness of their transgressions, and are 
 weary and heavy laden with the burden of their 
 sins. 
 
 2. They are also dissatisfied with their condition, 
 and earnestly desire deliverance from it. Like 
 men oppressed with sickness, they are not in a
 
 336 CHKIST THE HEALER 
 
 state in which they can be at ease. They want 
 health, and nothing but health will satisfy or 
 relieve them. In other troubles, earthly comforts 
 may be of some avail, but in this they are of 
 none. They have lost all their power to delight. 
 In the midst of them all, the heart still throbs 
 and aches, and is dead to every thing but a sense 
 of its misery and sin, its sorrow and its shame. 
 Deliverance from sin is the mercy they sigh for, 
 and as long as this grievous burden presses them 
 down, they must still, like the contrite publican, 
 smite upon their breasts ; they must still, like the 
 psalmist, go mourning all the day long. 
 
 3. They are sensible likewise of the deadly na- 
 ture of the disease under which they are suffering. 
 They know that it is a mortal disease ; not merely 
 debasing and loathsome, but dangerous and fatal ; 
 a disease which has already brought spiritual 
 death upon their souls, and is hourly bringing 
 them nearer to everlasting destruction. The 
 dread of final perdition is not indeed the only 
 reason why they look on iniquity with hatred. 
 Were death to be no longer its wages, it would 
 still be the object of their abhorrence. But they 
 know that sin has a curse connected with it, which 
 they are not able to endure ; and they never look 
 forward into eternity without shrinking with terror 
 from it. 
 
 4. To this sorrowful consciousness of their de-
 
 OF THE BROKKN-HEAKTKU. 337 
 
 pravity, this dissatisfaction with their condition, 
 and this dread of futurity, is added a despair of 
 healing their spiritual diseases by means of their 
 o-wn a hi lily or strength. 
 
 There was a time when they imagined that 
 their case was not altogether hopeless; They felt 
 themselves to be sinners, and they knew that the 
 wrath to come was the just desert of their trans- 
 gressions ; but they still hoped that by their 
 prayers and contrition this wrath might be 
 averted. They accordingly wept and prayed. 
 Day by day they cried for deliverance, and night 
 after night they watered their couch with their 
 tears. But still they were sorrowful. They still 
 seemed as far from pardon and heaven, as they 
 were before, and condemnation and hell appeared 
 as dreadful and as near. They had recourse to 
 other expedients, but these were found to be 
 equally ineffectual. Driven from refuge to refuge, 
 from one ground of hope to another, they are at 
 length forced to abandon them all ; and find them- 
 selves to be not only guilty, but helpless and hope- 
 less. It is this feeling of despair which breaks the 
 heart, and which, if not counteracted by a rising 
 hope of deliverance through the gospel of peace, 
 would end in the anguish of Cain and the horror 
 of Judas. 
 
 Such is the afflicted condition of the persons 
 spoken of here, and all who are Christians in- 
 
 VOL. i. z
 
 338 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 deed, have tasted of its wormwood and its gall ; 
 they have been broken-hearted with spiritual 
 sorrows. Not that they have all suffered in the 
 same degree, but they have all suffered from 
 the same cause. They have all felt that there 
 is no health in their souls, and have mourned 
 over the deadly disease which they have found 
 themselves unable to heal. Yea, many of them 
 are still at seasons mourners in Zion. The 
 workings of faith, even in the mind of the re- 
 newed Christian, are not always mingled with 
 the feelings of penitence. A hope in infinite 
 mercy does not always brighten the eye which 
 is wet with the tears of contrition. The grace 
 
 O 
 
 of the Saviour is sometimes forgotten, and the 
 repentant believer thinks only of his own depra- 
 vity and guilt. Sometimes too he suffers him- 
 self to be overcome by the power of temptation, 
 and he yields at other times to the influence 
 of spiritual sloth. Watchfulness and prayer are 
 remitted, and worldly-mindedness and uncon- 
 cern take possession of his heart. These sea- 
 sons of declension he must expect to be suc- 
 ceeded by bitter convictions. He must look for 
 a partial return of that painful remorse which 
 once harrowed up his soul, and must deem him- 
 self peculiarly favoured when peace is again 
 restored to him. 
 
 Temporal afflictions are often made the means
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 339 
 
 of renewing this work of repentance, and some- 
 times materially increase the penitent's despon- 
 dency. In days that are past, he has rejoiced in 
 tribulation, and viewed it as the chastisement 
 of a Father who loved him ; but now he regards 
 it as a token of wrath, and infers from it, that the 
 divine mercy towards him is "clean gone for ever," 
 and that his God will " be favourable no more." 
 
 The believing Christian then, as well as the 
 returning sinner, may often be numbered among 
 the broken-hearted. The spiritual sorrow of both 
 is of the same nature, and flows from the 
 same source. It is a godly sorrow, divine in its 
 origin, and the immediate work of the Spirit of 
 God. The calamities of life cannot produce it. 
 In one sense, they may break the heart. They 
 may put into it that " sorrow of the world," 
 which "worketh death," but they cannot soften 
 it; they cannot fill it with spiritual mourning. 
 They may lead us to madness or suicide, but they 
 cannot draw from our eyes the tears of Peter, 
 nor lodge in our souls the contrition of David. 
 Neither have sermons or ordinances any power 
 in themselves to accomplish this work. Thou- 
 sands who habitually hear and attend them, remain 
 altogether unaffected by them, and can even 
 scoff at the penitence which they seem calcu- 
 lated to produce. The outward means of grace 
 are as unable to discover to the sinner his malady, 
 
 z2
 
 340 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 as they are to heal it when it is discovered. The 
 work of conviction is as much the work of 
 the Spirit, as the work of consolation. It is 
 God, who teaches the heart to feel and the 
 eye to weep. It is he, who makes the hard- 
 hearted trifler a thoughtful, serious, and contrite 
 mourner. 
 
 II. But why does the Physician of souls thus 
 deal with the sinful children of men ? Why 
 cannot he apply his healing balm to their 
 wounds, without first afflicting them with so 
 much wretchedness ? Why must they be brought 
 into so disconsolate a state, before they are made 
 acquainted with pardon and peace ? 
 
 1. In answer to these enquiries we may ob- 
 serve, that God thus afflicts his penitent children, 
 in order that sin may be embittered to them; 
 that they may have a heartfelt knowledge of 
 the misery and shame which it is able to implant 
 in the mind, and thus learn to regard it with 
 hatred and fear. 
 
 By nature we love sin ; we think it calculated 
 to make us happy ; and all the representations 
 of scripture, and all the sufferings under which 
 the world is groaning, though strengthened by 
 our own experience and the testimony of the 
 wisest and best of mankind, cannot change our 
 opinion concerning it, or cause us to regard it
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 341 
 
 in any other view, than as a source of happiness. 
 It is the will of God, therefore, that we should 
 be taught the real nature of sin by feeling some- 
 thing of its spiritual consequences. Hence he 
 fixes within us the arrows of conviction, and makes 
 us taste of the bitterness of iniquity. He causes 
 us to feel the smart of our wounds, that we may 
 no longer love and caress the hand which inflicted 
 them. He lays upon us spiritual troubles, and in 
 the midst of them, he causes the voice of conscience 
 to address us in these words of his prophet, 
 " Thy ways and thy doings have procured these 
 things unto thee. This is thy wickedness, be- 
 cause it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine 
 heart." 
 
 2. The sinner is made broken-hearted, that 
 he may be willing to be healed by Christ in his 
 own way and on his own terms. 
 
 Before a sick man can be prevailed on to apply 
 to a physician for his aid, he must feel the sick- 
 ness which has seized on him, and know that he 
 stands in need of a physician. If the remedy 
 which is prescribed to him, be a painful remedy, 
 or repulsive to his prejudices or feelings, he 
 must undergo much suffering before he will 
 consent to submit to and apply it. Thus no 
 sinner will ever accept the salvation of Christ, 
 till he understands something of his sinful and 
 perishing condition. It is not a way of salva-
 
 342 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 tion suited to our taste. It is opposed to our 
 fancied goodness, and it pours contempt on 
 our imaginary greatness. It wounds every proud 
 and self-righteous feelino; of our hearts. No- 
 
 o o 
 
 thing but a deep conviction that our state is des- 
 perate, will bring us as suppliants to the cross 
 of such a Saviour as Jesus Christ. Like sea- 
 men in a storm, who see that they must sink 
 if they do not cast every thing out of their 
 ship, we give up our beloved merits only when 
 we see that we must give them up, or perish 
 with them. 
 
 Christ therefore, before he heals us, shews 
 us our lost condition, and thus makes us willing 
 to submit to whatever method of restoration he 
 may prescribe. The soul becomes humble and 
 obedient, and is ready to welcome whatever may 
 save it from hell and lead it to heaven. Thus 
 was it with the Jews to whom Saint Peter 
 preached on the day of pentecost. Before they 
 were " pricked to the heart," they mocked ; but 
 when their guilt and danger were laid open be- 
 fore them, they said with one voice unto Peter 
 and the rest of the apostles, " Men and brethren, 
 what shall we do ?" Thus was it with Saul of 
 Tarsus. He was no sooner convinced of the 
 enormity of his conduct in opposing the gospel 
 of Christ, than he also asked, " Lord, what wilt 
 thou have me to do ?" It was the same with the
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 343 
 
 gaoler at Philippi. As soon as he was made to 
 tremble under a sense of his sins, he fell down 
 before Paul and Silas, and said, " What must I do 
 to be saved ?" 
 
 3. A further reason why the returning sinner 
 is thus torn and smitten, may be this that the 
 deliverance vouchsafed to him may be more highly 
 valued. 
 
 We consider the removal of a disease which 
 has brought us to the gate of death, a greater in- 
 stance of mercy, than restoration to health from a 
 slighter attack. So likewise the more a sinner 
 sees of the danger and horror of the state into 
 which sin has brought him, the more will he 
 value the grace which has rescued him from it. * 
 We do not know how to estimate the worth of 
 salvation, till we have seen ourselves standing on 
 the verge of perdition, and find ourselves snatch- 
 ed as " brands from the burning." Never is the 
 news of a pardon heard with so fervent a joy, 
 as when the sentence of death has been passed, 
 and the prisoner has arrived at the place of ex- 
 ecution. 
 
 4. It may also be the will of God to give 
 the penitent a deep sense of his wretchedness, 
 that the great Physician of his soul may be more 
 warmly loved. 
 
 The man who has been made the means of 
 raising from the bed of sickness a sufferer who
 
 344 
 
 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 thought his condition desperate, and who had ap- 
 plied in vain to other physicians, will be thanked 
 with greater ardour of gratitude, than one who has 
 rendered assistance in a less dangerous case. It 
 is the same with the spiritual sufferer. He who 
 has felt " the plague of his heart" the most keenly, 
 will value most highly the heavenly Friend who 
 has healed him. His love will be proportioned to 
 the depth of his penitence, and the sense which he 
 experiences of the greatness of his guilt. Hence 
 it is generally found that they whose convictions 
 of sin have been the deepest and most abiding, 
 have manifested the greatest zeal in the service of 
 Christ, and become his most eminent servants. 
 They love much because they feel more than others 
 have felt, how much has been forgiven them. They 
 have seen more of " the unsearchable riches of 
 Christ," more of his suitableness to their necessi- 
 ties, more of the tenderness of his heart, more of 
 his power and his goodness, more of the greatness 
 of his salvation. Thus was it with Paul. He deem- 
 ed himself the chief of sinners, and the conse- 
 quence was, that he became the very chief of 
 saints. It was the same with the woman who had 
 been a sinner. Simon received the Redeemer into 
 his house, but he gave him no water for his feet 
 and no oil for his head. This woman, on the con- 
 trary, "stood behind him weeping, and began to 
 wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 345 
 
 the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and 
 anointed them with ointment." 
 
 These then are some of the reasons why the 
 feelings of repentance and sorrow are wrought in 
 the soul, before it pleases the heavenly Physician 
 to heal its diseases. 
 
 III. Let us proceed to consider, thirdly, the en- 
 couragement which the declaration before us is cal- 
 culated to afford to every broken-hearted mourner. 
 
 1. It plainly implies, first, that it is the will of 
 God that the broken-hearted should be healed. He 
 has sent a Messenger from heaven to bring peace 
 to them, and parted for a season with the delight 
 of his soul, that his sorrowful children may be 
 healed and cheered. 
 
 When the mind is filled with despondency 
 under a sense of its guilt, we are apt to look upon 
 God as taking pleasure in our anguish, and 
 rejoicing as an enemy in the bitterness of our 
 grief. We hear of his mercy to the sinful and of 
 his compassion for the wretched, but we cannot 
 be persuaded of our interest in either. We see 
 in him a God of inexorable justice only, incensed 
 against us by our manifold provocations, and 
 treasuring up for us wrath and fiery indignation. 
 And yet this dreadful Sovereign is a God of 
 unbounded benevolence and love. " His tender 
 mercies are over all his works ;" and there is not
 
 346 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 a creature in his universe, whom he does not wish 
 to see holy and happy. His indignation against 
 iniquity springs from his love, and even his jus- 
 tice may be regarded as a modification of his 
 benevolence. He hates and discourages sin, be- 
 cause sin is calculated to destroy the happiness of 
 his creatures, and to involve them in wretchedness. 
 He willeth not the death of the most rebellious 
 sinner, neither does he delight in the misery of 
 the vilest. 
 
 When therefore the transgressor is anxious to 
 be saved from his sin, from its guilt, its power, 
 and its bitterness, he may think of the general 
 benevolence of God, and learn to hope in his 
 mercy. He may think of the text, and be taught 
 that the Lord is waiting to be gracious to his 
 soul ; that he wishes its wounds to be healed, and 
 its grief to be changed into joy. Yea, he may 
 even take encouragement from his present sor- 
 row, and draw hope out of his misery. Why has 
 the Holy Spirit vouchsafed to him a discovery of 
 his wretchedness ? Why has he broken his heart ? 
 That he may fill it with fear in this world, and 
 rack it with pain in the next ? No. It is a work 
 of compassion, and not of vengeance ; the fore- 
 runner of mercy, and not an intimation of wrath. 
 He has shewn the man his disease, that he may 
 seek a remedy against it ; he has opened his eyes 
 to his danger, that he may escape it. He has torn
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 347 
 
 him, that he may be healed ; and smitten him, 
 that he may bind him up. 
 
 The assurances of God in his word fully war- 
 rant the most exalted ideas of his compassion and 
 mercy, which a returning sinner can form. He 
 claims the work of consolation as his own peculiar 
 work ; and represents himself as delighting as 
 much in comforting the mourner, as a mother de- 
 lights in chasing away the fears and the sorrows 
 of a beloved child. This is his language to all 
 his broken-hearted children, " As one whom his 
 mother comforteth, so will I comfort you ; and ye 
 shall be comforted." He is indeed a wise, as well 
 as a tender Parent; and he will not sacrifice the 
 future and permanent happiness of his children, 
 for the gratification and ease of the present hour. 
 He will send them, for a moment, any " light 
 affliction" which is likely to work out for them 
 " a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
 glory." He will sow in their hearts any seeds of 
 sorrow, which are likely to produce for them a har- 
 vest of joy. 
 
 2. The declaration in the text teaches us also, 
 that God has given to Christ authority and power 
 to heal all the broken-hearted. 
 
 He has given him authority. Long before he 
 was born, he was set apart for this work, and 
 when he was sent into the world, these were the 
 words with which he opened his commission,
 
 348 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 " The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, be- 
 cause the Lord hath anointed me to preach good 
 tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind 
 up the broken-hearted ; " " to comfort all that 
 mourn ; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion ; 
 to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy 
 for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit 
 of heaviness." 
 
 Christ has received also power to comfort. His 
 Father has not only sent him on this gracious 
 errand, but furnished him with all the qualifica- 
 tions which are necessary for the faithful dis- 
 charge of it. " It hath pleased the Father," says 
 the apostle, " that in him should all fulness 
 dwell ;" a fulness of pardon for the guilty, a 
 fulness of comfort for the sorrowful, a fulness of 
 strength for the weak, a fulness of life for the 
 dead. The persons to whom he is sent, are lying 
 under a sentence of condemnation ; and before 
 they can be happy, this sentence must be re- 
 pealed, and the criminals pardoned. God there- 
 fore has " given his Son power over all flesh, 
 that he should give eternal life to as many as 
 he has given him." He has promised that " who- 
 soever believeth in him shall be saved ;" shall 
 have the curse of the law removed from him, and 
 all his multiplied transgressions freely and com- 
 pletely remitted. He has given to the blood 
 which flowed from his cross, such infinite virtue,
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 349 
 
 that it can cure the deepest and deadliest 
 wounds, and " save to the uttermost'' all who 
 are sprinkled by it. 
 
 He has given also to his Son the ministration 
 of the Spirit, and empowered him to bestow on 
 mankind his enlightening, quickening, sanctifying, 
 and comforting influence. By this sovereign re- 
 medy, the great Physician breaks the power of 
 sin, and implants within the soul a principle of 
 holiness. By this he communicates faith and 
 gives birth to hope. By this he enables us to 
 rejoice in the exceeding great promises of his 
 gospel, and shews us our interest in his special 
 love. By this he makes his word and ordinances 
 effectual to solace us, and causes even the afflic- 
 tive dispensations of his providence, our troubles, 
 and difficulties, and temptations, to be " helpers 
 of our joy." 
 
 3. The declaration before us assures us, lastly, 
 that Christ is willing to heal all the broken- 
 hearted who apply for his aid ; that he is ready 
 to exercise the authority and power which he has 
 received. The Father has sent him from heaven 
 to execute this gracious work, and he will not be 
 unfaithful to the trust committed to him, 
 
 As Mediator of the church, Christ became 
 the servant of Jehovah. In this character he is 
 spoken of by the prophet, and called "a righteous 
 servant." " Though he were a son," says the
 
 350 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 apostle, " yet learned he obedience by the things 
 which he suffered ; and being made perfect, he 
 became the Author of eternal salvation unto all 
 them that obey him." In the councils of eternity 
 he voluntarily took on him the office of " Mes- 
 senger of the covenant," and fulfils all the duties 
 of it with faithfulness and delight. " Sacrifice 
 and offering," says he, " thou didst not desire ; 
 mine ears hast thou opened : burnt-offering and 
 sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, 
 Lo, I come ; in the volume of the book it is 
 written of me ; I delight to do thy will, O my 
 God ; yea, thy law is within my heart. I have 
 declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation. I 
 have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy 
 truth from the great congregation." 
 
 But the readiness of Christ to heal all the 
 broken-hearted, must be traced to a source still 
 more encouraging than obedience to his commis- 
 sion. His heart is as full of love for the sorrow- 
 ful sinner, as of reverence for the commands of 
 his Father. The work which has been given him 
 to do, is consequently a work in which he de- 
 lights. The errand on which he came down from 
 heaven, is an errand which brings to him more 
 happiness, than all the services and worship of 
 his angels. He voluntarily left the praises of 
 eternity to be employed in it. He came down to 
 the earth, and " bore our griefs, and carried our
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 351 
 
 sorrows ;" lie was stricken and afflicted, wounded 
 and bruised ; and yet he is satisfied. His infinite 
 mind is filled with unspeakable satisfaction as he 
 contemplates the fruit of his labours, and through 
 eternity he will never look back without joy on 
 " the travail of his soul." And whence does this 
 satisfaction arise ? From the mercifulness of his 
 nature ; from the delight which he takes in the 
 happiness of his creatures ; from his great love to 
 his people. 
 
 Here then is a rich source of encouragement to 
 every desponding mourner. The God against 
 whom he has sinned, has sent a Messenger from 
 heaven to heal him ; and he whom he has sent, 
 rejoices to bind up the broken-hearted. He has 
 infinite compassion to pity, as well as infinite 
 power to relieve. He has assumed our nature 
 and partaken of our sorrows, that he may know 
 by. experience how to discover and feel for our 
 miseries ; and he has had his soul pierced with 
 unutterable anguish, that he might procure a balm 
 for our wounds. This balm he freely communi- 
 cated to all who came to him for it when he was 
 on earth, and the Bible tells us that he has lost 
 none of his compassion and tenderness by going 
 to heaven. He has commanded his apostle to 
 assure us, that he is still " a merciful and faithful 
 High Priest," and thousands of his people are 
 daily experiencing his sympathy and aid. They
 
 352 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 are all ready to testify that "he delighteth in 
 mercy," and knows how to pour consolation into 
 their sorrowful souls. 
 
 A review of the siibject on which we have 
 been meditating 1 , points out to us, first, the persons 
 to whom the ministers of the gospel are to admi- 
 nister comfort. 
 
 Some of their brethren would have them speak 
 peace indiscriminately to all, and are sometimes 
 ready to censure them, because the careless, the 
 worldly, and the proud, derive no comfort from 
 hearing them. But where, brethren, can we find 
 in our Bibles any consolation for characters like 
 these ? Where is our warrant to speak peace to 
 them ? Our commission is in substance the same 
 as our Master's. We are sent on the same errand 
 of mercy, and to the very same description of 
 persons. We have a message of consolation en- 
 trusted to us, but then it is to be delivered only 
 to the poor in spirit, the broken in heart, the 
 bruised. In proportion as we are faithful and 
 skilful ministers of the word, and as God blesses 
 our labours, these humble sinners will be com- 
 forted and others disquieted ; the poor and the 
 hungry will be filled with good things, and the 
 rich will be sent empty away. Indeed there is no 
 greater proof of the faithfulness of a minister of 
 Christ, than his being made a son of consolation
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 353 
 
 to some of his brethren, and the means of dis- 
 turbing the false peace of others. He who has a 
 message of comfort for all, may be caressed by 
 men, but he will not be commended by God. He 
 may quiet the conscience of the worldly and 
 lukewarm professor of the gospel, but he will 
 not be the instrument of saving his soul. He 
 will not advance the glory of the Redeemer, 
 or the spiritual prosperity and salvation of his 
 fellow-sinners. 
 
 The text affords us, secondly, a test by which 
 we may try our spiritual comfort. Whence did it 
 spring ? Did your light arise out of darkness ? 
 Had your spiritual joy its origin in godly sorrow? 
 Did your heart bleed before it was healed ? Then 
 be thankful to that gracious Saviour who has 
 given rest to your soul. But if your religious 
 consolations were not preceded by the deep work- 
 ings of contrition, if your conscience was quieted 
 before sin was embittered to you, you have no 
 cause to rejoice. Your peace is not the peace of 
 God ; your joy is not the joy of the Holy Ghost. 
 It is the joy of the man who eats, drinks, and is 
 merry, while his habitation is on fire over his head. 
 It is the peace of the mariner who slumbers while 
 his vessel is sinking in the storm. 
 
 Not that every Christian can retrace all the 
 various steps of spiritual sorrow, through which 
 he has passed ; nor that all who have been 
 
 VOL. i. A A
 
 354 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 brought to the great Physician of souls, were led 
 to him by precisely the same degree of apprehen- 
 sion and misery. In some cases, it has pleased 
 God to carry on his work of grace in the heart 
 by such gentle and insensible degrees, and so to 
 modify the feelings of repentance almost from the 
 first by a hope in his mercy, that the mind has 
 been saved from that acuteness of suffering, 
 which has generally been the portion of sinners 
 when returning to the Lord. But in every case 
 there has been some sense of guilt, and some 
 deep and humbling apprehensions of the danger 
 and wretchedness in which it has involved us. In 
 every case the heart has effectually been broken. 
 There has been a mourning for sin, and a con- 
 sciousness that without the interposition of Christ, 
 fear and despair must be the everlasting portion 
 of the transgressor. 
 
 We may infer also from the text, that true 
 contrition of heart is one of the greatest blessings 
 which God can bestow on man. Not that it is in 
 itself a blessing, for " no affliction for the present 
 is joyous ;" but it will eventually terminate in all 
 the blessedness which the God of heaven can give 
 or his creatures receive. It brings the sinner 
 within the reach of the commission of a gracious 
 and powerful Saviour. It opens his mind to re- 
 ceive all the healing and cheering influences of 
 the Spirit of grace. It is the first step by which
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 355 
 
 a God who loves him, is guiding him to heaven, 
 and preparing him to share in its joys. 
 
 We have no reason therefore to mourn over 
 those of our friends, whom the Lord has taught 
 to weep over their manifold sins. Their sorrow, 
 we are told, sends up a new ray of joy into the 
 kingdom of the blessed ; and if we were holy and 
 wise like the angels, we too should rejoice " over 
 the sinner that repenteth," and his complaining 
 and sighs would be as music in our ears. 
 
 And yet, brethren, it is painful to think how 
 many of us would rather see our children and 
 friends trifling in the most humiliating scenes of 
 folly, than see them retiring from the crowd, as 
 the stricken deer retires from the herd, to mourn 
 and to bleed alone. In the one case, we applaud 
 them ; in the other, we harass and deride them, 
 as though they had no hearts to be wounded, and 
 we no pity to bestow. Cruel as this conduct is 
 to our friends, it is still more cruel to ourselves. 
 They can find in their closets something which 
 can bear them up against all the revilings of 
 men ; but we shall soon have nothing to bear up 
 our souls under the aggravated displeasure of 
 God. They can go and read in their Bibles, that 
 though " their father and mother forsake them" for 
 righteousness' sake, " the Lord taketh them up ;" 
 while we are forced to read and understand these 
 prophetic words of the psalmist, " Pour out thine 
 
 A A 2
 
 356 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful 
 anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be 
 desolate, and let none dwell in their tents ; for 
 they persecute him whom thou hast smitten ; and 
 they have talked to the grief of those whom thou 
 hast wounded." 
 
 But here it may be asked, " Is all spiritual 
 sorrow to be accounted a blessing? Is there no 
 spiritual sufferer, over whom they who love him, 
 may be allowed to grieve ? We saw our friend 
 retire, in the midst of gaiety and youth, from a 
 world which courted his friendship. We saw him 
 burst asunder bands which we once, thought too 
 strong to be broken. We beheld him meekly and 
 resolutely devoting himself to the service of the 
 God who had redeemed him. With mingled 
 feelings of anxiety and hope, we watched his 
 conduct after he had openly taken the side of the 
 Lord, and we witnessed in it an ardour of love, 
 which is seldom surpassed. Many of his former 
 associates thought him wretched, but he opened 
 his heart to us, and we found it to be as full of 
 peace and of blessedness, as heart could hold. 
 Such was year after year his enviable state ; but 
 now all his happiness is gone. His harp has 
 been long hung upon the willows, and his mind 
 overwhelmed with anguish and despondency. 
 We see in him the same holy fear that we saw in 
 him in his happiest days ; the same deep humility,
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 357 
 
 the same hatred of sin, the same love for his 
 Saviour, the same benevolence to man ; but we 
 no longer hear from him the song of trembling 
 joy, nor see his countenance brighten with the 
 same sacred delight. His soul is afflicted, tossed 
 with tempests, and not comforted. May we not 
 then be allowed to mourn over such a sufferer as 
 this ? Can such spiritual sorrow be esteemed a 
 token of mercy, a blessing of grace ? We dare 
 not arraign the dispensations of the Holy One, 
 but we are constrained to say, " Verily, thou 
 art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, 
 the Saviour." 
 
 In reply to such enquiries as these, it must be 
 admitted that the dealings of God with his saints 
 are often dark and mysterious, and that the mind 
 which attempts to penetrate them, will often ache 
 in the effort. It must be acknowledged also, that 
 the servant of God may sometimes be left for a 
 season a prey to despondency, even when his des- 
 pondency has not been preceded by any visible 
 or known relapse into sin. But let us not blindly 
 impeach the loving-kindness and truth of Jehovah, 
 nor rashly suspect the healing efficacy of his 
 gospel of peace. Are we sure that the sorrow 
 we deplore has its origin in spiritual causes ? On 
 the contrary, have we not abundant reason to 
 suppose that it must be traced principally or 
 solely to natural causes ? In almost every in-
 
 358 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 stance, it will be found to have been preceded by 
 bodily indisposition, long continued affliction, or 
 excessive mental exertion; and to be uniformly 
 attended with a greater or less degree of mental 
 
 O c5 
 
 debility. The bewildered and throbbing head, 
 the pallid countenance, the failing voice, the 
 shivering frame, plainly tell us that the anguish 
 of the spirit must be ascribed to the weakness 
 and wretchedness of the habitation in which it is 
 lodged ; and that the efforts of the bodily phy- 
 sician must be blessed in restoring strength to 
 the frame, before the spiritual Physician can 
 bind up and heal the soul. The gospel of Christ 
 was never designed to remove natural diseases, 
 or the apparently spiritual diseases which are 
 connected with them, and which are in reality 
 occasioned by them. It can do little more in 
 some cases to keep off the pressure of melancholy, 
 than it can to enable a man to resist the attack 
 of a fever. 
 
 While therefore we weep with our disconsolate 
 friend, and endeavour to lessen the burden of his 
 wretchedness, let us not harbour any suspicion 
 against the mercy and faithfulness of the great 
 Physician of souls. He has not deserted the 
 sufferer, though he may seem to have forsaken 
 him. Even the bitterness which has been poured 
 into his cup, may prove a salutary medicine. It 
 may be the means of saving him from many
 
 OF THE BROKEX-HEARTED. 359 
 
 dangers and sins, into which he would otherwise 
 have fallen ; or of raising him to a degree of 
 holiness, usefulness, and happiness, to which he 
 would not otherwise have attained. It may make 
 him patient and gentle, tender-hearted and piti- 
 ful ; the soother of the sorrowful, and the skilful 
 comforter of the distressed. The same work may 
 be going on now, which we once saw going on 
 in the day of his blessedness. Yea, he may be 
 growing still more rapidly in grace than he ever 
 was before, and may soon come forth out of the 
 furnace rejoicing and purified. The rising sun 
 is not impeded in its course, when its glory is 
 obscured by clouds. We see not its progress, 
 but while concealed from our view, it climbs 
 higher and higher, and at length bursts forth 
 from the mists which concealed it, shining in 
 meridian splendour. And what, if the friend 
 whom we love, should never again rejoice in 
 the hope of salvation? What, if he should go 
 down to the grave bowed down with sorrow ? 
 One moment of heaven will recompense him for 
 all the bitterness of his life ; and one smile from 
 the throne of Jehovah raise him to the summit 
 of joy. 
 
 The text reminds us, lastly, of the sin and 
 Jolly of despair. 
 
 If God has sent his Son from heaven to heal 
 the broken-hearted, and if the Son whom he has
 
 360 CHRIST THE HEALER 
 
 sent, is a faithful Servant and a merciful and 
 skilful Physician, where is the broken-hearted 
 sinner who has not a ground for hope ? Where 
 is the dejected penitent who will look on the 
 compassionate Jesus, and dare to pronounce his 
 case hopeless ? Your condition may be pitiable. 
 No heart but your own may know half the depth 
 of your iniquity, nor half the greatness of your 
 fear. But do not make your guilt and your 
 wretchedness greater, by adding the sin of 
 unbelief to all your multiplied transgressions. 
 Christ has again and again invited all the weary 
 and heavy laden to come unto him for rest. 
 He has promised that he who cometh unto him, 
 " shall in no wise be cast out." He has said that 
 " whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord 
 shall be saved." Now you cannot treat these 
 invitations and promises as insincere or unmean- 
 ing, without impeaching the veracity of him who 
 is more faithful than any of his creatures, and 
 who, in all the ages of his existence, has never once 
 altered the thing that has gone out of his mouth. 
 Why then should this faithful God single you 
 out to mock and deceive you ? He has healed 
 many sinners as great as you, and comforted 
 many as sorrowful ; and he is as ready to heal 
 and comfort your hearts whenever you apply for 
 his aid, as he was to put away the iniquity of 
 David, or to pardon the transgression of Peter.
 
 OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED. 3G1 
 
 The greatness of your guilt is no obstacle in the 
 way of his bestowing a pardon upon you ; neither 
 is your unfitness to receive it any disqualification 
 for asking it. Do you need it ? Do you desire 
 it ? * Do you find that you can never be happy 
 without it ? Are you ready to sacrifice all your 
 sins to obtain it ? Then this is the language 
 which a God of infinite mercy addresses to you 
 from heaven, " Return unto me, for I have 
 redeemed thee." "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."
 
 SERMON XIX. 
 
 THE TEARS OF JESUS AT THE GRAVE OF 
 LAZARUS. 
 
 ST. JOHN xi. 35. 
 Jesus wept. 
 
 IHE history with which these words are con- 
 nected, is familiar to us all. It is the history 
 of the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. 
 Never perhaps was a more interesting narrative 
 penned. It is crowded with the most affecting 
 incidents ; but still the most affecting of them all 
 is that recorded in the text. 
 
 In proceeding to enquire into the probable 
 causes of the tears it speaks of, it will perhaps 
 be well to consider our Lord in two points of view 
 first as the Friend of Lazarus and his sisters, 
 and then as the Redeemer of mankind. 
 
 I. 1. As the Friend of Lazarus and his family,
 
 THE TEARS OF JESUS. 363 
 
 our Lord certainly wept from compassion to the 
 mourners whom he saw around him. 
 
 lie was never a hard-hearted spectator of 
 human misery. It was compassion for a wretched 
 world, which prevailed on him to leave his hea- 
 venly glories the only time he ever left them, and 
 to take in exchange for them the degradation and 
 miseries of the earth. It was the same principle, 
 that led him to shed tears over the impending 
 miseries of Jerusalem, and to weep on the pre- 
 sent occasion with his sorrowful friends. His 
 tears are expressly ascribed to this source in the 
 thirty-third verse of this chapter. " When Jesus 
 therefore saw Mary weeping and the Jews also 
 weeping which came with her, he groaned in the 
 spirit, and was troubled." The original expres- 
 sion signifies, he troubled or afflicted himself; 
 that is, he yielded to the power of that sympathy 
 which was struggling within him for the mastery 
 in his heart, and suffered compassion and sorrow 
 to take possession of his soul. 
 
 Observe too, it is said in this verse, that the 
 sorrow of the Jews affected him, as well as the 
 sorrow of Mary ; " When Jesus therefore saw 
 her weeping and the Jews also weeping which 
 came with her, he groaned." Now we have no 
 reason to think that these Jews were eithejr 
 believers in his Messiahship or friends to his 
 person. We may infer therefore, that the com-
 
 364 THE TEARS OF JESUS 
 
 passion of Christ is as extensive as human 
 misery ; that while the sorrows of his beloved 
 church touch his heart the most deeply, he has a 
 soul which can feel for the sorrows of his ene- 
 mies, and compassionate the wretchedness even 
 of the most guilty. 
 
 What rich encouragement then is here for 
 every afflicted sinner ! What a source of con- 
 solation and hope ! What though I cannot per- 
 suade myself that I am one of the renewed 
 people of God ; yet if my heart is broken with 
 godly sorrow, and I feel a desire to take the 
 burden of my grief to Christ, let not a conscious- 
 ness of guilt hold me back ; let not my sinful- 
 ness keep me away from the throne of grace. 
 Only let me go to this compassionate Saviour as 
 a care-worn, helpless, perishing sinner, and I shall 
 be sure to find a welcome, yea, and something 
 more than a welcome, at his throne. He who 
 once wept on earth, has still a heart as tender as 
 ever. He will be sure therefore to give me pity, 
 and may give me pardon and rest. 
 
 2. Another cause of the tears of Jesus was 
 the loss of a friend. 
 
 The brother for whom Mary and Martha were 
 now weeping, was not a stranger to Christ, but 
 one who was peculiarly dear to him, and had 
 been particularly distinguished by him. The 
 evangelist tells us, in the fifth verse of this
 
 AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. 365 
 
 chapter, that " Jesus loved Lazarus," and, in the 
 eleventh verse, he describes him as announcing 
 his death to his disciples under the name of a 
 friend ; " Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." Even 
 the word " sleepeth" which he here uses, may 
 shew us perhaps the strength of his affection, as 
 well as the greatness of his grief. He does not 
 at once say, " Lazarus is dead ;" but, " Our 
 friend Lazarus sleepeth," as though he knew not 
 how to connect the idea of death with a name so 
 dear to him. The Saviour felt perhaps as we 
 feel, when we are bereaved of a much loved 
 friend. We cannot at first persuade ourselves that 
 the loss is real. As we look on the quiet corpse, 
 we almost expect the eye-lids again to open and 
 the lips to move. And after we have seen our 
 friend buried in the earth, the same strange 
 feeling is still alive. We know that he is dead, 
 but it seems at seasons as though he were only 
 gone on a journey, and would soon return to 
 us to take his usual share in our sorrows and 
 joys. This feeling aggravates rather than ame- 
 liorates our grief, but it shews the strength of 
 our affection for the friend we have lost. As 
 we trace it working in the breast of Jesus, we 
 may not only behold with the Jews how he 
 loved Lazarus, but we may infer that there is 
 a sorrow of the acutest description, which is not 
 forbidden us, when we are bereaved of those we
 
 366 THE TEARS OF JESUS 
 
 love. We are indeed forbidden in the gospel to 
 sorrow as " they that have no hope ;" but we are 
 no where commanded to root out of our hearts 
 that feeling and tenderness which, for the wisest 
 of purposes, our merciful Creator has implanted 
 within us. Insensibility forms no part of Chris- 
 tianity. The religion of Christ has nothing to 
 do with hardness of heart. It exalts us to the 
 dignity of children of God, but it does not de- 
 stroy in us those natural affections which are com- 
 mon to the children of men. While it modifies 
 and governs, it strengthens them, and bends them 
 to its own gracious purposes. 
 
 Hence the liveliest feelings of sorrow are not 
 inconsistent with the Christian character. Abra-% 
 ham was an eminent servant of God and full of 
 faith in his promises, and yet when his beloved 
 wife died in Kirjath-arba, " Abraham came to 
 mourn for Sarah and to weep for her." They 
 were devout men who carried Stephen to his 
 feurial, and yet " they made great lamentation 
 over him." A want of feeling under affliction, a 
 despising of it, is as much to be guarded against 
 as fainting or despair. " My son, despise not 
 thou the chastening of the Lord," is as much the 
 language of God, as the command not to faint 
 when we are rebuked of him. To be stricken 
 and yet not to grieve, is to expose ourselves to the 
 displeasure of the Almighty and to the sharpest 
 arrows of his quiver.
 
 AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. 367 
 
 While our grief therefore is mingled with re- 
 signation, and a child-like submission to the will 
 of that heavenly Father who has smitten us ; 
 while it is not suffered to impair our spiritual 
 comforts, our hopes and graces ; let the heart 
 mourn, let the tear flow. The man of the world 
 may condemn us as childish and weak, and here 
 and there an inexperienced professor of religion 
 may suspect the sincerity of our faith ; but the 
 Lord Jesus Christ will neither condemn nor sus- 
 pect us. He will remember his own tears, and 
 will not be offended by ours. 
 
 3. The tears of Christ might be occasioned, 
 thirdly, by the instance before him of the insta- 
 bility of human happiness. 
 
 The habitation he now found a house of 
 mourning, he had often found a house of peace. 
 He had seen it the abode of as happy a family as 
 ever the sun arose on. Formerly Mary used to 
 sit at his feet, listening with the most profound 
 attention to every word that he uttered, and* 
 treasuring up his sayings with gratitude and 
 reverence in her heart ; now she lies prostrate 
 before him, bathed in tears, unable even to wel- 
 come him to her sorrowful home, and only able to 
 say, " Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother 
 had not died." 
 
 Thus short-lived and precarious is the earthly 
 happiness of man. The scene before us is an
 
 368 THE TEARS OF JESUS 
 
 everyday scene. It is only a picture of what is 
 happening continually in the habitations around 
 us, and may soon happen in our own. Our 
 family may be as united as the family of Mary, 
 and her sister, and Lazarus, once was ; we may, 
 like them, honour the blessed Jesus, and Jesus 
 may love us and take up his abode with us ; but 
 mutual love, and heartfelt piety, though they 
 may heighten the joys of our household and alle- 
 viate its sorrows, will not keep sickness and 
 death away from us. Our children are still sub- 
 ject to the stroke of death, and are as liable as 
 others to become orphans and fatherless. We 
 may still be called on to follow our brothers 
 to the grave, or they may soon have to shed 
 their unavailing tears over us. The wife of our 
 bosom may be as pious as Ruth or as Hannah, 
 but her piety will not exempt her from that 
 mortality which is the common lot of man, nor 
 will her love for her husband cause him to live 
 for ever. 
 
 It is a difficult lesson to learn, brethren, but it 
 is one which can never be learned too soon, 
 that all our earthly comforts are merely lent to 
 us for a season, and that an uncertain season ; 
 that we may be required to part with them long- 
 before we have ceased to love them ; that the 
 prop may be knocked from under us, at the very 
 moment when it seems the strongest, and we
 
 AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. 369 
 
 most need it to bear our weight. Tims it evar 
 has been, and it is for our good that thus it ever 
 should be. We are ready to make idols of our 
 blessings, even though we are aware of their 
 frailty ; but we should cleave to them still more 
 sinfully, if we knew that they were never to be 
 removed. Our duty then is plain. We must 
 cease to make flesh our arm. Let us love our 
 children and our friends, but let us not lean on 
 them ; let us not deem them essential to our hap- 
 piness. God can make the Christian happy with- 
 out the help of any of his creatures, and he must 
 not deem himself a Christian, who is not satisfied 
 with his God ; who is not content to lay his head 
 on his heavenly Father's bosom and say, "This is 
 my rest for ever. Here is the source of my 
 blessedness, and the spring of my joy. What, 
 though I be left childless and friendless on the 
 earth ? My Saviour is not dead ; my Father has 
 not ceased to be with me. What though all the 
 streams be dried up ? The fountain of living 
 waters is full, and as long as this fountain is open 
 to me, I can be happy. I can drink of it, and 
 forget my poverty and remember my misery no 
 more." 
 
 Here also is a lesson for those in whose 
 families God is not feared or loved. .And it is 
 mournful to think how many such families there 
 are in this Christian land. The great mass of us 
 
 VOL. I. Ji B
 
 370 THE TEARS OF JESUS 
 
 are conscious that the name of the Being who 
 made us, is not honoured in our habitations. We 
 do not call upon our households to worship him 
 in the morning, nor to praise him in the evening. 
 But this conduct is as much opposed to our own 
 interest, as it is cruel to our families and ungrate- 
 ful to our God ; for what shall we do, brethren, 
 when trouble, disease, or death, comes into our 
 habitations, and strips us of every thing we love? 
 What shall we do, when we look around us for 
 consolation, and, like Noah's dove, find no resting 
 place even for the sole of our foot ? It is an easy 
 thing to laugh at the Bible and despise the 
 gospel in the hour of health and ease ; but health 
 and ease will not last for ever. An hour of tri- 
 bulation may come ; an hour in which we would 
 give the world to have the faith and hope of the 
 Christian ; to have that ark to flee to, which 
 shelters him so peacefully amidst the storms of 
 life ; to have but that simple belief in the Bible, 
 that simple dependence on God, which we now 
 make light of and perhaps turn into a jest. O if 
 there is a foolish being in the universe, it is 
 the man who finds himself living in a world so 
 full of trouble as this, and yet despises the only 
 thing which can support and comfort him under 
 its sorrows ! 
 
 II. Let us now proceed a step farther, and view
 
 AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. 371 
 
 the tears of our Lord, not merely as those of a 
 tender-hearted and benevolent man, but as the 
 tears of the great Redeemer of the world. 
 
 His sorrow undoubtedly arose in part, and 
 perhaps principally, from those feelings which 
 he possessed in common with his brethren ; but 
 we must not forget that he was the Son of God, 
 as well as the Son of man, and must conse- 
 quently have had thoughts arise in his mind, 
 as he looked on the grave of the departed 
 Lazarus, into which no merely human mourner 
 can enter. 
 
 1 . Of many of these sources of sorrow, we are 
 unable to form the faintest conception ; but we 
 may reasonably suppose that his tears were drawn 
 from him partly by the view afforded him of the 
 degradation of human nature. 
 
 He was now standing near a grave, and with a 
 mind such as his, he could not forget the original 
 condition of the creature who was there turning 
 to rottenness and dust. His thoughts must have 
 gone farther back than the house of Mary. He 
 must have contrasted the scene now before him 
 with that which he once beheld in the garden of 
 Eden, the earthly paradise of God. He remem- 
 bered what man once was ; he thought of what 
 he might still have been ; and as he looked on the 
 tomb of Lazarus, he wept. 
 
 And who, brethren, can seriously think of the 
 
 B D 2
 
 372 THE TEARS OF JESUS 
 
 grave, and not see it to be, in this point of view, 
 a most mournful spectacle ? It was not originally 
 " the house appointed for all living." God did 
 not design it as the end of all men. We chose it 
 for ourselves. It was our own hand which im- 
 planted the seeds of death in our frames, and 
 made them the heirs of a loathsome corruption. 
 
 When also we look on the two worlds between 
 which the grave is situated, and view them as 
 the habitations of our fallen race, our painful 
 searchings of heart are not diminished. It is 
 not a flowery path which leads us to the tomb, 
 neither is the country beyond it always found to 
 be a land of rest. We pass through many a scene 
 of sorrow to this dreary home, and, in many 
 instances, we find it to be only the way into a 
 world of greater suffering and still keener an- 
 guish. Who can contemplate the millions of 
 mankind thus going century after century to the 
 grave and thus issuing out of it, and not drop 
 a compassionate tear over the awful degradation 
 of our state ? Man indeed is guilty. No load of 
 misery will ever outweigh his offences. But then 
 the guilty may be pitied, and our compassion 
 may be extended even to the sinful. 
 
 It must be remembered also that our degraded 
 state was more likely to affect Christ, than it is 
 us. None can behold a stately building beaten 
 down by violence, without being moved ; but it
 
 AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. 373 
 
 is the architect, the man whose skill and industry 
 raised the fabric, who weeps the most bitterly 
 over its ruins. Now man was the workmanship 
 of Christ. He built him at first a pure and holy 
 temple for the residence of Jehovah. How then 
 must his soul have been grieved when he beheld 
 the work of his hands laid waste ! when he saw 
 the building he had raised, forsaken by its great 
 Inhabitant and made a desolation, retaining 
 indeed amidst its ruins some faint traces of its 
 original glory, but only enough to shew the 
 greatness of its degradation ! 
 
 2. Christ might have been led to weep at the 
 tomb of Lazarus by the unbelief and obstinacy of 
 many who surrounded him. 
 
 He had already performed many miracles and 
 done many mighty works, in order to convince 
 the Jews that he was indeed their long promised 
 Messiah, but they still called him the carpenter's 
 son, and refused to receive him as the Son of the 
 Highest. But he did not abandon them. He 
 was now about to perform in their sight a miracle 
 of a still more extraordinary nature than any 
 they had witnessed before ; one which seemed 
 calculated to overcome the most deeply rooted 
 prejudices, and to remove the most stubborn 
 infidelity. He foresaw however that even this 
 exertion of his power would be lost on the 
 greater part of the multitude around him ; that 
 
 A A 3
 
 
 
 374 THE TEARS OF JESUS 
 
 while some of them would be led to believe on 
 him, others would only have their hatred against 
 him increased, and be more earnest to effect his 
 destruction. Hence perhaps he was troubled in 
 spirit, and wept. 
 
 It might indeed have been supposed that 
 even the compassionate Jesus could not have 
 wept over such obstinate sinners as these ; that 
 he would have left them to the misery they 
 chose, with emotions of indignation rather than 
 of sorrow ; but he tenderly loved the Jews. He 
 remembered that they were the children of Abra- 
 ham, his ancient friend ; and he could not see 
 them madly rushing on to destruction, without 
 shedding over them the tear of pity. Though they 
 were his enemies and were thirsting for his blood, 
 he could not willingly abandon the house of Israel 
 to the miseries prepared for them ; but, like a 
 merciful judge, he wept over the obdurate crimi- 
 nals whom justice required him to give up to 
 vengeance. Indeed one of the chief and most 
 constant sources of the Redeemer's sorrow while 
 he dwelt on the earth, was the ingratitude which 
 he received from the sinners whom he was endur- 
 ing so much to save. " He came unto his own, 
 and his own received him not;" and when he 
 went to others, .he experienced the same treat- 
 ment. They poured contempt on him, and would 
 not take him for their Saviour and their Lord.
 
 AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. 375 
 
 " He was despised and rejected of men ;" and it 
 was this which made him so much "a man of sor- 
 rows," and so deeply " acquainted with grief." 
 
 We know not how much our own unbelief con- 
 tributed to fill up that cup of sorrow, of which 
 he drank. He foresaw how many of us would 
 make light of him, and of all that he was about 
 to do and suffer for our sakes ; how contemptu- 
 ously we should treat his gospel, and how cruelly 
 we should throw away our souls. Who can tell 
 but that even when weeping at Bethany, he 
 thought of some careless sinner now in this house 
 of prayer ? some poor trifler who is now hearing 
 with unconcern of his love and tears ? some hard- 
 hearted transgressor who, rather than part with 
 his follies and sins, will consent to lose heaven 
 and his soul? Who can tell but that some of 
 us might have caused the blessed Jesus to heave 
 an additional sigh in this sorrowful hour, and 
 have given to his troubled breast an additional 
 pang? 
 
 How is it then, brethren, that we ourselves 
 are so little affected by that which affected Jesus 
 so much ? How is it that while he wept over 
 our contempt of his gospel, we can so often be 
 warned of it, and yet never be moved ; we who 
 are so deeply concerned in it, and on whose heads 
 it is bringing down so much misery ? The reason 
 is plain. We know not the value of salvation.
 
 376 THE TEARS OF JESUS 
 
 We know not the worth of our souls. Sin and 
 the world hold undivided possession of our hearts, 
 and we have not a serious thought to spare for 
 eternity. 
 
 These then were some of the probable causes 
 of the tears which the Redeemer shed at the grave 
 
 O 
 
 of Lazarus. As a man, he wept over the sorrows 
 of his brethren, at the loss of a friend, and from 
 a contemplation of the instability of all human 
 happiness. He wept as the Redeemer of men 
 over the degradation of mankind, and the guilt 
 and wretchedness of impenitent sinners. 
 
 The first and most obvious inference we may 
 draw from his tears is this Tenderness of heart 
 is not inconsistent with greatness of mind. We 
 see both these graces exemplified in the highest 
 degree in the history before us, and throughout 
 the whole course of the Redeemer's life. 
 
 And yet many of the followers of Jesus have 
 represented the lively emotions of sympathy as a 
 weakness which, as Christians and men, we 
 ought not to encourage. It is true that these 
 emotions ought to be modified and duly regu- 
 lated ; but as for suppressing the warm feelings 
 of friendship, the workings of compassion, or the 
 tears of pity, the religion of Christ requires not 
 this at our hands. On the contrary, it calls upon 
 us to cherish these affections; to send every
 
 AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. 377 
 
 caviller against them to Bethany and Calvary, 
 and bid him look on the Being who is weeping 
 and dying there. 
 
 How lovely a character is the character of 
 Jesus Christ! 
 
 Nothing more endears to us a man of exalted 
 rank, than to see him entering into the sorrows 
 of the poor and the mean ; but here is one weep- 
 ing with the sorrowful, who is higher than the 
 highest angel, and in comparison with whom the 
 greatest of the sons of men is but as a worm or 
 a moth. 
 
 How is it then, brethren, that many of us think 
 so meanly of this Jesus ? The great reason is 
 this we love sin, and we therefore hate every 
 thing which is opposed to it. If Christ did not 
 wound our pride and condemn our practices ; if 
 he sanctioned our opinions, our follies, and vices, 
 in this world, and promised us something like a 
 Mahometan Paradise in the next, all would be 
 well; we should admire his character, and instead 
 of pouring contempt on his gospel, his ministers, 
 and his servants, we should uphold and applaud 
 them all. 
 
 We may infer, lastly, from the text, that they 
 who are the friends of the compassionate Saviour, 
 may jind in the tenderness of his heart a never 
 failing source of encouragement and consolation. 
 
 Where is that Jesus now, who once wept with
 
 378 THE TEARS OF JESUS. 
 
 Mary and Martha at the grave of their brother ? 
 " He is exalted to the right hand of the Majesty 
 on high." How is he there employed ? " He 
 ever liveth to make intercession for us." But 
 does he remember the feelings and workings of 
 his mind when on earth ? Does Bethany still 
 live in his memory ? It does, and all the sorrow 
 and anguish he experienced there. The Bible 
 tells us that he still retains the same human 
 nature that he had then, and is touched as deeply 
 with our infirmities, and can enter as experiment- 
 ally into our sorrows. 
 
 This thought is an encouraging and blessed 
 one, brethren, and cannot hold too high a place 
 in our minds. The more it is cherished within 
 us, the more shall we enjoy of the blessedness of 
 religion ; the more peaceful shall we be in tribu- 
 lation, and the more thankful in prosperity. It 
 will make our heavenly Friend still dearer to our 
 hearts, increase our longings after the heaven in 
 which he dwells, and give a new and unspeakable 
 sweetness to our communion with God. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 IBOTSON AND 1'ALMER, FRINTLHS, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.
 
 By the same Author, 
 
 SERMONS, preached in ST. JAMES'S CHAPEL, Clap- 
 ham, Surrey. Third Edition. Price 10*. 6d. 
 
 CONTENTS Sermon I. The Cities of Refuge. II. The Christian in 
 the Wilderness. III. The Multitude fed in the Wilderness. IV. The 
 Lost Sheep brought Home. V. The Complaint of St. Paul. VI. The 
 final Glory of the Church. VII. The History of Jonah's Gourd. 
 VIII. The risen Jesus questioning Peter's love. IX. The Christian 
 taught to pray. X. The Peace of God keeping the Heart. XL The 
 Visit of the Wise Men of the East to Christ. XII. The Plague in the 
 Wilderness XIII. The Rich Man and Lazarus. XIV. The Prayer of 
 Christ for his Church. XV. The Baptism of Christ. XVI. The Unbe- 
 lief of Thomas. XVII. The redeemed Sinner made a Temple of God. 
 
 XVIII. The Woman of Canaan. XIX. The Promise of God to the 
 Israelites at Sinai. 
 
 PAROCHIAL SERMONS, preached at GLASBUBY, 
 Brecknockshire. Fifth Edition. Price 10*. 6d. 
 
 CONTENTS Sermon I. The End of Man's earthly History. II. The 
 Labourers standing idle at the eleventh Hour. III. The Building of the 
 Heavenly Temple. IV. The Vicissitudes of Human Life. V. The 
 Prayer of Moses for a View of God. VI. The Two Builders. VII. The 
 Unbelief of the Samaritan Lord. VIII. IX. X. The Widow of Nain. 
 XI. XII. Sins remembered by God. XIII. Sins blotted out by God. 
 XIV. The Character of the Pardoned. XV. The afflicted David a par- 
 doned Sinner. XVI. The Message sent to St. Paul in the Storm. 
 XVII. The Condescension of God. XVIII. The Foolish Virgins. 
 
 XIX. XX. XXI. The Rock at Horeb. XXII. The Duties of Chris- 
 tians towards the Heathen. 
 
 A SELECTION of PSALMS and HYMNS for 
 
 Public Worship. Second Edition. Price 2s. 6d.

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Santa Barbara 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW. 
 
 Series 9482